Author: Contributor
Wits University engineers are producing face shields to protect healthcare workers as the country battles the outbreak of COVID-19. The escalating spread of the virus has increased the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies as more people test positive for COVID-19 daily. Healthcare facilities in the country are seeing a shortage in these supplies for their staff. On Friday, 27 March 2020, Netcare 911, one of the healthcare facilities currently experiencing a massive shortage of protective gear, called on the 3D printing community to assist with printing head rings for face shields for use by medical staff…
by Ryan Falkenberg We are all living the unimaginable. So many face tragedy and hardship. It’s a time for compassion and care for those hardest hit by this global pandemic. COVID-19 is set to be a tipping point in many ways. One of those is a re-evaluation of how we work and what we do during our waking hours. It is a time for us to ask important questions that may help us shape a more positive future for all. Countries like South Africa are under lockdown for 21 days, and many of us who would ordinarily be going to…
by Bhaskar Chakravorti As we practice social distancing, our embrace of social media gets only tighter. The major social media platforms have emerged as the critical information purveyors for influencing the choices people make during the expanding pandemic. There’s also reason for worry: the World Health Organization is concerned about an “infodemic,” a glut of accurate and inaccurate information about COVID-19. The social media companies have been pilloried in recent years for practicing “surveillance capitalism” and being a societal menace. The pandemic could be their moment of redemption. How are they rising to this challenge? Surprisingly, Facebook, which had earned…
by H. Colleen Sinclair Propagandists are already working to sow disinformation and social discord in the run-up to the November elections. Many of their efforts have focused on social media, where people’s limited attention spans push them to share items before even reading them – in part because people react emotionally, not logically, to information they come across. That’s especially true when the topic confirms what a person already believes. It’s tempting to blame bots and trolls for these problems. But really it’s our own fault for sharing so widely. Research has confirmed that lies spread faster than truth –…
by Erin C. WestgateMore and more of us are staying home in an attempt to slow down the spreading coronavirus. But being stuck at home can lead to boredom.Boredom is a signal that we’re not meaningfully engaged with the world. It tells us to stop what we’re doing, and do it better – or to do something else.But, as a social psychologist who studies boredom, I know that people don’t always make the best choices when bored. So if you’re stuck at home, dutifully practicing your social distancing, how do you keep boredom away?About boredomWe can feel bored even with…
By Sarah Archer With the rise of keyless-entry cars and modern technology, car hacking is still prevalent in the auto industry. People attempting to steal cars are now not just limited to physically being outside in order to gain access, but instead can do it from inside their own houses as well. Through the manipulation of codes, taking control of cars from a distance, and other cyber-savvy tactics, being in-the-know is important for your safety. Here are the novel ways that car hackers are succeeding to steal your vehicle and how to keep from getting your car invaded. Carjacking wireless…
South African organisations are struggling more than ever before to manage their data, with almost half (49%) of enterprise data now considered ‘dark’ (unclassified and untagged), an increase from 41% since last year, reveals the latest South Africa Databerg 2020 report from Veritas Technologies, a global leader in data protection and availability. The study surveyed 100 IT leaders across multiple sectors in South Africa, to understand how organisations are handling the growing ‘Databerg’ and dealing with the challenges around turning data into valuable business information. “Business data in South Africa increasingly resembles an iceberg,” explains David McMurdo, regional director, South…
by Geoffrey Mann Working from home is already so common it has its own acronym, and it’s about to get even more common still. Companies like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft are now advising employees to “WFH” to avoid exposure to the novel coronavirus. But working from home can be a real challenge for employees who find themselves doing it for the first time. To address this concern, many employees are turning to digital solutions to help them interact with colleagues and stay productive away from the office. Here are some tech options for three styles of work: formal meetings, informal…
As we near the end of Mercury in Retrograde, which astrologists believe influences forgetfulness, we’re taking a look at what riders are leaving behind – and reminding riders how to reunite with their favourite lost items. The annual Uber Lost & Found Index provides a snapshot of both our riders’ most commonly forgotten items and most unique lost items. It also highlights which cities are most forgetful, which times of day and days of the week people forget items most, and of course, tips on how to get your lost items back using the Uber app. In 2019, phones, wallets,…
by Howard Phillips As the issue of repatriation of foreign nationals from China grabs the headlines in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent in the wake of the spread of COVID-19, there are some important lessons that can still be drawn from events 102 years ago in 1918 when an earlier epidemic, of so-called Spanish flu, arrived in the country. This was the most devastating pandemic of modern times, killing more than 50 million people around the world (or 3%-4% of the globe’s population) in just over a year. South Africa was one of the five worst-hit parts of…