Netnographic slog: Creative elicitation strategies to encourage participation in an online community of practice for early education and care

Active, participatory netnography, in contrast to passive netnography, is essential if researchers are to gain rich rewards from the rigorous collection of qualitative data. However, researchers should be aware of the ‘netnographic slog’; “the blood, sweat and tears” associated with eliciting quality data and encouraging active participation in online communities. This article examines the – Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare (SNAC) – online community of practice, established to support healthy eating practices in early childhood education and care settings. To ensure research rigour, Kozinets’ netnographic steps were employed. Garnering member participation in this online community was a slog; most community content was contributed by few members, although accessed by many. The success (and failure) of the creative elicitation strategies implemented by the researchers to promote participation are discussed, and examples provided that could be used by other netnographers in online communities. A key consideration, however, appears to be the waning success of web-based discussion boards as an effective platform. Future netnographers should carefully consider the effort required to attract new community members and encourage participation. While SNAC is a unique resource, presenting an ideal platform to launch further initiatives, other more effective social media platforms that can support healthy eating in this key setting should be considered. If participatory netnography is to be successful, budding netnographers must be prepared to invest the blood, sweat and tears required to nurture emerging communities of practice

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare (SNAC): The development, implementation and evaluation of an online nutrition education intervention

The provision of a nutritious diet in a child’s early years can have an immense effect on their future health and wellbeing. Due to the increasing number of children attending child care, this setting is strategically placed for teaching children important food literacy skills and establishing positive eating habits, which remain through to adulthood. However, food served in child care facilities is often not of the best nutritional quality (Zuercher, Grace, & Kranz, 2011) and there is lack of positive role modelling among staff. Both of these factors pose obstacles to a health-promoting environment for the children who attend. The nutritional needs of young children are well known. This research sought to identify the child care specific nutrition education resources currently available, and to understand the broader needs of Australian child care staff that would enable them to provide a healthy eating environment. The findings of this research phase informed the design and development of a website to increase child care staff nutrition knowledge and confidence in providing a healthy eating environment, facilitating ongoing continuous improvement in their professional development. Discussion boards to promote a sense of community and provide ‘information wrapped in support’ were a key website feature. Qualitative interviews were conducted with child care facility staff and key industry stakeholders. Although positive attitudes towards promoting healthy eating were demonstrated, data revealed that recommended nutrition resources were not well known or utilised by the childcare sector and staff reported a lack of confidence and workplace support. Guided by the Spiral Technology Action Research model (H. Skinner, Maley, & Norman, 2006), a health promotion project management tool, these findings informed the development of the website, “Supporting Nutrition in Australian Childcare” (SNAC), containing a range of resources, recipes, discussion boards and links. Use of the website, staff nutrition knowledge, attitudes, confidence and sense of community were evaluated using a qualitative, netnographic approach, through conversation threads, interviews and observations. Quantitative data collection methods including pre- and post-intervention surveys and web analytics were utilised to triangulate these findings. Despite the “netnographic slog”, that is, the persistence and continued attempts to recruit educators and encourage them to engage with the website, findings suggest that the SNAC website was well utilised and valued by more than 1200 SNAC members, attracting over 90,000 page views and 600 posts/comments. Educators valued the ‘information wrapped in support’ offered by the website, and a sense of community developed, particularly around shared emotional connection. Educators reported positive attitudes and high self-efficacy towards providing a healthy eating environment. However, evaluation results demonstrated disparity between reported knowledge and behaviours, such as high self-efficacy, and those observed, such as poor quality menu plans. This research has shown the need for changes in public health policy to reprioritise a healthy eating environment in Australian childcare facilities; changes that foreground optimal nutrition in the early years as vital for future health and wellbeing. However, given that high-level policy change is often difficult and time consuming, the demonstrated disparity between reported and observed knowledge and behaviours highlights the need for shorter term strategies that address the support so badly needed, to ensure the long-term sustainability of these changes

Dmitri Shalin Interview with Ruth A. Wallace about Erving Goffman entitled Goffman Really Was Going out of His Way to Help People Who Were Different

This conversation with Dr. Ruth Wallace, Professor Emerita of George Washington University, was recorded over the phone on January 11, 2009. After Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, Dr. Wallace approved posting the present version on the web. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”

Review: Do the Different Sensory Areas within the Cat Anterior Ectosylvian Sulcal Cortex Collectively Represent a Network Multisensory Hub?

Current theory supports that the numerous functional areas of the cerebral cortex are organized and function as a network. Using connectional databases and computational approaches, the cerebral network has been demonstrated to exhibit a hierarchical structure composed of areas, clusters and, ultimately, hubs. Hubs are highly connected, higher-order regions that also facilitate communication between different sensory modalities. One region computationally identified network hub is the visual area of the Anterior Ectosylvian Sulcal cortex (AESc) of the cat. The Anterior Ectosylvian Visual area (AEV) is but one component of the AESc that also includes the auditory (Field of the Anterior Ectosylvian Sulcus - FAES) and somatosensory (Fourth somatosensory representation - SIV). To better understand the nature of cortical network hubs, the present report reviews the biological features of the AESc. Within the AESc, each area has extensive external cortical connections as well as among one another. Each of these core representations is separated by a transition zone characterized by bimodal neurons that share sensory properties of both adjoining core areas. Finally, core and transition zones are underlain by a continuous sheet of layer 5 neurons that project to common output structures. Altogether, these shared properties suggest that the collective AESc region represents a multiple sensory/multisensory cortical network hub. Ultimately, such an interconnected, composite structure adds complexity and biological detail to the understanding of cortical network hubs and their function in cortical processing

A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences that Motivate Young People to Volunteer as 4 H Camp Teen Leaders

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences that motivate teenagers to volunteer as 4 H Camp teen leaders in Virginia. The theories guiding this study were Lerner and Overton’s relational developmental systems theory (RDST) and Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory (SDT). They relate to the developmental connection between an individual and the surrounding context and internal and external influences as motivating factors, respectively. The two theories together informed this study which sought to answer the central research question “What lived experiences do teens identify that motivate them to volunteer as 4 H Camp teen leaders?” This study followed a qualitative, phenomenological design to capture descriptions from the teenage perspective. Sixteen 4 H Camp teen leaders, in at minimum, their second year of service, provided data through interviews and observations during 4 H Camp. Five of these participants also provided data through focus group participation. Analysis through horizonalization using both in vivo and focused coding yielded findings that add to the literature on the subject. Findings indicated that the three primary reasons teenagers volunteer as 4 H Camp teen leaders in Virginia are the 4 H Camp culture, connections with others, and feelings toward contribution

The Theoretical Influence of Praise Given to Teen Leaders at 4-H Camp on Their Feelings of Contribution and Motivation

Praise in the context of behavior-specific encouragement, positive reinforcement, and recognition may provide a linkage in positive youth development to teen leaders’ feelings of contribution and motivation at 4-H Camp. Existing literature on praise in academic settings, combined with literature related to positive youth development, organized camping programs, and 4-H, lends credibility to the theory that there is an influence on teen attitudes and participation regarding contributing to their community at 4-H Camp. Practical implications are presented, along with suggestions for future research