Public Social Media Research Articles

Drinking Buddies: The Importance of Proximal Norms in Emerging Adults’ Alcohol-Related Private and Public Social Media Use

ABSTRACT Exposure to alcohol posts on social media has been found to be associated with emerging adults’ alcohol use. An important mechanism through which this association seems to occur are social norms. Thus far, however, research has not differentiated between proximal and distal norms and has not accounted for the private (e.g. Instagram private features, Snapchat) and public media outlets (e.g. Instagram public features) through which these norms might have been constructed. The results of our online survey among emerging adults (N = 789, Mage = 21.46, SDage = 1.88, 56.4% female), therefore, showed that exposure to alcohol posts on private SNS features in combination with descriptive proximal norms, instead of more public SNS features and distal norms, played an important role in emerging adults’ alcohol use. As such, future research should focus more thoroughly on the interrelations between SNS private features and proximal normative perceptions and try to better understand on which social cues normative perceptions of proximal other’s alcohol consumption are based.

Does Social Capital Arise from Enterprise or Public Social Media Use? A Model of Social Media Antecedents and Consequences

Does Social Capital Arise from Enterprise or Public Social Media Use? A Model of Social Media Antecedents and Consequences

Role of immunosuppression in an antibiotic stewardship intervention and its association with clinical outcomes and antibiotic use: protocol for an observational study (RISC-sepsis)

IntroductionSepsis is characterised by a dysregulated immune response to infection, with exaggerated pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses. A predominant immunosuppressive profile affecting both innate and adaptive immune responses is associated with...

Public Relations and Social Media for Effective Crisis Communication Management

Crisis, natural or man-made, is inevitable in our life because of human social interactions. Crises are caused by ineffective communication yet are better solved with effective communication. Scholars have studied social media's role in crisis management as an information propagator and their cost effectiveness during a crisis. Social media can potentially influence multiple public strata during and after the crisis. Social media serves as tools for relationship management which is a crucial part of crisis management; equally, public relations also serve the same. This paper explores how effective crisis communication management can be achieved via Social Networking Systems (SNS). Drawing from the existing literature as the method used, this paper reviews articles and studies on public relations strategy and effective crisis management. It expounds on examples of how relationships can be well-managed through social media in crises. This paper has increased our knowledge of crisis management by understanding how crises are managed. Findings are that crisis communication was managed from four conceptual lenses scholars have investigated; that crises can be prevented- partially if not completely- with a proper crisis communication plan; that having a crisis communication plan may not suffice except is handled by professional relationship managers who know how to communicate and understand the use of the conventional and new media with the influential role of symmetrical communication. Therefore, the paper concluded that since crisis leads to a bad relationship due to a lack of understanding of the situation and behavior and to facilitate this, it suggests that crisis is better managed through effective public relations managers.

Decoding the employee influencer on social media: applying Taylor’s six segment message strategy wheel

PurposeThe paper aims to examine how employees influence their employer’s brand by applying Taylor’s (1999) six segment message strategy wheel in an employee influencer context.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a content analysis of employees’ public social media posts – including captions and images – to analyze the message strategies employees use to promote their employers.FindingsWhile ego and social were popular message strategies in both the images and captions, the findings evidence the varying message strategies employees use in text-based versus image-based messages. Four “imagined audiences” of employee influencers are identified: current customers, prospective customers, current employees and prospective employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe research provides insight into how employees act as influencers in building their employer brand on social media.Practical implicationsA unique measurement tool is developed that can be used by companies and future researchers to decode employees’ online communications.Originality/valueThis research contributes to theory and practice in the following important ways. First, the research provides a modernization of an existing framework from an offline setting to an applied industry context in an online setting. Second, this research focuses on a subtype of social media influencer, the employee influencer, which is an underdeveloped area of research. Third, a unique measurement tool to analyze text-based and image-based social media data is developed that can be used by companies and future researchers to decode employees’ online communications.

Complaint De-Escalation Strategies on Social Media

To date, the literature offers multiple suggestions for how to recover from service failures, albeit without explicitly addressing customers’ negative, high-arousal states evoked by the failure. The few studies that do address ways to improve negative emotions after failures focus on face-to-face interactions only. Because many customers today prefer to complain on social media, firms must learn how to effectively de-escalate negative, high-arousal emotions through text-based exchanges to achieve successful service recoveries. With three field studies using natural language processing tools and three preregistered controlled experiments, the current research identifies ways to mitigate negative arousal in text-based social media complaining, specifically, active listening and empathy. In detail, increasing active listening and empathy in the firm response evokes gratitude among customers in high-arousal states, even if the actual failure is not (yet) recovered. These findings provide a new theoretical perspective on the role of customer arousal in service failures and recoveries as well as managerially relevant implications for dealing with public social media complaints.

Asian New Zealanders' experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with life satisfaction.

Racism is an important social determinant of wellbeing. This study describes New Zealand Asians' experience of racism and the association between their racism experiences and their impacts on life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study collected 1,452 responses by the cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2021. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses yielded the prevalent types and settings of racism, identified subgroups exposed more to racism and its association with life satisfaction. Results show that nearly 40% (37.7-42.9%) of participants experienced racism, mainly in public places, social media and mainstream media. Verbal attacks and microaggressions were predominant types of racism. Younger, student, temporary visa holding, and rural area participants were more likely to experience racism. Associations between not experiencing racism and high life satisfaction were significant. This study identified two under-represented subgroups, students and migrants, who were disproportionately exposed to racism. It also revealed that experiences of COVID-era racism are associated with life satisfaction. These findings inform us where anti-racism interventions are most needed, and that such interventions are needed to ensure the wellbeing of Asian communities in a COVID-19 world.

Dementia Research on Facebook and Twitter: Current Practice and Challenges.

Social media is a powerful tool for engaging diverse audiences in dementia research. However, there is little data summarizing current content exchange in this context. To inform ethical dementia research engagement on social media, we characterized current practices by analyzing public social media posts. We retrieved Facebook (2-year period, N = 7,896) and Twitter (1-year period, N = 9,323) posts containing dementia research-related keywords using manual and machine learning-based search strategies. We performed qualitative and quantitative content and sentiment analyses on random samples (10%) of the posts. Top Facebook users were advocacy (45%) and health organizations (25%). On Twitter, academics/researchers were the largest user group. Prevention was the most frequently coded theme (Facebook 30%; Twitter 26%), followed by treatment (Facebook 15%; Twitter 18%). Diagnostics had the highest Facebook engagement. Sharing knowledge was the primary form of content exchange (Facebook 63%; Twitter 80%). Most shared journal articles were peer-reviewed and open access. Emotional tone was overall more positive on Facebook. Justice was a prominent ethics topic regarding inequalities related to identity and intersecting modes of marginalization in dementia research. The findings indicate the importance of social media as an engagement tool of current topics in health research and reveal areas of potential for increased engagement. These data can inform consensus-based best practices for ethical social media application in dementia research.

The Effect of Public Communication, Youth Participation and Social Media on Community Receptions About Covid Pandemic in Village

Public perception of the Covid-19 pandemic is very diverse, people view events in their environment with different responses. Especially the response regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Rw.06 Village area. Kalisampurno, from the various symptoms of Covid-19, people who were exposed to Covid-19 even died due to Covid-19. Therefore Rw.06 Village, Kalisampurno formed a team to help residents of Rw.06 deal with the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Rw.06 neighborhood. Starting from the existence of public communication between RW.06 Village. Kalisampurno through their respective RT, Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno through the covid team and also through youths who live in the Rw.06 area. In addition to using public communication, the head of Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno also spreads information about the covid pandemic through social media, especially whatsapp. With this, information can be spread to all residents of Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno.
 This research is a type of quantitative research by choosing a location in the Rw.06 area of ​​Kalisampurno Village by distributing questionnaires through google form, totaling 110 respondents with random sampling technique. With data analyst using SPSS 20.0 . program. The results of this study indicate that the Group Communication variable (X1) partially and simultaneously has an influence on the Community Reception variable (Y) in the neighborhood area of ​​Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno.

The Effect of Public Communication, Youth Participation and Social Media on Community Receptions About Covid Pandemic in Village

Public perception of the Covid-19 pandemic is very diverse, people view events in their environment with different responses. Especially the response regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Rw.06 Village area. Kalisampurno, from the various symptoms of Covid-19, people who were exposed to Covid-19 even died due to Covid-19. Therefore Rw.06 Village, Kalisampurno formed a team to help residents of Rw.06 deal with the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Rw.06 neighborhood. Starting from the existence of public communication between RW.06 Village. Kalisampurno through their respective RT, Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno through the covid team and also through youths who live in the Rw.06 area. In addition to using public communication, the head of Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno also spreads information about the covid pandemic through social media, especially whatsapp. With this, information can be spread to all residents of Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno. This research is a type of quantitative research by choosing a location in the Rw.06 area of ​​Kalisampurno Village by distributing questionnaires through google form, totaling 110 respondents with random sampling technique. With data analyst using SPSS 20.0 . program. The results of this study indicate that the Group Communication variable (X1) partially and simultaneously has an influence on the Community Reception variable (Y) in the neighborhood area of ​​Rw.06 Village. Kalisampurno.

What do public health professionals think their role is in tackling the climate and ecological emergency? A qualitative study

BackgroundThe climate and ecological emergency is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. However, it is not universally seen as a priority for public health. It is not clear to what extent public health professionals are involved in working on the climate and ecological emergency. This research aimed to establish what senior public health professionals working in English local authorities perceive their role is, what activities they are involved in, whether climate and environmental issues are a core component of public health, and to identify barriers to action. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were done with a purposive sample of 15 local authority public health consultants and directors of public health in England using a predefined and piloted topic guide over a Zoom session. Participants were recruited via national public health bodies, social media, or snowballing. Thematic content analysis was used to identify codes and key themes. Ethical exemption was obtained from the University of Manchester. FindingsSome public health professionals have started work on climate change and others were unclear about the role of public health. Key activities included establishing governance structures, bringing together stakeholders, making the case for health co-benefits of climate action, and advocating for reducing inequalities while reducing carbon emissions. Barriers to action included shortage of financial resources, communication tools and capacity, little sharing of best practice, scarcity of local expertise, and conflict between the need for action on climate change and other urgent public health issues. InterpretationPublic health professionals increasingly work on climate change, but practice would be strengthened by improved intelligence, more resources, and support networks. This new qualitative data can inform the development of the role of public health professionals in climate change and the ecological emergency. However, a limitation on the study was that only able to engage public health consultants who considered the climate and ecological crisis as important for public health, so it remains unclear in how far our findings represent the views of the larger public health community. FundingNone.

Shame, Chronic Illness and Participatory Storytelling

The article explores the complex roles shame plays in the lives of people with one or more chronic conditions. This is achieved through a participatory research process in which people with chronic conditions were invited to share stories of shame on the public social media profiles of a peer-led patient community called ‘Chronic Influencers’. The crowdsourced material shows that 7 out of 10 experience shame in relation to their illness on a daily or weekly basis. Other findings are that shame seems to stick to ‘energetic failures’ of the slow or tired body in various social situations; shame is predominantly produced or anticipated in the intimate sphere; and shame can be ‘rescripted’ as culturally produced and politically contestable – and thus counter the pressure to individualise health as a project of personal improvement and self-inspection – when it is shared through voluntary storytelling among peers on social media.

Analysis of the home-based online teaching and learning policy during the COVID-19 second wave in Brunei: a joint parent/teacher perception

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the traditional face-to-face forms of educational instruction and has led to increased involvement in online learning. Consequently, online learning has gained popularity and has become the norm worldwide today, because it offers a safe learning environment as well as convenience and flexibility. During the pandemic, school campuses in Brunei were closed, classes were conducted online, and parents/guardians were expected to cooperate and assist their children with home-based online learning. However, online teaching posed a different set of challenges for teachers and students, which warrant research and policy attention at the national level. This study provided a review of the literature on the policies and best practices for online teaching and learning and formulated three key objectives. The first was to identify the policy initiatives and guidelines introduced by the government of Brunei to facilitate and ensure the effectiveness of online teaching and e-learning. The second referred to obtaining the perceptions of teachers and parents on three specific dimensions, namely, the implementation of blended learning, the use of online pedagogy, and enhancement of the e-learning experiences of students. The last objective was to identify the challenges associated with these dimensions and to propose actions and policy recommendations for improvement. This study employed document analysis, interview, and data collected from public social media. The implementation of online teaching and e-learning in Brunei was met with many challenges due to the poor network infrastructure and weak knowledge and content development of ICT. Thus, this study serves as a basis for improving innovation and governance in education, which focuses not only on the enhancement of academic performance but also on the digital divide. The paper was first presented at the 21st International Conference on Education Research (ICER) at the Seoul National University, Republic of Korea on October 21, 2021, by the first author. This research is part of the research project entitled: Pandemic Policies and Governance in Small States in the Southeast Asian Region.

COVID-19 Misinformation: A Potent Co-Factor in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19, the biggest global health crisis of our times was complicated by an equally potent co-factor: the misinformation infodemic. A confluence of unique factors led to the emergence of the crisis of misinformation, including the widespread reach of social media, the lack of credible sources and strategies for information dissemination, and the sticky and virulent nature of the misinformation campaigns. One of the primary targets of the misinformation campaign was the COVID-19 vaccine effort, leading to significant impediments to implementing an effective and successful vaccination campaign. The time to act is now and will need a concerted multipronged approach with a close partnership between scientists, public health agencies, government agencies, and social media companies to foster accuracy in the exchange of health information in social media and curb the menace of misinformation. This paper aims to review the scope of the problem and examine strategies to help mitigate it.

Brand communication and the mass vaccination center: stadium, team and community perspectives

PurposeThe usage of sport stadia for public service is increasingly common and may come in different forms. In the COVID-19 pandemic, this included sport entities hosting mass COVID-19 vaccinations at their stadiums. The purpose of this study was to examine the branding effects of a COVID-19 mass vaccination center as communicated by (1) a sport entity (i.e. stadium and its two teams) and (2) the public.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed the entity's social media messages related to the mass vaccination center for the three groups, the stadium and its two sports team tenants (N = 48) while comparing the public's social media content about the vaccination center (N = 187). An empirical material coding analysis was conducted.FindingsThe sport entity's posts revealed 12 codes, five categories and two themes communicated about their brand: In this together–community impact and showcasing brand attributes. The public posts analysis revealed 21 codes, eight categories and four themes, creating brand awareness, establishing/reaffirming brand attributes, affective response and in this together–community response.Originality/valueThe identification of the two organization themes and four public themes provided an initial examination of the mass vaccination efforts' impact on the sport entity's brand. With the rise of stadia being utilized as public service venues (e.g. voting centers and disaster shelters), the results of the study can provide guidance to communicating the host team's brand during these times. Results also suggest the public perception of such service reflected positive opportunities for brand exposure and subsequent effects for the teams.

Diaspora diplomacy and modes of engagement: the case of Romanian Diaspora in the UK

PurposeThe current study aims to map the existent modes of engagement used by both individual and organisational actors of Romanian diaspora community in the UK to build public legitimacy and social value in the host society. This study focuses on two main questions: (1) What are the forms of engagement by which diaspora members enact their role as diplomats for ethnic diaspora communities? (2) What is the nature of their communication practices that sustain these forms of diasporic engagement?Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an analysis of online public documents extracted from different websites, blogs and public social media accounts, complemented by primary data. The research design is a multi-levelled case study.FindingsThe main findings are that Romanian diaspora in the UK develops a specific model of diplomacy, focused on cultural and political forms of engagement. Firstly, equality and belonging are two key dimensions that clearly define this diasporic community diplomatic actions and practices. Secondly, the communication that fosters its networked and associative features has shifted towards a more democratic and strategic model.Originality/valueThis paper has multiple original points. Firstly, it deepens the understanding of diaspora diplomacy, connecting the concept with strategic communication. Secondly, the identification and theorisation of specific forms of engagement of diasporic communities reflects a process which is yet underdeveloped in both types of literature. Findings may be instrumental in providing strategies for relationship building, cultivation and the engagement efforts of the UK institutions regarding immigrant integration.

The influence of openness of public organizations and social media use on e-participation: the mediating effect of trust in e-government

ABSTRACT Nigeria implemented e-government in the early 2000s to improve public service delivery, promote citizens’ participation, enhance transparency and accountability. Twenty years after implementation, this study examines the influence of openness of public organizations, social media use and the mediating effect of trust in e-government on e-participation. The study proposed a conceptual model comprising seven hypotheses tested using PLS-SEM. Data were collected through a questionnaire from 689 respondents from Nigeria. The results show that openness of e-government and trust in e-government positively influence e-participation. The direct relationship between social media use and e-participation cannot be confirmed; however, trust in e-government mediates the indirect relationships. Similarly, it examines the role of social media use in investigating e-participation. The findings implied that public sector organizations and e-government implementers would learn and take advantage of the e-government system and social media strengths to meet the citizens’ expectations.

Hostile-emotional excess of zeal in public social media: A case study of an online firestorm against an organization

Caused by perceived norm violations, online firestorms confront organizations with large volumes of hostile-emotional comments on public social media leading to a damage to reputation or the cancellation of products and projects. Relying on social norm theory we analyze how people express perceived norm violations in their online comments and how this relates to their use of hostile-emotional online sanctions. We distinguish negative externalities; propriety judgements; excess of zeal, which combines negative externalities with propriety judgements; and no justification, meaning no speculations about why norm violations occurred, as four types of motive for hostile verbal expression. Using hostile-emotional sanctioning is differently associated with these motives: (1) weak association with negative externalities to maintain credibility; (2) moderate association with propriety judgements as a result of altruistic punishments; (3) moderate association with no justification, triggered by arousal; and (4) strong association with an excess of zeal because norm enforcers believe that a latent group exists which rewards them with positive sanctions for working toward the common goal and punishes them with negative sanctions for shirking. We analyze one specific online protest signed by 305,122 people that led to a massive hostile-emotional firestorm against an organization. We find that 37% of the 44,173 individuals who additionally commented their protest participation were hostile and/or emotional. As predicted, we find that compared to the other motives, the excess of zeal is most likely to motivate hostile-emotional sanctions. Overall, our theory and findings explain why most online firestorms are hard to stop: with an excess of zeal, a latent group of norm enforcers must be appeased.

Community implications for gun violence prevention during co-occurring pandemics; a qualitative and computational analysis study

This study provides insight into New York City residents' perceptions about violence after the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) based on information from communities in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings. In this novel analysis, we used focus group and social media data to confirm or reject findings from qualitative interviews. We first used data from 69 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with low-income residents and community stakeholders to further explore how violence impacts New York City's low-income residents of color, as well as the role of city government in providing tangible support for violence prevention during co-occurring health (COVID-19) and social (anti-Black racism) pandemics. Residents described how COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement impacted safety in their communities while offering direct recommendations to improve safety. Residents also shared recommendations that indirectly improve community safety by addressing long term systemic issues. As the recruitment of interviewees was concluding, researchers facilitated two focus groups with 38 interviewees to discuss similar topics. In order to assess the degree to which the themes discovered in our qualitative interviews were shared by the broader community, we developed an integrative community data science study which leveraged natural language processing and computer vision techniques to study text and images on public social media data of 12 million tweets generated by residents. We joined computational methods with qualitative analysis through a social work lens and design justice principles to most accurately and holistically analyze the community perceptions of gun violence issues and potential prevention strategies. Findings indicate valuable community-based insights that elucidate how the co-occurring pandemics impact residents' experiences of gun violence and provide important implications for gun violence prevention in a digital era.

Khmer Nuns and Filial Debts: Buddhist Intersections in Contemporary Cambodia

Cambodian Buddhist nuns, including the white-robed ṭūn jī, occupy a fraught confluence of competing cultural and religious narratives. Chief among these narratives is gratitude to mothers, among the most powerful structuring forces in Khmer Buddhist culture. By ordaining as nuns, Khmer women break no explicit moral rules, but violate implicit conventions to bear children for their husbands and care for their parents in old age. To explore how this tension plays out in the lives of individual nuns, I draw on public statements and social media posts of two of the most prominent nuns in Cambodia today, Chea Silieng and Heng Kosorl. The two nuns have taken a divergent approach to filial debts, with Silieng emphasizing freedom from her birth family, husband, and children and Kosorl frequently posting about acts of devotion to her parents and grandparents. Both approaches reveal the profoundly gendered dimensions of filial piety and the complex intersection of such narratives with the growing stature of nuns as Buddhist leaders and teachers in Cambodia.