This research investigates how loneliness and life dissatisfaction affect consumers’ acceptance of social networking services and the moderating role of perceived self-disclosure to intervene so that users seek social support online. Drawing from theoretical foundations of quality of life theory, social exchange theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM), the research model utilizes the c...

In this paper we illustrate (a) the background and goals of the interdisciplinary research project SAFEST and (b) first insights from the socio-scientific part within the project. Technical systems are often established without considering explicitly ethical, legal, and social implications. This frequently leads to a lack of acceptance. This paper aims at compiling an analytical scheme that tri...

Online social networking has deeply penetrated university campuses, influencing multiple aspects of student life. We investigate the impacts of individual online social networking engagement (e.g., on Facebook) from a pedagogical standpoint. Based on social learning theory, we argue that two socialization processes, social acceptance and acculturation, bridge individual online social networking...

Purpose – This study aims to understand the impact of users’ privacy concerns on their acceptance of social networking web sites (SNWs). Design/methodology/approach – This paper develops two research models, with privacy concern conceptualized either as an antecedent of acceptance intention, or as a moderator of the relationships in the technology acceptance model (TAM). Using a survey question...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the level of and gender difference in self-esteem among adult victims of severe burn injuries. Severely burned adults aged 20 to 40 years participated in this investigation from March 2015 to April 2016 in five hospitals of Faisalabad and Lahore. Purposive sampling technique was used and a self-esteem scale was used to assess different dimens...

Personal robots and screen agents can be equipped with social abilities to facilitate interaction. This paper describes our research on the influence of these abilities on elderly user’s acceptance of such a system. Experiments were set up in eldercare institutions where a robotic and screen agent with simulated conversational capabilities were used in a Wizard of Oz experiment. Both agents wer...

Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) display impaired social interactions, implicated in the development and prognosis of the disorder. Importantly, social behavior is modulated by reward-based processes, and dysfunctional at-brain-level reward responses have been involved in AN neurobiological models. However, no prior evidence exists of whether these neural alterations would be equally present...

Social commerce is the latest development in e-commerce to combine the power of online social networking with shopping. While the adoption of information technology is well studied, new theoretical development is needed to account for the specific characteristics of social commerce applications and their interactions with the user. This study examines factors that are associated with user accep...