Andrew Flanagin

Andrew Flanagin joined the UCSB Communication department in 1996 after earning MA and PhD degrees in Communication Theory and Research from the Annenberg School for Communication, at the University of Southern California. Prior to this, he earned a B.A. in Sociology and American Studies from Yale University and worked for several years as a Management Systems Consultant, Systems Analyst, Computer Programmer, and a Foreign Liaison and Technology Transfer Specialist. These experiences reflect his overarching interest in the use of technologies in contemporary society. Professor Flanagin's research focuses on the ways in which communication and information technologies structure and extend human interaction, with particular emphases on processes of organizing and information evaluation and sharing. His specific research interests span four interrelated areas: (1) Collective organizing, particularly as influenced by the use of contemporary technologies. Recent research in this domain emphasizes features of the contemporary media environment that disrupt the traditional assumptions of collective action theory and create novel opportunities for information sharing and collective activity. (2) People's perceptions of the credibility of information gathered and presented online (see www.credibility.ucsb.edu). For example, work on web credibility credibility has examined media, source, site, and message credibility by considering the effects of web design characteristics, sex of the information source and receiver, and various user factors. (3) Organizational technology use. Representative study topics include technological implementation efforts, organizational assimilation and communication technology use, processes of knowledge management using new technologies, and computer-mediated group work, including considerations of online group performance, argument and decision making online, and the role of member sex and anonymity in computer-mediated groups. (4) The use of emerging technologies. Research in this area examines several types of technology (e.g., chat rooms, instant messaging, email, and numerous information sharing environments) by focusing on various phenomena related to technology usage (e.g., social pressures on technological adoption and uncertainty reduction through mediated information exchange).

For more information see Professor Flanagin's Communication department web page.