Winter, 2006
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Anthony Wensley, Acting Director, CCIT; Director, Digital Enterprise Management Program; CCIT Associate Professor, Institute of Communications and Culture, UTM
Dr. Ian Graham, IT Strategy and Planning, Technology And Solutions / Bank of Montreal
M. Max Evans, MISt, BSc.; Doctoral Student in the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto; Doctoral Member of the Knowledge Media Design Institute
Project Summary
This project examined the adoption of recent peer-based collaborative technologies — such as blogs, wikis, messaging and chat — as tools for improved productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in corporate and academic (administrative and non-administrative) environments. There was particular focus on open source and/or open access / open content-based applications, although purely commercial collaborative tools will also be examined. This research sought to understand what benefits ‘open’ tools can provide, and at how the social model such tools / approaches imply impacts on the organizational culture within the different areas of a business or university. The project included an initial literature (and tool) review, followed by interviews with technical, administrative and management staff involved with such tools in academic or corporate environments.