The Australian business environment has been changing at an ever-increasing pace since the mid-1980s. Technological, economic and social changes have altered the working environment. There have been constant technological advances with information technology influencing most categories of work. Organisations in public and private sectors have ongoing expectations of increased productivity, increased quality of processes and swifter responsiveness to clients. Team roles have changed. Team members are multi-skilled and work is designed to emphasise the whole task. The Karpin Industry Task Force described a vision for an Australian business environment that would, by 2014, be one with a flexible, skilled and motivated workforce, world class managers, a customer comes first mentality, and an internationally competitive perspective. These characteristics are congruent with those of learning organisations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the suitability of groupware as the supporting infrastructure for a learning organisation. To do this, the study assesses the use of technology to support personal and team learning in a learning organisation, studies the impact of groupware on learning within workgroups, determines the extent to which communication and learning styles influence its effectiveness, and identifies ways in which groupware can be used to capture the information used to support knowledge management in an organisation. Two case studies are used to undertake this assessment. Three distinct yet related frameworks underpin this study. The first is that of Groupware and the related research frameworks of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). The second is the Learning Organisation and its supporting disciplines. The final framework is that of learning and the action-oriented learning processes. Each is examined and the interrelatedness of the frameworks is explored. The journey to produce this written material has been one of twists and turns, blind alleys and blinding revelations, observation and reflection. My choice of techniques has been eclectic, reflecting the breadth of theoretical material covered.

<p>This thesis investigates new ways of using information visualization to support collaboration in co-located work. To study this phenomenon, Multiple Viewer Display Environments (MVDEs) with independent views have been applied to present information such that all viewers at the same time and in the same display can see correct views of 3D models, see correctly oriented text and see different parts and aspects of information in each view. Several prototypes have been developed either as proof of new conceptual designs or to evaluate particular research questions. These prototypes have been used to investigate general properties that apply to co-located collaborative visualizations. </p><p>A prototype system to keep track of the viewpoints and information in the independent views was implemented on MVDE hardware to support discussions on future command and control environments and to provide the necessary framework for conducting empirical studies (Paper II). Another prototype, the in situ tomographic display, was developed to support presentation of spatial 3D data (e.g., temperature or airflow) in 2D views in situ with working environments (Paper III). In addition to the visualization systems, a technique for high precision pen-based interaction in rear-projection display environments - the PixelActiveSurface – was developed (Papers IV and V). </p><p>The empirical studies evaluate how new forms of visualization in MVDEs with independent views affect the way information is perceived and can be shared in collaboration. The conclusion is that multiple independent views can provide more effective and efficient visualization when the following conditions are met: text is oriented towards the viewer (Paper VI), different aspects of information are coordinated between different views of the same display (Paper VIII) and correct views of 3D models are used to compare ordinal information and relations in spatial data (Paper VII). However, for the techniques to support co-located work efficiently, it is necessary that the type of work and the task to be solved are first properly analyzed and understood (Papers VII and IX).</p>

<p>Research in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has identified a gap - the, so called, social-technical gap - between the wide range of human social interactions that CSCW ideally should support and what current technology actually does support. At the same time recent work in cognitive science and CSCW has begun to elucidate the multifarious roles that the body plays in cognitive processes as well as many forms of social interaction, e.g. gestures, pointing, eye-contact and bodily mimicry. The aim of this dissertation has been to analyse to what degree different aspects of embodied social interaction are supported by different types of synchronous, remote location CSCW technology, and to develop recommendations for future development concerning aspects of embodiment. For this purpose, a number of crucial aspects of embodied social interaction have been identified and about twenty CSCW systems - both research prototypes and commercial systems - have been analysed with respects to how well they support these different aspects. The analysis shows that most CSCW systems only support a very limited range of aspects of embodied social interaction.</p>

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 100 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 (task difficulty) x 4 (intelligent agent) repeated measures MANCOVA. Most hypotheses are not supported, however MCP does appear to moderate arousal depending on the behavior of the IA. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A social navigation system collects data from its users--its community--about what they are doing, their opinions, and their decisions, aggregates this data, and provides the aggregated data--community data--back to individuals so that they can use it to guide behavior and decisions. In this thesis, I document my investigation of the user experience for social navigation systems that employ activity data. I make three contributions in this thesis. First, I synthesize social navigation systems research with research in social influence, advice-taking, and informational cascades to construct hypotheses about the social navigation user experience. These hypotheses posit that community data from a social navigation system exerts informational influence on users, that users egocentrically discount community data, that herding in social navigation systems can be characterized as informational cascades, and that the size and unanimity of the community data correspond to the strength of the community data's influence. The second contribution of this thesis is an experiment that evaluates the hypotheses about the social navigation user experience; this experiment investigated how a social navigation system can support online charitable giving decisions. The experiment's results support the majority of the hypotheses about the social navigation user experience and provide mixed evidence for the other hypotheses. The implications that arise from the experiment's findings compromise the final contribution of this thesis. These implications concern improving the design of social navigation systems and developing a general framework for evaluating the social influence of social navigation systems.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität zu Köln, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 553-603).

Board and Card Game (BCG) sites allow people to connect over the Internet to play virtual versions of games, like Chess or Canasta, that can be played on a physical table. Many of these sites are successful as they have large memberships, are extremely active, and persist for a long time. However, when analysing the BCG site PlayOK, I found that the community did not exhibit behaviours traditionally associated with successful community: there was little verbal communication; most interactions were impersonal and once-only; and the player population was highly transient. The problem is that designers and researchers have a poor understanding of the characteristics of BCG communities, and how those characteristics are affected by factors that are typically seen as important for community such as size and leadership. In this thesis, I improve understanding of BCG site communities through three studies: 1 No research describes community behaviour in BCG sites. I analysed community behaviour in the PlayOK BCG using ‘social accounting’ methods, which generate summary behavioural statistics from log traces. I found that players were motivated by wanting an opponent, without being concerned with the opponent’s identity. 2 The effects of community size on BCG community behaviour are poorly understood. I used social accounting analyses to compare a small site (GameCenter), with the large PlayOK site. I found that the smaller GameCenter exhibits very similar behaviour but is less efficient due to the smaller population. 3 There are no empirical studies of the role of leadership in online game communities through a substantial change in leadership. I used social accounting techniques to analyse GameCenter BCG before and after a substantial change in leadership. I found that sub-communities responded differently according to how they relied on the leadership for their core activities. This research is the first to identify a type of community that is sustained through impersonal, non-verbal interactions. This important because examples exist in BCG sites and may exist as sub-communities in other settings such as online discussion forums, social media sites, and other online games.

Research in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has identified a gap - the, so called, social-technical gap - between the wide range of human social interactions that CSCW ideally should support and what current technology actually does support. At the same time recent work in cognitive science and CSCW has begun to elucidate the multifarious roles that the body plays in cognitive processes as well as many forms of social interaction, e.g. gestures, pointing, eye-contact and bodily mimicry. The aim of this dissertation has been to analyse to what degree different aspects of embodied social interaction are supported by different types of synchronous, remote location CSCW technology, and to develop recommendations for future development concerning aspects of embodiment. For this purpose, a number of crucial aspects of embodied social interaction have been identified and about twenty CSCW systems - both research prototypes and commercial systems - have been analysed with respects to how well they support these different aspects. The analysis shows that most CSCW systems only support a very limited range of aspects of embodied social interaction.

Inom Linköpings kommun finns en decentraliserad organisation för publicering av material på Linköpings kommuns webbplats www.linkoping.se. Inom den ledande gruppen i organisationen har man insett att en wiki skulle kunna underlätta arbetet för medlemmarna i organisationen att dela kunskap med varandra. Studien syftar till att identifiera och verifiera faktorer som ger en framgångsrik wiki. Dessa kan sedan användas som bakgrund vid skapandet av en eventuell wiki för organisationen eller andra organisationer inom Linköpings kommun. Studien består av en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie av fallstudie av LKDATAs (affärsområdet för IT och kommunikation inom Linköpings kommun) dagligen använda och väl fungerande wiki. Litteraturstudien resulterade i sex utvalda framgångsfaktorer: Social kultur, Ledningens inflytande, Renommé, Nytta, Reciprocitet samt Användarvänlighet. Fallstudien genomfördes med hjälp av en enkätundersökning på LKDATA angående de fyra olika delarna inom användning: spenderad tid, frekvens av användning, frekvens av sökning samt frekvens av delning av information på wikin. Av svaren från enkäten gjordes en korrelationsanalys samt en regressionsanalys i SPSS. Analysen visade på svaga men signifikanta korrelationer mellan hur mycket wikin används och framförallt Nytta. Däremot kan inga slutsatser dras ur regressionsanalysen. Den viktigaste faktorn som påverkar användandet på LKDATA verkar dock vara vilken grupp den anställde tillhör och alltså vilka arbetsuppgifter denne har snarare än andra faktorer.

This thesis aims to find out how communication method a˙ects user experience in a formal communication with a stranger, such as a job application process. The communication methods investigated were instant messaging and email. To this end, two studies were performed. The first one based on a set of interviews with recruiters. The second one based on a questionnaire sent out to job candidates. Recruiters did not value communication method as important for the candidate to make a good first impression, but they were concerned with the need for rapid communication and needing to be constantly available when using informal communication methods. I found that candidates significantly preferred formal communication methods, results also showed that candidates felt less insecure when communicating using a formal method. Finally, we also found that younger users did not have a stronger preference for informal communication methods than older users, contrary to my expectations. / Målet med denna uppsats var att ta reda på hur kommunikationsmetod påverkar användarupplevelsen i en formell kommunikation med en främling, så som i en arbetsansökan. Kommunikationsmetoderna som undersöktes var e-post och chatt. För att ta reda på detta gjordes två studier. Den första bestod av intervjuer med rekryterare. Den andra bestod av ett frågeformulär som skickades ut till kandidater. Rekryterarna värderade inte kommunikationsmetoden i sig högt när det gällde vilket intryck de fick av en kandidat, men kommunikations-hastigheten var en viktig faktor i valet av metod. Speciellt så uppfattade de ett behov av att vara tillgänglig och kunna svara snabbt om en informell kommunikationsmetod användes, denna uppfattning delades av kandidaterna. Mina resultat visade att jobbkandidater hade en signifikant preferens för att använda formella kommunikationsmetoder, och visade sig känna sig mindre osäkra när de använde formella kommunikationsmetoder än när de använde informella metoder. Slutligen upptäckte jag att yngre användare inte visade sig föredra informella kommunikationsmetoder mer än äldre användare.