A Comparative Content Analysis of Physician, General Public and Media Opinion Leader Posts Regarding Physician-patient Conflicts on Microblog (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanqi Gong ◽  
Qin Guo

BACKGROUND Physician-patient conflicts have increased more than ten times from the 2000s to 2010s in China and arouse heated discussion on microblog. However, little is known about similarities and differences among views of opinion leaders from the general public, physician, and media regarding physician-patient conflict issues on microblog. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore how opinion leaders from physician, the general public, and media areas framed the posts on major physician-patient conflict issues on microblog. Findings will provide more objective evidence of trilateral (health profession, general public, and media) attitudes and perspectives on physician-patient conflicts. METHODS A comparative content analysis was conducted to examine the posts (N=545) from microblog opinion leaders regarding the major physician-patient conflicts in China from 2012 to 2017. RESULTS Media used significantly more conflict (M=0.16) and attribution frames (M=0.16) but least popularize medical science frame (M=0.03) than physician (M=0.06, p<0.001; M=0.06, p<0.001; M=0.08, p=0.035, respectively) and general public opinion leaders (M=0.06, p<0.001; M=0.09, p=0.003; M=0.12, p<0.001, respectively). There are no significant differences in the use of conflict, cooperation, negative and popular science frames between general public and physician opinion leaders. CONCLUSIONS This imbalanced use of frames by media would cultivate and reinforce the public perception of physician-patient contradiction. The physician and general public opinion leaders share some commons in post frames, implying that they do not have a fundamental discrepancy on physician-patient conflict issues. It is essential to guide and encourage media microbloggers to make every effort to popularize medical science and improve physician-patient relationships.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. (Bill) Wei ◽  
Hanneke Heerema ◽  
Rebecca Rushfeld ◽  
Ida van der Lee

Cultural heritage professionals are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of care being taken by municipalities for their cultural heritage objects which include works of art in public places. They have therefore begun to ask the public to help take care of “their” cultural heritage through so-called public participation projects. Cultural heritage professionals tacitly assume that if they “teach” the public to treasure such objects of “their” heritage, the public will become more proactive in helping to conserve them. However, research being conducted by the authors is showing that a majority of the general public often has a completely different awareness and/or feeling about cultural heritage objects in their neighborhoods than the cultural heritage professionals think they have, or think they should have. Three recent case studies carried out by the authors show that these differences are most noticeable during so-called “value moments” at the beginning and at the perceived end of an object’s life. These are the two moments when decisions are made, usually by cultural heritage professionals, to place an object in a neighborhood or have it significantly changed or removed, often to the surprise and disagreement of the residents. Between these two moments lay many moments when an object is taken for granted, grudgingly accepted, or not even noticed. Given the fact that cultural heritage professionals often make the ultimate decisions and do not always consider or outright ignore public opinion, it should not be surprising that there is an increasingly negative public perception of what they do. The results of the case studies illustrate the need for professionals to consider and accept as valid, public feelings about cultural heritage objects in their neighborhoods.


2021 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 03017
Author(s):  
Olesya Blinova ◽  
Yuliya Gorbunova

Today's youth, being a keyactor in the use of digital technologies, prefers digital participation in the political sphere of society. The main practices used by young people in their online participation are marginal. The marginality of the political practices of youth is revealed in their hybridity, which manifests itself in the binary of normativity - abnormality, norm - deviation, etc. Using the trend-watching method in the course of the research made it possible to identify the nonlinear and virulent nature of the marginal practices of youth, which makes it difficult to predict their impact, that, according to the authors, actualizes the need to identify the value foundations of their application. Content analysis of young people (18-30 years old) accounts in social networks, Instagram and Youtube channels of public opinion leaders revealed such value foundations of marginal political practices of young people as: patriotism, solidarity, non-violence, participation and independence.The nature of the identified axiological foundations made it possible to draw a conclusion about the transition from the traditional values of political participation of young people to the values of self-expression, the acquisition and implementation of civic subjectivity.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuqing Gao ◽  
Lingnan He ◽  
Yue Chen ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
Kaisheng Lai

BACKGROUND High-quality medical resources are in high demand worldwide, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical care may help alleviate the crisis related to this shortage. The development of the medical AI industry depends to a certain extent on whether industry experts have a comprehensive understanding of the public’s views on medical AI. Currently, the opinions of the general public on this matter remain unclear. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to explore the public perception of AI in medical care through a content analysis of social media data, including specific topics that the public is concerned about; public attitudes toward AI in medical care and the reasons for them; and public opinion on whether AI can replace human doctors. METHODS Through an application programming interface, we collected a data set from the Sina Weibo platform comprising more than 16 million users throughout China by crawling all public posts from January to December 2017. Based on this data set, we identified 2315 posts related to AI in medical care and classified them through content analysis. RESULTS Among the 2315 identified posts, we found three types of AI topics discussed on the platform: (1) technology and application (n=987, 42.63%), (2) industry development (n=706, 30.50%), and (3) impact on society (n=622, 26.87%). Out of 956 posts where public attitudes were expressed, 59.4% (n=568), 34.4% (n=329), and 6.2% (n=59) of the posts expressed positive, neutral, and negative attitudes, respectively. The immaturity of AI technology (27/59, 46%) and a distrust of related companies (n=15, 25%) were the two main reasons for the negative attitudes. Across 200 posts that mentioned public attitudes toward replacing human doctors with AI, 47.5% (n=95) and 32.5% (n=65) of the posts expressed that AI would completely or partially replace human doctors, respectively. In comparison, 20.0% (n=40) of the posts expressed that AI would not replace human doctors. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that people are most concerned about AI technology and applications. Generally, the majority of people held positive attitudes and believed that AI doctors would completely or partially replace human ones. Compared with previous studies on medical doctors, the general public has a more positive attitude toward medical AI. Lack of trust in AI and the absence of the humanistic care factor are essential reasons why some people still have a negative attitude toward medical AI. We suggest that practitioners may need to pay more attention to promoting the credibility of technology companies and meeting patients’ emotional needs instead of focusing merely on technical issues.


10.2196/16649 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e16649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuqing Gao ◽  
Lingnan He ◽  
Yue Chen ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
Kaisheng Lai

Background High-quality medical resources are in high demand worldwide, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical care may help alleviate the crisis related to this shortage. The development of the medical AI industry depends to a certain extent on whether industry experts have a comprehensive understanding of the public’s views on medical AI. Currently, the opinions of the general public on this matter remain unclear. Objective The purpose of this study is to explore the public perception of AI in medical care through a content analysis of social media data, including specific topics that the public is concerned about; public attitudes toward AI in medical care and the reasons for them; and public opinion on whether AI can replace human doctors. Methods Through an application programming interface, we collected a data set from the Sina Weibo platform comprising more than 16 million users throughout China by crawling all public posts from January to December 2017. Based on this data set, we identified 2315 posts related to AI in medical care and classified them through content analysis. Results Among the 2315 identified posts, we found three types of AI topics discussed on the platform: (1) technology and application (n=987, 42.63%), (2) industry development (n=706, 30.50%), and (3) impact on society (n=622, 26.87%). Out of 956 posts where public attitudes were expressed, 59.4% (n=568), 34.4% (n=329), and 6.2% (n=59) of the posts expressed positive, neutral, and negative attitudes, respectively. The immaturity of AI technology (27/59, 46%) and a distrust of related companies (n=15, 25%) were the two main reasons for the negative attitudes. Across 200 posts that mentioned public attitudes toward replacing human doctors with AI, 47.5% (n=95) and 32.5% (n=65) of the posts expressed that AI would completely or partially replace human doctors, respectively. In comparison, 20.0% (n=40) of the posts expressed that AI would not replace human doctors. Conclusions Our findings indicate that people are most concerned about AI technology and applications. Generally, the majority of people held positive attitudes and believed that AI doctors would completely or partially replace human ones. Compared with previous studies on medical doctors, the general public has a more positive attitude toward medical AI. Lack of trust in AI and the absence of the humanistic care factor are essential reasons why some people still have a negative attitude toward medical AI. We suggest that practitioners may need to pay more attention to promoting the credibility of technology companies and meeting patients’ emotional needs instead of focusing merely on technical issues.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-211
Author(s):  
Bernard Doherty

Beginning in 2005 the tiny Christian sect then known as the Exclusive Brethren suddenly underwent a media transformation from a virtually unknown or ignored group of quirky and old-fashioned Protestant sectarians to being touted as “Australia’s biggest cult” by tabloid television programs. This explosion of controversy came on the heels of media revelations about the involvement of Brethren members in providing financial donations to conservative political causes across the globe and a snowballing effect in response which brought forth a number of ex-members eager to expose their former group. This article looks at how this media transformation has been received by the wider Australian public. By studying the hitherto little utilized data contained in readers’ letters to Australia’s three mainstream broadsheet newspapers this article identifies which events or undertakings had the most impact on public perceptions of the Exclusive Brethren and which specific articles and issues struck the most responsive chord with readers. This content analysis found that Australian public opinion toward the Exclusive Brethren, while on the whole negative, was more indicative of their political involvement than their beliefs. The study also found that prior to what I call “The Brethren Controversy” the Exclusive Brethren had maintained a high degree of “sectarian tension” in Australia for almost four decades with little public outcry or media vilification.


1995 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 412-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo-Qiang Zhang ◽  
Sidney Kraus

This content analysis of Chinese newspapers before and after the Tiananmen Square protest examines the symbolic representation of the Student Movement of 1989 in China. The study reveals that top leaders manipulated symbols given to the media and that these symbols rigorously highlighted the dominant ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and isolated the movement participants. Officials attempted to legitimize the military suppression of the movement. The press construction of public opinion echoed the hegemonic process created and maintained by the party structure.


2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Pitlik

Abstract Due to the incentives of both suppliers and users of policy advice the influence of economists on government decisions is almost negligible. This paper aims to explore the prospects of policy advice addressed to the general public as a countervailing power. It is argued that in order to have some impact on public opinion economists must rely primarily on propaganda and have to overcome a serious collective action problem. Yet, the organization of the academic system provides no incentives for economists to fulfil the role of general-public-oriented advisers.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-243
Author(s):  
Gorovitz ◽  
MacIntyre ◽  

At present, the typical patient is systematically encouraged to believe that his physician will not make a mistake, even though what the physician does may not achieve the desired medical objectives, and even though it cannot be denied that some physicians do make mistakes. The encouragement of this inflated belief in the competence of the physician is of course reinforced by the practice of not keeping systematic and accessible records of medical error. Yet everyone knows that this is a false confidence . . . the current high incidence of iatrogenic illness constitutes a medical problem of enormous proportions, well recognized within government agencies and segments of the medical profession, but only dimly suspected by the public at large. There is still a relatively high probability of a patient suffering from medical error. What patients and the public have to learn is to recognize, accept, and respond reasonably to the necessary fallibility of the individual physician. The physician-patient relationship has to be redefined as one in which necessarily mistakes will be made, sometimes culpably, sometimes because of the state of development of the particular medical sciences at issue, and sometimes, inevitably, because of the inherent limitations in the predictive powers of an enterprise that is concerned essentially with the flourishing of particulars, of individuals. The patient and the public therefore must also understand that medical science is committed to the patient's prospering and flourishing, and that the treatment of the patient is itself a part of that science and not a mere application of it.


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