The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2 - 103

ResNet Symposium Programs 1995-2006

oped (“homegrown”) software. However, both presentation topics were revived in 2004 as commercial-based, advanced network security systems emerged in response to security threats such as the Blaster worm released in 2003 (Workman et al., 2006). “Outsourcing” has been a quiet topic of discussion among ResNet professionals for many years. Outsourcing, in regard to ResNet operations, has generally meant that the network infrastructure was no longer directly maintained by an organization directly affiliated with the institution. At the ResNet Symposium, it was the topic of presentations both at the beginning of the millennium and in 2006. However, determining whether outsourcing is of interest to the greater community is more difficult than categorizing and counting ResNet Symposium presentations, as it is likely that many institutions that have pursued outsourcing simply do not regularly attend this conference.

clusions about an area significantly lacking in large-scale and historical research. The three time periods identified—implementation, growing pains, and maturation—match the professional experiences and recollections of the researchers as both practitioners and scholars. It may be surprising that three distinct time periods were

“Outsourcing” has been a quiet topic of discussion among ResNet professionals for many years . Outsourcing, in regard to ResNet operations, has generally meant that the network infrastructure was no longer directly maintained by an organization directly affiliated with the institution .

DISCUSSION
This exploratory research was successful in answering our original research questions. Although the specific methodology employed is relatively untested, particularly in the context of conference program analysis, it allowed us to successfully identify issues common to many presentations at the ResNet Symposium. Our methods differed slightly from those employed by others who have examined presentation data (Bucher, 2002; McCluskey-Titus, 2000), but the strengths of the methodology— structure without rigidity and an orientation to constant comparison that also embraced the central role of the researchers and their experience—allowed us to reach meaningful con-

identified within this brief span of 12 years. However, this is likely explained by the rapid pace of technology development and adoption; for example, the World Wide Web was only developed in 1991 and has already grown to be part of the daily lives of many people in industrialized countries. We also know that the first phase of development (implementation) for many institutions began before the first ResNet Symposium was hosted in 1994. Additionally, structural changes within the Symposium itself mask how much longer this phase

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2

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