Communications and Conferencing Software for Anthropology.

Recent developments in the field of computer communication are reviewed, and ways in which these technologies can be used to make anthropology more productive and effective are examined. Computer communication is defined as the communication of symbolic information from one location to another electronically over phone lines, satellite links, or microwave links. Hardware discussed includes national and local area networks and microcomputers. In the software category, electronic mail and bulletin boards are discussed, online information retrieval services are examined, and software programs provided by national microcomputer utilities are described. Demographic aspects of anthropology that tend to increase the usefulness of computer communications in the discipline are outlined: (1) anthropologists working on the same things tend to be isolated in relatively distant locations, and (2) anthropology needs a communication system that can cross cultural and national boundaries. Also described are applications of computer communications to anthropology, including person-to-person data exchange, electronic mail, computer conferencing, electronic publishing, electronic data sharing, and cross-cultural communication. (RM)