COVID-19 and the impact of virtual social networks: knowledge transfer or public panic (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimia Pourmohammadi ◽  
Seyyed Hakimzadeh ◽  
Pivand Bastani
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Under these circumstances, social media is constantly covering the news and the related information via films, voices, clips, and texts; however, these reports are sometimes challenging outbreak response efforts. For instance, the misinformation and conspiracy theories spread via social media have generated panic and mistrust among the general public, diverted attention away from the outbreak response, and impeded the activities of health-care workers (6). Another evidence shows that many public safety agencies and organizations face the challenge of reducing the spread of false information distributed via social media (9). Accordingly, the aim of this study was to analyze the contents of information shared via virtual social media over the three weeks since the formal confirmation of COVID-19 outbreak in the Islamic Republic of Iran. OBJECTIVE According to the effective role of social media in communicating risk information to the public, the aim of this study was to analyze the contents of information shared via virtual social media over the three weeks since the formal confirmation of COVID-19 outbreak in the Islamic Republic of Iran. METHODS This qualitative discourse analysis was conducted on the contents of three more common virtual social networks (Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram) from Feb20 to March 11, 2020 in Iran. Four steps of defining the research question and selecting the content of analysis, gathering information and theory on the context, analyzing the content for themes and patterns and reviewing the results and drawing conclusions were conducted. RESULTS Based on the results, the contents of social media in the analysis duration were allocated four main categories related to the COVID-19 outbreak including political, social, health, and economic issues CONCLUSIONS It seems that all three social Medias have an effective role to share public information, especially those that are related to the public health and health education but at the same time, the analyzed social media have created the sense of panic and fear, particularly in the scopes of social, economic, and political issues.

scholarly journals The Mistakes of a Public Communication in the Ebola Crisis in Spain

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Rafael Barberá González ◽  
Victoria Cuesta
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Hemorrhagic Fever ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Good Resolution ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

This work analyzes the impact of the outbreak of hemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus in Spain in the field of communication. The communication of such a crisis entails an interaction of information between individuals and institutions. Accuracy in the messages that are disseminated is key to the good resolution of the crisis. In this case of the Ebola crisis the impact in the Spanish media was very remarkable not only of the evolution of the crisis but also of the public information that were being made known by the authorities. The errors committed in this public communication, especially in the first institutional appearance, will be analyzed and possible solutions will be provided for future crises. In addition, the information behavior that was given in social networks by the authorities will be analyzed. To perform this work, bibliographical sources, data analysis and the media have been used.

scholarly journals The technology of sustainable political public relations and ideas creation with the help of social media

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Aleksei Panasenko ◽  
Tatiana Khlivniuk
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Source Analysis ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Political Public Relations ◽  
The Impact

Recent years have witnessed the effectiveness of political public relations in influencing public opinion and election results. The unpredictable support of Donald Trump in the US presidential election, the unexpected vote for Brexit in the UK and the victory of former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian presidential election might serve as the examples. The public relations research shows the uncertainty about the impact of social media and other online communication platforms on building strong connections between political subjects and society. The aim of this study is to reveal and evaluate the nature, methods and impact of the mechanism of political relations with the public to the society in general, and in social networks in particular.Statistical research and open source analysis were used as the main methods of this study. As an example of the above-mentioned political communications, we cite the election campaign of the current president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, namely its Facebook component.The novelty of this study is the statistical analysis of political technologies and assessment of their impact on society, on sustainable relations between society and politicians, and their impact on the formation of sustainable ideas.Modern methods of political influence were found to be undergoing some difficult changes. More and more social media occupies a significant part of political communication and forms ideas that are later perceived and relayed by the society.This paper identifies the main mechanisms and technologies that modern politicians use to achieve their political goals. A method of using a banner on Facebook to form a political agenda, mood and ideas was described. The influence of the used technologies, the reasons and consequences of use of these technologies in the environment of social networks were estimated.The Facebook page of V. Zelensky was analyzed. The use of political ideas in the 2019 election campaign and the formation of public relations were assessed. Indicators of the growing popularity of political ideas and key technologies used to achieve this goal were identified. The degree of assimilation of the image of V. Zelensky as a president in society was revealed. Also, the growing trend of Ukrainian society's involvement in the political life of the state during the elections was characterized.

Sentiment Analysis as a Tool to Understand the Cultural Relationship between Consumer and Brand

2017 ◽  
pp. 202-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Capolupo ◽  
Gianpaolo Basile ◽  
Giancarlo Scozzese
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Product Launch ◽  
Consumer Sentiment ◽  
Specific Product ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

One of the most relevant issues that companies, offices and marketing experts, sociologists and scholars must address studying a new brand or product launch is without any doubt the impact - in terms of feedback - on the consumer sentiment. The study of users' opinions on a specific product or brand has changed with the advent of Web 2.0, which has overcome the old surveys model leading consumers in a too complex and not genuine area, reaching more sophisticated research or even better tracking their opinions directly “on the field”, i.e. in the community where this exchange of views and information happens naturally and not artificially. The analysis of consumers' opinions on social media provides enormous opportunities for the public and the private spheres. Concerning the last on the reputation of a certain product/brand or firm is strongly influenced by the voices and negative opinions published and shared by users on social networks. Indeed, companies need to adapt their behaviour monitoring public opinion.

#INCLUSION – THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION ON THE LEGITIMACY OF ARMED FORCES

2019 ◽  
pp. 43-60
Author(s):  
EVA MOEHLECKE DE BASEGGIO ◽  
OLIVIA SCHNEIDER ◽  
TIBOR SZVIRCSEV TRESCH
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Media Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Legitimation ◽  
Social Media Communication ◽  
The Impact

The Swiss Armed Forces (SAF), as part of a democratic system, depends on legitimacy. Democracy, legitimacy and the public are closely connected. In the public sphere the SAF need to be visible; it is where they are controlled and legitimated by the citizens, as part of a deliberative discussion in which political decisions are communicatively negotiated. Considering this, the meaning of political communication, including the SAF’s communication, becomes obvious as it forms the most important basis for political legitimation processes. Social media provide a new way for the SAF to communicate and interact directly with the population. The SAF’s social media communication potentially brings it closer to the people and engages them in a dialogue. The SAF can become more transparent and social media communication may increase its reputation and legitimacy. To measure the effects of social media communication, a survey of the Swiss internet population was conducted. Based on this data, a structural equation model was defined, the effects of which substantiate the assumption that the SAF benefits from being on social media in terms of broadening its reach and increasing legitimacy values.

Influence of social networks on business processes’ development

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2225-2252
Author(s):  
E.V. Popov ◽  
V.L. Simonova ◽  
O.V. Komarova ◽  
S.S. Kaigorodova
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Sales Channels ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Impact

Subject. The emergence of new ways of interaction between sellers and buyers, the formation of new sales channels and product promotion based on the use of digital economy tools is at the heart of improving the business processes. Social networks became a tool for development; their rapid growth necessitates theoretical understanding and identification of potential application in enterprise's business process digitalization. Objectives. We explore the role of social media in the digitalization of business processes, systematize the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises in the digital economy. Methods. The theoretical and methodological analysis of social networks as a tool for digitalization of company's business processes rests on the content analysis of domestic and foreign scientific studies, comparison, generalization and systematization. Results. We highlight the key effects of the impact of social networks on the business processes of the company; show that the digitalization of business processes should be considered in the context of a value-based approach, aimed at creating a value through the algorithmization of company operations. We determine that social networks are one of the most important tools for digitalization of company's business processes, as they have a high organizational and management potential. We also systematize the effects of social media on company's business processes. Conclusions. We present theoretical provisions of the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises, which will enable to model and organize ideas about the development of digital ecosystems and the formation of business models.

New Wars and Their Visual Representation: Dead Bodies without Graves/Mourne

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Tuncay Şur ◽  
Betül Yarar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
War Photography ◽  
New Wars ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

This paper seeks to understand why there has been an increase in photographic images exposing military violence or displaying bodies killed by military forces and how they can freely circulate in the public without being censored or kept hidden. In other words, it aims to analyze this particular issue as a symptom of the emergence of new wars and a new regime of their visual representation. Within this framework, it attempts to relate two kinds of literature that are namely the history of war and war photography with the bridge of theoretical discussions on the real, its photographic representation, power, and violence.  Rather than systematic empirical analysis, the paper is based on a theoretical attempt which is reflected on some socio-political observations in the Middle East where there has been ongoing wars or new wars. The core discussion of the paper is supported by a brief analysis of some illustrative photographic images that are served through the social media under the circumstances of war for instance in Turkey between Turkish military troops and the Kurdish militants. The paper concludes that in line with the process of dissolution/transformation of the old nation-state formations and globalization, the mechanism and mode of power have also transformed to the extent that it resulted in the emergence of new wars. This is one dynamic that we need to recognize in relation to the above-mentioned question, the other is the impact of social media in not only delivering but also receiving war photographies. Today these changes have led the emergence of new machinery of power in which the old modern visual/photographic techniques of representing wars without human beings, torture, and violence through censorship began to be employed alongside medieval power techniques of a visual exhibition of tortures and violence.

News and Idiosyncratic Volatility: The Public Information Processing Hypothesis*

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F Engle ◽  
Martin Klint Hansen ◽  
Ahmet K Karagozoglu ◽  
Asger Lunde
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Autoregressive Process ◽  
Return Volatility ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Financial News ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Motivated by the recent availability of extensive electronic news databases and advent of new empirical methods, there has been renewed interest in investigating the impact of financial news on market outcomes for individual stocks. We develop the information processing hypothesis of return volatility to investigate the relation between firm-specific news and volatility. We propose a novel dynamic econometric specification and test it using time series regressions employing a machine learning model selection procedure. Our empirical results are based on a comprehensive dataset comprised of more than 3 million news items for a sample of 28 large U.S. companies. Our proposed econometric specification for firm-specific return volatility is a simple mixture model with two components: public information and private processing of public information. The public information processing component is defined by the contemporaneous relation with public information and volatility, while the private processing of public information component is specified as a general autoregressive process corresponding to the sequential price discovery mechanism of investors as additional information, previously not publicly available, is generated and incorporated into prices. Our results show that changes in return volatility are related to public information arrival and that including indicators of public information arrival explains on average 26% (9–65%) of changes in firm-specific return volatility.

Correcting Misperceptions About Genetically Modified Food on Social Media: Examining the Impact of Experts, Social Media Heuristics, and the Gateway Belief Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 107554702098137
Author(s):  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Melissa Tully
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Belief Model ◽  
The Impact

We experimentally test whether expert organizations on social media can correct misperceptions of the scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified (GM) food for human consumption, as well as what role social media cues, in the form of “likes,” play in that process. We find expert organizations highlighting scientific consensus on GM food safety reduces consensus misperceptions among the public, leading to lower GM misperceptions and boosting related consumption behaviors in line with the gateway belief model. Expert organizations’ credibility may increase as a result of correction, but popularity cues do not seem to affect misperceptions or credibility.

scholarly journals Determinants of Social Media Impact in Local Government

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Hisham Mohd Sharif ◽  
Indrit Troshani ◽  
Robyn Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Media Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Perceived Security ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Media Data

Limited attention has been directed towards understanding the impact of social media in the public sector, particularly in local government organisations. Although social media offer substantial benefits and opportunities to local government, research into the impact of social media remains scant. To address this gap, the authors draw on the technology, organisation, and environment (TOE) framework and propose a model of the determinants of social media impact in local government. The model is tested with data collected via a survey with 173 Australian local government organisations using social media. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results indicate that TOE factors including perceived benefits, perceived security risks, compatibility, and degree of formalisation are important predictors of social media impact in local government.

Who is watching over me? - Was the public’s perception of the anaesthetist changed by National Anaesthesia Day?

2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-141
Author(s):  
S J Tanser ◽  
D J Birt
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Local Information ◽  
White Coat ◽  
Information Campaign ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Local Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

AbstractThe aim of National Anaesthesia Day on 25 May 2000 was to inform the public about the role and training of anaesthetists. We carried out two surveys of patients attending Derriford Hospital, Plymouth to assess the local impact of National Anaesthesia Day and to assess the public’s expectation of the preoperative visit. The first survey was held one month prior to National Anaesthesia Day and was completed by 93 patients. The second survey was held immediately following National Anaesthesia Day and was completed by 70 patients. Thirty five percent of the patients surveyed were unaware that anaesthetists were medically qualified. This result was not altered by National Anaesthesia Day despite a local information campaign. Moreover, knowledge about our role and training was only marginally improved from 1978. The majority of patients expected to see their anaesthetist preoperatively for less than 10 minutes and would not be concerned if they had not been seen one hour before surgery. Style of clothing was unimportant; few preferred a white coat but name badges were desirable. We conclude that the level of ignorance about our profession has not changed since 1978 and the impact of National Anaesthesia Day was not significant. This may be as a result of the anaesthetist’s portrayal on television, which is known to be an important source of public information on other areas of medicine. If these statistics are to change in the next 22 years new methods of public education need to be found.

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