Virtual Research Conferences

Author(s):  
Kamna Malik

Research conferences provide an important platform for idea exchange and validation as well as for social networking and talent hunt. Online social networks and collaborative web tools can make conferences budget friendly for sponsors, flexible for attendees, and environment friendly for the society without loss of effectiveness. While many conferences have adopted such tools during pre and post conferencing stages, their use during actual meeting hours is very limited. This paper deliberates on the current and potential use of such technologies on various stages of a conference. It then presents the case of a pure virtual conference in comparison with a face to face conference with an aim to analyze the immediate benefits that virtual conferencing brings for organizers and participants. Perceived deterrents and potential benefits for various stakeholders are discussed. Suggestions are made for educational institutions to review their norms for conference sponsorships.

Author(s):  
Kamna Malik

Research conferences provide an important platform for idea exchange and validation as well as for social networking and talent hunt. Online social networks and collaborative web tools can make conferences budget friendly for sponsors, flexible for attendees, and environment friendly for the society without loss of effectiveness. While many conferences have adopted such tools during pre and post conferencing stages, their use during actual meeting hours is very limited. This paper deliberates on the current and potential use of such technologies on various stages of a conference. It then presents the case of a pure virtual conference in comparison with a face to face conference with an aim to analyze the immediate benefits that virtual conferencing brings for organizers and participants. Perceived deterrents and potential benefits for various stakeholders are discussed. Suggestions are made for educational institutions to review their norms for conference sponsorships.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali H. Al-Badi ◽  
Wafa S. Al-Qayoudhi

Web 2.0 technologies have become effective tools in recent years, being used by people everywhere for everything. One of the most effective types of Web 2.0 technology is online social networks. Social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, are being used in communication and for building social capital between people. However, they have become important tools in the business world, and business people have realized that social networks are applicable tools in their daily business tasks. There is a belief that social networking and social media are going to transform peoples live styles, change their cultures, revolutionize communication, and reform the existing business models. From this standpoint, this research investigates and attempts to understand the adoption of social networks in business. This research raises three main questions: 1) What is the impact of utilizing social networks in business?, 2) How does business increase opportunities by adopting social networks?, and 3) What are the obstacles that discourage certain organizations from utilizing social networks in their business? The main theoretical objectives of this research are to investigate and explore the opportunities and reasons behind adopting social networks in business, to investigate the impacts of social networks on business and what the consequences are for individual businesses, and to discover the reasons which are preventing certain businesses from adopting social networks. In order to achieve the researchs objectives about 130 questionnaires were distributed to different private organizations in Oman. Some of the initial findings of this exploratory study are that the majority of organizations that participated fall into the services category; 57% of the respondents have face-to-face meetings as well as online/email to communicate with their customers, and 81% of these organizations allow their employees to access/browse the Internet during working hours; 31% of the organizations said that the main gain from utilizing social networking is to encourage and empower employees to discuss ideas, post news, ask questions, and share links; 62% of the organizations agreed that one of the obstacles preventing them from adopting social networking is the lack of quantifiable business benefits. This study is expected to help businesses that are trying to gain competitive advantage by deploying these new technologies and ideas for the enhancement of their operations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S529-S529
Author(s):  
Daniele Zaccaria ◽  
Georgia Casanova ◽  
Antonio Guaita

Abstract In the last decades the study of older people and social networks has been at the core of gerontology research. The literature underlines the positive health effects of traditional and online social connections and also the social networks’s positive impact on cognitive performance, mental health and quality of life. Aging in a Networked Society is a randomized controlled study aimed at investigating causal impact of traditional face-to-face social networks and online social networks (e.g. Social Network Sites) on older people’ health, cognitive functions and well-being. A social experiment, based on a pre-existing longitudinal study (InveCe - Brain Aging in Abbiategrasso) has involved 180 older people born from 1935 to 1939 living in Abbiategrasso, a municipality near Milan. We analyse effects on health and well-being of smartphones and Facebook use (compared to engagement in a more traditional face-to-face activity), exploiting the research potential of past waves of InveCe study, which collected information concerning physical, cognitive and mental health using international validate scale, blood samples, genetic markers and information on social networks and socio-demographic characteristics of all participants. Results of statistical analysis show that poor social relations and high level of perceived loneliness (measured by Lubben Scale and UCLA Loneliness scale) affect negatively physical and mental outcomes. We also found that gender and marital status mediate the relationship between loneliness and mental wellbeing, while education has not significant effect. Moreover, trial results underline the causal impact of ICT use (smartphones, internet, social network sites) on self-perceived loneliness and cognitive and physical health.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-363
Author(s):  
Akwesi Assensoh-Kodua ◽  
Knowledge Siyabonga Vusamandla Ngwane

This paper tests the factors likely to impact continuance intentions through the medium of online social networks (OSN) for business transactions. The expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) from the consumer behaviour literature is made use of; to forward a set of theories that validate a prior model from IS usage research. Eight research hypotheses, after a field survey of OSNs participants for business transactions were conducted are empirically validated. 300 useable responses from LinkedIn and Twitter social networking platforms users for business transactions were analysed with the WarpPLS 4.0 bootstrapping technique. The study results provide significant evidence in support of perceived trust and user satisfaction, as determinants of the continuance intention of people using OSN platforms for business transactions. Above all, the research model was tested for the moderating effects of usage habit, which was found to impact relationships between continuance intention and perceived trust, resulting in an improved predictive capability of (R2=0.55) as compared to base model of (R2=0.52). The moderating result indicates that a higher level of habit increases the effect of perceived trust on continuance intention.


Author(s):  
Agostino Poggi ◽  
Michele Tomaiuolo

Social web sites are used daily by many millions of users. They have attracted users with very weak interest in technology, including absolute neophytes of computers in general. Common users of social web sites often have a carefree attitude in sharing information. Moreover, some system operators offer sub-par security measures, which are not adequate for the high value of the published information. For all these reasons, online social networks suffer more and more attacks by sophisticated crackers and scammers. To make things worse, the information gathered from social web sites can trigger attacks to even more sensible targets. This work reviews some typical social attacks that are conducted on social networking systems, describing real-world examples of such violations and analyzing in particular the weakness of password mechanisms. It then presents some solutions that could improve the overall security of the systems.


Author(s):  
Vladlena Benson

Based on the literature review of the theory of trust, this chapter aims to provide an insight into trust formation on social networking sites (SNS). An overview of the current state of cybercrime and known ways of threat mitigation helps shed some light on the reasons why social networks became easy targets for Internet criminals. Increasingly, personalisation is seen as a method for counteracting attacks perpetrated via phishing messages. This chapter aims to look specifically at trust in online social networks and how it influences vulnerability of users towards cybercrime. The chapter poses a question whether personalisation is the silver bullet to combat cyber threats on social networks. Further research directions are discussed.


2011 ◽  
pp. 491-507
Author(s):  
Avimanyu Datta ◽  
Len Jessup

The authors present a parsimonious theoretical model that illustrates how Internet-based virtual environments (such as social networking Web sites) moderate the relationship between social networks and social entrepreneurship. Social networks promote social entrepreneurship by means of (a) technology and knowledge transfer; (b) locating information; (c) generating entrepreneurial opportunities; (d) building entrepreneurial competency; (e) financing innovation; and (f) building effective networks for commercialization of innovations. Internet based virtual environments increase the velocity with which online social networks are formed and operationalized. They, thus, have a moderating effect in the relationship between social networks and social entrepreneurship. The authors also represent three concepts that are core to social networks: density, centrality, and heterogeneity. They posit that all three explain variance in social entrepreneurship and that Internet-based virtual environments moderate each of the relationships these three elements of social networks have with social entrepreneurship.


Author(s):  
Mehmet Ferhat Sönmez

Identity emerges as a flexible, multidimensional, variable, and slippery concept that cannot be defined through the processes of discussion and understanding. The new construction area of this concept, which is regarded as a process constructed on the social plane, is the social networking platforms. This is because these platforms are the most common communication environments where people and their lifestyles are presented to the outside world, in addition to the cheap and rapid satisfaction of their needs for information and entertainment. Face-to-face communication and language practices are not sufficient enough in the identity presentation anymore. Individuals choose to design and update their identities through social networks and to perform an image-based identity manifestation. This chapter examines how identity was established and manifested through social networks, and analyzes the identities the popular people in these networks designed and exhibited.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monic Sun ◽  
Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang ◽  
Feng Zhu

Conformity toward the majority choice among a user’s friends on a social-networking site first decreases and then increases with the adoption rate of that choice.


Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 539
Author(s):  
Robin Cohen ◽  
Karyn Moffatt ◽  
Amira Ghenai ◽  
Andy Yang ◽  
Margaret Corwin ◽  
...  

In this paper, we explore how various social networking platforms currently support the spread of misinformation. We then examine the potential of a few specific multiagent trust modeling algorithms from artificial intelligence, towards detecting that misinformation. Our investigation reveals that specific requirements of each environment may require distinct solutions for the processing. This then leads to a higher-level proposal for the actions to be taken in order to judge trustworthiness. Our final reflection concerns what information should be provided to users, once there are suspected misleading posts. Our aim is to enlighten both the organizations that host social networking and the users of those platforms, and to promote steps forward for more pro-social behaviour in these environments. As a look to the future and the growing need to address this vital topic, we reflect as well on two related topics of possible interest: the case of older adult users and the potential to track misinformation through dedicated data science studies, of particular use for healthcare.


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