Virtual Communities as Subaltern Public Spheres

2012 ◽  
pp. 143-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiyu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Public Spheres

The purpose of this work is to develop a theoretical framework to examine virtual community participation using the concept of subaltern public spheres. The theory of subaltern public spheres directs attention to the internal dynamics and external interaction of virtual communities. Internal dynamics first refers to the inclusiveness of participation by looking at the access to virtual communities and the profiles of their participants. The nature of participation, as another aspect of internal dynamics, is estimated through examining the styles of the discourses and the types of participatory acts. The external interaction becomes another major focus of this theoretical framework and urges researchers to study how virtual communities interact with government apparatuses, commercial entities, the dominant public sphere, and other subaltern public spheres through discursive engagement and other means. The theoretical framework is applied to analyze a case of Chinese online public spheres to illustrate the framework’s utility.

Virtual Communities as Subaltern Public Spheres

2014 ◽  
pp. 1897-1912
Author(s):  
Weiyu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Public Spheres

The purpose of this work is to develop a theoretical framework to examine virtual community participation using the concept of subaltern public spheres. The theory of subaltern public spheres directs attention to the internal dynamics and external interaction of virtual communities. Internal dynamics first refers to the inclusiveness of participation by looking at the access to virtual communities and the profiles of their participants. The nature of participation, as another aspect of internal dynamics, is estimated through examining the styles of the discourses and the types of participatory acts. The external interaction becomes another major focus of this theoretical framework and urges researchers to study how virtual communities interact with government apparatuses, commercial entities, the dominant public sphere, and other subaltern public spheres through discursive engagement and other means. The theoretical framework is applied to analyze a case of Chinese online public spheres to illustrate the framework's utility.

Support while control: the influence of embeddedness on virtual community participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 625-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Deng ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
Lei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Social Network Theory ◽  
Social Embeddedness ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type

PurposeExploring the antecedents of members community participation is extremely important for virtual communities (VCs) research and practice. As an important social characteristic of individuals, social embeddedness has been proved as an important antecedent of many individual behaviors; however, few research has investigated the influence of virtual community members social embeddedness on virtual community members’ participation. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social embeddedness and community participation in VCs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducted empirical study to test the hypotheses. Based on existing scales, this research designed the questionnaire and used a web-based survey to collect the data from VCs in China. To avoid the common method bias, this study collected data at two different times. The final sample included 96 virtual community members from seven communities (community size ranging from 10 to 25) of Baidu Tieba, which is the largest Chinese online communication platform. And this paper used regression models to analysis the data.FindingsBased on social network theory, this paper found that virtual community members’ social embeddedness in their virtual community has a curvilinear (i.e. inverted U-shaped) effect on their community participation behaviors. And members’ perceived autonomy mediates the curvilinear (i.e. reversed U-shaped) relationship between social network embeddedness and community participation. Furthermore, member instability moderates the curvilinear (i.e. inverted U-shaped) main effect, such that the curvilinear relationship is weakened when member instability is high.Originality/valueDeparting from previous virtual community studies that examine antecedences of participation in linear logic, this study applied social network theory to create a complex, curvilinear, moderated mediation model. The result reveals a curvilinear (i.e. inverted U-shaped) relationship between virtual community members’ social embeddedness in the virtual community and their community participation. And this study also introduce autonomy as mediator and member instability as moderator. By testing the whole model between community members’ social embeddedness and community participation, this study contributes to deepen the understanding of social embeddedness and virtual community participation.

A Distinct Type of Online Group for Customer Knowledge Innovation: The Virtual Product User Community

Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Li ◽  
Andrew Cox
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Distinct Type ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
User Community ◽  
Customer Group ◽  
Knowledge Innovation ◽  
Classification Framework ◽  
User Communities ◽  
Virtual Product

Abstract Among online communities of customers there are a number of different types of group that need to be distinguished. One interesting type are virtual product user communities, i.e. company sponsored online forums where product users share usage experience and collaboratively construct new knowledge to solve technical problems. The purpose of this paper is to show that these “virtual product user communities” are a distinct type of customer group with knowledge innovation capability. The research adopts a method combining observation and content analysis of discussion threads where technical problems are solved, complemented by thematic analysis of interviews with forum members to explore its character, especially its knowledge related attributes. The paper confirms empirically that the virtual product user community is a distinct type of virtual community and can be differentiated from other virtual communities of consumers. In addition, an enhanced classification framework, extending Porter’s (2004) classic 5Ps model, is proposed to highlight knowledge-related activities in virtual communities. Of particular interest is that the findings suggest that knowledge-related activities should be considered as an important attribute in defining and classifying virtual communities. In terms of practical implications, it is recommended that the virtual product user community should be given appropriate support from top management in order to fully exploit its knowledge innovation value. Moreover, tailored facilitation strategies to promote knowledge construction activities and community development can be developed in accordance with its unique attributes. The paper precisely distinguishes one specific type of innovative virtual community consisting of product users from other online customer communities. Moreover, it outlines a revised virtual community classification framework, which can be widely applied in analysing features of online groups. Its key attribute of knowledge-related activity redirects attention to virtual communities’ knowledge innovation capabilities.

scholarly journals The Public Sphere in the Field of Power

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Calhoun
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Social Foundations ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
The Public Sphere

In this article I ask (1) whether the ways in which the early bourgeois public sphere was structured—precisely by exclusion—are instructive for considering its later development, (2) how a consideration of the social foundations of public life calls into question abstract formulations of it as an escape from social determination into a realm of discursive reason, (3) to what extent “counterpublics” may offer useful accommodations to failures of larger public spheres without necessarily becoming completely attractive alternatives, and (4) to what extent considering the organization of the public sphere as a field might prove helpful in analyzing differentiated publics, rather than thinking of them simply as parallel but each based on discrete conditions. These considerations are informed by an account of the way that the public sphere developed as a concrete ideal and an object of struggle in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Britain.

Explaining Citizens’ Participation in a Transnational European Public Sphere

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 667-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gerhards ◽  
Silke Hans
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
Education Professional ◽  
European Public ◽  
Foreign Media ◽  
The Individual

Globalization and Europeanization processes have led to an increasing public sphere deficit. This deficit can be addressed by a transnationalization of the individual countries’ national public spheres. This requires a perception of discussions in other national public spheres, a condition which is met if citizens of a nation-state follow reporting of issues in other countries. Using Eurobarometer surveys, we examine the extent to which citizens of 27 European countries engage with foreign media and the factors that determine participation in a transnational public sphere. Only a small minority of EU citizens engage with foreign media, and there are considerable differences between countries and citizens. Using multilevel techniques we find that besides other factors education, professional status and multilingualism play a crucial role in explaining participation in a transnational public sphere, resources which are distributed very unevenly among citizens. Thus, participation in a transnational public sphere is an issue of social inequality.

Publics, Scientists and the State: Mapping the Global Human Genome Editing Controversy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Ya-Wen Lei
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Human Genome ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The State ◽  
Scientific Controversies ◽  
Chinese State ◽  
National Expert ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Literature on scientific controversies has inadequately attended to the impact of globalization and, more specifically, the emergence of China as a leader in scientific research. To bridge this gap in the literature, this article develops a theoretical framework to analyse global scientific controversies surrounding research in China. The framework highlights the existence of four overlapping discursive arenas: China's national public sphere and national expert sphere, the transnational public sphere and the transnational expert sphere. It then examines the struggles over inclusion/exclusion and publicity within these spheres as well as the within- and across-sphere effects of such struggles. Empirically, the article analyses the human genome editing controversy surrounding research conducted by scientists in China between 2015 and 2019. It shows how elite scientists negotiated expert–public relationships within and across the national and transnational expert spheres, how unexpected disruption at the nexus of the four spheres disrupted expert–public relationships as envisioned by elite experts, and how the Chinese state intervened to redraw the boundary between openness and secrecy at both national and transnational levels.

scholarly journals A logical approach to supporting professional learning communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 599-620
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Content Management ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Collaborative Tools ◽  
Integration Strategies

Collaborative knowledge sharing requires that dialogues successfully cross organizational barriers and information silos. Successful communication in person or in a virtual community involves a willingness to share ideas and consider diverse viewpoints. This research examines a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content management system called NASATalk, which offers public and private blog posts, file sharing, asynchronous discussion, and live chat services. The service is designed to provide a virtual environment where educators can share ideas, suggestions, successes, and innovations in STEM teaching and learning activities. This study features qualitative data from STEM education groups that helped extend the design of the NASATalk Web 2.0 collaborative tools and features. The analysis shows that the context, e-collaborative tools, integration strategies, and outcomes varied, but also contributed additional space, time, tools, integration strategies, and outcomes through the virtual collaborative learning environment. This study is designed to inform the STEM education community as well as those offering virtual community resources and tools of the added value of using virtual communities to help STEM educators work together in collaborative, virtual environments to discuss ways they can improve their instruction and student performance.

scholarly journals Observación participante en una organización de filtraciones periodísticas: el caso WikiLeaks

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-231
Author(s):  
Alberto Quian
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Information Flows ◽  
Observation Method ◽  
La Red

Para explicar los procesos de una comunidad virtual de filtraciones de documentos secretos utilizamos el método de observación participante, introduciéndonos en la red de colaboradores de WikiLeaks. De este modo, intentamos describir los procesos de creación de noticias en estos entornos emergentes mediante la observación del espacio virtual en el que se trabaja, los instrumentos y procedimientos con los que se opera y los flujos de comunicación e información que se generan en este. El objetivo es contribuir a ampliar el conocimiento sobre los roles emergentes de investigador en la observación en línea y, particularmente, describir el funcionamiento de comunidades virtuales confidenciales, además de aportar nuevas claves metodológicas para los estudios con un enfoque en el newsmaking. To explain the processes of a virtual community working with secret leaked documents, we use the participant observation method entering into the WikiLeaks’ collaborators network. In this way, we attempt to describe the processes of newsmaking in these emerging environments by observing the virtual space in which it works, the tools and procedures that normally are used, and the communication and information flows generated in it. The aim of this paper is to contribute to broaden knowledge about the emerging roles of researcher using online observation —and particularly in confidential virtual communities—, and to provide new methodological keys for studies focused on newsmaking.

Design and Development of Platform about Information Management and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities

2012 ◽  
Vol 198-199 ◽  
pp. 581-585
Author(s):  
Gui Wang ◽  
Zi Juan Yang ◽  
Xiang Cheng Li ◽  
Xing Tong ◽  
Liang Lu
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Function Design ◽  
Analysis Design ◽  
Waterfall Model ◽  
Teaching Modules ◽  
Development Structure

This Article is based on the waterfall model of software development ,according to the mechanism of information management and knowledge-sharing in the virtual community which has been constructed analyze the platform of information management and knowledge-sharing in the virtual community, from functional and technical to explain the platform; on the count of this analysis the paper make the functional design, and build three-tier architecture about the platform of information management and knowledge-sharing in the virtual community, describe teaching modules, exchange and sharing of modules of education system in two pairs of the ER design, the module function design; finally clarify test content for the platform.Software development of waterfalls model[1] essentially is a software development structure, the process have a series of stage sequence, begin from requirement analysis, design, test, setup, to maintenance, each stage generates circulating feedback, if the some stage appears a problem and then return to guarantee the integrality.

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