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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the CSCW in collaborative 4D modelling and its user interface (UI)/interaction designs for prototyping. Four-dimensional (4D) modelling technology has potentials to integrate geographically dispersed planners to achieve collaborative construction planning. However, applying this technology in teamwork remains a challenge in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW).

The research adopted user-centred design (UCD) methodology to investigate a usable 4D collaboration prototype through analysis, design and usability testing. By applying CSCW theories, it first clarified the meaning of 4D CSCW to formulate design propositions as design target. By leveraging UCD theories, subsequently, the first-stage research sought an optimal standalone 4D modelling prototype following a parallel design approach. At the second stage, it further investigated into a collaborative 4D modelling prototype using an iterative design. It adopted collaborative task analysis into the UI/interaction design extension for a collaborative prototype based on results obtained from the first stage. The final usability testing was performed on the collaborative prototype to evaluate the designed CSCW and UI in a controlled geographically dispersed teamwork situation.

The test results and user feedback verified their usability. It also disclosed design weaknesses in collaborators’ awareness and smooth tasks’ transitions for further enhancement.

The combination of CSCW and UCD theories is practical for designing collaborative 4D modelling. It can also benefit designs for collaborative modelling in other dimensions like cost analysis, sustainable design, facility management, etc. in building information modelling.

Commercial software systems intended to support the work of groups are now freely available. However, uptake of these systems has been relatively poor and limited user experience has been reported. Presents some experiences from a study of a network that explicitly aims to investigate the effectiveness of computer‐supported co‐operative work (CSCW) tools. Focuses on the currently hidden cost of managing the network. Also explores the implications for CSCW systems development by outlining an exploration of support for the management of a CSCW network.

Computer supported collaborative working (CSCW) is an extension to groupware computing which recognizes that there is a need to go further than supporting existing ways of working by using technology to underpin innovative forms of work organization and practice. Outlines the government‐backed initiative to raise the awareness of CSCW and briefly describes the exemplar projects being funded under the initiative.

This paper sets out to highlight conclusions from computer‐supported cooperative work (CSCW) research, which are relevant to e‐learning environments, in this case, WebCT.

The paper analyses the CSCW literature and identifies the main findings relating to the use and acceptance of collaborative technologies. These findings are applied to the analysis of 65 free‐form accounts of the use of WebCT obtained from student users in a higher education institution.

The challenges to cooperative work tools widely demonstrated within the CSCW research community since the early 1990s are alive and well in the context of e‐learning technology more than ten years later. In particular, there is strong evidence of discrepancies in benefits for different stakeholders, the need for a critical mass of users, and problems with lack of fit with social norms.

Conclusions are based on computing students from one institution, but there is no reason to believe that the sample is atypical.

The conclusions identify a need for stakeholder involvement in the introduction of e‐learning environments in the tradition of participative design.

The paper brings well‐established findings from the CSCW community to the e‐learning domain.

The purpose of this paper is to expand understanding of the factors that affect knowledge sharing in construction organizations. The outcome of this study will enable further understanding of knowledge sharing in construction and will therefore contribute towards successful implementation of knowledge sharing as part of organizational knowledge management (KM) initiatives in construction organizations.

A survey was conducted of the 2005 Engineering News Record Top 400 US contractors to assess their perceptions of how factors such as organizational culture (OC), trust and information technology (IT) impact knowledge sharing in their construction organizations.

The survey respondents strongly agreed on the perception that a proper organizational culture will enhance mutual trust in the organization. The respondents also perceived that IT will assist but not motivate people in sharing their knowledge and that not all types of knowledge can be shared using IT.

The results are limited to the respondents' perceptions of how knowledge is shared in large construction organizations. By encouraging the participation of a larger number of construction companies, a higher confidence level can be achieved for the responses.

Knowledge sharing is one of the key processes in KM and, as such, understanding the perceptions of how knowledge is shared in large construction organizations is very important in their implementation of KM.

Very few studies have been conducted in the USA on the perceptions of management level employees about knowledge sharing in large construction organizations. The study is an important first step in collecting such data.

This paper describes how an area of computer science research, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, can be applied to world of libraries. Collaborative activities can be described by whether they occur in the same time and in the same place. These activities can be broadly arranged into three groups depending on the participants: staff‐staff, user‐staff and user‐user interactions. Applying computer technology to these activities requires careful consideration of the work practices involved and the costs and benefits of any changes.

Suggests that simulation of the workflow component of a computer supported co‐operative work (CSCW) system has the potential to reduce the costs of system implementation, while at the same time improving the quality of the delivered system. Demonstrates the value of being able to assess the frequency and volume of workflow transactions using a case study of CSCW software developed for estate agency co‐workers in which a model was produced based on a discrete‐event simulation approach with implementation on a spreadsheet platform.

Describes the Grace Project, its goals and scope. The aim of Grace is to build distributed group communications tools within an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking environment. Grace provides the foundations for a globally distributed system for cooperative working based on information sharing within activity and organizational domains. Introduces a conceptual model of group communications derived from analysing sample activities. Outlines architecture of Grace and explains the use of existing OSI services. Examines two prototype activities: a Help desk in detail and Computer Conferencing in outline. Discusses the implications of trying to control the access to the above type of tools. Briefly describes the status of group communications standardization.