Sustianable Collaborative Research

I am a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the BRCSS (Building Research Capabilities in the Social Sciences) and supported by the Social Science Research Centre (SSRC), The School of Sociology and Anthropology University of Canterbury NZ. My postdoctoral work seeks to investigate the reasons underpinning uptake of teleconferencing technologies tools for supporting collaborative research. This issue is gaining momentum in the emerging Knowledge Economy, which on one hand is reliant on interdisciplinary collaborative research and development on a global scale, but at the same time is required to apply ‘green’ working practices. Teleconferencing technologies hold the potential to reduce travel and decrease related carbon emission levels however, Fuchs(2006; 2006)Mokhtarian,(2000), and Denstadli (2004), found that this potential has not yet been adequately realised, and uptake is still low(Ho, 2007).

Studies attempting to understand the reasons for the relatively low uptake have mostly been driven by the hypothesis that enhanced design of technological tools will cause an increase in uptake and so reduce the need to travel. However, literature shows that using the linear model of ‘cause and effect’ to describe the relationship between uptake and design fails to elicit the complexity entailed in this relationship and further aspects should be explored (Allan & Thorns, Forthcoming)

My project will investigate the interdependent relationships between the increasing need to collaborate, while at the same time lower the carbon footprint created by travel, and the uptake of teleconferencing technology. The project will focus on the discovery of the ways in which users, rather than designers, construct the functionality of the technology. Furthermore, the study will illustrate the ways in which users’ actions are constructed through systems of social, political and economic relationships stretching beyond the user/ technology relations.

The project will focus on members of the research community as its population of study. The choice was guided by two main reasons:

• The research community is often required to engage and collaborate with colleagues spread across the globe, hence are currently regarded as relatively frequent flyers. Studies show that air travel to international conferences can generate the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide generated by 550 US citizens in one year (Roberts & Godlee, 2007).
• The research community often plays an active role in finding solutions to the growing environmental crisis. The project will specifically approach those researchers working at the cutting edge use of new technologies, and research centres specialising in the study of new ICT and teleconferencing technologies, as well as those working on sustainability related projects.