By Sudan Smith Working from home is the new normal in 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Sitting in front of a computer screen from two to five hours a day can take its toll on students, blurring the lines between classroom hours and leisure hours. With the pressure of attending classes, completing coursework, paying for school, working, and trying to enjoy your college experience, life can begin to feel a little overwhelming. With online classes, it can seem like an intimidating task to get everything done without feeling stressed, especially if you have trouble maintaining a balanced schedule. While confined to your home all day, time management is essential for separating work from leisure. In contrast to in-person learning where you clearly identify school as work, and home as your place of comfort, the distinction is less clear with online classes. Students are constantly on their laptops, phones, and tablets which has significantly altered the college experience. Leisurely activities should engage you on a level that allows you to utilize your skills and passions free of distractions, while you complete a task or activity. When you take time to focus on enjoyable activities, you give your mind a break from daily stress. Doing so can help you to be more focused when it is time to work. Further, physical leisure activities assist in rejuvenating your mind while helping to keep the body healthy. According to a 2012 study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, leisure activities can increase life span by more than four years. Consider the following benefits of leisure time, which are particularly important for students.
Students need to understand during this new normal that their leisure time can add value to their life. So, they should make an effort to develop and maintain balance between class and leisure hours. Here are some tips how to do this.
Understanding the distinction and benefits of both class and leisure hours is essential for students making decisions about how to best use their time. Balancing the amount of time that should be devoted to leisure and academics will always be a constant struggle for college students. However, with this information and tips, students have the tools to manage their schedules and participate in leisure activities that will benefit them. They can do so while prioritizing their academics. Sources: How COVID-19 has impacted everyday life in America https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-covid-19-has-impacted-everyday-life-in-america/ss-BB17W39m Why Is Leisure Time Important? https://www.reference.com/world-view/leisure-time-important-11108e6fe84ee42f 5 Ways to Maintain Balance Between Work, School, and Life https://www.wayup.com/guide/community/5-ways-to-maintain-balance-between-work-school-and-life/ How COVID-19 has impacted everyday life in America https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-covid-19-has-impacted-everyday-life-in-america/ss-BB17W39m You’re spending your free time wrong—here’s what to do to be happier and more successful https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/how-successful-people-spend-leisure-time-james-wallman.html Leisure Time for Students https://www.studymode.com/essays/Leisure-Time-For-Student-794897.html Teach students benefits of positive leisure time use https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.centredaily.com/news/special-reports/article42801654.html Intervention for Positive Use of Leisure Time Among College Students https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3816519/
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By Willie Johnson Spears Group has enjoyed great success for the 12 years it has been operational, and it has big clients such as NBA, Capital One, CDC, and many others. This firm has achieved huge milestones because it possesses a competitive advantage based on its mind-blowing communication tactics and inventive marketing strategies. The firm has been able to maintain resilience in a marketplace that is ever evolving by offering diverse services to its clientele, such as media planning, event planning, experiential marketing, and web development, among others. Its success has also been promoted by its ability to create strong networks and partnerships that have enabled it to have diverse experience in numerous disciplines. The firm has been able to produce definitive results due to its comprehensive communication strategies created by its team comprised of experts in this industry. The main goal of Spears Group is to turn its audience into ambassadors of its client's message. To achieve this, the company has formed its operations in a way that establishes strong working relationships with clients and complies with the company's core competencies. The company has been able to get big clients because it has always been founded on accelerating social change and promoting the betterment and improvement of communities. The involvement of the firm with the community has impacted its success because it has become an integral part of the community's operations in a way that is recognized and supported by big corporations and clients. The future of this firm is luminous, and it will enjoy huge success if it continues being innovative and supportive to local communities. Source: Spears Group https://thespearsgroup.com By Sudan SmithCOVID-19 has affected the routines of everyday life for students around the world. Staying productive and on task during times like this can be really challenging. However, achieving productivity during this time of uncertainty and chaos is possible. As a student, you have many responsibilities and tasks to complete in what can feel like a short amount of time. Students can struggle with productivity in a number of ways, but there are several things that can be done to help students overcome these struggles and be just as productive as they would be in the classroom.
Here are 10 tips to help students increase their productivity: 1. Don’t procrastinate Start your tasks early. Procrastinating can lead to stress, frustration, and increase room for error in your work. 2. Rest Trying to do accomplish tasks all at once without any breaks can lead to increased frustration and reduced efficiency. Taking a 5-10-minute break every hour can help you process and retain information better. Allow your mind to refresh so you can form new ideas; this can increase productivity. Not only do you need breaks, but you need sleep as well. Sleep is essential for the brain to function properly. To increase your productivity in the long term, it’s important to make time for relaxation and sleep during your day. 3. Change your environment Changing the scenery you’re accustomed to working in, can boost productivity. 4. Take a break from technology Digital devices are a major part of our daily lives and can sometimes be very helpful for students. But technology also serves as a distraction, resulting in a loss of focus. Limiting the use of technology can increase student performance. 5. Avoid distractions Avoiding distractions requires self-discipline. Every distraction we encounter reduces our productivity. Use this fact to motivate you to avoid distractions. 6. Stay engaged in whatever you’re doing or learning It's beneficial to engage in tasks or interests that are student or academically-related. The more relevant a topic or subject is to students, the more engaged they'll become. 7. Set a schedule and stick to it Time-management is key in maintaining productivity. It’s difficult to manage your time if you don’t know how you’re spending it. Tracking your hours is an important step toward better time management. It’s important to create a daily agenda, plan ahead, follow a set schedule, and set deadlines for the completion of tasks. Eventually habits are formed that result in the maximization of student productivity. 8. Practice healthy habits Taking care of yourself both physically and mentally helps you to stay healthy and maintain a positive attitude. It’s important to exercise regularly, eat healthy, stay hydrated, practice good hygiene, sleep, and make time for yourself. 9. Maintain a positive attitude Regardless of the situation or circumstance, it’s important to maintain a positive attitude. Maintaining a positive attitude helps to keep you focused, motivated, enthusiastic, and optimistic. 10. Set attainable goals Goals can motivate you to move forward. Completing set goals always provides a feeling of accomplishment. However, it’s important to set attainable goals that are realistic, and can be reached within a reasonable timeframe. By implementing these 10 tips, you, as a student, can increase your productivity, and increase your performance level inside and outside of the classroom. Sources: Strategies for Building a Productive and Positive Learning Environment https://www.educationcorner.com/building-a-positive-learning-environment.html Oxford Learning, How to Be a More Productive Student https://www.oxfordlearning.com/how-to-be-productive-student/ 7 Tips to Increase Your Productivity as a Student https://collegeforadultlearning.edu.au/tips-to-increase-your-productivity/ 6 Strategies for Staying Productive During the Covid 19 Crisis https://blog.dce.harvard.edu/extension/6-strategies-staying-productive-during-covid-19-crisis Student Guide to Productivity https://clockify.me/blog/productivity/student-productivity-guide/ By Chinwe Uzukwu Public Relations (PR) industry is a growing and fast paced industry. It is said that since the last five years the public relations industry has grown 13.9 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of public relations specialists is projected to grow seven percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations.” Despite the decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses still need public relations to help them to manage their public image through messages that inform and/or influence their audiences.
For the last 30 years, the public relations industry has shown their tactics to be very effective for persuading the public, and influencing public opinion. A standard PR campaign may concentrate on getting a company or client’s information talked about and/or promoted on television, radio, websites, magazines, or other media to reach the target audience. However, as technology and audiences continue to evolve, it is important to stay up-to-date with today’s trends in the marketing world. New tactics for PR campaigns can help with promotion of your firm and help boost client satisfaction. Here are the top PR trends to be on the lookout for. Social Media: The growing spike of social media is one that cannot be stopped. The digital era has made it much easier to measure public engagement. Social media channels allow PR professionals to view comments, likes, or any type of feedback that involves the public, making campaign promotion for clients much less of a hassle. As PR professionals always continue severe research on which social media channel has the best response or which social media channel has the most users. As of 2020, Facebook was the first social media platform to reach over 1 billion listed accounts and currently has 2.6 billion active users. Youtube is not too far behind from this statistic. When it comes to campaigning try to promote on popular social media platforms the outcome for success for a client and your business will most likely be higher. Also, plan on networking on these big social media platforms. Reach out to other PR professionals. Almost every PR professional is on Facebook or Instagram. Influencer Marketing: The digital era is a way of life now. Getting your client (especially a celebrity) on television, or in newspapers and magazines is no longer more impressive than getting him or her on social media. It depends on the audience. Try reaching out to popular social influencers to help with campaigns and business. Influencer marketing can help reach your target audience much faster. Influencer marketing will continue to grow in the year of 2021. Brands are continuously on the lookout for influencers to help boost sales. When choosing an influencer, gravitate towards one who will be able to get content out to your target audience. If your client campaign deals with makeup and cosmetics, try to reach out to an influencer with a huge following who advocates for health/beauty. Also make sure to have rewards for your influencer. Negotiate bargains with the influencer that you choose, so that networking can continue between you two. Visual Search: Not too long ago, google released their new feature "visual search" and plenty of other platforms released their own spin on the feature as well. What is visual search? Visual search allows every search click to first be introduced by a photo or screenshots. This feature can allow PR professionals to upload a photograph and display their client's campaign; it also allows you to place a photo of the client's business or firm, which will allow viewers and consumers to be engaged with what you are promoting. When trying to impact your consumers, always think about millennials. That is where most of your money will come from! Here's one final tip: When targeting your audience, always think about millennials. This population is fueling the growth of the consumer market and other segments as well. Sources: Statista https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ Yoast https://yoast.com/visual-search/ Media Tool Kit (PR Measurement) https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/top-5-pr-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2020/ Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273031.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/public-relations-specialists.htm By Willie Johnsonbrooks DKC has been operational for 29 years, and it has grown to be a renowned and established public relations firm (PR). With over 200 employees, the company is currently looking to increase its clientele despite the increasing competition from existing and new PR firms in New York and other cities where the firm operates. The firm provides diverse services, including strategic planning and counsel, original content development, crisis management, media relations, branding, and advertising. Now the firm has prioritized creating news because it is the most fundamental aspect in PR, and it has the most value in this industry.
Therefore, DKC CEO has developed a corporate strategy based on rebranding or creating a new brand aimed at maximizing the company's returns on news. The company believes that it is high time to concentrate on creating newsworthy content for its clientele. Currently, the company is going through a revamping process because it is restoring its social media channels and website in a way that it will be able to shape and impact conversations across its different platforms. In the current business environment, when companies are changing their routine operations, DKC has also embarked on a mission of expanding their operations on content creation, digital advertising, and influencer marketing, among others. The company needs to stay ahead of its rivals, and thus it is essential for it to keep on rebranding and to improve its products and services. With clients such as BMW, Dyson, and Delta, the company needs to offer the best PR services to ensure that the clients get value for their money. The rebranding strategy will play a critical role in increasing the competitiveness of the company, and it is a brilliant effort by the management to strengthen the standing of the company in the competitive industry. Source: https://dkcnews.com/ By Willie Johnsonbrooks For over 20 years, Paramount Public Relations, Inc. has expanded its operations in Chicago successfully to the extent of becoming an award-winning firm as one of the giants among PR firms in the region. Key reasons for its success involves how they treat their clients, their relationships with journalists, being a great place to work, and more.
Paramount Inc. has been performing excellently because they treat their clients like a member of its team. This type of culture helps the company to perform its mandates in a supportive, consistent, and flexible manner achieving its objectives effectively. The company has also established strong relationships with national, local, and regional journalists in a way that is able to generate coverage extensively. The firm has the best employees in the industry with the potential and ability to create stories that draw the public's attention. The firm is setting the pace for upcoming PR firms because it is setting the trend on what PR firms should do to achieve success in an extremely competitive industry with dominant players. One of the reasons behind the success of this firm is that it can target the right audience for its clients. It has been able to get tangible results, and its clients are satisfied, and they love the results of the services provided by the firm. The success of this firm can also be attributed to its management team, especially its founder Jessica Prah who has worked in the industry for a long period. The firm has been recognized for its prowess to work with clients effectively in a way that it prepares for any possible scenario with plan B, C, and D. The company has great potential if it continues to improve its current operations. Source: https://paramountpr.com/ By Leke Ajenifua Every student who is looking to step into the field of Public Relations (PR) should have the opportunity to get practical experience and on the job training before graduating. What better way to do this than actually working for a PR agency?
In a student PR firm, students gain experience on how to relate with clients in a professional way. Clients receive free or reduced services. Clients also have the opportunity to mentor the PR para-professional which helps to create an environment where students are able to make correct mistakes and not have a negative backlash. Boston University has one of the most prolific student-staffed PR agencies that has been on-going for the past 41 years. They provide services for a mission-driven and commercial organizations as well as government entities. For example they have worked with the Boston Blades, the only professional women's hockey team in the USA. They also had a long lasting relationship with the famous Ben & Jerry's ice cream company. These are two major organizations that students have had first-hand encounters with and the opportunity to showcase what they have learned in the classroom. The PR students at Boston University are required to take both the PRLab class and Public Relations internship, so they are well prepared for actual PR agency work. However, not all schools have the resources or strong Public Relations departments like Boston University. It should be a point for all schools with a public relations major to have a PR agency so as to give students real world public relations experience. Source: https://www.bu.edu/prlab/ By Isaiah Norwood There are various positives and negatives when working with a student run public relations firm. Many companies and agencies would probably dismiss the suggestion of working with a firm ran by college students, especially a well-established company. From a student’s perspective of course, it is great because of what it could possibly do for those students and their careers later on in life. Clients who once were students and/or who are trying to make it in their career field, may recognize the value of working with a student firm. Public relations is a competitive work field and students must have competitive skills to gain a public relations job and have a successful career in the field. PROS One pro when working with a student public relations firm is that they have a professor who oversees everything they do. This is good because the professor most likely has a great public relations background which can lead to great advice to his or her students. Secondly, because they are students most of the time you can have a lower budget than a PR Agency would need, leaving more flexibility in your finances. Lastly, working with a student public relations firm gives students the right exposure they need in the public relations field. They can add this experience to their resumes to help them go further in their career fields at a faster pace. CONS The first con of course is that you are working with students, they are not professionals and are still learning. Not to get this confused with acting in a professional manner, they should still act as a professional but as far as experience, that is an area where they lack. While they have a professor that oversees them, they do not always need approval for things they do with their clients. Secondly, when working with a PR firm you want the best possible outcome for a project and working with students with minimal experience can affect the outcome of the project. Not to say that students can’t give maximum effort with a good outcome but if you have a huge project, who are you going to entrust more a student run PR firm or an agency? Lastly, there may not be specializations in a student run PR firm. So if you are looking for a specific area of expertise for a project, a student run public relations firm may not be for you. Indira Adams After finally graduating from college, most students begin looking for a job that is related to their major. If you are seeking a job in Public Relations (PR), it is very important to follow certain steps.
You should create and outstanding resume, identify and frequently monitor PR job boards, and network. Creating and having an outstanding resume can prove to be a little difficult but it is definitely worth the time and effort. Your resume is your chance to show off all of your great skills. You should include all PR related classes and experiences that you have had. Also, it is very important to tailor your resume specifically to the job you are applying for. Creating a cover letter is also very helpful. It can increase your chances for a second interview. Most importantly, check your resume and cover letter for spelling and grammatical errors. Using PR job boards can be very proficient. Examples of a few great places to find them are The PR Coach, PR News, and PR Crossing. Some might give you the option to post your resume on their websites so companies can see it. Lastly, it is very crucial to network. You should network with people inside and outside of the industry. You may never know what kind of job opportunity may come your way from networking with others. Also, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a wonderful organization for recent graduates to join, This organization presents worldwide PR opportunities. Becoming a member is a great way to stay on top of local networking events with a variety of professionals in your field. This will help you gain an advantage over others who have also recently graduated. The process of finding a good PR job will take a lot of time and effort. You may not get one right when you want to, but you will eventually find the right one for you. Source: https://www.prsa.org/find-a/find-a-job/ By Hind Aljuaid In many African countries, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is taboo. AIDS is a life-threatening disease caused by the HIV virus, which severely reduces the body's ability to fight disease causing organisms and resistance to other infections, AIDS is still a taboo subject, often neglected by some countries because of it being a sexually transmitted disease (STD), the fact that it can spread from an infected person, and it is incurable. In countries where this is the case, it is critical that efforts be undertaken to increase awareness to save lives.
The countries that have made it taboo are also those that suffer the worst. Sub-Saharan Africa include countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe where AIDS is most prevalent. According to a UNAIDS report, 24.7 million people (71% of the global population) were suffering from the disease. Muslim countries also regard AIDS as a taboo condition. This is because of religious principles that prohibit sexual relations outside of marriage, and because most of the Muslim countries are poor which accounts for most of the social problems that exist in such countries. The Middle East and North African countries are also among those that are hesitant and reluctant to discuss AIDS. This custom prevails also in Indonesia but recently there has been more awareness of the disease in this country. What these countries need is a complete realization of the seriousness of this disease. Immunity is what keeps humans strong. If that is taken away from the body, common infections, colds and flu can become incurable. In light of this, these countries can be helped through conveyance of complete information about AIDS. Some of the extensive ways it can be done are:
Although measures are being taken in some countries to handle the AIDS epidemic, these taboos need to be tackled urgently, and awareness of the disease should be spread widely so that uneducated people do not fall victim to this fatal disease. Source: https://www.avert.org/infographics/hiv-and-aids-sub-saharan-africa April 8th, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4893541/ |
AuthorBowie State University SPR Group Student Blog Archives
May 2022
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