Talking About Genetically Modified (GM) Foods in South Korea: The Role of the Internet in the Spiral of Silence Process

Using the issue of genetically modified foods, this study examines how the Internet may affect the spiral of silence phenomenon in South Korea. More specifically, we explore whether the Internet has created a social environment, where people can exchange opinions more freely without being fearful of social isolation. Analyzing data from an online survey, we first examine whether the Internet can play a role as a source of information, from which people assess the climates of public opinion. Also examined is whether the opinions of netizens can comprise another form of opinion climate, exerting pressure on one's willingness to speak out. Finally, we explore whether expressing an opinion on the Internet is subject to the pressure of opinion climates. Findings suggest that the Internet may play an important role in shaping people's perceptions of opinion climates. Perceived opinion congruence with other people were significantly associated with one's willingness to participate in an online forum, indicating that expressing an opinion on the Internet may be subject to the spiral of silence effect. We conclude that the Internet in South Korea may not have helped to diminish the social pressure that keeps citizens from expressing a minority view.     

Cognitive and emotional dimensions of perceived risk characteristics,genre-specific media effects,and risk perceptions: the case of H1N1 influenza in South Korea

This study explicates the mechanism underlying the process through which news and entertainment media shape people's personal- and societal-level risk perceptions. It combines the psychometric paradigm with the impersonal- and differential-impact hypotheses, highlighting the roles that cognitive and emotional dimensions of risk characteristics play in risk perceptions. Analysis of an online survey among 384 adults from the general population of South Korea in the context of H1N1 flu yields three major findings: (1) exposure to news media is positively correlated with the cognitive dimension of risk characteristics, while exposure to entertainment media is positively correlated with both the cognitive and the emotional dimensions of risk characteristics; (2) the emotional but not the cognitive dimension of risk characteristics is positively related to both personal- and societal-level risk perceptions; and (3) exposure to entertainment media affects personal-level risk perceptions – not directly but indirectly through the emotional dimension of risk characteristics. Theoretically, this study expands the impersonal- and differential-impact hypotheses by explicating their underlying mechanisms and incorporating arguments from the psychometric paradigm. It also adds new knowledge to the psychometric paradigm by highlighting the differential roles of the cognitive and emotional dimensions of people's perceived risk characteristics in risk perceptions. For risk communicators, this study highlights the importance of using entertainment media for shaping risk perceptions and educating the public about risk issues.     

A man is known by the company he keeps?: A structural relationship between backward citation and forward citation of patents

Inventing is a recombinant process that involves searching and recombining different streams of knowledge. The value of invention is associated with not only how many prior inventions are considered, but also how they are related to each other. We introduce social network analysis broadly used in the social capital theory, and extend the dimension of analysis for the evaluation of patent value. This study employs U.S. pharmaceutical patent data and investigates whether the network characteristic of backward citations have significant effect on the future patent value. The empirical results suggest that the network features of backward citations measured by constraint, cohesion, and efficiency have statistically significant implication on the value of invention in both level and depreciation rate. The study also provides empirical evidence that the exploration strategy is more significantly and positively correlated with the future value of invention compared to the exploitation strategy of inventors.     

Distinct Profiles of Relationships With Mothers,Fathers, and Best Friends and Social-Behavioral Functioning in Early Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Study

Adolescents’ dyadic relationships are likely influenced by the cultural context within which they exist. This study applied a person-oriented approach to examine how perceived support and negativity were manifested across youths’ relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends, simultaneously, and how distinct relationship profiles were linked to adaptive and maladaptive functioning (aggression, anxious-withdrawal, prosociality) within and across cultures. Participants resided in metropolitan areas of South Korea, the United States, and Portugal (10–14 years; N = 1,233). Latent profile analyses identified relationship profiles that were culturally common or specific. Additional findings highlighted commonality in the relations between a high-quality relationship profile and adaptive functioning, as well as cultural specificity in the buffering and differential effects of distinct relationship profiles on social-behavioral outcomes.     

Quantifying Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity in High School Physical Education: A Pedometer Steps/Minute Standard

The primary objective of this research was to quantify the recommended minimum level (i.e., 50% of the class time) of moderate to vigorous physical activity within high school physical education via pedometry steps/min. A secondary objective was to explore the influence of lesson duration (i.e., traditional vs. block schedules) on quantifying moderate to vigorous physical activity via steps/min. Data (N = 218) were collected from 27 physical education classes taught by 10 certified physical educators in 6 schools. Physical activity measures were steps/min, percent of time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (%MVPA), and time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPAtime, min.). Steps/min and %MVPA were strongly associated for all data and traditional and block schedules (r ≥ .94, p ≤ .01). Diagnostic statistics suggest that steps/min accurately discriminates between achievement and non-achievement of the 50% moderate to vigorous physical activity criterion. A steps/min interval of 82 to 83 was the most accurate indicator of the 50% criterion for all data. Steps/min and MVPAtime were strongly associated for traditional and block schedules independently (r ≥ .93, p ≤ .01) but not for all data combined (r ≥ .64, p ≤ .01). In conclusion, steps/min accurately quantifies the 50% moderate to vigorous physical activity criterion in high school physical education, and it is recommended as a physical education physical activity surveillance measure.     

Health answer quality evaluation by librarians,nurses, and users in social Q&A

Health information consumers and patients increasingly take an active role in seeking health information online and in sharing their health problems and concerns in online support groups and social media venues. However, they may risk being influenced by unreliable and misleading information in such environments, as no intermediaries monitor the quality of this information. This study focuses on evaluating the quality of health information exchanged in one of the social media venues, by investigating how librarians, nurses, and users assessed the quality of health answers in Yahoo! Answers, a social question-and-answering (Q&A) service. Through statistical analysis differences among the three participant groups, how the background characteristics influenced their assessments, and the relationships between characteristics of the content of answers and quality evaluation criteria were each considered in detail. Librarians and nurses shared similar ratings of answer quality, but had differences in their level of medical knowledge and the types of services they offer, resulting in minor differences across criteria. Users perceived the quality of health answers in social Q&A to be higher than librarians and nurses for almost all criteria. Depending on the sources of information presented in health answers, librarians, nurses, and users gave different quality assessments. Implications exist for research into and practice of evaluating the quality of health information, which need to address both search and domain expertise along with the sharing of socioemotional values preferred by users.     

Factors affecting achievement in a satellite‐delivered Japanese language program

Abstract

This article reviews previous research and reports on a study relating to six factors relevant to achievement in learning a new language: motivation, language learning styles, language learning strategies, gender, course level, and previous experience in learning a foreign language. Although motivation, learning styles, gender, and learning strategy use were all found to be influential, motivation was the single most important predictor of success. The authors suggest that awareness and understanding of the influence and interaction of student characteristics on achievement will allow instructors to provide optimal learning opportunities for all students.