Social media marketing and advertising

Social media has recently gained tremendous fame as a highly impactful channel of communication in these modern times of digitised living. It has been put on a pedestal across varied streams for facilitating participatory interaction amongst businesses, groups, societies, organisations, consumers, communities, forums, and the like. This subject has received increased attention in the literature with many of its practical applications including social media marketing (SMM) being elaborated, analysed, and recorded by many studies. This study is aimed at collating the existing research on SMM to present a review of seventy-one articles that will bring together the many facets of this rapidly blooming media marketing form. The surfacing limitations in the literature on social media have also been identified and potential research directions have been offered

Agriculture, irrigation and poverty reduction in Cambodia: Policy narratives and ground realities compared

This report is a contribution to an assessment of the current status of agriculture in Cambodia, focusing on the linkages between agriculture and water, mainly in the form of irrigation. It seeks to view current government policies on agriculture and irrigation in the context of experiences on the ground, as communicated through the many field studies that cover varied aspects of performance in the agriculture sector and irrigation schemes. In an effort to identify future research areas, this review examines the status quo, and connects or disconnects with stated policy through a broad lens to capture strengths and challenges across crop production, irrigation management and post-harvest contexts. It places irrigation under scrutiny in terms of its value as a major area of government expenditure in recent years, and asks whether it presents the best potential for future gains in productivity, when compared with the prospects offered by investments in other aspects of agriculture. The fieldwork and review of current literature that form the basis of this report were undertaken at the request of, and partly funded by, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is also intended to contribute knowledge to the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) led by WorldFish, who co-funded the activities

The Espoused Theories of IS: A Study of General Editorial Statements.

In the IS field there has been an ongoing tradition to study the publication output of the community in order to evaluate the current and potential situation of IS research. In this work, we follow a different strategy and study what IS research claims to be. We look at those so-called 'espoused theories of IS' as found in the General Editorials Statements (GES) of IS journals. Based on the AISWorld journal ranking, we collected GES for 30 leading IS journals for the years 1997 and 2007. We applied thematic, lexicometric, and factor analyses to the datasets of the 1997 and the 2007 GES. Our results show that the representation of IS research in the GES has changed little over the last decade.Espoused Theory; Information Systems (IS); Research; Expectations; General Editorial Statement (GES); IS Journals; Thematic Analysis; Lexicometric Analysis;

Community on the watch: making sense of is research through the lens of espoused theories of is

Community on the Watch: Making Sense of IS Research through the Lens of Espoused Theories of IS In the IS field there has been an ongoing tradition to study the publication output of the community in order to evaluate the current and potential situation of IS research. In this work, we follow a different strategy and study what IS research claims to be. We look at those so-called 'espoused theories of IS' as found in the General Editorials Statements (GES) of IS journals. Based on the AISWorld journal ranking, we collected GES for 30 leading IS journals for the years 1997 and 2007. We applied thematic, lexicometric, and factor analyses to the datasets of the 1997 and the 2007 GES. Our results show that the representation of IS research in the GES has changed little over the last decade.: Espoused Theory, Information Systems (IS), Research, Expectations, General Editorial Statement (GES), IS Journals, Thematic Analysis, Lexicometric Analysis.

Initiating organizational memories using ontology network analysis

One of the important problems in organizational memories is their initial set-up. It is difficult to choose the right information to include in an organizational memory, and the right information is also a prerequisite for maximizing the uptake and relevance of the memory content. To tackle this problem, most developers adopt heavy-weight solutions and rely on a faithful continuous interaction with users to create and improve its content. In this paper, we explore the use of an automatic, light-weight solution, drawn from the underlying ingredients of an organizational memory: ontologies. We have developed an ontology-based network analysis method which we applied to tackle the problem of identifying communities of practice in an organization. We use ontology-based network analysis as a means to provide content automatically for the initial set up of an organizational memory

Exploring the equity crowdfunding phenomenon: An analysis of regulations, tax incentives, and the fight against corruption

Equity crowdfunding is becoming more and more an important source of funds to early-stage entrepreneurial firms, in both developed and developing countries. Its rapid growth was likely due to a combination of favourable – and unfavourable - circumstances which have made it a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. On the one hand, the 2008 financial crisis has tightened credit availability; on the other hand, financial innovations driven by FinTech companies (including equity crowdfunding platforms) have provided consumers with an excellent opportunity to become investors and take advantage of their knowledge in financial matters. Moreover, financial innovations and the new instruments available have facilitated credit access for entrepreneurs, enabling them to seek funding from anyone. Equity crowdfunding seems thus to have the potential to fundamentally change the investment and financing process, as well as to provide greater transparency especially in countries where high levels of corruption discourage any form of public or private investment. The academic literature on this topic has analysed the crowdfunding market with growing interest. However, the research and knowledge of this new phenomenon are still limited, and some questions do still arise. This doctoral thesis aims to address the topic of equity crowdfunding in Europe and Latin America (the higher performing developing country in terms of utilizing crowdfunding, excluding Mainland China). In particular, the three papers that constitute it explores specific strategies to drive equity crowdfunding growth and promote its use in financing entrepreneurship. This dissertation draws inspiration from the following research questions: (i) Why do we need a harmonised regulation of crowdfunding in Europe? What are the challenges and risks to deal with? (ii) Do tax incentives promote crowdfunding investment in Europe? (iii) Does the fight against corruption increase the investors’ confidence in equity crowdfunding? Answers to these questions provide an important step towards a better understanding of the functioning of crowdfunding markets

The trajectory of sex offenders through the Lebanese criminal justice system: a tale of human rights violations

This study aims to examine the trajectory of sex offenders through the Lebanese criminal justice system while highlighting various human rights violations. It attempts to fill in the gaps within the literature through building on the existing research and by examining the processes and experiences of arrest, detention, court, prison and release. Recently, numerous scholars have argued that most criminal justice systems are following a popular punitive trend rather than focusing on rehabilitation. This study through its focus on human rights violations, participants attitudes and beliefs as well as issues of rehabilitation and treatment of prisoners firmly places Lebanon within the global trend of popular punitiveness. Seventy-three interviews were carried out with sex offenders, police officers, prison guards, judges and lawyers within Lebanon. These qualitative interviews captured criminal justice professionals and offenders experiences, attitudes and perceptions surrounding sex offending and the criminal justice system. The thematic analysis of the interviews specifically focused on uncovering how sex offenders moved through and were dealt with by the Lebanese criminal justice system. Human rights violations were found to be abundant at the various stages of the criminal justice system. Participants highlighted events such as the excessive use of torture within police stations as well as prisons, the use of forced confessions, and the lack of legal representation. Numerous factors were found to play a role in conceding the copious violations of sex offenders rights occurring at the various stages of the criminal justice system. These factors included corruption, the lack of accountability, police culture, the commonly held belief that offenders are undeserving of human rights, the lack of training, and religion. In investigating the structure and the functioning of the criminal justice system, it became evident that religion played a vital role. Religion dictated professionals positions within the criminal justice system and influenced participants beliefs and attitudes surrounding sex offenders. Because of its influence, religion played a vital role in paving the way for the re-occurrence of human right violations. For example, religion granted the criminalisation of homosexuality and the act of de-virginizing as well as legalising marital rape, all of which result in human rights violations. In order to move Lebanon, and other punitive countries, towards a more rehabilitative criminal justice approach, this study highlights the importance of training, change in legislation, as well as the separation of religion from law