The best sources for a summary of research are the two books – Social and Community Informatics – Human on the Net (Routledge 2006) and Information and
Communication Technologies, Society and Human Beings – Theory and Framework.
Honoring Professor Gunilla Bradley (IGI Global 2011).
The books of Proceedings from the IADIS conference on ICT, Society and Human Beings” are also recent sources. (See under Publications)
The structure below is derived from the Annual Reports to School of ICT at
Royal Institute for Technology before my position as professor emerita.
Below are the headlines and sub headlines and you can point at and open each headline to read:
Research
in the 2000th at School of
ICT, Royal Institute of
Technology (KTH)
1.
Research overview - Social
Informatics
A research
program on Social Informatics
(SI) was elaborated in 1997 by
Bradley and entitled: "Research
on Interplay ICT - Humans -
Society". It also inspired other
universities in Sweden and
abroad and themes/tracks at
international scientific
conferences in IT-related
disciplines.
The
following figure is an overview
of the research areas in the
program:
Social
Informatics (SI) refers to
research and study that examines
societal, social, psychosocial and
organisational changes at the
development, introduction and use
of computers and later what we
name ICT. I focus on all the
changes that occur at the
interplay between ICT, Society,
and Human Beings. SI includes
research that are labelled as
Social impacts of computing,
Social analysis of ICT, Studies of
Computer-Mediated Communication
(CMC), Organizational Design and
Management and ICT, Computers and
Society, Organizational
Informatics, Community
Informatics, Media and
Communications. There are new
terminology contiously.
The
following selected books have
played a major role in the
process of "defining" the social
informatics research programs:
- Bradley,
G. (2006). Social and
Community Informatics - Humans
on the Net. London/New York,
UK/NY: Routledge.
- Bradley,
G. (Ed.) (2001). Humans on the
Net. Information and
Communication Technology (ICT)
Work Organization and Human
Beings. Stockholm, SE:
Prevent.
- Bradley,
G. E., & Hendrick, H. W.
(Eds.) (1994, May 29-June 1).
Human factors in
organizational design and
management: Development,
introduction, and use of new
technology challenges for
human organization and human
resource development in a
changing world. In Proceedings
of the 4th International
Symposium on Organizational
Design and Management (ODAM
IV), Stockholm, Sweden.
Amsterdam, London, New York,
& Tokyo: Elsevier.
- Bradley,
G. (1989). Computers and the
Psychosocial Work Environment.
London/Philadelphia, UK/PA:
Taylor & Francis.
A model to
capture the broader concepts and
the dynamics of their
interrelations - "Convergence
Model - ICT and Psychosocial
Life Environment" is presented
in figure 2 (Source:Bradley 2001
and 2006)
2. Research projects in
Social Informatics
There were
five original groups and
projects in the research program
from 1997 on ICT, Humans, and
Society (see below):
- The cross
disciplinary research program
"Interactive Creative
Environments" (ICE-project),
that Bradley coordinated at
KTH was a strong contribution
to "Social Informatics"
- "Networking"
(NET)
- "Societal
and Psychosocial Challenges
and ICT - comparisons between
a rural community and a
suburban community" (RURBAN)
- "Towards
a Global Learning Space - ICT,
Learning, and Competence in
organisational and societal
contexts"
- "Home of
the Future - ICT and Changes
in human behaviour patterns in
the Net Era" (see under
"Ongoing Research" below).
3. Network of Excellence:
ICT and the Psychosocial
Life Environment - Main
changes (Project
coordinator: Gunilla
Bradley)
The Network
of Excellence was concerned with
human organisation and
psychosocial work environment
related to Information and
Communication Technology (ICT),
as well as the psychosocial home
environment. The purpose was to
disseminate and synthesise
research with a
crossdisciplinary perspective
and thereby elaborate on the
interaction between ICT and work
organisations, human
communication, stress,
allocation issues, knowledge
transfer, and so called "global
villages". The purpose was also
to contribute to a discussion on
desirable actions on various
levels and utmost how ICT can be
used for deepening human
qualities. The participants were
distinguished researchers/
professors from Europe and some
researchers from USA and South
East Asia, about 10 persons.
Most of the participants
contributed with one chapter in
the book "Humans on the Net"
subtitled "ICT, Work
Organization and Human Beings"
(Bradley (Ed.), 2001). The
network was established at an EU
workshop that I was invited to
organise in Brussels 1999.
Research
in the 1990´s
In 1991 I
returned to Stanford to do the
final reporting from the
research project on "Knowledge
Based Systems and Organisational
and Psychosocial aspects" (KBS
project) and to develop new
research on competence
development in 10 high tech
companies in Silicon Valley, top
ranking in sales, profits and
return on sales. Among the
companies were both electronic
industries and pharmaceutical
industries. The focus was on
main theories on competence
requirements and development as
well as strategies for
education, in house courses, and
on the job training. This study
was undertaken in collaboration
with the University of Southern
California.
In 1991 I
was invited to serve as general
chair (1992-1994) for the
international conference on
"Organizational Design and
Management (ODAM IV)" with the
subtitle "Development,
Introduction and Use of New
Technology - Challenges for
Human Organization and Human
Resource Development in a
Changing World". Researchers
from more than 30 countries in
Europe, USA and Asia
participated and the proceedings
are available in a hardcover
book (750 pp) published by
Taylor & Francis. I also
served as the main editor of the
book of proceedings.
In 1989 I
received two awards, the "Golden
Leaf" for important
contributions within research on
psychosocial work environment
and was elected to the
"Professional Woman of the Year"
in Sweden. In 1997 I received
the IFIP Namur Award for
pioneering crossdisciplinary
research on the impact of
Information and Communication
Technology especially concerning
the interaction between
Technology, Organization and
Humans.
At the
Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH) starting from 1994, I was
involved in extensive research
planning, trying to integrate
international, national and
local research approaches. I
thereby served as program
manager for the
interdisciplinary research on
"Interactive Creative
Environments" (ICE) with the
subtitle "Computers, Networks
and Organizational Design
Supporting Technology Transfer".
The program was coordinated from
the Department of
Teleinformatics, KTH. I
collaborated with Faculty from
the following disciplines;
Social psychology and
Pedagogics; Industrial economy;
Regional planning; Social
anthropology; Ethnology; Law and
Informatics; Teleinformatics.
The ICE project was directly
associated with the
interdisciplinary research and
education program between
Stanford and Swedish
universities (Sweden Silicon
Valley Link Program;
S-SVL-program.)
In the
middle of the 1990s I initiated
a regional development and
research project supported by
the EU programs "Employment" and
"Adapt". The project contained
the development and
implementation of an IT-center
to support the upstart and
survival of small enterprises in
a rural area as well as
strengthening the citizen's role
in the community. The research
part concerned analyses of the
development of networks and
IT-supported organizational
structures, employment rate,
various aspects of quality of
life, and integration of
immigrants into the Swedish work
life. This brought me back to my
home village in Småland in the
rural area in the South of
Sweden. A R&D strategy was
to integrate my academic,
industrial, and local community
networks.
Research
in the 1970´s and the 1980´s
The very
first part of my research
focused on women in work life. I
made a broad study of employees
in a large commercial bank
(Svenska Handelsbanken) in 1968.
Based on this study I presented
my Ph D thesis, entitled "Woman
and Career" in 1972. I then
specialized in organizational
behavior and information
technology and initiated and led
an interdisciplinary research
program on computerization and
its effects on structural and
psychosocial changes in working
life. Researchers in Department
of Business Administration,
Psychology, Computer Science and
Sociology joined my research
group at the Department of
Sociology, Stockholm University.
Initially I developed two
theoretical models with two
levels of abstraction on the
relation between information
technology and changes in
working life. They were tested
empirically in three main
companies, representing three
main historical phases in
computer technology; batch
systems with mainframe
computers, on line systems with
visual display terminals, and
systems with micro-computers.
The companies included the
Swedish post office, an
insurance company and an
electronic industry.
Within the
project on microcomputerization,
two professional roles in a
multinational electronic
industry, were analyzed both
historically and in relation to
the use of computer support in
the work process. The subproject
"The Role of Engineers and the
New Computer Technology"
concerned the most common
traditional male profession at
the time and the engineers were
using CAD systems (computer
aided design). The subproject
"The Role of Secretaries using
Word Processing" deals with the
most common traditional female
profession at the time.
While a
visiting research professor at
Stanford university in 1987, I
designed a research plan for a
project entitled "Knowledge
based systems (KBS, applied AI)
and the Psychosocial and
Organizational Impact". At that
time artificial intelligence
(AI) was discussed mainly in
computer science and philosophy.
I made a pilot study in an
electronic company close to
Stanford and with interviewed AI
pioneer scholars at the Stanford
and Berkley Universities. Then I
formulated a set of hypotheses
and carried out the empirical
studies in Sweden in three
frontline companies; an
electronic production industry,
an aircraft industry, and a
commercial bank – with support
of two Swedish research
foundations.
