This thesis is a collection of six papers and a cover paper reporting an exploration of how to strike a balance between individual task execution and work articulation in Computer-supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). The interest in this theme is motivated by an increased reliance of IT-supported cooperative work arrangements in modern organizations, the fragmented layout of work for multitasking individuals and reports on various forms of overload, increased level of stress and anxiety experienced by workers active in these organizations. Modern organizations are increasingly reliant on IT-supported cooperative work arrangements for doing work. Cooperators are not only expected to execute assigned tasks, but also to engage in work articulation. This is a term used to describe the process of rich and frequent interaction needed for securing that the contributions of cooperators are executed in such a way that the overall goal is reached. As cooperators typically are involved in several work formations in parallel, they need to find a balance between individual work and work articulation in relation to several work formations. The challenge of finding a balance in cooperative work has only to a limited extent been addressed in CSCW and there are few successful designs available for this purpose. The scope of this thesis is to develop an understanding of the challenges faced and strategies deployed by cooperators and work formations for striking a balance in work. The purpose is therefore to explore how multitasking individuals manage to find a balance between task execution and articulation work in computer-supported cooperative work, what challenges they face in the process, and how IT should be designed to support them. To reach this purpose several instances of cooperative work in different contexts have been closely studied. The main conclusions of this thesis are that cooperators are constantly struggling for a balance in work through making frequent switches between work formations, individual task execution and work articulation, sometimes through making switches in the technology that is used. Strategies for finding this balance are developed in relation to the specific context of a cooperative activity as cooperators ‘design’ their use of IT, structures, procedures and norms. It is further concluded that for avoiding overloads of interaction, cooperators show and estimate availability through reliance on various sources of shared information, that social (e.g. interpersonal relation) and contextual factors (e.g. location) are considered when establishing interaction, that cooperators when searching for interaction with others are influenced by their estimated availability, competence and willingness to assist, but also by network maintenance efforts (i.e. an ambition to avoid overloading and underutilizing other cooperators). Finally, it is concluded that norms are important for finding a balance in work as they reduce the interaction needed for work articulation. The main contributions of this thesis are rich descriptions of four cooperative work formations, the challenges they face and the strategies they apply, redefined theoretical concepts (i.e. availability management, interruption, multitasking) and extended understanding of interaction search behavior and ways to achieve high levels of informal interaction across distance. This work also provides some practical contributions in the form of implications for designers of supportive IT and implications for cooperators active in modern organizations.

Context: In recent years, more and more people have started showing an increasing interest in distance or web-based education. Some of the reasons for this are the improvement in information and communication technology, as well as advancement in computer networking infrastructures. However, although computer technology has played an important role for the development of distance learning management systems, the underlying goal of such systems is the delivery of competitive and qualitative education via the distance learning environment. There have been a number of research studies and investigations in the field of Computer supported collaborative learning. This particular study is focused on the challenges associated with task execution in a distance learning environment as perceived by graduate students at a university. Objectives: The main focus or rationale behind this study is to investigate the importance of computer mediated communication tools in a virtual learning environment, as well as the problems facing the teachers or facilitators in their attempt to help learners (students) in the process of task execution, and towards achieving the learning goals in a web-based learning system. Methods: The author has adopted a qualitative case study approach. Questionnaires were sent out to some of the graduate students of BTH that participated in the online course under investigation, “Work integrated e-learning”, and some of these students were interviewed as well. Interviews were also conducted with two professors of Informatics and active researchers in distributed or e-learning in a University in Sweden that has had many years of experience in providing distance learning education. The empirical material was then analyzed, using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as a theoretical framework Results: The results indicate that more communication and collaborative interaction is needed in the context of the studied e-learning management system. The students expected the provision of more video communication through the learning platform. Furthermore, the results show that the learning in the studied web-based environment is centered on the students.  Conclusions: The author concludes that in order to diminish the gap that exists between face-to-face learning/teaching and an e-learning environment, there is a need for the designers and facilitators of the e-learning management system to make this platform more interactive. Additionally, the author concludes that the concept of Open start free pace (OSFP) or strict deadlines may need to be introduced into distance learning education in order to solve the challenges facing the teachers and facilitators.