Using tailored media as an innovative approach to recruit to global health research

Digital media has a global reach that includes increasingly marginalised and vulnerable communities. Engaging, empowering media paired with key health messaging can provide education in more effective ways, build trust and bring communities together. An HIV testing and study recruitment film was co-created with a multidisciplinary team of HIV/sexual health physicians, medical and social science researchers from Bali, Jakarta and London, as well as members of the community and commercial film and media creatives. This short film provides a novel and innovative approach to recruit to a social science study and encourage HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Indonesia. This study aims to inform a digital HIV risk reduction tool for a community affected by increasing marginalisation and a fast-growing HIV epidemic.

Improving the Use of Hydrologic Probabilistic and Deterministic Information in Decision-Making

Uncertainty is everywhere and understanding how individuals understand and use forecast information to make decisions given varying levels of certainty is crucial for effectively communicating risks and weather hazards. To advance prior research about how various audiences use and understand probabilistic and deterministic hydrologic forecast information, a social science study involving multiple scenario-based focus groups and surveys at four locations (Eureka, CA; Gunnison, CO; Durango, CO; Owego, NY) across the U.S. was conducted with professionals and residents. Focusing on the Hydrologic Ensemble Forecast System, the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, and briefings, this research investigated how users tolerate divergence in probabilistic and deterministic forecasts and how deterministic and probabilistic river level forecasts can be presented simultaneously without causing confusion. This study found that probabilistic forecasts introduce a tremendous amount of new, yet valuable, information but can quickly overwhelm users based on how they are conveyed and communicated. Some were unaware of resources available, or how to find, sort and prioritize among all the data and information. Importantly, when presented with a divergence between deterministic and probabilistic forecasts, most sought out more information while some others reported diminished confidence in the products.Users in all regions expressed a desire to “ground-truth” the accuracy of probabilistic forecasts, understand the drivers of the forecasts, and become more familiar with them. In addition, a prototype probabilistic product that includes a deterministic forecast was tested, and suggestions for communicating probabilistic information through the use of briefing packages is proposed.

The historical memory of Russians in sociological surveys: foundations, reality, problems

The publication presents an analysis of the materials of the surveys of the FCTAS RAS, the Interregional Social Science Study "The Future of Russia", the Levada Center and the Public Opinion Foundation for the last two decades, covering historical topics. The aim of the study was to identify the main characteristics of the historical consciousness and the state of the historical memory of Russians at present. Studies by sociological centres in recent years show that the historical knowledge of a large part of Russians is fragmentary, comes from different sources, and is not always correct. Many events and personalities are mixed up in consciousness, or even forgotten altogether. Moreover, this phenomenon refers not only to distant events in history, known exclusively from textbooks, but also to decades directly related to the person´s life. Choosing between various historical alternatives of the country's future vision, Russians to a greater extent are focused on neutral ideas of strengthening Russia's position in the external and internal arena, whilst the ideas of an “Orthodox state”, a turn towards Europe or Eurasianism do not find major support among the population. With major contribution by the authorities the Great Patriotic War at present is the main historical event, overshadowing all the others. At the same time, the constant emphasis on the war theme and on heroic moments, combined with the levelling of tragic ones, causes a distorted perception of the event among a part of the population. In addition, the interpretation of history (especially during the Great Patriotic War) becomes the arena of a "political war." Various political forces give their own interpretation of events, that can both confuse some citizens and, on the other hand, form irreconcilable ideological opponents. The memory of the war is becoming more and more mythologised as a consequence of the fact that its real participants are gradually passing away. In connection with all above, current and future generations will have to look for grains of truth in a highly politicised and sometimes deceptive information field. The correct perspective of raising the awareness of the Russian population, “clarifying historical consciousness” is seen in a multifaceted historical discourse with the participation of professional historians, openness to any discussion, and broader media coverage.

Rekruttering og deltakelse i kvalitativ forskning: Tjenestemottakere og pårørende som deltakere

The theme of this chapter is how to encourage service recipients and family caregivers to participate in research within the substance abuse and mental health field. The aim is to highlight the challenges in recruitment and participation in a qualitative social science study and to reflect on how these challenges can be addressed. This is done through autoethnographic methods. The data consists of own notes after meetings, telephone conversations and focus group interviews, in addition to email correspondence with relevant persons. The empirical material culminates in three main findings: “Traditional recruitment strategy”, “Recruitment via service recipients” and “Performing focus groups: Need for and willingness to adapt”. The challenges within the main themes are discussed using a reflective perspective. The challenges in the recruitment process were in contrast to the interest, motivation and goodwill shown by the participants during the data collection, hence the discussion is also critically oriented towards resource allocation and conditions for maintaining quality in the recruitment process.

The promise and pitfalls of social science research in an emergency: lessons from studying the Zika epidemic in Brazil, 2015–2016

Social science generates evidence necessary to control epidemics. It can help to craft appropriate public health responses, develop solutions to the epidemic impacts and improve understanding of why the epidemic occurred. Yet, there are practical constraints in undertaking this international research in a way that produces quality, ethical and appropriate data, and that values all voices and experiences, especially those of local researchers and research participants. In this paper, we reflected on the experience of undertaking social science research during the 2015/2016 Zika epidemic in Brazil. This experience was considered from the perspective of this paper’s authors: three Brazilian academics, two UK academics and two mothers of children affected by congenital Zika syndrome. This group came together through the conduct of the Social and Economic Impact of Zika study, a mixed-methods social science study. The key findings highlight practical issues in the achievement of three goals: the conduct of high-quality social science in emergencies and efforts towards the decolonisation of global health in terms of levelling the power between Brazilian and UK researchers and optimising the role of patients within research. From our perspective, the information collected through social science was valuable, providing detailed insight into the programmatic needs of mothers and their affected children (eg, economic and social support and mental health services). Social science was considered a low priority within the Zika epidemic despite its potential importance. There were logistical challenges in conducting social science research, foremost of which are the difficulties in developing a trusting and balanced power relationship between the UK and Brazilian researchers in a short time frame. When these issues were overcome, each partner brought unique qualities, making the research stronger. The mothers of affected children expressed dissatisfaction with research, as they were involved in many studies which were not coordinated, and from which they did not see a benefit. In conclusion, the importance of social science in epidemics must continue to be promoted by funders. Funders can also set in place mechanisms to help equalise the power dynamics between foreign and local researchers, researchers and participants, both to promote justice and to create best quality data.

On the Coherence of Fake News Articles

The generation and spread of fake news within new and online media sources is emerging as a phenomenon of high societal significance. Combating them using data-driven analytics has been attracting much recent scholarly interest. In this computational social science study, we analyze the textual coherence of fake news articles vis-a-vis legitimate ones. We develop three computational formulations of textual coherence drawing upon the state-of-the-art methods in natural language processing and data science. Two real-world datasets from widely different domains which have fake/legitimate article labellings are then analyzed with respect to textual coherence. We observe apparent differences in textual coherence across fake and legitimate news articles, with fake news articles consistently scoring lower on coherence as compared to legitimate news ones. While the relative coherence shortfall of fake news articles as compared to legitimate ones form the main observation from our study, we analyze several aspects of the differences and outline potential avenues of further inquiry.

Effects of Design on Motivational Climate and Achievement Goals of Users: Environmental Psychology Research Towards an ultimate Design of Sports Facilities in Egypt

Sports facilities design has not been subject to much research and development. It has been made in a specific design with not much analysis. Different types of sports and wellness requires different design. This research aims at setting guidelines for designing sports facilities in Egypt. The research investigates the problem with a survey that was conducted on around 200 respondents from different age groups and fitness levels. The Questionnaire was constructed of 18 items that cover some demographic data and then spatial aspects and their effect on respondents. The respondents had to choose their preferences in terms of emotional comfort and focus, and he setting that keeps them motivated and focused to reach their fitness goals. The results show the different settings that each category of respondents prefer and get motivated in their workout environment depending on their gender, age, fitness level, type of sports, and their workout goals. The research uses social science study methodology to investigate a sample of population to get an overview of the larger population. And the results show how the design of the built environment can affect human performance in sports and affect their mental and psychological health. The results showed that in fact the workout environment affects the users and makes them more committed to achieve their health goals when they are in line with their preferences and make them feel comfortable, secure and welcomed.

Design of Digital Map based on Hand Gesture as a Preservation of West Java History Sites for Elementary School

Social science study of historical content at present does not seem to be directly proportional to the development of the industrial revolution 4.0. it is because of rote learning styles, text-based, teacher-centered teaching methods without technologicalaided modifications. With these problems, it is necessary to have design innovations and media for learning models, one of them is to design a hand gesture-based map equipped with a leap motion controller. This study aims to design a digital hand gesture-based map design as the preservation of West Java historical sites for elementary school children. The method used in the study is Design and Development (D&D). The results of this study are the design of an interactive map as a teaching media innovation and the configuration response of the tool with the results of 13 ms / FPS 33 ms / 60 FPS tap gesture responses.

PENGEMBANGAN MODUL BERBASIS WEB UNTUK PEMBELAJARAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN SOSIAL TERPADU

This research is aimed to produce web module that titled hasnenians web module designed in social science study, review the final web module’s profile, and to know how effective this web module for increase student’s final score in SMP Negeri 1 Sanggau. This research and development consists to Borg and Gall theory, and for design of instructional system take an ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implementation and Evaluation) Instructional Development Model. There are the steps of the web module that combined the syntax of R & D model and ADDIE model, they are; pre research Steps that consist of research and information collecting, develop steps that consist of develop preliminary form of product, expert validation and revise, one to one trial, small group trial, field trial and final product revisi, and then Implementation steps, and the final product of web module can run out in the classroom as one of learning source to help the students to understand about social science. The web module can access by online for everyone anywhere and anytime. The result of this research showed that hasnenians web module have given a lot in learning process that proved by the effect size score and also from pretest and posttest’s score.

Lawyers in Authoritarian Regimes

Lawyers arguably play critical roles in democracies—Alexis de Tocqueville already told us so after observing the American democracy in the 19th century. However, the legal profession’s social positions and political orientations in authoritarian regimes are ambiguous. Across the world, lawyers are frequently observed in the fight against arbitrary state power and for the basic legal rights of citizens and social groups. In the meantime, they are often regarded by the public as allies of elite politicians and ruling parties. The juxtaposition of those two contrasting images, as well as the limited access to research subjects, makes the social science study of lawyers in authoritarian regimes a challenging topic. This body of literature originated from the scholarly effort to “bring the state back in” to the Anglo-American sociology of professions, which had not taken politics seriously until the 1980s. From the 1990s on, political scientists, sociologists, historians, anthropologists, and legal scholars have examined a variety of authoritarian contexts in which lawyers interact with the state, civil society, religious and ethnic groups, and communities. This growing literature on lawyers in authoritarian regimes can be classified into five main clusters: (1) theoretical foundations; (2) historical studies; (3) lawyers and the authoritarian state; (4) lawyer mobilization and political change; and (5) judges and prosecutors.