Like? Advertising practitioners views of social media as an advertising research tool

Given that both academics and marketers are dissatisfied with the current state of advertising research (Kerr and Schultz, 2010; Neff, 2011), the objective of this exploratory paper is to determine the position of world-leading advertising professionals on the use of social media to test, track and evaluate campaigns. Using Delphi methodology, an international panel of Cannes Gold Lion winners acknowledged that social media research has both strengths and weaknesses, the same as any research. Its strengths are its intimacy and spontaneity, bringing the brand and consumer closer. The real risk is the loss of control in this research environment.

The first year experience of social work students : developing a “sense of fit” and engagement with the profession : a practice report

Engagement is believed to be critical to a successful first year experience. This paper examines a range of strategies introduced into a first year Social Work and Human Services unit at Queensland University of Technology. The focus of these strategies was to enhance student engagement through building connections with peers, lecturers and the Social Work and Human Services professions. It is argued in this paper that students are more likely to continue with their studies if they are supported in building an emerging identity as both a university student and as a Social Work or Human Services practitioner. A range of strategies was introduced, including restructuring the unit to include an early intensive teaching block; inviting current practitioners to speak with students about the realities of practice; and embedding an academic skills component into the unit. Feedback from students highlighted the success of these strategies in developing their academic skills, building connections and embedding a sense of fit with the profession.

Communication Interception Technology (CIT) and its use in the fight against Transnational Organised Crime (TOC) in Australia : a review of the literature

In recent times, technology has advanced in such a manner that the world can now communicate in means previously never thought possible. Transnational organised crime groups, who have exploited these new technologies as basis for their criminal success, however, have not overlooked this development, growth and globalisation. Law enforcement agencies have been confronted with an unremitting challenge as they endeavour to intercept, monitor and analyse these communications as a means of disrupting the activities of criminal enterprises. The challenge lies in the ability to recognise and change tactics to match an increasingly sophisticated adversary. The use of communication interception technology, such as phone taps or email interception, is a tactic that when used appropriately has the potential to cause serious disruption to criminal enterprises. Despite the research that exists on CIT and TOC, these two bodies of knowledge rarely intersect. This paper builds on current literature, drawing them together to provide a clearer picture of the use of CIT in an enforcement and intelligence capacity. It provides a review of the literature pertaining to TOC, the structure of criminal enterprises and the vulnerability of communication used by these crime groups. Identifying the current contemporary models of policing it reviews intelligence-led policing as the emerging framework for modern policing. Finally, it assesses the literature concerning CIT, its uses within Australia and the limitations and arguments that exist. In doing so, this paper provides practitioners with a clearer picture of the use, barriers and benefits of using CIT in the fight against TOC. It helps to bridge the current gaps in modern policing theory and offers a perspective that can help drive future research.

Relational regulation theory and the role of social support and organisational fairness for nurses in a general acute context

Aims and objectives. To present a novel approach to nurse stress by exploring the demand–control–support model with organisational justice through the lens of relational regulation theory. Background. Nursing is often stressful due to high demands and dissatisfaction with pay, which impacts the mental well-being and productivity of nurses. Design. A cross-sectional design. Methods. A validated questionnaire was sent to the work addresses of all nursing and midwifery staff in a medium-sized general acute hospital in Australia. A total of 190 nurses and midwives returned completed questionnaires for the analyses. Results. The multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the model applies to the prototypical context of a general acute hospital and that job control, supervisor support and outside work support improve the job satisfaction and mental health of nurses. Conclusions. Most importantly, supervisor support was found to buffer the impact of excessive work demands. Fairness of procedures, distribution of resources and the quality and consistency of information are also beneficial. Relational regulation theory is applied to these findings as a novel way to conceptualise the mechanisms of support and fairness in nursing. Relevance to clinical practice. The importance of nurses’ well-being and job satisfaction is a priority for improving clinical outcomes. Practically, this means nurse managers should be encouraging nurses in the pursuit of diverse relational activities both at work and outside work.

The affordances of social technology : a BPM perspective

Increasingly, organizations are looking to employ Social Technology (ST) to enhance their capability with Business Process Improvement (BPI). However, little is known about how the characteristics or qualities of ST actually influence an organizations' capability at Business Process Improvement (BPI). This paper discusses the potential role of ST in process improvement by presenting an a-priory model derived by an investigation of extant research. First, the qualities of social technology that potentially support high level action possibilities related to BPI are presented (we refer to these as affordances), next these affordances are mapped to the De Bruin (2009) BPM Maturity model as a first step to understanding how ST influences BPI. This work is expected to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the relationship between ST and BPI, and will extend existing theory on Business Process Management capability and maturity.

The competing-complementarity of social media

This study presents the unique benevolent and malevolent nature of social media, intertwined to its capabilities, which influences its role as a benefactor and a competitor. We conceptualize this phenomenon as the competing-complementarity of social media. We explain competing-complementarity using Teece’s (1986) concept of complementary assets and Porter’s (2001) work on competitive forces shaping strategy and business on the Internet. We observe this phenomenon of competing-complementarity of social media on news firms and offer its evidence through opinionated data analysis.

An international survey of daily disposable contact lens prescribing

Purpose The aim was to determine the extent of daily disposable contact lens prescribing worldwide and to characterise the associated demographics and fitting patterns. Methods Up to 1,000 survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in up to 40 countries between January and March every year for five consecutive years (2007 to 2011). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fits or refits performed after receiving the survey form. Survey data collected since 1996 were also analysed for seven nations to assess daily disposable lens fitting trends since that time. Results Data were collected in relation to 97,289 soft lens fits, of which 23,445 (24.1 per cent) were with daily disposable lenses and 73,170 (75.9 per cent) were with reusable lenses. Daily disposable lens prescribing ranged from 0.6 per cent of all soft lenses in Nepal to 66.2 per cent in Qatar. Compared with reusable lens fittings, daily disposable lens fittings can be characterised as follows: older age (30.0 ± 12.5 versus 29.3 ± 12.3 years for reusable lenses); males are over-represented; a greater proportion of new fits versus refits; 85.9 per cent hydrogel; lower proportion of toric and presbyopia designs and a higher proportion of part-time wear. There has been a continuous increase in daily disposable lens prescribing between 1996 and 2011. The proportion of daily disposable lens fits (as a function of all soft lens fits) is positively related to the gross domestic product at purchasing power parity per capita (r2 = 0.55, F = 46.8, p < 0.0001). Conclusions The greater convenience and other benefits of daily disposable lenses have resulted in this modality capturing significant market share. The contact lens field appears to be heading toward a true single-use-only, disposable lens market.

International survey of rigid contact lens fitting

Purpose To determine the extent of rigid contact lens fitting worldwide and to characterize the associated demographics and fitting patterns. Methods Survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in up to 40 countries between January and March every year for five consecutive years (2007 to 2011). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fits or refits performed after receiving the survey form. Survey data collected between 1996 and 2011 were also analyzed to assess rigid lens fitting trends in seven nations during this period. Results Data were obtained for 12,230 rigid and 100,670 soft lens fits between 2007 and 2011. Overall, rigid lenses represented 10.8% of all contact lens fits, ranging from 0.2% in Lithuania to 37% in Malaysia. Compared with soft lens fits, rigid lens fits can be characterized as follows: older age (rigid, 37.3 ± 15.0 years; soft, 29.8 ± 12.4 years); fewer spherical and toric fits; more bifocal/multifocal fits; less frequent replacement (rigid, 7%; soft, 85%); and less part-time wear (rigid, 4%; soft, 10%). High-Dk (contact lens oxygen permeability) (36%) and mid-Dk (42%) materials are predominantly used for rigid lens fitting. Orthokeratology represents 11.5% of rigid contact lens fits. There has been a steady decline in rigid lens fitting between 1996 and 2011. Conclusions Rigid contact lens prescribing is in decline but still represents approximately 10% of all contact lenses fitted worldwide. It is likely that rigid lenses will remain as a viable, albeit increasingly specialized, form of vision correction.

An international survey of toric contact lens prescribing

Objectives To characterize toric contact lens prescribing worldwide. Methods Up to 1,000 survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in up to 39 countries between January and March every year for 5 consecutive years (2007–2011). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fits or refits performed after receiving the survey form. Only data for toric and spherical soft lens fits were analyzed. Survey data collected since 1996 were also analyzed for 7 nations to assess toric lens fitting trends since that time. Results Data were collected in relation to 21,150 toric fits (25%) and 62,150 spherical fits (75%). Toric prescribing ranged from 6% of lenses in Russia to 48% in Portugal. Compared with spherical fittings, toric fittings can be characterized as follows: older age (29.8 ± 11.4 years vs. 27.6 ± 10.8 years for spherical lenses); men are overrepresented (38% vs. 34%); greater proportion of new fits (39% vs. 32%); use of silicone hydrogel lenses (49% vs. 39%); and lower proportion of daily disposable lenses (14% vs. 28%). There has been a continuous increase in toric lens prescribing between 1996 and 2011. The proportion of toric lens fits was positively related to the gross domestic product at purchasing power parity per capita for year 2011 (r2 = 0.21; P=0.004). Conclusions At the present time, in the majority of countries surveyed, toric soft contact lens prescribing falls short of that required to correct clinically significant astigmatism (≥0.75 diopters) in all lens wearers.

Disclosures of social value creation : a case study of three global social enterprises

This study seeks to fill in gap in the existing literature by looking at how and whether disclosure of social value creation becomes a part of legitimation strategies of social enterprises. By using legitimacy reasoning, this study informs that three global social organizations, Grameen Bank, Charity Water, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provide evidence of the use of disclosures of social value creation in order to conform with the expectations of the broader community—the community that wants to see poverty and injustice free world.

Models of social media adoption in emergency management organisations

Recent natural disasters such as the Haitian earthquake 2011, the South East Queensland floods 2011, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in the United States of America in 2012, have seen social media platforms changing the face of emergency management communications, not only in times of crisis and also during business-as-usual operations. With social media being such an important and powerful communication tool, especially for emergency management organisations, the question arises as to whether the use of social media in these organisations emerged by considered strategic design or more as a reactive response to a new and popular communication channel. This paper provides insight into how the social media function has been positioned, staffed and managed in organisations throughout the world, with a particular focus on how these factors influence the style of communication used on social media platforms. This study has identified that the social media function falls on a continuum between two polarised models, namely the authoritative one-way communication approach and the more interactive approach that seeks to network and engage with the community through multi-way communication. Factors such the size of the organisation; dedicated resourcing of the social media function; organisational culture and mission statement; the presence of a social media champion within the organisation; management style and knowledge about social media play a key role in determining where on the continuum organisations sit in relation to their social media capability. This review, together with a forthcoming survey of Australian emergency management organisations and local governments, will fill a gap in the current body of knowledge about the evolution, positioning and usage of social media in organisations working in the emergency management field in Australia. These findings will be fed back to Industry for potential inclusion in future strategies and practices.

The application of social network analysis in the construction industry of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong construction industry is currently facing ageing problem and labour shortage. There are opportunities for employing ethnic minority construction workers to join this hazardous industry. These ethnic minority workers are prone to accidents due to communication barriers. Safety communication is playing an important role for avoiding the accidents on construction sites. However, the ethnic minority workers are not very fluent in the local language and facing safety communication problems while working with local workers. Social network analysis (SNA), being an effective tool to identify the safety communication flow on the construction site, is used to attain the measures of safety communication like centrality, density and betweenness within the ethnic minorities and local workers, and to generate sociograms that visually represent communication pattern within the effective and ineffective safety networks. The aim of this paper is to present the application of SNA for improving the safety communication of ethnic minorities in the construction industry of Hong Kong. The paper provides the theoretical background of SNA approaches for the data collection and analysis using the software UCINET and NetDraw, to determine the predominant safety communication network structure and pattern of ethnic minorities on site.