Third Sector and Social Media

While social media has become a mainstay of communication in the twenty-first century, many organizations still struggle to include it in their operations. This is no less the case for organizations in the third sector. However, evidence-based practices tying social media activity to social media success are still elusive in the field. Examining the Facebook and Twitter presence of 45 Canadian organizations concerned with education, disaster relief, and environmental advocacy, the authors evaluate social media practices used by third sector organizations. Borrowing from Mark Granovetter’s (1973) work on the strength of social ties, the authors found that disaster relief organizations tended toward activities to build emotionally intense, or “strong,” relationships, while educational organizations offered more informational means to build “weak” relationships based on common interests. Environmental organizations used both strategies, but were less likely to broaden their activities beyond Facebook and Twitter. The authors propose identifying organizations’ weak-tie/strong-tie strategies as a tool for evaluating social media activity in the not-for-profit sector. They argue that co-ordinating both types of strategies is necessary for successful social media campaigns. RÉSUMÉ Bien que les médias sociaux soient devenus omniprésents dans la communication au 21ème siècle, plusieurs organisations tardent à les inclure dans leurs opérations. Ceci n’est pas moins le cas des organismes du troisième secteur. En même temps, la recherche établissant un rapport entre le recours aux médias sociaux et le succès d’une organisation demeure peu concluante. Dans cet article, les auteurs évaluent l’utilisation de médias sociaux par des organisations du troisième secteur en examinant la présence sur Facebook et Twitter de quarante-cinq organismes canadiens se spécialisant en éducation, en secours aux sinistrés et en activisme écologique. En recourant à l’œuvre de Mark Granovetter sur la puissance des liens sociaux, les auteurs ont trouvé que les organismes de secours aux sinistrés tendaient à effectuer des activités axées sur des relations intenses d’un point de vue émotionnel, donc « fortes », tandis que les organismes éducationnels avaient une approche plus informationnelle afin de construire des relations « faibles » fondées sur des intérêts communs. Les organisations environnementales quant à elles employaient les deux stratégies, mais elles étaient moins enclines à élargir leurs activités au-delà de Facebook et Twitter. Les auteurs proposent d’identifier les stratégies d’attaches faibles et fortes comme outils pour évaluer le recours aux médias sociaux dans le secteur sans but lucratif. Ils soutiennent que la coordination des deux types de stratégie est nécessaire pour réussir les campagnes de médias sociaux

Autocommunicative meaning-making in online communication of the Estonian extreme right

This article analyses the online communication of the Estonian extreme right that appears to be characterized by an echo-chamber effect as well as enclosed and hermetic meaning-making. The discussion mainly relies on the theoretical frameworks offered by semiotics of culture.One of the aims of the article is to widen the scope of understanding of autocommunicative processes that are usually related to learning, insight and innovation. The article shows the conditions in which autocommunicative processes result in closed interactions, based on reproducing stereotypes and redundant content. We detect antithetical meaning-making, an orientation towards normative (“correct”) texts and the prevalence of phatic communication as the main dominants that guide closed autocommunication. Such communication leads to polarization of dissimilar views and hinders dialogue. Our case study focuses on the discussion that arose in the context of the European Refugee Crisis that started in spring 2015

The Business Value of Gamification

This article analyzes the connection between gamification and business success, focusing on customer retention, new customer acquisition, and transforming user perceptions. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of 40 high-profile gamification projects, it shows that a combination of three key features—virtualization, social comparison, and tangible rewards—explain the various pathways to success. Each pathway requires the presence—and sometimes absence—of different design features, and firms do best when they focus on one or two objectives rather than all three at once. The article presents a framework for designing and implementing gamification more strategically and effectively, noting the ethical questions that arise

API para procedimentos de teste em sistemas embutidos

The proposed case study takes a satellite control application as system under test and entails extending a simple simulator for the system component this application interacts with. Atop of these shall be developed test procedures to study whether there are practical limitations of using simple procedures to test complex interactions between the satellite control application and its simulated environment. The objective of the proposed work is to define a test frontend API that enables simple test procedures while providing all the means required to test complex machine-to-machine (M2M) interactions, having the system under test (SUT) hard real-time characteristics.O caso de estudo proposto toma uma aplicação de controlo de um satélite como um sistema a ser testado e implica a extensão de um simulador simples para o componente do sistema com o qual esta aplicação interage. Em cima destes devem ser desenvolvidos procedimentos de teste para estudar se há limitações práticas ao usar procedimentos simples para testar interações complexas entre a aplicação de controlo do satélite e o ambiente simulado. O objetivo do trabalho proposto é definir uma API de teste que possibilite procedimentos de teste simples e forneça todos os meios necessários para testar interações complexas máquina a máquina, tendo o sistema sob teste características de tempo real.Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e Telecomunicaçõe

Interaction Design for Digital Musical Instruments

The thesis aims to elucidate the process of designing interactive systems for musical performance that combine software and hardware in an intuitive and elegant fashion. The original contribution to knowledge consists of: (1) a critical assessment of recent trends in digital musical instrument design, (2) a descriptive model of interaction design for the digital musician and (3) a highly customisable multi-touch performance system that was designed in accordance with the model. Digital musical instruments are composed of a separate control interface and a sound generation system that exchange information. When designing the way in which a digital musical instrument responds to the actions of a performer, we are creating a layer of interactive behaviour that is abstracted from the physical controls. Often, the structure of this layer depends heavily upon: 1. The accepted design conventions of the hardware in use 2. Established musical systems, acoustic or digital 3. The physical configuration of the hardware devices and the grouping of controls that such configuration suggests This thesis proposes an alternate way to approach the design of digital musical instrument behaviour – examining the implicit characteristics of its composite devices. When we separate the conversational ability of a particular sensor type from its hardware body, we can look in a new way at the actual communication tools at the heart of the device. We can subsequently combine these separate pieces using a series of generic interaction strategies in order to create rich interactive experiences that are not immediately obvious or directly inspired by the physical properties of the hardware. This research ultimately aims to enhance and clarify the existing toolkit of interaction design for the digital musician

Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the Concept of Innovation: Some Implications for Contemporary Higher Education as a Service Sector

The Australian higher education services sector has significantly increased its economic contribution to Gross Domestic Product in the twenty-first century. Innovation is highly prized in an increasingly competitive global knowledge economy. However, there is currently no theory of innovation in the higher education services sector. This factor is framed as the thesis research problem. The hypothesis of this thesis is that: based on an examination of the implications of the philosophical and historical foundations of the concept of innovation, contemporary higher education sector innovation can be meaningfully interpreted through a framework based on service sector innovation theory. Based on the findings of an extended investigation of the philosophical and historical foundations of the concept of innovation, implications are explored by ‘field-testing’ a potential theoretical framework for its ability to identify innovative trends in the higher education sector. Case studies of the finance service sub-sector are constructed and are used as a template to compare current practices in the ‘lagging’ higher education services sector. The thesis concludes that the hypothesis is supported and confirmed. That is, based on an examination of the implications of the philosophical and historical foundations of the concept of innovation, contemporary higher education sector innovation can be meaningfully interpreted through a framework based on service sector innovation theory

Discarnation: Expounding on Marshall McLuhan\u27s Critique of Modern Subjectivity

This project presents Marshall McLuhan’s work as an explication of discarnate subjectivity in mediated environments, with special focus on the consequences of technological environments in society. The first and second chapters focus on McLuhan’s ground, sensibilities, and practice to shed light on his intricate discussions of social perceptions emerging in modern times—i.e., communal awareness propels perceptual and cultural shifts. The third chapter attends to people’s perceptual compass, or their ability to interpret the world around them. Chapter four considers some of the phenomenological aspects of McLuhan’s probes. The ideas show disconnects between time and space that contribute to discarnation in everyday life. Chapter five showcases ways the Incarnate represents a hermeneutic inquiry into media omnipresence in the social forum. Ultimately, in the final chapter, I show that McLuhan’s well-known phrase “the medium is the message,” as I will maintain, bypasses popular culture’s surface-level assumptions about media and leads us instead to the heart of McLuhan’s work, which is the notion that discarnation is a consequence of—and directly linked to—modern subjectivity