ProfNet Expert Alerts: Driverless Cars, Orientation Programs and New Students

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire

EXPERT ALERTS

• Driverless Cars: Limitations and Wireless Connectivity
• Orientation Programs Even the Playing Field for New Students

MEDIA JOBS

• Associate City Editor – Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
• Seattle Tech Reporter – Puget Sound Business Journal (WA)
• News Reporter – WSNS-TV (IL)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Journalist Spotlight: Stacy Julien, CRUSH Fitness and AARP
• Media Insiders Review Coverage of 2016 Political Conventions
• 11 Ways to Captivate Your News Audience With Snapchat Stories

EXPERT ALERTS:

Driverless Cars: Limitations and Wireless Connectivity
Alexander Wyglinski
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
President, IEEE Vehicular Technology Society
"Driverless vehicles cannot exist without connectedness, that's the key. When you have a vehicle acting in isolation -- it has its own sensing, its own control, and its own decision-making -- it's limited by what the car sees, which is not the entire picture. In complex scenarios such as fast-moving traffic and urban environments, vehicles will have to share information with each other in order to make the best possible decisions. In order to do that, having sensory information from as many sources as possible is vital. As the United States government plans to mandate that vehicles be connected by 2019, a sufficient amount of wireless spectrum will be required. Currently, there is an insufficient amount of wireless channels to support connectivity between all possible vehicles. Additionally, with the existing configurations of today's vehicles, we are opening a Pandora's Box for cyberattacks. Cars will be hacked just like computers in a few years."
Wyglinski is available to discuss: limitations with driverless cars -- self-driving cars, contrary to popular belief, cannot handle all driver operations independent of other vehicles; and limited wireless spectrum -- there are an insufficient number of wireless channels to support connectivity between all possible vehicles to enhance driver safety.
Website: http://www.wpi.edu
Contact: Kerry O'Brien, [email protected]

Orientation Programs Even the Playing Field for New Students
Dani Hiar, Ed.D
Director, Leadership Safari
Central Michigan University
"New-student orientation programs at institutions of higher education are designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the campus community and culture, setting the tone for student expectations and initiating the process of acclimating students into the campus culture. There are no prerequisites for participating in a new-student leadership program, which provides an equal opportunity for all students -- including first-generation students -- to benefit from participating in it. Students who participate in new-student leadership programs are significantly more likely to persist toward degree completion than those students who do not participate. It evens the playing field -- which many programs at higher education institutions don't do."
Hiar has served as the director of the Leadership Safari, a student leadership program at CMU, for 16 years. She has conducted research on the impact of a new-student leadership program on first-generation students and how their participation in these programs affects college student persistence and retention (see research link below). She can speak about how new-student leadership programs affect first-year persistence of college students and degree attainment in four years or six years.
Research: http://cmich.ly/dhiardiss
Website: http://www.cmich.edu/news
Contact: Rachel Esterline Perkins, [email protected]

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Associate City Editor – Columbia Daily Tribune (MO)
• Seattle Tech Reporter – Puget Sound Business Journal (WA)
• News Reporter – WSNS-TV (IL)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• JOURNALIST SPOTLIGHT: STACY JULIEN, CRUSH FITNESS AND AARP. Each month, we highlight a journalist who uses ProfNet to find sources. This month, we caught up with Stacy Julien, a journalist with nearly 20 years of experience working in newspapers, magazines and on the web. Julien is currently the executive online health editor for AARP, and recently launched CRUSH Fitness, a fitness and health destination for women of color ages 30+: http://prn.to/2axui8l
• MEDIA INSIDERS REVIEW COVERAGE OF 2016 POLITICAL CONVENTIONS. Media from all over covered the speeches, protests, official nominations and everything else that comes with political conventions. Each had its pros and cons with regards to media coverage, so we asked people who attended the conventions for their eyewitness accounts, personal experience and overall thoughts regarding what they saw: http://prn.to/2aAAbmF
• 11 WAYS TO CAPTIVATE YOUR NEWS AUDIENCE WITH SNAPCHAT STORIES. Snapchat is broadening its appeal beyond its fanatical teen base. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that 14 percent of U.S. smartphone users over age 35 are now on Snapchat. With critical mass achieved and a rapidly growing user base of older millennials and above, mainstream adoption now may be firmly cemented. This is good news for those in the media and blogging world who are looking for new ways to reach these previously untapped demographics – in addition to younger generations. Here are some tips for growing your brand and audience through Snapchat stories: http://bit.ly/29XDfuL

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