Catherine Dwyer

Digital Relationships in the "MySpace" Generation: Results From a Qualitative Study

A qualitative study was conducted to explore how subjects use social networking sites and instant messenger to engage in interpersonal relationships. The results were used to develop a preliminary framework that models how attitudes towards privacy and impression management, when mediated by technology, translate into social interactions. This paper begins with a review of relevant literature, then describes the experimental design, summarizes the results, introduces the framework, and finishes with a discussion of conclusions and implications for future research. This paper describes the collection and analysis of qualitative data, and its use to inform a preliminary theoretical framework that can support future research into the design of systems that support social interactions

Understanding Development and Usage of Social Networking Sites: The Social Software Performance Model

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook thrive on energetic social interaction, but the factors that assure this are not well understood. There is a lack of theory that can describe and predict the successful adoption of new social computing systems. This paper introduces the social software performance model, and uses it to interpret the evolution and usage of social networking sites. Drawing from socio-technical systems theory, task technology fit, and structuration theory, this model identifies the components of social software, and describes their role in the evaluation and adoption of these systems. The results of three studies are presented, providing initial empirical evidence for the model.

Privacy in the Age of Google and Facebook

Google and Facebook look to be at best naive, and at worst inept, when it comes to managing data privacy.Privacy is a key protection for intellectual, polit ical, and religious freedom, as well as the dignity of the individual. We cannot underestimate the power of the online revolution unleashed by Google and Facebook, but we can not ignore the inherent vulnerabili ties their size brings to digital social databases.

Emergent Solutions for Global Climate Change: Lessons from Green IS Research

In the emerging field of Green IT/IS, 2% is often quoted as the percentage of environmentally harmful emissions attributed to the IT industry. The term ‘Green IT’ is now part of the vocabulary, recognizing the problem of IT as a polluter and the responsibility of IT professionals. There is a counter argument that in IT, IS people have the potential to positively influence the global environmental future – in other words, develop Green IS to reduce the other 98%. Given the urgent need for progress on Climate Change, the authors argue that it is the duty of IS academics, researchers, and practitioners to reorient IS and develop new IS practices that optimize processes in support of sustainable outcomes. This argument is supported by the ability of IS to transform business processes. This paper describes Climate Change as an example of a ‘wicked problem,’ and argues that IS research has often demonstrated that imposed, top down solutions are ineffective for highly complex problems. In contrast, bottom up, emergent solutions have more promise for creating real change.