Ulrike Cress

Information Exchange With Shared Databases as a Social Dilemma: The Effect of Metaknowledge, Bonus Systems, and Costs

When group members exchange information via shared databases people are often reluctant to contribute information they possess. This is explained by the fact that this kind of information exchange represents a social dilemma. This article applies critical concepts of dilemma theory to the interpretation of database information exchange as a social dilemma and tests their effects experimentally. A prestudy with the experimental task ensures that people perceive database information exchange as a social dilemma, and two experiments investigate three factors influencing this dilemma: (a) a person’s meta-knowledge about the importance of his information for the other group members, (b) a use-related bonus system that rewards contribution of important information, and (c) costs incurred by the contribution of important or less important information. As dependent variables people’s contribution behavior as well as their subjective perception of the dilemma structure are considered. The results show that metaknowledge enhances the quality of contributions, especially in combination with a use-related bonus system, whereas increased contribution costs influence the contribution behavior negatively.

Implicit and explicit dialogue structuring in virtual learning groups.

BACKGROUNDnThe promotion of virtual learning groups by instructional means is gaining importance with the spread of telematic learning. In virtual learning groups, students discuss certain learning materials or cooperate in problem solving by means of computer-mediated communication. Due to the specific features of electronic communication, supportive means appear to be necessary for such learning situations.nnnAIMSnThe investigation focuses on testing two different forms of dialogue structuring in virtual learning groups, in which students discuss a given subject matter together and clarify problems in understanding by means of synchronous computer-mediated communication.nnnSAMPLEnForty-five students from various disciplines at the University of Tübingen, except students of physics, participated in the investigation.nnnMETHODnAn experiment was conducted involving three-person groups in a telematic setting with two different kinds of dialogue structuring: implicit structuring induced group discussion on the subject matter by working on key questions in a preceding learning phase, whilst explicit structuring provided additional rules for discussion. These rules prompted group members to argue and aimed at directing them to equal participation.nnnRESULTSnCompared to a control group, both implicit and explicit structuring showed greater orientation on the subject matter and showed less off-task talk. Moreover, explicit structuring led to more coherence in subject matter discussion with regard to the completion of topics. However, post-test performance showed no significant difference in knowledge over that of the control group.nnnCONCLUSIONnThe results of the investigation show that dialogue structuring can be an adequate pedagogical approach for virtual learning groups.

Learning and Collective Knowledge Construction With Social Media: A Process-Oriented Perspective.

Social media are increasingly being used for educational purposes. The first part of this article briefly reviews literature that reports on educational applications of social media tools. The second part discusses theories that may provide a basis for analyzing the processes that are relevant for individual learning and collective knowledge construction. We argue that a systems-theoretical constructivist approach is appropriate to examine the processes of educational social media use, namely, self-organization, the internalization of information, the externalization of knowledge, and the interplay of externalization and internalization providing the basis of a co-evolution of cognitive and social systems. In the third part we present research findings that illustrate and support this systems-theoretical framework. Concluding, we discuss the implications for educational design and for future research on learning and collective knowledge construction with social media.

Improving quality and quantity of contributions: Two models for promoting knowledge exchange with shared databases

Shared databases are used for knowledge exchange in groups. Whether a person is willing to contribute knowledge to a shared database presents a social dilemma: Each group member saves time and energy by not contributing any information to the database and by using the database only to retrieve information which was contributed by others. But if all people use this strategy, then the database will be empty and, hence, useless for every group member. Based on theoretical approaches, two models for fostering the information-sharing behavior of database users are presented. One for enhancing the quality of database contents, and one for enhancing the quantity of those contents. The models take into account the following factors: the kinds of rewards the participants obtain for contributing information, the individual costs associated with this contribution, the prospective metaknowledge about the importance of ones own information to the others, and the retrospective metaknowledge about how much others contributed to and retrieved from the database. These factors enhance the quantity of database contents as well as their quality. A highly controlled experimental setting for testing the models is presented. Results of three experiments support some expectations derived from the models. Their implications for organizational and educational settings are discussed.

Previews in hypertexts: effects on navigation and knowledge acquisition

In hypertexts, previews can be used as local tools for navigation. They pop up when a link is activated and provide information about the linked page. In an experimental study with 50 participants the effect of previews on searching and knowledge acquisition was investigated. The participants had to explore a hypertext with the aim either to understand as much as they could or to search for information. Previews enhanced knowledge acquisition in both conditions and supported intentional and incidental learning. In the searching condition previews were used for link selection, even if they could not enhance the search results.

A productive clash of perspectives? The interplay between articles’ and authors’ perspectives and their impact on Wikipedia edits in a controversial domain.

This study examined predictors of the development of Wikipedia articles that deal with controversial issues. We chose a corpus of articles in the German-language version of Wikipedia about alternative medicine as a representative controversial issue. We extracted edits made until March 2013 and categorized them using a supervised machine learning setup as either being pro conventional medicine, pro alternative medicine, or neutral. Based on these categories, we established relevant variables, such as the perspectives of articles and of authors at certain points in time, the (im)balance of an article’s perspective, the number of non-neutral edits per article, the number of authors per article, authors’ heterogeneity per article, and incongruity between authors’ and articles’ perspectives. The underlying objective was to predict the development of articles’ perspectives with regard to the controversial topic. The empirical part of the study is embedded in theoretical considerations about editorial biases and the effectiveness of norms and rules in Wikipedia, such as the neutral point of view policy. Our findings revealed a selection bias where authors edited mainly articles with perspectives similar to their own viewpoint. Regression analyses showed that an author’s perspective as well as the article’s previous perspectives predicted the perspective of the resulting edits, albeit both predictors interact with each other. Further analyses indicated that articles with more non-neutral edits were altogether more balanced. We also found a positive effect of the number of authors and of the authors’ heterogeneity on articles’ balance. However, while the effect of the number of authors was reserved to pro-conventional medicine articles, the authors’ heterogenity effect was restricted to pro-alternative medicine articles. Finally, we found a negative effect of incongruity between authors’ and articles’ perspectives that was pronounced for the pro-alternative medicine articles.

Why member portraits can undermine participation

One possible way to support social awareness in virtual collaborative environments is to provide member portraits. Based on the SIDE-Model (Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effect) it is argued that these portraits can have ambivalent effects for people who act according to the mode of personal identity and for people who act according to the mode of social identity. An experiment providing an information-exchange dilemma task confirmed these expectations.

The impact of epistemological beliefs and cognitive ability on recall and critical evaluation of scientific information

AbstractnScientific research findings are frequently picked up by the mainstream media, but it is largely unclear which factors have an impact on laypeople’s processing of the presented scientific information. In this study, we investigated the influence of cognitive and metacognitive inter-individual differences on recall and on critical evaluation of new scientific information that was presented in a journalistic article. Sixty-three participants (80xa0% female; mean age 24.1xa0±xa03.3xa0years) read a newspaper article reporting research findings on a recently developed and yet unproven treatment for depression. We found that more sophisticated, domain-specific epistemological beliefs and a higher cognitive ability were independently associated with better recall of content from the article. Additionally, participants with more sophisticated epistemological beliefs displayed a more critical evaluation of the article. Cognitive ability was unrelated to critical evaluation and to epistemological beliefs. There were also no interaction effects of cognitive ability and epistemological beliefs on recall or on critical evaluation. Based on our preliminary findings and previous evidence of epistemological beliefs as a modifiable feature, we discuss this inter-individual characteristic as a potential target for the promotion of better understanding of scientific topics by the general public.

Joint interactions in large online knowledge communities: The A3C framework

Social interaction is crucial for understanding individual and collective processes in knowledge communities. We describe how technology has changed the way people interact in large communities. Building on this description, we propose a framework that distinguishes four types of joint interactions in online knowledge communities: Attendance, Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration (A3C framework). These four types of interactions vary depending on the extent to which community members share their goals, processes, and outcomes. Attendance, the weakest form of joint interaction, is characterized by individualistic orientations; people may belong to a community but are still driven by individualistic goals, work as individuals, and produce outcomes for personal benefits. Coordination, a stronger form of interaction, is characterized by interdependence among community members; members still act largely as individuals, but their goals, processes, and outcomes are now interdependent or contingent on other community members. Cooperation is characterized by shared goals and outcomes, but the process of achieving the goal is not fully shared; members coordinate their activities and may also engage in some joint processes but work individually for most of the time. Collaboration is characterized by sharing in all of the dimensions involved; people share the processes, as well as the goals and outcomes of their work. These four types of joint interactions are not mutually exclusive, but instead build on each other. We discuss how the A3C framework may serve as a guide for future research and can support design efforts in online knowledge communities.

Scientific evidence is very important for me

Medical laypeople frequently use forums on the Internet for communicating about various health-related topics. How they communicate with other users and which content they select to recommend to each other depends on personal as well as on social factors. In this study we examined two influencing factors in an experimental online forum where 61 women as participants exchanged opinions and information about mammography screening. We studied as a personal factor the impact of participants personal behavioral intentions with regard to participation in mammography screening. We examined as a social factor the wording of the preceding post of an inquirer, which either emphasized the relevance of scientific evidence or of holistic medicine. We found that the more the participants were willing to participate in mammography, the more they recommended scientifically phrased arguments to an inquirer. Moreover, participants adapted their replies to the (scientific vs. holistic) orientation of the inquirers. Finally, we found that scientifically phrased inquiries elicited stronger recommendations in general. We discuss implications of our findings and provide suggestions for future research on online forums. We examined behavior in an experimental online forum.People adapted their replies to the orientation of the inquirers.Scientifically phrased inquiries elicited stronger recommendations.