What are communities of practice? A comparative review of four seminal works

This paper is a comparative review of four seminal works on communities of practice. It is argued that the ambiguities of the terms community and practice are a source of the concept's reusability allowing it to be reappropriated for different purposes, academic and practical. However, it is potentially confusing that the works differ so markedly in their conceptualizations of community, learning, power and change, diversity and informality. The three earlier works are underpinned by a common epistemological view, but Lave and Wenger's 1991 short monograph is often read as primarily about the socialization of newcomers into knowledge by a form of apprenticeship, while the focus in Brown and Duguid's article of the same year is, in contrast, on improvising new knowledge in an interstitial group that forms in resistance to management. Wenger's 1998 book treats communities of practice as the informal relations and understandings that develop in mutual engagement on an appropriated joint enterprise, but his focus is the impact on individual identity. The applicability of the concept to the heavily individualized and tightly managed work of the twenty-first century is questionable. The most recent work by Wenger – this time with McDermott and Snyder as coauthors – marks a distinct shift towards a managerialist stance. The proposition that managers should foster informal horizontal groups across organizational boundaries is in fact a fundamental redefinition of the concept. However it does identify a plausible, if limited, knowledge management (KM) tool. This paper discusses different interpretations of the idea of 'co-ordinating' communities of practice as a management ideology of empowerment

Identity and motivation for engagement within a professional distributed community of practice

textMany learning organizations are using communities of practice as a strategy for knowledge sharing among members. Ensuring those members' participation in the activities of the community remains a problem for instructional designers, particularly in the case of communities that use an electronic environment as a means of communication. Wenger (1998) suggests that developing an "identity of participation" is the basis for an individual's motivation to participate in the practices of a community. In order to better understand the interplay of identity and motivation, this study supplemented Wenger's work with self-determination theory, which focuses on how motivation is produced by an individual's personality developing and functioning in a social setting. This framework was used in a mixed-methods study of a distributed community of practice for instructors from many different universities, in order to better understand the interplay between identity, motivation, and participation in such a community. The study found that age was an identity factor that made a statistically significant difference in motivation in this community, with participants over 60 years of age indicating that their basic needs for motivation were not being met as well as other age groups. It was also found that those who identified themselves as experts within the community did not feel motivated to share their knowledge, but instead saw their role as a passive receiver of information. Contrary to expected outcomes, community members did not report having technical concerns that hampered their motivation to participate, nor did they indicate having issues with the overseeing organization for this community. However, members did feel that the universities that employed them exerted undue control over their participation within this community, particularly in regards to demands on their time.Curriculum and Instructio

Interaction and knowledge exchange among academic business librarians in Ontario

A research project submitted to the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communications and Technology in 2005.Academic business librarians specialize in the provision of library services to business faculty and students but often assume these roles without an educational background in Business or a familiarity with business information. This study used a two phase multi-method research design (web-based questionnaire followed by interviews) to investigate the communication, information seeking, and continuing professional education (CPE) activities of a population of academic business librarians in Ontario into order to develop a better understanding of how they acquire and share knowledge related to their professional practice and to determine if they constitute a community of practice

A qualitative analysis of small business owner-managers\u27 participation and learning in an online discussion forum : not quite paradise found

Small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in formal face-to-face training and learning activities. Research to encourage SBOMs\u27 participation has focused on two main themes: first, trying to ascertain why they do not attend training and, second, determining their learning preferences. They are reluctant to attend formal training because they prioritise business operations (no time to attend training), perceive training as a poor return on investment, have negative perceptions of training and education, and believe the training provision often does not meet their needs. In terms of their learning preferences, it is clear that SBOMs prefer informal, network-based, experiential and problem-oriented learning. As such, efforts to increase SBOMs‘ engagement in training and learning should focus on trying to incorporate these learning preferences while endeavouring to overcome their rationale for not attending formal training. In this thesis, the focus is on the provision a free, informal, voluntary, online discussion forum (ODF) for SBOMs as an alternative to face-to-face training. The ODF provided an alternative to formal face-to-face training and enabled informal, voluntary, networkbased learning for SBOMs that met their learning preferences for experiential and problem-oriented learning. The ODF also overcame their reasons for not attending faceto- face training and enabled SBOMs to learn in an informal way, with and from each other‘s experiences, without having to leave their business operations. This approach was expected to promote the greater engagement of SBOMs in learning. This cross-disciplinary study brings together elements of educational psychology in terms of learning theory and the emerging theories of online learning. It also takes a business and management perspective in applying these theories in small firm context. The study involved the development of an asynchronous ODF, which was guided by the literature regarding SBOMs‘ training and learning, learning theory, online learning and, in particular, the importance of discussion for promoting relevant, authentic learning that enables interaction and reflection. The ODF provided a learner-centred approach to learning that encouraged active learning based on social interaction through discussion. Discussion was based on problems, issues and questions posted by SBOMs in the online network and answered by the knowledge and experience of other SBOM members of the network. As such, the ODF provided learning that was relevant, authentic and interactive and that encouraged reflection. The ODF set up for this research used Yahoo Groups, third party, groupware technology that enabled free access to SBOMs from a networked computer (other networked devices were not available in 2007). The Yahoo Groups ODF developed for this research was an online collaborative learning (OCL) forum that provided the basis of the case study reported in this thesis. The research was undertaken to explore the following research questions: Does an ODF empower SBOMs as active learners? What factors (internal and external) lead to different levels of participation (inactive, peripheral participants, active) in an ODF? What learning (single- or double-loop, surface or deep) results from different levels of participation in an ODF? The research was conducted using constructivist ontology, an interpretive epistemology and a qualitative methodology. The case study approach was used to evaluate SBOMs\u27 participation and learning using the OCL forum, using reliable data from SBOMs. Data from four sources—the OCL forum transcript, in-depth interviews, focus groups and field notes—were used to provide insight into participation and learning by SBOMs in the context of owning and operating a small business. Pozzi, Manca, Persico and Sarti‘s (2007) framework for tracking and analysing the learning process in an ODF was used to provide a structured approach to the analysis of participation and learning from the OCL forum transcript data. This was followed by a detailed thematic analysis of all data to determine what factors affected participation and learning by SBOMs in the OCL forum. Findings from this research provided proof of concept that an ODF for SBOMs supported double-loop learning; however, participation could not be assumed. Although the ODF provided a learning approach that met the SBOMs‘ learning preferences and mitigated their reasons for not attending formal training, the majority of invited SBOMs chose not to participate. Internal factors pointed to SBOMs‘ learning commitment, in particular, their occupational identity, whether they linked learning with business success, and their prior experience with ODFs. When SBOMs had committed to learning, they made time to learn in an ODF. External factors showed that the ODF technical and learning design also affected SBOMs‘ decision to participate, as did the quality of learning design; however, it appears external factors are less influential than the internal factor of SBOMs‘ learning commitment. This thesis makes four contributions: The importance of SBOMs‘ learning commitment in their decision to participate (or not) in a voluntary ODF Proof of concept that an informal ODF can promote deep learning for SBOMs Challenge to the idea purported by the more recent learning theory of heutagogy (Kenyon & Hase, 2001) that all learners in an online networked environment are self-determined Research design, exploratory, multiple data collection methods from the SBOMs—both those who participated in the ODF and those who chose not to take part

Online patients knowledge sharing: the role of web peer exchanges in the diabetes care

Il web 2.0 ha totalmente riconfigurato il mondo della prevenzione e promozione della salute. In particolare esso ha cambiato il ruolo e le tipologie di scambi tra pazienti. Tali scambi sono centrali in quanto permetto di costruire e condividere conoscenza utile nella cura. Sebbene la rilevanza dei processi di costruzione e condivisione tra pazienti online siano chiarita dalla letteratura, questa area di studi comprende una varietà e confusione di etichette e teorie non chiariti e condivisi. Scopo di questa ricerca è di studiare gli ambienti e scambi online sul diabete in Italia tramite esplorazione sistematica del web al fine di capire come processi di condivisione e costruzione di conoscenza funzionano e come i contesti online li riconfiguranoThe Web 2.0 has totally changed the healthcare prevention and communication world .In particular, it has reconfigured lay exchanges between patients. These exchanges are important because they allow knowledge processes (like knowledge sharing or knowledge building). Although the importance of online knowledge processes between patients is well established, this field of study brings together a variety of theories with concepts not uniformly shared or understood. It’s not clear how patients use Web 2.0 for knowledge processes. The aim of this research is to study online contexts and exchanges about diabetes in Italy by developing a systematic exploration of Web 2.0 in order to define how knowledge processes work and how online contexts shape the

Factors Affecting Participation in Online Communities of Practice

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis (Wenger et al, 2002). An understanding of why working, technical professionals participate in knowledge- based communities of practice can provide better opportunities to support individual and organizational knowledge management strategies. Online communities of practice were investigated at two global corporations: Xerox and IBM. At Xerox, Eureka is an internal network service designed to support knowledge sharing and problem solving by a community of practice for field service technicians. It allows the submission of problems from field service technicians and the retrieval of validated solutions for use and adaptation, by all members of the global Eureka community. At IBM Corporation, public network based communities of practice were investigated that focused on db2™ and Websphere™ software technology. Unlike the Xerox Eureka community of practice, knowledge contributions at IBM communities of practice are not validated prior to submission and access is open to public participation globally by IBM employees and by independent users of IBM software technology. The purpose of this case study research was to explore and to describe how and why participants became members of communities of practice – what influenced them to join and to participate. We collected survey data from participants in these communities, to examine the relationships among members’ expectations of purpose, their relationship to the community of practice, their attitudes toward information handling, the costs and benefits of membership, the size of the community of practice and the resulting participation behaviour in these knowledge-based communities of practice at Xerox Corporation and IBM Corporation. As one aspect of exploring user behaviour, we investigated the applicability of two theoretical frameworks for understanding user behaviour in these communities, based on propositions from normative and utility theory and from public goods critical mass theory. The research study provides a test for the explanatory power of public goods, utility and normative theories in a new area; namely, online knowledge-based communities of practice in workplace contexts. This analysis provided support for the applicability of utility theory and for some aspects of public goods-based theory/critical mass theory. The findings of the case study point out some differences in the two communities of practice. A majority of the IBM-based community members reported belonging to multiple communities (6-10) and using access to the community to form online social networks and to meet members outside the community at in-person meetings. They reported their participation as being self-directed and on an ad hoc basis. Most respondents were community members for less than 2 years. In contrast, a majority of Eureka members reported belonging only to the Eureka community and do not report forming online social networks in Eureka. Participation in Eureka is seamlessly integrated into prescribed, standard work practices of the company and supported by company management and with resources. Most respondents were community members for over 5 years. The analysis of members’ contributing behaviour in two online communities of practice reaffirms that the majority of members are passive participants with a core group of regular message contributors. Message composition is a careful and deliberate activity requiring communication discipline, time and effort. Members in both settings reported a strong desire to spend more time in their communities (and more time per visit). Communities of practice are dynamic complex entities that present not only a theoretical challenge but also a practical challenge. This study’s results point to the complexity of facilitating communities of practice: benefits dynamics and flow and permanence dynamics of membership can only be externally managed to a limited extent. The participants’ roles need to be conceptualized in ways that support different types of participation while at the same time highlighting the inherently cooperative nature of self-managed communities of practice

Serviço social e ambiente: a sustentabilidade ecológica das comunidades socialmente vulneráveis

«Serviço Social e Ambiente: a sustentabilidade ecológica das comunidades socialmente vulneráveis», consolidou um processo de pesquisa em Serviço Social, cujo objectivo geral foi analisar o conceito de eco-bairro e a intervenção do Serviço Social, numa visão multifocal através de uma abordagem de empowerment, em que as comunidades e os seus parceiros sejam co-autores num processo participativo de construção colectiva de modelos de desenvolvimento integrado e sustentável. Procuramos identificar as competências básicas necessárias para a prática ambiental no domínio do Serviço Social e conhecer como a intervenção dos assistentes sociais se destaca em networking, no envolvimento dos vários sectores das comunidades vulneráveis e compreender a sua importância para desenvolvimento sustentável. Na metodologia optou-se pelo paradigma interpretativo e por um estudo de natureza explicativa e misto, de pesquisa no terreno, utilizando métodos quantitativos e qualitativos, como a observação não participante, inquérito por questionário e entrevistas semi-directivas. Como resultados destacamos que o Serviço Social estabelece uma forte ligação com o ambiente e o desenvolvimento sustentável, como profissão e como disciplina académica. O seu foco nos direitos humanos, justiça social e desenvolvimento de comunidades cria uma base sólida sustentada em intervenções participativas e em processos internacionais para uma prática ambiental. Concluímos ainda que a possibilidade de criação de um modelo de Serviço Social que valorize, de forma particular, a inter-relação das dimensões sociais e ambientais constitui uma mais-valia para a profissão, dado o seu carácter interventivo e o seu significado social. Por conseguinte, a prática de intervenção, em simultâneo com investigação, dá aos profissionais a oportunidade de reflectir e inovar no seu fazer profissional e idealmente situados para prosseguir com as questões da justiça ambiental e promover o desenvolvimento sustentável, uma tarefa complexa dadas as estruturas sociais que separam os indivíduos do seu ambiente físico.“Social Work and Environment: ecological sustainability of socially vulnerable communities” has consolidated a research process in Social Work, in which the main objective was to analyse the concept of eco-neighbourhood and the intervention of Social Work through a multifocal vision with empowerment approach, where communities and its partners are co-authors in a participatory process for the collective construction of models for an integrated and sustainable development. We tried to identify the basic skills needed for an environmental practice in the Social Work domain and to understand how the practice of social workers excels in networking, and in the involvement of various sectors of vulnerable communities and its importance to sustainable development. The methodology chosen was the interpretative paradigm and a study of explanatory and mixed nature of field research, using quantitative and qualitative methods, such as non-participant observation, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The results highlight that social work establishes a strong link with the environment and sustainable development, as a profession and as an academic discipline. Its focus on human rights, social justice and community development creates a solid foundation for sustained participatory interventions and international processes for environmental practice. We conclude also that the possibility of creating a model of social work that values in a special way the interrelationship of social and environmental dimensions is an asset to the profession given its interventionist character and its social significance. Therefore, the practice of intervention, along with research, gives professionals the opportunity to reflect and innovate in their professional practice and positioning them to pursue the issues of environmental justice and to promote sustainable development, which is a complex challenge due to the social structures that separate people from the physical environment

Information Dynamics and Discourse in a Distributed Professional Community

Professional associations could use virtual communities to reinvent their relationships with their members. One promising building block would be to revitalise Special Interest Groups as loose knit Internet based communities. These would be what has been called “networks of practice ” or “communities of interest”. Although recognised phenomena, these terms are little more than labels, however. Far more has been written about the rich, close knit relations of communities of practice. This paper argues that as a model the community of practice concept is useful in defining dimensions by which such looser knit groups can be studied. To this end, community of practice theory is reviewed. The paper then presents a case study of an informal community among web developers. It uses genre analysis to identify a dominant discourse which constitutes the list’s local culture or repertoire. The genres in use are very efficient means of exchanging information, offering broad learning opportunities. They also construct a member identity. They exclude social and political issues, constructing “the problem ” of the web as technical. The “network ” has a sense of community, yet it does not have the level of engagement of a community of practice because of the lack of task interdependence, the limits of the technology in use and the size of membership. This has some advantages such as giving it a longer life, requiring less commitment from members and coordinators and making it scale to numbers in a professional association. Professional associations could build up from such networks of practice, just as corporations have sought to cultivate spontaneous informal groups, to manage knowledge. 1