Results Of Poll Research Articles

A Study of Media Impact on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball

From 1986-2006, allegations of performance enhancement in sport exploded from a barely acknowledged phenomenon, in venues like bodybuilding and professional wrestling, to a widely publicized issue through professional baseball. For Americans, baseball is identified as the National Pastime and thereby contributes to what has been charac- terized as America's civil religion. News magazines, such as Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and Time, have become outlets for setting public agendas on many topics, including steroids and fair play in athletics. Through content analysis, this study associated the agenda setting effects of magazine coverage of performance-enhancement in professional baseball. Frames characterizing the issue were determined. The relationship between coverage of implicated drug use and public opinion was explored through Gallup Poll results. The data suggest that baseball is a reliable culture-reflector for American society and that steroid use and performance enhancement have become an important social issue—with ramifications extending beyond sport.

European security policy for the people? Public opinion and the EU's Common Foreign, Security and Defence policy

The democratic foundations of European integration in the foreign and defence realm are increasingly being debated. This article looks at the question of democratic legitimacy from one particular angle, by examining public opinion as measured in Eurobarometer surveys between 1989 and 2009. Based on reflections about the relation between polling results and wider questions of democracy, it examines three aspects of public opinion: general support for a common foreign and a common defence policy; differences among support rates in EU member states; and what roles Europeans would prefer for European armed forces. It turns out that general support for a common foreign policy is high, whereas the desirability of a common defence policy is much more contested. Moreover, citizens across Europe would prefer European armed forces to take on traditional tasks, as territorial defence. An EU defence policy that goes beyond strict intergovernmentalism and is directed towards protecting international law and universal human rights would thus require a significant communicative effort to become accepted.

Critical Approach to the Constitutionality of Restriction on Publishing Opinion Poll Result

Critical Approach to the Constitutionality of Restriction on Publishing Opinion Poll Result

СУБКУЛЬТУРНЫЕ СООБЩЕСТВА ПРОВИНЦИАЛЬНОЙ МОЛОДЕЖИ

The development of youth subcultural communities in sociocultural space of the modern provincial city is intensified by the development of the information and communication technologies. Using the results of the questionnaire poll conducted among young people (Saransk city, (n=621), the authors describes youth subcultural communities in terms of delocalization, virtualization and diversification. The article portrays representatives of the youth subcultures in a modern Russian provincial city. They involve active participants of the youth subcultural communities, passive consumers of subcutural resources and former participants. The share of the representatives of the youth subcultures makes up 39% of the sample; 9% of them call themselves active participants. Despite low percentage of the active participants, more than one-third of respondents are included in different subcultural practices in Saransk due to higher accessibility of subcultural information. According to the authors` findings, the development of telecommunication technologies increased the scale of subcultural practices among young persons, facilitated the popularization of subcultural context; however, personal contacts are still the basic way to communicate with subcultural community.

Restitution in the context of institutional lock-in

Abstract This article presents the problem of lack of restitution in Poland in the political, social and economic context. The author presents the theory of institutional lock-in, referring to the hitherto course of the political, social and economic transformation processes in Poland. She is focusing on the research problem in form of an institutional lock-in on the route to general restitution process. The author examines the path shaping and path dependence to understand the current negative attitude toward restitution presented by the government and society. The author also indicates the costs caused by lack of restitution. Through analysis of past attempts of restitution regulations the author indicates the most important flashpoints. A hypothesis constructed by the author focuses on the negative effects of institutional lock-in, lack of restitution increases transaction costs influencing the Polish economy. The study is based on the legal documents and the results of public opinion polls.

Haplotype Classification Using Copy Number Variation and Principal Components Analysis

Elaborate downstream methods are required to analyze large microarray data-sets. At times, where the end goal is to look for relationships between (or patterns within) different subgroups or even just individual samples, large data-sets must first be filtered using statistical thresholds in order to reduce their overall volume. As an example, in anthropological microarray studies, such ‘dimension reduction’ techniques are essential to elucidate any links between polymorphisms and phenotypes for given populations. In such large data-sets, a subset can first be taken to represent the larger data-set. For example, polling results taken during elections are used to infer the opinions of the population at large. However, what is the best and easiest method of capturing a sub-set of variation in a data-set that can represent the overall portrait of variation? In this article, principal components analysis (PCA) is discussed in detail, including its history, the mathematics behind the process, and in which ways it can be applied to modern large-scale biological datasets. New methods of analysis using PCA are also suggested, with tentative results outlined.

El comportamiento electoral ciudadano en las elecciones para gobernador posteriores al 2 de julio de 2006: los casos de Chiapas, Tabasco y Yucatán

<p>Este trabajo analiza resultados de encuestas previas y simultáneas con elecciones para gobernador realizadas posteriormente a las federales de julio de 2006, y compara los resultados de estas elecciones con los datos referidos tanto a la elección similar previa como a la presidencial anterior.</p><p>Concluye que los resultados observados responden primordialmente a una lógica local, y no al peso relativo que tienen los partidos en las elecciones federales.</p>

PUBLIC INFORMATION SYSTEM AS THE MEANS OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

Goal: To detect the state of communications between municipal authorities and the population; to devise recommendations on creating public information system to improve communications between municipal authorities and the population. Methods: The study is based on the results of opinion poll ‘Information Needs of the Population of Gubkinskiy Urban District’ conducted in Gubkinskiy urban district in 2010, which included: - a questionnaire survey (a representative sample, based on three criteria – type of settlement, sex, age, n=600 of respondents, standard sampling error did not exceed 4.5%); - a survey of experts (the group of experts included municipal employees, who work with public information system, n=50 respondents). Results: The author suggests a model of public information system for managing a municipal entity and improving communications between the authorities and the population. Scope of application: The results can be used by analytical subdivisions of local authority departments; in special-purpose programmes to improve public information systems of municipal government; in designing academic courses for university students majoring in State and Municipal Management. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-8-39

An Instagram is worth a thousand words: an industry panel and audience Q&A

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the industry panel session hosted by Bond University Library at the Australian Library and Information Association's Information Online 2013 Conference. The panel was held to discuss the use and implications of professional Instagram profiles. The panel included a professional photographer, an internet marketing expert, a social media expert, a librarian and a social media‐savvy student. The inclusion of a range of perspectives from outside the library aimed to provide a holistic approach to the institutional use of Instagram and to provide inspiration. The panel took place on Wednesday 13 February 2013 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Design/methodology/approachThe panel discussion covered three broad topic areas: the popularity of Instagram and listening to your audience. The risks, limitations and disadvantages of using Instagram. Engagement with followers and measuring the value of Instagram. Throughout the panel session live mobile polling was used to gather feedback and responses from the audience in regards to their photo‐sharing practices. Real examples from Instagram profiles were shared to stimulate discussion. The session concluded with a Q&A session from the audience.FindingsThe session was attended by approximately 80 delegates. The results of the mobile polling will be included in the body of the article. Based on feedback from delegates on Twitter and Facebook (which was collated via Storify) the session was perceived as a useful introduction to a professional exploration of Instagram and photo sharing.Practical implicationsThe session was an opportunity for conference delegates to hear about Instagram use from professionals in other fields. Each panel member contributed a unique perspective on the use of Instagram. In particular, the inclusion of a current Bond University student on the panel allowed for a customer's perspective on the library's use of Instagram. This discussion and the feedback gathered from the audience has formed the basis for further evidence‐based research.Originality/valueTo date, few libraries are using Instagram. This discussion on the professional use of Instagram contributes to the body of knowledge about library social media use. It also extends the conversation to include mobile photo sharing, an area which has not been well addressed in the literature. This panel was unique in that it brought together professionals from other environments to reflect on library use of Instagram.

Issue Ownership Trends and Tensions in 2008: Obama, the Transformative Democrat?

Issue ownership theory posits that candidates and political parties own certain issues and ownership of issues is built on reputation over time. By analyzing the content of nomination acceptance speeches and presidential debates and comparing those findings with public polling results, this study tests issue ownership theory in the 2008 general election. This study found both a continuation of general trends as well as significant variations from issue ownership assumptions. These findings suggest that the 2008 election was one in which the candidates had more to gain by discussing certain issues and that party owned issues may be fluctuating.

Long-Term Oxygen Therapy in Japan: History, Present Status, and Current Problems

Historically, the progress of long term-oxygen therapy (LTOT) in Japan has been characterized by collaboration among academic groups, policy makers, and industrial companies. The public health insurance program has covered the cost of LTOT since 1985. Thomas Petty's group in Denver enthusiastically carried out the public implementation of LTOT and conveyed the concept of pulmonary rehabilitation for the processing with LTOT. Although the target diseases of LTOT in Japan tended to be chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or sequelae of primary lung tuberculosis, it was soon applied for cardiac diseases as well as other pulmonary diseases. Together with increasing medical costs for geriatric patients, the political conversion from hospital based care of a traditional style to home care system has been performed, with two background reasons: the improvement of quality of life of patients and the reduction of the medical expense. Presently, LTOT plays a pivotal role in the successful implementation of home respiratory care for elderly patients. In addition, this promotes comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation, a team approach, and close liaisons between primary care and hospitals. Currently, the total number of patients using LTOT exceeds 150,000. In Japan, LTOT resulted in an advancement in the medical care as well as in administrative decision to introduce it as a nationwide system after analyzing the results of opinion polls of patients with respiratory failure. However, the recent great earthquake in East Japan revealed that many unresolved problems remain for these patients, and these issues are of great concern.

Effectiveness and efficiency of the activities of regional and municipal governments: Purpose and possibility of a correct assessment

Methodological issues regarding the correct assessment of the activity conducted by regional and municipal executive bodies are considered. A conceptual rationale is presented for the potential of such an assessment on the condition of a clearer definition of its object (specific functions and empowerment) and the degree of the real impact on the parameters of territorial situations attainable with the available resources under the conditions of total dependence on the federal policy, legislation, etc. The official methods of the above-mentioned assessment and the technologies of assignment and redistribution of authority between regional and local governments have been considered. The problems and potential of taking into account the results of public opinion polls in the activity of government bodies are discussed.

Critical Review of Preclinical Approaches to Investigate Cytochrome P450–Mediated Therapeutic Protein Drug-Drug Interactions and Recommendations for Best Practices: A White Paper

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between therapeutic proteins (TPs) and small-molecule drugs have recently drawn the attention of regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, and academia. TP-DDIs are mainly caused by proinflammatory cytokine or cytokine modulator-mediated effects on the expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes. To build consensus among industry and regulatory agencies on expectations and challenges in this area, a working group was initiated to review the preclinical state of the art. This white paper represents the observations and recommendations of the working group on the value of in vitro human hepatocyte studies for the prediction of clinical TP-DDI. The white paper was developed following a "Workshop on Recent Advances in the Investigation of Therapeutic Protein Drug-Drug Interactions: Preclinical and Clinical Approaches" held at the Food and Drug Administration White Oak Conference Center on June 4 and 5, 2012. Results of a workshop poll, cross-laboratory data comparisons, and the overall recommendations of the in vitro working group are presented herein. The working group observed that evaluation of TP-DDI for anticytokine monoclonal antibodies is currently best accomplished with a clinical study in patients with inflammatory disease. Treatment-induced changes in appropriate biomarkers in phase 2 and 3 studies may indicate the potential for a clinically measurable treatment effect on cytochrome P450 enzymes. Cytokine-mediated DDIs observed with anti-inflammatory TPs cannot currently be predicted using in vitro data. Future success in predicting clinical TP-DDIs will require an understanding of disease biology, physiologically relevant in vitro systems, and more examples of well conducted clinical TP-DDI trials.

Information and psychological imperative of safety culture of a subject

The article deals with the problem of underestimation of culture of information and psychological safety of a subject in contemporary science. Unfavourable factors for hazard of information and psychological safety are considered; the notion of information and psychological safety is defined. Two peculiar features such as strategic role in the structure of safety culture and ambiguity of the roles of subjects of information interaction (they are the passive role of an object on the one hand, and an active role of the subject of negative information effect on the other hand) are revealed. Defensive and offensive levels of culture of information and psychological safety and corresponding strategies for information and psychological safety provision are stated in the article. The problem of imperative record of these levels and strategies in the techniques of identification and risk assessment for safety is determined. The results of opinion poll of the population of one of the Russian cities, which reveals insufficient level of information and psychological safety of the citizens, are given.

Oil: What the Public Doesn’t See Every Day

Forum - Results of a poll that sought to understand people’s “oil awareness.” The Oil Dilemma Oil is undoubtedly a lynchpin of the world’s economy. Oil is the world’s most widely used source of energy, accounting for 40% of global energy consumption and an astonishing 96% of the energy used in the transportation sector. Yet even if we were to remove all gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles from the roads, we would still be dependent on this hydrocarbon. One of the first applications of oil, dating back thousands of years, was as a medicine. Nowadays the most surprising uses include chewing gum, lipstick, and aspirin. Every barrel of crude oil holds remarkable potential: It helps keep us warm, helps keep us on the go, and provides the building blocks for countless products we take for granted. Plastics are a great example of this, with water bottles a notable illustration. Although there is a growing interest in the use of biomass as a feedstock, fossil fuels today form 99% of plastics’ raw material base.

Public transport policy and performance: The results of a South African public opinion poll

Public opinion plays a vital role in a democracy, as democracies are, by nature responsive to the people. In South Africa, public participation is entrenched in the Constitution. Despite this, the spate of service delivery protests in South Africa in recent years would appear to indicate that the government is out of touch with the opinions of the South African citizens. Public transport policy in South Africa is described by a number of documents, mainly the White Paper on National Transport Policy, Moving South Africa and, more recently, the National Development Plan. An annual survey of 1000 South Africans is conducted to gauge opinion on transport related matters. The purpose of this article was to compare the current public transport policies (as stated above) and the public opinion on public transport (as gauged by the survey) in order to determine the extent to which these are aligned. The results show that current public transport policy is relatively strongly aligned with the public transport needs of the South African population, however, concerns regarding public transport such as mobility, accessibility, affordability and safety have not yet to be addressed satisfactorily.

Readers' Poll Results: Funding Environment

Readers' Poll Results: Funding Environment

Causes and Consequences of Expectation Trajectories

Although expectations are key theoretical antecedents of emotion and behavior, expectations are typically examined as static properties without deep consideration of their temporal dynamics. We surveyed residents of California over five time points, during the month preceding a public ballot initiative on cannabis legalization (California Proposition 19) and after the election, to examine both the causes and the consequences of residents’ expectation trajectories regarding the vote’s outcome. Our results point to the importance of changes in individuals’ expectations over time. Specifically, well-informed voters were likely to lower their expectations regarding the measure’s passage as the vote neared, in line with polling results, but being informed about the initiative had less impact on expectation trajectories among voters who favored the measure than among those who opposed it. Furthermore, supporters who maintained their optimism about the initiative’s outcome over time were more likely to vote and were more disappointed following the measure’s failure, compared with supporters who became more pessimistic. The findings suggest that temporal changes in people’s optimism and expectations play a unique role in social behavior.

Evaluating the Quality of Mobile Medical Speech Translators Based on ISO/IEC 9126 Series

Medical translation systems present an intriguing research area as language barriers can become life-threatening when health issues come into place. There is however a lack of common evaluation methodologies, making the fair comparison of such systems a difficult task. In this work the authors try to remedy this deficiency by proposing a quality model based on the ISO/IEC 9126 standard that could serve as a comparison basis among homologous systems. Their work involves the definition of the internal and external quality characteristics of the model along with the quantification of their relative importance based on the results of polling two groups of users (12 doctors and 12 potential patients) that demonstrate different needs and goals towards the system. Additionally, for the internal characteristics that reflect mainly a technical viewpoint the authors polled 6 developers. Finally, as the model contains attributes that are measurable the authors proposed metrics for each characteristic.

Practical Guidance on Calculating Sampling Error in Election Polls

In election poll results, the proportions favoring candidates and the survey sampling error are usually reported. However, it is hard to assess if the gap between any two candidates is statistically significant or not based on this information. This article provides an alternative measurement of sampling error for this assessment purpose. We detail the calculation steps in STATA and SPSS programs to handle polls based on simple random sampling and also polls based on more complicated designs.