scholarly journals Technology and democracy: a paradox wrapped in a contradiction inside an irony

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Peter Pomerantsev
Keyword(s):  
Dwell Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Information Architecture ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Attention Economy

Abstract Democracy is in retreat around the globe. Many commentators have blamed the Internet for this development, whereas others have celebrated the Internet as a tool for liberation, with each opinion being buttressed by supporting evidence. We try to resolve this paradox by reviewing some of the pressure points that arise between human cognition and the online information architecture, and their fallout for the well-being of democracy. We focus on the role of the attention economy, which has monetised dwell time on platforms, and the role of algorithms that satisfy users’ presumed preferences. We further note the inherent asymmetry in power between platforms and users that arises from these pressure points, and we conclude by sketching out the principles of a new Internet with democratic credentials.

The moderating role of informal economy on financial development induced ekc hypothesis in turkey

2022 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110707
Author(s):  
Baris Memduh Eren ◽  
Salih Katircioglu ◽  
Korhan K. Gokmenoglu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Structural Breaks ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Interaction Variables ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Moderating Role

This study conducts an empirical investigation about the moderating role of the informal economy on Turkey's environmental performance by employing advanced econometric techniques that account numerous structural breaks in series. In this extent, we created three interaction variables by captivating the impact of informal economic activities on CO2 emissions through income, energy use, and financial sector development. Besides, we built a main effect model without the interaction variables to assess the direct effects of our variables on global environmental degradation. The outcomes of the carried analyses produced supporting evidence toward the confirmation of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) assumption. Obtained findings shown that energy use, financial development and the informal economy in Turkey transmit a deteriorating impact on environmental well-being. Furthermore, the moderating role of the informal economy was found to be statistically significant factor in terms of both economic and environmental efficiency.

scholarly journals Social Network Sites and Well-Being: The Role of Social Connection

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna L. Clark ◽  
Sara B. Algoe ◽  
Melanie C. Green
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Extensive Body

In the early days of the Internet, both conventional wisdom and scholarship deemed online communication a threat to well-being. Later research has complicated this picture, offering mixed evidence about how technology-mediated communication affects users. With the dawn of social network sites, this issue is more important than ever. A close examination of the extensive body of research on social network sites suggests that conflicting results can be reconciled by a single theoretical approach: the interpersonal-connection-behaviors framework. Specifically, we suggest that social network sites benefit their users when they are used to make meaningful social connections and harm their users through pitfalls such as isolation and social comparison when they are not. The benefits and drawbacks of using social network sites shown in existing research can largely be explained by this approach, which also posits the need for studying specific online behaviors in future research.

scholarly journals ПРАВОВАЯ РЕГЛАМЕНТАЦИЯ И ПРИОРИТЕТЫ РАЗВИТИЯ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО ЗАКОНОДАТЕЛЬСТВА РЕСПУБЛИКИ КАЗАХСТАН ПО ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЮ НЕГАТИВНЫМ ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫМ ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯМ НА НЕСОВЕРШЕННОЛЕТНИХ

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
В. В. Хасанова ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Education ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mental Well Being

The article is devoted to the study of the existing legal framework for the protection of minors in the Republic of Kazakhstan from negative impacts in the information sphere, as well as the priority areas of development of national legislation in this area. Today, in the context of globalization, information and communication networks, including the Internet, are an important, and sometimes the only source of information for children. The pandemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 is a confirmation of this, when, against the background of the lack of real communication, children began to spend most of their time on the Internet. Education, leisure, and communication have all moved there. The role of information and communication networks in the life of modern man cannot be overestimated. At the same time, they can be a source of threats and risks to the health, development and mental well-being of children. It is established that the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan contains a number of normative legal acts aimed at ensuring the information protection of minors. However, the system of legal and organizational protection of children in the information sphere is currently at the stage of formation and does not provide a comprehensive response to modern, exponentially growing information challenges and threats. In order to eliminate this gap, it is proposed to develop a unified national strategy for the protection of children in the information environment, with its provisions fixed in the basic document.

Social Machines

2021 ◽  
pp. 229-236
Author(s):  
Kieron O’Hara
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Machines ◽  
Sociotechnical Networks

People use familiar networked technologies for coordinating social activities, from games to problem-solving. Such sociotechnical networks have been called social machines, and can be found in healthcare and well-being, crime prevention, transport, citizen science, and in particular during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of platform(s) as host(s) is key as to how, and how privately, the social machine operates. Social machines can be monetized on the DC Commercial Internet, and monitored on the Beijing Paternal Internet. One means of democratizing the platform is the project to re-decentralize the Internet and Web, to break down the walls of walled gardens and restore decentralization. One such idea, Solid, is described in detail, where people take charge of their personal data, storing it as linked data to increase its utility, but keeping it in personal online datastores (pods) under their control.

scholarly journals The Role of Parents in Problematic Internet Use among US Adolescents

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Bleakley ◽  
Morgan Ellithorpe ◽  
Daniel Romer
Keyword(s):  
Parental Monitoring ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parental Mediation ◽  
Problematic Internet Use ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Television Content ◽  
Internet Behavior ◽  
Role Of Parents

The internet has transformed the way youth communicate, learn, and network, with implications for their broader social, psychological, and physical health and well-being. With the technological capability of accessing the internet from anywhere, at any time, paired with the enormous variety of internet activities in which youth engage—from social networking to chatting to streaming videos to playing games to watching television content—instances of problematic internet behavior have emerged. We conducted an online national survey of 629 US adolescents ages 12–17 years old and a matching survey of one of their parents. We investigated the relationship between problematic internet behavior and parental monitoring, parental mediation of internet use, and parental estimates of their adolescent’s time spent using computers. Analyses showed that problematic internet use was associated with less parental monitoring and parental mediation and poorer parental relationships. Adolescents that spent a lot of time on the computer were also more likely to engage in problematic internet use. Although we cannot determine the direction of the relationships, results support the important role of parents in adolescents’ problematic internet use.

A destination’s gastronomy as a means for holiday well-being

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (7) ◽  
pp. 1578-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Björk ◽  
Hannele Kauppinen-Räisänen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Price Level ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Destination Marketing ◽  
Marketing Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose To provide insights into holiday well-being, the purpose of this paper is to examine two inevitable traveller activities related to destinations’ gastronomy: pre-trip food information sourcing and the daily meals consumed. Design/methodology/approach A survey was carried out among 243 Finnish travellers. The findings are based on univariate analysis (t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis). Findings Pre-trip behaviour to ensure holiday well-being is based on travellers’ interests in food, an emotional desire for a sense of safety and a functional desire for convenience, while they collect information from the internet and guidebooks about recommended food places and local food as well as food safety and price level. Travellers’ place the highest importance on dinner for their holiday well-being, especially foodies – those travellers with a keen interest in food. Breakfast is the second most important meal contributing to holiday well-being. Practical implications These findings inform destination marketing organisations about what food dimensions they should emphasise in destination gastronomy-related marketing communication for tour operators and hotel and local restaurants about the essence of dinner and breakfast for holiday well-being. Originality/value The study provides insights into the role of destinations’ gastronomy in holiday well-being, which deserves to be studied in the current era of experiences and food interest.

scholarly journals Unraveling the Balance between Genes, Microbes, Lifestyle and the Environment to Improve Healthy Reproduction

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 605
Author(s):  
Valeria D’Argenio ◽  
Lara Dittfeld ◽  
Paolo Lazzeri ◽  
Rossella Tomaiuolo ◽  
Ennio Tasciotti
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Reproduction ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Individual Contribution ◽  
Lifestyle Habits ◽  
Progressive Decline

Humans’ health is the result of a complex and balanced interplay between genetic factors, environmental stimuli, lifestyle habits, and the microbiota composition. The knowledge about their single contributions, as well as the complex network linking each to the others, is pivotal to understand the mechanisms underlying the onset of many diseases and can provide key information for their prevention, diagnosis and therapy. This applies also to reproduction. Reproduction, involving almost 10% of our genetic code, is one of the most critical human’s functions and is a key element to assess the well-being of a population. The last decades revealed a progressive decline of reproductive outcomes worldwide. As a consequence, there is a growing interest in unveiling the role of the different factors involved in human reproduction and great efforts have been carried out to improve its outcomes. As for many other diseases, it is now clear that the interplay between the underlying genetics, our commensal microbiome, the lifestyle habits and the environment we live in can either exacerbate the outcome or mitigate the adverse effects. Here, we aim to analyze how each of these factors contribute to reproduction highlighting their individual contribution and providing supporting evidence of how to modify their impact and overall contribution to a healthy reproductive status.

scholarly journals Artistic research into distraction, agency, and the internet

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Day
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Data Practices ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Artistic Research

This practical study is concerned with flows of attention and distraction that are associated with experiences of the internet. Taking the term ‘internet’ to stand for a range of networked social, media-consumption, and data practices carried out on devices such as smartphones, this study sets out to explore how distraction might arise, how it might be conceptualised, and the potential consequences for agency of the conditions of its emergence. The study is led by the production and analysis of artworks, using practical approaches that engage critically with aspects of the experience of the internet. This thesis begins by exploring conceptions of the ‘attention economy’ articulated by Goldhaber (1997), Beller (2006), and Citton (2017), developing an understanding that counters mainstream deterministic positions regarding the impact of digital technologies on the capacity for focused attention. Distraction is considered as an experience that may be sought out by individuals but can be captured and extended by third parties such as social media platforms. The importance of the data generated by habitual or compulsive engagement with internet-enabled devices and services (Zuboff, 2015) is considered against a backdrop of quantification and managerialism that extends beyond experiences of the internet. The study reviews existing artworks made in response to these concerns, focusing on expressions of the ‘attention economy’ prevalent in ‘postinternet’ art. Works by Vierkant (2010), Roth (2015) and others that interrogate infrastructure, data-gathering, or networked methods of distribution are identified as relevant, and a position is developed from which the consequences of metricised display platforms for an artistic ‘attention economy’ can be explored. Prototype artworks made during the study are appraised using an artistic research methodology that foregrounds the role of the researcher as both producer and reader of the artwork. Works that actively create distraction, that gather and visualise data, and that emphasise calm self-interrogation, are discussed and evaluated. The practical aspects of the research contribute to knowledge by extending understanding of the spatial, infrastructural, and algorithmic dimensions of the relationship between distraction and agency.

scholarly journals Internet use and well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak: Examining the role of gender, age, motives for using the internet and relational resources in an Italian adult sample.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Venuleo ◽  
Claudia Marino ◽  
Lucrezia Ferrante ◽  
Simone Rollo ◽  
Adriano Schimmenti
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Relational Resources ◽  
And Gender

Abstract The COVID-19 outbreak introduced self-isolation and social distancing as measures to reduce the spreading of the pandemic. As a consequence, internet usage has increased globally. The current study aims to show whether internet worked as a resource for well-being or as an amplifier of psychological distress and problematic internet use (PIU), considering the role of gender, age, motives for using the internet and online/offline relational resources. Five hundred and seventy-three adult participants (M: 40.28; SD: 16.43; 64% women) completed a form on sociodemographic characteristics and Internet use, and completed standardized measures on loneliness, online social support, well-being and PIU. A principal component analysis was computed to identify the main motives Internet use; ANOVA and Pearson’s r correlations were computed to examine (dis)similarities in motivational components with respect to gender, agegroup and psychosocial measures. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the contribution of the hypothesized predictors on overall well-being and PIU.Three principal motives for Internet use were detected: leisure and social interaction, knowledge, learning/working. Significant differences were found among them with respect to gender and age group and online/offline relational resources. Differences were found in the likelihood of PIU and well-being related to all the variables considered, with the exception of online social support for PIU and gender and age for well-being. These findings call for further research aimed to disentangle the correlates of PIU in a time of physical distancing, as well as for innovative efforts tailored to blunt the impacts of social isolation and bolster social connectivity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document