Transcript Digital communities - Gredeg

Why Digital Epistemic Communities
are both information and knowledge
based ?
By Richard ARENA (GREDEG, University of Nice/Sophia Antipolis,
CNRS and Wolfson College, Cambridge)
and Bernard CONEIN (LAMIC, University of Nice/Sophia Antipolis and
EHESS, Paris)
Contribution to the Conference “Distributed Networks and Knowledgebased Economies”, 10-11 May, 2007, Nice
1. Digital communities: empirical
variety and analytical typology
2. Digital communities: Agent
Motivations
3. The case of digital epistemic
communities
[II]
1. Digital communities: empirical
variety and analytical typology
What are digital communities?
•
 “A virtual community exists when it is possible for a
group of individuals to meet and interact with each
other in cyberspace and these individuals voluntarily
choose to participate in these meetings and
interactions” (Steinmueller, 2002)
•
 ‘virtual’, ‘interact’, ‘voluntary choose’ + proximity to
economic activities (markets and productive
organisations)
[III]
1. Digital communities: empirical
variety and analytical typology
Empirical variety:
•
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•
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Supply driven communities
Experience sharing communities
Files sharing communities
E-market places
Digital communities of practice
Epistemic e-communities
Knowledge goods e-communities
[IV]
1. Digital communities: empirical variety
and analytical typology
Typology and diversity:
•
Information-based communities include
experience communities, files sharing
communities, e-market places and some
knowledge goods communities
•
Knowledge-based communities include digital
communities of practice, epistemic ecommunities and open-source communities [V]
1. Digital communities: empirical variety
and analytical typology
‘Analytical’ Typology
•
‘Pure’ information-based communities are
oriented towards information diffusion and
knowledge exploitation
•
‘Pure’ knowledge-based communities are
oriented towards actual knowledge exploration
and new knowledge creation
[VI]
1. Digital communities: empirical
variety and analytical typology
• Within digital communities, individuals are
coordinated by and communicated through a
digital artefact
• Amongst digital communities, digital
epistemic communities are communities
where individuals are coordinated and
communicated through a digital artefact
dedicated to information and knowledge
diffusion as well as to knowledge production
[VII]
2. Digital communities: Agent
Motivations
A first approach to digital communities: Old
wine in new bottles?:
•
New types of sociality and
interpersonal intimacy
•
A revival of social or general reciprocity
and thick communities?
[VIII]
2. Digital communities: Agent Motivations
A second approach to digital communities: rational
choice and strategic interaction
• Game theory, self-regarding preferences and
instrumental reciprocity: communication,
repeated interactions and incomplete
information; the problem of reputation effects
• Game theory, other-regarding preferences
and intrinsic reciprocity: the necessity of a
theory of innovation and knowledge creation [IX]
2. Digital communities: Motivations and
incentives
Towards a different approach to digital
communities: reliance on an artefact
•
•
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Digital artefacts as digital technologies of social
interaction present four possible effects:
A communication effect (reliance and trust)
An interaction effect (network effect)
An information effect (information diffusion)
An epistemic effect (new knowledge increase)
[X]
2. Digital communities: Motivations
and incentives
Towards a different approach to digital
communities: reliance on an artefact
• The way these four effects are combined
induces the shape of digital communities
• Degree of reliance on the artefact + Level of the
interaction between agents + Amount of
memorized information + Amount and nature of
new knowledge acquired
[XI]
2. Digital communities: Motivations
and incentives
Towards a different approach to digital
communities: I- and we-rationalities
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The notion of collective end
Weak and strong cooperation
I- and we-rationalities
Tuomela’s pro group I-mode of action
From ‘pure’ to ‘hybrid’ communities
[XII]
3. The case of digital epistemic
communities
Digital epistemic communities are a case of
‘hybrid’ communities:
« Communication can play a critical role for old
knowledge dissemination and new knowledge
acquisition. In the former case communication is
needed to transmit the knowledge enduring
message. In the latter case, at least
collaboration is featured, communication among
collaborators is essential. »
(Alvin Goldman,1999)
[XIII]
3. The case of digital epistemic
communities: two forms of interaction
(i) Strong cooperation and collaborative learning
• Digital epistemic communities first imply collaborative
cooperation between equal peers; and low cognitive
distance:
« The learner co-constructs with a peer of equal knowledge
and status a novel cognitive structure… it is a process of
cultural creation or co-construction rather than
transmission » (Tomasello and alii,1993).
• This form of cooperation implies we-rationality and
requires strong reciprocity; I-rationality and mutual selfinterest are not sufficient
[XIV]
3. The case of digital epistemic
communities: two forms of interaction
(ii) Transmisional cooperation
•
Digital epistemic communities also imply transmisional
cooperation between knowers; and high cognitive distance:
1. knowledge transmission is not knowledge replication but
generates knowledge transformation since pure ‘cognitive
artefacts’ (Norman, 1991) through digital automatons parse
contents (see Sperber’s relevance theory) but…
2. ...co-operative communication between individuals allows the
context as well as reciprocity norms to correct and repair
transmission distortions
3. How? Thanks to epistemic artefacts especially
[XV]
3. The case of digital epistemic
communities: the notion of epistemic
artefact
• Epistemic artefacts are a special kind of interactive artefacts
designed to sustain collaborative joint task and cooperative
communication within digital epistemic communities; they
sustain we-rationality in ICT-based economies.
• Epistemic Artefacts also allow the co-creation of knowledge
by knowledge producers and users, “making public desires and
knowledge in co-operative communication” (Tomasello, 2006)
• Therefore, co-operative communication is also required for
knowledge creation within digital epistemic communities and
implies a combination of cognitive and epistemic artefacts
[XVI]
Conclusions
• Importance of the distinction between ‘pure’
information- and knowledge based
communities
• Importance of artefacts, even for economists
• Importance of the distinction between I- and
we-rationalities
• ‘Pure’ and ‘hybrid’ digital communities
• Combination of cognitive and epistemic
artefacts
[XVII]