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Do negative campaigning strategies evolve in sync with a party leader’s position in public opinion polls? In Germany’s multi-party system, previous research during the traditional media era found that a chancellor candidate’s drop in the polls did not impact negativity. This study focuses on the dynamic campaign in the 2021 Federal Election, which is the most competitive campaign to date in the social media era as there was no incumbent chancellor candidate. The prevalence of negative campaigning by six major party leaders who made a total of n = 3580 posts on Facebook and Twitter from 1 March to Election Day on 25 September 2021 is studied here. Negative posts accounted for 7.7 per cent of total posts. Results also show that a chancellor candidate’s position in the polls matters: Front-runners are less likely to rely on negative campaigning, but as candidates drop down in the polls from being the main challenger to rank third or lower, their negative campaigning increases. During the official six-week campaign or the hot phase, the number of negative posts increases overall as Election Day approaches. Variation in the use of negative campaigning among the individual chancellor candidates is discussed as is evidence of negative campaigning prior to the hot phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional appeals are essential tools for political candidates to motivate supporters, donors, and voters. Prior research has demonstrated the distinct behavioral consequences of discrete emotions, such as anger, anxiety, and enthusiasm. Do political candidates take advantage of these distinctions in their communication strategies? In this paper, I use supervised machine learning to classify emotional content in debate transcripts and contemporaneous tweets of American presidential candidates in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and show that candidates preference different emotional appeals in each communication medium. I argue that this behavior enables candidates to reap strategic benefits from two dissimilar audiences simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do parties campaign differently in different circumstances? Research seems to suggest that parties do indeed engage in harsh interparty attacks and fearmongering during ‘second-order’ elections, such as European elections/elections to the European Parliament (EP), perhaps even to the same extent as during national elections. However, to the best of our knowledge, the differences in the campaign strategies used by parties in national and European elections have never been assessed systematically. In this article, we compare the content of election campaigns (negative tone, fear appeals, enthusiasm appeals) by 150+ parties across 28 countries that participated in the 2019 elections to the European Parliament and at least one national election between 2016 and 2020. Triangulating two independent expert surveys (EPEES_19 and NEGex) we show that, contrary to our expectations, parties do not use more negative campaigning during European elections. However, more extreme parties tend to use a more negative tone and fewer enthusiasm appeals during European than national elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite observations have revolutionized ocean monitoring and analysis by providing a synoptic view of crucial marine environmental and biological data. By allowing planning of sampling locations based on observed biogeochemical patterns, satellite-based remote sensing data permit rapid and effective sampling of the full range of present conditions. Compared to traditional grid sampling, this technological advance has significantly improved sampling strategies of oceanographic campaigns. Sharing this crucial information in an accessible, user-friendly visual format promotes interdisciplinary research and collaboration. A strategy for such sharing, suggested here, is to integrate satellite data with interactive mapping tools, such as the leaflet, an open-source JavaScript library that can interactively visualize site-specific remote-sensing data. It produces customized maps that, because they are web-based, can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, making them useful for real-time collaboration among remote partners. Here, we demonstrate the practical application of the leaflet R package within the framework of the Tara Europa expedition, the ocean component of the Traversing European Coastlines (TREC) program, which has been using it to visualize satellite-derived data for selecting sampling stations and showcase its value in aiding researchers' decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More aggressive campaigning styles focusing on criticizing opponents (negativity) or using inappropriate language to vilify opponents (incivility) tend to be disliked by voters, and remain thus risky for parties facing off in competitive elections. Backlashes against attackers often cancel out any dent the attacks may leave in the support for the targets. Yet, research on the conditions under which these backlashes are more likely to happen remains fragmentary. In this article, we argue that the nature of the electoral competition – specifically, the presence of viable alternative parties for voters to choose from – matters. Voters could be more likely to withdraw political support from the attacker when such alternatives exist. We test whether the availability and ideological attractiveness of alternatives intervene to explain the backlash effect associated with negativity and incivility, at the election, party, and voter levels. We do so comparatively in the context of the 2019 European Parliament elections in 27 EU countries, by linking a cross-sectional post-election survey (N = 18,790) with an expert survey covering the campaigning strategies of 175 parties that participated in the election across the continent. Estimating mixed effects multi-level models, we find support for the moderating effect of alternatives at the voter-level; voters who have at least equally attractive alternatives available to them are less likely to support parties that go negative than voters to whom the attacking party is the most viable option. Alternatives do not seem to play a major role, however, at the party and election levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines differences in news coverage of female candidates using a media sociology framework that examines the interplay between organizational, routine, and individual levels of influence. The analyses find that national and local newspapers are more likely to write about the political qualifications of female candidates relative to male candidates, and female journalists at local newspapers are most likely to write about women's political qualifications. Female candidates receive more feminine stereotypic coverage across newspapers, especially in all-women elections. These results uncover important differences across media organizations that affect how female candidates develop their campaign strategies and voter decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological developments with the use of artificial intelligence in political communication, especially during the presidential election. AI in addition could take part in the presidential and vicepresidential elections of Indonesia in 2024. The objective of this research is to dissect artificial intelligence as a potential strategy that may be implemented during the upcoming elections within digital era. The role of artificial intelligence will be studied to assess the influence that is still being widely spread by artificial intelligence. The systematic literature review (SLR) was used as the methodology. The results of this study are of importance for supporting the assumption that it is possible to influence public opinion with AI analysis, increase voter participation and utilize AI for political campaign strategies. Steps involved in systematic literature review process include stating research objectives, developing, and validating review methods, searching literature, selecting articles for inclusion, assessing article quality, forming data findings, data analysis and reporting results. As such measures demonstrate, use of artificial intelligence (AI) in political communication can shape public discourse, serve as a campaign strategy, and offer more tailored interactions between politicians and electorate. Trust and democratic integrity call on promoting transparency, ethics, and data security above everything else. Therefore, for achieving full potential of AI in context of political communication field, political practitioners, researchers as well as policy makers can receive considerable suggestions out of this research study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion polls have become vital and increasingly visible parts of election campaigns. Previous research has frequently demonstrated that polls can influence both citizens' voting intentions and political parties' campaign strategies. However, they are also fraught with uncertainty. Margins of error can reflect (parts of) this uncertainty. This paper investigates how citizens' voting intentions change due to whether polling estimates are presented with or without margins of error. Using a vignette experiment (N=3224), we examine this question based on a real‐world example in which different election polls were shown to nationally representative respondents ahead of the 2021 federal election in Germany. We manipulated the display of the margins of error, the interpretation of polls and the closeness of the electoral race. The results indicate that margins of error can influence citizens' voting intentions. This effect is dependent on the actual closeness of the race and additional interpretative guidance provided to voters. More concretely, the results consistently show that margins of error increase citizens' inclination to vote for one of the two largest contesting parties if the polling gap between these parties is small, and an interpretation underlines this closeness. The findings of this study are important for three reasons. First, they help to determine whether margins of error can assist citizens in making more informed (strategic) vote decisions. They shed light on whether depicting opinion‐poll uncertainty affects the key features of representative democracy, such as democratic accountability. Second, the results stress the responsibility of the media. The way polls are interpreted and contextualized influences the effect of margins of error on voting behaviour. Third, the findings of this paper underscore the significance of including methodological details when communicating scientific research findings to the broader public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how politicians' conflict framing strategies in online campaign advertisements affect citizens' political participation in a multi-party context. We rely on a unique combination of innovative research methods to do so, including a four-wave panel survey, a content analysis of Facebook browser-tracking data and a mobile experience sampling survey with data donations. All data were collected during the 2021 Dutch general elections. We find that conflict framing can discourage citizens from engaging in low-effort forms of political participation, such as discussing politics, signing a petition and visiting political websites. The results show that conflict frames can demobilize citizens because they lower enthusiasm and are perceived as less informative. Our study provides insights into the potential unintended consequences of using conflict framing as a campaign strategy in a multi-party setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an interview with Katherine Jones, a high-tech marketing analyst. She discusses the implications of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in resume development, examining how AI tools can streamline the process for job applicants. Topics discussed include the potential for AI to create uniform resumes, the ease with which applicants can tailor resumes for specific positions, and the challenges recruiters may face with an influx of similar AI-generated resumes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of adaptable and resilient public health systems capable of rapid response to emerging health crises. This paper synthesizes the lessons learned from the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and explores strategies to enhance vaccine uptake in the post-pandemic era. Key challenges identified include logistical, economic, sociocultural, and policy dimensions that impact vaccination efforts, particularly in low-resource settings. The analysis highlights the need for resilient supply chains, effective communication, community engagement, and equitable access to healthcare resources. The rapid development and deployment of mRNA vaccines exemplify the potential of innovative vaccine technologies, though public trust and acceptance remain crucial. Strategies such as partnerships with local leaders, tailored messaging, and integration of digital tools are essential for combating vaccine hesitancy. By applying these insights, future vaccination campaigns can be more efficient, equitable, and resilient, ultimately improving public health outcomes globally. This paper aims to inform policy and practice, ensuring that public health strategies are evidence based and context specific, thus better preparing for future health challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the use of multisensory marketing by companies as a strategy to increase consumer engagement. It analyzes modern scientific approaches to defining the concept of multisensory marketing and its impact on consumer behavior. The key characteristics and principles that companies should take into account when implementing strategies in their campaigns are formed. The article contains a list of requirements for the effective use of multisensory marketing, which include the targeted use of various stimuli to attract consumers' attention, increase their emotional interaction with the brand, and create deeper and longer consumer impressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital marketing is a highly functional marketing method that enables businesses to reach customers using the internet and smart devices quickly and effectively. The speed of digital marketing in reaching consumers and its superiority in mobilising them can bring many risks for campaign producers. The content of the campaign, the technical management of posting and the management of the campaign celebrity, if any, can lead campaigns to failure and cause customer loss. At this point, it is vital to anticipate the risks that may cause the brand's digital marketing campaign to fail. This is a pioneering study that examines the failure of digital marketing campaigns from a risk analysis perspective. For the risk analysis of digital marketing campaigns, the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) method, which enables comprehensive risk analysis with expert opinions in problem areas where expert opinions are required by nature, and fuzzy logic, which quantifies the ambiguity in the expert opinions required for analysis and enables more effective results to be achieved, were used. Within the scope of the methodology, the elements of failure were identified through a literature review and 28 unsuccessful digital marketing campaigns accessed online, followed by evaluations of the failures through expert judgements and fuzzy logic. According to the findings of the study, the riskiest elements that push digital marketing campaigns to failure were found to be content-related racism, beauty/perception of perfection, sexism, violence/terrorism and political elements, and it was concluded that these failures have the potential to lose the most customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Brazil, as the world's fourth-largest democracy, witnessed the dominance of polarized and symbolically charged electoral campaigns on social media, culminating in the election of a populist political figure in 2018 and his subsequent defeat in 2022. Extensive research has indicated that political campaigns often sidelined substantive policy proposals in favor of negative and divisive issues. However, a critical gap remains in the absence of temporal investigations contrasting the prevalence of negativity and acclaim campaigns on social media platforms during elections. This study addresses this gap by examining associations between political issues and negative and acclaim campaigns across two Brazilian electoral campaigns. Drawing upon a sample of messages posted on Twitter (n = 1, 191) during the presidential elections of 2018 and 2022, our study reveals associations between substantive political issues, such as education and health, and acclaim campaign strategies, while the divisive issues of Covid-19 and corruption are associated with negative campaign strategies. Moreover, the results suggest that gender policy is related to both acclaim and negative messages since it is a polarizing issue in Brazilian politics. Our study also shows an increased negativity trend, with the 2022 presidential election campaign more likely to be negative than in 2018. By conducting a temporal analysis of Brazil's political context, our study sheds light on the evolving dynamics of political communication in the age of social media, contributing substantially to the literature on negativity in political campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's federal elections in 2019 and 2021 produced a similar outcome--a minority Liberal government. These back-to-back elections provide an ideal context to understand trends in digital campaigning strategies and assess how the pandemic influenced campaigns' use of social media. We examine how the three leaders of the major parties used Facebook in 2019 (n = 712) compared to 2021 (n = 979). The Conservative leader O'Toole posted more frequently than other candidates in 2021, fitting with the equalization theory of digital campaigning. In 2019 and 2021, the incumbent prime minister, Trudeau, received the most user engagement on his Facebook posts despite calling a snap election during a pandemic and less than two years into his mandate. These findings support normalization theories of digital campaigning with evidence of an accumulating incumbent advantage. The Covid-19 pandemic sidelined attention to climate change. We argue that the Liberal government owned both issues; we expected Trudeau to have greater attention to and user engagement for these policy posts. In general, Facebook posts about the pandemic yielded greater user engagement than posts that did not mention the pandemic. Candidates tested new campaign strategies in 2021, particularly making calls to interact with them; these posts yielded higher user engagement than posts that did not include a call to interact. While candidates used new social media campaign strategies, voter turnout declined from 2019 to 2021. These findings have implications for other democratic systems and the future of digital campaigning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For citizens to make well-informed decisions, they require information on diverse policy issues, which, among others, are publicized on political parties' social media accounts. However, as strategic actors, parties carefully weigh which issues to highlight and which to play down, rather than addressing a full range of issues in their campaigns. We investigated the hitherto neglected question of which issue diversity parties prioritize on their social media accounts and which factors influence this choice. We conducted a standardized content analysis of the official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts of 10 Norwegian parties and their leaders during the 2021 national election campaign. The results of our analyses indicate that issue-related campaign strategies influence parties' issue diversity more systematically than parties' governing/opposition statuses and their choices of social media platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data-driven political campaigning strategies often remain a black box for citizens; however, educational interventions provide a means to enhance understanding, conscious evaluations, and skills. In this context, we term this combination digital campaign competence (DCC). We conducted an online pre-registered experiment in Austria (N = 553) using a 2 × 2 between-subject design to compare intervention formats (reading a voter guide vs. playing a campaign game) and content framing (emphasizing risks vs. benefits of data-driven campaigning) plus a control condition. Results show no significant differences in framing on DCC. However, variations are observed among different formats, with the non-interactive voter guide proving to be the most effective one. Contrary to our expectations, the voter guide emphasizing the risks of data-driven political campaigning enhanced conceptual understanding levels, influenced evaluative perceptions, and aided skill development to detect highly targeted ads. We argue that innovative interventions do not always guarantee success in enhancing competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges of homeland defense in the Indo-Pacific region, highlighting the need for a comprehensive and global approach to address increasing threats from cyber, environmental, biological, and malign state actors. It emphasizes the efforts of China and Russia to establish global influence and the importance of integrating capabilities, force structures, and partnerships to deter potential adversaries. The article also emphasizes the significance of aligning strategies, plans, and operations among combatant commands, allies, and interagency organizations. Rear Admiral Scott Robertson, the Director of Strategy, Policy & Plans for NORAD and USNORTHCOM, is featured in the article, bringing his diverse background and extensive experience to his role in developing strategies and policies for homeland defense. [Extracted from the article]

The ethnicisation of election and the concomitant diffusion of violence has been widely explored in the literature on Kenyan presidential elections. However, the critical character of the elections has been understudied, especially as it concerns the depth and intensity of involvement occasioned by the realignment of political actors. Oftentimes, this has resulted in the emergence of fundamental changes in power dynamics. This study drew insights from Key’s critical elections theory to analyse the 2022 Kenyan presidential election. Relying on primary and secondary sources, the study contends that the election exhibited critical characteristics owing to the economic crisis and the accompanying hardship on Kenyans, which united the poor electorate behind then-candidate William Ruto. The election revealed a sharp alteration in the pre-existing cleavage within the electorate and a profound readjustment in power relations as Key’s theory posited. This was amply demonstrated by Raila Odinga’s alliance with Uhuru Kenyatta, his old political foe, and Ruto’s populist campaign tenor – hustlers versus dynasties. We argue that the hustler narrative transcended primordial identity because it resonated with the poor electorate irrespective of their ethnicity. Therefore, it is the dynastic realignment and Ruto’s pro-poor campaign strategy that effectively set the tone for a critical election. We concluded that despite the seemingly subpar performance of President Ruto, he is still the candidate to beat in the 2027 presidential election if Odinga wins the African Union Chairmanship election in 2025. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on presidential elections in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global rise of populism has led to efforts to create an 'alternative truth' to support populist political aims. This is recently seen in Turkey in the use of post-truth political discourse by the AKP as a primary election campaign strategy. This study investigates how the AKP used post-truth politics to create an alternative truth about the opposition. The main argument of the article is that the AKP used instrumentalization of post-truth politics as a tool to reproduce biases and opinions about the opposition, which contributed to its entire strategy of winning the ballot box in the 2023 Turkish elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of virtual influencers and AI doctors has significantly increased the attention of Chinese users, especially their health awareness and cancer health literacy. In our current study, guided by parasocial relationship theory, we examined the psychological antecedents that influence Chinese young adults' willingness to engage in liver cancer prevention. Specifically, we aimed to examine the mediated mechanism of reduced unrealistic optimism within this relationship. A total of 252 respondents participated in this study, and the valid data were analyzed using hierarchical regression and mediation analysis to test our hypotheses. The results demonstrated three positive correlations between psychological factors (including perceived severity, parasocial relationship, and response efficacy) and Chinese young adults' willingness to engage in liver cancer prevention. Furthermore, we found that reduced unrealistic optimism mediated these relationships. These findings provide valuable practical insights for Chinese health departments and experts to develop effective health campaign strategies that utilize multiple media platforms for optimal promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst data-driven strategies are allegedly prevalent in political campaigns, evidence regarding their actual effectiveness is scarce. This study investigates, from an individual perspective, the effect of issue congruency in political ads on immediate responses and voting behaviors. To reach our goal, we combined different types of data collection: mobile experience sampling method (mESM), panel survey, and content analysis. The combined approach allowed us to effectively study targeted ads within the cross-device and cross-platform environment. The results showed that voters perceive online political ads that are about a topic that they care about as more interesting, informative, and persuasive regardless of their partisanship. This positive ad perception subsequently leads to a higher probability of voting for the promoted party in the ad. We also found that an ad discussing a topic in line with the receiver's concerns positively affects the evaluation of the promoted party in the ad only when the party is already favored by the voter. Taken together, this study provides insights into the conditional effectiveness of data-driven strategies in political campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction : Age-related changes (e.g., cognitive, physiologic) can affect an individual's mobility and increase risks for falls and motor-vehicle crashes, which are leading causes of injuries and injury deaths among older Americans. To address this issue, CDC developed MyMobility Plan (MMP) products to help older adults make plans to reduce injury risks and promote safe mobility. In 2019, MMP products were disseminated to older adults and partner organizations. Dissemination strategies consisted of digital and print distribution and partner outreach. Methods : To assess dissemination efforts, a process (or implementation) evaluation was conducted from January to June 2019. Data were collected for 17 indicators (e.g., counts of webpage visits, product downloads, social media posts). Key informant interviews were conducted with partners, and qualitative analyses of interview data were undertaken to identify key themes related to their dissemination experiences. Results : Findings showed the dissemination resulted in 13,425 product downloads and print copy orders and reached almost 155,000 individuals through email subscriber lists, websites, webinars, and presentations. It is unknown what proportion of these individuals were older adults. Social media metrics were higher than expected, and 58 partners promoted products within their networks. Partner interviews emphasized the need for guidance on dissemination, collaboration with local partners, and integration of the products within a program model to ensure broader reach to and use by older adults. Conclusions : The evaluation of the dissemination campaign identified strategies that were successful in creating exposure to the MMP and others that could improve reach in the future. Those strategies include meaningful and early partner engagement for dissemination. Practical applications : Building in evaluation from the start can facilitate development of appropriate data collection measures to assess project success. Engaging partners as active disseminators in the planning stages can help increase the reach of public health tools and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2023 Turkish elections marked a historic juncture in the nation's political trajectory. Amidst economic, social, and political upheavals, coupled with a devastating earthquake, the elections served as a decisive evaluation of the newly inaugurated presidential system. With the incumbent Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP) lagging in polls for the first time in over twenty years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the People's Alliance faced formidable opposition yet managed to score a victory in the second round. This article delves into the contrasting campaign strategies of the two leading candidates, Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. We argue that while Erdoğan's campaign leaned on negative tactics and exclusionary populism, emphasizing counter-terrorism, identity politics, and regime maintenance, Kılıçdaroğlu's strategy championed positive messaging buoyed by inclusive populism, spotlighting democratization, good governance, and regime change. Within an overarching competitive authoritarian context, these distinct strategies highlighted the intricate dynamics between campaign narratives and voter perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is still a public health concern in South Sudan having caused suffering since the first case of COVID-19 was introduced on 28th February 2020. COVAX vaccines have since been introduced using a number of strategies including fixed site, temporary mobile, hit and run in flooded and conflict affected areas. We aim to describe the 2 ICVOPT campaigns that were conducted to improve the uptake and document lessons learnt during the initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programin South Sudan between February 2022 and June 2022 each lasting for 7-days. Methodology: We conducted an operational cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study of a series of the intensified COVID-19 vaccination Optimization (ICVOPT) campaigns from February 2022 to June 2022. Before the campaign, a bottom up micro-planning was conducted, validated by the County Health Departments (CHDs) and national MOH team. Each of the 2 campaigns lasted for 7 days targeting 30% of the eligible unvaccinated target population who were18 years and above. Each team consisted of 2 vaccinators, 2 recorders and 1 mobilizer. The teams employed both fixed site, temporary mobile, hit and run in flooded and conflict affected areas. The number of teams were calculated based on the daily workload per day (80 persons per team/day) for the duration of the campaigns. Results: A total of 444,030 individuals were vaccinated with primary series COVID-19 vaccine (J&J) out of the targeted 635,030 persons. This represented 69.9% of target population in the selected 28 counties and 10 states of South Sudan in 7 days' ICVOPT campaigns. More eligible persons were reached in 7 days campaigns than the 9 months of rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to ICVOPT campaigns using the fixed site strategy at the health facility posts. Conclusion: Intensified COVID-19 vaccination Optimization (ICVOPT) campaigns were vital and fast in scaling up vaccination coverages as compared to the fixed site vaccination strategies (2022 progress report on the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All Stronger collaboration for an equitable and resilient recovery towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, incentivizing collaboration, 2022) in complex humanitarian emergency settings and hard-to-reach areas of South Sudan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community mixing patterns by sociodemographic traits can inform the risk of epidemic spread among groups, and the balance of in- and out-group mixing affects epidemic potential. Understanding mixing patterns can provide insight about potential transmission pathways throughout a community. We used a snowball sampling design to enroll people recently diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 in an ethnically and racially diverse county and asked them to describe their close contacts and recruit some contacts to enroll in the study. We constructed egocentric networks of the participants and their contacts and assessed age-mixing, ethnic/racial homophily, and gender homophily. The total size of the egocentric networks was 2,544 people (n = 384 index cases + n = 2,160 recruited peers or other contacts). We observed high rates of in-group mixing among ethnic/racial groups compared to the ethnic/racial proportions of the background population. Black or African-American respondents interacted with a wider range of ages than other ethnic/racial groups, largely due to familial relationships. The egocentric networks of non-binary contacts had little age diversity. Black or African-American respondents in particular reported mixing with older or younger family members, which could increase the risk of transmission to vulnerable age groups. Understanding community mixing patterns can inform infectious disease risk, support analyses to predict epidemic size, or be used to design campaigns such as vaccination strategies so that community members who have vulnerable contacts are prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how African chiefs shape pre-election violence (PEV) locally. I argue that chiefs with greater capability of voter coordination, which stems from precolonial centralized states, reduce local risk of PEV. Utilizing existing and original data, I find that precolonial centralized states have a negative effect on PEV in Anglophone Africa, where precolonial institutions have been better preserved. This relationship is robust to a series of tests, including two-stage least-squares regressions. The findings contribute to our knowledge of how local political actors shape violent campaign strategies and of the diverse (pre-)colonial legacies in Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual messaging is a cornerstone of campaign strategies of political parties and candidates that can complement and amplify the effects of the written/spoken word. Through a thematic analysis of the Facebook ads of the two main political parties during the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections in India, this paper shows the interplay of identity, ideology, and gender in the visual communication strategies of political parties on Facebook as they tried to mobilize voters in an intensely polarized context. Both the incumbent and the opposition parties framed issues in their visual campaigns that were culturally situated; these issues centered around identity and ideology while simultaneously emphasizing strong leadership with gendered rhetoric. Our findings contribute to the advancement of theoretical understanding of political personalization, highlighting the intricate interplay between gender, ideological inclinations, and cultural identity, all of which profoundly influence the personalization process in the context of an intensely polarized election campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the campaign strategies of the "Prawo i Sprawiedliwość" (PiS) political party during the Polish elections from 2009 to 2020. It examines how the gradual modernization of communication strategies and the adoption of a less aggressive narrative contributed to the party's revival after a decline in support caused by the political crisis of 2007 and the death of leader Lech Kaczyński in 2010. The research aims to identify the changes in campaigning that contributed to regaining electoral success since the 2015 national elections. The analysis is based on audio-visual materials produced by PiS for the elections during both the "crisis" period (2009-2013) and the "revival" period (2014-2020), allowing for a comparative analysis of the main changes between these two periods. Through content analysis of these materials, the study investigates the topics, genres, formats, national and European dimensions, personalization strategies, and use of negative advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typhoid fever causes substantial morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh plans to introduce typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCV) in its expanded program on immunization (EPI) schedule. However, the optimal introduction strategy in addition to the costs and benefits of such a program are unclear. We extended an existing mathematical model of typhoid transmission to integrate cost data, clinical incidence data, and recently conducted serosurveys in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. In our primary analysis, we evaluated the status quo (i.e., no vaccination) and eight vaccine introduction strategies including routine and 1-time campaign strategies, which differed by age groups targeted and geographic focus. Model outcomes included clinical incidence, seroincidence, deaths, costs, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each strategy. We adopted a societal perspective, 10-year model time horizon, and 3 % annual discount rate. We performed probabilistic, one-way, and scenario sensitivity analyses including adopting a healthcare perspective and alternate model time horizons. We projected that all TCV strategies would be cost saving compared to the status quo. The preferred strategy was a nationwide introduction of TCV at 9–12 months of age with a single catch-up campaign for children ages 1–15, which was cost saving compared to all other strategies and the status quo. In the 10 years following implementation, we projected this strategy would avert 3.77 million cases (95 % CrI: 2.60 – 5.18), 11.31 thousand deaths (95 % CrI: 3.77 – 23.60), and save $172.35 million (95 % CrI: −14.29 – 460.59) compared to the status quo. Our findings were broadly robust to changes in parameter values and willingness-to-pay thresholds. We projected that nationwide TCV introduction with a catch-up campaign would substantially reduce typhoid incidence and very likely be cost saving in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While President Macron's motives for calling the snap National Assembly elections remain unclear, it is certain that he very much counted on the Left to do what it does best: remain disunited and fail to campaign effectively. Happily, that did not happen. In four days, a programme was agreed upon, candidates were fielded, people set up lines of communication, created election posters, organised meetings and canvassing sessions. There was hope. But the future is uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study and analysis of urban water consumption habits in different regions contribute to the development of strategies aimed at secure water reduction and distribution. Within this context, knowledge of global water availability and the analysis of factors that influence consumption in different regions in distinct situations become extremely important. Several studies have been carried out in a number of countries and describe different approaches. The objective of this article is to learn about the strategies used in water consumption forecast and analysis. Most of the studies analysed seek to understand the factors influencing consumption in different building types. When it comes to residential buildings, the number of residents and the influence of economic issues on water consumption have an important role in this matter. In this context, pieces of research present the use of awareness campaigns as a strategy towards water use reduction. As a contribution, this article presents a systemic view of the pieces of research conducted and their contribution to forecasting water consumption in different regions. In conclusion, one observes the importance of analysing the factors influencing water consumption in different regions and scenarios, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article can help managers and researchers understand the main factors that influence water consumption and how this consumption takes place in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue theoretically and demonstrate empirically that to understand the electoral fortunes of far-right parties in Western Europe, we need to consider the advantages and disadvantages these parties encounter in the multidimensional political issue space. We argue that salience changes among the electorate benefit far-right parties more than shifting far-right parties' policy positions. We further posit that changes in the public salience of European integration are more important for far-right success than other issues -- including immigration. Utilizing similar survey questions from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) about parties' positions and the European Election Studies (EES) about voters' policy preferences, we estimate multidimensional voting models in 12 West European countries. We then use mathematical simulations to show that the issue that matters most for far-right success is European integration. This research has important implications for the study of electoral competition, parties' campaign strategies, and voting behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy behaviors have traditionally been promoted through persuasive messages that provide information about figures or arguments and are designed with an openly persuasive objective. However, other strategies have recently been established, such as the use of narrative messages and mixed formats (which combine information and tell a story). The evidence is not conclusive about the efficacy of these three modalities of persuasion (informational, narrative, and mixed) nor about the mechanisms responsible. Methodology: Two experiments were carried out that compared the effects of the three modalities of persuasive messages mentioned and that were designed to promote sleep hygiene as a factor in controlling body weight. In addition, the role of involvement with the theme of the message and the need for cognition were considered as possible moderator variables. Results: It was observed that the informational message exerted significant indirect effects on the perceived effectiveness of the message, beliefs, and behavioral intention through the self-reference mechanism. In contrast, the narrative and mixed messages owed their persuasive effectiveness to emotional activation, narrative transport, and identification with the protagonist. Conclusions: This paper advances knowledge about persuasion and the most effective strategies to design campaigns to control body weight through the promotion of sleep hygiene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parties and election candidates are often understood to be rational actors, adapting to conditions to remain electorally competitive. However, despite the rational pursuit of goals requiring enough information with which to update one's strategies, to our knowledge, no study has sought to examine the precise role of information in influencing party or candidate updating during campaigns. To fill this gap, we use qualitative process tracing to examine the 2022 Irish Seanad by-election, which acts as an extreme case of a low-information electoral environment that can be used for theory-building. From this analysis, we expect that the information level is a function of knowledge about voters' intentions and the terms of political debate, in the form of an interaction between the effective number of electoral parties and the range of issues discussed by parties. From this, we hypothesise that strategic updating is least likely when information about both voters and the terms of political debate are low. Indeed, the lower the information level, the more likely candidates are to prioritise their preferred issues and ignore their competitors, even when they could acquire some rudimentary knowledge of their competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom suggests that women can face a punishment from voters for engaging in self-promotion. Self-promotion, highlighting your accomplishments, can be detrimental to women because such behavior violates feminine stereotypic expectations that women be modest and humble. I argue and show that voters do not punish women for engaging in self-promotion but there are different styles of self-promotion that are more beneficial to women than others. I argue that women will be most successful when they use a communal style of self-promotion that emphasizes feminine stereotypic qualities, such as compromise. Conversely, I argue that agentic forms of self-promotion, which draw on masculine qualities, will be less successful for women because agency violates feminine expectations for women. I test the effects of communal and agentic self-promotion using two experiments. The result shows two key findings. First, voters do not punish women incumbents for using agentic styles of self-promotion, but women receive more positive evaluations with communal self-promotion. Second, voters are slightly more likely to reward men for communal self-promotion relative to women legislators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pete Buttigieg's candidacy in the 2020 Democratic primaries caught fire more than most predicted. An openly gay man, Buttigieg is also a veteran and a Christian. Did voters penalize Buttigieg for being gay and in a same-sex relationship? Did his other traits offset voter negative bias? We conducted a survey with over 6000 likely voters during the primaries. We included a priming experiment that manipulated the salience of Buttigieg's identity traits. We then asked respondents how much they liked Buttigieg and who they would support in a match-up between Buttigieg and Trump. Overall, voters penalized Buttigieg for being in a same-sex relationship. The penalty surprisingly increased when his religiosity was highlighted. In contrast, Buttigieg's military background mitigated voter discrimination when he was presented as a veteran married to a man. This article reveals how double standards and heterosexism penalize gay candidates, and contributes to discussions on minority candidates and electability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the chief pollster for Gary Hart's 1984 race for the Oval Office, Dorothea "Dotty" Lynch became the first female pollster to head the polling unit for a presidential campaign. Lynch's work reconstructed how the field of political consulting regarded the role of women in elections by making women's issues a central focus of a US presidential candidate's campaign strategy, and by actively recruiting more women to work on presidential campaigns. Her work is also significant for the contribution she made to help explain why the gender gap played a critical role in American politics and elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk management literacy is very important in influencing an individual's decision-making when taking preparatory steps to handle anticipated risks. This includes oil palm smallholders who are constantly exposed to various types of risks. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the level of risk management literacy among oil palm smallholders in Malaysia. The data of the study was obtained from the online questionnaires distributed to oil palm smallholders using a random sampling method. The data obtained from the final sample of 200 smallholders were analyzed to examine the level of risk management literacy among oil palm smallholders using a mean score analysis. The results found that the risk management literacy level among oil palm smallholders in Malaysia is at a moderately high level. Furthermore, the mean score for the preference for saving instead of expenditure was the highest i.e. 4.40, indicating that smallholders possess high awareness of the importance of saving as one of the tools for risk management. The study' findings allowed relevant authorities to formulate new programs, such as training and awareness campaigns for risk management, on a continuous basis. This could assist smallholders to prepare for any potential risks and subsequently create sustainable sources of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]