Search

This article for the first time examines the activities of transnational information campaigns initiated by young Shiʿa Muslims across European, Russian, and Armenian cities. These campaigns aim to disseminate knowledge about Imam Hussain and his mission to non-Shiʿa audiences. The campaigns serve as vivid examples of the struggles faced by Muslims in relatively hostile contexts as they seek integration and acceptance as law-abiding and peaceful citizens. They also represent new avenues of Islamic activism, focusing on dismantling stereotypes and correcting "misunderstandings" within host societies. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and an analysis of campaign handouts and social media content between 2018 and 2024, this study explores how campaigners adapt the narrative of the Karbala tragedy—widely regarded as the metahistorical cornerstone of Shiʿa identity—to make it accessible and relevant to external audiences. These strategies enable campaigners to engage with out-group communities, testing and refining effective methods for presenting this pivotal historical event. The findings reveal that, through this process, the Karbala narrative undergoes both content-based and linguistic modifications, while the concept of justice—central to the commemoration of this tragedy—is reinterpreted in new contexts. This research contributes to the understanding of transnational Islamic activism and highlights the importance of strategic communication in fostering intercultural dialogue and promoting mutual understanding in diverse societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the narratives of young people in the Gambia and of Afghan migrants in Turkey on the themes of migration and Europe as a place of destination. Based on extensive focus group and interview data, we show that these narratives (1) have a high degree of similarities across different contexts and (2) appear incongruent with, and largely unaffected by, the EU's messages of deterrence in information campaigns. We explain this misalignment by referring to a classic sociological distinction between impressions 'given' and those 'given off'. When the EU seeks to give an 'impression' in third countries (such as to be an unattractive place for irregular migrants), their messages compete with positive images of Europe provided through a myriad of other channels and information sources. To a large extent, perceptions of Europe among migrant communities are defined by positive impressions 'given off' through Europe's history as a destination area and social media accounts of individual 'success stories' of diaspora members. The social and material rewards associated with migration further inform migrants' narratives, as do the circumstances of both groups, which often push them towards leaving regardless of the risks this step involves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the so-called 'migration crisis' in 2015/16, EU governments' efforts to launch online campaigns to inform potential migrants about the risks of irregularity have increased. These migration management tools often apply dissuasive messages, declaring to support migrants to make informed decisions. This article investigates such campaigns through the lens of government communication, a so far under-explored issue in migration studies. Applying qualitative content analysis to two European campaigns, this research finds that the campaigns reiterate immigration policies and portray ambiguity. They therefore raise critical questions regarding the principles of neutrality and reliability in democratic government communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a surge in existing anti-vaccine sentiments in Ukraine, posing a threat to public health. This study aims to analyze the anti-vaccine campaign in the Ukrainian blogosphere, which intensified during the pandemic and coalesced around issues related to the coronavirus. Relevance of the study. The relevance of the study is determined by the increasing popularity of anti-vaccine sentiments in Ukraine, which are facilitated by the growing influence of the blogosphere as a powerful channel for disseminating destructive content. The study aims to identify the key categories that bloggers appealed to while conducting the campaign against vaccination for coronavirus disease in Ukraine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology. To determine the most influential representatives of the anti-vaccine movement in Ukraine, a media monitoring was conducted focusing on the exposure of fakes and misinformation regarding COVID-19. A list of the channels of the most popular Ukrainian bloggers who are corona-skeptics and opponents of vaccination was compiled. Subsequently, 232 videos published on these bloggers’ channels were studied. The content analysis method was applied to identify the key messages and calls used by vaccination opponents. Results. The most popular representatives of the anti-vaccine movement in Ukraine were found to be lawyers, pseudo-experts, citizen journalists, and proponents of conspiracy theories. The media activity of anti-vaccination bloggers was recorded throughout the entire pandemic of the coronavirus disease in Ukraine and for some time after its end. The chronology and reasons for the main surges in their activity and audience interest are revealed. The study identified the most common categories appealed to by bloggers in the anti-vaccination campaign, as well as their calls to action and objects of their criticism. Conclusions. The study demonstrates that Ukrainian vaccination opponents politicize vaccination issues, actively using conspiratorial rhetoric. The key categories of coronaskeptics bloggers’ messages include violations of rights (both fundamental rights and rights to work, choice, etc.), safety (of vaccines or the disease itself), conspiracy theories and moral. The most popular appeal of vaccination opponents is to “think critically” and not comply with requirements related to vaccination or quarantine restrictions. The main objects of criticism are authorities, various institutions, and the media. Further investigation into the discursive strategies of antivaccine campaigns will contribute to the formation of an effective counter-narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the need to ensure the sustainable use of water, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Using statistical methods, this paper analyses whether the ownership of the water utility is an explanatory factor for (1) the provision of water conservation advice on utilities' websites; and (2) how comprehensive this advice is in terms of tips on (i) installing efficient technology and (ii) adopting sustainable habits and behaviours. The paper focuses on the Spanish water industry, which is considered particularly appropriate for the analysis due to the coexistence of utilities with different ownership structures. The results reveal statistically significant differences according to the ownership of the operator and the size of the population served. For example, more private companies provide some advice on their websites, while public companies offer more tips per online advice section. The evidence should encourage national governments and regulatory authorities to pass a regulation that establishes guidelines on how these companies, both public and private, should provide water conservation advice on their websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Information & Media is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During Australia's unprecedented bushfires in 2019–2020, misinformation blaming arson surfaced on Twitter using #ArsonEmergency. The extent to which bots and trolls were responsible for disseminating and amplifying this misinformation has received media scrutiny and academic research. Here, we study Twitter communities spreading this misinformation during the newsworthy event, and investigate the role of online communities using a natural experiment approach—before and after reporting of bots promoting the hashtag was broadcast by the mainstream media. Few bots were found, but the most bot-like accounts were social bots, which present as genuine humans, and trolling behaviour was evident. Further, we distilled meaningful quantitative differences between two polarised communities in the Twitter discussion, resulting in the following insights. First, Supporters of the arson narrative promoted misinformation by engaging others directly with replies and mentions using hashtags and links to external sources. In response, Opposers retweeted fact-based articles and official information. Second, Supporters were embedded throughout their interaction networks, but Opposers obtained high centrality more efficiently despite their peripheral positions. By the last phase, Opposers and unaffiliated accounts appeared to coordinate, potentially reaching a broader audience. Finally, the introduction of the bot report changed the discussion dynamic: Opposers only responded immediately, while Supporters countered strongly for days, but new unaffiliated accounts drawn into the discussion shifted the dominant narrative from arson misinformation to factual and official information. This foiled Supporters' efforts, highlighting the value of exposing misinformation. We speculate that the communication strategies observed here could inform counter-strategies in other misinformation-related discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a method to assess population knowledge about any given topic. We define, and rationalize, types of beliefs that form the 'knowledge spectrum'. Using a sample of over 7000 UK residents, we estimate these beliefs with respect to three topics: an animal-based diet, alcohol consumption and immigration. We construct an information-campaign effectiveness index (ICEI) that predicts the success of an information campaign. Information resistance is greatest for animal-based diets, and the ICEI is highest for immigration. We test the predictive power of our ICEI by simulating information campaigns, which produces supportive evidence. Our method can be used by any government or company that wants to explore the success of an information campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political misinformation, astroturfing and organised trolling are online malicious behaviours with significant real-world effects that rely on making the voices of the few sounds like the roar of the many. These are especially dangerous when they influence democratic systems and government policy. Many previous approaches examining these phenomena have focused on identifying campaigns rather than the small groups responsible for instigating or sustaining them. To reveal latent (i.e. hidden) networks of cooperating accounts, we propose a novel temporal window approach that can rely on account interactions and metadata alone. It detects groups of accounts engaging in various behaviours that, in concert, come to execute different goal-based amplification strategies, a number of which we describe, alongside other inauthentic strategies from the literature. The approach relies upon a pipeline that extracts relevant elements from social media posts common to the major platforms, infers connections between accounts based on criteria matching the coordination strategies to build an undirected weighted network of accounts, which is then mined for communities exhibiting high levels of evidence of coordination using a novel community extraction method. We address the temporal aspect of the data by using a windowing mechanism, which may be suitable for near real-time application. We further highlight consistent coordination with a sliding frame across multiple windows and application of a decay factor. Our approach is compared with other recent similar processing approaches and community detection methods and is validated against two politically relevant Twitter datasets with ground truth data, using content, temporal, and network analyses, as well as with the design, training and application of three one-class classifiers built using the ground truth; its utility is furthermore demonstrated in two case studies of contentious online discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political misinformation, astroturfing and organised trolling are online malicious behaviours with significant real-world effects that rely on making the voices of the few sounds like the roar of the many. These are especially dangerous when they influence democratic systems and government policy. Many previous approaches examining these phenomena have focused on identifying campaigns rather than the small groups responsible for instigating or sustaining them. To reveal latent (i.e. hidden) networks of cooperating accounts, we propose a novel temporal window approach that can rely on account interactions and metadata alone. It detects groups of accounts engaging in various behaviours that, in concert, come to execute different goal-based amplification strategies, a number of which we describe, alongside other inauthentic strategies from the literature. The approach relies upon a pipeline that extracts relevant elements from social media posts common to the major platforms, infers connections between accounts based on criteria matching the coordination strategies to build an undirected weighted network of accounts, which is then mined for communities exhibiting high levels of evidence of coordination using a novel community extraction method. We address the temporal aspect of the data by using a windowing mechanism, which may be suitable for near real-time application. We further highlight consistent coordination with a sliding frame across multiple windows and application of a decay factor. Our approach is compared with other recent similar processing approaches and community detection methods and is validated against two politically relevant Twitter datasets with ground truth data, using content, temporal, and network analyses, as well as with the design, training and application of three one-class classifiers built using the ground truth; its utility is furthermore demonstrated in two case studies of contentious online discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social attitudes and context have a fundamental impact on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. This issue will be challenging the existing Polish public health infrastructure during the planned immunisation program. Material and methods: We attempt to exemplify Poland-specific social background via causal diagram and regional factor analysis based on dimensions (epidemiological potential, ability to act, magical thinking, koronascepticism, information needs etc.) by December 2020 - shortly before vaccination started. Results: We identified several potential target subpopulations and provide possible regional classification. We distinguish clusters of regions where communication strategies should be taken into consideration: 1) extending campaign reach, common social goods and conformism; 2) individual's profits and misinformation blocking. Conclusions: We are signalling the need for profiling and regionalization in campaigns and propose possible starting points for protocols for various voivodeships when safe and effective vaccines are available in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Though information dissemination is widely viewed within organizations as an outdated method for initiating behavior change, this study aims to suggest that it can still be effective if done strategically. The study proposes and implements the knowing model, which suggests that an individual must be aware of information about a target behavior change, integrate that information as knowledge, and be motivated to act on that knowledge. The study highlights several barriers and strategies for overcoming those barriers. Design/methodology/approach: The model was implemented in a case study within a religious organization that wanted to increase giving behavior. Leadership and members engaged in several focus groups both before and after a three-month information campaign. Findings: Results show that members had a better understanding of the target behavior, a gradual shift in beliefs about the target behavior, and an increase in perceived susceptibility to consequences related to inaction. As a result, members and leadership indicated an increase in giving behavior in unexpected and beneficial ways. Originality/value: The knowing model is a low-resource approach useful as a first step in change management. It is helpful when organizations acknowledge the need for change in a given area without knowing how that change should look. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Educating the public through information campaigns is a commonly used policy approach to public health problems. Yet, experimental methods that assess the impact of information campaigns may misestimate their effects by failing to account for respondents' willingness to receive new information. Methods: This article uses a doubly randomized survey experiment conducted on a nationally representative sample, where some subjects are randomly assigned to an informational treatment about opioids while other subjects are given the choice of whether to receive treatment or not, to examine how public willingness to seek new information shapes the way they update their preferences about policies related to the opioid epidemic. Findings: Among those likely to receive information, treatment has a large positive effect on increasing support for policies that address the opioid epidemic by about one half of a standard deviation. Among those who would avoid this information, preferences appear to be unmoved by treatment. These effects would be missed by standard experimental designs. Conclusion: While redressing information asymmetries is only one part of a public health strategy for addressing the opioid epidemic, our findings highlight the importance of access to and receptiveness toward new information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the number of unauthorized migrants trying to reach Europe by boat has increased. In an attempt to curtail this trend, European countries have increasingly deployed information campaigns regarding the risks involved in unauthorized migration. The assumption behind these campaigns is that a strong relation exists between the prevalence of high-risk migration and a lack of awareness of the involved dangers, and that the dissemination of 'objective' information would cause prospective migrants to refrain from leaving. Although regarded as a crucial tool in the management of migration, there is little evidence on their effectiveness. Based on four weeks of fieldwork in Ghana, this qualitative study has sought to fill this lacuna. By concentrating on both the circulation and perception of the available risk information in Ghana, this article explores the ways in which notions of risk affect the motivation and decision of unauthorized migrants to engage in high-risk behaviour. Thereby, it will be argued that unauthorized migrants are not the ignorant actors they are often portrayed to be, but that they make their decisions carefully and within a particular vulnerable, socioeconomic and cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is incumbent upon leadership to encourage member behaviour that is beneficial to both the organisation and the members themselves. This paper outlines a context-based model — utilising the existing theories and models in Knowledge Management, Library and Information Science, and Public Health — to increase leadership's effectiveness in this area. The Knowing Model approaches behaviour change as an issue of information content, dissemination, and use — all within a complex environment. A behaviour — one that an organisation has unsuccessfully attempted to change in the past — is identified by leadership. Leaders then analyse the extent to which members were aware of these previous efforts, integrated information about them, and acted because of them. This data is used to develop an information campaign aimed at changing the target behaviour. Because organisations likely have several information dissemination channels available to them, this model is offered as a low-cost and low-resource first step in behaviour change efforts. It will not replace more extensive efforts noted in previous models, but because of its theoretical grounding it is expected to promote change in certain areas. Approaches requiring more extensive resources can then be applied to other areas. This paper outlines the Knowing Model, strategies for information dissemination, and methods for model implementation and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking as a starting point studies on the biopolitics of bordering, as well as media studies, this article explores how information campaigns deter potential migrants and refugees from leaving their countries depict them in very specific ways, operating as 'new bordering practices' that are in conjunction with extraterritorial border policies. This article probes this question through the example of a specific information campaign – Aware Migrants (2016) – funded by the Italian Government and managed by International Organization for Migration (IOM) to dissuade potential newcomers from attempting the journey across the Mediterranean Sea. As the analysis of Aware Migrants makes clear, it contributes to normalizing a transnational imaginary into a militarized borderscape comprising places of violence and death, exploitation and detention, which is part of the complex dichotomies of care and control, proper of contemporary border regimes. Finally, the article sheds light on how these symbolic bordering practices contribute to nurturing a 'compassionate repression' that increasingly and silently legitimizes the difference between the 'us' (the figure of the citizen) and the 'them' (the figure of the foreigner). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media expose millions of users every day to information campaigns - some emerging organically from grassroots activity, others sustained by advertising or other coordinated efforts. These campaigns contribute to the shaping of collective opinions. While most information campaigns are benign, some may be deployed for nefarious purposes, including terrorist propaganda, political astroturf, and financial market manipulation. It is therefore important to be able to detect whether a meme is being artificially promoted at the very moment it becomes wildly popular. This problem has important social implications and poses numerous technical challenges. As a first step, here we focus on discriminating between trending memes that are either organic or promoted by means of advertisement. The classification is not trivial: ads cause bursts of attention that can be easily mistaken for those of organic trends. We designed a machine learning framework to classify memes that have been labeled as trending on Twitter. After trending, we can rely on a large volume of activity data. Early detection, occurring immediately at trending time, is a more challenging problem due to the minimal volume of activity data that is available prior to trending. Our supervised learning framework exploits hundreds of time-varying features to capture changing network and diffusion patterns, content and sentiment information, timing signals, and user meta-data. We explore different methods for encoding feature time series. Using millions of tweets containing trending hashtags, we achieve 75% AUC score for early detection, increasing to above 95% after trending. We evaluate the robustness of the algorithms by introducing random temporal shifts on the trend time series. Feature selection analysis reveals that content cues provide consistently useful signals; user features are more informative for early detection, while network and timing features are more helpful once more data is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How are images used in the aim of governing migration? This article probes this question through the example of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) information campaigns (ICs) in Cameroon, through which it seeks to ‘manage the perception’ of potential illegal(ized) migrants to the European Union (EU). Taking the self-reflexive perspective of a filmmaker who has documented migrants’ rights violations in several projects and is thus struck by the use of imagery of suffering migrants as a deterrent, I first draw a comparison with the practice of colonial educational cinema, which I argue bares many similarities with the IOM’s ICs. Second, I inscribe them within broader trends in migration management, which have in common a simultaneous spatial expansion beyond the EU’s boundaries and a broadening of the domains they attempt to shape. I then attend to the particular ‘media dispositif’ the IOM constitutes in its campaign in Cameroon and question the actual effects of its campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present paper investigates the factors affecting water utility companies' decision to implement public information campaigns aimed at promoting sustainable water use and reducing household water consumption. We have analyzed 114 Italian water utility companies. For each we hand-collected data regarding their suggestions for reducing household water consumption and sustainable reporting information, published on the corporate websites. We then classified each utility on the basis of their ownership, diversification, location, sales, population served, tariff and annual rainfall. Using M-quantile regression for count data we have constructed a performance measure of Italian water utility companies and have ranked them by the identification of a unique M-quantile coefficient associated with each datum observed. The paper provides some interesting insights into the type of companies most sensitive to water sustainability issues, providing potential guidance to policy makers in defining a water management framework and selecting firms to manage water services. Larger firms located in the center of Italy, in drought regions and the driest areas, seem to be more sensitive to promoting the reduction of household water consumption. Moreover, companies operating only in the water business that are publicly owned and apply lower tariffs embody the type of institutions that make greater use of web information campaigns to reduce consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of voluntary conservation response to changing information about an environmental problem have traditionally been synonymous with studies of information campaign effectiveness. As such, they have not been able to capture the response to actual changes in the environment. This paper takes a novel approach to identifying voluntary conservation by studying the impact of changing storage levels on urban water usage in the context of a prolonged drought and a highly 'water aware' community. Our results suggest that voluntary conservation increases substantially when water is scarce and the public value of the savings is greatest. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of environmental information campaigns in general, and urban water demand management in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the responses among households to the promotion of renewable electricity. We analyse an experiment conducted by a Norwegian power company that offered Guarantees of Origin of supply to 5,000 of their customers. In the experiment, five different groups of 1,000 customers each received information about a renewable electricity certificate and how to purchase it. The information and the reasons given for why the customers should accept the offer was framed differently to each of the groups. The experiment produced minimal responses, and we use material from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews for interpreting and explaining the results. The analysis shows that customers tend to disregard information coming from their supplier, while there is also a low degree of commensurability between the message presented in the information and the understandings and perceptions held by the customers. For example, whereas the information contained the argument that customers must purchase certificates to obtain renewable electricity, Norwegians, because of their awareness of the country's hydro-based production system, perceive electricity to be renewable as it is. Additionally, focus group participants found the presented terms and figures to be incomprehensible to the extent that the information can be said to have produced ignorance in them. In turn, this negatively affected people's trust in the message and also its sender, as relevance and reliability are disclosure's main challenges in Norway. We use the case of electricity labelling in Norway to demonstrate some of the general challenges associated with using information as a tool for changing people's consumption patterns in deregulated energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity, changing climate patterns and polluted water bodies have caused the current global water crisis that is threatening many nations around the world. Despite this significant threat, few academic literature references can be found on promoting changes that focus on saving and protecting our planet's water. In this research, the Protection Motivation Theory [(PMT) Rogers J Psychol 91:93-114, ; )] is proposed as an effective model for guiding communication campaigns that support water resource management. PMT is a widely used 'fear appeal' model that can persuade audiences to change their behaviors or invoke actions to avoid a negative threat or event. Twenty marketing campaigns focusing on implementing behavior and activities to better manage our water resources were analyzed for their adherence to the PMT. The analysis showed that although a majority of the marketing communications on water resources successfully conformed to PMT, some marketing communications failed to include pertinent PMT factors. Implications on developing marketing communications related to reducing water resources are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary prevention measures designed to alter susceptibility and/or reduce exposure of susceptible individuals to diseases, remain the mainstay in the fight against HIV/AIDS. A model for HIV/AIDS, that investigates the reduction in infection by advocating for sexual behavior change through public-health information campaigns and withdrawal of individuals with AIDS from sexual activity is proposed and analyzed. The contact rate is modeled using an incidence function with saturation that depends on the number of infectives. The dynamics of the model is determined using the model reproduction number ${\cal R}_0$. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the role of some key epidemiological parameters. The results from the study demonstrate that an increase in the rate of dissemination of effective public-health information campaigns results in a decrease in the prevalence of the disease. Similarly, an increase in the fraction of individuals with AIDS who withdraw from sexual activities reduces the burden of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines flood risk perceptions of individuals in the Netherlands using a survey of approximately 1000 homeowners. Perceptions of a range of aspects of flood risk are elicited. Various statistical models are used to estimate the influence of socioeconomic and geographical characteristics, personal experience with flooding, knowledge of flood threats, and individual risk attitudes on shaping risk belief. The study shows that in general, perceptions of flood risk are low. An analysis of the factors determining risk perceptions provides four main insights relevant for policy makers and insurers. First, differences in expected risk are consistently related to actual risk levels, since individuals in the vicinity of a main river and low-lying areas generally have elevated risk perceptions. Second, individuals in areas unprotected by dikes tend to underestimate their risk of flooding. Third, individuals with little knowledge of the causes of flood events have lower perceptions of flood risk. Fourth, there is some evidence that older and more highly educated individuals have a lower flood risk perception. The findings indicate that increasing knowledge of citizens about the causes of flooding may increase flood risk awareness. It is especially important to target individuals who live in areas unprotected by dike infrastructure, since they tend to be unaware of or ignore the high risk exposure faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Sweden, two donation campaigns have been carried out; one short term (STC) during October 2001, and one long term (LTC) between the years 2003–2005. The goal was not only to inform the public but also to create a positive attitude, make people talk about donation and formally declare their decision. Methods: The effects of the two campaigns were evaluated through three opinion polls. Results: The willingness to donate was widespread (86%) before and after the campaigns. The LTC increased the knowledge of the Donor Card (24–35%, p < 0.001) and the National Donor Registry (19–40%, p < 0.001). The LTC focused on making people register, still though, only a small increase of registrants was found (11–14%, p = 0.043). The proportion expecting the question of organ donation if their relative was to die under circumstances that made organ donation possible increased (73–79%, p = 0.002). No corresponding increase was found regarding the number having informed a relative about their decision (20–23%, ns). Conclusion: The LTC was successful in increasing the expectation for the donation request. It also improved the knowledge of the Card and the Registry and slightly increased the number having registered. However, neither of the campaigns succeeded in making people inform their relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The primary aim of this study was to assess referral patterns and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) following the partial dismantling of intensive, information campaigns (IC) to help detect first-episode, non-affective psychosis via early detection teams in the TIPS study. Methods: We compared referral patterns of potential cases from the same geographical region (Rogaland County, Norway) referred to low-threshold, rapid-response detection teams at three timepoints: early-IC period (1997–1998), late-IC period (1999–2000) and the no-IC period (2002–2003). Results: A significant increase occurred in the total number of phone calls, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)-interviews and referrals from families from the early-to the late-IC period. A comparison of the late-IC period versus no-IC period showed a significant decrease in the number of PANSS-interviews administered, as well as fewer cases referred to the assessment teams. Additionally, a significant decline occurred in the number of referrals from general physicians, whereas the number of direct referrals to the hospital units increased. The DUP increased from a median of 5 to 14 weeks. Conclusion: External referrals to easy access detection teams occurred more frequently when IC were intensive, especially referrals from families and general practitioners. A shorter DUP was observed in the IC period, suggesting the importance of IC in augmenting the effectiveness of detection teams in identifying first-episode psychosis early in the course of illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the knowledge gap has explored individual and social factors that may influence the creation, maintenance, and demise of socioeconomically based differences in information gained as the result of communication campaigns. Recent work by Viswanath and colleagues suggests that the extent to which an issue affects members of a community-termed "community boundedness"-may have an independent influence on knowledge acquisition for members of the affected community. This study finds that community boundedness had a positive impact on awareness of a medical insurance pro- gram targeted to lower income children, whereas personal relevance did not. Specifically, African Americans and Latinos were more likely to be aware of a medical assistance program during the course of a campaign than were non- Hispanic Whites, controlling for income and personal relevance. The study also documents an inverse knowledge gap in which persons of lower socioeconomic status had greater awareness than did persons of higher socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the success of a risk communication programme conducted in two municipalities in Sweden is evaluated. The communication efforts were initiated in order to comply with the Seveso II Directive, passed as a national law in July 1999. Data from two different questionnaires are used. Between the distribution of the two questionnaires, an information campaign took place in the communities. The first questionnaire was aimed at measuring the public's opinion and understanding of the risks related to chemical industries in their communities, as well as the public's knowledge of emergency behaviour in the event of an accident. The second was aimed at measuring the effects or impact of the risk communication programme on the public. A total of 346 respondents participated in the study by answering two questionnaires. An evaluation of the risk communication efforts was focused around three dimensions: comprehension, audience evaluation and communication failures. The results showed differences between the two campaigns that gave significantly different results in the two communities. In the community with the multimedia channel campaign, the respondents showed greater knowledge of the production process at the local industry, they also judged the health threats for that industry to be less after the campaign, and they saved the information material to a greater extent. However, the overall effects of the information campaigns were weak. Future research is needed to explore the relation between people's emergency behaviour and risk communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Health Service (NHS) Review committed the NHS to the development of sophisticated information management processes and to the creation of a massive information technology infrastructure, and the success of the new arrangements depends critically upon progress in these two areas. Yet the NHS has a modest track record in both, which the period since the review has served only to highlight. The article examines the political environment in which information is exchanged and technology implemented, in order to explain the current state of play and the likely pace and direction of future developments. In particular it focuses upon the role of the NHS Management Executive in influencing these developments, and argues that success will depend on the extent to which national information policies encourage collaboration between key groups of managers and professionals and support the implementation of contracts for health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intervening at an early stage of psychosis improves the chances of recovery from first-episode psychosis. However, people who are experiencing distress and early psychotic symptoms generally seem to delay seeking help. Therefore, multifaced information campaigns targeting help-seeking behavior of potential patients and their network are considered important tools within early detection and intervention strategies. In this study, we aimed to explore which discursive meaning content, including roles and actors, such information campaigns build on and construct. Our intention was not to provide objective answers, but to contribute to a discursive debate about potential conflicts in messages conveyed in such campaigns. Methods: A broad sample of information material utilized by TIPS Stavanger University Hospital (Norway) was examined. The material consisted of posters, booklets and brochures, newspaper ads, Facebook ads, and TIPS Info's website, representing various campaigns from 1996 to April 2018. A narrative discursive approach was applied at an epistemological level. At a practical level, a team-based thematic analysis was utilized to identify patterns across data. Results: Diversity and several changes in strategy were recognized throughout the information material. Furthermore, three main themes and four subthemes were found to constitute the meaning content built in the information campaigns: knowledge is key; (almost) an illness among illnesses; and we all have a responsibility (comprising of the subthemes; to respond quickly; to step in; to provide an answer; and to tag along). Conclusion: Our findings pointed to common dilemmas in mental health services: How to combine professional expert knowledge with collaborative practices that emphasize shared decision-making and active roles on behalf of patients? How to combine a focus on symptoms and illness and simultaneously express the importance of addressing patients' recourses? And how can we ask for societal responsibility in help-seeking when professionals are placed in expert positions which may not be optimal for dialogue with potential patients or their network? We discuss whether highlighting practices with more weight on resources and active roles for patients and their surroundings in information campaigns could promote earlier help-seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]