Res Publicas käärib mäss / Hants Hint

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Hint, Hants

2002-01-01

Res Publica eestseisuse liige ja Ida-Viru piirkonna esimees Hants Hint vastab küsimustele Res Publica ja Keskerakonna võimuliidu moodustamisega tekkinud skandaali, Res Publica esimehe Juhan Partsiga kohtumise kohta. Vt. samas: "Korbi toetajaid ootab hukkamõist"

Res Publica viskab Oleg Rebase välja

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2006-01-01

Res Publica Tallinna piirkonna juhatus leidis, et Oleg Rebane läks Keskerakonna provokatsiooniga kaasa minnes vastuollu Res Publica põhimõtetega. Tallinna linnapea Jüri Ratase suhtes algatatud umbusaldushääletuse põhjustest. Sven Sester vastab küsimusele, mis seotud Oleg Rebase ja Tõnis Bittmani juhtumiga

Parts ei soovi Res Publica esimehe ametit / Tuuli Koch

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Koch, Tuuli

2005-01-01

Kõige tõenäolisem kandidaat Res Publica juhi kohale on Taavi Veskimägi, aseesimeesteks kandideerivad Marko Mihkelson ja Henn Pärn. Res Publica fraktsiooni koosolekul leidis Mihhail Lotman, et erakond võiks olla feminiinsem

Res Publica kärbiks võimuorganite koosseise / Argo Ideon

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Ideon, Argo, 1966-

2002-01-01

Res Publica taotleb Riigikogu kärpimist 61 liikmeni, lubab kahandada kohalike volikogude koosseise, Tallinna abilinnapeade arvu ja kaotada portfellita ministrite kohad. Vt. samas: Res Publica valimisnimekiri Tallinnas

Res Publica ladvikus hõõgub võimutüli / Tuuli Koch

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Koch, Tuuli

2006-01-01

22. aprillil kogunenud Res Publica volikogu toetas 60 poolthäälega ühe vastu Res Publica ja Isamaaliidu ühinemist. Tõnis Palts teatas volikogul esinedes, et Taavi Veskimägi ei sobi Res Publica poolseks läbirääkimiste juhiks

Res Publica andis kolmele poliitikule fiktiivse elukoha / Kärt Karpa

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Karpa, Kärt, 1973-

2002-01-01

Väidetavalt lasi Res Publica enne kohalikke valimisi ühte Pirita eramajja sisse registreerida Jaanus Rahumäe ja veel kaks Res Publica liiget, et nad saaksid kandideerida Tallinna volikogusse ja Pirita halduskogusse

Res Publica kõrvaldas mässaja / Kristjan Roos

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Roos, Kristjan, 1978-

2005-01-01

Tallinna linnavolikogu Res Publica fraktsiooni juhi kohalt, Res Publica Tallinna piirkonna juhatusest ja erakonna eestseisusest end taandanud Toomas Tautsi sõnul esitati talle erakonna eestseisuses mitmeid süüdistusi, mis kokkuvõtvalt olid etteheited tema vastuseisule võimalikule koalitsioonile Keskerakonnaga. Lisa: Abilinnapeadeks saavad Promm, Reivik ja Pevkur

Alfabetización informacional y biblioteca publica

OpenAIRE

José Antonio Gómez Hernández; Cristóbal Pasadas-Urena

2007-01-01

Introducción. El objetivo del trabajo es hacer una revisión de la alfabetización informacional en las bibliotecas publicas. Se describe la alfabetización informacional como una competencia básica de las personas para saber encontrar y usar la información adecuada a sus necesidades, independientemente del lugar, soporte o medio utilizado para su transmisión. Se explica las tendencias internacionales y locales para la incorporación de este servicio en las bibliotecas publicas, y se justifica la...

Res Publica Euroopas / Eiki Berg, Marko Mihkelson ; interv. Lauri Lugna

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Berg, Eiki, 1970-

2003-01-01

Res Publica välispoliitika eksperdid Eiki Berg ja Marko Mihkelson vastavad küsimustele, mis käsitlevad Res Publica saamist Euroopa Rahvapartei (ERP) liikmeks, koostööd ERP-ga, EL-i põhiseaduslikku lepet

Res Publica aukohus heidab juhtidele ette eetikavääratust / Toomas Mattson

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Mattson, Toomas, 1970-

2002-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Põhjarannik ; Severnoje Poberezhje 22. november lk. 3;4. Res Publica aukohus arvab, et Res Publica juhid on rikkunud erakonna põhikirja, sisekorda ja eetikakoodeksit Kohtla-Järve juhtumi lahendamisel. Kohtla-Järvel sai linnapeaks riisumiskahtlusega uurimise all olev Valeri Korb tänu Keskerakonna ja Res Publica koalitsioonileppele. Kommenteerib Juhan Kivirähk

Res Publica mängis topeltmängu / Risto Berendson

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Berendson, Risto, 1975-

2005-01-01

Res Publica jätkab koostööd Tallinna linnavalitsuses Reformierakonnaga. Tallinna linnapea Tõnis Paltsi sõnul oli paralleelsete läbirääkimiste pidamine Keskerakonna ja Reformierakonnaga Res Publica Tallinna piirkonna juhatuse valitud taktika. Kommenteerib Jaanus Piirsalu

Res Publica lihtliikmed tõrjuvad Veskimäge / Tuuli Koch

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Koch, Tuuli

2006-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Pärnu Postimees 17. okt. lk. 6. Isamaa ja Res Publica liidu peaministrikandidaadiks sai Mart Laar, kuid pinged erakondade sees kestavad edasi. Res Publica opositsioon toetab isamaaliitlast Mart Laari ja on Taavi Veskimäe vastu. Lisa: Otsitakse peaministrit

Res Publica Ida-Viru piirkond valis uue juhatuse / Erik Gamzejev

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Gamzejev, Erik, 1967-

2002-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Severnoje Poberezhje 4. dets. lk. 1. Res Publica Ida-Viru piirkonna üldkogul valiti uus juhatus, Vladimir Sarantsevi sõnul oli koosolek enamiku Kohtla-Järve osakonna liikmete arvates õigustühine. Res Publica peasekretäri Tõnis Konsi kommentaare

Public opinion, public information and public implication in radioactive waste management in the European Union; La opinion publica, informacion publica e implicacion publica en la gestion de residuos radiactivos en la Union Europea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, D.; Webster, S.

2004-07-01

The nuclear industry in European must address the issue of the lack of Public acceptance. In particular, the public are very concerned about radioactive waste. It is clear that there is a need to better inform the public about radioactive waste and to consult them as part of the decision-making process concerning the management of these wastes. Existing and proposed new European legislation not only encourage this provision of information and involvement in the decision-making process, but actually require it. The paper examines Public opinion and European legislation in this area and reports on the latest research on societal issues in radioactive waste management carried out under the Community's Euratom Framework Programme. (Author)

Presidendilossis pidutses ka üks Res Publica liige / Kadri Jakobson

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Jakobson, Kadri, 1970-

2006-01-01

SL Õhtulehele presidendilossis toimunud noortepidudest rääkinud neiu on Res Publica liige, kuid tema sõnul pole tema parteiline kuuluvus pidudega seotud. Arvamust avaldavad Res Publica juhatuse liige Andreas Kaju, erakonna esimees Taavi Veskimägi, ERL-i pressiesindaja Agu Uudelepp jt.

Res Publica asus Reformierakonda Tallinna võimuliidust tõrjuma / Mirko Ojakivi

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Ojakivi, Mirko

2005-01-01

Res Publica Tallinna piirkonna juhatuse liikme Siim Roode sõnul teeb Res Publica Keskerakonna Tallinna piirkonna juhatusele ettepaneku koalitsiooniläbirääkimiste alustamiseks. Lisa: Paltsu ettekäändeks Unicom

Res Publica : umbusaldamine võib lõpetada senise koalitsiooni / Villy Paimets

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Paimets, Villy, 1972-

2005-01-01

Res Publica erakorraline volikogu avaldas toetust justiitsministrile ja andis peaministrile volitused lõpetada justiitsministri umbusaldamise korral senine koalitsioon ning alustada läbirääkimisi Isamaaliiduga. Lisa: Res Publica toetab Vaherit

Res Publica seisab vastu homse arvel elamisele / Siim Männik

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Männik, Siim

2005-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Vabariik (venek.) 30. august lk. 1. Res Publica koostab praegu kohalikeks valimisteks nimekirju. Erakond ei plaani korraldada mitte ühte üleriigilist valimiskampaaniat, vaid 120 kohalikku kampaaniat, peale selle on kavas üleriigiline n.-ö. foonikampaania. Lisa: Miks valida Res Publica? Vt. samas: Sisevalimised 1.-3. septembrini

Alfabetización informacional y biblioteca publica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio Gómez Hernández

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Introducción. El objetivo del trabajo es hacer una revisión de la alfabetización informacional en las bibliotecas publicas. Se describe la alfabetización informacional como una competencia básica de las personas para saber encontrar y usar la información adecuada a sus necesidades, independientemente del lugar, soporte o medio utilizado para su transmisión. Se explica las tendencias internacionales y locales para la incorporación de este servicio en las bibliotecas publicas, y se justifica la importancia de ello por su conexión con el aprendizaje durante toda la vida, que hace de las bibliotecas un recurso fundamental para la educación no formal e informal de los ciudadanos. Método. Se analiza y describe las publicaciones, modelos conceptuales, proyectos, documentos normativos de asociaciones profesionales y los contenidos de los encuentros científicos y profesionales sobre alfabetización informacional y biblioteca publica. Análisis. Se hace un estudio comparativo de las distintas teorías y proyectos, y se hace una valoración critica confrontando éstas con su aplicación práctica en las bibliotecas. Resultados. A partir del análisis se exponen las tendencias en alfabetización informacional y se proponen tareas básicas para una agenda de desarrollo en las bibliotecas publicas de este servicio. Conclusión. Se propone una agenda comun de todas las bibliotecas, instituciones y profesiones involucradas en la adquisición por individuos y comunidades de las competencias básicas englobadas bajo el concepto de alfabetización continua.

Juhan Parts soovib Res Publica tagasi tippu viia / Toomas Sildam

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Sildam, Toomas, 1961-

2004-01-01

Res Publica esimees peaminister Juhan Parts plaanib minna oma erakonnaga kohalikele valimistele ning uurib võimalusi paremerakondade ühinemiseks. Rakveres toimunud erakonna üldkogust. Lisad: Peaministri neli rasket hetke; Res Publica ministrid said parteilt toetuse. Vt. samas: Reformierakond kiitis Res Publicat hea koostöö eest; Parts: 191 vastuhäält on hea tulemus

Sisetülides Res Publica heitis liidu Keskerakonnaga kõrvale / Urmas Seaver

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Seaver, Urmas, 1973-

2005-01-01

Res Publica juhatus otsustas toetada senise koalitsiooni jätkamist Tallinnas. Res Publica ja Reformierakonna täiendatud koalitsioonileppest. Reformierakonna Tallinna piirkonna juhi Keit Pentuse hinnang võimutülile. Lisa: Võimuleppe lisa

Res Publica hakkab kaaluma Kohtla-Järve võimuliidust lahkumist / Erik Gamzejev

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Gamzejev, Erik, 1967-

2002-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Severnoje Poberezhje 19. nov. lk. 1. Res Publica eestseisuse ettepanek Kohtla-Järve osakonnale lahkuda koalitsioonist. Osakonna juhatuse otsus esitada Hants Hint volikogu esimehe kandidaadiks. Res Publica liikmete käitumise arutelu aukohtus

Res Publica tähistab sünnipäeva konverentsiga / Lauri Tankler

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tankler, Lauri

2003-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Võta Võim : na russkom jazõke 3. dets. lk. 3. Res Publica saab 2-aastaseks, mille puhul korraldatakse konverents "Riik ja Res Publica". Vt. samas: Selle aasta veebruaris said kuldmärgid

Res Publica presidendikandidaatide nimed selguvad neljapäevaks / Rauno Veri, Urmo Kübar

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Veri, Rauno, 1978-

2006-01-01

Res Publica, Isamaaliit, Reformierakond, SDE ja Keskerakond otsivad ühist presidendikandidaati, ainsa parlamendierakonnana ei osale läbirääkimistel Rahvaliit. Reformierakonna, SDE presidendikandidaatidest; Res Publica naiskogu ja Väärikate Kogu ühisavaldusest

Fides Publica in Ancient Rome and its Reception by Grotius and Locke

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wilde, M.

2011-01-01

The article analyzes the Roman notion of des publica and its reception by Grotius and Locke. The Romans considered des publica a general standard of behavior for all those invested with state power. It was regarded as a legal norm with moral connotations, which applied especially, though not

Ühendpartei Res Publica tiib oli häältekogumisel Isamaast pisut edukam

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2007-01-01

Ühenderakonna Res Publica tiiva kandidaadid said Riigikogu valimistel umbes tuhat häält rohkem kui Isamaaliidu tiiva kandidaadid, samas oli IRL-i valimisnimekirjas Res Publica tiiva kandidaate ka mõne inimese võrra rohkem. Isamaaliidu edukaimad hääletoojad

The purifying bridge of Res Publica / Rein Taagepera

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Taagepera, Rein, 1933-

2004-01-01

Res Publica edust Eesti poliitilisel maastikul. Autor käsitleb Res Publicat kui puhastava toimega ja silla funktsiooni täitvat parteid, mis üritab siduda tervikuks Keskerakonna ja Reformierakonna seisukohad

Res Publica toetus pole aastaga üle viie protsendi tõusnud / Tuuli Koch

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Koch, Tuuli

2006-01-01

Emori jaanuarikuu küsitluse põhjal on 22 protsendiga suurim toetajaskond Keskerakonnal, Res Publica reiting on aasta aega püsinud viie ja kolme toetusprotsendi vahel. Vt. samas: Taavi Veskimägi. 2 küsimust. Diagrammid: Res Publica valiks riigikogusse tagasi vaid kolm protsenti valijaist; Toetus Res Publicale

Isamaa ja Res Publica Liidu plaan / Juhan Parts

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Parts, Juhan, 1966-

2008-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Eesti Eest = Za Estoniju : Izdanije objedinenija "Sojuz Otetshestva i Res Publica" 15. mai 2008, lk. 4-5. Eesti majanduse uutest ülesannetest. Kommenteerib: Mart Laar. Vt. samas: IRL-i ettepanekud koalitsioonileppe täienduseks

Influence of communication on public opinion about nuclear energy; Influencia da comunicacao na aceitacao publica da energia nuclear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, Everton de Almeida [ELETROBRAS Termonuclear S.A., (ELETRONUCLEAR), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1997-12-31

Public opinion on risks and benefits associated to nuclear energy is depending on psychological and social factors and mainly on the communication strategy used to transfer knowledge and facts about nuclear technology to the public. In this work, the individual and collective communication process and the influences on the public opinion on nuclear energy will be analyzed. (author) 3 refs., 1 fig.

Publicação Científica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Getulio Teixeira Batista

2006-12-01

Full Text Available O gerenciamento da editoração da revista científica integrada em um sistema digital que permite o monitoramento de um artigo desde a submissão até a publicação como o Sistema de Editoração Eletrônica de Revistas (SEER, Soares et al., 2004, a partir de qualquer ponto de acesso à Internet, representa um grande avanço no processo de editoração não só pela economia de papel e correio, mas principalmente por agilizar a comunicação do editor com os autores e revisores. É fundamental que o editor fique extremamente atento no fomento dessa interação. A motivação para publicações é muito variável e afeta o processo de publicação nas diferentes fases. Muitos estudantes submetem trabalhos para cumprir exigências de cursos e ao se depararem com o processo de revisão acabam desistindo porque já cumpriram a exigência e não querem investir o tempo necessário exigido pela revisão de seu artigo. Cabe ao editor o papel de incentivador da busca da qualidade. É fundamental que o editor não seja um mero repassador das observações dos avaliadores, mas que as interprete e interaja com os autores para que elas sejam implementadas adequadamente para melhoria da qualidade do artigo. Ao encerrar o primeiro volume, a editoração da Ambi-Água tem a satisfação de manifestar que a interação com os autores e avaliadores foi uma constante, o que resultou num tempo mínimo de processamento da editoração.

Pettumus Res Publicas algas kirikus antud vandest / Margus Tsahkna

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tsahkna, Margus, 1977-

2005-01-01

Autori sõnul on Res Publica petnud inimeste põhiväärtustele tuginevaid ootusi, Eesti riik kaugeneb kodanikust ja tema elulistest huvidest. Isamaaliit paneb ette asuda tegelike probleemide lahendamisele ning kutsub erakondi üles kaitsma rahvuslikke huve

Res Publica soovib riigikogulaste kuluhüvitiste korra muutmist / Siim-Valmar Kiisler ; interv. Kalle Muuli

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kiisler, Siim, 1965-

2003-01-01

Res Publica saadikud teevad Riigikogu juhatusele ettepaneku muuta kuluhüvitiste korda, teatas intervjuus Res Publica saadikurühma esimees Siim-Valmar Kiisler. Kommenteerivad: Jaanus Männik, Toomas Varek. Vt. samas: Riigikogu liikmete vastuseid küsimustele tööga seotud kulude kohta: Robert Lepikson, Reet Roos, Janno Reiljan

Res Publica nõuab Leinatammelt 44 600 krooni / Kadri Jakobson

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Jakobson, Kadri, 1970-

2005-01-01

Res Publica nõuab Reformierakonda üle läinud Tarmo Leinatammelt maksmata jäänud liikmemaksu, fraktsioon kutsub teda üles loobuma kohast Riigikogus. Erakonna pressiesindaja Riina Vändre selgitus

Res Publica murrab läbi / Urmo Kübar

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kübar, Urmo, 1978-

2004-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Võta Võim : na russkom jazõke, 28. apr. 2004, lk. 1. 18. aprillil 2004 Tallinnas toimunud Res Publica valimiskonverentsist, kus kinnitati programm ja kandidaadid Euroopa Parlamendi valimisteks. Esinesid Urmas Reinsalu ja Juhan Parts. Vt. samas: Kust tuli 'Murrame läbi'?

A European Res publica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ola Zetterquist

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the fundamental constitutional enigma of the European Union (EU, namely whether the EU can be considered as a (from its Member States separate and independent constitutional legal order. The EU is often referred to as a legal order sui generis, i.e. of a unique character that defies traditional definitions. More specifically, the notion of an independent and separate EU is at odds with the idea of the sovereign state. The notion of the EU as a legal order sui generis is too much influenced by the models of the sovereign state and sovereignty (in the vein of Thomas Hobbes. The key component in the Hobbesian idea of sovereignty is freedom as non-interference. A sovereign state is consequently a state that is free from, i.e. not interfered with by, external actors like, for example, the EU. Put differently, either the EU is sovereign or the Member States are sovereign. By shifting the perspective to a neo-Roman republican understanding of freedom as non-domination the constitutional picture of the EU will become more nuanced. Res publica is best understood as what citizens hold in common and above their narrow self-interest. According to a republican notion of the constitution the purpose of the law is to eliminate the possibility of arbitrary domination. For that reason, not all interference is to be considered as a restriction of freedom but only those restrictions that cannot be justified according to the res publica. Viewed through the republican prism it can be argued that the EU represents an important advancement in securing freedom as non-domination without implying that the EU must become a state. The fundamental enigma can thus be rephrased as a clash between two diverging concepts of freedom. Whereas the EU will always be at odds with the idea of sovereignty (however framed it will be much easier to reconcile with the republican ideal. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837332

Reinsalu : Res Publica lisab kiirust / Urmas Reinsalu ; interv. Lauri Tankler

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Reinsalu, Urmas, 1975-

2004-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Võta Võim : na russkom jazõke, 28. apr. 2004, lk. 4. Res Publica esikandidaat Urmas Reinsalu erakonna valimiskampaania eesmärkidest, võimalustest nende eesmärkide saavutamiseks ja erakonna valimisprogrammi ning kandidaatide eelistest konkurentide ees

Res Publica üldkogu hääletab poliitilisi resolutsioone / Lauri Tankler

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tankler, Lauri

2004-01-01

Res Publica üldkogul hääletusele pandavate resolutsioonide eesmärgiks on teavitada avalikkust erakonna seisukohtadest. Olulisemad resolutsioonid on ette valmistatud ideoloogia, majanduse, hariduse ja sotsiaalpoliitika valdkonnas

Res Publica jäi järjekordselt ilma mitmest nimekast liikmest / Tuuli Koch, Kärt Anvelt

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Koch, Tuuli

2005-01-01

Oma lahkumiset Res Publicast teatasid erakonna esimene esimees Rein Taagepera, tema abikaasa Mare Taagepera, akadeemik Jaan Einasto ja 2002. aastal erakonna esimeheks kandideerinud Lauri Aaspõllu. Rein Taagepera põhjendas otsust Res Publica liikumisega paremtsentrist paremäärmusse. Lisa: Tuntud inimesi, kes seni Res Publicast lahkunud. Vt. samas lühiintervjuud Jaan Einastoga: Res Publica peab tegema koostööd

Desafios das publicações feministas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Silva

2013-11-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-026X2013000200014 Por ocasião dos 20 anos da Revista Estudos Feministas, busco articular o debate sobreteoria e movimento social para apresentar alguns desafios que estão postos para as publicaçõesfeministas. Trato dos desafios ligados ao reconhecimento, à sustentabilidade, às linhas editoriaise à relação universidade e movimento. Concluo afirmando que o principal desafio daspublicações feministas é articular a produção teórica e as pesquisas feministas às lutas e àsformas organizativas que o movimento feminista constrói em cada contexto histórico.

Res Publica tahab muuta Riigikogu kuluhüvitiste süsteemi / Alari Rammo

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Rammo, Alari

2003-01-01

Riigikogu Res Publica fraktsiooni ettepanekutest reformida Riigikogu liikmetele ette nähtud kuluhüvitiste süsteemi. Tabel: Kasutatud kuluhüvitised seisuga 15. oktoober 2003. Kommenteerib Urmo Kübar

OPINION PUBLICA, CULTURAS POLITICAS Y DEMOCRACIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Santana Rodríguez

1998-01-01

Full Text Available El autor realiza un acercamiento al deber ser de la democracia desde el abordaje de categorías como opinión pública y consenso, elementos indispensables en la construcción de una cultura política.

Res Publica nõuab rea võimulubaduste täitmist / Rasmus Kagge

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kagge, Rasmus, 1977-

2005-01-01

Res Publica lubas koalitsioonipartneritele mitte minna koalitsioonileppe kallale, kui nad toetavad toppama jäänud lubaduste täitmist - haridusreformi, presidendi otsevalimiste seadustamist, riigikontrollile ka omavalitsuste kontrollimiseks õiguse andmist ja lapsevanema tulumaksuvaba miinimumi kahekordistamist alates pere teisest lapsest. Lisa: Võimuliitlaste soovid

Res Publica alustas Tallinnas koostööd Keskerakonnaga / Siim Männik

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Männik, Siim

2005-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Vabariik (venek.) 18. apr. lk. 2. Koalitsioonivahetusest Tallinnas. Linnavolikogu Res Publica fraktsiooni esimehe Andres Korgi, linnapea Tõnis Paltsi nõuniku Jaano Martin Otsa kommentaare. Tallinna linnapea hinnangul on sügisel koalitsiooni asudes seatud eesmärgid praeguseks peaaegu saavutatud

Res Publica nõuab veel üht abilinnapea kohta / Urmas Seaver

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Seaver, Urmas, 1973-

2005-01-01

Tallinna linnapea Tõnis Palts on seisukohal, et Reformierakond surus koalitsiooni moodustamisel Res Publicale peale ebaõiglase vastutusvaldkondade jaotuse. Res Publica peasekretär Ott Lumi ei välista võimuliidu loomist Keskerakonnaga, kui Reformierakond järeleandmisi ei tee. ERL tegi ettepaneku kokku kutsuda erakondade ümarlaud. Vt. samas intervjuud Ott Lumiga

Res Publica ja Isamaaliit ühendavad jõud / Urmo Kübar, Rauno Veri

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kübar, Urmo, 1978-

2006-01-01

Res Publica esimees Taavi Veskimägi ja Isamaaliidu esimees Tõnis Lukas kirjutasid alla ühiste kavatsuste deklaratsioonile, milles nad teevad ettepaneku moodustada ühine erakond. Lisad: Erakonna Eesti Eest deklaratsioon; Lühiülevaade ajaloost

O marketing direto como canal de marketing no setor de publicações periódicas (revistas e jornais) em São Paulo

OpenAIRE

Kato, Heitor Takashi

2010-01-01

Trata da utilização do marketing direto como canal de marketing para as empresas editoras de publicações periódicas em São Paulo. Conceitua o marketing direto e descreve suas variantes. Faz um breve histórico das publicações periódicas e do papel das assinaturas desde sua origem. Utilizando-se do esquema teórico de Aspinwall e do estudo do caso de empresas de publicações periódicas em São Paulo, analisa o potencial da utilização do marketing direto como canal de marketing para outras categori...

Algunas determinaciones del pregnandiol urinario en el aborto amenazante

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Eudoro Castillo Vega

1956-07-01

Full Text Available El presente trabajo tiene por objeto hacer algunas "determinaciones del pregnandiol urinario en enfermas con síntomas evidentes de aborto amenazante", o bien, en enfermas en cuya historia anamnésica se encuentre el antecedente de uno o más abortos anteriores, así como también de partos prematuros y que, ni en los primeros ni en los últimos se haya encontrado una causa bien determinada. En lo posible, se han escogido pacientes con antecedente Serológico Negativo y de constitución topográfica anatómica, en cuanto a pelvis se refiere, normales. Es de lógica que, a una enferma con una desviación uterina o con un tumor pélvico, no se puede achacar el aborto a deficiencia de Progesterona o de cualquiera otra hormona, pues la causa es verdaderamente objetiva.

Plágio e publicação científica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Luís Gemal

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Nos últimos anos, a palavra ética tem estado em evidência no país, usualmente referida a sua ausência. Neste cenário, no qual sobram palavras e faltam atitudes, refletir, debater e concretizar ações sobre este tema na publicação científica tornam-se imprescindíveis. O acesso aberto e a democratização do conhecimento e, principalmente, da informa-ção, têm permitido atualmente uma possibilidade fabulosa de avanços na formação de pesquisadores e cidadãos.Neste contexto, a cultura do plágio tem maiores condições de se disseminar e de se tornar socialmente aceita. Isto faz com que instituições e editores de revistas científicas sejam colocados em situações que exigem atitudes imediatas e coerentes com os princípios éti-cos do campo da ciência. Em uma rápida busca no Google do termo “plágio em publicação científica”, encontramos cerca de 400 mil resultados, o que evidencia os danos e riscos que dizem respeito a todos nós: editores, pesquisadores, alunos, gestores de instituições de pesquisa — corresponsáveis pela acuidade da informação — e leitores.

A qualidade das publicações científicas: considerações de um Editor de Área ao final do mandato

OpenAIRE

Albuquerque,Ulysses Paulino de

2009-01-01

A qualidade das publicações científicas vem sendo discutida na atualidade considerando diferentes perspectivas. Neste texto, examina-se alguns dos principais problemas relativos à produção textual em ciência, com ênfase para os considerados de má conduta. Adicionalmente, são apresentadas sugestões para autores, revisores e editores no sentido de evitar condutas inadequadas no processo de publicação de trabalhos científicos.

Características bibliométricas e sociométricas de publicações da área ambiental em congressos e períodicos nacionais

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilse Maria Beuren

2014-03-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1983-4535.2014v7n1p234 O estudo objetiva examinar características bibliométricas e sociométricas de publicações da área ambiental no Congresso USP de Controladoria e Contabilidade, EnANPAD e em periódicos de Administração e Contabilidade no período de 2000 a 2010. Pesquisa descritiva com abordagem quantitativa foi realizada por meio de pesquisa documental. Os resultados da pesquisa bibliométrica destacam que: i o volume de publicações sobre o tema no EnANPAD aumentou significativamente no decorrer do período analisado; ii os periódicos O&S, RAE, RAUSP e REAd apresentam tendência ascendente no volume de publicações sobre o tema; iii quanto aos procedimentos metodológicos, o Congresso USP e o EnANPAD priorizaram estudos de caso e survey e os periódicos estudos teóricos, mas em todos prevaleceu a abordagem qualitativa; iv dentre as categorias da temática ambiental prevaleceu a Gestão Ambiental e evolução nas publicações sobre Evidenciação Ambiental. Os resultados da pesquisa sociométrica revelam que a configuração estrutural dos relacionamentos dos autores prepondera nos congressos e há alguns autores que possuem laços de publicações com autores de outros periódicos. Conclui-se que as características bibliométricas e sociométricas das publicações da área ambiental sinalizam que o tema continua em evidência e que a configuração estrutural dos relacionamentos dos autores apresenta lacunas principalmente nos periódicos pesquisados.

Investigações sobre o ensino de Genética e Biologia Molecular no Ensino Médio brasileiro: reflexões sobre as publicações científicas

OpenAIRE

Melo,José Romário de; Carmo,Edinaldo Medeiros

2009-01-01

Com o objetivo de analisar as publicações relacionadas ao ensino de Genética e Biologia Molecular no Ensino Médio brasileiro, foram consideradas reflexões sobre várias publicações científicas mediante revisão bibliográfica. Foram analisados trabalhos publicados entre 1999 a 2008. A Revista Genética na Escola se destacou quanto à quantidade de artigos publicados. As publicações puderam ser classificadas em diversas categorias, como: análise de livro didático (ALD), histórico (HIS), intrainterd...

Isamaa ja Res Publica liit tõotab neile kõrget kohta edetabelis / Rasmus Kagge

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kagge, Rasmus, 1977-

2006-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Postimees : na russkom jazõke 10. apr. lk. 7. TNS Emori märtsikuu erakondade populaarsusuuringu tulemused näitavad, et Res Publicaga liituda otsustanud Isamaaliit on tõusnud poliitedetabelis kolmandale kohale. Res Publica reiting on endiselt madal, edetabelit juhib Keskerakond. Diagrammid: Isamaaliit kogub toetajaid tõusvas tempos. Vt. samas: Ühendpartei Eesti Eest! otsib endale uut nime

Venelastest Res Publica toetajad Ida-Virus võivad uuele parteile selja pöörata / Erik Kalda

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kalda, Erik, 1969-

2006-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Severnoje Poberezhje 6. apr. lk. 3, Narvskaja Nedelja 8. apr. lk. 2. Suur osa Ida-Virumaal elavatest Res Publica liikmetest ning toetajatest ei poolda erakonna ühinemist Isamaaliiduga, sest paljude venelaste meelest on Isamaaliit nende huve eirav partei

Ken-Marti Vaher : Paremjõudude ühinemine on Res Publica esmane ülesanne / Ken-Marti Vaher ; interv. Tanel Mazur

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Vaher, Ken-Marti, 1974-

2004-01-01

Ilmunud ka: Narvskaja Gazeta, 6. nov. 2004, lk. 2. Ida-Virumaad külastanud justiitsminister Ken-Marti Vaher Rakveres ja Narvas arutatust, praeguse võimupartei Res Publica seisukohtadest, tulevikuplaanidest

Análise das publicações dos enfermeiros assistenciais em periódicos nacionais

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Ana Maria Dyniewicz

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Esta pesquisa identificou a participação de enfermeiras assistenciais em publicações. Foi realizada revisão bibliográfica em três periódicos nacionais entre 2000 a 2007, somando 1.918 artigos. A enfermeira assistencial esteve como autora ou co-autora em 162 artigos (8.5%; em 75 publicações não houve identificação de sua titulação. Os doutores foram os que mais publicaram com enfermeiras e as áreas com maior número de artigos: educação em saúde e enfermagem, saúde do adulto e idoso. Concluiu-se que as enfermeiras têm maior facilidade em publicar em grupos de pesquisas e que ao assumirem a prática, mesmo depois de pós-graduação, não mantêm a produção científica. Há necessidade de maior empenho de toda a categoria profissional para ampliar essa participação em periódicos.

OpinionFlow: Visual Analysis of Opinion Diffusion on Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yingcai; Liu, Shixia; Yan, Kai; Liu, Mengchen; Wu, Fangzhao

2014-12-01

It is important for many different applications such as government and business intelligence to analyze and explore the diffusion of public opinions on social media. However, the rapid propagation and great diversity of public opinions on social media pose great challenges to effective analysis of opinion diffusion. In this paper, we introduce a visual analysis system called OpinionFlow to empower analysts to detect opinion propagation patterns and glean insights. Inspired by the information diffusion model and the theory of selective exposure, we develop an opinion diffusion model to approximate opinion propagation among Twitter users. Accordingly, we design an opinion flow visualization that combines a Sankey graph with a tailored density map in one view to visually convey diffusion of opinions among many users. A stacked tree is used to allow analysts to select topics of interest at different levels. The stacked tree is synchronized with the opinion flow visualization to help users examine and compare diffusion patterns across topics. Experiments and case studies on Twitter data demonstrate the effectiveness and usability of OpinionFlow.

The nuclear power policy in Argentina (1965-2003); La politica publica de generacion nucleoelectrica en la Republica Argentina (1965-2003)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carreiro, Francisco M [Buenos Aires Univ. (Argentina). Facultad de Ciencias Economicas

2005-07-01

This paper aims to expose some outcomes of a larger research on the nuclear power plants public policy review in Argentine, between 1965 and 2003. It points out the relevance of institutional design as a main factor to explain the policy evolution, and offers unpublished statistic data of this nuclear energy sector. Finally, some comments are presented in order to highlight the importance of the unsolved policy aspects that concern the decision makers in this area. (author) [Spanish] El presente trabajo deriva de un estudio integral desde la optica de la politica publica, y tiene como objetivo el analisis de la evolucion de la politica publica de generacion nucleoelectrica en la Republica Argentina entre los anios 1965 y 2003. (autor)

Radioactive wastes repository in Temascalapa, State of Mexico, public opinion. Determination of health effects; Repositorio de residuos radiactivos en Temascalapa Estado de Mexico, Opinion publica. Determinacion de efectos en la salud

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solis Tinoco, E

1998-12-31

Nuclear waste usually concerns public about the impact on public health and the environment. In Mexico, such interest exists, particularly in the Temascalapa Municipality, Mexico where a low level waste repository recognized by the IAEA, has been functioning since 1972. Maquixco repository is located at 42 Kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Although the environmental radiological monitoring records have demonstrated negligible impact on the environment, in 1998 an unusual public polemic on radioactive health effects appeared among Temascalapa residents. This paper presents a research performed during 1998 with the participation of the National Nuclear Research Institute of Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The research design allowed the involvement of local authorities, as a way of stimulate public participation. The research was performed in nine locations of the Temascalapa Municipality, it was focused on public polemics, associated to Maquixco repository as well as trying to identify demographic factors that exert influence on public attitudes. There are also presented the results of personal dosimetry analysis performed on a four hundred residents sample of this Municipality. (Author)

Radioactive wastes repository in Temascalapa, State of Mexico, public opinion. Determination of health effects; Repositorio de residuos radiactivos en Temascalapa Estado de Mexico, Opinion publica. Determinacion de efectos en la salud

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solis Tinoco, E

1999-12-31

Nuclear waste usually concerns public about the impact on public health and the environment. In Mexico, such interest exists, particularly in the Temascalapa Municipality, Mexico where a low level waste repository recognized by the IAEA, has been functioning since 1972. Maquixco repository is located at 42 Kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Although the environmental radiological monitoring records have demonstrated negligible impact on the environment, in 1998 an unusual public polemic on radioactive health effects appeared among Temascalapa residents. This paper presents a research performed during 1998 with the participation of the National Nuclear Research Institute of Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The research design allowed the involvement of local authorities, as a way of stimulate public participation. The research was performed in nine locations of the Temascalapa Municipality, it was focused on public polemics, associated to Maquixco repository as well as trying to identify demographic factors that exert influence on public attitudes. There are also presented the results of personal dosimetry analysis performed on a four hundred residents sample of this Municipality. (Author)

Avaliação do autoconceito no contexto escolar: análise das publicações em periódicos brasileiros

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Adriana Cristina Boulhoça Suehiro

Full Text Available Visando a levantar as publicações dos últimos dez anos referentes à avaliação do autoconceito no contexto escolar, o presente estudo avaliou artigos encontrados nos periódicos classificados como Nacional A pela CAPES. Os dados evidenciaram poucas publicações voltadas para a avaliação do construto. Mesmo os periódicos específicos de Psicologia escolar e educacionalpassaram a publicar artigos sobre o assunto somente a partir de 2005. Nas análises por Região, autoria e amostras, o Sudeste apresentou maior concentração de artigos publicados. Foi identificado o uso mais freqüente da autoria múltipla e a realização de estudos envolvendo crianças. As referências apresentaram mais artigos e livros, com predominância da literatura internacional. Quanto aos instrumentos de avaliação, os mais utilizados foram a Escala Infantil Piers-Harris e a Escala de Autoconceito Infanto-Juvenil EAC-IJ. Por fim, o presente estudo atesta a necessidade de novas publicações voltadas para a avaliação do autoconceito no contexto escolar, guiado pela importância do construto no processo de aprendizagem.

Análisis de los factores que dieron emergencia y desarrollo a la política publica del salario mínimo en Colombia, 1934- 1945

OpenAIRE

González Mejía, Mariana

2013-01-01

Este trabajo de grado es una recopilación bibliográfica de múltiples factores nacionales e internacionales que pueden explicar la emergencia y desarrollo de la política publica del salario mínimo en Colombia. Todo esto esta cubierto bajo la definición de política publica de Raúl Velasquez. La relevancia del trabajo esta en que se hace el estudio de un fenómeno económico desde el lado social.

Estado da Arte da Publicação Nacional e Internacional sobre Neuromarketing e Neuroeconomia

OpenAIRE

Caissa Veloso e Sousa; José Edson Lara; Erich Vale e Sousa; Jefferson Rodrigues Pereira

2016-01-01

Nas últimas três décadas os estudos envolvendo as áreas de Neurociência e Engenharia biomédica e que convergem para a possibilidade de mapeamento e avaliação do cérebro in vivo apresentaram desenvolvimento significativo, possibilitando a emersão, nas ciências sociais, dos campos de pesquisa chamados de Neuromarketing e Neuroeconomia. No presente trabalho foram analisadas as publicações existentes sobre o t...

Editorial: Integridade na pesquisa e ética na publicação

OpenAIRE

Shinkai, Rosemary Sadami Arai

2011-01-01

As exigências de produção intelectual com base nas publicações científicas constituem mecanismos de pressão sobre pesquisadores, docentes e discentes de programas de pós-graduação, uma vez que os indicadores de qualidade acadêmica estão atualmente atrelados à produção bibliográfica tanto no Brasil quanto no exterior. Nesse contexto, tornam-se cada vez mais necessárias políticas editoriais definidas para que o periódico científico exerça seu papel de orientar a comunidade científica sobre boas...

O metifenidato no Brasil: uma década de publicações Methylphenidate in Brazil: a decade of publications

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Francisco Ortega

2013-03-01

Full Text Available O metilfenidato é um estimulante comercializado desde os anos 50 na Suíça, na Alemanha e nos EUA. Mas foi somente a partir de sua associação com o Transtorno do Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH que suas vendas alavancaram, tornando-se o estimulante mais consumido no mundo. Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados de uma análise das publicações brasileiras sobre os usos do metilfenidato no Brasil, ao longo da última década. Com isto, visa compreender como as informações são apresentadas ou omitidas nos diferentes espaços de divulgação impressa. Para tal análise, foram pesquisadas publicações científicas, nos principais periódicos de psiquiatria brasileiros, e reportagens de jornais e revistas nacionais destinados ao público em geral. A pesquisa inclui as publicações do período de 1998 a 2008. Destaca-se como ponto relevante da análise a importante participação dos laboratórios no financiamento dos grupos e pesquisas sobre TDAH. Os achados indicam que a combinação do uso do medicamento com psicoterapias, a dependência do medicamento e a ideia de que existe excesso de prescrição no Brasil são temas controversos nas publicações analisadas.Methylphenidate is frequently associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, though this psychostimulant has been on the market in Switzerland, Germany and the US since the 1950s. After its association with ADHD, Ritalin has become the world's most widely used psychostimulant. The scope of this article is to present the results of an analysis of publications concerning the use of Methylphenidate in Brazil over a decade. It seeks to understand how the information is presented or omitted in the different printed materials. For the analysis, the most important Brazilian psychiatric journals as well as major Brazilian newspapers and magazines for the general public for the 1998-2008 period were consulted. One important point that resulted

O lúdico e o ensino de Geociências no Brasil: principais tendências das publicações na área de Ciências da Natureza

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Danilo Missias Teixeira

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As atividades lúdicas são metodologias de ensino que vêm conquistando espaço no Ensino de Ciências; proporcionam um estudo dos conceitos de forma mais dinâmica e prazerosa. Todavia, quando se trata dos conceitos de Geociências as dificuldades apresentadas pelos professores de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas acabam por fazer com que estes profissionais não elaborem propostas vinculadas a tais conceitos. O objetivo deste trabalho é, portanto, identificar na literatura científica do Ensino de Ciências as principais tendências de pesquisas com características lúdicas que possuam como foco os conceitos de Geociências. Para isso, foi realizada uma busca em: (a banco de Teses e Dissertações da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, e (b periódicos vinculados ao Ensino de Ciências. Como resultado, foi possível observar que as publicações lúdicas no Ensino de Ciências apresentam as seguintes tendências: (1 A maior parte das publicações tem origem na região Sudeste, principalmente nos estados de Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo; (2 O número de publicações é crescente a partir do ano de 2014, com ponto forte no ano 2016; (3 a maior área de conhecimento a apresentar trabalhos é Química, seguida de Biologia; (4 as publicações são, em sua maior parte, experiências realizadas no Ensino Médio, e (5 a modalidade lúdica preferencial é “Jogo Didático”.

DETERMINACION DE FACTORES DE RIESGO DE MOBBING EN LAS EMPRESAS ESTATALES DE LA PROVINCIA DE SANTA ELENA

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Bertha Maggi De Monserrate

2016-04-01

Full Text Available El Mobbing es una patalogía considerada por la Organizacion Mundial de la Salud y la Organizacion Panamericana como una entidad clinica muy violenta que en los ultimos dias ha tomado un auge considerable afectando el desarrollo de las naciones y constituyendo una amenaza para la salud publica a nivel mundial. Este término proviene del vocablo anglosajón que se traduce como acoso moral, psicoterror laboral, violencia psicológica, en resumen una medida de conducta agresiva hacia el trabajador victima, por parte de otro trabajador agresor. Los especialistas coinciden en que se trata de un problema de salud publica, alcanzando el grado de epidemia - pandemia. El objetivo de proyecto es determinar los factores de riesgo que inducen al Mobbing en los trabajadores de los Establecimientos Estatales de la Provincia de Santa Elena, en una muestra al azar de 400 trabajadores. El instrumento de Recoleccion de datos será el Inventario de Acoso Moral de Leyman. El resultado será diagnostico de Mobbing en los trabajadorobjeto de estudio para la intervención psicológica respectiva.

Leader's opinion priority bounded confidence model for network opinion evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Meixia; Xie, Guangqiang

2017-08-01

Aiming at the weight of trust someone given to participate in the interaction in Hegselmann-Krause's type consensus model is the same and virtual social networks among individuals with different level of education, personal influence, etc. For differences between agents, a novelty bounded confidence model was proposed with leader's opinion considered priority. Interaction neighbors can be divided into two kinds. The first kind is made up of "opinion leaders" group, another kind is made up of ordinary people. For different groups to give different weights of trust. We also analyzed the related characteristics of the new model under the symmetrical bounded confidence parameters and combined with the classical HK model were analyzed. Simulation experiment results show that no matter the network size and initial view is subject to uniform distribution or discrete distribution. We can control the "opinion-leader" good change the number of views and values, and even improve the convergence speed. Experiment also found that the choice of "opinion leaders" is not the more the better, the model well explain how the "opinion leader" in the process of the evolution of the public opinion play the role of the leader.

Long-Term Effects of Targeted Killings by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-03

The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and...Tullius Cicero, “Book III,” in De Re Publica [Concerning the ’Republic’ or ’Commonwealth’], trans. Francis Barham (Mohrsville, PA: Kings Academy, 2011...under “Fragments,” accessed January 22, 2015, http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/08_Classics- Library/hellenist-roman/cicero/de-re- publica /de-re

Opinion and Persuasion

OpenAIRE

Ioan Constantin Dima; Daniela Gîfu

2014-01-01

The research proves that persuasion has two types of objectives. Its main objective is the change of opinion. Its fundamental and foundational objectives are the change in attitude, generic conduct and situational behaviour. The main objective controls the fundamental objectives. The change in attitudes and conduct/behaviour is presided by changes in opinion. Persuasion is thus shown to be primarily and ultimately a matter of opinion. As such, its mechanism to manage and generate ...

Publicações acadêmicas de pesquisas em contabilidade sobre terceiro setor no Brasil: análise do período de 2007 a 2009

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Aneide Oliveira Araújo

2011-08-01

Full Text Available O desenvolvimento econômico, social e político mundial impulsionam constantes mudanças no modo de estruturar as organizações, sejam elas com fins lucrativos ou não. O Terceiro Setor tem a função de cumprir um papel social na mudança do ser humano, além realizar os serviços que o Estado não consegue cumprir. Pesquisas são realizadas em diversas áreas, no intuito de melhorar técnicas, identificar insucessos e auxiliar na tomada de decisões, dando uma visão ampla do que acontece sobre determinado setor ou tema. O problema para o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa foi qual a evolução da produção acadêmica da pesquisa contábil no Brasil, relacionada às organizações do Terceiro Setor no período de 2007 a 2009 a partir da pesquisa de Olak, Slomski e Alves, intitulada: As publicações acadêmicas da pesquisa contábil no Brasil, no âmbito das organizações do Terceiro Setor. O objetivo desta pesquisa é comparar se houve evolução acadêmica da pesquisa contábil no Brasil das organizações do Terceiro Setor de 2007 a 2009, tendo como parâmetro a pesquisa realizada entre os anos de 2000 a 2006. A metodologia utilizada foi bibliográfica e exploratória, e quanto à abordagem do problema a análise dos dados coletados é quantitativa. Após a análise dos resultados, conclui-se um aumento considerável nas publicações sobre o tema Terceiro Setor, onde foram identificados 32 trabalhos – 2007 a 2009 – enquanto que no período de 2000 a 2006 foram publicados 38 trabalhos. Tanto na pesquisa anterior como a atual ainda é inexpressivo as publicações em revistas (apenas 2 publicações.

Normas para publicação

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Editores INTERthesis

2014-06-01

• Sociedade e Meio Ambiente Serão aceitas contribuições nas seguintes modalidades: aArtigo: deve ser original, contribuição de caráter acadêmico e/ou técnico-científico destinada a divulgar resultados de pesquisa científica, de natureza empírica, experimental ou conceitual (mínimo de 12 e máximo de 18 páginas, incluindo títulos, resumos, tabelas, figuras, mapas e referências. b Revisão: avaliação crítica sistematizada da literatura sobre determinado assunto; deve-se citar o objetivo da revisão, especificar (em métodos os critérios de busca na literatura e o universo pesquisado, discutir os resultados obtidos e sugerir estudos no sentido de preencher lacunas do conhecimento atual (mínimo de 12 e máximo de 18 páginas, incluindo títulos, resumos, tabelas, figuras, mapas e referências. cEnsaio: reflexão circunstanciada, com redação adequada ao escopo de uma publicação científica, com maior liberdade por parte do autor para defender determinada posição, que vise aprofundar a discussão ou que apresente nova contribuição/abordagem a respeito de tema relevante (mínimo de 12 e máximo de 18 páginas, incluindo títulos, resumos, tabelas, figuras, mapas e referências. d Resenha: análise crítica sobre livro publicado nos últimos dois anos (até 6 páginas, com as mesmas configurações que se solicita ao texto, incluindo referência bibliográfica completa no cabeçalho. Leia mais nas Instruções aos autores: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/interthesis/article/view/31715/25904

Opinion dynamics in activity-driven networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dandan; Han, Dun; Ma, Jing; Sun, Mei; Tian, Lixin; Khouw, Timothy; Stanley, H. Eugene

2017-10-01

Social interaction between individuals constantly affects the development of their personal opinions. Previous models such as the Deffuant model and the Hegselmann-Krause (HK) model have assumed that individuals only update their opinions after interacting with neighbors whose opinions are similar to their own. However, people are capable of communicating widely with all of their neighbors to gather their ideas and opinions, even if they encounter a number of opposing attitudes. We propose a model in which agents listen to the opinions of all their neighbors. Continuous opinion dynamics are investigated in activity-driven networks with a tolerance threshold. We study how the initial opinion distribution, tolerance threshold, opinion-updating speed, and activity rate affect the evolution of opinion. We find that when the initial fraction of positive opinion is small, all opinions become negative by the end of the simulation. As the initial fraction of positive opinions rises above a certain value —about 0.45— the final fraction of positive opinions sharply increases and eventually equals 1. Increased tolerance threshold δ is found to lead to a more varied final opinion distribution. We also find that if the negative opinion has an initial advantage, the final fraction of negative opinion increases and reaches its peak as the updating speed λ approaches 0.5. Finally we show that the lower the activity rate of individuals, the greater the fluctuation range of their opinions.

Citibikes de Colombia. La bicicleta publica: sistema alternativo de transporte para Santafe de Bogota

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Enrique Ramos

2000-12-01

Full Text Available EI objetivo del presente artículo es presentar una nueva propuesta en materia de transporte urbano, teniendo en cuenta el cada vez más restringido uso del automóvil particular y la ineficiencia de los actuales médicos de transporte público. En la primera parte del trabajo se presenta un panorama general de la importancia de los sistemas de transporte en las ciudades y cómo afectan la vida de sus habitantes. También se muestra la situación actual del transite en Bogotá y la necesidad de implantar sistemas alternativos de transporte. En la segunda parte, se propone el diseño de un sistema en línea de alquiler de bicicletas denominado Bicicleta Publica, que sea parte integral del Sistema integrado de transporte para Santafé de Bogotá. Para cumplir con este propósito se presentan los lineamientos generales mediante un plan de negocios, que conduzca a la creación de una empresa que administre el sistema y los servicios conexos. EI plan de negocios pretende cubrir la mayor parte de la ciudad, ubicando estaciones de bicicleta publica en diferentes lugares, principalmente en las áreas de influencia de las universidades, parques, centros comerciales y, en un futuro, en las estaciones de Transmilenio y el Metro. Esto le brinda al usuario la posibilidad de tomar una bicicleta en un punto determinado y retornarla en otra estación diferente a donde la alquiló inicialmente. Las ventajas de este mecanismo son apreciables, ya que no representa complicación alguna para el usuario debido a que puede usar la bicicleta el tiempo deseado sin preocuparse por aspectos tales como el estacionamiento, el clima o las diferentes actividades, para lo cual la bicicleta propia sería un completo inconveniente.

Travel opinion leaders and seekers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yoo, Kyung-Hyan; Gretzel, Ulrike; Zach, Florian

2011-01-01

While opinion leadership has been recognized as important in tourism, there has been very little empirical research investigating the phenomenon. Given new developments in social media technologies, it is especially important to understand whether travel opinion leadership and seeking are drivers...... of specific social media perceptions and behaviours. Based on an online survey of US online travellers, this paper seeks to identify travel opinion leaders and seekers and their characteristics. Further, the research conducted investigated linkages between travel opinion leadership/seeking and travel social...... media use. The findings suggest that travel opinion leadership and seeking are distinct but connected. Both opinion leaders and seekers are technology savvy, young, educated, involved in travel planning and engaged in social media use for travel. What distinguishes opinion leaders is their greater...

Quantification of informed opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmuson, D.M.

1985-01-01

The objective of this session, Quantification of Informed Opinion, is to provide the statistician with a better understanding of this important area. The NRC uses informed opinion, sometimes called engineering judgment or subjective judgment, in many areas. Sometimes informed opinion is the only source of information that exists, especially in phenomenological areas, such as steam explosions, where experiments are costly and phenomena are very difficult to measure. There are many degrees of informed opinion. These vary from the weatherman who makes predictions concerning relatively high probability events with a large data base to the phenomenological expert who must use his intuition tempered with basic knowledge and little or no measured data to predict the behavior of events with a low probability of occurrence. The first paper in this session provides the reader with an overview of the subject area. The second paper provides some aspects that must be considered in the collection of informed opinion to improve the quality of the information. The final paper contains an example of the use of informed opinion in the area of seismic hazard characterization. These papers should be useful to researchers and statisticians who need to collect and use informed opinion in their work

Public opinion polls on nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, E.D.

1980-07-01

Future developments in the attitude towards nuclear energy can not be predicted on account of this public opinion survey. The survey shows just how many different factors influence the attitude towards issues of public and political interst. For this reason in particular, it would be desirable to include such aspects into future surveys. The survey shows that public opinion polls quite often investigate on the ordering party's opinion rather than the pollees opinion. The attempt at making public opinion polls a means of forming political opinions, implying a certain desired opinion to be the majority opinion has brought those polls into disrepute. If real results are not required and manipulation prevails, results are prevented, which must not be blamed on the principle of public opinion polls as such. (orig.) [de

Opinion Integration and Summarization

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yue

2011-01-01

As Web 2.0 applications become increasingly popular, more and more people express their opinions on the Web in various ways in real time. Such wide coverage of topics and abundance of users make the Web an extremely valuable source for mining people's opinions about all kinds of topics. However, since the opinions are usually expressed as…

Um modelo semântico de publicações eletrônicas | A semantic model for electronic publishing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Henrique Marcondes

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Resumo Publicações eletrônicas, apesar dos avanços das Tecnologias da Informação, são ainda calcados no modelo impresso. O formato textual impede que programas possam ser usados para o processamento “semântico” desses conteúdos. È porposto um modelo “semântico” de publicações cientificas eletrônicas, no qual as conclusões contidas no texto do artigo fornecidas por autores e representadas em formato “inteligível” por programas, permitindo recuperação semântica, identificação de indícios de novas descobertas científicas e de incoerências sobre este conhecimento. O modelo se baseia nos conceitos de estrutura profunda, ou semântica, da linguagem (CHOMSKY, 1975, de microestrutura, macroestrutura e superestrutura, (KINTSH, VAN DIJK, 1972, na estrutura retórica de artigos científicos (HUTCHINS, 1977, (GROSS, 1990 e nos elementos de metodologia cientifica, como problema, questão, objetivo, hipótese, experimento e conclusão. Resulta da análise de 89 artigos biomédicos. Foi desenvolvido um protótipo de sistema que implementa parcialmente o modelo. Questionários foram usados com autores para embasar o desenvolvimento do protótipo. O protótipo foi testando com pesquisadores-autores. Foram identificados quatro padrões de raciocínio e encadeamento dos elementos semânticos em artigos científicos. O modelo de conteúdo foi implementado como uma ontologia computacional. Foi desenvolvido e avaliado um protótipo de uma interface web de submissão artigos pelos autores a um sistema eletrônico de publicação de periódicos que implementa o modelo. Palavras-chave publicações eletrônicas; metodológica científica; comunicação científica; representação do conhecimento; ontologias; processamento semântico de conteúdos; e-Ciência Abstract Electronic publishing, although Information Technologies advancements, are still based in the print text model. The textual format prevents programs to semantic process

O virtual e os novos paradigmas da publicação acadêmica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renato Nunes Bittencourt

2012-02-01

Full Text Available O presente artigo analisa as vantagens técnicas das publicações acadêmicas realizadas pelo suporte virtual, em decorrência da dinamicidade das interações intelectuais próprias da dimensão da Internet. Através do enfoque teórico de Pierre Lévy, um dos principais filósofos da dita “Cibercultura”, apresentamos as mudanças de perspectivas epistemológicas operadas pela difusão planetária da Internet e de que maneira tal transformação influenciou no processo de editoração dos periódicos acadêmicos, envolvendo de forma mais precisa a participação plena da comunidade intelectual em torno do processo de realização do veículo de difusão de conhecimento.

Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence

OpenAIRE

Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

2014-01-01

Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years sp...

Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

2014-01-01

Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years spurred by examples where evidence indicated that certain treatments recommended by expert opinions increased death rates. We suggest that scientific evidence should also take priority over expert opinion in the regulation of genetically modified crops (GM). Examples of regulatory data requirements that are not justified based on the mass of evidence are described, and it is suggested that expertise in risk assessment should guide evidence-based regulation of GM crops. PMID:24637724

A qualidade das publicações científicas: considerações de um Editor de Área ao final do mandato Quality of scientific puplications: considerations of an editor at the end of the mandate

OpenAIRE

Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

2009-01-01

A qualidade das publicações científicas vem sendo discutida na atualidade considerando diferentes perspectivas. Neste texto, examina-se alguns dos principais problemas relativos à produção textual em ciência, com ênfase para os considerados de má conduta. Adicionalmente, são apresentadas sugestões para autores, revisores e editores no sentido de evitar condutas inadequadas no processo de publicação de trabalhos científicos.Quality of scientific publications is being currently discussed consid...

Quentin Skinner, Staten og friheten. Oslo: Res Publica, 2011. José Luis Martí and Philip Pettit, A Political Philosophy in Public Life. Civic Republicanism in Zapatero's Spain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010 (Simon Laumann Jørgensen)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Simon Laumann

2012-01-01

Anmeldelse af Quentin Skinner, Staten og friheten, Oslo: Res Publica 2011, 199 NOK & José Luis Martí & Philip Pettit, A Political Philosophy in Public Life. Civic Republicanism in Zapatero’s Spain, Princeton: Princeton University Press 2010, $ 24.95......Anmeldelse af Quentin Skinner, Staten og friheten, Oslo: Res Publica 2011, 199 NOK & José Luis Martí & Philip Pettit, A Political Philosophy in Public Life. Civic Republicanism in Zapatero’s Spain, Princeton: Princeton University Press 2010, $ 24.95...

TOOL: The Open Opinion Layer

OpenAIRE

Masum, Hassan

2002-01-01

Shared opinions drive society: what we read, how we vote, and where we shop are all heavily influenced by the choices of others. However, the cost in time and money to systematically share opinions remains high, while the actual performance history of opinion generators is often not tracked. This article explores the development of a distributed open opinion layer, which is given the generic name of TOOL. Similar to the evolution of network protocols as an underlying layer for many comput...

The need of alkalinity determination in the characterization of rain; Necesidad de la determinacion de la alcalinidad en la caracterizacion de la lluvia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pal Verma, Mahendra [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

1998-01-01

In this paper is presented the alkalinity determination of the carbonic species in the rain waters by the Gran titration method. The alkalinity values obtained by this method in low electric conductivity waters are fairly reliable. Also, the existing studies on the characterization of acid rains, are discussed. [Espanol] En este trabajo se presenta la medicion de la alcalinidad y la determinacion de las especies carbonicas en las aguas de lluvia por el metodo de la titulacion de Gran. Los valores de alcalinidad obtenidos por este metodo en las aguas de baja conductividad electrica son bastante confiables. Asimismo, se discuten los estudios existentes sobre la caracterizacion de la lluvia acida en la republica mexicana.

Opinion competition dynamics on multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, R.; Kouvaris, N. E.; San Miguel, M.; Díaz-Guilera, A.

2017-12-01

Multilayer and multiplex networks represent a good proxy for the description of social phenomena where social structure is important and can have different origins. Here, we propose a model of opinion competition where individuals are organized according to two different structures in two layers. Agents exchange opinions according to the Abrams-Strogatz model in each layer separately and opinions can be copied across layers by the same individual. In each layer a different opinion is dominant, so each layer has a different absorbing state. Consensus in one opinion is not the only possible stable solution because of the interaction between the two layers. A new mean field solution has been found where both opinions coexist. In a finite system there is a long transient time for the dynamical coexistence of both opinions. However, the system ends in a consensus state due to finite size effects. We analyze sparse topologies in the two layers and the existence of positive correlations between them, which enables the coexistence of inter-layer groups of agents sharing the same opinion.

Competing opinion diffusion on social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Haibo

2017-11-01

Opinion competition is a common phenomenon in real life, such as with opinions on controversial issues or political candidates; however, modelling this competition remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap, we propose a model of competing opinion diffusion on social networks taking into account degree-dependent fitness or persuasiveness. We study the combined influence of social networks, individual fitnesses and attributes, as well as mass media on people's opinions, and find that both social networks and mass media act as amplifiers in opinion diffusion, the amplifying effect of which can be quantitatively characterized. We analytically obtain the probability that each opinion will ultimately pervade the whole society when there are no committed people in networks, and the final proportion of each opinion at the steady state when there are committed people in networks. The results of numerical simulations show good agreement with those obtained through an analytical approach. This study provides insight into the collective influence of individual attributes, local social networks and global media on opinion diffusion, and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of competing diffusion behaviours in the real world.

Non-consensus Opinion Models on Complex Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qian; Braunstein, Lidia A.; Wang, Huijuan; Shao, Jia; Stanley, H. Eugene; Havlin, Shlomo

2013-04-01

Social dynamic opinion models have been widely studied to understand how interactions among individuals cause opinions to evolve. Most opinion models that utilize spin interaction models usually produce a consensus steady state in which only one opinion exists. Because in reality different opinions usually coexist, we focus on non-consensus opinion models in which above a certain threshold two opinions coexist in a stable relationship. We revisit and extend the non-consensus opinion (NCO) model introduced by Shao et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 103:01870, 2009). The NCO model in random networks displays a second order phase transition that belongs to regular mean field percolation and is characterized by the appearance (above a certain threshold) of a large spanning cluster of the minority opinion. We generalize the NCO model by adding a weight factor W to each individual's original opinion when determining their future opinion (NCO W model). We find that as W increases the minority opinion holders tend to form stable clusters with a smaller initial minority fraction than in the NCO model. We also revisit another non-consensus opinion model based on the NCO model, the inflexible contrarian opinion (ICO) model (Li et al. in Phys. Rev. E 84:066101, 2011), which introduces inflexible contrarians to model the competition between two opinions in a steady state. Inflexible contrarians are individuals that never change their original opinion but may influence the opinions of others. To place the inflexible contrarians in the ICO model we use two different strategies, random placement and one in which high-degree nodes are targeted. The inflexible contrarians effectively decrease the size of the largest rival-opinion cluster in both strategies, but the effect is more pronounced under the targeted method. All of the above models have previously been explored in terms of a single network, but human communities are usually interconnected, not isolated. Because opinions propagate not

Fomento à publicação científica e proteção do conhecimento científico Financing of the scientific publication and protection of the scientific knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renato Santos de Oliveira Filho

2005-01-01

Full Text Available O trabalho científico atinge sua finalidade maior através de sua publicação. É indiscutível a importância atual das agências de fomento à pesquisa para que se possa desenvolver, finalizar e publicar os trabalhos científicos. As principais agências de fomento abordadas neste artigo são: a Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, o Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq e a Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP. As atividades da CAPES podem ser agrupadas em quatro grandes linhas de ação: a avaliação da pós-graduação stricto sensu; b acesso e divulgação da produção científica; c investimentos na formação de recursos de alto nível no país e exterior e d promoção da cooperação científica internacional. Embora não haja uma linha direta de apoio à publicação científica, praticamente todas as ações da CAPES acabam por contribuir para a concretização de trabalhos científicos e suas publicações. O CNPq tem duas atividades básicas: o fomento à pesquisa e a formação de recursos humanos. Disponibiliza aos pesquisadores auxílio à divulgação e publicação científicas. O auxílio à editoração tem como objetivo apoiar publicações técnico-científicas nacionais, mantidas e editadas por instituição ou sociedade científica brasileira de âmbito nacional. Através do auxílio à promoção de eventos científicos, o CNPq apóia realização no país de congressos, simpósios e outros eventos similares de curta duração. O CNPq disponibiliza a Plataforma Lattes através da qual é possível preencher e acessar o Curriculum Lattes, hoje indispensável aos pesquisadores. A FAPESP financia publicação de periódicos, artigos e livros que exponham resultados originais de pesquisa realizada por pesquisador do Estado de São Paulo. Financia parcialmente a participação de pesquisadores em reuniões científicas ou

Fashion clothing involvement, opinion leadership and opinion seeking amongst black generation Y students / Pulaki Joseph Tshabalala

OpenAIRE

Tshabalala, Pulaki Joseph

2014-01-01

Opinion leadership and opinion seeking are central constructs in academic studies of new product innovations. Fashion opinion leaders as those individuals who accelerate the fashion maturity process by legitimising a fashionable trend and influence other consumers to adopt the new innovative style as a replacement for the current accepted one. Consumers who accept information and adopt new style innovations are called opinion seekers and are important to the diffusion of new fashions because ...

Investigating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Realigning the National Guard Under the Department of Homeland Security

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

and opinions regarding potential drawbacks to date. While the drawbacks noted are significant, we also identified several poten- tial benefits to...defend, as it deals entirely in hypothet- ical situations and is based solely on the opinions and conjecture of those interviewed. Nonetheless, stream...of Staff, Homeland Defense, Joint Publica - tion 3-27, Washington, DC: Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 29, 2013, Ap- pendix A, pp. A-1 – A-6. 9

Plutonium - the ultrapoison? An expert's opinion about an expert opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoll, W.; Becker, K.

1989-01-01

In an expert opinion written by Professor H. Kuni, Marburg, for the North Rhine-Westphalian state government, plutonium is called by far the most dangerous element in the Periodic Table. The Marburg medical expert holds that even improved legal instruments are unable to warrant effective protection of the workers handling this material, in the light of the present standards of industrial safety, because of radiological conditions and measuring problems with plutonium isotopes. In this article by an internationally renowned expert in the field, the ideas expressed in the expert opinion about the toxicity of plutonium, the cause-and-effect relationship in radiation damage by plutonium, and recent findings about the toxicity are subjected to a critical review. On the basis of results of radiation protection and of case studies, the statements in the expert opinion are contrasted with facts which make them appear in a very different light. (orig./RB) [de

The popularization of the nuclear sciences and its impact in the public opinion. Strategies of institutional communication; La divulgacion de las ciencias nucleares y su impacto en la opinion publica. Estrategias de comunicacion institucional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega E, J.M. [ININ, Centro Nuclear ' Dr. Nabor Carrillo Flores' 52750 La Marquesa, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)]. e-mail: jortega@nuclear.inin.mx

2007-07-01

A continuous concern that is presented among those responsible for the exercise of the science and the technology in the Westerner entire world is to give to know the chore of their institutions and individuals. As in the case of several Mexican institutions, and particularly of the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ), one of their rector axes are to diffuse their achievements among the different social actors. A suitable vehicle to impact positively to the public opinion on the advances and tendencies of the nuclear energy it is the popularization of the science. The purpose of the popularization is to place accessible information in hands of the public and, by this, it requires of the use of talkative techniques derived of the journalism and of the public relationships, mainly, besides a basic knowledge of the scientific activity. In simple terms, it is not possible to achieve a positive image of the incomprehensible thing. By this cause, the correct understanding of the current administration of the nuclear energy represents the success or the failure of a strategy of institutional communication. Additionally, it is necessary a deep knowledge of the public opinion, in order to classify it and to have the option of to diversify the messages, of agreement with the characteristics of each segment of the public. Nevertheless their competition, the scientific popularization is centered in the construction of texts and other talkative tools, for that its acting frequently doesn't reach the effective dissemination of the messages. In this context, the use of a strategy of institutional communication represents the multi-functional option: on one hand and derived of the strategic planning, it will establish objectives, the periods of realization of the actions and the form of evaluating their efficiency; and on the other hand, it will allow the incorporation of creative solutions according with the nature of the origin institution, the space

Ética na publicação de pesquisas sobre leishmaniose visceral humana em periódicos nacionais

OpenAIRE

Malafaia, Guilherme; Rodrigues, Aline Sueli de Lima; Talvani, André

2010-01-01

OBJETIVO: Analisar os aspectos éticos dos artigos nacionais sobre leishmaniose visceral humana publicados após a Resolução CNS 196/1996 e analisar a política de periódicos brasileiros sobre ética em pesquisa. MÉTODOS: Estudo exploratório de natureza bibliográfica e documental. A seleção das publicações sobre pesquisas envolvendo seres humanos foi realizada na base SciELO Brasil a partir de 1996. Foram analisadas lacunas relacionadas às políticas editoriais dos periódicos médicos a partir de i...

Fatores de impacto de publicações psiquiátricas e produtividade científica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elkis Helio

1999-01-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Mostrar que alguns índices bibliométricos, como o Fator de Impacto (FI e a análise de citações, são úteis para avaliação da repercussão científica de publicações psiquiátricas. Tais índices podem também ser empregados na avaliação de produtividade científica individual. MÉTODOS: Os fatores de impacto de periódicos psiquiátricos dos anos de 1995 e 1997 foram obtidos através do "Journal of Citation Reports". As curvas de distribuição foram analisadas através de histogramas e gráficos tipo caixa (box-plots. As médias das avaliações de 1995 e 1997 foram comparadas através do teste de soma de postos de Wilcoxon. RESULTADOS: As curvas de distribuição dos fatores de impacto em 1995 e 1997 mostraram não obedecer a uma distribuição normal. A média de ambas as avaliações girou em torno de 1,5. Houve um aumento significativo na média dos fatores de impacto de 1995 para 1997 ( Wilcoxon W=57 p=0,026. Três periódicos mantiveram os seus fatores de impacto várias vezes acima da média geral em ambas as avaliações ("outliers": "Archives of General Psychiatry", "American Journal of Psychiatry" e "Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology". CONCLUSÕES: Os fatores de impacto são os melhores índices para avaliação do desempenho científico de publicações psiquiátricas. No entanto, no caso de avaliações da produtividade científica individual, esta também deve ser avaliada através de uma análise de citações.

Ethical dilemmas in scientific publication: pitfalls and solutions for editors Dilemas éticos na publicação científica: dificuldades e soluções para editores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laragh Gollogly

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Editors of scientific journals need to be conversant with the mechanisms by which scientific misconduct is amplified by publication practices. This paper provides definitions, ways to document the extent of the problem, and examples of editorial attempts to counter fraud. Fabrication, falsification, duplication, ghost authorship, gift authorship, lack of ethics approval, non-disclosure, 'salami' publication, conflicts of interest, auto-citation, duplicate submission, duplicate publications, and plagiarism are common problems. Editorial misconduct includes failure to observe due process, undue delay in reaching decisions and communicating these to authors, inappropriate review procedures, and confounding a journal's content with its advertising or promotional potential. Editors also can be admonished by their peers for failure to investigate suspected misconduct, failure to retract when indicated, and failure to abide voluntarily by the six main sources of relevant international guidelines on research, its reporting and editorial practice. Editors are in a good position to promulgate reasonable standards of practice, and can start by using consensus guidelines on publication ethics to state explicitly how their journals function. Reviewers, editors, authors and readers all then have a better chance to understand, and abide by, the rules of publishing.Editores de revistas científicas precisam estar atentos aos mecanismos de disseminação de condutas inadequadas no processo de publicação. Este artigo fornece definições, formas de documentar a extensão do problema e exemplos de iniciativas para conter fraudes editorias. Fabricação, falsificação, duplicação, autoria-fantasma, autoria concedida, falta de ética na aprovação de manuscritos, não-divulgação desses fatos, publicação "salami", conflitos de interesse, autocitação, submissão e publicação duplicadas, e plágio são problemas comuns. A conduta editorial inadequada

Public opinions and antinuclear contestations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silveira, P.R.N. da

1978-01-01

With the aim of demonstrating the importance of public opinion in the development of a nuclear program, a historical analysis of the different forms of anti-technological reactions is shown, starting with a study of the general aspects of mass communication and public opinion. The world-wide communication strategy adopted in the implantation of nuclear programs is discussed and, finally, the nuclear energy issue and public opinion in Brazil are analysed. (F.E.) [pt

Choice Shift in Opinion Network Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Gabbay, Michael

Choice shift is a phenomenon associated with small group dynamics whereby group discussion causes group members to shift their opinions in a more extreme direction so that the mean post-discussion opinion exceeds the mean pre-discussion opinion. Also known as group polarization, choice shift is a robust experimental phenomenon and has been well-studied within social psychology. In opinion network models, shifts toward extremism are typically produced by the presence of stubborn agents at the extremes of the opinion axis, whose opinions are much more resistant to change than moderate agents. However, we present a model in which choice shift can arise without the assumption of stubborn agents; the model evolves member opinions and uncertainties using coupled nonlinear differential equations. In addition, we briefly describe the results of a recent experiment conducted involving online group discussion concerning the outcome of National Football League games are described. The model predictions concerning the effects of network structure, disagreement level, and team choice (favorite or underdog) are in accord with the experimental results. This research was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Opinion dynamics with confirmation bias.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armen E Allahverdyan

Full Text Available Confirmation bias is the tendency to acquire or evaluate new information in a way that is consistent with one's preexisting beliefs. It is omnipresent in psychology, economics, and even scientific practices. Prior theoretical research of this phenomenon has mainly focused on its economic implications possibly missing its potential connections with broader notions of cognitive science.We formulate a (non-Bayesian model for revising subjective probabilistic opinion of a confirmationally-biased agent in the light of a persuasive opinion. The revision rule ensures that the agent does not react to persuasion that is either far from his current opinion or coincides with it. We demonstrate that the model accounts for the basic phenomenology of the social judgment theory, and allows to study various phenomena such as cognitive dissonance and boomerang effect. The model also displays the order of presentation effect-when consecutively exposed to two opinions, the preference is given to the last opinion (recency or the first opinion (primacy -and relates recency to confirmation bias. Finally, we study the model in the case of repeated persuasion and analyze its convergence properties.The standard Bayesian approach to probabilistic opinion revision is inadequate for describing the observed phenomenology of persuasion process. The simple non-Bayesian model proposed here does agree with this phenomenology and is capable of reproducing a spectrum of effects observed in psychology: primacy-recency phenomenon, boomerang effect and cognitive dissonance. We point out several limitations of the model that should motivate its future development.

Trendwatch combining expert opinion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendrix, E.M.T.; Kornelis, M.; Pegge, S.M.; Galen, van M.A.

2006-01-01

In this study, focus is on a systematic way to detect future changes in trends that may effect the dynamics in the agro-food sector, and on the combination of opinions of experts. For the combination of expert opinions, the usefulness of multilevel models is investigated. Bayesian data analysis is

OpinionSeer: interactive visualization of hotel customer feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yingcai; Wei, Furu; Liu, Shixia; Au, Norman; Cui, Weiwei; Zhou, Hong; Qu, Huamin

2010-01-01

The rapid development of Web technology has resulted in an increasing number of hotel customers sharing their opinions on the hotel services. Effective visual analysis of online customer opinions is needed, as it has a significant impact on building a successful business. In this paper, we present OpinionSeer, an interactive visualization system that could visually analyze a large collection of online hotel customer reviews. The system is built on a new visualization-centric opinion mining technique that considers uncertainty for faithfully modeling and analyzing customer opinions. A new visual representation is developed to convey customer opinions by augmenting well-established scatterplots and radial visualization. To provide multiple-level exploration, we introduce subjective logic to handle and organize subjective opinions with degrees of uncertainty. Several case studies illustrate the effectiveness and usefulness of OpinionSeer on analyzing relationships among multiple data dimensions and comparing opinions of different groups. Aside from data on hotel customer feedback, OpinionSeer could also be applied to visually analyze customer opinions on other products or services.

Images and symbols in the Argentinean public opinion on the nuclear energy and the environment: 'The necessity of a new communicational strategy'; Imagenes y simbolos en la opinion publica argentina sobre la energia nuclear y el medio ambiente: 'La necesidad de una nueva estrategia comunicacional'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chahab, M. [Autoridad Regulatoria Nuclear Argentina, A. Del Libertador 8250, Buenos Aires (Argentina)]. e-mail: mchahab@sede.arn.gov.ar

2006-07-01

The present work expresses some ideas on certain characteristics of the public opinion in Argentina with regard to the perception that one has of the use of the nuclear energy and the care of the environment. The work tried to explain the reasons that although Argentina has a long tradition and a considerable international prestige in the generation, investigation and controls of the nuclear energy, at the same time, the argentinean public opinion has not shown in favor of the development of the same one, perceiving that the use of this energy would bring problems for the environment. In the work it was to explain some of the reasons of this opinion state that takes it as a psychological state of people, and that would have elements, symbols and negative interior images in people that work as strongly ingrained beliefs so that the fellows ponder to the nuclear option as the one that less it is wanted for the development of the country. The idea was also developed that these images and negative symbols toward the development of the nuclear energy could have origin in information of the massive media of communication, among other sources that could be persuading to the public opinion through the repetition and to study in depth of these messages toward psychological states contrary to the development of the nuclear energy. The present work tried to explore and to describe this internal universe of the argentinean public opinion with the objective of outlining mechanisms, strategies or action plans from the institutions linked to the nuclear energy that try to open the internal space of people toward an approach more positive with the perception of the development of the nuclear energy in its links with the environment. On this objective, the present work outlined the idea that the opening of the perceptive mark in people would have that to generate it 'not in opposition to the existent beliefs' but trying to win alternative mental spaces in the people. In

Opinion formation models on a gradient.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael T Gastner

Full Text Available Statistical physicists have become interested in models of collective social behavior such as opinion formation, where individuals change their inherently preferred opinion if their friends disagree. Real preferences often depend on regional cultural differences, which we model here as a spatial gradient g in the initial opinion. The gradient does not only add reality to the model. It can also reveal that opinion clusters in two dimensions are typically in the standard (i.e., independent percolation universality class, thus settling a recent controversy about a non-consensus model. However, using analytical and numerical tools, we also present a model where the width of the transition between opinions scales proportional g(-1/4, not proportional g(-4/7 as in independent percolation, and the cluster size distribution is consistent with first-order percolation.

Cicero and the Mixed Constitution (res publica mixta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitja Sadek

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The story of the mixed constitution is the story of the most stable and just constitution. In theory, this is a combination of at least two of the three elementary forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, with some advantages that elementary forms may lack. It originated with the deliberation of Greek philosophers, who wanted to draw up a constitution safeguarding against the permanent variation of elementary constitutional forms and against coups d’état. For both Plato and Aristotle, the mixed constitution was, above all, the reflection of a search for balance between the two extreme forms of government, direct (Athenian democracy on the one hand and the exclusion of the people from governing on the other. The Greek theory was applied by the historian Polybius to the traditional tripartite constitution of the Roman republic. In his view, the consuls were monarchic elements, the senate an aristocratic element, and the comitia a democratic one. Cicero’s introduction of the idea of the mixed constitution in De re publica can only be understood in the light of the author’s personal situation and contemporary political circumstances. His political engagement at a time when the republic was gradually transforming into a monarchy aimed at restoring the important role of the nobility, represented by the senate. For Cicero, the mixed constitution was mainly an instrument for restoring the lost balance between the consuls, the senate, and the comitia, a last chance to save the decaying republic. The concluding part of the article addresses Alois Riklin’s recent discussion of the modern reception of the mixed constitution idea, which advances the controversial thesis that the paradigm of power division, the foundation of modern representative democracy, originates directly from the mixed constitution.

Percecao da cultura organizacional em instituicoes publicas de saude com diferentes modelos de gestao Percepcion de la cultura organizacional en las instituciones de salud publica con diferentes modelos de gestion Perception of organizational culture in public health facilities with different management models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Gaspar Cruz

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Contexto: o sistema de saude portugues tem vindo a ser palco de reformas constantes sem que se tenham obtido os resultados esperados. Considerada enquanto variavel organizacional, que pode ditar o sucesso de determinada mudanca/reforma, e partindo-se do pressuposto que e gerivel, conhecer a cultura organizacional que predomina nas instituicoes de saude parece ser importante para quem as gere, principalmente perante processos de mudanca, como seja a implementacao de novos modelos de gestao. Objetivo: identificar o tipo de cultura organizacional que predomina em instituicoes publicas de saude com diferentes modelos de gestao. Metodo: estudo de tipo quantitativo e transversal, realizado numa amostra de 671 colaboradores de dez instituicoes de saude com diferentes modelos de gestao: modelo Sector Publico Administrativo (SPA, modelo Entidade Publica Empresarial (EPE e modelo Unidade de Saude Familiar (USF. Para identificar a percecao da cultura organizacional recorreu-se ao Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI, que foi por nos traduzido, adaptado e validado. Resultados: nos modelos SPA e EPE verifica-se um predominio da cultura hierarquica, enquanto no modelo USF sobressai a cultura de cla. Conclusao: a cultura organizacional que prevalece nas instituicoes de saude, nomeadamente a nivel hospitalar (cultura hierarquica, nao parece ser a mais adequada a filosofia subjacente aos novos modelos de gestao e seu funcionamento. Considera-se pertinente alargar o estudo da percecao da cultura organizacional em cada modelo de gestao das instituicoes de saude e relacionar com variaveis de contexto.Contexto: el sistema de salud portugues ha sido el escenario de constantes reformas sin que por ello se hayan obtenido los resultados esperados. Considerada como una variable organizacional, que puede dictar el exito de un determinado cambio o reforma, y partiendo de la suposicion de que es gestionable, conocer la cultura organizacional que predomina en

DARPA Emerging Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

American Security, April 2015), https://www.cnas.org/sites/default/files/ publica tions-pdf/CNAS_Directed_Energy_Weapons_April-2015.pdf. Disclaimer The views...and opinions expressed or implied in SSQ are those of the authors and are not officially sanctioned by any agency or department of the US

[Medical data security in medico-legal opinioning].

Science.gov (United States)

Susło, Robert; Swiatek, Barbara

2005-01-01

Medical data security can be approached in medico-legal opinioning in three main situations: security of medical data, on which the opinion should be based, opinioning itself and whether the medical data security was properly ensured and ensuring medical data security during medico-legal opinion giving. The importance of medical data security, during collecting, processing and storing, as well in medical as in legal institutions, is of major importance for the possibility of providing a proper medico-legal opinion. Theoretically speeking, it is possible to give a proper medico-legal opinion using incorrect data, but the possibility is low. When the expert is given improper, unreadable, incomplete or even bogus in part or in the whole medical data it is extremely possible, that he fails in giving his opinion. The term "medical data" was defined and subsequently there was a brief review of medical data storing methods made and specific threats bound with them, based on modern literature. The authors also pointed out possible methods of preventing the threats. They listed Polish as well as international regulations and laws concerning the problem, accenting the importance of preserving medical data for the purposes of medico-legal opinioning.

Opinion evolution in different social acquaintance networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xi; Zhang, Xiao; Wu, Zhan; Wang, Hongwei; Wang, Guohua; Li, Wei

2017-11-01

Social acquaintance networks influenced by social culture and social policy have a great impact on public opinion evolution in daily life. Based on the differences between socio-culture and social policy, three different social acquaintance networks (kinship-priority acquaintance network, independence-priority acquaintance network, and hybrid acquaintance network) incorporating heredity proportion ph and variation proportion pv are proposed in this paper. Numerical experiments are conducted to investigate network topology and different phenomena during opinion evolution, using the Deffuant model. We found that in kinship-priority acquaintance networks, similar to the Chinese traditional acquaintance networks, opinions always achieve fragmentation, resulting in the formation of multiple large clusters and many small clusters due to the fact that individuals believe more in their relatives and live in a relatively closed environment. In independence-priority acquaintance networks, similar to Western acquaintance networks, the results are similar to those in the kinship-priority acquaintance network. In hybrid acquaintance networks, similar to the Chinese modern acquaintance networks, only a few clusters are formed indicating that in modern China, opinions are more likely to reach consensus on a large scale. These results are similar to the opinion evolution phenomena in modern society, proving the rationality and applicability of network models combined with social culture and policy. We also found a threshold curve pv+2 ph=2.05 in the results for the final opinion clusters and evolution time. Above the threshold curve, opinions could easily reach consensus. Based on the above experimental results, a culture-policy-driven mechanism for the opinion dynamic is worth promoting in this paper, that is, opinion dynamics can be driven by different social cultures and policies through the influence of heredity and variation in interpersonal relationship networks. This

Evaluation of Sealing Materials and Techniques for Installing Quoin and Miter Block Backing Grout

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-01

Structures Branch (CF-M), Facilities Division (CF). At the time of publica - tion of this report, Vicki VanBlaricum was Chief, CF-M; Donald K. Hicks...quickly than preferred. That was indeed the opinion of the ap- plicator. The Redhead literature lists a working time of 5.5 minutes at 80 °F (27 °C...applied. The steel plates were not re-caulked to determine the head pressure resistance. Those pre- sent expressed the opinion that it was difficult to

Survey Methods, Traditional, Public Opinion Polling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elmelund-Præstekær, Christian; Hopmann, David Nicolas; Pedersen, Rasmus Tue

2017-01-01

Traditional public opinion polls are surveys in which a random sample of a given population is asked questions about their attitudes, knowledge, or behavior. If conducted properly, the answers from such surveys are approximately representative of the entire population. Traditional public opinion...... polling is typically based on four different methods of data gathering, or combinations hereof: face-to-face, postal surveys, phone surveys, and web surveys. Given that opinion polls are based on a sample, we cannot be sure that the sample reflects public opinion perfectly, however—even if randomness...... is perfect. Moreover, responses may be highly dependent on the contextual information provided with the question. Also, it may be difficult to capture past or complex causes of attitudes or behavior. In short, surveys are a precise way of measuring public opinion, but they do not come without challenges....

Opinion Change: Information or Partisanship?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Justesen, Mogens K.; Klemmensen, Robert; Leavitt, Thomas

Currently two paradigms seek to explain how voters change their opinion when they are confronted with new information. One school argues that voters are bayesian updaters who rationally change their opinion. Another school argues that voters are inherently biased in their evaluation of new...... information. According to this line of thought voters are more likely to accept information that con_rms their opinion compared to information that contradict their point of view. Using a quasi experiment we investigate the extent to which voters rely on bayesian updating or on motivated reasoning when...

Opinion Summarizationof CustomerComments

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Miao; Wu, Guoshi

Web 2.0 technologies have enabled more and more customers to freely comment on different kinds of entities, such as sellers, products and services. The large scale of information poses the need and challenge of automatic summarization. In many cases, each of the user-generated short comments implies the opinions which rate the target entity. In this paper, we aim to mine and to summarize all the customer comments of a product. The algorithm proposed in this researchis more reliable on opinion identification because it is unsupervised and the accuracy of the result improves as the number of comments increases. Our research is performed in four steps: (1) mining the frequent aspects of a product that have been commented on by customers; (2) mining the infrequent aspects of a product which have been commented by customers (3) identifying opinion words in each comment and deciding whether each opinion word is positive, negative or neutral; (4) summarizing the comments. This paper proposes several novel techniques to perform these tasks. Our experimental results using comments of a number of products sold online demonstrate the effectiveness of the techniques.

A Self-Categorization Explanation for Opinion Consensus Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jinguang; Reid, Scott A.

2013-01-01

The public expression of opinions (and related communicative activities) hinges upon the perception of opinion consensus. Current explanations for opinion consensus perceptions typically focus on egocentric and other biases, rather than functional cognitions. Using self-categorization theory we showed that opinion consensus perceptions flow from…

Anisotropic opinion dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Neirotti, Juan

2016-07-01

We consider the process of opinion formation in a society of interacting agents, where there is a set B of socially accepted rules. In this scenario, we observed that agents, represented by simple feed-forward, adaptive neural networks, may have a conservative attitude (mostly in agreement with B ) or liberal attitude (mostly in agreement with neighboring agents) depending on how much their opinions are influenced by their peers. The topology of the network representing the interaction of the society's members is determined by a graph, where the agents' properties are defined over the vertexes and the interagent interactions are defined over the bonds. The adaptability of the agents allows us to model the formation of opinions as an online learning process, where agents learn continuously as new information becomes available to the whole society (online learning). Through the application of statistical mechanics techniques we deduced a set of differential equations describing the dynamics of the system. We observed that by slowly varying the average peer influence in such a way that the agents attitude changes from conservative to liberal and back, the average social opinion develops a hysteresis cycle. Such hysteretic behavior disappears when the variance of the social influence distribution is large enough. In all the cases studied, the change from conservative to liberal behavior is characterized by the emergence of conservative clusters, i.e., a closed knitted set of society members that follow a leader who agrees with the social status quo when the rule B is challenged.

Opinion evolution in different social acquaintance networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xi; Zhang, Xiao; Wu, Zhan; Wang, Hongwei; Wang, Guohua; Li, Wei

2017-11-01

Social acquaintance networks influenced by social culture and social policy have a great impact on public opinion evolution in daily life. Based on the differences between socio-culture and social policy, three different social acquaintance networks (kinship-priority acquaintance network, independence-priority acquaintance network, and hybrid acquaintance network) incorporating heredity proportion p h and variation proportion p v are proposed in this paper. Numerical experiments are conducted to investigate network topology and different phenomena during opinion evolution, using the Deffuant model. We found that in kinship-priority acquaintance networks, similar to the Chinese traditional acquaintance networks, opinions always achieve fragmentation, resulting in the formation of multiple large clusters and many small clusters due to the fact that individuals believe more in their relatives and live in a relatively closed environment. In independence-priority acquaintance networks, similar to Western acquaintance networks, the results are similar to those in the kinship-priority acquaintance network. In hybrid acquaintance networks, similar to the Chinese modern acquaintance networks, only a few clusters are formed indicating that in modern China, opinions are more likely to reach consensus on a large scale. These results are similar to the opinion evolution phenomena in modern society, proving the rationality and applicability of network models combined with social culture and policy. We also found a threshold curve p v +2p h =2.05 in the results for the final opinion clusters and evolution time. Above the threshold curve, opinions could easily reach consensus. Based on the above experimental results, a culture-policy-driven mechanism for the opinion dynamic is worth promoting in this paper, that is, opinion dynamics can be driven by different social cultures and policies through the influence of heredity and variation in interpersonal relationship networks. This

How Public Opinion is Formed

Science.gov (United States)

Block, Edward M.

1977-01-01

Investigates the evolution of the definition of public relations by examining cultural and personal determinants of public opinion. Outlines functions of communicators and opinionmakers in forming and influencing public opinion. Available from: Public Relations Review, Ray Hiebert, Dean, College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park,…

28 CFR 80.8 - Attorney General opinion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Attorney General opinion. 80.8 Section 80.8 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT OPINION PROCEDURE § 80.8 Attorney General opinion. The Attorney General or his designee shall, within 30 days after...

Identifying Opinion Leaders to Promote Behavior Change

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Thomas W.; Pumpuang, Patchareeya

2007-01-01

This article reviews 10 techniques used to identify opinion leaders to promote behavior change. Opinion leaders can act as gatekeepers for interventions, help change social norms, and accelerate behavior change. Few studies document the manner in which opinion leaders are identified, recruited, and trained to promote health. The authors categorize…

Determination of {sup 210}Pb and other radionuclides; Determinacion de {sup 210}Pb y otros radionuclidos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Orellana, Jordi [Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain)

2012-07-01

smaller masses. Though analytical techniques exist for determining {sup 210}Pb with {beta} spectrometry with proportional counters or liquid scintillation counters its application to the study of sedimentary cores is rare. [Spanish] El {sup 210}Pb es un emisor {beta}-{gamma}, con dos emisiones {beta} de energias E{sub 1max} = 63.1 keV y E{sub 2max} = 16.6 keV y una emision {gamma} de 46.5 keV. El hecho de ser doble emisor permite su determinacion directa mediante diferentes tecnicas, aunque tambien podemos determinar su actividad de forma indirecta mediante su descendiente el {sup 210}Po. La tecnica mas comun y que recomendamos para la determinacion del {sup 210}Pb en sedimentos costeros es la medida de {sup 210}Po por espectrometria {alpha}. En este tipo de registros podemos asumir que el {sup 210}Pb y su descendiente el {sup 210}Po se encuentran en equilibrio secular, aunque existe la posibilidad que en la parte superior del core esto no se cumpla siempre. Las ventajas de esta tecnica son que i) el procesamiento radioquimico de las muestras no es complicado, ii) los espectrometros {alpha} permiten un recuento rapido para obtener una estadistica aceptable (<10%) y iii) la cantidad de muestra que se requiere es pequena (de 0.2 a 1 g). La facilidad del tratamiento de las muestras y la sencillez del tratamiento espectral permite realizar perfiles exploratorios de los cores para determinar la calidad del perfil sedimentario antes del inicio de otros analisis. La medida directa del {sup 210}Pb mediante espectrometria {gamma} con detectores de Ge de alta resolucion es tambien muy comun. Las ventajas de esta tecnica son que: - se trata de una tecnica no destructiva y por tanto permite la reutilizacion de las muestras para otros analisis; - la preparacion de las geometrias de medida es sencilla y no necesita de procesos radioquimicos; - permite medir simultaneamente otros radionuclidos {gamma} de interes ({sup 137}Cs, {sup 241}Am, {sup 226}Ra, {sup 40}K y {sup 234}Th). Asimismo

UK Public Opinion Review - Working Paper - An overview of public opinion polls since the Edward Snowden revelations in June 2013

OpenAIRE

Cable, Jonathan

2015-01-01

This document charts public opinion of the Edward Snowden leaks and associated issues\\ud since June 2013. This includes people’s opinions on surveillance, the intelligence services\\ud and personal privacy. Since the Snowden leaks there have been 38 opinion polls on these\\ud topics concerning public opinion in the UK and conducted by large polling organisations,\\ud such as YouGov, ComRes and Ipsos MORI among others.

[First results of a German second opinion program show high patient satisfaction and large discrepancies between initial therapy recommendations and second opinion].

Science.gov (United States)

Weyerstraß, Jan; Prediger, Barbara; Neugebauer, Edmund; Pieper, Dawid

2018-02-23

Although legally anchored, there are no empirical results from German second opinion programs. In this study, various aspects within a population of a second opinion program are examined. In this study patients were analyzed who sought a second opinion in the period from August 2011 to December 2016. Differences in patient characteristics, differentiated by agreement of first and second opinion, were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Patients' satisfaction and quality of life were examined one, three and six months after obtaining the second opinion. In total, 1,414 patients sought a second opinion. Most frequent medical indications were the knee (38.7 %), the back (26.8 %), the hip (11.7 %), and the shoulder (10.2 %). Except for the indication (p=0.035), no patient characteristic had influence on the conformation of the second opinion. Approximately two out of three initial recommendations were not confirmed by the specialists. 89 % of the patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the second opinion and the service offered. The second opinion offers patients the opportunity to seek an additional independent medical opinion and thus provide support for decision making. Further research is needed to examine the reasons for the high discrepancies between the first and second opinions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Opinion survey on energy and climate in 2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Jean-Philippe

2013-08-01

This issue comments the results of a survey on the opinion of French people on the reality of climate change (for the whole population and with respect to age), on the opinion of French people on nuclear energy (in relationship with the opinion on climate change, globally in terms of benefit or drawback with evolution of the opinion since 1994), on the feeling of having suffered from the cold during the winter of 2012-2013, on the dwelling temperature in winter, and on the opinion on energy price

Applications of flow-networks to opinion-dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Tupikina, Liubov; Kurths, Jürgen

2015-04-01

Networks were successfully applied to describe complex systems, such as brain, climate, processes in society. Recently a socio-physical problem of opinion-dynamics was studied using network techniques. We present the toy-model of opinion-formation based on the physical model of advection-diffusion. We consider spreading of the opinion on the fixed subject, assuming that opinion on society is binary: if person has opinion then the state of the node in the society-network equals 1, if the person doesn't have opinion state of the node equals 0. Opinion can be spread from one person to another if they know each other, or in the network-terminology, if the nodes are connected. We include into the system governed by advection-diffusion equation the external field to model such effects as for instance influence from media. The assumptions for our model can be formulated as the following: 1.the node-states are influenced by the network structure in such a way, that opinion can be spread only between adjacent nodes (the advective term of the opinion-dynamics), 2.the network evolution can have two scenarios: -network topology is not changing with time; -additional links can appear or disappear each time-step with fixed probability which requires adaptive networks properties. Considering these assumptions for our system we obtain the system of equations describing our model-dynamics which corresponds well to other socio-physics models, for instance, the model of the social cohesion and the famous voter-model. We investigate the behavior of the suggested model studying "waiting time" of the system, time to get to the stable state, stability of the model regimes for different values of model parameters and network topology.

Discrepancy and Disliking Do Not Induce Negative Opinion Shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Flache, Andreas; Mäs, Michael

2016-01-01

Both classical social psychological theories and recent formal models of opinion differentiation and bi-polarization assign a prominent role to negative social influence. Negative influence is defined as shifts away from the opinion of others and hypothesized to be induced by discrepancy with or disliking of the source of influence. There is strong empirical support for the presence of positive social influence (a shift towards the opinion of others), but evidence that large opinion differences or disliking could trigger negative shifts is mixed. We examine positive and negative influence with controlled exposure to opinions of other individuals in one experiment and with opinion exchange in another study. Results confirm that similarities induce attraction, but results do not support that discrepancy or disliking entails negative influence. Instead, our findings suggest a robust positive linear relationship between opinion distance and opinion shifts. PMID:27333160

'Quicksand' of public opinion - trust in nuclear after Fukushima

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gieci, Adam; Maly, Stanislav; Palecek, Milos

2012-01-01

The following public opinion surveys are described: public opinion on nuclear power plants by the end of 2010; first public opinion polls after Fukushima in the US, UK and France; and public opinion and the future of nuclear in Japan. The following issues are discussed: Has nuclear any perspective after Fukushima? Will public opinion change after the Fukushima accident like it did after the TMI event? Will public opinion change after the Fukushima accident like it did after the oil spill accident in the Gulf of Mexico? In conclusion the new approaches to the fight for public confidence after Fukushima are described. (orig.)

Discrete Opinion Dynamics on Online Social Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Yan-Li; Bai Liang; Zhang Wei-Ming

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on the dynamics of binary opinions {+1, −1} on online social networks consisting of heterogeneous actors. In our model, actors update their opinions under the interplay of social influence and self- affirmation, which leads to rich dynamical behaviors on online social networks. We find that the opinion leading to the consensus features an advantage of the initially weighted fraction based on actors' strength over the other, instead of the population. For the role of specific actors, the consensus converges towards the opinion that a small fraction of high-strength actors hold, and individual diversity of self-affirmation slows down the ordering process of consensus. These indicate that high-strength actors play an essential role in opinion formation with strong social influence as well as high persistence. Further investigations show that the initial fraction of high-strength actors to dominate the evolution depends on the heterogeneity of the strength distribution, and less high-strength actors are needed in the case of a smaller exponent of power-law distribution of actors' strength. Our study provides deep insights into the role of social influence and self-affirmation on opinion formation on online social networks. (general)

Discrete Opinion Dynamics on Online Social Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yan-Li; Bai, Liang; Zhang, Wei-Ming

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on the dynamics of binary opinions {+1, -1} on online social networks consisting of heterogeneous actors. In our model, actors update their opinions under the interplay of social influence and self- affirmation, which leads to rich dynamical behaviors on online social networks. We find that the opinion leading to the consensus features an advantage of the initially weighted fraction based on actors' strength over the other, instead of the population. For the role of specific actors, the consensus converges towards the opinion that a small fraction of high-strength actors hold, and individual diversity of self-affirmation slows down the ordering process of consensus. These indicate that high-strength actors play an essential role in opinion formation with strong social influence as well as high persistence. Further investigations show that the initial fraction of high-strength actors to dominate the evolution depends on the heterogeneity of the strength distribution, and less high-strength actors are needed in the case of a smaller exponent of power-law distribution of actors' strength. Our study provides deep insights into the role of social influence and self-affirmation on opinion formation on online social networks.

Opinion data mining based on DNA method and ORA software

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Ru-Ya; Wu, Lei; Liang, Xiao-He; Zhang, Xue-Fu

2018-01-01

Public opinion, especially the online public opinion is a critical issue when it comes to mining its characteristics. Because it can be formed directly and intensely in a short time, and may lead to the outbreak of online group events, and the formation of online public opinion crisis. This may become the pushing hand of a public crisis event, or even have negative social impacts, which brings great challenges to the government management. Data from the mass media which reveal implicit, previously unknown, and potentially valuable information, can effectively help us to understand the evolution law of public opinion, and provide a useful reference for rumor intervention. Based on the Dynamic Network Analysis method, this paper uses ORA software to mine characteristics of public opinion information, opinion topics, and public opinion agents through a series of indicators, and quantitatively analyzed the relationships between them. The results show that through the analysis of the 8 indexes associating with opinion data mining, we can have a basic understanding of the public opinion characteristics of an opinion event, such as who is important in the opinion spreading process, the information grasping condition, and the opinion topics release situation.

Determination of selenium and zinc in rat plasma by instrumental neutron activation analysis; Determinacion de selenio y zinc en plasma mediante analisis por activacion neutronica instrumental

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munoz A, Luis

1998-12-31

To evaluate the effects on the thyroid function when simple or multiple zinc, selenium and iodine deficiency are induced, research was carried out in laboratory animals. For simultaneously determining the Zn and Se concentration in rat plasma, an instrumental neutron activation analysis technique was applied. A clean laboratory, was used for the preparation of samples. High purity materials were used for sample collection and storage. Irradiation, decay and counting parameters were optimized to obtain the best sensitivity, accuracy and precision analysis. The Zn and Se concentrations were determined from the peak area of gamma-rays of 1115 and 265 KeV respectively. The analytical methodology used was validated with standard reference materials. The procedure used for the analysis, including the phases of collection, treatment of the samples and analytical determination was considered suitable for the study of trace elements in biological samples, especially plasma. (author). Dissertation to obtain the title of Bachelor in Chemistry; 46 refs., 12 figs., 17 tabs. [Espanol] Con el proposito de evaluar los efectos que se producen sobre la funcion tiroidea cuando se induce un deficiencia simple o multiple de zinc, selenio y yodo, se llevo a cabo una investigacion en animales de experimentacion. Se aplico la tecnica de analises por activacion neutronica instrumental para la determinacion de Se y Zn en plasma de ratas. Se utilizo un laboratorio limpio clase 100 para la preparacion de las muestras y se emplearon materiales de alta pureza para su recoleccion y almacenamiento. Se optimizaron los parametros de irradiacion, decaimiento y conteo de las muestras con el proposito de alcanzar la mejor sensibilidad, exactitud y precision analitica. Las concentracion de Se y Zn fueron determinadas evaluando las areas de los fotopicos de 265 y 1115 KeV respectivamente. El metodo analitico fue validado utilizando materiales de referencia. El procedimiento utilizado para el analisis

Getting a Second Opinion Before Surgery

Science.gov (United States)

... for a second opinion before surgery. When your doctor says you have a health problem that needs surgery, you have the right to: • Know and understand your treatment choices • Have another doctor look at those choices with you (second opinion) • ...

Social opinion dynamics is not chaotic

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Chjan; Zhang, Weituo

2016-08-01

Motivated by the research on social opinion dynamics over large and dense networks, a general framework for verifying the monotonicity property of multi-agent dynamics is introduced. This allows a derivation of sociologically meaningful sufficient conditions for monotonicity that are tailor-made for social opinion dynamics, which typically have high nonlinearity. A direct consequence of monotonicity is that social opinion dynamics is nonchaotic. A key part of this framework is the definition of a partial order relation that is suitable for a large class of social opinion dynamics such as the generalized naming games. Comparisons are made to previous techniques to verify monotonicity. Using the results obtained, we extend many of the consequences of monotonicity to this class of social dynamics, including several corollaries on their asymptotic behavior, such as global convergence to consensus and tipping points of a minority fraction of zealots or leaders.

Are public opinion polls self-fulfilling prophecies?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Rothschild

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Psychologists have long observed that people conform to majority opinion, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the ‘bandwagon effect’. In the political domain people learn about prevailing public opinion via ubiquitous polls, which may produce a bandwagon effect. Newer types of information – published probabilities derived from prediction market contract prices and aggregated polling summaries – may have similar effects. Consequently, polls can become self-fulfilling prophecies whereby majorities, whether in support of candidates or policies, grow in a cascading manner. Despite increased attention to whether the measurement of public opinion can itself affect public opinion, the existing empirical literature is surprisingly limited on the bandwagon effects of polls. To address this gap, we conducted an experiment on a diverse national sample in which we randomly assigned people to receive information about different levels of support for three public policies. We find that public opinion as expressed through polls affects individual-level attitudes, although the size of the effect depends on issue characteristics.

Monte Carlo simulations of a model for opinion formation

Science.gov (United States)

Bordogna, C. M.; Albano, E. V.

2007-04-01

A model for opinion formation based on the Theory of Social Impact is presented and studied by means of numerical simulations. Individuals with two states of opinion are impacted due to social interactions with: i) members of the society, ii) a strong leader with a well-defined opinion and iii) the mass media that could either support or compete with the leader. Due to that competition, the average opinion of the social group exhibits phase-transition like behaviour between different states of opinion.

Public opinion on atomic energy after JCO accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, Koichi; Miyamoto, Sosuke; Ishikawa, Masayori; Shimomura, Hideo; Hori, Hiromoto; Suzuki, Yasuko; Kamise, Yumiko

2004-04-01

JCO accident happened on September 30, 1999. This book deals with the public opinion of atomic energy after JCO accident in Japan and comparison with that of USA and France. The analysis of public opinion structure is also shown. The important chapter is the eighth chapter a n opinion survey after the accident , of which sampling areas consisted of three areas such as JCO accident area, the nuclear power plants and the general cities. The analytical results of data showed that the public opinion in Tokai-mura and Naka-machi, the JCO accident area, indicated moderate opinions. It is the interesting results were obtained that the moderate tendency of opinion was in order JCO accident area, the nuclear power plants and the general cities. People's attitude toward nuclear energy related to their social values. Abstract of JCO accident, JCO structure, the effects of accident on the environment and news stories about the accident are reported. (S.Y.)

Measurements of atmospheric fallout in Argentina; Determinacion del fallout atmosferico en la Republica Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canoba, A C; Lopez, F O; Bruno, H A

1998-11-01

With the purpose of studying the radioactive fallout present in Argentina from atmospheric nuclear explosions tests that have been conducted recently, an environmental monitoring program, outside the influence of nuclear facilities of Argentina, was undertaken during 1996 and 1997. The levels of Cs-137 and Sr-90 were analysed in samples of air, deposited material (rainwater), milk, an average meal of a standard man and food. During this period, a total of 630 radiochemical analysis were performed on 325 samples of the different matrices described. The concentration levels of the radionuclides analysed in the different environmental matrices are presented and are compared with the values obtained in the environmental monitoring program done during the period 1960-1981. (author) 3 refs., 9 tabs. [Espanol] Con el proposito de estudiar la precipitacion radiactiva presente en la Republica Argentina, debido al ensayo de armas nucleares en la atmosfera realizadas en el pasado, se implemento el muestreo ambiental fuera de la zona de influencia de las instalaciones nucleares de la Argentina durante los anios 1996 y 1997. Se determinaron las concentraciones de cesio 137 y estroncio 90 en muestras de aire, deposito de material radiactivo (agua de lluvia), leche, dieta promedio de un individuo estandar y en alimentos varios. Se realizaron, durante el periodo mencionado, un total de 630 determinaciones radioquimicas sobre 325 muestras de las diferentes matrices mencionadas. Se presentan los niveles de concentracion de los radionucleidos analizados en las distintas matrices ambientales y se comparan los valores obtenidos en los monitoreos realizados durante el periodo 1960-1981. (autor)

OPINION GIVING SERVICES AS A SOURCE OF CONSUMER INFORMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Wyrwisz

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The goal of the article is to determine the place and role of opinion giving services in consumer behaviours. The discussion is conducted around the thesis saying that in the information society, opinion giving services constitute an important source of information for consumers in the process of selecting and purchasing both products and services. In the article the research approach based on the theoretical and empirical examinations was presented. The discussion starts with presenting a defi nition and types of opinion giving services which constitute the base for the characteristics of activities and usefulness of web portals collecting consumers opinions. The use of opinion giving services provided in the purchase process was evaluated. An essential interest in other consumers opinions, placed in Internet, was observed together with perceiving them as credible. Positive assessment of the functionality of opinion giving services was noticed.

A qualidade das publicações científicas: considerações de um Editor de Área ao final do mandato Quality of scientific puplications: considerations of an editor at the end of the mandate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

2009-03-01

Full Text Available A qualidade das publicações científicas vem sendo discutida na atualidade considerando diferentes perspectivas. Neste texto, examina-se alguns dos principais problemas relativos à produção textual em ciência, com ênfase para os considerados de má conduta. Adicionalmente, são apresentadas sugestões para autores, revisores e editores no sentido de evitar condutas inadequadas no processo de publicação de trabalhos científicos.Quality of scientific publications is being currently discussed considering different perspectives. In this text, we examine some of the main problems concerning textual production in science, emphasizing those considered of bad behaviors. Additionally, we present suggestions for authors, reviewers and editors in order to avoid misconducts in the publication process of scientific papers.

THE LAWYER`S OPINION IN MODERN CIVIL LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Evgenyevna Dubovaya

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose to define value of freedom and fight of opinions, views and lawyer’s positions in development of science of civil law.Methodology theoretical analysis, inductive and deductive methods.Results It is established that fight of opinions, collision of various positions allows to understand more deeply the discussed problem, to come nearer to truth. So, free expression of opinions is the engine of development of civil law.Practical implications introduction in educational process on disciplines of civil jurisprudence, further research of fight of opinions in civil law.Tendencies of the present stage of development of legal system are characterized by aspiration to fix in the Russian legal system of the beginning of private law, where at the head of a corner – people as a legal entity. Opinions of lawyers on various legal problems, and the attitudes towards these opinions are subject to considerable dynamics. The centuries-old history of development of the right showed that fight of opinions, collision of various positions allows to understand more deeply the discussed problem, to come nearer to truth. The modern civil law widely uses a method of comparative jurisprudence, studying experience of the civilized countries which promoted in development of the civil legislation.

Continuous Opinion Dynamics Under Bounded Confidence:. a Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, Jan

Models of continuous opinion dynamics under bounded confidence have been presented independently by Krause and Hegselmann and by Deffuant et al. in 2000. They have raised a fair amount of attention in the communities of social simulation, sociophysics and complexity science. The researchers working on it come from disciplines such as physics, mathematics, computer science, social psychology and philosophy. In these models agents hold continuous opinions which they can gradually adjust if they hear the opinions of others. The idea of bounded confidence is that agents only interact if they are close in opinion to each other. Usually, the models are analyzed with agent-based simulations in a Monte Carlo style, but they can also be reformulated on the agent's density in the opinion space in a master equation style. The contribution of this survey is fourfold. First, it will present the agent-based and density-based modeling frameworks including the cases of multidimensional opinions and heterogeneous bounds of confidence. Second, it will give the bifurcation diagrams of cluster configuration in the homogeneous model with uniformly distributed initial opinions. Third, it will review the several extensions and the evolving phenomena which have been studied so far, and fourth it will state some open questions.

Opinion Dynamics with Heterogeneous Interactions and Information Assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Mir Tabatabaei, Seydeh Anahita

2013-01-01

In any modern society, individuals interact to form opinions on various topics, including economic, political, and social aspects. Opinions evolve as the result of the continuous exchange of information among individuals and of the assimilation of information distributed by media. The impact of individuals' opinions on each other forms a network,…

Conciliatory and contradictory dynamics in opinion formation

OpenAIRE

Boudin , Laurent; Mercier , Aurore; Salvarani , Francesco

2012-01-01

International audience; In this article, we study, via a kinetic description, the effect of different psychologies on the evolution of the opinion with respect to a binary choice, in a closed group. We show that the interaction between individuals with different reactions regarding the exchange of opinion induces some phenomena, such as the concentration of opinions or the cyclic-in-time behaviour of the distribution function. We provide an existence and uniqueness result for the model and nu...

Analysis and application of opinion model with multiple topic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Fei; Liu, Yun; Wang, Liang; Wang, Ximeng

2017-08-01

To reveal heterogeneous behaviors of opinion evolution in different scenarios, we propose an opinion model with topic interactions. Individual opinions and topic features are represented by a multidimensional vector. We measure an agent's action towards a specific topic by the product of opinion and topic feature. When pairs of agents interact for a topic, their actions are introduced to opinion updates with bounded confidence. Simulation results show that a transition from a disordered state to a consensus state occurs at a critical point of the tolerance threshold, which depends on the opinion dimension. The critical point increases as the dimension of opinions increases. Multiple topics promote opinion interactions and lead to the formation of macroscopic opinion clusters. In addition, more topics accelerate the evolutionary process and weaken the effect of network topology. We use two sets of large-scale real data to evaluate the model, and the results prove its effectiveness in characterizing a real evolutionary process. Our model achieves high performance in individual action prediction and even outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Meanwhile, our model has much smaller computational complexity. This paper provides a demonstration for possible practical applications of theoretical opinion dynamics.

Publicação Eletrônica: a linguagem do e-book na hipermídia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Carvalho Monteiro Ferreira

2013-12-01

Full Text Available O e-Book é um ambiente virtual e os formatos ePub e Daisy são um conjunto de arquivos interconectados, com potencial de utilização de fontes externas de informação, o que os tornam uma hipermídia. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar os primeiros resultados sobre a utilização do quadro metodológico de planejamento do conteúdo audiovisual na edição de e-Book. Verificou-se que, assim como na web, os formatos ePub e Daisy, e em especial o primeiro, possui o potencial de utilização de recursos audiovisuais que podem fazer do resultado extrapolar a linguagem tradicional do livro impresso, tornando-os multimídia. Surge então o questionamento sobre o papel do editor de e-Book enquanto publicação eletrônica baseado no hipertexto, que assemelha-se com o de um roteirista para hipermídia.

Rise of an alternative majority against opinion leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Tucci, K.; González-Avella, J. C.; Cosenza, M. G.

2016-03-01

We investigate the role of opinion leaders or influentials in the collective behavior of a social system. Opinion leaders are characterized by their unidirectional influence on other agents. We employ a model based on Axelrod's dynamics for cultural interaction among social agents that allows for non-interacting states. We find three collective phases in the space of parameters of the system, given by the fraction of opinion leaders and a quantity representing the number of available states: one ordered phase having the state imposed by the leaders; another nontrivial ordered phase consisting of a majority group in a state orthogonal or alternative to that of the opinion leaders, and a disordered phase, where many small groups coexist. We show that the spontaneous rise of an alternative group in the presence of opinion leaders depends on the existence of a minimum number of long-range connections in the underlying network. This phenomenon challenges the common idea that influentials are fundamental to propagation processes in society, such as the formation of public opinion.

Effects of Groups’ Spatial Segregation on Processes of Opinion Polarization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feliciani, Thomas; Flache, Andreas

2015-01-01

We contribute to the literature about processes of opinion formation, investigating theoretically how the spatial segregation of two groups affects opinion polarization as a possible outcome of opinion formation. We focus on two processes of opinion polarization (negative influence and persuasive

More than 30 years of opinion of French people on nuclear risks - Special release of the 2012 IRSN opinion survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Jammal, Marie-Helene; Rollinger, Francois; Mur, Emmanuelle; Schuler, Matthieu; Tchernia, Jean-Francois

2013-01-01

Illustrated by many graphs and tables, this report comments and discusses the evolution of opinion surveys performed in France on the perception of nuclear risks through thirty annual IRSN opinion surveys. It appears that the opinion on nuclear is rather steady, and that French people have a rather rational perception of risk hierarchy. The first part outlines that unemployment is the main concern for French people, and that environmental concerns depend on current events. The second part analyses the perception of the nuclear risk with respect to other societal concerns and to other risks, and discusses the evolution of opinion from a quantitative to a qualitative sensitivity. The third part addresses the representations people have of nuclear activities and how they challenge the reality: perception of nuclear plants and of radioactive wastes, fear of a serious accident. The last part deals with issues related to responsibilities, abilities and governance: how actors of nuclear risk management are perceived, and expectations in terms of transparency and opinion plurality

On the opinion formation of mobile agents with memory

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunhong; Liu, Qipeng; Wang, Zhenling; Zhang, Siying

2018-02-01

This paper studies the opinion formation problem in a group of mobile agents using a multi-agent modeling method. Suppose that all agents move in a two-dimensional space following a certain rule. The interaction range of each agent is determined by its physical location and its opinion similarity with other agents. Moreover, agents have memory of the opinions of their previous interactive neighbors. We investigate the influence of three factors on the formation of group opinion: moving probability, interactive radius, and population density. Using simulations, we find that an opinion consensus can be achieved easily under a small moving probability and a small interactive radius, which is a relatively counterintuitive phenomenon. We also find that a large interactive radius or the model with memory can facilitate the convergence of opinions in a group to either consensus or clusters.

Topological evolution of the internet public opinion

Science.gov (United States)

Lian, Ying; Dong, Xuefan; Liu, Yijun

2017-11-01

The Internet forms a platform featured with high liquidity, accessibility and concealment for the public to express their respective views on certain events, thus leading to a large network graph. Due to such environmental features, the public opinions formed on the Internet are different from those on traditional media. Studies focusing on the former area are relatively fewer. In addition, the majority of existing methods proposed for constructing the Internet public opinion topological structure are based on the classic BA model, thus resulting in drawbacks in the range of simplicity and a lack of strict deduction. Therefore, based on the complex networks theory, a model applied to describe the topology of the Internet public opinion is deduced with rigorous derivation in the present paper. Results show that the proposed expression could well reflect the degree distribution of Internet public opinion which follows an analogous power law distribution, and that the peak value and the degree distribution are not correlative to each other. Moreover, it has been also proved that compared to the classic BA model, the proposed model has better accuracy performance in the description of the degree distribution of the Internet public opinion, which contributes to future studies focusing on this area. Thus, an attempt has been made to give the first theoretical description of the Internet public opinion topology in the present paper. In addition, it is also the first paper focusing on the solution of networks degree distribution with an exponential growth form.

Caracterização das publicações periódicas em fonoaudiologia e neurociências: estudo sobre os tipos e temas de artigos e visibilidade na área de linguagem Periodicals' profile in speech-language and hearing pathology and neurosciences: study on types and headers of the language area articles, and their visibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandrelli Virginio de Vasconcelos

2009-03-01

Full Text Available TEMA: caracterização das publicações periódicas em Fonoaudiologia e Neurociências: estudo sobre os tipos e temas de artigos e visibilidade na área de linguagem. OBJETIVO: caracterizar as publicações periódicas em Fonoaudiologia estudando os artigos da área de Linguagem relacionados às Neurociências no período de 2002 a 2006. CONCLUSÃO: ficou evidente um aumento crescente de publicações em Linguagem e em Neurociências nos últimos cinco anos. Contudo, o número de publicações em determinados temas como a Dislexia, a Doença de Alzheimer e o Transtorno do Déficit de Atenção / Hiperatividade ainda mostra-se resumido.BACKGROUND: periodicals' profile in speechlanguage and hearing pathology and neurosciences: study on types and headers of the language articles, and their visibility. PURPOSE: to characterize periodicals in SpeechLanguage Pathology and Hearing, studying the articles of the Language's area related to Neurosciences in the period from 2002 to 2006. CONCLUSION: increasing publication in Language and Neurosciences in the last five years has been evident. However, number of publications in certain headers, such as dyslexia, Alzheimer's disease and AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are still abridged.

Objectification of injuries and consequences in expert medical opinions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miran Vrabl

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Only unequivocal evidence confirming the total extent of injury. Biomechanical analysis, objectifications of permanent consequences after injury and objectification, whether such injuries influence life activities of an injured person, should be the basics for preparation of expert medical opinion. To make a necessary distinction from the previous injuries or illnesses that might have influence on current health state of a patient and its treatment, analysis of all medical records of a certain injured person is needed. Therefore this are inevitable steps in preparation of an expert medical opinion. In cases when medical opinion should explain disability of a patient as a consequence of a certain contractual relationship, the contract should be taken into consideration when such opinions is prepared.Methods: 500 opinions have been retrospectively analysed, selected at random out of 3452 opinions, submitted in claims for damages at Zavarovalnica Maribor, d. d., in the period from January 2001 until January 2006. Thirteen typical data have been analysed and evaluated on the basis of objective evidences.Results: On the basis of analyses it has been established that there is a great difference between principles of objectification and the data in analysed opinions. It has been noticed the most obvious deviation in biomechanical analysis (95 %, in records of decreased life activities (90 %, in all medical records of an injured person (65 % and in objectification of permanent consequences after injuries (55 %.Conclusions: As results of analysis demonstrate, there are significant differences in preparations of expert and medical opinions in Slovenia, particularly when basic principles are analysed that need to be considered when writing such opinions. Irrational avoidance of basic principle of objectification, nomination of experts without licence in certain fields of medicine, avoidance of objectification of subjective statements of injured

Perception of risks by opinion leaders 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The authors report a survey made just after the Fukushima accident on a panel of opinion leaders (belonging to political, economical or media sector) in order to compare their perception of risks with that of the public. The questions addressed the perception of risks, the role of scientific experts, the usefulness and breaks on the diffusion of expertise results, the perception of pluralist bodies, and the Fukushima accident. The answers are analysed and discussed with respect to fifteen hazardous situations, to their opinion of expertise, and to their opinion on safety audit and information

cultural variations regarding the nature and determinants of opinion ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

p2333147

Keywords: Opinion leaders, cultural influence, diffusion and determinants of opinion leadership. ABSTRACT. This paper compares the findings from different countries regarding the nature and determinants of opinion leadership. ..... agricultural production among male and female farmers of the Kusenge. Parish in the ...

Social influence and the collective dynamics of opinion formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Moussaïd, Mehdi; Kämmer, Juliane E; Analytis, Pantelis P; Neth, Hansjörg

2013-01-01

Social influence is the process by which individuals adapt their opinion, revise their beliefs, or change their behavior as a result of social interactions with other people. In our strongly interconnected society, social influence plays a prominent role in many self-organized phenomena such as herding in cultural markets, the spread of ideas and innovations, and the amplification of fears during epidemics. Yet, the mechanisms of opinion formation remain poorly understood, and existing physics-based models lack systematic empirical validation. Here, we report two controlled experiments showing how participants answering factual questions revise their initial judgments after being exposed to the opinion and confidence level of others. Based on the observation of 59 experimental subjects exposed to peer-opinion for 15 different items, we draw an influence map that describes the strength of peer influence during interactions. A simple process model derived from our observations demonstrates how opinions in a group of interacting people can converge or split over repeated interactions. In particular, we identify two major attractors of opinion: (i) the expert effect, induced by the presence of a highly confident individual in the group, and (ii) the majority effect, caused by the presence of a critical mass of laypeople sharing similar opinions. Additional simulations reveal the existence of a tipping point at which one attractor will dominate over the other, driving collective opinion in a given direction. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms of public opinion formation and managing conflicting situations in which self-confident and better informed minorities challenge the views of a large uninformed majority.

Public opinion on water reuse options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruvold, W.H.

1988-01-01

Public policy on waste water reuse options must be informed by public opinion because it is the public who must pay the cost of developing the option and who will be served by the option in the future. For public policy on reuse, guidance for innovative reuse is not as simple as first believed. It seems that public opinion regarding actual community reuse options is affected by the linkage of several factors, including water conservation, health protection, treatment and distribution costs, and environmental enhancement. Probability sampling was used in 7 studies to select respondents who were queried regarding their opinions on various reclaimed water uses such as ranging from cooling tower water to full domestic use. These 7 are briefly reviewed

Conformity, Anticonformity and Polarization of Opinions: Insights from a Mathematical Model of Opinion Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyll Krueger

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Understanding and quantifying polarization in social systems is important because of many reasons. It could for instance help to avoid segregation and conflicts in the society or to control polarized debates and predict their outcomes. In this paper, we present a version of the q-voter model of opinion dynamics with two types of responses to social influence: conformity (like in the original q-voter model and anticonformity. We put the model on a social network with the double-clique topology in order to check how the interplay between those responses impacts the opinion dynamics in a population divided into two antagonistic segments. The model is analyzed analytically, numerically and by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show that the system undergoes two bifurcations as the number of cross-links between cliques changes. Below the first critical point, consensus in the entire system is possible. Thus, two antagonistic cliques may share the same opinion only if they are loosely connected. Above that point, the system ends up in a polarized state.

Drivers of going concern audit opinions: empirical evidence from Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suroto Lina Rahmawati

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The study of the going concern audit opinions is an important component within the enhancement of firms’ responsibility and stewardship. A going concern audit opinions implies that the independent auditor doubt the future of the firm. This study aimed to examine the drivers of the likelihood of the going-concern audit opinions. Previous studies revealed that there were inconsistent drivers influencing the going-concern audit opinion. This study shows similar results to prior works. The result indicates that firms’ financial condition and profitability significantly affect the likelihood of the going-concern audit opinion, while firms’ size and leverage are not the determinants of the intensity of the going concern audit opinion.

EMOTION BASED ANALYSIS OF TURKISH CUSTOMER OPINIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Kahya-Ozyirmidokuz

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Firms should manage their customer feedback so they can adapt to rapid changes in the environment. They have to interact with their customers to understand them and to turn their opinions into useful knowledge. Understanding customers' feelings about a product gives firmS competitive advantage through continuous market monitoring. They can thus generate improving strategies about the system to change perceptions that drive the behaviours of the customers. Firms can view their customers' happiness as a key tool for decision-making. This study calculates online product happiness by using the average emotional valence values of customer opinions. We analyse Turkish opinions about a product over a period of 3 months. We find the averages of the online emotional valence values of the product per month. We also determined the increase in happiness over time. According to the opinion valence values, we found the relations between the documents.

Opinion Analysis on Rohingya using Twitter Data

Science.gov (United States)

Rochmawati, N.; Wibawa, S. C.

2018-04-01

Rohingya is an ethnicity in Myanmar. Recently there was a conflict in the area between the Rakhine population and the Myanmar army. Many opinions are pro and contra in addressing this issue. There is a critic, there is a support and there is a neutral. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the world public opinion about the case of Rohingya. The opinion data to be processed is taken from twitter. the reason for using twitter is because twitter has become one of the popular social media and includes the most frequently visited social media. Therefore, it would be a lot of data that can be taken from twitter to be processed in the process of sentiment analysis. The grouping of opinions will be divided into 3 parts of positive, negative and neutral. the method used in grouping is the naïve Bayes method.

Correlation between information diffusion and opinion evolution on social media

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Fei; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Zhenjiang

2014-12-01

Information diffusion and opinion evolution are often treated as two independent processes. Opinion models assume the topic reaches each agent and agents initially have their own ideas. In fact, the processes of information diffusion and opinion evolution often intertwine with each other. Whether the influence between these two processes plays a role in the system state is unclear. In this paper, we collected more than one million real data from a well-known social platform, and analysed large-scale user diffusion behaviour and opinion formation. We found that user inter-event time follows a two-scaling power-law distribution with two different power exponents. Public opinion stabilizes quickly and evolves toward the direction of convergence, but the consensus state is prevented by a few opponents. We propose a three-state opinion model accompanied by information diffusion. Agents form and exchange their opinions during information diffusion. Conversely, agents' opinions also influence their diffusion actions. Simulations show that the model with a correlation of the two processes produces similar statistical characteristics as empirical results. A fast epidemic process drives individual opinions to converge more obviously. Unlike previous epidemic models, the number of infected agents does not always increase with the update rate, but has a peak with an intermediate value of the rate.

Correlation between information diffusion and opinion evolution on social media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong, Fei; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Zhenjiang

2014-01-01

Information diffusion and opinion evolution are often treated as two independent processes. Opinion models assume the topic reaches each agent and agents initially have their own ideas. In fact, the processes of information diffusion and opinion evolution often intertwine with each other. Whether the influence between these two processes plays a role in the system state is unclear. In this paper, we collected more than one million real data from a well-known social platform, and analysed large-scale user diffusion behaviour and opinion formation. We found that user inter-event time follows a two-scaling power-law distribution with two different power exponents. Public opinion stabilizes quickly and evolves toward the direction of convergence, but the consensus state is prevented by a few opponents. We propose a three-state opinion model accompanied by information diffusion. Agents form and exchange their opinions during information diffusion. Conversely, agents' opinions also influence their diffusion actions. Simulations show that the model with a correlation of the two processes produces similar statistical characteristics as empirical results. A fast epidemic process drives individual opinions to converge more obviously. Unlike previous epidemic models, the number of infected agents does not always increase with the update rate, but has a peak with an intermediate value of the rate. (paper)

Public opinion factors regarding nuclear power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benson, B.

1991-12-31

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclear power, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclear power. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclear power industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclear power as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclear power, and that, to the degree that the nuclear power industry`s practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible.

Public opinion factors regarding nuclear power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benson, B.

1991-01-01

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclear power, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclear power. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclear power industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclear power as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclear power, and that, to the degree that the nuclear power industry's practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible.

Public opinion factors regarding nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, B.

1991-01-01

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclear power, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclear power. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclear power industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclear power as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclear power, and that, to the degree that the nuclear power industry's practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible

the nature and determinants of opinion leadership in lesotho

African Journals Online (AJOL)

p2333147

opinion leadership, 39 percent have been nominated and thus qualify ... It obviously cannot be ruled out that with increased consultations more fields of ... 30. 40. 50. 60. 70. 80. 90. 100. %. >3. 3. 2. 1. Opinion leadership (No. of nominations) .... Frequency distribution per gender. Male. Female. Total. Opinion leadership.

Discrete opinion dynamics on networks based on social influence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Haibo; Wang Xiaofan

2009-01-01

A model of opinion dynamics based on social influence on networks was studied. The opinion of each agent can have integer values i = 1, 2, ..., I and opinion exchanges are restricted to connected agents. It was found that for any I ≥ 2 and self-confidence parameter 0 ≤ u i ) of the population that hold a given opinion i is a martingale, and the fraction q i of opinion i will gradually converge to (q i ). The tendency can slow down with the increase of degree assortativity of networks. When u is degree dependent, (q i ) does not possess the martingale property, however q i still converges to it. In both cases for a finite network the states of all agents will finally reach consensus. Further if there exist stubborn persons in the population whose opinions do not change over time, it was found that for degree-independent constant u, both q i and (q i ) will converge to fixed proportions which only depend on the distribution of initial obstinate persons, and naturally the final equilibrium state will be the coexistence of diverse opinions held by the stubborn people. The analytical results were verified by numerical simulations on Barabasi-Albert (BA) networks. The model highlights the influence of high-degree agents on the final consensus or coexistence state and captures some realistic features of the diffusion of opinions in social networks

Sentiment Analysis and Opinion Mining

CERN Document Server

Liu, Bing

2012-01-01

Sentiment analysis and opinion mining is the field of study that analyzes people's opinions, sentiments, evaluations, attitudes, and emotions from written language. It is one of the most active research areas in natural language processing and is also widely studied in data mining, Web mining, and text mining. In fact, this research has spread outside of computer science to the management sciences and social sciences due to its importance to business and society as a whole. The growing importance of sentiment analysis coincides with the growth of social media such as reviews, forum discussions

Tropospheric ozone. Formation, properties, effects. Expert opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elstner, E.F.

1996-01-01

The formation and dispersion of tropospheric ozone are discussed only marginally in this expert opinion; the key interest is in the effects of ground level ozone on plants, animals, and humans. The expert opinion is based on an analysis of the available scientific publications. (orig./MG) [de

Impotent science, omnipotent public opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillaume, Nathalie

2001-01-01

Full text: Nowadays public opinion has become prominent when political leaders have themselves to vote. Even scientific or economical decisions are often taken more in accordance to these trends than to rational reasons. For a long time it has been widely accepted that a clear and pedagogical explanation was enough to make scientific issues understandable. For nearly 20 years, a true scientific and professional communication has been developed in France towards the general public to make nuclear industry acceptable. Nevertheless today, we notice that the acceptance of the nuclear option has lost many points in public polls. An accident, in the nuclear fields or in another fields, in one point or another of the planet can ruin the work of many years in communication. 1) In order to draw a more precise picture of public opinion, to follow these trends and make them more understandable, the CEA communication direction has built a 'public opinion barometer' dealing with the following fields: - Information on nuclear fields; - The nuclear actors; - The future of nuclear option; - Radioactive waste; - Risks perception; - Nuclear energy and other sources of energy; - Economy and nuclear power; - Image of nuclear. 2) Come and visit our labs to make up your own opinion: As communication methods through the classical media has, up to now, failed in changing public opinion regarding nuclear, the decision was made to offer to people the opportunity to meet searchers at work.400 'Communicating researchers' to day are volunteers to receive the public .They are trained to be able to explain their work to non specialists; they receive documents dealing with current events to help them answer to questions and they are invited to an annual general meeting (last one in January 2001). 85 laboratories are opened (civil and military ones). In 2000, nearly 10,000 visitors have come to us. In 2001, new additional operations will be lead toward young people, teachers, associations. (author)

Discrete opinion dynamics on networks based on social influence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu Haibo; Wang Xiaofan [Complex Networks and Control Lab, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2009-06-05

A model of opinion dynamics based on social influence on networks was studied. The opinion of each agent can have integer values i = 1, 2, ..., I and opinion exchanges are restricted to connected agents. It was found that for any I {>=} 2 and self-confidence parameter 0 {<=} u < 1, when u is a degree-independent constant, the weighted proportion (q{sub i}) of the population that hold a given opinion i is a martingale, and the fraction q{sub i} of opinion i will gradually converge to (q{sub i}). The tendency can slow down with the increase of degree assortativity of networks. When u is degree dependent, (q{sub i}) does not possess the martingale property, however q{sub i} still converges to it. In both cases for a finite network the states of all agents will finally reach consensus. Further if there exist stubborn persons in the population whose opinions do not change over time, it was found that for degree-independent constant u, both q{sub i} and (q{sub i}) will converge to fixed proportions which only depend on the distribution of initial obstinate persons, and naturally the final equilibrium state will be the coexistence of diverse opinions held by the stubborn people. The analytical results were verified by numerical simulations on Barabasi-Albert (BA) networks. The model highlights the influence of high-degree agents on the final consensus or coexistence state and captures some realistic features of the diffusion of opinions in social networks.

Swedish Opinion on Nuclear Power 1986 - 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holmberg, Soeren

2012-11-01

This report contains the Swedish opinion on Nuclear Power and European Attitudes on Nuclear Power. It also includes European Attitudes Towards the Future of Three Energy Sources; Nuclear Energy, Wind Power and Solar Power - with a focus on the Swedish opinion. Results from measurements done by the SOM Inst. are presented.

French and european opinions about energy questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-03-01

This paper presents a statistical study of french and european opinions in 1989 about energy questions. The main subjects studied are: qualities of different energy sources (coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear energy, renewable energies); perception in public opinion of nuclear industry; energy and environmental effects. 6 figs., 1 tab., 4 appendices

Internet Censorship in Turkey: University Students' Opinions

Science.gov (United States)

Ozkan, Hasan; Arikan, Arda

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper is to study university students' opinions toward online censorship with references to their socio-political and economic variables. Considering the upwards trend and the increasing number of online restrictions in Turkey, the opinions of university students (n=138) are thought to give significant findings. The questionnaire…

Information Filtering Based on Users' Negative Opinions

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Qiang; Li, Yang; Liu, Jian-Guo

2013-05-01

The process of heat conduction (HC) has recently found application in the information filtering [Zhang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.99, 154301 (2007)], which is of high diversity but low accuracy. The classical HC model predicts users' potential interested objects based on their interesting objects regardless to the negative opinions. In terms of the users' rating scores, we present an improved user-based HC (UHC) information model by taking into account users' positive and negative opinions. Firstly, the objects rated by users are divided into positive and negative categories, then the predicted interesting and dislike object lists are generated by the UHC model. Finally, the recommendation lists are constructed by filtering out the dislike objects from the interesting lists. By implementing the new model based on nine similarity measures, the experimental results for MovieLens and Netflix datasets show that the new model considering negative opinions could greatly enhance the accuracy, measured by the average ranking score, from 0.049 to 0.036 for Netflix and from 0.1025 to 0.0570 for Movielens dataset, reduced by 26.53% and 44.39%, respectively. Since users prefer to give positive ratings rather than negative ones, the negative opinions contain much more information than the positive ones, the negative opinions, therefore, are very important for understanding users' online collective behaviors and improving the performance of HC model.

Estado da Arte da Publicação Nacional e Internacional sobre Neuromarketing e Neuroeconomia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caissa Veloso e Sousa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Nas últimas três décadas os estudos envolvendo as áreas de Neurociência e Engenharia biomédica e que convergem para a possibilidade de mapeamento e avaliação do cérebro in vivo apresentaram desenvolvimento significativo, possibilitando a emersão, nas ciências sociais, dos campos de pesquisa chamados de Neuromarketing e Neuroeconomia. No presente trabalho foram analisadas as publicações existentes sobre o tema em bases nacionais e internacionais. Pesquisaram-se as seguintes bases de dados: Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração (ANPAD; Ebscohost Research Databases (EBSCO, Google Acadêmico, Portal de Periódicos Capes, PubMed (US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health; Scientific Eletronic Library Online (SCIELO, Scientific Periodicals Eletronic Library (SPELL. A predominância de trabalhos teóricos reflete uma possível dificuldade de se realizar pesquisas empíricas, o que pode estar relacionado tanto ao custo financeiro efetivo dessas pesquisas, quanto ao acesso aos canais integrativos de pesquisa, que dependem de uma equipe transdisciplinar.

Socioeconomic aspects and public opinion concerning radioactive wastes; Aspectos socieconomicos y de opinion publica en emplazamientos para residuos radiactivos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez, Valentin [Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos (ENRESA) (Spain)

1997-12-31

Nuclear energy aspects in Spain are presented. The role of ENRESA (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A.) a public company, that manages low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes in Spain is discussed. ENRESA activities such as radioactive wastes transportation and processing, radioactive wastes disposal, decommissioning of an uranium plant, environmental recovery procedures, geological studies, information dissemination of nuclear energy, sponsoring of conferences, courses, etc, are briefly reported

A Survey of Key Technology of Network Public Opinion Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Su Ying

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The internet has become an important base for internet users to make comments because of its interactivity and fast dissemination. The outbreak of internet public opinion has become a major risk for network information security. Domestic and foreign researchers had carried out extensive and in-depth study on public opinion. Fruitful results have achieved in the basic theory research and emergency handling and other aspects of public opinion. But research on the public opinion in China is still in the initial stage, the key technology of the public opinion analysis is still as a starting point for in-depth study and discussion.

Multi-lingual Opinion Mining on YouTube

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Severyn, Aliaksei; Moschitti, Alessandro; Uryupina, Olga; Plank, Barbara; Filippova, Katja

In order to successfully apply opinion mining (OM) to the large amounts of user-generated content produced every day, we need robust models that can handle the noisy input well yet can easily be adapted to a new domain or language. We here focus on opinion mining for YouTube by (i) modeling

The spreading of opposite opinions on online social networks with authoritative nodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Shu; Tang, Shaoting; Pei, Sen; Jiang, Shijin; Zhang, Xiao; Ding, Wenrui; Zheng, Zhiming

2013-09-01

The study of opinion dynamics, such as spreading and controlling of rumors, has become an important issue on social networks. Numerous models have been devised to describe this process, including epidemic models and spin models, which mainly focus on how opinions spread and interact with each other, respectively. In this paper, we propose a model that combines the spreading stage and the interaction stage for opinions to illustrate the process of dispelling a rumor. Moreover, we set up authoritative nodes, which disseminate positive opinion to counterbalance the negative opinion prevailing on online social networking sites. With analysis of the relationship among positive opinion proportion, opinion strength and the density of authoritative nodes in networks with different topologies, we demonstrate that the positive opinion proportion grows with the density of authoritative nodes until the positive opinion prevails in the entire network. In particular, the relationship is linear in homogeneous topologies. Besides, it is also noteworthy that initial locations of the negative opinion source and authoritative nodes do not influence positive opinion proportion in homogeneous networks but have a significant impact on heterogeneous networks. The results are verified by numerical simulations and are helpful to understand the mechanism of two different opinions interacting with each other on online social networking sites.

Same-sex marriage and other moral taboos : cultural acceptances, change in American public opinion and the evidence from the opinion polls

OpenAIRE

MORINI, Marco

2017-01-01

Published online: 25 January 2017 Creative Commons Licence This article analyzes the evolution of gay and lesbian rights and same-sex marriage in American public opinion. It describes how Obergefell v. Hodges, state-level decisions and the public opinion trends can be considered as the outcome of a grassroots coordinated campaign which began more than a decade ago and was able to conquer the majority of Americans. It also focuses on the American public opinion trends related to moral is...

20 CFR 416.927 - Evaluating opinion evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... the record as a whole, the more weight we will give to that opinion. (5) Specialization. We generally... “disabled” or “unable to work” does not mean that we will determine that you are disabled. (2) Other... opinions from treating sources, nontreating sources, and other nonexamining sources who do not work for us...

Modeling and Simulation of Polarization in Internet Group Opinions Based on Cellular Automata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaofeng Zhang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Hot events on Internet always attract many people who usually form one or several opinion camps through discussion. For the problem of polarization in Internet group opinions, we propose a new model based on Cellular Automata by considering neighbors, opinion leaders, and external influences. Simulation results show the following: (1 It is easy to form the polarization for both continuous opinions and discrete opinions when we only consider neighbors influence, and continuous opinions are more effective in speeding the polarization of group. (2 Coevolution mechanism takes more time to make the system stable, and the global coupling mechanism leads the system to consensus. (3 Opinion leaders play an important role in the development of consensus in Internet group opinions. However, both taking the opinion leaders as zealots and taking some randomly selected individuals as zealots are not conductive to the consensus. (4 Double opinion leaders with consistent opinions will accelerate the formation of group consensus, but the opposite opinions will lead to group polarization. (5 Only small external influences can change the evolutionary direction of Internet group opinions.

Demographic and Social Factors Influencing Public Opinion on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

macuser

the pressing need for empirical research into these opinions, to inform and make .... understanding public opinion on the issue of prostitution has critical relevance. For ..... prostitution and presented three options for legal reform in South Africa: ...

PageRank model of opinion formation on Ulam networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chakhmakhchyan, L.; Shepelyansky, D.

2013-12-01

We consider a PageRank model of opinion formation on Ulam networks, generated by the intermittency map and the typical Chirikov map. The Ulam networks generated by these maps have certain similarities with such scale-free networks as the World Wide Web (WWW), showing an algebraic decay of the PageRank probability. We find that the opinion formation process on Ulam networks has certain similarities but also distinct features comparing to the WWW. We attribute these distinctions to internal differences in network structure of the Ulam and WWW networks. We also analyze the process of opinion formation in the frame of generalized Sznajd model which protects opinion of small communities.

Cross-correlation patterns in social opinion formation with sequential data

Science.gov (United States)

Chakrabarti, Anindya S.

2016-11-01

Recent research on large-scale internet data suggests existence of patterns in the collective behavior of billions of people even though each of them may pursue own activities. In this paper, we interpret online rating activity as a process of forming social opinion about individual items, where people sequentially choose a rating based on the current information set comprising all previous ratings and own preferences. We construct an opinion index from the sequence of ratings and we show that (1) movie-specific opinion converges much slower than an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sequence of ratings, (2) rating sequence for individual movies shows lesser variation compared to an i.i.d. sequence of ratings, (3) the probability density function of the asymptotic opinions has more spread than that defined over opinion arising from i.i.d. sequence of ratings, (4) opinion sequences across movies are correlated with significantly higher and lower correlation compared to opinion constructed from i.i.d. sequence of ratings, creating a bimodal cross-correlation structure. By decomposing the temporal correlation structures from panel data of movie ratings, we show that the social effects are very prominent whereas group effects cannot be differentiated from those of surrogate data and individual effects are quite small. The former explains a large part of extreme positive or negative correlations between sequences of opinions. In general, this method can be applied to any rating data to extract social or group-specific effects in correlation structures. We conclude that in this particular case, social effects are important in opinion formation process.

Opinion of women about elective abortion

OpenAIRE

?akmak, B?lent; Metin, Fulya Zeynep; ?zsoy, Asker Zeki; ??t?l, R?za; ?nder, Yal??n; Y?lmaz Do?ru, Hatice

2014-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of women who presented to the hospital for elective abortion. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was designed and conducted at our university hospital between March 2013-April 2013 by the method of face-to-face interviews with 500 women who presented to the hospital as patient or relatives of patients. Poll consisted of 6 questions about demographic characteristics and 14 questions evaluating the opinions and attitude...

Modeling opinion dynamics: Theoretical analysis and continuous approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinasco, Juan Pablo; Semeshenko, Viktoriya; Balenzuela, Pablo

2017-01-01

Highlights: • We study a simple model of persuasion dynamics with long range pairwise interactions. • The continuous limit of the master equation is a nonlinear, nonlocal, first order partial differential equation. • We compute the analytical solutions to this equation, and compare them with the simulations of the dynamics. - Abstract: Frequently we revise our first opinions after talking over with other individuals because we get convinced. Argumentation is a verbal and social process aimed at convincing. It includes conversation and persuasion and the agreement is reached because the new arguments are incorporated. Given the wide range of opinion formation mathematical approaches, there are however no models of opinion dynamics with nonlocal pair interactions analytically solvable. In this paper we present a novel analytical framework developed to solve the master equations with non-local kernels. For this we used a simple model of opinion formation where individuals tend to get more similar after each interactions, no matter their opinion differences, giving rise to nonlinear differential master equation with non-local terms. Simulation results show an excellent agreement with results obtained by the theoretical estimation.

20 CFR 404.1527 - Evaluating opinion evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... weight we will give to that opinion. (5) Specialization. We generally give more weight to the opinion of... statement that you are disabled. A statement by a medical source that you are “disabled” or “unable to work... other nonexamining sources who do not work for us. (iii) Administrative law judges may also ask for and...

Understanding public opinion regarding transit in southeast Michigan.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

This report presents findings from a study on public opinion regarding transit in Southeast Michigan. The overall goals of this : study were to assess the nature of public opinion regarding regional transit and to understand its relation to socio-dem...

An evidential opinion dynamics model based on heterogeneous social influential power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Xi; Mo, Hongming; Deng, Yong

2015-01-01

Highlights: •We use Dempster–Shafer evidence theory to handle the uncertainty of the communication. •An ice-breaking uncertainty elimination process in opinion evolution is demonstrated. •The influential power of individuals and the feedback mechanism are considered. •The power-law characteristic of the final influential power distribution is depicted. -- Abstract: This paper introduces an evidential opinion dynamics model combing Dempster–Shafer evidence theory to explore the opinion evolution. Our model is an improvement of the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model. The process of people updating their opinions is regarded as a decision making process. The unavoidable uncertainty of the opinion evolution is handled by Dempster–Shafer evidence theory. Thereby, a new opinion group, i.e.the neutrals, is introduced into the system. Simulations show the neutral group plays a significant part in the opinion evolution. An opinion ice-breaking process at the early stage of the opinion evolution is observed. It is found that the consensus is not always reached then clusters emerge instead, which depends on the proportions of supporters, neutrals and opponents. The individual’s influential power is taken into account. With the positive feedback mechanism of people’s influential power, the obtained results are in accordance with people’s daily cognition such as the Authority Effect and the Matthew Effect. The final influential power distribution of all individuals in our model presents power-law characteristic

Do gender and personality traits (BFI-10) influence self-perceived opinion leadership?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek

2016-01-01

. This approach would require to identify opinion leaders. This paper investigates whether gender and personality traits can predict opinion leadership. Methodology/methods: The paper can be perceived as a replication in a loose sense of the term, since it replicates only a part of a previously published model...... and in one's own opinion (two variables). Generalized linear models (GLM) and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient are used to analyze data. Scientific aim: The aim of the paper is to estimate impact of gender and personality traits on opinion leadership. Findings: Extraversion is the personality...... trait closest related to opinion leadership regardless whether it is self-perceived in the eyes of others or in one's own opinion. Opinion leadership in one's own opinion can be predicted even using neuroticism, and conscientiousness. The three traits are consistent with previous findings. Unlike...

42 CFR 411.382 - CMS's right to rescind advisory opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false CMS's right to rescind advisory opinions. 411.382... Relationships Between Physicians and Entities Furnishing Designated Health Services § 411.382 CMS's right to rescind advisory opinions. Any advice CMS gives in an opinion does not prejudice its right to reconsider...

Does the weather influence public opinion about climate change?

Science.gov (United States)

Donner, S. D.; McDaniel, J.

2010-12-01

Public opinion in North America about the science of anthropogenic climate change and the motivation for policy action has been variable over the past twenty years. The trends in public opinion over time have been attributed the general lack of pressing public concern about climate change to a range of political, economic and psychological factors. One driving force behind the variability in polling data from year to year may be the weather itself. The difference between what we “expect” - the climate - and what we “get” - the weather - can be a major source of confusion and obfuscation in the public discourse about climate change. For example, reaction to moderate global temperatures in 2007 and 2008 may have helped prompt the spread of a “global cooling” meme in the public and the news media. At the same time, a decrease in the belief in the science of climate change and the need for action has been noted in opinion polls. This study analyzes the relationship between public opinion about climate change and the weather in the U.S. since the mid-1980s using historical polling data from several major organizations (e.g. Gallup, Pew, Harris Interactive, ABC News), historical monthly air temperature (NCDC) and a survey of opinion articles from major U.S. newspapers (Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, USA Today). Seasonal and annual monthly temperature anomalies for the northeastern U.S and the continental U.S are compared with available national opinion data for three general categories of questions: i) Is the climate warming?, ii) Is the observed warming due to human activity?, and iii) Are you concerned about climate change? The variability in temperature and public opinion over time is also compared with the variability in the fraction of opinion articles in the newspapers (n ~ 7000) which express general agreement or disagreement with IPCC Summary for Policymakers consensus statements on climate change (“most of

Peer-to-peer and mass communication effect on opinion shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Kindler, A.; Solomon, S.; Stauffer, D.

2013-02-01

Opinion dynamics is studied through a minimal Ising model with three main influences (fields): personal conservatism (power-law distributed), inter-personal and group pressure, and a global field incorporating peer-to-peer and mass communications, which is generated bottom-up from the faction supporting the new opinion. A rich phase diagram appears separating possible terminal stages of the opinion diffusion, characterizing failure phases by the features of the individuals who had changed their opinion. An exhaustive solution of the model is produced, allowing predictions to be made on the opinion’s assimilation in the society.

Opinion formation driven by PageRank node influence on directed networks

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Young-Ho; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

2015-10-01

We study a two states opinion formation model driven by PageRank node influence and report an extensive numerical study on how PageRank affects collective opinion formations in large-scale empirical directed networks. In our model the opinion of a node can be updated by the sum of its neighbor nodes' opinions weighted by the node influence of the neighbor nodes at each step. We consider PageRank probability and its sublinear power as node influence measures and investigate evolution of opinion under various conditions. First, we observe that all networks reach steady state opinion after a certain relaxation time. This time scale is decreasing with the heterogeneity of node influence in the networks. Second, we find that our model shows consensus and non-consensus behavior in steady state depending on types of networks: Web graph, citation network of physics articles, and LiveJournal social network show non-consensus behavior while Wikipedia article network shows consensus behavior. Third, we find that a more heterogeneous influence distribution leads to a more uniform opinion state in the cases of Web graph, Wikipedia, and Livejournal. However, the opposite behavior is observed in the citation network. Finally we identify that a small number of influential nodes can impose their own opinion on significant fraction of other nodes in all considered networks. Our study shows that the effects of heterogeneity of node influence on opinion formation can be significant and suggests further investigations on the interplay between node influence and collective opinion in networks.

Public opinion and nuclear power decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, B.

1991-01-01

This document discusses public opinion regarding nuclear power which is particularly difficult to tie down because of five important paradoxes that characterize it: it can be based on sound reason, but also on intense emotion; it is both national and local in perspective; at varying times it has seen nuclear power as both ''clean'' and ''dirty''; it believes nuclear power is both economic, and uneconomic; and nuclear power is perceived as having a fairly safe record, but being potentially unsafe. Equally as complex as the process by which public opinion is formed is the process by which it is converted into public policy. The American political system has numerous checks and balances designed to moderate the power of public opinion. A complex series of legislative, judicial, and executive branch hurdles must be cleared before any idea, however popular, can become day-to-day operating reality in government. As a result, major changes in policy or programs are difficult, and we may expect that nuclear power will be no different; radical change in one direction or the other is unlikely. Nevertheless, carefully focused programs could achieve modest progress, and carefully designed public opinion surveys could support such programs

Abbott Opinions #1-5.

Science.gov (United States)

Education Law Center, Inc., Newark, NJ.

This document contains the following "Abbott Opinions": (1) "Early Childhood Education"; (2) "Adequate School Facilities"; (3) "Supplemental Programs and Whole School Reform in Elementary Schools"; (4) "Supplemental Programs in Middle and High Schools"; and (5) "Planning Programs and Budgets…

(Miscommunication across the Borders: Politics, Media and Public Opinion in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Banu Baybars-Hawks

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley defined public opinion "as a process of interaction and mutual influence rather than a state of broad agreement" in 1918. On the other hand, according to the American political scientist V.O. Key, public opinion was "opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed," in 1961. During the 1990s, advances in statistical and demographic analysis helped the development of an understanding of public opinion as the collective view of a defined population, such as a particular demographic or ethnic group. In this view, the influence of public opinion is not restricted to politics and elections. Public opinion is considered a powerful force in many other spheres, such as culture, fashion, literature and the arts, consumer spending, and marketing and public relations.1 Attitudes and values play a crucial role in the development of public opinion. Different variables embedded in the political, social and media structure of the country also have potential to make an impact on public opinion. These dynamics vary from the economics to the judicial system and democratic principles functioning in that country. On the other hand, public opinion has a power to shape politics and media's priorities in reporting. The interaction among politics, public opinion and media of one country can be better analyzed with the findings of public opinion research administered regularly. In Turkey, the research on and analysis of public opinion are most frequent during the election times. Therefore, it seems necessary to measure the public opinion more regularly to test the relationships among political, public and media agendas. Accordingly, the current study seeks to fill this gap. It is argued that in the absence of timely feedback from public surveys, decisions and policies for improving different services and institutions functioning in the country might not achieve their expected goal. The findings of

Opinion formation on multiplex scale-free networks

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Vu Xuan; Xiao, Gaoxi; Xu, Xin-Jian; Li, Guoqi; Wang, Zhen

2018-01-01

Most individuals, if not all, live in various social networks. The formation of opinion systems is an outcome of social interactions and information propagation occurring in such networks. We study the opinion formation with a new rule of pairwise interactions in the novel version of the well-known Deffuant model on multiplex networks composed of two layers, each of which is a scale-free network. It is found that in a duplex network composed of two identical layers, the presence of the multiplexity helps either diminish or enhance opinion diversity depending on the relative magnitudes of tolerance ranges characterizing the degree of openness/tolerance on both layers: there is a steady separation between different regions of tolerance range values on two network layers where multiplexity plays two different roles, respectively. Additionally, the two critical tolerance ranges follow a one-sum rule; that is, each of the layers reaches a complete consensus only if the sum of the tolerance ranges on the two layers is greater than a constant approximately equaling 1, the double of the critical bound on a corresponding isolated network. A further investigation of the coupling between constituent layers quantified by a link overlap parameter reveals that as the layers are loosely coupled, the two opinion systems co-evolve independently, but when the inter-layer coupling is sufficiently strong, a monotonic behavior is observed: an increase in the tolerance range of a layer causes a decline in the opinion diversity on the other layer regardless of the magnitudes of tolerance ranges associated with the layers in question.

Effect of users' opinion evolution on information diffusion in online social networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hengmin; Kong, Yuehan; Wei, Jing; Ma, Jing

2018-02-01

The process of topic propagation always interweaves information diffusion and opinion evolution, but most previous works studied the models of information diffusion and opinion evolution separately, and seldom focused on their interaction of each other. To shed light on the effect of users' opinion evolution on information diffusion in online social networks, we proposed a model which incorporates opinion evolution into the process of topic propagation. Several real topics propagating on Sina Microblog were collected to analyze individuals' propagation intentions, and different propagation intentions were considered in the model. The topic propagation was simulated to explore the impact of different opinion distributions and intervention with opposite opinion on information diffusion. Results show that the topic with one-sided opinions can spread faster and more widely, and intervention with opposite opinion is an effective measure to guide the topic propagation. The earlier to intervene, the more effectively the topic propagation would be guided.

The Distribution of Climate Change Public Opinion in Canada.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matto Mildenberger

Full Text Available While climate scientists have developed high resolution data sets on the distribution of climate risks, we still lack comparable data on the local distribution of public climate change opinions. This paper provides the first effort to estimate local climate and energy opinion variability outside the United States. Using a multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP approach, we estimate opinion in federal electoral districts and provinces. We demonstrate that a majority of the Canadian public consistently believes that climate change is happening. Belief in climate change's causes varies geographically, with more people attributing it to human activity in urban as opposed to rural areas. Most prominently, we find majority support for carbon cap and trade policy in every province and district. By contrast, support for carbon taxation is more heterogeneous. Compared to the distribution of US climate opinions, Canadians believe climate change is happening at higher levels. This new opinion data set will support climate policy analysis and climate policy decision making at national, provincial and local levels.

The Distribution of Climate Change Public Opinion in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Mildenberger, Matto; Howe, Peter; Lachapelle, Erick; Stokes, Leah; Marlon, Jennifer; Gravelle, Timothy

2016-01-01

While climate scientists have developed high resolution data sets on the distribution of climate risks, we still lack comparable data on the local distribution of public climate change opinions. This paper provides the first effort to estimate local climate and energy opinion variability outside the United States. Using a multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP) approach, we estimate opinion in federal electoral districts and provinces. We demonstrate that a majority of the Canadian public consistently believes that climate change is happening. Belief in climate change's causes varies geographically, with more people attributing it to human activity in urban as opposed to rural areas. Most prominently, we find majority support for carbon cap and trade policy in every province and district. By contrast, support for carbon taxation is more heterogeneous. Compared to the distribution of US climate opinions, Canadians believe climate change is happening at higher levels. This new opinion data set will support climate policy analysis and climate policy decision making at national, provincial and local levels.

Forming of political opinion and decision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urban, K.

1980-01-01

Taking the SNR-300 reactor in Kalkar as an example, the process of forming of political opinion and decision is reconstructed in order to get a picture of typical consensus- and conflict patterns in the discussion of safety problems. On this basis, it should be possible to derive a freedom of action for the political and administrative managing of safety matters by means of feed back with social groups. As a crucial point the aspects concerning the steps of the forming of political opinion and decision are examined. (DG) [de

Do Others’ Opinion Matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Fei; Xiao, Bo Sophia; Lim, Eric T. K.

2016-01-01

when experiencing dissonance in e-WOM, male consumers value opinionated review over numerical rating and vice versa for their female counterparts. The results of our field survey on a custom developed website with 115 college students empirically validated our hypothesized relationships and also...

MindDigger: Feature Identification and Opinion Association for Chinese Movie Reviews

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Lili; Li, Chunping

In this paper, we present a prototype system called MindDigger, which can be used to analyze the opinions in Chinese movie reviews. Different from previous research that employed techniques on product reviews, we focus on Chinese movie reviews, in which opinions are expressed in subtle and varied ways. The system designed in this work aims to extract the opinion expressions and assign them to the corresponding features. The core tasks include feature and opinion extraction, and feature-opinion association. To deal with Chinese effectively, several novel approaches based on syntactic analysis are proposed in this paper. Running results show the performance is satisfactory.

Opinion Spreading with Mobility on Scale-Free Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiang, Guo; Xing-Wen, Chen; Jian-Guo, Liu; Bing-Hong, Wang; Tao, Zhou; Yu-Hua, Yao

2008-01-01

A continuum opinion dynamic model is presented based on two rules. The first one considers the mobilities of the individuals, the second one supposes that the individuals update their opinions independently. The results of the model indicate that the bounded confidence in c , separating consensus and incoherent states, of a scale-free network is much smaller than the one of a lattice. If the system can reach the consensus state, the sum of all individuals' opinion change O c (t) quickly decreases in an exponential form, while if it reaches the incoherent state finally O c (t) decreases slowly and has the punctuated equilibrium characteristic

Zealotry effects on opinion dynamics in the adaptive voter model

Science.gov (United States)

Klamser, Pascal P.; Wiedermann, Marc; Donges, Jonathan F.; Donner, Reik V.

2017-11-01

The adaptive voter model has been widely studied as a conceptual model for opinion formation processes on time-evolving social networks. Past studies on the effect of zealots, i.e., nodes aiming to spread their fixed opinion throughout the system, only considered the voter model on a static network. Here we extend the study of zealotry to the case of an adaptive network topology co-evolving with the state of the nodes and investigate opinion spreading induced by zealots depending on their initial density and connectedness. Numerical simulations reveal that below the fragmentation threshold a low density of zealots is sufficient to spread their opinion to the whole network. Beyond the transition point, zealots must exhibit an increased degree as compared to ordinary nodes for an efficient spreading of their opinion. We verify the numerical findings using a mean-field approximation of the model yielding a low-dimensional set of coupled ordinary differential equations. Our results imply that the spreading of the zealots' opinion in the adaptive voter model is strongly dependent on the link rewiring probability and the average degree of normal nodes in comparison with that of the zealots. In order to avoid a complete dominance of the zealots' opinion, there are two possible strategies for the remaining nodes: adjusting the probability of rewiring and/or the number of connections with other nodes, respectively.

Impact of gender and personality traits (BFI-10) on opinion leadership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Pavlicek, Antonin

2017-01-01

The paper studies the influence of gender and personality traits on opinion leadership. It tries to partially replicate the study about effect of Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality traits on domain-specific opinion leadership mediated through objective knowledge and generalized opinion leadership...

42 CFR 1008.31 - OIG fees for the cost of advisory opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false OIG fees for the cost of advisory opinions. 1008.31... SERVICES OIG AUTHORITIES ADVISORY OPINIONS BY THE OIG Advisory Opinion Fees § 1008.31 OIG fees for the cost of advisory opinions. (a) Responsibility for fees. The requestor is responsible for paying a fee...

Investigações sobre o ensino de Genética e Biologia Molecular no Ensino Médio brasileiro: reflexões sobre as publicações científicas Research on the teaching of Genetics and Molecular Biology in Brazilian High School: reflections about scientific publications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Romário de Melo

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Com o objetivo de analisar as publicações relacionadas ao ensino de Genética e Biologia Molecular no Ensino Médio brasileiro, foram consideradas reflexões sobre várias publicações científicas mediante revisão bibliográfica. Foram analisados trabalhos publicados entre 1999 a 2008. A Revista Genética na Escola se destacou quanto à quantidade de artigos publicados. As publicações puderam ser classificadas em diversas categorias, como: análise de livro didático (ALD, histórico (HIS, intrainterdisciplinaridade (IID, metodologia de ensino (MEE, propostas curriculares (PRC e outros (OUT. Embora compatíveis em quantidade, artigos das categorias ALD, HIS e PRC encontram-se publicados em pouquíssima quantidade. O número de artigos publicados nas categorias IID e MEE soma quase 73% das publicações encontradas, em relação às demais (as outras categorias juntas somam aproximadamente 27%. Este estudo possibilitou considerar que ainda é incipiente a pesquisa voltada ao ensino de Genética e Biologia Molecular, com relação ao Ensino Médio na escola básica brasileira.The objective of this work was to analyze the publications related to the teaching of Genetics and Molecular Biology in Brazilian High Schools. We analyzed studies published from 1999 to 2008. The Revista Genética na Escola presents the most published articles. The publications were classified into different categories, such as: textbook analysis (ALD, history (HIS, intra-interdisciplinarity (IID, teaching methodology (MEE, curriculum proposals (PRC and other (OUT. Equivalent numbers of articles in ALD, HIS and PRC categories are published in very low quantity, however the number of articles published in categories IID and MEE total almost 73% of the publications found in the others (all other categories together total about 27%. This study has considered that research dedicated to the teaching of Genetics and Molecular Biology is still in its early stages, related to

PENGARUH MODIFIED AUDIT OPINION TERHADAP BORROWING CASH FLOW DAN INVESTMENT CASH FLOW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puspita Hardina Cahyaningrum

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study examines and analyzes the economic consequences of modified audit opinion on borrowing cash flow and investment cash flow. Panel data model was used to observe the research. The sample of this study was 247 companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange for the years 2008-2010. The results show that modified audit opinion, except unqualified opinion with explanatory paragraph about going concern, did not affect borrowing cash flow because audit opinion was not the only consideration for granting credit by creditors. Companies receiving modified audit opinion were proven using more operating cash flow for investing shown in investment cash flow, especially companies receiving unqualified opinion with explanatory paragraph about going concern.

An opinion formation based binary optimization approach for feature selection

Science.gov (United States)

Hamedmoghadam, Homayoun; Jalili, Mahdi; Yu, Xinghuo

2018-02-01

This paper proposed a novel optimization method based on opinion formation in complex network systems. The proposed optimization technique mimics human-human interaction mechanism based on a mathematical model derived from social sciences. Our method encodes a subset of selected features to the opinion of an artificial agent and simulates the opinion formation process among a population of agents to solve the feature selection problem. The agents interact using an underlying interaction network structure and get into consensus in their opinions, while finding better solutions to the problem. A number of mechanisms are employed to avoid getting trapped in local minima. We compare the performance of the proposed method with a number of classical population-based optimization methods and a state-of-the-art opinion formation based method. Our experiments on a number of high dimensional datasets reveal outperformance of the proposed algorithm over others.

The effects of information and social conformity on opinion change.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallinson, Daniel J; Hatemi, Peter K

2018-01-01

Extant research shows that social pressures influence acts of political participation, such as turning out to vote. However, we know less about how conformity pressures affect one's deeply held political values and opinions. Using a discussion-based experiment, we untangle the unique and combined effects of information and social pressure on a political opinion that is highly salient, politically charged, and part of one's identity. We find that while information plays a role in changing a person's opinion, the social delivery of that information has the greatest effect. Thirty three percent of individuals in our treatment condition change their opinion due to the social delivery of information, while ten percent respond only to social pressure and ten percent respond only to information. Participants that change their opinion due to social pressure in our experiment are more conservative politically, conscientious, and neurotic than those that did not.

The effects of information and social conformity on opinion change

Science.gov (United States)

Hatemi, Peter K.

2018-01-01

Extant research shows that social pressures influence acts of political participation, such as turning out to vote. However, we know less about how conformity pressures affect one’s deeply held political values and opinions. Using a discussion-based experiment, we untangle the unique and combined effects of information and social pressure on a political opinion that is highly salient, politically charged, and part of one’s identity. We find that while information plays a role in changing a person’s opinion, the social delivery of that information has the greatest effect. Thirty three percent of individuals in our treatment condition change their opinion due to the social delivery of information, while ten percent respond only to social pressure and ten percent respond only to information. Participants that change their opinion due to social pressure in our experiment are more conservative politically, conscientious, and neurotic than those that did not. PMID:29718958

Characteristics associated with requests by pathologists for second opinions on breast biopsies.

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Berta M; Nelson, Heidi D; Weaver, Donald L; Frederick, Paul D; Allison, Kimberly H; Onega, Tracy; Carney, Patricia A; Tosteson, Anna N A; Elmore, Joann G

2017-11-01

Second opinions in pathology improve patient safety by reducing diagnostic errors, leading to more appropriate clinical treatment decisions. Little objective data are available regarding the factors triggering a request for second opinion despite second opinion consultations being part of the diagnostic system of pathology. Therefore we sought to assess breast biopsy cases and interpreting pathologists characteristics associated with second opinion requests. Collected pathologist surveys and their interpretations of 60 test set cases were used to explore the relationships between case characteristics, pathologist characteristics and case perceptions, and requests for second opinions. Data were evaluated by logistic regression and generalised estimating equations. 115 pathologists provided 6900 assessments; pathologists requested second opinions on 70% (4827/6900) of their assessments 36% (1731/4827) of these would not have been required by policy. All associations between case characteristics and requesting second opinions were statistically significant, including diagnostic category, breast density, biopsy type, and number of diagnoses noted per case. Exclusive of institutional policies, pathologists wanted second opinions most frequently for atypia (66%) and least frequently for invasive cancer (20%). Second opinion rates were higher when the pathologist had lower assessment confidence, in cases with higher perceived difficulty, and cases with borderline diagnoses. Pathologists request second opinions for challenging cases, particularly those with atypia, high breast density, core needle biopsies, or many co-existing diagnoses. Further studies should evaluate whether the case characteristics identified in this study could be used as clinical criteria to prompt system-level strategies for mandating second opinions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Differing professional views or opinions: 1994 Special Review Panel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-09-01

In July 1994, the Executive Director for Operations of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) appointed a Special Review Panel to assess the Differing Professional View or Opinion (DPV/DPO) process, including its effectiveness, how well it is understood by employees, and the organizational climate for having such views aired and properly decided. An additional area within this review was to address the effectiveness of the DPO procedures as they pertain to public access and confidentiality. Further, the Panel was charged with the review of the submittals completed since the last review to identify employees who made significant contributions to the agency or to the public health and safety but had not been adequately recognized for this contribution. The report presents the Special Review Panel's evaluation of the NRC's current process for dealing with Differing Professional Views or Opinions. Provided in this report are the results of an employee opinion survey on the process; highlights and suggestions from interviews with individuals who had submitted a Differing Professional View or Opinion, as well as with agency managers directly involved with the Differing Professional Views or Opinions process; and the Special Review Panel's recommendations for improving the DPV/DPO process

OGC Precedent Opinion 2-2010

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — Osborn v. Nicholson 21 Vet. App. 223 (2007) - Effect on Existing General Counsel Opinions, Application to other Benefit Programs, and Applicability to Series HH U.S....

Nuclear power engineering: Public understanding and public opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryshev, A.I.; Sazykina, T.G.

1998-01-01

Subjective and objective reasons for the formation of public opinion about nuclear power engineering of Russia were analyzed. Some methodological errors in work with the Russian public on the problems of nuclear energy and possible methods of their correction were discussed. The social groups of the general public, which are of greatest importance in forming the attitude towards nuclear power engineering were indicated. The conclusion was reached that opinion of the ordinary population is often indicative of real drawbacks in the work of specialists in the nuclear fuel cycle. Consequently, careful surveys of public opinion about the problems of the nuclear industry should be very useful in organizing research work properly and improving the radiation safety. (author)

[State school children's opinions regarding violence in the media].

Science.gov (United States)

Piedrahita S, Laura E

2009-01-01

To describe the opinion of schoolage children, from a public school, regarding the violence they perceive in the media. Descriptive-exploratory research with a sample, selected according to the child's age in a public school. Quantitative data were collected. There were found common issues related to the child's opinion about the violence present in the media such as frequent exposure to the media violence and lack of parental supervision. Social context and constant exposure to the media violence affect the children's opinion about the violence phenomenon and their predisposition to it.

European dental students' opinions on their local anaesthesia education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brand, H.S.; Tan, L.L.S.; van der Spek, S.J.; Baart, J.A.

2011-01-01

Objective: To investigate students’ opinion about theoretical and clinical training in local anaesthesia at different European dental schools. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was designed to collect information about local anaesthesia teaching. Students’ opinion was quantified with five-point

The importance of opinion leaders in agricultural production among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The importance of opinion leaders in agricultural production among male and ... farmers do not have adequate access to extension services due to, amongst others, the ... In view of these problems, the role of opinion leaders is important and ...

Scientific Opinion on Risk Assessment of Synthetic Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, Michelle M; Vermeire, Theo

2016-08-01

In 2013, three Scientific Committees of the European Commission (EC) drafted Scientific Opinions on synthetic biology that provide an operational definition and address risk assessment methodology, safety aspects, environmental risks, knowledge gaps, and research priorities. These Opinions contribute to the international discussions on the risk governance for synthetic biology developments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison between the public opinion and the image of public opinion on nuclear power generation. From the viewpoint of risk communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuda, Toshihiro

2003-01-01

One objective for risk communication is to improve the understanding of public values and concerns. This paper examined the perceptions of nuclear power plant engineers of an electric power company, about public values and concerns regarding nuclear power generation (image of public opinion), and compared them with actual public opinion. The image of public opinion was surveyed by questionnaire method. In the questionnaire, the subjects were asked to estimate the most preferred answer given to questions posed to the Japanese public. For some questions, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Japanese who selected a certain answer for a question or the distribution of the answers. The results showed: (1) Nuclear power plant engineers correctly recognized the existence of high anxiety in the public's mind concerning nuclear power generation. (2) Engineers were apt to underestimate the percentage of Japanese who think nuclear power generation is useful in our society. (3) The majority of Japanese assume that when nuclear power plant accidents occur radioactive leakage is so severe that it affects the health of inhabitants. However, the engineers were apt to estimate that the majority of Japanese think radioactive leakage is not so severe. (4) Engineers correctly recognized that the majority of Japanese think it is a realistic option to use the nuclear power generation. However, they incorrectly estimated that only 40% of Japanese think it is a realistic option to use the nuclear power generation when in fact 67% think so. These gaps between public opinion and the image of public opinion by the engineers were classified into two groups, one that stems from the cognitive bias when people estimate public opinion and one that is inherent in the engineers of nuclear power plants. (author)

On the empirical relevance of the transient in opinion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banisch, Sven; Araujo, Tanya

2010-01-01

While the number and variety of models to explain opinion exchange dynamics is huge, attempts to justify the model results using empirical data are relatively rare. As linking to real data is essential for establishing model credibility, this Letter develops an empirical confirmation experiment by which an opinion model is related to real election data. The model is based on a representation of opinions as a vector of k bits. Individuals interact according to the principle that similarity leads to interaction and interaction leads to still more similarity. In the comparison to real data we concentrate on the transient opinion profiles that form during the dynamic process. An artificial election procedure is introduced which allows to relate transient opinion configurations to the electoral performance of candidates for which data are available. The election procedure based on the well-established principle of proximity voting is repeatedly performed during the transient period and remarkable statistical agreement with the empirical data is observed.

On the empirical relevance of the transient in opinion models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banisch, Sven, E-mail: sven.banisch@universecity.d [Mathematical Physics, Physics Department, Bielefeld University, 33501 Bielefeld (Germany); Institute for Complexity Science (ICC), 1249-078 Lisbon (Portugal); Araujo, Tanya, E-mail: tanya@iseg.utl.p [Research Unit on Complexity in Economics (UECE), ISEG, TULisbon, 1249-078 Lisbon (Portugal); Institute for Complexity Science (ICC), 1249-078 Lisbon (Portugal)

2010-07-12

While the number and variety of models to explain opinion exchange dynamics is huge, attempts to justify the model results using empirical data are relatively rare. As linking to real data is essential for establishing model credibility, this Letter develops an empirical confirmation experiment by which an opinion model is related to real election data. The model is based on a representation of opinions as a vector of k bits. Individuals interact according to the principle that similarity leads to interaction and interaction leads to still more similarity. In the comparison to real data we concentrate on the transient opinion profiles that form during the dynamic process. An artificial election procedure is introduced which allows to relate transient opinion configurations to the electoral performance of candidates for which data are available. The election procedure based on the well-established principle of proximity voting is repeatedly performed during the transient period and remarkable statistical agreement with the empirical data is observed.

Chaotic Modes in Scale Free Opinion Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kusmartsev, Feo V.; Kürten, Karl E.

2010-12-01

In this paper, we investigate processes associated with formation of public opinion in varies directed random, scale free and small-world social networks. The important factor of the opinion formation is the existence of contrarians which were discovered by Granovetter in various social psychology experiments1,2,3 long ago and later introduced in sociophysics by Galam.4 When the density of contrarians increases the system behavior drastically changes at some critical value. At high density of contrarians the system can never arrive to a consensus state and periodically oscillates with different periods depending on specific structure of the network. At small density of the contrarians the behavior is manifold. It depends primary on the initial state of the system. If initially the majority of the population agrees with each other a state of stable majority may be easily reached. However when originally the population is divided in nearly equal parts consensus can never be reached. We model the emergence of collective decision making by considering N interacting agents, whose opinions are described by two state Ising spin variable associated with YES and NO. We show that the dynamical behaviors are very sensitive not only to the density of the contrarians but also to the network topology. We find that a phase of social chaos may arise in various dynamical processes of opinion formation in many realistic models. We compare the prediction of the theory with data describing the dynamics of the average opinion of the USA population collected on a day-by-day basis by varies media sources during the last six month before the final Obama-McCain election. The qualitative ouctome is in reasonable agreement with the prediction of our theory. In fact, the analyses of these data made within the paradigm of our theory indicates that even in this campaign there were chaotic elements where the public opinion migrated in an unpredictable chaotic way. The existence of such a phase

The relevance of security analyst opinions for investment decisions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerritsen, D.F.

2014-01-01

Security analysts analyze information regarding publicly traded companies after which they publish their opinion regarding these companies’ stocks. In this dissertation the published opinions of two different types of analysts are analyzed. Technical analysts derive a recommendation to buy, hold, or

Breast Imaging Second Opinions Impact Surgical Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Spivey, Tara Lynn; Carlson, Kjirsten Ayn; Janssen, Imke; Witt, Thomas R; Jokich, Peter; Madrigrano, Andrea

2015-07-01

Breast surgeons often see women for second opinions for abnormalities found on breast imaging. For second opinions, these images are submitted for review and interpretation by dedicated breast imagers. This study evaluated the conformity of results among interpretation of imaging submitted from outside hospitals both from tertiary care centers, as well as community programs, in an attempt to evaluate the utility of this practice for the sake of clinical management and resource utilization. A retrospective chart review was conducted on all breast patients that submitted outside imaging films for the years 2011 to 2013 at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC). The radiologic diagnosis and each patient's proposed management plan was collected and evaluated for concordance between the outside institutions and RUMC. A total of 380 patients who presented for second opinions with an interpretation of outside exams were evaluated. In 47.4 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 42.4-52.4] of cases there was distinct variance in radiologic impression. For 53.5 % (95 % CI 48.4-58.5) of patients, there was a change in recommended management plan, which included recommendations for either additional imaging or need for additional biopsy. In total, this changed the overall surgical management in 27.1 % (95 % CI 22.8-31.9) of cases. In six patients, the reinterpretation of outside imaging detected new malignancies not previously identified. Overall, 83.7 % (95 % CI 79.7-87.1) of patients who submitted imaging from outside institutions chose to complete the remainder of their treatment at RUMC. The practice of second opinion review changed overall definitive management at our specialty center in more than one in four cases. In addition, the review identified six previously unrecognized malignancies. Given this data, the practice of second opinions and interpretation of outside exams should continue despite the additional resources required.

Changes in alcohol policies and public opinions in Finland 2003-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Österberg, Esa; Lindeman, Mikaela; Karlsson, Thomas

2014-05-01

There is a constant and ongoing interplay between public opinions and public policies, alcohol policies being no exception. This article describes the development of public opinions regarding alcohol policy in Finland during a 10-year period between 2003 and 2013. Fluctuations in the alcohol policy opinion climate are put in context by looking at concurrent changes in alcohol policies and in total alcohol consumption. The study is based on data from opinion surveys on alcohol policies commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Welfare and the Finnish Social and Health Association. The opinion polls include questions about the general acceptance of prevailing alcohol policies, appropriate sales channels of different alcoholic beverage categories and opinions about the legal age limits and prices of alcoholic beverages. In the study, changes in alcohol policy during 2003-2013 are surveyed, and their relationship with changes in alcohol policy opinion is examined. There seem to be a strong positive correlation during the study period between the level of alcohol consumption and the share of those wanting a more restrictive alcohol policy in Finland. It seems that an increased level of awareness of alcohol-related issues among the general public created a more restrictive opinion climate on alcohol policy issues after the big alcohol excise duty decrease in 2004. The reverse seems to happen but in a lesser degree when alcohol excise duties has been increased after the year 2007. © 2014 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Using Spatial, Economic, and Ecological Opinion Data to Inform Gray Wolf Conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Meredith S; Nickerson, Norma P; Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli

2016-09-01

Public opinion can be an influential factor in wildlife management decisions. Evaluating public opinions can help legitimize, or delegitimize, management and facilitate long-term conservation goals. This is especially true for the controversial issues surrounding the management of predators. We surveyed Montana, USA, residents during summer of 2013 to measure public opinion regarding economic and ecological impacts of the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ), and current management of this species. Although opinions were polarized in some areas, a greater percentage of Montanans think that wolves negatively affect the economy, but impact tourism (which contributes to the economy) positively. These differences may reflect the belief that rancher economic losses from wolf predation of cattle is greater than overall tourism gains related to wolves (e.g., wolf-watching), in addition to the perception of wolves negatively affecting big game (e.g., elk [ Cervus canadensis ]). Results also show that a slightly greater percentage of Montanans feel that wolves positively rather than negatively affect the ecosystem. Regarding specific practices, more Montanans than not have a positive opinion of maintaining wolves on the landscape and also support hunting of wolves. More Montanans hold negative rather than positive opinions, however, regarding wolf trapping. This result was most evident in western Montana as assessed by a spatial distribution of opinions by county and has implications for current wolf management and nontarget species. Results of ordinal regression analyses revealed that big game hunters, males, and those who held negative opinions of the effect of wolves on the Montana ecosystem and economy were significantly more likely to support both hunting and trapping practices. Living in western Montana predicted positive opinions of hunting, but alternatively, negative opinions of trapping. These results provide an understanding of public opinion of wolf management by county as

Using Spatial, Economic, and Ecological Opinion Data to Inform Gray Wolf Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Meredith S.; Nickerson, Norma P.; Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli

2018-01-01

Public opinion can be an influential factor in wildlife management decisions. Evaluating public opinions can help legitimize, or delegitimize, management and facilitate long-term conservation goals. This is especially true for the controversial issues surrounding the management of predators. We surveyed Montana, USA, residents during summer of 2013 to measure public opinion regarding economic and ecological impacts of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), and current management of this species. Although opinions were polarized in some areas, a greater percentage of Montanans think that wolves negatively affect the economy, but impact tourism (which contributes to the economy) positively. These differences may reflect the belief that rancher economic losses from wolf predation of cattle is greater than overall tourism gains related to wolves (e.g., wolf-watching), in addition to the perception of wolves negatively affecting big game (e.g., elk [Cervus canadensis]). Results also show that a slightly greater percentage of Montanans feel that wolves positively rather than negatively affect the ecosystem. Regarding specific practices, more Montanans than not have a positive opinion of maintaining wolves on the landscape and also support hunting of wolves. More Montanans hold negative rather than positive opinions, however, regarding wolf trapping. This result was most evident in western Montana as assessed by a spatial distribution of opinions by county and has implications for current wolf management and nontarget species. Results of ordinal regression analyses revealed that big game hunters, males, and those who held negative opinions of the effect of wolves on the Montana ecosystem and economy were significantly more likely to support both hunting and trapping practices. Living in western Montana predicted positive opinions of hunting, but alternatively, negative opinions of trapping. These results provide an understanding of public opinion of wolf management by county as

Financial and Non Financial Factors on Going-Concern Opinion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junaidi Junaidi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Company's ability to survive is a fundamental uncertainty faced in the preparation and auditing financial statements. Provision of going-concern opinion on these financial statements the company is still being debated. Public Accountant Professional Standards in section 341 states that the auditor is responsible for evaluating whether there is a major doubt on the ability of entities in the continued survival of the appropriate period of time, not more than one year from the date of the financial statements being audited. This research analyzed the financial and non financial factors that affected the provision of going-concern opinion. This research used samples of 63 companies with 315 observations, taken from years 2005-2009. The logistic regression analysis showed that the company's financial condition variables, mitigating evidence, and disclosure significantly influence the acceptance of going-concern opinion. Enterprise risk was not significant at propensity of going-concern opinion.

42 CFR 411.380 - When CMS issues a formal advisory opinion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false When CMS issues a formal advisory opinion. 411.380... Relationships Between Physicians and Entities Furnishing Designated Health Services § 411.380 When CMS issues a formal advisory opinion. (a) CMS considers an advisory opinion to be issued once it has received payment...

A iniciação científica e a publicação na graduação como meios de qualidade na formação de ensino superior: uma entrevista com José Roberto Rus Perez

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucio José Dutra Lord

2014-11-01

Full Text Available O tema da qualidade da formação profissional há muito tem dirigido as políticas educacionais e influenciado nas matrizes curriculares dos cursos de graduação no país. Contudo, a questão extrapola este espaço e envolve, cada vez mais, as experiências extraclasses. Deste modo a extensão, pesquisa e publicação universitárias assumem papel relevante para a melhoria do ensino. Nesta entrevista o Professor e Pesquisador Livre Docente José Roberto Rus Perez nos fala da importância da pesquisa e publicação na formação de ensino superior. Seu relato de 30 anos de experiência no Núcleo de Estudos em Políticas Públicas (NEEP/UNICAMP evidencia alguns pontos fundamentais para que o ensino de graduação experiencie a pesquisa e divulgação, através da publicação, como pilares de sustentação do bom ensino. Ele também demonstra a estreita relação entre a formação na graduação e as dificuldades vividas na pós-graduação no país, sobretudo pela carência da pesquisa que é, sempre, tão necessária ao trabalho do profissional no mercado ou no setor público, na licenciatura ou no bacharelado. Cabe ressaltar também que o professor José Roberto Rus Perez é membro do Conselho Consultivo Nacional da Revista Eventos Pedagógicos – REP’s.

Dynamics of bounded confidence opinion in heterogeneous social networks: Concord against partial antagonism

Science.gov (United States)

Kurmyshev, Evguenii; Juárez, Héctor A.; González-Silva, Ricardo A.

2011-08-01

Bounded confidence models of opinion dynamics in social networks have been actively studied in recent years, in particular, opinion formation and extremism propagation along with other aspects of social dynamics. In this work, after an analysis of limitations of the Deffuant-Weisbuch (DW) bounded confidence, relative agreement model, we propose the mixed model that takes into account two psychological types of individuals. Concord agents (C-agents) are friendly people; they interact in a way that their opinions always get closer. Agents of the other psychological type show partial antagonism in their interaction (PA-agents). Opinion dynamics in heterogeneous social groups, consisting of agents of the two types, was studied on different social networks: Erdös-Rényi random graphs, small-world networks and complete graphs. Limit cases of the mixed model, pure C- and PA-societies, were also studied. We found that group opinion formation is, qualitatively, almost independent of the topology of networks used in this work. Opinion fragmentation, polarization and consensus are observed in the mixed model at different proportions of PA- and C-agents, depending on the value of initial opinion tolerance of agents. As for the opinion formation and arising of “dissidents”, the opinion dynamics of the C-agents society was found to be similar to that of the DW model, except for the rate of opinion convergence. Nevertheless, mixed societies showed dynamics and bifurcation patterns notably different to those of the DW model. The influence of biased initial conditions over opinion formation in heterogeneous social groups was also studied versus the initial value of opinion uncertainty, varying the proportion of the PA- to C-agents. Bifurcation diagrams showed an impressive evolution of collective opinion, in particular, radical changes of left to right consensus or vice versa at an opinion uncertainty value equal to 0.7 in the model with the PA/C mixture of population near 50/50.

Discrepancy and Disliking Do Not Induce Negative Opinion Shifts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Takács, Károly; Flache, Andreas; Maes, Michael

2016-01-01

Both classical social psychological theories and recent formal models of opinion differentiation and bi-polarization assign a prominent role to negative social influence. Negative influence is defined as shifts away from the opinion of others and hypothesized to be induced by discrepancy with or

22 CFR 126.9 - Advisory opinions and related authorizations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

.... 126.9 Section 126.9 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS GENERAL POLICIES AND PROVISIONS § 126.9 Advisory opinions and related authorizations. (a) Advisory opinion. Any person desiring information as to whether the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls would be...

49 CFR 604.21 - Special considerations for advisory opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Desist Orders § 604.21 Special considerations for advisory opinions. Based on new facts involving significant financial considerations, the Chief Counsel may take appropriate enforcement action contrary to an... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Special considerations for advisory opinions. 604...

Interplay between media and social influence in the collective behavior of opinion dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Colaiori, Francesca; Castellano, Claudio

2015-10-01

Messages conveyed by media act as a major drive in shaping attitudes and inducing opinion shift. On the other hand, individuals are strongly affected by peer pressure while forming their own judgment. We solve a general model of opinion dynamics where individuals either hold one of two alternative opinions or are undecided and interact pairwise while exposed to an external influence. As media pressure increases, the system moves from pluralism to global consensus; four distinct classes of collective behavior emerge, crucially depending on the outcome of direct interactions among individuals holding opposite opinions. Observed nontrivial behaviors include hysteretic phenomena and resilience of minority opinions. Notably, consensus could be unachievable even when media and microscopic interactions are biased in favor of the same opinion: The unfavored opinion might even gain the support of the majority.

Sifting Through Chaos: Extracting Information from Unstructured Legal Opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Bruno Miguel; Guimarães, Rui Vasconcellos; Antunes, Luís; Rodrigues, Pedro Pereira

2018-01-01

Abiding to the law is, in some cases, a delicate balance between the rights of different players. Re-using health records is such a case. While the law grants reuse rights to public administration documents, in which health records produced in public health institutions are included, it also grants privacy to personal records. To safeguard a correct usage of data, public hospitals in Portugal employ jurists that are responsible for allowing or withholding access rights to health records. To help decision making, these jurists can consult the legal opinions issued by the national committee on public administration documents usage. While these legal opinions are of undeniable value, due to their doctrine contribution, they are only available in a format best suited from printing, forcing individual consultation of each document, with no option, whatsoever of clustered search, filtering or indexing, which are standard operations nowadays in a document management system. When having to decide on tens of data requests a day, it becomes unfeasible to consult the hundreds of legal opinions already available. With the objective to create a modern document management system, we devised an open, platform agnostic system that extracts and compiles the legal opinions, ex-tracts its contents and produces metadata, allowing for a fast searching and filtering of said legal opinions.

Extracting product features and opinion words using pattern knowledge in customer reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Htay, Su Su; Lynn, Khin Thidar

2013-01-01

Due to the development of e-commerce and web technology, most of online Merchant sites are able to write comments about purchasing products for customer. Customer reviews expressed opinion about products or services which are collectively referred to as customer feedback data. Opinion extraction about products from customer reviews is becoming an interesting area of research and it is motivated to develop an automatic opinion mining application for users. Therefore, efficient method and techniques are needed to extract opinions from reviews. In this paper, we proposed a novel idea to find opinion words or phrases for each feature from customer reviews in an efficient way. Our focus in this paper is to get the patterns of opinion words/phrases about the feature of product from the review text through adjective, adverb, verb, and noun. The extracted features and opinions are useful for generating a meaningful summary that can provide significant informative resource to help the user as well as merchants to track the most suitable choice of product.

Extracting Product Features and Opinion Words Using Pattern Knowledge in Customer Reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su Su Htay

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the development of e-commerce and web technology, most of online Merchant sites are able to write comments about purchasing products for customer. Customer reviews expressed opinion about products or services which are collectively referred to as customer feedback data. Opinion extraction about products from customer reviews is becoming an interesting area of research and it is motivated to develop an automatic opinion mining application for users. Therefore, efficient method and techniques are needed to extract opinions from reviews. In this paper, we proposed a novel idea to find opinion words or phrases for each feature from customer reviews in an efficient way. Our focus in this paper is to get the patterns of opinion words/phrases about the feature of product from the review text through adjective, adverb, verb, and noun. The extracted features and opinions are useful for generating a meaningful summary that can provide significant informative resource to help the user as well as merchants to track the most suitable choice of product.

Extracting Product Features and Opinion Words Using Pattern Knowledge in Customer Reviews

Science.gov (United States)

Lynn, Khin Thidar

2013-01-01

Due to the development of e-commerce and web technology, most of online Merchant sites are able to write comments about purchasing products for customer. Customer reviews expressed opinion about products or services which are collectively referred to as customer feedback data. Opinion extraction about products from customer reviews is becoming an interesting area of research and it is motivated to develop an automatic opinion mining application for users. Therefore, efficient method and techniques are needed to extract opinions from reviews. In this paper, we proposed a novel idea to find opinion words or phrases for each feature from customer reviews in an efficient way. Our focus in this paper is to get the patterns of opinion words/phrases about the feature of product from the review text through adjective, adverb, verb, and noun. The extracted features and opinions are useful for generating a meaningful summary that can provide significant informative resource to help the user as well as merchants to track the most suitable choice of product. PMID:24459430

What drives people's opinions of electricity infrastructure? Empirical evidence from Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertsch, Valentin; Hyland, Marie; Mahony, Michael

2017-01-01

Across the EU, significant infrastructure investment is needed in both generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and the electricity grid to meet the European targets on emission reduction and RES expansion. Experiences show, however, that citizens may object to new energy infrastructure in their localities which may cause delays in achieving the targets. To avoid delays, it is crucial to understand what drives people's opinions. To explore people's opinions of different electricity generation and transmission technologies in Ireland, we conducted a nationally-representative survey. Concerning the drivers, we distinguish between socio-demographics, technology-specific perceptions, and energy policy preferences. Our results show that people generally have positive views of RES technologies. While this indicates that Irish citizens agree to move towards cleaner electricity sources, we find reluctance amongst people to have these technologies located close to their places of residence. We find that, across most technologies, the tradeoff people make between economic and environmental policy objectives drives their opinions of, and their tendencies to oppose, technology developments. The significance of most socio-demographic variables, however, is largely technology-dependent. This highlights that policy makers need to understand how people make tradeoffs between policy objectives and how these tradeoffs relate to their opinions of different technologies. - Highlights: • Conducted a survey to understand drivers of opinions of electricity infrastructure. • Considered socio-demographic, policy-related and technology-specific drivers. • Irish citizens generally have positive opinions of renewable technologies. • Positive opinions don't rule out local opposition. • Tradeoffs on policy objectives shape opinions most consistently across technologies.

Entropy based classifier for cross-domain opinion mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyoti S. Deshmukh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the growth of social network has increased the interest of people in analyzing reviews and opinions for products before they buy them. Consequently, this has given rise to the domain adaptation as a prominent area of research in sentiment analysis. A classifier trained from one domain often gives poor results on data from another domain. Expression of sentiment is different in every domain. The labeling cost of each domain separately is very high as well as time consuming. Therefore, this study has proposed an approach that extracts and classifies opinion words from one domain called source domain and predicts opinion words of another domain called target domain using a semi-supervised approach, which combines modified maximum entropy and bipartite graph clustering. A comparison of opinion classification on reviews on four different product domains is presented. The results demonstrate that the proposed method performs relatively well in comparison to the other methods. Comparison of SentiWordNet of domain-specific and domain-independent words reveals that on an average 72.6% and 88.4% words, respectively, are correctly classified.

Quantifying the Effect of Open-Mindedness on Opinion Dynamics and Advertising Optimization

OpenAIRE

Innes, Clinton R

2014-01-01

Group opinion dynamics shape our world in innumerable ways. Societal aspects ranging from the political parties we support to the economic decisions we make in our daily lives are all directly af- fected in some way by group opinion dynamics. This makes understanding and potentially being able to predict the complex inter-relationships between individuals’ opinions and group opinion dynam- ics invaluable both scientifically and economically. We propose an aggregation model incorporating ingro...

The influence of persuasion in opinion formation and polarization

Science.gov (United States)

La Rocca, C. E.; Braunstein, L. A.; Vazquez, F.

2014-05-01

We present a model that explores the influence of persuasion in a population of agents with positive and negative opinion orientations. The opinion of each agent is represented by an integer number k that expresses its level of agreement on a given issue, from totally against k=-M to totally in favor k = M. Same-orientation agents persuade each other with probability p, becoming more extreme, while opposite-orientation agents become more moderate as they reach a compromise with probability q. The population initially evolves to (a) a polarized state for r=p/q\\gt 1 , where opinions' distribution is peaked at the extreme values k=+/- M , or (b) a centralized state for r < 1, with most opinions around k=+/- 1 . When r \\gg 1 , polarization lasts for a time that diverges as r^M \\ln N , where N is the population's size. Finally, an extremist consensus (k = M or -M ) is reached in a time that scales as r^{-1} for r \\ll 1 .

Opinions and Knowledge About Climate Change Science in High School Students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harker-Schuch, Inez; Henriksen, Christian Bugge

2013-01-01

in national and international schools before and after a lecture in climate change science. The results show that knowledge about climate change science significantly affects opinions about climate change. Students with a higher number of correct answers are more likely to have the opinion that humans......This study investigates the influence of knowledge on opinions about climate change in the emerging adults' age group (16-17 years). Furthermore, the effects of a lecture in climate change science on knowledge and opinions were assessed. A survey was conducted in Austria and Denmark on 188 students...... are causing climate change and that both individuals and governments are responsible for addressing climate change. The lecture in climate change science significantly improved knowledge development but did not affect opinions. Knowledge was improved by 11 % after the lecture. However, the percentage...

Opinion leadership and willingness to pay for residential photovoltaic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Yoshihiro

2015-01-01

According to diffusion theory, opinion leaders play an important role in the diffusion of new technologies through interpersonal communication with potential adopters. This study investigates the role and utility of opinion leadership in photovoltaic (PV) system diffusion. Specifically, the study proposes, examines, and considers the implications of the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between willingness to pay (WTP) for a PV system and opinion leadership on PV-system adoption. The investigation employed an internet-based questionnaire to assess the use of interpersonal communication in decision-making on adoption, to identify opinion leaders on adoption, and to characterize their WTP. The response pool consisted of 488 individuals who lived in a detached house, owned a residential PV system, and were responsible for making the decision to adopt the system. The results support the hypothesis. Considering that subsidization preferentially incentivizes households with greater WTP to adopt PV systems, this suggests that subsidization is more effective than purchases of PV power under feed-in tariffs in promoting the diffusion of residential PV systems through interpersonal communication. -- Highlights: •Interpersonal communication about the adoption of PV systems is analyzed. •A questionnaire survey is conducted. •Opinion leaders on PV-system adoption are identified. •A relationship is confirmed between willingness to pay and opinion leadership. •Subsidization is more essential than feed-in tariffs from this point of view

Sudden transitions in coupled opinion and epidemic dynamics with vaccination

Science.gov (United States)

Pires, Marcelo A.; Oestereich, André L.; Crokidakis, Nuno

2018-05-01

This work consists of an epidemic model with vaccination coupled with an opinion dynamics. Our objective was to study how disease risk perception can influence opinions about vaccination and therefore the spreading of the disease. Differently from previous works we have considered continuous opinions. The epidemic spreading is governed by an SIS-like model with an extra vaccinated state. In our model individuals vaccinate with a probability proportional to their opinions. The opinions change due to peer influence in pairwise interactions. The epidemic feedback to the opinion dynamics acts as an external field increasing the vaccination probability. We performed Monte Carlo simulations in fully-connected populations. Interestingly we observed the emergence of a first-order phase transition, besides the usual active-absorbing phase transition presented in the SIS model. Our simulations also show that with a certain combination of parameters, an increment in the initial fraction of the population that is pro-vaccine has a twofold effect: it can lead to smaller epidemic outbreaks in the short term, but it also contributes to the survival of the chain of infections in the long term. Our results also suggest that it is possible that more effective vaccines can decrease the long-term vaccine coverage. This is a counterintuitive outcome, but it is in line with empirical observations that vaccines can become a victim of their own success.

Opinion-enhanced collaborative filtering for recommender systems through sentiment analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Wang, Hongwei

2015-10-01

The motivation of collaborative filtering (CF) comes from the idea that people often get the best recommendations from someone with similar tastes. With the growing popularity of opinion-rich resources such as online reviews, new opportunities arise as we can identify the preferences from user opinions. The main idea of our approach is to elicit user opinions from online reviews, and map such opinions into preferences that can be understood by CF-based recommender systems. We divide recommender systems into two types depending on the number of product category recommended: the multiple-category recommendation and the single-category recommendation. For the former, sentiment polarity in coarse-grained manner is identified while for the latter fine-grained sentiment analysis is conducted for each product aspect. If the evaluation frequency for an aspect by a user is greater than the average frequency by all users, it indicates that the user is more concerned with that aspect. If a user's rating for an aspect is lower than the average rating by all users, he or she is much pickier than others on that aspect. Through sentiment analysis, we then build an opinion-enhanced user preference model, where the higher the similarity between user opinions the more consistent preferences between users are. Experiment results show that the proposed CF algorithm outperforms baseline methods for product recommendation in terms of accuracy and recall.

Motives for seeking a second opinion in orthopaedic surgery.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dalen, I. van; Groothoff, J.; Stewart, R.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Groenewegen, P.; Horn, J. van

2001-01-01

The number of second opinions in orthopaedic surgery is increading rapidly, yet the grounds on which patients and their doctors decide to seek a second opinion have been little studied. The goal of the study was to identify patient and consultant factors that appeared to contribute to a second

Nursing opinion leadership: a preliminary model derived from philosophic theories of rational belief.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Christine A; Whall, Ann L

2013-10-01

Opinion leaders are informal leaders who have the ability to influence others' decisions about adopting new products, practices or ideas. In the healthcare setting, the importance of translating new research evidence into practice has led to interest in understanding how opinion leaders could be used to speed this process. Despite continued interest, gaps in understanding opinion leadership remain. Agent-based models are computer models that have proven to be useful for representing dynamic and contextual phenomena such as opinion leadership. The purpose of this paper is to describe the work conducted in preparation for the development of an agent-based model of nursing opinion leadership. The aim of this phase of the model development project was to clarify basic assumptions about opinions, the individual attributes of opinion leaders and characteristics of the context in which they are effective. The process used to clarify these assumptions was the construction of a preliminary nursing opinion leader model, derived from philosophical theories about belief formation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence: the precautionary principle applied to GM crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

2014-01-01

Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years spurred by examples where evidence indicated that certain treatments recommended by expert opinions increased death rates. We suggest that scientific evidence should also take priority over expert opinion in the regulation of genetically modified crops (GM). Examples of regulatory data requirements that are not justified based on the mass of evidence are described, and it is suggested that expertise in risk assessment should guide evidence-based regulation of GM crops.

Islamic Work Ethics and Audit Opinions: Audit Professionalism and Dysfunctional

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tulus Suryanto

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study examines the relationship between Islamic work ethics and auditors' opinion, focusing on the aspects of audit professionalism and dysfunctional behavior  as intervening  variables. The research involved in Internal Auditors working of Islamic Banking industry in Sumatra Island. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The study represents the empirical test employing census sampling. The data collected were analysed using Amos.  The results of the study confirmed the three hypotheses examined: there is a positive corelation between Islamic work ethics and auditors' opinions; auditors’ professionalism is an intervening variable of the correlation between Islamic work ethics and auditors’ opinions and dysfunctional behavior is a negative intervening variable of the correlation between Islamic Work Ethics and auditors' opinionsDOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i1.1864

Phase Transitions in a Social Impact Model for Opinion Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Bordogna, Clelia M.; Albano, Ezequiel V.

A model for opinion formation in a social group, based on the Theory of Social Impact developed by Latané, is studied by means of numerical simulations. Interactions among the members of the group, as well as with a strong leader competing with the mass media, are considered. The model exhibits first-order transitions between two different states of opinion, which are supported by the leader and the mass media, respectively. The social inertia of the group becomes evident when the opinion of the leader changes periodically. In this case two dynamic states are identified: for long periods of time, the group follows the changes of the leader but, decreasing the period, the opinion of the group remains unchanged. This scenery is suitable for the ocurrence of dynamic phase transitions.

Democracy, the media stage and opinions evaluation. The particular case of nuclear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansel, Ph.; Pages, J.P.

1997-01-01

The intention is pointed at the public opinion. The public debate, linked to the political system, is described in the frame where the opinions are expressed in interaction with the media. This debate has a fundamental role in the opinions structuration. Then it is shown how it is possible to introduce it in the way of measuring the opinions. Then, we arrive to the structures of public opinion. The analysis of facts registered during twenty years on nuclear energy allows to illustrate the interest of this global approach: considered from a controversy point of view, it is also a technical object and then it can be considered as a differentiation theme among others ones. (N.C.)

Indicators of opinion leadership in customer networks : self-reports and degree centrality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Risselada, Hans; Verhoef, Pieter; Bijmolt, Tammo

In this paper, we assess two alternative indicators of opinion leadership, self-reported opinion leadership and degree centrality, on the same dataset. We also investigate the interaction effect of these two indicators and the social network environment on opinion leadership. We use social network

The nature and determinants of opinion leadership in Lesotho ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This research investigates the nature, the occurrence and the factors influencing opinion leadership in Lesotho. The focus is on a typical rural district where 200 maize farmers were randomly selected and their opinion leaders identified by means of sociometric methods with the number of nominations as the major indicator ...

Analysing Customer Opinions with Text Mining Algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Consoli, Domenico

2009-08-01

Knowing what the customer thinks of a particular product/service helps top management to introduce improvements in processes and products, thus differentiating the company from their competitors and gain competitive advantages. The customers, with their preferences, determine the success or failure of a company. In order to know opinions of the customers we can use technologies available from the web 2.0 (blog, wiki, forums, chat, social networking, social commerce). From these web sites, useful information must be extracted, for strategic purposes, using techniques of sentiment analysis or opinion mining.

42 CFR 411.386 - CMS's advisory opinions as exclusive.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false CMS's advisory opinions as exclusive. 411.386... Relationships Between Physicians and Entities Furnishing Designated Health Services § 411.386 CMS's advisory... described in § 411.370. CMS has not and does not issue a binding advisory opinion on the subject matter in...

Students' Opinions on Facebook Supported Blended Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Erdem, Mukaddes; Kibar, Pinar Nuhoglu

2014-01-01

The first purpose of this study was to determine students' opinions on blended learning and its implementation. The other purpose was to explore the students' opinions on Facebook integration into blended learning environment. The participants of this study were 40 undergraduate students in their fourth semester of the program.…

Analysis of Primary School Teachers' Opinions on Family Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Alvaro Capano; Massonnier, Natalie; González Tornaría, Maria del L.

2016-01-01

This article aims to do an analysis based on the opinion of primary school teachers on family models that are different from the traditional nuclear family. We worked with 60 teachers from Montevideo and the metropolitan area. They answered the Questionnaire: Teachers' Opinion on Family Diversity (CIDF for its Spanish acronym) (Morgado,…

29 CFR 18.701 - Opinion testimony by lay witnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Opinion testimony by lay witnesses. 18.701 Section 18.701 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS... Opinion testimony by lay witnesses. If the witness is not testifying as an expert, the witness' testimony...

A Pesquisa Design Science no Brasil segundo as Publicações em Administração da Informação

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Osvaldo De Sordi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Este artigo realiza uma revisão da literatura das pesquisas publicadas pela academia brasileira de administração da informação com o objetivo de analisar o quanto se aplica e como se pratica os princípios da pesquisa design science (DS. A amostra da pesquisa foi extraída de 257 artigos publicados por esta área, nos anais do EnANPAD, no período 2008-2012. Observou-se o interesse manifesto dos pesquisadores pela DS, considerando que há publicações referentes ao desenvolvimento de novos artefatos. Estas pesquisas, porém, não observaram aspectos centrais da DS, como: associação do artefato a problemas do ambiente de negócios e evidenciação da utilidade do artefato por meio de testes com variáveis associadas ao problema.

[Psychiatric expert opinions on asylum seekers in Germany].

Science.gov (United States)

Sieberer, Marcel; Ziegenbein, Marc; Eckhardt, Gudrun; Machleidt, Wielant; Calliess, Iris T

2011-01-01

To investigate the frequency of traumatisation, suicidality and given diagnoses in expert opinions on asylum seekers and to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of this population. The psychiatric expert opinions on asylum seekers, furnished in an 8-year-period at Hannover Medical School, were analysed retrospectively for qualitative and quantitative characteristics. 62 psychiatric expert opinions on asylum seekers were included in this study. The asylum seekers originated from 18 different countries, mainly from Turkey and former Yugoslavia. Most expert opinions were given in secondary asylum procedures, i. e. after the initial asylum request had been rejected. The asylum seekers reported on traumatisation in 82.3 %. The most frequently reported forms of traumatisation were rape in female, and torture in male persons. According to ICD-10 or DSM-IV-R criteria posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most frequent diagnosis (74.1 %) in this study. The second most common diagnoses were depressive disorders (ICD-10: F32.x in 33.9 % and ICD-10: F33.x in 25.9 %). Suicidal tendency was found in 56.5 % of the asylum seekers. Cultural differences, language barriers, a heavy burden by psychological symptoms, and clinical severity are difficulties in the process of psychiatric assessment of refugees in legal asylum procedures. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Your opinion on climate change might not be as common as you think

Science.gov (United States)

Leviston, Z.; Walker, I.; Morwinski, S.

2013-04-01

Political and media debate on the existence and causes of climate change has become increasingly factious in several western countries, often resting on claims and counter-claims about what most citizens really think. There are several well-established phenomena in psychology about how people perceive the prevalence of opinions, including the false consensus effect (a tendency to overestimate how common one's `own' opinion is) and pluralistic ignorance (where most people privately reject an opinion, but assume incorrectly that most others accept it). We investigated these biases in people's opinions about the existence and causes of climate change. In two surveys conducted 12 months apart in Australia (n=5,036 n=5,030), respondents were asked their own opinion about the nature of climate change, and then asked to estimate levels of opinion among the general population. We demonstrate that opinions about climate change are subject to strong false consensus effects, that people grossly overestimate the numbers of people who reject the existence of climate change in the broader community, and that people with high false consensus bias are less likely to change their opinions.

Contradictions and Consensus--Clusters of Opinions on E-Books

Science.gov (United States)

Shrimplin, Aaron K.; Revelle, Andy; Hurst, Susan; Messner, Kevin

2011-01-01

Q methodology was used to determine attitudes and opinions about e-books among a group of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates at Miami University of Ohio. Oral interviews formed the basis for a collection of opinion statements concerning e-books versus print. These statements were then ranked by a second group of research participants.…

Opinions of the Geography Teacher Candidates toward Mind Maps

Science.gov (United States)

Seyihoglu, Aysegul

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the opinions of the teacher candidates about mind mapping technique used in Geography education of undergraduate program. In this study, the qualitative research techniques were used. The study group consists of 55 teacher candidates. The teacher candidates have been asked for their opinions about the process…

Opinions and knowledge about climate change science in high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Harker-Schuch, Inez; Bugge-Henriksen, Christian

2013-10-01

This study investigates the influence of knowledge on opinions about climate change in the emerging adults' age group (16-17 years). Furthermore, the effects of a lecture in climate change science on knowledge and opinions were assessed. A survey was conducted in Austria and Denmark on 188 students in national and international schools before and after a lecture in climate change science. The results show that knowledge about climate change science significantly affects opinions about climate change. Students with a higher number of correct answers are more likely to have the opinion that humans are causing climate change and that both individuals and governments are responsible for addressing climate change. The lecture in climate change science significantly improved knowledge development but did not affect opinions. Knowledge was improved by 11 % after the lecture. However, the percentage of correct answers was still below 60 % indicating an urgent need for improving climate change science education.

Domain Adaptation for Opinion Classification: A Self-Training Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu, Ning

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Domain transfer is a widely recognized problem for machine learning algorithms because models built upon one data domain generally do not perform well in another data domain. This is especially a challenge for tasks such as opinion classification, which often has to deal with insufficient quantities of labeled data. This study investigates the feasibility of self-training in dealing with the domain transfer problem in opinion classification via leveraging labeled data in non-target data domain(s and unlabeled data in the target-domain. Specifically, self-training is evaluated for effectiveness in sparse data situations and feasibility for domain adaptation in opinion classification. Three types of Web content are tested: edited news articles, semi-structured movie reviews, and the informal and unstructured content of the blogosphere. Findings of this study suggest that, when there are limited labeled data, self-training is a promising approach for opinion classification, although the contributions vary across data domains. Significant improvement was demonstrated for the most challenging data domain-the blogosphere-when a domain transfer-based self-training strategy was implemented.

Dynamic behavior of a social model for opinion formation

Science.gov (United States)

Bordogna, Clelia M.; Albano, Ezequiel V.

2007-12-01

The dynamic behavior of a social group influenced by both a strong leader and the mass media, which is modeled according to the social impact theory, is studied under two situations: (i) The strong leader changes his/her state of opinion periodically while the mass media are not considered. In this case, the leader is capable of driving the group between a dynamically ordered state with a weak leader-group coupling (high-frequency regime) and a dynamically disordered state where the group follows the opinion of the leader (low-frequency regime). (ii) The mass-media change periodically their message and have to compete with a strong leader that keeps his/her state of opinion unchanged. In this case, the mass media require an amplitude threshold in order to overcome the influence of the leader and drive the system into a dynamically disordered state. The dynamic behavior characteristic of the studied social opinion model shares many features of physical systems that are relevant in the fields of statistical mechanics and condensed matter.

Brazilian abortion law: the opinion of judges and prosecutors.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Graciana Alves; Osis, Maria José Duarte; Faúndes, Anibal; Sousa, Maria Helena de

2010-06-01

To analyze the opinion of judges and prosecutors concerning Brazilian abortion law and situations in which the abortion should be allowed. A cross-sectional study was performed with 1,493 judges and 2,614 prosecutors in Brazil between 2005 and 2006. Participants completed a structured questionnaire approaching sociodemographic characteristics, opinions about abortion law, and circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of data were carried out through Poisson regression. The majority of participants (78%) found that the circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful should be broadened, or even that abortion should not be criminalized. The highest rates of pro-abortion opinions resulted from: risk to the life of the mother (84%), anencephaly (83%), severe congenital malformation of fetus (82%), and pregnancy resulting from rape (82%). Variables related to religion were strongly associated to the opinion of participants. There is a trend in considering the need of changing the current abortion law, in the sense of widening the circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful, or even toward decriminalizing abortion, regardless of the circumstances in which it takes place.

Opinion formation and distribution in a bounded-confidence model on various networks

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, X. Flora; Van Gorder, Robert A.; Porter, Mason A.

2018-02-01

In the social, behavioral, and economic sciences, it is important to predict which individual opinions eventually dominate in a large population, whether there will be a consensus, and how long it takes for a consensus to form. Such ideas have been studied heavily both in physics and in other disciplines, and the answers depend strongly both on how one models opinions and on the network structure on which opinions evolve. One model that was created to study consensus formation quantitatively is the Deffuant model, in which the opinion distribution of a population evolves via sequential random pairwise encounters. To consider heterogeneity of interactions in a population along with social influence, we study the Deffuant model on various network structures (deterministic synthetic networks, random synthetic networks, and social networks constructed from Facebook data). We numerically simulate the Deffuant model and conduct regression analyses to investigate the dependence of the time to reach steady states on various model parameters, including a confidence bound for opinion updates, the number of participating entities, and their willingness to compromise. We find that network structure and parameter values both have important effects on the convergence time and the number of steady-state opinion groups. For some network architectures, we observe that the relationship between the convergence time and model parameters undergoes a transition at a critical value of the confidence bound. For some networks, the steady-state opinion distribution also changes from consensus to multiple opinion groups at this critical value.

Influence of communication on public opinion about nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, Everton de Almeida

1997-01-01

Public opinion on risks and benefits associated to nuclear energy is depending on psychological and social factors and mainly on the communication strategy used to transfer knowledge and facts about nuclear technology to the public. In this work, the individual and collective communication process and the influences on the public opinion on nuclear energy will be analyzed. (author)

Public Opinion Survey Data to Measure Sympathy and Support for Islamist Terrorism: A Look at Muslim Opinions on Al Qaeda and IS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex P. Schmid

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This Research Paper seeks to explore what ‘sympathy’ and ‘support’ actually mean when it comes to terrorism. The text addresses some of the problems of public opinion surveys, includes a conceptual discussion and then continues with the presentation of data from public opinion surveys. It notes that opinion polls can be helpful in gauging (verbal support for terrorism but also finds that the questions asked in opinion polls are generally lacking precision while the answers are often influenced by political pressures. When translating (generally low percentages of sympathy and support for al Qaeda and so-called Islamic State in various countries into actual population figures, it emerges that there is a sizeable radical milieu in both Muslim-majority countries and in Western Muslim diasporas, held together by the world wide web of the internet. While large majorities of Muslims in most countries have no love for jihadist extremists, there are more than enough breeding grounds for terrorism. The Research Paper concludes that better instruments for measuring sympathy and support for jihadist terrorism are needed to inform counter-terrorist strategies.

Examining Characteristics of Opinion Leaders in Social Media: A Motivational Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Winter

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Social networking sites offer various opportunities to express opinions on politics and public affairs and to disseminate information to a large circle of acquaintances. The present research aims to identify the characteristics of people who consider themselves as opinion leaders on these new channels, the features they use in order to influence others, and the psychological motives they pursue. A survey ( N  = 527 among Facebook users identified political interest and personality strength as significant predictors of perceived Facebook opinion leadership, while the influence of extraversion was not significant. Those who write private messages on political debates do this in order to raise awareness of specific topics, while opinion expression in public status updates is also strongly connected to self-presentational goals (impression motivation. Moreover, the motives of presenting oneself positively and convincing others are particularly important for people with high personality strength. The present findings extend previous knowledge by redefining the concept of opinion leadership in new media environments and describing motivational links between individuals’ predispositions and their activities to influence others’ opinions. On a practical level, the pronounced role of self-presentational motives is likely to have important implications for the dynamics of public debates in social media.

Epidemic spreading in multiplex networks influenced by opinion exchanges on vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Zuzek, Lucila G; La Rocca, Cristian E; Iglesias, José R; Braunstein, Lidia A

2017-01-01

Through years, the use of vaccines has always been a controversial issue. People in a society may have different opinions about how beneficial the vaccines are and as a consequence some of those individuals decide to vaccinate or not themselves and their relatives. This attitude in face of vaccines has clear consequences in the spread of diseases and their transformation in epidemics. Motivated by this scenario, we study, in a simultaneous way, the changes of opinions about vaccination together with the evolution of a disease. In our model we consider a multiplex network consisting of two layers. One of the layers corresponds to a social network where people share their opinions and influence others opinions. The social model that rules the dynamic is the M-model, which takes into account two different processes that occurs in a society: persuasion and compromise. This two processes are related through a parameter r, r 1 the society tends to have extremist opinions, while r = 1 represents a neutral society. This social network may be of real or virtual contacts. On the other hand, the second layer corresponds to a network of physical contacts where the disease spreading is described by the SIR-Model. In this model the individuals may be in one of the following four states: Susceptible (S), Infected(I), Recovered (R) or Vaccinated (V). A Susceptible individual can: i) get vaccinated, if his opinion in the other layer is totally in favor of the vaccine, ii) get infected, with probability β if he is in contact with an infected neighbor. Those I individuals recover after a certain period tr = 6. Vaccinated individuals have an extremist positive opinion that does not change. We consider that the vaccine has a certain effectiveness ω and as a consequence vaccinated nodes can be infected with probability β(1 - ω) if they are in contact with an infected neighbor. In this case, if the infection process is successful, the new infected individual changes his opinion from

Epidemic spreading in multiplex networks influenced by opinion exchanges on vaccination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucila G Alvarez-Zuzek

Full Text Available Through years, the use of vaccines has always been a controversial issue. People in a society may have different opinions about how beneficial the vaccines are and as a consequence some of those individuals decide to vaccinate or not themselves and their relatives. This attitude in face of vaccines has clear consequences in the spread of diseases and their transformation in epidemics. Motivated by this scenario, we study, in a simultaneous way, the changes of opinions about vaccination together with the evolution of a disease. In our model we consider a multiplex network consisting of two layers. One of the layers corresponds to a social network where people share their opinions and influence others opinions. The social model that rules the dynamic is the M-model, which takes into account two different processes that occurs in a society: persuasion and compromise. This two processes are related through a parameter r, r 1 the society tends to have extremist opinions, while r = 1 represents a neutral society. This social network may be of real or virtual contacts. On the other hand, the second layer corresponds to a network of physical contacts where the disease spreading is described by the SIR-Model. In this model the individuals may be in one of the following four states: Susceptible (S, Infected(I, Recovered (R or Vaccinated (V. A Susceptible individual can: i get vaccinated, if his opinion in the other layer is totally in favor of the vaccine, ii get infected, with probability β if he is in contact with an infected neighbor. Those I individuals recover after a certain period tr = 6. Vaccinated individuals have an extremist positive opinion that does not change. We consider that the vaccine has a certain effectiveness ω and as a consequence vaccinated nodes can be infected with probability β(1 - ω if they are in contact with an infected neighbor. In this case, if the infection process is successful, the new infected individual changes his

Eliciting expert opinion for economic models: an applied example.

Science.gov (United States)

Leal, José; Wordsworth, Sarah; Legood, Rosa; Blair, Edward

2007-01-01

Expert opinion is considered as a legitimate source of information for decision-analytic modeling where required data are unavailable. Our objective was to develop a practical computer-based tool for eliciting expert opinion about the shape of the uncertainty distribution around individual model parameters. We first developed a prepilot survey with departmental colleagues to test a number of alternative approaches to eliciting opinions on the shape of the uncertainty distribution around individual parameters. This information was used to develop a survey instrument for an applied clinical example. This involved eliciting opinions from experts to inform a number of parameters involving Bernoulli processes in an economic model evaluating DNA testing for families with a genetic disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The experts were cardiologists, clinical geneticists, and laboratory scientists working with cardiomyopathy patient populations and DNA testing. Our initial prepilot work suggested that the more complex elicitation techniques advocated in the literature were difficult to use in practice. In contrast, our approach achieved a reasonable response rate (50%), provided logical answers, and was generally rated as easy to use by respondents. The computer software user interface permitted graphical feedback throughout the elicitation process. The distributions obtained were incorporated into the model, enabling the use of probabilistic sensitivity analysis. There is clearly a gap in the literature between theoretical elicitation techniques and tools that can be used in applied decision-analytic models. The results of this methodological study are potentially valuable for other decision analysts deriving expert opinion.

Nuclear public information activities in Chile; Programa de educacion publica de la energia nuclear en Chile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munoz Quintana, R [Comision Chilena de Energia Nuclear, Santiago (Chile)

1995-10-01

Nuclear plans and developing programs in developing and developed countries are facing-in a higher or lower degree- opposition from public opinion. The objectives and contents of the public education program on nuclear energy in Chile are dealt with in this paper.

Multi-lingual Opinion Mining on YouTube

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Severyn, Aliaksei; Moschitti, Alessandro; Uryupina, Olga

2015-01-01

In order to successfully apply opinion mining (OM) to the large amounts of user-generated content produced every day, we need robust models that can handle the noisy input well yet can easily be adapted to a new domain or language. We here focus on opinion mining for YouTube by (i) modeling...... domain (up to 2.6% and 3% of absolute improvement for Italian and English, respectively); (ii) it is particularly useful when tested across domains (up to more than 4% absolute improvement for both languages), especially when little training data is available (up to 10% absolute improvement) and (iii...

Opinion dynamics of learning agents: does seeking consensus lead to disagreement?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vicente, Renato; Martins, André C R; Caticha, Nestor

2009-01-01

We study opinion dynamics in a population of interacting adaptive agents voting on a set of issues represented by vectors. We consider agents who can classify issues into one of two categories and can arrive at their opinions using an adaptive algorithm. Adaptation comes from learning and the information for the learning process comes from interacting with other neighboring agents and trying to change the internal state in order to concur with their opinions. The change in the internal state is driven by the information contained in the issue and in the opinion of the other agent. We present results in a simple yet rich context where each agent uses a Boolean perceptron to state their opinion. If the update occurs with information asynchronously exchanged among pairs of agents, then the typical case, if the number of issues is kept small, is the evolution into a society torn by the emergence of factions with extreme opposite beliefs. This occurs even when seeking consensus with agents with opposite opinions. If the number of issues is large, the dynamics becomes trapped, the society does not evolve into factions and a distribution of moderate opinions is observed. The synchronous case is technically simpler and is studied by formulating the problem in terms of differential equations that describe the evolution of order parameters that measure the consensus between pairs of agents. We show that for a large number of issues and unidirectional information flow, global consensus is a fixed point; however, the approach to this consensus is glassy for large societies

Opinion dynamics of learning agents: does seeking consensus lead to disagreement?

Science.gov (United States)

Vicente, Renato; Martins, André C. R.; Caticha, Nestor

2009-03-01

We study opinion dynamics in a population of interacting adaptive agents voting on a set of issues represented by vectors. We consider agents who can classify issues into one of two categories and can arrive at their opinions using an adaptive algorithm. Adaptation comes from learning and the information for the learning process comes from interacting with other neighboring agents and trying to change the internal state in order to concur with their opinions. The change in the internal state is driven by the information contained in the issue and in the opinion of the other agent. We present results in a simple yet rich context where each agent uses a Boolean perceptron to state their opinion. If the update occurs with information asynchronously exchanged among pairs of agents, then the typical case, if the number of issues is kept small, is the evolution into a society torn by the emergence of factions with extreme opposite beliefs. This occurs even when seeking consensus with agents with opposite opinions. If the number of issues is large, the dynamics becomes trapped, the society does not evolve into factions and a distribution of moderate opinions is observed. The synchronous case is technically simpler and is studied by formulating the problem in terms of differential equations that describe the evolution of order parameters that measure the consensus between pairs of agents. We show that for a large number of issues and unidirectional information flow, global consensus is a fixed point; however, the approach to this consensus is glassy for large societies.

The role of opinion research in communications programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtin, Tom

1995-01-01

Nirex is a company financed by the UK nuclear industry to dispose of intermediate and some long-lived low-level radioactive waste. The company has no responsibility for high-level radioactive waste. Most low-level waste is disposed of at a shallow site owned by BNFL, one of Nirex's shareholders. At Nirex, we use opinion research in a number of ways: as a map to guide communications programmes; to set baselines and targets to isolate issues of concern to our publics. The Company carries out market research covering three key audiences: the general public, politicians, and journalists. For Nirex, opinion research is a map. It guides our communication programmes in dealing with our key audiences. Without it, we would be driving blind. Opinion research allows us to isolate key issues for communication. It also allows us to measure performance and to see which initiatives are successful and which are not

Public opinion about nuclear energy - year 2003 poll

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Istenic, R.; Jencic, I.

2003-01-01

Nuclear Training Centre Milan Copic at Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana is performing extensive public information activities, focused mainly on elementary and high schools in Slovenia. There are over 7000 visitors yearly. Every year in the spring we ask several hundred of visitors the same set of questions about their knowledge and opinion about nuclear energy. They are polled before they listen to the lecture or visit the exhibition. In that way we are trying to obtain their opinion based on the knowledge they obtain in everyday life. In the paper the results of this year's poll are presented and compared with the previous years. No significant changes in public opinion were observed this year. Favourable attitude towards NPP Krsko, which could be observed in the last years, is maintained. On the other hand, misconceptions about radioactive waste repositories and danger of radioactive waste remain very high. (author)

29 CFR 1621.3 - Procedure for requesting an opinion letter.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 1621.3 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES-THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1621.3 Procedure for requesting an opinion letter. (a) A request for an opinion letter should be submitted in writing to the Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Principals' Opinions of Organisational Justice in Elementary Schools in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Aydin, Inayet; Karaman-Kepenekci, Yasemin

2008-01-01

Purpose--This study aims to present the opinions of public elementary school principals in Turkey about the current organisational justice practices among teachers from the distributive, procedural, interactional, and rectificatory dimensions. Design/methodology/approach--The opinions of 11 public elementary school principals in Ankara about…

Public opinion and terrorist acts

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Malečková, Jitka; Stanišić, Dragana

2011-01-01

Roč. 27, Sup. 1 (2011), S107-S121 ISSN 0176-2680 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : support for terrorism * public opinion * international terrorism Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 1.437, year: 2011

Opinion barometer on energy and climate in January 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-04-01

This article reports and comments the results of a survey performed by the CREDOC on a representative sample of 2006 French people. Eight questions have been asked, dealing with two main themes: energy production (opinion about the energy production mode, about renewable energies, about nuclear energy) and consumers' attitude (in front of energy price increase, when acquiring expensive equipment like a car, a heater or any other big domestic equipment). Tables give results on the opinion on energy public policy in France, on wind turbine installation. These results are given in terms of gender, age, socio-economic categories, and town size. Graphs indicate the evolution since 1983 of the opinion on nuclear energy and on the worry of nuclear plant incident

Second opinion oral pathology referrals in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, B; Hussaini, H M; Rich, A M

2017-04-01

Referral for a second opinion is an important aspect of pathology practice, which reduces the rate of diagnostic error and ensures consistency with diagnoses. The Oral Pathology Centre (OPC) is the only specialist oral diagnostic centre in New Zealand. OPC provides diagnostic services to dentists and dental specialists throughout New Zealand and acts as a referral centre for second opinions for oral pathology specimens that have been sent to anatomical pathologists. The aim of this study was to review second opinion referral cases sent to the OPC over a 15-year period and to assess the levels of concordance between the original and final diagnoses. The findings indicated that the majority of referred cases were odontogenic lesions, followed by connective tissue, epithelial and salivary lesions. The most prevalent diagnoses were ameloblastoma and keratocystic odontogenic tumour, followed by oral squamous cell carcinoma. Discordant diagnoses were recorded in 24% of cases. Diagnostic discrepancies were higher in odontogenic and salivary gland lesions, resulting in the change of diagnoses. Second opinion of oral pathology cases should be encouraged in view of the relative rarity of these lesions in general pathology laboratories and the rates of diagnostic discrepancy, particularly for odontogenic and salivary gland lesions. Copyright © 2017 Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nuclear power and public opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazanikov, I.A.; Klykov, S.A.

2000-01-01

The public opinion on Nuclear Power is not favorable. A purposeful work with public perception is necessary. One way to create a positive image of the nuclear industry is to improve public radiological education. This challenge can be resolved in the close cooperation with state school and preschool education. The formation about nuclear power should be simple and symbolical. Our society can be divided into 4 parts which can be called as target groups: First group - People from the nuclear industry with special education working at nuclear facilities or related to the industry. Second group - People working in the fields connected with nuclear power. Third group - People not related to nuclear power or even with negative impression to the industry. This group is the largest and the work required is the most difficult. Fourth group - The number of this group's members is the least, but it has strong influence on public opinion. 'Greens' and a broad spectrum of ecological organizations can be included in this group. (Authors)

To issue or not to issue a going concern opinion : A study of factors and incentives influencing auditors’ ability and decision to issue going concern opinions

OpenAIRE

Nordholm, Elin; Björkstrand, Anette

2014-01-01

If auditors question a company’s ability to continue existing, they should issue a going concern opinion in the audit report. Whether or not auditors will issue a going concern opinion depends on auditors’ ability to identify going concern problems, as well as their decision whether or not to issue going concern opinions. In Sweden, the going concern accuracy rate has been low compared to other countries. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse whether it is auditors’ lack of ability to...

Redes sociales, participaci\\'on ciudadana y la hip\\'otesis del slacktivismo: lecciones del caso de "El Bronco" / Social Media, Civic Engagement, and the Slacktivism Hypothesis: Lessons from Mexico's "El Bronco"

OpenAIRE

Howard, Philip N.; Savage, Saiph; Flores-Saviaga, Claudia; Toxtli, Carlos; Monroy-Hernández, Andres

2017-01-01

El uso de las redes sociales tiene consecuencias positivas o negativas en la participaci\\'on ciudadana? La gran parte de los intentos por responder a esta pregunta incluyen datos de la opini\\'on p\\'ublica de los Estados Unidos, por lo que nosotros ofrecemos un estudio sobre un caso significativo de M\\'exico, donde un candidato independiente utiliz\\'o las redes sociales para comunicarse con el p\\'ublico y rehuy\\'o de los medios de comunicaci\\'on tradicionales. Dicho candidato, conocido como "E...

Gender and personality traits' (BFI-10) effect on opinion leadership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olexova, Cecilia; Sudzina, Frantisek

2017-01-01

Opinion leadership used to be perceived as a highly domain-specific trait but it was found to be multi-faceted, i.e. individuals are influential independent of a specific subject area. Another term is generalized opinion leadership. Impact of Big Five Inventory personality traits on domain...

Open Primary Education School Students' Opinions about Mathematics Television Programmes

Science.gov (United States)

Yenilmez, Kursat

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine open primary education school students' opinions about mathematics television programmes. This study indicated that to determine differences among open primary education school students' opinions about mathematics television programmes point of view students' characteristics like gender, age, grade,…

Historický vývoj konceptů fámy a „veřejného mínění“

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateřina Soukalová

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the relationship between public opinion and rumour from ancient times, through the Middle Ages and right up to today. It willexamine the terms which were used and which often depended not just on aparticular author but usually an entire social class. The most often used terms to describe opinion, fama and existimatio, occurred in the speeches of politicians which were presented as the valuable opinions of the elite whereas the concepts opinio, rumor or sermo were considered as low value and unreliable opinions of plebeians to whom the ruling classes attributed the spreading and creation of rumours. The concept of fama, more often fama publica, indicated in the Middle Ages a local network of knowledge, a mechanism for the collective evaluation of an individual. In this sense it played an important role in the courts of law. The issue of rumours is common to all subesequent historical periods because public opinion usually both generated, and was supported, by rumour. The article also puts forward a hypothesis why the all-powerful fama dissapeared from the courtrooms, why it lost its significance and became purely a rumour.

Historický vývoj konceptů fámy a „veřejného mínění“

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateřina Soukalová

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the relationship between public opinion and rumour from ancient times, through the Middle Ages and right up to today. It willexamine the terms which were used and which often depended not just on aparticular author but usually an entire social class. The most often used terms to describe opinion, fama and existimatio, occurred in the speeches of politicians which were presented as the valuable opinions of the elite whereas the concepts opinio, rumor or sermo were considered as low value and unreliable opinions of plebeians to whom the ruling classes attributed the spreading and creation of rumours. The concept of fama, more often fama publica, indicated in the Middle Ages a local network of knowledge, a mechanism for the collective evaluation of an individual. In this sense it played an important role in the courts of law. The issue of rumours is common to all subesequent historical periods because public opinion usually both generated, and was supported, by rumour. The article also puts forward a hypothesis why the all-powerful fama dissapeared from the courtrooms, why it lost its significance and became purely a rumour.

Effects of heterogeneous convergence rate on consensus in opinion dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Changwei; Dai, Qionglin; Han, Wenchen; Feng, Yuee; Cheng, Hongyan; Li, Haihong

2018-06-01

The Deffuant model has attracted much attention in the study of opinion dynamics. Here, we propose a modified version by introducing into the model a heterogeneous convergence rate which is dependent on the opinion difference between interacting agents and a tunable parameter κ. We study the effects of heterogeneous convergence rate on consensus by investigating the probability of complete consensus, the size of the largest opinion cluster, the number of opinion clusters, and the relaxation time. We find that the decrease of the convergence rate is favorable to decreasing the confidence threshold for the population to always reach complete consensus, and there exists optimal κ resulting in the minimal bounded confidence threshold. Moreover, we find that there exists a window before the threshold of confidence in which complete consensus may be reached with a nonzero probability when κ is not too large. We also find that, within a certain confidence range, decreasing the convergence rate will reduce the relaxation time, which is somewhat counterintuitive.

Public perception of nuclear power in Mexico after Fukushima; Percepcion publica de la energia nuclear en Mexico despues de Fukushima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palacios, J. C.; Alonso, G.; Ramirez, R., E-mail: javier.palacios@inin.gob.mx [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, 52750 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)

2015-09-15

This section presents some of the results of four studies on international public opinion about nuclear energy, the first one made several years before the Fukushima accident, conducted in 2005 by the IAEA through the company Globe Scan Inc. The second study was conducted by the same company in 2011 a few months after the Fukushima accident, including also corresponding results to two studies conducted by the British firm Ipsos Mori (of years 2011 and 2012 respectively). Finally three studies conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (ININ) in 2006, 2008 and 2013 are presented. From the results of these studies was determined that the Fukushima accident itself had a negative effect on public opinion in Mexico, as throughout the world, but this trend is reversing. Also it found that public opinion in Mexico on using reactors to generate electricity is favorable, although not still has much support from the government for the construction of new nuclear power plants. (Author)

Opinion dynamics on an adaptive random network

Science.gov (United States)

Benczik, I. J.; Benczik, S. Z.; Schmittmann, B.; Zia, R. K. P.

2009-04-01

We revisit the classical model for voter dynamics in a two-party system with two basic modifications. In contrast to the original voter model studied in regular lattices, we implement the opinion formation process in a random network of agents in which interactions are no longer restricted by geographical distance. In addition, we incorporate the rapidly changing nature of the interpersonal relations in the model. At each time step, agents can update their relationships. This update is determined by their own opinion, and by their preference to make connections with individuals sharing the same opinion, or rather with opponents. In this way, the network is built in an adaptive manner, in the sense that its structure is correlated and evolves with the dynamics of the agents. The simplicity of the model allows us to examine several issues analytically. We establish criteria to determine whether consensus or polarization will be the outcome of the dynamics and on what time scales these states will be reached. In finite systems consensus is typical, while in infinite systems a disordered metastable state can emerge and persist for infinitely long time before consensus is reached.

An Investigation of the Intellectual Structure of Opinion Mining Research

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yongjun; Kim, Meen Chul; Chen, Chaomei

2017-01-01

Introduction: Opinion mining has been receiving increasing attention from a broad range of scientific communities since early 2000s. The present study aims to systematically investigate the intellectual structure of opinion mining research. Method: Using topic search, citation expansion, and patent search, we collected 5,596 bibliographic records…

factors contributing to the accessibility of opinion leaders in lesotho

African Journals Online (AJOL)

p2333147

male opinion leaders was only 33.3 percent. These findings emphasise the necessity of extension to focus knowledge support on female opinion leaders in order to promote the diffusion process among the many female farmers. 3.3.3. Friendship. Friendship epitomises accessibility and consequently it is expected that.

Symmetry breaking in the opinion dynamics of a multi-group project organization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Zhen-Tao; Zhou Jing; Chen Xing-Guang; Li Ping

2012-01-01

A bounded confidence model of opinion dynamics in multi-group projects is presented in which each group's opinion evolution is driven by two types of forces: (i) the group's cohesive force which tends to restore the opinion back towards the initial status because of its company culture; and (ii) nonlinear coupling forces with other groups which attempt to bring opinions closer due to collaboration willingness. Bifurcation analysis for the case of a two-group project shows a cusp catastrophe phenomenon and three distinctive evolutionary regimes, i.e., a deadlock regime, a convergence regime, and a bifurcation regime in opinion dynamics. The critical value of initial discord between the two groups is derived to discriminate which regime the opinion evolution belongs to. In the case of a three-group project with a symmetric social network, both bifurcation analysis and simulation results demonstrate that if each pair has a high initial discord, instead of symmetrically converging to consensus with the increase of coupling scale as expected by Gabbay's result (Physica A 378 (2007) p. 125 Fig. 5), project organization (PO) may be split into two distinct clusters because of the symmetry breaking phenomenon caused by pitchfork bifurcations, which urges that apart from divergence in participants' interests, nonlinear interaction can also make conflict inevitable in the PO. The effects of two asymmetric level parameters are tested in order to explore the ways of inducing dominant opinion in the whole PO. It is found that the strong influence imposed by a leader group with firm faith on the flexible and open minded follower groups can promote the formation of a positive dominant opinion in the PO

Symmetry breaking in the opinion dynamics of a multi-group project organization

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhen-Tao; Zhou, Jing; Li, Ping; Chen, Xing-Guang

2012-10-01

A bounded confidence model of opinion dynamics in multi-group projects is presented in which each group's opinion evolution is driven by two types of forces: (i) the group's cohesive force which tends to restore the opinion back towards the initial status because of its company culture; and (ii) nonlinear coupling forces with other groups which attempt to bring opinions closer due to collaboration willingness. Bifurcation analysis for the case of a two-group project shows a cusp catastrophe phenomenon and three distinctive evolutionary regimes, i.e., a deadlock regime, a convergence regime, and a bifurcation regime in opinion dynamics. The critical value of initial discord between the two groups is derived to discriminate which regime the opinion evolution belongs to. In the case of a three-group project with a symmetric social network, both bifurcation analysis and simulation results demonstrate that if each pair has a high initial discord, instead of symmetrically converging to consensus with the increase of coupling scale as expected by Gabbay's result (Physica A 378 (2007) p. 125 Fig. 5), project organization (PO) may be split into two distinct clusters because of the symmetry breaking phenomenon caused by pitchfork bifurcations, which urges that apart from divergence in participants' interests, nonlinear interaction can also make conflict inevitable in the PO. The effects of two asymmetric level parameters are tested in order to explore the ways of inducing dominant opinion in the whole PO. It is found that the strong influence imposed by a leader group with firm faith on the flexible and open minded follower groups can promote the formation of a positive dominant opinion in the PO.

Nonconformity defines the self: the role of minority opinion status in self-concept clarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Kimberly Rios; Wheeler, S Christian

2010-03-01

Drawing on distinctiveness and social identity theories, the present studies tested whether minority opinion holders would have a more clearly defined sense of self than majority opinion holders. In Study 1, participants who were induced to believe that they held a minority opinion on a controversial issue had higher subsequent self-concept clarity scores than did those who were induced to believe that they held a majority opinion, controlling for self-esteem. Furthermore, the relationship between minority opinion status and self-concept clarity was strongest among participants whose opinions were highly expressive of their values (Studies 2 and 3), as well as among participants who identified strongly with the group in which they were a minority (Study 3). Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

The role of specialist neuroradiology second opinion reporting: is there added value?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briggs, G.M.; Flynn, P.A.; Worthington, M.; Rennie, I.; McKinstry, C.S.

2008-01-01

Aim: To assess the impact on patient management of formal neuroradiology 'second reading' of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images initially interpreted by general radiologists. Materials and methods: Second opinion reports during the calendar year 2004 were compared with the original report and assessed for major or minor discrepancies. A major discrepancy was separated from a minor discrepancy whereby a change in opinion significantly affected patient management. Results: There were 506 second opinions during 2004 given by three consultant neuroradiologists. Incomplete data were found in 141. Forty-one percent were CT images and the remainder MRI. The majority of second opinions were requested by neurologists. Most of the remaining referrals were from neurosurgeons or the primary radiologist. There was a 13% major and a 21% minor discrepancy rate. The remaining 66% were in complete agreement. There was a mixture of overcalls, misinterpretation, and undercalls. There were similar rates of minor and major discrepancies in both CT and MRI. Conclusion: There is a significant major discrepancy rate between specialist neuroradiology second opinion and general radiologists. The benefit of a formal specialist second opinion service is clearly demonstrated; however, it is time-consuming

Determination of student opinions in augmented reality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huseyin Bicen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The rapid development of the new technology has changed classroom teaching methods and tools in a positive way. This study investigated the classroom learning with augmented reality and the impact of student opinions. 97 volunteer undergraduate students took part in this study. Results included data in the form of frequencies, percentages and descriptive statistics. The results show that, with gamification methods, augmented reality content affected students’ opinions in a positive way. When QR codes are used in the classroom, students feel independent from classroom materials and can access various resources. Moreover, students think that, when augmented reality in the classroom is used, education is more enjoyable.

Implications of Public Opinion for Space Program Planning, 1980 - 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Overholt, W.; Wiener, A. J.; Yokelson, D.

1975-01-01

The effect of public opinion on future space programs is discussed in terms of direct support, apathy, or opposition, and concern about the tax burden, budgetary pressures, and national priorities. Factors considered include: the salience and visibility of NASA as compared with other issues, the sources of general pressure on the federal budget which could affect NASA, the public's opinions regarding the size and priority of NASA'S budget, the degree to which the executive can exercise leverage over NASA's budget through influencing or disregarding public opinion, the effects of linkages to other issues on space programs, and the public's general attitudes toward the progress of science.

21 CFR 170.6 - Opinion letters on food additive status.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Opinion letters on food additive status. 170.6... (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.6 Opinion letters on food additive status. (a) Over the years the Food and Drug Administration has given informal...

Tolerance-based interaction: a new model targeting opinion formation and diffusion in social networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru Topirceanu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available One of the main motivations behind social network analysis is the quest for understanding opinion formation and diffusion. Previous models have limitations, as they typically assume opinion interaction mechanisms based on thresholds which are either fixed or evolve according to a random process that is external to the social agent. Indeed, our empirical analysis on large real-world datasets such as Twitter, Meme Tracker, and Yelp, uncovers previously unaccounted for dynamic phenomena at population-level, namely the existence of distinct opinion formation phases and social balancing. We also reveal that a phase transition from an erratic behavior to social balancing can be triggered by network topology and by the ratio of opinion sources. Consequently, in order to build a model that properly accounts for these phenomena, we propose a new (individual-level opinion interaction model based on tolerance. As opposed to the existing opinion interaction models, the new tolerance model assumes that individual’s inner willingness to accept new opinions evolves over time according to basic human traits. Finally, by employing discrete event simulation on diverse social network topologies, we validate our opinion interaction model and show that, although the network size and opinion source ratio are important, the phase transition to social balancing is mainly fostered by the democratic structure of the small-world topology.

Strategy of competition between two groups based on an inflexible contrarian opinion model.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qian; Braunstein, Lidia A; Havlin, Shlomo; Stanley, H Eugene

2011-12-01

We introduce an inflexible contrarian opinion (ICO) model in which a fraction p of inflexible contrarians within a group holds a strong opinion opposite to the opinion held by the rest of the group. At the initial stage, stable clusters of two opinions, A and B, exist. Then we introduce inflexible contrarians which hold a strong B opinion into the opinion A group. Through their interactions, the inflexible contrarians are able to decrease the size of the largest A opinion cluster and even destroy it. We see this kind of method in operation, e.g., when companies send free new products to potential customers in order to convince them to adopt their products and influence others to buy them. We study the ICO model, using two different strategies, on both Erdös-Rényi and scale-free networks. In strategy I, the inflexible contrarians are positioned at random. In strategy II, the inflexible contrarians are chosen to be the highest-degree nodes. We find that for both strategies the size of the largest A cluster decreases to 0 as p increases as in a phase transition. At a critical threshold value, p(c), the system undergoes a second-order phase transition that belongs to the same universality class of mean-field percolation. We find that even for an Erdös-Rényi type model, where the degrees of the nodes are not so distinct, strategy II is significantly more effective in reducing the size of the largest A opinion cluster and, at very small values of p, the largest A opinion cluster is destroyed.

Brazilian doctors' perspective on the second opinion strategy before a C-section.

Science.gov (United States)

Osis, Maria José Duarte; Cecatti, José Guilherme; de Pádua, Karla Simônia; Faúndes, Anibal

2006-04-01

To describe the opinion of doctors who participated in the Latin American Study on Cesarean section in Brazil regarding the second opinion strategy when faced with the decision of performing a C-section. Seventy-two doctors from the hospitals where the study took place (where the second opinion was routinely sought) and 70 from the control group answered a pre-tested self-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive tables were prepared based on the frequency of relevant variables on opinion of physicians regarding: effectiveness of the application of the second opinion strategy; on whether they would recommend implementation of this strategy and reasons for not recommending it in private institutions; feasibility of the strategy implementation and reasons for not considering this implementation feasible in private institutions. Half of the doctors from the intervention hospitals (50%) and about two thirds of those in the control group (65%) evaluated the second opinion as being or having the potential of being effective/very effective in their institutions. The great majority of those interviewed from both intervention and control hospitals considered this strategy feasible in public (87% and 95% respectively) but not in private hospitals (64% and 70% respectively), mainly because in the latter the doctors would not accept interference from a colleague in their decision-making process. Although the second opinion strategy was perceived as effective in reducing C-section rates, doctors did not regard it feasible outside the public health system in Brazil.

Students’ opinions about modern lecture: development path

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatyana A. Astashova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As an objective of the research, the author set the task of identifying students’ opinion and opinion of lecturers about the purpose of the lectures at the university, about the role of the lecturer and preferred form of lectures. As a result of the research, it was necessary to answer the following important questions: What are the objectives of the lecture and the role of the lecturer? Which lectures are more preferable: traditional or interactive? What do lecturers expect from the lecture, do they consider it an advantage or an unnecessary educational activity?The materials were developed for the survey (questionnaire to conduct the research and analyze the results obtained. The students were surveyed before training and after completion of the semester. The study involved 200 students of all areas of Mechanics and Technology Faculty of Novosibirsk State Technical University. Statistical analysis was used for the analysis of the results.As a result, the experiment revealed nonconformity of opinions of students about the purpose of the lecture and the role of a lecturer before the training and after the end of the semester. Lectures, according to students, should help to implement all kinds of practical and independent assignments.Educational standards imply a reduction in the hours of classroom training and an increase in independent work, and the majority of students are not ready (do not want to to study the materials on the topics of discipline completely independently or partially.It revealed a contradiction in opinion, what form of organization of the lecture classes is more interesting to students, which can increase the motivation of the visit and work on the lectures.The technology of designing the educational process in the conditions of the mixed training is proposed, applying the technological map.The technological map is presented in the form of stages of designing the educational process, including recommendations on the use of

21 CFR 570.6 - Opinion letters on food additive status.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Opinion letters on food additive status. 570.6... (CONTINUED) ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 570.6 Opinion letters on food additive status. (a) Over the years the Food and Drug Administration has given informal...

The Opinions of Economics Majors before and after Learning Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Hammock, Michael R.; Routon, P. Wesley; Walker, Jay K.

2016-01-01

Using longitudinal data on undergraduates from 463 American colleges and universities from 1994-99, the authors examine how majoring in economics affects student opinions on 13 social, political, and economic issues. Economics majors were found to begin and end their college tenure with differing opinions on several issues when compared to other…

opinions of nigerian students in tertiary institutions on family size

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Admin

The study examined the opinions of Nigerian students in tertiary institutions on their ideal family size. It was conducted among students in four ... opinions of male and female students on family size. KEY WORD: Family Size, Nigerian ... two children per woman, with many couples who desire to remain childless and some ...

Perceived risk and benefit of nuclear waste repositories: four opinion clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Seidl, Roman; Moser, Corinne; Stauffacher, Michael; Krütli, Pius

2013-06-01

Local public resistance can block the site-selection process, construction, and operation of nuclear waste repositories. Social science has established that the perception of risks and benefits, trust in authorities, and opinion on nuclear energy play important roles in acceptance. In particular, risk and benefit evaluations seem critical for opinion formation. However, risks and benefits have rarely been studied independently and, most often, the focus has been on the two most salient groups of proponents and opponents. The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the often-neglected majority of people holding ambivalent or indifferent opinions. We used cluster analysis to examine the sample (N = 500, mailed survey in German-speaking Switzerland) in terms of patterns of risk and benefit perception. We reveal four significantly different and plausible clusters: one cluster with high-benefit ratings in favor of a repository and one cluster with high-risk ratings opposing it; a third cluster shows ambivalence, with high ratings on both risk and benefit scales and moderate opposition, whereas a fourth cluster seems indifferent, rating risks and benefits only moderately compared to the ambivalent cluster. We conclude that a closer look at the often neglected but considerable number of people with ambivalent or indifferent opinions is necessary. Although the extreme factions of the public will most probably not change their opinion, we do not yet know how the opinion of the ambivalent and indifferent clusters might develop over time. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Identifying the Needs of Opinion Leaders to Encourage Widespread Adoption of Water Conservation and Protection

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Melissa R.; Lamm, Alexa J.

2017-01-01

Opinion leaders are persuasive in convincing others within their social networks to adopt certain opinions and behaviors. By identifying and using opinion leaders, agricultural educators may be able to leverage individuals who have influence on others' opinions, thereby speeding up the adoption of new practices. In this article, we review a…

Design moveleiro: um estudo sobre abordagens de publicações internacionais por meio de revisão sistemática

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Bergmann Borges Vieira

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A competitividade no setor moveleiro e a busca por diferenciação amplia a importância do design como subsídio para aumentar a performance empresarial. As diferentes abordagens de design moveleiro, aproximando-se às variadas áreas do conhecimento como gestão, comunicação e engenharia impulsiona para a busca por compreender de quais as características predominantes em estudos publicados nos periódicos acadêmicos em nível internacional. Este trabalho tem como objetivo de pesquisa analisar as principais abordagens dos estudos sobre Design Moveleiro. A metodologia de pesquisa utilizada foi a revisão sistemática da literatura uma vez que viabiliza conhecimento acerca do tema de forma estruturada, clara e objetiva. Como resultado, o trabalho apresenta as principais publicações nos últimos cinco anos, as características desses estudos e os focos de conteúdos abordados, permitindo a compreensão do estado da arte de pesquisas sobre o Design Moveleiro, especialmente relacionados com a busca por performance empresarial.

Nanotechnology Awareness, Opinions and Risk Perceptions among Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Sahin, Nurettin; Ekli, Emel

2013-01-01

The present study investigates awareness, factual knowledge, opinions, and risk perceptions of students from Turkish middle schools with regard to nanotechnology in a very general sense. The study was carried out among 1,396 middle school 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. The students' perceptions of and opinions about nanotechnology were elicited…

University Opinion Poll 9: Child Care, MPIRG, Lettuce. Preliminary Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Matross, Ronald; And Others

The University Opinion Poll conducted a survey of student opinion on issues related to University-sponsored day care, the role of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) and the University's policy on buying lettuce for its food services. Four hundred fifty-two respondents, 76% of a random sample of University of Minnesota students,…

29 CFR 18.703 - Bases of opinion testimony by experts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Bases of opinion testimony by experts. The facts or data in the particular case upon which an expert... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Bases of opinion testimony by experts. 18.703 Section 18.703 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS...

Advertising and Irreversible Opinion Spreading in Complex Social Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Candia, Julián

Irreversible opinion spreading phenomena are studied on small-world and scale-free networks by means of the magnetic Eden model, a nonequilibrium kinetic model for the growth of binary mixtures in contact with a thermal bath. In this model, the opinion of an individual is affected by those of their acquaintances, but opinion changes (analogous to spin flips in an Ising-like model) are not allowed. We focus on the influence of advertising, which is represented by external magnetic fields. The interplay and competition between temperature and fields lead to order-disorder transitions, which are found to also depend on the link density and the topology of the complex network substrate. The effects of advertising campaigns with variable duration, as well as the best cost-effective strategies to achieve consensus within different scenarios, are also discussed.

Mexican Public Opinion in the aftermath of the 2006 Elections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Moreno

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, I analyze public opinion about the 2006 Mexican presidential election in the context of the post–election conflict. My goal is to determine which individual–level variables influenced opinions about the post–election conflict. The analysis focuses on individual positions about the election fairness, confidence in the electoral Tribunal, claims for a full recount, and the public's stands on street protests and mobilization, among others. I use the Mexican component of the Comparative National Election Project (CNEP, conducted for the first time in Mexico in 2006 as a two–wave, preelection and postelection, panel design. The results highlight the importance of political predispositions in the analysis of public opinion in Mexico.

Negative opinions about cancer screening and contraceptive measures by female emergency department patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Merchant, Roland C; Gee, Erin M; Bock, Beth C; Becker, Bruce M; Clark, Melissa A

2008-11-01

We sought to determine the extent to which adult female emergency department participants viewed two women's cancer screening and two contraceptive measures negatively. The study also explored the relationship between having a negative opinion about these measures and participant demography, lack of knowledge, and lack of usage of these measures. Few women expressed negative opinions about these measures. Lack of knowledge about and lack of use of these measures were associated with having negative opinions on these cancer screening and contraceptive measures. Having any negative opinion about one cancer screening or contraceptive measure was associated with a higher risk of having any negative opinion on another measure. The results suggest that influencing opinion and knowledge about these measures might impact the success of emergency department-based cancer screening and contraceptive health programs. Editors' Strategic Implications: Emergency departments (and primary care settings) provide key opportunities for prevention. Replication is needed, but the authors present important data on knowledge, attitudes, and characteristics that might influence women's receptivity to consent to and engage in behaviors consistent with prevention, screening, and health promotion.

French opinion on Nuclear Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bucaille, A.

2003-01-01

Contrary to what many think or say, most French people do not have a clear-cut opinion about nuclear power. And until public opinion can be accurately assessed, we should be worried of speaking on its behalf. More than half the population of France believes that nuclear power is the cheapest option, but 40% of them have no idea what the situation really is. The French are keenly aware of the what is at stake at the international level, and the fact that energy is becoming a worldwide issue. What they are most concerned about is nuclear waste and the possibility of a catastrophe of the Chernobyl type occurring. Disquiet about the first is now dissipating, after having increased. But attitudes about the second are ambivalent. A quarter of the French are very ignorant about radioactivity. 20% of the population complain that not enough information is forthcoming, particularly as concerns advances in technology. As can be anticipated, awareness of the question of climate change is growing year by year, with increased reporting of storms, floods and heat waves

Opinions of Physical Education Teachers on the Concept of Sportsmanship

Science.gov (United States)

Koç, Yakup; Esentürk, Oguz Kaan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the opinions of physical education teachers on the concept of sportsmanship. This study, which has been based on the qualitative research paradigm, involves opinions of 13 physical education teachers (9 males and 4 females) which serve in public schools of Turkey and which have been specified through a…

Public opinion, information and education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De La Poza Galiano, A.

1994-01-01

The molding of public opinion by media, concerning nuclear energy, is analyzed, and the assumptions such as: nuclear plants equal atomic bombs or 'nuclear plants, no thanks', are emphasized. A response to this media hammering in Spain has been developed through teachers' education seminars organized by the Spanish Atomic forum and the Book on Energy, edited by specialized educators

Nuclear Energy and Public Opinion: Chile's Case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, G.

2015-01-01

Public opinion is as old as history itself. Its origins date back to the ancient Greece where the Agora was consulted about matters of interest and at the same time it was practiced the art of persuasion through dialogue. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle gave proof of their knowledge and skills of persuasion. These aspects were inherited by the Roman Empire, which sought through the senate the idea of transmitting what we know as “Vox Populi” (The Greek doxa), a term that together with the “Consensus” used by Medieval thinkers, constitute its pre-modern origin. From a conceptual point of view, public opinion comes alongside the creation of the idea of the state and as a result of the historical process called the Enlightenment. Thinkers such as Rousseau, Locke, Montesquieu, Kant and Hegel contextualised it within the legal system of the state. For Rousseau, it should be understood as a expression of the general will; for Kant it was the highest realization of the Enlightenment era and a result of the use of reason and law and for Locke human behaviour was defined by three fundamental laws: the divine, civil and…Public Opinion!. Hegel was much more specific and expressed that public opinion was called to be the instrument by which society expressed its support or rejection to the rulers’ decisions. It was in coffee shops and gatherings where opinion was born; for this reason, it was only the elite who was able to expressed about general interest’s topics, therefore the importance of sociability during modern times. This is how we arrive to the contemporary definition of the term. Since the French Revolution the concept has been associated with the sovereignty of the states and people, i.e. the rule of the majority. Today due to the massive participation of people in issues of importance, the opinion delivered by the media, and the globalization of communications, it is difficult to arrive at a definition of the term we have been

78 FR 73238 - Currently Approved Information Collection: Comment Request for Customer Satisfaction and Opinion...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-05

... Request for Customer Satisfaction and Opinion Surveys and Focus Group Interviews AGENCY: United States... Treasury, is soliciting comments on the United States Mint customer satisfaction and opinion surveys and.... Abstract: The proposed customer satisfaction and opinion surveys will allow the United States Mint to...

The causal flow between public opinion and policy: government responsiveness, leadership, or counter movement?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hakhverdian, A.

2012-01-01

This article examines the causal relationship between public opinion and policy. Does opinion affect policy or is it the other way around? Three hypotheses take centre stage. The responsiveness hypothesis postulates that changes in public opinion lead to subsequent changes in policy in the same

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is : DIAL, A Dialogical Model for Opinion Dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dykstra, Piter; Elsenbroich, Corinna; Jager, Wander; de Lavalette, Gerard Renardel; Verbrugge, Rineke

We present DIAL, a model of group dynamics and opinion dynamics. It features dialogues, in which agents gamble about reputation points. Intra-group radicalisation of opinions appears to be an emergent phenomenon. We position this model within the theoretical literature on opinion dynamics and social

Child abuse consultations initiated by child protective services: the role of expert opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, Lindsay; Martin, Kimberly D; Leventhal, John M

2011-01-01

To describe consultations provided by child abuse pediatricians for cases referred by child protective services (CPS); compare the opinions of the likelihood of child maltreatment of the initial physician, CPS, and the child abuse pediatrician; and examine predictors of the experts' opinions. Cases were referred by CPS for consultations between March 1, 1998, and June 30, 2005, to 2 child abuse pediatricians at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. We abstracted demographic and clinical information and the opinions of the initial physician, CPS, and the child abuse expert, each coded using a 5-point scale from definite maltreatment to definite benign cause (eg, accident). Of 187 cases, 50.3% occurred in children younger than 1 year of age. Children's most serious injuries were fractures (50.8%), burns (16.6%), and bruises/abrasions (15.0%). The child abuse experts' opinions were 47.6% definite or probable maltreatment, 8.6% uncertain, and 43.9% definite or probable benign. Of the 119 cases with opinions from all 3 assessors, the expert agreed with the physician in 57.1% of cases (κ = 0.34) and with CPS in 64.7% (κ = 0.42). The best predictor of the expert's opinion that the injury was due to maltreatment was agreement between the physician and CPS that maltreatment had occurred. Levels of agreement were fair to poor between the child abuse expert and either the physician or CPS. Child abuse experts' opinions have important value in selected cases to confirm previous assessments by the physician and/or CPS, or to change the opinion of the case. Copyright © 2011 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chefs' opinions of restaurant portion sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Condrasky, Marge; Ledikwe, Jenny H; Flood, Julie E; Rolls, Barbara J

2007-08-01

The objectives were to determine who establishes restaurant portion sizes and factors that influence these decisions, and to examine chefs' opinions regarding portion size, nutrition information, and weight management. A survey was distributed to chefs to obtain information about who is responsible for determining restaurant portion sizes, factors influencing restaurant portion sizes, what food portion sizes are being served in restaurants, and chefs' opinions regarding nutrition information, health, and body weight. The final sample consisted of 300 chefs attending various culinary meetings. Executive chefs were identified as being primarily responsible for establishing portion sizes served in restaurants. Factors reported to have a strong influence on restaurant portion sizes included presentation of foods, food cost, and customer expectations. While 76% of chefs thought that they served "regular" portions, the actual portions of steak and pasta they reported serving were 2 to 4 times larger than serving sizes recommended by the U.S government. Chefs indicated that they believe that the amount of food served influences how much patrons consume and that large portions are a problem for weight control, but their opinions were mixed regarding whether it is the customer's responsibility to eat an appropriate amount when served a large portion of food. Portion size is a key determinant of energy intake, and the results from this study suggest that cultural norms and economic value strongly influence the determination of restaurant portion sizes. Strategies are needed to encourage chefs to provide and promote portions that are appropriate for customers' energy requirements.

Trust in the CODA model: Opinion dynamics and the reliability of other agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, André C.R., E-mail: amartins@usp.br

2013-11-08

A model for the joint evolution of opinions and how much the agents trust each other is presented, using the framework of the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model. Instead of a fixed probability that the other agents will decide in the favor of the best choice, each agent considers that other agents might be one of two types: trustworthy or untrustworthy. Each agent its opinion and also the probability for each one of the other agents it interacts with being trustworthy. The dynamics of opinions and the evolution of the trust between the agents are studied. Clear evidences of the existence of two phases, one with strong polarization and the other tending to agreement, are observed. The transition shows signs of being a first-order transition. This happens despite the fact that the trust network evolves much slower than the opinion on the central issue.

Trust in the CODA model: Opinion dynamics and the reliability of other agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, André C.R.

2013-01-01

A model for the joint evolution of opinions and how much the agents trust each other is presented, using the framework of the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model. Instead of a fixed probability that the other agents will decide in the favor of the best choice, each agent considers that other agents might be one of two types: trustworthy or untrustworthy. Each agent its opinion and also the probability for each one of the other agents it interacts with being trustworthy. The dynamics of opinions and the evolution of the trust between the agents are studied. Clear evidences of the existence of two phases, one with strong polarization and the other tending to agreement, are observed. The transition shows signs of being a first-order transition. This happens despite the fact that the trust network evolves much slower than the opinion on the central issue.

Opinion Mining in Latvian Text Using Semantic Polarity Analysis and Machine Learning Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gatis Špats

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper we demonstrate approaches for opinion mining in Latvian text. Authors have applied, combined and extended results of several previous studies and public resources to perform opinion mining in Latvian text using two approaches, namely, semantic polarity analysis and machine learning. One of the most significant constraints that make application of opinion mining for written content classification in Latvian text challenging is the limited publicly available text corpora for classifier training. We have joined several sources and created a publically available extended lexicon. Our results are comparable to or outperform current achievements in opinion mining in Latvian. Experiments show that lexicon-based methods provide more accurate opinion mining than the application of Naive Bayes machine learning classifier on Latvian tweets. Methods used during this study could be further extended using human annotators, unsupervised machine learning and bootstrapping to create larger corpora of classified text.

Opinion dynamics on interacting networks: media competition and social influence.

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrociocchi, Walter; Caldarelli, Guido; Scala, Antonio

2014-05-27

The inner dynamics of the multiple actors of the informations systems - i.e, T.V., newspapers, blogs, social network platforms, - play a fundamental role on the evolution of the public opinion. Coherently with the recent history of the information system (from few main stream media to the massive diffusion of socio-technical system), in this work we investigate how main stream media signed interaction might shape the opinion space. In particular we focus on how different size (in the number of media) and interaction patterns of the information system may affect collective debates and thus the opinions' distribution. We introduce a sophisticated computational model of opinion dynamics which accounts for the coexistence of media and gossip as separated mechanisms and for their feedback loops. The model accounts also for the effect of the media communication patterns by considering both the simple case where each medium mimics the behavior of the most successful one (to maximize the audience) and the case where there is polarization and thus competition among media memes. We show that plurality and competition within information sources lead to stable configurations where several and distant cultures coexist.

Opinion dynamics on interacting networks: media competition and social influence

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrociocchi, Walter; Caldarelli, Guido; Scala, Antonio

2014-05-01

The inner dynamics of the multiple actors of the informations systems - i.e, T.V., newspapers, blogs, social network platforms, - play a fundamental role on the evolution of the public opinion. Coherently with the recent history of the information system (from few main stream media to the massive diffusion of socio-technical system), in this work we investigate how main stream media signed interaction might shape the opinion space. In particular we focus on how different size (in the number of media) and interaction patterns of the information system may affect collective debates and thus the opinions' distribution. We introduce a sophisticated computational model of opinion dynamics which accounts for the coexistence of media and gossip as separated mechanisms and for their feedback loops. The model accounts also for the effect of the media communication patterns by considering both the simple case where each medium mimics the behavior of the most successful one (to maximize the audience) and the case where there is polarization and thus competition among media memes. We show that plurality and competition within information sources lead to stable configurations where several and distant cultures coexist.

Public opinion and reaction to the Belene NPP construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jolov, G.; Josifov, A.

1990-01-01

The chapter offers a study on the social factors related to the Belene project including an analysis of the public attitude, the public opinion priority motivated pros and cons and the political aspects of the problems. The information sources of the sociological study are discussed. There are stipulations over the possible behavior in case of commissioning. A paragraph deals with the credibility of the opinion and the study of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences among different social groups. 1 tab. (R.Ts.)

Developing convolutional neural networks for measuring climate change opinions from social media data

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, H.; Bhaduri, B. L.

2016-12-01

Understanding public opinions on climate change is important for policy making. Public opinion, however, is typically measured with national surveys, which are often too expensive and thus being updated at a low frequency. Twitter has become a major platform for people to express their opinions on social and political issues. Our work attempts to understand if Twitter data can provide complimentary insights about climate change perceptions. Since the nature of social media is real-time, this data source can especially help us understand how public opinion changes over time in response to climate events and hazards, which though is very difficult to be captured by manual surveys. We use the Twitter Streaming API to collect tweets that contain keywords, "climate change" or "#climatechange". Traditional machine-learning based opinion mining algorithms require a significant amount of labeled data. Data labeling is notoriously time consuming. To address this problem, we use hashtags (a significant feature used to mark topics of tweets) to annotate tweets automatically. For example, hashtags, #climatedenial and #climatescam, are negative opinion labels, while #actonclimate and #climateaction are positive. Following this method, we can obtain a large amount of training data without human labor. This labeled dataset is used to train a deep convolutional neural network that classifies tweets into positive (i.e. believe in climate change) and negative (i.e. do not believe). Based on the positive/negative tweets obtained, we will further analyze risk perceptions and opinions towards policy support. In addition, we analyze twitter user profiles to understand the demographics of proponents and opponents of climate change. Deep learning techniques, especially convolutional deep neural networks, have achieved much success in computer vision. In this work, we propose a convolutional neural network architecture for understanding opinions within text. This method is compared with

Expert Opinion Elicitation Using Fuzzy Set Theory and Distempers-Shaker's Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Donghan

1993-01-01

This study presents a new approach for expert opinion elicitation. The need to work with rare events and limited data is severe accident have led analysts to use expert opinions extensively. Unlike the conventional approaches using point-valued probabilities, the study proposes the concept of fuzzy probability to represent expert opinion. The use of fuzzy probability has an advantage over the conventional approach when an expert's judgment is used under limited data and imprecise knowledge. The study demonstrates a method of combining fuzzy probabilities in a manner consistent with the Distempers-Shaper's Theory (DDT). The propagation of fuzzy probabilities through a system is also introduced

Contrasting Public Opinion Dynamics and Emotional Response during Crisis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volkova, Svitlana; Chetviorkin, Ilia; Arendt, Dustin L.; Van Durme, Ben

2016-11-15

We propose an approach for contrasting spatiotemporal dynamics of public opinions expressed toward targeted entities, also known as stance detection task, in Russia and Ukraine during crisis. Our analysis relies on a novel corpus constructed from posts on the VKontakte social network, centered on local public opinion of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian crisis, along with newly annotated resources for predicting expressions of fine-grained emotions including joy, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise and fear. Akin to prior work on sentiment analysis we align traditional public opinion polls with aggregated automatic predictions of sentiments for contrastive geo-locations. We report interesting observations on emotional response and stance variations across geo-locations. Some of our findings contradict stereotypical misconceptions imposed by media, for example, we found posts from Ukraine that do not support Euromaidan but support Putin, and posts from Russia that are against Putin but in favor USA. Furthermore, we are the first to demonstrate contrastive stance variations over time across geo-locations using storyline visualization technique.

Opinion, energy and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-02-01

The author comments the evolution of the results of various opinion surveys on energy in France and more particularly the high support for electricity production from renewable energies, the acceptance of the financial burden associated to energy, the fact that nuclear energy has more benefits than pitfalls but is still considered as a hazardous activity, the fact that consumers are aware of environmental risks for the planet but still have an incomplete knowledge of the energy sector and new technologies

Assimilation of public opinions in nuclear decision-making using risk perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, K.Y.; Yang, J.W.; Kang, C.S.

2001-01-01

A method of assimilating public opinions in the decision-making process has been developed in this study. The proposed method will resolve the major shortcomings of existing decision-making models, which are deficient in, or missing public participation during the process. In the nuclear-related decision-making process, a particular concern of the public is nuclear safety, which is numerically characterized by risk. In reality, it is the risk that each individual perceives that is very important. Hence, the public perception of risk has been employed as a key decision-making element in representing public opinions. To quantify the public perception of risk, the psychometric model is used. Psychological risk dimensions are first assessed using factor analysis and a set of factors is identified for optimized computation. Expert opinions formulated by a group of selected professionals and experts are then aggregated with the public opinions. To gather public and expert opinions, separate polls were conducted in this study. In the aggregation, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and multi-attribute utility analysis (MAUA) were employed, and for uncertainty analysis, a fuzzy set based approach was adopted. This method has been applied to analyze six options for spent fuel management in Korea for a case study. As expected, the results of the case study show that public risk perception is an important element in nuclear-related decision-making processes

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Descriptive Opinion “Boja Have Skate” Community in Boja

OpenAIRE

Kinasih, Octy Ayu

2016-01-01

“Boja Have Skate” is a skateboard community in Boja. Boja is a district in Semarang. The discussion of this thesis is about member's opinion about “Boja Have Skate” community in Boja. Boja teenagers have experienced the new culture process through skateboard. This research purposes to know about the opinion of “Boja Have Skate” community. Ten members of “Boja Have Skate” are taken as the respondents. The analyze and research use theory of social community and the use of cultural product....

Predicting The Outcome of Marketing Negotiations: Role-Playing versus Unaided Opinions

OpenAIRE

JS Armstrong; Philip D. Hutcherson

2005-01-01

Role -playing and unaided opinions were used to forecast the outcome of three negotiations. Consistent with prior re search, role-playing yielded more accurate predictions. In two studies on marketing negotiations, the predictions based on role-playing were correct for 53% of the predictions while unaided opinions were correct for only 7% (p

Differing professional opinions: 1987 special review panel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

In November 1987, the five-member Differing Professional Opinions Special Review Panel established by the Executive Director for Operations of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review agency policies and procedures for handling differing professional opinions (DPOs) presented its findings and recommendations in NUREG-1290. The issuance of that report completed the first task of the panel's charter. In accordance with Manual chapter 4125, Section L, and the charter of the Special Review Panel, the panel's second task was to ''...review...the DPOs submitted subsequent to the previous Panel's review, in order to identify any employee whose DPO made a significant contribution to the Agency or to the public safety but who has not yet been recognized for such contribution.'' This Addendum provides the findings of that review

Reliability of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, James R.; DeShon, Richard P.

The lack of systematic psychometric information on the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) was addressed by investigating the factor structure and reliability of the eight-factor clinical scale model (mental illness, cry for help, right to die, religion, impulsivity, normality, aggression, and moral evil), developed for interpreting responses to…

19 CFR 210.79 - Advisory opinions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Advisory opinions. 210.79 Section 210.79 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE... of the Tariff Act of 1930, would be in the public interest, and would benefit consumers and...

Survey data reflecting popular opinions of the causes and mitigation of climate change

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Jonathan E.

2017-01-01

The data presented within this manuscript reports the results of a 20-question opinion survey concerning popular beliefs regarding the causes of and possible mitigation of climate change. The results and opinions from 746 survey respondents are presented. The data reflects certain misconceptions of climate change, and is useful for investigators to begin forming opinions of the public's knowledge regarding the potentially inflammatory topics of climate change, greenhouse gases, and geo-engine...

Survey data reflecting popular opinions of the causes and mitigation of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Jonathan E

2017-10-01

The data presented within this manuscript reports the results of a 20-question opinion survey concerning popular beliefs regarding the causes of and possible mitigation of climate change. The results and opinions from 746 survey respondents are presented. The data reflects certain misconceptions of climate change, and is useful for investigators to begin forming opinions of the public's knowledge regarding the potentially inflammatory topics of climate change, greenhouse gases, and geo-engineering.

Opinion mining feature-level using Naive Bayes and feature extraction based analysis dependencies

Science.gov (United States)

Sanda, Regi; Baizal, Z. K. Abdurahman; Nhita, Fhira

2015-12-01

Development of internet and technology, has major impact and providing new business called e-commerce. Many e-commerce sites that provide convenience in transaction, and consumers can also provide reviews or opinions on products that purchased. These opinions can be used by consumers and producers. Consumers to know the advantages and disadvantages of particular feature of the product. Procuders can analyse own strengths and weaknesses as well as it's competitors products. Many opinions need a method that the reader can know the point of whole opinion. The idea emerged from review summarization that summarizes the overall opinion based on sentiment and features contain. In this study, the domain that become the main focus is about the digital camera. This research consisted of four steps 1) giving the knowledge to the system to recognize the semantic orientation of an opinion 2) indentify the features of product 3) indentify whether the opinion gives a positive or negative 4) summarizing the result. In this research discussed the methods such as Naï;ve Bayes for sentiment classification, and feature extraction algorithm based on Dependencies Analysis, which is one of the tools in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and knowledge based dictionary which is useful for handling implicit features. The end result of research is a summary that contains a bunch of reviews from consumers on the features and sentiment. With proposed method, accuration for sentiment classification giving 81.2 % for positive test data, 80.2 % for negative test data, and accuration for feature extraction reach 90.3 %.

A dynamic evolution model of human opinion as affected by advertising

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Gui-Xun; Liu, Yun; Zeng, Qing-An; Diao, Su-Meng; Xiong, Fei

2014-11-01

We propose a new model to investigate the dynamics of human opinion as affected by advertising, based on the main idea of the CODA model and taking into account two practical factors: one is that the marginal influence of an additional friend will decrease with an increasing number of friends; the other is the decline of memory over time. Simulations show several significant conclusions for both advertising agencies and the general public. A small difference of advertising’s influence on individuals or advertising coverage will result in significantly different advertising effectiveness within a certain interval of value. Compared to the value of advertising’s influence on individuals, the advertising coverage plays a more important role due to the exponential decay of memory. Meanwhile, some of the obtained results are in accordance with people’s daily cognition about advertising. The real key factor in determining the success of advertising is the intensity of exchanging opinions, and people’s external actions always follow their internal opinions. Negative opinions also play an important role.

A Second Opinion is Worth the Cost - 12479

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madsen, Drew [Project Time and Cost Inc. (United States)

2012-07-01

This paper, 'A Second Opinion is Worth the Cost', shows how a second opinion for a Department of Energy (DOE) Project helped prepare and pass a DOE Order 413.3A 'Program and Project Management for the acquisition of Capital Assets' Office of Engineering and Construction Management (OECM) required External Independent Review (EIR) in support of the approved baseline for Critical Decision (CD) 2. The DOE project personnel were informed that the project's Total Project Cost (TPC) was going to increase from $815 million to $1.1 billion due to unforeseen problems and unexplained reasons. The DOE Project Team determined that a second opinion was needed to review and validate the TPC. Project Time and Cost, Inc. (PT and C) was requested to evaluate the cost estimate, schedule, basis of estimate (BOE), and risk management plan of the Project and to give an independent assessment of the TPC that was presented to DOE. This paper will demonstrate how breaking down a project to the work breakdown structure (WBS) level allows a project to be analyzed for potential cost increases and/or decreases, thus providing a more accurate TPC. The review Team's cost analyses of Projects identified eight primary drivers resulting in cost increases. They included: - Overstatement of the effort required to develop drawings and specifications. - Cost allocation to 'Miscellaneous' without sufficient detail or documentation. - Cost for duplicated efforts. - Vendor estimates or quotations without sufficient detail. - The practice of using the highest price quoted then adding an additional 10% mark-up. - Application of Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA) highest level quality requirements when not required. - Allocation of operational costs to the Project Costs instead of to the Operating Expenses (OPEX). OPEX costs come from a different funding source. - DOE had not approved the activities. By using a Team approach with professionals from cost, civil

Prostitution and exploitation child sexual in Uruguay. Opinion of sex workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Guerra

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this article we will present the information obtained in the project entitled "Investigation on conditions of work and opinion on trafficking in persons between population that he exercises the feminine prostitution in Uruguay " from 188 interviews to sexual workers. First we analyse the concept of child prostitution in the frame of the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers, to advance then in the result of the fieldwork. 29 % of the sample expresses to know cases of child prostitution in his areas of work, which confirms a worrying presence of this phenomenon, especially in the street prostitution.  As for the opinion, 77% of the interviewed ones have a negative opinion of the phenomenon.

Pengaruh Kondisi Keuangan Perusahaan, Kualitas Audit dan Opinion Shopping Terhadap Penerimaan Opini Going Concern

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syamsuri Rahim

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study aims to examine the effect of the company’s financial condition, the audit quality and shopping opinion towards the acceptance of going concern audit opinion. The samples used in this research are manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2012-2014. The population of this study is132. The samples used are 28 companies selected by random sampling method during the observation period of 3 (three years. Data was analyzed using logistic regression analysis model. The results show that the financial condition, audit quality and opinion shopping significantly influence the acceptance of going concern audit opinion.

Opinions on Tax Deductions and the Consensus Effect in a Survey-Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Heijden, E.C.M.; Nelissen, J.H.M.; Potters, J.J.M.

2004-01-01

We present the results of a survey-experiment using a representative sample of the Dutch population in which we relate respondents' opinion about the tax deductibility of mortgages to their estimates about other people's opinion.The experiment employs three treatment variables: monetary incentives,

Farmers' Opinions about Third-Wave Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lasley, Paul; Bultena, Gordon

The opinions of 1,585 Iowa farmers about 8 emergent agricultural technologies (energy production from feed grains and oils; energy production from livestock waste; genetic engineering research on plants, livestock, and humans; robotics for on-farm use; confinement livestock facilities; and personal computers for farm families) were found to be…

The effect of popular exemplars and expert account base-rate information on perceived public opinion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lefevere, J.; Walgrave, S.; de Swert, K.

2012-01-01

How people perceive public opinion is important because it affects their willingness to express themselves. This paper investigates whether two different portrayals of public opinion in the TV news affect people’s perception of public opinion. We use an experimental design in which roughly one

Second-opinion interpretations of gynecologic oncologic MRI examinations by sub-specialized radiologists influence patient care

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakhman, Yulia; Vargas, Hebert Alberto; Sosa, Ramon E.; Hricak, Hedvig; Sala, Evis; D'Anastasi, Melvin; Micco, Maura; Scelzo, Chiara; Nougaret, Stephanie; Chi, Dennis S.; Abu-Rustum, Nadeem R.

2016-01-01

To determine if second-opinion review of gynaecologic oncologic (GynOnc) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by sub-specialized radiologists impacts patient care. 469 second-opinion MRI interpretations rendered by GynOnc radiologists were retrospectively compared to the initial outside reports. Two gynaecologic surgeons, blinded to the reports' origins, reviewed all cases with discrepancies between initial and second-opinion MRI reports and recorded whether these discrepancies would have led to a change in patient management defined as a change in treatment approach, counselling, or referral. Histopathology or minimum 6-month imaging follow-up were used to establish the diagnosis. Second-opinion review of GynOnc MRIs would theoretically have affected management in 94/469 (20 %) and 101/469 (21.5 %) patients for surgeons 1 and 2, respectively. Specifically, second-opinion review would have theoretically altered treatment approach in 71/469 (15.1 %) and 60/469 (12.8 %) patients for surgeons 1 and 2, respectively. According to surgeons 1 and 2, these treatment changes would have prevented unnecessary surgery in 35 (7.5 %) and 31 (6.6 %) patients, respectively, and changed surgical procedure type/extent in 19 (4.1 %) and 12 (2.5 %) patients, respectively. Second-opinion interpretations were correct in 103 (83 %) of 124 cases with clinically relevant discrepancies between initial and second-opinion reports. Expert second-opinion review of GynOnc MRI influences patient care. (orig.)

Multi-Equilibria Regulation Agent-Based Model of Opinion Dynamics in Social Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Koulouris

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the Multiple Equilibria Regulation (MER model, i.e., an agent-based simulation model, to represent opinion dynamics in social networks. It relies on a small set of micro-prerequisites (intra-individual balance and confidence bound, leading to emergence of (nonstationary macro-outcomes. These outcomes may refer to consensus, polarization or fragmentation of opinions about taxation (e.g., congestion pricing or other policy measures, according to the way communication is structured. In contrast with other models of opinion dynamics, it allows for the impact of both the regulation of intra-personal discrepancy and the interpersonal variability of opinions on social learning and network dynamics. Several simulation experiments are presented to demonstrate, through the MER model, the role of different network structures (complete, star, cellular automata, small-world and random graphs on opinion formation dynamics and the overall evolution of the system. The findings can help to identify specific topological characteristics, such as density, number of neighbourhoods and critical nodes-agents, that affect the stability and system dynamics. This knowledge can be used to better organize the information diffusion and learning in the community, enhance the predictability of outcomes and manage possible conflicts. It is shown that a small-world organization, which depicts more realistic aspects of real-life and virtual social systems, provides increased predictability and stability towards a less fragmented and more manageable grouping of opinions, compared to random networks. Such macro-level organizations may be enhanced with use of web-based technologies to increase the density of communication and public acceptability of policy measures.

PENGARUH KUALITAS AUDIT, OPINION SHOPPING, DEBTDEFAULT PERTUMBUHAN PERUSAHAAN DAN KONDISI KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP PENERIMAAN OPINI AUDITGOING CONCERN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Istiana

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This research have a purpose to test the effect of Audit Quality, opinion shopping, debt default, company growth and company financial condition to going concern audit opinion acceptance. The sample which used in this research is Manufacture Company which registered in Indonesia Stock Exchange use of 2006-2008. The sample was taken with purposive sampling method and the result 53 companies were match and fulfill the sample criteria. Hypotheses testing was done whit logistic regression test tool from SPSS application program. The research result show that audit quality does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, opinion shopping does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, debt default have effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, company growth does not effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance, and company financial condition have effect to the possibility of going concern audit opinion acceptance.

Orthopedic surgeons’ and neurologists’ attitudes towards second opinions in the Israeli healthcare system: a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greenfield Geva

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Second opinion is a treatment ratification tool that may critically influence diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Second opinions constitute one of the largest expenditures of the supplementary health insurance programs provided by the Israeli health funds. The scarcity of data on physicians’ attitudes toward second opinion motivated this study to explore those attitudes within the Israeli healthcare system. Methods We interviewed 35 orthopedic surgeons and neurologists in Israel and qualitatively analyzed the data using the Grounded Theory approach. Results As a common tool, second opinion reflects the broader context of the Israeli healthcare system, specifically tensions associated with health inequalities. We identified four issues: (1 inequalities between central and peripheral regions of Israel; (2 inequalities between private and public settings; (3 implementation gap between the right to a second opinion and whether it is covered by the National Health Insurance Law; and (4 tension between the authorities of physicians and religious leaders. The physicians mentioned that better mechanisms should be implemented for guiding patients to an appropriate consultant for a second opinion and for making an informed choice between the two opinions. Conclusions While all the physicians agreed on the importance of the second opinion as a tool, they raised concerns about the way it is provided and utilized. To be optimally implemented, second opinion should be institutionalized and regulated. The National Health Insurance Law should strive to provide the mechanisms to access second opinion as stipulated in the Patient’s Rights Law. Further studies are needed to assess the patients' perspectives.

Issue-Relevant Values and Opinions About Gay Rights: Beyond Equality and Morality.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodebeck, Laurie

2018-01-01

Although many studies have examined the role of values in shaping public opinion, the number of values that inform this research is limited. This article employs the concept of issue-relevant values as a means to explore the broader range of values associated with policy issues. After discussing the concept in general terms, the article explores issue-relevant values pertinent to public opinion about gay rights. Using the policy examples of employment nondiscrimination and same-sex couple adoption, the present study identifies, measures, and assesses several values that add to the very short list previously used to explain public opinion about gay rights issues. Content from interest-group Web sites and news media coverage of the two issues aided in identifying the values. Data from an original Internet survey yield valid measures of the values. Multivariate analyses indicate that the values behave in predictable ways: they are strongly influenced by partisanship, and they strongly affect opinions about the two issues. The performance of the values is consistent with findings from previous research on the partisan basis of values and the value-based nature of opinions. The article concludes with suggestions for further empirical and theoretical work that could apply and extend the concept of issue-relevant values.

Discrete model of opinion changes using knowledge and emotions as control variables.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pawel Sobkowicz

Full Text Available We present a new model of opinion changes dependent on the agents emotional state and their information about the issue in question. Our goal is to construct a simple, yet nontrivial and flexible representation of individual attitude dynamics for agent based simulations, that could be used in a variety of social environments. The model is a discrete version of the cusp catastrophe model of opinion dynamics in which information is treated as the normal factor while emotional arousal (agitation level determining agent receptiveness and rationality is treated as the splitting factor. Both variables determine the resulting agent opinion, which itself can be in favor of the studied position, against it, or neutral. Thanks to the flexibility of implementing communication between the agents, the model is potentially applicable in a wide range of situations. As an example of the model application, we study the dynamics of a set of agents communicating among themselves via messages. In the example, we chose the simplest, fully connected communication topology, to focus on the effects of the individual opinion dynamics, and to look for stable final distributions of agents with different emotions, information and opinions. Even for such simplified system, the model shows complex behavior, including phase transitions due to symmetry breaking by external propaganda.

Discrete model of opinion changes using knowledge and emotions as control variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobkowicz, Pawel

2012-01-01

We present a new model of opinion changes dependent on the agents emotional state and their information about the issue in question. Our goal is to construct a simple, yet nontrivial and flexible representation of individual attitude dynamics for agent based simulations, that could be used in a variety of social environments. The model is a discrete version of the cusp catastrophe model of opinion dynamics in which information is treated as the normal factor while emotional arousal (agitation level determining agent receptiveness and rationality) is treated as the splitting factor. Both variables determine the resulting agent opinion, which itself can be in favor of the studied position, against it, or neutral. Thanks to the flexibility of implementing communication between the agents, the model is potentially applicable in a wide range of situations. As an example of the model application, we study the dynamics of a set of agents communicating among themselves via messages. In the example, we chose the simplest, fully connected communication topology, to focus on the effects of the individual opinion dynamics, and to look for stable final distributions of agents with different emotions, information and opinions. Even for such simplified system, the model shows complex behavior, including phase transitions due to symmetry breaking by external propaganda.

Discrete Model of Opinion Changes Using Knowledge and Emotions as Control Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Sobkowicz, Pawel

2012-01-01

We present a new model of opinion changes dependent on the agents emotional state and their information about the issue in question. Our goal is to construct a simple, yet nontrivial and flexible representation of individual attitude dynamics for agent based simulations, that could be used in a variety of social environments. The model is a discrete version of the cusp catastrophe model of opinion dynamics in which information is treated as the normal factor while emotional arousal (agitation level determining agent receptiveness and rationality) is treated as the splitting factor. Both variables determine the resulting agent opinion, which itself can be in favor of the studied position, against it, or neutral. Thanks to the flexibility of implementing communication between the agents, the model is potentially applicable in a wide range of situations. As an example of the model application, we study the dynamics of a set of agents communicating among themselves via messages. In the example, we chose the simplest, fully connected communication topology, to focus on the effects of the individual opinion dynamics, and to look for stable final distributions of agents with different emotions, information and opinions. Even for such simplified system, the model shows complex behavior, including phase transitions due to symmetry breaking by external propaganda. PMID:22984516

Socio-ecological dynamics of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems and conservation opinion propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Thampi, Vivek A; Anand, Madhur; Bauch, Chris T

2018-02-07

The Caribbean coral reef ecosystem has experienced a long history of deterioration due to various stressors. For instance, over-fishing of parrotfish - an important grazer of macroalgae that can prevent destructive overgrowth of macroalgae - has threatened reef ecosystems in recent decades and stimulated conservation efforts such as the formation of marine protected areas. Here we develop a mathematical model of coupled socio-ecological interactions between reef dynamics and conservation opinion dynamics to better understand how natural and human factors interact individually and in combination to determine coral reef cover. We find that the coupling opinion and reef systems generates complex dynamics that are difficult to anticipate without use of a model. For instance, instead of converging to a stable state of constant coral cover and conservationist opinion, the system can oscillate between low and high live coral cover as human opinion oscillates in a boom-bust cycle between complacency and concern. Out of various possible parameter manipulations, we also find that raising awareness of coral reef endangerment best avoids counter-productive nonlinear feedbacks and always increases and stabilizes live coral reef cover. In conclusion, an improved understanding of coupled opinion-reef dynamics under anthrogenic stressors is possible using coupled socio-ecological models, and such models should be further researched.

Utility opinions on energy supply. Praise and reprimand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This article discusses the opinions expressed by several electricity utilities on the cost-covering remuneration of electricity produced using renewable resources. Positive and negative aspects of the system - in the opinion of the utilities - are listed. Positive issues discussed include the improved economic viability of installations using renewable energy sources, preservation of know-how, increased use of renewables and the minimisation of economic risk for the builders of such installations. Negative issues noted include the general financial burden placed on all electricity consumers, the limits placed by parliament on the remuneration scheme, various hindrances still active in the implementation of such installations and possible competition with other schemes that further the use of electricity from renewable resources.

Heterogeneity and subjectivity in binary-state opinion formation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Long; Luo, Zhongjie; Zhu, Yueying

2013-01-01

In society, there is heterogeneous interaction and randomness in human decision making. In order to unfold the roles and the competition of the two factors mentioned above in opinion formation, we propose a toy model, which follows a majority rule with a Fermi function, on scale-free networks with degree exponent γ. The heterogeneous interaction is related to the connectivity of a person with the interactive parameter β, and the randomness of human decision making is quantified by the interaction noise T. We find that a system with heterogeneity of network topology and interaction shows robustness perturbed by the interaction noise T according to the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. Then, when T → 0, the homogeneous interaction (β ≃ 0) has a powerful implication for the emergence of a consensus state. Furthermore, the emergence of the two extreme values shows the competition of the heterogeneity of interaction and the subjectivity of human decision making in opinion formation. Our present work provides some perspective on and tools for understanding the diversity of opinion in our society. (paper)

Survivalism and Public Opinion on Criminality: A Cross-National Analysis of Prostitution

Science.gov (United States)

Stack, Steven; Adamczyk, Amy; Cao, Liqun

2010-01-01

Explanations of variability in public opinion on crime have drawn disproportionately from the literature on specific symbolic orientations including religious fundamentalism and racial prejudice. In contrast, this article hypothesizes that public opinion is linked to the strength of a general cultural axis of nations: survivalism vs.…

Opinion of gastroenterologists towards quality assurance in endoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jonge, Vincent; Kuipers, Ernst J; van Leerdam, Monique E

2011-03-01

Quality assurance has become an important issue. Many societies are adopting quality assurance programs in order to monitor and improve quality of care. To assess the opinion of gastroenterologists towards quality assurance on the endoscopy department. A survey was sent to all gastroenterologists (n=319) in the Netherlands. It assessed their opinion on a quality assurance program for endoscopy units, including its design, logistics, and content. 200 gastroenterologists (63%) completed the questionnaire. 95% had a positive opinion towards quality assurance and 67% supposed an increase in quality. 28% assumed a negative impact on the time available for patient contact by introducing a quality assurance program and 35% that the capacity would decrease. A negative attitude towards disclosure of results to insurance companies (23%) and media (53%) was reported. Female gastroenterologists were less positive to share the results with other stakeholders (pquality measurements were assessment of complications (97%), standardised reporting (96%), and adequate patient information (95%). Gastroenterologists have a positive attitude towards quality assurance. However, concerns do exist about time investment and disclosure of results to others. Information provision and procedure characteristics were considered the most important aspects of quality assurance. Copyright © 2010 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Content Analysis and Readibility Formulas as Applied To The Accounting Principles Board "Opinions"

Science.gov (United States)

Stead, Bette Ann

1977-01-01

Discusses a study analyzing twenty-four of the Accounting Principles Board "Opinions" (APB Opinions) and concludes that the APB context is very difficult to read and understand for both accounting and nonaccounting majors. (MH)

Exploring the opinion of hemodialysis patients about their dialysis unit

OpenAIRE

Ahmed Farouk Donia; Mohamed Ahmed Elhadedy; Hanzada Mohamed El-Maghrabi; Mohamed Hamed Abbas; Mohamed Ashraf Foda

2015-01-01

Hemodialysis (HD) patients are subjected to a number of physical and mental stresses. Physicians might be unaware of some of these problems. We assessed our patients′ opinion about the service provided at the dialysis unit. Our unit has 89 patients on HD. A questionnaire exploring our patients′ opinion relative to the service provided was prepared. The patients were asked to fill-in the questionnaire in a confidential manner. Questionnaires were then collected and examined while unaware of pa...

A prototype for evidence-based pharmaceutical opinions to promote physician-pharmacist communication around deprescribing

Science.gov (United States)

Tannenbaum, Cara

2018-01-01

Context: Interprofessional communication is an effective mechanism for reducing inappropriate prescriptions among older adults. Physicians’ views about which elements are essential for pharmacists to include in an evidence-based pharmaceutical opinion for deprescribing remain unknown. Objective: To develop a prototype for an evidence-based pharmaceutical opinion that promotes physician-pharmacist communication around deprescribing. Methods: A standardized template for an evidence-based pharmaceutical opinion was developed with input from a convenience sample of 32 primary care physicians and 61 primary care pharmacists, recruited from conferences and community settings in Montreal, Canada. Participants were asked to comment on the need for clarifying treatment goals, including personalized patient data and biomarkers, highlighting evidence about drug harms, listing the credibility and source of the recommendations, providing therapeutic alternatives and formalizing official documentation of decision making. The content and format of the prototype underwent revision by community physicians and pharmacists until consensus was reached on a final recommended template. Results: The majority of physicians (84%-97%) requested that the source of the deprescribing recommendations be cited, that alternative management options be provided and that the information be tailored to the patient. Sixteen percent of physicians expressed concern about the information in the opinions being too dense. Pharmacists also questioned the length of the opinion and asked that additional space be provided for the physician’s response. A statement was added making the opinion a valid prescription upon receipt of a signature from physicians. Compared to a nonstandardized opinion, the majority of pharmacists believed the template was easier to use, more evidence based, more time efficient and more likely to lead to deprescribing. Conclusion: Physicians and pharmacists endorsed a standardized

The rational thinking of expert opinion and communicating in courtroom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bing Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Since the past half century, expert testimony has played an increasingly important role in Chinese litigation. As the amount of expert testimony has grown, the issues about its admissibility and scientific foundation related to evidence are becoming to be questioned commonly. Since eighteenth central committee (China adopted the decision of the Central Committee of China on several important issues in promoting the legal system, the evidence was redefined to become the predominance in the whole proceeding. This article reviews the expert knowledge implicit in the opinions. It argues that the expert opinions ask judges to be aware of the role of communicationg between participants. Expert opinion is not only gained from laboratory, but also socially constructed in the rational expression and communication, which requir us think logically in terms of legal perceptions of science and expert knowledge in the empirical world.

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

Os usos sociais do dinheiro em circuitos filantrópicos: o caso das "publicações de rua"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariel Wilkis

2008-04-01

Full Text Available A partir de um estudo de caso centrado em uma organização que edita uma revista vendida por pessoas "sem teto" na cidade de Buenos Aires, me interrogo sobre os usos sociais do dinheiro em circuitos filantrópicos. Ao seguir a polêmica entre dinheiro e dom, que está no centro das discussões da antropologia e da sociologia, enfoco duas questões: a o papel do dinheiro para demarcar os limites entre as "transações mercantis" e as "circulações de dons"; b a relação entre dinheiro e moral. O trabalho de campo consistiu em uma etnografia das transações entre os vendedores e os compradores desta publicação.Based on a case study of an organization responsible for publishing a magazine sold to ‘homeless’ people in Buenos Aires, I examine the social uses of money in philanthropic circles. Turning to the polemic between money and gift at the centre of discussions in anthropology and sociology, I focus on two questions: a the role of money in demarcating the limits between ‘market transactions’ and ‘gift circulations’; b the relation between money and morality. Fieldwork involved an ethnographic study of the transactions between the sellers and buyers of this publication.

Applying Supervised Opinion Mining Techniques on Online User Reviews

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Ion SMEUREANU

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the spectacular development of web technologies, lead to an enormous quantity of user generated information in online systems. This large amount of information on web platforms make them viable for use as data sources, in applications based on opinion mining and sentiment analysis. The paper proposes an algorithm for detecting sentiments on movie user reviews, based on naive Bayes classifier. We make an analysis of the opinion mining domain, techniques used in sentiment analysis and its applicability. We implemented the proposed algorithm and we tested its performance, and suggested directions of development.

News with an attitude: assessing the mechanisms underlying the effects of opinionated news

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boukes, M.; Boomgaarden, H.G.; Moorman, M.; de Vreese, C.H.

2014-01-01

Opinionated news targets communities of likeminded viewers, relies on dramaturgical storytelling techniques, and shares characteristics with political satire. Accordingly, opinionated news should be understood as a specific form of political entertainment. We have investigated the mechanisms

Opinion Dynamics on Networks with Inference of Unobservable States of Others

Science.gov (United States)

Fujie, Ryo

In most opinion formation models which have been proposed, the agents decide their states (i.e. opinions) by referring to the states of others. However, the referred states of others are not necessarily observable and may be inferred. To investigate the effect of an inference of the states of others on opinion dynamics, I propose an extended voter model on networks where observable and referable node sets are different. These sets for a node defined as the nearest to the mo-th neighbors for observable nodes and the nearest to the mr-th neighbors for referable nodes. The state of referable but unobservable node which is the m-th neighbor (mo pagerank'' is conserved. This conserved quantity coincides with the fixation probability. On the other hand, in the case of mo =mr = 1 , the model comes down to the standard voter model on networks and the conserved quantity is a degree-weighted superposition of the states. Thus, the introduction of the inference changes the important opinion spreaders from the high-degree nodes to the high-betweenness pagerank nodes. This work is supported by the Collaboration Research Program of IDEAS, Chubu University IDEAS2016233.

Measuring and Understanding Public Opinion on Human Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Gwon, Misook

The theory of evolution has long generated controversy in American society, but Americans' attitudes about human evolution are often neglected in studies of "culture wars" and the nature of mass belief systems more generally (Berkman and Plutzer 2010; Freeland and Houston 2009). Gallup and other survey organizations have polled about evolution, but offered limited response categories that mask complexity in public opinion (Bishop 2006; Moore 2008). The main problems concerning the leading survey questions about evolution are: first, questions measure only a single dimension, thus they ignore the potential for multidimensionality in people's attitudes. Second, depending on question wording and response options, the results of public opinion surveys vary by polling groups. This is an example of measurement error which misleads the interpretation and impression of American public opinion on the origin of humankind. A number of studies have analyzed Americans' beliefs about evolution and hypothesized about the influential effects of several factors (Deckman 2002; Mazur 2005; Mooney 2005; Miller et al. 2006; Newport 2006; Forrest 2007;Nisbet and Goidel 2007;Scott 2009). However, there remains a lack of complete understanding of what Americans know and believe about human evolution. Given the salience of this issue and the significant influence of public opinion on policy-making in America (Page and Shapiro 1992; Stimson 2004; Newport 2004), the measurement error and explanation of polling results on controversial issues related to this topic are in need of clarification. In this study, I address these deficiencies with analyses of data from a 2008 national survey by Harris Interactive (n= 4,626) that included numerous measures of factual knowledge and beliefs about evolution. The items offer more nuanced response options than the standard three-category question asked for decades by the Gallup poll. The Harris survey also had multiple measures of religiosity and the

Knowledge and Opinion on the Nuclear Freeze: A Test of Three Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Tankard, James W., Jr.

To explore how knowledge influences opinion in foreign policy, results of a survey on voter familiarity with and attitude toward nuclear policy issues were compared with three theoretical models of the knowledge/opinion relationship: (1) the enlightenment model--as knowledge increases, support for belligerent foreign policy stands decreases; (2)…

Cancer patients seeking a second surgical opinion: results of a study on motives, needs, and expectations.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mellink, W.A.M.; Dulmen, A.M. van; Wiggers, TH.; Spreeuwenberg, P.M.M.; Eggermont, A.M.M.; Bensing, J.M.

2003-01-01

Purpose: To explore the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cancer patients seeking a second-opinion consultation and to analyze their second opinion-related motives, needs, and expectations. Patients and methods: In 212 consecutive patients seeking a second opinion at the Surgical

Treating tension-type headache -- an expert opinion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendtsen, Lars; Jensen, Rigmor

2011-01-01

treatment of chronic TTH. Mirtazapine and venlafaxine are second-choice drugs. EXPERT OPINION: There is an urgent need for more research in nonpharmacological as well as pharmacological treatment possibilities of TTH. Future studies should examine the relative efficacy of the various treatment modalities...

Breaking The Traditional Communication Flow: Exploration of Social Media Opinion Leaders in Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Emma

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Opinion leaders play an important role in mitigating health issues and are able to influence attitudes and health behaviors to a certain extent. However, in the world we are living today, individual health decision making no longer rely fully on doctor’s advice, but often persuaded by people or organisations deemed reliable and trustworthy. Interestingly, one does not have to have a medical degree to be seen as “reliable” or “trustworthy” in giving out medical advices. Computer-mediated-communication changes the way opinion leaders emerge in virtual communities, specifically in the context of health. Through increased access to both traditional and online media, people have a fair access to communication technology and therefore, our definition of opinion leaders have shifted from how we used to understand it through Lazarsfeld’s two-steps flow theory. In fact, the way opinion leaders operate via social media platform is very different from how it used to be through the traditional mass media. This paper will discuss on the characteristics of new media opinion leaders, particularly in the context of health, in hopes to learn new ways to promote health in future communication campaigns.

2003/04 public opinion survey Nuclear energy - the present and the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trontl, K.

2004-01-01

During the academic years 2000/01, 2001/02 and 2002/03 the Croatian Nuclear Society Young Generation Network (CYGN) carried out public opinion surveys among student population of around 600 individuals age 18-20. The results of the surveys have shown that the participants are rather ignorant on nuclear issues but still very negative, especially towards nuclear power plants and radioactive waste disposal sites with emphasized Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome. As a part of the active involvement of CYGN members in upgrading of the positive public opinion, especially, young generations towards nuclear issues, a brochure on radioactivity has been prepared and distributed at the beginning of the 2002/03 school year to third and fourth graders in high schools. Hopefully a part of the 2003/04 academic year, freshman student population received a brochure during their high school education. Therefore, CYGN decided to carry out 2003/04 public opinion survey Nuclear Energy - the Present and the Future in order to investigate the effects of the brochure on student opinions on nuclear subjects. The results of the survey should also provide information on the quality of the distributed materials, as well as the quality of the distribution strategy. The results and the analyses of the 2003/04 public opinion survey, as well as the comparison of the results with the previous surveys are presented in this paper.(author)

THE IMPACT OF AUDITOR`S OPINION ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA

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Andra GAJEVSZKY

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to analyze the relation between modified audit opinion and abnormal accruals in the case of listed Romanian entities. In order to investigate the influence of auditor`s opinion on earnings management, a multiple regression was designed. The final sample, after eliminating the financial institutions due to homogeneity considerations, consists of 61 companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange – tier I, II and III- through a period of five years, from 2008 until 2012. The dependent variable of the regression which measures the discretionary accruals is represented by abnormal accruals, while the independent variables, namely audit opinion, audit firm size, firm size and current ratio of liquidity, constitute the explanatory variables of the regression which aims to capture properly the impact of auditor`s opinion on reducing earnings management in order to improve the quality of financial reporting process. This research contributes to the existent literature in several ways. First of all, at this point, it is the first article that tackles the issue of auditor`s opinion impact on earnings management in Romania. Second, the results of this study might influence the academic environment by contributing to a better understanding of the theoretical implications that can be adapted into an improved practice for the Romanian listed entities.

Elicitation of expert prior opinion: application to the MYPAN trial in childhood polyarteritis nodosa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa V Hampson

Full Text Available Definitive sample sizes for clinical trials in rare diseases are usually infeasible. Bayesian methodology can be used to maximise what is learnt from clinical trials in these circumstances. We elicited expert prior opinion for a future Bayesian randomised controlled trial for a rare inflammatory paediatric disease, polyarteritis nodosa (MYPAN, Mycophenolate mofetil for polyarteritis nodosa.A Bayesian prior elicitation meeting was convened. Opinion was sought on the probability that a patient in the MYPAN trial treated with cyclophosphamide would achieve disease remission within 6-months, and on the relative efficacies of mycophenolate mofetil and cyclophosphamide. Expert opinion was combined with previously unseen data from a recently completed randomised controlled trial in ANCA associated vasculitis.A pan-European group of fifteen experts participated in the elicitation meeting. Consensus expert prior opinion was that the most likely rates of disease remission within 6 months on cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate mofetil were 74% and 71%, respectively. This prior opinion will now be taken forward and will be modified to formulate a Bayesian posterior opinion once the MYPAN trial data from 40 patients randomised 1:1 to either CYC or MMF become available.We suggest that the methodological template we propose could be applied to trial design for other rare diseases.

The 1964 coup and dictatorship in opinion polls

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Rodrigo Patto Sá Motta

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes opinion polls conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE in the context of 1964, with the objective of assessing the support to the coup and to dictatorship. The data, mostly new, indicate a contrast between the support to João Goulart, registered before the coup, and after the success of the coup, which points out to the good acceptance of authoritarian measures, including political purges. The empirical data obtained from the polls are used to consider the sources of legitimation of dictatorship that especially mobilized anticommunist representations. The analysis of the records suggests that the support to the authoritarian regime was marked by instability and oscillated throughout the initial years.

An algorithm of opinion leaders mining based on signed network

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Linlin; Zheng, Mingchun; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Fuming

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of mobile Internet, user gradually become the leader of social media, the abruptly rise of new media has changed the traditional information's dissemination pattern and regularity. There is new era significance of opinion leaders, gatekeepers in the classical theory of mass communication, and it has further expansion and extension to a certain extent. In the existing mining of opinion leaders, it is mainly from the research of network structure and user behavior without considering an important attribute: whether the user has a real impact. In this paper, we take the symbolic network as the research tool, by giving symbol which correspondingly represents support or oppose to the link about point of view relationship between users and combining traditional algorithms of mining with symbolism which can describe the change of view between users, we will get the opinion leader who has real impact on users, then the result is more accurate and effective.

Education through fiction: acquiring opinion-forming skills in the context of genomics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knippels, M.C.P.J.; Severiens, S.E.; Klop, T.

2009-01-01

The present study examined the outcomes of a newly designed four-lesson science module on opinion-forming in the context of genomics in upper secondary education. The lesson plan aims to foster 16-year-old students’ opinion-forming skills in the context of genomics and to test the effect of the use

Method for Expressing Public Opinions Concerning the Introduction of an Emerging Technology to Society

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Satoshi; Ito, Kyoko; Ohnishi, Satoshi; Nishida, Shogo

Emerging technology may have considerable social impact. Because emerging technology has not yet been introduced in society, it is needed general public express its opinions on emerging technology. It is important that expressing opinion must have social spirit. A method to limit facility of the Internet and activate social spirit is proposed. Evaluation experiment were conducted to test the effectiveness of the proposed method, and the participant could express opinion with social spirit.

Psychiatric Opinion and Homosexuality: A Short Report

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, R. F.; And Others

1975-01-01

In a survey of opinion among 100 psychiatrists and 93 trainees in Australia, the majority endorsed the view either that "homosexuality is a developmental anomaly not necessarily or commonly associated with neurotic symptoms" or that "homosexuality is a normal variant like left-handedness." (Author)

Opinion dynamics model based on quantum formalism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Artawan, I. Nengah, E-mail: nengahartawan@gmail.com [Theoretical Physics Division, Department of Physics, Udayana University (Indonesia); Trisnawati, N. L. P., E-mail: nlptrisnawati@gmail.com [Biophysics, Department of Physics, Udayana University (Indonesia)

2016-03-11

Opinion dynamics model based on quantum formalism is proposed. The core of the quantum formalism is on the half spin dynamics system. In this research the implicit time evolution operators are derived. The analogy between the model with Deffuant dan Sznajd models is discussed.

Attitudes, knowledge, and opinions regarding mental health among undergraduate nursing students

OpenAIRE

Santos, Sonia da Silva; Soares, Marcos Hirata; Hirata, Andreia Goncalves Pestana

2013-01-01

A cross-sectional study involving 235 subjects was conducted in 2011 to compare the opinions of nursing students regarding mental illness and related care practices at two institutions in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Following approval by the ethics committee, data collection was initiated using an instrument containing questions regarding the importance of personal characteristics, knowledge of mental health, and the Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) scale. Statistical analyses, including ...

Predicting online ratings based on the opinion spreading process

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xing-Sheng; Zhou, Ming-Yang; Zhuo, Zhao; Fu, Zhong-Qian; Liu, Jian-Guo

2015-10-01

Predicting users' online ratings is always a challenge issue and has drawn lots of attention. In this paper, we present a rating prediction method by combining the user opinion spreading process with the collaborative filtering algorithm, where user similarity is defined by measuring the amount of opinion a user transfers to another based on the primitive user-item rating matrix. The proposed method could produce a more precise rating prediction for each unrated user-item pair. In addition, we introduce a tunable parameter λ to regulate the preferential diffusion relevant to the degree of both opinion sender and receiver. The numerical results for Movielens and Netflix data sets show that this algorithm has a better accuracy than the standard user-based collaborative filtering algorithm using Cosine and Pearson correlation without increasing computational complexity. By tuning λ, our method could further boost the prediction accuracy when using Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) as measurements. In the optimal cases, on Movielens and Netflix data sets, the corresponding algorithmic accuracy (MAE and RMSE) are improved 11.26% and 8.84%, 13.49% and 10.52% compared to the item average method, respectively.

Concierge and Second-Opinion Radiology: Review of Current Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Shehbaz; Bafana, Rounak; Halabi, Safwan S

2016-01-01

Radiology's core assets include the production, interpretation, and distribution of quality imaging studies. Second-opinion services and concierge practices in radiology aim to augment traditional services by providing patient-centered and physician-centered care, respectively. Patient centeredness enhances patients' understanding and comfort with their radiology tests and procedures and allows them to make better decisions about their health care. As the fee-for-service paradigm shifts to value-based care models, radiology practices have begun to diversify imaging service delivery and communication to coincide with the American College of Radiology Imaging 3.0 campaign. Physician-centered consultation allows for communication of evidence-based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the most appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition. There are disparate practice models and payment schema for the various second-opinion and concierge practices. This review article explores the current state and payment models of second-opinion and concierge practices in radiology. This review also includes a discussion on the benefits, roadblocks, and ethical issues that surround these novel types of practices. Copyright © 2015 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

E-Government, Audit Opinion, and Performance of Local Government Administration in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bambang Sutopo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Local governments (LGs have an important role in providing services to the community. Nevertheless, some local governments still show relatively low performance. Scores of e-government implementation and audit opinions obtained by some local governments are also relatively low. This study examines whether there are relationships between e-government, the dimensions of e-government, and audit opinion and the performance of the local government administration. There are five dimensions of the e-government i.e. policy, institutions, infrastructure, applications, and planning. The sample used in this study includes 246 local governments from 2012 to 2014. Using regression analysis, the results of this study show that e-government has a positive association with the performance of the local government administration. This is supported by the positive association of e-government’s dimensions with performance. The audit opinion is also positively associated with performance as expected. These results suggest that e-government and audit opinion can be used as indicators of the performance of local government administration.

Feature Reduction Based on Genetic Algorithm and Hybrid Model for Opinion Mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Kalaivani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid growth of websites and web form the number of product reviews is available on the sites. An opinion mining system is needed to help the people to evaluate emotions, opinions, attitude, and behavior of others, which is used to make decisions based on the user preference. In this paper, we proposed an optimized feature reduction that incorporates an ensemble method of machine learning approaches that uses information gain and genetic algorithm as feature reduction techniques. We conducted comparative study experiments on multidomain review dataset and movie review dataset in opinion mining. The effectiveness of single classifiers Naïve Bayes, logistic regression, support vector machine, and ensemble technique for opinion mining are compared on five datasets. The proposed hybrid method is evaluated and experimental results using information gain and genetic algorithm with ensemble technique perform better in terms of various measures for multidomain review and movie reviews. Classification algorithms are evaluated using McNemar’s test to compare the level of significance of the classifiers.

Etiological explanation, treatability and preventability of childhood autism: a survey of Nigerian healthcare workers' opinion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okonkwo Kevin O

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Because of their peculiar sociocultural background, healthcare workers in sub-Saharan African subcultures may have various conceptions on different aspects of autism spectrum disorders (ASD, such as etiology, treatment and issues of prognosis. These various conceptions, if different from current knowledge in literature about ASD, may negatively influence help-seeking behavior of parents of children with ASD who seek advice and information from the healthcare workers. This study assessed the opinions of healthcare workers in Nigeria on aspects of etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism, and relates their opinions to the sociodemographic variables. Methods Healthcare workers working in four tertiary healthcare facilities located in the south-east and south-south regions of Nigeria were interviewed with a sociodemographic questionnaire, personal opinion on etiology, treatability and preventability of childhood autism (POETPCA questionnaire and knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHW questionnaire to assess their knowledge and opinions on various aspects of childhood autism. Results A total of 134 healthcare workers participated in the study. In all, 78 (58.2%, 19 (14.2% and 36 (26.9% of the healthcare workers were of the opinion that the etiology of childhood autism can be explained by natural, preternatural and supernatural causes, respectively. One (0.7% of the healthcare workers was unsure of the explanation of the etiology. Knowledge about childhood autism as measured by scores on the KCAHW questionnaire was the only factor significantly associated with the opinions of the healthcare workers on etiology of childhood autism. In all, 73 (54.5% and 43 (32.1%, of the healthcare workers subscribed to the opinion that childhood autism is treatable and preventable respectively. Previous involvement with managing children with ASD significantly influenced the opinion of the healthcare

The Scintillation Counting of Calcium-45; Comptage du Calcium-45 au Moyen d'un Scintillateur; Izmerenie aktivnosti Kal'tsiya-45 stsintillyatsionnym metodom; Determinacion del Calcio-45 Mediante Contadores de Centelleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carr, T. E.F.; Parsons, B. J. [Medical Research Council, Radiobiological Research Unit, Harwell (United Kingdom)

1965-10-15

compteur. Les auteurs comparent les diverses methodes de comptage de {sup 45}Ca notamment avec scintillateurs liquides ou en matiere plastique, sous les aspects suivants: a) efficacite, b) bruit de fond, c) facilite et vitesse de preparation des echantillons, d) emploi d'etalons et reproductibilite, et e) capacite en calcium stable. Les auteurs formulent des recommandations touchant la technique qu'ils considerent comme la plus appropriee dans des conditions donnees. (author) [Spanish] Los autores pasan revista a algunos metodos de determinacion del calcio-45 en sustancias biologicas. Se describe la experiencia adquirida en la determinacion de calcio-45 en dichas sustancias aplicando una tecnica de recuento con centelleador laquido ya dada a conocer por los autores. Ciertas muestras suscitaron dificultades debidas a la presencia de cantidades relativamente grandes de hierro. Se estudia la extincion provocada por este ultimo elemento, asf como metodos para superar esta dificultad. Se exponen los resultados del empleo de fuentes gamma internas como patrones y como medio de evaluar los efectos de extincion en ciertas muestras. Aunque no son enteramente satisfactorias para medir la extincion, se recomienda su uso como patrones para comprobar el correcto funcionamiento del contador. Se comparan los resultados de esos metodos, incluidos los de determinacion del {sup 45}Ca por recuento con centelleador liquido y plastico, con respecto a los siguientes puntos: a) rendimiento, b) actividad de fondo, c) facilidad y rapidez de preparacion de muestras, d) empleo de patrones y reproductibilidad, y e) influencia del calcio estable. Se formulan recomendaciones sobre la tecnica mas apropiada segun las circunstancias de cada caso. (author) [Russian] Daetsja obzor nekotoryh metodov ocenki kal'cija-45 v biologicheskih materialah. Soobshhaetsja ob opyte, nakoplennom v processe ocenki kal'cija-45, s primeneniem metoda scheta zhidkostnym scintilljatorom, o kotorom avtory soobshhali ranee. Pri

Islamic Work Ethics and Audit Opinions: Audit Professionalism and Dysfunctional Behavior as Intervening Variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tulus Suryanto

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study examinesthe relationship between Islamic work ethics and auditors’ opinion, focusing onthe aspects of audit professionalism and dysfunctional behavior as interveningvariables. The research involved in Internal Auditors working of Islamic Bankingindustry in Sumatra Island. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Thestudy represents the empirical test employing census sampling. The data collectedwere analysed using Amos. The results of the study confirmed the three hypothesesexamined: there is a positive corelation between Islamic work ethics and auditors’opinions; auditors’ professionalism is an intervening variable of the correlationbetween Islamic work ethics and auditors’ opinions and dysfunctional behavioris a negative intervening variable of the correlation between Islamic Work Ethicsand auditors’ opinionsDOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i1.2508

Co-Evolution of Opinion and Strategy in Persuasion Dynamics:. AN Evolutionary Game Theoretical Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Fei; Liu, Yun; Li, Yong

In this paper, a new model of opinion formation within the framework of evolutionary game theory is presented. The model simulates strategic situations when people are in opinion discussion. Heterogeneous agents adjust their behaviors to the environment during discussions, and their interacting strategies evolve together with opinions. In the proposed game, we take into account payoff discount to join a discussion, and the situation that people might drop out of an unpromising game. Analytical and emulational results show that evolution of opinion and strategy always tend to converge, with utility threshold, memory length, and decision uncertainty parameters influencing the convergence time. The model displays different dynamical regimes when we set differently the rule when people are at a loss in strategy.

Pengembangan Model Sosialisasi Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional Melalui Peran Opinion Leader

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niken Lestarini

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to develop a model of socialization of the National Health Insurance through the role of Opnion Leader. The development of socialization model of National Health Insurance through the role of Opinion Leader is important because with the inclusion of communication technology in Rural areas has led to the emergence of social distance between opinion leaders (Opinion Leader with the community. Although acknowledged that opinion leaders in Indonesia are still very instrumental in influencing the attitude and behavior of followers in the village. This research is also important to assist the Ponorogo Regency Government in implementing the National Health Insurance (JKN Act organized by Social Security Administering Board (BPJS. This research is a continuation of research of Opnion Leader role which shows that its role is very high in socialization about Naional Health Insurance in the village. This research uses qualitative research paradigm. Data collection techniques used are in-depth interviews, observation and dukumentasi.Teknik Determination Informants using snowball technique, ie without determining the number of informants but based on information provided in accordance with the data required. Then the method of data analysis using Interactive Analysis Model. The results of research and discussion can be concluded that the Government set a target that in 2019 all Indonesian people have registered and have a card of National Health Insurance - Kartu Indonesia Sehat (JKN-KIS. So it has become a necessity for the socialization model that can really touch the people so that the target of the government can be achieved. Because JKN-KIS has become the thing that is needed by the society in carrying out their life to be healthy and prosperous and has been poured in Government regulation, the socialization model used belongs to the Represif socialization model. This socialization runs in one direction from one person to another. The

FACTORS INFLUENCING AUDITORS' GOING CONCERN OPINION

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Hasnah Haron

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of our study is to provide evidence the practically consideration of auditor judgement on going concern opinion. By using quasi experimental, we found strong evidence that auditors' judgement is affected by financial indicators, evidence, and disclosure. We have another finding that consensus among auditors' judgement and the interaction effects between the three independent variables is significant.

How sociodemographic features impact subjects' opinion on packages leaflets of medicines?

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Carla Pires

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background Packages leaflets (PLs are essential for the safe use and efficacy of medicines. Aims To quantify the opinion of users of medicines on PLs through the application of a self-administered Likert scale, taking into consideration subjects’ sociodemographic data. Methods Participants were enrolled from two Portuguese regions: urban/littoral (Lisbon and rural/interior (Centre. 503 participants were included: 53 per cent males, 45 per cent 12 years of schooling. A questionnaire was used to collect the sociodemographic data. A Likert scale was self-administered to rate the characteristics of 12 randomized PLs (6 from prescription medicines and 6 from over-the-counter medicines (August-December 2014. An invitation was send to several institutions (e.g., municipal councils. The inclusion criteria were: agreeing, be capable of reading/writing, and be more than 17 years old. Results In the Likert scores obtained, no significant differences were found related to region, sex, marital status, age group (≥65 years and other, and employment status of participants. By contrast, significant differences were found related to education (2=42.747; p 12 years of schooling, more regular reading habits (2 or more books/year, higher income and less frequent medicines use, showed a more negative global opinion on PLs. Conclusion Sociodemographic data are important to understand users’ opinion on PLs. It seems that more educated subjects are more demanding. A lower socio-economic status positively influenced the participants’ opinion, with subjects’ poorer education being a relevant factor in this population. A higher frequency of taking medicines also positively contributed to a better opinion, probably due to a greater familiarity with PLs.

Las Nuevas Tecnologias de la Informacion en las Bibliotecas Publicas de Puerto Rico: Impacto en el Personal Bibliotecario

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz-Suarez, Damalin Judith

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the status of Puerto Rico's public libraries to new information technologies. Obtaining the views of library staff working in the same, characteristics and attitudes and knowledge in new information technologies needed to serve as information specialists in libraries. To know the opinion of the…

Opinion about nuclear energy and social evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demuth, Gerard; Millat, J.F.

1982-01-01

The authors study people's attitudes regarding social evolution in French contemporary society. In this field, they analyze public opinion trends about nuclear energy. Taking into account these basic datas, they put forward some proposals that could lead to a better information and communication about nuclear energy [fr

The assessment of argumentation from expert opinion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wagemans, J.H.M.

2011-01-01

In this contribution, I will develop a comprehensive tool for the reconstruction and evaluation of argumentation from expert opinion. This is done by analyzing and then combining two dialectical accounts of this type of argumentation. Walton’s account of the ‘appeal to expert opinion’ provides a

German second-opinion network for testicular cancer: sealing the leaky pipe between evidence and clinical practice.

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Zengerling, Friedemann; Hartmann, Michael; Heidenreich, Axel; Krege, Susanne; Albers, Peter; Karl, Alexander; Weissbach, Lothar; Wagner, Walter; Bedke, Jens; Retz, Margitta; Schmelz, Hans U; Kliesch, Sabine; Kuczyk, Markus; Winter, Eva; Pottek, Tobias; Dieckmann, Klaus-Peter; Schrader, Andres Jan; Schrader, Mark

2014-06-01

In 2006, the German Testicular Cancer Study Group initiated an extensive evidence-based national second-opinion network to improve the care of testicular cancer patients. The primary aims were to reflect the current state of testicular cancer treatment in Germany and to analyze the project's effect on the quality of care delivered to testicular cancer patients. A freely available internet-based platform was developed for the exchange of data between the urologists seeking advice and the 31 second-opinion givers. After providing all data relevant to the primary treatment decision, urologists received a second opinion on their therapy plan within testicular cancer patient in Germany were submitted to second-opinion centers. Second-opinion centers can help to improve the implementation of evidence into clinical practice.

Employee benefits managers' opinions about addiction treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Bentson H; Lierman, Walter K; Penner, Norman R; McCamant, Lynn E; Zani, Brigid G

2003-01-01

Employee benefits managers arrange addictive disease treatment insurance coverage for the majority of people in the United States but little is known about these decision-makers. Managers were surveyed to learn their opinions about addiction treatment. Subjects were 131 people (61 percent female, 94 percent white, average age 46, average of 14 years in the human resources field). Managers were asked to rank health benefits (physical health, dental, alcohol-drug, vision, mental health, employee assistance program, and pharmaceuticals) on 15 dimensions. Managers ranked alcohol-drug abuse treatment worst on fiveitems and second to the worst on another four of the 15 dimensions. On the item considered most important by the managers, respondents noted that employees often (2.8) ask for improved physical health benefits but rarely do so for alcohol and drug (4.1) benefits (p < .001). Education of workers and payers will be needed to change opinions about treatment of addictive disorders.

Public opinion about energy: a literature review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farhar, B.C.; Weis, P.; Unseld, C.T.; Burns, B.A.

1979-06-01

A review and analysis of 115 surveys of the general population between 1973 and 1978 (before the Three Mile Island accident, sudden gasoline price increases, and spot gasoline shortages) are presented. The survey data are organized and analyzed according to a set of categories described in Chapter 2. The public's definition of the energy situation is the focus of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 describes public opinion concerning energy conservation pertaining to transportation and domestic energy use -- whether it is efficacious, how knowledgeable people are about conservation, whether they favor it, and whether they engage in it. Findings on the solar energy alternative are described in Chapter 5. Public opinion concerning more conventional sources of energy -- oil and natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy -- are discussed in Chapter 6. In Chapter 7, a summary of analytical findings by 10 major sociodemographic characteristics is presented. Chapter 8 describes analytical findings using various social-psychological variables. A summary is presented in Chapter 9.

SUBJECTIVE RIGHTS ACTIVITY AS A FACTOR OF FORMATION AND OPERATION OF PUBLIC OPINION

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Arkadiy Evgenevich Peskov

2016-02-01

Practical implications: public opinion is realized above all in the social and political sphere, so a basic knowledge of the genesis of public opinion creates the conditions for social inclusion and design rights in the socio-political sphere with the lowest degree of alienation.

An analysis of determinants of going concern audit opinion: Evidence from Spain stock exchange

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Jose Luis Gallizo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The main objective of this article is to go in-depth into the relationship between going concern audit opinion and certain characteristics of the company and auditor, including financial decline. Design/methodology/approach: A Logit analysis was carried out in order to enable us to discover the probability of receiving a going concern audit opinion. Findings: Characteristics of the company and characteristics of the auditor are discussed, and the analysis indicates that it is not financial decline, but rather registering losses and being audited by a small-scale auditor, that increase the likelihood of a company receiving a going concern audit opinion. Practical implications: The results obtained are interesting for the profession and users because they provide evidence of the reasons that converge in the cases where a going concern audit opinion is included in the auditing reports of companies characterised by being immersed in a financial crisis. Originality/value: This article considers the circumstances of both the company and the auditing process, which influence the fact that the auditing report includes a going concern audit opinion. In addition, the article includes the financial decline, and let us to analyze if the decline of the company’s financial position between t-1 and t causes the auditor to include a going concern audit opinion.

Role of social environment and social clustering in spread of opinions in coevolving networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, Nishant; Mucha, Peter J

2013-12-01

Taking a pragmatic approach to the processes involved in the phenomena of collective opinion formation, we investigate two specific modifications to the coevolving network voter model of opinion formation studied by Holme and Newman [Phys. Rev. E 74, 056108 (2006)]. First, we replace the rewiring probability parameter by a distribution of probability of accepting or rejecting opinions between individuals, accounting for heterogeneity and asymmetric influences in relationships between individuals. Second, we modify the rewiring step by a path-length-based preference for rewiring that reinforces local clustering. We have investigated the influences of these modifications on the outcomes of simulations of this model. We found that varying the shape of the distribution of probability of accepting or rejecting opinions can lead to the emergence of two qualitatively distinct final states, one having several isolated connected components each in internal consensus, allowing for the existence of diverse opinions, and the other having a single dominant connected component with each node within that dominant component having the same opinion. Furthermore, more importantly, we found that the initial clustering in the network can also induce similar transitions. Our investigation also indicates that these transitions are governed by a weak and complex dependence on system size. We found that the networks in the final states of the model have rich structural properties including the small world property for some parameter regimes.

[Women's opinion on abortion legalization in a middle size county in southern Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

César, J A; Gomes, G; Horta, B L; de Oliveira, A K; Saraiva, A K; Pardo, D O; Silva, L M; Rodghiero, C L; Gross, M R

1997-12-01

Induced abortion is the main cause of maternal death in Brazil. Question of its legalization has been the subject of frequent discussion. In order to assess the influence of the variables affecting the opinion of women of reproductive age, a population-based systematic sample in the county of Rio Grande (Southern Brazil) was examined. Of a total of 1,456 interviews 30% endorsed the legalization, whatever the circumstances; this percentage was directly associated with age, schooling, family income and previous induced abortion (p abortion on favourable opinion. Schooling and previous induced abortion were the main determinants of women's favorable opinions regarding abortion legalization.

Social power and opinion formation in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Jalili, Mahdi

2013-02-01

In this paper we investigate the effects of social power on the evolution of opinions in model networks as well as in a number of real social networks. A continuous opinion formation model is considered and the analysis is performed through numerical simulation. Social power is given to a proportion of agents selected either randomly or based on their degrees. As artificial network structures, we consider scale-free networks constructed through preferential attachment and Watts-Strogatz networks. Numerical simulations show that scale-free networks with degree-based social power on the hub nodes have an optimal case where the largest number of the nodes reaches a consensus. However, given power to a random selection of nodes could not improve consensus properties. Introducing social power in Watts-Strogatz networks could not significantly change the consensus profile.

The influence of local majority opinions on the dynamics of the Sznajd model

Science.gov (United States)

Crokidakis, Nuno

2014-03-01

In this work we study a Sznajd-like opinion dynamics on a square lattice of linear size L. For this purpose, we consider that each agent has a convincing power C, that is a time-dependent quantity. Each high convincing power group of four agents sharing the same opinion may convince its neighbors to follow the group opinion, which induces an increase of the group's convincing power. In addition, we have considered that a group with a local majority opinion (3 up/1 down spins or 1 up/3 down spins) can persuade the agents neighboring the group with probability p, since the group's convincing power is high enough. The two mechanisms (convincing powers and probability p) lead to an increase of the competition among the opinions, which avoids dictatorship (full consensus, all spins parallel) for a wide range of model's parameters, and favors the occurrence of democratic states (partial order, the majority of spins pointing in one direction). We have found that the relaxation times of the model follow log-normal distributions, and that the average relaxation time τ grows with system size as τ ~ L5/2, independent of p. We also discuss the occurrence of the usual phase transition of the Sznajd model.

The influence of local majority opinions on the dynamics of the Sznajd model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crokidakis, Nuno [Departamento de Física, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2014-03-11

In this work we study a Sznajd-like opinion dynamics on a square lattice of linear size L. For this purpose, we consider that each agent has a convincing power C, that is a time-dependent quantity. Each high convincing power group of four agents sharing the same opinion may convince its neighbors to follow the group opinion, which induces an increase of the group's convincing power. In addition, we have considered that a group with a local majority opinion (3 up/1 down spins or 1 up/3 down spins) can persuade the agents neighboring the group with probability p, since the group's convincing power is high enough. The two mechanisms (convincing powers and probability p) lead to an increase of the competition among the opinions, which avoids dictatorship (full consensus, all spins parallel) for a wide range of model's parameters, and favors the occurrence of democratic states (partial order, the majority of spins pointing in one direction). We have found that the relaxation times of the model follow log-normal distributions, and that the average relaxation time τ grows with system size as τ ∼ L{sup 5/2}, independent of p. We also discuss the occurrence of the usual phase transition of the Sznajd model.

THE ROLE OF DISSENTING AND CONCURRING OPINIONS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL JURISDICTION

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Marieta Safta

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The Judges’ possibility to submit dissenting / concurring opinions is disputed as arguments are brought both for and against it in the context of the obligation to ensure the secrecy of deliberations. This study, bringing landmarks of the European Constitutional Courts’ legislation and case-law on the subject, demonstrates the role of the dissenting and concurring opinions in the development of the law, emphasizing the idea of balance for their formulation and grounds.

Emergence of Opinion Leaders Based on Agent Model and Its Impact to Stock Prices

Science.gov (United States)

Misawa, Tadanobu; Suzuki, Kyoko; Okano, Yoshitaka; Shimokawa, Tetsuya

Recently, we can be able to get a lot of information easily because information technology has been developed. Therefore, it is thought that the impact to a society by communication of information such as word of mouth has been growing. In this paper, we propose a model of emergence of opinion leader based on word of mouth in artificial stock market. Moreover, the process of emergence of opinion leader and impact to stock prices by opinion leader are verified by simulation.

Identification of potential opinion leaders in child health promotion in Sweden using network analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guldbrandsson, Karin; Nordvik, Monica K; Bremberg, Sven

2012-08-08

Opinion leaders are often local individuals with high credibility who can influence other people. Robust effects using opinion leaders in diffusing innovations have been shown in several randomized controlled trials, for example regarding sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, mammography rates and caesarean birth delivery rates. In a Cochrane review 2010 it was concluded that the use of opinion leaders can successfully promote evidence-based practice. Thus, using opinion leaders within the public health sector might be one means to speed up the dissemination of health promoting and disease preventing innovations. Social network analysis has been used to trace and map networks, with focus on relationships and positions, in widely spread arenas and topics. The purpose of this study was to use social network analysis in order to identify potential opinion leaders at the arena of child health promotion in Sweden. By using snowball technique a short e-mail question was spread in up to five links, starting from seven initially invited persons. This inquiry resulted in a network consisting of 153 individuals. The most often mentioned actors were researchers, public health officials and paediatricians, or a combination of these professions. Four single individuals were mentioned by five to seven other persons in the network. These individuals obviously possess qualities that make other professionals within the public health sector listen to and trust them. Social network analysis seemed to be a useful method to identify influential persons with high credibility, i.e. potential opinion leaders, at the arena of child health promotion in Sweden. If genuine opinion leaders could be identified directed measures can be carried out in order to spread new and relevant knowledge. This may facilitate for public health actors at the local, regional and national level to more rapidly progress innovations into everyday practice. However

The long-lasting customs (longa consuetudine and the public interests (utilitas publica

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Sič Magdolna

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In the process of creating the Roman Empire as well as thereafter during the struggle for its existence, the following question emerges: to which extent should be the acceding nations allowed to practice their deeply embedded customary rules? This question is important also nowadays in times of creation of the European Union and its unified legal system. In terms of the use of customs Rome has been changing its attitude depending on important changes in the society. In times of a rise, during the period of Republic, Rome was deciding on whether it will allow or forbid the acceding nations to continue living by their own customs and religious rules. Later, when the roman citizenship has been given to all inhabitants of the Empire by Caracalla's Edict (in the 212. year, a liberal approach has been taken. In the constitution of Alexander Sever, as well as in the fragments of the classical lawyers one can read about the obligation of the judge to take into account the customs. However, when the Empire got into a serious crisis and barbarian people came onto the roman land, a general boundary has been set towards the use of longlasting customs: these customs could be used, and potentially even have the force of a law, as long as they did not jeopardize the interests of the Empire (utilitas publica. The analyzed rules on the question can the potential future heirs dispose with the future heritage (the goods of a living person - bonis viventis in the classical, post-classical and Justinian's law, points onto the fact that the postclassical cutomary rules, that were not in conflict with the interests of the Empire, contributed even to the changes of the rules of the classical roman law. In the taken example, the classical rule according to which the disposal with future heritage is null and void, is modified under the influence of a German custom in a way that, property division and disposal with the divided property by future heirs was allowed

Public opinion, risk to reputation: The essentials of societal corporate governance?

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Catherine Malecki

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Research Question/Issue: This paper will examine the role of reputation regarding corporate governance in terms of performance, risk control and the possible role of legislature or behaviors in this field (in particular with regards to the recent Green Paper “Companies in the EU: a management of governance”, COM (2011 164 final, of the 5th April 2011, of the European Commission. Research Findings/Insights: Image, reputation, positive or negative opinion, notoriety of the companies and their managers are regarded as an element of their performance. It is accepted that public opinion, inherently linked to the reputation risk is an essential element of corporate governance. Regarding the need of a long term matter, particularly after the financial crisis, a short period of time is enough to transform a positive public opinion into a negative one. In addition, the assessment of public opinion is complex. Everyone can freely form an “opinion”. The opinion may be private and public. Public opinion refers to society, to citizens and to the people. Its classic means of expression are freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This question is particularly crucial regarding the role of the companies to the “society” as recently defined by the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the committee of the Regions, A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility, the European Commission and the European Parliament (Brussels, 25.10.2011 COM (2011 681 final. Theoretical/Academic Implications: How to manage good corporate governance reputation ?As from 1979, the Anglo-Saxon doctrine has acutely highlighted the role of reputation risk regarding corporate governance but what is the situation within the EU? Has legislature, in Europe (and for example, in France, sufficiently acknowledged the concept of reputation risk control? – A long term period

How does public opinion become extreme?

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Marlon; Shao, Jia; Reis, Saulo D S; Anteneodo, Celia; Andrade, José S; Havlin, Shlomo; Makse, Hernán A

2015-05-19

We investigate the emergence of extreme opinion trends in society by employing statistical physics modeling and analysis on polls that inquire about a wide range of issues such as religion, economics, politics, abortion, extramarital sex, books, movies, and electoral vote. The surveys lay out a clear indicator of the rise of extreme views. The precursor is a nonlinear relation between the fraction of individuals holding a certain extreme view and the fraction of individuals that includes also moderates, e.g., in politics, those who are "very conservative" versus "moderate to very conservative" ones. We propose an activation model of opinion dynamics with interaction rules based on the existence of individual "stubbornness" that mimics empirical observations. According to our modeling, the onset of nonlinearity can be associated to an abrupt bootstrap-percolation transition with cascades of extreme views through society. Therefore, it represents an early-warning signal to forecast the transition from moderate to extreme views. Moreover, by means of a phase diagram we can classify societies according to the percolative regime they belong to, in terms of critical fractions of extremists and people's ties.

How does public opinion become extreme?

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Marlon; Shao, Jia; Reis, Saulo D. S.; Anteneodo, Celia; Andrade, José S.; Havlin, Shlomo; Makse, Hernán A.

2015-05-01

We investigate the emergence of extreme opinion trends in society by employing statistical physics modeling and analysis on polls that inquire about a wide range of issues such as religion, economics, politics, abortion, extramarital sex, books, movies, and electoral vote. The surveys lay out a clear indicator of the rise of extreme views. The precursor is a nonlinear relation between the fraction of individuals holding a certain extreme view and the fraction of individuals that includes also moderates, e.g., in politics, those who are “very conservative” versus “moderate to very conservative” ones. We propose an activation model of opinion dynamics with interaction rules based on the existence of individual “stubbornness” that mimics empirical observations. According to our modeling, the onset of nonlinearity can be associated to an abrupt bootstrap-percolation transition with cascades of extreme views through society. Therefore, it represents an early-warning signal to forecast the transition from moderate to extreme views. Moreover, by means of a phase diagram we can classify societies according to the percolative regime they belong to, in terms of critical fractions of extremists and people’s ties.

Ugandan opinion-leaders' knowledge and perceptions of unsafe abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Ann M; Kibombo, Richard; Cats-Baril, Deva

2014-10-01

While laws in Uganda surrounding abortion remain contradictory, a frequent interpretation of the law is that abortion is only allowed to save the woman's life. Nevertheless abortion occurs frequently under unsafe conditions at a rate of 54 abortions per 1000 women of reproductive age annually, taking a large toll on women's health. There are an estimated 148,500 women in Uganda who experience abortion complications annually. Understanding opinion leaders' knowledge and perceptions about unsafe abortion is critical to identifying ways to address this public health issue. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 41 policy-makers, cultural leaders, local politicians and leaders within the health care sector in 2009-10 at the national as well as district (Bushenyi, Kamuli and Lira) level to explore their knowledge and perceptions of unsafe abortion and the potential for policy to address this issue. Only half of the sample knew the current law regulating abortion in Uganda. Respondents understood that the result of the current abortion restrictions included long-term health complications, unwanted children and maternal death. Perceived consequences of increasing access to safe abortion included improved health as well as overuse of abortion, marital conflict and less reliance on preventive behaviour. Opinion leaders expressed the most support for legalization of abortion in cases of rape when the perpetrator was unknown. Understanding opinion leaders' perspectives on this politically sensitive topic provides insight into the policy context of abortion laws, drivers behind maintaining the status quo, and ways to improve provision under the law: increase education among providers and opinion leaders. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

Scientific opinion of BIOHAZ Panel on the request from the Commission for review of the opinion on microbiological risks in infant formulae and follow-on formulae with regard to Enterobacteriaceae as indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cerf, O.; Colin, P.; Collins, D.; Forsythe, S.; Noerrung, B.; Roberts, T.; Zwietering, M.H.

2007-01-01

The European Commission requested EFSA to review the former EFSA/BIOHAZ opinion on microbiological risks in infant formulae and follow-on formulae. Particularly it was requested to provide a scientific opinion on the possible correlation between Enterobacteriaceae and Enterobacter sakazakii and

Interacting opinion and disease dynamics in multiplex networks: Discontinuous phase transition and nonmonotonic consensus times

Science.gov (United States)

Velásquez-Rojas, Fátima; Vazquez, Federico

2017-05-01

Opinion formation and disease spreading are among the most studied dynamical processes on complex networks. In real societies, it is expected that these two processes depend on and affect each other. However, little is known about the effects of opinion dynamics over disease dynamics and vice versa, since most studies treat them separately. In this work we study the dynamics of the voter model for opinion formation intertwined with that of the contact process for disease spreading, in a population of agents that interact via two types of connections, social and contact. These two interacting dynamics take place on two layers of networks, coupled through a fraction q of links present in both networks. The probability that an agent updates its state depends on both the opinion and disease states of the interacting partner. We find that the opinion dynamics has striking consequences on the statistical properties of disease spreading. The most important is that the smooth (continuous) transition from a healthy to an endemic phase observed in the contact process, as the infection probability increases beyond a threshold, becomes abrupt (discontinuous) in the two-layer system. Therefore, disregarding the effects of social dynamics on epidemics propagation may lead to a misestimation of the real magnitude of the spreading. Also, an endemic-healthy discontinuous transition is found when the coupling q overcomes a threshold value. Furthermore, we show that the disease dynamics delays the opinion consensus, leading to a consensus time that varies nonmonotonically with q in a large range of the model's parameters. A mean-field approach reveals that the coupled dynamics of opinions and disease can be approximately described by the dynamics of the voter model decoupled from that of the contact process, with effective probabilities of opinion and disease transmission.

Opinion dynamics within a virtual small group: the stubbornness effect

Science.gov (United States)

Guazzini, Andrea; Cini, Alessandro; Bagnoli, Franco; Ramasco, José

2015-09-01

The modeling of opinion dynamics is social systems has attracted a good deal of attention in the last decade. Even though based on intuition and observation, the mechanisms behind many of these models need solid empirical grounding. In this work, we investigate the relation among subjective variables (such as the personality), the dynamics of the affinity network dynamics, the communication patterns emerging throughout the social interactions and the opinions dynamics in a series of experiments with five small groups of ten people each. In order to ignite the discussion, the polemic topic of animal experimentation was proposed. The groups essentially polarized in two factions with a set of stubborn individuals (those not changing their opinions in time) playing the role of anchors. Our results suggest that the different layers present in the group dynamics (i.e., individual level, group dynamics and meso-communication) are deeply intermingled, specifically the stubbornness effect appears to be related to the dynamical features of the network topologies, and only in an undirected way to the personality of the participants.

Opinion dynamics within a virtual small group: the stubbornness effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea eGuazzini

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The modeling of opinion dynamics is social systems has attracted a good deal of attention in the last decade. Even though based on intuition and observation, the mechanisms behind many of these models need solid empirical grounding. In this work, we investigate the relation among subjective variables (such as the personality, the dynamics of the affinity network dynamics, the communication patterns emerging throughout the social interactions and the opinions dynamics in a series of experiments with five small groups of ten people each. In order to ignite the discussion, the polemic topic of animal experimentation was proposed. The groups essentially polarized in two factions with a set of stubborn individuals (those not changing their opinions in time playing the role of anchors. Our results suggest that the different layers present in the group dynamics (i.e., individual level, group dynamics and meso-communication are deeply intermingled, specifically the stubbornness effect appears to be related to the dynamical features of the network topologies, and only in an undirected way to the personality of the participants.

Quantifying discrepancies in opinion spectra from online and offline networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Deokjae; Hahn, Kyu S; Yook, Soon-Hyung; Park, Juyong

2015-01-01

Online social media such as Twitter are widely used for mining public opinions and sentiments on various issues and topics. The sheer volume of the data generated and the eager adoption by the online-savvy public are helping to raise the profile of online media as a convenient source of news and public opinions on social and political issues as well. Due to the uncontrollable biases in the population who heavily use the media, however, it is often difficult to measure how accurately the online sphere reflects the offline world at large, undermining the usefulness of online media. One way of identifying and overcoming the online-offline discrepancies is to apply a common analytical and modeling framework to comparable data sets from online and offline sources and cross-analyzing the patterns found therein. In this paper we study the political spectra constructed from Twitter and from legislators' voting records as an example to demonstrate the potential limits of online media as the source for accurate public opinion mining, and how to overcome the limits by using offline data simultaneously.

Quantifying discrepancies in opinion spectra from online and offline networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deokjae Lee

Full Text Available Online social media such as Twitter are widely used for mining public opinions and sentiments on various issues and topics. The sheer volume of the data generated and the eager adoption by the online-savvy public are helping to raise the profile of online media as a convenient source of news and public opinions on social and political issues as well. Due to the uncontrollable biases in the population who heavily use the media, however, it is often difficult to measure how accurately the online sphere reflects the offline world at large, undermining the usefulness of online media. One way of identifying and overcoming the online-offline discrepancies is to apply a common analytical and modeling framework to comparable data sets from online and offline sources and cross-analyzing the patterns found therein. In this paper we study the political spectra constructed from Twitter and from legislators' voting records as an example to demonstrate the potential limits of online media as the source for accurate public opinion mining, and how to overcome the limits by using offline data simultaneously.

Interplay between social debate and propaganda in an opinion formation model

Science.gov (United States)

Gimenez, M. C.; Revelli, J. A.; Lama, M. S. de la; Lopez, J. M.; Wio, H. S.

2013-01-01

We introduce a simple model of opinion dynamics in which a two-state agent modified Sznajd model evolves due to the simultaneous action of stochastic driving and a periodic signal. The stochastic effect mimics a social temperature, so the agents may adopt decisions in support for or against some opinion or position, according to a modified Sznajd rule with a varying probability. The external force represents a simplified picture by which society feels the influence of the external effects of propaganda. By means of Monte Carlo simulations we have shown the dynamical interplay between the social condition or mood and the external influence, finding a stochastic resonance-like phenomenon when we depict the noise-to-signal ratio as a function of the social temperature. In addition, we have also studied the effects of the system size and the external signal strength on the opinion formation dynamics.

Contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in government

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Rodreck David

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Auditing can support national democratic processes, national development and government good will. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI, such as offices of Auditor General, publish consolidated reports on audit outcomes for local authorities, government departments, parastatals and related public entities. These reports identify broad areas analysed during audit exercises that often include financial management, governance, asset management, risk management, revenue collection and debt recovery. They highlight trends that were detected during audit exercises at the end of a financial year. The reports further show how records and records management affect audit exercises as well as financial management within the audited institutions. Objectives: The intention of the research was to ascertain the contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in financial management in Zimbabwean government entities. Method: A document analysis of Comptroller and Auditor General of Zimbabwe (CAGZ’s reports was used to identify the types of decisions and recommendations (audit opinions issued, in juxtaposition to the records management issues raised. Results and Conclusion: This study shows that there is a strong correlation between records management concerns and audit opinions raised by the CAGZ’s narrative audit reports. Inadequate records management within government entities was associated with adverse and qualified opinions and, in some cases, unqualified opinions that had emphases of matter. There was a causal loop in which lack of documentary evidence of financial activities was the source cause of poor accounting and poor audit reports. Errors resulting from incomplete or inaccurate records meant that government entities were not showing a true picture of their financial status and their financial statements could be materially misstated. As an important monitoring and control system, records management should be

Students and Instructors Opinions about Piano Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Kilic, Deniz Beste Çevik

2016-01-01

This study examined the opinions of the students and piano instructors in the Turkish Education Faculties' Fine Arts Instruction Departments' music instruction programs about piano instruction. The study data were collected using a questionnaire administered to the piano instructors and the students who took lessons from them. The study results…

survey of opinions in a paediatric department

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1991-05-04

May 4, 1991 ... Doctors working at 3 teaching hospitals of the University of the Witwatersrand were .... study. It can therefore be assumed that the opinions put forth were largely .... and will, it is hoped, provide some food for thought for other departments. ... Puhlic Health 'Service guidelioes for counselliog and antibody ...

Donne medievali tra fama e infamia: leges e narrationes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinora Corsi

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper stresses the shift occurred at the beginning of the 13rd century, in judicial proceedings, from the accusatio of Roman legal tradition to the inquisitio. Due to this upset, trials were instituted per publica vox et fama, i.e. on the grounds of the bad reputation one had in his/her community. As far as women and their history are concerned, the focus is centered on adultery, which is the slanderous crime-sin accusation considered by both laws and public opinion, by writers and other makers of male discourse on women’s good-bad reputation.

CONFLICT BETWEEN LEGAL OPINIONS OF ECHR AND NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

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Yuliya Nadtochey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The object of research is a relationship between ECHR and constitutional courts in various jurisdictions.The main aim of this article is to research the conflict between opinions of ECHR and national Constitutional courts, and also to find the root of this conflict.The methodology of this research consists of universal methods (such as analysis, synthesis, comparison and jurisprudence-specific methods.In the course of research, the author used various theoretical sources, ECHR case-law and decisions of various national Constitutional Courts.Results. At this point of time, there are many theories that try to explain the relationship between international and national law. But their functioning can be observed only in practice. Many jurisdictions adhere to the concept of Dualism.National Constitutional courts may perceive legal opinions in two different ways: adhere to the legal opinion of ECHR or reach a different conclusion, different to that of ECHR.Because national Constitutional courts and ECHR employ different systems for establishing whether rights of the claimant were violated or not, courts may give more weight to the different factors.In the article, the author focuses attention on such reason of the conflict as justification for limitation of one's rights.Conclusions. Conflict of legal opinions of ECHR and national Constitutional courts is of axiological nature. Conflict per se does not imply that a given national government decided to breach its international obligations. Because of subsidiary nature of ECHR protection, conflicts is rather an exception that could be dealt with than a rule.

The opinions of nurses and physicians related to euthanasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nihal İşler

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The research was conducted to investigate the opinions of nurses and physicians pertaining to euthanasia who are working at Internal Medicine, Surgery and Intensive Care Unit departments at Baskent University Ankara hospital.Methods: The research is a descriptive one. The sample consisted of 154 nurses and physicians who are working at Internal Medicine, Surgery and Intensive Care Unit departments at Baskent University Ankara hospital and accepted to participate and could be reached. A questionnaire with 30 items was used to collect data to obtain the socio-demographic characteristics and the opinions pertaining to euthanasia of nurses and physicians. Frequencies, mean values and chi-square tests were used in statistical analysis.Results: The participants didn’t approve euthanasia with a high ratio however it was determined that almost half of them asserted it as patient’s rights of a patient who want his/her death to be fastened and who has no chance to be cured and who are spending the last days of their life with unbearable pain. Except the age groups and marital status there was no significant difference found statistically between the opinions of physicians and nurses regarding euthanasia (p>0.05.Conclusion: It was stated that nurses and physicians consider not active euthanasia but passive euthanasia as acceptable.

Yucca Mountain public tours: Can they impact public opinion?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reilly, B.; Austin, P.

1991-01-01

The Yucca Mountain site in Nevada was selected by Congress in 1987 as the only site for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to study for suitability as a high-level radioactive waste repository. Several years of site characterization studies are needed to determine if the site is suitable. However, DOE's study of the site is one of the most intensely opposed federal programs today. The fight against DOE's effort to study the repository leads the political agendas of Nevada's governor and Congressional delegation. The politicians and the press have been the primary sources of information for Nevada citizens on the Yucca Mountain site characterization program. However, there is a more direct source of factual information regarding the program - the site itself and the participating scientists. The DOE is offering Nevada citizens the opportunity to form their own opinions by touring the Yucca Mountain site and interacting with DOE scientists and engineers. Feedback from monthly tours conducted from March to June 1991 has indicated substantial support from Nevada citizens for DOE's study of the site. In fact, a surprising number of citizens have indicated that the opportunity to gather information and formulate their own opinions led them to change their opinions

Modelling Influence and Opinion Evolution in Online Collective Behaviour.

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Corentin Vande Kerckhove

Full Text Available Opinion evolution and judgment revision are mediated through social influence. Based on a large crowdsourced in vitro experiment (n = 861, it is shown how a consensus model can be used to predict opinion evolution in online collective behaviour. It is the first time the predictive power of a quantitative model of opinion dynamics is tested against a real dataset. Unlike previous research on the topic, the model was validated on data which did not serve to calibrate it. This avoids to favor more complex models over more simple ones and prevents overfitting. The model is parametrized by the influenceability of each individual, a factor representing to what extent individuals incorporate external judgments. The prediction accuracy depends on prior knowledge on the participants' past behaviour. Several situations reflecting data availability are compared. When the data is scarce, the data from previous participants is used to predict how a new participant will behave. Judgment revision includes unpredictable variations which limit the potential for prediction. A first measure of unpredictability is proposed. The measure is based on a specific control experiment. More than two thirds of the prediction errors are found to occur due to unpredictability of the human judgment revision process rather than to model imperfection.

Validation of Twitter opinion trends with national polling aggregates: Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovet, Alexandre; Morone, Flaviano; Makse, Hernán A

2018-06-06

Measuring and forecasting opinion trends from real-time social media is a long-standing goal of big-data analytics. Despite the large amount of work addressing this question, there has been no clear validation of online social media opinion trend with traditional surveys. Here we develop a method to infer the opinion of Twitter users by using a combination of statistical physics of complex networks and machine learning based on hashtags co-occurrence to build an in-domain training set of the order of a million tweets. We validate our method in the context of 2016 US Presidential Election by comparing the Twitter opinion trend with the New York Times National Polling Average, representing an aggregate of hundreds of independent traditional polls. The Twitter opinion trend follows the aggregated NYT polls with remarkable accuracy. We investigate the dynamics of the social network formed by the interactions among millions of Twitter supporters and infer the support of each user to the presidential candidates. Our analytics unleash the power of Twitter to uncover social trends from elections, brands to political movements, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional surveys.

Current and Emerging Ethical Issues in Counseling: A Delphi Study of Expert Opinions

Science.gov (United States)

Herlihy, Barbara; Dufrene, Roxane L.

2011-01-01

A Delphi study was conducted to ascertain the opinions of panel experts regarding the most important current and emerging ethical issues facing the counseling profession. Expert opinions on ethical issues in counselor preparation also were sought. Eighteen panelists responded to 3 rounds of data collection interspersed with feedback. Themes that…

THE OPINION OF MANAGERS AND TEACHERS ON DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latife KABAKLI ÇİMEN

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This research was conducted to analyse the approach of secondary school teachers to disciplinary problems. The controlled group of the research, which was made with the model of screening, was formed by 240 teachers. The data of the research we re gained by personal data form, which was prepared by the researcher , and reasons of discipline questionnaire designed by Cerci (2009. Collected data was coded and analyzed by SPSS programme. Due to the results of the research; the approach to disciplinary problems of managers and teachers, w ho work in high schools, do not differentiate regarding their sex, whether they hold bachelors or postgraduate degree. The opinions of managers and teachers, who work in secondary schools, regarding disciplinary problems depending on whether they are manag ers or teachers, are similar for 21 out of 24 items and different for 3 items. The opinions of managers and teachers, who work in high schools, regarding disciplinary problems with the variable of what type of school they work, are similar for 20 o ut of 24 items and different for 4 item s, with the variable of age their disciplinary opinions are similar for 22 out of 24 items and different for 2 item s. The opinions of managers and teachers, who work in secondary schools, regarding disciplinary problems with the variable of experience, are similar for 21 out of 24 items and different for 3 item s; with the variable of which school they graduated their disciplinary opinions are similar for 19 out of 24 items and different for 5 item s.

Distinctive roles of lead users and opinion leaders in the social networks of schoolchildren

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kratzer, Jan; Lettl, Christopher

2009-01-01

Prior research has shown that both lead users and opinion leaders may propel the diffusion of innovation. This raises the question of whether lead users and opinion leaders are positioned similarly in social networks, which we addressed using a sample of 23 school classes consisting of 537 children....... Research among children is very scarce in this particular domain. Our statistical analyses based on hierarchical linear modeling reveal two general results: First, lead users among children appear to possess a variety of links between clusters. Second, opinion leaders are locally positioned within clusters...

A Second Opinion: A Case Narrative on Clinical Ethics Mediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Michael S

2015-01-01

Contrasting traditional and common forms if ethics consultation with bioethics mediation. I describe the case of a "second opinion" consultation in the care of a patient with advanced cancer for whom treatment was futile. While the initial ethics consultation, performed by a colleague, let to a recommendation that some may deem ethical, the process failed to involve key stakeholders and failed to explore the underlying values and reasons for the opinions voiced by various stakeholders. The process of mediation ultimately led to creative solutions in which all stakeholders could reach consensus on a plan of care.

The formation of continuous opinion dynamics based on a gambling mechanism and its sensitivity analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yueying; Alexandre Wang, Qiuping; Li, Wei; Cai, Xu

2017-09-01

The formation of continuous opinion dynamics is investigated based on a virtual gambling mechanism where agents fight for a limited resource. We propose a model with agents holding opinions between -1 and 1. Agents are segregated into two cliques according to the sign of their opinions. Local communication happens only when the opinion distance between corresponding agents is no larger than a pre-defined confidence threshold. Theoretical analysis regarding special cases provides a deep understanding of the roles of both the resource allocation parameter and confidence threshold in the formation of opinion dynamics. For a sparse network, the evolution of opinion dynamics is negligible in the region of low confidence threshold when the mindless agents are absent. Numerical results also imply that, in the presence of economic agents, high confidence threshold is required for apparent clustering of agents in opinion. Moreover, a consensus state is generated only when the following three conditions are satisfied simultaneously: mindless agents are absent, the resource is concentrated in one clique, and confidence threshold tends to a critical value(=1.25+2/ka ; k_a>8/3 , the average number of friends of individual agents). For fixed a confidence threshold and resource allocation parameter, the most chaotic steady state of the dynamics happens when the fraction of mindless agents is about 0.7. It is also demonstrated that economic agents are more likely to win at gambling, compared to mindless ones. Finally, the importance of three involved parameters in establishing the uncertainty of model response is quantified in terms of Latin hypercube sampling-based sensitivity analysis.

Determinants of favourable opinions about euthanasia in a sample of French physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Dany, Lionel; Baumstarck, Karine; Dudoit, Eric; Duffaud, Florence; Auquier, Pascal; Salas, Sébastien

2015-11-05

The question whether euthanasia should be legalised has led to substantial public debate in France. The objective of this study in a sample of French physicians was to establish the potential determinants of a favourable opinion about euthanasia in general and when faced with a specific situation as embodied in the Humbert affair. The study was a cross-sectional survey investigating two different samples of medical doctors: (1) those specialised in palliative care and affiliated to the French Society for Patient Accompaniment and Palliative Care; (2) medical interns (medical doctors in training course) in a French medical university (Marseille). A questionnaire was sent (email) to each voluntary participant including sociodemographics, professional status, mention of believing in God, and opinion about euthanasia (the question was designed to assess the general opinion about euthanasia and the opinion about a specific case, the Vincent Humbert' case (a man who was rendered quadriplegic, blind, and mute after an accident and has requested euthanasia). A total of 413 physicians participated in the research (participation rate: 48.5%). Less than half of the population were favourable to euthanasia in general and almost two-thirds of the population were favourable to Vincent Humbert's request for euthanasia. Based on the multivariate analysis, individuals believing in God and being a medical intern were significant independent factors linked to having a favourable opinion about euthanasia in general and about the Vincent Humbert's request. There is still no study in France on the development of opinion about euthanasia and its impact. The issue goes beyond the strictly professional sphere and involves broader socio-political stakes. These stakes do not necessarily take into account medical practices and experiences or the desires of end-of-life patients. The professional upheaval that the future French legal framework will doubtlessly trigger will require further

Determination of Student Opinions in Augmented Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Bicen, Huseyin; Bal, Erkan

2016-01-01

The rapid development of the new technology has changed classroom teaching methods and tools in a positive way. This study investigated the classroom learning with augmented reality and the impact of student opinions. 97 volunteer undergraduate students took part in this study. Results included data in the form of frequencies, percentages and…

[German national second-opinion network for testicular cancer and penile carcinoma : Two sources for evidence-based information].

Science.gov (United States)

Schrader, M; Zengerling, F; Hakenberg, O W; Protzel, C

2016-09-01

The second-opinion network for testicular cancer is an internet-based platform addressing physicians treating testicular cancer patients. They are offered a second-opinion before determining further therapy after orchiectomy and completion of staging. The high rate of discrepancies between the first and second opinion in more than 30 % supports the assumption of a deficit in the implementation of treatment guidelines. In 2015, approximately 22 % of the newly diagnosed cases with testicular cancer in Germany were covered by this system. According to the present interim analysis, the second-opinion platform helps to avoid overtreatment of testicular cancer patients. The high acceptance of the project and the encouraging results of this interim analysis gave rise to considerations to apply the second-opinion model to penile carcinoma. Data from the UK and the Netherlands show that the second-opinion network for penile cancer could help to improve treatment standards and results in Germany. Current data and the intended further development of the system are discussed.

The uncomfortable Past in Opinions of German Students

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Novotný, Lukáš

2005-01-01

Roč. 3, č. 1 (2005), s. 10-11 ISSN 1214-7567 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IBS7028301 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : Public Opinion in German y Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography

Radiation safety and formation of public opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qurbanov, M.

2002-01-01

Full text: Team-administrative system of long years has been a reason of environmental pollution and health consequences and still does. This includes soil pollution with pesticides, ecological condition of micro and macro flora of the Caspian Sea, soil pollution with oil, deforestation and etc. Scientists and environmental NGOs have given some information to public and public opinion has already been formed on this issue. But public opinion is not necessarily formed on radiation - the most important and invisible problem. The reason of this is that radiation danger has been hidden as a closed theme from the public. After the soviet collapse this problem is also being revealed. Number of NGOs have held the seminar on this issue and given some information to public. The researches cover the following problems:To hold the public monitoring in the fields polluted with oil and separate it from the other fields by determining the fields polluted with radiation. To take measures in order to prevent public entrance to these fields; To inform about the usage of radiation based equipment in the industrial fields and to hold the regular monitoring; To advertise the differential signs of radiation sources in the city landfill and other polluted zones; To broaden the advocacy on ultraviolet rays and their influence to human health; To disseminate the brochures and advertisement papers on high technical radiation and their influence to human health; To analyze the radio environmental condition around the Gabala Radar Station; To advocate the possible radiation danger in using the x-ray and other medical equipment; Analyze the possible radon danger in shipping materials; To create the idea on possible transition of radioactive gases and elements from neighbor countries; Creation of idea on possible danger around the high voltage. The formation of public opinion on mentioned problem will depend on combining the scientists' and NGOs activities

Public opinion on Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, Hirotada

2013-01-01

This article showed trend of public opinion on nuclear power after Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, for which the survey had been done five times under the same method and inquiries. Most unreliable source of information at disaster was government ministries and offices, whose unreliability sharply increased from 20% to about 50% after 3 months later and one year later after March 11 and reliability after 2 year and 5 months later (August 2013) was not high and almost comparable with unreliability of 27%. Nuclear disaster was most serious cause of Great East Japan earthquake disaster (60%) and not entirely ended due to such increase of contaminated water. Public opinion survey in August 2013 showed nuclear power stoppage totaled about 80% with immediate of about 30% and phaseout of about 50%, and possibility of occurrence of another nuclear accident comparable with Fukushima disaster was almost 80% with a belief not only earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorism but also human errors might initiate nuclear disaster if nuclear power restarted. Future most serious disaster would be earthquake (50%) and nuclear disaster (35%). Nuclear accident preparedness of government and local government was not enough (58% and 24%) and nothing (33% and 24%). Residents within UPZ (Urgent Protection action Planning Zone) of 30 km radius could not evacuate safely (57%) and entirely (22%). If government and local government encouraged damaged residents to come home with declaration of safety for evacuation area of nuclear accident, damaged residents might not return almost (46%) and entirely (9%). Notwithstanding people's strong feeling against nuclear power, LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) promoting nuclear power won an overwhelming victory at the election of House of Councilors in July 2013. Public opinion survey in August 2013 showed most important issue of voters was party's image (25%), economic measures (20%) and candidate's personality (13%), and nuclear power policy was only 5%. (T

Uniforms in the Middle School: Student Opinions, Discipline Data, and School Police Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Jafeth E.; Yoxsimer, Andrew; Hill, George C.

2012-01-01

This study investigated public middle school students' opinions on the benefits of wearing a school uniform. A review of related literature is provided along with results of the opinions obtained from 604 seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students attending a public school in Nevada that had recently initiated a school uniform policy.…

Physicians' opinions about partner notification methods: case reporting, patient referral, and provider referral.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogben, M; St Lawrence, J S; Montaño, D E; Kasprzyk, D; Leichliter, J S; Phillips, W R

2004-02-01

The United States has relied upon partner notification strategies to help break the chain of infection and re-infection for sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Physicians are a vital link in the system of STD control, but little is known of physician opinions about partner notification strategies. We collected opinions about partner notification from a national probability sample of physicians in specialties diagnosing STDs. Physicians responded to 17 questions about three relevant forms of STD partner notification: patient based referral, provider based referral, and case reporting. Exploratory factor analyses showed that responses for each form of partner notification could be grouped into four categories: perceived practice norms, infection control, patient relationships, and time/money. Multivariate analyses of the factors showed that physicians endorsed patient based referral most favourably and provider based referral least favourably. Physicians' opinions about partner notification strategies appear to reflect objective reality in some areas, but not in others. Strategies that improve the fit between physicians' opinions and effective notification are needed: some are discussed here.

Ising-based model of opinion formation in a complex network of interpersonal interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, A.; Kosiński, R. A.

2006-03-01

In our work the process of opinion formation in the human population, treated as a scale-free network, is modeled and investigated numerically. The individuals (nodes of the network) are characterized by their authorities, which influence the interpersonal interactions in the population. Hierarchical, two-level structures of interpersonal interactions and spatial localization of individuals are taken into account. The effect of the mass media, modeled as an external stimulation acting on the social network, on the process of opinion formation is investigated. It was found that in the time evolution of opinions of individuals critical phenomena occur. The first one is observed in the critical temperature of the system TC and is connected with the situation in the community, which may be described by such quantifiers as the economic status of people, unemployment or crime wave. Another critical phenomenon is connected with the influence of mass media on the population. As results from our computations, under certain circumstances the mass media can provoke critical rebuilding of opinions in the population.

The public opinion and ATC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballera, J.

2010-01-01

The role of the media is essential to adopt a final decision in relation to the location of a Centralized Temporary Storage (ATC)in Spain. to the deliberative process is public, open and transparent, as included in Royal Decree that created the Inter ministerial Commission responsible for overseeing the procedure, it is necessary for that citizens has information, clear and unequivocal. indicators such as the special edition of the Eurobarometer survey published in June 2008 showed that it is moving towards a truly informed public opinion in these matters. (Author)

Cultural Scripts and the Speech Act of Opinions in Irish English: A Study amongst Irish and Polish University Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weronika Gąsior

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Studies in pragmatics have been limited to a handful of illocutionary acts such as requests, apologies or compliments, and opinions remain underrepresented in the existing literature. In this paper I present the results of a study of opinions in Irish English, conducted in an intercultural environment of Irish-Polish interactions. Departing from a traditional approach of speech act realisation studies, I applied the theory of cultural scripts to analyse opinions. In contrasting the Irish and Polish formulas for expressing opinions, as well as sociopragmatic attitudes towards this speech act, a difference in the cultural scripts for opinions in each culture was observable. Apart from already documented Polish frankness in opinions, the study discovered also a rational approach to presenting good arguments to support one’s assertions among the participants. In relation to the Irish script for opinions, the findings are in line with previous classifications of opinions in Australian English, showing a certain level of variational uniformity amongst the English-speaking cultures in this regard.

Public opinion change after the Fukushima nuclear accident: The role of national context revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latré, Edwin; Perko, Tanja; Thijssen, Peter

2017-01-01

This study explores how national context moderated change in support for nuclear energy after the Fukushima accident. The following national contextual variables are tested: geographical distance, nuclear energy production status, freedom of the press, and the building of new nuclear reactors. The results illustrate that previous research has misunderstood the moderating role of national context on opinion change after the Fukushima accident. A survey conducted shortly after the accident with more than 23,000 respondents from 41 countries has shown that geographical distance from the accident mattered: Contradicting a previous study, the decrease in support for nuclear energy was stronger in countries closer to Fukushima. In addition, support for nuclear energy decreased more in countries where new nuclear reactors were under construction. The country's nuclear energy production status and press freedom did not determine opinion change after the Fukushima accident. The non-effect of freedom of the press on opinion change contradicts the role of media after a focusing event as described in the literature. Overall results demonstrate a limited effect of national context on opinion change following a focusing event. Hence, national context provides only limited information to policy makers on how to respond to a nuclear accident. - Highlights: • National context had limited effect on opinion change after Fukushima. • Support for nuclear energy decreased more in counties closer to the accident. • Support for nuclear energy decreased more where the nuclear energy debate was salient. • Freedom of the press did not determine opinion change after Fukushima. • Not all contextual factors are relevant when designing appropriate policy response.

THE LANGUAGE AND IDEOLOGY OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR DRUG CONVICTS FOUND IN SELECTED OPINIONS IN THE JAKARTA POST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arina Isti’anah

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This research is an investigation into the language use in peoples opinions of capital punishment for drug convicts in The Jakarta Post. Capital punishment was executed to six drug convicts on January 18th , 2015. Controversy about this action has risen before and after the execution. People give their opinions in social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and newspapers. The Jakarta Post is a well-known English newspaper in Indonesia which has a lot of readers. People choose this newspaper to convey their ideas so that their opinions will be read by people around the world. As the issue about capital punishment is popular recently, this research attempts at finding out peoples ideology about capital punishment for drug convicts. Critical discourse analysis was conducted in this research as an approach to figure out how language use by the people can reveal their ideology of capital punishment. This research focused on observing four opinions of capital punishment for drug convicts in The Jakarta Post. The analysis shows that material processes dominate the opinions, followed by relational, mental and verbal processes. The ideologies revealed in the opinions are power, pessimism, and criticism. Before the execution, pessimism dominates the opinions, while after the execution criticism appears most in the opinions.

L’opinion publique russe et l’affaire Boudanov [Russian Public Opinion and The Budanov Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amandine Regamey

2008-07-01

Full Text Available In March 2000, Colonel Yuri Budanov kidnapped, raped and killed a young Chechen girl from the village of Tangui-Chu. After his arrest and during the entire trial, he claimed that she was a sniper who had murdered several of his soldiers, and that he had lost his temper and strangled her, but he denied raping her. High-ranking military officials closed ranks behind him, and at all stages of his trial demonstrations of support were organised in front of the court. He was finally condemned to ten years of imprisonment in July 2003. The aim of this article is to study how Russian public opinion perceived this case, using different kinds of sources (newspapers, forums and discussions on the Internet, public opinion polls, Human rights report, etc.. How were the events covered by the Russian medias? Some groups (the military, the Cossacks, fascist groups can be identified as his supporters. But what support did he receive from the general public and on what basis? Which arguments were used to defend Budanov and how were they perceived? Was this crime “justified” by the vengeance against “a sniper”, by the “laws of war”? Was Budanov a scapegoat sacrificed for the sake of good relations with the West? Defining the attitude towards Budanov might help explain why other Russian servicemen charged with crimes against Chechen civilians (the Ulman group, Arkacheev-Khudiakov have been systematically acquitted by a popular jury.

Teachers', Pupils', and Parents' Opinions on Primary Textbooks: Their Selection, Quality and Use

Science.gov (United States)

Lalau, Elena

2014-01-01

Textbooks' importance and usefulness in primary education is emphasized in the literature. Our interest for this subject was determined by the opinion that, if the textbooks are well-chosen, being taken into account the users' opinions, then the textbook achieves its goal: it becomes not only a source of information and a tool for pupils, but also…

[Occupational aspects of emergency medicine practice in Catalonia: the OPENCAT opinion survey].

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Javier; Gené, Emili; Alonso, Gilberto; Rimbau, Pere; Zorrilla, José; Casarramona, Francesc; Netto, Cristina; Sánchez, Pere; Hernández, Ricard; Escalada, Xavier; Miró, Òscar

2017-01-01

To gather information on the contracting and training of members of the Catalan Society of Emergency Medicine (SoCMUE) who work in emergency medicine and services in Catalonia. To survey their opinions on certain aspects of resource availability and working conditions. Cross-sectional descriptive study based on a survey sent to SoCMUE members. We studied the opinions of 5 types of respondent: hospital physicians, out-of-hospital physicians, hospital nurses, out-of-hospital nurses, and emergency medical technicians. Responses were grouped to compare the opinions of physicians and nurses and workers in hospital and prehospital settings. We received 616 responses from 1273 members (48.4% response rate). More physicians than nurses come from outside Catalonia and have contracts specifically linked to emergency care; in addition, physicians have done less postgraduate training in emergency medicine. More hospital staff than prehospital staff have permanent contracts linked to the department where they work. More hospital physicians are specialized in internal medicine than in family and community medicine. The opinion that emergency services are inadequately staffed was widespread. Most respondents believed that patient transport is good or adequate. However, respondents working in prehospital services expressed a lower opinion of transport. Great difficulty in combining work with family (life achieving work-life balance) was expressed by 13.5% overall, and more often by hospital staff. Some type of aggression was experienced by 88.2%; 60% reported the event to superiors. Nurses reported aggression more often than physicians. A police report was filed by 10.1%. Emergency medicine working conditions can be improved in Catalonia according to members of SoCMUE. Relations between groups of professionals are not optimum in some aspects.

A mobile phone application for the collection of opinion data for forest planning purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kangas, Annika; Rasinmäki, Jussi; Eyvindson, Kyle; Chambers, Philip

2015-04-01

The last 30 years has seen an increase in environmental, socio-economic, and recreational objectives being considered throughout the forest planning process. In the Finnish context these are considered mainly at the regional level potentially missing out on more local issues and problems. Such local information would be most efficiently collected with a participatory GIS approach. A mobile participatory GIS application called Tienoo was developed as a tool for collecting location-specific opinions of recreational and aesthetical characteristics of forests and forest management. The application also contains information the user can access regarding the practical details of the area, for instance about the recreational infrastructure. The application was tested in Ruunaa National Hiking Area, North Karelia, Eastern Finland. Through this application it is possible to continuously collect geolocated preference information. As a result, the collected opinions have details which can be located in both time and space. This allows for the possibility to monitor the changes in opinions when the stands are treated, and it also allows for easily analyzing the effect of time of year on the opinions. It is also possible to analyze the effect of the spatial location and the forest characteristics on the opinions using GIS analysis.

Polling and public opinion: a Canadian perspective

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Butler, Peter Marshall

2007-01-01

..., advertising, and government policy. Using such controversial issues such as free trade, health care, same-sex marriage, and national security, Butler argues that popular opinion on such hot-button topics as these can be guided and changed according to how polls are interpreted for and presented to the public. As well as analysing the impact of po...

FY15 Djibouti Country Opinion Survey Report

OpenAIRE

World Bank Group

2015-01-01

The Country Opinion Survey in Djibouti assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Djibouti perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Djibouti on 1) their views regarding the general environment ...

FY16 Honduras Country Opinion Survey Report

OpenAIRE

World Bank Group

2016-01-01

The Country Opinion Survey in Honduras assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Honduras perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Honduras on 1) their views regarding the general environment ...

The effect of opinion leader on nuclear public opinion. Its visualization on a socio-psychological plane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnishi, Teruaki

2004-01-01

Simulation was carried out on what influence an opinion leader (OPL) exerts on the nuclear public opinion, and visualization on a socio-psychological plane was made for the time-evolving feature of the public consciousness regarding nuclear energy. A multi-particle model was introduced in this simulation where the biased degree of information environment to negative or positive directions and the strength α of the mutual interaction of the OPL with the public were treated as parameters. Under the existence of an OPL, the public attitude was found to be subject to two attractors. The one is originated from a non-linear effect arising from the mutual interaction among the public in the information environment, and the other the OPL itself. In case of the OPL with a large α, he was found to be difficult to catch the public heart irrespective of the condition of social atmosphere. In case of a small α, on the other hand, the same thought as the OPL has can become a public consensus when the thought of OPL and the information environment coincide to each other in their biased directions, whereas, otherwise, the OPL has an effect to unify the anti-OPL consciousness into one large consensus with anti-OPL properties. Such behavioral features were visualized on a two-dimensional, socio-psychological plane. (author)

Opinion Mining in Web 2.0

OpenAIRE

Pérez Gallego, Pablo José

2012-01-01

During the last years we are assisting to an intense Web transformation process. It is no longer a mere static information repository but a dynamic system in which users have become the main content contributors. They actively participate in sharing their opinions, thoughts and views about products, events and almost anything in social networks, forums, blogs, etc. With the latest advances in mobile technologies, users can actually interact anytime from anywhere; real time info...

Public opinion towards 'unhealthy' sponsorship of sporting events in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Public opinion towards 'unhealthy' sponsorship of sporting events in South ... perceptions of such sponsorships according to the demographics of gender, ... was to examine whether there were any significant differences among respondents' ...

A survey of South African provincial netball coaches\\' opinions ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation ... coaches\\' opinions, abilities and limitations regarding mental skills training ... competitions (according to their coaches), with the rest (44.44%) showing average

Needed but not liked - The impact of labor market policies on natives' opinions about immigrants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Careja, Romana; Andreß, H.-J.

2013-01-01

in a multilevel design the impact that regulations in the EU member states concerning immigrants' access to domestic labor markets have on threat perceptions and on opinions about immigrants' economic role. It finds that labor market regulations have a positive effect on opinions about immigrants' economic role...... and reduce the negative relationships between precarious labor market status and opinions about the economic role. However, a robust effect of labor market regulations on threat perceptions was not found. Our results imply that labor market incorporation rules need to be accompanied by other measures......This article builds on the notion that immigrants' integration into the labor market benefits migrants and shapes natives' opinions about immigrants. Using insights from the newest literature on labor immigration and drawing upon the literature on attitudes toward immigrants, the article explores...

Analysis of opinions issued in comment letters on the term prudence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Ranieri Bomfim Sampaio de Araújo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since 2001, the International Accounting Standards Board (Iasb has worked to revise the Conceptual Framework (CF. Therefore, it has issued Discussion papers (DP, aiming to collect the stakeholders’ opinions about different aspects of the CF. One of the aspects discussed is the inclusion or not of Prudence in the CF. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the opinions issued in the comment letters in response to the DPs between 2006 and 2013 about the exclusion of the term Prudence from the CF. The research was undertaken through the content analysis of 420 comment letters forwarded to the Iasb, among which 176 were identified that contain the terms Prudence/Conservatism, 117 of which are in favor of including the term. Among those against the inclusion, the main justification is the existence of conflict between Prudence and neutrality. The respondents’ opinions were also separated per location and interest groups, showing that the European respondents are more favorable to the inclusion of the term, while Anglo-Saxon America defends it least. What the interest groups is concerned, the group that was most in favor of the insertion of the term were the Preparers, while the Financial Institutions were the most unfavorable agents. Using Kappa Analysis, it was observed that the level of agreement among the respondents’ opinions indicates weak agreement with the total number of samples, suggesting that further debate and reflection on the theme is needed.

Are opinions based on science: modelling social response to scientific facts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerardo Iñiguez

Full Text Available As scientists we like to think that modern societies and their members base their views, opinions and behaviour on scientific facts. This is not necessarily the case, even though we are all (over- exposed to information flow through various channels of media, i.e. newspapers, television, radio, internet, and web. It is thought that this is mainly due to the conflicting information on the mass media and to the individual attitude (formed by cultural, educational and environmental factors, that is, one external factor and another personal factor. In this paper we will investigate the dynamical development of opinion in a small population of agents by means of a computational model of opinion formation in a co-evolving network of socially linked agents. The personal and external factors are taken into account by assigning an individual attitude parameter to each agent, and by subjecting all to an external but homogeneous field to simulate the effect of the media. We then adjust the field strength in the model by using actual data on scientific perception surveys carried out in two different populations, which allow us to compare two different societies. We interpret the model findings with the aid of simple mean field calculations. Our results suggest that scientifically sound concepts are more difficult to acquire than concepts not validated by science, since opposing individuals organize themselves in close communities that prevent opinion consensus.

A Second Opinion: A Case Narrative on Clinical Ethics Mediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Michael S

2015-01-01

Contrasting traditional and common forms of ethics consultation with bioethics mediation, I describe the case of a "second opinion" consultation in the care of a patient with advanced cancer for whom treatment was futile. While the initial ethics consultation, performed by a colleague, led to a recommendation that some may deem ethical, the process failed to involve key stakeholders and failed to explore the underlying values and reasons for the opinions voiced by various stakeholders. The process of mediation ultimately led to creative solutions in which all stakeholders could reach consensus on a plan of care. Copyright 2015 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.