The 1988 conference on computer-supported cooperative work: Trip report

Greenberg, S. (1989)
The 1988 conference on computer-supported cooperative work: Trip report. ACM SIGCHI Bulletin, 21(1):49-55, July. Republished in Canadian Artificial Intelligence, No 19, April.

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Abstract

Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is a new research field focused on the role of the computer in group work. On one hand it is technology-driven, motivated by such things as distributed computing, network file systems, electronic messaging, and high-bandwidth communication channels. On the other hand, it is socially-driven, motivated by studies of group interaction. On this background, the 2nd ACM Conference on CSCW (September 26-28, 1988 Portland, Oregon) was a successful merging of sociology and technology. As a technocrat and computer user, I found myself on the edge of my seat during the descriptions and video presentations of novel systems. With "Cruiser," I could wander through a virtual hallway and strike up communications with anyone I happened to bump into, without actually leaving my physical office. I could use the Andrew Messaging System for sending off multi-media mail, such as rasters, complex line drawings, and bits of animation. Through Object Lens, which integrates hypertext, databases and a rule base, I could create intelligent agents to help manage my information-rich world. In spite of the high creativity component, the conference was not just a show of innovative ideas. As a scientist and designer, I was impressed by both the empirical foundations behind many of the systems, and the evaluations of these systems during real use. I was taken by those designers who considered the targeted users to be partners in the design process, by first studying the sociology of the group's interaction in the work setting, discussing with the group how a computer system could provide real support, and then designing the system hand in hand with them.

Bibtex entry

@ARTICLE { 1989.CSCWTrip.CHIBulletin,
CLASS = { INVITEDPUB },
AUTHOR = { Greenberg, S. },
TITLE = { The 1988 conference on computer-supported cooperative work: Trip report },
JOURNAL = { ACM SIGCHI Bulletin },
YEAR = { 1989 },
VOLUME = { 21 },
NUMBER = { 1 },
PAGES = { 49-55 },
MONTH = { July },
NOTE = { Republished in Canadian Artificial Intelligence, No 19, April },
}