Case studies of two telecommuting programs were conducted as part of a larger research effort devoted to examining the implications of telecommunications for Minnesota transportation and community development. Data were collected in a large private high-technology firm and in a public agency located in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. A multiple method design was employed including a cross-section survey of nontelecommuting employees; a census survey of telecommuters; and in-depth interviews with telecommuters, their coworkers, and their supervisors. Analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between telecommuting and travel behavior and the potential effects of travel outcomes for community systems. Results indicate that telecommuting implementation strategies differ within and between organizations, and these differing approaches appear to moderate the relationship between telecommuting and complex travel behaviors, such as local errand running and trip chaining. Additional findings concur with those of other studies, and the difficulty of the commute is highlighted as a primary factor in understanding the choice to telecommute and its impact on travel behavior.

Obtaining informed consent from research participants is a generally recognized step of undertaking research. While the concept of informed consent is well understood in western research environments, it requires further consideration when reviewing studies involving humans and owned animals in low- and low-middle-income countries (LMICs), in order to take account of different social, educational, and research norms. Here, we identify some of the challenges that need to be considered, and how they might affect the process of obtaining informed consent. We explain the approach taken by an animal welfare non-governmental organization working in LMICs to addressing these challenges. There are also questions that reviewers might consider when commenting on work originating in this context.

The article explores integration of knowledge-enabling digital technology into community functions through the development of local Digital Communities of Practice. This analysis includes both general considerations--in terms of domain, community, and practice dimensions--as well as results from an exploratory research project in Minnesota. The domain is described as integrated deployment of virtual services (education, human services, government) in local communities; the community is comprised of the local stakeholders and residents that would use or benefit from such services; and the practice is considered as a decision-making processes for designing and deploying these services. The paper concludes with research and policy considerations for providing an enduring source of knowledge about local virtual services, needs, and solutions. Thomas Horan is associate professor in the School of Information Science and director of the Claremont Information and Technology Institute (CITI) at the Claremont Graduate University, California. His research focuses on the evaluation of information technologies as they are planned and deployed in infrastructures, organizations and community systems. This research has been reported in Information Systems Frontiers, Communications of the A CM, Journal of Urban Technology, and Policy Studies Journal. Dr. Horan has also written two books, Digital Places (2000) and Digital Infrastructures (2004, co-edited with Rae Zimmerman). He has both his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Claremont Graduate University and has held visiting scholar positions at MIT, Harvard, UCLA, and University of Minnesota. He can be reached at .Kimberly Wells is an organizational psychologist currently working as an independent consultant. Since 1996 her research and work have converged upon issues involved with assessing the influence of technology in organizational and community settings. Ms. Wells is presently completing her doctorate at Claremont Graduate University, California. Her dissertation explores processes for improving the knowledge-creating capacity of virtual teams. Ms.

In a timely challenge to the work-family research community, Kossek, Baltes, and Matthews (2011) have urged us to support work-family policy implementation through research with a purpose. The question raised by the authors is increasingly critical: With so many people in the workforce struggling to integrate often conflicting life roles, why are work-family programs under utilized, and what can be done to change this situation? This commentary is meant to expand upon some of the crucial points made by Kossek and her colleagues and to address practical issues surrounding the implementation and utilization of work-life programs: building cultures of support, addressing management resistance, ensuring sufficiently broad research frames, and demonstrating the organizational return on investment in work-family programs.

Viewed from a change lens, effective work–family policies and programs (e.g., flexible work options, leave policies, dependent care benefits) function as organizational change initiatives. Review of the work–family literature from the specific perspective afforded by a processual change framework especially discloses aspects of organizing that may facilitate or limit objectives of mainstreamed and sustainable work–family initiatives. Select examples from the literature are used to illustrate how scholars have incorporated critical change perspectives regarding context, substance, and politics. The importance of a change lens to achieving effective initiatives has been advocated in the work–family literature, and research viewed from a processual change frame suggests there is much that future study should address to inform practice challenges to achieving the promise of family-friendly workplaces. The chapter premise and recommendations are particularly relevant for contexts in which work–family reconciliation is typically addressed at the individual organizational level.