Online Communities in Saudi Arabia: an ethnographic study

This paper presents part of a research project about online communities in Saudi Arabia. The paper will address one of the research sub-questions, that is: What are the key features of participation in online communities in Saudi Arabia? The results presented in this paper are drawn from one of the techniques of data collection used in this research, that is, silent observation, which was conducted over a one-year period. In addition, the paper will discuss briefly the research design, including the research procedures. In its final section, some of the findings from this part of the project are presented

Technology and Australia's Future: New technologies and their role in Australia's security, cultural, democratic, social and economic systems

Chapter 1. Introducing technology -- Chapter 2. The shaping of technology -- Chapter 3. Prediction of future technologies -- Chapter 4. The impacts of technology -- Chapter 5. Meanings, attitudes and behaviour -- Chapter 6. Evaluation -- Chapter 7. Intervention -- Conclusion - adapt or wither.This report was commisioned by Australian Council of Learned Academies

Doing Ethnography From Within a Constructivist Paradigm to Explore Virtual Communities in Saudi Arabia

Większość badań w ramach współczesnej literatury skupia się na użytej przez badacza metodzie, ale nie na filozofii, która za nią stoi. W artykule tym opisujemy badanie etnograficzne, prowadzone w duchu paradygmatu konstruktywistycznego, którego celem było eksplorowanie zjawiska uczestnictwa w wirtualnych społecznościach w Arabii Saudyjskiej. Przedstawiamy, jak zostały wykorzystane określone techniki etnografii – obserwacja niejawna i uczestnictwo. Dowodzimy, że ten sposób prowadzenia etnografii pozwolił na umiejscowienie rezultatów badania w ramach społecznego i kulturowego kontekstu społeczeństwa saudyjskiego. W artykule, zilustrowanym wstępnymi wynikami, konkludujemy, że roczna obserwacja ukryta i ośmiomiesięczne uczestniczenie w dwóch różnych, lecz podobnych wirtualnych społecznościach dostarczyły wniosków, które można uznać za głębokie, znaczące i bogate w opisie.Most of the studies in the recent literature focus on the method used but not the philosophy behind it. This article focuses on doing ethnography, from within a constructivist paradigm, to explore individuals’ participation in virtual communities in Saudi Arabia. An aim of this article is to highlight how particular ethnographic techniques, viz unobtrusive observation and participation, were used in that study. The article argues that doing ethnography in this way allowed for placing the results within the social and cultural context of Saudi society. The article, which includes a sample of the findings from the two techniques involved for illustration, concludes that the one-year unobtrusive observation and the eight months’ participation in two different but similar virtual communities, during the period 2001-2002, have produced findings that are deep, meaningful and rich in descriptio

Building a User Sensitive Intelligent Portal to Breast Cancer Knowledge To Meet Diverse Information Needs

The Internet provides access to a plethora of information, with health information being no exception. Portals for guiding users seeking health knowledge are proliferating. A major challenge in their development is filtering the information available in a user-sensitive way. The Breast Cancer Knowledge Online (BCKOnline) project addresses the challenge of meeting the diverse information needs of women with breast cancer and their families through the provision of timely, relevant and reliable information to support decision-making. This paper focuses on how the outcomes of user needs analysis and user-aware resource description will feed into building an intelligent portal prototype to breast cancer knowledge

19F NMR spectroscopy monitors ligand binding to recombinantly fluorine-labelled b'x from human protein disulphide isomerase (hPDI)

We report a protein-observe (19)F NMR-based ligand titration binding study of human PDI b'x with ?-somatostatin that also emphasises the need to optimise recombinant protein fluorination when using 5- or 6-fluoroindole. This study highlights a recombinant preference for 5-fluoroindole over 6-fluoroindole; most likely due to the influence of fluorine atomic packing within the folded protein structure. Fluorination affords a single (19)F resonance probe to follow displacement of the protein x-linker as ligand is titrated and provides a dissociation constant of 23 ± 4 ?M

To choose or not to choose: exploring Australians` views about internet banking

This paper explores Australian domestic customers\u27 choices with regard to Internet banking, examining why it is taken up by some Australians and not others. The constructivist conceptual framework and the grounded nature of the method enabled in-depth exploration of key issues not undertaken before by the mainly positivist studies. The purposeful sample of 32 participants was selected to represent the major categories of people relevant to the research. Everett Rogers\u27 famous analysis of \u27diffusion of innovations\u27 was one theoretical framework used to illuminate the findings; the other was digital divide factors in relation to banking choices. The findings include 1) that the major motivation for people to adopt Internet banking is convenience, closely linked to time savings and ease of accessibility, as well as confidence and skill in Internet use; and 2) that, at the time of the study, digital divide factors were playing an important part in banking choices.<br /

Systematic review of the agreement of tonometers with goldmann applanation tonometry

This review was part of the Surveillance for Ocular Hypertension study funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (Project No. 07/46/02). J.C. held a Medical Research Council UK fellowship (G0601938). AA-B was a grantholder on an AstraZeneca (London, UK) funded study of a new medication for glaucoma. The Health Services Research Unit receives core funding from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chief Scientist Office, National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme, or the Department of Health. None of the funders had a role in the design or conduct of this researchPeer reviewedPostprin

Evaluating the efficacy of a social media-based intervention (Warna-Warni Waktu) to improve body image among young Indonesian women: Parallel randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Body dissatisfaction is a global issue, particularly among adolescent girls and young women. Effective body image interventions exist but face barriers to scaling up, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries, such as Indonesia, where a need exists. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the acceptability and efficacy of Warna-Warni Waktu, a social media-based, fictional 6-episode video series with self-guided web-based activities for improving body image among young Indonesian adolescent girls and young women. We hypothesized that Warna-Warni Waktu would increase trait body satisfaction and mood and decrease internalization of appearance ideals and skin shade dissatisfaction relative to the waitlist control condition. We also anticipated improvements in state body satisfaction and mood immediately following each video. METHODS: We conducted a web-based, 2-arm randomized controlled trial among 2000 adolescent girls and young women, aged 15 to 19 years, recruited via telephone by an Indonesian research agency. Block randomization (1:1 allocation) was performed. Participants and researchers were not concealed from the randomized arm. Participants completed self-report assessments of trait body satisfaction (primary outcome) and the internalization of appearance ideals, mood, and skin shade dissatisfaction at baseline (before randomization), time 2 (1 day after the intervention [T2]), and time 3 (1 month after the intervention [T3]). Participants also completed state body satisfaction and mood measures immediately before and after each video. Data were evaluated using linear mixed models with an intent-to-treat analysis. Intervention adherence was tracked. Acceptability data were collected. RESULTS: There were 1847 participants. Relative to the control condition (n=923), the intervention group (n=924) showed reduced internalization of appearance ideals at T2 (F1,1758=40.56, P<.001, partial η2=0.022) and T3 (F1,1782=54.03, P<.001, partial η2=0.03) and reduced skin shade dissatisfaction at T2 (F1,1744=8.05, P=.005, partial η2=0.005). Trait body satisfaction improvements occurred in the intervention group at T3 (F1, 1781=9.02, P=.005, partial η2=0.005), which was completely mediated by the internalization change scores between baseline and T2 (indirect effect: β=.03, 95% CI 0.017-0.041; direct effect: β=.03, P=.13), consistent with the Tripartite Influence Model of body dissatisfaction. Trait mood showed no significant effects. Dependent sample t tests (2-tailed) found each video improved state body satisfaction and mood. Cumulative analyses found significant and progressive improvements in pre- and poststate body satisfaction and mood. Intervention adherence was good; participants watched an average of 5.2 (SD 1.66) videos. Acceptability scores were high for understandability, enjoyment, age appropriateness, usefulness, and likelihood to recommend. CONCLUSIONS: Warna-Warni Waktu is an effective eHealth intervention to reduce body dissatisfaction among Indonesian adolescent girls and young women. Although the effects were small, Warna-Warni Waktu is a scalable, cost-effective alternative to more intense interventions. Initially, dissemination through paid social media advertising will reach thousands of young Indonesian women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05383807, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05383807 ; ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN35483207, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN35483207. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/33596

A novel, scalable social media-based intervention Warna-Warni Waktu to reduce body dissatisfaction among young Indonesian women: Protocol for a parallel randomized controlled trial

Background: Despite the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among young Indonesian women and its consequential negative impacts, there are currently no evidence-based, culturally appropriate interventions to tackle this issue. Therefore, there is a need to develop scalable, cost-effective, and accessible interventions to improve body image among this population. Objective: This paper describes the study protocol of a parallel randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Warna-Warni Waktu, a social media–based intervention that aims to reduce state and trait body dissatisfaction and improve mood among young Indonesian women aged 15-19 years. Methods: The trial will take place online. Approximately 1800 young women from 10 cities in Indonesia, evenly split across the ages of 15-19 years, will be recruited via a local research agency’s established research panel. Participants will be randomly allocated to the intervention condition or a waitlist control condition. The intervention consists of six 5-minute videos, with each video supplemented with up to five brief interactive activities. The videos (and associated activities) will be delivered at a rate of one per day across 6 days. All participants will complete three self-report assessments: at baseline (Day 1), 1 day following the intervention (Day 9), and 1 month following the intervention (Day 36). The primary outcome will be change in trait body dissatisfaction. Secondary outcomes include change in internalization of appearance ideals, trait mood, and skin shade satisfaction. Intervention effectiveness on these outcomes will be analyzed using linear mixed models by a statistician blinded to the randomized condition. Intervention participants will also complete state measures of body satisfaction and mood before and after watching each video to assess the immediate impact of each video. This secondary analysis of state measures will be conducted at the within-group level. Results: Recruitment began in October 2021, with baseline assessments underway shortly thereafter. The results of the study will be submitted for publication in 2022. Conclusions: This is the first study to evaluate an eHealth intervention aimed at reducing body dissatisfaction among young Indonesian women. If effective, the intervention will be disseminated to over half a million young women in Indonesia via Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05023213; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05023213 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/33596

Field realistic doses of pesticide imidacloprid reduce bumblebee pollen foraging efficiency

Bumblebees and other pollinators provide a vital ecosystem service for the agricultural sector. Recent studies however have suggested that exposure to systemic neonicotinoid insecticides in flowering crops has sub-lethal effects on the bumblebee workforce, and hence in reducing queen production. The mechanism behind reduced nest performance, however, remains unclear. Here we use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to test whether exposure to a low, field realistic dose (0.7 ppb in sugar water and 6 ppb in pollen) of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, reduces worker foraging efficiency. Whilst the nectar foraging efficiency of bees treated with imidacloprid was not significantly different than that of control bees, treated bees brought back pollen less often than control bees (40 % of trips vs 63 % trips, respectively) and, where pollen was collected, treated bees brought back 31 % less pollen per hour than controls. This study demonstrates that field-realistic doses of these pesticides substantially impacts on foraging ability of bumblebee workers when collecting pollen, and we suggest that this provides a causal mechanism behind reduced queen production in imidacloprid exposed colonies