Coping with information in social media: The effects of network structure and knowledge on perception of information value

The explosive growth of social media has intrigued many scholars to inquire into why people willingly share information with others. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to how people determine which information they share in the networked environment. In this study, a 2 (network density – dense vs. sparse) × 2 (knowledge – expert vs. novice) × 3 (information valence – negative vs. neutral vs. positive) online experiment was performed to examine how the three factors interact and cross over in shaping individuals’ perceptions of the value of information for themselves and for others in the network. Results show that individuals’ perceptions of information value are influenced not just by their level of knowledge, but also by how the network environment is structured. Implications for the findings are discussed.     

Nonverbal behavior of interviewers influences the competence ratings of observers in recruitment interviews: a study investigating social influence using 360-degree videos with virtual reality and 2D screen displays

Virtual Reality - This study examined whether an interviewer’s nonverbal behavior influences observers’ competence ratings in a recruitment interview using 360-degree videos experienced...     

Relationship between social network structure dynamics and innovation: Micro-level analyses of virtual cross-functional teams in a multinational B2B firm

The goal of this study was to examine whether social network analysis has a significant effect on new business development (NBD) performance as a key innovation performance index in 10 cross-functional teams in multinational firms, and then determine the ways in which the social network analysis data can be used to maximize NBD performance. This study was based on experimental data from actual teams' communications in a virtual environment via information and communication technology (ICT). We focused on three social indices: network density, clique participation index (CPI) as a modified clique, and the standard deviation of structural holes (SH_SD) measured by effective size. A regression analysis of the experimental data obtained in this longitudinal study demonstrated that CPI and SH_SD had a positive influence on NBD evolution, while network density affected it adversely.     

On the difference in control performance of interval type-2 fuzzy PI control system with different FOU shapes

Interval type-2 fuzzy logic controllers (IT2-FLCs) have been attracting a lot of attention. However, challenges in designing IT2-FLCs still remain. One of the main challenges is to choose the appropriate FOU shape for interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2-FSs). This paper aims to analyse the differences in control performance between three IT2 fuzzy PI controllers (IT2-F-PICs) with different FOU shapes as antecedent sets, namely the triangular top wide IT2 fuzzy set, the triangular bottom wide IT2 fuzzy set and the trapezoidal (also called parallel) IT2 fuzzy set. First, the analytical structures of these IT2-FLCs are derived and the mathematical input–output equations are obtained. Three interesting differences between the analytical structures and input–output relationship of the IT2-F-PICs are then presented. From the differences in the analytical structures of the three IT2-F-PICs and numerical simulation results, it is demonstrated that IT2-F-PICs with trapezoidal (IT2-F-PI-P) and triangular bottom wide (IT2-F-PI-BW) antecedent sets with the potential to provide faster transient response and faster settling time than the IT2-F-PICs with triangular top wide (IT2-F-PI-TW). In addition, IT2-F-PI-P is better able to handle plant uncertainties and disturbances than IT2-F-PI-BW and IT2-F-PI-TW. The contribution of this paper is to provide insights into the performance differences between different FOU shaped controllers, which in turns allowing control designers to select the appropriate FOU shape in order to meet design requirements.     

Use of ICT and its relationship with performance in examinations: a comparison of the ImpaCT2 project's research findings using pupil-level, school-level and multilevel modelling data

Abstract This paper reports a previously unpublished comparative analysis of data from the ImpaCT2 study investigating the relationship between students' performance in England on national tests and their reported use of information technology (particularly networked technology) for school work, at three age levels (11, 14 and 16), in English, Maths and Science (and in additional subjects at age 16). The new analysis compares three separate analyses of the same data set based on approximately 1100 children drawn from 27 primary and 28 secondary schools: the first analysis considers the individual pupil data and looks particularly for pupil‐level (and particularly gender) effects; the second analysis groups the pupils by school, and looks particularly for school‐level effects; the third analysis was a more conservative multilevel modelling analysis, carried out by an independent team at the University of Durham, which split the schools into three groups, based on overall high, medium or low level of use of information and communications technology (ICT) in each school. All three analyses reported findings based on mean achievement measured in terms of standardised residual gain scores, where each student's progress was measured against predicted gains calculated from baseline data on reading and Maths ability gathered 2 years earlier. The results indicated broad agreement between each of the three modes of analysis, though effect sizes were slightly smaller in the case of the multilevel modelling. The findings are interpreted in relation to case study data on ICT use in schools gathered as part of the wider ImpaCT2 investigation, but the case is also made that the common rationale for using multilevel modelling with large data sets, namely that whole class effects are more significant determinants of performance than individual effects, is less applicable in this study, because of wide variation in the use by children of ICT for school work at home.