Traditional Communication Channels Research Articles

Unions and social media: Prospects for gender inclusion

The emergence of web 2.0 technologies led to optimistic predictions that social media (SM) might alter traditional gendered patterns of member participation in trade unions. Greene, Hogan, and Grieco and others suggested that the forms of communication and engagement these technologies offered to unions and their members had the potential to foster gender inclusion and contribute to union diversity, arguably central to effective representation. This article reports on a survey of union members’ experiences with and perceptions of their union's SM services, to identify whether there is a gendered dimension to members’ use. The findings indicate that for most union members regardless of gender, more traditional communication channels such as face‐to‐face contact and email remain the preferred means of communication. However, the findings also show that women are just as likely as men, if not more so, to engage with union SM. Given that historically, women largely participated less in union activities than their male counterparts, this broad parity of use by women supports the conclusion that SM has substantial potential to improve women's participation in unions.

Digital marketing communication and car buying: Differentiating users from non-users

This study aims to differentiate the users of digital and traditional channels of communication while buying a car. Data were collected from 800 respondents from Delhi. The findings of the study revealed that 75% of the respondents used at least one digital channel of communication while buying a car. There were 25% of the respondents who relied exclusively on traditional channels of communication. Five customer segments were identified in the study by applying cluster analysis. Two customer segments made use of only traditional channels of communication and were named ‘Accomplished Magnate’ and ‘Stripling Warrior’. Three customer segments used digital channels of communication while buying a car and were named ‘Young Business Turks’, ‘Generation Next’ and ‘Employed Maestro’. The findings have important implications for the car marketers as they must understand that digital channels of communication are mainly used by the young customers who also have preferences for particular digital channels of communication. However, other important customer segments still rely on traditional channels of communication while buying a car. So, targeting these customers with their preferred channel of communication should produce good business results for the marketers. Few studies so far tried to identify and group the individuals into users and non-users of digital marketing communication in limited problem-solving product categories. However, such classification was not seen in an extended problemsolving product category like car where marketers are spending a significant amount of money.

Always on My Mind

This article examines how current widespread smartphone adoption and usage plays out in the everyday lives of young Swedes. Drawing on the framework of media and information and communication technology domestication, we examine the appropriation and incorporation of new mobile media as well as the redefined roles and meanings of traditional mobile communication channels (i.e., text messages and voice calls). Based on an in-depth study of 18 high-school students, the study explores how practices, roles and experiences associated with mobile social communication are currently evolving with the advent of smartphones. The main arguments are that emerging ‘smart’ practices are reorienting mobile social communication towards the increased centrality of images and visual messaging, ‘groups’ and many-to-many contact, and mediated social contact as an intensified background setting. At the same time, SMS and voice calls have been removed from the centre of young people’s social communication.

Independent Artists' Access to Communications Channels: How Hard Is It Out There?

There is lack of empirical studies on how relevant major labels are for communicating the product in the digital era and, so far, divergent conclusions have been reached on the subject. Therefore, this paper analyses independent artists’ access to communication channels, in order to understand if the digital era has made it possible for these artists to promote their product in an effective and successful manner. Results indicate a not so favourable scenario regarding communication. In the digital era, several new possibilities have emerged, which are quite more accessible for independent artists. However, these are subject to market’s saturation and traditional communication channels importance was not as affected as in distribution. Actually, some of them may even have increased its relevance. Communication, for these artists, as revealed itself a non-straightforward and quite expensive area.

Setting Collections Data Free with the Power of the Crowd: challenges, opportunities and a vision for the future

The Natural History Museum in London has embarked on an epic journey to digitise 80 million specimens from one of the world’s most important natural history collections. Publishing this data to our open Data Portal will give the global scientific community access to unrivalled historical, geographic and taxonomic specimen data gathered over the last 250 years. We have been involving the public in this large task by asking digital volunteers to help transcribe information written on specimen labels, via an online crowdsourcing interface, such that anyone in the world can participate. In this talk we will share our experience with these projects over the past year. Within the Digital Collections Programme at the Natural History Museum London we have so far digitally imaged approximately 200,000 of our total holdings of around two million microscope slides, and from these have selected two discrete collections for crowdsourcing the transcription effort. Miniature Lives Magnified (now complete) contained 6,285 digitised Chalcidoidea slides from our Hymenoptera collection, and Miniature Fossils Magnified (not yet complete at time of writing) contains 2,000 Foraminifera slides from our Micropalaeontology collection. Both projects are hosted on the Notes from Nature platform, which has been built on the Zooniverse Panoptes open-project platform. As the lead partner of the Crowdsourcing task within SYNTHESYS3, an EC-funded project creating an integrated European infrastructure for natural history collections, we have partnered with our fellow consortium members to help them design and launch crowdsourcing projects of their own. These have included an Amaranthaceae collection with 444 specimens and a Primulaceae collection with 3,093 specimens hosted on Notes from Nature, and a Brachiopod collection with 1,810 specimens built directly on Panoptes. In this talk we will share the key insights gained through practical experience with this wide range of specimens, specimen data, and label-styles. In particular, we have gained insights into the design of the workflow and interface, such as the considerable reduction in human error when drop-down menu options are introduced where possible, rather than free data entry fields. These five projects provided us with a unique opportunity to compare the dedicated Notes from Nature platform, which has significant advantages due to the size and engagement-level of the existing community, to the open project-building Panoptes platform, which has storytelling advantages in terms of the capacity to provide more information about a specific collection, its subject, and its underlying scientific importance. A crucial element of running successful crowdsourcing projects is building an engaged community of digital volunteers. We compared the use of social media channels with more traditional Museum communication channels (such as e-newsletter and website), and found that the latter had the most reach in terms of raising awareness of the projects, but that the former enabled more frequent and varied engagement with a potential volunteer audience. However, when examining which metrics are the most important to track in assessing the success of various initiatives, we found that the highest impact on the ultimate volume of transcription were in-house volunteering days run in person, rather than online. In reaching out and engaging with a diverse range of volunteer audiences, we found evidence of the major sources of motivation that are described in the existing citizen science literature, but also more nuanced insight into behaviours such as pursuing independent learning, the desire to enter all of the information even when not requested, and preferring tasks that can be performed by rote. Our efforts to support and nurture the existing Notes from Nature community confirmed the importance of the principle of ‘giving-back’, and gave us insight into how to do this when research results emerge over a longer timeline than is typical of field-based citizen science projects. And finally, we will share our experience with the behind-the-scenes elements of crowdsourcing - the parts the ‘crowd’ doesn’t see - such as data quality assessment, data ingestion, data publication, and the flow of data between internal systems. In conclusion we will propose some visions of the future, such as moving towards a global platform for specimen label transcription with a shared underlying database infrastructure, how to deepen the engagement of digital volunteers from transcription tasks to scientific observations, and ways to bring online crowdsourcing and field-based citizen science together in a more streamlined way.

Sexual and gender minority’s social media user characteristics: Examining preferred health information

ABSTRACTThe authors examined the influence of social media involvement on health issues in sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). Demographic and technological characteristics of social media users and nonusers were identified, and the influence of social media involvement on these factors was assessed for its potential to influence health information needs and preferences. A survey of 2,274 SGM individuals revealed that age, sexual orientation, number of Internet access points, and use of smartphones predicted levels of social media involvement. Results suggest that a broader range of traditional and nontraditional communication channels is needed to meet a diversity of health information needs in SGMs.

Diagnosis of Life-Threatening Alpha-Gal Food Allergy Appears to Be Patient Driven.

Objective: Patients exhibiting life-threatening symptoms associated with the alpha-gal food allergy (delayed urticaria or anaphylaxis due to mammalian meat) are frequently undiagnosed, causing unnecessary emergency department (ED) and health care visits, and extensive pain and suffering. This study aimed to determine the path to diagnosis experienced by alpha-gal patients. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted from March to June 2016 with a chronological systematic sample of approximately 10% of patients diagnosed with alpha-gal and treated by the University of North Carolina Allergy and Immunology Clinic (n = 28). Main outcome measures included average length of time between first symptoms’ appearance and diagnosis, number and type of health care encounters en route to diagnosis, and typical symptom severity. Results: Six interviewees (21%) were diagnosed within a year of experiencing symptoms, of the remaining 22, mean time to diagnosis was 7.1 years. In over 100 medical encounters (including 28 ED visits and 2 urgent care) the correct diagnosis or effective diagnosing referral occurred less than 10% of the time. Seventy-one percent (20/28) described their first symptoms as severe. More patients found the allergist specializing in this condition on their own (n = 12; 43%) than those who were formally diagnosed or received referrals (n = 10; 36%) through the health care system. Conclusions: The medical community is challenged to stay abreast of emerging and newly uncovered illnesses through traditional medical literature communication channels. Presently, patients more often discover a diagnosis of alpha-gal allergy by using information resources on their own than by presenting to the ED with anaphylaxis.

Ethical and legal perspectives on the medical practitioners use of social media

Use of social media has increased exponentially throughout the world. Social media provides a platform for building social and professional relationships that can be used by all, including healthcare professionals. Alongside the benefits of creating networks and spreading information wider and faster than is possible with traditional communication channels, however, it presents ethical and legal challenges. For health professionals, it poses a threat to confidentiality and privacy owed to patients, colleagues and employers. It is vital for health professionals to acknowledge that the same ethical and legal standards apply both online and offline, and that they are accountable to professional bodies and the law for their online activities. This article seeks to explore the ethical and legal pitfalls facing health professionals using social media platforms. Importantly, it seeks to create awareness about the cyberpsychology phenomenon called the 'online disinhibition effect', responsible for lowering restraint during online activities.

Development of a System Model for Determining Optimal Personnel Interaction Strategy in a Production Industry

Manufacturing organizations have become more complex in recent time as a result of technological advances. Communication among production workers operating in an environment marked by increased organizational complexity may require planning for the economically appropriate selection of network channels/media with enhanced productivity. This paper examines traditional and modern communication channels (media) and their comparative advantages over one another in their adoption in manufacturing organizations. In this framework, six media (human messengers, mobile-phones, intranet, fixed-internet, mobile-internet, and private branch exchange [PBX] phone systems) were subjected to analyses using five identified network patterns (all-channel, chain, Y, wheel, and circle) of interactions in manufacturing organizations. Costs, benefits, and the utility of the channels were integrated into the model and utilized to determine the most sustainable media that could enhance productivity in industry. The developed model was implemented using expert data/information collected from the plastic production industry. The results of an availability assessment showed that the enhancement of productivity could be fully achieved by utilizing mobile phones and internet networks, but when considering overall utility, only mobile phones could bring about the desired productivity with 0.59 probability. The findings suggest that the system developed is robust in revealing how productivity might be affected by means of communication among industrial workers.

Qualitative Research to Design Sustainable Community-Based Surveillance for Rabies in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Given the proximity and recent spread of rabies in Indonesia, effective rabies surveillance in dogs is a priority in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Reporting of potential cases requires community engagement; therefore, the value and acceptability of such a system is critical to ensure sustainable surveillance. We used qualitative research methods to identify factors that influence the acceptability and value of community-based rabies surveillance. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with informants in 16 communities in East Arnhem, the Northern Peninsula Area, the Torres Strait in Australia, and in Western Province, PNG. Thematic analysis identified common themes including the importance of verbal communication, particularly via radio, community meetings, and direct conversation. We also found that dogs have high value to community members through connection to culture, economic (especially hunting), and companionship. The greatest barrier to the reporting of sick dogs was insufficient veterinary services and the subsequent lack of treatment response. In some regions, acceptance that sick dogs are a normal daily occurrence and lack of trust of authorities were also barriers to reporting. The findings from this study will be used to design sustainable rabies surveillance in Northern Australia and PNG by utilizing traditional communication channels and building on existing and valued animal-management services. The methods and findings of this study complement previous quantitative research, so as to target surveillance to high-risk areas within these regions.

Investorss Attention and Social Media: Evidence from Innovative SMEs

In this study focused on innovative Small and Medium Entities (SMEs), I investigate the impact of social media (i.e., Twitter and Facebook) information on investors’ attention. Given that investors’ attention is a scarce resource, social media disclosure can play an important role in increasing the saliency of a stock during earnings announcement. It allows managers to directly communicate to investors with low direct costs and without intermediaries. This new communication method is particularly relevant for innovative SMEs since they operate in a complex and uncertain environment, which is also characterized by a lack of media coverage. At the same time, this type of firm is often criticized for providing opaque and scarce information to outsiders, through traditional public communication channels. Moreover, it is still an open question whether investors pay attention to news conveyed through social media, especially concerning firms with little visibility. I examine SMEs listed on the AIM London stock exchange, an exchange for firms of smaller size, over the 2007-2015 period. I show that the presence on social media and the disclosure of financial information lead to higher investors’ attention. Social media communication also affects stock prices, leading innovative SMEs to strategically use social media. I document that innovative SMEs communicate more on social media when they are about to disclose bad news. This paper contributes to the literature on investors’ attention, on the burgeoning discussion around new channels of communication and their relevance for firms with low visibility and to the debate over the demand for additional information to innovative firms of smaller size.

From Campfire to Classroom: An Application of Talking Circles and Storytelling in Hospitality Management Education

ABSTRACTNative American Indians have used Talking Circles and storytelling as the foundation of oral tradition for thousands of years. In this research note, I describe how Talking Circles were used to encourage safe communication to produce a community based on sharing and empathy. Storytelling helps people solve problems, explain concepts, and marry past experience with future decisions. This research note examines one practical application of Talking Circles and storytelling in a hospitality management communications course as well as how this practice could be used in other hospitality courses at the same institution through traditional or digital communication channels. Although Talking Circles and storytelling are ancient communication rituals, they are being implemented today through digital means such as online courses, social media, and the Internet. Digital technology may encourage new forms of Talking Circles and storytelling that could be used to create collaborative communication platforms for positive social change.

Tecnologias da informação e comunicação na promoção de empreendimentos locais nas comunidades tradicionais caiçaras de Ilhabela (SP)

A presença dos destinos turísticos na Internet torna-se imperativo para a obtenção de visibilidade em um cenário de comunicação global. No Brasil, em decorrência das dificuldades de infraestrutura em áreas remotas, a falta de acesso à rede pode significar um novo limitador ao avanço e desenvolvimento do Turismo de Base Comunitária (TBC). Nesse contexto, apresenta-se uma pesquisa com o objetivo geral de analisar como os canais de comunicação tradicionais e as Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs) podem contribuir para a promoção de iniciativas de TBC nas comunidades tradicionais caiçaras das praias do Bonete e dos Castelhanos, no município de Ilhabela, São Paulo. Trata-se de um estudo de caráter exploratório, baseado em revisão de literatura e pesquisa documental, com aplicação de questionários a proprietários dos empreendimentos de turismo locais. Entre os resultados, ressalta-se a propagação de empreendimentos turísticos de caiçaras em ambas comunidades, porém, quanto ao uso de TICs para o marketing e promoção, a comunidade do Bonete se destaca ao dispor de acesso à Internet, fundamental para contatar turistas via Facebook, WhatsApp e e-mail, empoderando a comunidade.

Electronic Communication Channel Use and Health Information Source Preferences Among Latinos in Northern Manhattan.

Understanding key health concepts is crucial to participation in Precision Medicine initiatives. In order to assess methods to develop and disseminate a curriculum to educate community members in Northern Manhattan about Precision Medicine, clients from a local community-based organization were interviewed during 2014-2015. Health literacy, acculturation, use of Internet, email, and text messaging, and health information sources were assessed. Associations between age and outcomes were evaluated; multivariable analysis used to examine the relationship between participant characteristics and sources of health information. Of 497 interviewed, 29.4 % had inadequate health literacy and 53.6 % had access to the Internet, 43.9 % to email, and 45.3 % to text messaging. Having adequate health literacy was associated with seeking information from a healthcare professional (OR 2.59, 95 % CI 1.54-4.35) and from the Internet (OR 3.15, 95 % CI 1.97-5.04); having ≤ grade school education (OR 2.61, 95 % CI 1.32-5.17) also preferred information from their provider; persons >45 years (OR 0.29, 95 % CI 0.18-0.47) were less likely to use the Internet for health information and preferred printed media (OR 1.64, 95 % CI 1.07-2.50). Overall, electronic communication channel use was low and varied significantly by age with those ≤45 years more likely to utilize electronic channels. Preferred sources of health information also varied by age as well as by health literacy and educational level. This study demonstrates that to effectively communicate key Precision Medicine concepts, curriculum development for Latino community members of Northern Manhattan will require attention to health literacy, language preference and acculturation and incorporate more traditional communication channels for older community members.

Out with the old, in with the new? Perceptions of social (and other) media by local and regional Norwegian politicians

The role of social media has been studied extensively within a series of national political contexts. However, only few studies have focused on the uses of social media by local or regional politicians. This exploratory study presents results from a survey regarding the professional communication habits of Norwegian local and regional politicians. The main results indicate that while services like Facebook and Twitter have gained considerable popularity among politicians, the bulk of respondents find traditional channels of communication more important. Moreover, while the respondents largely acknowledge the interactive potential of novel services, considerable differences concerning use and adoption can be found among the politicians.

Log in if you survived: Collective coping on social media in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines

This study explores the use of Facebook for collective coping in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded on Earth, which hit the Philippines in November 2013. When traditional communication channels became non-operational, non-traditional information sources and communication platforms, such as Facebook, became salient. Drawing from interviews with 29 individuals from various groups—government officials, local journalists, and residents—this study found three collective coping strategies facilitated by Facebook. First, social media became a platform for survivors to tell their friends and family they survived. Second, social media provided a means for residents to participate in the social construction of their experience. Finally, social media also became a venue for survivors to manage their feelings and memories by documenting—and memorializing—what they experienced and how they are moving on.

Analiza preferencji pacjentów dotyczących e-usług w ochronie zdrowia

The aim of this study is to determine the patients' preferences in relation to implemented healthcare e-services. To measure and evaluate the interests of patients in healthcare e-services the indicator was determined. This indicator was calculated for various age groups basing on the results of survey research (PAPI). E-services were found as an important ingredient of healthcare system by vast majority of respondents except the elderly people who expressed low interest in e-services. Nevertheless, e-services cannot replace the traditional channels of communication which is supposed to remain crucial and still desired. Moreover, the recommendations for healthcare providers were presented.

Agenda Setting for Health Promotion: Exploring an Adapted Model for the Social Media Era.

BackgroundThe foundation of best practice in health promotion is a robust theoretical base that informs design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions that promote the public’s health. This study provides a novel contribution to health promotion through the adaptation of the agenda-setting approach in response to the contribution of social media. This exploration and proposed adaptation is derived from a study that examined the effectiveness of Twitter in influencing agenda setting among users in relation to road traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia.ObjectiveThe proposed adaptations to the agenda-setting model to be explored reflect two levels of engagement: agenda setting within the social media sphere and the position of social media within classic agenda setting. This exploratory research aims to assess the veracity of the proposed adaptations on the basis of the hypotheses developed to test these two levels of engagement.MethodsTo validate the hypotheses, we collected and analyzed data from two primary sources: Twitter activities and Saudi national newspapers. Keyword mentions served as indicators of agenda promotion; for Twitter, interactions were used to measure the process of agenda setting within the platform. The Twitter final dataset comprised 59,046 tweets and 38,066 users who contributed by tweeting, replying, or retweeting. Variables were collected for each tweet and user. In addition, 518 keyword mentions were recorded from six popular Saudi national newspapers.ResultsThe results showed significant ratification of the study hypotheses at both levels of engagement that framed the proposed adaptions. The results indicate that social media facilitates the contribution of individuals in influencing agendas (individual users accounted for 76.29%, 67.79%, and 96.16% of retweet impressions, total impressions, and amplification multipliers, respectively), a component missing from traditional constructions of agenda-setting models. The influence of organizations on agenda setting is also highlighted (in the data of user interactions, organizational accounts registered 17% and 14.74% as source and target of interactions, respectively). In addition, 13 striking similarities showed the relationship between newspapers and Twitter on the mentions trends line.ConclusionsThe effective use of social media platforms in health promotion intervention programs requires new strategies that consider the limitations of traditional communication channels. Conducting research is vital to establishing a strong basis for modifying, designing, and developing new health promotion strategies and approaches.

Monitorare e supportare le carriere universitarie. Un esempio di ricerca-azione

This paper aims to introduce the activities of survey and support of educational careers carried out by the Department of Education, Human Sciences and Intercultural Communication (University of Siena - Arezzo) throughout the academic year 2014-2015. The most substantial outcomes of these activities sprang out of an experimental employ of Facebook. Through the social network, going beyond traditional communication channels (e-mail, telephone), the university tutors got in touch with many students about to drop out of their course of studies and gave them all the necessary support to get back and conclude their educational career.

49er Alerts: Utilizing Mobile Marketing Technology for Library Outreach

The increase in smartphone ownership presents new opportunities for libraries to reach their users beyond traditional communication channels. This article describes a grant-funded project to design and develop a smartphone application to enhance library outreach activities at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's J. Murrey Atkins Library. Adapting strategies commonly used by retailers in proximity marketing, the application utilizes technologies such as Bluetooth and iBeacon to deliver information about resources and services directly to mobile devices when users enter the library. The authors describe the project's initial development process and offer future directions for mobile marketing technology in libraries.