Social media and public libraries : exploring information activities of library professionals and users

Social media has become a part of many people’s everyday lives. In the library field the adoption of social media has been widespread and discussions of the development of “Library 2.0” began at an early stage. The aim with this thesis is to study the interface between public libraries, social media, and users, focusing on information activities. The main research question is: How is the interface between public libraries and social media perceived and acted upon by its main stakeholders (library professionals and users)? The background of Library 2.0 is strongly associated with the development of the Web and social media, as well as with the public libraries and their user-centered and information technological development. The theoretical framework builds on the research within the area of Library and Information Science concerning information behavior, information practice, and information activities. Earlier research on social media and public libraries is also highlighted in this thesis. The methods survey and content analysis were applied to map the interface between social media and public libraries. A questionnaire was handed out to the users and another questionnaire was sent out to the library professionals. The results were statistically analyzed. In the content analysis public library Facebook pages were studied. All the empirical investigations were conducted in the area of Finland Proper. An integrated analysis of the results deepens the understanding of the key elements of the social media and public library context. These elements are interactivity, information activities, perceptions, and stakeholders. In this context seven information activities were distinguished: reading, seeking, creating, communicating, informing, mediating, and contributing. This thesis contributes to develop the research concerning information activities and draws a realistic picture of the challenges and opportunities in the social media and public library context. It also contributes with knowledge on library professionals and library users, and the existing differences in their perceptions of the interface between libraries and social media.

Backpacker 2.0 - Contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform

Long-term independent budget travel to countries far away has become increasingly common over the last few decades, and backpacking has now entered the tourism mainstream. Nowadays, backpackers are a very important segment of the global travel market. Backpacking is a type of tourism that involves a lot of information search activities. The Internet has become a major source of information as well as a platform for tourism business transactions. It allows travelers to gain information very effortlessly and to learn about tourist destinations and products directly from other travelers in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Social media has penetrated and changed the backpacker market, as now modern travelers can stay connected to people at home, read online recommendations, and organize and book their trips very independently. In order to create a wider understanding on modern-day backpackers and their information search and share behavior in the Web 2.0 era, this thesis examined contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform. In order to achieve this goal, three sub-objectives were identified: 1. to describe contemporary backpacker tourism 2. to examine contemporary backpackers’ travel information search and share behavior 3. to explore the impacts of new information and communications technologies and Web 2.0 on backpacker tourism The empirical data was gathered with an online survey, thus the method of analysis was mainly quantitative, and a qualitative method was used for a brief analysis of open questions. The research included both descriptive and analytical approaches, as the goal was to describe modern-day backpackers, and to examine possible interdependencies between information search and share behavior and background variables. The interdependencies were tested for statistical significance with the help of five research hypotheses. The results suggested that backpackers no longer fall under the original backpacker definitions described some decades ago. Now, they are mainly short-term travelers, whose trips resemble more those of mainstream tourists. They use communication technologies very actively, and particularly social media. Traditional information sources, mainly guide books and recommendations from friends, are of great importance to them but also eWOM sources are widely used in travel decision making. The use of each source varies according to the stage of the trip. All in all, Web 2.0 and new ICTs have transformed the backpacker tourism industry in many ways. Although the experience has become less authentic in some travelers’ eyes, the backpacker culture is still recognizable.

Jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välinen yhteys: tutkimus media-alan henkilöstön kokemuksista.

Työhyvinvointi työpaikoilla on Työterveyslaitoksen vuonna 2008 tekemän tutkimuksen mukaan heikentynyt ja tästä kertyvät kustannukset yhteiskunnalle ovat 24 miljardin euron vuodessa. Yritykset ovat pyrkineet vastaamaan tähän haasteeseen muun muassa jaetun johtajuuden keinoin ja panostamalla työntekijöiden työhyvinvointiin. Koska tästä työhyvinvoinnin laskusta koituvat kustannukset heikentävät yritysten kannattavuutta, on tätä asiaa syytä tutkia tarkemmin. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välistä yhteyttä pelialan ja TV-tuotantoyrityksissä. Lisäksi pyritään löytämään uusia työhyvinvointia ja jaettua johtajuutta linkittäviä tekijöitä. Tutkimus tehtiin laadullisena tutkimuksena haastattelemalla pelialalla ja TV-tuotantoyrityksissä työskenteleviä ihmisiä, heidän kokemuksiaan työhyvinvoinnista ja jaetusta johtajuudesta. Aiemmista työhyvinvoinnin tutkimuksista nostettiin esille neljä tutkijaa, joiden johtopäätökset olivat ydinviestiltään hyvin yhteneväisiä. Jaetun johtajuuden merkitys aiemman tutkimuksen valossa tiivistyi yksilön huomioonottamiseen ja hänen vahvuuksiensa hyödyntämiseen. Verrattaessa työhyvinvoinnin ja jaetun johtajuuden tutkimusten tuloksia, havaittiin niillä olevan useita yhteisiä tekijöitä. Haastatteluaineistoa lähestyttiin analyysissä induktiivisesti grounded teorian pohjalta koodaamalla ja luokittelemalla haastatteluaineistoa yläkategorioiksi, tiettyä asiakokonaisuutta koskeviksi kuvauksiksi. Näiden yläkategorioiden välisistä sidoksista muodostetusta käsitekartasta etsittiin selittäviä sidoksia jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välisille yhteyksille. Merkittävimpinä yläkategorioina käsitekartasta olivat liiketoiminta, motivaatio ja ihmissuhteet. Näissä kiteytyvät jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välisen yhteyden ydinsanoma; menestyvä liiketoiminta tarvitsee motivoituneen henkilöstön, jonka ihmissuhteet ovat hyvässä kunnossa. Uutena tekijänä tutkimuksessa löydettiin organisaation sisäisen ja ulkoisen vapauden positiivinen vaikutus jaetulle johtajuudelle ja työhyvinvoinnille. Johtopäätöksenä tutkimuksesta saatiin johtamisen ja työhyvinvoinnin positiivinen sykli, jossa sosiaalisessa prosessissa yrityksen työntekijöiden luomat arvot ohjaavat niitä tavoitteita, joihin yritys pyrkii. Tämä motivoi työntekijöitä toteuttamaan näitä tavoitteita sekä kehittämään itseään ja ihmissuhteitaan. Työntekijöiden osallistuminen sosiaaliseen prosessiin sitoutuneisuutta heitä yrityksen liiketoimintaprosessiin. Liiketoimintaprosessista saatava palaute muokkaa edelleen yrityksen arvoja ja näin sykli käynnistyy uudelleen. Vapaus oli haastatelluissa yrityksissä tyypillinen uusi välittävä tekijä jaetun johtajuuden ja työhyvinvoinnin välillä.

Re-shaping the Resourcing: Recruitment in Social Media

Social media is very current topic in today’s society and organisations. In the times of economic challenges, companies are looking for efficient ways to resource workforce. In addition, there is competition of competent workforce in employment markets. Employer image plays important role in recruitment as people seek to organisations they find interesting and have a reputation as a good employer. This study concerns the discussion on utilising social media in recruitment and employer image in a corporate enterprise. I will find solutions how to utilize social media in recruitment, in which channels and methods that can be done and what these actions require from a company doing social recruitment. I bring up the discussion and challenges that relate to starting to take social media into use in an organization overall and in recruitment. The qualitative material has been gathered with interviews of eighteen persons and the material available about the topic in the enterprise intranet. According to the study, social media is seen both as an opportunity to reach large amount of people quickly and cost-efficiently, but then again it brings news aspects for controlling the employer image and communication towards the audience. Taking social media into use as part of recruiters and managers daily work requires both finding the right channels and attention to the internal communication culture and resourcing. Social recruitment requires a strategy and a proper plan to be able to work in a company. There are several social media channels that enable to reach people, but they don’t do the social recruitment alone.

The third transformation of Japan: An institutional narrative on agglomeration economies in abenomics

Objective of the study The aim of this study is to understand the institutional implications in Abenomics in a spatial context, the contemporary economic reform taking place in Japan, which is to finally end over two decades of economic malaise. For theoretical perspective of choice, this study explores a synthesis of institutionalism as the main approach, complemented by economies of agglomeration in spatial economics, or New Economic Geography (NEG). The outcomes include a narrative with implications for future research, as well as possible future implications for the economy of Japan, itself. The narrative seeks to depict the dialogue between public discourse and governmental communication in order to create a picture of how this phenomenon is being socially constructed. This is done by studying the official communications by the Cabinet along with public media commentary on respective topics. The reform is studied with reference to historical socio-cultural, economic evolution of Japan, which in turn, is explored through a literature review. This is to assess the unique institutional characteristics of Japan pertinent to reform. Research method This is a social and exploratory qualitative study – an institutional narrative case study. The methodological approach was kept practical: in addition to literature review, a narrative, thematic content analysis with structural emphasis was used to construct the contemporary narrative based on the Cabinet communication. This was combined with practical analytic tools borrowed from critical discourse analysis, which were utilized to assess the implicit intertextual agenda within sources. Findings What appears to characterize the discourse is status quo bias that comes in multiple forms. The bias is also coded in the institutions surrounding the reform, wherein stakeholders have vested interests in protecting the current state of affairs. This correlates with uncertainty avoidance characteristic to Japan. Japan heeds the international criticism to deregulate on a rhetorical level, but consistent with history, the Cabinet solutions appear increasingly bureaucratic. Hence, the imposed western information-age paradigm of liberal cluster agglomeration seems ill-suited to Japan which lacks risk takers and a felicitous entrepreneur culture. The Japanese, however, possess vast innovative potential ascribed to some institutional practices and traits, but restrained by others. The derived conclusion is to study the successful intrapreneur cases in Japanese institutional setting as a potential benchmark for Japan specific cluster agglomeration, and a solution to its structural problems impeding growth.

Providing Discourse Services for Researchers in a Repository Setting

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Invenio as a Blog Archiving platform

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Avalon Media System project update: a Hydra solution for digital audio and video access

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Avalon Media System demonstration

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Audio and Video Repositories at Scale: Indiana University’s Media Digitization and Preservation Initiative

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Data Management [in eprints] for arts research: the experience at University of the Arts London

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Media, luokka, uusintaminen - ja televisio

Vastine Lotta Kähkösen, Mona Mannevuon ja Mari Pajalan keskustelupuheenvuoroon "Televisiomaksu paljastaa yhteiskuntaluokan? : luokan tutkimuksen metodologisia haasteita", joka ilmestyi Sosiologia-lehdessä 4/2012.

Memoria virtualis - death and mourning rituals in online environments

The main objective of this work has been to understand the ritual aspect of how private people use the Internet to mourn and honor their intimates in various online environments. The research material was compiled in 2007–2013 through ethnographic and autoethnographic observations in social media applications, online memorial websites, one shared virtual environment (Second Life) and one massive multi-player online role-playing game (World of Warcraft). The research material consists of – in addition to the ethnographic observations – three online surveys with 153 respondents (mainly from Finland, the United States and the United Kingdom). In addition, the researcher conducted 38 longer online interviews (i.e. via email, an avatar). The theoretical framework is derived from ritual theory, hermeneutic-phenomenological anthropology and discourse analysis. The research questions are as follows: Why are death rituals practiced in online environments? How are virtual memorials created in various online environments? What kind of systems of meanings are virtual memorials constructed from? The results indicate that online mourning and honoring is appropriated in addition to the “traditional” offline rituals. In online environments the bereaved can choose, where, when, how and with whom they share their grief and loss. Memorials are created in the web intentionally and unintentionally, where the latter refers inter alia to the Facebook profile of the deceased where his/her intimates gather to mourn and honor immediately after the death. The first refers to intentionally memorialized online places spaces via different service providers. Virtual memorials are a way to construct the identity of the deceased, as well as the bereaved in multiple ways. They also re-enforce and create a sense of communality both privately and publicly, and enable one meaningful online place where all the intimates of the deceased can gather together to mourn and honor despite the geographical or time distances. Tämä väitöstutkimus tarkastelee miten nykyiset kuolemanrituaalit ovat digitalisoituneet verkkoympäristöihin. Tutkimus on suoritettu verkkoetnografisin sekä autoetnografisin menetelmin sosiaalisen median sivustoilla, virtuaalimuistomerkkipalveluissa, yhdestä virtuaalimaailmassa (Second Life) sekä yhdestä reaaliaikaisessa verkkopelissä (World of Warcraft) vuosina 2007–2013. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu etnografisten havainnointien lisäksi kolmesta verkkokyselystä, joissa vastaajia on yhteensä 153 pääasiassa Suomesta, Yhdysvalloista sekä Iso-Britanniasta. Kyselyjen lisäksi tutkija on tehnyt myös 38 laajempaa verkkohaastattelua eri ympäristöissä (esim. sähköposti, avatar virtuaalimaailmassa). Teoreettinen kehys koostuu rituaaliteoriasta, hermeneuttis-phenomenologiasta sekä diskurssianalyysista. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat seuraavat: miksi kuolemanrituaaleja harjoitetaan verkkoympäristöissä, miten virtuaalisia muistomerkkejä luodaan verkkoon, sekä millaisista merkitysjärjestelmistä virtuaaliset muistomerkit muodostuvat? Tutkimustulosten mukaan verkkosureminen ja muistaminen ovat tulleet perinteisten kuolemanrituaalien rinnalle, jolloin sureva itse voi päättää miten, missä, milloin sekä kenen kanssa suree läheistään. Muistomerkkejä verkkoon luodaan suunnitellusti (intentional) sekä suunnittelemattomasti (unintentional), jolloin jälkimmäinen viittaa esimerkiksi edesmenneen Facebook profiiliin, missä hänen läheisensä kokoontuvat muistelemaan ja suremaan välittömästi kuoleman jälkeen. Ensimmäinen taas viittaa suunnitelmalliseen muistomerkin luomiseen, jota varten löytyy useita palveluntarjoajia. Virtuaalimuistomerkit ovat keino rakentaa sekä edesmenneen että surevan identiteettiä, vahvistaa ja luoda yhteisöllisyyttä niin yksityisesti kuin julkisesti, sekä luoda yksi yhteinen aina ja kaikkialta saavutettavissa oleva merkityksellinen paikka verkkoon, missä kaikki läheiset voivat ajasta ja paikasta riippumatta muistella ja surra läheistään.