#Difference Between

[inklovesjellyfish]

Seal , Sea Lion

Pinnipedia , Otariinae

Finna talk abt the difference between seals and sea lions cuz a lot of y'all be pissing me off when you don't know the difference

Body- Seals will look a lot fluffier, shorter, and more robust because they live in the Arctic where they need the extra layers of protection. Sea lions look a lot more sleek, skinnier, and longer because they live closer to the equator than Seals.

Fins- Seal fins are shorter and stubbier while sea lion fins are longer and are better able to support the animal in walking and propping itself up (their tail is also able to move more than a seals)

Ears- Seals do not have outward ears, just the holes. Sea lions have little ear flaps.

Noise- Seals are very quiet compared to sea lions who will bark.

pls stop calling sea lions seals

[123artist-freak123]

this isn’t particularly about anyone (mainly my friends) but there seems to be a lot of confusion with two of my ocs

yes i know they are both named Alex and they are both cats so it’s kinda confusing

So this: ⬇️

All of these above are Alex my Hh oc she is about 14 and has blue fur she is a kinda newer oc I made this year

while this:⬇️

Is my main oc Alex I made her about 2ish years ago and she if you haven’t noticed is my profile picture and main oc i draw when presenting myself as an oc (or at least she was) she is a teenager 16-19 (I never really decided) and she has purple fur with weird fly ass eyes

you can tell them apart by their eyes, age, style, and fur color lol I see this mistake a made a lot in fan art (WHICH I LOVE IDC IF YOU GET THAT WRONG I LOVE IT 😭😭) so I though this could be a good learning post thank you for your time :)

teacher me out ✌️

[callmespikey]

Recently, I have been reading a lot of Kevin Lordi's analysis guide of each episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy, and I must say it has been enlightening.

Some of you may be familiar with the character Kevin voiced by actress Kathleen Barr.

It might come as a surprise to some that I am originally from Norway. Interestingly, in the Norwegian dubbed version, Kevin's name was not used in show. This could be due to either his name being unpopular or was uncommon among Norwegian viewers. Instead they opted for the most common Norwegian name at the time "Kjetil," which means "kettle," "cauldron," or "helmet" in Norwegian.

I am both amused by the fact that my name coincides with a character's in a way that bears my own name. Jep that’s right my name is also Kjetil.

[sam4s]

I just saw them on the street

[jcmarchi]

Researchers study differences in attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines between women and men in Africa

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/researchers-study-differences-in-attitudes-toward-covid-19-vaccines-between-women-and-men-in-africa/

Researchers study differences in attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines between women and men in Africa

While many studies over the past several years have examined people’s access to and attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines, few studies in sub-Saharan Africa have looked at whether there were differences in vaccination rates and intention between men and women. In a new study appearing in the journal Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, researchers found that while women and men self-reported similar Covid-19 vaccination rates in 2022, unvaccinated men expressed more intention to get vaccinated than unvaccinated women.

Women tend to have better health-seeking behaviors than men overall. However, most studies relating to Covid-19 vaccination have found that intention has been lower among women. “We wondered whether this would hold true at the uptake level,” says Rawlance Ndejjo, a leader of the new study and an assistant lecturer in the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health at Makerere University.

The comparable vaccination rates between men and women in the study is “a good thing to see,” adds Lula Chen, research director at MIT Governance Lab (GOV/LAB) and a co-author of the new study. “There wasn’t anything gendered about how [the vaccine] was being advertised or who was actually getting access to it.”

Women’s lower intention to vaccinate seemed to be driven by concerns about vaccine safety, suggesting that providing factual information about vaccine safety from trusted sources, like the Ministry of Health, could increase uptake.

The work is a collaboration between scholars from the MIT GOV/LAB, Makerere University’s School of Public Health in Uganda, University of Kinshasa’s School of Public Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), University of Ibadan’s College of Medicine in Nigeria, and Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal. 

Studying vaccine availability and uptake in sub-Saharan Africa

The authors’ collaboration began in 2021 with research into Covid-19 vaccination rates, people’s willingness to get vaccinated, and how people’s trust in different authorities shaped attitudes toward vaccines in Uganda, the DRC, Senegal, and Nigeria. A survey in Uganda found that people who received information about Covid-19 from health workers were more likely to be vaccinated, stressing the important role people who work in the health-care system can play in vaccination efforts.

Work from other scientists has found that women were less likely to accept Covid-19 vaccines than men, and that in low- and middle-income countries, women also may be less likely to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and less likely to intend to get vaccinated, possibly due to factors including lower levels of education, work obligations, and domestic care obligations.

Previous studies in sub-Saharan Africa that focused on differences between men and women with intention and willingness to vaccinate were inconclusive, Ndejjo says. “You would hardly find actual studies on uptake of the vaccines,” he adds. For the new paper, the researchers aimed to dig into uptake.

People who trust the government and health officials were more likely to get vaccinated

The researchers relied on phone survey data collected from adults in the four countries between March and July 2022. The surveys asked people about whether they’d been vaccinated and whether those who were unvaccinated intended to get vaccinated, as well as their attitudes toward Covid-19, their trust in different authorities, demographic information, and more.

Overall, 48.5 percent of men said they had been vaccinated, compared to 47.9 percent of women. Trust in authorities seemed to play a role in people’s decision to vaccinate — receiving information from health workers about Covid-19 and higher trust in the Ministry of Health were both correlated with getting vaccinated for men, whereas higher trust in the government was correlated with vaccine uptake in women.

Lower interest in vaccines among women seemed related to safety concerns

A smaller percentage of unvaccinated women (54 percent) said they intended to get vaccinated, compared to 63.4 percent of men. More unvaccinated women said they had concerns about the vaccine’s safety than unvaccinated men, which could be driving their lower intention.

The researchers also found that unvaccinated women and men over 40 had similar levels of intention to get vaccinated — lower intention in women under 40 may have driven the difference between men and women. Younger women could have concerns about vaccines related to pregnancy, Chen says. If this is the case, the research suggests that officials need to provide additional reassurance to pregnant people about vaccine safety, she adds.

Trust in authorities also contributed to people’s intention to vaccinate. Trust in the Ministry of Health was tied to higher intention to vaccinate for both men and women. Men with more trust in the World Health Organization were also more likely to intend to vaccinate.

“There’s a need to deal with a lot of the myths and misconceptions that exist,” Ndejjo says, as well as ensure that people’s concerns related to vaccine safety and effectiveness are addressed. Officials need “to work with trusted sources of information to bridge some of the gaps that we observe,” he adds. People need to be supported in their decision-making so they can make the best decisions for their health.

“This research highlights linkages between citizen trust in government, their willingness to get vaccines, and, importantly, the differences between men and women on this issue — differences that policymakers will need to understand in order to design more targeted, gender-specific public health interventions,” says study co-author Lily L. Tsai, who is MIT GOV/LAB’s director and founder and the Ford Professor of Political Science at MIT.

This project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[greenpanda-basicfakewitch]

Pagan. Witch. Wiccan...whats the difference?

[I can't make heads or tales with this, so take this as you will I did the best I could to make it simple for myself to understand]

“What IS the difference?”

“Wicca is a tradition of Witchcraft that was brought to the public by Gerald Gardner, in the 1950’s. [Source]

There is a great deal of debate among the pagan community about whether or not Wicca is truly the same form of witchcraft that the ancients practised. Regardless, many people use the term Wicca and Witchcraft interchangeably.

Paganism is an umbrella term used to apply to a number of different earth-based faiths.

Wicca falls under that heading, although not all Pagans are Wiccan.

So in a nutshell, All Wiccans are Witches but not all Witches are Wiccans. All Wiccans are pagans but not all Pagans are witches.

Some Witches are pagans but some are not. Some Pagans use the practice of witchcraft while others choose not to.”

__________________________________________________________

Pagan: Is an umbrella term, it is derived from Pagnus, it mostly consists of old traditions before christianity spread, it described people who lived in rural areas and those same country folk were often the last holdouts clinging to their old religions. It passed down by word of mouth and was never a written text. Which is why most religions had been lost to time. Pagan was coined to mean the people who didn’t worship the god of Abraham. 

 [Paganism, in my opinion, would mean the olde traditions of Witchcraft. Not all Pagans are Witches or Wiccans as its both a subset of this religion like a tree branch; it does cross correlate and bleed into the other subgroups occasionally.]

Wiccan: Wiccan was coined when Gerald Gardner came across a Witches coven and began to site and record all of his findings, and published his book in the 1950's, [Personally I thought Margarat Murray, was the founder but alas...[

He had based Wicca on findings from the old Pagan traditions; however other pagans and witches were happy to practise their own spiritual path without converting to wicca.

Therefore “PAGAN.” Is an umbrella term that includes many different spiritual belief systems- Wicca is just one of many.

Christian > Lutheran or Methodist or Jehovah's Witness. Pagan > Wiccan or Asatru or Dianic or Eclectic Witch.

People who practise witchcraft aren’t always wiccans and Pagans and hold their craft separate from the two groups. And most witches use their own religions to include in their craft. There are witches who embrace the Christian god alongside the Wiccan Goddess- Alongside Judaism, and Atheist witches who practise magic but do not follow a deity.

____________________________________________________________

Wicca.

Wicca is a religion of empowerment, it is taking control of your life and your future. Wicca is living in tune with Nature and about creating a balance between all things, light and dark, black and white, masculine and feminine.

 Wiccans believe in a god and goddess.

The goddess gave birth to the universe including the god who is her consort, so the goddess is all things. We believe that everything is connected through the goddess, we are the universe and the universe is inside us. 

Everything is connected.

We are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe of the same stuff the stars are made of. All of Nature is connected by a universal force, Wiccans call this magic [ Crowley, changed magic to Magick to differentiate the magic around us and separate it from Magician parlour tricks/ trick mirrors and smoke/glass]

*When we do Spells, chants or incantations we connect to this force, Wicca is a peaceful religion. There is NO satan or Devil in Wicca. That would be Satanists.

"The devil is a ‘Christian’ concept and has nothing to do with Wicca, we do not have any demons, Wiccans believe in a law that decrees ‘Harm none’ We believe in Karma, that any bad we give out will come back to us three-fold."

[anths-girl]

This IS actually useless information...and also funny as fuck... 😆

guy who is fun-ruiningly pedantic about the differences between a labyrinth and a maze

[chudkani-lover69]

Mean Girls (2004) House MD (2009)

[pillowfriendly]

i love this website i just feel at home here you know

[witchcatyoshiko]

Things I say when planning a game night

Coworker group text

Best Friends group text

[sekaikatasumi]

My First Impression after back to America: "The Prices Are Too High!"

The first thing I thought when I came back to America was, "The prices are insanely high!"

Here’s a comparison of egg prices at different supermarkets:

Whole Foods: 12 eggs – $8.90 (approx. ¥1,335)

Trader Joe’s: 12 eggs – $3.50 (approx. ¥525)

Jewel-Osco: 12 eggs – $5.60 (approx. ¥840)

In Japan, a pack of 10 eggs typically costs around $2.00 (approx. ¥300). Not only that, but in Japan, you can eat raw eggs without worrying about salmonella, thanks to strict safety measures. They’re fresh and delicious. I realize now how lucky we were in Japan...

After a Month: My shopping strategies and new Discoveries

After a month of grocery shopping, I started to get a better sense of the stores—their atmosphere, product selection, prices, and freshness. I also downloaded apps for my favorite supermarkets, and they turned out to be quite eye-opening!

<New Discoveries>

"Sale Items" Are Typically 30–60% Off I almost never pay full price anymore!

AI-Powered Personalized Shopping -Based on my purchase history, the apps send recommendations, recipes, and personalized coupons. -I find myself buying more repeat items and products that match my food preferences. -AI is widely used in everyday services in the U.S., which is both fascinating and convenient!

Brands in the U.S. and Mexico Often Offer Deals Around Major Events -Many sales are tied to sports events or holidays.

Eating well is important, and meals are a big part of our family’s daily enjoyment. So, I’ll keep finding ways to shop smarter!

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[atalana]

the curse of adhd:

i will remember with absolute clarity, when the thought strikes me that i have a text to send someone, that this is the fourth time in three days i've attempted to send this specific text

i will forget, in the time it takes me to pick up my phone, that i picked it up intending to send a text

[jcmarchi]

Building Confidence in AI: Training Programs Help Close Knowledge Gaps

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/building-confidence-in-ai-training-programs-help-close-knowledge-gaps/

Building Confidence in AI: Training Programs Help Close Knowledge Gaps

AI is reshaping the workforce at a breakneck speed, yet training efforts aren’t meeting the moment. Despite a quarter of executives feeling bullish on the technology, only 12% of workers have received AI-related training in the past year. This lack of preparation not only hinders the successful and safe adoption of AI, but also creates uncertainty amongst employees around the technology’s impact on their jobs. As the gap between executive excitement and employee reluctance grows, it’s clear that organizations need training tools to help build AI confidence and usher in this new era of innovation.

AI will enhance, not replace

Perhaps the most important factor of building AI confidence is helping employees understand how the technology will fit into their roles. Despite the amount of misinformation floating around, in most instances, AI is not meant to replace employees. In fact, recent companies that attempted to replace humans with AI are struggling to achieve the ROI they imagined. Instead, the real value of AI comes from using it to augment employee skill sets, productivity, and competitiveness in their fields. By efficiently handling more routine and administrative-heavy tasks, the technology allows employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

However, it’s just as important to note that integrating AI does not make this possible on its own, employees must understand how to use it effectively to unlock its full potential. Without the right training, AI can lead to concerns around data privacy, bias, and inaccuracies – making this foundational knowledge non-negotiable. That’s why both upskilling and cross-skilling are essential to keeping pace with change.

Upskilling vs cross-skilling

Upskilling and cross-skilling training both are used to help employees expand their skill sets and are critical tools when looking to adopt AI. While similar, it’s important to understand the difference between the two.

Upskilling is the process of strengthening existing skills and focuses on helping employees advance in their job and gain higher responsibilities. A great example of upskilling is training IT leaders – who already have a strong foundation in technology – to gain a deeper understanding of AI.

Cross-skilling is just as important, but it’s often overlooked in AI training. Cross-skilling (also known as cross-training) is the process of developing new skills that apply across different functions and focuses on training more than one employee in an organizational task. The adoption of AI and cross-skilling strategies must also be done simultaneously to ensure success. A great example to demonstrate cross-skilling would be a marketing leader with minimal technology background. As AI is increasingly used across departments, cross-skilling ensures that every employee is able to use the technology based on their specific roles and responsibilities.

Benefits of training in the age of AI

With industries, markets, and everyday business practices evolving, employee skills and knowledge remain the bedrock of organizational innovation. Employees want purpose and impact, and aligning corporate goals with employee ambitions is a guaranteed way to boost engagement. In addition, providing employees with the ability to alleviate burdensome tasks through AI helps boost overall satisfaction at work.

In an increasingly competitive landscape, meeting these needs and retaining top talent is crucial to sustaining productivity and growth. And while recent arguments state that those who already possess AI skillsets will take over jobs, 79% of learning and development professionals believe that it’s less expensive to reskill a current employee than to hire a new one.

Upskilling and cross-skilling in action

If upskilling and cross-skilling are not  a current part of  a learning and development program, organizations can leverage resources they already have available. Here are some best practices when getting started:

Assess Current Skillsets: Identifying upskilling and cross-skilling priorities is more difficult without a base-level understanding of the skillsets one’s employee base possesses, and which ones they will need to build confidence in AI. Given teams are already familiar with their roles and the organization as a whole, surveying the current level of AI knowledge and identifying  gaps is a great place to start.

Set Attainable Goals: With this foundational understanding of your workforce, the next step is to set upskilling and cross-skilling goals. It’s important to understand the “why” behind these training programs and identify where employees can and should grow. Goals should be set on an individual contributor level, while also identifying objectives for larger teams and the organization as a whole.

Rethink Learning Formats: Even the most robust training programs won’t move the needle if it’s not delivered in a format that resonates with your workforce. In fact, 86% of companies are unhappy with their existing training programs that they have in place. Employers are increasingly finding that live or in-person training programs no longer suffice. Instead, video-based learning that offers flexibility and better accessibility to various learning styles may be the best route for highly-complex topics like AI.

Prioritize Responsible AI: Implementing data privacy, security and data governance best practices is a crucial step in ensuring that employees use AI responsibly. In addition, implementing a bias and transparency framework to validate AI output and build confidence with AI effectiveness within the organization can be crucial. To help with this, organizations should consider building “AI champions” to teach employees how to effectively use AI so that humans can benefit from the productivity gains and yet have the skills to protect from hallucinations and bias.

Monitor and Promote: For upskilling and cross-skilling to be impactful, employees need to have the opportunity to expand their responsibilities. Organizations should enable a reward structure that motivates employees to look for creative ways to use AI to help improve departmental and organizational efficiency and fast track innovation.

The bottom line

While AI holds exponential promise for the modern workplace, employees are the linchpins who will determine its success. Regardless of their role, department, or expertise, having a foundation of AI knowledge will benefit career trajectories and the business as whole. By focusing not only on upskilling tech-forward employees, but cross-skilling to create a larger AI-centric culture, organizations can reap the benefits of improved engagement, talent retention, and competitive market expertise.

[ankarnaofjustice]

spot the difference