Political Opinion Leadership Research Articles

Laboratory medicine in central and eastern Europe: Can we catch up?

Laboratory medicine, as defined by the IFCC and FESCC, is the application of chemical, molecular and cellular concepts and techniques to the understanding and evaluation of human health and disease. At the core of the discipline is the provision of results of measurements and observations relevant to the cause of disease, the maintenance of health and the conversion of these data into specific and general patient- and disease- related information at the laboratory-clinician interface. The discipline is committed to deepening the understanding of health and disease through fundamental and applied research. Furthermore, there are increasing health care expectations and consequently increasing demands of health care resources. Because of the increasing health costs, governments of many European countries have cut health care expenditure, often by decreasing the funding of acute care facilities, closing hospitals, outsourcing services or privatizing health care. Medical laboratories, highly dependent on rapidly changing, expensive and sophisticate technologies, have especially been affected by these policies. Several trends in medical laboratories are developing simultaneously: ? Centralization of diagnostic medical laboratories, rationalization of services, increased emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and cost-effective total patient care, linked to improving outcomes. ? Development of highly specialized laboratories at the interface with research. ? Implementation of point of care technology. ? Development of molecular biology procedures improving diagnosis of infections and inherited diseases. ? Computerization and telecommunication, which facilitates fast communication between laboratory and clinicians. ? Automation and robotics are changing the face of classic laboratories. ? A general trend towards accreditation or certification of laboratories in order to increase and recognize quality and excellence, including consultation services, pre -and post-analytical procedures. Medical laboratory specialists, whether of medical or non-medical training background, are responsible for comprehensive laboratory services including production of analytical results, consultation with clinicians, management, quality assurance, and computer technology. When possible, they conduct research and training in laboratory medicine. There are considerable differences among countries - in particular between highly developed countries of the European Union and countries of Central/Eastern Europe - in social, economical and health system developments, which affect the practice of medicine. The ultimate goal of laboratory specialists in the Central/Eastern European countries is to catch up with all these processes and also to reduce the gap between east and west in this respect. However, sufficient governmental financial resources are lacking as well. Thus, national laboratory societies bear a higher than ever responsibility in working out and implementing successful strategies, convincing public opinion, political opinion-leaders and the media about the importance of laboratory medicine, a discipline inevitable for successful predictive, preventive and clinical curative medicine.

The dynamics of voter behavior and influence processes in electoral markets: a consumer behavior perspective

Consumer behavior theory is applied to voter behavior in the electoral context, and a model that focuses on perceived risk, voter involvement, and political opinion leadership (OL) is developed and tested. Data were gathered from a sample of 240 registered voters in Australia. The results show that perceived risk, voter involvement, and political OL played a central role in the voting process. The results also indicate that OL is influenced by voter involvement, perceived risk, and subjective knowledge. Further, the results show that satisfaction and voting stability are important consequences of OL. The significance of these findings to electoral marketing is discussed.

Cartoon Cuba: Race, gender and political opinion leadership in Judge, 1898

Cartoon Cuba: Race, gender and political opinion leadership in Judge, 1898

Cartoon Cuba: Race, gender and political opinion leadership in Judge, 1898

Seldom has the United States witnessed so sharp a turnabout in the dominant images used to portray a foreign entity as Cuba's iconic fall from fair-skinned maiden to racialised caricature in the pictorial world of 1898. The featured cover and centrefold illustrations of Judge, a humour magazine controlled by the Republican Party, used race and gender as codes to reflect the desirability of closer or more distanced US connections with the island. This article examines Judge's partisan opinion leadership and the interplay between popular compassion for victims of imperial abuse and race-based limits on inclusive sentiments engendered by sympathetic publicity. Hierdie artikel gee 'n historiese blik op redaksionele spotprente in die VSA. Die globale uitbreiding van Amerika in 1898 het aanleiding gegee tot spotprente wat indrukke weergegee het van Kubane, Puerto Ricane, Hawaiïers en Fillipyne. Die uitbeelding van Kuba in a humoristiese tydskrif onder beheer van die Republikeinse Party in die VSA in 1898 bied insae in die heersende politieke orde van die tyd. Rasse- en genderkodes in die illustrasies wat in Judge verskyn het, word gebruik om die wisselende sienings van die VSA se betrekking met Kuba weer te gee. 'n Ondersoek na die illustrasies in die tydskrif gee 'n insae in die wyse waarop tydskrifte die openbare mening ten opsigte van hierdie kwessie beïnvloed het.

A micromodel of voter choice: Understanding the dynamics of Australian voter characteristics in a federal election

AbstractThis study focuses on applying consumer‐behavior theory to understand voter characteristics and electoral behavior. The focus is on developing a micromodel that incorporates demographics, voter involvement, political opinion leadership, political knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction. The study was undertaken in an election in Australia for a Federal Lower House of Representatives Seat. Data were gathered from a sample of registered voters, with the results showing strong support for the theory developed. The results indicated strong influences for demographics on voter involvement, resulting in a significant influence of involvement on political opinion leadership. Political opinion leadership was also shown to influence subjective voter knowledge and knowledge impacting on voter decision confidence. The findings also confirmed a strong difference in voter satisfaction depending on voter involvement. The findings have significant implications for political marketing and voter‐behavior research. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Bio-policy and the place of institutionalised ethics in political decision making.

Questions concerning moral problems caused by the life-sciences and concerning the adequate methods and instruments to solve these are timely and urgent; especially in the face of intense debates on the acceptability of research on human embryonic stem cells and preimplantation diagnostics, to name only two applications developed from research on the life-sciences. Unfortunately, the constant and accusing demand that life-scientists must behave morally does not give us a clue on how ethics may help in establishing guidelines for moral behaviour. In this heated situation the foundation of ethics-committees seems to be the motto of the day. But instead of functioning as necessary and fruitful scientific advisory boards, these committees run the risk of being misused as a fashionable (and soon forgotten) weapon in the battle for political opinion-leadership. In the following article, the view is defended that ethics is a scientific enterprise and has an important role to play in political decision making on life-sciences issues.

American-Dutch political relations since 1945. What has changed and why?

AN account of the evolution of the political relations between the United States and the Netherlands since World War II is much like the story of two disappointed lovers making a sentimental journey. To be sure, at this moment, both partners are still together, tied by undeniable military and economic bonds, but the former marriage of the heart has broken down and turned into one of convenience, if not a case of living-apart-together. Indeed, mutual feelings of solidarity and attachment have weakened and given way to coolness and reproaches to and fro. Looking at recent, sharp disputes on important security issues, one is almost tempted to think—not for the children's sake but out of a desire not to besmirch the parents' memory—the two parties have decided not to part. Of course, the American-Dutch estrangement, grown since the late sixties and particularly perceptible at the level of political opinion leaders, is being muted and disguised by the polished language of official diplomacy. Nevertheless, it is but too real and, I venture to say, potentially dangerous for the future relationship between both countries. It is the purpose of my lecture to explore the nature and dimensions of the changes which have taken place, as well as to shed some light on their causes. At the outset I must make two preliminary points. First, the subject under discussion has a built-in imbalance of some sort. Postwar U.S.-Dutclr political relations are inherently asymmetric, because they are about the interactions of a superpower and a small country. Nobody would argue the contrary. This means, among other things, that what is important or even vital from a Dutch point of view may be rather marginal or insignificant in American eyes. Second, as I was born, bred, and socialized in Holland, the perspective of my observations is inevitably a Dutch one, and rather than deal with

Media consumption and population characteristics of political opinion leaders

The information sources from which opinion leaders and nonleaders hear about political candidates in a race for the United States Senate were examined in this study. The age and sex of political opinion leaders were examined, and data were gathered to determine if political opinion leaders are more likely to develop candidate preferences than nonleaders. Results demonstrated that opinion leaders hear about candidates from all media as well as interpersonal communication. No significant age differences were found between leaders and nonleaders. Males, however, were significantly more likely to be political opinion leaders than females. The incidence of political opinion leadership was also found to be higher among registered voters who state their preference for a political candidate.

体制再統合の試みと「帝国」イデオロギーの形成

After the Sino-Japanese war, the schism between nationalism and democracy deepened and split into two different directions. The former expanded into Empire-ism, the latter was absorbed into socialism which grew from the beginning of this century. After the Russo-Japanese war, especially, social contradictions became evident, and antagonisms and so-called “social problems” emerged. Under these circumstances, reintegration policies were sought by many leaders. In this period, the main and common concern of political opinion leaders was to build a “strong and rich state” which was not only militarily powerful but strong industrially and commercially. To achieve these ends, they urged the suppression of socialism and the labor movement, and pushed for policies strengthening “constitutionalism (esp. policial parties)”, “social reform (esp. factory legislation)” and “new education”.To expand markets abroad and enhance international prestige, certain domestic reforms were inevitable. Symbolically speaking, “Empire can exist neither in name nor in reality, if it keeps slums in it”. This was their belief.And thus gradually “great nation” building and “Empire” formation became their main concern.Based on certain domestic reforms, arousing the people's loyality to the Tenno-state, they prepared for expansion of Japan's influence abroad, economically. They named their policy “ethical-” and “constitutional-” or “economic-” and “peaceful-” Empire-ism.Thus the Meiji absolute monarchy was transformed into “Empire-Japan” from the end of the Meiji Era to the beginning of the Taisho Era. Empire-ist Okuma's cabinet and its intervention policy in China symbolized this process.In this article, I will discuss, at first, “the premature imperialistic practice” and ideology of Meiji state, and then analyse the ideology of “economic-” and “constitutional-” Empire-ism, and then, trace the characteristics of, “the theory of social policy school” and its relation to Empire-ism. Finally I will trace the real process of post-Russo-Japanese war policy, and point out that the ideology of “Empire-ism” became dominant gradually and grew from a ideology to the controlling policy abroad and at home, and at the same time, I will show that this process of reintegration was primarilly against the growth of socialism.