Social networks and performance in distributed learning communities

Social networks play an essential role in learning environments as a key channel for knowledge sharing and students' support. In distributed learning communities, knowledge sharing does not occur as spontaneously as when a working group shares the same physical space; knowledge sharing depends even more on student informal connections. In this study we analyse two distributed learning communities' social networks in order to understand how characteristics of the social structure can enhance students' success and performance. We used a monitoring system for social network data gathering. Results from correlation analyses showed that students' social network characteristics are related to their performancePostprint (published version

Network formation with closeness incentives

We study network formation in a strategic setting where every agent strives for short paths to the other agents. The main parameter of our model is the marginal rate of substitution between network benefits and linking costs. We provide boundaries of stable networks for increasing and decreasing marginal returns. The formulated model stands in strong relation to the famous connections model (Jackson and Wolinsky ‘96): we show that for certain parameter values both models induce the same network structures.

The dynamics of closeness and betweenness

Although both betweenness and closeness centrality are claimed to be important for the effectiveness of someones network position, it has not been explicitly studied which networks emerge if actors follow incentives for these two positional advantages. We propose such a model and observe that network dynamics differ considerably in a scenario with either betweenness or closeness incentives compared to a scenario in which closeness and betweenness incentives are combined. Considering social consequences, we find low clustering when actors strive for either type of centrality. Surprisingly, actors striving for closeness are likely to reach networks with relatively low closeness and high betweenness, while this is the other way round for actors striving for betweenness. This shows that in both situations the network formation process implies a social dilemma in which the social optimum is not reached by individual optimizing.networks, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, actor utility, network dynamics, social dilemma

Empirical investigation of relational social capital in a virtual community for website programming

A virtual community of interest has a specific and narrow topic of discussion. Therefore, these communities attract registered members who are focused on knowledge sharing. The current research examines whether network ties, which are an aspect of structural social capital that can be categorized into strong and weak social ties, can provide a non-trivial explanation for members? trust, reciprocity, and identification in a virtual community for website programming interest. This relationship enables us to examine a context in which members share a common goal of resolving programming problems through knowledge sharing in contrast with other community settings where only general topics are discussed (e.g., societal and emotional issues). Data were collected through a survey of a virtual community for website programming composed of 69 members. Affirming conventional perception, results of the study indicate that weak ties affect the level of generalized trust and facilitate group identification. Remarkably, the number of members? strong ties is not significantly related to the degree of their perceived norms regarding generalized reciprocity. Reciprocity refers to a mutual expectation that a benefit granted at present should be repaid in the future. The results suggest two key points. First, even for a virtual community of interest, weak ties overshadow strong ties in explaining the outcome variables. Second, reciprocity is not guaranteed even in a focused form of discussion with a non-social topic that involves specialized knowledge. Therefore, virtual community members should be cautious even if ties are strong. Overall, results imply that virtual community administrators, particularly those who manage specialized communities, should be attentive to the strong and weak ties that exist among the community members

O Efeito das Estratégias de Conhecimento no Desempenho das Empresas

Nos últimos anos, a gestão do conhecimento (GC) tem vindo a ganhar uma maior importância como campo de estudo, passando de uma teoria para uma componente essencial para qualquer organização. Este estudo propõe um modelo de investigação, desenvolvido com base na intensidade do conhecimento e na maturidade dos sistemas de informação (SI), de modo a entender-se quais os efeitos das estratégias de GC no desempenho das empresas. Tendo como base a visão baseada no conhecimento, foram identificados os tipos e origem do conhecimento, e posteriormente definidas quatro estratégias de GC: codificação externa, codificação interna, personalização externa e personalização interna. O estudo empírico comporta dados primários, recolhidos por questionário, a uma amostra de 112 inquiridos em Portugal Continental. Os resultados do estudo revelam que apenas duas estratégias de GC, codificação externa e interna, estão associadas ao desempenho da GC, tendo como base o grau de intensidade do conhecimento, e o grau de maturidade dos SI. Para as estratégias de personalização (interna e externa) os resultados não mostraram um efeito significativo no desempenho. Este estudo para além de contribuir para a identificação das estratégias de GC e respetivos dos efeitos no desempenho das organizações, pode auxiliar empresários, gestores e outros cargos de gestão de topo a formular uma estratégia de GC mais adequada, tendo como base as contingências existentes entre ambas as combinações externas e internas.In recent years, knowledge management (KM) has gained greater importance as a field of study, going from a theory to an essential component for any organization. This study proposes a research model, developed based on the intensity of knowledge and the maturity of information systems (IS) to understand the effects of KM strategies on company performance. Based on the knowledge-based view, the types and origin of knowledge were identified, and then four KM strategies were defined: external codification, internal codification, external personalization and internal personalization. The empirical study comprises primary data, collected by questionnaire, from a sample of 112 respondents in mainland Portugal.The results of the study reveal that only two KM strategies, external and internal codification, are associated with KM performance, based on the level of knowledge intensity and the level of maturity of the IS. For personalization strategies (internal and external) the results did not show a significant effect on performance. This study, in addition to contributing to the identification of KM strategies and their effects on the performance of organizations, can help entrepreneurs, managers and other top management positions to formulate a more appropriate KM strategy, based on the existing contingencies between both external and internal combinations

Data center resilience assessment : storage, networking and security.

Data centers (DC) are the core of the national cyber infrastructure. With the incredible growth of critical data volumes in financial institutions, government organizations, and global companies, data centers are becoming larger and more distributed posing more challenges for operational continuity in the presence of experienced cyber attackers and occasional natural disasters. The main objective of this research work is to present a new methodology for data center resilience assessment, this methodology consists of: • Define Data center resilience requirements. • Devise a high level metric for data center resilience. • Design and develop a tool to validate and the metric. Since computer networks are an important component in the data center architecture, this research work was extended to investigate computer network resilience enhancement opportunities within the area of routing protocols, redundancy, and server load to minimize the network down time and increase the time period of resisting attacks. Data center resilience assessment is a complex process as it involves several aspects such as: policies for emergencies, recovery plans, variation in data center operational roles, hosted/processed data types and data center architectures. However, in this dissertation, storage, networking and security are emphasized. The need for resilience assessment emerged due to the gap in existing reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) measures. Resilience as an evaluation metric leads to better proactive perspective in system design and management. The proposed Data center resilience assessment portal (DC-RAP) is designed to easily integrate various operational scenarios. DC-RAP features a user friendly interface to assess the resilience in terms of performance analysis and speed recovery by collecting the following information: time to detect attacks, time to resist, time to fail and recovery time. Several set of experiments were performed, results obtained from investigating the impact of routing protocols, server load balancing algorithms on network resilience, showed that using particular routing protocol or server load balancing algorithm can enhance network resilience level in terms of minimizing the downtime and ensure speed recovery. Also experimental results for investigating the use social network analysis (SNA) for identifying important router in computer network showed that the SNA was successful in identifying important routers. This important router list can be used to redundant those routers to ensure high level of resilience. Finally, experimental results for testing and validating the data center resilience assessment methodology using the DC-RAP showed the ability of the methodology quantify data center resilience in terms of providing steady performance, minimal recovery time and maximum resistance-attacks time. The main contributions of this work can be summarized as follows: • A methodology for evaluation data center resilience has been developed. • Implemented a Data Center Resilience Assessment Portal (D$-RAP) for resilience evaluations. • Investigated the usage of Social Network Analysis to Improve the computer network resilience

The network-performance relationship in knowledge-intensive contexts – A meta-analysis and cross-level comparison

This study examines the generalizability of the network‐performance relationship across individual and group levels, focusing on knowledge‐intensive contexts. Drawing on a meta‐analytical approach, we synthesize the results of 102 empirical studies to test whether network characteristics such as centrality, brokerage, and tie strength similarly influence the job performance of individuals and groups. Results show that while there are no differences in the direction of the network‐performance relationship across levels, there are substantial differences in magnitude. Individual performance profits more strongly from a high number of direct connections, whereas groups reap higher benefits from brokerage positions. Additional analyses reveal that the network measurement method, tie content, and performance criteria function as moderators of the network performance relationship, but their influence is consistent neither across network characteristics nor across levels. By meta‐analytically comparing and contrasting the network‐performance relationship for individuals and groups, we contribute to multilevel research on networks and organizations. Particularly, we move toward the development of a multilevel homology theory of networks. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Marco de trabajo para la gestión del conocimiento y la innovación en redes organizacionales

Son múltiples los estudios relacionados con la gestión de redes organizacionales; sin embargo, a pesar de los avances en la literatura, la gestión del conocimiento y la innovación en redes organizacionales son disciplinas que se abordan en forma independiente -- Por este motivo, el objeto del presente trabajo es proponer un marco de trabajo para la gestión del conocimiento y la innovación en redes organizacionales, que propicie una comprensión de los elementos clave para la gestión del conocimiento y la innovación en redes -- La investigación se aborda a través de una revisión bibliográfica en la que se determinan los diferentes enfoques, perspectivas y tendencias de las redes organizacionales, las redes de conocimiento, las redes de innovación y la gestión de redes organizacionales -- El análisis y la comprensión de esta información da paso a la propuesta de un marco de trabajo para la gestión del conocimiento y la innovación en redes organizacionales, compuesto por elementos de gestión -- Por un lado, se encuentran los elementos técnicos que se relacionan con el análisis del entorno, el propósito del conocimiento y la innovación en la red organizacional, la planificación y la movilización eficiente de los recursos del conocimiento y de innovación entre los actores -- A su vez, dichos elementos técnicos interactúan en forma simultánea con elementos ideológicos, que aportan la generación de vínculos sociales y lazos de confianza al favorecer la sinergia entre los actores y de esta manera se convierten en elementos transversales que influyen en forma directa en la gestión del conocimiento y la innovaciónThere are multiple studies related to the management of organizational networks; however, despite of the advances in the literature, knowledge management and innovation in organizational networks, these are disciplines that are addressed independently -- For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for knowledge management and innovation in organizational networks, which promotes an understanding of the key elements for knowledge management and network innovation -- The research is approached through a bibliographic review in which the different approaches, perspectives and tendencies of the organizational networks, the knowledge networks, the innovation networks and the management of organizational networks are determined -- The analysis and comprehension of this information gives a way to the proposal of a framework for the management of knowledge and innovation in organizational networks, composed of management elements -- On one hand, there are the technical elements that are related to the analysis of the environment, the purpose of knowledge and innovation in the organizational network, the planning and the efficient distribution and mobilization of knowledge and innovation resources among the actors -- At the same time, these technical elements interact simultaneously with ideological elements, which contribute to the generation of social links and bonds of trust that favor synergy among the actors, which in this way become cross-cutting elements that directly influence the management of knowledge and innovatio

Developing Software Requirements for a Knowledge Management System that Coordinates Training Programs with Business Processes and Policies in Large Organizations

For large organizations, updating instructional programs presents a challenge to keep abreast of constantly changing business processes and policies. Each time a process or policy changes, significant resources are required to locate and modify the training materials that convey the new content. Moreover, without the ability to track learning objects to processes and policies, training managers cannot conduct an effective training gap analysis in these areas. As a result, the corporate training picture is unclear and instructional needs cannot be accurately determined. The research addressed these problems by recognizing the need for linkages between an organization\u27s business processes, its policies, and the learning objects that package the corresponding training content and deliver it to the workforce. The overall investigation was completed in three parts. In the first study, a thorough examination of the literature was conducted to determine the extent of the research problem and to provide a theoretical foundation for a solution. In the second study an expert panel was used to elicit user needs for a knowledge management system that addresses training management shortcomings in a large law enforcement agency. Another expert panel from that agency validated and prioritized the user needs during the third study. Through a combination of research-based elicitation and validation techniques, an accurate list of natural language software requirements emerged to represent the collective needs of the law enforcement training experts. The software requirements may now serve to analyze the capabilities of existing information technology systems or to form the basis for a request for proposal (RFP) to build the envisioned knowledge management system