89 research outputs found
The World Wide Web is More Than An Information Repository
It is tempting to think of the World-Wide Web (WWW) as a place where individuals and organizations post information. Although web sites are repositories, that view limits our ability to understand the different uses that individuals and organizations have found for the WWW. Many different kinds of collectives are using the WWW to support their needs. Identifying these different kinds of collaboration helps us to understand how new technologies shape social practices while simultaneously the technology is being shaped by those practice
Sotto Voce: Exploring the Interplay of Conversation and Mobile Audio Spaces
In addition to providing information to individual visitors, electronic
guidebooks have the potential to facilitate social interaction between visitors
and their companions. However, many systems impede visitor interaction. By
contrast, our electronic guidebook, Sotto Voce, has social interaction as a
primary design goal. The system enables visitors to share audio information -
specifically, they can hear each other's guidebook activity using a
technologically mediated audio eavesdropping mechanism. We conducted a study of
visitors using Sotto Voce while touring a historic house. The results indicate
that visitors are able to use the system effectively, both as a conversational
resource and as an information appliance. More surprisingly, our results
suggest that the technologically mediated audio often cohered the visitors'
conversation and activity to a far greater degree than audio delivered through
the open air.Comment: 8 page
Description of Computer Science Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Initial Explorations
Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are in need of
technology innovators who are equipped to leverage technologies
in locally relevant domains such as health, government and
education. To create skilled graduates who can build and shape
locally relevant technologies, higher education institutes in Africa
must have Computer Science (CS) education programs that meet
local needs, for example, to satisfy the demand for entrepreneurs
to build industry and strengthen an economy.
This paper characterizes the current state of CS education in SSA
in order to identify opportunities for addressing education
challenges and to make suggestions that may improve the
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure
in this region. We present the results of a survey of CS educators
in SSA institutions of higher education, which was aimed at
exploring the issues they face. In addition to the continued
chronic under-funding of SSA education, we found that
universities in SSA have smaller departments, less focus on
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and offer a variety of courses
aside from undergraduate Bachelors degrees.
We discuss directions to improve CS curricula through investing
in locally tailored courses and changing perceptions of the value
of SSA CS higher education programs, standards and educators.
Further, we reflect on the challenges of conducting research on
SSA. We conclude that further research in this area is needed to
build on the ideas we offer here to continue to strengthen CS
higher education in SSA
The Geography of Coordination: Dealing with Distance
Geographically distributed development creates new questions about how to coordinate muhi-site work. In this paper, we present four methods product development organizations used to coordinate their work: functional areas of expertise, product structure, process steps, and customization. We describe the benefits and difficulties with each model. Finally, we discuss two difficulties that occur irrespective of the model used: consequences of unequal distribution of project mass, and finding expertise
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