Group and intergroup parameters of gang activities: An introduction and research agenda.

In introducing this Special Issue on gangs, we overview the thrust of its papers, demonstrating how they assist in plugging research gaps from the dearth of psychological attention to gangs. The papers therein raise important theoretical considerations of group process effects, social identity, and communication influences in gangs. Also included are empirical examinations of how attitudes to formal organized crime groups may nurture progang views, how social networks bridge gang divides, the dehumanization and social dominance association with gang membership, and how membership longevity associates with gang members’ attitudes to their group. We conclude with theoretical prospects and empirical vistas for future work. For instance, vitality theory may help explain members’ immersion in gangs, discursive strategies could explain how youth are enticed into gangs, and examinations of community and law enforcement attitudes to gangs may provide insight into how oppositional attitudes are fostered on both sides of the gang divide

The process of knowledge acquisition through interpersonal communication in the "Parents as first teachers" programme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Communication Management at Massey University

Communication researchers interested in the role played by knowledge in social terms have produced a variety of explorations in recent times of "knowledge gaps" and informational inequities between various groups in society. More broadly, studies of the significance of issues of relative access to information and thus ability to participate in civil society have been described as the sociology of knowledge. Arising out of an interest in documenting successful strategies in bridging knowledge gaps, the present study aimed to explore an information programme called Parents As First Teachers (PAFT), which operates on the basis of a one­ to-one relationship between informationally needy individuals (parents of newborn infants) and trained experts in parenting matters. This arrangement continues monthly for three years. It seemed likely that this information programme could present an example of an effective receiver-focused model of bridging knowledge gaps. A series of 22 in-depth interviews was conducted with parent and educator participants in the PAFT programme in Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, observation was carried out of the hour-long monthly home visits so that a detailed picture could be obtained of the significance of the interpersonal relationship between parent and educator for effective learning. Transcripts of interviews were analysed using a coding protocol developed on the basis of the research objectives. The study found limited support for the contentions of extant information poverty literature in regard to self-imposed isolation and avoiding disclosing problems. Interviewees preferred to isolate themselves within their neighbourhoods, but they did seek information via family and social networks. They were also highly motivated in regard to seeking the best for their children, and it is possible that motivation in this instance has been a more powerful factor in knowledge acquisition than education, often used as a predictor of response to informational need. The significance of this study is in its detailed presentation of the information world of the insider, and the support the data give for a situational approach to knowledge gaps. It signals that there is a definite role for a close and trusting interpersonal relationship between source and receiver in the knowledge acquisition process. Two key areas for follow-up studies are the role played by interpersonal communication networks in disseminating knowledge beyond the original knowledge exchange context, and whether the strong motivation observed in the parents interviewed for this research was attributable to the PAFT programme itself or was a characteristic already present in participants

Environmental Communication on Social Media: Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and The Public. A Comparison between South Korea and Norway

Along with the emphasis on environmental communication, this thesis examines how environmental groups and the public communicate through social media in Norway and South Korea. Environmental communication plays a key role in navigating how we understand the imminent climate change and environmental issues, and achieve a transition to a sustainable future. However, environmental communication is a complex process because it involves various stakeholders and their own interests. Thus, setting appropriate environmental communication is a task that conveys information and encourages various stakeholders to take relevant actions to solve the problem. Specifically, environmental NGOs have been dedicated to serving as intermediaries between the public and other groups including scientists and politicians by bridging each other, who is to be engaged in environmental issues. Meanwhile, the rise of social media use has dramatically transformed the landscape of this environmental communication by fostering abundant networks across different spheres, both environmental groups and the public. Consequently, social media tools are currently used to disseminate environmental advocacy by environmental NGOs (Non-governmental Organizations), as well as to learn about the issues of individuals. Therefore, this thesis presents the interaction between environmental NGOs and public individuals using social media and compares Norwegian and Korean cases. This thesis aims to detect environmental communication gaps among all those distinct spheres, including cultural differences, and provide empirical details capturing valuable implications based on the linked findings. Accordingly, this thesis is organized as a case study based on in-depth interviews using qualitative research methods. The interviews were conducted with selected environmental NGOs and individuals from Norway and Korea. The NGOs and individual participants were investigated for how NGOs disseminate their agenda using social media, and how individuals perceive environmental information of NGOs and become motivated to take action, respectively. In addition, Agenda-Setting theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior are mainly used to analyze and discuss the findings of results, linking this study to established hypotheses. The discussion focuses on connecting respective findings across the spheres investigated. The results of this thesis generally confirm the principles of environmental communication, but also identify some gaps in investigated spheres across the levels. The findings show gaps between the communication strategies of NGOs and public perception, individual attitude-behavior gaps, and disparities between Norwegian and Korean groups. These differences encompass framing and perceiving the environmental issue salience, message tones, targeted scale of mitigation efforts, implementation of pro-environmental behaviors, and relationships with relevant stakeholders. This thesis portrays various intersections in the current environmental communication ecosystem and sheds light on the relationship between cultural context and environmental communication

TACASHI: Trust-Aware Communication Architecture for Social Internet of Vehicles

[EN] The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has emerged as a new spin-off research theme from traditional vehicular ad hoc networks. It employs vehicular nodes connected to other smart objects equipped with a powerful multisensor platform, communication technologies, and IP-based connectivity to the Internet, thereby creating a possible social network called Social IoV (SIoV). Ensuring the required trustiness among communicating entities is an important task in such heterogeneous networks, especially for safety-related applications. Thus, in addition to securing intervehicle communication, the driver/passengers honesty factor must also be considered, since they could tamper the system in order to provoke unwanted situations. To bridge the gaps between these two paradigms, we envision to connect SIoV and online social networks (OSNs) for the purpose of estimating the drivers and passengers honesty based on their OSN profiles. Furthermore, we compare the current location of the vehicles with their estimated path based on their historical mobility profile. We combine SIoV, path-based and OSN-based trusts to compute the overall trust for different vehicles and their current users. As a result, we propose a trust-aware communication architecture for social IoV (TACASHI). TACASHI offers a trust-aware social in-vehicle and intervehicle communication architecture for SIoV considering also the drivers honesty factor based on OSN. Extensive simulation results evidence the efficiency of our proposal, ensuring high detection ratios >87% and high accuracy with reduced error ratios, clearly outperforming previous proposals, known as RTM and AD-IoV.Kerrache, CA.; Lagraa, N.; Hussain, R.; Ahmed, SH.; Benslimane, A.; Tavares De Araujo Cesariny Calafate, CM.; Cano, J.... (2019). TACASHI: Trust-Aware Communication Architecture for Social Internet of Vehicles. IEEE Internet of Things. 6(4):5870-5877. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2018.2880332S587058776

The miscarriage circle of care:towards leveraging online spaces for social support

BACKGROUND: Lack of social support during and after miscarriage can greatly affect mental wellbeing. With miscarriages being a common experience, there remains a discrepancy in the social support received after a pregnancy is lost. METHOD: 42 people who had experienced at least one miscarriage took part in an Asynchronous Remote Community (ARC) study. The study involved 16 activities (discussions, creative tasks, and surveys) in two closed, secret Facebook groups over eight weeks. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, and content analysis was used for qualitative data. RESULTS: There were two main miscarriage care networks, formal (health care providers) and informal (friends, family, work colleagues). The formal care network was the most trusted informational support source, while the informal care network was the main source of tangible support. However, often, participants’ care networks were unable to provide sufficient informational, emotional, esteem, and network support. Peers who also had experienced miscarriage played a crucial role in addressing these gaps in social support. Technology use varied greatly, with smartphone use as the only common denominator. While there was a range of online support sources, participants tended to focus on only a few, and there was no single common preferred source. DISCUSSION: We propose a Miscarriage Circle of Care Model (MCCM), with peer advisors playing a central role in improving communication channels and social support provision. We show how the MCCM can be used to identify gaps in service provision and opportunities where technology can be leveraged to fill those gaps

The social media life of climate change: Platforms, publics, and future imaginaries

Social media is a transformative digital technology, collapsing the “six degrees of separation” which have previously characterized many social networks, and breaking down many of the barriers to individuals communicating with each other. Some commentators suggest that this is having profound effects across society, that social media have opened up new channels for public debates and have revolutionized the communication of prominent public issues such as climate change. In this article we provide the first systematic and critical review of the literature on social media and climate change. We highlight three key findings from the literature: a substantial bias toward Twitter studies, the prevalent approaches to researching climate change on social media (publics, themes, and professional communication), and important empirical findings (the use of mainstream information sources, discussions of “settled science,” polarization, and responses to temperature anomalies). Following this, we identify gaps in the existing literature that should be addressed by future research: namely, researchers should consider qualitative studies, visual communication and alternative social media platforms to Twitter. We conclude by arguing for further research that goes beyond a focus on science communication to a deeper examination of how publics imagine climate change and its future role in social life

Root Causes of Gaps in Postsecondary Outcomes for Deaf Individuals

This brief explores the following root causes of the gaps in postsecondary outcomes for deaf people. (a) Limited Access to Language and Communication: Deaf individuals of all ages experience limited access to language and communication in the home, at school, in the community, and in the workplace. (b) Reduced Social Opportunities: Many deaf individuals face barriers to communication at home and at school. This reduced access to a rich social environment has an impact on opportunities to build networks critical for future success. (c) Negative Attitudes and Biases: High expectations are critical to the support of successful postsecondary outcomes for deaf individuals. Negative attitudes and “the tyranny of low expectations” serve as a persistent barrier to post school success. (d) Lack of Qualified and Experienced Professionals: Experienced professionals who understand the range of communication preferences, disabilities, family contexts, educational experiences, and so forth are critical components of effective interventions and support.This document was developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, OSEP #HD326D160001. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcome

Review: 'Social networks and popular understanding of science and health: sharing disparities' by Brian G Southwell

In this book, Brian G Southwell discusses how disparities in information-sharing arise and what can be done to alleviate them. In all sorts of ways and for all sorts of reasons, people have always sought to share information among their family and other social networks. However, this sharing has never been equal: inevitably, some people are better-informed than others and some are more socially-connected than others. At first glance, the plethora of communication tools and technologies available nowadays should help democratise information and reduce disparity but differences in how, when and with whom information is shared create conversation gaps and maintain inequalities. Southwell explores and catalogues information-sharing behaviours, discusses the factors that affect how and why we share information and addresses the questions of why disparities in information-sharing matter and what we can do about the gaps between ‘information-haves’ and ‘information have-nots’

Social Media Marketing in Pakistan: Trends and Impact

Internet is the rapidly grown and emerging technology closing the gaps of distances between the people all across the globe and effectively replacing the traditional ways of advertising. Social Media are new emerging trends. Due to the high rush of audiences this media is being targeted by the various advertisers. Social media marketing is the emerging and rapidly gown new concept in which attention is gained by the use of social media. Purpose of this study is to explore out the awareness and usage trends of social networks in Pakistan. Also it tries to identify what age group spends how much time on internet, their awareness about social media, and primary reasons for using social networks. Finally this paper tries to explore out the understanding of the Pakistanis towards social media advertisement, what types of communications attract them and their influence on their behaviors. Primary data was collected through adapted research questionnaire. Questionnaires were floated online; Google Docs, emailed and were also filled by person. Analysis has been done using cross tabs and frequency tables. Findings suggest that facebook is the mostly used social network having well communicated and very effective ads. Results show that there is great opportunity to use facebook as a new medium to aware customers about the new products. Findings also suggest that there is an increasing trend of social networks usage in Pakistan. Not only among the age group of 18-25 but also in the adults of 50 and plus. This study can help to understand and design the effective communication strategy to reach the target market in Pakistan, using social media networks. Keywords: social media marketing, facebook, marketing trends, facebook advertisemen