Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2004 A Content Analysis of Citations to J.C.R. Licklider's "Man-Computer Symbiosis," 1960 - 2001: Diffusing the Intergalactic Network Tami K. Tomasello Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CITATIONS TO J. C. R. LICKLIDER’S “MAN-COMPUTER SYMBIOSIS,” 1960 - 2001: DIFFUSING THE INTERGALACTIC NETWORK By TAMI K. TOMASELLO A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2004 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Tami K. Tomasello defended on March 15, 2004. Stephen D. McDowell Professor Directing Dissertation Charles R. McClure Outside Committee Member Philip J. Grisé Committee Member Gary R. Heald Committee Member Andrew R. Opel Committee Member Approved: Stephen D. McDowell, Chair, Department of Communication John K. Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii For my family and in loving memory of Betty iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was made possible by the assistance of the several individuals whom the author wishes to acknowledge. Coding team members: Anca Dumitrescu, Elan Jackson, Jamie Kosizek, Kristin Lock, Devery Nalls, Paul Nash, Anna Przonek, Jillian Volpe, Julie Watson, Kristin Weinberger, and Mary Zefedlt. At the time of this study, the team members were undergraduate students at Florida State University who participated in semester-long directed individual studies in the Department of Communication. Additionally, the author wishes to thank the Office of Graduate Studies at Florida State University. Data collection for this study was funded by a $500 Dissertation Research Grant competitively awarded by this office in the Fall semester of 2003. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ...............................................................................................................................viii List of Figures................................................................................................................................ ix Abstract........................................................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement....................................................................................................................................................2 Research Questions...................................................................................................................................................4 Justification of Study.................................................................................................................................................5 Goals of the Study.....................................................................................................................................................5 Substantive Goals.................................................................................................................................................6 Theoretical Goals .................................................................................................................................................7 Methodological Goals..........................................................................................................................................7 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................9 Chapter Organization.............................................................................................................................................10 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ........................................................................................................... 12 The Influential Nature of “Man-Computer Symbiosis”..........................................................................................12 J. C. R. Licklider .....................................................................................................................................................15 ARPAnet and Beyond..............................................................................................................................................17 An Overview of the Economic, Political, and Social Climate.................................................................................18 A Brief Overview of Computing..............................................................................................................................19 Licklider and the Human-Computer Relationship ..................................................................................................22 “Man-Computer Symbiosis” ..................................................................................................................................23 Summary of Main Ideas.....................................................................................................................................26 Additional Writings............................................................................................................................................28 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................................................................28 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................ 30 Scholarly Publication .............................................................................................................................................30 Diffusion of Innovations..........................................................................................................................................33 Diffusion Defined ..............................................................................................................................................34 Detailing the Diffusion Process .........................................................................................................................35 Diffusion Networks............................................................................................................................................37 v Questions Asked by Diffusion ...........................................................................................................................38 Strengths of Diffusion........................................................................................................................................38 Limitations of Diffusion.....................................................................................................................................39 Primary Applications of Diffusion in Communication Research.......................................................................42 Using Diffusion to Trace the Spread of Ideas ....................................................................................................43 Related Diffusion Research...........................................................................................................................43 Relevance of Diffusion to the Study .............................................................................................................44 Diffusion: Theory or Model? .............................................................................................................................46 Agenda-Setting........................................................................................................................................................46 Agenda-Setting Defined and Summarized.........................................................................................................47 The Use of Agenda-Setting in Communication Research..................................................................................48 Strengths of Agenda-Setting ..............................................................................................................................49 Limitations of Agenda-Setting...........................................................................................................................50 Related Agenda-Setting Research......................................................................................................................51 Relevance of Agenda-Setting to the Study.........................................................................................................52 Rationale.................................................................................................................................................................54 Research Questions............................................................................................................................................55 Study Variables..................................................................................................................................................56 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................................................................57