Sports Message Boarding: Association with Sports Team Identification and Social Well-Being

Research indicates that participating in or volunteering for sports related activities may increase overall well-being. Additionally, identifying with, or being a fan of a particular sports team may contribute to positive psychological outcomes. However, no study to date has examined whether participation in sports team message boarding is associated with positive psychological outcomes. As a result, the current study sought to determine if positive relationships exist among message board usage, team identification, and positive psychology variables. Three hundred and four members of an online sports message board completed self-report surveys examining message board usage, team identification, and positive psychological traits. Results were inconsistent with existing research suggesting that participation in such forums may not be directly related to well-being. However, one usage variable, lurking, predicted variance in team identification status, suggesting that some message board variables may increase fanhood. Methodological, theoretical, and practical implications are explored

Evaluating Asynchronous Message Boards to Support Cross-Cultural Communities of High-School Students

Can online forums effectively support collaboration, discussion, and cultural exchange among high-school students from different countries? We present results from the analysis of a set of asynchronous message boards within Learning@Europe, a project where students meet in real time in shared 3D virtual environments, and keep in touch through online forums. Between March 2005 and December 2006 about 5000 students and 250 teachers from 17 European countries took part in Learning@Europe, posting on a total of 194 forums. Focusing on a detailed analysis of the first L@E implementation (involving about 1000 students and 50 teachers from 6 European countries), we show how forums can support more or less effectively collaboration and discussion tools, what challenges must be faced, and how the tool’s evaluation must take into account the components and set of goals of the entire learning experience