The cognitive authority of user-generated health information in an online forum for girls and young women

Hirvonen, Noora; Tirroniemi, Alisa; Kortelainen, Terttu

doi:10.1108/jd-05-2018-0083

Cited by 31 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Seen from a broader perspective, however, the situation is better because HIB research offers a rich body of literature which is relevant to the examination of the relationships between information and power. Many of these studies have focused on the issues of cognitive authority (e.g., Wilson, 1983;Rieh, 2002;Hirvonen et al, 2019) and gatekeeping (e.g., Barzailai-Nahon, 2008;Ojennus, 2020). So far, however, the question of how power figures in cognitive authority and gatekeeping has not been addressed in sufficient depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manifestations of expert power in gatekeeping: a conceptual study

Savolainen

2020

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PurposeThis study aims to elaborate the picture of the relationships between information and power by examining how expert power appears in the characterizations of gatekeeping presented in the research literature.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses conceptual analysis for examining how expert power is constitutive of the construct of gatekeeper and how people subject to the influence of gatekeeping trust or challenge the expert power attributed to gatekeepers. The study draws on the analysis of 40 key studies on the above issues.FindingsResearchers have mainly constructed the gatekeepers' expert power in terms of superior knowledge and skills applicable to a specific domain, coupled with an ability to control or facilitate access to information. The gatekeeper's expert power has been approached as a contextual factor that facilitates rather than controls access to information. The power relationships between the gatekeepers and those subject to gatekeeping vary contextually, depending on the extent to which the latter have access to alternative sources of information. The findings highlight the need to elaborate the construct of gatekeeping by rethinking its relevance in the networked information environments where the traditional picture of gatekeepers controlling access to information sources is eroding.Research limitations/implicationsAs the study focuses on how expert power figures in gatekeeping, no attention is devoted to the role of social power of other types, for example, reward power and referent power.Originality/valueThe study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the nature of expert power as a constituent of gatekeeping.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manifestations of expert power in gatekeeping: a conceptual study

Savolainen

2020

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“…Following Neal and McKenzie (2011) , the affective authoritativeness of experiential information sources rests on the account of the experience itself and its details, the similarity of the experience narrated with the reader’s experience and, finally, the ability to comfort or inspire that personal experience provides over mere information. Although they do not explicitly mention the affective dimension of authority, Hirvonen et al (2019) , who analyse a health forum for young women, add that the reliability of experiential knowledge is judged on the grounds of an array of elements, ranging from data related to the author to the way of arguing and tone (including language and style), the veracity or coherence with the reader’s prior knowledge, and verification through comparison of various sources. It is important to differentiate this ‘affective authority’ of the content being disseminated from the affective authority of those who disseminate information, including false news, since, as Montero-Liberona and Halpern (2019) point out, much false health news comes precisely from acquaintances and trusted people.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding fake news during the Covid-19 health crisis from the perspective of information behaviour: The case of Spain

Montesi

2020

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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The health crisis brought about by Covid-19 has generated a heightened need for information as a response to a situation of uncertainty and high emotional load, in which fake news and other informative content have grown dramatically. The aim of this work is to delve into the understanding of fake news from the perspective of information behaviour by analysing a sample of fake news items that were spread in Spain during the Covid-19 health crisis. A sample of 242 fake news items was collected from the Maldita.es website and analysed according to the criteria of cognitive and affective authority, interactivity, themes and potential danger. The results point to a practical absence of indicators of cognitive authority (53.7%), while the affective authority of these news items is built through mechanisms of discrediting people, ideas or movements (40.7%) and, secondarily, the use of offensive or coarse language (17.7%) and comparison or reference to additional information sources (26.6%). Interactivity features allow commenting in 24.3% of the cases. The dominant theme is society (43.1%), followed by politics (26.4%) and science (23.6%). Finally, fake news, for the most part, does not seem to pose any danger to the health or safety of people – the harm it causes is intangible and moral. The author concludes by highlighting the importance of a culture of civic values to combat fake news.

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“…As lockdowns are eased and human activities start to return to previous levels, the pollutants will start flowing back into these lakes and rivers. And things will be just as bad as pre COVID-19 [3]. Now, speaking of pollution, there is a major cause of worry too that is attributable to the pandemic.…”

Section: Improving Water Quality Reducing Water Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Silver Hope in the Dreadful Pandemic: Shift towards a Healthier Lifestyle, Hygiene and Cleanliness

Dhabalia

2021

JPRI

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The COVID-19 pandemic has spread its terror globally for over a year now. There is no continent that has been spared by this scourge. And perhaps a few small countries with no reported cases. Regardless, it is an irrefutable fact that this novel coronavirus pandemic has shaken the pillars of human civilization. For those unaware or living under a rock since the past year or so, the disease is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The first cases were reported to the World Health Organisation as a cluster of pneumonia from unknown causes from Wuhan, China on the 31st December, 2019. And, thus began its reign of terror, spreading across the world, like hot cakes sold out in a carnival. That being said, humanity has suffered a lot at the hands of the pandemic. Innumerous deaths, sufferings, unending lockdowns and curfews, social problems, people losing their livelihoods and the list goes on. It is, thus, easy to give in to the mood of gloom and doom with all that is going on around us. However, just as with anything, there is a side too, that is scarcely talked about. There have also been some positive impacts of this pandemic that one couldn’t have foreseen beforehand. So, without further ado, below we have covered a few positive side effects of this curse of a pandemic!

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The cognitive authority of user-generated health information in an online forum for girls and young women

Cited by 31 publications

References 31 publications

Manifestations of expert power in gatekeeping: a conceptual study

Manifestations of expert power in gatekeeping: a conceptual study

Understanding fake news during the Covid-19 health crisis from the perspective of information behaviour: The case of Spain

A Silver Hope in the Dreadful Pandemic: Shift towards a Healthier Lifestyle, Hygiene and Cleanliness

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