ABSTRACT
During the last several years, the American telecommunications
landscape has blossomed with comprehensive computing and/or
communications infrastructures created as a result of the partnership
between the public, i.e. government, and private, i.e. business,
sectors. This paper will highlight social implications as a follow-up
to the authors' previous work. As a result, it is expected that others,
namely other state and provincial governments as well as other countries,
can learn from these experiences so that their benefits can be replicated
at lower financial and political cost and in more timely fashion.
INTRODUCTION
There is little doubt that increased attention to interpersonal
relationships, increased communication, and increased use of consensus
decision making are current trends in business. Evolving trends in
organizational structure have ramifications for communication.
As the role of communication expands, the role of information
technology in promoting communication is fostering experimentation in
organizing work and in management practices. (Butera & Bartezzaghi,
1983; Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976) As an example of a new way
of organizing work, telecommuting no longer requires people to go to an
office to go to work. (Cross & Raizman, 1986)
INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS
An infrastructure network is a telecommunications network that provides basic communication services on which public, e.g. government, or private, e.g. corporate organizations depend for their survival.
Mears (1974) defines a communication network as "the interaction required by a group to accomplish a task." Mears (1974, p. 71) states: An organization's effectiveness depends upon the performance of numerous small groups which function and interact within the overall organizational system. Since the activity of a small group depends to a great extent upon its information flow, the communications act has been studied as a means of influencing efficiency.
An infrastructure network is distinguished from any ordinary communications facility because it is both pervasive and comprehensive to promote group participation! An infrastructure network provides the foundation upon which value added (beyond merely transport and switching) information services can be exploited for competitive advantage or for service improvements. For example, telecommuting requires considerable value added services such as office automation to support calendaring and other functions necessary to support a mobile work force. Electronic mail is another value added service that requires an infrastructure network to provide connectivity and accessibility across the twin barriers of time and distance. (Rice & Case, 1983)
Case studies have demonstrated that most benefits derived from information technology improve intragroup communications. (Strassman, 1985, p. 43) However, a critical mass of connected work stations must be achieved to enable a group to try new ways of organizing work! It is necessary to construct networks of considerable scale in order to achieve major improvements in office communications.
An infrastructure network consolidates the communications requirements of virtually all of the organization to achieve economies of scale. (Ho, 1987) An infrastructure network complements the public telecommunications network by providing a more robust and complete infrastructure in either the public (Ho, 1987) or private (Estrin, 1987) arena. As Kling and Scacchi (1982) point out, good infrastructural resources are essential for the smooth deployment and routine operation of any information technology.
The pervasiveness and comprehensiveness of infrastructure networks enable powerful communication services. For example:
Hiltz and Turoff (1978, pp. 469-472) have claimed that computerized conferencing ranks highest according to these criteria when compared against less robust communications alternatives, e.g. books, telephone, face-to-face, and TV.
INTELENET
INTELENET (INdiana TELEcommunications NETwork) is an initiative of Indiana state government. INTELENET (Ho, 1987) merely provides transmission and switching services for Indiana government and education. INTELENET is an infrastructure net-work on which all other value-added net-works would depend for basic transmission and switching services. As such an infrastructure, INTELENET is similar to the public switched network provided by common carriers. With respect to regula-tory/policy issues and finance and economics, it differs from the public switched network. INTELENET is owned by GTE Telecom, an unregulated subsidiary of GTE, and leased by the INTELENET Commission, a body corporate and politic, created by Indiana state statute. The INTELENET Commission resells transmission and switching services to Indiana government and education as defined by the INTELENET statute.
NYSERNet
NYSERNet (New York State Education and Research Network) is the NSFNET's regional mid-level network serving New York education and business. NSFNET (Quarterman, 1991a & 1991b) is the main backbone network in the Internet. The Internet is the successor to the former ARPANET serving the U.S. government's Defense Research Projects Agency. The array of networks now consists of three tiers (Mandelbaum & Mandelbaum, 1991):
The first two tiers constitute NSFNET. NSFNET is not a network; it is an inter-network, i.e. a network of networks.
K-12 Networking
The phenomenon of providing Internet access to the K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) community provides exciting examples of infrastructure networks. The EDUCOM K-12 Networking Project (Clement, 1991) aims to link together primary and secondary education through computer mediated communication networks. In this way, the project will develop network-using resources to support curriculum reform and institutional restructuring.
The Consortium for School Networking represents a national effort to establish the "K-12 network" in the United States. Related efforts in Japan include the Association of Global Electronic Networking Educators. An example of a local initiative in K-12 networking is "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" to provide Internet access to all teachers and students in the Pittsburgh public schools and to begin to integrate this new technological resource into the existing school curriculum.
The history of this initiative goes back more than two years when Professor Robert (Bob) Carlitz of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Physics and Astronomy began to investigate the possibility of extending Internet access to the K-12 community. In connection with this exploration, Bob created an Internet mailing list called KIDSNET that now reaches around the world.
As teachers in Pittsburgh have gained access to the Internet (mostly through the University of Pittsburgh), they have discovered resources such as the NASA Spacelink or the Cleveland Freenet or have established international exchanges with other classrooms worldwide. As we have worked to develop a project which can reach all teachers and students in the Pittsburgh public schools, we have made an effort to structure the project so as to maximize its potential classroom benefits. We are attempting to build a support network that has the breadth to reach all teachers and the depth to accommodate people at all stages of familiarity with this new technology.
Curriculum support will come from the existing mechanisms for developing and implementing the school district's curriculum. Among the projects that are currently being discussed are the following:
Many of these activities are already taking place. All have the characteristic that they may be easily extended to involve children, teachers, and professionals outside of a given school - and even outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or the United States. This extensibility is the greatest strength that the Internet has to offer.
There is another aspect of the Internet that is significant. Already, the Internet reaches all of the research universities in the United States, Europe, and Japan as well as hundreds of companies. As this connectivity increases, one will be able to tap some of the resources latent in these organizations. More people will become active in the schools by dropping in electronically for a little while every day. In a similar fashion, students will leave the confines of the classroom and make electronic visits to museums, libraries, businesses, and governments around the world.
There will be many concrete benefits that one can expect from such a network. In terms of educational issues, the following problems can be attacked:
The Consortium for School Networking seeks to spread this phenomenon throughout the entire United States. Those states which choose to encourage the development of this activity will have the opportunity to establish themselves as leaders in this field. It is a field which knows no national boundaries so leadership in this field means leadership in a major international activity.
For this reason, the project seeks to build a sphere of "Common Knowledge." This phrase refers to both the idea of a shared body of information such as we would want our schools to teach our children. And it refers to the idea that we would want all people to share this information - that it should be common knowledge for everyone.
Information services initiatives
The removal of the information services ban on the Bell regional holding companies puts the spotlight on initiatives related to information services. Among these initiatives, Hawaii INC (Hawaii Information Network Corporation) encourages the creation of information providers. A "grass roots" effort to promote economic development and to improve quality of life through telecommunications and information technology is POINT 21 (Pittsburgh's Opportunity In New Telecommunications for the 21st century) that has conceived a Regional Information District to serve southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Regional Information District would provide a mechanism for businesses, schools, nonprofit groups, and governmental agencies to share information resources. The Regional Information District would benefit all participants. Specific instances would include the following:
Full implementation of the Regional Information District would involve network connections for all government agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and schools in the region. Development of such an extensive network would take several years - perhaps until the end of the decade. In the near term, one could build upon existing networks and provide incentives for the extension and interconnection of these networks.
For example, take university networks and the Internet as a working model. Connect model school districts to the Internet and begin to develop educational materials through model projects. Allow businesses to connect to the Internet at low educational rates if these businesses agree to provide either mentors or some educational materials through their network connections.
Develop model projects involving nonprofit groups, e.g. libraries and museums. Fund these projects through grants developed in connection with the model school districts. Develop an agency, i.e. Regional Information District, to facilitate the networking of nonprofit groups. Nonprofits could contract with this agency for network services and advice. Funds raised through this mechanism could sustain the operation of the agency. Another agency could be established to guide the development of educational materials for the model school districts. This agency could be funded through grants which support the local model school districts and through paid services provided to other school districts around the country. The America 2000 program provides a mechanism of this sort which could be exploited to help fund this agency.
In this way, the community would gain first-hand experience in the delivery of information services as well as in the development of computer-based educational materials, two emerging industrial sectors.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEWLY-INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS IN ASIA
In an earlier paper, we (Ho & Sung, 1990) claimed that infrastructure networks represent a vital opportunity for newly-industrialized nations in Asia. In these nations, through effective communication, social values related to the "group" will produce a better payoff. This payoff would result from the momentum and partnership experience generated by recent economic success. Also, the relatively smaller size of these nations would enable easier networking. Finally, as demonstrated by their success and as a result of their smaller scale, the ability of these nations to focus on what needs to be done will insure the wise investment of funds earned from economic success in projects that will guarantee future success.
We recommended the development of infrastructure networks including national and local networks as well as gateways (to other national networks) and other network resources, e.g. data bases. The involvement of all constituencies, government and education as well as the private sector, will encourage experiments with information technology in organizing work and in management practices that incorporate social values.
Asian political-administrative traditions have stressed the desirability of harmony and consensus. A concern for consensus and values related to the group will result in a higher payoff through communication. Furthermore, the momentum and partnership experience achieved through recent economic success can be sustained through communication.
Just as the existence of comprehensive and pervasive infrastructure networks will encourage experiments with communications technology in organizing work and in management practices, these networks will encourage experiments in economic development and quality of life, e.g. educational reform.
Experiments in organizing work will change the concept of work. The impact of information technology on the social fabric of group life is discussed by Kling. (1984) The way in which work is becoming organized requires a new set of skills. (Bernstein, 1988) As companies change from old models of assembly-line production to Japanese-style work teams, employees will have to improve their ability to communicate.
One of the characteristics of a productive organization is that the way individuals are linked together is of greater importance than what any individual does in isolation. (Strassman, 1985, p. 23) Electronic mail encourages collaboration. For example, this paper was produced by communicating via Bitnet, the worldwide academic network (Fuchs, 1983), between the United States and Taiwan. Communicating across time zones and between remote locations creates new organizational opportunities for accomplishing work on a decentralized basis. (Strassman, 1985, p. 44)
Experiments in management practices that incorporate social values
Communications technology can enable the distribution of knowledge throughout an organization. This distribution can then manifest itself in terms of changes in organizational relationships since knowledge no longer remains exclusive among only a few individuals. The result is a more effective organization.
Replicating scarce knowledge can profoundly affect organizational structure and corporate culture. When scarce knowledge is more widely available, personnel at lower levels of the organization, rather than merely senior management, may more aggressively participate in decision-making.
SUMMARY
Networks are indeed capable of creating opportunities for experiments in organizing work and in management practices. These experiments can change the concept of work in ways that incorporate social values that emphasize teamwork. Teamwork is among the social values that have contributed significantly to the economic success of Asia's newly-industrialized nations. For these nations, infrastructure networks that are both pervasive and comprehensive in order to maximize group participation represent a genuine opportunity to capitalize on this situation. Furthermore, these networks can encourage experiments in economic development and quality of life.
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EDUCOM can be contacted at:
1112 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Phone: +1 202 872 4200
Fax: +1 202 872 4318
Bitnet: jrc@bitnic
Internet: clement@educom.edu
AppleLink: educom
The Association of Global Electronic Networking Educators can be contacted at:
Masahiko Nakauye
Associate Professor
Faculty of Letters
Mukogawa Women's University
6-46 Ikebiraki-cho
Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663 JAPAN
Phone: +81 798 47 1212
Fax: +81 798 41 9400
CompuServe: 74070, 305
(Ed. note: Dr. Ho can be contacted at <th1r@andrew.cmu.edu>)
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