Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis (Wenger et al, 2002). An understanding of why working, technical professionals participate in knowledge- based communities of practice can provide better opportunities to support individual and organizational knowledge management strategies. Online communities of practice were investigated at two global corporations: Xerox and IBM. At Xerox, Eureka is an internal network service designed to support knowledge sharing and problem solving by a community of practice for field service technicians. It allows the submission of problems from field service technicians and the retrieval of validated solutions for use and adaptation, by all members of the global Eureka community. At IBM Corporation, public network based communities of practice were investigated that focused on db2™ and Websphere™ software technology. Unlike the Xerox Eureka community of practice, knowledge contributions at IBM communities of practice are not validated prior to submission and access is open to public participation globally by IBM employees and by independent users of IBM software technology. The purpose of this case study research was to explore and to describe how and why participants became members of communities of practice – what influenced them to join and to participate. We collected survey data from participants in these communities, to examine the relationships among members’ expectations of purpose, their relationship to the community of practice, their attitudes toward information handling, the costs and benefits of membership, the size of the community of practice and the resulting participation behaviour in these knowledge-based communities of practice at Xerox Corporation and IBM Corporation. As one aspect of exploring user behaviour, we investigated the applicability of two theoretical frameworks for understanding user behaviour in these communities, based on propositions from normative and utility theory and from public goods critical mass theory. The research study provides a test for the explanatory power of public goods, utility and normative theories in a new area; namely, online knowledge-based communities of practice in workplace contexts. This analysis provided support for the applicability of utility theory and for some aspects of public goods-based theory/critical mass theory. The findings of the case study point out some differences in the two communities of practice. A majority of the IBM-based community members reported belonging to multiple communities (6-10) and using access to the community to form online social networks and to meet members outside the community at in-person meetings. They reported their participation as being self-directed and on an ad hoc basis. Most respondents were community members for less than 2 years. In contrast, a majority of Eureka members reported belonging only to the Eureka community and do not report forming online social networks in Eureka. Participation in Eureka is seamlessly integrated into prescribed, standard work practices of the company and supported by company management and with resources. Most respondents were community members for over 5 years. The analysis of members’ contributing behaviour in two online communities of practice reaffirms that the majority of members are passive participants with a core group of regular message contributors. Message composition is a careful and deliberate activity requiring communication discipline, time and effort. Members in both settings reported a strong desire to spend more time in their communities (and more time per visit). Communities of practice are dynamic complex entities that present not only a theoretical challenge but also a practical challenge. This study’s results point to the complexity of facilitating communities of practice: benefits dynamics and flow and permanence dynamics of membership can only be externally managed to a limited extent. The participants’ roles need to be conceptualized in ways that support different types of participation while at the same time highlighting the inherently cooperative nature of self-managed communities of practice.

Originally presented as the author's thesis: Universität Genf, 2006. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Celia Pearce; Committee Member: Carl DiSalvo; Committee Member: Fox Harrell; Committee Member: Jay Bolter.

Originally presented as the author's thesis: Universitat Genf, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka hur blivande speciallärare under påbyggnadsutbildning utvecklar sitt lärande i spänningsfältet mellan formellt utbildning och informellt lärande i praktiken. För att uppnå studiens syfte användes en trianguleringsmetod som tillvägagångssätt. Där 89 blivande speciallärare under påbyggnadsutbildning svarade på studiens enkät, samt att 8 blivande speciallärare, och 4 examinerade speciallärare blev intervjuade. Samtliga respondenter studerar eller studerade Speciallärarprogrammet på Stockholm universitet. Med avsikt att svara på studiens syfte leddes studien av fyra forskningsfrågor; (1) Hur beskriver de blivande speciallärarna att spänningsfältet mellan formellt lärande under utbildning och informellt lärande i praktiken påverkar deras lärande?; (2) Om det finns en skillnad mellan de blivande speciallärare som är tidiga vs. sena i sin påbyggnadsutbildning, hur utvecklas då lärandet över tid?; (3) Hur beskriver de blivande speciallärarna för sitt lärande i relation till olika personer omkring dem?; (4) Föregår den semiformella relationen ett semiformellt lärande? Studiens resultat analyseras med stöd av Communities of Practice. Resultatet visade att spänningsfältet mellan den formella utbildningen och det informella lärandet i praktiken gav de blivande speciallärarna förutsättningar för ett meningsskapande, då de menar att det bästa med utbildningen är att de kan kombinera de två olika arenorna. Vidare visar resultat och analys att tiden under påbyggnadsutbildningen har gjort att de blivande speciallärarna har förändrat sitt språk för att beskriva professionella problem, vilket ökar de blivande speciallärarnas gemenskap. Avslutningsvis visade studien att den semiformella relationen föregår ett semiformellt lärande, detta kunde härledas då de blivande speciallärarna i stor utsträckning använder sina kurskamrater för att utveckla sitt lärande. / The purpose of the present study is to examine how prospective special needs teachers develop their learning in the tension field between formal education and informal learning in practice. To reach a good quality understanding, the study uses triangulation as an approach, where 89 respondents answered the study survey, and 8 prospective and 4 graduate special needs teachers where interviewed. All the respondents either study or have studied the Special needs teacher program at Stockholm University. With the intention of answering the purpose of the study, the study was led by 4 research questions; (1) how does the prospective special needs teachers report that the tension between formal education and informal learning in practice affects their learning?; (2) If there is a difference between the respondents who are early vs. late in their special needs teacher’s education, how does their learning develop over time?; (3) How does the prospective special needs teachers describe their learning in relation to people around them?; (4) does a semiformal relationship precede a semiformal learning? The results of the study were analyzed using Communities of practice. The results showed that the tension field between formal education and informal learning in practice gave the prospective special needs teacher’s a sense of meaning, due to the fact that they could combine the two arenas. Furthermore, the results and its analysis showed that the time in further education had changed the prospective special needs teacher’s language to describe a professional problem, which increases the prospective special needs teacher’s sense of community. And finally, the study showed that the semiformal relationship precedes semiformal learning, which could be derived from the fact that the prospective special needs teachers, in a great extent, use their classmates to develop their learning.

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / This study set out to determine how trainers construct their professional identities in a changing work environment in a training academy of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the context of a police-university partnership. The study differentiates between three professional identities (academic, police and trainer) and builds on the notion that the construction of professional identity is a conscious and dynamic process, which is formed in social contexts and settings where individuals participate in communities of practice or act on affordances to participate in organisational activities. Following a constructivist methodological approach, the study involved face-to-face interviews with trainers of the SAPS Academy and an analysis of police documents in the Academy. The study portrays trainers’ professional identity construction as relational and ongoing. Trainers perceive their changing roles in the SAPS Academy as a form of progression in their professional identity where one aspires to become an academic as a form of achievement. While the SAPS Academy attempts toregulate the construction of professional identity through enforcement of policies, it strengthens police trainer identities rather than enabling the construction of the needed new academic identities. Trainers therefore have to navigate the tensions between the institutional culture and construction of professional identity. Trainers negotiate their professional identities when they become part of the trainer pool, where they join smaller communities of practice, and when they make use of affordances for learning and development. The practice of multi-skilling of trainers, an authoritarian institutional culture and challenges to academic freedom and autonomy hamper their attempts to construct academic identities at both institutional and disciplinary level. The study suggests that organisations need to understand how policies contribute to employees’ construction of professional identities, particularly when new and unfamiliar professional identities are to be constructed. Development of higher academic qualifications is not enough. Workplaces need to apply organisational policies consistently and without ambiguity. A holistic approach should be followed when organisations embark on the construction of professional academic identities as employees construct professional identities through their lived experiences. Finally, the study showed that workplaces should provide a suitable environment that would stimulate professional and academic identity construction.

Studiens syfte har varit att utveckla kunskap om hur informellt kunskapsutbyte mellan medarbetare i arbetslivet sker. Mer specifikt studeras vid vilka tillfällen och i vilket syfte medarbetare väljer att vända sig till en specifik kollega för att fråga om något, samt hur detta kunskapsutbyte går till. Följande frågeställningar har använts för att få svar på detta: På vilket sätt utbyter medarbetare kunskap med varandra? Vid vilka tillfällen tar medarbetare initiativ till att utbyta kunskap med varandra? Vad avgör vem medarbetare väljer att vända sig till? Utifrån syftet samt frågeställningarna har observationer samt semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts på ett universitetssjukhus. Resultatet visade att medarbetarna utbyter kunskap med varandra via snabba möten, genom att fråga en specifik kollega, via informella samtal om det vardagliga arbetet, genom mötessituationer och allmänt prat på raster. De tillfällen som medarbetarna utbyter kunskap sker då de inte kommer vidare i sitt arbete, när det övriga arbetet tillåter, när de ser någon som de tror kan svara, för att stötta en kollega som de tror behöver hjälp, för att hjälpa mindre erfarna kollegor samt via det vardagliga arbetet. Vidare så har det även undersökts vad som avgör vem medarbetarna väljer att vända sig till. Detta visade sig vara både erfarenhetsbaserat samt tillgänglighetsbaserat då det går snabbt att fråga någon som befinner sig nära.

This study explores the concept of "quality" in library cataloging and examines the perception of quality cataloging among catalogers who work in academic libraries. An examination of the concept of "quality cataloging" in library science literature revealed that even though there is some general agreement on how this concept is defined, the level of detail and focus of these definitions often vary. These various perceptions were dissected in order to develop a framework for evaluating quality cataloging definitions; this framework was used to evaluate study participants' definitions of quality cataloging. Studying cataloger perceptions of quality cataloging is important because it is catalogers (particularly original catalogers) who are largely responsible for what is included in bibliographic records. Survey participants (n = 296) provided their personal definition of quality cataloging as well as their opinions on their department's cataloging, their influence upon their department's policies and procedures, and the specific data that should be included in a quality bibliographic record. Interview participants (n = 20) provided insight on how their opinions of quality cataloging were formed and the influences that shaped these opinions.

No description available.

Syftet med att genom deltagande observationer studera stöd inom en svensk vuxenutbildningsverksamhet var att sätta stöd i vuxnas lärande på dagordningen och kommunicera vikten av ett inkluderande arbetssätt för lärande. Arbetssätt som bygger på en synergistisk samverkan mellan miljö och pedagogik. Resultatet visar att det finns utvecklingspotential i verksamheten genom att öka och bredda det kollegiala lärandet, samarbete kring eleverna samt tydliggöra stödet som en röd tråd i verksamhetens olika delar. Det kan till exempel handla om att redan vid ansökan låta eleverna delge sina behov av, eller misstanke om behov av stöd. Vidare vid antagning låta eleverna möta lärare för kartläggning och låta utbildningen genomsyras av studieteknik individuella möjligheter till anpassningar. Därtill återfanns behov av tydlig kommunikation kring struktur och rutiner där det klart definieras vem som gör vad, hur och varför. / The purpose of conducting participating observations within a Swedish adult education was to put the support in the learning of adults on the agenda. Also, it concerned the importance of an inclusive way of working for learning. This is a way of working which is based on a synergistic cooperation between environment and pedagogy. The result shows that there is a potential for development within the organization through increasing and broadening the learning among and between colleagues. Moreover it is about cooperation in the work with the students whereas it is important to make the support visible as a red thread through the organizational work. For example, the students already in their applications be able to acknowledge needs or suspected needs of support in learning. At admittance, students can meet teachers for mapping their situation and thereafter let the education be permeated by study techniques and individual possibilities for adjustments. Furthermore, the results showed need for distinct communication regarding structure and routines in which it is clearly stated who does what, how and why.