Assessments of User Comments With “Alternative Views” as a Function of Media Trust

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Marlene Kunst
Keyword(s):  
Online Discussions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Argument Quality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Media Trust ◽  
Heuristic Information Processing

Abstract. Comments sections under news articles have become popular spaces for audience members to oppose the mainstream media’s perspective on political issues by expressing alternative views. This kind of challenge to mainstream discourses is a necessary element of proper deliberation. However, due to heuristic information processing and the public concern about disinformation online, readers of comments sections may be inherently skeptical about user comments that counter the views of mainstream media. Consequently, commenters with alternative views may participate in discussions from a position of disadvantage because their contributions are scrutinized particularly critically. Nevertheless, this effect has hitherto not been empirically established. To address this gap, a multifactorial, between-subjects experimental study ( N = 166) was conducted that investigated how participants assess the credibility and argument quality of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. The findings revealed that media-dissonant user comments are, indeed, disadvantaged in online discussions, as they are assessed as less credible and more poorly argued than media-congruent user comments. Moreover, the findings showed that the higher the participants’ level of media trust, the worse the assessment of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. Normative implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

How to improve diversity in patient and public involvement

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Rebecca Golenya ◽  
George D Chloros ◽  
Michalis Panteli ◽  
Peter V Giannoudis ◽  
Anthony Howard
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Patient And Public Involvement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Barriers To Participation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Barriers ◽  
Quality Of Research

Patient and public involvement involves ascertaining the opinions of and collaborating with patients and members of the public to holistically improve the quality of research. Patient and public involvement provides patients with a platform to use and share their lived experiences. This allows healthcare professionals to gain a deeper appreciation of the patient's perspective, which enables future research to be more patient centred and tailored to patients' requirements. Patient and public involvement aims to broadly encapsulate the opinions of the public, so ensuring diversity is recommended. This article provides a practical framework to increase diversity and engage hard-to-reach demographics in patient and public involvement. It highlights some common barriers to participation and methods for overcoming this, describes sampling frameworks and provides examples of how these have been adopted in practice.

Dissemination of Assistive Technology Devices for Children with Disabilities through Realabilities

2015 ◽  
pp. 310-335
Author(s):  
Senada Arucevic
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Children's Television ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Further Development

Over the last decade, vast research has been conducted on assistive technology devices and the potential implementation of these devices in the daily lives of individuals with disabilities. Many devices are new to the public and may require further development, but it is important to disseminate information about these useful technologies, which often afford users more independence with their activities of daily living. Unfortunately individuals with disabilities often encounter stigma; research suggests that assistive technology devices may at times contribute to this ostracism. This chapter reviews a variety of technologies that have been used to improve the quality of life of individuals with varying disabilities. These devices are presented in the context of introducing a new children's television show, Realabilities, a pro-social and stop-bullying children's television program that seeks to enhance the social interaction and initiation of typical children towards children with disabilities. Directions for future research and implementation of these devices are also discussed.

scholarly journals Clarity (User Comments/Interactions)

10.34778/5e ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa K. Naab ◽  
Constanze Küchler
Keyword(s):  
Online News ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Eine Hohe ◽  
Work In Progress ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Intercoder Agreement ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
Made In ◽  
Discourse Quality

The ‘clarity’ of user comments is an indicator for the quality of statements made in online discussions. User comments below news content on websites or in social media can be examined to determine whether they are clearly written, that is comprehensible to the reader in terms of form, style, and content. Clarity of user comments is essential for the contribution of a comment to a discussion and the exchange between commenters. Field of application/theoretical foundation: As a complement to various further criteria (e.g. coherence, occurrence of arguments), the variable ‘clarity’ of a user comment indicates the comment’s contribution to the deliberative quality of online discussions. Normative approaches to discourse ethics (e.g. Habermas, 1992) assume that contributions to discussions should be phrased understandably to be more valuable for the success of a discussion.  Example studies: Medium Measure Unit of analysis Studies Online; online discussions below news posts Clarity Individual user comment Naab & Küchler (work in progress) Ziegele & Quiring (2015)   Info about variables Variable name/definition: Verständlichkeit eines Nutzerkommentars Operationalization/coding instructions: Es wird kodiert, wie leicht sich Leser*innen der Sinn eines Nutzerkommentars erschließt, wie gut er nachvollziehbar ist. Hierbei zählt der Gesamteindruck. Indikatoren für eine hohe Verständlichkeit sind: Ein verständlicher Sprachstil überwiegend Standardsprache ohne akademische Begriffe bzw. Fremdwörter Vermeidung von Reimen oder literarischen Schreibformen Vermeidung von übertriebenem Cyberslang oder Umgangssprache Keine Verwendung von Fremdsprachen Eine klare, wenig verschachtelte Satzstruktur Keine auffälligen Rechtschreib- und Grammatikfehler Eine eindeutige rhetorische Gestaltung durch den Verzicht auf Ironie, Metaphern und abstrakte Bilder Eine hohe Prägnanz der Aussagen im Sinne der Verbindung von „Bedeutungsreichtum mit einem hohen Maß an Klarheit, Angemessenheit, Anschaulichkeit und Einfachheit“ Verzicht auf das Voraussetzen von speziellem Hintergrundwissen, das beim Durchschnittsleser nicht vorausgesetzt werden kann. Der Kodierer kann sich die Frage stellen: Wie leicht erschließt sich mir der Sinn des Kommentars, wie nachvollziehbar ist er? „Baseline“ ist der Code „0“.  Level of analysis: einzelner Nutzerkommentar Values: 0/ normal verständlich, 1/ schwer verständlich, 2/ überhaupt nicht verständlich, 99/ nicht eindeutig zuzuordnen  Intercoder reliability: The variable showed good performance in tests for intercoder agreement (percentage agreement = 86%; Krippendorf’s alpha = .72) in the study by Ziegele, Breiner, & Quiring (2014).   References Habermas, J. (1992). Faktizität und Geltung: Beiträge zur Diskurstheorie des Rechts und des demokratischen Rechtsstaates. Suhrkamp. Naab, T.K. & Küchler, C. (work in progress). Unveröffentlichtes Codebuch aus dem DFG-Projekt „Gegenseitige Sanktionierung unter NutzerInnen von Kommentarbereichen auf Nachrichtenwebseiten und auf Facebook“. Augsburg. Steenbergen, M. R., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M., & Steiner, J. (2003). Measuring political deliberation: A discourse quality index. Comparative European Politics, 1(1), 21–48. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cep.6110002 Ziegele, M., Breiner, T., & Quiring, O. (2014). What creates interactivity in online news discussions? An exploratory analysis of discussion factors in user comments on news items. Journal of Communication, 64(6), 1111–1138. doi:10.1111/jcom.12123 Ziegele, M. & Quiring, O. (2015). Codebuch: Der Diskussionswert von Online-Nachrichten. Unveröffentlichtes Codebuch aus dem DFG-Projekt „Vom Nachrichtenwert zum Diskussionswert“. Mainz.

scholarly journals Participation and deliberation: a case study of readers’ comments to news stories on the Brazilian presidential campaign

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 96-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Torres da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Online News ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Audience Participation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
News Stories ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Civic Forum

The Internet has created new “dialogical spaces” (Oblak, 2005) where issues of common concern can be discussed, serving to democratize the public sphere. As a potential deliberative section and a civic forum, readers’ comments in newspapers’ websites constitute a locus for public debate and ideas exchange provided by the mainstream media. As a case study, this article intends to assess the quality of audience participation in online news sites, by analysing the readers’ comments in the news about the Brazilian presidential campaign (September-November 2010) in the online versions of two Portuguese newspapers.

scholarly journals Progressing the construct of enjoyment: conceptualizing enjoyment as a proactive process

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masato Kawabata ◽  
Clifford J. Mallett
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
True Nature ◽  
The Public ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Positive Feelings ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hedonic Quality

AbstractEnjoyment is an important psychological construct in many life domains. Despite the importance of the construct, conceptual clarity in what enjoyment is remains elusive. The elusive understanding of enjoyment is probably caused by conceptual ambiguity of the construct and a confusion in the public usage between hedonic and eudaimonic qualities of positive feelings. The hedonic quality of positive feelings (e.g., fun) reflects the simple attainment of desires; whereas the eudaimonic quality of positive feelings (e.g., joy) reflects fulfilling or realizing one’s true nature through full functioning of one’s ability. To better understand this important construct of enjoyment, we conducted a focused review of relevant literature. In the first section, relevant literature was reviewed to identify conceptual ambiguities contributing to why enjoyment has remained an elusive construct in research. In the second section, an operational conceptualization of enjoyment was proposed from integrative perspectives to overcome the identified issues. We proposed operationally conceptualizing enjoyment as a proactive behavioral and psychological process towards the eudaimonic or hedonic qualities of positive feelings. In this process, the individual appraises the situation in a positive way and commits oneself to savoring the situation and engaging in the task to have positive feelings of joy and fun. We explained why the operational conceptualization is important and useful from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. In doing so, we also proposed possible future research directions with the operational conceptualization of enjoyment.

Dissemination of Assistive Technology Devices for Children with Disabilities through Realabilities

2016 ◽  
pp. 1201-1227
Author(s):  
Senada Arucevic
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Children's Television ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Further Development

Over the last decade, vast research has been conducted on assistive technology devices and the potential implementation of these devices in the daily lives of individuals with disabilities. Many devices are new to the public and may require further development, but it is important to disseminate information about these useful technologies, which often afford users more independence with their activities of daily living. Unfortunately individuals with disabilities often encounter stigma; research suggests that assistive technology devices may at times contribute to this ostracism. This chapter reviews a variety of technologies that have been used to improve the quality of life of individuals with varying disabilities. These devices are presented in the context of introducing a new children's television show, Realabilities, a pro-social and stop-bullying children's television program that seeks to enhance the social interaction and initiation of typical children towards children with disabilities. Directions for future research and implementation of these devices are also discussed.

IT outsourcing in the public sector: a conceptual model

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Duhamel ◽  
Isis Gutiérrez-Martínez ◽  
Sergio Picazo-Vela ◽  
Luis Luna-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
It Outsourcing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Technology Enactment

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to propose a theoretical model explaining information technology outsourcing performance in the public sector as well as a set of empirically testable propositions to improve the understanding of key determinants of success. Design/methodology/approach – Based on Fountain ' s technology enactment framework, the authors integrated inter-organizational factors, such as trust, knowledge sharing, and quality of outsourcing interfaces, in the model and added organizational culture alignment between service providers and public administration to enhance Fountain ' s original framework. Findings – The authors proposed 17 empirically testable propositions to establish the relationships between key variables in IT outsourcing projects in the public sector. Research limitations/implications – The proposed model provides guidance for future research aimed at advancing knowledge of IT outsourcing. Originality/value – The contribution lies in the development of specific variables, such as trust, knowledge, and organizational culture, which are related to building an outsourcing relationship and are used as determinants of the quality of organizational interfaces between public bureaucracies and IT outsourcing providers.

scholarly journals Salient deliberative norm types in comment sections on news sites

2022 ◽  
pp. 146144482110681
Author(s):  
Ines Engelmann ◽  
Hanna Marzinkowski ◽  
Klara Langmann
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Descriptive Norms ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Using Data

Civil and argumentative public discussions are considered crucial for functioning democracies. Among other factors, the quality of user discussions of political issues on news sites depends on prevalent discussion norms. We integrate injunctive and descriptive norms into news comment research, assuming that the degree of salience of the respective norm influences the commenting behavior. Furthermore, we discuss how technical affordances such as default comment sorting determine the comment visibility and thus the salience of norms. Using data from a content analysis of 8162 comments on eight German news sites, we investigate how the two norm types influence deliberative forms of commenting. The results show that different types of salient injunctive and descriptive norms promote norm-compliant commenting. Furthermore, the default comment sorting can determine which comments are more or less salient. The results underline the importance of distinguishing different norm types in analyzing the quality of user comments in comment sections.

scholarly journals Number of reply comments (User Comments/Interactions)

10.34778/5f ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa K. Naab ◽  
Constanze Küchler
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Variable Number ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Work In Progress ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Technical Possibility ◽  
Level Of Analysis

The variable ‘number of reply comments’ is an indicator of interactivity in online discussions. The number of reply comments is a simple measure of how much response a user comment has received. It is applicable if platforms that host comment sections offer the technical possibility to users to respond directly to existing user comments. The reply comments (also called ‘sub-level comments’ or ‘child comments’) then usually appear indented below the existing user comment they refer to (also called ‘top-level comment’ or ‘parent comment’). The measure does not provide information about the quality of the interaction between the commenters. It neither covers interactivity that occurs “outside” of comment threads below top-level comments, i.e. commenters responding in new top-level comments instead of sub-level comments. Field of application/theoretical foundation: Normative approaches to discourse ethics (e.g. Habermas, 1992) evaluate interactivity as a prerequisite for high-quality discourses. Example studies: Medium Measure Unit of analysis Studies Online; online discussions below news posts Number of reply comments (sub-level comments) to a top-level comment Individual user comments Naab & Küchler (work in progress)   Info about variables Variable name/definition: Anzahl der Antwortkommentare auf einen Nutzerkommentar Operationalization/coding instructions: Manuell: Zählen Sie die Kind-Kommentare (Antwortkommentare, Second-Level-Kommentare), die zu einem Eltern-Kommentar (Top-Level-Kommentar) verfasst wurden und tragen die Anzahl ein. Automatisiert: Sofern ein Datensatz alle Nutzerkommentare eines Kommentarthreads, Informationen über das Eltern- bzw. Kind-Level jedes Kommentars sowie eine Zuordnung aller Kind-Kommentare zu einem Eltern-Kommentar enthält, ist es möglich, die Anzahl der Kind-Kommentare für jeden Eltern-Kommentar per Auswertungssoftware zu aggregieren. Level of analysis: Kommentarthread (Eltern-Kommentar + alle zugehörigen Kind-Kommentare/Antwortkommentare)   References Naab, T.K. & Küchler, C. (work in progress). Unveröffentlichtes Codebuch aus dem DFG-Projekt „Gegenseitige Sanktionierung unter NutzerInnen von Kommentarbereichen auf Nachrichtenwebseiten und auf Facebook“. Augsburg. Habermas, J. (1992). Faktizität und Geltung: Beiträge zur Diskurstheorie des Rechts und des demokratischen Rechtsstaates. Suhrkamp.

scholarly journals Smart City Collaboration: A Review and an Agenda for Establishing Sustainable Collaboration

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9189
Author(s):  
David E. Mills ◽  
Iman Izadgoshasb ◽  
Steven G. Pudney
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Smart City ◽  
City Government ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
City Governments ◽  
The Public

Collaboration is problematic in the public sector, yet many smart city theorists advocate relationships fully dependent upon collaboration to address the intense complexity encountered by city governments and achieve city objectives of quality of life, efficiency, effectiveness, and economic and environmental sustainability. Skeptical, we inductively drew together the widely dispersed theoretical tenets of smart city collaboration into a framework of collaborative relationships and tested this framework using secondary evidence as to practice in greater Amsterdam. Mostly authentic collaborative relationships were explicated. Theory is extended by clarifying the roles of actors, especially the role of city government as actor and steward of the collaborative ecosystem. Future research should unpack the factors that impact the sustainability of smart city collaborations.

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