ProfNet Experts Available on Smart Cars, Employees and Depression, DAFs, More

NEW YORK, April 13, 2015 /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

• Smartly Driven to Self-Driven Paving the Way for Autonomous Cars
• Apps Must Take User Culture Into Consideration to Be Effective
• Identifying and Assisting Employees With Depression
• Impact of Climate Change on Small-Scale Farmers
• Donor-Advised Funds a Smart Way for Families to Manage Charitable Donations

MEDIA JOBS

• Editor/Technical Writer – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
• Broadcast News Writer – The Weather Channel (GA)
• Food Editor – The Village Voice (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• 10 Instagram Tips for Bloggers
• Blog Profiles: History Blogs
• PR Newswire's Media Moves, April 13 Edition

EXPERT ALERTS:

Smartly Driven to Self-Driven Paving the Way for Autonomous Cars
Sascha Simon
Founder & CEO
Apio Systems
Despite the excitement in the news about driverless, fully connected, or autonomous cars, these technologies will not be readily available in the mainstream to the public for many years to come because: it's very costly, required technology is still in its early stages, there is no massive market pull and most of these technologies require an ecosystem that is not in place to be useful. Says Simon: "The first incarnations of the autonomous car will be most likely anywhere there is little or no traffic, unpredictable movements, or visual noise is where image recognition and analysis can perform the best. In every commercial application where it is hazardous to put a human being behind a wheel, e.g., armed forces and certain mining areas, autonomous driving will take hold in order to improve safety. Then later in major metropolitan areas, where traffic today is a mess, we could have a much higher quality of life by getting cars off the road."
Apio Systems offers a new way to improve driver safety and efficiency through a purpose-built mobile platform to dramatically improve transportation safety, using everyday smartphones and tablets, regardless of the vehicle. The Apio platform autonomously creates "Situational Awareness" capable of detecting a wealth of driving situations as well as road and traffic conditions that could be hazardous or time consuming. By helping drivers become highly aware of their driving environment, Apio improves safety and efficiency, lowers costs of everyday transportation, and improves the driving experience. Simon draws on his automotive, aerospace industry, science and technology prowess, and skill as a leader of innovative teams, to bring his vision of a powerful and accessible mobile safety platform to market. He is a renowned thought leader in the industry. As former head of the Advanced Product Planning group at Mercedes–Benz USA, he pushed virtually every advanced vehicle technology to ever-higher marks. He architected and launched numerous industry firsts, including mbrace, the advanced telematics system embedded in passenger cars, and the first small series production Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle in the United States. He also authored the white paper, "Smartly Driven to Self-Driven: Paving the Way for Autonomous Cars."
Website: http://www.apiosystems.com
Contact: Catherine Edwards, [email protected]

Apps Must Take User Culture Into Consideration to Be Effective
Michael Mulvihill
CEO
ORCAS
Today, more companies worldwide are actively looking for tools to manage work-related stress and improve employee resilience. While the market teems with mobile apps that monitor sleep, activity, even mood for general populations, few, if any, are tailored to different working populations in different cultures to assure an intuitive and engaging experience for all users. A user in Akron is different from a user in Ankara --  they may well have similar underlying behaviors leading to similar conditions (eating disorder leading to depression, etc.), but cultural norms, even the relative tech-savvy of their societies, can make an app that's intuitive and inviting to an American seem off-putting, confusing, even threatening to a user in Turkey. Says Mulvihill: While we've come a long way in developing user-driven apps that help users change daily habits that lead to larger target behaviors that 'move the needle' on specific health conditions, it's a challenge to make them 'culturally attuned' so they are as engaging and effective for users in one culture as they are in another. What we call 'mobile interventions' must be attentive to language, context, usability, and cultural barriers/norms if they're to be universally applicable and effective."
Mulvihill is a speaker at numerous industry trade shows and events, and is widely quoted in health and wellness-related trade publications.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/orcas
Website: http://www.orcasinc.com
Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

Identifying and Assisting Employees With Depression
Dani Kimlinger
Senior Executive
MINES & Associates
Based on what we now know about the recent Germanwings tragedy, the system in place to identify "at-risk" Lufthansa/Germanwings employees worked: Doctors had identified the pilot's illness and had given him the resources to make as much known to his employer. But the pilot failed to make use of the options at his disposal, either out of concern for his employment or simply because depression made him feel that pursuing healthy choices was futile. You can have all the "early warning systems" in place, but how do you reach a person in an extreme mental state who, in most cases, must ultimately exercise agency in getting help (or simply stop from making a disastrous decision) -- which is the exact opposite of what a depressed person feels he/she can do? Says Kimlinger: "Most depressed people are not suicidal or homicidal, much less both, and even when you think you're watching, people can hide their pain. There will always be employees at the margins who 'slip through'; we can, however, make it less threatening for employees to seek help, even as they're entertaining suicidal thoughts, by 'normalizing' the resources offered by the company's employee assistance programs. A key to this is to offer discreet support for suicidal ideation (under the guise of addressing anxiety/depression) within a continuum of standard wellness services -- personalized fitness, nutrition or sleep management programs -- all offered with the same assurance of privacy and discretion, which begins to lower the stigma and threat, allowing the at-risk employee to summon the will to seek help."
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/danikimlinger
Website: http://www.minesandassociates.com
Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

Impact of Climate Change on Small-Scale Farmers
Hans Theyer
Executive Director
Fairtrade America
"More than 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world each day, and Americans alone spend more than $20 billion a year on chocolate, yet consumers often take for granted the poor working conditions of the small-scale farmers who grow and harvest the beans. There's also been a history of large manufacturing companies taking advantage of small producers who often lack the technology or education to negotiate a fair deal. Meanwhile, climate change due to greenhouse gasses and deforestation is a growing problem for vulnerable farmworkers who depend on their crops to make a modest living. Crop-destroying diseases like Coffee Rust have spread uncontrollably after only a slight rise in average temperatures. The negative impact of these issues can be mitigated through educational initiatives, social projects and third-party monitoring by ethical label certification programs."
Prior to joining Fairtrade America, Theyer helped create and run a consulting practice specializing in developing social impact strategies for businesses. He previously served as executive director of Agros International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rural poverty alleviation throughout Central America and Mexico. He was a leader in Microsoft's Rural Computing effort, an initiative to empower emerging markets throughout the rural, developing world with access to information and communications technology. Originally from Chile, Theyer holds a master's degree in business administration from London Business School. He has nearly 20 years of experience in business, including sales, marketing and business development positions with Microsoft and leading international banking institutions. He is available to discuss fair trade policies; World Fair Trade Day; how climate change affects small-scale farmers; how educating rural farmworkers leads to sustainable environmental practices; and fair, ethical business opportunities for impoverished communities. He is fluent in Spanish.
Website: http://fairtradeamerica.org/
Contact: Jason Myers, [email protected]

Donor-Advised Funds a Smart Way for Families to Manage Charitable Donations
Bijan Golkar, CFP®
CEO/Senior Advisor
FPC Investment Advisory, Inc.
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are charitable giving accounts offered by a sponsoring organization. Donors contribute cash, appreciated securities or even tangible assets such as real estate or jewelry to the account in one or more installments. They receive an immediate, maximum tax benefit and then recommend grants from the fund over time. Once donated, the funds do not come back to you. Says Golkar: "I've always felt that DAFs were a smart way for families to manage their charitable donations. After the recent death of my father, I've gained firsthand perspective on just how valuable they are."
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Golkar has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo Finance, The Fiscal Times, Bankrate, MoneyUnder30.com, MainStreet.com, InvestmentNews.com, Physician's Money Digest, and DepositAccounts.com.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/bijangolkar
Website: http://www.FPCWealth.com
Contact: Steve Garmhausen, [email protected]

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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/

• Editor/Technical Writer – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
• Broadcast News Writer – The Weather Channel (GA)
• Food Editor – The Village Voice (NY)

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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.

• 10 INSTAGRAM TIPS FOR BLOGGERS. If you blog and are not using Instagram to its full potential, you could be missing out on networking and traffic opportunities. Instagram can turn any topic into an interesting story -- you just have to be creative enough to figure out how. Here are 10 Instagram tips for bloggers: http://prn.to/1FhWzM3
• BLOG PROFILES: LAW BLOGS. As PR Newswire's media relations manager, Christine Cube comes across great blogs that cover a wide variety of topics and interests. This week, she shares her reviews of a few history blogs: http://prn.to/1aeAKzZ
• PR NEWSWIRE'S MEDIA MOVES, APRIL 13 EDITION. PR Newswire's weekly audience research newsletter, PR Newswire's Media Moves, is chock-full of media news and job changes. In this week's issue, you'll read updates on Fortune, CBS News, ESPN, USA Today, Washington Post, ProPublica, People, Food Network Magazine, National Journal, New Republic, Entertainment Weekly and more: http://prn.to/1CATQao

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