Article

Testing a Model of Sense of Virtual Community

September 2008
Computers in Human Behavior 24(5):2107-2123

DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2007.10.002

Source
DBLP

Authors:

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

A distinguishing feature of virtual communities is their sense of community, i.e., their partici- pants' feelings of membership, identity, influence, and attachment with each other. This study tests a model in which members' perceptions of the group's norms mediate the relationships between sup- porting each other and identifying each other with the members' sense of virtual community. Two studies were conducted providing partial support for the model. The results show that the perception of norms mediate the relationship between SOVC and (a) observing and publicly exchanging sup- port, (b) perceiving that others know one's identity, and (c) using technical features to learn and cre- ate identity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Social-Ecological Approach to Modeling Sense of Virtual Community (SOVC) in Livestreaming Communities

Article

Nov 2022

Participation in communities is essential to individual mental and physical health and can yield further benefits for members. With a growing amount of time spent participating in virtual communities, it's increasingly important that we understand how the community experience manifests in and varies across these online spaces. In this paper, we investigate Sense of Virtual Community (SOVC) in the context of live-streaming communities. Through a survey of 1,944 Twitch viewers, we identify that community experiences on Twitch vary along two primary dimensions: belonging, a feeling of membership and support within the group, and cohesion, a feeling that the group is a well-run collective with standards for behavior. Leveraging the Social-Ecological Model, we map behavioral trace data from usage logs to various levels of the social ecology surrounding an individual user's participation within a community, in order to identify which of these can be associated with lower or higher SOVC. We find that features describing activity at the individual and community levels, but not features describing the community member's dyadic relationships, aid in predicting the SOVC that community members feel within channels. We consider implications for the design of live-streaming communities and for fostering the well-being of their members, and we consider theoretical implications for the study of SOVC in modern, interactive online contexts, particularly those fostering large-scale or pseudonymized interactions. We also explore how the Social-Ecological Model can be leveraged in other contexts relevant to Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), with implications for future work.

How online social interactions predict the sense of virtual community via social capital: Testing a dual-process model with an interest–based SNS

Article

Jun 2022
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

Online communities have become an essential component in the current society, and the sense of virtual community (SOVC) plays a determinant role in affecting the community’s sustainability. Thus, understanding the predictors of SOVC is a topic of interest for both researchers and practitioners. To do so, we take a relational approach and propose a dual-process model in which one-to-one online social interactions facilitate the development of SOVC through the accumulation of two types of social capital. Drawing on a survey of 624 members of an interest-based SNS in China, the findings indicated that both public and private online social interactions influence SOVC, but through different pathways. Specifically, the impact of public interactions on SOVC is mediated by both bridging and bonding social capital, and the mediation effect of bridging is stronger than that of bonding. Meanwhile, the association between private interactions and SOVC is completely mediated by bonding social capital. This study contributes to the SOVC scholarship by identifying the importance of one-to-one online social interactions and explicating the underlying mechanism. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Sentido de comunidad virtual: Un estudio teórico empírico

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2011

En los últimos años, las comunidades virtuales han tenido un fuerte desarrollo. La filosofía web 2.0 ha logrado contar con interfases más sofisticadas, enfocadas principalmente al intercambio de información, y la construcción y generación social del conocimiento; ejemplo de ello son las redes sociales y foros de discusión, entre otras. Para preservar este conocimiento es importante mantenerlas activas, y el sentido de comunidad virtual (SCV) juega un papel preponderante. Son pocas las investigaciones que se han realizado para identificar la estructura del SCV, y las existentes se han basado, casi todas, en el marco teórico de las comunidades físicas. Debido a esto, la presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar y proponer los conceptos que miden SCV que nos permitan, a futuro, crear una escala para monitorear estas comunidades y lograr su permanencia y la preservación del conocimiento de las mismas.

Sense of Community in Professional Virtual Communities

Chapter

Jan 2010

Sense of virtual community (feelings of identity, belonging, and attachment) is an essential component of virtual communities. In this chapter, we develop a model of how sense of virtual community develops in professional virtual communities. Based on sense of virtual community models in social virtual communities, we expect that the exchange of support, development of a group identity, and group norms will lead to a stronger professional sense of virtual community. Unlike social virtual communities, we also predict that employee/members occupational identification will increase professional sense of virtual community, particularly when the virtual community can provide support and information not available in the employee/member’s face-to-face life. Finally, we propose that increased occupational commitment, professional networks, and employee performance are outcomes of sense of virtual community in professional virtual communities.

Online service or virtual community? Building platform loyalty in reward-based crowdfunding

Article

Feb 2021
INTERNET RES

Purpose This study examines how individual contributors' evaluation of the two aspects in reward-based crowdfunding—service and community—influences the formation of platform loyalty. It also seeks to determine the conditions under which the evaluation is positive. Design/methodology/approach We collaborated for data collection with two reward-based crowdfunding platforms in South Korea that primarily promote crowdfunding campaigns in the creative domains. We combined the survey data collected from 578 contributors and campaign data from the platforms, empirically examining the formation of platform loyalty and its antecedents. Findings The results suggest that service satisfaction with a platform and a sense of belonging to it are positively associated with platform loyalty. We also found that an individual contributor's self-image congruence with the crowdfunding platform is positively associated with service satisfaction and a sense of belonging, while the experience of greater campaign success moderates the relationship in different ways. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the crowdfunding literature by establishing a theoretical background for understanding reward-based crowdfunding platforms, which combine service and community. It also extends the scope of the literature on crowdfunding by examining the role of platform loyalty at the platform level. Practical implications The results suggest that service and community are both critical for building a sustainable crowdfunding platform. Platform operators are expected to provide high-quality services and foster a sense of community. Identifying and developing contributors with higher self-image congruence with the platforms is essential. Originality/value While previous literature on reward-based crowdfunding has focused on individual contributor- and campaign-level analyses, platform-level knowledge is lacking. This study is among the first to focus on platform loyalty of individual contributors toward reward-based crowdfunding platforms. Moreover, we use both individual-level perception and campaign-level performance variables to examine the formation of platform loyalty.

Understanding the Sense of Community and Continuance Intention in Virtual Communities: The Role of Commitment and Type of Community

Article

Jul 2021
SOC SCI COMPUT REV

Virtual communities (VCs) have become essential in current organizations and society, and so their sustainability is a topic of interest for researchers and practitioners. We focus on the sense of virtual community (SoVC) and commitment as relevant antecedents in achieving the success and maintenance of different types of VCs (communities of interest, virtual learning communities, and VCs of practice). Specifically, this study examines a moderated mediation model in which the type of VC moderates the indirect effect of a SoVC on the intention to continue through the perceived commitment of the users of the VC. The sample consists of 299 members of VCs. The results showed that SoVC influenced the intention to continue via commitment to VCs. Additionally, the relationship between SoVC and commitment was higher for communities of interest and virtual learning communities than for VCs of practice. This article contributes to previous literature by identifying the importance of participants’ engagement and the contingent effect of the type of community. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

The PETE Collaborative: Established in Crisis, Sustained through Community

Article

Jan 2022

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life around the world, and the (traditional) educational system came to a screeching halt. Educational systems, including physical education teacher education, moved to remote and online teaching modalities almost overnight. This shift, coupled with the cancellation of academic conferences, resulted in many physical education teacher education faculty members feeling isolated and uncertain in their pedagogical approaches. In April 2020, the PETE Collaborative was formed. Initial meetings centered on faculty-related concerns for how to modify content and provide meaningful opportunities for preservice teachers to engage in field experiences during the pandemic. As the community grew, so did the purpose of the Collaborative, which adapted to meet the needs of the members it was established to connect. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to tell the story of the PETE Collaborative, describe its theoretical underpinnings and provide some thoughts for the future of the initiative.

Examining interdependence between product users and employees in online user communities: The role of employee-generated content

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2021
J STRATEGIC INF SYST

Firm-sponsored online user communities have become product innovation and support hubs of strategic importance to firms. Product users and host firm employees comprise the participants of firm-sponsored online user communities. The online user community provides a forum wherein the product users and firm employees discuss questions, problems or issues resulting from the use of host firms’ products. Extant research on online user communities has largely focused on either product users or employees and has examined the various dynamics that ensue from each entity’s community participation. This paper seeks to investigate the interdependence between the two entities in the communities and, in particular, how product users’ reading of employee-generated content influences subsequent knowledge contribution by product users as well as employees. Analyzing data from an online user community over a two-year period, our study shows that employees whose content is read by product users generate additional content and product users who read employee content themselves contribute more knowledge to the community. Thus, the reading of content is not entirely a passive, individual action that only affects the reader. On the contrary, reading sparks additional knowledge contribution by the reader and having readers sparks additional knowledge contribution by the original source of the content, thereby creating a sustainable online user community.

What Drives Continuance Intention towards Social Media? Social Influence and Identity Perspectives

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2020

With the growth of social media communities, people now use this new media to engage in many interrelated activities. As a result, social media communities have grown into popular and interactive platforms among users, consumers and enterprises. In the social media era of high competition, increasing continuance intention towards a specific social media platform could transfer extra benefits to such virtual groups. Based on the expectation-confirmation model (ECM), this research proposed a conceptual framework incorporating social influence and social identity as key determinants of social media continuous usage intention. The research findings of this study highlight that: (1) the social influence view of the group norms and image significantly affects social identity; (2) social identity significantly affects perceived usefulness and confirmation; (3) confirmation has a significant impact on perceived usefulness and satisfaction; (4) perceived usefulness and satisfaction have positive effects on usage continuance intention. The results of this study can serve as a guide to better understand the reasons for and implications of social media usage and adoption.

Seeking Seclusion, Embracing Decline: A Qualitative Enquiry Into the Long-Term Development of a Private Online Community

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2020

Christoph Schimkowsky

This article analyzes the development of a message board–based online community between 2002 and 2016. It examines a private online community that actively secluded itself from online publics and has welcomed no new members in over a decade. Drawing on online participant observation, offline fieldwork, online and offline interviews, as well as archival research of 12 years of online interaction, the article provides an in-depth qualitative account of the “aging” of an online community that focuses on its internal dynamics and member narratives. A portrait of a community that survived years of apparent “decline,” it enquires into the durability of online socialities and cultures. Specifically, the article identifies three interlinked factors that shaped the long-term development of the community: (1) structural and cultural continuities, actively achieved through user and administrator efforts, established the online community as a coherent and recognizable social aggregation that persists over time; (2) forum members do not uniformly perceive decreasing levels of community interaction as negative but reframe it as an expression of in-group familiarity and side-effect of a consolidation process; and (3) interweaving of online and offline interaction is a primary source of familiarity among members and factor benefiting community longevity. As study of a message board tracing back to 2002, the article examines a remnant of an earlier online culture and speaks to increasing scholarly interests in online pasts. As a study of a closed forum, the article further contributes to an emerging body of research on private and secretive modes of online interaction.

Understanding continuance intention in traffic-related social media: Comparing a multi-channel information community and a community-based application

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2019
INTERNET RES

Purpose Recent technological advances have led to the growing popularity of traffic-related social media platforms which facilitate drivers to easily share, consume and exchange traffic information instead of the traditional ways using TV or radio. By integrating the information systems success model, social capital theory and dedication-based commitment mechanism, the purpose of this paper is to examine the varying degree of effectiveness in maintaining user’s continuance intention between two different social media platforms for traffic information. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through online questionnaires from two platforms. One is a multi-channel traffic information community that has been specialized in traffic information for many years and has adopted several kinds of social media to engage with its audience. The other is a community-based traffic application created to help people exchange and contribute traffic information with real-time navigation. Findings The findings show that the effects of satisfaction and affective commitment on continuance intention are stronger in the community-based traffic application while their antecedents play different roles in shaping satisfaction and affective commitment due to the nature and characteristics of these two groups. Originality/value This study will be the first attempt to understand what matters to users and what can retain users to routinely use a specific traffic-related social media platform in their daily lives. This is also one of the first empirical studies that examine both transactional and relational points of view on users’ continuance intention.

Do I Belong? Modeling Sense of Virtual Community Among Linux Kernel Contributors

Preprint

Full-text available

Jan 2023

The sense of belonging to a community is a basic human need that impacts an individuals behavior, long-term engagement, and job satisfaction, as revealed by research in disciplines such as psychology, healthcare, and education. Despite much research on how to retain developers in Open Source Software projects and other virtual, peer-production communities, there is a paucity of research investigating what might contribute to a sense of belonging in these communities. To that end, we develop a theoretical model that seeks to understand the link between OSS developer motives and a Sense of Virtual Community. We test the model with a dataset collected in the Linux Kernel developer community, using structural equation modeling techniques. Our results for this case study show that intrinsic motivations - social or hedonic motives - are positively associated with a sense of virtual community, but living in an authoritative country and being paid to contribute can reduce the sense of virtual community. Based on these results, we offer suggestions for open source projects to foster a sense of virtual community, with a view to retaining contributors and improving projects sustainability.

Examining COVID-19 vaccine attitude using SEM-Artificial Neural Networks approach: a case from Reddit community

Article

Nov 2022

As new coronavirus variants continue to emerge, in order to better address vaccine-related concerns and promote vaccine uptake in the next few years, the role played by online communities in shaping individuals’ vaccine attitudes has become an important lesson for public health practitioners and policymakers to learn. Examining the mechanism that underpins the impact of participating in online communities on the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines, this study adopted a two-stage hybrid structural equation modeling (SEM)-artificial neural networks (ANN) approach to analyze the survey responses from 1037 Reddit community members. Findings from SEM demonstrated that in leading up to positive COVID-19 vaccine attitudes, sense of online community mediates the positive effects of perceived emotional support and social media usage, and perceived social norm mediates the positive effect of sense of online community as well as the negative effect of political conservatism. Health self-efficacy plays a moderating role between perceived emotional support and perceived social norm of COVID-19 vaccination. Results from the ANN model showed that online community members’ perceived social norm of COVID-19 vaccination acts as the most important predictor of positive COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. This study highlights the importance of harnessing online communities in designing COVID-related public health interventions and accelerating normative change in relation to vaccination.

A psychological perspective on the sociotechnical enablers of knowledge worker digital creativity

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Full-text available

Nov 2022

While the work realm moves toward digital environments, the antecedents of knowledge worker digital creativity remain poorly understood. This study investigated the digital work environment as a sociotechnical environment and contextual enhancer of knowledge worker digital creativity. We proposed a research model that links perceived organizational support, sense of virtual community and digital creativity. Furthermore, we proposed an indirect moderation model suggesting that the relationship between organizational support and digital creativity is moderated by the sense of virtual community that, in turn, is facilitated by technology ease of use. We tested the model with data collected from platform knowledge workers (N = 159) using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that organizational support positively relates to digital creativity, and that the sense of virtual community moderates the effect of organizational support for digital creativity, whereas technology ease of use facilitates a sense of virtual community.

The influence of team cultural value orientations on norms of conduct in hybrid teams: Implications for team cohesion and performance

Article

Oct 2022
GROUP PROCESS INTERG

We advance team composition research by adopting a team-norms perspective to examine the effects of team members’ cultural value orientations—collectivism and uncertainty avoidance orientation—on team functioning and performance in hybrid teams (i.e., teams combining face-to-face and mediated communication). Using data collected at three points in time from a sample of self-managing project teams, results support our proposed theoretical model. Team members’ mean level of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance both positively relate to norms of conduct in a team. In addition, team norms indirectly influence team performance through cohesion when team virtuality and team task knowledge are both high, with team virtuality moderating the team norms–cohesion relationship, and team task knowledge moderating the team cohesion–performance relationship. Our findings suggest that characteristics of contemporary teams—team cultural value orientation and team virtuality—have important implications for how norms for acceptable conduct develop and their consequences for team performance.

The Impact of TikTok User Satisfaction on Continuous Intention to Use the Application

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2022

People use social media not only for social purposes but also for business purposes. It is used in management and marketing as a tool to manage organizations and market products and services, especially to influence customers’ intention and satisfaction. Therefore, the research purpose is to define factors that influence continuous intention to use TikTok in Jordan and to what extent satisfaction with TikTok influences continuous intention to use TikTok. The current research uses a quantitative cross-sectional approach. Data was collected by online surveys and shared on several social media sites such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. A total of 402 responses were valid for further analysis. Then, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed. The results indicate that the following factors significantly affect satisfaction: self-expression, informativeness, a sense of belonging, and trendiness in TikTok. However, the following factors do not significantly affect satisfaction: sociability, affection in TikTok, and past time in TikTok. The factors can explain 48.5% of satisfaction. Finally, satisfaction has a positive significant influence on users’ continuous intention to use TikTok and can explain 30.6% of the user’s continuous intention to use TikTok. In conclusion, the organizations have to heavily use the factors that influence the users’ satisfaction to increase users’ continuous intention.

Intention to adopt user generated content on virtual travel communities: Exploring the mediating role of attitude

Article

May 2022

Online communities have brought major changes in the behaviour of consumers in the travel and tourism industry. Travellers frequently rely on the User General Content (UGC) to make their travel-related decisions. Avid travellers join travel communities and actively look for unbiased information, and share their own experiences. This paper explores the predictors of consumer attitude and intention to follow UGC posted on online travel communities. Further, this study attempts to analyze the influence of Customer Value Creation (CVC) on attitude and traveller’s intention to adopt UGC posted on online travel communities. Data collected from 246 members of online travel communities were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. Empirical results show that CVC has a significant direct and positive impact on travel information adoption intention and indirect influence through attitude. This study is among the few on the impact of CVC on attitude towards UGC posted on an online travel community and advances the literature on the subject by explaining the relative impact of CVC on attitude from a different theoretical perspective.

Role of Social Networking Sites in Financial Product Choice: An Investigation Through the Theory of Planned Behavior

Article

Feb 2022

This study aims to find the role social networking sites (SNSs) have in the form of expert opinions and blogs available at digital platforms, on financial product choice (FPC). How do social blogs and online expert opinions influence people’s purchasing decisions when using a TPB-based model? The research is conducted in northern India on an individual-level survey basis. The effects of the chosen variable on purchase intentions through the theory of planned behavior were examined by partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SMART-PLS 3.2. The results revealed that social media platforms have a positive impact on individuals’ FPCs through blogs and opinions. This study adds to the literature by providing insights into the impact of social media on financial product selection in a developing country like India, an area that is not much explored. More so, there is no conclusive literature available in the Indian context using gender as a moderator over TPB while examining intention to invest in financial products. The study provides a better understanding of investment behavior using online social platforms, blogs, and online expert opinion to policymakers and regulators like SEBI and service providers for enhancing the reach of their services. However, constraints such as dealing with self-reporting and generalizing findings to various situations are expected to be overcome with additional research in the field.

Virtual community building in organized sports: use of social network sites and the impact on membership involvement of members of voluntary sports clubs in the Netherlands

Thesis

Full-text available

Jan 2022

Nanny Kuijsters

Sports clubs in the Netherlands contribute to a healthy lifestyle, social cohesion, and inclusive sports participation. Despite the fact that sports participation is increasing, clubs have difficulty maintaining their membership levels. Various developments play a role in this. The focus of the research in this dissertation is on two social trends, 'increasing individualisation' and 'increasing digitalisation'. Seven studies answer two research questions: 1) how can the membership involvement of members of voluntary sport clubs (MI) be conceptualized in terms of dimensions, predictors and benefits and 2) how can social networking sites of voluntary sport clubs contribute to the development of membership involvement of members? These studies together form a multi-method research project. Results show that membership involvement (MI) refers to members' emotional attachment to their club based on participation, relevance and the social world of the club. Membership involvement is related to bonding aspects such as the intention to support the club and stay as a member. Social networking sites of sports clubs can help to develop this membership involvement, preferably by using the channels for information and interaction about the club, the sport and the members. The online channels together form the virtual community of the club, which, depending on the approach of the club and its members, reflect the online identities of the club. With their virtual community, voluntary sports clubs offer, besides the accommodation, an online meeting place for sports and other activities with which they can stimulate membership involvement among their members. With this dissertation, Nanny Kuijsters provides insights for the development of virtual communities for clubs, professionals and interested parties in organized sports.

Overcoming the liability of distance? An exploratory study of the associations between social networks, sense of community and spatial colocation

Article

Dec 2021
J Corp R Estate

Felichism W. Kabo

Purpose This study aims to examine the associations of social networks with the sense of community (SOC) construct and spatial colocation or having an office. The study site was an institute for health-care policy research formed in 2011 by bringing together scientists from more than 20 different university units. Only 30% of the scientists were had an office or physical presence at the institute. Therefore, the institute was an ideal site to examine whether SOC was correlated with different dimensions of network position – connectedness, reachability and brokerage – even when the authors account for the lack of spatial colocation for the off-site scientists. Design/methodology/approach A two-part (sociometric and workplace) internet survey instrument was administered in 2014 to the institute’s population of 411 individuals. The sociometric data were used to create an undirected interaction network and the following dependent variables (DVs) or network centralities: normalized degree to measure connectedness; average reciprocal distance to capture reachability; and normalized betweenness to proxy brokerage. Separate node-level network regressions were then run with random permutations ( N = 10,000) and listwise deletion for each of the DVs with SOC and spatial colocation as the independent variables, and variables that controlled for gender, organizational affiliation and job category. Findings SOC and spatial colocation are both positively and significantly correlated with network connectedness and reachability. The results suggest that both SOC and spatial colocation have a larger impact on reachability than connectedness. However, neither SOC nor spatial colocation are significantly associated with network brokerage. Finally, the findings show that SOC and spatial colocation are more reliable predictors of network connectedness and reachability than are key individual- and unit-level control variables, specifically the individual’s sex, job category and organizational affiliation. The controls were not significantly associated with any of the three network centralities, namely, connectedness, reachability and brokerage. Originality/value This exploratory study used social network analysis and node-level network regressions to examine the associations from SOC and spatial colocation to dimensions of network position. SOC is positively and significantly associated with network connectedness and reachability, suggesting that SOC is an important consideration when individuals are disadvantaged from the absence of spatial colocation. The findings have implications for work in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as they imply that interventions based on the SOC construct could potentially lessen the negative effects of remote work on workplace social networks due to factors such as the reduction of social contacts.

The potential of psychological connectedness: Mitigating the impacts of COVID‐19 through sense of community and community resilience

Article

Dec 2021

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of relationships connecting sense of community (SOC) and community resilience with psychological wellbeing, via the mediation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impacts on life domains. Survey data were collected from an international sample of adults (n = 824) during the COVID-19 outbreak (June–September 2020). Using a structural equation model, we tested a mediation model to identify the associations between SOC and community resilience with the perceived impacts of the emergency situation and with psychological wellbeing. Results revealed that SOC mitigated the impacts of COVID-19 on multiple life domains, and it was also positively associated with wellbeing. Community resilience was correlated with SOC and wellbeing but showed no significant relationship with COVID-19 impacts. The findings support that SOC has a protective function and can contribute to mitigating the impacts of difficult life situations. SOC can also be leveraged as an intervention aimed at protecting the wellbeing of people and communities, particularly in times of crisiss

DİJİTAL GELECEK DİJİTAL DÖNÜŞÜM

Book

Sep 2021

Bu eserde, birçok farklı alanda dijital dönüşüm ve dijital teknolojiler ele alınmış ve gerek literatür incelemeleri gerek güncel araştırma verileri ile dijital geleceğin resmi çizilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Análisis de los contenidos científicos presentes en Redes Sociales por futuros profesores de Primaria

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2021

Amparo Elisa Beneitez Villamor

La ciudadanía siente como se van modificando los conocimientos científicos que le permiten responder a las cuestiones científico-técnicas, tanto a nivel personal como social. En este trabajo se presenta cómo nuestros estudiantes, futuros docentes en Educación Primaria, organizados en grupos, analizaron los contenidos científicos presentes en diferentes redes sociales. Los documentos presentados por los alumnos fueron analizados para construir una guía de manejo de las redes sociales y para valorar su posible utilización en el aula.

The Charisma of Online Group-Buying: The Moderating Role of Social Motivation

Article

Dec 2019

Yi-Mu Chen

Group buying can spread worldwide because the growth of the online shopping market has been considerable. In addition to deal popularity and discount rate, social motivation was included in this study. If a consumer cannot achieve an economic exchange benefit, a social exchange benefit might provide another function for the group member to stay in the community. This study adopted convenience sampling and an online questionnaire to conduct a survey. Among 240 questionnaires collected, 204 were valid. According to ANOVA analysis, the results demonstrated that social motivation has a positive influence on the relationship between the discount of a product and customers 'purchasing intention but not on the relationship between the popularity of a product and customers' purchasing intention. Therefore, we concluded that strengthening social networking can have a positive effect on customers' purchasing intention and thus encouraging the development of group purchasing retailers and related industries.

The Role of Social Networks During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Real-Life Social Distancing Vs Virtual Interactions

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021

Online social networks have become one of the most widely used sources of information in the world and also an important part of our daily life. A huge boost to their spreading came with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As social distancing and lockdown orders due to COVID-19 health emergency grew more pervasive, individuals began to spend more time online and to use social networks (SNs) to keep up to date regarding the spread of pandemic and also to maintain communication with friends and family and reduce isolation. Given these evidences, the present study aims to investigate the social supporting role of SNs during the pandemic emergency. Specifically, it intends to analyze (a) the use of SNs as a means of interaction in the face of the social containment imposed by the COVID-19 spreading, and (b) the factors (homophily, trust, loneliness, and emotional instability) that affect such use. An online survey with a sample of 194 Italian people was conducted. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the model proposed. Results revealed that sense of belonging to SNs had a strong impact on search for social support and is, in turn, positively influenced by trust in SNs and homophily. Emotional instability also increased the search for social support. The study contributes both theoretically and empirically to the understanding of the role of SNs in influencing individual behavior. As the use of SNs continues to spread around the world, understanding why consumers rely in SNs and what gratifications they receive from them is undoubtedly of interest for both academics and practitioners.

Continuance Intention in Traffic-Related Social Media: A Privacy Calculus Perspective

Article

Feb 2021

Trang Nguyen

Thanks to technological breakthroughs, drivers are enjoying traffic-associated social media to share and update information in place of the traditional ways using TV or radio. In this research, we integrate the IS success model and the privacy calculus model to elaborate on the factors of sustaining user’s continuance intention in information-sharing platforms. We collected data via online surveys from a community-based application that supports real-time traffic information sharing. The findings shed light on how perceived value and privacy concerns impact users’ continuance intention. While a higher level of perceived value enhances users’ continuance intention, privacy concerns do not influence users’ decision in continuing using the traffic app. This research provides initial efforts to investigate the effect of privacy paradox on users' continuance intention in the new context of a specific traffic-related social media platform.

Utilizing Facebook Groups in Teaching English as Foreign Language: Indonesian EFL Teachers’ Voices

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2020

Puput Arfiandhani

In the era of 4.0, social media has become an integral part of everyday life, including for the purpose of teacher learning. One of the means of social media that has been used for enhancing teachers’ independent professionalism is Facebook Groups related with their teaching professions. The present qualitative study aims at (i) exploring English as A Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ experiences in utilizing Facebook Groups for their teacher learning and (ii) finding out the benefits of teachers’ involvement in teaching-related Facebook Groups. In collecting the data for the present case study, in-depth interviews were done with two teachers, one novice teacher and one experienced teacher. The findings and discussions indicated that teachers use Facebook groups to enhance their professionalism, despite they tend to start refraining from utilizing the groups due to uncomfortable atmosphere that Facebook now offers. Additionally there are three benefits found of joining Facebook groups, namely their enriched information on content knowledge, knowledge of curriculum and knowledge of educational contexts. In the current time where teachers need to shift into distance learning in the timely fashion, whereas many subjects need to be comprehended quickly.

Systematic Literature Review:Online Social Media Interaction in Education and Employment Cluster/ Tinjauan Literatur Sistematik: Interaksi Media Sosial Atas Talian dalam Kluster Pendidikan dan Pekerjaan

Article

Aug 2020

The research is related to online social media interactions in education and employment clusters. The researcher has developed five objectives of the study specifically to identifying the top forms of social media in Malaysia, to identifying the tendency of Malaysians to habit social media, to identifying online interaction platforms in the employment sector, to identifying the effectiveness of social media in generating income and for educational purposes. All objectives use two methods of analysis that is critical factor analysis and quantitative analysis. All of these objectives were achieved. The results show that Malaysians are more likely to use Facebook social media and WhatsApp application in their regular lives for social, educational and career purposes. This shows that social media and interaction applications have a positive impact on society, especially for employees and students in the face of the changing world of Technology in the 21st century.

THE IMPACT OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL AND LEARNER SELF- REGULATION ON PERCEIVED EXPERIENCE, SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND E-LEARNING PROJECTS PERFORMANCE

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Jul 2020

Preparing for the Unexpected: Community Framework for Social Media Use and Social Support by Trail Thru-Hikers

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Apr 2020

A months-long hike of the Appalachian Trail often involve long-term preparation and life-altering decisions. Would-be hikers leverage institutional knowledge from literature and online forums to physically and mentally prepare for such an arduous hike. Their use of social platforms provide useful insights on motivations for undertaking the thru-hike, how they deal with unexpected conditions on the trail and understand choices made in conditions of scarcity. By analyzing over 100,000 Reddit posts and comments in r/AppalachianTrail and applying a Sense of Community theory, we sought to understand hikers' identity as community members, how their emotional and practical needs are met, and how they evolve. We found that the role and language of thru-hikers change as they progress from pre-hike, on-hike, and post-hike stages, from a questioner early on, to an expert post-hike. We conclude with design recommendations to support offline communities online.

Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the sense of community responsibility scale

Article

May 2020
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

The central aim of the present research was to examine the psychometric properties of adapted versions of the sense of community (SOC) responsibility scale in three Italian samples. We examined the psychometric properties of three modified versions of the sense of community responsibility (SOC-R) scale. Consistent with the original scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the scale was unidimensional and exhibited excellent internal consistency. In addition, factor analyses revealed that SOC responsibility and SOC are two separate, albeit related, constructs. The results also provided evidence of the discriminant validity of SOC and SOC-R on key outcomes. Taken together, these results provide support for the Community Experience Model, which posits that community experiences are a function of resource and responsibility components, as well as for the adaptable nature of the SOC-R scale to the Italian context. K E Y W O R D S cross-cultural validation, measurement, reliability, sense of community, sense of community responsibility, validity

Factors Influencing Researcher Cooperation in Virtual Academic Communities Based on Principal Component Analysis

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2020

As a professional virtual community, the virtual academic community meets the new needs of scholars for academic cooperation in the network environment. It provides a more convenient way for scientific research cooperation. The purpose of this paper is to combine the factors influencing researcher cooperation in virtual academic communities and to verify and improve the index system of the factors influencing researcher cooperation in virtual academic communities with data support. Data for the research was obtained in an online questionnaire survey wjx.cn from forum muchong.com, which is the largest virtual academic community in China. Using principal component analysis method provides an in-depth data analysis of individual factors. The SPSS 20 was used to conduct a preliminary descriptive statistical analysis of the questionnaires. The results obtained show that community trust plays the most important role in the collaboration of researchers in virtual academic communities and that group interaction factors and individual factors also affect the cooperation of researchers in virtual academic communities. The conclusion suggests that the virtual academic communities need to establish and improve management norms and trust mechanisms, and also need to refine and improve the forum section and community incentives.

Sense of Community and Trust in the Sharing Economy

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2020
Tourism Anal

Property sharing is one of the most prominent examples of the rapidly expanding sharing economy. Travelers around the world often opt to stay at a stranger’s apartment instead of any other tourism accommodation. Trust is essential in this choice, because staying with, or taking in, strangers can entail great risks. To create trust between users, sharing platforms often promote a sense of community. However, the relation between sense of community and trust in the sharing economy is still largely unknown. To investigate this relation, both hosts and guests of two sharing platforms, namely Airbnb and SabbaticalHomes, were surveyed. The findings indicate that sense of community indeed enhances trust between users. Moreover, the evidence suggests that hosts have a stronger sense of community than guests. Also, a significantly higher sense of community was found on the platform where identification between users is higher. This study shows that affect for the community contributes to the understanding of trust in the sharing economy.

The Vulnerable Socioeconomic Conflict on the Gate Community Neighborhood in Makassar

Article

Aug 2019

As a developing country, Indonesia has a tolerant society. Nonetheless, demands are currently rising for exclusive real estate models which are bounded from the vicinity by ring-fenced or portals. Understanding the socio-economic conflict is essential for developing urban housing at the gated community. This research is focused on the gate community housing in Makassar, which represents the condition of cities in Indonesia. The study combines both quantitative-qualitative analysis and spatial analysis. The data collection was obtained by observation and interviewing the neighborhood community. The data analysis uses triangulate combinations, which are essential performance analysis (IPA), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and the system information of geography analysis. The results show from 272 real estates in the city of Makassar there are 85.7percent of the gate communities in the city of Makassar which all show vulnerability to socio-economic conflicts. Although, the level of exclusivity increases, the socio-economic interactions tied between gate community residents and non-residents prevent social conflict from emerging.

A multidimensional scale for measuring online brand community social capital (OBCSC)

Article

Jul 2019
J BUS RES

Network analysis in twitter for the insertion into communities: An agroindustrial product case

Article

Feb 2019
INTERCIENCIA

The hashtags and relevant content in Twitter, related to the agroindustrial product mezcal were analysed, and the so-called ‘influencers’ were also identified. For doing this, 57.362 tweets were extracted and stored; three networks were built: users-hashtags, retweets, and mentions, which were studied by using social network analysis (SNA). The application of the SNA allowed revealing certain kind of hidden patterns within the social media complex relationships, which can be useful for designing strategies aimed at positioning actors and spread information. The results allow stating that in order to get inserted in the social network, the following should be considered: the use of combined hashtags, the message content kind, including pictures attached, and mentioning the most influential accounts who are embedded in already formed communities.

Komunikasi Kesehatan Berbasis Virtual pada Komunitas Ketofastosis Dalam Membangun Pemahaman Kesehatan

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

Community empowerment as a government partner in dealing with health issues is expected to improve public health in society. Today many communities are formed as an effort to address health issues. One of the communities that is currently in the spotlight of the general public is the ketofastosis Indonesia community (KFI). KFI was initiated and introduced to the public by Nur Agus Prasetyo. The community was formed in 2016. The large role of the community present in this online media also gives its own meaning to the members who are members of it. The formation of meanings between one individual and another is certainly different because each human being has a unique character. The problem of this study is how does warrior mean for the perpetrators of ketophastosis? The purpose of this study is to know the meaning of warrior for the perpetrators of Ketophastosis. The study used virtual ethnographic research methods and used the research subjects of two groups on social media whats app and instagram. The results of this study concluded the term warrior has two meanings for KFLS actors, namely beginner warrior and warrior mentor. Beginner warriors are KFLS actors who tend to ask and confirm whether the activities or food they consume are in accordance with procedures or not. This beginner warrior behavior in interacting shows that communication is a process by which individuals coordinate their behavior with a shared interpretive scheme. Warrior mentors are motivating people, forming a comfortable atmosphere and environment for budding warriors who still have doubts and fears in undergoing KFLS.

Kullanımlar ve Doyumlar Yaklaşımı Çerçevesinde Anadolu Üniversitesi Açıköğretim Sistemi Çevrimiçi Öğrenci Topluluklarının Motivasyonlarının İncelenmesi

Article

Jun 2022

Bu çalışmanın amacı, kullanımlar ve doyumlar yaklaşımı çerçevesinde Anadolu Üniversitesi Açıköğretim Sistemi Öğrenci Topluluklarına (Kitap, Fotoğraf, Tarih, Müzik, Sinema ve Bilişim) üye olan öğrenci/mezunların motivasyonlarını incelemektir. Çalışma, tarama modeli ile gerçekleştirilmiş ve belirlenen amaçlara ulaşmak için nicel veri toplama tekniklerinden yararlanılmıştır. Anadolu Üniversitesi Çevrimiçi Öğrenci Topluluklarına üye olan 627 katılımcıdan elde edilen veriler anket yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında elde edilen verilerin analizinde betimsel ve kestirimsel istatistik yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Betimsel istatistik yöntem ve teknikleri kapsamında, elde edilen demografik bilgilere ilişkin veriler sıklık ve yüzde olarak gösterilmiştir. Çevrimiçi öğrenci topluluklarına üye olan katılımcıların motivasyonları için ise faktör analizi kullanılmıştır. Demografik özellikler ile motivasyonlar arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olup olmadığı ise t-testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre katılımcıların; bağlamsal gereksinimle ifade edilebilecek eğlenme, stresten uzaklaşma ve sosyal çevre edinme gereksinimlerinin, topluluklara katılım motivasyonunda etkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Araştırma, katılımcıların işlevsel gereksinimleri doğrultusunda çevrimiçi öğrenci topluluklarını, kişisel bir gelişim aracı olarak gördüklerini ortaya koymaktadır. Öğrenciler, “duyuşsal gereksinim” konusunda, diğer üyelerle daha çok iletişim kurmak ve sosyal etkileşimde bulunma motivasyonu ile hareket etmektedir. Ayrıca topluluk üyelerinin motivasyonlarının cinsiyet, yaş, öğrenci/mezun olma ve sosyal ağları kullanma durumuna göre farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir.

Literature on Civic Engagement

Chapter

Jan 2022

This chapter reviews the literature to date on the relationship between civic engagement and democracy. Researchers from the US and Africa have approached the subject from quite different directions. Since the 1990s, research on civic engagement in the US has expanded to include not only individual characteristics but also contextual effects such as the workplace, neighborhoods, places of worship, and the like. The findings collectively reinforce the theory that context and social networks matter for civic engagement. African political science on the other hand takes these communal bonds as a given, often superceding individual characteristics; the question is not whether community ties matter to politics but rather how they matter. Our review of the literature highlights how our study fills in a gap to examine hypotheses that have been untested in the African context.KeywordsCivic engagementDemographicsSense of communityTrustPolitical knowledgePersonality

Developing a Multi-Dimensional Measure of Hotel Brand Customers’ Online Engagement Behaviors to Capture Non-Transactional Value

Article

Feb 2022
J Trav Res

While the historical focus of customer value research has been on transactional values, it is important to also understand the non-transactional values co-created by customer online engagement behaviors. However, online engagement research in tourism has focused almost exclusively on experience sharing behaviors via online review websites. This research is purposed to develop a multi-dimensional measure of non-transactional values created via online brand community members’ engagement behaviors. Focusing on Marriott Bonvoy Insider Brand Community members, scale development procedures were used to identify four dimensions of non-transactional value: influential-experience value, C-to-B innovation value, relational value, and functional value. The scale achieves good validity and reliability. Relationships with both antecedents (e.g., internal and external motivations) and consequences (e.g., brand attachment and brand loyalty) were examined to assess nomological validity. Tourism researchers and managers can employ this scale to diagnose the non-transactional values co-created by customer online engagement behaviors.

Factors influencing college students’ behaviours of spreading internet public opinions on emergencies in universities

Article

Apr 2021

Purpose This study aims to explore the influencing factors on college students’ behaviours of spreading Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities. This study provides a reference for these institutions to cope with and reduce the influence of Internet public opinion on emergencies and maintain their normal teaching order. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a research model by using motivation theory and design a questionnaire on the basis of relevant literature are constructed. This paper surveys college students and collects a total of 317 valid questionnaires. On the basis of the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, this study verifies the proposed model by using Smart PLS. Findings The results show that social motivation and information source preference have significant positive influences on college students’ willingness to spread Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities. Moreover, information source preference has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between social motivation and dissemination willingness. If college students’ information source preference is high, then the moderating effect is significant. The extent of college students’ interaction and involvement has a significantly positive influence on their trust in the dissemination platform for Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities. Egoism has a significantly positive influence on the social motivation of college students to spread Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities. Involvement degree has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between social motivation and trust. If college students’ involvement degree is low, then the moderating effect is significant. Thus, when the involvement of college students in Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities is low, the influence of social motivation on trust is great. Originality/value This study increases the influencing factors in the literature on Internet public opinion, enriches the research theory of Internet public opinion on emergencies in colleges and universities and expands the application scope of the theory of social motivation. The conclusion provides guidance for colleges and students to govern Internet public opinion on emergencies and improve the ability of these institutions in dealing with Internet public opinion on emergencies.

Exploration of Influencing Factors on Mechanism of Chinese Users' Continuous Trust in Transactional Virtual Community

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2020

Yue Huang

This paper studies the formation path of user trust in transactional virtual community, explores the relationship between website perception, merchant reputation and user's personal trust tendency and user's initial trust, and introduces the characteristics of internet word of mouth and sense of virtual community into the analysis framework from initial trust to continuous trust. This research used a quantitative design by developing questionnaires to collect data through the snowball sampling approach from 390 Chinese users of the well-known transactional virtual communities as research population, such as JD community, Dianping community, Tmall community, Xiaomi Forum, Dangdang - online reading community, etc. The results show that users' website perception, merchant reputation and personal trust tendency these three factors have significant positive effects on the formation of initial trust of users. And merchant reputation played the most important role in influencing initial trust of users than any two factors, followed by user's trust tendency and website perception. Besides, initial trust of users was shown to has a significant positive effect on continuous trust of users in transactional virtual community. Furthermore, the characteristics of internet word of mouth was found have significant mediation effect on initial trust and continuous trust of users. More specifically, 41.7% of the influence of the initial trust on the continuous trust was due to the internet word-of-mouth. The findings of this study provide transactional virtual community marketers and managers’ valuable insights into developing effective marketing strategies to improve their community’s service.

Investigating learning theories in social networks; providing a theoretical framework for curriculum design

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2020

Background and Objectives: To use social media effectively, we need to identify and apply the implications of supportive theories using social media. Different learning theories provide a variety of interpretations of learning. Different learning theories lead to diverse orientations and outcomes in curriculum planning. Therefore, learning theories serve as a framework for guiding decisions during the design and implementation of the curriculum. The aim of this study was to identify the types of learning theories that support the use of social networks and to analyze learning theories on social networks in order to provide a theoretical basis for designing curricula. Materials and Method: For this study, qualitative content analysis method was used. The statistical population of this study consists of all valid documents related to the subject-supportive theories of learning in social networks-from 1995 to 2018 (n=30) selected based on purposeful sampling. The content of 30 documents were analyzed. The analysis unit is the theme. To analyze the findings, the main and sub-classes were extracted after open coding. To ensure the validity of the research, the methods of review by members, triangulation of data sources and review by colleagues were used, and to ensure reliability, the agreement method between the two coders was used. Findings: The findings showed a variety of context-based, community-based, and person-centered theories that support learning on social media. The findings also include four main categories: It showed the dimensions of social networks, network interactions, types of learning, and curriculum elements. It was shown that network communication in social networks includes social interaction, interpersonal communication and interactive communication with admin and teacher-student communication, which is broad and based on community sharing, central agreement and based on sharing ideas. Types of learning on social networks include; network learning, situational learning, problem-based learning, personal learning, and indirect learning. Elements of the curriculum include; network objectives, network content, network learning environment, network inclusiveness, and network evaluation. Network Objectives; features such as unpredictability, divergence, unpredictability, variability, nonlinearity, flexibility, value, reproductive and interactive. Network content has some features such as distributed knowledge, multiplicity of resources, reliable resources, accessibility, context-based knowledge, shared knowledge, inclusive knowledge, self-centered information, voluntary knowledge creation, interchangeable content. The network environment includes technical and educational features. Among the technical features of this environment, we can mention the diversity of language, the existence of communication tools, the possibility of customizing the message and simulating communication. The educational features of this environment also include; being rich is one of the tools of knowledge management, situational awareness, personalized information, open and flexible environment. The network learner is knowledgeable and up-to-date, independent and active, able to do several things together. The network learner is an actor, and social agent who processes, publishes, and manages knowledge on a regular basis. Evaluation on social media is a nonlinear process, formative, conscious, and continuous that is accompanied by the elimination of standard rankings and tests. Conclusion: Based on the research results, it is suggested that those in charge of education use the coordinates of social network-based curriculum elements to design a curriculum based on social networks. For further research it is suggested that researchers implement the findings in an experimental environment to take a positive step towards the optimal use of social networks to learners' learning outcome.

Poczucie wspólnotowości w wymiarze pedagogicznym. Uzasadnienie teoretyczne i kierunki badań

Article

May 2020

Jolanta Muszyńska

The sense of community is recognised as a key category favouring the development of local communities, conducive to the growth of social activity, supporting the activation of internal resources of the group in the field of solving social problems. The main goal of the article is to show the possibility of using the assumptions of the theory of community-relatedness in pedagogical research. The author indicates how much and to what extent the sense of community is complementing the area of research of contemporary local environments. The analysis of research on the sense of community conducted by American and European researchers determines possible areas and directions of research with particular emphasis on social participation in the local space.

Antecedents of Social Media Induced Retail Commerce Activities: Impact of Brand-Consumer Relationships and Psychological Sense of Community

Article

May 2020

Young consumers’ social media activities are increasingly important for marketers and retailers. A key phenomenon of social media platforms is that groups of people who share similar interests create a virtual community. The psychological sense of community (PSoC) refers to individuals’ perception of voluntary engagement and sharing of their stories with others in various settings. Theoretically grounded in PSoC and adopting social identity theory as a research framework, this study investigates the interrelationships among social media-related variables (e.g., perceived interactivity and PSoC), brand-related variables (e.g., self-brand connection and brand commitment), and consumers’ attitude formation toward brands featured in an influencer social media page and their subsequent intention to purchase a product/service via multi-channels operated by the brands (e.g., brick-and-mortar, e-commerce).

Website Attributes' Influence on Customer Loyalty and Travel Service Purchase: A Case of Online Virtual Community

Conference Paper

Feb 2020

This study aims to investigate the relationship between website attributes, customer loyalty and online purchase behaviour. Specifically, it attempts to examine the influence of website attributes such as membership, influence and relatedness, needs' reinforcement, shared emotional connection as well as website presence's on customer loyalty and online travel purchase behaviour. The target respondents consist of online virtual communities interested to purchase travel related services. Using purposive sampling technique, a total of 350 respondents were surveyed via an online travel booking site. Only 202 usable questionnaires were received and further analysed using SPSS Version 23.0 and Smart PLS 3.0 statistical software. Findings revealed that website attributes of social emotional attachment and website presence had significantly influenced customer loyalty. Website presence proved to be the most significant predictive factor. Customer loyalty in turn, had a significant effect on travel purchase behaviour. Several implications were further elaborated.

Elaboration likelihood model adjusted to social media marketing

Thesis

Jun 2018

Corina Cara

This thesis aims to use the ELM (Elaboration Likelihood Model) principles to verify whether they have an applicability in a new marketing environment such as social media platforms. Basically, this study aims to recreate the behavioral process following exposure to a marketing message in social media. Elaboration Likelihood Model is a dual processing model of attitudes formation and change, the model being often used as a theoretical framework in the research of attitudes on traditional marketing environments. The development of dual process models leads to an in-depth understanding of phenomena that have far-reaching consequences beyond the domain for which they were initially created. One such model is the Elaboration Likelihood Model, originally created for the study of persuasion in social psychology, but with proven implications and applicability in marketing, especially in sales and advertising. ELM is a theoretical model of attitudes formation and change, a process that takes place on a scale of elaboration, from a small elaboration - involving both involvement and reduced attention to a larger-scale elaboration - respectively great involvement. This continuum defines the processing route, central or peripheral. I think it is relevant to use the model as a theoretical framework for explaining the behavioral behavior attitudes and intentions following the processing of messages in social networks, as there are major differences between the traditional media and social media.

A new debate: the correlations of neighbourhood design and socio-economic status on mental well-being

Conference Paper

Aug 2019

Veeramon Suwannasang

There is growing research and policy interests in the impacts of the neighbourhood design on well-being since 1980s. Despite the well-documented significance of urban form and social dimensions of sustainability, it is still unclear on how different types of neighbourhood and its association with socio-economic status affect residents' well-being, particularly on sense of community and fear of crime. The central objective of this research offers an in-depth analysis employing a mixed-method cross-sectional study in Bangkok, Thailand to evaluate the impact of neighbourhood design and socio-economic status as well as the mechanism of the associations between these factors and well-being, and to understand how interested factors mediate residents' sense of community and fear of crime, and also in which direction. Bangkok makes an interesting case study for the city has experienced the emerging trend of gated communities for four decades, yet their ramifications to the wider society remain understudied. Six communities across Bangkok were selected to represent different types of neighbourhood and levels of socio-economic status. A background study began from 2012 to 2018 using satellite imaginaries and author's observations, whereas the cross-sectional study took place from 2012 to 2013 using self-report questionnaires (N = 743, n = 499, response rate 67 per cent) and interviews. Results were statistically analysed by Two-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, Two-sample t-Test and Levene's Test. Findings showed that Bangkok had 2,816 gated communities in 2018 in which the most important reason for moving into a gated community was 'security'. Results from the cross-sectional study revealed positive correlations between neighbourhood design and sense of community as well as fear of crime. Interestingly, socio-economic status only had a positive correlation on sense of community but not fear of crime, and that there had no correlation between sense of community and fear of crime as many believe

Exploring ‘why’ members belong to an intensive care virtual community using online asynchronous focus groups and key informant interviews (Preprint)

Article

Mar 2019
J MED INTERNET RES

Background Clinical practice variation that results in poor patient outcomes remains a pressing problem for health care organizations. Some evidence suggests that a key factor may be ineffective internal and professional networks that limit knowledge exchange among health care professionals. Virtual communities have the potential to overcome professional and organizational barriers and facilitate knowledge flow. Objective This study aimed to explore why health care professionals belong to an exemplar virtual community, ICUConnect. The specific research objectives were to (1) understand why members join a virtual community and remain a member, (2) identify what purpose the virtual community serves in their professional lives, (3) identify how a member uses the virtual community, and (4) identify how members used the knowledge or resources shared on the virtual community. Methods A qualitative design, underpinned by pragmatism, was used to collect data from 3 asynchronous online focus groups and 4 key informant interviews, with participants allocated to a group based on their posting behaviors during the previous two years—between September 1, 2012, and August 31, 2014: (1) frequent (>5 times), (2) low (≤5 times), and (3) nonposters. A novel approach to focus group moderation, based on the principles of traditional focus groups, and e-moderating was developed. Thematic analysis was undertaken, applying the Diffusion of Innovation theory as the theoretical lens. NCapture (QRS International) was used to extract data from the focus groups, and NVivo was used to manage all data. A research diary and audit trail were maintained. Results There were 27 participants: 7 frequent posters, 13 low posters, and 7 nonposters. All participants displayed an external orientation, with the majority using other social media; however, listservs were perceived to be superior in terms of professional compatibility and complexity. The main theme was as follows: “Intensive care professionals are members of ICUConnect because by being a member of a broader community they have access to credible best-practice knowledge.” The virtual community facilitated access to all professionals caring for the critically ill and was characterized by a positive and collegial online culture. The knowledge found was credible because it was extensive and because the virtual community was moderated and sponsored by a government agency. This enabled members to benchmark and improve their unit practices and keep up to date. Conclusions This group of health care professionals made a strategic decision to be members of ICUConnect, as they understood that to provide up-to-date clinical practices, they needed to network with colleagues in other facilities. This demonstrated that a closed specialty-specific virtual community can create a broad heterogeneous professional network, overcoming current ineffective networks that may adversely impact knowledge exchange and creation in local practice settings. To address clinical practice variation, health care organizations can leverage low-cost social media technologies to improve interprofessional and interorganizational networks.

A Symbolic Convergence Perspective for Examining Employee Knowledge Sharing Behaviors in Company-Hosted Virtual Communities

Article

Apr 2019

This article investigates individual knowledge sharing behaviors (KSBs) in company-hosted virtual communities of practice (CVCs), where KSBs are guided mainly by the sense of virtual community (SVC) and the shared meanings that are formed via the recurring communicative patterns and emotional responses in the interpersonal communication processes. The symbolic convergence theory (SCT) addresses the significance of the shared meanings of a social group in facilitating the harmony among and the favorable behaviors of the members of the group. By adopting SCT, the authors examine the effects of SVC and shared-meaning-related factors on KSBs in CVCs. Data collected from 159 CVC participants were analyzed to examine the research model. The authors found that shared language and shared emotional connection significantly influence KSBs both directly and indirectly via SVC. The research findings highlight the importance of achieving shared meaning among individuals in CVCs to encourage interpersonal knowledge sharing via effective communication processes.

Sense of community: A definition and theory [Special Issue: Psychological Sense of Community, I: Theory and Concepts]

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1986

Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hypersonal interaction

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1996
COMMUN RES

Joseph B. Walther

Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1996
COMMUN RES

Joseph B. Walther

A comparison of methods to test the mediation and other intervening variable effects

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2002
PSYCHOL METHODS

A Monte Carlo study compared 14 methods to test the statistical significance of the intervening variable effect. An intervening variable (mediator) transmits the effect of an independent variable to a dependent variable. The commonly used R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny (1986) approach has low statistical power. Two methods based on the distribution of the product and 2 difference-in-coefficients methods have the most accurate Type I error rates and greatest statistical power except in 1 important case in which Type I error rates are too high. The best balance of Type I error and statistical power across all cases is the test of the joint significance of the two effects comprising the intervening variable effect.

The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1986
J PERS SOC PSYCHOL

In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Relational Aspects of Computer-Mediated Communication

Article

Full-text available

Apr 1995

Joseph B. Walther

Previous research on the interpersonal effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) reveals inconsistencies. In some cases CMC has been found to be impersonal, task-oriented, and hostile. Other reports show warm personal relations, and still others show gradual adjustments in interpersonal relations over time. The past research results are also difficult to compare, as their research methods reveal inconsistent approaches. These inconsistencies include the treatment of time limits on group development, the neglect of nonverbal behavior in face-to-face, comparison groups, and other measurement issues. Each of these factors may obscure our understanding of the way CMC partners get to know and come to relate to each other through CMC. The present study attempts to address some of these concerns. This study explored the effects of computer conferencing on the interpersonal messages with which people define their relationships, known as relational communication. Observers rated the relational communication from transcripts of CMC conversations or from videotapes of face-to-face three-person groups who had worked in several sessions. Analyses showed that CMC groups achieved more positive levels on several dimensions of interpersonal communication than did face-to-face groups. On other dimensions, no differences between conditions were found. In no case did CMC groups express less intimacy or more task-orientation than face-to-face groups. Implications are drawn suggesting that under certain conditions, CMC may promote positive relational effects in ways that previous theories have not considered, and in some ways superior to more traditional media.

Virtual Internet Communities and Commercial Success: Individual and Community-Level Theory Grounded in the Atypical Case of TimeZone.com

Article

Full-text available

May 2001

Frank T Rothaermel

One potentially powerful way of organizing in the new Internet world is through the medium of the virtual Internet community. An effectively managed virtual community provides economic gains to the community organizer and to its members. We attempt to build theory grounded in the study of TimeZone.com, a virtual Internet community devoted to wristwatch hobbyists and enthusiasts. We argue that a member’s off-site communication, experience, perceived value of site management, content, and collectively held knowledge are positively associated with a member’s e-based economic transactions within this virtual community. Building on our theorizing attempts at the individual level, we develop propositions at the organizational level that relate characteristics of virtual Internet communities (membership size, scalability, and level of site management) to commercial success.

Evaluating the Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Psychological Research

Article

Full-text available

Sep 1999
PSYCHOL METHODS

Despite the widespread use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research, researchers often make questionable decisions when conducting these analyses. This article reviews the major design and analytical decisions that must be made when conducting a factor analysis and notes that each of these decisions has important consequences for the obtained results. Recommendations that have been made in the methodological literature are discussed. Analyses of 3 existing empirical data sets are used to illustrate how questionable decisions in conducting factor analyses can yield problematic results. The article presents a survey of 2 prominent journals that suggests that researchers routinely conduct analyses using such questionable methods. The implications of these practices for psychological research are discussed, and the reasons for current practices are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Computer-Mediated Communication

Article

Full-text available

Feb 1996
COMMUN RES

Joseph B. Walther

While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to receivers, senders, channels, and feedback elements in computer-mediated communication that may enhance impressions and interpersonal relations.

Sense of Virtual Community: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Validation

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2003
INT J ELECTRON COMM

In this article, we introduce the "sense of virtual community" construct and explore the factors that are expected to affect it. We also examine the moderating effect of the virtual community origin. By analyzing 172 responses, we found that the sense of virtual community is affected by the virtual community characteristics such as (1) leaders' enthusiasm, (2) perceived similarity, (3) off-line activities, and (4) playfulness. From the moderated regression analysis, we also found that the virtual community origin moderates the relationship between virtual community characteristics and sense of virtual community.

Breaching or Building Social Boundaries?SIDE-Effects of Computer-Mediated Communication

Article

Full-text available

Dec 1998
COMMUN RES

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is sometimes heralded for its power to break down social boundaries and to liberate individuals from social influence, group pressure, and status and power differentials that characterize much face-to-face interaction. We review research conducted within the framework of the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) demonstrating that this is not always the case. When communicators share a common social identity, they appear to be more susceptible to group influence, social attraction, stereotyping, gender typing, and discrimination in anonymous CMC. Although CMC gives us the opportunity to traverse social boundaries, paradoxically, it can also afford these boundaries greater power, especially when they define self- and group identity.

Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1986
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

For several years many of us at Peabody College have participated in the evolution of a theory of community, the first conceptualization of which was presented in a working paper (McMillan, 1976) of the Center for Community Studies. To support the proposed definition, McMillan focused on the literature on group cohesiveness, and we build here on that original definition. This article attempts to describe the dynamics of the sense-of-community force — to identify the various elements in the force and to describe the process by which these elements work together to produce the experience of sense of community.

Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2005

Social exchange theory (SET) is one the most influential conceptual paradigms in organizational behavior. Despite its usefulness, theoretical ambiguities within SET remain. As a consequence, tests of the model, as well as its applications, tend to rely on an incompletely specified set of ideas. The authors address conceptual difficulties and highlight areas in need of additional research. In so doing, they pay special attention to four issues: (a) the roots of the conceptual ambiguities, (b) norms and rules of exchange, (c) nature of the resources being exchanged, and (d) social exchange relationships.

A Social Identity Approach to Trust: Interpersonal Perception, Group Membership, and Trusting Behavior

Article

Full-text available

May 2005
EUR J SOC PSYCHOL

Trusting behaviour involves relinquishing control over outcomes valuable to the self. Previous research suggests that interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness are closely related to this behaviour. The present research suggests that the more proximal determinant of trusting behaviour is the expectation that the other will reciprocate. Based on the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) model, reciprocity expectations may be created by interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness or a shared group membership. To investigate this, group membership and individual identifiability were experimentally manipulated (N = 139): When individuals were not identifiable, trusting behaviour was based on expectations of reciprocity inferred from group membership, not on perceived trustworthiness. In contrast, personal identifiability fostered perceptions of trustworthiness for both in- and out-group members. In this case interpersonal trustworthiness enhanced expectations of reciprocity, which in turn increased trusting behaviour. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Virtual Internet Communities and Commercial Success: Individual and Community-Level Theory Grounded in the Atypical Case of TimeZone.com

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2004

One potentially powerful way of organizing in the new Internet world is through the medium of the virtual Internet community. An effectively managed virtual community provides economic gains to the community organizer and to its members. We attempt to build theory grounded in the study of TimeZone.com, a virtual Internet community devoted to wristwatch hobbyists and enthusiasts. We argue that a member's off-site communication, experience, perceived value of site management and content, and collectively held knowledge are positively associated with a member's e-based economic transactions within this virtual community. Building on our theorizing attempts at the individual level, we develop propositions at the organizational level that relate characteristics of virtual Internet communities (membership size, scalability, and level of site management) to commercial success.

The Experienced “Sense” of a Virtual Community: Characteristics and Processes

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2004

E-commerce strategists advise companies to create virtual communities for their customers. But what does this involve? Research on face-to-face communities identifies the concept of "sense of community:" a characteristic of successful communities distinguished by members' helping behaviors and members' emotional attachment to the community and other members. Does a sense of virtual community exist in online settings, and what does it consist of? Answering these questions is key, if we are to provide guidance to businesses attempting to create virtual communities.The paper explores the concept of sense of virtual community in a newsgroup we call Multiple Sports Newsgroup (MSN). We first demonstrate that MSN does indeed have a sense of virtual community, but that the dimensions of the sense of community in MSN differ somewhat from those reported for physical communities. The nature of these differences is plausibly related to the differences between electronic and face-to-face communication. We next describe the behavioral processes that contribute to the sense of virtual community at MSN-exchanging support, creating identities and making identifications, and the production of trust. Again, these processes are similar to those found in non-virtual communities, but they are related to the challenges of electronic communication. Lastly, we consider the question of how sense of community may come about and discuss the implications for electronic business.

Evaluating the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in psychological research

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1999
PSYCHOL METHODS

Psychological Sense of Community: Research, Applications, and Implications

Book

Jan 2002

In this book, the authors have explored a series of different types of communities - moving from the basic idea of those based at a specific location all the way to virtual communities of the internet. The ways in which the communities operate, positively and negatively, what people get out of them and what they have to put into them, and the notion of being members of more than one community at the one time are considered. Sense of community is a topic that captures the attention of people from all types of backgrounds. So, contributors from fields such as community psychology, clinical areas, community development, and urban planning have added their insights and knowledge. A key feature of this book is the research focus that emphasizes the theory-driven analyses and the diversity of contexts in which sense of community is applied. This book will make a significant contribution to our understanding of life in communities and to people's sense of community. It will be of great interest to those concerned with understanding various forms of community and how communities can be mobilized to achieve wellbeing.

A review of the sense of community index: Current uses, factor structure, reliability, and further development

Article

Nov 1999
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

The short form of the Sense of Community Index (SCI) (Chavis, Hogge, McMillan, & Wandersman, 1986) was assessed in terms of the four dimensions of psychological sense of community (PSC) proposed by McMillan and Chavis (1986). Four sets of data were used. They measured PSC in the neighborhood for adults and adolescents, and workplace PSC for adults, using true/false and three-point response formats. Reliabilities for the total SCI scores ranged from .64 to .69. Most subscale reliabilities were below acceptable levels, ranging from a low of .16 to a high of .72. Factor analyses showed some support for the existence of the four dimensions of the McMillan and Chavis PSC model in the SCI. However, they were not consistent across data sets. Further work to develop the SCI as a measure representative of the PSC model is outlined, with implications for adult and adolescent populations. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Explanations for the Perpetration of and Reactions to Deception in a Virtual Community

Article

Aug 2002
SOC SCI COMPUT REV

Cases of identity deception on the Internet are not uncommon. Several cases of a revealed identity deception have been reported in the media. In this article, the authors examine a case of deception in an online community composed primarily of information technology professionals. In this case, an established community member(DF) invented a character(Nowheremom) whom he fell in love with and who was eventually killed in a tragic accident. When other members of the community eventually began to question Nowheremom’s actual identity, DF admitted that he invented her. The discussion board was flooded with reactions to DF’s revelation. The authors propose several explanations for the perpetration of identity deception, including psychiatric illness, identity play, and expressions of true self. They also analyze the reactions of community members and propose three related explanations (social identity, deviance, and norm violation) to account for their reactions. It is argued that virtual communities’ reactions to such threatening events provide invaluable clues for the study of group processes on the Internet.

Psychological sense of community at work: A measurement system and explanatory framework

Article

Nov 1998

Organizational research has long dealt with community-related themes such as organizational commitment, workgroup cohesion, psychological climate, and morale. More recently, psychological contracts and organizational citizenship behaviors have approached the concept of community in more specific terms (Rousseau, 1995; Graham & Organ, 1993; Van Dyne, Graham, & Dienesch, 1994). The present investigation integrated the existing literature on community-related variables. This theoretical and empirical foundation was used to operationalize the construct of psychological sense of community in the workplace (PSCW), develop a measurement system and assess its psychometric properties, and test an initial framework of antecedents and consequences of PSCW. A cross-organizational sample of 256 employees partially support the proposed framework. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Identity Orientations And Forms Of Social Exchange In Organizations

Article

Oct 2005
ACAD MANAGE REV

Francis J. Flynn

I attempt to explain why employees prefer different forms of social exchange by proposing that such preferences align with their identity orientations. I also develop a model outlining how identity orientations play an important role in developing employee exchange relations and how they may help predict the consequences of exchange dynamics. By identifying linkages between identity orientations and forms of social exchange, I hope to stimulate future research on the connections between social exchange theory and the identity orientation framework.

Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies

Article

Oct 2003

Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.

The Norm Of Reciprocity: A Preliminary Statement

Article

Apr 1960
AM SOCIOL REV

Alvin Ward GOULDNER

The manner in which the concept of reciprocity is implicated in functional theory is explored, enabling a reanalysis of the concepts of "survival" and "exploitation." The need to distinguish between the concepts of complementarity and reciprocity is stressed. Distinctions are also drawn between (1) reciprocity as a pattern of mutually contingent exchange of gratifications, (2) the existential or folk belief in reciprocity, and (3) the generalized moral norm of reciprocity. Reciprocity as a moral norm is analyzed; it is hypothesized that it is one of the universal "principal components" of moral codes. As Westermarck states, "To requite a benefit, or to be grateful to him who bestows it, is probably everywhere, at least under certain circumstances, regarded as a duty. This is a subject which in the present connection calls for special consideration." Ways in which the norm of reciprocity is implicated in the maintenance of stable social systems are examined.

The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication

Article

Jul 2000
HUM COMMUN RES

The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication (CMC) was examined among students who used e-mail as part of a course. A network analysis of group structures revealed that (a) content and form of communication is normative, group norms defining communication patterns within groups, (b) conformity to group norms increases over time, (c) communication outside the group is governed by different social norms. Results show that norms prescribing a particular use of technology are socially constructed over time at the level of locally defined groups and also show that the influence of these norms is limited to the boundaries of the group. It is concluded that the process of social construction is restrained by social identities that become salient over the course of interaction via CMC. These findings complement experimental evidence that stresses the importance of normative influence in CMC.

The emergence and development of group norms in computer-mediated communication

Article

Jan 1995

Reviews of Using LISREL for structural equation modelling: A researcher’s guide and Principles and practice of structural equation modelling

Article

Nov 1999
CAN PSYCHOL

Darcy Santor

Reviews the books, Using LISREL for structural equation modelling: A researcher’s guide and Principles and practice of structural equation modelling by E. Kevin Kelloway (see record 1998-08130-000) and Principles and practice of structural equation modelling by Rex B. Kline (see record 1998-02720-000). Structural equation modeling (SEM) is one of the most rapidly growing analytic techniques in use today. Proponents of the approach have virtually declared die advent of a statistical revolution, while skeptics worry about the widespread misuse of complex and often poorly understood analytic methods. The two new books under review are therefore timely. Both are valuable, but differ in important ways. Kevin Kelloway's book is directed at the researcher with little knowledge of structural equation modeling and is intricately linked to one of the more popular structural equation modeling programs, LISREL. For researchers keen to begin analyzing data quickly, this book is an invaluable resource that will speed one's introduction to SEM. On the other hand, the volume written by Rex Kline represents one of the most comprehensive of available introductions to the application, execution, and interpretation of this technique. The book is written for both students and researchers who do not have extensive quantitative background. It is especially attentive to quantitative issues common to most structural equation applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Networks in The Global Village: Life in Contemporary Communities

Article

Sep 2001
CONTEMP SOCIOL

Barry Wellman

* Introduction: The Network Community: An Introduction Barry Wellman * The Elements of Personal Communities B. Wellman and Stephanie Potter * The Network Basis of Social Support: A Network Is More Than the Sum of its Ties B. Wellman and Milena Gulia * Neighbor Networks of Black and White Americans Barrett A. Lee and Karen E. Campbell * Social Networks Among the Urban Poor: Inequality and Integration in a Latin American City Vincente Espinoza * The Diversity of Personal Networks in France: Social Stratifiction and Relational Structures Alexis Ferrand, Lise Mounier, and Alain Degenne * Network Capital in Capitalist, Communist, and Postcommunist Countries Endre Sik and Barry Wellman * Getting a Job Through a Web of Guanxi in China Yanjie Bian * Personal Community Networks in Contemporary Japan Shinsuke Otani * Using Social Networks to Exit Hong Kong Janet W. Salaff, Eric Fong, and Wong Siu-lun * Net-surfers Dont Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities Barry Wellman and Milena Gulia

Psychological sense of community at work: A measurement system and explanatory framework

Article

Nov 1998
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

The emergence of a conceptual center

Article

Oct 1986
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

Seymour B. Sarason

Interpreting Soap Operas and Creating Community: Inside an Electronic Fan Culture

Article

N. K. Baym

Virtual Communities are Communities: Net Surfers Don''t Ride Alone

Article

Jan 1999
CONTEMP SOCIOL

Relationship Formation on the Internet: What's the Big Attraction?

Article

Jan 2002

We hypothesized that people who can better disclose their “true” or inner self to others on the Internet than in face-to-face settings will be more likely to form close relationships on-line and will tend to bring those virtual relationships into their “real” lives. Study 1, a survey of randomly selected Internet newsgroup posters, showed that those who better express their true self over the Internet were more likely than others to have formed close on-line relationships and moved these friendships to a face-to-face basis. Study 2 revealed that the majority of these close Internet relationships were still intact 2 years later. Finally, a laboratory experiment found that undergraduates liked each other more following an Internet compared to a face-to-face initial meeting.

A community bound by words: Reflections on a nursing home writing group

Article

Jun 1998
J AGING STUD

Elizabeth Schuster

MOOing till the cows come home: The search for sense of community in virtual environments.

Chapter

Jan 2002

Principles And Practice Of Structural Equation Modeling

Book

Jan 2010

Rex B. Kline

Predictors of Within-School Differences in Teachers' Sense of Community

Article

May 1999

Within-school differences in teachers' sense of community were explored to complement previous school-level research. Data from 3 large public high schools were used to examine 3 classes of predictors: time-related variables (employment tenure in a school and time spent in interaction with other staff members and students), work arrangement variables (participation in mentor programs and team-teaching arrangements), and school organization variables (perceived orderliness of student behavior and support for innovation). School organization variables and time-related variables emerged as the strongest predictors of teachers' sense of community. Results emphasize the importance of distinguishing teachers' referents for community (students, co-workers, school and site administrators) when exploring the dynamics of community in schools.

Community and sense of community: The case of an urban Barrio in Caracas

Article

Mar 2000
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

This paper presents a review of the concepts of “community” and “sense of community.” To discuss the concept of “community,” reference is made to the different definitions provided in the literature analyzing and describing their components and determining their adequacy and relevance to the theories of Community Social Psychology. Based upon the work of McMillan (1976) and McMillan and Chavis (1986) the authors analyze the concept and definition of “sense of community” and describe its components. The analysis of these concepts within the framework of Community Social Psychology underlies the fact that these terms cannot be separated as well as the need to vindicate the historical nature of community building processes and the sense of community of their members. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A Review of the Sense of Community Index: Current Uses, Factor Structure, Reliability, and Further Development

Article

Nov 1999
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

Sense of community in housing for the elderly

Article

Jul 1998
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

The promotion of a psychological sense of community by environmental factors was investigated in this study. Psychosocial factors in high-rise and garden apartments in public housing for the elderly were compared using the Sheltered Care Environment Scale (SCES), the Sense of Community Index (SCI), and a structured interview. Residents of garden apartments were found to have a significantly greater overall sense of community than were those in high-rise apartments as determined by the SCI. Garden apartment residents also indicated greater sense of membership, a factor related to community. Significant differences in cohesion among residents in the two high-rise apartment buildings studied suggest that variables other than the physical environment may contribute to cohesive behavior. One such variable, the presence of a community leader, demands more research. Self-disclosure was found to be the possible cause of conflict among residents in the high-rises. The necessity of qualitative interviews in social research is discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Exploring psychological sense of community among women and men in a corporation

Article

Oct 1991
J COMMUNITY PSYCHOL

The psychological sense of community was explored within a corporate environment by identifying characteristics of the psychosocial climate that predicted it. Four hundred thirty-four employees completed the Sense of Community Index (SCI), modified for a work community, and the Moos Work Environment Scale (WES). Multiple regression analyses indicated that WES factors predicting a portion of employees' sense of community differed between men and women in management and nonmanagement groups. Male managers' sense of community was predicted by their perceptions of Peer Cohesion and Involvement, whereas female managers' sense of community was predicted by their perceptions of Supervisor Support, Involvement, and Work Pressure. Male nonmanagers' sense of community was predicted by their perceptions of Involvement and Supervisor Support, whereas female nonmanagers' sense of community was predicted by perceptions of Involvement and Peer Cohesion. Gender differences in the sense of community experienced within two levels of the corporate hierarchy are discussed.

The Norm of Reciprocity: a Preliminary Statement

Article

Nov 1959
J SOC PERS RELAT

AW Gouldner

The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.

Mooing Till the Cows Come Home

Chapter

Jan 2002

As social beings, we strive to obtain a sense of community in our lives. Place-based communities have been seen as the main source sense of community. Today, however, place-based communities do not always meet this need. Individuals may feel isolated and alienated within their place-based communities. Large cities, by virtue of their size alone, may not offer the idealized sense of community associated in people’s minds with small villages and towns. What are the alternatives? One arena in which people are experimenting with new forms of community is cyberspace. Communication technology advances have enabled the establishment of virtual environments where geographically dispersed individuals interact to form communities.

Employees' Sense of Community, Sense of Control, and Work/Family Conflict in Native American Organizations

Testing a Model of Sense of Virtual Community

Abstract

No full-text available