@proceedings {bullard2024, title = {Folksonomies in crowdsourcing platforms: Three tensions associated with the development of shared language in distributed groups}, year = {2024}, abstract = {

Members of cooperative groups can work together more effectively if they develop a shared language, but distributed groups face barriers to doing so. To better understand how shared language can emerge in and support the work of distributed groups, we review the literature on folksonomies (a kind of shared language) in crowdsourcing systems (one type of distributed work). The review highlights three tensions associated with the development of folksonomies in crowdsourcing. The first problem is who has the power to decide on adopted terminology. Second, different users of the language may have different needs. There might be tension if people tagging objects are not the same as those using these tags to search for content. Finally, projects need to decide when to intervene to maintain a balance between a stable ontology and the ability of the project to accommodate ongoing changes. We illustrate these considerations by comparing how they are handled in the story-sharing site Archive of Our Own, the citizen-science project GravitySpy, and the photo-sharing site Flickr.

}, doi = {10.48340/ecscw2024_n06}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ECSCW2024_Folksonomy_Crowdsourcing__Final_.pdf}, author = {Bullard, Julia and Crowston, Kevin and Jackson, Corey B. and Smith, Alexander O. and {\O}sterlund, Carsten} } @article {9999, title = {Framing and feelings on social media: The futures of work and intelligent machines}, journal = {Information, Technology \& People}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Purpose: This study explores interpretations and feelings about futures of work and intelligent machines expressed on social media. Design/methodology/approach: We investigate public interpretations, assumptions and expectations expressed in social media conversations through which users freely share their most recent ideas. In addition to frames, this study also coded the emotions and attitudes expressed in the text data. More specifically, a corpus consisting of 998 unique Reddit post titles and their corresponding 16,611 comments were analyzed by using computer-aided textual analysis comprising a BERTopic model, and two BERT text classification models, one for emotion and the other for sentiment analysis, supported by human judgment. Finally, relationships among frames and attitudes and frames and emotions were examined. Findings: Twelve clusters were found that related to futures of work with intelligent machines. Based on the prior literature, two frames were chosen from these clusters and analyzed in detail: (1) general impacts of intelligent machines on wealth and society and (2) replacement of tasks (augmentation and substitution). The general attitude observed in conversations was positive, moreover the most common emotion category was approval. Findings also showed there are relationships between frames and attitudes and frames and emotions. Originality: This work extends the prior literature on a topic relevant for academia and industry. Findings of this research can help realize potential needs and benefits from the public{\textquoteright}s vantage point in the case of possible transformations in the future of work with intelligent machines. The findings may also help enlighten researchers to shape research directions about futures of work. Furthermore, firms, organizations or industries may also employ framing methods to receive customers{\textquoteright} or workers{\textquoteright} responses, or even to influence the responses. Aside from the empirical findings, another crucial implication of this work is application of theory of technological frames for systematizing the interpretations of how people conceptualize the future of work with the technology of intelligent machines. This study constitutes a bridge that connects fields of IS, computational science and empirical social research. }, doi = {10.1108/ITP-01-2023-0049}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/frames\%20to\%20share.pdf}, author = {Ay{\c s}e {\"O}cal and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9998, title = {Functional and Visionary Leadership in Self-Managing Virtual Teams}, journal = {Group \& Organization Management}, volume = {46}, year = {2021}, month = {04/2021}, pages = {424{\textendash}460}, abstract = {

In this conceptual article, we present a theory of leadership in self-managing virtual teams. We describe leadership in this setting as a process that results in the creation, reinforcement and evolution of shared mental models and shared norms that influence team member behaviour towards the successful accomplishment of shared goals. We distinguish two types of leadership. We identify leadership that works within and reinforces existing models and norms to influence team contributions as {\textquotedblleft}functional{\textquotedblright} leadership. We identify leadership that results in changes in models and norms as {\textquotedblleft}visionary{\textquotedblright} leadership. We propose that successful self-managing virtual teams require both types of leadership and that they will exhibit a paradoxical combination of shared, distributed functional leadership complemented by strong, concentrated and centralized visionary leadership and that visionary leadership is enabled by functional leadership in the form of substantive team member contributions.

}, keywords = {functional leadership, Leadership, Self-managing teams, structuration theory, virtual teams, visionary leadership}, doi = {10.1177/1059601120955034}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/1059601120955034_0.pdf}, author = {Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert} } @proceedings {2020, title = {Factors Influencing Approval of Wikipedia Bots}, year = {2020}, address = {Wailea, HI}, abstract = {

Before a Wikipedia bot is allowed to edit, the operator of the bot must get approval. The Bot Approvals Group (BAG), a committee of Wikipedia bot developers, users and editors, discusses each bot request to reach consensus regarding approval or denial. We examine factors related to approval of a bot by analyzing 100 bots{\textquoteright} project pages. The results suggest that usefulness, value-based decision making and the bot{\textquoteright}s status (e.g., automatic or manual) are related to approval. This study may contribute to understanding decision making regarding the human-automation boundary and may lead to developing more efficient bots.

}, doi = {10.24251/HICSS.2020.018}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/HICSS_WikipediaPaper_3.9.new\%20kc\%20\%282\%29.pdf}, author = {Ayse Dalgali and Kevin Crowston} } @article {9999, title = {Folksonomies to support coordination and coordination of folksonomies}, journal = {Computer Supported Cooperative Work}, volume = {27}, year = {2018}, pages = {647{\textendash}678}, abstract = {

Members of highly-distributed groups in online production communities face challenges in achieving coordinated action. Existing CSCW research highlights the importance of shared language and artifacts when coordinating actions in such settings. To better understand how such shared language and artifacts are, not only a guide for, but also a result of collaborative work we examine the development of folksonomies (i.e., volunteer-generated classification schemes) to support coordinated action. Drawing on structuration theory, we conceptualize a folksonomy as an interpretive schema forming a structure of signification. Our study is set in the context of an online citizen-science project, Gravity Spy, in which volunteers label "glitches" (noise events recorded by a scientific instrument) to identify and name novel classes of glitches. Through a multi-method study combining virtual and trace ethnography, we analyze folksonomies and the work of labelling as mutually constitutive, giving folksonomies a dual role: an emergent folksonomy supports the volunteers in labelling images at the same time that the individual work of labelling images supports the development of a folksonomy. However, our analysis suggests that the lack of supporting norms and authoritative resources (structures of legitimation and domination) undermines the power of the folksonomy and so the ability of volunteers to coordinate their decisions about naming novel glitch classes. These results have implications design. If we hope to support the development of emergent folksonomies online production communities need to facilitate 1) tag gardening, a process of consolidating overlapping terms of artifacts; 2) demarcate a clear home for discourses around folksonomy disagreements; 3) highlight clearly when decisions have been reached; and 4) inform others about those decisions.

}, doi = {10.1007/s10606-018-9327-z}, url = {https://rdcu.be/NZ7E}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ECSCW-Paper-Final.pdf}, author = {Corey Brian Jackson and Kevin Crowston and Carsten {\O}sterlund and Mahboobeh Harandi} } @conference {2013, title = {Forgotten island: A story-driven citizen science adventure}, booktitle = {CHI {\textquoteright}13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems}, year = {2013}, month = {4/2013}, pages = {2643{\textendash}2646}, publisher = {ACM Press}, organization = {ACM Press}, address = {Paris, France}, abstract = {

Forgotten Island, a citizen science video game, is part of an NSF-funded design science research project, Citizen Sort. It is a mechanism to help life scientists classify photographs of living things and a research tool to help HCI and information science scholars explore storytelling, engagement, and the quality of citizenproduced data in the context of citizen science.

}, isbn = {9781450319522}, doi = {10.1145/2468356.2479484}, url = {http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/2480000/2479484/p2643-prestopnik.pdf}, author = {Nathan Prestopnik and Souid, Dania} } @article {Crowston:2009, title = {Free/Libre Open Source Software Development: What we know and what we do not know}, journal = {ACM Computing Surveys}, volume = {44}, year = {2012}, month = {02/2012}, edition = {2}, abstract = {We review the empirical research on Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and assess the state of the literature. We develop a framework for organizing the literature based on the input-mediator-output- input (IMOI) model from the small groups literature. We present a quantitative summary of articles selected for the review and then discuss findings of this literature categorized into issues pertaining to inputs (e.g., member characteristics, technology use and project characteristics), processes (software development and social processes), emergent states (e.g., trust and task related states) and outputs (e.g. team performance, FLOSS implementation and project evolution). Based on this review, we suggest topics for future research, as well as identifying methodological and theoretical issues for future inquiry in this area, including issues relating to sampling and the need for more longitudinal studies.}, doi = {10.1145/2089125.2089127}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CrowstonFLOSSReviewPaperPreprint.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%201\%20Journal\%20and\%20Conference\%20Names.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%202\%20Coding\%20Scheme.pdf , https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Appendix\%203\%20Studies\%20included\%20in\%20the\%20review.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @article {2012, title = {The future of citizen science: emerging technologies and shifting paradigms}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, volume = {10}, year = {2012}, month = {08/2012}, pages = {298{\textendash}304}, abstract = {

Citizen science creates a nexus between science and education that, when coupled with emerging technologies, expands the frontiers of ecological research and public engagement. Using representative technologies and other examples, we examine the future of citizen science in terms of its research processes, program and participant cultures, and scientific communities. Future citizen-science projects will likely be influenced by sociocultural issues related to new technologies and will continue to face practical programmatic challenges. We foresee networked, open science and the use of online computer/video gaming as important tools to engage non-traditional audiences, and offer recommendations to help prepare project managers for impending challenges. A more formalized citizen-science enterprise, complete with networked organizations, associations, journals, and cyberinfrastructure, will advance scientific research, including ecology, and further public education.

}, issn = {1540-9295}, doi = {10.1890/110294}, url = {http://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/110294}, author = {Newman, Greg and Wiggins, Andrea and Crall, Alycia and Graham, Eric and Newman, Sarah and Kevin Crowston} } @conference {2011, title = {From Conservation to Crowdsourcing: A Typology of Citizen Science}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Forty-fourth Hawai{\textquoteright}i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-44)}, year = {2011}, month = {1/2011}, address = {Koloa, HI}, abstract = {

Citizen science is a form of research collaboration involving members of the public in scientific research projects to address real-world problems. Often organized as a virtual collaboration, these projects are a type of open movement, with collective goals addressed through open participation in research tasks. Existing typologies of citizen science projects focus primarily on the structure of participation, paying little attention to the organizational and macrostructural properties that are important to designing and managing effective projects and technologies. By examining a variety of project characteristics, we identified five types{\textemdash}Action, Conservation, Investigation, Virtual, and Education{\textemdash}that differ in primary project goals and the importance of physical environment to participation.

}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss-44.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @article {Howison:2006, title = {FLOSSmole: A collaborative repository for FLOSS research data and analyses}, journal = {International Journal of Information Technology and Web Engineering}, volume = {1}, number = {3}, year = {2006}, pages = {17{\textendash}26}, abstract = {This paper introduces and expands on previous work on a collaborative project, called FLOSSmole (formerly OSSmole), designed to gather, share and store comparable data and analyses of free and open source software development for academic research. The project draws on the ongoing collection and analysis efforts of many research groups, reducing duplication, and promoting compatibility both across sources of FLOSS data and across research groups and analyses. The paper outlines current difficulties with the current typical quantitative FLOSS research process and uses these to develop requirements and presents the design of the system.}, keywords = {FLOSSmole}, issn = {1554-1045 }, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/FLOSSmole.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Conklin, Megan S. and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Annabi:2006, title = {From Individual Contribution to Group learning: the Early Years of Apache Web Server}, year = {2006}, pages = {77{\textendash}90}, address = {Lake Como, Italy, 8{\textendash}9 June}, abstract = {Open Source Software (OSS) groups experience many benefits and challenges with respect to the core group{\textquoteright}s effectiveness. In order to capitalize on the benefits and minimize the challenges, OSS groups must learn not only on the individual level, but also on the group level. OSS groups learn by integrating individual contributions into the group{\textquoteright}s product and processes. This paper reports on the characteristics of the learning process in OSS groups. The study utilized an embedded single case study design that observed and analyzed group learning processes in the Apache Web server OSS project. The study used learning opportunity episodes (LOE) as the embedded unit of analysis and developed and utilized three content analytic schemes to describe the characteristics of the learning process and the factors affecting this process.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Learning}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/FromIndividualContributionToGroup.pdf}, author = {Annabi, Hala and Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert} } @conference {Crowston:2005b, title = {Face-to-face interactions in self-organizing distributed teams}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2005}, address = {Honolulu, HI}, abstract = {We explore the role of face-to-face meetings in the life of distributed teams using data from Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. Such distributed teams are part of many organizations{\textquoteright} new vision of management in the 21st century. Practitioner research has suggested the need for face-to-face meetings when a team is formed, but few studies have considered the role of face-to-face meetings during a team{\textquoteright}s life. Based on a qualitative inductive analysis of data from interviews and observations at FLOSS conferences, we identify a variety of settings in which FLOSS developers meet face-to-face, activities performed in these settings and benefits obtained. Contrary to prior research, we find that FLOSS developers generally do not meet until the project is well under way. We also find that an additional benefit of face-to-face meetings is time away from a regular job. We conclude by noting limitations in our data collection due to a focus on core developers in large projects and with directions for further research.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/FaceToFace\%20Interactions.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Masango, Chengetai and Eseryel, U. Yeliz} } @article {Crowston:2005d, title = {Future research on FLOSS development}, journal = {First Monday}, volume = {10}, year = {2005}, issn = {13960466}, doi = {10.5210/fm.v0i0.1465 }, author = {Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Kwasnik:2004, title = {A framework for creating a facetted classification for genres: Addressing issues of multidimensionality}, year = {2004}, address = {Big Island, Hawai{\textquoteright}i, January}, abstract = {People recognize and use document genres as a way of identifying useful information and of participating in mutually understood communicative acts. Crowston and Kwasnik [1] discuss the possibility of improving information access in large digital collections through the identification and use of document genre metadata. They draw on the definition of genre proposed by Orlikowski and Yates [3], who describe genre as {\textquotedblleft}a distinctive type of communicative action, characterized by a socially recognized communicative purpose and common aspects of form{\textquotedblright} (p. 543). Scholars in fields such as rhetoric and library science have attempted to describe and systematize the notion of genre, and have offered many different definitions of genre. We like Orlikowski and Yates{\textquoteright}s definition because it takes into account all three aspects of genre that we recognize as fundamental: content, form, and purpose. A document{\textquoteright}s genre is a subtle and complex concept in which the content and form of a document are fused with its purpose or function. As such, a document{\textquoteright}s genre cannot be separated from the context in which it is used; the same document may be construed as being of a different genre depending on how it is invoked in a given situation. Starting from the document, a letter may be a personal communication, or a piece of evidence in a court of law, or an agreement, or even a work of art. Starting from the situation, we note that differences in an information situation are often reflected in the kind of document that is considered helpful (e.g., a problem set vs. a lesson plan vs. a tutorial about mathematics, for instance). Thus, we see genre as a multidimensional phenomenon, which takes into account not only the attributes of the document itself, but also of its role in human endeavor. In this paper, we discuss some considerations in developing a facetted classification for genres to address the problem of multi-dimensionality.}, doi = {10.1109/HICSS.2004.1265268}, attachments = {https://crowston.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/205640100a.pdf}, author = {Kwa{\'s}nik, Barbara H. and Kevin Crowston} }