Global Diffusion of Interactive Networks. The Impact of Culture

The Internet and other interactive networks are diffusing across the globe at rates that vary from country to country. Typically, economic and market structure variables are used to explain these differences. The addition of culture to these variables will provide a more robust understanding of the differences in Internet and interactive network\ud diffusion. Existing analyses that identify culture as a predictor of diffusion do not adequately specificy the dimensions of culture and their impacts. This paper presents a set of propositions to be used in analyses of the impact of culture on the diffusion of interactive networks. The propositions were developed using cultural constructs presented by Hofstede, Herbig and Hall. Diffusion of innovations theory and critical mass theory provide the theoretical base. The development of the propositions resulted from a close examination of the theories for\ud relationships mediated by culture. The resulting propositions use cultural variables in relationships established by the theories. It is hoped that the propositions will serve as a starting point for future research in the area of cultural influences on the diffusion of interactive networks

A Comparative Analysis of High-Speed Rail Station Development into Destination and Multi-Use Facilities: The Case of San Jose Diridon

As a burgeoning literature on high-speed rail development indicates, good station-area planning is a very important prerequisite for the eventual successful operation of a high-speed rail station; it can also trigger opportunities for economic development in the station area and the station-city. At the same time, “on the ground” experiences from international examples of high-speed rail stations can provide valuable lessons for the California high-speed rail system in general, and the San Jose Diridon station in particular. This study identifies and draws lessons from European HSR stations that share similarities across several criteria with the San Jose area context. From an initial consideration of twenty European HSR stations, the researchers chose five stations for in depth case studies: Euralille and Lyon Part Dieu in France, Rotterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal in the Netherlands, and Torino Porta Susa in Italy. Additionally, the study drew information from relevant local actors and stakeholders to better tailor recommendations to the particular California context.Through the undertaking of different research tasks–literature review, case studies of European railway stations, survey of existing station plans and other planning documents for the Diridon station, station area analysis, and interviews with station area planners and designers–the study compiles timely recommendations for the successful planning of the Diridon station and other stations along the California high-speed rail corridor

The Crescent Student Newspaper, March 6, 2012

Student newspaper of George Fox University.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/the_crescent/2362/thumbnail.jp

The Crescent Student Newspaper, March 6, 2012

Student newspaper of George Fox University.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/the_crescent/2362/thumbnail.jp

Beyond Just Money Transactions: Redesigning Digital Peer-to-Peer Payments for Social Connections

Financial activities, such as the exchange of money between individuals, have long been considered a crucial aspect of how people build and maintain their interpersonal relationships (i.e., a strong, deep, or close association/acquaintance between two or more people) with individuals they know because money is a sensitive social construct. In particular, over the past decade, how to conduct, manage, and experience money exchanges and processes between individuals has been dramatically transformed due to the increasing popularity of digital peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services (i.e., performing one to one online money transactions via a digital device). In this sense, digital P2P payments have shown the potential to affect how people pay and interact with each other regarding money, an important impact factor on various forms of interpersonal relationships, by facilitating direct money transactions between individuals through computer-mediated channels. Therefore, this dissertation research is motivated to leverage a sociotechnical approach to conduct an in-depth investigation of the nuanced human experiences of personal money exchanges mediated by digital P2P payments between people who know each other and the unique role of digital P2P payments in shaping these individuals\u27 social connections with each other online and offline. In doing so, this dissertation research aims to (i) reveal and elaborate the multidimensional influences of digital P2P payments on interpersonal relationships between people who already know each other in terms of both experiences of money exchanges and everyday social interactions; ii) advance our knowledge and understanding of how digital P2P payments systems can be redesigned to better support people\u27s social connections with individuals they know; and iii) envision the future landscape of digital P2P payments in our increasingly networked digital society. This dissertation research involves four studies. Grounded in 158 social media posts and 8 interviews, Study 1 explores how people perceive the increasing trend of integrating digital P2P payments with social media services (e.g., Facebook Messenger payment) and why they decide not to use this service in their daily lives. Study 2 reports findings of a qualitative study of 31 in-depth semi-structured interviews to investigate the influences of using digital P2P payments on people\u27s offline interpersonal relationships. Study 3 reports results of a large-scale anonymous online survey with 218 valid responses to measure the specific immediate social consequences and lasting impacts of using digital P2P payments on people\u27s interpersonal relationships. Study 4 adopts the research through design (RtD) approach with a specific emphasis on participatory design activities to both elicit and qualitatively investigate user needs and user-generated design solutions for digital P2P payment services that can better support people\u27s social connections. This dissertation research thus contributes to innovating financial technologies in the perspective of Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Centered Computing by better understanding new and more complicated social phenomena and dynamics emerging in today\u27s digital economy. First, this dissertation research offers one of the first empirical evidence to unpack and explicate the multidimensional influences of digital P2P payments on both financial experiences/processes and everyday social connections between known contacts, which is understudied in prior scholarship. In doing so, we provide new perspectives on today\u27s technology-mediated financial life and shed light on the intertwining financial and social relationships through technology. These insights also help re-conceptualize computer-mediated interpersonal relationships in today\u27s networked society. Second, we identify and further reflect on user-generated design recommendations and develop prototypes that highlight the importance of taking the interplay of financial and social engagement, in addition to security and privacy, into consideration when redesigning digital P2P payments platforms. Through this RtD approach, we thus rethink and envision the future landscape of digital P2P payments where such technologies can be designed, developed, and used in a more comfortable, innovative, and emotionally satisfactory way. As we are entering a post COVID-19 pandemic age, there is an increasing interest to make digital financial technologies not only secure but also more human-centered, interaction-centric, and culturally sensitive, which can be used to better support and maintain human connections through daily financial activities with or without face-to-face interaction. Therefore, in a broader sense, this dissertation research on the social values of digital P2P payments also contributes to building a more robust and inclusive digital economy in today\u27s changing society

Moving from vulnerability to capability : the role of social capital for disaster risk and resilience

Resilience, the ability to withstand or adapt to altered conditions, gets more important as the grave effects of climate change intensify. Individuals’ capacities to respond to disasters are strongly connected to their social capital (e.g. relationships and networks). The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of this connection at a neighborhood level. In the first part of this paper, a theoretical analysis of the linkage between capacities for resilience and social capital is made and an analytical framework is developed to investigate this relationship further. The second part of the paper applies the framework to analyze this linkage in a case study of individuals living in Gröndal, Stockholm. Stockholm is chosen because it is predicted to be affected by climate change in the form of increased frequency of extreme weather, storms, floods, sea level rise, and heatwaves (Ekelund, 2007). Yet the city’s environmental department fails to address social capital in their climate action plan. Gröndal, a neighborhood in Stockholm, is particularly vulnerable as it is predicted to experience floods(Stockholms stad, 2014). This paper shows that it is not social capital per se that enhance capacities for disaster risk and resilience, but rather ‘enabling’ relationships. Enabling relationships, a concept developed throughout this paper, is a special type of social capital, which enables certain positive actions (e.g. support, changed behavior) that can help people to cope with disasters or adapt and transform in order to reduce negative effects from disasters. The results indicate that strong bonding ties (e.g. family groups, friend groups, and friendships with neighbors)promote capacities that make it easier for people to cope with hazards and recover from disasters. Relations with neighbors can enhance the capacities to be resilient as feelings of companionship and respect can encourage people to help each other and develop enabling relationships. A lack of enabling bridging ties was evident, which contributes to a lack of adaptive and transformative actions. The results also indicate a high dependence on electricity-based information and communication and a lack of awareness of contingency plans. Thus, there is a need to inform people about how they should act if disasters occur and to develop non-electricity based information and communication tools, as electricity might be compromised during disasters. Because social capital can create enabling relationships that enhance resilience within a community, disaster programs should target the social infrastructure within communities in order to be effective

Students’ Perception On Using Social Media For Learning English

Today, internet is the most important source of information and the growing dimensions of the use of social media by students. It has been observed that students devote more attention and time on social media. This online information sharing promotes the development of communication skills among students. Current research shows that social media had effected academic performance in improving students vocabulary of the students. The current study is carried out with one research question as the focus, which is to find out student perception on using social media for learning English. The data gathered through interview and observation. In so doing, the participants taking part in this study are five students of Unit 1 batch of 2018 in Faculty of Ushuluddin and Philosophy at UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. The results are shown by interview, it can be seen that most of students give positive response about using social media for learning English. Most of students get the benefit after learning English on using social media because they think that social media improve their vocabulary and easy to understand. Furthermore, students motivation towards English language learning improved via Telegram. Accordingly, the researcher concludes that social media facilitate, motivate, and helpful for students in improving their vocabulary. In the findings of the study, it is recommended that English instructors should plan learning classes using social media as a learning platform