Use of social networks for academic purposes: a case study

Purpose This paper aims to analyse various aspects of an academic social network: the profile of users, the reasons for its use, its perceived benefits and the use of other social media for scholarly purposes. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined the profiles of the users of an academic social network. The users were affiliated with 12 universities. The following were recorded for each user: sex, the number of documents uploaded, the number of followers, and the number of people being followed. In addition, a survey was sent to the individuals who had an email address in their profile. Findings Half of the users of the social network were academics and a third were PhD students. Social sciences scholars accounted for nearly half of all users. Academics used the service to get in touch with other scholars, disseminate research results and follow other scholars. Other widely employed social media included citation indexes, document creation, edition and sharing tools and communication tools. Users complained about the lack of support for the utilisation of these tools. Research limitations/implications The results are based on a single case study. Originality/value This study provides new insights on the impact of social media in academic contexts by analysing the user profiles and benefits of a social network service that is specifically targeted at the academic community.

Use of social networks for academic purposes: a case study

Purpose- This paper aims to analyse various aspects of an academic social network: the profile of users, the reasons for its use, its perceived benefits and the use of other social media for scholarly purposes. Design/methodology/approach- The authors examined the profiles of the users of an academic social network. The users were affiliated with 12 universities. The following were recorded for each user: sex, the number of documents uploaded, the number of followers, and the number of people being followed. In addition, a survey was sent to the individuals who had an email address in their profile. Findings- Half of the users of the social network were academics and a third were PhD students. Social sciences scholars accounted for nearly half of all users. Academics used the service to get in touch with other scholars, disseminate research results and follow other scholars. Other widely employed social media included citation indexes, document creation, edition and sharing tools and communication tools. Users complained about the lack of support for the utilisation of these tools. Research limitations/implications- The results are based on a single case study. Originality/value- This study provides new insights on the impact of social media in academic contexts by analysing the user profiles and benefits of a social network service that is specifically targeted at the academic community.

National survey of noncommunicable diseases in Seychelles 2013‐2014 (Seychelles Heart Study IV) : main findings

The 2013 survey addressed the following objectives: Primary objectives : a) Distribution of health behaviors related to NCDs, particularly tobacco use, alcohol drinking, and physical activity ; b) Distribution of the main modifiable risk factors of NCDs, particularly blood pressure, adiposity markers, diabetes and blood lipids ; c) Rates of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia ; d) Comparison of findings in the survey 2013 with results in previous similar NCD surveys in 1989, 1994, 2004 ; e) Dietary patterns ; f) Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to NCDs and NCD risk factors. Secondary objectives : g) Assessment of indicators of quality of health (e.g. SF‐12) ; h) Assessment of psychological stress and relation with NCD ; i) Assessment of several indicators of frailty (e.g. handgrip strength test, chair strand test, functional limitations) ; j) Assessment of knowledge and level of agreement with current policies on tobacco control ; k) Use of public and private health care services, particularly for NCDs ; l) Exposure to advice on health behaviors given by health professionals at health care level ; m) Burden of chronic diseases not related to the main NCDs (e.g. musculoskeletal, mental health, etc) ; n) Screening of selected cancers ; o) Assessment of the kidney function ; p) Frequency of heart arrhythmias (one‐lead ECG) and heart murmurs (auscultation) ; q) Assessment of bone mineral density (ultrasound of calcaneus) ; r) Exposure of the population to mass media, particularly in relation to health programs, and use by the population of new communication technologies ; s) Assessment of a number of social variables and their association with the variables measured in the survey ; t) More generally, the survey provides broad information (medical, social, environment, etc) that can be useful for tailoring NCD prevention and control programs.

Observatorio Barça 2010. La Campaña a la Presodencia del FC Barcelona en prensa deportiva y las redes sociales

El artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la cobertura que los principales periódicos deportivos catalanes (Sport, Mundo Deportivo, El 9 Esportiu y Gol) hicieron de la campaña a la presidencia del FC Barcelona (Barça) de junio de 2010 y que acabó ganando Sandro Rosell. La investigación compara esta cobertura con la información de campaña aparecida en las redes sociales Twitter y Facebook usadas por cada candidatura y analiza si el uso de estas nuevas herramientas 2.0 influyó en la visibilidad de los candidatos en la prensa tradicional.

Les TIC i les persones dependents

L'objectiu d'aquest treball de recerca és veure com afecten les noves tecnologies (TIC) al col·lectiu de persones dependents.

Does social capital reinforce technological inputs in the creation of knowledge? Evidence from the Spanish regions

In this paper we seek to verify the hypothesis that trust and cooperation between individuals, and between them and public institutions, can encourage technological innovation and the adoption of knowledge. Additionally, we test the extent to which the interaction of social capital with human capital and R&D expenditures improve their effect on a region’s ability to innovate. Our empirical evidence is taken from the Spanish regions and employs a knowledge production function and longitudinal count data models. Our results suggest that social capital correlates positively with innovation. Further, our analysis reveals a powerful interaction between human and social capital in the production of knowledge, whilst the complementarity with R&D efforts would seem less clear.

Yliopisto-opiskelijoiden sosiaalisen median käyttö, sosiaalinen verkostoitumien ja stereotypiat eri koulutusohjelmien opiskelijoista

Tämä diplomityö tutkii Lappeenrannan teknillisen yliopiston opiskelijoiden sosiaalisen median palvelujen ja sovellusten käyttöä. Se tekee myös selvyyttä tavoista, joiden avulla opiskelijat muodostavat sosiaalisen verkostonsa muihin opiskelijoihin ja muihin ihmisiin. Se tutkii myös opiskelijoiden stereotypioita ja mielikuvia eri koulutusohjelmien opiskelijoista. Työn päätarkoitus on tutkia sosiaalisen median roolia opiskelijoiden elämässä. Tutkimustyö tehtiin verkossa täytettävällä kyselylomakkeella. Tutkimuksen tulokset esitellään työn loppupuoliskolla. Alkupuolisko esittelee sosiaalisen median käsitteitä ja palveluita sekä valaisee tietotekniikan roolia sosiaalisessa mediassa. Se käsittelee myös sosiaalista verkostoitumista opiskelijan näkökulmasta ja esittelee aikaisemmin tehtyjä tutkimuksia opiskelijoiden sosiaalisen median käytöstä.

Customer reference marketing and utilization of social media as an integral part of customer references

The objective of this Bachelor's Thesis is to find out the role of social media in the B-to-B marketing environment of the information technology industry and to discover how IT-firms utilize social media as a part of their customer reference marketing. To reach the objectives the concepts of customer reference marketing and social media are determined. Customer reference marketing can be characterized as one of the most practically relevant but academically relatively overlooked ways in which a company can leverage its customers and delivered solutions and use them as references in its marketing activities. We will cover which external and internal functions customer references have, that contribute to the growth and performance of B-to-B firms. We also address the three mechanisms of customer reference marketing which are 'status transfer', 'validation through testimonials' and 'demonstration of experience and prior performance'. The concept of social media stands for social interaction and creation of user-based content which exclusively occurs through Internet. The social media are excellent tools for networking because of the fast and easy access, easy interaction and vast amount of multimedia attributes. The allocation of social media is determined. The case company helps clarify the specific characteristics of social media usage as part of customer-reference-marketing activities. For IT-firms the best channels to utilize social media in their customer reference marketing activities are publishing and distribution services of content and networking services.

Sosiaaliset mediat sisäisessä viestinnässä

Tässä kandidaatintyössä käsitellään sosiaalista mediaa yritysten sisäisessä viestinnässä. Määritellään mitä sosiaalinen media on, tutkitaan sen käyttäjäryhmiä ja luokkia, tutustutaan Web 2.0 käsitteeseen, esitellään verkostopalveluita ja verrataan näitä kaikki perinteisiin medioihin. Johtopäätöksissä tuodaan esille sosiaalisen median luonnetta, käyttökohteita yrityksessä, parhaita sovelluksia sekä suositellaan käyttötapoja. Lopuksi työssä käsitellään sosiaalisen median käytön ongelmia ja niiden ratkaisuja.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN INTERNATIONAL BRAND COMMUNICATION OF SMES - A multiple case study of small Finnish design-intensive companies

Social media is a rather new phenomenon which has revolutionised the world of online communication. However, academic research on how companies can benefit from social media is lacking. The research objective of this thesis was to examine the use of social media in international brand communication of small Finnish design-intensive companies. Therefore, this research contributes also to the research gap in SME branding. The focus was on communication targeted at consumers. The research was carried out as a mixed methods research employing the questionnaire and multiple case study methods. The questionnaire was used to gather preliminary information on Finnish design-intensive companies and to provide an eligible list of companies for deeper examination. Then, four case companies were studied in more depth. The empirical evidence of the case companies was mainly gathered through theme interviews. The results of the questionnaire shed light on the internationalisation of small Finnish designintensive companies. On average, the companies had internationalised rather quickly after they had been founded. However, the share of exports was rather low in most of the companies. The results revealed also that social media was already used widely in the exporting companies and the use can be expected to grow in future. The findings of the multiple case study suggest that branding activities in small Finnish designintensive companies are constrained by limited resources and skills. In addition, the branding activities are strongly guided by the vision and values of the entrepreneur(s) rather than extensive marketing research. The brand structure was simple in all case companies and they aimed at having a standardised brand image across markets. However, all case companies had faced a need for some adaptation of their international brand communication. Internationally important brand communication channels were international fairs, the internet, word-of-mouth and social media. Social media offered a cost-effective brand communication channel for the case companies. It was used for various purposes, such as creating brand awareness and affecting how the brand is perceived. The entrepreneurs found the use of social media to be rather easy and the case companies had not faced any major challenges. However, the companies had recognised that communication in social media requires consistency and planning. The planning was rather informal and stayed on a general level. Overall, the utilisation of social media in the case companies was limited by a lack of resources. It seemed to affect especially the follow-up of brand communication in social media which stayed rather superficial.

Post-industrial 2.0 – Social Web as the second coming of the post-industrial society

This study presents a review of theories of the so-called post-industrial society, and proposes that the concept of post-industrial society can be used to understand the recent developments of the World Wide Web, often described as Web 2.0 or social Web. The study combines theories ranging from post-war management science and cultural studies to software development, and tries to build a holistic view of the development of the post-industrial society, and especially the Internet. The discourse on the emergence of a post-industrial society after the World Wars has addressed the ways in which the growing importance of information, and innovations in digital communications technology, are changing our society. It is furthermore deeply connected with the discourse on the postmodern society, which emphasizes cultural fragmentation, intertextuality, and pluralism. The Internet age is characterized by increasing masses of information that are managed through various technologies. While 1990s Internet technologies often used the network as a traditional broadcasting channel with added interactivity, Web 2.0 technologies are specifically designed to utilize the network model by facilitating communication between various services and devices, and analyzing the relationships between users and objects in order to produce intelligent insight. The wide adoption of the Internet, and recently of Internet-enabled mobile devices, is furthermore continuously producing new ways of communicating, consuming, and producing. Applications of the social Web, such as social media or social networking services, are permanently changing our traditional social, cultural, and economic practices. The study first presents an overview of the post-industrial society, the Internet, and the concept of Web 2.0. Then the concept of social Web is described with an analysis of the term social media, the brief histories of the interactive Web and social networking services, and a description of the concept ―long tail‖, used to represent the masses of information available in the Web that do not receive mainstream attention. Finally, methods for retrieving and filtering information, modeling social and cultural relationships, and communicating with customers, are presented.

Application of social media and ICT-tools in new and small business ventures.

The current research emphasizes on various questions raised and deliberated upon by different entrepreneurs. It provides a valuable contribution to comprehend the importance of social media and ICT-applications. Furthermore, it demonstrates how to support and implement the management consulting and business coaching start-ups with the help of social media and ICT-tools. The thesis presents a literary review from different information systems science, SME and e-business journals, web articles, as well as, survey analysis reports on social media applications. The methodology incorporated into a qualitative research method in which social anthropological approaches were used to oversee the case study activities in order to collect data. The collaborative social research approach was used to shelter the action research method. The research discovered that new business start-ups, as well as small businesses do not use social media and ICT-tools, unlike most of the large corporations use. At present, the current open-source ICT-technologies and social media applications are equally available for new and small businesses as they are available for larger companies. Successful implementation of social media and ICT-applications can easily enhance start-up performance and overcome business hassles. The thesis sheds some light on effective and innovative implementation of social media and ICT-applications for new business risk takers and small business birds. Key words

Measuring effects of strategic utilization of social media in business-to-business marketing: Case Greenlux Finland Oy

Utilization of social media is increasingly common in B2B marketing. Social media is an efficient and cheap marketing and communication channel available for everyone, and thus extremely attractive marketing medium. The more companies get involved in social media the more failures are reported. It is not enough for a company to just be present in social media. Succeeding on it requires hard work, investing time and money, and ability to measure and to monitor performance. With an increasing number of companies failing in utilizing social media, together with lack of research on strategic utilization of social media focusing on B2B marketing, measuring, and monitoring create a purpose for this research. The aim of this research is to discover methods for measuring and monitoring effects of strategic utilization of social media in B2B marketing. Most relevant financial and non-financial indicators are discussed, and the methods by which these can be monitored and measured. In addition, effects of strategic utilization of social media on the case company are measured and analyzed. The research methodology used in this research is a participatory action research, which includes elements of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The case company examined in the research provides a unique opportunity to follow through all phases of strategic utilization of social media for B2B marketing purposes concluding real effects of social media to the case company, and thus gain a deep understanding about this new marketing medium in the perspective of B2B marketing. Duration of the research period is seven months. During this time, information is collected, measured, and analyzed. Case company does not have any other marketing activities simultaneously which makes it possible to examine social media apart from effects of other visible marketing activities. Effects of strategic utilization of social media can be monitored and measured in many ways. Methods that should be used depend on goals set for social media. Fundamental nature of social media requires multidimensional assessment, and thus effects should be measured, and monitored considering both financial and non-financial indicators. The results implicates that effects of strategic utilization of social media are relatively wide ranged. According to the findings, social media affects positively on brand, number of web page visitors, visitor behavior, and on distribution of awareness. According to investment calculations social media is a legitimate investment for case company. Results also implicate that by using social media case company gains conversation, arouses interest, gets attention, and creates interactivity. In addition and as a side note, winter holiday season appears to have a great effect on social media activity of B2B companies’ representatives.

Marketers’ perception of the implementation of social media marketing: Evidence from large Finnish companies’ marketing campaigns

Social media is a multidimensional marketing and communications channel which can support and enhance a business’ reputation, sales and even longevity. Social media as a business tool encourages an interaction between customers and companies which gives opportunities for a company to better understand their customers, to target them more effectively and to collaborate and create dialogues with them which is not possible through traditional media channels. The aim of a social media strategy is to increase brand awareness, image, loyalty and recognition. The peer networks that social media creates allows a company to disseminate information through loyal customers to new and prospective customers to ultimately increase reach. The purpose of the study is to understand the marketer’s perspective of social media marketing use and how it is currently utilized in marketing and communications activities in Finland. Three companies were interviewed covering fourteen different implementations of social media marketing campaigns. These were then analysed to ascertain the utilization methods and experience gained on recent campaigns in the Finnish market The utilization of social media marketing was analysed using the methods of thematic analysis and inductive and abductive reasoning. Elements and themes were drawn out of the separate interviews to create a framework with which to explore, evaluate and match theories that define social media usage by companies. It became clear from all of the interviews that social media as a tool is most effective when it captures the viewer’s interest through rich and entertaining content. This directed the theoretical research towards Engagement Theory and Content Marketing which look to emphasize the importance of communities, collaboration, interaction, and peer-sharing as the key drivers of a social media marketing campaign.

Reaching influential early adopters effectively in Finland : Rock Science – new generation board game

Innovations diffuse at different speed among the members of a social system through various communication channels. The group of early adopters can be seen as the most influential reference group for majority of people to base their innovation adoption decisions on. Thus, the early adopters can often accelerate the diffusion of innovations. The purpose of this research is to discover means of diffusion for an innovative product in Finnish market through the influential early adopters in respect to the characteristics of the case product. The purpose of the research can be achieved through the following sub objectives:  Who are the potential early adopters for the case product and why?  How the potential early adopters of the case product should be communicated with?  What would be the expectations, preferences, and experiences of the early adopters of the case product? The case product examined in this research is a new board game called Rock Science which is considered to be incremental innovation bringing board gaming and hard rock music together in a new way. The research was conducted in two different parts using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This mixed method research began with expert interviews of six music industry experts. The information gathered from the interviews enabled researcher to compose the questionnaire for the quantitative part of the study. Internet survey that was sent out resulted with a sample of 97 responses from the targeted population. The key findings of the study suggest that (1) the potential early adopters for the case product are more likely to be young adults from the capital city area with great interest in rock music, (2) the early adopters can be reached effectively through credible online sources of information, and (3) the respondents overall product feedback is highly positive, except in the case of quality-price ratio of the product. This research indicates that more effective diffusion of Rock Science board game in Finland can be reached through (1) strategic alliances with music industry and media partnerships, (2) pricing adjustments, (3) use of supporting game formats, and (4) innovative use of various social media channels.