Shanton Chang

A systematic examination of the use of Online social networking sites for sexual health promotion

BackgroundIn recent years social networking sites (SNSs) have grown rapidly in popularity. The popularity of these sites, along with their interactive functions, offer a novel environment in which to deliver health promotion messages. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which SNSs are currently being used for sexual health promotion and describe the breadth of these activities.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of published scientific literature, electronic sources (general and scientific search engines, blogs) and SNSs (Facebook, MySpace) to identify existing sexual health promotion activities using SNSs. Health promotion activities were eligible for inclusion if they related to sexual health or behaviour, utilised one or more SNSs, and involved some element of health promotion. Information regarding the source and type of health promotion activity, target population and site activity were extracted.Results178 sexual health promotion activities met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review; only one activity was identified through a traditional systematic search of the published scientific literature. Activities most commonly used one SNS, were conducted by not-for-profit organisations, targeted young people and involved information delivery. Facebook was the most commonly used SNS (used by 71% of all health promotion activities identified), followed by MySpace and Twitter. Seventy nine percent of activities on MySpace were considered inactive as there had been no online posts within the past month, compared to 22% of activities using Facebook and 14% of activities using Twitter. The number of end-users and posts in the last seven days varied greatly between health promotion activities.ConclusionsSNSs are being used for sexual health promotion, although the extent to which they are utilised varies greatly, and the vast majority of activities are unreported in the scientific literature. Future studies should examine the key factors for success among those activities attracting a large and active user base, and how success might be measured, in order to guide the development of future health promotion activities in this emerging setting.

Organisational security culture: Extending the end-user perspective

The concept of security culture is relatively new. It is often investigated in a simplistic manner focusing on end-users and on the technical aspects of security. Security, however, is a management problem and as a result, the investigation of security culture should also have a management focus. This paper describes a framework of eight dimensions of culture. Each dimension is discussed in terms of how they relate specifically to security culture based on a number of previously published case studies. We believe that use of this framework in security culture research will reduce the inherent biases of researchers who tend to focus on only technical aspects of culture from an end-users perspective.

Developing health promotion interventions on social networking sites: recommendations from The FaceSpace Project.

Online social networking sites offer a novel setting for the delivery of health promotion interventions due to their potential to reach a large population and the possibility for two-way engagement. However, few have attempted to host interventions on these sites, or to use the range of interactive functions available to enhance the delivery of health-related messages. This paper presents lessons learnt from “The FaceSpace Project”, a sexual health promotion intervention using social networking sites targeting two key at-risk groups. Based on our experience, we make recommendations for developing and implementing health promotion interventions on these sites. Elements crucial for developing interventions include establishing a multidisciplinary team, allowing adequate time for obtaining approvals, securing sufficient resources for building and maintaining an online presence, and developing an integrated process and impact evaluation framework. With two-way interaction an important and novel feature of health promotion interventions in this medium, we also present strategies trialled to generate interest and engagement in our intervention. Social networking sites are now an established part of the online environment; our experience in developing and implementing a health promotion intervention using this medium are of direct relevance and utility for all health organizations creating a presence in this new environment.

Use of Social Web Technologies by International and Domestic Undergraduate Students: Implications for Internationalising Learning and Teaching in Australian Universities.

Much research into the use of online information and communication technologies for the internationalisation of learning and teaching has focused on established web technologies. This paper considers the possible internationalisation implications of existing uses of social software, also known as Web 2.0 technologies, which are now widely available inside and outside of formal education settings. The paper reports on two studies: the first, conducted at a large Australian university, investigated differences between international and domestic undergraduate students’ (n = 1973) use of web‐based technologies and tools; the second investigation reports on interviews with eight Australian and eight Singaporean university students about their use and perceptions of blogs and blogging. The findings from two studies provide new evidence of both cultural similarities and cultural differences in aspects of young university students’ use of social software for communication and content creation. Discussion and conclusions draw out factors to be considered in planning to implement new uses of social software among culturally and linguistically diverse students of the Net Generation, in Australia and more generally.

Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts.

Competencies Needed for Managing a Multicultural Workgroup

This study was designed to assess the competencies needed for a manager to manage a multicultural group of subordinates. Given the multicultural nature of today’s workforce, it has become increasingly important for managers to take into account how cross-cultural differences may affect their management practices. Open-ended semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to derive the competencies used by managers who are already managing a multicultural group. From content analysis, five key themes emerged comprising 27 sub-themes. The results suggest that the competencies needed are cultural empathy, learning on the job, communication competence, general managerial skills, and personal style. Hence, selection, training and development, and performance appraisal practices may be focused on identifying and/or developing these competencies, in order for managers to effectively manage a multicultural workforce.

Guidelines and Recommendations for Developing Interactive eHealth Apps for Complex Messaging in Health Promotion

Background The now ubiquitous catchphrase, “There’s an app for that,” rings true owing to the growing number of mobile phone apps. In excess of 97,000 eHealth apps are available in major app stores. Yet the effectiveness of these apps varies greatly. While a minority of apps are developed grounded in theory and in conjunction with health care experts, the vast majority are not. This is concerning given the Hippocratic notion of “do no harm.” There is currently no unified formal theory for developing interactive eHealth apps, and development is especially difficult when complex messaging is required, such as in health promotion and prevention. Objective This paper aims to provide insight into the creation of interactive eHealth apps for complex messaging, by leveraging the Safe-D case study, which involved complex messaging required to guide safe but sufficient UV exposure for vitamin D synthesis in users. We aim to create recommendations for developing interactive eHealth apps for complex messages based on the lessons learned during Safe-D app development. Methods For this case study we developed an Apple and Android app, both named Safe-D, to safely improve vitamin D status in young women through encouraging safe ultraviolet radiation exposure. The app was developed through participatory action research involving medical and human computer interaction researchers, subject matter expert clinicians, external developers, and target users. The recommendations for development were created from analysis of the development process. Results By working with clinicians and implementing disparate design examples from the literature, we developed the Safe-D app. From this development process, recommendations for developing interactive eHealth apps for complex messaging were created: (1) involve a multidisciplinary team in the development process, (2) manage complex messages to engage users, and (3) design for interactivity (tailor recommendations, remove barriers to use, design for simplicity). Conclusions This research has provided principles for developing interactive eHealth apps for complex messaging as guidelines by aggregating existing design concepts and expanding these concepts and new learnings from our development process. A set of guidelines to develop interactive eHealth apps generally, and specifically those for complex messaging, was previously missing from the literature; this research has contributed these principles. Safe-D delivers complex messaging simply, to aid education, and explicitly, considering user safety.

Lend me some sugar: borrowing rates of neighbouring books as evidence for browsing

There is more to choosing a book than simply keyword searching. Browsing is a fundamental part of the information seeking process, and one that information seekers profess to value, though it has attracted little study. This dearth of research is undoubtedly in part because browsing is nebulous and difficult to quantify. In this paper we use a large circulation dataset from an academic library consortium to examine whether books in the library stacks are loaned in clusters, with a view firstly to confirming the existence of book browsing that has been reported anecdotally, and secondly to quantifying its impact on loan patterns.

Search or explore: do you know what you're looking for?

This paper explores the distinctions between searching and exploring when looking for information. We propose that, while traditional search engines work well in supporting search behaviour, they are more limited in assisting those who are looking to explore new information, especially when the exploration task is ill-defined. We ran a pilot study using two systems: one based on a traditional database search engine, and the other -- a highly innovative, engaging and playful system called iFISH -- that we designed specifically to support exploration through the use of user preferences. We looked for evidence to support the concept that exploration requires a different kind of interaction. The initial results report a positive response to our exploration system and indicate the differences in preferences amongst users for systems that match their searching or exploring behaviours.

You Put What, Where?: Hobbyist Use of Insertable Devices

The human body has emerged as more than a canvas for wearable electronic devices. Devices too go within the body, such as internal medical devices. Within the last decade, individual hobbyists have begun voluntarily inserting non-medical devices in, through and underneath their skin. This paper investigates the current use of insertable devices. Through interviews we report on the types of devices people are inserting into their bodies. We classify the use of insertables and the reasons individuals choose insertables over more traditional wearable or luggable devices. These classifications facilitate understanding of insertables as a legitimate category of device for hardware designers that present new challenges for interaction designers.