Thumbs Up or All Thumbs? Assessing BlackBerry Use in Law Enforcement Units

Speaker
Susan Straus
Behavioral Scientist, RAND and Adjunct Associate Professor, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

Research on information and communication technology (ICT) adoption has given considerable attention to the needs of front-line production and service units, product development and R&D teams, and high-level professional and managerial groups. With a few exceptions (e.g., flight crews and firefighters), action teams have received comparatively little attention. This talk will present research findings regarding the effectiveness of mobile wireless ICT for supporting the work of action teams in law enforcement. Mobile communication and data access offer particular benefits for investigators in law enforcement, who conduct a substantial proportion of their time in the field and who require real-time information access and communication capabilities. We examined the adoption of RIM BlackBerries in two organizations that deployed the technology on a pilot basis for investigators whose work often involves field tasks such as surveillance, criminal investigation, apprehension, and emergency responding. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, user surveys, and system logs. Although the work teams and tasks were similar, the outcomes—while generally positive—differed markedly in the two organizations. In this talk, I will present findings about technology acceptance, perceived benefits, and use, as well as the individual, technological, and organizational factors that predict these outcomes.

Speaker's Bio

Susan Straus is a Behavioral Scientist at RAND and an adjunct Associate Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to joining RAND, she was on the faculty in organizational behavior at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research addresses the social impacts of information and communication technologies in organizations. Specific interests include technology adoption, collaborative technologies for distributed teams, and applications of information technology in health care settings. Current and recent projects include an assessment of the development of regional health information organizations; a study of provider-patient interactions in information technology-guided disease management interventions; and a longitudinal study of adoption of wireless communication devices for law enforcement teams.