National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS

TO FACILITATE DISTRIBUTED WORK

Technology and Telecommuting: Issues and Impacts Committee

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1994

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Support for this project was provided by the Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG02-93ER25161), and that support does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of Energy of the views expressed in the report.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 94-68990

International Standard Book Number 0-309-05185-1

Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Box 285 Washington, DC 20055 800-624-6242 202-334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area)

B-498

Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUTING: ISSUES AND IMPACTS COMMITTEE

ROBERT KRAUT,

Carnegie Mellon University,

Chair

KATHLEEN CHRISTENSEN,

City University of New York

CLEMENT COLE,

Locus Computing Corporation

FRED GOLDSTEIN,

Digital Equipment Corporation

GIL GORDON,

Gil Gordon Associates

G. ANTHONY GORRY,

Rice University

IRENE GREIF,

Lotus Development Corporation

PATRICIA MOKHTARIAN,

University of California at Davis

LISA NEAL, EDS

Center for Advanced Research

LAWRENCE ROWE,

University of California at Berkeley

CHRISTOPHER SCHMANDT,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MISCHA SCHWARTZ,

Columbia University

JAMES MALLORY,

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

STEPHEN GODWIN,

Transportation Research Board

GLORIA BEMAH, Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

WILLIAM A. WULF,

University of Virginia,

Chair

FRANCES E. ALLEN,

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

JEFF DOZIER,

University of California at Santa Barbara

DAVID J. FARBER,

University of Pennsylvania

HENRY FUCHS,

University of North Carolina

CHARLES GESCHKE,

Adobe Systems Inc.

JAMES GRAY,

San Francisco, California

BARBARA GROSZ,

Harvard University

DEBORAH A. JOSEPH,

University of Wisconsin

RICHARD M. KARP,

University of California at Berkeley

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Digital Equipment Corporation

BARBARA LISKOV,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

JOHN MAJOR,

Motorola

ROBERT L. MARTIN,

AT&T Network Systems

DAVID G. MESSERSCHMITT,

University of California at Berkeley

WILLIAM PRESS,

Harvard University

CHARLES L. SEITZ,

Myricom Inc.

EDWARD SHORTLIFFE,

Stanford University School of Medicine

CASMIR S. SKRZYPCZAK,

NYNEX Corporation

LESLIE L. VADASZ,

Intel Corporation

MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director

LOUISE A. ARNHEIM, Senior Staff Officer

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Staff Officer

JAMES MALLORY, Staff Officer

RENEE A. HAWKINS, Staff Associate

GLORIA BEMAH, Administrative Assistant

KIMBERLY STRIKER, Project Assistant

LESLIE WADE, Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS

RICHARD N. ZARE,

Stanford University,

Chair

RICHARD S. NICHOLSON,

American Association for the Advancement of Science,

Vice Chair

STEPHEN L. ADLER,

Institute for Advanced Study

JOHN A. ARMSTRONG,

IBM Corporation (retired)

SYLVIA T. CEYER,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

AVNER FRIEDMAN,

University of Minnesota

SUSAN L. GRAHAM,

University of California at Berkeley

ROBERT J. HERMANN,

United Technologies Corporation

HANS MARK,

University of Texas at Austin

CLAIRE E. MAX,

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,

University of California at Berkeley

JAMES W. MITCHELL,

AT&T Bell Laboratories

JEROME SACKS,

National Institute of Statistical Sciences

A. RICHARD SEEBASS III,

University of Colorado

LEON T. SILVER,

California Institute of Technology

CHARLES P. SLICHTER,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

Preface

In 1993, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council to organize a study of the technological issues and impacts related to telecommuting. In response, CSTB, in collaboration with the NRC's Transportation Research Board (TRB), convened a committee of researchers and practitioners with both technical and sociological expertise. The committee's task was to recommend research into relevant computing and communications technologies that could enable increased telecommuting. In developing these recommendations the committee relied on existing literature, briefings, and its own expertise and deliberations. With the agreement of DOE, the study committee chose to broaden its approach to its task in two specific ways. First, it chose to examine both telecommuting and the broader topic of distributed work, because it believed that focusing solely on telecommuting would overlook more far-reaching impacts of computing and telecommunications technology on the way work is done. Second, the committee chose to examine technological issues within a broad social context in order to ensure the relevance of its recommendations.

This study is the result of the study committee's deliberations. It is independent of and complementary to the April 1993 Department of Transportation study, Transportation Implications of Telecommuting

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

(U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.), on the future impacts of telecommuting on transportation, and to the DOE study Energy, Emissions, and Social Consequences of Telecommuting (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.), which was released in early 1994. The publication of Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work during 1994 will allow its conclusions and recommendations to be considered during the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in the same manner as those regarding other nationally important applications such as education and health care.

At another level, the committee is convinced that computing, telecommunications, and related technologies are profoundly changing the ways in which society acquires, manages, and distributes information. In the private sector, the development of new tools for distributed work could enable new forms of collaboration, allowing employees to work effectively at any location that is mutually agreeable to them and their employers. One result could be new, more productive configurations of people, processes, and technology. In the public sector, new tools for distributed work could be used to address high-priority needs, such as rural and inner-city health care, and to remedy long-standing inequities among the nation's classrooms.

A nationwide information and network infrastructure could open new avenues for mutual cooperation and support among our workplaces, schools, neighborhood centers, community groups, and government. This new digital environment has the potential to enable a richness in information access and sharing that could help us restore a sense of community within and between the public and private sectors. Achieving such goals will depend on having both the specific knowledge and broad understanding needed to implement appropriate technology wisely. In accordance with that concept, this report complements two other recent CSTB reports, Information Technology in the Service Society and Realizing the Information Future (both published by National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994), and the forthcoming Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities.

The Technology and Telecommuting: Issues and Impacts Committee is grateful to the numerous individuals who contributed to its deliberations and to those who commented on early drafts of this report. The anonymous reviewers in particular helped to sharpen and focus the material. The staff of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board and the Transportation Research Board were indispensable in creating the report. Gloria Bemah attended to the

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×

multitude of details required for committee meetings and report production, Leslie Wade helped check references, and Jim Mallory transformed the committee's submissions into the final text. The committee, however, retains responsibility for the final content of the report.

Robert Kraut, Chair

Technology and Telecommuting: Issues and Impacts Committee

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1994. Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4812.
×
Page R12
Next: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY »
Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $39.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

This book sets out technological research topics designed to facilitate and expand distributed work—including telecommuting, working while mobile, and working in geographically distributed teams. The book's recommendations for computing and communications infrastructure center on the provision and use of bandwidth—or the speed of communications. Concurrent applications research should be focused on ease of use and interoperability of the multitude of devices and programs that currently are needed to engage in distributed work.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!