The University of Massachusetts Amherst is home to an extraordinary set of researchers conducting research related to information and communication technologies (ICT) and public affairs. Their cross-cutting research explores cyberinfrastructure and cybertools development as well as the interactions between society, governance and technology.
This website is meant to act as a gateway to some of the institutes, centers and major ICT projects on campus.
Research groups - Governance & ICT
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National Center for Digital Government
The NCDG seeks to build global research capacity, to advance practice, and to strengthen the network of researchers and practitioners engaged in building and using technology in government. |
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eRulemaking Research Group
The eRulemaking Research Group brings computer and social scientists together to investigate how new medias influence the process of rulemaking. Computer scientists in the group focus on text clustering, text searching, near-duplicate detection, opinion identification, stakeholder characterization, and extractive summarization. Social scientists are studying the impact of such tools and the Internet more generally on the process of rulemaking.
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Rural Broadband ICT researchers are exploring the status of broadband in rural areas, especially Western Massachusetts. In an effort to create dialogue and engage the community on important broadband and telecommunication issues, this STS cluster is organizing public events and forums with key state leaders. |
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National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution
The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution supports and sustains the development of information technology applications, institutional resources, and theoretical and applied knowledge for better understanding and managing conflict. |
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Schweik Open Source Project
Free/Libre and open source (FOSS) software projects are Internet-based 'commons' involving a virtual team of programmers who collectively produce and maintain software. But the FOSS collaborative model can be applied to other contend beyond software, and can provide a new paradigm for collaboration on scientific problems. Our research seeks to identify factors that lead to success and abandonment of FOSS commons and to understand how these factors relate to more generic, open content (OC) projects. |
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ICT, Culture, and Inequality
The newest of the STS research groups, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Culture, and Inequality group brings together faculty from Political Science, Public Policy, Communication, and Natural Resource Conservation to investigate U.S.-based and international inequalities related to ICT. The ICT, Culture and Inequality group is planning a proposal to support a research workshop, is identifying and sequencing clusters of related courses for students, and identifying research and teaching priorities. |
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Research groups - Race, Gender, Ethnicity & ICT
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Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education
CAITE designs and carries out comprehensive programs that address under representation in information technology (IT) education and the workforce, focusing especially on women and economically, academically, and socially disadvantaged residents. STS affiliates are researching the patterns of performance and persistence for women and underrepresented minorities in computer science courses. |
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Women in the Information Age
The Women in the Information Age Project asks if women are under-represented as users and designers of today's technologies. |
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Data analysis, Laboratories, Cybertools, & Journals
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Qualitative Data Analysis Program
Effective qualitative data analysis plays an increasingly critical role in disciplines ranging from biomedical, public health, and educational research, to studies in the behavioral, computational, and social sciences. Accurate and reliable coding using computers is central to the content analysis process. For new and experienced researchers, learning advanced project management skills adds hours of struggle in trial-and-error sessions. Experienced coders and project managers can deliver the data researchers and analysts need in a timely and expert manner. For this reason, we have created the Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. |
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Open Source Lab
The CSBS' Open Source lab was established as a resource to expose students in disciplines beyond computer science and engineering to he development, deployment and use of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS)..
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Journal of Information Technology and Politics
JITP seeks high-quality manuscripts on the challenges and opportunities presented by information technology in politics and government. The primary objectives of the journal are to: 1.) promote a better understanding of how evolving information technologies interact with political and governmental processes and outcomes at many levels, 2.)
encourage the development of governmental and political processes that employ IT in novel and interesting ways, and 3.) foster the development of new information technology tools and theories that can capture, analyze, and report on these developments. |
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Center for Public Policy and Administration
The Center for Public Policy and Administration is a non-partisan, interdisciplinary research and teaching center committed to improving public policy and management by conducting and applying research and educating leaders for public service.
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Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative
CITI is a public/private partnership to promote IT education, through strategic investments, that prepares graduates to participate, lead and innovate in the knowledge-based economy of Massachusetts. CITI brings together K-12, community colleges, public universities and industry to promote IT education across the curriculum and respond to technology workforce needs. |
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Electronic Enterprise Institute
EEI is a campus-wide, multidisciplinary organization involving a broad diversity of individuals and units. Their research agenda includes: Digital Government, Process Technology, Security and Privacy, Quality Assurance, Auctions and Negotiation, Change Management, Collaborative Technologies, and Technology Trends |
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IT program
The goal of the program is to enable any interested student to confidently employ IT, and to secure an intellectual platform from which to develop capacity to innovate, using IT in his or her field. At base, the point of the program is to combine the myriad strengths of this great university to expand knowledge in information technology. We believe that the precise requirements for an appropriate IT education should vary across disciplines and students. However, promoting this tailored IT fluency for all students is increasingly important and will favorably affect the intellectual, social, and economic base of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. |
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