scholarly journals Legitimising a ‘zombie idea’: childhood vaccines and autism – the complex tale of two judgments on vaccine injury in Italy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Marco Rizzi ◽  
Katie Attwell ◽  
Virginia Casigliani ◽  
Jeannette Taylor ◽  
Filippo Quattrone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Childhood Vaccines ◽  
Italian Context ◽  
Legal Pragmatism ◽  
Institutional Actors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The impact of ‘bad’ science on judicial decision-making is a thorny aspect of the relationship between science and law. This study employs doctrinal and empirical analysis to explore two Italian judgments that asserted a causal link between childhood vaccines and autism. Using a combination of actor–network theory and legal pragmatism, we uncovered a network of actors and institutions internal and external to the legal system enabling these impactful decisions that went on to contribute to a crisis in vaccination coverage in Italy. These include trial strategies, resources, communication practices between arms of government, awareness and responsiveness of institutional actors, and institutional mechanisms governing the integration of scientific expertise into the legal process. By forensically analysing how a ‘zombie idea’ received a patent of legitimacy in the Italian context, this study provides useful lessons for legal systems grappling with complex and contested public health matters.

Measuring the intellectual capital of Italian listed companies

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Forte ◽  
Jon Tucker ◽  
Gaetano Matonti ◽  
Giuseppe Nicolò
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Italian Context ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC), measured in terms of the market to book (MTB) ratio, and potential key determinants of IC value such as intangible assets (IA) and a range of other factors. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted for a sample of 140 Italian corporations over the period 2009-2013. Applying a holistic market-based approach, the relationship between IC value and selected determinants from the extant literature is tested. Five hypotheses are tested using a pooled OLS regression model, while controlling for time. ROE is employed as a useful firm profitability indicator from the perspective of an equity investor. Moreover, four robustness tests are undertaken. Findings The results show that IA, profitability, leverage, industry type, auditor type, and family ownership positively affect IC value, whereas SIZE and AGE negatively affect IC value. Moreover, the findings of the robustness tests suggest that all firms, and not just knowledge-intensive business service industry firms, manage knowledge. Research limitations/implications The validity of the findings is limited to the Italian context, as the study focuses on a sample of companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, all of which prepare their individual financial statements according to IFRS. Further limitations are related to the use of market value in the short term, as it is influenced by market volatility. The study may allow academic researchers to investigate the impact of other non-accounting sources of information on market value within a multidisciplinary perspective. Practical implications This paper also has implications for managers and practitioners. The findings suggest that managers should not take for granted that firm growth (an increase in SIZE) alone will lead to an increase in IC value, in the absence of a consistent IC-oriented investment strategy. Managers should also avoid smoothing their IC investment as the company grows, in order to maintain a stable MTB ratio. Further, standard setters should seek to explore better means of disclosing non-accounting information relating to IC value. Originality/value This paper contributes to the IC literature as it is the first study which applies the market capitalization approach to analyze IC value determinants in the Italian context, within the framework of IFRS. The findings reveal some interesting relationships between the MTB ratio and recognized intangible investments, which are found to be insignificant in previous studies, confirming that, through the holistic effect, the MTB ratio may be a good proxy for IC.

scholarly journals A Novel Survey to Examine the Relationship between Health IT Adoption and Nurse-Physician Communication

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. 1182-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Pfeifer ◽  
Milisa Manojlovich ◽  
Julia Adler-Milstein ◽  
A Holmgren
Keyword(s):  
Physician Communication ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Health It ◽  
Secure Messaging ◽  
Software Adoption ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

SummaryBackground As EHR adoption in US hospitals becomes ubiquitous, a wide range of IT options are theoretically available to facilitate physician-nurse communication, but we know little about the adoption rate of specific technologies or the impact of their use.Objectives To measure adoption of hardware, software, and telephony relevant to nurse-physician communication in US hospitals. To assess the relationship between non-IT communication practices and hardware, software, and telephony adoption. To identify hospital characteristics associated with greater adoption of hardware, software, telephony, and non-IT communication practices.Methods We conducted a survey of 105 hospitals in the National Nursing Practice Network. The survey captured adoption of hardware, software, and telephony to support nurse-physician communication, along with non-IT communication practices. We calculated descriptive statistics and then created four indices, one for each category, by scoring degree of adoption of technologies or practices within each category. Next, we examined correlations between the three technology indices and the non-IT communication practices index. We used multivariate OLS regression to assess whether certain types of hospitals had higher index scores.Results The majority of hospitals surveyed have a range of hardware, software, and telephony tools available to support nurse-physician communication; we found substantial heterogeneity across hospitals in non-IT communication practices. More intensive non-IT communication was associated with greater adoption of software (r=0.31, p=0.01), but was not correlated with hardware or telephony. Medium-sized hospitals had lower adoption of software (r =−1.14,p=0.04) in comparison to small hospitals, while federally-owned hospitals had lower software (r=−2.57, p=0.02) and hardware adoption (r=−1.63, p=0.01).Conclusions The positive relationship between non-IT communication and level of software adoption suggests that there is a complementary, rather than substitutive, relationship. Our results suggest that some technologies with the potential to further enhance communication, such as CPOE and secure messaging, are not being utilized to their full potential in many hospitals.Citation: Holmgren AJ, Pfeifer E, Manojlovich M, Adler-Milstein J. A novel survey to examine the relationship between health IT adoption and nurse-physician communication.

scholarly journals Memória e discurso no entremeio das práticas informacionais contemporâneas | Memory and discourse in contemporary information practices

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Goyanes Orrico
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Knowledge Organization ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
New Strategies

Resumo A contemporaneidade demanda por qualidade no campo da Organização do Conhecimento, no que tange tanto à representação quanto à recuperação da informação, em virtude do impacto provocado pelas novas tecnologias nos serviços de informação. Para tanto apóia-se no pressuposto de que é possível firmarem-se outras estratégias de comunicação humana, com vistas a uma melhor compreensão da relação entre linguagem, informação e dinâmicas sociais contemporâneas. O objetivo é problematizar uma discussão conceitual sobre discurso e memória, no intuito de perceber como tais conceitos afetam a comunicação, em uma tentativa de compreender práticas comunicacionais na atualidade e de como tal compreensão pode contribuir para os estudos do campo informacional. Ao final, apoiado na concepção de gênero discursivo proposta por Bakhtin, este texto acredita ser preciso identificar novos padrões discursivos, de modo a constituir novos gêneros discursivos a fim de que o ciclo informacional ocorra de modo cada vez mais efetivo.Palavras-chave memória; discurso; gênero discursivo; organização do conhecimento Abstract Contemporaneity demands quality in the field of Knowledge Organization, in relation not only to information representation but also to information retrieval, due to the impact of new technologies on information services. In order to achieve this, it presupposes that it is possible to establish new strategies of human communications with a view to a better understanding of the relationship between language, information and contemporary social dynamics. Our aim is to problematize a conceptual discussion about discourse and memory, in order to understand how such concepts affect communication, in an attempt to understand contemporary communication practices and to establish how this understanding may contribute to information studies. Ultimately, based on Bakhtin’s notion of discoursive genre, this text concludes that it is necessary to identify new discoursive patterns, in order to form new discoursive genres, so that the information cycle is realized in an increasingly effective way.Keywords memory; discourse; genre of discourse; knowledge organization 

Co Evolution of Information Society and Online Community: Concepts and Communication Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 5307-5312
Author(s):  
Igor Dmitrievich Korotets ◽  
Tat’yana Aleksandrovna Podshibyakina
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Successful Development ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Impact

The impact of the Internet on the life of society is growing on a global scale, while it remains an uncontrolled area of interaction for various online communities, which requires further investigation. The purpose of the article is to conceptualize the notion of “co evolution of information society and online community” based on the theories of information society and analysis of communication practices. The objectives are to establish the factors of successful development and assess the prospects of this type of co evolution. The research uses both theoretical and practical approaches. A dialectical method was the main method of philosophical reflection. Community informatics is another scientific approach (M. Gurstein, D. Loader). To explain the phenomenon of integrity of technology and social networks in complex socio-technical systems, the actor-network theory (ANT) of Bruno Latour was used. This article gives a definition of co evolution as joint commensurate development of non-identical information processes and online communities. In the course of co evolution, “junction points” and “bifurcation points” were revealed and its social effects and prospects were assessed. The factors in successful development of the process of the information society and the online community co evolution were assessed: knowledge, technology, and information management. The conclusion about a common pace of the information society and the online community development not having been set was substantiated. The growing influence of online communities on society and a simultaneous trend towards secrecy and transformation into a new kind of social groups is a megatrend in the information society development. The results obtained are of practical importance in studying the problems of information management in the global network and regulating the activities of online communities.

The Impact of Organisational Politics on the Implementation of IT Strategy

2012 ◽  
pp. 167-193
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu
Keyword(s):  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Organisational Politics

Through IT strategy, many organisations intend to set out key directions and objectives for the use and management of information, communication and technologies. A shared view among these organisations is that IT strategy allows all parts of the organisation to gain a shared understanding of priorities, goals and objectives for both current and future states as defined in the strategy. It would therefore seem that IT strategy, for the foreseeable future will remain a key aspect of development within organisations. As a result, there has been more focus on how IT strategy is articulated and formulated. What is missing is that there has been less attention on the implementation of the strategy. Also, in most organisations, technical issues are minor compared to the relationship issues. There are many factors which influence the implementation of the IT strategy. This paper focuses on how organisational politics as examined by two underpinning theories, Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory, impact the implementation of IT strategy.

The Impact of Organisational Politics on the Implementation of IT Strategy

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-39
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Organisational Politics

Through IT strategy, many organisations intend to set out key directions and objectives for the use and management of information, communication and technologies. A shared view among these organisations is that IT strategy allows all parts of the organisation to gain a shared understanding of priorities, goals and objectives for both current and future states as defined in the strategy. It would therefore seem that IT strategy, for the foreseeable future will remain a key aspect of development within organisations. As a result, there has been more focus on how IT strategy is articulated and formulated. What is missing is that there has been less attention on the implementation of the strategy. Also, in most organisations, technical issues are minor compared to the relationship issues. There are many factors which influence the implementation of the IT strategy. This paper focuses on how organisational politics as examined by two underpinning theories, Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory, impact the implementation of IT strategy.

scholarly journals Social media: The new opiate of the masses?

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Emad Khazraee ◽  
Kristene Unsworth
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This study argues that the relationship between new information and communication technologies (ICT) and social movements should be done from a socio-technical perspective. In the present study, we broaden this perspective and use Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to better understand the relationship between social media (as a new ICT) and social movements. From the perspective of ANT, one cannot define unidirectional causal relationships between the social and the technical. New technical developments create opportunities to change the social order and in the meantime technologies are transformed and are adapted differently by humans. Preliminary findings examining the use of Facebook among Iranians, applying the aforementioned relational sociology perspective based on ANT, suggest that the role new ICTs play in social movements and social change is not linear and constant through time. The impact of new ICTs might be different considering different stages in a social movement timeline. In fact, there may be a stage where ICTs actually function as a sort of pressurerelease value, allowing individuals to remain content within the status quo rather than choosing to pursue more radical goals. We propose the utilization of the two concepts of “durability” and “mobility”, from ANT literature, to better understand the potential of online social networking technologies for social change. We suggest three different time stages as short (emergence of movements), mid (development or decline of movements), and late stage (the movement’s continuation, survival or disappearance through time) to be considered in the study of relationship between social media and social change.

Accent Policy and Accent Modification Enterprises as Potential Indicators of Intercultural Power Relations: A Call for an Updated Research Agenda

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynne D. Ovalle ◽  
Rahul Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article has two purposes: (a) to examine the relationship between intercultural power relations and the widespread practice of accent discrimination and (b) to underscore the ramifications of accent discrimination both for the individual and for global society as a whole. First, authors review social theory regarding language and group identity construction, and then go on to integrate more current studies linking accent bias to sociocultural variables. Authors discuss three examples of intercultural accent discrimination in order to illustrate how this link manifests itself in the broader context of international relations (i.e., how accent discrimination is generated in situations of unequal power) and, using a review of current research, assess the consequences of accent discrimination for the individual. Finally, the article highlights the impact that linguistic discrimination is having on linguistic diversity globally, partially using data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partially by offering a potential context for interpreting the emergence of practices that seek to reduce or modify speaker accents.

Business: Making Cents of Coding Systems: Billing for Professional Services

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Dee Adams Nikjeh
Keyword(s):  
Professional Services ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Coding Systems ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Program Funding ◽  
Fee Schedule ◽  
Procedure Codes ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Administrators and supervisors face daily challenges over issues such as program funding, service fees, correct coding procedures, and the ever-changing healthcare regulations. Receiving equitable reimbursement for speech-language pathology and audiology services necessitates an understanding of federal coding and reimbursement systems. This tutorial provides information pertaining to two major healthcare coding systems and explains the relationship of these systems to clinical documentation, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and equitable reimbursement. An explanation of coding edits and coding modifiers is provided for use in those occasional atypical situations when the standard use of procedural coding may not be appropriate. Also included in this tutorial is a brief discussion of the impact that the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act [MIPPA], 2008) has had on the valuation of speech-language pathology procedure codes.

The Need to Belong and the Relationship Between Loneliness and Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freda-Marie Hartung ◽  
Britta Renner
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Health State ◽  
Need To Belong ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Perceived Social Isolation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Humans are social animals; consequently, a lack of social ties affects individuals’ health negatively. However, the desire to belong differs between individuals, raising the question of whether individual differences in the need to belong moderate the impact of perceived social isolation on health. In the present study, 77 first-year university students rated their loneliness and health every 6 weeks for 18 weeks. Individual differences in the need to belong were found to moderate the relationship between loneliness and current health state. Specifically, lonely students with a high need to belong reported more days of illness than those with a low need to belong. In contrast, the strength of the need to belong had no effect on students who did not feel lonely. Thus, people who have a strong need to belong appear to suffer from loneliness and become ill more often, whereas people with a weak need to belong appear to stand loneliness better and are comparatively healthy. The study implies that social isolation does not impact all individuals identically; instead, the fit between the social situation and an individual’s need appears to be crucial for an individual’s functioning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document