In the UK, the first ‘lockdown’ of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to online learning and digital technologies in Higher Education (HE). While the situation was unprecedented, extant literature on online learning suggested there would be challenges, opportunities, and benefits to this transition, and we sought to understand these via a case study of one UK HEI department at this time. To draw out in-depth and nuanced accounts of this (at time of investigation–unstudied) scenario, qualitative data were collected via semi-structured online interview or written reflection. To explore, identify and understand the experiences from both sides, and with a diverse sample, we purposively recruited both staff (n = 10) and students (n = 12), from various roles and backgrounds, including those with additional learning and/or mental health needs. The ‘bricolage’ data were analysed inductively, utilising a latent reflexive approach, and organised into a framework around five core themes: ‘methods and means of engagement’; ‘learning maintenance, destruction and construction’; ‘remote education and resource accessibility and literacy’; ‘support and communication’; and ‘life and learning: responses, adaptations and impacts’. Within these, a range of challenges, successes and, most importantly, future learning and innovation outcomes were identified by staff and students, particularly relevant to working with and supporting students with additional needs in the online learning forum. These discoveries informed a set of practical recommendations, provided here in Box 1, for (rapid implementation of) online learning (in times of stress).
A fast-growing literature is establishing how moving in time together has pro-social consequences, though no work to date has explored the transience of these effects.Across two studies, people who had previously performed coordinated movements were over three times more likely to give their time to help their co-actor when asked 24 hours later than those who had performed an uncoordinated version of the task.Findings showed group-level categorization, but not social affiliation partially mediated helping behaviour. This provides preliminary evidence that the pro-social effects of coordination are sustainable over a longer period than previously reported, and that greater pro-sociality post-coordination may be related to a change in group level categorisation rather than social affiliation.
This study investigates the psychological impact of viewing user-generated content depicting extreme real-world violence. Eight threads were harvested from a publicly accessible online discussion forum in which people discussed their experiences of witnessing real-world torture, maiming or death online. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to systematically analyse these threads. The themes capture the contradictory ways in which people react to viewing extreme real-world violence online, with some finding it intensely distressing and others using it as a resource for psychological grounding or (perceived) strengthening. Based on this analysis, we highlight pathways that may lead to the cessation or continuation of viewing such content and argue that greater research on this seemingly common but under-studied experience is warranted.
Online self-presentation refers to the ways in which individuals share aspects of the self to portray a particular image. Being online presents opportunities for individuals to experiment with different versions of the self as part of identity development, but also to manage how others perceive them. Research has shown that personality can influence online selfpresentation behaviours, but these studies have chiefly focused on internal characteristics, and more research is needed exploring the relational facets of personality. This study aims to investigate the extent to which an individual's self-concept clarity, self-monitoring tendency, self-esteem, and social anxiety predict different presentations of the online self. A crosssectional online survey was conducted with 405 adult participants from Australia, the UK, and USA. Results show that individuals with higher self-concept clarity and self-monitoring are more likely to present a single consistent online and offline self. Younger adults and those with greater social anxiety are more likely to present idealised self-images online, and participants with higher social anxiety and lower self-esteem are more likely to prefer online, rather than offline, communication. Findings are broadly consistent with the literature, and suggest the need for more systematic investigation into a variety of personality variables that take into account the relational nature of identity formation and impression management. This research emphasises the multi-faceted nature of online self-presentation behaviours, and the ways in which they are differentially influenced by personality variables.
This paper discusses the issues with using open source, audio-mixing technology to facilitate remote data collection of speech samples, which was needed specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, but will also be beneficial in other contexts, e.g., to save on time and costs associated with travelling. We discuss practical constraints associated with remote data collection using this technology. We also consider issues around ethics, security, and data quality in using technology to record conversational interactions. We provide the example of using common tools such as MS Teams and smartphones and two types of software to conduct interviews to collect speech data as a proof-of-concept and offer further directions for research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.