Smokers' Likelihood to Engage With Information and Misinformation on Twitter About the Relative Harms of e-Cigarette Use:Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Information and misinformation on the internet about e-cigarette harms may increase smokers’ misperceptions of e-cigarettes. There is limited research on smokers’ engagement with information and misinformation about e-cigarettes on social media. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed smokers’ likelihood to engage with—defined as replying, retweeting, liking, and sharing—tweets that contain information and misinformation and uncertainty about the harms of e-cigarettes. METHODS: We conducted a web-based randomized controlled trial among 2400 UK and US adult smokers who did not vape in the past 30 days. Participants were randomly assigned to view four tweets in one of four conditions: (1) e-cigarettes are as harmful or more harmful than smoking, (2) e-cigarettes are completely harmless, (3) uncertainty about e-cigarette harms, or (4) control (physical activity). The outcome measure was participants’ likelihood of engaging with tweets, which comprised the sum of whether they would reply, retweet, like, and share each tweet. We fitted Poisson regression models to predict the likelihood of engagement with tweets among 974 Twitter users and 1287 non-Twitter social media users, adjusting for covariates and stratified by UK and US participants. RESULTS: Among Twitter users, participants were more likely to engage with tweets in condition 1 (e-cigarettes are as harmful or more harmful than smoking) than in condition 2 (e-cigarettes are completely harmless). Among other social media users, participants were more likely to likely to engage with tweets in condition 1 than in conditions 2 and 3 (e-cigarettes are completely harmless and uncertainty about e-cigarette harms). CONCLUSIONS: Tweets stating information and misinformation that e-cigarettes were as harmful or more harmful than smoking regular cigarettes may receive higher engagement than tweets indicating e-cigarettes were completely harmless. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 16082420; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN1608242

Evaluating digital sources: trust, truth and lies

How do you evaluate the contents of a wiki, blog or discussion forum? How do you distinguish fake news from legitimate reporting? Information professions are often required to evaluate the veracity of sources that have relatively poor provenance. Yet the bases on which these judgements are made are often poorly understood. We sometimes fall back on established checklist approaches to explain the decisions we have already made. But new research into the nature and flaws of human reasoning suggests that a more organic approach to evaluating digital information might be better

Effectiveness of Federal Regulation of Mobile Medical Applications

Due to rapid growth and advancement of technology, uncertainty has emerged as to whether some of the medical apps on the market should be considered medical devices, which are subject to stringent regulation by the FDA.The FDA issued final guidelines regarding the regulation of medical apps in September of 2013 and updated the guidance in February 2015, but it has not issued formal regulations. Part I of this Note examines the development of mobile medical health applications and regulation in countries with comparable mobile-app use, and then explores the evolution of the FDA’s position regarding the regulation of such apps. Part II analyzes and critiques current and conceivable regulatory strategies by the federal government, as well as private regulatory organizations such as the United States Pharmacopeial Convention and the Health on the Net Foundation. Part III argues that current FDA regulations are insufficient and suggests a peer reviewer or other organization may be better suited to assess the usability of apps and offer usage guidelines for consumers. Part III also discusses three proposed models for regulation of mobile medical apps. This Note argues that a regulatory approach that includes a peer review system and a non-profit organization that specializes in mobile medical technology will be more efficient and useful to monitor mobile medical apps than the current FDA guidelines

An Epidemiology of Big Data

Federal legislation designed to transform the U.S. healthcare system and the emergence of mobile technology are among the common drivers that have contributed to a data explosion, with industry analysts and stakeholders proclaiming this decade the big data decade in healthcare (Horowitz, 2012). But a precise definition of big data is hazy (Dumbill, 2013). Instead, the healthcare industry mainly relies on metaphors, buzzwords, and slogans that fail to provide information about big data\u27s content, value, or purposes for existence (Burns, 2011). Bollier and Firestone (2010) even suggests big data does not really exist in healthcare (p. 29). While federal policymakers and other healthcare stakeholders struggle with the adoption of Meaningful Use Standards, International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10), and electronic health record interoperability standards, big data in healthcare remains a widely misunderstood phenomenon. Borgman (2012) found by studying how data are created, handled, and managed in multi-disciplinary collaborations, we can inform science policy and practice (p. 12). Through the narratives of nine leaders representing three key stakeholder classes in the healthcare ecosystem: government, providers and consumers, this phenomenological research study explored a fundamental question: Within and across the narratives of three key healthcare stakeholder classes, what are the important categories of meaning or current themes about big data in healthcare? This research is significant because it: (1) produces new thematic insights about the meaning of big data in healthcare through narrative inquiry; (2) offers an agile framework of big data that can be deployed across all industries; and, (3) makes a unique contribution to scholarly qualitative literature about the phenomena of big data in healthcare for future research on topics including the diffusion and spread of health information across networks, mixed methods studies about big data, standards development, and health policy

The information behaviour of Nigerian digital entrepreneurs: idea generation in start-up businesses.

Though a wealth of research on information behaviour has been undertaken in a variety of contexts over the years, less has been done on entrepreneurship. In particular, there is a lack of literature around the ideation or business idea generation component in the early stages of business formation. This study seeks to address the theoretical and empirical gap within this research stream, bringing together information, innovation and creativity theory as lenses through which to explore the phenomenon. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with business founders. Participants operated in a variety of segments of the digital technology spectrum, such as financial technology, digital art/non-fungible tokens, cryptocurrency, telecommunication, digital surveillance and e-commerce. Critical Realism (CR) and Grounded Theory (GT) were used as theoretical and practical data techniques, using abduction in the theoretical redescription of concepts (codes) identified in the empirical data, and retroduction to identify the necessary contextual conditions for a particular causal mechanism to take effect and result in the observed empirical trends. Results show several societal and personal factors play a role in shaping the information behaviour of digital entrepreneurs. These factors include but are not limited to poverty, marginalising, parenting (especially maternal) and mentors. Digital entrepreneurs traverse through various information landscapes - predominantly the Internet - and employ a composite approach to navigate these environments, depending on their information needs at any given time. Marginalised entrepreneurs - especially immigrants and women - show sophisticated information behaviour strategies in equalising socio-economic adversities. The current research indicates that language, social and economic status can present significant barriers for individuals seeking information, and they can add additional layers of complexity to the already existing barriers

Investigating the transition from paediatric to adult services and the management of ongoing care of adults with osteogenesis imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a complex condition which requires specialist care. This care is readily available to children but is not available for adults. There are also limited transition services for people with OI, leaving them without support during transition. This novel research study was aimed at exploring the lived experience of transition, the resulting selfmanagement, and aimed to deliver a resource, providing information and support.This thesis comprises three phases: a qualitative phase, a quantitative phase, and a resource development phase. The qualitative phase primarily involved a focus group and two interviews, to explore issues raised in the literature, including the lack of knowledge and the lack of support for adults with OI. This phase revealed adults with OI struggle to access information and frequently experience dismissal or doubt from healthcare professionals (HCPs), due to a lack of knowledge among HCPs. As a result, adults with OI need to engage in self-management and advocacy, despite the lack of necessary information or skills. The quantitative phase involved an online semi-structured survey aimed at extending our understanding of the qualitative findings but for the wider OI population. The findings were consistent and suggested a connection between missed fractures and poor HCP knowledge.Finally, we iteratively developed a resource that reflected the needs of the OI community, garnering feedback at key points. Despite the small sample sizes, this research has implications for practice and policy, providing a resource which can fill the knowledge gap, support adults with OI and educateHCPs. Future research should explore the efficacy of the developed resource for OI in specific settings. Finally, as a result of findings, a new theoretical model of self-management was developed, future research should further test the model and consider its applicability in the context of other chronic conditions

Undocumented Migrants and their Everyday Lives

This open access monograph provides an overview of the everyday lives of undocumented migrants, thereby focusing on housing, employment, social networks, healthcare, migration trajectories as well as their use of the internet and social media. Although the book’s empirical focus is Finland, the themes connect the latter to broader geographical scales, reaching from global migration issues to the EU asylum policies, including in the post-2015 situations and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as from national, political, and societal issues regarding undocumented migrants to the local challenges, opportunities, and practices in municipalities and communities. The book investigates how one becomes an undocumented migrant, sometimes by failing the asylum process. The book also discusses research ethics and provides practical guidelines and reflects on how to conduct quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research about undocumented migrants. Finally, the book addresses emerging research topics regarding undocumented migrants. Written in an accessible and engaging style the book is an interesting read for students, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners