scholarly journals Online Social Endorsement and Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110088
Author(s):  
Andrew Chadwick ◽  
Johannes Kaiser ◽  
Cristian Vaccari ◽  
Daniel Freeman ◽  
Sinéad Lambe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Active Monitoring ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Endorsement

We explore the implications of online social endorsement for the Covid-19 vaccination program in the United Kingdom. Vaccine hesitancy is a long-standing problem, but it has assumed great urgency due to the pandemic. By early 2021, the United Kingdom had the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality per million of population. Our survey of a nationally representative sample of UK adults ( N = 5,114) measured socio-demographics, social and political attitudes, media diet for getting news about Covid-19, and intention to use social media and personal messaging apps to encourage or discourage vaccination against Covid-19. Cluster analysis identified six distinct media diet groups: news avoiders, mainstream/official news samplers, super seekers, omnivores, the social media dependent, and the TV dependent. We assessed whether these media diets, together with key attitudes, including Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, conspiracy mentality, and the news-finds-me attitude (meaning giving less priority to active monitoring of news and relying more on one’s online networks of friends for information), predict the intention to encourage or discourage vaccination. Overall, super-seeker and omnivorous media diets are more likely than other media diets to be associated with the online encouragement of vaccination. Combinations of (a) news avoidance and high levels of the news-finds-me attitude and (b) social media dependence and high levels of conspiracy mentality are most likely to be associated with online discouragement of vaccination. In the direct statistical model, a TV-dependent media diet is more likely to be associated with online discouragement of vaccination, but the moderation model shows that a TV-dependent diet most strongly attenuates the relationship between vaccine hesitancy and discouraging vaccination. Our findings support public health communication based on four main methods. First, direct contact, through the post, workplace, or community structures, and through phone counseling via local health services, could reach the news avoiders. Second, TV public information advertisements should point to authoritative information sources, such as National Health Service (NHS) and other public health websites, which should then feature clear and simple ways for people to share material among their online social networks. Third, informative social media campaigns will provide super seekers with good resources to share, while also encouraging the social media dependent to browse away from social media platforms and visit reliable and authoritative online sources. Fourth, social media companies should expand and intensify their removal of vaccine disinformation and anti-vax accounts, and such efforts should be monitored by well-resourced, independent organizations.

Researching LGBT+ Youth Intimacies and Social Media: The Strengths and Limitations of Participant-Led Visual Methods

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Marston
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Media ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Young People ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Lgbt Youth ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social

This paper draws on data from an exploratory study into the social media engagements of LGBT+ young people aged 16 to 20 years old, in the United Kingdom, and considers how participant-led visual methods generated insights into different modalities of digitally mediated intimacy. It outlines the methodological paradigms dominating current research on LGBT+ young people’s digitally mediated practices of intimacy and argues that visual methods have been underemployed to date. The participatory visual methods used in this study, including map-making and digital tours of participant’s digital worlds along with visual elicitation interviews, are documented and explored in relation to Berlant’s work on intimacy and theories of networked affect. It also reflects upon the ethical implications of re-presenting social media images and troubles interpretive imperatives within qualitative research.

scholarly journals Communicating public health during COVID-19, implications for vaccine rollout

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172110235
Author(s):  
Peter S Bloomfield ◽  
Josefine Magnusson ◽  
Maeve Walsh ◽  
Annemarie Naylor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Large Body ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Future ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Areas Of Concern ◽  
Official Sources

A large body of information and opinion related to COVID-19 is being shared via social media platforms. Recent reports have raised concerns about the reliability and verifiability of said information being disseminated and the way systems, processes and design of the platforms facilitates such spread. This, alongside other areas of concern, has resulted in several social media platforms taking steps towards tackling the spread of mis- and dis-information. Here we discuss approaches to online public health messaging from a range of sources during COVID-19, with a focus on official and non-official sources in the United Kingdom (UK). We highlight issues for ongoing public health decisions, and the potential impact for the future course of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Produção de conhecimento pelas mídias sociais: um olhar retrospectivo da polarização política dos fenômenos do Brexit e do impeachment presidencial de 2016 | Knowledge production by social media: a retrospective look at the political polarization of the Brexit phenomena and the Presidential impeachment of 2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Cristina Dufloth ◽  
Cristina Camila Teles Saldanha
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Use Of Social Media

RESUMO O artigo aborda o uso de mídias sociais na criação de sentido voltada à produção de conhecimento a partir da polarização política no Reino Unido e no Brasil. Foi analisado o teor das manifestações apresentadas em hashtags do Twitter sobre o Brexit e o impeachment de 2016. Nas mídias sociais, o estudo evidencia comportamentos polarizados, porém distintos: no Reino Unido destacam-se os efeitos da decisão e, no Brasil, o posicionamento ideológico envolvido na questão. Conclui-se que nesses contextos de polarização, as mídias sociais intensificam o debate e a diversidade de opiniões, favoráveis ao processo democrático e à produção de conhecimento estimulada pela ambiguidade.Palavras-chave: Mídias Sociais Digitais; Polarização Política; Produção de Conhecimento; Brexit; Impeachment 2016.   ABSTRACT The article discusses the use of social media in the creation of sense directed to knowledge production based on political polarization in the United Kingdom and Brazil. It analyzed the content of the manifestations presented in Twitter hashtags on the Brexit and the impeachment of 2016. In the social media, the study evidences polarized, but distinct behaviors: in the United Kingdom the effects of the decision stand out and, in Brazil, the positioning involved in the issue. It is concluded that in these contexts of polarization, social media intensify the debate and diversity of opinions favorable to the democratic process and the production of knowledge stimulated by ambiguity.Keywords:Digital Social Media. Political Polarization; Knowledge Production; Brexit; 2016; Impeachment.            

scholarly journals A Panel Evaluation of the Changes in the General Public’s Social-Media-Following of United States’ Public Health Departments during COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272199545
Author(s):  
Areej Khokhar ◽  
Aaron Spaulding ◽  
Zuhair Niazi ◽  
Sikander Ailawadhi ◽  
Rami Manochakian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Health Department ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Departments ◽  
The Social ◽  
The U.S

Importance: Social media is widely used by various segments of society. Its role as a tool of communication by the Public Health Departments in the U.S. remains unknown. Objective: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media following of the Public Health Departments of the 50 States of the U.S. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data were collected by visiting the Public Health Department web page for each social media platform. State-level demographics were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention was utilized to collect information regarding the Governance of each State’s Public Health Department. Health rankings were collected from “America’s Health Rankings” 2019 Annual report from the United Health Foundation. The U.S. News and World Report Education Rankings were utilized to provide information regarding the public education of each State. Exposure: Data were pulled on 3 separate dates: first on March 5th (baseline and pre-national emergency declaration (NED) for COVID-19), March 18th (week following NED), and March 25th (2 weeks after NED). In addition, a variable identifying the total change across platforms was also created. All data were collected at the State level. Main Outcome: Overall, the social media following of the state Public Health Departments was very low. There was a significant increase in the public interest in following the Public Health Departments during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: With the declaration of National Emergency, there was a 150% increase in overall public following of the State Public Health Departments in the U.S. The increase was most noted in the Midwest and South regions of the U.S. The overall following in the pandemic “hotspots,” such as New York, California, and Florida, was significantly lower. Interesting correlations were noted between various demographic variables, health, and education ranking of the States and the social media following of their Health Departments. Conclusion and Relevance: Social media following of Public Health Departments across all States of the U.S. was very low. Though, the social media following significantly increased during the early course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still remains low. Significant opportunity exists for Public Health Departments to improve social media use to engage the public better.

scholarly journals Steganographic visual story with mutual-perceived joint attention

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyang Guo ◽  
Hanzhou Wu ◽  
Xinpeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Joint Attention ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Generation Model ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Visual Storytelling ◽  
The Social ◽  
User Intervention

AbstractSocial media plays an increasingly important role in providing information and social support to users. Due to the easy dissemination of content, as well as difficulty to track on the social network, we are motivated to study the way of concealing sensitive messages in this channel with high confidentiality. In this paper, we design a steganographic visual stories generation model that enables users to automatically post stego status on social media without any direct user intervention and use the mutual-perceived joint attention (MPJA) to maintain the imperceptibility of stego text. We demonstrate our approach on the visual storytelling (VIST) dataset and show that it yields high-quality steganographic texts. Since the proposed work realizes steganography by auto-generating visual story using deep learning, it enables us to move steganography to the real-world online social networks with intelligent steganographic bots.

The Social Relations of Business Representation and Devolved Governance in the United Kingdom

2003 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1853-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Raco
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cooperative Networks ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policymaking And Implementation ◽  
And Performance

The reform of regional governance in the United Kingdom has been, in part, premised on the notion that regions provide new territories of action in which cooperative networks between business communities and state agencies can be established. Promoting business interests is seen as one mechanism for enhancing the economic competitiveness and performance of ‘laggard’ regions. Yet, within this context of change, business agendas and capacities are often assumed to exist ‘out there’, as a resource waiting to be tapped by state institutions. There is little recognition that business organisations' involvement in networks of governance owes much to historical patterns and practices of business representation, to the types of activities that exist within the business sector, and to interpretations of their own role and position within wider policymaking and implementation networks. This paper, drawing on a study of business agendas in post-devolution Scotland, demonstrates that in practice business agendas are highly complex. Their formation in any particular place depends on the actions of reflexive agents, whose perspectives and capacities are shaped by the social, economic, and political contexts within which they are operating. As such, any understanding of business agendas needs to identify the social relations of business as a whole, rather than assuming away such complexities.

Reconfiguring professional autonomy? The case of social work in the UK

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chandler ◽  
Elisabeth Berg ◽  
Marion Ellison ◽  
Jim Barry
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
The Third ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

This chapter discusses the contemporary position of social work in the United Kingdom, and in particular the challenges to what is seen as a managerial-technicist version of social work. The chapter begins with focus on the situation from the 1990s to the present day in which this version of social work takes root and flourishes. The discussion then concentrates on three different routes away from a managerial-technicist social work: the first, reconfiguring professional practice in the direction of evaluation in practice, the second ‘reclaiming social work’ on the Hackney relationship-based model and the third ‘reclaiming social work’ in a more radical, highly politicised way. Special attention is devoted to a discussion about how much autonomy the social workers have in different models, but also what kind of autonomy and for what purpose.

scholarly journals Ethiopian and Eritrean Immigrants in Britain

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Campbell ◽  
Solomon Afework
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Immigrant Settlement ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Refugee Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Aspects

This paper explores key aspects of the immigrant experience of 50,000-plus Ethiopians and Eritreans who live in the United Kingdom. We seek to understand the extent to which immigrant life in the UK has acted ‘as a kind of pivot’ between integrating in their country of settlement and enduring forms of connection with their country of origin. This question is explored by an examination of immigrant organising in the UK – in Refugee Community Organisations – and through interviews about their life in the UK and evolving ideas about self-identity. We argue for an open-ended approach to understand immigrants which sidesteps assumptions about forms of collective identity and which asks how the social and policy context has affected immigrant settlement and integration in the UK.

scholarly journals A unique measles B3 cluster in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands linked to air travel and transit at a large international airport, February to April 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Nic Lochlainn ◽  
Sema Mandal ◽  
Rita de Sousa ◽  
Karthik Paranthaman ◽  
Rob van Binnendijk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Virus Strain ◽  
Measles Virus ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Uk ◽  
In Transit

This report describes a joint measles outbreak investigation between public health officials in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands following detection of a measles cluster with a unique measles virus strain. From 1 February to 30 April 2014, 33 measles cases with a unique measles virus strain of genotype B3 were detected in the UK and the Netherlands, of which nine secondary cases were epidemiologically linked to an infectious measles case travelling from the Philippines. Through a combination of epidemiological investigation and sequence analysis, we found that measles transmission occurred in flight, airport and household settings. The secondary measles cases included airport workers, passengers in transit at the same airport or travelling on the same flight as the infectious case and also household contacts. This investigation highlighted the particular importance of measles genotyping in identifying transmission networks and the need to improve vaccination, public health follow-up and management of travellers and airport staff exposed to measles.

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