Dissertations / Theses: 'Communities of Practice (CoPs)'

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Al, Azali Ralla. "Communities of practice, knowledge creation, and corporate sustainability : a study of Bahrain service industry." Thesis, Curtin University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/237.

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The Kingdom of Bahrain is a service-based economy in which the service industry is a highly competitive market environment. Therefore, organisations require employing strategies to compete and sustain their competitive advantage in order to survive. The knowledge-based view of the firm argues that knowledge is a critical source for sustainable competitive advantage. Communities of Practice (CoPs) provide a suitable environment for knowledge exchange and creation. This study defined CoPs as emergent informal networks of people who are located inside and outside the organisation, through which members of these communities share or are interested in the same practice and knowledge. It is noticed from the literature that there is no empirical study investigating the impact of knowledge created in CoPs on corporate sustainability. Moreover, the influence of social capital on quantity and type of knowledge received from different CoPs members is scarce. This research attempts to address this research gap.The study combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. The information obtained from the literature was used to develop the initial research model. In the first phase, a qualitative field study is carried out to develop a comprehensive research model. A number of hypotheses were then developed. The second phase of the study pilot tested the developed questionnaire. Minor changes were made based on the pilot study participants’ comments and feedback.The third phase of the study is the main quantitative survey. The questionnaire for survey was distributed among senior managers in Bahrain top 100 service organisations both in the public and private sectors. 333 completed questionnaires were returned to the researcher with the response rate of 54%. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was employed to analyse the data collected in the main survey.The findings of the study did not support all the hypotheses developed in this study. It was found that communities of practise exist in Bahrain service industry, where two types of CoPs are noticed: intra (co-located employees and non co-located employees) and inter CoPs (customers, suppliers, and business partners). It was also found that co-located employees’ and customers’ CoPs have the major effect on organisation performance as the knowledge received from them is employed in the knowledge creation process to generate new knowledge in order to improve organisation performance.An interesting finding is the positive effect of CoP characteristics on the knowledge received. Therefore, CoP characteristics do not only identify this type of network but also influence the amount of knowledge received from community members. On the other hand, the knowledge received from CoPs affect the knowledge creation process in its four steps (interaction and communication, develop pool of knowledge, alternative experimentations, and solution to problem). Furthermore, the study empirically tested that knowledge creation process is carried out in four sequential steps. It was also found that the last step of the knowledge creation process "find solution to problem" has the greatest influence on the generation of new knowledge. It was also found that new knowledge positively affects organisational social, environmental, economic, and non economic performances (i.e. corporate sustainability). The study results did not support the hypothesis that social capital aspects (trust, norms, and identification) moderate the amount of knowledge received from CoPs.From the literature review and the study findings, it is recommended that organisations within Bahrain service industry should develop a knowledge management strategy and implement CoPs to sustain their position in the market. Moreover, the strategy should contain appropriate measures of sustainability objectives.Despite the fact that the study was conducted in Bahrain service organisations, it is suggested that it can be applied to different organisations in various countries across the globe because of its generic approach. However, it needs to be customised for local application.

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Bishop, James. "Managing technical knowledge to enhance organisational best practice." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2009. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/4657.

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In recent years the construction industry has become increasingly aware of the potential of the technical knowledge held by construction professionals and the need to manage it effectively. However, organisations have experienced numerous problems in implementing and sustaining Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives. A key reason for this, which has been cited both within industry and academia, is a lack of understanding of the best-suited KM approaches available and how to adopt them. In particular, the importance of people-orientated KM practices, specifically in the case of construction firms who have a high level of dependence on the tacit knowledge of their employees, has been well documented with many KM authors calling for further research in this area. The research undertaken for this study was initiated in response to the need for further research and an improved understanding of KM (people-orientated KM in particular) best practice. The research was also focussed on establishing an effective KM initiative within Ramboll Whitbybird; the sponsoring organisation. The central aim of the research was therefore to “deliver a framework that facilitates the retention and reuse of knowledge, which will increase Ramboll Whitbybird's potential to drive engineering best practice and respond appropriately to conventional and emerging business opportunities.” To achieve this an action research approach was adopted, facilitated through the use of literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, and other data collection methods, to enable the findings to be implemented within an industrial setting. Through extensive industry involvement the research highlighted the core components necessary for a successful KM initiative, and the actions necessary from those involved in implementing, managing and sustaining KM activities within construction firms. The findings demonstrated that an organisation wishing to realise effective KM needs to establish a clear definition and understanding of KM across the business, which can be achieved through the compilation of a KM strategy (statement) and action plan. It also needs to acknowledge the importance of addressing the critical factors that will determine the success of its KM initiative such as the need for KM champions and a supporting team, a fit with the way people work and an alignment with business objectives. The research also highlighted the importance of people-orientated KM practices, and that construction organisations in particular should identify and prioritise KM activities such as Communities of Practice (CoPs), due to their reliance on tacit knowledge transfer. However, in order to maximise the benefits to individuals and the business, the organisation will need to take a ‘light touch' approach to the management of CoPs. Supporting people-based KM activities with the right technology is an important factor, particularly as organisations expand and become more geographically dispersed. To ensure that this technology is an effective supporter of KM it needs to be tailored to fit with the KM needs of the business, and will need to become de-centralised in its operation. Finally, the research outlined the importance for the organisation to consider the integration of KM within the daily operation of the business by incorporating KM effectively into communication and reporting structures, while also ensuring that it becomes a core aspect of its Quality Assurance (QA) procedures.

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Mason, Cecily Jane, and cecilym@deakin edu au. "Virtual Communities of Enterprise Value Creation Potential for Regional Clusters." Deakin University. Management and Marketing, 2008. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20090129.152913.

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Governments around the world have pursued ICT based initiatives including the provision of infrastructure to assist regional areas to develop economically (Beckinsale et al. 2006). There has been considerable interest in exploiting ICT to develop high technology clusters and support innovative networks (Lawson & Lorenz 1999). However, these initiatives have met with mixed success. It is clear that such development depends on more than providing appropriate technology Attention to social and organisational factors is crucial if regional areas are to realise the potential of ICT as a tool for regional development (Gengatharen & Standing 2005). It is important to understand the nature of business networking as well as the perspective of those participating in such networks if successful initiatives are to be established. The aim of this research is to identify how ICT can be used for knowledge sharing among businesses in regional areas and how the online networks through which knowledge is shared can contribute to the development of the region. This research investigates the question of what value small businesses in those regions derive from knowledge sharing networks using ICT. It also seeks to identify the value creation potential of those networks for their region. Previous research has shown that large organisations have achieved significant value from virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) as a structure for sharing knowledge and supporting innovation (Wenger 2004). The concept of Communities of Practice and Virtual Communities of Practice provided a useful point of departure for this research. The investigation comprised interpretive case studies of two Australian regional areas and their local business networks which incorporated SMEs in a variety of industries. Each case study was conducted in three stages. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with regional economic development leaders. Second, 192 small and medium business owners were surveyed about their business activities and their participation in local business networks. Third, in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 small business owners to gain a richer understanding of their participation in knowledge-sharing networks and the value they realised or anticipated from various knowledge-sharing activities. A combined analysis of the two cases was conducted as well as the individual analyses. The research adopted a modified Structured Case method (Carroll & Swatman 2000). The analysis of the two case studies revealed: a.) There was a significant difference between the majority of SMEs who traded within the region and those trading largely beyond the region. The latters more proactive online sharing knowledge and seeking of business opportunities would enable them to access most value from VCoEs. b.) The participating SMEs operated in a number of industries and what they had in common was an interest in improving their enterprises. Consequently they used their regional networks which were not aligned to any one industry to make connections and share knowledge. They did not necessarily seek to access specific information. c.) A necessary prerequisite of VCoEs is having vibrant CoEs where face-to-face interaction enhances the development of trust and social capital. This appeared as an important factor facilitating the move to incorporate online knowledge sharing. d.) Younger businesses appeared to gain the most value from knowledge sharing in CoEs as they were using their networks to determine how to grow their firm. e.) The value of VCoEs to the SME participants is primarily in their general connection to other businesses in the region. Since the participants operate in a number of industries, what they have in common is an interest in their enterprises. The main value appears to come from the potential of the VCoEs to add to this connection and to social capital. This study found that successful management of VCoEs must: i) Ensure the network website is actively used by members before attempting to incorporate online knowledge sharing. ii) Monitor and stimulate online forum interaction rather than rely on interaction to occur naturally. iii) Not rely on email as a mechanism for stimulating knowledge sharing. Email is seen as more appropriate for formal documentation than for candid exchange of views. The concept of virtual communities of practice was found to be somewhat inappropriate for the diverse SMEs in the regional networks. Because of their diversity, they do not necessarily see value in sharing knowledge about practice but they do see value in sharing more general information and in providing support, connection and ideas that facilitate the strategic direction of their business. To address this issue, the concept of virtual communities of enterprise (VCoEs) is proposed as recognition of what the participating SMEs had in common: an interest in their individual businesses as part of the region. The original contribution of this research consists of its identification of the issues in linking SMEs across industries. It provides new insights on the business practices of regional SMEs and developed the concepts of Community of Enterprise (CoE) and Virtual Community of Enterprise (VCoE) to capture the special nature of knowledge sharing in regional multi-industry business networks. New perspectives are revealed on the ways that value could be derived from knowledge sharing by these regionally networked SMEs, as such it adds to the body of knowledge in an area where there has been little systematic investigation. This research reinforces the importance of social capital as an essential pre-requisite for accessing the value of intellectual capital in regions. Social capital emerges as vital when establishing and maintaining face-to-face knowledge sharing in regional networks and a necessary pre-condition for successfully establishing online knowledge sharing. Trust is a key factor and this research extends understanding of the role of social capital and the importance of trust in regional networks and online interaction. Its findings have significant implications for the development and management of CoEs and VCoEs as it outlines the key elements that need to be addressed when establishing and maintaining them, the appropriate applications for this context and the issues involved in management of the networking and online contexts. These findings not only increase our understanding of the management dynamics of online networks, they can also provide guidance to those seeking to establish successful VCoEs.

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Blom, Johanna Petronella. "The ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25652.

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This study deals with the extent to which the South African education and training system reflects in principle, perception and practice, the ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework. It examines the uses and meaning of ‘integration’ through a number of lenses. These lenses include policy symbolism and a guiding philosophy for the emerging system; pragmatic and technical considerations; communities of practice; the complementarity of education and training; and curricular integration. In relation to the first two lenses, it is evident that an integrated framework is a powerful symbol of the break from a past system characterised by inequality, unfairness and deliberate mediocrity, to the extent that ‘integration’ has become the underpinning guiding philosophy for a new education and training system. However, such socio-political aspirations tend to place unreasonable demands on the system. The second set of lenses indicate that the ‘comprehensiveness’ of the system could work against the notion of integration, and in South Africa, has led to acute paralysis of the system. The strongest evidence of integration emerges from the last set of lenses namely, the grounded, meaningful practice through principled partnerships, as reflected in the development of sub-frameworks and communities of practice and the necessary collaboration needed for curricular integration and education and training delivery. Thus, it seems, to make integration meaningful, the persuasive logic of innovative, grounded practice, could be enabled and facilitated by less, not more, regulation and could be enhanced by structures that reflect the grounded practice. Copyright 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Blom, JP 2006, The ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06192007-123414 / >
Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Education Management and Policy Studies
unrestricted

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Fourie, Carina M. "Sensemaking in communities of practice." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1913.

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Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
This thesis explores the notion of communities of practice, and in particular how they make sense of their environment in order to create knowledge and enable learning. Traditionally communities of practice are viewed as stewards of expert knowledge, but this thesis argues that they are better understood as sensemaking phenomena. Chapter one introduces the theory of sensemaking as developed by Karl Weick. This chapter introduces the seven properties of sensemaking. It also explores organisational sensemaking by taking the intersubjective and generic subjective levels of sensemaking into account. Chapter two focuses on the literature on communities of practice as self-organising knowledge structures. Three structural aspects of communities of this kind are introduced, namely domain, community and practice. Following Etienne Wenger two additional aspects of communities of practice—namely meaning and identity—are analyzed as these provide the basis for a link to sensemaking theory. In the final part of this chapter the downside of communities of practice is reviewed as they do not only present opportunities but also unique challenges for organisations. Chapter three combines the conclusions from the previous two chapters by interpreting communities of practice from a sensemaking perspective. The seven properties of sensemaking are applied to communities of practice and the role of meaning in communities of practice is viewed through the lens of sensemaking. Furthermore the role communities of practice might play in enhancing the phases of organisational sensemaking is indicated. Chapter four concludes that communities of practice indeed function as sensemaking phenomena in their environments. It is argued that nurturing communities of practice as centres of sensemaking could be advantageous to organisations and recommendations are made on how to best achieve this.

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Branch, Judy. "Cultivating Extension Communities of Practice." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2008. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/28.

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This study empirically describes and analyzes the characteristics and functionality of the ―Communities of Practice (CoPs)‖ used within eXtension, a new initiative of the Cooperative Extension (CE) system. It also endeavors to lay the foundation for empirical analysis of CoP processes, which to date have been explained almost exclusively using qualitative case study methods. Land-grant universities were founded on the ideals that higher education should be accessible to all, that the university should teach liberal and practical subjects and should share the college's knowledge with people throughout their states. eXtension is an educational partnership of more than 70 land-grant universities. Its reported purpose is to help Americans improve their lives with access to timely, objective, research-based information and educational opportunities accessed through http://www.extension.org . This Web resource is customized with links to state land-grant university CE Web sites. This mixed-method, action research project applied to the virtual environment describes the extent to which people who became part of an eXtension Communities of Practice (XCoPs) reported that they engaged in purposeful cycles of continuous inquiry in dialog, decision, action, and evaluation (DDAE) and the attainment of eXtension‘s goals. An Internet survey obtained descriptive data of members‘ participation within the eight pioneer XCoPs to assess the extent to which each XCoP engaged in the DDAE cycles of inquiry. Analysis of the survey data resulted in the categorization of low-, medium-, and high-level functioning XCoPs. Members of three pioneer XCoPs representing each category (low, medium, high collaboration) participated in online interviews that revealed how CE‘s reward structure, XCoP membership composition, and leader/member skill sets impact XCoP performance in meeting eXtension goals. Two sets of ―best practices‖ for eXtension initiative staff and XCoPs emerge from the discussion of triangulated data.

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Grützner, Ines, Patrick Waterson, Carsten Vollmers, Sonja Trapp, and Thomas Olsson. "Requirements Engineering für Communities of Practice." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-155494.

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Eine der Herausforderungen des Requirements Engineering (RE) ist, dass bei der Entwicklung eines Software-Systems sowohl die technischen Einzelheiten als auch der Kontext des Einsatzes berücksichtigt werden müssen. Wie schon andere Autoren bemerkt haben, ist RE ein sozio-technisches Unterfangen. Bei der Entwicklung von Desktop-Software zum Beispiel ist zu berücksichtigen, wie der einzelne Benutzer die Anwendung einsetzen wird. Im Bereich Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) ist der Einsatzkontext komplizierter, da Kommunikation und Interaktion zwischen Benutzern ebenfalls berücksichtigt werden müssen. Bei der Entwicklung einer Community of Practice (CoP) muss der Kontext noch weiter ausgedehnt werden, da Dinge wie Kooperation, Gruppenbildung bzw. Bildung von Netzwerken, Lernen etc. auch in die Anforderungen einfließen.

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Ashton, Stephen D. "From Teams to Communities of Practice." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2012. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3807.

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This dissertation documents the qualitative study that was conducted with the Ambassador Pilot Program team at Thanksgiving Point Institute; a non-profit farm, gardens, and museum complex and informal learning institution; from the summer of 2011 to the fall of 2012. The Ambassador team was tasked to develop an employee training program. Over time the team members were given more freedom to direct their own course and set their own objectives. To the co-directors of the program it seemed the Ambassadors began to embrace some characteristics common to a community of practice (CoP); however, it remained to be seen how the Ambassadors viewed themselves. Therefore, this research study seeks to answer the following research questions: Did this Ambassador team transform into a CoP or at least the beginnings of a CoP? If so, what contributed to this transformation? And if not, what discouraged this transformation from occurring? To what extent did the Ambassadors become a CoP or not? This dissertation is comprised of two articles. The first article is a literature review of applicable CoP and team literatures that investigate the theoretical underpinnings of the question, "Can a team become a CoP?" Thus far, no documented cases have been found in the literature of teams transforming into CoPs. The second article documents the study that was conducted at Thanksgiving Point with the Ambassador team during the Ambassador Pilot Program. Using qualitative methods including interviews, observations, and document analysis, it was observed that the Ambassador team took on many characteristics of a CoP, including becoming a community of learners, sharing a domain of interest, engaging in a common practice, and evolving organically as directed by the Ambassadors and not the senior management at Thanksgiving Point. Appendices of this dissertation include the following: (a) a literature review similar to the first article but with more content; (b) a detailed methodology plan that outlines the qualitative methods, techniques, and standards that were followed to conduct this study; and (c) the interview protocol used during the study.

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Burkitt, Ian, Charles H. Husband, Jennifer Mackenzie, and Alison Torn. "Nurse Education and Communities of Practice." English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3758.

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No
The processes whereby nurses develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver individualized and holistic care were examined in a 2-year study of nurses in a range of clinical settings and a university department of nursing in England. Members of two research teams of qualified nurses joined various communities of nursing practice as participating members and simultaneously "shadowed" designated nurses. At day's end, shadowers and shadowees reviewed the day's practice in critical incident interviews. The powerful processes of nurse socialization that create a strong core identity of the "good nurse" proved central to understanding the acquisition, use, and protection of nursing skills. Learning to become a nurse was always situated within particular communities of practice. Learning in such contexts, both in clinical and educational settings, entailed not just mastering a range of intellectual concepts but also learning through embodied performances involving engagement and interaction with the community of practice. The following were among the study recommendations: (1) link educational and clinical settings by helping clinical staff understand their collective role in the educational experience; (2) enhance the mentor and assessor functions; and (3) enable, support, and resource time in education for clinicians and time in practice for educators.

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Cox, Graham. "Communities of practice : learning in progressive ensembles." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2003. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/4711/.

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This study examines the learning of ensemble skills by young musicians in progressive ensembles. Data collection took place in three music centres which form part of an LEA music service's ensemble provision. This study uniquely approaches ensembles as'socio-musical' phenomena. It finds description and explanation in the constantly changing and developing socio-musical interactions that form ensembles. Using an ethnographic approach it examines the practice of ensembles that are part of musical learning pyramids, through the eyes and actions of the ensemble members. There is an examination of ensemble membership and the social structures and interactions that form ensembles. This study explores, and for the first time identifies, a set of ensemble specific skills. These are the skills that a musician uses to negotiate, integrate and cooperate with other participants in the production of ensemble performance. It goes on to examine how ensemble specific skills are acquired and suggests that the learning process is one of serial performative responsibility transfer created within stratified centripetal progression. New, or novice, members of an ensemble start by participating at a peripheral level leaving it to others to take performative responsibility for the production of a negotiated collaborative realization of the musical intentions of the composer. This study has been influenced by the work of Lave and Wenger and social theories of learning. However, it departs from these theories by suggesting that the learning process within an ensemble is responsibility led and stratified.

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Hirtz, Janine Renee Marie. "Teacher professional development and communities of practice." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2802.

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The larger research project seeks to examine the role of technology and factors that influence its overall use and efficacy in supporting a community of teachers engaged in professional development. This thesis examines factors that appear to influence teacher participation in the online community of practice engaging in an overarching research project conducted by Dr. Balcaen and a team from UBC O Faculty of Education and funded by the Southern Alberta Professional Development Consortium (SAPDC). The two groups are acting in partnership for supporting and sustaining communities of practice in social studies in southern Alberta. SAPDC is allowing teachers release time to engage in the project while TC² is providing professional development for the participant teachers to become proficient at embedding TC² critical thinking tools into their classroom practices. Various technologies are used during this study as part of the design of providing professional development for the participants including supporting an online community presence. The guiding question for this thesis is: In a blended approach of face-to-face and online supported professional development for embedding critical thinking into the new social studies curriculum, what significant factors appear to influence teacher participation in the online community of practice during the first year of the project? Overall results during the first year of this project show that various technologies used during the project are valuable and effective in nurturing this community of practice by enabling and promoting collaboration, communication, and the completion and delivery of products to be used in teaching the new curriculum. I also examine negative factors that appear to prevent some teachers’ technology use and online participation and collaboration during this project. Findings show that there are several significant factors that influence participation in the online community and while some participants are reluctant to engage or enter the online environment, others have emerged as leaders and play a significant role in building and sustaining the community of practice. These results provide critical information about implementing and integrating an online component and using technology to sustain communities of practice engaged in this form of teacher professional development.

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Pyrko, Igor. "Thinking together : making communities of practice work." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2014. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=24650.

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This thesis develops the founding elements of the concept of Communities of Practice (CoPs) by elaborating on the learning processes happening at the heart of such communities. In particular, it provides a consistent perspective on the notions of knowledge and of knowledge sharing that is compatible with the 'DNA' of this concept, i.e. learning entailing an investment of identity and a social formation of a person. It does so by drawing richly from the work of Michael Polanyi and his conception of Personal Knowledge, and thereby it clarifies the scope of CoP, it 'brings knowledge back' into CoPs as a technical term, and it offers a number of new insights into how to make such social structures 'work' in professional settings. The first part of the research design is a review of literature in the broadly understood area of organisational knowledge and learning, followed by a synthesis, which yields conceptual results. The empirical part is a qualitative study in NHS Scotland that is structured around three cases: in the areas of dementia, formal networks, and sepsis. The empirical material is directly analysed and presented using cognitive mapping, following a SODA protocol, which is so far utilised primarily in management consultancy with executive teams, and thereby this methodological approach contributes to the pool of available academic research methods. There are two main contributions of this thesis; each of these has implications both for scholarly knowledge as well as practice. The first one stems from an idea of the process of thinking together which is conceptualised as people mutually guiding each other through their understandings of the same problems in their mutual area of interest, and this way indirectly sharing tacit knowledge. It is argued that it is this process that essentially brings CoPs to life, rather than for example trying to 'set up' a community first. Thinking together can therefore be used as a simple yet conceptually in-depth point of focus which shows that the central aspect of fostering CoPs is to build fertile avenues for people to engage regularly in that trans-personal and often trans-organisational process, and therefore it emphasises the dynamic and process-driven nature of such communities. The second main contribution is a further elaboration of the thinking together process, which leads to a sharper view of trans-organisational knowledge where organisations learn as people engage in organic learning partnerships and thereby they share and preserve tacit knowledge that can never be fully converted into an explicit form. As such trans-organisational thinking together can be more intensive and more demanding in time or knowledge than for example a casual exchange of facts or a transfer of written documentation, cultivating CoP can be an expensive endeavour which may require careful planning and triple-legitimisation at multiple levels that needs to be looked at holistically and beyond official organisation al structures.

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Araya, Rebolledo Jacqueline Paz. "Analysis of scientific virtual communities of practice." Tesis, Universidad de Chile, 2015. http://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/130775.

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Ingeniera Civil Industrial
Las diferentes redes sociales han surgido a partir del sentido común y natural de los humanos por reunirse en torno a un tema, sintiendo que pertenecen a una Comunidad, la cual es representada por una red de relaciones complejas entre las unidades que cambia con el tiempo. Una Comunidad es un grupo de vértices que comparten propiedades comunes y desempeñan un papel similar dentro del grupo, las cuales pueden ser clasificadas como Comunidades de interés, en el que los miembros comparten un interés particular, y Comunidades de práctica, donde los miembros comparten inquietudes, participan y desarrollan un tema volviéndose expertos. Si estas interacciones ocurren sobre plataformas en línea, son llamadas Comunidades virtuales de interés (VCoI) y Comunidades virtuales de práctica (VCoP). El estudio de las Comunidades virtuales (VC) no sólo ayuda a entender su estructura interna, sino que también a descubrir cómo el conocimiento es compartido, los principales miembros, proporcionar herramientas a los administradores para mejorar la participación y asegurar la estabilidad de la comunidad en el tiempo. El área de Análisis de Redes Sociales y de Minería de Datos han estudiado el problema, pero ninguno toma en cuenta el significado del contenido que los miembros de una comunidad generan. Por lo tanto, la principal contribución de este trabajo es tomar en cuenta la semántica de los contenidos creados por los miembros de dos VCoP, así como las propiedades estructurales de las redes que forman, para estudiar la existencia de otros miembros claves, buscar los principales temas de investigación, y estudiar las propiedades de las nuevas redes creadas con contenido. Se utilizó una VCoP científica del área de computación ubicua, y otra del área Web Semántica, considerando como data los autores de los papers aceptados en las conferencias de las comunidades y su contenido. Este trabajo propone dos métodos, el primero, busca representar cada artículo escrito por los miembros por sus Keywords, y el segundo, busca extraer los temas subyacentes de cada paper con el modelo probabilístico LDA. Con el resultado de estos métodos, las interacciones entre autores pueden ser construidas basándose en el contenido en lugar de sólo la relación de coautoría (red base para comparar los métodos). La metodología propuesta es un proceso híbrido llamado SNA-KDD que incluye la extracción y procesamiento de datos de texto, para su posterior análisis con SNA para descubrir nueva información, utilizando teoría de grafos, algoritmos de clasificación (HITS y PageRank) y diferentes medidas estructurales para redes. Los resultados muestran que las redes científicas en estudio pueden ser modeladas como VCoPs usando la metodología SNA-KDD usando teoría de grafos. Esto queda evidenciado en los resultados de la métrica Modularidad, obteniendo valores sobre 0,9 en la mayoría de las redes, lo que indica una estructura de comunidad. Además, los métodos propuestos para introducir el contenido generado por sus miembros, Keywords y Modelo de Tópicos LDA, permite reducir la densidad de todas las redes, eliminando relaciones no relevantes. En la red de Computación Ubicua, con 1920 nodos, se redujo de 5.452 arcos a 1.866 arcos para método de Keywords y a 2.913 arcos para modelo LDA; mientras que en la red de Web Semántica permitió reducir de 20.332 arcos a 13.897 arcos y 8.502 arcos, respectivamente. La detección de miembros claves se realizó contra una comparación de los autores más prominentes del área según las citaciones en Google Scholar. Los resultados indican que la mejor recuperación de miembros claves se da en el método de tópicos por LDA con HITS para el primer dataset, para el segundo se da en Keywords, tanto en métricas de Recall como en Precision.

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Fortelny, Stephan. "Communicating technical information within communities of practice." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23158.

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This thesis is an exploration of how the communication of technical information can be facilitated by practices of collaborative media. While focusing on the domain of bicycles and more specifically on hobbyists working on their bikes, the aim of this study has been to show possible directions for the design of collaborative media for hands-on kind of work environments in general. Two design experiments were carried out in the process. While the first one attempts to connect local work with global resources, the second experiment is more deeply connected to an existing local community of bike enthusiasts and their practices of learning and knowing. Through carrying out the two design experiments, an argument was made that involving existing social structures into collaborative media design solutions is crucial due to the fact that these existing resources are deeply connected to practices of learning and knowing. However, more work needs to be done to generate more detailed solutions for different domains.

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Schenkel, Andrew. "Communities of practice or communities of discipline : managing deviations at the Øresund Bridge." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Programmet Människa och Organisation (PMO), 2002. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-574.

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Large infrastructure projects are seldom completed on time or on budget. Unlike many other projects of this type, the construction of the Øresund Bridge was considered to be a successful infrastructure project. Since no plan can foresee all events, deviations from plans arise, and these have to be managed as they appear during construction. How deviations are managed is of strategic importance. This dissertation investigates the ability of the contractor organization, constructing the Øresund Bridge, to manage deviations from prescribed requirements. Deviations can be detected and corrected through formal routines (ISO 9000, a quality standard), or informal groups (communities of practice). The findings show that deviations were managed through both communities of practice as well as through formal routines. The development of communities of practice was both impeded and enhanced by the built-in surveillance and disciplining processes embedded in ISO 9000, as well as the ability to communicate using rich media. The performance of the communities studied was variable, and moreover, it can be concluded that some communities of practice are more important than others. The implications of this dissertation is that when knowledge-based capability of managing deviations is included as a metric of project performance several actions could have been taken to enhance the management of deviations.
Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2002

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Schenkel, Andrew J. "Communities of practice or communities of discipline : managing deviations at the Øresund Bridge /." Stockholm : Economic Research Institute, Stockholm School of Economics [Ekonomiska forskningsinstitutet vid Handelshögsk.] (EFI), 2002. http://www.hhs.se/efi/summary/606.htm.

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Borzillo, Stefano. "Communities of practice to actively manage best practices." Wiesbaden : Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8350-9609-7.

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Frost, Benjamin. "Lebensfähigkeit von Communities of Practice im organisationalen Kontext /." [St. Gallen] : [s.n.], 2005. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/502855371.pdf.

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Jacobson, Steven P. "Initiating residential learning communities: Critical elements and practice." Scholarly Commons, 2007. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2352.

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This study examined methods and practices utilized in planning residential learning communities at three large, state-funded, research-oriented universities. Much research has been conducted on the ability of residential learning communities to enhance student learning and retention but little research has been done on how these programs are initiated. This study focused on interviews with founders and initiators and archival documents from the Residential College at the University of Michigan, Freshman Interest Groups program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Residential Freshman Interest Groups program at the University of Oregon. Rogers' organizational decision of innovations theory provided the conceptual framework for this qualitative study. This study found four critical elements for initiating residential learning communities: (1) the utilization of a representative planning committee (2) shared beliefs and faculty-faculty interaction, (3) campus champions with authority or expertise acknowledged by others (4) willingness among planning committee to adapt to changing circumstances. One unanticipated finding was the impetus for residential learning communities. While all three campuses sought to improve student connectedness, successful residential learning communities originated from fiscal concerns about underutilized campus housing as well as a desire to strengthen the rigor of undergraduate education. A second unanticipated finding was the relatively small role that institutional goals and missions played in initiating this innovation at the three sites. Initiators and founders of residential learning communities were less influenced by formal institutional mission statements than by an immediate fiscal or student development concern. Residential learning communities are one approach to integrating the resources of a large university with the intimacy of a small residential college. As large institutions strive to embrace academic as well as personal development for students, this research can guide campuses in effective planning.

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Majewski, Grzegorz. "Online knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.557267.

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Knowledge Management (KM) techniques and tools have been utilized by organizations from diverse sections of the Economy to achieve numerous goals such as: competitive advantage, increased innovativeness and global project management. One of the techniques of KM that has gained prominence as a very useful knowledge sharing tool is Virtual Communities of Practice. It originated from work on situated learning. In order to utilize it in a proper way it is necessary to take into account human, psychological, social and technological factors. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influence participants of VCoP while they play two distinct roles: knowledge provider and knowledge receiver. This is a gap in knowledge as there is a shortage of studies that analyse these two roles in VCoPs. Most of the research in this area focus on the knowledge provider role, with few studies considering the knowledge receiver role. Both roles are present only in a few studies and even so they are not the main topics of those researches and thus these roles are not fully recognized by the authors. This leads to the research problem of how to evaluate knowledge sharing activities performed by the participants of VCoPs while they play these two distinct roles: knowledge provider and knowledge receiver. In order to address this research problem it was necessary to identify and analyse the underlying constructs and how they interact with each other. The process of identifying these constructs and their relationships was supported by existing literature and models formulated by other researchers. In 2 particular and substantial to this research were three models formulated by: Chiu et al. 2006, Lin et al 2009 and Jiacheng et al 2010. The research built relationships between the identified constructs in order to develop a research model. The constructs of the research model were operationalized into appropriate questionnaire items and interview questions. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire and interviews with key members of two VCoPs. The first study was performed with Laurea Labs in Finland and focused on knowledge intensive processes, while the second study with a group in Second Life investigated online knowledge sharing in an immersive virtual environment. In order to evaluate the research model, collected data was analysed. The tools used were Principal Components Analysis, Correlation Analysis and Multiregression Analysis. It was utilized to evaluate the conceptual model. The contribution to knowledge of this study is the identification of the critical factors influencing online knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice, the design of conceptual model for knowledge sharing that brings together the two distinct roles participants can play (knowledge provider and knowledge receiver), operationalisation of the factors into questionnaire items and interview questions as well as empirical research in two diverse environments (research lab and immersive virtual world). 3 The most significant relationships were between Knowledge Provision and Knowledge Reception on the one hand and Online Knowledge Sharing on the other as well as Perceived Benefits and Perception of Community. The nonsignificant relationships were dropped in the final model. Qualitative findings introduced Language and Innovation Capabilities as new constructs. Besides, further findings from correlation analysis have introduced new relationships termed as propositions on the model. The implications of the research include the difference in the way the receivers as opposed to givers of knowledge in VCoPs should be motivated to engage in knowledge sharing processes. Some of the motivatiors confirmed by this study are benefits, social ties and reciprocity.

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Lawthom, Rebecca. "Managing diversity : narratives, paradigms and communities of practice." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.407206.

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This the;is represents a continued engagetnent with diversity of knowledge, experience 311d methodology. The thesis contains work accepted for publication and 311 accompanying research narrative. This research narrative links the academic outputs presented with an intellectual 311d experiential journey. The first section sets the scene. The experience of becoming an academic is theorised using three diverse resources: (i) auto-ethnography is utilised to make sense of the journey; (ii) Burrell and Morg311's (1979) paradigms of social science are used to situate publications and dOmin311t modes of thinking, (iii) communities of practice ideas (originating from Lave and Wenger) are used to explore ~where and how learning and development have taken place. Having outlined the theoretical resource; being utilised in the thesis, I present the published work as belonging in three p'dfadigms (functionalist, interpretivist 311d radical humanist). Within each of the sections 2, 3 311d 4 the same structure is employed. After a brief introduction to the paradigm and summary of the papers or chapters, the three or four pieces of published work are serially presented (without commentary). Following this, the work is reflected upon using autoethnography. communities of practice and paradigms of social science. Section 5 (entitled Towards Anti-Foundationalism) aims to methodologically re-work Interpretivism and Radical Humanism (using current writing). The final section (Consequences and commitments) explores contemporary vVTiting commitments and the consequences of the intellectual journey taken. Four issues are explored here: voice; theory and practice; communities of practice and diverse ways of knowing

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Wines, Debra Rae. "Professional Learning Communities: The Impact on Teacher Practice." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/88810.

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The purpose of this research was to explore professional learning communities (PLCs) and their impact on teacher practice. The focus of this single case study was on reviewing the process of the implementation of a PLC (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, and Many, 2010) within MidAtlantic Elementary School, a Title I school. This school implemented the PLC (DuFour et al., 2010) process following the guiding principles set forth by Richard and Rebecca DuFour and the MidAtlantic School District. The guiding principles include a shared vision and mission, collective inquiry, collaborative teams, action research and experimentation, continuous improvement, and being results oriented. By following these guiding principles, the goal was to show how this process improved teacher practice enough to help students be successful in the first year of opening the school and each consecutive year since the school opened. Results of this research showed the PLC (DuFour et al., 2010) process leads to improvements in teacher practice that positively affect student learning.
Doctor of Education

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McHale, Kevin J., and Raymond E. Kendall. "Evolution: advancing Communities of Practice in naval intelligence." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/963.

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Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited
The US Navy is embracing the principles of Knowledge Management (KM). One of the key components of KM is the Community of Practice. Communities of Practice are groups that form to share what they know, and to learn from one another regarding some aspect of their work. Organizations are strengthened through an improved network of contacts and enhanced productivity from their personnel. Personnel benefit through peer-group recognition and continuous learning. This thesis seeks to provide an understanding of how the Naval Intelligence Community, through the implementation of Communities of Practice, can reduce duplication of effort, increase collaboration between its personnel, and better support the resources in its people. In this thesis, we have provided a blueprint for building a successful unclassified Community of Practice for Naval Intelligence. This blueprint is designed to support replication on classified networks.
Lieutenant, United States Navy

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Shoop, Michael Clifford. "Public service employees' experiences in communities of practice." [Yellow Springs, Ohio] : Antioch University, 2009. http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=antioch1241195377.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed October 7, 2009). Advisor: Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March, 2009."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-268).

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Kendall, Raymond E. McHale Kevin J. "Evolution : advancing Communities of Practice in naval intelligence /." Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2003. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion-image/03Jun%5FKendall.pdf.

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Ribeiro, Richard Duarte. "Recurrent Communities of Practice (RCoPs) and Transient Core Members (TCMs) : temporal behaviour of co-located and on-line Communities of Practice." Thesis, University of York, 2011. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/4382/.

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Knowledge is a powerful tool, especially within companies and institutions. It has long been recognised that much of the knowledge of a company is embedded in the skills and practices of individuals and groups of individuals that share common interests. In some cases, these groupings can cross traditional organizational boundaries. These communities, known as Communities of Practice (CoPs), have a significant potential for companies and institutions. Although studied for years now, Communities of Practice are still poorly understood. Specifically, there has been little research into the dynamic, temporal aspects of how communities form, their patterns of activity and how they cease to exist. Such understanding is crucial for the successful use of CoPs within companies and institutions. Therefore, this thesis looks at the temporal aspects of Communities of Practice (CoPs). This is carried out by studying a co-located CoP, and four CoPs located within electronic networks. The study led to a rediscovery of the already known concept of CoPs’ core members, which refers to the members with strong participation in the community’s life. This work also identified two completely novel aspects related to the temporal aspects of Communities of Practice. The first one was called Recurrent Communities of Practice (RCoPs). This refers to a new class of CoPs found inside the studied co-located Community of Practice (CoP). Recurrent CoPs are Communities of Practice that work over a specific period of time, ceasing their activity until a trigger starts a new period, repeating these two states over time. The Recurrent CoPs usually have the same participants in different periods of activity. The second new concept was named Transient Core Members (TCMs). This refers to a community’s isolated members that do not engage in the community’s activity constantly, but rather in “bursts” over time, similarly to RCoPs. It is hoped that the procedures and methods explained in this work might help the development for new tools for researchers and professionals to detect and nurture Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Recurrent Communities of Practice (RCoPs). Specifically, the research expands our understanding of the temporal aspects of Communities of Practice, seldom discussed previously in the area.

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Palos, Guillermo A. "Communities of practice towards leveraging knowledge in the military." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Naval Postgraduate School, 2007. http://bosun.nps.edu/uhtbin/hyperion-image.exe/07Sep%5FPalos.pdf.

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Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2007.
Thesis Advisor(s): Nissen, Mark ; Pfeiffer, Karl. "September 2007." Description based on title screen as viewed on October 23, 2007 Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-173). Also available in print.

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Foulds, Barbara J. "Communities of practice : clinical teaching in professional nursing education." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=85549.

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The need to prepare and support clinical teaching faculty is identified as a priority by nurse educators. However, there is no framework for understanding the practice of clinical teaching (Benner, Tanner & Chelsa, 1996; Davis, Dearman, Schwab & Kitchens, 1992; Scanlan, 2001; Siler & Kleiner, 2001; Vollman, 1989). There is little nursing research directed to understanding the practice of clinical teaching. It is widely assumed that nurses who are experts in practice are able to make an easy transition to the role of clinical teacher (Scanlan, 2001; Silar & Kleiner, 2001).
The clinical practicum is the time when students are in the clinical setting as novice nurses under the supervision of both experienced nurses and clinical teachers. The clinical setting may be hospital or community-based and students may be working directly with patients and their families or may be a member of a community-based project team. The purpose of this study was, by asking clinical teachers to describe their practice, to determine whether clinical teaching was a boundary practice bridging nursing and teaching's communities of practice (CoP). The goal of the boundary practice is to sustain a connection between the two communities of practice by dealing with conflicts, seeking common ground and resolving problems. The following research questions were asked: (1) To what extent do clinical teachers describe the characteristics of a boundary practice? (2) What are the participative connections that clinical teachers use in their professional activities? and (3) What boundary objects are transferred from one community of practice to another?
Using a qualitative research design, nine clinical teachers from diverse practice settings and with a range of years in the profession participated in a focus group interview. The focus group interview was followed by individual interviews with four clinical teachers. The conceptual framework that guided this study combined Wenger's (1998, 2002) community of practice model, and Shulman's (1987) teacher knowledge model. Additional theoretical constructs included reflective practitioner, cognitive apprenticeship and situated cognition (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Schon, 1987).
The results suggest that clinical teaching is a boundary practice and that clinical teachers create participative connections between nursing and teaching practices through the building of relationships with fellow nurses, students and classroom teachers using strategies that involve reconciling different practice perspectives with the objective of creating supportive clinical learning environments. Clinical teachers described negotiation strategies to move students from the periphery of nursing into the community of nursing practice and using boundary objects to negotiate meaning from practice.
The results suggest that the practice of clinical teaching includes understanding how to balance relationships and reconcile competing demands. The findings also suggest that connection to the classroom teacher and understanding of the course of study are important to the practice of clinical teaching. Two key outcomes of this study are the development of a model of clinical teaching and a working vocabulary to describe the practice of clinical teaching.

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Lawday, Geoff. "Knowledge, learning and reflection : consulting in communities of practice." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/135246.

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The objectives of the research was to identify how knowledge, learning and reflection is mediated in communities of practice. The overall aim was to base the evidence from the lived experiences of those who are part of the communities of practice under study. The research was undertaken through a qualitative inquiry using a social constructionist perspective. The research was pursued through participative action research in one case study organisation, and through participative observation, or observation in fifteen others. The key findings of this inquiry include six sociological elements which were common to all sixteen organisations. Further, four key knowledge flow processes were consistent across all cases. In total forty-one main findings were identified to the pursued research questions. Two conceptual models of learning and reflection were presented as ways to help understand how knowledge, learning and reflection are mediated in communities of practice. The models can be used at different levels of abstraction and conceptualisation. The study provides original insights into consulting activity within communities of practice, and highlights key themes based upon the lived experiences of the participants in the inquiry.

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Pew, Weston. "Planting seeds| Regenerative leadership curriculum for communities of practice." Thesis, Prescott College, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1591281.

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Across much of the Western world there is a growing movement working to plant the seeds of a holistic worldview that is based on a recognition of the interdependent relationship between self, Earth, and community. One way to nurture this emergence on a local level is through community-based workshops that offer theories and practices in support of such a perspective. The purpose of this study is to create a curriculum that could be used to shape this type of workshop. The design of the curriculum content is meant to offer interior and exterior tools and experiences that catalyze both individual and group development. The primary method utilized in the research was a curriculum advisory board to assist with content development. The ultimate goals of such a workshop are two-fold: (a) to deepen participants’ relationships to self, Earth, and community; and (b) to create and inspire local community groups that can support social justice, environmental stewardship grounded in an ethic of care, and regenerative (sustainable) community development during this time of great planetary need. The findings of the research span the fields of adult development, relational education, community organizing and activism, regenerative leadership, nature connection, and sustainable community development. Tools and practices include but are not limited to meditation, dialogue, shadow work, worldview inquiries, journaling, group development, and community action plans.

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Albrecht, Steffen, Nina Kahnwald, and Thomas Köhler. "Social Software an der Hochschule: Studentische Communities of Practice." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-143180.

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deChambeau, Aimee Lynn. "Supported Student Success| Communities of Practice in Higher Education." Thesis, Prescott College, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3629604.

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This research tells a story about how students form communities of practice that help them succeed in graduate school. Told within the context of individual and collective experiences, it holds valuable lessons for how student success can be supported across the higher education landscape. Communities of practice can develop spontaneously when individuals involved in a common activity or with a sense of shared identity come together to deal with organizational complexities or establish a forum for continued learning. The practice of becoming an accomplished and successful student who is able to develop scholarly abilities and deepen disciplinary understanding, experience personal growth and achievement, while at the same time maintaining a healthy school-work-life balance is a non-trivial exercise. Membership in a community of practice can help students achieve success as part of the process of navigating this complex journey. Generously informed by the experiences of Prescott College sustainability education doctoral students, this research used survey responses, anecdote circles, interviews, and grounded theory methods to determine how communities of practice develop among graduate students in support of their success. This presentation asks and answers questions about what communities of practice are, how and why they develop, and what value they can bring to higher education.

Keywords: student success, community of practice, graduate education, sustainability education, sustainable education, higher education

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El, Kolaly Hoda. "Actor engagement in online communities : a practice-based approach." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55084/.

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Despite extensive interest by academics and practitioners to understand and harness actor engagement (AE), empirical work offering insights into how and why actors change their engagement over time are limited and extant empirical research mostly focuses on the individual level of AE and fails to address its social aspects and the effects of A2A interactions. Therefore, this research is a response to both a managerial and a theoretical need for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the AE process in an online community, while accounting for the social aspects of AE and the effects of A2A interactions. Drawing on practice theory, this thesis sets out to explore the dynamics of engagement through the engagement practices of members in an online community, identify the full spectrum of engagement states, and changes in such states over time. The objectives of this study are twofold. First, to advance the conceptualisation of AE by adopting a practice-based approach. Second, to demystify the dynamics of the AE process and the effects of A2A interactions on such a process. The context of the study is the for-profit community ExpatWoman.com (www.expatwoman.com), which is independently owned and funded mainly by advertising. The researcher's philosophical stance is that of a social constructivist, hence social constructivism is the paradigm underpinning this thesis. To achieve the above two aims, the methodology of netnography is deemed suitable to study the selected online community, where non-participant observation of the Dubai forum is used and complemented by participant observation of offline meetups organised by the community. Summarising the main implications for theory and practice, this thesis contributes from a theoretical perspective by enriching and advancing our understanding of AE in the context of online communities in four ways. First, it advances the AE conceptualisation by adopting a practice-based approach, hence supplementing its S-D logic-based foundational perspective with practice theory and demonstrates that the latter can provide a useful lens for empirically exploring AE. Second, it enhances the AE dimensionality by providing empirical support for the need to include a fourth (social) dimension. Third, by using longitudinal data, this study is one of the first to empirically explore the dynamics of the AE process in an online community and to provide empirical evidence of the engagement conceptualisation proposed by Chandler & Lusch (2015) as comprising of two fundamental attributes: connections and dispositions. Fourth, unlike most of engagement studies to date, this research considers not only positive relationships but also negative experiences, and further explores the under-researched concept of disengagement by differentiating between naturally occurring and induced disengagement. As for the practical contributions, the managerial implications emerging from the findings are primarily relevant for the growth and survival of online communities as well as for starting one. It also presents a better understanding of AE that can better guide the development of organisational strategies and tactics to maximise the benefits of this highly promising concept. Therefore, this thesis aims at suggesting some tactics to better manage the engagement platforms in specific, and the engagement process in general in the context of online communities. It also responds to calls to explore AE outside the more established B2C setting (e.g. Hollebeek et al. 2016a) and contribute to the wider online community literature by focusing on a community of interest, which represents a substantial proportion of online communities and which has been under-explored in comparison to the more researched brand communities (Hartmann et al. 2015; Weijo et al. 2014), hence can allow marketers to better capitalise on the significant opportunities that such communities can present.

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Van, Eeden Quinton. "Communities of practice as a national skills development strategy." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49887.

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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African society and economy are characterised by a duality - one is highly developed and able to participate in the global KnowledgeEconomy; the other, largely focused on subsistence with no access to the "infostructure" and opportunities of the Information Age. At the root of this duality is the disparity in skills between the developed and developing sectors of our society. Whileskills development is required in the developingsector along with other measures to address the "digital divide", skills retention through the transfer and sharing of knowledgeis required in the developed sector where various factors are causing a flight of skills from South Africa. These disparate objectives further exacerbate the unequal distribution of skills, knowledge, opportunities, and income and increase the chasm between "the two economies", negating any participation by South Africa in the global Knowledge Economy. Communities of Practice, as a proven and mature knowledge management strategy, is proposed as an appropriate method whereby skills development and knowledge transfer can take place in South African organisations and it is proposed that the National Skills DevelopmentStrategy recognises communities of practice as a core element. Individual and organisational learning in terms of skills development and knowledge transfer as well as the nature, support, structure, and value of communities of practice are conceptualised and described to provide a broad understanding of and illustrate the contribution that that communities could make to South Africa's ability to participate in the KnowledgeEconomyand closing the divide between our "twoeconomies".
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: KENNISGEMEENSKAPPE AS 'N NASIONALE VAARDIGHElDS ONTWIKKELING STRATEGIE Die Suid Afrikaanse samelewing en ekonomie word gekenmerk deur 'n dualiteit - een sektor is hoogs ontwikkel en neem deel aan die globale Kennis Ekonomie; die ander is hoofsaaklik gefokus op oorlewing met geen toegang tot die inligting infrastruktuur van die Inligtings Era nie. Die ongelykheid in vaardighede tussen die ontwikkelde en ontwikkelende gemeenskappe is die kern van die genoemde dualisme. Die ontwikkelende sektor benodig dat die vaardighede van die breë samelewing ontwikkel word ten einde hulle in staat te stel om deel te neem aan die kennis samelewing. Aan die ander kant is daar 'n behoefte by die ontwikkelde sektor om bestaande kennis oor te dra en te deel ten einde die aaneenlopende verlies aan kennis en vaardighede te bekamp. Kennisgemeenskappe as 'n bewese kennisbestuur strategie, word voorgestel as 'n gepaste metode waardeur die ontwikkeling van vaardighede en die oordrag van kennis kan plaasvind binne Suid Afrikaanse organisasies en dit word aanbeveel dat kennisgemeenskappe erken word as 'n kern element van die Nasionale Vaardigheids Ontwikkeling Strategie. Individuele en organisatoriese kennis inname/bestuur in terme van vaardigheidsontwikkeling en kennis oordrag asook die aard, struktuur, ondersteuning en waarde van kennisgemeenskappe word bespreek. Dit word gedoen ten einde 'n breë begrip daar te stel van die aard en inhoud van, en die bydrae wat kennisgemeenskappe kan maak tot Suid Afrika se deelname aan die Kennis Ekonomie te illustreer. Dit word gestel dat kennisgemeenskappe kan bydra om die dispariteit tussen die twee ekonomieë in Suid Afrika aan te spreek.

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Schmidt-Altmann, Kirsten [Verfasser]. "Erfolgskritische Sozialkompetenzen in Communities of Practice / Kirsten Schmidt-Altmann." Stuttgart : Steinbeis-Edition, 2021. http://d-nb.info/1232506591/34.

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Albrecht, Steffen, Nina Kahnwald, and Thomas Köhler. "Social Software an der Hochschule: Studentische Communities of Practice." Technische Universität Dresden, 2010. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A28046.

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Muller, Paul. "Reputation, trust and the coordination of communities of practice." Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg) (1971-2008), 2004. https://publication-theses.unistra.fr/public/theses_doctorat/2004/MULLER_Paul_2004.pdf.

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Dans le cadre d'une économie basée sur la connaissance, une part croissante des processus de production et de diffusion des connaissances est assurée par les communautés de pratique. Ces dernières, en fournissant des espaces intangibles propices à la circulation d'informations et de connaissances, jouent un rôle important dans les processus d'apprentissage collectifs. De telles communautés peuvent être définies de manière générales comme des structures d'interactions sociale ayant pour but la génération et la diffusion de connaissances. Plus précisément, de telles communautés représentent des groupes d'individus engagés dans une pratique commune et interagissant fréquemment en vue de développer leurs compétences dans le domaine considéré. Du fait de l'absence de tout schéma contractuel en leur sein, un des traits fondamentaux des communautés correspond à la liberté laissée à leurs membres dans la détermination de leur trajectoire de spécialisation. En d'autres termes, il leur est possible de déterminer de manière décentralisée tant le volume que la nature de leur contribution à l'entreprise de développement d'une pratique commune. Une telle liberté laissée aux membres va néanmoins de pair avec certaines interrogations concernant l'efficacité du système. Plus précisément, se font jour deux catégories de problèmes. Sur le plan des incitation, l'absence de schémas contractuels peut donner l'opportunité aux membres de s'engager dans des comportements opportunistes du type passager clandestin. Sur le plan de la coordination, se pose un problème d'efficacité des activités des membres. En effet, en l'absence d'une division claire et imposée des tâches au sein de la communauté, les individus peuvent s'engager soit dans des activités disparates, donnant ainsi lieu à un problème de cohérence, soit dans des activités redondantes, conduisant à une sous-utilisation des capacités cognitives des agents. Le but de ce travail de thèse est d'étudier certains des mécanismes présidant à la coordination et aux incitations des agents au sein des communautés de pratique. Dans cette optique il est proposé que celle-ci est soutenue par l'émergence d'individus jouissant d'un statut particulier au sein des communautés : les leaders communautaires. De manière très basique, le leadership est ici défini comme la capacité d'influencer les comportements individuels par une influence exercée sur les flux d'informations et de connaissances par l'adoption d'une position centrale au sein de la communauté. Une telle capacité est obtenue par la conjugaison de deux attributions complémentaires des leaders. Premièrement, la capacité de contraindre les flux de communication est issue de leur capacité de médiation, liant ainsi des parties éloignées de la communauté. Une telle capacité permet aux leaders, par le filtrage des flux de communication se produisant au sein de la communauté, d'apporter une cohérence dans la base de connaissances communes. Deuxièmement, les leaders bénéficient d’un accès privilégié aux informations et connaissances, issu de la multiplication des relations avec d'autres membres de la communauté. Sachant cela, les membres supposent que les leaders, confrontés à un niveau d’incertitude plus faible, sont en mesure de prendre de meilleures décisions. Ces derniers sont dès lors susceptibles de faire l'objet de comportements de mimétismes. Le leadership constitue un phénomène émergent dans le sens où il est issu d'un processus d'auto-organisation. Dans cette optique, les leaders communautaires appuient leur statut sur la conjonction d'effets de réputation et de confiance. La réputation est ici entendue comme un ensemble d'informations concernant des éléments constants et récurrents dans le comportement passé d'un individus. Ces informations sont partagées par les membres de la communauté. Ainsi, la réputation, en réduisant l'incertitude associée au comportement de l'individu dans le cadre d'une première interaction, permet de faciliter son occurrence. De ce fait, des individus dotés d'une forte réputation tendent à bénéficier d'un plus grand nombre de relations au sein de la communauté, leur permettant ainsi d'obtenir une position centrale en leur sein. La confiance vient suppléer la réputation dans le cadre de relations répétées entre deux partenaires. Cette dernière correspond à l'anticipation d'un comportement coopératif. Elle se fonde sur l'accumulation de connaissances sur les comportements passés de l'individu. Ces connaissances, en étant accumulées lors d'interactions antérieures, sont ainsi spécifiques à relation considérée. Ainsi, se tresse un lien étroit entre réputation et confiance. Tandis que la réputation constitue une condition nécessaire à l'occurrence d'une première interaction entre deux individus, la confiance, en se substituant à cette dernière, permet de la faire perdurer
In the frame of a knowledge based economy, a growing part of the processes of knowledge production and knowledge diffusion are hold by so-called communities of practice. Communities, by providing intangible spaces triggering the sharing of information and knowledge, play a paramount role in collective learning processes. Those communities may be broadly defined as specific social interaction structures aiming at the production and the diffusion of knowledge. More precisely, they correspond to groups of people engaged in a common practice and frequently interacting in order to develop their competences. Due to the absence of any contractual scheme, one of the defining traits of communities of practice lies in the ability of the members to determine their specialization trajectories in a decentralized manner. To put it differently, they enjoy the ability to determine the extent and the nature of their contribution to the growth of the common practice. However, such a freedom left to the agents may raise some issues concerning the efficiency of this system. From the incentives point of view, the absence of any contractual scheme may give the agents the opportunity to engage in opportunistic behaviors, giving rise to a problem of prisoner dilemma. Moreover, the absence of any clear-cut division of labour may imply two possibilities: either the agents engage in too different tasks which may hinder the overall coherence of the common practice. Or the individuals engage in similar activities, leading to problems of redundancies in the common practice. The goal of this thesis is to isolate some of the mechanisms governing the coordination of agents within communities of practice. It is proposed that coordination is supported by the emergence of individuals enjoying a specific status within the community: communitarian leaders. Leadership is here defined as the ability to influence individual behaviors through an influence exercises on information and knowledge flows. This is due to the adoption by community leaders of a central position within the community. The leaders’ ability to control knowledge flows arises out of the conjunction of two complementary features. First, the ability to constrain communication flows, which arises out of their ability to take on the role of mediators and to link distant parts of the community. This ability allows leaders to enhance the coherence of the common knowledge base by filtering communication flows. Second, due to their ability to accumulate relationships with other members of the community, leaders enjoy an enhanced access to information and knowledge. Knowing this, community members assume that leaders are facing lower levels of uncertainty, implying that they are able to take more adequate decisions. Community leaders are likely to be subject to mimesis behaviors. Leadership constitutes an emergent phenomenon in the sense that it arises out of a process of selforganization. The conjunction of reputation and trust comes in support of the community leaders’ specific status. Reputation is here defined as a set of information concerning constant and recurring evidences of an individual’s past behavior. Those information are shared among community members. Reputation, by reducing the uncertainty associated with an individual’s behaviour during a first interaction, eases its occurrence. Individuals endowed with high reputation levels benefit from a higher number of acquaintances within the community. This allows them to acquire a central position in the community. Trust complements reputation in the frame of recurrent interactions among two partners. Trust corresponds to the expectation of a cooperative behavior and relies on the accumulation of knowledge arising out of preceding interactions. A strong relationship binds reputation and trust: while reputation constitutes a necessary condition for a first interaction to occur, trust allows perpetuating it

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Bertram, Rachael Kathleen. "Designing, Implementing, Assessing, and Sustaining Sport Coach Communities of Practice." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34282.

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The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was twofold: (a) to explore how communities of practice (CoPs) can be designed, implemented, assessed, and sustained in sport settings, and (b) to examine the value that is created by participating in a community of practice using Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat’s (2011) value creation framework. Two studies were conducted. In Study One, a sport coach CoP was collaboratively designed, implemented, and assessed in a youth soccer organisation. Data generation included two individual interviews with each co-researcher, observations from CoP gatherings, and communications via an online discussion platform. Findings indicated that the co-researchers created value within each of the five cycles of value creation outlined in Wenger and colleagues’ framework. The co-researchers created value that was personally relevant to their coaching needs, which led to an increase in perceived coaching abilities. The co-researchers also gained new perspectives, such as the importance of social learning, and a broader view of athlete development. Study Two examined the value that was created in five CoPs nested in the university sport setting and how they were sustained. One interview was conducted with each participant (10 coaches and two administrators). The findings revealed that the coaches created value in each of the five cycles of the value creation framework. They learned a variety of strategies, some of which they implemented in their coaching practice. As a result, the coaches noticed an improvement in their coaching abilities and their athletes’ outcomes. The coaches also gained new perspectives, and reframed their views concerning their personal development and that of their athletes. For example, the coaches realised the importance of focusing on their own well-being. They also realised the importance of learning through social interactions, and developed a broader view of athlete development. The findings from both Study One and Study Two illustrate that CoPs in sport settings are practical and pragmatic, and that they have a positive impact on coaches’ development and on their coaching practices.

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Mihindu, S. "Holistic model for knowledge collaboration in scientific communities of practice." Thesis, University of Salford, 2010. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/26817/.

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This research sets out to develop a holistic model for Knowledge Collaboration for scientific Communities of Practice (CoP). It, inter alia, investigates appropriate methods which support Knowledge Collaboration of Scientific Community of Practice (SCoP). It also identifies the main challenges associated with supporting Knowledge Collaboration and ways of addressing specific challenges in the development of a Knowledge Collaboration Environment (KCE) within SCoP. In addition, it establishes how individuals within CoP and groups associated with CoP create new knowledge in collaboration. The necessity for scientific communities to work as CoP has significantly risen in recent years. The requirement of standard collaboration and communication tools, and appropriate methodologies to author KCEs has been an important development for the success of Distributed Knowledge Collaboration (DKC) activities of scientific CoP. The study addresses key issues and gaps found in four different areas: understanding of knowledge and Knowledge Collaboration, KCEs, tools and techniques for supporting Knowledge Collaboration, and specific requirements of scientific communities. The thesis employed a multi-methodological approach in conducting the study, which included the use of questionnaire, workshop, observations, interviews, and focus groups in obtaining data on which the study was based. SCoP refers to those who employ the 'scientific method' for seeking, interrogating, and creating processes and systems in conducting and advancing their work. Knowledge Collaboration needs of SCoP are different to the needs of CoP as members of the SCoP come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and their involvement is with heterogeneous work environments. A holistic Knowledge System Model (KSM) and a live prototype to establish the requirements related to the facilitation of Knowledge Collaboration within a SCoP was developed and validated. This development utilises non-intrusive technologies to provide appropriate incorporation of collaboration tools within their work environment and the potential of multiple server integration. The KSM provides the required flexibility and configurability within a prospective Knowledge System due to its ability to fulfil specific needs of the SCoP. The study recommends that members of the SCoP require Knowledge Collaboration tools that can co-exist within their work environment but operate non-intrusively within their professional work setting. Virtual Infrastructure integration provides the required functionality to overcome the challenges of creating an appropriate KCE for realising successful collaboration. The KSM facilitates the development of appropriate KCE for SCoP. There is paramount value in embracing the holistic view of Knowledge Collaboration as defined through the Knowledge Collaboration terminology stack and vast potential in utilising non-intrusive client/server technology for DKC applications. The holistic model's flexibility provides timely provision of an acceptable KCE for community collaboration.

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Buranaburivast, Vorapoj. "Applying social capital to electronic networks of practice : blog communities." UWA Business School, 2009. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2009.0209.

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Blogging is a recent phenomenon with research currently focusing on how it facilitates both personal and organisational knowledge exchange (Aimeur, Brassard & Paquet 2005; Hsu & Lin 2008). Social capital is shown to be a crucial factor facilitating knowledge transfer (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). Blogging is a new social communication technology enabling individuals to collaborate and share knowledge. This research investigates how three dimensions of social capital affect individual knowledge sharing in weblog communities. In particular, it explores how individuals exploit weblogs as a tool for conversational knowledge management in educational institutions. Following Wasko & Faraj's (2005) study, the conceptual model is developed by setting eight independent variables from social capital dimensions and a dependent variable is set from individual behaviour in online knowledge sharing. Eight hypotheses are developed to test the relationship between these variables. A quantitative approach was applied for data collection and analysis. For data collection, an online survey was published in several Australian university weblog communities. An additional paper-based survey was distributed to the respondents in order to gain adequate sample size. For data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to eliminate measurement items that shared a significant residual value with other measurement items. Further, the models obtained from confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the hypotheses by multiple regression analysis. Results from multiple regression analysis on online knowledge sharing suggest that trust, personal reputation and enjoy helping are positively associated with individual online knowledge sharing. The stepwise estimation procedure was further adapted in the regression model. The results show that four independent variables became significant to the study. These four significant variables were individual expertise, trust, personal reputation and enjoy helping. Lastly, several limitations in this study such as the sample of university online setting and respondents' activities on weblogs are discussed. These limitations lead to the direction of future research provided in conclusion of this study.

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Zboralski, Katja. "Wissensmanagement durch Communities of Practice : eine empirische Untersuchung von Wissensnetzwerken /." Wiesbaden : Dt. Univ.-Verl, 2007. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=015984398&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

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Schunk, Pin Pin. "Facilitating a knowledge network: the role of communities of practice." Thesis, Wichita State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10057/7045.

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Today, sophisticated consumers drive an organization's market share. They demand timely innovation and challenge an organization's capacity to manage its competencies. Communities of Practice (CoPs) harvest and disperse the competencies and innovative synergy that reside in an organization's knowledge reservoirs. The theory of CoPs as a knowledge network requires quantitative measurement to enhance its effectiveness and sustainability. This research seeks to validate this knowledge generating mechanism by first, examining a CoP through a functional decomposition process model (IDEF0-Integration Definition for Function Modeling). Second, by developing a "Cultivate a CoP" assessment scale and finally, validating the scale of "Cultivate a CoP". This is an exploratory pilot study with a first attempt to quantify the CoP. The "Cultivating a CoP" scale is a Likert 5-point six-dimension survey that assesses the validity and reliability of the CoP scale. The results demonstrates four (4) of the six (6) constructs have significant internal reliability at p = .05. The significant constructs with rank of reliability strength are Convey domain, Align vision, Share expertise and Grow trust while Motivate participants and Build artifacts did not demonstrate internal reliability. The six dimensionality of the scale is challenged with significant correlation between Align vision with Build artifacts and Convey domain. The quantitative metaphor for the CoP theory that seeks to validate "Cultivate a CoP" scale enhances the understanding of abstract inter-relationships among the constructs (latent attributes). The resulting correlations through factor analysis will justify and enhance a CoP's sustainability. A healthy and sustainable CoP improves problem-solving synergy because of an increased capability for change management and knowledge production.
Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

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Leeson, Loraine. "Art, communities and social change : Excavation of a situated practice." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.514471.

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Almakki, Riyad. "Communities of practice and knowledge sharing in E-Government initiatives." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.505483.

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The continuous advancement of ICT has affected nearly all major aspects of peoples' lives. It has transformed most businesses around the world into being efficient, reliable, and effective. In addition, it has become very popular and important in Saudi Arabia. The reason being the improvement in services and increased productivity in the area of education, banking, finance, industry, health care, government, and commerce (Al-Tawil 2003). This great technology has supplied e-Government with a promising future of cost reduction and efficiency gain (Ndou 2004). Thus, the Saudi e-Government Program "Yesser" was started in 2005 with the about purpose of improving productivity and the enhancement of services for citizens (MICT 2004). The objective of this research is to attempt to address the research question of the identification of both the barriers and the drivers that enable e-Government strategies for developing countries. It also attempts to answer the first subset of the research question, "How important is knowledge sharing in supporting e-Government initiatives? " Additionally, it also attempts to answer the second subset of the research question, "How may communities of practice contribute to knowledge sharing within the context of e-Government? " This research employed a qualitative case study which was based on the interpretive approach chosen to be employed during the field work in the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia in order to study and understand the current e-Government initiatives. Accordingly, based on the literature evidences together with empirical findings, an analytical framework is constructed which adds to the knowledge of how the supporting of knowledge sharing within communities of practice could transform Saudi e-Government applications and services into more highly developed ones.

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Grützner, Ines, Patrick Waterson, Carsten Vollmers, Sonja Trapp, and Thomas Olsson. "Requirements Engineering für Communities of Practice: Aufbau der ReqMan Community." Technische Universität Dresden, 2005. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A28382.

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Eine der Herausforderungen des Requirements Engineering (RE) ist, dass bei der Entwicklung eines Software-Systems sowohl die technischen Einzelheiten als auch der Kontext des Einsatzes berücksichtigt werden müssen. Wie schon andere Autoren bemerkt haben, ist RE ein sozio-technisches Unterfangen. Bei der Entwicklung von Desktop-Software zum Beispiel ist zu berücksichtigen, wie der einzelne Benutzer die Anwendung einsetzen wird. Im Bereich Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) ist der Einsatzkontext komplizierter, da Kommunikation und Interaktion zwischen Benutzern ebenfalls berücksichtigt werden müssen. Bei der Entwicklung einer Community of Practice (CoP) muss der Kontext noch weiter ausgedehnt werden, da Dinge wie Kooperation, Gruppenbildung bzw. Bildung von Netzwerken, Lernen etc. auch in die Anforderungen einfließen.

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Blackmore, Christine. "Learning systems and communities of practice for environmental decision making." Thesis, Open University, 2009. http://oro.open.ac.uk/21586/.

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This thesis explores learning for environmental decision making (EDM), from the viewpoints of what and who provide necessary support, and how and why practitioners engage in learning for EDM. Learning systems and communities of practice (CoPs) are the two main concepts used to frame and interpret the research. The empirical focus is on the experiences of practitioners involved in a UKbased Masters level course and a European research project, from a 'learning for EDM' perspective. The study draws on a range of learning and systems theories and is informed by analysis of discourses of environmental and social learning. Conducting two main inquiries – one course-based, the other project-based – proved to be an effective way of researching in the multiorganisational contexts that are characteristic of EDM. Commonalities are identified among different individuals' professional and personal learning for EDM and means of support. Leverage points are recognised where future support might usefully be deployed and design for learning focused. Three models of learning systems are developed to help explore dynamic processes of learning. These are (i) a model of interdependent levels of change (ii) an extension of Vickers' appreciative systems model and (iii) trajectory diagrams. A theoretical framework for systemic analysis of learning for EDM is also proposed, including a generic form. The study reveals the importance of the direct study of learners' perspectives, the incremental nature of social learning over time and that engagement with environmental issues is mediated by transformations that are socially negotiated. Both learning systems and CoPs perspectives highlight the interconnections and relationships of importance to learning for EDM. They also provide a means for considering practices and practitioners as a duality. The thesis concludes that both learning systems and CoPs offer 'know-how' that is required to support learning for EDM in future.

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Carter, Elizabeth A. "Perceived Value of Professional Communities of Practice| A Case Study." Thesis, Capella University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10976458.

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The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge on the value of professional communities of practice as a performance improvement intervention. Value was defined as the awareness of the benefits and outcomes, provided as improvement in a tangible or intangible way, that positively impact organizations and/or individuals and their personal and professional environment. The problem with the research on the topic of the perceived value of participating in a professional community of practice was the accessibility of information. Previous studies yielded results that professional communities of practice provide value to an organizational environment. However, there was limited information on how individual community members described value in a tangible way. This performance improvement research study answered the question, how do members of a professional community of practice describe their perceived value from participating? This single-case, explanatory, qualitative case study provided rich descriptions of members’ experiences of their (a) expectations when joining, (b) benefits realized from participating, (c) outcomes received due to participation, and (d) contributors to benefits and outcomes of perceived value from participating in a professional community of practice. The population was members of Toastmasters International, a learning professional community of practice. The sample groups were obtained from 2 sources: prerecorded Toastmasters International member testimonials published on www.toastmasters.org, and purposeful sampling of select tenured Toastmasters members who would be able to answer the research questions due to their experiences in the Toastmasters program. The data analysis included an innovative use of Thomas Gilbert’s behavior engineering model. Whereas the model is normally used to find deficiencies that are hindering performance, for this case study, it was used to find the success factors that contributed to performance improvement. The answer to the research question could be summarized into two categories of findings. Research findings were that (a) members were able to evaluate their own participation as it pertained to tangible, quantifiable improvements in their performance (evidenced by 41% of the 49 participants’ ability to articulate outcomes) and (b) the motivators of participation that resulted in value and personal improvement as defined by the individuals were nonquantifiable elements such as recognition and external opportunities, and benefits beyond their initial expectations. This research could be useful for other formal and informal communities of practice to evaluate value in their organizations.

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Ogbamichael, Hermon Berhane. "Information & knowledge sharing within virtual communities of practice (VCoPs)." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2799.

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Thesis (DTech (Informatics))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.
The concept of virtual community of practice (VCoP) emanates from the need to create a new mode of learning and knowledge creation. It is found that highly structured forums are not necessarily the best way to assist people to learn and improve their knowledge. This then, requires organisations to seek alternative informal ways to share knowledge. The significance of optimising knowledge sharing results in VCoPs receiving considerable attention while searching for new ways to draw on expertise dispersed across global operations. This impacts organisations, thereby enabling them to respond more speedily to the demands of their stakeholders. The fast pace of change in their business environments is also a factor to contend with. Within this context, the use of VCoPs to optimise both, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing within stakeholders, is the central theme of this research. The findings from literature enables the researcher to explore scientific based models that may have the potential to enhance knowledge sharing in an enterprise. The Life Cycle knowledge flow model is found to be the most comprehensive compared to two other models – namely, a Spiral knowledge flow model and Dynamic knowledge flow model. The outflow from the findings in literature is that the Life Cycle knowledge flow model is selected as the basis to conduct two surveys to determine if the model could be adapted to improve knowledge sharing within VCoPs in particular, and in an enterprise in general. The result of the two surveys conducted (in 2011/2012 and 2016), leads to establishing an extended Life Cycle knowledge flow model. The established model enhances knowledge sharing within VCoPs, and in turn, assists when optimising knowledge sharing in an enterprise. This extended model covers six phases of knowledge development to improve knowledge sharing within VCoPs. The first phase enhances the creation of both, tacit and explicit knowledge. The second phase enables to optimise the organisation of knowledge. The third phase enables the formalisation of tacit knowledge, that is, conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge. The fourth phase improves the distribution of knowledge. The fifth phase enables to optimise the application of knowledge and the final phase enables the evolution or continuous development of knowledge. The contribution of this research proposes that a comprehensive knowledge flow model, namely the Life Cycle knowledge flow model found in literature, served as the basis for this research. However, this model was never tested or verified if it indeed optimises knowledge sharing within VCoPs. The two surveys (Survey One 2011/12 and Survey Two 2016) were developed and distributed to respondents to verify the model’s suitability to VcoPs. As a result of responses received from the two surveys, the researcher was then able to develop an extended Life Cycle knowledge flow model that particularly, optimises knowledge sharing within VCoPs. This research further contributes in formulating a scientific based knowledge flow model that can be adapted to social networks. Therefore, this research also creates the foundation to further study to investigate the optimisation of knowledge sharing in social networks. In recent literature, social networks are established as one of the informal mechanisms to share and enhance knowledge sharing in an enterprise.

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Reynolds, Susan Bigelow. "Becoming Borderland Communities: Ritual Practice and Solidarity in Shared Parishes." Thesis, Boston College, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107964.

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Thesis advisor: Hosffman Ospino
Roughly one-third of U.S. Catholic parishes serve parishioners of multiple cultural, ethnic, and/or linguistic groups. In these “shared parishes,” the possibility and meaning of community across boundaries is an urgent question. This dissertation examines the role of ritual in the formation of community in diverse parishes. Critiquing prevailing ecclesiological models of unity in diversity that inadequately address structural sins of racism and xenophobia, I argue for an understanding of communion as a task of the local Church, embodied ritually in solidaristic practice. Then, establishing a conversation among ritual studies and U.S. Latinx discourses of border identity, I propose an understanding of the shared parish as a kind of borderland – as a place where a subjunctive communal identity can be negotiated ritually through embodied engagement. Methodologically, the dissertation is grounded in an ethnographic study conducted over five years at St. Mary of the Angels, a small, diverse parish in Boston, MA. Weaving together historical and archival data from parish, neighborhood, and archdiocese; participant-observation of bilingual Holy Week liturgies; and Spanish- and English-language interviews, the case study foregrounds the dissertation's theoretical work by analyzing how parishioners constructed rituals that facilitated the crossing of cultural, racial, and linguistic boundaries
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry

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Weatherby, K. E. "Teacher participation in online communities of practice : a mixed-methods study of community, context and practice." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2017. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1566655/.

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The primary objective of this doctoral research is to understand the relationship between teachers’ participation in online communities of practice and the development of their teaching practice. The online community at the centre of this research is the Computing at School (CAS) community, created to support the computing curriculum in the United Kingdom. A mixed-methods methodology was employed that included a survey of CAS member teachers as well as semi-structured interviews with a subset of surveyed teachers. A content analysis of interactions between members on the CAS online community aided in development of maps of teacher context and in understanding whether CAS exhibits characteristics of a COP. Findings indicate that some teachers report significant changes to their teaching, classroom management, lesson planning or personal understanding of computing concepts as a result of their participation in the CAS community. CAS exhibits characteristics of a COP, according to Wenger’s (1998) framework, but not all CAS teachers use CAS in this manner. Other CAS members use CAS simply as a resource bank, from which to download activities for classroom use. Findings also reveal that a computing teacher’s background characteristics, notably his or her professional experience prior to teaching computing, play an important role in their attitudes toward and preparedness for teaching computing as well as influencing the professional development resources to which they have access.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Communities of Practice (CoPs)'

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