Pergamon Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 411-413.1994 Copyright 0 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0747-563204 $6.00 + .OO Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing: A Review Jonathan Michael Spector Armstfong Laboratory Brooks AFB Abstract - zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA A conference on “Computers for Social Change: New Tools for Political and Community Organizing” was held in New York City in 1986. That conference led to an annual conference on “Computers for Social Change” that addresses issues related to the use of computer-based technologies in a free and open society. The volume reviewed herein (Downing et al., 1991) contains 10 papers which have resulted from these conferences. The widespread use of computers has given rise to concerns about how new com- puter technologies influence democratic practices in our society (see e.g., Danzinger, Dutton, Kling, & Kraemer, 1982; Westin, 1971). The New York Computer Activists (NYCA) group was formed in the mid-1980s by those respon- sible for the activist computer newsletter Reset and by members of two Hunter College programs at the City University of New York. NYCA has since organized annual conferences on the theme of “Computers for Social Change.” An outgrowth of these conferences is Computers for Social Change and Community O rganizing, a collection of 10 papers edited by NYCA founding members John Downing, Rob Fasano, Patricia A. Friedland, Michael F. McCullough, Terry Mizrahi, and Jeremy J. Shapiro (1991). The general argument that pervades Computers for Social Change and Community O rganizing is as follows: (a) modern society is greatly influenced by modem The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not reflect offkial views of the United States Air Force. Requests for reprints should be addressed to the author at Technical Training Research Division, Armstrong Laboratory, Brooks AFB, TX 78235. 411