Voice and identity in the autistic space of the blogosphere

The goal of this study is to explore how autistic identity is constructed through blogs, and, more broadly, to show how communication theory can provide new ways of looking at the communication behaviors of autistic persons in the autistic space of the blogosphere. This study was guided by the following three questions: (1) How do autistic people structure their identity as bloggers and how do they negotiate their identity through their blogs? (2) What does autistic identity mean to bloggers? (3) What are the underlying constructs of autistic identity? To address these questions, a grounded theory approach was applied to organize the main data collection, which included intensive face-to-face interviews, email interviews with bloggers and textual analysis of 2,873 blog posts with more than 10,000 pages of blog pages from 16 blogs authored by bloggers in Australia, Israel, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Three main autistic-identity constructs emerged from the data: autism diagnosis, autistic agency and normality. Normality was found to be at the heart of a dialectic negotiation with the social world: rejection of the neurotypical perception of normality and adoption of autistic identity as identity of difference. Autistic diagnosis was found to be a formative construct for autistic identity. Autistic agency was found to be at the core of autistic identity, while self-stimulation-related behaviors were found to be at the core of the perception of autistic identity. Overall, the study’s findings demonstrate that the Internet has revolutionized the ability of autistic persons to communicate, create communities, promote social change through activism and communicate with the non-autistic world. In particular, the Internet has played a crucial role in the emergence of an international autistic community as well as the shaping of autistic identity at both the community and individual level. The personal space of the blog provides an arena in which autistic persons can explore their autistic selves and negotiate their identity with followers and the social world. Blogs create a safe space in which autistic persons can redefine themselves using their own voice and construct an identity as an individual and member of a community. In this light, the Internet and blogging in particular are radically reshaping contemporary thinking about autism, moving away from the biomedical conceptualization of autism as "deficiency" or "deficit" toward a socio-cultural view of autism as a manifestation of neurodiversity. The study offers several contributions to our evolving understanding of autistic identity. First, this is one of the first studies to explore autistic identity in the blogosphere, as previous communication studies focused on community platforms such as forums, chatrooms and community websites. Second, ground in communication theory, and in particular the work of Manuel Castells and James Carey, this study provides a conceptual framework that helps explain the roles the Internet and social media play in evolutions of autistic identity. Finally, the study demonstrates that communication approaches provide an important basis for investigating identity negotiation processes with the social world through blogging.​Doctor of Philosophy (WKWSCI

Examining organizational, cultural, and individual-level factors related to workplace safety and health: a systematic review and metric analysis

One major gap in existing health communication research is that few studies have synthesized findings from the literature to map out what are the key factors related to workplace (a) safety awareness, (b) safety risks, (c) health awareness, and (d) health risks. This study bridges the gap by systematically reviewing what these organizational, cultural, and individual-level factors are, and examine the impact of workplace safety and health publications using traditional and alternative metrics in academic and non-academic settings. Through an iterative process of coding, the results revealed six categories of organizational (management commitment, management support, organizational safety communication, safety management systems, physical work environment, and organizational environment), two cultural (interpersonal support and organizational culture), and four individual-level (perception, motivation, attitude, and behavior) factors. In terms of impact, articles that were most impactful in academia (e.g., high citation count) may not necessarily receive the same amount of online attention from the public. Theoretical and practical implications for health communication were discussed.Ministry of ManpowerThis research project was funded by the Workplace Safety and Health Institute, Occupational Safety and Health Division, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore and supported by the Workplace Safety and Health Council, Singapore

Development, design, and conceptual issues of project zero exposure: A program to protect young children from tobacco smoke exposure

Abstract Background Tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) is a serious threat to child health. Roughly 40% of children worldwide are exposed to tobacco smoke, and the very young are often "captive smokers" in homes in which others smoke. The goal of this research project is to develop and evaluate an intervention to reduce young child tobacco smoke exposure. The objective of this paper is to document our approach to building the intervention, to describe the planned intervention, and to explore the conceptual issues regarding the intervention and its evaluation. Methods/Design This project is being developed using an iterative approach. We are currently in the middle of Stage 1. In this first stage, Intervention Development, we have already conducted a comprehensive search of the professional literature and internet resources, consulted with experts in the field, and conducted several Design Workshops. The planned intervention consists of parental group support therapy, a website to allow use of an "online/offline" approach, involvement of pediatricians, use of a video simulation game ("Dr. Cruz") to teach parents about child TSE, and personalized biochemical feedback on exposure levels. As part of this stage we will draw on a social marketing approach. We plan to use in-depth interviews and focus groups in order to identify barriers for behavior change, and to test the acceptability of program components. In Stage II, we plan to pilot the planned intervention with 5-10 groups of 10 parents each. In Stage III, we plan to implement and evaluate the intervention using a cluster randomized controlled trial with an estimated 540 participants. Discussion The major challenges in this research are twofold: building an effective intervention and measuring the effects of the intervention. Creation of an effective intervention to protect children from TSE is a challenging but sorely needed public health endeavor. We hope that our approach will contribute to building a stronger evidence base for control of child exposure to tobacco smoke. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01335178</p

Development, design, and conceptual issues of project zero exposure: A program to protect young children from tobacco smoke exposure

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) is a serious threat to child health. Roughly 40% of children worldwide are exposed to tobacco smoke, and the very young are often "captive smokers" in homes in which others smoke. The goal of this research project is to develop and evaluate an intervention to reduce young child tobacco smoke exposure. The objective of this paper is to document our approach to building the intervention, to describe the planned intervention, and to explore the conceptual issues regarding the intervention and its evaluation. METHODS/DESIGN: This project is being developed using an iterative approach. We are currently in the middle of Stage 1. In this first stage, Intervention Development, we have already conducted a comprehensive search of the professional literature and internet resources, consulted with experts in the field, and conducted several Design Workshops. The planned intervention consists of parental group support therapy, a website to allow use of an "online/offline" approach, involvement of pediatricians, use of a video simulation game ("Dr. Cruz") to teach parents about child TSE, and personalized biochemical feedback on exposure levels. As part of this stage we will draw on a social marketing approach. We plan to use in-depth interviews and focus groups in order to identify barriers for behavior change, and to test the acceptability of program components. In Stage II, we plan to pilot the planned intervention with 5-10 groups of 10 parents each. In Stage III, we plan to implement and evaluate the intervention using a cluster randomized controlled trial with an estimated 540 participants. DISCUSSION: The major challenges in this research are twofold: building an effective intervention and measuring the effects of the intervention. Creation of an effective intervention to protect children from TSE is a challenging but sorely needed public health endeavor. We hope that our approach will contribute to building a stronger evidence base for control of child exposure to tobacco smoke. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0133517