Blogging as a viable research methodology for young people with arthritis: a qualitative study.

The development of services that are responsive to the needs of users is a health policy priority. Finding ways of engaging young people in research to gain insights into their particular experiences, perspectives, and needs is vital but challenging. These data are critical to improving services in ways that meet the needs of young people

Latent segmentation of older adults in the use of social networks and e-banking services

Introduction. This study analyses heterogeneity in the online behaviour of elderly people. Previous research has centred on the socio-demographic segmentation of the elderly regarding their Internet use. Method. The novelty that this study adds is in determining this segmentation through variables that have been especially chosen for studies of the elderly and which are related to their utilitarian use of e-banking, compared to the more hedonic nature of using online social networks. Analysis. The sample was collected using 474 students over 55 years old enrolled in a class of experience in a University in the South of Europe (Spain). We use a latent class cluster model which is appropriate in situations of a posterior segmentation. Results. In dealing with such behaviour in situations of the elderly using these technologies, we have detected the presence of five groups or segments with highly differentiated use-related profiles concerning the variables analysed: venturesomeness, technology anxiety and selfconfidence in information and communication technologies use. Conclusion. We discover the existence of heterogeneity in the behaviour of the elderly regarding services available in Internet. The results support the idea proposed. The stereotype of the elderly cut off from technology is mistaken, as is shown by the different segments found

El uso de las redes sociales entre los universitarios en función del sexo

Las redes sociales online se han convertido en los últimos años, y a un ritmo vertiginoso, en parte de la realidad diaria de los internautas. Las empresas también emplean las redes sociales, como una vía de comunicación bidireccional con sus clientes actuales y potenciales. En este trabajo, de carácter exploratorio, pretendemos analizar si el género de los internautas influye en el comportamiento de uso de las redes sociales. El motivo es que, a pesar de que la aceptación y uso de las TIC es más frecuente en hombres según la literatura previa, la redes sociales, según distintos trabajos sobre el tema, son más utilizadas por las mujeres. Por ello, analizamos si existen divergencias por sexo con relación a una serie de constructos relacionados con el uso de las redes sociales, empleando una muestra de 1460 alumnos universitarios. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en función del sexo de los estudiantes, lo que implica para la gestión de la empresas una necesidad de diferenciación en el diseño de sus estrategias de social media marketing

I BUY YOUR PRODUCT WHEN I FEEL I KNOW YOU: USING BLOG DISCLOSURE TO INFLUENCE CONSUMERS

Whilst confidence in certain companies has fallen as a result of the feeling amongst consumers that their private life has been violated, it would seem that at the same time, consumers are very eager to know more about the private life of the bloggers they follow. In return, bloggers are revealing more and more about themselves and displaying their private lives on their blogs. We show that the role of disclosure is a key determinant in consumer persuasion and that the exposure by bloggers of their private lives has a positive influence on their visitors. A quantitative study made of fashion and beauty blog enabled us to assess the impact of such disclosure on confidence in the blog, attitude towards the blog and the brand, and on the various routes to persuasion observed. The managerial implications of this research are presented in conclusion to help managers choose relevant blogs

Women bloggers seeking validation and financial recompense in the blogosphere.

Previous researchers investigating motivations for blogging have suggested mainly intangible benefits: for instance, documenting the authors life, providing commentary and opinions, expressing deeply felt emotions, working out ideas through writing, and forming and maintaining communities and forums. The research detailed in this chapter focuses on the materialistic motivations of women bloggers in the U.K. and U.S. The author suggests that a need for validation and a strong financial stimulus should be added to this list of incentives

Motivaciones hedónicas vs utilitaristas en internet: segmentación latente de mayores.

El presente trabajo analiza la heterogeneidad en el comportamiento online de los mayores. La literatura previa se ha centrado en la segmentación socio-demográfica de los mayores con relación al uso de Internet. La novedad que añade este estudio es tratar de determinar la segmentación mediante variables específicamente elegidas para el estudio de las personas mayores, y relacionadas con el valor utilitarista del mayor cuando utiliza banca electrónica, frente al carácter más hedónico que supone el uso de redes sociales online. Al tratar de analizar estos comportamientos en situaciones de uso de estas tecnologías entre mayores, hemos detectado la presencia de cinco grupos o segmentos con perfiles muy diferenciados con relación al uso que le dan a dichas aplicaciones en relación a las variables analizadas: audacia, ansiedad tecnológica y autoconfianza en el uso de las TIC. Utilizamos un modelo clúster de clases latentes adecuado en situaciones de segmentación a posteriori.The present work analyses heterogeneity in the online behavior of the elderly. The prior literature has centered on the socio-demographic segmentation of the elderly regarding their Internet use. However, the novelty that this study adds is to aim to determine the segmentation via variables which have been especially chosen for studies of the elderly and that are related to their utilitarian use of e-banking, compared to the more hedonic nature of using online social networks. In dealing with such behaviors in situations of the elderly using these technologies, we have detected the presence of five groups or segments with highly differentiated use-related profiles concerning the variables analyzed: venturesomeness, technological anxiety and self-confidence in ICT use. We use a latent class cluster model which is appropriate in situations of a posteriori segmentation

Gender Differences in the Text Messaging of Young Jordanian University Students: An Analysis of Linguistic Feature

In spite of being extensively studied in face-to-face communication, gender differences remain widely unexplored within text messaging. The objectives of this study are to explore gender differences in the use of linguistic features in the text messaging of young Jordanian male and female university students with regard to (1) lexical features (abbreviations, acronyms, shortenings, borrowing, derivation, blending, compounding, and conversion), (2) syntactic features (deletion of subject pronoun, deletion of subject pronoun and auxiliary, deletion of copular/ modal verb, and deletion of article), and (3) typographical features (punctuation, letter and number homophones, phonetic spellings, onomatopoeic words, and emoticons). Theoretically, the study is guided by Bodomo and Lee‟s model of Technology-conditioned Language Change and Use and Herring‟s approach of Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis. Three techniques of qualitative data collection were used: open-ended questionnaires, user diaries and semi-structured interviews to elicit information on the features reflected in the text messages of the students. One hundred students responded to a questionnaire while twenty students participated in semi-structured interviews. The sixty students who participated in the user diaries provided a corpus of 1,612 text messages which were analyzed according to the gender of the senders. The messages were also analyzed for occurrences of lexical, syntactic, and typographical features, and compared for differences across gender. Lexical features were categorized based on Yule‟s (2009) categorization of word-formation processes while syntactic and typographical features were categorized according to Hård af Segrestad‟s (2002) and Thurlow's (2003) typology of linguistic features of text messaging. The findings of this study reveal the existence of gender differences in the text messages of the Jordanian students in all the three linguistic features. The females tend to use more lexical features than males, whereas the males tend to favor the deletion of syntactic features more than females. In terms of typographical features, the males tend to use more letter and number homophones and phonetic spelling than females while the females tend to use more punctuation, onomatopoeic words and emoticons than males. The findings corroborate with previous findings on differences across gender in text messaging as well as in face-to-face and computer-mediated communication. This study contributes to the literature related to the study of language in terms of the use of some of the linguistic features and their variations in text messaging between males and females. Some implications and recommendations are provided in this study

Gender differences between university students in use and Aceptance Social Netwoks Sites

Las redes sociales online se han convertido en los últimos años, y a un ritmo vertiginoso, en parte de la realidad diaria de los internautas. Las empresas también emplean las redes sociales, como una vía de comunicación bidireccional con sus clientes actuales y potenciales. En este trabajo, de carácter exploratorio, pretendemos analizar si el género de los internautas influye en el comportamiento de uso de las redes sociales. El motivo es que, a pesar de que la aceptación y uso de las TIC es más frecuente en hombres según la literatura previa, la redes sociales, según distintas encuestas sobre el tema, son más utilizadas por las mujeres. Por ello, analizamos si existen divergencias por sexo en los constructos de modelos clásicos de aceptación de la tecnología, como el TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) y el TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior), empleando una muestra de 1460 alumnos universitarios.Online social networks have become rapidly in part of the daily reality of Internet users. Companies also employ social networks, as a means of two-way communication with their customers and prospects. In this work, exploratory in nature, we aim to analyze whether the gender of Internet users influences the behavior of using social networks. The reason is that, while the acceptance and use of ICT is more frequent in men according to previous literature, the social networks are more used by women, according to various surveys on the subject. Therefore, we analyze if there are differences by sex in the constructs of classical models of acceptance of technology, such as the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior), using a sample of 1460 university students

Blogs: portas abertas para as marcas na cibercultura

O presente artigo aborda as novas posturas e relações das marcas com seusclientes a partir das emergentes possibilidades de relacionamento que os blogs propiciam.Dentro de novas formas de interação e possibilidades advindas da contemporaneidade,no que tange à explosão global da cibercultura e ao avanço da internet, osblogs surgem como um espaço capaz de estabelecer novos tipos de relações entre marcase consumidores – relações que podem até se esquivarem do controle formal e econômicoem que se viam há algum tempo. Nos dias de hoje, a mensagem não parte apenas deum anunciante em direção aos receptores, mas sim de todos os lados; nota-se que consumidorese não consumidores são participantes ativos nessa rede de comunicação quepropicia a integração intensa entre vários setores que se fazem presentes na sociedademidiática e de consumo na pós-modernidade