Essays on Individuals’ Information Assessment, Information Disclosure, Participation, and Response Behaviors in Online Health Communities

The emergence of online health communities (OHCs) has enabled the use of information technologies to address some social and health needs including but not limited to emotional, social, and health-related issues. This information age has encouraged user generated (UG) content, which facilitates both peer-to-peer and business-to-peer interconnections. This rich and active information epoch (i.e., OHCs) is distinct in that value is generated when peers or participants—who may be content generators and/or content consumers—interact together by exchanging information and receiving supports aimed at addressing their specific needs; and this is made possible through the online platforms or support groups acting as the intermediary among users. In this dissertation, I explore the dynamics that take place in OHCs by answering varied sets of questions and addressing and stretching different scholarly discourses including individuals’ information assessment, information disclosure, participation, and response behaviors in OHCs from a variety of theoretical perspectives including disclosure decision-making model and social presence theory, using diverse methodologies such as text analytics, two-stage least squares regression technique, decision trees analysis, and vector autoregression models in the OHC context. The overarching research question is: How does assessment of information and receiver influence patients’ disclosure ability and what user information disclosure mechanisms elicit effective support behaviors in online health communities? Patients with different disease types visit OHCs to get support and this support is made possible because patients participate by interacting with peers and providing responses to each other’s discussion. Support behaviors, especially in the OHC context, is a concept that covers facets such as, provision of response; interactivity or participation in discussions; relationship management; and offering helpful, appropriate, and relevant feedback responses to meet specific information, social, or emotional needs (Huang et al., 2019; Nambisan et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2019). By exploring the research question and with the unique features that these OHC platforms exhibit—the sharing of information, participation, and receiving of supports—these essays make the following contributions. Theoretically, the findings reveal that a patient’s disease type, the sensitivity of information being disclosed, and patient’s expectation of a response show unique effects on disclosure efficacy. These factors constitute mechanisms by which patients in OHCs are motivated to disclose health information in granular forms that elicit effective community responses and feedback. This information exchange mechanisms thereby, facilitate active community participation through giving or receiving of support, and thus, fostering a dynamic interplay between individuals’ disclosure and response behaviors in the online context. Practically, online health community managers can design their platforms to provide automated and customizable tools that improve patients’ information density and information breadth skills for effective response generation; and from the results, platform management can better understand users that are motivated to participate through giving, thereby encouraging those that are weak in receiving. Also, platform managers can improve the skills of those who are weak in giving for users that are motivated to participate through receiving. Essay 1: Promoting Participants’ Information Disclosure and Response Behaviors in Online Health Communities: Disclosure Decision-Making Model Perspective In this first essay, I extend the literature on information disclosure and the disclosure decision-making model (DD-MM) by examining the factors that influence information disclosure (disclosure efficacy) and the effects of disclosure efficacy on the response users receive (response efficacy) at the granular level. Until now, both concepts—disclosure efficacy and response efficacy have been conceptualized as single constructs. This current study breaks new grounds and broaden the DD-MM model by postulating that the subconstructs have different antecedents and consequences. By examining the relationships between the subconstructs of information assessment, disclosure efficacy, and response efficacy using the two-stage least squares regression method, the results reveal some insightful dynamics, otherwise not possible with unidimensional constructs. Essay 2: Investigation of non-linear effects of first impression cues on participation in online health communities: A decision tree induction theory development approach One notable phenomenon that prior literature has extensively explored in OHC platforms is user participation, which is a necessary condition for platform sustainment and value generation. Extant research has studied user participation as a form of giving, that is, how much users participate in online platforms by generating content (e.g., posting messages, replying to messages, or posting pictures).However, participation in OHC platforms can also take the form of receiving (the consumption for content that has been generated – e.g., reading other’s posts, gaining knowledge and support), and this has witnessed little attention in prior research. This third study argues that the giving and receiving participation is a reaction to user initial participation. In this second essay, based on social presence theory (SPT), I use decision tree analysis to interrogate the effect of first impression in the initial posts on users’ giving and receiving participation. The findings provide meaningful insights for advancing research and for assisting platform managers on what to focus on to encourage users’ giving or receiving participation on their platforms. Essay 3: User Two-way Communication Efficacy Behaviors in Online Health Communities: A Longitudinal Study In this second essay, I crack into some unsupported relationships between disclosure efficacy and response efficacy shown in the previous study, which could be due to the use of cross-sectional data in the analysis, giving nonsignificant findings. Over time, it is possible that the effectiveness of the response that disclosers receive could determine whether users will further disclose or not. For example, if a discloser does not receive valuable response that addresses his or her needs, he or she may stop posting or disclosing information on the platform, thus, leading to lurking behaviors or less recommendations for others to join the online platform. This current study proposes a two-way relationship between disclosure efficacy and response efficacy of users’ interactions in online health communities instead of looking at only the one-way relationship from disclosure efficacy to response efficacy (which showed some insignificant results). From an econometric perspective, time has been shown to play a dynamic role on variables and their relationships. Thus, this current paper uses dynamic vector autoregression (VAR) modeling technique with a longitudinal data set to investigate the one-way and two-way relationships between disclosure efficacy and response efficacy and their dimensions (information density and information breadth) and (information persuasiveness and response persuasiveness), respectively. The analysis reveals a recursive relationship between disclosure efficacy and response efficacy and some of their dimensions. This is a departure from some prior literature that proposed a static linear order in end-user information consumption. The significance of the nonlinear recursive relationship is marked extension of the DD-MM model by establishing the reenforcing effect of its key variables

Kansalaisten ja julkishallinnon välisen yhteistoiminnan mahdollistavien verkkopalveluiden suunnittelu

Tavoiteltaessa lisääntyvää hallinnon avoimuutta, kansalaisten osallistumista, sekä kansalaisten ja hallinnon välistä vuorovaikutusta, on tarpeen ymmärtää kuinka suunnitella verkkopalvelukonsepteja, jotka toteuttavat näitä periaatteita. Erityisen tärkeää on ymmärtää, mitä Web 2.0 -teknologiat, sosiaaliset verkkopalvelut ja yhteistoiminnan trendit tarkoittavat sähköisen hallinnon kannalta. Diplomityön tavoitteena on tutkia kuinka suunnitellaan ja analysoidaan verkkopalveluita liittyen kansalaisten ja julkishallinnon väliseen yhteistoimintaan. Työssä esitetään olemassa olevaan STOF-viitekehykseen perustuva malli, jonka avulla voidaan analysoida ja kehittää palveluita. STOF-malli on kokonaisvaltainen palvelusuunnittelun työkalu, joka tarkastelee konseptia palvelun loppukäyttäjäarvon sekä siihen liittyvän teknologian, arvoverkoston ja ansaintalogiikan näkökulmista. Työssä muokataan STOF-mallia yhteistoiminnallisten sähköisen hallinnon palveluiden suunnitteluun, huomioiden piirteitä, kuten käyttäjien luomat sisällöt, verkkoyhteisöt, osallistumismotiivit sekä uudet arvon tuotannon mekanismit. STOF-mallia käytettiin kahden esimerkkipalvelun analysointiin. Analyysin perusteella molemmista palveluista löytyi useita puutteita yhteistoiminnallisten sovellusten menestystekijöissä. Näiden korjaamiseksi annetaan kehitysehdotuksia.When aiming towards transparent government, engagement of citizens and citizen government collaboration, there is a growing need to understand how to actually design and implement service concepts that utilize these principles. Especially there is a need to understand what new Web 2.0 technologies, social networking services and the trends of mass collaboration mean for e-government services. The objective of this Thesis is to study how to design and analyze digital service concepts for collaboration between citizens and the public sector. The Thesis presents a model for designing and analyzing services based on an existing STOF framework. STOF is a holistic service design framework that examines a service concept from user value creation and related technology, value network and business logic perspectives. For application to collaborative e-government services, modifications to STOF are made, considering factors such as user-created content, online communities, motivations for participation and new forms of value creation. Two practical example services were analyzed using the modified STOF model. They were found to have several incomplete critical design issues and success factors. Suggestions for development are given based on the analysis

Data and the city – accessibility and openness. a cybersalon paper on open data

This paper showcases examples of bottom–up open data and smart city applications and identifies lessons for future such efforts. Examples include Changify, a neighbourhood-based platform for residents, businesses, and companies; Open Sensors, which provides APIs to help businesses, startups, and individuals develop applications for the Internet of Things; and Cybersalon’s Hackney Treasures. a location-based mobile app that uses Wikipedia entries geolocated in Hackney borough to map notable local residents. Other experiments with sensors and open data by Cybersalon members include Ilze Black and Nanda Khaorapapong's The Breather, a "breathing" balloon that uses high-end, sophisticated sensors to make air quality visible; and James Moulding's AirPublic, which measures pollution levels. Based on Cybersalon's experience to date, getting data to the people is difficult, circuitous, and slow, requiring an intricate process of leadership, public relations, and perseverance. Although there are myriad tools and initiatives, there is no one solution for the actual transfer of that data

IFIP TC 13 Seminar: trends in HCI proceedings, March 26, 2007, Salamanca (Spain)

Actas del 13o. Seminario de la International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), celebrado en Salamanca el 26 de marzo de 2007, sobre las nuevas líneas de investigación en la interacción hombre-máquina, gestión del conocimiento y enseñanza por la Web

Citizens' Self-in-Community and Ubiquitous Social Media Use: Disentangling Modern Local Community Experience

The present research project aims at shedding further light on how citizens experience their local communities (that is, neighborhoods and cities) in modern times. It specifically deepens the interplay between citizens' self-in-community – that is, their experience of and ties to their local community meant as a relational entity and to its places – the physical and social features of their communities, and their use of modern ubiquitous, locative, social media with community-related aims. Indeed, on the one hand, local communities have become increasingly spatially and socially closed, with consequences in the opportunities citizens have to experience their social dimensions. Nevertheless, on the other hand, the spread of ubiquitous, locative, social media has produced a more complex social ecosystem and opportunities that have become easily available to citizens. In light of the above, the community-related use of two different mainstream platforms (Instagram and dating People-Nearby Applications), which have sprung up spontaneously regardless of the stated aims of these platforms, have been deepened as potential strategies users could have played out to take advantage of the possibilities offered by ubiquitous, locative, social media and sustain their SoC when more traditional paths were not feasible due to their community spatial and/or social features. Thus, the present research project will address Instagram and dating People-Nearby Applications community-related uses to deepen (a) the needs underlying these uses, and (b) which are the paths through which these uses can enhance users' tie to their local community. It comprises four studies, as the two research questions are tackled with reference to the two considered social media community-related uses. As to the first research question, multilevel models were run in order to take into account individual and community features that could encourage citizens in using these social networks with reference to their local community. As to the second research question, multiple sequential mediation models have been run with Structural Equation Modeling to disentangle how the considered uses associated with users' local social experience and Sense of Community. Overall, the results from these studies highlight the complexities related to modern local community experience and suggest that social media could provide relevant contributions to this as tools providing citizens with new opportunities and resources to be activated. Becoming aware of these complexities and of the implications deriving from them allows opening new perspectives with reference to both further research questions and innovative practices and interventions to be implemented

ONLINE COMMUNITIES: AN EXAMINATION OF ONLINE COMMUNITY-BASED CASE STUDIES

Billions of people access the Internet and the World Wide Web every day. Inside this vast network, individuals interact with one another, whether consciously or unconsciously, sharing thoughts, views, and information at an unfathomable rate. The creation of Online Communi-ties (OCs) is based on this perpetual phenomenon, which happens silently in everyone's life. Without a thorough comprehension of every component triggered by these architectures, which is highlighted across disciplines, definitions, categorizations and classifications, it would be difficult to obtain a profound understanding of OCs. Intercepting such tendency, which is defined by the widespread use of OCs, is becoming a rising priority for businesses and marketers. This topic will be studied through an in-depth examination of selected case studies, which show a wide range of community uses in a variety of disruptive business models. Twitch’s analysis triggers the creation of a specific category, namely community incubator, where professional streamers can monetize their content with a level of interactivity never seen before. Estetista Cinica represents one of the most resonant cases of cultivation, investment and social influence in the OC, to the point of building a business around it. OneDay Group, on the other hand, has built its success thanks to the unique management of its OC, represent-ing their targeted customers, on which communication and marketing are continuously pro-jected. Finally, Meta has been launched with the aim of developing a metaverse, meaning an immersive virtual environment, namely, surreality. This case study suggests the emergence of a fourth classification of disruptive OC-based business models, described as the all-around OCs.Billions of people access the Internet and the World Wide Web every day. Inside this vast network, individuals interact with one another, whether consciously or unconsciously, sharing thoughts, views, and information at an unfathomable rate. The creation of Online Communi-ties (OCs) is based on this perpetual phenomenon, which happens silently in everyone's life. Without a thorough comprehension of every component triggered by these architectures, which is highlighted across disciplines, definitions, categorizations and classifications, it would be difficult to obtain a profound understanding of OCs. Intercepting such tendency, which is defined by the widespread use of OCs, is becoming a rising priority for businesses and marketers. This topic will be studied through an in-depth examination of selected case studies, which show a wide range of community uses in a variety of disruptive business models. Twitch’s analysis triggers the creation of a specific category, namely community incubator, where professional streamers can monetize their content with a level of interactivity never seen before. Estetista Cinica represents one of the most resonant cases of cultivation, investment and social influence in the OC, to the point of building a business around it. OneDay Group, on the other hand, has built its success thanks to the unique management of its OC, represent-ing their targeted customers, on which communication and marketing are continuously pro-jected. Finally, Meta has been launched with the aim of developing a metaverse, meaning an immersive virtual environment, namely, surreality. This case study suggests the emergence of a fourth classification of disruptive OC-based business models, described as the all-around OCs

eHealth in Chronic Diseases

This book provides a review of the management of chronic diseases (evaluation and treatment) through eHealth. Studies that examine how eHealth can help to prevent, evaluate, or treat chronic diseases and their outcomes are included