848 research outputs found

    A categorisation framework for a feature-level analysis of social network sites

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    Social media (SM) have enabled new forms of communication, interaction, and connectivity that affect individuals on a personal and professional level. But SM is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of technologies with both distinct and shared capabilities. In addition, while there is an agreed-upon definition of these systems, a comprehensive list of features and their affordances does not exist. Hence, this study sought to create a feature-level categorisation framework for analysing the use of social network sites (SNS). This categorisation was undertaken using the concept of affordances, which framed the high-level characteristics as well as distinct SNS features, to better understand the divergence in SNS capabilities and inform the study of different types of SM. The framework was created from an analysis of the literature on SNS affordances and a system investigation into three types of SNS (Facebook, YouTube and Twitter). The comprehensive review was undertaken using two families of SNS affordances (social and content affordances) identified in the literature to categorise and compare the platforms. The study reveals a diverse collection of features which afford behaviour in six areas of activity: profile building, social connectivity, social interactivity, content discovery, content sharing and content aggregation. Finally, the framework provides a basis from which the usage and management of SM within organisations can be more rigorously investigated

    An Exploratory Study to Develop a Geotourism Typology Model Based on the Experience and the Importance of Geotourism in the Decision to Visit a Destination

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    This study develops a typology model for geotourism to address the existing gap in the literature regarding who is participating in geotourism. As geotourism is a new concept, the literature is not only lacking in this area, but there is also a conflict of definitions available from scholars and organisations. This study defines geotourism in accordance to the definition of Newsome and Dowling (2010). It also aims to reduce the gap in literature by providing a starting point to the development of future geotourism typology models through the adaptation of McKercher\u27s Cultural Tourism Typology Model (2002). Participants eligible for this study were tourists participating in the Crystal Cave in Yanchep National Park, Perth, Western Australia. This site was chosen as the Crystal Cave\u27s management is practicing geotourism. Therefore, it was assumed tourists were participating in geotourism as Yanchep National Park, including the Crystal Cave, comply with the definition. Geotourism focuses on sustainability, conservation, benefitting the community, appreciation of cultural and geoheritage value through education and interpretation and tourist satisfaction (Dowling, 2008). Management places importance on the sustainability and conservation of the cave. Tourists have the opportunity to learn as they are provided with educational opportunities in the guided tour through the cultural and geoheritage interpretation. It also benefits the community as it creates job opportunities. Furthermore, results of the study demonstrate that locals visit the cave benefitting them through their positive participation and experiences. The data was collected through on-site self completed questionnaires. Analysis included a criteria sheet and guidelines established in accordance to the description of each of McKercher\u27s typologies as well as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 17 (SPSS). After the analysis of the results, it became evident that the Cultural Tourism Typology Model (2002) could not be applied to geotourism as some typologies needed to be adapted and new typologies were discovered. As a result, a new model was re-developed based on McKercher\u27s Model. Purposeful tourists and incidental tourists remained with the same characteristics. The serendipitous tourist typology was changed slightly to include some gee-motivation. Furthermore, two new typologies were created as a result of the data analysis. The new typologies are the \u27intentional geotourist\u27 who is characterised by high geo-influence and positive encounter, and the \u27accidental geotourist\u27 who has no geo-influence and a positive encounter

    Creating Context from Curiosity: The Role of Serendipity in the Research Process of Historians in Physical and Digital Environments

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    Serendipity, the word used to describe an unexpected encounter with information, people, or objects, has drawn much scholarly attention since its 1754 coinage by Horace Walpole. Historians commonly use this term when describing unexpected encounters during their research. However, historians have also been shown to be meticulous, organized researchers whose work is unlikely to contain elements that are unexpected. This thesis is an investigation of serendipity as it is recognized, defined, and experienced by historians in both physical and digital environments. Article One presents a grounded theory analysis of 20 interview transcriptions, Article Two presents a combination of grounded theory, content analysis, and narrative analysis of historians’ responses to an online survey, and Article Three summarizes the quantitative responses to the same survey, but focuses on digital environments. In Article One we found that historians frequently used active verbs to describe serendipity, and concluded that agency plays a prominent role in these experiences. In Article Two, responses from 142 participants reinforce the importance of agency, demonstrating that active research methods lead them to these serendipitous encounters. Article Three reports on the features of digital environments that historians found to support serendipity, including those that encourage exploration, connect people, have options for keyword searching, and highlight potentially relevant links. Taken together, these articles comprise a thesis that advances our current understanding of serendipity. Contributions to the field of LIS include acknowledging the role of agency in serendipitous encounters, and the use of multi-method analysis for investigating serendipity in a single population

    Memorable Tourism Experiences: Strategies for the Successful Marketing of Destinations

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    Memorable tourism experiences are becoming the dominant focus of tourism marketers due to increasing academic commendation about the proposition that MTEs could lead to deliver new and repeat business for tourism operators worldwide. The two main aims of this study were to explore what tourists are more likely to remember from their leisure travels, and also what impact memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) are likely to have on the decisions tourists make for their travel in future. Existing knowledge about MTEs is under-developed, fragmented and inconclusive, and there are methodological limitations to existing studies: there is a need for a more accurate, comprehensive and reliable investigation of this important experiential phenomenon. The study employed in this research is a mixed methods research methodology, which enabled an examination of MTEs in a comprehensive and reliable way from the perspective of leisure travellers

    Reframed teacher leadership: A narrative inquiry

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    Teacher leadership has been in schools from the time teachers rang the school bells. Three waves of teacher leadership have been examined. The first wave focused on formal managerial positions such as department chairs, the second wave focused on curriculum and staff development, and the third wave focused on daily acts of collaboration to solve problems and provide professional development activities for staffs. This study explored the third wave practice of teacher leaders in a qualitative study focusing on the narratives of 11 teacher leaders. A narrative of lives format was used to study leadership experiences. A pilot study was conducted with three teacher leaders in two school districts. The teachers in the research study were purposely selected from a pool of graduates from a master\u27s degree program focusing on teacher leadership. The teacher leaders shared their stories and their present philosophy and acts of teacher leadership in semi-structured interviews. The study explored the relationship of teachers\u27 personal and professional experiences on their construct of teacher leadership. A number of factors influenced leadership development including childhood experiences, serendipity and happenstance experiences, and mentors who encouraged teachers to get involved in leadership. Families influenced leadership activity and timing. Characteristics of meaningful site-based professional development and university-school professional development programs were examined. Principals either promoted or discouraged teacher leadership. The study describes implications for teachers, principals, and professional development programs and activities

    Playing with Aesthetics in Art Museums

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    Playing with Aesthetics in Art Museums presents a strategy for using design thinking to mediate engrossing art experiences for adult museum visitors. Built upon a substantiated family resemblance between art and play experiences, the study synthesizes a typology of aesthetic theories, ten germane tenets of game design, and a psychographic portrait of the archetypal museum visitor to create a practical framework for delivering engrossing art experiences to adult visitors who typically enter museums with limited art historical knowledge. The interdisciplinary approach used is intended to replace the singular methodologies (whether art historical, pedagogical or aesthetic) that have informed museum practice in the United States since the late nineteenth century

    Emerging technologies for learning report (volume 3)

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    The Center of Excellence Model for Information Services (CLIR pub 163)

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    In 2013, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a group of librarians from ARL\u27s Research Library Leadership Fellows program a planning grant to examine the center of excellence (CoE) model for information services. Used in a variety of industries, CoEs are designed to attract the most talented researchers in a particular field, enhance collaboration, and improve access to the resources needed for their research. The planning grant was awarded to determine whether the CoE model could serve as a means to provide the new services required for the effective use of digital information. This report describes the team\u27s approach to examining the feasibility of CoEs in the library setting. The team conducted preliminary investigations of more than 100 centers, which they narrowed to 35 for in-depth research. Interviews were conducted with staff at 19 centers and 7 funding organizations. In their conclusion, the team advises developing networks of expertise or expert networks, instead of CoEs, and provides a series of recommendations for building such networks

    When scientists meet the public: an investigation into citizen cyberscience

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    Citizen Cyberscience Projects (CCPs) are projects mediated through the Internet, in which teams of scientists recruit members of the public (volunteers) to assist in scientific research, typically through the processing of large quantities of data. This thesis presents qualitative ethnographic case studies of the communities that have formed around two such projects, climateprediction.net and Galaxy Zoo. By considering these social actors in the broader contexts in which they are situated (historical, institutional, social, scientific), I discuss the co-shaping of the interests of these actors, the nature of the relationships amongst these actors, and the infrastructure of the projects and the purposes and nature of the scientific work performed. The thesis focusses on two relationships in particular. The first is that between scientists and volunteers, finding that, although scientists in both projects are concerned with treating volunteers with respect, there are nevertheless considerable differences between the projects. These are related to a number of interconnecting factors, including the particular contexts in which each project is embedded, the nature of the scientific work that volunteers are asked to undertake, the possibilities and challenges for the future development of the projects as perceived by the scientists, and the tools at the disposal of the respective teams of scientists for mediating relationships with volunteers. The second is amongst the volunteers themselves. This thesis argues that volunteers are heterogeneous, from disparate backgrounds, and that they sustain their involvement in CCPs for very different purposes. In particular, they seek to pursue these through the way they negotiate and construct their relationships with other volunteers, drawing on particular features of the project to do so. This thesis contributes to two fields. The first is to Citizen Cyberscience itself, with a view to improving the running of such projects. Some social studies have already been conducted of CCPs to this end, and this thesis both extends the analysis of some of these pre-existing studies and also problematizes aspects of CCPs that these studies had not considered. I discuss the significance of my findings for those involved in setting up and running a CCP, and present some recommendations for practice. The second field is Science and Technology Studies, in particular studies of public engagement with scientific and technological decision- and knowledge-making processes. The modes of engagement found in CCPs differ in key ways from those that have already been documented in the existing literature (in particular, different power relationships) and thus offer new ways of understanding how the public might be engaged successfully in such processes.Ope
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