scholarly journals Reporting on the opioid crisis (2000–2018): role of The Globe and Mail, a Canadian English-language newspaper in influencing public opinion

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda My Linh Quan ◽  
Lindsay A. Wilson ◽  
Salima S. Mithani ◽  
David T. Zhu ◽  
A. Brianne Bota ◽  
...  

Abstract Background We aim to describe the general characteristics of how the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reports on opioid-related news, the opioid crisis and its victims, and explore how Canadians’ perceptions of the opioid crisis could have developed over time from this reporting. The Globe and Mail has the highest circulation among Canadian newspapers and is Canada’s newspaper of record. Methods Reviewers performed independent, blinded bibliometric searches of all The Globe and Mail articles archived in the Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly spanning an 18-year period (1 January 2000–1 June 2018) related to the keywords “opioids” or “drugs and opioids” and “opiates”. Independently and in duplicate, reviewers manually extracted qualitative data from articles and identified emergent themes. Articles were screened independently by both reviewers based on the inclusion criteria. Conflicts were resolved by discussion and consensus. Social representation theory was used as a framework for describing how the opioid crisis is portrayed in Canada. Results Our search yielded 650 relevant opioid articles. The number of articles peaked in 2009, 2012, and in 2016, coinciding with major developments in the epidemic. The language used in this discourse has evolved over the years and has slowly shifted towards less stigmatizing language. Content analysis of the articles revealed common social representations attributing responsibility to pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and foreign countries. Conclusions The Globe and Mail’s coverage of the opioid crisis is focused on basic social representations and attributed responsibility for the crisis to a few collectives. A shift toward coverage of the root causes of the opioid epidemic could positively influence the general public’s perception of the opioid crisis and promote deeper understanding of the issue. Journalists face several obstacles to achieve greater focus and framing of the opioid crisis; a closer working relationship between the media and the research community is needed.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Quan ◽  
Lindsay A. Wilson ◽  
Kumanan Wilson

Abstract Objectives: We aim to describe the general characteristics of how Canada’s newspaper of record – The Globe and Mail, reports on opioid-related news, the opioid crisis and its victims,and explore how Canadians’ perceptions of the opioid crisis could have developed over time.Methods: We searched The Globe and Mailbetween 2000 and 2018. We identified all articles related to the keyword “opioids”. Independently and in duplicate, reviewers extracted qualitative data from articles. The Social Representation Theory was used as a framework for understanding the how the opioid crisis is portrayed in Canada. Results:Our search yielded 554 relevant opioid articles.The number of articles peaked in 2009, 2012, and in 2016, coinciding with major developments in the epidemic. The language used in this discourse has evolved over the years and has slowly shifted towards less stigmatizing language. Content analysis of the articles revealed common social representations attributing blame to pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and foreign countries.It is easy to blame these collectives as this contributes to social representations thatare anchored in thepublic’s predisposed notions.Conclusions:Canadian coverage of the opioid crisis is focused on basic social representations and blame patterns towards a few collectives, a shift towards root causes of the opioid epidemic could positively influence the general public’s perception of the opioid crisis and help reap deeper understanding of the issue. Journalists face several obstacles to achieve greater focus and framing of the opioid crisis, a closer working relationshipbetween the media and the research community is needed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002205742110259
Author(s):  
Chetan Sinha

The present paper critically examined the available research on role of family and school contribution in academic achievement and explored their social representations. People adaptation with the prevalent notions and thinking beyond the boundary of common sense is required to explain multidimensional picture of any attribute. Previous research applied social representation theory to understand educability, intelligence, academic achievement and failure, and teachership. This article showed a polysemic understanding of family and school contribution where roles and identity matters.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-93
Author(s):  
Zuzanna Zbróg

The article shows, on the example of discussion about the lowering of the school age, how it can be analysed by means of communication mechanisms distinctive of the social representation theory (anchoring, objectification) and the procedure of media discourse research in what way the media and citizens create social representations concerning socio-political problems, including educational problems. Social representations as a key tool describing the reality give meanings within the frame of the perceived world and join the private and the public reality. The knowledge encompassed in the representations clarifies the reality. The author’s own analysis included press materials published in the on-line versions of Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza and the web page Interia in years 2013–2014.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chetan Sinha

<p>The present paper critically examined the available research on role of family and school contribution in academic achievement and explored their social representations. People adaptation with the prevalent notions and thinking beyond the boundary of common sense is required to explain multidimensional picture of any attribute. Previous research applied social representation theory to understand educability (Raty & Snellman, 1998), intelligence (Miguel, Valentim, & Carugati, 2010), academic achievement and failure (Sinha & Mishra, 2015), and teachership (Martikainen, 2019). This paper showed a polysemic understanding of family and school contribution where roles and identity matters. <i></i></p>


2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligia Fahl Kemmer ◽  
Maria Júlia Paes da Silva

This study aimed to further our understanding of the social representations of nurses and the nursing profession by communication professionals, since they are intermediates in the decoding of imaging and written representations about society. Method: this is a qualitative study, based on the social representation theory of Moscovici. Five communication professionals working on radio, television, written press, advertising and events were interviewed. Results suggest 1) ignorance about the nurse's field of work, job market and nursing profession categorization. 2) nurses' invisibility before the media and society and 3) nurse's own responsibility to obtain professional recognition and visibility. Participants in this study pointed two essential processes for building a more coherent image of nursing and nurses: 1) exposing the profession primarily before the media, which ignores its potentialities, and 2) through the media in order to reach the population in general.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chetan Sinha

<p>The present paper critically examined the available research on role of family and school contribution in academic achievement and explored their social representations. People adaptation with the prevalent notions and thinking beyond the boundary of common sense is required to explain multidimensional picture of any attribute. Previous research applied social representation theory to understand educability (Raty & Snellman, 1998), intelligence (Miguel, Valentim, & Carugati, 2010), academic achievement and failure (Sinha & Mishra, 2015), and teachership (Martikainen, 2019). This paper showed a polysemic understanding of family and school contribution where roles and identity matters. <i></i></p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bonetto ◽  
Fabien Girandola ◽  
Grégory Lo Monaco

Abstract. This contribution consists of a critical review of the literature about the articulation of two traditionally separated theoretical fields: social representations and commitment. Besides consulting various works and communications, a bibliographic search was carried out (between February and December, 2016) on various databases using the keywords “commitment” and “social representation,” in the singular and in the plural, in French and in English. Articles published in English or in French, that explicitly made reference to both terms, were included. The relations between commitment and social representations are approached according to two approaches or complementary lines. The first line follows the role of commitment in the representational dynamics: how can commitment transform the representations? This articulation gathers most of the work on the topic. The second line envisages the social representations as determinants of commitment procedures: how can these representations influence the effects of commitment procedures? This literature review will identify unexploited tracks, as well as research perspectives for both areas of research.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Klein

This is a pdf of the original typed manuscript of a lecture made in 2006. An annotated English translation will be published by the International Review of Social Psychology. I this text, Moscovici seeks to update his earlier work on the “conspiracy mentality” (1987) by considering the relationships between social representations and conspiracy mentality. Innovation in this field, Moscovici argues, will require a much thorough description and understanding of what conspiracy theories are, what rhetoric they use and what functions they fulfill. Specifically, Moscovici considers conspiracies as a form of counterfactual history implying a more desirable world (in which the conspiracy did not take place) and suggests that social representation theory should tackle this phenomenon. He explicitly links conspiracy theories to works of fiction and suggests that common principles might explain their popularity. Historically, he argues, conspiracism was born twice: First, in the middle ages, when their primary function was to exclude and destroy what was considered as heresy; and second, after the French revolution, to delegitimize the Enlightenment, which was attributed to a small coterie of reactionaries rather than to the will of the people. Moscovici then considers four aspects (“thematas”) of conspiracy mentality: 1/ the prohibition of knowledge; 2/ the duality between the majority (the masses, prohibited to know) and “enlightened” minorities; 3/ the search for a common origin, a “ur phenomenon” that connects historical events and provides a continuity to History (he notes that such a tendency is also present in social psychological theorizing); and 4/ the valorization of tradition as a bulwark against modernity. Some of Moscovici’s insights in this talk have since been borne out by contemporary research on the psychology of conspiracy theories, but many others still remain fascinating potential avenues for future research.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 202-205
Author(s):  
Ralrizônia Fernandes Sousa ◽  
Sílvio Éder Dias Da Silva ◽  
Esleane Vilela Vasconcelos ◽  
Lucialba Maria Silva Dos Santos ◽  
Vander Monteiro Da Conceição ◽  
...  

Objetivou-se identificar o significado dos olhos nas representações sociais de clientes transplantados de córnea e suas implicações para o cuidado de si. Tratase de uma pesquisa descritiva qualitativa, adotando a Teoria das Representações Sociais na perspectiva de Moscovici. Fizeram parte deste estudo, 15 clientes submetidos a transplantes de córnea e que se encontravam em acompanhamento no Consultório de Oftalmologia do Ambulatório do Hospital Ophir Loyola, em Belém, PA. Os depoentes atribuíram significados diversos aos seus olhos, substanciados por sentimentos de tristeza e insatisfação, que contribuíram para mudanças significativas no cuidado de si. Há necessidade de se cogitar sobre o compromisso do enfermeiro com o cliente transplantado de córnea que, muitas vezes, encontra-se fragilizado, necessitando de um olhar mais atento.Descritores: Enfermagem, Transplante de Córnea, Cuidado de Si.Eye on the meaning of social representations corneal transplantation customers and it’s implications for the care of youThe aim of this study was to identify the meaning of the eyes of customers in the social representations of corneal transplant and its implications for self-care. It is a descriptive and qualitative study, adopting the Social Representation Theory in the context of Moscovici. The sample comprised 15 clients who underwent corneal transplantation and were followed up in the office of the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Ophir Loyola Hospital, in Belem, Pará. The respondents attributed different meanings to their eyes; substantiated by feelings of sadness and dissatisfaction, that contributed to significant changes in self-care. There is need to think about the commitment of the nurse with the client cornea transplant, which often is fragile, requiring a closer look.Descriptors: Nursing, Corneal Transplantation, Self-care.Los ojos sobre el significado de los clientes representataciones sociales transplante de córnea y sus conscuencias para el cuidad de ustedEl objetivo fue identificar el significado de los ojos de los clientes en las representaciones sociales de trasplante de córnea y sus implicaciones para el autocuidado. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo cualitativo, adoptando laTeoría de las Representaciones Sociales en el contexto de Moscovici. La muestra es compuesta por 15 clientes que se sometieron a trasplante de córnea que se siguió en la oficina de la Clínica de Oftalmología del Hospital Ophir Loyola, en Belem, Pará. Los encuestados atribuyen diferentes significados a sus ojos, motivada por sentimientos de tristeza e insatisfacción, que han contribuido a cambios significativos en el auto-cuidado. Hay que pensar en el compromiso de la enfermera con el trasplante de cornea del cliente, que a menudo es frágil, lo que requiere una mirada más cercana.Descriptores: Enfermería, Trasplante de Córnea, Cuidar de si.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Rateau ◽  
Jean Louis Tavani ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic (between 26 March and 2 April 2020), we analysed (n=1144) the social representations of the coronavirus and the differentiated perceptions according to the origins attributed to the appearance of the virus (Human vs Non-Human and Intentional vs. Unintentional) in a French population. The results show that the social representation is organized around five potentially central descriptive, anxiety-provoking and globally negative elements. But death and contagion are the only stable and structuring elements. The other elements vary according to the reason attributed to the object of fear. Depending on how individuals attribute the origin of the virus, social representations of it vary not only in terms of their content but also in terms of their structure. These results indicate how important it is to consider the perceptions that individuals share about the human (vs. non-human) and intentional (vs. unintentional) origin of an object of fear in the analysis of their representation of that object.


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