BTScience and Beyond

The paper deals with the relationship between social networks and digital media engagement and students' motivation to learn English. The research included 353 engineering students at XXX, who answered the questionnaire which was divided into two parts considering social networks and digital media engagement, and motivation to learn English. An exploratory factor analysis has yielded three distinct factors of social networks and digital media engagement and one factor of motivation to learn English. The research provided empirical confirmation of the existence of the mentioned factors. This four-factor solution was found to be statistically reliable, and it has been shown that factors are positively associated. Moreover, the research findings proved that students' motivation to learn English is more fostered with the need to read, learn and chat than to craft, produce and develop digital and social media content. Students have integral motivation for learning English through social networks and digital media.

The Campaign for Mental Health Reform: a new advocacy partnership.

Despite the rapid development of science and technology (S&T) in China, few studies have examined the factors related to public opinions toward funding S&T development. Using a nationwide sample from an online survey in China (N = 702), this study examined how Chinese attention to S&T information on digital media was associated with public support for funding, based on an extended cognitive mediation model, in which their scientific literacy and nationalism toward scientific and technological development in China were examined as the outcomes of information consumption and as predictors of support for funding S&T development. The results indicated that attention to S&T information on digital media was positively associated with two information processing strategies—elaboration of S&T information and digital media engagement with S&T topics. Moreover, elaboration was positively related to scientific literacy and nationalism, whereas digital media engagement was positively associated with the nationalism but not with the literacy. Next, individuals’ scientific literacy and nationalism were positively associated with their support for funding S&T development. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Individuals are expected to be responsible for their own health and that of their families-and act accordingly. Yet, being in a position of responsibility might be undesirable for individuals either unable or reluctant to comply with the expectations this responsibility entails. In this article, I explore how parents experience the process of engaging responsibly with digital media in relation to the question of human papillomavirus vaccination. The study is based on interviews with eighteen Danish parents, and my findings show that these parents not only understand themselves but also other actors in terms of responsibility, and that being positioned in terms of responsibility can have negative affective consequences. I argue that meeting the expectations of biological citizenship should not necessarily be a goal in relation to complex health topics.

International students face distinctive challenges, including acculturative stress, homesickness, language barriers, and heightened academic expectations. As a result, their mental health and overall well-being have become subjects of growing concern and significance in academic and support communities worldwide. The emergence of AI technologies, like ChatGPT, opens new avenues for international student mental health interventions. However, no specific Chatbot has been approved as effective for this population. This study aims to comprehensively summarize Chatbot applications in mental health counseling and analyze the challenges of applying them to international students. The study found that prominent Chatbots could demonstrate efficacy in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety through techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Chatbots are becoming integral to mental health care, providing accessible and evidence-based interventions and psychoeducation. Compared with traditional in-personal mental health counselling, a Chatbot is more functioning in providing personalized therapy sessions, essay accessibility, real-time responses, and suitable assistance, which could solve current challenges and unmet mental health counselling needs of international students. Despite their potential, ethical considerations and privacy challenges must be addressed to ensure reliable and secure use. Continued refinement is needed for international students’ application to enhance multicultural sensitivity, the accuracy of cross-language interpretation, and personalization. The evolution of Chatbots holds significant promise for enhancing mental health support, particularly for international students navigating and coping with their unique challenges.

Given the credibility many physicians possess with legislators, political leaders, and other policymakers, along with people of influence such as thought leaders and activists, community psychiatrists play an important role in patient advocacy. Contemporary professional advocacy is rooted in mental health advocacy generally, beginning with Dorothea Dix’s asylum movement in the 19th century. This chapter reviews the historical significance of mental illness and the underpinnings of modern-day mental health advocacy. It then discusses the community psychiatrist’s role in advocating for mental health care, primary prevention, community awareness, and social justice. It includes examples of the community psychiatrist effectively serving in the advocate role, and it explains the how and where to learn about public policy and advocacy skills. It concludes with a summary of key learning points.

Social Justice and Advocacy for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Clients

Upping Our Game: Advancing Psychology’s Role in Mental Health Advocacy

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Full AccessPsychiatrist Receives NAMI's Scientific Research AwardNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiPublished Online:18 Dec 2014https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.12b16AbstractLisa Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., is honored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness for her extensive efforts to improve mental health services and the quality of care for individuals with severe mental disorders.Lisa Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, has embraced the mantra of partnership throughout her career in the field of health services. And through these relationships, she has been able to improve the quality of care for countless people with psychiatric disorders, while engaging these people and their families to also become an active part of the process.Lisa Dixon, M.D., M.P.H. (right), receives the NAMI Scientific Research Award from Joyce Burland, Ph.D., a member of NAMI's national board and founder of the NAMI Family-to-Family education program.NAMIOn November 13, one of Dixon's many partners, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), recognized her research and commitment to enacting meaningful changes in psychiatric care by presenting her with the 2014 NAMI Scientific Research Award."NAMI was privileged to honor Dr. Dixon with this year's award," said NAMI Executive Director Mary Giliberti. "She is someone whose research is truly making a difference. Her work exemplifies the foundation of NAMI's mission—research to build better lives for the nearly 60 million Americans affected by mental illness every year." "She is helping to change mental health care, challenging it to be proactive rather than reactive, and to include families as partners in recovery," Giliberti continued. "We are proud to have her and other APA members as part of the NAMI movement." Dixon was both honored and humbled by the award, telling Psychiatric News, "NAMI means a lot to me personally; it plays an important role in mental health advocacy, research, education, and support of patients and families, and it's been a privilege to work with NAMI for over 20 years on projects like the Family-to-Family program."Dixon, who also directs the Center for Practice Innovations at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, discussed the Family-to-Family program—an educational course for family and friends of people living with mental illness to provide them with support and equip them to be more effective advocates and caregivers—during her award lecture as an example of how collaboration can "connect service to science.""NAMI created this program that became widely disseminated but had no empirical evidence that it worked," she said. "But my research group, then at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, teamed up with NAMI, and together we conducted a randomized study of the program to prove that it is effective, which can help it grow even more."Dixon also noted the RAISE (Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode) program as an example of partnerships transforming science into clinical service. A joint effort among federal agencies, the scientific community, health service providers, and health care consumers, RAISE aims to improve schizophrenia treatment through coordinated and aggressive care during the earliest stages of illness."The foundational work we did with RAISE helped set the stage for early-intervention programs recently implemented in New York and Maryland," Dixon said. "We still have a lot of work to do to cover the rest of the country, but it's a victory in connecting science to service. But the meta message is that whichever direction you take, whether service-to-science or science-to-service, you need to appreciate, advocate, and get involved in partnerships to carry out meaningful research." The NAMI Scientific Research Award is supported by the Peter Corbin Kohn Memorial Fund. ■ ISSUES NewArchived

Tweeting about mental health to honor Carrie Fisher: How #InHonorOfCarrie reinforced the social influence of celebrity advocacy

It Can Be Quick Trip From Patient to Advocate

BackgroundImproving maternal health remains a priority to the Ghanaian government. Consequently, it has implemented the World Health Organization recommendation of distributing free long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to pregnant women—one of the effective strategies to combating malaria in pregnancy. However, the burden of negative outcomes of malaria in pregnancy such as low birth weight and miscarriages is still high. This may be related to the health system, socio-cultural and economic dynamics that influence LLIN use, but their role is not well understood. This ethnographic study sought to understand health system, socio-cultural, economic and environmental dynamics in utilization of LLINs among pregnant women in two Ghanaian regions.MethodsAn ethnographic study design was used. In-depth interviews and conversations were conducted among health workers, pregnant women and opinion leaders. Observations were conducted in 12 communities and eight health facilities. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Health and Allied Sciences’ Research Ethics Committee. Nvivo 11 was used to support data coding. Data were triangulated and analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsFindings suggest health system, socio-cultural, economic, environmental and individual factors influenced LLIN use. Health facility readiness in stocking LLINs influenced ownership and use. Receiving appropriate information from health providers and encouragement from public officials improved LLIN use. Women with a history of LLIN use prior to becoming pregnant and women who had young children remained consistent users. Experiencing irritating effects of LLINs and preference for traditional methods to wade off mosquitoes, reduced LLIN use. Pregnant women whose household and family members used LLINs were influenced positively to use them. Gender power relations between husbands and wives influenced women’s use of LLINs. The type of housing and weather conditions contributed to inconsistent use. Staying out late for business purposes and to converse, exposed pregnant women to mosquito bites.ConclusionGiving out LLINs at facility level should be accompanied with comprehensive information, which is relevant to the socio-cultural context that women live in. Mass distribution should factor in individual and public information to promote community acceptance and proper use of ITNs. Facilities should be encouraged to constantly maintain LLINs stock in order to ensure that ANC registrants receive LLINs for use.

Families U.S.A. (United for Senior Action) Foundation.

Cultural policy intersects with political, economic, and socio-cultural dynamics at all levels of society, placing high and often contradictory expectations on the capabilities and capacities of the media, the fine, performing, and folk arts, and cultural heritage. These expectations are articulated, mobilised and contested at – and across – a global scale. As a result, the study of cultural policy has firmly established itself as a field that cuts across a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, cultural and media studies, economics, anthropology, area studies, languages, geography, and law. This Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy sets out to broaden the field’s consideration to recognise the necessity for international and global perspectives. The book explores how cultural policy has become a global phenomenon. It brings together a diverse range of researchers whose work reveals how cultural policy expresses and realises common global concerns, dominant narratives, and geopolitical economic and social inequalities. The sections of the book address cultural policy’s relation to core academic disciplines and core questions, of regulations, rights, development, practice, and global issues. With a cross-section of country-by-country case studies, this comprehensive volume is a map for academics and students seeking to become more globally orientated cultural policy scholars.

The marginalisation of small-scale fisheries is a global phenomenon. The transformative agenda of small-scale fishing policies in South Africa (SA) since the late 1990s as a response is apparent in literature (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2012). Poor black African women,1 who are the focus of this study, form part of this economically lower class of the fishing industry. The 2012 small-scale fishing policy recognises women’s needs, previously overlooked in the small-scale fisheries. However, these policy initiatives do not effectively interrogate gender-specific socio-economic dynamics. Women, especially from poor black African coastal communities of SA, continue to face gender-specific challenges that deny them equality of access to marine resources and the benefits therein. Gender inequalities manifest themselves in words that are used to refer to women involved in small-scale fisheries. These include ‘mussel collectors’, ‘fish traders’ and ‘processors’ as identity markers of their involvement, which refer to a fishing activity next to the shore, complementary to men’s, and analysed in the context of household livelihood strategy. Such words stereotype offshore fishing as essentially a male profession. Therefore, poor women are not only part of the lower class of the fishing industry, they also face gender-specific challenges within the already diverse fishing industry. The intersectionality of gender and class in this study thus highlights economic and sociocultural dynamics that produce these identity markers and perpetuate inequalities in terms of knowledge, access, economic status, power relations and human interactions within the small-scale fishing industry. On the basis of literature and unstructured interviews with women in some regions in KwaZulu-Natal, this focus piece underscores the role of words in isolating women’s participation in the sector, producing gender-specific categories. Such categories become identity markers that bring about structural economic challenges for women within the fishing sector.