Public Media Research Articles

Coping with peer suicidality, help-seeking intentions, and suicidal attitudes among Asian adolescents: a mixed-methods study in Hong Kong.

Adaptive responses to peer suicidality and the involvement of professional help are crucial for adolescent suicide prevention and may be influenced by suicidal attitudes. This study aimed to explore Hong Kong adolescents' responses to and help-seeking intentions for suicidal peers and to examine the influence of suicidal attitudes. This study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach targeting Hong Kong adolescents aged 15-19 between September 2018 and October 2019. Adolescents' reactions to peer suicidality, suicidal attitudes, and willingness to help were examined through six focus groups and 12 individual interviews (N = 40). A cross-sectional survey (N = 1676) was subsequently conducted to investigate the prevalence of different responses to peer suicidality, help-seeking intentions, differences by background characteristics, and the impacts of suicidal attitudes. Qualitative findings revealed three major themes: attitudes toward suicide, reactions to peer distress and suicidality, and willingness to help suicidal individuals. Most survey respondents reported actively responding and seeking informal help, but not professional support. Differences were observed based on sex, academic performance, and self-suicidality. Notably, a stigmatizing attitude was positively associated with both response types and informal help-seeking intentions. The belief that suicide is unpreventable was positively associated with passive responses but negatively associated with active responses and informal help-seeking intentions. Our findings highlight variability in adolescents' responses to peer suicidality and help-seeking intentions, underscoring the need for attitude-tailored courses and more systematic, action-based gatekeeper training. Recommendations are provided to enhance the effectiveness of mental health first aid programs through public education, school interventions, and media campaigns.

Migración y medios de comunicación en Chile

This article aims to account for the existence of the field of studies on migration and media in Chile and to provide a quick initial characterization of it. To this end, a scoping review was applied to the studies on the topic available in Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO and Google Scholar from the earliest files accessible at these academic databases up to June 2023. A corpus of 59 documents was obtained, which were classified and analyzed based on variables established ad hoc. The results allow us to identify a field of studies on migration and media in Chile and characterize it in three fundamental aspects: i) the participating authors, institutions, countries and publication media; ii) the existing terms and subtopics, and iii) the main methodological decisions involved in these investigations. Some limitations of the article and possible future research lines are identified.

American Public Opinion and Media Representations of the Crimean War (1853–1856)

American Public Opinion and Media Representations of the Crimean War (1853–1856)

Speech Manipulation in Motivational Business Lectures

The purpose of the article is to investigate manipulative strategies in public business media discourse. Relevance of this issue is predetermined by the linguopragamitic potential of public business speech. It is necessary to reconise and counteract manipulative techniques which leads to the need for linguistic research into manipulative tactics and most vulnerable targets of manipulation. On the basis of a collection of business lectures, 295 speeches were selected by continuous sampling to analyse persuasive manipulation strategies in the sphere of public business speech. The main research method was functional-pragmatic analysis which helped to reveal manipulative effects and covert intentions of public business media discourse. The paper makes a contribution to pragmatic studies of verbal manipulation and highlights specific manipulative traits of public business lectures: different degrees of preparation of the audience and the presenter, expectation as an important cognitive factor, and applying manipulation models (gradation model, background model, evaluative model, and indirect model). In addition, the concept of business media discourse is analysed and the levers of manipulative influence in motivational discourse are identified (emotions, cognitive sphere, social instincts). The authors conclude that simplification and stereotyping underly the manipulative potential of motivational public speeches. Practical significance of the study is determined by the fact that it helps to identify the speech means used to carry out manipulative influence. The study bridges the gap in the analysis of manipulative means of emergent hybrid genres of business discourse and lays grounds for theoretical analysis of strategies to counter verbal manipulation.

Determinants of E-commerce Adoption by MSMEs: An Empirical Analysis in Odisha

This article aims to examine the adoption of e-commerce by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Odisha. The quantitative survey approach was employed for the conduct of this research. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the data from a sample of 100 representative MSMEs across the two administrative blocks in the Khordha district of Odisha. The relationship between the variables in this study was analysed by using binary logistic regression technique. The study found that most of the MSMEs had engaged in at least one form of e-commerce level, which is less than the desirable level. Further, the study provides an understanding of the factors responsible for e-commerce adoption by MSMEs in the district. The study found that three variables, that is, the number of staff with IT knowledge, interest to accept e-commerce and size of the business, are the major determining factors that influence MSMEs in adopting e-commerce. Significant challenges hindering e-commerce adoption among MSMEs in Khordha as identified in this study include problems with online banking, speed of the internet, lack of government support, problems in logistic support and lack of IT-qualified staff. Attention should continue to focus on improving the technical infrastructure needed to operate e-commerce and there is a need for media publicity to increase public awareness to push customers and employees to make use of e-commerce. The role of the government is also crucial in providing assistance and training that can help the use of e-commerce in the district.

The Tortured Journalists Department? Challenges and Characteristics of Quality Journalism on TikTok in Germany

Our study investigates how German journalists produce quality journalism on TikTok based on 22 semistructured interviews. Specifically, we explore whether German journalists adhere to established journalistic norms and values, using Lacy & Rosenstiel's quality journalism framework as a theoretical foundation. Given the prominent role of public service media and their legal mandate to contribute to public opinion formation, Germany constitutes an interesting case. Findings suggest that German journalists rely on a mixture of traditional journalistic standards and audience-related news values on TikTok. Moreover, they tailor content to the unique platform environment. This entails the adoption of TikTok-specific storytelling with crisp openers, simplified narrating styles, and appealing audiovisuals. Editorial quality management remains crucial, with public service journalists exhibiting more sophisticated content approval and production processes than private media journalists. Overall, German journalists strike a balance between upholding journalistic integrity and adapting to TikTok's distinctive dynamics.

Media freedom, polarization and democracy in post-communist Romania. Research notes

The paper aims to present the dynamics of the media freedom index in post-communist Romania. Using secondary statistical data regarding political, civic, and economic sectors, the paper indicates the complex interplay between democratic transition and media independence. As regards the “watchdog” and “agenda-setting” functions of mass media, the paper highlighted several statistical correlations that support the positive impact of participation and civil society in the field of media transparency and independence. The paper presents radiography of media freedom between 2002 and 2023, estimating the main variations of this index. Moreover, results confirm statistical differences between the two decades, highlighting that an increased level of media freedom was acquired after 2012. Political context, social dynamics, and economic conditions are several variables that are relevant for explaining the evolution of media freedom in Romanian society. Quantitative results show that political polarization is negatively related to media independence. Conversely, active citizens and civil society are key factors that could predict increased media freedom in Romanian post-communist society. The paper is useful for scholars and decision-makers interested in the complex interconnection between public information, media independence, and democratic consolidation.

A Study on The Causes of Chapanda Broken IPO

China's new tea industry has recently been exploring overseas listing opportunities, with two companies experiencing breakdowns in their Hong Kong IPOs. ChaPanda, the second new tea beverage company to list, saw a year's worth of turnover evaporate on its first day on the Hong Kong stock market, falling far below investors' expectations. Back in 2021, the IPO of "Nayuki's Tea" on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also faced a similar breakdown, attributed to overpriced valuations in the new tea beverage industry. These above-average IPO valuations are often influenced by online public opinion and media evaluations, affecting both IPO pricing and stock prices on the first day. Additionally, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainland companies breaking on their first day of IPOs on the Hong Kong stock market have remained relatively high compared to the overall market. This article uses ChaPanda as a case study to explore the reasons behind the frequent IPO breakdowns in the new tea beverage industry on the Hong Kong stock market. It examines three key aspects: industry background, enterprise valuation efficiency, and investor sentiment, as well as the issuance risks of listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The aim is to provide practical references and suggestions for reasonable pricing of future IPOs in the same industry.

Digital Storytelling and Young Adult Literature: A Methodological Combination for the Language Classroom

Digital Storytelling (DST) originated in the 1990s as a narrative technique highlighting ‘ordinary voices’ in order to contribute to the public media discourse. Soon it was picked up by education to capture the diverse lived realities of students. This paper presents a methodological development in the form of a combination of DST with extensive reading of Young Adult Literature in the English classroom. A scaffolded methodological approach is outlined where DST is used as a post‑reading activity which can be enhanced in any foreign language classroom.

Would You Pay an Insta-doctor a Visit? Social Media Personal Brands and Young Consumer Perception

Technological developments and the broad availability of the Internet provide constant access to social media for users. These platforms are used to communicate with friends as well as to follow other users and brands. Also, physicians have public social media profiles on which they publish both professional and personal content. The objective of the paper is to explore and understand customers’ perception of physicians’ social media use. To obtain the purpose, a qualitative research method was adopted that involved 12 semistructured interviews with people who followed physicians’ profiles on social media. The study identifies three consumer groups: social media enthusiasts, sceptics, and those seeking authentic opinions, each with distinct attitudes toward physicians’ online presence. The findings emphasise that authenticity and consistency in personal branding are key to building trust and patient engagement. Social validation, through positive endorsements on social media, also significantly impacts consumer choices. The study highlights the need for tailored social media strategies in healthcare and suggests future research should address the ethical challenges and long-term effects of physicians’ online engagement. The research, focused on consumers’ perception of physicians’ social media presence, is novel. The results suggest directions for further research in the field of professionals’ personal branding on social media.

Federated Meta Embedding Concept Stock Recommendation

Mining relevant stocks given a trending topic/concept in capital markets is an application with significant economic and societal impacts. Previous concept stock recommendation system mines concept stocks only from public social media like financial news. On stock forums, investors discuss emerging concepts and stocks by using forum comments, which are unneglectable resources to capture trending concept stocks accurately and timely. However, the comment data from a single forum is insufficient to build a high-quality recommendation system. The forums are data silos protected by privacy regulations, and their comments are still underutilized. In this paper, we propose a federated concept stock recommendation baseline and an optimized method that both leverage the private forum comments and public social media without compromising privacy regulations. Our baseline, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">i.e.</i> , Federated Meta Embedding (FedME), is built upon the federated learning framework and learns a concept-stock embedding jointly from private and public data. Our optimized method, Federated Graph Meta Embedding (FedGME), improves FedME by using a graph to combine two sources of embeddings and additional human experts' concept-stock knowledge. Empirically, the experiments on two concept stock datasets show that FedME and FedGME substantially improve the performance of recommendation. Our methods provide practical guidance on privacy-preserving FinTech applications.

Examining AI Integration by Audio-Visual Media Platforms in Oman: A Qualitative Analysis of Media Professionals’ Perspectives

This study aims to understand the perspectives and experiences regarding AI adoption in the daily work of Omani media professionals. This research, which explores the prospects, pitfalls, and consequences of AI integration in media production and distribution within Oman, focuses on those involved in audio-visual media production. This includes anchors, editors, producers, and directors. The study conducted semi-structured interviews to investigate how Omani audio-visual media professionals perceive AI tool integration in their daily work. The participants in this research are media practitioners from both public and private media enterprises in Oman. The study relies on a purposive sampling technique to ensure the inclusion of individuals with direct experience in utilizing AI tools in their work. The findings reveal a generally positive disposition among participants toward AI technologies and AI integration in media. To these respondents the integration of AI saves time previously spent on routine and repetitive tasks that require little human creativity. The study unveiled numerous challenges as perceived by the participants, which includes AI algorithmic bias and lack of opportunity to promote and circulate media content. Another challenge includes insufficient Arabic databases as relating to AI programming. Such an insufficiency makes AI incapable of recognizing many Arabic contexts. This is exemplified by faulty AI-generated Arabic outputs, failure to precisely recognize Arabic accents, and imprecise visual outputs on Arabic cultural identity. User awareness is another key challenge in the era of AI.

Image Steganalysis using Deep Convolution Neural Networks: A Literature Survey

: Steganography is the technique of hiding data for secret communication in a public media format. The image in which the hidden data is stored is called a stego image. Steganalysis is the process of targeting the methods of steganography to identify, remove, destroy, and exploit the secret data in stego images. The identification of embedded secret data in the image is the basis for steganalysis. The proper selection of the type and composition of cover files contributes to a better embedding. Several steganalysis techniques exist for detecting steganography in the images given. Because of the embedded data, the performance of the steganalysis technique relies on the capacity to retrieve the feature representations to identify the statistical portion of the image. Steganalysis &amp; steganography has experienced tremendous development in recent years with the emergence of Deep Convolution Neural Networks (DCNN). In this paper, we explored the current state of research from the latest systems of image steganalysis based on deep learning. This paper presents different methodologies and frameworks of CNN, the research being carried out on image steganalysis based on deep learning and implementation complexities, and highlights the benefits and limitations of the existing techniques. This study also provides the direction for future research and may serve as a fundamental source for further research in deep learning-based image steganalysis.

Regional Government Public Relations Communication Model in Handling Hoax Information during the Pandemic

This research aims to describe the management of regional government public relations messages and communication media in handling information hoaxes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread spread of COVID-19 pandemic hoax information has increasingly increased public panic and anxiety, especially in Kendari City. For this reason, the Kendari City Government, through the public relations department, has made various communication efforts to prevent the spread of hoax information. Research data was collected through interviews, observation, and documentation and analyzed using descriptive qualitative data analysis methods to provide a comprehensive picture of the object under study. Research informants were determined using purposive sampling. The results of the research show that the communication model implemented by Kendari City Government Public Relations in preventing COVID-19 pandemic hoaxes is carried out using a participatory communication model using all available communication channels as information media that can be easily accessed by the public. First, by carrying out a thorough identification of the information and hoax news that is being spread. Second, utilizing all types of communication channels available, such as outreach with Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) and the community, billboards, collaboration with online news media, partner information service institutions (Kominfo and the Pandemic task force), installing billboards and standing banners, and developing its official website.

Mentoring the Development of Mental Health Systems in Schools

This community service program aims to provide assistance to guidance and counseling teachers who are expected to become pioneers of the school mental health system. The emergence of increasingly complex mental health problems in schools cannot only be handled in responsive and curative ways but also need to be accompanied by preventive efforts from the school. By using the paradigm of positive psychology and positive education through the PROSPER model, guidance and counseling teachers and schools in general are able to collect resources to build a mental health system in schools. The PROSPER model consists of seven components, namely positivity, relationships, outcomes, strength, purpose, engagement, and resilience. The partners selected for this community service are guidance and counseling teachers at junior high schools in the Karanganyar area under the auspices of the Karanganyar Regency Education and Culture Office. The number of participants who attended was 30 guidance and counseling teachers from both private and public schools in this area. The assistance carried out was carried out over a period of 3 months starting with initial coordination, provision of materials, workshops and assistance and monitoring. Initial coordination was carried out through the WhatsApp group media, then the provision of materials was carried out offline. This material provision activity was then continued with a workshop on preparing SOPs for implementing the PROSPER model. It is hoped that after participating in this program, target partners will have the capacity to develop mental health systems and implement them independently and sustainably. The outputs in this PkM include mandatory outputs, namely partner cooperation letters, IA scripts, print and social media publications, and PkM activity posters.

Research on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Literacy Service for Middle School Students

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is applied to improve the mental health literacy of middle school students. It can effectively improve the efficiency, effectiveness and feasibility of this service. Through the current big data analysis and machine autonomous learning technology, AI can analyze the characteristics of students' behavior patterns and physiological data by training the model used. This paper examines how artificial intelligence can improve the mental health literacy of middle school students. It begins by analyzing and interpreting three key factors that influence their understanding of mental health. Firstly, it analyzes and interprets the three factors that affect the mental health literacy of middle school students. Then from these three factors, the author discusses how artificial intelligence can be applied to enhance the mental health literacy of middle school students. That is to say, it puts forward the new application of artificial intelligence technology in mental health counseling, emotional recognition, mental health assessment, media publicity and education. For example, the use of artificial intelligence to develop virtual psychological teachers, through language processing analysis and emotional recognition to provide online counseling services; It develops emotion recognition function through video and speech analysis of artificial intelligence, and uses digital signal processing means. Through the comprehensive analysis of a large number of data, the mental health evaluation system is gradually intellectualized, so that the evaluation model standard is more targeted.

Perceived unmet needs and impact on quality of life of patients living with advanced bladder cancer and their caregivers: results of a social media listening study conducted in five European countries

BackgroundAdvanced bladder cancer (aBC) is a significant health concern in Europe and has a poor prognosis. Patients with aBC face numerous unmet needs and challenges that significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). This study aims to analyze social media data from five European countries to address gaps in our understanding of the unmet needs, challenges, and impact on QoL in European patients with aBC and their caregivers.MethodsThis retrospective, real-world study includes public social media posts geolocated in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the UK, posted between October 2017 and January 2022. To enhance the filtering process, natural language processing methods and specific algorithms were used to remove irrelevant content and retain posts from patients and caregivers. QoL impacts were identified using a deep-learning algorithm, followed by qualitative analysis. Unmet needs were analyzed via annotation of messages and the saturation method.ResultsA total of 1670 posts from 1396 users (699 posts from 546 patients and 971 posts from 850 caregivers) discussing aBC in 91 publicly available online sources were identified. Half of patients were male (n = 272, 49.8%) while more caregivers were female (n = 474, 55.8%), with an average age of 58.2 and 35.2 years, respectively. Patients and caregivers expressed an impact on QoL, wherein 40.0% (558/1396) of users mentioned at least an impact on one aspect of QoL. Among those, 56.8% (317/558) and 48.6% (271/558) of users expressed physical and psychological challenges, respectively. Most unmet needs identified belonged to two main categories: transversal, i.e., arising throughout the patient’s care pathway (307/1092 [28.1%]), and disease specific (295/1092 [27.0%]). Main challenges included worsening of the disease (n = 141, 12.9%), psychological impact (n = 112, 10.3%), and need to share experiences and seek support (n = 94, 8.6%).ConclusionsThis social media listening study demonstrated the profound emotional and physical burden on patients with aBC and their caregivers, and a genuine need for support and an outlet to discuss their challenges, particularly in terms of managing the illness. These results underscore the importance of enhancing education for both patients and caregivers and the necessity for more effective systemic cancer therapies and better palliative care alternatives.

"A fairly good crop for white men:" The political ecology of agricultural science and settler colonialism between the US and Palestine

From 1919 through the early 1950s, agricultural scientists affiliated with the University of California and agricultural scientists setting up settlements in Mandatory Palestine traveled between California and Palestine on a series of research trips. Building on conversations in historical political ecology and critical political ecologies of settler colonialism and racial capitalism, this article sets out to answer: how was agricultural science part of the project of settler colonialism in both California and Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century? Through an analysis of archival materials – field notes, professional and personal correspondence, and scholarly and popular media publications by US and European Jewish Zionist scientists – I argue that these scientists naturalized and made universal racial hierarchies through transnational technoscientific collaboration. US and Zionist scientists engaged in exchange and debate in two topics: the proper physical organization of and location of farms, and; the concept of carrying capacity of the land of historic Palestine. In both, agricultural science was used as an objective reason to elevate Western ideologies of proper cultivation and capitalist yield. This justified the dispossession of Palestinians from their land because they were "poor stewards." This historical case study holds implications for contemporary issues around land and population by Zionists in Israel today, and related debates in global sustainable development at large.

Sources of Media Rights in Afghanistan: A Review

The Media Law was established to preserve social order, unity, and continuity, to defend truth and justice to protect the rights of the disadvantaged in the media sphere. The Media Law categorizes the functions of all media and reporters within a specific framework and takes steps to maintain regularity in media works. Today, media plays a significant role in leadership and control, and therefore, its social responsibility is constantly expanding. In every country, for the stability and proper functioning of any activity, it is necessary to establish rules, and since media work is a social activity, Media Law is essential for the development and progress of media work and activities. The Afghan Public Media Law was drafted and approved taking into account both domestic and international sources. The Afghan Public Media Law was drafted and approved in light of domestic sources (law, custom, Islamic law, judicial precedent) and external sources (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration of Human Rights of Islamic Countries, and international agreements) to ensure the proper functioning of the media.

Experiences of the changing illicit drug supply among racial and ethnic minoritized people in three US states: a qualitative study

BackgroundAmidst a national surge in overdose deaths among racial and ethnic minoritized people and people who use stimulants (cocaine or methamphetamines), our objective was to understand how these groups are adapting to a rapidly changing illicit drug supply.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 64 people who use drugs and who self-identified as Black, Hispanic, Multiracial, or other Non-White race in three states (Michigan, New Jersey, and Wisconsin). Transcribed interviews were coded thematically.ResultsMost respondents used stimulants alone or in combination with opioids. Respondents perceived that the drug supply had become more unpredictable and dangerous but differed in their personal perception of risk and their adaptations. For example, respondents had very mixed perceptions of their own risk of being harmed by fentanyl, and differing opinions about whether fentanyl test strips would be useful. Xylazine, a novel adulterant in the opioid drug supply that has received public health and media attention, was not well known within the sample.ConclusionOur study highlights the challenges experienced by minoritized people who use drugs in responding to a changing drug supply, underscoring the limits of public health approaches focused solely on individual behavioral change.