Australian Computer Society: ACS Digital Library
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Helpful or harmful? Exploring the impact of social media usage on intimate relationships
Get PDFInternet access in Australia is increasing with the most popular online activity reported by Australians being social media use. The literature is divided as to whether social media use is helpful or harmful to intimate relationships. Recent research from an Australian family counselling provider indicates that social media use is resulting in negative intimate relationship outcomes, echoing recent American research findings. However, other researchers note that social media use can have positive outcomes for intimate relationships and individuals. These different findings prompted this research which focuses on the impact of social media usage on intimate relationships using Facebook as a case study. A survey of 518 Australians examining Facebook usage, relationship satisfaction and household income was undertaken. The results suggest that relationship satisfaction varies based on types of social media usage when controlled for household income. For most respondents, social media usage did not have a negative impact on their relationship. However, results indicated that where their partner was a ‘friend’ on social media, they were less likely to report concerns relating to social media usage impacting their relationship. It was also found that those living alone or with children on low incomes were more likely to be dissatisfied with their relationships and rely on social media to connect with others. Finally, four types of Facebook usage were identified and mapped against intensity of usage and relationship satisfaction, indicating that the way in which social media is used impacts relationship satisfaction. These findings indicate that social media use is helpful for some intimate relationships and harmful for others based on individual usage and their interaction with their partner via the platform
Which Factors Determine Our Online Social Capital? An Analysis Based on Structural Equation Modelling
Get PDFThe relationship between social network sites and social capital has received much research attention. However, two research gaps can be identified in the existing literature. First, only few studies have examined online social capital as a resource in online social networks. In this regard, it is not clear how to validly measure online social capital. Second, while the factors influencing social capital, among them properties of an individual’s social network, have been investigated in offline settings, such factors have not yet been investigated in terms of online social capital. Addressing these gaps, we asked 1000 Facebook users to provide information on their Facebook usage and online friendship network. Employing structural equation modelling for analysing the survey data, we show that Williams’ Internet Social Capital Scales, which are commonly used to assess social capital in offline settings, can be used to validly measure online social capital. Moreover, we find that some of the variables influencing offline social capital, among them similarity in terms of sociodemographic attributes, seem less important in an online setting
HR activities and practices for project success: A multi-method approach from Indian IT firms
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Human Resource activities and practices (HRAPs) on value-driven project management in the Indian IT industry. It is a sector that offers various jobs for young IT skilled labour force, but faces major challenges in recruiting and retaining talent. A multi-method research has been carried out, using Delphi technique and a simultaneous equations model. Using the Delphi method, we developed an initial set of 136 globally accepted HRAPs. This was reduced to 20 most significant attributes applicable to Indian IT projects with the help of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) used over three rounds of iterations. Later, from 431 observations, we selected the top 10 HRAPs based on mean ranks in round 3 to study the impact on value-driven project success, in terms of meeting project, customer and organizational goals. The study also uses triangulation through a multi-method research approach to achieve convergence. The significant HRAPs impacting value-driven project management include efficient project leadership, effective communication, training of project leaders, ensuring job-matching and listening to team members’ issues. Frequent team conflicts and personnel turnover, however, adversely impact IT project success. Our results confirm that the impact of HRAPs on project goals is more prominent and immediate as compared to meeting customer or organizational goals, which is often delayed. The results emphasize the necessity of integrating all stakeholders of IT projects in order to accomplish value-driven success
Influence of Social Broadcasting Networks on News Consumption
Get PDFThis study assesses potentially sensitive effects of a specific sub-class of digital social technologies called social broadcasting networks (SBNs). Adopting the explanatory mechanisms of social network structures (Borgatti et al. 2009; Kane et al. 2014), and adapting Herzberg et al’s (1959) Two Factor theory, it investigates how the structure of a SBN (conceptualized as its relative advantage), and the influence of users in a SBN empower two key news consumption behaviours viz. switching and continuance. Employing the survey (qualitative) method, the study empirically validates the news consumption behaviours of 325 respondents. Findings reveal a more nuanced role of SBNs indicating the potential benefits to news firms because of individuals switching to traditional news mediums while in the same breadth highlights the potential of SBNs as competitive news providers. It shows intermittent use of SBNs and signifies that when online and offline news mediums co-exist, influence of users in the incumbent (online) medium plays a powerful role in inducing or refraining the use of a substitute offline medium. This study develops new ontological and theoretical understanding of the entanglement of technology and social activity that is dynamic, at times ephemeral and pervasively ubiquitous
Challenges of IS Research Translation: a Study of Tensions between ICT Innovation and Conservative Bureaucracies
Get PDFIn highly-structured public bureaucracies, such as universities, the need for stable and ordered administration conflicts with attempts at innovation and creativity. This is a particular dilemma for universities, which exist to create and share knowledge. The case presented here concerns the tensions generated where a university’s administration ignored innovative IS research findings which could translate into innovations from which they could benefit. We employ Leximancer to objectively analyse textual documents related to the case and invoke Activity Theory to make deeper sense of the phenomenon of our investigation. Identifying several contractions behind the tensions uncovered in this case, we turn to the concept of dialectic as a tool for cooperatively resolving complex contradictions. The findings concern many cultural-historical factors that present barriers to the translation of IS research into innovative practice in university administration
When Do Motivational Factors Lead to Negative User Experience on Social Networking Applications?
Get PDFWe investigate why some innovative user interface (UI) designs (e.g., Facebook Home), although initially expected to encourage users to accept or adopt social networking applications (apps), actually discouraged users from using those applications over time. Using two experimental studies, we explore the relationship between new design factors and user behavioural intentions. In Study 1, we adopted two-factor theory to discover motivational factors related to using a social networking app. We then designed and created a virtual social networking app (called Unicorn) using these identified motivational factors. In Study 2, we investigated how motivational factors de-motivate user behavioural intentions. We unpacked this relationship using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Further, we explored how involvement level may alleviate this negative relationship. Our results show that users with a high involvement level exhibit a relatively high level of perceived usefulness and perceived playfulness. Therefore, involvement level can alleviate the negative relationship that exists between motivational factors and behavioural intentions. This study provides both theoretical implications to the literature and practical insights for UI designers
Development of a Theoretical Framework to Investigate Alignment of Big Data in Healthcare through a Social Representation Lens
Get PDFThe aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework grounded in the literature, which can be used to explore the influence of big data on business-IT alignment in the healthcare context. Increasingly the availability of information systems in healthcare delivery and service management results in massive amounts of complex data that have the 3V characteristics of big data (i.e. volume, variety, velocity). Use of big-healthcare-data has been identified as bringing significant benefits to the healthcare sector from improved decision making through to population health analysis. Although the technical dynamics around big data such as analytics and infrastructure requirements are extensively researched, less attention has been given to social dynamics such as peoples’ experience, understanding and perceived usefulness of this data. To address this gap, the paper uses social representation theory as a methodological lens to develop a theoretical framework to study the social dynamics around big data and its use in the healthcare context. The selected case for this development is the New Zealand healthcare sector and an approach using multi-level macro, meso, and micro analysis is taken. Use of social representation theory as a methodological lens to develop a theoretical framework is a novel approach. Such a theoretical framework will be useful as a foundation for carrying out on-going empirical research on big data to understand its influence on business-IT alignment in the healthcare context
An Extended Cognitive Situation Model for Capturing Subjective Dynamics of Events from Social Media
Get PDFThe event-indexing situation models are introduced as event models derived from language to facilitate comprehension and memory retrieval. These models explain how fragmental information about events are collected, integrated and updated into a coherent set of views of what the text is about. The models are adopted as the basis of this study as an attempt to capture the event with contextual, dynamic, and social features, as conveyed by the vast volumes of online textual resources. Information in social media is received through highly personalized channels and is reshaped and interpreted in a more individual, segmental and real-time manner. The reprocessed information is then spread at high speed to a wider range of receivers. Therefore, the interpretation of mainstream media content is influenced by ongoing and dynamic contribution of opinions by users empowered by social media. This new phenomenon has not been examined so far from the perspective of the impact on conventional situation models. This paper explores how collaborative and sharing aspects of social media emphasize subjectivity of interpretation of mainstream media and proposes an extended cognitive situation model which better represents event-centric knowledge. This study investigates the mechanisms for constructing and updating the situation models with continuous textual information streamed from heterogeneous forms of media. It also empirically demonstrates how the proposed model can enhance the understanding of subjective aspects of events with dynamic social opinions
Preface to the Special Section on Recent Advances in Social Media
No full text An introduction to the sectio