Virtuality in human supervisory control: assessing the effects of psychological and social remoteness

Virtuality would seem to offer certain advantages for human supervisory control. First, it could provide a physical analogue of the 'real world' environment. Second, it does not require control room engineers to be in the same place as each other. In order to investigate these issues, a low-fidelity simulation of an energy distribution network was developed. The main aims of the research were to assess some of the psychological concerns associated with virtual environments. First, it may result in the social isolation of the people, and it may have dramatic effects upon the nature of the work. Second, a direct physical correspondence with the 'real world' may not best support human supervisory control activities. Experimental teams were asked to control an energy distribution network. Measures of team performance, group identity and core job characteristics were taken. In general terms, the results showed that teams working in the same location performed better than teams who were remote from one another.     

The roles of group potency and information and communication technologies in the relationship between task conflict and team effectiveness: A longitudinal study

The effects of task conflict on group effectiveness are far from conclusive. In order to further clarify this relationship, a contingency approach has been suggested. In this context, the present study examines the roles of group potency and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the relationship between task conflict and team effectiveness. The study involved 44 groups of 4 members each, working in two communication media. Twenty-two groups worked in a face-to-face condition, and the other 22 groups worked in a computer-mediated communication condition. The groups developed a project during four weekly sessions over a one-month period. The results showed that group potency moderated the relationship between task conflict and group effectiveness. However, the communication medium did not play a moderator role in these relationships.     

Effects of social and technology overload on psychological well-being in young South Korean adults: The mediatory role of social network service addiction

This study examined the effects of social and information technology overload on psychological well-being. It also explored the mediating role of social network service (SNS) addiction in the hypothesized relationships between these variables. A sample of 419 college students and employees in their 20s and 30s, who were SNS users in South Korea, participated in the study. The results showed that social and information technology overload did not exert a direct impact on psychological well-being. SNS addiction served as a mediator in the relationships between these variables. The theoretical contributions and useful managerial implications of the study, with respect to reducing SNS users' addiction and improving their psychological well-being, were described.     

Product engagement and identity signaling: The role of likes in social commerce for fashion products

Motivated by a lack of understanding of user engagement with identity-relevant products, we distinguish between two mechanisms by which existing likes affect subsequent engagement: observational learning (OL) by observing the number of existing likes, and social influence (SI) by observing the likes of one’s social connections. Using a novel panel dataset of 930 handbags, we find that, contrary to most OL studies, OL has a negative effect on subsequent likes, and the effect is mitigated by SI. By contrast, OL has a positive effect on clicks, and the effect diminishes as SI increases. We attribute our findings to identity signaling.     

Herd behavior in social media: The role of Facebook likes,strength of ties,and expertise

When do social media users click on sponsored content or intend to visit the website at a later time? A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using arguments based on herd theory, strength of ties, and social distance shows that only “likes” from socially close and knowledgeable users can consistently generate click-through or view-through intentions. Considering social tie strength in a herd behavior context, the analysis of sufficient configurations for click- and view-through intentions provides a nuanced perspective on social media user behavior and social influence. For instance, click-through intention requires observing a “like” from a close person, while view-through intentions can also develop after observing “likes” from less close acquaintances, yet in the last case only if the user assumes the acquaintance is better informed regarding the sponsored content. In addition, a “like” from a close friend deemed better informed can even make a user click on a sponsored content that was not considered valuable before.     

The roles of social identity and dynamic salient group formations for ERP program management success in a postmerger context

Large enterprise resource planning (ERP) programs and their critical success factors (CSFs) have been subject to intensive research in recent years. One of the key challenges is their complexity in terms of their duration, context, and social dynamics. The aim of this study is to investigate these matters with the help of an interpretative case study using the coding techniques of the grounded theory method. We extend extant ERP research by introducing a new theoretical perspective that helps to clarify how stakeholder perceptions and CSFs are interrelated, and evolve throughout the life cycle of a large ERP implementation conceptualized as a program in a postmerger context. Using Social Identity Theory as a metatheory for interpretation, we find that different perceptions of opposing salient groups are particularly important. Our result offers a dialectic process view of ERP program implementation success, which (1) considers the different perceptions of salient groups (2) at different points in time (phases) and (3) proposes that a low perceptual fit in relation to a specific CSF contributes to program failure as opposed to (4) a high perceptual fit in relation to the respective CSF, which contributes to program success. We offer a new theoretical lens and propositions for future work highlighting the importance of salient groups and their CSF perceptions for ERP program success. Practitioners can use our findings as a guide towards increasing the probability of success throughout the course of their ERP program life cycles.     

Designing motivational agents: The role of praise, social comparison, and embodiment in computer feedback

The present study draws on theories of attribution, social comparison, and social facilitation to investigate how computers might use principles of motivation and persuasion to provide user feedback. In an online experiment, 192 participants performed a speed-reading task. The independent variables included whether or not the verbal feedback from the computer involved praise, whether the objective feedback showed that the participants were performing better or worse from their peers, and whether or not the feedback was presented by an on-screen agent. The main dependent variables included a subjective measure of participants’ intrinsic motivation and an objective measure of their task persistence. Results showed that providing participants with praise or comparative information on others’ performance improved intrinsic motivation. When praised, participants whose performances were comparatively low persisted in the task longer than those whose performances were comparatively high did. Additionally, the mere presence of an embodied agent on the screen increased participants’ motivation. Together, these results indicate that praise and social comparison can serve as effective forms of motivational feedback and that humanlike embodiment further improves user motivation.     

The effects of helping,self-expression,and enjoyment on social capital in social media: the moderating effect of avoidance attachment in the tourism context

ABSTRACT

A majority of senior Internet users maintains persistent social connections with others through social media (SM), such as Facebook and Twitter. This research explores the impacts of helping, self-expression, and enjoyment on bonding social capital and bridging social capital which in turn influence SM involvement; it also explores the moderating effect of avoidance attachment among senior SM users. The results show that helping, self-expression, and enjoyment have significant impacts on bonding social capital and bridging social capital. Also, bonding social capital and bridging social capital have significant effects on SM involvement. Furthermore, relationships between helping and bonding social capital, between self-expression and bonding social capital, and between self-expression and bridging social capital are stronger for seniors with high avoidance attachment. Conversely, the relationships between enjoyment and bonding social capital as well as between enjoyment and bridging social capital are stronger for seniors with low avoidance attachment. Accordingly, the results of this study provide theoretical contributions to the literature of behaviour and information technology. In addition, some implications of the research and various strategies for practitioners and marketers that can be used to better increase users’ involvement in SM for tourism-related activities are discussed.     

The role of friction in the measurement of slipperiness,Part 1: Friction mechanisms and definition of test conditions

Friction has been widely used as a measure of slipperiness. However, controversies around friction measurements remain. The purposes of this paper are to summarize understanding about friction measurement related to slipperiness assessment of shoe and floor interface and to define test conditions based on biomechanical observations. In addition, friction mechanisms at shoe and floor interface on dry, liquid and solid contaminated, and on icy surfaces are discussed. It is concluded that static friction measurement, by the traditional use of a drag-type device, is only suitable for dry and clean surfaces, and dynamic and transition friction methods are needed to properly estimate the potential risk on contaminated surfaces. Furthermore, at least some of the conditions at the shoe/floor interface during actual slip accidents should be replicated as test conditions for friction measurements, such as sliding speed, contact pressure and normal force build-up rate.     

Finding meaning in a celebrity’s death: The relationship between parasocial attachment,grief, and sharing educational health information related to Robin Williams on social network sites

Celebrity health events can have a positive effect on public health education and awareness, in part because people spread health information related to the celebrity on social network sites. This may be particularly true in the event of celebrity deaths or other tragedies, when social network sites provide a convenient, public space to connect with others to mourn. However, little is understood about the circumstances that encourage health information sharing following these events. Using a Mechanical Turk sample (N = 281), this study employed a questionnaire to examine the role of parasocial attachment to Robin Williams and experienced grief following his suicide in explaining health information sharing on social network sites (i.e., sharing information about clinical depression, suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment, and Parkinson’s disease). Grief mediated the effect of parasocial attachment on health information sharing, but a moderated mediation analysis revealed that grief motivated health education on social network sites only for individuals who were coping by trying to find positive meaning in his death.     

The role of friction in the measurement of slipperiness, Part 1: friction mechanisms and definition of test conditions.

Friction has been widely used as a measure of slipperiness. However, controversies around friction measurements remain. The purposes of this paper are to summarize understanding about friction measurement related to slipperiness assessment of shoe and floor interface and to define test conditions based on biomechanical observations. In addition, friction mechanisms at shoe and floor interface on dry, liquid and solid contaminated, and on icy surfaces are discussed. It is concluded that static friction measurement, by the traditional use of a drag-type device, is only suitable for dry and clean surfaces, and dynamic and transition friction methods are needed to properly estimate the potential risk on contaminated surfaces. Furthermore, at least some of the conditions at the shoe/floor interface during actual slip accidents should be replicated as test conditions for friction measurements, such as sliding speed, contact pressure and normal force build-up rate.     

A comparison of the potential for using optical and SAR data for geological mapping in an arid region: The Atar site,Western Sahara,Mauritania

Our research in Mauritania focused mainly on the study of phenomena that partially or entirely masked surficial formations overlying bedrock. The analysis of ERS radar images compared to that of optical SPOT data identified geomorphological and geological objects for which the SAR provides complementary information at a regional scale; interpretation difficulties caused by, for example, shadow and lay-over phenomena; and mapping potential using geocoded ERS 1 images, notably for regional geomorphology, the sedimentology of sand bodies, and the structure of bedrock, where possible below windblown cover. The non-geocoded image must be interpreted with care to avoid the phenomenon of dip-direction inversion. The 'unwrapping of slopes' by geocoding gives a picture of the global layout of units, particularly those of the substratum in areas with medium to high topographic relief. Main faults are clearly seen on radar images at small scale and show up under conditions similar to those of optical data, but fractures that are (sub)parallel to the direction of the incident signal can be invisible on the radar data. Occasionally, the 'transparency' phenomenon enables us to 'see' below thin sand cover.