RE: UKNM: 'higher levels of depression and loneliness'

[Mat Morrison]

Steve -- fully appreciate your point re: provenance/past performance of

HCII.


However, I am sure that, with your academic background and experience, you

will agree that the struggle for publication/tenure rarely encourages one to

come up with tame papers. Multiply UK experience by (US academic salary/UK

academic salary) and you'll come close to the pressure HCII is under...


Despite appearances to the contrary, I am not suggesting that there was any

preconceived end-in-mind, but I do believe that there is a general

discursive trend away from "internet hype" towards a more spartan "internet

reality".


As a result, there is intense pressure to maintain presence in the academic

marketplace and come up with research results at least as

powerful/eye-catching/media friendly as past projects. This tends to affect

both data, and analysis functions.(Incidentally, in their biogs, both

Kiesler and Kraut describe HomeNet almost as an after thought, as an

ancillary project to their main interests.)


HCII is as subject to the trends of common discourse, politics and the

market as any other discursive node. Research (especially psychological

research) never occupies a cultural vacuum. If you don't believe me, ask

this simple question: what do Eysenck, craniometry and Koko the gorilla have

in common?



> -----Original Message-----

>

From: Steve Bowbrick [stevewebmedia [dot] com (mailto:stevewebmedia [dot] com)]

> Sent: Friday, September 04, 1998 4:43 PM

>

To: uk-netmarketingchinwag [dot] com

> Subject: RE: UKNM: 'higher levels of depression and loneliness'

> 

> 

> At 10:57 04/09/98 +0100, you wrote:

> >I'm being flip, but I don't like this kind of ivory-tower 

> self-selecting,

> >localised, predetermined result-in-mind-based research at 

> all. Plus -- would

> >there have been a hoohah if they'd come up with anything positive?

> 

> If this were a different research team I would have agreed 

> but this is the

> HCI INstitute team at CMU, a pioneering advocate of the 

> online life in most

> areas. Most likely that they were actually expecting the 

> reverse of the

> final result. Sponsors certainly were.

> 


> --

> Steve Bowbrick                                      Webmedia Group

> 0171 494 3177                                         0468 257 570

> 

> 

> 


http://www.webmedia.com/steve

stevewebmedia [dot] com (mailto:stevewebmedia [dot] com)

http://www.bowbrick.com - he's very advanced for his age...