Panayiotis Zaphiris

Online Communities and Social Computing

With the emergence of smarthphones and social networks, a very large proportion of communication takes place on short texts. This type of communication, often anonymous, has allowed a new public participation in political issues. In particular, electoral phenomena all over the world have been greatly influenced by these networks. In the recent elections in Mexico, Twitter became a virtual place to bring together scientists, artists, politicians, adults, youth and students trying to persuade people about the candidate: Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). Our research is based on the collection of all tweets sent before, during and after the presidential elections of July 1, 2012 in Mexico containing the hashtag #AMLO. The aim of this study is to analyze the behavior of users on three different times. We apply SentiWordNet 3.0 in order to know how user behavior changes depending of the political situation and whether this is reflected on the tweets.

A systematic approach to the development of research-based web design guidelines for older people

This paper presents a systematic approach to the development of a set of research-based ageing-centred web design guidelines (SilverWeb Guidelines). The approach included an initial extensive literature review in the area of human–computer interaction and ageing, the development of an initial set of guidelines based on the reviewed literature, a card sorting exercise for their classification, an affinity diagramming exercise for the reduction and further finalisation of the guidelines, and finally a set of heuristic evaluations for the validation and test of robustness of the guidelines. The 38 final guidelines are grouped into eleven distinct categories (target design, use of graphics, navigation, browser window features, content layout design, links, user cognitive design, use of colour and background, text design, search engine, user feedback and support).

Investigating social network patterns within an empathic online community for older people

In this paper, we study the social network structure of an online discussion board within SeniorNet, an empathic online community for older people. We apply Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyse the communication patterns and relationships between members of the discussion board. In addition to looking at the structure of the exchanged messages within the discussion board as a whole, we also investigate associations between the communication content and the social network patterns. Our findings show distinct differences between the social network patterns of empathic and non-empathic communications. For example, members are more connected and closer to each other in the social networks that are based on empathic communication compared to non-empathic communication. Additionally our results show that the type of empathic communication (e.g. different kinds of support) is linked to the social network structure within the discussion board.

Applying qualitative content analysis to study online support communities

With the increasing popularity of online support communities for people with disabilities and older people, the research domain of online communities is gaining more and more research potential in the area of inclusive design. There are many studies that investigate social interactions within online communities. However, researchers seem to apply a variety of different methods in very different ways. This makes it often difficult to decide on the appropriate method. In order to provide guidance to researchers in the area of inclusive design, this paper reviews past research in this area and presents a self-contained methodology that is based on qualitative content analysis for studying social interactions in online support communities for people with special needs. A case study from an online community for older people is presented in order to set the theory into context.

Expandable indexes vs. sequential menus for searching hierarchies on the World Wide Web

An experiment is reported that compared expandable indexes providing full menu context with sequential menus providing only partial context. Menu depth was varied using hierarchies of two, three and four levels deep in an asymmetric structure of 457 root level items. Menus were presented on the World Wide Web within a browser. Participants searched for specific targets. Results suggest that reducing the depth of hierarchies improves performance in terms of speed and search efficiency. Surprisingly, expandable indexes resulted in poorer performance with deeper hierarchies than did sequential menus.

Social Computing and Virtual Communities

Growing more quickly than we can study or come to fully understand it, social computing is much more than the next thing. Whether it is due more to technology-driven convenience or to the basic human need to find kindred connection, online communication and communities are changing the way we live. Social Computing and Virtual Communities compiles contributions from international experts to offer the sort of multidisciplinary study that is required in any investigation of communities. Delving fully into theories and methods, application areas, and types of online social environments, this book Introduces several theories regarding online social interaction Provides a general overview of methodologies, qualitative and quantitative, for analyzing and evaluating virtual communities Makes an in-depth investigation into e-learning communities and the formation of social networks of learners Examines healthcare communities motivated by physical pain, illness, and burdensome symptoms Discusses intellectual property (IP) issues, including those involving user-generated content Delves into the topic of online trust Introduces virtual communities, in which users immerse themselves in a 3D virtual environment, including MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing games) Presents an unusual community of older people of Chinese culture who perceive virtual communities as a place where old beliefs and traditional norms can be preserved Explores the rapid rise of social networking sites (SNS) Books of this kind are uncommon. This work not only provides case studies of different domains of virtual communities and different types of social technologies but also emphasizes theoretical and methodological aspects required to research and analyze such communities.

Mapping the landscape of computer-assisted language learning: an inventory of research

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to chart the development in computer-assisted language learning (CALL), by building a map of existing research work in the field. Based on a corpus of 163 manuscripts, published between January 2009 and September 2010 in four major journals devoted to CALL, it sets out to describe the range of topics covered under the umbrella of CALL and provide a holistic view of the field. Design/methodology/approach – The approach adopted in this research includes: development of the 2009-2010 CALL corpus; literature overview and initial coding scheme development; refinement of the initial coding scheme with the help of a focus group and construction of the CALL map version 1.0; refinement of the CALL map version 1.0 following a systematic approach of content analysis and development of the CALL map version 2.0; evaluation of the proposed structure and inclusiveness of all categories in the CALL map version 2.0 using card sorting technique; and finally development of the CALL map...

Rethinking universal accessibility: a broader approach considering the digital gap

The universal accessibility concept is usually formulated in terms that ignore the socioeconomic and sociopolitical contexts. Therefore, it has impact only on a small fraction of the global population of people with disabilities. This issue raises the need for a comprehensive approach that takes into account issues related to literacy, availability of technology, digital literacy, the use of minority languages, etc.

Human Computer Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications

The systematic study of human-computer interaction has arguably been the most significant factor driving the exponential increase in technology acceptance, diffusion, and utilization, over the past two decades, as well as the technology-driven productivity gains that have benefited a full spectrum of organizations. Human Computer Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications penetrates the human computer interaction (HCI) field with more breadth and depth of comprehensive research than any other publication. The four-volume set contains more than 200 authoritative works from over 250 leading experts in the field of human computer interaction. This groundbreaking collection contains significant chapters in topics such as Web logs, technology influences, and human factors of information systems and technologies. Human Computer Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is the single vital source for practitioners and academicians aspiring to expand their knowledge of HCI. Key Features:A? Authoritative contributions from over 250 international experts A? Comprehensive coverage of each specific topic, highlighting recent trends and describing the latest advances A? Cross referencing of key terms, figures and information pertinent to human computer interaction A? In-depth analysis of issues, concepts, new trends, and advanced technologies A? More than 5,000 references to existing literature and research in human computer interaction A? Organized by topic and indexed, making it a convenient method of reference for all IT/IS scholars and professionals A? Over 200 chapters covering the most incisive and critical research issues in human computer interaction

Learning and Collaboration Technologies : Second International Conference, LCT 2015, Held as Part of HCI International 2015, Los Angeles, CA, USA, August 2-7, 2015, Proceedings

The purpose of this study is to examine spatial contiguity effect on multimedia learning with an instructional animation using eye-tracking. The research method was experimental method and the study was conducted with a user group consisting of 12 participants (6 female and 6 male). The data collection tools were a demographic survey, a prior knowledge test, a retention test and an eye-tracker. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistics including Mann-Whitney U Test. According to the results there were no statistically significant difference in terms of learning outcomes, total fixation time on relevant texts and images, fixation count on relevant texts and images, and mean fixation duration on relevant images between spatial and non-spatial group according to the research results. However, mean fixation duration on relevant texts was significantly higher for spatial group than non-spatial group. According to mean ranks on all measures of eye tracking data, there may be tendency that participants in spatial group spent more time and attention on relevant text as non-spatial group spent more time and attention on narration and relevant images.