The Continuous Improvement Cultural Responsiveness Tools (CICRT) : creating more culturally responsive social workers
- Authors: Bennett, Bindi , Morse, Claire
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Social Work Vol. 76, no. 3 (2023), p. 315-329
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Social workers play a pivotal role in addressing equity and diversity within Australia using both culturally responsiveness skills and knowledge. This article describes a research project that resulted in the development of the Continuous Improvement Cultural Responsive Tools that can be used by social workers in their practice. This was a large project conducted over three years, which involved engagement and consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community social workers. The community engagement and consultation process included the provision of cultural governance and participation in interviews. The tools developed are linked to seven key domains (Ngurras) that aim to increase the skills, knowledge, and overall confidence of social work practitioners in their culturally responsive practice. This article discusses the tools that provide a clear structure to guide social workers' critical engagement in becoming more culturally responsive social workers and individuals when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. IMPLICATIONS Social work practices need to address the social injustices faced by Aboriginal Peoples by becoming more culturall responsive. The tools were developed to support social workers in their practice to self-assess their transformation in becoming culturally responsive social workers. Continuous improvement in collaborative and culturally responsive social work will improve services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Experiences of pelvic floor dysfunction and treatment in women with breast cancer: a qualitative study
- Authors: Colombage, Udari , Lin, Kuan-Yin , Soh, Sze-Ee , Brennen, Robyn , Frawley, Helena
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 30, no. 10 (2022), p. 8139-8149
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose To explore the experiences of women with breast cancer and pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction and the perceived enablers and barriers to uptake of treatment for PF dysfunction during their recovery. Method Purposive sampling was used to recruit 30 women with a past diagnosis of breast cancer and PF dysfunction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed inductively to identify new concepts in the experiences of PF dysfunction in women with breast cancer and deductively according to the capability, opportunity, motivation and behaviour (COM-B) framework to identify the enablers and barriers to the uptake of treatment for PF dysfunction in women with breast cancer. Results Participants were aged between 31 and 88 years, diagnosed with stages I–IV breast cancer and experienced either urinary incontinence ( n = 24/30, 80%), faecal incontinence ( n = 6/30, 20%) or sexual dysfunction ( n = 20/30, 67%). They were either resigned to or bothered by their PF dysfunction bother was exacerbated by embarrassment from experiencing PF symptoms in public. Barriers to accessing treatment for PF dysfunction included a lack of awareness about PF dysfunction following breast cancer treatments and health care professionals not focussing on the management of PF symptoms during cancer treatment. An enabler was their motivation to resume their normal pre-cancer lives. Conclusion Participants in this study reported that there needs to be more awareness about PF dysfunction in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. They would like to receive information about PF dysfunction prior to starting cancer treatment, be screened for PF dysfunction during cancer treatment and be offered therapies for their PF dysfunction after primary cancer treatment. Therefore, a greater focus on managing PF symptoms by clinicians may be warranted in women with breast cancer.
Optimising social conditions to improve autonomy in communication and care for ethnic minority residents in nursing homes: A meta‐synthesis of qualitative research
- Authors: Xiao, Lily , Chen, Li , Han, Weifeng , Meyer, Claudia , Müller, Amanda , Low, Lee‐Fay , Brijnath, Bianca , Mohammadi, Leila
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nursing Inquiry Vol. 29, no. 3 (2022), p. e12469-n/a
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: A large proportion of nursing home residents in developed countries come from ethnic minority groups. Unmet care needs and poor quality of care for this resident population have been widely reported. This systematic review aimed to explore social conditions affecting ethnic minority residents' ability to exercise their autonomy in communication and care while in nursing homes. In total, 19 studies were included in the review. Findings revealed that ethno‐specific nursing homes create the ideal social condition for residents to express their care needs and preferences in a language of choice. In nonethno‐specific nursing homes, staff cultural competence and nursing home commitment to culturally safe care are crucial social conditions that enable this group of residents to fulfil their autonomy in communicating and in participating in their care. In contrast, social conditions that undermine residents' ability to express their care needs and preferences include low levels of staff cultural awareness and cultural desire, negative attitudes towards residents and limited organisational support for staff to improve culturally responsive and culturally safe care. In conclusion, it is important to optimise the social conditions to support ethnic minority residents to communicate their care needs and preferences.
Viral load monitoring for people living with HIV in the era of test and treat: progress made and challenges ahead – a systematic review
- Authors: Pham, Minh , Nguyen, Huy , Anderson, David , Crowe, Suzanne , Luchters, Stanley
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC public health Vol. 22, no. 1 (2022), p. 1-1203
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract Background In 2016, we conducted a systematic review to assess the feasibility of treatment monitoring for people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), in line with the 90-90-90 treatment target. By 2020, global estimates suggest the 90-90-90 target, particularly the last 90, remains unattainable in many LMICs. This study aims to review the progress and identify needs for public health interventions to improve viral load monitoring and viral suppression for PLHIV in LMICs. Methods A literature search was conducted using an update of the initial search strategy developed for the 2016 review. Electronic databases (Medline and PubMed) were searched to identify relevant literature published in English between Dec 2015 and August 2021. The primary outcome was initial viral load (VL) monitoring (the proportion of PLHIV on ART and eligible for VL monitoring who received a VL test). Secondary outcomes included follow-up VL monitoring (the proportion of PLHIV who received a follow-up VL after an initial elevated VL test), confirmation of treatment failure (the proportion of PLHIV who had two consecutive elevated VL results) and switching treatment regimen rates (the proportion of PLHIV who switched treatment regimen after confirmation of treatment failure). Results The search strategy identified 1984 non-duplicate records, of which 34 studies were included in the review. Marked variations in initial VL monitoring coverage were reported across study settings/countries (range: 12–93% median: 74% IQR: 46–82%) and study populations (adults (range: 25–96%, median: 67% IQR: 50–84%), children, adolescents/young people (range: 2–94%, median: 72% IQR: 47–85%), and pregnant women (range: 32–82%, median: 57% IQR: 43–71%)). Community-based models reported higher VL monitoring (median: 85%, IQR: 82-88%) compared to decentralised care at primary health facility (median: 64%, IRQ: 48-82%). Suboptimal uptake of follow-up VL monitoring and low regimen switching rates were observed. Conclusions Substantial gaps in VL coverage across study settings and study populations were evident, with limited data availability outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Further research is needed to fill the data gaps. Development and implementation of innovative, community-based interventions are required to improve VL monitoring and address the “failure cascade” in PLHIV on ART who fail to achieve viral suppression.
Assessing the labour market response due to COVID-19 border restrictions : a case study of Canterbury, New Zealand
- Authors: David, Dyason , Peter, Fieger , John, Rice
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian journal of regional studies Vol. 27, no. 3 (2021), p. 354-375
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Labour markets respond to supply and demand changes caused by external shocks, including pandemics. In 2020 and 2021, the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a sudden reduction in labour demand in certain industries globally. As economies emerge into the post COVID-19 reality, a return of patterns caused by ongoing structural pressures return. In Canterbury, a region centred on Christchurch in New Zealand, these include migration demand pressures. This paper uses data from the Canterbury region, which is no stranger to disasters, as a case study. Two models are developed to estimate the future workforce requirements during the recovery period. A population growth model is utilised to test the regional labour market's limits, while an economic model estimates the required jobs for the regional economy. The paper finds that the lower economic activity resulting from COVID-19 has reduced the near-term employment demand. At the same time, labour force transition coupled with strict border controls reveals the need for labour force participation to adjust during the extended recovery period. Although short-term demand for skilled migration remains lower, those leaving the workforce will require replacing.
Exploring students' feelings of place
- Authors: Webb, Susan Christine , Knight, Elizabeth , Black, Rosalyn , Roy, Reshmi
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian and International Journal of Rural Education Vol. 31, no. 3 (2021), p. 43-60
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Geographically unequal distribution of opportunities for participation in post-school education particularly affects young people in rural and regional areas of Australia. This study contends that the perception of opportunities by young people from low socio-economic status backgrounds should be considered alongside the distribution of opportunities, in order to understand how place and social mobility are intertwined in the reproduction of inequality. Drawing on data about post-school transitions in peri-urban and rural areas of Australia, our study shows that understandings of a sense of belonging to a rural place of origin and the attraction of nature and the outdoors are intrinsic to understanding young people's educational mobilities. Despite a growing interest in the more emotional aspects of mobility, including the concept of 'emotional topographies' and issues of dislocation and belonging, the spatial contingency of student identities and their effects on participation are only just beginning to be manifested in an ontological shift in scholarship. Educational mobilities and the sense of place have been tested by the impact of the 2020 global pandemic. By deepening understanding of how students from rural areas frame their educational choices, this study offers a progression in thinking about dislocation and belonging in the interactions of post-school transitions. Arguably, a broader emotional geographical sense of belonging is needed to understand the experiences of rural students and their mobility or immobility. This broader conceptualisation may indicate new research directions for urban research.
Investing in sustainable and resilient rural social space: Lessons for teacher education
- Authors: White, Simone , Lock, Graeme , Hastings, Wendy , Cooper, Maxine , Reid, Jo-Anne , Green, Bill
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian and International Journal of Rural Education Vol. 31, no. 2 (2021), p. 46-55
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Attracting and retaining effective education leaders and teaching staff for regional, rural and remote schools in Australia is a major sustainability and quality issue facing every State and Territory. It is also a major concern in pre-service teacher education, particularly for those universities which have a commitment to rural and regional areas.
"Had I been there, which am a silly woman" : dealing with gendered casting in an Australian tertiary setting
- Authors: Durban, Kim
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Fusion journal Vol. , no. 15 (2019), p. 142-153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Margaret of Anjou's reference to herself as a 'silly woman' in Henry VI is a political ploy to draw attention to her gender, yet indicate her limitless power in the face of male dominance. This paper will map the trajectory of repertoire selection in my 18 years of working as a director and artistic director of actor training in the regional city of Ballarat. I have witnessed a profound shift in the demographic, political and financial realities that shape my practice. Intake numbers have doubled the age of candidates has dropped mental health problems for young actors have increased and budgets have plummeted. After the main struggle to maintain adequate studio time in order to create effective models of actor pedagogy, gender considerations follow. When choosing repertoire for training purposes, issues of equity and the cultural appropriateness of repertoire and teaching tools arise. Linda Walsh Jenkins and Susan Ogden -Malouf suggest 'a feminist critique of theatre shifts the gaze from product to process'. In Ballarat I have programmed female playwrights and directors, double-cast women and men, and staged obscure classical works. I will explore the queries to actor-training orthodoxy inherent in such choices and the challenges faced by actor-trainers working in a #MeToo environment.
Development of a scale measure for green employee workplace practices
- Authors: Morgan, Damian , Rayner, Julie
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of new business ideas and trends Vol. 17, no. 1 (2019), p. 1-25
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose--The purpose of this paper is to identify latent variables that explain green workplace attitudes, behaviours and practices. Design/methodology/approach--Following a resource base view, a HRM-driven green workforce may provide competitive advantage. Workforce assessment here may take place at the employee level using environment-focussed measures including ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO). To test this proposition, a usable sample, following deletion of multivariate outliers, comprised 371 employees across three industry sectors. Participants self-reported for 26 items concerning perceptions related to environmental consciousness, organisational roles, and knowledge. Findings/ Results--Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four factor structure explaining green workplace attitudes, behaviours and practices: environmental knowledge environmental workplace AMO global environmental attitudes, and organisation and the environment. Originality/value--The study provides a practical and parsimonious diagnostic tool to facilitate HRM-led development to engender sustainable environmental attitudes and practices within the workforce with implications for future research directions discussed. Keywords: Green employees work practices scale development sustainability corporate social responsibility (CSR). JEL Classifications: M14 PsycINFO Classifications: 3650 FoR Codes: 1503 ERA Journal ID #: 40840
Community empowerment and trust: Social media use during the Hazelwood mine fire
- Authors: Susan, Yell , Michelle, Duffy
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian journal of emergency management Vol. 33, no. 2 (2018), p. 66-70
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: During and after a disaster, affected communities grapple with how to respond and make sense of the experience. The physical and mental health of individuals is often adversely affected, as is the well being of the community. In early 2014, a fire in the Morwell open cut coalmine adjacent to the Hazelwood power station in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria burned for approximately 45 days, shrouding surrounding communities in smoke. As authorities struggled to put out the fire, the nearby communities became increasingly concerned about the perceived health risks of exposure to the smoke, particulate matter and gas emissions from the burning coal. The Hazelwood mine fire, initially treated as a fire emergency, 'evolved into a chronic technological disaster and a significant and lengthy environmental and health crisis' (Government of Victoria 2014, p. 28). In response to the crisis, people turned to social media as an alternative space in which to share information, tell their stories and organise for the purpose of activism. This paper takes the Hazelwood mine fire as a case study to examine how a community used social media (specifically Facebook) during a complex technological crisis involving health effects. It examines the issues facing emergency organisations and communities in relation to information and trust, and identifies the strengths and pitfalls of social media use in relation to community empowerment and engagement.
Cultural competency through a Reconciliation Action Plan
- Authors: Burt, Angela , Gunstone, Andrew
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues Vol. 21, no. 4 (2018), p. 46-58
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In 2017, Swinburne became the first university in Australia to have their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) recognised as an Elevate RAP by Reconciliation Australia, their highest level of endorsement. Our RAP has 80 targets across seven broad themes: governance and leadership, culture, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, engagement, teaching and learning, and research. Underpinning this document are three key priorities: self-determination, reciprocity, and cultural competency. This paper focuses on the vital role of cultural competency in the implementation of the RAP. Developing culturally competent staff and students is imperative in being able to transform universities into places where culturally safe practices are embedded into every aspect of universities, including culture, policies and processes. The authors are both significantly involved in implementing the RAP. This paper details how our RAP was utilised to increase the cultural competency of both staff and students.
Exploring a flow regime and its historical changes downstream of an urbanised catchment
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), Perth, Western Australia p. 131-141
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The rapid growth of Ballarat's urban area, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, suggests that it is suitable for stormwater capture and reuse. With a threefold increase in the number of dwellings in recent decades, along with a 90% increase in their average size, it should follow that there is evidence of more flow being generated from the urban areas. However, while additional runoff from the growth of impervious areas may be occurring, the overall flow in the receiving river has dramatically reduced with a 60% decrease in the rainfall-runoff relationship since 1997. This reduction in river flow seems disproportionate to any association with the Millennium Drought which occurred during 1997 to 2009. The evidence of river flow has been complicated by other changes in the catchment. A change in the rainfall-runoff relationship has been identified in other similar catchments, and may lead to significant impacts on water resource management over the long term. To better understand the impacts on river flow downstream of an urbanised catchment, the flow has been partitioned into various components over time using the daily stream flow data available from 1957. Base flow, calculated as the stream flow after periods of four or more days without rain, has decreased. Transfers, predominantly from other catchments for use as potable supply and entering the river via the waste water treatment plant, have remained steady, but now make up the vast majority of dry weather flow. While climatic variations have impacted the river significantly the actual streamflow reduction has been twice that predicted by data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment. A significant increase in the number of small farm dams due to the expansion of peri-urban living around Ballarat explains a further portion of the flow reduction. This paper highlights multiple factors which influence river flow and demonstrates how increases in urbanised area do not necessarily create additional river flow at larger aggregate scales. The investigation therefore provides a cautionary tale around assumptions of stormwater harvesting and any perceived benefit to river flow, and provides insights into the importance of collecting water information of the correct type and scale to help inform future integrated urban water management efforts.
Losing stormwater: 60 years of urbanisation and reduced downstream flow
- Authors: Ebbs, David , Dahlhaus, Peter , Barton, Andrew , Kandra, Harpreet
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Creating water sensitive communities (WSUD 2018 & Hydropolis 2018), 12-15 February 2018, Perth, Western Australia p. 142-151
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The potential for stormwater to supplement traditional water supplies from upstream catchments or groundwater is high, with claims that the quantity of additional runoff from impervious surfaces in a modern city in a temperate climate is greater than the total potable water demand. To ensure the success of Integrated Urban Water Management, it must consider the broad context of catchment management and the cumulative effect of all factors including river health. Ballarat, an inland city of approximately 100,000 people in south-eastern Australia, has many attributes necessary to potentially exploit stormwater. Given the doubling of population, tripling of residences and 90% increase in average residence size over the past 60 years, over which time flow data is available for the downstream waterway, it might be expected that the flow in the river downstream of the city within the catchment would reflect additional stormwater runoff. However, no increase in flow was detected between 1957 and 1996 while flow over the past 20 years has reduced by 60%. A water balance shows this decrease was not due to extractions as the stream has been a consistent net receiver of water from other catchments. Modelling data from the Australian Water Resources Assessment indicates that the reduction in streamflow is double what might be expected due to climatic variations. Between 1957 and 1996 there was no significant difference between modelled runoff and actual flow, however from 1997 onwards there is a significant divergence. While lower runoff may be expected during the period of drought, the rainfall-runoff relationship does not return to previous levels during latter years of rainfall. The effect is greater during higher flow months, which has significance when identifying potential additional water resources. Base flow has been reduced to the point where dry weather flow is reliant on waste water treatment plant and mine discharge. This study indicates that while impervious surfaces generate higher runoff which can cause environmental damage, making stormwater an attractive water source, consideration must be given to the impacts on the whole catchment when assessing alternative supply options.
New subjectivities of work? : technologies and capitalism into the future
- Authors: Smith, Naomi , Holtum, P.
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Arena journal Vol. , no. 51/52 (2018), p. 153-176
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Insecurity is no longer a condition that is specific to a set class of workers it has become a global issue. It can affect workers of any age, gender or ethnicity, across industrial or service sectors, and even our universities are no longer safe from casualisation, underemployment and outsourcing. To be sure, employment has always had elements of precariousness associated with it, particularly in the primary sectors. However, the steady intensification of capitalism around the world, and its intrusion into almost every facet of human endeavour, has meant that precarious work, as Arne Kalleberg writes, 'has become much more pervasive and generalized: [even] professional and managerial jobs are also precarious these days'. The telltale signs of precarity, such as insecurity, uncertainty and atomisation/individualisation, are frequently associated with the neoliberalisation of global societies. The twin mantras of flexibility and mobility across the economic market are further evidence of neoliberal principles, as an increasingly casualised work force allows employers the flexibility to shed and acquire labourers in accordance with the demands of capital rather than any humanitarian concern.
Mental health literacy and stigma of Australian social work students : depression and suicidal ideation
- Authors: Jennifer, Martin
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Advances in social work and welfare education Vol. 19, no. 2 (2017), p. 125-138
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article presents the findings of a study of mental health literacy and stigma of Australian social work students. The aim of the study was to identify levels of knowledge and attitudes and beliefs prior to, and following, course content on mental health literacy. The outcome of this study indicates an increase in knowledge development and reduced rates of stigma following mental health literacy studies. Even though relatively low rates of stigma were recorded amongst these social work students, the study findings do raise the question of what level of stigma, if any, is acceptable within social work education. This has broader implications for service delivery as stigmatising attitudes and beliefs of students and workers might cause harm and deter people from accessing mental health services.
Reconsidering the origins of the Australian legend
- Authors: Cahir, David (Fred) , Tout, Dan , Horrocks, Lucinda
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Agora (Melbourne, Vic.) Vol. 52, no. 3 (2017), p. 4-12
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: There is a large volume of evidence which suggests that Aboriginal cultural traditions and Aboriginal expertise had a formative influence on the skills, culture and outlook of the Australian nomadic bush worker - the template for Russel Ward's 'Australian Legend.'
Achieving person-centredness with older people in residential aged care
- Authors: Wilson, Catherine , Moss, Cheryle , Willetts, Georgina
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal Vol. 23, no. 7 (2016), p. 47-47
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: A research project was conducted during 2015 to gain an understanding of the perspectives and actions of the nurses and personal care assistants, (participants) as they sought to provide person centred care (PCC) in a residential care setting.
Behind every active and sporting population, there is an Epidemiologist
- Authors: Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 3-4
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This Round Table on The Epidemiology of Fitness, Sport and Physical Recreation makes for compelling reading. Australia has long been regarded as a sports-mad nation and one that has achieved major international sporting achievements because of its long-term investment in sports medicine and sports science research. Sports spectatorship is also a major pastime in Australia, underpinning the value of using sport to promote a range of health promotion messages (e.g. in relation to tobacco, alcohol, social tolerance and most recently violence prevention). People of all ages now enjoy participating in a wide range of activities from general physical activity to fitness training to cycling to team ball sports such as Australian football to combat sports. All of these feature in papers in this issue.
Content exchange among mobile tourists using users' interest and place-centric activities
- Authors: Kaisar, Shahriar , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Karmakar, Gour , Gondal, Iqbal
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 2015 10th International Conference on Information, Communications and Signal Processing (Icics); Singapore, Singapore; 2nd-4th December 2015 p. 1-5
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this work we investigate decentralized content exchange among tourists who are mostly strangers, depicts irregular movement patterns and most likely not to have any prior social relationship or difficult to establish any in a tourist spot. We incorporate user's interest, trustworthy online recommendations, and place-centric information to facilitate content exchange in such tourist destinations. The proposed administrator selection policy considers stay probability in activities, connectivity among nodes and their available resources. We have done extensive simulation using network simulator NS3 on a popular tourist spot in Australia that provides a number of activities. Our proposed approach shows promising results in exchanging contents among users measured in terms of content hit and delivery success rate as well as latency. The success rate is comparable to those reported in the literature for cases where social relationship exist and nodes follow regular predictable movement patterns.
Opinion formation dynamics under the combined influences of majority and experts
- Authors: Das, Rajkumar , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Karmakar, Gour
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text: false
- Description: Opinion formation modelling is still poorly understood due to the hardness and complexity of the abstraction of human behaviours under the presence of various types of social influences. Two such influences that shape the opinion formation process are: (i) the expert effect originated from the presence of experts in a social group and (ii) the majority effect caused by the presence of a large group of people sharing similar opinions. In real life when these two effects contradict each other, they force public opinions towards their respective directions. Existing models employed the concept of confidence levels associated with the opinions to model the expert effect. However, they ignored the majority effect explicitly, and thereby failed to capture the combined impact of these two influences on opinion evolution. Our model explicitly introduces the majority effect through the use of a concept called opinion consistency, and captures the opinion dynamics under the combined influence of majority supported opinions as well as experts’ opinions. Simulation results show that our model properly captures the consensus, polarization and fragmentation properties of public opinion and reveals the impact of the aforementioned effects. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.