The bounded group knowledge-making hypothesis

Summary: About six weeks ago I drafted two hypotheses concerning the effect on knowledge-making at the individual level (see below). As you can see I also announced the intention to put together a comparable hypothesis concerning accelerated community learning as affected by klogging. My cut at that hypothesis is stated at the bottom of this entry.

Two hypotheses for further research on augmented klogs re knowledge-making (another hypothesis concerning the effect upon accelerated community knowledge-making will hopefully follow but is not yet stated):

First, the basic klog hypothesis: a comparison of otherwise equivalent initial learning 'problems' will show that klogging of knowledge acquisition [with no other supports, not even the news reader] will result in faster and more comprehensive knowledge acquisiton than a nonreflective participation in a quest for the same knowledge.

Second, the augmented klog hypothesis: comparison of otherwise equivalent initial learning 'problems' will show that the klog augmented by news aggregators, automatic google searches (such as googleIt applied to title) and commentary from readers of klog entries (as in 'further reading' [see above]) will demonstrate significantly enhanced speed and comprehensiveness of development when compared to results of the pure klog approach.

Third, the accelerated community learning hypothesis:

Conditions:

(a) the group of people described here are all using augmented knowledge log processes as described in the second hypothesis above.

(b)group membership is limited to those who have been chosen by other group members and who have signed a group charter.

(c) the group charter constrains member behavior. (Examples, a commitment of (amount or per cent of)time and exclusivity, deference to and participation in core system processes/structures (associator, memory, decider, boundary)

Consequences of Bounded Group Augmented Klogging:

(a) the concepts produced have a greater degree of coherency than those produced by the same augmented kloggers working in isolation (to be expected) or in a more more loosely affiliated group (e.g., a yahoo discussion group).

(b) the rate and acceleration of concept production per individual will be markedly greater as well. (a consequence of focusing attention not only in one's work but upon the work of others -- in the group -- also working in the same or closely related domains, nodes or 'situations')