Jonathan Matusitz

Telemedicine: Its Effects on Health Communication

This article analyzes telemedicine, the use of distant communication technologies within the context of clinical health care, and the effects it has on health communication. The main effect is that telemedicine has the capacity to substantially transform health care in both positive and negative ways and to radically modify personal face-to-face communication (Turner, 2003). This has tremendous implications for health communication scholars in that they can extend the telemedicine debate by integrating fresh insights into more acceptable approaches that will refine and humanize mediated channels of health communication. There are several key areas of telemedicine that need to be discussed (i.e., e-health services, clinical encounters, etc.), all of which are identified in this article. In addition to describing the past and current applications of telemedicine, this article provides a better understanding of unique needs, resources, problems, and opportunities germane to telemedicine services.

Disneyland Paris: a case analysis demonstrating how glocalization works

This paper analyzes Disneyland Paris and how glocalization theory has been successfully applied to it. Glocalization means interaction of the global and the local. When the park was first opened, it was such a financial debacle that it has become the typical case study on how not to open a theme park. The mistake that Disney made was to use its traditional method to force-feed its US products to local cultures. The main premise of this paper is that even a giant like Disney has to show adaptation to local preferences in order to generate maximal profits and remain competitive.

Sedentarism: The Effects of Internet Use on Human Obesity in the United States

This paper analyzes the impact of Internet use on human obesity in the United States. The United States is facing a skyrocketing obesity epidemic among adults and children. The authors hypothesize that the more individuals use the Internet, the more they increase their risks of becoming obese. The explanation is that Internet use may cause sedentarism, which refers to decreased energy expenditure or, simply, physical inactivity. Sedentarism, in turn, may increase obesity.

An evolutionary examination of telemedicine: a health and computer-mediated communication perspective.

Telemedicine, the use of advanced communication technologies in the health care context, has a rich history and a clear evolutionary course. In this paper, the authors identify telemedicine as operationally defined, the services and technologies it comprises, the direction telemedicine has taken, along with its increased acceptance in the health care communities. The authors also describe some of the key pitfalls warred with by researchers and activists to advance telemedicine to its full potential and lead to an unobstructed team of technicians to identify telemedicines diverse utilities. A discussion and future directions section is included to provide fresh ideas to health communication and computer-mediated scholars wishing to delve into this area and make a difference to enhance public understanding of this field.

Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Technology: Analyzing Hofstede's Dimensions and Human Development Indicators

Correlations between Hofstedes dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance and selected indicators of the Human Development Report (HDR) were analyzed. Three communication technology indicators—that is, cell phone subscription, Internet use, and the number of telephone mainlines—were predicted to measure the development of a nation. Results indicate a negative correlation between high power distance and communication technology in terms of the three technologies examined in this study. We found a negative correlation between power distance and human development. Negative correlations were also found between uncertainty avoidance and two cell phone subscription as well as internet use.

Wal-Mart: An Analysis of the Glocalization of the Cathedral of Consumption in China

This paper examines the methods adopted by Wal-Mart to cater to local cultures in China. This analysis draws on glocalization, a concept that refers to the interaction of the global and the local, or the incorporation of local elements into global products and/or services. This paper is important for two reasons. First, glocalization, in and of itself, has the capacity to enhance scholarly understanding of globalization with reference to global agency and cultural differentiation. Second, not only is China a nation where Wal-Mart had to glocalize the most; China is also the fastest growing market in the world. So, this analysis can bring fresh insights into todays reality of globalization processes. One of the consequences of Wal-Marts strategy of glocalization is that it contributes to its status of ‘cathedral of consumption’ even more. A cathedral of consumption refers to an incomparable magnitude of global success (achieved by a major corporation) that gives birth to a consumer religion and a display of abundance and excess. Este artículo examina los métodos adoptados por Wal-Mart para satisfacer a las culturas locales en China. Este análisis se basa en la glocalización, un concepto que se refiere a la interacción entre lo global y lo local, o a la incorporación de elementos locales dentro de los productos o servicios globales. Este artículo es importante por dos razones. Primero, la glocalización en sí, tiene la capacidad de mejorar la noción académica de la globalización, con referencia a la agencia global y a la diferenciación cultural. Segundo, China no sólo es una nación donde Wal-Mart tuvo que glocalizarse en mayor grado; sino que además es el mercado de mayor crecimiento en el mundo. Así, este análisis puede traer un conocimiento fresco a la realidad actual de los procesos de globalización. Una de las consecuencias de la estrategia de glocalización de Wal-Mart es que contribuye más aún a su estado de “catedral de consumo”. Una catedral de consumo se refiere a una magnitud incomparable de éxito global (lograda por una corporación mayor) que da vida a una religión de consumidor y a un despliegue de abundancia y exceso.

E-Health: A New Kind of Telemedicine

ABSTRACT This paper examines e-health in detail. E-health is the use of distant communication technologies in the healthcare context and the use of advanced information and communication technologies (i.e., the Internet) that meet the needs of citizens, patients, healthcare practitioners and professionals. The goal of the authors is to show that e-health services have improved telemedicine to the point of substantially transforming its very meaning. As such, e-health expands and redefines the operational usage of telemedicine services. E-health, for instance, is much more oriented to the wide-range possibilities of service delivery (i.e., e-health offers Web services such as WebMD.com, which receives a very high number of visitors). Besides, legal and licensing matters are no longer issues in e-health, in the same way that health insurance is not an obstacle with e-health, which may also be the cure to the paucity of knowledge that telemedicine services used to provide. Nevertheless, e-health also presents major limitations, among which are the lack of real-time interaction between the patient and provider and the inaccessibility to e-health by a certain number of disadvantaged and isolated groups. Finally, this paper ends with a discussion section, in which an extensive summary and suggestions for future research are given.

A Postmodern Theory of Cyberterrorism: Game Theory

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how the battle between computer security experts and cyberterrorists can be explained through game theory. This article is important because it not only applies game theory to the study of cyberterrorism, which has been rarely done so far, but it also breaks new ground by intersecting the game theoretical model with another theory, social network theory. An important thesis of this analysis is that under the principles of game theory, each player is assumed to be rational; all players wish the outcome to be as positive or rewarding as possible. Another key argument is that game theory is a postmodern theory; against opponents who wage attacks in a postmodern fashion, conventional strategies lead nowhere. The cyberterrorist and the cyber forensics expert not only engage in real-time game play but also use tactics that are not conceivable in conventional conflict.

Cyberterrorism:: How Can American Foreign Policy Be Strengthened in the Information Age?

At the end of the twentieth century, the 1999 National Security Strategy advanced the conclusion that the United States should contribute to the expansion of information technology globally, to worldwide benefits and democracy, and to the employment of new technologies in order to improve American public diplomacy in the new Information Age. Today, in the twenty-first century, it is evident that such globalization has changed the nature of governments and sovereignty and has transformed economies, societies, and world politics.5 In fact, the Information Age has turned out to be a pivotal point for the United States. The impact of the technological revolution of the past 10 years on American foreign policy has proved to be as determining in scope and character as was the origin of the cold war. The United States is better positioned than any other country to communicate its hard and soft power resources through information technology.6 Nevertheless, the top American foreign policy issue is its vulnerability to new security threats. Introduction

A Behemoth in India Walmart and Glocalisation

The global retailing giant Walmart’s entry into India since 2009 is analysed in this article within the applied theoretical framework of glocalisation rather than simply globalisation. In light of glocalisation theory, the article suggests that globalising a product, brand, idea or service has more chances of success in a local market when it is targeted and adjusted specifically to the respective local value systems and thus becomes a glocalised enterprise. Globalisation is shown to be more than just a monolithic occurrence or simply an uncontested homogenising energy forcing local cultures to adopt the norms, practices and values of the global market place. It does not eradicate local cultures, but effects changes that create new glocalised hybridities with enormous economic implications not only for Walmart, but also for the Indian retail economy generally.