Blog Posts Research Articles

Web Scraping

Abstract. When people use the Internet, they leave traces of their activities: blog posts, comments, articles, social media posts, etc. These traces represent behavior that psychologists can analyze. A method that makes downloading those sometimes very large datasets feasible is web scraping, which involves writing a program to automatically download specific parts of a website. The obtained data can be used to exploratorily generate new hypotheses, test existing ones, or extend existing research. The present Research Spotlight explains web scraping and discusses the possibilities, limitations as well as ethical and legal challenges associated with the approach.

After a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology: A Ten-Year Retrospective

After a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology: A Ten-Year Retrospective

Tales from the Irish diaspora during COVID-19: Prompting a future research agenda for global mobility

Abstract The COVID-19 global pandemic raises fundamental questions about the future of global mobility. This paper considers publicly posted blog posts from members of the Irish diaspora during the early months of the global pandemic in 2020. Using real-time self-reporting blogs permitted an unobtrusive snapshot into the living experiences of members of the Irish diaspora during this time. Content analysis was undertaken on a total of fifty-nine individual blogs, and key themes across the blogs are explored. The primary theme of technology as both enabler and inhibiter is unpacked, in relation to global communication, work-life balance and working from home – anywhere in the world. A research agenda pertaining to the future of global mobility is proposed.

Health co-inquiry in migraine: Online participation and stakeholder experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A migraine is more than head pain, and chronic migraine can dramatically impact a person and those around her/him/them. To better understand those effects it is important to study the experiences of persons with migraine and their caregivers, family, friends, and health and mental health providers. When they collaborate, stakeholders may improve outcomes for persons with chronic migraine. One type of stakeholder cooperation is Health Co-Inquiry, involving a person-centered approach, activation of persons toward collaboration and improved health, evidence-based practice, and integrated care. The current study investigated Health Co-Inquiry at online forums, blogs, and bulletin boards where people came together to discuss migraine. A "Bifurcated Method" was used to conduct inductive, thematic analyses, quantitize themes, and cross-check themes using a robot program, which crawled the Internet to gather data about stakeholder sites and posts related to migraine. Key themes in the online narratives of migraine stakeholders included seeking and providing advice, help, and information. In addition, giving personal stories and testimonials, selling computer applications and products, and providing misinformation were frequent. Differences in the types of posts by various stakeholder groups were identified and may inform researchers about their varied perspectives and goals. Remarkably, migraine is still migraine-before a pandemic and during it. As such, migraineur concerns remained stable across thematic analyses of blog and forum posts before and during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ongoing harm under a prettier, brighter umbrella”: A critical analysis of reconciliation talk in Canadian settler philanthropy

AbstractEngagement with the concept of reconciliation, broadly understood as the process or goal of transforming relations among Canada's Indigenous and non‐Indigenous peoples, became commonplace in the philanthropic sector after the 2015 release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Institutional responses to the TRC (e.g., by universities, businesses, healthcare institutions, governments, etc.) have been widely discussed in the academic literature—lauded by some as pivotal to the transformation of Indigenous/settler relations, and critiqued by many as no more than a shift in rhetoric covering over ongoing racialized colonial violence. Through a critical analysis of reconciliation talk as articulated through blog posts, press articles, conference recordings, webinars, and professional development resources produced by and for progressive settler philanthropy from 2012 to 2020, this essay analyses the hearty uptake of reconciliation in the sector. I bring these texts into dialog with the larger body of critiques of reconciliation, with the aim of interrogating settler philanthropy's place and roles in Canada's settler colonial order, past, and present. I focus on common terms and concepts that appear in conjunction with reconciliation talk such as diversity and inclusion; community‐engagement and relationship building; learning and listening. I also explore instances of obfuscation and renaming, such as a scarcity of explicit references to race and racism, colonialism and white supremacy and a tendency to relegate colonialism to the past in texts produced by non‐Indigenous authors. The themes I identify across these texts resemble those apparent in other institutional contexts. Reconciliation talk has potential to transform how settler philanthropy engages with Indigenous communities. Yet, many of the most urgent critiques raised in other fields apply to this context. Ultimately, I conclude, reconciliation talk may elevate and uphold—and indeed conceal—the white supremacist, colonial status quo in settler philanthropy and in Canada more broadly. Occlusions and renaming common to settler philanthropy's reconciliation talk contribute to what Vimalassery et al. describe as “colonial unknowing” and what Tuck and Yang call “settler moves to innocence.” In these ways, reconciliation serves a mystifying function for settler philanthropy, masking ongoing coloniality, absolving settler guilt, and avoiding more radical, transformative possibilities.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Researchers in 2020: A Qualitative Study of Events to Inform Mitigation Strategies.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on global health systems and economies. With ongoing and future challenges posed to the field due to the pandemic, re-examining research priorities has emerged as a concern. As part of a wider project aiming to examine research priorities, here we aimed to qualitatively examine the documented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer researchers.Materials and Methods: We conducted a literature review with the aim of identifying non-peer-reviewed journalistic sources and institutional blog posts which qualitatively documented the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer researchers. We searched on 12th January 2021 using the LexisNexis database and Google, using terms and filters to identify English-language media reports and blogs, containing references to both COVID-19 and cancer research. The targeted search returned 751 results, of which 215 articles met the inclusion criteria. These 215 articles were subjected to a conventional qualitative content analysis, to document the impacts of the pandemic on the field of cancer research.Results: Our analysis yielded a high plurality of qualitatively documented impacts, from which seven categories of direct impacts emerged: (1) COVID measures halting cancer research activity entirely; (2) COVID measures limiting cancer research activity; (3) forced adaptation of research protocols; (4) impacts on cancer diagnosis, cases, and services; (5) availability of resources for cancer research; (6) disruption to the private sector; and (7) disruption to supply chains. Three categories of consequences from these impacts also emerged: (1) potential changes to future research practice; (2) delays to the progression of the field; and (3) potential new areas of research interest.Discussion: The COVID-19 pandemic had extensive practical and economic effects on the field of cancer research in 2020 that were highly plural in nature. Appraisal of cancer research strategies in a post-COVID world should acknowledge the potential for substantial limitations (such as on financial resources, limited access to patients for research, decreased patient access to cancer care, staffing issues, administrative delays, or supply chain issues), exacerbated cancer disparities, advances in digital health, and new areas of research related to the intersection of cancer and COVID-19.

Parallel routes from Copenhagen to Paris: climate discourse in climate sceptic and climate activist blogs

ABSTRACT The Copenhagen climate summit in 2009 was a watershed moment in the international climate change discourse, reinforcing controversy and polarization between climate sceptics and climate activists. Simultaneously, the blogosphere, known as a place for polarized mobilization, became a proliferating forum for both camps. Building on Dryzek’s and Carvalho’s conceptualization of environmental discourse, this paper analyses how ideological polarization is grounded in climate sceptics’ and climate activists’ blogs between COP15 and COP21. We investigated ten climate sceptic and climate activist blogs accessible in the UK. Qualitative-quantitative analysis of 357 blog posts revealed contrasting ontological and epistemological worlds in the climate change controversy. Four storylines were identified in the climate sceptical discourse – ‘hoax’, ‘no scientific evidence’, ‘climate sceptical science’, and ‘injustice’ – and five storylines in the climate activist discourse – ‘action’, ‘social justice’, ‘disaster strikes’, ‘potential catastrophe’, and ‘opportunity’. Implications for policy, practice and future research are provided.

Exploring the Motivation of Livestreamed Users in Learning Computer Programming and Coding

This article discusses the emerging presence of online livestreaming programs for computer coding education. The typologies of motivations from a user-gratification perspective were explored from live coding streaming platforms such as “Twitch.tv” and “LiveEdu.tv”. Categories of motivations were identified from the literature. Content analysis was used for analyzing the distribution of motivation categories in “Twitch.tv,” as well as blog posts on “LiveEdu.tv” guided by Gratifications Theory. From the literature, five types of motivations were identified: 1) Cognitive; 2) Affective; 3) Social Integration; 4) Personal Integration; and 5) Tension release. In live coding streaming communities, the content analysis of 256 streams and twenty six discussion posts indicated that the primary motivation is cognitive related information seeking, followed by social integration such as community outreach, and then personal integration such as personal recognition. Through content analysis, the authors found that the audience's psychological state while watching online livestreaming of coding practice is mainly focused on learning and information seeking, emotional connectedness, and social interactions. Based on the findings, an empirical motivation model in live coding streaming was also developed. The findings for researchers and practitioners alike in programming education can apply respective motivation characteristics in programming education.

Artificial intelligence applications in social media for depression screening: A systematic review protocol for content validity processes.

BackgroundThe popularization of social media has led to the coalescing of user groups around mental health conditions; in particular, depression. Social media offers a rich environment for contextualizing and predicting users’ self-reported burden of depression. Modern artificial intelligence (AI) methods are commonly employed in analyzing user-generated sentiment on social media. In the forthcoming systematic review, we will examine the content validity of these computer-based health surveillance models with respect to standard diagnostic frameworks. Drawing from a clinical perspective, we will attempt to establish a normative judgment about the strengths of these modern AI applications in the detection of depression.MethodsWe will perform a systematic review of English and German language publications from 2010 to 2020 in PubMed, APA PsychInfo, Science Direct, EMBASE Psych, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria span cohort, case-control, cross-sectional studies, randomized controlled studies, in addition to reports on conference proceedings. The systematic review will exclude some gray source materials, specifically editorials, newspaper articles, and blog posts. Our primary outcome is self-reported depression, as expressed on social media. Secondary outcomes will be the types of AI methods used for social media depression screen, and the clinical validation procedures accompanying these methods. In a second step, we will utilize the evidence-strengthening Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study type (PICOS) tool to refine our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following the independent assessment of the evidence sources by two authors for the risk of bias, the data extraction process will culminate in a thematic synthesis of reviewed studies.DiscussionWe present the protocol for a systematic review which will consider all existing literature from peer reviewed publication sources relevant to the primary and secondary outcomes. The completed review will discuss depression as a self-reported health outcome in social media material. We will examine the computational methods, including AI and machine learning techniques which are commonly used for online depression surveillance. Furthermore, we will focus on standard clinical assessments, as indicating content validity, in the design of the algorithms. The methodological quality of the clinical construct of the algorithms will be evaluated with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) framework. We conclude the study with a normative judgment about the current application of AI to screen for depression on social media.Systematic review registrationInternational Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews PROSPERO (registration number CRD42020187874).

Pen Pals

Pen Pals

Co-Creating Solution-Focused Conversations in Disagreement

During the autumn of 2020, a group of solution-focused (SF) practitioners from around the globe gathered virtually for two months to discuss possibilities for applying solution-focused practice to antiracism work. We collected articles, blog posts, podcasts and other media relevant to racism in therapeutic contexts, first person accounts and theoretical investigations. We used our engagement with these resources as the basis of our discussions, both to raise our own consciousness and to improve our professional practice.

The Politics of Rightful Killing: Civil Society, Gender, and Sexuality in Weblogistan

The Politics of Rightful Killing: Civil Society, Gender, and Sexuality in Weblogistan

“Shadowbanning is not a thing”: black box gaslighting and the power to independently know and credibly critique algorithms

ABSTRACT Efforts to govern algorithms have centerd the ‘black box problem,’ or the opacity of algorithms resulting from corporate secrecy and technical complexity. In this article, I conceptualize a related and equally fundamental challenge for governance efforts: black box gaslighting. Black box gaslighting captures how platforms may leverage perceptions of their epistemic authority on their algorithms to undermine users’ confidence in what they know about algorithms and destabilize credible criticism. I explicate the concept of black box gaslighting through a case study of the ‘shadowbanning’ dispute within the Instagram influencer community, drawing on interviews with influencers (n = 17) and online discourse materials (e.g., social media posts, blog posts, videos, etc.). I argue that black box gaslighting presents a formidable deterrent for those seeking accountability: an epistemic contest over the legitimacy of critiques in which platforms hold the upper hand. At the same time, I suggest we must be mindful of the partial nature of platforms’ claim to ‘the truth,’ as well as the value of user understandings of algorithms.

Affective text trajectories: Toward a linguistic anthropology of critique

In their studies of culture and society, many if not most scholars from the social sciences and humanities aspire to a critical approach. Recently, this practice of academic critique has become an object of study in its own right. Contributing to this “critique of critique,” I propose ideas for a linguistic anthropology of critique. I suggest mobilizing the concept of text trajectory from the toolbox of critical ethnographies of language and deploying it to investigate the trajectories of those critical texts that social and cultural sciences produce. It then becomes clear that critique is not merely a certain genre of text, but is, rather, a specific manner in which texts become embedded in affective dynamics in trajectories of recontextualizations-in-performance. To capture this complex process, I introduce the concept of affective text trajectory. Based on ethnographic fieldwork on the role of language and affect at International Criminal Court proceedings in northern Uganda, this article describes the affective text trajectory of one of the author's blog posts. The author suggests that in order to assess the critical potential of a text, one should investigate how it becomes embedded in affective dynamics throughout its trajectory.

Who is to blame for the terrorist attack? Comparison of content analysis and survey data as sources of responsibility ascriptions

There is a growing body of research that uses different content analysis techniques to study risk and related issues. In this article, we focused on the question of how analysis of textual data relates to individual judgments, specifically responsibility ascriptions after the case of a terrorist attack. Our methodological goal was to assess the agreement between the results obtained via unobtrusive methods and evaluations extracted from survey data. Our substantive goal was to examine the specificity of responsibility attributions in the situation of a terrorist attack based on manual content analyses of blog posts. We addressed these questions in three empirical studies. The first focused on the 2011 Domodedovo Airport bombing. A content analysis of a random sample of 1050 posts showed that individual terrorists are rarely blamed in contrast to other actors. This unexpected finding inspired the subsequent studies. In the second study, a content analysis of essays written by students about terrorist attacks in Volgograd in 2013 (n = 26) was used in conjunction with an online survey of these students. The result was that almost all the actors had high blame ratings, even actors not mentioned in the essays. A third study examined the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting. Apart from essays and an online survey of students (n = 80), we also conducted a manual content analysis of blog posts (n = 300). We found weak, but important evidence for concurrence of content analysis and survey data: students who mentioned French authorities in essays indeed blamed this actor higher in the survey. In conclusion, content analysis proved to be a suitable tool for inferring responsibility ascriptions from textual data, but reconstructed evaluations from texts do not always correspond to the opinion poll data.

Demonstrating Your Work: A Guide to Educators' Portfolios for Graduate Medical Educators.

Demonstrating Your Work: A Guide to Educators' Portfolios for Graduate Medical Educators.

Reflection in Transformative Learning: The Challenge of Measurement

Reflection is a key component of the transformative learning process. In this study, we take steps to define components of reflection and link them to a computer-based, quantitative method of content analysis called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). This method can be used to evaluate common forms of reflective writing such as journals, reflective essays, and blog posts. It has several advantages over more common qualitative approaches for measuring reflection. We test the efficacy of this quantitative measurement approach with data from 98 study abroad university students. The results indicate strong explanatory power that tracks well with theory and observation of the reflective process. Our approach follows procedures for construct validation of the measurement method. As an early step to use quantitative methods with reflection, the LIWC shows promise. However, much more research must be done to extend these initial findings both in measurement and theory development.

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts.

BackgroundMeasuring public response during COVID-19 is an important way of ensuring the suitability and effectiveness of epidemic response efforts. An analysis of social media provides an approximation of public sentiment during an emergency like the current pandemic. The measures introduced across the globe to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus have led to the development of a situation labeled as a “perfect storm,” triggering a wave of domestic violence. As people use social media to communicate their experiences, analyzing public discourse and sentiment on social platforms offers a way to understand concerns and issues related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.ObjectiveThis study was based on an analysis of public discourse and sentiment related to domestic violence during the stay-at-home periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020. It aimed to understand the more personal self-reported experiences, emotions, and reactions toward domestic violence that were not always classified or collected by official public bodies during the pandemic.MethodsWe searched social media and news posts in Australia using key terms related to domestic violence and COVID-19 during 2020 via digital analytics tools to determine sentiments related to domestic violence during this period.ResultsThe study showed that the use of sentiment and discourse analysis to assess social media data is useful in measuring the public expression of feelings and sharing of resources in relation to the otherwise personal experience of domestic violence. There were a total of 63,800 posts across social media and news media. Within these posts, our analysis found that domestic violence was mentioned an average of 179 times a day. There were 30,100 tweets, 31,700 news reports, 1500 blog posts, 548 forum posts, and 7 comments (posted on news and blog websites). Negative or neutral sentiment centered on the sharp rise in domestic violence during different lockdown periods of the 2020 pandemic, and neutral and positive sentiments centered on praise for efforts that raised awareness of domestic violence as well as the positive actions of domestic violence charities and support groups in their campaigns. There were calls for a positive and proactive handling (rather than a mishandling) of the pandemic, and results indicated a high level of public discontent related to the rising rates of domestic violence and the lack of services during the pandemic.ConclusionsThis study provided a timely understanding of public sentiment related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia using social media analysis. Social media represents an important avenue for the dissemination of information; posts can be widely dispersed and easily accessed by a range of different communities who are often difficult to reach. An improved understanding of these issues is important for future policy direction. Heightened awareness of this could help agencies tailor and target messaging to maximize impact.

An Actor-Oriented Perspective on Implementing a Pedagogical Innovation in a Cycling Unit

Purpose:The purpose of this research was to use an actor-oriented perspective to analyze one teacher’s implementation of the Meaningful Physical Education approach in one Grade 5 classroom in Saudi Arabia.Method:A single case study design was used, with the case being defined as Andy and his teaching of a cycling unit to one Grade 5 class. Data consisted of blog posts, tweets, and semistructured interviews.Results:Andy identified several spheres of influence on implementation, including his personal philosophy, students, co-teachers, and several organizational/environmental characteristics of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) School, as well as important attributes of the innovation that supported implementation.Discussion/Conclusion:An actor-oriented perspective offered insight into a teacher’s insider perspective of a pedagogical innovation, which enabled understanding of how he made sense of Meaningful Physical Education and used those ideas to guide planning, instructional, and assessment decisions in the cycling unit.

Enhancing advanced pharmacy practice experiences through the use of Web 2.0 technologies

Background and purposeWeb 2.0 technologies have been leveraged to enhance learning experiences. However, limited data exists about implementing Web 2.0 into pharmacy education and within experiential learning. Educational activity and settingTwo adult internal medicine advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) applied Web 2.0 technologies including Google (Alphabet, Inc.), Dropbox (Dropbox, Inc.), Facebook (Facebook, Inc.), WordPress (WordPress Foundation), and ClassDojo (ClassDojo, Inc.) with the primary purpose of enhancing student learning, with specific purposes for each technology including improvements in writing, reflection, and time-management skills. An analysis of the use of Web 2.0 technologies included comparing student and preceptor evaluations, mapping learning outcomes to assessments, and evaluating student engagement with the technologies, blog statistics, survey data, and application utilization. FindingsFrom 2017 to 2019, 40 students were engaged with Web 2.0 technologies as a component of their APPE. Student and preceptor evaluations remained relatively unchanged compared to evaluations before using Web 2.0. Students maintained high levels of engagement across applications including 2928 Facebook comments, 4016 “likes", 280 blog posts, and 158 blog comments. Survey results revealed that students perceived that Facebook and blogging helped improve overall learning and communication skills meeting important learning outcomes. SummaryThe integration of two APPEs with Web 2.0 technologies enhanced learning and achieved learning outcomes for students on their adult acute care rotation.