Examining ICT-Mediated Cultural Factors for Subgroup Impact on Virtual Team Dynamics

As virtual teams are inherently heterogeneous and distributed in nature they have a greater tendency to fracture intosubgroups. Proper management of these subgroups is critical as they are often more detrimental than beneficial. Research thatsystematically examines subgroup formation is limited in identifying factors that influence the negative or positive impact ofsubgroups. To address this gap, we propose a new model based on Social Categorization Theory, Faultline Theory and thediversity literature. Our model takes into account the temporal impact of different cultural factors, namely surface and deeplevel culture diversity, with the alignment of other attributes on subgroup saliency. It also captures the interaction of varyinglevels of culture (national, organizational, functional) and their impact on subgroup dynamics. Additionally, the modelrepresents the norms of technology use as a mediator for the impact of subgroup saliency on team performance

A Content-Analysis Approach for Exploring Usability Problems in a Collaborative Virtual Environment

As Virtual Reality (VR) products are becoming more widely available in the consumer market, improving the usability of these devices and environments is crucial. In this paper, we are going to introduce a framework for the usability evaluation of collaborative 3D virtual environments based on a large-scale usability study of a mixedmodality collaborative VR system. We first review previous literature about important usability issues related to collaborative 3D virtual environments, supplemented with our research in which we conducted 122 interviews after participants solved a collaborative virtual reality task. Then, building on the literature review and our results, we extend previous usability frameworks. We identified twelve different usability problems, and based on the causes of the problems, we grouped them into three main categories: VR environment-, device interaction-, and task-specific problems. The framework can be used to guide the usability evaluation of collaborative VR environments

Storytelling in Collaborative Work: Design Challenges for Capturing and Representing Sensitive Interactions

Introduction Within the CSCW research community, storytelling is a known critical component in successful organizational memory systems. Storytelling plays many roles in the informal exchange of information, but in my research experience I have found that its primary contributions are as follows: . It provides access to local expertise, which is the ability to meaningfully interpret and value informationby one's experience. For example, a colleague with more experience with a given problem will help illuminate the different meanings for another. . It often helps contextualize abstract understandings. At times, information about a given situation which may have been desiccated into abstraction in a formal written process or policy, is rehydrated through storytelling, which describes in detail how this played out in a particular situation. In turn this provides more interpretive "hooks" for the listener to use in order to ascertain the story's relevance for her current situation. .

Supporting Knowledge Reuse: A Field Study of Service Engineers in a High-Reliability Organization

This dissertation examines knowledge work in a highreliability organization. Specifically, it explores the distributed problem solving behavior of service engineers, and their analytic support teams, for a world-class aircraft manufacturer. The ethnographic field study focuses on the organizational memories, information flows, boundary objects, and computer-mediated communication systems which facilitate the routine, daily activity of handling technical support requests from airlines. Special attention is given to the expertise required to successfully navigate the complexities of this information-intensive environment. How exactly do engineers locate and leverage prior experience to generate complete, precise and error-free resolutions in a timely fashion? Keywords: field study; ethnography; problem solving; boundary spanning; socio-technical systems; IS design issues The Scenario Flight 471 to Houston just finished boarding. The luggage is loaded, the cabin door closed. As the baggage conveyor is retracting, the driver accidentally hits the accelerator, ramming the aircraft. Visual inspection confirms a dented forward cargo door frame. Two hundred eighteen passengers wait patiently in their seats as the airline's maintenance crew calls the manufacturer's technical support department for guidance

Supporting Knowledge Reuse: A Field Study of Service Engineers in a High-Reliability Organization THE SCENARIO

Imagine the following scenario that is all too likely: TransGulf Flight 471 to Houston is at the gate. Passengers have just finished boarding, the crew is ready, and the luggage is loaded. As the baggage conveyor is pulling away, the driver accidentally hits the accelerator, ramming the aircraft. A quick visual inspection confirms a dented forward cargo door frame. Two hundred eighteen passengers wait patiently in their seats while the airline’s mechanics swarm around the cargo door taking measurements and photographs. The damage is serious enough to require guidance from the manufacturer’s technical support department. This is a priority situation requiring immediate attention. “Airplane on ground!” The TransGulf request is quickly relayed to Global Airframe, the manufacturer. A senior service engineer is already on the phone with the ground crew. She has dropped all other jobs to focus solely on resolving this action. The faxed incident details and images have been digitally processed and appear on her workstation within moments. She quickly reviews the documents, prints them, and stamps the packet crimson, “AOG. ” Pouring over blueprints, searching databases, consulting bound references and querying local experts, she must come up with an approved corrective action in a matter of minutes. The plane is still loaded and sitting at the gate. The engineers at TransGulf and at Global Airframe know what the problem is, but they need an immediate solution. There is a scurry of activity, in addition to the normal heavy workload, at Global: “Who’s the expert on cargo doors for this model? ” “Have we seen damage like this before? How did we fix it? ” “Does the FAA have an airworthiness directive on it? ” “What are the load figures and safety tolerances for the frame? ” “Who will verify the numbers, run the stress analysis and sketch the repair?” While the assembled team of experts is working th

Achieving Safety: A Field Study of Boundary Objects

Boundary objects are a critical, but understudied, theoretical construct in CSCW. Through a field study of aircraft technical support, we examined the role of boundary objects in the “achievement of safety ” by service engineers. The resolution process of repair requests was captured in two compound boundary objects. These crystallizations did not manifest a static interpretation, but instead were continually re-interpreted in light of meta-negotiations. This suggests design implications for organizational memory systems which can more fluidly represent the metanegotiations surrounding boundary objects

Promoting reflective learning: The role of blogs in the classroom

The enthusiasm for adopting social media technologies should be tempered by a critical, empirical understanding of how they facilitate an effective learning environment.This study analyzed blog use in two graduate-level university courses, specifically identifying reflective learning markers in 279 blog entries.This analysis was deepened with follow-up interviews of several top bloggers.The reflective bloggers were characterized as being comfortable with their audience, having a deeper thought process, enjoying the interaction, and progressing well throughout the semester.Our results suggest guidelines for effective use of blogging in the classroom to support reflective learning