Online social media is widespread, easily accessible and attracts a global audience with a widening demographic. As a large proportion of adults now seek health information online and through social media applications, communication about health has become increasingly interactive and dynamic. Online health information has the potential to significantly impact public health, especially as the population gets older and the prevalence of dementia increases. However, little is known about how information pertaining to age-associated diseases is disseminated on popular social media platforms. To fill this knowledge gap, we examined empirically: (i) who is using social media to share information about dementia, (ii) what sources of information about dementia are promoted, and (iii) which dementia themes dominate the discussion. We data-mined the microblogging platform Twitter for content containing dementia-related keywords for a period of 24 hours and retrieved over 9,200 tweets. A coding guide was developed and content analysis conducted on a random sample (10%), and on a subsample from top users’ tweets to assess impact. We found that a majority of tweets contained a link to a third party site rather than personal information, and these links redirected mainly to news sites and health information sites. As well, a large number of tweets discussed recent research findings related to the prediction and risk management of Alzheimer’s disease. The results highlight the need for the dementia research community to harness the reach of this medium and its potential as a tool for multidirectional engagement.

BackgroundThe field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups.ObjectiveTo address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express.MethodsWe conducted a content analysis of questions containing the keywords “gene therapy” from the Q&A site “Yahoo! Answers” for the 5-year period between 2006 and 2010. From the pool of questions retrieved (N=903), we identified those containing at least one theme related to ethics, environment, economics, law, or society (n=173) and then characterized the content of relevant answers (n=399) through emergent coding.ResultsThe results show that users seek a wide range of information regarding gene therapy, with requests for scientific information and ethical issues at the forefront of enquiry. The question sample reveals high expectations for gene therapy that range from cures for genetic and nongenetic diseases to pre- and postnatal enhancement of physiological attributes. Ethics questions are commonly expressed as fears about the impact of gene therapy on self and society. The answer sample echoes these concerns but further suggests that the acceptability of gene therapy varies depending on the specific application.ConclusionsOverall, the findings highlight the powerful role of social media as a rich resource for research into attitudes toward biomedicine and as a platform for knowledge exchange and public engagement for topics relating to health and disease.

This case study evaluates the development of a formal collective leadership approach by the All Blacks (New Zealand's national men's rugby team) management. The All Blacks have an astonishing 75% winning record in test matches over a hundred year period. This winning ethos is a part of their organizational culture, which has been developed, nurtured and sustained since the inception of the first national team in 1903.The purpose of the study is to develop a greater understanding of the organization and leadership culture that has maintained the All Blacks' winning record in a changing socio-cultural environment. In this qualitative research study, primary data is obtained through the analysis of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with past and present All Black captains and coaches (over a period of 60 years from 1950-2010). Narratives stories are based on true events providing a rich description, which enhances the credibility and transferability of the findings. A key finding is the strong senior collective leadership that has been ever present. Originally led by senior players informally from ‗the back seat of the bus' this internal leadership has been formalized by the most recent coaching team and has proved to be very effective with regard to maintaining a winning culture in an ever-changing organizational and socio-cultural environment. The learning culture and learning leadership demonstrated within the All Blacks collective leadership model instil a commitment to total honesty in oneself, team evaluation and reflection. It is anticipated that these findings will be transferable to other business and team sport contexts and assist in organizational development.

These data suggest that middle-aged women are moderately receptive to the concept of web-based care for certain components of osteoporosis management and education.

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