Collaboration Mechanism Of Internet-based Mass Voluntary Actions

To illustrate, in China, after the earthquake hit Sichuan Province on May12,2008(known as the5.12earthquake), the Internet-based mass collaboration becamethe main mode of voluntary actions such as searching and saving the injured people inpublic crisis, cracking down on the abduction of women and children, assisting theimpoverished students, planting trees and launching environmental protectionprograms on the Internet, and provided a new perspective and strength for thedevlopment of China’s civil society. So this paper focuses on research of thecollaboration mechanism of Internet-based mass voluntary actions.This thesis establishes its logical framework, that is, with the communality ofInternet-based mass voluntary actions as breakthrough point, and with the situation andcollaboration mechanism of the action as the research object, the thesis abstracts athree-level model of collaboration process: information network, knowledge network,and collaboration network, and analyzes the key mechanism of the three levels:information transmission, knowledge network evolution, target and task collaborationand an applied research on this basis.The author’s choosing of this topic is firstly a result from her pondering over thequestion why the mass voluntary actions featuring a large number of participants andself organization can take place on the Internet and exploration of what a situationthese actions are staying in the world today. And accordingly, the second chaptertheoretically summarizes the combination of the Internet and civil society, theself-governce theory, social capital and peer production, and expatiates the actionwhich is defined by scholars as Internet-based mass collaboration. The author’sexploration in this aspect has continued to the present, as more and more researchersare proving or have proved that society has changed a lot due to Internet-based masscollaboration.The thesis discusses the situational characteristics of Internet-based massvoluntary actions based on the transmission mechanism of information. And it putsforward a model of information transmission according to logical analysis, andanalyzes topological structure of information network of QQ group and micro-blogbased on case study and makes comparison between the two. At the same time, on thebasis of the seven rules of self-governce theory, it probes into collaboration situations with Chinese characteristics--adaptability of virtual space, mainly referring to QQ andQQ group, in the Internet-based mass voluntary actions. This is an excitingachievement which helps a lot for the following research to find and trace severalInternet-based mass voluntary actions cases covering a long time span.The evolution of knowledge network bridges information transmission andcollaboration. By logic analysis and hypothesis setting and using multi-agentsimulation method, an evolution simulation is made on the task-oriented andknowledge-oriented knowledge network. And on this basis, the social network analysisis adopted to analyze the case of Huaxia Voluntary Action Network and get theevolution features of different types of knowledge network, providing a foundation forthe following research of the target and task collaboration mechanism.In analyzing the action itself, the thesis focuses on the target collaborationmechanism and task collaboration mechanism in mass voluntary actions. The case ofmobilizing the public to protect Asian elephants is adopted in the study of targetcollaboration mechanism. And the relation between collective identity and targetcollaboration mechanism is also confirmed by a survey, and finally via hypothesistesting it can be concluded that collective identity is the main factor of targetcollaboration mechanism. The case study is conducted both in the Netherlands and theUnited Kingdom from October2009to June2010. In the study of task collaborationmechanism, the paper discusses the elements setting of complex-task module andsimple-task module in task collaboration and their relations. The Internet-based masscollaboration of “Free Lunch” program which promotes the state’s launch ofnourishment meal plan for students in impoverished areas is a case for study in thisthesis.The hierarchy analysis framework of self-governance theory points out that thelong-term or repeated collaboration actions may bring about environmental orinstitutional changes. The thesis, accordingly, discusses the environmental changesresulting from Internet-based mass voluntary actions. Still adopting the method of casestudy, from the angle of non-governmental organization(NGO) management andproject operation and optimization, the paper explores the strategies used by NGO inInternet-based mass voluntary actions.This thesis strictly implements the key points of doctoral dissertation study on“practical management object class” in discipline of management and engineering,embodied not only in the consideration on choosing the title and research object, butalso in successive study of related subjects and adoption of empirical methods. The thesis will deliberate the characteristics and situation of selected objects in new timeand space, the relations between relevant variants or factors and their evolution law inthe system; also it aims at obtaining the corresponding strategies to change the objectsystem.This paper focuses on the Internet-based mass voluntary actions mechanism,which has a certain value and significance. In practical application, a number of NGOshave used this mechanism in project management and operation, and obtained practicaleffect. Although there is no opportunity to make a further show in the paper, itprovides empirical support for future relevant research work. In theory, new challengeand new opportunity faced by NGOs in the network society is a new direction inmanagement and project operation. This paper explores the strategic managementtheory, resource mobilization theory, the theory of public relations and public projectmanagement, design and operation and other aspects which benefit the non-profitorganization management. In addition, self-governce theory has always beenconcerned with "how a group of interdependent people organize themselves andallocate and manage the public pond resources". While the Internet-based massvoluntatry action is studied from the perspective of "how a group of independentpeople organize themselves to provide, operate and allocate public welfare resources".Thus, the thesis is a replenishment of self-governce theory.