scholarly journals How advocacy affects Twitter migraine conversations: A pilot cross-sectional survey of Northeast American “migraine” landscape on Twitter from May to June 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 251581632097208
Author(s):  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Santosh Bhaskarabhatla

Background: Twitter is a leading microblogging platform, with over 126 million daily active users as of 2019, which allows for large-scale analysis of tweets related to migraine. June 2020 encompassed the National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month in the United States and the American Headache Society’s virtual annual conference, which offer opportunities for us to study online migraine advocacy. Objective: We aim to study the content of individual tweets about migraine, as well as study patterns of other topics that were discussed in those tweets. In addition, we aim to study the sources of information that people reference within their tweets. Thirdly, we want to study how online awareness and advocacy movements shape these conversations about migraine. Methods: We designed a Twitter robot that records all unique public tweets containing the word “migraine” from May 8th, 2020 to June 23rd, 2020, within a 400 km radius of New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. We built two network analysis models, one for the months of May 2020 and June 2020. The model for the month of May served as a control group for the model for the month of June, the Migraine Awareness Month. Our network model was developed with the following rule: if two hashtag topics co-exist in a single tweet, they are considered nodes connected by an edge in our network model. We then determine the top 30 most important hashtags in the month of May and June through applications of degree, between-ness, and closeness centrality. We also generated highly connected subgraphs (HCS) to categorize clusters of conversations within each of our models. Finally, we tally the websites referenced by these tweets during each month and categorized these websites according to the HCS subgroups. Results: Migraine advocacy related tweets are more popular in June when compared to May as judged by degree and closeness centrality measurements. They remained unchanged when judged by between-ness centralities. The HCS algorithm categorizes the hashtags into a large single dominant conversation in both months. In each of the months, advocacy related hashtags are apart of each of the dominant conversation. There are more hashtag topics as well as more unique websites referenced in the dominant conversation in June than in May. In addition, there are many smaller subgroups of migraine-related hashtags, and in each of these subgroups, there are a maximum of two websites referenced. Conclusion: We find a network analysis approach to be fruitful in the area of migraine social media research. Migraine advocacy tweets on Twitter not only rise in popularity during migraine awareness month but also may potentially bring in more diverse sources of online references into the Twitter migraine conversation. The smaller subgroups we identified suggest that there are marginalized conversations referencing a limited number of websites, creating a possibility of an “echo chamber” phenomenon. These subgroups provide an opportunity for targeted migraine advocacy. Our study therefore highlights the success as well as potential opportunities for social media advocacy on Twitter.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mugur Geana

Introduction. As we conduct this study, the world is in the grasp of a deadly pandemic. In less than six months since its first diagnosis in Wuhan, China, the COVID-19 infectious disease due to the novel coronavirus has infected over 5,000,000 people and claimed over 350,000 lives. In the United States, most of the cases are in large urban settings along the coasts, but the disease is slowly progressing through the mainland. Kansas, with its particular location in the midwest United States, has seen a relatively small number of cases, but these are increasing. The Kansas government took radical measures to prevent the spread of the disease. According to the Health Beliefs Model, an individual’s perception of risk will dictate engagement with preventive behaviors. Knowledge about the disease and preventive measures drive the risk assessment. Knowledge is dependant on the sources of information used. This study explored these metrics in a sample of Kansans living in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A combination of snowball samples and random distribution through social media was used to recruit participants to an online survey. The risk and knowledge instrument was developed and validated by WHO Europe. Data collection lasted 96 hours. Results. The attitudes and behaviors of Kansans concerning COVID-19 were consistent with its location in an area of the country with a relatively lower incidence of the disease. Participants had good knowledge about the disease and preventive measures and were willing to comply with recommendations from local authorities. Conclusion. Localized information sources that cater to the community are often primary, while social media is not a valuable source for information pertinent to COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Olga Novikova ◽  

Beginning with an overview of the threats of terrorism in Europe and the USA, the author offers a survey of factors that have been identified as influencing the practices of counterterrorism or law enforcement agencies. Massive counterterrorism operations in Syria and Iraq as well as effectiveness of the counterterrorism authorities curbed large-scale attacks of jihadists in both Western Europe and the United States. But with one of the Islamic State’s key goals being the formation of a new society, rather than simply military victories, the dissemination of its brand and ideology via mainstream social media becomes critical to achieving ISIS’ strategic goals. A surge in the Muslim population with subsequent high Muslim unemployment has been shown to be a predisposing factor for radicalization of the part of Muslim diasporas and its recruitment into the global jihad. The EU-members and the United States need to work more closely on disrupting jihadists’ social media, travel, recruitment and logistics, countering terrorist finance, protecting potential targets. The importance of sharing information is specifically underlined. But the polarisation of society, discrimination and other psychological and sociological factors can reinforce people’s vulnerability to radical discourse. Thus, counter-terrorism should not be purely repressive: integration and iclusion would contribute to prevention efforts, assuming that a more cohesive and inclusive society can help prevent the spread of extremist ideologies leading to terrorism.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110123
Author(s):  
Blake Hallinan ◽  
Bumsoo Kim ◽  
Rebecca Scharlach ◽  
Tommaso Trillò ◽  
Saki Mizoroki ◽  
...  

This article presents a transnational study of the classification and evaluation of social media content. We conducted a large-scale survey ( N = 4770) in five countries (Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United States) with open-ended questions about the types of content people like and dislike. Through iterative and inductive coding, we identified 29 topics, or broad areas of interest, and 213 recurrent genres, or narrower categories that share elements of form and content. We compared the results according to country, gender, age, and education level, identifying patterns of cultural difference and commonality. While we found significant differences in the prominence and preferentiality of content, these distictions were less pronounced for disliked topics around which social media users tended to converge. Finally, we discuss genre imaginaries as normative maps that reflect ideas about morality in general and the purpose of social media in particular.


2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-113
Author(s):  
Thomas N. Steele ◽  
Laura Galarza-Paez ◽  
Gabriela Aguilo-Seara ◽  
Lisa R. David

Background Applicants to integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) residency in the United States spend exorbitant amounts of time and money throughout the interview process. Outside of first-hand experience through a visiting rotation, applicants utilize various resources in learning about a program. Today’s applicants are “Millennials,” the demographic cohort raised during the information age and proficient with digital technology. The authors evaluated whether programs have a presence on social media, and whether applicants are following these accounts.Methods An online survey was sent to applicants to a single integrated plastic surgery program evaluating basic demographics, social media utilization, and sources of information accessed throughout the residency application process. A manual search of popular social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) was performed in October 2019. Accounts affiliated with integrated PRS programs were identified and analyzed.Results Eighty-four of 222 applicants (37.8%) completed the survey. Ninety-six percent of applicants were within the Millennial demographic. Ninety-six percent of applicants had some form of social media presence, with Facebook (90%) and Instagram (87%) being the most popular platforms. Seventy-three percent of applicants reported following a PRS residency social media account. As of October 2019, 59 integrated residency programs (73%) have active Instagram accounts.Conclusions Applicants still rely on the program website when researching potential residencies, but social media is being rapidly adopted by programs. Program social media accounts should be used as a dynamic form of communication to better inform applicants of program strengths and weaknesses.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahmir H. Ali ◽  
Joshua Foreman ◽  
Ariadna Capasso ◽  
Abbey M. Jones ◽  
Yesim Tozan ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into one of the most impactful health crises in modern history. The rapid onset and evolution of the pandemic has compelled researchers to explore innovative ways to efficiently collect public health data in a timely manner. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, have been explored as a recruitment tool for research in other settings; however, their feasibility for collecting data on population beliefs and practices during infectious disease epidemics, such as COVID-19, and their capacity to yield nationally representative samples in these contexts remain unexplored. OBJECTIVE This study has two aims 1) describe the methodology used to recruit a nationwide sample of adults residing in the United States to participate in a survey on COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs, and practices, and 2) outline the preliminary findings related to recruitment, challenges using social media as a recruitment platform, and strategies used to address these challenges. METHODS A Facebook advertisement campaign was used to disseminate the link to an online Qualtrics survey between March 20-30, 2020. Two supplementary male-only and racial minority- targeted advertisements with otherwise identical characteristics to the original advertisement were created on the sixth and tenth day of recruitment, respectively, to address issues of disproportionate female- and White-oriented gender- and ethnic-skewing observed in the advertisement’s reach and response trends. RESULTS The advertisements cumulatively reached 236,017 individuals and resulted in 9,609 clicks (4.07% reach). In total, 6,602 participant responses were recorded (68.7% of those who clicked on the advertisement). Total cost of the advertisement was $906, resulting in costs of $0.09 per click, $0.14 per response (all surveys), and $0.18 per full response (completed surveys). Implementation of the supplementary male-only advertisement successfully improved the cumulative percentage of male respondents from approximately 20% to 40%. CONCLUSIONS The social media advertisement campaign was an effective and efficient strategy to collect large scale, nationwide data on COVID-19 within a short time period. However, significant limitations included gender and racial skewing, which may have resulted from Facebook’s cost optimization algorithms, and advertisement review challenges. Future research should attempt to address such challenges. These findings can inform future research on the use of social media recruitment for the rapid collection of survey data on knowledge, beliefs and practices related to significant public health problems, including rapidly evolving pandemics such as COVID-19.


1966 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. Lourie ◽  
W. Haenszeland

Quality control of data collected in the United States by the Cancer End Results Program utilizing punchcards prepared by participating registries in accordance with a Uniform Punchcard Code is discussed. Existing arrangements decentralize responsibility for editing and related data processing to the local registries with centralization of tabulating and statistical services in the End Results Section, National Cancer Institute. The most recent deck of punchcards represented over 600,000 cancer patients; approximately 50,000 newly diagnosed cases are added annually.Mechanical editing and inspection of punchcards and field audits are the principal tools for quality control. Mechanical editing of the punchcards includes testing for blank entries and detection of in-admissable or inconsistent codes. Highly improbable codes are subjected to special scrutiny. Field audits include the drawing of a 1-10 percent random sample of punchcards submitted by a registry; the charts are .then reabstracted and recoded by a NCI staff member and differences between the punchcard and the results of independent review are noted.


Author(s):  
Joshua Kotin

This book is a new account of utopian writing. It examines how eight writers—Henry David Thoreau, W. E. B. Du Bois, Osip and Nadezhda Mandel'shtam, Anna Akhmatova, Wallace Stevens, Ezra Pound, and J. H. Prynne—construct utopias of one within and against modernity's two large-scale attempts to harmonize individual and collective interests: liberalism and communism. The book begins in the United States between the buildup to the Civil War and the end of Jim Crow; continues in the Soviet Union between Stalinism and the late Soviet period; and concludes in England and the United States between World War I and the end of the Cold War. In this way it captures how writers from disparate geopolitical contexts resist state and normative power to construct perfect worlds—for themselves alone. The book contributes to debates about literature and politics, presenting innovative arguments about aesthetic difficulty, personal autonomy, and complicity and dissent. It models a new approach to transnational and comparative scholarship, combining original research in English and Russian to illuminate more than a century and a half of literary and political history.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Rotimi Williams Omotoye

Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Spitzer ◽  
Brent Heineman ◽  
Marcella Jewell ◽  
Michael Moran ◽  
Peter Lindenauer

BACKGROUND Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects nearly 25 million individuals in the United States. There is a need for more research into the potential for health care providers to leverage existing social media platforms to improve healthy behaviors and support individuals living with chronic health conditions. OBJECTIVE In this study, we assess the willingness of Instagram users with poorly controlled asthma to participate in a pilot study that uses Instagram as a means of providing social and informational support. In addition, we explore the potential for adapting photovoice and digital storytelling to social media. METHODS A survey study of Instagram users living with asthma in the United States, between the ages of 18 to 40. RESULTS Over 3 weeks of recruitment, 457 individuals completed the pre-survey screener; 347 were excluded. Of the 110 people who were eligible and agreed to participate in the study, 82 completed the study survey. Respondents mean age was 21(SD = 5.3). Respondents were 56% female (n=46), 65% (n=53) non-Hispanic white, and 72% (n=59) had at least some college education. The majority of respondents (n = 66, 81%) indicated that they would be willing to participate in the study. CONCLUSIONS Among young-adult Instagram users with asthma there is substantial interest in participating in a study that uses Instagram to connect participants with peers and a health coach in order to share information about self-management of asthma and build social connection.


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