Yasmin Merali

Bridging the Divide between Virtual and Embodied Spaces: Exploring the Effect of Offline Interactions on the Sociability of Participants of Topic-Specific Online Communities

Our paper focuses on the effect that offline interactions have on the sociability of participants of online communities. We present the findings of a longitudinal study of an invitation-only online community of cigar smokers, tracing the interactions of its participants over a period of eighteen months. We identify the emergence of distinctive patterns of interaction that persist over the course of the study, and explore their effect on the sociability of the participants of the online community. The identified interactions are associated with a mix of behaviors that include play, trading and gifting, and entail the exchange or flow of informational and material objects. Our findings demonstrate that offline interactions play a significant role for the social networking of participants on online communities, and have a positive effect on their online sociability over time. We provide novel insights regarding online participation and offline interactivity, significant for both academics and practitioners.

Managing privacy, rights, and security in a digital economy

We focus on the issues of managing Big Data within a Digital Economy, and address the asymmetrical distribution of power between the originators of data and the organizations that make use of that ...

Barrett's oesophagus: a tailored strategy.

In the article by Zaninotto and Bennett in this edition of World Journal of Surgery, the authors review the management of patients with low grade dysplasia (LGD) with a segment of Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) [1]. The authors recommend that patients diagnosed with LGD have their biopsies reviewed by a second pathologist, have a repeat endoscopy in 6 months and if LGD is confirmed, patients are considered to have further endoscopies every 6–12 months. If these endoscopies confirm persistent LGD, the authors advise that the patients should be considered for annual surveillance endoscopies or radio frequency ablation (RFA). As readers are aware, the management of BO is controversial, and the ideal management of LGD within BO is uncertain. It is widely accepted that BO predisposes to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) and that patients identified with OAC during surveillance have their cancer diagnosed at an earlier stage. Uncertainties persist over the risk of developing OAC within a segment of BO, the clinical and financial benefits of surveillance and the optimal surveillance strategy. Recent studies have suggested the risk of patients with BO developing OAC is considerably lower than the risks reported in earlier studies. The reasons for this change in risk of developing OAC are uncertain, but may include the more widespread use of proton pump inhibitors or variation in the surveillance populations being compared. There is widespread variation in the endoscopic diagnosis and assessment of BO, adherence to biopsy protocols and the consistency between pathologists in the diagnosis of dysplasia. The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) has recently published guidelines regarding the management of BO [2]. These suggest patients with risk factors for BO, such as male gender, obesity, advancing age and persistent reflux symptoms, are considered for screening endoscopy. The guidelines also suggest a minimum dataset should be collected at endoscopy. The BSG guidelines advise that pathologists should classify biopsies according to the presence of dysplasia. Follow-up is dependent upon the length of BO segment and the presence of dysplasia. Patients with a non-dysplastic BO (NDBO) segment less than 3 cm and with intestinal metaplasia (IM) should have surveillance performed every 3–5 years. Those with a segment 3 cm in length or longer with IM, should have surveillance endoscopy performed every 2–3 years. Furthermore, the guidelines suggest a repeat endoscopy prior to discharging the patient if IM is not present in a segment of BO. The BSG guidelines also advise if the segment of BO is less than 3 cm and if repeat biopsies confirm the absence of IM, patients should be considered for discharge from surveillance. The BSG guidelines differ significantly from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), published in 2012 [3]. The ASGE recommendations are not dependent upon the length of BO. The ASGE suggests patients with NDBO should be considered for no surveillance or surveillance endoscopy performed every 3–5 years, regardless of the length of BO segment. Both the ASGE and BSG guidelines suggest that for patients diagnosed with LGD, two expert pathologists review and agree the need to agree on the diagnosis and S. Ahmad D. Aldulaimi (&) Department of Medicine, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Worcestershire, UK e-mail: david.aldulaimi@btinternet.com