COOP 2012: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems

COOP 2012 is the tenth COOP conference, marking twenty years from the first conference in 1992. In this special anniversary edition we asked researchers and practitioners to reflect on what have been the successes and the failures in designing cooperative systems, and what challenges still need to be addressed. We have come a long way in understanding the intricacies of cooperation and in designing systems that support work practices and collective activities. These advances would not have been possible without the concerted effort of contributions from a plethora of domains including CSCW, HCI, Information Systems, Knowledge Engineering, Multi-agent systems, organizational and management sciences, sociology, psychology, anthropology, ergonomics, linguistics, etc. The COOP community is going from strength to strength in developing new technologies, advancing and proposing new methodological approaches, and forging theories.

Marseille, France, 30 May - 1 June 2012

Hardcover ISBN 978-1-4471-4092-4
Springer Verlag, London

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  • Text Document
    Maintaining the Instant Connection – Social Media Practices of Smartphone Users
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Malinen, Sanna; Ojala, Jarno
    In the last few years, using social media via mobile phone applications has become increasingly common. However, there are only few studies exploring people’s mobile application usage behavior. In order to understand users’ mobile social media practices in the context of everyday life, 30 owners of high-end smartphones were interviewed for this study. The context of their mobile SNS use cases was studied through diaries kept by 15 of the participants. The results show that mobile social networking is typically about briefly checking the latest updates and news, most often while in transit and when immersive use of the internet is not possible. Also, there are more browsing activities on the mobile phone than content creation, which is better done with PC. In the use of social media, immediate access to the most interesting content, such as photos, status updates and news, is highly valued
  • Text Document
    Supporting Collaborative Work in Socio-Physical Environments: A Normative Approach
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Garbay, Catherine; Badeig, Fabien; Caelen, Jean
    We propose a normative approach to collaborative support system design in distributed tangible environments. Based on activity theory, our goal is to mediate rather than drive human activity and to integrate components from the physical, numerical and social environments. We propose an original architecture coupling a physical space (tools supporting human activity), a processing space (agent performing activity, be it human or artificial), an informational space (traces reflecting activity), and a normative space (filters regulating activity). We further consider collaboration as a conversational process grounded in the objects of the working space. To this end, tangible objects of various kinds are designed to support multi-threaded activity. Heterogeneous trace properties may then be fused to situate activity and ground the filtering process. Interface agents are designed to provide appropriate visual feedback and support mutual awareness. Beyond the mere sharing of individual or group activity, we approach awareness as involving mutual knowledge of the activity constraints. We show through simple examples from the RISK game the potential richness of the proposed approach.
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    Exploring collaboration in group-to-group videoconferencing
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Slovak, Petr; Novak, Peter; Troubil, Pavel; Rusnak, Vıt; Holub, Petr; Hofer, Erik C.
    Prior work on videoconferencing shows that various design changes can have profound impacts on group dynamics. In order to further explore the available design space, we report on a qualitative study that compares behaviour of groups in two group-to-group videoconferencing environments and face-to-face communication during a complex social dilemma game. There are pronounced differences in participant behaviour between the two videoconferencing designs, indicating higher cooperative behaviour in one of the videoconferencing conditions. Based on qualitative analysis of the gameplay, we hypothesise that the decisive factor is a discrepancy in the type of group identity that develops during the game. Our results suggest that the differences in behaviour are due to differences in design of the two videoconferencing environments. In particular, the incorporation of personal displays and individualised videostreams likely contributed to these outcomes.
  • Text Document
    Use of graphical modality in a collaborative design distant setting
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Safin, Stéphane; Juchmes, Roland; Leclercq, Pierre
    Abstract. In this chapter, we are interested in studying the use of the graphical modality (digital sketch and document annotations) as a tool for collective design and remote communication. This study takes place in the framework of a 3 months long collaborative architectural design studio, gathering students from Belgium and France to remotely work together in 3 small groups. The study focuses on the role of the graphical modality inside synchronous remote meetings supported by the Distributed Collaborative Design Studio (DCDS). The DCDS enables multimodal real-time remote exchanges, and aims at remotely re-creating the conditions of co-present meetings. This environment associates a videoconference tool (supporting verbal and non-verbal communication) and an original real-time shared digital hand-drawn sketches system (supporting graphical communication). We identify the types of digital annotations made on the imported document (thanks to the electronic pen), as well as their role in the cognitive design processes and in the collaborative and communication processes. We also identify the different practices of digital sketching, in regard to each group and its collaborative strategies. We discuss the utility of the graphical modality as an efficient support for collaborative synchronous activities and show that the DCDS environment supports different strategies of collaborative design (co-design and distributed design). We conclude on recommendations for improving the system and for designing sketch-based collaborative environments.
  • Text Document
    Creating Metaphors for Tangible User Interfaces in Collaborative Urban Planning: Questions for Designers and Developers
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Maquil, Valérie; Zephir, Olivier; Ras, Eric
    Designing tangible user interfaces (TUIs) means to deal with a complex number of issues related to the particular mixture of the physical and digital space. While a number of existing guidelines and frameworks propose issues and themes that are relevant during design, we still miss a more specific guidance on how to address such issues. This chapter analyses the difficulty of designing and developing TUIs by considering the principle of metaphors. Based on an analysis of the different types of targets of metaphors in TUIs, we identify the complexities of TUI adoption by users across physical, digital, and application domains. We propose a series of questions that support designers and developers in dealing with these complexities in the context of a TUI for collaborative planning and discussion of urban concepts. Our work is based on and illustrated through various insights collected during the development of the “ColorTable”, a complex TUI for collaborative urban planning.
  • Text Document
    Collaborative Problem Solving with Objects: Physical Aspects of a Tangible Tabletop in Technology-Based Assessment
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Maquil, Valérie; Ras, Eric
    This chapter analyses how the physical objects and space of a tangible user interface supports groups of participants to collaboratively solve a problem. Our aim is to understand which characteristics of the physical space support the participants in thinking collaboratively. We describe a user study with a tangible tabletop for technology-based assessment. We identify a series of patterns extracted from a video analysis using the Collaborative Learning Mechanism framework. In our discussion, we elaborate the characteristics of the TUI that support interactions based on the observed patterns: the physical interaction objects, the shareability of the space, and the non-responsive spaces.
  • Text Document
    Struggling against Social Isolation of the Elderly – The Design of SmartTV Applications
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Alaoui, Malek; Lewkowicz, Myriam
    This chapter charts a work in progress in the frame of the European project AAL FoSIBLE. Our hypothesis is that virtual networks and online generational communities could offset the lack of relationship, prevent isolation and increase self-esteem for older people living alone at home. Following this purpose, we are then aiming at defining services by rethinking the use of well-known existing technologies and to broaden their scope to be more affordable by older people. This chapter describes related work on the use of the Internet for social interactions among the elderly. The living Lab approach we follow and our results on understanding the actual use and needs of the elderly are presented, followed by the SmartTV platform which is iteratively developed. The analysis of the use of this platform being designed in a user-centred approach will permit us to answer our research issues.
  • Text Document
    Establishing a Core Health Record
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Larsen, Eli; Ellingsen, Gunnar
    Information and communication technology (ICT) has become important for many public services as they seek to become more efficient and effective. Authorities in Norway have since 1997 formulated strategic plans for ICT in healthcare, striving to obtain seamless care and funding in varying degree have been allocated in order to achieve results. In this chapter we present several initiatives concerning the establishment of a core health record in order to reveal the effects of running ICT projects at a governmental level. The study adheres to an interpretive research approach. Empirical data was collected through project participation, document studies, interviews and observations. We found that the consequences of the authorities‟ influence in the information system domain in Norwegian healthcare seem to separate the users from the system developers to an ever-increasing extent. We also found that reforms in the hospital sector have created a powerful ICT organization in the hospital sector
  • Text Document
    Examining multiactivity using multi-camera recordings: The use of text chat in a call center
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Lan Hing Ting, Karine
    Call center work cannot be reducible to talking on the phone. Parallel to their talk, call center agents manage computer / screen activity and collaboration with coworkers present on the floor. The situated work activity that is achieved is an artful management of several forms of interaction occurring simultaneously. Among these parallel activities is the use of text chat. This keyboard writing of short messages is a quick and easy way to share information and coordinate action. More importantly, being a ‘silent’ communicative medium and modality, it allows coordination with colleagues to occur at the same time as the phone call. Focusing on text chat allows a questioning of the place and use of computer technologies in call center work. However, in order to fully understand how this artifact supports collaborative work, it is important to examine the multiactivity the agent is engaged in. The analyses of the whole situation of work presented in this chapter are based on multi-camera video extracts, giving access to the phone conversation, the screen activity and content, verbal communication and gestures with co-workers around.
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    The clinical work of secretaries: Exploring the intersection of administrative and clinical work in the diagnosing process
    (COOP 2012: 10th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems, 2012) Møller, Naja L. Holten; Vikkelsø, Signe
    Diagnostic work is often defined by the skill of clinicians whereas the contributions of non-clinicians, for example secretaries, tend to fade into the background. The secretaries are deeply involved in diagnostic work through the eligible administration of patients in the collaborative electronic information systems. This study explores the secretaries’ role in diagnostic work, focusing specifically on the context of diagnosing cancer. It identifies four key activities of secretaries that are essential for diagnosing patients: examining the patient’s condition, interpreting the clinical information, monitoring the follow-up, and further informing the patient’s trajectory. We argue that secretaries’ role is positioned at the intersection of clinical and administrative practices and not limited to support of articulation work of clinicians and administrative work. Secretaries also carry out activities that fall under the core definition of clinical work. This clinical dimension of the secretaries’ work, we argue, should be embedded in the design of collaborative systems to support the diagnosing process.