Creating personas for political and social consciousness in HCI design

Personas have become an important tool for Human-Computer Interaction professionals. However, they are not immune to limitations and critique, including stereotyping. We suggest that while some of the criticisms to personas are important, the use of personas is open to them in part because of an unquestioned focus on explicating user needs and goals in traditional persona research and creation. This focus, while helping designers, obscures some other potentially relevant aspects. In particular, when the goal of the product or software being designed is associated with social and political goals rather than with bringing a product to the market, it may be relevant to focus personas on political aspirations, social values and the will or capacity of personas to take action. We argue that it is possible when producing personas (and associated scenarios) to partially move away from representing needs and embrace personas which more explicitly represent political or social beliefs and values. We also suggest that a phenomenographic approach to user data analysis is one way to achieve this. We provide empirical evidence for our position from two large-scale European projects, the first one in the area of Social Innovation and the second in the area of eParticipation

Idealização de um modelo para a compreensão da construção da confiança nas plataformas da economia de partilha

A confiança é um princípio essencial à economia de partilha em rede. Neste contexto, uma experiência de partilha é mediada digitalmente e acontece entre alguém que possui um produto ou serviço para trocar, alugar, vender ou doar à outra pessoa normalmente desconhecida. Diante disto, o trabalho tem como objetivo elaborar um modelo que explique o processo de construção da confiança na economia de partilha. Realizou-se uma revisão da literatura com base na plataforma Scopus a partir das tags ‘sharing economy’; ‘collaborative economy’; ‘trust’; e ‘confidence’. Foram analisados, inicialmente, 135 estudos publicados entre 2013 e 2018. O modelo desenvolvido a partir desta revisão propõe três dimensões psicossociais para a construção da confiança: Affect, Cognitive e Subjective. Para cada uma das três dimensões se identificam um conjunto de critérios hermenêuticos adotados pelos utilizadores das ditas plataformas durante o processo de interação visado à construção da confiança. A primeira considera sobretudo os efeitos emotivos desafiados pelas relações interpessoais na plataforma, em particular a criação de expetativas entre os utilizadores. A dimensão cognitiva remete para a confiança inspirada pela política da plataforma onde ocorrem as interações. Já a dimensão subjetiva compreende os princípios éticos, os objetivos, as propensões e as experiências pessoais que influenciam a construção da confiança dos utilizadores das plataformas. O modelo de construção da confiança permite, portanto, perceber como os utilizadores das plataformas digitais da economia de partilha podem desenvolver parâmetros de confiança. Este modelo também pode ser relevante para estas plataformas melhorarem as estratégias infocomunicacionais e criarem ferramentas de confiança

BUSINESS REPUTATION SYSTEMS BASED ON BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY—A RISKY ADVANCE

Reputation is indispensable for online business since it supports customers in their buying decisions and allows sellers to justify premium prices. While IS research has investigated reputation systems mainly as review systems on online platforms for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, no proper solutions have been developed for business-to-business (B2B) transactions yet. We use blockchain technology to propose a new class of reputation systems that apply ratings as voluntary bonus payments: Before a transaction is performed, customers commit to pay a bonus that is granted if a service provider has performed a service properly. As opposed to rival reputation systems that build on cumulated ratings or reviews, our system enables monetized reputation mechanisms that are inextricably linked with online transactions. We expect this system class to provide more trustworthy ratings, which might reduce agency costs and serve quality providers to establish a reputation towards new customers, building on second-order trust

Data protection and the legitimate interest of data controllers: much ado about nothing or the winter of rights?

EU data protection law is in a process of reform to meet the challenges of the modern economy and rapid technological developments. This study analyses the legitimate interest of data controllers as a legal basis for processing personal data under both the current data protection legislation and its proposed reform. The relevant provision expands the scope of lawful processing, but is formulated ambiguously, creating legal uncertainty and loopholes in the law. The new proposed regime does not resolve the problem.Taking a“rights” perspective, the paper aims to show that the provision should be narrowly interpreted in light of the ECJ case law, and to give effect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights; a rephrasing of the norm is desirable. The provision on the legitimate interest of data controllers weakens the legal protection of data subjects

Managerial appropriations of the ethos of democratic practice:rating, 'policing', and performance management

This article examines how new types of performance appraisal reconfigure everyday personal relationships at work. These systems deploy smartphone technologies to be used continuously by individuals to rate each other. Our aim is to show, in concrete terms, how these practices claim to configure a democratic space where individuals are liberated to express their views about each other’s work. On the contrary, we argue that by being placed in continuous confrontation with each other’s ratings, the genuine space for democratic contestation, for the establishment of a genuine community, as well as for critique and dissent is—paradoxically—narrowed down. The first section of this article explores the context in which managerialism has become consolidated at the centre of neo-liberal politics in a dialogue with some of Mouffe’s and Rancière’s arguments. We use Rancière’s concept of “policing” to understand how managerial techniques subvert genuine democratic spaces, modes of participation and expression. Using performance appraisal systems as an example, the second part of the article provides a critical investigation which shows how managerialism intervenes at the very roots of possible democratic engagement and undermines dissent in subtle ways

“Sex Sells”, but who’s buying? The effect of sexual appeals on purchase intention in influencer marketing

Over the last decade, Influencer Marketing has become an integral part of firms’ marketing plans. According to extant literature, brands-influencers collaborations may be more persuasive than traditional advertising. However, little is known about the factors that drive its effectiveness. The aphorism that “sex sells” pervades traditional advertising and seems to be perpetuated in social media platforms like Instagram, though little academic evidence supports it. The present study addresses this research gap by examining the effect of different modes of exhibition of the female body (inconspicuous vs. conspicuous) on consumers’ purchase intention. The analysis of the data collected through an online questionnaire administered to Portuguese Instagram users revealed that conspicuous exhibition of the female body negatively affects purchase intention. The effect is serially mediated by source credibility, endorsement attitude and brand attitude. By providing empirical evidence for the effect of different modes of self-presentation on attitudinal and behavioral change, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on Influencer Marketing and provides managers with important guidelines to select and design brand-influencers collaboration strategies.Na última década, o Marketing de Influência tornou-se parte integrante dos planos de marketing das empresas. De acordo com a literatura académica existente, as colaborações entre marcas e influenciadores digitais são mais persuasivas do que a publicidade tradicional. Contudo, pouco se conhece relativamente aos fatores que determinam a sua eficácia. O aforismo de que “sexo vende” domina a publicidade tradicional e parece perpetuar-se em redes sociais como o Instagram, apesar da falta de fundamentação académica. Este estudo pretende colmatar esta lacuna na literatura ao analisar o efeito de diferentes modos de apresentação do corpo feminino (inconspícua vs. conspícua) na intenção de compra dos consumidores. A análise dos dados recolhidos através de um questionário online administrado a utilizadores portugueses do Instagram sugere a existência de um efeito negativo da exibição conspícua do corpo feminino nas intenções de compra, mediado pela perceção de credibilidade da fonte, atitude em relação à colaboração e à marca. Ao demonstrar empiricamente a existência deste efeito, o presente estudo contribui para o crescente acervo de literatura dedicada ao Marketing de Influência e apresenta diretrizes estratégicas para a seleção e elaboração de parcerias com influenciadores digitais

The effect of interactive technology on informal learning and performance in a social setting

This study is based on a qualitative multiple case study research design using a mixed methods approach to provide insight into the effect of interactive technology on informal learning and performance in a social business setting inhabited by knowledge workers. The central phenomenon examined is the variance in behavioral intention towards interactive Web 2.0 technologies in learning and performance-related activities, depending on social and cultural setting, observable in individual and group usage patterns. The theoretical foundation for this study is drawn primarily from the activity theory model developed by Engeström (1987) and related research enabled by an ongoing review of the literature. Two new research frameworks have been developed and presented in the analysis and discussion chapters, respectively, of this study: 1.) A three-stage framework for data analysis in qualitative research; and 2.) A matrix of mutually exclusive categorical themes affecting behavioral intention, aligned with primary and secondary mediators of activity identified in the activity theory model. Current research covering activity theory and workplace learning, and implications for social learning related to performance has been synthesized with the findings from this study, and included in the discussion chapter. The results of this study demonstrate that there are six identifiable mediators of activity tied to informal learning and performance in an organizational setting. The mediators identified are: tools, rules, division of labor, collaboration, cultural/social setting, and personal perception of role. These mediators were derived from the activity theory model and subsequently addressed by the research questions using an in-depth interview protocol. Existing research models for behavioral intention in technology acceptance were also applied, producing a validated survey instrument that yielded a set of mutually exclusive categorical themes for analysis of categories associated with each research question during the analysis phase of the study. The categorical themes shown to have an affect on behavioral intention are: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, explicit social influence, facilitating conditions, and implicit social influence. The net result is a framework for analyzing human performance that aligns each of the categorical themes shown to affect behavioral intention within each of the mediators for activity, based on an activity systems view of informal learning and performance. Further research is needed to validate these constructs by studying activity systems within other organizational and institutional settings