Negotiating Distance: “Presencing Work” in a Case of Remote Telenursing

Telehealth services offer accessible care to distributed populations. However, it is not clear how the important caring intervention of “presence” can be enacted in distributed settings. Information Systems literature theorizes “presence” in distributed work as something to be created by technologies as a precondition for effective work to occur. Following an abductive research process, we compare extant conceptualizations of presence with an empirical case of telenursing. We find that in order to be a caring presence, telenurses must skillfully employ technology while drawing on past embodied experience, in order to balance the “dualities of distance” of nearness and farness; control and freedom. We thus recast presence as a form of skillful work with technology, not as an antecedent to, but a part of telenursing practice. Our model of “the dualities of distance in presencing work” prompts new understandings and offers new directions for future research in both HISR and IS

A conceptual view of ICT in a socio-constructivist classroom

The proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the classroom has brought about exciting opportunities for understanding and reasoning about teaching and learning within a technology-empowered environment. This paper first places ICTs in the classroom within the context of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). It then proceeds to present a conceptualisation of a school classroom in the context of the social constructivism theory and thereafter, overlays the presence of ICTs in the classroom as a function of this conceptualisation. Social constructivism is a learning theory that views learning and human development from a social interaction point of view, underpinned by the cognitive framework under which learners learn. We argue that framing the presence of ICTs within the said conceptualisation will enable for a better understanding of the impact ICTs have in the development of learners’ cognitive activity within a classroom setup. Ultimately, as part of ongoing research and amongst other objectives, we aim to develop some insights and methodologies that could be used to positively influence mindsets around the use of ICTs in the classroom to transcend developmental boundaries

Are you there? : Presence in collaborative distance work

doi linkki ei toimi 31.1.2022, ilmoitettu lehteen/USAlready before the pandemic, digitally mediated collaborative work and communication were perceived as challenging. We investigate the attitudes towards emerging technologies and for transforming practises in workplaces. The focus lies on understanding the readiness for appropriating emotional tracking on presence and support for collaboration. The research-based design framework allowed to combine the various perspectives of the transdisciplinary team. Methods included participatory design, design thinking, contextual inquiry and prototype testing for enhancing presence while working with shared objects in video conferencing to explore the appropriation of tools. The findings revealed four indications: 1) awareness of interlocutors’ presence during synchronous communication is crucial. 2) Emotion and behaviour tracking raises concerns about privacy and personal control over what is displayed to others, and technology could be simpler non-distracting the work at hand. 3) The prototype was found to enhance the feeling of presence without disturbing work at hand, and 4) appropriation requires a step-by-step approach.Peer reviewe