Campaigning on Twitter: Microblogging and Online Social Networking as Campaign Tools in the 2010 General Elections in the Netherlands

The present study focuses on how candidates in the Dutch general elections of 2010 use Twitter, a popular microblogging and social networking service. Specifically the study focuses on explaining why some candidates are more likely to adopt Twitter, have larger networks, and show more reciprocation than other candidates. The innovation hypothesis, predicting that candidates from less established and smaller parties will use Twitter more extensively, is unsupported. This suggests that normalization of campaign practices is present on Twitter, not changing existing communication practices. The findings do show that being an early adopter of these new technologies is more effective than adoption shortly before Election Day.     

The effect of communication and social motives on E-government services through social media groups

ABSTRACT

E-government on social media has received much attention lately. Despite a recent call for further research into social interaction and communication aspects of e-government on social media, there is still limited empirical evidence regarding why individuals participate in the social aspect of e-government services and how that relates to their expectations and satisfactions. The present work addresses this gap by extending the Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT) to study communication and social interactions in government Facebook groups. The results show that communication quality and responsiveness are two key elements that contribute to the perceived level of usefulness. These two variables together with social interaction had a statistically significant effect on the overall confirmation of expectations. Perceived usefulness and satisfaction predict continuance use intention of e-government social networking services with satisfaction influencing such intention more than perceived usefulness. Further multi-group analyses show that generational difference and usage frequency moderates the relationships of the extended model. Managerial implications are provided.     

Community building and knowledge sharing by individuals with disabilities using social media

The use of social media to share information, enhance learning, and connect with an online community has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. As social media becomes a more common tool in both formal and informal education, it is imperative to understand how it is used by individuals with disabilities. Through a systematic study of the literature, 215 articles on social media used by individuals with disabilities were selected and 29 selected for in-depth thematic analysis. Six major themes were identified: community, cyberbullying, self-esteem, self-determination, access to technology, and accessibility. To confirm these six categories, we expanded our search, yielding an additional 30 articles, for a total 59 articles reviewed in-depth. Interactions between individuals with disabilities within online communities often had the goal of acquiring knowledge or learning new information. A communities of practice theoretical framework is used to discuss interactions among the elements of social media design, learning, and the building of community by individuals with disabilities.     

“Old” theories, “New” technologies: Understanding knowledge sharing and learning in Brazilian software development companies

ContextNew technologies such as social networks, wikis, blogs and other social software enable collaborative work and are important facilitators of the learning process. They provide a simple mechanism for people to communicate and collaborate and thus support the creation of knowledge. In software-development companies they are used to creating an environment in which communication and collaboration between workers take place more effectively.ObjectiveThis paper identifies the main tools and technologies used by software-development companies in Brazil to manage knowledge and attempts to determine how these tools and technologies relate to important knowledge-sharing and learning theories and how they support the concepts described by these theories.MethodA survey was conducted in a group of Brazilian software development companies with high levels of process software maturity to see how they implement the Brazilian Software Processes Improvement model (MPS.Br) and use new tools and technologies. The survey used a qualitative analysis to identify which tools are used most and how frequently employees use them. The results of the analysis were compared with data from the literature on three knowledge-sharing and learning theories to understand how the use of these tools relates to the concepts proposed in these theories.ResultsThe results show that some of the tools used by the companies do not apply the concepts described in the theories as they do not help promote organizational learning. Furthermore, although the companies have adopted the tools, these are not often used, mainly because they are felt not to organize information efficiently.ConclusionThe use of certain tools can help promote several concepts described in the theories considered. Moreover, the use of these tools can help reduce the impact of, some common organizational problems. However, companies need to improve existing organizational policies that encourage employees to use these tools more regularly.     

Barriers to the adoption of social networking sites in Saudi Arabia's higher education

ABSTRACT

Social networking sites are increasingly being repurposed as academic tools in higher education institutions. In this context, social networking sites are used to support a number of key academic functions, including the sharing of ideas between students and academic staff, the forming of dedicated study groups, the exchange of links and other academic objects and self-publication. While these tools are readily being adopted in mainstream Western contexts, little is currently known regarding whether – and how – social networking sites are used in other geo-cultural regions. This study sought to redress this research gap by investigating what might constitute barriers to the adoption of social networking in higher education in Saudi Arabia from the students’ perspective. The study was based on the analysis of results derived from focus group discussions with university students at four Saudi Arabian universities. The research found that Saudi Arabian students are aware of, and welcome, social networking sites and are starting to use them for academic purposes in the same way that university students do in more mainstream contexts. However, the study did identify a range of barriers to uptake as highlighted by focus group participants.     

Adoption of social networking sites: an exploratory adaptive structuration perspective for global organizations

This research assesses the strategic adoption of social media by large global organizations. To contribute to a better understanding of the topic, this exploratory study analyzed social networking sites used by 72 large global companies, and conducted a survey and follow-up interviews with high-level managers from these companies. Our analysis of social networking sites identifies and characterizes the types of social media used, as well as the various organizational purposes for the use of social media. Our exploratory survey and interviews yielded a deeper level of understanding of the adoption of social networking sites by organizations. We employed management fashion theory and adaptive structuration theory to characterize the ways in which advanced information technology can bring about organizational change. Our findings indicate that there is an increased use of social media and social networking sites by organizations that results in the form of passive or active, proactive or reactive, and tactical or strategic uses.     

The Impact of Cross-Addiction on Information Sharing Behaviors on Social Networking Sites

ABSTRACT

There is a rise in the interest among researchers to understand how addiction to social networking sites (SNSs) influences the use of SNS for information sharing. Much less attention has been placed on the interactive effect of multiple addictions (i.e., cross-addiction) on information sharing behaviors on SNSs. In this study, we examine the interaction effect of SNS addiction and alcohol use on two characteristic sharing behaviors on SNSs, self-promotion, and peer promotion of alcohol use. This study contributes to theory and practice as it builds a model that integrates social cognitive theory and normative social influence to explain mechanisms through which cross-addiction shapes information sharing behaviors on SNSs. The proposed model is estimated using data from a sample of college students in a North American university. The results support the theorized relationships between cross-addiction and SNS use to promote addiction-related activities. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Risky Social Networking Practices Among “Underage” Users: Lessons for Evidence‐Based Policy

European self‐regulation to ensure children's safety on social networking sites requires that providers ensure children are old enough to use the sites, aware of safety messages, empowered by privacy settings, discouraged from disclosing personal information, and supported by easy to use reporting mechanisms. This article assesses the regulatory framework with findings from a survey of over 25000 9‐ to 16‐year‐olds from 25 European countries. These reveal many underage children users, and many who lack the digital skills to use social networking sites safely. Despite concerns that children defy parental mediation, many comply with parental rules regarding social networking. The implications of the findings are related to policy decisions on lower age limits and self‐regulation of social networking sites.     

The deep structure of organizational online networking – an actor‐oriented case study

While research on organizational online networking recently increased significantly, most studies adopt quantitative research designs with a focus on the consequences of social network configurations. Very limited attention is paid to comprehensive theoretical conceptions of the complex phenomenon of organizational online networking. We address this gap by adopting a theoretical framework of the deep structure of organizational online networking with a focus on their emerging meaning for the employees. We apply and assess the framework in a qualitative case study of a large‐scale implementation of a corporate social network site (SNS) in a global organization. We reveal organizational online networking as a multi‐dimensional phenomenon with multiplex relationships that are unbalanced, primarily consist of weak ties and are subject to temporal change. Further, we identify discourse drivers and information retrievers as two mutually interdependent actor roles as an explanation for uneven levels of user contributions to the SNS. Based on our analysis, we elicit abstract order principles, such as topical discourses, and identify transactive memory theory as a potent explanation of the evolving interaction structures. We finally discuss how the deep structure framework can contribute to future research on organizational networks.     

A tool for help or harm? How associations between social networking use,social support,and mental health differ for sexual minority and heterosexual youth

Although use of social networking sites has been linked to both positive and negative changes in young people's mental health, it is likely that these contributions may vary based on users' motivations and social status. For sexual minority youth, for example, the sites could provide means for social support and connections with like-minded others. Accordingly, our study sought to examine the relations between sexual minority youth's social networking site use and their social support, sexual identity strength, and mental health. We conducted an online survey, sampling 146 sexual minority youth respondents (M = 21 years; SD = 2.87 years) and 477 heterosexual youth respondents (M = 20 years; SD = 2.76 years). Results indicated that although both sexual minority and heterosexual youth use social networking sites at equal rates, sexual minority youth indicated that they use sites more for identity development and social communication. Moreover, using sites for general identity expression or exploration predicted negative mental health outcomes, whereas using sites specifically for sexual identity development predicted positive mental health outcomes. These results provide greater insight into how social networking sites may impact the mental health of marginalized groups, and provide a framework for understanding differences in social networking site use by sexuality.     

Beyond Facebook: The generalization of social networking site measures

PurposePrevious research on social networking sites (SNSs) suggests several factors that contribute to SNS use. However, the factors were specific to a particular website. We wished to know if similar factors could predict the use of a new SNS in terms of usefulness and satisfaction with the goal of creating factors that would generalize across SNSs.ResultsParticipants reported their SNS Diet and performed five tasks using a new SNS. Then, participants reported which of the five tasks was most frustrating. Participants also reported if the usefulness of the SNS would affect their future use of the site. Participants with a high SNS Diet used SNSs once a day or more. The SNS Diet was predictive of a participant’s satisfaction rating and a participant’s perception of usefulness.ConclusionThe differences suggest that different groups of social networking users will respond differently based on their SNS Diet. This study finds support for both the Rational Actor Perspective and the Web Acceptance Model. We outline a new continuous measure of SNS use which generalizes across different social networks.     

The Paradox of Mobility in the Kenyan ICT Ecosystem: An Ethnographic Case of How the Youth in Kibera Slum Use and Appropriate the Mobile Phone and the Mobile Internet

The Kenyan ICT ecosystem has attracted vast global media and policy attention because of notable mobile phone adoption in the country. However, empirical research of how Kenyans use and appropriate new media and ICTs in the diverse contexts within the country remains limited. In order to contribute to the emerging literature on Sub-Saharan Africa ICT ecosystems as well as the Mobility discussions within Mobiles for Development M4D and Information and Communication Technologies for Development ICT4D, this paper discusses an empirical case of how the youth of Kibera use and appropriate the mobile phone and the mobile Internet. The purpose of this critical realist ethnographic research article is to explicate the events in the historical development of the Kenyan ICT ecosystem as well as the components of social and physical structure in Kibera slum along with the relationships between them. This paper argues that the mobile phone eases communication and strengthens existent social ties for the youth of Kibera. However, it cannot bypass the hierarchical nature of Kenya where “class and place of residence are distinctive social markers in the process of social networking” [Wallis, C. (2011). Mobile phones without guarantees: The promises of technology and the contingencies of culture. New Media & Society, 13(3), 471–485. Wallis, C. (2013). Technomobility in China: Young migrant women and mobile phones. New York, NY: New York University Press]. Therefore, the young Kiberans predominantly use and appropriate the mobile phone to network with those in the same lower income strata. This is because they are widely perceived in Kenyan society as the “other and what does not belong” because they are slum residents [Hall, S. (2013). The spectacle of the other. In S. Hall, J. Evans, & S. Nixon (Eds.), Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices (2nd ed., pp. 223–283). Sage. p. 257].     

Enterprise social networking usage as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and employee creativity: A multilevel study

Enterprise social networking (ESN) techniques have been widely adopted by organizations to provide a platform for public communication among employees. Based on the job demand–control–support model and communication visibility theory, this study investigates how the relationships between the perceived work stressors of employees (i.e., challenge and hindrance stressors) and their creativity are moderated by team task- and relationship-oriented ESN usage. We used the hierarchical linear model to test this multilevel model. Results of a survey of 260 employees in 72 groups indicate that two ESN usage types differentially moderate the relationship between work stressors and employee creativity. Specifically, task-oriented ESN usage positively moderates the effects of the two types of stressors on employee creativity, whereas relationship-oriented ESN usage negatively moderates the relationship between hindrance stressors and employee creativity. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

“Blogging” As an Educational Enhancement Tool for Improved Student Performance: A Pilot Study in Undergraduate Nursing Education

Improving learning and synthesis of new knowledge is often a challenge for nursing faculty in the twenty-first century. Faculty are urged to use new technologies and to embrace methodologies that include more interactions by the student. Today's students are less adept in written and oral communication and, consequently, more hesitant to speak out or write independently for fear of ridicule by others. These same students, by virtue of their adaptation and immersion in technological advances, need support in using these same mechanisms to improve their communication skills. Interpersonal communication across many levels is very important in nursing. This article summarizes a study of nursing students at North Carolina Central University in the spring of 2011 and their use of social networking to communicate about nursing education and medical errors. This qualitative pilot study used new social media known as web logs (blogs) to enable students to become more secure communicating with one another. The tool was a Google-based blog. The nursing students' interaction styles were evaluated based on topics and inter-connections. Visualizations of the social network communications as maps are provided with the article to illustrate data analysis results.

As a pilot study the research may be used for system design requirements for a medical educational environment that promotes sharing information and collecting data related to quality care and learning. Potential social media tools for future consideration include Facebook, Twitter, blogs, electronic journals, forums (or chat rooms), and wikis (group-authored encyclopedia/information sites) as found on the web, on smart phones and in online education tools. This research project was based on an earlier study of nursing students using blogs and sharing medical error information in confidence. The researchers on the 2011 project have found that analyzing, for example, how students support each other during school, learn about drug calculations and NCLEX examination preparations, by means of social networking could lead to ways to reduce errors as students develop communication habits, share knowledge, and pay more attention to tasks.     

Computer-mediated communication and media preference: An investigation of the dimensionality of perceived task equivocality and media richness

Computer-mediated communication is the foundation of networking and electronic communities. As the use of new communication technologies continues to proliferate throughout organizations, new modes of interaction between individuals and groups emerge, presenting alternative media choices. How individuals choose between these modes has stimulated much research into theoretical perspectives of media choice within networked and electronic communities. Media Richness Theory is one of these theoretical perspectives. The research presented in this paper investigates the underlying factors of Media Richness Theory, task equivocality and media richness. The results obtained provide evidence to suggest that equivocality may not be unidimensional, and that the richness of media is perceived multidimensionally in terms of the information carrying capacity of media. The findings on dimensionality of equivocality raise doubts as to the basic assumptions of this concept and media richness theory.     

Tools used in Global Software Engineering: A systematic mapping review

ContextThis systematic mapping review is set in a Global Software Engineering (GSE) context, characterized by a highly distributed environment in which project team members work separately in different countries. This geographic separation creates specific challenges associated with global communication, coordination and control.ObjectiveThe main goal of this study is to discover all the available communication and coordination tools that can support highly distributed teams, how these tools have been applied in GSE, and then to describe and classify the tools to allow both practitioners and researchers involved in GSE to make use of the available tool support in GSE.MethodWe performed a systematic mapping review through a search for studies that answered our research question, “Which software tools (commercial, free or research based) are available to support Global Software Engineering?” Applying a range of related search terms to key electronic databases, selected journals, and conferences and workshops enabled us to extract relevant papers. We then used a data extraction template to classify, extract and record important information about the GSD tools from each paper. This information was synthesized and presented as a general map of types of GSD tools, the tool’s main features and how each tool was validated in practice.ResultsThe main result is a list of 132 tools, which, according to the literature, have been, or are intended to be, used in global software projects. The classification of these tools includes lists of features for communication, coordination and control as well as how the tool has been validated in practice. We found that out the total of 132, the majority of tools were developed at research centers, and only a small percentage of tools (18.9%) are reported as having been tested outside the initial context in which they were developed.ConclusionThe most common features in the GSE tools included in this study are: team activity and social awareness, support for informal communication, Support for Distributed Knowledge Management and Interoperability with other tools. Finally, there is the need for an evaluation of these tools to verify their external validity, or usefulness in a wider global environment.     

‘You talking to me?’ The influence of peer communication on adolescents’ persuasion knowledge and attitude towards social advertisements

This article examines how peer communication among adolescents (14–16 years) affects the evaluation of social advertising (i.e. targeted ad that adopts the social proof heuristic by using an individual’s social ties as endorsers for a brand) on social networking sites (SNSs). More precisely, the focus lies on how engaging in online peer chatting on these social platforms alters persuasion knowledge and attitude towards the ad. In order to test this, two between-subjects experiments were conducted in which adolescents chatted with peers on a mock SNS that contained a social ad. In Experiment 1, results reveal that a social ad generates a more positive attitude among adolescents when they have engaged in online peer communication, and at the same time, triggers less persuasion knowledge. In Experiment 2, the depth of the relationship between the chatters (tie strength) plays a significant moderating role as peer communication with strong ties yields greater effects, compared to communication with weak ties. These findings reveal important social influence dynamics that may alter the elaboration of persuasive communication, leading to valuable theoretical and practical implications.     

Social Networking Sites: Their Users and Social Implications — A Longitudinal Study

The rapid adoption of social networking sites (SNSs) raises important questions about the social implications of such usage. Drawing on unique longitudinal data, surveying a representative sample of Norwegian online users (N = 2,000, age 15–75 years) in 3 annual waves (2008, 2009, and 2010), this study found a significantly higher score among SNS users in comparison to nonusers in 3 out of 4 social capital dimensions: face‐to‐face interactions, number of acquaintances, and bridging capital. However, SNS‐users, and in particular males, reported more loneliness than nonusers. Furthermore, cluster analyses identified 5 distinct types of SNS users: Sporadics, Lurkers, Socializers, Debaters, and Advanced. Results indicate that Socializers report higher levels of social capital compared to other user types.     

Geographic ‘Place’ and ‘Community Information’ Preferences

People dynamically structure social interactions and activities at various locations in their environments in specialized types of places such as the office, home, coffee shop, museum and school. They also imbue various locations with personal meaning, creating group ‘hangouts’ and personally meaningful ‘places’. Mobile location-aware community systems can potentially utilize the existence of such ‘places’ to support the management of social information and interaction. However, acting effectively on this potential requires an understanding of how: (1) places and place-types relate to people’s desire for place-related awareness of and communication with others; and (2) what information people are willing to provide about themselves to enable place-related communication and awareness. We present here the findings from two qualitative studies, a survey of 509 individuals in New York, and a study of how mobility traces can be used to find people’s important places in an exploration of these questions. These studies highlight how people value and are willing to routinely provide information such as ratings, comments, event records relevant to a place, and when appropriate their location to enable services. They also suggest how place and place-type data could be used in conjunction with other information regarding people and places so that systems can be deployed that respect users’ People-to-People-to-Places data sharing preferences. We conclude with a discussion on how ‘place’ data can best be utilized to enable services when the systems in question are supported by a sophisticated computerized user-community social-geographical model.     

基于JSP的社交网站设计

由于有关网络的科技发展,用户对于网络有了越来越多的需求,这时和社交有关的网站就成了热点,本系统是从学习、交流、分享,还有大范围的社交需求中产生的,用到B/S（Browser/Server）结构,使获取数据在浏览器中显示,而处理却在服务器中运行,用户只要一个浏览器就够了。现今社交网站的界面设计非常漂亮,主要是因为用到了jquery、ext等流行的JavaScript框架。开发中选择了SSH三大框架,dao层＋service层＋action层＋jsp显示层的mvc分层这样的开发模式,适用于简单的用户需求。