The determinants of social capital on facebook

This paper investigates the effect of socioeconomic status, trust and privacy concerns, and socio psychological factors on building three structural measures of social capital, which are bridging, bonding and network size (degree). Using online survey data, I find the evidence that trust and privacy concerns, being a female, and the number of hours spent in Facebook are significant determinants of bridging social capital and degree. I show that females and respondents that have trust and privacy concerns are less likely to build bridging social capital. In addition to this, the number of hours spent on Facebook is positively related to the probability of engaging in bridging social capital. The results also suggest that females are less likely to increase their network size. On the other hand, respondents that spend more hours on Facebook and respondents that come from high-income class are more likely to increase their network size.Social capital, Facebook, trust and privacy concern, socio-economic status, socio-psychological factors

Whom to Listen to? Trusted Source and Retweet Behavior of the NYC Marathon and Hawaii False Alarm

Terror attacks disturb social order, and impact the communications between stakeholders. Responsible organizations seek to learn the rules of public information dissemination, thus better manage the crisis communication during terror attack. Guided by social capital theory, this study took the 2017 NYC marathon attack and Hawaii false missile alarm as examples and examined which sources the public trusts most during varying phases of terror threats. The study also explored the content of the most retweeted crisis communication information, in an aim to facilitate better communications between emergency responders and the public, which would help the organizations actively accumulate social capital in the long term. Keywords: Terrorism Attack, Crisis Communication, Social Capital, Social Network, Social Medi

Facebook + Moodle : environments to foster student´s involvement in distance learning

Conferência Internacional realizada em Sevilha de 17-19 de novembro de 2014Web 2.0 has changed our daily lives, and is now part of our society, both professionally and for entertainment. As Education changes, accompanying society, it has evolved to become more personal, focused on knowledge, reflexive, socially connected and involved, as to include not only the digital natives, but also the digital immigrants [1]. Students are now acquiring skills and competences that allow them to use digital tools to research, select information and reflect upon it, work collaboratively and share their created knowledge online. As the use of Web 2.0 tools increases in Higher Education Institutions for learning and knowledge creation, to be connected is now a relevant skill, especially for students in Distance learning, not only to overcome isolation, but also to help create online informal communities using 2.0 tools, giving a sense of belonging, fostering involvement and collectively create and share knowledge. According to Forbes, in December 2013, Facebook is still the online social network with more users “Facebook continues to lead the pack in terms of number of active monthly users (1.15 billion at last count).” [2]. As for Moodle, it is the most used open source LMS in Higher Education Institutions. This paper reflects on the possible implications that the use of formal and informal learning platforms can bring to online distance learning in higher education, and discusses how the complementary use of these two platforms (Facebook and Moodle) can contribute to the students’ involvement and effective learning

Relationship Between Online and Offline Social Capital: Evidence from a Social Network Site in China

This study explores the impact of Social Network Sites (SNSs) usage on the formation of online bridging and bonding social capital, and the relationship between online and offline social capital. It is hypothesized that use of SNSs forms online social capital and online and offline social capital are positively correlated. A Chinese SNS, Renren, is studied specifically. Social capital scales and personality measures were adapted from existing literature to develop a questionnaire and a survey of 183 students was conducted in a university in China. Regression analyses suggest a strong positive relation between use of SNSs and online bridging social capital. Online social capital is demonstrated to be positively correlated with offline social capital. User extraversion is shown to predict certain use behaviors but its interaction effect with SNSs usage is not significant. Discussions about the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are provided

The Contribution of the Internet to Reducing Social Isolation in Individuals Aged 50 Years and Older: Quantitative Study of Data From the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

Background: Social isolation has a negative impact on the quality of life of older people; therefore, studies have focused on identifying its sociodemographic, economic, and health determinants. In view of the growing importance of the internet as a means of communication, it is essential to assess whether internet use interferes with social isolation. Objective: This study specifically aims to clarify the relationship between internet use and social isolation of individuals aged ≥50 years, for which other surveys present contradictory results. Methods: We performed logistic regression analysis with social isolation as the dependent variable, internet use as the interest variable, and several other sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals as control variables. The sample size was 67,173 individuals aged 50 years and older from 17 European countries (Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia) plus Israel, who were interviewed in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), wave 6. Results: The results show that countries differ in the level of social isolation and rate of internet use by individuals aged 50 years and older. They also evidence that in most of the countries analyzed, social isolation of internet users was lower compared to that of nonusers after controlling for a set of sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals that have been previously described in the literature as determinants of social isolation. Indeed, on average, although 31.4% of individuals in the nonuser group experienced high social isolation, only 12.9% of individuals who used the internet experienced this condition. Conclusions: Internet users show lower social isolation. This result underlines the importance of promoting e-inclusion in Europe as a way to counter social isolation of individuals aged 50 years and older

Facebook + LMS : cenários para o envolvimento do estudante na aprendizagem a distância

O capítulo apresenta alguns aspetos que enfrentam os estudantes quando estão integrados em contextos de aprendizagem a distância e como o desenvolvimento de cenários agregadores de ambientes virtuais com características diferentes como o Facebook e o Moodle podem potenciar o envolvimento na aprendizagem por parte dos estudantes. Apoiando-se numa revisão da literatura, são apresentadas variáveis que potenciam o envolvimento do estudante na aprendizagem a distância

Simulate Me: A Study of Computer-Mediated Communication in a Contemporary Society

Like any forms of revolutionary technology, CMC (computer-mediated communication) has its pros and cons. Due to its extension list of advantages, CMC\u27s many downfalls are disregarded. In this essay I will discuss that the rising dependence on CMC causes alienation from FTF (face-to-face) interaction as well as a lack of depth within their personal relationships