Supplementing a survey with respondent Twitter data to measure e-cigarette information exposure

ABSTRACT

Social media data are increasingly used by researchers to gain insights on individuals’ behaviors and opinions. Platforms like Twitter provide access to individuals’ postings, networks of friends and followers, and the content to which they are exposed. This article presents the methods and results of an exploratory study to supplement survey data with respondents’ Twitter postings, networks of Twitter friends and followers, and information to which they were exposed about e-cigarettes. Twitter use is important to consider in e-cigarette research and other topics influenced by online information sharing and exposure. Further, Twitter metadata provide direct measures of user’s friends and followers as opposed to survey self-reports. We find that Twitter metadata provide similar information to survey questions on Twitter network size without inducing recall error or other measurement issues. Using sentiment coding and machine learning methods, we find Twitter can elucidate on topics difficult to measure via surveys such as online expressed opinions and network composition. We present and discuss models predicting whether respondents’ tweet positively about e-cigarettes using survey and Twitter data, finding the combined data to provide broader measures than either source alone.     

Inequality in Volunteering: Building a New Research Front

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Volunteering research focuses predominantly on predicting participation in volunteering, proceeding from the...     

Does Perceived Social Support Buffer the Negative Effects of Type C Personality on Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients?

The present study investigated possible Type C personality–quality of life (QOL) relationship, and the moderating role of perceived social support in this relation among 101 postoperative breast cancer patients. Participants were from different cities in Turkey but receiving treatment in the capital, Ankara. Obtained data were analyzed by moderated regression analysis. According to the results, Type C personality was not related to the QOL of participants, however, higher perceived social support was associated with better QOL in patients. Also, perceived social support moderated Type C personality–QOL relation. Accordingly, patients high on Type C personality and perceived social support had the highest QOL. In contrast, patients high on Type C personality and low on perceived social support had the lowest QOL. Findings, as well as the strengths and limitations of the study, were discussed in the light of the relevant literature. As a possible clinical implication, enhancement of social support networks of the patients were suggested.     

Effects of Outcome and Probabilistic Ambiguity on Managerial Choices

Information ambiguity is prevalent in organizations and likely influences management decisions. This study examines, given imprecise probabilities and outcomes, how managers make choices when they are provided with single-figure benchmarks. Seventy-nine MBA students completed two experiments. We found that, in a decision framed as a decision under certainty involving an ambiguous outcome, the majority of the subjects were ambiguity prone in the loss condition and switched to ambiguity aversion in the gain condition. However, in the presence of probabilistic ambiguity in a decision under risk, this expected switching pattern was shown only when the difference in riskiness between the two choice options (in the loss condition) was perceived to be relatively small. In a companion study, we used a written protocol approach to identify factors that affect decision makers' investment choices when faced with ambiguous outcomes. Protocols frequently mentioned that the ambiguous outcome option was risky, even in the case which was framed as a decision under certainty in the problem statement. In a decision under risk with ambiguous outcomes, the combination of probabilistic risk and outcome ambiguity was seen as even more risky.     

Issue Saliency and Gender Stereotypes: Support for Women as Presidents in Times of War and Terrorism*

Objective. This article examines how issue saliency affects the public's perceptions of whether a man or a woman would make a better president when considering the most important problem facing the nation. Method. The study uses telephone survey data of adults in the United States collected by the Annenberg Public Policy Center in September 2003. Multinominial logistic regression models were conducted to parse out the effects of issue saliency on presidential gender preference while taking demographic characteristics and party identification into account. Results. People who said that terrorism, homeland security, and/or U.S. involvement in Iraq was the most important problem facing the nation were more likely to say that a man would do a better job handling the issue as president. Conclusion. This study finds that issue saliency affects presidential gender preference above and beyond demographic and party identification variables.     

The international emigration from modern Fujian: effects and appraisal

Characteristics of emigration from Fujian (Fukien) province, China, are analyzed, with attention to the impact on countries of destination and origin. The author notes that emigration from Fujian totalled some 6.5 million by 1984, of which 6.3 million live in Southeast Asia.     

The psychosocial needs of the Chinese elderly

Changing Chinese family patterns caused by immigration have contributed to the breakdown of traditional community and familial control in Chinese-American families. As a result, the Chinese-American elderly are faced with unique psychosocial problems that workers must consider when providing services to this population.     

Restorative justice for juvenile offenders in China: Current practices and challenges

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, restorative justice has gained considerable recognition worldwide and has become a prominent option for diverting juveniles away from the traditional criminal justice system as well as delivering fair and just outcomes in the justice process. This paper provides an overview of how the criminal justice system operates for juvenile offenders in the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, China). Based on a sophisticated literature review of recent Chinese academic journal articles on restorative justice for juveniles, the paper presents an analysis of the characteristics and operational procedures of current practices. Deficits and potential future developments pertaining to Chinese restorative practices for delinquents are also discussed.