This study investigates the impact of an online community's control structure on the knowledge sharing process in that community. Using a framework comprised of legitimate peripheral participation theory and the weak-ties phenomenon, the study focuses on a comparative analysis of self-organizing online communities (e.g., weblog networks) and centralized online communities (e.g., discussion forums communities) with respect to the efficacy of knowledge sharing in these communities. The findings of this study indicate that self-organizing communities of practice have more weak-ties among their members compared to centralized communities. As per weak-ties theory of Granovetter (1973, 1983), these findings suggest that self-organizing communities facilitate greater dissemination of knowledge and flow of information among their members than centralized communities. The abundance of weak-ties in their community structure also makes self-organizing communities better environments for the discovery of new information compared to centralized community environments. This study did not find any evidence of community structure impact on peripheral participation and the interaction activity level among peripheral participants of a given online community. These observations may have stemmed from the limitations of research design, however, it is safe to say as of now that verdict on peripheral participation differences in different community structures is inconclusive at best. / Master of Science

More and more in recent years, activities that people once did in the real world they now do in virtual space. In particular, online communities have become popular and efficient media for people all over the world to seek and share knowledge in domains that interest them. Such communities are called online knowledge communities (OKCs). Large-scale OKCs may comprise thousands of community members and archive many  more online messages. As a result, problems such as how to identify and manage the knowledge collected and how to understand people\'s knowledge-sharing behaviors have become major challenges for leveraging online knowledge to sustain community growth. In this dissertation I examine three important factors of managing knowledge in OKCs. First, I focus on how to build successful profiles for community members that describe their domain expertise. These expertise profiles are potentially important for directing questions to the right people and, thus, can improve the community\'s overall efficiency and efficacy. To address this issue, I present a comparative study of models of expertise profiling in online communities and identify the model combination that delivers the best results. Next, I investigate how to automatically assess the information helpfulness of user postings. Due to the voluntary nature of online participation, there is no guarantee that all user-generated content (UGC) will be helpful. It is also difficult, given the sheer amount of online postings, for knowledge seekers to find information quickly that satisfies their informational needs. Therefore, I propose a theory-driven text classification framework based on the knowledge adoption model (KAM) for predicting the helpfulness of UGC in OKCs. I test the effectiveness of this framework at both the thread level and the post level of online messages. Any given OKC generally has a huge number of individuals participating in online discussions, but exactly what, where, when and how they seek and share knowledge are still not fully understood or documented. In the last part of the dissertation, I describe a multi-level study of the knowledge-sharing behaviors of users in OKCs. Both exploratory data analysis and network analysis are applied to thread, forum and community levels of online data. I present a number of interesting findings on social dynamics in knowledge sharing and diffusion. These findings potentially have important implications for both the theory and practice of online community knowledge management. / Ph. D.

Identifying individuals in historical photographs is important for preserving material culture, correcting historical records, and adding economic value. Historians, antiques dealers, and collectors often rely on manual, time-consuming approaches. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers potential solutions, it's not widely adopted due to a lack of specialized tools and inherent inaccuracies and biases. In my dissertation, I address this gap by combining the complementary strengths of human intelligence and AI. I introduce Photo Sleuth, a novel person identification pipeline that combines crowdsourced expertise with facial recognition, supporting users in identifying unknown portraits from the American Civil War era (1861--65). Despite successfully identifying numerous unknown photos, users often face the `last-mile problem' --- selecting the correct match(es) from a shortlist of high-confidence facial recognition candidates while avoiding false positives. To assist experts, I developed Second Opinion, an online tool that employs a novel crowdsourcing workflow, inspired by cognitive psychology, effectively filtering out up to 75% of facial recognition's false positives. Yet, as AI models continually evolve, changes in the underlying model can potentially impact user experience in such crowd--expert--AI workflows. I conducted an online study to understand user perceptions of changes in facial recognition models, especially in the context of historical person identification. Our findings showed that while human-AI collaborations were effective in identifying photos, they also introduced false positives. To reduce these misidentifications, I built Photo Steward, an information stewardship architecture that employs a deliberative workflow for validating historical photo identifications. Building on this foundation, I introduced DoubleCheck, a quality assessment framework that combines community stewardship and comprehensive provenance information, for helping users accurately assess photo identification quality. Through my dissertation, I explore the design and deployment of human-AI collaborative tools, emphasizing the creation of sustainable online communities and workflows that foster accurate decision-making in the context of historical photo identification. / Doctor of Philosophy / Identifying historical photos offers significant cultural and economic value; however, the identification process can be complex and challenging due to factors like poor source material and limited research resources. In my dissertation, I address this problem by leveraging the complementary strengths of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence (AI). I built Photo Sleuth, an online platform, that helps users in identifying unknown portraits from the American Civil War era. This platform employs a novel person identification workflow that combines crowdsourced human expertise and facial recognition. While AI-based facial recognition is effective at quickly scanning thousands of photos, it can sometimes present challenges. Specifically, it provides the human expert with a shortlist of highly similar-looking candidates from which the expert must discern the correct matches; I call this as the `last-mile problem' of person identification. To assist experts in navigating this challenge, I developed Second Opinion, a tool that employs a novel crowdsourcing workflow inspired by cognitive psychology, named seed-gather-analyze. Further, I conducted an online study to understand the influence of changes in the underlying facial recognition models on the downstream person identification tasks. While these tools enabled numerous successful identifications, they also occasionally led to misidentifications. To address this issue, I introduced Photo Steward, an information stewardship architecture that encourages deliberative decision-making while identifying photos. Building upon the principles of information stewardship and provenance, I then developed DoubleCheck, a quality assessment framework that presents pertinent information, aiding users in accurately evaluating the quality of historical photo IDs. Through my dissertation, I explore the design and deployment of human-AI collaborative tools, emphasizing the creation of sustainable online communities and workflows that encourage accurate decision-making in the context of historical photo identification.

Yes

The steady increase in social media use, combined with a new opportunity for individuals to express and/or redefine their social identity, has created many new platforms and forums. The global pandemic and the further digitization of communication and self-expression amplified the trend. As individuals shape their online identities, they receive feedback from their online networks (likes, comments, shares, etc.). The feedback can reinforce or challenge their identities, leading them to adapt their self-presentation accordingly. This research investigated the under-explored interplay between Social Identity (SI) formation and Social Media (SM) adoption. While the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model has been practical, it has become crucial to enhance it based on the relationship/intersection of SI expression and SM use and its implications for social media companies, policymakers, individuals, businesses, and society, as a whole. The research employed inductive qualitative analysis on “public-primary posts of personal narratives from X platform and subreddit communities while preserving participant anonymity. Study 2 data corpus was 62,429 posts. There is a bi-directional influence on social identity formation and social media adoption. The limitations of this study include the subjective nature of qualitative research and the fact that the posts were not intended for academic study. Further, there were no follow-ups and member checking; thus, I could not validate the findings with participants. I also note that many people came to the subreddit platform with their problems, and the entries did not include the resolution of their issues. Only an interview would reveal the outcome, which was not carried out in this study. One recommendation is that social media providers install AI chatbots that scour their platforms for people needing help and render support to people who are vulnerable, especially those seeking mental health resources. Finally, this study’s proposition that when people are lonely, they seek support and comfort on social media needs more research. Further, in the advent of mainstream adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023, research will need to be conducted to ensure the safe and viable long-term use of social platforms for good, as opposed to evil. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

There is an arguable lack of activity and interest in the analysis of electroacoustic music when compared to its composition and performance. The absence of a strong and active analytical community is very concerning, as it should be a fundamental part of any larger musical community that wishes for works to be performed and discussed in later years. The problems that face electroacoustic music analysis are that there is no consensus or single analytical tool/methodology that dictates how such an activity should be undertaken. Rather than attempting to appropriate existing tools meant for traditional musics or create a new universal one this thesis will argue that a new culture should be adopted that promotes different opinions on the subject of electroacoustic music analysis, as opposed to defining a consensus as to how it should be conducted. To achieve this the thesis will: evaluate and critique what constitutes and defines electroacoustic music analysis; provide a general and flexible procedure to conduct an analysis of an electroacoustic work; develop a set of criteria and terms to cross-examine the current analytical tools for electroacoustic music in order to define the gaps in the field and to identify pertinent elements within electroacoustic works; analyse a number of electroacoustic works to test and implement the ideas raised within this thesis; and finally the concept of an analytical community (in which such a culture could exist) is outlined and implemented with the creation of the OREMA (Online Repository for Electroacoustic Music Analysis) project. This universal approach will cover both epistemological and ontological levels of electroacoustic music analysis. All of the concepts raised above are interlinked and follow the main hypothesis of this thesis: • There is no one single analysis that can fully investigate a work; • Analyses are a perspective on a work, ultimately formed through the subjective perception of the analyst; • These perspectives should be shared with other practitioners to help develop a better understanding of the art form. This PhD study was part of the New Multimedia Tools for Electroacoustic Music Analysis project (2010-2013) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK). Other outcomes of that project included the various analysis symposiums held at De Montfort University in Leicester and the electroacoustic analysis software EAnalysis created by Pierre Couprie.

Wikipedia consists of an online encyclopedia created by users worldwide who collaborate to distribute knowledge and edit information in real-time. Although Wikipedia's accuracy has been a disputable and debatable issue in many recent studies, little academic research has systematically addressed how users interact with the platform's storytelling tools and how do they perceive and use Wikipedia's infrastructure, such as interactive tools. This exploratory study fulfills this gap and sheds light on users' perceptions about Wikipedia's interactivity. Moreover, Wikipedia is approached as an online community where collaboration, co-creation, and knowledge distribution play an important role. Therefore, it can be studied under the scope of Digital Humanities as well. The theoretical framework of interactive storytelling and digital communication suggests that hyperlinks, page preview bottoms, or interactive catalogs are applied in Wikipedia's environment to help users absorb information and construct their narratives. The findings of this thesis offer practical insights on how Wikipedia's interactive storytelling tools empower users with the ability to develop their stories and become editors/authors and provide a foundation for further academic research on user experience and how to improve interactivity and digital communication in Wikipedia

L'apparition de nouvelles technologiques de l'information et de la communication, et plus particulièrement l'avènement du Web 2.0, offre des opportunités de co-création de valeur pour les entreprises et leurs clients. La "communauté en ligne de co-création" est une des diverses formes de co-création de valeur identifiées dans la littérature. Ce pendant, la majorité des recherches ont été menées autour des biens tangibles (chaussures de sport pour le cas de Nike, ou le secteur de l'automobile avec BMW). L'objectif de cette recherche est de comprendre en profondeur le concept de co-création de valeur, appliquée au secteur du tourisme (bien intangible),et d'identifier les opportunités qui peuvent s'offrir aux touristes et aux destinations, grâce à une collaboration créative à travers les interactions dans une communauté en ligne. Pour répondre à cette problématique, trois éléments théoriques de base ont été mobilisées: la co-création de valeur, la communauté en ligne et l'expérience touristique. Une étude de cas basée sur une approche qualitative - menée auprès de l'Office Régional du Tourisme ANAlamanga (ou ORTANA) - a permis d'éclairer cette problématique. / The new information and communication technology especially the uprising of the Web 2.0 gives opportunity for the co-creation of value between businesses and their customers. The “online co-creation communities” is one of the many varieties of co-creation of value identified in the literature. Meanwhile, the majority of researches were conducted by the tangible goods suppliers (Like the sportswear for Nike, or car manufacturing for BMW). The objective of this research is to understand in depth the concept of value co-creation when applied to the tourism industry and to identify opportunities that the tourists and destinations could have working together through online community interactions. To resolve this issue, three basic theory elements were put into place: co-creation of value, online community, and the touristic experience. A case study based on the qualitative approach - performed within Regional office of the Analamanga tourism ( Madagascar) - enabled us to clarify this issue.

Depression is one of the more common forms of mental illness experienced by people around the world. It is an illness which affects both men and women alike and does not target specific ages or nationalities. Depression is also an illness many suffer in solitude, often unable to pinpoint what exactly is wrong, rather identifying it as a “darkness” or sense of “numbness”. As we move into an age of growing technological changes, the Internet has become host to many forms of communities. These communities can be both modified versions of their offline original or whole new communities that did not exist to any great degree before the introduction of the internet. One such new form of online community are those designed for the support of peoples with depression and other mood disorders. Because of this growth in online communities and anthropology’s tradition of researching and understanding different groups of people, it is only appropriate that, as a discipline, it also moves online alongside these new communities. To do this, traditional field methods need to be reassessed and new potential problems and ethical dilemmas resolved. As online depression communities and internet ethnography are both relatively new fields of study, this thesis will examine the elements of both the online depression communities being studied, and the methods used in researching them. The reason I chose to research this topic is because, although depression as a subject has been covered many times before, and online community research is growing, there have been few studies undertaken on the two combined. In undertaking such research, this study will be of use for both academia and the public mental health sector. Academically, it provides us with an additional study venturing into online iii research and how to apply our tools within it. For the mental health sector, it provides an account as to how and why people with mental health issues deal with their problems, or at least begin to deal with them. This is important, as in the mental health sector many people with a mental illness may not reach out for help until in dire need. With the growth of online communities people may join earlier in their suffering and this knowledge could be of use for departments of mental health.

It seems that for many people, spaces on the web are an integral part of their lives. This may include seeking out learning opportunities in online communities. There is plenty of buzz about these cyberspaces whether they are part of new social media configurations or commercialized product-related spaces cultivated by enterprises. It is important to explore how online spaces mayor may notcreate new locations of educational possibilities for workers. The subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, fusion of these technologies into work-learning practices warrants attention. This research project focuses on online communities as sites of learning, with an over-arching question of: How do self-employed workers experience informal work-related learning in an online community? Community can describe a gathering of people online that is organic and driven by a shared interest. These online spaces may also be purposefully nurtured by professional associations, workplaces, or businesses. This research project focuses on these spacesoutside the auspices of formal online courses. I draw on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore how work-learning is enacted in online communities and the implications of the intertwining of people and objects in multiple, fluid and distributed actor-networks. I also use the notion of legitimate peripheral participation from Situated Learning theory to explore how different possibilities for learning are shaped by locations and trajectories within a work practice and larger community of practitioners. Data was collected by interviewing 11 self-employed workers and then following the actors as objects of interest surfaced. This dissertation is a collection of five papers as well as introduction and conclusion chapters and a background chapter on ANT. Findings explore notions of online collectives shifting to more networked configurations, the complexity of work-learning practices unfolding in multiple spaces, contradictions between Web2.0 rhetoric and practices as different associations with knowledge and novel ways of knowing are enacted, and questions about the politics of technology that emerge from uncertainties around delegation, invisible practices, and necessary literacies. Given the need to pull objects out of the background and into critical inquiry, I also explored how a researcher interviews technology objects as participants in a study. / Adult Education