The Politics of Social Filtering

Social filtering – the selective engagement with people, communication and other information as a result of the recommendations of others – has always taken place. However, the possibilities of the Internet combined with the growth of online social networking activities have enabled this process to become rapidly more extensive, easier and potentially problematic. This paper focuses on the analysis of the politics of social filtering through social network sites. It argues that what is needed is both a closer examination and evaluation of these processes and also the development of a framework through which to begin such an evaluation. There is also a second intent: to (re)assert the argument that any analysis necessarily needs to take into account and critique the development, implementation and use of technologies (this includes the software, algorithms and code)themselves as well as the people that build and use them

Towards novel difluorinated sugar mimetrics; syntheses and conformational analyses of highly-functionalised difluorinated cyclooctenones

Highly-functionalised difluorinated cyclooctenones were synthesised from trifluoroethanol using either metallated difluoroenol acetal or carbamate chemistry, followed by a [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement or aldol reaction. Efficient RCM reactions afforded the title compounds which showed rather restricted fluxional behaviour by VT 19F NMR. Topological characterisation by molecular modelling and NOESY/ROESY experiments offered a number of challenges, but allowed the identification of two favoured boat-chair conformers which interconverted by pseudorotation with relatively large activation barriers

Surveillance of compliance with tobacco regulations in Örebro County, Sweden: a mixed methods study after the ban of test purchases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tobacco has long been known to be one of the most common reasons for sickness and premature deaths in the world. An important aspect of tobacco use is the youth's access to tobacco, and surveillance visits are one way to make sure how retailers are complying with age limit in the tobacco law. In Örebro County, Sweden, a project to reinforce the tobacco legislation was carried out in 2009-2010. One part of the project was surveillance visits that were done according to three different themes, called thematic surveillance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study is an evaluation of the results from thematic surveillance and has a mixed methods approach. The quantitative analyses concerns protocols from 217 surveillance visits, where questions were asked about three themes (self-monitoring programs; marketing; labeling of products and pricing). In addition, questionnaires filled out by six tobacco administrators who worked within the project were analyzed qualitatively by content analysis in order to study their perceptions and opinions of the project.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study shows that half of the visited retailers had self-monitoring programs. Lack of self-monitoring programs was significantly more common in smaller stores/kiosks and at restaurants. Further, the tobacco administrators who worked within the project perceived thematic surveillance as a good method for accomplishing better structure in surveillance work, but not as effective as purchase attempts (mystery shopping).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Thematic surveillance was perceived as positive and the method was also regarded to be a good way to work with surveillance. However, the method could be developed further for optimal use and better effect at the retailers. It is clear that people who work with tobacco prevention at the local level in Örebro County want to use purchase attempts as a surveillance method, and that they believe that purchase attempts is the best way to make sure if store comply with the tobacco law.</p

Inspired or foolhardy: sensemaking, confidence and entrepreneurs' decision-making.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of confidence in how both new and experienced entrepreneurs interpret and make sense of their business environment to inform decision-making. We illustrate our conceptual arguments with descriptive results from a large-scale (n = 6289) survey on entrepreneurs' perception of business performance and their decisions taken at a time of uncertainty in an economic downturn. Quantitative findings are stratified along experiential lines to explore heterogeneity in entrepreneurial decision-making and directly inform our conceptual arguments, while qualitative data from open questions are used to explain the role of confidence. Newer entrepreneurs are found to be more optimistic in the face of environmental risk, which impacts on their decision-making and innovative capabilities. However, the more experienced entrepreneurs warily maintain margin and restructure to adapt to environmental changes. Instead of looking directly at the confidence of individuals, we show how confidence impacts sensemaking, and ultimately, decision-making. These insights inform research on the behaviour of novice and experienced entrepreneurs in relation to innovative business activities. Specifically, blanket assumptions on the role of confidence may be misplaced as its impact changes with experience to alter how entrepreneurs make sense of their environment

The anarchic audience: a case study

The new media environment has brought with it increasing dissatisfaction with the information which quantitative analysis of audience numbers gives to those most interested - and this includes program makers, their bosses (be they in commercial or public broadcasting), and the advertisers. For all these interest groups conventional ratings methodologies have allowed them to assess the size of the audience they can reach. However numbers on their own haven't been able to tell them whether the audience members physically present for a broadcast are actually registering the content in a meaningful way. This paper describes a qualitative study of the radio audience in Perth, Western Australia which trialled a new methodology to allow the listeners themselves to be heard. In the process it also tested some of the assumptions that media professionals make about listener reaction to programs. The study indicates that radio listeners. no less than television viewers or Internet users, are anarchic and untameable, and furthermore have a far more sophisticated grasp of the medium than planners and programmers may give them credit for

Digital television (DTV) : An overview of developments in Australia, US and the UK

Australia is in a unique position because it sits between the US and UK markets in the diffusion and adoption of digital television (DTV). Australia has adopted HDTV like the US but it has also adopted DVB like the UK. In this paper the authors will provide an overview of diffusion of digital television and the strategies of broadcasters. The paper will outline the trends emerging in the US and UK contexts and explore their implications for Australia for audiences, policy makers and content providers

Introducing ratings in transition

There is considerable ferment surrounding audience measurement systems in Australia and internationally (Balnaves, O'Regan and Sternberg, 2002). This article identifies the range and sources of this ferment. It pinpoints several pressure points such as the constitution of ratings panels and the problems of survey fatigue in a fragmenting media environment. Consideration is also given to 'next generation' ratings measurement technologies such as the personal people meter (PPM) and their likely impact upon the industry and its norms, and new media formats such as the personal video recorder (PVR) and the problems and opportunities they create for audience measurement system