The Role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Shaping Identity Threats and Responses

With the rising use of social media, people are increasingly experiencing, and responding to, identity threats online. This sometimes leads to online backlash via “cybermobs” or the creation of online social movements that traverse offline. Prior information systems (IS) research on identity threats and responses largely focuses on information communication technology (ICT) implementations within organizations in an offline context. Therefore, we lack understanding of ICT-mediated identity threats and responses and ways to promote healthier and productive interactions online. This two-essay dissertation seeks to fill this gap. Essay 1 combines a review of ICT-mediated identity threats with a qualitative study (based on interviews) to examine: (a) the types of identity threats that ICT enables; and (b) the nature of effects of ICT on identity threats. Essay 2 is a mixed-methods study that investigates how the identity threat and response process (ITARP) can evolve when mediated by ICT. The study is based on event sequence analysis of ICT-mediated ITARP in 50 viral stories where identity threats were triggered online, supplemented by interview data from individuals involved in some of the stories. Results suggest four distinct patterns of ICT-mediated identity threats and responses. Cumulatively, the results from the two essays highlight the role of digital media in influencing both ICT-mediated identity threats as well as the process of identity threat and response

The Impact of Digital Citizenship on Gendered Cyberbullying

The Internet\u27s ubiquity and accessibility have opened up possibilities for limitless user interaction and collaboration; however, it has also expanded the likelihood for negative online behaviors, including cyberbullying and online harassment. Cyberbullying manifests as gendered and non-gendered behaviors. This research seeks to center on this notion of gendered and non-gendered cyberbullying and offer digital citizenship as a mechanism to mitigate the negative behaviors. We draw on social Learning theory (SLT) and a set of two complementary theories: the online disinhibition effect and Bandura et al.\u27s theory of moral disengagement to explore digital citizenship and its impact on gendered and non-gendered cyberbullying. We examine the role of digital citizenship as a behavior modification for non-gendered and gendered cyberbullying. This research-in-progress is proposed to enhance our understanding of how digital citizenship can play a role in gendered and non-gendered cyberbullying behaviors

DIGITAL CITIZENS AND CYBERBULLYING: DOES GENDER MATTER?

Digital citizenship is a term used to refer to opportunities that encourage online participation and civic engagement. In that regard, digital citizens are individuals who use the Internet regularly and effectively and espouse norms that reflect responsible and appropriate behavior; and further demonstrate their citizenship through online participation and online civic engagement. However, despite the importance of promoting socially responsible citizenship in the Internet age, there has been an upsurge of negative online behaviors, including cyberbullying and online harassment. While extant literature on digital citizenship has, for the most part, focused on education practices and the measures of digital citizenship. A majority of the research has linked cyberbullying and negative online behaviors to online learning and participation in the context of young people and K-12 students. However, little is known about the implications of digital citizenship on negative online behaviors, specifically cyberbullying and online harassment in higher education settings, gender differences, and on society as a whole. This study examines these relationships, and future research will explore the role of espoused cultural norms

From the Internet to Action: Women’s Activism in a Digital World

Social media often fosters a toxic, harmful online environment for individuals, particularly women. Paradoxically, features of social media also afford behaviors that further social causes such as women’s advancement, as demonstrated by campaigns such as #MeToo. However, not all such campaigns translate from online popularity to realworld impact. Using a mixed-methods approach, we will draw from feminist theory and the concept of intersectionality and leverage the social media affordances lens to develop an integrated theoretical framework that explains women’s digital movements that have tangible real-world outcomes. We will test the model by collecting and analyzing actual social media behavior and social movement media reports. This work answers calls in the literature to incorporate new methods in social media affordances and increase interdisciplinary research to address social justice research questions. For practice, our research seeks to contribute to the women’s movements by providing an understanding of how social media use can impact social movement success

Snoezelen Stimulation Intervention In Nursing Homes for Persons Suffering from Dementia

The purpose of this study was to analyze research studies on the effects of snoezelen intervention in dementia residents in nursing homes ranging from mild to severe stages of dementia. The research question was: How can snoezelen intervention positively affect dementia residents in nursing care? Qualitative study and content analysis were the methods used for analysis which contains thirteen scientific researched articles which helped to answer the research question posed by the study. Previous researched articles of relevance to effectiveness, acceptability and ethical issue were sought. The findings were presented through six categories of positive effects on communication, well being, reminiscence, behavior, relaxation and environment which demonstrated positive effects of snoezelen intervention in dementia care. It can be concluded that snoezelen intervention has demonstrated positive effects on dementia residents residing in nursing homes and this improves their quality of life. This study was guided by Kitwood work on dementia care which emphasis on person-centered care which is unique needs of resident care. The study assumes that even dementia residents in severe stage can still enjoy the remaining part of life. Future research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of snoezelen at an individual level, to find out whether some residents benefit more from the snoezelen intervention than others.Sammandrag: Syftet med denna studie var att analysera studier om effekterna av snoezelen intervention vid demens boende på sjukhem, från lätt till svår stadier av demens. Forskningen Frågan var: Hur kan snoezelen ingripande positivt påverka demens boende i omvårdnaden? Kvalitativ studie och innehållsanalys var de metoder som används för analys som innehåller tretton vetenskapliga artiklar forskat som bidrog till att besvara frågeställningen ställts av studien. Tidigare forskade artiklar av relevans för effektivitet, acceptans och etiska frågan söktes. Resultaten presenterades genom sex kategorier av positiva effekter på kommunikation, välfärd, reminiscens, beteende, avkoppling och miljö som visade positiva effekter av snoezelen ingripande i demensvården. Det kan konstateras att snoezelen intervention har visat positiva effekter på demens boende bosatta på sjukhem och detta förbättrar deras livskvalitet. Denna studie styrdes av Kitwood arbete på demensvård som betoning på person-centrerad vård som är unika behov av inhemska vård. Studien förutsätter att även demens boende i allvarligt stadium fortfarande kan njuta av den återstående delen av livet. Framtida forskning behövs för att undersöka effektiviteten i snoezelen på en individuell nivå, för att utröna om vissa invånare dra mer nytta av snoezelen ingripande än andra

Application of Discrete Event Simulation in Industrial Sectors: A Case Study

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has become a useful tool in the evaluation of changes that may bring positivity to manufacturing and process organizations for both goods and services provision. The main focus of any business entails the reduction of cost and lead time while increasing profits and this is why refining of production processes is essential. This paper reports the application of DES in two case studies. The case studies selected for the implementation of Discrete Event Simulation are a packaging company and a local mobile phone service provider using the software FlexSim. The implementation aims at showcasing the versatility and its ability to provide the relevant data to make more informed decision while optimizing the entire processes involved in production

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breastfed infants at a tertiary healthcare facility in Nairobi, Kenya

Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in exclusively breastfed infants at the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi, Kenya (AKUHN). The relationships between 25-hydroxyvitamin D; 25OHD, parathyroid hormone (PTH), maternal vitamin D supplementation, and sunlight exposure were also determined. Subjects and methods: Blood from 98 infants was assayed for 25OHD, calcium, phosphate, and PTH. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis (p \u3c 0.05). Results: The prevalence of VDD (25OHD \u3c12 ng/mL), vitamin D insufficiency (VDI, 25OHD 12-20 ng/mL) and vitamin D sufficiency (VDS, 25OHD \u3e20 ng/mL) was 11.2% (95% CI 8.0%-14.4%), 12.2% (95% CI 8.9%-15.5%), and 76.5% (95% CI 72.3%-80.8%) respectively. There was no difference in the mean age, head circumference, length, or weight of infants in VDD, VDI, and VDS groups. PTH was elevated when 25OHD was \u3c12 ng/mL and normal when 25OHD was between 12-20 ng/mL. 25OHD and PTH were normal in infants whose mothers received vitamin D supplements. Infants who received \u3c30 minutes/day of exposure to sunlight were 5 times more likely to have VDI than infants who received ≥30 minutes/day (p = 0.042). Conclusions: The prevalence of VDD in exclusively breastfed infants at AKUHN is low. The current national policy that recommends exclusive breastfeeding of infants in the first 6 months of life appears to be effective in staving off vitamin D deficiency but those infants with \u3c 30 minutes sunlight exposure may benefit from low dose supplemental vitamin D during times of low sunlight exposure

Influence of Organizational Demographics on the Relationship between Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction in the Soft Drink Industry in Nairobi Kenya

The objective of this study was to establish the influence of organizational demographics and Customer perception on the relationship between green marketing practices and Customer Satisfaction in the soft drink industry in Kenya. The specific objective was to establish the relationship between green marketing practices and Customer satisfaction in the Soft Drink industry in Nairobi Kenya. This study was anchored on consumer behavior theory and was guided by positivistic philosophy. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design to establish the influence of organizational demographics and customer perception on the relationship between green marketing practices and customer Satisfaction in the soft drink industry in Kenya. The study targeted a sample of 180 trade customers and 162 soft drink firms but, the researcher managed to successfully collect data from 130 of the trade customers and 102 soft drink firms. Since Cronbach’s Alpha is the most commonly used measure of co-efficient of internal consistency, the study adopted the same. Descriptive statistics (mean scores and measures of dispersion) and inferential statistics (correlation, analysis of variance and regression analysis) was conducted to determine the expected relationships between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. The change in R2 due to the interaction term was 0.014 (0.396 - 0.382) and the interaction term was statistically significant (p < 0.05) and therefore the study accept hypothesis H2 that organizational demographics had a statistically significant moderating effect on the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. Based on the overall study results obtained from the tests of the study hypotheses, it is concluded that organizational demographics had a statistically significant moderating effect on the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction

Relationship Between Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction in the Soft Drink Industry in Nairobi Kenya

The broad objective of the study was to establish the influence of green marketing practices and Customer Satisfaction in the soft drink industry in Kenya. The specific objective was to establish the relationship between green marketing practices and Customer satisfaction in the Soft Drink industry in Nairobi Kenya. This study was anchored on consumer behavior theory and was guided by positivistic philosophy. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design to determine how green marketing practices affect customer satisfaction in soft drink companies in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study targeted a sample of 180 trade customers and 162 soft drink firms but, the researcher managed to successfully collect data from 130 of the trade customers and 102 soft drink firms. Since Cronbach’s Alpha is the most commonly used measure of co-efficient of internal consistency, the study adopted the same. Descriptive statistics (mean scores and measures of dispersion) and inferential statistics (correlation, analysis of variance and regression analysis) was conducted to determine the expected relationships between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. The study results revealed a statistically significant positive linear relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction (β= .389, p-value = 0.002). The relationship was statistically significant because the p-value is less than the set value of 0.05 (p – value = 0.002). The regression results also showed that green marketing practices had explanatory power on customer satisfaction in the soft drink industry in Nairobi Kenya in that it accounted for 22.3 percent of its variability (R square = 0.223). Based on the overall study results obtained from the tests of the study hypotheses, it is concluded that there was a relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction in the soft drink industry in Nairobi Kenya

Developing and testing a clinical care bundle incorporating caffeine citrate to manage apnoea of prematurity in a resource-constrained setting: a mixed methods clinical feasibility study protocol

Background Apnoea of prematurity (AOP) is a common condition among preterm infants. Methylxanthines, such as cafeine and aminophylline/theophylline, can help prevent and treat AOP. Due to its physiological benefts and fewer side efects, cafeine citrate is recommended for the prevention and treatment of AOP. However, cafeine citrate is not available in most resource-constrained settings (RCS) due to its high cost. Challenges in RCS using caffeine citrate to prevent AOP include identifying eligible preterm infants where gestational age is not always known and the capability for continuous monitoring of vital signs to readily identify apnoea. We aim to develop an evidencebased care bundle that includes cafeine citrate to prevent and manage AOP in tertiary healthcare facilities in Kenya. Methods This protocol details a prospective mixed-methods clinical feasibility study on using cafeine citrate to manage apnoea of prematurity in a single facility tertiary-care newborn unit (NBU) in Nairobi, Kenya. This study will include a 4-month formative research phase followed by the development of an AOP clinical-care-bundle prototype over 2 months. In the subsequent 4 months, implementation and improvement of the clinical-care-bundle prototype will be undertaken. The baseline data will provide contextualised insights on care practices within the NBU that will inform the development of a context-sensitive AOP clinical-care-bundle prototype. The clinical care bundle will be tested and refned further during an implementation phase of the quality improvement initiative using a PDSA framework underpinned by quantitative and qualitative clinical audits and stakeholders’ engagement. The quantitative component will include all neonates born at gestation age\u3c34 weeks and any neonate prescribed aminophylline or cafeine citrate admitted to the NBU during the study period. Discussion There is a need to develop evidence-based and context-sensitive clinical practice guidelines to standardise and improve the management of AOP in RCS. Concerns requiring resolution in implementing such guidelines include diagnosis of apnoea, optimal timing, dosing and administration of cafeine citrate, standardisation of monitoring devices and alarm limits, and discharge protocols. We aim to provide a feasible standardised clinical care bundle for managing AOP in low and middle-income setting