Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper attempts a new approach to the collective action problem. It has been pointed out that many organizations express benefits not in terms of what can be gained, but what would be lost by a failure of collective action. Although these might be termed purposive benefits, the manner in which they are presented suggests other motivations are at play. Because these benefits are often stated in terms that are logically equivalent to losses, what is occurring is a framing of the question in the loss domain with the goal of motivating individuals to support the collective action. The work advances the hypothesis that individuals are contributing because the context (frame) makes them risk acceptant. Initially given a public good, individuals would rather risk the loss of a nominal amount now versus the possibility of losing these benefits later. Groups are thereby able to motivate individuals to contribute to collective actions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Discussions of free riders are central to research in solidarity and social cohesion. Despite advances in research in these areas, the issue of free riders has yet to be successfully resolved. This paper attempts to move toward a solution to the free rider problem by proposing two distinct types of free riders that are functional within the group. Passive free riders are those who are unable to contribute to the resources of the group, while active free riders are those who are unwilling to contribute to the production of group resources. Although much overlap exists in the ultimate outcome of active and passive free riders within the group, it is proposed that the two categories operate under fundamentally different survival strategies, with fundamentally different positions within the group. It is hypothesized that while passive free riders maintain a traditional survival strategy with a corresponding maintenance of status, active free riders pursue a unique strategy of marginal existence that serves to perpetuate group solidarity through minimization of risk to more productive group members, and that serves to protect the status of
more productive group members.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Riding a motorcycle has been described as the ultimate symbol of freedom, rebellion and power. For women, this activity is fraught with obstacles, from managing age old stereotypes to discriminatory sales practices. Based on participant observation this paper examines the techniques utilized by women riders to navigate these obstacles. Findings include embracing stereotypes to gain power, building on the ‘biker chick’ persona, taking on/and bucking traditional ‘women’s roles’ in group membership and revealing self to outsiders

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: The United Nations conducted a two-phase World Summit on the Information Society with a multi-stakeholder approach that provides numerous opportunities for considering the behavior of Eastern European countries in information society politics. This exploratory study uses a structurational understanding of technology to look at the international systems and state behaviors. Socio-technical environments and technological frames retrieved from documentary review of the subregional, regional, and summit outcomes reveal different castings of the information society as to actors, actions, and the mix of economic and human development goals. A mixed method approach that combined qualitative analysis of conference outcomes and quantitative analysis of the stocktaking exercise conducted between the two summits distinguished behaviors of the twenty-two states of Eastern Europe as drivers, defectors, and free-riders at different levels.
This study found different socio-technical castings of the information society at the Eastern European, European, and global levels, identified a broad range of actors and participation in the political process consistent with the multi-stakeholder approach of the summit, and identified some misalignments that may dampen the catching-up model implied in information and communication technologies for development. This study contributes empirical information about the participation of Eastern European state government, business, civil society, and other entities in information society politics, and demonstrates structurational tools for framing technology policy, and indicates a need for further research on the impact of the world classification of information and communication activities.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Coercion is a powerful way of organizing collective action. The self-reinforcing dynamics of coercive mechanisms, such as peer sanctioning or normative enforcement, create strong incentives that produce very high levels of participation. In the absence of coercive incentives, voluntary collective action can sometime succeed in mobilizing participation, but frequently suffers free riders, who reap the benefits of the collective action without contributing. I show that although coercively organized systems of collective action may have stronger incentives for participation, and therefore produce greater levels of cooperation than voluntary systems, they have a greater likelihood of failure to due destabilization from accidents, errors and external shocks. Using a threshold model of collective action, similar to previous formal models, I prove that systems of voluntary collective action with free riders have greater long term stability than comparable coercive systems that enjoy stronger incentives and higher levels of cooperation. This result highlights important features of the micro-macro dynamics in collective action, specifically the surprising consequences of strong individual-level incentives on the stability of the collective action as a whole. I also demonstrate the significant differences between using discrete time versus continuous time threshold models of collective action, which predict contradictory outcomes and thus make it important to use the more empirically plausible (continuous time) model.