Digital native identity development in virtual worlds

In the transition from childhood to adolescence, teens are engaged in defining who they are and finding a place in the wide world creates insecurity. Digital natives are growing up as part of digital generation where technology is ubiquitous in a young person’s life. One online technology commonly used by digital natives are virtual worlds. Increasingly, they have come to rely on this digital media to help them navigate the challenges and issues they face in this period of life. This paper presents a research framework designed to provide a road map for the IS community in conducting research into this new and exciting area of virtual worlds and their impact on digital native identity development

I heart you: how businesses are using social media to increase social capital

The popularity of social media is increasing as more social media platforms are produced. Businesses have seen the potential for social media and have changed their business strategies to suit this change. Social media allows businesses to communicate and provide awareness to their customers about offerings. It also provides a good platform for individuals or customers to communicate to the business on how they are operating, their views on products or services. The research problem we address in this study is with this amount of freedom to share information through social media, we need an understanding of the considerations of how businesses maintain social capital and social trust. This paper presents a preliminary study which explores the effectiveness of how businesses maintain good social capital. This study uses primary data collected from interviews with businesses about their social media use with their customers. The preliminary results show that businesses do understand the importance of maintaining a high social capital within social media. This paper contributes to the social capital theory literature within the context of social media usage by organisations, and thus the results may also provide some practical guidance organisations

Same but Different: Understanding Women\u27s Experience of ICT in the UAE

Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) have become a potent global force in transforming social, economic, and political life. Given the centrality and importance of ICTs, men and women need to have equal opportunities to access, use, and master them. In particular, it could be asked whether women in Islamic societies within the GCC region have equal access to these new technologies. What are some of the promising new social, economic and political opportunities for Islamic women in the ICT sector, or does ICT access and use by those women replicate patterns of segregation seen elsewhere in their societies? What are the barriers that women, especially those in the Islamic world, have to overcome to actively participate in the promise of these technologies? We use grounded theory as our preliminary research methodology to analyse interviews with women who work in the ICT sector in the UAE. We discuss five major themes from the research: Westernization, IT as Modernity, Education, Government Initiatives, and Gender Perspective, and introduce a preliminary framework of the area. We conclude by discussing some inherent contradictions of women\u27s ICT use in a society that wishes to modernize, rather than Westernize, and how this is played out in our study

Preservation of Indigenous Culture among Indigenous Migrants through Social Media: The Igorot Peoples

The value and relevance of indigenous knowledge towards sustainability of human societies drives for its preservation. This work explored the use of Facebook groups to promote indigenous knowledge among Igorot peoples in the diaspora. The virtual communities help intensify the connection of Igorot migrants to their traditional culture despite the challenges of assimilation to a different society. A survey of posts on 20 Facebook groups identified and classified the indigenous cultural elements conveyed through social media. A subsequent survey of 56 Igorot migrants revealed that popular social media has a significant role in the exchange, revitalization, practice, and learning of indigenous culture; inciting an effective medium to leverage preservation strategies

Social Competence of Digital Natives: Impact of Social Networking Sites (SNS) Use

The digital natives of today are the first generation to grow up immersed in information and communication technologies and in particular social networking sites (SNSs). There is much hype in the media about the negative effects of SNSs, at the same time there are concerted efforts to reach these digital natives through social media by politicians, advertisers, organisations, and agencies. There is much isolated research on social media, digital natives, youth well-being, etc. But there is very little research that brings these diverse disciplinary threads together in a holistic manner. The purpose of our research is to address this lacuna by exploring the impact of social networking sites on digital native well-being in particular social competence. In this paper we explore this area and come up with three propositions that could become the foundation for future research

Knowledge Management without Management -- Shadow IT in Knowledge-intensive Manufacturing Practices

The voluntary use of private device by employees without formal approval of the IT department, commonly termed Shadow IT, is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. In this paper, we study the role of private smartphones (and related applications like WhatsApp) in knowledge-intensive practices in the manufacturing domain. With an in-depth case study based on data gained from observations and interviews, we are able to empirically illustrate why workers use their private smartphones (contrary to company guidelines) and how they find significant gains of productivity by using the ‘forbidden’ applications. Our study contributes to knowledge management research by showing how private IT use can change existing knowledge management practices. At the same time, we are able to give rich insights into the rise of Shadow IT in a manufacturing context which takes place in a self-organised way without knowledge of the management. This enables us to take a step towards a knowledge management strategy perspective on Shadow IT

Adapting Videogame Interfaces for the Visually Impaired: A Case Study of Audio Game Hub

Technology applications including games are generally not designed with the blind or visually impaired in mind. This is an invaluable area of research as it is this population that would benefit the most from accessible technology enabling inclusion and participation in society. “Nobody makes games for us” was a motivator for this research. This paper describes the process of creating a set of audio games for the visually impaired. The principles of audio game design are discussed and based upon these the Audio Game Hub is proposed. Audio Game Hub is currently a set of four audio games that have suitable interfaces for the visually impaired. Audio Game Hub is currently available for download on multiple platforms and has seen popularity with both visually impaired and normal sighted players, which provides an area for future research

Understanding and conceptualising the adoption, use and diffusion of mobile banking in older adults: A research agenda and conceptual framework

Mobile banking has become increasingly important to society; however, not all members of society adopt and/or use it as much as others: older adults, the disabled and lower-income families remain behind in their use and adoption of this service. This finding helped us recognise a research gap and led us to form our primary aim: to understand and explain the factors that influence the adoption, use and diffusion of mobile banking among one of those groups in particular, older adults, in the UK. To form a theoretical understanding, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the surrounding literature in the area and proposes a conceptual framework that can be used for future research. The implications of this research for academia and businesses are also provided in this paper

The role of intensity of Facebook usage in social capital development: An example with Arab students

This study extends prior literature on social networking sites, e.g., Facebook, to an under researched context, Arab countries. In particular, this research compares the Arab and non-Arab youth in the UAE in terms of motivations, intensity of Facebook usage and their social capital development. With a survey study involving 123 students in the UAE, the results suggest that the need for socialization is a driving force for intensity of Facebook usage among the youth in the UAE, implying that the driving forces of Facebook usage are regional specific. Moreover, intensity of Facebook usage contributes more to bonding social capital rather than bridging social capital. Significant gender and ethnic differences are reported in intensity of Facebook usage and resulting bonding social capital