MA class on orgs and tech - need reading recommendations
Hi all, Hope you all are well! I am looking for some reading recommendations for a class I'm teaching this spring. It is an MA-level course in a technology-focused department with two tracks - one focused on web design and the other on social science and policy. The course is called "Organizations and Technology" and the description is quite broad. I am looking to revamp the class, most likely with a focus on industry developments and the ways in which various orgs are incorporating/capitalizing on "web 2.0" features. Any suggestions re: readings? Some I am already evaluating: Nicholas Carr's "Does IT Matter," "Information Rules" (Shapiro and Varian), "Long Tail" (Anderson), and "Wikinomics" (Tapscott and Williams). Article suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks much in advance! Nicole * * * Nicole Ellison, PhD nellison@msu.edu
A few suggestions: Alan Liu, The Laws of Cool: Knowledge Work and the Culture of Information (U. Chicago Press, 2004) Felix Stalder, Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks: Hard copies are available from the distributor (http://revolver-books.de/w3NoM.php?nodeId=675) and a pdf of the book, in English, can be downloaded at http://felix.openflows.org/pdf/Notebook_eng.pdf Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco (eds.), Knowledge Workers in the Information Society (Lexington Books, 2007) The Liu book focuses, to some extent, on web design-that is, web pages that are so "cool" that it's difficult to derive information from them. I'd also suggest that students be required to subscribe to c/net news.com (http://www.news.com/) for rss feeds. I've found it to be invaluable in keeping up with IT industry developments. Use can be "personalized," and there's a helpful feature called "Newsburst" ( http://www.news.com/5236-8018-0.html?tag=ne.tab.hd). Subscription is free, but, of course, you have to endure the large number of ads. Regards, Lisa On 12/9/07 1:13 PM, "Nicole Ellison" <nellison@msu.edu> wrote: Hi all, Hope you all are well! I am looking for some reading recommendations for a class I'm teaching this spring. It is an MA-level course in a technology-focused department with two tracks - one focused on web design and the other on social science and policy. The course is called "Organizations and Technology" and the description is quite broad. I am looking to revamp the class, most likely with a focus on industry developments and the ways in which various orgs are incorporating/capitalizing on "web 2.0" features. Any suggestions re: readings? Some I am already evaluating: Nicholas Carr's "Does IT Matter," "Information Rules" (Shapiro and Varian), "Long Tail" (Anderson), and "Wikinomics" (Tapscott and Williams). Article suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks much in advance! Nicole * * * Nicole Ellison, PhD nellison@msu.edu _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
One more suggestion: David Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries, 2nd edition (Sage 2007) On 12/9/07 2:32 PM, "McLaughlin, Lisa M. Dr." <mclauglm@muohio.edu> wrote: A few suggestions: Alan Liu, The Laws of Cool: Knowledge Work and the Culture of Information (U. Chicago Press, 2004) Felix Stalder, Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks: Hard copies are available from the distributor (http://revolver-books.de/w3NoM.php?nodeId=675) and a pdf of the book, in English, can be downloaded at http://felix.openflows.org/pdf/Notebook_eng.pdf Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco (eds.), Knowledge Workers in the Information Society (Lexington Books, 2007) The Liu book focuses, to some extent, on web design-that is, web pages that are so "cool" that it's difficult to derive information from them. I'd also suggest that students be required to subscribe to c/net news.com (http://www.news.com/) for rss feeds. I've found it to be invaluable in keeping up with IT industry developments. Use can be "personalized," and there's a helpful feature called "Newsburst" ( http://www.news.com/5236-8018-0.html?tag=ne.tab.hd). Subscription is free, but, of course, you have to endure the large number of ads. Regards, Lisa On 12/9/07 1:13 PM, "Nicole Ellison" <nellison@msu.edu> wrote: Hi all, Hope you all are well! I am looking for some reading recommendations for a class I'm teaching this spring. It is an MA-level course in a technology-focused department with two tracks - one focused on web design and the other on social science and policy. The course is called "Organizations and Technology" and the description is quite broad. I am looking to revamp the class, most likely with a focus on industry developments and the ways in which various orgs are incorporating/capitalizing on "web 2.0" features. Any suggestions re: readings? Some I am already evaluating: Nicholas Carr's "Does IT Matter," "Information Rules" (Shapiro and Varian), "Long Tail" (Anderson), and "Wikinomics" (Tapscott and Williams). Article suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks much in advance! Nicole * * * Nicole Ellison, PhD nellison@msu.edu _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
You might look into the past with research in to women and technology I was thinking of Susan Hacker and using google scholar this would be the book I think I read " Doing it the Hard Way": Investigations of Gender and Technology S Hacker, DE Smith, SM Turner - 1990 - Unwin Hyman I choose that one because I believe you said social sciences and thus labour might be a topic. I think She studied various women's job in technology I also think Cyborgs@ Cyberspace? An Ethnographer Looks Into the Future D Hakken - 1999 - London: Routledge provides some frame works for studies. I tired using his scales of study but failed to find a project I could apply them too but it is also a good start for social studies. He also looked inside high tech workplaces. And he is cultural. I think the web designers might also like this brush with "studies" also for web designers which I am partly, I love reading the career advise book CyberCareers by Mary E.S. Morris and Paul Massie and published by Sun Microsystems a few years ago. Peter Timusk, B.Math statistics (2002), B.A. legal studies (2006) Carleton University Systems Science Graduate student, University of Ottawa. just trying to stay linear. Read by hundreds of lurkers every week. On 9-Dec-07, at 1:13 PM, Nicole Ellison wrote:
Hi all, Hope you all are well! I am looking for some reading recommendations for a class I'm teaching this spring. It is an MA-level course in a technology-focused department with two tracks - one focused on web design and the other on social science and policy. The course is called "Organizations and Technology" and the description is quite broad. I am looking to revamp the class, most likely with a focus on industry developments and the ways in which various orgs are incorporating/capitalizing on "web 2.0" features.
Any suggestions re: readings? Some I am already evaluating: Nicholas Carr's "Does IT Matter," "Information Rules" (Shapiro and Varian), "Long Tail" (Anderson), and "Wikinomics" (Tapscott and Williams). Article suggestions are welcome as well.
Thanks much in advance!
Nicole
* * * Nicole Ellison, PhD nellison@msu.edu
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Hi Nicole, I concur that the gender and technology approach might be helpful too, and Hacker's work Doing IT the hard way would definitely be a good suggestion. I might also suggest framing the course around the central question: how does technology affect organizations?
From this general problematic, I would suggest three lines of inquiry:
1. Technology as Savior: The Long Tail could work here, but I think the Cluetrain Manifesto is a must read. Wikinomics fits in here. 2. Technology as socially constructed: SCOT approach suggests that tech and orgs mutually affect one another. Good overview: Williams, R., & Edge, D. (1996). The social shaping of technology. Research Policy, 25, 865-899. 3. Feminist critiques: Technology and its design is indicative of gender relations. Hacker would work here. or: Cockburn, C. (1999). The Material of Male Power. In D. MacKenzie & J. Wajcman (Eds.), The Social Shaping of Technology (pp. 177-198): Open University Press. 4. Technology as tool of capital: Barney's work dismisses Marx as a technological determinist: Barney, D. (2000). Prometheus Wired: The Hope for Democracy In The Age of Network Technology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 5. Technology as network actor: Actor Network Theory, with readings from Akrich: Akrich, M. (1992). The de-scription of technical objects. In W. Bijker & J. Law (Eds.), Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change (pp. 205-224). Cambridge: MIT Press. and if you want to be really crazy, the easiest and (I think) most interesting piece by Heidegger... 6. Technology as Shaper of Reality: phenomenologist approaches: Heidegger, M. (1977). The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays (W. Lovitt, Trans.). New York: Harper and Row. Good luck! -s.
participants (4)
-
McLaughlin, Lisa M. Dr. -
Nicole Ellison -
Peter Timusk -
Sam Ladner