Mariann Hardey

Introduction This chapter explores how, what Thrift (2005) has termed knowing capitalism, is increasingly invested in developing new techniques, methodological frameworks, and cultural discourses that exploit the potential of social cartography to realize new forms of economic value and analytical power. Social cartography is defined here as an analytical concept that encompasses new cartographic information practices specifically derived from non-expert epistemologies and everyday users of new interactive mapping technologies, platforms, and software. Although there are many sites, case studies, and applications for this new social cartography, of specific interest to us here is exploration of the development of the geo-spatial Web 2.0 (the Geoweb 2) that combines interactive map-making with crowdsourced, volunteered, and open data practices. This chapter therefore explores the emergence of the Geoweb by examining its genealogical connections with knowing capitalism through a critical examination of its rhetorical, cultural, and politico-economic approaches to social cartography. The rationale of this chapter is to stimulate future research into how these new geo-spatial tools can offer social scientists new methodological approaches to doing research, while also scrutinizing the underlying political economies of knowing capitalism that consider how the diffusion of cartographic literacies and data are embedded in a neo-liberalization of empirical research. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) typically require years of training in software such as ArcGIS or QGIS, as well as access to expensive data sets licensed by the private sector. By contrast, the Geoweb is perceived to signal a social diffusion of cartographic knowledge production in everyday life that leverages the vernacular information practices and non-expert information literacies. This diffusion echoes larger structural changes in the social relations of new media information practices that coalesce around the value of crowdsourcing and social production; for example, geotagged social media in the wake of natural disasters such as the 2012 'superstorm' Hurricane Sandy, or Crampton et al.'s (2013) analysis of the geography of tweets that used the specific hastag #LexingtonPoliceScanner. The rationales for producing new forms of civic participation and community engagement, 3 crisis management, and other critical epistemologies of social stratification stress the value of non-expert knowledge. However, this is not to suggest an oversimplification; that the Geoweb represents some kind of antithesis to knowing capitalism-far from it. An overview of its political economy shows how the Geoweb emerged in tandem with knowing capitalism, specifically through its shared social history with the neoliberalization of geo-spatial infrastructures. The Geoweb is embedded in larger political economies of commercial sociology and, to such a degree, exacerbates the institutional distinctions and distributions of intellectual and economic capital necessary for conducting

YOUR SO-CALLED LIFE (Harper Paperbacks; Trade Paperback Original: September 14, 2010; 14.99; 9780061938382) is the must–have guide for anyone approaching 30 (or just getting over the trauma of turning the big 3-0) and realizing that they’re not living the life they had expected or are in denial about hitting the next stage in life – true adulthood. Andrea Lavinthal and Jessica Rozler, authors of The Hookup Handbook and Friend or Frenemy?, can relate and have created this survival manual to make the jump from post-college gal to real-life adult. YOUR SO-CALLED LIFE guides readers through the emotional and psychological changes that accompany the late twenty-something life transition: mortgages, careers, marriages, family, biological clocks –all of the things every woman thought she’d have figured out by the ripe age of 25.

This growing trend was recently reported on in The New York Times Magazine’s August 2010 article, “What Is It About 20-Somethings” and will be the plot focus of ABC’s Fall 2010 premiere series “My Generation.”

Abstract: An emerging trend is what has become commonly known as ‘Medical Tourism ’ where patients travel to overseas destinations for specialised surgical treatments and other forms of medical care. With the rise of more affordable cross-border travel and rapid technological developments these movements are becoming more commonplace. A key driver is the platform provided by the internet for gaining access to healthcare information and advertising. There has been relatively little attention given to the role and impact of web-based information to inform Medical Tourism decisions. This article provides a brief overview of the most recent development in Medical Tourism and examines how this is linked to the emergence of specialized internet web sites. It produces a summary of the functionality of medical tourist sites, and situates Medical Tourism informatics within the broader literatures relating to information search, information quality and decision-making. This paper is both a ca...

Including a series of commentaries derived from research undertaken by the author with women working in tech clusters located within 'tech cities' in the UK, USA and East Asia regions, this book exposes the serious 'problem' of women's position in the tech industry and helps to find solutions and ways forward.

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This report is the first of its kind to reveal the distinct patterns in Instagram use in the UK among the Instagram users. It presents a unique picture of social media image use by ranked status and Influence Factor (those with at least 10,000 followers and a complimentary impact and engagement rate). Smart mobile devices continue to facilitate shifts in media content and image-based communication. There is a small, but significant, gender differentiation with young women using Instagram and other social media for sharing strong visual content more than their male counterparts. Detailed information on the demographic distribution of social media user and of the kinds of benchmarks available is available upon request. Please contact Dr Mariann Hardey at mariann.hardey@durham.ac.uk for more information about the report.

The TechUPWomen programme takes 100 women from the Midlands and North of England, particularly from underrepresented communities, with degrees or experience in any subject area, retrains them in technology and upon graduation guarantees an interview with a company. The retraining programme, developed by the Partner Universities in conjunction with the Industrial Partners, has modules at level 6/7 including: Technology: coding, data science, cyber security, machine learning, agile project management; Workplace readiness skills: public speaking, clear communication, working as a team. In this paper, we introduce, for the first time, the TechUPWomen programme, and we analyse its temporal evolution and special features via a data analytics nowcasting approach. Deepening these women’s experience with applied upskilling includes one-to-one mentoring (100-100), strong networking, residentials, close industry connection with two directions (non-technical & technical) and four job-focussed f...

Introduction Australia’s mobile communications industry has been slower to embrace the convergence of digital communication technology compared to other areas of the Asia-Pacific region, in particular Japan. However, the introduction of new mobile networks and spread of broadband (albeit still limited in some areas) has given Australians opportunities to experience the new technosocial communications. As a result mobile communication resources have become embedded within a sociocultural infrastructure that is at once mobile, personalised and consumerist. This paper examines how the iGeneration (or ‘Internet Generation’, those born in the first half of the 1980s and who were the first to grow up in a networked and communications media driven society) of young Australians have taken up and embraced the mobile technologies as part of their everyday sociability. This journal issue is concerned to understand the significance of the convergence of mobile media. In this paper ‘mobile’ is t...

Purpose This paper aims to explore the university as a nexus of socially innovative support and engagement with micro- and small-sized (mSME) creative businesses in rural and semi-rural regions. This paper argues that universities can play a socially innovative role in and around their regions. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an action research approach to shape university-led interventions for creative mSMEs in a predominantly rural/semi-rural deprived area in the North East of England. A series of additional interviews were conducted with a sample to further explore issues raised during the action research phase. Findings The research found that the university is seen by these mSMEs as a trusted source of socially innovative support, though the expectation is for long-term and meaningful interventions that facilitate impactful change. University-based knowledge exchange and innovation can be oriented toward these tiny businesses for mutual benefit and as an enabler of...

Growing concern about the impact of constant, mediated connection has often focused on the ways in which technologies contribute to a ubiquitous sense of presence and interaction, and the kind of invasion that this may represent to a sense of self and privacy. Discussion about information communication technologies is increasingly converging around the need for a deepened understanding of their effect on pace of life, methods of work, consumption, and wellbeing. Counter-narratives to overwhelming hyper-connectivity have emerged as a result of these changes. Using qualitative interview data from respondents recruited from across the globe, we focus on the strategies and worldviews of those who explicitly reject the use of any information communication technologies. Our participants relate how, to varying degrees, they have elected to avoid forms of immediate connection and what they identify as the deep advantages and therapeutic benefits of such ways of being. The article responds t...

This article considers several features of tech cities and masculine technology culture and their impact on the conditions of work and interactions of professionals working within them. It uses interdisciplinary perspectives of gender, technology culture, and professional identity and status to understand work in tech cities. Using focus groups involving 60 women and men across different professional backgrounds at three tech city sites in the UK and USA, the article examines the extent of change in work roles and status norms in a highly male-dominated sector and physical space. Professional life in tech cities is shaped by ‘points of contact’, characterised by heightened knowledge and awareness of masculine culture that restricts women’s progression. Three such points of contact are identified. As increased scholarly and policy attention is paid to the lack of diversity in tech, this study contributes to a much-needed shift in tech culture. Attitudes and professional identities bu...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the findings from longitudinal study conducted with women leaders in tech cities to understand the cultural and discursive burden affecting their professional experiences and the dominant cultural boundaries they regularly have to cross to legitimise their knowledge and expertise. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on research from the Gender in Tech City project that included serial interviews with 50 senior women leaders over three years at three different tech city sites. Findings The paper illustrates the differing spatialities that women continue to face within tech culture and how terms such as “women in tech” are problematic. Research limitations/implications This study adds to the conceptualisation of tech culture and gendered constructions within a spatial context; there is a need to strengthen this path of investigation beyond gender as a lone issue. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on spatia...

This chapter explores how, what Thrift (2005) has termed knowing capitalism, is increasingly invested in developing new techniques, methodological frameworks, and cultural discourses that exploit the potential of social cartography to realize new forms of economic value and analytical power. Social cartography is defined here as an analytical concept that encompasses new cartographic information practices specifically derived from non--‐expert epistemologies and everyday users of new interactive mapping technologies, platforms, and software. Although there are many sites, case studies, and applications for this new social cartography, of specific interest to us here is exploration of the development of the geo--‐spatial Web 2.0 (the Geoweb) that combines interactive map--‐making with crowdsourced, volunteered, and open data practices. This chapter therefore explores the emergence of the Geoweb by examining its genealogical connections with knowing capitalism through a critical examination of its rhetorical, cultural, and politico--‐economic approaches to social cartography. The rationale of the chapter is to stimulate future research into how these new geo--‐spatial tools can offer social scientists new methodological approaches to doing research, while also scrutinizing the underlying political economies of knowing capitalism that consider how the diffusion of cartographic literacies and data is embedded in a neo--‐liberalization of empirical research.

There is an increasing familiarity with the digital technology and web-based software that together are referred to as “social media.” This entry sets out the defining elements of social media, and describes how their characteristics are bound to the particular communication actions and discursive networks of which they have become part. Social media can now be seen to offer new opportunities for data collection, research design, and publication based on (often complex) data aggregation and visualization practices. The focus is on the modern sense of the “social” in social media that is inextricable from experiences of individual digital autobiography, and of shared and co-produced content including images, sound recording, video, and other digital media that save text, image, and sound files. Keywords: advertising; aggregation; archives; consumers; digital data; identity; social media marketing

Abstract Purpose This chapter critically evaluates the literature on digital consumer data and the ways in which it can be used in digital social research. The chapter illuminates how researchers have to conceptualise and negotiate digital data, focusing upon ethical and procedural challenges of employing digital methods. Approach The chapter draws upon and integrates a broad research literature from sociology, digital media studies, business and marketing, as these have opened up new directions for research design and method. It advocates interdisciplinary approaches to conceptualising what digital data is employing the concept of ‘marketing narratives’ to understand how the new visibilities of consumer data are shaped by related processes of branding and the interactivity of content. Findings The chapter shows how the capacities of digital technologies present significant challenges for researchers and organisations that have to be carefully negotiated if the potentials of digital consumer data are to be harnessed. In addition, researchers should pay attention to novel issues of ethical responsibility in the context of the longer-term presence of data records. Value The chapter offers a set of guidelines for digital social researchers in negotiating the meanings of visible digital consumer data, the ethical and proprietary issues involved in utilising digital methods.

An emerging trend is what has become commonly known as ‘Medical Tourism’ where patients travel to overseas destinations for specialised surgical treatments and other forms of medical care. With the rise of more affordable cross-border travel and rapid technological developments these movements are becoming more commonplace. A key driver is the platform provided by the internet for gaining access to healthcare information and advertising. There has been relatively little attention given to the role and impact of web-based information to inform Medical Tourism decisions.This article provides a brief overview of the most recent development in Medical Tourism and examines how this is linked to the emergence of specialized internet web sites. It produces a summary of the functionality of medical tourist sites, and situates Medical Tourism informatics within the broader literatures relating to information search, information quality and decision-making.This paper is both a call to strengt...

The author presents her views on the significance of user-generated content for marketing research. The impact of online social networks on marketing strategy is discussed, and it is noted that nearly 140 million brands have pages on the Facebook web site. The author believes ...

This paper reports the findings from an in-depth, exploratory research project designed to understand how consumers create, use and behave in response to content on consumer review websites. Based on data from members of a consumer review site, it seeks to capture the experiences and behaviours of consumers, and to convey their voice as users of social media and other digital sources. Consumers, who are part of Generation C, constitute a significant proportion of the membership on consumer review websites. In this paper, the nature of this generational category is discussed and situated within their use of social media. Reflecting calls in this journal for an innovative and open research agenda, the methodology is designed to reveal new forms of informational behaviour among this group of consumers, who are at the forefront of social media adoption. The research reveals that activities within consumer review sites are embedded in broader social media behaviours, and that this influe...

The increasing use of Internet-based 'dating' services as a means to meet strangers online to potentially form intimate relationships offline, raises concerns about trust and identity. The established social practices of introductions or meeting with stranger's offline are supported by a set of ...

As a result, enormous quantities of small user input are being piped into the data streams of the Web, leading to a rate of growth which has never before been witnessed. We refer to such small user inputs as Microposts. The #MSM2011 workshop discussed emerging to fairly ...

This paper is about digital social networks and associated media in the lives of the young, and primarily middle class, who have grown up in technology rich environments. Others have identified this group as a 'Generation Y', 'Google Generation', 'Internet Generation', 'Facebook ...

The phenomenon of ‘unboxing’ purchases has confidently and prolifically emerged into popular culture, with consumer-generated images of the branded and stylised shopping bags, boxes, and parcels from new acquisitions now ubiquitous in the social media world. Bringing this relatively unexplored phenomenon from popular culture into the academic literature, this netnographic investigation coupled with in-depth semi-structured interviews aims to understand the motivations, intentions, and marketing implications of such image sharing. Four distinct but interwoven uses and gratifications emerged, driven by identity presentation, documentation, socialisation, and aesthetics. Actions appeared to be rooted in hedonic and symbolic play for both the self and others, but also had significant ability to actively and incidentally influence brand communities, brand perceptions, and consumption intentions. Findings confirmed and extended current uses-and-gratifications theories surrounding both conspicuous brand association and Instagram involvement, and suggested the multi-directional impact of secondary image sharing for individuals, peers, and brands.

Growing concern about the impact of constant, mediated connection has often focused on the ways in which technologies contribute to a ubiquitous sense of presence and interaction, and the kind of invasion that this may represent to a sense of self and privacy. Discussion about information communication technologies is increasingly converging around the need for a deepened understanding of their effect on pace of life, methods of work, consumption, and wellbeing. Counter-narratives to overwhelming hyper-connectivity have emerged as a result of these changes. Using qualitative interview data from respondents recruited from across the globe, we focus on the strategies and worldviews of those who explicitly reject the use of any information communication technologies. Our participants relate how, to varying degrees, they have elected to avoid forms of immediate connection and what they identify as the deep advantages and therapeutic benefits of such ways of being. The article responds to rising social anxieties about being locked into information communication technology ecologies and the difficulty of opting out of corporate information-exchange systems. These concerns, we argue, are generating increasing interest in how to manage information communication technologies more effectively or to switch off altogether.

This paper reports the findings from an explorative, qualitative research project that was designed to understand how
consumers use and make decisions based on content provided by members of a consumer review website. Websites such as
TripAdvisor, Epinions and Yelp have become increasingly important sources of product and service ratings, recommendations
and opinion, where these are based on the experiences of consumers. The focus of the research is on the behaviour of
consumers who have grown up with digital media, or Generation C, who constitute a significant part of the membership of 
consumer review websites.