On the Promotion of the Social Web Intelligence

Given the ever-growing information generated through various online social outlets, analytical research on social media has intensified in the past few years from all walks of life. In particular, works on social Web intelligence foster and benefit from the wisdom of the crowds and attempt to derive actionable information from such data. In the form of collective intelligence, crowds gather together and contribute to solving problems that may be difficult or impossible to solve by individuals and single computers. In addition, the consumer insight revealed from social footprints can be leveraged to build powerful business intelligence tools, enabling efficient and effective decision-making processes. This dissertation is broadly concerned with the intelligence that can emerge from the social Web platforms. In particular, the two phenomena of social privacy and online persuasion are identified as the two pillars of the social Web intelligence, studying which is essential in the promotion and advancement of both collective and business intelligence. The first part of the dissertation is focused on the phenomenon of social privacy. This work is mainly motivated by the privacy dichotomy problem. Users often face difficulties specifying privacy policies that are consistent with their actual privacy concerns and attitudes. As such, before making use of social data, it is imperative to employ multiple safeguards beyond the current privacy settings of users. As a possible solution, we utilize user social footprints to detect their privacy preferences automatically. An unsupervised collaborative filtering approach is proposed to characterize the attributes of publicly available accounts that are intended to be private. Unlike the majority of earlier studies, a variety of social data types is taken into account, including the social context, the published content, as well as the profile attributes of users. Our approach can provide support in making an informed decision whether to exploit one\u27s publicly available data to draw intelligence. With the aim of gaining insight into the strategies behind online persuasion, the second part of the dissertation studies written comments in online deliberations. Specifically, we explore different dimensions of the language, the temporal aspects of the communication, as well as the attributes of the participating users to understand what makes people change their beliefs. In addition, we investigate the factors that are perceived to be the reasons behind persuasion by the users. We link our findings to traditional persuasion research, hoping to uncover when and how they apply to online persuasion. A set of rhetorical relations is known to be of importance in persuasive discourse. We further study the automatic identification and disambiguation of such rhetorical relations, aiming to take a step closer towards automatic analysis of online persuasion. Finally, a small proof of concept tool is presented, showing the value of our persuasion and rhetoric studies

The new era of corporate marketing: Building and managing corporate identity in social media

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: This study seeks to broaden the understanding of corporate identity management by exploring it in a new context - social media. The idea is to study how companies can successfully build and manage their corporate identity in this context. The objective is to determine the strategic and tactical approaches business managers can and should use in this process by unraveling the rationales behind the identity-related decisions made by successful social media managers. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted among managers of eight Finnish b-to-c companies that have proven to be successful in utilizing social media in their business operations. In order to dig deep into the mind-sets and decision-making processes of the managers, the research followed a qualitative approach. The data was collected via semi-structured interviews. The data was examined and interpreted utilizing the theoretical framework on corporate identity management by Cornelissen & Elving (2003). The goal was to investigate how well this framework could be applied to the context of social media and how should the new context reshape the framework. FINDINGS: Social media influences the corporate identity management process in a multitude of ways and changes the underlying logic of the process. Successful identity-related social media management processes resemble the characteristics of the organization and environment. Successful companies incorporate useful practices into these processes, such as having a personal tone of voice, consistent and authentic style of communication, communicating various dimensions of the identity, using various channels, engaging the audience, and utilizing design elements/tags. When presenting corporate identity in social media, successful companies also note and utilize the special characteristics of the media. The meaning of the company's identity is constituted in co-operation with the social media stakeholders. This interaction produces a feedback element to the process, which has both direct and indirect influences to the identity-related social media management processes and organizational characteristics. Thus, social media changes the entire operational logic of corporate identity management by making it receptive and co-operational in nature

Examining the role and implications of twitter on news production in Ugandan newsrooms: a case of nation media group Uganda

Social Media, particularly Twitter, has increased and eased the news production process by enhancing sourcing, gathering, and distributing news content. This study examined the implications of applying or using witter in the news production process in Ugandan newsrooms. This study focused on Nation Media Group -Uganda (NMG-U) and the New Media Theory guided it. The study applied a qualitative study approach and indepth interviews to collect data from 22 journalists and editors who were purposely selected. The study used a case study design to establish the role of Twitter in news sourcing and the attribution of quotes This study found that handles or accounts that are consistent with sharing valuable information that benefits the journalists and the audience are highly considered for news sourcing and quotes. Accuracy and fact-checking processes are carried out to establish reliability. The study also found that audience feedback influences the decision-making process in the newsrooms. It is also worth noting that the study established that engagement is seen in the form of likes and comments from the audience. The study as well found that Pack journalism and misinformation are slowly derailing the newsroom. The study recommends that media organisations train journalists in the audience and engagement field so that they can provide the necessary support and insights in the production processes, enabling the companies or organisations to work faster than expected because it would imply that the company is more efficient. Media organisations need to look at content in a uniquely relevant context to address pack journalism

Exploring SME Vulnerabilities to Cyber-criminal Activities Through Employee Behavior and Internet Access

Cybercriminal activity may be a relatively new concern to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but it has the potential to create financial and liability issues for SME organizations. The problem is that SMEs are a future growth target for cybercrime activity as larger corporations begin to address security issues to reduce cybercriminal risks and vulnerabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore a small business owner\u27s knowledge about to the principal elements of decision making for SME investment into cybersecurity education for employees with respect to internet access and employee vulnerabilities. The theoretical framework consisted of the psychological studies by Bandura and Jaishankar that might affect individual decision making in terms of employee risks created through internet use. This qualitative case study involved a participant interview and workplace observations to solicit a small rural business owner\u27s knowledge of cybercriminal exploitation of employees through internet activities such as social media and the potential exploitation of workers by social engineers. Word frequency analysis of the collected data concluded that SME owners are ill equipped to combat employee exploitation of their business through social engineering. Qualitative research is consistent with understanding the decision factors for cost, technical support, and security threat prevention SME organizational leadership use and is the focus of this study as emergent themes. The expectation is that this study will aid in the prevention of social engineering tactics against SME employees and provide a platform for future research for SMEs and cybercriminal activity prevention

Awareness into Action (A2A): a tool for making decisions about professionalism on social media

Introduction The rapid diffusion of social network sites such as Facebook have presented a wealth of challenge and opportunity for the nursing profession. A large majority of nurses have adopted Facebook but may not understand the implications and unintended consequences of the information shared in a personal or innocent way. No research has yet critically analysed or explained [in depth] the underlying factors that influence and determine the relationships between professional accountability and social media. Or if there is actually a 'problem' with social media, and if there is how we can address it? Aim Explain the relationship between professionalism and online behaviours in social media, and produce a framework to guide decision making relating to e-professionalism. Methods Critical realist (CR) ethnography employing online observation of three online groups, 30 public profiles and professional group discussion topics, focus groups (academic and practising nursing staff n=8) and semi-structured interviews with student nurses over two geographical sites (n=16). CR retroductive analysis (developed as part of this project) was employed to identify: relationships, models, theories and framework(s) in the data. Theories were ‘tested’ using the models and consequently used to confirm the most likely explanations in response to the project aim. Results Three relationships were identified a) how we define professional accountability, b) how we use and behave on Facebook and c) how we determine what is professional and acceptable in the online environment. Six diagrammatic models were generated to explain [within the data] the interaction of different components (e.g. people, places, structures) and possible causal mechanisms of these relationships: 1) the concept of professional accountability 2) patterns of use 3) behaviours and activities 4) physical versus online reality 5) unacceptable, acceptable, professional or unprofessional behaviours 6) perceived knowledge and awareness versus actual behaviours. Three theories informed the development of the final, evidence based Awareness to Action (A2A) framework: socialisation & social capital, diffusion of innovations and experiential learning theory. Conclusion Lack of physical context and presence in the online environment causes dissonance between perceived and actual behaviours, and confidence versus competence in the online environment. Emotional, political and mass media triggers changes to behaviours and perceptions about what is deemed to be unprofessional. There are also inconsistencies in what professionals believe to be professional and acceptable, what action [if any] should be taken and in what circumstances. The A2A tool enables professionals to make consistent and evidence based decisions about online behaviours

How EFL teachers perceive and self-evaluate the knowledge components in forming Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Technology is widely involved across the learning environment including its integration into teaching English as a foreign language (EFL); however, few studies have explored EFL teachers’ perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study investigates how EFL teachers perceive and self-evaluate knowledge of content (CK), pedagogy (PK), and technology (TK), the interplay of these with each other (TPACK), and the underlying influential factors for TPACK construction. The data were gathered in China from an online survey (n = 64) comprising 35 items on the TPACK components, and self-evaluation by nine survey participants of their TPACK in follow-up interviews. WeChat, the most popular social media App in China, was utilised as the data collection tool. The survey reveals teachers’ strong beliefs in the value of PK, CK and PCK and their positive beliefs about technological applications in EFL instruction. Consistent with these results, interviewees’ self-evaluation of TPACK demonstrates that they felt a high level of confidence in CK, PK and PCK but relatively less confidence when technology was integrated despite commonly applying technology to instruction. Influential factors include: 1) contextual factors; 2) knowledge of students; 3) demographic background; and 4) availability of quality training. Decision-makers’ financial support and policy-making, technological training in the integration of CK and/or PK, and a collaborative learning strategy are recommended

An EEG study on emotional intelligence and advertising message effectiveness

Some electroencephalography (EEG) studies have investigated emotional intelligence (EI), but none have examined the relationships between EI and commercial advertising messages and related consumer behaviors. This study combines brain (EEG) techniques with an EI psychometric to explore the brain responses associated with a range of advertisements. A group of 45 participants (23females, 22males) had their EEG recorded while watching a series of advertisements selected from various marketing categories such as community interests, celebrities, food/drink, and social issues. Participants were also categorized as high or low in emotional intelligence (n = 34). The EEG data analysis was centered on rating decision-making in order to measure brain responses associated with advertising information processing for both groups. The findings suggest that participants with high and low emotional intelligence (EI) were attentive to different types of advertising messages. The two EI groups demonstrated preferences for “people” or “object,” related advertising information. This suggests that differences in consumer perception and emotions may suggest why certain advertising material or marketing strategies are effective or not

Using semantic clustering to support situation awareness on Twitter: The case of World Views

In recent years, situation awareness has been recognised as a critical part of effective decision making, in particular for crisis management. One way to extract value and allow for better situation awareness is to develop a system capable of analysing a dataset of multiple posts, and clustering consistent posts into different views or stories (or, world views). However, this can be challenging as it requires an understanding of the data, including determining what is consistent data, and what data corroborates other data. Attempting to address these problems, this article proposes Subject-Verb-Object Semantic Suffix Tree Clustering (SVOSSTC) and a system to support it, with a special focus on Twitter content. The novelty and value of SVOSSTC is its emphasis on utilising the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) typology in order to construct semantically consistent world views, in which individuals---particularly those involved in crisis response---might achieve an enhanced picture of a situation from social media data. To evaluate our system and its ability to provide enhanced situation awareness, we tested it against existing approaches, including human data analysis, using a variety of real-world scenarios. The results indicated a noteworthy degree of evidence (e.g., in cluster granularity and meaningfulness) to affirm the suitability and rigour of our approach. Moreover, these results highlight this article's proposals as innovative and practical system contributions to the research field

Collective Decision Dynamics in the Presence of External Drivers

We develop a sequence of models describing information transmission and decision dynamics for a network of individual agents subject to multiple sources of influence. Our general framework is set in the context of an impending natural disaster, where individuals, represented by nodes on the network, must decide whether or not to evacuate. Sources of influence include a one-to-many externally driven global broadcast as well as pairwise interactions, across links in the network, in which agents transmit either continuous opinions or binary actions. We consider both uniform and variable threshold rules on the individual opinion as baseline models for decision-making. Our results indicate that 1) social networks lead to clustering and cohesive action among individuals, 2) binary information introduces high temporal variability and stagnation, and 3) information transmission over the network can either facilitate or hinder action adoption, depending on the influence of the global broadcast relative to the social network. Our framework highlights the essential role of local interactions between agents in predicting collective behavior of the population as a whole.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure