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Social movements and digital media in the UK

Social movements and digital media in the <scp>UK</scp>

The Ward Organist

The Ward Organist

Resource roundup: Creating accessible marketing material

When you're creating social media graphics, downloadable lead magnets, new academic program pages for your website, and email newsletters, are you keeping accessibility in mind? I certainly hope so. It's not only required by federal law for many colleges and universities, but it's simply the right thing to do — and will most likely lead to a better experience for all, not just for students with disabilities.

Make online content accessible

When you're creating social media graphics, downloadable lead magnets, new academic program pages for your website, and email newsletters, are you keeping accessibility in mind? I certainly hope so. It's not only required by federal law for many colleges and universities, but it's simply the right thing to do — and will most likely lead to a better experience for all, not just for students with disabilities.

A survey on the availability, usage and perception of neuromuscular monitors in Europe.

Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are routinely administered to patients in a multiplicity of anesthetic settings. Absence of postoperative residual neuromuscular block is widely considered an anesthetic patient safety mandate. Despite the increasing availability of a wider range of commercial quantitative neuromuscular monitors, the availability and use of neuromuscular monitoring devices is deemed to be suboptimal even in countries with above-average health system ratings. The present study aims to more precisely characterize the perceived availability, cost sensitivity and usability of neuromuscular monitoring devices within European anesthesia departments. A pre-registered internet-based survey assessing the availability, cost sensitivity and usability of neuromuscular monitoring devices was distributed as e-mail newsletter by the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) to all of its active full members. The survey was available online for a total of 120 days. Having targeted a total of 7472 ESAIC members, the survey was completed by a total of 692 anesthesiologists (9.3%) distributed across 37 different European countries. Quantitative monitors were reported to be proportionally more available than qualitative ones (87.6% vs. 62.6%, respectively), as well as in greater monitor-per-operating room ratios. Most anesthesiologists (60.5%) expressed moderate confidence in quantitative monitors, with artifactual recordings and inaccurate measurements being the most frequently encountered issues (25.9%). The commercial pricing of quantitative devices was considered more representative of a device's true value, when compared to qualitative instruments (average cost of €4.500 and €1.000 per device, respectively). The availability of quantitative NMM in European operating theaters has increased in comparison with that reported in previous decades, potentially indicating increasing monitoring rates. European anesthesiologists express moderate confidence in quantitative neuromuscular monitors, along with a sentiment of adequate pricing when compared to their qualitative counterparts. Trust in quantitative monitors is marked by caution and awareness for artifactual recordings, with a consequent expectation that developments focusing on accuracy, reliability and ergonomics of neuromuscular monitors be prioritized.

Make online content accessible

When you’re creating social media graphics, downloadable lead magnets, new academic program pages for your website, and email newsletters, are you keeping accessibility in mind? I certainly hope so. It’s not only required by federal law for many colleges and universities, but it’s simply the right thing to do — and will most likely lead to a better experience for all, not just for students with disabilities.

Meet online accessibility standards

When you're creating social media graphics, downloadable lead magnets, new academic program pages for your website, and email newsletters, are you keeping accessibility in mind? I certainly hope so. It's not only required by federal law for many colleges and universities, but it's simply the right thing to do — and will most likely lead to a better experience for all, not just for students with disabilities.

The communication pattern in prosumption practices through free e-books at membacacepat.com

This study explored the occurrence of a free e-book titled Speed Reading for Beginners that can only be obtained by signing up for an email newsletter at MembacaCepat.com. Through Web 2.0, the Internet facilitated the emergence of a new culture centred on shifting consumer relationships in which individuals both consumed and produced the products they consumed. The purpose of this study is to carry out further research into the communication pattern regarding how the practices of production and consumption, also known as prosumption, occurred at the same agency via the web manager or web owner and e-book downloaders. This study employs virtual ethnography by interviewing informants and observing artefacts as data via the Internet. This study aims to utilise the circuit of culture as an analytic framework, similar to the consumption circuit outlined in continuing consumption practices. The findings indicate that the pattern of production and consumption can be mapped as a collaborative effort between website owners and visitors, with the Speed Reading for Beginners e-book catalysing increased visitor participation.

Rising to the Challenge: How Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Serve as a Scalable Workforce for Local Health Departments in Response to COVID-19 and Beyond.

Rising to the Challenge: How Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Serve as a Scalable Workforce for Local Health Departments in Response to COVID-19 and Beyond.

Expedited partner therapy: Investigating pharmacists’ awareness and training needs in the Northeastern United States

BackgroundSexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States are at an all-time high. Expedited partner therapy (EPT) has been endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent reinfection of patients and their partners. Although this practice is permissible in 46 states, including all of New England and New York, it is underutilized by prescribers and pharmacists. ObjectivesTo collect and analyze data on pharmacists’ knowledge of EPT using a Web-based survey and to determine the best methods to deliver EPT continuing pharmacy education and related resources. MethodsA link to a 26-question survey was sent through e-mail listservs, social media, and newsletters to members of pharmacists’ associations in 6 New England states and New York. In addition to demographic information, the questions assessed pharmacists’ familiarity with and awareness of EPT, their roles in using this clinical service, and options for type, length, and location of related training plus types of information resources that would be most helpful for them. ResultsA total of 133 pharmacists completed the survey. Only 50% overall were familiar with EPT as a concept, and more than 80% of pharmacists did not know which STIs are covered by their state EPT regulations. However, 85% of pharmacists responded they believed they played a potential role in EPT. A majority responded that a less than 2-hour live webinar would be the best format for EPT education, in addition to other resources distributed from their respective state boards of pharmacy. ConclusionPharmacists in the Northeastern United States lack overall awareness of EPT and how it is regulated. With continuing pharmacy education delivered in their preferred format, augmented by State Board of Pharmacy resources, pharmacists can play a critical role to facilitate access for patient and partner treatment of STIs.

Making National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center Knowledge Accessible to Community Oncologists via an Online Tumor Board: Longitudinal Observational Study.

BackgroundExpert knowledge is often shared among multidisciplinary academic teams at tumor boards (TBs) across the country, but these conversations exist in silos and do not reach the wider oncology community.ObjectiveUsing an oncologist-only question and answer (Q&A) website, we sought to document expert insights from TBs at National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers (NCI-CCCs) to provide educational benefits to the oncology community.MethodsWe designed a process with the NCI-CCCs to document and share discussions from the TBs focused on areas of practice variation on theMednet, an interactive Q&A website of over 13,000 US oncologists. The faculty translated the TB discussions into concise, non–case-based Q&As on theMednet. Answers were peer reviewed and disseminated in email newsletters to registered oncologists. Reach and engagement were measured. Following each Q&A, a survey question asked how the TB Q&As impacted the readers’ practice.ResultsA total of 23 breast, thoracic, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary programs from 16 NCI-CCC sites participated. Between December 2016 and July 2021, the faculty highlighted 368 questions from their TBs. Q&As were viewed 147,661 times by 7381 oncologists at 3515 institutions from all 50 states. A total of 277 (75%) Q&As were viewed every month. Of the 1063 responses to a survey question on how the Q&A affected clinicians’ practices, 646 (61%) reported that it confirmed their current practice, 163 (20%) indicated that a Q&A would change their future practice, and 214 (15%) reported learning something new.ConclusionsThrough an online Q&A platform, academics at the NCI-CCCs share knowledge outside the walls of academia with oncologists across the United States. Access to up-to-date expert knowledge can reassure clinicians’ practices, significantly impact patient care in community practices, and be a source of new knowledge and education.

Are People With Poststroke Aphasia Receptive to Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation? A Survey.

The objective of this study was to explore receptiveness of people with poststroke aphasia to receiving transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), including preferences for the treatment setting and schedule of tDCS delivery. An online survey was distributed via e-mail, flyers, social media, and online newsletters to reach people with aphasia. Fisher's exact test examined the relationship of self-reported tDCS receptiveness to demographic, clinical, and other factors. Fifty-seven surveys were returned, and 50 complete surveys were analyzed. Twenty-eight percent of respondents had previously heard of tDCS. Sixty-six percent reported they would receive tDCS if it could help their aphasia, and only 6% reported that they definitely would not. There were statistically significant relationships between being receptive to tDCS and (a) not currently working, (b) being receptive to speech-language therapy, and (c) greater acceptance of potential temporary risks associated with tDCS. Most individuals (73%) who would consider tDCS were equivalently open to receiving it in the clinic or at home, yet the majority (64%) were open to more frequent sessions at home than in the clinic. Most respondents indicated that they would consider having tDCS "forever if it helped" (clinic: 51%; home: 68%). This is the first study to query individuals with aphasia about their receptiveness to tDCS outside the context of an intervention study. Responses suggest that a large majority of people with poststroke aphasia might be open to receiving tDCS if it can ameliorate their aphasia. Limitations include the small sample size, which does not adequately represent the broader population of people with aphasia, and that the survey did not provide the level of tDCS education crucial to inform shared decision making and person-centered care. However, future work may benefit from considering the practical implications of research designs (e.g., high intensity treatment outside the home) that may not, in application, be widely acceptable to primary stakeholders. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19611777.

Covid-19 research evidence: An international survey exploring views on useful sources, preferred formats, and accessibility

INTRODUCTION: In a pandemic, stakeholders such as policy makers, clinicians, patients, and the public need access to high-quality, timely, relevant research evidence in a format that is understandable and applicable. OBJECTIVES: An online survey was used to determine where a global audience finds research evidence about COVID-19 and how they prefer to keep up to date. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We conducted an online survey of people interested in research in English and Spanish. We used a convenience sample of people visiting websites and social media accounts of Cochrane, an international organisation that collates systematic reviews of research. RESULTS: 831 people with various roles and locations responded over a short period with little active promotion. Healthcare professionals, members of the public, and policy influencers wanted research evidence to inform decisions about COVID-19. More than half found research evidence from government websites (52%), international organisations (57%), journals (56%), and evidence collation organisations (60%) useful. People wanted research evidence about COVID-19 formats such as lay summaries (60%), online systematic reviews (60%), short summaries with commentaries (51%), and visual summaries (48%). People preferred to be kept up to date about COVID-19 research via email updates and newsletters, tailored to people’s interests (34%), traditional media (13%) and social media (12%). CONCLUSIONS: It was feasible to collect feedback rapidly using a simple online survey. Websites from official organisations were key sources of COVID-19 research evidence. More research is needed on how best to provide evidence that is easy to access and understand.

Lessons Learned From Dear Pandemic, a Social Media-Based Science Communication Project Targeting the COVID-19 Infodemic.

The World Health Organization has identified excessive COVID-19 pandemic–related information as a public health crisis, calling it an “infodemic.” Social media allows misinformation to spread quickly and outcompete scientifically grounded information delivered via other methods. Dear Pandemic is an innovative, multidisciplinary, social media–based science communication project whose mission is to educate and empower individuals to successfully navigate the overwhelming amount of information circulating during the pandemic. This mission has 2 primary objectives: (1) to disseminate trustworthy, comprehensive, and timely scientific content about the pandemic to lay audiences via social media and (2) to promote media literacy and information-hygiene practices, equipping readers to better manage the COVID-19 infodemic within their own networks. The volunteer team of scientists publishes 8-16 posts per week on pandemic-relevant topics. Nearly 2 years after it launched in March 2020, the project has a combined monthly reach of more than 4 million unique views across 4 social media channels, an email newsletter, and a website. We describe the project’s guiding principles, lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities. Dear Pandemic has emerged as an example of a promising new paradigm for public health communication and intervention. The contributors deliver content in ways that are personal, practical, actionable, responsive, and native to social media platforms. The project’s guiding principles are a model for public health communication targeting future infodemics and can bridge the chasm between the scientific community and the practical daily decision-making needs of the general public.

Effectiveness of Pediatric Teleconsultation to Prevent Skin Conditions in Infants and Reduce Parenting Stress in Mothers: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundIn Japan, eHealth for infants and mothers is currently an important aspect, but its effectiveness has rarely been examined. For infants, skin problems, including atopic dermatitis (AD), which is known to lead to other allergic diseases, are one of the most common conditions. Mothers of infants are prone to experiencing parenting stress, which adversely affects mothers’ and children’s well-being. Additionally, studies have reported that AD among offspring enhances parenting stress, and postnatal maternal psychological problems can increase the risk of AD in children.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the effectiveness of pediatric teleconsultation for preventing AD in infants and reducing parenting stress in mothers in Japan.MethodsThe study was an open-label, randomized, parallel-armed controlled trial. In total, 318 pairs of infants and mothers in the Yokohama City Sakae Ward were recruited when they submitted birth cards to the ward, received the explanation about the trial, and provided informed consent on the website for this trial. Eligible pairs of infants and mothers were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=140) or the control group (n=138). Participants in the intervention and control groups received routine postnatal care from local government services. In addition, participants in the intervention group had the option to combine routine pediatric services with teleconsultation and email newsletters without charge from the date of registration until the infant turned 4 months. Primary outcomes were (1) the prevalence of AD in infants diagnosed based on the United Kingdom Working Party criteria and (2) parenting stress and mental status of mothers assessed using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Data were collected by the ward office staff and researcher during the 4-month checkup.ResultsThe prevalence of AD in infants was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group during the 4-month checkup (20% vs 33%, P=.02; relative risk ratio, 0.709 [95% CI 0.519-0.969]). No significant differences were observed in the PSI-SF and GHQ-12 scores between the 2 groups. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of AD between participants who used teleconsultation services and email newsletters, participants who did not use teleconsultation services but received email newsletters, and participants who neither received nor used either service (18% vs 22% vs 33%, P=.048).ConclusionsThis is the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that routine pediatric care combined with teleconsultation and email newsletters was effective in reducing the prevalence of AD in infants. The findings highlight the potential of pediatric eHealth to become a useful new strategy for preventing AD.Trial RegistrationUniversity Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000029774; https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000034022

Create inclusive content with accessibility tools

When you create social media graphics, downloadable lead magnets, new academic program pages for your website, and email newsletters, are you keeping accessibility in mind? I certainly hope so. It's not only required by federal law for many colleges and universities, but it's simply the right thing to do — and will most likely lead to a better experience for all, not just students with disabilities.

A simple method for unsupervised anomaly detection: An application to Web time series data.

We propose a simple anomaly detection method that is applicable to unlabeled time series data and is sufficiently tractable, even for non-technical entities, by using the density ratio estimation based on the state space model. Our detection rule is based on the ratio of log-likelihoods estimated by the dynamic linear model, i.e. the ratio of log-likelihood in our model to that in an over-dispersed model that we will call the NULL model. Using the Yahoo S5 data set and the Numenta Anomaly Benchmark data set, publicly available and commonly used benchmark data sets, we find that our method achieves better or comparable performance compared to the existing methods. The result implies that it is essential in time series anomaly detection to incorporate the specific information on time series data into the model. In addition, we apply the proposed method to unlabeled Web time series data, specifically, daily page view and average session duration data on an electronic commerce site that deals in insurance goods to show the applicability of our method to unlabeled real-world data. We find that the increase in page view caused by e-mail newsletter deliveries is less likely to contribute to completing an insurance contract. The result also suggests the importance of the simultaneous monitoring of more than one time series.

The effect of information nudges on energy saving: Observations from a randomized field experiment in Finland

Field experiments have shown that information nudging can help households to save energy, however, the effectiveness varies depending on aspects such as information content, delivery mode and study area. This article evaluates the impacts of information nudges on residential electricity consumption with a randomized field experiment. This opt-in experiment was conducted in Finland. Information was administered via monthly email newsletters and an online energy service platform. The aim is to find out whether i) energy saving tips combined with and without online energy service platform providing electricity consumption information, and ii) peer comparisons (i.e., social norm) influence households’ electricity consumption. The results show a high seasonal variation in the treatment effects within the groups who were registered users of the online energy service platform. Those with access to usage feedback and versatile energy savings tips (without the social norm comparisons) reduced their electricity consumption around 10% in wintertime. The results imply challenges in encouraging energy saving behavior among households less interested in following their electricity consumption.

After a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology: A Ten-Year Retrospective

After a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology: A Ten-Year Retrospective

Scaling up CRM in a high-growth business

There are a wealth of potential tools, techniques and data that a digital customer relationship management (CRM) team can use to add value to an organisation, yet it can be extremely hard to get all the required data, tracking and systems in place to scale at speed, especially when working within a high-growth business. This paper details how the CRM team at Babylon took the CRM function from one person sending a monthly email newsletter to a global business unit which utilises data-driven personalisation and automation across multiple channels to deliver key business results; all within 30 months, and during a time when Babylon itself doubled in size and value, and added new international markets to its offering. The team went through four key phases: Getting Started; Test and Learn; Scaling Up; and Optimising.