Suchergebnisse

Purpose: The use of Twitter by political parties and politicians has been well studied in developed countries. However, there is a lack of empirical work which has examined the use of Twitter in developing countries. The present study aims to explore the information sharing patterns of Pakistani politicians through Twitter accounts during the pre-election campaign of 2018. Design/Methods/Methodology: Data of three weeks of the official party accounts and the politicians running for prime minister was analysed. The mixed methods approach has been employed to analyze quantitative and qualitative data retrieved through Twitonomy. Findings: It was found that the most active Twitter account belonged to the winning party. The prominent Twitter account functions were call to vote, promotional Tweets, promises and tweeting about party developments. The present studyprovides evidence that there is a difference between the tweeting behaviour of established and emerging parties. The emerging party heavily posted about changing traditional norms/culture/practices. Practical Implications: The study contributed to existing knowledge and has practical implications for politicians, citizens and social media planners. Originality/Value: The present study was designed carefully and based on empirical research. The study is unique in its nature to fill the research and knowledge gap by adding variety of Twitter functions used by politicians.

PurposeThe present study aims to examine the current digital information literacy (DIL) skills of female online shoppers in Lahore city of Pakistan. Data were gathered from a purposive sampling of women, aged between 20–50 years who were buying products online, not from the traditional retail stores. Out of 309 received questionnaires, 269 responses were useable and were utilized for data analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to deduce inferences.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research approach was employed for this study, and a survey was conducted to collect the data from the study's respondents. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used.FindingsResults revealed that the digital information literacy skills of women were good to a moderate level. However, they were not confident in applying advanced searching options. In accordance with what was hypothesized in a directional hypothesis, DIL was found to be a strong predictor of online shopping behavior of women, consequently highlighting the importance of such competencies in modern life. Other findings illustrate that participating women rarely engaged in online shopping and felt hesitation in using credit/debit card for online transactions.Research limitations/implicationsThese observations highlight the important role of information professionals in creating digital literacy among different population groups, specifically women, by planning digital information instruction through courses, workshops and trainings. This could eventually be possible with the dynamic role of librarians or information professionals in the society.Originality/valueThe present study adopts the unique approach of measuring online shopping behavior of female shoppers in connection with their digital information literacy skills.

Purpose – The use of social media has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media platforms provide opportunities to share news, ideas and personal stories. Twitter is used by citizens in Pakistan to respond and comment on emerging news stories and events. However, it is not known whether Twitter played a positive or negative role in spreading updates and preventive messages during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The purpose of this study is to analyse content from Twitter during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – NodeXL was used to retrieve data using the keyword وائرس کورونا (written in Urdu and which translates to Coronavirus). The first data set (Case Study 1) was based on 10,284 Twitter users from the end of March. The second data set (Case Study 2) was based on 10,644 Twitter users from the start of April. The theoretical lens of effective message framing was used to classify the most retweeted content on Twitter. Findings – Twitter was used for personal and professional projections and included certain tweets included political motives even during the unfolding health crisis. There appeared to be very few successful attempts to use Twitter as a tool for health awareness and risk communication. The empirical findings indicate that the most retweeted messages were gain-framed and can be classified as personal, informative and political in nature. Originality/value – The present study provides insights likely to be of interest to researchers, health organizations, citizens, government and politicians that are interested in making more effective use of social media for the purposes of health promotion. The authors also provides novel insights into the key topics of discussions, websites and hashtags used by Pakistani Twitter users during the COVID-19. ; Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Online