From Chatter to Action: How Social Networks Inform and Motivate in Rural Uganda

Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Larson ◽  
Janet I. Lewis ◽  
Pedro L. Rodriguez

Abstract From public health to political campaigns, numerous attempts to encourage behavior begin with the spread of information. Of course, seeding new information does not guarantee action, especially when it is difficult for receivers to verify this information. We use a novel design that introduced valuable, actionable information in rural Uganda and reveals the intermediate process that led many in the village to hear the information but only some to act on it. We find that the seeded information spread easily through word of mouth via a simple contagion process. However, acting on the information spread less easily; this process relied instead on endogenously created social information that served to vet, verify, and pass judgment. Our results highlight an important wedge between information that a policy intervention can best control and the behavior that ultimately results.

Author(s):  
Gregory Gutin ◽  
Tomohiro Hirano ◽  
Sung-Ha Hwang ◽  
Philip R. Neary ◽  
Alexis Akira Toda

AbstractHow does social distancing affect the reach of an epidemic in social networks? We present Monte Carlo simulation results of a susceptible–infected–removed with social distancing model. The key feature of the model is that individuals are limited in the number of acquaintances that they can interact with, thereby constraining disease transmission to an infectious subnetwork of the original social network. While increased social distancing typically reduces the spread of an infectious disease, the magnitude varies greatly depending on the topology of the network, indicating the need for policies that are network dependent. Our results also reveal the importance of coordinating policies at the ‘global’ level. In particular, the public health benefits from social distancing to a group (e.g. a country) may be completely undone if that group maintains connections with outside groups that are not following suit.


Info ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 50-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natali Helberger ◽  
Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw ◽  
Rob van der Noll

Purpose – The purposes of this paper are to deal with the questions: because search engines, social networks and app-stores are often referred to as gatekeepers to diverse information access, what is the evidence to substantiate these gatekeeper concerns, and to what extent are existing regulatory solutions to control gatekeeper control suitable at all to address new diversity concerns? It will also map the different gatekeeper concerns about media diversity as evidenced in existing research before the background of network gatekeeping theory critically analyses some of the currently discussed regulatory approaches and develops the contours of a more user-centric approach towards approaching gatekeeper control and media diversity. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual research work based on desk research into the relevant and communications science, economic and legal academic literature and the relevant laws and public policy documents. Based on the existing evidence as well as on applying the insights from network gatekeeping theory, this paper then critically reviews the existing legal/policy discourse and identifies elements for an alternative approach. Findings – This paper finds that when looking at search engines, social networks and app stores, many concerns about the influence of the new information intermediaries on media diversity have not so much their source in the control over critical resources or access to information, as the traditional gatekeepers do. Instead, the real bottleneck is access to the user, and the way the relationship between social network, search engine or app platforms and users is given form. Based on this observation, the paper concludes that regulatory initiatives in this area would need to pay more attention to the dynamic relationship between gatekeeper and gated. Research limitations/implications – Because this is a conceptual piece based on desk-research, meaning that our assumptions and conclusions have not been validated by own empirical research. Also, although the authors have conducted to their best knowledge the literature review as broad and as concise as possible, seeing the breadth of the issue and the diversity of research outlets, it cannot be excluded that we have overlooked one or the other publication. Practical implications – This paper makes a number of very concrete suggestions of how to approach potential challenges from the new information intermediaries to media diversity. Social implications – The societal implications of search engines, social networks and app stores for media diversity cannot be overestimated. And yet, it is the position of users, and their exposure to diverse information that is often neglected in the current dialogue. By drawing attention to the dynamic relationship between gatekeeper and gated, this paper highlights the importance of this relationship for diverse exposure to information. Originality/value – While there is currently much discussion about the possible challenges from search engines, social networks and app-stores for media diversity, a comprehensive overview in the scholarly literature on the evidence that actually exists is still lacking. And while most of the regulatory solutions still depart from a more pre-networked, static understanding of “gatekeeper”, we develop our analysis on the basis for a more dynamic approach that takes into account the fluid and interactive relationship between the roles of “gatekeepers” and “gated”. Seen from this perspective, the regulatory solutions discussed so far appear in a very different light.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Ditha Prasanti ◽  
Ikhsan Fuady ◽  
Sri Seti Indriani

The "one data" policy driven by the government through the Ministry of Health is believed to be able to innovate and give a new face to health services. Of course, the improvement of health services starts from the smallest and lowest layers, namely Polindes. Starting from this policy and the finding of relatively low public health service problems, the authors see a health service in Polindes, which contributes positively to improving the quality of public health services. The health service is the author's view of the communication perspective through the study of Communication in the Synergy of Public Health Services Polindes (Village Maternity Post) in Tarumajaya Village, Kertasari District, Bandung Regency. The method used in this research is a case study. The results of the study revealed that public health services in Polindes are inseparable from the communication process that exists in the village. The verbal communication process includes positive synergy between the communicator and the communicant. In this case, the communicators are village midwives, village officials, namely the village head and his staff, the sub-district health center, and the active role of the village cadres involved. In contrast, the communicant that was targeted was the community in the village of Tarumajaya. This positive synergy results in a marked increase in public services, namely by providing new facilities in the village, RTK (Birth Waiting Home).   Kebijakan “one data” yang dimotori oleh pemerintah melalui Kementerian kesehatan diyakini mampu membuat inovasi dan memberikan wajah baru terhadap layanan kesehatan. Tentunya, perbaikan layanan kesehatan tersebut dimulai dari lapisan terkecil dan terbawah yakni Polindes. Berawal dari kebijakan tersebut dan masih ditemukannya masalah pelayanan kesehatan publik yang relatif rendah, penulis melihat sebuah layanan kesehatan di Polindes, yang memberikan kontribusi positif dalam peningkatan kualitas layanan kesehatan masyarakat. Pelayanan kesahatan tersebut penulis lihat dari perpektif komunikasi melaui penelitian Komunikasi dalam Sinergi Pelayanan Kesehatan Publik Polindes (Pos Bersalin Desa) di Desa Tarumajaya, Kecamatan Kertasari, Kabupaten Bandung ini dilakukan. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah studi kasus. Hasil penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa pelayanan kesehatan publik di Polindes, tidak terlepas dari adanya proses komunikasi yang terjalin di desa tersebut. Proses komunikasi verbal tersebut meliputi sinergitas positif antara pihak komunikator dan komunikan. Dalam hal ini, komunikator tersebut adalah Bidan Desa, Aparat Desa yakni Kepala Desa beserta staffnya, Puskesmas tingkat kecamatan, serta peran aktif dari para kader desa yang terlibat. Sedangkan komunikan yang menjadi target adalah masyarakat di desa Tarumajaya. Sinergitas positif tersebut menghasilkan peningkatan pelayanan publik yang nyata, yaitu dengan adanya penyediaan fasilitas baru di desa, RTK (Rumah Tunggu Kelahiran).


Author(s):  
Feriel Amelia Sembiring ◽  
Fikarwin Zuska ◽  
Bengkel Ginting ◽  
Rizabuana Ismail ◽  
Henry Sitorus

Aquaculture of Cage Culture is one of the main activities carried out by the community in the village of Haranggaol to fulfill their economic needs. This cultivation business establishes a relationship between traders and cages in terms of marketing their crops. There are 3 egocentric actors in the Haranggaol area. They are collectors (entrepreneurs/farmers who own capital), namely the Rohakinian group, the Siharo group, and the Paimaham group. Through these three egocentric actors, a social network is formed with several alters. Based on the qualitative approach with use Ucinet software, the mapping of their social networks can be seen as follows: alter actors connected to the Rohakinian group are 12 farmers in the group and 2 farmers outside the group with a density of 0.033. There are 27 alter actors connected to the Siharo group, 21 from the group and 6 from outside the group with a density of 0.014. There are 27 alter actors connected to the Paimaham group, namely 36 farmers from their groups and 10 farmers outside the group with a density of 0.005. The social networks that occur between these actors are intertwined due to the existence of kinship relationships, family or close friends who know each other among them. The relationship between family, family or close friends built with mutual trust make this network integrated.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Gasparyan ◽  
Roberto Dan ◽  
Priscilla Vitolo ◽  
Artur Petrosyan ◽  
Chiara Zecchi ◽  
...  

In 2013 an Urartian tomb has been identified by chance during the construction of a house in the village of Aghavnadzor in Vayots Dzor Region, Armenia. Despite the tomb was heavily damaged, archaeologists were able to dig it and document it before its destruction. The multiple burial showed the contemporary coexistence of inhumation and incineration, according to a funerary practice well known in Urartian times. A good amount of grave goods have been recovered and restored. Most of it shows typical Urartian features with some interesting exceptions that refer to contemporary Assyrian models. The grave has been dated back to the 8th century thanks to 14C. In the present poster, the materials of the grave are presented and discussed. This discovery is particularly important because gives new information on the Urartian occupation of this part of the Armenian Highlands and, in particular, of the Vayots Dzor Region. The tomb will be discussed in the wider frame of the important Urartian evidence already known in the region, like the so-called ‘tomb of Yeghegnadzor’.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-70
Author(s):  
Santhoshkumar Srinivasan ◽  
Dhinesh Babu L. D.

Online social networks (OSNs) are used to connect people and propagate information around the globe. Along with information propagation, rumors also penetrate across the OSNs in a massive order. Controlling the rumor propagation is utmost important to reduce the damage it causes to society. Educating the individual participants of OSNs is one of the effective ways to control the rumor faster. To educate people in OSNs, this paper proposes a defensive rumor control approach that spreads anti-rumors by the inspiration from the immunization strategies of social insects. In this approach, a new information propagation model is defined to study the defensive nature of true information against rumors. Then, an anti-rumor propagation method with a set of influential spreaders is employed to defend against the rumor. The proposed approach is compared with the existing rumor containment approaches and the results indicate that the proposed approach works well in controlling the rumors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (62) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Nargiza Aliyeva ◽  
Gaukhar Mukhamediyeva

Social networks are actively penetrating into all spheres of our society. The influence of social media is strongly affected by the younger generation, who spends a lot of time in the virtual social space. The purpose of this study was to study the influence of social networks on the choice of a university brand by representatives of generation Y. The data was collected through an online survey using the Google forms service. The results obtained indicate that social media engagement has a positive effect on brand image. Firm-created and user-generated social media communication have a positive effect on brand equity in Higher Education Institutions. Brand equity positively influences Brand choice intention. The value of this study lies in the fact that it considered the influence of various factors on the formation of the intention of representatives of generation Y to choose brands of universities, taking into account the moderate effect of electronic word of mouth. The results obtained complement the scientific literature on the impact of social media on consumer behavior. The results of this study can help in understanding the choice of students of educational organizations, taking into account the influence of social networks and electronic word of mouth, which can help university marketing departments to promote brands more effectively in the social media space.


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