Text-based Discussion Environment using a Discussion Support System Enhances Participants’ Engagement at International e-Conference: KICSS 2020 Online Experiment

Haqbeen, Jawad and Sahab, Sofia and Ito, Takayuki (2021) Text-based Discussion Environment using a Discussion Support System Enhances Participants’ Engagement at International e-Conference: KICSS 2020 Online Experiment. CITIES 20.50 – Creating Habitats for the 3rd Millennium: Smart – Sustainable – Climate Neutral. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2021, 26th International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 837-849. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

With the adverse effects on the global Coronavirus Pandemic on travelling, the scientific community has developed many tools to create a joint solution towards an environment that supports productive collaboration online. Thus, many scientific conferences in 2020 were conducted virtually,particularly using video -based communication such as Zoom. However, transition to these unconventional platforms posed challenges for conference related activities such as networking and intensive group-based discussion. To address these problems, online interactive discussion toolsthat support both text and video based discussion have become so essential. Towards this end, in this paper, a well-established conference on creativity in science and technology, called KICSS 2020, conducted a virtual experiment using blended approach with a video-conferencing platform, Zoom, and a text-based discussion platform, called D-Agree . This method of using jointsolutions to host conferences is envisaged to support conference related activities mentioned before, and to study performance metrics within used environments during Q&A session in order tosuggest an effective environment that might help to positively change collaboration among participants in the future . This study purports the first-ever to compare the effectiveness of online text and video-based communication tools during a research Q&A session while hosting an international conference in a synchronous virtual venue. The experimental results show thatthere was a statistically significant difference in the participation type and its engagement rate of conference attendees in Zoom and D-Agree. The findings give credence tothe viability of the D-Agree as a tool for active participation (participation with discussion) because of its relative low psychological costs and ease of use during Q&A sessions, while Zoom is more suitable for attracting passive participation (participation without discussion). Furthermore, the lessons learnt through organising this event and analysed results might offer a promising prospect that could enrich the hosting of virtual conferences,using blended approaches for both scientific and educational purposes in the future.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	online participation, discussion system, Civic engagement, Virtual conference, Online discussion
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HM Sociology Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
Depositing User:	REAL CORP Administrator
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2021 19:43
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2021 17:47
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/811

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