Attention Strategies For Nonprofit Advocacy On Social Media: Results From A National Study Of Homelessness Nonprofits In The United States

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of nonprofit advocacy on social media. With nationwide data on homelessness nonprofits in the United States, this is the first to examine how the such organizations use social media, what they frequently say on social media, and how effectively they use social media in order to garner public attention. Extending Guo and Saxton\u27s Social Media Advocacy model, I propose a comprehensive model containing three major categories that explain the level of public attention. The first category is network characteristics, which includes network size and network influence. The second category is communication strategy, which contains three subcomponents of timing and pacing, targeting, and connecting strategy. The third category is content strategy with its two elements of content richness and sentiment/tone. Nationwide data on homelessness nonprofits in the U.S. are compiled by combining multiple data sources; 326,620 Twitter messages sent by the sample organizations are collected via the Twitter API. Data analysis consists of three phases. Phase one presents findings on the national description of nonprofit organizations in the homelessness sector and their social media adoption and use. In phase two, a series of content analyses is conducted on the Twitter messages sent by homelessness nonprofits to explore topics discussed by the organizations. The findings from the topic modeling via LDA identify seven themes that are most frequently employed by homelessness nonprofits while successfully obtaining attention from other users. The seven themes include seeking support, homeless youth, housing and care service, domestic violence, emotional dialogue, homelessness, and veterans. In phase three, the study’s hypotheses are tested both at the organizational and message levels. The analysis generates the following major findings: network size, connecting strategies, informative content, and positive tone are found to be important determinants of the attention on social media both at the organizational level and message level. There may be different attention mechanisms between the organizational level and message level as some factors (e.g., public reply) are found to have a significant but different direction of relationship with attention between the two levels. This study adds to the literature on social media advocacy by focusing on attention. The study applies Big Data approach to identify topics discussed by homelessness nonprofits, adds new factors of message strategy on “what to speak” and “how to speak”, and examines the determinants of audience attention at both the organizational and message levels. The findings from this study provides critical insights for nonprofit practitioners and advocates. In order to capture public attention, nonprofit organizations should spur efforts to increase their network size on social media, speak frequently, connect with others, offer informative and image content, and speak positively with an informal tone. Another important insight for nonprofit organizations is that how much attention an organization acquires on social media depends less on the organization’s resources, but more on effective use of social media. That is, no matter how small, an organization can increase awareness and drive audience attention by using social media strategically. As homelessness nonprofits increasingly turn to social media to advocate for their constituents and homelessness issues, it is vital for nonprofit practitioners and advocates to employ effective social media strategies that make better use of their limited resources. This study will help build an evidence base for successful social media strategies, thus helping organizations influence public policy-makers, increase efforts to support their constituents, and allocate more resources to social media advocacy work

Two Essays on Analytical Capabilities: Antecedents and Consequences

Although organizations are rapidly embracing business analytics (BA) to enhance organizational performance, only a small proportion have managed to build analytical capabilities. While BA continues to draw attention from academics and practitioners, theoretical understanding of antecedents and consequences of analytical capabilities remain limited and lack a systematic view. In order to address the research gap, the two essays investigate: (a) the impact of organization’s core information processing mechanisms and its impact on analytical capabilities, (b) the sequential approach to integration of IT-enabled business processes and its impact on analytical capabilities, and (c) network position and its impact on analytical capabilities. Drawing upon the Information Processing Theory (IPT), the first essay investigates the relationship between organization’s core information processing mechanisms–i.e., electronic health record (EHRs), clinical information standards (CIS), and collaborative information exchange (CIE)–and its impact on analytical capabilities. We use data from two sources (HIMSS Analytics 2013 and AHA IT Survey 2013) to test the theorized relationships in the healthcare context empirically. Using the competitive progression theory, the second essay investigates whether organizations sequential approach to the integration of IT-enabled business processes is associated with increased analytical capabilities. We use data from three sources (HIMSS Analytics 2013, AHA IT Survey 2013, and CMS 2014) to test if sequential integration of EHRs –i.e., reflecting the unique organizational path of integration–has a significant impact on hospital’s analytical capability. Together the two essays advance our understanding of the factors that underlie enabling of firm’s analytical capabilities. We discuss in detail the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the opportunities for future research

Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) Anomalies' Sampling and Spatial Pattern: Towards convergence of ecological methodologies and GIS technologies

To date, the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) has often been proposed as the foundation for effective spatial management of agriculture and the environment and many land managers have suggested incorporating it in most of the instruments for sustainable agriculture. The LPIS is originally used for registration of agricultural reference parcels considered eligible for annual payments of European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies to farmers. Its intrinsic quality depends on the frequency and magnitude of the discrepancies in area, since some parcels can be under- or over-declared by farmers compared with reference registered within the LPIS. General application of the LPIS therefore depends on our capacity to ¿ first identify and explain the causes of these area discrepancies perceived as anomalies by national CAP payment agencies ¿second, to propose future improvements in its overall quality. From a set of images used during the 2005 Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) campaign, using the geographic information system (GIS) and ecological methodologies we assessed the quality of the LPIS by identifying the diversity of the existing anomalies. To that end, the ecological sampling method was adapted to the specific case of image-based detection of anomalies. The observed anomalies assemblages obtained from a set of European Member States representing the four types of LPIS were analysed to establish the spatial pattern of the anomalies. We showed that the twelve zones surveyed can be grouped into four different clusters, each individually correlated with the presence of certain categories of LPIS anomaly. Some clusters were more particularly related to the presence of natural and anthropogenic landscape features, whereas others were typified by anomalies which stemmed from the process for creating and updating the LPIS, which accounted for 20% of the anomalies detected. Finally, we also showed that, even if useful for establishing procedures to manage the LPIS, the LPIS typology used in the European Union had no effect on the anomalies assemblage or on the spatial pattern; consequently, the type of LPIS no longer needs to be considered and LPIS anomalies assemblages could be pooled across Europe. In the light of the results obtained, different proposals are made to improve LPIS quality by: ¿ identifying the critical points along the LPIS management chain; ¿ using landscape ecological methodologies to explain the causes of the clusters observed; and ¿ extrapolating the whole results in the CwRS risk analysis to perform ex-ante LPIS anomalies risk map. Keywords: Land Parcel Identification System, Control with Remote Sensing, orthophoto, quality assessment, diversity, spatial pattern, landscape structureJRC.G.3-Agricultur

The role of physical metaphors for decision-making in integrated corporate communication

Purpose – The role of metaphors in information management has generally been acknowledged due to their ability to convey immediately huge amounts of information and richness. Their role is more and more important in the current digital context of communication and marketing activities, as the decision speed and accuracy are crucial. The aim of this study is thus to analyse physical metaphors as tools for making sequential decisions to achieve effective Integrated Corporate Communication (ICC). Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on critical analysis of literature on corporate communication and stakeholder management as building blocks for implementing an integrated approach to corporate communications. Findings – A revision of two well-known physical metaphors in the communication literature (the “wheel” and “umbrella”) has been proposed. It is argued that integrated communication within corporate communications is more complex than in marketing communications, since it involves a greater variety of elements to coordinate and harmonize. The proposed physical metaphors suggest an effective sequential decision-making as they allow a clear distinction between different decision levels. Research limitations/implications – The paper adds to the debate on the link between theory and practice of ICC. From a practical standpoint, the proposed metaphors as simple and concrete tools for handling complex information and ICC problems could aid novice practitioners and students of corporate communications courses. Originality/value – The paper shows that while scholars have concurred that integrated corporate communication is crucial for different type of organisations, the use of physical metaphors can be beneficial for the reality-based challenge of ICC

The role of physical metaphors for decision-making in integrated corporate communication

Purpose – The role of metaphors in information management has generally been acknowledged due to their ability to convey immediately huge amounts of information and richness. Their role is more and more important in the current digital context of communication and marketing activities, as the decision speed and accuracy are crucial. The aim of this study is thus to analyse physical metaphors as tools for making sequential decisions to achieve effective Integrated Corporate Communication (ICC). Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on critical analysis of literature on corporate communication and stakeholder management as building blocks for implementing an integrated approach to corporate communications. Findings – A revision of two well-known physical metaphors in the communication literature (the “wheel” and “umbrella”) has been proposed. It is argued that integrated communication within corporate communications is more complex than in marketing communications, since it involves a greater variety of elements to coordinate and harmonize. The proposed physical metaphors suggest an effective sequential decision-making as they allow a clear distinction between different decision levels. Research limitations/implications – The paper adds to the debate on the link between theory and practice of ICC. From a practical standpoint, the proposed metaphors as simple and concrete tools for handling complex information and ICC problems could aid novice practitioners and students of corporate communications courses. Originality/value – The paper shows that while scholars have concurred that integrated corporate communication is crucial for different type of organisations, the use of physical metaphors can be beneficial for the reality-based challenge of ICC

System requirements-OSS components: matching and mismatch resolution practices – an empirical study

Developing systems by integrating Open Source Software (OSS) is increasingly gaining importance in the software industry. Although the literature claims that this approach highly impacts Requirements Engineering (RE) practices, there is a lack of empirical evidence to demonstrate this statement. To explore and understand problems and challenges of current system requirement–OSS component matching and mismatches resolution practices in software development projects that integrate one or more OSS components into their software products. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 respondents that have performed RE activities in software development projects that integrate OSS components in 25 different software development companies in Spain, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The study uncovers 15 observations regarding system requirements-OSS components matching and mismatch resolution practices used in industrial projects that integrate OSS components. The assessed projects focused mainly on pre-release stages of software applications that integrate OSS components in an opportunistic way. The results also provide details of a set of previously unexplored scenarios when solving system requirement–OSS component mismatches; and clarify some challenges and related problems. For instance, although licensing issues and the potential changes in OSS components by their corresponding communities and/or changes in system requirements have been greatly discussed in the RE literature as problems for OSS component integration, they did not appear to be relevant in our assessed projects. Instead, practitioners highlighted the problem of getting suitable OSS component documentation/information.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Predicting reptile species distributions and biogeographic patterns within Kruger National Park

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol)Knowledge of global reptile ecology is limited and there remains much to understand in terms of detailed reptile species information, including that of their distributions. In South Africa, despite being one of SANParks best-studied reserves, surprisingly little is known about the distributions and spatial ecology of reptiles within Kruger National Park (KNP). Management within KNP follows a strategic adaptive management strategy which monitors the statuses of animals using species or group specific indicators. Indicators are given predetermined upper and lower ranges of acceptable fluctuation before actions are taken. These ranges are referred to as thresholds of potential concern (TPCs), and for reptiles these are based on changes to their distributions across the landscape of KNP. An apparent lack of high-quality reptile distribution data inhibits the effective monitoring of the statuses of these animals within KNP, which in turn limits management and conservation options. In this study, I use several methods to quantify available reptile occurrence data which formed the foundations for predicting the distributions of these species across KNP by means of species distribution modelling, with a view to gaining novel insight into reptile assemblage structure across the landscape of KNP

Man vs. Machine: An Investigation of Speeding Ticket Disparities Based on Gender and Race

This paper analyzes the extent to which police behavior in giving speeding tickets differs from the ticketing pattern of automated cameras. The automated tickets provide an estimate of the population of speeders at a given location, time, and even severity of the violation. The data, obtained from Lafayette, Louisiana, provides a wide range of details concerning characteristics of the violation such as location, date, time of day, legal speed, speed over the limit, day of the week, and also specific details about the ticketed driver. The probability of a ticketed driver being African-American or female is significantly higher when the ticket was given by a police officer in contrast to an automated source, implying that police use gender and race as a determining factor in issuing a speeding ticket. Potential behavioral reasons of this outcome have been discussed.