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Social Capital in Electronic Networks of Practice: An Analysis of University Blogging Communities

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Social Media Tools and Platforms in Learning Environments

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Abstract

Weblogs are a popular social communication technology enabling individuals to collaborate and share knowledge. This paper investigates how universities use blogging to facilitate student information exchange that is not directly moderated within a classroom environment. Social capital has been identified as a powerful indicator facilitating the transfer of knowledge (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998) and is used as the theoretical underpinnings for investigating why students participate in un-moderated university blogging communities. It is postulated that students with higher levels of social capital are more likely to participate within university blogging communities. Results suggest that the following aspects of social capital: trust; personal reputation and the enjoyment derived from helping others; significantly influence student participation in un-moderated blogging communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, 6009, Australia

    Sharon Purchase & Nick Letch

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  1. Sharon Purchase
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  2. Nick Letch
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Correspondence to Sharon Purchase .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Scientific Computing and Computing Services, 20450, MailStop 97, Stanford, CA, 94309, USA

    Bebo White

  2. Dept. Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR

    Irwin King

  3. AT&T Labs Research, 201 Mission St. Ste 200, San Francisco, CA, 94105-1831, USA

    Irwin King

  4. Caritas Institute of Higher Education Center of Excellence, Chui Ling Road 18, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong SAR

    Philip Tsang

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Purchase, S., Letch, N. (2011). Social Capital in Electronic Networks of Practice: An Analysis of University Blogging Communities. In: White, B., King, I., Tsang, P. (eds) Social Media Tools and Platforms in Learning Environments. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20392-3_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20392-3_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20391-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20392-3

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