Social networking for web-based communities

In the 21st century, a new technology was introduced to facilitate communication, collaboration, and interaction between individuals and businesses. This technology is called social networking; this technology is now part of Internet commodities like email, browsing and blogging. From the 20th century until now, the internet has shaped the way organisations, academics and health sectors to interact, communicate, connect, and exchange knowledge around the world. Social networking can reduce enterprises cost, increase profit, and assist to develop new communication forms between consumers, stakeholders, vendors, suppliers, universities and health departments. However, this technology can create new challenges for education and its governance and management. Social networking is considered to be as a precursor to the new ways of 3D virtual presence that will gradually supplant the telephone and video conferencing and finally even diminish the face-to-face communication. This article examines these opportunities, challenges, and threats of social networking in organisation, education and healthcare sectors

Community-based mentoring and innovating through Web 2.0

The rise of social software, often termed Web 2.0, has resulted in heightened awareness of the opportunities for creative and innovative approaches to learning that are afforded by network technologies. Social software platforms and social networking technologies have become part of the learning landscape both for those who learn formally within institutions, and for those who learn informally via emergent web-based learning communities. As collaborative online learning becomes a reality, new skills in communication and collaboration are required in order to use new technologies effectively, develop real digital literacy and other 21st century skills

Social networks as spaces for informal teacher professional development : challenges and opportunities

With the spread of the Web 2.0 there has been a proliferation of web-based communities for learning, across platforms that enable the creation of virtual communities. However, unlike business, the emergence of educational networking is still beginning. Recent research shows that social networks are powerful educational tools that offer teachers the opportunity to develop their knowledge and competences, contributing to lifelong learning and professional development in informal settings. In order to investigate the potential of educational networking as a source for teachers’ growth, a social network named PROEDI (http://www.proedi.com) was created in the beginning of 2011. In this project, the Interconnected model of teacher professional growth (Clarke and Hollingsworth, 2002) was the basic framework for the analysis of professional growth in informal settings. In this paper, the conceptual framework of the research is presented, as is some evidence obtained on the analysis of discussion forums created inside the community that underpin a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that social networking offer for teacher education.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Assessment of metadata associated with geotag pictures

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.The past decade web has seen a major transformations in development and design to facilitate a user interactive environment commonly referred as Web 2.0. Web 2.0 services include web-based communities, hosted services, social-networking sites, media-sharing sites, wikis, bogs and mashups. Member contributions feed these online communities and are the force behind the increased volume of multimedia resources that are available on the web. In 2006 Time Magazine selected users of Web 2.0 for ‘esteemed person of the year’ award for their active involvement in generating web resources and shaping these resources into collective intelligence

Collaboration through Communities of Practice in the Digital Age

This paper aims to describe and explain the role of Communities of Practice (CoPs) as an informal communication mechanism in initiating, improving, and fostering collaboration in the digital age. CoPs play a critical role in the management of shared knowledge and create value for both their members and organizations. The advent of the Internet and specifically the World Wide Web (WWW) has forever changed the means of accessing and sharing data and information. With the inception of Web 2.0 technologies and social-networking sites in recent years, connections and relationships are now not only nurtured and sustained in an online environment, but also established through creating virtual communities. The authors also assert that the inception of Web 2.0 technologies and social-networking sites is a great advancement in providing a rich learning, communication, and collaborative environment, especially through the transfer of tacit knowledge that we take for granted in our face-to-face interactions. These reflections are based on personal communications with members of virtual CoPs and literature on the impact of CoPs on decision-making and knowledge management

Next Generation Social Networks:Elicitation of User Requirements

Abstract—When it comes to discussing the future of electronic communication, social networking is the buzzword. The Internet has become a platform where new social networks emerge and the Internet it itself support the more traditional computer supported communication. The way users build and verifies different online networks for communities of people who share interests or individuals who presents themselves through user produced content is what makes up the social networking of today. The purpose of this paper is to discuss perceived user requirements to the next generation social networks. The paper is based on a survey of users working within the ICT field as well as user requirement categorizations developed within the WWRF. Index Terms—Computer supported communication, social networks, user requirements, Web-applications. I

MOBILISING FAITH-BASED ORGANISATIONS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (PAR) PROCESS1

Established within the Faculty of Theology at the University of Stellenbosch in 2001, the Unit for Religion and Development Research (URDR)3 has embarked on a major initiative to research the social development needs of local communities and empower the faith-based organisations (FBOs) – churches and faith-based NGOs – in those communities towards self-reliant sustainable social development activity and outcomes (URDR web page). In particular, the work of the Unit proceeds from the understanding that resolving the majority of problems related to poverty in South Africa lies in carrying out two steps. The first is that one needs to gather data on the problem, and the problem must have a human face. The second step is networking, empowering and motivating all relevant parties in a society to address the problem. This problem can be solved only with strong input from grassroots level, where local communities are part and parcel of a participatory action process (Hendriks, Erasmus & Mans, 2004:381)

How health care professionals use social media to create virtual communities: An integrative review

Background: Prevailing health care structures and cultures restrict intraprofessional communication, inhibiting knowledge dissemination and impacting the translation of research into practice. Virtual communities may facilitate professional networking and knowledge sharing in and between health care disciplines. Objectives: This study aimed to review the literature on the use of social media by health care professionals in developing virtual communities that facilitate professional networking, knowledge sharing, and evidence-informed practice. Methods: An integrative literature review was conducted to identify research published between 1990 and 2015. Search strategies sourced electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL), snowball references, and tables of contents of 3 journals. Papers that evaluated social media use by health care professionals (unless within an education framework) using any research design (except for research protocols or narrative reviews) were included. Standardized data extraction and quality assessment tools were used. Results: Overall, 72 studies were included: 44 qualitative (including 2 ethnographies, 26 qualitative descriptive, and 1 Q-sort) and 20 mixed-methods studies, and 8 literature reviews. The most common methods of data collection were Web-based observation (n=39), surveys (n=23), interviews (n=11), focus groups (n=2), and diaries (n=1). Study quality was mixed. Social media studied included Listservs (n=22), Twitter (n=18), general social media (n=17), discussion forums (n=7), Web 2.0 (n=3), virtual community of practice (n=3), wiki (n=1), and Facebook (n=1). A range of health care professionals were sampled in the studies, including physicians (n=24), nurses (n=15), allied health professionals (n=14), followed by health care professionals in general (n=8), a multidisciplinary clinical specialty area (n=9), and midwives (n=2). Of 36 virtual communities, 31 were monodiscipline for a discrete clinical specialty. Population uptake by the target group ranged from 1.6% to 29% (n=4). Evaluation using related theories of "planned behavior" and the "technology acceptance model" (n=3) suggests that social media use is mediated by an individual's positive attitude toward and accessibility of the media, which is reinforced by credible peers. The most common reason to establish a virtual community was to create a forum where relevant specialty knowledge could be shared and professional issues discussed (n=17). Most members demonstrated low posting behaviors but more frequent reading or accessing behaviors. The most common Web-based activity was request for and supply of specialty-specific clinical information. This knowledge sharing is facilitated by a Web-based culture of collectivism, reciprocity, and a respectful noncompetitive environment. Findings suggest that health care professionals view virtual communities as valuable knowledge portals for sourcing clinically relevant and quality information that enables them to make more informed practice decisions. Conclusions: There is emerging evidence that health care professionals use social media to develop virtual communities to share domain knowledge. These virtual communities, however, currently reflect tribal behaviors of clinicians that may continue to limit knowledge sharing. Further research is required to evaluate the effects of social media on knowledge distribution in clinical practice and importantly whether patient outcomes are significantly improved