Social network sites such as Facebook offer opinion leaders an unprecedented ability to attempt to persuade people about politics. This survey (N = 295) sought to explore opinion leader types of and ...motives for producing political messages aimed at persuading others on Facebook. The results indicated that mavens, a type of opinion leader, were more likely to broadcast messages aimed at persuading their network as well as target individuals using Facebook's affordances. Furthermore both intrinsic and extrinsic motives were identified that moderated the strength of these relationships. This study contributes to both understanding opinion leadership as well as political persuasion attempts in social media.
In order to combat the growing burden of chronic disease, evidence-based self-management programs have been designed to teach patients about the disease and its affect on their lives. Self-efficacy ...is a key component in chronic disease self-management. This research used online ethnography and discourse analysis (N = 8,231) to examine self-efficacy within the computer-mediated communication (CMC) of four online health communities used by people with arthritis. Specifically, online opinion leaders were identified for examination. Across the four communities, there was a cyclical process that involved "disease veterans" sharing their experiences and gaining credibility within the community, new(er) members suffering from disease symptoms and sharing their experiences online, and finally, asking others for help with arthritis self-management behaviors. Three themes follow: (1) sharing disease experience, (2) suffering from disease symptoms, and (3) asking for help. Practical implications for health promotion and education are discussed.
The trade-off between security and liberty has been a leading frame for understanding public opinion about domestic surveillance policies. Most of the empirical work explicitly examining whether ...individuals meet the trade-off framework’s core attitudinal assumptions comes from European studies. This study uses a survey of US residents to assess the veracity of the assumptions embedded in the trade-off framework, namely whether domestic counterterrorism policies are simultaneously viewed as improving security and decreasing liberty. We find that the vast majority of US respondents do not meet the basic attitudinal assumptions of the trade-off frame. Next, we evaluate the source of these attitudes with a focus on whether attitudes toward surveillance policies merely relate to core political values or whether they also depend on the messages from political leaders. We find that both political values and opinion leadership shape these attitudes. Finally, because general attitudes towards surveillance and privacy often fail to have practical implications, we assess whether these attitudes matter for understanding the structure of policy support. Our results show that heightened terrorism threat positively associates with increased support for counterterrorism policies only when people believe these policies are effective security tools.
This study uses discourse analysis to explore online science communication experiences from the perspectives of 43 female opinion leaders. Women described their experiences in terms of their lifelong ...love for science and their ever-growing interest in communication. For them, a career in science communication is a conscious career choice rather than an “alternative” career path. Communicators performed various functions depending on the sensitivity of their topics and whether their communications are self-focused or audience-focused. Accordingly, four types of science communicators emerged from the data: Expressive/Escapist, Advocate/Normalizer, Edutainer, and Performer/Sharer. This diversity challenges societal stereotypes that reduce female experiences in science.
Community engagement (CE) contributes to successful research. There is, however, a lack of literature on the effectiveness of different models of CE and, specifically, on CE strategies for the ...conduct of genomic research in sub‐Saharan Africa. There is also a need for models of CE that transcend the recruitment stage of engaging prospective individuals and communities and embed CE throughout the research process and after the research has concluded. The qualitative study reported here was designed to address these knowledge gaps and comprised of 36 key informant semi‐structured interviews and fifteen focus groups with 50 participants. We interviewed selected stakeholders in genomic research in Nigeria: biomedical researchers, community rulers, opinion leaders, community health workers, and prospective research participants. We explored these stakeholders’ views on their understanding of community engagement, their expectations, experiences, and their opinions on acceptable processes of community consultation in genomic research. The methodological design, adapted from grounded theory, used the constant comparative method of data analysis; while normative conclusions were made using the symbiotic empirical ethics approach. Data analysis revealed five main themes important for successfully engaging communities in genomic research: effective communication, diversity of community gatekeeping, trust, cultural integration of research, and conservation of the research setting. From these themes, we have developed a four‐stage model of community engagement that covers all stages of the research process; namely, the Community Approach, Intermediate phase, Collaboration and Post‐research Cordiality model (CICP). This model could be used to improve the integration of CE in genomic research among local communities.
Measuring self-reported experience of health and functioning is important for understanding the changes in the health status of individuals switching from cigarettes to less harmful tobacco and/or ...nicotine products (TNP) or reduced-risk products (RRP) and for supporting tobacco harm reduction strategies.
This paper presents insights from three research activities from the preparatory phase of the development of a new self-report health and functioning measure. A scoping literature review was conducted to identify the positive and negative impact of TNP use on health and functioning. Focus groups (n = 29) on risk perception and individual interviews (n = 40) on perceived dependence in people who use TNPs were reanalyzed in the context of health and functioning, and expert opinion was gathered from five key opinion leaders and five technical consultants.
Triangulating the findings of the review of 97 articles, qualitative input from people who use TNPs, and expert feedback helped generate a preliminary conceptual framework including health and functioning and conceptually-related domains impacted by TNP use. Domains related to the future health and functioning measurement model include physical health signs and symptoms, general physical appearance, functioning (physical, sexual, cognitive, emotional, and social), and general health perceptions.
This preliminary conceptual framework can inform future research on development and validation of new measures for assessment of overall health and functioning impact of TNPs from the consumers' perspective.
This article investigates transformations in public service education over the past 50 years, specifically: How have organizational forms evolved, and what lessons can we draw from that evolution? ...The organizational form construct originates in population ecology theory. We draw from a variety of evidentiary sources in answering the research questions, specifically extant literature, quantitative analysis of longitudinal data about organizational forms, and interviews with public service education opinion leaders. Among the findings are that formal structures, program activities and delivery, and the norms that underpin public service education have changed significantly over time. Organization environments influence organizational forms in public service education. Stand-alone university units, typically colleges and schools, offering a comprehensive portfolio of teaching, research, and service are increasing and have become a preferred form for public service education. Educational leaders in US universities should note emerging organizational forms as they seek to adapt to changing environments.
Background/Aims: The European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) was established in 1978, and its role is to promote and develop dietetics on a scientific and professional level in ...the common interest of the member associations. EFAD has 34 National Dietetic Association (NDA) members, representing over 35,000 dietitians in 27 European countries. EFAD implemented the European Dietetic Action Plan (EuDAP) in October 2015. The EuDAP is a commitment by European dietitians to take actions that will achieve better nutrition and sustainable health, through pro-active engagement with Health 2020 1 and the European Food and Nutrition Action Plan (FNAP) (2015-2020) 2. The EuDAP contains 5 key objectives, based on the FNAP, and these are the following: 1. Ensure that healthy food and nutrition is accessible, affordable, attractive, and sustainable. 2. Promote the gains of a healthy diet and nutritional support throughout the life course, especially for the most vulnerable groups in clinical settings and the community. 3. Use dietitians as educators and experts in community and clinical settings to advise the general population, other health professions, authorities (for example, ministries and health insurance companies), mass media, and industry. 4. Invest in establishing the effectiveness of dietitians in the delivery of better health through improved nutrition. 5. Strengthen governance, alliances, and networks for a health-in- all-policies approach. The EFAD publishes a yearly EuDAP report that brings out the impact made by dietitians in improving European nutritional health. This abstract provides details of the first EuDAP report from 2016. Methods: A 225-question survey was constructed based on the NDA's familiarity of EuDAP and the 5 key objectives to be achieved at the national, organization, or local level. The questionnaire was uploaded to SurveyMonkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com) and was live for 6 months in 2016. Most of the survey consisted of a mix of close- and open-ended questions and related to each key objective. After the questionnaire closed, the data was transferred to an EXCEL database for analysis. This descriptive semi-qualitative questionnaire was not submitted to statistical analysis. The project was not submitted for ethical approval as it was a survey amongst member associations of EFAD. Results: A total of 22 people, from 19 different countries, completed the questionnaire. The respondents represented 19 different dietetic associations, with a response rate of approximately 57%. Out of the 19 NDA members that responded, 11 countries had in- formed their members of EuDAP and 6 countries have translated EuDAP in to their own national language. Also, 14 NDAs have appointed a EuDAP Champion to liaise with EFAD on behalf of their NDA and 8 (44%) dietetic associations informed their key opinion leaders about EuDAP (e.g., ministry of health and collaboration partners); 2 countries have actively undertaken embedding EuDAP amongst their members by incorporating it into their NDA strategic plan. Individual countries reported the work that dietitians are doing to meet EuDAP objectives and therefore also the objectives of the FNAP (Table 1). Some of these are funded research projects others are projects and activities, which dietitians undertake locally or nationally. Some countries are demonstrating evidence of projects being undertaken for each EuDAP objective whilst others are focusing on projects that achieve a specific objective. Conclusions: The present report provides insight on progress made within EFAD since the adoption of the EuDAP in 2015. The questionnaire provides valuable information from 57% of EFAD member countries. The responses represented a range of countries giving a broad spectrum of the current status of NDA's and their contributions toward achieving the EuDAP objectives. The EuDAP is intended to support NDAs and improve the commitment and impact of dietitians to improve European nutritional health. It is intended to complement national plans for food and nutrition, NDA activities, and campaigns but allows the profession in Europe to demonstrate its commitment in a very public, clear, and understandable way to different key stakeholders. EFAD will continue to implement the EuDAP in partnership with member states and play a supportive role by providing briefing papers and dissemination among NDAs, for example, in the EFAD e-journal and newsletters.
Water remains a vital natural resource necessary for sustaining life and development. Globally there has been increasing demand for water due to increasing population. Water demand has worsened in ...certain regions where in lieu of climate change water resources are declining. This has created livelihood impacts. Using in-depth interviews and household surveys of household heads and opinion leaders in the district, the study ascertained public opinion on the role of climate change on dwindling domestic water provision and how inadequate water supply affects the socio-economic lives of people at household level in Sekyere-Kumawu District in Ghana. Rising temperature, declining rainfall amounts and stormy weather were some of the perceived changing climatic elements explaining the reduction in the water resource base of the district. Shortage in water supply has great impacts on socio-economic livelihood and health of residents with greater impact on women and children. Households attributed low crop yields, the prevalence of water borne diseases and poverty as some consequences of low water supply owing to bad climatic conditions. The study recommends the development of district level climate change strategies, incorporating them into the overall national climate change policy to ensure a comprehensive climatic resilient economy to promote sustainable growth and development.
Strategic planning (SP) requires attention and constant updating and is a crucial process for guaranteeing the efficient performance of companies. This article proposes a novel approach applied in a ...case study whereby a balanced scorecard (BSC) was generated that integrated sentiment analysis (SA) of social media (SM) and took advantage of the valuable knowledge of these sources. In this study, opinions were consolidated in the main dataset to incorporate sentiments regarding the strategic part of a restaurant in a tourist city. The proposed methodology began with the selection of the company. Information was then acquired to apply pre-processing, processing, evaluation, and validation that is capitalized in a BSC to support strategic decision-making. Python support was used in the model and comprised lexicon and machine learning approaches for the SA. The significant knowledge in the comments was automatically oriented toward the key performance indicators (KPIs) and perspectives of a BSC that were previously determined by a group of opinion leaders of the company. The methods, techniques, and algorithms of SA and SP showed that unstructured textual information can be processed and capitalized efficiently for optimal management and decision-making. The results revealed an improvement (reduced effort and time) to produce a more robust and comprehensive BSC with the support and validation of experts. Moreover, new resources and approaches were developed to implement more efficient SP. The model was based on the efficient coupling of both fields of study.
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