Community Informatics
Community Informatics is a research area studying how information and communication technology impacts — and may be used to support — the goals and activities of communities. The communities in question may be real world, virtual, or some combination of the two. The area integrates the methods of design science (e.g. as in human computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work) with critical theory or interpretive paradigms (e.g. as in sociology or women's studies).
Pervasive issues include factors that influence creation or application of social capital, socio-technical frameworks for enhancing communal behavior, and paradigms for reaching out to disenfranchised or distributed communities.
