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Computing, despite the relative brevity of its history, has already evolved into a subject in which a fairly large number of subdisciplines can be identified. Moreover, there has been a noticeable tendency for the different branches of the subject each to develop its own intellectual culture, tradition and momentum. This is not, of course, to suggest that any individ ual subdiscipline has become a watertight compartment or that developments in one branch of the subject have tended to take place in total isolation from developments in other related areas. Nevertheless, it does mean that a deliberate effort is required in order to bring different subdisciplines together in a fruitful and beneficial manner. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer Supported Coopera tive Work (CSCW) jointly constitute a good example of two branches of computing that have emerged separately and given rise to largely distinct research communities and initiatives. On the one hand, the history of AI can be traced back to the 1950s, the term II Artificial Intelligence" being generally attributed to John McCarthy, who first used it in print in 1956. "Computer Supported Cooperative Work", on the other hand, is a term of more recent coinage, having'been devised by Irene Greif and Paul Cashman in 1984.
List of contents
1 Towards a Cooperative Software Agent.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Cooperation: A Behavioural Metaphor for Software Agents.- 1.3 The Cooperative Machine.- 1.4 Conclusions.- 2 A Framework for Negotiation.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Context.- 2.3 The Framework.- 2.4 Communications Support.- 2.5 Task Support.- 2.6 Group Support.- 2.7 Conclusion.- 3 Environments for Cooperating Agents: Designing the Interface as Medium.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 History.- 3.3 Active and Passive Interfaces.- 3.4 The Interface as Medium.- 3.5 Adaptive Interfaces.- 3.6 An Experiment in Embodied Adaptivity.- 3.7 Conferences and Cooperation.- 3.8 Designing the Medium.- 3.9 Conclusions.- 4 Domain Knowledge Agents for Information Retrieval.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Agent Architecture.- 4.4 Knowledge Agents.- 4.5 Object-Oriented Implementation.- 4.6 Conclusion.- 5 Autonomous Agents in the Support of Cooperative Authorship.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 A Model of Cooperative Authorship.- 5.3 The Definition of Loquacious-Agents and their Document Environment.- 5.4 The Four-Layer Model of Agent Communication.- 5.5 An Example Using an Ls-Agent: Rapporteur.- 5.6 Discussion and Conclusion.- 6 Agency within CSCW: Towards the Development of Active Cooperative Working Environments.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Related Research.- 6.3 The Cooperative Working Platform.- 6.4 Conclusions.- 7 A Model for Supporting Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 The Scope for AI in CSCW.- 7.3 Organizational Decision Making and Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.4 A Model for Supporting Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.5 Modelling Communication in Multiparticipant Settings.- 7.6 Conclusion.- 8 A Functional Model of Interacting Systems: A Semiotic Approach.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 An Overview of Interaction.- 8.3 A Detailed View of Interaction.- 8.4 Discussion H.- 8.5 Conclusion.- Appendix A: Examples of the Model in Action.- 9 Supporting Human Experts' Collaborative Work: Modelling Organizational Context Knowledge in Cooperative Information Systems.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 Related Work.- 9.3 FRESCO: Cooperating Expert Systems in Banking.- 9.4 Modelling Organizational Context Knowledge.- 9.5 A Multi-Layered Reference Coordination Architecture.- 9.6 Conclusions.- 10 Artificial Intelligence and Computer Supported Cooperative Working in International Contexts.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Communication Issues.- 10.3 Relevant Branches of AI.- 10.4 Communication Problems and the Role of AI.- 10.5 Conclusion.- 11 On the Definition and Desirability of Autonomous User Agents in CSCW.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Incorporating the Differing Viewpoints of Social Scientists and Computer Scientists.- 11.3 CSCW Task Domains.- 11.4 Group Stages and Group Functions.- 11.5 Conclusions.- References.- Name Index.
