Scholarly Projects and
Interests
My scholarly interests focus upon Social
Informatics; Organizational
Informatics; Information Systems; Information Technology and Social
Change.
My research focuses upon the social consequences of computerization
and the social choices that are available to people. I have studied these
issues in and around organizations that have invested in various information
systems, desktop computing, computerized manufacturing environments, digital
libraries, instructional computing, etc. I believe that we have to understand
information technologies in terms of their associated social structures
and politics, and in meaningful social contexts -- not just as "information
tools."
My work on web
models has helped characterize the kinds of "hidden" commitments and
resources required to make computerization "work well" routinely. This
research also sheds light on the values which organizational members derive
from different forms of computing. One
recent study examined the actual usability of digital libraries, and
their associated costs for scholars, students, and universities.
I have been developing an approach to understanding information systems
as forms of organization, rather than as simple collections of equipment,
data flows, and procedures. This approach treats the resources which support
the use of computing as a central part of the "technology in use." These
support arrangements can improve or undermine the value of computerized
technologies for men and women who use them, and also complicate the management
of computing milieus.
Currently, I'm focusing on electronic publishing and people's use of
digital libraries as a set of applications and social spaces for understanding
IT and social change, and the possibilities of new technologies facilitating
the restructuring of social life.
I am also interested in the extent to which computerization actually
changes social behavior or whether computerization serves as an occasion
for changing social behavior by other means. If the second view is valid,
our talk about computers is as important, or even more important,
than "what computers do." (For example, today it may
be more important to be able to tell your family and friends that you have
a home page than precisely what materials and pointers that home page includes!)
Journal
Click here for a description of The
Information Society, (a lively quarterly international journal), its
very active editorial board, instructions for authors, tables of contents,
sample copies, etc. I serve as Editor-in-Chief.
Research Projects
Scholarly Communication
and Information Technology 2 (SCIT-2), a project on the role of electronic
publishing in scholarly communication (Funded by the National Science Foundation).
Some key questions that this project examines include:
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How can diverse scholarly communities enhance communication effectively
and sustainably using new communications technologies?
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What are the costs and complexities associated with developing and maintaining
a forum for scientific communication?
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What kinds of architectures of communications forums are most sustainable
in different scientific communities? Does "one size fit all" or will different
scholarly communities adopt different communications forum architectures?
The Internet Learning
Forum: Fostering and Sustaining Knowledge Networking To Support A Community
Of Science And Mathematics Teachers
This project involves the design and evaluation of the salient features
of an electronic knowledge network, the Internet Learning Forum (ILF),
to support a virtual community of in-service and pre-service mathematics
and science teachers sharing, improving, and creating inquiry based pedagogical
practices. Founded in our previous research and consistent with our pedagogical
commitment, we are designing the ILF around a "visiting the classroom"
metaphor, with the belief that teachers need to be full participants in
and owners of their virtual space. The hallmark of this environment is
that teachers with a broad range of experience and expertise will come
together in a virtual space to observe, discuss, and reflect upon pedagogical
theory and practice anchored to actual teaching vignettes. Our focus is
to provide a means for teachers to improve their practice while situated
in the real world of their current or future classroom. Visit
the e-ILF! (Funded by the National Science Foundation). |
