NSF - Information Technology, Culture, and Social Institutions

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Message-Id: <v02130510b0322ba56794@[192.100.21.23]>
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 16:46:56 -0400
To: ninch-announce@cni.org
From: david@ninch.org (David Green)
Subject: NSF - Information Technology, Culture, and Social Institutions


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Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 13:48:24 -0400
From: splattne@nsf.gov

People should be aware of a special funding opportunity at NSF
about information technology, culture and social institutions.
Here is the flier.  Also see our webpage at
www.nsf.gov/sbe/sber/anthro
=================================================================
National Science Foundation
Funding Opportunities in
Information Technology, Culture, and Social Institutions


The development of information technologies and new types of
digital content in all aspects of society has far exceeded our
understanding about how these new technologies have reshaped
social organization, work life, interaction patterns and culture.
In response to this shortcoming, the Computer, Information
Science, and Engineering directorate (CISE) and the Social,
Behavioral, and Economic Sciences directorate (SBE) as well as
the Education and Human Resources directorate (EHR) are
encouraging multidisciplinary proposals for research at the
interface of behavioral and social science, education research
and information technology. Proposals may be submitted on
standard forms (see the Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27) to
existing programs (see the Guide to Programs NSF 95-138) as this
notice calls attention to existing funding opportunities.

The proposed research should aim to advance our understanding of
how information technologies shape and are shaped by the
cognitive, social and cultural dimensions of groups,
organizations, institutions, and societies. The driving force for
this interaction is the widespread proliferation of distributed
computing with vastly increased processing, communications, and
storage capabilities.  Research should seek to understand the
impact of new forms of digital content and communications
accessible to wide segments of society as well as national and
global institutions such as nation states, multinational
corporations and financial institutions. The methodological
approach should be appropriate to the unit of analysis and
research questions. For example, a study of the impact on culture
might focus on understanding how people learn about and use
information technology in real-life situations, or on the
interacting technological, social, and organizational factors
that facilitate or impede productive use and learning. A study of
the impact of information technology on nation states might focus
on the changing nature of sovereignty. Especially welcome are
proposals that aim to develop general explanations, through
grounded theory or other empirical approaches. Social science
contributions to the design of systems affecting large segments
of the population are also welcome.  Examples include cognitive,
cultural, economic, ethical, interpersonal, political,
sociological and spatial factors that should be incorporated into
systems designed for ordinary citizens.

We are interested in a broad range of studies on the behavioral,
social and cultural dimensions of new information technologies.
For example, some possible research topics are listed below:

  Ethnographic studies of how information technologies
legitimize people's identification with communities, and how
human-computer dynamics in work-places structure the work process
to affect productivity.

 Studies that examine economic institutions and organizations,
including organizational structure; the links between technology,
agent interaction, and productivity  in firms and other
organizations; and the impact of information technology on the
co-evolution of economic institutions and cultural norms.

 Labor market issues related to information technology,
including its impact on income distribution, labor force
participation, investments in education and training, family
structure and the allocation of resources within the family.

 Research on the productivity paradox.  Economists continue to
argue about why increases in U.S. productivity have remained
sluggish despite large private sector investments in information
technology.  What empirical research particularly at the sectoral
level could shed light on this issue?

 Research on the changing roles of key institutions. Information
and communications technologies will create both threats and
opportunities for existing organizations.  For example, some
universities may be able to serve non-traditional students
(e.g.,. adult student who can't attend an universities full-time)
by expanding distance learning services.  Others may lose
students and tuition to "virtual universities" or publishers that
can offer courses at a lower cost per credit hour.  Some have
suggested that the functions of the university (administration,
degree-granting, instruction, physical facility) will be
"unbundled"  How are key organizations responding to IT-related
challenges and opportunities and what theoretical principles
explain the change?

 Studies of the spatial and geographical implications and
behavior associated with the spread and use of information
technologies.

 Research to develop theories, methods, concepts, and principles
that provide foundations for making large-scale, collaborative,
content-rich applications effective in practice in their
organizational and social contexts.

 Research that examines the operation, impacts, and usage
patterns of organization-scale computing, content, and
collaboration technologies with the aim of feeding back resulting
knowledge into new technologies and new approaches toward
integrating them in context.

 Research that examines the use of digital library resources in
education, science, and technology.  How does the immediacy and
richness of digital libraries and their associated tools change
the nature of research and education?  How does the social
conduct of science change  and how can these changes best be
accommodated?

 Studies of the research, design, development and implementation
processes that bring new information technologies into existence,
and the influence of such technologies on creativity,
productivity, and social life in a variety of settings, including
schools, work places, and homes.

 Research on how the cognitive capacities of humans interact with
information technologies to facilitate or inhibit their use.

 Research to examine and evaluate ethical norms in the
development and use of new information and communication
technologies.

 Research on the roles that these technologies may play in
social, cultural, political and economic conflict, for example
strengthening the competitive position of some groups at the
expense of others, or providing new arenas in which some human
beings may exert power over others.

 Research to facilitate the development of laws and law-like
rules regulating access to, use of, and outcomes of using
information technology.

 Research on the impact of cultures and subcultures on the
institutionalization and integration of information technology as
an agent of change (for example, in schools and other workplaces.

 Research that examines the impact of information technology on
quality and overall performance in organizations, e.g. through
better integration with customers, process improvement, or better
coordination of organizational subunits.

Planning grants of $20,000 - $50,000 for 12-18 months are
available to assist in the preparation of multidisciplinary
proposals that might require collaboration between social and
behavioral scientists and their counterparts in computer science
and engineering. For example, social scientists may want to work
with researchers in large, multidisciplinary NSF-funded projects
focusing on information technologies such as the digital
libraries, collaboratories, partnerships for advanced computing
infrastructure (PACI), very high-performance network services
(vBNS), Engineering Research Centers, and Science and Technology
Centers. (see www.nsf.gov, www.cise.nsf.gov and www.eng.nsf.gov)

Other examples of possible research in the area of information
technology and culture can be found in the workshop report
"Culture, Society and Advanced Information Technology", available
from the Computing Research Association (info@cra.org, fax: (202)
667-1066) or from the American Anthropological Association
(peggy@mhs.compuserve.com, fax: (703) 528-3546), and on the World
Wide Web at http://cra.org/Reports/Aspects/.

The foundation hopes to make about 10 awards in FY 1998 whose
average duration is about 2-3 years and whose average total award
size is $50,000 - $500,000, subject to available funds and
proposals of high scientific merit.

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