Thesis (M.Arch.)(Prof.)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Institutions of higher education are harnessing the communication ability of the Internet to offer classes and academic degree programs. This study investigated adult students during their first semester in a distance delivered doctoral program. The purpose of the study was to examine the use of web-based communication tools and their ability to establish a community of practice enabling the new students to share solutions related to distance doctoral study. This case study included the entire cohort of a distance delivered Ed.D. in Agricultural Education administered jointly by Texas Tech and Texas A&M Universities. Data collection methods included a semi-structured telephone interview, containing an adapted Sense of Community Index and postings on a Wiki (editable web page). Data analysis produced a participants’ profile and their use of web-based communication tools. This study found that (a) a variety of web-based tools enabled the students to connect with their cohort on a routine basis, (b) it is possible to establish a community of practice using a variety of web-based communication tools, (c) after one semester the cohort is an embryonic community of practice (d) the students were able to assist each other with concerns that helped them acclimate to learning online and their doctoral program, (e) students appreciate the flexibility that distance education offers but some prefer a traditional education, (f) students were frustrated with the technology during the first few weeks of their program, (g) new doctoral students desire instruction in the use of the course management system, the online library, and scholarly writing, (h) the students feel a strong sense of community, (i) use of web-based communication tools are vital as they assist in the student’s learning, (j) students felt isolated from their cohort until they participated in a group project even though they had the use of web-based communication tools at their disposal. The results of this study suggest that opportunities for students to engage socially with their peers should be built into the design of online classes and degree programs. Future research is recommended to examine the sustainability and desirability of virtual communities of practice.

One way to strengthen the bond between popular applications and their online user communities is to integrate the applications with their communities, so users are able to observe and communicate with other users. The result of this integration is a Multiuser Online Application (MOA). The problem studied in this thesis is that MOA users and systems will be overloaded with information generated by large communities and complex applications. The solution investigated was to filter the amount of information delivered to users while attempting to preserve the benefits of dwelling in a MOA environment. This strategy was evaluated according to the amount of information it was capable of reducing and the effects as seen by MOA users. It was found that filtering could be used to substantially reduce the information exchanged by users while still providing users with the benefits of integrating application and community.

Content Management Systems (CMSs) are widely used to create online communities supporting organizations, classes, and groups. These communities provide various functionalities, e.g. discussion forums, shared repositories for documents and links, collaborative spaces, and different communication channels, like chat or instant messaging. Often the range of functionalities offered is unnecessarily rich, and some remain unused, leading to cluttered users workspaces and difficulties in finding information. Currently, communities that are developed with CMS do not allow user customization. Even for the community owner (e.g. a teacher, a group manager), it is hard to customize the functionality and interface of a community, because this requires some programming skills. I have designed new CMS allowing users of an online community (both owners and regular users) to design and configure their personal view of the communitys dashboard by adding the functionalities that are present in the communitys homepage and arranging them on the screen according to their preferences.

In large, open and distributed systems, agents are often used to represent users and act on their behalves. Agents can provide good or bad services or act honestly or dishonestly. Trust and reputation mechanisms are used to distinguish good services from bad ones or honest agents from dishonest ones. My research is focused on trust and reputation management in decentralized systems. Compared with centralized systems, decentralized systems are more difficult and inefficient for agents to find and collect information to build trust and reputation. In this thesis, I propose a Bayesian network-based trust model. It provides a flexible way to present differentiated trust and combine different aspects of trust that can meet agents different needs. As a complementary element, I propose a super-agent based approach that facilitates reputation management in decentralized networks. The idea of allowing super-agents to form interest-based communities further enables flexible reputation management among groups of agents. A reward mechanism creates incentives for super-agents to contribute their resources and to be honest. As a single package, my work is able to promote effective, efficient and flexible trust and reputation management in decentralized systems.

One way to strengthen the bond between popular applications and their online user communities is to integrate the applications with their communities, so users are able to observe and communicate with other users. The result of this integration is a Multiuser Online Application (MOA). The problem studied in this thesis is that MOA users and systems will be overloaded with information generated by large communities and complex applications. The solution investigated was to filter the amount of information delivered to users while attempting to preserve the benefits of dwelling in a MOA environment. This strategy was evaluated according to the amount of information it was capable of reducing and the effects as seen by MOA users. It was found that filtering could be used to substantially reduce the information exchanged by users while still providing users with the benefits of integrating application and community.

Content Management Systems (CMSs) are widely used to create online communities supporting organizations, classes, and groups. These communities provide various functionalities, e.g. discussion forums, shared repositories for documents and links, collaborative spaces, and different communication channels, like chat or instant messaging. Often the range of functionalities offered is unnecessarily rich, and some remain unused, leading to cluttered users workspaces and difficulties in finding information. Currently, communities that are developed with CMS do not allow user customization. Even for the community owner (e.g. a teacher, a group manager), it is hard to customize the functionality and interface of a community, because this requires some programming skills. I have designed new CMS allowing users of an online community (both owners and regular users) to design and configure their personal view of the communitys dashboard by adding the functionalities that are present in the communitys homepage and arranging them on the screen according to their preferences.

In large, open and distributed systems, agents are often used to represent users and act on their behalves. Agents can provide good or bad services or act honestly or dishonestly. Trust and reputation mechanisms are used to distinguish good services from bad ones or honest agents from dishonest ones. My research is focused on trust and reputation management in decentralized systems. Compared with centralized systems, decentralized systems are more difficult and inefficient for agents to find and collect information to build trust and reputation. In this thesis, I propose a Bayesian network-based trust model. It provides a flexible way to present differentiated trust and combine different aspects of trust that can meet agents different needs. As a complementary element, I propose a super-agent based approach that facilitates reputation management in decentralized networks. The idea of allowing super-agents to form interest-based communities further enables flexible reputation management among groups of agents. A reward mechanism creates incentives for super-agents to contribute their resources and to be honest. As a single package, my work is able to promote effective, efficient and flexible trust and reputation management in decentralized systems.

Institutions of higher education are harnessing the communication ability of the Internet to offer classes and academic degree programs. This study investigated adult students during their first semester in a distance delivered doctoral program. The purpose of the study was to examine the use of web-based communication tools and their ability to establish a community of practice enabling the new students to share solutions related to distance doctoral study. This case study included the entire cohort of a distance delivered Ed.D. in Agricultural Education administered jointly by Texas Tech and Texas A&M Universities. Data collection methods included a semi-structured telephone interview, containing an adapted Sense of Community Index and postings on a Wiki (editable web page). Data analysis produced a participants’ profile and their use of web-based communication tools. This study found that (a) a variety of web-based tools enabled the students to connect with their cohort on a routine basis, (b) it is possible to establish a community of practice using a variety of web-based communication tools, (c) after one semester the cohort is an embryonic community of practice (d) the students were able to assist each other with concerns that helped them acclimate to learning online and their doctoral program, (e) students appreciate the flexibility that distance education offers but some prefer a traditional education, (f) students were frustrated with the technology during the first few weeks of their program, (g) new doctoral students desire instruction in the use of the course management system, the online library, and scholarly writing, (h) the students feel a strong sense of community, (i) use of web-based communication tools are vital as they assist in the student’s learning, (j) students felt isolated from their cohort until they participated in a group project even though they had the use of web-based communication tools at their disposal. The results of this study suggest that opportunities for students to engage socially with their peers should be built into the design of online classes and degree programs. Future research is recommended to examine the sustainability and desirability of virtual communities of practice.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-299).