Wired Seniors

Presents findings from a survey of 26,094 adults, conducted between March and December 2000. Explores what motivates seniors to go online, what they do when they get Internet access, and how they have benefited from the resources available online

A Suburban Communications Network: Recurrence of Use, Growth of Participation, and the Challenges of Sustainability

This paper presents findings from a longitudinal research project exploring the use of a local digital community noticeboard and the mechanisms that have worked to grow and sustain community participation in this communications network. The lessons learnt from this research include the importance of providing clear indication to community members that communications are being seen by the community, maintaining visibility of high interest community- building communications, and involving community organisers. In discussion of our research, we suggest that future design supports visibility of long-term communications, and provides an accessible place to make communications public (with less emphasis on linking individual identities)

Ubiquity from the bottom up: Grassroots initiated networked communities

About the book: This peer-reviewed collection represents some of the finest research presented at the 2004 Association of Internet Researchers Conference held in Sussex in 2004. Responding to the theme of ubiquity, papers collected here represent a diverse range of inquiries into the development, as well as perceived development, of the Internet. Offering new and important work about blogs, online games, users, norms and access, to name just a few topics, this collection is a must-read for Internet scholars intent on keeping pace with a rapidly expanding field

Content analysis of a rural community’s interaction with its cultural heritage through a longitudinal display deployment

In this paper we present content analysis related to our longitudinal deployment of the Wray Photo Display within a rural village community. The situated display based system enables village residents to upload images (typically photos) relating to their community for viewing by fellow residents and visitors to the village. Residents can also provide a response to pictures via the system's commenting feature. A content analysis has revealed that the majority of images uploaded to the system relate to the cultural heritage of the village (across both 'past' and 'contemporary' categories). Furthermore, analysis of the comments relating to these images reveals a wide range of use, including: clarification (e.g. the subject of the photo or the period when it was taken), identification (e.g. identification of relatives in the photo) and narratives (e.g. "...my mum & dad rented from Mr Phillipson who lived next door...")

An Investigation Into Grassroots Initiated Networked Communities As A Means Of Addressing The Digital Divide

Despite two decades of government and commercial intervention, a digital divide persists in the UK. Access to internet connectivity and the associated tools and services that permit full participation in the information society greatly varies. Researchers argue that a more complex set of insufficiencies must be overcome and continually re-addressed to enable individuals and communities to make meaningful usage of the internet to enhance their activities. This thesis examines the discourse surrounding the digital divide and investigates one response: the establishment of grassroots initiated networked communities. These initiatives represent local neighbourhoods attempting self-provisioning solutions; appropriating technology within their own communities to connect residents to each other, and the wider world through the internet, often building on an existing set of social relationships and ongoing interaction. The research consists of a literature review, a survey of grassroots initiated networked communities in the UK, and the collaborative development of software tools to enhance community interaction working alongside two communities. An analysis of the motivations and goals of these initiatives is presented based on the survey and interviews with ten groups, providing evidence of a range of activities and a simple typology of initiatives, which I define as Pioneers, Subcultures and Cooperatives. The thesis provides recommendations to practitioners and policy makers on how best to support such initiatives, and indicates useful areas of further research. The collaborative development of software tools alongside two initiatives reveals the challenges of undertaking a participatory research approach and identifies barriers to social software adoption. I identify that grassroots community responses to the digital divide face challenges, including achieving critical mass, sponsorship, and sustainability. The research concludes by establishing that grassroots initiated networked communities are a valid response to overcoming the digital divide, and that a community approach offers shared motivation, social support, and knowledge sharing

Communities on-line : community-based computer networks

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-170).by Anne Beamish.M.C.P

Building multimedia archives on the Internet

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-72).Can we use technology to build and strengthen bonds within communities? Can we build technology that will help to elaborate and preserve the shared history of a community? Can we make the technology easy to use, even for beginning computer users? Community Memory is an attempt to answer those questions. It is a Web-based environment where a community can collaborate to build an electronic scrapbook. Narrative expression, both as stories and as photographs, is the tool with which the communities elaborate their shared history and identity. Two communities, an extended family and a high school reunion class, have begun using the tools, and data was collected on their interactions during a period of several months. The communities were given an email list to use as well as the Web-based tools of the scrapbook. The data show that communities approach the project quite differently and that strong preferences emerged both between the two groups and within one of the groups for different modes of communicating their stories.by Ingeborg Loni Endter.S.M

ICTs and Community and Suggestions for Further Research in Scotland

This paper reviews previous research exploring the significance of community based information and communication technologies (ICTs) for routine daily life. The paper then summarizes strategies and plans to develop ICTs in communities throughout Scotland. Short case studies of two different programs in Scotland are examined, and recent findings from assessments of these projects considered. Aspects of sustainability in relation to ICT and community are then examined. Finally, the paper suggests need for more collaborative research and more in-depth empirical work to clarify the implications of new relationships developing between ICT and community. Empirical research and critical analysis will help broaden understanding of Community Informatics by informing policy makers, practitioners, researchers and communities. In turn, greater knowledge about the significance of new technologies may help support community based technologies in a more sustainable fashion