Indicators of Youth Social Capital: The Case for Not Using Adult Indicators in the Measurement of Youth Social Capital

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Billett, Paulina

2012-01-01

Social capital is a difficult concept to define, and the task of defining the social capital of youth is even more complicated. The concept has not only been poorly researched but is also imperfectly understood. This article examines the problems faced in the use of adult indicators in youth social capital research and explores current…

Identifying novel drug indications through automated reasoning.

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Luis Tari

Full Text Available With the large amount of pharmacological and biological knowledge available in literature, finding novel drug indications for existing drugs using in silico approaches has become increasingly feasible. Typical literature-based approaches generate new hypotheses in the form of protein-protein interactions networks by means of linking concepts based on their cooccurrences within abstracts. However, this kind of approaches tends to generate too many hypotheses, and identifying new drug indications from large networks can be a time-consuming process.In this work, we developed a method that acquires the necessary facts from literature and knowledge bases, and identifies new drug indications through automated reasoning. This is achieved by encoding the molecular effects caused by drug-target interactions and links to various diseases and drug mechanism as domain knowledge in AnsProlog, a declarative language that is useful for automated reasoning, including reasoning with incomplete information. Unlike other literature-based approaches, our approach is more fine-grained, especially in identifying indirect relationships for drug indications.To evaluate the capability of our approach in inferring novel drug indications, we applied our method to 943 drugs from DrugBank and asked if any of these drugs have potential anti-cancer activities based on information on their targets and molecular interaction types alone. A total of 507 drugs were found to have the potential to be used for cancer treatments. Among the potential anti-cancer drugs, 67 out of 81 drugs (a recall of 82.7% are indeed known cancer drugs. In addition, 144 out of 289 drugs (a recall of 49.8% are non-cancer drugs that are currently tested in clinical trials for cancer treatments. These results suggest that our method is able to infer drug indications (original or alternative based on their molecular targets and interactions alone and has the potential to discover novel drug indications for

Measuring corporate social responsibility using composite indices: Mission impossible? The case of the electricity utility industry

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Juan Diego Paredes-Gazquez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Corporate social responsibility is a multidimensional concept that is often measured using diverse indicators. Composite indices can aggregate these single indicators into one measurement. This article aims to identify the key challenges in constructing a composite index for measuring corporate social responsibility. The process is illustrated by the construction of a composite index for measuring social outcomes in the electricity utility industry. The sample consisted of seventy-four companies from twenty-three different countries, and one special administrative region operating in the industry in 2011. The findings show that (1 the unavailability of information about corporate social responsibility, (2 the particular characteristics of this information and (3 the weighting of indicators are the main obstacles when constructing the composite index. We highlight than an effective composite index should has a clear objective, a solid theoretical background and a robust structure. In a practical sense, it should be reconsidered how researchers use composite indexes to measure corporate social responsibility, as more transparency and stringency is needed when constructing these tools.

Identifying Value Indicators and Social Capital in Community Health Partnerships

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Hausman, Alice J.; Becker, Julie; Brawer, Rickie

2005-01-01

Increasingly, public health practice is turning to the application of community collaborative models to improve population health status. Despite the growth of these activities, however, evaluations of the national demonstrations have indicated that community health partnerships fail to achieve measurable results and struggle to maintain integrity…

Identifying the new Influencers in the Internet Era: Social Media and Social Network Analysis

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MIGUEL DEL FRESNO GARCÍA

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Social media influencers (SMIs can be defined as a new type of independent actor who are able to shape audience attitudes through the use of social media channels in competition and coexistence with professional media. Being able to accurately identify SMIs is critical no matter what is being transmitted in a social system. Social Network Analysis (SNA has been recognized as a powerful tool for representing social network structures and information dissemination. SMIs can be identifi ed by their high-ranking position in a network as the most important or central nodes. The results reveal the existence of three different typologies of SMIs: disseminator, engager and leader. This methodology permits the optimization of resources to create effective online communication strategies.

Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion.

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Calo-Blanco, Aitor; Kovářík, Jaromír; Mengel, Friederike; Romero, José Gabriel

2017-01-01

Do adversarial environmental conditions create social cohesion? We provide new answers to this question by exploiting spatial and temporal variation in exposure to earthquakes across Chile. Using a variety of methods and controlling for a number of socio-economic variables, we find that exposure to earthquakes has a positive effect on several indicators of social cohesion. Social cohesion increases after a big earthquake and slowly erodes in periods where environmental conditions are less adverse. Our results contribute to the current debate on whether and how environmental conditions shape formal and informal institutions.

A GIS Approach to Identifying Socially and Medically Vulnerable Older Adult Populations in South Florida.

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Hames, Elizabeth; Stoler, Justin; Emrich, Christopher T; Tewary, Sweta; Pandya, Naushira

2017-11-10

We define, map, and analyze geodemographic patterns of socially and medically vulnerable older adults within the tri-county region of South Florida. We apply principal components analysis (PCA) to a set of previously identified indicators of social and medical vulnerability at the census tract level. We create and map age-stratified vulnerability scores using a geographic information system (GIS), and use spatial analysis techniques to identify patterns and interactions between social and medical vulnerability. Key factors contributing to social vulnerability in areas with higher numbers of older adults include age, large household size, and Hispanic ethnicity. Medical vulnerability in these same areas is driven by disease burden, access to emergency cardiac services, availability of nursing home and hospice beds, access to home health care, and available mental health services. Age-dependent areas of social vulnerability emerge in Broward County, whereas age-dependent areas of medical vulnerability emerge in Palm Beach County. Older-adult social and medical vulnerability interact differently throughout the study area. Spatial analysis of older adult social and medical vulnerability using PCA and GIS can help identify age-dependent pockets of vulnerability that are not easily identifiable in a populationwide analysis; improve our understanding of the dynamic spatial organization of health care, health care needs, access to care, and outcomes; and ultimately serve as a tool for health care planning. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Collaborative Learning Indicators as Determinants of Social Well ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nneka Umera-Okeke

AN INTERNATIONAL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, ... This study investigated collaborative learning indicators as predictors of social well- ... acceptance was the strongest predictor of female students' social well-being, followed ... absence of negative conditions and feelings, the result of adjustment and adaptation to.

RANKING OF COMPANIES ACCORDING TO THE INDICATORS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BASED ON SWARA AND ARAS METHODS

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Darjan Karabasevic

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Corporate sector and companies have recognized the importance of implementation of strategy of corporate social responsibility in order to increase the company's image and responsibility towards society and the communities where they operate. Multinational companies in their everyday activities and operations pay more attention to sustainable models of corporate social responsibility. The focus of this paper is to identify the indicators of corporate social responsibility and to rank companies according to the indicators. Proposed framework for evaluation and ranking is based on the SWARA and the ARAS methods. The usability and efficiency of the proposed framework is shown on an illustrative example.

Construction of corporate social performance indicators for Czech manufacturing industry

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Marie Dočekalová

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article aims to map out the level of social performance measurement of Czech companies, i.e. what social performance indicators companies monitor and what information they provide to their stakeholders and to construct alternative corporate social performance indicators. Based on an analysis of 24 corporate voluntary reports and results of an empirical research performed among 79 large companies operating in the manufacturing industry, it was found that companies partially monitor their social performance, but from the perspective of international standards (e.g. Global Reporting Initiative, International Federation of Accountants it is still insufficient. Czech companies usually provide only absolute numbers which disguise real trends and do not allow year on year comparison or comparison with other companies. Czech companies should provide a comprehensive picture of their overall performance, they should not focus only on financial indicators based on accounting data, since it is known that the performance measurement based only on financial and economic performance does not lead to long-term success and sustainability of organizations. Companies should monitor more their impact on society within which they operate. Proposed corporate social performance indicators in a measurable and thus manageable way express social issues.

Community health center provider ability to identify, treat and account for the social determinants of health: a card study.

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Lewis, Joy H; Whelihan, Kate; Navarro, Isaac; Boyle, Kimberly R

2016-08-27

The social determinants of health (SDH) are conditions that shape the overall health of an individual on a continuous basis. As momentum for addressing social factors in primary care settings grows, provider ability to identify, treat and assess these factors remains unknown. Community health centers care for over 20-million of America's highest risk populations. This study at three centers evaluates provider ability to identify, treat and code for the SDH. Investigators utilized a pre-study survey and a card study design to obtain evidence from the point of care. The survey assessed providers' perceptions of the SDH and their ability to address them. Then providers filled out one anonymous card per patient on four assigned days over a 4-week period, documenting social factors observed during encounters. The cards allowed providers to indicate if they were able to: provide counseling or other interventions, enter a diagnosis code and enter a billing code for identified factors. The results of the survey indicate providers were familiar with the SDH and were comfortable identifying social factors at the point of care. A total of 747 cards were completed. 1584 factors were identified and 31 % were reported as having a service provided. However, only 1.2 % of factors were associated with a billing code and 6.8 % received a diagnosis code. An obvious discrepancy exists between the number of identifiable social factors, provider ability to address them and documentation with billing and diagnosis codes. This disparity could be related to provider inability to code for social factors and bill for related time and services. Health care organizations should seek to implement procedures to document and monitor social factors and actions taken to address them. Results of this study suggest simple methods of identification may be sufficient. The addition of searchable codes and reimbursements may improve the way social factors are addressed for individuals and populations.

Measurability of Social Development. Reflections on the Applicability of Social Progress Indices with Reference to Brexit

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Ivanyos János

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The question is how the global and local economic actors’ innovation-based local social and environmental objectives and results can modify the social cohesion strategies, how the disparities in economic and social development can be measured and evaluated at regional level in addition to a comparison across countries. We have seen that any one indicator in itself is not enough since it does not provide sufficient explanation for either the development disparities or their reasons. Anyway, in addition to GDP per capita, it is worth applying - and it is important to apply - such indicators as SPI and Well-Being, and various indices of social progress.

Mixed Messages: How Primary Agents of Socialization Influence Adolescent Females Who Identify as Multiracial-Bisexual

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King, Alissa R.

2013-01-01

The goals of this study were to highlight the often stigmatized and invisible identities of six female participants who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual, focusing on the pre-college context. Findings, using in-depth interviews, indicated that the primary socializing agents within the pre-college context strongly influenced…

Criterion IV: Social and economic indicators of rangeland sustainability (Chapter 5)

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Daniel W. McCollum; Louis E. Swanson; John A. Tanaka; Mark W. Brunson; Aaron J. Harp; L. Allen Torell; H. Theodore Heintz

2010-01-01

Social and economic systems provide the context and rationale for rangeland management. Sustaining rangeland ecosystems requires attention to the social and economic conditions that accompany the functioning of those systems. We present and discuss economic and social indicators for rangeland sustainability. A brief conceptual basis for each indicator is offered,...

The social accountability of medical schools and its indicators.

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Boelen, Charles; Dharamsi, Shafik; Gibbs, Trevor

2012-01-01

There is growing interest worldwide in social accountability for medical and other health professional schools. Attempts have been made to apply the concept primarily to educational reform initiatives with limited concern towards transforming an entire institution to commit and assess its education, research and service delivery missions to better meet priority health needs in society for an efficient, equitable an sustainable health system. In this paper, we clarify the concept of social accountability in relation to responsibility and responsiveness by providing practical examples of its application; and we expand on a previously described conceptual model of social accountability (the CPU model), by further delineating the parameters composing the model and providing examples on how to translate them into meaningful indicators. The clarification of concepts of social responsibility, responsiveness and accountability and the examples provided in designing indicators may help medical schools and other health professional schools in crafting their own benchmarks to assess progress towards social accountability within the context of their particular environment.

Identifying Witness Accounts from Social Media Using Imagery

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Marie Truelove

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This research investigates the use of image category classification to distinguish images posted to social media that are Witness Accounts of an event. Only images depicting observations of the event, captured by micro-bloggers at the event, are considered Witness Accounts. Identifying Witness Accounts from social media is important for services such as news, marketing and emergency response. Automated image category classification is essential due to the large number of images on social media and interest in identifying witnesses in near real time. This paper begins research of this emerging problem with an established procedure, using a bag-of-words method to create a vocabulary of visual words and classifier trained to categorize the encoded images. In order to test the procedure, a set of images were collected for case study events, Australian Football League matches, from Twitter. Evaluation shows an overall accuracy of 90% and precision and recall for both classes exceeding 83%.

Game Theory: The Nash Equilibrium Point Identification In Bi-Matrix Games Of Economic And Social Indicators

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Fernanda Kreuzberg

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Currently companies have to think about its management system to meet not only their economic interests but also their social interests aiming at the activities’ sustainability and longevity. In this research, the goal is to identify the Nash equilibrium point in the bi-matrix game of economic and social indicators of the companies of Public Utilities sector listed on the BM & FBovespa. The research was conducted with a sample of 26 companies. To evaluate the economic performance it was used the profitability and market indicators; for evaluating the social performance, it was used the indicators derived from the VAD (Value Added Statement. In the estimation of earnings among indicators, it was used the standard parameters of the multiple linear regression. The obtained results highlighted the existence of at least one point of equilibrium for the years analyzed and, especially in the models, two points of equilibrium were proposed for 2009 and 2011 and three for 2010. It is noteworthy that, in the proposed model it was confirmed the hypothesis of the existence of at least one point of equilibrium. Thus, it was possible to meet the research objective, namely, that it is possible to meet both economic aspects and the social aspects of the companies when the indicators are taken as basic information.

SOCIAL MEASUREMENT OF YOUTH’S HEALTH: DESIGNING OF INDICATORS OF COMPLEX SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

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Vitalii Valeriyevich Kulish

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The article is devoted to solving the problem of social measurement of modern youth’s health. The subject of the analysis is the content of the concept, characteristics and indicators of the social health of young people, which enable using sociological research’ methods to measure a given status of the younger generation in contemporary Russian society. The purpose of this work is to define the theoretical and methodological foundations of the sociological analysis of the young people social health and to substantiate its main indicators in the tools of complex sociological research. Methodology of the study. The basis of the research is formed by the system approach, the complex approach, the logical-conceptual method and general scientific methods of research: comparative analysis, system analysis, construction of social indicators, modeling. Results. The social health of young people is defined through the category “status” and is considered as an integrated indicator of the social quality of the younger generation. It is substantiated that the social health of youth is a status of socio-demographic community in which it is able not only to adapt to the changing conditions of the social environment but is also ready to transform actively the surrounding reality, having the potential to resist destructive social phenomena and processes. The main indicators that allow measuring the social health of young people by sociological methods are determined: adaptability in the social environment, social activity in all spheres of public life, social orientation and significance of activity, behavior regulativity by social norms and universal values, creativity of thinking and behavior, readiness for social integration and self-development. A system of social indicators and indicators for conducting a sociological study of social health in historical memory, value orientations and everyday practices of young people has been developed.

Identifying the Enemy: Social Categorization and National Security Policy

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Unsworth, Kristene

2010-01-01

This dissertation seeks to understand the interplay between informal articulations of social categories and formal instantiations of those categories in official language. Specifically, it explores the process of social categorization as it is used to identify threats to national security. The research employed a qualitative, document-based,…

Adding Natural Areas to Social Indicators of Intra-Urban Health Inequalities among Children: A Case Study from Berlin, Germany.

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Kabisch, Nadja; Haase, Dagmar; Annerstedt van den Bosch, Matilda

2016-08-04

Research suggests that there is a relationship between the health of urban populations and the availability of green and water spaces in their daily environment. In this paper, we analyze the potential intra-urban relationships between children's health determinants and outcomes and natural areas in Berlin, Germany. In particular, health indicators such as deficits in viso-motoric development in children are related to environmental indicators such as the natural area cover, natural area per capita and distance to natural areas; however, these indicators are also correlated with social determinants of health. The methodological approach used in this study included bivariate and multivariate analyses to explore the relations between health inequalities and social, socio-economic, and land use parameters. The results on a sub-district level indicated that there was a correlation between natural areas and social health determinants, both of which displayed a certain intra-urban spatial pattern. In particular, a lower percentage of natural area cover was correlated with deficits in viso-motoric development. However, results with percentage of natural area cover and per capita natural area with childhood overweight were not conclusive. No significant correlation was found for percentage of natural area cover and overweight, while significant negative correlation values were found between overweight and per capita natural area. This was identified particularly in the districts that had lower social conditions. On the other hand, the districts with the highest social conditions had the comparatively lowest levels of complete measles immunization. This study may facilitate public health work by identifying the urban areas in which the strengthening of health resources and actions should be prioritized and also calls for the inclusion of natural areas among the social health indicators included in intra-urban health inequality tools.

Identifying critical thinking indicators and critical thinker attributes in nursing practice.

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Chao, Shu-Yuan; Liu, Hsing-Yuan; Wu, Ming-Chang; Clark, Mary Jo; Tan, Jung-Ying

2013-09-01

Critical thinking is an essential skill in the nursing process. Although several studies have evaluated the critical thinking skills of nurses, there is limited information related to the indicators of critical thinking or evaluation of critical thinking in the context of the nursing process. This study investigated the potential indicators of critical thinking and the attributes of critical thinkers in clinical nursing practice. Knowledge of these indicators can aid the development of tools to assess nursing students' critical thinking skills. The study was conducted between September 2009 and August 2010. In phase 1, a literature review and four focus groups were conducted to identify the indicators of critical thinking in the context of nursing and the attributes of critical thinkers. In phase 2, 30 nursing professionals participated in a modified Delphi research survey to establish consensus and the appropriateness of each indicator and attribute identified in phase 1. We identified 37 indicators of critical thinking and 10 attributes of critical thinkers. The indicators were categorized into five subscales within the context of the nursing process toreflect nursing clinical practice: assessment, 16 indicators of ability to apply professional knowledge and skills to analyze and interpret patient problems; diagnosis, five indicators of ability to propose preliminary suppositions; planning, five indicators of ability to develop problem-solving strategies; implementation, five indicators of ability to implement planning; and evaluation, six indicators of ability to self-assess and reflect. The study operationalized critical thinking into a practical indicator suitable for nursing contexts in which critical thinking is required for clinical problem solving. Identified indicators and attributes can assist clinical instructors to evaluate student critical thought skills and development-related teaching strategies.

Evaluating social outcomes of HIV/AIDS interventions: a critical assessment of contemporary indicator frameworks.

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Mannell, Jenevieve; Cornish, Flora; Russell, Jill

2014-01-01

Contemporary HIV-related theory and policy emphasize the importance of addressing the social drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability for a long-term response. Consequently, increasing attention is being given to social and structural interventions, and to social outcomes of HIV interventions. Appropriate indicators for social outcomes are needed in order to institutionalize the commitment to addressing social outcomes. This paper critically assesses the current state of social indicators within international HIV/AIDS monitoring and evaluation frameworks. We analyzed the indicator frameworks of six international organizations involved in efforts to improve and synchronize the monitoring and evaluation of the HIV/AIDS response. Our analysis classifies the 328 unique indicators according to what they measure and assesses the degree to which they offer comprehensive measurement across three dimensions: domains of the social context, levels of change and organizational capacity. The majority of indicators focus on individual-level (clinical and behavioural) interventions and outcomes, neglecting structural interventions, community interventions and social outcomes (e.g. stigma reduction; community capacity building; policy-maker sensitization). The main tool used to address social aspects of HIV/AIDS is the disaggregation of data by social group. This raises three main limitations. Indicator frameworks do not provide comprehensive coverage of the diverse social drivers of the epidemic, particularly neglecting criminalization, stigma, discrimination and gender norms. There is a dearth of indicators for evaluating the social impacts of HIV interventions. Indicators of organizational capacity focus on capacity to effectively deliver and manage clinical services, neglecting capacity to respond appropriately and sustainably to complex social contexts. Current indicator frameworks cannot adequately assess the social outcomes of HIV interventions. This limits knowledge about

Collective Trust: A Social Indicator of Instructional Capacity

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Adams, Curt M.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the validity of using collective trust as a social indicator of instructional capacity. Design/methodology/approach: A hypothesized model was advanced for the empirical investigation. Collective trust was specified as a latent construct with observable indicators being principal trust in faculty (PTF),…

Market efficiency of traditional stock market indices and social responsible indices: the role of sustainability reporting

OpenAIRE

Henry Mynhardt; Inna Makarenko; Alex Plastun

2017-01-01

Corporate social responsibility, disclosed in sustainability reporting, influences the financial performance of companies. As a result, traditional stock market indices (TI) are expanded with the social responsible stock market indices (SRI). The aim of this study was to establish whether there are any differences in the behavior of the TI and SRI. To do this, the authors analyzed their efficiency. They used R/S analysis to calculate the Hurst exponent as a measure of persistence (long-term m...

Urban liveability: emerging lessons from Australia for exploring the potential for indicators to measure the social determinants of health.

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Badland, Hannah; Whitzman, Carolyn; Lowe, Melanie; Davern, Melanie; Aye, Lu; Butterworth, Iain; Hes, Dominique; Giles-Corti, Billie

2014-06-01

It has long been recognised that urban form impacts on health outcomes and their determinants. There is growing interest in creating indicators of liveability to measure progress towards achieving a wide range of policy outcomes, including enhanced health and wellbeing, and reduced inequalities. This review aimed to: 1) bring together the concepts of urban 'liveability' and social determinants of health; 2) synthesise the various liveability indicators developed to date; and 3) assess their quality using a health and wellbeing lens. Between 2011 and 2013, the research team reviewed 114 international academic and policy documents, as well as reports related to urban liveability. Overall, 233 indicators were found. Of these, 61 indicators were regarded as promising, 57 indicators needed further development, and 115 indicators were not useful for our purposes. Eleven domains of liveability were identified that likely contribute to health and wellbeing through the social determinants of health. These were: crime and safety; education; employment and income; health and social services; housing; leisure and culture; local food and other goods; natural environment; public open space; transport; and social cohesion and local democracy. Many of the indicators came from Australian sources; however most remain relevant from a 'global north' perspective. Although many indicators were identified, there was inconsistency in how these domains were measured. Few have been validated to assess their association with health and wellbeing outcomes, and little information was provided for how they should be applied to guide urban policy and practice. There is a substantial opportunity to further develop these measures to create a series of robust and evidence-based liveability indices, which could be linked with existing health and wellbeing data to better inform urban planning policies within Australia and beyond. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Performance vs. Financial Performance: CSR Disclosures as an indicator of social performance

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İlker Yılmaz

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, it is gaining more and more dominance in both academic and business life that the company exists for and has responsibilities toward a wider group of stakeholders and it must have some objectives other than profitability. To achieve sustainable development and growth, the companies must assume more duties, which is called the term “corporate social responsibility (CSR.” In the literature, it is questioned whether CSR activities benefit the company or not; whether there is any relationship exists between CSR activities and the company’s financial performance and the direction of the relationship. We aimed to explore that whether there is any effect corporate social performance (CSP on financial performance and position and vice versa. We performed content analysis through annual reports and derived a social score composed of the items included in disclosure guidelines and some criteria used in CSR ratings. We also used several financial position and financial performance indicators. In order to explore the relationship between CSP and financial indicators, we run panel data regressions. We found significant results for some of the indicators, where some of the indicators gave insignificant results. The reporting of CSR activities is in very low levels. The conscious toward CSR and sustainability must be promoted and the companies must assume more active roles. The reporting of those activities is also important.

Identify and analyze the opportunities and threats of social networks for shahid Beheshti University students

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R. Tavalaee

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the growth of information and communication technology in societies Especially among students, the use of these technologies has become as part of regular working people. Social networks as one of the most important and widely in cyberspace which is Used by many people in various fields. application of social network by students as young and educated population is important.In this regard, this study aimed to investigate and identify the opportunities and threats for shahid Beheshti University students in social network. This study aims to develop a practical and descriptive methodology. Information obtained from the questionnaires using SPSS statistical analysis software in two parts: descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed.The results indicate that five variables related to social networking opportunities, including e-learning, leisure, organized social groups, the possibility of dialogue and culture, as well as five variables related to social networking threats, including transfer value unethical, abusive, spreading false information, internet & Communications destructive addiction, has a significant positive effect on students.

SOCIAL INDICATORS FOR EVALUATING SUSTAINABILITY OF GOAT LIVESTOCK FARMS: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

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Francisco de Asís Ruiz Morales

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Currently, sustainability is an objective for any economic activity or development process. Many studies with theoretical reflections relating to the concept of sustainability exist, but few methodological contributions adequately quantify and evaluate the level of sustainability of agraricultural systems, specifically with respect to small ruminant. The level of sustainability of these systems should be estimated taking into account not only economic and environmental aspects, but also social ones. Despite its importance to the functioning of agraricultural systems, the social dimension has been little addressed, and is frequently ignored in studies of this nature. Then, the objective of this study is to carry out methodological reflections based on identification and quantification of social indicators applied to goat livestock farms. Furthermore, this study forms part of a broader comparative study on sustainable development of animal systems in Andalusia (Spain and Chiapas (Mexico, in which economic, environmental, and social indicators are used in an integrated manner. The methodology used to obtain indicators is based on the authors´ knowledge of the functioning of goat livestock systems, focus groups and opinions of experts in the field, and revision of the available bibliography. As a result of the study, we propose a group of indicators made up of several variables based on the logical-mathematical principals of different scales of measurement as well as on multicriteria analysis. The social indicators proposed refer to several themes: i multi-functionality; ii membership in professional associations; iii implication for local life; iv social well-being (quality of life, especially that related to work; and v continuity of the goats livestock activity.

The New Zealand Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A new suite of indicators for social and health research in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

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Exeter, Daniel John; Zhao, Jinfeng; Crengle, Sue; Lee, Arier; Browne, Michael

2017-01-01

For the past 20 years, the New Zealand Deprivation Index (NZDep) has been the universal measure of area-based social circumstances for New Zealand (NZ) and often the key social determinant used in population health and social research. This paper presents the first theoretical and methodological shift in the measurement of area deprivation in New Zealand since the 1990s and describes the development of the New Zealand Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). We briefly describe the development of Data Zones, an intermediary geographical scale, before outlining the development of the New Zealand Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), which uses routine datasets and methods comparable to current international deprivation indices. We identified 28 indicators of deprivation from national health, social development, taxation, education, police databases, geospatial data providers and the 2013 Census, all of which represented seven Domains of deprivation: Employment; Income; Crime; Housing; Health; Education; and Geographical Access. The IMD is the combination of these seven Domains. The Domains may be used individually or in combination, to explore the geography of deprivation and its association with a given health or social outcome. Geographic variations in the distribution of the IMD and its Domains were found among the District Health Boards in NZ, suggesting that factors underpinning overall deprivation are inconsistent across the country. With the exception of the Access Domain, the IMD and its Domains were statistically and moderately-to-strongly associated with both smoking rates and household poverty. The IMD provides a more nuanced view of area deprivation circumstances in Aotearoa NZ. Our vision is for the IMD and the Data Zones to be widely used to inform research, policy and resource allocation projects, providing a better measurement of area deprivation in NZ, improved outcomes for Māori, and a more consistent approach to reporting and monitoring the social

Environmental indicators for buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dammann, Sven

Environmental Indicators for Buildings are studied using two different perspectives: with a technological, environmental scientific departing point and with a social scientific departing point. Different relevant groups in the building sector are identified and analysed, using the Social...

Cognitive indicators of social anxiety in youth: a structural equation analysis.

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Rudy, Brittany M; Davis, Thompson E; Matthews, Russell A

2014-01-01

Previous studies have demonstrated significant relationships among various cognitive variables such as negative cognition, self-efficacy, and social anxiety. Unfortunately, few studies focus on the role of cognition among youth, and researchers often fail to use domain-specific measures when examining cognitive variables. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine domain-specific cognitive variables (i.e., socially oriented negative self-referent cognition and social self-efficacy) and their relationships to social anxiety in children and adolescents using structural equation modeling techniques. A community sample of children and adolescents (n=245; 55.9% female; 83.3% Caucasian, 9.4% African American, 2% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 2% "other," and 1.2% not reported) completed questionnaires assessing social cognition and social anxiety symptomology. Three latent variables were created to examine the constructs of socially oriented negative self-referent cognition (as measured by the SONAS scale), social self-efficacy (as measured by the SEQSS-C), and social anxiety (as measured by the SPAI-C and the Brief SA). The resulting measurement model of latent variables fit the data well. Additionally, consistent with the study hypothesis, results indicated that social self-efficacy likely mediates the relationship between socially oriented negative self-referent cognition and social anxiety, and socially oriented negative self-referent cognition yields significant direct and indirect effects on social anxiety. These findings indicate that socially oriented negative cognitions are associated with youth's beliefs about social abilities and the experience of social anxiety. Future directions for research and study limitations, including use of cross-sectional data, are discussed. © 2013.

Towards identifying Collaborative Learning groups using Social Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selver Softic

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This work reports about the preliminary results and ongoing research based upon profiling collaborative learning groups of persons within the social micro-blogging platforms like Twitter that share potentially common interests on special topic. Hereby the focus is held on spontaneously initiated collaborative learning in Social Media and detection of collaborative learning groups based upon their communication dynamics. Research questions targeted to be answered are: are there any useful data mining algorithms to fulfill the task of pre-selection and clustering of users in social networks, how good do they perform, and what are the metrics that could be used for detection and evaluation in the realm of this task. Basic approach presented here uses as preamble hypothesis that users and their interests in Social Networks can be identified through content generated by them and content they consume. Special focus is held on topic oriented approach as least common bounding point. Those should be also the basic criteria used to detect and outline the learning groups. The aim of this work is to deliver first scientific pre-work for successfully implementation of recommender systems using social network metrics and content features of social network users for the purposes of better learning group communication and information consumption.

Income situation of households as a social status indicator

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Jana Stávková

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The net financial income of households plays a crucial role in assessing their living standard. It determines of which social class they are members and, thus, their social status as well. In order to monitor their income situation, this paper uses survey data of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC. An abundance of identification data, such as economic activity, industrial classification or sector of economic activity, level of education, age, number of household members, place of residence, household type and others, makes it possible to identify factors that demonstrably influence the household income level. On this basis, it is possible not only to determine the commonly available social class definitions using income intervals, but also to identify specific causes affecting household income and, thus, link a particular household to a given social class. The goal of this article is to establish which factors influence the income level of households. The authors of this paper focused on four factors: social group membership, occupation classified according to the national economy sectors, the highest level of education attained by the household leader and their age. To analyse the influence of selected factors including their interaction and impact on the income situation of households, the authors applied the method of analysing variance between groups (ANOVA using STATA statistical software. The Scheffe’s method of contrasts was used to determine specific differences between factor levels.

Collaborative Learning Indicators as Determinants of Social Well ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated collaborative learning indicators as predictors of social well-being among female undergraduates in the University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria. The study employed correlational research design. A sample of 250 female students was randomly selected within Faculty of Education. Three reliable ...

Social Sustainability and Its Indicators through a Disability Studies and an Ability Studies Lens

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Theresa Rybchinski

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The present journal recently stated in the call for a special issue on social sustainability, “[t]hough sustainable development is said to rest on ‘three pillars’, one of these—social sustainability—has received significantly less attention than its bio-physical environmental and economic counterparts”. The current issue promises to engage the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” and the tensions between these different aspects of social sustainability. The aim of the present study is to identify the visibility of disabled people in the academic social sustainability literature, to ascertain the impact and promises of social sustainability indicators put forward in the same literature and to engage especially with the concepts of “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability” through disability studies and ability studies lenses. We report that disabled people are barely covered in the academic social sustainability literature; of the 5165 academic articles investigated only 26 had content related to disabled people and social sustainability. We also conclude that social sustainability indicators evident in the 1909 academic articles with the phrase “social sustainability” in the abstract mostly focused on products and did not reflect yet the goals outlined in the “development sustainability” aspect of social sustainability proposed by Vallance such as basic needs, building social capital, justice and so on. We posit that if the focus within the social sustainability discourse shifts more toward the social that an active presence of disabled people in this discourse is essential to disabled people. We showcase the utility of an ability studies lens to further the development and application of the “development sustainability”, “bridge sustainability” and “maintenance sustainability�

Developing an Indicator System for Measuring the Social Sustainability of Offshore Wind Power Farms

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Tzay-An Shiau

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Taiwan’s government has promoted investment in an offshore wind power farm, and local fishermen have protested. A social impact assessment (SIA has examined the impact of the proposed offshore wind power farm on all stakeholders. The main objective of the present study was to develop an indicator system for measuring the social sustainability of offshore wind power farms; this study also reports on the particular case of Taiwan’s offshore wind power project. This study began by defining 35 social sustainability indicators and selecting 23 representative indicators by using rough set theory. Subsequently, 14 key indicators were constructed using the social construction of technology (SCOT method. Finally, we developed a social impact index for evaluating the social sustainability of offshore wind power farms by using the analytic network process and Dempster-Shafer theory. Our social impact index yields a total score of 0.149 for Taiwan’s pilot offshore wind power project; this result indicates that the pilot project is socially sustainable. A substantial contradiction exists between the fishermen’s protest and the results of the social impact assessment. The findings can assist the government in building a coordination platform for the investors and the fishermen. Government regulation is necessary to set boundaries for fishing areas that protect both the fishermen’s and investors’ rights.

Towards ecosystem-based management: Identifying operational food-web indicators for marine ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tam, Jamie C.; Link, Jason S.; Rossberg, Axel G.

2017-01-01

) are an important aspect of all marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Here we describe and discuss a process to evaluate the selection of operational food-web indicators for use in evaluating marine ecosystem status. This process brought together experts in food-web ecology, marine ecology, and resource management......, to identify available indicators that can be used to inform marine management. Standard evaluation criteria (availability and quality of data, conceptual basis, communicability, relevancy to management) were implemented to identify practical food-web indicators ready for operational use and indicators...... that hold promise for future use in policy and management. The major attributes of the final suite of operational food-web indicators were structure and functioning. Indicators that represent resilience of the marine ecosystem were less developed. Over 60 potential food-web indicators were evaluated...

[Identifying indicators of good practice in clinical and healthcare management].

Science.gov (United States)

Bermúdez Tamayo, C; Olry de Labry Lima, A; García Mochón, L

2018-03-06

To identify good practices in order to develop and implement indicators of health outcomes for clinical and healthcare management, as well as the characteristics for an indicator to be considered adequate. A scoping review was performed, with the following phases: 1) Search and identification of bibliography. 2) Selection of relevant documents. Including those studies that discussed issues related to good practices for the use of health indicators in the management field. Those published in a language other than English or Spanish or before 2006 were excluded. 3) Analysis and extraction of information. 4) Consultation with stakeholders, using a qualitative methodology through Concept Mapping, with the participation of 40 experts (decision-makers, scientific societies, and health professionals). The data collection process included an inductive and structured procedure, with prioritisation of ideas grouped into clusters, according to feasibility and importance criteria (0-10 scale). Good practices identified 2 levels: 1) macro-management: Define a framework for the evaluation of indicators and establish a benchmark of indicators. 2) meso-management: Establish indicators according to evidence and expert consensus, taking into account priority areas and topics, testing before final use, and communicate results adequately. The characteristics of a suitable indicator are: 1) Approach of an important issue, 2) Scientific validity, 3) Possibility of measurement with reliable data, 4) Meaning of useful and applicable measurement, and 5) Wide scope. The best practices for the use of indicators in clinical and healthcare management can make it easier to monitor performance and accountability, as well as to support the decision-making addressed at the development of initiatives for quality improvement. Copyright © 2018 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Identifying and Structuring Values to Guide the Choice of Sustainability Indicators for Tourism Development

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José Alberto Alcántara Maya

2010-09-01

Full Text Available In Mexico, the National Trust for Tourism Promotion (FONATUR needs to lead development of Integrally Planned Tourist Centers (IPC towards sustainability. As the development of these IPCs leads to changes in local communities and their environment, it is necessary to define how to establish a path towards sustainability and how to measure progress towards that goal. The objective of this study is to contribute toward identifying the main stakeholder’s values, defining sustainability indicators at a local level, and to discuss their adequacy in the context of tourism development. The study was performed in a Mexican community facing its probable inclusion in tourism development and special attention was given to the values of stakeholders in defining which objectives to monitor. Using Value-Focused Thinking as a framework, a series of interviews were analyzed and the opinions were organized in a tree of values, encompassing environmental, economic, social and political/institutional aspects. A set of indicators associated with these objectives was subsequently proposed. This information may serve as a guide to design and monitor plans that are more appealing from a sustainability perspective and as an aid in the identification of future information needs.

Identification of Key Indicators for Sustainable Construction Materials

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Humphrey Danso

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Studies on sustainable construction materials are on the rise with their environmental, social, and economic benefits. This study identifies the key indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The design used for the study was that of a survey which relied on a questionnaire with five-point Likert scale to generate data for the analysis. For this purpose, 25 indicators from the three dimensions (environmental, social, and economic identified from the literature were presented to the respondents in a structured questionnaire, and responses were collected and analysed using SPSS. The study identified three key environmental indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials, and these indicators are human toxicity, climate change, and solid waste. Furthermore, adaptability, thermal comfort, local resources, and housing for all were identified as the four key social indicators for sustainable construction materials. In addition, maintenance cost, operational cost, initial cost, long-term savings, and life span were found to be the five key economic indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The study therefore suggests that these twelve indicators should be considered in future studies that seek to measure sustainable construction materials.

Identifying indicators of illegal behaviour: carnivore killing in human-managed landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

St John, Freya A V; Keane, Aidan M; Edwards-Jones, Gareth; Jones, Lauren; Yarnell, Richard W; Jones, Julia P G

2012-02-22

Managing natural resources often depends on influencing people's behaviour, however effectively targeting interventions to discourage environmentally harmful behaviours is challenging because those involved may be unwilling to identify themselves. Non-sensitive indicators of sensitive behaviours are therefore needed. Previous studies have investigated people's attitudes, assuming attitudes reflect behaviour. There has also been interest in using people's estimates of the proportion of their peers involved in sensitive behaviours to identify those involved, since people tend to assume that others behave like themselves. However, there has been little attempt to test the potential of such indicators. We use the randomized response technique (RRT), designed for investigating sensitive behaviours, to estimate the proportion of farmers in north-eastern South Africa killing carnivores, and use a modified logistic regression model to explore relationships between our best estimates of true behaviour (from RRT) and our proposed non-sensitive indicators (including farmers' attitudes, and estimates of peer-behaviour). Farmers' attitudes towards carnivores, question sensitivity and estimates of peers' behaviour, predict the likelihood of farmers killing carnivores. Attitude and estimates of peer-behaviour are useful indicators of involvement in illicit behaviours and may be used to identify groups of people to engage in interventions aimed at changing behaviour.

Stories of Social Class: Self-Identified Mexican Male College Students Crack the Silence

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Jana L.; Donovan, Jody; Guido-DiBrito, Florence

2009-01-01

This study explores the meaning of social class in the lives of five self-identified Mexican male college students. Participants shared the significant influence social class has on their college experience. Intersections of social class and students' Mexican identity are illuminated throughout the findings. Themes include: social class rules and…

Social position and health in old age: the relevance of different indicators of social position

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avlund, Kirsten; Holstein, Bjørn E; Osler, Merete

2003-01-01

for men and women. In men the odds ratios of housing tenure on four health variables were strong and unaffected by education and occupation while in women the odds ratios of income on three health variables were strong and unaffected by education and occupation. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates strong......AIMS: An analysis was undertaken to investigate social inequalities in health among old men and women in relation to five indicators of social position. METHODS: The study is based on a population-based cross-sectional survey among 748 75-year-old men and women, which was performed as clinical......, consistent associations between variables of material wealth indicators and various measures of health among 75-year-old men and women....

New Indicators of the Level of Social Dissatisfaction in the Planning of Social-Economic Development of the Region

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Michel Yurevich Dolomatov

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the urgent problem related to the development of the region, namely, the creation of tools for the assessment of the level of social dissatisfaction in the region. The assessment of the level of social dissatisfaction is one of the most important tasks of state organizations in political and social spheres. The article considers the concept of "social dissatisfaction" and associated terms, it substantiates the author's position on the content of this notion. The authors have investigated the existing national and international approaches to the assessing of social tensions of the population. The system of socio-economic development indicators doesn’t contain indicators allowing to assess the level of social dissatisfaction without the results of public polls. We propose two models in the article. In the first model, the assessment is basedon the single factor (the index of social dissatisfaction based on income differentiation. The second complex model takes into account a number of factors (the index of social dissatisfaction based on complex assessment. For the calculation of the proposed indicators, the authors use the statistical data of the Federal State Statistics Service. The methodological research tools include the mathematical methods of statistical data processing. We have evaluated the methodological tools on the example of the Republic of Ingushetia. The assessment has showed the dynamics of a decline in the level of social-economic dissatisfaction in the region (1995–2011. The models of social dissatisfaction constitute a tool for rapid and up-to-date assessment of socio-economic system sustainability, and of the willingness of the population to participate in protests. The application of the results of this study is the support of decision-making regions and state structures in working out plans of the socio-economic development of the regions.

Identifying and prioritizing the indicators of talent management in recruiting radiology technicians

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Sadegheh Hosseinzadeh Nojedeh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was identifying and prioritizing the indicators of talent management in recruiting the radiology technicians. The sample for the study was drawn randomly from all managers and personnel of the radiology sector in Ardabil public hospitals. Shannon entropy was applied to weighted criteria. In the next stage, for ranking the indicators of talent management, we employed multi-criteria decision-making techniques of TOPSIS method. Eight indicators were identified and prioritized using the TOPSIS method. These indicators are interest, commitment, skill, specialized knowledge, intelligence, the ability to solve the problem or issue, proper treatment with patient, and relationships with colleagues. The findings indicated that recruiting staff that do their work with love and are committed to the organization tend to be effective in improving hospital performance.

Identifying Indicators Related to Constructs for Engineering Design Outcome

Science.gov (United States)

Wilhelmsen, Cheryl A.; Dixon, Raymond A.

2016-01-01

This study ranked constructs articulated by Childress and Rhodes (2008) and identified the key indicators for each construct as a starting point to explore what should be included on an instrument to measure the engineering design process and outcomes of students in high schools that use the PLTW and EbDTM curricula in Idaho. A case-study design…

Association of subjective social status and sociodemographic indicators in athletes

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Kamyla Thais Dias de Freitas

2016-12-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n5p591   Subjective social status comprises the perception of individuals about their social status. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between subjective social status and sociodemographic indicators (age, educational level, marital status and economic level in athletes from Santa Catharina. A total of 593 athletes of both sexes and mean age of 21.18 (± 5.58 years, 371 men, randomly selected, practitioners of individual and collective sport modalities, federated in clubs in the western region of Santa Catarina participated in the study. Social status perception was assessed using the MacArthur scale version for young people adapted to the sports context. For the association between perceived status and sociodemographic indicators, the Chi-square and Multinomial Logistic Regression tests were used, stratified by gender and adjusted for age variables, educational level, marital status and socioeconomic status. Dissatisfaction with status was found in 85% of the sample. Moreover, 46.9% of participants perceived themselves with low family status and 46% perceived themselves with intermediate status in their clubs. The association between groups showed statistically significant differences according to sex, age, educational level and marital status. The association between sociodemographic variables and status according to sex indicated that younger men, with less education, and single were more likely to be dissatisfied with their status. There is need for greater attention by health professionals regarding younger male athletes, with lower education and single regarding their status perception.

Scale indicators of social exchange relationships: a comparison of relative content validity.

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Colquitt, Jason A; Baer, Michael D; Long, David M; Halvorsen-Ganepola, Marie D K

2014-07-01

Although social exchange theory has become one of the most oft-evoked theories in industrial and organizational psychology, there remains no consensus about how to measure its key mechanism: social exchange relationships (Blau, 1964). Drawing on Cropanzano and Byrne's (2000) review of contemporary social exchange theorizing, we examined the content validity of perceived support, exchange quality, affective commitment, trust, and psychological contract fulfillment as indicators of social exchange relationships. We used Hinkin and Tracey's (1999) quantitative approach to content validation, which asks participants to rate the correspondence between scale items and definitions of intended (and unintended) constructs. Our results revealed that some of the most frequently utilized indicators of social exchange relationships--perceived support and exchange quality--were significantly less content valid than rarely used options like affect-based trust. Our results also revealed that 2 direct measures--Bernerth, Armenakis, Feild, Giles, and Walker's (2007) scale and a scale created for this study--were content valid. We discuss the implications of these results for future applications of social exchange theory.

Identifying Social Trust in Cross-Country Analysis: Do We Really Measure the Same?

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Torpe, Lars; Lolle, Henrik

2011-01-01

Many see trust as an important social resource for the welfare of individuals as well as nations. It is therefore important to be able to identify trust and explain its sources. Cross-country survey analysis has been an important tool in this respect, and often one single variable is used to identify social trust understood as trust in strangers,…

Methods for extracting climate indicator data from social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuka, M. Z.; Fuka, D. R.

2011-12-01

This paper shows how we've used the R software suite to extract climate indicator data from Twitter. In the course of this research we've collected extensive data sets of unsolicited observations ("tweets") for hundreds of climate-related phenological, biological, epidemiological and meteorological effects. R has proved itself in our work as a useful tool for manipulating those large data sets. Our experience from this effort has yielded a variety of insights on using R to extract geophysics-specific information from publicly accessible social media sources. We illustrate our methodology by mapping tweeted US armadillo sightings to explore the impact of climate variability on the extent of the animal's range. This example usefully demonstrates R's technical capabilities in collecting, time-stamping, geolocating, analyzing, visualizing and otherwise processing climate-related data derived from unsolicited social media postings. We also "mash-up" the data sets with those acquired by more traditional means, for example, temperature and precipitation data across the armadillo's US range. Our data-handling practice is extendable to social sharing services other than Twitter, providing the environmental modeling community an opportunity to access largely untapped resources of non-traditional climate indicator data to better understand the effects of climate change at local, regional and global scales.

Indicators of sustainable tourism

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Jovičić Dobrica

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The indicators, precisely describing the linkages between tourism and the environment, social and cultural base, are not easily available. How ever, some relevant organizations (WTO, EU, OECD, etc., institutions and experts, have been hardly working to create the indicators of sustainable tourism. Whereas the economic objectives are easily defined by the use of the traditional indicators used in national and business economics, it is very difficult to identify widely applicable environmental, social and cultural indicators. In order to stimulate and alleviate the process of sustainable tourism development, EU created the list of comparative indicators of sustainable tourism. In preparing this list, special attention is paid to identification of valid indicators of real tourism impacts on the social and cultural environment (the entire set of traditions, customs, history, hospitality and culture that characterize a given area, that is a very complex task. Assuming the fact that the related indicators have been analyzed in many European countries, this paper is focused on applying the related indicators in research of tourism development in villages of the Kosjerić community. .

Social isolation after spinal cord injury: Indicators from the Longitudinal Aging Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Susan D; Li, Chao; Krause, James S

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of social isolation, incorporating social disconnectedness (objective measures) and perceived isolation (subjective appraisals) in an aging sample of participants with spinal cord injury (SCI). The study used cross-sectional data from 768 participants from the most recent administration of the SCI Longitudinal Aging Study, which was initiated in 1973. Measures included the revised version of the Life Situation Questionnaire, items from the Craig Handicap Assessment Reporting Technique, and the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Indicators of social isolation were combined into scales assessing social disconnectedness and perceived isolation. We tested the hypothesized model of social isolation, including both social disconnectedness and perceived isolation, after SCI using structural equation modeling. Results of structural equation modeling indicated good fit between the hypothesized model and data (root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.073, 90% confidence interval [0.070, 0.075]; comparative fit index = 0.949; Tucker Lewis Index = 0.946). Perceived isolation was significantly related with social disconnectedness (standardized coefficient [r] = .610). Several exogenous factors were significantly related to social disconnectedness and perceived isolation. Older participants were more likely to report lower levels of perceived isolation. Time since injury demonstrated an inverse relationship with both social disconnectedness and perceived isolation. Higher level and severity of injury were associated with higher levels of social disconnectedness. Our study establishes a stable model of social isolation to guide future research exploring the effect of social isolation on health after SCI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Social Outcomes of Older Adult Learning in Taiwan: Evaluation Framework and Indicators

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Lin, Li-Hui

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the social outcomes of older adult learning in Taiwan. In light of our society's aging population structure, the task of establishing evaluation framework and indicators for the social outcomes of learning (SOL) as applied to older adults is urgent. In order to construct evaluation indicators for older adult…

Social Wealth Economic Indicators for a Caring Economy

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Indradeep Ghosh

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This essay introduces the reader to an entirely new set of measures that are urgently needed by policymakers and business leaders to foster personal, business, and national economic success. Social Wealth Economic Indicators are measures suggested by a partnership model of society, and they inform us that care work matters tremendously but is grossly undervalued. In our contemporary knowledge-service economy, the essential ingredient for social and economic progress is high-quality human capital, and the way to build such human capital is to support the work of caring and caregiving, traditionally considered “women’s work.” The data presented in this essay clearly show that early childhood care and education, family-friendly workplace practices, and the status of women are key determinants of economic success. But they are also necessary for healthy, creative, and cohesive societies in which members work in partnership with each other and with the natural environment to improve living conditions for all. This is the true meaning of social wealth.

Defining acceptable levels for ecological indicators: an approach for considering social values.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyth, Robyn L; Watzin, Mary C; Manning, Robert E

2007-03-01

Ecological indicators can facilitate an adaptive management approach, but only if acceptable levels for those indicators have been defined so that the data collected can be interpreted. Because acceptable levels are an expression of the desired state of the ecosystem, the process of establishing acceptable levels should incorporate not just ecological understanding but also societal values. The goal of this research was to explore an approach for defining acceptable levels of ecological indicators that explicitly considers social perspectives and values. We used a set of eight indicators that were related to issues of concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Our approach was based on normative theory. Using a stakeholder survey, we measured respondent normative evaluations of varying levels of our indicators. Aggregated social norm curves were used to determine the level at which indicator values shifted from acceptable to unacceptable conditions. For seven of the eight indicators, clear preferences were interpretable from these norm curves. For example, closures of public beaches because of bacterial contamination and days of intense algae bloom went from acceptable to unacceptable at 7-10 days in a summer season. Survey respondents also indicated that the number of fish caught from Lake Champlain that could be safely consumed each month was unacceptably low and the number of streams draining into the lake that were impaired by storm water was unacceptably high. If indicators that translate ecological conditions into social consequences are carefully selected, we believe the normative approach has considerable merit for defining acceptable levels of valued ecological system components.

Social indicators of sustainable building; Soziale Indikatoren des nachhaltigen Bauens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greiff, Rainer

2012-06-15

As a result of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (''Earth Summit'') the participating nations agreed upon principles of sus-tainable development and objectives for sustainable development - the so called ''Agenda 21'' - to be pursued by national sustainability strategies and be monitored by systems of appropriate relative indicators. The participants shared the awareness that ecological objectives aiming at the global preservation of the natural resources can be achieved only if sustainable economic and social developments are considered together. Unlike the ecological demands of protection of climate and resources, for which evidence can be provided by natural sciences and that can be substantiated by figures, a common under-standing of the social dimension of sustainability has not yet emerged. The same is true for the concept of ''sustainable building''. In the guideline ''Sustainable Building'' published by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing in 2001, essential instructions regarding the implementation of ob-jectives for ecological construction were compiled for use in practice. This guideline is now to be supplemented by objectives of social sustainability. As a basis for common understanding a definition of the social aspects of sustainable building will be brought forward, which is expected to be broadly acknowledged. Furthermore indicators for the social dimension of sustainability were to be developed so that the observance of socio-cultural aspects of sustainability may be operationalised for new construction as well as refurbishment.

Changes in Social Exclusion Indicators and Psychological Distress Among Homeless People Over a 2.5-Year Period.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Straaten, Barbara; Rodenburg, Gerda; Van der Laan, Jorien; Boersma, Sandra N; Wolf, Judith R L M; Van de Mheen, Dike

2018-01-01

Although homelessness is inherently associated with social exclusion, homeless individuals are rarely included in conventional studies on social exclusion. Use of longitudinal survey data from a cohort study on homeless people in four major Dutch cities ( n  = 378) allowed to examine: changes in indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a 2.5-year period after reporting to the social relief system, and associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations between changes in indicators of social exclusion and changes in psychological distress. Improvements were found in various indicators of social exclusion, whereas financial debts showed no significant improvement. Changes in unmet care needs, health insurance, social support from family and relatedness to others were related to changes in psychological distress. This study demonstrated improvements in various indicators of social exclusion among homeless people over a period of 2.5 years, and sheds light on the concept of social exclusion in relation to homelessness.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias.

Science.gov (United States)

Laporte, Paola P; Pan, Pedro M; Hoffmann, Mauricio S; Wakschlag, Lauren S; Rohde, Luis A; Miguel, Euripedes C; Pine, Daniel S; Manfro, Gisele G; Salum, Giovanni A

2017-01-01

To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)/item response theory (IRT) and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

Social indicators and other income statistics using the EUROMOD baseline: a comparison with Eurostat and National Statistics

OpenAIRE

Mantovani, Daniela; Sutherland, Holly

2003-01-01

This paper reports an exercise to validate EUROMOD output for 1998 by comparing income statistics calculated from the baseline micro-output with comparable statistics from other sources, including the European Community Household Panel. The main potential reasons for discrepancies are identified. While there are some specific national issues that arise, there are two main general points to consider in interpreting EUROMOD estimates of social indicators across EU member States: (a) the method ...

Indicators of ecosystem function identify alternate states in the sagebrush steppe.

Science.gov (United States)

Kachergis, Emily; Rocca, Monique E; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E

2011-10-01

Models of ecosystem change that incorporate nonlinear dynamics and thresholds, such as state-and-transition models (STMs), are increasingly popular tools for land management decision-making. However, few models are based on systematic collection and documentation of ecological data, and of these, most rely solely on structural indicators (species composition) to identify states and transitions. As STMs are adopted as an assessment framework throughout the United States, finding effective and efficient ways to create data-driven models that integrate ecosystem function and structure is vital. This study aims to (1) evaluate the utility of functional indicators (indicators of rangeland health, IRH) as proxies for more difficult ecosystem function measurements and (2) create a data-driven STM for the sagebrush steppe of Colorado, USA, that incorporates both ecosystem structure and function. We sampled soils, plant communities, and IRH at 41 plots with similar clayey soils but different site histories to identify potential states and infer the effects of management practices and disturbances on transitions. We found that many IRH were correlated with quantitative measures of functional indicators, suggesting that the IRH can be used to approximate ecosystem function. In addition to a reference state that functions as expected for this soil type, we identified four biotically and functionally distinct potential states, consistent with the theoretical concept of alternate states. Three potential states were related to management practices (chemical and mechanical shrub treatments and seeding history) while one was related only to ecosystem processes (erosion). IRH and potential states were also related to environmental variation (slope, soil texture), suggesting that there are environmental factors within areas with similar soils that affect ecosystem dynamics and should be noted within STMs. Our approach generated an objective, data-driven model of ecosystem dynamics

Can competing diversity indices inform us about why ethnic diversity erodes social cohesion? A test of five diversity indices in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaeffer, Merlin

2013-05-01

An ever-growing number of studies investigates the relation between ethnic diversity and social cohesion, but these studies have produced mixed results. In cross-national research, some scholars have recently started to investigate more refined and informative indices of ethnic diversity than the commonly used Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. These refined indices allow to test competing theoretical explanations of why ethnic diversity is associated with declines in social cohesion. This study assesses the applicability of this approach for sub-national analyses. Generally, the results confirm a negative association between social cohesion and ethnic diversity. However, the competing indices are empirically indistinguishable and thus insufficient to test different theories against one another. Follow-up simulations suggest the general conclusion that the competing indices are meaningful operationalizations only if a sample includes: (1) contextual units with small and contextual units with large minority shares, as well as (2) contextual units with diverse and contextual units with polarized ethnic compositions. The results are thus instructive to all researchers who wish to apply different diversity indices and thereby test competing theories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Criteria and indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vintro, Carla; Comajuncosa, Josep

2010-01-01

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) includes economic, social and environmental aspects, and it has particular significance in mining. This paper explores the subject of CSR in the mining industry and the main synergies between CSR and environmental, safety and quality management systems, whose adoption has increased during recent decades. It proposes the establishment of a set of criteria for sustainability, ethics and human capital (to be called CSR criteria). Whilst various international bodies have proposed CSR guides and indicators (commonly used as references for Stock Market investments), there is evidence that the size of the company can act as a moderator factor to the adoption of those systems. The paper offers an easy-to-use CSR performance chart (composed of 31 indicators and a global index), intended as an internal measure for companies of CSR continuous improvement.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias

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Paola P. Laporte

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. Methods: We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA/item response theory (IRT and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve. Results: According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

Research Note Identifying key grazing indicators to monitor trends in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Research Note Identifying key grazing indicators to monitor trends in the veld condition of Lambert's Bay Strandveld, South Africa. ... from which a minimum number of species necessary to monitor trends in the condition of the veld were determined, making it user-friendly for land-users, extension officers and others. The key ...

Highly identified power-holders feel responsible: The interplay between social identification and social power within groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholl, Annika; Sassenberg, Kai; Ellemers, Naomi; Scheepers, Daan; de Wit, Frank

2018-01-01

Power relations affect dynamics within groups. Power-holders' decisions not only determine their personal outcomes, but also the outcomes of others in the group that they control. Yet, power-holders often tend to overlook this responsibility to take care of collective interests. The present research investigated how social identification - with the group to which both the powerful and the powerless belong - alters perceived responsibility among power-holders (and the powerless). Combining research on social power and social identity, we argue that power-holders perceive more responsibility than the powerless when strongly (rather than when weakly) identifying with the group. A study among leaders and an experiment supported this, highlighting that although power-holders are often primarily concerned about personal outcomes, they do feel responsible for considering others' interests when these others are included in the (social) self. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Formative assessment using social marketing principles to identify health and nutrition perspectives of Native American women living within the Chickasaw Nation boundaries in Oklahoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Stephany; Hunter, Toma; Briley, Chiquita; Miracle, Sarah; Hermann, Janice; Van Delinder, Jean; Standridge, Joy

2011-01-01

To identify health product and promotion channels for development of a Chickasaw Nation Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program (SNAP-Ed) social marketing program. The study was qualitative and used social marketing principles to assess Native American women's views of health and nutrition. Focus groups (n = 8) and interviews (n = 4) were conducted to identify indigenous views of product, promotion, price, and place related to SNAP-Ed behavioral objectives. The major theme identified for product was diabetes prevention. Participants (n = 42) indicated a preference for family-based education with promotion by elders, tribal leaders, and "everyday people." Participants identified tribe-specific community sites for program implementation at times conducive to work schedules. Culturally appropriate social marketing programs are necessary to address diabetes prevention with a focus on family, heritage, and tribal community. Additional research is necessary to explore the role of elders and tribal leaders in diabetes prevention efforts. Copyright © 2011 Society for Nutrition Education. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying potential kidney donors using social networking web sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Alexander; Anderson, Emily E; Turner, Hang T; Shoham, David; Hou, Susan H; Grams, Morgan

2013-01-01

Social networking sites like Facebook may be a powerful tool for increasing rates of live kidney donation. They allow for wide dissemination of information and discussion and could lessen anxiety associated with a face-to-face request for donation. However, sparse data exist on the use of social media for this purpose. We searched Facebook, the most popular social networking site, for publicly available English-language pages seeking kidney donors for a specific individual, abstracting information on the potential recipient, characteristics of the page itself, and whether potential donors were tested. In the 91 pages meeting inclusion criteria, the mean age of potential recipients was 37 (range: 2-69); 88% were US residents. Other posted information included the individual's photograph (76%), blood type (64%), cause of kidney disease (43%), and location (71%). Thirty-two percent of pages reported having potential donors tested, and 10% reported receiving a live-donor kidney transplant. Those reporting donor testing shared more potential recipient characteristics, provided more information about transplantation, and had higher page traffic. Facebook is already being used to identify potential kidney donors. Future studies should focus on how to safely, ethically, and effectively use social networking sites to inform potential donors and potentially expand live kidney donation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

A multi-indicator approach for identifying shoreline sewage pollution hotspots adjacent to coral reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Abaya, Leilani M; Wiegner, Tracy N; Colbert, Steven L; Beets, James P; Carlson, Kaile'a M; Kramer, K Lindsey; Most, Rebecca; Couch, Courtney S

2018-04-01

Sewage pollution is contributing to the global decline of coral reefs. Identifying locations where it is entering waters near reefs is therefore a management priority. Our study documented shoreline sewage pollution hotspots in a coastal community with a fringing coral reef (Puakō, Hawai'i) using dye tracer studies, sewage indicator measurements, and a pollution scoring tool. Sewage reached shoreline waters within 9 h to 3 d. Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations were high and variable, and δ 15 N macroalgal values were indicative of sewage at many stations. Shoreline nutrient concentrations were two times higher than those in upland groundwater. Pollution hotspots were identified with a scoring tool using three sewage indicators. It confirmed known locations of sewage pollution from dye tracer studies. Our study highlights the need for a multi-indicator approach and scoring tool to identify sewage pollution hotspots. This approach will be useful for other coastal communities grappling with sewage pollution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A multi-objective assessment of an air quality monitoring network using environmental, economic, and social indicators and GIS-based models.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Ronald; Wu, Jianguo

2014-06-01

In the United States, air pollution is primarily measured by Air Quality Monitoring Networks (AQMN). These AQMNs have multiple objectives, including characterizing pollution patterns, protecting the public health, and determining compliance with air quality standards. In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a directive that air pollution agencies assess the performance of their AQMNs. Although various methods to design and assess AQMNs exist, here we demonstrate a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach that combines environmental, economic, and social indicators through the assessment of the ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10) networks in Maricopa County, Arizona. The assessment was conducted in three phases: (1) to evaluate the performance of the existing networks, (2) to identify areas that would benefit from the addition of new monitoring stations, and (3) to recommend changes to the AQMN. A comprehensive set of indicators was created for evaluating differing aspects of the AQMNs' objectives, and weights were applied to emphasize important indicators. Indicators were also classified according to their sustainable development goal. Our results showed that O3 was well represented in the county with some redundancy in terms of the urban monitors. The addition of weights to the indicators only had a minimal effect on the results. For O3, urban monitors had greater social scores, while rural monitors had greater environmental scores. The results did not suggest a need for adding more O3 monitoring sites. For PM10, clustered urban monitors were redundant, and weights also had a minimal effect on the results. The clustered urban monitors had overall low scores; sites near point sources had high environmental scores. Several areas were identified as needing additional PM10 monitors. This study demonstrates the usefulness of a multi-indicator approach to assess AQMNs. Network managers and planners may use this method to assess the

Identifying social labels for mental illness in a Nigerian university ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Identifying social labels for mental illness in a Nigerian university: the overt problem of public ... Methods: The study was a Focus Group Discussion that took place in the University of Ibadan. ... Support: A partial bursary was received from the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Additional Indicators to Promote Social Sustainability within Government Programs: Equity and Efficiency

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Adriana Acevedo Tirado

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Social programs are crucial to reduce poverty and inequity in developing countries. The operation of social programs, however, cannot be improved with traditional engineering tools since these tools are designed to maximize profits: in social programs maximizing profits is not the objective, social sustainability is. Field research was conducted and it was found that the operation of social programs is considered more socially sustainable if it meets two criteria: Efficiency and Equity; in other words, if the program can help more people who need it the most. This paper proposes a methodology centered in the development of mathematical formulas for the concepts of Efficiency and Equity, so that, by being able to measure them, government programs operation can be enhanced with engineering tools. The methodology is illustrated with a case study, a subsidized milk distribution program in Mexico, called Liconsa. Once the formulas were developed and used in a simulation model for Liconsa, different policies were tested and their results regarding Efficiency and Equity were compared. Results showed the best policies for Liconsa are the balanced ones: where help is increased for beneficiaries, while cost reduction commitments are obtained. In the discussion it is argued how the developed Equity and Efficiency indicators help to understand the tradeoffs between the objectives in opposition: instead of analyzing dozens of indicators, some of them improving and others worsening, the two formulas allow to capture all effects into two objectives and evaluate decisions based on their integral impact. Conclusions show that the mathematical definition of Equity and Efficiency supports better and more informed decision making towards improving the social sustainability of the programs operation. The mathematical definition of Equity and Efficiency and its use in engineering models helps balance the opposing objectives of social programs operation and promotes

Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Interactions of Patients with Schizophrenia Indicates Socio-Communicative Deficits.

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Zeno Kupper

Full Text Available Disordered interpersonal communication can be a serious problem in schizophrenia. Recent advances in computer-based measures allow reliable and objective quantification of nonverbal behavior. Research using these novel measures has shown that objective amounts of body and head movement in patients with schizophrenia during social interactions are closely related to the symptom profiles of these patients. In addition to and above mere amounts of movement, the degree of synchrony, or imitation, between patients and normal interactants may be indicative of core deficits underlying various problems in domains related to interpersonal communication, such as symptoms, social competence, and social functioning.Nonverbal synchrony was assessed objectively using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA in 378 brief, videotaped role-play scenes involving 27 stabilized outpatients diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia.Low nonverbal synchrony was indicative of symptoms, low social competence, impaired social functioning, and low self-evaluation of competence. These relationships remained largely significant when correcting for the amounts of patients' movement. When patients showed reduced imitation of their interactants' movements, negative symptoms were likely to be prominent. Conversely, positive symptoms were more prominent in patients when their interaction partners' imitation of their movements was reduced.Nonverbal synchrony can be an objective and sensitive indicator of the severity of patients' problems. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of nonverbal synchrony may provide novel insights into specific relationships between symptoms, cognition, and core communicative problems in schizophrenia.

Indicators validation for the improvement of environmental and social impact quantitative assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cloquell-Ballester, Vicente-Agustin; Cloquell-Ballester, Victor-Andres; Monterde-Diaz, Rafael; Santamarina-Siurana, Maria-Cristina

2006-01-01

Environmental and social impact quantitative assessment is an essential tool for the correct location of economic activities within the territory. The main problem of impact quantification lies in establishing the appropriateness of the instruments (indicators) utilised, such that their level of objectivity is the highest possible. To improve the quality of this kind of studies, the present contribution discusses this problematic question and its consequences and proposes a methodology for the validation of indicators. Finally, the methodology proposed is subjected to an observational and experimental test to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. The test is performed on four indicators, which are designed ad hoc to assess alternatives in industrial facility location problems where the decision-making process has to be supported by an environmental and social impact assessment

Identifying Social Impacts in Product Supply Chains:Overview and Application of the Social Hotspot Database

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Gregory Norris

2012-08-01

Full Text Available One emerging tool to measure the social-related impacts in supply chains is Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA, a derivative of the well-established environmental LCA technique. LCA has recently started to gain popularity among large corporations and initiatives, such as The Sustainability Consortium or the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Both have made the technique a cornerstone of their applied-research program. The Social Hotspots Database (SHDB is an overarching, global database that eases the data collection burden in S-LCA studies. Proposed “hotspots” are production activities or unit processes (also defined as country-specific sectors in the supply chain that may be at risk for social issues to be present. The SHDB enables efficient application of S-LCA by allowing users to prioritize production activities for which site-specific data collection is most desirable. Data for three criteria are used to inform prioritization: (1 labor intensity in worker hours per unit process and (2 risk for, or opportunity to affect, relevant social themes or sub-categories related to Human Rights, Labor Rights and Decent Work, Governance and Access to Community Services (3 gravity of a social issue. The Worker Hours Model was developed using a global input/output economic model and wage rate data. Nearly 200 reputable sources of statistical data have been used to develop 20 Social Theme Tables by country and sector. This paper presents an overview of the SHDB development and features, as well as results from a pilot study conducted on strawberry yogurt. This study, one of seven Social Scoping Assessments mandated by The Sustainability Consortium, identifies the potential social hotspots existing in the supply chain of strawberry yogurt. With this knowledge, companies that manufacture or sell yogurt can refine their data collection efforts in order to put their social responsibility performance in perspective and effectively set up programs and

'A COMPARISON OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND INVESTMENT STYLES FOR SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AND CONVENTIONAL INVESTMENT INDICES IN THE UNITED STATES'

OpenAIRE

Amish, Patel

2013-01-01

This paper investigates comparing the financial performance for socially responsible investment equity indices and conventional investment equity indices in the United States, accounting for the recent financial crisis. Two conventional indices are used as a benchmark to four socially responsible indices. The conventional indices used in this paper are the S&P500 Index and CRSP Total Market Index. The socially responsible indices used are the Calvert Social Index, FTSE4Good U.S. Select Index,...

Social network analysis in identifying influential webloggers: A preliminary study

Science.gov (United States)

Hasmuni, Noraini; Sulaiman, Nor Intan Saniah; Zaibidi, Nerda Zura

2014-12-01

In recent years, second generation of internet-based services such as weblog has become an effective communication tool to publish information on the Web. Weblogs have unique characteristics that deserve users' attention. Some of webloggers have seen weblogs as appropriate medium to initiate and expand business. These webloggers or also known as direct profit-oriented webloggers (DPOWs) communicate and share knowledge with each other through social interaction. However, survivability is the main issue among DPOW. Frequent communication with influential webloggers is one of the way to keep survive as DPOW. This paper aims to understand the network structure and identify influential webloggers within the network. Proper understanding of the network structure can assist us in knowing how the information is exchanged among members and enhance survivability among DPOW. 30 DPOW were involved in this study. Degree centrality and betweenness centrality measurement in Social Network Analysis (SNA) were used to examine the strength relation and identify influential webloggers within the network. Thus, webloggers with the highest value of these measurements are considered as the most influential webloggers in the network.

Utilizing the social media data to validate 'climate change' indices

Science.gov (United States)

Molodtsova, T.; Kirilenko, A.; Stepchenkova, S.

2013-12-01

Reporting the observed and modeled changes in climate to public requires the measures understandable by the general audience. E.g., the NASA GISS Common Sense Climate Index (Hansen et al., 1998) reports the change in climate based on six practically observable parameters such as the air temperature exceeding the norm by one standard deviation. The utility of the constructed indices for reporting climate change depends, however, on an assumption that the selected parameters are felt and connected with the changing climate by a non-expert, which needs to be validated. Dynamic discussion of climate change issues in social media may provide data for this validation. We connected the intensity of public discussion of climate change in social networks with regional weather variations for the territory of the USA. We collected the entire 2012 population of Twitter microblogging activity on climate change topic, accumulating over 1.8 million separate records (tweets) globally. We identified the geographic location of the tweets and associated the daily and weekly intensity of twitting with the following parameters of weather for these locations: temperature anomalies, 'hot' temperature anomalies, 'cold' temperature anomalies, heavy rain/snow events. To account for non-weather related events we included the articles on climate change from the 'prestige press', a collection of major newspapers. We found that the regional changes in parameters of weather significantly affect the number of tweets published on climate change. This effect, however, is short-lived and varies throughout the country. We found that in different locations different weather parameters had the most significant effect on climate change microblogging activity. Overall 'hot' temperature anomalies had significant influence on climate change twitting intensity.

Health sector employment: a tracer indicator for universal health coverage in national Social Protection Floors.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheil-Adlung, Xenia; Behrendt, Thorsten; Wong, Lorraine

2015-08-31

Health sector employment is a prerequisite for availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ) of health services. Thus, in this article health worker shortages are used as a tracer indicator estimating the proportion of the population lacking access to such services: The SAD (ILO Staff Access Deficit Indicator) estimates gaps towards UHC in the context of Social Protection Floors (SPFs). Further, it highlights the impact of investments in health sector employment equity and sustainable development. The SAD is used to estimate the share of the population lacking access to health services due to gaps in the number of skilled health workers. It is based on the difference of the density of the skilled health workforce per population in a given country and a threshold indicating UHC staffing requirements. It identifies deficits, differences and developments in access at global, regional and national levels and between rural and urban areas. In 2014, the global UHC deficit in numbers of health workers is estimated at 10.3 million, with most important gaps in Asia (7.1 million) and Africa (2.8 million). Globally, 97 countries are understaffed with significantly higher gaps in rural than in urban areas. Most affected are low-income countries, where 84 per cent of the population remains excluded from access due to the lack of skilled health workers. A positive correlation of health worker employment and population health outcomes could be identified. Legislation is found to be a prerequisite for closing access as gaps. Health worker shortages hamper the achievement of UHC and aggravate weaknesses of health systems. They have major impacts on socio-economic development, particularly in the world's poorest countries where they act as drivers of health inequities. Closing the gaps by establishing inclusive multi-sectoral policy approaches based on the right to health would significantly increase equity, reduce poverty due to ill health and ultimately contribute

A method of identifying and weighting indicators of energy efficiency assessment in Chinese residential buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yulan; Li Baizhan; Yao Runming

2010-01-01

This paper describes a method of identifying and weighting indicators for assessing the energy efficiency of residential buildings in China. A list of indicators of energy efficiency assessment in residential buildings in the hot summer and cold winter zone in China has been proposed, which supplies an important reference for policy makings in energy efficiency assessment in buildings. The research method applies a wide-ranging literature review and a questionnaire survey involving experts in the field. The group analytic hierarchy process (group AHP) has been used to weight the identified indicators. The size of survey samples are sufficient to support the results, which has been validated by consistency estimation. The proposed method could also be extended to develop the weighted indicators for other climate zones in China. - Research highlights: →Method of identifying indicators of building energy efficiency assessment. →The group AHP method for weighting indicators. →Method of solving multi-criteria decision making problems of choice and prioritisation in policy makings.

A method of identifying and weighting indicators of energy efficiency assessment in Chinese residential buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang Yulan [Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment under Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou (China); Li Baizhan [Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment under the Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Yao Runming, E-mail: r.yao@reading.ac.u [School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading, Reading (United Kingdom); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment under Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China)

2010-12-15

This paper describes a method of identifying and weighting indicators for assessing the energy efficiency of residential buildings in China. A list of indicators of energy efficiency assessment in residential buildings in the hot summer and cold winter zone in China has been proposed, which supplies an important reference for policy makings in energy efficiency assessment in buildings. The research method applies a wide-ranging literature review and a questionnaire survey involving experts in the field. The group analytic hierarchy process (group AHP) has been used to weight the identified indicators. The size of survey samples are sufficient to support the results, which has been validated by consistency estimation. The proposed method could also be extended to develop the weighted indicators for other climate zones in China. - Research highlights: {yields}Method of identifying indicators of building energy efficiency assessment. {yields}The group AHP method for weighting indicators. {yields}Method of solving multi-criteria decision making problems of choice and prioritisation in policy makings.

Perceptions of Social Mobility: Development of a New Psychosocial Indicator Associated with Adolescent Risk Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miranda Lucia Ritterman Weintraub

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Social class gradients have been explored in adults and children, but not extensively during adolescence. The first objective of this study was to examine the association between adolescent risk behaviors and a new indicator of adolescent relative social position, adolescent perceived social mobility. Second, it investigated potential underlying demographic, socioeconomic and psychosocial determinants of this indicator. Data were taken from the 2004 urban adolescent module of Oportunidades, a cross-sectional study of Mexican adolescents living in poverty. Perceived social mobility was calculated for each subject by taking the difference between their rankings on two 10-rung ladder scales that measured (1 projected future social status and (2 current subjective social status within Mexican society. Adolescents with higher perceived social mobility were significantly less likely to report alcohol consumption, drinking with repercussions, compensated sex, police detainment, physical fighting, consumption of junk food or soda, or watching ≥ 4 hours of television during the last viewing. They were significantly more likely to report exercising during the past week and using a condom during last sexual intercourse. These associations remained significant with the inclusion of covariates, including parental education and household expenditures. Multiple logistic regression analyses show higher perceived social mobility to be associated with staying in school longer and having higher perceived control. The present study provides evidence for the usefulness of perceived social mobility as an indicator for understanding the social gradient in health during adolescence. This research suggests the possibility of implementing policies and interventions that provide adolescents with real reasons to be hopeful about their trajectories.

Comparing the Ability of Anthropometric Indicators in Identifying Metabolic Syndrome in HIV Patients.

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Rebeca Antunes Beraldo

Full Text Available Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART can cause side effects in HIV patients, as the metabolic syndrome. Early identification of risk for development of cardiovascular diseases using available reliable and practical methods is fundamental. On this basis, the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of anthropometric indicators to identify metabolic syndrome in HIV patients on HAART.It is a cross-sectional study. A number of 280 stable HIV patients were studied. It measured weight, height, waist circumference (WC, hip circumference (HP, thigh circumference (TC and calculated body mass index (BMI, body adiposity index (BAI, waist to hip ratio (WHR and waist to thigh ratio (WTR. There was also a performance of biochemical tests of lipid profile and fasting glucose. Systemic blood pressure was measured. The criteria proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program III (NCEP-ATP III to metabolic syndrome classification was used. Individuals were divided in groups with or without metabolic alterations and their anthropometric indicators were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC curves were designed for each anthropometric indicator using the metabolic syndrome classification to identify sensitivity and specificity.WC was a good tool to identify each metabolic disorder separately: total cholesterol (only females, p<0.05, triglycerides (only males, p<0.001, HDL cholesterol (p<0.05, LDL cholesterol (p<005 and fasting glycemic (p<005. WC also showed the best performance to identify metabolic syndrome in both genders (areas under the curve (AUCs: 0.79 and 0.76 for male and female, respectively, while BAI proved to be an inadequate indicator (AUCs: 0.63 and 0.67 for males and females, respectively, in this population.The central adiposity measure (WC had the best performance to identify metabolic syndrome, and it is a convenient, cheap and reliable tool that can be used in clinical practice routinely to prevent

The social organization of violence toward hostages: does violence in captivity indicate which kidnappers will kill?

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Everard M

2013-04-01

It is questionable whether violence toward a hostage varies according to criminal or radical orientation of their kidnappers who hold them for ransom. This notion is important because it relates to the assumption that how the hostage is treated may indicate whether the victim may survive the ordeal. To investigate, 181 kidnappings cases were cross-tabulated with four previously identified violent tactics (inflicting pain, terror, psychological torture, and reward tactics) and three distinctive type of kidnappers (common criminal, organized criminal, and radical/terrorist groups). The results indicated that criminal groups tended to use a range of violent tactics to coerce a hostage in captivity, while radical groups more often specialized in psychological torture. Regardless of these observations, specific forms of violence, for example inflicting pain, provided a better indication of whether the hostage would be killed by his or her kidnappers. This suggests that the intensity of violence and not the type of group conducting the kidnapping indicates whether the hostage will be killed. The implications to the social organization of kidnapping groups are discussed further.

Identifying the Social Structure and the Inequality in Monetary Income of Russian Population

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Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Bobkov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article aims at identifying the social structure and the inequality in monetary income of the population in Russia. identification of the social groups with different levels of material well-being in a society with a high inequality in the distribution of living standard is a relevant topic. The integration of normative and statistical methods allows to consider the limitations of the existing model of the distribution of cash income and adjust the boundaries of social groups with different levels of material well-being. At the same time, we stay within the criteria for the social standards of the differentiation of living standards. The authors have corrected the specific weight of the Russian social groups with different levels of material well-being. To define these social groups, we have applied the system of normative consumer budgets for different level of material well-being. This paper discovers the intervals for the levels of income and consumption, which are not in contradiction with the normative approach and existing conditions of the Russian economic development. These intervals are advisable for the identification of the social groups with different levels of life. The proposed tools allow to integrate the measurements into the international system and define the place of Russia in terms of economic inequalities among other countries. The authors have assessed the weights of the different social groups, their share in the total volume of monetary income and their polarization in terms of living standards. The main conclusions of the article can be used as a theoretical, methodological and practical basis for identifying social structures in terms of living standards, determining their numbers and economic inequality. The research results can be introduced into the statistical monitoring of the living standards of the population.

Sustainability assessment of energy technologies via social indicators: Results of a survey among European energy experts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallego Carrera, Diana; Mack, Alexander

2010-01-01

Sustainability assessment of energy technologies oftentimes fails to account for social repercussions and long-term negative effects and benefits of energy systems. As part of the NEEDS project, an expert-based set of social indicators was developed and verified by the European stakeholders with the objective of contributing in the development of social indicators for the assessment of societal effects of energy systems. For this purpose, scientific experts from four sample countries France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland were interviewed to assess 16 different energy systems on a specific stakeholder reviewed indicator set. The indicator set covers the four main criteria: 'security and reliability of energy provision; 'political stability and legitimacy'; 'social and individual risks' and 'quality of life'. This article will review the process of indicator development and assessment and highlight results for today's most prominent and future energy technologies and some likely to make an impact in the future. Expert judgments varied considerably between countries and energy systems, with the exception of renewable technologies, which were overall positively assessed on almost all evaluation criteria.

Identifying Key Performance Indicators for Holistic Hospital Management with a Modified DEMATEL Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Si, Sheng-Li; You, Xiao-Yue; Liu, Hu-Chen; Huang, Jia

2017-08-19

Performance analysis is an important way for hospitals to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in providing services to their customers. The performance of the healthcare system can be measured by many indicators, but it is difficult to improve them simultaneously due to the limited resources. A feasible way is to identify the central and influential indicators to improve healthcare performance in a stepwise manner. In this paper, we propose a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for holistic hospital management. First, through integrating evidential reasoning approach and interval 2-tuple linguistic variables, various assessments of performance indicators provided by healthcare experts are modeled. Then, the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique is adopted to build an interactive network and visualize the causal relationships between the performance indicators. Finally, an empirical case study is provided to demonstrate the proposed approach for improving the efficiency of healthcare management. The results show that "accidents/adverse events", "nosocomial infection", ''incidents/errors", "number of operations/procedures" are significant influential indicators. Also, the indicators of "length of stay", "bed occupancy" and "financial measures" play important roles in performance evaluation of the healthcare organization. The proposed decision making approach could be considered as a reference for healthcare administrators to enhance the performance of their healthcare institutions.

Identifying behaviors that generate positive interactions between museums and people on a social media platform: An analysis of 27 science museums on Twitter

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Stacy Christine

The aim of this study was to provide a detailed examination of how science museums use Twitter and suggest changes these museums should make to improve their current approach on this social media platform. Previous studies have identified the types of content museums are creating on social media, but none have quantitatively investigated the specific types of content most likely to generate interaction and engagement with a social media audience. A total of 5,278 tweets from 27 science museums were analyzed to determine what type of tweet yields the greatest impact measured in retweets and favorites. 1,453 of those tweets were selected for additional qualitative analysis. The results indicate that tweets with educational content, links, and hashtags lead to the greatest number of retweets and favorites. The results also indicate that the majority of tweets posted by museums do not generate interaction and engagement with a social media audience. A model for existing museums to improve their use of Twitter was created using the results of this study.

Displaying Wages as an Indicator of the Social Responsibility of Business in Accounting and Reporting

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Katkova Natalia V.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article is concerned with displaying wages in both accounting and reporting, in the context of social responsibility. The basic approaches to definition of social responsibility in the context of relations of employers and employees were considered. It was noted that an effective means of implementing the conception of social responsibility would be the preparation of integrated reporting, and for this purpose the elements of social responsibility of enterprises should be reflected in the accounting system. It is expedient to include in the indicators of social responsibility of the integrated reporting of enterprises the level of remuneration of the current character; the amount of compensation payments in connection with the completion of work and due to difficult working conditions, harmful industries; the amount of incentive payments as a result of developing the skill level and increasing labor efficiency; payments on the sectoral individual pensions and on social support programs, etc. The displaying of the proposed indicators in the reporting of enterprise would provide disclosure of information on the implementation of the principles of social responsibility and would inform the interested parties about the implementation of social programs and projects at the enterprise.

Social space, social class and Bourdieu: health inequalities in British Columbia, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Veenstra, Gerry

2007-03-01

This article adopts Pierre Bourdieu's cultural-structuralist approach to conceptualizing and identifying social classes in social space and seeks to identify health effects of class in one Canadian province. Utilizing data from an original questionnaire survey of randomly selected adults from 25 communities in British Columbia, social (class) groupings defined by cultural tastes and dispositions, lifestyle practices, social background, educational capital, economic capital, social capital and occupational categories are presented in visual mappings of social space constructed by use of exploratory multiple correspondence analysis techniques. Indicators of physical and mental health are then situated within this social space, enabling speculations pertaining to health effects of social class in British Columbia.

Social Network Analysis Identifies Key Participants in Conservation Development.

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Farr, Cooper M; Reed, Sarah E; Pejchar, Liba

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of participation in private lands conservation, which is often implemented voluntarily by individual citizens and private organizations, could improve its effectiveness at combating biodiversity loss. We used social network analysis (SNA) to examine participation in conservation development (CD), a private land conservation strategy that clusters houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Using data from public records for six counties in Colorado, USA, we compared CD participation patterns among counties and identified actors that most often work with others to implement CDs. We found that social network characteristics differed among counties. The network density, or proportion of connections in the network, varied from fewer than 2 to nearly 15%, and was higher in counties with smaller populations and fewer CDs. Centralization, or the degree to which connections are held disproportionately by a few key actors, was not correlated strongly with any county characteristics. Network characteristics were not correlated with the prevalence of wildlife-friendly design features in CDs. The most highly connected actors were biological and geological consultants, surveyors, and engineers. Our work demonstrates a new application of SNA to land-use planning, in which CD network patterns are examined and key actors are identified. For better conservation outcomes of CD, we recommend using network patterns to guide strategies for outreach and information dissemination, and engaging with highly connected actor types to encourage widespread adoption of best practices for CD design and stewardship.

TAMING TROJAN HORSES: IDENTIFYING AND MITIGATING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RISKS

OpenAIRE

P. P. M. A. R. HEUGENS; N. A. DENTCHEV

2007-01-01

textabstractOrganizations are exposed to increasing pressures from their constituents to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles into their ongoing business practices. But accepting new and potentially open-ended commitments is not a harmless exercise, and companies may well expose themselves to serious risks when embracing such principles. To identify these risks, we conducted two naturalistic studies: one exploratory, the other corroborative. The results show that CSR ado...

Social and psychological context for HIV risk in non-gay-identified African American men who have sex with men.

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Operario, Don; Smith, Carla Dillard; Kegeles, Susan

2008-08-01

This study used qualitative methods to explore the social and psychological context of sexual behavior and HIV risk among African American non-gay-identified men who have sex with men. Analysis of men's narratives on their sexual behaviors revealed four social and psychological factors contributing to risk for HIV infection: (a) a tendency to compartmentalize and personally disengage from same-sex behavior, (b) traditional gender roles that reinforce men's adherence to masculine images and ambivalent attitudes toward women, (c) cultural norms that favor secrecy and privacy about any personal matters, and (d) spontaneous and unplanned sexual episodes with other men. Findings indicate that innovative HIV prevention and risk reduction strategies are necessary to reach this group and question the legitimacy of conventional sexual orientation categories for these men. Interventions must address social contextual determinants of risk, reinforce men's public identifications as straight/heterosexual, and maintain men's need for privacy about same-sex behaviors.

The association of various social capital indicators and physical activity participation among Turkish adolescents

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Günay Yıldızer

2018-01-01

Conclusion: Various SC indicators are associated with PAP for males and females. These associations are different from findings of studies conducted in developed countries. Therefore, health-promotion interventions and policies should consider gender and different social agents on the social and cultural background to improve PAP among Turkish adolescents.

Socioemotional characteristics of elementary school children identified as exhibiting social leadership qualities.

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Scharf, Miri; Mayseless, Ofra

2009-03-01

Elementary school teachers identified characteristics in 4 major socioemotional domains associated with children's social leadership: self-perception, social anxiety, attachment orientation with peers, and interpersonal goals and skills in close friendships. Participants were 260 4th- and 5th-grade students (126 boys, 134 girls) from 10 classes in a school in northern Israel. Social leadership skills were associated with positive self-perceptions in various domains, low social anxiety, secure orientation to peers, higher levels of relationship-maintenance goal, lower levels of revenge goal in close friendships, and-unexpectedly-lower levels of accommodation as a strategy to solve conflicts with a friend. Positive self-concept and attachment security were indirectly associated with leadership qualities through their significant association with prosocial orientation skills. The authors discuss these findings as reflecting an internalization of positive model of self and positive model of others in children who exhibit social leadership qualities. The authors also discuss implications of these qualities for school and class ecology, as well as the importance of culture.

Identifying Social-ecological Linkages to Develop a Community Fire Plan in Mexico

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Rachel A.S Sheridan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Community forestry in rural Mexico presents a unique opportunity to study the linkages and feedback within coupled social-ecological systems due to the fact that agrarian or indigenous communities control approximately half of the national territory of Mexico. We used social and ecological diagnostic tools to develop a fire management strategy for a communal forest containing an endemic piñón pine species, Pinus cembroides subs. orizabensis, in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico. The ecological diagnostic was done through fuel inventory, forest structure sampling, and fire behaviour modelling. The social assessment was conducted through household interviews, community workshops, and direct participant observation. The ecological fire hazard was quantified and coupled with the social assessment to develop a fire management plan. Vertical fuel continuity and flashy surface fuels created a high fire hazard. Modelled fire behaviour showed a rapid rate of spread and high flame lengths under multiple scenarios. Relative impunity for starting forest fires, poor community and inter-agency organisation, and lack of project continuity across organisational sectors appear to be the most significant social limiting factors for wildfire management. Combining both social and ecological diagnostic tools provides a comprehensive understanding of the actual risks to forests, and identifies realistic community-supported options for conservation on cooperatively managed lands.

Identifying the most significant indicators of the total road safety performance index.

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Tešić, Milan; Hermans, Elke; Lipovac, Krsto; Pešić, Dalibor

2018-04-01

The review of the national and international literature dealing with the assessment of the road safety level has shown great efforts of the authors who tried to define the methodology for calculating the composite road safety index on a territory (region, state, etc.). The procedure for obtaining a road safety composite index of an area has been largely harmonized. The question that has not been fully resolved yet concerns the selection of indicators. There is a wide range of road safety indicators used to show a road safety situation on a territory. Road safety performance index (RSPI) obtained on the basis of a larger number of safety performance indicators (SPIs) enable decision makers to more precisely define the earlier goal- oriented actions. However, recording a broader comprehensive set of SPIs helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of a country's road safety system. Providing high quality national and international databases that would include comparable SPIs seems to be difficult since a larger number of countries dispose of a small number of identical indicators available for use. Therefore, there is a need for calculating a road safety performance index with a limited number of indicators (RSPI ln n ) which will provide a comparison of a sufficient quality, of as many countries as possible. The application of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and correlative analysis has helped to check if the RSPI ln n is likely to be of sufficient quality. A strong correlation between the RSPI ln n and the RSPI has been identified using the proposed methodology. Based on this, the most contributing indicators and methodologies for gradual monitoring of SPIs, have been defined for each country analyzed. The indicator monitoring phases in the analyzed countries have been defined in the following way: Phase 1- the indicators relating to alcohol, speed and protective systems; Phase 2- the indicators relating to roads and Phase 3- the indicators relating to

INDICADORES DE ADICCIÓN A LAS REDES SOCIALES EN UNIVERSITARIOS DE LIMA / INDICATORS OF SOCIAL NETWORK ADDICTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM LIMA

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Elizabeth Dany Araujo Robles

2016-12-01

Full Text Available RESUMEN: Se realizó un estudio en 200 estudiantes de una universidad privada de Lima (150 mujeres, pertenecientes a cuatro carreras: psicología, administración y negocios internacionales, farmacia y bioquímica y obstetricia, con el objetivo de evaluar la intensidad de tres dimensiones de adicción a las redes sociales: obsesión por las redes sociales; falta de control personal en el uso de las redes sociales y uso excesivo de las redes sociales. Se utilizó el Cuestionario de Adicción a las Redes Sociales de Escurra y Salas (2014. Los resultados indican bajos niveles en todos los indicadores evaluados. Los varones puntuaron significativamente más alto que las mujeres sólo en los indicadores de obsesión por las redes sociales. Asimismo, los estudiantes de la carrera de administración tuvieron las puntuaciones más altas y los de psicología y obstetricia las más bajas en las tres dimensiones. Se discuten las implicancias de los resultados hallados. ABSTRACT: The study was conducted on 200 students from a private university in Lima (150 female, who belong to four academic programs: Psychology, Administration and International Business, Pharmacy and Biochemistry, and Obstetrics. The objective of the study is to assess the intensity of three social network addiction dimensions: obsession for social networking, lack of personal control about using social networks, and excessive use of social networks. The Social Networking Addiction Questionnaire from Escurra and Salas (2014 was used. Results show low levels for all indicators assessed. Males' scores were significantly higher than females' only in the obsession for social networking indicators. In addition, for all three dimensions, the Administration program students obtained the highest scores, and the Psychology and Obstetrics program students obtained the lowest. The implications of the results found are discussed.

Social Network Analysis: A Simple but Powerful Tool for Identifying Teacher Leaders

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Smith, P. Sean; Trygstad, Peggy J.; Hayes, Meredith L.

2018-01-01

Instructional teacher leadership is central to a vision of distributed leadership. However, identifying instructional teacher leaders can be a daunting task, particularly for administrators who find themselves either newly appointed or faced with high staff turnover. This article describes the use of social network analysis (SNA), a simple but…

Characterisation of social impacts in LCA. Part 1: Development of indicators for labour rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreyer, Louise Camilla; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Schierbeck, Jens

2010-01-01

dignity and well-being as the ultimate goal and area of protection of Social LCA. The intended main application of this framework for Social LCA was to support management decisions in companies who wish to conduct business in a socially responsible manner, by providing information about the potential...... social impacts on people caused by the activities in the life cycle of a product. Environmental LCA normally uses quantitative and comparable indicators to provide a simple representation of the environmental impacts from the product lifecycle. This poses a challenge to the Social LCA framework because......Background, Aim and Scope The authors have earlier suggested a framework for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to form the modelling basis of Social LCA. In this framework the fundamental labour rights were pointed out as obligatory issues to be addressed, and protection and promotion of human...

Visual Indicators on Vaccine Boxes as Early Warning Tools to Identify Potential Freeze Damage.

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Angoff, Ronald; Wood, Jillian; Chernock, Maria C; Tipping, Diane

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of visual freeze indicators on vaccines would assist health care providers in identifying vaccines that may have been exposed to potentially damaging temperatures. Twenty-seven sites in Connecticut involved in the Vaccine for Children Program participated. In addition to standard procedures, visual freeze indicators (FREEZEmarker ® L; Temptime Corporation, Morris Plains, NJ) were affixed to each box of vaccine that required refrigeration but must not be frozen. Temperatures were monitored twice daily. During the 24 weeks, all 27 sites experienced triggered visual freeze indicator events in 40 of the 45 refrigerators. A total of 66 triggered freeze indicator events occurred in all 4 types of refrigerators used. Only 1 of the freeze events was identified by a temperature-monitoring device. Temperatures recorded on vaccine data logs before freeze indicator events were within the 35°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C) range in all but 1 instance. A total of 46,954 doses of freeze-sensitive vaccine were stored at the time of a visual freeze indicator event. Triggered visual freeze indicators were found on boxes containing 6566 doses (14.0% of total doses). Of all doses stored, 14,323 doses (30.5%) were of highly freeze-sensitive vaccine; 1789 of these doses (12.5%) had triggered indicators on the boxes. Visual freeze indicators are useful in the early identification of freeze events involving vaccines. Consideration should be given to including these devices as a component of the temperature-monitoring system for vaccines.

Power analysis as a tool to identify statistically informative indicators for monitoring coral reef disturbances.

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Van Wynsberge, Simon; Gilbert, Antoine; Guillemot, Nicolas; Heintz, Tom; Tremblay-Boyer, Laura

2017-07-01

Extensive biological field surveys are costly and time consuming. To optimize sampling and ensure regular monitoring on the long term, identifying informative indicators of anthropogenic disturbances is a priority. In this study, we used 1800 candidate indicators by combining metrics measured from coral, fish, and macro-invertebrate assemblages surveyed from 2006 to 2012 in the vicinity of an ongoing mining project in the Voh-Koné-Pouembout lagoon, New Caledonia. We performed a power analysis to identify a subset of indicators which would best discriminate temporal changes due to a simulated chronic anthropogenic impact. Only 4% of tested indicators were likely to detect a 10% annual decrease of values with sufficient power (>0.80). Corals generally exerted higher statistical power than macro-invertebrates and fishes because of lower natural variability and higher occurrence. For the same reasons, higher taxonomic ranks provided higher power than lower taxonomic ranks. Nevertheless, a number of families of common sedentary or sessile macro-invertebrates and fishes also performed well in detecting changes: Echinometridae, Isognomidae, Muricidae, Tridacninae, Arcidae, and Turbinidae for macro-invertebrates and Pomacentridae, Labridae, and Chaetodontidae for fishes. Interestingly, these families did not provide high power in all geomorphological strata, suggesting that the ability of indicators in detecting anthropogenic impacts was closely linked to reef geomorphology. This study provides a first operational step toward identifying statistically relevant indicators of anthropogenic disturbances in New Caledonia's coral reefs, which can be useful in similar tropical reef ecosystems where little information is available regarding the responses of ecological indicators to anthropogenic disturbances.

[Social self-positioning as indicator of socioeconomic status].

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Fernández, E; Alonso, R M; Quer, A; Borrell, C; Benach, J; Alonso, J; Gómez, G

2000-01-01

Self-perceived class results from directly questioning subjects about his or her social class. The aim of this investigation was to analyse self-perceived class in relation to other indicator variables of socioeconomic level. Data from the 1994 Catalan Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the non-institutionalised population of Catalonia was used. We conducted a discriminant analysis to compute the degree of right classification when different socioeconomic variables potentially related to self-perceived class were considered. All subjects who directly answered the questionnaire were included (N = 12,245). With the aim of obtaining the discriminant functions in a group of subjects and to validate it in another one, the subjects were divided into two random samples, containing approximately 75% and 25% of subjects (analysis sample, n = 9,248; and validation sample, n = 2,997). The final function for men and women included level of education, social class (based in occupation) and equivalent income. This function correctly classified 40.9% of the subjects in the analysis sample and 39.2% in the validation sample. Two other functions were selected for men and women separately. In men, the function included level of education, professional category, and family income (39.2% of classification in analysis sample and 37.2% in validation sample). In women, the function (level of education, working status, and equivalent income) correctly classified 40.3% of women in analysis sample whereas the percentage was 38.9% in validation sample. The percentages of right classification were higher for the highest and lowest classes. These results show the utility of a simple variable to self-position within the social scale. Self-perceived class is related to education, income, and working determinants.

Comparing spatially explicit ecological and social values for natural areas to identify effective conservation strategies.

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Bryan, Brett Anthony; Raymond, Christopher Mark; Crossman, Neville David; King, Darran

2011-02-01

Consideration of the social values people assign to relatively undisturbed native ecosystems is critical for the success of science-based conservation plans. We used an interview process to identify and map social values assigned to 31 ecosystem services provided by natural areas in an agricultural landscape in southern Australia. We then modeled the spatial distribution of 12 components of ecological value commonly used in setting spatial conservation priorities. We used the analytical hierarchy process to weight these components and used multiattribute utility theory to combine them into a single spatial layer of ecological value. Social values assigned to natural areas were negatively correlated with ecological values overall, but were positively correlated with some components of ecological value. In terms of the spatial distribution of values, people valued protected areas, whereas those natural areas underrepresented in the reserve system were of higher ecological value. The habitats of threatened animal species were assigned both high ecological value and high social value. Only small areas were assigned both high ecological value and high social value in the study area, whereas large areas of high ecological value were of low social value, and vice versa. We used the assigned ecological and social values to identify different conservation strategies (e.g., information sharing, community engagement, incentive payments) that may be effective for specific areas. We suggest that consideration of both ecological and social values in selection of conservation strategies can enhance the success of science-based conservation planning. ©2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Using Non-Monetary Deprivation Indicators to Analyze Poverty and Social Exclusion: Lessons from Europe?

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Nolan, Brian; Whelan, Christopher T.

2010-01-01

Non-monetary indicators of deprivation are now widely used in studying poverty in Europe. While measuring financial resources remains central, having reliable information about material deprivation adds to the ability to capture poverty and social exclusion. Non-monetary indicators can help improve the identification of those experiencing poverty…

78 FR 27189 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Developing Social Wellbeing Indicators for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-09

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Developing Social Wellbeing Indicators for Marine Management AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of...

Searching for Moral Dumbfounding: Identifying Measurable Indicators of Moral Dumbfounding

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Cillian McHugh

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Moral dumbfounding is defined as maintaining a moral judgement, without supporting reasons. The most cited demonstration of dumbfounding does not identify a specific measure of dumbfounding and has not been published in peer-review form, or directly replicated. Despite limited empirical examination, dumbfounding has been widely discussed in moral psychology. The present research examines the reliability with which dumbfounding can be elicited, and aims to identify measureable indicators of dumbfounding. Study 1 aimed at establishing the effect that is reported in the literature. Participants read four scenarios and judged the actions described. An Interviewer challenged participants’ stated reasons for judgements. Dumbfounding was evoked, as measured by two indicators, admissions of not having reasons (17%, unsupported declarations (9% with differences between scenarios. Study 2 measured dumbfounding as the selecting of an unsupported declaration as part of a computerised task. We observed high rates of dumbfounding across all scenarios. Studies 3a (college sample and 3b (MTurk sample, addressing limitations in Study 2, replaced the unsupported declaration with an admission of having no reason, and included open-ended responses that were coded for unsupported declarations. As predicted, lower rates of dumbfounding were observed (3a 20%; 3b 16%; or 3a 32%; 3b 24% including unsupported declarations in open-ended responses. Two measures provided evidence for dumbfounding across three studies; rates varied with task type (interview/computer task, and with the particular measure being employed (admissions of not having reasons/unsupported declarations. Possible cognitive processes underlying dumbfounding and limitations of methodologies used are discussed as a means to account for this variability.

Systematic Correlation Matrix Evaluation (SCoMaE) - a bottom-up, science-led approach to identifying indicators

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Mengis, Nadine; Keller, David P.; Oschlies, Andreas

2018-01-01

This study introduces the Systematic Correlation Matrix Evaluation (SCoMaE) method, a bottom-up approach which combines expert judgment and statistical information to systematically select transparent, nonredundant indicators for a comprehensive assessment of the state of the Earth system. The methods consists of two basic steps: (1) the calculation of a correlation matrix among variables relevant for a given research question and (2) the systematic evaluation of the matrix, to identify clusters of variables with similar behavior and respective mutually independent indicators. Optional further analysis steps include (3) the interpretation of the identified clusters, enabling a learning effect from the selection of indicators, (4) testing the robustness of identified clusters with respect to changes in forcing or boundary conditions, (5) enabling a comparative assessment of varying scenarios by constructing and evaluating a common correlation matrix, and (6) the inclusion of expert judgment, for example, to prescribe indicators, to allow for considerations other than statistical consistency. The example application of the SCoMaE method to Earth system model output forced by different CO2 emission scenarios reveals the necessity of reevaluating indicators identified in a historical scenario simulation for an accurate assessment of an intermediate-high, as well as a business-as-usual, climate change scenario simulation. This necessity arises from changes in prevailing correlations in the Earth system under varying climate forcing. For a comparative assessment of the three climate change scenarios, we construct and evaluate a common correlation matrix, in which we identify robust correlations between variables across the three considered scenarios.

PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING AS AN INDICATOR OF SOCIAL SECURITY OF PERSON AND SOCIETY

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Pavel Aleksandrovich Kislyakov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Summarizes theoretical approaches to the definition of psychosocial well-being. It shows the relationship of psychosocial well-being, social tension, social security and social health. As the methodology of research used the environmental approach. Actualized the problem of psychosocial well-being of students in modern conditions. It shows the results of the study of subjective well-being of the students using the technique of «Scale of subjective well-being» (Perrudet-Badoux, Mendelssohn and Chiche, adaptation VM Sokolova. The findings relate to the need to include indicators of psychosocial well-being of the person in the system of corresponding psycho-pedagogical and socio-psychological support of the university.

Oxytocin as an Indicator of Psychological and Social Well-Being in Domesticated Animals: A Critical Review

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Jean-Loup Rault

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Oxytocin is often portrayed as a hormone specific to social behavior, reflective of positive welfare states, and linked to mental states. Research on oxytocin in domesticated animal species has been few to date but is rapidly increasing (in dog, pig, cattle, sheep, with direct implications for animal welfare. This review evaluates the evidence for the specificity of oxytocin as an indicator of: 1. Social, 2. Positive, and 3. Psychological well-being. Oxytocin has most often been studied in socially relevant paradigms, with a lack of non-social control paradigms. Oxytocin research appears biased toward investigating positive valence, with a lack of control in valence or arousal. Oxytocin actions are modulated by the environmental and social contexts, which are important factors to consider. Limited evidence supports that oxytocin's actions are linked to psychological states; nevertheless whether this is a direct effect of oxytocin per se remains to be demonstrated. Overall, it is premature to judge oxytocin's potential as an animal welfare indicator given the few and discrepant findings and a lack of standardization in methodology. We cover potential causes for discrepancies and suggest solutions through appropriate methodological design, oxytocin sampling or delivery, analysis and reporting. Of particular interest, the oxytocinergic system as a whole remains poorly understood. Appreciation for the differences that social contact and group living pose in domesticated species and the way they interact with humans should be key considerations in using oxytocin as a psychosocial indicator of well-being.

[Drawing up indicators regarding success in public health programmes having a social-sports approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Cortês-Neto, Ewerton Dantas; Alchieri, João Carlos; Miranda, Hênio Ferreira de; Dantas-Cavalcanti, Francisco Ivo

2010-04-01

The present study was aimed at analysing how social sports projects are evaluated so as to draw up and develop indicators of success regarding social programmes' efficacy and effectiveness. This was a descriptive survey. The sample consisted of 51 participants, male (n=29) and female (n=22), from the Nova Descoberta project whose ages ranged from 8 to 17. Data was obtained from a semi-directed survey having open items covering 10 topics; it was carried out with children and adolescents over a 2-year period (2007-2008). Documental data was also obtained from schools which had agreed to cooperate with the project. There were no statistically significant differences (pperformance of survey group participants and those who had not joined the project in terms of scholastic performance during 2007. A significant difference (psports projects. The manifestation of other characteristics in the environment could have interfered with participation and involvement in physical activity and, consequently, with the children and adolescents' health and quality of life. It was found that school work performance indicators could be taken together with other indicators, such as development of various abilities, participation in other activities, activity motivation, behaviour and attitudes at home and at school, for evaluating social projects.

Inclusion of social indicators in decision support tools for the selection of sustainable site remediation options.

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Cappuyns, Valérie

2016-12-15

Sustainable remediation requires a balanced decision-making process in which environmental, economic and social aspects of different remediation options are all considered together and the optimum remediation solution is selected. More attention has been paid to the evaluation of environmental and economic aspects, in particular to reduce the human and environmental risks and the remediation costs, to the exclusion of social aspects of remediation. This paper investigates how social aspects are currently considered in sustainability assessments of remediation projects. A selection of decision support tools (DSTs), used for the sustainability assessment of a remediation project, is analyzed to define how social aspects are considered in those tools. The social indicator categories of the Sustainable Remediation Forum - United Kingdom (SuRF-UK), are used as a basis for this evaluation. The consideration of social aspects in the investigated decision support tools is limited, but a clear increase is noticed in more recently developed tools. Among the five social indicator categories defined by SuRF-UK to facilitate a holistic consideration of social aspects of a remediation project only "Human health and safety" is systematically taken into account. "Neighbourhood and locality" is also often addressed, mostly emphasizing the potential disturbance caused by the remediation activities. However, the evaluation of 'Ethics and Equality', Communities and community involvement', and 'Uncertainty and evidence' is often neglected. Nevertheless, concrete examples can be found in some of the investigated tools. Specific legislation, standard procedures, and guidelines that have to be followed in a region or country are mainly been set up in the context of protecting human and ecosystem health, safety and prevention of nuisance. However, they sometimes already include some of the aspects addressed by the social indicators. In this perspective the use of DST to evaluate the

Social Inequalities on Selected Determinants of Active Aging and Health Status Indicators in a Large Brazilian City (2003-2010).

Science.gov (United States)

Braga, Luciana de Souza; Lima-Costa, Maria Fernanda; César, Cibele Comini; Macinko, James

2016-02-01

To assess trends in social inequalities among 2,624 elderly living in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in three domains of the World Health Organization's Active Aging model (physical environment, social determinants, use of health services) and health status indicators. Data came from two representative household surveys conducted in 2003 and 2010. Social inequality was measured by the slope and the relative index of inequality. Educational level was used to define socioeconomic status. Significant improvements were observed in the prevalence rates of 7 out of 12 indicators. However, the social inequalities persisted through 10 out of 12 selected active aging and health status indicators, except for fear of falling on the sidewalks/crossing the streets and fear of being robbed. Social inequalities persistence might be assigned to the continuity of unequal distribution of resources among groups with different educational levels. © The Author(s) 2015.

The value of anthropometric indices for identifying women with features of metabolic syndrome

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BMI is a widely used anthropometric measure for identifying CVD and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk. Two new anthropometric indices are A Body Shape Index (ABSI) and Body Roundness Index (BRI) that may provide better correlations to features of MetS. Methods: Subject data were obtained from 91 over...

Identifying Features of Bodily Expression As Indicators of Emotional Experience during Multimedia Learning

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Valentin Riemer

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The importance of emotions experienced by learners during their interaction with multimedia learning systems, such as serious games, underscores the need to identify sources of information that allow the recognition of learners’ emotional experience without interrupting the learning process. Bodily expression is gaining in attention as one of these sources of information. However, to date, the question of how bodily expression can convey different emotions has largely been addressed in research relying on acted emotion displays. Following a more contextualized approach, the present study aims to identify features of bodily expression (i.e., posture and activity of the upper body and the head that relate to genuine emotional experience during interaction with a serious game. In a multimethod approach, 70 undergraduates played a serious game relating to financial education while their bodily expression was captured using an off-the-shelf depth-image sensor (Microsoft Kinect. In addition, self-reports of experienced enjoyment, boredom, and frustration were collected repeatedly during gameplay, to address the dynamic changes in emotions occurring in educational tasks. Results showed that, firstly, the intensities of all emotions indeed changed significantly over the course of the game. Secondly, by using generalized estimating equations, distinct features of bodily expression could be identified as significant indicators for each emotion under investigation. A participant keeping their head more turned to the right was positively related to frustration being experienced, whereas keeping their head more turned to the left was positively related to enjoyment. Furthermore, having their upper body positioned more closely to the gaming screen was also positively related to frustration. Finally, increased activity of a participant’s head emerged as a significant indicator of boredom being experienced. These results confirm the value of bodily

SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH INDICATORS IN CHILDREN LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS

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Vengada Krishnaraj S. P

2017-08-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Social factors in CLHA play important role in growth indicators. Both parents alive, loss of breadwinner of the family, widows working for children, orphaned CLHA, guardian and NGO’s taking care of CLHA, below poverty line status are some of the social factors that will have impact on growth indicators. This study was done to study these factors influence on growth indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS Prospective study from April 2014 to March 2015. All children on ART. Consent was obtained. Demographic data, height and weight measured monthly. Nutritional counseling and adherence counseling was given to all CLHA and caretakers. Gain in mean weight and height were tabulated. Data were grouped with both parents alive, mother alive, father alive, both parent dead, under guardian care, under NGO or GO care, two sibling families, below and above poverty line, sibling with HIV, at least one family member earning and two family members earning. Results were analysed. RESULTS Subjects 212. Male:female ratio 126:86. Mean age 9.6 years. (Males 9.8 and females 9.4 years. Mean duration of ART 45.5 months. 35% had both parents alive, 38% only mother alive, 8% only father alive and 17% both parents dead. 40% of orphaned taken care by guardians, rest by NGO’s. 9 families had more than 2 siblings. 21% had no earning family members. 80% were below poverty line. Mean increase in height was 5.75cms and weight was 2.87kgs during one year. No difference in gain in height in social groups. Orphaned children taken care by NGO’s and guardians have high gain in weight. Number of earning member does not influence in gain in weight. Gain in weight in above poverty line is better than below poverty line. CLHA under father’s care gained only 2.47kgs. CLHA with mother’s care gained more weight than father’s care. CONCLUSION 20% CLHA were orphaned and without earning member. Mothers, income of the family, NGO’s homes and guardians improve growth

Identifying Opinion Leaders to Promote Organ Donation on Social Media: Network Study

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Salmon, Charles T

2018-01-01

Background In the recent years, social networking sites (SNSs, also called social media) have been adopted in organ donation campaigns, and recruiting opinion leaders for such campaigns has been found effective in promoting behavioral changes. Objective The aim of this paper was to focus on the dissemination of organ donation tweets on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, and to examine the opinion leadership in the retweet network of popular organ donation messages using social network analysis. It also aimed to investigate how personal and social attributes contribute to a user’s opinion leadership on the topic of organ donation. Methods All messages about organ donation posted on Weibo from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 were extracted using Python Web crawler. A retweet network with 505,047 nodes and 545,312 edges of the popular messages (n=206) was constructed and analyzed. The local and global opinion leaderships were measured using network metrics, and the roles of personal attributes, professional knowledge, and social positions in obtaining the opinion leadership were examined using general linear model. Results The findings revealed that personal attributes, professional knowledge, and social positions predicted individual’s local opinion leadership in the retweet network of popular organ donation messages. Alternatively, personal attributes and social positions, but not professional knowledge, were significantly associated with global opinion leadership. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that health campaign designers may recruit peer leaders in SNS organ donation promotions to facilitate information sharing among the target audience. Users who are unverified, active, well connected, and experienced with information and communications technology (ICT) will accelerate the sharing of organ donation messages in the global environment. Medical professionals such as organ transplant surgeons who can wield a great amount of

Social desirability scales as indicators of self-enhancement and impression management.

Science.gov (United States)

Parmač Kovačić, Maja; Galić, Zvonimir; Jerneić, Željko

2014-01-01

This article presents 2 studies testing Paulhus's (2002) assumption that unconscious self-enhancement and conscious impression management represent separate processes of socially desirable responding (SDR) that can be observed within 2 content domains (egoistic and moralistic bias). In Study 1, we devised egoistic and moralistic SDR scales intended to measure self-enhancement in honest responding and impression management under demands for positive self-presentation. In Study 2, we correlated scores on these scales with external indicators of self-enhancement and impression management. In honest responding, both SDR scales most strongly correlated with self-enhancement indicators, whereas under demands for positive self-presentation they correlated more strongly with external measures of impression management.

Social Impact Open Repository (SIOR). Transforming the peripheral space of social impact of research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joanpere, M.; Samano, E.; Gomez, A.

2016-07-01

The EC FP7 project “IMPACT-EV, Evaluating the impact and outcomes of EU SSH research” (2014-2017) aims at developing a permanent system of selection, monitoring and evaluation of the various impacts of Social Sciences and the Humanities research, with a very special attention to the social impact of research. The Work Package entitled “Identifying social impact of SSH research projects” has the main aim of analysing the social impact of SSH research and the factors that have contributed to obtain or not this impact, in order to create indicators to identify and evaluate the social impact of the SSH research ex-ante and ex-post. (Author)

Social Action among Social Work Practitioners: Examining the Micro-Macro Divide.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattocks, Nicole Olivia

2018-01-01

Social work is a profession that seeks to enhance the well-being of all people and promote social justice and social change through a range of activities, such as direct practice, community organizing, social and political action, and policy development. However, the current literature suggests that the profession's focus on social justice and social action are weakening, replaced by individualism and therapeutic interventions. This article examines data derived from a survey of 188 National Association of Social Workers members from Maryland; Virginia; and Washington, DC, to explore levels of social action participation among social workers and determine whether identifying as a macro-level practitioner would predict higher levels of social action activity compared with being a micro-level practitioner. Findings indicate that social workers in this sample engage in only a moderate level of social action behavior. In addition, identifying oneself as a mezzo- or macro-level practitioner predicts increased frequency of social action behavior. Implications include emphasizing the importance of social action in schools of social work and practice settings and adequately preparing social work professionals to engage in social action. © 2017 National Association of Social Workers.

Analysis of ESG indicators for measuring enterprise performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuzana Chvátalová

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this article authors focus on the analysis of the whole set of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG indicators for the elimination of double or triple effects within the next construction of methods for measuring corporate performance. They build on their previously published results (in Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun., 2012. The partial actual selected results of a recently undertaken currently project entitled ‘Construction of Methods for Multifactorial Assessment of Company Complex Performance in Selected Sectors’ were used. This project was solved the research teams of the Faculty of Business and Management of Brno University Technology and Faculty of Business and Economics of Mendel University in Brno since 2011. Further theoretical resources in the environmental, social and corporate governance area, known indicator databases (namely Global Reporting Initiative, comparative analysis, resp. syntheses for identifying possible of common indicator properties were identified to classify indicator subsets to preclude double or even triple effect based on mathematical set theory (Venn diagrams. The indicator analysis in constructed multi-factorial methods contributes to precise decision making in management to improve corporate performance.

Identifying early indicators in bipolar disorder: a qualitative study.

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Benti, Liliane; Manicavasagar, Vijaya; Proudfoot, Judy; Parker, Gordon

2014-06-01

The identification of early markers has become a focus for early intervention in bipolar disorder. Using a retrospective, qualitative methodology, the present study compares the early experiences of participants with bipolar disorder to those with unipolar depression up until their first diagnosed episode. The study focuses on differences in early home and school environments as well as putative differences in personality characteristics between the two groups. Finally we a compare and contrast prodromal symptoms in these two populations. Thirty-nine participants, 20 diagnosed with unipolar depression and 19 diagnosed with bipolar disorder, took part in the study. A semi-structured interview was developed to elicit information about participants' experiences prior to their first episode. Participants with bipolar disorder reported disruptive home environments, driven personality features, greater emotion dysregulation and adverse experiences during the school years, whereas participants with depression tended to describe more supportive home environments, and more compliant and introvert personality traits. Retrospective data collection and no corroborative evidence from other family members. No distinction was made between bipolar I and bipolar II disorder nor between melancholic and non-melancholic depression in the sample. Finally the study spanned over a 12-month period which does not allow for the possibility of diagnostic reassignment of some of the bipolar participants to the unipolar condition. These findings indicate that there may be benefits in combining both proximal and distal indicators in identifying a bipolar disorder phenotype which, in turn, may be relevant to the development of early intervention programs for young people with bipolar disorder.

Identifying Opinion Leaders to Promote Organ Donation on Social Media: Network Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jingyuan; Salmon, Charles T

2018-01-09

In the recent years, social networking sites (SNSs, also called social media) have been adopted in organ donation campaigns, and recruiting opinion leaders for such campaigns has been found effective in promoting behavioral changes. The aim of this paper was to focus on the dissemination of organ donation tweets on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, and to examine the opinion leadership in the retweet network of popular organ donation messages using social network analysis. It also aimed to investigate how personal and social attributes contribute to a user's opinion leadership on the topic of organ donation. All messages about organ donation posted on Weibo from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 were extracted using Python Web crawler. A retweet network with 505,047 nodes and 545,312 edges of the popular messages (n=206) was constructed and analyzed. The local and global opinion leaderships were measured using network metrics, and the roles of personal attributes, professional knowledge, and social positions in obtaining the opinion leadership were examined using general linear model. The findings revealed that personal attributes, professional knowledge, and social positions predicted individual's local opinion leadership in the retweet network of popular organ donation messages. Alternatively, personal attributes and social positions, but not professional knowledge, were significantly associated with global opinion leadership. The findings of this study indicate that health campaign designers may recruit peer leaders in SNS organ donation promotions to facilitate information sharing among the target audience. Users who are unverified, active, well connected, and experienced with information and communications technology (ICT) will accelerate the sharing of organ donation messages in the global environment. Medical professionals such as organ transplant surgeons who can wield a great amount of influence on their direct connections could also effectively

Agresividad, prosocialidad y estatus social: identificando perfiles admirados entre preadolescentes chilenos (Aggressiveness, pro-Sociality and Social Status: Identifying Admired Profiles among Preadolescents in Chile (Agressivité, prosocialité et statut social: Identifiant les profiles admirés parmi les préadolescents chiliens (Agressividade, pró-socialidade e status social: Identificando perfis admirados entre pré-adolescentes chilenos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Berger

2011-12-01

Full Text Available ResumenCon base en la creciente evidencia de la asociación entre la agresividad y la proso- cialidad con indicadores de estatus social, el presente estudio aborda la admiración entre pares adolescentes como una manera de operacionalizar el estatus y evalúa el potencial carácter funcional de estas conductas sociales. La hipótesis que guía este estudio es que en la medida en que la agresividad y la prosocialidad son caracterís- ticas valoradas en el contexto de pares (con base en su asociación con el estatus, los adolescentes admirados, que pueden ejercer gran influencia sobre sus pares, serán aquellos que presenten este perfil. 274 estudiantes de 5o y 6o grado participaron del estudio. Los resultados muestran que la característica con mayor presencia entre los adolescentes admirados es la prosocialidad y luego la prominencia social. Sin embargo, se identifican dos perfiles de adolescentes admirados, que se distinguen principalmente por la agresividad: el perfil “fuerte” incluye además de la prosocia- lidad y la prominencia social altos puntajes en agresividad y popularidad, mientras que el perfil denominado “modelo” integra además de la prosocialidad y la promi- nencia social niveles muy bajos de agresividad y puntajes promedio en popularidad. Se identifican además diferencias de género en estos perfiles. Estos resultados son discutidos desde la perspectiva de las relaciones de pares y las posibles implicancias para el desarrollo tanto individual como grupal de los y las adolescentes.Abstractthis study, based on the growing evidence of the relation between aggressiveness and pro- sociality as indicators of social status, addresses admiration among adolescents as a way to make status operational and evaluates the possible function of this social behavior. the hypothesis that guide the study is that, as aggressiveness and pro-sociality are valued features as they are linked to status, the admired adolescents, who are able to

Quality Indicators for Family Support Services and Their Relationship to Organizational Social Context

Science.gov (United States)

Olin, S. Serene; Williams, Nate; Pollock, Michele; Armusewicz, Kelsey; Kutash, Krista; Glisson, Charles; Hoagwood, Kimberly E.

2013-01-01

Quality measurement is an important component of healthcare reform. The relationship of quality indicators (QIs) for parent-delivered family support services to organizational social contexts known to improve quality is unexamined. This study employs data collected from 21 child mental health programs that deliver team-based family support services. Performance on two levels of QIs —those targeting the program and staff -- were significantly associated with organizational social context profiles and dimensions. High quality program policies are associated with positive organizational cultures and engaging climates. Inappropriate staff practices are associated with resistant cultures. Implications for organizational strategies to improve service quality are discussed. PMID:23709286

Seeding Social Capital? Urban Community Gardening and Social Capital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Søren

2017-01-01

There is a continuing debate regarding urban community gardening’s benefits to local communities, and a particularly interesting branch of this debate has focused on community gardens capacity to encourage and facilitate social interaction, which may generate social capital. Social capital...... is an increasingly important concept in international research and measures of social capital have been associated with various measures of health. In a meta-analysis of literature published between 2000 and 2016 regarding community gardens’ social advantages, through the lens of the concept of social capital......, it is demonstrated that several studies substantiate that urban community gardens create social capital, both bonding and bridging, and exhibit indications of linking. It is moreover identified how there is much to be learned from future research, illuminating how urban community gardens can foster social capital...

Indicators of implicit and explicit social anxiety influence threat-related interpretive bias as a function of working memory capacity

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Elske eSalemink

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Interpretive biases play a crucial role in anxiety disorders. The aim of the current study was to examine factors that determine the relative strength of threat-related interpretive biases that are characteristic of individuals high in social anxiety. Different (dual process models argue that both implicit and explicit processes determine information processing biases and behaviour, and that their impact is moderated by the availability of executive resources such as working memory capacity (WMC. Based on these models, we expected indicators of implicit social anxiety to predict threat-related interpretive bias in individuals low, but not high in WMC. Indicators of explicit social anxiety should predict threat-related interpretive bias in individuals high, but not low in WMC. As expected, WMC moderated the impact of implicit social anxiety on threat-related interpretive bias, although the simple slope for individuals low in WMC was not statistically significant. The hypotheses regarding explicit social anxiety (with fear of negative evaluation used as an indicator were fully supported. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Liver Function Indicators Performed Better to Eliminate Cardioembolic Stroke than to Identify It from Stroke Subtypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Ge; Yuan, Ruozhen; Hao, Zilong; Lei, Chunyan; Xiong, Yao; Xu, Mangmang; Liu, Ming

2017-01-01

Identifying the etiology of ischemic stroke is essential to acute management and secondary prevention. The value of liver function indicators in differentiating stroke subtypes remains to be evaluated. A total of 1333 acute ischemic stroke patients were included. Liver function indicators collected within 24 hours from stroke onset, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and bilirubin (BILI), were collapsed into quartiles (Q) and also dichotomized by Q1. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify the independent association between liver function indicators and cardioembolic stroke (SCE). Area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted, and sensitivity (Sen), specificity (Spe), positive prospective value (PPV), and negative prospective value (NPV) were determined to evaluate the predictive value of liver function indicators for SCE. AST, GGT, and BILI were associated with SCE. After adjustment, only AST was related to SCE independently. The incidence of SCE in the Q1 of AST, GGT, and BILI, particularly in the Q1 of AST, was quite low. The ability of AST, GGT, and BILI to identify SCE was poor, with low AUC, Sen, and PPV. The value of AST, GGT, and BILI in eliminating SCE from stroke subtypes was good, with high Spe and moderate NPV, and was enhanced after combining each liver function indicator. Results of present study demonstrated that AST, GGT, and BILI, particularly AST, had a potential to eliminate SCE from stroke subtypes, and the ability of eliminating SCE would be strengthened after combining each liver function indicator together. Copyright © 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social media indicators of the food environment and state health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Q C; Meng, H; Li, D; Kath, S; McCullough, M; Paul, D; Kanokvimankul, P; Nguyen, T X; Li, F

2017-07-01

Contextual factors can influence health through exposures to health-promoting and risk-inducing factors. The aim of this study was to (1) build, from geotagged Twitter and Yelp data, a national food environment database and (2) to test associations between state food environment indicators and health outcomes. This is a cross-sectional study based upon secondary analyses of publicly available data. Using Twitter's Streaming Application Programming Interface (API), we collected and processed 4,041,521 food-related, geotagged tweets between April 2015 and March 2016. Using Yelp's Search API, we collected data on 505,554 unique food-related businesses. In linear regression models, we examined associations between food environment characteristics and state-level health outcomes, controlling for state-level differences in age, percent non-Hispanic white, and median household income. A one standard deviation increase in caloric density of food tweets was related to higher all-cause mortality (+46.50 per 100,000), diabetes (+0.75%), obesity (+1.78%), high cholesterol (+1.40%), and fair/poor self-rated health (2.01%). More burger Yelp listings were related to higher prevalence of diabetes (+0.55%), obesity (1.35%), and fair/poor self-rated health (1.12%). More alcohol tweets and Yelp bars and pub listings were related to higher state-level binge drinking and heavy drinking, but lower mortality and lower percent reporting fair/poor self-rated health. Supplemental analyses with county-level social media indicators and county health outcomes resulted in finding similar but slightly attenuated associations compared to those found at the state level. Social media can be utilized to create indicators of the food environment that are associated with area-level mortality, health behaviors, and chronic conditions. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Social Exclusion Indicators from Complex Surveys: The R Package laeken

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Andreas Alfons

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Units sampled from finite populations typically come with different inclusion proba- bilities. Together with additional preprocessing steps of the raw data, this yields unequal sampling weights of the observations. Whenever indicators are estimated from such com- plex samples, the corresponding sampling weights have to be taken into account. In addition, many indicators suffer from a strong influence of outliers, which are a common problem in real-world data. The R package laeken is an object-oriented toolkit for the estimation of indicators from complex survey samples via standard or robust methods. In particular the most widely used social exclusion and poverty indicators are imple- mented in the package. A general calibrated bootstrap method to estimate the variance of indicators for common survey designs is included as well. Furthermore, the package contains synthetically generated close-to-reality data for the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and the Structure of Earnings Survey, which are used in the code examples throughout the paper. Even though the paper is focused on showing the functionality of package laeken, it also provides a brief mathematical description of the implemented indicator methodology.

Identifying influential user communities on the social network

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weishu; Gong, Zhiguo; Hou U, Leong; Guo, Jingzhi

2015-10-01

Nowadays social network services have been popularly used in electronic commerce systems. Users on the social network can develop different relationships based on their common interests and activities. In order to promote the business, it is interesting to explore hidden relationships among users developed on the social network. Such knowledge can be used to locate target users for different advertisements and to provide effective product recommendations. In this paper, we define and study a novel community detection problem that is to discover the hidden community structure in large social networks based on their common interests. We observe that the users typically pay more attention to those users who share similar interests, which enable a way to partition the users into different communities according to their common interests. We propose two algorithms to detect influential communities using common interests in large social networks efficiently and effectively. We conduct our experimental evaluation using a data set from Epinions, which demonstrates that our method achieves 4-11.8% accuracy improvement over the state-of-the-art method.

New data sources for social indicators: the case study of contacting politicians by Twitter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosales Sánchez, Cristina; Craglia, Massimo; Bregt, Arnold K.

2017-01-01

Data availability is a persistent constraint in social policy analysis. Web 2.0 technologies could provide valuable new data sources, but first, their potentials and limitations need to be investigated. This paper reports on a method using Twitter data for deriving indications of active citizenship,

Electrophysiological indices of response inhibition in a Go/NoGo task predict self-control in a social context.

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Kyle Nash

Full Text Available Recent research demonstrates that response inhibition-a core executive function-may subserve self-regulation and self-control. However, it is unclear whether response inhibition also predicts self-control in the multifaceted, high-level phenomena of social decision-making. Here we examined whether electrophysiological indices of response inhibition would predict self-control in a social context. Electroencephalography was recorded as participants completed a widely used Go/NoGo task (the cued Continuous Performance Test. Participants then interacted with a partner in an economic exchange game that requires self-control. Results demonstrated that greater NoGo-Anteriorization and larger NoGo-P300 peak amplitudes-two established electrophysiological indices of response inhibition-both predicted more self-control in this social game. These findings support continued integration of executive function and self-regulation and help extend prior research into social decision-making processes.

Identifying social mechanisms for the prevention of adolescent drinking and driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Meng-Jinn; Grube, Joel W; Nygaard, Peter; Miller, Brenda A

2008-03-01

This study identifies social mechanisms that might help prevent youth from being involved in driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and riding with drinking drivers (RWDD). Data collected through telephone surveys with 1534 adolescents and young adults aged 15-20 years (mean=17.6, S.D.=1.6) in California, USA, were analyzed. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that DUI and RWDD were strongly related to drinking in unstructured situations, modeling of DUI by peers and parents, and perceived peer approval or disapproval of DUI. DUI outcome expectancies were indirectly related to DUI and RWDD through situational drinking. Parental monitoring and DUI law enforcement were also indirectly related to DUI and RWDD through DUI expectancies and other mechanisms. The findings, overall, suggest that parental influence remains important even through late adolescence. Parental monitoring, in particular, might help to reduce unstructured socializing with peers, drinking, and affiliation with peers who engage in DUI. Parental monitoring may also foster beliefs about the risks of DUI. Conversely, parents' own DUI behavior may normalize drinking and DUI behaviors, thus countering monitoring efforts.

Identifying Social Mechanisms for the Prevention of Adolescent Drinking and Driving

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Meng-Jinn; Grube, Joel W.; Nygaard, Peter; Miller, Brenda A.

2008-01-01

This study identifies social mechanisms that might help prevent youth from being involved in driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and riding with drinking drivers (RWDD). Data collected through telephone surveys with 1,534 adolescents and young adults aged 15–20 years (mean = 17.6, SD = 1.6) in California, USA were analyzed. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that DUI and RWDD were strongly related to drinking in unstructured situations, modeling of DUI by peers and parents, and perceived peer approval or disapproval of DUI. DUI outcome expectancies were indirectly related to DUI and RWDD through situational drinking. Parental monitoring and DUI law enforcement were also indirectly related to DUI and RWDD through DUI expectancies and other mechanisms. The findings, overall, suggest that parental influence remains important even through late adolescence. Parental monitoring, in particular, might help to reduce unstructured socializing with peers, drinking, and affiliation with peers who engage in DUI. Parental monitoring may also foster beliefs about the risks of DUI. Conversely, parents’ own DUI behavior may normalize drinking and DUI behaviors, thus countering monitoring efforts. PMID:18329409

Incidence of social phobia and identification of its risk indicators: A model for prevention.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acarturk, C.; Smit, H.F.E.; Graaf, de R.; Straten, van A.; Have, M. ten; Cuijpers, P.

2009-01-01

Objective: This study seeks to examine the incidence of social phobia in the general population and to establish a number of risk indicators. Method: Data were derived from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS) which is a population based prospective study (n = 7076). A

Identifying and tracking dynamic processes in social networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Wayne; Savell, Robert; Schütt, Jan-Peter; Cybenko, George

2006-05-01

The detection and tracking of embedded malicious subnets in an active social network can be computationally daunting due to the quantity of transactional data generated in the natural interaction of large numbers of actors comprising a network. In addition, detection of illicit behavior may be further complicated by evasive strategies designed to camouflage the activities of the covert subnet. In this work, we move beyond traditional static methods of social network analysis to develop a set of dynamic process models which encode various modes of behavior in active social networks. These models will serve as the basis for a new application of the Process Query System (PQS) to the identification and tracking of covert dynamic processes in social networks. We present a preliminary result from application of our technique in a real-world data stream-- the Enron email corpus.

The relationship of religious involvement indicators and social support to current and past suicidality among depressed older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Rushing, Nicole C; Corsentino, Elizabeth; Hames, Jennifer L; Sachs-Ericsson, Natalie; Steffens, David C

2013-01-01

Elderly people, particularly those with major depression, are at the highest risk for suicide than any other age group. Religious involvement is associated with a range of health outcomes including lower odds of death by suicide. However, not much is known about the effects of religious involvement on suicidal ideation in the elderly or which aspects of religiosity are beneficial. This study examined the relative influence of various conceptualizations of religious involvement, above and beyond the protective effects of social support, on current and past suicidality among depressed older adults. Participants were 248 depressed patients, 59 years and older, enrolled in the Neurocognitive Outcomes of Depression in the Elderly study. A psychiatrist assessed current suicidal ideation using the suicidal thoughts item from the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Past history of suicide attempts, four religious involvement indicators, social support indicators, and control variables were assessed via self-report. Church attendance, above and beyond importance of religion, private religious practices, and social support, was associated with less suicidal ideation; perceived social support partially mediated this relationship. Current religious practices were not predictive of retrospective reports of past suicide attempts. Church attendance, rather than other religious involvement indicators, has the strongest relationship to current suicidal ideation. Clinicians should consider public religious activity patterns and perceived social support when assessing for other known risk and protective factors for suicide and in developing treatment plans.

Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellen Kenchington

Full Text Available The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify "significant concentrations" of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores, and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here

Social exclusion in the rural areas – chosen non-monetary indicators in the region of Wielkopolska

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sławomir Kalinowski

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Together with the European integration, an opportunity to increase the transparency of key policy priorities of overcoming of social exclusion appeared. Selected indicators of social exclusion related to unemployment and education level were discussed in this paper. The paper also aims to reveal the problems of social exclusion and discuss the most significant activities towards its reduction. The influence of long-term and permanent unemployment on exclusion from society was presented. The impact of education on unemployment size, as well as the need for greater and more efficient investment in human capital were discussed.

Health indicators and social gradient in adolescent immigrants' health risk and healthcare experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zlotnick, Cheryl; Birenbaum-Carmeli, Daphna; Goldblatt, Hadass; Dishon, Yael; Taychaw, Omer; Shadmi, Efrat

2018-02-01

Few studies have assessed healthcare experiences in apparently healthy adolescents, or whether healthcare attitudes are linked to the two leading adolescent health indicators, smoking and obesity. Even fewer have examined these relationships in adolescent immigrant groups or made comparisons to adolescent non-immigrants. Using a cross-sectional study, healthcare experiences were compared among three groups of adolescents (n = 589) including Russian immigrants (n = 154), Ethiopian immigrants (n = 54), and non-immigrants (n = 381). Bootstrap estimates indicated positive healthcare experiences were less common among Russian adolescent immigrants (OR = 0.38, CI = 0.17, 0.86) compared to non-immigrants, unless the Russian adolescent immigrants reported above average socioeconomic status, in which case they were more likely than non-immigrant adolescents to report positive healthcare experiences (OR = 3.22, CI = 1.05, 9.85). Positive healthcare experiences were less likely among adolescents who were smokers (OR = 0.50, CI = 0.27, 0.91), and more likely for adolescents with a normal or low BMI (OR = 3.16, CI = 1.56, 6.40) and for those relying on parents for health information (OR = 1.97, CI = 1.05, 3.70). Findings suggest a social gradient in which positive healthcare experiences were more common among adolescence with higher socioeconomic status for some immigrants (Russian adolescents) but not for others. The two leading health indicators were related to healthcare experiences, but as adolescent smokers were less likely to have positive healthcare experiences, proactive efforts are needed to engage this group. What is Known: • Health indicators (such as obesity) and healthcare attitudes are linked to healthcare service use among adolescents sampled from outpatient and inpatient populations. What is New: • A social gradient involving socioeconomic status and being an adolescent immigrant was found regarding

On the (in)consistency of citizen and municipal level indicators of social capital and local government performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kampen, J.K.

2010-01-01

We study the empirical consistency of survey based (micro level) indicators of social capital and local government performance on the one, and municipality based (aggregate level) measures of these two concepts on the other hand. Knowledge about the behavior of these indicators is helpful for

Towards data-driven decision-making for sustainable diets in Vietnam: Identifying priority indicators through stakeholder engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Mayton, H.; Beal, T.; Rubin, J.; Sanchez, A.; Heller, M.; Hoey, L.; Khoury, C. K.; Jones, A.

2017-12-01

Globally, food systems impact and are impacted by the sustainability of environmental, societal, political, and public health factors. At the center of these systems are human diets, which vary substantially by culture and region, and have significant influence on human health, community livelihoods, climate change, and natural resources. However, rapidly growing and highly diverse lower middle-income countries like Vietnam face challenges in gathering data and defining clear policy intervention points and approaches that will provide a net-positive systemic influence across sectors. A new collaboration, Entry points to Advance Transitions towards Sustainable diets (EATS), between the University of Michigan and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) aims to identify ways that existing data and insights into the policy process can be leveraged to inform decision-making on where and how to intervene to effectively shift multiple axes of food systems to enhance the sustainability of diets. As a first step towards developing a model that other policy communities could follow, researchers aggregated and characterized approximately 50 major existing datasets on food, agriculture, and nutrition in Vietnam. They also created a conceptual framework for evaluating the sustainability of diets and for characterizing existing datasets, including eight domains and over 200 unique, measurable indicators. Figure 1 summarizes these domains and their key relationships, which forms a foundation for identifying leverage points that can positively impact multiple aspects of sustainable diets. Researchers then engaged food system stakeholders through informal interviews, surveys, and collaborative workshops to prioritize indicators and identify additional relevant data sources. Stakeholders included national government, research, NGO, and private sector representatives from across the range of identified domains. The key indicators identified by stakeholders will

A Delphi Study to Identify Indicators of Poorly Managed Pain for Pediatric Postoperative and Procedural Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alison M Twycross

2013-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adverse health care events are injuries occurring as a result of patient care. Significant acute pain is often caused by medical and surgical procedures in children, and it has been argued that undermanaged pain should be considered to be an adverse event. Indicators are often used to identify other potential adverse events. There are currently no validated indicators for undertreated pediatric pain.

Applying Social Network Analysis to Identify the Social Support Needs of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Koltai, Kolina; Walsh, Casey; Jones, Barbara; Berkelaar, Brenda L

2018-04-01

This article examines how theoretical and clinical applications of social network analysis (SNA) can inform opportunities for innovation and advancement of social support programming for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and survivors. SNA can help address potential barriers and challenges to initiating and sustaining AYA peer support by helping to identify the diverse psychosocial needs among individuals in the AYA age range; find strategic ways to support and connect AYAs at different phases of the cancer trajectory with resources and services; and increase awareness of psychosocial resources and referrals from healthcare providers. Network perspectives on homophily, proximity, and evolution provide a foundational basis to explore the utility of SNA in AYA clinical care and research initiatives. The uniqueness of the AYA oncology community can also provide insight into extending and developing current SNA theories. Using SNA in AYA psychosocial cancer research has the potential to create new ideas and pathways for supporting AYAs across the continuum of care, while also extending theories of SNA. SNA may also prove to be a useful tool for examining social support resources for AYAs with various chronic health conditions and other like groups.

Social position and health in old age. The relevance of different indicators of social position

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avlund, Kirsten; Holstein, Bjørn Evald; Osler, Merete

2002-01-01

Social medicine, social position, chronic diseases, material wealth, income, tenure, oral health, functional ability, well-being, mobility......Social medicine, social position, chronic diseases, material wealth, income, tenure, oral health, functional ability, well-being, mobility...

Biosurveillance Using Clinical Diagnoses and Social Media Indicators in Military Populations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corley, Courtney D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Volkova, Svitlana [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rounds, Jeremiah [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Charles-Smith, Lauren E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Harrison, Joshua J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mendoza, Joshua A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Han, Keith S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2017-02-23

U.S. military influenza surveillance uses electronic reporting of clinical diagnoses to monitor health of military personnel and detect naturally occurring and bioterrorism-related epidemics. While accurate, these systems lack in timeliness. More recently, researchers have used novel data sources to detect influenza in real time and capture nontraditional populations. With data-mining techniques, military social media users are identified and influenza-related discourse is integrated along with medical data into a comprehensive disease model. By leveraging heterogeneous data streams and developing dashboard biosurveillance analytics, the researchers hope to increase the speed at which outbreaks are detected and provide accurate disease forecasting among military personnel.

Environmental indicators for buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dammann, S.

Whenever we shop, the products we consider buying are labelled with the economical price we have to pay if we want to purchase them - an important parameter in our decisions as purchasers. The increrasing awareness for environmental limits and backlashes of human activities also in the building...... sector have fostered the wish to define 'the ecological price' of a building as a help for environmental conscious decision-making. In a social constructivist approach this Ph.D. thesis looks across and beyond the manifold existing approaches for environmental indicators for buildings. It acknowledges...... in the Netherlands. It identifies lines of conflict and areas of consent betweeen the relevant actors and elaborates scenarios for a possible closure of ongoing debate about environmental indicators for buildings....

Use intensity of social networks in southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafaele Matte Wojahn

2017-08-01

Full Text Available A social network implies in connect people. This article aims to identify the use intensity of social network in Southern Brazil. The research was characterized by quantitative approach, descriptive, cross-sectional and survey, with a sample of 372 respondents. To data analysis was used descriptive analysis to characterize the sample, verify the access frequency of social networks and the daily access time, and Pearson’s Correlation to identify the daily access time and the social networks. The results indicated the social network used in more intensity is the Facebook and then Whatsapp, and the access occurs at home. However, all the social networks promote interactions toward users.

Designing a socio-spatial need indicator for urban social services analysis and decision making. A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Morenos Jiménez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Decision taking on social services requires, as a previous step, to appraise the human needs and their spatial distribution, a key issue particularly sensitive in less developed zones or during economic crisis periods, as far as socio-spatial cohesion is then strongly challenged. Vari-ous methods have been used for measuring social needs, provided that these are diverse in nature and sometimes elusive. Incorporating the spatial dimension in this task involves an additional challenge, but the results add meaningful value for socio-spatial planning. Along this concern, in this work it is tackled the problema of estimating the needs typically met by local social service centers (SSC. To this end, it is designed a novel statistical indicator for intra-urban zones, incorporating in the formula the main components of the actual observed de-mand as well as the per capita income, to take into account the relevant spatial equity principle. Using a geographical information systems (GIS, the indicator for estimating SSC need has been experimentally obtained for two types of spatial units in the city of Madrid: municipal districts and small statistical areas, looking for complementary applied uses. The results reveal the intra-urban inequalities for these types of needs and may support public decision making on spatial provision and location of this kind of social resources. In addition, a preliminary and statistically based exam of the indicator potentialities and limitations is carried out for both types of spatial units.

Identifying and quantifying heterogeneity in high content analysis: application of heterogeneity indices to drug discovery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert H Gough

Full Text Available One of the greatest challenges in biomedical research, drug discovery and diagnostics is understanding how seemingly identical cells can respond differently to perturbagens including drugs for disease treatment. Although heterogeneity has become an accepted characteristic of a population of cells, in drug discovery it is not routinely evaluated or reported. The standard practice for cell-based, high content assays has been to assume a normal distribution and to report a well-to-well average value with a standard deviation. To address this important issue we sought to define a method that could be readily implemented to identify, quantify and characterize heterogeneity in cellular and small organism assays to guide decisions during drug discovery and experimental cell/tissue profiling. Our study revealed that heterogeneity can be effectively identified and quantified with three indices that indicate diversity, non-normality and percent outliers. The indices were evaluated using the induction and inhibition of STAT3 activation in five cell lines where the systems response including sample preparation and instrument performance were well characterized and controlled. These heterogeneity indices provide a standardized method that can easily be integrated into small and large scale screening or profiling projects to guide interpretation of the biology, as well as the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Understanding the heterogeneity in the response to perturbagens will become a critical factor in designing strategies for the development of therapeutics including targeted polypharmacology.

The Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy: identifying indicators of food access and food literacy for early monitoring of the food environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, Beatrice A; Manafò, Elizabeth; Boddy, Meaghan R; Roblin, Lynn; Truscott, Rebecca

2017-09-01

To address challenges Canadians face within their food environments, a comprehensive, multistakeholder, intergovernmental approach to policy development is essential. Food environment indicators are needed to assess population status and change. The Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy (OFNS) integrates the food, agriculture and nutrition sectors, and aims to improve the health of Ontarians through actions that promote healthy food systems and environments. This report describes the process of identifying indicators for 11 OFNS action areas in two strategic directions (SDs): Healthy Food Access, and Food Literacy and Skills. The OFNS Indicators Advisory Group used a five-step process to select indicators: (1) potential indicators from national and provincial data sources were identified; (2) indicators were organized by SD, action area and data type; (3) selection criteria were identified, pilot tested and finalized; (4) final criteria were applied to refine the indicator list; and (5) indicators were prioritized after reapplication of selection criteria. Sixty-nine potential indicators were initially identified; however, many were individual-level rather than system-level measures. After final application of the selection criteria, one individual-level indicator and six system-level indicators were prioritized in five action areas; for six of the action areas, no indicators were available. Data limitations suggest that available data may not measure important aspects of the food environment, highlighting the need for action and resources to improve system-level indicators and support monitoring of the food environment and health in Ontario and across Canada.

Identifying marine pelagic ecosystem management objectives and indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trenkel, Verena M.; Hintzen, Niels T.; Farnsworth, Keith D.

2015-01-01

. Overall 26 objectives were proposed, with 58% agreement in proposed objectives between two workshops. Based on published evidence for pressure-state links, examples of operational objectives and suitable indicators for each of the 26 objectives were then selected. It is argued that given the strong......International policy frameworks such as the Common Fisheries Policy and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive define high-level strategic goals for marine ecosystems. Strategic goals are addressed via general and operational management objectives. To add credibility and legitimacy...... scale in some cases. In the evidence-based approach used in this study, the selection of species or region specific operational objectives and indicators was based on demonstrated pressure-state links. Hence observed changes in indicators can reliably inform on appropriate management measures. (C) 2015...

Quality indicators for blogs and podcasts used in medical education: modified Delphi consensus recommendations by an international cohort of health professions educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Michelle; Thoma, Brent; Trueger, N Seth; Ankel, Felix; Sherbino, Jonathan; Chan, Teresa

2015-10-01

Quality assurance concerns about social media platforms used for education have arisen within the medical education community. As more trainees and clinicians use resources such as blogs and podcasts for learning, we aimed to identify quality indicators for these resources. A previous study identified 151 potentially relevant quality indicators for these social media resources. To identify quality markers for blogs and podcasts using an international cohort of health professions educators. A self-selected group of 44 health professions educators at the 2014 International Conference on Residency Education participated in a Social Media Summit during which a modified Delphi consensus study was conducted to determine which of the 151 quality indicators met the a priori ≥90% inclusion threshold. Thirteen quality indicators classified into the domains of credibility (n=8), content (n=4) and design (n=1) met the inclusion threshold. The quality indicators that were identified may serve as a foundation for further research on quality indicators of social media-based medical education resources and prompt discussion of their legitimacy as a form of educational scholarship. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Improved mortality searches for Ontario miners using social insurance index identifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fair, M.E.; Newcombe, H.B.; Lalonde, P.

1988-02-01

The immediate purpose of the present use of the Social Insurance Number (SIN) index file is to facilitate the death searches pertaining to Ontario miners, including uranium miners. The SIN records contain accurate versions of the personal identifiers such as names and birth dates, whereas these are often incompletely or incorrectly recorded on the available work records such as those of the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). The results show that use of the SIN identifiers considerably increases the accuracy of the death searches. Both the false positive and the false negative outcomes from these searches are reduced in number. This is true when the SIN identifiers are employed alone, and even more so when they are used in combination with the WCB identifiers. Moreover, the manual resolutions of the remaining difficult or ambiguous matches are greatly facilitated, in part because of the lessened resemblance between competing death links. The results are applicable to future studies of the mortality experience of occupational cohorts, including the Newfoundland fluorspar miners and persons enrolled in the National Dose Registry. The improvement will be most marked where SIN registrations for recent years are employed, i.e. following introduction of a requirement to provide birth certificate with the SIN application forms. As a by-product of the study it has been possible to investigate quantitatively, for the first time, the effect on accuracy of the death searches when various components of the full names, birth dates and such are deleted from the search records. These effects are substantial, and they emphasize further the value of having identifiers of high quality available for any mortality follow-up

The Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy: identifying indicators of food access and food literacy for early monitoring of the food environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatrice A. Boucher

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: To address challenges Canadians face within their food environments, a comprehensive, multistakeholder, intergovernmental approach to policy development is essential. Food environment indicators are needed to assess population status and change. The Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy (OFNS integrates the food, agriculture and nutrition sectors, and aims to improve the health of Ontarians through actions that promote healthy food systems and environments. This report describes the process of identifying indicators for 11 OFNS action areas in two strategic directions (SDs: Healthy Food Access, and Food Literacy and Skills. Methods: The OFNS Indicators Advisory Group used a five-step process to select indicators: (1 potential indicators from national and provincial data sources were identified; (2 indicators were organized by SD, action area and data type; (3 selection criteria were identified, pilot tested and finalized; (4 final criteria were applied to refine the indicator list; and (5 indicators were prioritized after reapplication of selection criteria. Results: Sixty-nine potential indicators were initially identified; however, many were individual-level rather than system-level measures. After final application of the selection criteria, one individual-level indicator and six system-level indicators were prioritized in five action areas; for six of the action areas, no indicators were available. Conclusion: Data limitations suggest that available data may not measure important aspects of the food environment, highlighting the need for action and resources to improve system-level indicators and support monitoring of the food environment and health in Ontario and across Canada.

Identifying associated factors with social capital using path analysis: A population-based survey in Tehran, Iran (Urban HEART-2).

Science.gov (United States)

Asadi-Lari, Mohsen; Hassanzadeh, Jafar; Torabinia, Mansour; Vaez-Mahdavi, Mohammad Reza; Montazeri, Ali; Ghaem, Haleh; Menati, Rostam; Niazi, Mohsen; Kassani, Aziz

2016-01-01

Background: Social capital has been defined as norms, networks, and social links that facilitate collective actions. Social capital is related to a number of main social and public health variables. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the factors associated with social capital among the residents of Tehran, Iran. Methods: In this large cross-sectional population-based study, 31531 residents aged 20 years and above were selected through multi-stage sampling method from 22 districts of Tehran in 2011. The social capital questionnaire, 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used. Hypothetical causal models were designed to identify the pathways through which different variables influenced the components of social capital. Then, path analysis was conducted for identifying the determinants of social capital. Results: The most influential variables in 'individual trust' were job status (β=0.37, p=0.02), marital status (β=0.32, p=0.01), Physical Component Summary (PCS) (β=0.37, p=0.02), and age (β=0.34, p=0.03). On the other hand, education level (β=0.34, p=0.01), age (β=0.33, p=0.02), marital status (β=0.33, p=0.01), and job status (β=0.32, p=0.01) were effective in 'cohesion and social support'. Additionally, age (β=0.18, p=0.02), PCS (β=0.36, p=0.01), house ownership (β=0.23, p=0.03), and mental health (β=0.26, p=0.01) were influential in 'social trust/collective relations'. Conclusion: Social capital can be improved in communities by planning to improve education and occupation status, paying more attention to strengthening family bonds, and provision of local facilities and neighborhood bonds to reduce migration within the city.

Interpretive Structural Model of Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Maintenance Evaluatian in Rubber Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Amrina, E.; Yulianto, A.

2018-03-01

Sustainable maintenance is a new challenge for manufacturing companies to realize sustainable development. In this paper, an interpretive structural model is developed to evaluate sustainable maintenance in the rubber industry. The initial key performance indicators (KPIs) is identified and derived from literature and then validated by academic and industry experts. As a result, three factors of economic, social, and environmental dividing into a total of thirteen indicators are proposed as the KPIs for sustainable maintenance evaluation in rubber industry. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology is applied to develop a network structure model of the KPIs consisting of three levels. The results show the economic factor is regarded as the basic factor, the social factor as the intermediate factor, while the environmental factor indicated to be the leading factor. Two indicators of social factor i.e. labor relationship, and training and education have both high driver and dependence power, thus categorized as the unstable indicators which need further attention. All the indicators of environmental factor and one indicator of social factor are indicated as the most influencing indicator. The interpretive structural model hoped can aid the rubber companies in evaluating sustainable maintenance performance.

Trade as an indicator of social and economic development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Serebryakova

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In modern conditions of trade in the Russian Federation became the most important type of entrepreneurship. It is, in a number of objective and subjective reasons, is the most rapidly developing sector of the national economy, affecting the interests of all subjects of market relations: population, manufacturers of commercial products, government and trade. Currently in the internal trade of the Russian Federation there have been significant changes occurring under the influence of growing tensions on the international market, in the economy of our country and within the trading industry. But despite the deteriorating economic situation in the world and strained relations between the Russian Federation and its European and American partners, the latest statistics indicate the translational dynamics of retail trade turnover in the whole country, and in the Voronezh region. Retail trade turnover is among the most important indicators of economic and social development of the Voronezh region and the country as a whole. Its structure and volume characterize the level of consumption of goods population, the increase or decrease of welfare of the people. Through retail sales is a constant influence on the development of the volume and structure of production of consumer goods. This article assessed the relationship between the economic development of the Voronezh region as one of average of region of our country, its trade and standard of living of Voronezh.

Analysis on The Society Indicator of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR of PT Antam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuraini Sari

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Stakeholders believe that CSR report of a company provides significant information as well as the financial information reported in financial statement. The purpose of this research is to analyze the comprehensiveness and information on society indicator stated in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (version 3.1 provides indicators to analyze the CSR of company. This research focuses on society aspect as one of the performance indicators. Comprehensive reporting contains three types of information: (i vision and goals, (ii management approach, and (iii performance indicator. The methodology used in this research was data collection. This research analyzed the disclosure of society aspect by PT Antam on their financial statement and annual CSR report for the year 2012. The result of this research explains that PT Antam’s sustainability report for the year 2012 was comprehensive because they reported all the six aspects of society indicator. However, PT Antam failed to report the total value of financial and in kind contributions to political parties, politicians, and related institutions by country (SO6 as part of public policy aspect in their sustainability report.

USING THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVENESS INDICATORS FOR SOCIAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION TO REDUCE HEALTH-RISK BEHAVIORS AMONG YOUTH.

Science.gov (United States)

Vantamay, Nottakrit

2015-09-01

This study aimed to develop effectiveness indicators for social marketing communication to reduce health-risk behaviors among Thai youth by using the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique is a research approach used to gain consensus through a series of two or more rounds of questionnaire surveys where information and results are fed back to panel members between each round and it has been extensively used to generate many indicators relevant to health behaviors. The Delphi technique was conducted in 3 rounds by consulting a panel of 15 experts in the field of social marketing communication for public health campaigns in Thailand. We found forty-nine effectiveness indicators in eight core components reached consensus. These components were: 1) attitude about health-risk behavior reduction, 2) subjective norms, 3) perceived behavioral control, 4) intention to reduce health-risk behaviors, 5) practices for reducing health-risk behaviors, 6) knowledge about the dangers and impact of health-risk behaviors, 7) campaign brand equity, and 8) communication networks. These effectiveness indicators could be applied by health promotion organizations for evaluating the effectiveness of social marketing communication to effectively reduce health-risk behaviors among youth.

Social network characteristics and HIV vulnerability among transgender persons in San Salvador: identifying opportunities for HIV prevention strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrington, Clare; Wejnert, Cyprian; Guardado, Maria Elena; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Bailey, Gabriela Paz

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of HIV vulnerability and opportunities for HIV prevention within the social networks of male-to-female transgender persons in San Salvador, El Salvador. We compare HIV prevalence and behavioral data from a sample of gay-identified men who have sex with men (MSM) (n = 279), heterosexual or bisexual identified MSM (n = 229) and transgender persons (n = 67) recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling. Transgender persons consistently reported higher rates of HIV risk behavior than the rest of the study population and were significantly more likely to be involved in sex work. While transgender persons reported the highest rates of exposure to HIV educational activities they had the lowest levels of HIV-related knowledge. Transgender respondents' social networks were homophilous and efficient at recruiting other transgender persons. Findings suggest that transgender social networks could provide an effective and culturally relevant opportunity for HIV prevention efforts in this vulnerable population.

Identifying the social capital influencing diabetes control in Japan

OpenAIRE

Yamada, Yohei; Suematsu, Mina; Takahashi, Noriyuki; Okazaki, Kentaro; Yasui, Hiroki; Hida, Takeshi; Uemura, Kazumasa; Murotani, Kenta; Kuzuya, Masafumi

2018-01-01

The number of patients with diabetes is increasing in Japan. Recently, Social capital (SC) has received increasing attention as a factor influencing health conditions. In the US, the relation between SC and diabetes control has been reported, but little attention has been paid to this connection in Japan. Three SC questionnaires, entitled “trust in people in a community,” “social support,” and “social relationships,” were constructed. The subjects were adult patients with type 2 diabetes. Inf...

Identifying pelagic ecosystem indicators for management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trenkel, Verena; Hintzen, Niels; Rindorf, Anna

2013-01-01

When exploiting fish populations under the ecosystem approach, aiming for MSY is not necessarily sufficient to ensure wider ecosystem sustainability. All of the large stocks of pelagic fish are managed through harvest control rules based on an MSY approach. Ensuring good environmental status...... will probably require further constraints to be imposed by management. Most of the current paradigm with regards to GES for fisheries has been based on demersal fish. Pelagic fisheries and fish are operationally and biologically respectively different. We use the example of applying the ecosystem approach...... between objectives and indicators were explored for a range of examples highlighting the importance of the biology and the interaction between the pelagic ecosystem and humans. Considering MSY targets alone will not fulfil GES objectives with regards to e.g. genetic, phenotypic, and behavioural dimensions...

State of Canada's forests, 1991: Second report to parliament: Environmental, social and economic indicators. Annual publication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-01-01

Second annual report on the state of Canada's forests, including national and provincial profiles of the forests; environmental, economic and social indicators; public opinions about forestry issues; competition in forest products in world markets; forestry research and development; and performance indicators. A glossary is included.

[Activities using websites and social networks: tools and indicators for evaluation].

Science.gov (United States)

López, María José; Continente, Xavier; Sánchez, Esther; Bartroli, Montse

In the field of health, information and communication technology (ICT) can create a space that, regardless of place or time, enables information to be shared and disseminated quickly. In addition to the usual challenges of evaluating public health activities, other difficulties are present when evaluating activities using ICT, such as lack of previous standards, unknown individual exposure or lack of information on the characteristics of those exposed. The aim of this paper is to describe some tools and indicators that may help to assess the scope, use and parameters related to website positioning on search engines as well as the connected social networks. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

PREDICT-PD: An online approach to prospectively identify risk indicators of Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Noyce, Alastair J; R'Bibo, Lea; Peress, Luisa; Bestwick, Jonathan P; Adams-Carr, Kerala L; Mencacci, Niccolo E; Hawkes, Christopher H; Masters, Joseph M; Wood, Nicholas; Hardy, John; Giovannoni, Gavin; Lees, Andrew J; Schrag, Anette

2017-02-01

A number of early features can precede the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). To test an online, evidence-based algorithm to identify risk indicators of PD in the UK population. Participants aged 60 to 80 years without PD completed an online survey and keyboard-tapping task annually over 3 years, and underwent smell tests and genotyping for glucocerebrosidase (GBA) and leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutations. Risk scores were calculated based on the results of a systematic review of risk factors and early features of PD, and individuals were grouped into higher (above 15th centile), medium, and lower risk groups (below 85th centile). Previously defined indicators of increased risk of PD ("intermediate markers"), including smell loss, rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder, and finger-tapping speed, and incident PD were used as outcomes. The correlation of risk scores with intermediate markers and movement of individuals between risk groups was assessed each year and prospectively. Exploratory Cox regression analyses with incident PD as the dependent variable were performed. A total of 1323 participants were recruited at baseline and >79% completed assessments each year. Annual risk scores were correlated with intermediate markers of PD each year and baseline scores were correlated with intermediate markers during follow-up (all P values < 0.001). Incident PD diagnoses during follow-up were significantly associated with baseline risk score (hazard ratio = 4.39, P = .045). GBA variants or G2019S LRRK2 mutations were found in 47 participants, and the predictive power for incident PD was improved by the addition of genetic variants to risk scores. The online PREDICT-PD algorithm is a unique and simple method to identify indicators of PD risk. © 2017 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder

Sexual Minority Stress, Coping, and Physical Health Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Flenar, Delphia J; Tucker, Carolyn M; Williams, Jaime L

2017-12-01

Sexual minorities experience higher rates of several physical health problems compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The present study uses Meyer's Minority Stress Model (Psychological Bulletin, 129(5): 674-697, 2003) to examine physical health indicators among 250 adults who identified as sexual minorities. Study hypotheses include that sexual minority stress is predictive of two physical health indicators (i.e., engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle and number of physical health problems) and that planning (i.e., problem-focused) and social support coping will partially mediate the relationship between sexual minority stress and each physical health indicator. Results showed that as level of sexual minority stress increased, engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle decreased and the number of physical health problems increased. Planning and social support coping did not mediate these relationships; however, as levels of coping increased, engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle increased. These findings have implications for researchers and healthcare professionals in their efforts to promote the physical health of sexual minorities.

Creating a Chinese suicide dictionary for identifying suicide risk on social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Meizhen; Li, Ang; Liu, Tianli; Zhu, Tingshao

2015-01-01

Introduction. Suicide has become a serious worldwide epidemic. Early detection of individual suicide risk in population is important for reducing suicide rates. Traditional methods are ineffective in identifying suicide risk in time, suggesting a need for novel techniques. This paper proposes to detect suicide risk on social media using a Chinese suicide dictionary. Methods. To build the Chinese suicide dictionary, eight researchers were recruited to select initial words from 4,653 posts published on Sina Weibo (the largest social media service provider in China) and two Chinese sentiment dictionaries (HowNet and NTUSD). Then, another three researchers were recruited to filter out irrelevant words. Finally, remaining words were further expanded using a corpus-based method. After building the Chinese suicide dictionary, we tested its performance in identifying suicide risk on Weibo. First, we made a comparison of the performance in both detecting suicidal expression in Weibo posts and evaluating individual levels of suicide risk between the dictionary-based identifications and the expert ratings. Second, to differentiate between individuals with high and non-high scores on self-rating measure of suicide risk (Suicidal Possibility Scale, SPS), we built Support Vector Machines (SVM) models on the Chinese suicide dictionary and the Simplified Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (SCLIWC) program, respectively. After that, we made a comparison of the classification performance between two types of SVM models. Results and Discussion. Dictionary-based identifications were significantly correlated with expert ratings in terms of both detecting suicidal expression (r = 0.507) and evaluating individual suicide risk (r = 0.455). For the differentiation between individuals with high and non-high scores on SPS, the Chinese suicide dictionary (t1: F 1 = 0.48; t2: F 1 = 0.56) produced a more accurate identification than SCLIWC (t1: F 1 = 0.41; t2: F 1 = 0.48) on different

Creating a Chinese suicide dictionary for identifying suicide risk on social media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meizhen Lv

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Suicide has become a serious worldwide epidemic. Early detection of individual suicide risk in population is important for reducing suicide rates. Traditional methods are ineffective in identifying suicide risk in time, suggesting a need for novel techniques. This paper proposes to detect suicide risk on social media using a Chinese suicide dictionary.Methods. To build the Chinese suicide dictionary, eight researchers were recruited to select initial words from 4,653 posts published on Sina Weibo (the largest social media service provider in China and two Chinese sentiment dictionaries (HowNet and NTUSD. Then, another three researchers were recruited to filter out irrelevant words. Finally, remaining words were further expanded using a corpus-based method. After building the Chinese suicide dictionary, we tested its performance in identifying suicide risk on Weibo. First, we made a comparison of the performance in both detecting suicidal expression in Weibo posts and evaluating individual levels of suicide risk between the dictionary-based identifications and the expert ratings. Second, to differentiate between individuals with high and non-high scores on self-rating measure of suicide risk (Suicidal Possibility Scale, SPS, we built Support Vector Machines (SVM models on the Chinese suicide dictionary and the Simplified Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (SCLIWC program, respectively. After that, we made a comparison of the classification performance between two types of SVM models.Results and Discussion. Dictionary-based identifications were significantly correlated with expert ratings in terms of both detecting suicidal expression (r = 0.507 and evaluating individual suicide risk (r = 0.455. For the differentiation between individuals with high and non-high scores on SPS, the Chinese suicide dictionary (t1: F1 = 0.48; t2: F1 = 0.56 produced a more accurate identification than SCLIWC (t1: F1 = 0.41; t2: F1 = 0.48 on

IDENTIFYING BRAȘOV COUNTY’S TOURISTIC VISITORS’ PROFILE USING EUROPEAN TOURISM INDICATORS SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghita Dinca

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The need for sustainable development of regions is a current topic that concern both local authorities and academic experts, as demonstrated by this paper through case study in Brașov County, one of Romania’s main tourist regions. This paper is based on a research project meant to develop an original testing technique of European Tourism Indicators System of Sustainable Destinations (ETIS for Brașov County. The paper presents the results of a market survey carried out on a sample of 1,119 visitors and meant to identify travel characteristics of tourists from

Identifying changes in the support networks of end-of-life carers using social network analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Rosemary; Horsfall, Debbie; Noonan, Kerrie

2015-06-01

End-of-life caring is often associated with reduced social networks for both the dying person and for the carer. However, those adopting a community participation and development approach, see the potential for the expansion and strengthening of networks. This paper uses Knox, Savage and Harvey's definitions of three generations social network analysis to analyse the caring networks of people with a terminal illness who are being cared for at home and identifies changes in these caring networks that occurred over the period of caring. Participatory network mapping of initial and current networks was used in nine focus groups. The analysis used key concepts from social network analysis (size, density, transitivity, betweenness and local clustering) together with qualitative analyses of the group's reflections on the maps. The results showed an increase in the size of the networks and that ties between the original members of the network strengthened. The qualitative data revealed the importance between core and peripheral network members and the diverse contributions of the network members. The research supports the value of third generation social network analysis and the potential for end-of-life caring to build social capital. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Identifying bio-physical, social and political challenges to catchment governance for sustainable freshwater fisheries in West Africa: Systems overview through scenario development in the SUSFISH project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sendzimir, Jan; Slezak, Gabriele; Melcher, Andreas

2015-04-01

Chronic and episodic water scarcity prompted construction of 1400 reservoirs in Burkina Faso since 1950, greatly expanding fisheries production. These fisheries provided an increasingly important protein source for a population that has risen 600% since 1920, but production has plateaued, and dramatic declines in adult fish size suggest these fisheries are not sustainable. The SUSFISH project joined Austrian and Burkinabe scientists to increase local capacities to manage fisheries sustainably. SUSFISH has successfully increased capacity to monitor fish populations, identify endangered species, and use specific fish and macroinvertebrate species as bio-indicators of water and habitat quality as well as anthropogenic pressures. But projects to support sustainable development in Africa have a long history of failure if only based on transfer of technology and theory based on bio-physical sciences. This paper describes the processes and products of knowledge elicitation, scenario development and systems analysis to identify barriers and bridges to long-term sustainable fisheries development that arise from bio-physical, social, political and cultural causes, and, especially, interactions between them. Lessons learned and important on-going research questions are identified for both the natural and social sciences as they apply to managing catchments at multiple scales of governance, from local to national.

Sustainability indicators for the assessment of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamford, Laurence; Azapagic, Adisa

2011-01-01

Electricity supplies an increasing share of the world's total energy demand and that contribution is set to increase. At the same time, there is increasing socio-political will to mitigate impacts of climate change as well as to improve energy security. This, in combination with the desire to ensure social and economic prosperity, creates a pressing need to consider the sustainability implications of future electricity generation. However, approaches to sustainability assessment differ greatly in their scope and methodology as currently there is no standardised approach. With this in mind, this paper reviews sustainability indicators that have previously been used to assess energy options and proposes a new sustainability assessment methodology based on a life cycle approach. In total, 43 indicators are proposed, addressing the techno-economic, environmental and social sustainability issues associated with energy systems. The framework has been developed primarily to address concerns associated with nuclear power in the UK, but is applicable to other energy technologies as well as to other countries. -- Highlights: → New framework for life cycle sustainability assessment of nuclear power developed. → The framework comprises 43 indicators addressing techno-economic, environmental and social sustainability. → Completely new indicators developed to address different sustainability issues, including nuclear proliferation, energy supply diversity and intergenerational equity. → The framework enables sustainability comparisons of nuclear and other electricity technologies. → Indicators can be used by various stakeholders, including industry, policy makers and NGOs to help identify more sustainable electricity options.

"Social Anxiety Disorder Carved at its Joints": evidence for the taxonicity of social anxiety disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Weeks, Justin W; Carleton, R Nicholas; Asmundson, Gordon J G; McCabe, Randi E; Antony, Martin M

2010-10-01

Previous findings suggest that social anxiety disorder may be best characterized as having a dimensional latent structure (Kollman et al., 2006; Weeks et al., 2009). We attempted to extend previous taxometric investigations of social anxiety by examining the latent structure of social anxiety disorder symptoms in a large sample comprised of social anxiety disorder patients (i.e., putative taxon members) and community residents/undergraduate respondents (i.e., putative complement class members). MAXEIG and MAMBAC were performed with indicator sets drawn from a self-report measure of social anxiety symptoms, the Social Interaction Phobia Scale (Carleton et al., 2009). MAXEIG and MAMBAC analyses, as well as comparison analyses utilizing simulated taxonic and dimensional datasets, yielded converging evidence that social anxiety disorder has a taxonic latent structure. Moreover, 100% of the confirmed social anxiety disorder patients in our overall sample were correctly assigned to the identified taxon class, providing strong support for the external validity of the identified taxon; and k-means cluster analysis results corroborated our taxometric base-rate estimates. Implications regarding the conceptualization, diagnosis, and assessment of social anxiety disorder are discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SOCIAL DISTANCES AS A FEATURE OF THE CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN SOCIAL SPACE

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Л А Беляева

2018-12-01

Full Text Available Social space is a theoretical construct that allows to consider many key problems of social development including the society’s consolidation. The author defines social space as a set of social statuses and distances. Their objective characteristics are interrelated with subjective indicators identified through the opinions of individuals. The balance of statuses and distances in society and the acceptability of this structure for the majority of population ensure the stability of society and effective social control. If this balance is disturbed, social tensions arise and threaten the stability and consolidation of society. Thus, the ideas of the theories of social space possess a considerable heuristic potential for revealing urgent problems of social development such as solidarity, social stratification and mobility, social networks and their interaction, connections of local communities within and with the world, interaction of structured social relations and individual and collective practices, genesis of social space as a result of social production represented by both things and relationships, etc. According to the theory of P. Bourdieu, the author con-siders social space as a structure of social statuses based on the set of different types of capital: economic, cultural, social, and symbolic. The author uses statistical data and results of the monitoring survey conducted on the all-Russian sample. The article proposes some tested empirical indicators that proved the increase of social distances in Russia due to the redistribution of economic capital and, as a consequence, of cultural and social capitals. Thus, the social space of Russia cannot be considered stable. To ensure its greater stability we need a set of measures to reduce social distances: re-industrialization to create high-tech jobs, development of digital economy, and improvement of the mass secondary and higher education system - these measures can create a basis for the

Online social activity reflects economic status

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jin-Hu; Wang, Jun; Shao, Junming; Zhou, Tao

2016-09-01

To characterize economic development and diagnose the economic health condition, several popular indices such as gross domestic product (GDP), industrial structure and income growth are widely applied. However, computing these indices based on traditional economic census is usually costly and resources consuming, and more importantly, following a long time delay. In this paper, we analyzed nearly 200 million users' activities for four consecutive years in the largest social network (Sina Microblog) in China, aiming at exploring latent relationships between the online social activities and local economic status. Results indicate that online social activity has a strong correlation with local economic development and industrial structure, and more interestingly, allows revealing the macro-economic structure instantaneously with nearly no cost. Beyond, this work also provides a new venue to identify risky signal in local economic structure.

Social Networking Privacy Control: Exploring University Variables Related to Young Adults' Sharing of Personally Identifiable Information

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Melisa S.

2014-01-01

The growth of the Internet, and specifically social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook, create opportunities for individuals to share private and identifiable information with a closed or open community. Internet crime has been on the rise and research has shown that criminals are using individuals' personal information pulled from social…

Child-rearing practices and social development indicators in three-year-old children / Práticas educativas maternas e indicadores do desenvolvimento social no terceiro ano de vida

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Alvarenga

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The present work aimed at investigating relations between maternal child-rearing practices, externalizing behavior problems and social competence indicators of thirty-month-old children. The study involved 23 child-mother dyads. In the child's thirtieth month after birth, an observation of mother-child interaction was performed in order to evaluate maternal child-rearing practices, externalizing behavior problems and child social competence. The results support the literature about social development that relates child-rearing practices such as guidance, assertive control and positive parental involvement to social competence, and coercive and permissive practices to externalizing behavior problems. The work discusses the relevance of parental child-rearing practices for the comprehension of the social development, emphasizing the importance of child-rearing practices, such as autonomy authorization, intrusiveness and ambiguous control.

The science and politics of human well-being: a case study in cocreating indicators for Puget Sound restoration

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Kelly Biedenweg

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Across scientific fields, there have been calls to improve the integration of scientific knowledge in policy making. Particularly since the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, these calls increasingly refer to data on human well-being related to the natural environment. However, policy decisions involve selective uptake of information across communities with different preferences and decision-making processes. Additionally, researchers face the fact that there are important trade-offs in producing knowledge that is simultaneously credible, legitimate, socially relevant, and socially just. We present a study that developed human well-being indicators for Washington State's Puget Sound ecosystem recovery agency over 3 years. Stakeholders, decision makers, and social scientists were engaged in the identification, modification, and prioritization of well-being indicators that were adopted by the agency for tracking progress toward ecosystem recovery and strategic planning. After substantial literature review, interviews, workshops, and indicator ranking exercises, 15 indicators were broadly accepted and important to all audiences. Although the scientists, decision makers, and stakeholders used different criteria to identify and prioritize indicators, they all agreed that indicators associated with each of 6 broad domains (social, cultural, psychological, physical, economic, and governance were critical to assess the holistic concept of well-being related to ecosystem restoration. Decision makers preferred indicators that mirrored stakeholder preferences, whereas social scientists preferred only a subset. The Puget Sound indicator development process provides an example for identifying, selecting, and monitoring diverse concepts of well-being related to environmental restoration in a way that promotes recognition, participation, and a fair distribution of environmental benefits across the region.

Research on Social Networking Sites and Social Support from 2004 to 2015: A Narrative Review and Directions for Future Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Jingbo; Martinez, Lourdes; Holmstrom, Amanda; Chung, Minwoong; Cox, Jeff

2017-01-01

The article presents a narrative review of scholarship on social support through social networking sites (SNSs) published from 2004 to 2015. By searching keywords related to social support and SNSs in major databases for social sciences, we identified and content analyzed directly relevant articles (N = 88). The article summarizes the prevalence of theory usage; the function of theory usage (e.g., testing a theory, developing a theory); major theories referenced; and methodologies, including research designs, measurement, and the roles of social support and SNS examined in this literature. It also reports four themes identified across the studies, indicating the trends in the current research. Based on the review, the article presents a discussion about study sites, conceptualization of social support, theoretical coherence, the role of social networks, and the dynamic relationships between SNS use and social support, which points out potential avenues for shaping a future research agenda.

From control system security indices to attack identifiability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herdeiro Teixeira, A.M.; Sandberg, H

2016-01-01

In this paper, we investigate detectability and identifiability of attacks on linear dynamical systems that are subjected to external disturbances. We generalize a concept for a security index, which was previously introduced for static systems. The index exactly quantifies the resources

The strength of two indicators of social position on oral health among persons over the age of 80 years

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avlund, Kirsten; Holm-Pedersen, Poul; Morse, Douglas E

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study is to analyze how two dimensions of social position, education and social class, are associated with oral health among generally healthy, community-dwelling persons over the age of 80 years. METHODS: The present investigation is based on a sample of 157...... community-dwelling individuals from The Kungsholmen Elders Oral Health Study (KEOHS) and included data from interviews and oral examinations. Social position was measured by education and social class. Oral health was measured by active coronal caries, active root caries, edentulism and use of dental...... of being edentulous. Further, persons with elementary/ medium education tended to forego regular dental services more than persons with high education. CONCLUSION: The study identified social inequalities in oral health even in a population of independently living, generally healthy very old Swedes...

Measures of Transport-Related Social Exclusion: A Critical Review of the Literature

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Md. Kamruzzaman

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Quantitative measures of transport disadvantage are reviewed in this paper from the perspective of their effectiveness to investigate social exclusion. The effectiveness is assessed using criteria derived through a review of the concepts of transport disadvantage and social exclusion and their operationalisation. The specified criteria are related to issues of spatial (e.g., urban accessibility, and public transport accessibility, temporal (e.g., public transport availability, and facility opening hours, and social attributes of travel and activity participation (e.g., personal mobility, and disability. Four groups of transport disadvantage measures are identified and evaluated. These include deprivation-based measures, mobility-based measures, accessibility-based measures, and activity-based measures. The review suggests that although the first three categories of measures have traditionally been used to identify transport disadvantage, they do not satisfy issues surrounding activity participation—the key outcome of social exclusion. The activity space concept is a way in which these issues can be incorporated, as it is a measure of the outcomes of activity participation and their associated travel to that activity. Participation in an activity means that an individual has overcome the spatial, temporal and social barriers of travel for that activity. The research using the activity space concept has, however, inadequately identified individual travel and activity participation. This has been due to a separate application of a range of different indicators to assess activity space size. These indicators are by their nature multidimensional—e.g., area visited, distance travelled, and number of activity sites visited. Although each indicator represents a specific qualitative/quantitative aspect of travel and activity participation, researchers have treated these indicators in an isolated manner to identify transport disadvantage and

Using Social Media to Identify Sources of Healthy Food in Urban Neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Lopez, Iris N; Clarke, Philippa; Hill, Alex B; Romero, Daniel M; Goodspeed, Robert; Berrocal, Veronica J; Vinod Vydiswaran, V G; Veinot, Tiffany C

2017-06-01

An established body of research has used secondary data sources (such as proprietary business databases) to demonstrate the importance of the neighborhood food environment for multiple health outcomes. However, documenting food availability using secondary sources in low-income urban neighborhoods can be particularly challenging since small businesses play a crucial role in food availability. These small businesses are typically underrepresented in national databases, which rely on secondary sources to develop data for marketing purposes. Using social media and other crowdsourced data to account for these smaller businesses holds promise, but the quality of these data remains unknown. This paper compares the quality of full-line grocery store information from Yelp, a crowdsourced content service, to a "ground truth" data set (Detroit Food Map) and a commercially-available dataset (Reference USA) for the greater Detroit area. Results suggest that Yelp is more accurate than Reference USA in identifying healthy food stores in urban areas. Researchers investigating the relationship between the nutrition environment and health may consider Yelp as a reliable and valid source for identifying sources of healthy food in urban environments.

Measuring individual work performance: Identifying and selecting indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; de Vet, H.C.W.; van der Beek, A.J.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions.

Application of social media to library service delivery: Perception of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study revealed that few of the social media identified are rarely relevant to library service delivery. Reference services, current awareness services, and library news postings were the types of library services that social media are applied. Results also indicated that there were benefits derived from using social media in ...

Cranial Indicators Identified for Peak Incidence of Otitis Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagano, Anthony S; Wang, Eugene; Yuan, Derek; Fischer, Daniel; Bluestone, Charles; Marquez, Samuel; Laitman, Jeffrey

2017-10-01

Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common pediatric conditions worldwide. Peak age of occurrence for AOM has been identified within the first postnatal year and it remains frequent until approximately six postnatal years. Morphological differences between adults and infants in the cartilaginous Eustachian tube (CET) and associated structures may be responsible for development of this disease yet few have investigated normal growth trajectories. We tested hypotheses on coincidence of skeletal growth changes and known ages of peak AOM occurrence. Growth was divided into five dental eruption stages ranging from edentulous neonates (Stage 1) to adults with erupted third maxillary molars (Stage 5). A total of 32 three-dimensional landmarks were used and Generalized Procrustes Analysis was performed. Next, we performed principal components analysis and calculated univariate measures. It was found that growth change in Stage 1 was the most rapid and comprised the largest amount of overall growth in upper respiratory tract proportions (where time is represented by the natural logarithmic transformation of centroid size). The analysis of univariate measures showed that Stage 1 humans did indeed possess the relatively shortest and most horizontally oriented CET's with the greatest amount of growth change occurring at the transition to Stage 2 (eruption of deciduous dentition at five postnatal months, commencing peak AOM incidence) and ceasing by Stage 3 (approximately six postnatal years). Skeletal indicators appear related to peak ages of AOM incidence and may contribute to understanding of a nearly ubiquitous human disease. Anat Rec, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 300:1721-1740, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measuring individual work performance: identifying and selecting indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions. OBJECTIVE: This

Quality Indicators for Single-Case Research on Social Skill Interventions for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shin-Yi; Parrila, Rauno

2008-01-01

In this paper, we describe a quality checklist that parents, teachers, clinicians, and policy-makers with basic research skills can use to systematically evaluate the methodological quality of single-case studies on social skill training of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). We provide a rationale for included quality indicators, and…

[Hysterectomies at the Conakry university hospitals: social, demographic, and clinical characteristics, types, indications, surgical approaches, and prognosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Baldé, I S; Sy, T; Diallo, B S; Diallo, Y; Mamy, M N; Diallo, M H; Bah, E M; Diallo, T S; Keita, N

2014-01-01

The objectives of this study were to calculate the frequency of hysterectomies at the Conakry university hospitals (Donka Hospital and Ignace Deen Hospital), describe the women's social, demographic, and clinical characteristics, and identify the key indications, the surgical techniques used, and the prognosis. This was a 2-year descriptive study, retrospective for the first year (May 2011-April 2012) and prospective for the second (May 2012-April 2013), of 333 consecutive hysterectomies performed in the obstetrics and gynecology departments of these two hospitals. Hysterectomy is one of the surgical procedures most commonly performed in these departments (following cesarean deliveries), with frequency of 4.4% interventions. The profile of the women undergoing this surgery was that of a woman aged younger than 49 years (61%), married (75.7%), multiparous (33%), of childbearing age (61%), and with no history of abdominal or pelvic surgery (79.6%). Nearly all hysterectomies were total (95%, compared with 5% subtotal; the approach was abdominal in 82.25% of procedures and vaginal in 17.75%. The most common indication for surgery was uterine fibroids (39.6%), followed by genital prolapse (22.2%), and obstetric emergencies (17.8%). The average duration of surgery was 96 minutes for abdominal and 55 minutes for vaginal hysterectomies. The principal intraoperative complication was hemorrhage (12.31%), and the main postoperative complication parietal suppuration (21.02%). The average length of hospital stay was 10.3 days for abdominal hysterectomies and 7.15 days for vaginal procedures. We recorded 14 deaths for a lethality rate of 4.2%; most of these deaths were associated with hemorrhagic shock during or after an obstetric hysterectomy (93%). Hysterectomy remains a common intervention in developing countries. Its indications are common during the pregnancy and postpartum period, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Improving obstetric coverage could reduce its

Simple indicator to identify the environmental soundness of growth of consumption and technology: "eco-velocity of consumption".

Science.gov (United States)

Nansai, Keisuke; Kagawa, Shigemi; Suh, Sangwon; Inaba, Rokuta; Moriguchi, Yuichi

2007-02-15

Today's material welfare has been achieved at the expense of consumption of finite resources and generation of environmental burdens. Over the past few decades the volume of global consumption has grown dramatically, while at the same time technological advances have enabled products with greater efficiencies. These two directions of change, consumption growth and technological advance, are the foci of the present paper. Using quantitative measures for these two factors, we define a new indicator, "eco-velocity of consumption", analogous to velocity in physics. The indicator not only identifies the environmental soundness of consumption growth and technological advance but also indicates whether and to what extent our society is shifting toward sustainable consumption. This study demonstrates the practicability of the indicator through a case study in which we calculate the eco-velocities of Japanese household consumption in 2 years: 1995 and 2000. The rate of technological advance during the periods concerned is quantified in terms of the embodied carbon dioxide emission per yen of product. The results show that the current growth rate of Japanese household consumption is greater than the rate of technological advance to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. The eco-velocities at the level of individual commodity groups are also examined, and the sources of changes in eco-velocity for each commodity are identified using structural decomposition analysis.

Determining the Psycho Social Health Indicators in Children and Adolescents in Kogiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province

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MR Firoozi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background & aim: Nearly a decade the World Health Organization has tried to provide a unique definition of community mental health. But due to the complexity of psychosocial and cultural context, it is not provided. The purpose of the study was to determine indexes community mental health of children and adolescents in the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad. Methods: This study was conducted as a hybrid approach (qualitative and quantitative. Delphi technique was used in qualitative research. In the current study, 31 experts, children and adolescents of Social Welfare organizations were selected as snowball method throughout the province of Kohgiluyeh & Boyerahmad. The primary data to run the Delphi Technique was gathered in three stages from the participants. The quantitative data were analyzed using factor analysis. Results: The results indicated that the main indicators of psychosocial health lie in intrapersonal (emotional self-awareness, risk-taking and self-respect, interpersonal (participation, social responsibility, and social relationships, stress (stress management and controlling emotions and adaptability (flexibility and happiness components. The results also showed that decreasing gender-related discriminations and rise in the educational level of parents are the major strengths and lack of required standards in child-care centers, lack of involvement of young adolescents in decision-making and lack of social skills in families are the major weaknesses of psychosocial health. Conclusion: Given the right conditions, and in order to safeguard children and adolescents against the grave consequences awaiting them, the organizations charged with the responsibility should raise the children and adolescents in such a way that they meet the professional needs of the society and feel responsible when it comes to these responsibilities and commitments. 

A systems biology strategy to identify molecular mechanisms of action and protein indicators of traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chenggang; Boutté, Angela; Yu, Xueping; Dutta, Bhaskar; Feala, Jacob D; Schmid, Kara; Dave, Jitendra; Tawa, Gregory J; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2015-02-01

The multifactorial nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI), especially the complex secondary tissue injury involving intertwined networks of molecular pathways that mediate cellular behavior, has confounded attempts to elucidate the pathology underlying the progression of TBI. Here, systems biology strategies are exploited to identify novel molecular mechanisms and protein indicators of brain injury. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis of four distinct high-throughput gene expression studies involving different animal models of TBI. By using canonical pathways and a large human protein-interaction network as a scaffold, we separately overlaid the gene expression data from each study to identify molecular signatures that were conserved across the different studies. At 24 hr after injury, the significantly activated molecular signatures were nonspecific to TBI, whereas the significantly suppressed molecular signatures were specific to the nervous system. In particular, we identified a suppressed subnetwork consisting of 58 highly interacting, coregulated proteins associated with synaptic function. We selected three proteins from this subnetwork, postsynaptic density protein 95, nitric oxide synthase 1, and disrupted in schizophrenia 1, and hypothesized that their abundance would be significantly reduced after TBI. In a penetrating ballistic-like brain injury rat model of severe TBI, Western blot analysis confirmed our hypothesis. In addition, our analysis recovered 12 previously identified protein biomarkers of TBI. The results suggest that systems biology may provide an efficient, high-yield approach to generate testable hypotheses that can be experimentally validated to identify novel mechanisms of action and molecular indicators of TBI. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Neuroscience Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Use of social information in seabirds: compass rafts indicate the heading of food patches.

Science.gov (United States)

Weimerskirch, Henri; Bertrand, Sophie; Silva, Jaime; Marques, Jose Carlos; Goya, Elisa

2010-03-29

Ward and Zahavi suggested in 1973 that colonies could serve as information centres, through a transfer of information on the location of food resources between unrelated individuals (Information Centre Hypothesis). Using GPS tracking and observations on group movements, we studied the search strategy and information transfer in two of the most colonial seabirds, Guanay cormorants (Phalacrocorax bougainvillii) and Peruvian boobies (Sula variegata). Both species breed together and feed on the same prey. They do return to the same feeding zone from one trip to the next indicating high unpredictability in the location of food resources. We found that the Guanay cormorants use social information to select their bearing when departing the colony. They form a raft at the sea surface whose position is continuously adjusted to the bearing of the largest returning columns of cormorants. As such, the raft serves as a compass signal that gives an indication on the location of the food patches. Conversely, Peruvian boobies rely mainly on personal information based on memory to take heading at departure. They search for food patches solitarily or in small groups through network foraging by detecting the white plumage of congeners visible at long distance. Our results show that information transfer does occur and we propose a new mechanism of information transfer based on the use of rafts off colonies. The use of rafts for information transfer may be common in central place foraging colonial seabirds that exploit short lasting and/or unpredictably distributed food patches. Over the past decades Guanay cormorants have declined ten times whereas Peruvian boobies have remained relatively stable. We suggest that the decline of the cormorants could be related to reduced social information opportunities and that social behaviour and search strategies have the potential to play an important role in the population dynamics of colonial animals.

Use of social information in seabirds: compass rafts indicate the heading of food patches.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henri Weimerskirch

Full Text Available Ward and Zahavi suggested in 1973 that colonies could serve as information centres, through a transfer of information on the location of food resources between unrelated individuals (Information Centre Hypothesis. Using GPS tracking and observations on group movements, we studied the search strategy and information transfer in two of the most colonial seabirds, Guanay cormorants (Phalacrocorax bougainvillii and Peruvian boobies (Sula variegata. Both species breed together and feed on the same prey. They do return to the same feeding zone from one trip to the next indicating high unpredictability in the location of food resources. We found that the Guanay cormorants use social information to select their bearing when departing the colony. They form a raft at the sea surface whose position is continuously adjusted to the bearing of the largest returning columns of cormorants. As such, the raft serves as a compass signal that gives an indication on the location of the food patches. Conversely, Peruvian boobies rely mainly on personal information based on memory to take heading at departure. They search for food patches solitarily or in small groups through network foraging by detecting the white plumage of congeners visible at long distance. Our results show that information transfer does occur and we propose a new mechanism of information transfer based on the use of rafts off colonies. The use of rafts for information transfer may be common in central place foraging colonial seabirds that exploit short lasting and/or unpredictably distributed food patches. Over the past decades Guanay cormorants have declined ten times whereas Peruvian boobies have remained relatively stable. We suggest that the decline of the cormorants could be related to reduced social information opportunities and that social behaviour and search strategies have the potential to play an important role in the population dynamics of colonial animals.

Brand Mentions in Social Media as a Key Performance Indicator in the German Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga AZARKINA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This research aims to explore correlations between consumer-generated social media activity and the level of sales of German brands from the fast moving consumer goods industry. In particular, the objective was to examine whether there is a correlation between the number of brand mentions in social media and the sales of these products. The results indicate that the number of brand mentions and sales correlate positively in relation to products from the food and beverages category while this is not the case with respect to the non-food product category. Hence, marketers need to promote consumer-generated social media activity particularly for food and beverages.

Application of Social Vulnerability Indicators to Climate Change for the Southwest Coastal Areas of Taiwan

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Chin-Cheng Wu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The impact of climate change on the coastal zones of Taiwan not only affects the marine environment, ecology, and human communities whose economies rely heavily on marine activities, but also the sustainable development of national economics. The southwest coast is known as the area most vulnerable to climate change; therefore, this study aims to develop indicators to assess social vulnerability in this area of Taiwan using the three dimensions of susceptibility, resistance, and resilience. The modified Delphi method was used to develop nine criteria and 26 indexes in the evaluation, and the analytic hierarchy process method was employed to evaluate the weight of each indicator based on the perspectives of experts collected through questionnaire surveys. The results provide important information pertaining to the vulnerability of the most susceptive regions, the lowest-resistance areas, and the least resilient townships on the southwest coast. The most socially vulnerable areas are plotted based on the present analysis. Experts can consider the vulnerability map provided here when developing adaptation policies. It should be kept in mind that improving the capacities of resistance and resilience is more important than reducing susceptibility in Taiwan.

Social Network Analysis and Mining to Monitor and Identify Problems with Large-Scale Information and Communication Technology Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Aleksandra do Socorro; de Brito, Silvana Rossy; Vijaykumar, Nandamudi Lankalapalli; da Rocha, Cláudio Alex Jorge; Monteiro, Maurílio de Abreu; Costa, João Crisóstomo Weyl Albuquerque; Francês, Carlos Renato Lisboa

2016-01-01

The published literature reveals several arguments concerning the strategic importance of information and communication technology (ICT) interventions for developing countries where the digital divide is a challenge. Large-scale ICT interventions can be an option for countries whose regions, both urban and rural, present a high number of digitally excluded people. Our goal was to monitor and identify problems in interventions aimed at certification for a large number of participants in different geographical regions. Our case study is the training at the Telecentros.BR, a program created in Brazil to install telecenters and certify individuals to use ICT resources. We propose an approach that applies social network analysis and mining techniques to data collected from Telecentros.BR dataset and from the socioeconomics and telecommunications infrastructure indicators of the participants' municipalities. We found that (i) the analysis of interactions in different time periods reflects the objectives of each phase of training, highlighting the increased density in the phase in which participants develop and disseminate their projects; (ii) analysis according to the roles of participants (i.e., tutors or community members) reveals that the interactions were influenced by the center (or region) to which the participant belongs (that is, a community contained mainly members of the same region and always with the presence of tutors, contradicting expectations of the training project, which aimed for intense collaboration of the participants, regardless of the geographic region); (iii) the social network of participants influences the success of the training: that is, given evidence that the degree of the community member is in the highest range, the probability of this individual concluding the training is 0.689; (iv) the North region presented the lowest probability of participant certification, whereas the Northeast, which served municipalities with similar

An algorithm for identifying the best current friend in a social network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Javier Moreno

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A research field in the area of social networks (SNs is the identification of some types of users and groups. To facilitate this process, a SN is usually represented by a graph. The centrality measures, which identify the most important vertices in a graph according to some criterion, are usual tools to analyze a graph. One of these measures is the PageRank (a measure originally designed to classify web pages. Informally, in the context of a SN, the PageRank of a user i represents the probability that another user of the SN is seeing the page of i after a considerable time of navigation in the SN. In this paper, we define a new type of user in a SN: the best current friend. The idea is to identify, among the friends of a user i, who is the friend k that would generate the highest decrease in the PageRank of i if k stops being his/her friend. This may be useful to identify the users/customers whose friendship/relationship should be a priority to keep. We provide formal definitions, algorithms and some experiments for this subject. Our experiments showed that the best current friend of a user is not necessarily the one who has the highest PageRank in the SN nor the one who has more friends.

Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden

Science.gov (United States)

Heather McMillen; Lindsay Campbell; Erika Svendsen; Renae Reynolds

2016-01-01

Resilience theory has received increased attention from researchers across a range of disciplines who have developed frameworks and articulated categories of indicators; however, there has been less discussion of how to recognize, and therefore support, social resilience at the community level, especially in urban areas. The value of urban environmental stewardship for...

Wounded Healers: A Multistate Study of Licensed Social Workers' Behavioral Health Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Straussner, Shulamith Lala Ashenberg; Senreich, Evan; Steen, Jeffrey T

2018-04-01

Studies indicate that helping professionals are disproportionately affected by behavioral health problems. Among social workers, the nature and scope of these problems are understudied. This article reports the findings of a 2015 survey of 6,112 licensed social workers in 13 states regarding their problems with mental health; alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; and gambling. To ascertain whether these problems preceded or developed during their social work careers, the periods of time when these issues were experienced were identified. Results indicate that 40.2 percent of respondents reported mental health problems before becoming social workers, increasing to 51.8 percent during their social work career, with 28 percent currently experiencing such problems. Nearly 10 percent of the sample experienced substance use problems before becoming social workers, decreasing to 7.7 percent during their career. Analyses by race or ethnicity, sex, and age identified between-group differences in the prevalence of these problems. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for the social work profession.

Brand Mentions in Social Media as a Key Performance Indicator in the German Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

OpenAIRE

Olga AZARKINA; Monyédodo KPOSSA; Erhard LICK

2014-01-01

This research aims to explore correlations between consumer-generated social media activity and the level of sales of German brands from the fast moving consumer goods industry. In particular, the objective was to examine whether there is a correlation between the number of brand mentions in social media and the sales of these products. The results indicate that the number of brand mentions and sales correlate positively in relation to products from the food and beverages category while this ...

Parallel ICA identifies sub-components of resting state networks that covary with behavioral indices.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Timothy B; Wildenberg, Joseph C; Liu, Jingyu; Chen, Jiayu; Calhoun, Vince D; Biswal, Bharat B; Meyerand, Mary E; Birn, Rasmus M; Prabhakaran, Vivek

2012-01-01

Parallel Independent Component Analysis (para-ICA) is a multivariate method that can identify complex relationships between different data modalities by simultaneously performing Independent Component Analysis on each data set while finding mutual information between the two data sets. We use para-ICA to test the hypothesis that spatial sub-components of common resting state networks (RSNs) covary with specific behavioral measures. Resting state scans and a battery of behavioral indices were collected from 24 younger adults. Group ICA was performed and common RSNs were identified by spatial correlation to publically available templates. Nine RSNs were identified and para-ICA was run on each network with a matrix of behavioral measures serving as the second data type. Five networks had spatial sub-components that significantly correlated with behavioral components. These included a sub-component of the temporo-parietal attention network that differentially covaried with different trial-types of a sustained attention task, sub-components of default mode networks that covaried with attention and working memory tasks, and a sub-component of the bilateral frontal network that split the left inferior frontal gyrus into three clusters according to its cytoarchitecture that differentially covaried with working memory performance. Additionally, we demonstrate the validity of para-ICA in cases with unbalanced dimensions using simulated data.

Identifying malaria vector breeding habitats with remote sensing data and terrain-based landscape indices in Zambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiff Clive

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in southern Zambia. In the Mapanza Chiefdom, where transmission is seasonal, Anopheles arabiensis is the dominant malaria vector. The ability to predict larval habitats can help focus control measures. Methods A survey was conducted in March-April 2007, at the end of the rainy season, to identify and map locations of water pooling and the occurrence anopheline larval habitats; this was repeated in October 2007 at the end of the dry season and in March-April 2008 during the next rainy season. Logistic regression and generalized linear mixed modeling were applied to assess the predictive value of terrain-based landscape indices along with LandSat imagery to identify aquatic habitats and, especially, those with anopheline mosquito larvae. Results Approximately two hundred aquatic habitat sites were identified with 69 percent positive for anopheline mosquitoes. Nine species of anopheline mosquitoes were identified, of which, 19% were An. arabiensis. Terrain-based landscape indices combined with LandSat predicted sites with water, sites with anopheline mosquitoes and sites specifically with An. arabiensis. These models were especially successful at ruling out potential locations, but had limited ability in predicting which anopheline species inhabited aquatic sites. Terrain indices derived from 90 meter Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM digital elevation data (DEM were better at predicting water drainage patterns and characterizing the landscape than those derived from 30 m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER DEM. Conclusions The low number of aquatic habitats available and the ability to locate the limited number of aquatic habitat locations for surveillance, especially those containing anopheline larvae, suggest that larval control maybe a cost-effective control measure in the fight

Identifying malaria vector breeding habitats with remote sensing data and terrain-based landscape indices in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Clennon, Julie A; Kamanga, Aniset; Musapa, Mulenga; Shiff, Clive; Glass, Gregory E

2010-11-05

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in southern Zambia. In the Mapanza Chiefdom, where transmission is seasonal, Anopheles arabiensis is the dominant malaria vector. The ability to predict larval habitats can help focus control measures. A survey was conducted in March-April 2007, at the end of the rainy season, to identify and map locations of water pooling and the occurrence anopheline larval habitats; this was repeated in October 2007 at the end of the dry season and in March-April 2008 during the next rainy season. Logistic regression and generalized linear mixed modeling were applied to assess the predictive value of terrain-based landscape indices along with LandSat imagery to identify aquatic habitats and, especially, those with anopheline mosquito larvae. Approximately two hundred aquatic habitat sites were identified with 69 percent positive for anopheline mosquitoes. Nine species of anopheline mosquitoes were identified, of which, 19% were An. arabiensis. Terrain-based landscape indices combined with LandSat predicted sites with water, sites with anopheline mosquitoes and sites specifically with An. arabiensis. These models were especially successful at ruling out potential locations, but had limited ability in predicting which anopheline species inhabited aquatic sites. Terrain indices derived from 90 meter Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation data (DEM) were better at predicting water drainage patterns and characterizing the landscape than those derived from 30 m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) DEM. The low number of aquatic habitats available and the ability to locate the limited number of aquatic habitat locations for surveillance, especially those containing anopheline larvae, suggest that larval control maybe a cost-effective control measure in the fight against malaria in Zambia and other regions with seasonal

Performing drought indices to identify the relationship between agricultural losses and drought events in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Peña Gallardo, Marina; Serrano, Sergio Martín Vicente; Portugués Santiago, Beguería; Burguera Miquel, Tomás

2017-04-01

Drought leads to crop failures reducing the productivity. For this reason, the need of appropriate tool for recognize dry periods and evaluate the impact of drought on crop production is important. In this study, we provide an assessment of the relationship between drought episodes and crop failures in Spain as one of the direct consequences of drought is the diminishing of crop yields. First, different drought indices [the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI); the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI); the self-calibrated Palmer Moisture Anomaly Index (Z-Index), the self-calibrated Crop Moisture Index (CMI) and the Standardized Palmer Drought Index (SPDI)] have been calculated at different time scales in order to identify the dry events occurred in Spain and determine the duration and intensity of each event. Second, the drought episodes have been correlated with crop production estimated and final crop production data provided by the Spanish Crop Insurance System for the available period from 1995 to 2014 at the municipal spatial scale, with the purpose of knowing if the characteristics of the drought episodes are reflected on the agricultural losses. The analysis has been carried out in particular for two types of crop, wheat and barley. The results indicate the existence of an agreement between the most important drought events in Spain and the response of the crop productions and the proportion of hectare insurance. Nevertheless, this agreement vary depending on the drought index applied. Authors found a higher competence of the drought indices calculated at different time scales (SPEI, SPI and SPDI) identifying the begging and end of the drought events and the correspondence with the crop failures.

Finding Influential Users in Social Media Using Association Rule Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fredrik Erlandsson

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Influential users play an important role in online social networks since users tend to have an impact on one other. Therefore, the proposed work analyzes users and their behavior in order to identify influential users and predict user participation. Normally, the success of a social media site is dependent on the activity level of the participating users. For both online social networking sites and individual users, it is of interest to find out if a topic will be interesting or not. In this article, we propose association learning to detect relationships between users. In order to verify the findings, several experiments were executed based on social network analysis, in which the most influential users identified from association rule learning were compared to the results from Degree Centrality and Page Rank Centrality. The results clearly indicate that it is possible to identify the most influential users using association rule learning. In addition, the results also indicate a lower execution time compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Calo-Blanco, A.; Kovářík, Jaromír; Mengel, F.; Romero, J. G.

2017-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 6 (2017), s. 1-13, č. článku e0176885. E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-22044S Institutional support: RVO:67985998 Keywords : social cohesion * trust * climate Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Applied Economic s, Econometrics Impact factor: 2.806, year: 2016

Negative symptoms and social cognition: identifying targets for psychological interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lincoln, Tania M; Mehl, Stephanie; Kesting, Marie-Luise; Rief, Winfried

2011-09-01

How to improve treatment for negative symptoms is a continuing topic of debate. Suggestions have been made to advance psychological understanding of negative symptoms by focusing on the social cognitive processes involved in symptom formation and maintenance. Following the recommendations by the National Institute of Mental Health workshop on social cognition in schizophrenia, this study investigated associations between negative symptoms and various aspects of social cognition including Theory of Mind (ToM), attribution, empathy, self-esteem, and interpersonal self-concepts in 75 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 75 healthy controls. Negative symptoms were significantly associated with difficulties in ToM, less readiness to be empathic, lower self-esteem, less self-serving bias, negative self-concepts related to interpersonal abilities, and dysfunctional acceptance beliefs. Different aspects of social cognition were mildly to moderately correlated and interacted in their impact on negative symptoms: Difficulties in ToM were associated with negative symptoms in persons with low but not in persons with medium or high levels of self-esteem. Taken together, the social cognition variables and their hypothesized interaction explained 39% of the variance in negative symptoms after controlling for neurocognition and depression. The results highlight the relevance of self-concepts related to social abilities, dysfunctional beliefs, and global self-worth alone and in interaction with ToM deficits for negative symptoms and thereby provide a helpful basis for advancing psychosocial interventions.

Hombres Sanos: evaluation of a social marketing campaign for heterosexually identified Latino men who have sex with men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Donate, Ana P; Zellner, Jennifer A; Sañudo, Fernando; Fernandez-Cerdeño, Araceli; Hovell, Melbourne F; Sipan, Carol L; Engelberg, Moshe; Carrillo, Hector

2010-12-01

We evaluated the effectiveness of Hombres Sanos [Healthy Men] a social marketing campaign to increase condom use and HIV testing among heterosexually identified Latino men, especially among heterosexually identified Latino men who have sex with men and women (MSMW). Hombres Sanos was implemented in northern San Diego County, California, from June 2006 through December 2006. Every other month we conducted cross-sectional surveys with independent samples of heterosexually identified Latino men before (n = 626), during (n = 752), and after (n = 385) the campaign. Respondents were randomly selected from 12 targeted community venues to complete an anonymous, self-administered survey on sexual practices and testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. About 5.6% of respondents (n = 98) were heterosexually identified Latino MSMW. The intervention was associated with reduced rates of recent unprotected sex with both females and males among heterosexually identified Latino MSMW. The campaign was also associated with increases in perception of HIV risk, knowledge of testing locations, and condom carrying among heterosexual Latinos. Social marketing represents a promising approach for abating HIV transmission among heterosexually identified Latinos, particularly for heterosexually identified Latino MSMW. Given the scarcity of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions for these populations, this prevention strategy warrants further investigation.

Identifying intestinal malrotation on magnetic resonance examinations ordered for unrelated indications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fay, Jill S.; Chernyak, Victoria; Taragin, Benjamin H.

2017-01-01

Anatomical imaging findings indicating normal bowel rotation can be identified on cross-sectional imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed for non-related indications. The goal of our study was to assess whether non-targeted MRI can accurately assess intestinal malrotation. Four anatomical landmarks were assessed on MRIs of the chest, spine or abdomen performed from January 2006 to June 2014, on patients who also had upper gastrointestinal series (UGI) performed within 10 years of the MRI date: 1) retroperitoneal duodenum, 2) left upper quadrant duodenojejunal junction, 3) superior mesenteric artery to the left of the superior mesenteric vein, and 4) right lower quadrant cecum. Two attending radiologists, one pediatric and one abdominal radiologist, independently reviewed the MR images. The pediatric radiologist reviewed images from UGI (considered the gold standard) to determine the intestinal rotation for each case. Validation of the criteria was performed on new patients imaged through January 2016. The original cohort included 109 MRIs (15 chest, 41 spine and 53 abdomen) done on 109 patients (42% males, mean age: 10.2 years). If each of the 4 anatomical questions were answered ''yes'' (4-YES), specificity was 100% for each radiologist and malrotation was appropriately excluded. Using the 4-YES criteria, the pediatric radiologist excluded malrotation in 71 patients (65%) and the abdominal radiologist excluded it in 65 (60%), with concurrence for 57 patients. Validation of the 4-YES criteria in 23 new patients appropriately proved the 4-YES rule, with neither labeling the one new malrotation case 4-YES. If a radiologist can confidently answer ''yes'' to the four questions evaluated in this study, then intestinal rotation can be safely considered normal. Normal bowel rotation should be commented upon in MRI reports when these four anatomical locations are imaged, thus helping patients avoid unnecessary

Identifying intestinal malrotation on magnetic resonance examinations ordered for unrelated indications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fay, Jill S.; Chernyak, Victoria; Taragin, Benjamin H. [Montefiore Medical Center, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Bronx, NY (United States)

2017-10-15

Anatomical imaging findings indicating normal bowel rotation can be identified on cross-sectional imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed for non-related indications. The goal of our study was to assess whether non-targeted MRI can accurately assess intestinal malrotation. Four anatomical landmarks were assessed on MRIs of the chest, spine or abdomen performed from January 2006 to June 2014, on patients who also had upper gastrointestinal series (UGI) performed within 10 years of the MRI date: 1) retroperitoneal duodenum, 2) left upper quadrant duodenojejunal junction, 3) superior mesenteric artery to the left of the superior mesenteric vein, and 4) right lower quadrant cecum. Two attending radiologists, one pediatric and one abdominal radiologist, independently reviewed the MR images. The pediatric radiologist reviewed images from UGI (considered the gold standard) to determine the intestinal rotation for each case. Validation of the criteria was performed on new patients imaged through January 2016. The original cohort included 109 MRIs (15 chest, 41 spine and 53 abdomen) done on 109 patients (42% males, mean age: 10.2 years). If each of the 4 anatomical questions were answered ''yes'' (4-YES), specificity was 100% for each radiologist and malrotation was appropriately excluded. Using the 4-YES criteria, the pediatric radiologist excluded malrotation in 71 patients (65%) and the abdominal radiologist excluded it in 65 (60%), with concurrence for 57 patients. Validation of the 4-YES criteria in 23 new patients appropriately proved the 4-YES rule, with neither labeling the one new malrotation case 4-YES. If a radiologist can confidently answer ''yes'' to the four questions evaluated in this study, then intestinal rotation can be safely considered normal. Normal bowel rotation should be commented upon in MRI reports when these four anatomical locations are imaged, thus helping patients avoid unnecessary

Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment: Building a Framework to Track Physical and Social Indicators of Climate Change Across Pacific Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Grecni, Z. N.; Keener, V. W.

2016-12-01

Assessments inform regional and local climate change governance and provide the critical scientific basis for U.S. climate policy. Despite the centrality of scientific information to public discourse and decision making, comprehensive assessments of climate change drivers, impacts, and the vulnerability of human and ecological systems at regional or local scales are often conducted on an ad hoc basis. Methods for sustained assessment and communication of scientific information are diverse and nascent. The Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) is a collaborative effort to assess climate change indicators, impacts, and adaptive capacity of the Hawaiian archipelago and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). In 2012, PIRCA released the first comprehensive report summarizing the state of scientific knowledge about climate change in the region as a technical input to the U.S. National Climate Assessment. A multi-method evaluation of PIRCA outputs and delivery revealed that the vast majority of key stakeholders view the report as extremely credible and use it as a resource. The current study will present PIRCA's approach to establishing physical and social indicators to track on an ongoing basis, starting with the Republic of the Marshall Islands as an initial location of focus for providing a cross-sectoral indicators framework. Identifying and tracking useful indicators is aimed at sustaining the process of knowledge coproduction with decision makers who seek to better understand the climate variability and change and its impacts on Pacific Island communities.

Unobtrusive Indicators of Cultural Change: Neckties, Girdles, Marijuana, Garbage, Magazines, and Urban Sprawl.

Science.gov (United States)

Felson, Marcus

1983-01-01

Different types of time-series data sets can be used to identify cultural change and continuity. Indicators, including musical instruments, clothing, sporting goods, drugs, garbage, telephones, and magazines, are used to study social change since World War II. (Author/RM)

Natural hazard events and social capital: the social impact of natural disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Albrecht, Frederike

2018-04-01

This study investigates if and to what extent natural disasters affect social capital. Twelve different events in Europe are examined in a quantitative analysis, using data derived from the European Social Survey and the EM-DAT International Disaster Database. The study uses social trust as an indicator of social capital and offers evidence that a change in social trust is a possible occurrence during or after a disaster, but that it is not an inevitable consequence of it. The results reveal that social trust decreases after a disaster with a death toll of at least nine. Changes in social capital, therefore, are found to be more probable as the severity of the event increases. National, rather than regional, disasters lead more frequently to significant shifts in social trust. This evaluation of 12 separate cases pinpoints several disasters that have had an effect on social trust, but it does not identify any general patterns, underlining the significance of contextual dependency. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

[Determinants of social participation and social inclusion of people with severe mental illness].

Science.gov (United States)

Schützwohl, Matthias

2017-03-01

Individuals with mental disorders are known to be socially excluded so that improving social inclusion has become a major goal of healthcare provision. However, empirical research on specific determinants of social inclusion is rather scarce. A cross-sectional survey of adults with a severe mental illness (n =70) was conducted using a measure of participation and social inclusion for individuals with a chronic mental disorder (F-INK). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify determinants of social participation and social inclusion. Social participation increased with the number of friends and was, independently thereof, higher in adults living independently than in adults living in supported housing arrangements. The level of social inclusion was higher in those cohabitating and increased with duration of illness. Findings on social participation indicate the need for a re-organization of community-based supported housing arrangements, and, with respect to existing settings, an amendment of present conditions. To promote social inclusion, measures to prime a feeling of ongoing social affiliation should be taken during the first years of psychiatric illness.

Modified Principal Component Analysis for Identifying Key Environmental Indicators and Application to a Large-Scale Tidal Flat Reclamation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kejian Chu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Identification of the key environmental indicators (KEIs from a large number of environmental variables is important for environmental management in tidal flat reclamation areas. In this study, a modified principal component analysis approach (MPCA has been developed for determining the KEIs. The MPCA accounts for the two important attributes of the environmental variables: pollution status and temporal variation, in addition to the commonly considered numerical divergence attribute. It also incorporates the distance correlation (dCor to replace the Pearson’s correlation to measure the nonlinear interrelationship between the variables. The proposed method was applied to the Tiaozini sand shoal, a large-scale tidal flat reclamation region in China. Five KEIs were identified as dissolved inorganic nitrogen, Cd, petroleum in the water column, Hg, and total organic carbon in the sediment. The identified KEIs were shown to respond well to the biodiversity of phytoplankton. This demonstrated that the identified KEIs adequately represent the environmental condition in the coastal marine system. Therefore, the MPCA is a practicable method for extracting effective indicators that have key roles in the coastal and marine environment.

Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults*

OpenAIRE

CORNWELL, ERIN YORK; WAITE, LINDA J.

2009-01-01

Previous research has identified a wide range of indicators of social isolation that pose health risks, including living alone, having a small social network, infrequent participation in social activities, and feelings of loneliness. However, multiple forms of isolation are rarely studied together, making it difficult to determine which aspects of isolation are most deleterious for health. Using population-based data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we combine multipl...

Identifying Nodes of Transmission in Disease Diffusion Through Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, David Sebastian

The spread of infectious diseases can be described in terms of three interrelated components: interaction, movement, and scale. Transmission between individuals requires some form of interaction, which is dependent on the pathogen, to occur. Diseases spread through the movement of their hosts; they spread across many spatial scales from local neighborhoods to countries, or temporal scales from days to years, or periodic intervals. Prior research into the spread of disease have examined diffusion processes retrospectively at regional or country levels, or developed differential equation or simulation models of the dynamics of disease transmission. While some of the more recent models incorporate all three components, they are limited in the way they understand where interactions occur. The focus has been on home or work, including contact with family or coworkers. The models reflect a lack of knowledge about how transmissions are made at specific locations in time, so-called nodes of transmission. That is, how individuals' intersections in time and space function in disease transmission. This project sought to use the three factors of interaction, movement, and scale to better understand the spread of disease in terms of the place of interaction called the node of transmission. The overarching objective of this research was: how can nodes of transmission be identified through individual activity spaces incorporating the three factors of infectious disease spread: interaction, movement, and scale?. This objective fed into three main sub-objectives: defining nodes of transmission, developing an appropriate methodology to identifying nodes of transmission, and applying it using geotagged social media data from Twitter. To develop an appropriate framework, this research relied on time geography, and traditional disease. This particularly relied on the idea of bundling to create the nodes, and a nesting effect that integrated scale. The data source used to identify nodes

Unsupervised Scalable Statistical Method for Identifying Influential Users in Online Social Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Azcorra, A; Chiroque, L F; Cuevas, R; Fernández Anta, A; Laniado, H; Lillo, R E; Romo, J; Sguera, C

2018-05-03

Billions of users interact intensively every day via Online Social Networks (OSNs) such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. This makes OSNs an invaluable source of information, and channel of actuation, for sectors like advertising, marketing, or politics. To get the most of OSNs, analysts need to identify influential users that can be leveraged for promoting products, distributing messages, or improving the image of companies. In this report we propose a new unsupervised method, Massive Unsupervised Outlier Detection (MUOD), based on outliers detection, for providing support in the identification of influential users. MUOD is scalable, and can hence be used in large OSNs. Moreover, it labels the outliers as of shape, magnitude, or amplitude, depending of their features. This allows classifying the outlier users in multiple different classes, which are likely to include different types of influential users. Applying MUOD to a subset of roughly 400 million Google+ users, it has allowed identifying and discriminating automatically sets of outlier users, which present features associated to different definitions of influential users, like capacity to attract engagement, capacity to attract a large number of followers, or high infection capacity.

Visualization and Analysis of the Co-authorship Network of Articles of National Congress on “Family Pathology” Using Social Network Analysis Indicators

OpenAIRE

امیررضا اصنافی; الهه حسینی; سارا آمایه

2017-01-01

The present paper aims to visualize and analyze the co-authorship network of articles of national congress on family pathology using social network analysis (SNA) indicators. The present paper employed the descriptive research method with scientometrics approach and analyzed social network by micro and macro indicators. UCINET software was used to visualize and analyze the co-authorship network, and VOS viewer software was utilized to visualize a density network of the co-authorship. The 6th ...

Spatial distribution of pregnancy in adolescence and associations with socioeconomic and social responsibility indicators: State of Minas Gerais, Southeast of Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Roza, Daiane Leite da; Martinez, Edson Zangiacomi

2015-08-01

To describe associations between pregnancy rates in adolescence and socioeconomic and social responsibility indicators in the municipalities of the State of Minas Gerais, Southeast of Brazil, in the year of 2010. Ecological study using data from the Brazilian Live Birth Information System (SINASC). The percentage of live births to adolescent mothers (LBAM) for each municipality was calculated based on the quotient between number of born alive infants of mothers aged 10-19 years old and total number of live births in the year of 2010. Fully Bayesian models were used to obtain the percentages of LBAM adjusted for spatial effects and to assess possible associations with socioeconomic and social responsibility indicators. The crude percentage of LBAM for the total number of live births in the municipalities of Minas Gerais in 2010 ranged from 0 to 46.4%, with median percentage being 19.6% and the first and third quartiles being 15.6 and 23.1%, respectively. This study has demonstrated a close relationship between adolescent pregnancy and socioeconomic indicators. LBAM percentages were found to be higher in municipalities with low population density, low human development index and other low development indicators. The strong relationship between LBAM percentages and socioeconomic indicators suggests that adolescent pregnancy is more a social than a biological problem. Therefore, programs and actions should go beyond sexual education and information on preventive health methods.

Children's discrimination of expressions of emotions: relationship with indices of social anxiety and shyness.

Science.gov (United States)

Battaglia, Marco; Ogliari, Anna; Zanoni, Annalisa; Villa, Federica; Citterio, Alessandra; Binaghi, Flora; Fossati, Andrea; Maffei, Cesare

2004-03-01

To conduct an exploratory investigation of possible relationships between individual levels of social anxiety and the ability to classify emotional expressions in a group of schoolchildren observing pictures of children of similar age. One hundred forty-nine second- and third-grade schoolchildren underwent a facial expression discrimination trial. Children were characterized on the basis of the number of spontaneous comments they made during a pause in the trial, and on their scores on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Stevenson-Hinde and Glover Shyness-to-the-Unfamiliar Scale, and the Cloninger Harm Avoidance scale. The scales were filled in by appropriately trained teachers. The overall rate of correct identification was 72%, without gender-associated differences. Regression analyses showed that higher rates of misidentifications were significantly associated with higher scores on the Liebowitz scale and fewer spontaneous comments. Misidentifications of the "anger" expressions (most often misclassified as "disgust") were associated with higher ratings on the Liebowitz scale when children were exposed to a boy's picture and by fewer spontaneous comments when children were exposed to a girl's picture. Misidentification of a neutral expression of a girl's picture (most often misclassified as "sadness") was significantly associated with fewer spontaneous comments. These pilot results suggest that a child's ability to correctly identify other children's basic emotions is partially associated with his or her level of observed social shyness.

Social Media Metrics and Bibliometric Profiles of Neurosurgical Departments and Journals: Is There a Relationship?

Science.gov (United States)

Alotaibi, Naif M; Guha, Daipayan; Fallah, Aria; Aldakkan, Abdulrahman; Nassiri, Farshad; Badhiwala, Jetan H; Ibrahim, George M; Shamji, Mohammed F; Macdonald, R Loch; Lozano, Andres M

2016-06-01

Social media plays an increasingly important role in dissemination of knowledge and raising awareness of selected topics among the general public and the academic community. To investigate the relationship between social media metrics and academic indices of neurosurgical programs and journals. A 2-step online search was performed to identify official social media accounts of neurosurgical departments that were accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dedicated neurosurgery and spine journals' social media accounts also were identified through an online search on SCImago Journal and Country Rank portal. Nonparametric tests were performed with bootstrapping to compare groups and to look for correlations between social media and academic metrics. We identified 36 social media accounts officially affiliated with academic neurosurgical institutions. These accounts represented 22 of 119 neurosurgical programs in North America (18.4%). The presence of a social media account for neurosurgical departments was associated with statistically significant higher values of academic impact metrics (P social media metrics for neurosurgical department accounts, however, did not correlate with any values of academic indices. For journals, there were 11 journals present on social media and had greater academic metrics compared with journals without social media presence (P Social media presence is associated with stronger academic bibliometrics profiles for both neurosurgical departments and journals. The impact of social media metrics on indices of scientific impact in neurosurgery is not known. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study of Health and Social Indicators of Elderly Women in Iran

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Marzieh Shirazi Khah

2012-03-01

Iranian elderly women, differences in health indicators-social and elderly women than elderly Iranian population could be due to the unequal status of health and social status of women men Some of these differences include: the life expectancy for women than men (73 years versus 68 years, more elderly men than elderly women (51.84% versus 48.16%, heart disease and blood pressure is higher in elderly women than elderly men (25 and 42.6 versus 17 and 42% prevalence of fat type of triglycerides in the blood is higher in older women than men (63.6 versus 42.6%, the prevalence of osteoporosis bone is higher in older women than men (56.3 versus 16.7% rate of drug use is higher in older women than men (34.9 versus 25.4% illiteracy rate is higher in older women than men (80.15 versus 56% rate of emotional problems and mental illness is higher in older women than men (25.3 versus 8.17% rate the quality of life is lower in elderly women than men (31.6 versus 34.26% of the deposit's elderly nursing home is more than older men (60.6 versus 39.4% is much more alone in elderly women than elderly men (12.8 versus 2.5% Conclusion: Shows the results that elderly women are fragile not only of gender but also the various aspects mentioned above are fragile .And this led to threats of this group from the quantity and quality of life. So it seems to be accurate in the future national studies in order to better understand the aging population, especially women and other fragile groups to and also be designed to the prevention and treatment interventions, with attention to fragile women disabilities and their lack of financial security and will also feel the need to pay special attention to young women before and after aging.

The Impact of Social Health Insurance on Diabetes and Hypertension Process Indicators among Older Adults in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Hernandez, Maricruz; Rahman, Momotazur; Mor, Vincent; Galarraga, Omar

2016-08-01

To examine the impact of Seguro Popular (Mexican social health insurance for the poor; SP) on diabetes and hypertension care, intermediate process indicators for older adults (>50 years): pharmacological treatment, blood glucose tests, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and adherence to their nutrition and exercise program. (CAM was defined as products or practices that were not part of the medical standard of care.) Repeated cross-sectional surveys from Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición (Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey, ENSANUT), a nationally representative health and nutrition survey sampling N = 45,294 older adults in 2000, N = 45,241 older adults in 2005-2006, and N = 46,277 older adults in 2011-2012. Fixed-effects instrumental variable (FE-IV) repeated cross-sectional at the individual level with municipality fixed-effects estimation was performed. We found a marginally significant effect of SP on the use of insulin and oral agents (40 percentage points). Contrary to that expected, no other significant differences were found for diabetes or hypertension treatment and care indicators. Social health insurance for the poor improved some but not all health care process indicators among diabetic and hypertensive older people in Mexico. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The impact of green logistic based on financial economic, social and environment activities on sustainable monetary expansion indicators of Oman

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Faris Alshubiri

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine green logistic activities by three axes (financial economic, social and environment activities and how these activities affect on sustainable monetary expansion indicators as an evidence of Sultanate of Oman. Design/methodology/approach: This study began by definition elements of logistic green and how evolution of this concept in recent years. This concept analyzed after survey of previous studies on green logistic. The independent variables of green logistic  are includes of three components of financial economic , social and environment and applies these components to clarify the impact on expansionary monetary policy indicators ( broad , narrow and reserve money as a important signals  in determining a country's economy. This study used data published in statistical annual report of central bank of Oman as representative of country economic of sultanate of Oman from the period 2008 to 2015.  Findings: The results found two variables of government support to electricity sector (GSE and subsidy on soft loans to private sector and housing (SSLPH based on environment activities are statistical significant 1% and 5%. Only one variable of transport and communication (TC in financial economic activates is statistical significant at 1% and 5% , but all variables community, social and personal (CSP , cultural and religious affairs (CRA and social security and welfare (SSW in social activities are statistical significant at 1% 5% and 10% , finally , also the multiple regression test run of all variables of green logistics activities and each monetary expansion indicators and found there are a statistical significant at 1% and 5%, .The study recommends that should be attention with financial economic activities as a quantitative standard contributes to build the green logistic by diagnosed the priorities and existing economic and financial system that contributes of  sustainable development system in

In or Out When Out & About?: Identifying the Professional Support Needs of LGBT Preservice Social Work & Education Majors

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Palladino, John M.; Giesler, Mark A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore how preservice social work and teacher education majors navigate field practicums (e.g., student teaching) as self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) individuals. In-depth interviews with 26 preservice candidates, representative of two public, comprehensive…

Automatic address validation and health record review to identify homeless Social Security disability applicants.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Jennifer; Abbott, Kenneth; Susienka, Lucinda

2018-06-01

Homeless patients face a variety of obstacles in pursuit of basic social services. Acknowledging this, the Social Security Administration directs employees to prioritize homeless patients and handle their disability claims with special care. However, under existing manual processes for identification of homelessness, many homeless patients never receive the special service to which they are entitled. In this paper, we explore address validation and automatic annotation of electronic health records to improve identification of homeless patients. We developed a sample of claims containing medical records at the moment of arrival in a single office. Using address validation software, we reconciled patient addresses with public directories of homeless shelters, veterans' hospitals and clinics, and correctional facilities. Other tools annotated electronic health records. We trained random forests to identify homeless patients and validated each model with 10-fold cross validation. For our finished model, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.942. The random forest improved sensitivity from 0.067 to 0.879 but decreased positive predictive value to 0.382. Presumed false positive classifications bore many characteristics of homelessness. Organizations could use these methods to prompt early collection of information necessary to avoid labor-intensive attempts to reestablish contact with homeless individuals. Annually, such methods could benefit tens of thousands of patients who are homeless, destitute, and in urgent need of assistance. We were able to identify many more homeless patients through a combination of automatic address validation and natural language processing of unstructured electronic health records. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Quantitative Assessment of Political Fragility Indices and Food Prices as Indicators of Food Riots in Countries

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Davide Natalini

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The impact of resources on social unrest is of increasing interest to political leaders, business and civil society. Recent events have highlighted that (lack of access to critical resources, including food, energy and water, can, in certain circumstances, lead to violent demonstrations. In this paper, we assess a number of political fragility indices to see whether they are good indicators of propensity to food riots. We found that the most accurate is the Political Instability and Absence of Violence Indicator of the Worldwide Governance Indicators by the World Bank. We compute a likelihood of experiencing a food riot for each quartile of this index. We found that the self-sufficiency of food does not seem to affect the likelihood of the occurrence of food riots, but that the level of political stability of a country does have a role. In addition, we identify a monthly and annual threshold for the Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Price Index, above which food riots in fragile states are more likely to occur.

Identifying models of delivery, care domains and quality indicators relevant to palliative day services: a scoping review protocol.

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O'Connor, Seán R; Dempster, Martin; McCorry, Noleen K

2017-05-16

With an ageing population and increasing numbers of people with life-limiting illness, there is a growing demand for palliative day services. There is a need to measure and demonstrate the quality of these services, but there is currently little agreement on which aspects of care should be used to do this. The aim of the scoping review will be to map the extent, range and nature of the evidence around models of delivery, care domains and existing quality indicators used to evaluate palliative day services. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) will be searched for evidence using consensus development methods; randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials; mixed methods; and prospective, longitudinal or retrospective case-control studies to develop or test quality indicators for evaluating palliative care within non-residential settings, including day hospices and community or primary care settings. At least two researchers will independently conduct all searches, study selection and data abstraction procedures. Meta-analyses and statistical methods of synthesis are not planned as part of the review. Results will be reported using numerical counts, including number of indicators in each care domain and by using qualitative approach to describe important indicator characteristics. A conceptual model will also be developed to summarise the impact of different aspects of quality in a palliative day service context. Methodological quality relating to indicator development will be assessed using the Appraisal of Indicators through Research and Evaluation (AIRE) tool. Overall strength of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Final decisions on quality assessment will be made via consensus between review authors. Identifying, developing and implementing evidence-based quality indicators is critical to the evaluation and

Social marketing in healthcare.

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Aras, Radha

2011-01-01

Social marketing is an important tool in the delivery of healthcare services. For any healthcare programme or project to be successful, community/consumer participation is required. The four principles of social marketing can guide policymakers and healthcare providers to successfully plan and implement health programmes. To review the existing literature in order to project the benefits of social marketing in healthcare. A search of periodical literature by the author involving social marketing and marketing concepts in health was carried out. Items were identified initially through health-oriented indexing services such as Medline, Health STAR and Cinahl, using the identifiers "social marketing" and "marketing in health". An extensive search was also carried out on educational database ERIC. A literature review of various studies on social marketing indicated that the selection of the right product (according to the community need) at the right place, with the right strategy for promotion and at the right price yields good results. However, along with technical sustainability (product, price, promotion and place), financial sustainability, institutional sustainability and market sustainability are conducive factors for the success of social marketing. The purpose of this literature review was to ascertain the likely effectiveness of social marketing principles and approaches and behaviour change communication towards health promotion. It is important for all healthcare workers to understand and respond to the public's desires and needs and routinely use consumer research to determine how best to help the public to solve problems and realise aspirations. Social marketing can optimise public health by facilitating relationship-building with consumers and making their lives healthier.

Social justice and religious participation: a qualitative investigation of Christian perspectives.

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Todd, Nathan R; Rufa, Anne K

2013-06-01

This investigation examines how self-identified Christians in the Midwest U.S. understand and work for social justice, with a focus on their process of social justice development and the role of religious congregations in promoting social justice. Using a grounded theory analysis of 15 in-depth interviews, results indicated multiple understandings of social justice such as meeting basic needs, fixing social structures and systems to create equal distributions of resources, promoting human rights and dignity, and as a religious responsibility. Participants also described a process of social justice development facilitated by exposure to injustice, mentors, educating others, and the importance of finding a social justice community. Distinct personal barriers to social justice engagement were identified such as resources and negative emotions, whereas congregational leadership was important for congregational involvement. General frustration with congregations was expressed regarding low social justice engagement; however, participants balanced this frustration with hope for the positive potential of congregations to promote social justice. Together these findings show multifaceted understandings of social justice and a dynamic process of social justice development for these self-identified Christians. Implications for future research and partnership with religious individuals and congregations also are discussed.

Spatial-temporal analysis of dengue deaths: identifying social vulnerabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Maria do Socorro da; Branco, Maria Dos Remédios Freitas Carvalho; Aquino, José; Queiroz, Rejane Christine de Sousa; Bani, Emanuele; Moreira, Emnielle Pinto Borges; Medeiros, Maria Nilza Lima; Rodrigues, Zulimar Márita Ribeiro

2017-01-01

Currently, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus represent serious public health issues in Brazil, despite efforts to control the vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This was a descriptive and ecological study of dengue deaths occurring from 2002 to 2013 in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. Geoprocessing software was used to draw maps, linking the geo-referenced deaths with urban/social data at census tract level. There were 74 deaths, concentrated in areas of social vulnerability. The use of geo-technology tools pointed to a concentration of dengue deaths in specific intra-urban areas.

On the (In)Consistency of Citizen and Municipal Level Indicators of Social Capital and Local Government Performance.

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Kampen, Jarl K

2010-06-01

We study the empirical consistency of survey based (micro level) indicators of social capital and local government performance on the one, and municipality based (aggregate level) measures of these two concepts on the other hand. Knowledge about the behavior of these indicators is helpful for evaluating the value of studies carried out in isolated contexts, that is, with access to data on either, but not both, levels. The method is by comparing data collected by Statistics Belgium on Flemish municipalities, to data collected at citizen level by means of a face-to-face survey. The available evidence supplies at best a meager basis for presupposing a shared component of the indicators under study.

Societal health and urban sustainability indicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrich, C.H.; Tonn, B.E.

1996-08-27

Without the social will, no city can successfully Undertake the planning and programs necessary for meaningful progress toward sustainability. Social will derives from wellsprings of vital societal health. This paper presents an approach to helping cities in APEC member economies initiate a program for developing indicators of sustainability. Representative indicators of social capital and other aspects of civic engagement, as proxies for societal health, are presented.

Social networking policies in nursing education.

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Frazier, Blake; Culley, Joan M; Hein, Laura C; Williams, Amber; Tavakoli, Abbas S

2014-03-01

Social networking use has increased exponentially in the past few years. A literature review related to social networking and nursing revealed a research gap between nursing practice and education. Although there was information available on the appropriate use of social networking sites, there was limited research on the use of social networking policies within nursing education. The purpose of this study was to identify current use of social media by faculty and students and a need for policies within nursing education at one institution. A survey was developed and administered to nursing students (n = 273) and nursing faculty (n = 33). Inferential statistics included χ², Fisher exact test, t test, and General Linear Model. Cronbach's α was used to assess internal consistency of social media scales. The χ² result indicates that there were associations with the group and several social media items. t Test results indicate significant differences between student and faculty for average of policies are good (P = .0127), policies and discipline (P = .0315), and policy at the study school (P = .0013). General Linear Model analyses revealed significant differences for "friend" a patient with a bond, unprofessional posts, policy, and nursing with class level. Results showed that students and faculty supported the development of a social networking policy.

Individually identifiable body odors are produced by the gorilla and discriminated by humans.

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Hepper, Peter G; Wells, Deborah L

2010-05-01

Many species produce odor cues that enable them to be identified individually, as well as providing other socially relevant information. Study of the role of odor cues in the social behavior of great apes is noticeable by its absence. Olfaction has been viewed as having little role in guiding behavior in these species. This study examined whether Western lowland gorillas produce an individually identifiable odor. Odor samples were obtained by placing cloths in the gorilla's den. A delayed matching to sample task was used with human participants (n = 100) to see if they were able to correctly match a target odor sample to a choice of either: 2 odors (the target sample and another, Experiment 1) and 6 odors (the target sample and 5 others, Experiment 2). Participants were correctly able to identify the target odor when given either 2 or 6 matches. Subjects made fewest errors when matching the odor of the silverback, whereas matching the odors of the young gorillas produced most errors. The results indicate that gorillas do produce individually identifiable body odors and introduce the possibility that odor cues may play a role in gorilla social behavior.

Identifying the social and environmental determinants of plague endemicity in Peru: insights from a case study in Ascope, La Libertad.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivière-Cinnamond, Ana; Santandreu, Alain; Luján, Anita; Mertens, Frederic; Espinoza, John Omar; Carpio, Yesenia; Bravo, Johnny; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

2018-02-06

Plague remains a public health problem in specific areas located in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. Its prevention and control encompasses adequate clinical management and timely laboratory diagnosis. However, understanding communities' interaction with its surrounding ecosystem as well as the differences between community members and institutional stakeholders regarding the root causes of plague might contribute to understand its endemicity. We aim at bridging the traditionally separate biological and social sciences by elucidating communities' risk perception and identifying knowledge gaps between communities and stakeholders. This approach has been used in other areas but never in understanding plague endemicity, nor applied in the Latin American plague context. The objectives were to identify (i) plague risk perception at community level, (ii) perceived social and environmental determinants of plague endemicity, and (iii) institutions that need to be involved and actions needed to be taken as proposed by stakeholders and community members. The study was performed in 2015 and took place in Ascope rural province, La Libertad Region, in Peru, where the study areas are surrounded by intensive private sugarcane production. We propose using a multi-level discourse analysis. Community households were randomly selected (n = 68). Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were applied. A stakeholder analysis was used to identify policy makers (n = 34). In-depth interviews were performed, recorded and transcribed. Descriptive variables were analyzed with SPSS®. Answers were coded following variables adapted from the Commission on Social Determinants of Health and analyzed with the assistance of ATLAS.ti®. Results showed that risk perception was low within the community. Policy-makers identified agriculture and sugarcane production as the root cause while community answers ranked the hygiene situation as the main cause. Stakeholders first ranked

State Welfarism and Social Welfare in Asia

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Dr Indra P TIWARI

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper has analyzed and discussed the social welfare policies of the Asian countries—the responsibilities of international activist institutions and the State towards individuals in terms of state welfarism and social and economic protection, and the conventional family system, which was and still is the core responsible institution for the well-being of its members. The paper has presented economic and poverty indicators (19, demographic, social and economic indicators associated social welfarism (16, satisfaction related indicators (7, and funding related indicators that have association with social welfarism (9. This has also analyzed and discussed the gap between the international propaganda on social welfare, social policies of the Government and its actual delivery and the situation of vacuum being created due to the moribund family system of slothful state welfarism, in the new living context created by the notion of right-prone individualism. The study has identified along with their history of starting social security provisions the present state major workfare and welfare and welfare protection in the Asian countries, thereby explored countries falling into five levels of social welfare system by taking a combined state of poverty, vulnerable employment, and government expenditure on education, health and social protection, namely (i early stage of welfare system; (ii transition to take-off stage of welfare system; (iii take-off stage of welfare system; (iv transition to drive to maturity stage of welfare system; and (v the drive to maturity stage of welfare system. Finally, the paper has presented the critical areas for dialogue where the synergy of the propagandist international activism, state slothfulness, moribund family dynamics, and right-prone individualism interface for a reliable and sustainable social welfare with affection, protection, nurturance, and protection thereby live in peace and harmony with dignity.

Spatial-temporal analysis of dengue deaths: identifying social vulnerabilities

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Maria do Socorro da Silva

Full Text Available Abstract: INTRODUCTION Currently, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus represent serious public health issues in Brazil, despite efforts to control the vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. METHODS: This was a descriptive and ecological study of dengue deaths occurring from 2002 to 2013 in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. Geoprocessing software was used to draw maps, linking the geo-referenced deaths with urban/social data at census tract level. RESULTS: There were 74 deaths, concentrated in areas of social vulnerability. CONCLUSIONS: The use of geo-technology tools pointed to a concentration of dengue deaths in specific intra-urban areas.

Identifying indications for percutaneous (PTC) vs. endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)- guided "rendezvous" procedure in biliary obstruction and incomplete endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC).

Science.gov (United States)

Albert, J G; Finkelmeier, F; Friedrich-Rust, M; Kronenberger, B; Trojan, J; Zeuzem, S; Sarrazin, C

2014-10-01

The variety of rendezvous (RV) procedures has recently been extended by EUS- and PTCD-guided procedures as a complementary means to conventional ERCP. We have identified indication criteria and the potential of biliary PTCD-guided vs. EUS-guided RV. Consecutive patients with bile duct obstruction who underwent RV were included. In all, ERCP alone was unable to achieve treatment success. Indication, technical success, and outcome in PTCD- vs. EUS-guided RV were retrospectively compared to identify criteria that indicate preference of RV technique. Site of obstruction, clinical scenario (stenosis with abscess vs. no abscess) and reason for previous failure of ERC were evaluated. In 32 patients, three different indications for RV procedures were identified: First, a one-step access to assist in failed ERCP (type 1, intra-ductal RV); second, temporary drainage for prolonged treatment of complex biliary disease (type 2, intra-ductal RV), and drainage of cholangio-abscess with re-establishing bile outflow (type 3, intra-abscess RV). Indication of PTCD- vs. EUS-guided rendezvous was competitive in type 1, but exclusive in favor of PTCD in types 2 and 3. The site of biliary obstruction indicated the anatomic location of RV procedures. This classification may help to define inclusion criteria for prospective studies on biliary RV procedures. Choice of therapeutic strategy depends on the anatomic location of the biliary obstruction and the type of the biliary lesion. PTCD-guided RV might improve outcome in cholangio-abscess. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

“Thanks for sharing”—Identifying users’ roles based on knowledge contribution in Enterprise Social Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cetto, Alexandra; Klier, Mathias; Richter, Alexander

2018-01-01

in the network and help others to get their work done. In this paper, we propose a new methodological approach consisting of three steps, namely “message classification”, “identification of users’ roles” as well as “characterization of users’ roles”. We apply the approach to a dataset from a multinational......, are a central element of the network. In conclusion, the development and application of a new methodological approach allows us to contribute to a more refined understanding of users’ knowledge exchanging behavior in Enterprise Social Networks which can ultimately help companies to take measures to improve......While ever more companies use Enterprise Social Networks for knowledge management, there is still a lack of understanding of users’ knowledge exchanging behavior. In this context, it is important to be able to identify and characterize users who contribute and communicate their knowledge...

Indicators of working conditions in the European Union

OpenAIRE

Dhondt, S.; Houtman, I.

1997-01-01

The goal of the report is to develop social indicators for the working environment in Europe on the basis of existing working environment statistics. Social indicators (chapter 2) contain information about the social situation in a country or international community. They give information about policy and about policy effects. It shows also what the level is of certain fundamental social needs develop over the time. Indicators on the working environment (chapter 3) give information about the ...

The significance of socially-assigned ethnicity for self-identified Māori accessing and engaging with primary healthcare in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Jennifer; Cormack, Donna; Crowe, Marie

2016-03-01

Despite increased focus in New Zealand on reducing health inequities between Māori and New Zealand European ethnic groups, research on barriers and facilitators to primary healthcare access for Māori remains limited. In particular, there has been little interrogation of the significance of social-assignment of ethnicity for Māori in relation to engagement with predominantly non-Māori primary healthcare services and providers. A qualitative study was undertaken with a subsample (n = 40) of the broader Hauora Manawa Study to examine experiences of accessing and engaging with primary healthcare among adult urban Māori. Thematic analysis of in-depth interviews identified that participants perceived social-assignment as New Zealand European as an efficacious form of capital when interacting with predominantly non-Māori health professionals. Skin colour that was 'white' or was perceived to identify Māori as belonging to the 'dominant' New Zealand European ethnic group was reported as broadly advantageous and protective. In contrast, social-assignment as Māori was seen to be associated with risk of exposure to differential and discriminatory healthcare. Reducing the negative impacts of racialisation in a (neo)colonial society where 'White' cultural capital dominates requires increased recognition of the health-protective advantages of 'White' privilege and concomitant risks associated with socially-assigned categorisation of ethnicity as non-'White'. © The Author(s) 2015.

The use of citation indicators to identify and support high-quality research in Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilc, Andrzej

2008-01-01

In large, mostly English-speaking countries, where the "critical mass" of scientists working in different subfields of science is achieved, the peer review system may be sufficient to assess the quality of scientific research. However, in smaller countries, outside the Anglo-American circle, it is important to introduce different systems to identify research of high quality. In Poland, a parametric system for assessing the quality of research has been introduced. It was largely based on the impact factor of scientific journals. While the use of this indicator to assess research quality is highly questionable, the implementation of the system in the Polish reality is even worse. Therefore it is important to change and improve the system currently used by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to both evaluate and, more importantly, finance science in Poland. Here, a system based on three factors, i.e. the impact factor, the institutional h-index, and the institutional number of citations, is proposed. The scientific quality of institutions in Division VI: Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences were evaluated and the results were compared with the existing system. Moreover, a method to identify high-quality researchers and institutions at the national level based on the quantity of highly cited papers is shown. Additionally, an attempt to identify the highest quality Polish research on an international level is proposed. This is based on the number of individual citations, the individual h-index, the number of publications, and the priority of the discovery.

The Social Media Indicator 2 : Towards a Software Tool for Measuring the Influence of Social Media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Withaar, Robin J.; Ribeiro, Gabriella F.; Effing, Robin

2013-01-01

Influence measurement regarding social media has gained importance. This paper introduces a matrix which is a framework to measure the influence of social media by individual users. This matrix comprises the metrics to measure personal influence for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+.

Can Social Comparison Feedback Affect Indicators of Eco-Friendly Travel Choices? Insights from Two Online Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rouven Doran

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Two online experiments explored the effects of social comparison feedback on indicators of eco-friendly travel choices. It was tested whether the chosen indicators are sensitive to the information conveyed, and if this varies as a function of in-group identification. Study 1 (N = 134 focused on unfavourable feedback (i.e., being told that one has a larger ecological footprint than the average member of a reference group. People who received unfavourable feedback reported stronger intentions to choose eco-friendly travel options than those who received nondiscrepant feedback, when in-group identification was high (not moderate or low. Perceived self- and collective efficacy were not associated with the feedback. Study 2 (N = 323 extended the focus on favourable feedback (i.e., being told that one has a smaller ecological footprint than the average member of a reference group. Neither unfavourable nor favourable feedback was associated with behavioural intentions, self- or collective efficacy. This means that Study 2 failed to replicate the finding of Study 1 that behavioural intentions were associated with unfavourable feedback, given that in-group identification is high. The findings are discussed in light of the existing literature. Suggestions are made for future studies investigating social comparison feedback as a means to motivate people to make eco-friendly travel choices.

The influence of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Brian; Karr, Trisha M; Zunker, Christie; Mitchell, James E; Thompson, Ron; Sherman, Roberta; Erickson, Ann; Cao, Li; Crosby, Ross D

2015-09-01

Previous research has identified exercise identity and social physique anxiety as two independent factors that are associated with exercise dependence. The purpose of our study was to investigate the unique and interactive effect of these two known correlates of exercise dependence in a sample of 1,766 female runners. Regression analyses tested the main effects of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence. An interaction term was calculated to examine the potential moderating effect of social physique anxiety on the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Results indicate a main effect for exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence; and the interaction of these factors explained exercise dependence scores beyond the independent effects. Thus, social physique anxiety acted as a moderator in the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Our results indicate that individuals who strongly identify themselves as an exerciser and also endorse a high degree of social physique anxiety may be at risk for developing exercise dependence. Our study supports previous research which has examined factors that may contribute to the development of exercise dependence and also suggests a previously unknown moderating relationship for social physique anxiety on exercise dependence.

Social media usage among health care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Surani, Zoya; Hirani, Rahim; Elias, Anita; Quisenberry, Lauren; Varon, Joseph; Surani, Sara; Surani, Salim

2017-11-29

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of social media among healthcare workers in an attempt to identify how it affects the quality of patient care. An anonymous survey of 35 questions was conducted in South Texas, on 366 healthcare workers. Of the 97% of people who reported owning electronic devices, 87.9% indicated that they used social media. These healthcare workers indicated that they spent approximately 1 h on social media every day. The healthcare workers below the age of 40 were more involved in social media compared to those above 40 (p social media among physicians and nurses was noted to be identical (88% for each group), and both groups encouraged their patients to research their clinical conditions on social media (p social media policy in their hospital compared to nurses (p < 0.05). However, a large proportion of healthcare workers (40%) were unaware of their workplace policy, which could potentially cause a privacy breach of confidential medical information. Further studies are required to evaluate specific effects of these findings on the quality of patient care.

Social inequalities in pregnancy outcomes and early childhood behaviour: the Generation R study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.W. Jansen (Pauline)

2009-01-01

textabstractaim of this thesis was to extend the existing knowledge on the relation of social disadvantage with pregnancy outcomes and early childhood behaviour. More specifically, we aimed to identify the mechanisms underlying this association. In this thesis, several indicators of social

Identificación de territorios críticos en salud materna mediante indicadores Using indicators to identify regions with critical maternal health conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Paz Ballivián

2002-07-01

Health and Social Welfare of Bolivia brought together a group of experts who, using available information, developed a method that made it possible to identify critical maternal and neonatal health sections of the country and to create a map of the health situation and of the existing health-services capacity in the 112 provinces of Bolivia. The objective of this piece is to describe the method that those experts created and applied. Methods. Two indices were created, one for the health situation and the other for the existing health-services capacity. The steps followed in this process were: 1 identifying the variables included in each index, 2 weighting the variables in each index, 3 creating a mathematical formula for each index, 4 preparing a list with the data from each province for the chosen variables and with the percentage for each province for each index, obtained by using the respective formula, 5 setting three continuous-data categories for each index, and 6 defining the taxonomy that was possible by combining the results of the two indices. Results. Applying this approach, a national map of the maternal health situation and of the existing capacity in each of the 112 Bolivian provinces was developed. This made it possible to choose a small number of provinces where the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare could work with other institutions to carry out joint interventions. The 9 selected provinces have a total of 26 municipalities, which include 17 health districts and which have 29% of the population of the country, 33% of the maternal deaths, and an estimated 35% of the early neonatal deaths. Conclusions. Using available information, this method generated a map of the overall maternal health situation in the 112 provinces of Bolivia and made it possible to identify critical geographical areas for health interventions.

Environmental and social impact of uranium mining in Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, A.

2000-01-01

The mining of uranium at the Ranger and Jabiluka mines in Australia's Northern Territory has been assessed as a case study for the environmental and social impact of uranium mining in Australia. The level of environmental protection achieved has been very high. However, a number of social indicators reveal that the social impact of development in the region, including the mining of uranium, has been significant. A program is now underway to redress these social issues. Links between social and environmental impact have been identified. In today's world, the standards and practices in environmental protection are as much determined by social attitudes as they are by scientific and technical assessment. (author)

Environmental and social impact of uranium mining in Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, A.

2002-01-01

The mining of uranium at the Ranger and Jabiluka mines in Australia's Northern Territory has been assessed as a case study for the environmental and social impact of uranium mining in Australia. The level of environmental protection achieved has been very high. However, a number of social indicators reveal that the social impact of development in the region, including the mining of uranium, has been significant. A programme is now underway to redress these social issues. Links between social and environmental impact have been identified. In today's world, the standards and practices in environmental protection are as much determined by social attitudes as they are by scientific and technical assessment. (author)

Social connectivity in those 24 months or less postsurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Thom R

2011-01-01

This purpose of this study is to characterize the prevalence of social isolation and determine the impact of influencing factors in a sample of adults with ostomies. Five hundred sixty adults with an ostomy, residing in North America and the United Kingdom, less than 24 months postsurgery, participated in the study. Data were extracted from the Ostomy Comprehensive Health and Life Assessment (Hollister Incorporated, Libertyville, Illinois) electronic database. Data collection began in 2004; the database included approximately 3000 persons with an ostomy. This was a cross-sectional survey and not a clinical investigation. All survey respondents were provided complete anonymity. No identifying data were incorporated into the database, or held as a matter of record. We defined 2 groups characterized as polar opposites. They are (1) adults whose responses indicate they are very socially isolated or experience low levels of social support and display dissatisfaction or low levels of life satisfaction; and (2) adults whose responses indicate they are socially connected and displaying moderate or high levels of life satisfaction. I hypothesized that life-influencing differences exist within the gradient from high satisfaction and social connectivity to dissatisfaction and social isolation, and that these differences would be most evident in these 2 groups. Study findings support the hypothesis that social isolation and social connectivity are associated with different levels of life satisfaction. Statistically significant correlations between social isolation, emotional support, and life satisfaction are demonstrated. Furthermore, assessment of body image perception between the groups indicates statistically significant differences in perception. In addition, analysis reveals that pre- and postoperative nursing intervention significantly influences these outcomes. The study provides evidence that social isolation exists in some adults with ostomies, which is associated

AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL INCLUSION IN EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HARALAMBIE GEORGE ALIN

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Social inclusion, a dynamic process of stringent topicality, manifested in the community space, is constituted in a subject with multiple reverberations on contemporary society. From this perspective, the growing interest of the Member States in social inclusion is due to the widening of existing inequalities in terms of people's living standards due to the deterioration of economic well-being. A growing number of studies on social cohesion at the level of the countries of the European Union tried to identify the similarities and disparities between Member States in the process of social inclusion. The paper evaluated and compared the existing disparities between the 28 EU countries, based on a set of social indicators that provide an insight into social inclusion. The methodology used implied a cluster analysis based on the method of k-means, which allowed me to form a grouping of Member States based on indicators of social inclusion. The results of the analysis reveal significant differences between the countries of the European Union regarding social inclusion due to factors of a political, economic and social nature. Understanding the mechanism of manifestation and correction of the level of social inclusion can provide, in this sense, explanations and solutions in capitalizing the economic potential by developing specific policies to the existing social imbalances.

Measuring social capital: further insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrillo Álvarez, Elena; Riera Romaní, Jordi

Social capital is defined as the resources available to individuals and groups through membership in social networks. However, multiple definitions, distinct dimensions and subtypes of social capital have been used to investigate and theorise about its relationship to health on different scales, creating a confusing picture. This heterogeneity makes it necessary to systematise social capital measures in order to build a stronger foundation in terms of how these associations between the different aspects of social capital and each specific health indicator develop. We aim to provide an overview of the measurement approaches used to measure social capital in its different dimensions and scales, as well as the mechanisms through which it is presumed to influence health. Understanding the mechanisms through which these relationships develop may help to refine the existing measures or to identify new, more appropriate ones. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Measuring Social Communication Behaviors as a Treatment Endpoint in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Anagnostou, Evdokia; Jones, Nancy; Huerta, Marisela; Halladay, Alycia K.; Wang, Paul; Scahill, Lawrence; Horrigan, Joseph P.; Kasari, Connie; Lord, Cathy; Choi, Dennis; Sullivan, Katherine; Dawson, Geraldine

2015-01-01

Social communication impairments are a core deficit in autism spectrum disorder. Social communication deficit is also an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder and a factor in long-term outcomes. Thus, this symptom domain represents a critical treatment target. Identifying reliable and valid outcome measures for social communication across a…

Indicators of working conditions in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dhondt, S.; Houtman, I.

1997-01-01

The goal of the report is to develop social indicators for the working environment in Europe on the basis of existing working environment statistics. Social indicators (chapter 2) contain information about the social situation in a country or international community. They give information about

Identifying the Factors Influence Turkish Deposit Banks to Join Corporate Social Responsibility Activities by Using Panel Probit Method

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Serhat Yuksel

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study aims to determine the influencing factors of the banks to join corporate social responsibility activities. Within this scope, annual data of 23 deposit banks in Turkey for the periods between 2005 and 2015 was taken into the consideration. In addition to this situation, panel probit model was used in the analysis so as to achieve this objective. According to the results of the analysis, it was determined that there is a negative relationship between CSR activities and nonperforming loans ratio. This situation shows that banks do not prefer to make social responsibility activities in case of higher financial losses. In addition to this situation, it was also identified that there is a positive relationship between return on asset and corporate social responsibility activities of the banks. In other words, it can be understood that Turkish deposit banks, which have higher profitability, joint more CSR activities in comparison with others.

How perceived social support relates to suicidal ideation: a Japanese social resident survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Endo, Go; Tachikawa, Hirokazu; Fukuoka, Yoshiharu; Aiba, Miyuki; Nemoto, Kiyotaka; Shiratori, Yuki; Matsui, Yutaka; Doi, Nagafumi; Asada, Takashi

2014-05-01

The loss of social support is one of the major risk factors for suicide. However, there are few empirical studies that have examined how a person's suicide ideation relates to their social support. To examine the relationship between social support and suicidal ideation. Self-report questionnaires were sent to 2,200 randomly selected adults in Japan. The questionnaire inquired the participants about the severity of suicidal ideation, the details of current perceived social support and their degree of satisfaction with this social support. Social support and related indicators were compared among three groups of participants that varied in severity of suicidal ideation. People in the group that had suicide ideation during their lives reported receiving significantly less support from their family and had greater feelings of dissatisfaction with that support than those in the other groups. Furthermore, people who had suicide ideation during the month immediately preceding the survey reported providing less support to their family, relatives or friends, as well as receiving less support from family than other groups, and having stronger feelings of dissatisfaction with social support. Our study identified a strong relationship between the severity of suicidal ideation and perceived social support.

Cultural capital and smoking in young adults: applying new indicators to explore social inequalities in health behaviour.

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Gagné, Thierry; Frohlich, Katherine L; Abel, Thomas

2015-10-01

Associations between social status and health behaviours are well documented, but the mechanisms involved are less understood. Cultural capital theory may contribute to a better understanding by expanding the scope of inequality indicators to include individuals' knowledge, skills, beliefs and material goods to examine how these indicators impact individuals' health lifestyles. We explore the structure and applicability of a set of cultural capital indicators in the empirical exploration of smoking behaviour among young male adults. We analysed data from the Swiss Federal Survey of Adolescents (CH-X) 2010-11 panel of young Swiss males (n = 10 736). A set of nine theoretically relevant variables (including incorporated, institutionalized and objectified cultural capital) were investigated using exploratory factor analysis. Regression models were run to observe the association between factor scores and smoking outcomes. Outcome measures consisted of daily smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked by daily smokers. Cultural capital indicators aggregated in a three-factor solution representing 'health values', 'education and knowledge' and 'family resources'. Each factor score predicted the smoking outcomes. In young males, scoring low on health values, education and knowledge and family resources was associated with a higher risk of being a daily smoker and of smoking more cigarettes daily. Cultural capital measures that include, but go beyond, educational attainment can improve prediction models of smoking in young male adults. New measures of cultural capital may thus contribute to our understanding of the social status-based resources that individuals can use towards health behaviours. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Screening potential social impacts of fossil fuels and biofuels for vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekener-Petersen, Elisabeth; Höglund, Jonas; Finnveden, Göran

2014-01-01

The generic social and socioeconomic impacts of various biofuels and fossil fuels were screened by applying Social Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Data were taken from the Social Hotspots Database on all categories for all the related themes and all indicators available. To limit the amount of data, only high and very high risk indicators were considered for each combination. The risks identified per life cycle phase were listed for each fuel assessed and the results were then aggregated by counting the number of high and very high risk indicators for that fuel. All the fossil fuels and biofuels analysed were found to display high or very high risks of negative impacts. Country of origin seemed to be of greater importance for risks than fuel type, as the most risk-related and least risk-related product systems referred to the same type of fuel, fossil oil from Russia/Nigeria and fossil oil from Norway, respectively. These results suggest that in developing policy, strict procurement requirements on social performance should be set for both fossil fuel and biofuel. However, the results must be interpreted with care owing to some limitations in the assessment, such as simplifications to life cycles, method used and data collection. - Highlights: • Both fossil and biofuels displayed high or very high risks of negative social impacts. • Social procurement requirements should be applied on all vehicle fuels. • Applying social criteria only on biofuels may be unfairly benefiting fossil fuels. • Social LCA can identify severe social impacts and influence policies accordingly. • Schemes can be adapted to include relevant criteria for specific fuels and/or origins

Identifying indicators of harmful and problem gambling in a Canadian sample through receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Quilty, Lena C; Avila Murati, Daniela; Bagby, R Michael

2014-03-01

Many gamblers would prefer to reduce gambling on their own rather than to adopt an abstinence approach within the context of a gambling treatment program. Yet responsible gambling guidelines lack quantifiable markers to guide gamblers in wagering safely. To address these issues, the current investigation implemented receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to identify behavioral indicators of harmful and problem gambling. Gambling involvement was assessed in 503 participants (275 psychiatric outpatients and 228 community gamblers) with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Overall gambling frequency, duration, and expenditure were able to distinguish harmful and problematic gambling at a moderate level. Indicators of harmful gambling were generated for engagement in specific gambling activities: frequency of tickets and casino; duration of bingo, casino, and investments; and expenditures on bingo, casino, sports betting, games of skill, and investments. Indicators of problem gambling were similarly produced for frequency of tickets and casino, and expenditures on bingo, casino, games of skill, and investments. Logistic regression analyses revealed that overall gambling frequency uniquely predicted the presence of harmful and problem gambling. Furthermore, frequency indicators for tickets and casino uniquely predicted the presence of both harmful and problem gambling. Together, these findings contribute to the development of an empirically based method enabling the minimization of harmful or problem gambling through self-control rather than abstinence.

A meta-analysis and scoping review of social cognition performance in social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Plana, India; Lavoie, Marie-Audrey; Battaglia, Marco; Achim, Amélie M

2014-03-01

Social cognition deficits are observed in a variety of psychiatric illnesses. However, data concerning anxiety disorders are sparse and difficult to interpret. This meta-analysis aims at determining if social cognition is affected in social phobia (SP) or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to non-clinical controls and the specificity of such deficits relatively to other anxiety disorders. The scoping review aims to identify research gaps in the field. Forty studies assessing mentalizing, emotion recognition, social perception/knowledge or attributional style in anxiety disorders were included, totalizing 1417 anxious patients and 1321 non-clinical controls. Results indicate distinct patterns of social cognition impairments: people with PTSD show deficits in mentalizing (effect size d = -1.13) and emotion recognition (d = -1.6) while other anxiety disorders including SP showed attributional biases (d = -0.53 to d = -1.15). The scoping review identified several under investigated domains of social cognition in anxiety disorders. Some recommendations are expressed for future studies to explore the full range of social cognition in anxiety disorders and allow direct comparisons between different disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review Article: A comparison of flood and earthquake vulnerability assessment indicators

Science.gov (United States)

de Ruiter, Marleen C.; Ward, Philip J.; Daniell, James E.; Aerts, Jeroen C. J. H.

2017-07-01

In a cross-disciplinary study, we carried out an extensive literature review to increase understanding of vulnerability indicators used in the disciplines of earthquake- and flood vulnerability assessments. We provide insights into potential improvements in both fields by identifying and comparing quantitative vulnerability indicators grouped into physical and social categories. Next, a selection of index- and curve-based vulnerability models that use these indicators are described, comparing several characteristics such as temporal and spatial aspects. Earthquake vulnerability methods traditionally have a strong focus on object-based physical attributes used in vulnerability curve-based models, while flood vulnerability studies focus more on indicators applied to aggregated land-use classes in curve-based models. In assessing the differences and similarities between indicators used in earthquake and flood vulnerability models, we only include models that separately assess either of the two hazard types. Flood vulnerability studies could be improved using approaches from earthquake studies, such as developing object-based physical vulnerability curve assessments and incorporating time-of-the-day-based building occupation patterns. Likewise, earthquake assessments could learn from flood studies by refining their selection of social vulnerability indicators. Based on the lessons obtained in this study, we recommend future studies for exploring risk assessment methodologies across different hazard types.

Summary cortisol reactivity indicators: Interrelations and meaning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer E. Khoury

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Research on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA axis has involved a proliferation of cortisol indices. We surveyed recently published HPA-related articles and identified 15 such indices. We sought to clarify their biometric properties, specifically, how they interrelate and what they mean, because such information is rarely offered in the articles themselves. In the present article, the primary samples consist of community mothers and their infants (N = 297, who participated in two challenges, the Toy Frustration Paradigm and the Strange Situation Procedure. We sought to cross-validate findings from each of these samples against the other, and also against a clinically depressed sample (N = 48 and a sample of healthy older adults (N = 51 who participated in the Trier Social Stress Test. Cortisol was collected from all participants once before and twice after the challenges. These heterogenous samples were chosen to obtain the greatest possible range in cortisol levels and stress response regulation. Using these data, we computed the 15 summary cortisol indices identified in our literature survey. We assessed inter-relations amongst indices and determined their underlying dimensions via principal component analysis (PCA. The PCAs consistently extracted two components, accounting for 79%–93% of the variance. These components represent “total cortisol production” and “change in cortisol levels.” The components were highly congruent across challenge, time, and sample. High variable loadings and explained factor variance suggest that all indices represent their underlying dimensions very well. Thus the abundance of summary cortisol indices currently represented in the literature appears superfluous.

Why was this transfusion given? Identifying clinical indications for blood transfusion in health care data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Hoeven LR

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Loan R van Hoeven,1,2 Aukje L Kreuger,3,4 Kit CB Roes,1 Peter F Kemper,2,4 Hendrik Koffijberg,5 Floris J Kranenburg,3,4,6 Jan MM Rondeel,7 Mart P Janssen1,2 1Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 2Transfusion Technology Assessment Department, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 3Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; 4Center for Clinical Transfusion Research, Sanquin Research, Leiden, the Netherlands; 5Department of Health Technology & Services Research, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; 6Department of Intensive Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; 7Department of Clinical Chemistry, Isala, Zwolle, the Netherlands Background: To enhance the utility of transfusion data for research, ideally every transfusion should be linked to a primary clinical indication. In electronic patient records, many diagnostic and procedural codes are registered, but unfortunately, it is usually not specified which one is the reason for transfusion. Therefore, a method is needed to determine the most likely indication for transfusion in an automated way.Study design and methods: An algorithm to identify the most likely transfusion indication was developed and evaluated against a gold standard based on the review of medical records for 234 cases by 2 experts. In a second step, information on misclassification was used to fine-tune the initial algorithm. The adapted algorithm predicts, out of all data available, the most likely indication for transfusion using information on medical specialism, surgical procedures, and diagnosis and procedure dates relative to the transfusion date.Results: The adapted algorithm was able to predict 74.4% of indications in the sample correctly (extrapolated to the full data set 75.5%. A kappa

Social Anhedonia and Schizotypy in a Community Sample: The Maryland Longitudinal Study of Schizotypy

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, Jack J.; Collins, Lindsay M.; Aghevli, Minu; Leung, Winnie W.; Cohen, Alex S.

2011-01-01

Social anhedonia has been employed in psychometric high-risk studies to identify putative schizotypes. To date, this research has focused almost exclusively on college samples. The current study sought to examine the validity of social anhedonia as an indicator of risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders within a community sample. Furthermore, we evaluated the role of other individual difference variables in accounting for variable clinical severity within the social anhedonia group including trait affectivity, social support, and family environment. Following the mailed questionnaire screening of 2434 eighteen-year olds, laboratory assessments were conducted with individuals identified as being high in social anhedonia (n = 86) and a comparison sample (n = 89). Compared with the control group, individuals in the social anhedonia group were found to have higher rates of mood disorders, elevated schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder characteristics, greater negative symptom characteristics, and lower global functioning. Individuals within the social anhedonia group also reported greater trait negative affectivity, lower positive affectivity, less social support, and more family conflict. Low social support and problematic family environment were found to be related to elevations in spectrum personality disorder characteristics and poorer functioning within the social anhedonia group. These cross-sectional findings from a community sample provide further support for social anhedonia as a possible indicator of schizotypy. PMID:19850669

With you or against you: social orientation dependent learning signals guide actions made for others.

Science.gov (United States)

Christopoulos, George I; King-Casas, Brooks

2015-01-01

In social environments, it is crucial that decision-makers take account of the impact of their actions not only for oneself, but also on other social agents. Previous work has identified neural signals in the striatum encoding value-based prediction errors for outcomes to oneself; also, recent work suggests that neural activity in prefrontal cortex may similarly encode value-based prediction errors related to outcomes to others. However, prior work also indicates that social valuations are not isomorphic, with social value orientations of decision-makers ranging on a cooperative to competitive continuum; this variation has not been examined within social learning environments. Here, we combine a computational model of learning with functional neuroimaging to examine how individual differences in orientation impact neural mechanisms underlying 'other-value' learning. Across four experimental conditions, reinforcement learning signals for other-value were identified in medial prefrontal cortex, and were distinct from self-value learning signals identified in striatum. Critically, the magnitude and direction of the other-value learning signal depended strongly on an individual's cooperative or competitive orientation toward others. These data indicate that social decisions are guided by a social orientation-dependent learning system that is computationally similar but anatomically distinct from self-value learning. The sensitivity of the medial prefrontal learning signal to social preferences suggests a mechanism linking such preferences to biases in social actions and highlights the importance of incorporating heterogeneous social predispositions in neurocomputational models of social behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Formative Assessment Using Social Marketing Principles to Identify Health and Nutrition Perspectives of Native American Women Living within the Chickasaw Nation Boundaries in Oklahoma

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Stephany; Hunter, Toma; Briley, Chiquita; Miracle, Sarah; Hermann, Janice; Van Delinder, Jean; Standridge, Joy

2011-01-01

Objective: To identify health product and promotion channels for development of a Chickasaw Nation Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program (SNAP-Ed) social marketing program. Methods: The study was qualitative and used social marketing principles to assess Native American women's views of health and nutrition. Focus groups (n = 8) and…

Governance Mechanisms for the Promotion of Social Capital for Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Corporations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gooderham, Paul; Minbaeva, Dana; Pedersen, Torben

2011-01-01

are combined with theory on the determinants of social capital. Three governance mechanisms are identified: market-based mechanisms, hierarchical mechanisms, and social mechanisms. The findings, based on data from two Danish MNCs, indicate that although the use of social governance mechanisms promotes positive......The aim of this paper is to extend social capital approaches to knowledge transfer by identifying governance mechanisms that managers can deploy to promote the development of social capital. In order to achieve this objective, insights from the micro-level, knowledge governance approach...... assessment of social capital, hierarchical governance mechanisms constrain its development. The application of market-based governance mechanisms has no significant effect. In addition, the findings provide evidence that social capital has a positive impact on knowledge transfer...

Stages of Formation of the Strategy of Social Responsibility of Business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zatieyshchykova Olha O.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The article studies existing approaches to formulation of stages of the strategy, according to which a list of stages of formation of the strategy of social responsibility (SSR is formed, including: identification of the mission and vision of SSR, formation of the system of goals of SSR, assessment of influence of factors of external environment, assessment of the level of social responsibility, analysis of alternatives and selection of strategies. The article identifies SSR mission for Ukrainian enterprises, which lies in increase of the quality of life of employees, local society and society in general. SSR vision – improvement of effectiveness of business and profitability indicators on the basis of creation of trustworthy relations between business, society and state. The article develops the goals tree of SSR that has goals of three levels. It identifies a list of factors of external environment, including: growing anxiety about the state of environment and demographic situation, level of education and culture, growing intensity of competition, level of income and wellbeing, active participation of the state policy in the use of principles of social responsibility, propaganda of social responsibility within the impact area, fast change of technologies, fair marketing practice, informing and executing agreements. The article offers to assess the level of social responsibility on the basis of calculation of indicators of social investments both by quantitative and qualitative methods and calculation of indicators of voluntary social responsibility of business. It also offers main components of the essence of the SSR strategy.

Sustainable development indicators for territories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreau; Sylvain; Bottin, Anne; Bovar, Odile; Nirascou, Francoise; Albecker, Marie-Fleur; Bardou, Magali; Barret, Christophe; Berger, Emmanuel; Blanc, Christophe; Bovar, Odile; Briquel, Vincent; Chery, Jean-Pierre; Deshayes, Michel; Firdion, Laetitia; Fluxa, Christine; Girault, Maurice; Guerrero, David; Hassaine, Zahida; Hilal, Mohamed; Imbert, Frederic; Kerouanton, Marie-Helene; Lacroix, Steve; Magnier, Celine; Moreau, Jacques; Nirascou, Francoise; Pageaud, Dorothee; Schaeffer, Yves; Thienard, Helene; Vinet, Loic; Wemelbeke, Guillaume; Wichmann, Martine; Boitard, Corinne; Bird, Geoffrey

2011-11-01

For different themes (Sustainable consumption and production, Knowledge and social and economic development society, governance, climate change and energy management, sustainable transport and modality, conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources, public health, risk prevention and management, social and territorial cohesion), this study proposes a set of axis, and several indicators for each axis. Indicators correspond to different geographical scale and are determined from different sources. These indicators are for example: production of aggregates, proportion of organic agriculture in usable agricultural area, evolution in quantity of household waste collected per inhabitant, employment rate, research spending in relation to GDP, coverage of population by local Agenda 21, and so on. Thus, each indicator is discussed, commented and analysed

The social ties that bind: social anxiety and academic achievement across the university years.

Science.gov (United States)

Brook, Christina A; Willoughby, Teena

2015-05-01

Given that engagement and integration in university/college are considered key to successful academic achievement, the identifying features of social anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation and distress and avoidance of new or all social situations, may be particularly disadvantageous in the social and evaluative contexts that are integral to university/college life. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct effects of social anxiety on academic achievement, as well as investigate an indirect mechanism through which social anxiety might impact on academic achievement, namely, the formation of new social ties in university. The participants were 942 (71.7 % female; M = 19 years at Time 1) students enrolled in a mid-sized university in Southern Ontario, Canada. Students completed annual assessments of social anxiety, social ties, and academic achievement for three consecutive years. The results from an autoregressive cross-lag path analysis indicated that social anxiety had a significant and negative direct relationship with academic achievement. Moreover, the negative indirect effect of social anxiety on academic achievement through social ties was significant, as was the opposing direction of effects (i.e., the indirect effect of academic achievement on social anxiety through social ties). These findings highlight the critical role that social ties appear to play in successful academic outcomes and in alleviating the effects of social anxiety during university/college.

Sex-dependent associations of genetic variants identified by GWAS with indices of adiposity and obesity risk in a Chinese children population.

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Bo; Shen, Yue; Reilly, Kathleen Heather; Zhao, Xiaoyuan; Cheng, Hong; Hou, Dongqing; Wang, Xingyu; Mi, Jie

2013-10-01

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified a few single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are associated with body mass index (BMI)/obesity. This study aimed to examine the identified associations among a population of Chinese children. Five SNPs (SEC16B rs10913469, SH2B1 rs4788102, PCSK1rs6235, KCTD15 rs29941, BAT2 rs2844479) were genotyped for a group of Chinese children (N = 2849, age range 6-18 years). A total of 1230 obese cases and 1619 controls with normal weight were identified based on the Chinese age- and sex-specific BMI references. Of five studied variants, only two (SEC16B rs10913469, SH2B1 rs4788102) were nominally associated with indices of adiposity and obesity risk in girls and only SEC16B rs10913469 in children at puberty (p indicated that the genetic risk score (GRS) was associated with BMI, waist circumference and risk of obesity (defined by BMI) in girls, even after FDR adjustment for multiple testing. However, there was no statistical association of GRS with indices of adiposity and risk of obesity in children at puberty after multiple comparison correction. This study confirmed the synthetic effect of SNPs on the indices of adiposity and risk of obesity in Chinese girls, but failed to replicate the effect of five separate variants. We also did not found cumulative effect of SNPs in children at puberty. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social anxiety disorder. A guide for primary care physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, H W; Reifler, B

2000-01-01

Social anxiety disorder is prevalent, potentially disabling, but quite treatable. A thorough and directed history can distinguish social phobia from depression, panic disorder, and OCD. It can also screen for and identify possible substance abuse. Once the diagnosis is made, a combination of pharmacologic and psychotherapy is indicated. The SSRIs, MAOIs, benzodiazepines, and beta-blockers--as well as CBT--can effectively treat social anxiety symptoms. Primary care physicians may well want to begin by prescribing an SSRI like paroxetine, along with a high potency benzodiazepine to be taken on a regular or an as-needed basis, and a beta-blocker to take as needed in anticipation of stressful social situations. A referral for CBT should be considered. If the patient has marked side effects from drug treatment or a lack of adequate response to medication, psychiatric referral is definitely indicated.

SOCIAL INTEGRATION: TESTING ANTECEDENTS OF TIME SPENT ONLINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lily Suriani Mohd Arif

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The literature on the relationship of social integration and time spent onlineprovides conflicting evidence of the relationship of social integration with timespent online. The study identifies and highlightsthe controversy and attempts toclarify the relationship of social integration withtime spent online bydecomposing the construct social integration into its affective and behavioraldimensions . Thestudy tests antecedents and effects of time spent online in arandom sample of senior level undergraduate students at a public university inMalaysia. The findings indicated that while self-report measures of behavioralsocial integration did not predict time spent online, and, the affective socialintegration had an inverse relationship with time spent online.

Influence of metabolic indicators, smoking, alcohol and socioeconomic position on mortality after breast cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Signe Benzon; Kroman, Niels; Ibfelt, Else Helene

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Factors differently distributed among social groups like obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol intake predict survival after breast cancer diagnosis and therefore might mediate part of the observed social inequality in survival. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted...... a cohort study among 1250 postmenopausal breast cancer patients identified among 29 875 women in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study. Participants completed questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were made at enrollment. Information on survival, socioeconomic position, and comorbidity...... circumference and diabetes, and smoking and alcohol affected but did not explain the social gradient. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that these factors explain some but not all the social inequality in survival after breast cancer and that improvement of lifestyle to some extent would improve survival among...

[Distorted cognition of bodily sensations in subtypes of social anxiety].

Science.gov (United States)

Kanai, Yoshihiro; Sasaki, Shoko; Iwanaga, Makoto; Seiwa, Hidetoshi

2010-02-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between subtypes of social anxiety and distorted cognition of bodily sensations. The package of questionnaires including the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) was administered to 582 undergraduate students. To identify subtypes of social anxiety, cluster analysis was conducted using scores of the SPS and SIAS. Five clusters were identified and labeled as follows: Generalized type characterized by intense anxiety in most social situations, Non-anxious type characterized by low anxiety levels in social situations, Averaged type whose anxiety levels are averaged, Interaction anxiety type who feels anxiety mainly in social interaction situations, and Performance anxiety type who feels anxiety mainly in performance situations. Results of an ANOVA indicated that individuals with interaction type fear the negative evaluation from others regarding their bodily sensations whereas individuals with performance type overestimate the visibility of their bodily sensations to others. Differences in salient aspects of cognitive distortion among social anxiety subtypes may show necessity to select intervention techniques in consideration of subtypes.

Linking Social Anxiety with Social Competence in Early Adolescence: Physiological and Coping Moderators.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaeppler, Alexander K; Erath, Stephen A

2017-02-01

Despite relatively universal feelings of discomfort in social situations, there is considerable evidence for diversity in the social behaviors and peer experiences of socially anxious youth. However, to date, very little research has been conducted with the aim of identifying factors that differentiate socially anxious youth who are more socially competent from those who are less socially competent. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by examining whether physiological and cognitive coping responses to social stress moderate the association between social anxiety and social competence. Participants were a community sample of 123 fifth and sixth graders (Mage = 12.03). Social anxiety was measured globally and in the context of a lab-based peer evaluation situation, and social competence was assessed via teacher-reports. Physiological (i.e., skin conductance level reactivity, SCLR, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity, RSAR) and coping (i.e., disengaged) responses to social stressors were also assessed. Results indicated that SCLR and disengaged coping with peer victimization moderated associations linking global and context-specific social anxiety with social competence, such that social anxiety was associated with lower social competence at lower levels of SCLR and higher levels of disengaged coping with peer victimization. Thus, whether socially anxious preadolescents exhibit more or less competent social behavior may depend, in part, on how they respond to peer-evaluative stress. Inflexible physiological responses and disengaged coping responses may undermine social competence, whereas engaged responses may counteract socially anxious preadolescents' tendency to withdraw from social interactions or focus primarily on threat cues.

The role of manufacturing in affecting the social dimension of sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sutherland, John W.; Richter, Justin S.; Hutchins, Margot J.

2016-01-01

performance are framed for different stakeholder groups with associated social needs. Methodology development as well as various challenges for social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are further examined. Efforts to integrate social and another dimension of sustainability are considered, with attention......Manufacturing affects all three dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment, and society. This paper addresses the last of these dimensions. It explores social impacts identified by national level social indicators, frameworks, and principles. The effects of manufacturing on social...... to globalization challenges, including offshoring and reshoring. The paper concludes with a summary of key takeaways and promising directions for future work....

Migration as an indicator of people’s social and psychological stability (as exemplified in the Pskov Region.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostromina S.N.

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Years of social, economic, and political changes have resulted in intensive and extensive migration activity. The appearance of compelled and voluntary migrants has brought about the development of a new direction in social psychology: the psychology of migration. Many disciplines are connected with the study of migration, the problems of migrants, and adaptation processes. In the social-psychological literature, various models of adaptation to new conditions of a social-cultural environment are considered (I. Jasinskaja-Lahti, K. Liebkind, J. Berry; S.-K. Lee, J. Sobal, E. Frongillo. Various social-psychological features of migrants are studied: for example, ethnic identity, characteristics of psychological adaptation, emotional well-being, and mental health. In the Russian scientific literature the following problems are considered: emigrants’ interactions with representatives of foreign cultures (N. S. Khrustaleva, degree of cultural similarity (T.G. Stefanenko, personal features of emigrants (S. H. Schwartz, E. Prince-Gibson, features of ethnic identity (G.U. Soldatova, S. D. Gurieva, and many others. In Russia, research regarding the influence of the social-cultural environment on processes of adaptation were begun only in 2004. The main objective of our study was to identify psychological mechanisms of migration flows (incoming and outgoing as indicators of sociopolitical and psychological stability in the Pskov Region. Participants in the study were citizens permanently residing in the Pskov Region who by age and social characteristics represented the population structure of a part of that region. In total, 52 persons aged 17 to 69, with an average age of 42.3, participated. The technique used was focus groups. A content analysis was made of the answers received in the focus-group sessions. During these sessions, participants could freely share their views on questions asked by the facilitators who had a college-level psychological

Assisting digital forensics investigations by identifying social communication irregularities

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pieterse, Heloise

2017-06-01

Full Text Available People are creatures of habit, favouring the familiar over unpredictability, which causes them to usually follow set patterns or routines. This is especially true for social interaction or communication where people tend to prefer familiar or well...

Social Development in Hong Kong: Development Issues Identified by Social Development Index (SDI)

Science.gov (United States)

Chua, Hoi-wai; Wong, Anthony K. W.; Shek, Daniel T. L.

2010-01-01

Surviving the aftermaths of the Asian Financial Crisis and SARS in 2003, Hong Kong's economy has re-gained its momentum and its economic growth has been quite remarkable too in recent few years. Nevertheless, as reflected by the Social Development Index (SDI), economic growth in Hong Kong does not seem to have benefited the people of the city at…

The neural bases of framing effects in social dilemmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macoveanu, Julian; Ramsøy, Thomas Z.; Skov, Martin

2016-01-01

findings provide the first insight into the mechanisms underlying framing of behavior in social dilemmas, indicating increased engagement of the hippocampus and neocortical areas involved in memory, social reasoning, and mentalizing when participants make decisions that conform to the imposed social frame.......Human behavior in social dilemmas is strongly framed by the social context, but the mechanisms underlying this framing effect remain poorly understood. To identify the behavioral and neural responses mediating framing of social interactions, participants underwent functional MRI while playing...... a prisoner’s dilemma game. In separate neuroimaging sessions, the game was either framed as a cooperation game or a competition game. The framing of social decisions engaged the hippocampal formation, precuneus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and lateral temporal gyrus. Among these regions, the engagement...

Iranian Corporations and Corporate Social Responsibility

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Hadi Chapardar

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Comparative studies have demonstrated that the themes for corporate social responsibility (CSR initiatives are different among nations and geographic regions based on their cultural, political, legal, social, and economic contexts. In this research, which was conducted on 56 corporations from IMI100 (100 Iranian companies with highest annual sales, ranked by Industrial Management Institute or IMI, CSR themes in priority have been identified. Data collected from a semistructured questionnaire and some complementary interviews were analyzed against the results of a reference study over 100 companies from developed countries. The resulted themes, some of which may have several subthemes, were developed in three economic, environmental, and social categories. Beside these qualitative findings, two indices are constructed for indicating the “importance” of and “contribution” to each theme. The results and discussions are supposed to help business leaders, international companies inside Iran, governmental authorities, and researchers to improve CSR discussions and practices in the country where CSR undergoes a less structured platform.

Development of indicators to assess hunger.

Science.gov (United States)

Radimer, K L; Olson, C M; Campbell, C C

1990-11-01

Despite widespread concern about hunger in America, efforts to monitor and assess the extent of hunger have been hampered by lack of consensus on an appropriate meaning for the term hunger and by the lack of valid indicators to assess it. The first phase of the research used qualitative methods to derive a socially-appropriate definition of hunger. Thirty-two women in Upstate New York were interviewed regarding their experience with food problems and hunger. The interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results indicated that women had a narrow and a broad concept of hunger. The narrow concept focused on going without food for a specified period of time and the physical sensation of hunger. The broad one included two dimensions: household and individual hunger. Each had quantitative, qualitative, psychological, and social components. The second phase of the research used survey methodology to examine the validity and reliability of items designed to measure the conceptual definition of hunger. The survey was administered to 189 women in Upstate New York who participated in programs designed for low-income households or households in need of food. The second phase confirmed the conceptualization of hunger developed in the first phase. A subset of valid and reliable items that represented each of the major dimensions and components of hunger was identified as being useful for monitoring and assessing hunger.

Quality of web-based information on social phobia: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Khazaal, Yasser; Fernandez, Sebastien; Cochand, Sophie; Reboh, Isabel; Zullino, Daniele

2008-01-01

The objective of the study is to evaluate the quality of web-based information on social phobia and to investigate particular quality indicators. Two keywords, "Social phobia" and "Social Anxiety Disorder", were entered into five popular World Wide Web search engines. Websites were assessed with a standardized proforma designed to rate sites on the basis of accountability, presentation, interactivity, readability, and content quality. "Health On the Net" (HON) quality label and DISCERN scale scores aiding people without content expertise to assess quality of written health publication were used to verify their efficiency as quality indicators. This study evaluates the quality of web-based information on social phobia. On the 200 identified links, 58 were included. On the basis of outcome measures, the overall quality of the sites turned out to be poor. DISCERN and HON label were indicators of good quality indicators. Accountability criteria were poor indicators of site quality. Although social phobia education Websites for patients are common, educational material highly varies in quality and content. There is a need for better evidence-based information about social phobia on the Web and a need to reconsider the role of accountability criteria as indicators of site quality. Clinicians should advise patients of the HON label and DISCERN as useful indicators of site quality. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A method of identifying social structures in siting regions for deep geological repositories in Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brander, Simone

2010-09-01

Acceptance is a key element in the site selection process for deep geological repositories for high-level and low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Switzerland. Participation requirements such as comprehensive negotiation issues and adequate resources have thus been defined by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). In 2008, on the basis of technical criteria Nagra (National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste) proposed several potential areas for deep geological repositories. The number of potential areas will be narrowed down within the next few years. All municipalities within the planning perimeter (the area in which surface facilities can be realised) are affected and form the siting region. In order to ensure that the local population have their say in the forthcoming discussions, regional participation bodies including all municipalities within a siting region are being set up by the SFOE. Regional participation ensures that local interests, needs and values are taken into account in the site selection process. Assembling the regional participation bodies is therefore of great importance. Before such bodies can be formed, however, the various interests, needs and values have to be identified, and special attention has to be paid to long-term interests of future generations, as well as to non-organised and under-represented interests. According to the concept of proportional representation, the interests, needs and values that are identified and weighted by the local population are to be represented in the regional participation procedure. The aim of this study is to share a method of mapping existing social structures in a defined geographical area. This involves a combination of an analysis of socio-economic statistical data and qualitative and quantitative social research methods

Social housing and social isolation: Impact on stress indices and energy balance in male and female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Amy P; Norvelle, Alisa; Choi, Dennis C; Walton, James C; Albers, H Elliott; Huhman, Kim L

2017-08-01

Although Syrian hamsters are thought to be naturally solitary, recent evidence from our laboratory demonstrates that hamsters may actually prefer social contact. Hamsters increase their preference for a location associated with an agonistic encounter regardless of whether they have "won" or "lost". It has also been reported that social housing as well as exposure to intermittent social defeat or to a brief footshock stressor increase food intake and body mass in hamsters. By contrast, it has also been suggested that housing hamsters in social isolation causes anxiety-induced anorexia and reductions in body mass selectively in females. The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological consequences of housing hamsters in social isolation versus in social groups. Male and female hamsters were housed singly or in stable groups of 5 for 4weeks after which they were weighed and trunk blood was collected. In addition, fat pads and thymus and adrenal glands were extracted and weighed. Serum and fecal cortisol were measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Housing condition had no effect on serum or fecal cortisol, but socially housed hamsters displayed modest thymus gland involution. Socially housed females weighed more than did any other group, and socially housed females and males had more fat than did socially isolated hamsters. No wounding or tissue damage occurred in grouped hamsters. Overall, these data suggest that Syrian hamsters tolerate both stable social housing and social isolation in the laboratory although social housing is associated with some alteration in stress-related and bioenergetic measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceived Accessibility of Public Transport as a Potential Indicator of Social Inclusion

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Katrin Lättman

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Perceived accessibility has been acknowledged as an important aspect of transport policy since the 70s. Nevertheless, very few empirical studies have been conducted in this field. When aiming to improve social inclusion, by making sustainable transport modes accessible to all, it is important to understand the factors driving perceived accessibility. Unlike conventional accessibility measures, perceived accessibility focuses on the perceived possibilities and ease of engaging in preferred activities using different transport modes. We define perceived accessibility in terms of how easy it is to live a satisfactory life with the help of the transport system, which is not necessarily the same thing as the objective standard of the system. According to previous research, perceived accessibility varies with the subjectively-rated quality of the mode of transport. Thus, improvements in quality (e.g. trip planning, comfort, or safety increase the perceived accessibility and make life easier to live using the chosen mode of transport. This study (n=750 focuses on the perceived accessibility of public transport, captured using the Perceived Accessibility Scale PAC (Lättman, Olsson, & Friman, 2015. More specifically, this study aims to determine how level of quality affects the perceived accessibility in public transport. A Conditional Process Model shows that, in addition to quality, feeling safe and frequency of travel are important predictors of perceived accessibility. Furthermore, elderly and those in their thirties report a lower level of perceived accessibility to their day-to-day activities using public transport. The basic premise of this study is that subjective experiences may be as important as objective indicators when planning and designing for socially inclusive transport systems.

Identifying the Effective Factors in Making Trust in Online Social Networks on the perspective of Iranian experts Using Fuzzy ELECTRE

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Elham Haghighi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available this paper attempts to rank the effective factors in making trust in social networks to provide the possibility of attracting and increasing users’ trust on these social networks for providers and designers of online social networks. Identifying the effective factors in making trust in social networks is a multi-criteria decision making problem and most of effective factors are ambiguous and uncertain, thereby this article uses Fuzzy ELECTRE to rank them. By implementing Fuzzy ELECTRE on gathered data, respectively «usability factor», «supporting up to date technology factor», «integrity» and «the rate of ethics factor» are on the top of effective factors in making trust in users. In general, «web features» and «technology features» have a higher degree of importance than «security features», «individual-social features» and «cultural features». Ranking of Fuzzy ELECTRE comparison ranking of Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy ELECTRE method becomes validate because Spearman correlation coefficients is 0/867. Result of sensitivity analysis on changing weight of criteria shows that Fuzzy ELECTRE isn’t affected by ambiguity and uncertainty in inputs.

Feminist Social Justice Orientation: An Indicator of Optimal Functioning?

Science.gov (United States)

Moradi, Bonnie

2012-01-01

This article underscores several themes evident in Yoder, Snell, and Tobias's research; these include the conceptualization of feminism and social justice as inextricably linked, the conceptualization and operationalization of optimal functioning at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and collective levels, and potential connections and disconnections…

Universal Health Coverage and the Right to Health: From Legal Principle to Post-2015 Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Sridhar, Devi; McKee, Martin; Ooms, Gorik; Beiersmann, Claudia; Friedman, Eric; Gouda, Hebe; Hill, Peter; Jahn, Albrecht

2015-01-01

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is widely considered one of the key components for the post-2015 health goal. The idea of UHC is rooted in the right to health, set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Based on the Covenant and the General Comment of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which is responsible for interpreting and monitoring the Covenant, we identify 6 key legal principles that should underpin UHC based on the right to health: minimum core obligation, progressive realization, cost-effectiveness, shared responsibility, participatory decision making, and prioritizing vulnerable or marginalized groups. Yet, although these principles are widely accepted, they are criticized for not being specific enough to operationalize as post-2015 indicators for reaching the target of UHC. In this article, we propose measurable and achievable indicators for UHC based on the right to health that can be used to inform the ongoing negotiations on Sustainable Development Goals. However, we identify 3 major challenges that face any exercise in setting indicators post-2015: data availability as an essential criterion, the universality of targets, and the adaptation of global goals to local populations. © SAGE Publications 2015.

Identifying mechanistic indicators of childhood asthma from blood gene expression

Science.gov (United States)

Asthmatic individuals have been identified as a susceptible subpopulation for air pollutants. However, asthma represents a syndrome with multiple probable etiologies, and the identification of these asthma endotypes is critical to accurately define the most susceptible subpopula...

Práticas educativas maternas e indicadores do desenvolvimento social no terceiro ano de vida Child-rearing practices and social development indicators in three-year-old children

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Patrícia Alvarenga

2009-01-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as relações entre as práticas educativas maternas e indicadores dos problemas de externalização e da competência social em crianças aos 30 meses de vida. Participaram do estudo 23 díades mãe-criança. No 30º mês de vida da criança foi realizada uma observação da interação mãe-criança para a avaliação das práticas educativas maternas, dos problemas de externalização e da competência social das crianças. Os resultados apóiam a literatura que relaciona práticas de orientação, controle assertivo e envolvimento parental positivo à competência social, e práticas coercitivas e permissivas aos problemas de externalização. Discute-se a relevância das práticas educativas parentais para a compreensão do desenvolvimento social, enfatizando a importância de práticas menos referidas na literatura, como a autorização de autonomia, a intrusividade e o controle ambíguo.The present work aimed at investigating relations between maternal child-rearing practices, externalizing behavior problems and social competence indicators of thirty-month-old children. The study involved 23 child-mother dyads. In the child's thirtieth month after birth, an observation of mother-child interaction was performed in order to evaluate maternal child-rearing practices, externalizing behavior problems and child social competence. The results support the literature about social development that relates child-rearing practices such as guidance, assertive control and positive parental involvement to social competence, and coercive and permissive practices to externalizing behavior problems. The work discusses the relevance of parental child-rearing practices for the comprehension of the social development, emphasizing the importance of child-rearing practices, such as autonomy authorization, intrusiveness and ambiguous control.

Study Protocol--Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) in remote indigenous communities in Queensland: their impacts on injury, violence, health and social indicators and their cost-effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Clough, Alan R; Fitts, Michelle S; Robertson, Jan A; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Miller, Adrian; Doran, Christopher M; Muller, Reinhold; Ypinazar, Valmae; Martin, David; McDermott, Robyn; Sanson-Fisher, Rob; Towle, Simon; Margolis, Stephen A; West, Caryn

2014-01-09

In 2002/03 the Queensland Government responded to high rates of alcohol-related harm in discrete Indigenous communities by implementing alcohol management plans (AMPs), designed to include supply and harm reduction and treatment measures. Tighter alcohol supply and carriage restrictions followed in 2008 following indications of reductions in violence and injury. Despite the plans being in place for over a decade, no comprehensive independent review has assessed to what level the designed aims were achieved and what effect the plans have had on Indigenous community residents and service providers. This study will describe the long-term impacts on important health, economic and social outcomes of Queensland's AMPs. The project has two main studies, 1) outcome evaluation using de-identified epidemiological data on injury, violence and other health and social indicators for across Queensland, including de-identified databases compiled from relevant routinely-available administrative data sets, and 2) a process evaluation to map the nature, timing and content of intervention components targeting alcohol. Process evaluation will also be used to assess the fidelity with which the designed intervention components have been implemented, their uptake and community responses to them and their perceived impacts on alcohol supply and consumption, injury, violence and community health. Interviews and focus groups with Indigenous residents and service providers will be used. The study will be conducted in all 24 of Queensland's Indigenous communities affected by alcohol management plans. This evaluation will report on the impacts of the original aims for AMPs, what impact they have had on Indigenous residents and service providers. A central outcome will be the establishment of relevant databases describing the parameters of the changes seen. This will permit comprehensive and rigorous surveillance systems to be put in place and provided to communities empowering them with the

The development level of health indicators in Kermanshah province from the perspective of social justice in 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adel Sulaimany

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The main purpose of this study was to analyze and assess the development level of health services in Kermanshah province from the perspective of social justice in 2010. Methods: The data extracted from the statistical yearbooks in Statistical Center of Iran and Governor's House in Kermanshah Province were studied by Division by Mean and Principal Component Methods in the framework of GIS, SPSS and Excel software using thirteen indicators of access to health. Results: Findings indicated that, based on the composite index gained, Kermanshah, Qasr-e Shirin and Paveh cities were the most advantaged in terms of a range of health indicators and Salas Babajani, Ravansar and Dalaho were the most disadvantaged cities. Conclusion: Factors such as lack of spatial planning perspective, special concern for the provision of health services in war-torn cities and motivation to work in the hometown, have affected this issue. Thus, the data indicate lack of balance and proportion of the quantity and distribution of health services to the population of the cities as well as inequality in citizens’ access to the civil welfare.

An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamann, Maike; Biggs, Reinette; Reyers, Belinda

2016-01-01

We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems), while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems). However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maike Hamann

Full Text Available We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems, while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems. However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

The neural bases of framing effects in social dilemmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macoveanu, Julian; Ramsøy, Thomas; Skov, Martin

intraparietal cortex, and temporopolar cortex. Our findings provide the first insight into the mechanisms underlying framing of behavior in social dilemmas, indicating increased engagement of the hippocampus and neocortical areas involved in memory, social reasoning and mentalizing when subjects make decisions......Human behavior in social dilemmas is strongly framed by the social context, but the mechanisms underlying this framing effect remains poorly understood. To identify the behavioral and neural responses mediating framing of social interactions, subjects underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging...... while playing a Prisoners Dilemma game. In separate neuroimaging sessions, the game was either framed as a cooperation game or a competition game. Social decisions where subjects were affected by the frame engaged the hippocampal formation, precuneus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and lateral temporal...

The Neural Bases of Framing Effects in Social Dilemmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macoveanu, Julian; Ramsøy, Thomas; Skov, Martin

2015-01-01

intraparietal cortex, and temporopolar cortex. Our findings provide the first insight into the mechanisms underlying framing of behavior in social dilemmas, indicating increased engagement of the hippocampus and neocortical areas involved in memory, social reasoning and mentalizing when subjects make decisions......Human behavior in social dilemmas is strongly framed by the social context, but the mechanisms underlying this framing effect remains poorly understood. To identify the behavioral and neural responses mediating framing of social interactions, subjects underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging...... while playing a Prisoners Dilemma game. In separate neuroimaging sessions, the game was either framed as a cooperation game or a competition game. Social decisions where subjects were affected by the frame engaged the hippocampal formation, precuneus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and lateral temporal...

Tools for tracking progress. Indicators for sustainable energy development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, A.; Rogner, H.H.; Aslanian, G.

2000-01-01

A project on 'Indicators for Sustainable Energy Development (ISED)' was introduced by the IAEA as a part of its work programme on Comparative Assessment of Energy Sources for the biennium 1999-2000. It is being pursued by the Planning and Economic Studies Section of the Department of Nuclear Energy. The envisaged tasks are to: (1) identify the main components of sustainable energy development and derive a consistent set of appropriate indicators, keeping in view the indicators for Agenda 21, (2) establish relationship of ISED with those of the Agenda 21, and (3) review the Agency's databases and tools to determine the modifications required to apply the ISED. The first two tasks are being pursued with the help of experts from various international organizations and Member States. In this connection two expert group meetings were held, one in May 1999 and the other in November 1999. The following nine topics were identified as the key issues: social development; economic development; environmental congeniality and waste management; resource depletion; adequate provision of energy and disparities; energy efficiency; energy security; energy supply options; and energy pricing. A new conceptual framework model specifically tuned to the energy sector was developed, drawing upon work by other organizations in the environmental area. Within the framework of this conceptual model, two provisional lists of ISED - a full list and a core list - have been prepared. They cover indicators for the following energy related themes and sub-themes under the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable energy development: Economic dimension: Economic activity levels; End-use energy intensities of selected sectors and different manufacturing industries; energy supply efficiency; energy security; and energy pricing. Social dimension: Energy accessibility and disparities. Environmental dimension: Air pollution (urban air quality; global climate change concern); water

Identifying key performance indicators in food technology contract R&D

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flipse, S.M.; Sanden, van der M.C.A.; Velden, van der T.; Fortuin, F.T.J.M.; Omta, S.W.F.; Osseweijer, P.

2013-01-01

Innovating companies increasingly rely on outsourcing to Contract Research Organisations (CROs) for their Research and Development (R&D), which are largely understudied. This paper presents the outcome of a case study in the field of food technology contract research, identifying context

Measuring Corporate Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Value Added

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alena Kocmanová

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to propose a model for measuring sustainable value which would complexly assess environmental, social, and corporate governance contribution to value creation. In the paper the concept of the Sustainable Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Value Added is presented. The Sustainable Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Value Added is based on the Sustainable Value Added model and combines weighted environmental, social, and corporate governance indicators with their benchmarks determined by Data Envelopment Analysis. Benchmark values of indicators were set for each company separately and determine the optimal combination of environmental, social, and corporate governance inputs to economic outcomes. The Sustainable Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Value Added methodology is applied on real-life corporate data and presented through a case study. The value added of most of the selected companies was negative, even though economic indicators of all of them are positive. The Sustainable Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Value Added is intended to help owners, investors, and other stakeholders in their decision-making and sustainability assessment. The use of environmental, social, and corporate governance factors helps identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses, and provides a more sophisticated insight into it than the one-dimensional methods based on economic performance alone.

Socialization Sequences and Student Attitudes Towards Non-Violent Social Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulding, Elise

Examined is a general model of the socialization process based on Polak's theory of social change which identifies key agents of the process which shape perceptions of the possibility of creative change instead of defensiveness or aggression in situations where old behaviors are inadequate. Six agents of socialization are identified: family,…

The indicators of the sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The 132 selected indicators of the sustainable development are described. They are grouped into: (1) The social indicators of the sustainable development; (2) The economic indicators of the sustainable development; (3) The environmental indicators of the sustainable development. (4) The institutional indicators of the sustainable development

A Social Capital Approach to Identifying Correlates of Perceived Social Support among Homeless Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Barman-Adhikari, Anamika; Bowen, Elizabeth; Bender, Kimberly; Brown, Samantha; Rice, Eric

2016-01-01

Background: The ability of homeless youth to accumulate resources through their personal relationships with others (i.e. social capital) is often associated with improved outcomes across multiple domains. Despite growing evidence documenting the heterogeneity of homeless youths' relationships, many youth still experience adversities or lack access…

Identifying and Ranking the Effective Factors on Successful Implementation of Social Commerce in Iran, Using AHP Fuzzy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Rahimi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Social commerce has been introduced as a new approach to increase sales, number of customers and reduce marketing expenditures. This approach is a combination of business, communication between people, as well as communicative and informative technologies based on web 2.0 Its achievement originated from different factors relied on business, individuals, culture, and technology. These factors have been primarily identified on the basis of library researches and classified into six infrastructural groups including:  technical, economical and human resources, cultural, rules governing the countries, style of management, and business. Then, it identified priority of the factors by using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP. Innovation of this research was to extract a comprehensive list of factors and to prioritize them based on specific conditions in Iran.

Results of a Quality of Work Life Index in Spain. A Comparison of Survey Results and Aggregate Social Indicators

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Royuela, Vicente; Lopez-Tamayo, Jordi; Surinach, Jordi

2009-01-01

The European Union launched the Lisbon Strategy in 2000 with the aim of establishing itself as the world's most powerful economy. The importance of job quality has returned to the top of the European employment and social policy agenda. As targets are set, significant progress has been made in the creation of indicators. In this study, we compute…

THE TRUST INSTITUTION ROLE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS IN SOCIAL PROJECT

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Ирина Николаевна КАДЫКОВА

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The authors propose expansion of the social projects classification on the basis of the magnitude of the projects products impact on the society, focusing on their role in the development of the state. The authors accept Russell D. Archibald projects classification as a whole, and expand it. Two subcategory are allocated ("social applied projects" and "socio-forming projects". Comparison was conducted on a number of indicators (project volume, project complexity, level of project risk and so on.. The innovativeness of innovative social-forming projects is identified. They are innovative in that aim formation / change of public opinion. The role of the institute of trust in building of effective system of social project communication is defined. The trust has a significant impact on the timing of the socio-forming projects. Identify priority communication channel for innovative projects of the social spectrum - online social network.

Associations of sexual and gender minority status with health indicators, health risk factors, and social stressors in a national sample of young adults with military experience.

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Blosnich, John R; Gordon, Adam J; Fine, Michael J

2015-09-01

To assess the associations of self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning sexual orientation or transgender status (LGBTQ) and military experience with health indicators. We used data from the Fall 2012 National College Health Assessment. The survey included self-identified sociodemographic characteristics, mental (e.g., depression) and physical (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus) conditions, health risk behaviors (e.g., smoking), and social stressors (e.g., victimization). We used modified Poisson regression models, stratified by self-reported military service, to examine LGBTQ-related differences in health indicators, whereas adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Of 27,176 in the sample, among the military-experienced group, LGBTQ individuals had increased adjusted risks of reporting a past-year suicide attempt (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 4.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.39-13.67), human immunodeficiency virus (aRR = 9.90; 95% CI = 1.04-79.67), and discrimination (aRR = 4.67; 95% CI = 2.05-10.66) than their non-LGBTQ peers. Among LGBTQ individuals, military experience was associated with a nearly four-fold increased risk of reporting a past-year suicide attempt (aRR = 3.61; 95% CI = 1.46-8.91) adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, depression, and other psychiatric diagnoses. Military experience may moderate health indicators among LGBTQ populations, and likewise, LGBTQ status likely modifies health conditions among military-experienced populations. Results suggest that agencies serving military populations should assess how and if the health needs of LGBTQ individuals are met. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Social-class indicators differentially predict engagement in prevention vs. detection behaviours.

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Haught, Heather M; Rose, Jason P; Brown, Jill A

2016-01-01

Few systematic studies have examined the contexts in which social-class variables will predict engagement in health-relevant behaviours. The current research examined whether the impact of social-class on health behaviours depends upon how social-class is assessed and the category of health behaviour under consideration. Our sample was drawn from the Health Information National Trends Survey in 2012 (N = 3959). Participants reported their income and education as well as their engagement in a variety of prevention and detection behaviours. Consistent with our hypothesised framework, we found that income predicted engagement in a variety of detection behaviours above and beyond education, whereas education predicted engagement in a variety of prevention behaviours above and beyond income. Our findings suggest that income and education operate on health behaviours via different pathways and have implications for public health policy and intervention.

Classifying indicators of quality: a collaboration between Dutch and English regulators.

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Mears, Alex; Vesseur, Jan; Hamblin, Richard; Long, Paul; Den Ouden, Lya

2011-12-01

Many approaches to measuring quality in healthcare exist, generally employing indicators or metrics. While there are important differences, most of these approaches share three key areas of measurement: safety, effectiveness and patient experience. The European Partnership for Supervisory Organisations in Health Services and Social Care (EPSO) exists as a working group and discussion forum for European regulators. This group undertook to identify a common framework within which European approaches to indicators could be compared. A framework was developed to classify indicators, using four sets of criteria: conceptualization of quality, Donabedian definition (structure, process, outcome), data type (derivable, collectable from routine sources, special collections, samples) and data use (judgement (singular or part of framework) benchmarking, risk assessment). Indicators from English and Dutch hospital measurement programmes were put into the framework, showing areas of agreement and levels of comparability. In the first instance, results are only illustrative. The EPSO has been a powerful driver for undertaking cross-European research, and this project is the first of many to take advantage of the access to international expertize. It has shown that through development of a framework that deconstructs national indicators, commonalities can be identified. Future work will attempt to incorporate other nations' indicators, and attempt cross-national comparison.

Identifying Experts and Authoritative Documents in Social Bookmarking Systems

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Grady, Jonathan P.

2013-01-01

Social bookmarking systems allow people to create pointers to Web resources in a shared, Web-based environment. These services allow users to add free-text labels, or "tags", to their bookmarks as a way to organize resources for later recall. Ease-of-use, low cognitive barriers, and a lack of controlled vocabulary have allowed social…

Correlates of volunteering among aging Texans: the roles of health indicators, spirituality, and social engagement.

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Ahn, SangNam; Phillips, Karon L; Smith, Matthew Lee; Ory, Marcia G

2011-07-01

This study aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with volunteering among older adults. Based on data from the 2008 Aging Texas Well (ATW) Indicators Survey, we examined the degree to which demographic factors, health status, spiritual participation, and community involvement are associated with volunteering among adults aged 60 years or older (n = 525). Rates of volunteering varied by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic Whites (56.4%), African Americans (51.1%), and Hispanics (43.2%). Bivariate analyses showed that non-Hispanic White older adults were more likely to participate in formal volunteering activities, while their African American and Hispanic counterparts tended to participate in informal volunteering activities. Logistic regression analyses revealed that volunteering was less observed among Hispanics (OR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.29-0.78). Volunteering was more observed among those who reported providing informal care (OR=1.93, 95% CI 1.14-3.28), having very good or excellent mental health (OR = 1.90 and 2.07, 95% CI 1.09-3.32 and 1.20-3.55, respectively), having weekly or daily spiritual participation (OR = 2.15 and 2.35, 95% CI 1.28-3.63 and 1.29-4.28, respectively), perceiving community involvement very important (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.55-3.62), and being very satisfied with the community interaction (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.15-2.85). Given the positive associations of mental health, spirituality, and social engagement with volunteering among older adults, system-level efforts to increase the sense of community among older adults and recognize their roles as volunteers will be helpful in recruiting and retaining older volunteers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Addressing social skills deficits in adults with Williams syndrome.

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Fisher, Marisa H; Morin, Lindsay

2017-12-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) are hypersocial; yet, they experience social difficulties and trouble with relationships. This report summarizes findings from three studies examining the social functioning of adults with WS and the feasibility of a social skills training program for adults with WS (SSTP-WS) through the examination of performance on initial lesson plans. Study 1: 114 parents of adults with WS completed the Social Responsiveness Scale-2. Study 2: 10 adults with WS and 12 of their parents participated in focus groups to further describe the deficits identified in Study 1 and to discuss a SSTP-WS. Study 3: 30 adults with WS were randomly assigned to 2 lessons on either conversations or relationships and pre-post change in social skills knowledge was assessed. Study 1 indicates adults with WS experience severe social impairments in social cognition, and mild-moderate impairments in social awareness and social communication. Qualitative results in Study 2 indicate a SSTP-WS should address conversation skills and relationships. In Study 3, participants showed gains in social skills knowledge following completion of lessons. A SSTP-WS may be beneficial for adults with WS. Future research should describe the social needs of individuals with WS at different ages and should further develop a SSTP-WS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Art of Athlete Leadership: Identifying High-Quality Athlete Leadership at the Individual and Team Level Through Social Network Analysis.

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Fransen, Katrien; Van Puyenbroeck, Stef; Loughead, Todd M; Vanbeselaere, Norbert; De Cuyper, Bert; Vande Broek, Gert; Boen, Filip

2015-06-01

This research aimed to introduce social network analysis as a novel technique in sports teams to identify the attributes of high-quality athlete leadership, both at the individual and at the team level. Study 1 included 25 sports teams (N = 308 athletes) and focused on athletes' general leadership quality. Study 2 comprised 21 sports teams (N = 267 athletes) and focused on athletes' specific leadership quality as a task, motivational, social, and external leader. The extent to which athletes felt connected with their leader proved to be most predictive for athletes' perceptions of that leader's quality on each leadership role. Also at the team level, teams with higher athlete leadership quality were more strongly connected. We conclude that social network analysis constitutes a valuable tool to provide more insight in the attributes of high-quality leadership both at the individual and at the team level.

Social Support and Social Conflict as Predictors of Prenatal Depression

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Westdahl, Claire; Milan, Stephanie; Magriples, Urania; Kershaw, Trace S.; Rising, Sharon Schindler; Ickovics, Jeannette R.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE To estimate how social support and social conflict relate to prenatal depressive symptoms and to generate a brief clinical tool to identify women at increased psychosocial risk. METHODS This is a prospective study following 1,047 pregnant women receiving care at two university-affiliated clinics from early pregnancy through 1 year postpartum. Structured interviews were conducted in the second trimester of pregnancy. Hierarchical and logistic regressions were used to examine potential direct and interactive effects of social support and conflict on prenatal depressive symptoms measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. RESULTS Thirty-three percent of the sample reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms predicted from sociodemographic factors, social support, and social conflict. Social support and conflict had independent effects on depressive symptoms although social conflict was a stronger predictor. There was a “dose–response,” with each increase in interpersonal risk factor resulting in consequent risk for probable depression based on symptom reports (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Scale greater than or equal to 16). A composite of one social support and three conflict items were identified to be used by clinicians to identify interpersonal risk factors for depression in pregnancy. Seventy-six percent of women with a composite score of three or more high-risk responses reported depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION Increased assessment of social support and social conflict by clinicians during pregnancy can identify women who could benefit from group or individual interventions to enhance supportive and reduce negative social interactions. PMID:17601908

Monitoring REDD+: From Social Safeguards to Social Learning

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Ravikumar, A.; Andersson, K.

2010-12-01

Krister Andersson 1 and Ashwin Ravikumar 1 The UNFCCC requires countries that participate in the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program to monitor both forest carbon inventories as well as the governance of REDD+ activities and their social consequences. Exactly how this should be done, however, remains an open question. This paper addresses this question by drawing on existing research on social-ecological systems and new institutional economics. We make the case for a monitoring system that goes beyond a narrow focus of qualitative indicators of REDD+ governance that seek to provide social safeguards for international investors to create a more comprehensive monitoring system that is useful for social learning about how policies affect a variety of forest outcomes. We describe the defining characteristics of five existing approaches to monitoring REDD+ governance. Applying evaluative criteria of affordability, comprehensiveness, transparency, uncertainty specification, and explanatory potential, we analyze the extent to which each of the programs contribute to broader social learning processes in participating countries. Our analysis finds that it makes sense to move from the current narrow focus of monitoring for control to monitoring for social learning. Particularly valuable to participating REDD+ actors would be the creation of learning systems that can help policy makers to identify opportunities for policy improvements, with the ultimate goal of making REDD+ more effective, efficient, and equitable. Such learning is not possible, however, without timely and systematic collection of data on the relationships between forests and forest users. 1University of Colorado at Boulder, Environmental Studies Program, Boulder, CO 80309-0397

Identifying carcinogenic activity of methylated and non-methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through electronic and topological indices

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Braga, R S; Barone, P M V B

2000-01-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of planar molecules, abundant in urban environment, which can induce chemical carcinogenesis. Their carcinogenic power varies in a large range, from very strong carcinogens to inactive ones. In a previous study, we proposed a methodology to identify the PAHs carcinogenic activity exploring electronic and topological indices. In the present work, we show that it is possible to simplify that methodology and expand its applicability to include methylated PAHs compounds. Using very simple rules, we can predict their carcinogenic activity with high accuracy (approx 89%).

Comparing lifecourse models of social class and adult oral health using the 1958 National Child Development Study.

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Delgado-Angulo, E K; Bernabé, E

2015-03-01

To identify the lifecourse model that best describes the association between social class and adult oral health. Data from 10,217 participants of the 1958 National Child Development Study were used. Social class at ages 7, 16 and 33 years were chosen to represent socioeconomic conditions during childhood, adolescence and adulthood, respectively. Two subjective oral health indicators (lifetime and past-year prevalence of persistent trouble with gums or mouth) were measured at age 33. The critical period, accumulation and social trajectories models were tested in logistic regression models and the most appropriate lifecourse model was identified using the structured modelling approach. The critical period model showed that only adulthood social class was significantly associated with oral health. For the accumulation model, a monotonic gradient was found between the number of periods in manual social class and oral health; and four out of eight social trajectories were found to be distinctive. Finally, the social trajectories model was not significantly different from the saturated model indicating that it provided a good fit to the data. This study shows the social trajectories model was the most appropriate, in terms of model fit, to describe the association between social class and oral health.

Disclosure of social information by Brazilian companies according to United Nations indicators of corporate social responsibility Divulgação de informações sociais por empresas brasileiras segundo os indicadores de responsabilidade social corporativa da ONU

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Marcelle Colares Oliveira

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Several frameworks of social information disclosure have been proposed worldwide to satisfy stakeholders' information needs. In 2008, the United Nations launched a guide with recommendations for corporate responsibility indicators in annual reports based on the Global Reporting Initiative framework and standards of the International Labour Organization, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Accounting Standards Board. The objective of the present study was to analyze the disclosure of social information by Brazilian companies of the New Market listing segment traded on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA in accordance with UN indicators of corporate social responsibility. This was an exploratory and qualitative study based on a review of documents and the literature. The findings were interpreted by way of content analysis to determine the predominance of UN indicators disclosed by Brazilian enterprises. The results were compared to those of a 2008 UN study on social information disclosure by 100 large enterprises in the top ten emerging economies in the world. The companies in our study were found to disclose most of the indicators recommended by the UN in harmony with internationally accepted standards. However, more recently introduced non-financial indicators were less frequently reported.Diversas são as iniciativas de instituições nacionais e internacionais no sentido de se chegar a um conteúdo de informações sociais que seja evidenciado pelas empresas e atenda às necessidades dos stakeholders. Em 2008, foi lançado o Guia de Indicadores de Responsabilidade Corporativa em Relatórios Anuais, da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU, elaborado com base no GRI, nas normas da OIT e da OCDE e alinhado às definições adotadas nas normas do IASB. O presente estudo tem por objetivo principal analisar a divulgação de informações sociais pelas empresas brasileiras do Novo Mercado da Bovespa

Identifying Meaningful Behaviors for Social Competence: A Contextual Approach.

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Warnes, Emily D.; Sheridan, Susan M.; Geske, Jenenne; Warnes, William A.

An exploratory study was conducted which assessed behaviors that characterize social competence in the 2nd and 5th grades. A contextual approach was used to gather information from 2nd and 5th grade children and their parents and teachers regarding the behaviors they perceived to be important for getting along well with peers. Data were gathered…

Identifying Topics for E-Cigarette User-Generated Contents: A Case Study From Multiple Social Media Platforms.

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Zhan, Yongcheng; Liu, Ruoran; Li, Qiudan; Leischow, Scott James; Zeng, Daniel Dajun

2017-01-20

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is an emerging product with a rapid-growth market in recent years. Social media has become an important platform for information seeking and sharing. We aim to mine hidden topics from e-cigarette datasets collected from different social media platforms. This paper aims to gain a systematic understanding of the characteristics of various types of social media, which will provide deep insights into how consumers and policy makers effectively use social media to track e-cigarette-related content and adjust their decisions and policies. We collected data from Reddit (27,638 e-cigarette flavor-related posts from January 1, 2011, to June 30, 2015), JuiceDB (14,433 e-juice reviews from June 26, 2013 to November 12, 2015), and Twitter (13,356 "e-cig ban"-related tweets from January, 1, 2010 to June 30, 2015). Latent Dirichlet Allocation, a generative model for topic modeling, was used to analyze the topics from these data. We found four types of topics across the platforms: (1) promotions, (2) flavor discussions, (3) experience sharing, and (4) regulation debates. Promotions included sales from vendors to users, as well as trades among users. A total of 10.72% (2,962/27,638) of the posts from Reddit were related to trading. Promotion links were found between social media platforms. Most of the links (87.30%) in JuiceDB were related to Reddit posts. JuiceDB and Reddit identified consistent flavor categories. E-cigarette vaping methods and features such as steeping, throat hit, and vapor production were broadly discussed both on Reddit and on JuiceDB. Reddit provided space for policy discussions and majority of the posts (60.7%) holding a negative attitude toward regulations, whereas Twitter was used to launch campaigns using certain hashtags. Our findings are based on data across different platforms. The topic distribution between Reddit and JuiceDB was significantly different (Puser discussions focused on different perspectives across the

CCME Climate Change Indicators -- Workshop Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

In an effort to give Canadians a better understanding of the climate change issue, in 1999 the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) established a Project Working Group to identify and assemble a set of climate change indicators that is scientifically valid, useful and meaningful to the public. To ensure the widest possible participation of experts from all parts of the country the Project Working Group convened a two-day workshop in Toronto to take place on the 6th and 7th of November 2000. The outcome of the workshop, summarized in this report, resulted in a 'Made in Canada' framework of indicators for climate change impacts, divided into five categories: physical environment, personal health and safety, jobs and economic well-being, social and community well-being, and eco-system health. The report contains highlights of the discussions. There are seven appendices containing, respectively, a series of pre-workshop suggestions for indicators (Appendix A), the workshop agenda and backgrounder (Appendix B), a list of participants (Appendix C), presentation slides on the Canada country study (Appendix D), existing and proposed climate change indicators (Appendix E), presentation slides on communication issues (Appendix F), and notes summarizing small group discussions, including assessment of the level of interest demonstrated and opinions expressed by group members about the utility and value of each of the proposed indicators (Appendix G)

A riot on campus: The effects of social identity complexity on emotions and reparative attitudes after ingroup-perpetrated violence.

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Costabile, Kristi A; Austin, Adrienne B

2018-01-01

When a group commits a transgression, members who identify closely with the group often engage in defensive strategies in which they are less likely to experience guilt and shame in response to the transgression than are less identified group members. Subsequently, highly identified group members are often less willing to offer reparations to the injured parties. Because appropriate emotional responses and reparations are critical to community reconciliation, the present investigation examined whether social identity complexity-the degree to which individuals perceive their multiple social identities as interrelated-reduced these defensive responses. In the aftermath of a campus riot, emotional responses and reparative attitudes of undergraduate students were assessed. Results indicated that individuals who closely identified with the university were in fact capable of experiencing guilt and shame, but only if they also had complex social identities. A path model indicated that emotional responses, in turn, predicted willingness to provide reparations to the campus community. Accordingly, social identity complexity provides a new approach to understanding responses to ingroup-perpetrated violence. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Realist identification of group-level latent variables for perinatal social epidemiology theory building.

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Eastwood, John Graeme; Jalaludin, Bin Badrudin; Kemp, Lynn Ann; Phung, Hai Ngoc

2014-01-01

We have previously reported in this journal on an ecological study of perinatal depressive symptoms in South Western Sydney. In that article, we briefly reported on a factor analysis that was utilized to identify empirical indicators for analysis. In this article, we report on the mixed method approach that was used to identify those latent variables. Social epidemiology has been slow to embrace a latent variable approach to the study of social, political, economic, and cultural structures and mechanisms, partly for philosophical reasons. Critical realist ontology and epistemology have been advocated as an appropriate methodological approach to both theory building and theory testing in the health sciences. We describe here an emergent mixed method approach that uses qualitative methods to identify latent constructs followed by factor analysis using empirical indicators chosen to measure identified qualitative codes. Comparative analysis of the findings is reported together with a limited description of realist approaches to abstract reasoning.

Understanding the social costs of psychosis: the experience of adults affected by psychosis identified within the second Australian National Survey of Psychosis.

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Stain, Helen J; Galletly, Cherrie A; Clark, Scott; Wilson, Jacqueline; Killen, Emily A; Anthes, Lauren; Campbell, Linda E; Hanlon, Mary-Claire; Harvey, Carol

2012-09-01

Social inclusion is a key priority of the Fourth National Mental Health Plan for Australia (2009-2014), with strong evidence for its protective impact on mental health. Social integration has been associated with enhanced well-being for people with mental illnesses such as psychosis. To explore the impact of psychosis on an individual's social and community participation. The second Australian national survey of psychosis was conducted across seven Australian sites. Semi-structured interviews with adults living with psychosis assessed mental health status, social and role functioning, life satisfaction and future goals. The cohort comprised 1825 adults with a psychotic illness (59.6% were male; 42.4% were aged 18-34 years; 31.5% had 12 years or more of education) of whom 32.7% had been employed in the past year. Most adults indicated experiencing loneliness (80.1%) and a need for more friends (48.1%). Men were more likely to have never had a long-term relationship (59.4% M, 33.2% F). Even though women were more likely to experience anxiety in social situations [(χ(2)(1) = 8.95, p social activity in the past year [χ(2)(2) = 11.84, p social activity and 43% described stigma as a barrier. Although 63.2% showed significant impairment in social functioning, only 29.5% had received help for this in the last year. Social isolation and loneliness were rated as major challenges by 37.2% of the cohort. Social isolation and dysfunction experienced by people with psychosis have not decreased since the last Australian national survey of people with psychosis. Alongside education and employment, social functioning and participation must be addressed to improve social inclusion for people with psychosis. Programs targeting social opportunities (befriending, peer support), social anxiety and social functioning for all stages of psychosis are warranted.

Blog Citations as Indicators of the Societal Impact of Research : Content Analysis of Social Sciences Blogs

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Hamid R. Jamali

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes motivations behind social sciences blog posts citing journal articles in order to find out whether blog citations are good indicators for the societal impact or benefits of research. A random sample of 300 social sciences blog posts (out of 1,233 blog posts from ResearchBlogging.org published between 01/01/2012 to 18/06/2014 were subjected to content analysis. The 300 blog posts had 472 references including 424 journal articles from 269 different journals. Sixty‐one (22.68% of all cited journals were from the social sciences and most of the journals with high frequency were highly cited general science journals such as PNAS and Science. Seventy‐five percent of all journals were referenced only once. The average age of articles cited at the time of citation was 5.8 years. Discussion and criticism were the two main categories of motivations. Overall, the study shows the potential of blog citations as an altmetric measure and as a proxy for assessing the research impact. A considerable number of citation motivations in blogs such as disputing a belief, suggesting policies, providing a solution to a problem, reacting to media, criticism and the like seemed to support gaining societal benefits. Societal benefits are considered as helping stimulate new approaches to social issues, or informing public debate and policymaking. Lower self‐citation (compared to some other altmetric measures such as tweets and the fact that blogging involves generating content (i.e. an intellectual process give them an advantage for altmetrics. However, limitations and contextual issues such as disciplinary differences and low uptake of altmetrics, in general, in scholarly communication should not be ignored when using blogs as a data source for altmetrics.

Facial Emotion Recognition in Children with High Functioning Autism and Children with Social Phobia

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Wong, Nina; Beidel, Deborah C.; Sarver, Dustin E.; Sims, Valerie

2012-01-01

Recognizing facial affect is essential for effective social functioning. This study examines emotion recognition abilities in children aged 7-13 years with High Functioning Autism (HFA = 19), Social Phobia (SP = 17), or typical development (TD = 21). Findings indicate that all children identified certain emotions more quickly (e.g., happy [less…

A new approach to the identification of Landscape Quality Objectives (LQOs) as a set of indicators.

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Sowińska-Świerkosz, Barbara Natalia; Chmielewski, Tadeusz J

2016-12-15

The objective of the paper is threefold: (1) to introduce Landscape Quality Objectives (LQOs) as a set of indicators; (2) to present a method of linking social and expert opinion in the process of the formulation of landscape indicators; and (3) to present a methodological framework for the identification of LQOs. The implementation of these goals adopted a six-stage procedure based on the use of landscape units: (1) GIS analysis; (2) classification; (3) social survey; (4) expert value judgement; (5) quality assessment; and (6) guidelines formulation. The essence of the research was the presentation of features that determine landscape quality according to public opinion as a set of indicators. The results showed that 80 such indicators were identified, of both a qualitative (49) and a quantitative character (31). Among the analysed units, 60% (18 objects) featured socially expected (and confirmed by experts) levels of landscape quality, and 20% (6 objects) required overall quality improvement in terms of both public and expert opinion. The adopted procedure provides a new tool for integrating social responsibility into environmental management. The advantage of the presented method is the possibility of its application in the territories of various European countries. It is flexible enough to be based on cartographic studies, landscape research methods, and environmental quality standards existing in a given country. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Entreprises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Migrant women stepping into ethnic catering; homeless men employed to take care of bees producing honey for sale; young people on the edge getting microcredit funding to start social businesses; or former criminals joining forces to create social and economic structures for an honest lifestyle....... These initiatives capture the transformative power of social enterprise and might indicate how social enterprises have the potential to make a difference for people and societies. The Nordic countries represent an interesting case. Social enterprises and co-operatives played a significant part in paving the way...

Exploratory analysis of user-generated photos and indicators that influence their appeal

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Urban Sedlar

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyze if simple indicators related to photo quality (brightness, sharpness, color palette and established content detection techniques (face detection can predict the success of photos in obtaining more “likes” from other users of photo-sharing social networks. This provides a unique look into the habits of users of such networks. The analysis was performed on 394.000 images downloaded from the social photo-sharing site Instagram, paired with a de-identified dataset of user liking activity, provided by a seller of a social-media mobile app. Two user groups were analyzed: all users in a two month period (N = 122.260 and a highly selective group (N = 3.982 of users that only like <10% of what they view. No correlation was found with any of the indicators using the whole (non-selective population, likely due to their bias towards earning virtual currency in exchange for liking. However, in selective group, small positive correlation was found between like ratio and image sharpness (r=0.09, p<0.0001 and small negative correlation between like ratio and the number of faces (r=-0.10, p<0.0001.

Social anhedonia and schizotypy in a community sample: the Maryland longitudinal study of schizotypy.

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Blanchard, Jack J; Collins, Lindsay M; Aghevli, Minu; Leung, Winnie W; Cohen, Alex S

2011-05-01

Social anhedonia has been employed in psychometric high-risk studies to identify putative schizotypes. To date, this research has focused almost exclusively on college samples. The current study sought to examine the validity of social anhedonia as an indicator of risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders within a community sample. Furthermore, we evaluated the role of other individual difference variables in accounting for variable clinical severity within the social anhedonia group including trait affectivity, social support, and family environment. Following the mailed questionnaire screening of 2434 eighteen-year olds, laboratory assessments were conducted with individuals identified as being high in social anhedonia (n=86) and a comparison sample (n=89). Compared with the control group, individuals in the social anhedonia group were found to have higher rates of mood disorders, elevated schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder characteristics, greater negative symptom characteristics, and lower global functioning. Individuals within the social anhedonia group also reported greater trait negative affectivity, lower positive affectivity, less social support, and more family conflict. Low social support and problematic family environment were found to be related to elevations in spectrum personality disorder characteristics and poorer functioning within the social anhedonia group. These cross-sectional findings from a community sample provide further support for social anhedonia as a possible indicator of schizotypy. © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved.

Environmental Indicators in the Newspaper Industry

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Maria Enroth

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental indicators promote the eco-efficient development of companies, as demonstrated in earlier study. This study builds on a previously developed model and inventory tools for industryspecific environmental indicators for the graphic arts industry. This study is based on case studies from 14 newspaper companies with experience of the use of these industry-specific environmental indicators in actual production.This paper presents data on industry-specific environmental indicators for the newspaper industry. The data describes the average situation and the range of values for the indicators in 14 environmentally aware newspaper companies in Sweden in 2001. The data is also grouped so as to illustrate average values for various classes:Newspaper companies with printing facilities.Newspaper companies with no printing facilities.Newspaper printing companies.In addition, a preliminary comparison has been carried out using equivalent data for the commercial printing industry.The indicators calculated for each specific company, together with average values for these indicators, have been used to identify areas for action for the various companies and to formulate action plans. The aim of this is to promote more eco-efficient activities. The study also summarizes measures already implemented at the various companies.The use of indicators within these companies has been linked with the current and predicted future eed to communicate environmental issues. Financial and social aspects have been considered to a limited extent in the study in order to put forward the concept of sustainable development in the newspaper industry in Sweden.

PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL ANXIETY AND SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER (SAD) IN ADOLESCENTS

OpenAIRE

Samoylova, Vera; Sagalakova, Olga

2017-01-01

Abstract: The cognitive model of social anxiety disorder is considered. Cognitive factors and linguistic features of the disorder are distinguished. The interconnections of such indicators as the quality of sleep, social behavior in everyday social situations, behavioral indices of social skills in social and performing tasks and physiological reactivity in adolescents are considered. It is shown that an accumulation of symptoms of social anxiety in the family leads to a disadaptive way of re...

A method to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries: An application to a Norwegian trawler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veldhuizen, L.J.L., E-mail: linda.veldhuizen@wur.nl [Animal Production Systems group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen (Netherlands); Berentsen, P.B.M. [Business Economics group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen (Netherlands); Bokkers, E.A.M.; Boer, I.J.M. de [Animal Production Systems group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen (Netherlands)

2015-07-15

Social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries is, both in terms of method development and measurement, not well developed. The objective of this study, therefore, was to develop a method consisting of indicators and rubrics (i.e. categories that articulate levels of performance) to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries. This method was applied to a Norwegian trawler that targets cod and haddock in the northeast Atlantic. Based on previous research, 13 social sustainability issues were selected. To measure the state of these issues, 17 process and outcome indicators were determined. To interpret indicator values, rubrics were developed for each indicator, using standards set by international conventions or data retrieved from national statistics, industry agreements or scientific publications that explore rubric scales. The indicators and rubrics were subsequently used in a social sustainability assessment of a Norwegian trawler. This assessment indicated that overall, social sustainability of this trawler is relatively high, with high rubric scores, for example, for worker safety, provisions aboard for the crew and companies' salary levels. The assessment also indicated that the trawler could improve on healthy working environment, product freshness and fish welfare during capture. This application demonstrated that our method provides insight into social sustainability at the level of the vessel and can be used to identify potential room for improvement. This method is also promising for social sustainability assessment of other capture fisheries. - Highlights: • A method was developed for social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries. • This method entailed determining outcome and process indicators for important issues. • To interpret indicator values, a rubric was developed for each indicator. • Use of this method gives insight into social sustainability and improvement options. • This method is promising for social

A method to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries: An application to a Norwegian trawler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veldhuizen, L.J.L.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Bokkers, E.A.M.; Boer, I.J.M. de

2015-01-01

Social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries is, both in terms of method development and measurement, not well developed. The objective of this study, therefore, was to develop a method consisting of indicators and rubrics (i.e. categories that articulate levels of performance) to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries. This method was applied to a Norwegian trawler that targets cod and haddock in the northeast Atlantic. Based on previous research, 13 social sustainability issues were selected. To measure the state of these issues, 17 process and outcome indicators were determined. To interpret indicator values, rubrics were developed for each indicator, using standards set by international conventions or data retrieved from national statistics, industry agreements or scientific publications that explore rubric scales. The indicators and rubrics were subsequently used in a social sustainability assessment of a Norwegian trawler. This assessment indicated that overall, social sustainability of this trawler is relatively high, with high rubric scores, for example, for worker safety, provisions aboard for the crew and companies' salary levels. The assessment also indicated that the trawler could improve on healthy working environment, product freshness and fish welfare during capture. This application demonstrated that our method provides insight into social sustainability at the level of the vessel and can be used to identify potential room for improvement. This method is also promising for social sustainability assessment of other capture fisheries. - Highlights: • A method was developed for social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries. • This method entailed determining outcome and process indicators for important issues. • To interpret indicator values, a rubric was developed for each indicator. • Use of this method gives insight into social sustainability and improvement options. • This method is promising for social

Thoughts on identifiers

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2005-01-01

As business processes and information transactions have become an inextricably intertwined with the Web, the importance of assignment, registration, discovery, and maintenance of identifiers has increased. In spite of this, integrated frameworks for managing identifiers have been slow to emerge. Instead, identification systems arise (quite naturally) from immediate business needs without consideration for how they fit into larger information architectures. In addition, many legacy identifier systems further complicate the landscape, making it difficult for content managers to select and deploy identifier systems that meet both the business case and long term information management objectives. This presentation will outline a model for evaluating identifier applications and the functional requirements of the systems necessary to support them. The model is based on a layered analysis of the characteristics of identifier systems, including: * Functional characteristics * Technology * Policy * Business * Social T...

Ethical Factors of Social Capital Increasing in Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nureev Rustem, M.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Authors’ definition of social capital as an institutional and ethical category, determined by the structure of moral and ethical features of economic agents is considered. It is shown that the level of social capital directly depends on the prevalence of such features of economic agents as honesty, fairness, responsibility, humanity, patriotism. Despite the fact that the level of social capital is currently evaluated through qualitative (personal, expert methods, it is possible to identify its impact on specific economic indicators. For the analysis based on the elements of social capital and other indicators of socio-economic development the authors used Russian official statistics, international organizations data and sociological surveys results. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of correlation and regression analysis and mathematical methods in Economics in general, the authors set the task not to construct a multifactor model of economic and non-economic indicators interrelation, but to confirm their close ties according to the purpose to substantiate the necessity of the government social and economic policy improvement by taking into account the influence of institutional and ethical factors that have long been investigated outside the pure economic science. Key factors of social capital increasing include honesty, trust, fairness, but their level in Russia remains extremely low due to cultural and historical peculiarities of national development, that can be proven by economic crimes and the shadow economy statistics. Great attention is also paid to social responsibility and patriotism, which are of particular importance in the current geopolitical environment and can be combined in the sense of national economic responsibility.

Body fat percentage is better than indicators of weight status to identify children and adolescents with unfavorable lipid profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliosa, Polyana Romano; Zaniqueli, Divanei; Alvim, Rafael de Oliveira; Barbosa, Miriam Carmo Rodrigues; Mill, José Geraldo

2018-01-05

To assess whether the indicators of weight status body mass index and waist-to-height ratio are similar to body fat percentage to identify obese children and adolescents with unfavorable lipid profile. This was a cross-sectional study involving 840 children and adolescents (6-18 years). The same individuals were classified as non-obese (

indicators of weight status, body mass index, and waist-to-height ratio. Body fat percentage was obtained by multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance. Linear association between obesity and increased lipid fractions was tested by ANCOVA. Normal distribution curves of non-HDL cholesterol were designed for obese and non-obese. To provide the proportion of obese individuals with elevated non-HDL-c across all indicators, Z-score was calculated. Obese boys presented higher non-HDL cholesterol when compared with those non-obese, classified by body mass index (107±28 vs. 94±25mg/dL, p=0.001), waist-to-height ratio (115±29 vs. 94±25mg/dL, p<0.001) and body fat percentage (119±33 vs. 94±24mg/dL, p<0.001). Differently, obese girls presented with higher non-HDL cholesterol when compared with those non-obese only according to the body fat percentage classification (118±24 vs. 96±26mg/dL, p=0.001). A large shift to the right in the distribution curve of non-HDL cholesterol among obese girls compared with non-obese was observed only when body fat percentage was used to discriminate between obese and non-obese. Body fat percentage was better than the indicators of weight status to identify children and adolescents with unfavorable lipid profile, mainly among girls. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Use of the "Intervention Selection Profile-Social Skills" to Identify Social Skill Acquisition Deficits: A Preliminary Validation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kilgus, Stephen P.; von der Embse, Nathaniel P.; Scott, Katherine; Paxton, Sara

2015-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to develop and initially validate the "Intervention Selection Profile-Social Skills" (ISP-SS), a novel brief social skills assessment method intended for use at Tier 2. Participants included 54 elementary school teachers and their 243 randomly selected students. Teachers rated students on two rating…

Discrete particle swarm optimization for identifying community structures in signed social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Qing; Gong, Maoguo; Shen, Bo; Ma, Lijia; Jiao, Licheng

2014-10-01

Modern science of networks has facilitated us with enormous convenience to the understanding of complex systems. Community structure is believed to be one of the notable features of complex networks representing real complicated systems. Very often, uncovering community structures in networks can be regarded as an optimization problem, thus, many evolutionary algorithms based approaches have been put forward. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an artificial intelligent algorithm originated from social behavior such as birds flocking and fish schooling. PSO has been proved to be an effective optimization technique. However, PSO was originally designed for continuous optimization which confounds its applications to discrete contexts. In this paper, a novel discrete PSO algorithm is suggested for identifying community structures in signed networks. In the suggested method, particles' status has been redesigned in discrete form so as to make PSO proper for discrete scenarios, and particles' updating rules have been reformulated by making use of the topology of the signed network. Extensive experiments compared with three state-of-the-art approaches on both synthetic and real-world signed networks demonstrate that the proposed method is effective and promising. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Friend or Foe? Fake Profile Identification in Online Social Networks

OpenAIRE

Fire, Michael; Kagan, Dima; Elyashar, Aviad; Elovici, Yuval

2013-01-01

The amount of personal information unwillingly exposed by users on online social networks is staggering, as shown in recent research. Moreover, recent reports indicate that these networks are infested with tens of millions of fake users profiles, which may jeopardize the users' security and privacy. To identify fake users in such networks and to improve users' security and privacy, we developed the Social Privacy Protector software for Facebook. This software contains three protection layers,...

Role of Pediatric Emergency Physicians in Identifying Bullying.

Science.gov (United States)

Waseem, Muhammad; Paul, Audrey; Schwartz, Gerald; Pauzé, Denis; Eakin, Paul; Barata, Isabel; Holtzman, Doug; Benjamin, Lee S; Wright, Joseph L; Nickerson, Amanda B; Joseph, Madeline

2017-02-01

Bullying is an important public health issue with broad implications. Although this issue has been studied extensively, there is limited emergency medicine literature addressing bullying. The emergency department (ED) physician has a unique opportunity to identify children and adolescents that are victims of bullying, and make a difference in their lives. Our aim is to discuss the role of the emergency physician (EP) in identifying patients who have been victims of bullying and how to provide effective management as well as referral for further resources. This document provides a framework for recognizing, stabilizing, and managing children who have experienced bullying. With the advent of social media, bullying behavior is not limited to in-person situations, and often occurs via electronic communication, further complicating recognition because it may not impart any physical harm to the child. Recognition of bullying requires a high level of suspicion, as patients may not offer this history. After the stabilization of any acute or overt indications of physical injury, along with obtaining a history of the mechanism of injury, the EP has the opportunity to identify the existence of bullying as the cause of the injury, and can address the issue in the ED while collaborating with "physician-extenders," such as social workers, toward identifying local resources for further support. The ED is an important arena for the assessment and management of children who have experienced bullying. It is imperative that EPs on the front lines of patient care address this public health epidemic. They have the opportunity to exert a positive impact on the lives of the children and families who are the victims of bullying. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social marketing and breastfeeding: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Manuela

2013-02-08

Through the review of relevant literature this study illuminates the concepts of social marketing and breastfeeding. It specifically discusses the positioning of the link between social marketing and breastfeeding within different fields of study and develops a theoretical framework that tries to bridge the gap between those disciplines. Various electronic databases were used and through systematic selection 11 scientific articles were identified that this literature review is based on. The review indicates that the relationship between social marketing and breastfeeding is complex. There are indications that this relationship is being investigated within three distinct fields of research: psychology/education, public health and marketing. Depending on the research field the emphasis is put on either breastfeeding or social marketing as well as on the other concepts that were discovered to be of importance within this relationship. Namely, group and individual demography as well as behaviour were revealed to be important elements of the link between social marketing and breastfeeding. Based on the results this study concludes that a more multidimensional view on the relationship between the concepts under study is needed since the focus of previous studies is very one-sided and limited to just one element when all elements should be integrated equally.

Learning from the social construction of environmental indicators: From the retrospective to the pro-active use of SCOT in technology development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elle, Morten; Darnmann, Sven; Lentsch, Justus

2010-01-01

This article explores the challenges, advantages and limitations of the pro-active use of the social construction of technology (SCOT) to improve the methods applied in the development of technology for use by a broad range of actors. Our example is the development of environmental indicators...

Taming Trojan Horses: Identifying and Mitigating Corporate Social Responsibility Risks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.P.M.A.R. Heugens (Pursey); N.A. Dentchev (Nikolay)

2007-01-01

textabstractOrganizations are exposed to increasing pressures from their constituents to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles into their ongoing business practices. But accepting new and potentially open-ended commitments is not a harmless exercise, and companies may well

Characterizing socially avoidant and affiliative responses to social exclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine Elizabeth Powers

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Humans have a fundamental need for social relationships. From an evolutionary standpoint, the drive to form social connections may have evolved as an adaptive mechanism to promote survival, as group membership afforded the benefits of shared resources and security. Thus, rejection from social groups is especially detrimental, rendering the ability to detect threats to social relationships and respond in adaptive ways critical. Previous research indicates that social exclusion alters cognition and behavior in specific ways that may initially appear contradictory. That is, although some studies have found that exclusionary social threats lead to withdrawal from the surrounding social world, other studies indicate that social exclusion motivates affiliative social behavior. Here, we review the existing evidence supporting accounts of avoidant and affiliative responses, and highlight the conditions under which both categories of responses may be simultaneously employed. Then, we review the neuroimaging research implicating specific brain regions underlying the ability to detect and adaptively respond to threats of social exclusion. Collectively, these findings are suggestive of neural system highly attuned to social context and capable of motivating flexible behavioral responses.

Early markers of autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers prospectively identified in the Social Attention and Communication Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbaro, Josephine; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2013-01-01

The Social Attention and Communication Study involved the successful implementation of developmental surveillance of the early markers of autism spectrum disorders in a community-based setting. The objective in the current study was to determine the most discriminating and predictive markers of autism spectrum disorders used in the Social Attention and Communication Study at 12, 18 and 24 months of age, so that these could be used to identify children with autism spectrum disorders with greater accuracy. The percentage of 'yes/no' responses for each behavioural marker was compared between children with autistic disorder (n = 39), autism spectrum disorder (n = 50) and developmental and/or language delay (n = 20) from 12 to 24 months, with a logistic regression also conducted at 24 months. Across all ages, the recurring key markers of both autistic disorder and autism spectrum disorder were deficits in eye contact and pointing, and from 18 months, deficits in showing became an important marker. In combination, these behaviours, along with pretend play, were found to be the best group of predictors for a best estimate diagnostic classification of autistic disorder/autism spectrum disorder at 24 months. It is argued that the identified markers should be monitored repeatedly during the second year of life by community health-care professionals.

Sustainability indicators to nuclear research centers in Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alves, Simone F.; Feliciano, Vanusa Maria D.; Barreto, Alberto A., E-mail: symonfonseca@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: vmfj@cdtn.br, E-mail: aab@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The relevance and applicability of sustainability indicators have been discussed in various international and national debates through forums, conferences, seminars and lectures. The information obtained from the use of these indicators is essential to the decision-making process, contributing to the creation of discussion channels and interaction with society; also it is useful for the design and implementation of environmental education programs, perception and risk communication. So far, at least in Brazil, existing indicators for the nuclear area are related only to power generation, as performance and safety in radioactive waste management. According to this reality we see the need to build indicators that contribute to the assessment of environmental, social, cultural, economic and institutional performance of a nuclear innovation and research institute in Brazil. This work aims to highlight, through literature review, the importance of developing sustainability indicators appropriate to nuclear research centers in Brazil, revealing how much they are strategic to measuring the sustainability of these endeavours. The main finding, after the literature review, is that this type of indicator is important not only to identify positive or negative impacts of a project focused on the research and innovation of nuclear area, but also for assessment of his commitment to the sustainable development. (author)

Sustainability indicators to nuclear research centers in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, Simone F.; Feliciano, Vanusa Maria D.; Barreto, Alberto A.

2015-01-01

The relevance and applicability of sustainability indicators have been discussed in various international and national debates through forums, conferences, seminars and lectures. The information obtained from the use of these indicators is essential to the decision-making process, contributing to the creation of discussion channels and interaction with society; also it is useful for the design and implementation of environmental education programs, perception and risk communication. So far, at least in Brazil, existing indicators for the nuclear area are related only to power generation, as performance and safety in radioactive waste management. According to this reality we see the need to build indicators that contribute to the assessment of environmental, social, cultural, economic and institutional performance of a nuclear innovation and research institute in Brazil. This work aims to highlight, through literature review, the importance of developing sustainability indicators appropriate to nuclear research centers in Brazil, revealing how much they are strategic to measuring the sustainability of these endeavours. The main finding, after the literature review, is that this type of indicator is important not only to identify positive or negative impacts of a project focused on the research and innovation of nuclear area, but also for assessment of his commitment to the sustainable development. (author)

Efficient Assessment of Social Hotspots in the Supply Chains of 100 Product Categories Using the Social Hotspots Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine Benoît Norris

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Data collection, or the inventory step, is often the most labor-intensive phase of any Life Cycle Assessment (LCA study. The S-LCA Guidelines and numerous authors have recommended generic assessment in this first phase of an S-LCA. In an effort to identify the social hotspots in the supply chains of 100 product categories during just a few months’ time, adopting a streamlined approach was essential. The Social Hotspots Database system was developed by New Earth over 5 years. It includes a Global Input Output (IO model derived from the Global Trade Analysis Project, a Worker Hours Model constructed using annual wage payments and wage rates by country and sector, and Social Theme Tables covering 22 themes within five Social Impact Categories—Labor Rights and Decent Work, Health and Safety, Human Rights, Governance and Community Impacts. The data tables identify social risks for over 100 indicators. Both the ranking of worker hour intensity and the risk levels across multiple social themes for the Country Specific Sectors (CSS within a product category supply chain are used to calculate Social Hotspots Indexes (SHI using an additive weighting method. The CSS with the highest SHI are highlighted as social hotspots within the supply chain of the product in question. This system was tested in seven case studies in 2011. In order to further limit the number of hotspots, a set of prioritization rules was applied. This paper will review the method implemented to study the social hotspots of the 100 product categories and provide one detailed example. Limitations of the approach and recommended research avenues will be outlined.

Socialism in High School Social Studies Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Richard

2012-01-01

This article concerns textbook analysis regarding the presentation of socialism in four leading high school social studies books, one in each of the following subjects: United States history, world history, United States government, and economics. Findings indicate that students relying on these texts to gain understanding of socialism and…

The politics of SEA indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gao, Jingjing; Kørnøv, Lone; Christensen, Per

2013-01-01

The use of indicators is not only technical and science-led, but also a value-laden social process, and thus concerns public participation, political judgment and decision-making. This article approaches the Chinese SEA indicator system from a science-policy interface and aims at: 1) contributing...

Demographic aspects of social security in region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alla Gennad'evna Leont'eva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a situational analysis of the level of life safety in the field of demographic regions of the Ural Federal District. The analysis is based on data from the Federal Statistics and covers the period 2000-2010. We have developed a system of indicators for evaluating safety in the demographic sphere. We set the main threats to the social and economic stability in the regions. The system of thresholds includes three blocks: the reproduction of the population, marriage and family relationships and health. We have presented a quantitative description of the main threats. Identified priority areas of social protection, providing increased stability of the regional socio-economic development, reducing the likelihood of social conflicts and improve the demographic situation.

Relations between social-perceptual ability in multi- and unisensory contexts, autonomic reactivity, and social functioning in individuals with Williams syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Järvinen, Anna; Ng, Rowena; Crivelli, Davide; Arnold, Andrew J; Woo-VonHoogenstyn, Nicholas; Bellugi, Ursula

2015-07-01

Compromised social-perceptual ability has been proposed to contribute to social dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders. While such impairments have been identified in Williams syndrome (WS), little is known about emotion processing in auditory and multisensory contexts. Employing a multidimensional approach, individuals with WS and typical development (TD) were tested for emotion identification across fearful, happy, and angry multisensory and unisensory face and voice stimuli. Autonomic responses were monitored in response to unimodal emotion. The WS group was administered an inventory of social functioning. Behaviorally, individuals with WS relative to TD demonstrated impaired processing of unimodal vocalizations and emotionally incongruent audiovisual compounds, reflecting a generalized deficit in social-auditory processing in WS. The TD group outperformed their counterparts with WS in identifying negative (fearful and angry) emotion, with similar between-group performance with happy stimuli. Mirroring this pattern, electrodermal activity (EDA) responses to the emotional content of the stimuli indicated that whereas those with WS showed the highest arousal to happy, and lowest arousal to fearful stimuli, the TD participants demonstrated the contrasting pattern. In WS, more normal social functioning was related to higher autonomic arousal to facial expressions. Implications for underlying neural architecture and emotional functions are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social isolation and cognitive function in Appalachian older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

DiNapoli, Elizabeth A; Wu, Bei; Scogin, Forrest

2014-03-01

Investigating the relation between social isolation and cognitive function will allow us to identify components to incorporate into cognitive interventions. Data were collected from 267 Appalachian older adults (M = 78.5, range 70-94 years). Overall cognitive functioning and specific cognitive domains were assessed from data of a self-assembled neuropsychological battery of frequently used tasks. Social isolation, social disconnectedness, and perceived isolation were measured from the Lubben Social Network scale-6. Results indicated a significant positive association between all predictor variables (e.g., social isolation, social disconnectedness, and perceived isolation) and outcome variables (e.g., overall cognitive function, memory, executive functioning, attention, and language abilities). Perceived isolation accounted for nearly double the amount of variance in overall cognitive functioning than social disconnectedness (10.2% vs. 5.7%). Findings suggest that social isolation is associated with poorer overall cognitive functioning and this remains true across varied cognitive domains. © The Author(s) 2012.

Indicators of development: the search for a basic-needs yardstick

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hicks, N; Streeten, P

1979-06-01

The measurement of development efforts in developing countries has generally focused on the growth of GNP per head and related concepts. Increasingly, development economists have become aware that growth of output or income by themselves are not adequate indicators of development, and that the reduction of poverty and the satisfaction of basic human needs are goals that should show up in a measure of development. There has been growing interest in designing better measures of development, including modifications of GNP, social indicators and associated systems of social accounts, and composite indices of development. A review of these approaches and concepts points to the conclusion that the use of social and human indicators is the most promising supplement to GNP, particularly if work on social indicators is done in areas central to the basic-needs approach. 48 references, 5 notes.

Uncommon social trajectories: Chilean low-income adolescents with reading skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iván Ortiz

2013-07-01

Full Text Available It is generally believed that students from low-income families are less successful at school, as indicated by theories of social reproduction. This article focuses on Chilean students that, in spite of their social background, have performed well in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2009. Using logistic regression analysis we identify factors associated with academic achievement in reading. Results show that student variables have a greater explanatory value than family and school variables.

Social relations: A critical reflection on the notion of social impacts as change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serje, Margarita

2017-01-01

This article seeks to reflect upon the dominant conception of social impacts as the change produced by development projects and programs, and the ways in which those affected perceive and experience them. Identifying change may be a necessary but not sufficient step in acknowledging the complexity of social life. Engaging with critical scholarship produced in the fields of both social impact assessment (SIA) and of the social studies of technical/planned interventions, I discuss how the understanding of social impacts as change responds ultimately to a causal–instrumental logic that, in order to make sense of the complexity of social life, tends to reduce it to a series of variables and matrices. I suggest a complementary dialectical approach focusing on social relations. This approach, allows an alternative means of analysing social impacts concerning the way policies and projects reconfigure conditions and possibilities on a societal level. To accomplish this, and in order to go beyond the sequence of potential impacts (or changes) and their generic indicators, I propose a set of analytical questions that highlight how social relations are structured. Besides, on the assumption that development is both a form of governance and a space of contestation, negotiation, and activism, this approach may contribute to further the potential for reflection and mobilisation that the practice of SIA presents. - Highlights: •Change, which is inherent to social life, is insufficient to determine social impacts. •The critique of causal-instrumental logic provides insights to reflect on social impacts. •Social impacts should rather refer to how interventions reconfigure social relations. •The complex, mutually constitutive nature of social phenomena may thus be recognized. •SIA should go beyond change to the understanding of its socio-political significance.

Future law enforcement officers and social workers: perceptions of domestic violence.

Science.gov (United States)

McMullan, Elizabeth C; Carlan, Philip E; Nored, Lisa S

2010-08-01

This study compares perceptions of domestic violence for college students planning to work in law enforcement with students aspiring to careers in social work and non-law-enforcement criminal justice (N = 491). The study involves students attending four public universities across one Southern state who completed a survey (spring of 2006) measuring whether various scenarios were (1) related to domestic violence, and (2) worthy of being reported to law enforcement. Findings indicate that all student groups (law enforcement, non-law-enforcement criminal justice, and social work) tended to identify the various scenarios as domestic violence (and worthy of being reported) regardless of the person's sexual orientation, violence severity, and offender's or victim's gender. However, law enforcement students are less sensitive to domestic violence when compared with social work and non-law enforcement criminal justice students. Findings reveal that (1) graduate students, (2) female students, and (3) White students (compared with African American students in general) attending majority White universities were more likely to identify domestic violence and its worthiness of being reported.The data in this study indicate that criminal justice programs produce graduates who are reasonably sensitive toward the importance of appropriate domestic violence response but could still improve using the techniques employed within social work programs.

Proyectos sociales

OpenAIRE

Orellana Zambrano, Waldo E.

2011-01-01

Explica qué es un Proyecto social, su formulación , y la importancia de los indicadores de desarrollo humano en la formulación de proyectos sociales. Explain what a social project, its formulation, and the importance of human development indicators in the formulation of social projects.

Perceived Social Support And Life Satisfaction Of Residents In A Nursing Home In Turkey

OpenAIRE

Çimen, Mesut; Akbolat, Mahmut

2016-01-01

Abstract: This study was conducted to identify the factors that affect the perception of social support and life satisfaction of selected nursing home residents in Turkey, using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). 80 residents participated in the study. Results of univariate analyses indicated that family-based perceived social support of nursing home residents is significantly higher in married residents and in residents...

Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holman, Luke

2010-01-01

Group-living species produce signals that alter the behavior and even the physiology of their social partners. Social insects possess especially sophisticated chemical communication systems that govern every aspect of colony life, including the defining feature of eusociality: reproductive division...... of labor. Current evidence hints at the central importance of queen pheromones, but progress has been hindered by the fact that such pheromones have only been isolated in honeybees. In a pair of papers on the ant Lasius niger, we identified and investigated a queen pheromone regulating worker sterility...... with other studies, these results indicate that queen pheromones are honest signals of quality that simultaneously regulate multiple social behaviors....

The Social and Consumer Standards and Guarantees in Ukraine: the Current Structural and Dynamic Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolesov Oleksandr S.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to generalize the theoretical approaches to the social guarantees and standards as economic categories. The classification of social guarantees is provided. The dynamic parameters for development of the social and consumer standards adopted in Ukraine were considered. An evaluation of the real poverty level under the system of criteria was carried out. The inconsistency of methods for the poverty evaluation adopted by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and contradiction of its individual indicators has been indicated. The structural characteristics of the population’s income have been determined. The relevance of the existing social guarantees to their real value in today’s economic conditions have been analyzed. Tendencies of falling of the welfare level of population, resulting in a decline in the consumer demand and a narrowing of the domestic market for goods and services, have been identified. The need to take measures to stimulate small businesses, to overcome corruption, and to deregulate the economy has been indicated.

From Social Practices to Social Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias; Krummheuer, Antonia Lina; Rodil, Kasper

2016-01-01

It has been shown that the development of social robots for the elder care sector is primarily technology driven and relying on stereotypes about old people.We are focusing instead on the actual social practices that will be targeted by social robots. We provide details of this interdisciplinary...... approach and highlight its applicability and usefulness with field examples from an elder care home. These examples include ethnographic field studies as well as workshops with staff and residents. The goal is to identify and agree with both groups on social practices, where the use of a social robot might...

Environmental indicators for industrial optimization and design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Konneman, Bram

2008-01-01

Companies use standard financial indicators to determine their business success and optimize their business opportunities. However, sustainable development demands for an integrated approach to economic, environmental and social indicators. Although a lot of indicator initiatives are under

Social Life Cycle Approach as a Tool for Promoting the Market Uptake of Bio-Based Products from a Consumer Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasquale Marcello Falcone

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The sustainability of bio-based products, especially when compared with fossil based products, must be assured. The life cycle approach has proven to be a promising way to analyze the social, economic and environmental impacts of bio-based products along the whole value chain. Until now, however, the social aspects have been under-investigated in comparison to environmental and economic aspects. In this context, the present paper aims to identify the main social impact categories and indicators that should be included in a social sustainability assessment of bio-based products, with a focus on the consumers’ category. To identify which social categories and indicators are most relevant, we carry out a literature review on existing social life cycle studies; this is followed by a focus group with industrial experts and academics. Afterwards, we conduct semi-structured interviews with some consumer representatives to understand which social indicators pertaining to consumers are perceived as relevant. Our findings highlight the necessity for the development and dissemination of improved frameworks capable of exploiting the consumers’ role in the ongoing process of market uptake of bio-based products. More specifically, this need regards the effective inclusion of some social indicators (i.e., end users’ health and safety, feedback mechanisms, transparency, and end-of-life responsibility in the social life cycle assessment scheme for bio-based products. This would allow consumers, where properly communicated, to make more informed and aware purchasing choices, therefore having a flywheel effect on the market diffusion of a bio-based product.

Non-Monosex Research Publication in U.S.-Based Social Work Journals Between 2008-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Aidan; Gilmour, Matt

2018-01-01

An estimated 4% of men and 9% of women identify as non-monosex, a term for sexual identities outside of the heterosexual/homosexual binary, such as bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, and asexual. In addition to experiences of oppression shared with all sexual minorities, non-monosex-identifying persons face additional issues of monosex bias in their personal lives, in mass media, and in research. Despite social work's commitment to issues of social justice and inclusion, prior reviews of the literature have indicated a gap in research on non-monosex-identifying persons, which can lead to inappropriate clinical practices and continued stigmatization. The authors of this article examined the state of social work literature on non-monosex-identifying persons through a systematic review and content analysis of primary-study data-based publications from 2008 to 2016 in 24 social work journals based in the United States. Only four articles were found that met the inclusion criteria, and while 31% of the 357 total study participants identified as non-monosex, a content analysis showed subtle forms of monosex bias in the reporting of study results, such as collapsing of gay/lesbian participants with non-monosex participants and the use of marginalizing language. Implications and suggestions for future social work researchers are discussed.

Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified in an 'Arts for Social Change' Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Yassi, Annalee; Spiegel, Jennifer Beth; Lockhart, Karen; Fels, Lynn; Boydell, Katherine; Marcuse, Judith

Academics from diverse disciplines are recognizing not only the procedural ethical issues involved in research, but also the complexity of everyday "micro" ethical issues that arise. While ethical guidelines are being developed for research in aboriginal populations and low-and-middle-income countries, multi-partnered research initiatives examining arts-based interventions to promote social change pose a unique set of ethical dilemmas not yet fully explored. Our research team, comprising health, education, and social scientists, critical theorists, artists and community-activists launched a five-year research partnership on arts-for-social change. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council in Canada and based in six universities, including over 40 community-based collaborators, and informed by five main field projects (circus with street youth, theatre by people with disabilities, dance for people with Parkinson's disease, participatory theatre with refugees and artsinfused dialogue), we set out to synthesize existing knowledge and lessons we learned. We summarized these learnings into 12 key points for reflection, grouped into three categories: community-university partnership concerns ( n  = 3), dilemmas related to the arts ( n  = 5), and team issues ( n  = 4). In addition to addressing previous concerns outlined in the literature (e.g., related to consent, anonymity, dangerous emotional terrain, etc.), we identified power dynamics (visible and hidden) hindering meaningful participation of community partners and university-based teams that need to be addressed within a reflective critical framework of ethical practice. We present how our team has been addressing these issues, as examples of how such concerns could be approached in community-university partnerships in arts for social change.

Social geroidentity: a reflection about definitions, allotments, laws, social programs and human guarantees for the people of the third age from México

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Alberto Palma Hernández

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The following paper has the objective of enouncing the many ways third age people are conceived from the perspective of the ones that are out of this segment, including the others that belongs to it. In the same way, this paper refers to some laws, social programs and human guarantees that were created to benefit and protect that people in Mexico, and which have the purpose of identifying some indicators that might tell about those social activities related to them. Based on those elements and the Theory of Social Identities from Gilberto Gimenez, the main argument of this reflection, three analysis categories are foud (attributes, membership and biographical narrative that allows to create a proposal that is called “Social Geroidentity”.

Users' intention to continue using social fitness-tracking apps: expectation confirmation theory and social comparison theory perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jia; Liu, Xuan; Ma, Ling; Zhang, Weiqiang

2018-03-05

The key step in changing health behavior is understanding why users continue to use fitness apps. Therefore, we intend to investigate the users' intention to continue using social fitness-tracking apps. We identify two major forces driving continuous behavior. Expectation confirmation is the internal driving force and social comparison is the external driving force. A survey was conducted to test this proposed research model. We obtained 211 valid questionnaires. Our results indicate that activity amount ranking (p fitness-tracking apps. In addition, the impact of activity amount ranking and activity frequency ranking on continuous intention is moderated by expectation confirmation. Meanwhile, as the upward comparison tendency increases, the positive effect of confirmation on continuous intention decreases (p Social rank expectation and confirmation are the primary driving forces of continuous intention in individuals using fitness-tracking apps. Social rank is a meaningful and straightforward measurement individuals can use to evaluate their activity performance. An upward comparison tendency weakens the effect of confirmation on continuous intention.

Factors Associated with Social Interactions between Deaf Children and Their Hearing Peers: A Systematic Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Batten, Georgina; Oakes, Peter M.; Alexander, Tim

2014-01-01

Research indicates that deaf children can have marked social difficulties compared with their hearing peers. Factors that influence these social interactions need to be reviewed to inform interventions. A systematic search of 5 key databases and 3 specialized journals identified 14 papers that met the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality of…

Positive Relationship Between Individuality and Social Identity in Virtual Communities: Self-Categorization and Social Identification as Distinct Forms of Social Identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Tian-Chao; Li, Xuemei

2016-11-01

Previous studies have reported conflicting results regarding the relationship between individuality and social identity, indicating this area requires further examination. This study constructed a research model to help understand the positive role of individualized behavior and social identity in virtual communities. The results of an online survey conducted to assess our theoretical research model indicated that social identity can be expressed in two ways: self-categorization and social identification. Furthermore, we found individualized behavior was positively related to social identification, while self-categorization was directly derived from social identification.