This November gave me the opportunity to give talks and participate in scientific events throughout Québec. I started in Montréal, with a seminar at ComSanté, the health communication research centre of Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where I presented my recently published book on websites on eating disorders. While most media attention focused onContinue reading “Data, health online communities and the collaborative economy: my tour of Québec”
Tag Archives: Eating disorders
The “pro-ana” phenomenon: Eating disorders and social networks
A new book is just out, co-authored by myself and Antonio A. Casilli: a synthesis of our 5-odd years research on the self-styled internet communities, blogs and forums of persons with eating disorders. For years, lively controversies have surrounded these websites, where users express their distress without filters and go as far as to describeContinue reading “The “pro-ana” phenomenon: Eating disorders and social networks”
“Pro” ana? Sociability and support in eating disorder online communities
This article was first published on Discover Society, November 2014. Last June, a group of Italian MPs proposed jail terms and fines for authors of so-called “pro-ana” (anorexia) and “pro-mia” (bulimia) websites. These are self-styled online communities on eating disorders which are viewed as promoting extreme dieting and unhealthy eating practices. France and the UnitedContinue reading ““Pro” ana? Sociability and support in eating disorder online communities”
Against the criminalization of “pro-ana” websites
A bipartisan group of Italian MPs has recently put forward a bill proposing jail time and hefty fines for people encouraging eating disorders on the web. A primary target of the new measures are the so-called “pro-ana” and “pro-mia” websites. The very premises of the proposed law are flawed, and it is based on veryContinue reading “Against the criminalization of “pro-ana” websites”
The transformative powers and the politics of data visualisation: a case with personal network data
Data visualisation is still relatively uncommon in the social sciences, and is not normally expected to be part of the standard work of a scholar (contrary, some would say, to what happens in the sciences, where visualisation is sometimes necessary to figure out the properties of objects whose existence is proven, but which cannot beContinue reading “The transformative powers and the politics of data visualisation: a case with personal network data”
Small data and big models: Sunbelt 2014
Uh, it’s been a while… I should have written more regularly! All the more so as many things have happened this month, not least the publication of our book on the End-of-Privacy hypothesis. Well, I promise, I’ll catch up! Meanwhile, a short update from St Pete Beach, FL, where the XXXIV Sunbelt conference is justContinue reading “Small data and big models: Sunbelt 2014”
Small Data to study the Web: The ANAMIA project
We have just published the results of our research project ANAMIA, studying the personal networks and online interactions of persons with eating disorders (“ana” and “mia” in web jargon). The report has just come out: Documents Report: Young internet users and eating disorder websites: beyond the notion of “pro-ana” (pdf, 92 pp, in French) Infographic:Continue reading “Small Data to study the Web: The ANAMIA project”
