VOSS: Voluntary Virtual Organizations: Problem Solving through Collective Storytelling in MMOGs

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。在高度动态的信息环境中，自发的、自组织的团队如何解决定义不明确的问题？联网的个人和亲和力团体越来越多地参与自愿和集体解决问题。他们的自愿虚拟组织已经学会了利用不同群体的集体解决问题的能力。这项研究深入研究了大型多人在线游戏(MMOG)的一个子集--交替现实游戏中的自愿团队行为，以发现可持续的、以结果为导向的在线团队的生命周期动态和特征。由于在线团队，特别是在另类现实游戏中，依赖于分散的志愿者通过技术一起工作，因此团队动态、问题定义和问题解决的谈判是一个持续的、透明的过程。他们对技术的依赖使集体解决问题的过程可见并可供研究。通过集体讲故事的镜头，这个项目确定了问题解决的拐点和障碍。集体讲故事是由一个群体共同构建一个故事，以理解模棱两可的信息。由于集体故事是不断协商的，分析提供了对参与者如何合作以及选择如何解决问题的洞察。这个项目？S的第一个目标是通过对关键游戏剧集的内容分析来评估团队和集体讲故事之间的关系。第二个目标是创建案例研究，比较解决问题的实例，以确定团队合作的原则和可持续团队的特点。这包括调查团队如何处理破坏性行为和相互冲突的信息，从而统一不同个人自发和潜在的不稳定努力。第三个目标是描述和描述自愿虚拟团队的生命周期。这项研究提供了对自愿虚拟组织中集体解决问题的深刻理解，对于技术开发人员、决策者和个人来说，这是在一个日益依赖联网志愿者共同解决实际问题的世界中取得成功的关键一步。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). In highly dynamic information environments, how can spontaneous, self-organizing teams solve ill-defined problems? Networked individuals and affinity groups are increasingly engaged in voluntary and collective problem solving. Their voluntary virtual organizations have learned to harness the collective problem solving abilities of diverse groups. This study deeply examines voluntary teaming behavior in a subset of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) called Alternate Reality Games to discover the life cycle dynamics and characteristics of sustainable, results-oriented online teams. Because online teams, especially in Alternate Reality Games, depend upon far-flung volunteers working together through technology, the negotiation of group dynamics, problem definition and problem resolution is an ongoing, transparent process. Their reliance on technology renders the process of collective problem solving visible and available for study. With the lens of collective storytelling, this project identifies inflection points and obstacles to problem solving. Collective storytelling is the co-construction of a story by a group to make sense of ambiguous information. Since the collective story is constantly negotiated, analysis provides insight into how players work together and choose how to solve problems. The project?s first aim will be to assess the relationship between teaming and collective storytelling through content analysis of critical gaming episodes. The second aim will be to create case studies comparing problem-solving instances to identify principles of teaming and characteristics of sustainable teams. This includes investigations into how teams handle disruptive behavior and conflicting information, thus unifying the spontaneous and potentially volatile efforts of diverse individuals. The third aim is to characterize and describe the life cycle of voluntary virtual teams. This study provides a deep understanding of collective problem solving in voluntary virtual organizations, a critical step for technology developers, decision-makers, and individuals to succeed in a world increasingly dependent on networked volunteers solving real problems together.