Suchergebnisse

Examines the role of opinion thresholds, the impact of social groups, & the influence of others' opinions in public opinion expression, testing parts of Michael A. Krassa's (1988 [see abstract 89U4089]) modification of Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's (1974 [see abstract 77I7781]) spiral of silence theory. It is asserted that fear of isolation lowers opinion expression, & perceived dominance of opinion & fear of isolation are greater when individuals are confronted by a close reference group. Self-administered questionnaire data were obtained in 1993 from 882 Canadian adults living in or near national parks regarding endemic environmental issues. Findings supported the notion that perceived opinion dominance significantly predicted opinion expression, but only in relation to a generalized reference group. Fear of isolation significantly predicted opinion expression with respect to both generalized & specific reference groups. Results on opinion intensity & its interaction with opinion dominance & fear of isolation are discussed. 5 Tables, 2 Figures, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.

This study focused on the reasoning process through which people decided whether to support President Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair, and the role of the media in that reasoning process. Content analyses of network news showed that the media framed the Iran-Contra affair, with a high level of salience, as a valence issue (the Reagan administration's complicity in the secret dealing) rather than a position issue (the affair's international policy dimension). Path analyses of the national survey data supported the hypothesized differences in the reasoning processes based on the levels of political sophistication: Highly sophisticated people demonstrated a higher level of complexity and consistency in their reasoning process, considering more factors than less sophisticated people. The data also supported the hypothesized framing effects of the media.

This study focused on the roles that community integration and community-boundedness (the relevance of a topic for a specific community) play on knowledge gaps. Given the extensive evidence linking media exposure with community ties, the authors hypothesized that ties with the local community could potentially mitigate local public affairs knowledge gaps. They also examined if the relevance of a topic to a subgroup would lead to lower knowledge gaps. A survey of 661 residents of Franklin County, Ohio, showed that whereas community ties were unrelated to knowledge, community-boundedness could be an important determinant of knowledge gaps on local public affairs. Additional analysis of the data also suggests that length of association with the community could be a potentially important contingent condition in the amelioration of knowledge gaps. The authors argue that their findings extend traditional findings of knowledge gaps that apply to geographically defined communities to studying "communities without propinquity."

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the status of community care services regarding traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for older adults and raise awareness on current opinions and services of TKM institutions. Methods: The National Development Institute of Korean Medicine conducted a survey of 16 local governments by sending official letters through an electronic document system from October 2020 to November 2020. The survey items included basic demographic information and information about TKM service. Results: Eleven (68.8%) of the 16 local governments provided TKM home care services. A total of 136 TKM clinics provided home care services for 598 older adults with musculoskeletal disorders. The number of TKM services provided in five or more local governments were cupping 11 (100.0%), acupuncture 11 (100.0%), education and consulting 10 (90.9%), and moxibustion 9 (81.8%). Moreover, pain (recorded on visual analogue scale) and quality of life significantly improved following TKM services (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Covered under medical policy, TKM homecare services could function as a viable alternative for continued medical care disrupted during the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic. In addition, standardisation and legalisation of these services could ensure and improve their efficiency.