Computer Supported Collaborative Work Research Articles

Large scale distributed cooperative environments on clouds and P2P

The recent advances in networking have determined an increasing use of information technology to support distributed cooperative applications. Several novel applications have emerged in this area, like computer supported collaborative work (CSCW), large scale distributed virtual worlds, collaborative recommender systems, collaborative learning systems. The definition of these applications requires to afford several challenges, like the definition of user interfaces, of coordination protocols, and of proper middle-ware and architectures supporting distributed cooperation. Collaborative applications may greatly benefits also from the support of P2P and cloud architectures. As a matter of fact, with the emergence of readily available P2P and cloud platforms, collaborative applications developers have the opportunity of deploying their collaborative application by exploiting a hybrid P2P/Cloud architectures with a support dynamically adapting . This brings possibilities to smaller developers that were reserved for the big companies until recently. The integration of mobile/Cloud platforms for Collaborative Applications is another challenge for the widespread of these applications.

Do Process-based Systems Support Emergent, Collaborative and Flexible Processes? Comparative Analysis of Current Systems

Advanced process-based applications such as crisis and risk management require Emergent, Collaborative and Flexible (ECF) processes. These three features correspond to specific real-world requirements. Firstly, to face unpredictable situations, emergent processes are needed, i.e. processes whose model/schema is (partially) unknown at design-time and gradually defined/refined at run-time. Secondly, the complexity of the application domain being addressed requires collaborative processes, i.e. processes whose definition and enactment require interactions between groups of actors using their skills and experiences to make the process convergence towards their common goal. Thirdly, to adapt to the frequent changes that occur in their operating environment, flexible processes are needed, i.e. processes whose model/schema can be modified in real time. The objective of this paper is to present a literature review to study the state of the art of process-based systems with a focus on the three above mentioned properties. Our approach is to specify real world requirements, then to discuss the adequacy of current systems to these requirements and finally to provide advices for their improvement. Examined systems fall within the following areas: Business Process Management (BPM), Adaptive Case Management (ACM), Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) and Knowledge Management (KM). The paper concludes on the insufficiency of existing systems and the need for designing and implementing a specific process-based system that integrates these three properties in a coherent framework.

CSCW and Social Computing

Research on IT support for collaborative work has a long history. Researchers have approached the topic from many directions using many perspectives. The field split into multiple subfields, each focused on different goals, and each with its own terminology. One subfield is Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW). The origins of CSCW trace back to a workshop organized by Irene Greif and Paul Cashman in 1984, where researchers from different disciplines met to exchange ideas, share results, and to join forces to better understand how IT could be used to improve and enhance group outcomes. A variety of definitions for CSCW have flowered, but they converge to similar concepts: ‘‘In its most general form, CSCW examines the possibilities and effects of technological support for humans involved in collaborative group communication and work processes’’ (Bowers and Benford 1991, p. 5). By studying work processes, and by developing and testing tools to support them, numerous technologies and tools have been developed and tested, and groundbreaking insights into understanding the process of collaboration and the process of introducing tools for supporting communication and collaboration have been obtained. For example, the utility of coexistence and awareness for some kinds of cooperative work is now well understood, and technological support for those items have been prototyped, tested, and diffused into the field (Dourish and Belotti 1992; Koch and Gross 2006). The concept of coordination has been researched, and support for coordination is now ubiquitous in the workplace (Malone and Crowston 1992). A variety of models for understanding the role of communication have been advanced, e.g. the context-oriented communication model by Misch (2001) or the Cooperative Work Framework by Dix et al. (1993, pp. 465 f), and each provides valuable insights for practitioners and researcher. CSCW research also helped to promulgate useful methodological points-of-view and methods to the information sciences. CSCW researchers were leaders in the diffusion of ethnographic studies in the IS discipline, and contributed to the growing perspective that people are not just ‘‘end-users’’ of information systems, but are an integral part of these systems, and so should be active participants in the processes by which systems are designed and deployed (Brenner et al. 2014). A different stream of research, now called Group Support Systems (GSS), emerged in the early 1970s in response to the need for very large numbers of stakeholders to converge on a single, validated set of computer system requirements. Daniel Teichroew, Jay Nunamaker, and others PSL/PSA, a system where users would write their requirements in a structured-English format akin to Pseudcode, and then feed the requirements into an Prof. Dr. M. Koch (&) Cooperation Systems Center Munich, Bundeswehr University Munich, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany e-mail: michael.koch@unibw.de URL: http://www.kooperationssysteme.de

Computer Supported Collaborative Environmental Scanning: Diagnostic Framework and Its Application for a Tunisian Case Study

The case study describes how the team members of a Tunisian Environmental Scanning Agriculture Observatory dealt with new ways of communicating introduced by technology. An inter-organizational computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) platform was implemented within the agriculture observatory to ameliorate the communication of information and knowledge between the stakeholders. Our study aims to determine what contextual conditions could impede the adoption of the new ways of communicating and sharing knowledge. A diagnostic tool was designed and used to assess the impact of culture, structure and top management attitude, as contextual conditions, on the achievement of the collaborative environmental scanning and knowledge exchange activity. To understand the dynamic between these variables and their interplay during the implementation phases of the CSCW, we conducted a longitudinal study. The results could assist managers at the organizational level; indeed they will be able to avoid failures and to better support the process of organizational change.

User-centred design for collaborative 4D modelling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the CSCW in collaborative 4D modelling and its user interface (UI)/interaction designs for prototyping. Four-dimensional (4D) modelling technology has potentials to integrate geographically dispersed planners to achieve collaborative construction planning. However, applying this technology in teamwork remains a challenge in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted user-centred design (UCD) methodology to investigate a usable 4D collaboration prototype through analysis, design and usability testing. By applying CSCW theories, it first clarified the meaning of 4D CSCW to formulate design propositions as design target. By leveraging UCD theories, subsequently, the first-stage research sought an optimal standalone 4D modelling prototype following a parallel design approach. At the second stage, it further investigated into a collaborative 4D modelling prototype using an iterative design. It adopted collaborative task analysis into the UI/interaction design extension for a collaborative prototype based on results obtained from the first stage. The final usability testing was performed on the collaborative prototype to evaluate the designed CSCW and UI in a controlled geographically dispersed teamwork situation. Findings – The test results and user feedback verified their usability. It also disclosed design weaknesses in collaborators’ awareness and smooth tasks’ transitions for further enhancement. Originality/value – The combination of CSCW and UCD theories is practical for designing collaborative 4D modelling. It can also benefit designs for collaborative modelling in other dimensions like cost analysis, sustainable design, facility management, etc. in building information modelling.

A web-based system for supporting global land cover data production

Global land cover (GLC) data production and verification process is very complicated, time consuming and labor intensive, requiring huge amount of imagery data and ancillary data and involving many people, often from different geographic locations. The efficient integration of various kinds of ancillary data and effective collaborative classification in large area land cover mapping requires advanced supporting tools. This paper presents the design and development of a web-based system for supporting 30-m resolution GLC data production by combining geo-spatial web-service and Computer Support Collaborative Work (CSCW) technology. Based on the analysis of the functional and non-functional requirements from GLC mapping, a three tiers system model is proposed with four major parts, i.e., multisource data resources, data and function services, interactive mapping and production management. The prototyping and implementation of the system have been realised by a combination of Open Source Software (OSS) and commercially available off-the-shelf system.This web-based system not only facilitates the integration of heterogeneous data and services required by GLC data production, but also provides online access, visualization and analysis of the images, ancillary data and interim 30m global land-cover maps. The system further supports online collaborative quality check and verification workflows. It has been successfully applied to China’s 30-m resolution GLC mapping project, and has improved significantly the efficiency of GLC data production and verification. The concepts developed through this study should also benefit other GLC or regional land-cover data production efforts.

Preface

The HCOMP conference was created as a venue for exchanging ideas and developments on principles, experiments, and implementations of systems that rely on programmatic access to human intellect to perform some aspect of computation, or where human perception, knowledge, reasoning, or coordinated physical activities contributes to the operation of larger systems and applications. Topics covered in the evolving discipline of human computation and crowdsourcing include efforts in human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), cognitive psychology, organizational behavior, economics, information retrieval, databases, computer systems, optimization, and multiple areas of artificial intelligence (AI), such as vision, speech, robotics, machine learning, mechanism and market design, and planning. The links to AI are as strong as those to HCI, CSCW, and economics; human computation promises to play an important role in research on principles of artificial intelligence as well as in the engineering of systems that can take advantage of the (changing) complementarities of human and machine intellect.

"We'll Discuss that Online. . .": A Case Study of Computer-Supported Collaborative Work in a Locally-Based Emerging Organization

The Internet has attracted much popular and academic attention regarding its potential role as a medium for collaborative work. Through transcending many space- and time-based barriers to communication inherent in other media, the Internet represents a relatively cheap, sophisticated and accessible avenue of communication between geographically and temporally dispersed. . .

Real-time collaboration through web applications: an introduction to the Toolkit for Web-based Interactive Collaborative Environments (TWICE)

The widespread availability of personal mobile devices, combined with the increasing availability of stationary public devices such as large interactive displays, creates new opportunities for computer-supported collaborative work. In particular, these two factors enable the emergence of collaborative scenarios, whether planned or spontaneous, in any location, and previous obstacles to such collaborative settings such as limitations on the number of devices available for use and infrastructure costs can be overcome more easily. As hardware restrictions diminish, the need for software toolkits that simplify the development of distributed collaborative applications allowing for device heterogeneity, true multi-user interaction and spontaneous emergence increases. In this article, we describe the Toolkit for Web-based Interactive Collaborative Environments whose aim is to address these issues. This is done using current standard web technologies extended for real-time application (and structured using specific development guidelines) while ensuring compatibility with the manifold new evolutions in the currently ongoing development of open web platform (HTML5, websockets, etc). While our own work has mainly focused on synchronous co-located collaborative systems (same place/same time), our solution, the technologies used, as well as the concepts that are introduced are easily extendable for remote and/or asynchronous collaboration.

Designing adapted visualization for collaborative 4D applications

4D simulations are useful to support many aspects of construction project planning. With the success of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and because construction planning is largely collaborative, there is an increasing interest for the collaborative use of 4D simulation. Visualization is very important in any simulation activity and it is important to use the most appropriate representation techniques to match with users’ real needs. In collaborative 4D tools, it is very challenging to choose and to propose adapted visualization techniques, according to the practices in the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industry and the characteristics of the sector. This paper proposes a method to design adapted visualizations in collaborative 4D applications. Such a proposition is based on an understanding of planning and simulation practices in AEC industry, and theories from Information Visualization, Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and collaborative simulation scientific fields.

Gender differences in collaborative learning over online social networks: Epistemological beliefs and behaviors

Online social networks are popular venues for computer-supported collaborative work and computer-supported collaborative learning. Professionals within the same discipline, such as software developers, often interact over various social network sites for knowledge updates and collective understandings. The current study aims at gathering empirical evidences concerning gender differences in online social network beliefs and behaviors. A total of 53 engineering postgraduate students were engaged in a blogging community for collaborative learning. Participants’ beliefs about collaboration and nature of knowledge and knowing (i.e. epistemological beliefs) are investigated. More specifically, social network analysis metrics including in-degree, out-degree, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality are obtained from an 8-interval longitudinal SNA. Methodologically speaking, the current work puts forward mixed methods of longitudinal SNA and quantitative beliefs survey to explore online social network participants’ beliefs and behaviors. The study’s findings demonstrate significant gender differences in collaborative learning through online social networks, including (1) female engineering postgraduate students engage significantly more actively in online communications, (2) male engineering postgraduate students are more likely to be the potential controllers of information flows, and (3) gender differences exist in belief gains related to social aspects, but not individual's epistemic aspects. Overall, participants in both genders demonstrated enhanced beliefs in collaboration as well as the nature of knowledge and knowing.

Data Visualization on Interactive Surfaces: A Research Agenda

Interactive tabletops and surfaces (ITSs) provide rich opportunities for data visualization and analysis and consequently are used increasingly in such settings. A research agenda of some of the most pressing challenges related to visualization on ITSs emerged from discussions with researchers and practitioners in human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaborative work, and a variety of visualization fields at the 2011 Workshop on Data Exploration for Interactive Surfaces (Dexis 2011).

Social media in higher education: A look at participatory culture in graduate coursework

Society has become fascinated with web-based social media. Recently, aspects of social media environments such as participatory culture, new media digital literacies, and connectivism have been increasingly investigated. However, current university policies often restrict, if not forbid, the use of social networking sites in class. For professors seeking to introduce social media into their teaching practice, these restrictive policies can make it difficult to teach with and about social computing and computer-supported collaborative work. This descriptive paper presents the experiences of two professors who integrated Web 2.0 practices into their respective graduate-level education courses titled Social Computing and Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Web 2.0 = Pedagogy 2.0? and describes their underlying theories and concepts. Subsequently, the courses’ rationales theoretical underpinnings, and teaching approaches are delineated, and implementation strategies are suggested.

Product Lifecycle Oriented Quality Design System into Supply Chain

To cope with the challenges of conventional quality design system applied in supply chain, a new method of product lifecycle oriented quality design mode, which integrates voice of customer, quality function deployment (QFD) and failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA), and corresponding organization and function model were all put forward. This mode dealt mainly with constructing and running product lifecycle oriented quality design system, integrated several key technologies such as the integration of QFD and FMEA, task distribution of quality design, integrated technology of computer-supported-collaborative work (CSCW). On the basis of these, applying Java, JSP and JavaServlet to the system, improve working efficiency and shorten the development cycle so as to respond to the fluctuation of market demands as quick as possible. The quality design of some automobile was introduced as an example to verify that the system developed would efficiently meet the requirements of supply chain.

Development of Online Computer Supported Collaborative Work with Augmented Reality for Machine Assembly Training

This paper proposes an interactive augmented reality (AR) architecture for online computer supported collaborative work (CSCW). Current CSCW applications for AR are focused on multiple users met together to collaborate on the same physical environment. The proposed architecture can provide collaboration through computer network without the need of face-to-face communication. System architecture and operation scenario are firstly constructed. AR applications for machine assembly trainingis studied. The proposed interactive AR system architecture can provide new experiences for users and both the effectiveness and efficiency for online training applications can be significantly improved.

Model-Based Groupware Solution for Distributed Real-Time Collaborative 4D Planning through Teamwork

AbstractConstruction planning plays a fundamental role in construction project management that requires teamwork among planners from a diverse range of disciplines and in geographically dispersed working situations. Model-based four-dimensional (4D) computer-aided design (CAD) groupware, though considered a possible approach to supporting collaborative planning, is still short of effective collaborative mechanisms for teamwork because of methodological, technological, and social challenges. Targeting this problem, this paper proposes a model-based groupware solution to enable a group of multidisciplinary planners to perform real-time collaborative 4D planning across the Internet. In light of the interactive definition method, and its computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) design analysis, this paper discusses the realization of interactive collaborative mechanisms from software architecture, application mode, and data exchange protocol. These mechanisms have been integrated into a groupware solution...

Towards collaborative component-based modelling

Collaborative modelling enables dispersed users to develop component-based system models in group settings. A realization of such an approach requires coordinating and maintaining the causality of the users’ activities. We propose the Collaborative DEVS Modelling (CDM) approach and its realization based on the Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) and the Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) concepts and technologies. The CSCW concepts are introduced into the DEVS modelling framework in order to support model development in virtual team settings. A set of modelling rules and tasks enabling collaborative, visual, and persistent model construction and synthesis is developed. To support separate groups of modellers to independently develop models, the realization of CDM supports independent modelling sessions. An illustrative example is developed to demonstrate collaborative and incremental model development. The design of the CDM realization and future research are briefly described.

Establishment of CSCD in PTC Environment

Computer Supported Collaborative Design(CSCD) is the applicarion of Computer Supported Collaborative Work(CSCW) in the product design field. Based on the analyse of the key technologies and problems of CSCD, a CSCD design frame faced to product design is established. Then a CSCD system faced to radar key components is founded with Pro/INTRALINK software and re-exploiting technology. Some key processes are designed too, such as database management, workflow programming, information communication, file release, conflict identification and safety management. These will provide a reference for constructing a cooperative design environment.

Interview with Manolis Tzagarakis

Manolis Tzagarakis is a Lecturer at the University of Patras, Greece and a researcher at the Computer Technology Institute. He holds a diploma from the Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics of the University of Patras, and a Ph.D. from the same university. His research interests includes hypermedia, structural computing, Web-technologies and Computer-Supported Collaborative Work. In the context of internationally funded projects, he designed and developed numerous hypermedia systems which resulted in the Callimachus Structural computing environment. He has served as Workshop Chair of ACM Hypertext 2004 and Program Chair of ACM Hypertext 2005. He serves regularly on the conference committee of the ACM Hypertext conference series. His homepage is http://application.econ.upatras.gr/users/tzagara/

A New Method of Quality Control for New Product Development

To cope with the challenges of product quality design system applied in new product development (NPD), a new method of quality control for NPD-collaborative quality design mode, which integrates voice of customer, quality function deployment (QFD) and failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) , and corresponding functional modules and framework were all put forward. This mode dealt mainly with constructing and running collaborative quality design system, integrated several enabling technologies such as the integration of QFD and FMEA, task distribution of quality design, integrated technology of computer-supported-collaborative work (CSCW). On the basis of these, applying Java, JSP and JavaServlet to the system, improve working efficiency and shorten the development cycle so as to respond to the fluctuation of market demands as quick as possible. The quality design of some automobile was introduced as an example to verify that the system developed would efficiently meet the requirements of NPD.