A survey on the relationship between trust and interest similarity in online social networks

A remarkable growth in quantity and popularity of online social networks has been observed in recent years. There is a good number of online social networks exists which have over 100 million registered users. Many of these popular social networks offer automated recommendations to their users. This automated recommendations are normally generated using collaborative filtering systems based on the past ratings or opinions of the similar users. Alternatively, trust among the users in the network also can be used to find the neighbors while making recommendations. To obtain the optimum result, there must be a positive correlation exists between trust and interest similarity. Though the positive relations between trust and interest similarity are assumed and adopted by many researchers; no survey work on real life people’s opinion to support this hypothesis is found. In this paper, we have reviewed the state-of-the-art research work on trust in online social networks and have presented the result of the survey on the relationship between trust and interest similarity. Our result supports the assumed hypothesis of positive relationship between the trust and interest similarity of the users.

Managing Trust in Online Social Networks

In recent years, there is a dramatic growth in number and popularity of online social networks. There are many networks available with more than 100 million registered users such as Facebook, MySpace, QZone, Windows Live Spaces etc. People may connect, discover and share by using these online social networks. The exponential growth of online communities in the area of social networks attracts the attention of the researchers about the importance of managing trust in online environment. Users of the online social networks may share their experiences and opinions within the networks about an item which may be a product or service. The user faces the problem of evaluating trust in a service or service provider before making a choice. Recommendations may be received through a chain of friends network, so the problem for the user is to be able to evaluate various types of trust opinions and recommendations. This opinion or recommendation has a great influence to choose to use or enjoy the item by the other user of the community. Collaborative filtering system is the most popular method in recommender system. The task in collaborative filtering is to predict the utility of items to a particular user based on a database of user rates from a sample or population of other users. Because of the different taste of different people, they rate differently according to their subjective taste. If two people rate a set of items similarly, they share similar tastes. In the recommender system, this information is used to recommend items that one participant likes, to other persons in the same cluster. But the collaborative filtering system performs poor when there is insufficient previous common rating available between users; commonly known as cost start problem. To overcome the cold start problem and with the dramatic growth of online social networks, trust based approach to recommendation has emerged. This approach assumes a trust network among users and makes recommendations based on the ratings of the users that are directly or indirectly trusted by the target user.

Trust and reputation management in web-based social network

know personally. They also communicate with other members of the network who are the friends of their friends and may be friends of their friend’s network. They share their experiences and opinions within the social network about an item which may be a product or service. The user faces the problem of evaluating trust in a service or service provider before making a choice. Opinions, reputations and ecommendations will influence users' choice and usage of online resources. Recommendations may be received through a chain of friends of friends, so the problem for the user is to be able to evaluate various types of trust recommendations and reputations. This opinion or ecommendation has a great influence to choose to use or enjoy the item by the other user of the community. Users share information on the level of trust they explicitly assign to other users. This trust can be used to determine while taking decision based on any recommendation. In case of the absence of direct connection of the recommender user, propagated trust could be useful.

Team role preference and online role play

Role play approaches have been used in online environments in an effort to create a mix of contested ideas and to promote participant engagement. While it is recognised that there is an aspect of ‘fun’ associated with role play there is a need to understand role assignment more rigorously than simply levels of reported participation and enjoyment. It is the contention of this paper that individuals are unlikely to be able to authentically play a role and, that in fact, there may be little purpose to contrived roles. Additionally, the literature has widely reported that personality factors, such as introversion and extroversion continue to be of significance in the way that individuals contribute in online contexts. The findings in the study reported in this paper confirm that introversion and extroversion do, indeed, play a role in the way individuals contribute in online environments. Thus, this paper argues that an active consideration needs to be given to individuals preferred (or natural) way of working even where use is made of online role play.

Challenges of tracking topical discussion networks online

Attempts to map online networks, representing relationships between people and sites, have covered sites including Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. However, the predominant approach of static network visualization, treating months of data as a single case rather than depicting changes over time or between topics, remains a flawed process. As different events and themes provoke varying interactions and conversations, it is proposed that case-by-case analysis would aid studies of online social networks by further examining the dynamics of links and information flows. This study uses hyperlink analysis of a population of French political blogs to compare connections between sites from January to August 2009. Themes discussed in this period were identified for subsequent analysis of topic-oriented networks. By comparing static blogrolls with topical citations within posts, this research addresses challenges and methods in mapping online networks, providing new information on temporal aspects of linking behaviors and information flows within these systems.

Integrating information literacy into higher education curricula : an IL curricular integration model

This study investigates a way to systematically integrate information literacy (IL) into an undergraduate academic programme and develops a model for integrating information literacy across higher education curricula. Curricular integration of information literacy in this study means weaving information literacy into an academic curriculum. In the associated literature, it is also referred to as the information literacy embedding approach or the intra-curricular approach. The key findings identified from this study are presented in 4 categories: the characteristics of IL integration; the key stakeholders in IL integration; IL curricular design strategies; and the process of IL curricular integration. Three key characteristics of the curricular integration of IL are identified: collaboration and negotiation, contextualisation and ongoing interaction with information. The key stakeholders in the curricular integration of IL are recognised as the librarians, the course coordinators and lecturers, the heads of faculties or departments, and the students. Some strategies for IL curricular design include: the use of IL policies and standards in IL curricular design; the combination of face to face and online teaching as an emerging trend; the use of IL assessment tools which play an important role in IL integration. IL can be integrated into the intended curriculum (what an institution expects its students to learn), the offered curriculum (what the teachers teach) and the received curriculum (what students actually learn). IL integration is a process of negotiation, collaboration and the implementation of the intended curriculum. IL can be integrated at different levels of curricula such as: institutional, faculty, departmental, course and class curriculum levels. Based on these key findings, an IL curricular integration model is developed. The model integrates curriculum, pedagogy and learning theories, IL theories, IL guidelines and the collaboration of multiple partners. The model provides a practical approach to integrating IL into multiple courses across an academic degree. The development of the model was based on the IL integration experiences of various disciplines in three universities and the implementation experience of an engineering programme at another university; thus it may be of interest to other disciplines. The model has the potential to enhance IL teaching and learning, curricular development and to implement graduate attributes in higher education. Sociocultural theories are applied to the research process and IL curricular design of this study. Sociocultural theories describe learning as being embedded within social events and occurring as learners interact with other people, objects, and events in a collaborative environment. Sociocultural theories are applied to explore how academic staff and librarians experience the curricular integration of IL; they also support collaboration in the curricular integration of IL and the development of an IL integration model. This study consists of two phases. Phase I (2007) was the interview phase where both academic staff and librarians at three IL active universities were interviewed. During this phase, attention was paid specifically to the practical process of curricular integration of IL and IL activity design. Phase II, the development phase (2007-2008), was conducted at a fourth university. This phase explores the systematic integration of IL into an engineering degree from Year 1 to Year 4. Learning theories such as sociocultural theories, Bloom’s Taxonomy and IL theories are used in IL curricular development. Based on the findings from both phases, an IL integration model was developed. The findings and the model contribute to IL education, research and curricular development in higher education. The sociocultural approach adopted in this study also extends the application of sociocultural theories to the IL integration process and curricular design in higher education.

Blackboard as an online learning environment : what do teacher education students and staff think?

Abstract: As online learning environments now have an established presence in higher education we need to ask the question: How effective are these environments for student learning? Online environments can provide a different type of learning experience than traditional face-to-face contexts (for on-campus students) or print-based materials (for distance learners). This article identifies teacher education student and staff perceptions of teaching and learning using the online learning management system, Blackboard. Perceptions of staff and students are compared and implications for teacher education staff interested in providing high quality learning environments within an online space are discussed.

Online environmental information systems

In today’s information society, electronic tools, such as computer networks for the rapid transfer of data and composite databases for information storage and management, are critical in ensuring effective environmental management. In particular environmental policies and programs for federal, state, and local governments need a large volume of up-to-date information on the quality of water, air, and soil in order to conserve and protect natural resources and to carry out meteorology. In line with this, the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is crucial to preserve and improve the quality of life. In handling tasks in the field of environmental protection a range of environmental and technical information is often required for a complex and mutual decision making in a multidisciplinary team environment. In this regard e-government provides a foundation of the transformative ICT initiative which can lead to better environmental governance, better services, and increased public participation in environmental decision- making process.

Online urban information systems

Countless factors affect the inner workings of a city, so in an attempt to gain an understanding of place and making sound decisions, planners need to utilize decision support systems (DSS) or planning support systems (PSS). PSS were originally developed as DSS in academia for experimental purposes, but like many other technologies, they became one of the most innovative technologies in parallel to rapid developments in software engineering as well as developments and advances in networks and hardware. Particularly, in the last decade, the awareness of PSS have been dramatically heightened with the increasing demand for a better, more reliable and furthermore a transparent decision-making process (Klosterman, Siebert, Hoque, Kim, & Parveen, 2003). Urban planning as an act has quite different perspective from the PSS point of view. The unique nature of planning requires that spatial dimension must be considered within the context of PSS. Additionally, the rapid changes in socio-economic structure cannot be easily monitored or controlled without an effective PSS.

Benchmarking local E-Government

Increasingly, almost everything we do in our daily lives is being influenced by information and communications technologies (ICTs) including the Internet. The task of governance is no exception with an increasing number of national, state, and local governments utilizing ICTs to support government operations, engage citizens, and provide government services. As with other things, the process of governance is now being prefixed with an “e”. E-governance can range from simple Web sites that convey basic information to complex sites that transform the customary ways of delivering all sorts of government services. In this respect local e-government is the form of e-governance that specifically focuses on the online delivery of suitable local services by local authorities. In practice local e-government reflects four dimensions, each one dealing with the functions of government itself. The four are: (a) e-services, the electronic delivery of government information, programs, and services often over the Internet; (b) e-management, the use of information technology to improve the management of government. This might range from streamlining business processes to improving the flow of information within government departments; (c) e-democracy the use of electronic communication vehicles, such as e-mail and the Internet, to increase citizen participation in the public decision-making process; (d) e-commerce, the exchange of money for goods and services over the Internet which might include citizens paying taxes and utility bills, renewing vehicle registrations, and paying for recreation programs, or government buying office supplies and auctioning surplus equipment (Cook, LaVigne, Pagano, Dawes, & Pardo, 2002). Commensurate with the rapid increase in the process of developing e-governance tools, there has been an increased interest in benchmarking the process of local e-governance. This benchmarking, which includes the processes involved in e-governance as well as the extent of e-governance adoption or take-up is important as it allows for improved processes and enables government agencies to move towards world best practice. It is within this context that this article discusses benchmarking local e-government. It brings together a number of discussions regarding the significance of benchmarking, best practices and actions for local e-government, and key elements of a successful local e-government project.

Information accountability for online healthcare social networks

Online social networking has become one of the most popular Internet applications in the modern era. They have given the Internet users, access to information that other Internet based applications are unable to. Although many of the popular online social networking web sites are focused towards entertainment purposes, sharing information can benefit the healthcare industry in terms of both efficiency and effectiveness. But the capability to share personal information; the factor which has made online social networks so popular, is itself a major obstacle when considering information security and privacy aspects. Healthcare can benefit from online social networking if they are implemented such that sensitive patient information can be safeguarded from ill exposure. But in an industry such as healthcare where the availability of information is crucial for better decision making, information must be made available to the appropriate parties when they require it. Hence the traditional mechanisms for information security and privacy protection may not be suitable for healthcare. In this paper we propose a solution to privacy enhancement in online healthcare social networks through the use of an information accountability mechanism.

Gender patterns for aspirations for transitional employment and training and development in local government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the patterns of transitional employment (TE) aspirations and training and development (T&D) needs of women within local government. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative survey methodology was used to identify aspirations in a sample of 1,068 employees from the Australian Local Government Association. Findings – Mature-aged women were very interested in continuous learning at work despite their limited formal education. Their training preferences consisted of informal delivery face-to-face or online in the areas of management or administration. Younger women were interested in undertaking university courses, while a minority were interested in blue collar occupations. Practical implications – Through the identification of patterns of TE and T&D aspirations, long term strategies to develop and retain women in local government may be developed. Findings suggest that mature-aged women would benefit from additional T&D to facilitate entry into management and senior administration positions, as well as strategies to facilitate a shift in organizational climate. Social implications – Mature-aged women were found to be a potentially untapped resource for management and senior administrative roles owing to their interest in developing skills in these fields and pursuing TE. Younger women may also benefit from T&D to maintain their capacity during breaks from employment. Encouragement of women in non-traditional areas may also address skill shortages in the local government. Originality/value – Mature-aged women were found to be a potentially untapped resource for management and senior administrative roles owing to their interest in developing skills in these fields and pursuing TE. Younger women may also benefit from T&D to maintain their capacity during breaks from employment. Encouragement of women in non-traditional areas may also address skill shortages in the local government.

Working in online groups-the challenges of virtually integrated learning environments

Universities continue to struggle with the need to combine the pedagogical benefits of collaborative learning with large scale, interactive and technologically sophisticated learning and teaching arrproaches and support systems. This challenge requires imaginative approaches if the outcome is not to the 'worst of both worlds' that results in confusion and disillusionism amongst students. This paper presents three case studies that use online technologies to provide collaborative teaching solutions arguably much superior to that possible without an online intervention.