As online applications such as online newsgroups, internet game-rooms, online chat-rooms, and peer-to-peer (P2P) resources-sharing systems become popular, online community visualization became a hot research topic. Different forms and metaphors of visualizations focused on various aspects of online communities have been proposed. In this thesis, I propose one prototype of online community visualization which is designed to motivate user contributions in various aspects and stimulate users to participate in the online community more actively. The uneven participation is a well known problem in human society; according to the 80-20 rule, 20% of the people make 80% of contributions, for example, 20% of the employees in a company do 80% of the work. This problem exits in all kinds of online communities, e.g. newsgroups, chat-rooms, but it is particularly crucial for P2P online resources-sharing communities. Such communities do not have a central server and rely solely on the peers not just to provide contributions, but also to ensure the infrastructure. Large P2P file-sharing communities like KaZaA and Limewire can provide the redundancy of peers and resources needed to support the infrastructure and availability of resources. However, when an online community is small, for example, the students in a class, a research group, a department, or a school, the problem of lack of users it is hard to reach a critical mass of user participation, leading to poor service and resource availability, which reduces users interest in participating in the system. To attract users and motivate them to make more contributions into an online resources-sharing community, I propose to use motivational visualization of the community and the contributions of its members. The motivational effect of the visualization is grounded on two theories in social psychology which explain how individuals align their behaviour with each other and with their group (community). In this thesis, I discuss three stages in the design of the visualization and the subsequent redesigns following results from evaluation and user feedback.

As online applications such as online newsgroups, internet game-rooms, online chat-rooms, and peer-to-peer (P2P) resources-sharing systems become popular, online community visualization became a hot research topic. Different forms and metaphors of visualizations focused on various aspects of online communities have been proposed. In this thesis, I propose one prototype of online community visualization which is designed to motivate user contributions in various aspects and stimulate users to participate in the online community more actively. The uneven participation is a well known problem in human society; according to the 80-20 rule, 20% of the people make 80% of contributions, for example, 20% of the employees in a company do 80% of the work. This problem exits in all kinds of online communities, e.g. newsgroups, chat-rooms, but it is particularly crucial for P2P online resources-sharing communities. Such communities do not have a central server and rely solely on the peers not just to provide contributions, but also to ensure the infrastructure. Large P2P file-sharing communities like KaZaA and Limewire can provide the redundancy of peers and resources needed to support the infrastructure and availability of resources. However, when an online community is small, for example, the students in a class, a research group, a department, or a school, the problem of lack of users it is hard to reach a critical mass of user participation, leading to poor service and resource availability, which reduces users interest in participating in the system. To attract users and motivate them to make more contributions into an online resources-sharing community, I propose to use motivational visualization of the community and the contributions of its members. The motivational effect of the visualization is grounded on two theories in social psychology which explain how individuals align their behaviour with each other and with their group (community). In this thesis, I discuss three stages in the design of the visualization and the subsequent redesigns following results from evaluation and user feedback.

Bakgrund - Med internets framväxt har nya kommunikationsvägar öppnats och möjliggjort samskapande mellan användare utan koppling till tid eller rum. Wikipedia är ett community som har dragit nytta av den nya teknik, som internet har fört med sig, och sajten är idag den sjätte största på internet. Som alla communities styrs Wikipedia av normer och värderingar (Schouten & McAlexander 1995). Dessa värderingar möjliggör att användarna kan skapa artiklar och därigenom värdet på Wikipedia. Vargo och Lusch (2004) menar dock att organisationer endast kan ge tjänsteerbjudanden och att värdet sedan skapas tillsammans med användaren. Studien kartlägger hur Wikipedias värderingar styr användarna till att skapa artiklar på sajten. Detta kopplas sedan mot tjänsteerbjudandet, som Wikipedia ger deras användare, för att se hur värderingarna påverkar värdeskapandet.   Problemformulering - Hur styr gemensamma värderingar värdeskapandet på Wikipedia? Referensram - Teorin som ingår i referensramen kommer behandla området styrning av communities (Schouten & McAlexander 1995) samt hur värde samskapas i processer (Vargo & Lusch 2004). Då Wikipedia är ett online community finns också ett avsnitt om hur värden skapas inom så kallade brand communities (Schau et al. 2009). Metod - Studien har genomförts genom användandet av en kvalitativ metod som kallas netnografi. Metoden tar sin utgångspunkt i Kozinets (2002, 2006) fyra steg för hur en netnografisk studie ska genomföras men den har dock modifierats i enlighet med Langer och Beckman (2005). Diskussion och slutsats - Beroende på hur värderingarna styr skapandet av artiklarna kommer Wikipedias tjänsteerbjudande att stämma överens med det som communitiet skapar. Värderingarna kan styra skapandet av artiklar så att tjänsteerbjudandet kan följa fem olika vägar, från att fundamentalt följa Wikipedias officiella principer, till att negligera principerna. Utifrån Echeverri och Skålén (2011) har sedan förutsättningarna för Wikipedias värdeskapande tagits fram.

Online communities (OCs) are an important source of electronic-word-of-mouth (e-WOM), but few studies have examined such messages in a Middle Eastern context. This research develops a conceptual framework that can be used as an instrument to guide empirical work in the field of e-WOM in female OCs. Researchers in similar areas may find this work useful as exemplifying a novel approach to the study of e-WOM adoption in different OCs. This study, of e-WOM adoption in two female-only Arabic-language online forums in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is grounded in three models: the Information Adoption Model, the Information Systems Continuance Model and the Knowledge Contribution Model, because no particular theory or set of theories currently dominates OC research. In particular, researchers are strongly recommended to start building their own theories of e-WOM phenomena, because this area is still young and has grown rapidly in recent years. The research design comprises two phases. The first is a content analysis, which was appropriately used to analyse the online textual conversations, since it offers a deep understanding of the phenomenon in its real context. The purpose of this phase was to identify the main determinants of e-WOM adoption in female OCs in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, from which a conceptual model could be developed. It investigated the characteristics of the messages influencing the adoption of e-WOM. It began with a pilot study, where 90 threads were analyzed, followed by the content analysis of the two cases. A total of 765 threads were analysed in the Kuwaiti case, comprising 6200 messages broken down into 17,832 units of analysis. In the Saudi case, 1168 threads were analyzed, containing 17,320 messages and 31731 units of analysis. In both cases there was a prevalence of emotional features in messages, coded as ‘community bonding’. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted, with the aim of illuminating the similarities and differences in terms of e-WOM determinants between Kuwaiti and Saudi culture by refining the research model codes and sub-codes. This phase was also intended to answer research questions on the current situation in terms of online role behaviours in female-only online beauty forums in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; on how online behavioural roles influence females to adopt e-WOM; and on the role in e-WOM adoption of the following demographic variables: nationality, age, marital status, employment, education level, hours spent in the community and length of community membership. Fifty women, comprising 25 members of each of the two communities, were interviewed online to gain more knowledge of the factors that impede or facilitate the adoption of e-WOM. The qualitative results show that argument quality, community bonding and information need fulfilment were all significant in affecting participants’ tendency to adopt e-WOM. This study concludes with specific implications for relevant theories and useful findings at the individual, organizational and societal levels.

På senare år har organisationer börjat samarbeta med konsumenter för att tillsammans ta fram idéer och skapa nya produkter. Organisationen samskapar då ett värde tillsammans med konsumenterna, även kallat Co-Creation. Detta tillvägagångsätt har blivit allt vanligare tack vare utvecklingen av webbteknologin. Organisationer kan nu skapa innovation tillsammans med konsumenter online genom bland annat innovation communities. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vad som motiverar användare i organisationsdrivna communities att delta i CoCreation. Detta för att ge en ökad insikt kring hur ett innovation community kan skapas för att motivera konsumenter att bidra till Co-Creation. För att svara på detta genomförde vi en netnografisk studie bestående av observationer och intervjuer. Studien visade att användare motiveras av både inre och yttre motivationsfaktorer och att dessa är samverkande. Som bekräftat av tidigare studier ser vi också vikten av interaktion från organisationen sida. I uppsatsen tas problem upp som kan påverka användares motivation till att bidra. Vi tar även upp vilken betydelse de yttre motivationsfaktorer har och hur dessa påverkar användarens inre motivation. / In recent years, organizations have begun to work with consumers to jointly develop ideas and create new products. The organization co-create a value with consumers, also known as co-creation. This approach has become increasingly common, thanks to the development of Web technology. Organizations can now create innovation together with consumers online, for example through innovation communities. The aim of the study was to examine what motivates users in the organization driven online communities to participate in co-creation. This is to give greater insight into how an innovation community can be created to motivate consumers to contribute to co-creation. To answer this research question, we conducted a netnographic study consisting of observations and interviews. The study showed that users are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and that they co-operate. As confirmed by previous studies we also see the importance of interaction from the organization. In this thesis we address issues that can affect users' motivation to contribute. We also discuss the importance of the extrinsic motivational factors and how they affect the users’ intrinsic motivation.

Der fortschreitende Wandel im Energiemarkt tangiert mittlerweile viele Bereiche unseres Lebens. Mit Hilfe von intelligenten Netzen, in denen sämtliche komponenten miteinander vernetzt sind und aktiv kommunizieren, soll ein wesentlicher Beitrag zur Erhöhung der Energieeffizienz geleistet werden. Bestandteil dessen sind Smart Meter. Man versteht darunter fernablesbare Stromzähler, die unter definierten (aber dennoch aktuell diskutierten) Rahmenbedingungen in Gebäuden die traditionellen Ferraris-Zähler ersetzen sollen.

User contributions are vital to online communities; therefore it is important to know how to motivate user participation to ensure flow and quality of content, and to generate more traffic and revenue to community owners. In contrast to previous research which has explored the motivations of participants in already existing online communities, I investigate whether a new niche online community with a particular focus(women in Science and Engineering sharing their personal experiences through stories) can be started through a design that follows best practices for community design and principles derived from theories of motivation. The design of the WISETales community is based upon insights from literature in three main areas: social psychology, computer science, and gender studies. A social visualization which serves informational, navigational and motivational tool was also developed. One pilot study and two exploratory studies were carried out to evaluate the need for such a community, its design and interface usability. The design of the community and visualization, along with the results from the studies, their analysis and discussion are presented in the thesis.

User contributions are vital to online communities; therefore it is important to know how to motivate user participation to ensure flow and quality of content, and to generate more traffic and revenue to community owners. In contrast to previous research which has explored the motivations of participants in already existing online communities, I investigate whether a new niche online community with a particular focus(women in Science and Engineering sharing their personal experiences through stories) can be started through a design that follows best practices for community design and principles derived from theories of motivation. The design of the WISETales community is based upon insights from literature in three main areas: social psychology, computer science, and gender studies. A social visualization which serves informational, navigational and motivational tool was also developed. One pilot study and two exploratory studies were carried out to evaluate the need for such a community, its design and interface usability. The design of the community and visualization, along with the results from the studies, their analysis and discussion are presented in the thesis.

The purpose of this formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008) was to describe the stages of development of an online platform that cultivated the growth of an online community of practice for teaching professionals. One hundred and forty-eight elementary school professionals participated in this study. Relying primarily on qualitative data, an iterative process of data gathering, analysis, and reflection was used prior to, during, and after the implementation of the intervention, LiteracyGrows.org, to describe performance and determine progress toward the pedagogical goal. Qualitative data were coded for recurring themes derived from the following sources: interview data, user-profile information, Google Analytics, email correspondence and open-rates, webinar archives, heat map data, and a researcher reflection journal. Micro-analysis revealed that the success of the intervention was related to the usability and sociability of the platform. It was easy to navigate and appealed to teachers as a social networking tool that was only for education professionals where they could share information and attend live or archived webinars to extend learning. Reflection on a macro-level was used as a tool to further explore LiteracyGrows.org as a model of professional development. Specifically, how it was situated within the larger landscape of professional development and what it offered in terms of alignment between learning theory, epistemology, and model of professional development and communication, worldview, and knowledge. These constructs were important factors to consider in creating a platform for meaningful dialogue and professional growth to take place. LiteracyGrows.org provides the foundation for future research to further explore how online professional platforms can be utilized to make professional development an on-going and sustainable component of support and growth for education professionals. The growth of online professional platforms by educators will also shift the conversation of professional development further away from delivery and more toward meaningful engagement by educators as active participants in their own knowledge construction. Recommendations include the continuation of the discussion of professional development in terms of epistemological alignment. This study highlights disconnect between teachers and their professional development experiences when expectations, perceptions, and understanding of what they are engaging in for growth do not align. Furthermore, reconstructing the way professional development is embedded within practice to better engage the 21st Century teacher using up-to-date technology.

Thesis advisor: Candace Jones / Online communities support collective action without many of the constraints that have belied collective actors and formal organizations in the past. They have become increasingly pervasive platforms for activism as well as potential catalysts for novelty in organizing practices. Scholars have shown that by leveraging affordances of the Internet, these communities have displaced or become complements to face-to-face organizations such as churches, community centers, labor unions and political groups that have traditionally structured civic engagement. Few empirical studies, however, systematically address how processes ranging from mobilization to the coordination of complex, large-scale collective action and practices that enable and support these processes are different in online environments. In this dissertation, I provide conceptual background that supports the study of online communities as dynamic and diverse modes of civic engagement. I reveal how locations, boundaries, interactions and identities are instantiated differently in online communities, influencing processes and practices that are crucial to social change. Using Internet-based ethnographic methods, I examine: (1) how an online community called `Anonymous' experiences shifts in purpose as it transitions from being focused on recreation to becoming both an incubator and support system for several social change projects and (2) how the community adopts a repertoire of coordinating practices that allows it to organize complex projects. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.