Case_Studies.tex

\section{Case Studies}\label{sec:Case Studies}

In order to show some examples of these patterns ``in action'' we will
briefly look at the way the patterns manifest in the Wikimedia
projects, that is, Wikipedia (in many languages), and 12 sister
projects, as well as the day-to-day operations of the Wikimedia
Foundation.\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia_sister_projects}}\textsuperscript{,}\footnote{\url{https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Our_projects}}
We then turn to a case study in design, in which we sketch some key
features of the future university.

\subsection{Wikimedia projects.}

Wikimedia users are invited to contribute content, extensions to
software, and to get involved with governance and other ``meta''
duties.  We claim that this pluralistic approach is an example of
\patternname{Peeragogy}.  It achieves something impressive: the
Wikimedia Foundation runs the 7\textsuperscript{th} most popular
website in the world, and has around 230 employees.  For comparison,
the 6\textsuperscript{th} and 8\textsuperscript{th} most popular
websites are run by companies with 150K and 30K employees,
respectively.
% most popular website is Amazon, with more than 150K employees, 
% is run by Tencent Holdings Limited, with around 30K employees.

Wikipedia \patternnameplural{Newcomer} can make use of resources that
include a ``Teahouse'' where questions are welcomed, a recently
developed ``Getting Started'' extension that changes the user
interface for new editors, and lots of preexisting
documentation.\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse}}\textsuperscript{,}\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GettingStarted}}\textsuperscript{,}\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing}}
The efforts of exceptional newcomers may be given special
recognition.\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:The_New_Editor\%27s_Barnstar}}
Newcomer ``survival'' is of interest to the Wikimedia
foundation.\footnote{\url{https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Newcomer_survival_models}}
The degree to which Wikimedia projects emphasize continuous upskilling
(\`a la our \patternname{Newcomer} pattern) is somewhat less clear.

One important piece of documentation available for new and old users
alike is the \emph{Help} link, which occupies prime real estate --
it's on every Wikipedia page.  This could be seen as a localized
\patternname{Roadmap} for individual user
engagement:\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents}}

\begin{quotation}
\noindent 
I want to read or find an article;
I want to edit an article;
I want to report a problem with an article;
I want to create a new article or upload media;
I have a factual question\ldots
[Etc.]
\end{quotation}
%
%% However, many people will bypass help functions.A recent post from
%% Jonathan Morgan of WMF talks about \emph{outlines} at the article
%% level, which would give some insight into an article-level
%% ``roadmap.''
%
%% \begin{quotation}
%% \noindent Cross-posting this request to the {\tt wiki-research-l} mailing
%% list. Anyone have data on frequently used section titles in articles
%% (any language), or know of datasets/publications that examined this?
%% \end{quotation}
%
%% One may have to turn to the research literature to give an idea of
%% current global coverage of Wikipedia \cite{holloway2007analyzing}.
%
Volunteers create articles and other changes opportunistically --
however plans for the future exist at the level of individual projects
and for Wikimedia as a whole.  We could reference the Wikimedia
Foundation's previous ``five year plan'' as an example of a
\patternname{Scrapbook} \cite{wikimedia2011plan}.  More recently this
has been supplanted by an ``ongoing'' strategy discussion, which might
be thought of as the current \patternname{Roadmap}, although one is
not sure what to make of the fact that this global plan has not been
edited for nearly a
year.\footnote{\url{https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy_project}}
%
% \footnote{\url{https://m.wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Staff_and_contractors}}
% \footnote{\url{https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits}}

One of the best ways to jump in, get to know other Wikipedia users,
and start working on a focused todo list is to join (or start)
\patternname{A specific project}.  Within Wikipedia, these are known
as
``WikiProjects.''\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Directory}}\textsuperscript{,}\footnote{\url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Guide}}
%%%
Local Wikimedia chapters and other official branches of Wikimedia also
run public projects with their own lists of objectives, typically with
an invitation to get involved.  One example is the Wikipedia Education
Program\footnote{\url{https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Wikipedia_Education_Collaborative/Tasks}}
Individual user pages also can be used to advertise interests, goals,
accomplishments (and rewards), and contribute to Wikipedia functioning as
a meritocracy.
%
Users are encouraged to recycle existing works that are compatible
with the Wikimedia-wide CC-By-SA license, and the mission of the
respective sites (e.g.~books on Wikibooks or Wikisource, dictionary
entries on Wiktionary, encyclopedic writing on Wikipedia, etc.).  Some
WikiProjects exist purely to help re-purpose existing works in this
way.  On the downstream side, DBPedia is an important resource for the
semantic web, built by collating data from Wikipedia's
``infoboxes''.\footnote{\url{http://wiki.dbpedia.org/}} Researchers
have been able to \patternname{Reduce, reuse, recycle} in other ways,
e.g.~by developing tools for building learning paths through Wikipedia
content, or to show heatmaps of editing activity.  However, these
research interventions do not always result in something accessible to
day-to-day users.  There are lots of blogs and feeds around the
Wikimedia project that comprise an elaborate \patternname{Wrapper}
function, but inevitably this could be improved.
%%   Wikimedia as a community
%% seems to be good at building resources, but not always giving exposure
%% to contributors.
% 
The yearly in-person gathering, Wikimania, is the most visible
example of a \patternname{Heartbeat} for the Wikimedia movement.\footnote{\url{https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania}}
Local chapters and projects may run other in-person get-togethers.\footnote{\url{http://wikiconferenceusa.org/}}
Also
of note is the twice-yearly call for proposals for individual
engagement
grants.\footnote{\url{https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG}}

Wikipedia aims to emphasize a neutral point of view, but its users are
not neutral.  Wikipedia is relevant to things that matter to us.  It
helps inform us regarding our necessary purposes -- and we are invited
to ``speak up'' by making edits to pages that matter to us.  This, in
combination with factors of accessibility, leads to the situation in
which coverage and participation are not neutral in another sense:
more information on Wikipedia deals with Europe than all of the
locations outside of Europe \cite{graham2014uneven}.  Wikipedia's
\patternname{Carrying capacity} is uneven.  Editor engagement is a
significant concern for the Foundation, with falling numbers of new
editors and lower retention rates in recent
years.\footnote{\url{https://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Editor_Trends_Study/Results}}
Relatedly, a recent solicitation for donations to the Wikimedia
Foundation says ``Wikipedia has over 450 million readers.  Less than
1\% give.''

% Ladies Hall, South Dormitory, University Hall, Assembly Halls \& Library, North Dormitory, Science Hall, President's Residence, University Farm, and Washburn Observatory.
\subsection{The future university.}
As a design exercise, it is useful to compare and contrast the
patterns we have introduced with the typical or stereotypical image of
a university from Figure \ref{madison-map}.  To be clear, we are not
suggesting that our immediate next steps would realise the design we
sketch here, but it gives us something to aim for in the long term.
%
Existing projects like Wikimedia's Wikiversity and the Peer-2-Peer
University (P2PU) have created ``a model for lifelong learning
alongside traditional formal higher
education''\footnote{\url{https://www.p2pu.org/en/}} but stop well
short of offering accredited degrees.  What would an \emph{accredited}
free/libre/open university look like?

Most likely it would not have a separate Ladies Hall, since we
subscribe to the view that ``there shall be no women in case there be
not men, nor men in case there be not women'' \cite[Chapter
  1.LII]{rabelais1894gargantua}.  However, in light of the extreme
gender imbalance in free software, and still striking imbalance at
Wikipedia \cite{gender,FM4291}, it will be important to do whatever it
takes to make women and girls welcome, not least because this is a
significant factor in boosting our \patternname{Carrying capacity}.
Dormitories may be seen as an ``optional extra,'' since studying from
where you live is often an option already.  However,
cooperatively-owned living/working spaces may frequently be an asset
for \patternname{A specific project}.  In-person meetings for
special-purpose assemblies (such as conventions, dances, and
commencement ceremonies) could comprise an important part of the
project's \patternname{Wrapper}.  While there is no immediate need for
fixed hard infrastructure, that could come in time.  A special
president’s residence seems like an undue oppulence, but at some point
it could be practical to have a University Hall in which to gather for
the purpose of working on the project's \patternname{Roadmap} and
\patternname{Scrapbook}.

For now, there are enough knowledge resources and collaboration tools
available online to keep us busy.  Indeed, these factors are what make
a low-cost, high-quality, formally-accredited future university
conceivable.  However, the available resources are not always as
organized as they would need to be for educative purposes, so putting
effort into \patternname{Reduce, reuse, recycle}'ing them into more
coherent forms is one place where peeragogues could usefully apply
effort.  It will be pragmatic to connect ``research
\patternnameplural{Newcomer}'' with employment, so that the future
university may see a closer coupling of science and industry than is
held in the former model.  We are inspired by the London-based
freelancing cooperative Founders\&Coders, which is able to offer
intensive training in web development at no cost, following a
competitive application process, on the basis that some trainees will
choose to join the cooperative as paying members later
on.\footnote{\url{http://www.foundersandcoders.com/academy/}}

Although it may sound quaint, working farms could help to physically
sustain peeragogues, while putting the project's
\patternname{Heartbeat} in tune with that of the seasons.  In the
current distributed mode, we can settle for windowboxes and
allotments.  As for an observatory, that will prove to be important,
if \patternname{Peeragogy} is truly to reach \emph{ad astra, per
  aspera}.