Message Boards Research Articles

Severe COVID-19 anxiety among adults in the UK: protocol for a cohort study and nested feasibility trial of modified cognitive–behavioural therapy for health anxiety

IntroductionSome people are so anxious about COVID-19 that it impairs their functioning. However, little is known about the course of severe COVID-19 anxiety or what can be done to help...

The Met Office winter testbed 2020/2021: Experimenting with an on‐demand 300‐m ensemble in a real‐time environment

AbstractThe Met Office held a testbed over winter 2020/2021 where a new numerical weather prediction (NWP) sub‐km ensemble was set up on‐demand in response to interesting weather phenomena in the United Kingdom. The domain for the model was chosen in real time by a community of Met Office Research Scientists and Operational Meteorologists and over a 4‐month period the ensemble was triggered for nine events. The purpose of the testbed was to investigate whether a real‐time weather regime‐based enhancement in NWP capability was feasible, to understand what benefits a testbed environment might give, and to explore the practicalities of running such an event. Case studies from the testbed demonstrated that forecast ensembles at 2.2 km and 300 m grid spacing were able to capture observed winter weather, with greater spatial detail apparent, especially over complex orography, in the 300‐m model. Ensemble spread appeared less influenced by resolution, potentially due to the size of the domains tested or the weather regimes of the case studies. The testbed also showcased underutilized observations and additional radiosonde ascents were conducted. All the testbed meetings were conducted virtually due to COVID‐19 restrictions, and decisions were made about when to trigger the event using an online message board. The winter 2020/2021 testbed provides ideas for how on‐demand weather‐dependent testbeds might be conducted in the future. However, several recommendations are made that would enhance testbed benefits further, including more dedicated resource, stronger technology and data visualization and greater participation from both academia and weather information users.

Analyzing annual changes in network structures of a social media application-based information-sharing system in a Japanese community

BackgroundUnderstanding the evolution of social network services (SNSs) can provide insights into the functions of interprofessional information-sharing systems. Using social network analysis, we aimed to analyze annual changes in the network structure of SNS-based information sharing among healthcare professionals over a 3-year period in Japan.MethodsWe analyzed data on SNS-based information sharing networks with online message boards for healthcare professionals for 2018, 2019, and 2020 in a Japanese community.These networks were created for each patient so that healthcare professionals could post and view messages on the web platform. In the social network analysis (SNA), healthcare professionals registered with a patient group were represented as nodes, and message posting and viewing relationships were represented as links. We investigated the structural characteristics of the networks using several measures for SNA, including reciprocity, assortativity and betweenness centrality, which reflect interrelational links, the prevalence of similar nodes with neighbors, and the mediating roles of other nodes, respectively. Next, to compare year-to-year trends in networks of patients overall, and between receiving nursing care levels 1–3 (lighter care requirement) and levels 4–5 (heavier care requirement), we described the annual structural differences and analyzed each measure for SNA using the Steel–Dwass test.ResultsAmong 844, 940, and 1063 groups in each year, groups for analysis in care levels 1–3/4–5 were identified as 106/135, 79/89, and 57/57, respectively. The overall annual assessment showed a trend toward increased diameter and decreased density, but the differences were not significant. For those requiring care levels 1–3, assortativity decreased significantly, while for those requiring care levels 4–5, reciprocity decreased and betweenness centrality increased significantly. No significant differences were found in the other items.DiscussionThis study revealed that the network of patients with a lighter care requirement had more connections consisting of nodes with different links, whereas the network of patients with a heavier care requirement had more fixed intermediary roles and weaker interrelationships among healthcare professionals. Clarifying interprofessional collaborative mechanisms underlying development patterns among healthcare professionals can contribute to future clinical quality improvement.

What is “Heavy” in Metal? A Netnographic Analysis of Online Forums for Metal Musicians and Producers

ABSTRACT Metal music studies defines “heaviness” as the genre’s sonic signature but has rarely explored the sonics or the related discourse. This study analyzes message boards to determine how music producers and musicians use the “heavy” metaphor in their discussions. Practitioners’ strategies employed to achieve heaviness are scrutinized to learn about what considerations influence their decisions. The findings suggest that while heaviness is based on a core set of musical features, it is open to appropriation, modification, and development. Heaviness has become a suitable impetus for the genre’s evolution and iconically represents what metal music stands for to its community.

Breastfeeding mobile application for mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus: designed by mothers and experts

BackgroundMothers and babies with gestational diabetes have an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular complications. Breastfeeding is known to help reduce complications in mothers and babies with gestational diabetes. However, the rate of breastfeeding among mothers with gestational diabetes is still low due to various barriers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a mobile application to improve the breastfeeding barrier of pregnant women with gestational diabetes.MethodsThe Method of App Selection based on Users’ Needs is a method used in designing app structure and user interface by considering user needs. This method was used to develop the Breastfeeding for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus App, reflecting the needs of target users. Four personas were created based on the experiences of four mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus, and these personas’ needs were assessed and prioritized. Two professors and a clinical instructor in women’s health nursing conducted an expert review and revised the contents.ResultsOur “Breastfeeding for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus App” included the following components to promote breastfeeding in mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus: baby growth, breastfeeding records, information about mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus, information about breastfeeding, videos demonstrating breastfeeding methods and breast massage techniques, breastfeeding success stories, a message board, a section for frequently asked questions and answers, and links to breastfeeding education centers.ConclusionsUse of our App is expected to help prevent complications in mothers with diabetes mellitus and their babies and to promote maternal and child health through improved breastfeeding practices, especially in social distancing situations resulting from COVID-19.

The unintended consequence of social media criticisms: an earnings management perspective

This paper investigates the impact of social media criticisms on financial reporting quality. Analyzing data from the leading Internet stock message board in China, we demonstrate that postings on stock message boards could promote earnings management, i.e. reducing financial transparency. This finding is further enhanced by employing the instrumental variable approach and the difference-in-differences approach and is explained by the cognitive evaluation theory. Additional analysis suggests that the positive relation between social media criticisms and earnings management cannot be attributed to a deterioration in operating performance or internal governance and is more pronounced in postings from senior users.

‘Hodling’ on: Memetic storytelling and digital folklore within a cryptocurrency world

People within the cryptocurrency world come together on imageboards and forums to tell stories about the highly volatile and uncertain world they inhabit. Although they engage with a highly technical digital money form, the stories they share online could be more productively analysed as digital folklore. Through ethnography primarily conducted via 4chan and Reddit, I highlight three types of stories, loosely grouped together within the categories of ‘despair’, ‘comedy’ and ‘courage’. Drawing parallels to folk and fairy tales, I explore how ‘netizens’ use these stories to engage with the uncertainty that characterizes cryptocurrencies. Consequently, I highlight how stories come to make the online cryptocurrency world more inhabitable, as well as allowing people to subvert and resist ‘economic reason’. By foregrounding storytelling, I highlight the fluid, intersubjective and collective actions that help to sustain a volatile and uncertain market that is favourable for those who take to online message boards.

Home Is Where the Ok Is? Early Okayplayer Message Boards & an Ethos of Acknowledgment

In this essay, the author considers the online community of Okayplayer (OKP) as a pivotal progenitor in the development of a Black digital ethos. In particular, the author situates and interrogates Okayplayer as a “dwelling space” where self-identified Black identities developed digital voices and a communal ethic of acknowledgment. Indeed, 5 years before Facebook, and 7 years before Twitter; Okayplayer was a social media precursor—made for and by black folks. Prior to social media era, the OKP message boards were the rare space where black digital voices could be heard and acknowledged by peers and fellow recording artists such as Erykah Badu—a digital home or dwelling space. In this essay, I sample and extend Hyde’s redefinition of ethos as “home”; to online communities of color. Hence, this essay retrospectively examines OKP’s digital ethos as a cultural communal co-production where “discourse is used to transform space and time into dwelling places where people can deliberate about and know together some matter of interest” (p. xiii). By viewing OKP as discursive site, the paper interrogates the function of rhetorical voice in establishing dwelling spaces. My critical lens is informed by Mitra and Watts advocacy of marginalized digital voice. Voice is actualized as an architectural event, only when it is acknowledged. In relation to OKP, Watts contends that historically, Black voices that find acknowledgment develop a dwelling place based on ” a sort of collaboration..as a kind of “magic” by a communal will.

Pregnant at the start of the pandemic: a content analysis of COVID-19-related posts on online pregnancy discussion boards

BackgroundA growing body of evidence indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental mental health effects for pregnant women. However, little is known about the specific stressors that increased anxiety for pregnant women at the start of the pandemic. The present study aimed to better understand the concerns of pregnant women during the beginning COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing content posted during the month of March 2020 on online pregnancy message boards hosted on WhatToExpect.com.MethodsAll posts published between March 1–31, 2020 on nine different due-date specific WhatToExpect.com message boards were reviewed for COVID-19 relevance. Posts mentioning COVID-19 or its direct effects (e.g., “quarantine” or “stay-at-home order”) were included in our final sample. Data were coded by three authors according to a codebook developed inductively by all four authors. Posts were analyzed by overall frequency of appearance, by trimester, and temporally across the month of March 2020.ResultsAcross the 5,541 posts included in our final sample, the most common topics were fear of COVID-19 exposure, concerns with labor and delivery, navigating social interactions, and disruptions to prenatal care. The most dominant topics by trimester were disruptions to prenatal care (first trimester), fear of COVID-19 exposure (second trimester), and concerns about labor and delivery (third trimester).ConclusionOur findings add to prior literature by demonstrating the salience of social concerns, which was the third largest COVID-19 topic in our sample. Emotional distress was most salient with regard to restrictions on birthing partners, but was apparent in everything from disruptions to pregnancy announcements, to cancelled baby showers, and limitations on newborn visitors. Given that anxiety during pregnancy is associated with worse maternal–fetal health outcomes, in the early stages of future pandemics healthcare providers should focus not only on strictly health-related concerns expressed by pregnant women, but also more broadly on other sources of anxiety that may be impacting the well-being and mental health of their patients.

Medical decisions in organ donors and heart transplant candidates with history of COVID-19 infection: An international practice survey.

BackgroundA growing proportion of transplant donors and recipients have a history of COVID‐19 infection. This study sought to characterize clinical practice after recipient or donor COVID‐19 infection.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to heart transplant clinicians through a professional society message board and social media. Responses were collected between September 29 and November 5, 2021.ResultsThere were 222 health care professionals (68% transplant cardiologists, 22% transplant surgeons, 10% other) across diverse geographic regions who completed the survey. While there was significant variation in donor acceptance, as it relates to past and current COVID‐19 infection, the respondents were fairly cautious: 28% would not typically accept a donor with a history of COVID‐19 regardless of the infection course and > 80% would not accept donors who had evidence of myocardial dysfunction during past COVID‐19 infection, or who died of COVID‐19 or its complications. The timing of candidate reactivation on the waiting list after COVID‐19 infection also varied and often diverged from scenarios addressed by social guidelines. Eighty‐one percent of the respondents felt COVID‐19 vaccine should be mandatory before transplant, but this rate varied by geographic region.ConclusionOur results reflect evolving experience of the heart transplant field at a time of lack of high‐quality evidence. In the absence of longer‐term outcome data for donors and transplant candidates with history of COVID‐19 infection, clinicians remain cautious; however, this approach will likely need to be refined as an increasing proportion of the population will continue to be infected with COVID‐19.

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Practical Applications of Analysis and Comparison of Natural Language Processing Algorithms as Applied to Bitcoin Conversations on Social Media

In <b><i>Analysis and Comparison of Natural Language Processing Algorithms as Applied to Bitcoin Conversations on Social Media</i></b>, from the February 2022 issue of <b><i>The Journal of Investing</i></b>, authors <b>Benjamin McMillan</b>, <b>Joshua Myers</b> (both of <b>IDX Digital Assets</b>), <b>An Nguyen</b> (of <b>Johns Hopkins University</b>), <b>Don Robinson</b>, and <b>Mark Kennard</b> (both of <b>Palladiem</b>) studied how natural language processing (NLP) algorithms capture investor sentiment online and whether changes in sentiment can predict investment returns. The authors used four different NLP algorithms to measure trends in sentiment toward bitcoin on two Reddit message boards, r/bitcoin (which focuses on bitcoin) and r/investing (which covers general investments). The authors used sentiment analysis to determine whether positive or negative posts about bitcoin correlated with bitcoin’s short-term performance. The authors found a statistically significant correlation between negative posts on r/bitcoin and bitcoin price changes. Bitcoin’s performance tended to drop in the five days before a negative post and rise in the five days afterward. There was no such correlation for positive posts on r/bitcoin or for any posts on r/investing. Therefore, clusters of negative posts on r/bitcoin may mark a local bottom and be predictive of increased performance.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy during the Perinatal Period: Understanding Psychological and Cultural Factors to Improve Care and Address Racial/Ethnic Health Inequities.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy during the Perinatal Period: Understanding Psychological and Cultural Factors to Improve Care and Address Racial/Ethnic Health Inequities.

The Ultraviolet Bleach corpus

Abstract This paper presents a new corpus of computer-mediated communication on the topic of Trump’s comments about household disinfectants and ultraviolet light as cures for COVID-19. The corpus, named the Ultraviolet Bleach (UVB) corpus, contains message board comments devoted to Trump’s suggestions. It was collected in May 2020 and consists of twenty-six files, with a total size of 2,344,164 word tokens. The paper includes frequency lists of words and clusters, keywords, and keywords in context, identified with the help of the corpus management software Sketch Engine. The corpus highlights the “receiving end” of political communication since it involves reactions to Trump’s televised briefing, and it will be of interest to researchers of political communication, populist and conspiratorial discourse, public opinion, and language aggression.

COVID-19 and sports fans: examining the pandemic’s impact on need fulfillment and psychosocial outcomes

ABSTRACT Rational/Purpose: In March 2020, the sports world came to a standstill as COVID-19 spread across the globe. Sport fans were among the industry stakeholders most affected. Fans turn to sports to satisfy a variety of needs [Trail, G.T. (2018). Sport consumer behavior (4th ed.). Printed by the author.] and experience psychosocial benefits by way of their fandom [Wann et al. (2000). The self-presentation of sport fans: Investigating the importance of team identification and self-esteem. Journal of Sport Behavior, 23(2), 198–206.; Wann et al. (2017). Testing the team identification–social psychological health model: Mediational relationships among team identification, sport fandom, sense of belonging, and meaning in life. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 21(2), 94–107.] Without games, however, to what extent were fans able to fulfill these needs? Further, did fans experience detrimental impacts to their self-esteem and sense of belongingness in relation to their team/fan communities? Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected via an online survey using select online NBA and MLB team message boards in addition to Amazon MTurk. Fan needs were measured using adapted versions of prior sport fan motivation scales [Trail & James (2001). The motivation scale for sport consumption: Assessment of the scale’s psychometric properties. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24, 108–127; Wann (1995). Preliminary validation of the sport fan motivation scale. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 19(4), 377–396.]. Self-esteem was measured using an adapted version of Harris et al.’s [Harris et al. (2018). The Lifespan Self-Esteem scale: Initial validation of a new measure of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality Assessment, 100(1), 84–95]. Lifespan Self-Esteem Scale. Belongingness was measured using four items from Malone et al.’s [Malone et al. (2012). The general Belongingness Scale (GBS): Assessing achieved belongingness. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(3), 311–316]. General Belongingness Scale. Findings: Survey results from 417 sports fans revealed many of the needs typically met through sport consumption (i.e. achievement, drama, escape, family togetherness, social connections, group affiliation, and entertainment) went largely unmet during the pandemic. Further, highly passionate fans maintained higher perceived levels of self-esteem and belongingness than less passionate respondents. Practical implications: Results of this study should aid sports organizations in understanding the experience of their fans during the pandemic and better prepare teams and leagues to engage their consumers in future situations where live sports are unavailable. Research contribution: This paper builds on our understanding of fan motivation and psychosocial outcomes of fandom in a time when the sport was suspended due to COVID-19.

What Injured Workers With Complex Claims Look For in Online Communities: Netnographic Analysis.

BackgroundImproved understanding of social constructs around injury may help insurance case managers to understand how best to support people after injury.ObjectiveThis study sought to explore what people who sustain work-related injuries may seek from online communities. The study highlights potential opportunities for improved engagement with insurance case management practice.MethodsAn observational netnographic analysis was undertaken on anonymous, publicly available messages posted on Australian message boards. All research data were drawn from anonymous, online communities. A person (author SM) with experience of making a claim through an Australian workers’ compensation system and online engagement was involved in study conception, design, and analysis. Data were analyzed using NVivo12 in an iterative, multistage process including coding, journaling, and member checking. A total of 141 people were engaged in discussion across 47 threads housed on 4 Australian forums.ResultsIn this qualitative study, themes emerged from the data, describing how injured workers use online communities to help make decisions, get support, and solve problems. The key motivators for action and engagement were seeking information, connection, or justice. Establishment of relationships was a key mediator of each of these parameters.ConclusionsSome work-related injuries may involve medical and medicolegal complexity as well as changed lifestyle and routine during convalescence and recovery. The mechanism used by some injured workers to seek information and problem solve suggests a capacity for self-management and self-care after work-related injury. Netnography provides information on a community that may not regularly engage with research because of the complexity of their situation and their vulnerability.

‘Typing with dementia’

Background: While there is a substantial amount of pragmatic research on online health discourse, social media contexts actively involving persons living with dementia have been largely neglected so far. This study, which is rooted in the social-constructionist paradigm, explores processes of self-positioning on a public message board for persons living with dementia provided by a non-profit health organization. Method: The study is based on a pilot corpus of 15 sample threads on the public message board, and it investigates the referencing and predication practices employed by the members of this virtual community of practice. Results: Their interactions reveal processes of identity construction which clearly debunk the popular myth of ‘loss of self’ in dementia. Conclusion: Going beyond the categories, characteristics, and activities conventionally ascribed to persons living with dementia, participants challenge dementia-related stereotypes and ultimately contribute to a more multifaceted picture of living with dementia.

Hegemonic masculinities in the ‘Manosphere’: A thematic analysis of beliefs about men and women on The Red Pill and Incel

AbstractWebsites, blogs, and message boards of the “manosphere” are dedicated to a worldview that celebrates hegemonic masculinity and decries feminism. In a reflexive thematic analysis of 227 posts (389,189 words) from two manosphere message boards (The Red Pill and Incel), we analyzed how posters viewed women and men. We found that beliefs about women and men formed an ideology comprised of (a) evolution‐based views of gender essentialism, (b) an informal psychology of women's motivations, and (c) a typology of men. Women were seen as having three primary motives: to deceive and manipulate men, to promiscuously satisfy their own sexual needs, and to trade sex for power. Men were seen as falling into two (The Red Pill) or three (Incel) types: alpha men who are attractive, powerful, and sexually successful, beta men who give to women as their only route to sexual interactions, and incel (involuntarily celibate) men who are too unattractive to achieve sexual success. Posters acted on these beliefs either to improve themselves (The Red Pill) or give up on life and endorse suicide and/or violence (Incel). We discuss these beliefs and actions in relation to theories of sexual aggression, the psychology of radicalization, and the American Psychological Association's Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men.

The Politics of Anti-Discourse: Copypasta, the Alt-Right, and the Rhetoric of Form

This essay examines the reactionary turn in digital culture through the copypasta, a meaningless block of text shared on message boards and recognizable only to the already-initiated. Although rarely studied, the copypasta is an archetype of contemporary digital culture. As a form, it refuses representational content and coordinates affect, holding a position against the stream of digital content. I argue that digital form—rather than representational content—carries potent ideological and affective charge. Building on an analysis of the copypastas on 4chan's infamous / pol/ board, I suggest scholars resuscitate the rhetorical canon of dispositio, or arrangement, for the computational age.