Activating Communication in Local Community by the Gift & Circulation Model of Relationality Assets that Utilizes Proactive Mechanism

We have worked on a community system design introducing the Gift & Circulation Model of relationality assets to activate communication among residents by providing gift-giving opportunities and lowering participation hurdles. The primary objective of this research is to alleviate residents’ isolation, and it aims to introduce a system-driven, proactive mechanism that enhances incentives for voluntary participation in the community system and fosters new connections and relationships among individuals. To investigate the possibility of creating new communities and strengthening existing ones, the system divides residents into groups and reimburses them with points that increase when they give gifts to groups, as determined by the system. In addition, to investigate what residents respond best to the assets involved, the upper limit of reimbursement points to be given back and the points themselves are changed to reflect the results of community activities or to compensate for the loss of one's assets. The field experiment results showed that it was effective in strengthening interactions within existing communities. We also found that assigning meaning to reimbursement points, such as a reward for community activities or compensation for the loss of assets, stimulates interaction among residents more than if they were not given such a meaning.