How knowledge contributors are legitimizing their posts on controversial scientific topics: A case of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine

an article by Noriko Hara and Emma Frieh (Indiana University Bloomington, USA) published in First Monday Volume 24 Number 11 (November 2019)

Abstract

Traditionally, journalists, government agencies, and medical professionals have acted as mediators, facilitating the transfer of scientific knowledge from scientists to the general public.

More recently, however, ordinary citizens are circumventing top-down mediation and contributing directly to discussions about scientific topics online.

For the present study, we examined how these emerging mediators of online scientific information are shaping the discussion of hotly debated (at least within the public sphere) scientific topics, specifically, the alleged link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Using content analysis, we have identified the resources that lay pro- and anti-vaccination knowledge contributors most often cite when making knowledge claims.

Additionally, we examined how these contributors

1. use citations to legitimize their arguments; and,
2. take on particular roles in such arguments.

Our results shed light on an emerging form of online science communication and the process by which knowledge contributed by ordinary citizens is shaping these online discussions. These findings have implications for online health information and health decision-making.

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How an online women in technology group provides a locus of opposition

an arrticle by Wendy M. DuBow (University of Colorado, Boulder, USA) and Alexis Kaminsky (Kaminsky Consulting, USA) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 98 (September 2019)

Highlights

• Qualitative analysis of big data shows how social support functions for marginalized persons in a virtual community.
• An online women in computing group provides belonging and an oppositional discourse to counter sexism and exclusion.
• Conversation analyses show social-emotional and practical support that develops and reinforces a counterpublic.
• The counterpublic allows participants to challenge their exclusion and confirm their “right to be” in computing.

Abstract

This paper analyzes conversation threads from a closed Facebook group for women in computing.

The dataset contains more than 13,000 posts and spans five years during which time the group greatly expanded in membership. Drawing on research about online forums as well as the research on obstacles and supports for women in computing, the authors use qualitative analysis and take a feminist perspective to show the various ways in which the group provides a locus of oppositional discourse.

This discourse highlights the systemic nature of exclusionary practices in the computing field at the secondary and post-secondary levels, providing a way for group members to see past individual circumstances and, thereby, find ways to oppose the cultures in which they live, study and work.

Understanding how this oppositional discourse serves women, a group sorely underrepresented in the field of computing, can help identify promising levers for making the culture of computing more inclusive.

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Collective identity changes in far-right online communities: The role of offline intergroup conflict

an article by Ana-Maria Bliuc and Kevin Dunn (Western Sydney University, Australia), John Betts (Monash University, Australia), Matteo Vergani (Deakin University, Australia) and Muhammad Iqbal (Victoria University, Australia) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 8 (August 2019)

Abstract

Despite the increasing citizen engagement with socio-political online communities, little is known about how such communities are affected by significant offline events. Thus, we investigate here the ways in which the collective identity of a far-right online community is affected by offline intergroup conflict.

We examine over 14 years of online communication between members of Stormfront Downunder, the Australian sub-forum of the global white supremacist community Stormfront.org.

We analyse members’ language use and discourse before and after significant intergroup conflict in 2015, culminating in local racist riots in Sydney, Australia. We found that the riots were associated with significant changes in the collective beliefs of the community (as captured by members’ most salient concerns and group norms), emotions and consensus within the community.

Overall, the effects of the local riots were manifest in a reinvigorated sense of purpose for the far-right community with a stronger anti-Muslim agenda.

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The Intention to Share: Psychological Investigation of Knowledge Sharing Behaviour in Online Communities

an article by Bibi M. Alajmi (College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University) published in Journal of Information & Knowledge Management Volume 11 Issue 3 (September 2012)

Abstract

This research aims to provide an understanding of knowledge sharing behaviour through the adaptation of two major theories, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB) which were developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen from social psychology.

Exploring knowledge sharing from a social psychological perspective provides an understanding of the process an individual goes through to make the decision to share his/her knowledge with others as well as the different psychological factors facilitating or hindering knowledge sharing behaviour.

Research findings are based on a web-survey of 158 group members of one online community of educators, Tapped In (TI). TI is a professional online community developed and supported by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI International), and directed to enhancing the quality of teaching by developing web-based opportunities of learning and engaging.

Proposing an extended theoretical model of knowledge sharing behaviour in online community, this research tested the predictive power of five major variables on the individuals' intention to share expertise and knowledge. Variables included attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, controllability and knowledge sharing self-efficacy (KSSE).

The study found that normative pressures, including subjective norms and descriptive norms, had a strong influence on the formation of the individual's intention to share in this specific online community. Knowledge sharing self-efficacy also was found to significantly account for explaining the individual's motivation to share his/her knowledge with other members. Attitude and controllability were not found to have significant impacts on the formation of intention.

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Looking healthy: visualizing mental health and illness online

an article by Riki Thompson (University of Washington Tacoma, USA) published in Visual Communication Volume 11 Number 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

Through a historical case study of the mental health community website HealthyPlace.com, the author applies social semiotics and critical discourse analysis to interrogate the visual discourse surrounding mental health online.

Web design transformations over the course of a decade demonstrate how visual imagery conveys a shift from a biomedical discourse focused on illness to a social-therapeutic discourse centered on health and wellness.

Ultimately, the author argues that the utilisation of faces in stock photography, stylised images, and social media platforms on HealthyPlace reflects a growing trend in virtual visual synthetic personalisation on the internet to market mental health disorders as a concern for the everyday person while selling the promise of wellness through online participation.

This article explores the visual language of mental health and wellness online to expanding on research in the field of visual communication, health communication, and new media studies.

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