A nnals of Information Systems Volume 15 Series Editors Ramesh Sharda Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK, USA Stefan Voß University of Hamburg Hamburg, Germany For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/7573 Athina A. Lazakidou Editor Virtual Communities, Social Networks and Collaboration Editor Athina A. Lazakidou Department of Nursing University of Peloponnese Sparti, Greece ISSN 1934-3221 ISSN 1934-3213 (electronic) ISBN 978-1-4614-3633-1 ISBN 978-1-4614-3634-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-3634-8 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012939526 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi c ally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi l ms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi c ally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) P reface O nline 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. T his special issue addresses the virtual communities and collaboration among virtual participants currently proliferating across the world. Many online communi- ties have been created to facilitate communication, enhance or express relationships, work in a common cause, seek entertainment, and network or mentor others. Others have been formed to facilitate tasks already being performed but now needing to be done virtually. Such communities and online groups span various boundaries and include networked employees, videoconferencing, gaming setups, and electronic community groups pursuing such diverse activities as friendshipping, planning, information sharing, collaborating, system developing, having fun, and advertising. Various technologies are involved, from Facebook and Twitter to teleconferencing to mobile phones and PCs. R esearchers are just beginning to understand virtual communities and collabora- tions. Many issues need further study, including group dynamics and outcomes, social networking implications, technical support features, group coherence and loyalty, and how organizations can better utilize the potential benefi t s of such com- munities in both internal operations and in marketing and new product develop- ment. What leads to participation and effective collaboration in these communities needs further study, as do the issues of how and why knowledge is shared among participants. Much additional research in this area is needed. T his new book presents studies from leading researchers and practitioners focus- ing on the current challenges, directions, trends, and opportunities associated with virtual communities and their supporting technologies. T his new book will be an excellent source of comprehensive knowledge and literature on the topic of virtual communities, social networks, and collaboration. A ll of us who worked on the book hope that readers will fi n d it useful. S parti, Greece Athina A. Lazakidou v A bout the Editor A thina A. Lazakidou, Ph.D., currently works at the University of Peloponnese, Department of Nursing, in Greece, as a lecturer in health informatics. She worked as a visiting lecturer at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus (2000–2002) and at the Department of Nursing at the University of Athens (2002–2007). She did her undergraduate studies at the Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece) and received her B.Sc. in Computer Science in 1996. In 2000, she received her Ph.D. in Medical Informatics from the Department of Medical Informatics, University Hospital Benjamin Franklin at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. She is also an internationally known expert in the fi e ld of computer applications in health care and biomedicine, with six books and numerous papers to her credit. Her research interests include health informatics, hospital and clinical information systems, e-learning in medicine, software engi- neering, graphical user interfaces, (bio)medical databases, clinical decision sup- port systems, electronic medical record systems, telematics, and other web-based applications in health care and biomedicine. vii C ontents 1 Health-Related Virtual Communities and Social Networking Services ............................................................................... 1 Stamatia Ilioudi, Athina A. Lazakidou, Nick Glezakos, and Maria Tsironi 2 Emergent Evaluation Criteria for Collaborative Learning Environment ........................................................................... 15 Ibrahiem M.M. El Emary 3 Evaluating and Enriching Online Knowledge Exchange: A Socio-epistemological Perspective ...................................................... 35 Paul Matthews and Judith Simon 4 Organizational Design of Online Communities ................................... 61 Nick Glezakos and Athina A. Lazakidou 5 A Security Model for Virtual Healthcare Communities ...................... 75 Anargyros Chryssanthou, Iraklis Varlamis, and Charikleia Latsiou 6 Cybernationalism: Terrorism, Political Activism, and National Identity Creation in Virtual Communities and Social Media ............................................................. 115 Matthew F. Palmer 7 E-Government and Data Protection in the Public Sector ................... 135 Mary Lampri 8 Building SCIENAR, a Virtual Community of Artists and Scientists: Usability Testing for the System Improvement .............................................................................. 147 Iole Alfano, Manuela Carini, and Lorella Gabriele ix x Contents 9 User-Generated Content for Location-Based Services: A Review .................................................................................. 163 Lee Fueng Yap, Masahiro Bessho, Noboru Koshizuka, and Ken Sakamura 10 Generating Social Awareness Through Social Network Sites ........................................................................................... 181 Penelopi Alexandrou 11 Markov Random Field and Social Networks........................................ 207 Stelios Zimeras 12 Mobile Communities – Current Status and Challenges ...................... 221 Volkmar Schau, Kathrin Kirchner, Christian Stolcis, Christian Erfurth, Gerald Eichler, and Wilhelm R. Rossak 13 Social Networks in Environmental Epidemiology ............................... 239 Stelios Zimeras and S. Geronikolou