Online communities are among the most obvious manifestations of social networks based on new media technology. Facilitating ad-hoc communication and leveraging collective intelligence by matching similar or related users have become important success factors in almost every successful business plan.
Researchers are just beginning to understand virtual communities and collaborations among participants currently proliferating across the world. Virtual Communities, Social Networks and Collaboration covers cutting edge research topics of utmost real-world importance in the specific domain of social networks. This volume focuses on exploring issues relating to the design, development, and outcomes from electronic groups and online communities, including:
- The implications of social networking,
- Understanding of how and why knowledge is shared among participants,
- What leads to participation, effective collaboration, co-creation and innovation,
- How organizations can better utilize the potential benefits of communities in both internal operations, marketing, and new product development.
Chapter 1. Health Related Virtual Communities and Social Networking Services
Stamatia Ilioudi, Athina Lazakidou, Nick Glezakos, and Maria Tsironi
Chapter 2. Emergent Evaluation Criteria for Collaborative Learning Environment
Ibrahiem M. M. El Emary
Chapter 3. Evaluating and Enriching Online Knowledge Exchange: A Social Epistemological / Lay Epistemics Perspective
Paul Matthews and Judith Simon
Chapter 4. Organizational Design of Online Communities
Nick Glezakos and Athina Lazakidou
Chapter 5. A Security Model for Virtual Healthcare Communities
Anargyros Chryssanthou, Iraklis Varlamis, and Charikleia Latsiou
Chapter 6. Cybernationalism: Terrorism, Political Activism, and National Identity Creation in Virtual Communities and Social Media
Matthew Franklin Palmer
Chapter 7. E-Government and Data Protection in the Public Sector
Mary Lampri
Chapter 8. Building SCIENAR, a virtual community of artists and scientists: usability testing for the system improvement
Iole Alfano, Manuela Carini, and Lorella Gabriele
Chapter 9. User-Generated Content for Location-Based Services: A Review
Lee Fueng Yap, Masahiro Bessho, Noboru Koshizuka and Ken Sakamura
Chapter 10. Generating Social Awareness through Social Network Sites
Penelopi Alexandrou
Chapter 11. Markov Random Field and Social Networks
Stelios Zimeras
Chapter 12. Mobile Communities – Current Status and Challenges
Volkmar Schau , Kathrin Kirchner , Christian Stolcis, Christian Erfurth, Gerald Eichler, and Wilhelm R. Rossak
Chapter 13. Social Networks in Environmental Epidemiology
Stelios Zimeras and S. Geronikolou
