Papers by Venkata Ratnadeep Suri
Journal of Media Business Studies, Mar 1, 2004
The article is a case study analysis of Viacom Inc., a leading transnational media corporation (T... more The article is a case study analysis of Viacom Inc., a leading transnational media corporation (TNMC) in the production, sale and distribution of electronic media entertainment. The study examines the history and development of Viacom, building on theoretical work that argues that business strategies and corporate culture of a company are often a direct reflection of the person (or persons) responsible for developing the organization and its business mission. Viacom's longstanding CEO, Sumner Redstone, has shown himself to be an aggressive leader who is deeply involved in all aspects of the company's operations. The article also examines the business strategy of Viacom, a unique media business entity that has been built through the steady acquisition of existing media companies. A critical challenge facing Viacom is the company's inability to find a successor to Redstone in preparation for his future retirement. Viacom's apparent lack of a succession plan is in large measure due to Redstone's unwillingness to share power at the top and failure to appoint a CEO successor.
New Media & Society, Jul 10, 2016
Over 50% of people in poverty in the United States no longer have a landline telephone, and this ... more Over 50% of people in poverty in the United States no longer have a landline telephone, and this same population is more likely to have a no-contract cell phone plan requiring the continuous purchase of minutes. As a result, the poor may increasingly experience short-term phonelessness, which may disrupt access to healthcare and other services. To explore this we conducted 37 client interviews and 7 staff interviews at two free health clinics. Cell phone disconnection was a regular occurrence that delayed access to care and threatened client privacy. Temporary disconnection also contributed to lost employment, lost welfare benefits, and strains on social support networks—all of which are critical for optimizing health. Results are interpreted through a lens of technology maintenance, which argues that the poor will struggle to maintain digital access after ownership and public availability are realized. The potential worsening of health inequalities and related policy implications are discussed.
Springer eBooks, 2014
The objective of this paper is to analyze the available literature on health information literacy... more The objective of this paper is to analyze the available literature on health information literacy of senior citizens from around the world and outline the major findings from this literature. A systematic review of literature from 2004 to 2014 was conducted using nine relevant databases, which yielded 42 quantitative studies, which were analyzed. The analysis revealed that information seeking behavior varied by age, gender, health status, education, socio-economic status and technology literacy. Over time, there has been a gradual increase in the use of the Internet by senior citizens seeking health information. Also, there has been a corresponding increase in a number of intervention studies in e-health literacy for senior citizens. Shortcomings in the literature include compromised methodological issues of inadequately powered sample size, absence of longitudinal and theory-based studies, and dearth of research on relevant outcomes. The article ends with a discussion of the relevance of the findings to IL researchers and practitioners, and suggestions for further research.
Springer eBooks, 2019
In research as well as in clinical settings, health literacy is often measured using self-rated p... more In research as well as in clinical settings, health literacy is often measured using self-rated psychometric instruments. Research has, however, shown that although patients perform poorly on health literacy measures, over time, they tend to develop skills and strategies to empower themselves to manage their chronic disease conditions. In this study using focus group interviews as a methodology, and information landscapes and phronesis as conceptual building blocks, we tried to understand how patients acquire, evaluate, and use health information to deal with their chronic disease conditions. Phronesis refers to practical knowledge and wisdom that people develop through experience and is enacted by patients to make health-related decisions and engage in healthy behaviors. Results show that patients enact a number of strategies that reflect phronesis when managing their chronic conditions. Findings from this study are discussed to evaluate phronesis as an important concept for understanding successful chronic disease self-management. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.
The Information Society, Mar 4, 2008
South African Journal of Higher Education
In March 2020, the President of South African announced that the nation would go into full lockdo... more In March 2020, the President of South African announced that the nation would go into full lockdown in the wake of an increase in COVID-19 infections. Academics had, in some instances, only one day to prepare for “emergency remote teaching”. Few academics had taught online before, as South Africa’s internet connectivity is not guaranteed in underprivileged areas, where 80 per cent of the population reside. The online move thus necessitated an entirely novel pedagogy for most academics, with high potential for an escalation of work-related stress and related illness, outcomes we have related in the wider sphere of workplace readjustment during COVID-19, to a state of “pandemia”. In this article, we report on an institutional case study where we surveyed n=136 academics from a university in the Western Cape, South Africa to learn more about impacts of COVID-19 on their work. The data analysis adopts Ryff’s (1995) theory of well-being. Findings indicate that the enforced lockdown due t...
Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2019
In research as well as in clinical settings, health literacy is often measured using self-rated p... more In research as well as in clinical settings, health literacy is often measured using self-rated psychometric instruments. Research has, however, shown that although patients perform poorly on health literacy measures, over time, they tend to develop skills and strategies to empower themselves to manage their chronic disease conditions. In this study using focus group interviews as a methodology, and information landscapes and phronesis as conceptual building blocks, we tried to understand how patients acquire, evaluate, and use health information to deal with their chronic disease conditions. Phronesis refers to practical knowledge and wisdom that people develop through experience and is enacted by patients to make health-related decisions and engage in healthy behaviors. Results show that patients enact a number of strategies that reflect phronesis when managing their chronic conditions. Findings from this study are discussed to evaluate phronesis as an important concept for understanding successful chronic disease self-management. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2021
Universities in the UK, and in other countries like Australia and the USA, have responded to the ... more Universities in the UK, and in other countries like Australia and the USA, have responded to the operational and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritising institutional solvency and enforcing changes to the work practices and profiles of their staff. For academics, an adjustment to institutional life under COVID-19 has been dramatic and resulted in the overwhelming majority making a transition to prolonged remote-working. Many have endured significant work intensification; others have lost-or may soon lose-their jobs. The impact of the pandemic appears transformational and for the most part negative. This article reports the experiences of 1099 UK academics specific to the corporate response of institutional leadership to the COVID-19 crisis. AQ12 We find articulated a story of universities in the grip of 'pandemia' and COVID-19 emboldening processes and protagonists of neoliberal governmentality and market reform that pay little heed to Article: 'Pandemia': a reckoning of UK universities' corporate response to COVID-19 and its ...
Irish Educational Studies, 2021
This article, drawing on data from an international surveydistributed in the summer of 2020explor... more This article, drawing on data from an international surveydistributed in the summer of 2020explores the experiences and concerns of academic staff (n = 167) working in universities in Ireland and their perceptions of their institutions' early response to the pandemic. Concerns related to transitioning to remote online working, impact on research productivity and culture, and work intensification, as intersected by enhanced managerialism, are ubiquitous to their accounts. As some respondents wrote of potential positive changes, particularly in the delivery of teaching, we conclude by suggesting potential avenues for building on successes in coping with the pandemic with some recommendations for mitigating some of the harms.
Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2020
Background Remdesivir (RDV) has been shown to shorten recovery time and was well tolerated in pat... more Background Remdesivir (RDV) has been shown to shorten recovery time and was well tolerated in patients with severe COVID-19. Here we report safety of RDV in patients with moderate COVID-19. Methods We conducted an open-label, phase 3 trial (NCT04252664) in hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, evidence of pulmonary infiltrates, and oxygen saturation >94% on room air. Patients were randomly assigned to receive RDV (5 or 10 days) or standard of care (SOC). RDV was dosed intravenously at 200 mg on day 1, 100 mg daily thereafter. Adverse events (AEs) and laboratory abnormalities were evaluated through the day 11 data cut; safety data through day 28 will be presented at the meeting. Results 584 patients were randomized and treated (5d RDV: n=191; 10d RDV, n=193; SOC: n=200). Baseline characteristics were balanced among groups; median (range) age was 57y (12-95y), 39% were female and 19% Black, 39% had arterial hypertension, 15% hyperlipidemia, 11% asthma. Briefly,...
Health Communication, 2019
Patients in Singapore with chronic conditions such as diabetes are encouraged to participate in p... more Patients in Singapore with chronic conditions such as diabetes are encouraged to participate in patientprofessional partnership activities because of rising health care costs and a shortage of infrastructure and human resources. This study explores the self-care and health information seeking behaviors of diabetic patients in Singapore, as well as factors related to health and information carriers that might influence those behaviors. A pilot-tested online survey was developed based on the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) and notified to the members of the Diabetic Society of Singapore (DSS) through their newsletter in January 2016. In total, 60 usable responses from the DSS members were collected. The survey revealed that more than 30% of the patients did not strictly follow doctors' instructions to regularly exercise, self-monitor blood sugar, and pay attention to type of food prepared at home. However, it was found that the majority of them had consciously limited their sugar intake. It was also revealed that respondents' most frequently used sources of health information were authoritative sources such as doctors/nurses and pamphlets/leaflets from hospitals/clinics. Understandably, respondents experiencing less distress caused by diabetes tended to report better health status, less worries, and stronger beliefs in the efficacy of their methods for diabetes control.
Patient Education and Counseling, 2016
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between five domain-specific skills of h... more The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between five domain-specific skills of health literacy: Find Health Information (FHI), Appraise Health Information (AHI), Understand Health Information to act (UHI), Actively Manage One's Health (AMH), and E-health literacy (e-Heals), and health information seeking behaviors and three categories of health outcomes. Methods: A survey was implemented and data was collected from 1062 college going adults and analyzed using bivariate tests and multiple regression analysis. Results: Among the five domain-specific Health Literacy skills, AHI and e-Heals were significantly associated with the use of traditional sources and the Internet for healthcare information respectively. Similarly and AMH and e-Heals were significantly associated with the use of traditional sources and the Internet for health lifestyle information respectively. Lastly AHI, AMH and e-Heals were significantly associated with the three categories of outcomes, and AFH was significantly associated with cognitive and instrumental outcomes, but not doctor-patient communication outcomes. Conclusion: Consumers' ability to use different health sources for both healthcare and health lifestyle information, and the three categories of health outcomes are associated with different domain-specific health literacy skills. Practice implications: Health literacy initiatives may be improved by focusing on clients to develop domain-specific skills that increase the likelihood of using health information sources and accrue benefits.
Suri, V. R., Majid, S., Chang, Y. K., & Foo, S. (2014). Health information behaviors of senior citizens: A review. In S. Kurbanoğlu, E. Grassian, D. Mizrachi, R. Catts, & S. Špiranec (eds.), Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century: Proceedings of European Conference on Infor...
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2015
Scientific disciplines are distinct not only in what they know but in how they know what they kno... more Scientific disciplines are distinct not only in what they know but in how they know what they know—that is, in their “epistemic cultures.” There is a close relationship between the technologies that a field utilizes and sanctions and the process of inquiry, the character and meaning of corroborative data and evidence, and the kinds of models and theories developed in a field. As the machinery changes, epistemic practices also change. A case in point is how the epistemic practices of historians are reconfigured by the introduction of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We argue that GIS mediates historical understanding and knowledge creation in at least three ways: (a) by allowing historians to bring new sets of data into analysis, (b) by introducing novel questions, fresh insights, and new modes of analysis and reasoning, or discovering new answers to older questions; and (c) by providing new tools for historians to communicate with each other and with their audiences. We illustr...
New Media & Society, 2016
Over 50% of people in poverty in the United States no longer have a landline telephone, and this ... more Over 50% of people in poverty in the United States no longer have a landline telephone, and this same population is more likely to have a no-contract cell phone plan requiring the continuous purchase of minutes. As a result, the poor may increasingly experience short-term phonelessness, which may disrupt access to healthcare and other services. To explore this we conducted 37 client interviews and 7 staff interviews at two free health clinics. Cell phone disconnection was a regular occurrence that delayed access to care and threatened client privacy. Temporary disconnection also contributed to lost employment, lost welfare benefits, and strains on social support networks—all of which are critical for optimizing health. Results are interpreted through a lens of technology maintenance, which argues that the poor will struggle to maintain digital access after ownership and public availability are realized. The potential worsening of health inequalities and related policy implications a...
Media, Culture & Society, 2014
This article calls for research on new technologies at a level of analysis where what seems uncha... more This article calls for research on new technologies at a level of analysis where what seems unchanged is salient and yet the newness of the new technology is given due consideration. It demonstrates the value of this approach by analyzing the decentralization of information systems wherein user-generated content eventually provided the unexpected winning solution for service providers who had long struggled in making their content attractive to the public at large. It identifies three stages in the decentralization process: hierarchy (top-down), open-hierarchy (top-down network, bottom-up content creation), and un-order (bottom-up). The analysis indicates that the Achilles’ heel of hierarchical systems is content creation and that creates pressure to move towards more open configurations that allow for user-generated content. The authors suggest that the framework presented in this article will prompt a more sophisticated analysis of the next new technology even if it does not have ...
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Papers by Venkata Ratnadeep Suri