The last two decades have seen an increasing sophistication in the type of information systems employed by organizations. In particular we have seen the emergence of enterprise systems technology - advanced information technology specifically designed to integrate the vast majority of an organization's processes and data flows. As the characteristics of ES technology have encroached beyond individual user domains and have become integrated throughout organizations, user acceptance issues have also broadened beyond the individual unit of analysis. At the same time numerous examples can be found both in the trade press and academic literature of organizations wishing to use enterprise systems as a primary driver of widespread organizational change and restructuring. A fundamental premise of this study is that while it may be intuitively appealing to consider technology as a primary catalyst for organizational change, it neglects to acknowledge the presence of what is referred to as the &quoteduality of structure&quote (Giddens, 1993). Duality of structure proponents contend that while IT system protocols may to a certain extent determine individual action, human agency can also determine the extent to which the technology is incorporated into everyday operations. The failure of past research to acknowledge the role of individual action and the influence of social context in determining IT usage is considered to be a significant oversight (DeSanctis & Poole, 1994). Underpinned by the theory of structuration and its notion of duality, a theory of user acceptance is put forward capable of clarifying the process by which users evaluate and react to enterprise systems technology. The thesis reports on an empirical investigation into the relationship between three representations of structure within an organization: the characteristics of ES technology; job design; and social networks. The capacity of ES technology to alter the structural elements of both job design and social networks, and hence form user's attitudes and behavior towards the system, is the fundamental theoretical premise of the thesis. As such this represents a clear step forward in understanding the implications of ES technology for both users and organizational structure. Using a longitudinal embedded single case design, this study examines the user acceptance and structural implications of introducing an ES into a large public sector educational institution. A social network and job design perspective was adopted to offer fresh insight into the dynamics of employee reaction to the introduction of ES technology. Five hypotheses support the job design component of the thesis. It was argued that given the inherent design elements of ES technology, along with the specific intent of the system's introduction, that users would both anticipate and perceive a decrease in job characteristics following an ES implementation. Further, that the positive relationship between job change and user acceptance would be moderated by the amount of system usage reported by users. Users with a greater exposure to the system were hypothesized to have a far stronger relationship between job change and acceptance than low users. The ramifications of perceived or actual changes to embedded resource exchange networks and subsequent employee reactions to those changes were also considered. Essentially social networks were argued to play a dual role in the user acceptance process, one being a conduit for the facilitation and transfer of user attitudes towards new systems, the other acting as a catalyst for attitude formation towards new systems. Overall the findings only partially supported four of the eight hypotheses put forward. While users were seen to anticipate an &quoteacross the board&quote decrease in job characteristics at Time 1 following the introduction of an ES, perceived changes in job characteristics at Time 2 were dependant on user hierarchy and the extent of system usage. Those high in formal authority reported an increase in job enrichment following the system's introduction, while those low in formal authority reported a decrease in overall job enrichment. Usage was also seen to moderate the relationship between job change and user acceptance. At Time 1 low users reported a positive relationship between anticipated changes in meaningfulness and user acceptance. Conversely at Time 1 high users reported a negative relationship between anticipated skill variety levels at Time 2 and user acceptance. Only one job characteristic reported a relationship between usage and user acceptance. Low users reported a positive relationship between changes in task identity and user acceptance. A post-hoc profile of the usage categories indicated that high users were more likely to be a lower hierarchical position than low users. The positive relationship reported by low users at Time 1 and Time 2 was explained by both the nature of the system, as well as the type and quantity of information received by low users. As senior members of the organization they were considered more likely to receive information that highlighted its attributes in the context of their job roles. The inherent design of ES technology, along with the specific intent it was being introduced, facilitated largely management orientated objectives. Therefore it is unsurprising that low users anticipating an increase in experienced meaningfulness following the introduction of a system that enhanced their job role reported corresponding acceptance levels. In contrast, the negative relationship between anticipated levels of skill variety at Time 2 and perceived ease of use was explained by the affinity that high users were likely to have with the old system. To high users with a high degree of proficiency associated with a redundant skill set, increased skill variety only represented a steeper learning curve and an increased pressure to adapt to the new system. The network component of the study also produced mixed results. Of the two networks that were measured over time, only one supported the hypothesized increase in both advice and resource exchange networks over time. Post-hoc analyses indicated that two of the four groups exhibited network change consistent with the hypothesized relationship. Anecdotal reports suggested that contextual elements such as geographical location and managerial policy at a localized level determined the nature of the change for the remaining two groups. The results failed to support the relationship between network change and user acceptance. However, a weak but significant negative relationship between the measure of network efficiency and user acceptance was found. In simple terms users developing an increasingly redundant set of contacts reported higher levels of user acceptance. In sum, the thesis represents a contribution to enterprise systems, user acceptance and social network literatures. In the first instance the research validates the call by Orlikowski & Iacono (2001) to readily acknowledge the specific nature of the technology under investigation. Despite the growth and saturation of enterprise system types, comparatively little research has been undertaken to examine the user and organizational issues surrounding their implementation. This research has demonstrated the capacity for the inherent design elements of ES technology to have differential effects in terms of job design for different user classifications. This and other findings represent a step forward in understanding the structural and user acceptance implications of this technology, while sign-pointing a number of promising future research avenues. The job design results, and to a lesser extent the network efficiency results, demonstrate the effect of social context on user acceptance. As such they provide further insight regarding the potential determinants of user acceptance beyond the individual unit of analysis. The findings also indicate an increasing need for user acceptance research to stretch beyond the transitory, short term measures of user acceptance such as perceived ease of use, usefulness, training and computer efficacy. Finally the thesis contributes to a small, but growing literature examining the role of social networks in the process of organizational change. In particular this thesis has considered in detail, the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of artificially altering established patterns of interaction. As such the study highlights the need to better understand the role of networks not only in the case of facilitating change, but the effect of network change in terms of change intervention success.

Abstract Drawing on the serious leisure perspective, social world theory, and social network analysis this thesis utilizes an exploratory methodology to develop a structural view of a social world network of 49 social actors comprised of the grassroots associations and the allied organisations expressly concerned with amateur artists in a regional Australian city. Semistructured interviews were conducted with spokespeople in leadership and management roles with the associations and organisations. The purpose of the interviews was to develop an understanding of the key attributes of the grassroots associations and the function of the allied commercial, cultural, and educational organisations, and to discover the patterns of links between these two types of social actors. In addition, the interviews explored the types of social world participation among the associational memberships; and the role, rewards, and costs experienced by the spokespeople who were fulfilling coordinating duties in the grassroots associations. The research found that associations of amateur artists were active in the local community coordinating their memberships, activities, and assets to provide calendars of events for the participants in a regional social world of the creative arts and that, the allied organisations provided complementary goods and services. Further, it emerged that links of varying intensity connecting the associations and organisations coalesced into a network. This comprised a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with actors, dancers, and musicians; a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with craft practitioners, community cultural development workers, visual artists, and writers; and of social actors with bilateral links connecting the two clusters. Also mixed serious leisure emerged as a significant mode of participation among the sample of grassroots association spokespeople who were interviewed and this was important to the sustainability of their associations over time. There are three major outcomes from the research. First, structural concepts from social network analysis in combination with social world theory developed into definition of a community level serious leisure network; second, this definition proved empirically viable in the research context, and third, a model to depict the phenomenon of a community level serious leisure network has emerged from the exploratory process. The findings have both theoretical and empirical implications. Theoretically, they assist research into the structure of community level leisure provision. The findings also encourage investigation of mixed serious leisure. Empirically, the application of network knowledge to improve community leisure resources can improve the outcomes for the social actors involved and the community in which they are embedded.

Abstract Drawing on the serious leisure perspective, social world theory, and social network analysis this thesis utilizes an exploratory methodology to develop a structural view of a social world network of 49 social actors comprised of the grassroots associations and the allied organisations expressly concerned with amateur artists in a regional Australian city. Semistructured interviews were conducted with spokespeople in leadership and management roles with the associations and organisations. The purpose of the interviews was to develop an understanding of the key attributes of the grassroots associations and the function of the allied commercial, cultural, and educational organisations, and to discover the patterns of links between these two types of social actors. In addition, the interviews explored the types of social world participation among the associational memberships; and the role, rewards, and costs experienced by the spokespeople who were fulfilling coordinating duties in the grassroots associations. The research found that associations of amateur artists were active in the local community coordinating their memberships, activities, and assets to provide calendars of events for the participants in a regional social world of the creative arts and that, the allied organisations provided complementary goods and services. Further, it emerged that links of varying intensity connecting the associations and organisations coalesced into a network. This comprised a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with actors, dancers, and musicians; a cluster of social actors connected by their concern with craft practitioners, community cultural development workers, visual artists, and writers; and of social actors with bilateral links connecting the two clusters. Also mixed serious leisure emerged as a significant mode of participation among the sample of grassroots association spokespeople who were interviewed and this was important to the sustainability of their associations over time. There are three major outcomes from the research. First, structural concepts from social network analysis in combination with social world theory developed into definition of a community level serious leisure network; second, this definition proved empirically viable in the research context, and third, a model to depict the phenomenon of a community level serious leisure network has emerged from the exploratory process. The findings have both theoretical and empirical implications. Theoretically, they assist research into the structure of community level leisure provision. The findings also encourage investigation of mixed serious leisure. Empirically, the application of network knowledge to improve community leisure resources can improve the outcomes for the social actors involved and the community in which they are embedded.

Knowledge of the terms sex and gender has important political, health and equity considerations. This thesis investigates the macrostructural assertions of Connell’s social theory of gender which is fundamentally concerned with demonstrating the relational and hierarchical nature of gender. A major criticism of the theory has been its lack of account of the individual and the ways in which gender is performed in local settings. Therefore, investigation primarily concerns whether Connell’s macrostructural theory is explicable in local social contexts. A theoretical critique and reframing of the theory lead to articulating the interdependency between structural, cultural and individual factors. By explicitly stating Connell’s implicit assertions, what becomes evident is that people’s gendered relations are interrelated with beliefs which are held personally and shared culturally. Specifically, a major theoretical impasse is overcome when recognising that the “ideology of supremacy” of a dominative masculinity is necessarily interdependent with the structural relations of power. / From here I have suggested that there are particular patterns of these structures and beliefs which can be seen in macrostructural terms, but also in local settings. These hypotheses are reframed into social network terms for an empirical investigation of Connell’s theory in local contexts. To determine whether the predicted hypotheses for Connell’s theory occur at greater than chance levels, a particular type of statistical model for social networks, called exponential random graph (p*) models, is employed. Importantly, such models utilize a methodological approach which specifically acknowledges the interdependency of structural, individual and cultural factors, thus aligning Connell’s theory with the method of investigation. / Primarily, Connell’s theory is concerned with differing configurations of masculinity, and for this reason my focus is predominantly on males and their relations with one another. To this end, two general local settings were chosen to explore these issues – secondary schools and all-male elite-level (AFL) sporting teams. Social network models were used to examine the relations between masculinities in six schools and four AFL clubs. Importantly, Connell has suggested that local contexts are likely to differ from one another in the degree to which they support gendered relations of power. Results for schools and clubs vary considerably from one another in the ways in which they provide local level support for Connell’s theory. Significantly though, there are some contexts which do show support for Connell’s theory. That such evidence can be found to endorse specifically defined local-level predictions for Connell’s theory, even when controlling for complex micro-level social structures, and also for other individual level effects, and still produce statistically significant effects supporting these predictions suggests that support is not trivial. There is strong evidence that attitudes towards masculinity can be an important organising principle in the emergence of hierarchy, not universally, but in some contexts. / It can be concluded that gender relations tend to operate in ways predicted by Connell’s theory, though local context is particularly important. The specific findings from local social contexts do have wider implications for Connell’s theory, including how hierarchy in gender can be tied to other structures of power, where femininities fit into the theory, a more precise account of hegemony and an exploration of the impact culture has in local settings.

The aim of this qualitative case study is to gain greater insight into the impact of online synchronous (chat) interaction on the learning process from a sociocultural constructivist perspective in the context of an online undergraduate unit. Given the sparse research on the effectiveness of chat interaction in supporting knowledge construction processes, few appropriate analytical methods available for examining educational chat discourse, together with the pedagogical imperative to determine the extent to which the real-time computer-mediated communication (CMC) mode satisfies student learning needs, this study fills the gaps in current research by examining the impact of chat interaction in facilitating participation, knowledge construction, and quality of online learning experience of two different online tutorial groups. Although the literature largely regards chat interaction as fragmented and characterized by interactional incoherence that disrupts the dialogic knowledge construction process, findings from this single-embedded case study of tutorial groups 1 and 4 (G1 and G4), involved in weekly critical discussions on set-readings over 11 weeks (one semester), show that chat interaction is more structured and complex than the literature suggests. This study utilizes a new methodological design that integrates discourse and social network analytical methods which are triangulated with self-reports of learning experiences from an online survey instrument. The application of a refined Exchange Structure Analysis coding instrument (Kneser, Pilkington, & Treasure-Jones, 2001) with social network analysis (Wasserman & Faust, 1994; Scott, 2000) to transcripts of chat interaction shows educational chat discourse to be coherent; reflecting the typical structure of pedagogical classroom exchanges. Findings from this study further establish that chat interaction enables participation opportunities in tutorial discussions which are valued as important, with variations in levels of participation within and between groups suggesting a pattern of active and peripheral participation which is not necessarily detrimental to learning. Chat interaction is also found to facilitate collaborative sharing of individual understandings and critical negotiation of meaning which are characteristic of the knowledge construction process, in the form of information-sharing and topic development phases in the exchanges of both groups. Although it is beyond the scope of this study to determine the exact form of knowledge constructed, individual and mutual appropriations of shared knowledge through chat interaction are reported by both groups. A between group comparison of available tutor scaffolding reveals consistently weak G1 tutor presence compared to strong G4 tutor support at the initial learning stages with gradual withdrawal of scaffolding over time. These results suggest differences in quality of online educational experiences which are confirmed by findings that compared to G1, G4 reported greater satisfaction with more chat tutorial factors; indicating an overall more positive, higher quality of experience with collaborative learning and group work processes afforded by the chat interaction. With its methodological design, instruments, and findings, this study contributes to existing knowledge on online interaction, advances on previous studies regarding impact of chat interaction on learning, and offers directions for future work in the fields of educational technology, linguistics, and group dynamics in educational social networks. When extrapolated to comparable cases, findings from this study could guide the pedagogical design of collaborative-constructivist learning activities that takes into account the role of chat interaction in the construction of learning conversations.

Coordination of people, processes, and artifacts is a significant challenge to successful software engineering that is growing as the scale, distribution, and complexity of software projects grow. This thesis presents an exploratory case study of coordination of interdependent work in a practicing software development team. Qualitative analysis of stakeholder interviews was used to develop nine theoretical propositions that describe coordination behaviours. One proposition was refined by quantitatively exploring the structure of explicit dependencies between work items in relation to their resolution times. Structure measures drawn from social network analysis were used to quantify the structure of explicit dependencies between work items, revealing some lower resolution times were associated with degree centrality measures, but that network structures only explain a small proportion of the variance in resolution times. The results are compared with existing theories of coordination in software engineering and directions for further research are outlined.

Uma metodologia que combina mapeamento e análise de processos, elicitação, mapeamento e análise crítica de conhecimentos e análise sociotécnica com base em análise de redes sociais foi concebida. A metodologia foi aplicada à uma pequena organização intensiva conhecimento LNMRI e permitiu a avaliação dos seus principais ativos intelectuais e sua capacidade de evoluir. Nesse sentido, com base em questões reais, tal como a saída de pessoas da organização, foram avaliados os impactos de prováveis cenários futuros. Para tal tarefa, foi analisada uma rede multimodal de processos, objetos de conhecimento e pessoas, utilizando-se um conjunto apropriado de métricas e meios, incluindo a avaliação das esferas de influências de nós chave. Para diferenciar a capacidade das pessoas em desempenhar diferentes papeis nos processos, alguns atributos dos nós foram utilizados como critérios de partição da rede, proporcionando assim, a capacidade de diferenciar o impacto da perda potencial de supervisores e operadores. A metodologia proposta possibilitou: i) a identificação de objetos de conhecimento e de suas fontes; ii) a classificação desses objetos segundo sua relevância; iii) a avaliação de vulnerabilidades da estrutura da rede LNMRI e iv) revelou os mecanismos informais de partilha de conhecimento. A metodologia concebida demonstrou ser uma ferramenta robusta para um amplo diagnóstico para subsidiar o planejamento de sucessão e também o planejamento estratégico organizacional. / A methodology combining process mapping and analysis; knowledge elicitation mapping and critical analysis; and sociotechnical analysis based on social network analysis was conceived. The methodology was applied to a small knowledge intensive organization LNMRI, and has allowed the appraisal of the main intellectual assets and their ability to evolve. In this sense, based on real issues such as attrition, the impacts of probable future scenarios were assessed. For such task, a multimodal network of processes, knowledge objects and people was analyzed using a set of appropriate metrics and means, including sphere of influence of key nodes. To differentiate the ability of peoples role playing in the processes, some nodes attributes were used to provide partition criteria for the network and thus the ability to differentiate the impact of potential loss of supervisors and operators. The proposed methodology has allowed for: i) the identification of knowledge objects and their sources; ii) mapping and ranking of these objects according to their relevance and iii) the assessment of vulnerabilities in LNMRIs network structure and iv) revealing of informal mechanisms of knowledge sharing The conceived methodological framework has proved to be a robust tool for a broad diagnosis to support succession planning and also the organizational strategic planning.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is a well studied phenomenon in the literature and content propagation in Online Social Networks (OSNs) is one of the forms of WOM mechanism that have been prevalent in recent years specially with the widespread surge of online communities and online social networks. The basic piece of information in most OSNs is a post (e.g., a tweet in Twitter or a post in Facebook). A post can contain different types of content such as text, photo, video, etc, or a mixture of two or more them. There are also various ways to enrich the text by mentioning other users, using hashtags, and adding URLs to external contents. The goal of this study is to investigate what factors contribute into the propagation of messages in Google+. To answer to this question a multidimensional study will be conducted. On one hand this question could be viewed as a natural language processing problem where topic or sentiment of posts cause message dissemination. On the other hand the propagation can be effect of graph properties i.e., popularity of message originators (node degree) or activities of communities. Other aspects of this problem are time, external contents, and external events. All of these factors are studied carefully to find the most highly correlated attribute(s) in the propagation of posts.

Orientador: Eduardo Strachman / Banca: Claudio Cesar de Paiva / Banca: Paulo Furquim de Azevedo / Resumo: Na presente dissertação buscamos estudar de maneira profunda uma característica comum a regimes democráticos proposta pela Escola da Escolha Pública. Determinados ramos desta Escola de Pensamento afirmam que os políticos trocam votos entre si buscando apoio futuro para seus projetos. Utilizando a metodologia de Análise de Redes Sociais, buscamos primeiramente mapear a atuação e os contatos dos Senadores da República Federativa do Brasil dentro das comissões fixas desta casa de leis no período compreendido pela 52ª Legislatura. Após este mapeamento procuramos criar meios de análise para responder a questão proposta pelos ramos da escola citada, ou seja, desejamos responder a questão teórica da existência ou não do logrolling no Senado Brasileiro. Anteriormente a análise empírica e resposta aos problemas propostos, apresentaremos a devida introdução teórica compreendida por uma revisão de literatura sobre os temas pertinentes, sejam eles puramente teóricos a respeito da troca de apoio, sejam eles analíticos a respeito do sistema político brasileiro / Abstract: In this dissertation we aimed to study in a profound way one common feature of democratic regimes proposed by the School of Public Choice. Certain branches of this school of thought claim that politicians swap votes between them seeking support for their future projects. Using the method of social networks analysis, we first map the activities and contacts of the Senators of the Federative Republic of Brazil within the fixed committees of this house of laws in the period by the 52nd Legislature. After this analysis we seek to create means to answer the question proposed by the branches of the school mentioned above, ie, we wish to answer the following question: can we see logrolling in the Brazilian Senate? Previously the empirical analysis and response to problems posed, we present the necessary theoretical introduction understood by reviewing the literature on relevant subjects, whether they are purely theoretical with respect to the exchange of support, or analytical about the brazilian political system / Mestre

abstract: This study examined the enactment of a high school district's college-going mission. Treating mission enactment as a case of policy implementation, this study used the lens of complexity theory to understand how system actors and contexts influenced variation and adaptation. Data collection methods included observations, interviews, focus groups, and surveys of various system actors including district staff, principals, counselors, teachers, and students. This study used a mixed methods analytic inductive technique and Social Network Analysis to describe the mission's implementation. Findings reflect that the mission was a vaguely defined value statement; school staff reacted to the mission with limited buy-in and confusion about what it really meant in practice. The mission lacked clear boundaries of what constituted related programs or policies. Consequently, in this site-based district, schools unevenly implemented related programs and policies. School staff wanted more guidance from district staff and clear expectations for mission-related actions. To help meet this need, the district was moving to a more centralized, hierarchical approach. Though they were providing information about the mission, district staff were not providing specific, responsive support to organize school staff's efforts around implementation. District staff were trying to find an approach that both supported schools towards a common vision and provided flexibility for school-level adaptations. Yet, the district had not yet fully formed its position as a facilitator of implementation. Further, as the district lacked a cohesive measurement system, the effectiveness of this initiative was unknown. This study sought to present policy implementation as varied phenomenon, influenced by system actors and conditions. Findings suggest that while policy cannot determine actions, district staff could help create conditions that would support implementation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011