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

From Compliance to Impact: Tracing the Transformation of an Organizational Security Awareness Program

There is a growing recognition of the need for a transformation from organizational security awareness programs focused on compliance -- measured by training completion rates -- to those resulting in behavior change. However, few prior studies have begun to unpack the organizational practices of the security awareness teams tasked with executing program transformation. We conducted a year-long case study of a security awareness program in a United States (U.S.) government agency, collecting data via field observations, interviews, and documents. Our findings reveal the challenges and practices involved in the progression of a security awareness program from being compliance-focused to emphasizing impact on workforce attitudes and behaviors. We uniquely capture transformational organizational security awareness practices in action via a longitudinal study involving multiple workforce perspectives. Our study insights can serve as a resource for other security awareness programs and workforce development initiatives aimed at better defining the security awareness work role

Culturally Appropriate Acceptance Models for Civic Engagement Systems in Saudi Arabia

Information systems that support civic engagement for the public good are a promising new category of technology-mediated social participation. However, adoption of these smart-phone enabled systems varies widely across countries. Building off existing research on how culture mediates technology acceptance, we seek to develop a culturally appropriate model from the ground up that can help explain this cross-cultural difference, with a specific focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a test case. This process involves mapping constructs from existing models, such as UTAUT, and theories, such as the Expectancy Theory of Motivation, to the cultural context and developing new contracts when no appropriate match is available. This paper reports early results from field work conducted in Saudi Arabia to generate these mappings._x000D_ _x000D_ Keywords: Technology Acceptance, Civic Engagement, Culture, Context, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Model Development, Technology Mediated Social Participation System

Transcending Knowledge Gaps in Virtual Teams: Social Processes of Rapid Problem-Solving Bounded by Terminology

Virtual and distributed collaboration are increasingly important for organizations. This paper presents episodes of negotiated term definitions used to complete tasks in a voluntary, ad hoc game forum of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Episodes analyzed focus on specialized language used during problem solving. Terminology analysis reveals that players do not explicate definitions and construct shared mental models or knowledge. Instead, they transcend knowledge gaps in order to achieve action-oriented objectives. By focusing social processes on negotiated terminology for the purpose of task completion, the team rapidly meets goals

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

Collaboration in Augmented Reality: How to establish coordination and joint attention?

Schnier C, Pitsch K, Dierker A, Hermann T. Collaboration in Augmented Reality: How to establish coordination and joint attention? In: Boedker S, Bouvin NO, Lutters W, Wulf V, Ciolfi L, eds. Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2011). Springer-Verlag London; 2011: 405-416.We present an initial investigation from a semi-experimental setting, in which an HMD-based AR-system has been used for real-time collaboration in a task-oriented scenario (design of a museum exhibition). Analysis points out the specific conditions of interacting in an AR environment and focuses on one particular practical problem for the participants in coordinating their interaction: how to establish joint attention towards the same object or referent. Analysis allows insights into how the pair of users begins to familarize with the environment, the limitations and opportunities of the setting and how they establish new routines for e.g. solving the ʻjoint attentionʼ-problem

Disrupting the coming robot stampedes: Designing resilient information ecologies

Machines are designed to communicate widely and efficiently. Humans, less so. We evolved social structures that function best as small subgroups interacting within larger populations. Technology changes this dynamic, by allowing all individuals to be connected at the speed of light. A dense, tightly connected population can behave like a single agent. In animals, this happens in constrained areas where stampedes can easily form. Machines do not need these kinds of conditions. The very techniques used to design best-of-breed solutions may increase the risk of dangerous mass behaviors among homogeneous machines. In this paper we argue that ecologically-based design principles such as the presence of diversity are a broadly effective strategy to defend against unintended consequences at scale.Ope

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. .