Circle Of Trust Research Articles

From Conflict to Cooperation: Norwegian Labour Market Institutions in the Making

Moving a relationship of widespread conflicts and distrust into a virtuous circle of trust and cooperation is challenging, yet the case examined in this article shows that it is possible. A problematic start can indeed lead to a positive outcome. In the early twentieth century, Norway experienced the highest levels of labour conflict in Europe. Class conflicts were intense and often violent, with deep mistrust between the parties in the labour market. This situation changed markedly when the Norwegian Employers’ Confederation and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions signed the Basic Agreement in 1935. This agreement not only led to a lasting decline in labour conflicts, but it also marked a crucial early step towards a system of close collaboration between labour and capital in Norway. By focusing on the intimate relationship between beliefs, trust, and cooperation, this article explores how the labour market parties transitioned from widespread conflict and open struggle to a system of peaceful negotiations and compromises. Changes in beliefs enabled the parties to coordinate on a new cooperative equilibrium, an equilibrium that continues to characterise Norway’s labour market today.

Coordination-free Safety Messages Dissemination Protocol for Vehicular Networks

Many vehicular safety applications depend on the rapid and reliable dissemination of safety messages to vehicles at risk. In order to allow sufficient reaction time for emergency events in adverse driving and road conditions, disseminating safety messages over multi-hop vehicles is often needed. However, owing to the capacity limitation of the shared control channel, disseminating safety messages in highly mobile and dynamic vehicular network conditions is challenging. In this article, a Zero-Coordination Opportunistic Routing (ZCOR) algorithm is proposed to deliver mission-critical life safety messages over limited target geocast regions. ZCOR is scalable and robust over dynamic VANET conditions with low rebroadcast overhead. In addition, ZCOR exploits neighbor knowledge for coordinationfree opportunistic packet relay using the novel concept of Circle of Trust (CoT), which defines the range of reliable local neighbor knowledge collection. The performance of ZCOR is evaluated through extensive and realistic simulations capturing time-correlated vehicular channel characteristics.

Exploring the feasibility of a mental health application (JoyPopTM) for Indigenous youth.

The purpose of the current study was to explore the acceptability and feasibility of a resilience-focused mobile application, JoyPop™, for use with Indigenous youth. A Haudenosaunee community-based research advisory committee co-developed the research project, in accordance with OCAP™ principles. Adopting a mixed-method approach, five youths from an immersion school used the JoyPop™ app for four consecutive weeks, as well as completed pre-test questions and weekly usage surveys. Most participants also completed post-test questions and a semi-structured interview. Based on a semi-structured interview protocol, youth responded to questions, and the most common themes were categorized to capture the experience of using the app. All youth reported a positive impression, used the app daily, found it easy to navigate, and indicated that they would recommend it to a friend. All features were uniformly positively endorsed. There were features that youth used most often (Deep Breathing, "SquareMoves" game, and Art features) and moderately (Rate My Mood, Journaling, and SleepEase). The social connection feature, Circle of Trust, was least utilized, with youth reporting a preference for in-person problem-solving. The drop-down menu of crisis helplines was not used. Youth recommended more gaming options. In terms of cultural resonance, appreciation for the app's use of water sounds in the SleepEase feature was expressed, as was cultural consistency with the "Good Mind" perspective. Recommendations included additional nature sounds, Indigenous design elements, the inclusion of Native language words, and traditional stories. The JoyPop™ app was positively received by Six Nations youth, and ways to ensure its cultural appropriateness were identified. Moving forward, it is recommended that Indigenous designers create a new version with community design co-creation. Additional research with various groups of Indigenous youth is warranted as a pan-Indigenous approach is not recommended.

Inflammation, Mitochondria and Natural Compounds Together in the Circle of Trust.

Human diseases are characterized by the perpetuation of an inflammatory condition in which the levels of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are quite high. Excessive ROS production leads to DNA damage, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation, conditions that lead to a worsening of inflammatory disorders. In particular, compromised mitochondria sustain a stressful condition in the cell, such that mitochondrial dysfunctions become pathogenic, causing human disorders related to inflammatory reactions. Indeed, the triggered inflammation loses its beneficial properties and turns harmful if dysregulation and dysfunctions are not addressed. Thus, reducing oxidative stress with ROS scavenger compounds has proven to be a successful approach to reducing inflammation. Among these, natural compounds, in particular, polyphenols, alkaloids and coenzyme Q10, thanks to their antioxidant properties, are capable of inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and the expression of target genes, including those involved in inflammation. Even more, clinical trials, and in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of phytosomes, which are capable of increasing the bioavailability and effectiveness of natural compounds, and have long been considered an effective non-pharmacological therapy. Therefore, in this review, we wanted to highlight the relationship between inflammation, altered mitochondrial oxidative activity in pathological conditions, and the beneficial effects of phytosomes. To this end, a PubMed literature search was conducted with a focus on various in vitro and in vivo studies and clinical trials from 2014 to 2022.

Recruiting Indigenous Patients Into Clinical Trials: A Circle of Trust.

The Circle of Trust is a new conceptual model that can help investigators and the American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) community work together to promote inclusion of AI/AN populations in clinical trials to improve health outcomes. Racial/ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in clinical trials and this creates the need and opportunity for novel approaches. Indigenous populations are particularly underrepresented in clinical trials. Studies show that AI/AN have the lowest representation of race/ethnic groups in the United States. American Indian/Alaska Natives suffer from significant health disparities with higher rates of morbidity and mortality and lower rates for preventative measures and access to health services. A variety of barriers to recruitment of minority patients exist at several levels including the system/institutional, interpersonal, and the individual. The authors, experts in AI/AN health and recruitment of minorities into research, collaborated to modify the currently existing and published "trust triangle" model that focuses on minority recruitment to include participants, researcher, and trusted entity. We advocate for expanding the trust triangle into a circle of trust inclusive of community. The "circle of trust" is a new conceptual model that can help investigators and the AI/AN community work together to promote inclusion of AI/AN populations in clinical trials to improve health outcomes.

Syrian women on the Syrian revolution: an exercise in decolonial love

ABSTRACT This article takes as its starting point the experiential knowledge of Syrian women telling the story of the Syrian revolution. By stitching together feminist and decolonial perspectives, we can critically rethink the revolution, which is usually displaced by war talk. This article both explores and attempts an exercise in “decolonial love” – by foregrounding women’s experiences, making room for radical stories on the margins, and carefully considering their visions – as an impulse to a different reading of the revolution. Taking decolonial love as both methodology and praxis creates an opportunity to learn about the multiple oppressions and resistances within the Syrian revolution. Centering decolonial love also allows for a more expansive analysis of the politics of which – and whose – knowledge matters. It asks us as researchers to be mindful of our starting points, the space that our knowledge takes up, and the ways in which we can and should learn from situated knowledge. This article, therefore, conveys not only the experience of Syrian women; it also presents a more complex story of the revolution by making visible its non-linearity, the messiness of being situated in spaces of (non-)violence, and the building of “circles of trust” to imagine and live different futures.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Sexual Violence against Children in a Brazilian State.

Sexual violence is one of the forms of violence against children worldwide. Understanding its magnitude and its associated factors is essential to promote effective protection policies to childhood. The objective was to verify the prevalence and analyze the factors associated with sexual violence against children in a Brazilian state. This is a cross-sectional study analyzing data from reported cases of violence against children in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, between 2011 and 2018. The characteristics of the victim, perpetrator and aggression were studied, and the associations were analyzed using Poisson regression. The frequency of sexual violence was 41.8% and was more prevalent in girls, in the age groups 3 to 5 and 6 to 9 years old, in white ethnicity/color and in the urban area. The offenders were mainly men, known to the victim and occurred mainly in the residence. Sexual violence was the most reported violence among children in Espírito Santo, occurring within their circle of trust, demonstrating the need to provide support for families and to advance public policies to guarantee children’s rights.

Social trust more strongly associated with well-being in individualistic societies

Happiness is an important goal humans pursue. Previous studies found that generalized trust leads to greater well-being. To confirm the universality of previous findings, we conducted two studies using a sample of 69,578 participants from 48 countries to explore the relationship between different types of trust on well-being and the moderating effect of individualism on this relationship. In our Hierarchical Linear Models, all types of trust positively predicted well-being at the individual level, and the effects of trust on well-being were enhanced by country-level individualism. An explanation for this phenomenon is that social trust in collectivist societies mainly originates from conformity to social norms rather than personal preferences as in individualist societies. Findings of this study suggest that different types of social trust contribute to well-being in both individualist and collectivist societies. The well-being benefits of social trust can be enhanced if individuals have autonomy in determining the level of trust and the width of the trust circle.

40.1 Indigenous Youth Mental Wellness: The Potential Value of mHealth and Cultural Adaptation of the JoyPop App

The JoyPop™ app is a mobile health tool for youth resilience that has been shown to reduce depression and increase positive emotion management over a 30-day use period, with increased gains associated with higher levels of adverse childhood events and higher days of usage. This trauma-informed, positive psychology app includes 7 key features emphasizing positive activities: mood ratings, journaling with prompts, deep breathing, a Tetris-like game, an art draw activity, a SleepEase feature, and a Circle of Trust. Invited by the Six Nations of the Grand River community in Ontario, Canada, we considered how Western psychological science can be adapted to Indigenous science, specifically reflecting a Haudenosaunee holistic health model. We conducted 24 consultations (29% male) with key community stakeholders (eg, elders, health service providers, educators, university students, parents). We shared a 4-minute video summary about the JoyPop™ app (youthresilience.net) and sought feedback on its specific features, what they liked, and places for cultural adaptation. In an open query format, most spontaneously noted a positive response to the app or its features, with 46% of consultants spontaneously mentioning that they liked the app and/or saw a need for it. The most endorsed feature was for the social connecting elements (ie, the Circle of Trust feature connects users to their safe social network). Adaptations included adding local helplines to the helpline drop-down menu in the app. Culturally, importance was given to the need to incorporate traditional colors (42%) and design elements (25%), such as beadwork and nature backgrounds. Nature was a recurring theme; suggestions ranged from incorporating nature sounds in the SleepEase feature (33%) to activities related to nature in general (25%), as well as nature visuals and cultural teachings. Given the emphasis on oral tradition, 42% of consultants recommended simplifying the reading text. Creative expressive elements were praised in the app, with 29% enjoying the art feature and journal prompts. Findings support an adaptation of the JoyPop™ app for Indigenous youth, which integrates sights and sounds from the natural world, as well as elements signaling cultural familiarity.

IMPILO Platform - An Innovative Blockchain-Based Global Open Healthcare Social Network

The current research project focuses on the development of an innovative social health network and electronic health record system (IMPILO platform) which is based on Blockchain technology. The purpose of this project is to provide a series of health services (e.g. booking of medical appointments and tele-counselling meetings) to both citizens and doctors that would offer a more direct communication and cooperation between them and thus help reduce critical delays in medical care provision. As IMPILO manages health data, in addition to the group of friends found in some forms on all social networks, two additional certain types of user relationships have been defined: Circle of Trust (which includes a limited number of people with full rights to review and modify each user's profile and health record) and Care Team (which consists of the users-doctors that have access to their profile and medical data and can perform certain actions on their behalf). This feature is useful for keeping profiles of elderly and minors. The utilization of the capabilities of the blockchain technology in areas beyond cryptocurrencies is of particular value, especially in the field of health, where the IMPILO platform creates more reliable and durable networks, using the blockchain technology, while helping to the seamless communication between the various stakeholders (doctors, patients, hospitals, etc.). The decentralized data storage and full control of a patient's consent management process helps overcome issues such as the secure management of sensitive personal data and authorization to access medical data. Thus, blockchain is one of the most important components of the IMPILO platform that acts as a basis for recording all meaningful events in the application and provides security to users for the integrity of their data. The application is accessible via a smartphone application (for both Android and iOS operating systems) and a web interface, with a special emphasis on the design of functional, efficient and easy-to-use user interfaces, taking into account the requirements of the end users of the application and the specifics of the health sector.

Learning in Times of COVID: Journalism Education in Kashmir, India

Our in-depth qualitative interviews with journalism graduate students and professors, from Kashmir, India, show that unlike the rest of India, the region experienced extremely low internet connectivity, and this combined with a lack of access to technology nearly brought classes to a standstill. But students and teachers, used to social disruptions, used the COVID-19 pandemic to learn and practice journalism that was deeply bound to the community and they created “circles of trust” that helped them overcome internet and other technical issues. Ramifications for journalism education in situations of low connectivity and poor technology resources are discussed.

LOVE in the time of Covid-19: a brief mental health intervention to overcome loneliness.

The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak and its containment through public health strategies has resulted in a parallel pandemic of psychological distress. Increased loneliness and social isolation are associated with adverse health outcomes, yet there is a gap in brief interventions that specifically target loneliness. This article introduces a brief intervention to strengthen connectedness, LOVE. In a systematic way, this solution-focused approach encourages openness and sharing of current struggles with the existing circle of support. There are four steps in LOVE: List people in one's life, Organise them on the helpfulness-availability matrix, Verify what they know to map them onto circles of trust and Engage them through self-disclosure. The article details each concept, its importance, the pragmatics involved and top tips to guide practice. The memorable acronym provides logical sequence and structure. It is time efficient in training and delivery, with no former mental health knowledge required so there is potential for wide application. It facilitates collaboration between health professionals and people in distress and promotes empowerment and self-resilience. Adapted from the safety planning component of PROTECT, a pre-existing suicide prevention framework, LOVE has to be fine-tuned as a brief intervention in the wider context of the pandemic.

Circles of Trust: Rival Information in Social Networks

We analyze the diffusion of rival information in a social network. In our model, rational agents can share information sequentially, unconstrained by an exogenous protocol or timing. We show how to compute the set of eventually informed agents for any network, and show that it is essentially unique under altruistic preferences. The relationship between network structure and information diffusion is complex because the former shapes both the charity and confidentiality of potential senders and receivers.

Trust and ethics: ambivalent foundations of relationship and sui generis forms of gift

Is there a circular relationship between trust and ethics? Is it possible to alter their relationship, changing the perception that social actors have of them? How has trust changed in the transition from modernity to post-modernity and how does it change in times of crisis? Starting from the epistemological assumption that progress in the social sciences is determined by the change in the theoretical horizon produced by “a reformulation of metaphysical assumptions” [1] and combining this path with the relational perspective, according to which “not the facts, but the relationship between the facts is what requires analysis” [2] , we will examine definitions, meanings, functions and relationships between trust and ethics. Following the theoretical logical method, we will understand that trust and ethical behaviour are particular forms of gift [3] that co-own each other. As such, they are ambivalent in nature and their circle can also produce dysfunctional outcomes that depend on the ability of social systems to modify collective perceptions through forms of communication, in the awareness that distrust constitutes an ineliminable and, paradoxically, preparatory element for the restoration of the trust circle. The relational circle between gift, trust, collective ethics and personal morality does not end with distrust, but changes in a contingent way, determining perverse effects: correct behaviour could produce, unintentionally, a disaster; incorrect actions could generate unforeseen positive effects.The perverse effects cannot be defined as exceptional - as is believed in the theory of rational choice - but recurrent because daily practices are marked by an intuitive, emotional and moralistic trust circle that prevails over logical reasoning, as ascertained by both relational theory and behavioural economics. Functionalist paradigms cannot engineer and optimise the performance of trust. [1] See J. Alexander's strong programme in S. Segre, Le teorie sociologiche contemporanee, Carocci, Rome, 2019, p. 12. It is not enough to observe reality, it is necessary to interpret it, taking into account theories and traditions whose foundations have a metaphysical character. [2] F. Ferrarotti, La sociologia come analisi critica della societa, in R. Cipriani (a cura di), Nuovo Manuale di Sociologia, Maggioli, Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna, 2018 p. 24. [3] The classical meaning in M. Mauss, Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de l'echange dans les societes archaiques , 1a ed. 1925 , revisited by G. Satta, L’ambiguita del dono. Note su dono, violenza e potere nell’ Essai di Mauss , in V. Rasini, Aggressivita. Un’indagine polifonica , Mimesis, Milano 2011.

Networked movements and the circle of trust: civil society groups as agents of change in Sudan

ABSTRACT The Internet and Social Network Sites (SNSs) have created spaces where groups and individuals can communicate, collaborate, and mobilize. These new spaces are important for civic actors, especially in repressive political environments, because they significantly lower costs and remove impediments that may affect collective action. Collective identity is a strong predictor of collective action and mobilization in social movements and civil society groups. This article examines the civil society sector in Sudan via an analysis of the communication patterns and online networks of two organizations. The research investigates how shared grievances among individuals may create a sense of community and collective identity, consequently leading to collective action. The Internet and SNSs serve as facilitators for this collective action.

Colonial shorthand and historical knowledge: Segregation and localisation in a Dutch colonial society

Issues of segregation and difference in early-modern Dutch Batavia prove harder to define once we move beyond the picture presented by colonial authorities and move away geographically from the centre of colonial knowledge production. Ethnic quarters were established in the colonial cities, but religious identities blurred strict racial boundary making. Three case studies demonstrate how new lines of identification and distinction emerged, which cut across formal ethnic classifiers. Colonial societies were extremely complex places, where race, occupation, religion, class, and legal status constantly interplayed and directed the definition of social boundaries. Instead of thinking in terms of ethnic segregation as presented in the colonial records, this contribution proposes to think in terms of ‘moral communities’. By so doing, we might be able to balance better between ‘Closeness and Proximity’ in colonial societies. We can thus try to visualise colonial society not primarily as a hierarchical order with fairly strict or at least distinctive internal boundaries as defined by the colonial authorities, but as a society of different and overlapping socio-cultural spheres and as circles of trust rather than of bounded ethnic communities.

Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan by Aksana Ismailbekova

Reviewed by: Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan by Aksana Ismailbekova Fengfeng Zhang (bio) and Laiyi Zhang (bio) Aksana Ismailbekova, Blood Ties and the Native Son: Poetics of Patronage in Kyrgyzstan (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2017). 219 pp., ill. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-0-253-02539-5. Born in Bishkek and trained in Germany, the anthropologist Aksana Ismailbekova studies the transition of Kyrgyzstan from a Soviet Republic to an independent nation-state using a case study of one village in Northern Kyrgyzstan. She uses her ethnographic observations of the intrinsic connection between kinship relations and political patronage to argue that clan politics help sustain rather than undermine democracy in Central Asia. In the course of fourteen months in 2006 and 2007, Ismailbekova observed daily life in the village of Bulak in Chüi Province, conducted interviews with its inhabitants, and participated in their activities. Her study focuses on the rise and fall of a local politician and businessman, Rahim, a "native son" of Bulak raised in Bishkek, who manipulated the ties of kinship and patronage to fulfill his political ambitions at the local level and throughout northern [End Page 304] Kyrgyzstan. Ismailbekova argues that Rahim's strategy was typical of many other Kyrgyz politicians, which made his case paradigmatic for the development of democratic politics in Kyrgyzstan. The book consists of an introduction, seven chapters, and "Concluding Words". The introduction presents the setting of the story and conceptual frameworks used for its interpretation. Chapter 1 discusses the structures of kinship and patronage in Kyrgyz society from the pre-Soviet era to the post-Soviet period. Chapter 2 charts Rahim's place on the genealogical map of local society in Bulak and beyond. Chapter 3 explains the categories of kinship and the operation of patronage networks and kinship practices in the village. Chapter 4 discusses the concept of the "circle of trust" supported by patronage networks, using the example of Rahim's private farm Emgek. Writing about negotiations on the building of a mosque in the village of Orlovka, in chapter 5, the author explicates the link between patronage networks and state structures. Rahim's election to the Kyrgyz parliament from the local election district highlights his return "as a native son" of Bulak. This part of the story is told in chapter 6, which also deconstructs the symbolism of election day to demonstrate how democracy functions in rural Kyrgyzstan and what it really means to ordinary Kyrgyz. Chapter 7 presents Rahim's victory feast as a celebration not only of his election success but also of the power of traditional social ties. The concluding section of the book mentions Rahim's death and the subsequent collapse of patronage networks. The author offers her interpretation of the political meaning of patronage in the modern world and criticizes the normative Western concept of democracy as incompatible with clientelism and tribalism. Ismailbekova speaks of informal social networks in terms of "social poetics": they are omnipresent and deeply ingrained in the society but not formally institutionalized and need to be explicated by a scholar as both violating and adhering to the official norms. Historically, Kyrgyz tribes were organized along common genealogies and hierarchies, and knowledge of family lineage was transmitted through sanjyra (oral genealogical legends). The lineage was organized according to patrilineal descent. Patron–client relations were established between clan leaders (bii or manap) and the poor, but they were not necessarily blood-based. During Soviet times, kinship and patronage networks survived, even if somewhat modified, as many lineage groups were integrated into the kolkhoz structures. The post-1991 period witnessed the revival of interest in genealogies at the private [End Page 305] and state levels, as the foundation for rewriting the country's official history and promoting national culture. The historic rivalry among different lineages in the north and south of the country contributed in part to the escalation of political tensions that brought about the Revolutions of 2005 and 2010. It is against this historical background that the author identifies Rahim's position in the structures of kinship in Bulak village. She argues that Rahim was integrated into the segmentary lineage system (which implies a combination of...

Trust circle recommended model based on different fields

A trust-based recommendation system recommends the resources needed for users by rating data and users' trust relationship. Current relevant work is usually based on over-generalised trust relationships, and the relationship between trust information and specific fields has not been fully exploited, which will affecting the precision and reliability of the recommendation. Therefore, this research proposes a users' trust circle model. It exploits potential implicit trust relationships hierarchically based on specific fields and fully merges explicit trust relationships to predicting ratings. This model not only considers the matching between trust information and fields, but also explores the implicit trust relationships between users in specific fields, thus it is able to improve the precision and coverage of rating prediction. The experiment proved that the trust relationship is field-oriented, user's trust circle in different fields is different. It also proved that dividing trust relationship by field can effectively improve the precision of recommendation.

Privacy Preservation Using 2-Degree Anonymity With Trust Circle in Ubiquitous Network for Service Communications

The ubiquitous networks bring lots of convenience to consumers and service providers for their service communications but have strong privacy issues. Such network environments are unobtrusive and imperceptible to the consumer, where services are provided through an omnipresent way in smart environments. It raises numerous privacy and security issues for consumers. Privacy of service communicating entities needs to be preserved from malicious entities in the context of three-fold privacy threat - identity, location, behavioural privacy threat of legitimate entities in ubiquitous environment. In this paper, privacy preservation is explored with two levels of anonymization by a 2-degree anonymity approach through trust circle of one service entity in service communication. Our proposal provides the personalization in-between anonymity and trust. Simulation results exhibit the effectiveness of our proposal in the considered environment with the “ADULT” database and “Facebook” data set of two Universities, Amherst, and Colgate.

Trust circle recommended model based on different fields

Trust circle recommended model based on different fields