The world of scientific research played a crucial role in shaping the national computer networks and the way they spread to other sectors of society, creating the conditions for today's activity toward the construction of a national information infrastructure. This study follows several strategic networking activities and identifies four basic threads that contributed to the overall outcome. The first is the series of efforts to establish resource sharing schemes in computing for higher education institutions. However, difficulties in inter-institutional cooperation in higher education delayed concrete action. The second and third threads are related to the evolution into legitimate sciences of computer science and computational science. Computer science largely developed in support of work in physics and its subsidiary role was reflected in the lack of clout of most of its academic departments and the weak standing of its programs in NSF. Computer networking figured prominently in the strategies adopted by leaders in the field do redress this situation. / Ph. D.

1995年網際網路正式成為台灣社會的消費產品，以往則是侷限於學術領域的非營利使用；1996年以後，科技官僚與通訊和資訊業者履稱網際網路已成為「全民運動」。本研究的主題即分析網際網路作為一項新事物，諸種政治與經濟力量如何塑造其於台灣社會的發展過程。首先探討發展現況，指出網際網路因循傳播資源分配的不平等現象，而且國家機器、通訊和資訊業資本連袂將公眾變賣為消費者。其次爬梳網際網路在台灣的變遷歷程，由於1970年代國家機器訂定資訊工業為策略工業，鋪造未來發展網際網路所需要的技術條件，以及國家機器主導科技政策協助經濟發展的局面；時至1996年，網際網路被國家機器扶為國家資訊通信基本建設（NII）的主軸，用以謀求經濟的進一步發展。在這期間國家機器不斷製造的高科技意識型態，經由重視通訊和資訊業廣告預算的傳播媒體再生產與銷售「全民運動」的假象與迷思。