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Since their beginnings, virtual worlds have experienced two major media hypes in their short lifetime—the first in 2003 after the launch of Second Life and the second in 2021, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing his strategy for the Metaverse. Most academic research on virtual worlds emerged between these two peaks of interest. This article delves into the enduring relevance of such research, contrasting the two hype cycles. It analyzes the reasons behind current caution expressed by companies and offers insights into the future trajectory of the Metaverse and which crucial developments are needed for sustained traction in virtual worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although educators in the field of kinesiology implement online education in various forms, online education rarely receives attention in literature. The purpose of this study is to explore online courses in the subject matter of kinesiology through the community of inquiry framework. This mixed-method study adopted a multiple case study approach collecting data using survey, learning management system analysis, and semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that instructors shared high intentions toward the implementation of teaching and cognitive presences. The online instructors expressed much lower levels of intentions to support the social presence. The authors suggest online instructors be mindful of students' engagement that is bound to the interplay of different types of learning activities. This study is expected to serve as a meaningful contribution to the understanding of the status of online teaching and learning in the field of kinesiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We set out to explore the unintended effects of human-machine moderation in mitigating harassment within online communities. We examine communities that use a block-list type bot to prevent harassment from the source of harassment. Drawing from social categorization and selective exposure theories, we theorize that employing a machine alongside humans for community moderation will create unintended adverse effects. Specifically, within the moderated focal community, we hypothesize an emboldening effect characterized by an increase in harassment among community members directed at their outgroup members. Additionally, we expect a disengaging effect, that is, a downward trend in the focal community's membership. Finally, in neighboring communities that share the same topic of discussion, we expect a spillover effect, that is, an increase in harassment. Employing Detoxify, a Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-based model, we evaluate harassment scores in the focal community by analyzing 4 million Reddit comments across various communities. These scores serve as inputs for Bayesian Structural Time Series analysis, revealing evidence for both disengaging and spillover effects. For the emboldening effect, we use community-specific keywords in a predefined computer-assisted document classification approach, Keyword Assisted Topic Model (keyATM), to identify the target of harassment. We use mean comparison and regression discontinuity to assess the change in the level of harassment targeting outgroup members before and after the human-machine moderation implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does it pay to appear unbiased in an attention-based economy where bias sells? We study this question in light of increased consumer partisan polarization and biases alongside greater technology usage and partisanship in journalism. Using a game-theoretic framework that captures the essential properties of the online news market, we show that polarization with biases may constrain neutral and partisan news websites' engagement-enhancing strategies differently; and online news providers can strategically exploit consumer perceptions to maximize engagement-driven revenues. Our analysis suggests that neutral news outlets depend on polarization imbalance and perceptions of neutrality. Moreover, increased search costs and consumer bias toward partisan outlets can lessen the echo chamber effect in online news consumption. Our work advances discussions on online news neutrality, providing fresh insights into the "marketplace of ideas" view and source versus content neutrality in the face of increasing affective polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online fan communities on social media are an effective avenue for sport organizations to engage sport fans. Sport fans who identify with online fan communities express positive and negative consumer engagement behavior (CEB) on social media. Most researchers focus on the positive valence of CEB. This study explores the mediating effect of both positive and negative valences of CEB between online fan community identification and behavioral intention simultaneously. Additionally, the moderating effect of satisfaction with teams' performance is examined. This study contributes to the conceptualization of the negative valence of CEB on social media and extends the literature on the dual valence of CEB in the sport context. It also provides insights to sport managers on relationship marketing on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the changes made by the Academy of Marketing to better meet the needs of the academic community and shape the direction of the Academy. The annual conference introduced capacity building research workshops in 2018, which became even more important when the 2020 conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article highlights 18 workshops that focused on reframing marketing priorities and explored various topics such as consumer research during the pandemic, digital assessments, sustainability in marketing, and virtual engagement. The article also mentions six papers in a special issue that examine the role of technology in marketing practices, teaching, and future imagining. The papers cover topics such as assessment strategies for work-ready graduates, online consumption of the arts, virtual community building, online religious engagement, entrepreneurial decision-making, and stakeholder co-creation of smart cities. The article concludes by encouraging readers to embrace the opportunities to advance marketing priorities through technology. [Extracted from the article]

The study aims to explore the drivers of community building in virtual participation charity sport events. The authors conducted a case study of virtual charity events governed by Team World Vision, the sports arm of a global not-for-profit service organisation. They conducted semi-structured interviews with World Vision marketing managers and virtual running race participants, analysed survey and podcast interview data, and performed a document analysis. Four overarching themes were revealed as drivers of community building: community engagement, social networking, impression management, and fitness philanthropy practicing. The study uncovers the peculiarities of the virtual format that helped build virtual communities and create excitement around the cause, such as digitised communication plans, social media- and technology-facilitated opportunities to connect both locally and globally, and the adapted fundraising strategies in the virtual format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social technologies on online review platforms enable social interactions among users, such as establishing following relationships and commenting on others' posts. Although it is well recognized that more socially engaged reviewers tend to be more active and generate content of higher quality, our knowledge about the impact of social interactions on peer evaluations of reviews is limited. To address this issue, we use a unique dataset from a major online review platform and find that, ceteris paribus, reviews posted by more socially engaged users receive more helpfulness votes than those posted by less socially engaged users. Similarly, users tend to vote more for reviews written by their mutual followers than for those written by nonfollowers. In addition, we find that less socially engaged users review a broader range of products and services but are less likely to stay on a platform, which may further contribute to the inflation of peer evaluations (toward online reviews). Our study provides unique empirical evidence regarding the influence of social interactions on review evaluations. Furthermore, we caution researchers and practitioners against utilizing review helpfulness scores as a sole measure for review quality and diagnosticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on brand communities has burgeoned over the past 2 decades. Today many, if not most, sport organizations are entertaining dedicated brand communities. This article traces the development of community thinking in the field of sport management and marketing. Key articles on brand communities in leading journals in the field are identified, reviewed, and their core contributions distilled. By drawing on literature from adjacent fields, seven areas of future research are proposed: make or buy community, getting value from community, building a community capability, solving the community engagement puzzle, focusing on effective community engagement practices, analyzing the full community life cycle, and community for Web 3.0. The article provides a number of recommendations for future research on brand communities in sport management and marketing, enabling scholars to advance knowledge for both research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although psychological distress has been shown to increase during adolescence, participation in organized activities may have protective effects. The present study aimed to identify whether there is a relationship between high school student-athletes' breadth of participation in organized activities and psychological distress, using a latent class analysis. Canadian adolescent-athletes (n = 930) in Grades 11 and 12 completed an online survey that measured: (a) high school sport participation, (b) community sport participation, (c) nonsport extracurricular activities participation, and (d) psychological distress. The latent class analysis indicated that a two-class model (i.e., Class 1 = narrower breadth, low distress; Class 2 = wider breadth, moderate distress) was most appropriate. Results indicated that despite the divergent probability of organized activity participation, participants in both classes had a low to moderate probability of presenting elevated levels of psychological distress. However, levels of psychological distress were still higher than other Canadian adolescent populations, suggesting that overscheduling could be of concern. Gender and time (i.e., prior/during COVID-19 pandemic) were significant covariates in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the current state of gender inequality, it is typical for both boys and girls to experience physical, sexual, or psychological harm based solely on their sex in both public and educational settings. This study aims to determine the students of Saint Mary's University Senior High School (SMU SHS) of their perception of gender equity. Additionally, this study seeks to determine the attitudes toward gender roles. The researchers used both qualitative and quantitative design and determined its research locale in Saint Mary's University Senior High School, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, and the SMU SHS student population, both Grade 11 and Grade 12 as research participants. Furthermore, the researchers made use of Stratified Random Sampling as the sampling method used in the Senior High School Department. The study used a mixed-method design and used various statistical tools to analyze data specifically, thematic analysis for qualitative data and inferential statistics. Results have shown that the respondents have a positive perception of gender equity, while a negative attitude toward gender roles. For the perception of the respondents towards gender equity when they were grouped according to their profile variable there is a significant difference in their perception, except for family type. For attitudes toward gender roles, there is a significant difference in attitude. Lastly, for relationships, there is a high positive correlation between a respondent's perception of gender equity and their attitudes towards gender roles. These findings may imply the urgency of promoting gender equity awareness and challenging restrictive gender roles in education. The findings also emphasize the need for proactive engagement with religious communities to foster a more inclusive understanding of gender, advocating for a delicate balance in restricting students' freedom while promoting awareness through educational initiatives and online promotion to create a more inclusive school culture help understand the influence of religious sects on respondents' attitudes towards gender roles and the administration of the school should advocate restricting students' freedom to express themselves, promoting awareness about gender roles and their negative impact, and highlighting the importance of inclusivity through online promotion and advertisement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aging is the primary risk factor for sarcopenia and mobility limitations. Exercise reduces these risks, but older adults have low levels of participation in physical activity and exercise. We investigated the preliminary effectiveness of a live, online exercise program on community-dwelling older adults' physical activity levels. Methods: A mixed-method pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted according to CONSORT 2010 statement: extension for pilot and feasibility trials. Sedentary older adults (65–80 years) were randomly assigned to the online exercise intervention (ACTIVE) or a waitlist control (CON) group. Outcomes were measured pre-randomization and following the 8-week intervention for ACTIVE and CON and two months following the end of the intervention for the ACTIVE group. Outcomes included habitual physical activity levels, depression, anxiety, loneliness, life-space mobility, nutrition risk, and feasibility. All participants were invited to participate post-intervention in individual semi-structured qualitative interviews. Reporting of the qualitative research followed the checklist for the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting research. Results: Seventeen older adults (71% women) were allocated to ACTIVE group, while 15 were allocated to CON group (87% women). Following the intervention, participants in the ACTIVE group reported reduced symptoms of depression (ACTIVE: pre = 4.2 ± 2.5; post = 2.2 ± 1.9; CON: pre = 3.5 ± 2.1, post = 3.5 ± 2.1; p <0.001) and improved life-space mobility (ACTIVE: pre = 62.4 ± 14.7; post = 71.8 ± 16.0; CON: pre = 65.1 ± 19.0, post = 63.6 ± 22.0; p = 0.003) compared to waitlist control participants. The ACTIVE group had good adherence (97%) and acceptability (98%). Twenty-two participants participated in qualitative interviews. Five themes were identified, including (1) Feasibility of the online exercise program; (2) Perceived health benefits and improvements; (3) Registered Kinesiologists and Physiotherapists contributed to perceived safety; (4) Social connectivity associated with synchronous/live delivery; and (5) Growing old gracefully and preventing disability. Conclusions: Our online exercise program was acceptable to older adults, had good adherence, reduced depression, and increased life space. Participants reported improved functional and mental health benefits. Further research is warranted to expand on these findings. Trial registration: NCT04627493; 13/11/2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Methods Results and Conclusions Takeaways Social media provides new opportunities for teachers to learn, communicate and develop professional relationships. It has been proved to be a valid and helpful resource for teachers' professional learning purposes.While previous studies pursued questions like how participants feel, how to support interaction and why participants remain committed, we asked a more fundamental question: what is the structure of a massive informal online professional learning network and what dynamics can we expect regarding participants' commitment?This work presents an empirical study of massive informal online professional networks to investigate the dynamics of learning communities and participants' commitment over time. We employed social network analysis and data mining techniques on a longitudinal data set of more than 400,000 tweets published with the hashtag “#edchat.”We found that around 30% of participants remained committed to the informal learning community over time. Meanwhile, as more and more people committed to the online learning community, participants tended to form smaller communities where the internal connection was stronger.In informal online learning environments, participants can form stable connections. The 30% threshold can be used to measure massive informal online learning networks in terms of commitment or persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have marked a shift in selling and buying illicit psychoactive drugs from darknet cryptomarkets to publicly accessible social media and messaging platforms. As more users turn to procuring drugs this way, the role of digital harm reduction has become particularly urgent. However, one of the main obstacles complicating the implementation of digital harm reduction is the increasingly automated content moderation by the social media platforms. While some platforms are less restrictive about harm reduction content (e.g., TikTok), others implement higher degrees of moderation, including the removal of individual content and banning of entire profile pages (e.g., Instagram). This article discusses community guidelines of five popular social media and messaging platforms and their content moderation tools. It aims to highlight how these guidelines may be inadvertently curbing the dissemination of harm reduction and health promotion materials, and erroneously interpreting it as a promotion of drug use and sales. The discussion concludes that digital harm reduction requires transdisciplinary collaboration of professional organizations, researchers, and social media platforms to ensure reliable implementation of digital harm reduction, and help build safer digital communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the intersection of interactional sociolinguistics and linguistic ethnography in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital communication. It explores the implications of AI on research methodologies and the study of embodied communication in various social contexts. The text also delves into broader issues such as post-humanism, climate change, and decolonial challenges, emphasizing the importance of closely observing and analyzing the interweaving of different elements in contemporary society. The article calls for a reorientation in sociolinguistics to address pressing existential questions and adapt to evolving technological landscapes. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Integrating behavioral health services in primary care is challenging; a toolkit approach to practice implementation can help. A recent comparative effectiveness randomized clinical trial examined the impact of a toolkit for improving integration on outcomes for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Some aspects of behavioral health integration improved; patient-reported outcomes did not. This report evaluates the implementation strategy (Toolkit) using Proctor's (2011) implementation outcomes model. Methods: Using data from the 20 practices randomized to the active (toolkit strategy) arm (education, redesign workbooks, online learning community, remote coaching), we identified 23 measures from practice member surveys, coach interviews, reports, and field logs to assess Toolkit acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and fidelity. A practice survey score was high (met expectations) if its average was ≥ 4 on a scale 1-5; all other data were coded dichotomously, with high = 1. Results: Regarding acceptability, 74% (14) of practices had high scores for willingness of providers and staff to use the Toolkit and 68% (13) for quality improvement teams liking the Toolkit. For appropriateness, 95% (19) of practices had high scores for the structured process being a good match and 63% (12) for the Toolkit being a good match. Feasibility, measured by Toolkit prerequisites, was scored lower by site members at project end (e.g., provider leader available as champion: 53% of practices) compared to remote coaches observing practice teams (74%). For "do-ability," coaches rated feasibility lower for practices (e.g., completion of workbook activities: 32%) than the practice teams (68%). Fidelity was low as assessed across seven measures, with 50% to 78% of practices having high scores across the seven measures. Conclusions: Existing data from large trials can be used to describe implementation outcomes. The Toolkit was not implemented with fidelity in at least one quarter of the sites, despite being acceptable and appropriate, possibly due to low feasibility in the form of unmet prerequisites and Toolkit complexity. Variability in fidelity reflects the importance of implementation strategies that fit each organization, suggesting that further study on contextual factors and use of the Toolkit, as well as the relationship of Toolkit use and study outcomes, is needed. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02868983; date of registration: 08/15/2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nPlain language summaryWith drastic changes to abortion policy, the months following the Dobbs leak and subsequent decision in 2022 were a uniquely uncertain and difficult time for abortion access in the US. To understand experiences of challenges to abortion access during that time, we used a hybrid inductive and deductive thematic coding approach to analyse descriptions of barriers and their impacts shared in an abortion subreddit (r/abortion). A simple random sample of 10% of posts was obtained from those shared from 02 May 2022 through 23 December 2022; comments were purposively sampled during the coding process. In this sample of submissions (n = 523 posts, 88 comments), people described structural barriers identified in past research, including state abortion bans and gestational limits, high costs, limited appointment availability, and long travel required. Posters also commonly described known social barriers, including limited social support and abortion stigma. Several impactful barriers not well-described in past research emerged inductively, including wait time for receiving mail-ordered abortion medication, low credibility of online ordering platforms, and concerns about legal risks of accessing abortion or related medical care. The most common consequences of experiencing barriers were adverse mental health outcomes, delayed access to care, and being compelled to self-manage their abortion because of access barriers. This analysis provides timely insights into the experiences and impacts of abortion access barriers in a group of people with a range of engagement with clinical abortion care, lived experiences, and points in their abortion processes, with public health implications for mental health and abortion access.The 2022 Dobbs decision and overturn of Roe v Wade significantly changed abortion policy in the US. Following this, many people faced new and severe challenges to accessing abortion. We analysed 523 posts and 88 comments from an abortion support subreddit (r/abortion) from May 2022 to December 2022. We used a qualitative analysis approach to identify themes in discussions of barriers and their impacts. We found that common barriers included state bans, high abortion costs, limited appointment availability, and long travel distances. Additionally, people faced social challenges like lack of support and stigma around abortion. New, less-researched issues were also noted. These included 1) delays with mail-ordered medications 2) concerns about the reliability of online services; and 3) fears about legal risks related to abortion. Frequent consequences of these barriers were poor mental health, and delays in getting care. People also needed to manage abortions themselves because of access issues. This study highlights the urgent need to address these barriers and their impact on mental health and abortion access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeDesign/methodology/approachFindingsResearch ImplicationsPractical ImplicationsOriginalityThe factors that drive user value co-creation behavior are unique to China due to the country’s unique economic, political and cultural influences. However, few scholars have paid attention to the driving factors of user value co-creation behavior in the Chinese context. In this study, the authors deepen their understanding of the drivers of user value co-creation behavior by exploring the impact of relationship strength, a variable with Chinese characteristics, on value creation behavior.The article takes the relationship strength of online fitness users as the research object from the user’s perspective, uses literature and questionnaires to establish a model of the influence mechanism of online fitness users’ relationship strength on value co-creation behavior, use AMOS to test the model empirically based on the data of 471 senior Chinese online fitness users.The findings confirm that all dimensions of relationship strength, except duration, have a significant positive impact on value experience. Each dimension of relationship strength has a significant positive impact on demand satisfaction. Value experience and demand satisfaction have a significant direct positive impact on value co-creation behavior.This study introduced the variable relationship between strength, explore the user relationship strength with Chinese characteristics variables influence on value creating behavior, follow the “stimulus → psychological perception → value co-creation behavior” logic, build the user relationship strength of value creating action mechanism model, and carries on the empirical test, it broadens the research perspective of driving users to produce value co-creation behavior.The results of this study show that managers need to enhance the relationship strength of users in online fitness communities, especially to improve users’ perception of reciprocity, and to focus on users’ needs and experiences to achieve value co-creation.This study makes two main contributions. It examines the impact of online fitness user relationship strength on value co-creation behavior in the Chinese context, enriching the research on the drivers of value co-creation behavior. Additionally, this study reveals the influence mechanisms of online fitness user relationship strength on value co-creation behavior and provides theoretical guidance for online fitness company to drive users to generate value co-creation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As open-source communities and other peer production projects face the challenge of sustaining themselves over time, the role of offline gatherings in fostering community resilience becomes a vital question. This study centres on the potential of offline social interactions as a means to mitigate declines within such communities, using Wikipedia as a case example. Using a comprehensive dataset spanning informal meetups within the German-language Wikipedia community from 2001 to 2020 and combining it with large scale online activity data, this study investigates the relationship between offline gatherings and online contribution behaviour. Results show that attending meetups has a positive effect on contributing towards Wikipedia both in the short and long term. By shedding light on the significance of offline social interactions in bolstering online communities, this study offers valuable insights into potential strategies for sustaining collaborative online environments amidst broader declines and further shows how offline and online activities intertwine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the number of online health communities targeted at patients with long-term conditions. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a rare neurological disease for which such communities have not been analysed before. The aim of this study was to better understand the needs of the MG population through the collation and categorisation of questions that users of MG social media were asking fellow users on these platforms. Methodology: Systematic observation of four MG Facebook groups was conducted over a 2-month period. Groups were selected for analysis based on the following systematic criteria: Language (English), Membership (≥ 5,000 members), group activity (≥ 2 posts per week), target audience (general MG population) and researcher engagement with group administrators. The study protocol was reviewed by the institutional review board of the Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin (EA2/106/22). During the observation period, data were extracted from individual posts featuring questions made across each group using a systematic and objective coding scheme. All data points were coded directly from the source and collated into an SPSS database (IBM SPSS V.27, SPSS). Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for categorical variables and proportions were compared across groups to validate the credibility and relevance of different requests. Results: Of the 2,062 posts observed (N = 2,062), 1,392 featured questions (n = 1,392). Questions were asked by 787 unique users: 531 were identified as one-time users (67%) and 256 were identified as repeat users (33%). Six hundred and fifty six users were classified as presumed diagnosed (83%), 61 as seeking diagnosis (8%), 69 as family and/or friends (9%) and as other (<0%). Eight unique categories of questions were observed including MG treatment (31%), Symptoms (19%), Living with MG (12%), Diagnosis (10%), non-MG medication (11%), Tests (8%), Location (4%) and Other (4%). Conclusion: Members of the MG population make active use of online health communities to seek and discuss practical information concerning various aspects of the disease, its diagnosis and care. The openness and willingness of the sample population to share sensitive medical information shows a high need for information not entirely catered to by the medical profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the increasing rapid number of cars on the roads and the great demand for traffic prediction, because of the increase in traffic congestion, has posed a great challenge to governments' economic development and social stability of most countries in the world. While many challenges are facing governments to solve traffic congestion and reduce car accidents and pollution, the objective of this study is to apply a dynamic approach for the Jordanian community to lessen traffic congestion on the roads in Amman by utilising social media, artificial intelligence efficiency methods, and decision support to lessen traffic issues in the capital city of Jordan. It also aims to communicate directly with social media users to cut down on the time and effort needed to make traffic predictions, which will help to relieve the congestion of areas and roads in Amman. To obtain the research aims, we handled a TRF2021JOR dataset related to traffic records in Amman city, collected from Amman Municipality for several years. Then, we applied the Netnography model, which was built using the data science concepts, to create an efficient model in Amman city for traffic prediction and time series based on selective features of previous congestion in city roads. The experiment results showed the accuracy preference for the proposed method in Amman city. Furthermore, the experiment tested the accuracy of results based on the machine learning methods using the KNIME Analytics Platform tool, one of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods used; the experiment results showed that the classifier SVM gives a low accuracy reached (89.9%). However, the accuracy using the decision tree classifier reached (90.59%), while the classifier random forest gives a high accuracy reached (93.16%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Queer spaces emerge as a response to the restrictive nature of homonormativity, which compels queer individuals to conform to dominant cis-heteronormativities. This underscores the need for in-depth knowledge about queer spaces, particularly those that extend beyond the experiences of gay men. This study explores how lesbian and queer women as mobile transnationals create space for themselves in Copenhagen, a city recognised as the world's most gay-friendly place. It employs an interpretivist research paradigm utilizing a critical feminist and queer geography lens. Findings from observations and interviews reveal the absence of a specific lesbian space in Copenhagen; instead, numerous queer spaces are characterised by fluidity, safety, community and their welcoming approach towards LGBTQIA+ travellers. Lesbian and queer women do not become visible through physical spaces but through the strong networks they have created for themselves. A queer space offers a sense of safety within a public setting for the community that gathers there. Additionally, lesbian and queer women actively reshape and conquer existing cis-heteronormative spaces through material and immaterial practices such as exclusive online community spaces or through hosting queer events in spaces such as churches. The study addresses the absence of feminist and queer perspectives in a discourse on sustainable tourism geographies. It provides policymakers with insights and recommendations for creating inclusive, queer-friendly spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For children with disabilities, being online can have great benefits, and being part of a well-connected community pays dividends. Research has focused on the development of digital resilience at an individual level, but the ways in which surrounding networks of community support impact this is underexplored. Drawing on digital resilience as a socio-ecological concept and undertaking a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with educators, this article addresses this gap by exploring how educators work within and between community networks to support children with disabilities online. Findings suggest that educators are key connection brokers who activate and provide access to a variety of assets and manage pools of resources to build digital resilience at a community level as well as for the individual. We note, however, that addressing structural holes to allow information to flow beyond the community level is challenging and requires continued investment to cultivate greater capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand how older adults' socioemotional reactions to perceived remaining time in life influence their satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and seeking in virtual communities (VCs). Rooted in socioemotional selectivity theory, we choose a positive attitude toward aging and meaning in life to describe older adults' reactions to aging, and test the proposed hypotheses based on 204 valid survey responses. Results confirm that while both knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities promote older adults' satisfaction, the impact of knowledge contribution is stronger on satisfaction. Furthermore, as hypothesized, the positive attitude toward aging amplifies the impact of knowledge-seeking while meaning in life weakens the impact of knowledge contribution on older adults' satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature on how older adults derive satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities in VCs and offers insights into using VCs to build a digitally inclusive society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated stated trip changes related to smartphone usage among the residents in nine small and rural communities in Texas, based on a 419-respondent online survey. The survey results showed that most participants always used smartphones to perform tasks. After controlling for socioeconomic status, perceived adaptability to technology, and population density, smartphone usage was generally positively associated with the stated impact on daily trip frequency. High-income participants were less likely to report a positive impact of smartphone usage on work-related trips. Compared to younger adults, smartphone use among older adults (aged 50 years or older) was less likely to influence trip-making. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations about smartphone-based information provision systems and information accessibility were discussed. The findings could help policymakers and practitioners design planning protocols that encourage sustainable travel and build the next-generation small and rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our critical historiography of e-learning policy in Ontario, Canada, traces the policy's trajectory through three settlements (2006-2022) and shows how successive governments have mobilized neoliberal discourses of personalization, access, and choice to justify new arrangements with private actors, within a broader sociopolitical context that includes increased privatization and commodification of public institutions, cuts to public spending, and imagines individuals as rational subjects driven to maximize their economic potential. This context exacerbates challenges students marginalized by schooling already face. Findings from our critical discourse analyses of government documents and news media reports also demonstrate that online learning in Ontario is neither personalized nor customizable but instead is centralized, standardized and, by design, operates independent of rather than interdependent with community. Further, our findings highlight the interdependence of schools – online and in-person – with social processes that create and perpetuate inequality, including gendered and racialized poverty, locally and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to identify the key characteristics of Generation Z as a target audience for advertising campaigns. To achieve this, a virtual community was established to examine the extent of acceptance and rejection of various advertising aspects, ranging from content creation to how Generation Z is portrayed. The methodology used is qualitative and involves participant observation within the framework of digital ethnography. The findings provide an accurate description of the concerns of a generation that is establishing new ways of relating to technology and content creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we integrated corpus technology in pre‐service TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development in corpus technology, termed corpus‐based language pedagogy (CBLP), and highlighted the collaborative effort for knowledge building among participants for TPACK development. The study examined the role of online collaboration in facilitating how pre‐service TESOL teachers developed their CBLP (TPACK in corpus technology) using a learning‐by‐design approach, enacted it in co‐designing lessons, revised their lessons and reflected on their collective knowledge building processes. Using a case study approach involving 33 participants, the study focused on both intra‐ and inter‐group interactions to understand the pre‐service teachers' learning dynamics/changes and unpack the interaction mechanism involved in online collaborative learning. To these ends, we collected data including CBLP group lesson designs, intra‐group data (interviews) and inter‐group peer critical comments and analysed them based on the two stages (comprehension and transformation) of Shulman's pedagogical reasoning. The results suggest that engaging in online collaboration, facilitated by the learning‐by‐design approach, is instrumental in enabling pre‐service teachers to learn corpus technology and expand their repertoire of teaching strategies. Our findings imply that both intra‐ and inter‐group collaboration modes are important to help pre‐service TESOL teachers holistically develop TPACK for language teaching. Similar implications may be applied to other subject‐specific TPACK training.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicTeacher preparation programmes play a crucial role in developing pre‐service teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK)TPACK integration into pedagogical practice and subject‐specific professional development opportunities are important for effective teaching, but there is a lack of research on subject‐specific TPACK development (eg, TPACK in language teaching)Online collaborative learning can support TPACK development, but most studies focused on intra‐group interactions with little attention to inter‐group interactionsWhat this paper addsIntroduces a new corpus‐based language pedagogy (CBLP) for TESOL teachers to help them develop TPACK in language teachingPresents an innovative two‐step training framework for developing TESOL teachers' TPACK in corpus technologyExamines the role of online collaboration in developing pre‐service TESOL teachers' TPACK for teaching with corpus technology through learning by designProvides in‐depth qualitative data analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively to investigate the specific roles that intra‐group and inter‐group interactions play in shaping pre‐service TESOL teachers' CBLP developmentDevelops an analytical framework comprising nine categories (under the comprehension and transformation stages of Shulman's pedagogical reasoning model) to code pre‐service TESOL teachers' TPACK development in corpus technologyFinds that intra‐group interactions facilitate both comprehension and transformation stages, while inter‐group interactions predominantly facilitate the transformation stage of CBLPImplications for practiceEmphasises hands‐on corpus‐searching skills and guidance on browsing corpora when designing CBLP lessonsEncourages both within‐group and between‐group interactions in online collaborative learning to foster TPACK development for using corpus technology in teaching language subjectsConsiders incorporating similar approaches for developing other subject‐specific TPACK for other teaching subjects [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This scoping review article examined research on information behavior in communities over the past two decades (2000–2023). The review aims to uncover the characteristics and types of communities studied, the featured information behaviors, and the research methods employed. Design/methodology/approach: The PRISMA-ScR guidelines were followed to conduct this review. Five databases were selected to search for relevant empirical research. A total of 57 studies met the inclusion criteria for review. Thematic synthesis was used to analyze the multidimensional findings of included studies. Findings: A steady increase in the number of articles is evident in the past two decades. The review suggests that information behavior in community studies involved collaboration from other disciplines, such as public health and business management. More than half of the communities studied are virtual communities (56.1%), followed by communities of identity, professional communities and support communities, communities of interest, geographic communities, and academic communities. There are overlaps among these categories. Information sharing (63.2%) and information seeking (57.9%) were the most studied behavior of communities, followed by information use, information needs, and information judgment. Questionnaires (38.6%) and interviews (35.1%) were the most commonly used data collection techniques in studying information behavior in communities. It is noteworthy that eleven (19.3%) mentioned utilizing community-engaged approaches. Originality/value: This is the first scoping review to explore the intersecting constructs of community research and information behavior studies. We call for further research to understand the contextual factors that shape the community's information environments and to increase awareness of the partnership between communities and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the activities of IABSE's Technical Groups, focusing on Task Groups (TGs) and their objectives. It highlights the Technical Committee meeting chaired by Tobia Zordan, where updates and plans for future programs were shared. The article also introduces newly formed Task Groups, such as TG 2.4 on Structural Optimization, TG 1.12 on Liaison with JCSS, TG 1.13 on Ship Collision of Bridges, TG 1.11 on Well Foundations, and TG 3.7 on Wind Turbines. Additionally, it mentions the Young Engineers Mentorship Programme organized by the Young Engineers Committee (YEC) to connect young engineers with senior professionals and navigate career paths. [Extracted from the article]

Customers, constantly in search of hedonic wellbeing, are increasingly interacting with brands on digital platforms. While doing so, negative digital experiences often reduce their hedonic wellbeing. However, the reasons and remedies for unintended consequences of negative experiences are not clear. We conducted three experiments to uncover how and when the impact of negative digital experiences on hedonic wellbeing could be mitigated. Our findings suggest that digital brand attachment is the underlying mechanism for the influence of negative digital customer experience on customers' hedonic wellbeing. Both adaptive coping ability and online brand community support alleviate the undesirable influence of negative digital customer experience on hedonic wellbeing through digital brand attachment. However, adaptive coping and online brand community support have no effect on the direct relationship between negative digital experience and hedonic wellbeing, a counterintuitive finding. Our findings offer theoretical insights into how negative digital customer experience affects hedonic wellbeing, and by uncovering the underlying psychological mechanism; this research also demonstrates the boundary conditions for the relationship between negative digital experience and hedonic wellbeing. We offer remedies for firms to increase brand community support and design different redressal strategies for customers with distinct levels of adaptive coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerable groups, such as those with life-threatening diseases and cancer patients, have been overlooked in current tourism activities despite their capability and need to participate. Therefore, this study analyzes the tourist-generated content published by cancer patients or their caregivers in the popular online community, Xiaohongshu, in order to gain a better understanding of their travel experiences. The unique perspective on tourism experienced by cancer patients leads to three distinct benefits. It includes overcoming challenges to attain self-identity, normalizing the tourism experience to ensure a fair travel experience, and gaining a better understanding of life's meaning and self-esteem. A more comprehensive understanding of the hidden tourists' experience is provided through this study. This expands the existing literature by highlighting people's right to enjoy tourism and promoting wellness in the tourism experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter presents an explicit description of each strand of teacher educator knowledge and considers how the context represented in an analytic narrative vignette provided constraints and affordances in terms of my ability as a self-study of teacher education practice to reveal what I came to understand about teacher educator knowledge. I explored individually the seven strands of teacher educator knowledge, which are Content Knowledge, Fixed and Flexible Elements, Knowledge of Milieu, Pedagogical Intent, Preservice Teacher Knowledge and Belief, Value and Fragility of Relationships, and Theory. The discussion is guided by the holistic initial research question, "What does my transition to online teaching reveal about my teacher educator knowledge?" To communicate these strands of teacher educator knowledge in my transition to teaching online, I first defined the strand generally, showed how it operates in terms of planning, teaching and reflecting, and ended with an explanation of how this knowledge informed my identity and commitments as a teacher educator. As a narrative self-study of practice focused on the goals of personal improvement as well as to inform the larger research community, in this discussion, I focus on the learning that emerged during the shifts to teaching online. I have avoided as much as possible making claims about what I uncovered as representing the entirety of teacher educator knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Oppositional brand loyalty poses a challenge to the management of virtual communities. This study aims to categorize these loyalty behaviors into positive (willingness to pay a price premium and brand evangelism) and negative (schadenfreude and anti-brand actions) dimensions. It then explores how customer engagement and moral identity influence these dimensions in the context of brand competition. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling was conducted to analyze the main and moderating effects, using survey data obtained from 498 valid responses out of a total of 636 responses from Xiaomi's virtual communities. Findings: The results indicate that customer engagement significantly influences all four dimensions of oppositional brand loyalty. The relationship between customer engagement and brand evangelism is notably stronger among customers with a strong moral identity. Conversely, the effects of customer engagement on schadenfreude and anti-brand actions are attenuated for these customers. Originality/value: Anchored in theories of brand tribalism, social identity and brand polarization, this study bifurcates oppositional brand loyalty into directions of preference and antagonism, empirically showcasing moral identity's moderating effect. It contributes to the literature on antagonistic loyalty and moral identity, offering strategic insights for companies to navigate schadenfreude and anti-brand actions in online communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently resurged Yoruba Nation (YN, henceforth) agitation joins some socio-political movements, social protests, and resistance group discourse in Nigeria that continue to gain traction in (critical) discourse studies. Guided by the theoretical paradigms of van Leeuwen's representational strategies and Martin and White's appraisal framework, 24 representative posts out of a thousand posts culled from Nairaland, Gistmania, and Naijaloaded generated between October 2020 and October 2021 were purposively selected and subjected to discourse analysis. Two levels of construction were realised: YN agitators and YN agitation. YN agitators were associated with four constructions: cowards, violence mongers, terrorists, and organised strategists. YN agitation was associated with three constructions: a threat to sovereignty and national unity, and emancipation from oppression. Negative labels manifested more than positives. The dominant negative constructs of the YN agitation manifested implicitly and explicitly through labelling, negative comparison, appeal to sentiments, expression of detest, and flaming, while the positive constructs manifested through encomium and appeal to ethnic benefit. Online participants do not only project and spread their ideological stances on the YN agitation; they also make efforts to suppress antithetical stances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integration of digital tools and resources in STEM instruction has garnered significant attention due to its high potential. Digital professional development is identified as a pivotal factor for equipping teachers with necessary digital skills to effectively orchestrate digital resources. Notably, the role of professional learning communities is considered critical. However, the intricate relationships among digital professional development, professional learning communities, and digital instructional integration among STEM teachers remain underexplored. Utilizing partial least-squares–structural equation models (PLS–SEM), the present study examined links in digital professional development, professional learning communities, and digital instructional integration among STEM teachers (N = 16,072) who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. Results: Findings from the PLS–SEM analysis indicate that digital professional development exhibits a direct positive relationship with professional learning communities and digital instructional integration. Relatedly, professional learning communities is positively correlated with digital instructional integration. In terms of indirect effect, findings show that professional learning communities play a significant positive mediating role in linking digital professional development and digital instructional integration. Conclusions: This study reports new evidence on the influence of digital professional development on digital instructional integration through professional learning communities among 16,072 STEM teachers and concludes that, when STEM teachers regularly immerse themselves in professional learning communities, they are more likely to benefit from their digital professional development by integrating digital technologies in classroom instruction. Policymakers and educational leaders should consider promoting digital professional development and professional learning communities among STEM teachers, along with efforts to encourage digital instructional integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopts a multimodal approach to critical discourse analysis to unpack the discourses embedded in the performance of hyper-feminine bimbo identities on TikTok. Guided by a social semiotic approach to language, this study analyses a corpus of 16 short-form videos published by self-proclaimed 'bimbos' on TikTok, focusing on the lexical and iconographical choices of these texts and how they function contextually to signal broader discourses. This analysis reveals that TikTok influencers frequently reinforce hegemonic norms of gender by incorporating bodily signifiers of patriarchal Eurocentric ideals of femininity and linking signifiers of overconsumption and hyper-femininity in their performance of a bimbo identity. Simultaneously, they contest these hegemonic norms by juxtaposing hyper-feminine images with critiques of patriarchal, Eurocentric, and capitalist structures of inequality. Ultimately, the subversive potential of these representations is ambivalent; there is a marked tension between their stated aims of inclusion and empowerment and the intersection of hyper-femininity with privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health technology is changing the way consumers engage with health professionals and their own well-being. Although digital solutions often focus on supplementing physical care, some have potential as an alternative to offline engagements. This research considers how such phygital experiences can promote well-being and social connectedness. Specifically, we explore how online mental health apps help men to engage in well-being discourses, conversations that they would feel unable to have or uneasy about having without the anonymity of the online setting. However, unlike other phygital products, this app can hinder ongoing offline therapy and even deter some men from seeking professional medical help. Data are drawn from an online peer-support forum and interviews with men struggling with mental illness and mental health advocates. The manuscript concludes by recognising the imperative for research furthering understanding of consumption practices associated with poor mental health and marketing practices that promote mental well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the necessity to enhance the effectiveness of online learning (OL) environments by examining the influence of social interactions on learner motivation, engagement, and success, specifically focusing on online computer science education (CSE). Acknowledging the limitations of peer-to-peer and learner-to-teacher interactions on online platforms, this paper delves into the potential of social learning (SL) organized through learner groups, communities, or networks to significantly enrich the learning experience. To test the hypothesis that SL positively impacts student outcomes, an experiment was conducted with 49 engineering students divided into two groups. The first group undertook an object-oriented programming course in C++ using the Moodle platform, while the second group, in addition to the online course, participated in asynchronous group activities through forums and synchronous interactions via chat. The results reveal a notable positive impact of SL on student outcomes, with participants in the second group reporting higher satisfaction levels and achieving superior results compared to those in the first group. The findings underscore the significance of integrating social interaction into OL environments, with potential implications for enhancing the overall quality of education and student performance in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberbullying, a critical concern for digital safety, necessitates effective linguistic analysis tools that can navigate the complexities of language use in online spaces. To tackle this challenge, our study introduces a new approach employing Bidirectional Encoder Representations from the Transformers (BERT) base model (cased), originally pretrained in English. This model is uniquely adapted to recognize the intricate nuances of Arabic online communication, a key aspect often overlooked in conventional cyberbullying detection methods. Our model is an end-to-end solution that has been fine-tuned on a diverse dataset of Arabic social media (SM) tweets showing a notable increase in detection accuracy and sensitivity compared to existing methods. Experimental results on a diverse Arabic dataset collected from the 'X platform' demonstrate a notable increase in detection accuracy and sensitivity compared to existing methods. E-BERT shows a substantial improvement in performance, evidenced by an accuracy of 98.45%, precision of 99.17%, recall of 99.10%, and an F1 score of 99.14%. The proposed E-BERT not only addresses a critical gap in cyberbullying detection in Arabic online forums but also sets a precedent for applying cross-lingual pretrained models in regional language applications, offering a scalable and effective framework for enhancing online safety across Arabic-speaking communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational institutions face challenges of bridging gaps between teaching, research, and practice to ensure that students' knowledge and competencies are current and relevant to practitioner communities. Research apprenticeship is a student research model that supports students in becoming knowledgeable and competent members of the IS research community of practice. In this paper, I present the model and a survey among IS graduates to evaluate their learning outcomes based on the Researcher Development Framework. Responses are analyzed based on the concepts of "legitimate peripheral participation" and "community of practice." Results show that the model supports students in becoming legitimate members of the IS research community of practice and acquiring domain knowledge and competencies that IS practitioners value. The model thereby helps to reduce the practice-research gap. I discuss the implications and provide suggestions for both educators and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between customer participation, positive electronic word-of-mouth intention (peWOMi), online brand community (OBC) trust, and repurchase intention, especially the mediating effect of OBC trust and peWOMi in the relationship between customer participation and repurchase intention. Data were collected from a sample survey of 502 customers, which were analysed through Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and PLS-Predict. In PLS-SEM, data were evaluated for hypothesis testing. After hypothesis result was obtained, the PLS-SEM model was assessed for its predictive validity through PLS-Predict. The results show that customer participation positively affects online brand community trust and repurchase intention. In contrast, the direct relationship between customer participation and peWOMi is insignificant. In addition, OBC trust and peWOMi also mediate the relationship between customer participation and repurchase intention. This study shows the importance of customer participation and OBC trust and suggests practical insights for marketing professionals on interacting with and managing their online brand community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video gaming is a popular youth pastime that has prompted scholarship into its relationship with psychological well-being. However, sexual and gender diverse youth (SGDY) who play video games are largely overlooked in this research. SGDY experience significant mental health challenges, but utilize coping strategies mediated by digital technologies, necessitating an examination of their video game playing and its effects on well-being. This literature review synthesizes the emerging evidence base by identifying key constructs related to SGDY well-being and video gaming. Five themes were derived from the literature: (a) SGDY identity development and self-expression in video games; (b) SGDY video gaming and coping skills; (c) Social support in SGDY video gaming communities; (d) SGDY digital microaggressions in video gaming; and (e) SGDY civic engagement through video gaming. The findings establish multiple risks and opportunities for harnessing video games to support SGDY's well-being. Recommendations for practice, research, and industry collaborations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the AI imaginaries surrounding Lee Luda 1.0, a female AI companion designed by Scatter Lab, a start-up company based in South Korea. While the company envisioned its AI companion to become everyone’s best friend, Lee Luda became a controversial figure after it was reported that a subset of male users had sexually harassed the chatbot. In response, Scatter Lab evaded questions about Lee Luda’s sexual harassment as a gender problem and many users of online male communities denied the possibility of sexual abuse against a chatbot, thus not considering it as an ethical problem. Moving beyond questions that query whether sexual harassment of AI is real, this study examines how people shape the terms of acceptance surrounding gendered AI abuse and their ethical implications. Through an examination of the discourses surrounding Lee Luda’s sexual harassment, this study argues that Scatter Lab and a subset of users advance technoliberal imaginaries, mainly imaginaries of a post-violent AI world, which perceive violence against AI as unreal and abstracted from misogynistic violence in real life. This study concludes by discussing the consequences of technoliberal imaginaries surrounding gendered AI abuse and how we can challenge them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the decline of dialects, the rise of new media platforms has made young dialect enthusiasts an emerging force in maintaining language diversity. By sharing dialect content online, they enhance the dialect visibility and form a new way of communication, thereby highlighting the link between dialect inheritance and youth identity. To explore multilingual and multicultural dynamics in China amidst globalization, this study adopts the method of online ethnography, conducting interviews and participatory observation within dialect communities on platforms of WeChat and Bilibili. By analyzing the formation, register, and significance of the community, the study reveals that enthusiasts not only directly use and experience dialects online, but also create a special variety of "Internet dialect". With the leading of pioneers and interrelationship among members, they break the identity barriers and negotiate to construct dialect knowledge, actively promoting the dialect culture within the "virtual acquaintances society". The discussion underscores the necessity of youth engagement and new media in dialect living inheritance, aligning with but extending current understanding of dialect protection strategies, and points to the potential for the construction of a community with a shared future in cyberspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant species recognition is a primordial task that forms the basis of solving several plant-related computer-vision problems such as disease detection or growth monitoring. However, a lack of voluminous datasets that cover specific needs is observed in the digital agriculture community. Therefore, the EAGL—I system was developed to rapidly create massive labeled datasets of plants intended to be commonly used by farmers and researchers to create AI-driven solutions in agriculture. As a result, a publicly available plant species recognition dataset composed of 40,000 images with different sizes consisting of 8 plant species was created with the system in order to demonstrate its capabilities. This paper proposes a novel method, called Variably Overlapping Time—Coherent Sliding Window (VOTCSW), that transforms a dataset composed of images with variable size to a 3D representation with a common fixed size that is suitable for convolutional neural networks, and demonstrates that this representation is more informative than resizing the images of the dataset to a given size. We theoretically formalized the use cases of the method as well as its inherent properties and we proved that it has an oversampling and a regularization effect on the data. By combining the VOTCSW method with the 3D extension of a recently proposed machine learning model called 1-Dimensional Polynomial Neural Networks, we were able to create a model that achieved a state-of-the-art accuracy of 99.9% on the dataset created by the EAGL-I system, surpassing well-known architectures such as ResNet and Inception. We also demonstrated its use in a plant semantic segmentation application. In addition, we created a heuristic algorithm that enables the degree reduction of any pre-trained N-Dimensional Polynomial Neural Network and which compresses it without altering its performance, thus making the model faster and lighter. Furthermore, we established that the currently available dataset could not be used for machine learning in its present form, due to a substantial class imbalance between the training set and the test set. Hence, we created a specific preprocessing and a model development framework that enabled us to improve the accuracy from 49.23% to 99.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]