CSCW, Cooperation or Conflict?

Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems will undoubtedly play an important role in the application of information systems in the 1990s and beyond. The term "cooperative" is often taken for granted and it is assumed that CSCW users are willing and able to cooperate without any difficulty. This assumption ignores the possibility of conflict and, as a result, the expression, management and resolution of conflict are not supported. CSCW: Cooperation or Conflict? arose from a one-day meeting on computer supported cooperative work which examined the role of conflict in collaborative work. The aim of the meeting was to examine what people actually do when they say they are cooperating, and to assess how this affects the design of systems. The chapters of this book are fuller accounts of the work presented during the meeting. The first chapter presents a survey of studies of conflict in social psychology and related fields, providing both a summary of the main findings and a set of pointers into the literature. The subsequent chapters each present a different view of conflict, focussing particularly on the social and organizational settings, and the factors which lead to conflict. The earlier chapters provide conceptual frameworks for the study of various types of conflict, while the later chapters concentrate on the implications for CSCW. The book is the first to examine conflict from a CSCW perspective. It offers a unique snapshot of current research work in this exciting field, and establishes the importance of the issue. For the designer of CSCW systems, it offers insights into the role of conflict, and an analysis of some of the assumptions on which existing CSCW sytems have been based. For the student and researcher, it provides both an introduction to the area, and a set of in-depth studies suitable to inform future research.

List of contents

1 A Survey of Empirical Studies of Conflict.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Assertions about Conflict.- 1.3 CSCW Systems.- 1.4 Conclusions.- 2 The Social Dynamics of Systems Development: Conflict, Change and Organizational Politics.- 2.1 Social Factors in Design: Factor Research.- 2.2 The Dynamics of Design: Process Research.- 2.3 Process Studies of User Involvement.- 2.4 Design as Social Action: The Issue of Success.- 2.5 Models of Change: Punctuated Equilibrium.- 2.6 A Dialectical View of the Design Process.- 2.7 The Two Sides of User Involvement.- 2.8 The Psychoanalytic Perspective.- 2.9 Interpretation of the Case Studies: The Psychodynamics of Design.- 2.10 Conclusions.- 3 Cooperation Without Consensus in Scientific Problem Solving: Dynamics of Closure in Open Systems.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Science, Work and Problem Solving.- 3.3 Work is Collective: The Sui Generis Nature of Organizations.- 3.4 Scientific Theories are Open Systems.- 3.5 Plasticity and Coherence: The Paradox of Open Systems.- 3.6 The Dynamics of Coherence in Open Systems: The Clotting of Ideas and Practice.- 3.7 The Heterogeneity of Scientific Work.- 3.8 Heterogeneous Problem Solving and Boundary Objects.- 3.9 Types of Boundary Objects.- 3.10 Conclusions.- 4 Resolution of Inter-Individual Conflicts: A Mechanism of Learning in Joint Planning.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2 Sociocognitive Conflict.- 4.3 Focus in Discourse.- 4.4 Components of the Model.- 4.5 Inter-Individual Differences.- 4.6 First Study.- 4.7 Second Study.- 4.8 General Discussion.- 5 Cooperation and Conflict in Knowledge-Intensive Computer Supported Cooperative Work.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Cooperation and Conflict in Practice.- 5.3 The "Organization" of Organizations.- 5.4 Experts as People.- 5.5 Conclusion.- 6 Organizational Structures,Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Conflict.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Conflict in Cooperative Work.- 6.3 Stratified Systems Theory and "Levels" of Work.- 6.4 Cooperation and Conflict in Organizations: The Construction Industry.- 6.5 Organizational Issues and Conflict in Design Construction.- 6.6 Implications for the Design of Technology for Cooperative Working.- 6.7 Conclusion: Models of Organizations, the Nature of Work and Enhanceable Systems.- Going Off the Rails: Understanding Conflict in Practice.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Perspective on Cooperation and Conflict.- 7.3 Conflict in Practice.- 7.4 Going off the Rails: Requirements and Questions.- 7.5 Summary and Future Work.- 8 The Computer Won't Let Me: Cooperation, Conflict and the Ownership of Information.- 8.1 Theme.- 8.2 Background.- 8.3 Taxonomy.- 8.4 Ownership of Information.- 8.5 Consequences for CSCW Design.- 8.6 The MILAN System.- 8.7 Task Conflict in the Whiteboard.- 8.8 Ownership Conflict in the Video Views.- 8.9 Conclusions.- References.- Name Index.

Product details

• Assisted by: Stev Easterbrook (Editor), Steve Easterbrook (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.1993
• EAN: 9783540197553
• ISBN: 978-3-540-19755-3
• No. of pages: 211
• Weight: 360 g
• Illustrations: XVI, 211 p. 7 illus.
• Series: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW); Computer Supported Cooperative Work; Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
• Subject: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > IT