THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (JOURNAL)
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS/basic_info/cfpict.html
Special Issue on the "Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and
Community
Networking"
Guest Editor: Murali Venkatesh
Community & Information Technology Institute
School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
Syracuse New York 13244
[log in to unmask]
Manuscripts due: January 15, 2002
Even as the term "movement" is beginning to be applied to ICT-supported
community networking to
characterize an emergent body of concerns in the research and practitioner
communities worldwide,
the terms "community", "community network" and "community networking", and
their relationship,
are in need of clarification and definition. As a working definition,
community networking refers to the
process by which a community-focused technological system (an ICT-supported
community
network) develops and evolves in a geographically anchored, physical
community. This special issue
is interested in several aspects of this process, both as they relate to the
development and evolution of
the community network and of the idea of community itself. Although we are
especially concerned in
this special issue with the developmental process, research reports on
outcomes from use of such
networks in communities would be of interest as well.
There is a growing body of research on the consequences of the structuring
and use of community
networks on communication patterns, social relations, and collective action.
This research is valuable
and necessary. The process by which an ICT-supported community network is
planned, designed,
and implemented in a community has attracted relatively less critical
attention. How and where does
the idea of such a network originate in a community? How do residents and
institutions mobilize
around the idea, and why? Who participates and who does not in different
aspects of its
development, and why? ICT-supported community networks can be powerful
agents of community
networking. As with technologies in general, they are shaped by social,
political and economic
choices. Such choices "are part of the history of a...system and are
embedded in the social structure
which support its (the technology's) development and use" (Iacono & Kling,
1988). The term
community networking highlights the process, and the play of social,
political and economic systems
and interests therein, which shapes these choices in a community. These
choices, in turn, can have
beneficial or detrimental (intended and unintended) consequences for
community building and the idea
of community.
This special issue invites papers that offer nuanced description and
analysis of ICT-supported
community networking projects in communities worldwide. Papers on all forms
of
technologically-mediated community networking are welcome, ranging from
development and use of
telecenters in the developing world to so-called next generation community
networking initiatives,
featuring, among others, broadband telecommunications technologies and/or
localnets (Serra, 2000) -
locally-focused segments of the Internet.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to
Participation and representation in community network development
Relationships between the community network and the physical host community
Community networking, community building and the communitarian ideal
Political economy of community networking
Community network governance
Community networking and the Digital Divide
Community networking as a tool for social and economic justice
Submissions may consider these and related issues from social science,
philosophical, public policy
and interdisciplinary perspectives. Submissions may be conceptual or
empirical, and may employ
quantitative, qualitative or case study approaches. We invite contributions
both from researchers and
practitioners. Submissions that relate findings and arguments to existing
theory, or that clearly
delineate implications for the development and refinement of theory, are
strongly encouraged.
We encourage prospective authors to become familiar with TIS and to discuss
possible articles with
the Special Issue editor. Authors may email an abstract (1,500 words) to the
Special Issue editor for
comments. Deadline for receiving abstracts is October 30, 2001.
Manuscript guidelines and a list of the titles and abstracts of articles
published in TIS can be found on
the journal's web site. Papers will be subject to the normal review process
of The Information
Society, and should follow the standard guidelines for submission to the
journal. See information for
authors at: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS
Please note in your submission letter that you want your manuscript to be
reviewed for the Special
Issue on "ICTs and Community Networking".
If you have questions or suggestions regarding the special issue, please
correspond directly with the
issue editor, Murali Venkatesh at [log in to unmask]
References
Iacono, S., and Kling, R. (1988). Computer systems as institutions: Social
dimensions of computing in
organizations. In J. I. DeGross & M.H. Olson (Eds.), Proceedings of the
Ninth International
Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Minneapolis, MN.
Serra, A.(2000). Next Generation Community Networking: Futures for Digital
Cities. In T. Ishida &
K. Isbister (Eds.), Digital Cities: Technologies, experiences, and future
perspectives. Lecture Notes in
Computer Science, 1765, Springer-Verlag.
************************************************************************************
Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion
list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic
study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html
*************************************************************************************
|
