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This chapter explores the theory underpinning qualitative methods, namely semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and issues of methodological coherence in adopting a digital approach. We offer an in-depth exploration of the practical considerations of adopting digital methods. This includes the challenges of building a rapport with the participant, familiarity with technology for both researcher and participant, scheduling, and data protection issues. We explore pertinent ethical considerations, including institutional approval, informed consent, confidentiality, and the ongoing ethical responsibilities of the researcher engaged in qualitative research. We draw upon our experiences of using synchronous online videoconferencing platforms to conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups, integrating our reflections throughout. Whilst necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the associated need for social distancing and the potential for further regional restrictions, we argue that digital methods transcend the current global situation, offering opportunities to facilitate qualitative research that may extend beyond geographical borders, attenuate fiscal limitations, and enable greater collaboration between researchers.
The Canadian League Against Epilepsy initiated a virtual epilepsy education program, conducting 29 webinars from March 2021 to September 2023. We report our experience, with the goal to inspire other groups to develop inclusive, equitable, and free educational spaces with a worldwide reach. Monthly sessions drew a median attendance of 118 participants, predominantly Canadian but also international, including physicians (58.9%) and trainees (22.8%). Post-webinar surveys (average 40% response rate) noted high satisfaction, a strong inclination to recommend the sessions, and an interest in clinical case-based topics. We plan to consider integrating a self-assessment section evaluating knowledge gained after each seminar.
During the recent pandemic, it became necessary to adapt lab-based studies to online experiments. To investigate the impact of online testing on the quality of data, we focus on three paradigms widely used in infant research: a word recognition task using the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm, a word learning task using the Switch task, and a language assessment tool (WinG) where children identify a target word amongst a set of picture cards. Our results for synchronous and asynchronous studies provide support for the robustness of online testing. In Experiment 1, robust word recognition was found in 24-month-old toddlers. In Experiment 2, 17-month-old infants consistently learned a new word. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that 19- to 26-month-old children performed well on a language assessment test administered online. Overall, effect sizes or language scores were found to be higher than in lab-based studies. These experiments point to promising possibilities for reaching out to families around the world.
Many mediated channels are available for relational partners to use for relational partners. At times these channels are facilitating long-standing relational processes such as relational maintenance, whereas at other times the channels provide new mechanisms for relational tasks such as gathering information about potential and new romantic partners or presenting the relationship to the couple’s broader social network. This chapter reviews relational processes through the lens of social media. The chapter overviews how romantic couples use social media in the initial stages of relationships to find potential romantic partners and seek information about potential and new partners, to communicate maintenance behaviors throughout the relationship, and the impact of social media during the dissolution phases. Both positively valenced behaviors (e.g., comanaging relational impressions and using social media to create electronic tie-signs) and negatively valenced behaviors (e.g., ghosting and cyberstalking) are discussed.
This chapter offers an empirically informed approach that utilizes the Internet and social media to provide support and resources for health concerns. The topic of self-injury will be used as a case illustration throughout. To this end, initiatives aimed at supporting and offering outreach for people with lived experience of self-injury as well as key stakeholders who can play key support roles will be presented. By the end of the chapter, readers will be able to reflect on how these various considerations can be drawn upon when planning their own outreach efforts aimed at providing support and informational resources for a range of health concerns via the Internet.
The Conclusion highlights how an examination of entrepreneurs in contemporary China, including a careful and empirically grounded account of business and social relations in China, challenges many conventional approaches to research and research findings regarding such core concepts as trust, social networks, crisis, gender, family business, and e-commerce, and shows how standard conventions that are widely accepted in the scholarly and research literatures are in need of revision. It is shown how this book provides a clarification and extension of the conceptualization of a number of core theoretical notions by drawing on the details of the many cases that are explored in the six chapters of this monograph. It is shown how the research findings reported in this book will serve the purpose of stimulating and encouraging further research on erstwhile neglected aspects of business relations as well as the development of new theoretical frameworks for understanding social exchange dynamics in business, not only in China but more generally.
Edited by
Fiona Kelly, La Trobe University, Victoria,Deborah Dempsey, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria,Adrienne Byrt, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria
Information on genetic relations, gamete donors and donor-related siblings, can now be located within two very different systems: ‘official’ regulatory systems; and emerging digital online systems, including direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT), ancestry sites and internet groups. The possibilities of finding genetic relatives through these online systems has risen dramatically in recent years, leading to claims that donor anonymity is dead regardless of which jurisdiction you live in. In this chapter, we explore how online systems have impacted on donor conception. We use UK examples to explore the social-cultural contexts, including the activism of donor-conceived people, which have shaped, and continue to shape, both systems. We consider the ethical, legal and social-emotional challenges for donor-conceived people in these new landscapes, especially in relation to their agency, as these different systems collide and interact, creating new spaces of sociality and challenges to existing power structures.
Online delivery is new to the field of music therapy (MT). This research investigated older adults’ perceived quality of MT online by certified music therapists. In this feasibility study, applying both process and outcome assessments, nine older adults volunteered to participate. Zoom was used, and a virtual music therapy (VMT) kit was developed as a resource. Surveys and observed technical difficulties revealed that perceived quality varied slightly by level of technical difficulty experienced; however, overall mean perceived quality was 7.2 out of 9. Post-study interviews revealed three main themes: (a) individual experiences with VMT, (b) individuals’ suggestions for further development of VMT sessions, and (c) individuals’ personal outcomes from VMT sessions. Participants reported overall positive experiences with VMT. Despite a slight decline in perceived quality when more technical difficulties were present, each participant reported a desire for more sessions, and they would recommend it to others.
After the success of the first two editions of the Palaeontological Virtual Congress in 2019 (first PVC) and 2021 (second PVC; Crespo & Manzanares 2019; Crespo & Citton 2021), we have decided to try to replicate the success with a third meeting of the PVC (Fig. 1). The appearance of new applications and technological advances has played a crucial role in paving the way for enhanced avenues of effective scientific communication. This became even more pronounced from more than two years of challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this crisis, online platforms gained more relevance and proved key to keeping up the drive for science communication and the dissemination of scientific results (Barral 2020).
Effective doctor–patient communication is a core competency for healthcare professionals. With the pivot to online clinical education and assessment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need to explore the views of psychiatric trainees and examiners on assessment of communication skills during online high stakes postgraduate examinations.
Methods:
The study was designed as descriptive qualitative research. All candidates and examiners of the September and November 2020 sitting of online Basic Specialist Training exam (a clinical Objective Structured Clinical Examination exam completed in the first 4 years of psychiatry training) were invited to participate. The respondents were interviewed by Zoom which was transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed by NVivo20 pro and various themes and subthemes were drawn using Braun and Clarke thematic analysis.
Results:
A total of seven candidates and seven examiners were interviewed with an average duration of 30 minutes and 25 minutes, respectively. Four main themes emerged: Communication, Screen optimization, Continuation postpandemic and Overall experience. All candidates preferred to continue an online format post pandemic for practical reasons e.g., avoiding travel and overnight stay, while all examiners preferred to go back to in-person Objective Structured Clinical Examination. However, continuation of online Clinical Formulation and Management Examination was agreed by both groups.
Conclusion:
The participants were largely satisfied with the online examination but did not consider it equal to face-to-face for picking up nonverbal cues. Overall minimal technical issues were reported. These findings may be helpful to modify current psychiatry membership examinations or similar assessments in other countries and specialties.
This chapter describes and expands upon virtue ethical and virtue theoretical approaches to moral education in and for virtual spaces. Building on existing claims that virtual spaces call for new kinds of virtues, we argue that structural constraints make risks and vices especially hard to overcome in these contexts. We organize these constraints around a threefold approach to integrity, according to how they hinder knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-unity. We then turn to positive recommendations for removing these barriers. We outline implications for end users by exploring the need for the development of the “burdened virtues”, applying ideas from Lisa Tessman. We also consider what it would look like for this kind of moral development to be supported by educators, policy-makers, and other leaders within the tech ecosystem. We suggest that the way forward will be to educate for and build spaces in which the online and offline worlds are drawn into closer alignment, supporting integrity in all its forms.
The ever-growing penetration of internet and mobile technologies into society suggests that people will increasingly use web searches to seek health-related information, including advice on first aid in medical emergencies. When a bystander is incompetent in first aid and has no immediate support from Emergency Medical Services (EMS), as it happens in low-resource settings or in disasters, instructions found online could be the sole driver for administering first aid before arrival of professional help.
Study Objective:
The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of advice on first aid generated by a web search engine’s question-answering system (QAS) in response to search queries concerning provision of help in common health emergencies.
Methods:
In December 2022-January 2023, an English-language search was carried out in Google with ten queries based on the keyword combinations (what to do OR how to help) AND (bleeding OR chest pain OR choking OR not breathing OR seizure). The search engine’s QAS responses (up to 11 per search query) were evaluated for compliance with the International Federation of Red Cross First Aid Guidelines 2020 using the pre-developed checklists.
Results:
Out of 98 QAS items generated by Google, 67.3% (n = 66) were excluded, mainly because the QAS answers did not address original queries. Eligible unique QAS responses (n = 27) showed poor coverage of the guideline-compliant instructions on first aid. Mean percentage of QAS responses providing a first aid instruction with complete adherence to the guidelines varied from 0.0 for choking to 19.5 for seizure. Only three (11.1%) QAS responses contained an explicit instruction to access EMS, while 66.7% (n = 18) included directions either contradictory to the guidelines and potentially harmful (eg, use of home remedies in chest pain) or inapplicable for an untrained person (eg, use of tourniquet in bleeding).
Conclusion:
Although the search engine’s QAS responds to user’s inquiries concerning assistance in health emergencies, the QAS-generated answers, as a rule, omit potentially life-saving evidence-based instructions on first aid and oftentimes give advices noncompliant with current guidelines or inadequate for untrained people, and thus create risks for causing harm to a victim.
Growing research indicates that death anxiety is implicated in many mental health conditions. This increasing evidence highlights a need for scalable, accessible and cost-effective psychological interventions to reduce death anxiety.
Aims:
The present study outlines the results of a phase I trial for one such treatment: Overcome Death Anxiety (ODA). ODA is the first CBT-based online intervention for fears of death, and is an individualised program requiring no therapist guidance.
Method:
A sample of 20 individuals with various mental health diagnoses commenced the ODA program. Death anxiety was assessed at baseline and at post-intervention. Depression, anxiety and stress were also measured.
Results:
In total, 50% (10/20) reached the end of the program and completed post-treatment questionnaires. Of these, 60% (6/10) showed a clinically reliable reduction in their overall death anxiety, and 90% (9/10) showed a reduction on at least one facet of death anxiety. There were no adverse events noted.
Conclusions:
ODA appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for death anxiety. The findings have provided initial evidence to support a randomised controlled trial using a larger sample, to further examine the efficacy of ODA.
Globally, veterinarians and professionals in animal-related industries are faced with growing public concern for the welfare of animals, particularly those in production. To prepare professionals, courses in animal welfare should be created to provide consistent education on a global scale in an efficient and cost-effective manner. However, a creative approach to welfare education is needed to reduce the disparity between supply and demand for instruction in animal welfare. Michigan State University (MSU) is piloting a graduate-level, online interactive course in animal welfare assessment to provide students with high-quality science-based education from renowned international animal welfare experts at numerous institutions. Innovative use of technology enables students to interact with material, each other and instructors. Students actively apply their accumulated skills to hypothetical scenarios, enhancing learning effectiveness. Student performance and opinion were examined to determine whether the course meets the stated objectives. Twenty-three students from four institutions enrolled in the pilot course. In the first month, the majority of students found the online course easy to use and material appropriate for a graduate-level course. The students agreed that scenarios helped them integrate lecture material. The MSU course will serve as a model for collaboration in content assembly and course delivery, using technology to leverage global expertise to create educational equity.
The internet has expanded opportunities for wildlife traders to conduct business globally, but monitoring this activity is often challenging. As monitoring techniques frequently employ language-based searches for particular words, it is important to understand the language traders use, particularly the nomenclature used to refer to traded species. We recorded advert data from four UK websites, focusing on reptiles, which constitute a large proportion of the international pet trade. We analysed whether the language types used by advertisers to refer to individual reptiles were associated with certain trader characteristics. We found English common names were the most frequent name type used to refer to species, regardless of the geographical location of the seller and the CITES Appendix listing of the species. However, scientific names were recorded in twice as many adverts for threatened and Near Threatened species as in adverts for non-threatened species, and only scientific names were used for three families: Anguidae, Pseudaspididae and Sphaerodactylidae. These findings could inform the creation of tailored keyword detection tools, which must account for the numerous language types in use within online wildlife trade communities. Future studies should examine the nuances of language used by other online wildlife trader communities in other contexts, such as different online platforms or different languages. The ultimate aim of these language detection tools will be to track in detail trends in the online reptile trade, offering a better understanding of potentially unsustainable trade patterns and helping authorities to enforce laws against illegal online reptile trade.
Covid-19 pandemic caused a pivot to online clinical education and assessment across the globe.
Objectives
To explore the views of psychiatric trainees and examiners on assessment of communication skills during online high stakes postgraduate examination.
Methods
This study was designed as interpretive descriptive qualitative research. All candidates and examiners of the online Irish Basic Specialist Training exam in September and November 2020 were included. The respondents were interviewed by Zoom which were transcribed verbatim. Data was coded using NVivo20 pro and Braun and Clarke thematic analysis was used to draw various themes and subthemes.
Results
A total of seven candidates and seven examiners from different training deaneries and specialties were interviewed with average duration of 29m 45s and 24m 20s respectively. The participants were largely satisfied with the online examination but did not consider it equal to face-to-face for picking nonverbal cues. The candidates were very conscious of eye contact while examiners placed more emphasis on overall professional behavior and patient engagement. All candidates preferred to continue online format post pandemic for practical reasons e.g., avoiding travel and overnight stay, while all examiners preferred to go back to in-person Objective Structured Clinical Examination due to some limitations in assessing physical and cognitive examination. However, continuation of online Clinical Formulation and Management Examination was agreed by both groups.
Conclusions
The results of the study have shown different insights of two important stakeholders in a professional postgraduate psychiatry examination which can be useful to improve same exam and design similar assessments in other settings.
Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) staff in humanitarian settings have limited access to clinical supervision and are at high risk of experiencing burnout. We previously piloted an online, peer-supervision program for MHPSS professionals working with displaced Rohingya (Bangladesh) and Syrian (Turkey and Northwest Syria) communities. Pilot evaluations demonstrated that online, peer-supervision is feasible, low-cost, and acceptable to MHPSS practitioners in humanitarian settings.
Objectives
This project will determine the impact of online supervision on i) the wellbeing and burnout levels of local MHPSS practitioners, and ii) practitioner technical skills to improve beneficiary perceived service satisfaction, acceptability, and appropriateness.
Methods
MHPSS practitioners in two contexts (Bangladesh and Turkey/Northwest Syria) will participate in 90-minute group-based online supervision, fortnightly for six months. Sessions will be run on zoom and will be co-facilitated by MHPSS practitioners and in-country research assistants. A quasi-experimental multiple-baseline design will enable a quantitative comparison of practitioner and beneficiary outcomes between control periods (12-months) and the intervention. Outcomes to be assessed include the Kessler-6, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8.
Results
A total of 80 MHPSS practitioners will complete 24 monthly online assessments from May 2022. Concurrently, 1920 people receiving MHPSS services will be randomly selected for post-session interviews (24 per practitioner).
Conclusions
This study will determine the impact of an online, peer-supervision program for MHPSS practitioners in humanitarian settings. Results from the baseline assessments, pilot evaluation, and theory of change model will be presented.
Despite its potential scalability, little is known about the outcomes of internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when it is provided with minimal guidance from a clinician.
Aim:
To evaluate the outcomes of minimally guided iCBT for PTSD in a randomised control trial (RCT, Study 1) and in an open trial in routine community care (Study 2).
Method:
A RCT compared the iCBT course (n=21) to a waitlist control (WLC, n=19) among participants diagnosed with PTSD. The iCBT group was followed up 3 months post-treatment. In Study 2, treatment outcomes were evaluated among 117 adults in routine community care. PTSD symptom severity was the primary outcome in both studies, with psychological distress and co-morbid anxiety and depressive symptoms providing secondary outcomes.
Results:
iCBT participants in both studies experienced significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity from pre- to post-treatment treatment (within-group Hedges’ g=.72–1.02), with RCT findings showing maintenance of gains at 3-month follow-up. The WLC group in the RCT also significantly improved, but Study 1 was under-powered and the medium between-group effect favouring iCBT did not reach significance (g=0.64; 95% CI, –0.10–1.38).
Conclusions:
This research provides preliminary support for the utility of iCBT for PTSD when provided with minimal clinician guidance. Future studies are needed to clarify the effect of differing levels of clinician support on PTSD iCBT outcomes, as well as exploring how best to integrate iCBT into large-scale, routine clinical care of PTSD.
There remains a persistent need for mental health services among youth, with the majority of youth untreated. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have the potential to revolutionize mental health care for adolescents. DMHIs are digital tools aiding in detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health problems for adolescents. DMHIs provide interventions and services that are accessible, low-cost, and available to adolescents. This chapter discusses barriers to mental health care among adolescents, followed by a discussion of how DMHIs can address these barriers to improve access to and quality of adolescent mental health services. It reviews research on DMHIs and digital frameworks used to collect and deliver psychoeducation, assessment, and interventions across hardware (e.g., smartphones, computers) and modalities (e.g., online, text, apps). It concludes with a discussion of current limitations of DMHIs and directions for the field to improve the development, dissemination, and implementation of adolescent mental health care using DMHIs.