The virtual workgroup; as electronic mail and on-line communication services replace face-to-face meetings, your office environment will evolve in surprising ways
Article Abstract:
Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the mouse, predicted as long ago as the 1960s that there would be significant changes in relationships among people in workgroups as a result of computerization. An article that appeared in the Jan-Feb 1986 issue of the 'Harvard Business Review,' by Sara Kiesler, summarizes research that indicates specifically what form some of the changes are likely to take. According to Kiesler, new electronic forms of communication tend to break down hierarchical and departmental barriers, traditional operating procedures and organizational norms. Kiesler notes that communication clues that operate in face-to-face conversations are lacking in electronic interchanges, and the result tends to be a situation in which people are freer. People are less bound by convention and less influenced by status. The effects can be either negative or positive. On the negative side, it can be difficult to achieve a consensus when interacting in a group on-line. Some things seem to be easier to accomplish in an electronic context. It can, for example, be relatively easy to create a 'virtual task force' that cuts across geographical or organizational boundaries. It therefore becomes possible to think of accomplishing some tasks more efficiently using ad hoc virtual workgroups rather than via permanent and inflexible chains of command.
Publication Name: Publish
Subject: Publishing industry
ISSN: 0897-6007
Year: 1992
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The thought police on patrol
Article Abstract:
The US Secret Service, the FBI and the National Science Foundation are in the process of attacking freedom of expression in the electronics medium. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) have begun to align their defense strategies in response to the onslaught by the federal government. EFF, founded by Mitch Kapor of Lotus, and John Perry Barlow of the Grateful Dead, is dedicated to providing legal assistance and support for those under attack, such as Craig Neidorf who was arrested for an electronic publication he distributed. Hypocrisy reigns at CompuServe, where erotic pictures of naked women are allowed, but not erotic pictures of naked men. The key legal and constitutional question is whether computer communications media should be regarded as common carrier. Martin Neimoller, a Protestant theologian and former Nazi concentration camp detainee, warns against not speaking up in time.
Publication Name: Publish
Subject: Publishing industry
ISSN: 0897-6007
Year: 1991
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Standing at the fork in the road
Article Abstract:
National high-speed networks, 'super-highways of the mind', that run on ultra high capacity fiber optic cables can conceivable connect the US. These networks could come under the jurisdiction of the federal government, or they could be controlled by private enterprise. Backers of the National Research and Education Network (NREN), pushed by Senator Albert Gore, see the information infrastructure as the proper project for federal funding and administration. Backers of the Advanced Network Services (IBM, MCI and Merit of Michigan) propose a not-for-profit joint-venture to finance, construct and operate a private network for the future. The private-enterprise version was proposed in Sep 1990 by ANS. Congress is not likely to make a definitive move on the issue unless citizens demand it.
Publication Name: Publish
Subject: Publishing industry
ISSN: 0897-6007
Year: 1991
User Contributions:
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