StevenM

This research examines the impact of online discussion forums on users' well-being and their participation in offline civic activities. The study involved participants from various online forums and investigated how their experiences influenced their sense of identification with the forum community. The findings suggest that users who had their expectations exceeded by the forum experienced higher levels of identification, which in turn positively affected their life satisfaction and civic engagement. The study also found that the subject matter of the forum, especially if it involved stigmatized topics, moderated these effects. The results highlight the potential psychological and social benefits of online forums and suggest that forum identification is a key mechanism linking online interactions to offline behavior.

The article examines the crucial role of discussion forums in online education, highlighting their importance for fostering critical thinking, problem solving, and knowledge construction among instructors and students. Traditionally, the assessment of these forums has been dominated by quantitative measures like frequency counts. The study focuses on two different content analysis protocols for evaluating online discussion boards, applying them to a week-long student-led discussion. It offers a detailed guide on how to use these protocols and assesses their effectiveness, aiming to provide educators and researchers with robust tools for analyzing forum content.

This article explores the role of the Internet in facilitating political and societal discussions through online forums, examining the quality of these dialogues. It reviews empirical research on various types of forums, including Usenet groups, web-based political forums, and e-consultation forums. The paper is structured into three sections: the first reviews existing research findings, the second introduces variables that explain variations in deliberation quality, and the third addresses methodological challenges in measuring the quality of online deliberation. The article concludes by critiquing prior studies and suggesting directions for more thorough analysis of online forums.

The article challenges the common perception of professional emergency responders as the primary first responders, highlighting the critical role local citizens play in initial rescue and aid efforts until formal help arrives. It discusses how citizens continue to offer support through various means even after professional efforts begin. With the advent of the Internet, online forums have become vital tools for transcending geographical limitations, enabling the formation of virtual communities that coordinate citizen-led responses to crises. Examples include the online forums that emerged in response to Hurricane Katrina, the San Bernardino wildfires, and preparations for an avian flu pandemic, demonstrating the power of digital platforms to facilitate grassroots social action.

The article explores the concept of policy forums as crucial components of contemporary governance systems, highlighting their role in facilitating learning, negotiation, and trust-building among political and societal actors. It introduces a theoretical framework for understanding policy forums, focusing on three key aspects: the conditions for their formation, the goals and motivations of participants, and the diverse dimensions that distinguish different forums. These factors influence the dynamics of exchange within forums. The paper advocates for empirical research that systematically considers these elements and suggests a research agenda to guide future studies.

This study investigates consumer behavior in gathering online product information through two sources: online discussions (Internet forums or bulletin boards) and marketer-generated content (corporate webpages). Over a 12-week experiment involving five specific product topics, it was found that consumers who used online discussions exhibited greater interest in the products compared to those who relied on marketer-generated information. The results underline the importance of word-of-mouth communication in influencing consumer interest and offer insights for improving the effectiveness of consumer websites.

The abstract discusses the growth of online learning, particularly focusing on asynchronous online courses. It examines whether asynchronous discussion forums, which replace traditional classroom interactions, can enhance learning. The paper reviews existing literature and concludes that while asynchronous forums can replicate critical learning dimensions of face-to-face settings, they also have inherent limitations.

This paper investigates underground forums, a type of online social network (OSN) where participants discuss abusive tactics and trade illegal goods and services. Unlike traditional OSNs like Facebook, these forums reflect dynamic trust relationships among participants who are generally distrustful of one another. The study empirically characterizes six forums: BlackHatWorld, Carders, HackSector, HackE1ite, Freehack, and L33tCrew. It examines the social network structures, the nature of transactions, and the mechanisms of trust formation and dissolution within these communities.

The text discusses the role of Internet forums as platforms for radical, extremist, and ideologically sensitive groups to communicate and propagate their agendas with minimal social restraint. Highlighting their utility in social science research, it outlines a practical guide for analyzing discursive data from such forums. This includes strategies for data sampling, refinement for computer-assisted analysis, and in-depth qualitative and quantitative examination. Two case studies are presented: an analysis of a German neo-Nazi discussion board and a comparative study of forums used by young German Muslims, discussing the advantages and challenges of this research method.

The text explores the impact of information and communication technologies on learning networks through studies of video-conferenced classrooms, group discussion spaces, and online communities. It proposes a framework for understanding how different e-learning venues support learning, emphasizing the role of environment design and participant interaction in shaping learning processes. The effectiveness of these settings varies based on their structure and the management of interactions, with some being better suited to meet the learning needs of knowledge workers.