Search results for "Computer-supported cooperative work"

The Studio: Reflections and Issues Arising

1999

An advanced Telematic Studio was built at the University of Jyvaskyla to combine the latest technologies for local and distributed work and/or meetings. The objectives were to combine leading edge technologies with ethnographic design principles derived from CSCW and HCI to support a broad range of activities. We informed the design by studies of similar facilities on other sites. The Studio is popular, and it is easy to give glowing accounts of its use. Nevertheless, over three years a significant number of problems have arisen with both technologies and uses. Some of these are local. Others may be generalisable to any ‘cooperative building’. For example: problems with videoconferencing; i…

CSCW '98 workshop program

1998

This workshop will discuss different approaches used to evaluate CSCW systems. Our goal is to produce a taxonomy of evaluation methodologies for CSCW systems, idenillYing the type of systems for \\hich a technique is most useful, the stage of development in \\bich a methodology is appropriate, the resources needed to conduct an evaluation, and the appropriate measures for the various techniques. We plan to discuss various methods of data collection for collaborative work and identi1)' the evaluation methodologies for \\hich various types of data collection are most appropriate. Other issues we hope to discuss during the workshop include sharing and comparing collected data, the usefulness o…

Towards formalised end-user participation in information systems development process

2006

Creating requirements specifications is one of the most challenging tasks in the systems development. For a complete specification, different kinds of information are gathered. This includes information about the domain and context specific technical issues, and about multifaceted cultural, political, communicational, motivational, and personal issues. As there is no information systems development (ISD) method that would yield such information comprehensively, it could be achieved by user-oriented approaches, for instance by participatory design (PD). Reciprocally, unfortunately those do not provide detailed instructions for the systems development. In this paper, we will present our exper…

The “coach” metaphor in CSCW decision making system design

1998

Introduction to the enterprise content management minitrack

2003

Enterprise content management (ECM) focuses on the management of textual and multimedia content across and between enterprises, emphasizing the coexistence of technical and social aspects within the content management. Methods and techniques applicable for managing textual and multimedia information with all sizes of content units, ranging from XML and database structures through web pages and documents to document collections, are studied as well as approaches focusing on specific content structures. In a piece of ECM research, multiple of the perspectives may be covered, or one of the perspectives is chosen as the major view to the area: • the technical perspective including the developme…

Balancing Flexibility and Coherence: Information Exchange in a Paper Machinery Project

1999

The problem of balancing coherence and flexibility in collaborative information system design is approached here with two pairs of concepts. Boundary objects can support communication for perspective taking between communities of practice. Conscripting devices can support communication for perspective making within a community of practice. These theoretical lenses are used to study the uses of the technical specification in paper machine projects. Our study showed that as a boundary object it provided enough flexibility to allow negotiations, and sufficient local structure, for carrying out work in both communities of practice, the customer and the manufacturer. As a conscription device in …

Diaries at work

1998

Multimedia application to support distance learning and other social interactions in real-time

2000

Supporting social interactions, in distance learning situations for example, with modern technology is very difficult. Generally Internet, networked PC, document handling and communication services and applications are not designed from a multiple user perspective but to support a one-person-one-device (or tool) interaction. This approach creates problems for supporting awareness of, and communication with other people while simultaneously working on documents. Such simultaneous activities have been identified as essential by CSCW and CHI studies, where users are reported to move promiscuously between media and devices, and combine applications and media intuitively, while maintaining aware…

Critical approach to 3D virtual realities for group work

2002

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) have been studied extensively during the past few years. In this paper, the concept of virtual reality (VR), and its value for group work are critically examined. To ground the discussions, experiences from a virtual reality project, from 3D chats, and from present CVE applications are analysed in the light of human communication. It is argued that the value of virtual reality is often overemphasised and overrated in the group work context, especially when conce rning desktop virtual realities and generic groupwork without an explicitly defined task or purpose. The main problem with VR is its self-centricity and inadequate support for shared real-li…

What does computer support for cooperative work mean? a structurational analysis of computer supported cooperative work

1992

Abstract Technical developments in electronic communication and computing coupled with new understanding of relationships between computers and work processes has given impetus to a significant amount of research in the area of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Much of this work, however, lacks strong theoretical foundations, and there is no clear definition of CSCW, the major research questions of the field, or appropriate strategies for research. In this paper we suggest Giddens' theory of structuration as a conceptual foundation for CSCW research and propose a formal definition for CSCW. We conclude by discussing seven implications of the framework for future research into: (a)…