Citizen Deliberation Online

Author(s):  
Patrícia Rossini ◽  
Jennifer Stromer-Galley

Political conversation is at the heart of democratic societies, and it is an important precursor of political engagement. As society has become intertwined with the communication infrastructure of the Internet, we need to understand its uses and the implications of those uses for democracy. This chapter provides an overview of the core topics of scholarly concern around online citizen deliberation, focusing on three key areas of research: the standards of quality of communication and the normative stance on citizen deliberation online; the impact and importance of digital platforms in structuring political talk; and the differences between formal and informal political talk spaces. After providing a critical review of these three major areas of research, we outline directions for future research on online citizen deliberation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


2021 ◽  
pp. 216747952199839
Author(s):  
Dustin Hahn

Evolving media landscapes toward increasingly diverse and competitive environments in both traditional and new media requires producers regularly examine the quality of their productions. One growing line of research identifies the increasing presence and significance of statistics in sports media programming. This experiment measures the effect of statistics on enjoyment and perceived credibility by sport consumers while considering level of fanship, media source, and variations in placement within Instagram posts. Results uncover evidence that validates previous observations about statistics in media while contradicting others. Specifically, findings reveal that statistics enhance enjoyment and improve perceived credibility. Observations were consistent across fanship level. However, additional findings also suggest media source and placement of statistics influences both enjoyment and credibility as well. For both dependent variables, statistics in both the Instagram caption and image yielded significantly greater enjoyment and credibility than some other conditions including posts without statistics at all. The impact of these and other findings on sports media industry and scholarship, along with limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-50
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Glenn ◽  
Lisa Allen Scott ◽  
Teree Hokanson ◽  
Karla Gustafson ◽  
Melissa A. Stoops ◽  
...  

Financial well-being describes when people feel able to meet their financial obligations, feel financially secure and are able to make choices that benefit their quality of life. Financial strain occurs when people are unable to pay their bills, feel stressed about money and experience negative impacts on their quality of life and health. In the face of the global economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, community-led approaches are required to address the setting-specific needs of residents and reduce the adverse impacts of widespread financial strain. To encourage evidence-informed best practices, a provincial health authority and community-engaged research centre collaborated to conduct a rapid review. We augmented the rapid review with an environmental scan and interviews. Our data focused on Western Canada and was collected prior to the pandemic (May–September 2019). We identified eight categories of community-led strategies to promote financial well-being: systems navigation and access; financial literacy and skills; emergency financial assistance; asset building; events and attractions; employment and educational support; transportation; and housing. We noted significant gaps in the evidence, including methodological limitations of the included studies (e.g. generalisability, small sample size), a lack of reporting on the mechanisms leading to the outcomes and evaluation of long-term impacts, sparse practice-based data on evaluation methods and outcomes, and limited intervention details in the published literature. Critically, few of the included interventions specifically targeted financial strain and/or well-being. We discuss the implications of these gaps in addition to possibilities and priorities for future research and practice. We also consider the results in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Nelson Obinna Omenugha

The National Bureau of Statistics recently announced that the entertainment and media (E&M) industry in Nigeria recorded growth of 1.86% to 12.81%; contributing N54bn to the country’s GDP. The industry’s revenue is projected to reach an estimated $8.5bn in 2018, from $4bn in 2013, with internet as one of the key drivers (PwC report, 2016, p.14). This comes at a time when Nigeria’s economy has shrunk by 2.24% since 2015 and receded by 0.18% from the previous quarter. Therefore, this study unpacks the possibilities and challenges of the impact of e-marketing tools on the growth of the Nigerian E&M industry. E-marketing tools provide “a unique combination of powerful capabilities for marketers” (Parsons et al., 2015). E-marketing suitability for the E&M industry lies in its lower capital demand, and a convenient and online means of disseminating marketing messages across a heterogeneous population at an unlimited geographical space. E-marketing is a reality in Nigeria as a study by Mathew, Ogedebe & Ogedebe (2013, p. 549) shows that “Many Nigerians who used (sic) the internet as one form of communication or another are bombarded daily with advertisements of products and services from industries in the country.” This reality has brought a shift from mechanical to electronic and from analogue to digital; ultimately impacting the marketing realms. The internet enables these electronic/digital platforms; which marketers (E&M industry) and customers (content consumers) rely on to effectively reach and receive communication content and feedback respectively.  However, this study examined the challenges that have possibly hindered the full realization of the e-marketing tools of the Nigerian E&M industry and noted among others; poor power supply and unreliable network infrastructure in the country. There is also an increased customer expectation, security, content copyright and privacy issues as well as the challenge of compliance demand in the industry as influenced by ever dynamic digital boundaries. There is a huge economic need for the Nigerian government to live up to its obligation and enhance power supply and boost network infrastructure. The Nigerian E&M industry needs to continually integrate different digital platforms to reach targets and attract more content consumers. Both the government and industry should increasingly learn and bring a global perspective that can help the nation adapt to the constantly changing digital environment.


Author(s):  
А.О. РЕНЗЯЕВ ◽  
О.П. РЕНЗЯЕВ ◽  
С.Н. КРАВЧЕНКО ◽  
Р.В. КРЮК

Исследованы прочностные и физико-механические свойства оболочки рапса с точки зрения ее разрушения и удаления. Установлено, что наиболее рациональным является двухстадийный способ обрушивания: 1-я стадия – на вальцовых мельницах, 2-я – на центробежной обрушивающей машине. Определены параметры центробежной обрушивающей машины для обеспечения минимальной необходимой линейной скорости 10,81 м/с: угол наклона отбойной пластины (90 ± 2)°, частота вращения барабана (2400 ± 150) об/мин. Установлено, что правильно подобранные условия и угол, под которым происходит удар, позволяют значительно снизить количество не до конца обрушенного семени и содержание расколотого ядра. При этом при свободном ударе об отбойную пластину под углом, отличным от 88–91°, или подаче недостаточно равномерного потока семян значительно увеличивается содержание необрушенных семян. На разрушение 1 кг семян необходимо затратить 58,45 Дж. Таким образом, по расчетным данным, для семян рапса диаметром 1,5 мм частота вращения барабана должна находиться в диапазоне от 2221 до 2565 об/мин при ударе семени под углом 90°. Диаметр семян рапса, выращиваемого в Сибирском регионе, составляет от 0,8 до 1,8 мм. Установлено, что подсушивание семян рапса в течение 30–40 с при температуре 100°С позволяет увеличить эффективность разрушения оболочки до полного ее отделения от ядра рапса. Представленные результаты позволяют повысить качество очистки семян рапса от оболочки и улучшить качественные характеристики получаемого масла, облегчить последующие технологические процессы получения пищевого масла, снизить затраты на рафинацию и дезодорацию на 2%. The strength and physico-mechanical properties of the shell of rapeseed in terms of its destruction and removal are investigated. It is established that the most rational is a two-stage method of seed hulling: the 1st stage – on roller mills, the 2nd – on a centrifugal hulling machine. The parameters of the centrifugal hulling machine to provide the minimum required linear speed of 10,81 m/s are defined: the angle of inclination of the turnback plate (90 ± 2)°, the rotational speed of drum (2400 ± 150) RPM. It is established that the correctly selected conditions and the angle at which the impact occurs, can significantly reduce the amount is not completely hulling seed and the substance of the split nucleus. At the same time, with a free impact on the turnback plate at an angle different from 88–91°, or the supply of an insufficiently uniform flow of seeds, the content is not completely hulling seed increases significantly. On hulling of 1 kg of seeds it is necessary to spend 58,45 J. Thus, according to the calculated data, for rape seeds with a diameter of 1,5 mm, the rotational speed of drum should be in the range from 2221 to 2565 RPM when the seed is struck at an angle of 90°. The diameter of rapeseed grown in the Siberian region ranges from 0,8 to 1,8 mm. It was found that drying of rapeseed for 30–40 s at a temperature of 100°C, can increase the efficiency of destruction of the shell to its complete separation from the core of rapeseed. The presented results make it possible to improve the quality of cleaning of rape seeds from the shell and improve the quality characteristics of the obtained oil, facilitate the subsequent technological processes of obtaining edible oil, reduce the cost of refining and deodorization by 2%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-22
Author(s):  
Aneesah Hyder ◽  
Martin Rosario

HIV is a debilitating infection that often presents with health-related complications, further reducing quality of life. Of the most common comorbidities accompanying HIV is depression, which can induce cognitive alterations alongside those resulting from the virus. Latinxs are disproportionately susceptible to both afflictions and face innumerable challenges in the identification and diagnosis of depression. Consequently, HIV-infected Latinxs may experience additional cognitive symptomatology from the simultaneous prevalence of depression and HIV, potentially affecting their gait and cardiovascular profiles. This study aimed to determine the impact of depression on cardio-motor components in HIV-infected Latinxs. Records of 291 stable HIV+ participants were collected from La Perla de Gran Precio Community Center, analyzed for depression, and respectively allocated to the depression group (70) and the group without depression (221). Cardio-motor values were obtained by conducting the Ross treadmill test, a submaximal cardiovascular assessment. An ANOVA revealed similarities in cardiomotor profiles between groups, alluding to the absence of depression-induced modifications to gait and cardiovascular health. Community exercise and cardiopulmonary intervention programs are beneficial to the quality of life in this population during all stages of HIV. However, HIV-infected Latinxs with depression face acute cultural challenges, causing diagnoses and treatment oversights and deficiencies for those who are suffering. Public health efforts should aim to remove barriers facing this population to ultimately reduce the inflated prevalence of both afflictions. Future research should focus on the crucial differentiation of Latinx depressive symptoms from those identical in HIV prior to reinvestigating cardiomotor alterations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Ignatov

Abstract Entrepreneurship is the driving force of economic development and progress. A successful state, first of all, provides favourable conditions motivating the businesses to grow and flourish. Presently, the European Union is developing unevenly with multiple economic misbalances across the community, the West and the North being more competitive than the South and the East. The aim of the present research is to examine the framework of interdependence between the degree to which the governance quality and economic freedom in the European Union are supporting entrepreneurial activities and the performance of the community in terms of entrepreneurial innovation. The results reached through applying both qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the interdependence between entrepreneurial innovation and regulatory efficiency is strong for many of the European Union states which is determined by multiple factors including the institutional and economic ones. Also, the present paper underlines the importance of the proper regulatory framework for the efficient development of business innovation. The future research on this matter could consider in depth the impact of socio-cultural environment, its influence on the quality of governance and the impact of both upon the European entrepreneurial innovation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Donath

The purpose of this project was to explore how young adults are experiencing relationships when using social media. Using a qualitative design young adults between the ages of 16-25 were asked questions about their experience with social media in the city of Toronto. Qualitative interviews were conducted with three homeless participants who used social media and had access to the internet and a mobile device. The researcher analyzed the data by looking for themes within the participant’s answers. Discussion focuses on the impact of social media, their experiences as a homeless youth and the interaction with social media on a daily basis. The findings also suggest future research for technology amongst homeless youth


Author(s):  
Mahmoud Elkhodr ◽  
Seyed Shahrestani ◽  
Hon Cheung

The Internet of Things (IoT) brings connectivity to about every objects found in the physical space. It extends connectivity not only to computer and mobile devices but also to everyday objects. From connected fridges, cars and cities, the IoT creates opportunities in numerous domains. This chapter briefly surveys some IoT applications and the impact the IoT could have on societies. It shows how the various application of the IoT enhances the overall quality of life and reduces management and costs in various sectors.


Author(s):  
Kamil Yagci ◽  
Mahmut Efendi ◽  
Sureyya Akçay

In addition to the development of social technology and the widespread use of the internet, the fact that people are getting used to sharing their goods and services has made the concept of sharing economy a popular issue. Sharing economy is “a potential new way for sustainability,” and it is noted that it would disrupt the unsustainable hyper-consumption practices directing capitalist economies. In this regard, the importance of sharing economy becomes prominent. In this study, first of all, basic information was given about sharing economy and then the concepts about how it made progress were introduced. In the next step, the definitions of sharing economy were given, the importance of sharing was mentioned, and then the products used in sharing economy were mentioned. In the following stage, the benefits of sharing economy to nature were addressed, and the weaknesses and dark sides of sharing economy were revealed. Finally, the impact of the sharing economy on the service sector was emphasized, and opinions were presented for future research on this subject.


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