Chapter 14 Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

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Chapter 14Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

• Ezekiel Cuttino
• John Middleton
• Christopher Myers

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14.1 Introduction

• Online communities have emerged that utilize the
  internet as an environment used for both
  entertainment and business purposes
• Electronic communication benefits long-distance
  cooperation
• CSCW Computer Supported Cooperative Work
• Groupware team-oriented commercial products

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14.2 Goals of Cooperation

• The analysis of cooperative systems is governed
  by the goals and tasks of the participants
• Focused partnerships users who need each other
  to complete a task
• Lecture/demo one person sharing info with
  remote users
• Conferences allow remote groups to communicate
  at the same time
• Structured work processes people with distinct
  roles cooperate on a task

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14.2 continued

• Electronic commerce short-term collaborations
  to inquire about and order a product (can lead to
  long-term negotiations)
• Meeting and decision support users utilize
  computers during meetings with shared windows and
  other aids
• Teledemocracy allows govt to communicate with
  constituents

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14.2 continued

• Using a time-space matrix, cooperative systems
  can be decomposed to allow designers to specify
  their tasks

Same time Different times
Same place Face to face Asynchronus interaction
Different places Synchronus distributed Asyncrhronus distributed
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14.2 continued

• Decomposing cooperative systems guides designers
  and evaluators
• The multiplicity of users makes controlled
  experiments difficult due to multiple-users data
• The determinants of a successful cooperative
  system are still unclear
• E-mail is widely used, but may hinder productivity

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14.2 continued

• Public officials will be using these systems more
  to become more effective
• Online communities continue to grow, facilitating
  communication among like-minded people. However,
  these communities may be less committed than
  face-to-face meetings of organizations

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14.3 Asychronous Interactions Different Time,
Different Place

• Electronic mail is widely appreciated but can be
  loosely structured, overwhelming, and too
  transient
• Structured methods have been implemented by
  programs such as COSY and FirstClass for
  conferencing, and Eudora and Lotus for email
• Many web browser such as internet explorer and
  CompuServe provide email handling as well

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14.3.1 Electronic Mail

• Email allows users to send messages to one or
  hundreds of people in a short period of time
• Many programs now allow you to incorporate
  graphics, spreadsheets, and other structured
  objects in the message as well as text, some also
  include sound and video

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14.3.1

• Malone and colleagues helped show benefit of
  semi-structured messages with their system
  Information Lens
• Lotus Notes allows users to incorporate email,
  newsgroups, call-tracking, document sharing and
  more into applications
• This has been challenged by the Web but lotus
  notes allows for better security
• The Electronic Mail Association has helped push
  for standards in Electronic mail

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14.3.2 Newsgroups and Network Connections

• When focused discussion is needed email is
  inefficient
• Popular alternatives are newsgroups and listservs
  and online conferencing
• Newsgroups allow user to retrieve past
  information as well as new information on a
  particular topic

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14.3.2

• Listservs allow individuals to subscribe to a
  group and receive current information
• Subscription must be a serious commitment because
  you can be flooded with messages
• System operators must monitor topics and
  determine whether to make them more specific as
  not to overwhelm user with information

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14.3.2

• Newsgroups and listservs are usually open to
  anyone while conferencing are for known users
• Online magazines have also become popular, such
  as Wired and CNet
• Network communities have become controversial due
  to hacking and posting of illegal material

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14.3.2

• Many network users do not use it for
  conversation, but to download useful materials
• Many download shareware, freeware, public access,
  or honor system software

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14.4 Synchronous Distributed Different Place,
Same Time

• With synchronous distributed applications,
  multiple users can edit the same document at once
• Applications like this allow users to work on
  different, or even the same, section of a
  document at once
• It does allow for users to lock a section, so
  only one person may edit at a time

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14.4

• IBMs CVIEW allowed the user and a technician to
  see the same screen at once to allow walkthroughs
• This is used in interactive flight reservations,
  internet chat rooms, and IRCs
• MUD (multi-user dungeons or dimensions) allow
  text based fantasy

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14.4

• Many users see this as a way of being able to
  take on a different persona
• Video Conferencing allows users to be at their
  own workstation while communicating with others
• CAVECAT (Computer Audio Video Enhanced
  Collaboration) was an early system used by the
  University of Toronto

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14.4

• CU-SeeMe a system used by Cornell is free and can
  be run on many personal computers without any
  special software
• A study by Chapanis showed that tasks done with
  only video and no audio took twice as long than
  either using both or just audio

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14.4

• Video Conferencing allows users enriched
  communication without the disruption of taking a
  trip while keeping successful communication and
  emotional contact

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14.5 Face to Face Same Place, Same Time

• Newer applications in office and classroom
  environments are becoming attractive
• Shared display from lecturer workstation
• Audience response units
• Text-submission workstations

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14.5 continued

• Brainstorming, voting, and ranking
• File sharing
• Shared workspace
• Group activities

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14.6 Applying CSCW to Education

• Combinations of cooperative working environments
  must be used no single one will fit everybodys
  needs
• Virtual classrooms allow students who could not
  travel to a traditional class environment to
  interact cooperatively with other students

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14.6 continued

• DTVC (desktop video conferencing) can create a
  livelier interaction than traditional distance
  education
• Small-group collaborative learning often helps
  students learn better than on an individual basis
• These methods are also used to simulate hostage
  negotiations with terrorists

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14.6 continued

• Some faculty who have used electronic classrooms
  find them more appealing than traditional class
  environments
• Some professors find the limited workspace
  constricting
• Students have displayed higher grades after
  learning in electronic classrooms