Roberta Lamb and Elizabeth Davidson
Increasingly, information and communication technology (ICT) uses are transforming
professional activities and interactions in ways that challenge traditional
assumptions about professional identity. In this paper, we consider the ways
in which the professional identities of research scientists in oceanography
and marine biology are shaped by the use of ICTs. We draw empirical data from
an ongoing study of scientific research collaborations that examines uses of
basic communication technologies, as well as scientific technologies with embedded
ICT components. Our analysis suggests that development and use of ICT-enabled
scientific technologies are identity enhancing for many scientists, facilitating
their development of unique areas of scientific knowledge. ICT-related changes
in data collection, collaborative coordination and scientific interaction also
challenge traditional definitions of expertise and professional identity. An
examination of these challenges directs attention to the project identities
that form around ICT-enabled scientific technologies and the ways that those
project identities are enacted through ICTs.