Zotero, known as a research tool for students, faculty, and other scholars, has tremendous potential for use in faith communities as a place to store and share nearly any type of digital information encountered in congregational life. This presentation opens with a basic overview of available research managers. It continues with the use of Zotero at Liberation Christian Church, and covers the benefits (including a more fully-integrated intellectual presence in the congregation’s faith life) and potential issues (such as copyright concerns) of using Zotero within faith communities. It concludes with the marketing and educational efforts involved in generating the interest and skills that congregational leadership and members must have in order to obtain full benefits from the use of this resource.

Religious information literacy (an integration of the content of religious literacy and the processes of information literacy) is largely inadequate in the lives of many congregations to sustain mature faith. Current religious education efforts in congregations often do little to alleviate this issue, focusing on the content of religious belief rather than belief contexts and processes. What happens when scholarly tools enter into congregational life? How can faith communities who are interested in intellectual development and informal digital archives use the research management tool Zotero to meet their information management needs to keep, develop, and share their faith, both within and outside of their congregation? How can the particular faith community of Liberation Christian Church (a 50-member new church start in St. Louis, Missouri that is perpetually short on funds and doesn’t own a building) have information sharing tools and resources that meet their needs?

The above questions were investigated qualitatively through observing and interviewing church members during the development and implementation of Liberation Christian Church’s Zotero library. These explorations took place during the processes of introducing and educating clergy and laypeople on the use of Zotero. Much of this research was accomplished during the teaching of an 8-week religious information literacy course, Information Salvation, at Liberation. The above questions were also researched via literature reviews and searches regarding current uses of Zotero and other online digital tools and resources, particularly those outside of traditional academic institutions. Literature searches were also conducted on successful methods of e-resource marketing, education, and implementation, particularly for organizations beyond traditional academia.

Much research about religion and information has focused on religious institutions of higher learning, rather than communities of faith and the education and transformation of laypeople. People in faith communities have often not had access to the training, tools, and resources available within academic institutions that would allow them to intellectually engage in their faith lives with greater clarity and depth. I anticipate that Liberation’s growing use of Zotero (both Liberation’s Zotero group library and church members' personal accounts) will increase Liberation members’ use of congregational information resources and grow Liberation’s faith development intellectually.

I also anticipate this project will provide Liberation Christian Church and other faith communities with opportunities to more fully integrate the mind and heart of faith in the everyday Christian journey. I hope I am able to adequately portray the value of academic tools and resources to clergy, laity, and other interested parties, so that such things will become embedded into congregational life. Congregations who use these tools with success may be an example for other faith communities interested in growing their faith intellectually. I am interested in what happens when congregations are presented with religious information literacy learning opportunities on par with information literacy initiatives in institutions of higher learning. I anticipate this project will provide a practical example for religious leaders and communities who are interested in integrating scholarly tools into congregational life.

This paper examines the process of a modern mission agency's transition from desktop and server based systems to social media and cloud based solutions. Mission agencies have existed since the modern 1850s and represent early implementations of globally distributed collaborative groups. This study examines the process of one mission agency working through the transition to modern social computing to create and share knowledge between its home office, missionaries, donors, and churches. Because these agencies have unique religious affiliations, they are not normally accessible to external researchers.

This study provides a unique glimpse into the process of one mission as it has worked through this transition. The goal was to investigate the use of Web 2.0 technologies, social media, learning management system (LMS), and customer relationship management systems (CRM) type personnel systems within a globally distributed modern mission agency.

The theoretical perspectives of Pask's conversation theory, Wenger's communities of [SS1] practice, and Weick's sensemaking merged to form a multilevel epistemological framework to examine the social construction of knowledge in technical systems. A multiple case study approach was used where each system was its own case. Successes and failures were examined to look for commonalities and best practices. These systems were within a single organization sharing a common cultural and technical context. This context served as a control for these factors creating a natural experiment. Structured interviews were conducted with a wide range of individuals across all levels of the organization to collect data on the implementation and usage of these systems.

[SS1]It still seems a bit choppy. Perhaps include something like, these organizations will be reviewed in light of Pask’s conversation theory…

Keywords: mission agency, social media, constructivism, Gordon Pask, conversation theory, Karl Weick, sensemaking, Etienne Wenger, community of practice, participatory network

This presentation examines the process of a modern mission agency's transition from desktop and server based systems to social media and cloud based solutions. Mission agencies have existed since the modern 1850's and represent early implementations of globally distributed collaborative groups. They typically have a home office in the United States but the majority of their work force is distributed around the world and often works in very remote locations. This study examines the process of one mission agency working through the transition to modern social computing to create and share knowledge between its home office, missionaries, donor, and churches. Because these agencies have unique religious affiliations, they are not normally accessible to external "secular" researchers.

Modern mission agencies have existed for over 150 years. As such, they were some of the first globally distributed religious organizations of the modern area. During their history they have faced the challenge of sharing information and knowledge across the globe. While mission agencies have worked through these issues for over a century, they frequently lacked the necessary resources to implement modern information systems.

This study provides a unique glimpse into the process of one mission working through this transition including their failures and successes. The goal was to investigate the use of Web 2.0 technologies, social media, learning management systems (LMS), enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), and customer relationship management systems (CRM) within a globally distributed modern mission agency. The mission began using social systems to improve their recruiting efforts, service to missionaries, information sharing within the organization, and organizational health.

The theoretical perspectives of Pask's conversation theory, Wenger's communities of practice, and Weick's sensemaking merged to form a multilevel epistemological framework to examine the social construction of knowledge in technical systems. A multiple case study approach was used where each system was its own case. Successes and failures were examined to look for commonalities and best practices. These systems were within a single organization sharing a common cultural and technical context. This context served as a control for these factors creating a natural experiment. Structured interviews were conducted with a wide range of individuals across all levels of the organization to collect data on the implementation and usage of these systems.

This research produced three significant contributions: a new definition of these systems, an integrated framework based on a constructivist epistemology, and the documentation of this process in a mission agency.

As a first step in the process it was necessary to define the phenomenon. This resulted in a new definition of social computing systems focusing on fundamental elements which are common to social media, learning management systems (LMS), enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), and customer relationship management systems (CRM). By looking at the commonalities across these systems the research was able to draw conclusions about these systems as a whole.

The combination of three perspectives on the social construction of knowledge provided not only a valuable lens for this phenomenon but also the potential for investigating other intra-organizational phenomenon. Conversation theory focused on the individual level, communities of practice focused on the group level, and sensemaking focused on the organizational level. When combined they provided a philosophically consistent framework for explaining the process of individuals and groups creating and sharing knowledge across and within departments in a single organization. By using multiple perspectives that share a common epistemological framework, this perspective was able to investigate the phenomenon at the individual, group, and organizational levels.

Finally, this study documents this process within a single mission agency. Because the researcher had worked with this organization previously, the organization provided broad access to systems and personnel. This provided a unique opportunity to investigate these systems in a type of organization that would normally be closed to outside investigators.

Islam is the official religion in Saudi Arabia. It plays a central role in people life. It has been said that Islam is more than a religion; it is a way of life. Therefore, reading and learning religious information is a habit that Saudis practice to increase their understanding of Islamic rules. In the past, most people used to learn about the religion from traditional resources such as books, journals, and TV programs. The advent of the Internet has changed information seeking behavior of people when searching for religious information.

The study reports on a survey that was distributed to people in Saudi Arabia to investigate the use of social media technologies for religious information seeking. The objective is to determine if Saudis utilize social media to search for religious information and to understand their information-seeking behaviors when using such resource. Also, the study is an attempt to explore how social media affects their knowledge and learning style.

Reading and learning religious information is a habit that Saudis practice to increase their understanding of Islamic rules. In the past, most people used to learn about the religion from traditional resources such as books, journals, and TV programs. With the advent of social media on the Internet, religious information and resources have become accessible through this new channel. Unfortunately, there is no study that tries to investigate the use of social media or its content in the subject of religion. Therefore, this study explores to what extent Saudis utilize social media to find religious information, and how it affects their knowledge and learning style.

This is an exploratory study that applied a questionnaire (quantitative treatment) to collect data related to the population.

The result of this paper is anticipated to draw a clear picture of the utilization of social media to obtain information relating to religion among people in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it is anticipated that social media use might reveal how people thoughts and believes have changed and affected. The changes might be related to the way of how people analyze information before accepting it. Social media allows people to compare information available in different resources and discuss it with others until they decide how authorized and reliable is it.

This study is important because it will focus on the use of social media and its impact on the religious information seeking. Also, it will clarify the new ways of dissemination and communications of religious information.

The author works in a university as an associated professor. The university is specialized in Islamic studies, so he has a clear idea of the method of leaning Islam in Saudi Arabia. He teaches in College of Computer and Information Science, which means that he has knowledge in the area of religion and technology. Also, the author is a researcher and has done many studies in related subjects.

Despite the influence of traditional cultural values and the composite character of information technologies, the global embrace of internet technologies in the contemporary context has reconfigured the fabric of every society, its culture and spirituality. But scholarly investigation into the intentional use of these technologies for religious purposes has regrettably been modest and disproportionate. This study is an attempt to respond to the thesis that adaptation to ICT use in religion has significant ministerial advantages but limited by gender, income, and educational gaps. Building upon qualitative methodology, the paper examines how technology is appropriated to support religious activities and practices.

Despite the influence of traditional cultural values and the composite character of information technologies, the global embrace of internet technologies in the contemporary context has reconfigured the fabric of society, its culture and spirituality as salvific and emancipatory. But scholarly investigation into the intentional use of these technologies for religious purposes has regrettably been modest and disproportionate. It has been argued that religious groups from all traditions have today begun to explore the possibilities of having a presence in virtual reality. This argument’s corollary is that, given the shift in the social context of religious activities and the endless possibilities of interactivity and connectivity of ICT in shaping development and globalization, influencing orientation of social change and improving human life conditions, adaptation to these new tools in religious marketplace for ministry and spiritual activities in the 21^st century is no longer luxury but revolutionary for religious growth and dissemination. This study is however an attempt to respond to these theses. Drawing upon extensive contemporary research, and supported with qualitative methodology, the paper examines how technology is appropriated to support religious activities and practices. The methodology will include ethnographic interview, focused group discussion and participant observation. This exploratory study tries to argue on the theoretical mindset that the space in which religious life happens can be expanded technologically for the good of mankind.

The use of Internet technologies has today taken “congregational life” beyond the mundane and the physical limits of the weekend assembly. With an insight provided into the understanding of the independent layers of ICT utilization and application for religious activities, a criterion on what should constitute appropriate approach toward ICT usage is thus supplied. The findings of this study however have a significant implication for cumulative research on the subject of techno-spiritual communication.