Online Information Exchange Research Articles

Directing the Dialogue: The Relationship Between YouTube Videos and the Comments They Spur

ABSTRACT This study performs a content analysis of 207 YouTube videos and 45,759 comments about the Proposition 8 campaign in California. Specifically, we examine how a video's tone and focus are related to comment features. We find consistent support for the flow of information from topics mentioned in the video to topics addressed in commentary, as well as uptake of an uncivil tone from the video to the comments. Implications are discussed for promoting higher quality online information exchanges and the democratic merits of social media.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Lessons from the East Palo Alto Community Network

This paper reports the efforts of the East Palo Alto Community Network (“Community Network” for short) and the success of its two programs over the past three years. The first program, Technology Access Points (TAPs), conveniently locates centers in East Palo Alto where residents may access computers, the Internet, fax machines, and copiers. The second program, EPA.net, is an online resource center for the East Palo Alto Community that allows residents to post news articles and event information relevant to the city that often cannot be found anywhere else. The site also contains numerous other online resources for residents. Plugged In outlined four outcomes at the outset of this project to track the success of the Community Network Project:1) Increased Participation of Community Residents in Online Information and Idea Exchange, Leading to Increased Sense of Commitment to the Community.2) Increased Technology Skills and Use of Technology by Staff of Community Based Organizations, Leading to Increased Efficiency and Effectiveness.3) Increased Access to Relevant Information for Community Residents, Leading to Increased Ease in Utilizing Community Services.4) Increased Technology Skills for Community Residents, Leading to Greater Educational and Employment Opportunities.In general, all four outcome goals have been met. Quantitative and qualitative data suggests that both Community Network programs have led to an increase in the number of residents who participate in online information exchange and a subsequent increase in these residents’ sense of connection to the greater East Palo Alto community. Similar data also indicate that there has been an increase in technological skills and thus educational and employment opportunities for residents. Meanwhile, qualitative evidence indicates that the second and third outcome goals, increased technology skills for staff of community based organizations and increased efficiency and effectiveness in such organizations, as well as increased access to relevant information for residents, were also met through the TAPs and EPA.net programs.Our analysis has led us to make five recommendations for improvements in the Community Network project: more aggressive advertisement of EPA.net, stronger outreach to other CBO’s, promoting unused aspects of EPA.net, designating specified places and times for adults in TAPs, and design improvements to the layout of EPA.net. This paper is an adaptation of a report that was written for the Technology Opportunitiees Program (TOP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, evaluating the Community Network’s use of TOP funding. The plan is to evolve the paper in an academic direction, and we would appreciate comments on relevant other projects to use for comparison. As a preliminary step in this direction, we have included a list of references at the end of the main body of this paper.

Online Information Exchanges for Parents of Children With a Rare Health Condition: Key Findings From an Online Support Community

BackgroundThe Internet provides new opportunities for parents of children with difficult illnesses and disabilities to find information and support. The Internet is particularly important for caregivers of children with special needs due to numerous health-related decisions they face. For at-risk populations, online support communities can become key settings and channels for health promotion and communication.ObjectiveThis study is an initial exploration of the information-seeking and information-provision processes present in an online support community, which is an area of opportunity and interest for Internet-based medical research and practice. The aim of this study was to explore and describe information-related processes of uncertainty management in relationship to clubfoot. Specifically, the study explored interpersonal communication (information seeking and provision) in an online support community serving the needs of parents of children with clubfoot.MethodsThe study population consisted of messages posted to an online community by caregivers (parents) of children with clubfoot. The theoretical framework informing the study was the Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT). The study used content analysis to explore and categorize the content of 775 messages.ResultsWomen authored 664 of 775 messages (86%) and men authored 47 messages (6%). Caregivers managed uncertainty through information seeking and provision behaviors that were dynamic and multilayered. The ratio of information-seeking messages to information-provision responses was 1 to 4. All five types of information-seeking behaviors proposed by Brashers’ schema were identified, most of them being correlated. Information seeking using direct questions was found to be positively correlated to self-disclosure (r=.538), offering of a candidate answer (r=.318), and passive information seeking (r=.253). Self-disclosure was found to be positively correlated to provision of a candidate answer (r=.324), second-guessing (r=.149), and passive information seeking (r=.366). Provision of a candidate answer was found to be positively correlated with second-guessing (r=.193) and passive information seeking (r=.223). Second-guessing was found to be positively correlated to passive information seeking (r=.311). All correlations reported above were statistically significant (P<0.01). Of the 775 messages analyzed, 255 (33%) identified a medical professional or institution by name. Detailed medical information was provided in 101 (13%) messages, with the main source of information identified being personal experience rather than medical sources.ConclusionOnline communities can be an effective channel for caregivers, especially women, to seek and offer information required for managing clubfoot-related uncertainty. To enhance communication with parents, health care institutions may need to invest additional resources in user-friendly online information sources and online interactions with caregivers of children with special illnesses such as clubfoot. Furthermore, explorations of information-seeking and information-provision behaviors in online communities can provide valuable data for interdisciplinary health research and practice.

Tweeting the Spill

Informal online communication channels are being utilized for official communications in disaster contexts. Channels such as networked microblogging enable public officials to broadcast messages as well as engage in direct communication exchange with individuals. Here the authors investigate online information exchange behaviors of a set of state and federal organizations during the Deepwater Horizon 2010 oil spill disaster. Using data from the popular microblogging service, Twitter, they analyze the roles individual organizations play in the dissemination of information to the general public online, and the conversational aspects of official posts. The authors discuss characteristics and features of the following networks including actor centrality and differential mixing, as well as how structural features may affect information exchange in disasters. This research provides insight into the use of networked communications during an event of heightened public concern, describes implications of conversational features, and suggests directions for future research.

Common Ground? How the Encoding of Specialist Vocabulary Affects Peer-to-Peer Online Discourse

Using the same specialist terms in online discourse can indicate knowledge overlaps between partners. However, linguistic overlaps do not automatically ensure overlaps in conceptual representations. In particular, learning situations, which typically focus on knowledge acquisition, require a sufficient understanding of domain-specific concepts. This study investigated how the same versus different lexical encodings of specialist concepts influenced peer-to-peer online discourse behavior and information exchange. Student dyads communicated via email while preparing a written text. Partners in each dyad received different texts containing either the same terminology across texts or different terminology. Results showed that dyads in the different-terminology condition communicated more intensively (e.g., clarifying the conceptual meaning of specialist terms by asking questions and giving explanations) than those in the same-terminology condition. However, despite exchanging more information, learners in the different-terminology condition were less certain about their conceptual understanding. Implications for the use of specialist language in peer-to-peer learning situations are discussed.

The Internet, Children, and Privacy: The Case Against Parental Monitoring

It has been recommended that parents monitor their children’s Internet use, including what sites they visit, what messages they receive, and what they post. In this paper, I argue that parents ought not follow this advice, because to do so would violate a child’s right to privacy over their on-line information exchanges. In defense of this claim, I argue that children have a right to privacy from their parents, because it respects their current capacities and fosters their future capacities for autonomy and relationships.

Shaping, Streamlining, and Solidifying the Information Chain in Turbulent Times

As budgets and resources dwindle due to the current economic downturn, it is more critical than ever to ensure all members of the information chain work together as efficiently as possible. This panel explores utilizing the latest Online Information Exchange (ONIX) standards to upload holdings and licensing information, creating systems that ensure renewals and upgrades to electronic components seamlessly, and becoming compliant with the Shared Electronic Resources Understanding (SERU), as well as providing tips on successfully negotiating electronic packages. Times like these require that subscription agents, publishers, libraries and consortia streamline productivity, function with leaner resources, and create better technologies, all while solidifying processes and tasks. This panel, consisting of a subscription agent, publisher agent, and consortium officer, discussed what measures their institutions are taking to streamline the business of electronic serials, new technologies they are employing, and common-sense approaches for getting the most out of electronic serials.

ONIX for Publications Licenses: Getting an Electronic Grip on License Information

Management of the negotiation for licensed electronic content has been a growing issue since libraries began buying electronic products in large numbers in the 1990s. As subscriptions to digital content have expanded rapidly, the problems of tracking, managing, and communicating the rights and responsibilities agreed to in licenses have grown exponentially. Based on the work of the Digital Library Federation's (DLF's) Electronic Resource Management Initiative (ERMI) and EDItEUR's work on the ONIX (ONline Information eXchange) structure for communicating publisher data, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and these partners have worked to develop and improve ONIX for Publications Licenses (ONIX-PL), a system for storing and communicating the terms of a license between systems in XML format. This presentation outlined the history of ERMI, license management issues, and the status of ONIX-PL. It also presents developments over the past year since ONIX-PL was launched officially, describing the potential benefits of the application.

Not Just Drifting: Checking Online Serial Issue Availability

A 2009 survey conducted by librarians at Southern Illinois University Carbondale revealed that librarians want an automated process for verifying online serial access. Rather than just waiting for automation to arrive, 51 percent of the 237 respondents were systematically checking access to subscribed online journals. Unfortunately, 45 percent of respondents had never heard of ONIX (ONline Information eXchange) for Serials, the group of XML formats for sharing serial product and subscription information that holds promise for enabling this automation. Presenters shared the survey results and noted what needs to be done next to put ONIX for Serials into practice.

Not what you know, nor who you know, but who you know already: Examining Online Information Sharing Behaviours in a Blogging Environment through the Lens of Social Exchange Theory

This paper focuses on the extent to which online information sharing practice is socially motivated. A key interest is how knowledge of the existing social connections between actors may predict their information sharing behaviour when they move into an online environment, and the relative importance of these connections when set against other factors that may motivate online information sharing within a closed group. The examination of online information exchanges between members of a defined community of bloggers reveals that those with established off-line relationships are more likely to interact with one another when they move into an online environment than those who have not enjoyed earlier contact. The findings of the empirical study are evaluated with reference to social exchange theory, with acknowledgement of the importance of shared social capital as a prerequisite for the efficient operation of work-groups, both in face-to-face and online environments. It is concluded that social exchange theory can be deployed as a means of explaining online information sharing behaviours. The study findings have implications for the design of environments for purposes of online information sharing, especially in terms of the provision of substitutes for physical proximity in distributed organisations, the operation of reward systems, and expectations for communities to develop their own information sharing ecologies.

Consumers' Rules of Engagement in Online Information Exchanges

This research reveals three perceptual themes or “rules of engagement” used by consumers when personal information is requested in online exchanges. The themes—the criticality of the exchange, felt invasion, and fair play—underlie the choice of responses from compliance to blatant falsification of information to company requests. Identified from consumers' in‐depth interviews, these themes, along with the range and variations of response behaviors, reveal that consumers' motivations vary from very simple rules to more customized rules. Our findings may help firms understand consumers' interpretation of online informational requests better and identify factors that influence how consumers respond.

SHARE: A superordinate online rural community

AbstractComprehensive School Reform in Rural K‐8 Schools in the Southeast: Integrative Technologies for Quality Initiatives is a three‐year technology intervention funded by the US Department of Education. As part of this project, teachers in eight rural K‐8 schools in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama were given access to an online community Web‐portal built on Sakai called SHARE (Schools Helping to Advance Rural Education). This Web‐portal supports the project's goal to expand teachers' ability to access and exchange information by providing server space for each school community as well as the larger project community. Through SHARE, communities of teachers at the school level can create a new community of information exchange among all project teachers and across all project schools. The exchange at the higher project level creates a superordinate level.Data collected through multiple methods is used to make comparisons between teachers' attitudes and online information exchange practices in base‐level communities and in the larger superordinate community established through the SHARE Web‐portal. The four‐tier pyramid of Hersberger, Murray, and Rioux (2007) is used to inform the evaluation of the teachers' information sharing activities and to assist in the assessment of the overall level of gratification or discontentment of the project's community of teachers.

Digital MarketingPeer support via the internet: What kind of online support is sought by individuals with chronic medical conditions?

People with chronic illnesses are likely to show a higher involvement in decision making about their treatment options than people with acute illnesses. Of particular interest to many people with chronic illnesses is the internet as a medium where they can gather, share and exchange information and support each other. Little is known about the kind of information shared and topics discussed online. Using the example of people living with HIV/Aids, this paper examines the kind of information shared and discusses the relevance of understanding the online information exchange for the medical community.

Research Note: Do Virtual Policy Networks Matter? Tracing Network Structure Online

Abstract.The Internet, operating as a technologically embedded laboratory of human activity, provides social scientists with a new set of analytical tools by which to test and replicate models of social and political behaviour, with data extrapolated from the regularities of online activity, organization and information exchange. This research note demonstrates that virtual policy networks, arrangements of public interaction between mutually supporting actors that form around policy activities, exist on the Web. In addition, the note considers whether or not Canadian virtual policy networks are mimicking their respective national policy communities through the application of a methodological approach referred to as link structure analysis. Four sectorally based networks, including Aboriginal policy, agriculture, banking and women-centred policy, are analyzed to assess the extent of virtual policy networks' replication of real world policy dynamics.Résumé.L'Internet, agissant comme laboratoire technologique de l'activité humaine, fournit aux chercheurs un nouvel ensemble d'outils analytiques par lesquels ils peuvent tester et recréer des modèles de comportements sociaux et politiques, à l'aide de données extrapolées à partir d'activités, d'organisations et d'échanges d'information en ligne. Cet essai montre qu'il existe sur Internet des réseaux virtuels d'action politique, à savoir des arrangements d'interaction publique entre différents acteurs sociaux se regroupant autour de certaines idées politiques. En outre, il essaie de déterminer si les réseaux virtuels canadiens imitent leurs communautés politiques nationales respectives, en utilisant une approche méthodologique désignée sous le nom d'analyse de la structure des liens. Quatre réseaux appartenant à des secteurs distincts, soit la politique autochtone, l'agriculture, les opérations bancaires et la condition féminine, sont analysés pour évaluer l'ampleur de la reproduction des dynamiques politiques et sociales du monde réel par les réseaux d'action politique virtuels.

Cardiac monitoring by non-cardiologists: indications and limits

Dear Sir, We thank Dr. E. da Cruz and coworkers for their attention given to our article [1]. However, we would like to clarify our statement in aforementioned article: we never stated that an emergency physician or even a pediatric intensivist (not cardiologist) can be highly enough trained to detect such a malformative condition. Therefore, this cannot be our recommendation. Coronary imaging by two-dimensional echocardiography is best performed by an experienced pediatric cardiologist, with the aim of coronary artery visualization and appreciating vessel diameter and possible dominance. Bedside limited echocardiography by the emergency physician (BLEEP) has been proposed by several authors as a diagnostic tool in both adults and pediatric patients with well-defined limitations [2, 3]. BLEEP is aimed at (1) caval vein dynamics on the subxiphoid view (with collapsibility evaluation); (2) LV function myocardial contractility detection; (3) pericardial effusion demonstration. In a pediatric intensive care unit setting, the main BLEEP applications should be the cardiovascular optimization in septic or cardiogenic shock patients and a better contact between intensivists and cardiologist (also with online information exchange; thus decreasing the need for repeated clinical assessments by cardiologists). We fully agree that a chest radiogram should be performed soon after admission – together with a careful clinical evaluation – as a means of revealing a possible cardiac involvement in an infant presenting with respiratory distress (e.g. bronchiolitis-like syndrome). In our clinical practice, when a cardiomegaly has been demonstrated, electrocardiography and two-dimensional echocardiography by an experienced pediatric cardiologist should be performed as soon as possible, ideally before clinical signs of cardiovascular compromise became evident. Consequently, as we concluded in the Abstract of our article: “Admission chest X-ray and arterial gas analysis can raise the suspicion of cardiac involvement when treating a severe wheezing episode in young infants”.

Spatial conceptions of URLs: Tamil Eelam networks on the world wide web

In its current state, the internet may be understood as a dynamic, shifting network of computers and other electronic signal receptors transmitting and/or receiving bits of digital information. Popular conceptions of the internet, however, depict this exchange of information as delimiting virtual space. Rather than recognizing the networks formed through online information exchange, the prevailing images of the internet and world wide web locate individuals, not to mention data, within spatial coordinates. Some websites use networking and exchange to describe how they disseminate data; Tamil Eelam online provides an example where spatial metaphors are eschewed and network figures highlighted. Virtual Tamil Eelam is not focused on geopolitical sites but rather on people in dispersion, as well as the spread of information regarding its history and virtual nation, in order to create recognition for state and national sovereignty.

What Is ONIX for Serials? What Potential Does It Have for the Serials Workflow?

The NISO/EDItEUR Joint Working Party for the Exchange of Serials Subscription Information (JWP) has defined three different ONIX (Online Information Exchange) for Serials formats: Serials Products and Subscriptions (SPS), Serials Online Holdings (SOH), and Serials Release Notice (SRN). The new formats are designed to provide information about the availability of serial publications more efficiently than manual update systems. Publishers and middle agents, as well as libraries, have many potential gains to be derived from early adoption and use of the formats as soon as they appear in their final form.

What Is ONIX for Serials? What Potential Does It Have for the Serials Workflow?

The NISO/EDItEUR Joint Working Party for the Exchange of Serials Subscription Information (JWP) has defined three different ONIX (Online Information Exchange) for Serials formats: Serials Products and Subscriptions (SPS), Serials Online Holdings (SOH), and Serials Release Notice (SRN). The new formats are designed to provide information about the availability of serial publications more efficiently than manual update systems. Publishers and middle agents, as well as libraries, have many potential gains to be derived from early adoption and use of the formats as soon as they appear in their final form.

Issues in Metadata Crosswalks: A Case Study of Qualified Dublin Core and Onix

In the traditional library environment Cataloging in Publication (CIP) is very popular and the library staff can make use of CIP records to generate minimal cataloguing information. With the advent of Internet and the presence of book industry on the Net, the growing importance of metadata has resulted in ONIX (ONline Information eXchange). The benefits of crosswalk between ONIX and Dublin Core are too obvious to be ignored, as it saves the time of cataloguers in generating metadata in Dublin Core for the e-books or even printed books acquired by a library. This paper attempts to investigate the possibility of generating required metadata from available metadata formats, particularly the most popular Dublin Core (DC) from ONIX and presents mapping between ONIX and Qualified Dublin Core.

ONIX for Serials—The NISO/EDItEUR Joint Working Party1

This article describes Online Information Exchange (ONIX) for Serials, a set of XML-based messages parallel to the ONIX for Books format described in an earlier “Standards Update.” These messages are being developed by a joint working party of National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and EDItEUR, the European EDI organization that oversees ONIX development and maintenance. The article describes the messages, their development, and some of the applications in which it is envisioned the messages will be used.