Göteborg, the first city to city plan for self driven cars

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdpzniXABBM/?taken-by=emkedigitalpublish

Final reflection

All of the assignments are now created and uploaded and it’s time for a final reflection, as this module has now come to an end.

The main challenges that I’ve encountered while producing the main assignments have, ever since the start, been to determine whether the subject I wanted to write about was newsworthy enough. And, once I actually decided on a subject, the same “problem” emerged once again, yet in a different form – when I was going to prioritize the information I’d gathered.

Through feedback from my tutor, discussing with my classmates and through reading more about the inverted pyramid of journalism, I eventually became a bit more certain of what counts as a newsworthy event or subject and how to prioritize its content properly.

The second problem I encountered was when finding primary sources for my features. Finding and making contact with the proper primary source for a specific article was time consuming. However, sending an extra email or calling the person in question harms no one and in this case it saved the interview with one of the sources.

This module has been very rich of content, fun and straight forward. I have learned so much because, rather than stating what you can do with digital journalism, we’ve learned how to do it. This includes how to work with WordPress, SEO, collecting sources, copyright as well as good tips for social media optimisation. All of this will be so valuable for me in the future.

Cat Person: The short story that never ended

Here is a link to my curated feature on Storify, Cat Person: The short story that never ended

Protected: Evidence post

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

15 minutes with a dog can save your life

Guide dogs
improves lives each day

Studies show that a few minutes with a dog will increase your well-being, even if just for that moment. The student accommodation provider, Campus Living Villages, have proven this to be right. For the last couple of years, they’ve gained over £1 800 from donations of people who’ve attended their ”Meet a guide dog” event, across the country.

By Emma Kjellin

It all started in January 2016, when Campus Living Villages initiated a collaboration with Guide Dogs UK, the world’s largest breeder and trainer of working dogs. The initiative entails students to get the chance to meet guide dogs for a period of 15 minutes, dogs that are either actively working or who are retired.

It’s a great cure for homesickness
At their very first event, over 1 000 students showed up.

”The events are very popular”, says Rebecca O’hare, the event organiser and manager of Campus Living Villages. ”A lot of the students have dogs or other animals back home, and can be a bit homesick”, she says. Meeting the guide dogs seem to be a great way to decrease the feeling of homesickness.

The same kind of interest was shown at the student accomodation Arena Village in Leeds last week. Four dogs showed up at noon in the accommodation common area and was soon accompanied by students who immediately started to cuddle with them.

The “Meet a guide dog event” is popular among students.

“We always get good feedback from people attending the events as it gives them time to relax and make a fuss of the dogs – which most people love” says Thelma Wilson, volunteer for Guide Dogs UK. She and her husband, have adopted two dogs from the association and brings the dogs to events just like the one at Arena Village.

But other than homesickness, what is the reason so many people are so keen on getting a 15 minute opportunity to pet a dog they’ve never met before?

Dogs are life changers
Studies show that dogs have a positive effect, both for the psychological but also physical health of humans. They don’t only prevent us from being ill, but also speeds up our recovery process from illness. Based on this there’s no surprise dogs are used as assistants for people, and there are countless stories to show for it.

Other than providing students with a stress relief and a cure for homesickness, the strongest response comes mainly from the thousands of people who enjoys the true benefits of having the help of a guide dog.

”We say that the dogs are life changers” Wilson says.

According to Guide Dog UK, about two million people live with sight loss in the UK as of today. About 10% suffer from depression and rarely leave their homes. With the help of guide dogs, however, thousands of people have the chance to gain more independence which has proven to increase the living standard. Ever since Guide Dog UK first started in 1931, they’ve helped over 29 000 people to improve their life.

It’s a fun experience for the dogs as well.

The dogs lie on the floor and gets cuddled with

Sponsor a puppy
So far, Campus Living Villages have gained over £1 800 in donations through their events.

”Our goal is to have gained up to £2 500 until the end or 2018”, says O’hare.

Reaching this limit makes it possible to name and sponsor a puppy at Guide Dog UK. This counts for about half of the cost of the 24 month long training that the dogs will encounter during their first months in life. After this they’ll be assigned to a person whose life they’ll help to improve for the next six to eight years.