Roderick L. Lee

Participatory design in community computing contexts: tales from the field

As technology becomes more embedded in our daily lives, there is a great deal of hope about the use of information technology to achieve positive community outcomes like increasing access to local information, promoting civic engagement, and creating avenues for collaboration and communication. While these technologies provide opportunities for community groups to achieve their own goals, most community computing studies describe community members in fairly passive ways as users of existing systems rather than as meaningful contributors to the design process. The Civic Nexus project is a three year participatory design project that involves working with community groups to increase their capacity to solve local community problems through the use of leading edge computing tools. Our view of participatory design is one in which community members take control of the design process in terms of both directing what should be done and maintaining the technology infrastructure. In this paper, we describe our process of participatory design with three community groups and present associated challenges for designers engaging in participatory design in community computing contexts.

An examination of web disclosure and organizational transparency

Web disclosure is a significant technological innovation aimed at improving organizational transparency. Organizations that voluntarily disclose high quality financial and performance information on their public websites are viewed as being more open, trustworthy, and accountable by the general public. Despite the positive benefit of enhanced public trust, many organizations have not implemented the recommended web disclosure principles and best practices. Informed by the theoretical underpinnings of organizational ecology theory, this study develops a theoretical model in order to examine the problem of differential implementation of web disclosure in nonprofit settings. Empirical evidence reveals that the majority of nonprofit websites lack high quality financial and performance information which reflects an opaque digital informative strategy. Our results further suggest that organizational inertia - particularly resistance to change in organizational form - may play an important role in the decision to voluntarily adopt and implement innovative web disclosure practices. The findings have implications for research and information systems design.

e-Government services for faith-based organizations: Bridging the organizational divide

Abstract In this paper, we examine the challenges faced by faith-based institutions in a low-income, predominantly Black community seeking to take advantage of grants provided through the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives (FBCI). FBCI is an e-Government program that assists nonprofit organizations in competing for Federal dollars with fewer bureaucratic barriers. Informed by the design-actuality framework, we interviewed clergy at seven faith-based organizations. The intent of this analysis is to juxtapose the design intentions of the government officials with the actualities expressed by the intended benefactors of the initiative. Our findings suggest that this e-Government initiative may unwittingly exacerbate existing disparities in the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICT).

The paradoxical consequences of the White House faith-based and community initiative for black churches

This article examines black churches located in economically challenged neighborhoods in a northeastern US city. Employing the concepts of the organizational divide and Heek’s design—actuality model, we conducted interviews with clergy at seven black churches to understand their level of information and communication technology (ICT) use and capacity to secure funding from the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives (FBCI). Through the use of e-government services, the FBCI is expanding public—private partnerships with faith-based organizations to implement social programs that address community challenges. Our findings suggest that black churches are rich storehouses of local information and have a long history of providing social support and spiritual strength. This may make them logical beneficiaries of the FBCI. Paradoxically, the black churches that provide social programs to economically challenged citizens are often underresourced and lack the organizational capacity to secure FBCI resources.

Students as Teachers and Teachers as Facilitators

Teaching students computer technologies sometimes requires untraditional teaching methods in schools, as it is not uncommon that students possess more advanced computer skills than teachers in today’s classrooms. In this paper, we present our study of a course website design project in a public high school to investigate new teaching strategies in technology education. We observed how students and teachers shifted roles during the project, i.e., students became technology consultants and trainers while teachers, although still acting as facilitators of the process, also became learners. This role-shifting resulted in augmented learning outcomes for the student. For the teacher, the challenge of adopting the unconventional role of teacher-as-student required a new teaching paradigm, bringing to light the inherent tensions brought about by such role changes and skill differentials. Lessons we learned from this study are discussed as well as suggestions for teachers and schools that are interested in adopting this approach.

M-Government for Emergency Notifications

This study examines the use of mobile devices for the delivery of emergency notifications to end users from a mobile government (m-government) perspective. The study is informed by the task-technology fit model, technology acceptance models, and the literature on emergency management. Our findings indicate that the task, technology, behavioral, and to a lesser extent situational characteristics affect the use of m-government for the delivery of emergency notifications. Additional themes of equity and dependence emerge as relevant to user perceptions. This paper contributes to the m-government literature by examining and presenting findings relevant to emergency management and provides insights on the user perceptions of m-government for emergency notifications. This study also has implications for all levels of government including local, state, and federal. Lastly, as mobile technology use grows in the public domain this type of study advances the goal of using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to benefit human well-being.

The impact of online financial disclosure and donations in nonprofits

ABSTRACT Decreased public confidence and trust in the nonprofit sector has fueled increased calls for transparency. In response, federal regulators and watchdog organizations have recommended that nonprofits voluntarily disclose their financial information on their own public websites. Despite the potential benefits of enhanced public confidence and trust, improved donor decision making, and increased donations, many nonprofit organizations have not adopted the recommended disclosure practices. We investigate the disclosure practices of 3,217 nonprofits and find that voluntary web disclosure of the IRS Form 990 is strongly correlated to donations, independent of other variables such as age, size, and fundraising expenditures. Further, fundraising is also clearly related to the performance indicators shown in the 990 disclosures, particularly the program ratio of program expenditures to total expenditures. This is true on a general level and when specifically compared to other nonprofits within particular sectors. As a result, nonprofits should seriously consider voluntarily posting their Form 990 results on their websites when it reflects favorably and strive to improve their financial performance if online disclosure would reflect poorly on the organization.

Factors Affecting Web Disclosure Adoption in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are strategically using their own personal website to present themselves to the public and share information. Despite the potential benefits of enhanced public confidence and trust, reduced operating costs, improved donor decision making, and increased donations, many nonprofit organizations have resisted the adoption of web disclosure. Informed by the literature on information systems (IS) adoption and technological innovation, this study examines the primary factors that influence the adoption and resistance of web disclosure. Our sample consisted of 176 survey responses from an initial group of 3,323 U.S. NPOs. The statistical results indicate that attitude toward disclosure, compatibility of disclosure with current practices, and financial readiness have a positive influence on web disclosure adoption. The findings have implications for research and practice.