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The EU‐funded project ‘Middleware Platform for eMPOWERing older people and people with cognitive impairments ‐ MPOWER’ is aimed at developing a technical middleware platform that enables rapid development of flexible, domain‐specific applications that can be personalised for individual use. We focused on creating a set of reusable components that can easily be combined in order to provide the most relevant services in the user's home, eg. calendar services, messaging services and different sensor technologies. In order to evaluate the feasibility of the platform, two full‐scale proof of concept applications (POCAs) were developed and deployed to real‐life environments; one ‘smart home’ solution in Poland and one individual internet‐based digital plan in Norway. This paper presents the findings from the POCA development and trial in Norway.Seven older people and their family carers from the municipality of Trondheim participated in the pilot trial (February 2008‐April 2009), which aimed to evaluate the services provided through an individual internet‐based digital plan displayed as a calendar page. Both family carers and staff from domiciliary services could, from their home computer, add appointments and messages on the user's digital calendar. The respondents were five women and two men, aged between 65 and 92, and only three of them, the two men and one of the women, had used a computer before getting involved in the MPOWER trial.Data collection regarding use, usability, utility and acceptance took place on a regular basis after a preset schedule. Analysis followed the developmental evaluation theory, which is useful when there is uncertainty about the effects (value) of an intervention, and when it is uncertain what causes or influences these effects. Results were presented as case histories, and the analysis of the causes of the observed effects are presented in a discussion section and divided into personal, technical and structural issues.The main conclusion is that the digital calendar with a message board demonstrated the potential to support older people at home, particularly older people with memory problems who need support in structuring the day and keeping an overview of their daily activities and appointments.

This paper aims to describe the approach of using quick response (QR) codes in a large US research university library. It describes the reasoning behind the numerous decisions that were made throughout the process.

This project was carefully planned to keep detailed organized statistics, effective and clear signage and low expenditures. After one year, the patrons were surveyed regarding library QR use and those results were compared with scan statistics.

This preliminary research into the use of QR codes in a large research library validates that the codes effectively demonstrate the Library’s willingness to reach patrons in innovative ways. It also confirmed the need to promote the usefulness of scanning the codes.

Some patrons stated they did not own a smartphone or have an application (app) on their phone that could scan QR codes; therefore, alternate methods of accessing the information should be provided.

The survey established that not all patrons recognize what QR codes are by name and/or by function, and libraries should recognize this need for education when imploring new technologies.

This paper looks at the opportunities provided to libraries through the use of QR codes, including the benefits of using them as a point of need service tool and marketing device.

Despite the extensive academic interest in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication, consumer attitudes toward eWOM communication have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for attitudes toward eWOM communication across digital channels.

Data were collected through a web-based survey on seven major digital communication channels. ANOVA was applied in order to analyze their differences. In addition, structural equation modeling was used to test the eWOM attitude model, using a sample of 864 participants who have had prior experience with the channels under study.

Findings indicate that both attitude toward eWOM and its antecedents significantly differ across channels. Additionally, a path analysis model reveals that the original integrated model applies to eWOM communications. Yet, in the case of eWOM, irritating messages may be positively related to attitude toward the channel, and credibility serves as a mediator of message value.

This paper supports the notion that attitude toward eWOM communication significantly differs across media channels. Future research should examine additional implications of attitude toward eWOM, and explore new and evolving channels.

Practitioners should adjust their eWOM media strategy to their objectives; blogs and social networks are more effective for brand attitude formation, whereas web forums enhance message credibility.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study that tests attitudinal differences toward eWOM across digital channels. As such, it contributes to the understanding of people’s perception of these platforms.

Many consumer general health information Web sites now provide interactive services such as “e‐mail the doctor” and online discussion boards. There has been little research into how consumers are using these services, especially general health discussion boards. In this exploratory study, features of health e‐mails such as enquiry subjects were investigated using content analysis. The material studied was 100 unsolicited e‐mails and 100 discussion messages sent between 2000 and 2003 by users of the UK‐based Web site MedicDirect. Issues emerging from the analysis included the high proportion of unsuitable e‐mails (up to 62 per cent) and the failure of nearly one‐third of users to find the information they sought on the Web site. Over one‐third of e‐mail senders misspelled key search terms. Readability tools could not be applied to e‐mails to assess consumer literacy, despite a suspected mismatch between Web page readability and consumer comprehension. There is ample scope for further research on these topics.

Presents an updated version of a paper given by the author at an international conference in Athens 2000. Briefly outlines the development of the internet and e‐commerce and the effect of globalization. Considers the potential for the EU to standardize rules and advance its economic integration agenda. Looks at present EU laws in this area. Covers the unicitral model law on electronic commerce, its merits and its problems. Discusses personal jurisdiction under traditional rules and cyberspace transactions. Concludes that existing legislation must be re‐evaluated in the light of technological advances, the need for a more mobile kind of legal person and the worldwide nature of transactions across territorial boundaries, paperless contracts and digital signatures and the use of self‐regulation are also covered.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the latest research related to secure routing protocols in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and propose a new approach that can achieve a higher security level compared to the existing one. One of the main security issues in WSNs is the security of routing protocols. A typical WSN consists of a large number of small size, low-power, low-cost sensor devices. These devices are very resource-constrained and usually use cheap short-range radios to communicate with each other in an ad hoc fashion thus, achieving security in these networks is a big challenge, which is open for research.

The route updates and data messages of the protocol are authenticated using Edwards-curves Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA). Routing protocols play an essential role in WSNs, they ensure the delivery of the sensed data from the remote sensor nodes to back-end systems via a data sink. Routing protocols depend on route updates received from neighboring nodes to determine the best path to the sink. Manipulating these updates by inserting rouge nodes in the network that advertise false updates can lead to a catastrophic impact on the compromised WSN performance.

As a result, a new secure energy-aware routing protocol (SEARP) is proposed, which uses security enhanced clustering algorithm and EdDSA to authenticate route advertisements and messages. A secure clustering algorithm is also used as part of the proposed protocol to conserve energy, prolong network lifetime and counteract wormhole attacks.

In this paper, a SEARP is proposed to address network layer security attacks in WSNs. A secure clustering algorithm is also used as part of the proposed protocol to conserve energy, prolong network lifetime and counteract wormhole attacks. A simulation has been carried out using Sensoria Simulator and the performance evaluation has been discussed.

This chapter outlines the extent to which the traditional characteristics of masculinity in sport – initially played out in sports stadia and the traditional media in the late nineteenth and throughout most of the twentieth century – are now also a feature of social media and digital technology platforms in the twenty-first century. At the outset, this chapter discusses the historical association between masculinity and sporting competition and how this has played an important role in presenting a normative heterosexual identity among players, fans, and the traditional media. The chapter then discusses the introduction of social media and digital technology platforms and the impact this history is having in these rapidly consumed spaces, with a particular focus on language, such as hate speech.

This chapter examines and discusses a myriad of literature from inside and outside of academia that explores masculinity, sport, and the internet. These discussions are backgrounded within a historical context and connected to contemporary examples.

Social media and digital technology platforms have provided opportunities for athletes, the media, and fans, to engage in more of an active debate on masculinity in sport than existed in the twentieth century. However, the chapter also addresses the traditional characteristics of masculinity that remain in the culture of sport and in online environments, especially surrounding hate speech.

This chapter, while engaging in an emerging topic of discussion, offers important recommendations for future research and the ways in which this can be methodologically carried out on the internet on a variety of topic areas surrounding masculinity in sport from a sociological perspective.