Traditional Information Channels Research Articles

Determinants of Institutionalized Political Participation in Elderly Women

This study explores the factors affecting elderly women's institutional political participation. The inverse relationship between economic status and participation may be attributed to poverty constraining the political engagement capabilities of elderly women, while traditional media, especially television, enhances it by providing easily accessible information resources. In contrast, new media shows minimal influence, hinting at a generational digital divide or preference for traditional information channels. Surprisingly, close social circles, notably neighbors and friends, deter participation, possibly reflecting deep-rooted norms or localized echo chambers. These findings highlight the complex interplay of factors shaping political engagement among elderly women and suggest a need for tailored strategies to promote their active involvement in institutional politics.

Civilizational destruction into digital reality

The article makes another analytical attempt, characteristic of the traditional social and humanitarian sciences, to analyze the destructive and rejecting trends in the existence of a modern civilizational system. Alarming expectations and the civilizational fracture of recent years expressed by global epidemic challenges, the revival of theories of racial superiority, state terrorism and multicultural deadlock. The leading technological states and transnational corporations are planning another supranational redistribution of natural resources, the rejection of traditional resources and new controversial concepts such as «green economy» are being introduced into the consciousness of people and «new ecology». The global Internet has become a battleground for the human brain of the new technological era. Strong military blocs and technological states are waging information wars in traditional information channels such as television and radio and Internet networks, using methods of cognitive psychology, introducing methods of conducting hidden proxy wars. The modern multidimensional world, which reflected the long evolutionary history of mankind with the rise and fall with the development of cultures and technologies, faced the problem of a tragic civilizational rift.

Model Construction of Urban Public Sports Service System under the Background of Information Technology

The planning and construction of urban public sports are an indispensable guarantee condition for implementing the national fitness plan, further improving the national physique and health status and improving the overall quality of the Chinese nation. With the improvement of Internet technology and various information technologies, urban public sports still publish service information such as consultation and competition through traditional information channels. The distribution channel is relatively single, the degree of informatization is not high, and the level of consulting service is low. In this paper, the model construction of urban public sports service system is studied under the background of information technology. During the period of frequency 30-40, on average, 26.8% of urban residents have participated in various sports training services; during the period of frequency 50-60, 28.6% have received professional fitness guidance services; and during the period of frequency 70-80, 27.5% have participated in professional exercise planning services. Through the model of urban public sports service system built under the background of information technology, the spread range is expanded, and the fixed participants are gradually formed. In this respect, we also enjoy the “technology dividend” of the popularity of network information technology and smart phones, which makes online booking service easier for the audience to use. We should pay attention to the diversified development of public sports service subjects, provide diversified public sports services, actively understand public sports demand, and penetrate the residents’ demand expression mechanism, so as to promote the public sports service system to form a structural state of benign interaction, joint participation, and dynamic communication.

Research into the Innovation of the Intercultural Communication Mode of Chinese Culture in the Context of Media Integration

With the rapid development of China's social economy and the accelerated change of information and communication media technology, the integration and interaction of diversified thoughts at home and abroad tend to be frequent. Chinese culture urgently needs to further strengthen the means and intensity of communication. In the new communication environment where multi-media communication tends to be integrated, it is necessary to break the conventional ideas of traditional information channels, explore more effective, innovative and practical ways of Chinese culture communication, and transfer more excellent Chinese culture through more diversified information channels. Therefore, under the guidance of media integration and information dissemination, based on the perspective of intercultural communication research of Chinese culture, this study further analyzes the driving role of media integration in the intercultural communication of Chinese culture, and provides a new way of external communication for intercultural communication of Chinese culture.

Impact of information seeking, disaster preparedness and typhoon emergency response on perceived community resilience in Hong Kong

Gentrification and urban development in coastal megacities have increased community resilience due to better physical and socioeconomic conditions to cope with natural hazards. However, perceived community resilience, namely public belief regarding the ability of society to recover, is under-researched. In particular, specific pathways between information seeking and perceived community resilience during extreme storm events are rarely discussed. Therefore, this study applied structural equation modelling to examine the associations between the use of traditional and new information channels in typhoon-related information seeking and individual perceived community resilience, with disaster preparedness and typhoon emergency response as mediators. This analysis was based on a population-based cohort (n = 1015) and the Cantonese version of the Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure (CCRAM-10). Generally, CCRAM-10 and four of the five sub-dimensions were rated lower than average, although 89.8% of the respondents used at least two channels to acquire typhoon-related information. Direct associations were found between the use of traditional information channels (e.g., television) and greater perceived community resilience (β = 0.096; SE = 0.035), and two indirect associations were found via individual disaster preparedness behaviours and typhoon emergency response behaviours. However, we found only indirect associations between the use of new information channels (e.g., social media) and greater perceived community resilience via individual and household disaster preparedness behaviours. These associations suggest that community-based programmes should consider improving perceived community resilience by making more information-seeking channels available for residents. To increase urban resilience in coastal areas, new information channels should also be synergised with both top-down and bottom-up typhoon-related information as well as physical and socioeconomic conditions of the urban environment for urban governance and community-based disaster management.

Why Do We Buy Traditional Foods?

ABSTRACTConsumer behavior toward traditional specialties varies according to the cultural context of consumption. It thus becomes crucial to develop marketing strategies that target segments with different levels of familiarity with food. Our article purposes to analyze the purchase drivers of traditional foods known to consumers because of their reiterated consumption. The importance of the product’s attributes, the purchasing motivations, and the information channels are studied by applying the CUB model, which utilizes a probabilistic structure that simulates the individual’s psychological mechanism in adopting a choice of preference. The case study is that of extra-virgin olive oil in Italy, where this product is a fundamental element of the culinary tradition. The results show that in the ambit of traditional specialties, in contexts of elevated familiarity, the traditional information channels of marketing are less effective and call for strategies based on a more direct connection between consumer and producer.

Consumers' behaviors and concerns on fresh vegetable purchase and safety in Beijing urban areas, China

Many studies have measured the perceptions of consumers on different aspects of food safety but only a limited number of studies focused on consumer's perception of vegetable safety risks in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate consumers' behaviors and concerns on vegetable purchase and safety in Beijing urban areas. It identified the factors influencing consumers' behaviors on vegetable purchase, safety and information channel with different demographic groups of consumers. A total 590 of valid questionnaires were collected in this study in January, 2015. The participants of 352 female and 238 male were consumers shopping at the supermarkets in Beijing urban areas. Results indicated that consumers intended to choose their trusted purchasing places to purchase vegetables, and their perceptions of “freshness” (m = 4.61, sd. = 0.78) and “pesticide residues” (m = 4.57, sd. = 0.95) were the top concerns. Female and senior consumers were more concerned about vegetable safety. Consumers who purchase vegetables frequently were more likely to pay attention to food safety and quality than the ones who have never brought vegetables. Consumers used different information channels to get vegetable knowledge. Most consumers used traditional information channels such as TV and broadcasting, while young and well-educated consumers relied more on internet. The findings suggested that some safety control measures need to be taken through the vegetable supply chain to reduce the hazards and ensure vegetable safety, which would help to establish or rebuild consumers' trusts on vegetable safety.

The Relationship Between Use of the Internet and Traditional Information Sources

This study examines how the spread of the Internet has affected Japanese people’s information acquisition from traditional media or via traditional information channels. In particular, this study focuses on displacement and complementary effects and on devices for Internet access. Using representative data from Japan ( N = 1,179), the results show that Internet use via mobile phone has complementary effects on information acquisition from traditional media, while Internet use via personal computers does not. In addition, the results show that Internet use via personal computers has a displacement effect on information acquisition from radio. These findings are discussed with regard to communication means, social contexts, and media interfaces.

Crisis Management in Social Media and Digital Age: Recall Problem and Challenges to Toyota

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter have added new meaning to spreading news and information. While the traditional information channels such as newspapers, radios, and TV, are one-way mediums, the dawn of the Internet and social media have made communication a two-way extravaganza. The lack of any official control, supervision, or regulation has fueled a social media frenzy, which has proved to be a very effective method of rallying around a mass on any significant or even not so significant issue. The recent banning of Facebook, and others alike, by certain governments is proof that social media cannot be ignored. Though authoritarian governments can resort to such drastic methods, public corporations cannot afford to do so. Corporations have no other way than to live with social media phenomenon -- either countering effectively, when a crisis starts brewing or suffering the consequences when it grows out of proportions.Under this light, it is interesting to explore how the recall-troubled Toyota has handled the social media and what options are available for Toyota in order to prevent the situation go out of control and harming the worldwide reputation it has strenuously built over the decades as a top quality auto maker.Toyota’s recall has exposed a bit of “digitization in automobile” industry as well. The digital technology in music and video industry, along with its exploitation by Apple using Internet and social media, basically pushed the old industry heavyweight Sony to the sideline. Could the same thing happen to Toyota? Can a new comer exploit the digitization in automobile, in conjunction with Internet and social media, to dethrone an established giant such as Toyota?

Consumer Search in High Technology Markets: Exploring the Use of Traditional Information Channels

Consumer Search in High Technology Markets: Exploring the Use of Traditional Information Channels

An evaluation of the information needs and practices of part‐time and distance‐learning students in the context of educational and social change through lifelong learning

The information needs and practices of part‐time and distancelearning students in higher education (HE) in the UK outside the Open University (OU) have been evaluated. In recent years, the government has pointed out the importance of individuals engaging in lifelong learning initiatives, in order to remain competitive in a globalised economy which draws increasingly on cumulative knowledge creation. In response, the HE sector in the UK offers a growing number of its programmes on a part‐time and/or distance‐learning basis for students who can remain in full‐ or part‐time employment while studying for their qualifications. We trace the history of adult education with its corresponding study modes, and set the experience of students within the wider framework of educational change in the information society. We distributed a questionnaire and conducted telephone and face‐to‐face interviews with a substantial sample of part‐time and distance learners. Based on our research findings, we question whether the information‐gathering practices of part‐time and distance‐learning students best reflect the pedagogical concept of lifelong learning. Our results show that university libraries considered in our sample often do not cater for the specialised needs of part‐time and distance learners, which leads to an increasing use of the Internet and employer resources as a substitute for traditional information channels. Students have major problems coping with the complexity of the WWW, and we make recommendations on how to improve existing information services in HE.

Measuring worldwide connectivity: Expansion of the internet

The media have focused a great deal of attention on the Internet in the United States, but what is the status of connectivity outside the United States? The Human Development Index (HDI) created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 174 countries by human development status, e.g., average life expectancy, GDP per capita, and adult literacy. Since 1991, Larry Landweber, a member of the Internet Society (ISO), has tracked the growth of Internet connectivity worldwide and made this information available via the Internet. Landweber's list is converted into high, medium, and low HDI rankings in order to note the growth of Internet connectivity for 174 countries during the past five years. Additionally, international media reports translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) are examined to track discussion of telecommunications or Internet expansion. FBIS citations show substantial coverage of telecommunications development and satellite projects in Asia and the Pacific, and Oceania. It is only within the last two years that the Internet has surfaced in international news reports. FBIS reports also reveal that foreign government officials are confronted with their inability to regulate the Internet. One example involves dissident groups circumventing traditional information channels to broadcast opposing views.