Sense of community in science fiction random, part 1: Understanding sense of community in an international community of interest

Within the discipline of community psychology there is debate as to the dimensions underlying the construct psychological sense of community (PSOC). One of the few theoretical discussions is that of McMillan and Chavis (1986), who hypothesized four dimensions: Belonging; Fulfillment of Needs; Influence; and Shared Connections. Discussion has also emerged in the literature regarding the role of identification within PSOC. It has been suggested that differences in PSOC may be understood in terms of the degree to which members identify with their community (Fisher & Sonn, 1999). However, few studies have explored the place of identification in PSOC. In addition, while PSOC has been applied to both communities of interest and geographical communities, little research has looked in depth at PSOC within communities of interest. The current study therefore explored PSOC in science fiction fandom, a community of interest with membership from all over the world, by means of a questionnaire distributed at an international science fiction convention (N = 359). In an endeavor to clarify the underlying dimensions of PSOC, the questionnaire included several measures of PSOC, and measures of identification with the community. Results showed that science fiction fandom reported high levels of PSOC. Support emerged for McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four dimensions of PSOC, with the addition of a fifth dimension, that of Conscious Identification. These results, and implications for PSOC research, are discussed.

Close, but still too far: the experience of Australian people with cancer commuting from a regional to a capital city for radiotherapy treatment

This paper reports the findings of a study undertaken in November 2001 on the experiences of 17 rural people from the regional city of Toowoomba who had been diagnosed with cancer and were required to travel to the capital city of Queensland (Brisbane) for radiotherapy. The interviews were tape recorded; the recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed for emergent themes and subthemes, following verification by the participants that the transcription was a true record of their experience. The major themes that arose from the study were (1) the burden of travel; (2) the difficulties of living in accommodation that is not one's own home; (3) the financial burden caused by the need to relocate or travel to and from Brisbane; (4) the lack of closeness to family and friends; (5) and feelings of being a burden on others. The findings suggest that at a time of stress, an increasing burden is placed on cancer clients and their families if they are required to travel for radiotherapy. Health professionals who read the results of this study should be aware of the isolation of rural people who have to live in an unfamiliar environment at a time of great stress. Support mechanisms should be put into place in these referral centres to deal with these stressors.

Processing and mechanical properties of hollow sphere aluminum foams

Hollow sphere metallic foams are a new class of cellular material that possesses the attractive advantages of uniform cell size distribution and regular cell shape. These result in more predictable physical and mechanical properties than those of cellular materials with a random cell size distribution and irregular cell shapes. In the present study, single aluminum hollow spheres with three kinds of sphere wall thickness as 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm were processed by a new pressing method. Hollow sphere aluminum foam samples were prepared by bonding together single hollow spheres with simple cubic packing (SC) and body-centered cubic packing (BCC). Compressive tests were carried out to evaluate the deformation behaviors and mechanical properties of the hollow sphere aluminum foams. Effects of the sphere wall thickness and packing style on the mechanical properties were investigated.

Methodology for extracting quasi-random samples from world wide web domains

The purpose of this paper is to describe a process for sampling specific domain name zones on the World Wide Web. Because of the size of the Web, sampling strategies must be employed in order to effectively model and study the Web business environment.  This paper discusses Various efforts employed to sample the Web, which ranged from random generation of Internet Protocol Addresses and domain names, to the process finally
employed to create descriptive models of the dot-com domain name zones. The paper suggests that sampling the Web Top Level Domains offers a reasonable alternative for business researchers because it requires only familiarity with the use of the simple Web utilities such as File Transfer
Protocols to obtain initial domain name listings.