Networked Individualism of Urban Residents: Discovering the Communicative Ecology in Inner-City Apartment Buildings

Certain patterns of interaction between people point to networks as an adequate conceptual model to characterise some aspects of social relationships mediated or facilitated by information and communication technology. Wellman proposes a shift from groups to networks and describes the ambivalent nature inherent in an ego-centric yet still well-connected portfolio of sociability with the term ‘networked individualism’. In this paper we use qualitative data from an action research study of social networks of residents in three inner-city apartment buildings in Australia to provide empirical grounding for the theoretical concept of networked individualism. However, this model focuses on network interaction rather than collective interaction. We propose ‘communicative ecology’ as a concept which integrates the three dimensions of "online and offline", "global and local" as well as "collective and networked". We present our research on three layers of interpretation (technical, social and discursive) to deliver a rich description of the communicative ecology we found, that is, the way residents negotiate membership, trust, privacy, reciprocity, permeability and social roles in person-to-person mediated and direct relationships. We find that residents seamlessly traverse between online and offline communication; local communication and interaction maintains a more prominent position than global or geographically dispersed communication; and residents follow a dual approach which allows them to switch between collective and networked interaction depending on purpose and context

Entrepreneurship, innovation and the triple helix model: evidence from Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire

This paper focuses on how regions become entrepreneurial and the extent to which the actors in the triple helix model are dominant at particular stages in development. It uses the case studies of Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the UK to explore this theme. Both can now be described as ‘regional triple helix spaces’ (Etzkowitz 2008), and form two points of the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London universities. As entrepreneurial regions, however, they differ in a number of respects. This is not surprising given their differing geo-historical contexts. However, by comparing the two similar counties but which have their own distinctive features we are able to explore different dynamics which lead to the inception, implementation, consolidation and renewal (Etzkowitz and Klofsten 2005) of regions characterised by very high levels of technology-based entrepreneurship

Social Media and Information Overload: Survey Results

A UK-based online questionnaire investigating aspects of usage of user-generated media (UGM), such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, attracted 587 participants. Results show a high degree of engagement with social networking media such as Facebook, and a significant engagement with other media such as professional media, microblogs and blogs. Participants who experience information overload are those who engage less frequently with the media, rather than those who have fewer posts to read. Professional users show different behaviours to social users. Microbloggers complain of information overload to the greatest extent. Two thirds of Twitter-users have felt that they receive too many posts, and over half of Twitter-users have felt the need for a tool to filter out the irrelevant posts. Generally speaking, participants express satisfaction with the media, though a significant minority express a range of concerns including information overload and privacy

COST : matchmaking for researchers

As many researchers are aware, while the EU offers a huge variety of funding possibilities, many of the funding mechanisms are tied to projects which require consortia made up of partners from different countries. Many researchers based in Malta, especially younger researchers, query on how one gets invited to participate in such consortia. In addition, the complex funding and administrative procedures involved in many of these EU projects, may put off several local scientists and researchers from applying for such funds. COST, Cooperation in Science and Technology, offers a facilitated mechanism which tackles and overcomes these hurdles.peer-reviewe

Utilization of Media-Driven Technology for Health Promotion and Risk Reduction among American Indian and Alaska Native Young Adults: An Exploratory Study

Across the developmental spectrum, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents and young adults experience considerable behavioral and mental health disparities, including substance abuse, depression, and engagement in sexual behaviors which enhance risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Health-focused interventions utilizing digital and media technology hold significant promise among tribal communities, as they have the capacity to eliminate geography-based barriers. Utilizing a sample of 210 self-identified AI/AN students attending tribal colleges, this study identified the most effective technologies and intervention strategies, as well as health seeking patterns and preferences, which may impact implementation and sustainable use in tribal settings. The use of technology was both diverse and pervasive among AI/AN young adults, mirroring or exceeding patterns of young adults from the broader population. These data suggest that technology-based interventions may effectively deliver information, resources, and behavior change tools to AI/AN young adults, particularly when reflecting their unique worldviews and social contexts

Librarians use of Web 2.0 in UK Medical Schools: Outcomes of a national survey

Using the results of an Email survey, this paper reviews the use of Web 2.0 technologies by librarians working in UK Medical Schools. Web 2.0 has been hailed as an innovation for facilitation of two way communication on the net, and it is, therefore, timely to measure how effectively librarians are capturing this opportunity for increased student engagement. The social nature of Web 2.0 can be particularly appropriate for undergraduate medical students who fit their studies around the unsocial hours and geographical isolation of clinical placements. This paper will investigate library use of blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Consideration will also be given as to whether they facilitate a more collabroative library service or if they leave undergraduate medical students swamped with yet more information to manage

‘Shell to Sea’ in Ireland: building social movement potency

In 1996 the Corrib gas field, holding over 1 trillion cubic feet of gas, was discovered by Enterprise Oil 83km off the North West coast of Ireland. Acquired by Shell in 2002, proposed extraction and processing is now a co-venture between several multinational energy corporations who aim to transport the gas some 90kms via pipeline to an onshore refinery site at Bellanaboy. Although heralded as a significant opportunity for development and employment by Shell and participating companies, local resistance to the proposals, on social and environmental grounds, has been sustained and effective. Mirroring global conflicts between the petrochemical industry and local people and lifeworlds, this resistance has elicited repressive responses, including the jailing of local landowners by the Irish state following their resistance to unprecedented compulsory land acquisition orders, and the taking out of a court injunction by Shell in 2005. Drawing on elements of contemporary social movement theory, and on both field research and analysis of campaign documents and media reports, this paper seeks to describe and reflect on the shape and spread of the social movement that has arisen in response to this development project. We focus on the ‘Shell to Sea’ campaign which has argued for the offshore, as opposed to the onshore, development of the gas field, and has garnered support from many other social movement groups and networks. In particular we consider the use of alternative media in strengthening shared networks of concern and in engaging critically with corporate media representations of both the project and the mobilisation. We conclude that social movement effectiveness and potency is in large part an outcome of collective and subjective commitments to intense work effort and the sharing of felt solidarity regarding environmental and social concerns; and we iterate the significance of affective and subjective dimensions of social movement activities alongside more conventional descriptions of work practices and structuring contexts

The best of both worlds? Online ties and the alternating use of social network sites in the context of migration

While an ever-growing body of research is concerned with user behavior on individual social network sites (SNSs)—mostly Facebook—studies addressing an alternating use of two or more SNS are rare. Here, we investigate the relationship between alternating SNS use and social capital in the context of migration. Alternating SNS use avoids some of the problems associated with large networks located on one site; in particular the management of different social or cultural spheres. Not only does this strategy hold potential for increased social capital, it also provides a particular incentive for migrants faced with the challenge of staying in touch with back home and managing a new social environment. Two survey studies are presented that focus on the relationship between alternating SNS use and online ties in a migrant context involving Indian nationals. Study 1 looked at migration within India, whereas Study 2 compared international with domestic SNS users. In both studies, alternating SNS use added to the prediction of online network size and accounted for differences in network size found for migrant and non-migrant users. Differences were due to the number of peripheral ties, rather than core ties. Findings suggest that alternating SNS use may constitute a compensatory strategy that helps to overcome lower levels of socializing represented through a single SNS