Social Media & Agenda Melding: Understanding Trump’s Proposed Border Wall

This study explores how belief in social media outlets is an important aspect of agenda melding in an online environment. In this study, the researchers employ agenda melding as a theoretical lens to explore how belief in social media outlet can predict support for the proposed Border Wall. The researchers surveyed 232 people to find out how belief in media outlet contributes to building an online media agenda in the context of immigration. Social media networks continue to grow in influence when it comes to understanding important political issues and the way they manifest themselves in mainstream United States immigration policy

Identities in Motion: Cyberspace and Myanmar Men having Sex with Men

This paper explores how Myanmar men-having-sex-with-men (MSM) create identity through lived and mediated realities, by using cyber social networks, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted through snowballing among MSM cyber social network members. Content analysis was guided by a social network analysis framework. Networking positively affected connectedness and social support however norms and values were challenged. Age, experience, sex-roles, and peer-relationships seem to influence self-efficacy.  Interpersonal dynamics were driven by online-cruising, dating, cyber-sex and off-line encounters. In conclusion, access to social networking offers an outlet for socio-cultural and legal oppressed Myanmar MSM, however building life-skills among younger users’ needs attention. Social networks could be appropriate channels for social and health programs targeting MSM. Keywords: Southeast Asia, gay-men, internet, cyber social networks, health promotio

Analysis and simulation of a social network, Twitter: a case study

The use of online social networks empowers its users to efficiently disseminate information across traditional social networks. Typically, the weight and value of messages are relative to its readers’ culture and interests. Nevertheless, in some instances, messages take the form of viral phenomenon, which circulates around the world in very short periods of time. Therefore, despite the actual content of the message spread over the network, the determination of the effectiveness of message dissemination across the social network becomes an attractive opportunity for scientific study. Since a meticulous analysis of a complete online social network would require the acquisition of security permissions from its providers, a vast quantity of computer resources and a substantial amount of time for collection of online content in the network, the aim of this thesis is to address these challenges by building a system capable to simulate an online social network. More precisely, we focus our investigation on the Twitter social network, which is one of the most prominent micro-blogging social network providers nowadays. The main contributions of this work include the following: (i) the provision of a tool, for investigations in the area of social networks, to bypass the common challenges observed during data gathering, (ii) the design of a extensible system that minimizes the cost of implementation of newly resampling techniques, and (iii) the invention of a workbench that allows empirical analysis of properties of an online social network (in the context of this study, the dissemination of messages and the dynamics of influence on the Twitter social network, are the key properties under investigation). Production data from the Twitter network is used to present evidence to suffice the evaluation of different measurements of influence. The collection of live data in this investigation was performed for a period of three days (respecting the 15-minute window between GET requests- imposed by the Twitter API). The data collected served to build the grounds for modeling the social networks described in this thesis

Perceptions of teachers who engage in social media networking: a multiple case study

The purpose of this study was to examine how and why teachers engage in social media networks. Using a case study approach, data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, online observations, direct observations, artifacts, and documents to gain understanding to how and why teachers are using online networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter for professional learning. The underpinnings of constructivism and social constructivism theories served to provide a framework for understanding how teachers perceive their professional use of social media. Moreover, this study sought to gain insight into how this practice may or may not influence teacher practice at Rawlings County Institute of Technology. As a result, this research identified five themes: Effects on Students\u27 Learning Experiences and Engagement; Convenience: Access and Opportunities Embedded within Social Media Venues; Personalized/Customized Learning Experiences; Building Knowledge to Enhance Practice; and Self-care and Support

The Roles of Social Capital in Online P2P Lending Markets Under Different Cultures: A Comparison of China and America

Online P2P (People-to-People or Peer-to-Peer) lending has very rapid development since it was appeared in 2005. In order to mitigate asymmetric information between borrowers and lenders, some online P2P market allows members building their social networks (such as Prosper, CommunityLend, PPDai etc). By empirical analyzing the transaction data of Prosper (largest P2P market in US) and PPDai (largest P2P market in China), the paper verifies that the social capital systems have a positive influence on borrower’s loan performance on the markets. However, on both markets, the loan interest rate mainly dependents on borrower’s hard information rather than their social capital. Furthermore, it concludes that borrower’ social network in PPDai is much more useful and effective than in Prosper by comparing the empirical results, which could be helpful for the credit system development of Chinese online P2P lending markets based on the conclusions

Analyzing Key Users' behavior trends in Volunteer-Based Networks

Online social networks usage has increased significantly in the last decade and continues to grow in popularity. Multiple social platforms use volunteers as a central component. The behavior of volunteers in volunteer-based networks has been studied extensively in recent years. Here, we explore the development of volunteer-based social networks, primarily focusing on their key users' behaviors and activities. We developed two novel algorithms: the first reveals key user behavior patterns over time; the second utilizes machine learning methods to generate a forecasting model that can predict the future behavior of key users, including whether they will remain active donors or change their behavior to become mainly recipients, and vice-versa. These algorithms allowed us to analyze the factors that significantly influence behavior predictions. To evaluate our algorithms, we utilized data from over 2.4 million users on a peer-to-peer food-sharing online platform. Using our algorithm, we identified four main types of key user behavior patterns that occur over time. Moreover, we succeeded in forecasting future active donor key users and predicting the key users that would change their behavior to donors, with an accuracy of up to 89.6%. These findings provide valuable insights into the behavior of key users in volunteer-based social networks and pave the way for more effective communities-building in the future, while using the potential of machine learning for this goal

Building the dream online: Does participation in luxury brand's social media affect brand experience, brand affect, brand trust, and brand loyalty?

The global market for luxury goods has witnessed a phenomenal growth over the past decades. Along with the increasing demand that stems from increased purchasing power, emerging markets, and new wider consumer groups, traditional luxury brands have faced a fierce competition caused by new forms of luxury such as masstige and luxurious fashion. Likewise, the rapid growth of social networks and social media has fundamentally transformed the business environment, and the whole society. Digital networks have facilitated companies and consumers to build online consumption communities, which supports the recent shift of marketing focus on relationships and co-creation of value. Consequently, luxury brands have started to use social media for advertising and relationship marketing. Due to the dynamic and interactive digital environment the importance of brand stories has become even more apparent. While brand communities and online communities are widely studied, luxury brands and social media based brand communities (SMBBCs) have not received yet much academic attention. This study takes the approach of SMBBCs to investigate the influence of consumers' participation in luxury brand's social media on brand experience, and on key dependent variables in consumer behavior research: brand affect, brand trust, and brand loyalty. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of social media, and to contribute to the research on social media brand communities and brand-consumer relationships, as well as luxury brands. The study proposes a theoretical framework that combines two empirically developed constructs: brand experience, and brand affect/trust-brand loyalty constructs, and tests the model within a social media based luxury brand community context. The data were collected as an online survey from various social media, which resulted in 333 valid responses from consumers who follow a luxury brand's social media. The study is quantitative by nature, and uses structural equation modeling (SEM) as the main method of analysis. To further examine the influence of participation on the focal construct, brand experience, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also conducted. The results support the reasoning that participation in luxury brand's social media affect consumer behavior. Social media following influences brand experience that accumulates in the long run, but participation affects also rapidly consumers new to the brand. Further, active participation and passive participation appear to have equal influence on brand experience. The findings reveal the chain of effects from brand related stimuli to brand affect, brand trust, and brand loyalty, and confirm the importance of affect in building brand loyalty

Assessing stakeholder network engagement

Purpose: With the popularity of social media platforms, firms have now tangible means not only to reach out to their stakeholders, but also to closely monitor those interactions. Yet, there are limited methodological advances on how to measure a firm’s stakeholder networks, and the level of engagement firms have with these networks. Drawn upon the customer engagement and stakeholder theory literature, this study proposes an approach to calculate a firm’s Stakeholder Network Engagement (SNE) index. Design: After deriving the SNE index formula mathematically, we illustrate how the SNE index functions using eight firms’ online Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) networks across four diverse industries. Findings: We propose and illustrate a new approach of capturing the SNE in a stakeholder network for use by academic and practical researchers. Research limitations/implications: Researchers can use the SNE index to assess engagement in stakeholder networks in various contexts. Practical implications: Managers can use the SNE index to assess, benchmark and improve the nature and quality of their CSR strategies to derive greater return on their CSR investments. Originality: Building on the stakeholder, communication and network analysis literatures, we conceptualise SNE in four theoretical dimensions: diffusion, accessibility, interactivity, and influence. Then, we mathematically derive and empirically illustrate an index that measures SNE

Virtual sports governance: a figurational analysis of social network development and transformation during the ‘Workplace Challenge’ online programme

County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) epitomise the change from a government to governance approach in UK sports provision as their operation relies upon building networks and partnerships. This study evaluated a CSP led physical activity programme in the East of England entitled the ‘Workplace Challenge’ (WPC). The WPC utilises a website designed to engage people from workplaces in physical activity. Employees self-record their physical activity over an eight week period, with points awarded on the programme website for activity completed. The programme seeks to promote a peer-challenge culture with the provision of online leader boards and an interactive virtual platform. A figurational framework was employed to investigate how networks of real and virtual relationships operating at all levels of service delivery influenced programme uptake, participant engagement and programme efficacy. Interviews and social network analysis investigated the reach and uptake of the programme throughout these networks. The notion that humans should be considered interdependent plurals existing in fluid and dynamic power networks, or figurations, was principally applied in order to uncover how the messages promoted in the WPC were propagated, transformed or resisted by participants through both virtual and face-to-face networks of relationships. Findings indicated that embodied social relationships within workplaces created a competitive atmosphere, which motivated increases in physical activity and strong programme engagement. Where participants relied upon ‘virtual’ relationships with other participants the programme had weaker uptake and reduced influence on physical activity levels, indicating the importance of peer support and the power of peer observation on physical activity choices