Expanding Social Network Modeling Software and Agent Models for Diffusion Processes

In an increasingly digitally interconnected world, the study of social networks and their dynamics is burgeoning. Anthropologically, the ubiquity of online social networks has had striking implications for the condition of large portions of humanity. This technology has facilitated content creation of virtually all sorts, information sharing on an unprecedented scale, and connections and communities among people with similar interests and skills. The first part of my research is a social network evolution and visualization engine. Built on top of existing technologies, my software is designed to provide abstractions from the underlying libraries, drive real-time network evolution based on user-defined parameters, and optionally visualize that evolution at each step of the process. My software provides a low maintenance interface for the creation of networks and update schemes for a wide array of experimental contexts, an engine to drive network evolution, and a visualization platform to provide real-time feedback about different aspects of the network to the researcher, as well as fine-grained debugging tools. We conducted investigations into the opinion dynamics of networks when multiple agent “archetypes” interact together with this platform. We modeled agents’ archetypes with respect to two attributes: their preference over their friends’ opinion profiles, and their tendency to change their opinion over time. We extended the current state of agent modeling in opinion diffusion by providing a unified 2D trajectory/preference space for agents that incorporates most common models in the literature. We investigated six agent archetypes from this space, and examined the behavior of the network as a whole and the individual agents in a variety of contexts. In another branch of work using our software, we developed a network of agents who must carry out both economic and social activities during a pandemic. Agents’ decisions about what actions to take (self-protective measures like masking, social distancing, or waiting to run errands) are based on several factors, including perception of risk (obtained from news reports, social connections, etc.) and economic need. We show with preliminary testing that this platform is able to execute standard pandemic models successfully with the incorporation of the economic and social dimensions, and that this paradigm may provide useful insight into effective agent-level response policies that can be used in concert with other top-down approaches that comprise most of the recent pandemic response research. We have investigated the implications of varying behavior profiles within a network of agents, and how those behavioral compositions affect the overall climate of the network in return, and this software will continue to facilitate similar research into the future

Rites of passage in the age of social media: the experiences of millennial undergraduate students transitioning to higher education

In the UK the transition to higher education is being made by increasing numbers of students. While the decision to attend university is not one which is made by all young people, for those who choose to enter education, this transition is arguably one of the most important and complex periods of the life course. This thesis provides an empirical, qualitative, study of UK-based millennials as they transition to higher education. The study focuses on students narratives of their experiences of the transition in the weeks leading up to the physical transition and in the first few weeks of university. In order to build a comprehensive understanding of the period, the research places focus on exploring the intersection of the participant cohort‘s experiences of adulthood, moving away from home, and changes to the structures of their personal communities. To provide a rich source of data, thirty-four interviews were conducted across two research sites: Keele University and Manchester Metropolitan University. Interview data is analysed through the theoretical lens of van Gennep‘s Les rites de passage. The research places specific focus on analysing how the infiltration of social media into the everyday lives of millennials has altered their rites of passage with respect to their transition to university. Findings suggest that social media has evolved the ways in which millennial students manage their personal communities during the transition to university, and this impacts how students experience the stages of separation, transition and incorporation as outlined in Les rites de passage

Modern Socio-Technical Perspectives on Privacy

This open access book provides researchers and professionals with a foundational understanding of online privacy as well as insight into the socio-technical privacy issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems, covering several modern topics (e.g., privacy in social media, IoT) and underexplored areas (e.g., privacy accessibility, privacy for vulnerable populations, cross-cultural privacy). The book is structured in four parts, which follow after an introduction to privacy on both a technical and social level: Privacy Theory and Methods covers a range of theoretical lenses through which one can view the concept of privacy. The chapters in this part relate to modern privacy phenomena, thus emphasizing its relevance to our digital, networked lives. Next, Domains covers a number of areas in which privacy concerns and implications are particularly salient, including among others social media, healthcare, smart cities, wearable IT, and trackers. The Audiences section then highlights audiences that have traditionally been ignored when creating privacy-preserving experiences: people from other (non-Western) cultures, people with accessibility needs, adolescents, and people who are underrepresented in terms of their race, class, gender or sexual identity, religion or some combination. Finally, the chapters in Moving Forward outline approaches to privacy that move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, explore ethical considerations, and describe the regulatory landscape that governs privacy through laws and policies. Perhaps even more so than the other chapters in this book, these chapters are forward-looking by using current personalized, ethical and legal approaches as a starting point for re-conceptualizations of privacy to serve the modern technological landscape. The book’s primary goal is to inform IT students, researchers, and professionals about both the fundamentals of online privacy and the issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems. Lecturers or teacherscan assign (parts of) the book for a “professional issues” course. IT professionals may select chapters covering domains and audiences relevant to their field of work, as well as the Moving Forward chapters that cover ethical and legal aspects. Academicswho are interested in studying privacy or privacy-related topics will find a broad introduction in both technical and social aspects

Modern Socio-Technical Perspectives on Privacy

This open access book provides researchers and professionals with a foundational understanding of online privacy as well as insight into the socio-technical privacy issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems, covering several modern topics (e.g., privacy in social media, IoT) and underexplored areas (e.g., privacy accessibility, privacy for vulnerable populations, cross-cultural privacy). The book is structured in four parts, which follow after an introduction to privacy on both a technical and social level: Privacy Theory and Methods covers a range of theoretical lenses through which one can view the concept of privacy. The chapters in this part relate to modern privacy phenomena, thus emphasizing its relevance to our digital, networked lives. Next, Domains covers a number of areas in which privacy concerns and implications are particularly salient, including among others social media, healthcare, smart cities, wearable IT, and trackers. The Audiences section then highlights audiences that have traditionally been ignored when creating privacy-preserving experiences: people from other (non-Western) cultures, people with accessibility needs, adolescents, and people who are underrepresented in terms of their race, class, gender or sexual identity, religion or some combination. Finally, the chapters in Moving Forward outline approaches to privacy that move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, explore ethical considerations, and describe the regulatory landscape that governs privacy through laws and policies. Perhaps even more so than the other chapters in this book, these chapters are forward-looking by using current personalized, ethical and legal approaches as a starting point for re-conceptualizations of privacy to serve the modern technological landscape. The book’s primary goal is to inform IT students, researchers, and professionals about both the fundamentals of online privacy and the issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems. Lecturers or teacherscan assign (parts of) the book for a “professional issues” course. IT professionals may select chapters covering domains and audiences relevant to their field of work, as well as the Moving Forward chapters that cover ethical and legal aspects. Academicswho are interested in studying privacy or privacy-related topics will find a broad introduction in both technical and social aspects

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Emerging Communication Technologies and Public Health Information Dissemination

Health promotion is a critical constituent of the public health system. Its primary objective is the empowerment of individuals and communities in the interest of positively influencing health behaviours and outcomes. One of the main ways in which successful health promotion is achieved is by the dissemination of relevant health information to individuals and communities. As global health costs rise to match the demands of an increasing and ageing population, such delivery of cost-effective public health information is explored. The recent advances in communication technologies have led to the development of social digital platforms (Web 2.0), with unprecedented opportunities for the extensive dissemination of relevant health information. The widespread uptake of social networking sites (SNS) presents a novel platform for public health promotion and management that can verily overcome the issues faced by current public health initiatives while reaching global populations of health consumers. This thesis aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the current landscape of health information communication across SNS, primarily through the platform Twitter. The research will address literature gaps in this cross-disciplinary field of health and communication sciences found for various SNS user-types, analyse and characterise the types of health information being disseminated across such platforms, as well as examine SNS activity during public health events. Public health officials and Web 2.0 platform developers can utilise findings from this thesis to address limitations of online public health-related communication insofar as they can assist with: a) advising plans for better engagement of information disseminated during health events; b) developing future applications and technologies that are appropriate for disadvantaged groups; c) identifying information dissemination strategies for authoritative health bodies and organizations to effectively reach populations

Communication barriers within virtual communities in an ethnoreligious diverse society: a case study of Nigeria

The study explores the communication barriers that exist within virtual communities in an ethno-religious diverse society like Nigeria. Qualitative research approach was employed. Subsequently, data was collected using qualitative questionnaire that contained open ended questions and through participant observation (online ethnography). Purposive sampling was used to select participants through liaising with Facebook users, as one of the online virtual communities in Nigeria. Having monitored online discourse on Facebook for some months, this study purposively selected 300 active facebook users from various Nigerian cultural and ethnic backgrounds, but only 60 participants indicated their interest to participate. Also, out of the 60 participants who agreed to participate, only 30 participants (25 males and 5 females) fully participated to the final stage while the other 30 withdrew from the study. The participants were mainly adults between the age brackets of 20 and 59. Thematic Analysis was subsequently used to analyse the data by identifying main themes to provide detailed descriptions of the setting, participants as well as activities. The findings of this study revealed that majority of the participants agree that due to Facebook familiarity and Nigeria's religious colouration, there is a display of disrespect, insolence and deep arrogance to other interactants online. The study further identified and revealed other barriers such as differences in cultural backgrounds and opinions, lack of politeness, prejudging and filtering, name calling and insults. The study proposes that social media platforms as virtual communities should be regulated with full implementation of the law and its sustenance, regardless of individuals having power to make their own choices about the kind of languages they use within virtual communities and considering its effect on other online users. Vulgar languages, hate speeches, incitements, bullying and other offensive comments would hopefully be curbed to the barest minimum if this intervention could be implemented. The conclusion of the study was that Nigerians should be civil in responding to discourse in virtual communities as certain inflammatory, religious or utterances based on ethnicity due to an uninformed perspective usually display one's poor knowledge on issues of national interest