Group items tagged

This study examines how information and communication technologies - mobile phone, social networking websites, blogging, instant messaging, and photo sharing - are related to the diversity of people's social networks. We find that a limited set of technologies directly afford diversity, but many indirectly contribute to diversity by supporting participation in traditional settings such as neighborhoods, voluntary groups, religious institutions, and public spaces. Only one internet activity, social networking websites, was related to lower levels of participation in a traditional setting: neighborhoods. However, when direct effects were included, the total influence of social networking services on diversity was positive. We argue that a focus on affordances of new media for networked individualism fails to recognize the continued importance of place for the organization of personal networks: networks, that as a result of the persistent and pervasive nature of some new technologies, may be more diverse than at any time in recent history

Novel methods, such as Internet-based interventions, are needed to combat the spread of HIV. While past initiatives have used the Internet to promote HIV prevention, the growing popularity, decreasing digital divide, and multi-functionality of social networking sites, such as Facebook, make this an ideal time to develop innovative ways to use online social networking sites to scale HIV prevention interventions among high-risk groups. The UCLA Harnessing Online Peer Education study is a longitudinal experimental study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of using social media for peer-led HIV prevention, specifically among African American and Latino Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). No curriculum currently exists to train peer leaders in delivering culturally aware HIV prevention messages using social media. Training was created that adapted the Community Popular Opinion Leader (C-POL) model, for use on social networking sites. Peer leaders are recruited who represent the target population and have experience with both social media and community outreach. The curriculum contains the following elements: discussion and role playing exercises to integrate basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS, awareness of sociocultural HIV/AIDS issues in the age of technology, and communication methods for training peer leaders in effective, interactive social media-based HIV prevention. Ethical issues related to Facebook and health interventions are integrated throughout the sessions. Training outcomes have been developed for long-term assessment of retention and efficacy. This is the first C-POL curriculum that has been adapted for use on social networking websites. Although this curriculum has been used to target African-American and Latino MSM, it has been created to allow generalization to other high-risk groups.

Novel methods, such as Internet-based interventions, are needed to combat the spread of HIV. While past initiatives have used the Internet to promote HIV prevention, the growing popularity, decreasing digital divide, and multi-functionality of social networking sites, such as Facebook, make this an ideal time to develop innovative ways to use online social networking sites to scale HIV prevention interventions among high-risk groups. The UCLA Harnessing Online Peer Education study is a longitudinal experimental study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of using social media for peer-led HIV prevention, specifically among African American and Latino Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). No curriculum currently exists to train peer leaders in delivering culturally aware HIV prevention messages using social media. Training was created that adapted the Community Popular Opinion Leader (C-POL) model, for use on social networking sites. Peer leaders are recruited who represent the target population and have experience with both social media and community outreach. The curriculum contains the following elements: discussion and role playing exercises to integrate basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS, awareness of sociocultural HIV/AIDS issues in the age of technology, and communication methods for training peer leaders in effective, interactive social media-based HIV prevention. Ethical issues related to Facebook and health interventions are integrated throughout the sessions. Training outcomes have been developed for long-term assessment of retention and efficacy. This is the first C-POL curriculum that has been adapted for use on social networking websites. Although this curriculum has been used to target African-American and Latino MSM, it has been created to allow generalization to other high-risk groups.

This study investigates how group awareness support and argumentation scripts influence learning in social networking sites like Facebook, which may be conducive to informal learning, but often lacks argumentative quality. Supporting participants' group awareness about the visibility of the arguments they construct and about prospective future debate with peers in order to promote argument quality may be particularly suited for learning in Social Networking Sites. Additional argumentation scripts may directly foster argumentative knowledge construction. In a 2 × 2 study (N = 81), we isolated and investigated the effects of group awareness support and argumentation scripts during individual preparation in a Facebook app on domain and argumentative knowledge. Our results reveal that group awareness support of upcoming argumentative processes can be counterproductive for learning in Social Networking Sites. Argumentation scripts in Facebook may remedy possible negative effects of such awareness. Process analysis showed that group awareness support promotes individual argument elaboration but reduces broad analysis of the domain.

This study investigates how group awareness support and argumentation scripts influence learning in social networking sites like Facebook, which may be conducive to informal learning, but often lacks argumentative quality. Supporting participants' group awareness about the visibility of the arguments they construct and about prospective future debate with peers in order to promote argument quality may be particularly suited for learning in Social Networking Sites. Additional argumentation scripts may directly foster argumentative knowledge construction. In a 2 × 2 study (N = 81), we isolated and investigated the effects of group awareness support and argumentation scripts during individual preparation in a Facebook app on domain and argumentative knowledge. Our results reveal that group awareness support of upcoming argumentative processes can be counterproductive for learning in Social Networking Sites. Argumentation scripts in Facebook may remedy possible negative effects of such awareness. Process analysis showed that group awareness support promotes individual argument elaboration but reduces broad analysis of the domain.

A national mail survey of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 (n = 876) was conducted immediately before the U.S. presidential election (October 2012) to investigate socialization agents that may correlate with political and civic engagement. The relative importance of potential correlates of engagement including demographics, parents, peers, schools, religion, traditional media, social networks, and digital communication were evaluated. Regression analysis revealed that civically engaged youth identify with a religion, participate in civic education activities at school and extracurricular activities, take action (e.g., boycotting or buycotting), develop attitudes about citizenship, and engage in online/social media political activities. Politically engaged youth come from higher income households, discuss news and politics, take action, and are very prone to engage in online/social media political activities. While a wider range of activities appear to be related to civic engagement, those who are politically engaged appear to have a strong interest in online media usage. Implications are discussed.

A national mail survey of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 (n = 876) was conducted immediately before the U.S. presidential election (October 2012) to investigate socialization agents that may correlate with political and civic engagement. The relative importance of potential correlates of engagement including demographics, parents, peers, schools, religion, traditional media, social networks, and digital communication were evaluated. Regression analysis revealed that civically engaged youth identify with a religion, participate in civic education activities at school and extracurricular activities, take action (e.g., boycotting or buycotting), develop attitudes about citizenship, and engage in online/social media political activities. Politically engaged youth come from higher income households, discuss news and politics, take action, and are very prone to engage in online/social media political activities. While a wider range of activities appear to be related to civic engagement, those who are politically engaged appear to have a strong interest in online media usage. Implications are discussed.

The student protests during the closing months of 2010 were organised online via Facebook, Twitter, university forums, Google Maps and other networks. They came in the wake of a surge of activity on the web that confonted the traditional media channels when Wikileaks and Anonymous disrupted them, creating a New World Order of breaking news. The fluid organisation of the protests showed that the internet and social media were key tools for organising dissent. Then in the Spring 2011, a wave of uprisings broke over North Africa with Tunisia, Egypt and Libya swept up in revolts also galvanised online. Tom Chatfield explores how the internet is re-shaping society and affecting identity in a period of acute political turbulence. BRAIN SHOTS is the pre-eminent source for high quality, short-form digital non-fiction. The Summer of Unrest series brings together stellar writers to explore the issues surrounding the austerity measures in the UK, uprisings in the Middle East and the nature of the protest movements springing up all over the world.

The student protests during the closing months of 2010 were organised online via Facebook, Twitter, university forums, Google Maps and other networks. They came in the wake of a surge of activity on the web that confonted the traditional media channels when Wikileaks and Anonymous disrupted them, creating a New World Order of breaking news. The fluid organisation of the protests showed that the internet and social media were key tools for organising dissent. Then in the Spring 2011, a wave of uprisings broke over North Africa with Tunisia, Egypt and Libya swept up in revolts also galvanised online. Tom Chatfield explores how the internet is re-shaping society and affecting identity in a period of acute political turbulence. BRAIN SHOTS is the pre-eminent source for high quality, short-form digital non-fiction. The Summer of Unrest series brings together stellar writers to explore the issues surrounding the austerity measures in the UK, uprisings in the Middle East and the nature of the protest movements springing up all over the world.

This article investigates Facebook users' awareness of privacy issues and perceived benefits and risks of utilizing Facebook. Research found that Facebook is deeply integrated in users' daily lives through specific routines and rituals. Users claimed to understand privacy issues, yet reported uploading large amounts of personal information. Risks to privacy invasion were ascribed more to others than to the self. However, users reporting privacy invasion were more likely to change privacy settings than those merely hearing about others' privacy invasions. Results suggest that this lax attitude may be based on a combination of high gratification, usage patterns, and a psychological mechanism similar to third-person effect. Safer use of social network services would thus require changes in user attitude.

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Principles of Community Engagement

WASHINGTON (WNEW) - With over 73 percent of online adults now using a social networking site, social media has dramatically impacted the world in both positive and negative ways. It has left many people to wonder how and if social media can mentally affect people.

As Facebook's popularity grows and endures, many profiles are becoming gravemarkers of the dead, scattered among the profiles of the living. The integration of Facebook usage into many people's everyday lives makes it unsurprising that ongoing interaction by the living with deceased persons' profiles is increasingly commonplace, but this is little studied.

The diversity of the Internet/ Social media and its contributions toward environmental activism