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- Text DocumentAn Integrative Framework for Knowledge Extraction in Collaborative Virtual Environments(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Biuk-Aghai, Robert P.; Simoff, Simeon J.Collaborative virtual environments are becoming an intrinsic part of professional practices. In addition to providing collaboration support, they have the potential to collect vast amounts of data about collaborative activities. The aim of this research is to utilize this data effectively, extract meaningful insights out of it and feeding discovered knowledge back into the environment. The paper presents a framework for integrating knowledge discovery techniques with collaborative virtual environments, starting from early conceptual development. Discovered patterns are deposited in an organizational memory which makes these available within the virtual environment. Two examples of the application of the framework are included.
- Text DocumentGroup Formation in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Wessner, Martin; Pfister, Hans-RüdigerGroup formation in CSCL environments is either done manually with little support from the system, or the system needs an elaborated model of the learning domain in order to select potential peer learners and to form learning groups in a pedagogically sound way. Our research objectives include the integration of collaborative learning into the learning environment so that knowledge about the collaboration context can be used to support collaboration, including group formation without the need for a detailed model of the learning domain. In this paper we describe how so-called Intended Points of Cooperation (IPoCs) can be integrated into a (web-based) course. The course author defines at which points in the course a collaborative activity should occur and specifies the cooperative activity, i.e., type and size of the learning group, the collaboration type, and additional material for each activity. We explain how the system can utilize the knowledge about the collaboration context in order to form appropriate learning groups. Finally, we illustrate our approach with examples from the project L3: Lifelong learning as a utility", a German federally funded project which serves as a use case."
- Text DocumentOrganizational Adoption and Diffusion of Electronic Meeting Systems: A Case Study(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Munkvold, Björn Erik; Anson, RobertThe obvious benefits for team collaboration achieved through the use of Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS), do not appear to be so obvious on an organizational scale. After years of trying, there are relatively few published reports of rapid and broad adoption and diffusion of this technology. The broader class of Group Support System (GSS) technologies, that include highly successful products such as Lotus Notes and NetMeeting, has fared substantially better. This case study is of one large company that has been relatively successful in diffusing Lotus Notes and NetMeeting, while only slowly winning an uphill battle implementing GroupSystems, a popular EMS.
- Text DocumentBeyond Workflow Management: Product-Driven Case Handling(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) van der Aalst, W. M. P.; Berens, P. J. S.In the last decade, workflow technology has become one of the building blocks for realizing enterprise information systems. Unfortunately, the application of contemporary workflow management systems is limited to well-defined and well-controlled environments. In practice, workflow technology often fails because of limited flexibility. We advocate a paradigm shift to overcome this problem: Workflows should not be driven by pre-specified control-flows but by the products they generate. This paper presents the software package FLOWer which fully supports this paradigm shift.
- Text DocumentEffects of Group Task Pressure on Perceptions of Email and Face-to-Face Communication Effectiveness(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Wilson, E. Vance; Connolly, James R.This paper adds to a growing group systems literature in the area of task-technology fit by investigating effects of group task pressure on perceptions of media effectiveness. A quasi-experiment was conducted using long-term participants in low-and high-level group task pressure treatments. Following treatment, participants rated email and face-to-face communication effectiveness on four task dimensions based on the well-known McGrath group task circumplex. Significant effects were found between treatments and among task dimensions, suggesting a number of implications for both practice and research.
- Text DocumentInteraction as a Framework for Flexible Workflow Modelling(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Jørgensen, Håvard D.There are a number of approaches to making workflow management systems more flexible. Most follow conventional notions of workflow models as formally complete and consistent, and look at how change can be handled by migrating instances from one stable state to another. This paper argues that interaction should be pursued more vigorously as an approach to enactment. In this framework, interpretation is not fully automated. Involving users in situated model interpretation, interactive enactment allows inconsistent and incomplete models to emerge, better matching the contingencies of real work. This reassessment of the concept of workflow models is illustrated by the Workware prototype and modelling language, showing that the interaction perspective can inform design of simple and flexible workflow architectures. A case from an interorganisational project further illustrates this.
- Text DocumentRoamWare: An Integrated Architecture for Seamless Interaction in between Mobile Meetings(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Wiberg, MikaelThis paper reports the final step of a research project that has aimed at developing novel meeting support for mobile CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work). The underlying idea was to integrate spontaneous mobile meetings with in between meeting support, and divide the use between different situations rather than users attention. We propose a novel integrated architecture called RoamWare that illustrates the concepts of divided use, invisible computer support, and seamless ongoing interaction across physical and virtual meetings. We then report on some initial use results and relate it to other research attempts near us before concluding the paper.
- Text DocumentProcess Descriptions as Organisational Accounting Devices: The Dual Use of Workflow Technologies(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Dourish, PaulWorkflow technologies present a problem for CSCW. On the one hand, they are perhaps the most successful form of groupware technology in current use; but on the other, they have been subject to sustained and cogent critiques, particularly from perspective of the analysis of everyday working activities. This leads inevitably to the question: in the face of these critiques, just why and how do work-flow technologies prove effective? This paper suggests that part of the solution lies in the fact that workflow technologies play more than one role in organisations, and that, in fact, the success of work flow technologies may have little to do with the typical relationship of those technologies to the accomplishment of everyday work. On the basis of the notion of a dual role for workflow technologies, I lay out a framework for considering the design and analysis of workflow systems that may help to bridge between these two roles.
- Text DocumentA Diary Study of Rendezvousing: Implications for Position-Aware Computing and Communications for the General Public(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Colbert, MartinThis paper presents a diary study of rendezvousing as performed by university students. The study suggests that endezvousing frequently does not occur exactly as planned, but this is not necessarily problematic. It also reveals that 'problem' rendezvous were attributed more frequently to modes of travel, over-running of previous activities and lack of information about other rendezvousers, than to lack of information about travel, or local geography. These, and other, findings have implications for the design of position-aware computing and communications for the general public.
- Text DocumentUndoing Any Operation in Collaborative Graphics Editing Systems(Proceedings of the 2001 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2001) Chen, David; Sun, ChengzhengUndo is a useful and widely supported feature which can be used to recover from erroneous operations, learn new system features, and explore alternative solutions. The ability to undo any operation at any time is especially important for collaborative editing systems because it can be used to support local or global undo and also multiple undo models. The Any Undo solution presented in this paper is able to undo any operation in collaborative graphics editing systems. The major challenge in designing the Any Undo solution is to produce the correct undo/redo effect when operations may be undone/redone in any order. The solution is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on how to produce the undo/redo effect on individual objects. Due to the use of multi-versioning concurrency control protocol, the second part of the solution focuses on producing the correct version and the correct number of versions. This Any Undo solution has been implemented in a collaborative graphics editing system called GRACE.