Category: CONSUMER NEWS

Seeing the new Star Wars? Be careful what you wish for

Study surveyed people before and after they saw The Last Jedi

Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio – How much you enjoy the new

Star Wars

movie will depend a lot on your expectations going in, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 441 people before and after they saw the last episode in the popular franchise,

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi

, released in 2017.  They wanted to see how audiences’ expectations affected their actual enjoyment of the movie.

The findings suggest that it is probably best not to go into

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

thinking you’re really going to love it or really going to hate it, said

James Alex Bonus

, co-author of the study and assistant professor of

communication at The Ohio State University

.

As you might expect, people who had the highest expectations for

The Last Jedi

but were disappointed in the movie had the lowest enjoyment of anyone taking the survey.

But what was most interesting, Bonus said, were people who expected very little from the movie but ended up feeling intensely happy after seeing the film.  Their overall enjoyment was lower than those who felt similarly joyful but who went into the movie with higher expectations.

“It wasn’t really helping people to go in with those low expectations,” Bonus said.

“The negative bias going in dragged them down and even if they were pleasantly surprised by the movie, they still didn’t like it as much as other people did.”

The study was published online this month in the

Journal of Media Psychology

.

The results show how much our expectations can influence our enjoyment of a movie, particularly one in a franchise like

Star Wars

, where audiences have a history with the characters or storyline.

“It becomes a lot less about what is in the movie and a lot more about what you expected it to be,” Bonus said.

In this study, online participants recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk were interviewed three weeks before the release of

The Last Jedi

in 2017.  They were asked to rate on a 7-point scale how happy, sad and nostalgic they thought the film would make them feel.

Three weeks later, those who had seen the movie were asked how happy, sad and nostalgic seeing the movie had made them feel. They also rated their enjoyment and appreciation of the movie.

Results showed that many people weren’t very accurate at predicting how they would react to seeing

The Last Jedi

, Bonus said.  That goes along with other research that shows people are bad at predicting how various experiences will make them feel.

In this study, about 55 percent of participants did not accurately predict how the movie would make them feel. Most of them didn’t get their prediction entirely wrong, such as saying the movie would make them happy when it didn’t.

But many were off in the strength of their feelings, predicting, for example, the movie would make them very happy when it made them only somewhat happy.

“We are really bad at predicting how future events will make us feel,” Bonus said.

One other interesting fact from the study: People who in the first survey expected that

The Last Jedi

would make them feel nostalgic were more likely to have seen the movie when re-interviewed three weeks later. Expectations about how happy they would feel did not predict viewing behavior.

“That shows the important role nostalgia plays for audiences of established franchises like Star Wars,” Bonus said.

Study co-authors were Nicholas Matthews, a visiting assistant professor of communication at Ohio State, and Tim Wulf, a postdoctoral researcher at LMU Munich in Germany.

3 Most Useful Apps You Can Use From Anywhere

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 3, 2020)–The advent of the internet has turned the world into an interconnected mesh of network where it is becoming more and more easier to perform daily tasks in any part of the world without needing to be physically present. With each passing year, humans are relying on their

computers and mobiles

to do most tasks for them, and we have been incorporating certain apps and software in our daily lives so that we can do important work from anywhere.

Just as communication has gotten stronger, the need to perform tasks in a timely manner has become much more vital. Sometimes a person needs some time to relax from the hectic work routine and may go for a vacation. But, work doesn’t stop for anybody, and you aren’t any special. So, to make sure that your work doesn’t get disrupted, here are 3 apps that might come in very handy for you if you don’t have access to your personal laptop.

TeamViewer

The number one app that comes in my mind to ease your job when you don’t have access to your laptop is Teamviewer. It is a free consumer app that you can use from anywhere in the world if you have an internet connection. With the help of this app, you can take control of your own laptop and do any task that you want to. You don’t have to worry about the security as the app is super secure with its

256 bit AES encryption

that is basically impossible to crack. All you have to do is install the software on the host computer and on the computer you want to control. By putting in the password that is generated in real-time, you can take control of the screen of the other computer.

SodaPDF

If one thing has revolutionized how we conduct business, PDF has rightly earned its name. It is the one true king when it comes to filing formats, and you are going to need an app or software to view your business documents or memos. With the help of

SodaPDF

, which can be used online from a web browser, you can easily view, edit, annotate, sign, and manage your PDF files from anywhere in the world. You can also download the desktop app for free and conduct your business in your free time.

Google Assistant

With the help of google assistant, you can easily transcribe your thoughts and get answers to your questions. When you are out of a vacation, or you are stuck between lots of work, this app is a blessing for you as you can easily schedule meetings, send messages, make calls, and even make reservations without even touching your mobile. With its voice recognition feature, you can simply tap on the app and ask it to perform a task you want to. You can also queue up your tasks and get the latest news related to your industry by simply asking the assistant a question.

image source courtesy of unsplash.com

Neurologic Drug Combined with Blood Pressure Medicine Reduces Breast Tumor Development in Mice

Newswise — WASHINGTON —

Adding a medication used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines to a blood pressure medicine reversed some aspects of breast cancer in the offspring of mice at high risk of the disease because of the high fat diet fed to their mothers during pregnancy. Conversely, this treatment combination increased breast cancer development in the offspring whose mothers had not been fed a high fat diet during pregnancy. The study by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers appeared December 30, 2019, in

Scientific Reports

.

The key drug in the study regimen was valproic acid which, among several targets, inhibits histone deacetylase (HDAC), an important epigenetic silencer of genes. In contrast to mutations that permanently disrupt the normal functions of genes, epigenetic modifications are reversible. Valproic acid was combined with the blood pressure medication hydralazine that inhibits another critical epigenetic regulator, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT). Early treatment studies in people have shown that these two drugs can work in tandem to disrupt tumor growth.

“We believe that our research is the first to show that we can reverse some aspects of increased breast cancer risk found in offspring of mouse mothers fed a high fat diet during pregnancy,” said Leena A. Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD, a professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi. “This finding may have important implications in people because exposures in the womb to certain chemicals, or a mother’s high fat diet, or being obese, can subsequently increase a daughter’s breast cancer risk.”

These research findings demonstrate how impactful an epigenetic methyl group addition or subtraction from DNA can be. Compounds that reduce methylation of tumor suppressor genes that are excessively methylated (hypermethylated) can be beneficial. However, these drugs can have the opposite effect if tumor suppressor genes are not hypermethylated; they may remove methyl groups from cancer-causing genes, making these genes more active and potentially leading to more aggressive cancers.

The other key aspect of this finding involves the potential impact of diet on cancer risk. Many fruits and vegetables have compounds (such as flavones) that chemically react in the same ways as the HDAC- and DNMT-inhibiting drugs in this study. Some compounds in these foods, especially folic acid, have opposite effects. This research suggests that exposure to a high fat diet or endocrine disrupting chemicals in the womb might be reversed by the consumption of foods high in DNMT and HDAC inhibitors, while those who have not had such exposures might also gain a cancer protective benefit from consuming foods high in folic acid. The scientists note, however, that their findings, particularly as they relate to diet, need to be studied in people.

“Our next step will be to try to identify biomarkers in humans that indicate an exposure in the womb to diets or endocrine disrupting chemicals that could increase breast cancer risk later in life,” said Hilakivi-Clarke. “If we can identify such biomarkers, we’ll look to see if specific foods consumed by women can reverse epigenetic changes to their DNA that might lead to increased breast cancer risk.”

###

In addition to Hilakivi-Clarke authors from Georgetown University include Fabia de Oliveira Andrade, Nguyen Nguyen, and Anni Warri. Warri also has an appointment with University of Turku Medical Faculty in Finland.

The authors report no disclosures relevant to this study.

This research was supported by a National Cancer Institute grants R01-CA164384 and P30-CA51008.

de Oliveira Andrade F, et al. Reversal of increased mammary tumorigenesis by valproic acid and hydralazine in offspring of dams fed high fat diet during pregnancy.

Scientific Reports

. 30 December 2019. DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-56854-5.

About Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive cancer center. A part of Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown Lombardi is the only comprehensive cancer center in the Washington D.C. area. It serves as the research engine for MedStar Health, Georgetown University’s clinical partner. Georgetown Lombardi is also an NCI recognized consortium with John Theurer Cancer Center/Hackensack Meridian

Health

in Bergen County, New Jersey. The consortium reflects an integrated cancer research enterprise with scientists and physician-researchers from both locations. Georgetown Lombardi seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic, translational and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach to service communities throughout the Washington region, while its consortium member John Theurer Cancer Center/Hackensack Meridian Health serves communities in northern New Jersey. Georgetown Lombardi is a member of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (UG1CA239758). Georgetown Lombardi is supported in part by a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA051008). Connect with Georgetown Lombardi on

Facebook

(

Facebook.com/GeorgetownLombardi

) and

Twitter

(

@LombardiCancer

).

About

Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic health and science center with a four-part mission of research, teaching, service and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC’s mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis — or “care of the whole person.” The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.  Connect with GUMC on Facebook (

Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate

), Twitter (@gumedcenter).

The Top 5 New Jersey Lottery Prizes of 2019

TRENTON (Dec. 31, 2019)

– New Jersey Lottery is closing out 2019 and looking to celebrate its 50

th

anniversary in 2020. More than 40 prizes over $1,000,000 were won in 2019! Here’s a quick look at the top five prizes won by New Jersey players in 2019.

1:      $273,000,000 – Mega Millions

The Mega Millions drawing on March 1, 2019, produced a $273,000,000 jackpot winning ticket in Phillipsburg, Warren County. The prize was claimed by Michael Weirsky of Alpha, New Jersey. Michael almost missed the opportunity with his ticket when he temporarily forgot it at the store after purchasing the ticket. A Good Samaritan at the store held the ticket for safe keeping and returned it to Michael – all before the drawing took place.

2:      $9,500,000 – Pick-6

The Pick-6 drawing on September 30, 2019, produced a $9,500,000 jackpot winning ticket in Newark, Essex County. As of now, the ticket has not yet been claimed. The lucky ticketholder will have one year from the date of the drawing to claim their prize. The winning numbers were 14, 22, 26, 29, 36 and 48.

3 & 4:          $5,000,000 – Lucky 7’s

Two lucky New Jersey players hit it big with the $5,000,000 Lucky 7’s Scratch-Offs game. The first ticket was claimed in May, and was purchased at the Quick Shop in Franklin Lakes, Bergen County. The second ticket was claimed just two months later in July, and was purchased at Oprandy’s Wine & Liquor in Englewood, Bergen County.

5:      $4,500,000 – Pick-6

The Pick-6 jackpot was hit in 2019 for the first time on February 25 in Kearny, Hudson County. The ticket was claimed by Stanley McKelvin of Linden, who was overwhelmed when he realized he won. \”I don\’t want to sound cliché, but they say all you need is a dollar and a dream, and it\’s true,\” Stanley said.

Honorable mentions:

A 200X The Money Bonus ticket worth $4,000,000, sold in Cedar Grove, was claimed in October.

A $3,000,000 Cash Out jackpot-winning ticket, sold in Vineland, was claimed in February.

Another $3,000,000 Cash Out jackpot-winning ticket, sold in Cape May, was claimed in September.

New Jersey Lottery would like to congratulate all of its winners in 2019. We are looking forward to our 50

th

Anniversary in 2020 and the new winners the year may bring.

How to Plan a Christian Wedding Ceremony

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 2, 2019)–There are

2.4 million weddings each year

in the United States. If you\’re engaged, congratulations! Now it\’s time to start planning.

Planning your wedding can be quite a challenge. It\’s important to remember what\’s important to you in order to keep your priorities straight. If you want a Christian-focused wedding, remember to keep it at the forefront of your planning.

Looking to have the perfect Christian wedding ceremony? We\’re here to help. Here are our tips for planning a Christian wedding.

Marriage Preparation Courses

There are several courses offered by churches around the country. It\’s a great way to prepare for the trials of marriage. It will also present a chance to find out more about your future spouse.

Start counseling early and meet often. They\’ll offer you a nice reprieve to talk with your spouse about something other than the wedding.

Choose the Right Venue

The venue is an important part of any Christian wedding ceremony. And it doesn\’t necessarily have to be at a church to be Christian.

There are plenty of

venue options

outside of the traditional church setting. The most important part is making your vows before God in a location you love with the people that you love.

Don\’t Focus Solely on Yourself

Your wedding is a day for not just you and your future spouse. It is also an event joining your two families together. Find a way to involve the family members you love at the wedding.

While those around you will want to serve you, consider serving them as Christ has served you. Get to know your vendors, and bring gifts to those that help you. Be sure to talk with your friends about what\’s going on in their lives, not just about the wedding.

Plan Your Service

Planning your service is worth thought and preparation. Consider what songs and verses are important to you and representative of your relationship.

Here are the important parts of your service.

Processional and Wedding March

: First the grandparents and parents are seated. Then the minister and groom enter, followed by the wedding party. Finally, the bride enters escorted by her father.

Call to Worship and Opening Prayer

: These are opening remarks asking your guests to take part with you in worship. The opening prayer gives thanks and calls for God\’s blessing upon the service.

Giving Away the Bride and Worship Song:

This important part of the ceremony includes your families. Then a song or hymn is played which should be used as an expression of worship.

The Charge and Pledge:

The charge given by the minister reminds the couple of their marriage duties and roles. The pledge is the famous \”I do\” part of the ceremony.

Wedding Vows and Ring Exchange:

The couple promises publicly and before God to help each other grow. The rings are a promise to remain faithful to one another.

Unity Candle:

This symbolizes the union of the couple\’s hearts and lives together.

Communion:

Many couples choose to take communion as their first act in their marriage.

Pronouncement and Closing Prayer:

Here, the minister declares the couple as married. The closing prayer offers a blessing from the congregation.

Recessional:

First the couple leaves, presented as Mr. and Mrs. for the first time. Then the wedding party exists in the reverse order that they entered the ceremony.

Now You\’re Ready for a Christian Wedding Ceremony

Now you know how to plan the perfect Christian wedding ceremony. With these tips, you\’ll be able to focus on what really matters during your big day. For more lifestyle news and commentary, bookmark CNBNews.

Get Your Family Outside in Cooler Weather: It’s Good for You

Parents and guardians may be tempted to dial back outdoor activities when cold temperatures arrive, but getting outside is good for children and their families, even in the wintertime. The

TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program

encourages families to appreciate and use the outdoors and offers the following tips:

Do outdoor activities that are fun. Winter

weather that adults consider to be “messy” can be a huge canvas for children and their imaginations. Fall leaf piles, snowball fights, and snow forts offer a wealth of opportunities for parents to play with their children and to explore and experiment in our living landscapes.

Encourage exploration.

Ask your child to look at how the landscape changes with the seasons. Talk about what happens after leaves fall, when snow arrives, when it’s windy, and more, linking these seasonable changes with basic science about clouds, rainfall, temperature changes and the earth.

Try something new

. Try your hands at cross-country skiing, igloo-building, fall or winter hiking, ice fishing, ice skating, snow sculpting, snowshoeing, or something else that your children want to try to give them an appreciation of the outdoors in all seasons.

Do yard work as a family.

Involve everyone in seasonal yard chores to make the work go faster. Children can help put outdoor toys into storage and help tidy the yard. Just remember that if using outdoor power equipment like a lawnmower or leaf blower for your cleanup, children should be indoors and supervised, and they should not be near the equipment when it’s operating.

Mention how getting outside helps our happiness.

Even winter sunshine can make kids happy—literally. Sunlight boosts Vitamin D, which helps regulate emotional and mental moods by increasing serotonin in the brain. Even exposure to weaker sunlight in the winter can cause this joy boost.

Tolerate some mess.

It’s a given that kids going outside in all sorts of weather will often return wet, muddy and messy. Be prepared for wet and cold kids and get them warmed up when they return from playing outside.

Process what they did.

Ask kids to share what they did outdoors or ask them to write or draw out their activities and observations. Did they see something new? Did something surprise them? What was fun?

Learn more about the TurfMutt program at

www.TurfMutt.com

and more about our living landscapes in all seasons at

www.SaveLivingLandscapes.com

.

11 Handy Garage Heaters @HomeBNC

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(December 31, 2019)–Looking for a high quality garage heater can be tough, because even though these are specialty devices there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we’ve made things simpler by putting together a list of 11 handy garage heaters that you’ll appreciate. These are all top of the line options and we’re sure that you’ll be more than satisfied with any one of these.

Before we get into the

11 handy garage heaters @homebnc

, there are a few questions people commonly have about these devices that we’d thought we’d take the time to clear up.

What exactly is a garage heater and how are they different from the space heaters that you might use in a home?

Garage heaters are designed to be a little more industrial than a typical space heater you might put in a house. Plus, with these they typically require you to mount them onto something so that air can circulate a certain way.

Space heaters usually come with limited features as well whereas with a garage heater you can find them with a wealth of features. For the most part you could argue that any heater you use to heat up your garage is technically a garage heater, but there are options on the market specifically made for this.

Do you simply plug in these types of heaters once you have one or do they function in some other way?

The majority of these are designed for a person to hardwire them in and not plug them in. On top of this you’ll find that the majority of these tend to be electric options. Not to worry though, there are options available that operate on propane as well as natural gas. Electric options tend to be a little more convenient though because they don’t require any additional fuel in order to operate.

How well do these actually work in order to heat up a garage?

It really will depend on where you live and how cold it gets. These work very well if you have a proper understanding of how large your garage is. The bigger the garage then the more heating capacity you’ll require. On top of this it will help a lot if the garage is properly vented. This will stop heat from escaping, which will mean any unit you purchase won’t have to expand more energy than required.

Some have said that these work best when pointed directly at the area a person is going to be working in. This may be true to a certain extent, but it really does depend on the type you get and what power source it relies on.

Now here are the 11 handy garage heater options for you to check out. Once again these are all premium options:

Comfort Zone CZ220 Fan-Forced Ceiling Mount Heater

Dr. Infrared Heater DR-966

NewAir G56 5600 Watt Electric Heater for the Garage

Dr. Infrared Heater DR-988

NewAir G73 Hardwired Electric Heater for Garages

Homegear 1500W Infrared Electric Portable Space Heater

Mr. Heater F260560 Big Maxx MHU80NG Natural Gas Unit Heater

Dr. Heater DR218 Greenhouse Garage Workshop Infrared Heater

Bio Green PAL 2.0/US Palma BioGreen Basic Electric Fan Heater for Greenhouse

Lasko 675919 Stanley Pro-Ceramic Utility Heater

Mr. Heater 40,000 BTU Propane Heater for Garages

Are you limited to having to pick one of the options above? No, there are other options out there, but why go through the trouble of scouring the internet when you don’t have to. These are top of the line and can all be found through the same trusted and reliable source. Plus, if you have any additional questions regarding any of these then you can use the source in order to get your questions answered.

15TH ANNUAL FREE NEW YEAR’S DAY CELEBRATION RETURNS TO KIMMEL CENTER

JANUARY 1, 2020, 10AM–5PM

Celebrate New Year’s Day with FREE family-oriented entertainment all day and

the best view of the Mummer’s parade, free hot chocolate, brunch by Garces events,

prizes & more!

The Kimmel Center is hosting its 15th annual New Year’s Day Celebration, with free family fun all day. Attendees are invited to enjoy giveaways, hot chocolate, games, family-friendly activities, and a birds’ eye view of the Mummers Parade.

Tuesday, January 1, 2020, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza inside the Kimmel Center

300 S Broad St

Philadelphia, PA 19102

The FREE New Year’s celebration includes:

The Kimmel Center’s Resolution Wall, where guests are invited to write their 2020 New Year’s resolutions

A Garces Events FREE hot chocolate lounge with add-on toppings, as well as pop-up hot dog cart and cotton candy

Family-friendly fun including:

Face painting

10-foot-tall puppets Phil & Del Phila

Hula hooping by J-Hoop

Balloon art

Greater Philadelphia Paper Pholders Origami crafters

Organ demonstrations on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ in Verizon Hall

Ticket giveaways

A “prize” wheel

And more!

Commonwealth Plaza Stage performances, in chronological order:

11:00 a.m. –

PNC Grow Up Great

with the Give & Take jugglers stage show

12:00 p.m. – Liz Filios and The Very Fine Fleas (bluegrass meets indie rock)

1:00 p.m. – Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise ((MC/Poet/Songwriter connects with classically trained Harpist/Guitarist/Pianist)

2:00 p.m. – ILL DOOTS (hip-hop band and collective of artists, educators, and activists)

3:00 p.m. – Hip Hop Fundamentals (world’s only breakdance education company combining academic & social content with the world’s most dynamic dance form, generously sponsored by Red Bull)

3:45 p.m. – Creative Music Program Select Ensembles (high-school aged Big Band Jazz Combo)

4:25 p.m. – ShowStoppers AllStars (high-school aged Broadway-themed review)

Garces Events will host its one-of-a-kind “Broad Street Bash” brunch on the Tier 2 balcony. Guests can enjoy unlimited food and drink from 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., while taking in some of the best views of the Mummers Parade in the city. Enjoy brunch classics such as assorted pastries, muffins and danishes, fresh fruit, and quiche; Garces favorites continue with signature Village Burgers, crispy fries, pizza, and a dessert station featuring assorted cookies, cupcakes, tarts, and brownies.

Garces will offer a cash bar beginning at 3:30 p.m. Tickets for food and drinks (bloody marys included) are available at

www.kimmelcenter.org.

“Broad Street Bash” pricing

Adults: $80

Designated Driver: $50

Kids 12 and under: $25

*Note, Volver will be closed to the public because of a private event.

The Kimmel Center Cultural Campus

Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, our mission is to engage the region’s diverse communities with art through performance and education. Our Cultural Campus serves more than 1 million guests per year and includes the

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

, the

Academy of Music

, and the

Merriam Theater

–

representing more than 160 years of rich history for the performing arts along Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. We are home to eight esteemed Resident Companies:

The Philadelphia Orchestra

,

Opera Philadelphia

,

Pennsylvania Ballet

,

The Philly POPS

,

PHILADANCO

,

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

,

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society

, and

Curtis Institute of Music

. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, we are the region’s most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. Our Cultural Campus serves as a preeminent and inclusive place to enjoy exceptional experiences that reflect the spirit of our region by cultivating a creative and socially-responsible environment where our community shares experiences that are delivered with pride, integrity, and respect. As a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, we collaborate on, present, and produce a broad range of relevant and meaningful events, we serve as an active gathering space for social and community events, we educate the region’s young people through access to quality arts experiences, and we provide support to artists in the creation of new work. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is our proud sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2019-2020 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit

www.kimmelcenter.org

.

Latest Newspaper Apps to Help You Stay on Top of the Latest (and Correct) News

Gloucestercitynews.net (December 31, 2019)–Keeping yourself updated on current affairs is ever so important. Not only does it let you spark a conversation at a gathering, but it also keeps you in tabs with the right information to make decisions in business. Nowadays, many people prefer reading their news on their mobile phones as opposed to newspapers. Personally, it was quite challenging to find an app that provided the news I was most interested in until I came across the link below:

List of Great Apps to Get the Latest News

Let’s explore some of them and identify how newspaper apps can be more useful than it seems.

Become more environmentally friendly by using newspaper apps

Newspapers work great in helping you keep yourself updated on the latest information. It also lets you be aware of the local news in your town too. For some, it has been a lifelong habit to read the newspapers on a Sunday morning while giving their kids a print copy of the comics. However, the cost of purchasing a newspaper has been continuously on the rise, especially because the price of paper has been increasing.

With more demand of online versions of these newspapers, the younger generation prefers to keep their hands clean from the ink emitted through the printed versions of newspapers but also consider it cheaper to keep up with the news through newspaper apps. A simple search online will give you a list of these apps which can be tailored to your interests.

Gather news from all around the world

Given that online or digital media has no geographical boundaries, it has provided easy access for news items to reach other countries in a cost-effective manner. If you have online friends from other countries, they are likely to share their local news to you as well. This way, it makes it much easier and faster to make yourself aware of the breaking news as and when it occurs. With newspaper apps and online newspapers, you can easily stay updated with world news. There are a variety of options from state-wide to country-wide news items that you could subscribe to online.

Additionally, unlike subscribing to print versions of newspapers that are going to create a huge mess in your house, you could subscribe to a countless number of mobile apps that are not going to hinder your physical space.

Motivate your children to stay up to date with current affairs

It’s important that you encourage your children to stay up to date on current affairs given that there are so many events taking place around the world every day. Constantly reading news articles is a great way to be aware of what’s happening locally and around the world too.

It is equally important to ensure that they read newspaper articles that are unbiased too. This is going to help children understand and make meaning of what they read to make their own decisions after having critically evaluated them. Certain newspaper apps also make it interesting for your children to read by structuring it in a manner that encourages to read the news even more. Therefore, look for an app that makes it child-friendly. A simple search through your phone\’s app store will help you find the ones that you are looking for.

Conclusion

Though print media still exists, many people are switching to online mediums of gathering daily news. This is mainly due to its convenience and the fact that it’s more environmentally friendly to do so. Furthermore, the newspaper apps provide a comprehensive and easy-to-use guide to the various sections that you are personally interested in, in a clutter-free manner. Furthermore, you could also encourage your kids to read more news by downloading kid-friendly newspaper apps that make it interesting.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

The Benefits of Earning an MSN Degree

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(December 30, 2019)–The profession of nursing is one of the most popular healthcare professions in the United States. In fact, the

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

reports that there are 3.8 million licensed registered nurses (RNs) nationwide. Of that number, 84.5% are currently actively employed in nursing.

Even so, there is a widely accepted consensus that there exists a very real shortage of nurses in the workforce. This fact might lend itself to being an explanation as to why more and more students are applying to nursing school each year.

With figures and facts like that, those who wish to pursue a job in nursing might find themselves looking for ways to stand out from the crowd and make the most of their career. This is especially true for those who might not want to work as a general staff-nurse for the entirety of their career.

One of the best ways to broaden your possibilities when it comes to your career in nursing is to earn a Master of Science in Nursing, or MSN degree.

What is an MSN?

There are four types of degrees that fall into the category of Master of Science in Nursing. These are:

RN to MSN

BSN to MSN

ADN to MSN

ASN to MSN

As you can gather from the names, each type of program is designed to meet a nurse wherever they may be in regards to education level. The length and difficulty of each degree will be determined by the degree(s) already possessed by the student. Generally speaking, an MSN can take up to two years to earn.

While earning an MSN, nurses complete core nursing classes and clinical studies in addition to classes and study related to specific specializations. This is one of the main attractions of the MSN degree on the whole. The ability to specialize in a particular area of nursing isn’t really available to those who choose to stop their education at the bachelor level.

The goal of the degree is to prepare nurses for advanced practice roles within the various specializations in healthcare. Some of the more common specializations that you can select from include:

Gerontology

Midwifery

Nurse Anesthetist

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

Family Nurse Practitioner

Orthopedics

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Nurses should consider an MSN as a stepping stone by which they can open up multiple different opportunities for their careers, especially if they want to go for further education.

Why Get an MSN?

Beyond the obvious benefits of being able to specialize in a particular area and advance a nursing career, there are many reasons why a nurse should consider going for an MSN. Not least of these reasons is the appeal of earning a higher salary.

For example, if you decide to work as a nurse anesthetist, you could find yourself earning

over $150,000 a year

. While that number refers to the highest earners with an MSN, on average a nurse will earn $12,000 more than those who only have a BSN.

Furthermore, anyone who desires to go on to earn any of the most advanced degrees offered in the nursing world should look into earning an MSN their first step. It is essential for a nurse to have an MSN if they hope to go on to earn a doctorate or a PhD in nursing. These degrees are more focused on the development and implementation of positive change in the nursing and healthcare communities on a grand scale.

Other career path options that become available to nurses with an MSN aren’t necessarily limited to direct-patient care. With an MSN degree, a nurse can choose to go into the administrative or clinical research sides of healthcare.

The benefits of earning an MSN degree aren’t limited to the individual nurse, either. Many experts credit the shortage of nurses in the workforce in part to a similar shortage of nurse educators. As leaders, nurses can act as educators and mentors, helping to advance the next generation of nurses as well.

Because of the skills gained through an MSN program, nurses become more equipped with the knowledge and abilities needed to act in more leadership-related roles. A community-wide effort by existing nurses to help further the careers of others can only help boost the healthcare industry on the whole and can contribute to the end of the nursing shortage.

How to Earn an MSN

The first step to take toward getting an MSN is to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. This is your typical bachelor’s degree in nursing that can be earned by completing a four-year university course. More and more people looking to become nurses are opting to attend a four-year college for their initial nursing degree as opposed to going for a two-year degree, or an Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN).

If you are in the latter group and only have an ADN, you would need to find a bridge program, such as an RN-to-BSN program, so that you can complete your bachelor’s. After thism, you can then look into earning your MSN.

The good news is that once you have a BSN, there are several options that you can decide between for your MSN.

Online BSN to MSN programs

are great for nurses who are trying to maintain a full-time job while working toward their degree.

If the thought of online education doesn’t appeal to you, there are a vast amount of more traditional programs to choose from to earn an MSN.

Whatever your career aspirations are, a Masters of Science in Nursing can be extremely beneficial to reaching them. Not only that, but more nurses possessing such degrees can only lead to better and brighter things in the world of healthcare.

With so many accredited programs out there designed to meet nurses where they already are at in their education, anyone who wants to earn an MSN is sure to find the right degree that will help them make the most of their career in nursing.