scholarly journals Urban Collectives and insurgency to fight COVID-19: an analysis of social media content

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Sucupira Furtado ◽  
Lia Sucupira Furtado

The high incidences of COVID-19 cases in low-income communities, the context of disinformation around the disease and the vacuum of public policies have made low income communities more vulnerable to the pandemic. Considering that scenario, this paper analyzes how urban collectives have used social media to create and share narratives about COVID-19. We frame those contributions through a lens of insurgency, an area of planning studies that is based on grassroots counter-hegemonic actions. We conduct a sentiment and thematic analysis of Instagram posts of urban collectives in Fortaleza to show how social media has been appropriated as a space to cope with the virus and support insurgency. Our findings show, even though most strategies are geared towards emergency relief, collectives also harness the atmosphere of crisis brought by COVID-19 to raise awareness to other structural issues. Collectives promote insurgency by creating their own content, information and research material about COVID-19 in their communities and by partnering with institutions to scale up their claims.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Xu ◽  
George Murrell ◽  
Sarah E. Golding ◽  
Beth F. T. Brockett ◽  
Birgitta Gatersleben ◽  
...  

It is widely understood that nature engagement benefits human wellbeing. Such benefits have been found for real as well as virtual engagements. However, little is known about the role of nature-based videos in social media on wellbeing. With COVID-19 restrictions limiting people’s direct engagement with natural environments, this study critically examined people’s reactions to nature videos posted on Facebook during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Data consisted of comments on videos containing highlights from the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Springwatch 2020 television series, and from a UK television presenter and naturalist’s (Chris Packham) livestream videos, posted on Facebook from March to July, 2020. Looking at the quantitative profile of a range of videos (i.e. views, likes and shares) and a detailed analysis of the 143,265 comments using thematic analysis, three major themes were generated as: (1) engaging with nature via social media is emotionally complicated, (2) cognitive and reflective reactions are generated from social media nature engagement and (3) engagement with nature-based social media as a mechanism for coping with stress during COVID-19. These findings inform understanding of how nature-related social media content and associated commentary have supported wellbeing throughout the ongoing pandemic and their importance as a means of continued support for wellbeing.‘We feel that the injection of wildlife into people’s homes, particularly at this point, would be really valuable and uplifting’.— Chris Packham, 2020


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-104
Author(s):  
Janice J. Nieves-Casasnovas ◽  
Frank Lozada-Contreras

The purpose of this study was to determine what type of marketing communication objectives are present in the digital content marketing developed by luxury auto brands with social media presence in Puerto Rico, particularly Facebook. A longitudinal multiple-case study design was used to analyze five luxury auto brands using content analysis on Facebook posts. This analysis included identification of marketing communication objectives through social media content marketing strategies, type of media content and social media metrics. Our results showed that the most used objectives are brand awareness, brand personality, and brand salience. Another significant result is that digital content marketing used by brands in social media are focused towards becoming more visible and recognized; also, reflecting human-like traits and attitudes in their social media.


Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshepho Lydia Mosweu

Social media as a communication tool has enabled governments around the world to interact with citizens for customer service, access to information and to direct community involvement needs. The trends around the world show recognition by governments that social media content may constitute records and should be managed accordingly. The literature shows that governments and organisations in other countries, particularly in Europe, have social media policies and strategies to guide the management of social media content, but there is less evidence among African countries. Thus the purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of usage of social media by the Botswana government in order to determine the necessity for the governance of liquid communication. Liquid communication here refers to the type of communication that goes easily back and forth between participants involved through social media. The ARMA principle of availability requires that where there is information governance, an organisation shall maintain its information assets in a manner that ensures their timely, efficient and accurate retrieval. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach where data were collected through documentary reviews and interviews among purposively selected employees of the Botswana government. This study revealed that the Botswana government has been actively using social media platforms to interact with its citizens since 2011 for increased access, usage and awareness of services offered by the government. Nonetheless, the study revealed that the government had no official documentation on the use of social media, and policies and strategies that dealt with the governance of liquid communication. This study recommends the governance of liquid communication to ensure timely, efficient and accurate retrieval when needed for business purposes.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn Johnston ◽  
William E. Davis

In the present study, we examined how the influence of exercise-related social media content on exercise motivation might differ across content type (with images vs. without images) and account type (individual vs. corporate). Using a 2 × 2 within-subjects experimental design, 229 participants viewed a series of 40 actual social media posts across the four conditions (individual posts with images, corporate posts with images, individual posts without images, and corporate posts without images) in a randomized order. Participants rated the extent to which they felt each social media post motivated them to exercise, would motivate others to exercise, and was posted for extrinsic reasons. Participants also completed other measures of individual differences including their own exercise motivation. Posts with images from individuals were more motivating than posts with images from corporations; however, corporate posts without images were more motivating than posts without images from individuals. Participants expected others to be similarly motivated by the stimuli, and perceived corporate posts as having been posted for more extrinsic reasons than individuals’ posts. These findings enhance our understanding of how social media may be used to promote positive health behaviors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhibin Jiang ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Bu Zhong ◽  
Xuebing Qin

BACKGROUND The Covid-19 pandemic had turned the world upside down, but not much is known about how people’s empathy might be affected by the pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study examined 1) how empathy towards others might be influenced by the social support people obtained by using social media; and 2) how the individual demographics (e.g., age, income) may affect empathy. METHODS A national survey (N = 943) was conducted in China in February 2020, in which the participants read three real scenarios about low-income urban workers (Scenario I), small business owners in cities (Scenario II), and farmers in rural areas (Scenario III) who underwent hardship due to COVID-19. After exposure to others’ difficulties in the scenarios, the participants’ empathy and anxiety levels were measured. We also measured the social support they had by using social media. RESULTS Results show that social support not only positively impacted empathy, β = .30, P < .001 for Scenario I, β = .30, P < .001 for Scenario II, and β = .29, P < .001 for Scenario III, but also interacted with anxiety in influencing the degree to which participants could maintain empathy towards others, β = .08, P = .010 for Scenario I, and β = .07, P = .033 for scenario II. Age negatively predicted empathy for Scenario I, β = -.08, P = .018 and Scenario III, β = -.08, P = .009, but not for Scenario II, β = -.03, P = .40. Income levels – low, medium, high – positively predicted empathy for Scenario III, F (2, 940) = 8.10, P < .001, but not for Scenario I, F (2, 940) = 2.14, P = .12, or Scenario II, F (2, 940) = 2.93, P = .06. Participants living in big cities expressed greater empathy towards others for Scenario III, F (2, 940) = 4.03, P =.018, but not for Scenario I, F (2, 940) = .81, P = .45, or Scenario II, F (2, 940) = 1.46, P =.23. CONCLUSIONS This study contributes to the literature by discovering the critical role empathy plays in people’s affective response to others during the pandemic. Anxiety did not decrease empathy. However, those gaining more social support on social media showed more empathy for others. Those who resided in cities with higher income levels were more empathetic during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study reveals that the social support people obtained helped maintain empathy to others, making them resilient in challenging times.


Author(s):  
Gilles Duruflé ◽  
Thomas Hellmann ◽  
Karen Wilson

This chapter examines the challenge for entrepreneurial companies of going beyond the start-up phase and growing into large successful companies. We examine the long-term financing of these so-called scale-up companies, focusing on the United States, Europe, and Canada. The chapter first provides a conceptual framework for understanding the challenges of financing scale-ups. It emphasizes the need for investors with deep pockets, for smart money, for investor networks, and for patient money. It then shows some data about the various aspects of financing scale-ups in the United States, Europe, and Canada, showing how Europe and Canada are lagging behind the US relatively more at the scale-up than the start-up stage. Finally, the chapter raises the question of long-term public policies for supporting the creation of a better scale-up environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Mwaikambo ◽  
Sarah Brittingham ◽  
Saori Ohkubo ◽  
Ruwaida Salem ◽  
Denis Joel Sama ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There has been greater recognition of the importance of country ownership in global health and development. However, operationalising country ownership to ensure the scale up and sustainability of proven interventions remains elusive at best. To address this challenge, we undertook a thematic analysis of interviews collected from representatives of local governments, public health systems, and communities in poor urban areas of East Africa, Francophone West Africa, India, and Nigeria, supported by The Challenge Initiative (TCI), aiming to rapidly and sustainably scale up evidence-based reproductive health and family planning solutions. Methods The main objective of this study was to explore critical elements needed for implementing and scaling evidence-based family planning interventions. The research team conducted thematic analysis of 96 stories collected using the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique between July 2018 and September 2019. After generating 55 unique codes, the codes were grouped into related themes, using TCI’s model as a general analytical framework. Results Five key themes emerged: (1) strengthening local capacity and improving broader health systems, (2) shifting mindsets of government and community toward local ownership, (3) institutionalising the interventions within existing government structures, (4) improving data demand and use for better planning of health services, and (5) enhancing coordination of partners. Conclusion While some themes feature more prominently in a particular region than others, taken together they represent what stakeholders perceive to be essential elements for scaling up locally-driven health programmes in urban areas in Africa and Asia.


2020 ◽  
pp. injuryprev-2020-043909
Author(s):  
Laura Elizabeth Cowley ◽  
C Verity Bennett ◽  
Isabelle Brown ◽  
Alan Emond ◽  
Alison Mary Kemp

ObjectivesSafeTea is a multifaceted intervention delivered by community practitioners to prevent hot drink scalds to young children and improve parents’ knowledge of appropriate burn first aid. We adapted SafeTea for a national multimedia campaign, and present a mixed-methods process evaluation of the campaign.MethodsWe used social media, a website hosting downloadable materials and media publicity to disseminate key messages to parents/caregivers of young children and professionals working with these families across the UK. The SafeTea campaign was launched on National Burns Awareness Day (NBAD), October 2019, and ran for 3 months. Process evaluation measurements included social media metrics, Google Analytics, and quantitative and qualitative results from a survey of professionals who requested hard copies of the materials via the website.ResultsFindings were summarised under four themes: ‘reach’, ‘engagement’, ‘acceptability’ and ‘impact/behavioural change’. The launch on NBAD generated widespread publicity. The campaign reached a greater number of the target audience than anticipated, with over 400 000 views of the SafeTea educational videos. Parents and professionals engaged with SafeTea and expressed positive opinions of the campaign and materials. SafeTea encouraged parents to consider how to change their behaviours to minimise the risks associated with hot drinks. Reach and engagement steadily declined after the first month due to reduced publicity and social media promotion.ConclusionThe SafeTea campaign was successful in terms of reach and engagement. The launch on NBAD was essential for generating media interest. Future campaigns could be shorter, with more funding for additional social media content and promotion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3354
Author(s):  
Wei Sun ◽  
Shoulian Tang ◽  
Fang Liu

Destination image has been extensively studied in tourism and marketing, but the questions surrounding the discrepancy between the projected (perceptions from the National Tourism Organizations) and perceived destination image (perceptions from tourists) as well as how the discrepancy may influence sustainable experience remain unclear. Poor understanding of the discrepancy may cause tourist confusion and misuse of resources. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate if the perceived (by tourists) and projected (by NTOs) destination image are significantly different in both cognitive and affective aspects. Through a comprehensive social media content analysis of the NTO-generated and tourist-generated-contents (TGC), the current study identifies numerous gaps between the projected and perceived destination image, which offers some important theoretical and practical implications on destination management and marketing.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073346482110125
Author(s):  
Haley B. Gallo ◽  
Lia W. Marshall ◽  
Lené Levy-Storms ◽  
Kathleen H. Wilber ◽  
Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Mobility and technology can facilitate in-person and virtual social participation to help reduce social isolation, but issues exist regarding older adults’ access, feasibility, and motivation to use various forms of mobility and technology. This qualitative study explores how a diverse group of low-income, urban-living older adults use mobility and technology for social participation. We conducted six focus groups ( N = 48), two each in English, Spanish, and Korean at a Los Angeles senior center. Three major themes emerged from thematic analysis: using technology for mobility; links between mobility and social participation; and technology-mediated social participation. Cost, perceived safety, (dis)ability, and support from family and friends were related to mobility and technology use. This study demonstrates the range of mobility and technology uses among older adults and associated barriers. The findings can help establish a pre-COVID-19 baseline on how to make mobility and technology more accessible for older adults at risk of isolation.


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