A time for play: Interstitial time, Invest/Express games, and feminine leisure style

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shira Chess

Games such as FarmVille and other casuals played on social networks and mobile devices have recently become increasingly popular. Research on Social Networking Games (SNGs) often focuses on the “social” aspects—how this newer style of games engenders social relationships from disparate locations. This essay examines the genre of gaming in terms of their industry category, “Invest/Express Games.” Using the Invest/Express label as a means of rethinking the role of interstitial time, this essay proposes that the gaming style taps in to what can be understood as “feminine leisure style.” In many ways, the significance of Invest/Express embodies a shift toward a feminization of popular video games.

Author(s):  
Khalid Abdulkareem Al-Enezi ◽  
Imad Fakhri Taha Al Shaikhli ◽  
Sufyan Salim Mahmood AlDabbagh

<span>This research aims to measure the role of social networks in influencing purchasing decisions among consumers in Kuwait; the research used the quantitative methods, and analytical the technique to get the results, and the research developed a measure to study the relationship between the variables to the study and selection of a sample of consumers of (100). The results indicated that the social networking variables (exchange of information, evaluation of product) possess influence on purchasing decisions. Furthermore, the results indicate that majority of respondents do their digital scanning more often before intend to go to the store. The unexpected results came from the question “traditional advertising (TV, Newspaper, Magazine, Billboards) are more effective than the social networking; 23% agreed, 36% said no, and 41% said sometimes. In light of these findings, the study made a series of recommendations; the most important are; The executives and sales representatives need to understand the benefits offered by social networks, and understand the advantages and functions and tools of social communication, and knowing how to apply them effectively and efficiently, and then use the appropriate social networking tool.</span>


2019 ◽  
pp. 097215091986886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameeta Jaiswal-Dale ◽  
Fanny Simon-Lee ◽  
Giovanna Zanotti ◽  
Peter Cincinelli

The aim of this research is to apply the tool of social network analysis to situations in capital sourcing, including early stage financing. The study is conducted within the social network of Medical Alley Association of Minnesota (MAA). We investigate the correlation between the main centrality measures: closeness, degree and betweenness, and the amount of funding received by the 163 MAA members during 2009–2012. Companies benefit from their social network to get access to better financing. The empirical results also provide a road map to encourage the sponsored or spontaneous growth of other social networks in related fields. Despite the financial crisis, the empirical results show how competition works when firms have established relations with others. Where an intersection occurs is merely an empirical curiosity and the causation resides in the intersection of relations. The relation that intersects on an organization determines the player’s competitive advantage.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 205316801774201
Author(s):  
Yu-Ru Lin ◽  
Ryan Kennedy ◽  
David Lazer

We examine the social antecedents of contributing to campaigns, with a particular focus on the role of population density and social networking opportunities. Using 10 years of US campaign contribution data from the Federal Election Commission and a national survey of party leaders, we find that recruiting contributors is easier in a densely populated region, where the daily opportunity of individuals being exposed to the same information via their social networks is high. Furthermore, the effect of population density is heterogeneous with respect to mobility: if a region has substantial commuting outflow, the chance of being mobilized from the place of residence decreases, but the chance of mobilization in their place of work increases. This analysis also reveals differences between political parties. Democrats are more dependent on social networking in population dense areas. This difference in the importance of social networking opportunities present in geographical space helps explain macro-level patterns in party fundraising.


Servis plus ◽  
10.12737/5533 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Артур Михеев ◽  
Artur Mikheev

The article present the results of research into the role of social networking in the life of under-age (aged 10–18) people with special needs (the number of respondents —120 under-age people). The aim of the research is to identify the degree of influence that social networks have on the process of social adaptation of under-age people with special needs. Each of the social networks under scrutiny was analyzed as to the user opportunities it has to offer and the user needs it can satisfy. The author also provides a definition of (1) the concept of a social network, (2) a social graph as a major element of a social network, (3) a person with special needs, and (4) population disability.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 381-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRISTIANO CASTELFRANCHI

In this paper, I claim that "information" is a social construct, is created and tailored on purpose by somebody for somebody else or collectively, accepted, believed, or propagated through social interactions. In particular, I argue about the essential social nature of several crucial aspects of information in IT and specifically in relation to Information Agents. After situating this view of information within the broader perspective of Social Artificial Intelligence — the new AI paradigm — I analyize the intrinsic social aspects of information ontology, search and access, presentation, overload, credibility and sources, value. The issue of real "collaboration" in providing information deserves special attention and I introduce our theory of over-help and of the ability to provide something different from what is requested in order to satisfy the real need beyond the request. In the second part, I focus on the crucial role of trust (an intrinsically social and cognitive notion) for dealing with information and sources especially on the web. My objective is to claim that: if information per se is a social construct, then its technology should be socially designed and integrated, and that machines must be involved in real social relationships because they have to mediate them among humans. It is necessary incorporating some part of this social knowledge and capability in the information technology itself, especially in adaptive and interacting "agents" and MAS.


F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
Jeel Moya-Salazar ◽  
Betsy Cañari ◽  
Lucía Gomez-Saenz ◽  
Hans Contreras-Pulache

Background: In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there are many ways to communicate hygiene measures, such as memes and stickers that are widely used on social networks. We carried out a systematic review in order to determine the impact of stickers and memes as tools to face the COVID-19 pandemic, following the PRISMA guide. Methods: The search was carried out in scientific databases (MEDLINE / PubMed, ScientiDirect, Scielo, LILACS, and Latindex), and in public pre-publication servers (bioRxiv, SocArXiv, medRxiv and Preprints). The publications were identified using the terms (((meme) OR (sticker)) AND ((COVID-19) OR (SARS-COV-2)) AND (WhatsApp)) and the corresponding translations for Spanish and Portuguese. Results: In the initial search, 8434 studies were obtained, 7749 in Preprints, 446 in SocArXiv, 145 in ScientDirect, 82 in medRxiv, and 12 in PubMed. No studies were found in LILACS, Latindex, Scielo, or bioRxiv. Of the 51 studies included as eligible, all were eliminated for not meeting the study inclusion criteria. The majority (40 studies) were eliminated as studies were publications related to the social aspects related to COVID-19, but did not develop an analysis of stickers or memes. Conclusions: No studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria related to the role of stickers and memes as tools to face the COVID-19 pandemic. More studies are needed to estimate its role as a means of communication in health.


Author(s):  
Ketil Slagstad

AbstractThis article analyzes how trans health was negotiated on the margins of psychiatry from the late 1970s and early 1980s. In this period, a new model of medical transition was established for trans people in Norway. Psychiatrists and other medical doctors as well as psychologists and social workers with a special interest and training in social medicine created a new diagnostic and therapeutic regime in which the social aspects of transitioning took center stage. The article situates this regime in a long Norwegian tradition of social medicine, including the important political role of social medicine in the creation of the postwar welfare state and its scope of addressing and changing the societal structures involved in disease. By using archival material, medical records and oral history interviews with former patients and health professionals, I demonstrate how social aspects not only underpinned diagnostic evaluations but were an integral component of the entire therapeutic regime. Sex reassignment became an integrative way of imagining and practicing psychiatry as social medicine. The article specifically unpacks the social element of these diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in trans medicine. Because the locus of intervention and treatment remained the individual, an approach with subversive potential ended up reproducing the norms that caused illness in the first place: “the social” became a conformist tool to help the patient integrate, adjust to and transform the pathology-producing forces of society.


Sexes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Andrea Sansone ◽  
Angelo Cignarelli ◽  
Daniele Mollaioli ◽  
Giacomo Ciocca ◽  
Erika Limoncin ◽  
...  

Sentiment analysis (SA) is a technique aimed at extracting opinions and sentiments through the analysis of text, often used in healthcare research to understand patients’ needs and interests. Data from social networks, such as Twitter, can provide useful insights on sexual behavior. We aimed to assess the perception of Valentine’s Day by performing SA on tweets we collected between 28 January and 13 February 2019. Analysis was done using ad hoc software. A total of 883,615 unique tweets containing the word “valentine” in their text were collected. Geo-localization was available for 48,918 tweets; most the tweets came from the US (36,889, 75.41%), the UK (2605, 5.33%) and Canada (1661, 3.4%). The number of tweets increased approaching February 14. “Love” was the most recurring word, appearing in 111,981 tweets, followed by “gift” (55,136), “special” (34,518) and “happy” (33,913). Overall, 7318 tweets mentioned “sex”: among these tweets, the most recurring words were “sexy” (2317 tweets), “love” (1394) and “gift” (679); words pertaining to intimacy and sexual activity, such as “lingerie”, “porn”, and “date” were less common. In conclusion, tweets about Valentine’s Day mostly focus on the emotions, or on the material aspect of the celebration, and the sexual aspect of Valentine’s Day is rarely mentioned.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3858
Author(s):  
Francesca Abastante ◽  
Isabella M. Lami ◽  
Marika Gaballo

This paper is built on the following research questions: (i) What are the direct/indirect relationships between Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) and sustainability protocols? (ii) Could the sustainability protocols constitute a solution towards the achievement of SDG11? We underline that, on the one hand, the SDGs are guidelines to support the development of sustainable policies and thus address all elements that may affect them, and on the other hand, sustainability protocols are assessment tools to promote sustainability-conscious design while remaining focused on the built environment. In the Italian regulatory context, the paper highlights how this difference in terms of focus and scale means that they only overlap and mutually reinforce each other with regard to certain aspects, more related to energy and air pollution issues and less to the social aspects of sustainability. Even if there is not always a direct relationship between the evaluation criteria of the protocols and the indicators of SDG11, it is possible to conclude that the sustainability protocols can facilitate the achievement of the SDG11 targets, acting as a key for the implementation of sustainable cities and helping in structuring the process leading to sustainability in a broader framework.


Sexualities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136346072110136
Author(s):  
Caroline Bem ◽  
Susanna Paasonen

Sexuality, as it relates to video games in particular, has received increasing attention over the past decade in studies of games and play, even as the notion of play remains relatively underexplored within sexuality studies. This special issue asks what shift is effected when sexual representation, networked forms of connecting and relating, and the experimentation with sexual likes are approached through the notion of play. Bringing together the notions of sex and play, it both foregrounds the role of experimentation and improvisation in sexual pleasure practices and inquires after the rules and norms that these are embedded in. Contributors to this special issue combine the study of sexuality with diverse theoretical conceptions of play in order to explore the entanglements of affect, cognition, and the somatic in sexual lives, broadening current understandings of how these are lived through repetitive routines and improvisational sprees alike. In so doing, they focus on the specific sites and scenes where sexual play unfolds (from constantly morphing online pornographic archives to on- and offline party spaces, dungeons, and saunas), while also attending to the props and objects of play (from sex toys and orgasmic vocalizations to sensation-enhancing chemicals and pornographic imageries), as well as the social and technological settings where these activities occur. This introduction offers a brief overview of the rationale of thinking sex in and as play, before presenting the articles that make up this special issue.


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