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21 – 30 of over 95000
Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Joseph Kehinde Fasae and Idowu Adegbilero-Iwari

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of social media for academic practices by science students of public universities in Southwest Nigeria.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of social media for academic practices by science students of public universities in Southwest Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive design was used for the study. Research instrument used was questionnaire where 140 copies were administered to science students, using purposive sampling technique. Three institutions in southwest of Nigeria were selected for the study. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to students in their lecture rooms and laboratories during practical classes with the permission and assistance of their lecturers. The data collected were analysed using frequency and simple percentage.

Findings

The results reveal that among the various social media networks available, Facebook (93.48 per cent) is the most recognized and most famous, followed by Google+ (63.77 per cent) and Twitter (47.83 per cent). Two-third of the students make use of social media daily to remain up-to-date with trending events/news and to occupy free time when they are bored, among other reasons. The findings show that Google+ (52.17 per cent) is the most beneficial social media network followed by Facebook (29.7 per cent) and Wikia (23.91 per cent). Most of the science students are knowledgeable in the usage and application of social media, while majority of them considered poor Internet connectivity, receiving of unwanted messages/pictures and electricity failure as the leading problems encountered while using social media.

Originality/value

The study was necessary to identify the use and application of social media by science students in public universities in Southwest Nigeria.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 January 2021

Ari Alamäki, Amir Dirin and Jyrki Suomala

This study examines students' emotional responses to augmented reality (AR) applications and their willingness to share on social media. It also compares user experiences of AR…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines students' emotional responses to augmented reality (AR) applications and their willingness to share on social media. It also compares user experiences of AR and virtual reality (VR).

Design/methodology/approach

In line with expectation disconfirmation theory, the study focuses on students' experiences in the post-adoption situation where they had gained actual experiences of AR applications. The participants in this case study included 100 undergraduate students from higher educational institutes.

Findings

Augmentation as a value-creating mechanism seems to create surprising emotional reactions, as it created completely new and unexpected experiences for first-time users. This study also shows that positive user experiences increased the students' willingness to share AR content on social media channels. In addition, AR seems to be easier to adopt than does VR with “cardboard-style” VR headsets.

Research limitations/implications

More research is needed to determine which specific features of AR applications and pedagogical methods create positively surprising emotional experiences that affect rewarding learning experiences and social media sharing.

Practical implications

The results of this study allow designers and educators to select educational technologies that emotionally engage students to use and share them. Positively surprising emotional experiences are important for rewarding learning experiences. The findings also provide hints on the future preferences of new AR users.

Originality/value

This study created a new understanding of the emotional determinants of AR adoption and sharing on social media.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2021

Pooja Sarin, Arpan Kumar Kar and Vigneswara P. Ilavarasan

The Web 3.0 has been hugely enabled by smartphones and new generation mobile applications. With the growing adoption of smartphones, the use of mobile applications has grown…

Abstract

Purpose

The Web 3.0 has been hugely enabled by smartphones and new generation mobile applications. With the growing adoption of smartphones, the use of mobile applications has grown exponentially and so has the development of mobile applications. This study is an attempt to understand the issues and challenges faced in the mobile applications domain using discussions made on Twitter based on mining of user generated content.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses 89,908 unique tweets to understand the nature of the discussions. These tweets are analyzed using descriptive, content and network analysis. Further using transaction cost economics, the findings are reviewed to develop practice insights about the ecosystem.

Findings

Findings indicate that the discussions are mostly skewed toward a positive polarity and positive user experiences. The tweeters are predominantly application developers who are interacting more with marketers and less with individual users.

Research limitations/implications

Most of these applications are for individual use (B2C) and not for enterprise usage. There are very few individual users who contribute to these discussions. The predominant users are application reviewers or bloggers of review websites who use the recently developed applications and discuss their thoughts on the same.

Practical implications

The results may be useful in varied domains which are planning to expand their reach to a larger audience using mobile applications and for marketers who primarily focus on promotional content.

Social implications

The domain of mobile applications on social media is still restricted to promotions and digital marketing and may solely be used for the purpose of link building by application developers. As such, the discussions could provide inputs towards mobile phone manufacturers and ecosystem providers on what are the real issues these communities are facing while developing these applications.

Originality/value

The study uses mixed research methodology for mining experiences in the domain of mobile application developers using social media analytics and transaction cost economics. The discussion on the findings provides inputs for policy-making and possible intervention areas.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Oussama BenRhouma, Ali AlZahrani, Ahmad AlKhodre, Abdallah Namoun and Wasim Ahmad Bhat

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the private-data pertaining to the interaction of users with social media applications that can be recovered from second-hand Android…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the private-data pertaining to the interaction of users with social media applications that can be recovered from second-hand Android devices.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a black-box testing-principles based methodology to develop use-cases that simulate real-world case-scenarios of the activities performed by the users on the social media application. The authors executed these use-cases in a controlled experiment and examined the Android smartphone to recover the private-data pertaining to these use-cases.

Findings

The results suggest that the social media data recovered from Android devices can reveal a complete timeline of activities performed by the user, identify all the videos watched, uploaded, shared and deleted by the user, disclose the username and user-id of the user, unveil the email addresses used by the user to download the application and share the videos with other users and expose the social network of the user on the platform. Forensic investigators may find this data helpful in investigating crimes such as cyber bullying, racism, blasphemy, vehicle thefts, road accidents and so on. However, this data-breach in Android devices is a threat to user's privacy, identity and profiling in second-hand market.

Practical implications

Perceived notion of data sanitisation as a result of application removal and factory-reset can have serious implications. Though being helpful to forensic investigators, it leaves the user vulnerable to privacy breach, identity theft, profiling and social network revealing in second-hand market. At the same time, users' sensitivity towards data-breach might compel users to refrain from selling their Android devices in second-hand market and hamper device recycling.

Originality/value

This study attempts to bridge the literature gap in social media data-breach in second-hand Android devices by experimentally determining the extent of the breach. The findings of this study can help digital forensic investigators in solving crimes such as vehicle theft, road accidents, cybercrimes and so on. It can assist smartphone users to decide whether to sell their smartphones in a second-hand market, and at the same time encourage developers and researchers to design methods of social media data sanitisation.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 March 2020

Muhammad Naeem

The purpose of this study is to identify the role of social media in implementing effective organizational change. The study illuminates how social media applications support the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the role of social media in implementing effective organizational change. The study illuminates how social media applications support the antecedents of organizational change in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

The study followed an interpretive approach based on qualitative design and grounded theory using 41 non-directive and semi-structured interviews with change leaders and change recipients. These respondents were chosen using purposive sampling and thematic analysis was then performed using NVivo 11-Plus software.

Findings

This research highlights how social media applications can be used to overcome the challenges of organizational change implementation. The findings of the study illuminate various emerging themes such as social media applications are beneficial for fostering knowledge sharing about change processes and enhancing effective communication during change formulation and implementation. It can increase the level of trust and participation in decision-making and decrease the level of resistance to change. Also, it can enhance the level of support for change acceptance in the workplace.

Practical implications

Social media application (SMAs) are helpful to foster informal, constructive and relevant discussion with respect to routines organizational tasks, employee concerns about new changes, information about job security and financial and non-financial benefits after change implementation. The effective and efficient use of SMAs helps organizations to foster knowledge amongst employees and they can address various critical issues i.e. employee uncertainties about change initiatives, social consensus on the solution of problems and interactive communication among social actors within a network.

Originality/value

The study represents an effort to explore seldom-researched aspects such as the role of social media in the context of change formulation and implementation at the workplace. Social media applications have become popular across the world and the speed of their usage is rising day by day, but their real contribution toward organizational change has not yet been fully understood.

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2020

Muhammad Naeem

The failure rate of change is high amongst countries and cultures where collectivism, destructive politics and resistance are high. Therefore, change leaders are more focused on…

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Abstract

Purpose

The failure rate of change is high amongst countries and cultures where collectivism, destructive politics and resistance are high. Therefore, change leaders are more focused on exploring how they can create networking and socialization amongst major organizational stakeholders that can minimize detrimental cynicism and lobbying during change implementation. This study is an attempt to shed light on how Social Networking Applications (henceforth SNAs) can facilitate change implementation processes in the insurance sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The individual reaction and interaction realities during the change process cannot be discovered once and for all as there are varied perspectives on the same subjects. Therefore, a social constructionist position was used to understand the different realties of change managers and change recipients using the context of insurance sector.

Findings

The study documented how SNAs can play an active role in addressing the concerns of employees as well as managing and protecting knowledge sharing to facilitate the change implementation process. The collaborative and interactive nature of SNAs can enhance richness in knowledge sharing and can facilitate the participation of employees. Therefore, management should monitor these platforms as a means to improve the change process and to address the concerns of employees. These networking channels which include WhatsApp and Facebook can enhance social interactions, support and acceptance at individual and organizational levels.

Research limitations/implications

Social media has become a familiar tool for employees to use to discuss internal changes and policies within their organizations. Social media enhances the richness, reach, knowledge exchange and effective internal communication potential amongst organizational change stakeholders. Using social media, change recipients are now more empowered and connected with their leadership that ever before. It is now easier to facilitate decision making during the change formulation and implementation process.

Practical implications

Social media applications have become necessary to ensure incremental and radical changes to the survival of dynamic businesses. The findings of this study are beneficial for change leaders and recipients of change to implement successful organizational change using social media tools. The effective and efficient use of social media applications helps organizations to foster knowledge amongst employees and they can address various critical issues, that is resistance to change, lower levels of knowledge sharing and support for change acceptance and lack of employee participation in decision making.

Originality/value

There is an inadequate understanding regarding how SNAs play a role in facilitating the change process in both public and private sector organizations. This study offers a social mchange facilitation model with the help of social learning, social networking and social behaviourism theories.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2018

Saju Jose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic use of social media and chat applications of women entrepreneurs to promote their businesses.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic use of social media and chat applications of women entrepreneurs to promote their businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of the nature of the study and dearth of sufficient data in the Middle Eastern society on the women entrepreneurship, this study employed a qualitative research methodology. The research comprised of 20 in-depth interviews with immigrant women entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates. They were identified through personal contacts and referrals.

Findings

All the expatriate women interviewed are using social media and chat applications to promote their business. Facebook is used for brand creation and WhatsApp is used as a direct marketing tool to evoke purchase response. Though traditional promotional tools are far from redundant, their role is more supplementary. The increasing trend is a combination of traditional tools and digital tools. Digital tools seem to have an upper hand in their business promotions.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to SME sector in one industry and in one country. The qualitative nature of this study could affect the generalizability of the results. A more extensive study is needed and future research should be more diverse including widening the selection of respondents, industries and countries.

Originality/value

This study is a novel attempt to gauge an in-depth understanding of modern communication tools. It looks specifically at the integrative strategies pursued by the immigrant women entrepreneurs using Facebook and WhatsApp.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2018

Suha AlAwadhi and Sultan M. Al-Daihani

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academic library resources and services in Kuwait and identifies the factors related to the use…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academic library resources and services in Kuwait and identifies the factors related to the use of social media applications in marketing academic libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative data-collection approach using a paper and online questionnaire has been employed to elicit the opinions of librarians working in academic libraries in Kuwait in both private and public institutions. In total, 89 valid questionnaires have been analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (factor analysis, correlations, experimental analysis and regression).

Findings

The study shows that the academic librarians have a positive perception toward the use of social media. The identified factors relating to the use of social media for marketing library information resources and services are the usefulness of social media tools in raising awareness and in providing needs analysis and satisfaction assessments. However, management support for the use of social media for library marketing is poor.

Practical implications

This study provides insights into the factors related to the use of modern social media platforms to promote information resources and services at academic libraries to provide outreach services to current and potential users.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the field of information studies as it highlights the importance of using social media platforms in marketing academic library information resources and services. Library administrators could use the results to develop social media marketing plans to effectively promote their library resources.

Details

Library Management, vol. 40 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2012

Mervi Vuori

This study aims to enhance understanding of using Web 2.0 technologies and social media in a global corporation.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to enhance understanding of using Web 2.0 technologies and social media in a global corporation.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study in a global corporation was conducted to illustrate the main uses of social media and to describe the related service portfolio.

Findings

The main uses of social media were identified and conceptualized based on the case company data. Internally, social media was used to for internal communication and knowledge transfer, to reach personnel and to conduct internal idea crowdsourcing. Externally, social media was used to enhance communications related to the company brand, to enable dialogue with customers, to build communities with various stakeholder groups and to engage external stakeholders in idea generation via a crowdsourcing platform. A categorization of social media uses for communication, collaboration and connecting vis‐à‐vis external and internal uses was created. Idea creation practices were further conceptualized as the main enactment of Web 2.0 social media technology.

Research limitations/implications

This study is a single case study and thus the results cannot be generalized.

Practical implications

As Web 2.0 technologies and social media have become a topic of interest for many companies, it is essential to understand how social media can be used in a business context. The classification of social media uses is deployed to highlight the possible implications for company operations, and the human factor is emphasized in system adoption and use. Challenges related to social media implementation are described.

Originality/value

As of to date, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence on uses of social media. This research is based on a case study, allowing an in‐depth insight into the phenomenon and related issues.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2010

Toni Ahlqvist, Asta Bäck, Sirkka Heinonen and Minna Halonen

This paper seeks to discuss the outcomes of a road‐mapping research on social media project completed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Social media refer to a

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to discuss the outcomes of a road‐mapping research on social media project completed at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Social media refer to a combination of three elements: content, user communities, and Web 2.0 technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes socio‐technical road‐mapping to study the potential transformations of social media in the virtual and physical spheres.

Findings

Road‐maps were constructed in three thematic areas: society, companies, and local environment. The results were crystallized into five development lines. The first development line is transparency and its increasing role in society. The second development line is the rise of a ubiquitous participatory communication model. The third development is reflexive empowerment citizens. The fourth development line is the duality of personalization/fragmentation vs mass effects/integration. The fifth development line is the new relations of physical and virtual worlds.

Originality/value

The study of social media has been focusing mainly on its technological aspects from the current perspective. This paper forms a future‐oriented perspective to social media in a wider societal context.

Details

Foresight, vol. 12 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

21 – 30 of over 95000