Public grid computing participation: An exploratory study of determinants

Using the Internet, “public” computing grids can be assembled using “volunteered” PCs. To achieve this, volunteers download and install a software application capable of sensing periods of low local processor activity. During such times, this program on the local PC downloads and processes a subset of the project's data. At the completion of processing, the results are uploaded to the project and the cycle repeats.     

The motivations,enablers and barriers for voluntary participation in an online crowdsourcing platform

This paper examines the phenomena of online crowdsourcing from the perspectives of both volunteers and the campaign coordinator of Tomnod – an online mapping project that uses crowdsourcing to identify objects and places in satellite images. A mixed-methods approach was used to study the enablers and barriers to participation, taking into consideration the whole spectrum of volunteers. The results show broad diversity in online volunteers, both in their demographics and the factors affecting their voluntary participation. The majority are older than 50 years and many – particularly the most active volunteers – have disabilities or long term health problems. The personal circumstances of participants are highlighted as a major factor affecting involvement in campaigns. Like many other platforms, altruism is a key motivator, yet many participants are more interested in the quality of their data and the impact it has on the ground. For many participants of online crowdsourcing campaigns, their involvement is strongly linked to the level of contact they have with campaign coordinators, both in the design of the platform and in providing feedback on the impact of their contributions.     

中西方志愿者运动发生机制的比较研究

从组织动员角度看,西方国家并没有专门的政府机构负责志愿者活动,志愿者运动是建立在自发秩序基础上的,社团、社区和慈善组织是志愿活动的发动者、组织者和实施者,而政府的角色仅仅是辅助性的引导者和因势利导的推动者,现在发达国家志愿者的参与人数普遍达到了人口总数的一半左右;中国正相反,不仅有正式组织负责,而且投入了大量人力、物力和财力,但是民众加入志愿者队伍的积极性并不高,即使在奥运会即将召开的大背景下,参加志愿者的公民人数依然远远少于发达国家的平均水平。本文从中西方国家志愿者活动的发生机制入手,比较分析这两种不同的运行机制对志愿者活动发展的影响。     

Volunteering for Linked Data Wrapper maintenance: A platform perspective

Linked Data Wrappers (LDWs) turn Web APIs into RDF end-points, leveraging the Linked Open Data cloud with current data. Unfortunately, LDWs are fragile upon upgrades on the underlying APIs, compromising LDW stability. Hence, for API-based LDWs to become a sustainable foundation for the Web of Data, we should recognize LDW maintenance as a continuous effort that outlives their breakout projects. This is not new in Software Engineering. Other projects in the past faced similar issues. The strategy: becoming open source and turning towards dedicated platforms. By making LDWs open, we permit others not only to inspect (hence, increasing trust and consumption), but also to maintain (to cope with API upgrades) and reuse (to adapt for their own purposes). Promoting consumption, adaptation and reuse might all help to increase the user base, and in so doing, might provide the critical mass of volunteers, current LDW projects lack. Drawing upon the Helping Theory, we investigate three enablers of volunteering applied to LDW maintenance: impetus to respond, positive evaluation of contributing and increasing awareness. Insights are fleshed out through SYQL, a LDW platform on top of Yahoo’s YQL. Specifically, SYQL capitalizes on the YQL community (i.e. impetus to respond), providesannotation overlays to easy participation (i.e. positive evaluation of contributing), and introduces aHealth Checker (i.e. increasing awareness). Evaluation is conducted for 12 subjects involved in maintaining someone else’s LDWs. Results indicate that both the Health Checker and the annotation overlays provide utility as enablers of awareness and contribution.     

Potential and promise of online volunteering

The Internet is often perceived as yet another technological innovation that causes a further widening of the gap between rich and poor. However, one of the most interesting phenomena to come out of the Internet revolution is its utilization as a channel for social development. Volunteers working in task forces who were recruited through the net, work to improve the lives of many millions of people in need throughout the world. Some of these volunteers are ‘field workers’, working in physical proximity to those they are trying to help, while others may be sitting at home, using their computers to help needy populations many thousands of miles away. This paper studies this trend and advocates a model to explain the potential and promise of online volunteerism from the perspective of the volunteer. It is suggested that understanding the characteristics behind Internet volunteering from the perspective of the volunteer may enhance the positive potential of the Internet.