1,531 research outputs found
Diversity of thought in the blogosphere: implications for influencing and monitoring image
A blog, a shortened form of weblog, is a website where an author shares
thoughts in posts or entries. Most blogs permit readers to add comments to posts and
thereby be a conversational mechanism. One way that companies have started to use
blogs is to monitor their corporate image (in this dissertation, the term image is used in
reference to corporate, brand and/or product image). This study focuses on how common
socio-psychological processes mediate consumers’ revelation of corporate image in the
blogosphere. Centering resonance analysis, a means of measuring similarity between
two bodies of text, is used in conjunction with multidimensional scaling to locate text as
cognitive objects in a space. Clusters are then detected and measured to quantify
diversity in the thoughts expressed. Detected patterns are studied from a social process
theory perspective, where complex phenomena are hypothesized to be the result of the
interaction of simpler processes. A majority of blog commenters compromise the expression of their thoughts to
gain social acceptance. This study identifies the most extreme of such people so
companies who monitor blogs can assign less weight to image indications gained from
them as they may be merely expressing thoughts that are intended to maintain social
acceptance.
It was also found that single-theme blogs attract a readership with similarly
narrow interests. The boldest and most diverse thinkers among comment writers have the
most impact because of their ability to provoke the thinking of others. However,
commenters who repeat the same ideas have little effect, suggesting that introducing
shills is unlikely to shift the sentiment of a blog’s readership.
People participate in blog communities for reasons (e.g., need for community)
that may undermine thought diversity. However, there may be value in serving those
needs even though no valuable insights are provided into image or directions for product
development. Members of homogeneous-thinking communities were observed to more
actively participate, with greater longevity. This may increase loyalty to the company
hosting the blog
Dietary flavonoid intakes and CVD incidence in the Framingham Offspring Cohort
This study examines the relationship between long-term intake of six flavonoid classes and incidence of CVD and CHD, using a comprehensive flavonoid database and repeated measures of intake, while accounting for possible confounding by components of a healthy dietary pattern. Flavonoid intakes were assessed using a FFQ among the Framingham Offspring Cohort at baseline and three times during follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to characterise prospective associations between the natural logarithms of flavonoid intakes and CVD incidence using a time-dependent approach, in which intake data were updated at each examination to represent average intakes from previous examinations. Mean baseline age was 54 years, and 45 % of the population was male. Over an average 14·9 years of follow-up among 2880 participants, there were 518 CVD events and 261 CHD events. After multivariable adjustment, only flavonol intake was significantly associated with lower risk of CVD incidence (hazard ratios (HR) per 2·5-fold flavonol increase = 0·86, Ptrend = 0·05). Additional adjustment for total fruit and vegetable intake and overall diet quality attenuated this observation (HR = 0·89, Ptrend = 0·20 and HR = 0·92, Ptrend = 0·33, respectively). There were no significant associations between flavonoids and CHD incidence after multivariable adjustment. Our findings suggest that the observed association between flavonol intake and CVD risk may be a consequence of better overall diet. However, the strength of this non-significant association was also consistent with relative risks observed in previous meta-analyses, and therefore a modest benefit of flavonol intake on CVD risk cannot be ruled out
Understanding media production: a rejoinder to Murdock and Golding
This article is a rejoinder to Murdock and Golding’s response to my critique of the political economy of communications (PEC) analysis of media production (see Author 2015). This article sets this exchange in the context of a broader debate in recent editions of Media, Culture & Society (Garnham 2016, Fuchs, 2016) about the value of PEC. Much of this debate stems from Garnham’s (2011) critical review of 40 years of PEC research
Functional Interactions of Alcohol-sensitive Sites in the \u3cem\u3eN\u3c/em\u3e-Methyl-d-aspartate Receptor M3 and M4 Domains
The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor is an important mediator of the behavioral effects of ethanol in the central nervous system. Previous studies have demonstrated sites in the third and fourth membrane-associated (M) domains of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor NR2A subunit that influence alcohol sensitivity and ion channel gating. We investigated whether two of these sites, Phe-637 in M3 and Met-823 in M4, interactively regulate the ethanol sensitivity of the receptor by testing dual substitution mutants at these positions. A majority of the mutations decreased steady-state glutamate EC50 values and maximal steady-state to peak current ratios (Iss/Ip), whereas only two mutations altered peak glutamate EC50 values. Steady-state glutamate EC50 values were correlated with maximal glutamate Iss/Ip values, suggesting that changes in glutamate potency were attributable to changes in desensitization. In addition, there was a significant interaction between the substituents at positions 637 and 823 with respect to glutamate potency and desensitization. IC50 values for ethanol among the mutants varied over the approximate range 100–325 mm. The sites in M3 and M4 significantly interacted in regulating ethanol sensitivity, although this was apparently dependent upon the presence of methionine in position 823. Molecular dynamics simulations of the NR2A subunit revealed possible binding sites for ethanol near both positions in the M domains. Consistent with this finding, the sum of the molecular volumes of the substituents at the two positions was not correlated with ethanol IC50 values. Thus, there is a functional interaction between Phe-637 and Met-823 with respect to glutamate potency, desensitization, and ethanol sensitivity, but the two positions do not appear to form a unitary site of alcohol action
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Presidential Tenure: A History and Examination of the President's Term of Office
This report summarizes the ongoing debate on presidential tenure, mainly concerning proposed amendments for a six-year presidential term. In addition, the author presents arguments both for and against a six-year presidential term
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