運用結構化觀點探究社會運動的網路使用： 以台灣環境運動組織為例
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
社會運動作為一種持續性的集體行動，無論在其起源、發展的過程中，必然都會面臨溝通、傳播的問題，而近十年來，隨著網際網路的普及與資訊科技的滲透，無論國內外都出現了不少網路社運的成功案例，使得網際網路在社會運動中的運用潛能受到各界關注。然而，儘管相較於主流媒體，網路本身低成本、去中心、進入門檻低等媒介特性，有助於社運群體在資訊傳遞、動員集結、溝通協作、社會對話、資源募集等方面達成傳播效能，但事實上，社會運動群體的實際網路運用情況及運用效益卻與理想情境有所落差，亦即科技使用的過程與結果將會依照不同的使用群體、社會脈絡情境而產生變化。
因此，有別於重視科技媒介效果或科技決定論的分析路徑，本研究嘗試從結構化觀點切入以探究台灣環境運動組織的網路運用狀況，一方面，藉由結構化觀點來了解環境運動組織運用網路時受到哪些因素的影響，以及當中多重影響要素相互構連、牽扯制衡的複雜過程，另一方面，試圖從中釐清網路運用在環境運動組織推行環境運動時扮演的角色，以及他們所面臨的問題與挑戰。
為了建構台灣環境運動組織的網路運用圖像，以及探究網路與社運之間的議題，本研究訪談了八個台灣環境運動組織以及長期關注網路社運議題的四位專家學者，再針對受訪團體使用的網路媒介輔以線上觀察。研究結果發現，環境運動組織的網路運用經驗乃是由當中的組織背景、資源狀況、行動者認知、網路媒介特性、網路社會環境等因素共同形塑的結果；再者，由於行動者對於網路運用認知有限、組織資源與人才的限制，以及整體網路文化環境的高度競爭，使得多數受訪環境運動組織的網路社運成效不如預期，並且其仍將網路運用定位於訊息傳遞的媒介管道，以及輔助組織運作的配角地位，而未如科技樂觀者的想像，將網路運用奉為決定環境運動成敗的關鍵。
Social movements as one kind of persistent collective actions, when they proceed and develop, must face communication issues. In the last decade, the Internet’s potential in promoting social movements has come to much public and academic attention. Compared with mass media, the Internet helps social movements in many ways such as facilitating the spread of information and ideas, mobilizing the masses, coordinating participants, promoting interaction and dialog, as well as fundraising and generating resources, but at a low cost and in a comparatively short time. Not a few of Taiwan’s social movement organizations, including environmental movement organizations, have recognized this potential and have sought to use the Internet to help activate their movements. However, in fact, there is a gap between the expectations of these organizations and the optimistic suppositions of academics. Therefore, in order to understand the real role of the Internet when activating their movements and elucidate which factors affect their web use, this study applies Orlikowski’s structurational model of technology to examine the Internet use of eight major national environmental movement organizations in Taiwan. This study explores how they actually use the Internet in a number of ways, including interviewing eight organizational members and four online movement experts as well as observation of these groups’ online platforms. The study shows that these environmental movement organizations’ web use are mutually shaping by organizational properties, resources and web’s capabilities, actors’ awareness, technological characteristics, online environment, and so on. Further, the research concludes that the online challenges confronted by these environmental movement organizations are not only owing to their limited awareness of utilizing the Internet as well as the shortage of resources and talent, but also due to the highly competitive online environment and unique culture of the Internet itself. Consequently, in this study, many environmental movement organizations still regard the Internet as a basic channel for spreading information and an instrumentally supporting role for real organizational activities. Contrary to the optimists’ expectation, Internet use does not represent the absolute victory or become the only determinant of environmental movements.
Social movements as one kind of persistent collective actions, when they proceed and develop, must face communication issues. In the last decade, the Internet’s potential in promoting social movements has come to much public and academic attention. Compared with mass media, the Internet helps social movements in many ways such as facilitating the spread of information and ideas, mobilizing the masses, coordinating participants, promoting interaction and dialog, as well as fundraising and generating resources, but at a low cost and in a comparatively short time. Not a few of Taiwan’s social movement organizations, including environmental movement organizations, have recognized this potential and have sought to use the Internet to help activate their movements. However, in fact, there is a gap between the expectations of these organizations and the optimistic suppositions of academics. Therefore, in order to understand the real role of the Internet when activating their movements and elucidate which factors affect their web use, this study applies Orlikowski’s structurational model of technology to examine the Internet use of eight major national environmental movement organizations in Taiwan. This study explores how they actually use the Internet in a number of ways, including interviewing eight organizational members and four online movement experts as well as observation of these groups’ online platforms. The study shows that these environmental movement organizations’ web use are mutually shaping by organizational properties, resources and web’s capabilities, actors’ awareness, technological characteristics, online environment, and so on. Further, the research concludes that the online challenges confronted by these environmental movement organizations are not only owing to their limited awareness of utilizing the Internet as well as the shortage of resources and talent, but also due to the highly competitive online environment and unique culture of the Internet itself. Consequently, in this study, many environmental movement organizations still regard the Internet as a basic channel for spreading information and an instrumentally supporting role for real organizational activities. Contrary to the optimists’ expectation, Internet use does not represent the absolute victory or become the only determinant of environmental movements.
Description
Keywords
結構化觀點, 社會運動, 環境運動, 環境運動組織, 網路運用, Structuration approach, social movement, environmental movement, environmental movement organization, Internet use