Zhang, Yin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-180). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendix includes Chinese.

A geolocalização, os dispositivos móveis cada vez mais sofisticados e eficientes e a disponibilidade instantânea de mapas de todos os lugares do mundo, permitiram o desenvolvimento de novos aplicativos, os chamados serviços baseados em geolocalização; além disso, as redes sociais online têm se consagrado como ferramentas de relações entre pessoas. A combinação destas tecnologias levou ao surgimento de programas como o Foursquare, que alcançou a marca dos 30 milhões de usuários em 2013, quatro anos depois de seu lançamento, o que mostra a importância deste tipo de aplicativo; através do estudo destes aplicativos, observa-se a valorização da vizinhança como fator de afinidade social. Da análise dos elementos de wayfinding, depreende-se que a cidade incorpora marcos com valor emocional. Ao final, é proposto um sistema gráfico que torne visíveis estas referências emocionais. / Geolocation, mobile devices increasingly sophisticated and efficient and instantaneous availability of maps from all over the world, allowed the development of new applications, the so-called geolocation based services, in addition, online social networks have been established as tools for relation between people. The combination of these technologies has led to the emergence of programs like Foursquare, which reached 30 million users in 2013, four years after its release, which shows the importance of this type of application; through the research of those applications, there is the appreciation of the neighborhood as a factor of social affinity. From the analysis of the wayfinding is implicit that the city incorporates marks with emotional value. A graphical system is proposed to turn visible these emotional references.

The main aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze the nature of relationships of the originally local community and see what impact online social networks have on these relationships. The local community in this study is represented by one class of selected pupils from the primary school Na Smetance in Prague 2. For the main analysis were used mainly qualitative research methods: survey questionnaires and structured interviews with members of the screened community. The results showed that the transformation can be seen not only in the fragmentation of the local community into smaller groups of individuals with strong ties, but also in the influence of online social network Facebook, where relationships among members of the originally local community are maintenained. The analysis of strength relations between former classmates suggests that social network created by Facebook is essentially generated by weak ties, which are however indispensable for the creation of social capital. This thesis has contributed to the further understanding of the recent local community development. Keywords: local community, online social networks, Facebook, locality of Prague 2, social capital

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T22:17:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maurilia Gomes.pdf: 2483101 bytes, checksum: 5cf672777db5f1b2b854a04941179e4a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-23 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / This work aims at discussing the insertion of the digital technologies in the present times, with focus on the social mobilization strategies in the virtual scenery. It also encompasses discussion on the possible political, economic and cultural changes stemming from this process of insertion. Firstly, the notion of democracy and its basis for the building up of a democratic society are discussed. Next, some fundamental aspects relating to the concept of social movements are highlighted in order to allow comprehension about social movements in Brazil at present. Narrowing down the work, the way the social movements have used online social networks in Manaus are scrutinized. Based on exploratory research, two social organizations were chosen to be analyzed as for their use of the Internet: SINTEAM, the syndicate of the workers in education in the Amazonas State and Associação Difusão Amazonas, a collective action social organization. The results show that the two sampled organizations think the use of social networks differently. While the former is clearly representative of the traditional social movements, which have struggling to adapt to the new online reality, the latter is part of a new model of social organization , which have the Internet as a starting point around which all the actions are planned and put into practice. The analysis leads to a broader conclusion that the social subjects of our time have to rethink their working model, namely the communicative model, due to the changes in the scenery from an offline to an online society / Este trabalho discute a inserção das tecnologias digitais na sociedade contemporânea, problematizando sobre as táticas de mobilização a partir do ambiente virtual e, sobretudo, as possíveis transformações políticas, econômicas e culturais decorrentes deste processo. Discute a noção de democracia e as bases para construção de uma sociedade democrática. Destaca alguns aspectos relevantes para a compreensão do conceito de movimentos sociais e apresenta um panorama atual dos movimentos sociais no Brasil. Este estudo teve como o objetivo principal analisar a forma como os movimentos sociais de Manaus estão utilizando as redes sociais on-line em suas estratégias de comunicação. Baseando-se na pesquisa exploratória, foram selecionadas, como objeto de estudo, duas organizações sociais que utilizam essas redes: o Sindicato dos Trabalhadores em Educação do Estado do Amazonas e a Associação Difusão Amazonas. Os resultados revelaram duas realidades distintas: a primeira representa os movimentos sociais tradicionais que têm enfrentado inúmeras dificuldades de atuar na sociedade contemporânea, que exige, cada vez mais, a reformulação de suas práticas de atuação, sobretudo no que diz respeito aos processos comunicativos; a segunda faz parte de um novo modelo de movimento que tem o uso das Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação como marca principal de sua atuação, seja nos processos comunicativos ou organizacionais

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:23:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diego Simoes Correa Maymone.pdf: 10780914 bytes, checksum: cfffcddcaf22956c5fcc458946b863db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-25 / In recent years the Internet has become one of the most used channels for communicating job opportunities or positions, identifying talents and searching for jobs, allowing changes in the form of action and interaction between those who offer and those looking for a job. Companies and recruiters can now rely on the benefits that the expressive reach of the Internet brought to publishing job opportunities, while the professionals looking for a job have increased resources and tools available to conduct research for job opportunities published by companies in their corporate websites, in online classified ads and in other webbased services, such as online social networks. With the popularity of online social networks, new trends have emerged in the processes for recruitment and job search, fostering the construction of relationships and communities intended to leverage the experience of recruiters and professionals looking for a job. And, in face of this reality, this research aims at analyzing and describing how online social networks support the processes of recruiting and searching for job opportunities. In this exploratory descriptive research, for which the instrument used for collecting data was the bibliographical research, LinkedIn was identified and highlighted among the online social networks that appear as a tool to support the processes assessed herein. LinkedIn is a professional social network, whose role, potential and importance for the recruitment industry has grown as millions of professionals and businesses around the world create their online profiles/resumes, turning this social network into a place where employers and job seekers meet each other. Based on the work of authors like Cappelli, Qualman, Safko, Hunt, Anand, Khun & Skuterud, Santaella, Krueger, and others who study topics such as online social networks, the Internet and/or recruiting and job searching processes, as well as through the analysis of research conducted by Comscore, Jobvite, Bullhorn, and LinkedIn, the present study provided information that proves the high potential of online social networks as being tools to support the processes of recruitment and job search, and identifies and presents the benefits that LinkedIn has brought to the recruiting and job searching processes in Brazil and worldwide / A internet tornou-se um dos canais mais utilizados para a comunicação de oportunidades ou postos de trabalho, identificação de talentos e pesquisa por emprego nos últimos anos, viabilizando mudanças na forma de atuação e interação entre quem oferta e quem procura trabalho. Empresas e recrutadores passaram a contar com os benefícios que o expressivo alcance da internet trouxe para divulgação de oportunidades de trabalho, enquanto os profissionais à procura de emprego tiveram ampliados os recursos e ferramentas disponíveis para a realização de pesquisas por oportunidades de trabalho divulgadas pelas empresas em seus sites corporativos, nos classificados online e em outros serviços baseados na web, como as redes sociais online. Com a popularização das redes sociais online, novos processos de recrutamento e pesquisa por emprego surgem como tendências, favorecendo a construção de relacionamentos e comunidades que pretendem alavancar a experiência dos recrutadores e profissionais à procura de emprego. E, diante dessa realidade, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar e descrever de que forma as redes sociais online suportam os processos de recrutamento e pesquisa por oportunidades de trabalho. Nesta pesquisa exploratória descritiva, cujo instrumento utilizado para a coleta de dados foi a pesquisa bibliográfica, foi identificada e destacada, dentre as redes sociais online que despontam como ferramenta de suporte aos processos aqui avaliados, o LinkedIn, uma rede social profissional cujo papel, potencial e importância para a indústria do recrutamento tem crescido à medida que milhões de profissionais e empresas ao redor do mundo criam seus perfis/currículos online, fazendo dessa rede social um local onde empregadores e pessoas à procura de emprego se encontram. Com base nos trabalhos de autores como Cappelli, Qualman, Safko, Hunt, Anand, Khun & Skuterud, Santaella, Krueger, dentre outros que estudam temas como as redes sociais online, a internet e/ou os processos de recrutamento e pesquisa por emprego, bem como por meio da análise de pesquisas realizadas pela Comscore, Jobvite, Bullhorn e LinkedIn, este trabalho forneceu subsídios que comprovam o alto potencial das redes sociais online como ferramenta de suporte aos processos de recrutamento e pesquisa por oportunidades de trabalho, além de identificar e apresentar os benefícios que o LinkedIn trouxe para os processos de recrutamento e pesquisa por emprego no Brasil e no mundo

[Truncated abstract] Current literature about university teaching argues that online teaching requires online social learning based on social interaction to be effective. This implies a shift in pedagogy based on engagement and collaboration, instead of trying to reproduce face-to- face teaching, in online environments. However, when a university adopts an elearning platform (or Learning Management System, LMS), most teachers tend to reproduce their traditional teaching, delivering, through the LMS, educational material. This study explored factors which influence university teachers to adopt teaching models based on online social interaction (OSI) when an e-learning platform is used to complement undergraduate classroom teaching. Online teaching model adoption was considered in the framework of technology adoption and post-adoption behavior, i.e., adoption and use by individuals after an organization has adopted an ICT-based innovation (Jasperson, Carter, & Zmud, 2005). Behaviors were investigated using a model based on Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). In total, 26 university teachers 15 from Australia and 11 from Italy holding undergraduate courses, were recruited. They responded to a semi-structured interview based on the TPB, built on purpose for this research. Teachers were divided into three different groups on the basis of their approach to online teaching, corresponding to three different levels of adoption of OSI. The three different online teaching models were:

How are technologies are designed and used tactically by activists? As the HCI community starts to contend with social inequalities, there has been debate about how HCI researchers should address approach this type of research. However, there is little research examining practitioners such as social justice activists who confront social problems, and are using technology, such as mobile phones, blogging, and social media to do so. In this dissertation, I build on this knowledge within the context of a social movement organization working to stop street harassment (harassment towards women and minorities in public) called Hollaback (ihollaback.org). I position myself as an action researcher doing research and building technologies such as mobile apps and a blogging platform to collect stories of harassment and to support activists. The organization has collected over 3000 stories and represents 50 different locales in 17 countries. Through a series of studies, I examined how technology impacts the organization, activists, and those who contribute stories of harassment. I found evidence that the storytelling platform helps participants fundamentally shift their cognitive and emotional orientation towards their experience and informs what activists do on the ground. My results suggest that doing activism using technology can help remove some barriers to participation but can also lower expectations for the amount of work required. I also looked at how different social media tactics can increase the number of followers and how traditional media plays a role in these tactics. My work contributes theoretically to the HCI community by building on social movement theory, feminist HCI, and action research methodology. My investigation also sheds light empirically on how technology plays a role in a social movement organization, and how it impacts those who participate.

Reality-based interfaces bring new design opportunities to social games. These novel game interfaces, exemplified by Wii, Kinect, and Smart phones, leverage players' existing physics, bodily, environmental, and social skills. Moreover, they enable a shared hybrid physical-digital space in which the players' co-presence can be enhanced by their physical and digital co-location. However, many digital social games occupy players' attention with the digital display and content, reducing their attention spent on one another and limiting the synchronization of actions and emotions among players. How do we design technologies that do not interfere with social play but enhance and innovate it? In this thesis work, I focus on one particular kind of reality-based interfaces, Handheld Augmented Reality (HAR), to extend players' interaction from the small mobile devices to the shared hybrid space around a computationally trackable surface. This thesis explores how to encourage social play with HAR interfaces, which brings in challenges of designing with the affordances and constraints of the HAR interface, understanding the complicated phenomenon of social play, and integrating these understandings in multiplayer HAR game design. Adopting Research-through Design as the overarching research method, I collaborate with multiple teams, design and study three multiplayer HAR game prototypes. I present four main contributions. First, this work yields design artifacts and examples of social games with HAR interfaces. I communicate to the game design and Augmented Reality communities through these prototypes, including BragFish, ARt of Defense, and NerdHerder. Second, I provide empirical findings on social play in a shared hybrid space. Through lab-based user studies, observation, video analysis, interviews, and surveys, I collect and analyze interpersonal play behaviors and emotions in the shared hybrid space enabled by the HAR interface. Third, I adopt and adapt sociological theories to the domain of social games. I generate a list of theory-based design guidelines for co-located social games, especially HAR games. I prove its usefulness through the user study on an HAR game that embodies a subset of these design guidelines. Fourth, this thesis work is a case study that bridges Human Computer Interaction knowledge and methods with game design practices. It shows the outcome and benefits of multidisciplinary research, calling for more effort in integrating reality-based interfaces, as playful and experimental design materials, into different phases of game design process.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication

Social networking sites and virtual spaces have flourished in the past few years. The author explores the impact of such social networking services on the local community at a small liberal arts college. The author investigates modern trends in community theory. Defining community has become more difficult in modern society, where community is no longer easily distinguished by geographical boundaries. From the background of modern community theory the author explores the designation of virtual spaces as “virtual communities.” Literature and research about virtual spaces indicates that they can provide many of the values thought be to inherent to community membership. The strong localized community on campus makes students hesitant in calling Facebook a “virtual community,” despite its strong integration with the face-to-face community itself. Facebook is seen as simply a tool. This thesis incorporates research on one specific case study: through mathematical and ethnographic research of Facebook.com, the author evaluates the opinions of students in considering virtual spaces as communities.