Interpersonal Connections Research Articles

Exploring the Influences of Social Networking Service (SNS) on Consumer Purchase Behaviour

Social Networking Service (SNS) can be defined as an online platform that is used to create interpersonal connections. Nowadays, TikTok and Instagram are widely used as trending online platforms for purchasing activities among youth. The goal of this study is to identify how TikTok and Instagram features influences user’s behaviour to purchased or consumed products as well as to study the impact of TikTok and Instagram platforms in determining customer preferences. One-on-one in-depth interview was conducted with six participants among USIM students. Purposive sampling had been used in selecting only participants who used and purchased products using TikTok and Instagram accounts. To find purchasing behavioural themes, the data analysis was manually coded. The study's findings on TikTok and Instagram show its features can influence purchasing products and both platforms impact in determining customers preferences. Interesting content can influence youth purchasing behaviour such as contents portrayed through TikTok and Instagram Lives besides emphasizing on social media features and engagement, marketing strategy, convenience, and audience’s preference. This research also found that TikTok and Instagram platforms help users to purchase online more conveniently as both platforms are user-friendly.

Impact of malocclusion of oral health related quality of life among 13-18 years visiting dental hospital

Malocclusion is one of the most significant factors affecting oral health, and it is significant not only for financial and physical comfort but also for quality of life (QoL) by impairing appearance, interpersonal connections, function, self-confidence, socializing, and psychological well-being. Objectives: This study was piloted to evaluate OHRQoL in children between the ages of 13 and 18 who were seeking orthodontic treatment at Abbottabad International Medical and Dental College, Abbottabad and to determine the relationship between the need for orthodontic management, gender, age and OHRQoL. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was done among 900 young individuals, ages 13 to 18, who visited the department of orthodontics. The OASIS survey was completed by the participants. All patients aged 13 to 18 who reported for treatment at the orthodontic department between January 2023 till June 2023 were included while those having a history of jaw trauma, those who are undergoing orthodontic therapy, and those who have undergone orthodontic treatment were omitted from the study.

The Role of Social Support in Promoting Adolescents’ Resilience during a Pandemic: Insights from Region XII, Philippines

The study determined the role of social support in promoting the resilience of 400 adolescents in Region XII, Philippines, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In analyzing the data, mean, standard deviation, Pearson product-moment correlation, and regression analysis were used. Results revealed that the level of social support indicated by emotional support and instrumental support is very high. The level of adolescent resilience is also very high, as indicated by novelty seeking, emotional regulation, and positive future orientation. Social support helped promote the resilience of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family, friends, and other significant individuals’ support is essential for alleviating distress and can be a vital component for fortifying interpersonal connections and relationships in order to build individuals' capacity to tolerate suffering and build resilience to cope with challenges and strains during the pandemic—a strong foundation for well-being throughout life.

Narrative medicine workshops for emergency medicine residents: Effects on empathy and burnout.

Emergency medicine (EM) residents face unique affective challenges and barriers to interpersonal connection in their clinical environment which may contribute to decreased empathy and increased burnout. Narrative medicine (NM) might address these barriers and has had beneficial impacts in various populations but has never been studied in EM residents. In this study, we sought to evaluate the effect of NM workshops on burnout and empathy and to assess resident perceptions of the workshops. We performed a quasi-experimental study at two EM residencies from June to October 2020. Residents at the intervention site participated in two NM workshops led by EM faculty that were composed of a close reading of a literary text, reflective writing, and group discussion. Residents were asked to complete the abbreviated Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and a single-item burnout measure pre- and postintervention. We fitted linear regression models to IRI subscores; we treated burnout as an ordinal variable and fitted a conditional logistic regression model. Residents completed a postintervention survey that we analyzed using summary statistics. A total of 46.7% of control (28/60) and 100% of intervention (48/48) residents responded (n = 76). While all respondents demonstrated worsening burnout with time (p = 0.001), residents at the intervention site exhibited less severe increases (interaction p < 0.001). Empathy remained unchanged. A total of 50% of intervention residents (24/48) responded to the postintervention survey; most (n = 20, 83.3%) agreed that the workshops should be a standard part of EM didactics. These findings establish the feasibility and desirability of NM in residency education and offers a model for EM-centered narrative workshops. Additionally, while our outcomes are limited, we found that exposure to an NM curriculum may be protective against worsening burnout.

Renewfood manufacturing: Food production for a nourished, resilient nation

Renewfood manufacturing: Food production for a nourished, resilient nation Dr Kang Lan Tee, Matthew Hutchinson, Joe Price and Professor Tuck Seng Wong from the University of Sheffield explain the importance of re-imagining food production to support people and the planet. Food transcends its basic role as a human necessity, encompassing a multifaceted significance in our lives. Beyond its fundamental function of providing nutrition and sustenance, food is a profound social instrument, it not only nourishes our bodies but also nourishes our relationships and interactions. Food production is undoubtedly vital to livelihoods everywhere. We gather around a shared meal with our family and friends, using this communal experience to foster and maintain deep interpersonal connections. In business, food is a catalyst for successful negotiations as we convene with clients or customers over a meal, forging bonds and laying the groundwork for prosperous partnerships.

Your Brain on Reddit: Exploring Neurosurgical Concerns on a Popular Social Media Site

Social media has irreversibly impacted global interpersonal connectivity. This study aims to understand how information discussed in condition-specific communities, called "subreddits," on the major social media platform Reddit, can improve education by medical providers. The top 50 Reddit posts in each subreddit's "hot" tab were retroactively screened from June 1, 2022. Posts written by those 18 and older who had the condition or were engaging in a better understanding of the condition were included in the analysis. In addition, posts were placed in 1 of 6 categories based on the redditors' primary questions: social advice, health advice, providing health education or suggesting equipment, personal experience/progress, researchers recruiting patients for research, or others. We identified 605 posts within 15 subreddits related to cranial neurosurgical topics including epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain tumors/cancer, seizures, hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, Chiari malformations, aneurysms, pineal cysts, ataxia, and moyamoya. Asking for health advice was the most common form of information seeking across subreddits (53.6%), specifically treatment-related questions (41.0%). Redditors from r/epilepsy and r/seizures constituted 84.6% of nonsurgical treatment questions relating to antiepileptic dosing or side effects. Cranial neurosurgical disease can overwhelm patients, leaving them with unaddressed questions. Reddit provides anonymity and camaraderie within condition-specific communities not found at the doctor's office. The ease of access to an Internet community may encourage redditors to seek health information online.

Truth that Matters

Truth that Matters

The harm of humiliation

AbstractMy aim in this paper is to show that the natural idea that humiliation is harmful calls explanation and to argue that the most straightforward ways of responding to this explanatory demand fall short in important ways. I end by considering a line of response which I take to be promising, which appeals to our need, as social animals, for interpersonal connection.

Transformasi Kebudayaan: Dampak Perkembangan Teknologi dan Media Sosial

In the era of globalization and digitalization, cultural transformation has become a significant phenomenon triggered by technological advancements and social media development. This research analyzes the impact of these changes on traditional values, social norms, individual identities, and communication patterns. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses. Through in-depth interviews with diverse societal groups and online surveys, this study reveals that technology and social media have reshaped social interaction and communication. Traditional cultural values, such as face-to-face communication and deep interpersonal connections, have experienced a decline in priority. In contrast, digital communication and social networking have become more dominant. Social norms have also undergone changes. The exposure of personal information through social media has blurred the boundaries between private and public life. Personal identity has undergone a complex transformation; individuals can craft self-images on the virtual stage of social media, yet they also risk experiencing identity dissonance due to digital normative pressures. Communication patterns have undergone a drastic shift. Emojis, abbreviations, and images have become integral to digital language, influencing how individuals interact and communicate. While technology and social media offer benefits in global connectivity, they also pose new challenges in understanding communication nuances within evolving contexts. In conclusion, this research highlights the changes in cultural values, social norms, individual identities, and communication due to technological and social media advancements. These findings provide crucial insights into how society adapts to cultural transformations in the digital era. Understanding these changes is essential for mitigating negative impacts and maximizing the benefits offered by technological progress in daily life.

Social Capital and Willingness to Comply With Anti-Pandemic Government Intervention.

This study examines the relationship between individual-level social capital and compliance attitudes toward health protective measures in the context of COVID-19. We drew on secondary population-based data fielded during the pandemic's initial phase (April - June of 2020). The analytic sample consists of 9124 older American adults (ages 55 and over) across 18 U.S. States and Metropolitan Statistical Areas. We estimated mixed-effects models with random intercepts and slopes. People who are better socially connected are more willing to comply with anti-pandemic government intervention. This relationship is stronger among those who are more psychologically distressed. Its magnitude also increases in more densely populated areas and places with higher numbers of coronavirus infection. Older Americans' anti-coronavirus compliance attitudes is significantly driven by preexisting interpersonal connectedness and civic engagement. The role of social capital is also contingent on the existing levels of risk factor (threat and vulnerability).

Construction of Meaning in Verbal Communication

In the social sciences, coordinated meaning management (CMM) provides an understanding of how individuals create, coordinate, and manage meaning in their communication processes. In general, it refers to "how individuals establish rules for creating and interpreting meaning and how those rules are related in conversation where meanings are constantly coordinated". (West and Lynn, 2007)." Human communication is seen as a flexible, open and changeable process that develops in continuous mutual interaction, which allows movements, shifts, and ways of evolving with one another". According to Miller and Sarah (2019). CMM embodies this vision and enables interpersonal connections and open conversations between individuals or groups, and can be applied across a wide range of academic fields and social scenarios.

'It's been an extraordinary journey': Experience of engagement from the perspectives of people with post-stroke aphasia.

Engagement is recognized as an important factor in aphasia treatment response and outcomes, yet gaps remain in our understanding of engagement and practices that promote engagement from the client perspective. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how clients with aphasia experience engagement during their inpatient aphasia rehabilitation. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach guided the study design and analysis. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with nine clients with aphasia, recruited through purposive sampling, during their inpatient rehabilitation admission. Analysis was completed using a variety of analytic techniques including coding, memoing, triangulation between coders and team discussion. The analysis revealed that for clients with aphasia in the acute phrase of recovery, the rehabilitation process resembles travelling on a journey through a foreign land. Successful engagement in the journey was accomplished when one had a therapist who served as a trusted guide and was able to be a friend, invested, adaptable, a co-creator, encouraging and dependable. Engagement is a dynamic, multifaceted and person-centred process involving the client, provider and rehabilitation context. Findings from this work have implications for measuring engagement, training student clinicians to be skilled facilitators in engaging their clients and implementing person-centred practices that promote engagement within clinical settings. What is already known on the subject Engagement is recognized as an important factor in rehabilitation treatment response and outcomes. Prior literature suggests that the therapist plays a critical role in facilitating engagement within the client-provider relationship. Communication impairments associated with aphasia may negatively impact a client's ability to develop interpersonal connections and participate in the rehabilitation process. There is a dearth of research directly exploring the topic of engagement in aphasia rehabilitation, particularly from the perspective of clients with aphasia. Capturing the client perspective can provide novel insights regarding practices to foster and maintain engagement in aphasia rehabilitation. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This interpretative phenomenological study revealed that for individuals with aphasia in the acute phase of recovery, the rehabilitation process resembles travelling on a sudden and foreign journey. Successful engagement in the journey was accomplished when one had a therapist who served as a 'trusted guide' and was able to be a friend, invested, adaptable, a co-creator, encouraging and dependable. Through the client experience, engagement is seen as a dynamic, multifaceted and person-centred process involving the client, provider and rehabilitation context. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The current study highlights the complexity and nuance of engagement within the rehabilitation context, which has implications for measuring engagement, training student clinicians to be skilled in engaging their clients and implementing person-centred practices that promote engagement within clinical settings. It is necessary to recognize that client and provider interactions (and thus engagement) are embedded in and influenced by the broader healthcare system. With this in mind, a patient-centred approach to engagement in aphasia care delivery cannot be achieved through individual efforts only and may require prioritization and action at the systems level. Future work is needed to explore barriers and facilitators to enacting engagement practices, in order to develop and test strategies to support practice change.

ID: 219913 Understanding Concerns About Brain-Localized Neurosurgical Conditions in the Reddit Community

Social media has irreversibly impacted global interpersonal connectivity in many ways. Patients with neurological conditions and their caregivers are meeting virtually online to discuss experiences and unanswered questions. “Reddit” is a major social media platform where such medical discourse ensues. This study analyzes condition-specific communities called “subreddits”, where redditors discuss brain-related neurosurgical concerns. This study aims to understand how information discussed in these subreddits can improve relevant education by medical providers.

Contraceptive counseling and choices in pregnancies with maternal cardiac disease

Objective Unplanned pregnancies in women with maternal cardiac disease (MCD) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but the majority of these individuals do not use highly reliable contraception on postpartum hospital discharge. Contraceptive counseling in this population outside of pregnancy is incomplete and counseling during pregnancy remains poorly characterized. Our objective was to evaluate the provision and quality of contraceptive counseling for individuals with MCD during pregnancy. Methods All individuals with MCD who delivered between 2008 and 2021 at a tertiary care institution with a multidisciplinary cardio-obstetrics team were sent a 27-question survey. A subset of questions were derived from the validated Interpersonal Quality in Family Planning (IQFP) survey, which emphasizes interpersonal connection, adequate information, and decision support for the individual. Each participant received a $15 gift card for survey completion. We performed chart review for clinical and demographic details, including cardiac risk score. Results Of 522 individuals to whom the survey was sent, 133 responded and met inclusion criteria. Overall, 67% discussed contraception with their general obstetrician, 36% with their maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialist, and 24% with their cardiologist. Compared to individuals with low cardiac risk scores, those with high cardiac risk scores had a nonsignificant trend toward being more likely to discuss contraception with a MFM provider (52% vs 33%, p = .08). 65% reported that their provider was ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ in all IQFP domains. Respondents valued providers who respected their autonomy and offered thorough counseling. Respondents disliked feeling pressured or uninformed about the safety of contraceptive options. Conclusion Most individuals with MCD reported excellent contraceptive counseling during pregnancy. Additional work is needed to understand barriers to and enablers for effective, patient-centered contraceptive counseling and use in this population.

Kindness Isn’t Just about Being Nice: The Value Proposition of Kindness as Viewed through the Lens of Incivility in the Healthcare Workplace

The healthcare workplace is a high-stress environment. All stakeholders, including patients and providers, display evidence of that stress. High stress has several effects. Even acutely, stress can negatively affect cognitive function, worsening diagnostic acumen, decision-making, and problem-solving. It decreases helpfulness. As stress increases, it can progress to burnout and more severe mental health consequences, including depression and suicide. One of the consequences (and causes) of stress is incivility. Both patients and staff can manifest these unkind behaviors, which in turn have been shown to cause medical errors. The human cost of errors is enormous, reflected in thousands of lives impacted every year. The economic cost is also enormous, costing at least several billion dollars annually. The warrant for promoting kindness, therefore, is enormous. Kindness creates positive interpersonal connections, which, in turn, buffers stress and fosters resilience. Kindness, therefore, is not just a nice thing to do: it is critically important in the workplace. Ways to promote kindness, including leadership modeling positive behaviors as well as the deterrence of negative behaviors, are essential. A new approach using kindness media is described. It uplifts patients and staff, decreases irritation and stress, and increases happiness, calmness, and feeling connected to others.

Keigo Learning in Building Omotenashi no Kokoro through a Communicative Language Teaching Approach

In building interpersonal relationships through omotenashi no kokoro (Excellent Service), Keigo is a crucial aspect to consider when communicating in Japanese. Keigo, both in terms of grammar and its usage concept, is quite complicated. Therefore, the role of instructors in delivering Keigo learning materials is expected to motivate students to improve their communication skills while mastering the art of creating interpersonal connections. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is chosen as the teaching method. This research aims to provide an alternative teaching experience focusing on omotenashi no kokoro. The research method used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The research subjects are students of the Japanese Language Program at Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta (UTY) taking the hospitality course. The research is conducted through observation by analyzing CLT-based learning activities using three steps: mechanical practice, meaningful practice, and communicative practice. The study results indicate that with the CLT method, students can use Keigo through word or phrase repetition, understand the meaning of words and expressions in sentences, and freely actualize themselves through improvisation and exploration of conversational contexts. A new finding from this research is that the CLT teaching method is effective when applied to the hospitality course, emphasizing building interpersonal relationships through omotenashi no kokoro.

Web-Based Social Networks of Individuals With Adverse Childhood Experiences: Quantitative Study

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which include abuse and neglect and various household challenges such as exposure to intimate partner violence and substance use in the home, can have negative impacts on the lifelong health of affected individuals. Among various strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of ACEs is to enhance connectedness and social support for those who have experienced them. However, how the social networks of those who experienced ACEs differ from the social networks of those who did not is poorly understood. In this study, we used Reddit and Twitter data to investigate and compare social networks between individuals with and without ACE exposure. We first used a neural network classifier to identify the presence or absence of public ACE disclosures in social media posts. We then analyzed egocentric social networks comparing individuals with self-reported ACEs with those with no reported history. We found that, although individuals reporting ACEs had fewer total followers in web-based social networks, they had higher reciprocity in following behavior (ie, mutual following with other users), a higher tendency to follow and be followed by other individuals with ACEs, and a higher tendency to follow back individuals with ACEs rather than individuals without ACEs. These results imply that individuals with ACEs may try to actively connect with others who have similar previous traumatic experiences as a positive connection and coping strategy. Supportive interpersonal connections on the web for individuals with ACEs appear to be a prevalent behavior and may be a way to enhance social connectedness and resilience in those who have experienced ACEs.

Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Daily Experiences of Social Disconnection, Substance Use, and Sex with Secondary Partners.

Women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) are disproportionately likely to engage in sexual risk behavior, including sex with a secondary partner (i.e., sex partners outside their primary relationship). Social disconnection has been identified as a social determinant of health that may enhance understanding of sex with a secondary partner. This study extends past research by using an intensive longitudinal design consisting of multiple daily assessments to examine event-level associations between women IPV survivors' social disconnection and sex with a secondary partner concurrently (i.e., during the same aggregated assessment) and temporally (i.e., social disconnection during one assessment predicting sex with a secondary partner in a subsequent assessment) over a 14-day period, in consideration of physical, psychological, and sexual IPV, and alcohol and drug use. Participants (N = 244) were recruited from New England through 2017. Results from multilevel logistic regression models indicate that women who experienced greater social disconnection on average were more likely to report sex with a secondary partner. However, after including IPV and substance use in the model, the strength of this relationship was attenuated. Sexual IPV emerged as a between-person predictor of sex with a secondary partner in temporally lagged models. Results provide insight into the relationships between daily social disconnection and sex with a secondary partner among IPV survivors, particularly regarding the effects of substance use and IPV both concurrently and temporally. Taken together, findings emphasize the importance of social connection for women's well-being and highlight the need for interventions that enhance interpersonal connectedness.

Effects of gender diversity on college students’ collaborative learning: From individual gender to gender pairing

This study investigated the effects of gender and gender pairing on behaviors and social interaction during collaborative learning in a blended learning environment. Three types of pairing (all-female, all-male, and mixed) were considered in an empirical study with 44 undergraduate students. The results revealed that, first, female students were more likely to perform well in listening, talking, and integrating during class, and in the quality of posts after class, whereas male students tended to engage more in irrelevant behavior in collaboration. Second, same-gender groups were more active in collaborative discussion, but all-male groups performed worst in quality of posts after class. Third, both male and female students were more active in same-gender groups than in mixed groups. Finally, same-gender groups tended to have greater interpersonal connectedness than mixed-gender groups. The paper ends with a list of practical implications for facilitating effective collaborative learning in co-educational college classrooms.

The Negative Impact of Social Media on Adolescents

Adolescents' lives are more colorful and splendid than ever thanks to the pervasive commercialization of mass media, which fosters interpersonal connections and expands entertainment options. However, adolescents' moral construction is negatively impacted by their heavy use of social media, which has a double negative effect on their physical and psychological health (depression, anxiety, jealousy, comparison). Consequentially, mass media culture grows more and more unfavorable as a result of long-term exposure to negative impacts. This paper will then go on to examine, from a more in-depth perspective and with a more subjective orientation toward media commercialization, the negative effects and consequences of passive social media use on the bodies and minds of adolescents using various social media platforms (such as Instagram and Tiktok).