163 research outputs found
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Vietnam Without Guarantees: Consumer Attitudes in an Emergent Market Economy
This research explores how Vietnam’s embrace of capitalism and global markets has impacted consumer culture. Through ethnographic research conducted in Hanoi, Vietnam in June-August 2015, this study seeks to interrogate how the political atmosphere in Vietnam coexists with market freedoms in a country which opened its economy to the world during the 1986 Doi Moi (renovation) reforms. Vietnam now conducts a considerable amount of foreign trade with major foreign investment from countries including Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. This study emphasizes the role international relations have played in these developments as Vietnam has embraced partnerships with countries with which it was previously at war. This approach includes a self-reflexive critique of my role in the research process as a young, white American. This research engages conceptually with critical cultural studies and theories of articulation to challenge the assumed evolution of communism to capitalism within modernization theory as well as the global, homogenous spread of neoliberalism by examining how these articulations manifest in everyday life. To this end, this study seeks to explore how changing patterns of consumption brought on by open market economics are articulated with global political relationships. The analysis argues that neoliberalism is applied selectively to maintain single-party politics and an oppressive state formation, and that foreign advertising in Vietnam serves as an index of narratives of progress and economic growth. This research has significant implications for consumerism within developing countries, studies of neoliberalism, and postsocialist state formations
It\u27s all About the Green: the Economically Driven Greenwashing Practices of Coca-Cola
In a warming world where environmentally friendly corporations and products are undeniably a necessary component of mitigation, it is important to examine how this need maybe exploited for profit. This research examines three print and one online advertisement for Coca-Cola\u27s Dasani plantbottles to discern what rhetorical and visual appeals were used to mark the product as green Analysis reveals that cultural meanings of nature were drawn on to create symbols that were appealing and represented the product as clean, fresh, and natural. This research then examines how consumers use these symbols to label themselves as environmentally conscious. Portrayals of the plantbottles and how they are depicted through advertising is also compared to the actual ecological impact of plantbottles, with resultant findings that they are not an environmentally friendly product as their image would lead one to believe. Future research is needed to continue identifyirg deceptive green advertising campaigns and the methods they use to mislead the public. This research will contribute to an understanding of how environmental ads utilize shared natural symbols, the types of information corporations Promote and conceal about their environmental impact, and facilitate informed advocacy for stricter eco-labeling
Framing Disaster: News Media Coverage of Environmental Justice
This research assesses news media coverage of two environmental justice cases involving Native American groups in Washington State. Through inductive framing analysis, this work evaluates the way in which commercial news media covered centuries-old environmental inequality faced by the Quileute Tribe and the Lower Elwha Klallam people. Both of these groups were thrust into fame for different reasons: The Quileute were identified in the Twilight film franchise, while the Lower Elwha Klallam people were associated with the largest dam removal project in the world. This research reveals that, while some progress has been made in the quality of news coverage of Indigenous environmental justice issues, absence of coverage remains an issue that continuously needs to be challenged
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Achieving Access to Antimalarials: Views From Ghana on the Political-Economy of Adopting and Implementing the Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria (AMFm)
My research examines the adoption and implementation processes involved in transferring a global health policy into national-level practice. More specifically, I consider how high-level stakeholders adopted and street-level, private-sector retailers implemented the Phase I pilot of the Affordable Medicines Facility- malaria (AMFm) between mid-2009 and end-2011. The AMFm — a large-scale program housed at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria — sought to improve access to high-quality malaria treatment through financing and delivery strategies using the public and private sectors. To date, the median implementation outcomes have been considered in the Independent Evaluation commissioned by the Global Fund but country-level processes and nuanced considerations of outcomes have gone unexplored. To better understand the AMFm pilot in Ghana, I collected both quantitative and qualitative data between August and December 2011.
To consider adoption, I first use a grounded, qualitative approach to address: What explains the stands taken by national stakeholders towards and against participating in the AMFm’s Phase I? I generate explanatory categories about the different views — stands — key stakeholders in Ghana took about joining Phase I. Public health goals; indirect policy goals; and concerns about personal, organization, and national reputation help to explain the views of different high-level stakeholders. Second, I consider the actions taken by different stakeholders: To what extent can a multiple-streams approach to policy adoption help clarify Ghana’s decision to join in the AMFm’s pilot? I find the Multiple-Streams Approach cannot be used to explain adoption of the AMFm pilot in Ghana. However, a modified version accounting for the global and national levels simultaneously can explain this case.
To consider implementation, I ask: Do retailers in Northern Region comply with Ghana’s the advertised AMFm Recommended Retail Price among for-profit, private-sector retailers? And, does non-compliance vary systematically with features of retailer structure or conduct? I find high compliance based on reported retail prices. I also find that neither measures of spatial competition nor having seen regulation enforced in the past explain the pattern of non-compliance. Rather, variation in the terminal supply price is highly associated with a retailer’s decision to charge at or above the RRP
Incidence of Diabetes and Pre-diabetes in a Selected Urban South Indian Population (Cups - 19)
Abstract
Objectives: Several cross-sectional studies have reported on the prevalence of diabetes in India. However,
there are virtually no longitudinal population-based studies on the incidence of diabetes from India. The
aim of the study was to determine the incidence of diabetes and prediabetes in an urban south Indian
population.
Methods: The Chennai Urban Population Study [CUPS], an ongoing epidemiological study in two residential
colonies in Chennai [the largest city in southern India, formerly called Madras] was launched in 1996; the
baseline study was completed in 1997. Follow-up examination was performed after a mean period of 8
years. At follow-up, 501 [47.0%] subjects had moved out of this colonies and were lost to follow-up. Of the
remaining 564 individuals, 513 [90.9%] provided blood samples for biochemical analysis. Regression analysis
was done using incident diabetes as dependant variable to identify factors associated with development of
diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Results: Among subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) at baseline [n=476], 64 (13.4%) developed
diabetes and 48 (10.1%) developed pre-diabetes (IGT or IFG). The incidence rate of diabetes was 20.2 per 1000
person years and that of pre-diabetes was 13.1 per 1000 person years among subjects with NGT. Of the 37
individuals who were pre-diabetic at baseline, 15 (40.5%) developed diabetes [incidence rate: 64.8 per 1000
person years], 16 (43.2%) remained as pre-diabetic and 6 (16.2%) reverted to normal during the follow-up
period. Regression analysis revealed obesity [Odds Ratio (OR): 2.1, p=0.001], abdominal obesity [OR: 2.23,
p<0.001] and hypertension [OR: 2.57, p<0.001] to be significantly associated with incident diabetes. The Indian
Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) showed the strongest association with incident diabetes [OR: 5.14, p<0.001].
Conclusion: The study shows that the incidence of diabetes is very high among urban south Indians.
While obesity, abdominal obesity and hypertension were associated with incident diabetes, IDRS was th
Increased Awareness about Diabetes and Its Complications in a Whole City: Effectiveness of the “Prevention, Awareness, Counselling and Evaluation” [PACE] Diabetes Project [PACE-6]
Abstract
Aims and Objectives : To determine the effectiveness of a large scale multipronged diabetes awareness program
provided through community involvement in Chennai.
Material and Methods: Mass awareness and free screening camps were conducted between 2004-2007 at various
locations of Chennai as part of the Prevention, Awareness, Counselling and Evaluation [PACE] Diabetes Project. During
a 3-year period, 774 diabetes awareness camps were conducted to reach the public directly. After the PACE project
was completed, 3,000 individuals, representative of Chennai, were surveyed in 2007 using a systematic stratified
random sampling technique. The results were compared to a similar survey carried out, as part of the Chennai Urban
Rural Epidemiology Study [CURES] in 2001 - 2002, which served as a measure of baseline diabetes awareness.
Results: Awareness of a condition called “diabetes” increased significantly from 75.5% in 2001-2002 (CURES) to
81% (p < 0.001) in 2007 (PACE). 74.1% of the citizens of Chennai are now aware that the prevalence of diabetes is
increasing as compared to 60.2% earlier [p<0.001]. Significantly more people felt that diabetes could be prevented
(p<0.001), and that a combination of diet and exercise were needed to do so (p<0.001). Respondents reporting
obesity, family history of diabetes, hypertension and mental stress as risk factors increased significantly after PACE
(p<0.001). More people were able to correctly identify the eyes (PACE 38.1% compared to CURES -16.1%, p < 0.001),
kidney (PACE 42.3% compared to CURES 16.1%, p < 0.001), heart (PACE 4.6% compared to CURES 5.8%, p < 0.001)
and feet (PACE 35.0% vs CURES 21.9%, p < 0.001) as the main organs affected by diabetes.
Conclusion: Through direct public education and mass media campaigns, awareness about diabetes and its
complications can be improved even in a whole city. If similar efforts are implemented state-wise and nationally,
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease, is an
achievable goal in India.
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Producing PSAs on consumer culture: youth reception of advertising
This study is a qualitative analysis of Public Service Announcement (PSA) storyboards produced by 177 fourth and sixth-grade students as part of a Media Literacy Education program on advertising and commercial culture. The program curriculum addressed the ubiquity and hidden nature of ads, as well as gender portrayals, violence, and nutritional messages in advertising content. Textual analysis revealed differing patterns in student reception of the varied lesson topics. Students called for specific behavioral changes in PSAs for the topics of nutrition and gender, although most were limited to non-media-related behaviors such as improving eating habits and encouraging fluidity across roles more traditionally associated with masculinity or with femininity. The analysis also suggested responsibility for the problems students identified with advertising were largely based on individual, consumerist perspectives rather than on collective or social, citizen-based terms. Fourth graders’ storyboards especially indicated an apparent mimicry of mainstream commercial productions and practices. The analysis further explores these fourth and sixth graders’ underlying orientations toward the U.S. commercial media system as well as the potential strengths and limitations of a production component in MLE programs to promote outcomes associated with critical media literacy
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The Impact of Text Message Reminders on Adherence to Antimalarial Treatment in Northern Ghana: A Randomized Trial
Background: Low rates of adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) regimens increase the risk of treatment failure and may lead to drug resistance, threatening the sustainability of current anti-malarial efforts. We assessed the impact of text message reminders on adherence to ACT regimens. Methods: Health workers at hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other stationary ACT distributors in Tamale, Ghana provided flyers advertising free mobile health information to individuals receiving malaria treatment. The messaging system automatically randomized self-enrolled individuals to the control group or the treatment group with equal probability; those in the treatment group were further randomly assigned to receive a simple text message reminder or the simple reminder plus an additional statement about adherence in 12-hour intervals. The main outcome was self-reported adherence based on follow-up interviews occurring three days after treatment initiation. We estimated the impact of the messages on treatment completion using logistic regression. Results: 1140 individuals enrolled in both the study and the text reminder system. Among individuals in the control group, 61.5% took the full course of treatment. The simple text message reminders increased the odds of adherence (adjusted OR 1.45, 95% CI [1.03 to 2.04], p-value 0.028). Receiving an additional message did not result in a significant change in adherence (adjusted OR 0.77, 95% CI [0.50 to 1.20], p-value 0.252). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that a simple text message reminder can increase adherence to antimalarial treatment and that additional information included in messages does not have a significant impact on completion of ACT treatment. Further research is needed to develop the most effective text message content and frequency. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0172273
Prevention Awareness Counselling and Evaluation (PACE) Diabetes Project: A Mega Multi-pronged Program for Diabetes Awareness and Prevention in South India (PACE - 5)
Objective: The Prevention Awareness Counselling Evaluation (PACE) Diabetes Project is a large scale
community based project carried out to increase awareness of diabetes and its complications in Chennai city
(population : 4.7 million) through 1) public education 2) media campaigns 3) general practitioner training
4) blood sugar screening and 5) community based “real life” prevention program
Methods: Education took place in multiple forms and venues over the three-year period of the PACE project
between 2004 - 2007. With the help of the community, awareness programs were conducted at residential
sites, worksites, places of worship, public places and educational institutions through lectures, skits and
street plays. Messages were also conveyed through popular local television and radio channels and print
media. The General Practitioners (GPs) program included training in diabetes prevention, treatment and
the advantages of early detection of complications. Free random capillary blood glucose testing was done
for individuals who attended the awareness programs using glucose meter.
Results: Over a three-year period, we conducted 774 education sessions, 675 of which were coupled with
opportunistic blood glucose screening. A total of 76,645 individuals underwent blood glucose screening. We
also set up 176 “PACE Diabetes Education Counters” across Chennai, which were regularly replenished with
educational materials. In addition, we trained 232 general practitioners in diabetology prevention, treatment
and screening for complications. Multiple television and radio shows were given and messages about diabetes
sent as Short Message Service (SMS) through mobile phones. Overall, we estimate that we reached diabetes
prevention messages to nearly two million people in Chennai through the PACE Diabetes Project, making
it one of the largest diabetes awareness and prevention programs ever conducted in India.
Conclusion: Mass awareness and screening programs are feasible and, through community empowerment,
can help in prevention and control of non-commuincable diseases such as diabetes and its complications
on a large scale
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