Authors:
Ivan Tomek
;
Rick Giles
;
Li Di
and
Hai Zhang
Affiliation:
Jodrey School of Computer Science, Acadia University, Canada
Keyword(s):
Groupware, socialware, software framework, paradigm.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Communities of Interest
;
Communities of Practice
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Social Networks and Organizational Culture
;
Society, e-Business and e-Government
;
Tele-Work and Collaboration
;
Web Information Systems and Technologies
Abstract:
As the use of information technology and Internet grows and as globalization of economy increases geographical dislocation of work teams, electronic support for collaboration (groupware) assumes increasing importance. Yet, there is little agreement on the best direction of its design. One of the natural approaches is partial emulation of physical work space by software but influential literature argues against this and it appears that current groupware follows this opinion. This paper presents both sides of this debate, argues that easily adaptable space-based groupware is the most powerful and fruitful underlying metaphor, and describes the principles of an application built on this principle. It is also noted that because groupware and socialware face similar challenges and have similar needs, a common framework could simplify their development and improve their quality.