Historically, the strength of an academic department rested with its resident faculty. Now it depends on the extreme to which each faculty member is interconnected with other professionals – worldwide – pursuing similar interests. And these associations do not rely on face-to-face contact. We now have electronic research teams and electronic water coolers. This drastically changes – weakens in my opinion – indigenous workplace relationships and affects workplace cohesiveness.
Predictor: Mabry, Edward
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Wired magazine, Jacques Leslie quotes Walter Ulrich of the Electronic Messaging Association. Leslie writes: ”Edward Mabry, a communication researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, says that in his field, e-mail has even extended the concept of collegiality. ‘Historically, the strength of an academic department rested with its resident faculty,’ he says. ‘Now it depends on the extreme to which each faculty member is interconnected with other professionals – worldwide – pursuing similar interests. And these associations do not rely on face-to-face contact. We now have electronic research teams and electronic water coolers. This drastically changes – weakens in my opinion – indigenous workplace relationships and affects workplace cohesiveness.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: E-mail
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Mail Bonding
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.03/e-mail_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney