Research Recommendations to Facilitate Distributed Work (1994) / Chapter Skim
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5 RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS
5 RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS
Pages 56-65
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From page 56... ...
Likewise, future improvements will benefit those engaging in distributed work and provide both economic and social benefits to the nation. Thus the committee supports the continuation of broad national computing and communications research programs in academia, industry, and government.
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From page 57... ...
The committee recommends that specific technical infrastructure research to enhance and extend distributed work practices be undertaken in the following areas. Mobile Work Working while mobile, for example, while traveling in a automobile or standing in a customer's office, presents many challenges due to the limited communications bandwidth and computing power that are typically available compared to those offered in a stationary environment with wire or optical fiber network connections.
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From page 58... ...
· Maintaining the essential functionality of communications that originate in a high-bandwidth environment but must be delivered in environments of varying bandwidth, including those of low-bandwidth mobile devices. · Managing the real-time tracking and transfer of users moving between wireless cells, and ultimately the transfer of users moving from a wired to a wireless network environment in the course of a single, multimedia work or conference session.)
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From page 59... ...
Multipoint, Multimedia Distributed Work A broad-ranging technical research program should be initiated to explore possibilities for distributed work practices using multipoint, multimedia communications at different, but generally abundant, bandwidths.2 In addition to facilitating distributed work, a research program in this area would help ensure the timely implementation of the NII. It should include research aimed at achieving the following: · Understanding and specifying minimum quality-of-service standards for a representative variety of application areas.
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From page 60... ...
· Determining how to charge for distributed patterns of resource consumption on complex networks that may include sections of varying bandwidth. For example, the current conference-call model of charging a single party with the entire cost of a distributed work session is very likely to inhibit usage when newer, more complex networks and connections are available and are used by multiple organizations that have agreed to be responsible for their own costs while cooperating on a particular project.
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From page 61... ...
· Developing techniques for forming and sustaining distributed groups, including methods for developing group cohesiveness, enabling remote supervision, providing individual and group motivation and rewards, and ensuring continued commitment to a project or organization. Behavioral and organizational research should be conducted concurrently to better identify exactly how physical proximity stimulates effective recruitment of group members, so that functionally analogous processes can be encouraged in distributed work settings.
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From page 62... ...
Word processors and desktop publishing programs make writing, editing, laying out, designing, and publishing sophisticated documents dependent on the skill of the individual rather than on the availability of expensive specialized equipment. Spreadsheet and graphics programs allow legions of workers to analyze scientific, financial, and other numerical data in sophisticated ways that prior to 1980 were possible only for those with access to large mainframe computers.
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From page 63... ...
Mobile workers may have an even more difficult time as they attempt to communicate and cooperate across time zones utilizing unfamiliar telephone and data connections with little or no technical support. If the capacity for distributed work is to expand to individuals and groups beyond those with considerable technical proficiency, attention must be paid to simplifying many of the required operations and user interfaces.
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From page 64... ...
While the exact outlines of this new economy are not yet completely known, it appears that the nation would be well served by enhancing workers' capabilities to engage in distributed work and by carefully considering its wider adoption in order to increase locational flexibility, provide expanded employment opportunities, and make better use of our physical transportation resources. The research recommendations of the Committee to Study
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From page 65... ...
The committee is convinced, however, that the research it has recommended will provide major new technological capabilities to enhance and extend the use of distributed work in the nation.
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