Coye Cheshire

School of Information (ISchool)

University of California, Berkeley

Address:

University of California at Berkeley
305A South Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-4600

Phone:
(510) 643-6388

Fax: (510) 642-5814

Email:

coye@sims.berkeley.edu

I am an Assistant Professor at the UC-Berkeley School of Information (ISchool). My work focuses on how various forms of exchange are produced and maintained on the Internet, and more broadly, in computer-mediated exchanges. Since computer-mediated environments often prevent us from using the social cues that we rely on in other forms of social interaction, these situations provide a unique and fascinating setting for studying the development of social phenomena. I am a technology advocate and self-admitted computer and information technology enthusiast, so my attraction to sociology and the Internet, media, and computer-mediated communication became a natural blend of my personal and professional pursuits.

My current research topics include: the role of information as the object of exchange in social exchange environments, the emergence of exchange systems and networks, the production of collective goods in exchange networks, the development of trust and cooperation in exchange networks, and the role of social psychological incentives in social exchange. The common thread in each of these topics is the interplay between the social and the structural aspects of the environments. For example, the development of trust, cooperation, and the creation of public goods are all social in the sense that they arise through the communication and behaviors of individuals. Yet, the connections (or lack of connections) between individuals often form network structures that encourage or constrain social interaction. By investigating both the social and structural aspects of information sharing and various forms of communication, we can gain a much richer understanding of our world.