Benford, S., R. Ingram, et al.
LANCS-4-9
The growth of network availability has led to a dramatic increase in the amount of on-line information users can access remotely. However, users often have difficulty locating the details they require due to the manner in which this information is provided. One reason for this difficulty is that limited facilities are provided which allow users to exploit their existing spatial skills in managing access to shared information. We consider Populated Information Terrains (PITS) as a way of addressing this issue. PITS are abstract virtual data spaces occupied by users who can cooperatively browse the information they contain using spatial cues. A number of prototype PITS are presented. We believe that PITS shows considerable promise for sharing information across a community of users.
Bentley, R., T. Rodden, et al.
LANCS-4-13
The paper addresses some of the divergences between social sciences, and proposes the development of hybrid forms of participation in CSCW. It offers a critique of the theoretical isolationism of some ethnomethodological ethnography. It reviews the prospects for interdisciplinary collaboration, and seeks to motivate it with some `core propositions' which expose the inescapable character of the problems (though not necessarily of the solutions) which are `owned' by different disciplines. It illustrates hybrid forms with discussion of some issues in two areas: the cognitive versus the ethnographic, and the politics of participation.
Besselaar, P. v. d.
AMS-4-4
In this chapter bibliometric methods are used for the analysis of populated information terrains. After some preliminary considerations, the approach and methods are outlined and related to concepts like `aura', `focus' and `nimbus' (section 10.2). Sections 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5, report some case studies in which the methods for analysing the structure and change of information spaces are applied. Finally, section 10.6 discusses the relevance for CSCW, possible applications, and further directions of research.
Blair, G. and T. Rodden
LANCS-4-12
Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has emerged as an identifiable research area which focuses on the role of the computer in group work. The growing interest in CSCW reflects the demands of industry for improved tools to aid the coordination and control of group activities. In this paper we examine the different opportunities which have emerged as CSCW research has grown in prominence over the last decade. In doing so we examine a series of scenarios drawn from significant application domains. This examination of the potential for CSCW is balanced by a consideration of the central research issues which need to be addressed by CSCW to realise the opportunities presented. The paper identifies 3 areas requiring further research: i) design methodology, ii) the identification and development of generic services, and iii) influencing infrastructure, as the key issues facing CSCW researchers.
Blair, G. and T. Rodden
LANCS-4-11
The user-centred philosophy of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) challenges the established principles of many existing technologies. In turn, the development of CSCW is dependent on the facilities offered by these technologies. It is therefore important to examine and understand this relationship. This talk will review key developments in CSCW and consider the potential impact of these developments on ODP. The talk will also highlight a number of outstanding issues raised by CSCW. It is hoped that this talk can stimulate closer cooperation between the two communities in developing future IT standards and services.
Bowers, J.
MAN-4-1
This paper is an extended exploration of the value of city-like spaces as environments for the support of cooperative work in the context of the COMIC Project's concern with supporting awareness and interactivity in Populated Information Terrains (PITs). Specifically, it is suggested that virtual cities might offer affordances which would support the interactional qualities of cooperative work and elegantly intertwine solutions to problems concerning the design of embodiments, navigation, interaction and awareness mechanisms in cooperative virtual environments.
This argument is developed through an examination of the utility of the well-known work of Hillier and Hanson on the 'social logic of space' as a resource for understanding virtual spaces. While the chapter develops considerable scepticism about the value of their work as a source of sociological understanding of real settlements (indeed a detailed critique is offered), it is argued that this does not mean that their work cannot influence the design of virtual spaces. Indeed, it is suggested that the computational qualities of their analysis techniques and the abstractions in their theories ironically dispose them more towards the design of virtual environments than theorising actual settlements.
One of Hillier and Hanson's computer programs for modelling the aggregation of settlements is also introduced and an enhancement of it (VCB, the Virtual City Builder) supporting 3D visualisations of virtual cities is presented. Three simulation experiments studying wayfinding and spatial distribution of encounters in a variety of differently structured virtual cities are reported, and the results of these experiments motivate a series of preliminary recommendations for the design of virtual city-like spaces and the distribution of computational resources within them.
The paper concludes by outlining possibilities for future work as well as clarifying the research strategy pursued here. Some general remarks about the status of 'principles' for the design of virtual worlds (cf. those of Benedikt, 1991) are made from the standpoint that cooperative applications should attend to supporting the interactional qualities of cooperative work. It is concluded that virtual city-like spaces can be useful in this regard and a design strategy of 'virtual brutalism' is commended for influencing the development of cooperative virtual environments.
Bullock, A.
NOTT-4-23
This chapter overviews the technical and logistical details involved in holding a virtual meeting. A number of virtual meetings have been held using the MASSIVE virtual reality conferencing system, and in particular the first full COMIC virtual meeting is described in some detail.
VR-MOG: A toolkit for building shared virtual worlds
Colebourne, A., T. Rodden, et al.
LANCS-4-17
The paper presents a user interface toolkit to support the rapid construction of cooperative virtual environments. The toolkit is based on extending a 2D model of interaction to 3D virtual environments. The toolkit populates a virtual world with shared 3D interface objects which allow deeper semantic interaction with the virtual world. A principal focus of the toolkit is on the provision of accessible facilities to manage interface configuration and tailoring. Most existing facilities to manage cooperative environments tend to be language centred and provide only limited tailorability for users and developers.
Eiderback, B.
SICS/KTH-4-17
In this paper we give a brief description and evaluation of the object oriented distribution package MultiGossip, written in the high level language Smalltalk.
First we state some needs and requirements on a distribution package, for example that it should smoothly fit in the environment and support the distribution of all kinds of complex objects such as drawings, video and text editors.
Next we outline the implementation and usage of the package. We discuss the applicability of MultiGossip to distribute object with different styles of distribution; with for instance centralised, distributed or partly shared data models. We also briefly discuss how distributed objects are defined and handled in programs, and how message passing between different objects and platforms is achieved.
Finally we relate MultiGossip to work made within COMIC and make a formative evaluation of it within this context.
England, D.
GMD-4-10
In this paper we want to examine a novel visualisation technique for virtual worlds which are populated with landscapes of shared data. This technique is that of abstract data shadows. Like natural shadows they give some hint as to the presence of real objects, by casting the "shadow" of one or more attributes of the parent data. The aim of this technique is to provide co-workers, in a virtual organisation, with interactive visual cues over a body of shared data.
England, D.
GMD-4-9
The COMIC project (Strand 4) has produced some novel Virtual Reality systems for the support of cooperative working. This work has raised many interesting issues about what it means to interact and work in a collaborative virtual environment. In this paper we wish to assess the contribution of this work from the view points of visualisation, interaction and usability, in addition to that of cooperation. We suggest some further requirements and directions for research in this area.
Mariani, J. and T. Rodden
LANCS-4-16
This paper examines the importance of sharing within cooperative systems and argues for a specialised service to support the cooperative aspects of information sharing. An investigation of the current information models used by Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) applications is presented. This is complemented by highlighting the problems faced by traditional database mechanisms in supporting cooperative applications. On the basis of on this analysis, the design of a cooperative shared object service and its enabling mechanism, object adapters, is presented. The relationship between the cooperative shared object service and existing services is briefly examined. A number of services of particular importance to CSCW systems are identified. A more detailed consideration is given for a selection of service elements. The paper presents both the need for these services and the means of realising the shared object service by augmenting existing object facilities
Navarro, L. and G. Rodriguez
UPC-4-5
The Aleph is a prototype with support for malleability and linkability to specify mechanisms of interaction based on the C4SO architecture. Aleph can be adapted and incrementally built by means of the Aleph-Tcl notation and the use of a X-Windows Control Interface.
The Aleph prototype also provides browser interfaces to interact with the servers in a easy way. For instance, we use WWW and Tcl-Tk.
The Aleph-Tcl language is now oriented to be a Tcl interface for the Resource management and Trading functions. There are four kind of objects resources, roles, agents and contexts. Therefore Aleph commands are structured in four groups depending on the class of objects.
The provision of federation mechanisms extends that cooperation to the large scale. These federation mechanisms are the federation managers (interceptors) and the use of Usenet News like database that can be accessed by a protocol similar to nntp.
In a nutshell, we have intented to implement our prototypes and interfaces using standard tools currently working on the Internet.
Navarro, L. and G. Rodriguez
UPC-4-7
This is the paper "Aleph: A Large Scale CSCW Environment" that was presented in the JENC6 session "CSCW".
Aleph is a prototype system intended to provide support for large communities of people working together at global scale (i.e. in a multi-organisational environment with multiple authorities, different policies and a limited number of resources). It is a partial implementation of an architecture for large scale CSCW systems. Aleph is malleable, it can be adapted and incrementally built by means of the Aleph-Tcl notation and the use of a X-Windows Control Interface; the use of common components and common mechanisms to access resources and people encourages co-operation among people and components. The provision of federation mechanisms extends that co-operation to the large scale.
Robinson, M.
SF-4-14
The paper evaluates the potential usefulness of a Virtual Reality (VR) prototype system (Q-PIT in DIVE) developed in COMIC. It does this by exploring a first realisation of a large dataset of international importance: The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) or Mortality Database maintained by the World Health Organisation (WHO). A set of evaluative criteria under the headings of novelty, usefulness, and scalability are described. These are intended to guide further research and development in the VR representation and use of the ICD, and large datasets in general.
Robinson, M. and P. Mambrey
SF-4-13
Studies of work and document flow in a German Ministry show that when documents cross organisational boundaries their status, and associated responsibilies change. These changes, trajectories, deadlines, are recorded on the document. Workflow, in this case, is not abstract, pre-specified, independent, conceptually or physically separated from the artefact whose movement it controls. It is inscribed, developed, and updated on the artefact itself. This empirical fusion of workflow with objects has major advantages. It enables strong bureaucratic rules to be reconciled with local, ad-hoc, fine-grained contingencies and discretionary action. This is an important lesson for the design of organisational CSCW systems.
Rodriguez, G.
UPC-4-6
The Aleph system is a partial implementation of the SOS architectural model. It is intended to be a test bed for the testing and demonstration of the architecture with special emphasis on the issues raised on the COMIC Project in UPC regarding large scale social interaction environments, such as large scale Trading and federation of heterogeneus environments. The main ideas of our prototype are to support: malleability, linkability and scalability.
In order to demonstrate these concepts, we have implemented a prototype to demonstrate the utility of using computers managing organisational contexts. With the Aleph prototype we have demonstrated that it is possible to control and manage the policies applied over the resources (human or object) in an organisational context, such as any enterprise.
Smith, G. and T. Rodden
LANCS-4-15
The paper presents a user interface toolkit to support the construction of cooperative multi-user interfaces. The toolkit is based on the configuration of shared interface objects to construct cooperative interfaces. A principle focus of the toolkit is on the provision of accessible facilities to manage interface configuration and tailoring. Most existing facilities to manage multi-user interfaces tend to be application specific and provide only limited tailorability for purpose built cooperative applications.
Snowdon, D.
NOTT-4-22
This paper will discuss issues relating to the design of a subjective virtual environment. After considering some general issues, two exisiting applications, one abstract and one more related to the real-world, will be described and it will be shown how subjectivity could be used to make these applications more suitable for a collaborative virtual environment (CVE). In addition the implications of subjectivity for VR system design will be discussed.
Tollmar, K. and A. Schomer
SICS/KTH-4-18
This report presents three studies in the Collaborative Desktop Project. First will we start with a study of the basic metaphor that is used in the system. In our second study have we used paper mockups to learn how the average user experience the use of the Collaborative Desktop. Thirdly will we partly describe a study where the part that we mention here concerns the expected use of different CSCW tools in situation where the Collaborative Desktop could be usable.
Trevor, J. and T. Rodden
LANCS-4-14
Spatial metaphors are becoming increasingly prominent in CSCW. A growing number of researchers have started to offer spatial metaphors as a way of realising environments that provide affordances for informal spontaneous interaction. However, limited consideration has been given to the relationship between these spatial metaphors and cooperative application where adopting a more structured approach to cooperation. In this paper we consider this relationship by examining how an existing model for structuring cooperation may be realised in a spatial environment.
Trevor, J., T. Rodden, et al.
LANCS-4-10
Despite the reliance of cooperative applications on the facilities provided by distributed systems, little consideration is given by these systems to the support of cooperative work. This paper examines the provision of appropriate mechanisms to represent cooperative work within a distributed platform. Based upon a examination of existing models of cooperative activity and the experiences of their use, a lightweight model of activities is suggested as the basis for the supporting platform. Rather than concentrate on the exchange of information, this lightweight model focus on the mechanisms of sharing of objects. This focus enables a clear separation between the mechanisms provided by the distributed platform and the policy which is the responsibility of the cooperative applications.
Tromp, J.
AMS-4-1
This paper is submitted to the First Annual Conference of the FIVE group, Framework for Immersive Virtual Environments, FIVE'95, 18-19th December 1995, London, UK. There is still no general agreed on operational definition of telepresence. In this paper a theory is constructed based on discussions of telepresence in the literature. An operational definition of telepresence and immersion is offered as a measurement tool for the performance of humans in a Virtual Environment and of the Virtual Environment itself. The theory has been presented at the COMIC plenary in Risoe, Denmark, April 1995. It was agreed on to use the theory for the evaluation of MASSIVE. The theory of telepresence and immersion is being developed as part a design tool kit for Virtual Environments. The emphasis is on cognitive fidelity for the user.
Tromp, J.
AMS-4-3
Virtual Reality might very well redefine the corporate organization. A virtual office can support new types of organizations, new types of employees and perhaps lead to new types of organizational structure. MASSIVE, a Virtual Reality Teleconferencing tool is a prototype of such a futuristic environment. Nine experienced users and seven new users of MASSIVE have been asked to evaluate their experiences with the system in terms of control and virtual presence. The experienced users are on the whole more critical of the system. The new users are on the whole more overwhelmed by the futuristic possibilities opened up to them. It seems to take approximately three hours of usage to get a good sense of control over MASSIVE. All users agree that the system allows them to do what it is designed for - teleconferencing.
Tromp, J.
AMS-4-2
This paper has been written to accompany a poster submission to the European Computer Supported Cooperative Work Conference, September, 10-14, Stockholm, Sweden. It will be printed in the supplement of the proceedings. This paper is a short version of the results of the evaluation of MASSIVE, COMIC report COMIC-AMS-4.3. It is explained how Virtual Teleconferencing Environments could change the office of the future in ways we can not predict yet. Design issues for Virtual Environments and Conferencing Tools are discussed. Experienced users and new users of a MASSIVE have been asked to evaluate their experiences in terms of control and virtual presence. All users agree that the system allows them to do what it is designed for - teleconferencing.