

@mastersthesis {6738,
	title = {Building electronic social support networks: {The} process and the costs},
	year = {1990},
	note = {9107522},
	school = {The RAND Graduate School},
	type = {phdPh.{D}.},
	address = {Ann Arbor},
	abstract = {Seventy-nine, middle aged managers and professionals from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) were monitored as they wrote a retirement policy paper. Half were randomly assigned to a computer equipped, electronic group. The other half, (the standard group), worked with traditional office resources. The electronic group{\textquoteright}s computers were programmed to gather data, to track work patterns. Respecting personal privacy, only keystroke counts and minutes of software use were collected. From March 1987 through March 1988, RAND paid all electrical and telephone expenses. These subsidies were withdrawn during the second year, to assess how costs influence network participation. The dissertation also examined activity patterns, the importance of technical and organization support, and the socioeconomic determinants of activity. Activity. The electronic retirees were the most active. This was not simply because retirees had more "free time". Retirees without computers were the study{\textquoteright}s least active participants. Networked computers helped overcome isolation and disparate schedules. Individuals could be grouped by the characteristic number of keystrokes and minutes expended among their programs. These patterns differed statistically with respect to organization roles. Committee chairs dominated system activity. Support. After learning to use the computers, users needed to integrate this technology into their work processes. Organization, software and hardware requests accounted for 58\%, 34\% and 8\% respectively. Organization requests came primarily through Email. Hardware calls came over the telephone. Software questions arrived with equal frequency over the telephone or Email. Telephone use. When telephone calls were not free, there was a shift toward inexpensive night calls. This tendency increased with distance from the host computer. Participants{\textquoteright} call frequencies also dropped from 95\% (free period) to 60\% when they paid for the calls. Socioeconomic issues. Participation was not correlated with education, income, professional training or attitudes. Project commitment and organizational roles had more to do with activity than socioeconomic endowments. Policy recommendations. General recommendations are given for encouraging computer networks in the general public. An implementation checklist of hardware and organizational prerequisites is given for retiree electronic social support networks. The trade offs of technology and levels of network participation are summarized by a matrix of appropriate technologies and organizational structures.},
	keywords = {0351:Gerontology, 0708:Mass media, 0710:Educational software, Communication and the arts, Education, Educational software, Gerontology, Mass media, Social sciences, social support networks},
	url = {http://search.proquest.com/docview/303867303?accountid=14270},
	author = {Hahm, Wendell Kwan Lee}
}
