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Bu çalışmanın amacı, sanal toplulukların oluşmasında içerik üreticilerinin ve bireyler arası etkileşimin rolünü ortaya koymaktır. Covid-19 salgını tedbirleri kapsamında, sosyal yaşamın fiziki olarak kısıtlanması, bireylerin sosyal yaşam aktivitelerinin bir kısmını sanal ortamda gerçekleştirmelerine yol açmıştır. Bu dönemde özellikle YouTube içerik üreticileri, “Benimle” başlığı taşıyan videolar yayınlayarak, izleyicilerine evde kalma çağrısında bulunmuştur. İçerik üreticileri yemek yapmak, oyun oynamak gibi gündelik yaşam aktivitelerini kayıt altına alarak, izleyicilerinden aktiviteleri sanal ortamda birlikte yapmalarını istemiştir. İzleyiciler, içerik üreticilerinin videoları eşliğinde, bu aktiviteleri gerçekleştirirken aynı zamanda yorumlar kısmında aktiviteye katılan diğer kişiler ile etkileşime girmektedir. Türkiye’de de Covid 19 salgını tedbirleri kapsamında, eğitim-öğretimin Mart 2020 döneminden itibaren uzaktan olmasına karar verilmiştir. Bu dönemde, YouTube’da yayınlanan “Benimle Ders Çalış” başlıklı videoların hem yüklenme sayısında hem de izlenme sayısında artış yaşanmıştır. Bu çalışmada da Mart 2020 döneminde YouTube’da yayınlanan, 500.000’nin üzerinde izlenen “Benimle Ders Çalış” başlıklı iki videoya ait izleyici yorumları, sanal toplulukların oluşması bağlamında, içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın kavramsal zemini, Howard Rheingold’un “sanal topluluk” ve Henry Jenkins’in “katılımcı kültür” kavramlarına dayanmaktadır. Bu araştırma ile içerik üreticilerinin ve bireyler arası etkileşimin sanal topluluğun oluşmasında etkin rolleri olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Ayrıca araştırma sonuçları, “Benimle” videolarının, izleyicilerin içerik üreticilerine yönelik parasosyal ilişki geliştirmelerini sağladığını göstermiştir., The study aims to reveal the role of content creators and interaction interpersonal for building of virtual communities. Due to the imposing social restrictions as a part of measures to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, individuals had to perform some of their social activities in virtual environment. In this period, content creators of YouTube have released videos titled “withme” and have urged their viewers to stay at home. Content creators recorded their own daily activities involving cooking, playing games, and asked their viewers to join the virtual activities together. While viewers join the activity, at the same time they have interacted with the others at the comments section. Within the scope of COVID-19 measures in Turkey, educational activities at all levels were switched from face-to face learning to distance learning as of March 2020, with the decision taken by the government. Following this decision, both the number of video uploads and views with “Study with me” have increased on YouTube. Accordingly, viewer comments of the two videos (selected as sample, “Study with me” which reached over 500.000 viewers on the YouTube in March 2020) was analyzed by using content analysis within the context of virtual communities. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Howard Rheingold’s “virtual communities” and on Henry Jenkins’s “participatory culture” concepts. As the research reveals that content creators and interpersonal social interaction have an effective role in build of virtual communities. Moreover the study shows that the “with me” videos enables viewers to develop parasocial relationship toward content creators.

Celem artykułu jest analiza treści (postów, memów) publikowanych przez administratora społeczności wirtualnej „The Language Nerds” w serwisie społecznościowym Instagram, a także wybranych, powiązanych z nimi komentarzy zamieszczanych przez członków społeczności zarówno na Instagramie jak i Facebooku. Badanie jest próbą odpowiedzi na pytanie, jakiego typu treści stanowią zasadnicze spoiwo grupy. W tym celu dokonana została klasyfikacja postów w oparciu o wyróżnione w procesie ich kreowania dominanty funkcjonalne. Wyodrębniono sześć zasadniczych klas: 1. memy o dominującej funkcji humorystycznej, 2. zagadki logicznojęzykowe, 3. posty kreowane w oparciu o specyfikę obrazowania pojęć w danym języku (językowy obraz świata), 4. posty o dominującej funkcji metajęzykowej, 5. posty o dominującej funkcji prezentatywnej (charakteryzujące prototypowego członka grupy własnej), 6. posty o charakterze wypowiedzi argumentacyjnych. Następnie każda z klas została szczegółowo opisana i zilustrowana wybranymi przykładami spośród 220 przebadanych postów. Zawartość treściowa wszystkich wyróżnionych klas wskazuje, że zasadniczym czynnikiem integrującym społeczność jest język, przy czym istotna jest wykazana w badaniu różnorodność perspektyw jego wykorzystania jako narzędzia konstruowania tożsamości członków społeczności. W świetle przeprowadzonej analizy statystycznej największą rolę w generowaniu homogeniczności grupy odgrywa humor językowy. The aim of the article is to analyse the content (posts, memes) published by the administrator of the virtual community „The Language Nerds” on the social networking service Instagram and also selected related comments posted by the members of the community on both Instagram and Facebook. The study addresses the issue of what kind of content serves to build up the integrity of the group. For this purpose a classification of posts was made with regard to the functions dominating in the process of their creation. Six major classes were identified: 1. memes with humour as the dominant feature, 2. logico-linguistic puzzles, 3. posts created on the basis of how notions are conceptualized in a particular language (Linguistic Worldview), 4. posts with a dominant metalinguistic function, 5. posts in which the function characterizing a prototypical member of the ingroup prevails, 6. posts fashioned as argumentative statements. Subsequently, each class was described in detail and illustrated with examples selected from the set of all of the 220 analysed posts. The content of all the classes distinguished in the research indicates that language is the central factor integrating the community, but – as shown in the study – no less significant is the diversity of focus on the particular aspects of language and its use that serves as a tool for constructing the social identity of the community members. The statistics obtained indicate that it is linguistic humour that plays the most important role in generating group homogeneity.

With the emergence of the gaming industry as the most empowering form of entertainment, video game online communities have become a refuge for many users who are looking to fulfil specific needs, leading them to participate in creating their own experiences. Drawing upon the uses and gratifications theory, this research aims to understand the motivations behind consumer engagement in value co-creation within digital game distribution services (exp. Steam), and how it affects loyalty. To the extent of the author’s knowledge, little research has addressed this question within the gaming industry. We conducted an online survey administered to video game platforms users, through which 195 valid answers were collected. Findings suggest that hedonic along with personal and social motivations have positive influence on user’s engagement to co-create value, which in return increases their loyalty behavior.

Intentional recovery communities, such as Clubhouses, exist as physical spaces for individuals living with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for these facilities to rapidly convert to virtual platforms. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which virtual Clubhouse communities impacted the well-being of their members during the initial weeks of pandemic-related closures. Two hundred and eighty nine Clubhouse members across 19 countries responded to weekly measures of Clubhouse engagement, contact with other members, and well-being. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that members with high levels of Clubhouse engagement reported higher mental and physical health ratings over time than those with low levels of engagement. These findings support the virtual Clubhouse model and highlight the efficacy of Clubhouses’ rapid adaptations to the pandemic.

In the article, the emergence and development of virtual communities are analyzed in the context of the priority of national security. The types and features of virtual communities have been considered, and the potential possibilities of the negative impact of the development of virtual communities on nation-states and their security are determined. The purpose of the study is to determine the characteristics of virtual communities as subjects of contemporary communication culture, to emphasize the range of potential threats and dangers that virtual communities embody in the field of information security of society and the state. The methodology embodies a multi-vector scientific analysis of the information security phenomenon in general and the phenomenon of virtual communities in particular. The variety of gradations of virtual communities is emphasized by the classification method. The implication method comprehends the interdetermination of communicative culture, information culture and postmodern existence of the virtual world. Information security is considered a component of the culture of national security of the state and a global issue of information protection, information space, and information sovereignty of any country.

En los últimos años, las redes digitales han dado lugar a nuevos espacios de socialización, acción y protesta, favoreciendo la aparición de nuevas formas de participación social que generan lenguajes propios y nuevas estrategias simbólicas. A fin de analizar la movilización online en el contexto español y de profundizar en estas realidades, se ha llevado a cabo una revisión sistemática de los artículos empíricos, con metodología propia, publicados en la última década por las revistas españolas de Sociología de mayor índice de impacto. Tras identificar 101 estudios generales que cumplían los criterios de inclusión iniciales, se seleccionaron los 34 que tenían entre su objeto de estudio la movilización social online y/o utilizaban la etnografía virtual como técnica de investigación; de ellos se derivó la muestra de análisis final, compuesta por los 16 que abordaban esta cuestión de forma central. Entre los principales resultados obtenidos se encuentra la escasez de publicaciones sobre la dimensión virtual de la movilización, así como el creciente uso y adecuación de la etnografía virtual como metodología de investigación para el estudio de este campo de conocimiento. Así mismo, destaca la potencialidad de la red para ampliar el impacto de las reivindicaciones, la necesidad de romper la dicotomía online-offline, la creación de nuevas narrativas y la transformación de la producción simbólica de los movimientos sociales contemporáneos, In recent years, digital networks have given rise to new spaces for socialization, action and protest, favouring the emergence of new forms of social participation that generate their own languages and new symbolic strategies. In order to analyze online mobilization within the Spanish context and in order to explore these realities in more depth, a systematic review of empirical articles with their own methodology was carried out. It includes those manuscripts published over the last decade by Spanish Sociology journals with the highest impact factor. After identifying 101 general studies that met the initial inclusion criteria, 34 were chosen whose subject of study included online social mobilization and/or used virtual ethnography as a research technique. The final sample for analysis was drawn from these, comprising the 16 publications that addressed this issue as the central topic. Among the main results obtained we have the scarcity of publications on the virtual dimension of social mobilization, as well as the growing use and adaptation of virtual ethnography as a research methodology for studying this field of knowledge. Likewise, the potential of the Internet to amplify the impact of demands, the need to break the onlineoffline dichotomy, the creation of new narratives and the transformation of the symbolic production of contemporary social movements are noteworthy

En muchas partes del mundo, los viajeros tienen un interés especial en la acogida y la calidad de los establecimientos de alojamiento de los países visitados, convirtiéndose en uno de los principales pilares del promoción turística (marketing turístico). Los nuevos turistas participan activamente en el mecanismo de marketing mediante la difusión de sus opiniones vía foros virtuales o guías de viaje (Guía Michelin, El Mochilero, Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor), que permiten a los usuarios de internet informar y dar testimonio de sus experiencias y debatir sobre esto. Así, los foros virtuales son los primeros en dar cuenta de las nuevas tendencias y representan una garantía de una información de calidad al medir el grado de satisfacción manifestado por los turistas en relación con su estancia. Nuestra investigación aborda la mirada crítica que los visitadores extranjeros tienen sobre la acogida y la calidad en los establecimientos de alojamiento turístico en Marruecos y esto, a través de la lectura y el análisis de los comentarios, las opiniones y las evaluaciones, expresadas por las comunidades virtuales de viajeros de TripAdvisor, respecto de las prestaciones de las estructuras hoteleras en Agadir. In many parts of the world, travelers have a special interest in the welcome and quality of accommodation establishments in the countries visited, becoming one of the main pillars of tourism promotion (tourism marketing). New tourists actively participate in the marketing mechanism by disseminating their opinions via virtual forums or travel guides (Michelin Guide, El Mochilero, Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor), which allow internet users to report and give testimony of their experiences and discuss this. Thus, virtual forums are the first to report new trends and represent a guarantee of quality information by measuring the degree of satisfaction expressed by tourists in relation to their stay. Our research addresses the critical view that foreign visitors have on the reception and quality in tourist accommodation establishments in Morocco and this, through the reading and analysis of the comments, opinions and evaluations, expressed by the communities Traveler reports from TripAdvisor, regarding the services of the hotel structures in Agadir.

The Internet age has converged various traditional mainstream media institutions as well alternative media platforms together into a hybrid media system with the New Media system that includes alternative media like social media, in particular Twitter and Facebook. Framing Theory and frame analysis has been found functional and suitable for researching complex social media communications and also the interplay of the social media with mainstream traditional media. We reviewed the literature of framing analysis in relation to social media, virtual communities and social movements to present a brief overview of the practical and theoretical potentials of frame analysis and also the particularities and problems that arose in regard to the dynamic nature of social media. As a result, frame analysis presents an even broader potential for the research of dynamic communication processes in the fast lives of virtual communities and the vast effects of online interaction of social, political, commercial institutions., Twitter ve Facebook olmak üzere) farklı özellikleriyle birlikte hibrit/melez bir medya sistemi oluşturmuştur. Çerçeveleme Teorisi ve çerçeve analizi, kitle iletişim araştırmalarındaki işlevselliğini ve yaygınlığını yeni medya çağında geliştirmeye devam etmektedir. Özellikle Twitter ve Facebook’un yeni medya sisteminin bütünleştirici iletişim ekseni olarak kullanılması çerçeveleme mekanizmalarının aktif olarak kullanılmasını yaygınlaştırmıştır. Çerçeveleme ve sosyal medya literatüründeki güncel tartışmaları inceleyen çalışmamız, hem sosyal medyanın sahip olduğu farklı çerçeveleme dinamiklerine dikkat çekmekte, hem de kitlesel iletişimin, kişiler arası iletişimden kazandığı bazı özellikleri de kullanarak sanal toplulukların hızlı oluşum ve etkileşim (tartışma) süreçlerinde nasıl kullanıldığına dikkat çekmektedir. Bu nedenle, gerek toplumsal hareketlerin, gerekse siyasal ve toplumsal iletişim süreçlerinin incelenmesinde çerçeve analizi eskisinden daha büyük bir potansiyel sunmaktadır.

The study explores politicized virtual communities of Russia in the VK.com within the social network analysis approach. The paper focuses on the VK since it is the largest social networking service in Russia. The authors aim to draw a general map of virtual communities in the VK which are politically engaged and represent all political ideologies in Russia. The data were collected with help of the VK API in 2019. Based on the specially designed algorithm, the authors have collected a sample of 115 politicized communities. The paper presents a critical analysis of the implementation of data sampling and crawling. The authors argue that this study includes all significant virtual communities from a full range of ideologically and politically oriented discussion groups to institutionalized political actors such as political parties and government agencies, including groups of leading Russian mass media. The authors apply the Gephi network analysis and visualization software package, a leading social network analysis software, to produce a map of the political virtual communities in Russia. The study indicates that virtual communities of mass media and the institutionalized communities, such as political parties or government institutions, have concentrated at the core of the graph. At the same time, discussion groups about ideologies were in the periphery of the graph.

Artykuł stanowi jedną z pierwszych prób zwrócenia uwagi na relatywnie nowe zjawisko internetowych inicjatyw antypornograficznych. Są to strony i fora internetowe, zrzeszające internautów negatywnie nastawionych do pornografii, a często także masturbacji, które w ich mniemaniu mają destrukcyjne oddziaływać na wiele wymiarów życia. Zasadniczym celem nie jest jednak sam opis inicjatyw, ale ich odbioru wśród polskich internautów dzięki wykorzystaniu podejścia z zakresu etnografii wirtualnej. W praktyce oznaczało to analizę kilku publikacji internetowych i kilkuset komentarzy osób zaangażowanych lub zainteresowanych badanym zjawiskiem. W tekście są poruszone także etyczno-prawne problemy związane z prowadzeniem badań w Internecie na kontrowersyjne tematy.

Una nueva generación de jóvenes, los millennials son actualmente la mayor generación de consumidores en la web. Los Millennials se posicionan como un nuevo segmento de interés en la industria del ocio electrónico y el viajero 3.0. La gran acogida de las comunidades de viajeros multiplicada por la influencia en las redes sociales y las posibilidades que abren en términos relacionales e información, están cambiando el concepto de emprendimiento como un simple beneficio, priorizando la información y las relaciones en un mundo interconectado. Estos cambios han llevado al desarrollo de nuevas ideas para satisfacer las necesidades sociales y crear nuevas relaciones y colaboraciones entre ellos. Su objetivo es mejorar el bienestar social del ser humano, mejorar la capacidad de interactuar, socializar e informarse mutuamente. La literatura proporciona información reciente y algo dispersa para comprender cómo funcionan estas comunidades. Aplicado al caso de la comunidad de viajeros https://euroviajar.com creada desde hace 10 años, combinada con la metodología de netnografía y el análisis de algunos indicadores clave de rendimiento (KPI-s), aspectos de su crecimiento, evolución y perfil milenario de viajero 3.0, han sido analizados. A new generation of young people, millennials are currently the largest generation of consumers on the web. Millennials position themselves as a new segment of interest in the electronic leisure industry and the 3.0 traveller. The great reception of traveller communities multiplied by the influence on social networks and the possibilities they open in relational terms and information, are changing the concept of entrepreneurship as a simple benefit, prioritizing information and relationships in interconnected world. These changes have led to the development of new ideas to meet social needs and create new relationships and collaborations between them. Its objective is to improve the social well-being of the human being, to improve the ability to interact, socialize and inform each other. The literature provides recent and somewhat scattered information to understand how these communities work. Applied to the case of the traveller community https://euroviajar. com created since 10 years, combined with the netnography methodology and the analysis of some key performance indicators (KPI-s), aspects of its growth, evolution and millennial traveller profile 3.0, have been analysed.

The integration of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) frameworks with Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) has proven useful for monitoring and assisting older adults in their own home. However, the difficulties associated with long-term deployments in real-world complex environments are still highly under-explored. In this work, we first present the MoveCare system, an unobtrusive platform that, through the integration of a SAR into an AAL framework, aimed to monitor, assist and provide social, cognitive, and physical stimulation in the own houses of elders living alone and at risk of falling into frailty. We then focus on the evaluation and analysis of a long-term pilot campaign of more than 300 weeks of usages. We evaluated the system’s acceptability and feasibility through various questionnaires and empirically assessed the impact of the presence of an assistive robot by deploying the system with and without it. Our results provide strong empirical evidence that Socially Assistive Robots integrated with monitoring and stimulation platforms can be successfully used for long-term support to older adults. We describe how the robot’s presence significantly incentivised the use of the system, but slightly lowered the system’s overall acceptability. Finally, we emphasise that real-world long-term deployment of SARs introduces a significant technical, organisational, and logistical overhead that should not be neglected nor underestimated in the pursuit of long-term robust systems. We hope that the findings and lessons learned from our work can bring value towards future long-term real-world and widespread use of SARs.

Orientador: Dirceu da Silva Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação Resumo: Este trabalho descreve uma pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa que investiga a percepção de alunos sobre possíveis influências de "Conjunções de Comunidades Virtuais de Prática" sobre seu processo de formação e sua prática. Essas conjunções visam o compartilhamento de conhecimento, o suporte à prática e a interação entre os membros de comunidades virtuais de prática. O levantamento bibliográfico sobre as características e aspectos do funcionamento de comunidades virtuais de prática e constelações de comunidades de prática possibilitou o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia voltada ao estabelecimento de Conjunções de Comunidades Virtuais de Prática e a elaboração de um instrumento que foi aplicado com os alunos do Curso de Especialização em Gestão Pública e Sociedade, um curso semipresencial que utilizou o ambiente TelEduc como suporte às aulas presenciais. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à Análise Fatorial Confirmatória (Modelagem de Equações Estruturais), possibilitando a criação de um modelo que mostra como as variáveis ou indicadores se compõem e a correlação entre eles. Com isso, foi possível perceber uma forte relação entre os constructos ASP PEDAGÓGICOS e ASP TECNOLÓGICOS que se relacionaram para possibilitar o desenvolvimento do constructo ASP SOCIAIS no curso, cujas características são essenciais para o estabelecimento de Conjunções de Comunidades Virtuais de Prática, ou seja, a metodologia desenvolvida para o curso se baseou fortemente no aparato tecnológico disponível (ferramentas do TelEduc), além das restrições e implicações impostas pelo tipo de curso (curso de pós-graduação), para tentar criar um ambiente favorável ao desenvolvimento e manutenção de Comunidades Virtuais de Prática e para o posterior estabelecimento de Conjunções de Comunidades Virtuais de Prática na etapa do TCC (colaboração e interação). Isso pôde ser confirmado a partir da Análise Fatorial Confirmatória realizada, uma vez que os valores dos coeficientes de caminho indicaram que há uma forte relação entre os constructos ASP PEDAGÓGICOS e ASP TECNÓLOGICOS (0,902) e moderadas para os as outras duas relações causais (ASP TECNÓLOGICOS e ASP SOCIAIS = 0,417 e ASP PEDAGÓGICOS e ASP SOCIAIS = 0,504). Abstract: This paper describes a quantitative and qualitative research investigating the perception of students about possible influences of "Conjunctions of Virtual Communities of Practice" on their formation process and their practice. These conjunctions are aimed at sharing knowledge, practical support and interaction among members of virtual communities of practice. The literature on the features and aspects of the functioning of virtual communities of practice and constellations of communities of practice enabled the development of a methodology aimed at the establishment of Conjunctions of Virtual Communities of Practice and the development of an instrument that was applied to the students of Specialization in Public Administration and Society, a course that used blended environment TelEduc as supporting classroom. The data obtained were subjected to Confirmatory Factor Analysis (Structural Equation Modeling), enabling the creation of a model that shows how the variables or indicators are composed and the correlation between them. Thus, it was possible to see a strong relationship between the constructs ASP and ASP TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATIONAL that related to possible deployment of ASP SOCIAL construct in the course, whose characteristics are essential for the establishment of Conjunctions of Virtual Communities of Practice, i.e. the methodology developed for the course relied heavily on technological apparatus available (TelEduc tools), as well as the constraints and implications imposed by the type of course (graduate course), to try to create an environment conducive to the development and maintenance of Virtual Communities of Practice and the subsequent establishment of Conjunctions of Virtual Communities of Practice in TCC phase (collaboration and interaction). This could be confirmed from the conducted Confirmatory Factor Analysis, since the values of the path coefficients indicate that there is a strong relationship between the constructs ASP and ASP TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATIONAL (0.902) and moderate for the other two causal relationships (ASP TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIAL = 0.417 and ASP and ASP and ASP SOCIAL TEACHING = 0.504). Doutorado Ensino e Práticas Culturais Doutora em Educação

Organizacje w poszukiwaniu źródeł przewagi konkurencyjnej coraz częściej sięgają po nowe źródła wiedzy i pokłady kreatywności, niejednokrotnie znajdujące się w społecznościach wirtualnych. Na znaczeniu zyskują platformy crowdsourcingowe, które ułatwiają kontakt i komunikację z tymi społecznościami. Mówi się, że crowdsourcing jest narzędziem poszukiwania kreatywnych rozwiązań. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie istoty kompetencji kreatywnych społeczności wirtualnych biorących udział w crowdsourcingu. Rozważania są także skoncentrowane na przejawach kompetencji kreatywnych społeczności wirtualnych oraz ich znaczeniu dla powodzenia inicjatyw crowdsourcingowych. Mimo że crowdsourcing cieszy się coraz większym zainteresowaniem wśród badaczy, to kwestia kreatywności społeczności wirtualnej stanowi obszar wciąż słabo rozpoznany. In search of a competitive advantage, organisations reach for new sources of knowledge and layers of creativity, frequently found in virtual communities. Crowdsourcing platforms, which facilitate contact and communication with these communities, are becoming increasingly important. It is said that crowdsourcing is a tool to search for creative solutions. The aim of the article is to present the idea of creative competences of virtual communities participating in crowdsourcing. The considerations also focus on the signs of creative competences of virtual communities and their significance for the success of crowdsourcing initiatives. Although crowdsourcing enjoys a growing interest of researchers, the problem of creativity of virtual communities has not been well examined yet.

[Resumen] El sector turístico en España representa el 11,7% del Producto Interior Bruto, siendo referente en la creación de empleo y posicionándose como un sector estratégico para la creación de empresas. El desarrollo de la tecnología asociada al auge de Internet ha propiciado el fomento de empresas que desarrollan su trabajo en el mundo “online”. Así mismo, el turista ha cambiado la forma en la que adquiere sus servicios: participa de lleno en la creación del producto turístico mejorando así su experiencia turística. Tras un análisis de la evolución tecnológica experimentada por el sector turístico, este trabajo se centra en el concepto de boca-oído electrónico como pieza clave para el posicionamiento de empresas/destinos turísticos. Posteriormente, explora cómo la comunidad virtual de viajeros minube, pequeña empresa española que supone una manifestación de ese boca-oído gracias a la Web 2.0, ha mejorado la experiencia turística de los viajeros. [Abstract] The tourism sector in Spain accounts for 11.7% of the GDP, thus being crucial for the job creation and business expansion. The development of technology linked to the Internet growth has helped the creation of online firms. Likewise, the tourist has now changed the way to purchase services: (s)he participates widely in the creation of the touristic product, hence improving his/her touristic experience. After an analysis of the technological evolution experienced by the tourism sector, the current research focuses on the concept of electronic word of mouth (e-wom) as a key piece for the positioning of tourism destinations/firms. Then, the paper explores how the virtual community minube, a small Spanish business developed in the Web 2.0 environment, has substantially improved the tourism experience of travelers.

International audience; Enabling the sharing of dormant consumer knowledge, autonomous online consumer communities constitute communities of consumption practice. Drawing from the knowledge management literature, this article investigates consumer knowledge activation and accumulation dynamics in online communities within the naturalistic setting of an online forum. The netnographic study identifies different patterns of knowledge activation, giving insights into the kind of consumer knowledge that emerges in autonomous online communities. Different characteristics of online communities such as potential presence of rare knowledge, breadth of views or additive value of similar views are leveraged, to produce different types of collective knowledge. The study contributes to the online communities literature by deconstructing the dynamics of knowledge sharing and accumulation in autonomous communities; these function as communities of consumption practice and contribute to consumer empowerment through building collective knowledge from individual activations. It contributes to the consumer knowledge literature a two-level, individual and collective, characterisation of knowledge activation and accumulation.

Recent research has highlighted the emergence and proliferation of online communities of volunteer translators whose intensely collaborative activities are largely facilitated by the participatory and interactive nature of new networked communication technologies. Much of the discussion regarding these forms of web-based translation has tended to focus on what brings individuals together to give up their time, skills and effort when co-operating within such prosumer-led projects. By contrast, this paper presents a case study focused on the construction of the English Wikipedia article about Tokyo in order to argue that it is important for translation scholars to additionally take into account the difficult processes of fierce conflict and debate which often characterise interactions within such communities. It does so by means of the spatial mode of analysis encouraged by Foucault’s writings on ‘heterotopia’, demonstrating how this conceptual method can be applied to explain and explore the multifaceted negotiations that occur in this environment.

Clubhouse communities rapidly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic to keep members connected as psychosocial rehabilitation programs were globally disrupted. This investigation aims to elucidate how Clubhouse directors responded to the pandemic and their members’ needs, while also directly assessing the needs and well-being of members. This study utilized secondary data from Director and Member surveys designed to capture Clubhouse status, member engagement, and measures of well-being. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were computed across data from directors (n = 140) and members (n = 1136). Directors across 19 countries indicated that the majority of Clubhouses closed and were engaging with members using a variety of technologies, primarily Zoom videoconferencing. For members, greater levels of virtual Clubhouse engagement were positively correlated with physical and mental well-being and negatively correlated with hospitalization rates. This study provides support for an association between virtual Clubhouse engagement and well-being. Repeated measures studies are needed to further investigate this association.

La lectura, aún siendo en la actualidad una práctica solitaria por definición, siempre ha tenido componentes sociales. Gracias a las nuevas tecnologías, este carácter social de los libros se ha vuelto esencial en la recomendación y promoción virtual de libros. En la red se crean comunidades, ya sea en redes sociales o plataformas virtuales, que juntan a amantes de un mismo género o tipo de literatura. Sobre todo para las generaciones más jóvenes, que son al fin y al cabo las que más se mueven en la red, es esencial el sentirse parte de una colectividad afín a ellos, con sus mismos gustos y aficiones. Internet consigue darle una voz a los lectores, que se convierten en creadores de contenido en la red, fomentar la literatura y enlazar a lectores de todo el mundo. En este trabajo se analizarán las plataformas de lectura y las redes sociales, para comprender cómo se crean dichas comunidades y qué características sociales contienen, y se hará especial hincapié en Instagram y sus influencers en el sector literario, por ser la red social más nueva entre las más importantes y una de la que menos información académica hay. Reading, even though it is currently a solitary practice by definition, has always had social components. Thanks to new technologies, this social character of books has become essential in the virtual recommendation and promotion of books. Communities are created online, either on social networks or virtual platforms, that bring together lovers of the same genre or type of literature. Especially for the younger generations, who are, after all, the ones that move the most on the Internet, it is essential to feel part of a community related to them, with the same tastes and hobbies. The Internet manages to give readers a voice, who become content creators on the Internet, promote literature and link readers from all over the world. In this work, reading platforms and social networks will be analyzed, to understand how these communities are created and what social characteristics they contain, and special emphasis will be placed on Instagram and its influencers in the literary sector, as it is the newest social network among the most important and one of which there is less academic information. La lectura, tot i ser en l'actualitat una pràctica solitària per definició, sempre ha tingut components socials. Gràcies a les noves tecnologies, aquest caràcter social dels llibres s'ha tornat essencial en la recomanació i promoció virtual de llibres. A la xarxa es creen comunitats, ja sigui en xarxes socials o plataformes virtuals, que ajunten a amants d'un mateix gènere o tipus de literatura. Sobretot per a les generacions més joves, que són a la fi i al el cap les que més es mouen a la xarxa, és essencial el sentir-se part d'una col·lectivitat afí a ells, amb els seus mateixos gustos i aficions. Internet aconsegueix donar-li una veu als lectors, que es converteixen en creadors de contingut a la xarxa, fomentar la literatura i enllaçar a lectors de tot el món. En aquest treball s'analitzaran les plataformes de lectura i les xarxes socials, per comprendre com es creen aquestes comunitats i quines característiques socials contenen, i es farà especial èmfasi a Instagram i els seus influencers en el sector literari, per ser la xarxa social més nova entre les més importants i una de la que menys informació acadèmica hi ha.

Las Comunidades Virtuales de Aprendizaje (CVAs) han sido utilizadas en las organizaciones sanitarias como instrumentos de gestión del conocimiento y por los profesionales sanitarios como mecanismos de adquisición de este conocimiento. Se presenta un modelo explicativo de los factores que influyen en el rol de los profesionales sanitarios a la hora de utilizar CVAs. En la contextualización al tema de investigación, se aborda el cambio tecnológico y los factores que contribuyen a la satisfacción de los profesionales para terminar centrando el foco de análisis en el aprendizaje como elemento motivador, en la necesidad de desarrollo de las competencias profesionales y en las diferentes formas de acceder al conocimiento haciendo uso de la red. La perspectiva teórica pivota sobre la dimensión social del aprendizaje y los modelos de aceptación tecnológica. Se utiliza Delphi, estudio de casos y cuestionarios, seguidos de análisis estadístico para validar el modelo de variables exploradas. Adicionalmente, se utiliza una estrategia secuencial transformativa con el fin de comprender mejor el fenómeno y darles voz a diferentes perspectivas mediante la indagación sobre tres grupos profesionales con visiones diferentes. El énfasis en la transformación es remarcado con la hipótesis sobre la eficacia en la utilización de las CVs para la formación continuada de profesionales, en cuanto a que el modelo pueda resultar útil para incentivar el desarrollo de competencias digitales entre profesionales, instituciones y gestores del sector. Les Comunitats Virtuals d'Aprenentatge (CVA) han estat utilitzades en les organitzacions sanitàries com a instruments de gestió del coneixement i pels professionals sanitaris com a mecanismes d'adquisició d'aquest coneixement. Es presenta un model explicatiu dels factors que influeixen en el paper dels professionals sanitaris a l'hora d'utilitzar CVA. En la contextualització sobre el tema d'investigació, s'aborda el canvi tecnològic i els factors que contribueixen a la satisfacció dels professionals per acabar centrant el focus d'anàlisi en l'aprenentatge com a element motivador, en la necessitat de desenvolupament de les competències professionals i en les diferents formes d'accedir al coneixement fent ús de la xarxa. La perspectiva teòrica pivota sobre la dimensió social de l'aprenentatge i els models d'acceptació tecnològica. S'utilitza el Delphi, estudi de casos i qüestionaris, seguits d'anàlisi estadística per validar el model de variables explorades. Addicionalment, s'utilitza una estratègia seqüencial transformativa per tal de comprendre millor el fenomen i donar-los veu a diferents perspectives basada en la indagació sobre tres grups professionals amb visions diferents. L'èmfasi en la transformació és remarcat amb la hipòtesi sobre l'eficàcia en la utilització de les CV per a la formació continuada de professionals, en el fet que el model pugui ser útil per incentivar el desenvolupament de competències digitals entre professionals, institucions i gestors de el sector. Virtual Learning Communities (VLCs) have been used in health organizations as knowledge management tools and by health professionals as mechanisms for acquiring this knowledge. An explanatory model of the factors that influence the role of health professionals when using VLCs is presented. The theoretical perspective pivots on the social dimension of learning and the models of technological acceptance. Contextualization shows technological change and the factors that contribute to the satisfaction of professionals to end up focusing the focus of analysis on learning as a motivating element, on the need to development of professional skills and in the different ways of accessing knowledge using the network. Delphi is used, case studies and questionnaires, followed by statistical analysis to validate the model of explored variables. Additionally, a transformative sequential strategy is used to better understand the phenomenon and give voice to different perspectives based on the investigation of three professional groups with different visions. The emphasis on transformation is highlighted with the hypothesis about the effectiveness in the use of VCs for the continuous training of professionals, in that the model can be useful to encourage the development of digital skills among professionals, institutions and managers of the sector. E-learning

Een onderzoek naar het belang van een virtual community voor sportclubs … Fontys-docent en promovendus Nanny Kuijsters startte er al in 2015 mee. Tot nu toe zetten sportclubs nauwelijks digitale middelen in voor het creëren van clubgevoel. Nu wel, en dat biedt volgens Kuijsters kansen om de jonge garde betrokken te houden.

Een onderzoek naar het belang van een virtual community voor sportclubs … Fontys-docent en promovendus Nanny Kuijsters startte er al in 2015 mee. Tot nu toe zetten sportclubs nauwelijks digitale middelen in voor het creëren van clubgevoel. Nu wel, en dat biedt volgens Kuijsters kansen om de jonge garde betrokken te houden.

Social Media and Digital Activism, in the context of the Global South, have continued to redefine identities and transform traditional notions of citizenship, nationhood, and belonging. With the power of digital technologies to bring public and private issues to light, digital cultures have enabled the shaping of contemporary faces of entire nations in the South. The most potent example of how digital activism and new age digital cultures have helped chisel a South Asian queer identity in India and beyond is Section 377, an archaic, colonial law, established in the country by the British Raj, and that until August 2018, criminalized homosexuality as “carnal intercourse” or an “unnatural sexual act.” Although not applicable specifically to homosexuals, it is widely perceived as an anti-queer law in the country; cloaked in colonial textual ambiguity, it directs the colonial desire for sexual control towards colonial societies. This research focuses on an exploration of Indian queer dissident subaltern counterpublics, and how these communities (both members and non-members) congregate on Twitter to combat postcolonial and Victorian structures through new media as a decolonizing and transnational space. Therefore, the hashtags surrounding this event perform and decolonize Indian cyberspaces. The study equally investigates how the new wave of digital activism post reading down of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has fortified identities of the marginalized and the non-marginalized alike and transformed the notion of the “self” and the “other.” Given this premise, this paper employs Twitter Search API to collect and filter tweets that explore the private and public discourses of a digital movement that has proved instrumental in the creation of digital spaces for the marginalized “other.” This body of work contributes to the pool of research that is focused on the understanding of South Asian digital identities and the creation of their digital spaces as a solution for social, legal, and political discrimination.

В статье отражены теоретические взгляды на понятия «виртуальные сообщества», «мотивация», «религиозная направленность», а также представлены результаты эмпирического исследования, направленного на выявление особенностей мотивации в выборе сайтов религиозных и формально религиозных подростков. Проведенное исследование показало, что участники опроса независимо от уровня религиозности проводят время на сайтах интернета по мере необходимости, осознанно выбирают виртуальные группы, избирательно подходят к кругу общения в социальных сетях. Данная проблема мало изучена и требует дальнейших исследований.

Young people are distinguished as a social group with the capacity to drive new behaviours and understandings in today&rsquo, s society. However, most young people consider that people in charge of decision-making processes are not addressing their concerns. The WYRED project proposes a framework for citizen science based on a technological ecosystem to promote the transfer of perspectives, ideas, and knowledge among young people and decision-makers on issues related to the digital society. The work goal is to analyse the model proposed through a citizen science case study centred in identifying the ideas and opinions of children and young people between 7 and 30 years old, concerning gender stereotypes on the Internet. A total of 69 children and young people from Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom have interacted for two weeks in a private space guaranteed by the defined ecosystem. The results of the analysis of the interaction between young people and facilitators (with different profiles: educators, researchers and decision-makers) demonstrate that the use of technological ecosystems to sustain the development of citizen science projects allows for the improvement of knowledge transfer processes between children and young people with stakeholders, as well as the analysis of these processes.

espanolEl presente articulo expone conclusiones sobre los sentimientos emitidos en Twitter con respecto al impeachment de Donald Trump. Asumimos un enfoque mixto, de tipo descriptivo, que permitio la obtencion de resultados sobre aspectos emotivos asociados al discurso de usuarios de Estados Unidos en la esfera publica. La perspectiva investigativa utilizada reside en una estrategia transdisciplinar para entender los sentimientos relevantes de los tweets en el contexto de su produccion. En el caso de estudio se aplican metodologias de mineria de datos y sus tipologias: texto, grafo y multimedia, asi como el analisis del discurso multimodal para la extraccion y evaluacion de valores afectivos respecto al juicio. Proponemos tener en cuenta todos los soportes, codigos y practicas de produccion discursiva en el microblogging: los textos escritos e hipertextos, enlaces sociales, reacciones, contenidos multimediales y las identidades de los usuarios en una relacion sistemica de significados. Las publicaciones de las comunidades virtuales en las redes sociales sobre procesos politicos son de vital estudio en situaciones electorales y acontecimientos mediaticos de alto grado de polarizacion. EnglishThis article presents conclusions around the sentiments expressed on Twitter concerning Donald Trump's impeachment. A mixed approach, of a descriptive type, enabled us to obtain results on emotional aspects associated with users' discourse from the United States in the public sphere. The perspective employed was a transdisciplinary strategy to understand the relevant feelings of tweets in the context of their production. In this case study, data-mining methodologies and their typologies were applied: text, graph and multimedia, as well as an analysis of multimodal discourse for the extraction and evaluation of affective values concerning the trial. We took into consideration all supports, codes and practices of discursive production in microblogging: written and hypertext texts, social links and reactions, multimedia content and users' identities in a systemic relation of meanings. The publications of virtual communities in social networks about political processes are important to study in electoral situations and media events with a high degree of polarisation.

Aquesta recerca s'emmarca dins d'un context socio-educatiu que utilitza la descripció i l'anàlisi dels fets per a la generació de coneixement i la comprensió dels fenòmens del món. El nostre objecte d'estudi són les comunitats virtuals a Internet i les seves estratègies de comunicació. Ens interessa aprofundir en la capacitat de les comunitats virtuals d'incidir en l'educació mediambiental i, específicament, centrant-nos en els portals seu objectiu és la conservació d'amfibis. El desenvolupament d'aquesta recerca ha portat a una revisió teòrica, observacional i documental, així com l'anàlisi de la informació obtinguda, tant de naturalesa qualitativa com quantitativa. Com a resultat se’n van identificar productes de naturalesa teòrica, metodològica i aplicada. Tots aquests productes revelen la complexa naturalesa de les Comunitats Virtuals, molt més si aquestes emergeixen dels Portals web. Similar situació ocorre amb Educació per a la Conservació, el camp d'acció involucra l'aportació de diverses disciplines i àrees de coneixement, de manera que delimitar el seu àmbit d'actuació resulta complex i difícil. En síntesi, la hipòtesi plantejada al començament d'aquest estudi “dels Portals Web construïts a Colòmbia, Costa Rica i Brasil que inclouen entre d'altres l'educació per a la conservació d'amfibis emergeixen comunitats virtuals, que constitueixen espais d'informació i comunicació, que fan possible la interacció, l'organització social, la col·laboració i l'educació" ha estat afirmativa, de manera que és ratificada pels resultats obtinguts. Per exemple, el 53% dels portals analitzats (9 de 17) posseeixen un èmfasi en Informació i comunicació (tipus 2), compartint altres tipologies de comunitats virtuals, tipus 1 Entorn Social d'Aprenentatge i tipus 3 Entorn d'Interacció i Col·laboració; a més es va evidenciar que els tres països (Brasil, Colòmbia i Costa Rica), que posseeixen aquests portals web i les seves comunitats virtuals, s'alineen la política ambiental del seu país i el món, i els utilitzen com a estratègia de comunicació, informació i col·laboració. En síntesi, en el desenvolupament d'aquesta investigació, es van identificar tres (3) àmbits de contribució; de naturalesa teòrica, metodològica i aplicada, i de resignificació de les aportacions de les eines d'internet a la consolidació de comunitats virtuals especialitzades en conservació d'amfibis. En conclusió, aquesta investigació aporta, entre d'altres, la definició de tipologies de comunitats virtuals en educació per a la conservació d'amfibis. En termes generals, una comunitat virtual respon a una organització social, però a més és una integració de diversos entorns: informació i comunicació, col·laboració i interacció i d'aprenentatge, el percentatge de representativitat en la comunitat varia d'acord amb els seus interessos, grau de compromís i motivacions. En termes percentuals el valor mitjà de representativitat de cada un hauria d'estar en el 33,3% per a cadascuna de les categories. Valors inferiors o superiors marcarien l'èmfasi de la comunitat. Les comunitats virtuals integren funcions d'informació i comunicació i comparteixen un territori electrònic, com ho afirmen Moreno & Suárez (2010) d'interacció, de col·laboració i d'aprenentatge, com ha estat exposat per diversos autors que han permès aportar un concepte integrat de comunitat virtual. Es pot considerar que els plantejaments realitzats en aquesta investigació han permès una visió holística de les comunitats virtuals en els portals web, partint no només d'una revisió sistemàtica de la literatura i d'acotació semàntica que ens va enfrontar a una considerable quantitat de definiciónes del terme “comunitat” i altres derivades relacionades amb les comunitats virtuals, el que indubtablement aporta la construcció teòrica al voltant de comunitats virtuals en portals web d'educació mediambiental. En aquest sentit, les comunitats virtuals comparteixen un conjunt de característiques amb les comunitats tradicionals, com el són el propòsit i la identitat entre d'altres, però difereixen significativament de les virtuals, i de les virtuals en portals web entre altres aspectes per la presència a internet, i les xarxes socials valorables i mesurables a través de les eines de web server. Malgrat aquestes i altres diferències, el terme "comunitat virtual" es reafirma també amb els resultats d'aquesta investigació, i amb un nombre important de publicacions i investigacions que es van constituir en l’arrencada d'aquest estudi. Avui els seus resultats es constitueixen en una important aportació i motivació per continuar treballant en la identificació de comunitats virtuals en portals web i orientar la construcció d'aquests llocs web amb propòsits específics en un camp de coneixement que ara per ara requereix de major sensibilització dels éssers humans sobre la problemàtica mediambiental i la gran oportunitat que ens brinda la xarxa internet per sensibilitzar i educar les poblacions, sobretot als països que encara guarden una gran riquesa d'espècies necessàries per al manteniment i la salut dels diversos ecosistemes. El fet de poder dur a terme accions educatives, siguin formals o no formals, aporta valor a la formació dels individus, independentment de la seva edat, condició social, context. Com a possibles noves investigacions, aquesta podria ampliar-se a la resta de països de Llatinoamèrica i altres fronteres dels quals fan part de la megadiversidad que encara queda al món. Igualment, en el context de l'educació formal i com a punt final de reflexió, podria estudiar-se les comunitats virtuals en portals web, com transversal als diversos tipus d'assignatures en general plans d'estudis especialment de programes acadèmics el camp de coneixement està relacionat amb les ciències de l'educació i ciències biològiques, o afins; però, aquests resultats no exclouen altres programes com enginyeries, comunicació, entre d'altres. Esta investigación se enmarca dentro de un contexto socio-educativo que utiliza la descripción y el análisis de los hechos para la generación de conocimiento y la comprensión de los fenómenos del mundo. Nuestro objeto de estudio son las comunidades virtuales en Internet y sus estrategias de comunicación. Nos interesa profundizar en la capacidad de las comunidades virtuales de incidir en la educación medioambiental y, específicamente, centrado en los portales cuyo objetivo es la conservación de anfibios. El desarrollo de esta investigación ha llevado a una revisión teórica, observacional y documental, así como al análisis de la información obtenida, tanto de naturaleza cualitativa como cuantitativa. Como resultado de la misma se identificaron productos de naturaleza teórica, metodológica y aplicada. Todos estos productos revelan la compleja naturaleza de las Comunidades Virtuales, mucho más si estas emergen de los Portales Web. Similar situación ocurre con Educación para la Conservación, cuyo campo de acción involucra el aporte de diversas disciplinas y áreas de conocimiento, por lo que delimitar su ámbito de actuación resulta complejo y difícil. En síntesis, la hipótesis planteada al comienzo de este estudio “de los Portales Web construidos en Colombia, Costa Rica y Brasil que incluyen entre otros la educación para la conservación de anfibios emergen comunidades virtuales, que constituyen espacios de información y comunicación, que posibilitan la interacción, la organización social, la colaboración y la educación”, ha sido afirmativa, de modo que la misma se encuentra respaldada por los resultados obtenidos, por ejemplo que el 53% de los portales analizados (9 de 17) poseen un énfasis en Información y comunicación (Tipo 2), compartiendo otras tipologías de comunidades virtuales, tipo 1 Entorno Social de Aprendizaje y Tipo 3 Entorno de Interacción y Colaboración; además se evidenció, que los tres países (Brasil, Colombia y Costa Rica), que poseen estos portales web y sus comunidades virtuales, alinean la política ambiental de su país y el mundo, y los utilizan como estrategia de comunicación, información y colaboración. En síntesis, en el desarrollo de esta investigación, se identificaron tres (3) ámbitos de contribución; de naturaleza teórica, metodológica y aplicada, y de resignificación de los aportes de las herramientas de internet a la consolidación de comunidades virtuales especializadas en conservación de anfibios. En conclusión, esta investigación aporta entre otros, a la definición de tipologías de comunidades virtuales en educación para la conservación de anfibios. En términos generales una comunidad virtual responde a una organización social, pero además es una integración de diversos entornos: información y comunicación, colaboración e interacción y de aprendizaje, cuyo porcentaje de representatividad en la comunidad varía de acuerdo con sus intereses, grado de compromiso y motivaciones. En términos porcentuales el valor promedio de representatividad de cada uno debería estar en el 33,3% para cada una de las categorías. Valores inferiores o superiores marcarían el énfasis de la comunidad. Las comunidades virtuales integran funciones de información y comunicación y comparten un territorio electrónico, como lo afirman Moreno & Suárez (2010) de interacción, de colaboración y de aprendizaje, como ha sido expuesto por diversos autores que han permitido aportar un concepto integrado de comunidad virtual. Se puede considerar que los planteamientos realizados en esta investigación han permitido una visión holística de las comunidades virtuales en los portales web, partiendo no solo de una revisión sistemática de la literatura y de acotación semántica que nos enfrentó a una considerable cantidad de definiciónes del término “comunidad” y otras derivadas relacionadas con las comunidades virtuales, lo que indudablemente aporta a la construcción teórica en torno a comunidades virtuales en portales web de educación medio ambiental. En tal sentido, las comunidades virtuales comparten un conjunto de características con las comunidades tradicionales, como lo son el propósito y la identidad entre otros, pero difieren significativamente de las virtuales, y de las virtuales en portales web entre otros aspectos por la presencia en internet, y las redes sociales valorables y medibles a través de las herramientas de web server. A pesar de estas y otras diferencias el termino “comunidad virtual” se reafirma también con los resultados de esta investigación, y con un número importante de publicaciones e investigaciones que se constituyeron en el piso y punto de arranque de este estudio. Hoy sus resultados se constituyen en un importante aporte y motivación para continuar trabajando en la identificación de comunidades virtuales en portales web y orientar la construcción de estos sitios web con propósitos específicos en un campo de conocimiento que hoy por hoy requiere de mayor sensibilización de los seres humanos sobre la problemática medio ambiental y la gran oportunidad que nos brinda la red internet para sensibilizar y educar a las poblaciones, máxime en los países que aún guardan una gran riqueza de especies necesarias para el mantenimiento y la salud de los diversos ecosistemas. El hecho de poder llevar a cabo acciones educativas, sean formales o no formales, aporta valor a la formación de los individuos, independientemente de su edad, condición social, contexto. Como posibles nuevas investigaciones, ésta podría ampliarse al resto de países de Latinoamérica y otras fronteras los cuales hacen parte de la megadiversidad que aún queda en el mundo. Igualmente, en el contexto de la educación formal y como punto final de reflexión, podría estudiarse las comunidades virtuales en portales web, como transversal a los diversos tipos de asignaturas en general planes de estudios especialmente de programas académicos cuyo campo de conocimiento está relacionado con las ciencias de la educación y ciencias biológicas, o afines; sin embargo, estos resultados no excluyen otros programas como ingenierías, comunicación, entre otros. This research is framed within a socio-educational context that uses the description and analysis of facts to generate knowledge and understanding of world phenomena. Our subject of study is virtual communities on the Internet and their communication strategies. We are interested in deepening the capacity of virtual communities to influence environmental education and specifically, focused on portals whose objective is the conservation of amphibians. The development of this research has led to a theoretical, observation and documentary review, as well as the analysis of the information obtained both qualitative and quantitative in nature. As a result, products of a theoretical, methodological and applied nature were identified. All these products reveal the complex nature of virtual communities, especially if they emerge from Web Portals. A similar situation occurs with Education for Conservation, whose field of action involves the contribution of various disciplines and areas of knowledge, so delimiting its scope of action results complex and difficult. In synthesis, the hypothesis raised at the beginning of this study "of the Web Portals built in Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil that include, among others, education for the conservation of amphibians, virtual communities emerge, which constitute spaces of information and communication that make interaction, social organization, collaboration and education possible", has been affirmative, so that it is supported by the results obtained, for example that 53% of the portals analysed (9 of 17) have an emphasis on Information and Communication (Type 2), sharing other typologies of virtual communities, Type 1 Social Learning Environment and Type 3 Interaction and Collaboration Environment; It was also evidenced that the three countries (Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica), which have these web portals and their virtual communities, align the environmental policy of their country and the world, and use them as a communication, information and collaboration strategy. Summarizing, in the development of this research, three (3) areas of contribution were identified: of theoretical, methodological and applied nature and of resignification of the contributions of Internet tools to the consolidation of virtual communities specialized in amphibian conservation. In conclusion, this research contributes, among others, to the definition of typologies of virtual communities in education for the conservation of amphibians. In general terms, a virtual community corresponds to a social organization, but it is also an integration of diverse environments: information and communication, collaboration and interaction and learning, whose percentage of representation in the community varies according to their interests, degree of commitment and motivations. In percentage terms, the average value of representativeness of each should be 33.3% for each of the categories. Lower or higher values would indicate the emphasis of the community. Virtual communities integrate information and communication functions and share an electronic territory, as stated by Moreno & Suárez (2010) of interaction, collaboration and learning, as has been presented by various authors who have contributed an integrated concept of virtual community. It can be considered that the approaches carried out in this research have allowed a holistic vision of virtual communities in web portals, starting not only from a systematic review of the literature and semantic delimitation that confronted us with a considerable number of definitions of the term "community" and other derivatives related to virtual communities, which undoubtedly contributes to the theoretical construction around virtual communities in web portals of environmental education. In this sense, virtual communities share a set of characteristics with traditional communities, such as purpose and identity among others, but differ significantly from virtual, and virtual in web portals among other aspects by the presence on the Internet, and social networks valuable and measurable through web server tools. In spite of these and other differences, the term "virtual community" is also reaffirmed with the results of this research, and with an important number of publications and researches that were constituted in the floor and starting point of this study. Today its results constitute an important contribution and motivation to continue working in the identification of virtual communities in web portals and to guide the construction of these web sites with specific purposes in a field of knowledge that today requires greater awareness of human beings on environmental issues and the great opportunity that the Internet offers to raise awareness and educate populations, especially in countries that still keep a wealth of species necessary for the maintenance and health of diverse ecosystems. The fact of being able to carry out educational actions, whether formal or non-formal, adds value to the education of individuals, regardless of their age, social condition and context. As possible new research, this could be extended to the rest of Latin American countries and other borders which are part of the megadiversity that remains in the world. Likewise, in the context of formal education and as a final point of reflection, virtual communities could be studied in web portals, as a transversal to the diverse types of subjects in general, curriculum especially of academic programs whose field of knowledge is related to education sciences and biological sciences, or related. However, these results do not exclude other programs such as engineering and communication, among others.

The semantic web is an emerging technology that helps to connect different users to create their content and also facilitates the way of representing information in a manner that can be made understandable for computers. As the world is heading towards the fourth industrial revolution, the implicit utilization of artificial-intelligence-enabled semantic web technologies paves the way for many real-time application developments. The fundamental building blocks for the overwhelming utilization of semantic web technologies are ontologies, and it allows sharing as well as reusing the concepts in a standardized way so that the data gathered from heterogeneous sources receive a common nomenclature, and it paves the way for disambiguating the duplicates very easily. In this context, the right utilization of ontology capabilities would further strengthen its presence in many web-based applications such as e-learning, virtual communities, social media sites, healthcare, agriculture, etc. In this paper, we have given the comprehensive review of using the semantic web in the domain of healthcare, some virtual communities, and other information retrieval projects. As the role of semantic web is becoming pervasive in many domains, the demand for the semantic web in healthcare, virtual communities, and information retrieval has been gaining huge momentum in recent years. To obtain the correct sense of the meaning of the words or terms given in the textual content, it is deemed necessary to apply the right ontology to fix the ambiguity and shun any deviations that persist on the concepts. In this review paper, we have highlighted all the necessary information for a good understanding of the semantic web and its ontological frameworks.

Virtual communities as breathing spaces for minority languages: Re-framing minority language use in social mediaConsidering that social media is increasingly present in our daily communicative exchanges, digital presence is an essential component of language revitalization and maintenance. Online communication has modified our language use in various ways. In fact, language use online is often described as hybrid, and boundaries across languages tend to blur. These are also characteristics of translanguaging approaches, which see language as fluid codes of communication. “Breathing spaces” are needed in order to achieve “sustainable translanguaging” practices for minority languages. The establishment of communities of performing minority language speakers in a digital environment raises the question whether these emerging virtual communities can take up the role of breathing spaces for minority languages. Społeczności wirtualne jako przestrzeń życiowa dla języków mniejszościowych. Nowe spojrzenie na używanie języków mniejszościowych w mediach społecznościowychPonieważ media społecznościowe są coraz bardziej obecne w codziennej komunikacji, obecność języków mniejszościowych w świecie cyfrowym jest niezbędnym elementem dla ich zachowania i rewitalizacji. Komunikacja online przyniosła zmiany wielu aspektów użycia języka. Używanie języka w Internecie często określa się jako hybrydowe, a granice między językami często się zacierają. Te zjawiska cechuje również transjęzyczność (translanguaging), podejście które postrzega język jako płynne kody komunikacji. W przypadku języków mniejszościowych, osiągnięcie „zrównoważonej transjęzyczności” (sustainable translanguaging) wymaga „przestrzeni życiowej” do ich używania. Tworzenie wirtualnych społeczności posługujących się językami mniejszościowymi w świecie cyfrowym rodzi pytanie, czy mogąone pełnić rolę takiej przestrzeni.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is becoming the industry standard for manufacturing and prototyping. Although the technology is very old, it gained a huge traction in the past two decades. 3D printing favors unique once-off orders (mass customization) in contrast to mass production. This calls for innovative business models in order to realize economic gains from the technology. Increased product innovations in the global economy also contribute to wide adoption of 3D printing unlike in the old days. A transition in the manufacturing field has brought e-manufacturing and now cloud-based manufacturing. Machines, including 3D printers, in the past were not Internet-enabled but modern designs have the capability of Internet connectivity. Cloud-based 3D printing is a new model of design that has a significant impact on today's entrepreneurs. This article focuses on a business case for a cloud-based approach in consumer product niches. A cloud-based 3D printing business model (3D-Cloud) is developed based on the business model canvas, which promises major breakthroughs in e-entrepreneurship innovation. The model uses a virtual community approach to bring together technocrats, enthusiasts, and shared 3D printer facilities of common interests, whilst promoting an enterprising spirit.

Increasingly, managers of global teams are faced with the challenge of how to foster knowledge sharing within a virtual or hybrid community. In this study, we replicate Chiu, Hsu, and Wang’s (2006) study of the influence of social capital factors on knowledge sharing in virtual communities and extend it to reveal how both the quantity and quality of knowledge sharing may mediate between social capital factors and network involvement and commitment. The context of our investigation is a professional hybrid community in Central Eurasia. Using singleindicator structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our proposed model, we were able to demonstrate both convergent and discriminant validity among the study variables. Our study also provides partial support for the proposed model. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The past two decades have seen a rapid growth in the Maker communities and Communities of Enquiry. Unlike social media, these communities have a unique goal of sharing special skills as well as enquiring about special knowledge areas. Advancements in web technologies and models of delivery, in particular, cloud computing (CC), enables the communities to thrive virtually. The authors focus on the technocratic communities interested in designing and making things. These are also known as hobbyists or hackers, in their respective scientific or engineering disciplines. Various online platforms continue to surface, modelled around the Maker concept. The article scrutinizes the value and impact of these communities in learning. A new model for inspiring innovation in knowledge-based economies and building communities of industry and end-user ready product maker is presented and discussed.

Background: Digitalization and hyperconnectivity generate spaces for youth participation in social activism through social media platforms. The purpose of this research was to analyze young people’s online experience in social activism movements, including their preferences, themes, usage of language, and perceived impact. Methods: The research is framed within a qualitative interpretative–descriptive paradigm. Five focus groups were conducted, including 58 high school students from Malaga, Spain. Results: Several themes were identified through the coding process, including technological devices and social media preferences, participation in social movements or activism, perception of the degree of participation, the focus of interest, motivation for involvement, language use on social media, and beliefs. Conclusions: In a hyperconnected world, youth participation in social movements becomes more relevant. Their interest is reflected in the enormous potential that this social participation of young people has through networks and virtual platforms, becoming an informal communication model with characteristics to be an effective vehicle for social transformation.

[Resumen] Este artículo pretende analizar el fenómeno de la nueva emigración española en París (Francia) surgida en la etapa de crisis económica (2008-2014) como una comunidad virtual a través de los grupos de Españoles en París de Facebook. Este proceso de movilidad intraeuropea permite articular una red de apoyos, información y socialización en destino a través de la creación de estas comunidades imaginadas en las redes sociales. Los grupos de Españoles en París constituyen a través de lazos débiles una comunidad virtual, un tejido asociativo difuso, que con mayor o menor asiduidad agrupa colectivamente a este colectivo migratorio. La dinámica de interacción de estos grupos nos permitió descubrir cómo sus funciones son ambiguas, pues desarrollan tanto mecanismos de solidaridad comunitaria, como a su vez ponen en marcha dinámicas de exclusión de esta ciudadanía virtual. La metodología utilizada fue una etnografía virtual realizando una observación de los perfiles de Facebook (Españoles en París). [Abstract] This article analyses the phenomenon of the new wave of Spanish emigration to Paris (France) during the economic crisis (2008-2014) through studying a virtual community such as the Facebook group Españoles en París. This process of intra-European mobility allows for the articulation of a network of support, information, and socialization at the country of destination through the creation of imagined communities on social networks. The groups Españoles en París constitute a virtual community of weak ties, a diffuse associative network, which greater or less regularity gathers this migratory group. The interaction dynamics of these groups allowed us to discover how their functions are ambiguous, since they develop both mechanisms of community solidarity, as well as dynamics of exclusion from this virtual citizenship. The methodology used consists of virtual ethnography of the Facebook group Españoles en París. Este artículo forma parte de los resultados del proyecto de investigación “La nueva emigración desde España: perfiles, estrategias de movilidad y activismo político transnacional” (CSO2016-80158-R), financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

Communities of virtual co-creation are emerging as a new form of consumer engagement, where through a collaborative and interactive process, ideas and knowledge from consumer are applied differently to create new value for the consumers themselves, the company and all stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to explore the drivers, namely motivation, opportunity and ability, of consumer willingness to participate in communities of virtual co-creation. The role of social motivations, i.e. altruism and social reputation, particularly relevant inside online communities, is investigated. Data were collected through an online survey on 180 consumers from diverse nationalities. The unit of analysis was a virtual co-creation activity for food products. Findings show that consumer motivation and ability have a relevant influence on willingness to participate in co-creation projects, while opportunity has not. In particular, ability showed to be the most relevant factor, suggesting that virtual co-creation initiatives should be properly designed to facilitate the engagement of consumers. Further, results indicate that consumers' motivations are driven by both altruism and social reputation, where altruism plays a greater role. This confirms that social relations are key motivational drivers in virtual communities, where value is created through interaction with like-minded people, exchange of information and experiences, provision of support. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the growth of healthcare virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) through a seven-year longitudinal study conducted using metrics from social-network and semantic analysis. By studying online communication along the three dimensions of social interactions (connectivity, interactivity and language use), the authors aim to provide VCoP managers with valuable insights to improve the success of their communities. Design/methodology/approach Communications over a period of seven years (April 2008 to April 2015) and between 14,000 members of 16 different healthcare VCoPs coexisting on the same web platform were analysed. Multilevel regression models were used to reveal the main determinants of community growth over time. Independent variables were derived from social network and semantic analysis measures. Findings Results show that structural and content-based variables predict the growth of the community. Progressively, more people will join a community if its structure is more centralised, leaders are more dynamic (they rotate more) and the language used in the posts is less complex. Research limitations/implications The available data set included one Web platform and a limited number of control variables. To consolidate the findings of the present study, the experiment should be replicated on other healthcare VCoPs. Originality/value The study provides useful recommendations for setting up and nurturing the growth of professional communities, considering, at the same time, the interaction patterns among the community members, the dynamic evolution of these interactions and the use of language. New analytical tools are presented, together with the use of innovative interaction metrics, that can significantly influence community growth, such as rotating leadership.

Neste artigo propomo-nos descrever a metodologia usada na análise de comunidades virtuais na rede. Dada a existência de Grupos, Redes, Coletivos e Comunidades que povoam a Rede global, importa refletir acerca do quadro metodológico a aplicar sempre que se persiga a intenção de investigar em particular uma destas entidades. Com o objetivo de analisar e caraterizar sete comunidades online, procurando evidenciar os traços que tipificam eventuais comunidades virtuais de prática, foi realizado um estudo de casos múltiplos, de natureza predominantemente qualitativa. Metodologicamente privilegiou-se a observação continuada da realidade vivida nessas comunidades, a realização de entrevistas online semiestruturadas aos moderadores, a análise de redes sociais, procurando analisar as dinâmicas interrelacionais, tendo-se complementado o estudo com o recurso à aplicação de questionários online aos respetivos participantes. Este artigo, para além de procurar dar conta da metodologia usada, apresenta uma matriz de análise dos dados que permite identificar, em face de estruturas localizadas na rede, a existência de comunidades virtuais de prática e a abrangência dos traços que as tipificam., In this article, we propose to describe the methodology used in the analysis of virtual communities on the Internet. Given the existence of the Groups, Networks, Collectives and Communities that populate the Web, it is important to reflect on the methodological framework to be applied when pursuing the investigation of one of these particular entities. With the objective of analyzing and characterizing seven online communities and in seeking to show the traits that typify possible virtual communities of practice, a predominantly qualitative study of multiple cases was conducted. The methodology favored the continued observation of the lived reality in these communities, the conducting of moderated semi-structured online interviews, the analysis of social networks and the attempt to analyze inter-personal dynamics; while the study was supplemented by the application of online questionnaires to the respective participants.This article does not only intend to determine the methodology used, but it also presents a data analysis matrix which allows to identify, in the face of structures located in the network, the existence of virtual communities of practice and the reach of the features that typify them., Dans cet article, nous nous proposons de décrire la méthodologie utilisée pour l’analyse des communautés virtuelles sur le réseau. Compte tenu de la présence de groupes, de réseaux, de collectifs et de communautés qui peuplent le Réseau global, il convient de réfléchir sur le cadre méthodologique à appliquer dès lors que l’on envisage d’étudier l’une de ces entités en particulier. Dans le but d’analyser et de caractériser sept communautés en ligne, en cherchant à mettre en évidence les traits qui caractérisent d’éventuelles communautés virtuelles de pratique, une étude de cas multiples, essentiellement de nature qualitative, a été réalisée. Sur le plan méthodologique, nous avons privilégié l’observation continue de la réalité vécue dans ces communautés, la réalisation d’entretiens en ligne semistructurés aux modérateurs, l’analyse de réseaux sociaux, en cherchant à analyser les dynamiques interrelationnelles, l’étude ayant été complétée par l’application de questionnaires en ligne aux participants respectifs. En plus de rendre compte de la méthodologie utilisée, cet article propose une matrice d’analyse des données qui permet d’identifier, au vu des structures repérées sur internet, l’existence de communautés de pratique virtuelles et l’étendue des traits qui les caractérisent., En este artículo, proponemos una descripción de la metodología empleada para el análisis de comunidades virtuales en Internet. Dada la existencia de los grupos, redes, colectivos y comunidades que inundan la red global, es importante reflexionar sobre el marco metodológico a aplicar cuando se pretenda investigar en particular una de estas entidades. Con el objetivo de analizar y describir las siete comunidades online y velando por la identificación de los posibles rasgos característicos de las comunidades virtuales de práctica, se realizó un estudio de múltiples casos, mayoritariamente cualitativos. A nivel metodológico, se observó de forma continuada la realidad vivida en esas comunidades, se realizaron entrevistas online semiestructuradas a los moderadores y se analizaron las redes sociales, todo ello buscando analizar las dinámicas interrelacionales. El estudio se completó con la aplicación de cuestionarios online a los respectivos participantes. Este artículo, además de intentar narrar la metodología que se ha utilizado, presenta una matriz de análisis de datos que permite identificar, examinando las estructuras encontradas en la red, la existencia de comunidades virtuales de práctica y el alcance de los rasgos que la caracterizan.

2-s2.0-85067351961 The purpose of this study is to investigate performances of some of the data mining approaches while understanding desire and intention to participate in virtual communities and its antecedents. A research model has been developed following the literature review and the model was tested afterwards. In research part of the study, some of the data mining approaches as JRip, Part, OneR Method, Multilayer Perceptron (Neural Networks), Bayesian Networks have been used. Based on the analysis conducted it has been found out that Multilayer Neural Network had the best correct classification rate and lowest RMSE. Copyright © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

[Resumen] El sector turístico en España representa el 11,7% del Producto Interior Bruto, siendo referente en la creación de empleo y posicionándose como un sector estratégico para la creación de empresas. El desarrollo de la tecnología asociada al auge de Internet ha propiciado el fomento de empresas que desarrollan su trabajo en el mundo “online”. Así mismo, el turista ha cambiado la forma en la que adquiere sus servicios: participa de lleno en la creación del producto turístico mejorando así su experiencia turística. Tras un análisis de la evolución tecnológica experimentada por el sector turístico, este trabajo se centra en el concepto de boca-oído electrónico como pieza clave para el posicionamiento de empresas/destinos turísticos. Posteriormente, explora cómo la comunidad virtual de viajeros minube, pequeña empresa española que supone una manifestación de ese boca-oído gracias a la Web 2.0, ha mejorado la experiencia turística de los viajeros. [Abstract] The tourism sector in Spain accounts for 11.7% of the GDP, thus being crucial for the job creation and business expansion. The development of technology linked to the Internet growth has helped the creation of online firms. Likewise, the tourist has now changed the way to purchase services: (s)he participates widely in the creation of the touristic product, hence improving his/her touristic experience. After an analysis of the technological evolution experienced by the tourism sector, the current research focuses on the concept of electronic word of mouth (e-wom) as a key piece for the positioning of tourism destinations/firms. Then, the paper explores how the virtual community minube, a small Spanish business developed in the Web 2.0 environment, has substantially improved the tourism experience of travelers.

Trabajo de Fin de Grado de Información y Documentación, curso 2018-2019., [ES] El presente trabajo estudia las comunidades virtuales de los videojuegos MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) desde el punto de vista de las Ciencias de la Documentación. En él se aborda el videojuego como documento de archivo con la intención de que este encuentre un asiento teórico en la Documentación. En primer lugar, se emplea una metodología basada en el estudio de las aportaciones teóricas anteriores acerca de la selección de documentación de cara a la preservación a largo plazo. A continuación, se realiza un estudio de caso sobre la producción de una comunidad concreta del juego “World of Warcraft”, para comprobar la exhaustividad de la misma. Finalmente, se aporta una clasificación de los contenidos y recurso documentales específicos que representan la actividad de las comunidades de jugadores. Los resultados identifican los materiales que se pueden conservar a largo plazo, a pesar de las dificultades para la captura de algunos de ellos [EN] This project examines virtual worlds’ communities of MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) video games from the perspective of the Information Science. In it, the video game is addressed as an archive document with the purpose of finding a place for it in the discipline. First of all, a methodology based on theoretical background is suggested in order to appraise the best records for long-term preservation. Then, a study case is carried along the production of a certain community from the game “World of Warcraft” to verify its completeness. Finally, a classification of the documental resources which represents the activity of the gamers’ community is provided. The results identify the records which can be long-term preserved, despite the difficulties to capture some of them., [EN] This project examines virtual worlds’ communities of MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) video games from the perspective of the Information Science. In it, the video game is addressed as an archive document with the purpose of finding a place for it in the discipline. First of all, a methodology based on theoretical background is suggested in order to appraise the best records for long-term preservation. Then, a study case is carried along the production of a certain community from the game “World of Warcraft” to verify its completeness. Finally, a classification of the documental resources which represents the activity of the gamers’ community is provided. The results identify the records which can be long-term preserved, despite the difficulties to capture some of them.

Online communities have quickly gained prominence as a common use tool within enterprise workplace communities, including the Department of the Navy. Web 2.0 technologies have allowed social interactions to take place in virtually every aspect of our personal and professional lives. Despite the ubiquitous nature of social media use, research is limited that investigates the various aspects of healthy online interactions in the workplace. Drawing on the outcomes of an in-depth systematic meta-narrative literature review, our aim was to fill the gap by developing a conceptual framework that identifies several critical components. Together, these components characterize an online community: (1) social interactions, (2) information exchange, (3) and individual/organizational values. Furthermore, we identify themes associated with each component, which through management of activities, factors, and community characteristics can assist in the creation and maintenance of healthier online communities. This study aims to help the Navy better understand the characteristics of online communities, their components, and the contributing activities, factors, and attributes so that the Navy can better shape the overall health of online workplace communities. 21st Century Sailor N17 http://archive.org/details/developinghealth1094561335 Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Lieutenant, United States Navy Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Background Strict social distancing measures owing to the COVID-19 pandemic have led people to rely more heavily on social media, such as Facebook groups, as a means of communication and information sharing. Multiple Facebook groups have been formed by medical professionals, laypeople, and engineering or technical groups to discuss current issues and possible solutions to the current medical crisis. Objective This study aimed to characterize Facebook groups formed by laypersons, medical professionals, and technical professionals, with specific focus on information dissemination and requests for crowdsourcing. Methods Facebook was queried for user-created groups with the keywords “COVID,” “Coronavirus,” and “SARS-CoV-2” at a single time point on March 31, 2020. The characteristics of each group were recorded, including language, privacy settings, security requirements to attain membership, and membership type. For each membership type, the group with the greatest number of members was selected, and in each of these groups, the top 100 posts were identified using Facebook’s algorithm. Each post was categorized and characterized (evidence-based, crowd-sourced, and whether the poster self-identified). STATA (version 13 SE, Stata Corp) was used for statistical analysis. Results Our search yielded 257 COVID-19–related Facebook groups. Majority of the groups (n=229, 89%) were for laypersons, 26 (10%) were for medical professionals, and only 2 (1%) were for technical professionals. The number of members was significantly greater in medical groups (21,215, SD 35,040) than in layperson groups (7623, SD 19,480) (P Conclusions Medical professionals utilize Facebook groups as a forum to facilitate collective intelligence (CI) and are more likely to use Facebook groups for education and information sharing, including academic posts, idea sharing, resource sharing, and professional opinions, which highlights the power of social media to facilitate CI across geographic distances. Layperson groups were more likely to share news, humor, and motivation, which suggests the utilization of Facebook groups to provide comedic relief as a coping mechanism. Further investigations are necessary to study Facebook groups’ roles in facilitating CI, crowdsourcing, education, and community-building.

This paper examines ethical issues specific to research into virtual communities. Drawing on an empirical case with online forums of education experts, we identify the following key issues: publicity versus privacy of the community; the definition of human subjects research; participant recruitment; informed consent; and ethical questions associated with observing virtual communities, and with reporting and disseminating research results. We maintain that different research cultures in different countries can present challenges when studying global forums. Acknowledging the ephemeral characteristics of Internet contexts, this paper argues that ethical considerations should be more case-based, instead of relying on one model for all solutions. We suggest that local ethics committees or institutional review boards could, with their expert knowledge of ethics, provide valuable support for researchers operating in the complex and dynamic terrain of Internet research, as well as in fields and research settings where an ethical review is not a standard part of the research process.

This article focuses on how recreational drug users in the Netherlands and in online communities navigate the risks and reduce the harms they associate with psychoactive drug use. To do so, we examined the protective practices they invent, use, and share with their immediate peers and with larger drug experimenting communities online. The labor involved in protective practices and that which ultimately informs harm reduction from below follows three interrelated trajectories: (1) the handling and sharing of drugs to facilitate hassle-free drug use, (2) creating pleasant and friendly spaces that we highlight under the practices of drug use attunements, and (3) the seeking and sharing of information in practices to spread the good high. We focus not only on users’ concerns but also on how these concerns shape their approach to drugs, what young people do to navigate uncertainties, and how they reach out to and create different sources of knowledge to minimize adversities and to improve highs. Harm reduction from below, we argue, can best be seen in the practices of sharing around drug use and in the caring for the larger community of drug-using peers.

The paper is the result of a qualitative study about the MMORPG Dofus, specifically in the Aguabrial server. It was carried out an investigation about the dynamics and relationships generated between the players in and around the game. In this way, the development of this work was circumscribed between 2012 and 2013. Thus, the results presented are based mainly on the application of the ethnographic method and the implementation of social research tools, such as participant observation and interviews undirected In this sense, is performed an analysis of the relationships that exist in the game in the light of the “anthropology of science and technology” (ACT), considering mainly the human / nonhuman relationship, innovation of the everyday and the concept of socio-technical network. As categories, we settled three kinds of relationships mainly: interpersonal relations, economic, and of power, in some situations these relationships can reach beyond the virtual environment in which the game is played., El siguiente artículo es el resultado de un estudio cualitativo sobre el MMORPG: Dofus, específicamente en el servidor Aguabrial. Se llevó a cabo una indagación sobre las dinámicas y las relaciones que se generan entre los jugadores en y alrededor del videojuego. De ese modo, la elaboración del trabajo estuvo circunscrita entre los años 2013 y 2014. Así, los resultados presentados se basan principalmente en la aplicación del método etnográfico y la implementación de herramientas de investigación social como la observación participante y las entrevistas no dirigidas. En ese sentido, se realizó un análisis de las relaciones que se dan en el juego a la luz de la “antropología de la ciencia y la tecnología” (ACT), teniendo en cuenta principalmente la relación humanos / no humanos, la innovación de lo cotidiano y el concepto de red socio-técnica. Como categorías, se establecieron tres tipos de relaciones principalmente: relaciones interpersonales, económicas y de poder, éstas en algunas situaciones pueden llegar a transcender el entorno virtual en el que se desarrolla el juego.

The rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) along with the mass urbanization phenomenon have led to dramatic changes in the ways people create social bonds, form and understand communities and act collectively towards common goals. One important change is that locality and distance is no longer perceived as a key prerequisite for the development of social bonds. Local communities, traditionally based on social grouping by physical proximity, have been seriously affected by technological media (social media and applications). Socio-psychological research shows that the major impact of technology-based communication is the transformation of social bonds between members of local communities and the social capital they accumulate. Within this framework, the research project “GEITONIA” has a dual scope. On a theoretical level, to shed more light on the different ways and degrees local communities use social media and applications in everyday life. On an empirical level, to examine if and in what ways a local social medium mobile application, developed for neighborhoods, can help the understanding of the sense of community and re-strengthen the social cohesion among its members. The article is an attempt to provide a quick glance on the key concepts and theoretical background on which the research project is based.