Papers by Dimitrina Dimitrova
networks, communication networks, and computer networks. Although centered at the University of T... more networks, communication networks, and computer networks. Although centered at the University of Toronto, NetLab members come from across Canada and the United States as well as from Chile, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. NetLab has developed since 2000 from an informal network of collaborators into a farflung virtual laboratory. Its research focuses on the interplay between social and technological links, including the understanding of social capital in job searches and business settings, new media and community, internet and personal relations, social media, households, networked organizations, and knowledge transfer in research networks.
Business Value Directions: The Journal of the IBM Institute for Business Value, 2003
When a large Canadian company selling high-tech telecommunications equipment propelled two sales ... more When a large Canadian company selling high-tech telecommunications equipment propelled two sales departments out of the office, the company (which we will call Telecom) assumed that the knowledge-based work of both groups would readily lend itself to teleworking. But one group floundered, and the other thrived. By looking at the two departments and their different teleworking experiences, we can gain some insight into why some kinds of knowledge work lend themselves to telework and others do not, and ...
Executive summary The Network Mapping project is a social network study of the academics and prac... more Executive summary The Network Mapping project is a social network study of the academics and practitioners working in the area of water commissioned by the Canadian Water Network of Centres of Excellence (CWN). The objectives of the study were to map the relations among the stakeholders in the area of water, describe the collaboration and knowledge exchanges among them, and examine the context in which they worked.
Long-standing traditions of long-distance collaboration and networking make scholars a good test ... more Long-standing traditions of long-distance collaboration and networking make scholars a good test case for differentiating hype and reality in distributed, networked organizations. Our study of Canadian scholars in the GRAND research networks finds that they function more as connected individuals and less as members of a single bounded work group, often meeting their needs by tapping into diversified, loosely knit networks. Their internet use interpenetrates with in-person contact: the more they use one, the more they use the other. Despite digital networking, local proximity is important for collaboration and seniority for inter-team and interdisciplinary boundary spanning.
Networked work is the venture labor of workers involved in multiple teams. Scholars are a special... more Networked work is the venture labor of workers involved in multiple teams. Scholars are a special kind of networked workers, partially involved in temporary teams to produce findings, presentations, papers, and patents. Many networked scholars are linked across universities by common interests, data stores, opportunities for research funding, and publications. Our NAVEL team’s study of 144 Canadian scholars in the GRAND network found that already-networked scholars were more likely to be recruited into new research teams. Although network members were officially equal, senior and entrepreneurial scholars were more equal than others. Despite norms of interdisciplinarity, scholars in the same subfields sought out one another. Although the scholars used multiple digital means to communicate, in-person meetings—and hence physical proximity—ruled.
Technology Lifecycle and Workflow Analysis, 2009
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2009
Current policy makers in the area of science and innovation assume that when users are more engag... more Current policy makers in the area of science and innovation assume that when users are more engaged in the research process, they are able to communicate their needs better to researchers and are better prepared to adopt the research results. Research consortia, which are predicated on meeting user needs, are expected to enable much more active user involvement thereby facilitating knowledge transfer exchanges and innovation.
This analysis examines how social context shapes communication practices in telework, focusing on... more This analysis examines how social context shapes communication practices in telework, focusing on the impact of workplace relations. Following Social Networks Analysis (SNA) approach, this paper looks at both the formal and informal workplace relations of teleworkers. Formal workplace relations are based on the formal division of labour and communication and command lines. In turn, informal relations reflect the actual day-to-day communication, which smoothes down (or impedes) the completion of work. They capture the informal processes at work and augment our understanding of the work context of teleworkers. This analysis asks: How do teleworkers with different workplace relations communicate from a distance? Do they use communication media differently? Do they encounter distinct problems in their work and how do they cope with them?
American Behavioral Scientist
This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist is the second part of a double issue on netwo... more This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist is the second part of a double issue on networked work. The first part of the issue (Volume 59, Issue 4), which appeared in April, presented four papers about how professional employees do networked work. This second part focuses on a particular kind of networked work-scholarly networks-including studies of how such networks change over time. For a full description, we refer the readers to the introduction in the April issue of ABS .
American Behavioral Scientist
Implications for the Good Networked Life 1 diana mok university of western ontario barry wellman ... more Implications for the Good Networked Life 1 diana mok university of western ontario barry wellman and dimitrina dimitrova university of toronto What happens when " the good life " becomes " the networked life " ? For millennia, thinkers thought they knew what the good life was: nestled in a rural or urban village, holding a single stable job preferably in supportive communion with coworkers. Although celebrated in many ways in many centuries, perhaps Thornton Wilder's 1938 Our Town epitomized it in the 20th century: life, love, work, family , and death all in a simple village. We note that this pastoral ideal was more a sardonic myth than reality for many peasants, servants, and laborers; nevertheless , the myth still dominated (Marx, 1964). But the " triple revolution " (Rainie & Wellman, 2012) has upset the reality of pastoral village life for many—and perhaps even the myth. 1. The social network revolution, starting at least as far back as the 196...
American Behavioral Scientist
A COPY OF THIS ARTICLE CAN BE SENT ON ONE-TO-ONE BASIS ONLY. There has been more hype than eviden... more A COPY OF THIS ARTICLE CAN BE SENT ON ONE-TO-ONE BASIS ONLY. There has been more hype than evidence about networked work. The researchers in this issue use survey, interview and sensor data to present systematic evidence about how networked work actually works. The first part of the issue presents four papers about how professionals network. The second part focuses on a particular kind of networked work—scholarly networks—including studies of how such networks change over time. Taken together, the papers show that workers tend to network with similar others. Although they integrate digital media into their work lives, they nevertheless tend to work with near-by colleagues.
Final Report prepared for the CWN Consortia Program by Dimitrina Dimitrova, York University, & Em... more Final Report prepared for the CWN Consortia Program by Dimitrina Dimitrova, York University, & Emmanuel Koku, Drexel university, 2011
Many North Americans now work in a global economy where corporations foster networked work – with... more Many North Americans now work in a global economy where corporations foster networked work – with employees participating in multiple teams and often for multiple purposes – and they do so in networked organizations – whose workers may be physically and organizationally dispersed. We analyze networked workers in one networked scholarly organization: the GRAND Network Centre of Excellence. Drawing on qualitative and social network data, we present our preliminary findings at the early stages of GRAND. Early discussions viewed networked organizations as the antithesis of traditional bureaucratic organizations and expected bureaucratic characteristics such as hierarchy, centralization and formalization to be absent and cross-boundary flows – the hallmark of networked organizations – to be prominent. Our research shows that reality is more complex than the early deductive expectations for networked organizations. The GRAND network is well positioned for cross-boundary flows but they are...
This paper examines networked scholarly organizations arising at the intersection of networked wo... more This paper examines networked scholarly organizations arising at the intersection of networked work and networked science. Many North Americans now work in a global economy where corporations deal agilely with turbulent market environments by fostering networked work: their members participate in multiple teams, often for multiple purposes, and they do so in networked organizations defined by cross boundary flows. Networked work and networked organizations are common in scientific research where they are well aligned with the information-related and creative nature of work and with scholarly traditions of collaboration. The “invisible colleges” - the informal networks in which scholars have traditionally collaborated - are now becoming larger, more diverse, and more formally structured. Thus, many scholarly networks today function as networked scholarly organizations. Early discussions viewed networked organizations as the antithesis of traditional bureaucratic organizations and exp...
Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper examines networked scholarly organizations arising at the intersection of net... more ABSTRACT This paper examines networked scholarly organizations arising at the intersection of networked work and networked science. Many North Americans now work in a global economy where corporations deal agilely with turbulent market environments by fostering networked work: their members participate in multiple teams, often for multiple purposes, and they do so in networked organizations defined by cross boundary flows. Networked work and networked organizations are common in scientific research where they are well aligned with the information-related and creative nature of work and with scholarly traditions of collaboration. The “invisible colleges” - the informal networks in which scholars have traditionally collaborated - are now becoming larger, more diverse, and more formally structured. Thus, many scholarly networks today function as networked scholarly organizations. Early discussions viewed networked organizations as the antithesis of traditional bureaucratic organizations and expected bureaucratic characteristics such as hierarchy, centralization and formalization to be absent and cross-boundary flows - the hallmark of networked organizations - to be prominent. Our research shows that reality is more complex than the early deductive expectations for networked organizations. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from several studies of networked scholarly organizations, we present our findings on collaboration and knowledge sharing. We argue that while collaboration and knowledge sharing become more flexible, boundaries and hierarchy do not entirely fade away. We find that higher formal positions in networked organizations are associated with communication benefits and much of the professional exchanges remain within disciplinary and spatial boundaries. Knowledge sharing processes are complexly shaped by both relational properties such as friendships and formal structures. In short, we find that traditional bureaucratic properties co-exist with new post-bureaucratic ones and emergent communication structures overlay old authority structure and functional divisions.
Current policy makers in the area of science and innovation assume that when users are more engag... more Current policy makers in the area of science and innovation assume that when users are more engaged in the research process, they are able to communicate their needs better to researchers and are better prepared to adopt the research results. Research consortia, which are predicated on meeting user needs, are expected to enable much more active user involvement thereby facilitating knowledge transfer exchanges and innovation.
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Papers by Dimitrina Dimitrova