Social media, social capital, and seniors: The impact of Facebook on bonding and bridging social capital of individuals over 65.

Online social networks may be important avenues for building and maintaining social capital as adult’s age. However, fewstudies have explicitly examined the role online communities play in the lives of seniors. In this exploratory study, U.S.seniors were interviewed to assess the impact of Facebook on social capital. Interpretive thematic analysis reveals Facebookfacilitates connections to loved ones and may indirectly facilitate bonding social capital. Awareness generated via Facebookoften lead to the sharing and receipt of emotional support via other channels. As such, Facebook acted as a catalyst forincreasing social capital. The implication of “awareness” as a new dimension of social capital theory is discussed.Additionally, Facebook was found to have potential negative impacts on seniors’ current relationships due to open access topersonal information. Finally, common concerns related to privacy, comfort with technology, and inappropriate content wererevealed

Studying online support communities: Investigating network patterns and characteristics of social support

People’s activities on the internet have expanded from mainly retrieving information to communicating with each other in virtual settings. Thus, research investigating social interactions in online communities is becoming more and more important. However, the multi-faceted approaches of existing studies for the analysis of online communities make it difficult to combine the findings into a comprehensive understanding. This shows the need for holistic investigations of online communities. This thesis provides such a holistic approach by investigating a combination of different aspects of a selected online support community for older people. MOSuC (Model of Online Support Communities), a model describing the key aspects of online support communities was developed based on existing theories of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as well as theoretical perspectives on social support. Five studies were conducted, each addressing one of the different aspects of the case study community: (i) the message content, (ii) the conversations structure, (iii) the social network of related community members, (iv) the roles that online community members take on, and (vi) the taget population’s needs concerning the exchange of social support in online communities. The findings of these individual studies were then combined in context of MOSuC in order to provide a holistic description of the community. As a result, this thesis provides detailed insight into the characteristics of the case study community as well as the interplay and dependencies between different aspects of the community. Based on the integration of multiple studies, the thesis sheds light on two main issues: the characteristics of the individual aspects of the community as well as how these aspects are related to and affect each other. In addition to the findings of the studies, the thesis also contributes MOSuC, which serves both as a theoretical framework of the aspects of online support communities, as well as a practical tool for integrating the individual studies. In addition, the application, modification and integration of multiple methods in this thesis provide a novel methodological way for an integrative analysis of online support communities

Interruption events and sensemaking processes: A narrative analysis of older people's relationships with computers

This thesis provides a situated understanding of the ways in which the reality of a new technology is socially constructed. In particular, it examines how members of the aged interpretive community made sense of the computer as an interruption event, a technology not yet routinised as part of their everyday taken-for-granted reality, and needing to be consciously considered and evaluated to make it understandable. Members' sensemaking is studied as a narrative process in which meaning is produced by drawing on a repertoire of narratives, evaluating and developing localised responses to those narratives for the purpose of action taking. Two hundred and four participants over the age of 55 years, recruited predominantly from senior citizens' and SeniorNet organisations in the North Island of New Zealand, were interviewed in 28 focus groups over an eighteen month period between September 2001 and May 2003. Participants were categorised according to their self-identified membership of one of three groups: computer users affiliated to SeniorNet member organisations; computer users without SeniorNet organisational affiliation; and non-computer-users. Their computer-related stories were analysed using narrative analysis to identify and map the similar and different ways in which they constructed computers and themselves in relation to computers, in the stories they told. The research findings from this interpretive study augment the largely functionalist literature on older people and computers and provide insights not identified in previous studies. In particular, the findings indicate that participants identified a common meaning for the computer as actually or potentially useful for older people, but their meanings also varied according to their membership of one of the three participant groups, with SeniorNet members tending to identify the computer as an opportunity; Users, as a tool; and Nonusers, as a threat. Participants' meanings were traced through a storying process that identified three narrative elements as key: the settings in which accounts of the principal protagonists older people and computers were produced; the strength of the narrator's identification with old stories and values; and the ways in which the narrators oriented to the computer in the context of other technologies and events, or in isolation from them. The study makes a contribution to knowledge by enhancing understanding of older people's relationships with computers, through a micro level investigation of their experiences with, and meanings for, the technology. In addition, by identifying and explicating the processes through which the ongoing reality of a new technology is constructed and negotiated, and compared and contrasted in relation to three separate sub-groups of the one demographic population, the study contributes to social construction of technology theory. The study also makes a contribution to practice by showing how the alignment of old stories and new stories is a crucial component in the process for enabling those new to a technology to negotiate an appropriate placement for it, and how such alignment can be influenced by age-peer groups and the imperatives of inter-generational family communication

Silver Dreams Fund Learning and Evaluation Contract: Final report June 2014

This is a summary of the Final Report which presents the findings of the evaluation of the Big Lottery Fund's Silver Dreams Fund conducted by Ecorys.The Silver Dreams Fund was a £10 million programme which sought to address the gaps in provision by challenging organisations to come up with an innovative idea for a project that would "pioneer ways to help vulnerable older people deal more effectively with life-changing events".Our approach involved both formative and summative elements and was based upon a robust and evidence-based outcome evaluation framework. In addition, we have also undertaken an evaluation of the new programme management processes employed by the Big Lottery Fund which has been reported separately.In summary, the evaluation involved:- development of an evaluation framework and common indicators to measure outcomes;- provision of a package of self-evaluation support to projects;- programme level work to provide independent primary qualitative research and to validate findings from self-evaluations;- a range of learning activities; and- analysis and reporting

Symbolic Convergence in a Social Movement: a Case of “Pengumpulan Satu Juta KTP” by Teman Ahok

Internet plays an important role in modern social movements. One of the modern social movements succeeded in Jakarta was initiated by Teman Ahok named "Pengumpulan Satu Juta KTP Untuk Ahok". The article was a part of a larger research about cyberurban space in a social movement. Therefore, the research question was, “how was imaginaries in cyberurban space concept in “Pengumpulan Satu Juta KTP” social movement by Teman Ahok?” This study used the qualitative method. Data were collected using virtual ethnography method, with the observation of a video posted by Teman Ahok. Data were analyzed using Bormann\u27s Fantasy Theme Analysis. The results of this study form in three fantasy themes that describe the comments about “Jakarta Butuh Kamu, Ayo Bergerak Sekarang” video. These themes are “goodwill has to be supported”, “I am ready to support Ahok, but how?”, and “Ahok is not fit to lead”. All these fantasy themes are in favor of “it\u27s difficult but it is possible” rhetorical vision. The fantasy themes have emerged, and rhetorical vision is formed that linked all the fantasy themes. It can be concluded; that symbolic convergence has taken place in the dissemination of “Jakarta Butuh Kamu, Ayo Bergerak Sekarang” video

Trajectories to community engagement: understanding older people’s experiences of engagement with online and local communities

The communal benefits of online communities and SNS are enjoyed by many Internet users but remain of limited appeal to many older people. In this study we consider how a small group of older people in the South of England engage with these technologies showing their motivations and the role of existing relationships in the local community with regards to this engagement. Four catalysts are identified which determine trajectories towards and away from online engagement and these are: family, roles, loss, and ‘spaces and places’. The resulting trajectories are discussed along with their implications for policy making and technology design

An exploratory study of older persons\u27 computer and internet usage in Hong Kong

Computer usage and internet access for older persons have been increasingly emphasized in Hong Kong, particularly as a live access tool for keeping frequent contacts with the outside world and the applicability in online medical consultation for those who are frail and isolated. But how are these computer communication technologies being used among the older persons? The question has not been much explored. Hence, this study aims, as a first step, to find out the profiles of older persons using computer aided communications including internet and e-mails. The objectives of the present study are to: measure the proportion of older persons who have access to computers and the Internet in Hong Kong; examine computer usage and online habits of Hong Kong older persons including frequency of use, email capabilities and online activities; determine the percentage who use the Internet for financial or investment purposes; examine Hong Kong older persons’ attitudes to the impact of the Internet on their own investment knowledge, ability and habits; and examine the IT training needs of older persons and the difficulties that may arise, so as to enhance IT teaching in Hong Kong

Service-Learning Reference for Senior Corps Directors

Service-learning is defined as a method: a) under which participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs that are coordinated in collaboration with the community; b) that is integrated with specific learning objectives and provides structured time for participants to think, talk, or write about what they did and saw during the actual service activity; c) that provides participants with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities; and d) that enhances what is done in a program by extending participant learning beyond the organization and into the community, and helps foster a sense of caring for others. In other words, service-learning is made up of activities that connect serving your community with the learning you already do in your program or organization. Service-learning provides a real-life application of knowledge and skills to real-life community needs

Teaching and learning online : older adults in a community setting

This research was designed to assess whether the older adult learning in IT environments and online represents a different pedagogy from that of younger learners, as has been suggested by some authors in the literature. The study was conducted in a community learning and employment centre in an Australian rural town, and involved interviews with six teachers of older adults, and nine older learners. The results did not support the need for a particular pedagogy for older learners, instead supporting an approach to teaching that was based around teachers identifying learner characteristics and needs and responding to them as individuals. This finding has been interpreted in the context of already published iterative and interactive teaching models, and has considerable implications for the effective teaching and learning of older adults. Those implications are discussed in the paper.<br /

Perceived Attraction of Online Communities among Elderly People

Amount of elderly people that visit online communities is constantly growing. However, there is a research gap considering elderly people as Internet users and online community members. Therefore, in this paper we scrutinized elderly people\u27s perceptions of factors that encourage them to join online communities and, on the other hand, of factors preventing them from joining the communities. The empirical data was gathered by both posing questions and linking a web questionnaire in discussion forums aimed for elderly people. The study at hand seems to verify the existence of the attraction factors identified in earlier studies. On the other hand, the study does not seem to support the suggestion that elderly people need any other special web services than focused communities. According to the study, elderly people prefer discussions with others from the same age group. At the time being, the number of online communities targeted at Finnish senior citizens is low. As a conclusion we propose that by offering elderly people more online communities their social well-being could be increased