The network of hundreds of thousands of electronically connected computers, which is expected to become a key element of an NII, already has revolutionized the way people work, live, and do business (King and Kraemer, 1995). This network enables reliable, fast, asynchronous point-to-point information exchange over small and large geographic distances. The scope of the future effect of access to an NII is still somewhat uncertain (van de Donk, Snellen, and Tops, 1995). However, its potential to improve formal and informal communication among individuals and groups, provide access to important information sources, facilitate business transactions, shape government process, and simplify access to and delivery of public services is becoming clear (e.g., Bikson and Law, 1993; Sproull and Kiesler, 1991b; Steinfield, Kraut, and Streeter, 1993).
Currently, individuals access electronic networks in two main ways. First, a large number of people directly access the Internet (described in more detail in Chapters Two through Four) through computers and accounts associated with their school or work. Second, also as described in Chapters Two through Four, an increasing number of individuals access electronic networks via one (or more) of several commercial on-line services, including Internet service providers (e.g., America Online, CompuServe). Common to both access mechanisms is the provision of e-mail, which prior research indicates (e.g., Bikson and Law, 1993; Eveland and Bikson, 1987) acts as the "hook" causing users first to realize the advantages of networked technologies and gradually to experiment with more advanced features and services. Many such features facilitate interactions beyond the boundaries of the United States to the GII--extending users' horizons both literally and figuratively (see Chapter Six).
Yet, as Chapter Two has shown, access to computers and computer networks is not evenly distributed throughout the population. Specifically, computer access and use is positively related to higher levels of education and income. Also, race is independently related to computer and network access--whites being significantly more likely to have access to both than blacks and Hispanics. Probably most significant for this study of the implications of countrywide access to e-mail is the fact that income- and education-based gaps between these groups are widening over time (again, see Chapter Two for more discussion of these data and trends). Apparently, if current trends continue without intervention, access to electronic information and communications technologies (and associated benefits) will be skewed in favor of traditionally advantaged groups.
Against this background, we turn in this chapter to the issue of extending network access to currently underserved populations. By "underserved populations" we mean groups often referred to as the "have-nots" in the popular press (e.g., Schrage, 1993; Shiver, 1995; Williams, 1995). These groups include those with low levels of income and education, ethnic minorities, the elderly, and the physically challenged. Further, we examine how on-line access to people, groups, and relevant information can--and is--helping nonprofit and public sector organizations operate more effectively. Finally, we explore how on-line access to local and federal government representatives, as well as to nongovernmental organizations, may increase citizen participation in government affairs and whether such access offers benefits to community members.
We examine these issues in the context of the increasing number of "civic networks" emerging countrywide. What principally distinguishes civic networks from other organizations that provide network access and services is their objective: to use network technology to serve public interests and increase public access to information. Most civic networks typically aim to reach underserved populations described above. "[I]n general terms, a civic network improves access to information of all kinds to the general public or to targeted members of the local community who are traditionally underserved" (Vu et al., 1994).
This chapter will describe the range of information services that civic networks can and do provide to their constituents. The chapter also will discuss implementation strategies (e.g., location of computer terminals, delivery of user training) that are undertaken to ensure that target populations are reached effectively. Further, given e-mail's significance as a catalyst for other on-line computer use, and thus as an important influence on universality of network use, we particularly examine the role of and access to e-mail in populations served by civic networks.
The results reported here are based on in-depth studies of five civic networks. By synthesizing findings across the five networks, we offer preliminary answers to two questions: (1) What are the individual, group, and societal benefits (and potential disadvantages) of access to networked communication technologies, especially for traditionally underserved individuals and groups and (2) what can we learn from the implementation of civic networks that will help us understand what it takes to deliver on-line access to all groups in society? Both questions are central to this study's overall research questions: Is it feasible to provide universal access to e-mail in the United States, and what are the likely societal benefits?[1]
The research reported in this chapter follows a case-study- like approach that RAND researchers have used successfully in other settings where contextual characteristics are complex and where there is a paucity of prior research on which to build (e.g., Bikson and Law, 1994; Stasz et al., 1991). Because civic networks have been in existence only a relatively short amount of time, few systematic data have been gathered about them.[2] We believed that observational visits and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders at a selected group of sites would yield a rich source of qualitative information from which to learn and draw conclusions about the kinds of issues raised above.
In selecting sites for in-depth study, our goal was to devise an illustrative rather than a representative sample of civic networks. They were chosen from a larger group of similar organizations operating around the country using network technology to support a wide variety of publicly oriented activities. The final sample reflects an attempt to include networks aimed at reaching underserved communities--such as poor, inner-city residents and ethnic minorities--as well as networks whose goal is to promote "electronic democracy" and facilitate the on-line delivery of government services.
The resulting sample comprised five civic networks:
The main features of each are outlined in Table 5.1. Syntheses of interview information from each site visit are in Appendix B, along with a copy of the semistructured interview protocol. Following is a brief glance at the distinguishing characteristics of each network.
Key Features of Civic Networks
The Public Electronic Network in Santa Monica was founded in 1988 with the primary goal of increasing citizens' awareness of and participation in local government affairs, i.e., promoting "electronic democracy." Impressed with how e-mail had improved communications and responsiveness within City Hall itself, officials aimed to extend the model and the technology to facilitate more effective communication between local citizens and their government. Their secondary goal was to allow citizens to conduct increasing amounts of local government-related business on-line, e.g., payment of parking tickets or application for business licenses.
Organizers of the Seattle Community Network, founded in 1994, view it primarily as a mechanism to foster community-building by providing a forum for idea-sharing among Seattle community residents. They aim to reach all residents, including the urban poor and ethnic minorities. A secondary goal of SCN is to give local organizations a venue to promote activities and events.
The Blacksburg Electronic Village was started with a goal of creating a "virtual community" where all activities that take place within a normal community--from politics to business and social organizing--could be conducted via an on-line network. BEV was established in 1993 with the involvement of all the major institutions in the community, including Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, social service organizations, businesses, and City Hall.
Both LatinoNet, founded in late 1994, and the Playing to Win Network, begun in 1993, focus network outreach and service delivery at organizations rather than individuals. The Playing to Win Network is an outgrowth of a larger project aimed at bringing computers to nonprofits and inner-city residents. That project, called Playing to Win Inc., is in New York City. The headquarters of the Playing to Win Network Project is in Boston, MA. See Appendix B for details.
Both these networks promote interaction among organizations with similar goals and needs. LatinoNet was founded to develop better channels of communication between Latino nonprofit organizations throughout the nation. The Playing to Win Network was established to allow administrators at community and social service organizations to draw on the knowledge and accrued expertise of colleagues facing similar challenges throughout the United States.[3]
Combined, the five sites provide a rich source of information on ways that civic networks are structured to provide on-line access to underserved populations, the kinds of services they offer, and how they help support and reshape personal, business, and government interactions.
Our data collection goal was twofold. Our first objective was to understand how different civic networks use network technology to accomplish varied missions. We wanted to find out what types of services each offers and the benefits (and potential disadvantages) these services bring to individuals, groups, and public and private sector organizations. Second, we wanted to understand the strategies the networks use to ensure that their target populations have access to and take advantage of available services.
Semistructured interviews served as the primary method for gathering contextual information on the characteristics of the five civic networks, their range of services, and delivery strategies. The interviews were guided by a protocol to ensure that information relevant to key research questions was collected systematically across all sites. However, the protocol was designed to be sufficiently open- ended to accommodate each organization's different objectives and to allow unanticipated themes to emerge and be explored (see Appendix B). At each network, the aim was to interview at least one individual in each of the following five categories:
In practice, the number of interviews at each site varied. Differences in the number of interviews stemmed primarily from the size of each operation and the level of penetration into the communities each one serves. In total, we conducted around 30 semistructured interviews across all five sites. Two additional data-gathering techniques complemented our semistructured interviews. We informally solicited information on usage from users of the different civic networks during training sessions and open-use hours at public access sites. We also collected, where available, published papers and reports on the demographics and frequency of use from project organizers (see Appendix B for detailed information).
We present our study findings in two main sections. First, we describe what we learned about how access to e-mail and other on-line services is affecting the ways people live, work, and do business. Second, we discuss the major implementation implications associated with delivering e-mail and on-line services to various target populations, particularly the traditionally underserved.
We found that there are four main categories of benefits associated with access to e-mail and other on-line services such as are provided by civic networks. These benefits are similar to many described in various research articles and in the trade press. The noteworthy finding here, however, is that within the context of civic networks, all the benefits are "packaged together" and are potentially attainable by all citizens regardless of income, education, race, or other traditionally access-limiting characteristics.
In the following sections, we organize the findings according to the categories of benefits just described. In each case, we give examples of how the different civic networks are realizing these benefits for their members.
Improved Communication: Community Building and Social Integration. The following are the two clearest findings across all five sites: (1) E-mail is the most commonly used feature in the civic network environment and (2) it is the catalyst that stimulates user participation in other aspects of network life. E-mail not only makes it possible to communicate with individuals and groups regardless of sender/recipient time and location, it also gives users access to other exchange forums such as "chat rooms" (e.g., the "double trouble" chat room at the Community Access Center of the Playing to Win Network), electronic conferences (e.g., on homelessness), "listservs" (e.g., the "Seniors' Mailing List" on the Blacksburg Electronic Village), and electronic bulletin boards (e.g., listings of community events). According to many interviewees, such communication-enabling features are popular among civic network subscribers because they are typically easy to use and provide immediate social benefits.
Concerns that boundary-spanning networks might facilitate a reduction in community affiliation, or disinterest in local affairs, did not surface in our interviews. Posting defamatory or otherwise inappropriate message content appeared to raise little concern among administrators or users. In most cases, self- or peer-monitoring proves to be a sufficiently effective screening mechanism. We heard of only one instance in which administrators had to remove a user from the network. He was discovered downloading vast quantities of pornographic materials at a community-access site. On a different network, administrators intervened to prevent an organization from violating their policy about selling products over the network. One concern shared by administrators from at least two sites was the potential for electronic networks to help individuals and groups with extreme agendas (e.g., political, racist) to influence wider audiences. However, the consensus among interviewees was that new electronic technologies, similar to others in the past, can be used for positive and negative purposes, and that ultimately, increased interaction should not be feared.
Recognizing the power of e-mail to stimulate user participation in civic networks, all the sites in our study make e-mail accounts available to users--most at a cost well below the market price. For instance, they cover the cost of network connection at public access points and charge only a nominal registration fee to set up service.[4]
At Santa Monica's Public Electronic Network, city residents can register for an e-mail account free of charge. The Seattle Community Network asks for a small donation, typically $10, which it waives in the case of financial hardship to ensure that access is not limited to wealthier residents. Blacksburg citizens pay a $6 fee for an e-mail account on the Electronic Village. Many of the nonprofit organizations on the Playing to Win Network make e-mail accounts available to their staff and clients free of charge.
LatinoNet is the only network in the study that charges a sizable annual registration fee--$75 for organizational users and $60 for individuals. Since LatinoNet employs several full-time staff members but has no outside source of financial support, registration fees are necessary to cover staff salaries and operating costs. The other networks are supported by a combination of local government and foundation grants and volunteer time.
The general commitment of the civic networks to keep the price of registration low suggests that network organizers understand the role of e-mail as the catalyst for more advanced participation in civic networking. Many interviewees believed that encouraging the use of e-mail to support social and recreational interactions also increases its potential to raise awareness about community issues and activities, promote a community dialog, and improve social cohesiveness. In fact, electronic conferences organized around important social and political topics formed an important part of all but one of the networks (Playing to Win).
Organizers of the Seattle Community Network and the Public Electronic Network in Santa Monica are particularly focused on promoting the community-building capability of the civic networks in their cities. Since its conception, for instance, PEN has hosted hundreds of electronic conferences for its members, several of which elicited over a thousand responses from participants. In fact, three topics--religion, abortion, and homelessness--each generated over 2,000 responses (Moran, 1990). Examples of other conference topics aimed at increasing community awareness and participation include crime, environmental pollution, and city taxes.
Bulletin boards on locally relevant issues are a second tool that civic networks use to support community-building. Examples of topics posted on PEN's bulletin board include recreation and park schedules, bus schedules, earthquake safety tips, and information on pets for adoption. On SCN's community bulletin board, a large number of organizations post information about themselves and their meeting times and locations. These organizations include the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Sustainable Seattle--a group concerned with environmental, educational, and health issues affecting the long-term well-being of the Seattle community. SCN also allows several neighborhood subdivisions within the city to set up their own bulletin boards. Network users living in Wallingford, for example, can post or retrieve information about community events and programs specific to their neighborhood.
On the Blacksburg Electronic Village, the community bulletin board has two distinct focuses. One accessible area is called "About Blacksburg," on which is posted information about the city's history, weather, and restaurants. The other is labeled "Community Activities," where information about local organizations (e.g., reading groups, athletic clubs, the YMCA) and community events (e.g., block parties, "open house" events) is posted.
LatinoNet's community bulletin board is called the "Master Calendar of Events." Users access this feature to find detailed listings of Latino activities and events by region of the country. Network organizers say that the "Master Calendar" is one of the most commonly used features. Churches, social service organizations, and event organizers can post information to advertise activities to the broader community. According to network officials, its use is particularly high on key Latino holidays, when it is used to locate events at nearby community centers.
As a subset of their activities aimed at community-building, many of the sites in our study actively promote the use of the civic networks to facilitate the social integration of traditionally "disadvantaged" groups, e.g., older adults, and individuals with mental and physical handicaps and serious illnesses. The findings from research in other settings about the particular benefits of network access to members of otherwise peripheral groups--such as weakening status-based hierarchies and increasing integration of marginalized groups--are described in more detail in Chapter Two (e.g., Sproull and Kiesler, 1991b). These findings were corroborated by participants in the networks we studied here.
Many participants we interviewed agreed that membership in an electronic civic network can improve the quality of life in many ways for members of disadvantaged or marginalized groups (see, for example, Abramsohn, 1995). First, most interviewees agreed that electronic networks support the social integration of disadvantaged groups through increased access to informal peer support. For instance, social isolation often experienced by older adults or disabled individuals lessens when they are able to communicate easily with others who are experiencing common challenges, interviewees reported.
One network in the study, the New York-based Community Access Center--a social service organization in the Playing to Win Network--outreaches to a mentally ill and developmentally disabled population. Administrators at the center have organized a "double trouble" chat room on the network that gives individuals who are afflicted by a mental illness or are recovering drug users a forum to share problems, offer peer support, and simply "blow off steam."
Another advantage of communicating via on-line networks reported by interviewees in our study is the "equalizing" effect of the electronic medium. Discrimination and stereotyping are reduced when people interact electronically. According to an official from the Playing to Win Network, homeless people who communicate on-line do not experience the kind of disrespect often accorded to them in face-to-face interactions.
One organizer of the Seattle Community Network, discussing the benefits of network communication for people suffering from physical handicaps, described how such individuals often are the victims of negative stereotyping and false assumptions about their competency. He went on to say, however, that in the context of electronic interactions, "the only basis for discrimination is your typing speed."
Participants from the civic networks described another way in which electronic networks can be particularly beneficial to disadvantaged groups--they make access to relevant information and resources easier. As an example, Blacksburg has a large population of senior citizens. Organizers of the Blacksburg Electronic Village serve this group by devoting space on the network to seniors' issues and events. They have created a "Seniors' Page," which describes community events and resources targeted specifically for the elderly. In Seattle, the Washington Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities is expected to go on-line in mid-1995. The coalition representatives expect that the network will make it easier for handicapped individuals to gather information about particularly relevant social services.
Table 5.2 summarizes some of each network's most commonly offered and used services related to supporting community- building among their users and to increasing social integration of traditionally marginalized groups.
Community Building and Social Integration
Improved Access to Information. Electronic networks also serve an important information resource function. In the same way that networked technology enables new and more effective point-to-point communication, it can facilitate effective access to, use of, and distribution of information. Via electronic networks, individuals and groups can tap directly into vast amounts and types of information from on- line databases and from organizations that advertise or offer their products and services on-line. The growing sophistication of network search applications, which makes it easier to find and retrieve on-line information, has supported the increased use of network technology as an information resource.[5] Current World Wide Web home pages or entry screens for the five networks are printed in Appendix B.
Universities and research organizations are among the best represented information providers on the Internet. However, nongovernmental organizations and government agencies at both the federal and local levels are starting to use the Internet more extensively to make their own databases and other information resources more widely available. At present, only a small percentage of corporations use the Internet for anything other than internal and external communications. However, they are trying increasingly to take advantage of the Internet as a medium for providing and for accessing information resources (e.g., Eng, 1995).
Organizers of all five civic networks talked about efforts to bring the benefits of on-line information resources to their users. All networks allow users to conduct on-line searches and to download information and files. Each of the networks except PEN is connected into the World Wide Web, allowing their users to access information from all over the globe. LatinoNet users also have access to and can download any of the information resources available via America Online. The Playing to Win Network and the Blacksburg Electronic Village both give their users full access to telnet and FTP applications. The telnet function allows users to move from one network site to the next; the FTP function gives users the ability to download information and files from on-line databases, e.g., university and government databases. SCN gives its users more limited access to the telnet function.
Although the amount and range of information available to users of on-line networks can be extremely useful, participants in this study reported that much information on the Internet is of only passing interest to most people. As one organizer of the Playing to Win Network said,
jumping from New York to Paris and Washington and then back to New York is cool, but it's something most users only do once. If they don't find anything of direct relevance to their lives then they tend to stop using [the system].
Aware that users are most interested in having access to specific, individually relevant types of information, organizers of the Blacksburg Electronic Village and LatinoNet go beyond offering access to broad information resources on the Internet. Both networks work to make locally relevant information available on-line. For example, Blacksburg's organizers encourage local businesses, universities, and social service organizations to post information on the network that is directly relevant to the community.
The network, for example, has one area called the Village Mall. Here, users can access information on a large number of businesses in and near Blacksburg. Some firms post their location and business hours, some advertise products and services, and others accept on-line delivery orders. Another example of Blacksburg Electronic Village organizers' attempts to post locally relevant information is their on-line "Health Care Center." Here, users can access information from medical databases and local hospitals, health services, and support groups. They can also leave e-mail messages with questions about prescription drugs for a local doctor. Also, a section of the network called the "Village Schoolhouse" contains information on colleges and universities throughout Virginia.
Organizers of LatinoNet also emphasize making information available on-line that can be immediately used by their constituency--organizations and individuals in the Hispanic community. Important institutions--including research organizations, cultural centers, political action groups, youth leadership groups, charitable organizations, and a large number of university-based Latino research centers--use LatinoNet to reach their audience. LatinoNet users also can access information on employment, scholarships, and educational opportunities targeted to Latinos. According to the network organizers, students who work at the various nonprofit members of LatinoNet make frequent use of the on- line scholarship information. Professionals who belong to the network also post information about job openings.
Table 5.3 summarizes examples of the five network's on-line services that give citizens increased access to broad-based and locally relevant sources of information.
Access to Information and Information Resources
Restructuring of Nonprofit and Community-Based Organizations. Network technology's potential to facilitate intra-organizational communication and restructuring is the third area in which our and others' research suggests that electronic network access brings benefits (e.g., Bikson and Law, 1993; Eng 1995; Gross, 1995; Malone, Yates, and Benjamin, 1987).
Many of our study's interviewees discussed benefits associated with network access and the restructuring and formation of organizations. Two networks in particular-- Playing to Win Network and LatinoNet--focus heavily on encouraging nonprofit organizations to use the network to help them organize and function more effectively. Officials at both networks described three significant benefits associated with nonprofits' use of electronic networks.
Table 5.4 summarizes the services Playing to Win and LatinoNet offer clients to facilitate intra- and interorganizational processes.
Organizational Formation and Restructuring
Delivery of Government Services and Political Participation. The fourth category of emerging benefits associated with access to electronic networks involves more efficient delivery of local and federal government services and increased public awareness of and participation in government processes. Currently, opinions vary on how electronic networks will affect political participation (e.g., van de Donk, Snellen, and Tops, 1995). Some claim that network technology will enable a richer form of "semi- direct democracy," others fear it will give well-organized interest groups increased power and influence (e.g., "E- electioneering" 1995).
In the recently published book edited by van de Donk, Snellen, and Tops (1995), several authors discuss the potential dangers to democracy caused by increased "informatization" of local and federal governments. Condensing their various concerns to a core theme, they argue that unless citizens have access to "information management" tools, their participation in the democratic process will be constrained as a result of new information and communication technologies. As an example of how access to government officials currently is controlled, they cite the rule-based system that filters messages from citizens to the U.S. House of Representatives based on sender, subject line, etc. They also claim that new technologies now make it easier for representatives to delete official records and thus protect themselves from citizen scrutiny.
While the jury obviously is still out on the long-term effects of networked technology on the democratic process in the United States, in the meantime, local and federal government agencies are making increased use of technology to streamline the delivery of many services (U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1993). For example, state governments in Washington State and New York post employment and distance-learning opportunities on-line. At the federal level, two noteworthy examples of government agencies that have gone on-line recently are the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The SBA allows small businesses to register on-line and to obtain information on raising finances, and, since 1993, the IRS has allowed citizens the option of filing tax returns electronically. Both organizations also respond to citizen queries on-line.
Our study found that the Blacksburg Electronic Village and Santa Monica PEN focus strongly on the potential of the network to restructure and deliver local government services. At present, Blacksburg government agencies post information on park and recreation schedules, recycling routes, and refuse pick-up schedules. They also post information on how to set up and register a small business on-line. By January 1996, all local water and refuse bills will be payable electronically and citizens will be able to renew simple licenses and register block parties on-line. To increase use of the electronic network, organizers of BEV aim to get as many local government services as possible on-line.
On Santa Monica's Public Electronic Network, on-line inquiries or complaints can be registered with the traffic, police, or fire departments. Simple licenses can be renewed on-line, and all local bills can be paid electronically. PEN members can obtain minutes of City Council meetings on-line as well as correspond with their representatives. The city plans to allow residents to pay parking tickets electronically. Echoing the thoughts of BEV organizers, one senior official at Santa Monica's PEN suggested:
People have to perceive a value to using the network . . . [and] one of the best ways to convince them there is a value is by reducing the amount of time they must spend interacting with government agencies.
Although only the Blacksburg Electronic Village and PEN focus strongly on the potential of the system to deliver government services, all five networks try in some way to exploit the technology to increase citizen political involvement. For the most part, the three other networks have limited their activities to encouraging communication between legislative representatives and constituents. However this, in itself, is valuable: Officials and citizens engage in a two-way dialog, which is very different from simply posting government information.
For example, the Seattle Community Network organizes question-and-answer forums between local politicians and citizens. In the most recent forum called "Ask the Governor," members of the Seattle community were able to e- mail real-time messages to him and receive responses. Organizers of the Playing to Win Network and the Blacksburg Electronic Village encourage their members to e-mail senators, representatives, and the president.
Officials at Playing to Win's Harlem Computing Center registered it as a public access point for a series of "electronic town hall" meetings held nationwide during the summer of 1995. The National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) organized the meetings, which included subjects such as proposed cuts in welfare spending and the effect of electronic government. Organizers of Santa Monica's Public Electronic Network ask public officials to take part in electronic conferences and encourage citizens to contact the city representatives via e-mail.
LatinoNet has gone a step further. A primary objective of this network is to facilitate more effective political organization. As one senior official at LatinoNet put it,
Other communication media have been used to define and stereotype Latinos. It is important that this medium be used to the benefit of the [Latino] community.
According to LatinoNet organizers, networking nonprofits, research centers, and political organizations together into one electronic community helps members of the Latino community organize and meet shared goals. They view electronic communication as a powerful tool to encourage political dialog and awareness on issues of concern to Latinos. The network hosts on-line question-and-answer conferences with important Latino politicians and conducts user polls on major political events to gauge members' opinions. There is also space on the network called "Policy Matters," which carries news on breaking political and legislative developments of particular interest to the Latino community.
LatinoNet illuminates another fundamental characteristic of on-line communities, namely, that they are defined not merely by geographic or political boundaries but also by unifying interests and goals. For instance, concerns such as immigration and foreign trade policies are likely to be common to many members of the LatinoNet community. As such, the potential for the network to expand its utility and influence beyond the current San Francisco/Bay area focus, and perhaps beyond the southern border of the United States, is high--particularly in light of increased trade and communication after the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (See Chapter Six for more discussion of the international implications of electronic communities.)
LatinoNet's and the other networks' services are summarized in Table 5.5.
Government Services, Public Awareness, and Participation
We now turn our attention to the second issue of interest in this report, namely, what are the major implementation implications of providing access to and encouraging use of electronic networks? As noted above, a distinguishing feature of civic networks, compared with commercial on-line services such as CompuServe, is that they attempt to ensure equity of access to their services--particularly among traditionally underserved populations. In this study, we learned lessons about delivery of on-line services that could help policymakers think about the feasibility of providing ubiquitous access to electronic mail.
The findings in this study related to how implementation strategies affect subsequent use of on-line technology mirror those of prior research on introducing technologies in many other settings (e.g., Bikson and Eveland, 1986; Bikson and Law, 1993; Law, Bikson, and Frinking, 1995; Rogers, 1983). For instance, the availability of adequate resources, e.g., money, people, hardware, and software, was felt to be crucial to network setup and long-term viability. Also, we found that the successful delivery of civic networks depends on the presence of a committed individual, or "champion," of the network. In fact, the retirement of the founder of one network in our study who had been instrumental in promotion and fundraising had severe consequences for that network. The network's growth slowed significantly and over a year later still had not fully recovered.
The importance of the implementation issues just described should not be minimized. But two other issues emerged from our study as particularly critical in the context of providing universal access to on-line services, namely, location of computer access points and training.
Access to Computers. Calculations based on 1993 CPS data show that around 40 percent of the total U.S. population had access to a computer at home, work, or school. Far fewer had modems or access to network services. Clearly, then, for the goal of universal use of e-mail and other on-line services to be realized--at least in the near to mid term--access for the majority of citizens needs to be addressed (the costs of various universal access options are discussed in detail in Chapter Four).
Among the networks in this study, the percentage of users with access to a computer (and modem) at home or work varied widely. Organizers of the Playing to Win Network estimated that less than 10 percent of their members log on to the network from home. Interviewees at two of their affiliates, the Community Access Center and the Harlem Center, reported that very few of their users have access to a computer at home. However, about three-quarters of the Blacksburg Electronic Village and Santa Monica PEN users dial in via a modem from home. The rest of the networks fall somewhere in between.[6]
Administrators at the Seattle Community Network do not keep statistics on how many users access the network from home versus from public access terminals at the library. However, they believe that most users belong to the latter group. The nonprofit member organizations of LatinoNet all access the system from computers in their home offices. The few individual users of the network dial in from their home or work via a modem.
Although the proportion of users at each network without home access to a computer differs widely, in each case, a significant proportion needs access to the network from some publicly available terminal. With the exception of LatinoNet, whose members are mainly nonprofit organizations, all networks have made computers available in a number of public locations. Again, the amount and location of public terminals differed across the networks in the study.
Computer terminals are most commonly located in public libraries. In the case of the Seattle Community Network, libraries in Seattle and in King County present virtually the only public access option. However, currently 50 libraries have at least one computer with dial-up access to SCN. The only other public access terminal is located at a school in a low-income neighborhood participating in a project specifically aimed at bringing computers and network technology to poor communities. However, organizers plan to increase the number of public access sites to include additional schools, churches, community centers, and senior centers. Organizers are also raising funds to increase the number of phone lines available for dial-in access from private homes. At present, only one phone line is available for dial-in access during the day and six at night.
Users of the Santa Monica PEN and Blacksburg Electronic Village have the greatest diversity of public access options. Both networks have placed terminals in libraries. In Santa Monica, there are public access terminals at the city library, as well as libraries at the local college and in all of the K-12 schools in the local school district. In Blacksburg, the public library has five dedicated computer terminals, all with World Wide Web software, that are linked to the network via a high-speed modem.
Members of the Santa Monica and Blacksburg networks also have other access options. Users of the Blacksburg Electronic Village can log into the network from public terminals at a number of locations. For instance, 17 public schools in Blacksburg and the outlying area have access terminals. Citizens can also use terminals located at City Hall, in buildings at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus, and in a number of apartment complexes around town. Public access sites for Santa Monica's PEN, similarly, go beyond the public library to include terminals at senior centers and City Hall. Santa Monica's PEN also placed public access terminals in a youth center, the American Red Cross office, and at least one public park. However, all of these terminals have since been removed because of lack of use.
On the Playing to Win Network, questions of access are determined by the individual nonprofit organizations. All the nonprofits locate terminals in their administrative offices for use by staff members. Many also make terminals available for public use in residential care facilities, hospitals, day treatment centers, and community computing labs.
These efforts to ensure publicly available computer access attest to the important role this issue will play in efforts to bring about universal e-mail access. Even though increasing numbers of the population have access to computers at home or work, we know that education- and income-based gaps are widening between the technology haves and have-nots (see Chapter Two). For universal access to on-line networks to be feasible, at least in the short- to medium-term, providing publicly available access points is clearly important.
Training and Support. Initial training and ongoing technical and social support for providers and consumers of on-line information constitute the other essential components of implementation success stressed by organizers and participants at each civic network. Again, this mirrors previous research findings about implementing new technologies in complex user settings (e.g., Eveland et al., 1992; Gattiker, 1992; Nelson, Whitener, and Philcox, 1995).
Without exception, interviewees in this study viewed training as a critical first step to getting individuals on-line. Many of the network organizers maintained that real learning occurs only when users have enough knowledge and confidence to begin to explore the potential of network technology on their own. But in the absence of initial training, users often cannot reach this threshold.
Networks offer training in a number of ways. The Seattle Community Network and Blacksburg Electronic Village both provide short introductory training courses at the libraries where public terminals are located. SCN training is conducted by volunteer staff, who visit a different public library in King County and Seattle every two weeks. In Blacksburg, training is conducted centrally twice a week at the public library by an electronic reference librarian. In both cases, the introductory training session lasts two hours. Users are taught how to log on to the network, how to use e-mail, how to access the various communication forums, and how to search for information from different on-line sources. After an initial training session, ongoing user support is provided upon request by the electronic reference librarians as well as through on-line and telephone hotlines monitored by network support staff.
Santa Monica PEN offers users a short introductory training session at City Hall. However, according to project organizers, few users take this course--most learn the system at home, perhaps with the help of the on-line tutorial. Ongoing user support is provided by PEN technical staff who respond to user questions by phone and e-mail.
LatinoNet provides initial on-site training for administrators and staff of the nonprofit member organizations on how to use the network. A LatinoNet trainer visits the nonprofit headquarters and gives instruction on basic network applications and features. After the initial training session, user support is provided both on-line and over the telephone. LatinoNet has no training program for the individual users of its services.
Playing to Win Network organizers also provide on-site training to nonprofit administrators. For nonprofits that do not have an existing telecommunications program or staff with no telecommunications experience, Playing to Win administrators conduct an on-site training session on the basics of network usage. Training for individual users of the Playing to Win networks depends on the level of commitment of administrators at each nonprofit site to integrate network technology fully into their social service programs. Many of the nonprofits offer lectures and formal training seminars to their clients, but this is not true in all cases. Ongoing user support on the Playing to Win Network tends to take place informally. Staff members and individual users at each nonprofit site are encouraged to rely on one another as they continue to learn about the network.
Most civic networks also offer training to on-line providers of information--both individuals and organizations. Many administrators talked about the importance of enabling various community, political, and research organizations to post and update information on their own. This makes the information more timely and accurate, and it conserves already scarce network resources.
LatinoNet and the Seattle Community Network provide particularly extensive training to information providers. SCN has established a mentoring system whereby a technically competent volunteer is linked to each information provider. The "mentor" typically goes to an information provider's office to teach staff members there how to enter and update information on-line. Once an information provider begins to supply information to the network, the mentor continues to lend support and troubleshoot problems as they arise.
At LatinoNet, an experienced trainer visits each nonprofit member organization. During the site visit to provide initial training on network use, the LatinoNet representative will also teach staff members how to supply information directly on-line. Follow-up site visits may be scheduled also depending on the technical competence of the staff members at each site. LatinoNet administrators try to resolve as many technical problems as possible from a distance but will conduct additional site visits where there is a need for additional help on database management and information formatting.
Because the goals of the Santa Monica Public Electronic Network are less focused on making information available from social- and community-based organizations, it does not offer special training to information providers. Rather, system administrators load postings as appropriate. Administrators of the Blacksburg Electronic Village hold training classes for information providers periodically at the local Chamber of Commerce. Whenever possible they try to teach a volunteer at each social, community, or business organization how to submit on-line information to the network.
Our study suggests that two implementation issues need to be resolved in any attempt to offer access to, and encourage participation in, electronic networks:
We summarize how each network approaches these issues in Table 5.6.
Terminal Access and User Training and Support
Conclusions
These conclusions are based on our in-depth study of five
civic networks. We do not claim that these networks are
representative of all examples in the country, especially
since the number of networks of this type is rapidly growing.
However, we are confident that the findings we presented in
the previous sections yield useful answers to the questions:
What are the benefits, if any, to participation in electronic
communities? And, what are the important implementation
issues that affect the delivery of on-line access to target
populations? In the following sections, we present our
conclusions about these issues.
Individuals, groups, organizations, and the broader U.S. society can benefit from access to electronic networks. Networks provide opportunities for new and reliable informal and formal communication. They can support interpersonal relationships and facilitate the social integration of otherwise marginalized groups. Concerns that boundary- spanning networks might facilitate a breakdown of community affiliation, or disinterest in local affairs, appear unfounded. Although individuals benefit from access to wider national (and international) resources, ties to their local communities remain strong (and, arguably, are strengthened). Also the fear that individuals will be overwhelmed by a deluge of "junk mail," or subjected to defamatory or otherwise inappropriate message content, appears to be, although not a trivial issue, at least not one requiring too much attention at this point.
Networks also make access to vast amounts of information quick and easy. Facilitating access to information on, for example, education and employment opportunities should benefit traditionally disadvantaged groups relatively more than their socioeconomically advantaged counterparts. It should have the effect of "leveling the playing field." In addition, network access promises to facilitate organizational formation and restructuring. This is a particular benefit for nonprofit and community-based organizations that typically operate under severe human, financial, and technical resource constraints. Such organizations are starting to use electronic networks to share ideas, solve problems, conserve resources, and ultimately sustain viability.
Moreover, electronic networks can facilitate citizen participation in the political process. Some individuals now use e-mail to contact government representatives, for instance. However, at this point we can only speculate about whether or not this trend will grow. As the PEN experience makes clear, the answer depends, in part, on how willing government agencies and representatives at varied administrative levels are to respond interactively in civic dialogs.
Electronic mail is the critical first entry point to participation in electronic communities for the majority of individuals. E-mail and other communication tools, such as electronic chat rooms and conferencing, are the most commonly used network features. They are typically user friendly and provide the most immediate and obvious benefits to users.
Also, because e-mail is immediately popular with network users, it plays a crucial role in stimulating them to experiment with other features of an electronic environment. The value of e-mail's role as a catalyst to other, more advanced network use is significant in two ways. First, many of the benefits to individuals and groups outlined above depend on the exploitation of other, perhaps more intimidating, features of networks, including those with international links far beyond the immediate vicinity (e.g., search/retrieval applications and file transfer/download protocols). Second, return on investments made by commercial businesses and other enterprises in network services also are likely to rely on use of more advanced, value-added features.
Our research leads us to conclude that two implementation issues are particularly critical in this context: ensuring access to computers and providing adequate training and ongoing technical support. In addition to home access, options for network access in public places (e.g., libraries, schools, public buildings, hotel lobbies, business centers) should be established. Offering training and support services at such locations also should be considered.
These issues take on even more importance in light of the question of making electronic networks universally accessible. If a U.S. goal is to exploit the potential of electronic networks to equalize opportunities between haves and have-nots, making computers and training available will be essential. Also, access and training in combination is important--making computers available with no training or technical support is unlikely to lead to effective use--in the same way that introducing computers into classrooms positively influences outcomes only when teachers and students are trained to use them and have opportunities to do so regularly as a part of their routine educational activities.
Extending the use of network resources to individuals without computers at home or at work creates two positive outcomes. First, on-line services would be made available to traditionally underserved groups who can be expected to gain higher marginal benefits from access. Second, a larger target population is created for a range of services, which increases the network's own future viability.
Suppliers of network services can sustain their operations only if they can generate a sufficiently high level of demand. For instance, local businesses in Blacksburg are willing to invest in the Electronic Village because they assume they will benefit economically by doing so. By extending access to groups that otherwise are not able to make use of the technology, networks raise demands for a wide range of services and therefore encourage support from a broad constituency.
Information content influences access and use. We noted that each network focused efforts on ensuring access to information and services relevant to its target audience. The benefits of on-line access to information directly relate to the quality and accessibility of that information. If the information and services that users need are not available, or are hard to find, it is likely that attrition will result, and potential new audiences will be lost.
In sum, we conclude that there are important national benefits associated with access to e-mail and other network services and that these benefits could help level the playing field for traditionally disadvantaged populations. However, this will not happen unless we follow the example of the civic networks that we described in this report. These and other networks have expended much effort to reach underserved populations--an effort that relies on ongoing commitment and resources to ensure that access is available and outreach is supported.
[2]A notable exception is the previously cited Columbia University study prepared for the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences.
[3]Whereas LatinoNet has played an important role in bringing network and telecommunications resources to the nonprofits with which it works, many of the nonprofits in the Playing to Win Network had integrated network communications into their operations before joining Playing to Win.
[4]Users who connect to a network via a modem from home usually have to pay their own connection charges.
[5]Text-based interfaces to the Internet (e.g., gopher) are giving way to the graphics-based World Wide Web interfaces (e.g., Netscape, Mosaic). The Graphic, Visualization and Usability Center's Second World Wide Web survey at Georgia Institute of Technology writes that "the Web is one of the fastest growing of Internet resources, both in terms of the number of users and servers." (For more information see, http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/.)
[6]Even the low end of this household- network-access range is higher than the national average, and the 75 percent home access figure is beyond the high-income quartile average (see Chapter Two). Therefore, civic nets may be a good strategy for providing access to universal e-mail. These figures may also imply, however, that the clientele of these particular civic networks are not representative of U.S. society as a whole.