Collaborative Research: VOSS: The Emergence of Collaborative Social Structure in nanoHUB Cyberspace

协作研究：VOSS：nanoHUB 网络空间中协作社会结构的出现

• 批准号: 0838352
• 负责人: Ann Zimmerman
• 金额: $ 11.17万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0838352&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; VOSS; Emergence; Social

A science gateway can be defined as a community-specific set of tools, applications, and data that are integrated via a portal or suite of applications. The nanoHUB was created as a new form of science gateway, intended to enable collaboration for learning and discovery in nanoscience and technology. The nanoHUB is only four years old but has grown to more than 60,000 members from 170 countries. The goal of this project is to understand the degree to which nanoHUB generates new intellectual capital; the technical and social features of the nanoHUB that support knowledge generation; and, the conditions needed to improve design choices for the expansion and creation of science gateways. The project will compare processes and outcomes in nanoHUB with Indiana CTSI, one of several new gateways that have been launched in other domains using the suite of software and tools available in nanoHUB. IndianaCTSI supports clinical and translational research to improve human health. In the past it was assumed that virtual spaces like nanoHUB and IndianaCTSI could not be considered sites of situated practice or generative of knowledge on their own terms, and no midrange theory of collaborative practice in virtual organizations exists. One aim of this study will be to contribute to the development of a conceptual framework to fill this theoretical gap. In doing so, the project draws on literature in the areas of socio-technical systems, knowledge generation, and collaboration. The research will be conducted in a series of three phases: 1) interviews and focus groups; 2) surveys; and 3) social network analysis. Findings from this study will contribute to a small but growing body of literature that will help to optimize gateway design and use.

科学网关可以定义为通过门户或应用程序套件集成的一组特定于社区的工具，应用程序和数据。纳米ub是作为科学门户的一种新形式而创建的，旨在使纳米科学和技术的学习与发现协作。纳米ub只有四年历史，但已有170个国家的60,000多名成员增长。该项目的目的是了解纳米hub产生新的智力资本的程度。纳米hub的技术和社会特征支持知识产生；而且，为了扩大和创建科学门户的扩展和创建所需的条件。该项目将将NanoHub的流程和结果与Indiana CTSI进行比较，这是使用NanoHub提供的软件和工具在其他域中启动的几个新网关之一。 Indianactsi支持临床和转化研究以改善人类健康。过去，假定像纳米族和印第安纳克人这样的虚拟空间不能被视为根据自己的意见的定位练习或知识的生成，并且在虚拟组织中不存在中间人的协作实践理论。这项研究的目的之一是为填补这一理论差距的概念框架的发展做出贡献。为此，该项目借鉴了社会技术系统，知识生成和协作领域的文献。该研究将在一系列三个阶段进行：1）访谈和焦点小组； 2）调查； 3）社交网络分析。这项研究的发现将有助于少量但不断增长的文献，这将有助于优化网关设计和使用。