scholarly journals How is poststroke fatigue understood by stroke survivors and carers? A thematic analysis of an online discussion forum.

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e028958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Thomas ◽  
Chloe Gamlin ◽  
Anna De Simoni ◽  
Ricky Mullis ◽  
Jonathan Mant
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Stroke Survivors ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Online Discussion Forum ◽  
Web Forum ◽  
The Brain

ObjectiveTo understand poststroke fatigue from the perspective of stroke survivors and caregivers expressed in an online discussion forum.DesignThe search terms ‘tiredness’, ‘fatigue’, ‘tired’, ‘weary’ and ‘weariness’ were used to identify relevant posts. Thematic analysis performed by two independent researchers who coded all forum posts and identified pertinent themes. Posts were coded in relation to two research questions: (1) how is poststroke fatigue described? and (2) what coping strategies are suggested to target poststroke fatigue? Each theme was then summarised by a lead quotation in forum users’ own words.SettingUK-based web forum hosted by Stroke Association, TalkStroke. Archives from 2004 to 2011 were accessed.Participants65 stroke survivors and caregivers (mean age 54 years, 61% female) contributed to 89 relevant posts that included a relevant search term. This included 38 stroke survivors, 23 individuals with family or carer role and 4 others unidentified.ResultsSix themes were generated: (1) medicalisation of poststroke fatigue: ‘a classic poststroke symptom’, (2) a tiredness unique to stroke: ‘a legacy of stroke’, (3) normalisation and acceptance of poststroke fatigue: ‘part and parcel of stroke’, (4) fighting the fatigue: ‘an unwelcome guest’, (5) survivors’ and caregivers’ biological explanations: ‘the brain healing’ and (6) coping mechanisms: ‘pace yourself’. Forum users also repeatedly commented that poststroke fatigue was ‘not understood by the profession’.ConclusionThis is the first study to employ data from an online forum to characterise poststroke fatigue. Our data are considered naturalistic owing to the absence of a researcher guiding the discussion and thus generates useful insights for healthcare professionals. Findings suggest a requirement for consistent understanding and explanation to be provided by healthcare professionals. The beliefs outlined here highlight the gap between clinical and community knowledge. Further research to translate understanding of patient and carer perspective into improved management of poststroke fatigue is required.

scholarly journals DON'T JUST SAY THANK YOU: EXPLORATION OF TYPES OF POSTS INSPIRING AND HINDERING DEEP CONVERSATIONS ONLINE

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devayani Tirthali ◽  
Yumiko Murai
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Discussion Forum ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Fixed Structure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Given

In an open online discussion forum, where there is no fixed structure or a facilitator like a course forum without any assigned themes, every participant is a facilitator shaping the direction and depth of a conversation. How can we as designers then make sure it leads to an engaging learning community that learners keep coming back to beyond the given course period? This paper reports on sequential analysis of 172 posts in 32 threads and close reading of two threads from an open online discussion forum in a free open online course, specifically looking at the impact of participant actions as facilitative moves, to gain better understanding of the types of actions that lead to deeper and sustained engagement with the ideas of interest. Sequential analysis is an approach that estimates which types of sequences of posts or interactions are most likely to occur in a threaded discussion. The results showed that sharing personal experiences attracted most responses, implying that it is important to encourage participants to share questions or cases connected to their personal experiences. In addition, somewhat paradoxically, we found that posts acknowledging responses tend to conclude and close down the conversation while posts that ask diverging questions tend to attract more discussion.

scholarly journals The Speech Act of Request in Computer-Mediated Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Maria Miwita Rosari
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Law School ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Discussion Forum ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Politeness Strategies

Through conversation ones establish relationship with others and keep channels open for further relationships. Politeness strategies and issues have been the focus of a number of studies. The way ones request for something to others depends on some factors such as the context they are in and the interlocutors they talk to. This article aims at developing the latest discussion on politeness phenomena by paying attention to the specifics of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) settings specifically an online discussion forum. This article attempts to identify how speech act of request is performed in Top Law School (TLS) online discussion forum. The data were analyzed to observe the forms of speech act of request and the types of speech act of request performed in the online discussion forum. The findings of this paper revealed that the forms of speech act of request are expressed by declarative, interrogative, and imperative sentence. Moreover, the types of speech act of request employed by the users are directive, indirective, and literal speech acts. The writer believes that the study will be beneficial and a good reference for future researchers in conducting research on pragmatics under the same topic. Hopefully, it will enrich readers’ knowledge and understanding of the speech act of request and the politeness in CMC.

Assessing the effectiveness of a voluntary online discussion forum on improving students’ course performance

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cho Kin Cheng ◽  
Dwayne E. Paré ◽  
Lisa-Marie Collimore ◽  
Steve Joordens
Keyword(s):  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Online Discussion Forum

Social Media in Promoting HIV/AIDS Prevention Behaviour among Young People in Botswana

2014 ◽  
pp. 264-279
Author(s):  
Tshepo Batane
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Aids Prevention ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Summative Evaluation ◽  
Online Forum ◽  
Online Discussion Forum ◽  
Hiv Aids

This chapter explores the effects of social media in influencing the behavior of young people in relation to HIV/AIDS. The platform used for the project is an online discussion forum. The study is a One Group Pretest and Posttest inquiry. Formative evaluation is performed at the beginning of the study to establish participants behaviour, the intervention is introduced, then a summative evaluation is done to find out whether the intervention had any effect on the behaviour of the participants. The findings of the study indicate that there is a significant change in the behaviour of participants in relation to HIV/AIDS due to the use of the online forum. The study recommends that more efforts need to be directed to the use of various technologies that young people have at their disposal in the fight against HIV/AIDS as this can be very economical and effective.

“I Feel Abused by My Own Mind”: Themes of Control in Men’s Online Accounts of Living With Anxiety

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (13) ◽  
pp. 2118-2131
Author(s):  
Phoebe G. Drioli-Phillips ◽  
Melissa Oxlad ◽  
Rebecca Feo ◽  
Brett Scholz ◽  
Amanda LeCouteur
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
The Self ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Discursive Psychology ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Independent Entity

Men’s experiences with anxiety are under-researched and poorly understood. Existing research gives little indication of how men talk about anxiety in situ, and little is known about how men describe their experiences of anxiety. Online discussion forums provide an opportunity to conduct naturalistic observations of how men describe their experiences with anxiety without the influence of a researcher. Thematic analysis, informed by principles of discursive psychology, was used to examine 130 opening posts to an online anxiety discussion forum. One superordinate theme, where anxiety is constructed as a loss of control, was identified. Analysis of this overarching theme generated three themes relating to how posters described a loss of control: (a) anxiety as an immobilizing force, (b) anxiety as an independent entity, and (c) anxiety as a dualist construction of the self. Our analysis has clear implications for developing and improving interventions for men experiencing anxiety.

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