WORK RELATIONSHIPS AND MEDIA USE - A SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

Our research provided empirical evidence about the alternative means o f communication used by 25 members of a research group who had availab le to them: unscheduled face-to-face encounters, scheduled face-to-fac e meetings, electronic mail, telephone, fax, and desktop videoconferen cing. The intent of our research is to learn whether there are element s in existing group communication patterns that suggest how future com munication systems can be designed or selected to fit the actual work relationships of a group. A detailed social network survey provided in formation about what members of the group communicated about, how they communicated, and with whom they communicated. Most communication was done through a combination of media, but predominately through unsche duled encounters, electronic mail, and scheduled meetings; people rare ly videoconferenced, telephoned, or faxed. Factor analysis reduced the 24 work relationships to six distinct dimensions: receiving work, giv ing work, collaborative writing, major emotional support, sociability, and computer programming. The proportion in which the three main medi a were used varied according to the nature of the work dimension. Our findings suggest that a multivariate perspective that considers group norms and practices, social networks, and work dimensions is necessary to analyze media use.