HOW MICROBLOG FOLLOWER NETWORKS AFFECT OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE PROJECT SUCCESS

Successful open source software (OSS) projects require efficient communication means and a steady supply of voluntary developers. Microblogging, as well as the follower network it generates, is becoming increasingly popular as an emerging Web 2.0 communication technology in many online OSS communities. However, little is known about how microblogging follower networks affect OSS project success. Based on theories drawn from the social network domain, OSS and virtual team research,we hypothesized two follower network mechanisms – preferential attachment and structural holes – which may significantly affect OSS project success, by improving knowledge sharing and attracting more skillful developers. We plan to empirically study a microblog follower network in a large online OSS community, aiming to examine the impacts of the two hypothesized follower network mechanisms on OSS project success. Our potential findings may provide insights for OSS project managers to better manage microblog communications and thereby achieve project success

Mobilizing User-Generated Content For Canada’s Digital Advantage

Executive Summary: The goal of the Mobilizing User-Generated Content for Canada’s Digital Content Advantage project is to define User-Generated Content (UGC) in its current state, identify successful models built for UGC, and anticipate barriers and policy infrastructure needed to sustain a model to leverage the further development of UGC to Canada\u27s advantage. At the outset, we divided our research into three domains: creative content, small scale tools and collaborative user-generated content. User-generated creative content is becoming increasingly evident throughout the technological ecology through online platforms and online social networks where individuals develop, create and capture information and choose to distribute content through an online platform in a transformative manner. The Internet offers many tools and resources that simplify the various UGC processes and models. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and others provide functionality to upload content directly into the site itself, eliminating the need for formatting and conversion, and allowing almost instantaneous access to the content by the user’s social network. The successful sites have been able to integrate content creation, aggregation, distribution, and consumption into a single tool, further eroding some of the traditional dichotomies between content creators and end-users. Along with these larger scale resources, this study also treats small scale tools, which are tools, modifications, and applications that have been created by a user or group of users. There are three main categories of small scale tools. The first is game modifications, or add-ons, which are created by users/players in order to modify the game or assist in its play. The second is modifications, objects, or tools created for virtual worlds such as Second Life. Third, users create applications and tools for mobile devices, such as the iPhone or the Android system. The third domain considers UGC which is generated collaboratively. This category is comprised of wikis, open source software and creative content authored by a group rather than a sole individual. Several highly successful examples of collaborative UGC include Wikipedia, and open source projects such as the Linux operating system, Mozilla Firefox and the Apache platform. Major barriers to the production, distribution and aggregation of collaborative UGC are unduly restrictive intellectual property rights (including copyrights, licensing requirements and technological protection mechanisms). There are several crucial infrastructure and policies required to facilitate collaborative UGC. For example, in the area of copyright policy, a careful balance is needed to provide appropriate protection while still allowing downstream UGC creation. Other policy considerations include issues pertaining to technological protection mechanisms, privacy rights, consumer protection and competition. In terms of infrastructure, broadband internet access is the primary technological infrastructure required to promote collaborative UGC creation. There has recently been a proliferation of literature pertaining to all three of these domains, which are reviewed. Assessments are made about the most effective models and practices for each domain, as well as the barriers which impede further developments. This initial research is used as a basis for generating some tentative conclusions and recommendations for further research about the policy and technological infrastructures required to best mobilize and leverage user-generated content to create additional value in the digital economy internal and external to Canada. Policy recommendations based on this research focus on two principles: balancing the interest of both content owners and users, and creating an enabling environment in which UGC production, distribution, aggregation, and re-use can flourish

Social Media as an Online Buying Tool

The buying behavior of consumers has been greatly influenced by technology. Technology has created an environment of satisfaction for the consumers through their buying behavior. Technology has also led to the introduction of various social media platforms through which consumers can browse, read news, communicate with friends and family and most importantly, buy their products and services through the platforms. Social media being one of the biggest factors that has changed the buying behavior of the consumers through its models, theories and the abundant info ration that could be found in them when making a purchase. These factors are why online buying behavior of the consumers are on the increase and recently, it has been mostly preferable by consumers. As it is known that social media plays an important role in the online buying decisions of consumers, this research aims to understand how social media acts as a stimulus response to online buying and what are the actions that gets in the minds of the consumers that leads them to make an online purchase

Building Governance Capability in Online Communities: A Social Network Perspective

Online communities are increasingly seen as new forms of organising. However, we have limited understanding of how governance emerges in an online community. Prior literature either focuses on governance as a dynamic process-oriented view or as static comparative analysis, in contexts where the online community is mature and well established. This paper therefore seeks to explore how governance evolves throughout the history of an online community, from an embryonic stage, through the emergence stage to the establishe stage. In the context of an online community built around a GitHub-hosted project called GitPoint, we draw on the concept of capability to carry out a theoretical narrative of interactions between individual members that are conducted across social networks, including Twitter and Gitter. Based on this narrative, the paper offers insights into the emergence of governance in an online community and makes key contributions to the literature on governance in such communities

Application of web 3.0 technologies in distance education (by levels of higher education)

The purpose of the survey is to identify the need for Web 3.0-technologies in distance education among higher education seekers initial level (short cycle), first (bachelor's) level, second (master's) level, third (educational-scientific/educational-creative) level, scientific level among 438 applicants for higher education. Features (open source software (OSS) for developing, sharing and configuring programs for global use and application, built-in algorithms for analyzing and interpreting large amounts of data) and the benefits of Web 3.0 in higher education (the ability to organize collaboration on a social network, encourage globalization, improve data management, stimulate creativity and innovation, support the availability of mobile Internet). The correlation between the functions of Web 3.0-technologies in distance education and learning outcomes at all levels of higher education is established. Intelligence indicates a lack of comprehensive scientific research in the relevant field. The practical significance of the results of intelligence lies in the correlation of the functions of Web 3.0-technologies in distance education and learning outcomes at all levels of higher education

Modeling the formation of R\&D alliances: An agent-based model with empirical validation

We develop an agent-based model to reproduce the size distribution of R\&D alliances of firms. Agents are uniformly selected to initiate an alliance and to invite collaboration partners. These decide about acceptance based on an individual threshold that is compared with the utility expected from joining the current alliance. The benefit of alliances results from the fitness of the agents involved. Fitness is obtained from an empirical distribution of agent's activities. The cost of an alliance reflects its coordination effort. Two free parameters $a_{c}$ and $a_{l}$ scale the costs and the individual threshold. If initiators receive $R$ rejections of invitations, the alliance formation stops and another initiator is selected. The three free parameters $(a_{c},a_{l},R)$ are calibrated against a large scale data set of about 15,000 firms engaging in about 15,000 R\&D alliances over 26 years. For the validation of the model we compare the empirical size distribution with the theoretical one, using confidence bands, to find a very good agreement. As an asset of our agent-based model, we provide an analytical solution that allows to reduce the simulation effort considerably. The analytical solution applies to general forms of the utility of alliances. Hence, the model can be extended to other cases of alliance formation. While no information about the initiators of an alliance is available, our results indicate that mostly firms with high fitness are able to attract newcomers and to establish larger alliances

What explains continuance intention in smartwatches?

Nascimento, B., Oliveira, T., & Tam, C. (2018). Wearable technology: What explains continuance intention in smartwatches? Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 43, 157-169. DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.03.017Smartwatch is a recent and significant development in the domain of wearable technology. We study continuance intention and its determinants, using a combination of the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) with habit, perceived usability, and perceived enjoyment, to explain the continuance intention of smartwatches. Based on a sample of 574 individuals collected from the USA, we show that relationships of ECM enhance the continuance intention, such as confirmation, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction, and also the role of habit and perceived usability. Additionally, we find that habit was the most important feature to explain the continuance intention of smartwatches. The paper ends with a discussion of the study's limitations and implications.authorsversionpublishe