Information-sharing Activities Research Articles

Who is responsible for developing energy policy interventions in Mozambique? A stakeholder analysis and social network analysis

PurposeThis study highlights the crucial significance of stakeholder participation in the creation of a comprehensive energy and electrical master plan for Mozambique. The purpose of this study is to deliver a practical insights that transcend theoretical concerns by digging into the subtleties of stakeholder relationships and strategic collaborations, paving the path for pragmatic and meaningful solutions that connect with real-life conditions. This debate lays the groundwork for educated decision-making, propelling Mozambique’s energy industry towards a more sustainable and prosperous future.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a combined approach of stakeholder analysis (SA) and social network analysis (SNA) to enhance our understanding of the stakeholder landscape in Mozambique’s energy sector. This methodological approach offers a unique vantage point to examine the individual stakeholders’ roles and the intricate web of connections, partnerships, collaborations and information-sharing activities. By integrating SA and SNA, this study aims to provide a more comprehensive and dynamic depiction of stakeholder interactions, contributing methodologically to the existing body of literature.FindingsThe findings also highlight the need to develop frameworks that promote private investment and joint endeavours with entities such as Cahora Bassa Dam/Mozambique Transmission Company. A consistent legal framework ensures uniform performance and a robust monitoring system for ongoing projects, improving accountability and progress tracking. Furthermore, the discussion includes enhancing the competence of the regulatory agency regulating the electricity industry. This includes tackling complex concerns with electricity pricing and other regulatory aspects relevant to private investment. A highly empowered regulatory agency is critical to creating an atmosphere conducive to long-term private sector involvement.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the study emphasises the need to integrate multiple stakeholders, it may not detail specific issues or impediments that may develop during the engagement process. Additional research could look into potential tensions or barriers to effective collaboration. Furthermore, the study emphasises the necessity of addressing environmental impacts; it must thoroughly examine specific environmental concerns such as carbon emissions, deforestation or renewable energy possibilities. Future research could assess the suggested policies’ environmental impact more extensively. Additionally, while the conclusion briefly mentions economic prosperity, a more thorough consideration of the possible economic and social implications of various energy policies could provide a greater understanding of their practicality and potential benefits.Practical implicationsIn terms of practical contributions, this study aspires to shed light on how stakeholder interactions can shape energy policy interventions that ensure reliable and affordable energy sources for economic development and societal well-being. By unveiling the complex network of relationships and partnerships, this study seeks to provide actionable insights for policymakers, industry players and other stakeholders involved in Mozambique’s energy sector. By taking this action, this research aims to pave the way for more effective and inclusive energy policies that align with circular economy principles, thus addressing a critical need in scholarly discourse and practical implementation.Originality/valueThe study underscores the critical role of energy stakeholders in shaping energy policies and projects, given their influential positions and impact on decision-making processes. While existing literature acknowledges this influence, a discernible research gap exists in comprehensively understanding how stakeholder interactions and collaborations in the energy sector affect policy interventions within a context such as Mozambique. This study seeks to bridge this gap by delving into the intricacies of stakeholder involvement and its implications for energy policy development in Mozambique.

MEMBANGUN KOMUNITAS HIJAU MELALUI PELATIHAN “PROGRAM SADAR PRODUK HIJAU MELALUI MEDIA SOSIAL” PADA GENERASI MILENIAL DI LAMPUNG

The coming of the digital era opens up new opportunities for social media as an interactive means ofaccumulating knowledge. Individuals who interact with each other in social media space operate thecapacity of information-seeking and information-sharing. At a certain level, the accumulation ofknowledge formed by the information-seeking and information-sharing activities of social media opensup views for solving practical problems, including one of which is environmental problems. By usingthe global normal argument of green practices and the potential of the millennial generation inIndonesia, the Tim Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (PkM) of Universitas Katolik Musi Charitas -Palembang held an activity entitled "Green Communities Development Through 'Green ProductAwareness Program Using Social Media' for Millennials in Lampung". The program employs twostages of green awareness development method, namely: (1) Conceptualization ; and (2) Practicalimplementation. The activity which lasted for two days received a positive response from theparticipants.

Changing attitudes towards HIV testing and treatment among three generations of men in Cameroon: a qualitative analysis using the Fogg Behavior Model

IntroductionMen are less likely than women to test for HIV and promptly initiate antiretroviral treatment, resulting in advanced HIV disease and increased mortality rates among them.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with men and leaders in the west and central regions of Cameroon. Men were recruited from existing community groups and stratified by age: 21–30 years, 31–40 years, and 41 years and older. Community leaders were recommended by the community dialogue structure chairman. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured guide in English or French, depending on the participant’s preference. Transcripts were coded in the MAXQDA v.12 software and analyzed using thematic analysis and by age group. The Fogg Behavior Model was used to gain a deeper understanding of the different perceptions across all age groups.ResultsYounger men (21–30 years) were generally more accepting of HIV testing, as it had become normative behavior. Although financial barriers could limit access, free testing was mentioned as a prompt to initiate HIV testing. The middle age men (31–40 years) had the most concerns about HIV testing interrupting their work day and recommended increasing testing locations and hours. The older men (41 + years) were the least motivated to get tested, citing worries about the impact on their social standing within the community. All age groups reported being motivated to begin treatment if they were found to be HIV-positive.Participants also provided insights regarding community HIV testing and treatment messaging. Younger and older men preferred to hear directly from qualified health professionals, but younger men noted that social media, radio, and TV could be utilized. Middle age men also identified TV and radio as effective mediums, if door-to-door messaging was not an option.ConclusionsThe study highlights important considerations when planning future information-sharing activities for HIV testing and treatment. Since lived experiences differ across generations and societal roles continue to change, not only should the content of messages differ among the generations, but the means of communication must also be considered to ensure the messages are conveyed through a trusted source.

Investigating the Role of Digital Learning in Enhancing Educational Values: Online Socialization and Its Effect on Peer Learning, Collaborative Skills and Knowledge Construction

This study aimed to examine the advantages of online socializing and digital learning for the growth of interpersonal, peer learning and collaborative skills. The impact of these three skills on knowledge construction was evaluated. The Salmon five step e-moderation model has been used to explore the many phases of learning in a digital environment. This study examined the first stage of the e-moderation model, which is the respondents' internet accessibility, and the stage of knowledge construction in digital learning. The respondents of this study were 402 undergraduate students from four universities who have completed four semesters of online study. A stratified cluster sampling technique was employed in choosing the samples for this study. The instrument for data collection from the respondents was a 40-item questionnaire. Google Forms was utilized as the medium for data gathering. The main findings show that online learning involves a lot of interpersonal, peer learning, and collaborative activities, which are correlated to knowledge construction. The three abilities of peer learning, collaborative skills, and knowledge construction, as indicators of educational values, are positively correlated. The results suggest that a carefully designed online learning session that promotes group activities can deliver beneficial educational values. The common online socializing and information-sharing activities seen on social network sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, etc., have strong educational components that should be included in digital learning, which is the future of education.

Dissolving Organizational Bounds - Does Blockchain Digitalize Trust?

The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of the practicality in using blockchain to share information across organisational boundaries. Previous research has shown trust plays an essential role in information-sharing, but this is not evident in current blockchain literature, which this paper seeks to change. First, the importance of trust in information-sharing is presented by summarizing current literature´s take on the role of trust in information-sharing activities in the supply chain through which an analytical framework is presented. Following this methods used for acquiring the primary data from the wind industry, the secondary data from blockchain literature and the method used for analysing said data through thematic analysis are explained. The empirical case of the wind industry is then presented and analysed by presenting the identified themes of 1) product update handling and master data; 2) transparency and traceability; and 3) collaboration. The trust framework presented in the theoretical background is then used to analyse the contents of the themes and the wind case. This leads to the first set findings for the paper; for supply chain-based blockchain to be successful trust must be a pre-requisite for the involved parties, but in addition blockchain also facilitates trust through information-sharing, thus making trust and outcome of blockchain as well. Finally, the paper discusses how blockchain currently ties to operational interactions and not those related to tactical or strategic interactions.

Development of a Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative to Improve Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes.

Pediatric sepsis is a major public health problem. Published treatment guidelines and several initiatives have increased adherence with guideline recommendations and have improved patient outcomes, but the gains are modest, and persistent gaps remain. The Children's Hospital Association Improving Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes (IPSO) collaborative seeks to improve sepsis outcomes in pediatric emergency departments, ICUs, general care units, and hematology/oncology units. We developed a multicenter quality improvement learning collaborative of US children's hospitals. We reviewed treatment guidelines and literature through 2 in-person meetings and multiple conference calls. We defined and analyzed baseline sepsis-attributable mortality and hospital-onset sepsis and developed a key driver diagram (KDD) on the basis of treatment guidelines, available evidence, and expert opinion. Fifty-six hospital-based teams are participating in IPSO; 100% of teams are engaged in educational and information-sharing activities. A baseline, sepsis-attributable mortality of 3.1% was determined, and the incidence of hospital-onset sepsis was 1.3 cases per 1000 hospital admissions. A KDD was developed with the aim of reducing both the sepsis-attributable mortality and the incidence of hospital-onset sepsis in children by 25% from baseline by December 2020. To accomplish these aims, the KDD primary drivers focus on improving the following: treatment of infection; recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis; de-escalation of unnecessary care; engagement of patients and families; and methods to optimize performance. IPSO aims to improve sepsis outcomes through collaborative learning and reliable implementation of evidence-based interventions.

Communication Hotspots: How Infrastructure Shapes People’s Health

ABSTRACT Informed by communication infrastructure theory (CIT) and the social capital approach to health, this study focused on the role played by communication hotspots: physical places in a community (e.g., parks, churches, or restaurants) where health information is shared between network actors. By analyzing survey data that included information about communication infrastructure, frequency of health conversations, as well as the size and diversity of respondents’ social networks, this study illustrates how communication hotspots may reduce perceived barriers to healthcare among Latinas in the greater Los Angeles area (N = 780). The results suggest that communication hotspots can influence people’s health by facilitating information-sharing activities. In addition, communication hotspots may reduce perceived barriers to healthcare by bringing together diverse network actors. We conclude by considering future health interventions and policy planning to leverage and enhance community members’ interactions at communication hotspots.

Maximal velocity and amplitude decrement angle: a novel parameter for finger tapping instrumental evaluation in Parkinson disease

In our current knowledge-driven society, many information systems encourage users to utilize their online social connections’ information collections actively as useful sources. The abundant information-sharing activities among online social connections could be valuable in enhancing and developing a sophisticated user information model. In order to leverage the shared information as a user information model, our preliminary job is to determine how to measure effectively the resulting patterns. However, this task is not easy, due to multiple aspects of information and the diversity of information preferences among social connections. Which similarity measure is the most representable for the common interests of multifaceted information among online social connections? This is the main question we will explore in this paper. In order to answer this question, we considered users’ self-defined online social connections, specifically in Citeulike, which were built around an object-centered sociality as the gold standard of shared interests among online social connections. Then, we computed the effectiveness of various similarity measures in their capabilities to estimate shared interests. The results demonstrate that, instead of focusing on monotonous bookmark-based similarities, it is significantly better to zero in on more cognitively expressible metadata-based similarities in accounting for shared interests.

How to measure information similarity in online social networks: A case study of Citeulike

In our current knowledge-driven society, many information systems encourage users to utilize their online social connections’ information collections actively as useful sources. The abundant information-sharing activities among online social connections could be valuable in enhancing and developing a sophisticated user information model. In order to leverage the shared information as a user information model, our preliminary job is to determine how to measure effectively the resulting patterns. However, this task is not easy, due to multiple aspects of information and the diversity of information preferences among social connections. Which similarity measure is the most representable for the common interests of multifaceted information among online social connections? This is the main question we will explore in this paper. In order to answer this question, we considered users’ self-defined online social connections, specifically in Citeulike, which were built around an object-centered sociality as the gold standard of shared interests among online social connections. Then, we computed the effectiveness of various similarity measures in their capabilities to estimate shared interests. The results demonstrate that, instead of focusing on monotonous bookmark-based similarities, it is significantly better to zero in on more cognitively expressible metadata-based similarities in accounting for shared interests.

Mosaic Theory and Cyberharassment: Using Privacy Principles to Clarify the Law of Digital Harms and Free Speech

The Supreme Court of the United States, in the 2012 case United States v. Jones, laid a jurisprudential foundation for using mosaic theory to identify and address harms caused when innocuous bits of information are aggregated and used to invade the privacy of a targeted individual. Although mosaic theory has been applied almost exclusively in Fourth Amendment privacy cases, information mosaics can be used to facilitate online harassment. However, courts have not articulated frameworks for recognizing informational harms caused by mosaics. Additionally, although state cyberharassment laws exempt constitutionally protected informational uses from prosecution, neither state legislatures nor courts have articulated the extent of such protected activities in the cyberharassment context. Mosaic theory provides a useful theoretical and heuristic lens for understanding the limits of informational uses and harms in the cyberharassment context. Using the lens of mosaic theory, this article explores the ways information mosaics can be used to harass targeted individuals. The article concludes that states should pursue incremental modifications to their cyberharassment laws to address the harms caused by persistent, intentional, targeted uses of information mosaics against targets and that they better articulate frameworks for understanding which information-sharing activities are exempt from prosecution.

A Study on the Effect of Information Sharing Activities of Franchisor and Entrepreneurship of Franchisee Influencing Relational Conflict and Relational Performance

A Study on the Effect of Information Sharing Activities of Franchisor and Entrepreneurship of Franchisee Influencing Relational Conflict and Relational Performance

Website Sharing in Online Health Communities: A Descriptive Analysis.

BackgroundAn increasing number of people visit online health communities to seek health information. In these communities, people share experiences and information with others, often complemented with links to different websites. Understanding how people share websites can help us understand patients’ needs in online health communities and improve how peer patients share health information online.ObjectiveOur goal was to understand (1) what kinds of websites are shared, (2) information quality of the shared websites, (3) who shares websites, (4) community differences in website-sharing behavior, and (5) the contexts in which patients share websites. We aimed to find practical applications and implications of website-sharing practices in online health communities.MethodsWe used regular expressions to extract URLs from 10 WebMD online health communities. We then categorized the URLs based on their top-level domains. We counted the number of trust codes (eg, accredited agencies’ formal evaluation and PubMed authors’ institutions) for each website to assess information quality. We used descriptive statistics to determine website-sharing activities. To understand the context of the URL being discussed, we conducted a simple random selection of 5 threads that contained at least one post with URLs from each community. Gathering all other posts in these threads resulted in 387 posts for open coding analysis with the goal of understanding motivations and situations in which website sharing occurred.ResultsWe extracted a total of 25,448 websites. The majority of the shared websites were .com (59.16%, 15,056/25,448) and WebMD internal (23.2%, 5905/25,448) websites; the least shared websites were social media websites (0.15%, 39/25,448). High-posting community members and moderators posted more websites with trust codes than low-posting community members did. The heart disease community had the highest percentage of websites containing trust codes compared to other communities. Members used websites to disseminate information, supportive evidence, resources for social support, and other ways to communicate.ConclusionsOnline health communities can be used as important health care information resources for patients and caregivers. Our findings inform patients’ health information–sharing activities. This information assists health care providers, informaticians, and online health information entrepreneurs and developers in helping patients and caregivers make informed choices.

Participatory workplace activities, employee-level outcomes and the mediating role of work intensification

Purpose– The present study aims to explore the impacts of participative decision-making and information-sharing activities, two relevant constituents of the high performance work practices framework, on employee attitudes and well-being.Design/methodology/approach– The study was undertaken using data from the 2009 National Centre for Partnership and Performance survey on employees’ attitudes and expectations of the workplace. Structural equation modelling was used to test the direct effects of participative decision-making and information sharing on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job strain, and simultaneously, the mediating role of work intensification in these relationships was examined.Findings– Participative decision-making activities produced overall favourable effects on employee attitudes and well-being; these effects may be explained by decreases in work intensification. The impacts of information sharing on employee attitudes and well-being were generally unfavourable and fully mediated by increases in work intensification.Originality/value– This study informs two theoretical perspectives on employee-level impacts of HPWP: the mutual gains and the critical perspectives of HPWP, and extends knowledge on the employee-level influences of participatory workplace practices during a period of severe economic recession in the Republic of Ireland.

Customers happy to buy apps

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The analysis finds that the level of interest in a retail app is positively related to the consumer’s intention to engage in both purchasing and information-sharing activities. In addition, the time since the consumer’s last visit to the retail store has a moderating effect on both types of activities; the more recent the last visit, the larger the effect-size of interest in the app on intention to share information and make a purchase. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Predicting mobile app usage for purchasing and information-sharing

Purpose – Mobile applications, or apps, are an increasingly important part of omnichannel retailing. While the adoption and usage of apps for marketing purposes has grown exponentially over the past few years, there is little academic research in this area. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the mobile phone platform (Android vs Apple iOS), interest in the app and recency of store visit affect consumers’ likelihood to use the apps for purchasing and information-sharing activities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper tests a model by analysing survey data collected from customers of a major US retailer using partial least squares regression. Findings – The analysis finds that the level of interest in a retail app is positively related to the consumer's intention to engage in both purchasing and information-sharing activities. In addition, the recency of the consumer's last visit to the retail store has a moderating effect on both types of activities; the more recent the last visit, the larger the effect-size of interest in the app on intention to share information and make a purchase. Practical implications – While marketing and advertising managers may have suspected that Apple iOS users are more receptive to retail mobile apps, this study provides empirical support for the proposition. In addition, the moderating effect of recency of visit suggests that in-store promotions may be effective in increasing usage of the retailer's mobile apps. Originality/value – This study is among the first in the academic literature to examine predictors of mobile app usage for purchasing and information sharing. It fills a gap in the literature, while at the same time providing actionable information for practitioners.

Criteria for developing and testing Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs) for outer space activities

Space systems play an important role in sustaining the development, prosperity and security of many nations. As more nations become critically reliant on space systems, questions of maintaining safety and strategic stability in outer space have come to the fore. Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs) for outer space activities have an important role to play in providing clarity about the intentions of States and in articulating norms of behaviour in outer space. TCBMs take several forms. They may be the elaboration of basic principles related to the exploration and use of outer space, political measures related to establishing norms of conduct, information-sharing activities to improve the transparency of outer space activities, operational practices which demonstrate a commitment to mutual cooperation in outer space, or consultative mechanisms. We present an analytical framework for evaluating potential TCBMs and illustrate the application of this framework to examples of potential operational, regulatory, treaty-based and declaratory TCBMs.

Transition of buyer-supplier relationships in Japan

Purpose – The paper aims to describe the changes in buyer-supplier relationships among Japanese companies at the early 2000s, focusing on two critical features; long-term relationships and information sharing. In particular, the paper investigates the relationship between benefits from information-sharing activities within buyer-supplier relationships and the stability of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a questionnaire based on prior research related to Japanese companies and undertakes a questionnaire survey of 353 Japanese manufacturing companies (which belong to the machinery, electrical/electronics, transportation equipment, and precision industries) in 2002. Findings – Although Japanese companies have been considered to have close relationships with their partners, the paper finds only a small proportion of buyers were willing to share sensitive information with their suppliers and/or expected to continue long-term relationships with them. In addition, an examination of factors relating to buyers' performance shows that receiving benefits from inter-organizational information-sharing activities (attending suppliers' meetings, sending engineers to suppliers, and proposing cost saving ideas) could affect buyers' incentives to sustain long-term relationships with their suppliers. Originality/value – The paper provides empirical evidence of the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship in Japanese manufacturing companies. Specifically, the main contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence indicating that the benefit from buyer-supplier relationships has an effect on the governance structure of these relationships.

Integrated Market-related Internal Communication: Development of the Construct

Although companies are increasingly using integrative communication processes to develop and improve market information dissemination, research in marketing has typically conceptualised and measured dissemination in terms of the use and frequency of information-sharing activities. In view of this asynchrony between theory and practice, this research explores the above neglected domain of market information dissemination, proposing a new construct that we call ‘integrated market-related internal communication’ (IMIC), which encompasses the integrative communication processes implemented by firms aimed at enhancing employees' market information processing. After conceptualising IMIC as a fourdimensional construct, we developed and validated a measurement instrument for assessing this emergent concept. In particular, the proposed dimensions were confirmed as reflective factors of the higher order-construct IMIC, and nomological validity was assessed by demonstrating the positive influence of IMIC on both employees' capacity to assimilate market information and shared interpretation of this information.

Nutrition Information Sharing Activities of Community College Students

Nutrition Information Sharing Activities of Community College Students

Spatio-temporal similarity of network-constrained moving object trajectories using sequence alignment of travel locations

Data analysis based on the similarity of vehicle trajectories in a vehicular network is emerging as a new exciting paradigm that is important for law enforcement applications (e.g., the analysis of criminal tracking, road traffic security and traffic scheduling). Spatio-temporal data analysis plays an important role in many applications, including transportation infrastructure, border security and inland security. To analyze the moving patterns of vehicles on a road network, a measure for determining the similarity of vehicle trajectories with respect to space and time has to be defined. Although previous research has addressed the trajectory similarity problem, most of the studies focus on Euclidian distance instead of network distance. This paper deals with the variations in applying a spatio-temporal similarity measure with given Points of Interest (POI) and Time of Interest (TOI), treating spatial similarity as a combination of structural and sequence similarities that is evaluated using the techniques of dynamic programming. The similarity set thus formed will be used by the remote database to broadcast trigger-based messages to participating vehicles in a neighborhood for future route- and information-sharing activities. The performance of the scheme is evaluated using experiments on standard real-life data.