Androniki Kavoura

Cyberbullying: a review of the literature on harassment through the Internet and other electronic means.

The present article is a review of the literature of cyberbullying. Main findings are summarized regarding issues of definition of cyberbullying, differences, and similarities with traditional bullying; its extent; the forms of cyberbullying; the characteristics of cyberbullies and cybervictims; the effects of cyberbullying on the psychosocial development of youth; age and gender differences of cyberbullying; and perceived causes of cyberbullying. In addition, the steps that can be undertaken by youth, parents, teachers, and schools to deal with the problem and possible pathways for interventions, from a public health perspective, at the individual, class, organizational, and community levels are presented from the literature. Finally, possible legal solutions deriving from both criminal and civil law are presented.

Social media, online imagined communities and communication research

Purpose – This paper aims to examine social media communication that may consist of a database for online research and may create an online imagined community that follows special language symbols and shares common beliefs in a similar way to Anderson’s imagined communities. Design/methodology/approach – Well-known databases were searched in the available literature for specific keywords which were associated with the imagined community, and methodological tools such as online interviews, content analysis, archival analysis and social media. Findings – The paper discusses the use of multiple measures, such as document and archival analysis, online interviews and content analysis, which may derive from the online imagined community that social media create. Social media may in fact provide useful data that are available for research, yet are relatively understudied and not fully used in communication research, not to mention in archival services. Comparison takes place between online community’s characteri...

Advertising of national identity and tourism bureaucracy.

This paper examines the presentation of notions of nationality within tourism advertising for the World Heritage Sites by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO). Heritage tourism is related to historical processes and present day judgements and encompasses issues of identity and political gains. Based on qualitative research, the empirical work succeeds in making a practical and theoretical contribution to the way a bureaucratic state organisation presents the ‘nationness’ of the state by interpreting various sites and approaching them in a symbolic way. This is an issue that has implications on the way tourism policies legitimise their actions towards such promotions. It reflects the dependence of the bureaucratic industry of tourism on symbols rather than on rationality according to the principles of bureaucracy.

Connecting oenological and gastronomical tourisms at the Wine Roads, Veneto, Italy, for the promotion and development of agrotourism.

This article examines the motivations for attending wine festivals in the region of Veneto, Italy, and the connection of such visitation with the gastronomical presence at wineries in an attempt to relate gastronomical and wine tourism and specify tourists’ typology. A total of 1330 respondents filled in a questionnaire at the festival called the ‘Veneto Wine Festival’ at Wine Roads, Veneto, which is the most active wine-producing region in Italy, to examine the significance that the combination of wine with gastronomical activities may play for visiting the region. This article makes a theoretical and practical contribution adding to the literature on segmentation of wine tourists and whether there is a differentiation among them, since there is little research on the segmentation of wine tourists for the area of Veneto. Results showed four categories for gastro-oenological visitors: the wine-friendly, the beginner, the occasional visitor and the tourist. Suggestions are also made for the supply side of wine tourism in order to adopt marketing strategies about products and prices on offer. Each wine festival is unique. Veneto does not have balanced tourism development; close urban centres such as Venice and Padova in Italy attract the majority of visitors. Therefore, the implementation of an advertising communication programme may promote information about the area and its wineries for the development of agrotourism.

Economic and social aspects from social media's implementation as a strategic innovative marketing tool in the tourism industry

The aim of this conceptual paper is to examine social media’s central role for the creation of the sense of an online community belonging and present the items that measure their role in the creation of such a community for tourism destinations. From a theoretical perspective, elements such as the specific language, sharing of similar interests and interaction among members, allows us to argue for the sense of belonging to an online community. To date, there are no studies that relate social media with the concept of the imagined communities and sense of belonging. The economic issues emerging from the implementation of social media may be useful for companies and authorities in order to effectively allocate their economic resources.

The Development of Facebook's Competitive Advantage for Brand Awareness☆

Abstract The paper aims to examine the development of competitive advantage in Facebook for brand awareness. The paper describes a dynamic model of the simulation system associated with the stock of online communication and customer engagement, the increase of users and the geographic connection that social media provide.

Social media’s and online user-generated content’s role in services advertising

The aim of this paper is to present results from a study that examines the use of the Internet for collecting material and the attention people pay to advertisements through different media sources in the context of services. A representative stratified sample of 301 respondents of foreign arrivals of tourists in the Athens airport, Greece, collected in June and July 2014 was employed. We present which social media sources and user-generated material that promote advertisements were found to be important in capturing people’s attention. Results illustrated the significant role that advertisements on Facebook play on the way people pay attention to. In fact, Facebook was found to be the second most important medium that people use when collecting material. In addition, Facebook was found to be the third source that respondents strongly agreed that they pay attention to advertisements, with the official websites/blogs to be the first source and travel guidebooks and travel magazines to follow, leaving tradi...

Applying Delphi method for strategic design of social entrepreneurship

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the strategic design for entrepreneurial activity. This study examines and evaluates a qualitative Delphi methodology used in a research for the strategy development needs of entrepreneurship counselling and education. The strategic design presented may well apply to non-profit organisations due to the fact that limited resources in funding of non-profit organisations exist. Design/methodology/approach – This paper introduces methodological considerations of applying the Delphi method to the strategy development for an entrepreneurship counselling design, taking Ensimetri – an entrepreneurship counselling organisation in Finland – as a case study, and the potential in applying this strategic design projects to libraries and information management centres. Findings – The research provides a framework on entrepreneurial strategic design. The top ten items that emerged from this research may provide the framework for the development of entrepreneurial strategic design. Th...

The importance of social media on holiday visitors’ choices – the case of Athens, Greece

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine visitors’ perceptions and relevant importance of social media when choosing a Mediterranean destination and also to explore the extent in which they believe it is important for them to belong to an online community with shared characteristics among its members. Design/methodology/approach – A stratified, based on nationality and gender, sample of 301 respondents of foreign arrivals of visitors in the Athens airport, Greece was collected in June and July 2014 based on the official Athens Airport Authorities Arrival Research. This is a partially exploratory research. Findings – Differences between age groups as far as the importance attributed to social media as sources of information about a tourism destination were found. The respondents, when using the internet for gathering information about a tourism Mediterranean destination, consider different online channels. Facebook is among the most important sources of information for them associated with the tou...

Organizational networks, migration, and intercultural relations in Trieste, Italy

Purpose – The present paper is part of a study associated with the migration phenomenon and the formation of intercultural social and economic relations which emerged in Italy in the nineteenth century and its practical and social implications in the twenty‐first century. The city of Trieste, Italy consists of a case study which examines the formation of organizational networks in the Mediterranean and in Europe which consist of the basic body of the so called Greek commercial dispersion.Design/methodology/approach – This study presents data collected from the analysis of archival documents. It is part of the scientific field of social anthropology and is a case study where participative observation was employed. Interviews with people offered the researchers ground to explain the purposes and reasons for the implementation of decisions related to the creation of the organizational networks.Findings – The article discusses the relation between the national group with its unique cultural identity and entre...