51,050 research outputs found

    The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

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    The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined

    Exploring online community participation

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    Firm-hosted online brand communities, in which consumers interact regarding brand-centric topics, represent a fascinating context to study the motives of participation within the community. Theories of social capital and collective action are extended to begin understanding why individuals contribute, as they receive no immediate benefit, and “lurkers” have the same access to that contributed knowledge as everyone else. Building on the concept of means-end chain, that is we seek out certain attributes as a means to achieve a desired end state, the linkage between online brand community attributes, individual need, and personal values is ethnographically examined. By way of in-depth laddering interviews, why individuals participate will be answered through understanding how that participation fulfils individual need and enhances personal value. The main study comprises two approaches – participant observation in the community, and individual in-depth interviews with 32 community members. Over 2222 data points and 750 ladders were discovered and analysed using the laddering technique. Seven themes emerged as to why individuals actively participate in an online brand community – belonging, recognition, helping others, knowledge, professional advancement, personal development, and entertainment

    Contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services: An investigation in China

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    Copyright @ 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Reuse of this article has been approved by the publisher.In this paper, the authors explore the influences of two major contextual factors—supplier team members’ cultural understanding and trust relationship—on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services. The authors discuss a joint investigation conducted by a cross-cultural research team in China. Cultural understanding is measured by individualism with guanxi and mianzi, two Chinese cultural concepts, and trust relationship is measured by adjusting trust, a notion reflecting the uniqueness of the Chinese people. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing. Performance is measured by the outcomes of global sourcing, which is represented by product success and personal satisfaction. Data are collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 200 structured questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers. The results of quantitative data analysis indicate that cultural understanding influences trust relationship greatly, as well as knowledge sharing and performance in global sourcing of IT services. Trust relationship significantly impacts knowledge sharing, whereas trust relationship and knowledge sharing have no impact on performance. This study suggests that special aspects of the Chinese context have significant direct impacts on knowledge processes while no direct and immediate impacts on performance in global sourcing of IT services.National Natural Science Foundation of China, Program for Humanity and Social Science Research, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University in China and Brunel University's Research Development Fund

    Knowledge sharing and professional online communities acceptance : an integrated model

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    This study aims to advance empirical research in the realm of the use of professional online communities for knowledge sharing. Use of these communities is likely to be influenced not only by social factors but also by cognitive and technological factors. Hence, drawing upon theoretical and empirical foundations and contextually relevant previous research, three theoretical frameworks were developed and applied, in which relational factors (trust), individual factors (knowledge/system self-efficacy), and technological factors (system quality and content quality) were integrated together with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the use of professional online communities to acquire/provide knowledge among professionals. To test these theoretical models, an online web-survey was administered to 366 members of eight professional communities in Egypt.Employing covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM), the results of this study confirmed that professional online communities have emerged as an essential channel to facilitate knowledge sharing among professionals. Performance expectancy and personal outcome expectancy were found to be the strongest determinants of professional online community use. Relational capital - trust - was found to be a significant predictor of usage behaviour. However, for members who used the community for knowledge provision, trust was found to have a stronger influence than was perceived trust on using the community for knowledge acquisition. For members who used the community for knowledge acquisition, effort expectancy and social influence revealed significant effect, in contrast to members who use the community for knowledge provision. Regarding the hypotheses common to both use behaviours, the findings demonstrated some significant differences. Content quality, for example, seemed to have a clearly stronger influence on trust than system quality in all models. Content quality showed stronger effect on trust for using professional online communities for knowledge provision than using for knowledge acquisition, while system quality was found to be a stronger predictor of trust in the use for knowledge acquisition. For effort expectancy, system quality tended to have a stronger influence than system self-efficacy in all models; however, the influence of system quality on effort expectancy tended to be more important when online communities are used for knowledge acquisition.As for moderating effects, the influence of performance expectancy on use for knowledge acquisition and the influence of personal outcome expectancy on use for knowledge provision were found to be moderated by users’ gender (stronger for men) and age (stronger for younger users), while the influence of performance expectancy on use for knowledge acquisition was found to be influenced by users’ experience (stronger for less experienced users)

    Goal Setting Theory and Leading Virtual Teams: What Should Leaders Understand of Goal Setting in Virtual Environment?

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    Tutkimuksessa pyrittiin selvittämään, tulisiko tiimien johtajien pyrkiä painottamaan tiettyjä päämääräteorian osa-alueita johtaessaan tiimejä virtuaalisessa työympäristössä. Tutkimus keskittyi erityisesti määrittelemään päämääräteorian mekanismeja, ymmärtämään mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat virtuaalisten tiimien tehokkuuteen, sekä ymmärtämään mitä haasteita tiimien johtajat saattavat kohdata virtuaalisessa työympäristössä. Empiirisen tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluina, jotka perustuivat kuuteen ennalta-määriteltyyn teemaan. Tutkimuksen aineisto analysoitiin sisällönanalyysina. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmä muodostui yksityisomisteisten yritysten toimistotyöntekijöistä (N=14), jotka olivat kansalaisuudeltaan suomalaisia ja joiden ikä vaihteli 18–35-vuotiaan välillä. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, kuinka yksilöiden kokemukset virtuaalisessa työympäristössä työs-kentelemisestä vaihtelivat. Palautteen saamisessa koettiin olevan haasteita, joiden nähtiin johtuvan virtuaalisen työympäristön erilaisista kommunikaatiotavoista. Henkilökohtaisten- ja tiimin päämäärien yhdentäminen koettiin suhteellisen helppona, jota perusteltiin hyvin määritellyillä päämäärillä ja tavoitteilla. Tiimin vastuun- ja johtajuuden jakaminen koettiin pitkälti vaivattomana, jonka syyt vaihtelivat. Ympäristötekijöiden riittävyydessä ja tarvittavan tuen saamisessa koettiin olevan haasteita, joiden nähtiin johtuvan etenkin kommunikaation ja tiedonvälityksen haasteista. Virallisten rakenteiden hyödyllisyys koettiin merkittävänä, ja tämän nähtiin helpottavan työskentelyä virtuaalisessa työympäristössä. Yhtenäisyyden tunteita koettiin virtuaalisessa työympäristössä harvoin, jonka nähtiin johtuvan etenkin virtuaalisten kommunikointitapojen erilaisuudesta. Haastatteluun vastanneiden yksilöiden arvioitiin olevan keskimäärin melko tyytyväisiä työskentelyyn virtuaalisessa työympäristössä. Yksilöiden tilanteiden (mm. pidempi kokemus etätyöskentelystä) ja luonteiden (mm. palautteen saamisen tarve) väliset erot nähtiin eräinä selittävinä tekijöinä vastausten vaihtelevuudelle. Tutkimuksen johtopäätelmänä esitettiin alustavaa virtuaaliseen työympäristöön mukautettua päämää-räteorian mallia. Mukautetussa päämääräteorian mallissa neljän osa-alueen merkityksen nähdään korostuvan virtuaalisessa työympäristössä: päämäärien tarkkuuden, palautteen antamisen, tarvittavan tietotaidon omaamisen, sekä ympäristötekijöiden huomioimisen. Merkittävimpänä jatkotutkimus-aiheena nähtiin päämääräteorian moderaattorien merkityksen vahvistaminen, sillä aikaisemmassa tutkimuksessa on todettu myös neljännen moderaattorin (sitoutuneisuuden) vaikutus tiimien tehokkuuteen virtuaalisessa työympäristössä.The aim of this thesis was to reveal if leaders should emphasize certain elements of goal setting when they lead teams in virtual environment. This thesis focused especially on defining the mechanisms of Goal Setting Theory, on understanding which factors influence the efficiency of virtual teams, and on understanding what kind of challenges leaders might face in virtual environment. The data of empirical study was gathered through theme interviews, of which were based on six predefined themes. The data was analyzed through the methods of content analysis. The sample of this thesis consisted private-owned companies' office workers (N=14), of who were Finnish and whose age varied between 18 and 35-year-old. The findings of this thesis revealed how individuals' experiences of working in virtual environment varied. Receiving feedback was experienced as challenging, which was caused by the different communication means. Aligning personal- and teams' goals was experienced as relatively easy, which was justified by well-defined goals and objectives. Sharing teams' responsibilities and leadership was experienced as rather effortless. Sufficiency of situational factors and receiving necessary support was experienced as challenging, which was caused especially due to communication- and knowledge exchange - related differences. The importance of structures was experienced as significant, and structures were perceived to facilitate working in virtual environment. Feelings of cohesiveness were rarely felt in virtual environment, which was seen to be due to the different communication means. Altogether, interviewees were relatively satisfied with their working in virtual environment. Differences between individuals' situations (e.g. longer experience from virtual environment) and characteristics (e.g. need to have feedback) were perceived as one defining factor for varying experiences. As a conclusion, this thesis represented a preliminary model for adjusting Goal Setting Theory for virtual environment. In adjusted model of Goal Setting Theory, the importance of four elements of Goal Setting Theory was seen to become highlighted in virtual environment: specificity of goals, giving and receiving feedback, having sufficient abilities and skills, and acknowledging situational factors. Confirming the importance of Goal Setting Theory’s moderators was perceived as the most significant suggestion for future research, as earlier research had also recognized the influence of the fourth moderator (commitment) on the effectiveness of virtual teams

    Cultivating Systems Leadership in Cross-Sector Partnerships: Lessons from the Linked Learning Regional Hubs of Excellence

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    Investments in the social sector have become increasingly complex, with many foundations shifting from supports for single organizations toward more systemic strategies focused on improving outcomes for entire communities. As a result, the field has become awash in regional, or place-based, investments that rely on cross-sector partnerships and networks to drive change. These efforts require coordination among stakeholders across all levels of the practice and policy continuum – from direct service providers, to nonprofit intermediaries, funders, advocacy organizations, and policymakers.It is in this context, and in the spirit of continuous learning, that The James Irvine Foundation's Linked Learning Regional Hubs of Excellence investment serves as a systems change experiment, offering insights and critical lessons that can inform others undertaking similar work. The aim of this Issue Brief – authored by Equal Measure and Harder+Company – is to contribute to field dialogue and learning about the role of leadership in complex systems change strategies, particularly those focused on producing equitable impacts in college and career readiness.Equal Measure and Harder+Company serve as the evaluators of The James Irvine Foundation's Linked Learning Regional Hubs of Excellence. They work in partnership with Jobs for the Future, the intermediary and technical assistance provider for this initiative

    Determinants of academics’ knowledge sharing behavior in United Arab Emirates Universities

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    This research aims to determine the factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior among academics in United Arab Emirates universities and identify the effect of university type on academics’ behavior. The research adopted Ajzen’s amended Theory of Planned Behavior. Employing an online survey, data were collected from academics in public and private universities using a questionnaire. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling. The results found a significant difference in academics’ knowledge sharing behavior between public and private universities. Results also revealed that intention is the main determinant of knowledge sharing behavior, and that attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy have significant influence on intention while controllability has no influence on it. The significance of this research lies in that it is one of the first to use the amended theory and the only research to address knowledge sharing behavior in higher education in the Arab World. This research provides useful basis for higher education institutions to create a knowledge sharing culture and helps academics to enhance their performance

    Determinants of Academics’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior in United Arab Emirates Universities

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    This research aims to determine the factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior among academics in United Arab Emirates universities and identify the effect of university type on academics’ behavior. The research adopted Ajzen’s amended Theory of Planned Behavior. Employing an online survey, data were collected from academics in public and private universities using a questionnaire. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling. The results found a significant difference in academics’ knowledge sharing behavior between public and private universities. Results also revealed that intention is the main determinant of knowledge sharing behavior, and that attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy have significant influence on intention while controllability has no influence on it. The significance of this research lies in that it is one of the first to use the amended theory and the only research to address knowledge sharing behavior in higher education in the Arab World. This research provides useful basis for higher education institutions to create a knowledge sharing culture and helps academics to enhance their performance
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