Computer Networks as Social Networks: Collaborative Work, Telework, and Virtual Community

Annual Review of Sociology - Tập 22 Số 1 - Trang 213-238 - 1996
Barry Wellman1, Janet W. Salaff1, Dimitrina Dimitrova1, Laura Garton1, Milena Gulia1, Caroline Haythornthwaite1
1Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 2G8

Tóm tắt

When computer networks link people as well as machines, they become social networks. Such computer-supported social networks (CSSNs) are becoming important bases of virtual communities, computer-supported cooperative work, and telework. Computer-mediated communication such as electronic mail and computerized conferencing is usually text-based and asynchronous. It has limited social presence, and on-line communications are often more uninhibited, creative, and blunt than in-person communication. Nevertheless, CSSNs sustain strong, intermediate, and weak ties that provide information and social support in both specialized and broadly based relationships. CSSNs foster virtual communities that are usually partial and narrowly focused, although some do become encompassing and broadly based. CSSNs accomplish a wide variety of cooperative work, connecting workers within and between organizations who are often physically dispersed. CSSNs also link teleworkers from their homes or remote work centers to main organizational offices. Although many relationships function off-line as well as on-line, CSSNs have developed their own norms and structures. The nature of the medium both constrains and facilitates social control. CSSNs have strong societal implications, fostering situations that combine global connectivity, the fragmentation of solidarities, the de-emphasis of local organizations (in the neighborhood and workplace), and the increased importance of home bases.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.7208/chicago/9780226189666.001.0001

10.1080/01449299108924290

10.1177/0013916590226001

10.1145/63334.63338

Barlow JP, 1995, Utne Reader

10.1111/j.1083-6101.1995.tb00325.x

Bikson T, Eveland JD. 1990. The interplay of work group structures and computer support. SeeGalegher et al 1990, pp. 245–90

Brent DA, 1994, EJournal, 4

1994, Teleworking: BT's Inverness.

Burt R, 1992, Structural Holes., 10.4159/9780674029095

Buxton W. 1992.Telepresence: integrating shared task and person spaces. Pres. Graphics Interface '92 Conference, Vancouver

Calabrese A. 1994.Home-based telework and the politics of private women and public man.InWomen and Technology, ed. UE Gattiker, pp. 161–99. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter

10.1080/0022250X.1990.9990070

10.1177/107554709101200405

Cerf V. 1993.How the Internet came to be.InThe Online User's Encyclopeda, ed. Bernard Aboba, pp. 527–35. Boston: Addison-Wesley

Chirac J. 1995. Speech to La Francophonie summit. (Transl. and reported by John Stackhouse),Toronto Globe and Mail, Dec. 4, 1995, pp. A1, A10

Chiu Y. 1995. E-mail gives rise to the E-wail: a blizzard of personal chat raises worries about office productivity.Washington Post(August 18): D1, D8

Christensen K, 1988, The New Era of Home Based Work.

Coate J, 1994, Cyberspace innkeeping: building online community.

10.1287/isre.5.4.400

10.1287/orsc.7.2.119

Coupland, 1995, Microserfs.

10.1111/j.1475-682X.1973.tb00003.x

Cullen DL, 1995, Clinician, 26, 1

Culnan MJ, Markus ML. 1987.Information technologies.InHandbook of Organizational Communication, ed. FM Jablin, LL Putnam, KH Roberts, LW Porter, pp. 420–43. Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Cybergal .1995. The year of living dangerously.Toronto Life-Fashion1995: 104–9

10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554

Danet B, Rudenberg L, Rosenbaum-Tamari Y. 1996. Hmmm…Where's all that smoke coming from? Writing, play and performance on Internet Relay Chat. InNetwork and Netplay, ed. S Rafaeli, F Sudweeks, M McLaughlin. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. In press

10.1111/j.1083-6101.1995.tb00326.x

10.1145/219663.219674

10.1145/214132.214166

Di Martino V, 1990, Int. Labour Rev., 129, 529

Dimitrova D, Garton L, Salaff J, Wellman B. 1994.Strategic connectivty: communications and control. Pres. Sunbelt Soc. Networks Conf., New Orleans

10.1145/142750.142982

10.2466/PR0.68.4.1223-1234

Dürrenberger G, 1996, Technol. Stud.

Duxbury L, Higgins C. 1995.Summary Report of Telework.Pilot Product Number 750008XPE, Statistics Canada. 57 pp.

The Economist. 1995. Mais où sont les cafés d'antan.The EconomistJune 10, p. 50

Electronic Mail Association. 1992.Electronic Mail Market Research Results. Arlington, VA.

Emmett R, 1982, Datamation, 4, 48

10.1145/58566.58568

Falconer KF. 1993.Space, gender, and work in the context of technological change: telecommuting women. PhD thesis. Univ. Kentucky, Lexington. 202 pp.

10.2307/2095216

10.1108/eb022643

10.1287/orsc.1.1.41

Finholt T, Sproull L, Kiesler S. 1990. Communication and performance in ad hoc task groups. SeeGalegher et al 1990, pp. 291–325

10.1086/225993

10.1145/151233.151237

Foderaro L. 1995. Seekers of self-help finding it on line.New York Times, March 23

10.1145/223248.378391

Frank J, 1995, Can. Soc. Trends

10.1016/0378-8733(84)90011-X

French KJF. 1988.Job satisfactions and family satisfactions of in home workers compared with out of home workers. PhD thesis. Univ. Calif., Berkeley

Fritz ME, Higa K, Narasimhan S. 1994.Telework: exploring the borderless office.InProc. 27th Ann. Hawaii Int. Conf. on Sys. Sci., ed. JF Nunamaker, RH Sprague Jr. IV:149–58. Washington, DC: IEEE Press. 971 pp.

10.1177/014920639101700207

10.1287/orsc.6.4.337

10.4135/9781483325385

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1989.tb01048.x

Galegher J, 1990, Intellectual Teamwork.

Garton L, 1995, An Empirical Analysis of Desktop Videoconferencing and Other Media in a Spatially Distributed Work Group.

Garton L, 1995, Commun. Yearbk., 18, 434

Gerson J, Kraut R. 1988. Clerical work at home or in the office? SeeChristensen 1988, pp. 49–64

Grantham CE, Paul ED. 1994.The greening of organizational change: a case study. Work. Pap. Inst. Study of Distributed Work. Oakland, CA. 26 pp.

Grey M, 1993, Teleworking Explained.

Gupta S, 1995, Consumer Survey of WWW Users.

Haythornthwaite C, Wellman B, Mantei M. 1995. Work relationships and media use.Group Decisions & Negotiations4(3):193–211

Heck R, 1995, Home-Based Employment and Family Life.

Heilmann W. 1988. The organizational development of teleprogramming. SeeKorte et al 1988, pp. 39–61

Helms R, Marom R. 1992.Telecommuting: A Corporate Primer: IBM Tech. Rep. No. TR-74.098. Toronto: IBM

Herring SC, 1993, Elect. J. Commun.

Hesse BW, Grantham CE. 1991.Electronically distributed work communities. Work. Pap. Ctr. for Res. on Tech., Am. Inst. for Res. 33 pp.

10.1145/163381.163409

Higgins C, Duxbury L, Lee C. 1992.Balancing work and family: a study of Canadian private sector employees. Work. Pap. Sch. Bus. Admin, Univ. Western Ontario. 107 pp.

Hiltz SR, Johnson K, Agle G. 1978.Replicating Bales Problem Solving Experiments on a Computerized Conference. Computerized Conferencing and Communications Ctr. New Jersey Inst. Technol.

10.1111/j.1468-2958.1986.tb00104.x

10.7551/mitpress/4920.001.0001

10.1287/orsc.6.4.373

Hodson R, 1988, Res. Soc. Work, 4, 1

Huber GP. 1990. A theory of the effects of advanced information technologies on organizational design, intelligence, and decision making. SeeFulk & Steinfield 1990, pp. 237–74

10.1111/j.1559-1816.1989.tb01454.x

Huws U. 1988. Remote possibilities: some difficulties in the analysis and quantification of telework in the UK. SeeKorte et al 1988, pp. 61–76

Huws U, 1990, Telework: Towards the Elusive Office.

Insight New Media. 1995.Internet facts: anti-hype for the information age. Work. Pap. December

10.1145/142750.142977

Johnson-Lenz P, 1978, Connections, 1, 5

Johnson-Lenz P, 1990, Awakening Technol., 3, 1

Johnson-Lenz P, Johnson-Lenz T. 1994.Groupware for a small planet.InGroupware in the 21st Century, ed. P Lloyd, pp. 269–85. West port, CT: Praeser

Jones SG. 1995.Understanding community in the information age.InCyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communciation and Community, ed. SG Jones, pp. 10–35. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Kadushin C, Lerer N, Tumelty S, Reichler J. 1987.“With a little help from my friends”: Who helps whom with computers?Work. Pap. Ctr. Soc. Res., City Univ. of New York. 54 pp.

Kaufer D, 1993, Communication at a Distance: The Influence of Print on Sociocultural Organization and Change.

Kaye AR. 1992. Computer conferencing and mass distance education. InEmpowering Networks, ed. M Waggoner, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology

10.1037/0003-066X.39.10.1123

Kiesler SB, 1988, Technological and Social Change in Organizational Communication Environments.

10.1016/0749-5978(92)90047-B

10.1111/j.1471-6402.1985.tb00895.x

King S, 1994, Interpersonal Comp. Tech., 2, 47

Kinsman F, 1987, The Telecommuters.

10.1177/089443939601400116

Kling R, 1996, Computerization and Controversy.

Kling R. 1996b. Social relationships in electronic forums: Hangouts, salons, workplaces and communities. SeeKling 1996a

10.1016/S0065-2458(08)60381-2

Kling R, Lamb R. 1996. Analyzing visions of electronic publishing and digital libraries. InScholarly Publishing: The Electronic Frontier, eds. GB Newby, R Peek. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. In press.

Kochen M, 1989, The Small World.

Kollock P, 1996, Communities in Cyberspace.

Kollock P, Smith MA. 1996b. Managing the virtual commons: cooperation and conflict in computer communities. InComputer-Mediated Communication, ed. S Herring. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. In press

Koppel R, 1988, Res. Soc. Work, 4, 125

Korte WB, 1988, Telework: Present Situation and Future Development of a New Form of Work Organization.

Kraut RE. 1988. Homework: What is it and who does it? SeeChristensen 1988, pp. 30–48

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1989.tb01038.x

Kraut RE, Attewell P. 1993.Electronic mail and organizational knowledge. Work. Pap. Carnegie Mellon Univ.

Kraut RE, Scherlis W, Mukhopadhyay T, Manning J, Kiesler S. 1995. HomeNet: A field trial of residential internet services. HomeNet1(2):1–8

Kugelmass J, 1995, Telecommuting: A Manager's Guide to Flexible Work Arrangements.

Labaton S. 1995. Clinton papers' index in Foster office vanished after suicide, aide says.New York Times, August 2

Latané B, 1976, Help in a Crisis: Bystander Response to an Emergency.

10.1080/01449299108924279

Lea M, 1992, J. Org. Comp., 2, 321

Lea M, Spears R. 1995.Love at first byte? Building personal relationships over computer networks.InUnderstudied Relationships, ed. JT Wood, S Duck, pp. 197–233. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

10.1287/orsc.6.4.462

Lea M, O'Shea T, Fung P, Spears R. 1992.‘Flaming’ in computer-mediated communication.InContexts of Computer-Mediated Communication, ed. M Lea, pp. 89–112. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf

Lewis PH. 1994. Strangers, not their computers, build a network in time of grief.New York Times, 8 March: A1, D2

Lewis P. 1995. Report of high internet use is challenged.New York Times(December 13).

Lewis P. 1996. Prodigy said to be in role of a silent son.New York Times(January 16).

Lucky R, 1995, Sci. Am., 273, 204

10.1145/219717.219808

10.1145/108844.108888

Mantei MM, Wellman BS. 1995.From groupware to netware. Work. Pap. Ctr Urban & Commun. Stud., Univ. Toronto

Markus ML. 1990. Toward a “critical mass” theory of interactive media. SeeFulk & Steinfield 1990, pp. 194–218

10.1145/196734.196738

10.1287/orsc.5.4.502

Marx G, Virnoche M. 1995.‘Only connect’: E.M. Forster in an age of computerization: a case study of the establishment of a community network. Pres. Am. Sociol. Assoc., Washington, DC

McClintock CC. 1981.Working Alone Together: Managing Telecommuting. Pres. at Natl. Telecommun. Conf., Houston

10.1016/0747-5632(92)90031-9

McKinney E, 1995, New data on the size of the internet and the matrix.

Mele C. 1996. Access to cyberspace and the empowerment of disadvantaged communities. SeeKollock & Smith 1996

Meyer GR. 1989.The Social Organization of the Computer Underground. Master's thesis. N. Ill. Univ.

Mitchell W, 1995, City of Bits: Space, Time and the Infobahn., 10.7551/mitpress/1847.001.0001

Moore G. 1997. Sharing faces, places and spaces: the Ontario Telepresence Project. InVideo-Mediated Communication, ed. K Finn, A Sellen, S Wilbur. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Forthcoming

10.1080/01972243.1994.9960172

Newsweek. 1995. Cyberspace tilts right. Jan. 27:30

O'Brien J. 1996. Gender on (the) line: an erasable institution? SeeKollock & Smith 1996

Olson MH. 1987.Telework: Practical experience and future prospects.InTechnology and the Transformation of White-Collar Work, ed. R Kraut, pp. 135–55. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Olson MH. 1988. Organizational barriers to telework. SeeKorte et al 1988, pp. 77–100

10.1111/j.1540-4560.1984.tb00194.x

10.1016/0040-1625(94)90050-7

1995, Defining the Internet Opportunity 1994–1995.

10.1287/orsc.6.4.423

Perin P, 1991, Commun. & Stratégies, 2, 157

10.1287/orsc.6.4.479

Pitkow J, 1995, Third WWW User Survey: Executive Summary.

Pliskin N, Romm CT. 1994.Empowerment effects of electronic grcup Communication: a case study. Work. Pap. Dep. Manage., Faculty Commerce, Univ. Wollongong

Reid E. 1996. Hierarchy and power: social control in cyberspace. SeeKollock & Smith 1996

Rheingold H, 1993, The Virtual Community.

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1987.tb01009.x

10.1177/009365087014001005

Rice R, Steinfeld C. 1994.Experiences with new forms of organizational communication via electronic mail and voice messaging.InTelematics and Work, ed. JE Andriessen, R Roe, pp. 109–137. E. Sussex, UK: Lea

10.1145/176789.176790

Salaff J, Dimitrova D. 1995a.Teleworking: a review of studies of this international business application of telecommunications.Work. Pap. Toronto, Ctr for Urban Community Stud., Univ. Toronto

Salaff J, 1995, Teleworking: a review of studies of this international business application of telecommunications.

Shade LR. 1994. Is sisterhood virtual? Women on the electronic frontier. Trans. Royal Society Canada VI5:131–42

10.1007/978-1-4471-2007-0

Shirley S. 1988. Telework in the UK. SeeKorte et al 1988, pp. 23–33

10.1016/0749-5978(86)90050-6

Simons T. 1994.Expanding the boundaries of employment: professional work at home. PhD thesis. Cornell Univ. 215 pp.

Slouka M, 1995, War of the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality.

Smith AD. 1996. Problems of conflict management in virtual communities. SeeKollock & Smith 1996

10.1515/9783110860542.117

Southwick S, 1996, Liszt: Searchable Directory of E-Mail Discussion Groups.

Sproull LS, 1995, Atheism, sex and databases.

Sproull LS, 1991, Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization.

Star SL. 1993.Cooperation without consensus in scientific problemsolving: dynamics of closure in open systems.InCSCW: Cooperation or Conflict?, ed. S Easterbrook, pp. 93–106. Berlin: Springer-Verlag

Steinfield C, 1985, Org. Behav. Hum. Dec. Proc., 37, 157

Steinle WJ. 1988. Telework. SeeKorte et al 1988, pp. 7–19

Stephenson N, 1992, Snow Crash.

Stinchcombe AL, 1990, Information and Organizations.

Stoll C, 1995, Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway.

Tippin D. 1994.Control processes in distant work situations: the case of satellite offices. Presented at Can. Sociol. & Anthro. Assoc., Calgary

Toffler A, 1980, The Third Wave.

Tolbert PS, 1994, The impact of working at home on career outcomes of professional employees.

Treese W, 1995, The Internet Index Number 6.

10.1177/009365093020002004

10.1177/030631296026003006

10.1177/009365092019001003

10.1111/j.1468-2958.1994.tb00332.x

10.1287/orsc.6.2.186

10.1177/009365096023001001

10.1177/009365094021004002

10.2307/2391875

10.1145/219663.219678

10.2307/256623

10.1086/226906

Wellman BS, 1992, Men in networks: private communities, domestic friendships.

Wellman BS, 1994, Connections, 17, 28

Wellman BS, 1995, Soc. Health Care, 12, 213

Wellman BS. 1996. An electronic group is virtually a social network. InResearch Milestones on the Information Highway, ed. S Kiesler. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. In press

Wellman BS, Gulia M. 1996. Net surfers don't ride alone: virtual communities as communities. InCommunities in Cyberspace, ed. P Kollock, M Smith. Berkeley: Univ. Calif. Press

Wellman BS, Salaff J, Dimitrova D, Garton L. 1994.The virtual reality of virtual organizations. Pres. at Am. Sociol. Assoc., Los Angeles

Wellman BS, 1993, Progress Commun. Sci., 12, 63

Wireman P, 1984, Urban Neighborhoods, Networks and Families.

10.1287/orsc.6.4.394

Zuboff S, 1988, In the Age of the Smart Machine.