Online Bulletin Boards Research Articles

Understanding Relapsed/Refractory Acute Leukemia Patients' Treatment Preferences: Insights from Qualitative Research

Introduction Evidence on patient preferences is increasingly being used to inform regulatory and reimbursement decisions. In acute leukemia, the number of treatment options is expanding but there is limited quantitative evidence on patients' treatment preferences, especially in the event of relapse. The Acute Leukemia Advocates Network (ALAN) in collaboration with The Office of Health Economics are running a quantitative patient preference study using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to 1/ Elicit adult acute leukemia patients' preferences for treatment outcomes and characteristics in the event of a future relapse 2/ Explore the tradeoffs that patients are willing to make between different hypothetical treatments 3/ Describe preference heterogeneity in the patient population and 4/ Provide useful insights that could demonstrate patient value for a range of upcoming health technology assessments of relapsed/refractory treatments and guide innovation and development throughout the medical product lifecycle. Here we report on two stages of qualitative research: 1/ Online bulletin boards (OBBs) to identify potential attributes for the DCE and 2/ Cognitive ‘think aloud’ pilot interviews to test participant understanding of the draft DCE survey. Methods Two structured OBBs were conducted - one each for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Each day, participants were asked up to four open questions on the following topics: “your diagnosis and expectation of treatment”, “your first experience of treatment”, “treatment following a relapse”, and “your treatment priorities”. Participants could see and respond to each other's answers. Three researchers acted as moderators and engaged in discussions where appropriate. Following the design of the DCE survey, a series of online one-on-one think-aloud interviews with AML and ALL participants was subsequently conducted to pilot the DCE survey. Interviewees were asked to verbally reflect on their responses, with occasional interviewer prompts. The pilots were conducted in two separate weeks, with a week in between to allow for changes to be made. All participants were recruited via ALAN and its members. Results A total of 12 AML and nine ALL patients took part in the OBBs, of which 15 were female. Age (range: 26-71; average: 51.1) and years of living with the disease (range: <3 to > 10 years) were varied. Both the AML and ALL groups agreed that the effectiveness of the treatment in achieving long-term stable remission would be most important. Severe long-term side effects would also be an important concern but many participants said they could put up with potentially severe short-term side effects for a good chance of long-term survival. Additional concerns were the length of hospital stays, availability of psychological/mental/emotional support, catheter-related pain and infections, and mode of administration (MoA). Several participants argued that an individualized approach to treatment is preferred. Thematic analysis of the OBB data led to the identification of five attributes for the DCE: chance of response (20-95%), duration of response (6-18 months), quality of life (QoL) during treatment (0-50%), QoL during response (25-75%), and MoA (tablets taken at home, injections requiring a hospital stay, injections as outpatient appointments). The DCE was designed using an efficient experimental design and coded as part of an online survey, and subsequently piloted (see Figure 1). In week 1 of the pilots (n=5 interviews), ‘duration of response’, was often misinterpreted as ‘duration of treatment’. Interviewees also interpreted treatment and response as potentially overlapping, and therefore struggled to separate the two QoL attributes. Therefore, we made several changes including explicitly structuring the choice tasks to distinguish treatment and response phases. The changes improved understanding in week 2 (n=5 interviews) and raised some additional minor issues for consideration. Conclusion People with acute leukemia have a range of concerns about treatments in the context of a relapse. However, the primary issues identified in the qualitative research relate to the chance and duration of treatment success, QoL during and after treatment, and the MoA. The pilot interviews were valuable in improving the wording and overall quality of the final survey, which has since been fully launched.

Enhancing cultural competence in caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients: An online training program for Taiwanese student nurses and nurses

BackgroundHealth disparities exist among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations worldwide. However, student nurses and nurse staff have limited knowledge and skills in providing culturally competent nursing care for LGBT patients in Taiwan. ObjectivesThis paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an online training program for the cultural competence of student nurses and nurses in Taiwan. DesignA one-group pre-/post-test study design. SettingsThe study was conducted in five nursing schools, 10 nursing associations, and 37 long-term care facilities. Two prominent online bulletin boards (PTT Nurse and Dcard Nurse) and one Taiwanese nursing group on Facebook were used to recruit participants. ParticipantsIn total, 301 student nurses and nurses participated in the study and responded to pre- and post-test questionnaires. MethodsAn online training program for culturally competent nursing care was developed and implemented. The pre- and post-test questionnaires contained three sections: (1) demographics, (2) knowledge of LGBT health, and (3) the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale. Three open-ended questions were included in the post-test questionnaire to evaluate the online training program. ResultsThe online training program significantly improved the participants' knowledge and cultural competence skills. However, their attitudes towards cultural competence did not change after the program was implemented. Regarding qualitative feedback of the online training program, feedback on the strengths and limitations of the program was summarized under three themes: program content, website design, and online modules. ConclusionsThe results suggest the importance of an online training program which may contribute to reducing health disparities among the LGBT population.

POSB318 Evaluation of Asynchronous Online Focus Groups for Use in Qualitative Studies Around Patient Experience Data

Asynchronous online focus groups, otherwise known as online bulletin boards, are a data collection method rooted in market research. They involve researchers posing several questions to participants over a short period of time, and participants responding at their preferred time, location, and pace through ‘threads’ visible to all participants. In the era of Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD), this method may offer an opportunity to generate wide-ranging patient experience data (PED), balancing representativeness and generalizability with participant burden.

Organizational Resilience and Change Management: Inputs to Management Effectiveness

Management effectiveness influences the overall performance of an organization. This may be shown by achieving organizational goals and employee satisfaction even when change occurs. Organizational changes may involve changes in an organization’s structure and strategy that may be planned in advance or may be implemented because of a sudden shift in the environment. Alongside dealing with these distractions, change management helps an organization to implement strategies for inducing change, controlling change, and helping employees to adapt to change. The organization understudy is the Department of Trade and Industry Laguna Provincial Office (DTI Laguna). This study describes organizational resilience and change management as inputs to management effectiveness. More specifically, it determines the assessment in organizational resilience in terms of capital resilience, strategic resilience, cultural resilience, relationship resilience, and learning resilience and the assessment in change management in terms of project management and corporate culture. Likewise, it determines if there is a significant relationship between assessment in organizational resilience and change management. Moreover, it proposes an action plan based on significant findings as inputs to management effectiveness. The study uses a quantitative method of research to gather information on organizational resilience and change management. The entire population of the organization understudy is small; thus, the participants of the study are all 62 employees of DTI Laguna, including the management and support staff. The data gathering instrument is divided into three major parts (profile of the respondents, a questionnaire on organizational resilience using a 4-point Likert scale, and a questionnaire on change management using a 4-point Likert scale) and is tested for reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. An online survey tool (Google Forms) is used to gather the information. The results are analyzed by a trained statistician using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences tool for frequency distribution and percentages, weighted mean, and ANOVA. Based from the results, the employees agree on the assessment in organizational resilience in terms of capital resilience, strategic resilience, cultural resilience, and learning resilience. Employees strongly agree on the assessment in organizational resilience in terms of relationship resilience. There is a significant difference between assessment in organizational resilience in terms of strategic resilience, cultural resilience, relationship resilience, and learning resilience when grouped to length of service. There is a significant difference between assessment in organizational resilience in terms of capital resilience, strategic resilience, cultural resilience, and learning resilience when grouped to monthly income. Moreover, based from the results, employees agree on the assessment in change management in terms of project management and corporate culture. Corporate culture was ranked first. There is a significant difference between assessment in change management in terms of project management and corporate culture when grouped to length of service and monthly income. There is a significant relationship between assessment in organizational resilience in terms of capital resilience, strategic resilience, cultural resilience, relationship resilience, and learning resilience and assessment in change management in terms of project management and corporate culture. The researcher recommends that the Office of the Provincial Director may want to increase connections with employees by devising online bulletin boards wherein employees’ thoughts (pulse survey perhaps) may be posted. Also, they may want to organize an in-house “mentor me” program wherein an open communication may be facilitated between the management and the employees. The quality management team may want to revisit the implementation of monthly staff meeting and quarterly management reviews to maintain management effectiveness. The Administrative and Finance Management Unit may want to further improve the level of trust of employees to the management by devising an online shared portal of status of funds that is to be updated from time to time. Future researchers may do a similar study or may use other variables not included in this study. More so, they may want to compare two or more government agencies to know if they will come up with the same results.

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.

Prediction of risk factors of cyberbullying-related words in Korea: Application of data mining using social big data

The study examined a decision tree analysis using social big data to conduct the prediction model on types of risk factors related to cyberbullying in Korea. The study conducted an analysis of 103,212 buzzes that had noted causes of cyberbullying and data were collected from 227 online channels, such as news websites, blogs, online groups, social network services, and online bulletin boards. Using opinion-mining method and decision tree analysis, the types of cyberbullying were sorted using SPSS 25.0. The results indicated that the total rate of types of cyberbullying in Korea was 44%, which consisted of 32.3% victims, 6.4% perpetrators, and 5.3% bystanders. According to the results, the impulse factor was also the greatest influence on the prediction of the risk factors and the propensity for dominance factor was the second greatest factor predicting the types of risk factors. In particular, the impulse factor had the most significant effect on bystanders, and the propensity for dominance factor was also significant in influencing online perpetrators. It is necessary to develop a program to diminish the impulses that were initiated by bystanders as well as victims and perpetrators because many of those bystanders have tended to aggravate impulsive cyberbullying behaviors.

Effectiveness of a Participatory and Interactive Virtual Reality Intervention in Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder: Longitudinal Questionnaire Study.

BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by excessive fear of negative evaluation and humiliation in social interactions and situations. Virtual reality (VR) treatment is a promising intervention option for SAD.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to create a participatory and interactive VR intervention for SAD. Treatment progress, including the severity of symptoms and the cognitive and emotional aspects of SAD, was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.MethodsIn total, 32 individuals with SAD and 34 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study through advertisements for online bulletin boards at universities. A VR intervention was designed consisting of three stages (introduction, core, and finishing) and three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard) that could be selected by the participants. The core stage was the exposure intervention in which participants engaged in social situations. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed through Beck Anxiety inventory (BAI), State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Internalized Shame Scale (ISS), Post-Event Rumination Scale (PERS), Social Phobia Scale (SPS), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Brief-Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS).ResultsIn the SAD group, scores on the BAI (F=4.616, P=.009), STAI-Trait (F=4.670, P=.004), ISS (F=6.924, P=.001), PERS-negative (F=1.008, P<.001), SPS (F=8.456, P<.001), BFNE (F=6.117, P=.004), KSAD (F=13.259, P<.001), and LSAS (F=4.103, P=.009) significantly improved over the treatment process. Compared with the healthy control group before treatment, the SAD group showed significantly higher scores on all scales (P<.001), and these significant differences persisted even after treatment (P<.001). In the comparison between the VR treatment responder and nonresponder subgroups, there was no significant difference across the course of the VR session.ConclusionsThese findings indicated that a participatory and interactive VR intervention had a significant effect on alleviation of the clinical symptoms of SAD, confirming the usefulness of VR for the treatment of SAD. VR treatment is expected to be one of various beneficial therapeutic approaches in the future.Trial RegistrationClinical Research Information Service (CRIS) KCT0003854; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01.jsp?seq=13508

Gamified Mobile Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Japanese University Students With Depressive Symptoms: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundEvidence shows that computerized self-help interventions are effective for reducing symptoms of depression. One such intervention, SPARX, is a gamified mobile computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) developed for adolescents in New Zealand, which was shown to be as effective as usual care for young people with mild-to-moderate symptoms of depression. However, gamified cCBT has not yet been tested in Japan.ObjectiveThis trial is designed to investigate whether a Japanese-adapted version of SPARX improves depressive symptoms in Japanese university students with mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms.MethodsIn this 7-week, multicenter, stratified, parallel-group, superiority randomized trial, participants will be allocated to either a treatment condition (SPARX) or a wait-list control condition. SPARX is a fully automated program, which will be delivered to the mobile phone or tablet device of the participants. SPARX is designed as an interactive fantasy game to guide the user through seven modules that teach key CBT strategies. All participants will be recruited from universities via advertisements on online bulletin boards, the campus newspaper, and posters. Participants in the treatment condition will use the SPARX program weekly. The primary outcome is the reduction of depressive symptoms (using Patient Health Questionnaires-9) measured at baseline and weekly: once after the 7-week intervention and once at a 1-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include satisfaction with the program and satisfaction with life, measured by the Satisfaction With Life Scale; positive and negative moods, measured by the Profile of Mood States Second Edition; social functioning, measured by the EuroQol Instrument; rumination, measured by the Ruminative Responses Scale; and coping, measured by the Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced Inventory.ResultsThis study received funding from The Research Institute of Personalized Health Sciences, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, and obtained institutional review board approval in September 2019. Data collection began in April 2019.ConclusionsResults of this trial may provide further evidence for the efficacy of gamified cCBT for the treatment of depression and, specifically, provide support for using SPARX with Japanese university students.Trial RegistrationJapan Primary Registries Network UMIN000034354; https://tinyurl.com/uu7xd77International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/15164

Using projective exercises to identify patient perspectives of living with comorbid type 2 diabetes and asthma.

Patient self-management of a single chronic condition can be challenging, but few studies have examined the emotional impact of living with comorbid conditions and how that differs from a single chronic condition. This study examined patient perspectives of the emotional impact of living with asthma or asthma with comorbid type 2 diabetes (asthma+diabetes). Data were collected from 41 adults (asthma only n = 22, asthma+diabetes n = 19) using semi-structured interviews on two separate online bulletin boards. Respondents engaged in discussions that leveraged two projective exercises: describing their health condition(s) as an animal, and selecting one of eight images that best illustrated how they were living with and managing their health condition(s). Respondents described physical and emotional challenges related to managing asthma or asthma+diabetes. Animal- and image- projective exercises were categorized by response and health condition. Thematic analysis across both projective exercises identified four themes: (1) frustrations with dual diagnosis, (2) juggling the dual diagnosis, (3) anticipating the future, and (4) unpredictability. Projective exercises are one way to elicit feelings about living with chronic conditions. Healthcare providers can improve support for patients with more than one health condition by providing education on how to manage comorbid conditions.

Patient Preference Studies During Early Drug Development: Aligning Stakeholders to Ensure Development Plans Meet Patient Needs.

Although patient preferences have been studied broadly for marketed products or around the time of submission to authorities and launch, patient preference studies have rarely been used during the early drug development phases. In this paper, we formulate three hypotheses supporting the use of patient preference studies in early product development: (1) integration of the patient perspective into the development process from phase 1 onwards will result in healthcare solutions with outcomes that best address patients' needs; (2) a structured process to build patient-based evidence involving partnerships between patients and other key stakeholders will improve alignment of development activities with the needs of patients; (3) quantitative patient preference research built on robust qualitative insights is necessary to strengthen development decisions in the interests of patients. To illustrate such a structured process, we describe qualitative insights research (social media analysis and online bulletin boards) and quantitative patient preference studies in dry eye disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis conducted during early product development by a pharmaceutical company to generate patient-based evidence. The outputs from such early patient preference studies are being used to inform patient reported outcome strategies, clinical development strategies, product design and delivery features, and form the basis for early dialog with regulators, health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and payers to ensure focus and alignment on patient-relevant endpoints. Furthermore, to discuss and theoretically substantiate our hypotheses, we review how different groups and organizations are working to embrace fully the patient perspective in product development and healthcare decision-making. The hypotheses are commensurate with the general trend toward patient-centered healthcare and the activities initiated by regulators, HTA agencies, and patient organizations. We advocate that all healthcare players should actively contribute to aligning on best practices concerning choice of methodologies and engage in multi-stakeholder dialog along the entire product development chain, to realize health technologies that best meet the needs of patients.

‘Culture Is Inseparable from Race’: Culture Wars from Pat Buchanan to Milo Yiannopoulos

‘Culture Is Inseparable from Race’: Culture Wars from Pat Buchanan to Milo Yiannopoulos

How do male sex workers on Craigslist differ from those on Rentboy? A comparison of two samples

Much contemporary focus on male-for-male sex work has been with men who place advertisements on profile-based sex work websites. Less is known about men who sell sex via online bulletin boards. We compared two samples of men who were selling sex: a 2014–2015 survey of men on Craigslist.org (n = 95) and a 2013 study of men on Rentboy.com (n = 418). In multivariable modelling, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had a significantly higher odds of being non-White (AOR = 5.32), gay identified (AOR = 2.32), making less than US$20,000 a year (AOR = 3.77), having used marijuana in the past 12 months (AOR = 3.41). Furthermore, compared to Rentboy, Craigslist participants had significantly lower odds of escorting full-time (AOR = .24), kissing (AOR = .23) or having anal insertive sex (AOR = .36) with their last male client, that their last paid encounter exceeded 1 hour in duration (AOR = .49) or having been paid over US$200 for that encounter (AOR = .19), and fewer clients in the past 30 days (AOR = .95). Craigslist participants were at greater economic disadvantage compared to men from Rentboy; however, they were less likely to engage in HIV risk behaviours (anal sex and condomless anal sex). These samples may represent distinct populations along the continuum of sex work.

Who Is Responsible for Climate Change? Attribution of Responsibility, News Media, and South Koreans’ Perceived Risk of Climate Change

Analyzing data from a survey of South Koreans’ perceptions of climate change, this study examines whether the way people attribute responsibility can affect their perceived risks. We also examine the role of the media in this process, looking at whether media use can influence the way the audiences attribute responsibility. Our findings provided support for the basic principles of risk perception that perceived controllability of a risk can affect the level of perceived risk (Slovic, Fischhoff, & Lichtenstein, 1982). Respondents who believed that the government or large corporations—as opposed to average citizens—were responsible for the negative consequences of climate change indicated perceptions of a greater risk because the risk was believed to be beyond their own control and determined largely by another entity (i.e., the government or corporations). When it comes to the role of the media, television news viewing was negatively associated with attributing responsibility to the government and to large corporations. On the contrary, uses of online bulletin boards and blogs were positively associated with blaming the government and corporations. By assessing the role of attribution in perceiving climate change risk, this study adds a new and likely helpful discovery regarding the dynamics of climate change perceptions.

Online collaborative learning activities: The perspectives of African American female students

This exploratory study examined the perspectives of African American female students toward online collaborative learning. The participants were nine African American female graduate students in an online multimedia instructional design course in the southeastern United States. A qualitative study was conducted, with data obtained from open-ended interviews, along with relevant posts on chat rooms and online bulletin boards in relation to an assessable collaborative online assignment. Data revealed that the perspectives of African American women toward online collaborative learning could be categorized into four themes, including (a) preference to work in a racially mixed group, (b) preference to be a leader in the group, (c) learning-oriented reasons (rather than social or peer oriented reasons) for online collaborative learning, and (d) timid attitude toward online discussions.

“It Belongs to the Internet”: Animal Images, Attribution Norms and the Politics of Amateur Media Production

“It Belongs to the Internet”: Animal Images, Attribution Norms and the Politics of Amateur Media Production

Evaluating Online forums as a Customer Service Tool for Consumer Products

INTRODUCTION Online social media have gained tremendous popularity among Internet users. Millions of consumers share personal information as well as their knowledge with others, many of whom are strangers, using online communities such as blogs, social network sites, and online bulletin boards. These online communities cover a wide variety of topics and interest groups (see, for example, Byrne (2008) on black social networks such as BlackPlanet.com; Barnett & Hwang (2003) on online forums for breast cancer patients, Schroeder, et al. (2010) on using social software in higher education, and Wasko, et al. (2009) on communications within an online legal professional association network). Online retailers also implement social media tools to allow customers to learn about new and existing products, obtain technical support, and even express their opinions about the products they have used. In this research, we focus on online forums that are implemented primarily to provide customer service. In spite of the popularity of using online forums as a customer service tool, little research has been done to examine the effectiveness and the social nature of these forums. For example, are these forums useful in providing technical or product advice? Do consumers receive the information they seek? Do forum members actually form a well-connected support group or a community? In order to answer these research questions, our study examines communication activities from a range of online forums, allowing us to conduct extensive analysis and to investigate the social structures that exist and communication activities that occur within the online communities. We select online forums that were created to support two types of consumer products: mobile phones and MP3 players. These two products are often used on a daily basis and have a large worldwide consumer base. Unlike past studies focusing online communities of experts in specific industries (e.g., financial services: Schoberth, et al. (2006) or professional legal services: Wasko & Faraj (2000); Wasko & Faraj (2005) that are not necessarily applicable to general consumers, the forums included in our study support a broad consumer base. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, none of the previous studies on online forums examined online communities that are implemented primarily as a customer service feature. We also select the online forums whose participants come from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations to ensure that our findings can be generalized. We developed a software application that employed advanced data collection techniques to compile a complete archive of information stored on each online forum. Our comparative and social network analysis (SNA) allows us to extend the results from past studies and gain additional insights into the nature and effectiveness of using online forums as a customer service tool. PAST RESEARCH ON ONLINE COMMUNITIES Research on online communities spans a broad spectrum of academic fields. Past studies in communications research examined the information exchange that takes place in an online environment (e.g., Sohn & Leckenby, 2007; Liu, 2008). In the field of Marketing, research on word-of-mouth communication encompassed both offline and online environments. Past studies (e.g., Bampo, et al., 2008; Godes & Mayzlin, 2004; Richins, 1983; Putsis et al., 1997; Kozinets, 2002) provided an excellent overview of research in this area. In Organizational Behavior, researchers have examined the nature of virtual organizations and the behavior of their participants (Constant, et al., 1994; Constant, et al., 1996; Desantis & Monge, 1999). Other academic disciplines that have substantial interest in this research topic include Economics (e.g., Ellison & Fudenberg, 1995) and Sociology (e.g., Van den Bulte & Lilien, 2001). In the past decade, the topic of online communities has also piqued the interest of scholars in Information Systems. …

E‐campaigning versus the Public Official Election Act in South Korea

PurposeSouth Korea imposes more stringent restrictions on political speeches during elections than many other democratic countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the long‐standing conflict between citizens and institutions in the Korean electoral environment and the effects of the internet on this conflict.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a case study of the 2007 presidential election in Korea. During the campaign period, two video clips (one on YouTube and the other on Daum, a major domestic web portal) emerged and implicated the then‐leading candidate in a financial scandal. The paper investigates how these video clips were shared and discussed among Korean voters, even though the country's election laws restricted the sharing of such information in cyberspace. The paper employs a combination of network analysis techniques, including hyperlink analysis, interaction network analysis, and semantic network analysis.FindingsYouTube served as a medium for Korean voters to circumvent local electoral regulations, thus implying the neologism “cyber‐exile”. However, unlike Daum, YouTube failed to facilitate discussions on the posted video clip. The discussion through its comment feature was often derailed by irrelevant comments from seemingly uninterested parties. The address of the video clip was shared through personal blogs and online bulletin boards in Korean cyberspace, but these efforts led only to a fragmented sphere.Research limitations/implicationsAny comparison between YouTube and Daum should be made with caution because of inherent differences between the two platforms.Practical implicationsThe results have important practical implications for those interested in designing e‐deliberation environments. For example, they should have a clearer understanding of the composition of users and the undesirable consequences of a fragmented public sphere.Originality/valueThis paper highlights how pre‐internet institutions shape its members’ political activity on the internet. In addition, the results clearly demonstrate that an innovative effort to circumvent barriers on the part of internet users is not enough to harness the potential of online discussions for a measured and sustained discourse on the issue at hand.

The Influence of Narrative v. Statistical Information on Perceiving Vaccination Risks

Health-related information found on the Internet is increasing and impacts patient decision making, e.g. regarding vaccination decisions. In addition to statistical information (e.g. incidence rates of vaccine adverse events), narrative information is also widely available such as postings on online bulletin boards. Previous research has shown that narrative information can impact treatment decisions, even when statistical information is presented concurrently. As the determinants of this effect are largely unknown, we will vary features of the narratives to identify mechanisms through which narratives impact risk judgments. An online bulletin board setting provided participants with statistical information and authentic narratives about the occurrence and nonoccurrence of adverse events. Experiment 1 followed a single factorial design with 1, 2, or 4 narratives out of 10 reporting adverse events. Experiment 2 implemented a 2 (statistical risk 20% vs. 40%) × 2 (2/10 vs. 4/10 narratives reporting adverse events) × 2 (high vs. low richness) × 2 (high vs. low emotionality) between-subjects design. Dependent variables were perceived risk of side-effects and vaccination intentions. Experiment 1 shows an inverse relation between the number of narratives reporting adverse-events and vaccination intentions, which was mediated by the perceived risk of vaccinating. Experiment 2 showed a stronger influence of the number of narratives than of the statistical risk information. High (vs. low) emotional narratives had a greater impact on the perceived risk, while richness had no effect. The number of narratives influences risk judgments can potentially override statistical information about risk.

Brand community: Drivers and outcomes

Groups of users and admirers of a brand who engage jointly in group actions to accomplish collective goals and/or to express mutual sentiments and commitments are known as brand communities. Lately, brand communities have been a heavily researched topic in marketing science. While the positive consequences of brand communities are well documented in the literature, little is known about how brand communities can be facilitated and how consumer–brand relationships can be fostered. This research empirically assesses the relevance of offline (i.e., events) and online marketing management tools (i.e., Web sites with online bulletin boards and online expert chats) to strengthen brand communities by facilitating shared customer experiences and multi-way interactions. Additionally, the importance of consumer–brand identification as a consequence of such relationship-building activities is investigated, and the outcomes of a consumer's identification with a brand are analyzed. Important management implications can be derived. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Consumer Responses to Mattel Product Recalls Posted on Online Bulletin Boards: Exploring Two Types of Emotion

Drawn from attribution theory, this article introduces two types of emotion (i.e., attribution independent and attribution dependent emotion) and explores their role in the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) model. A content analysis of consumer responses to the Mattel product recalls posted on online bulletin boards revealed that consumers experience a range of emotions from a crisis. A regression analysis suggests that crisis responsibility is a significant predictor of anger, fear, surprise, worry, contempt, and relief, and indicates that these are attribution dependent emotions. Alert and confusion were the most frequently expressed attribution independent emotions identified in this study. In testing a revised SCCT model, a significant negative relationship was found between alert, anger, and organizational reputation. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.