In this research, it is suggested that design in text-based virtual worlds can be identified as a series of interactions between users and the virtual environment, and that these interactions for design can be approached using a linguistic perspective. The main assumption of this research is that a parallel can be drawn between the performance of design commands, and the one of speech acts in the physical world. Design in text-based virtual environments can then be articulated using a restricted set of speech acts, as design commands. Virtual worlds, represented as spaces, can be constructed following an architectural design metaphor. This metaphor provides a framework for the organisation of virtual entity relationships, and for the choice of words used to design. A linguistic characterisation is presented, by means of design activities, prototypes and scenarios, which derive from the architectural design metaphor. The characterisation of design is then validated by the analysis of an existing text-based virtual world.

Purpose: This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lyceum, an open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose. Design/methodology/approach: The following topics are explored: the evolution of libraries' uses of blogs, the advantages of conducting the reference transaction as a collaborative effort, and the use of blogs as an environment that fosters collaboration. The argument is made that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services Findings: It is argued that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services. Lyceum, an open source blogosphere application, is discussed as an environment for blog-based reference service. Originality/value: To date, blogs are not being used by a library reference services, and by few online reference service unaffiliated with libraries. This paper will be useful to libraries and other reference services interested in conducting the reference transaction as a community effort.

Research has repeatedly shown that computer-mediated communications (CMC) lead to higher levels of disclosure of personal information (Tidwell and Walther 2002). Recent studies have examined the role of increasingly common social media and social network services (SNS) on disclosure in a variety of contexts (Mazer et al. 2007; Tufekci 2008). The combination of personal demographic data, taste preferences, public disclosure of friend networks and now increasing usage of tools for instantly updating status (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) has, we believe, fundamentally altered users' understanding of the temporality of information and its (semi-)permanence. This study investigates users' willingness to disclose information with respect to how long ago that information may have been created or captured. Users were more willing to share items as time passed. Potentially, a "Later Button" should be put into practice to address this latent willingness (40% of sharing scenarios) to disclose information at a later date.

Purpose: This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lyceum, an open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose. Design/methodology/approach: The following topics are explored: the evolution of libraries' uses of blogs, the advantages of conducting the reference transaction as a collaborative effort, and the use of blogs as an environment that fosters collaboration. The argument is made that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services Findings: It is argued that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services. Lyceum, an open source blogosphere application, is discussed as an environment for blog-based reference service. Originality/value: To date, blogs are not being used by a library reference services, and by few online reference service unaffiliated with libraries. This paper will be useful to libraries and other reference services interested in conducting the reference transaction as a community effort.

This 105-page report is deposited with permission of the Digital Library Federation which retains copyright. It is freely available in html and pdf formats at the DLF Web site or may be purchased in softcover edition for $20 from DLF. / This report, commissioned by DLF, provides an overview of a diverse set of more than thirty digital library aggregation services, organizes them into functional clusters, and then evaluates them more fully from the perspective of an informed user. Most of the services under review rely wholly or partially on the Protocol for Metadata Harvesting of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI-PMH). Each service is annotated with its organizational affiliation, subject coverage, function, audience, status, and size. Critical issues surrounding each of these elements are presented in order to provide the reader with an appreciation of the nuances inherent in seemingly straightforward factual information, such as "audience" or "size." Each service is then grouped into one of five functional clusters: open access e-print archives and servers; cross-archive search services and aggregators; from digital collections to digital library environments; from peer-reviewed "referratories" to portal services; specialized search engines. This publication was deposited with permission of the publisher (Digital Library Federation Council on Library and Information Resources Washington, DC.).

A thematic analysis was conducted in order to reveal and identify central themes composing the motivational aspects of the popular Let’s Play media phenomenon. Nine informants with various connections to Let’s Plays were interviewed online through the use of a 17-item interview survey developed by the researcher. A total of five major recurring themes were discovered relating to the informants’ motivational reasons for making and viewing Let’s Plays as part of their spare time activities. Based on these discoveries, it can be assumed that the Let’s Play phenomenon contributes to modern-day need fulfillment relating to online socialization, entertainment, technological competence, commercialization and interpersonal relations between the media audience and the media personalities they follow. It was concluded that the Let’s Play phenomenon, and the communities contained within it, holds potential for the future development of videogame industry as a whole as well as being an interesting new arena for media research in general. Implications for further research within the field of Let’s Plays are therefore made in order to ensure the possibility of expanding the scientific knowledge surrounding this media phenomenon.

<P> This dissertation aims to advance empirical research in the realm of knowledge sharing in virtual communities and to help practitioners better understand the factors that inhibit (cost) or motivate (benefit) such behaviour. The impact of some costs and benefits (factors derived from social exchange theory) may be contingent upon certain social contexts or conditions (factors derived from social capital theory). To this end, two research models were developed (i.e., a main effects model and an interaction model) that integrate these two theories together. New constructs specific to the virtual community context were also incorporated. To test these models, an online survey was administered to 968 members of a large IT professional virtual community comprising millions of registered users. </p> <p> Findings from a structural equation modeling analysis of this data set suggest that specific benefits and social capital factors have direct effects on an individual's intention to share knowledge, and more importantly, the impacts of some benefits are contingent upon certain social capital factors. Specifically, the impact of online score rewards on an individual's intention to share knowledge with others in the virtual community is contingent upon that person's trust in the people who are seeking knowledge from that individual. Additionally, the impact of reciprocity on an individual's intention to share knowledge is moderated by pro-sharing norms in the virtual community. </p> <p> A major contribution of this dissertation is the provision of new theoretical insights that help explain how certain benefits and social capital factors affect knowledge sharing activity in virtual communities. It is hoped that these insights will help builders and managers of knowledge-based virtual communities better promote online knowledge sharing behaviours and improve the sustainability of such communities in the future. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In recent years, virtual communities have become increasingly popular among online users and businesses. Public press has shown a strong interest in virtual communities and announced their informational value. The explosive growth of virtual communities has aroused tremendous interest among academic researchers as well. Academic researchers have noticed that participation dynamics of virtual communities among online users create valuable information that influences subsequent economic outcome. However, relatively little research has explored the underlying motives of passive and active participation in virtual communities. In particular, research explicating how the information created by user participation influences users’ economic decisions has not been investigated. To investigate user participation dynamics and the resulting informational value of virtual communities, I explore three major issues in my dissertation. First, I investigate the determinants of passive and active users of virtual communities using survey data from 502 online investors. The results indicate that social, psychological, and community factors influence two different behavioral intentions – the intention to share and the intention to seek. For instance, social factors such as reputation seeking increase the intention to share in virtual communities, whereas psychological factors such as perceived knowledge deteriorate the intention to seek. Second, I explore how an online investor processes information posted on virtual communities and its subsequent economic outcomes by conducting a field experiment. I find that psychological bias (e.g., confirmation bias) influences investors’ information processing behaviors, which ultimately leads to a low return of investment as compared to economic rationales. Following this line of exploration, I empirically examine the relative informational impact of virtual communities on users’ decisions and market performance in the context of electronic markets. Using customer review data from a well-known online retailer and from three third-party customer review websites, I find that consumers obtain product information from external information sources during the information search stage for high involvement products and are thus less influenced by retailer-hosted information. All in all, my dissertation contributes to the understanding of user participation dynamics and informational value of virtual communities by investigating users’ information processing behavior and the subsequent economic outcomes and performance. / text

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre and Dance / Timothy R. Steffensmeier / Social Identity Theory has long held that group affiliation plays a predominant role in how we interact with others and the types of communication strategies that we deploy. Traditional scholarship on Computer Mediated Communication maintains an excessively interpersonal focus, detracting from its ability to theorize intergroup communication and conflict. This research study, conducted at the Internet bulletin board Americanwx.com, investigates the role that group identity plays in the everyday discourse of online message boards. In an ethnographic study spanning the course of 8 months and thousands of exchanges, research found that the structure of message boards themselves is implicated in the formation and maintenance of groups, and that once formed, groups tend to act in a manner that is consistent with Social Identity Theory.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a estruturação e a manutenção de uma comunidade virtual não-monetária - a Wikipédia lusófona , em consonância com os modelos organizacionais existentes. Com base em um norteamento teórico sobre algumas das mais influentes forças que atuam na sociedade, o trabalho segue de maneira qualitativa utilizando o método do estudo de caso, com o auxílio de observação, entrevistas e questionários como instrumentos de coleta e que foram aplicados aos integrantes e mantenedores da organização, de acordo com uma amostragem qualitativa. Os resultados obtidos indicam evidências de algumas teorias pré-concebidas e suas novas dimensões no contexto do ciberespaço. Há suposições da existência de um opinião pública interna que pode influir no sistema político tradicional. É possível observar uma relação de trocas entre o trabalho do membro da comunidade por necessidades pessoais. Ainda, se sugere que há uma espécie de mercado nessa organização, apesar de não existir intermediação financeira. Outra característica remete ao fato dos membros da comunidade arcarem com os custos transacionais do projeto. Para concluir, se verifica que o trabalho que mantém a organização pode ser uma base para analisar todas os modelos organizacionais em um único feixe teórico. / The aim of this work is to analize the structure and maintance of a non-financial virtual community portuguese language Wikipedia -, in relation to the structure\'s organization already existed. Based on the theoretical direction on one of those most influenced strenghts over the society, the work follows a qualitative way, using the method of case study research, being helped by the observation, interviews and questionaries as collection tool that were applaied on the members and supporters of the organization founded on qualitative sample. The results obtained indicate some evidence of pre-concepted theories and their new dimension on the ciberspace context. It\'s supposed that the public opinion can influence on the tradicional politic system. It\'s possible to observe an exchanging relation between the work of the community member by the personal needs. Than it\'s suggested there is a specific market in this organization although there isn\'t a financial relation. Another caractheristic refers of the fact to the organization\'s members deal with project\'s transation costs.To conclude, it\'s observed that the work which supports the organization can be a base to analyse all the organizations models in a unique theoretical bundle.