Abstract:In the past few years, e-government has been a topic of much interest among those excited about the advent of Web 2.0 technologies. This paper reviews the recent literature concerning Web 2.0, social media, social networking, and how it has been used in the public sector. Key observations include literature themes such as the evolution of social media case studies in the literature, the progress of social media policies and strategies over time, and social media use in disaster management as an important role for government. Other observations include the lack of a tangible goal for e-government, and the idea that significant change is still needed in government culture, philosophy of control, and resource management before broad sustainable success can be achieved in the use of social media.

Executive SummarySocial networking sites have seen tremendous growth and are widely used around the world. Nevertheless, the use of social networking sites in educational contexts is an under explored area. This paper uses a qualitative methodology, autoethnography, to investigate how social networking sites, specifically Facebook TM , can help first semester doctoral students adapt to a Ph.D. program and a new national culture. Each week during the semester, a Ph.D. Student Tip and a Cultural Tip was posted. Students would then post related discussions, observations, and/or questions. At the conclusion of the semester the doctoral students shared their thoughts about participating in the Facebook™ group through autobiographical narratives. A technique called open coding was used to analyze the narratives. Our findings suggest three emergent themes. Social networking sites can aid adaptation through: 1) facilitating knowledge exchange, 2) alleviating apprehension, and 3) enabling socialization and building community. The data showed that the Facebook™ discussions aided in various types of knowledge exchange, providing a conceptual map that facilitated greater adaptation. Next, the interactions appeared to help minimize trepidation related to embarking on a new program of study and adjusting to a new national culture. Third, the Facebook™ group was useful fostering socialization and community among the students. We make the following recommendations for professors when implementing SNS (Social Network Site) groups: 1) establish a Facebook™ group with a course-related identity, 2) be sensitive to security and privacy issues, 3) provide tips to "seed" various types of knowledge exchange, 4) encourage participation, and 5) assess and adjust. While our research is exploratory in nature, we believe it provides a foundation for future research in this important and rapidly expanding area of SNS usage.

Facebook is an informing social networking application that has experienced phenomenal worldwide user growth within a relatively short time and continues to grow at a rapid rate. This study examines the motivations for users to continue to use Facebook after adoption. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we draw on the technology acceptance research stream, post-adoption theories, and social capital theory to develop a model of the critical factors that affect the postadoptive use of Facebook. We argue that social capital is also poised to play a significant part in social networking informing environments for the foreseeable future. Other critical factors affecting post-adoptive use of Facebook include hedonic enjoyment, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and attitude toward using.

Electronic surveys have become one of the most popular methods of data collection in research. In order to obtain satisfactory results, good response rates are needed. We examine response rates to a survey administered in a face-to-face class-based setting collected using an electronic survey tool. The electronic survey was administered in four separate instances where each instance involved the survey administrator using either an active or passive administrative approach, and either offering or declining to offer extra credit. While no significant difference was found in actual responses to questions between the four groups, a significant difference was found in response rates between respondents who were offered extra credit and those who were not, and between surveys that were administered using active versus passive approaches. Other expected findings include higher responses in individual groups using the active approach and offering extra credit. An unexpected result occurred in the groups where no extra credit was offered: No significant difference was found between the active and passive administrations.

This study proposes a framework for understanding the role of Social Network Sites (SNS) in informing clients at individual message (micro) and aggregate (macro) levels. To validate the micro/macro informer framework, we examine if an aggregate of Twitter messages can be used as a predictor of future stock prices of publicly traded companies. Our field study analyzes Twitter posts related to 18 Fortune500 companies using Latent Semantic Analysis to extract the semantic and conceptual content in the form of key themes. Using the factors comprising the themes, we fit a regression model that uses tweet volume and tweet topic strength to predict 8.3% of variability in stock prices beyond what is explained by the fluctuations of the stock market. Our results suggest that Twitter can be viewed as a macro informer for stock markets. This confirms our conjecture that SNS are both platforms for micro informing and macro informers. Our study should stimulate informing science researchers to examine other cases of macro informing and the role of data mining and text mining technologies in message aggregation for macro informing.