Virtual individuals, virtual groups: Human dimensions of computer networking

I focus on the utilization of network-based computer systems (including "computer-supported cooperative work," or CSCW, systems) as aspects of strategies for construction of "individuals" and "groups." I construe these systems as "artifacts" and as "genres" in an approach closely allied with the "social construction of technology" school and with disciplines that employ narrative as an analytic tool.;Increasing numbers of design and implementation initiatives in network-based systems involve consideration of how individuals and groups construct themselves and their environments. I develop perspectives toward design and implementation (e.g.,"genre-sensitive design") in my efforts to identify and crystalize these trends, as well as explore new territory. I place CSCW and related network-based systems within the context of a number of technologies--both information-oriented and social--that have been employed in the support and shaping of groups.;Genres play critical roles in social construction of "individuals" and "groups," as well as in construction of organizational settings. For example, CSCW systems provide various vehicles for development of "virtual individuals" and "virtual groups," some of which (such as "agents") are largely portrayed as being under individual control, while others are framed as managerial control tools.;Notions of "work group," "coordination," and "collaboration" have been given new dimensions by network-based system developments. These emerging approaches and their educational and managerial applications have deep roots--which I trace to the early part of this century.;Genre development and refinement often center on issues involving long-standing "cultural objects" such as "efficiency," "privacy," and "intellectual augmentation." I construct social histories of these objects and analyze how designers have interpreted them in their network-based system efforts (for example, in development of specific system features intended to serve as "social analogues.").;In the final section, I approach ethical and value issues raised by efforts to shape individuals and groups with the new technologies, with focuses on insights of Mead and Goffman involving role-taking and presentation of self.