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dc.contributor.advisorRuusalepp, Raivo
dc.contributor.authorTran, Le Dieu
dc.date.accessioned2011-07-20T15:41:35Z
dc.date.available2011-07-20T15:41:35Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10642/877
dc.descriptionJoint Master Degree in Digital Library Learning (DILL)en_US
dc.description.abstractThe aim of this interpretive study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the concept of interpersonal trust in an online community, namely, The CouchSurfing Project. CouchSurfing is an online hospitality network whose purpose is to connect travellers and local hosts offering free accommodations and more importantly, a chance for cultural exchange. CouchSurfers complete online profiles that allow other members to search for and make requests for accommodations based on information on these profiles. In the discombobulated virtual environment, online personas might not reflect reality. Issues of trust and the perceived risks associated with CouchSurfing were explored. The concepts of trust and risk share a close relationship; in order to build trust, it is necessary to minimise the perceived risks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 CouchSurfing members and 6 nonmembers. Non-members were included in this study in order to obtain a perspective that would be different from those who already prescribe to the CouchSurfing philosophy that is based on the concept of “paying it forward.” Both members and non-members acknowledged that there are risks to participating in CouchSurfing. However, strategies such as control, comparison between risks, possession of self-confidence and scapegoating seem to help mitigate perceived risks. Moreover, this study suggests that the community’s social network acts as an informal method of social control to help foster and sustain trust amongst its members. Thus, it is the human relationships, rather than technologies that are important in nurturing trust.en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherHøgskolen i Oslo. Avdeling for journalistikk, bibliotek- og informasjonsvitenskapen_US
dc.publisherUniversitetet i Tallinnen_US
dc.publisherUniversitetet i Parmaen_US
dc.subjectTrusten_US
dc.subjectRisksen_US
dc.subjectOnline hospitality networksen_US
dc.subjectCouch Surfingen_US
dc.subjectSocial networksen_US
dc.subjectOnline trusten_US
dc.subjectVDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Biblioteks- og informasjonsvitenskap: 320en_US
dc.titleTrust in an online hospitality network : An interpretive study of The CouchSurfing Projecten_US
dc.typeMaster thesisen_US


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