| The Camera as an Actor: Design-in-Use of Telemedicine Infrastructure in Surgery | | BIBAK | 1-20 | |
| Margunn Aanestad | |||
| This paper describes the evolving interrelationship between a
pre-established work practice and a new technology, with an emphasis on how the
technology itself participates in the process and introduces changes, while at
the same time being changed itself. The case study concerns the introduction of
multimedia communication technology into a surgical operating theatre. Concepts
from Actor-network theory are found to provide a useful perspective on the
description and analysis of the case. The technology and the work practice are
viewed as a new heterogeneous actor-network, whose configuration changed
continuously. These changes are conceptualised as alignment attempts where the
different actants' interests are translated and inscribed into e.g. artefacts,
rules or routines. The alignment of this heterogeneous network was achieved
through a continuous process of design, test and redesign of different
configurations of people, practices and artefacts. The relevance of the
findings is discussed, related to how we may think about design of open and
generic technologies. Viewing design as design of configurations; the creation
of a well-working mix of people, practices and artefacts, may be a helpful and
relevant design metaphor. Keywords: actor-network theory, alignment, configuration, design-in-use, health care,
inscriptions, telemedicine, translations, video-mediated communication, work
practice | |||
| Synchronizations in Team Automata for Groupware Systems | | BIBAK | 21-69 | |
| Maurice H. Ter Beek; Clarence A. Ellis; Jetty Kleijn; Grzegorz Rozenberg | |||
| Team automata have been proposed in Ellis (1997) as a formal framework for
modeling both the conceptual and the architectural level of groupware systems.
Here we define team automata in a mathematically precise way in terms of
component automata which synchronize on certain executions of actions. At the
conceptual level, our model serves as a formal framework in which basic
groupware notions can be rigorously defined and studied. At the architectural
level, team automata can be used as building blocks in the design of groupware
systems. Keywords: CSCW, formalization, groupware systems, master-slave, peer-to-peer,
synchronizations, team automata framework | |||
| A Patchwork Planet: Integration and Cooperation in Hospitals | | BIBAK | 71-95 | |
| Gunnar Ellingsen; Eric Monteiro | |||
| The 'seamless' integration of a collection of information systems has been
recognised as vital in promoting and realising the collaborative aspects of
work. This emphasis on the collaborative role of integration supplements other
studies in CSCW focusing on more singular tools for collaboration. Empirically,
we analyse the design and use of an electronic patient record system (EPR) in
large hospitals in Norway. We discuss the conditions for and types of
integration of EPR with the host of related information systems in hospitals.
We formulate design principles for the integration of collaborative information
systems based on a pragmatic study of the productive role of redundant,
fragmented and ambiguous information. Keywords: ambiguity, collaborative work practices, electronic patient records (EPR),
fragmentation, hospital information systems, integration, redundancy | |||
| Infrastructure Management as Cooperative Work: Implications for Systems Design | | BIBAK | 97-122 | |
| Robert J. Sandusky | |||
| This study looks at the data communications network management organization
(NMO) within a large financial institution and applies concepts from
Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and other domains to develop
techniques for describing work within this and other similar organizations.
Network management is one form of infrastructure management, which is comprised
of two kinds of work: real-time supervisory control work and design work. While
many studies of group work focus on the activities of small groups of people
engaged in either real-time supervisory control or design work, examinations of
organizations where both kinds of work occur are relatively rare. The focus is
on the work patterns and data forms that are found within the NMO. Some of the
implications of the analysis in regard to the design of CSCW systems are
presented and discussed. Keywords: boundary objects, communities of practice, CSCW, distributed supervisory
control, information compounds, real-time supervisory control | |||
| "Workplace Studies: Recovering Work Practice and Informing System Design," edited by Paul Luff, Jon Hindmarsh and Christian C. Heath | | BIB | 123-125 | |
| Pamela Hinds | |||
| "People in Control: Human Factors in Control Room Design," edited by Jan Noyes and Matthew Bransby | | BIB | 127-131 | |
| Erik Vinkhuyzen | |||
| "Wireless World -- Social and Interactional Aspects of the Mobile Age," edited by Barry Brown, Nicola Green and Richard Harper | | BIB | 133-136 | |
| Oskar Juhlin | |||
| The Role of Objects in Design Co-Operation: Communication through Physical or Virtual Objects | | BIB | 145-151 | |
| Claudia Eckert; Jean-Francois Boujut | |||
| Against Ambiguity | | BIBAK | 158-183 | |
| Martin Stacey; Claudia Eckert | |||
| This paper argues that the widespread belief that ambiguity is beneficial in
design communication stems from conceptual confusion. Communicating imprecise,
uncertain and provisional ideas is a vital part of design teamwork, but what is
uncertain and provisional needs to be expressed as clearly as possible.
Understanding what uncertainty information designers can and should
communicate, and how, is an urgent task for research. Viewing design
communication as conveying permitted spaces for further designing is a useful
rationalisation for understanding what designers need from their notations and
computer tools, to achieve clear communication of uncertain ideas. The paper
presents a typology of ways that designs can be uncertain. It discusses how
sketches and other representations of designs can be both intrinsically
ambiguous, and ambiguous or misleading by failing to convey information about
uncertainty and provisionality, with reference to knitwear design, where
communication using inadequate representations causes severe problems. It
concludes that systematic use of meta-notations for conveying provisionality
and uncertainty can reduce these problems. Keywords: ambiguity, collaborative design, communication, knitwear, knowledge level,
metanotation, negotiation, sketching | |||
| Boundary Objects and Prototypes at the Interfaces of Engineering Design | | BIBAK | 185-203 | |
| Eswaran Subrahmanian; Ira Monarch; Suresh Konda; Helen Granger; Russ Milliken; Arthur Westerberg | |||
| The primary hypothesis of this paper is that internal and external changes
in design and manufacturing organizations affect the viability of boundary
objects (representations, drawings, models -- virtual and physical) and require
changes in the underlying distributed cognitive models. Internal and external
factors include new advances in technologies, insights into organizational
processes, organizational restructuring and change of market focus. If the
above hypothesis is true, then there are consequences for the methodologies of
designing computational support systems for co-operative engineering work. We
provide evidence by describing three empirical studies of engineering design we
have performed in large organizations. We investigate how changing technologies
disrupt the common grounds among interfaces and how this opens debate on the
role of boundary objects, especially in the product visualization and analysis
arena. We then argue that changes in market forces and other factors leading to
changes in organizational structures often lead to erosion of common
understanding of representations and prototypes, above all at the interfaces.
We conclude by making the case that every structural and information flow
change in engineering organizations is accompanied by the potential
deterioration of the common ground. This requires the synthesis of new common
grounds to accommodate the needs of new interfaces. Keywords: boundary objects, cognitive models, engineering design, interfaces | |||
| Intermediary Objects as a Means to Foster Co-operation in Engineering Design | | BIBAK | 205-219 | |
| Jean-Francois Boujut; Eric Blanco | |||
| In this paper we argue that co-operation is a particular way to co-ordinate
an industrial activity and that it is particularly suited to collaborative
design activity. Through a well documented case study of the development of a
front truck axle, we point out several key features of co-operation in an
industrial setting. We particularly pay attention to the interfaces between the
actors involved in the collaborative process. We observed the pre-eminence of
the representations and the objects created, manipulated, and finally we claim
that they support knowledge creation and therefore allow the development of a
common understanding of the design situation (i.e. the problem and the
solution). We propose the concept of "intermediary object" as a conceptual
framework for the involvement of objects in the design process. We demonstrate
the power of this concept in the analysis and modelling of particular design
situations and in the development of specific objects that foster co-operation
in real design situations. Keywords: collaborative design, computer aided design, concurrent engineering,
empirical studies, intermediary objects | |||
| Design Tools and Framing Practices | | BIBAK | 221-239 | |
| Friedrich Glock | |||
| In the paper design processes are conceived as social processes of
interpretation and construction of meaning, and potentially of context
generation. A reconstructive approach to design research is suggested which
studies design processes in terms of social interaction. Designers'
interpretative works are based on their capabilities acquired through
enculturation, like practices, routines, and skilled use of tools. Examples
taken from case studies are described and some concepts for description are
suggested. Descriptive design research might be more apt in stimulating
designers' reflections on their practices and routines and thereby initiating
learning processes rather than yet another design method. Keywords: case study, design methodology, design practices, design tools,
representations | |||
| Making a Case in Medical Work: Implications for the Electronic Medical Record | | BIBAK | 241-266 | |
| Mark Hartswood; Rob Procter; Mark Rouncefield; Roger Slack | |||
| The introduction of the electronic medical record (EMR) is widely seen by
healthcare policy makers and service managers alike as a key step in the
achievement of more efficient and integrated healthcare services. However, our
study of inter-service work practices reveals important discrepancies between
the presumptions of the role of the EMR in achieving service integration and
the ways in which medical workers actually use and communicate patient
information. These lead us to doubt that technologies like the EMR can deliver
their promised benefits unless there is a better understanding of the work they
are intended to support and the processes used in its development and
deployment become significantly more user-led. Keywords: collaborative work, CSCW design, electronic medical record, healthcare,
membership categorisation, service integration | |||
| The Gift of the Gab?: A Design Oriented Sociology of Young People's Use of Mobiles | | BIBAK | 267-296 | |
| Alex S. Taylor; Richard Harper | |||
| This paper reports ethnographically informed observations of the use of
mobile phones and text messaging services amongst young people. It offers a
sociological explanation for the popularity of text messaging and for the
sharing of mobile phones between co-proximate persons. Specifically, it reveals
that young people use mobile phone content and the phones themselves to
participate in the practices of gift exchange. By viewing mobile phone use in
this way, the paper suggests a number of possibilities for future phone-based
applications and supporting hardware. Keywords: design, ethnography, mobile phones, mobiles, phones, short messaging, SMS,
teenagers, texting, texters, young people | |||
| Recomposition: Coordinating a Web of Software Dependencies | | BIBAK | 297-327 | |
| Rebecca E. Grinter | |||
| In this paper, I revisit the concept of recomposition -- all the work that
development organizations do to make sure that their product fits together and
into a broader environment of other technologies. Technologies, such as
Configuration Management (CM) systems, can ameliorate some of a software
development team's need to engage in recomposition. However, technological
solutions do not scale to address other kinds of recomposition needs. This
paper focuses on various organizational responses to the need for
recomposition. By organizational response, I mean how individuals engage in
recomposition so that the organization can assemble software systems from
parts. Specifically, I describe how those responses are manifested in the
day-to-day communications and responsibilities of individuals throughout the
organization. I also highlight how changes in an organization complicate
recomposition. The paper concludes with a discussion of three features of
software development work that are revealed by recomposition: the affects of
environmental disturbances on development work, the types of dependencies that
require recomposition, and the images of organizations required to manage the
recomposition. Keywords: empirical studies, recomposition, software development | |||
| Tree-Based Concurrency Control in Distributed Groupware | | BIBAK | 329-350 | |
| Mihail Ionescu; Ivan Marsic | |||
| We present a novel algorithm, called dARB, for solving the concurrency
control problem in distributed collaborative applications. The main issue of
concurrency control is resolving the conflicts resulting from simultaneous
actions of multiple users. The algorithm reduces the need for manual conflict
resolution by using a distributed arbitration scheme. The main advantages of
our approach are the simplicity of use and good responsiveness, as there are no
lock mechanisms. Our algorithm requires the applications to use a tree as the
internal data structure. This makes it application independent and suitable for
general collaborative applications. The tree requirement is reasonable since
many new applications use XML (extensible Markup Language) for data
representation and exchange, and parsing XML documents results in tree
structures. Example applications of the algorithm, a group text editor and a
collaborative 3D virtual environment called cWorld, are implemented and
evaluated in the DISCIPLE collaboration framework. We also introduce awareness
widgets that users avoid generating the conflicting events and help in manual
conflict resolution. Keywords: concurrency control, distributed algorithms, groupware | |||
| A Citation Analysis of Influences on Collaborative Computing Research | | BIBAK | 351-366 | |
| Clyde W. Holsapple; Wenhong Luo | |||
| Collaborative computing has emerged as a major subject of study within the
field of business computing. It is concerned with the use of computers to
facilitate or enable the work of multiple participants engaged in collaborative
ventures. Researchers and educators can benefit from an analysis that
identifies journals with greatest impacts on development of the collaborative
computing subject area. The benefits include an appreciation of the top outlets
for publishing and the leading sources for monitoring development in
collaborative computing research, plus the most important reference discipline
journals for finding support for these developments. This study employs a
citation analysis methodology to determine the journals that have had the
greatest influence on multiparticipant, collaborative computing research. Over
19,000 citations from four base journals across an 8-year period are collected
and analyzed. Keywords: citation analysis, collaborative computing, influential journals, journal
rankings | |||
| Introduction to Special Issue on Evolving Use of Groupware | | BIB | 367-380 | |
| J. H. Erik Andriessen; Marike Hettinga; Volker Wulf | |||
| Creating Heterogeneity -- Evolving Use of Groupware in a Network of Freelancers | | BIBAK | 381-409 | |
| Bettina Torpel; Volkmar Pipek; Markus Rittenbruch | |||
| This contribution is a long-term study of the evolving use of the
organization-wide groupware in a service network. We are describing the
practices related to organization-wide groupware in conjunction with local
groupware-related practices and how they have proceeded since the organization
was established. In the discussion of these practices we are focussing on
issues such as: 1. tendencies for proliferation and integration, 2. local
appropriations of a variety of systems, 3. creative appropriations, including
the creation of a unique heterogeneous groupware fabric, 4. the design strategy
of multiple parallel experimental use and 5. the relation between disparate
local meanings and successful computer supported cooperative practice. As an
overarching theme we are exploring the explanatory value of the concepts of
objectification and appropriation as compared to the concepts of design vs.
use. Keywords: evolving use, freelancers, groupware fabric, multiple approaches of
groupware use, multiple parallel experimental use, objectification and
appropriation, organization-wide groupware, Participatory Design, service
network | |||
| Virtual Teams and the Appropriation of Communication Technology: Exploring the Concept of Media Stickiness | | BIBAK | 411-436 | |
| Marleen Huysman; Charles Steinfield; Chyng-Yang Jang; Kenneth David; Mirjam Huis in 't Veld; Jan Poot; Ingrid Mulder | |||
| This paper reports on an exploratory study of the evolving use of
communication tools by six globally distributed teams. The analysis suggest
that although teams have similar start-up conditions they evolve in different
ways. We describe these differences as being a result of the different routine
patterns of media use that the team members mutually enacted. Based on an
analysis of six US-Dutch virtual teams, we propose the notion of 'media
stickiness', a phenomenon the teams experienced during the process of
structuring media-use patterns. We will argue that in the case of virtual
teams, the evolution of media usage seems to be path dependent. Steps taken by
a team in the early stages of its life cycle constrain later flexibility in
terms of media usage. Media stickiness has several implications both for the
way to manage virtual teams as well as for the way teams deal with information
problems that seem to be endemic for global virtual teams. Keywords: appropriation, communication technology, media stickiness, virtual teams | |||
| Constructing Interdependencies with Collaborative Information Technology | | BIBA | 437-464 | |
| Helena Karsten | |||
| Interdependencies are constructed when people gradually build mutual relationships between themselves. In this study the focus is on interdependencies at work, in long-term projects or groups. Viewing interdependence relationships dynamically, as social practices, it is possible to appreciate the complex and situated nature of this formation. The main goal of the study is to develop a theoretical account of the dynamics of the intertwined processes of interdependence construction and collaborative technology appropriation and use. The main dimensions of this account are: (1) how interdependence is constructed and established as a social process, (2) how information and communication are involved in these processes, and (3) in what ways collaborative information technology can contribute to or hamper these processes. The first dimension builds upon structuration theory. Three earlier case studies are re-visited with the approach, with the outcome of several issues to be explored. The theoretical approach opens up an extensive research program of interdependence construction in relation to collaborative information technology appropriation and use. | |||
| The Appropriation of Interactive Technologies: Some Lessons from Placeless Documents | | BIBAK | 465-490 | |
| Paul Dourish | |||
| Appropriation is the process by which people adopt and adapt technologies,
fitting them into their working practices. It is similar to customisation, but
concerns the adoption patterns of technology and the transformation of practice
at a deeper level. Understanding appropriation is a key problem for developing
interactive systems, since it critical to the success of technology deployment.
It is also an important research issue, since appropriation lies at the
intersection of workplace studies and design. Most accounts of appropriation in
the research literature have taken a social perspective. In contrast, this
paper explores appropriation in terms of the technical features that support
it. Drawing examples from applications developed as part of a novel document
management system, it develops an initial set of design principles for
appropriable technologies. These principles are particularly relevant to
component-based approaches to system design that blur the traditional
application boundaries. Keywords: appropriation, customisation, deployment, design, document management,
flexibility, visibility | |||