Development of a support group using a virtual space for cancer patients

We report findings from a chat log analysis of a support group in which two to five patients and one or two facilitators chatted in a virtual space; weekly sessions lasted 1.5 hrs. each, and we followed them over five years. In the virtual space, participants were represented by avatars with emotional expressions. Chat messages were analysed with a text-mining tool, exploring whether positive emotion words (e.g., ‘happy’), medicine-related words (e.g., ‘symptoms’), and informational/emotional-support messages (giving and receiving) would increase over time. We found that frequency of positive emotion words increased in Years 1–3 and remained constant thereafter; medical-related words did not increase until Year 5. Support messages increased from Years 1 to 3. Analysis of messages indicated that the patients’ and facilitators’ conversational roles changed as a sense of community emerged. The virtual support group appeared to promote positive emotions, trust among members, and mutual supportive relationships within the group

Kairos Chat: a novel text-based chat system that has multiple streams of time

In this paper we propose a novel chat system named"Kairos Chat" that has multiple streams of time whosevelocities are different. A pilot study shows that usersspontaneously use the different streams for differenttypes of messages without any concrete instructions onhow to use the streams

Attitudes toward possible food radiation contamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a nine-year, ten-wave panel survey

被災地産食品回避は不安の低下と批判的思考が減少させる --10回の継続調査からみた福島原発事故によるリスク認知の変化と地域差--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-03-14.Overcoming nuke stigma through critical thinking: Changes in post-Fukushima risk perception show regional differences. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-05-25.After the Fukushima nuclear accident, we examined changes in risk perception regarding the radiation contamination of food and information-seeking behavior among residents of three regions progressively more distant from the disaster area, the Tokyo Metropolitan area to the Kansai area. We conducted a ten-wave panel survey and obtained data from 1, 752 citizens six months to nine years after the accident. The results indicate that anxiety related to radioactive contamination, active information-seeking behavior, and avoidance of foods from affected areas decreased with time. Active information-seeking behavior and radiation-related knowledge were higher in the disaster-affected prefectures than in other areas. Conversely, avoidance of foods from affected areas was lower in affected prefectures than in the Kansai area. The credibility of government information increased from a considerably low level but did not reach the midpoint level. Multiple regression analysis, cross-lagged analysis, and structural equation modeling indicated that avoidance of foods from affected areas was promoted by anxiety related to radioactive contamination (experiential thinking/System 1) and inhibited by critical thinking attitudes (analytical thinking/System 2). Finally, we discussed the significance of risk literacy, which integrates risk-related knowledge, scientific literacy, media literacy, and critical thinking