🚀 go-pugleaf

The following is a draft project proposal that I am considering
submitting for the Fulbright Grant to do research related to the
Internet in the Netherlands. I find the Dutch government's
interest in information and communication technologies as a way
to increase citizen participation in government important. I am
applying to study the DDS by becoming part of the community and
talking with you all. I want to learn what people think about
DDS, find to be its valuable points, problems and everything in
between in order to help figure out how an online community can
have a positive impact in the people's lives.

Examples of previous research I have conducted online are
available at several web pages:

http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hauben/papers/
or ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/pub/hauben/papers/
http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/

Please send me any comments and suggestions on this proposal via
e-mail to my hauben@columbia.edu account.

PS: I plan to learn Dutch by the time I arrive (if the Fulbright
Fellowship is awarded to me).

PPS: If anyone has any suggestions of Dutch Scholars or others
who I should try to be in touch with, or who might be helpful in
supporting my research. 

Thanks!

/Michael

The Internet is a new medium which is not yet fully understood.
There is beginnning to be research analyzing and documenting the
unique qualities of the Net. A broad question to be studied is
exploring what effect the Internet has on the world around us.
Are there lasting changes which alter the fabric of the world?

I have been studying the Internet, Usenet and other online
computer communications media during my undergraduate and
graduate studies in the United States. One particular interest
has been trying to understand the democraticizing potential of
the Net. Part of my research has been into the concept of
Netizen, or global citizen as made possible by the Net. Netizens
are active participants in a collective community building the
Net together. It is from the Net's development that we can see
how direct democracy might function.

Also, I have conducted research documenting the history and
impact of the Internet on our society today. This research is a
new field and there are relatively few people doing such research
around the world. However, it is an important and growing new
field of research as shown by the court decision in the ACLU v.
Reno case in the U.S. where the judges noted the importance of
the Internet and Usenet as "a new medium of mass communication."
In noting the failure of other means of mass communication like
newspapers and television to provide for grassroots involvement,
the judges observed that "It is no exaggeration to conclude that
the Internet has achieved, and continues to achieve, the most
participatory marketplace of mass speech that this country -- and
indeed the world -- has yet seen" They describe "the `democratizing' 
effects of Internet communication: individual citizens of limited
means can speak to a worldwide audience on issues of concern to them...."

In the area of politics a question to be studied is the impact of
the Net on governments and on participation by citizens in a
democracy. In the Netherlands there is a Digital City movement,
which was based on the Freenet movement in the USA and Canada,
but which differentiates itself by consciously aiming to involve
citizens in local government. The original DDS (de digitale stad)
was formed in Amsterdam, where there has already been preliminary
research looking into how or if computer communications
technology helps renew the democratic process. In the
Netherlands, there is a committment towards democratic renewal.
These studies are exploring the possible uses of technology to
contribute to this democratic renewal.

I am proposing to study in the Netherlands for an academic year
in order to expand my study of the impact the Net is having on
society, and in particular on political institutions. The DDS is
an example of a networking development created to further the
democratic renewal in Amsterdam. So it will be a main focus and
area of my project.

Scholars in the Netherlands, like those at Tilburg University,
are studying the possible political impact of information and
communication technologies (ICT). They are looking to see if
these technologies can encourage citizen participation and
enthusiasm in the governmental process. Some of this research has
been initiated at the request of government bodies. I propose to
study various aspects of these inititives by first studying the
literature written by the Dutch and other scholars describing the
initiatives and early evaluations. Based on that study and
previous research I would formulate a research plan to try and
learn how the people these initiatives are aimed at have
responded and evaluated them. These people would have valuable
opinions and feelings to to contribute to the evaluation of the
Amsterdam DDS and other online forums. It will be important to
document what these new on-line users are doing to actively
contribute to the political process. It would also be
interesting to interview government officials about what they
have observed citizens doing with the technology to become more
involved. Lastly, I would explore why many people who use DDS are
interested in the democratic operation of DDS.

My research method would take several forms, such as face to face
Interviews; discussion in public online forums, such as
newsgroups or mailing lists; and discussions and interviews via
email or unix talk with individuals. I have substantial
experience doing research on-line within newsgroups and mailing
lists. My Netizens research was pioneering in using the online
discussion forums as a field of research. This new interactive
medium requires new interactive forms of research. I would take
my previous research skills and apply them to the questions outlined
above and the experiments being conducted in the Netherlands.
                                            
I would conduct the described research for at least a semester.
Then, once the data is gathered, the rest of the second semester
would involve writing up an analysis of work, and presenting it
both online and to the scholars in the Netherlands and the
operators of DDS. The resulting paper will be presented early
enough for commentary and critique from both sources in an
attempt to receive feedback and make the most accurate
contribution. I will attempt to make my resulting paper valuable
for those who are trying to develop the DDS movement, and those
who are studying it.

A year abroad will strengthen my Ph.D. studies and the international 
perspective will give a basis for comparative studies. As the Net is
an international medium and phenomenon, it is important to study
the Net in other than the nation of birth. In addition my research 
will be enhanced by the experience of working in a community of 
people exploring other aspects of the social impact of these new 
information and communication technologies of the Net.

My departure from the U.S. would be sometime in August 1997. I would
conduct my research in English but I have begun studying Dutch and
will continue so that I have growing capability to communicate in
Dutch while in Holland.


 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Hauben                 Teachers College Dept. of Communication
Netizens Netbook               http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
WWW Music Index                http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/music/