CSCW系统中协作感知技术的研究

在ＣＳＣＷ系统中，协作感知是多用户协同工作的基础。如何向用户提供有效的协作感知是设计实时群件系统接口的关键技术之一。     

Do handheld devices facilitate face‐to‐face collaboration? Handheld devices with large shared display groupware to facilitate group interactions

Abstract   One-to-one computing environments change and improve classroom dynamics as individual students can bring handheld devices fitted with wireless communication capabilities into the classrooms. However, the screens of handheld devices, being designed for individual-user mobile application, limit promotion of interaction among groups of learners. This study proposes a design of classrooms that incorporates personal workspace and public workspace. Students use handheld devices as private workspace and work with peers on public workspace with shared displays through their handheld devices. Experiments confirmed that students with only handheld devices did not demonstrate expected participation ratios and actively interact with group members. The proposed shared display groupware promoted shared understanding of the workspace and increased awareness of partner actions. Collaboration was enhanced by creating the opportunity for students to use handheld devices to perform ideal communication patterns and avoiding ineffective communication patterns.     

The Influence of workspace awareness on group intellective decision effectiveness

Workspace awareness is an understanding of members’ interactions within a shared workspace, and has been a fundamental concern to researchers examining how groups using group support systems can be more effective as they design and develop physical artifacts. We provide theoretical and empirical evidence that workspace awareness can be a significant factor influencing the effectiveness of groups employing group support systems for the development of intangible artifacts, such as decision quality and consensus. The workspace awareness literature typically does not examine causal relationships within awareness. We develop a theoretical model that divides workspace awareness into three elements (presence, behavior, and insight awareness), which are important for group decision tasks, and provide empirical evidence that: (1) understanding the reasons behind group member behaviors (insight awareness) is key to increasing decision quality and consensus; (2) greater insight awareness can be obtained when an individual is better able to track and characterize others’ behaviors (behavior awareness); and (3) behavior awareness depends on an individual's ability to identify and distinguish among the different individuals within the group (presence awareness). Empirical support is derived from a laboratory experiment.     

A framework for asynchronous change awareness in collaborative documents and workspaces

Change awareness is the ability of individuals to track the asynchronous changes made to a collaborative document or graphical workspace by other participants over time. We develop a framework that articulates what change awareness information is critical if people are to track and maintain change awareness. Information elements include: knowing who changed the artifact, what those changes involve, where changes occur, when changes were made, how things have changed and why people made the changes. The framework accounts for people's need to view these changes from different perspectives: an artifact-based view, a person-based view and a workspace-based view. Each information element is further broken down into distinguishing features and matched against these perspectives, e.g., location history within the where category prompts the questions ‘where was this artifact when I left’ in the artifact-based view, ‘where in the workspace has a person visited’ in the person-based view and ‘where have people been in the workspace’ in the workspace-based view. The framework can be used both to inform and critique change awareness tools.     

Sensemaking in Technology-Use Mediation: Adapting Groupware Technology in Organizations

Understanding how people in organizations appropriate and adapt groupware technologies to local contexts of use is a key issue for CSCW research, since it is critical to the success of these technologies. In this paper, we argue that the appropriation and adaptation of groupware and other types of advanced CSCW technologies is basically a problem of sensemaking. We analyze how a group of “technology-use mediators” (Orlikowski et al. Org. Sci. (1995) 6(4), 423) in a large, multinational company adapted a groupware technology (a “virtual workspace”) to the local organizational context (and vice versa) by modifying features of the technology, providing ongoing support for users, and promoting appropriate conventions of use. Our findings corroborate earlier research on technology-use mediation, which suggests that such mediators can exert considerable influence on how a particular technology will be established and used in an organization. However, we also find that the process of technology-use mediation is much more complex and indeterminate than prior research suggests. The reason being, we argue, that new, advanced CSCW technologies, such as “virtual workspaces” and other groupware applications, challenge the mediators’ and users’ sensemaking, because the technologies are equivocal and, therefore, open to many possible and plausible interpretations.     

Post-mechanistic groupware primitives: rhythms,boundaries and containers

We are exploring a middle path bridging two prevailing but polar opposite approaches to groupware: (1) mechanism—making groups work through the use of explicit forms and procedures; and (2) context or open space—allowing groups to self-organize. A group is a living system, and its work is a creative, dynamic process. Appropriate forms come and go. Computer-supported groups need groupware that provides more than procedural mechanisms and open space. They need groupware that can be tailored for their changing needs and evolving purposes. Life is organized in rhythms, boundaries and containers. Using tailorable groupware of our own design, we have implemented post-mechanistic groupware primitives that bridge the prevailing approaches to groupware in six steps: open space (context), timing, rhythms, boundaries, containers and procedures (mechanism). In the laboratory of our on-line learning community, we tailor the groupware to support the purpose and flow of a variety of educational activities. In the years ahead, nearly all organizations will be affected by rapid and fundamental change. Those that thrive will be in a state of continuous, accelerated learning regardless of their purpose. We believe that the educational principles of purpose-centered groupware explored here potentially apply to any computer-supported group work. As the virtual reflection of developing society, purpose-centered groupware is an essential part of the necessary transition to a vital, sustainable culture.     

Interface-defining a metaphor for group work

An overview of investigations on computer-supported cooperative work is presented. It is argued that the only way to achieve the next evolutionary stage of groupware, software that supports the interactive work of groups, is to understand how computers and groups fit into an organization. Linking and awareness, two coordination functions central to groupware, are discussed. The Perspective Wall, an interface for representing the large amount of information required to coordinate group work in an intuitive, perceptual framework, is described     

Model-driven development of interactive groupware systems: Integration into the software development process

Modeling interactive groupware systems is a complex and multi-disciplinary task. It is necessary to provide designers and engineers with a set of methods, notations and tools to specify the different aspects to consider when designing this type of systems. In this work we present a methodological framework based on the integration of several notations and processes for modeling some of these aspects, in particular: interaction, collaboration and functionality. The objective of this work is to provide a more complete support to the design of groupware systems, considering different viewpoints and modeling perspectives of the several stakeholders involved in the development of such applications.     

Auditory display design—An investigation of a design pattern approach

We present the evaluation of a methodological design framework that supports expert and novice designers in creating auditory artefacts in human–technology interaction. We first motivate the development of our framework by analysing available guidance and the current practice in the field. Subsequently, we recapitulate on the design of the framework—paco, pattern design in the context space—and present its key concepts and methods. The evaluation of paco aimed to investigate how useful this framework is in a real-world environment. It was conducted in two phases: experts in auditory display design first captured successful designs through paco and created a body of design patterns. These patterns were subsequently used in a controlled experiment with novice designers who were given a design task that forced them to use audio. The results demonstrate that paco has facilitated the transfer of design knowledge and good practice from experts to novices through design patterns. The context space, a key concept in paco, improves the contextual awareness of designers and provides an organising principle for problems, patterns and artefacts. We close by reflecting on the results and discussing future lines of research.     

Supporting intergenerational groups in computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW)

The workforce is ageing as older workers re-enter the workforce or delay retirement. One consequence is that work groups are increasingly becoming intergenerational. Because group work relies on many collaborative tools (e.g. email, shared calendars), it is essential to understand the special requirements that intergenerational groups have for groupware. Can we design collaborative tools that leverage the differing abilities and contributions of older and younger workers in groups? We focus on how best to support intergenerational groups, offering an analytical framework that combines ideas from the theory of small groups and activity theory. We consider design implications for computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and outline design principles for groupware that supports intergenerational groups. Finally, we discuss methodological issues that arise when studying intergenerational cooperative work.     

Groupware Environments as Action Constitutive Resources: A Social Action Framework for Analyzing Groupware Technologies

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is a relatively new and dynamic field dealing with the development and use of groupware technologies in organizations. Several frameworks and models have been proposed for studying CSCW, each conveying a different perspective and theoretical basis. Although these frameworks have contributed much to our understanding of the field, they can be criticized for a lack of holistic understanding of the complex social activity that is constitutive of groupwork. This often leads to the failure of otherwise well designed CSCW applications. In this paper we take up this challenge and propose a social action framework for analyzing groupware technologies. The framework is based on Habermas's theory of social action and four action categories, and the idea that groupware applications serve as sets of rules and resources which mediate group interactions. We demonstrate the value of the framework by analyzing a wide range of existing groupware technologies for their appropriateness to specific groupwork situations in terms of their espoused or implicit assumptions of groupwork, and the action constitutive resources they provide. Our analysis points out that a host of current groupware applications can be fairly easily classified and examined by the way they are configured to support different types of social action. It also suggests that, when implementing groupware applications, developers should critically evaluate: (a) the need for supporting a rich variety of action types, (b) the possible role of computer support in the specific groupwork situations, and (c) the underlying assumptions of groupwork embedded in the groupware platform. Finally, we will discuss how the framework can inform future research and development in the field.     

Evaluating teamwork support in tabletop groupware applications using collaboration usability analysis

Tabletop groupware systems have natural advantages for collaboration, but they present a challenge for application designers because shared work and interaction progress in different ways than in desktop systems. As a result, tabletop systems still have problems with usability. We have developed a usability evaluation technique, T-CUA, that focuses attention on teamwork issues and that can help designers determine whether prototypes provide adequate support for the basic actions and interactions that are fundamental to table-based collaboration. We compared T-CUA with expert review in a user study where 12 evaluators assessed an early tabletop prototype using one of the two evaluation methods. The group using T-CUA found more teamwork problems and found problems in more areas than those using expert review; in addition, participants found T-CUA to be effective and easy to use. The success of T-CUA shows the benefits of using a set of activity primitives as the basis for discount usability techniques.     

Order Parameters for Detecting Target Curves in Images: When Does High Level Knowledge Help?

Many problems in vision can be formulated as Bayesian inference. It is important to determine the accuracy of these inferences and how they depend on the problem domain. In this paper, we provide a theoretical framework based on Bayesian decision theory which involves evaluating performance based on an ensemble of problem instances. We pay special attention to the task of detecting a target in the presence of background clutter. This framework is then used to analyze the detectability of curves in images. We restrict ourselves to the case where the probability models are ergodic (both for the geometry of the curve and for the imaging). These restrictions enable us to use techniques from large deviation theory to simplify the analysis. We show that the detectability of curves depend on a parameter K which is a function of the probability distributions characterizing the problem. At critical values of K the target becomes impossible to detect on average. Our framework also enables us to determine whether a simpler approximate model is sufficient to detect the target curve and hence clarify how much information is required to perform specific tasks. These results generalize our previous work (Yuille, A.L. and Coughlan, J.M. 2000. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence PAMI, 22(2):160–173) by placing it in a Bayesian decision theory framework, by extending the class of probability models which can be analyzed, and by analysing the case where approximate models are used for inference.     

A framework for large‐force task planning of mobile and redundant manipulators

A framework tackling the problem of large wrench application using robotic systems with limited force or torque actuators is presented. It is shown that such systems can apply a wrench to a limited set of Cartesian locations called force workspace (FW), and its force capabilities are improved by employing base mobility and redundancy. An efficient numerical algorithm based on 2ⁿ‐tree decomposition of Cartesian space is designed to generate FW. Based on the FW generation algorithm, a planning method is presented resulting in proper base positioning relative to large‐force quasistatic tasks. Additionally, the case of tasks requiring application of a wrench along a given path is considered. Task workspace, the set of Cartesian space locations that are feasible starting positions for such tasks, is shown to be a subset of FW. This workspace is used for identifying proper base or task positions guaranteeing task execution along desired paths. Finally, to plan redundant manipulator postures during large‐force‐tasks, a new method based on a min–max optimization scheme is developed. Unlike norm‐based methods, this method guarantees no actuator capabilities are exceeded, and force or torque of the most loaded joint is minimized. Illustrative examples are given demonstrating validity and usefulness of the proposed framework. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Performance Evaluation of Human Detection Systems for Robot Safety

Detecting and tracking people is becoming more important in robotic applications because of the increasing demand for collaborative work in which people interact closely with and in the same workspace as robots. New safety standards allow people to work next to robots, but require that they be protected from harm while they do so. Sensors that detect and track people are a natural way of implementing the necessary safety monitoring, and have the added advantage that the information about where the people are and where they are going can be fed back into the application and used to give the robot greater situational awareness for performing tasks. The results should help users determine if such a system will provide sufficient protection for people to be able to work safely in collaborative applications with industrial robots.     

F2FMI: A toolkit for facilitating face-to-face mobile interaction

The importance of mobile groupware systems resides in the specific tasks that they can perform and other systems cannot. On the one hand, groupware systems allow groups of users to work together providing facilities that single-user systems are unable to offer. On the other hand, unlike stationary systems, mobile systems allow users to work on the move. The intersection of these two technologies offers a new support for activities, such as spontaneous collaboration, that could be facilitated neither by stationary groupware systems nor by mobile single-user systems. However, implementations of this new support are uncommon, probably because of the high development effort required and the seemingly little benefit obtained. In this paper, we aim to reduce this effort by facilitating the development of mobile groupware applications that support such activities. Our proposal to achieve this objective involves the design and implementation of the Face-to-Face Mobile Interaction (F2FMI) toolkit, whose goal is to provide generic and reusable software components required in most cases. We expect this strategy to yield a higher variety of successfully deployed applications, which in turn will demonstrate the benefits of supporting this kind of interactions through mobile devices.     

Improving Performance of Heterogeneous Agents

Agents provide services not only to humans users but also to agents in one or more multiagent systems. When agents are confronted with multiple tasks to perform (or requests to satisfy), the agent can reduce load on itself by attempting to take advantage of commonalities between the tasks that need to be performed. In this paper, we develop a logical theory by which such “heavily loaded” agents can merge commonalities amongst such tasks. In our framework, agents can be built on top of legacy codebases. We propose a logical formalism called invariants using which agent developers may specify known commonalities between tasks – after this, we propose a sound and complete mechanism to derive all possible derived commonalities. An obvious A ^*-based algorithm may be used to merge a set of tasks in a way that minimised expected execution cost. Unfortunately the execution time of this algorithm is prohibitive, even when only 10 tasks need to be merged, thus making it unusable in practice. We develop heuristic algorithms for this problem that take much less time to execute and produce almost as good ways of merging tasks.     

Development and Evaluation of a Groupware System to Support Chemical Design Processes

This article presents the concept of a groupware system adapted to the early stages of chemical design processes. To ensure best usability for chemical engineers during the chemical plant design, a field study in an international chemical group was carried out. Several theoretical concepts of cooperation and workspace design models were analyzed to meet the requirements of cooperative and distributed work during the design process. Based on this, a new groupware concept was developed that consists of 4 main design elements. This concept was evaluated empirically for the relevance of the design elements and efficiency of use.