Socio-cultural Characteristics Research Articles

Localisation as Sociocultural Adaptation of Modern Design of Visual Communications

The aim of the article is to ground and formulate the definition of the term “localisation” in design using the example of visual communications. Results. A review of definitions and interpretations of localisation in different scientific and industrial spheres highlights that the term has different semantic meanings. In the sphere of visual communications, the concept appeared in web design, programming interfaces of programmes and games in the context of language, as well as technical, normative (State Standards) and legal parameters. Nowadays, the use of the term has expanded to the majority of graphic design, branding and marketing product. Its content is associated with sociocultural characteristics of the target groups. Interviews conducted with experts in the re-publishing and redesign of English-language books in the Ukrainian language, advertising communications, curatorship in mural placement and social poster display confirm the relevance of the content and design adчaptation to the specifics of target groups. Localisation in design is defined as a strategy in increasing the functional and communicative efficiency of the project through the adaptation of the content and design to the specifics of sociocultural, legislative, technological, geographical and historical conditions of its use within the country, region, etc. Scientific novelty. For the first time in the theory of design, the term “localisation” is grounded and introduced (using the example of visual communications); the specifics of using the concept of “local” in the context of consideration of these phenomena are clarified; the results of interviews of Ukrainian experts with experience in the localisation of visual communications are presented; the necessity in sociocultural adaptation of the content and design of visual communications to the requests of target groups is emphasised. Conclusions. In conditions of globalisation, the significance of localisation of visual communication projects is increasing. Its implementation requires immersion in the local culture and/or close contact with their representatives during the design process. However, the most effective localisation can be carried out directly by a representative of the target group as a carrier of its local culture.

Caracterización sociocultural y económica de producción de ovinos en comunidades indígenas, Tungurahua - Ecuador

Sheep production in Ecuador is mostly for self-consumption in rural areas and especially in indigenous communities, although some marketing practices may eventually be implemented with products derived from sheep farming, such as milk and wool, which, in addition come into play in the processes of sustaining cultural traditions. Starting from this conviction, this article aims to describe the sociocultural and economic characteristics of sheep production in the indigenous communities of the province of Tungurahua, among which the communities stand out, within the study area: Quisapincha, Tomabela, Chibuleos and the Salasacas. The methodology that guides the research is qualitative, with a documentary and field design, since it is, on the one hand, exposing some sociocultural features of the study population, as well as specifying economic variables of sheep production in the region. . The theoretical review shows the importance of sheep farming as a source of income for a good number of people from the indigenous communities in the country, also representing a factor of preservation of the native cultures settled in regions such as the Tungurahua Province. Among the conclusions derived from empirical observation, it can be added that in the indigenous sectors of the province, there is evidence of a lack of knowledge of the basic health systems that must be implemented on their farms, which affects production and the economic strength of production.

Identification of a 'Blue Zone' in the Netherlands: a genetic, personal, socio-cultural, and environmental profile.

'Blue Zones' (BZs) are regions with exceptionally high numbers of longevous inhabitants. Several factors have been suggested to promote longevity in BZs, but the evidence generally does not meet scientific quality criteria. We aimed to characterize a municipality as a 'relative BZ', satisfying three criteria: compared to other municipalities, more exceptionally longevous inhabitants, a higher life expectancy, and a more stable population. The population-based Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam is ongoing since 1992 in 11 municipalities across the Netherlands with three- or four-yearly measurement waves. Using all available waves, we included 39 genetic, personal, socio-cultural, and environmental characteristics. One municipality satisfied the three BZ criteria. In comparison with participants in other municipalities in the same province and other provinces in the Netherlands, BZ-participants more often had a polygenic risk score linked to longevity, smoked less, consumed less alcohol and more fruit, biked more minutes, did more often paid work, practiced singing more often, attached higher importance to religion, and lived in a more walkable and livable environment. In contrast, BZ-participants had a slower walking speed, more depressive symptoms, felt less purpose in life, had a larger waist circumference, walked and did sports less often, consumed less vegetables, and exchanged less instrumental support. Other indicators of their physical and mental health and social connectedness did not substantially differ from non-BZ-participants. Rather than clues to healthy aging, our findings suggest factors conducive to longevity regardless of impaired health.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Translated Physical Self-Perception Profile Among Chinese Breast Cancer Survivor

PurposeTo translate the original English version of Physical Self-Perception Profile into Cantonese Chinese, while considering linguistic and socio-cultural characteristics, and evaluate its psychometric properties among Chinese breast cancer survivors in Hong Kong, China, thus providing a valid, culturally relevant tool for assessing of the physical self-esteem among this population. MethodsThe 30-item Physical Self-Perception Profile was translated into Chinese by the combined translation technique. The psychometric properties of the Cantonese version of the Physical Self-Perception Profile were examined in 292 Hong Kong Chinese breast cancer survivors for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the structural validity. A panel of 5 experts examined its content validity. The concurrent validity was examined by correlating the Physical Self-Perception Profile and a validated global self-esteem measure. ResultsThe Cantonese version of the Physical Self-Perception Profile demonstrated satisfactory content validity, also satisfactory internal consistency with Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.64 to 0.80, as well as good test-retest reliability, with an intra-class correlation coefficient ranging from 0.77 to 0.81. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a fairly good fit of the four-factor subdomain structure, namely, physical condition, physical strength, body attractiveness and sports competence. The concurrent validity of the Chinese-version Physical Self-Perception Profile was demonstrated by a significant positive correlation between the physical self-worth domain and four subdomains with global self-esteem. In addition, the four subdomains had statistically significant positive correlations with the physical self-worth domain indicating the instrument’s hierarchical structure. ConclusionsThe study translated the Physical Self-Perception Profile from English to Cantonese and demonstrated its desirable psychometric properties among Chinese Hong Kong breast cancer survivors. The linguistical and cultural adaptation of this instrument can serve as a valid and reliable tool for assessing physical self-esteem among breast cancer survivors in Hong Kong, China.

Sociocultural Characteristics of Penza Governors of the 19th – early 20th centuries

Sociocultural Characteristics of Penza Governors of the 19th – early 20th centuries

Cross-cultural validation of the genetic counseling outcome scale in Korea.

The Genetic Counseling Outcome Scale (GCOS-24) was developed to measure patient-reported outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of genetic counseling and testing services. In the current study, the Korean version of GCOS (K-GCOS) was developed to reflect the sociocultural characteristics of Korea, and its clinical applicability was assessed. Overall, 231 Koreans, including patients with genetic diseases and their family members, participated and completed the K-GCOS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Validity was examined by assessing the correlations between K-GCOS scores and other relevant scale scores. Reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest scores, measured over 2 weeks. We performed exploratory factor analysis of the five structures of GCOS-24. For K-GCOS, four-factor structures were identified: "cognitive-behavioral control," "uncertainty about control," "hope," and "emotional regulation." Four original GCOS-24 items were removed because of low factor loadings and small inter-item correlations. K-GCOS-20 scores were positively correlated with SWLS (r = 0.456) and MHLC-internal (r = 0.213) scores but negatively correlated with HADS (anxiety r = -0.428, depression r = -0.469) and MHLC-internal (r = -0.278) scores. These findings demonstrate that K-GCOS-20 is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating genetic counseling services in Korea.

Applying a hierarchical Bayesian framework to reveal how fear and animal ownership drive human's valuation of and interactions with coyotes

AbstractHuman dimensions research is valuable to managing human‐wildlife interactions, especially in urban environments where such interactions are common. Survey data, which commonly contain Likert scales and questions, are useful in this field; however, these data can be difficult to analyze with formal modeling approaches. We demonstrate one approach, based on hierarchical Bayesian ordinal regression, to evaluate human‐coyote relationships in Rhode Island, USA. We implemented a survey to collect demographic and sociocultural characteristics of Rhode Island residents and information related to their knowledge of and experiences with coyotes. Our objectives were to assess how these characteristics affected respondents' valuation of and interactions (sightings and incidents) with coyotes. We analyzed 980 surveys from October to December 2020. We found that respondents who had fear of coyotes or experienced an incident between an owned animal and coyote, had the lowest valuation of coyotes. The same demographic of respondents also reported the highest sightings of and incidents with coyote. These results indicate that fearful residents, in addition to pet and livestock owners, are priority targets for disseminating information or programming about coyotes. Our analyses and findings demonstrate how Bayesian ordinal regression can provide clear and appropriate inference from survey data on how groups of people vary in their relationship with wildlife. These results are important in effectively and efficiently allocating resources towards mitigation, education, and management of human‐wildlife interactions.

The ties that bind: Questions for studying families in neighborhood contexts

AbstractScholars agree that understanding of family is incomplete without attention to context. Research and theory establish that neighborhoods are a proximal context for family life. However, research on the connections between neighborhoods and family processes remains limited in several ways. The overarching goal of this paper is to advance on existing knowledge of neighborhoods and families to elucidate key issues for future research. This paper begins with a brief review of existing theory and research on the connections between neighborhoods and families. Building on prior work, this paper then introduces a set of conceptually and methodologically driven questions that address limitations in: (1) how neighborhood qualities, as they relate to family wellbeing, are currently defined and measured, (2) how neighborhood effects are transmitted and if there are mutual influences between neighborhood and family processes, and (3) how transmission between neighborhoods and families varies according to sociocultural characteristics. These questions outline initial steps in clarifying and synthesizing previous conceptualizations and empirical study of neighborhoods and family dynamics. In addition, these ideas bring attention to understudied factors in research on neighborhoods and families and offer suggestions for future investigations.

Development and validation of the Ethnic-Racial Discrimination Stress Inventory (ERDSI) for Mexican-origin U.S. adults and Turkish-origin German adults.

We developed the 26-item Ethnic-Racial Discrimination Stress Inventory (ERDSI) to assess ethnic-racial discrimination stress in Mexican-origin adults in the United States and Turkish-origin adults in Germany, two groups with similar sociocultural characteristics and immigration experiences. We developed 73 items measuring firsthand, intragroup, and vicarious discrimination, and internalization and expectations of discrimination experiences. If participants reported experiencing a given situation, they were asked to rate its stressfulness. U.S.-based Mexican-origin adults (N = 222) and German-based Turkish-origin adults (N = 105) completed an online survey of these items, measures of related constructs, and sociodemographic measures. Study 1: We eliminated items based on interitem correlations and exploratory factor analyses in the U.S.-based Mexican sample. The exploratory factor analyses yielded four reliable and valid factors (F1: Vicarious Discrimination Stress, seven items; F2: Internalization of Discrimination Stress, seven items; F3: Intragroup Discrimination Stress, seven items; and F4: Firsthand Discrimination Stress, five items). The ERDSI factors predicted well-being measures, even after adjusting for control variables. Study 2: The three ERDSI factors (F1, F2, F4, not F3) that applied to the German-based Turkish sample demonstrated reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated metric invariance for F2 and partial scalar invariance for F1, F3, and F4. The ERDSI can be used to assess ethnic-racial discrimination stress in future studies with U.S.-based Mexican-origin adults and German-based Turkish-origin adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Modern Agriculture Development Case in Gobleg Village Banjar Subdistrict Buleleng Regency, Bali Province

The challenges of Indonesia's agricultural development today are climate change and potential droughts. This research aims to analyze the modern agricultural development of the Gobleg Village Case of Banjar district of Buleleng. This research uses a qualitative method with a case study approach. Determination of informants using snowball sampling and data collection methods is done with in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation. Data analysis using interactive model analysis of Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2014). The results of the research show the selection of commodities based on potential income, level of market demand, knowledge, land characteristics and socio-cultural characteristics. The agricultural production process ranges from land processing to post-harvest harvesting. Farmers have already implemented eco-friendly farming by implementing IoT-based fertigation. Institutional support consists of marketing, financing, technical guidance and social capital. The marketing of products is facilitated by the Gobleg PMK cooperation in cooperation with Bali Organic Subak, the marketing is done online with the Fresh Boss application. The cooperation provides facilitation of means of production with the payment system after harvest. In terms of social capital, farmers still exist doing gotong royong in land processing. Farmers are already able to leverage technology like smartphones that are integrated with IoT-based fertigation.

Modern Agriculture Development Case in Gobleg Village Banjar Subdistrict Buleleng Regency, Bali Province

The challenges of Indonesia's agricultural development today are climate change and potential droughts. This research aims to analyze the modern agricultural development of the Gobleg Village Case of Banjar district of Buleleng. This research uses a qualitative method with a case study approach. Determination of informants using snowball sampling and data collection methods is done with in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation. Data analysis using interactive model analysis of Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2014). The results of the research show the selection of commodities based on potential income, level of market demand, knowledge, land characteristics and socio-cultural characteristics. The agricultural production process ranges from land processing to post-harvest harvesting. Farmers have already implemented eco-friendly farming by implementing IoT-based fertigation. Institutional support consists of marketing, financing, technical guidance and social capital. The marketing of products is facilitated by the Gobleg PMK cooperation in cooperation with Bali Organic Subak, the marketing is done online with the Fresh Boss application. The cooperation provides facilitation of means of production with the payment system after harvest. In terms of social capital, farmers still exist doing gotong royong in land processing. Farmers are already able to leverage technology like smartphones that are integrated with IoT-based fertigation.

Which need satisfaction better explains the relation between parental psychological control and adolescent behavior problems: A parallel multi-mediator model based on general strain theory

ObjectivePredicated on the general strain theory and self-determination theory, the present study seeks to comparatively evaluate how well the (dis)satisfaction of three psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) can individually serve as a mechanism by which parental psychological control influences adolescent behavior problems jointly represented by depression, aggression, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. Method974 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.4, SD = 1.49; 46.7 % girl) constituted the sample. At three time points, they completed scales measuring parental psychological control, basic psychological needs, depression, aggression, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. A parallel multi-mediator model was adopted to contrast the individual mediation effect of satisfaction of three psychological need in the path from parental psychological control to adolescent behavior problems. Results(1) Parental psychological control directly predicts adolescent behavior problems. (2) Autonomy and competence need satisfaction independently mediate the association between parental psychological control and behavior problems while relatedness need satisfaction does not. (3) there is no difference in the strength of mediation between autonomy and competence need satisfaction. Yet, both autonomy and competence need satisfaction have a stronger mediation effect than relatedness need satisfaction. ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that in accounting for the relation between parental psychological control and adolescent behavior problems, autonomy and competence need satisfaction may represent better mechanisms than relatedness need satisfaction. Interventions targeting maladaptive parenting practices and adolescent maladjustment in the post-pandemic era need to consider the potency of relevant psychological mechanisms in operation as well as the sociocultural characteristics.

The potential of public organizations in creating conditions of healthy aging for sustainable demographic development of the Russian regions

The article considers issues of potential of public organizations to develop conditions for healthy aging in order to ensure sustainable development of Russian regions differing in their socio-economic, socio-cultural and demographic characteristics. It is established that individual approach is to be applied in developing and implementing measures, since elderly Russians constitute very heterogeneous social demographic group, characterizing by differences in age, health condition, social, economic and professional status, life motivation, family/single/nursing type of residence, etc. It is indicated that work will require time, financial expenses and labor costs. The achievement of sustainable development of Russian regions depends on ability and readiness of regional and municipal authorities, public and commercial organizations and entire population. It is determined that age-related stigmatization and ageism can not be overcame through decisions made by persons of power. No less significant is public opinion, determining position of employers, physicians, teachers and other specialists on whom healthy longevity of population depends. The conclusion is made that present demographic changes are a predictor of development of position of state authorities and public opinion that needed attention is to be paid to promoting of healthy aging, to expending necessary financial, infrastructural, informational and human resources. Only in this case Russian regions can count on social dividends that will follow preliminary comprehensive investments into developing conditions for healthy aging of local residents.

A potential prognostic indicator in methanol intoxication: Body temperature

Objective: Methanol intoxication is a type of poisoning with high mortality and morbidity. The current study aims to examine patients diagnosed with methanol intoxication and treated with standardized treatment to collect data that may be used to predict patient outcomes and mortality. Materials and Methods: The current study was a retrospective study and included patients over 18 years of age diagnosed with methanol intoxication between 1st March, 2011 and 1st March, 2021. All patients were treated with the treatment protocol determined by the clinic in accordance with the guidelines. Sociocultural characteristics, vital and laboratory findings, and clinical outcomes of the patients were analyzed. Results: Of the 28 patients included in the study, 80% were male, and the median age was 49. Patients were divided into two groups: survived and deceased. The median time since last alcohol intake was higher in surviving group (7 hours (Q1-Q3:6-12) vs 4 hours (Q1-Q3:2-17), p=0.005) and the amount of alcohol per kilogram of weight was lower in surviving group (3.13 ml/kg (Q1-Q3: 1.34-4.46) vs 8.81 ml/kg (Q1-Q3:5.22-9.49), p=0.002). The body temperature was lower in deceased group (35.40 °C (Q1-Q3:34.95-35.50) vs 36.40 °C (Q1-Q3:36.10-36.55), p=0.001). The current study showed that the other diagnostic factors of mortality in methanol intoxication are serum pH, lactate levels, bicarbonate levels, base deficit, anion deficit, the level of consciousness of the patient at admission, the time since the last alcohol consumption, and the amount of methanol ingested. Conclusion: In this study, it was concluded that moderate hypothermia may be an indicator of mortality in addition to classical findings. Thus, it has been shown that hypothermia will be effective in methanol intoxication in addition to other early markers for early diagnosis and rapid initiation of treatment.

Increasing Turnover Rate among Emirati Employees in Private Sector in Ras Al Khaima

Purpose: This study is aiming to examine the factors that contribute to the increasing rate of Emirati employees leaving their jobs in Ras Al Khaima private sector. It will demonstrate how these factors affect employees and result in their decision to leave their jobs. Additionally, which factor has the most impact on their intentions to resign will be identified. Moreover, what Human Resource Management do in response to that issue in order to strengthen their organization's position in the business market. According to the findings, this paper will attempt to introduce and propose some recommendations on how Human Resource Management can attract Emirati people to work in Ras Al Khaima private sector. Methodology: To handle this problem, the research will depend on the based-literature review methodology. The study relied on literature review to infer the factors that contribute to the increasing turnover rate among Emirati employees in Ras Al Khaima private sector. A comprehensive review of relevant academic and empirical literature was conducted to find out these factors. Findings: The main finding of the study is the positive relationship between job satisfaction and salary, rewards, benefits & compensation, as well as flexible work practices and career development opportunities. Job satisfaction decreases the employee intention to quit their jobs. Additionally, shorter working hours which is needed to achieve work-life balance is related positively to employee retention and decreases turnover rate among employees. The paper also concluded that organizational support, fairness perception, and work-family culture are critical variables in employee retention. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study will provide new insights that would incorporate different views on employee turnover relevant to the Emirati context particularly in the private sector of Ras Al Khaimah. It will offer some recommendations that will enable policymakers to develop measures that can help reduce turnover rates among Emirati employees. It will also help in improving the HR practices according to the awareness of the socio-cultural and economic characteristics that affect the Emirati workers. Additionally, the policy recommendations may inform the creation of laws and measures that could enhance the employment status and satisfaction of Emirati employees in the private sector. The paper recommends creating strategic Emiratization initiatives, enhancing work environment through focusing on cultural values, engaging HR managers in setting UAE-specific HRM models that account for cultural and organizational peculiarities.

Extremists of a feather flock together? Community structures, transitivity, and patterns of homophily in the US Islamist co-offending network.

Prior research suggests that members of terrorist groups prioritize forming network ties based on trust to improve their organizational and operational security. The homophily principle, which postulates that individuals tend to form relationships based on shared characteristics, can be a key mechanism through which people identify trustworthy associates. Next to homophily, the mechanism of establishing interconnected relationships through transitivity is also well-known to serve this purpose and shape community structures in social networks. We analyze the community structures of the Islamist co-offending network in the United States, which is highly violent, to assess whether homophily and transitivity determine which extremists form co-offending ties. We rely on a new database on the individual attributes and the co-offending relationships of 494 Islamist offenders radicalized in the United States between 1993 and 2020. Using community detection algorithms, we show that the US Islamist co-offending network is highly clustered, modular, and includes many small but only a few large communities. Furthermore, results from exponential random graph modeling show that transitive relationships as well as spatial proximity, ideological affiliation, and shared socio-cultural characteristics drive co-offending among US Islamist extremists. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the processes of homophily and transitivity shape violent social networks.

НАУЧНО-ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКАЯ РАБОТА ИНОСТРАННЫХ СТУДЕНТОВ КАК ВАЖНЫЙ КОМПОНЕНТ ОСВОЕНИЯ РКИ В ВУЗЕ

The article describes the experience of organizing research work of students studying Russian as a foreign language at a medical university. The example of creating a scientific article shows the prospects of this type of student activity and its interdisciplinary nature. The combination of linguistics and medicine, as well as the involvement of the intermediary language (English), the native language (Hindi, Arabic and others) and Russian as a studied language open up wide opportunities for studying socio-cultural characteristics, help to comprehend the picture of the world through language. Thus, it is proposed to look at a person of a different culture, going beyond national stereotypes and established assessments. This approach contributes to better mutual understanding in communication between «student - student», «student - teacher», interaction between speakers of different languages and cultures. The authors propose a step-by-step plan for preparing students for research activities: choosing a topic, collecting language material, describing the general and specific features of the collected facts, explaining them. When choosing a topic, an important point contributing to greater motivation of students for scientific work is the lack of restrictions on the use of language, professional, ordinary, literary. One of the main didactic values of research is the formation and acquisition of universal competencies among students, including such basic cognitive skills as the ability to analyze, synthesize, categorize, conceptualize.

Counting the Ways That Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Older People Participate in Their Communities and Culture.

This study aimed to determine the proportion of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participating in cultural events and activities and determine the demographic and sociocultural characteristics associated with participation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (2014-2015) was used to measure the prevalence of participation in cultural events and activities. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to measure associations. Sociocultural factors were selected by matching survey items to the 12 sociocultural factors described in the Good Spirit Good Life Framework, a culturally validated quality-of-life tool for older people. The majority (62.0%) of survey respondents 45 years and older participated in cultural events (e.g., ceremonies, funerals/sorry business, NAIDOC week activities, sports carnivals, festivals/carnivals) or were involved in organizations. Many (58.5%) also participated in activities (e.g., fishing, hunting, gathering wild plants/berries, arts/crafts, music/dance/theater, writing/telling of stories). In regression models including demographic and cultural variables, participation in cultural events was highest among people living remotely (odds ratio [OR] = 2.71), reporting recognition of homelands (OR = 2.39), identifying with a cultural group (OR = 3.56), and those reporting having a say in their communities (OR = 1.57), with similar odds seen for participation in activities. Participation was inversely proportional to increasing age, with a greater proportion of females participating in events and males in activities. The social lives of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were characterized by widespread participation in cultural events and activities. These findings provide important insights into services as they support older people to live a good life.

Perceptions and Utilization of Online Peer Support Among Informal Dementia Caregivers: Survey Study.

Informal dementia caregivers are those who care for a person living with dementia and do not receive payment (eg, family members, friends, or other unpaid caregivers). These informal caregivers are subject to substantial mental, physical, and financial burdens. Online communities enable these caregivers to exchange caregiving strategies and communicate experiences with other caregivers whom they generally do not know in real life. Research has demonstrated the benefits of peer support in online communities, but this research is limited, focusing merely on caregivers who are already online community users. We aimed to investigate the perceptions and utilization of online peer support through a survey. Following the Andersen and Newman Framework of Health Services Utilization and using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), we designed and administered a survey to investigate the perceptions and utilization of online peer support among informal dementia caregivers. Specifically, we collected types of information that influence whether an informal dementia caregiver accesses online peer support: predisposing factors, which refer to the sociocultural characteristics of caregivers, relationships between caregivers and people living with dementia, and belief in the value of online peer support; enabling factors, which refer to the logistic aspects of accessing online peer support (eg, eHealth literacy and access to high-speed internet); and need factors, which are the most immediate causes of seeking online peer support. We also collected data on caregivers' experiences with accessing online communities. We distributed the survey link on November 14, 2022, within two online locations: the Alzheimer's Association website (as an advertisement) and ALZConnected (an online community organized by the Alzheimer's Association). We collected all responses on February 23, 2023, and conducted a regression analysis to identifyn factors that were associated with accessing online peer support. We collected responses from 172 dementia caregivers. Of these participants, 140 (81.4%) completed the entire survey. These caregivers were aged 19 to 87 (mean 54, SD 13.5) years, and a majority were female (123/140, 87.9%) and White (126/140, 90%). Our findings show that the behavior of accessing any online community was significantly associated with participants' belief in the value of online peer support (P=.006). Moreover, of the 40 non-online community caregivers, 33 (83%) had a belief score above 24-the score that was assigned when a neutral option was selected for each belief question. The most common reasons for not accessing any online community were having no time to do so (14/140, 10%) and having insufficient online information-searching skills (9/140, 6.4%). Our findings suggest that online peer support is valuable, but practical strategies are needed to assist informal dementia caregivers who have limited time or online information-searching skills.

Muslims’ reluctance to social media campaigns about organ donation: an exploratory study

PurposeDespite the intense social media (SoMe) campaigns promoting organ donation, the direct impact on registration and transplantation rates remains unclear among Sunni Muslims who constitute a significant portion of Muslim population. Given the observed tendency to avoid engaging with SoMe content focused on organ donation promotion, this study aims to comprehend the reasons for reluctance among Sunni Muslims.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach comprising focus group and individual interviews was conducted among community manager of SoMe campaigns interested in promoting organ donation, Sunni Muslims subscribed on those SoMe platforms and certain members of the medical staff involved in transplant operations.FindingsThe results indicate that reluctance toward SoMe campaigns about organ donation is justified because of the creation of irrelevant content that does not align with the sociocultural characteristics of the majority Sunni Muslims who are the intended audience. Additional discussions are required concerning religious beliefs, the culture of altruism and the credibility of SoMe appeals.Practical implicationsThis research could serve as a foundation upon which social organizations and associations, focused on public health promotion through SoMe, can build specific content designs tailored for Sunni Muslims.Originality/valueThe distinctive aspect of this research is founded upon the diverse perspectives of various stakeholders, which have the potential to impact the registration of Muslim users on SoMe as organ donors.