Psychosocial Stages of Symbolic Action in Social Media

Social media provides new capabilities for engaging in symbolic action through digital content and network structure. Most social media research assumes that people engage in similar symbolic actions regardless of their developmental maturity. Developmental psychology, however, argues that people are capable of different symbolic engagement and exhibit predictable social needs during different stages of life, suggesting that they may use social media in very different ways at different stages. This research note explores the implications of Erikson’s psychosocial theory on symbolic action using social media, and concludes that people are likely to use social media in fundamentally different ways, depending on their stage of psychosocial development. These conclusions have numerous implications for social media theory, research methodology, and practice

Casting the Net: A Multimodal Network Perspective on Knowledge Management

Recent information systems research has challenged the tendency of researchers to focus upon single information system (Vertegaal 2003) or upon individuals simply as users of those systems (Lamb and Kling 2003). Responding to these critiques, this paper forwards a new paradigm through which to study knowledge management: the multimodal knowledge network. Drawing heavily upon the field of social network research, we argue that the way in which multiple individuals interact with one another and with multiple information management systems will have significant implications for organizational knowledge sharing outcomes. In this study, we conduct a comparative case study through which to begin building a theory of multimodal knowledge networks. We study five health care teams in a large health maintenance organization and find that, although these teams have identical portfolios of information management systems and a similar complement of employees, each team configures its knowledge resources differently to complete similar tasks. We find that the structures that result from these multiple interpersonal and human–systems interactions have implications on knowledge outcomes for the network. We develop propositions as a result of this analysis and outline directions for future research

Information Technology and Organizational Learning: An Investigation of Exploitation and Exploration Processes

This study investigates the effects of information technology on exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. We extend an earlier computational model of organizational learning and introduce learning between individuals through three distinct mechanisms: face-to-face exchange, IT-enabled communication support, and knowledge repositories. Each of these mechanisms has a distinct effect upon the exploration and exploitation dynamics in organizational learning, and we conclude that these capabilities offer firms a more robust ability to manage the exploration and exploitation balance in organizational learning

Which Came First? Contribution Dynamics in Online Production Communities

While considerable research investigates collaboration in online production communities, particularly how and why people join these communities, little research considers the dynamics of the collaborative behavior. This paper explores one such dynamic, the relationship between viewing and contributing. Building on established theories of community involvement, this paper argues that a recursive relationship exists, resulting in a mutually reinforcing cycle where more contributors lead to more viewers and, in turn, more viewers lead to more contributors. We also analyze the effect of time and anonymity within this dynamic relationship. This paper offers guidance for research into online production communities that builds on the large behavioral data these communities generate

Non-rotation of gut: with report of case of left-sided appendiceal abscess

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Efficiency and Distributional Effects of Federal College Subsidies during the Great Depression

We conduct the first quantitative assessment of federal college subsidies during the 1930s. Overlapping generation households invest in children’s education to maximize multigenerational utility, and the government subsidizes college to maximize enrollment subject to a budget constraint and recipients satisfying ability and income qualifications. A modelling innovation assigns children educational ability through a random regression to the population mean correlated with father’s presumed ability ranking via his percentile in fathers’ earnings distribution. Simulating the theoretical model, the equilibrium that replicates actual education distributions estimates federal college subsidies increased graduation rates of the cohort of White Americans reaching college age during the 1930s by 22.12% for men and 19.16% for women; the mean ability of subsidy recipients exceeded nonsubsidized students’ mean .4 s.d. The program favored middle income groups. Most benefits accrued to high ability students with fathers in the 4th through 6th deciles of fathers’ earnings distribution. The subsidies had no effect on the graduation rates of high ability students in the bottom two deciles of fathers’ earnings. A more universal government policy that maximized stipends subject only to the budget and income criteria would have increased annual stipends by about 50 thousand while only decreasing college students’ mean ability .13 s.d. Gender biases favoring higher male graduation rates remain a puzzle