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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2002. / Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 4, 2002). Thesis advisor: Michael R. Fitzgerald. Document formatted into pages (viii, 145 p. : ill.). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-104).

Understanding participation behavior in online communities has become increasingly of interest to IS scholars. A central puzzle related to the existence and development of virtual communities is why community members are willing to share their valuable knowledge with other members for free. In other words, what are the factors influencing members’ decisions to participate in discussions? This dissertation theoretically articulates how habit will affect individuals’ participation behavior in online communities. In addition, it proposes that a threshold of behavioral repetitions is required for individuals to develop a participation habit. A methodology of estimating the threshold is also developed. The proposed habit hypothesis is tested empirically using panel data reflecting 130,882 postings by 22,457 members over a 6-month time period. The empirical context is a firm-hosted online community, Dell Community. It includes 115 discussion boards. The results show that a threshold does exist for the formation of a participation habit. Once the habit is formed, it has significantly positive impacts on community members’ participation behavior. In larger and more active online communities, community members demonstrate a stronger habit effect. The effects of habit are also stronger among highly-ranked community members than among low-ranked community members. In addition, the results show that posting behavior in the more distant past has less impact on current posting decisions. This research extends the existing literature on online communities by considering the effects of a new factor, habit. It also deepens the current understanding of habit formation by articulating the role of a threshold on habit formation. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-195). Also available in print.

published_or_final_version / Computer Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1997. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Georgia, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Bibliotherapy—the use of books to facilitate the recovery of people in distress from an emotional disturbance—has a history of nurturing metacognition to achieve a cathartic expression by verbal and nonverbal means. The support of a community with shared traumatic experiences, such as incarceration, can help sustain the benefits of bibliotherapy. This exploratory qualitative research study is focuses on a digital book club consisting of men and women with criminal conviction histories (CCH), along with the ways in which a work of fiction could promote self-reflection and resilience necessary for self-rehabilitation. Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is the leading cause of recidivism among both males and females in the United States, many of whom may have other mental disorders as well. Among those with PICS, incarceration transcends a physical location and becomes a state of mind: mental incarceration. The study’s participants were people who had served over one year of time in a minimum- to maximum-security or federal prison, and who had agreed to participate in an optional four-week digital book club focused on a selected work of fiction. This study contributes to the body of literature surrounding self-rehabilitation and social change by informing administrators, faculty, and staff involved in correctional education that a digital book club could be a viable means of self-empowerment for a person with a CCH, post-incarceration.