Virtual Communities of Practice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Pender Greene
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Sociologists and social workers have long been invested in understanding the role of communities in shaping identities and influencing behavior; however, the study of virtual communities is still new despite the dramatic ways in which online social networks have replaced traditional, geographically bound conceptions of community. The present article briefly reviews some of the early theories of community that have influenced practically all scholars studying computer-mediated virtual communities. The focus then shifts toward an analysis of early, important theorists focusing on virtual communities. The article concludes by examining contemporary research and practices utilizing virtual communities in social work, with a particular emphasis on ways to integrate virtual communities into professional practice.

Virtual Communities of Practice as a Support for Knowledge Sharing in Social Networks

2012 ◽  
pp. 374-387
Author(s):  
Yóris Linhares de Souza ◽  
Fernanda Farinelli ◽  
George Leal Jamil ◽  
Maria Celeste Reis Lobo de Vasconcelos ◽  
Gutenberg Marques Dias
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Relationship ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Knowledge as a result of people’s interaction is an essential factor for organizations facing actual business complexity. Social networks, whose creation and usage have been facilitated from the development of information and communication technologies, improved the conditions for interactive and collaborative answers at a very fast pace. In this sense, virtual communities of practice appear as an important way to share knowledge among groups of people joined by common interests, such as the search for solutions for problems, development of competences, professional relationship upgrades, growth of productivity, and general working quality. However, some barriers have emerged to the social network members, such as lack of trust, real incentives, and time to dedicate in order to contribute in these communities. In this chapter, aiming to evaluate such scenarios, a multiple case study methodology was conducted, starting from a literature review of main concepts, giving support for a final assessment of cases to provide better understanding and identification of the main benefits and barriers for the participation and collaboration in these new platforms. As a result of the present study, these reflections could lead to a better comprehension of the application of the social networks structured over virtual communities of practice in the business environment.

The Emergence of Agency in Online Social Networks

2010 ◽  
pp. 102-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillianne R. Code ◽  
Nicholas E. Zaparyniuk
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Emergent Property ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Group Interactions ◽  
Online Interactions ◽  
Practical Implications

Social and group interactions in online and virtual communities develop and evolve from expressions of human agency. The exploration of the emergence of agency in social situations is of critical importance to understanding the psychology of agency and group interactions in social networks. This chapter explores how agency emerges from social interactions, how this emergence influences the development of social networks, and the role of social software’s potential as a powerful tool for educational purposes. Practical implications of agency as an emergent property within social networks provide a psychological framework that forms the basis for pedagogy of social interactivity. This chapter identifies and discusses the psychological processes necessary for the development of agency and to further understanding of individual’s engagement in online interactions for socialization and learning.

scholarly journals Comunidades em redes sociais na internet: um estudo de caso dos fotologs brasileiros | Communities in Social Networks on the internet: a case study of Brazilian photologs

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Recuero
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
Computer Mediated

Resumo Redes sociais online são grupos de atores que se constituem através da interação mediada pelo computador. Essas interações são capazes de estabelecer novas formas sociais de grupos e comunidades. Através da discussão de diversos conceitos de comunidade e comunidade virtual, propõe-se o estudo das comunidades virtuais como uma forma de rede social. Esse debate teórico é discutido então no campo de estudo constituído pelo Fotolog, durante os anos de 2005 e 2006. O fotolog é um sistema que permite aos usuários a publicação de fotografias, textos e comentários. Dos dados coletados através de formas qualitativas e quantitativas, propomos uma tipologia para as comunidades virtuais baseada em sua estrutura (a rede em si) e sua composição (tipos de laços sociais e capital social). Esses tipos são definidos como comunidades virtuais emergentes, comunidades virtuais de associação e comunidades virtuais híbridas.Palavras-chave redes sociais, comunidades virtuais, fotolog.Abstract Online social networks are groups of actors formed by computer-mediated social interaction. These interactions are capable of establishing new social forms of groups and communities. Based on a discussion over several concepts of community and virtual community we propose the virtual community as a specific form of online social network. This theoretical debate is brought to the field studying the system named Fotolog during 2005 and 2006. Fotolog (www.fotolog.com) is a web service that allows for its users to post photographs or images with an associated text and other users may comment on each other’s posts. From the collected data, we propose a typology for communities found in these networks, based on their structure (network) and composition (social ties and social capital). We define three types of communities as associative virtual communities, emergent virtual communities and hybrid virtual communities.Keywords social networks, virtual communities, fotolog. 

Cross-Organization Virtual CoPs in E-Tourism

2010 ◽  
pp. 414-442
Author(s):  
Nikolas Vidakis ◽  
Dimitrios Kotsalis ◽  
Giannis Milolidakis ◽  
George Vellis
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Reference Domain ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽  
Joint Enterprise ◽  
Tourism Services

This chapter describes recent work and experience in setting up and supporting cross-organization virtual communities of practice to facilitate new product development. The authors’ reference domain is tourism and the community’s joint enterprise is assembly of vacation packages. The chapter contrasts existing practices involved in building vacation packages against the computer-mediated practices flourishing in an electronic village of local interest on regional tourism. The electronic village is considered as an aggregation of thematic virtual communities (i.e., neighborhoods) each with own rules, policies and primitive offerings covering tourism services such as accommodation, transportation, cultural resources, etc. Electronic squads are formed as cross-neighborhood communities of practice to engage in computermediated assembly of vacation packages. The chapter presents key tasks involved in managing both electronic squads and the workflows through which the shared resources are combined and transformed into new collective offerings.

STEAM Education Using Design Thinking Process Through Virtual Communities of Practice (STEAM-DT-VCoPs)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Thiti Jantakun ◽  
Kitsadaporn Jantakun ◽  
Thada Jantakoon
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Thinking Process ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽  
Two Phases

These objectives of the study are 1) to design STEAM education using Design Thinking Process through Virtual Communities of Practice (STEAM-DT-VCoPs), and 2) to evaluate the designed STEAM-DT-VCoPs. It divides the research procedures into two phases. The first phase is to design STEAM-DT-VCoPs, and the second phase is to evaluate the STEAM-DT-VCoPs. The sample group of this study comprises fourteen experts selected by purposive sampling. The arithmetic mean and standard deviation analyzed data. The research findings are: 1) The STEAM-DT-VCoPs comprise three steps are 1.1) the role of virtual communities of STEAM practice 1.2) Design Thinking Process through Virtual Communities of Practice, and 1.3) the various disciplines in STEAM education. 2) The experts agree that STEAM-DT-VCoPs is the highest level of appropriateness.

Virtual Communities of Practice as a Support for Knowledge Sharing in Social Networks

2014 ◽  
pp. 350-363
Author(s):  
Yóris Linhares de Souza ◽  
Fernanda Farinelli ◽  
George Leal Jamil ◽  
Maria Celeste Reis Lobo de Vasconcelos ◽  
Gutenberg Marques Dias
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Relationship ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Knowledge as a result of people's interaction is an essential factor for organizations facing actual business complexity. Social networks, whose creation and usage have been facilitated from the development of information and communication technologies, improved the conditions for interactive and collaborative answers at a very fast pace. In this sense, virtual communities of practice appear as an important way to share knowledge among groups of people joined by common interests, such as the search for solutions for problems, development of competences, professional relationship upgrades, growth of productivity, and general working quality. However, some barriers have emerged to the social network members, such as lack of trust, real incentives, and time to dedicate in order to contribute in these communities. In this chapter, aiming to evaluate such scenarios, a multiple case study methodology was conducted, starting from a literature review of main concepts, giving support for a final assessment of cases to provide better understanding and identification of the main benefits and barriers for the participation and collaboration in these new platforms. As a result of the present study, these reflections could lead to a better comprehension of the application of the social networks structured over virtual communities of practice in the business environment.

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