Latest news with #diverse
Al Jazeera
08-08-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
The secret to a long healthy life?
Today on The Stream, five 'Blue Zones' host some of the healthiest, longest-living people. What's behind their longevity? Blue Zones are five diverse regions where people live longer and stay healthy into their 90s and 100s. Their secrets? Mostly plant-based diets, daily natural movement, strong social ties, and a clear sense of purpose. These simple, sustainable habits keep people active and resilient. As the modern world faces chronic illness and ageing populations, the Blue Zones offer practical lessons on how we might live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. Presenter: Stefanie Dekker Guests: Anna Katsas – Videographer and content creator Paola Demurtas – Longevity guide Luigi Fontana – Director, Charles Perkins Centre Clinic
Forbes
01-08-2025
- General
- Forbes
What Does It Mean To Look Like A Leader?
The talented professionals I coach come from a variety of industries, professions, and backgrounds. They are smart, skilled, and highly competent, with positive business results that have been responsible for their career progression to this point. Most are being groomed for senior leadership positions. But many of them share a common problem: they don't look like leaders. At least that's how they are described to me when I'm asked to work with them. 'Looking like a leader' (displaying leadership presence) has as many variations as there are organizations and cultures, but I've found that the answers to the following questions can tell me a lot about why someone does – or does not – look like a leader. How would you answer them? Are you balanced? The Stereotype Content Model states that we constantly evaluate one another along two dimensions: warmth and competence. When I apply this model to leadership presence, I start with the corresponding sets of nonverbal signals. One set of these signals conveys power and confidence, and the other (called 'pro-social' body language) displays warmth and inclusion. Warm body language starts by keeping your body relaxed and open. Eye contact also matters. And, of course, a smile is a sign of welcome. It says, 'I'm friendly and approachable.' Tilting your head to one side is a warm, pro-social signal that you are listening and curious, and in situations where you want people to expand on what they are saying, head nods in groups of three encourages them to keep talking. Open palm gestures (an ancient way of showing that you had no weapons) still signal that you are 'friend,' not 'foe.' And, of course, a genuine smile is a sign of positive acknowledgement and welcome. Confidence, power, and authority (by which people evaluate your competence) are non-verbally communicated using height and space. The taller you appear and the more room you take up, the more you appear to be in command. When you want to project confidence, stand tall and move around to claim your territory. If sitting, uncross your legs and place your feet firmly on the floor. Bring your elbows away from your body and widen your arm position. Your expanded body language will not only change the way people perceive you – it will influence the way you feel about yourself, making you feel more grounded and self-assured. For leaders to be optimally influential, they need be seen as 'balanced' by displaying both sets on signals. Too much warmth and you risk being labeled 'nice,' but less credible. Too many power signals can make you look confident, but not caring. Are you aligned? Body language that is aligned with your verbal messages reinforces your leadership presence. But when what you say and how you look when you say it are out of alignment, people are forced to choose. And unconsciously they'll discount what they hear and believe what they see. This is especially detrimental when you say something positive, and your body language shows the opposite. From one of my clients, here's an example: 'I was in an important meeting, and the leader was telling the group how much he welcomed any input we could provide. But at the same time, he was using both his hands to non-verbally push the entire group away. The amazing thing was that he repeated this sequence several times, always saying that he would welcome our input while making the same 'push away' gesture. It was all any of us could do not to laugh out loud. But we all came away with a deeper appreciation of the importance of verbal and nonverbal alignment.' Research explains why this alignment has such an impact on an audience. Neuroscientists at Colgate University study the effects of gestures by using an electroencephalograph (EEG) machines to measure 'event related potentials' – brain waves that form peaks and valleys. One of these valleys occurs when subjects are shown gestures that contradict what's being spoken. This is the same brain wave dip that occurs when people listen to nonsensical language. So, in a very real way, whenever you say one thing and your gestures indicate another, you simply don't make sense. When your body language doesn't match your words (dropping eye contact or glancing around the room while trying to convey candor, rocking back on heels when talking about the organization's solid future, or physically pushing back when inviting people to contribute) your verbal message is lost and you don't look like a leader. Do you fold under pressure? Because the heart, brain, and nervous system are so closely interlocked, people can often tell if you are happy or stressed by simply observing how you hold your body. If you are in a great mood, you are most likely holding your shoulders back and your head high, but if overwhelmed or depressed, your body begins to fold into itself: your shoulders begin to round forward and you cave in slightly at the chest. But a condensed posture isn't the only nonverbal signal of stress. I was in the audience when an executive from a financial institute was being interviewed while seated at the front of the stage, facing us. One of his staff sat across from him, reading a list of questions that had been submitted by attendees. As this leader responded to the first inquiries, he shared his philosophy of 'relationship banking' and the importance of employees to the company's brand. While doing so, his body language was open and relaxed. His posture, facial expressions and hand gestures signaled comfort and confidence. Then came a series of questions about executive compensation. As he answered these, his feet made their own statement. From a comfortable, loose leg cross, the executive suddenly locked his ankles tightly together, pulled them back under the chair, and began to make tiny kicks with both feet. He then re-crossed his ankles and kicked his feet again. And this behavior continued throughout the entire set of compensation questions. If all the audience could have seen was the upper half of the executive's body, we might have been convinced that he was still at ease, but his feet told a different story – one of anxiety and stress. Maybe you don't kick your feet when feeling stressed, but even a simple thing like how you breathe is also telling. Holding our breath is a primitive instinct – a hardwired reaction (the freeze portion of the 'flight, fight or freeze' response) when facing a threat. Today, when threats are more likely to be psychological than physical, anxiety may still cause you to hold your breath or to breathe high in your chest is small, shallow breaths. If you notice this reaction, stop and consciously take deeper breaths, allowing your body to relax more every time you exhale. Gestures also say a lot. Often, when people are under stress, they automatically clasp their hands in front of their lower body, creating a protective 'fig leaf' effect. Whenever you use this gesture, especially during a formal presentation, it indicates that you're insecure or uncomfortable. A better choice would be to clasp your hands at waist level. Do you sound like a leader? Here I'm referring to how you use paralanguage: how you say what you say (vocal tone, volume, and rate of speech). As with other aspects of nonverbal communication, people make assumptions about your leadership ability based on the sound of your voice. In some situations, this aspect of nonverbal communication becomes even more important. A study by Michael Kraus of the Yale University School of Management found that our sense of hearing may be even stronger than our sight when it comes to accurately detecting emotion. Kraus found that we are more accurate when we hear someone's voice than when we look only at their facial expressions or see their face and hear their voice. In other words, when your communication is limited to an auditory channel -- as it is on a phone call, a teleconference, or a podcast, people will be able to sense your emotional state even better. Pitch is an influential vocal cue in social evaluation and therefore plays a key role in our choice of leaders. For example, lower-pitched speakers are more likely to be perceived as competent, experienced, and trustworthy. Research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business looked at the earning power of a voice as it extended to male chief executive officers. The results from 792 male Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) found that CEOs with deeper voices managed larger companies, made more money, and tended to be retained longer. Under stress or excitement, vocal pitch tends to get higher. Women, who have naturally higher voices need to be especially aware of this. A good tip for anyone whose voice tends to rise when stressed: Before you enter the meeting room – or get on the telephone for an important call - let your voice drop into its optimal lower pitch by keeping your lips together and making the sounds 'um hum, um hum, um hum.' Go back over these questions and see what areas you might like to learn more about. Body language savvy can be your key to strengthening business relationships, presenting ideas with added impact, and looking like a leader.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Branding for Bradford's Leeds Road campaign unveiled
New branding has been revealed for a campaign to celebrate one of Bradford's most "diverse and vibrant" Road, which runs from the city centre to near the border with Leeds, is home to a variety of restaurants, cafes and South Asian Love Leeds Road campaign was announced in 2024 ahead of Bradford's year as UK City of £66,320 promotional campaign is being managed by Bradford Council and will be delivered by design agency Out of Place, with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The branding includes a new logo featuring the postcode BD3 with a heart emblem on a pink Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: "Leeds Road is one of Bradford's unsung success stories and I'm delighted this new branding and campaign shines a spotlight on such a vibrant community."It is one of the most diverse and vibrant streets in Bradford and this new campaign will help boost the economy of the area further, ahead of some exciting events later in the year." The logo was unveiled at the Asian Food Expo at United Cash and Akhtar, managing director of Jinnah Group which owns United Cash and Carry, said Leeds Road "continues to evolve" and attract visitors who make trips "for food, fashion and retail"."We are delighted to help promote the Leeds Rd corridor and are pleased that alongside other businesses and the community, we have helped to shape a distinct logo."He said several businesses in the area and residents had been consulted and had input into the campaign and hoped people would support details of the campaign will be unveiled later this summer. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Fast Company
30-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
5 reasons that towns lose their local newspapers
Why did your hometown newspaper vanish while the next town over kept theirs? This isn't bad luck—it's a systemic pattern. Since 2005, the United States has lost over one-third of its local newspapers, creating 'news deserts' where corruption is more likely to spread and communities may become politically polarized. My research, published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, analyzes the factors behind the decline of local newspapers between 2004 and 2018. It identifies five key drivers—ranging from racial disparity to market forces—that determine which towns lose their papers and which ones beat the odds. 1. Newspapers follow the money, not community needs You might expect news media to gravitate toward areas where their work is needed most—communities experiencing population growth or facing systemic challenges. But in reality, newspapers, like any business, tend to thrive where the financial resources are greatest. My analyses suggest that local newspapers survive where affluent subscribers and deep-pocketed advertisers cluster. That means wealthy white suburbs keep their watchdogs, while low-income and diverse communities lose theirs. When police brutality spikes, when welfare offices deny claims, when local officials divert funds—these are the moments when communities need their journalists the most. Poor and racially diverse communities often face the harshest policing and interact more with street-level bureaucrats than wealthier citizens. That makes them more vulnerable to government corruption and misconduct. Yet, these same communities are the first to lose their newspapers, because there are no luxury real estate agencies buying ads, and few residents can afford the monthly subscriptions. Without journalistic scrutiny, scholars find that mismanagement flourishes, corruption costs balloon, and the communities most vulnerable to abuse receive the least accountability. This is how news deserts exacerbate inequality. 2. Newspapers don't adequately serve diverse communities Picture this: A newsroom sends its reporters, most of whom are white, to a Black neighborhood—but only after reports of gunshots or building fires. Residents, still in shock, don't want to talk. So journalists call the same three community leaders they always quote, run the tragic story and disappear until the next crisis. This approach, often referred to as 'parachute journalism,' results in shallow coverage that paints the community in a negative light while overlooking its complexities. Year after year, the pattern repeats. The only time residents see their neighborhood in the paper is when something terrible happens. No feature story of the family-owned restaurant celebrating its 20-year anniversary, no reporter at the town hall when the new police chief gets grilled about stop-and-frisk —just the constant drumbeat of crime and crisis. Is it any wonder racially diverse communities stop trusting and paying for that paper? Not when many working-class families of color can barely afford to add a newspaper subscription to their bills. Diverse neighborhoods get hit twice. First, their local papers inadequately represent them. Then, when people understandably turn away, subscriptions drop, advertisers pull back and the outlets shut down, leaving whole communities without a voice. Only in recent years have more media outlets begun to make a concerted effort to engage with and reflect the communities they serve. However, such efforts are often led by newer media organizations with fresh ideologies, while many long-standing media outlets remain stuck in traditional reporting practices, as illustrated in Jacob Nelson's ' Imagined Audiences.' Although my analyses of local newspaper decline from 2004 to 2018 paints a frustrating picture, the emerging trend of community-oriented journalism holds promise for positive changes in diverse communities. 3. Population growth doesn't always save newspapers It's easy to assume that more people = more readers = healthier news organizations. But my research tells a different story: Counties with larger population growth actually saw greater declines in local newspapers. The catch lies in who is moving in: Population growth saves papers only when it comes with wealth. Affluent newcomers bring subscriptions and advertisers' attention. But growth driven by high birth rates, typically seen in less developed areas with more racial and ethnic minorities, doesn't translate to revenue. In short, growth alone isn't enough—it's the type of growth, and the economic power behind it, that matters. This highlights the fragility of market-dependent journalism. The news gap experienced by fast-growing communities may persist where local journalism depends primarily on traditional advertising and subscription revenues rather than diversified revenue sources such as grants and philanthropic donations. The latter, which often focus on community needs rather than profit potential, are more likely to help sustain journalism in areas with significant population growth. 4. Neighbors' newspapers can save yours You'd think that competition between newspapers would be a cutthroat affair. But in an era of decline, my analyses reveal a counterintuitive truth: Your town's paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs. Rather than competing, neighboring papers often become allies, sharing breaking news, splitting investigative costs and attracting advertisers who want regional reach. While this collaboration can sometimes cause papers to lose their local identity, having some local journalism is still better than none. It ensures some level of accountability, even if the news isn't as focused on each town's unique needs. Resilient local journalism clusters together. When one paper invests in original reporting, its neighbors often benefit too. When regional businesses support multiple outlets, the entire news ecosystem becomes more sustainable. 5. Left or right? Local papers die either way In this highly polarized era, it turns out that there's no significant link between a county's partisan makeup and its ability to keep newspapers. Urban hubs such as Chicago keep robust media thanks to dense populations and corporate advertisers, not because they vote for Democrats. Meanwhile, newspapers in conservative rural areas can survive by cultivating loyal readerships within their communities. In contrast, communities with lower income and a diverse population lose outlets no matter whether they are red, blue, or purple.
