Geographic Perspectives on E-Collaboration Research

The field of e-collaboration research has provided a context for examining the embeddedness of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in virtually all realms of everyday life. Such routine transactions as managing personal finances, ac-cessing information available on the Internet, using e-communication technologies to participate in geographically distributed tasks, and managing family health are part of the wide array of everyday ICT uses that comprise the intellectual interest of researchers in the field. There is growing scholarly attention to the notion that everyday life across the globe, albeit in different ways, also is being transformed by and is a part of transforming ICT. In circumstances where ICT is not directly available, third parties provide a collaborative conduit for accessing e-commerce and e-communications networks. We call attention of the community of scholars focused on e-collaborative research to the relevance of geographies that underlie e-collaborative processes, and we call attention to the role that critical geographers are playing in expanding how information and communication technologies are conceptualized. We further explore the relationship between geographic information systems and e-collaboration toward the goal of outlining a series of research questions that would be of interest to both communities of scholars, drawing on the contributions of each scholarly realm. Critical geographers are increasingly attuned to the societal impacts of ICT. Of particular concern is a unique paradox. ICT seems to exacerbate the gap between the " haves " and " have-nots " within society while concurrently holding promise for reducing the inequities of accessing resources, services , information, and networks through which disparities can be reduced or even eliminated. Many groups seeking empow-erment develop strategies for using ICTs, including innovating new e-collaborative models, to address their economic and social marginalization. Research that provides insight into how geography matters in the realm of ICT and ultimately e-collaboration activities examines the geographic knowledge framework that underlies how the Internet works. It also examines how ICT can shape and be shaped by geographic processes and the societal