Between us and them: building connectedness within civic networks

Civic networks of community-based organizations face significant challenges in working together to combat issues facing their community (e.g., gang violence, sex trafficking). In our research, we examined how local organizations tried to build and maintain connectedness over time as a network to fight child sex trafficking. We sought to understand how technology supports the social processes of connectedness in this context. Based on our analysis of the field data from this case study, we identify three categories of activities for building and maintaining connectedness. We also find that while different technologies are suited towards supporting different aspects of connectedness, there may be gaps in how adequately social media tools support connectedness in civic networks. Author Keywords Interorganizational collaboration, civic networks ACM Classification Keywords K4.2. Social Issues: Miscellaneous General Terms Human Factors, Design

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2012
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Jennifer Stoll, W. Keith Edwards, Kirsten A. Foot
• Keywords: Child Sex Trafficking, CSCW 2012, Human Factors Design, Social Sciences, Violence Sex