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Virtual Fitness Community: Online Behavior on a Croatian Fitness Forum
Abstract
Digital communication has influenced our lives in a number of ways, and the focus in this paper is on how people obtain, share and interpret health and fitness related information in the context of a virtual community on a Croatian fitness forum. The Internet is proven to be the leading source of information in Croatia and health-related content is among the most represented coverage people seek online. The purpose in this paper is therefore to analyze information needs expressed by users of the biggest fitness forum in Croatia and to look into the topics represented on it. Also, the aim is to gain insight based on empirical results into the use of information communication technology to create and sustain a sense of belonging and mutual support in this virtual community. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative subject and content analysis of posts on the most active place on the fitness.com.hr forum in 2019 (subcategory How to lose weight) and interviewed forum administrators and the most active forum members. Our results show that information needs of fitness forum users fall into six broader facets, all related to weight loss: nutrition, physical activity, psychological and health issues, personalized initial status, reporting results and other. Analysis also showed that a sense of belonging and emotional and peer support can in some ways be recognized in this fitness virtual community.
... OC used pre-existing platforms (i.e., commercial platforms). Fifteen (68.2%) platforms of the 22 platforms supported on website format (Elloumi et al., 2017;Feldvari et al., 2020;Greene et al., 2013;Groenewegen et al., 2012;Kolt et al., 2020;Lopez-Gonzalez et al., 2014;Mailey et al., 2019;Malinen & Nurkka, 2015;Malinen & Ojala, 2011;Manzoor et al., 2016;Resnick et al., 2010;Richardson et al., 2010;Toscos et al., 2010;Yu, 2018); 5 (22.7%) were supported on both website and app formats (Andrade et al., 2018;Ba & Wang, 2013;Boratto et al., 2017;Fan et al., 2019;Li & Yan, 2020;Stragier et al., 2015Stragier et al., , 2017Tague et al., 2014;Zeng et al., 2018); and 2 (9.10%) were supported only on app format (Phan et al., 2014;Sanders et al., 2019). Details can be found in Table 2 (Appendix A). ...
The objective of this scoping review was to identify, characterise, and synthesise existing literature on the use of online communities (OC) to promote physical activity (PA) and identify gaps to direct future research. Systematic searches were conducted in Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Institute of Electrical and Electron-ics Engineers Xplore for studies published up to August 2020. The search terms included a combination of the following keywords: physical activity, sedentary, exercise, health, sport, brand, and online community. No limits were used. Studies were included if they encompassed a full publication containing enough details on characteristics and described any feature primarily aiming at PA promotion. A total of 21 different OC were found in the total of 25 selected studies. Of those studies, all reported on at least one behaviour change technique, 68.2% (n=15) used websites to support the OC, 36% (n=9) reported on strategies to keep users engaged, 16% (n=4) comprised information related to the design process, and 16% (n=4) reported on OC effectiveness. Existing reports do not provide evident detailed information on the design process or user engagement strategies related to OC, and only a few studies assess its effectiveness in improving PA. Further research is needed.
... OC used pre-existing platforms (i.e., commercial platforms). Fifteen (68.2%) platforms of the 22 platforms were support on website format (Elloumi et al., 2017;Feldvari et al., 2020;Greene et al., 2013;Groenewegen et al., 2012;Kolt et al., 2020;Lopez-Gonzalez et al., 2014;Mailey et al., 2019;Malinen & Nurkka, 2015;Malinen & Ojala, 2011;Manzoor et al., 2016;Resnick et al., 2010;Richardson et al., 2010;Toscos et al., 2010;Yu, 2018); 5 (22.7%) were supported on both website and app formats (Andrade et al., 2018;Ba & Wang, 2013;Boratto et al., 2017;Fan et al., 2019;Li & Yan, 2020;Stragier et al., 2015Stragier et al., , 2017Tague et al., 2014;Zeng et al., 2018); and 2 (9.10%) were supported only on app format (Analysis of Physical Activity Propagation in a Health Social Network, 2014;Sanders et al., 2019). Details can be seen in Table 2. 9 ...
Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to identify, characterize and synthesize existing literature on the use of online communities to promote physical activity and identify gaps to direct future research.
Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore for studies published up to August 2020. The search terms included a combination of the following keywords: physical activity, sedentary, exercise, health, sport, brand, online community. No limits were used. Studies were included if they encompassed a full publication containing enough details on characteristics and described any feature primarily aiming at physical activity promotion.
Results: A total of 21 different online communities were found in the total of 25 selected studies. Of those studies, all reported on at least one behaviour change technique, 68.2% (n=15) used websites to support the OC, 36% (n=9) reported on strategies to keep users engaged, 16% (n=4) comprised information related to the design process, and 16% (n=4) reported on OC effectiveness.
Conclusion: Existing reports do not provide evident detailed information on the design process or user engagement strategies related to online communities, and only a few studies assess its effectiveness in improving physical activity. Further research is needed.
... Pre-existing platform (Andrade et al., 2018) Marca Community (Feldvari et al., 2020) Fitness.com.hr (Toscos et al., 2010) GetFit! ...
A scoping review was carried out to identify existing literature characterising the content and features of OC targeting the promotion of PA.
Objective: The primary objective of this online survey is to understand differences in user profile, user preferences and perceived impact among the European population.
Methods: The sample groups were based on the most recent report of the European country with the highest and lowest levels of physical activity. Cross-sectional online survey of population resident in Portugal and population resident in Finland were selected by simple random sampling. Responses were collected from the open-source tool LimeSurvey. IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences Statistics was used to analyse the acquired data.
Results: A total of 538 responses were considered with 48.4% of respondents residing in Portugal, and 51.4% residing in Finland. About 38.5% of the general survey population regularly practice exercise, and 39.7% regularly engage in physical activity. Regarding the level of online community experience, responses were distributed between medium, moderately low, and very low. Overall, there is a significant relationship between both sample groups when it comes to physical activity, common emotions using online communities, user perception, preferences and openness.
Conclusion: Our survey results provide evidence to support that country of residence is related to user physical activity and highlight the importance of considering demographic factors to understand general population lifestyle choices.
The purpose of this study is to find what tools, techniques and strategies can be applied to online communities (OC) to positively impact its users’ engagement with OC dedicated to promoting physical activity (PA).
Exploring the different elements that compose digital platforms (DP) that harbour OC can be an innovative step to evaluate the promotion of PA. This is especially helpful in light of the potential for internet-based interventions, which can reach a large number of users at reduced costs.
The work plan was divided into four different phases. Phase 1 encompassed the development of a scoping review on OC characteristics. Phase 2 covered an analysis of existing DP. Phase 3 was dedicated to a survey on user preferences and perceived impact. Finally, Phase 4 incorporated the final research discussion along with a conceptual framework and a set of guidelines.
The main findings indicate that OC should be harboured in DP optimised in website and app formats and that both are equivalently indispensable. We also found that a variety of details, OC features, OC content, user interaction strategies, and BCT are present in the current DP. Finally, we discovered that there appears to be a broad dissatisfaction with the features offered by OC.
Existing evidence is insufficient to draw objective conclusions, therefore more scientific studies on the various subjects must be carried out. Users’ preferences and perceived impact may initially appear to be at odds—users’ expectations of OC appear to be unmet, and user preferences need to be nurtured.
With the rising popularity of fitness and the growing need to record workouts for analytical or social purposes, there is an increasing demand for fitness application(s) that would cater to the requirements of the emerging lifestyle. Looking at the available applications, there are only a few of them, namely, Garmin Connect, Strava, RunKeeper, Map My Ride, Zombie Run and Zwift. From the reviews received on their websites or applications, multiple issues were identified. A few of them are syncing issues, notification issues, GPS issues, fitness goal update issues, and many more. Motivated by these shortcomings in a market of high demand, a contextual design approach was used to design a new fitness application that would benefit the fitness enthusiast without these issues. Intermediary steps in achieving this goal were - experience model construction, grand vision development, identification of persons, product concepts and their cool drilldowns, storyboarding, Generalized Transition Network (GTN), wireframing, prototyping, creating Usability Aspect Report (UAR) based on persona, and improvements made according to the UARs. Along with these, a few suggestions for further improvement have been made.KeywordsHuman Computer InteractionHCIContextual DesignApplicationUser Centered Design
Cilj je ovog rada odrediti informacijske potrebe i ponašanje učenika i učenica pri traženju zdravstvenih informacija. Metodologija. U istraživanje je uključeno 255 učenika prvog i četvrtog razreda I. gimnazije u Osijeku. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom anketiranja tijekom rujna i listopada 2016. godine. Ovo istraživanje dio je znanstveno-istraživačkog projekta Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku pod nazivom Istraživanje informacijskog ponašanja mladih pri pretraživanju informacija za zdravlje na mobilnim uređajima. Rezultati. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da učenice i učenici I. gimnazije u Osijeku pokazuju interes za mnoge zdravstvene teme. Učenici jednako kao i učenice u posljednjih šest mjeseci imali su potrebu za različitim zdravstvenim informacijama. Učenici i učenice zdravstvenu informaciju smatraju vrlo važnom, a majka je prvi izvor kojem se obraćaju kad traže zdravstvenu informaciju. Vrlo često zdravstvene informacije učenici i učenice traže na internetu. Učenice i učenici izjašnjavaju se da bi više informacija o zdravstveni temama htjeli dobiti u školi te da bi voljeli na raspolaganju imati stručne osobe kojima bi se osobno ili na druge načine besplatno mogli obratiti kad prepoznaju svoju zdravstvenu informacijsku potrebu. Originalnost/Vrijednost. Originalnost ovoga rada ogleda se u činjenici što je prvo istraživanje u okviru informacijskih znanosti u Republici Hrvatskoj koje se bavi zdravstvenim informacijskim potrebama i ponašanjem mladih. Vrijednost rada očituje se u pružanju uvida u informacijsko ponašanje mladih. Praktična primjena. Rezultati mogu poslužiti kao podloga za oblikovanje nastavnih predmeta koji će uključivati zdravstvene teme. Nadalje, rezultati mogu poslužiti kao smjerokaz oblikovanju i unaprjeđenju usluga savjetodavnih službi za mlade. Rezultati istraživanja mogu također poslužiti kao smjernice za unaprjeđenje informacijskih službi i usluga namijenjenih mladima. Ograničenja. U okviru ovoga rada istraživanje je provedeno na relativno malom uzorku te su generalizacije o temi zdravstvenog informacijskog ponašanja mladih onemogućene. Kako bi se dobio detaljniji uvid u informacijske potrebe i ponašanje mladih u Republici Hrvatskoj, potrebni su rezultati prikupljeni istraživanjem na većem uzorku ili na nacionalnoj razini.
While previous studies have investigated online health communities and health-seeking behaviours, less attention has been directed at the growing impact of the online fitness movement. This paper draws on the concept of biopedagogies to examine the messages transmitted within fitness culture on social networking sites (SNSs), and their role as a channel for health and fitness information. To explore this, a multi-method approach was conducted. The two methods included a netnography (online ethnography) and 22 semi-structured individual interviews with female participants aged 18–24 in Australia. The study suggests that online fitness use is becoming a popular leisure activity and source of health and fitness information. It reveals how SNSs are used as a platform to gather and teach ideas of health and fitness, and the manner in which textual and photographic online communication facilitates the social construction and transmission of this knowledge. Results indicated that although fitness accounts on SNSs offer differing notions to present alternative and competing realities, users predominantly chose to follow the normalised and dominant health discourses. Noteworthy, the onus is firmly placed on the individual within these health and fitness messages to adhere to norms of correct health practices and choices. This has connotations relevant to eHealth literacy.
With the popularity of new social media including Facebook and Instagram, online communities have become a global social phenomenon. The concept of health literacy, which broadly relates to the acquisition, understanding and application of health related information (Jordan, Buchbinder, & Osborne, 2010), is currently being impacted upon by contemporary social media, in particular the online fitness community. With current trending hash-tags relating to 'clean-eating', 'IIFYM' (if it fits your macros), 'paleo', 'flexible dieting', as well as 'fitspo' (fitness inspiration), 'squat challenge' and 'fit challenge', the online fitness community are altering the way people are sourcing health information relating to dieting and exercise. This paper will explore the concept of online health literacy created by online fitness culture by using participants' experiences with seeking exercise and food information online and will investigate the impact on their health practices. To examine this, 22 qualitative semi-structured online or in-person face-to-face individual interviews were conducted with females aged 18 to 24 from around Australia. The results of the study indicated that participants within the online fitness community are overwhelmed with information related to health related practices. Participants admitted to consuming information from unknown sources and implementing health practices in to their everyday lives based on information found through social networking sites (SNSs). The findings contribute to a broader understanding of how young females obtain health information and emphasize the need for critical digital health literacy to be developed at a younger age.
The study investigated, through a phenomenological study, the conceptualization of Information need. A convenient sampling technique was used, ten (10) respondents were used for the study, information was obtained with the interview guide and responses obtained were analyzed thematically. The result of the study revealed that information need is the totality of Human Information Seeking Behavior which commences from the un-programmed, unconscious , un-systematic and unplanned encounters with various information systems and sources that leads to the discovering of information needs, and to the consciously planned and mechanized search to fill this need providing solution at the long run to the need discovered.
Health literacy, which relates to the acquisition, understanding and application of health information,
has become an increasingly important public health issue, particularly where parents and children are concerned. Given that the home setting comprises a strong infl uence on children’s diets, this qualitative study explored the concept of health literacy using parents’ experiences with health information seeking and food related parenting practices. Semi-structured focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with parents, with children aged from birth to 12 years, in a low
socio-economic region of South Australia. The results of this study indicated that there were a number of perceived barriers to accessing, understanding and utilising health information related to children’s nutrition. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of how parents obtain and process dietary information and the channels through which they appear to be accessible.
While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to receivers, senders, channels, and feedback elements in computer-mediated communication that may enhance impressions and interpersonal relations.
The aim of research was to investigate: the need for health care information of Croatian adolescents aged from 13 to 18 years; the difference in evaluation of the frequency of receiving information between hospitalized and healthy children; if the hospitalized children expectations about the frequency of receiving health care information differed significantly from information they have actually received; whose information was most comprehensible to the hospitalized children (doctors, parents, other health care givers). The children were either hospitalized in the pediatrics departments or were high schools pupils (healthy children). The hospitalized children "Completely agreed" (92.7%) with the statement "When I am sick, I should receive information about my health" in comparison to the healthy children (85.1%). In comparison to healthy children, the hospitalized children assessed that doctors, other health care givers and parents should give them information more frequently. The experience of hospitalized children indicate that they received less information then they have actually excepted. The information received from doctors was mostly in correlation with the understanding of this information. We concluded that the children want to be informed about their health, especially hospitalized children. Health care professionals should offer understandable health care information according to the children's expectation.
Health literacy concerns the knowledge and competences of persons to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. Although its importance is increasingly recognised, there is no consensus about the definition of health literacy or about its conceptual dimensions, which limits the possibilities for measurement and comparison. The aim of the study is to review definitions and models on health literacy to develop an integrated definition and conceptual model capturing the most comprehensive evidence-based dimensions of health literacy.
A systematic literature review was performed to identify definitions and conceptual frameworks of health literacy. A content analysis of the definitions and conceptual frameworks was carried out to identify the central dimensions of health literacy and develop an integrated model.
The review resulted in 17 definitions of health literacy and 12 conceptual models. Based on the content analysis, an integrative conceptual model was developed containing 12 dimensions referring to the knowledge, motivation and competencies of accessing, understanding, appraising and applying health-related information within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion setting, respectively.
Based upon this review, a model is proposed integrating medical and public health views of health literacy. The model can serve as a basis for developing health literacy enhancing interventions and provide a conceptual basis for the development and validation of measurement tools, capturing the different dimensions of health literacy within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion settings.
European citizens are increasingly being offered Internet health services. This study investigated patterns of health-related Internet use, its consequences, and citizens' expectations about their doctors' provision of e-health services.
Representative samples were obtained from the general populations in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Latvia. The total sample consisted of 7934 respondents. Interviews were conducted by telephone.
44 % of the total sample, 71 % of the Internet users, had used the Internet for health purposes. Factors that positively affected the use of Internet for health purposes were youth, higher education, white-collar or no paid job, visits to the GP during the past year, long-term illness or disabilities, and a subjective assessment of one's own health as good. Women were the most active health users among those who were online. One in four of the respondents used the Internet to prepare for or follow up doctors' appointments. Feeling reassured after using the Internet for health purposes was twice as common as experiencing anxieties. When choosing a new doctor, more than a third of the sample rated the provision of e-health services as important.
The users of Internet health services differ from the general population when it comes to health and demographic variables. The most common way to use the Internet in health matters is to read information, second comes using the net to decide whether to see a doctor and to prepare for and follow up on doctors' appointments. Hence, health-related use of the Internet does affect patients' use of other health services, but it would appear to supplement rather than to replace other health services.
The concept of health literacy evolved from a history of defining, redefining, and quantifying the functional literacy needs of the adult population. Along with these changes has come the recognition that sophisticated literacy skills are increasingly needed to function in society and that low literacy may have an effect on health and health care. We present a brief history of literacy in the United States, followed by a discussion of the origins and conceptualization of health literacy. Increased attention to this important issue suggests the need to review existing definitions of the term "health literacy," because despite the growing interest in this field, one question that persists is, "What is health literacy?"
Subjects were divided into information seekers (high monitors)/information avoiders (low monitors) and distractors (high blunters)/nondistractors (low blunters) on the basis of their scores on a self-report scale to measure coping styles, the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS). In Experiment 1, subjects were faced with a physically aversive event (the prospect of electric shock). High monitors and low blunters chose to seek out information about its nature and onset whereas low monitors and high blunters chose to distract themselves. This effect was strongest with the blunting dimension. High monitoring and low blunting were also accompanied by sustained high anxiety and arousal. In contrast, low monitors and high blunters were able to relax themselves over time. In Experiment 2, subjects worked on a series of tests that presumably predicted success in college. They could attend as often as they wished to a light that signaled how well they were performing. Results showed that coping-style scores accurately predicted informational strategy, particularly with the monitoring dimension: High monitors tended to look at the light whereas low monitors tended to ignore it. Thus the MBSS measure of coping styles appears to be a valid instrument for predicting behavioral strategies in response to both physical and psychological stressors. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Health literacy as a discrete form of literacy is becoming increasingly important for social, economic and health development. The positive and multiplier effects of education and general literacy on population health, particularly women's health, are well known and researched. However, a closer analysis of the current HIV/AIDS epidemics, especially in Africa, indicates a complex interface between general literacy and health literacy. While general literacy is an important determinant of health, it is not sufficient to address the major health challenges facing developing and developed societies. As a contribution to the health literacy forum in Health Promotion International, this paper reviews concepts and definitions of literacy and health literacy, and raises conceptual, measurement and strategic challenges. It proposes to develop a set of indicators to quantify health literacy using the experience gained in national literacy surveys around the world. A health literacy index could become an important composite measure of the outcome of health promotion and prevention activities, could document the health competence and capabilities of the population of a given country, community or group and relate it to a set of health, social and economic outcomes.
A long and yet unfinished history of investigating how individual capabilities and social processes explain or predict health indicates that poor education, low literacy, poor health and early death are strongly linked around the world. However, the complexity of those relationships is not fully understood. In this article, we propose an expanded model of health literacy characterized by four domains: fundamental literacy (reading, writing, speaking and numeracy), science literacy, civic literacy and cultural literacy. To explore the utility of this model, we examine selected pieces of the public discourse about terrorism and bioterrorism that dominated the mass media during the anthrax threat in the United States during 2001. We conclude that this model of health literacy is useful to analyze health communication, to aid in constructing more understandable and appropriate health communication, and ultimately can lead to the development of a new measure to assess health literacy skills in individuals.
Limited evidence suggests that a higher ratio of protein to carbohydrate during weight loss has metabolic advantages.
The objective was to evaluate the effects of a diet with a high ratio of protein to carbohydrate during weight loss on body composition, cardiovascular disease risk, nutritional status, and markers of bone turnover and renal function in overweight women.
The subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 isocaloric 5600-kJ dietary interventions for 12 wk according to a parallel design: a high-protein (HP) or a high-carbohydrate (HC) diet.
One hundred women with a mean (+/-SD) body mass index (in kg/m(2)) of 32 +/- 6 and age of 49 +/- 9 y completed the study. Weight loss was 7.3 +/- 0.3 kg with both diets. Subjects with high serum triacylglycerol (>1.5 mmol/L) lost more fat mass with the HP than with the HC diet (x +/- SEM: 6.4 +/- 0.7 and 3.4 +/- 0.7 kg, respectively; P = 0.035) and had a greater decrease in triacylglycerol concentrations with the HP (-0.59 +/- 0.19 mmol/L) than with the HC (-0.03 +/- 0.04 mmol/L) diet (P = 0.023 for diet x triacylglycerol interaction). Triacylglycerol concentrations decreased more with the HP (0.30 +/- 0.10 mmol/L) than with the HC (0.10 +/- 0.06 mmol/L) diet (P = 0.007). Fasting LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, free fatty acid, and C-reactive protein concentrations decreased with weight loss. Serum vitamin B-12 increased 9% with the HP diet and decreased 13% with the HC diet (P < 0.0001 between diets). Folate and vitamin B-6 increased with both diets; homocysteine did not change significantly. Bone turnover markers increased 8-12% and calcium excretion decreased by 0.8 mmol/d (P < 0.01). Creatinine clearance decreased from 82 +/- 3.3 to 75 +/- 3.0 mL/min (P = 0.002).
An energy-restricted, high-protein, low-fat diet provides nutritional and metabolic benefits that are equal to and sometimes greater than those observed with a high-carbohydrate diet.
Recent decades have witnessed a growing emphasis on patients as active consumers of health information. The literature about cancer-related information focuses on active and purposeful information seeking, but a great deal of exposure to cancer-relevant information may happen less purposively (termed information scanning). This article presents results from an in-depth interview study that examined information seeking and scanning behavior in the context of cancer prevention and screening decisions among a diverse sample of people living in a major metropolitan area. Results suggest that information scanning is quite common, particularly for information related to screening tests. Information seeking is rarer and occurs primarily among those who also are information scanners. Respondents report using a greater variety of sources for information scanning than for information seeking, but participants were much more likely to report that their decisions were influenced by information received through seeking than through scanning. These findings shed new light on how individuals navigate the media environment and suggest future research should examine predictors and effects of less purposeful efforts to obtain cancer-related information.
Seeking information about one's health is increasingly documented as a key coping strategy in health-promotive activities and psychosocial adjustment to illness. In this article, the authors critically examine the scientific literature from 1982 to 2006 on the concept of health information—seeking behavior (HISB) to determine its level of maturity and clarify the concept's essential characteristics. A principle-based method of concept analysis provides the framework for exploring the nature of HISB. The authors reviewed approximately 100 published articles and five books reporting on HISB. Although HISB is a popular concept used in various contexts, most HISB definitions provide little insight into the concept's specific meanings. The authors describe the concept's characteristics, contributing to a clearer understanding of HISB, and discuss operationalizations, antecedents, and outcomes of HISB. Such an analysis of HISB might guide further theorizing on this highly relevant concept and assist health care providers in designing optimal informational interventions.
this paper has been provided by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (General and Strategic grants), Bell Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Information Technology Research Centre. We dedicate this chapter to science-fiction personage Judith Merril who net surfed for fifty years until her death in Sept., 1997.
We are currently living in an electronic age where it is easier to travel the world, stay in touch with people who live away from our face-to-face environment without the need to leave home or to meet in a real life situation than ever before. The Web is becoming a place where we encounter others in ways to get our personal, social, and professional needs met. As a result of this growing phenomenon individuals are seeking to be a part of online communities of individuals who interact and associate with one another through the Web and the use of modern technology. This chapter will provide an insight into the use of information communication technology to create and sustain community.
Background
Rare disease patients find independent health information seeking necessary due to the general lack of knowledge on rare diseases and inadequate information provision by health care professionals.
Objective
The aim of this study is to describe distinctive aspects of health information behaviour of rare disease patients and specific challenges they face when seeking health information.
Methods
A qualitative research approach was employed including semi‐structured interviews that were analysed using thematic analysis. Fifteen respondents suffering from three different rare diseases participated in the study.
Results
Health information behaviour of rare disease patients is characterised by independent and continuous health information seeking and sharing. Connecting with other patients and getting realistic insight into the condition after diagnosis, advice for everyday life, comfort and hope and confirmation that their symptoms are ‘normal’ are of particular importance. Lack of specific advice for daily life, inaccessible new knowledge, lack of information about drugs and encountering severe health information are common challenges patients face due to insufficient support from health care professionals.
Conclusion
Health information seeking and sharing are important aspects of rare disease patients’ everyday life. Challenges they face could be overcome in cooperation with patient support groups, health care professionals and health information professionals.
The paper presents findings collected in the study on workplace information literacy (IL) of Croatian fitness and conditioning personal trainers. The purpose of this study is to identify the level of IL and information behaviour of fitness and conditioning personal trainers with different educational backgrounds in kinesiology. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) What are information needs of personal trainers with formal education and those with informal or without any education? (2) What type of information sources do those two groups use and for what purposes do they usethem? and (3) Is there a difference in the manner in which those two groups of respondents retrieve, evaluate, and utilize information at their workplace? This is the first such study to be conducted in Croatia, a country with an increasingly overweight and obese population.
'Imagined Communities' examines the creation & function of the 'imagined communities' of nationality & the way these communities were in part created by the growth of the nation-state, the interaction between capitalism & printing & the birth of vernacular languages in early modern Europe.
Information environment is enough rich, characterized
by a growth in information sources as
well as providers, a variety of approaches and
techniques for accessing information, and a redundancy
of content from multiple sources. In
this “overloaded” information environment, many
information users tend to experience a sense of
insufficiency in locating the precise information
which leads to anxiety. In this complex information
environment, understanding the way individuals
choose to satisfy their information needs takes
on new urgency. Insight into information seeking
can be gained by understanding how users
seek information sources and how they locate
the desired information to meet their needs
(Chandra, Lynn, Lawrence & Lillie, 2007). The
concept of information needs was coined by an
American information scientist Robert S. Taylor
in his article “The Process of Asking Questions”
published in American Documentation (Now is
Journal of the American Society of Information
Science and Technology. There are many definitions
of information need. According to Case
(2012) information need is a recognition that your
knowledge is inadequate to satisfy a goal that you
have. He explains that “having information” is
not the same as “being informed.” Information
need is one of the cognitive needs of humanity.
Information need determines information-seeking
behavior and these concepts harmonize one another.
Information need is influenced by a number
of factors. It is revealed from the literature that
‘information scattered in too many sources’ and
that too in multi-formats is the problem often faced
by users. For fulfilling the information needs,
users access different sources of information
Sources. Scientists, engineers and technologists
in general use encyclopedias, handbooks, textbooks,
periodicals, abstracts, indexes, standards,
patents, etc. for their research and development
works. He showed that information needs of scientists,
engineers and technologists are equally
based on their knowledge about those sources of
information and accessibility of these information
sources (Gayatri, 2006). Post Graduate students
and Research Scholars mostly use journals, library
books and textbooks for completing their course
work (Fidzani, 1998). The information needs of
teachers were found to be mostly related to guidance
on administrative procedures, having lesson
plans ready, mechanisms for evidencing work, etc
(Williams, 2005). Further, information needs of the
General people are found to be varied. The areas in
which they needed information are diverse. These
range from the information needs of the farmers,
to that of the petty traders, artisans, blacksmiths,
weavers, painters, fishermen, postmasters, labors,
adult learners etc (Kadli & Kumbar, 2011). This
chapter provides an overview of information needs
of users, their types and also the various factors
influencing the information needs of users in the
digital age.
The study aims to examine information seeking and sharing behavior of IT professionals in a virtual community (VC). In total, 200 threads with 1623 postings were extracted from ChinaUnix.net, an IT VC. A content analysis was performed and descriptive statistical analysis was conducted. The study identified four types of information seeking and sharing activities: resource sharing, experience sharing, asking questions, and asking for resources. The results indicate that asking questions is the dominant activity in this virtual community (VC), while experience sharing threads are browsed most in comparison to other threads. Browsing information in the VC is much more preferred by the users than contributing information to the VC. The important information behavior chain in this VC consists of asking, responding, interacting, uploading, linking, posting, and browsing. Interacting is an important vehicle for effective information exchange. The study helps people understand how the users of a VC seek and share information. The study reveals typical information seeking and sharing activities as well as behavior characteristics that support users? engagement in a VC; it also identifies an information seeking and sharing chain in that context. It also adds new knowledge to users? information seeking and sharing behavior in the information science area. The study could help designers develop and improve the design of VCs as well as help administrators improve and maintain an active and effective VC. Copyright
Health and Modernity The Role of Theory in Health Promotion David V. McQueen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia Ilona Kickbusch, Federal Office for Health, Bern, Switzerland and Louise Potvin, Universit de Montral, Canada Jrgen Pelikan, University of Vienna, Austria Laura Balbo, University of Ferrara, Italy Thomas Abel, University of Bern, Switzerland Pandemics, substance abuse, natural disasters, obesity, and warfare: the line that once separated health crisis from social crisis no longer exists. Yet while social theories are implied in today's public health arena, they are rarely acknowledged. Now an international panel of leaders in world health explores this vital but understudied aspect of health promotion. Health and Modernity proceeds from the thesis that contemporary health promotion is, by definition, inextricably linked to its social context. The authors discuss global challenges in terms of cultural capital, risk and causality, systems theory, and the dynamic between individual and community. In the process, they define an entity that:-Understands the centrality of health to all areas of human life-Is committed to equity in access to health-promoting resources-Applies a multidisciplinary approach to public concerns-Looks beyond quick fixes and simple answers to complex issues-Employs a variety of political and social agents to accomplish health objectives-Is dedicated to empowerment, facilitation, and inclusiveness The insights found in Health and Modernity are certain to raise the level of debate among professionals, researchers, and the academic community in the global/public health and health promotion fields. This visionary volume guides readers from the immediacy of doing toward the deeper meaning that makes such doing possible. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC All rights reserved.
This review of the literature shows that the number of research projects in information retrieval (IR) that employ qualitative methods is on the rise. Although no agreed-upon definition exists for the concept qualitative research, a number of typical characteristics describe its nature. Qualitative research is noncontrolling, holistic and case oriented, about processes, open and flexible, diverse in methods, humanistic, inductive, and scientific. Although these characteristics make qualitative methods the best for exploring human behavior in depth, and thus of great relevance to IR research, only a few studies present all of them. Doctoral students, librarians, and others who are interested in qualitative methods have many sources for gaining support and guidance: methodological writings, textbooks and handbooks, and several departments at academic institutions.
Many people struggle with their weight and are turning to online communities for social and informational support. The aim of this study is to understand the issues commonly discussed in online weight loss communities. Through observation and content analysis of threads in one specific weight loss community, we identified 17 distinct categories discussed by the participants. We detail four categories specifically: Personal Experience, Consumption Choices, Dieting Strategy, and Exercise. Our analysis describes some key user roles and states that often relate to different phases of a person's weight loss journey. We identify a set of transient states, which are not proper roles but are significant in an online community where individuals are attempting to change their own behaviors. We close with design suggestions for encouraging and maintaining participant engagement in an online health community.
A quantitative and qualitative review of existing literature on working hours and health was carried out. Meta-analyses were performed on 21 study samples. Results indicated small, but significant positive mean correlations between overall health symptoms, physiological and psychological health symptoms, and hours of work. Qualitative analysis of 12 other studies supported these findings of a positive relationship between hours of work and ill-health. Different factors which may obscure the relationship between health and hours of work are discussed, together with other moderating influences. Taking these into account it is proposed that the results of the meta-analyses together with the qualitative analysis offer support for a link between hours of work and ill-health.
Narrowing the gaps in health outcomes, including those between men and women, has been a pronounced goal on the agenda of the Finnish health authorities since the mid-1980s. But still there is a huge gap in favour of women when it comes to life expectancy at birth. People's health information behaviour, that is how people seek, obtain, evaluate, categorize and use relevant health-related information to perform desired health behaviours, is a critical prerequisite to appropriate and consistent performances of these behaviours. With respect to gender, it has been noted that men often are unwilling and lack the motivation to engage with health-related information. The purpose of this study was to investigate how gender affects health information behaviour in the Finnish population aged 18-65 years. The survey data were collected via a questionnaire which was posted to a representative cross section consisting of 1500 Finnish citizens. The statistical analysis consists of ANOVA F-tests and Fisher's exact tests. The results show that women were more interested in and reported much more active seeking of health-related information, paid more attention to potential worldwide pandemics and were much more attentive as to how the goods they purchase in everyday life affect their health than men did. Women also reported receiving far more informal health-related information from close family members, other kin and friends/workmates than men did. Thus, to succeed in public health promotion and interventions the measures taken should be much more sensitive to the gender gap in health information behaviour.
Introduction
Definition and measurement of physical activity
Key points
Physical activity levels in the UK
Key points
Physiological effects of physical activity
Key points
Physical activity in health and disease
Key points
Physical activity and public health
Key points
Conclusions
Summary Physical activity levels in the UK are low. Only 35% of men and 24% of women reach the recommended 30 minutes of moderate‐intensity physical activity at least five times a week. Men tend to be more active than women at all ages, and there is a marked decline in physical activity with age in both sexes. Children are more active than adults. Seventy per cent of boys and 61% of girls reach the recommended 60 minutes of moderate‐intensity physical activity a day. Boys tend to be more active than girls and there is a decline in physical activity as children reach adolescence, which is more marked in girls. For adults and children, lower‐income groups have particularly low physical activity levels. Although physical activity levels in adults and children have been relatively stable in recent years, there is some evidence to suggest a decline in occupational activity from the 1990s onwards, and a decrease in active transport to school and time spent in school physical education lessons. This has coincided with an upward trend in sports participation ( e.g. joining fitness clubs) in adults.
The physiological effects of physical activity are wide ranging, and affect various body systems. As a modifiable component of energy expenditure, physical activity can affect energy balance. However, the total effects of physical activity on total energy expenditure go beyond the physical activity‐induced energy expenditure. Increases in resting metabolic rate and non‐exercise activity thermogenesis are also seen. Furthermore, physical activity can modify body composition favourably by decreasing fat mass and increasing lean mass.
Physical activity can reduce resting blood pressure and increase capacity to carry blood in the coronary arteries. Beneficial changes also occur in the lining of blood vessels which help direct the appropriate distribution of blood in the body. Regular physical activity can also exert beneficial effects on the body's capacity for forming and breaking down blood clots, and produces favourable changes in plasma lipid profile. Physical activity is known to improve blood glucose handling and is also associated with beneficial immunological (with the exception of intense activities of long duration) and neurological changes.
In terms of its interaction with food intake, physical activity tends not to lead to an increase in energy intake in the short‐term. But long‐term studies indicate that negative energy balance cannot continue indefinitely; eventually energy intake increases until energy balance is resumed. In those who are physically active, the greater energy intake needed to match energy expenditure means that it is easier to achieve adequate micronutrient intakes. In addition, those who are more active adapt to using fat as an energy substrate more effectively.
Physical activity is commonly assessed using self‐reported (subjective) measures such as diaries, physical activity logs, recall surveys and questionnaires, and these methods have been relied upon heavily in epidemiological studies and surveys conducted to date. Unfortunately, self‐reported measures of physical activity are limited in terms of reliability and reliance on accurate recall from participants in studies. This hinders research in this area because measurement error is likely to possibly underestimate the strength of observed relationships between physical activity and health, and weaken the effects of physical activity interventions.
Despite these measurement issues, there is substantial evidence that physical activity is protective for a number of chronic diseases, both independently and via its effects on weight gain and obesity. Greater physical activity is associated with less weight gain. Weight loss programmes that include a regular physical activity component are more effective at maintaining weight loss. It is likely that for many people, 45–60 minutes of moderate‐intensity physical activity a day is necessary to prevent obesity.
Physical activity (independently) reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 33–50%. Those who are at high risk of type 2 diabetes ( e.g. the obese and those with impaired glucose tolerance) can benefit most from physical activity.
Physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in a dose‐dependent manner. Benefits are seen with regular moderate‐intensity physical activity, e.g. walking, but more intense exercise, e.g. running, carried out more often and for longer episodes can decrease risk even further.
Physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of a number of cancers. It is well established that physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer (especially in men) and breast cancer (especially in post‐menopausal women). There is also consistent evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of lung and endometrial cancers and some indication that physical activity can reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer.
In childhood, physical activity habits, particularly during growth periods including puberty, have a long‐lasting effect on bone health. Weight‐bearing and high impact activities, such as running or skipping, are most effective at increasing bone strength. In older adults, physical activity is important to counteract the age‐related decrease in bone mass. Physical activity can decrease the risk of osteoporotic fractures in older people, particularly if the activity increases muscle strength, balance and co‐ordination.
There is good evidence that physical inactivity increases the risk of clinical depression. There is also good evidence that physical activity has an important beneficial effect on anxiety. Furthermore, physical activity is important for psychological wellbeing and can be used as a means to improve mood and self‐esteem.
It is clear that physical activity exerts its benefits throughout the life course. In childhood, physical activity is important as a means of maintaining energy balance and helping bone strength, and thus reduces the risk of chronic disease later in life. It is also important for social interaction, wellbeing and setting good lifestyle habits. It is recommended that children and young people achieve a total of at least 60 minutes of at least moderate‐intensity physical activity each day. At least twice a week this should include activities to improve bone health ( e.g. skipping, running), muscle strength and flexibility.
It is recommended that adults should achieve a total of at least 30 minutes of at least moderate‐intensity physical activity each day, on five or more days a week. This level of physical activity should be maintained throughout adulthood in order to reduce the risk of chronic disease and should be continued into old age for as long as capabilities allow, in order to counteract the age‐related losses in muscle and bone, deterioration of the cardiovascular system and to decrease the risk of osteoporotic fractures.
Widespread physical inactivity is a major public health problem and improving physical activity levels is crucial. This challenging situation is now well recognised by international and national health bodies. The World Health Organization (2004) has a global strategy on physical activity, and in England the Department of Health (2005) has a ‘Choosing Activity’ physical activity action plan. In the UK, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) offers a range of guidance on the effectiveness of different methods of promoting physical activity, but current research is limited and it is hoped that ongoing work will provide more comprehensive guidance in the coming years.
There are a number of psychological barriers to physical activity, including issues related to body image, poor confidence and lack of immediate rewards. These barriers are often marked in those who are obese and need to lose weight. Most importantly, environmental factors which contribute to low levels of physical activity should to be tackled if significant changes to population level physical activity are to be achieved. For example, policies which support active transport initiatives have proved to be effective in other countries and thus have great potential in the UK.
Further research to gain a greater understanding of the psychological and environmental barriers to increasing physical activity is likely to help direct more effective campaigns to promote physical activity in the future.
Video-based media spaces are designed to support casual interaction between intimate collaborators. Yet transmitting video is fraught with privacy concerns. Some researchers suggest that the video stream be filtered to mask out potentially sensitive ...
From introduction: "Daddy is saying `Holy moly!' to his computer again!" "Those words have become a family code for the way my virtual community has infiltrated our real world. My seven-year-old daughter knows that her father congregates with a family of invisible friends who seem to gather in his computer. Sometimes he talks to them, even if nobody else can see them. And she knows that these invisible friends sometimes show up in the flesh, materializing from the next block or the other side of the planet. "Since the summer of 1985, for an average of two hours a day, seven days a week, I've been plugging my personal computer into my telephone and making contact with the WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link)--a computer conferencing system that enables people around the world to carry on public conversations and exchange private electronic mail (e-mail). The idea of a community accessible only via my computer screen sounded cold to me at first, but I learned quickly that people can feel passionately about e-mail and computer conferences. I've become one of them. I care about these people I met through my computer, and I care deeply about the future of the medium that enables us to assemble. "I'm not alone in this emotional attachment to an apparently bloodless technological ritual. Millions of people on every continent also participate in the computer-mediated social groups known as virtual communities, and this population is growing fast. Finding the WELL was like discovering a cozy little world that had been flourishing without me, hidden within the walls of my house; an entire cast of characters welcomed me to the troupe with great merriment as soon as I found the secret door. Like others who fell into the WELL, I soon discovered that I was audience, performer, and scriptwriter, along with my companions, in an ongoing improvisation. A full-scale subculture was growing on the other side of my telephone jack, and they invited me to help create something new."
With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today's emerging networked information environment. In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing-and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained-or lost-by the decisions we make today.
There's been a marked shift in the philosophy of developing successful Web sites. The technologies (HTML, JavaScript, JavaServer Pages) no longer occupy center stage. Rather, functional objectives and the communities that grow up around them seem to be the main ingredient in Web site success. In her carefully reasoned and well-written Community Building on the Web, Amy Jo Kim explains why communities form and grow. More importantly, she shows (with references to many examples) how you can make your site a catalyst for community growth--and profit in the process. From marketing schemes like Amazon.com's Associates program to The Motley Fool's system of rating members' bulletin-board postings, this book covers all the popular strategies for bringing people in and retaining them. Nine core strategies form the foundation of Kim's recommendations for site builders, serving as the organizational backbone of this book. The strategies generally make sense, and they seem to apply to all kinds of communities, cyber and otherwise. (One advocates the establishment of regular events around which community life can organize itself.) Some parts of Kim's message may seem like common sense, but such a coherent discussion of what defines a community and how it can be made to thrive is still helpful.
Information Seeking and Sharing in Virtual Communities: A Case Study of Chinese IT Professionals
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Counterfeit Community: The Exploitation of our Longings for Connectedness
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