Technology enhancements of the past two decades have not successfully overcome the problem of low motivation in Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12). Motivation and math achievement have been identified as major factors contributing to the high school dropout problem (30-50% in traditional/online programs). The impact of extrinsic rewards on achievement and the dropout problem, however, remains a subject of debate. This dissertation seeks first to address this debate, through an investigation of reward system effectiveness in the blended learning environment, on at-risk students with varied intrinsic motivation factor scores. Next, the dissertation explores the importance of fit between students' reward perceptions and reward values when motivating student progress. To this end, the author has developed a new 6-factor motivation orientation model for students in blended learning environments, and a learner-configurable progress-based reward system (PBR) for Learner Content Management Systems (LCMS) based on this model. The hypothesized model was tested for fit with a sample of 353 at-risk high school math students in Miami, Florida. The PBR was developed based upon the findings from interviews with subject matter experts and students, factor and regression analyses used to test hypotheses about learner motivation and predict learner progress. Conclusions from the study informed the design of an integrated PBR. A 6-factor motivation orientation model was found to explain more of the variance (74%) in student motivation than earlier models. Contrary to Deci et al. (1999), hypothesis test results did not confirm adversarial extrinsic rewards/intrinsic motivation relationships. Furthermore, consistent with person-environment fit theory, learners demonstrated superior progress and achievement when extrinsic reward perceptions and values were well aligned. With critical input from flexible learning theorists, teachers, and students, the emerging PBR design may ultimately be integrated through mobile learning applications and social media, within LCMS solutions such as Blackboard, and systems commonly used in K-12, such as Apex. Although beyond the scope of the dissertation, the emerging Web-based design promises to play an important role in engaging a K-12 Community of Practice (CoP), consisting of telecommunications partners, game developers, retailers, and education stakeholders sharing a significant interest in future innovations that address the dropout problem.

WhatsApp’s growing presence in the developing world has led to a grassroots movement of messaging groups designed to serve relevant needs for small scale farmers in Kenya. These groups provide the means for as many as 256 members to ask questions, share experiences and solutions, gain access to information, and access markets for their products. This research project examines the use of these WhatsApp groups for agriculture in Kenya. The project seeks to understand the existing barriers to participation, and the use, benefits, and shortcomings of these groups for their members. Research findings indicated that farmers’ overall access to smart phones is a substantial barrier to their participation in groups for agriculture, and these barriers are expectedly more difficult for the poorest and most vulnerable (in which intersectional poverty creates additional barriers). However, while each group can vary significantly, members report that WhatsApp groups as a whole overwhelmingly benefit their livelihoods and practice. Systemic and societal change occurs when the experiences and successes of one individual are shared with a larger group – leading to rapid and shared prosperity. As each individual learns a new skill, technique, or input, the group must also learn and benefit from that knowledge. WhatsApp provides the means and the platform for this type of information exchange to occur at scale, and with individuals who would otherwise be unlikely to communicate. This research project examines the emerging use of grassroots WhatsApp groups as a potential example of this positive and inclusive approach to extension and development in agricultural communities.

Zielsetzung, Methodik und Aufbau des Artikels Virtuelle Communities (auch Online Communities, virtuelle Gemeinschaften oder Virtual Communities) stellen einen relativ neuen und bisher nur begrenzt erforschten Untersuchungsgegenstand dar. Eine virtuelle Gemeinschaft ist eine Menge von Menschen, die sich aufgrund eines gemeinsamen Interesses, eines gemeinsamen Problems oder einer gemeinsamen Aufgabe zusammenfindet und für das Interagieren unabhängig von Zeit und ihrer tatsächlichen physischen Lokation ist (Leimeister et al. 2002). Der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) kommt in diesem Zusammenhang eine elementare Bedeutung zu, da sie die geforderte Überwindung von Raum und Zeit ermöglichen kann (Hakansson/Johanson 1998). Mögliche Anwendungsbereiche von virtuellen Communities in und zwischen Organisationen reichen vom Gebiet der Kundenschnittstellen in Unternehmen (Customer Relationship Management, One-to-One Marketing (Stolpmann 2000)) über den organisationsinternen Wissenstransfer (Community-Plattformen als Wissensmanagement-Tool, (Schmidt 2000)) bis hin zu neuen Modellen der Nachfragebündelung (Armstrong/Hagel III 1995, 1996) und somit virtuellen Gemeinschaften als neuen eigenständigen, IKT-ermöglichten Organisationsformen mit eigenen Geschäfts-, Service- und Betreibermodellen (Hagel III/Armstrong 1997).

El presente trabajo promueve un nuevo modelo de negocio orientado a una industria nacional que empieza a ganar fuerza en el mercado. El proyecto presentado hace referencia a una plataforma web que fomenta la conectividad entre gamers, y ayuda a fortalecer el desarrollo de una comunidad por medio de una red de contacto. Esta plataforma web ofrece diferentes funciones, entre las cuales resaltan, actualización de noticias y eventos importantes publicados por los usuarios pertenecientes a la comunidad, ofrecer disponibilidad de acceso a torneos publicados por academias de e-Sports para captar competidores y espectadores. Por otro lado, también ofrece un canal de coaching siendo un vínculo entre gamer aficionados en búsqueda de capacitación y gamer con mejores destrezas de juego que necesitan o desean monetizar sus habilidades. Para poder validar todas las hipótesis previamente mencionadas se realizaron una serie de experimentos que nos ayudarán a entender mejor el mercado objetivo y poder adaptar nuestro modelo de negocio. Posteriormente a la validación, se realizaron ventas concretando con éxito el desarrollo de la plataforma y de tal manera poder evaluar si nuestro proyecto será sostenible en el tiempo. / The present work promotes a new business model oriented to a national industry that is beginning to gain strength in the market. The project presented refers to a web platform that encourages connectivity between gamers, and helps to strengthen the development of a community through a contact network. This web platform offers different functions, among which they stand out, updating important news and events published by users belonging to the community, offering availability of access to tournaments published by e-Sports academies to attract competitors and spectators. On the other hand, it also offers a coaching channel being a link between amateur gamer in search of training and gamer with better gaming skills who need or want to monetize them. In order to validate all the previously mentioned hypotheses, a series of experiments were carried out that will help us better understand the target market and be able to adapt our business model. After validation, sales were made, successfully specifying the development of the platform and in such a way being able to assess whether our project will be sustainable over time. / Trabajo de investigación

Cette recherche propose la création d’un premier modèle expliquant les relations entre les communautés virtuelles de consommation, leurs membres et leur écosystème virtuel de marques. À la différence des nombreux travaux sur le marketing tribal, concentrés sur les communautés de marque, l’auteur choisit d’axer son travail sur l’étude des communautés virtuelles non centrées autour d’une marque spécifique, permettant ainsi d’explorer pour la première fois divers cas de relations marque-communauté modulées par différentes variables telles que le niveau de congruence entre les valeurs d’une marque et celles de la communauté, le niveau d’intrusion et le niveau de contribution d’une marque dans la communauté. Outre l’identification de ces variables explicatives de la relation marque-communauté, cette recherche caractérise également l’ensemble des relations possibles entre marques et communautés tout en évaluant leur impact sur la relation individuelle marque-membre. Les résultats de l’étude de deux couples de marques testés dans deux communautés différentes montrent notamment que la recommandation d’une communauté à l’égard d’une marque a un impact positif sur la confiance d’un membre auprès de cette marque et que le dénigrement produit l’effet inverse. En revanche, contrairement à ce qui est observé dans les communautés de marque, le phénomène de co-création entre une marque et une communauté non marquée peut conduire à une érosion de la confiance d’un membre à l’égard de cette marque. La distinction entre communauté de marque et communauté « non marquée » est donc fondamentale dans l’étude de ces nouvelles structures sociétales. / This research explains the creation of a first model of relationships between virtual communities, their members and their brands virtual ecosystem. Unlike the many papers on tribal marketing, converging on brand communities, the author chooses to focus his work on the study of virtual communities not centered on a specific brand, allowing for the first time, the exploration of various cases of community-brand relationships modulated by several variables such as the congruence level between the values of the brand and those of the community, the contribution and the intrusion levels of the brand in the community. Besides the identification of these explanatory variables of the community-brand relationship, this research also describes all the possible relationships between brands and communities while assessing their impact on the individual relationship consumer-brand. The results of the study on two couples of brands tested on two different communities especially show that recommendation of a community about a brand has a positive impact on the member trust in this brand and that the denigration has the opposite effect. However, unlike what we observed in brand communities, the co-creation phenomenon between a brand and an “unbranded community” can lead to an erosion of the member trust in this brand. The distinction between brand community and “unbranded community” is therefore essential for the study of these new societal structures.

This diploma thesis seeks to describe the basic concepts of sociological approaches to identity as well as related concepts from the sociological reflections on the Internet. First, the thesis introduces the fundamental ideas of identity theories, as they were formulated by the authors of symbolic interactionism in the first half of the 20th century. Subsequently, the key sociological concepts of individual and collective identities are described in more details and in this context there is also reminded the social construction of reality theory, that provides an explanation of the connection between the individual and collective levels of analysis. Finally, this thesis discusses concepts reflecting the relationship between individual identities and communication on the Internet, especially within so-called virtual communities, and also introduces concepts, which seeks to characterize the role of Internet in the processes of collective identities formation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:23:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Silvia Martins Montrezol Antunes.pdf: 2721183 bytes, checksum: eb4722716ab2d74eb296fcac2d34dc9d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-20 / Fundap - Fundação do Desenvolvimento Administrativo / In order to understand how a Virtual Community of Teaching and Learning develops into a Virtual Community of teaching, learning and work, this study was to undertake an analysis, from theoretical benchmarks on the issues of learning and technology, discussed by Garrison and Anderson (2001, 2003 and 2005); of elements that make up the Interpersonal Metafunction, developed by Halliday (1991), and of elements of Appraisal addressed by Eggins (1997) and White (2000) from Martin (1994). They were also used for this analysis, the functions of mediation conducted by Gervai (2007) and assumptions and andragocics concepts, established by Chotguis (2007) and Tavares-Silva (2006), respectively. The corpus for conducting the search were the messages posted to the informal forum Coffee and the forum Module 1 and 2 to 1 and Stage forum Module 1 to 2 nd. phase, which make up the Training Course for Management and Improvement Programa Bolsa Família in the State of Sao Paulo. The analysis included three distinct phases, observed in Virtual Community: Stage 1 - The first contact the student / participant in the community; Stage 2 -. The Community after its reformulation, and Stage 3 - The community near its end. The goal of these stages was explain how the mediation takes place at the beginning of the work of the community, as the mediator contributes to the formation and strengthening of a Virtual Community of Learning, Education and Labor and as the students / participants interact with each other. The aim higher, to examine the issues related to each stage, it was understood as a Virtual Community of Learning and Teaching develops into a Commonwealth of Learning, Education and Labor. The mediations were examined in each of these stages, as well as the actions of the students / participants now also carrying out mediation in the virtual environment for learning / A fim de compreender como uma Comunidade Virtual de Ensino e Aprendizagem evolui para uma Comunidade Virtual de Ensino, Aprendizagem e Trabalho, o presente estudo buscou realizar uma análise, a partir de referenciais teóricos relativos às questões de aprendizagem e tecnologia, abordados por Garrison e Anderson (2001, 2003 e 2005); de elementos que compõem a Metafunção Interpessoal, desenvolvidos por Halliday (1991); e de elementos de Avaliatividade abordados por Eggins (1997) e White (2000) a partir de Martin (1994). Foram também utilizadas, para essa análise, as Funções da Mediação desenvolvidas por Gervai (2007) e pressupostos e conceitos andragógicos, estabelecidos por Chotguis (2007) e Tavares-Silva (2006), respectivamente. O corpus para a realização da pesquisa foram as mensagens postadas no fórum informal Café e no fórum Módulo 1 e 2 1ª fase e fórum Módulo 1 2ª. fase, que compõem o Curso Capacitação para Gestão e Aprimoramento do Programa Bolsa Família no Estado de São Paulo. A análise contemplou três fases distintas, observadas na Comunidade Virtual: 1ª fase O primeiro contato do aluno/participante na comunidade; 2ª fase .A Comunidade após sua reformulação; e 3ª fase A comunidade próxima de seu término. O objetivo dessas fases era esclarecer como a mediação é realizada no início dos trabalhos da comunidade, como o mediador contribui para a formação e o fortalecimento de uma Comunidade Virtual de Aprendizagem, Ensino e Trabalho e como os alunos/participantes interagem entre si. O objetivo maior, ao analisar as temáticas correspondentes a cada fase, foi compreender como uma Comunidade Virtual de Aprendizagem e Ensino evolui para uma Comunidade de Aprendizagem, Ensino e Trabalho. As mediações foram analisadas em cada uma dessas fases, assim como as ações dos alunos/participantes que passaram também a realizar mediações no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem

O presente trabalho tem como objeto de estudo a educação online, apresentando os principais elementos do ensino online colaborativo, com intuito de problematizar as características de virtualização, interação, colaboração e mediação, que representam fatores essenciais para a compreensão teórica e empírica dessa modalidade de ensino. Nesse contexto, a tese contribui com o debate sobre o tema em seus aspectos teórico-metodológicos, buscando compreender como essa modalidade pode amparar o ensino de maneira adequada e significativa, por meio de discussões acerca das tecnologias utilizadas, bem como às competências necessárias do professor mediador. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica a respeito dos elementos essenciais à educação online colaborativa e das teorias de aprendizagem interacionistas associadas a essa modalidade. Em seguida, o trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso, desenvolvido a partir de uma análise estatística de correlação, extraída por meio de um questionário fechado aplicado em estudantes do ensino superior. Além disso, o estudo de caso traz também uma análise qualitativa, pautada nas respostas abertas dos estudantes. Dos resultados desta investigação, o que se pôde abstrair foi que existem algumas premissas fundamentais para o êxito dessa modalidade educacional. Dentre as principais, estão os recursos que o ambiente virtual do curso oferece, bem como a interação e colaboração entre os alunos e o papel desempenhado pelo professor nesse ambiente. Esses elementos constituem o alicerce da educação online, pois é por meio deles que ocorre a ação educativa. Dessa harmonia entre a tecnologia disponível e o papel do professor resulta o grande trunfo da educação online, que é a interação entre os agentes do ensino. Essa forma de organização possibilita a criação de uma comunidade virtual, que tem como base as teorias de aprendizagem interacionistas, fundamentando aspectos essenciais da educação online, como a presença social e a construção coletiva de conhecimento. / The present paper has as object of study online education, presenting the main elements of collaborative online education, aiming at questioning the characteristics of virtualization, interaction, collaboration and mediation, which represent key factors for theoretical and empirical understanding of this modality of teaching. In this context, this thesis contributes to the debate on the subject in its theoretical and methodological aspects, seeking to understand how this method can support the teaching in an appropriate and significant way, through the discussions on the technologies used, as well as the necessary skills of the teacher mediator. For this, we performed a literature search regarding the elements essential to collaborative online education and theories of interactional learning associated with this modality. Then, the paper presents a case study, developed based on a statistical analysis of correlation, extracted through a closed questionnaire applied to higher education students. Moreover, the case study also brings a qualitative analysis, based on the open-ended responses of the students. Based on the outcomes of this study, we could conclude that there are some basic requirements for the success of this educational modality. Among the main requirements are the resources the virtual education environment offers, as well as the interaction and collaboration between students and the role the teacher plays in this environment. These elements constitute the foundation of online education, because they represent the means for educational action to occur. From this harmony between the available technology and the role of the teacher comes the trump card of online education, which is the interaction between the agents of education. This form of organization allows the creation of a virtual community that is based on the theories of interactional learning, supporting key aspects of online education, such as social presence and collective construction of knowledge.

虛擬社區即指原本各自獨立的電腦，因某種秩序或某種共通性被逐一串連，而創造出的網路上的新世界。在匿名的環境中人們更容易傾吐心聲，表達真實感受，殊不知個人隱私正點點滴滴被記錄與分析，也成了目標行銷的一大利器。本研究的主要重點，即在探討目前虛擬社區蒐集的個人資料內容與用途，同時援用相關法令以分析該關係行銷作法是否可能違反若干隱私權保護原則，以及試圖尋找關係行銷與網路隱私權的平衡點，讓廠商與消費者兩造各取所需互蒙其利。 　　透過對Blizzard、AOL、Geocities、Liberty Financial、Amazon等五個個案的分析，發現儘管虛擬社區分屬不同行業，提供的服務也相去甚遠，但所蒐集的顧客資料其實大同小異，唯可以蒐集目的來劃分關係行銷層次。且虛擬社區在維護方面無甚弊病，然在蒐集與利用部份，泰半違反隱私權保護原則（即蒐集限制、目的明確化、利用限制等原則）。 　　針對目前仍具爭議性的問題，本研究乃站在客觀的角度加以描述，並加入來自各方廣泛的討論內容；在整理分析過後，試圖提出適當建議，例如虛擬社區在資訊中介者與資訊統合者之間的定位問題，研討虛擬社區應當如何調整與第三者公司的合作關係，以及如何建立管理機制，讓關係行銷與隱私權保護能兩者得兼。 第一章 緒論 1 第一節 研究背景 1 第二節 研究動機 4 第三節 研究目的與研究問題 7 第二章 文獻探討 8 第一節 虛擬社區 8 第二節 顧客輪廓資料與關係行銷 14 第三節 隱私權概說 17 第四節 電腦處理個人資料保護法 27 第三章 研究方法 34 第一節 觀念架構 34 第二節 研究變數與衡量 36 第三節 研究設計 41 第四節 研究限制 45 第四章 個案研究 47 第一節 個案描述與分析 47 第二節 問題與討論 73 第五章 命題發展 78 第一節 個案觀察 78 第二節 命題推論 87 第六章 結論與建議 93 第一節 研究結論 93 第二節 研究建議 96 參考文獻 99

在大中華地區，與親朋好友至實體店面KTV唱歌是極為常見的娛樂方式，但近年來至外地念書以及至外地工作的情形屢見不鮮，因此要與親友齊聚一堂、共同歡唱實屬不易。本研究的目的乃是要提出一種創新服務的經營模式，藉由現有攝影、投影和軟體技術的組合與改良，搭配空間情境的塑造，打破地域的限制，滿足不同地區親友與網友跨地域聚會歡唱的需求。 為了找出可行的商業模式，本研究透過實地訪查臺北、北京、深圳以及雲南等地的實體店面KTV，以比較各地經營模式與服務內容的差異性；並透過實際嘗試使用線上KTV網站，以了解目前線上KTV的營運模式與優缺點；更透過訪談各類潛在消費者以及問卷調查與分析，來確認目標客群並評估目標市場的大小。本研究從調查中發現，此種跨域實境的服務除了可以滿足各地親友互相聯繫的需求外，還可滿足商業溝通、愛唱歌者媒合以及陌生網友聯誼等需求。本研究針對這四種需求的目標客群，設計不同的行銷計畫與收費方式，並提出階段性的事業發展計畫。 / In the Greater China region, singing at KTV with friends and family members is a very common entertainment. Studying and working outside the hometown has become very popular recently, so if you want to sing and gather with family and friends it may be quite difficult. The purpose of this study is to propose an innovative service business model, by combining and improving the existing photography, projection and software technology. The purpose will be achieved by shaping space scenarios, creating innovative goods and services that can break the geographical restrictions, and will give people opportunity to gather together. In order to find the viable business model, in this study I will compare differences between business model and services in KTVs in Taipei, Beijing, Guangzhou and Yunnan. I will try to use the online KTV site to learn the operating mode, pros and cons of online KTV, interview potential consumers, use the questionnaire survey, and then evaluate the size of the target market, identifying target customers and a viable business model. After being verified and amended repeatedly, this service will not only satisfy the demand of those, who want to gather with relatives and friends, but will also satisfy the demand of commercial communication, matching the people who love singing, and will also satisfy the activities of unfamiliar netizens. In this study, according to the demand for these four target customers, different marketing plans and charging methods will be designed, and phased development plan will be proposed.