Network Analysis and Health and Risk Messaging

Author(s):  
Frank Tutzauer ◽  
Thomas Hugh Feeley

A network is a collection of nodes that are somehow connected to each other. Typically, the pattern of ties among nodes is of central interest to scholars in communication and the allied social sciences, with particular salience for health and risk communication. Network analyses of patterns of communication began in the 1940s in work done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was popularized in the early 1980s in the communication discipline with the work of Everett Rogers, Larry Kincaid, and others. Networks are measured by using self-report or observational procedures to determine the presence and/or strength among nodes in a given structure. If there is a tie or relation between a pair of nodes, it is said that the two are adjacent to one another or that the two nodes are neighbors, and the neighborhood of a node consists of all nodes adjacent to this first node. Several measures describe networks, including measures of position and measures of the entire network. Positional measures consider the position of any given node in relation to others in the network, and centrality is a popular measure to account for one’s level of influence in a network. Density is an overall network measure of level of activity among network pairs. Finally, network measures allow researchers to compare dependent and independent networks. Network analysis represents one of the more powerful and elegant procedures for measuring small-group, organizational, and international communication patterns among nodes or actors of interest in health and risk communication.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rapson Gomez ◽  
Deon Tullett-Prado ◽  
Shaun Watson ◽  
Vasileios Stavropoulos

Abstract Background The Covid-19 Pandemic and subsequent actions taken by national/international organizations has generated a large amount of anxiety which may roam into the realm of pathology – COVID Anxiety. In order to measure this phenomenon, measures such as the CAS have been developed. The CAS being a self-report measure of anxiety-related physiologically symptoms that are aroused by information and thoughts related to COVID-19. However, as the CAS is fairly new tit requires validation and examination. This study fulfils this need through the use of Network Analysis. Methods The study used regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBICglasso) to examine the network structure of ratings of COVID anxiety symptoms as presented in the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and how these symptoms are related to distress (combination of depression, anxiety, stress) and alcohol use. A total of 968 adults from an Australian community sample completed the CAS, and measures of depression, anxiety, stress and alcohol use. Results The findings showed that the most central CAS symptom was abdominal distress, followed by tonic immobility. The symptom with the lowest strength centrality value was dizziness. Also, the network revealed at least moderate effect size connections for tonic immobility with dizziness, sleep disturbances abdominal distress, and for abdominal distress with appetite loss. Additionally, distress was associated positively with dizziness, tonic immobility and appetitive loss. Alcohol use was associated positively with dizziness and abdominal distress, and negatively with tonic immobility and appetitive loss. Conclusions Overall, the findings showed a novel understanding of the structure of the COVID anxiety symptoms in the CAS, and how these symptoms are associated with distress and alcohol use. The clinical implications of the findings for assessment and treatment of COVID anxiety and its comorbidity with distress and alcohol use are discussed.


Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. MacKenzie

Background: Suicide clusters at Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prompted popular and expert speculation of suicide contagion. However, some clustering is to be expected in any random process. Aim: This work tested whether suicide clusters at these two universities differed significantly from those expected under a homogeneous Poisson process, in which suicides occur randomly and independently of one another. Method: Suicide dates were collected for MIT and Cornell for 1990–2012. The Anderson-Darling statistic was used to test the goodness-of-fit of the intervals between suicides to distribution expected under the Poisson process. Results: Suicides at MIT were consistent with the homogeneous Poisson process, while those at Cornell showed clustering inconsistent with such a process (p = .05). Conclusions: The Anderson-Darling test provides a statistically powerful means to identify suicide clustering in small samples. Practitioners can use this method to test for clustering in relevant communities. The difference in clustering behavior between the two institutions suggests that more institutions should be studied to determine the prevalence of suicide clustering in universities and its causes.


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Henry ◽  
Kimberly Kobus ◽  
Michael E. Schoeny

Author(s):  
Ashraf M. Salama

With an acceptance rate that does not exceed 25% of the total papers and articles submitted to the journal, IJAR – International Journal of Architectural Research is moving forward to position itself among the leading journals in architecture and urban studies worldwide. As this is the case since the beginning of volume 5, issue 1, March 2011, one must note that the journal has been covered by several data and index bases since its inception including Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, EBSCO-Current Abstracts-Art and Architecture, INTUTE, Directory of Open Access Journals, Pro-Quest, Scopus-Elsevier and many university library databases across the globe. This is coupled with IJAR being an integral part of the archives and a featured collection of ArchNet and the Aga Khan Documentation Centre at MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.In 2014, IJAR was included in Quartile 2 / Q2 list of Journals both in ‘Architecture’ and ‘Urban Studies.’ As of May 2015, IJAR is ranked 23 out of 83 journals in ‘Architecture’ and 59 out of 119 in ‘Urban Studies.’ Rankings are based on the SJR (SCImago Journal Ranking); an Elsevier- SCOPUS indicator that measures the scientific influence of the average article in a journal. SJR is a measure of scientific influence of scholarly journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from. See here for more information (http://www.scimagojr.com/index.php) and (http://www.journalmetrics.com/sjr.php). While the journal is now on top of many of the distinguished journals in Elsevier- SCOPUS database, we will keep aspiring to sustain our position and move forward to Q1 group list and eventually in the top 10 journal list in the field. However, this requires sustained efforts and conscious endeavours that give attention to quality submissions through a rigorous review process. This edition of IJAR: volume 9, issue 2, July 2015 includes debates on a wide spectrum of issues, explorations and investigations in various settings. The issue encompasses sixteen papers addressing cities, settlements, and projects in Europe, South East Asia, and the Middle East. Papers involve international collaborations evidenced by joint contributions and come from scholars in universities, academic institutions, and practices in Belgium; Egypt; Greece; Italy; Jordan; Malaysia; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Spain; Turkey; and the United Kingdom. In this editorial I briefly outline the key issues presented in these papers, which include topics relevant to social housing, multigenerational dwelling, practice-based research, sustainable design and biomimetic models, learning environments and learning styles, realism and the post modern condition, development and planning, urban identity, contemporary landscapes, and cultural values and traditions.


Author(s):  
GERARDO REYES GUZMÁN

Rudiger Dornbusch, destacado economista del Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), analiza en esta trascendental obra tópicos como inflación, deuda, tipos de cambio, política externa y mercados emergentes. El marco conceptual descansa en la corriente de la escuela de Chicago, la cual parte del principio de que el mercado es el mecanismo que garantiza la creación del progreso en contraste con el Estado, que en su afán por encontrar soluciones perfectas, fracasa regularmente en sus cometidos.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-301
Author(s):  
Samuel Huang ◽  
Kien Wei Siah ◽  
Detelina Vasileva ◽  
Shirley Chen ◽  
Lita Nelsen ◽  
...  

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