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The view from the trenches: organization, power, and technology at two nonprofit homeless outreach centers

Published: 08 November 2008 Publication History

Abstract

Nonprofit social service organizations provide the backbone of social support infrastructure in the U.S. and around the world. As the ecology of information exchange moves evermore digital, nonprofit organizations with limited resources and expertise struggle to keep pace. We present a qualitative investigation of two nonprofit outreach centers providing service to the homeless in a U.S. metropolitan city. Despite similar goals shared by these organizations, apparent differences in levels of computerization, volunteerism, and organizational structure demonstrate the challenges in attempting to adopt technology systems when resources and technical expertise are highly constrained.

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    CSCW '08: Proceedings of the 2008 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work
    November 2008
    752 pages
    ISBN:9781605580074
    DOI:10.1145/1460563
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    Published: 08 November 2008

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    1. cooperative work
    2. field study
    3. homeless
    4. nonprofit

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    • (2024)Civic technologies in data-driven societiesAdjunct Proceedings of the 2024 Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3677045.3685456(1-4)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
    • (2024)Faculty, Student, and Community Partner Experiences in Computer and Information Science Service LearningACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/365467824:3(1-26)Online publication date: 27-Mar-2024
    • (2024)Putting the Service into Service Learning: A Report on a Survey of CS FacultyProceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3626252.3630910(470-476)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2024
    • (2023)CISing Up Service Learning: A Systematic Review of Service Learning Experiences in Computer and Information ScienceACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/361077623:3(1-56)Online publication date: 12-Sep-2023
    • (2023)"Showing the Context": A Need for Oligopticonic Information Systems in Homelessness MeasurementProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35796227:CSCW1(1-24)Online publication date: 16-Apr-2023
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    • (2022)Digital Solutions for the Marginalised in Society: A Review of Systems to Address Homelessness and Avenues for Further ResearchWell-Being in the Information Society: When the Mind Breaks10.1007/978-3-031-14832-3_9(124-139)Online publication date: 18-Aug-2022
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