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Hermeneutics, Information and Representation
European Journal of Information Systems
Abstract
Abstract Bydrawing from semiology, epistemology and philosophical hermeneutics, we discuss the way CSCW models data, situation and activity—information representation. We point ,out similarities between ,discourse in hermeneutics ,and inthe anthropology and sociology that predominates in CSCW, and propose that ahermeneutic,perspective offers a unifying ,view ,on the ,social science and computer science within CSCW. We discuss formalisation, adaptation, and objectivity in our theories, methodologies and implementations, and offer collaborative filtering and its extension, the path model, as examples of practical approaches to information representation that show, support and adapt with activity in a hermeneutic style.
... This includes, for example, attempts to codify human reality into formal definitions. Accordingly, representations of phenomena are fixed and based on logics and exclude representations of individuals' context and situation (Chalmers, 2004). ...
... The development of knowledge organization (KO) has strongly been influenced by empiricism and logical positivism. However, an increasing attention to other theoretical approaches, and in particular to hermeneutics, can be found in many theoretical studies in KO and related fields (Chalmers, 2004;Cole & Avison, 2007;Fonseca & Martin, 2005;Hansson 2004;Hjørland, 2007). With its basic idea of the 'situatedness' of understanding, contemporary hermeneutics has the potential to become a theoretical background on the basis of which new forms of knowledge organization systems (KOSs) are conceived. ...
... Meaning is inter-subjectively created and acquired through interpretation experiences. However, if our understanding always depends on a given fore-structure, any act of interpretation can itself contribute to changing this structure, in a process described as the hermeneutic circle (Chalmers, 2004). The information in IS development with a hermeneutic approach is not merely data and facts, but also representations built through interpretation and dialogue supplying meaning and context to actions. ...
This paper considers how hermeneutics and other related theories may bring new insights into KO. They provide a most realistic representation of the complexity of knowledge and meaning according to which new forms of KOSs could be designed. Computational and conceptual aspects of these issues are discussed taking into account a number of case studies.
... Hermeneutics [CHALMERS, 2004] [MINGERS, 2001] is the qualitative methodology approach of this work. Dedicated to the theorization and methodology of discourse interpretation, also audio-visual and its material symbolisms, such as semiotics [MYERS, 2015]. ...
How your openly published personal data in Online Social Networks are used by other people? Not only organizations and companies are interested in them. From a qualitative approach, we present a hermeneutic of an episode of the TV series YOU, building an allegory that exposes the potential for cyberstalking and dataveillance. The romanticization and naturalization of these phenomena is tensioned, they are based on ethically dubious intentions and a semiotic discourse harmful to social sustainability.
... Vancity believes it is important that its annual reports mirror the language, key data, and information it uses in its internal management reports (Westwood 2014b). The aspect of language is key to the ability to integration (Chalmers 2004) that goes hand-in-hand with learning. The ability to take and use language is inherently an experimental process when incorporating this new resource and the discourse around it, as the initiator must wait to see if the desired communication (within a tolerable variance) is achieved. ...
Spain is a country with a long co-operative tradition, and it isone of the world’s most dynamic countries with regard to the creation of co-operative firms (Díaz-Foncea and Marcuello 2015). In this chapter we will investigate whether Spain ranks as one of the first countries in the world to collect statistics on these organizations. Specifically,the chapter aims to present the data sources on the co-operative sector in Spain and connect them with statistical databases available in this country in the business field. To do this, we first describe statistical sources on business in Spain that have historically been used by researchers. Second, we describe the available data sources in the specific field of co-operatives. Finally, we present the limitations of these sources and some proposals to improve the current situation.
... bibliologią i informatologią oraz interakcją człowiek-komputer. W dyskursie naukowym obecne jest zagadnienie zastosowania metodologii hermeneutycznej w projektowaniu systemów informacyjnych (Chalmers, 2004;Cole & Avison, 2007;Myers, 1994), systemów organizacji wiedzy (Mai, 1998;Mazzocchi & Bosch, 2008), czy też w procesie interakcji z cyfrowymi usługami informacyjnymi (Jahnke, 2011;Voida, 2008;Winograd & Flores, 1987). ...
Cel/Teza: Celem artykułu jest próba charakterystyki architektury informacji (AI) z punktu widzenia możliwości zastosowania hermeneutyki jako teorii, która może wyznaczać pewne ramy interpretacyjne dla tego obszaru badawczego oraz dać jego podstawy epistemologiczne i metodologiczne. Punktem wyjścia do rozważań jest teza L. Rosenfelda, P. Morville’a i J. Arango o roli rozumienia i interpretacji w projektowaniu architektury informacji.Koncepcja/Metody: W warstwie metodologicznej artykuł opiera się na interpretacji modelu architektury informacji autorstwa L. Rosenfelda, P. Morville’a i J. Arango z punktu widzenia założeń hermeneutyki H. G. Gadamera oraz cyfrowej hermeneutyki R. Capurro.Wyniki i wnioski: Zastosowanie podejścia hermeneutycznego zarówno do projektowania jak i badania architektury informacji wyznacza określoną postawę poznawczą, w której przyjmuje się założenie o kulturowych i kontekstualnych determinantach organizacji wiedzy oraz wprowadza się koncepcję przed-sądów, które tworzą horyzont rozumienia użytkowników informacji. W takim ujęciu AI wiąże się z projektowaniem pewnej oferty znaczeniowej, której środkiem ekspresji są systemy organizacyjne, etykietowania, nawigacji i wyszukiwania. Proces rozumienia tej oferty polega na hermeneutycznej koncepcji fuzji otwartego horyzontu rozumienia użytkownika i zamkniętego i zaprojektowanego horyzontu systemu informacyjnego. Proces rozumienia zachodzi w trakcie specyficznego rodzaju konwersacji użytkownika z systemem, którego ramy wyznacza model interakcji.Oryginalność/Wartość poznawcza: Postawy poznawcze charakterystyczne dla hermeneutyki i fenomenologii hermeneutycznej widoczne są w dyskursie w ramach architektury informacji. Mają one charakter raczej heurystyk, nie zaś spójnej refleksji teoretycznej. Zaproponowany zarys hermeneutycznej koncepcji architektury informacji może stanowić punkt wyjścia do dyskusji nad teorią AI, szczególnie w kontekście prób uczynienia z niej dyscypliny akademickiej.
... So we take an interpretive stance, because human interaction and valuation is subjective. We iterate around a hermeneutic circle, between ecosystem, organisational and individual level perspectives so as to consider an interdependent whole (Klein and Myers, 1999;Chalmers, 2004). Using ecological concepts in the innovation domain is novel, which suggests a qualitative approach because our investigation is concerned with initial questions of 'how' and 'why' rather than of 'how many'. ...
This paper proposes a set of perspectives for studying innovation ecosystems that are based on ecological research. Our perspectives are based on fundamental similarities between natural and business systems. We suggest that innovation ecosystems can be defined as pathways of interlinked business models. Pathways are characterised by the flows they convey not the types of business model that support the flows. These pathways convey material and informational resources, as well as value. Like the nutrient and energy pathways in natural ecosystems. Pathways help to recycle scarce resources such as customer attention and customer-derived information. Business model descriptions are similar to an organism's genome in that they describe limitations on sensing, acting and understanding. We conceptualise this as the ‘umwelt’; the self-world. These limitations have implications for how firms and customers interact with customers. They have other implications for how firms interact with each other in business model communities and how they accommodate each other.
... In our investigation we cycled around a hermeneutic circle, between the policy level of the regulator, the whole port level of the port landlord and the operational level of individual port stakeholder firms. This enabled us to perceive an interdependent whole (Klein and Myers, 1999;Chalmers, 2004). We chose the case as an extreme case because its multiple levels of government, port landlord and port operations firms represented port resilience planning phenomena for a whole country (Eisenhardt, 1989). ...
Port resilience planning is a subset of the wider disaster resilience literature and it is concerned with how port stakeholders work together to make port systems more resilience. Port stakeholders include government departments, the port operator, ship operators, importers, agents and logistics firms. Ports are vital for the operation of cities and whole countries, especial island nations like the UK. Single port systems are multi-level systems with complex operational-level relationships and interdependencies. Additional levels to this include government and the policy-level. Preparing for the crises and disasters that might befall ports requires information sharing between stakeholders about key dependencies and alternative actions. The complexity of ports presents barriers to information sharing; as do commercial and political sensitivities. This paper uses a multi-level case study on the UK's system of ports to propose an approach to information sharing that uses the subjectivity of information from a supplier's perspective and from a user's perspective to reduce barriers of complexity, confidentiality and political sensitivity.
... unravelling the political dimension of information systems design (Boland and Day, 1989;Myers and Young, 1997); re-constructing the information richness of management reports (Boland, 1991) or email communications (Lee, 1994); analysing information systems failures (Davis, et al., 1992); specifying designs for computer-supported collaborative work (Chalmers, 2004); and understanding the use of online shopping systems (Cole and Avison, 2007). However, the primary intention in revisiting these studies was to discover whether the potential relativism of interpretations was thematised and if so in what ways. ...
Relativist interpretations are often portrayed as a consequence of different assumptions on a methodological level. Relativism implies that the findings of qualitative and quantitative research co-exist but remain incomparable due to the lack of an overarching frame of reference. This is not a concern if findings from different research approaches complement or support each other, but seems problematic if methodological differences lead to conflicting recommendations with regards to the same problem. This paper argues that relativism is not an unavoidable corollary of methodological pluralism, if the application of research methods is understood hermeneutically. Methodologies have a double functionality in that they scaffold the individual researcher's process of inquiry as well as enable research findings to be communicated to and replicated by a wider community. Rather than aiming for an all-encompassing framework on a meta-theoretical level, it is suggested to hermeneutically construct audit trails of research. A case study investigating the value of a virtual meeting room is used to demonstrate the application of hermeneutic principles, capturing the trajectory of interpretations from surface and structure to in-depth. The suggested interpretive research method derives its epistemological and ontological foundations from Ricoeur's hermeneutic arc.
... This study would adapt an interpretivism research. According to Chalmers (2004) Interpretivism is also known as hermeneutics approach. Interpretivism is the study and theory of understanding statements common to the interpretation of the text. ...
... Hermeneutics has been regarded in the field of AI, first and foremost by Winograd & Flores (1987). Additional contributions include Mallery, Hurwitz & Duffy (1992); Chalmers (1999) and Fonseca & Martin (2005). There seems still to bee a need for a more direct application of historicist/hermeneutical/pragmatic approaches to knowledge reoresentation. ...
... So we take an interpretive stance, because human interaction and valuation is subjective. We iterate around a hermeneutic circle, between ecosystem, organisational and individual level perspectives so as to consider an interdependent whole (Klein and Myers, 1999;Chalmers, 2004). Using ecological concepts in the innovation domain is novel, which suggests a qualitative approach because our investigation is concerned with initial questions of 'how' and 'why' rather than of 'how many'. ...
... Given that different study participants working in different parts of the video ecosystem have different understandings of the industry, and no one has a complete picture of the complex ecosystem, a hermeneutic approach to analyzing the data was employed (Chalmers, 2004;Myers, 1995). This allows for a consistent and coherent understanding of the research context and problem under investigation. ...
The telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries face significant changes as technological innovations, shifting consumer behavior, and new business models reshape the industry. The video entertainment sector, which spans these industries, exemplifies how the traditional linear value chain transforms as platform-based business models play more pronounced mediation roles. Drawing upon insights from platform theory, this article synthesizes interviews with 22 executives at key positions throughout the video value chain to identify and confront three key questions that will define the future of the telecommunications, media, and entertainment sectors: (1) Who will come out on top as the video market transforms?; (2) Will people own content or only subscribe to video services?; and (3) Will advertising agencies maintain control of media buying? This article ascertains the critical factors and requisite conditions that will determine the answers to these questions and the future shape of the telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries.
... The choice of paradigm primarily determines the methodology of any study (Guba and Lincoln, 1998;Hyde, 2000). The study sought to understand a social phenomenon; thus the research strategy could be qualitative (Chalmers, 2004;Ponterotto 2005). In the present case, the central theme of the thesis was to achieve deeper insights into the issues at stake from a demographical and social context within which the problem is situated. ...
Unpublished Msc Thesis on the effects of power dynamics on user participation in watershed management. The study was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Integrated Watershed Management Network Project (funded by the European Union).
... Our objectives to study the strategic alignment of extended Information Systems in NPO put the interpretation of websites in the centre of our interest. A hermeneutical approach gives us the opportunity to make links between the explanation of the strategical context and the understanding of the situation in computer-supported collaborative work, by offering a unifyed view on the social science and computer science (Chalmers 2004). Because websites are mainly texts and actions, and because they are the concrete results of web strategies, we have been trying to interpret them in a hermeneutical approach. ...
Some NPOs are interested in IT as a means to meet the missing Prince Charming. The development of the network economy reinforces the need for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to have a clear understanding of the potential of information technology (IT) and the organizational impact of their Internet strategy. The concept of strategic alignment proposes a fit between global strategy, IT strategy, organizational infrastructure and IT infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between voluntary organisation strategy, infrastructure and internet strategy. This article offers a preliminary analysis of comparative case studies concerning two French voluntary organizations, the first of which (NPO1) has an economic strategy (service based activity) and the second (NPO2) a non-economic strategy (voice based activity). Counter intuitively, NPO1 has developed an efficient and open Web infrastructure for voice and intercreativity, while NPO2 has created a useful Web infrastructure to help the provision and the sharing of communication's services. In both cases, e-donors and cyber activists are key stakeholders. The paper concludes with a discussion of the complexity and the richness of NPO's Internet strategy, and the need for new approaches to understanding IT strategy in NPOs. More broadly, this work informs our understanding of the distinctive characteristics of NPOs.
... The neglect of hermeneutics is understandable given the relative absence of European social science perspectives in the founding of heritage interpretation in the United States in the early twentieth century and the belated translation of key hermeneutical texts into English in the 1970s. Over the past four decades, however, hermeneutics has emerged from relative marginality in Anglo-American scholarship to being a significant framework for research in diverse areas such as administration and management (Kress, 1995;Mercier, 1994;Noorderhaven, 2000;Prasad, 2002), consumer research (Arnold & Fischer, 1994), information systems (Boland, 1991;Chalmers, 2004;Myers, 1995), psychology (Martin & Sugarman, 2001;McMillan, 1999;Messer, 1988;Packer, 1985;Rommetveit, 1991;Widdershoven, 1999), communication studies (Arthos, 2000;Deetz, 1978;Radford, 2002;Stewart, 1992) and tourism research (Arcodia, 2005;Tribe, 2001). ...
This article re-examines the theoretical basis for environmental and heritage interpretation in tourist settings in the light of hermeneutic philosophy. It notes that the pioneering vision of heritage interpretation formulated by Freeman Tilden envisaged a broadly educational, ethically informed and transformative art. By contrast, current cognitive psychological attempts to reduce interpretation to the monological transmission of information, targeting universal but individuated cognitive structures, are found to be wanting. Despite growing signs of diversity, this information processing approach to interpretation remains dominant. The article then presents the alternative paradigm of hermeneutics through the works of Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer, to provide a broader interpretation of interpretation. This not only captures the essence of Tilden's definition but construes heritage interpretation as a more inclusive, culturally situated, critically reflexive and dialogical practice.
... Hermeneutics is an interpretation technique to identify the meaning of a text. It was pioneered by Gadamer [79] and Ricoeur [80], and is well accepted in IS research (e.g.81828384). Hermeneutics is a dialectic process, using a cycle that iterates over repeated interpretations of a text before different backgrounds of understanding . ...
A prominent high-level ontology is that proposed by Mario Bunge. While it has been extensively used for research in IS analysis
and conceptual modelling, it has not been employed in the more formal settings of semantic web research. We claim that its
specification in natural language is the key inhibitor to its wider use. Consequently, this paper offers a description of
this ontology in open, standardized knowledge representation formats. The ontology is described both in UML and OWL in order
to address needs of both semantic web and conceptual modelling communities.
... Even for instance, GPS coordinates are only valid within their social frame, which in this case is a very wide frame. Chalmers [18], in accordance with Ricoeur and Gadamer, writes: " 'Objectivity' comes from distanciation: representation is fixed, dissociated from intention and only displays universally shared references. […] objectivity is not absolute. ...
This paper revisits the notion of context from an interaction design perspective. Since the emergence of the research fields
of Computer supported cooperative work and Ubiquitous computing, the notion of context has been discussed from different theoretical
approaches and in different research traditions. One of these approaches is Embodied Interaction. This theoretical approach
has in particular contributed to (i) challenge the view that user context can be meaningfully represented by a computer system,
(ii) discuss the notion of context as interaction through the idea that users are always embodied in their interaction with
computer systems. We believe that the particular view on users context that the approach of Embodied Interaction suggests
needs to be further elaborated in terms of design. As a contribution we suggest an integrated approach where the interactional
view of Embodied Interaction is interrelated with the representational view of Context-aware computing.
... In selecting the texts, we realized that it is generally not possible to investigate "all the material relevant to a particular problem" [81]. On similar lines, Chalmers [9] notes that "…'texts' can be… finite, yet useful…" In a deductive study, this point particularly holds true, given that even one instance of mismatch between the predictions and evidence may be sufficient to cast doubt on the proposition in question [45]. ...
Mobile work is emerging as an area of major importance in healthcare. However, past literature on this topic remains largely anecdotal, fragmented, and atheoretical. In this paper, we address this gap and adapt the DeLone and McLean model of IS success to the context of mobile work in healthcare, and articulate specific propositions. We then deductively evaluate each proposition based on studies reporting mobile device use in the healthcare context. Through this rigorous evaluation process, we are able to deliver a revised theoretical model that presents a consolidated view of the literature in the area of mobile work in healthcare.
... Analysis and interpretation works have to base on prior knowledge [3]. The prior knowledge includes domain knowledge and adopted existing requirements in requirements analysis works. ...
Requirements conflicts analysis is one of most crucial activities in successful software engineering projects. Activity diagrams
are a useful standard for modeling process behaviors of systems. This paper utilizes ontological approach to analyze conflicts
in the requirement specifications of activity diagrams. The proposed conflicts analysis method includes a modeling process
and a set of conflicts detection rules. Several scenarios of electronic commerce are also provided for demonstrating the validity
of the proposed rules. The benefits of the proposed method are threefold: (1) The method provides systematic steps for modeling
requirements and ontologies. (2) This method also offers a set of questions for facilitating requirements elicitation about
activity diagrams. (3) The proposed rules can systematically assist in requirements conflicts detection.
... This iterative methodology also addresses the problem of "correct" interpretation of the ontology and the language specifications. As both specifications are texts that must be read and interpreted, the iterative methodology follows the hermeneutic cycle (Gadamer, 1976;Ricoeur, 1976), recognized as essential in interpretive IS research (Boland, 1985;Chalmers, 2004;Myers, 1995;Prasad, 2002). This prevents premature assignment of meaning and allows the entire meaning of the language and ontology specifications to emerge. ...
Understanding the business is an important step in information system (IS) development. Concep- tual models are descriptions of the organizational con- text for which a system is developed, and are used to help understanding this context. However, conceptual modelling methods do not provide well-formalized ways to create domain descriptions. On the other hand, in the area of IS design and software modelling, languages exist (such as UML) that possess a high level of for- mality. Extending the use of these IS design languages to conceptual modelling, even though they have not been specifically intended for this, can lead to several advantages. In particular, it can enable the use of similar notation in several stages of system development. However, while object-oriented constructs such as ''ob- ject'' and ''operation'' have clear meaning in the context of software design, it is not clear what they might mean in terms of the application domain, and no rules or guidelines exist for using them to create useful descrip- tions of such domains. This paper suggests specific semantics for object-oriented constructs based on a mapping between ontologically derived concepts and object-oriented language constructs. The paper also proposes modelling rules to guide the construction of object-oriented conceptual models and to assure that such models describe only ontologically feasible appli- cation domain situations. While the results are applica- ble to object-oriented constructs in general, UML is used as an example. A case study to test the use of the proposed semantics and modelling rules is described.
... This iterative methodology also addresses the problem of "correct" interpretation of the ontology and the language specifications. As both specifications are texts that must be read and interpreted, the iterative methodology follows the hermeneutic cycle (Gadamer, 1976;Ricoeur, 1976), recognized as essential in interpretive IS research (Boland, 1985;Chalmers, 2004;Myers, 1995;Prasad, 2002). This prevents premature assignment of meaning and allows the entire meaning of the language and ontology specifications to emerge. ...
An important step in developing the requirements for an information system is analyzing the application domain. In this step, conceptual models are used for representing an application domain. However, while languages for software design are available and widely used, no generally accepted language exists for conceptual modeling. This work suggests the use of object-oriented software modeling languages also for conceptual modeling. Such use can support a more accurate transition from domain models to software models. As software-modeling languages were not intended for modeling application domains, their constructs lack the required semantics. While previous papers addressed the representation of structural elements of domains using object concepts, this paper addresses behavioral aspects, related to change and interaction. The proposed semantics are based on a mapping between ontological concepts that describe behavior and object-oriented constructs related to dynamics. Based on these mappings, modeling rules are proposed to guide the modeler in creating ontologically well-formed models. The mappings and rules are exemplified using UML and are demonstrated using a case study.
... The academic discipline of information systems has long been aware of and accepted hermeneutical research, but has produced only a modest number of papers in which hermeneutical approaches have played a prominent role. Using ProQuest/ABI-Inform and Academic Search Complete, a search of the Association for Information Systems' 'basket' of top journals reveals just 12 articles for which the term 'hermeneut*' appears in the title or abstract: Butler (1998); Butler & Murphy (2007); Chalmers (2004); Cole & Avison (2007); Dickey et al. (2007); Huang & Watson (1998) ; Dabrowska & Cornford (2000); Lee (1994a); Linden & Cybulski (2009); Tingling & Parent (2004); Whitley (1999); and Zahedi et al. (2006). Of course, there are also instances of hermeneutical information systems research appearing in articles published in other equally respected academic journals, in articles where the term 'hermeneut*' does not appear in the title or abstract, and in articles appearing in volumes not yet electronically indexed; they include Boland & Day (1989); Boland et al. (1994); Davis et al. (1992); Klein & Myers (1999); Myers (1995); and Sarker & Lee (2006). ...
We conduct a case study of a laboratory experiment involving a group support system and explain how it went awry. We take the perspectives of the experiment's human subjects and the researchers themselves as the basis on which to interpret what happened in the experiment. We interpret the researchers as imputing, to the human subjects, the ‘conduit model’ of communication and the ‘calculator model’ of human information processing, which together constitute an instance of Ricoeur's hermeneutic ‘world behind the text’. We interpret the human subjects as importing, into the laboratory, their socially constructed world of personal friends, their histories and even their popular culture – a world that is an instance of Ricoeur's hermeneutic ‘world in front of the text’. We explain the experiment's going awry as following from the researchers' not accounting for, much less being aware of, the disparity between the two worlds. In taking the human subjects and the researchers seriously as human beings, we make recommendations about how such experiments might be better conducted, particularly in information systems research.
... He (Boland 1991) proposed to view an information system and its output as text that could be interpreted and analysed by users and which could be assigned meaning by users. Today hermeneutics is a proven research method in Information Systems and has been successfully used in various research projects, e.g. to design a geographic information system (Gould 1994), investigate richness of email exchange in organisational context (Lee 1994), examine the design of information technologies (Coyne 1995), analyse IS projects success (Lukaitis and Cybulski 2004;Myers 1994), analyse approaches to representation in design for computer supported collaborative work (Chalmers 2004), examine PhD educational programs for students with or without prior professional experience (Klein and Rowe 2007), or to understand information within a managerial context (Introna 1997). ...
In this paper we investigate an approach to eliciting practitioners’ problem-solving experience across an application domain. The approach is based on a well-known ‘pattern mining’ process which commonly results in a collection of sharable and reusable ‘design patterns’. While pattern mining has been recognised to work effectively in numerous domains, its main problem is the degree of technical proficiency that few domain practitioners are prepared to master. In our approach to pattern mining, patterns are induced indirectly from designers’ experience, as determined by analysing their past projects, the problems encountered and solutions applied in problem rectification. Through the cycles of hermeneutic revisions, the pattern mining process has been refined and ultimately its deficiencies addressed. The hermeneutic method used in the study has been clearly shown in the paper and illustrated with examples drawn from the multimedia domain. The resulting approach to experience elicitation provided opportunities for active participation of multimedia practitioners in capturing and sharing their design experience.
... Our investigation of Manchester United's network is a multi-actor as well as a multi-level study so we take an interpretive stance, because of the subjective nature of human interaction, and iterate around a hermeneutic circle, between network and organisational level perspectives so as to consider an interdependent whole (Klein and Myers, 1999;Chalmers, 2004). The novelty of using hierarchy theoretical concepts in the inter-firm network domain points to a qualitative approach because our investigation is concerned with initial questions of 'how' and 'why' rather than of 'how many' and in seeking to answer 'how' and 'why'-type questions we follow Yin's recommendations (2003) and use a case study approach. ...
This paper investigates a particular type of coordination role called ‘network orchestration’. It uses a revelatory case study of the very large network orchestrated by Manchester United Football Club, a global sporting and entertainment brand that is partnered by some of the most successful consumer brands in the world and has an estimated 70 million fans (MUFC, 2007). We use business process modelling and systems theoretical concepts to investigate the complex horizontal and vertical relationships between partner firms and then develop a multi-level model of network operation, sustainability and governance. Inter-organisational networks are open systems that are sustained far from equilibrium by the constant flow of materials, energy and information that we have called a ‘value flow system’. Here we model the flow of commercial ‘value’ through the network that sustains it in a far from equilibrium state. The contribution for managers of orchestrator firms is an architectural model of the properties and mechanisms of network orchestration that aids value flow for network building and maintenance. The implication for coordination researchers is a development of Malone and Crowston's coordination theory (1994) via the novel introduction of Hierarchy Theory to this domain.European Journal of Information Systems (2007) 16, 628–642. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000702
Even as companies become aware of the powerful benefits Internet-of-Things (IoT) data can bring to their organization, the investment costs of deploying new sensors in the field keep IoT initiatives as distant goals for many firms. At the same time, firms are swimming in substantial amounts of “dark data” that are created by operational technology, transactional systems, and other “things” already deployed by the company. An estimated 90% of this data is currently dark, because most of these “things” were not designed to record data in ways that facilitate aggregation with information from other sources. Using relatively low-cost strategies, companies can begin accessing and exploiting this data gold mine today.
An important step in developing the requirements for an information system is analyzing the application domain. In this step, conceptual models are used for representing an application domain. However, while languages for software design are available and widely used, no generally accepted language exists for conceptual modeling. This work suggests the use of object-oriented software modeling languages also for conceptual modeling. Such use can support a more accurate transition from domain modes to software models. As software-modeling languages were not intended for modeling application domains, their constructs lack the required semantics. While previous papers addressed the representation of structural elements of domains using object concepts, this paper addresses behavioral aspects, related to change and interaction. The proposed semantics are based on a mapping between ontological concepts that describe behavior and object-oriented constructs related to dynamics. Based on these mappings, modeling rules are proposed to guide the modeler in creating ontologically well-formed models. The mappings and rules are exemplified using UML and are demonstrated using a case study.
Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is a prominent framework for analyzing and modeling cognitive work in sociotechnical systems. It derives from both engineering‐ and psychological‐based approaches for the study of human knowing and acting in technological contexts. Nonetheless, in its current form, the social dimension of CWA is underdeveloped. This study extends CWA as a requirements gathering framework for sociotechnical systems in terms of a broader meaning of “social,” derived from interpretive sociology. Specifically, this is achieved by providing convergence to the approaches of CWA, symbolic interactionism (SI) and sociotechnical systems. To achieve this convergence, CWA is extended in two significant ways. First, deriving from a hermeneutic (interpretive) viewpoint of SI, the ethnographic analysis is conducted. Along with this first extension, the fourth phase of CWA, Social, Organizational and Cooperation Analysis, is also extended using a hermeneutic mesh. These various concepts are demonstrated using an example of research in the work domain of small‐scale (micro and nano) robotics.
Resumen Vivimos en sociedades basadas en redes digitales de communicación, popularizadas y globalizadas. Tal vez sea esta una razón que explique por qué la hermenéutica haya perdido aparentemente el interés académico que tuvo en el siglo XIX como metodología de las ciencias humanas y en el siglo XX como autocomprensión de la existencia humana. La hermenéutica del siglo XXI enfrenta el desafío teórico y práctico de la técnica digital al que puede responder con un digital turn que desemboque en una hermenéutica digital. Este trabajo investiga el origen de la conjunción entre hermenéutica y técnica de la información. La hermenéutica de la red digital es paradójica ya que es la técnica digital misma la que posibilita el distanciamiento crítico de un sujeto hermenéutico “fuerte” y al mismo tiempo es dicho distanciamiento el que posibilita la crítica a un posible endurecimiento del code informacional cuya posibilidad prevee Lawrence Lessig.
Palavras llave hermenéutica; técnica de la información; red digital
Abstract We live in societies based on digital networks of communication that have become popular and globalized. This may account for the loss of the academic interest that hermeneutics enjoyed in the 19th century as methodology, and in the 20th century as self-understanding of human existence. Hermeneutics in the 21st century faces the challenge of digital technology. Can there be a digital hermeneutics? This paper explores the origin of the conjunction between hermeneutics and information technology. A hermeneutics of the digital network is paradoxical because digital technology itself enables both a critical analysis of a “strong” hermeneutical subject and a powerful informational code such as the one criticized by, for example, Lawrence Lessig.
Key words hermeneutics; information technology; digital networks
Resumo O artigo descreve e analisa três ferramentas de social bookmarking e dois sistemas de gerenciamento de referências voltados para o ambiente acadêmico em seus aspectos objetivos e subjetivos. Destaca o esquema de marcação de metadados como suporte para estudos infométricos e discute as condições motivacionais para o uso de tais sistemas, assim como potenciais zoneamentos discursivos advindos da análise de tags de descritores. Tece especulações sobre outras relações passíveis de serem encontradas nas estruturas formais dessas ferramentas, especialmente aquelas relativas à função da linguagem e a potencial composição de comunidades discursivas em ambientes virtuais colaborativos.
Palavras-chave: sistemas de social bookmarking; características; sistemas de gerenciamento de referências – características; marcação de recursos na web – motivação; marcação de recursos na web – infometria; software social – comunidades discursivas.
Abstract This article describes and analyses three academic social bookmarking tools and two bibliographic management systems as to their objective and subjective features. A metadata scheme was thoroughly examined as a support for infometric studies. It also presents an overall view of motivational aspects and potential discursive zones that can derivate from keyword tagging analysis.The final argument speculates about other relations found through the tagging assignment process that could disclose common language functions as well as unveil characteristics of discursive communities regarding virtual collaborative environments.
Keywords social bookmarking systems; bibliography management systems; social tagging motivation; social tagging informetrics; social software; discursive communities.
For quite some time, knowledge has been recognised to be an important driver of any present-day organisational process (Drucker, 1995; Lank, 1997; Alavi and Leidner, 2001). Because of its value to business, knowledge ought to be properly managed from the time of its creation, through its structuring and storage, to sharing and dissemination, and its eventual application (Nonaka, 1994).
Reverse innovation defines to the case where an innovation is acquired first in emerging economies before tricking up to rich nations. The reverse innovation concept that is spreading from developing to developed economies has been introduced by Immelt et al. (Harv Bus Rev 87:56–65, 2009) presently. Given its originality the reverse innovation concept still required to be combined with literature on features, diffusion, and the locus of innovation. Although example of reverse innovation are rare as it is still developing theoretical questions such as what types of innovations are probably spawn by the developing economies, why such innovations might spread to rich nations, what are the competitive benefits obtained by foreign and local companies to have fun in this process and how it influences the worldwide strategy and organization of multinational enterprises. Reverse innovation highlights in rich nations and sells their products in poor nations. Reverse innovation is performing the opposite. Reverse innovation also highlights the importance for reduced price point innovations emerging in developing globe to produce new market request back in richer economies. Reverse innovations also have global influence. Mainly, they have the importance to migrate from poor nations to rich ones. Reverse innovation needs a varied mindset flow of work and altogether paces for economically and socially consistent outcomes to develop. Reverse innovation fights to provide a powerful message because the data it provides is proper but not varied or new. Reverse innovation has two fundamental objectives: first is to support the organizations to grasp the theory underlying the process of reverse innovation and second is to offer them with practical guidance on how to perform the initiatives of reverse innovation. This study discusses in detail about the concept of reverse innovation, investigates its application in various industries in real time (Godrej, Tata Motors, and Philips), and explores how it can extend and enrich the mainstream theories of innovation. If understood and applied in a right way, reverse innovation strategy can play a significant role in today’s recovering markets. This is one area which is still unexplored. When world over is recovering, it is important to know that there lies a vast opportunity in exploring this new area in rural India. Reverse innovation can help us understand and tap rural market in India in a better way. This paper is an attempt to highlight some of the major benefits of adopting this marketing strategy and what should be future approach for this type of marketing strategy.
The aim of this paper is to examine the role of methodology in action research. It begins by showing how action research is nothing other than a modern 20th century manifestation of the pre-modern tradition of practical philosophy. It then gives an explanation of Aristotelian Tradition and draws on Gadamer's powerful vindication in order to show how action research functions to sustain a distorted understanding of what practice is. The paper concludes by outlining a non-methodological view of action research whose chief task is to promote the kind of historical self-consciousness that the development of practice presupposes and requires.
This paper considers how hermeneutics and other related theories may bring new insights into KO. They provide a most realistic representation of the complexity of knowledge and meaning according to which new forms of KOSs could be designed. Computational and conceptual aspects of these issues are discussed taking into account a number of case studies.
Resumo Apresenta proposta para agregar valor ao Sistema Eletrônico de Revistas da Universidade Federal do Paraná (OJS/SER/UFPR) a partir da exploração da estrutura e conteúdo da Research Support Tool (RST). Descreve os avanços obtidos até o momento, concentrados na elaboração de um diagrama de dimensões de qualidade para fontes de informação; na tradução dos termos do inglês para o português; na avaliação para permanência e descarte de fontes de informação default da ferramenta; e no modelo de resumo informativo das fontes a serem mantidas ou inseridas no Sistema. Discute os problemas recorrentes relativos às fontes de informação e sua recuperação, assim como as questões que surgem a partir de uma tecnologia de comunicação de ponta. Palavras-chave Metodologias em Gestão da Informação; Humanidades-Fontes de Informação; Fontes de informação-critérios de qualidade; Sistema Eletrônico de Revistas-Research Support Tool; Fontes de informação – descrição. Abstract This article presents a proposal for a value-added Research Support Tool (RST), which is part of the Open Journal System (OJS). It describes the proposal's achievements so far, such as: a multidimensional information sources quality criteria framework; the RST/Context terms in translation to Portuguese; evaluation of the default sources; and an abstract template for the sources to be maintained or incorporated into the System. It discusses the recurrent problems concerning information sources and information retrieval, as well as the questions arising from cutting-edge communication technology.
An important step in developing the requirements for an information system is analyzing the application domain. In this step, conceptual models are used for representing an application domain. However, while languages for software design am available and widely used, no generally accepted language exists for conceptual modeling This work suggests the use of object-oriented software modeling languages also for conceptual modeling. Such use can support a more accurate transition from domain models to software models. As software-modeling languages were not intended for modeling application domains, their constructs lack the required semantics. While previous papers addressed the representation of structural elements of domains using object concepts, this paper addresses behavioral aspects, related to change and interaction. The proposed semantics are based on a mapping between ontological concepts that describe behavior and object-oriented constructs related to dynamics. Based on these mappings, modeling rules are proposed to guide the modeler in creating ontologically well-formed models. The mappings and rules are exemplified using UML and are demonstrated using a case study.
This paper attempts to draw a quick sketch of some of the research that relates to the state of social tagging research today. The result is intended to be representative rather than exhaustive. The goal of indexing consistency is discussed and examined with respect to the specificities of differing indexing systems. The relation of indexing consistency with 'language-in-use' is discussed. We then proceed to take a look at a few examples of much older systems that relate closely with the lessons now being learned in social tagging today, in order to situate the present activity in its historical context - and examine a few approaches used for text-based search-and-retrieval and their relevance to tag corpora. To conclude, some distinctions between personal, social and global information management are discussed.
Information technology (IT) is often an enabler in bringing people together. In the context of this study, IT helps connect matchmaking service providers with those looking for love, particularly when a male seeks to meet and possibly marry a female from another country: a process which results in over 16,500 such ‘mail-order-bride’ (MOB) marriages a year in the United States alone. Past research in business disciplines has been largely silent about the way in which this process unfolds, the perspectives of the participants at different points of time, and the role of IT underlying the MOB matchmaking service. Adopting an interpretivist stance, and utilizing some of the methodological guidelines associated with the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM), we develop a process model which highlights: a) the key states of the process through which the relationship between the MOB seeker (the man) and the MOB (the woman) unfolds, b) the transitions between states, and c) the triggering conditions for the transitions from one state to another. This study also highlights key motivations of the individuals participating in the MOB process, the effect of power and the role it plays in the dynamics of the relationships, the status of women and how their status evolves during the MOB process, and the unique affordance provided by IT as the relationships evolve.
Multidimensional data are the foundation for OLAP applications. They can be provided in several ways: relational OLAP, multidimensional OLAP, or hybrid OLAP. The usage of the underlying technology, which is well understood and in most cases formally defined, does not resolve the issue of a missing vocabulary for multidimensional data on a conceptual level. Some basic definitions are broadly used; for example cube, dimension, and the operations like slice, dice, roll-up, and drill-down. When it comes to more sophisticated constructs like irregular hierarchies, different vocabulary exists. For the integration of different OLAP applications as well as for an easier development (each stakeholder has to use the same vocabulary in order to reduce misunderstandings and projects failures), we provide an approach for a comprehensive ontology of multidimensional data. It defines the vocabulary used during the design of OLAP and data warehouse applications. The ontology can be seen as a basis for (i) notation assessment by evaluating the notation against the BungeWandWeber model, (ii) the ontological engineering of new data warehouse and OLAP applications, and (iii) ontological model integration.
The study of the role of power in managing information systems (IS) still offers a major epistemological challenge to researchers in the field. Although significant work has been done, there is yet to emerge a research approach that permits a penetrating study of the phenomenon of power by virtue of adopting a Machiavellian stance. This paper proposes such an approach in the form of an interpretivist position combined with a theoretical framework whose origin lies in political science and the sociology of technology. In developing its philosophical argument, the paper compares three meta-theories that have been applied to study IS: Phenomenology, Critical Theory and Structuration Theory. All three are compared in terms of their epistemological position regarding the relationship between power and IS. We argue that, although enlightening, those meta-theories fail to unravel the hidden and strategic nature of power. The paper concludes by proposing a particular theoretical formulation that, rather than censoring power and politics, will provide the epistemological means for unravelling them.
Managing maintenance requests in information systems from stakeholders has been relatively neglected by academic researchers. This study proposes Enhancive Request Management (ERM), a method of managing enhancive requests from multiple stakeholders. The proposed method, based on hermeneutics, includes request formation, feedback, and conflict resolution processes. The request formation process is designed to handle the maintenance requests. The feedback process controls the changes of request formation results. And the conflict resolution process deals with diverse opinions. Besides, this work introduces a blog-based tool to support ERM. Two companies have tried this tool and provided some usage opinions. The empirical data reveals that the ERM methodology can improve request management works.
Empirical evidence suggests that individuals can hold different interpretations of a technology. In this research, I explore the question of where these different interpretations come from. What influences an individual s interpretation of a technology? And what is the nature of these interpretations? I explore these questions through studies of computer-mediated messaging systems, including instant messaging, photo-enhanced instant messaging, multimedia messaging (cameraphones), and mobile messaging (BlackBerries). In this research, I draw from philosophical hermeneutics, a domain of study examining the nature of interpretation, and present a technological hermeneutic, a descriptive theory of how individuals interpret technology how they come to understand the meaning of the technology in their own lives. This theory offers insight into the myriad resources individuals draw from when constructing an interpretation of technology, including their own experiences with related technologies as well as their interactions with others use and understanding of the technology. This theory also offers insight into the nature of the interpretive process. Interpretations are dynamic and evolving; individuals continually draw from new experiences, reengaging and reinterpreting technology. Interpretations are also hybrid and synthesized; individuals draw from multiple resources in an active process of interpretive bricolage. Ph.D. Committee Chair: Elizabeth D. Mynatt; Committee Member: Jay D. Bolter; Committee Member: Rebecca E. Grinter; Committee Member: W. Keith Edwards; Committee Member: Wendy A. Kellogg
Much of the Business Process Change (BPC) literature maintains that the use of computer-based tools for BPC-related tasks such as process modeling, simulation, and project management has a positive influence on business process redesign effectiveness. Our hermeneutic study of text and text analogues in two organizations reveals that the use of computer-based BPC tools can have two opposing effects on redesign effectiveness. We find that, consistent with the existing literature, such tools can indeed enhance redesign effectiveness by providing: 1) a structure to the redesign process; 2) cognitive support to the redesigners; and 3) a mode for standardized representation of the redesigns. However, we also discover that the autonomization of electronically represented redesigns and the organizational members' subsequent focus on standardized, detailed, and objectified representations (rather than on socially shared understandings) of the redesign, can lead to an alienation of the original redesigners from the business processes that they envisioned. This alienation, further amplified as a result of frequent and sometimes meaningless changes to the electronically objectified redesigns mandated by other BPC stakeholders in the organization, can contribute to inconsistencies in the redesign, thus resulting in a negative influence of BPC tools on redesign effectiveness. Our study 1) illustrates the use of the "hermeneutic circle" to understand the role of computer-based tools in business process redesign; 2) argues that the role of BPC tools can be better understood by focusing on the sociotechnical interaction of the redesigners with the BPC tools in an organizational context rather than by studying the tools in isolation; and 3) indicates that the effect of tools on redesign effectiveness depends on the relative strengths of the two opposing effects of BPC tool use discussed above.
The topic of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has attracted much attention in the last few years. While the field is obviously still in the process of development, there is a marked ambiguity about the exact focus of the field. This lack of focus may hinder its further development and lead to its dissipation. In this paper we set out an approach to CSCW as a field of research which we believe provides a coherent conceptual framework for this area, suggesting that it should be concerned with thesupport requirements of cooperative work arrangements. This provides a more principled, comprehensive, and, in our opinion, more useful conception of the field than that provided by the conception of CSCW as being focused on computer support for groups. We then investigate the consequences of taking this alternative conception seriously, in terms of research directions for the field. As an indication of the fruits of this approach, we discuss the concept of articulation work and its relevance to CSCW. This raises a host of interesting problems that are marginalized in the work on small group support but critical to the success of CSCW systems in the large, i. e., that are designed to meet current work requirements in the everyday world.
This paper investigates an important, yet under-researched topic in CSCW, namely shared, or common, information spaces. Precisely what is meant by this term, however, is not always obvious. We provide some background to work in the area, and then proceed to examine features of such spaces through examples. The work involved in both putting information in common, and in interpreting it, has often not been sufficiently recognized. We show how, in various ways, it often requires added work to place items in common, and open up the question of how this might affect use of the WWW, often seen as the ultimate common information space. While there is still a need for further elaboration of many dimensions of the concept, and linkage to related ideas, we believe that the issues raised by this exploration are of importance to the CSCW field.
The role of models in the design of computer systems to support interpersonal and cooperative work is examined. It is argued that the current generation of models over-emphasise determinism at the expense of interpretation in the work process. It is further argued that there are many cases in which designs pass between many different professional groups (office workers, managers, analysts, designers, programmers). Each of these groups has its own worldview and specialised language, and hence they are termed "semantic communities". When designs pass between semantic communities, something is lost and something is gained-- but the objects on which each community works are not commensurable. The distinct objects of work (office problems, analyses, designs, programs) do not map onto each other, and cannot be mutually tested using simple truelfalse criteria. This is termed a problem of "ontological drift", and arises whenever several distinct semantic communities work on the "same " system. It is suggested that the disparity so often observed between design expectations and the ways systems are actually used is therefore quite normal. Current efforts are directed at eliminating the disparity. We suggest that a more fruitful approach might be to accept that the final determination of a system rests with the users. In the long run this might give rise to different types of design principles than those used at the moment. In the short run, even the consciousness of this perspective could make significant differences to design dialogues and attitudes to "users".
The design of CSCW systems has often had its roots in ethnomethodological understandings of work and investigations of working settings. Increasingly, we are also seeing these ideas applied to critique and inform HCI design more generally. However, the attempt to design from the basis of ethnomethodology is fraught with methodological dangers. In particular, ethnomethodology's overriding concern with the detail of practice poses some serious problems when attempts are made to design around such understandings. In this paper, we discuss the range and application of ethnomethodological investigations of technology in working settings, describe how ethnomethodologically-affiliated work has approached system design and discuss ways that ethnomethodology can move from design critique to design practice: the advent of technomethodology.
Many collaborative and communicative environments use notions of "space" and spatial organisation to facilitate and structure interaction. We argue that a focus on spatial models is misplaced. Drawing on understandings from architecture and urban design, as well as from our own research findings, we highlight the critical distinction between "space" and "place". While designers use spatial models to support inter- action, we show how it is actually a notion of "place" which frames interactive behaviour. This leads us to re-evaluate spatial systems, and discuss how "place", rather than "space", can support CSCW design.
Design experience and theoretical discussion suggest that a narrow design focus on one tool or medium as primary may clash with the way that everyday activity involves the interweaving and combination of many heterogeneous media. Interaction may become seamless and unproblematic, even if the differences, boundaries and 'seams' in media are objectively perceivable. People accommodate and take advantage of seams and heterogeneity, in and through the process of interaction. We use an experiment with a mixed reality system to ground and detail our discussion of seamful design, which takes account of this process, and theory that reflects and informs such design. We critique the 'disappearance' mentioned by Weiser as a goal for ubicomp, and Dourish's 'embodied interaction' approach to HCI, suggesting that these design ideals may be unachievable or incomplete because they underemphasise the interdependence of 'invisible' non-rationalising interaction and focused rationalising interaction within ongoing activity.
: The study of cooperative work as a socially-situated activity has led to a focus on providing 'mechanisms' that more closely resonate with existing work practice. In this paper we challenge this approach and suggest the flexibly organised nature of work is better supported when systems provide a 'medium' which can be tailored to suit each participant's needs and organised around the detail of their work. This orientation towards 'medium' rather than 'mechanism' has consequences for cooperative system design, highlighting a need to allow participants to adapt details of policy currently embedded in the heart of the systems we build. We describe an approach which allows users to perform such 'deep customisation' through direct manipulation of user interface representations. Introduction A principal tenet of CSCW is that systems intended to support cooperative work should be sensitive to the context in which they will be used. A number of recent studies of cooperative work have highli...
Recent years have seen a shift in perception of the nature of HCI and interactive systems. As interface work has increasingly become a focus of attention for the social sciences, we have expanded our appreciation of the importance of issues such as work practice, adaptation and evolution in interactive systems. The reorientation in our view of interactive systems has been accompanied by a call for a new model of design centred around user needs and participation. This paper argues that a new process of design is not enough, and that the new view necessitates a similar reorientation in the structure of the systems we build. It outlines some requirements for systems which support a deeper conception of interaction, and argues that the traditional system design techniques are not suited to creating such systems. Finally, using examples from ongoing work in the design of an open toolkit for collaborative applications, it illustrates how the principles of computational reflection and metao...
Coyne examines the entire range of contemporary philosophical thinking—including logical positivism, analytic philosophy, pragmatism, phenomenology, critical theory, hermeneutics, and deconstruction—comparing them and showing how they differ in their consequences for design and development issues in electronic communications, computer representation, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and multimedia.
Designing Information Technology in the Postmodern Age puts the theoretical discussion of computer systems and information technology on a new footing. Shifting the discourse from its usual rationalistic framework, Richard Coyne shows how the conception, development, and application of computer systems is challenged and enhanced by postmodern philosophical thought. He places particular emphasis on the theory of metaphor, showing how it has more to offer than notions of method and models appropriated from science.
Coyne examines the entire range of contemporary philosophical thinking—including logical positivism, analytic philosophy, pragmatism, phenomenology, critical theory, hermeneutics, and deconstruction—comparing them and showing how they differ in their consequences for design and development issues in electronic communications, computer representation, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and multimedia. He also probes the claims made of information technology, including its presumptions of control, its so-called radicality, even its ability to make virtual worlds, and shows that many of these claims are poorly founded.
Among the writings Coyne visits are works by Heidegger, Adorno, Benjamin, Gadamer, Derrida, Habermas, Rorty, and Foucault. He relates their views to information technology designers and critics such as Herbert Simon, Alan Kay, Terry Winograd, Hubert Dreyfus, and Joseph Weizenbaum. In particular, Coyne draws extensively from the writing of Martin Heidegger, who has presented one of the most radical critiques of technology to date.
Excerpts available on Google Books (see link below). For integral book, go to publisher's website : http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1129815/ Translation by John B. Thompson.
Recommender systems assist and augment a natural social process. In a typical recommender system people, provide recommendations as inputs, which tile system then aggregates and directs to appropriate recipients. In some cases, the primary transformation is in the aggregation; in others, the system's value lies in its ability to make good matches between recommenders and those seeking recommendations. This special section includes descriptions of five recommender systems. A sixth article analyzes incentives for provision of recommendations. Recommender systems introduce two interesting incentive problems. First, once one has established a profile of interests, it is easy to free ride by consuming evaluations provided by others. Second, if anyone can provide recommendations, content owners may generate mountains of positive recommendations for their own materials and negative recommendations for their competitors. Recommender systems also raise concerns about personal privacy.
The received understanding of the status of formal organizational constructs in cooperative work is problematic. This paper shows that the empirical evidence is not as strong as we may have believed and that there is evidence from other studies that contradicts what we may have taken for granted for years. This indicates that the role of formal constructs is more differentiated than generally taken for granted. They not only serve as `maps' but also as `scripts'.
This paper focuses on the representation and access of Web-based information, and how to make such a representation adapt to the activities or interests of individuals within a community of users. The heterogeneous mix of information on the Web restricts the coverage of traditional indexing techniques and so limits the power of search engines. In contrast to traditional methods, and in a way that extends collaborative filtering approaches, the path model centres representation on usage histories rather than content analysis. By putting activity at the centre of representation and not the periphery, the path model concentrates on the reader not the author and the browser not the site. We describe metrics of similarity based on the path model, and their application in a URL recommender tool and in visualising sets of URLs.
Information retrieval, workflow, collaborative filtering and the path model can be considered as members of the family of approaches to information access. Although details of nomenclature and technique may vary, each is meant to provide people with access to useful information. In this paper we take a broad view over information access, drawing from philosophy and semiology in constructing a framework for comparative discussion. We use this framework to examine the information representations that underlie these four approaches, looking at phenomena included and excluded, the sharing of information amongst the community of use, interaction in terms of models of user activity and presentation of results, adaptation of system behaviour, and the inter-relationships of the representation's components. With deeper understanding of relative strengths and weaknesses, and characteristic emphases and assumptions, we can improve our selection, combination and development of information systems.
predicated on the belief that information filtering can be more effective when humans are involved in the filtering process. Tapestry was designed to support both content-based filtering and collaborative filtering, which entails people collaborating to help each other perform filtering by recording their reactions to documents they read. The reactions are called annotations; they can be accessed by other people’s filters. Tapestry is intended to handle any incoming stream of electronic documents and serves both as a mail filter and repository; its components are the indexer, document store, annotation store, filterer, little box, remailer, appraiser and reader/browser. Tapestry’s client/server architecture, its various components, and the Tapestry query language are described.
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