Rabbit Hole Research Articles

“Trying to find a rabbit hole to fall down”: A phenomenological case study of a queer youth parent seeking services for homelessness and intimate partner violence

Queer youth are vulnerable to experience intimate partner violence (IPV), which is compounded for those who also experience homelessness and are parents. Among these, transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth are especially vulnerable. Accordingly, it is important to have queer-affirming services related to both homelessness and IPV that consider parents’ needs. This phenomenological case study centers the voice of one queer youth parent who experienced IPV in a context of homelessness and their experiences of accessing services. The survivor’s data were supplemented with data from two social workers at the organization where the survivor received services. Findings suggest that experiences of homelessness and the need to access related services took precedence over IPV-related aid. Cis-heteronormativity in services made help-seeking difficult and being a parenting limited access to queer-affirmative, youth-focused supports as those supports were not designed to accommodate parents.

Going down the rabbit hole: Tracheal hypoplasia disguised as unanticipated difficult airway

Going down the rabbit hole: Tracheal hypoplasia disguised as unanticipated difficult airway

Neurodivergence and the Rabbit Hole of Extremism: Uncovering Lived Experience

Neurodivergence and the Rabbit Hole of Extremism: Uncovering Lived Experience

How Algorithms Promote Self-Radicalization: Audit of TikTok’s Algorithm Using a Reverse Engineering Method

Algorithmic radicalization is the idea that algorithms used by social media platforms push people down digital “rabbit holes” by framing personal online activity. Algorithms control what people see and when they see it and learn from their past activities. As such, people gradually and subconsciously adopt the ideas presented to them by the rabbit hole down which they have been pushed. In this study, TikTok’s role in fostering radicalized ideology is examined to offer a critical analysis of the state of radicalism and extremism on platforms. This study conducted an algorithm audit of the role of radicalizing information in social media by examining how TikTok’s algorithms are being used to radicalize, polarize, and spread extremism and societal instability. The results revealed that the pathways through which users access far-right content are manifold and that a large portion of the content can be ascribed to platform recommendations through radicalization pipelines. Algorithms are not simple tools that offer personalized services but rather contributors to radicalism, societal violence, and polarization. Such personalization processes have been instrumental in how artificial intelligence (AI) has been deployed, designed, and used to the detrimental outcomes that it has generated. Thus, the generation and adoption of extreme content on TikTok are, by and large, not only a reflection of user inputs and interactions with the platform but also the platform’s ability to slot users into specific categories and reinforce their ideas.

Down the Rabbit Hole of Investment Arbitration and Ethics

This article addresses the role of arbitrators and the everlasting tension amongst personal morals and interpretive rigour. Critiques of investment law have traditionally underscored the lack of balance in power between foreign investors and host states under BITs and FTAs and have especially emphasized how investment arbitration is a mechanism that aggravates imbalances and engenders inequitable outcomes. Frequent appeals for the reform of investment arbitration resonate amongst scholars, states, and international organizations, with the appointment of arbitrators and their conduct facing intense scrutiny. Arbitrators, endowed with powers akin to those of adjudicators, demonstrate at times a concerning attitude towards the rigorous interpretation of applicable laws, often overlooking the public international law nature of BITs and FTAs and, on occasion, approaching investment disputes as though they were merely commercial arbitration cases. The conflation of the two types of arbitration has had adverse effects, resulting in dubious awards and decisions. The increasing number of so-called mega-awards exacerbates the problem, as their significance for host states is not necessarily commensurate with the rigor of the legal reasoning underpinning them. This has progressively led to an erosion of trust in investment arbitrators and numerous calls for greater accountability of arbitrators. However, one may argue that even the most rigorous interpretations of BITs and FTAs unavoidably favour the interests of foreign investors due to the inherent nature of such agreements, which prioritize the rights and protections of foreign investors over the interest and welfare of host states and their populations.

Down the “Rabbit Hole” of Conspiracy-Fueled White Nationalism: Linking Outgroup Threat and Uncertainty to Conspiracy Beliefs and Prejudice Toward Immigrants

White nationalists represent a growing security threat worldwide. Of concern are their narratives and conspiracy theories that position immigrants of diverse color and religion as the feared “other”—outgroups that are perceived to threaten the values, resources and safety of White people. We use survey data from 570 White Australians to better understand how and why such perceived “outgroup threats” elicit prejudice toward non-White immigrants. We find that perceived outgroup threats are strongly associated with greater prejudice. Importantly, we find that belief in The Great Replacement conspiracy theory explains the outgroup threat/prejudice relationship, while heightened feelings of uncertainty strengthen the relationship.

Identifying Pathways to the Incel Community and Where to Intervene: A Qualitative Study with Former Incels

The term “Incel” refers to a group of boys and/or men who feel that they have been unjustly denied relationships and sex with women due to an unfair social system, and some Incels have committed violence based on these beliefs. More broadly, self-identified Incels face social and mental health issues and can hold negative beliefs about women and other marginalized genders, which may lead them to harm both themselves and others. In this research, we seek to understand the experiences that may lead men to become Incels. We interviewed 21 people who identified as former Incels about their experiences joining and leaving Incel groups, with the goal of understanding how men find their way into these groups, and how resources might be adapted to prevent young men from becoming Incels. A reflexive thematic analysis generated two major themes with subthemes. The first theme, Seeking help online for struggles meeting masculinity norms, had three subthemes that reflected the specific struggles being experienced: I’m a loser because I can’t get women, I’m all alone, and I have no value. The second theme, Down the rabbit hole: Finding help online from the Incel community, had three subthemes that reflected the several ways they were validated by the community: It’s not your fault, You belong here, and You are special. These findings highlight specific pathways that lead men to Incel communities and why they join them, and potential points for intervention that center pressures for boys and men to conform to masculine norms.

Preventing users from going down rabbit holes of extreme video content: A study of the role played by different modes of autoplay

The autoplay feature of video platforms is often blamed for users going down rabbit holes of binge-watching extreme content. However, autoplay is not necessarily a passive experience, because users can toggle the feature off if they want. While the automation aspect is passive, the toggle option signals interactivity, making it “interpassive,” which lies between completely passive autoplay and manual initiation of each video. We empirically compare these three modes of video viewing in a user study (N = 394), which exposed participants to either extreme or non-extreme content under conditions of manual play, interpassive autoplay, or completely passive autoplay. Results show that interpassive autoplay is favored over the other two. It triggers the control heuristic compared to passive autoplay, but leads to higher inattentiveness compared to manual play. Both the invoked control heuristic and inattentiveness result in higher rabbit hole perception. These findings have implications for socially responsible design of the autoplay feature.

Down the rabbit hole: Acculturation, integration and adaptation

The re-analysis of Nguyen and Benet-Martínez’s (2013) meta-analytic data and a new meta-analysis of longitudinal studies by Bierwiaczonek and Kunst (2021) showed that the relationship between acculturation and adaptation is weak and that the effect size for unbiased results for integration may not differ from zero. These findings pose a major challenge to acculturation theory and research where the premises that acculturation is reliably related to adaptation and that integration is the most adaptive strategy are widely accepted. In this paper I consider how we as acculturation scholars could respond to this challenge. First, I summarize the results of Bierwiaczonek and Kunst’s (2021) meta-analytic studies and the response by Grigoryev et al. (2023), noting that the findings reported in both papers are characterized by small effect sizes and large amounts of heterogeneity. I then consider what single studies can tell us about acculturation and adaptation, highlighting the influence of methodological and contextual factors on this relationship. Finally, I synthesize research on cultural identity configurations, bicultural identity integration and cultural identity styles to show how each program of research on cultural identity integration leads to different, but more nuanced, conclusions about the relationship between acculturation and adaptation. To advance acculturation theory and research I argue that we should reframe our questions from “to what extent are acculturation and integration related to adaptation?” to “how and when are acculturation and integration related to adaptation?” I also advocate putting more emphasis on acculturation processes and contexts in future research.

Bereavement And Melancholy in Cinema: A Comparative Review Between Turkish and American Cinemas

Cinema is one of the most vivid and sensational reflection tools in the art world since it reverberates almost all emotions concerning human beings and their experiences. One of these emotions is grief due to the loss of our beloved ones and in the same way as existence and life, it is a striking issue covering lots of films and thus the concept of mourning and sorrow are the most outstanding and common themes having a profound impact on cinema audiences. In other words, despite cultural and social differences all around the world, grief and pain are intense and universal emotions. Understanding and interpreting the contexts in which these emotions are addressed in different cinema cultures is essential to reveal the cultural projections of cinematic narratives. As part of this idea, the main purpose of this study is to illustrate how Turkish Cinema and American Cinema approach the concepts of bereavement and lament. Accordingly, four well-known films, Canım Kardeşim (1973) Babam ve Oğlum (2005), Rabbit Hole (2010) and finally Manchester by the Sea (2016) have been determined via purposeful sampling method and analyzed by focusing on remarkable similarities and differences in terms of loss and death with the aid of descriptive analysis. As a result of reviews of the films, it has been observed that the Turkish approach to death and loss includes melodrama, emotional abuse, and local connotations while the American one involves a more realistic point of view underlying individual crises, mental collapses or devastations.

Bibliometric and content analysis of ChatGPT research in nursing education: The rabbit hole in nursing education

AimThis study was conducted to perform the bibliometric and content analysis of ChatGPT studies in nursing education. BackgroundChatGPT is an artificial intelligence-based chatbot developed by OpenAI. The benefits and limitations of the use of ChatGPT in nursing education are still discussed; however, it is a tool having potential to be used in nursing education. DesignBibliometric and content analysis. MethodsThe study data were scanned through Scopus and Web of Science. Bibliometric analysis was carried out with VOSViewer and Bibliometrix software. In the bibliometric analysis, science mapping and performance analysis techniques were used. Various bibliometric data, including most cited publications, journals and countries, were analyzed and visualized. The synthetic knowledge synthesis method was used in content analysis. ResultsWe analyzed 53 publications to which 151 authors contributed. The publications had been published in 29 different journals. The average number of citations of publications is 8.2. It was determined that most of the articles were published in Nurse Education Today and Nurse Educator journals and that the leading countries were the USA and Canada. It was observed that international cooperation on the issue was weak. The most frequently mentioned keywords in the publications were "ChatGPT", "artificial intelligence" and "nursing". The following three themes emerged after the content analysis: (1) Integration of ChatGPT into nursing education; (2) Potential benefits and limitations of ChatGPT; and (3) Stepping down the rabbit hole. ConclusionsWe expect that the results of the study can give nursing faculties and academics ideas about the current status of ChatGPT in nursing education and enable them to make inferences for the future.

Breaking free from the “digital rabbit hole”: A configurational analysis of in-class smartphone distraction among university students

Smartphone distraction is pervasive in university classrooms, yet our understanding of its determinants remains incomplete. Drawing on complexity theory and the technology–personal–environment framework, this study employs multiple data sets for exploring the primary predictors and their configurations in determining in-class smartphone distraction among university students. Based on the interview data from 15 undergraduate students, seven primary predictors of smartphone distraction were identified. Subsequently, the study delved into the questionnaire data collected from 563 Chinese university students and revealed four combinations of the predictors for in-class smartphone distraction through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. This study contributes to the literature on in-class smartphone distraction by revealing its complex nature and offering practical strategies for educational practitioners to counteract the adverse effects of smartphone distraction in university classrooms.

Patent Quality: A Critique of the State of the Discussion

Despite decades of research and debate, the narrative that low-quality patents stifle innovation remains fraught with controversy. It is called into question because the term “patent quality” seems to be a potential misnomer, and reforms to improve patent quality are ineffective. The purpose of this study is to offer a comparative critique of the debate regarding patent quality in the European Union and the United States. It investigates five factors relating to the history of this debate, contested definitions, measurements of quality, proposals that are not implemented, and reforms that are implemented. The main contribution of this paper is to review how the debate has been constructed, indicating that certain arguments seem to talk past each other and consensus is hard to reach, that measurements are flawed, and that proposals and reforms seeking improvement seem to be treating the symptoms but not the disease. The study argues that the debate encounters a conceptual predicament characterized by substantively different conceptions of patent quality, which are influenced by differing normative expectations and assessments of patent systems. It transforms a potentially useful analytical concept into a rabbit hole. Any attempts to break the current impasse must begin with an appreciation of the different senses in which patent quality is used and an assessment of the legitimacy of their underlying normative frameworks.

Starting a career in research nursing during a global pandemic.

In the spring of 2020, two nurses (KR and AJ) commenced their research nurse careers amid the SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) global pandemic. This reflective article discusses their experiences of beginning a clinical research nursing career, presented as a case study of their learning journey, rather than detailing the randomised controlled trial they delivered via GP practices. The main study compared standard care to nurse-led management of irritable bowel syndrome, the details of which will be published separately. The article identifies three overarching concepts: 'Green as grass, keen as mustard', 'Spires and steeples', and 'Down the rabbit hole'. The article offers insight from the two nurses for other professionals contemplating a career in research.

Anti-vaccine rabbit hole leads to political representation: the case of Twitter in Japan

Anti-vaccine attitudes pose a threat to public health by impeding the development of herd immunity. However, the proliferation and politicization of anti-vaccine discourse, exacerbated by the pandemic and the rise of social media, have not been fully elucidated. This study, using Japanese Twitter data, revealed that (a) anti-vaxxers are characterized by high political interest, (b) persistent anti-vaxxers were more ideologically left-leaning and had stronger ties to existing political parties, and (c) pandemic-induced new anti-vaxxers displayed low political engagement but a greater affinity for conspiracy theories, spirituality, naturalism, and alternative health practices, which served as gateways to anti-vaccination views. Furthermore, those who turned anti-vaccine after the pandemic also exhibited an increased tendency to follow the newly emerged anti-vaccine party, potentially contributing to their political representation at the national level. These analyses show that the anti-vaccine discourse has expanded and reached a politically representative scale, strengthening its discursive network with conspiracy theories, spirituality, naturalism, and alternative health practices.

Down the Rabbit Hole: A literature review based on causes and consequences of the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) is a rare clinical neurological condition, based on the presence of perception disorders which are interpreted by the patient as rare metamorphosing and depersonalization events. The most common causes of AIWS are infections by the Epstein-Barr virus and migraines. Symptoms include visual illusions in which the patient sees altered object dimensions, changes in the shape (metamorphopsia) and even notice the disappearing of objects (palinopsy) and the appearance of animals (zoopsy). Nevertheless AIWS remains a poorly known and misdiagnosed syndrome. This instability in the diagnostic process is due to the fact that no univocally accepted diagnostic criteria for this disease has been developed. Further studies must be performed to achieve better comprehension of the syndrome.

Down the (digital) rabbit hole: Mapping and decolonizing Safavid women's imagery in digital museums

In this article, I trace Safavid paintings depicting women's imagery online and explore the possibility of digitally mapping Safavid (1501–1736) paintings featuring women on publicly accessible platforms. Along with the practice of online mapping that led me to digital museums, I investigated the descriptions presented on three digitized paintings on different platforms to address the questions, “Where and how can Safavid paintings be digitally encountered” and “In light of the theoretical developments in the scholarship on pre-modern discourses of Safavid gender and sexuality, how do the descriptions of Safavid paintings reflect gender discourses online?” By following Safavid paintings of women online and probing the textual descriptions attached to them, and using netnographic research methods to document my experience and encounter with the digitized Safavid paintings, I explore whether the online descriptions accompanying the images could contribute to the making of decolonial knowledge about non-Western gender discourses.

Back from the rabbit hole. Theoretical considerations and practical guidelines on psychedelic integration for mental health specialists.

The growing interest in and prevalence of the use of psychedelics, as well as the potential benefits and negative consequences associated with psychedelic experiences, create a need for mental health specialists to be able to provide adequate and effective intervention regarding the content and consequences of these experiences, that is, psychedelic integration. At the same time, current graduate training in psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, counseling, etc., fails to adequately prepare professionals for such interventions. In order to fill this gap, an international, bottom-up project was established to attempt developing guidelines. This project was conducted by means of literature reviews as well as roundtable discussions among project participants, leading to a consensus on the guidelines' final scope and content. Drawing from the outcomes of this project, this article presents proposed comprehensive guidelines covering both theoretical and practical aspects of psychedelic integration, that are intended to serve as a resource for various mental health specialists who may encounter individuals in need of support considering their psychedelic experiences. These guidelines encompass clinician-friendly information on the effects of psychedelics, a definition of psychedelic integration, the general theoretical considerations linked to utilization of psychedelic experiences in clinical practice, a simple model organizing the course of psychedelic integration practice, as well as an overview of the current models of psychedelic integration, along with a selective presentation of basic and specific interventions derived from various psychotherapeutic approaches that can be employed in the practice of psychedelic integration.

Exploring YouTube's Recommendation System in the Context of COVID-19 Vaccines: Computational and Comparative Analysis of Video Trajectories.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a concern that social media may contribute to vaccine hesitancy due to the wide availability of antivaccine content on social media platforms. YouTube has stated its commitment to removing content that contains misinformation on vaccination. Nevertheless, such claims are difficult to audit. There is a need for more empirical research to evaluate the actual prevalence of antivaccine sentiment on the internet. This study examines recommendations made by YouTube's algorithms in order to investigate whether the platform may facilitate the spread of antivaccine sentiment on the internet. We assess the prevalence of antivaccine sentiment in recommended videos and evaluate how real-world users' experiences are different from the personalized recommendations obtained by using synthetic data collection methods, which are often used to study YouTube's recommendation systems. We trace trajectories from a credible seed video posted by the World Health Organization to antivaccine videos, following only video links suggested by YouTube's recommendation system. First, we gamify the process by asking real-world participants to intentionally find an antivaccine video with as few clicks as possible. Having collected crowdsourced trajectory data from respondents from (1) the World Health Organization and United Nations system (nWHO/UN=33) and (2) Amazon Mechanical Turk (nAMT=80), we next compare the recommendations seen by these users to recommended videos that are obtained from (3) the YouTube application programming interface's RelatedToVideoID parameter (nRTV=40) and (4) from clean browsers without any identifying cookies (nCB=40), which serve as reference points. We develop machine learning methods to classify antivaccine content at scale, enabling us to automatically evaluate 27,074 video recommendations made by YouTube. We found no evidence that YouTube promotes antivaccine content; the average share of antivaccine videos remained well below 6% at all steps in users' recommendation trajectories. However, the watch histories of users significantly affect video recommendations, suggesting that data from the application programming interface or from a clean browser do not offer an accurate picture of the recommendations that real users are seeing. Real users saw slightly more provaccine content as they advanced through their recommendation trajectories, whereas synthetic users were drawn toward irrelevant recommendations as they advanced. Rather than antivaccine content, videos recommended by YouTube are likely to contain health-related content that is not specifically related to vaccination. These videos are usually longer and contain more popular content. Our findings suggest that the common perception that YouTube's recommendation system acts as a "rabbit hole" may be inaccurate and that YouTube may instead be following a "blockbuster" strategy that attempts to engage users by promoting other content that has been reliably successful across the platform.

A Mixed-Method Exploration into the Mobile Phone Rabbit Hole

Smartphones provide various functions supporting users in their daily lives. However, the temptation of getting distracted and tuning out is high leading to so-called rabbit holes. To quantify rabbit hole behavior, we developed an Android tracking application that collects smartphone usage enriched with experience sampling questionnaires. We analyzed 14,395 smartphone use sessions from 21 participants, collected over two weeks, showing that rabbit hole sessions are significantly longer and contain more user interaction, revealing a certain level of restlessness in use. The context of rabbit hole sessions and subjective results revealed different triggers for spending more time on the phone. Next, we conduct an expert focus group (N=6) to put the gained insights into perspective and formulate a definition of the mobile phone rabbit hole. Our results form the foundation for predicting and communicating the mobile phone rabbit hole, especially when prolonged smartphone use results in regret.