From DonD@cup.portal.com (Don Robert DeCosta)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Groupware Programs: Need reccomendations
Message-ID: <68706@cup.portal.com>
Date: 1 Nov 92 10:26:01 GMT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 12

Hi, we are starting to look at "Image Processing" at work and we are
divided into two camps.  The "other guys" see Image Processing as 
nothing more than Computerized Micro-Fiche while I am more interested
in groupware, work flow and document management.  I'm looking for
ideas, recommendations, personal experiences with currently available
products, anything from Lotus Notes to FileNet... Thanks.
 
Don DeCosta
DonD@cup.portal.com

Ps. The environment will be a NetWare LAN of PCs with an RS/6000
file server.


From joe@netcom.com (Joseph Jesson)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Lotus Notes
Keywords: groupware
Message-ID: <1992Nov1.151705.6737@netcom.com>
Date: 1 Nov 92 15:17:05 GMT
References: <1cfga4INN21p@male.EBay.Sun.COM> <1992Oct26.011925.20260@netcom.com>
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Lines: 13


Lotus Notes is an interesting product.  The user interface is excellent,
 and represents a fanatastic "news reader" to USENET fans.  Problems
 include the lack of external data access - the Notes backend is
 Netbios (ugh) and external gateways are few.  We must link into the
 Internet and AT&T Mail and Notes does not link into the VANs.

 Lotus Development is a REAL PROBLEM to deal with - too bad.  We had to
 purchase a SoftSwitch gateway for Notes (big bucks) to accomplish AT&T
 and Internet connections.  Anyway, I like Notes as a news and mail
 reader but the other problems drive you crazy.

joe


From wladimir@kik-11.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Wladimir Minenko)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware,comp.windows.interviews
Subject: Re: IP-address for GroupKit 1.0 (toolkit for real-time groupware)
Message-ID: <1d0utvINN1h7@eagle.dfki.uni-sb.de>
Date: 1 Nov 92 15:59:59 GMT
References: <Bwy46A.GIp@cpsc.ucalgary.ca> <1992Nov1.023005.1359@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>
Sender: gs-soft@gs-news.dfki.uni-sb.de
Organization: DFKI - German Research Center for AI
Lines: 17
NNTP-Posting-Host: gs-serv1.dfki.uni-sb.de

The IP-address is 136.159.2.1

PS. Do you use NIS ? Test the command: nslookup cpsc.ucalgary.ca

-- 
Regards

	Wladimir Minenko
	Project KIK-TEAMKOM

	DFKI GmbH		===>	German Research Center for
	Stuhlsatzenhausweg 3		Artificial Intelligence Inc.
	6600 Saarbruecken 11
	Germany
	Tel. +49-681-302-5294
	Fax. +49-681-302-5297
	e-mail: minenko@dfki.uni-sb.de


From Robert Goldstein <RG9514A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92307.180818RG9514A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: TQM AND GROUPWARE
Lines: 21

I am a graduate student an The American University and also work at The Federal
National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) in Washington, D.C.  I am presenting
a paper on TQM next February at the University of Miami (Quality and Productivi
ty Conference).  Fannie Mae, like most other large corporations, is committed t
o the quality movement.  Currently, this movement is in a very embryonic stage.
Top-management leadership and support does not currently exist but a few TQM ch
ampions have emerged.  The corporate culture is characterized as being Manageme
nt by Objective (MBO) and only a few steps have been taken toward TQM because "
corporate pain" has not ocurred - the corporation experienced profits of 4.6 bi
llion last quarter ('92).  My premise is that management paradigms must shift a
nd in order to stay on top, Fannie Mae must commit itself to the quality moveme
nt before this "pain" does occur.
     The corporation is also forming a large number of work groups.  These grou
ps must collaborate on a wide array of subjects related to the mortgage and fin
ancial industries.  TQM stresses the need for "employee empowerment" and "teamw
ork," but it is very difficult to find literature on how to include technology
in team-oriented processes.  Has anyone implemented a quality movement that enc
ompasses technology and Groupware in a team-oriented processes?  Has anyone com
e accross literature or studies on this subject matter?  Anyone with informatio
n, please respond.  Anyone attending the U. of Miami conference (also intereste
d in the Groupware concept and its relationship to TQM) please reply.


From RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Groupware for Macintosh
Message-ID: <92308.221506RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu>
Date: 4 Nov 92 03:15:06 GMT
Organization: The American University - University Computing Center
Lines: 7

I am interested in a real-time shared space for four to seven users in a Macint
osh environment. MS Mail just doesn't do it. We would like to be able to
communicate via a common window on each users machine. We have servers &
network in place.

AM I DREAMING?
all responses or alternate ideas are welcome.


From david@ruc.dk (David Stodolsky)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware,news.answers
Subject: Introduction to comp.groupware (Periodic informational Posting)
Supersedes: <groupware-intro_719643622@athena.mit.edu>
Followup-To: comp.groupware
Date: 4 Nov 1992 06:00:29 GMT
Organization: Roskilde University
Lines: 321
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Distribution: world
Expires: 2 Dec 1992 06:00:21 GMT
Message-ID: <groupware-intro_720856821@athena.mit.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pit-manager.mit.edu
Summary: Guidelines for posting to the Usenet newsgroup comp.groupware.
Keywords: CSCW, orgware, group, interactive, shared, environments
X-Last-Updated: 1992/10/06

Archive-name: groupware-intro
Last-modified: 1992/10/6
Version: 1.2

Please read carefully:
Any article posted to comp.groupware uses a minimum of ten hours of
readers' time. Do not post test messages to comp.groupware (see section
5 below). 

This article is posted automatically every 14 days to introduce the
group to the more than one thousand new readers that have subscribed
during that period. 

---------------- Contents (and revision information) ------------

Sections in this article (Revised in last modification)

0. Groupware is software and hardware for shared interactive
environments. (Revised ordering of paragraphs)
1. Set your distribution to "world".
2. Sign your article.
3. Comp.groupware is being archived. (Revised)
4. If you are posting copyrighted work...
5. Authors should refer to "Guidelines for posting on Usenet"...
(Revised)
6. When you reply to a message, do not change the subject line...
7. Comp.groupware is read by over 47,000 people.

------------ End of Contents (and revision information) ----------


0. Groupware is software and hardware for shared interactive
environments.

The term "environment" includes software and hardware that sets the
context for interaction. Hardware can include specially designed
furnishings and architectural spaces that are considered integral to
correct utilization of a given software application. A groupware
application may require a specific organizational environment to
function as expected. More powerful applications can adapt to, or
overcome limitations of, their environments.

The term "interactive" is used to indicate that time constraints are
managed by the system. Many groupware applications appear to support
real-time interaction. Others merely enforce deadlines that can span
weeks. In either case, the technical limitations on the pace of
interaction are made (to appear) negligible in terms of the objectives
of the application. Systems that exclude reference to real time are not
groupware applications.

The term "shared" indicates that two or more participants interact with
one another in such a manner that each person influences and is
influenced by each other person. No upper limit in the number of
participants is indicated, because mediated groups, as opposed to
natural ones, can maintain joint awareness with very large numbers of
persons. (Joint awareness is one way that "group" is defined.) An
objective of some groupware applications is to increase the number of
persons that can interact "as a group".

Some definitions of groupware include the notion of a common goal. While
all systems require some agreement among participants (at minimum that
they should be jointly used), interactions can be predominately
conflictual. Management of conflict is often a crucial feature of a
groupware system. Vote collecting systems are an example.

Definitions:

Group - Two or more persons who are interacting
with one another in such a manner that each person
influences and is influenced by each other person
(Shaw, M. E. _Group dynamics: The psychology of
small group behaviour_. 1976, p. 11).

Ware - 1 a) manufactured articles, products of art
or craft.... b) an article of merchandise.... 3) an
intangible item (as a service) that is a marketable
commodity. (_Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary_,
1976, p. 1319).


1. Set your distribution to "world". Comp.groupware is delivered to all
continents. Do not limit your chances for feedback by restricting
distribution. Restricted distribution can cause confusion when people
read responses to articles they have not seen. If you notice an article
has a restricted distribution, inform the poster by mail.

If you are restricted from posting to "world" by your administrator,
request a change in your privileges, at least for this newsgroup. If
refused, determine what your rights are in terms of appeal, based upon
information available at your site. An alternative is to use the Net to
find information and persons to contact concerning your rights. 
Try the newsgroups:

comp.org.eff.news
comp.org.eff.talk
misc.legal.computing
alt.society.civil-liberty
alt.comp.acad-freedom.news
alt.society.cu-digest

A frequently asked questions file can be retrieved by sending email to:
archive-server@eff.org, 
include the line "send caf-faq netnews.writing".
Information about the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) can be
requested from eff@eff.org. You can also retrieve information about EFF
and its projects via anonymous FTP from ftp.eff.org.

As a final resort, send a summary of your case to:

Carl Kadie (kadie@eff.org)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
155 Second Street
Cambridge, MA 02141, USA
Tel.: +1 (617) 864-0665
Fax: +1 (617) 864-0866.

If you can send email off-site, you can post using a Usenet-news mail
server. Email to "comp-groupware@ucbvax.berkeley.edu" is posted with the
subject line of your letter becoming the subject line of the article.
(Note: "." in the newsgroup name is written as "-".) This allows you to
post to a newsgroup even if you have read-only access to Network News.


2. Sign your article. Each name should have one and only one user. If
the article is a joint product, indicate this at the beginning and end
of the article. Some news reading programs allow certain names to be to
be automatically selected. Help the reader by using the same name at all
times. This will improve the chances that people will read your
articles.

The signature should include complete name, address, and telephone
number (this allows quick verification in case forgery is suspected).
E-mail addresses ought to be included in the signature in case headers
get munged. Another nice feature is geographical coordinates, so the
time zone can be determined (useful in telephoning). The signature
should be limited to four lines as is suggested practice on Usenet.


3. Comp.groupware is being archived. Selected discussions will be
reprinted in the _Writings on Computer Science_ (_Datalogiske Skrifter_)
working paper series available from the Institute of Geography,
Socio-economic Analysis, and Computer Science, Roskilde University, Post
Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark (ISSN 0109-9779-xx). Material
appearing in the series can be published elsewhere.

Authors will not be contacted individually before publication, but the
draft will be posted to comp.groupware for comment and correction before
being sent to the printer. All articles will be reproduced exactly as
posted (headers may be included, and parts (e.g., data sets) may be
moved to appendices and other changes making the articles more suitable
for printing may be made).

tvv@ncsc.org (Terry Myerson) began archiving comp.groupware 92.10.6.
The archive is available by anonymous ftp from: 
avs.ncsc.org ( 128.109.178.23 )

in the directory:
~ftp/newsgroups/comp.groupware

The archives are in mail folders named MONTH_YEAR.
For example, to peruse all of the postings in the month of
October, you could download the archive Oct_92, and execute

%       Mail -f Oct_92

Articles from comp.groupware are also available by anonymous FTP from: 
gorm.ruc.dk

in the directory:
~groupware/art/comp/groupware/

Login as "anonymous" and give your user name as your password.
Those without FTP access should send e-mail to:
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu

with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find out
how to do FTP by e-mail.


4. If you are posting copyrighted work, indicate at the beginning of the
article whether permission has been obtained. If you do not want an
article reproduced, indicate this (e.g., Copyright - Net distribution
only).


5. Authors should refer to "Guidelines for posting on Usenet" in the
newsgroup "news.announce.newusers" to make sure they know to spell check
their articles, etc. "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions",
"Introduction to news.announce", "Hints on writing style for Usenet"
available in the same newsgroup also contain information for new users.

Do not post test messages to comp.groupware. There are special groups
for testing. And tests should be as limited in their distribution as
possible. This is basic information from "Guidelines for posting on
Usenet". Posting of test messages inappropriately is considered abusive
and will cause a loss of readership for your articles.

Always use your Subject line to state the *topic* of your article as
completely as possible (e.g., "Macintosh II voice-mail based real-time
meeting software ready.", rather than "Meeting software"). Summary lines
should indicate *what* your message says about the topic (e.g., "New
meeting coordination software available via anonymous FTP"). Statements
should always end with periods, questions with question marks
(typically), and high energy, high impact declarations with exclamation
points. These rules makes articles much easier for recipients to handle
appropriately. 

If you ask a question, your subject line should include "question",
"query", "(Q)" or should end with a "?". Questions should clearly
explain your problem and surrounding issues. Otherwise, you will simply
waste the time of those who want to help you. Tell people the kind of
work you are doing or contemplating doing. This helps them provide the
information you need. Indicate what efforts, if any, you have made thus
far, and what information was found.

Subject, Summary, and Keyword headers are scanned by many news reading
programs, thus permitting readers to find your article easily. You will
have your articles read more often if you select these carefully.


6. When you reply to a message, do not change the subject line or
redirect follow-ups (unless you are changing the subject).  Such changes
make it harder for some news readers to follow the threads in a
discussion. Include a "Summary" line which indicates specifically what
your message says. This permits your article to be found even if it is a
follow-up to an article with poorly chosen subject and keyword
information.

Please, do not post responses to articles you feel are inappropriate or
abusive. (If you can not resist, consider alt.flame as an alternative
newsgroup for your article [it has greater readership than
comp.groupware]). If the author is not saying anything worth reading,
enter the name in your "kill" file, and then no more of your time will
be wasted by that person. If you feel that the author is saying
something worth reading, but in an inappropriate way, respond by mail.
Tell the author what you think is incorrect about the article. If
possible, suggest how to accomplish the objective in an appropriate way
(e. g., post to another newsgroup). If you have responded to a person by
mail a few times without the desired effect, and you feel that the group
as a whole could benefit by a solution to the problem, only then should
you post an article.  The nature of your article should be a suggestion,
if possible, of how such problems can be avoided in the future.


7. Comp.groupware is read by over 47,000 people. Consider the cost to
readers of any post. If even an obviously inappropriate article is
distributed, one that just takes readers a few seconds to scan, and then
skip or kill, the total time used is still large. With 36,000 readers, a
post that takes an average of 1 second for each reader to deal with (i.
e., examining the subject line) means a total of ten hours used (36,000
seconds / 3,600 seconds/hour = 10 hours). If the article uses up an
average of four seconds, then the total time expenditure is 40 hours,
the equivalent of a work week. This is probably the minimum time
expenditure on any article that is even selected for scanning. So, if
you spend a week preparing an article and then post it to
comp.groupware, there will be a balance between your time investment and
that used by readers, even if they only scan your article and make no
response. The lack of a separate feedback channel is an unfortunate
deficiency in the Network News system as it is currently structured.

This analysis should not discourage anyone from posting a simple
question. Some of the most interesting and valuable exchanges in
comp.groupware have resulted from such questions. However, authors must
not make such requests unnecessarily. On the other hand, a carefully
prepared article or a report of an extensive project may not receive any
comment at all. This could mean that the article is clear and error
free. It could also mean it was not of sufficient interest to anyone to
be read in detail. What can be assumed is that it was seriously
considered. This is a result of the currently low traffic level in
comp.groupware and high quality of articles posted.

If your email reply to an author fails, try again using information in
the signature lines. An X.500 directory information server can be
consulted to find a person's email address. Read the informational
article, "How to find people's email addresses" (in the newsgroup
"news.answers"), so you know to contact the postmaster at the site of
the person you are trying to reach, and so on. Do not post a reply until
you have tried to reach the author by telephone, facsimile, or paper
mail. If these fail, ask yourself if getting the reply through is worth
ten hours of readers' time. If so, post the message. Do not post a
message asking a person to send you an email address, unless your letter
must be kept private (If this is true, consider using encryption). If it
is not of general interest, use only the person's name as the subject
(e.g., "To: Foo Bar"). If other readers might find it interesting, also
give full subject information. 

Similarly, do not broadcast requests for information you can obtain from
a known source. Requests such as, "What are the contents of book Foo
published by Bar" are not appropriate. This information can normally be
obtained by a short telephone call and a few minutes of work by someone
being paid to provide that service. Let's not deprive someone of a job
and at the same time get comp.groupware readers fired because they are
wasting all their time reading unnecessary articles :-).

Post long articles as a single unit if they are less than 30,000
characters. Otherwise, post separate sections as follow-ups to the
first, breaking at meaningful places. This permits the sections to be
treated as a single unit, thus minimizing expenditure of attention on
the article. The cost of transmitting articles is negligible, so long
posts that take one second to delete "cost" the same as short ones.

Disregarding these considerations or a lack of self discipline in
following them will result in defensive attention management. That is,
certain authors will not be read at all by many readers or valuable
discussions will take place by email instead of being posted. This would
have the unfortunate effect of fractionating the joint awareness that
permits the comp.groupware readership to function as a group. Thus, it
is recommended that authors who prefer entertainment to rigor in their
news reading, post to other newsgroups.

-------

This article compiled with assistance from numerous readers of
comp.groupware.

Corrections, comments, and suggestions to:

David S. Stodolsky                Messages: + 45 46 75 77 11 x 24 41
Department of Computer Science                 Tel: + 45 31 95 92 82
Bldg. 20.1, Roskilde University Center        Internet: david@ruc.dk
Post Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark        Fax: + 45 46 75 42 01


From James J. Brennan <JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92309.021356JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: "selling" groupware to management
Lines: 11

     I have identified several groupware products that would be of great
use where I work, but am not in a strong position to get management to
consider such an investment.  If anyone has any experiences - positive or
negitive on trying to introduce groupware into an organization from
a position outside of normal management structures, I whould greatly
appreciate hearing about them.
      Thanks,

      Jim Brennan
      jb8625a@auvm.american.edu



From berthold@faui60.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Berthold Reinwald)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Request: Information about activity support systems
Date: 4 Nov 1992 13:17:24 GMT
Organization: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Lines: 35
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <1d8ih4EINN4s7@uni-erlangen.de>
References: <TEEGE.92Oct28091111@hphalle0.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>
Reply-To: reinwald@informatik.uni-erlangen.de
NNTP-Posting-Host: faui60.informatik.uni-erlangen.de


In article <TEEGE.92Oct28091111@hphalle0.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>, teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de
(Gunnar Teege) writes:
> 
> I am interested in any information about systems of the kind described
> below. I would like to hear about existing noncommercial or commercial
> systems as well as about systems planned or in development. You may
> reply by mail, I will post a summary of all replies in comp.groupware.
> 
> The system should cover the structuring, protocolling and execution of
> activities of one person like editing and printing documents,
> executing typical ``office procedures'' or communicating with others.
> The system should know about complex activities which involve
> sequential and/or parallel subactivities and it should keep track
> about how far the complex activity has proceeded. This should include
> asynchronous coordination in a way e.g. the Coordinator handles it.
> The system should execute activities that can be done by the computer
> itself (like sending email or printing an electronic document),
> however it should not be restricted to activities of this kind.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Gunnar Teege   Inst. fuer Informatik, Technische Universitaet Muenchen
>                PO-Box 202420, 8000 Muenchen 2, Germany
> teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de       Tel: +49 89 450552 25
> 

I'm interested in this stuff, too.

--
   Berthold Reinwald                          
   University of Erlangen-Nuernberg
   Department for Database Systems     Mail: reinwald@informatik.uni-erlangen.de
   Martensstrasse 3                    Tel.: +49-9131-85-7901
   W-8520 Erlangen, Germany            Fax:  +49-9131-32090


From chwelos@csri.toronto.edu (Greg Chwelos)
Subject: Re: Groupware for Macintosh
Message-ID: <1992Nov4.091344.27127@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
References: <92308.221506RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu>
Date: 4 Nov 92 14:13:45 GMT
Lines: 38

<RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu> writes:

>I am interested in a real-time shared space for four to seven users in a Macint
>osh environment. MS Mail just doesn't do it. We would like to be able to
>communicate via a common window on each users machine. We have servers &
>network in place.

>AM I DREAMING?
>all responses or alternate ideas are welcome.

It depends on what you mean by communicating.  CSCW'92 is in it's final
day today and through the conference we have seen numerous examples of
grouptools: editors, paint, and drawing tools.  Most of these are research
prototypes.  However, here's the name of two commercial products:
	Aspects
	Group Technologies
	1408 North Fillmore Street, Suite 10
	Arlington, VA 22201
	800-476-8781
	review in Patricia Seybold's Office Computing Report, Dec. 1990
As you can see, Aspects has been around for a while.  It is a robust product
supporting up to 16 users with text, drawing, and paint tools.  Group
Technologies was also demoing a new video-conferencing tool for the Mac.

	MultiPoint
	IIS Technologies
Sorry, I don't have their address as I didn't make it to their demo.
Description includes "real-time multimedia, multipoint, visual conferencing
...supports shared views of docs, viewgraphs, photos, images with shared
gestures and annotations"

If by communicating you mean video (desktop video-conferencing), then I 
don't believe there are any
commercial systems available, though numerous research prototypes exist,
Including CAVECAT here at U of Toronto, and Cruiser at Bellcore.
Check out the CSCW/groupware/HCI literature.

greg


From chwelos@csri.toronto.edu (Greg Chwelos)
Subject: Re: Request: Information about activity support systems
Message-ID: <1992Nov4.092651.27697@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
References: <TEEGE.92Oct28091111@hphalle0.informatik.tu-muenchen.de> <1d8ih4EINN4s7@uni-erlangen.de>
Date: 4 Nov 92 14:26:51 GMT
Lines: 41

berthold@faui60.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Berthold Reinwald) writes:

>In article <TEEGE.92Oct28091111@hphalle0.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>, teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de
>(Gunnar Teege) writes:
>> 
>> I am interested in any information about systems of the kind described
>> below. I would like to hear about existing noncommercial or commercial
>> systems as well as about systems planned or in development. You may
>> reply by mail, I will post a summary of all replies in comp.groupware.
>> 
>> The system should cover the structuring, protocolling and execution of
>> activities of one person like editing and printing documents,
>> executing typical ``office procedures'' or communicating with others.
>> The system should know about complex activities which involve
>> sequential and/or parallel subactivities and it should keep track
>> about how far the complex activity has proceeded. This should include
>> asynchronous coordination in a way e.g. the Coordinator handles it.
>> The system should execute activities that can be done by the computer
>> itself (like sending email or printing an electronic document),
>> however it should not be restricted to activities of this kind.

Sounds like you're interested in "workflow management" software.  Try:
	Action Technologies
	1301 Marina Village Parkway
	Alameda, CA 94501
	rmm@ati.mhs.compuserve.com
   read their paper in CSCW'92 proceedings, available from ACM (p.281).

	TOGETHER
	Coordination Technology, Inc.
	35 Corporate Drive
	Trumbull, CN 06611

	ODMS
	Odesta Corporation
	Northbrook, IL

	NCR Cooperation
	Dayton, OH

greg


From drv@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (dennis.r.vogel)
Subject: Re: "selling" groupware to management
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 17:52:37 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Nov4.175237.25090@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>
References: <92309.021356JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Lines: 15

>From article <92309.021356JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>, by James J. Brennan <JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>:
>      I have identified several groupware products that would be of great
> use where I work, but am not in a strong position to get management to
> consider such an investment.  If anyone has any experiences - positive or
> negitive on trying to introduce groupware into an organization from
> a position outside of normal management structures, I whould greatly
> appreciate hearing about them.

I'm afraid I can't give you any advice on how to sell the idea
to your management but I sure would like to hear what products
and applications you are thinking about.

Dennis R. Vogel
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Middletown, NJ


From A.Schappo@lut.ac.uk (Andre Schappo)
Subject: Re: Groupware for Macintosh
Message-ID: <A.Schappo-051192115247@alpha.lut.ac.uk>
Followup-To: comp.groupware
Sender: @lut.ac.uk
Nntp-Posting-Host: alpha.lut.ac.uk
Organization: Loughborough University, UK
References: <92308.221506RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu> <1992Nov4.091344.27127@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 12:03:05 GMT
Lines: 19

In article <1992Nov4.091344.27127@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>,
chwelos@csri.toronto.edu (Greg Chwelos) wrote:
> 
> If by communicating you mean video (desktop video-conferencing), then I 
> don't believe there are any
> commercial systems available, though numerous research prototypes exist,
> Including CAVECAT here at U of Toronto, and Cruiser at Bellcore.
> Check out the CSCW/groupware/HCI literature.
> 
> greg

There is a commercial desktop video conferencing for the Macintosh now
available. It is called ES*F2F. I saw a demo of it and it is very good. The
distributor for it here in the UK is Frontline Distribution from whom you
can get more details, email: uk0013@applelink.apple.com

Andre Schappo: Dept. Computer Studies, University of Technology,
               Loughborough, Leics, UK, LE11 3TU.
        email: A.Schappo@lut.ac.uk


From cts@cs.hut.fi (Charles Sederholm)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Groupware for Macintosh
Message-ID: <CTS.92Nov5171939@cardhu.cs.hut.fi>
Date: 5 Nov 92 15:19:41 GMT
References: <92308.221506RSANDLE@auvm.american.edu>
	<1992Nov4.091344.27127@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
	<A.Schappo-051192115247@alpha.lut.ac.uk>
Sender: usenet@cs.hut.fi (Uutis Ankka)
Followup-To: comp.groupware
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 51
In-Reply-To: A.Schappo@lut.ac.uk's message of 5 Nov 92 12:03:05 GMT


   In article <1992Nov4.091344.27127@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>,
   chwelos@csri.toronto.edu (Greg Chwelos) wrote:
   > 
   > If by communicating you mean video (desktop video-conferencing), then I 
   > don't believe there are any
   > commercial systems available, though numerous research prototypes exist,

If by commercial desktop video-conferencing you mean somethiong to
develop just that =8^) then there is a product from a company called Vista
Communication Instruments, Inc., who have implemented the H.261
videocompression standard on two ISA-bus (PC AT-bus) cards.

Call +358-0-460099 and ask to talk to Mr. Rolf Vainio 
or fax to +358-0-460610


If you want to communicate just locally in an Ethernet you could use a
similar product of a company called Bitfield Inc. who have H.261
compression and decompression on one ISA-bus card for LAN use...

Call +358-0-70018663 or fax +358-0-4552240


Both companies are in Helsinki, Finland... and offer their cards to OEM
producers who want to build their own desktop or other kind of
video-conferencing system... 

bye,
charles

--


Charles Sederholm
cts@cs.hut.fi       Phone (nat): 90-1390012      Fax (nat): 90-4513293
                          (int): +358-0-1390012      (int): +358-0-4513293
                    Institute of Industrial Automation; Room Y228
                    Helsinki University of Technology
                    Otakaari 1; SF-02150 Espoo; Finland



--

Charles Sederholm
cts@cs.hut.fi       Phone (nat): 90-1390012      Fax (nat): 90-4513293
                          (int): +358-0-1390012      (int): +358-0-4513293
                    Institute of Industrial Automation; Room Y228
                    Helsinki University of Technology
                    Otakaari 1; SF-02150 Espoo; Finland


From James J. Brennan <JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92310.162820JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Request: Introducing management to gw?
Lines: 10

    I am trying to get management to invest in groupware, but I have
no purchasing power whatsoever.  I am looking for ways to introduce
groupware into the organization and to sell management on the idea that
groupware products could greatly increase productivity in our software
development group.  I would appreciate hearing about both successful and
unsuccessful approaches to getting management's approval.

Thanks,
Jim Brennan
E-mail JB8625a@auvm.american.edu


From tmn_ <Douglass Carmichael <carmike@t>
Path: doppler!concert!rock!stanford.edu!agate!spool.mu.edu!uunet!nntp1.radiomail.net!fernwood!pandora!tmn!carmike
Date: 01 Nov 92 19:31:00
Subject: Re:  Bibliographies on groupware
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Message-ID: <179001008@pandora>
Lines: 13


  Dave, there is a fundamental difference. One to many leads one of the many
to respond back to the original sendor, but the others on the list do not see
it. True groupware makes everything automatically and easily available to
the group (conferencing). I think we are moving, in the organizational
world, from the old concept of point to point communications to the more
artful concept of resonance - how much do we need to get into a group
for the group to be able to resonate with the input? This is not a mere
sum of points.
---
Douglas Carmichael  carmike@tmn.com   703-243-6622




From tmn_ <Douglass Carmichael <carmike@t>
Path: doppler!concert!rock!stanford.edu!agate!spool.mu.edu!uunet!nntp1.radiomail.net!fernwood!pandora!tmn!carmike
Date: 01 Nov 92 19:25:00
Subject: Re:  How to cope with resistance
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Message-ID: <179340002@pandora>
Lines: 5


   Resistance always hides real factors that ned to be taken into account.
Treat the resistance as a golden oportunity to take a deeper look. Often
the proposed solution is too abstact and leaves out key aspects of the
informal system. Do ot treat resistance as the enemy.


From shn@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (steven.h.nurenberg)
Subject: Looking for document management system
Organization: AT&T
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 13:16:01 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Nov6.131601.8765@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>
Followup-To: poster
Keywords: document image management
Lines: 18

Our organization has about 200 people who among other tasks
produce documents and talks.  We are looking for a software
package that will allow us to better manage this process.
The package should work in a client/server environment.  The
server will be Unix based.  Clients can be either PCs or
X (workstations or terminals).  It must support multiple
creation tools (e.g., word processors / editor or graphics
tools of choice -- ex. word for windows, designer, framemaker, etc);
provide security controls (access, searching, editing);
on-line searching (by title, keyword, content, etc); on-line
viewing; multiple authors; and printing.

It is highly desirable that the package be complete (as
turnkey as possible).  Any suggestions or experiences most
appreciated.

				Steven Nurenberg
				nurenberg@att.com


From zanetti@ghost.dsi.unimi.it (Alessandro Zanetti)
Subject: Re: "selling" groupware to management
References: <92309.021356JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Organization: Computer Science Dep. - Milan University
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 13:49:14 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Nov6.134914.27906@ghost.dsi.unimi.it>
Lines: 24

James J. Brennan <JB8625A@auvm.american.edu> writes:

>     I have identified several groupware products that would be of great
>use where I work, but am not in a strong position to get management to
>consider such an investment.  If anyone has any experiences - positive or
>negitive on trying to introduce groupware into an organization from
>a position outside of normal management structures, I whould greatly
>appreciate hearing about them.
>      Thanks,

>      Jim Brennan
>      jb8625a@auvm.american.edu

I'm interested in people with experiences on trying to introduce groupware
into an organization and overall users of such software(see COORDINATOR,...).

This is because I'm working on a project, software as support for collaborative
work (typically in offices).

-----
Alessandro Zanetti
Department of Computer Science, University of Milan - ITALY

email: zanetti@ghost.dsi.unimi.it


From 9138827a@levels.unisa.edu.au
Date: 4 Nov 92 21:37:34 +1030
Organization: University of South Australia
Lines: 60

This item has been cross-posted to alt.bbs.internet
=====================================================================

I am undertaking postgraduate study at the School of Library and
Information Management, University of South Australia, Adelaide, on
the particular information needs of telecommuters - those who perform
job-related work at a site away from an organisation and communicate
electronically rather than commuting physically.
 
I would be very interested in, and would greatly appreciate a response
from those who are telecommuters, to the following questions. If you
are not a telecommuter but know of others who are it would be
appreciated if you could pass this on to them:
 
 
Q1      Does the organisation to which you telecommute provide any
        library and information services which are accessible to you
        online? (eg catalogs, reference assistance, databases, literature
        searches, document delivery services, organisation information
        such as daily bulletins and administrative gazettes.)
 
        If yes:
 
        (a) What services are provided?
        (b) How useful are these services to you?
 
Q2      (a)     What is the nature of the organisation to which you
                telecommute?
 
        (b)     If you sometimes commute physically to your organisation,
                how frequently do you do this?
 
Q3      What are the particular information needs that you have as a
        telecommuter?
 
Q4      What basic information services do you consider should be
        provided by an organisation for its telecommuters? (see Q5 for
        additional and desirable services)
 
Q5      What additional information services would you perceive as being
        highly desirable for an organisation to provide for its
        telecommuters?
 
Q6      Are there any further comments you wish to make regarding the
        information needs of telecommuters?
 
Q7      Would you like a summary of the results of this survey E-mailed
        to you?
 
Respondents can be assured that individuals and organisations will not
be identified in any report or summary of this survey.
 
Please E-mail your response to my Internet address:
 
9138827a@ntx.city.unisa.edu.au
 
Thank you for your cooperation
 
Bronwen Strong   



From Hugh P. Obrien <HO3545A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92312.120234HO3545A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Groupware's use in team development
Lines: 4

     I am very interested in how groupware can aid in team development.  It
appears that when a team forms there is a lag time before the team becomes
productive.  Is there any way that groupware can shorten this lag time?
Any response would be appreciated.


From kling@ics.uci.edu (Rob Kling)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: CFP: Conference on Organizational Computing Systems
Message-ID: <9211071820.aa25187@q2.ics.uci.edu>
Date: 8 Nov 92 02:20:35 GMT
Lines: 119


                               Call for Papers
                                   COOCS 93
                Conference on Organizational Computing Systems
                   Sponsored by ACM SIGOIS and IEEECS TC-OA
                       in cooperation with IFIP WG 8.4
       Sheraton Silicon Valley --- Milpitas (near San Jose), California
                              November 1-4, 1993


As we move toward globally distributed businesses, widespread mixed-media
computing systems and highly mobile workers, the availability of information
within an organization becomes increasingly critical.  Advances in tools,
technologies, and methodologies that facilitate the use of information systems
in organizations will improve the way information is made available and used.
This conference is intended to bring together researchers and practitioners
interested in the use, management, and movement of information within
organizations. The scope of the conference is intended to cover areas related
to this goal, including but not limited to:

        Organizational computing systems
        Distributed AI, Expert Systems and Multi-Agent models
        Object and Database Models and Systems
        Parallel, Distributed and Open Information Systems
        Computer-Supported Collaboration
        Task Analysis, Modeling, Planning and Coordination
        Social Aspects of Integrating and Using Information
        Analysis of Organizational Structure and Dynamics to
                improve organizational utilization of computers
        Multimedia Information, Storage, Retrieval and
        Portability and the Mobile Office
        Organizational Impact of Large Distributed Applications


Submissions to the conference can be in the form of papers, demonstration,
panel, workshop or tutorial proposals.

Papers can take two forms.  Research Investigations present original work in
any of the areas of interest to the conference.  Case studies discuss projects
which introduce innovative tools, technologies or methodologies into
particular organizational settings, and critically analyze the results and
impact of the project.  Papers should not exceed 12 ACM camera-ready pages.
It is possible that some papers will be presented at the conference in poster
sessions.

Demonstration proposals should be 3-5 pages long, and include enough
information to allow the committee to judge the relevance and significance of
the work.  Please include machine requirements.

Panel proposals should motivate the subject of the panel, and give brief
biographical sketches of each of the proposed panel members.

Workshop and Tutorial proposals should motivate the workshop/tutorial and its
relevance to this conference. For tutorials, provide an outline and a brief
biosketch of the proposers.  For workshops, motivate the workshop, indicate
how you would select participants, and outline the format of the workshop.
Proposals for both half-day and full-day workshops and tutorials are welcome.

Authors should submit five copies of their manuscript, in English, together
with a cover sheet, to the Program Chair by March 1, 1993.  The cover sheet
should contain (i) submission type; (ii) title, (iii) names, addresses, phone
numbers, fax numbers and email addresses (if available) of all authors; (iii)
contact author; (iv) keywords and abstract.  Information on paper format can
be obtained from the Program Chair.

IMPORTANT DATES:
        Submissions due:        March 1, 1993
        Author notification:    June 7, 1993
        Manuscripts due:        August 13, 1993


General Chair:
        Peter de Jong (IBM, USA)

Conference Committee:
        Robert Allen (Bellcore, USA)
        Fred Lochovsky (HKUST, Hong Kong)
        Doug Vogel (U. Arizona, USA)
        Carson Woo (U. British Columbia, Canada)

Registration/Local Arrangements:
        Charles Grantham (U. San Francisco, USA)

Workshops:
        Michael Muller (Bellcore, USA)


Program Chair:
        Simon Kaplan
        Department of Computer Science
        University of Illinois
        1304 W. Springfield Avenue
        Urbana, IL 61801
        USA
        phone: +1 217 244 0392
        email: kaplan@cs.uiuc.edu
        fax: +1 217 333 3501

Program Committee:
        Graham Button  (Xerox EuroPARC, UK)
        Prasun Dewan  (Purdue U., USA)
        Bob Ensor (AT  Bell Labs, USA)
        Anthony Finkelstein  (Imperial College, UK)
        Dave Gedye  (SunLabs, USA)
        Saul Greenberg  (U. Calgary, Canada)
        Hiroshi Ishii  (NTT, Japan)
        Gail Kaiser  (Columbia U., USA)
        John King  (U.C. Irvine, USA)
        Rob Kling  (U.C. Irvine, USA)
        Dan Kogan  (Intel Corp., USA)
        Jintae Lee   (U. Hawaii, USA)
        Dave Marca  (DEC, USA)
        Ken Pier  (Xerox PARC, USA)
        Tom Rodden  (Lancaster U., UK)
        Sunil Sarin   (Xerox, USA)
        Allan Shepherd  (HP Labs, USA)
        John Smith  (U. North Carolina, USA)
        Terry Winograd  (Stanford U., USA)
        Mike Wish  (AT  Bell Labs, USA)


From Narendra Gangadhar <NG7165A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92313.173950NG7165A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Collaboration
Lines: 8

I am doing some work in the area of collaboration,CSCW, and groupware. I am
interested in the benefits, and problems within the group and within the organi
zation. If anyone knows wher I can find such information, I would greatly appre
ciate it. I am also interested in finding out where I can locate conference pro
ceedings dealin with this area.

Thanks,
N.G.


From dmittleman@misvax.mis.arizona.edu (Daniel Mittleman)
Date: 9 Nov 1992 10:21 MST  
References: <92313.173950NG7165A@auvm.american.edu>
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona MIS Department
Nntp-Posting-Host: misvax.mis.arizona.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Lines: 65

In article <92313.173950NG7165A@auvm.american.edu>, NG7165A@auvm.american.edu (Narendra Gangadhar) writes...
>I am doing some work in the area of collaboration,CSCW, and groupware. I am
>interested in the benefits, and problems within the group and within the organi
>zation. If anyone knows wher I can find such information, I would greatly appre
>ciate it. I am also interested in finding out where I can locate conference pro
>ceedings dealin with this area.
> 
>Thanks,
>N.G.

    {I don't mean to single out N.G., my comments are meant to be taken in
    the general case}

    I think it is wonderful that the students at American University are
    being shown how to use usenet and are being encouraged to participate
    in discussions here - I really do - but I am concerned that so many of
    the students seem to be asking for reference information (I presume for
    the purpose of writing term papers) without showing any evidence that
    they are undertaking simple steps to find it themselves.

    Questions: 
    [1] is the course instructor showing you the basic reference
    sources for CSCW?  If not, if someone from the class asks the
    readership of this conference to each list the three most impoartant
    CSCW or GDSS journals, you will get a very interesting sampling of
    where you might look.
    [2] what is the readings list for your course?
    [3] does the course instructor read this group?

    My feeling is: if a student asks a detailed question in my area of
    experience or interest, I will try to provide some information. 
    However, if a student asks open ended questions about CSCW
    literature in general without showing any evidence that he/she is
    trying to find information on their own, then I do not feel obliged to
    render any assistance.

    Note: this issue is emerging because we are using a brand new form of
    communication and the social protocols are not yet resolved.  I guess
    what I am doing here is suggesting some social protocols.  I welcome
    comment and criticism.

    Another note:  Dr. Stodolsky, might we add a list of important CSCW and
    GDSS journals, proceedings, and books to your FAQ posting?

    -----

    Now that I have gotten that off my chest...  N.G., you might look at
    the following journals: 

    Management Information Systems Quarterly (Dec 88 is a must read)
    Communications of the ACM
    Journal of Management Information Systems
    Information Systems Review
    Group Decision and Negotiation

    You might also look at the Proceedings from CSCW.  There was a
    conference in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992.  Also check ICIS
    (International Conference on Information Systems) and HICSS (Hawaii
    International Conference on Systems Science) proceedings.

    {this is by no means a complete list - it is just off the top of my
    head}

===========================================================================
daniel david mittleman     -     danny@arizona.edu     -     (602) 621-2932


From nsridharan@faois.intel.com (Moose buster)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Request: Introducing management to gw?
Message-ID: <BxH7yq.5GD@inews.Intel.COM>
Date: 10 Nov 92 01:25:37 GMT
References: <92310.162820JB8625A@auvm.american.edu>
Sender: news@inews.Intel.COM (USENET News System)
Organization: Intel MST
Lines: 47
Nntp-Posting-Host: famac0
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1

JB8625A@auvm.american.edu (James J. Brennan)

There are two types of group ware and each faces a different set of problems,
in my experience.  The first kind is "meeting support" that augments a
face-to-face meeting in a conference room.  People assemble, and interlace a
normal meeting with agendas/viewgraphs/whiteboard support, with computer
supported parts to the meeting.
The computer support is for brainstorming, idea categorization, voting and
ranking etc.
The second kind is "project support" and involves linking desktops of a team
together
so file sharing and real-time communication can take place.  Where as the
former is synchronous in time and space, the latter is dispersed in time and
space.

In attempting to introduce the meeting support, I attempted to find a sharable
conference room in our facility that could be converted to a
computer-supported meeting room.  This requires someone to provide the room. 
There is need for specialized furniture, an overhead projector that can tap
out of the computer, a server, PCs at each station and so on.  Hence the cost
of set up goes high.  So I attempted to garner support from several
departments, who were asked to chip in; each got access and use of the room at
a fraction of the cost that it would take them otherwise.  I thought I made a
pretty good pitch, technically and business-wise.  But it flopped.  I had not
created the "wanna do" attitude.  Sort of like when you come across the
mail-order-music ads where you know you can get a terrific bargain if you were
interested in spending money on music - but since you are not, you can pass on
the opportunity - and knowing the opportunity will come around again.   So, if
I were to try again, I would learn a lesson from the marketing types who know
how to create the urge to join/participate/buy.  For instance, every one else
is doing it or your competitor is doing it or I have located some surplus
hardware to use as servers and if we dont set up the room with groupware NOW,
the cost will be so much higher the next time etc.  You get the drift.

The second type of project support is still being pursued.  I am unable to
comment on it much.  However, I can say that there are some technical hurdles.
 The system that I am interested in runs on DOS, but most of the folks in the
project are MW Windows users.  How to tempt them to use a DOS based system? 
The need to convince management is not so great, since no facility allocation
or capital purchase is required.  Mostly it is a matter of getting the
software and designating the heftiest machine on the net as the server node. 
So, this may come down to be mostly a technical problem combined with a
cultural/psychological problem of getting the team to ACTUALLY use it after
the licensing and installing is done.

** Views expressed here are my own **
Sri Sridharan


From sphipps@vnet.ibm.com (Simon Phipps)
Message-ID: <19921110.112030.546@almaden.ibm.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 17:03:54 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: IBM Announces Person To Person/2 Collaboration Software
Reply-To: sphipps@vnet.ibm.com
Organization: IBM UK Laboratories Ltd, Hursley Park
News-Software: UReply 3.0
Lines: 221

NOTE:  The following information is posted here as I believe it will
be of great interest to the CSCW community to know that IBM is
to produce a mass-market collaboration system.  It is not intended
to be a commercial posting.
>>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  <<<


Methods of improving communication and decision making between people are in
increasing demand.  With the growing power of desktop workstations and the
advent of widespread high bandwidth data networks, new methods encompassing
digital data, graphics, image and even realtime digital video in addition to
voice have become practical.  Allowing several users to communicate and col-
laborate on a single piece of work, although in separate locations, is called
Computer Supported Collaborative Working (CSCW).

IBM Person to Person/2 Version 1.0 provides CSCW for multiple users connected
by local or remotely bridged LAN or ASYNC communication links and enables the
establishment, administration and termination of remote meetings.  The
product includes basic desktop conferencing utilities which allow
collaborative workers to share and annotate the information in an OS/2(2)
window on the screen.  Under the control of members of the collaborative work
session, windows may be seen by all members of the group.  All users see the
same window content, which can be discussed using office telephones.  With
the appropriate optional hardware and software the users can also see one
another or other real time images in a video window on their screens.

IBM Person to Person/2 Version 1.0 will be marketed under the ULTIMEDIA
brandname.


Planned Availability Date:  February 26, 1993
National Language Versions: April 23, 1993

Statement of Direction/Intent:

IBM provides the following Statement of Direction in order to facilitate
customer planning.

 1.  It is IBM's(r) intention that future releases of Person to Person/2
     (*) will run on Microsoft Windows(r*), IBM AIX(r) and Apple System 7
     (r**)operating systems.

 2.  It is intended that these releases of Person to Person/2 will inter-
     operate among these platforms when using functions which are common
     to all platforms.

 3.  It is IBMs intention to provide an Application Program Interface
     which will enable collaborative communications across these plat-
     forms.

 4.  It is intended that these releases of Person to Person/2 will also
     support applicable CCITT Recommendations for multimedia services
     audiovisual terminals.

 5.  This release of Person to Person/2 has ISDN capability.  IBM also
     intends to deliver ISDN capability with the communications manager
     function of OS/2 during the first half of 1993. Once this is deliv-
     ered the Person to Person/2 ISDN function will be enabled.  Between
     now and general availability IBM will make available, to a selected
     number of customers, early versions of these capabilities for test
     and evaluation purposes.

Announcement and shipment of these functions will be based on IBM's
technical and business judgement.


>>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <<<

Operational Details:

 COLLABORATION IN ACTION
 _______________________

                     The Call Manager logs and displays information about your
                     calls.  Voice calls over the telephone network can be
                     called automatically if a suitable modem is available, or
                     you can dial them yourself.  Incoming calls can be
                     barred, or answered manually or automatically.

                     The Call Manager works in conjunction with the Address
                     Book Manager.  The address book is where you store the
                     name, userid and telephone number of people you wish to
                     contact with Person to Person/2. The Address Book Manager
                     can be used to initiate a conference and set up the data
                     links you need, or you can do this using various confer-
                     encing functions.

                     more typically, another application window can be mir-
                     rored in them, providing a shared workspace that partic-
                     ipants can use with a simple box of drawing tools to
                     enter lines, text and annotate the chalkboard contents.

                     The Chalkboard provides 'What you see is what I see' -
                     interactive, real time, collaboration.

                     Shared clipboard is another way of sharing data from
                     applications and is an extension of the OS/2 clipboard.
                     This enables you to share your clipboard with other par-
                     ticipants, so they can 'Paste' what you 'Copy' into one
                     of their applications.

                     Talk offers a simple way of exchanging text messages with
                     other participants.  These messages can be logged and
                     retrieved, but not all Person to Person/2 conferences
                     need a telephone call.  Some may be across language bar-
                     riers where text is easier to understand, or within a
                     small LAN community where sessions may last for long
                     periods.


                     File Transfer allows transfer of files to and from col-
                     leagues.  Any file on your system can be sent and there
                     is a facility to prefix the files with a message.

                     Video extends the collaborative sharing of data to
                     include the visual sharing of either live or prerecorded
                     images of people or objects.  Video windows are limited
                     to one quarter of the screen, and there is a privacy
                     option which inhibits pictures from your camera being
                     transmitted.


  TECHNICAL INFORMATION
  _____________________



  Machine Requirements

                      o   IBM Personal System/2 Computer or compatible

                          -   386SX or higher processor
                          -   8 Mb minimum memory (12 Mb recommended)

                      o   Pointing device

                          -   IBM PS/2 Mouse or other pointing device supported
                              by IBM OS/2 V2.0
                          -   IBM 8516 Touch Display

                      Plus one of the following communications adapters:

                      o   Integrated Async port or IBM Dual Async Adapter/A
                      o   Any Local Area Network adapter supported by OS/2 V2.0
                          NetBIOS

                      In addition, the following hardware options are sup-
                      ported:


                           Tablets         IBM 5083, IBM 6093, WACOM * SD 510C

                           Printers        Standard OS/2 support

                           Modems          IBM 7855 Mod 10
                                           Hayes Ultrasmart ***
                                           US Robotics Courier ****

                           Internal or other approved modems that support
                           AT command set may be used for autodialing

                           Digital Video support:

                              - IBM PS/2 ActionMedia II Display Adapter/A 2MB
                              - IBM PS/2 ActionMedia II Display Adapter 2MB
                              - IBM PS/2 ActionMedia II Capture Option


  Programming Requirements

                      Person to Person/2 requires IBM Operating System/2
                      Version 2.0

                      In addition, the following software components may be
                      required depending on the configuration and communication
                      facilities to be supported:


                      1.  Local Area Networks

                          a.  NetBIOS support from one of the following is
                              required:

                              o   IBM Network Transport Services/2
                              o   The IBM LAN Enabler Version 2.0
                              o   OS/2 V2.0 Extended Services
                              o   OS/2 V2.0 Local Area network (LAN) Server 2.0

                          b.  For compatibility with existing Novell Networks,
                              ***** Novell NetWare V3.11 with appropriate
                              upgrade for IBM OS/2 V2.0

                      2.  IBM Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
                          Version 1.2.1 for OS/2

                      3.  ActionMedia II Audio Visual Kernel Version 1.10.1, as
                          provided with the ActionMedia II adapters referred to
                          above.


  Trademarks

                      o   IBM Operating System/2 OS/2 and PS/2 are registered
                          trademarks of International Business Machines Corpo-
                          ration
                      o   Ultimedia, Person to Person/2, and Presentation
                          Manager are trademarks of International Business
                          Machines Corporation
                      o   * Wacom is a trademark of Wacom Co Ltd
                      o   *** Ultrasmart is a trademark of Hayes Corporation
                      o   **** Courier is a trademark of US Robotics
                      o   ***** Novell is a trademark of Novell Inc
                      o   ****** ActionMedia ia a trademark of Intel Corpo-
                          ration
                      o   Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

\\\  Simon Phipps, External Technical Liaison    p2p@vnet.ibm.com    ///
\\\  IBM Person To Person/2 Development Team     +44-962-844433x8339 ///
>>>  Hursley Park, Winchester, SO21 2JN, UK                          <<<
/// . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\\\
///          Developing Tomorrow's CSCW Solutions Today!             \\\


From dmittleman@misvax.mis.arizona.edu (Daniel Mittleman)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: listing of "groupware" journals and proceedings
Message-ID: <10NOV199223114208@misvax.mis.arizona.edu>
Date: 11 Nov 92 06:11:00 GMT
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona MIS Department
Lines: 42
Nntp-Posting-Host: misvax.mis.arizona.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


    I posted a note the other day in which I asked David Stodolsky (our
    fearless moderator) whether it might be appropriate to add information
    about journals and proceedings which contain GDSS or CSCW articles to
    his FAQ file.  He wrote back and politely stated it should be a
    separate file and suggested I collect such information (such are the
    fortunes of opening my mouth too often.)  :>

    So, I am happy to collect this information, compile it into a coherent
    listing and both post it here and place it at a readily accessible ftp
    site (which I assume would then be referenced in the FAQ posting.)  If
    you have interest in this, please read on.  If not, its time to go to
    the next post.

    Please respond to any or all of the following questions:

    1. What do you consider the "A" journals for GDSS, CSCW, EMS, CMC, and
    groupware work?

    2. What do you consider the "B" journals for GDSS, CSCW, EMS, CMC, and
    groupware work?

    (If you have any specific comments about particular journals, feel
    free to include them.)

    3. What Conference Proceedings to you find most helpful in searching
    for new GDSS, CSCW, EMS, CMC, or groupware work?

    4. What books do you consider important reading for those
    interesed in GDSS, CSCW, EMS, CMC, or groupware?

    5. What do you consider the seminal papers to be in GDSS, CSCW, EMS,
    CMC, groupware field?

    6. If someone came to you and wanted to learn about this field from
    scratch, what reading list would you suggest?

    7. Do you have any other comments about the literature in this field
    which might be useful to someone new to the field?

===========================================================================
daniel david mittleman     -     danny@arizona.edu     -     (602) 621-2932


From lwv26@cas.org (Larry W. Virden)
Subject: Programming resource management
Message-ID: <1992Nov11.162328.26175@cas.org>
Sender: usenet@cas.org
Reply-To: lvirden@cas.org (Larry W. Virden)
Organization: Nedriv Software and Shoe Shiners, Uninc.
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 16:19:18 GMT
Lines: 17


The X window system resource management software is very appealing for use
in designing configuration management information.  I am wondering what
packages , commercial or otherwise, are available for managing resources
in a similar manner exist.  The base software will primarily be C or C++.
The software which needs to be configured would all be 'home-grown' so that
integrating the details into vendor software will be a lower priority.

Dependance on an X server in existance is not desired.  Obviously some sort
of database management software will be needed, as well as software to
update, override , handle classes, document, etc.

Is there a better group of which to ask this question?
-- 
Larry W. Virden                 UUCP: osu-cis!chemabs!lvirden
Same Mbox: BITNET: lvirden@cas  INET: lvirden@cas.org
Personal: 674 Falls Place,   Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-1614


From kling@ics.uci.edu (Rob Kling)
Subject: PhD program: Social Aspects of Computing
Message-ID: <9211111141.aa20751@q2.ics.uci.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Lines: 195
Date: 11 Nov 92 19:41:34 GMT



              COMPUTING, ORGANIZATIONS, POLICY AND SOCIETY
                at the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
                             C  O  R  P  S

Our CORPS PhD concentration provides a fascinating opportunity to study a
vital topic: the social aspects of computerization. We encourage reflective
inquiry, lively discussions, and avoiding the hype that often surrounds new
technologies. The computerization of society is taking place at dizzying
speed. Almost every week we're bombarded with information about new
computer technologies, and predictions about their influence on emerging
social changes.  But the real social choices and consequences of
computerization aren't really well understood. Public, professional and
even many scholarly discussions of alternative ways to computerize are
often oversimplified. These are important issues and discussion is being
advanced through high quality university-based research.

We offer a PhD concentration in the Department of Information and Computer
Science (ICS) for people who would like to do systematic research and/or
teaching about the social aspects of computerization in their careers.
CORPS faculty and students work together across departmental boundaries on
specific research projects and seminars with faculty in other schools at
UC-Irvine. The CORPS faculty has published many books and articles in this
area since the early 1970s.

The CORPS concentrations focus upon  related areas of inquiry:
   1. Developing strategies for designing computer-based systems so that
      they best enhance the performance of groups and organizations;
   2. Understanding the processes and social consequences of computerization
      within organizations and in society.
   3. Understanding the work and organizational worlds where people design,
      develop, market, distribute, implement, and sustain computerized
      systems.
   4. Evaluating strategies for managing the implementation and use of
      computer-based technologies.
   5. Evaluating and proposing public policies which encourage the
      development and use of computing in pro-social ways.

CORPS studies of these questions have examined many kinds of computerized
systems. They include complex information systems, computer-based modeling,
decision-support systems, office automation, electronic funds transfer
systems, expert systems, instructional computing, personal computers,
groupware, computer supported manufacturing and computing at home. Most of
these studies are done in the U.S. But CORPS faculty have also collaborated
in studies in Europe and the Pacific Rim countries.

The central questions vary from study to study. They have included questions
about the effects of computerized technologies, ways to manage them, the
social choices that computing opens up or closes off, the kind of social and
cultural life that develops around computing, their political consequences,
and their social carrying costs.

CORPS studies at Irvine have a distinctive orientation:
   1. focusing on both public and private sectors,
   2. examining computerization in public life and homelife as well as
      within organizations,
   3. examining computer-based technologies ``in vivo" in typical settings,
   4. employing theories and methods drawn from the social sciences, and
   5. encouraging critical inquiry while avoiding utopian and anti-utopian
      positions.

CORPS Faculty

The primary faculty in the CORPS concentration hold appointments in the
Department of Information and Computer Science and the Graduate School of
Management.  Additional faculty in the Department of History, the School of
Social Sciences, and the Program on Social Ecology, have collaborated in
research or have taught key courses for students in the CORPS concentration.
The Public Policy Research Organization, an interdisciplinary research
institute at UCI, administers the CORPS research projects.

The CORPS faculty are recognized nationally and internationally for their
scholarship about computerization in organizations and public life. The
faculty have published numerous books and articles about these topics during
the last 20 years. In addition, they regularly give talks at major
conferences about the sociology and management of computing and also serve
on the editorial boards of several major journals.

Mark Ackerman (Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology) -- Assistant
   Professor of ICS. Design of systems for experts in large
   organizations; social worlds of software developers.

J. Yannis Bakos (Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology) -- Assistant
   Professor of Management;Economic impacts of information technology;
   Strategic Information Systems; Corporate Information System
   Architectures

James Danziger (Ph.D. Stanford University) -- Professor of Political
   Science; Politics of Computing; Computerization and Changes in Work;
   Computing in the Social Sciences

Julian Feldman (Ph.D. Carnegie Institute of Technology) -- Professor
   Emeritus of Information and Computer Science; Management of Computing
   Resources

Jonathan Grudin (PhD University of California, San Diego). -- Assistant
   Professor of Information and Computer Science; Computer Supported
   Cooperative Work; Social Strategies for System Development;
   Human-Computer Interaction

Vijay Gurbaxani (Ph.D. University of Rochester) -- Associate Professor of
   Management; Economics of Information Systems Management; Information
   Systems Investment Strategies; Performance Measurement of Information
   System Organizations; Organizational Implications of Information
   Technology

John King (Ph.D. University of California, Irvine) -- Professor of
   Information and Computer Science and Management; Management and
   Economics of Computing; Social and Organizational Impacts of
   Computing; National Policies about Computerization

Rob Kling (Ph.D. Stanford University) -- Professor of Information and
   Computer Science and Management; Social and Organizational Impacts of
   Computing; Computing and Public Policy; Computerization and Social
   Theory; Computerization and Utopian Thought; Management of Information
   Systems and New Workplace Technologies

Kenneth Kraemer (Ph.D. University of Southern California) -- Professor of
   Administration and Information and Computer Science; Director, Public
   Policy Research Organization; National Computer Policy; Investment and
   Procurement Policy; Management of Computing; Organizational Impacts of
   Computing; Use of Computers in Policy Making

Mark Poster (Ph.D. New York University) -- Professor of History; Director -
   Critical Theory Institute; Postmodernism; Mode of Information;
   Poststructuralist European Intellectual Movements

Alladi Venkatesh (Ph.D. Syracuse University) -- Associate Professor of
   Administration; Information Technology and the Consumer; Philosophy of
   Science Perspectives; Sociology of Consumption

Nicholas Vitalari (Ph.D. University of Minnesota) -- Associate Professor of
   Administration and Information and Computer Science; Home Computing;
   Decision Support Systems; Systems Analysis



Organizational Arrangements for CORPS

The CORPS concentration is a special track within the PhD program the
Department of Information and Computer Science. The ICS faculty evaluates
CORPS applicants with the similar criteria to those they use for their
other PhD students. CORPS students need strong quantitative and verbal
skills. In addition, some prior study of the social sciences is
recommended.

This concentration is particularly appropriate for students with strong
scientific or technical backgrounds who wish to expand their horizons and
skills by studying issues of computerization from a social scientific
perspective. The program provides an superb opportunity for students with
scientific or technical backgrounds to leverage their educations into a new
and vital areas. CORPS is a full-time residential PhD program. Financial
support is available in the form of teaching assistantships, research
assistantships and Regents fellowships for truly outstanding students.

CORPS faculty conduct their research through the Center for Research on
Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO). CRITO provides key office
space and support for research seminars.

In addition to CORPS, the ICS Department has research groups in the  areas
of artificial intelligence, computer systems design, parallel processing,
software, computer networks and distributed systems, algorithms and data
structures.  ICS faculty emphasize traditional computer science as well as
research in emerging areas of the discipline, with effective
interdisciplinary collaborative ties to  colleagues in neurobiology,
cognitive science, management, engineering, and the social sciences.  ICS
currently has 29 full-time faculty  positions and more than 110 Ph.D.
students, including CORPS.  The department is well  endowed with computing
equipment and networks, including multiprocessor Sequents, and networked
workstations. Access is available to all major national and  international
networks.

UC Irvine is located in Orange County, three miles from the Pacific  Ocean
adjacent to Newport Beach, and approximately forty miles south of Los
Angeles.  It is within easy drives of 10,000 foot mountains, vast deserts,
and beautiful Pacific beaches. The campus is situated in the heart of a
national center  of high-technology enterprise. The Irvine campus also
houses the Western Regional offices of the National Academy of Sciences and
National Academy of Engineering. Both the campus and the enterprise area
are growing rapidly and offer exciting professional opportunities. The
Irvine are offers substantial cultural opportunities in music, the arts and
theater.

Please write for additional information to:

Professor Rob Kling
Department of Information and Computer Science
University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA 92717
Kling@ics.uci.edu                                           11/10/92.






From Fadi A. Rabie <FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92316.133601FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: how do cost accounting systems such as ABC help accounting groups
Lines: 5

Cost accountants are reliying on many accounting  softwares to help them
 in their group decision making.  are these softwares reliable to the
 extinct to base a critical decision on them.  If so, have there been any
 catastrophies regarding wrong decisions.
                                              PLEASE REPLY. THANK YOU


From tjh@praxis.co.uk (Tim Huckvale)
Newsgroups: uk.events,comp.groupware
Subject: Practical Experience with Process Technology
Summary: Meeting of the IOPT Club, on practical experience
Keywords: Process Modelling Support Tools Workflow CSCW
Message-ID: <1992Nov11.125908.5450@praxis.co.uk>
Date: 11 Nov 92 12:59:08 GMT
Organization: Praxis, Bath, U.K.
Lines: 104

Announcing a meeting of the IOPT Club for the Introduction of Process
Technology:

                Practical Experience with Process Technology

                          Monday 7th December 1992
                 Hotel Russell, Russell Square, London WC1

                                 Programme

0900   Coffee and Registration

0930   Welcoming Address

0940   Using RADs in Quality     Showing how Role Activity Diagrams
       Management Systems        have proved to be a very effective
                                 way of establishing, recording and
                                 following business processes within a
                                 Quality Management System.
                                 Mike Hewson, Praxis

1020   The Process Engineering   An account of a case study in process
       Project                   modelling being undertaken in
                                 conjunction with a large UK
                                 organisation committed to
                                 implementing the lessons of the MIT
                                 90's initiative.
                                 Ian Robertson, Manchester University
1100   Coffee

1130   PROWESS in use at         How PROWESS is being used to improve
       Citibank                  quality and productivity in systems
                                 maintenance at Citibank, by helping
                                 to put in place a standardised
                                 process which is "institutionalised"
                                 but does not impose a rigid
                                 methodology.
                                 Martin Page, Citibank

1210   Experiences in            An account of the experience of
       implementing a Customer   implementing a pilot process
       Service process           automation project for Customer
       application               Service ICL with a pre-product
                                 version of ICL's PROCESSWISE
                                 Integrator.
                                 Paul Butler, ICL
1245   Lunch

1415   Process technology in     A review of the techniques used,
       Local Government          benefits achieved and lessons learned
                                 from the implementation of Staffware
                                 at the London Borough of Enfield.
                                 Ian Tong, I.T. Consultancy and
                                 Greg Swatton, London Borough of Enfield

1500   A Process Architecture    Description of the process involved
                                 in deriving a PML model of a
                                 simplified bid management process.
                                 Martyn Spink, Manchester University
1530   Tea

1600   Panel Session             An opportunity to discuss issues
                                 raised during the day.

1700   Close
___________________________________________________________________________

IOPT Club meetings are open to any interested person.  There is a fee for
this meeting of #90 (members of academic institutions #40), to include
coffee, lunch and tea.

For a booking form, please contact:

        Tim Huckvale
        Praxis Systems plc      Tel: 0225 444 700
        20 Manvers Street       Fax: 0225 465 205
        Bath                    Email: tjh@praxis.co.uk
        BA1 1PX
___________________________________________________________________________

The IOPT Project (Introduction of Process Technology) is a DTI sponsored
collaborative project between ICL, Praxis, ISS and Manchester University.
Its main goal is to develop and apply computer support for cooperative work
in diverse industrial and government sectors, using process modelling and
other forms of Process Technology.  It also aims to enhance process
modelling languages and methods.

The IOPT Club was set up to help achieve the project's main goal by
widening industry understanding of Process Technology and its application.
It is intended that, through the club, members and IOPT partners will work
together in applying Process Technology to diverse markets.

The IOPT Club also produces a free newsletter, IOPener.  If you wish to be
placed on the mailing list for this and other information about Club
events, please contact Tim Huckvale at the above address.

--
Tim Huckvale, IOPT Club Secretary
Praxis Systems plc, 20 Manvers Street, Bath, BA1 1PX, UK
Tel: +44 (0)225 444 700   Fax: +44 (0)225 465 205   Email: tjh@praxis.co.uk
-- 
Tim H
"The appoggiatura, unlike the glissando, does have Italian roots."
(David Huckvale on "In a word", R3, 10/11/92)  (Tonight - "Ostinato")


From poltrock@atc.boeing.com (Steven Poltrock)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Collaboration
Message-ID: <87055@bcsaic.boeing.com>
Date: 12 Nov 92 01:16:31 GMT
References: <92313.173950NG7165A@auvm.american.edu> <9NOV199210210802@misvax.mis.arizona.edu>
Sender: nntp@bcsaic.boeing.com
Organization: Boeing Computer Services
Lines: 21

In article <9NOV199210210802@misvax.mis.arizona.edu>, dmittleman@misvax.mis.arizona.edu (Daniel Mittleman) writes:
>     Now that I have gotten that off my chest...  N.G., you might look at
>     the following journals: 
> 
>     Management Information Systems Quarterly (Dec 88 is a must read)
>     Communications of the ACM
>     Journal of Management Information Systems
>     Information Systems Review
>     Group Decision and Negotiation
> 
>     You might also look at the Proceedings from CSCW.  There was a
>     conference in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992.  Also check ICIS
>     (International Conference on Information Systems) and HICSS (Hawaii
>     International Conference on Systems Science) proceedings.
> 
Other sources: Journal of Organizational Computing, 
               Computer Supported Cooperative Work (1st issue just came out)
               ACM Transactions on Information Systems
               Proceedings of Conference on Office Information Systems (now called COCS)

Steve Poltrock


From mowbray@rod.mitre.org (Tom Mowbray)
Subject: Standards for Groupware
Message-ID: <1992Nov12.145841.16915@linus.mitre.org>
Keywords: CSCW, GROUPWARE, STANDARDS, OSF/GAIA, OMG CORBA
Sender: news@linus.mitre.org (News Service)
Nntp-Posting-Host: lid.mitre.org
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 14:58:41 GMT
Lines: 50

The "Standards for Groupware" birds-of-a-feather session at CSCW92
comprised a discussion of the potential for groupware standards
and related standards activities, such as OSF/GAIA.
The concensus was that we need to establish an ongoing working group
to monitor standards activities and generate standards input.

One outcome of the meeting was the need to compile 
a survey of standards relevant to groupware. 
Robert Watson (@DTI in UK) has a draft survey which I will be 
distributing in hardcopy, and he would like to see the 
following information contributed to the survey 
from each interested organization:

"It would be very useful to have a one/two page position document from each
member. Would you care to provide a format/outline which we could all use.
Information on current work/ use of standards, problems encounted and the
area/direction of possible solutions. A membership list of standard bodies
you attend/associated with. Possible reference material or at least 
notification that you have access to one. Other information which we 
would find helpful." 

Here is the outline format for organization XXXX:
1.0 Groupware Activities at XXXX
2.0 Utilization of Standards at XXXX
3.0 Standards Issues Encountered at XXXX
4.0 Formal Standards Participation at XXXX
5.0 Annotated Reference List

Responses to the standards survey should be directed to Robert Watson:
         RSW%GB.GOLD-400.HMG-DTI.ITD.ITD3@MHS-RELAY.AC.UK

Also, we discussed the potential use of the OMG-X/Open CORBA standard
for defining groupware standards across languages and operating systems.
To obtain the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) Standard,
send $50 U.S. to:
        Object Management Group
        492 Old Connecticut Path
        Framingham, Mass 01701 USA
        Phone: +1-508-820 4300
        Internet: omg_request@omg.org

Please send me requests for additions to the "Standards for Groupware" 
hardcopy mailing list.

Thanks...
*  From: Tom Mowbray, Ph.D.          Voice: 703-883-6759
*        The MITRE Corporation       FAX:   703-883-3315
*        7525 Colshire Dr MS Z253    INTERNET: mowbray@mitre.org
*        McLean, VA 22102 U.S.A.



From teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Gunnar Teege)
Subject: Re: Request: Information about activity support systems
In-Reply-To: teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de's message of Wed, 28 Oct 1992 14:11:11 GMT
References: <TEEGE.92Oct28091111@hphalle0.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>
Sender: news@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (USENET Newssystem)
Organization: Inst. fuer Informatik, TU Muenchen, Germany
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:04:07 GMT
Message-ID: <TEEGE.92Nov12120407@unknown.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>
Lines: 170

>>>>> On Wed, 28 Oct 1992 14:11:11 GMT, I (teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de) said:

> I am interested in any information about systems of the kind
> described below. I would like to hear about existing noncommercial
> or commercial systems as well as about systems planned or in
> development. You may reply by mail, I will post a summary of all
> replies in comp.groupware.

> (description of systems supporting the coordination and execution of
> activities)

I received three answers by email and one answer directly in this
group. Besides this, in the meantime I found some additional
information myself. It seems that generally systems separate between
supporting work coordination and supporting the work itself. The
latter is mainly planned or must be done outside of the system.

The following list is a summary of the results. (The order is of no
significance)

(If YOU and YOUR SYSTEM are not mentioned: That's because you did not
tell me about. Do it!)

1) Action Workflow (commercial)
-------------------------------

A technology / toolkit which may be used in other systems for workflow
management. Currently mainly by Lotus (Product: Lotus Workflow).

References:
- paper in CSCW'92 proceedings, available from ACM (p.281).
- Release1.0 9-92 (30 sep 92) (a monthly report)
  EDventure Holdings Inc., New York
- Report by Action Technologies, 1301 Marina Village Parkway, 
  Suite 100, Almeda, Calif. 94501

2) ELF Technologies (commercial)
--------------------------------

Notes-based systems with software agents called 'elves'. 
 "The elves don't just manage workflow; they do the actual work."

References:
- Release1.0 9-92 (30 sep 92) (a monthly report)
  EDventure Holdings Inc., New York

3) Michele / RT-Michele (research)
----------------------------------

(cited from mail:)
RT-Michele is extended version of Michele and it can handle both
sysnchronous and asynchronous communication among workers by using
video conference system.  Both groupware systems are based on
multiagent model that can describe parallel activities of workers and
software processes in distributed environments.  By using software
processes the model can describe documents passed among users,
processes that can assist workers, and so on.  One of target
application of those systems is office document processing automation.

References:

@article{Nakauchi92a,
    author="Y.~Nakauchi and Y.~Itoh and M.~Sato and Y.~Anzai",
    title="Modelling and Implementation of Multiagent Interface System
for Computer-Supported Co-operative Work",
    journal="Ergonomics",
    year="1992",
    volume="35",
    number="5/6",
    pages="565--576"
}

@inproceedings{Nakauchi91b,
    author="Y.~Nakauchi and Y.~Itoh and M.~Sato and Y.~Anzai",
    title="Michele: A Multi-agent Interface Architecture for
Distributed Open Environments",
    booktitle="Technology of Object-Oriented Languages and Systems
(TOOLS '91)",
    year="1991",
    pages="61--69"
}

@inproceedings{Nakauchi91c,
    author="Y.~Nakauchi and T.~Okada and Y.~Itoh and Y.~Anzai",
    title="Groupware that Learns",
    booktitle="IEEE Pacific Rim Conference on Communications, Computers and
Signal Processing",
    year="1991",
    pages="688--691"
}

@inproceedings{Nakauchi92d,
    author="Y.~Nakauchi and E.~Miyoshi and T.~Okada and Y.~Anzai",
    title="Computer-Mediated Cooperative Work in Distributed Office
Environment",
    booktitle="International Conference on Economics/Management and Information
Technology (CEMIT92/CECOIA3)",
    year="1992",
    pages="295--298"
}

Contact: 
;   Yasushi Nakauchi (nakauchi@aa.cs.keio.ac.jp)
;;   Anzai-Amano Lab., Dept. of Computer Science, Keio Univ.
;;;   TEL: +81-45-560-1070  FAX: +81-45-560-1064

4)  Universitaet-GH Paderborn (research)
----------------------------------------

System in early development. (cited from mail:)
A "workflow-enabled groupware system" based on the development
platform of Lotus Notes. The aim is to support the structuring and
tracking of all activities involved with editing and routing of
documents.
It is planned to support programmed activities.

Contact:
 Wolfgang Hilpert
 EUCOS (Enduser Computing / Office Systems)
 Universitaet-GH Paderborn
 Wirtschaftsinformatik 2
 Warburger Str. 100
 4790 Paderborn - Germany

 Internet    : Whilpert.Notes@MHS.UNI-Paderborn.de
      Voice  : (49) 52 51 / 60 3889
      FAX    : (49) 52 51 / 60 3399

5) Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg (research)
---------------------------------------------

References:

Reinwald, Wedekind: Integrierte Aktivitaeten- und Datenverwaltung zur
   systemgestuetzten Kontroll- und Datenflussteuerung.
   Informatik Forschung und Entwicklung 7 (1992): 73-82

Reinwald, B.: Ablaufsteuerung in CIM-Systemen.
   CIM Management 6/92

Reinwald, B.; Wedekind, H.: Automation of Control and Data Flow in Distributed
   Application Systems.
   In: Tjoa, A.; Ramos, I. (eds.): Database and Expert Systems Applications.
   Proceedings of the International Conference (DEXA '92, Valencia, Spain).
   Wien et al.: Springer-Verlag, 1992, S. 475-481

Contact:
 Berthold Reinwald                       reinwald@informatik.uni-erlangen.de
 Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg         Tel.: +49-9131-85-7901 
 Lehrstuhl fuer Datenbanksysteme         Fax:  +49-9131-32090 
 Martensstr. 3, W-8520 Erlangen          

6) EuroCoOp (research)
----------------------

Esprit-Project "aims to develop powerful and effective systems for
supporting distributed cooperative work." Currently a Model and a
Toolkit for task coordination is developed. Supporting the tasks is
planned. 

References:

- P. Hennessy, T. Kreifelts, U. Ehrlich: Distributed work management:
  activity coordination within the EuroCoOp project. In: computer
  communications, vol. 15 no. 8 October 1992


Gunnar Teege   Inst. fuer Informatik, Technische Universitaet Muenchen
               PO-Box 202420, 8000 Muenchen 2, Germany
teege@informatik.tu-muenchen.de       Tel: +49 89 450552 25


From Fadi A. Rabie <FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Message-ID: <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Should managers delegate authority to Junior Managers
Lines: 6

Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.


PLEASE REPLY,  THANK YOU.


From mjo@slee01.srl.ford.com (Mike O'Connor)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior Managers
Date: 13 Nov 1992 21:58:04 GMT
Organization: Not an official spokesperson for Ford Motor Co.
Lines: 17
Message-ID: <1e18dcINN336@ef2007.efhd.ford.com>
References: <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Reply-To: "Mike O'Connor" <mjo@fmsrl7.srl.ford.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: slee01.srl.ford.com

In article <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> Fadi A. Rabie
<FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> writes:

:Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
:   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
:   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.

Lacking context, the questions you pose don't make sense.  I will say
this much -- a good manager knows how to delegate, and stays informed.

						...Mike

--
 Michael J. O'Connor           |  Internet:  mjo@FMSRL7.SRL.FORD.COM
 Ford Motor Company, OPEO      |  UUCP:      ...!{backbone}!fmsrl7!mjo
 20000 Rotunda, Bldg. 1-3001   |  Phone:     +1 (313) 248-1260
 Dearborn, MI  48121           |  Fax:       +1 (313) 323-6277


From san@daffy.Berkeley.EDU (Steve Sanderson)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Groupware's use in team development
Message-ID: <2874@devnull.mpd.tandem.com>
Date: 12 Nov 92 17:09:47 GMT
References: <92312.120234HO3545A@auvm.american.edu>
Sender: news@devnull.mpd.tandem.com
Lines: 21

Interesting idea to use groupware to improve team development.

Are there any aspects of team development which you are already
considering that could be improved by groupware?

Also, do you have a model of "teams" that you are using?

In article <92312.120234HO3545A@auvm.american.edu>,
HO3545A@auvm.american.edu (Hugh P. Obrien) writes:
> From: HO3545A@auvm.american.edu (Hugh P. Obrien)
> Subject: Groupware's use in team development
> 
> 
>      I am very interested in how groupware can aid in team development.  It
> appears that when a team forms there is a lag time before the team becomes
> productive.  Is there any way that groupware can shorten this lag time?
> Any response would be appreciated.

				Steve Sanderson
				Tandem Computers
				san@mpd.tandem.com


From sss@world.std.com (Sergiu S Simmel)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Groupware Infrastructure -- Join the Kala Forum
Message-ID: <SSS.92Nov15210108@world.std.com>
Date: 16 Nov 92 02:01:08 GMT
Sender: sss@world.std.com (Sergiu S Simmel)
Organization: Penobscot Development Corporation, Arlington MA
Lines: 421




---------------------------------------------------------------------

                 PENOBSCOT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

                              announces

                A NEW FORUM FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE

                                  on 
                                  
                  THE KALA(tm) TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
                       = third announcement =


Welcome to Kala -- The Persistent Data Server. Now, you can ...

        o keep yourself up-to-date with Kala's new developments, 
        o share your experience in using Kala with others, 
        o hear what others have to say about it, 
        o ask us questions and benefit from the answers we provide to
          others, 
        o participate in discussions on Kala-related technical topics,
          such as data/object persistence, visibility management,
          databases and file systems, etc.,
        o learn more about the Kala technology, including as yet 
          undocumented details,
    	o give us important technical and business feedback on our
    	  products,

        o and more ...

	[for a sample posting, see attachment to this announcement]


... by subscribing to our new Kala Forum. This forum, organized as a 
mailing list, will be moderated, so we will try to keep its focus and 
orientation straight, and the junk mail out.

If you'd like to see a past issue, you can access them via anonymous
FTP from world.std.com. The entire Kala Forum archive is located in
the pub/kala/KalaForum directory. All files are ASCII text.

To subscribe (and subsequently for any other requests regarding your
subscription, such as change of address, unsubscription, etc.), direct
your request to:

                --------------------------
                kala-request@world.std.com
                --------------------------
        
To contribute to the on-going discussions address your messages to:

                    ------------------
                    kala@world.std.com
                    ------------------

Since we value most advertizing by word-of-mouth and personal
reference, please forward this message to whomever you believe could
also benefit from subscribing.

We are looking forward to your subscription request and your
participation in 


                   ###   ==============  ###
                   ###   The Kala Forum  ###
                   ###   ==============  ###







 _     _     ____   _         ____ tm ____________________________________
 \\   /     |    \   \       |    \       \\\\ 
  \\ /__     \ __ \   \       \ __ \       \\\\ 
   \\    \    \    \   \       \    \       \\\\  
    \\    \    \    \   \       \    \       \\\\  No more than you need !!!
     \\'   \'   \'   \'  '----'  \'   \'      \\\\  No less than you want !!!
      ........................................................................
      Penobscot Development Corp. 50 Princeton Road Arlington Mass. 02174-8253
       voice: +1-617-646-3951  fax: +1-617-646-5753  email: kala@world.std.com








For BYTE Magazine, December 1992 Issue

                                                Persistent Data Servers
                                       --Maintain the structure of data
                                       --Perform like file systems
                                       --Offer database features


=========================================================================

                            Objects of Substance

Persistent data servers provide a new way to store object-based data.

                     Sergiu S. Simmel and Ivan Godard

=========================================================================


One knock often made against software objects is their transient
nature.  Traditionally, an object is ephemeral; it is defined,
manipulated, and destroyed by the program that creates it. It has no
existence beyond the program's execution.  Unlike real-world objects,
and unlike computer generated data that exists outside of a program in
a file system or database system, software objects are usually not
persistent. The only way one program can share an object it creates
with another program is for the two programs to be executing at the
same time. This requirement puts a crimp in any plans for developing
distributed object systems.

Object-oriented database management systems provide one means of
giving objects the characteristic of persistence; file systems provide
another.  Neither solution, however, is ideal for all applications,
situations, and implementations. That's the rationale behind a new
class of storage software called Persistent Data Servers.

---------------
Hobson's Choice  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The simplest persistent data storage available to you is the file
system on your disk drive. File systems have some attractive
characteristics; their performance is good, they can hold any data,
they're easy to use, and, of course, the price is right. Conversely,
files are unreliable.  They provide no mechanism for in maintaining
data consistency and only primitive data sharing facilities. Few file
systems offer version control and all require that you transform data
between "internal" and "external" forms all the time.

Unlike a file system, a true database management system provides
mechanisms for sharing data and for ensuring the integrity of the
data.  It supports transactions and version control, although the
specifics of these functions may not be exactly what your application
needs. Finally, a database system is scalable, and much more robust
than a file when your hardware or software fails.

  The downside to a database system is that, compared to a file
system, it is slower by an order of magnitude or more. Also, a
database system generally confines you to dealing only with the kind
of data that it can handle. In addition, a database is usually very
complicated, difficult to learn and use, and expensive, both in terms
of your cost of operation and in the amount of system resources they
consume.

  Whether you choose a file system or a database manager, then, you
have to sacrifice either economy or performance. Is there a happy
medium?  Something with the speed and flexibility of files, the
reliability, shareability and robustness of databases, and at a cost
that won't break your wallet or the available hardware? A new breed of
products, persistent data servers, aims squarely at the yawning gap
between DBMSs and file systems.

--------------
An Alternative
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kala is a persistent data server from Penobscot Development
Corporation (Arlington, MA). It is a software subassembly, available
to applications and database managers, that manages both the state and
visibility of persistent data. It takes care of the how and the where
(how data is stored and retrieved, and where it is stored), and also
copes with the who, which and when of data management -- who can store
and retrieve which data and when.

  Kala is similar to a file system in its simplicity, high
performance, low semantic level (although it also supports pointers,
not just bits), and low cost operation. And, it is similar to a DBMS
in its robustness, support for transactions, security features, access
control, configuration ability, reliability, scaleability, and so
forth. But, at the same time, it is different than either of these
environments.

  Kala combines the benefits of both these worlds while avoiding the
drawbacks of each. This type of storage software can provide low level
persistent data services. No more, no less.

--------------
Managing State
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Like file systems, a persistent data server offers a get/put interface
to the storage subsystem and can store any kind of data. Unlike file
systems or the BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects) used by some database
systems, a persistent data server lets the stored data retain its
internal structure, no matter how complex. Suppose your application
builds a linked list in memory and saves the list to the persistent
store. When you retrieve that data it will still be a linked list --
topologically the same as the original even though the memory
addresses of the nodes are completely different (see the figure).

  Of course, object databases can also store references, but the links
used by the persistent data server are regular machine pointers, not
performance-costly object-oriented pointers. Your stored data can have
any representation, including packed structures and executable code.
You aren't restricted to a few primitive data types or the type of
structures offered by a specific access language. Kala is as happy
storing C++ or COBOL data as it is Lisp, assembler, or Smalltalk.

-----------------
Development Steps
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  The type of persistent data storage Kala provides lets you forget
the distinction between in-memory and on-disk data or object
"formats." You can program using Kala as if your code never had to
remember anything across executions or applications. Write your
applications as a demo, with dummy data and no storage i/o. You can
lay out your data or objects in memory in the way best suited for
in-memory-only processing and fastest execution of your algorithms.

  Once you are satisfied with the execution of your new "demo"
application, you can think about a production-level persistent store
for your objects. You first decide what the "unit of transfer" is,
that is, which data should go to store and come back together as a
unit. The ability to choose the transfer unit improves performance
because you can bring in at once all the different pieces of data your
application requires. These pieces may be many different objects or
parts of objects -- the application doesn't care.

  For example, if the data you're using is a linked graph structure,
you can either transfer the entire graph at once or just each node as
you need it. Or, you can load in the entire graph except the contents
of a single large but rarely referenced field in each node. You can
even bundle the graph with other data, or choose some other unit of
transfer.  The transfer unit you select consists of hunks of bits and
pointers possibly spread all over memory.

  Using convenient calls to the API, you tell the software where the
data is and where, within that data, the machine pointers are.  The
persistent data server takes care of the rest. It copies that data (no
more and no less) onto the persistent store, and gives you a "claim
check" in return. When you present that claim check, the server will
promptly retrieve that same data and lay it out in the application
memory.

-------------------
Types Without Limit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Persistent data servers can handle anything that's made out of bits
and pointers including objects, source code, records, images,
executable code, noise, video, and so forth. This "model neutrality"
makes a persistent data server an ideal interoperability point in the
storage domain. It can reside "below" all other subassemblies and
components that support only one or at most a few data organizations.
In this respect, the role of a persistent data server in the storage
domain resembles the X Window System in the display domain, or
Postscript in the printing domain.

  For example, an object management system can interpret data as
object slots and methods. Because a persistent data server isn't bound
to any particular notion of object, it can simultaneously support
several types of objects. The access to and visibility of these
objects is guaranteed to remain the same for different language
systems, different hardware platforms, and different object management
systems.

-------------------
Managing Visibility
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional DBMSs and file systems deal with transactions, access
control, security, licensing, version control, and configuration
control as separate services. This practice has led to a proliferation
of transaction managers, security managers, configuration managers,
etc.  The net result is unnecessarily complex, large, and
overhead-burdened products.

  A persistent data servers works differently. It recognizes that all
the services offered by traditional DBMSes are simply facets of the
same basic problem: controlling the visibility of data.

  If you analyze the nature of a transaction commit in a
conventional database, you find that it is a means making new values
visible to the rest of the world by replacing the old values. Look at
security grants. A security grant is simple a means of making
data accessible (visible) to qualified agents until the access is
revoked.  You can think of a license as a means of making a
dataset available (visible) to someone on the basis of pre-paid
rights. A configuration is simply the bundling of a collection of data
so that the collection is always visible as a unit. Each DBMS has its
own idea of how to implement the semantics of these services.

  Take transactions, for example. Many useful transaction models
exist, because the needs of automated teller machines are different
from those of CASE repositories, which, in turn, are different from
those of Personal Information Managers. Several useful access control
schemes also exist. Security is treated differently in each
organization, while all information vendors have different needs for
their licensing models.  Mathematically, all models are equivalent
because each can be used to implement any of the others. But, in
practice, trying to do so leads to unwarranted complications,
overhead, and bulkiness.

  Persistent data software should be different. An application like
Kala doesn't provide a single model, or a "one-size-fits-all" solution
for each service. Instead, it provides a handful of primitives that
you can use to build the right model for the application. Simple
models typical of conventional DBMSs can be supplied prebuilt for you
to use.

--------------------
Managing Performance
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The performance of a persistent data server for a single user is equal
to the performance of a good file system when reading and writing the
same data. Perhaps surprisingly, its <I>relative performance
actually improves with multiple users in a client/server
configuration. This phenomenon occurs partly because of the seek
optimization and shared buffering of common data used by Kala, and
partly because it is no longer necessary for each application to
individually open and close files.

  Kala is algorithmically faster than equivalent conventional
technology exactly when you need it most: at peak server loads. It
uses a non-write-in-place strategy, never overwriting a prior value.
This feature gives it an effective 50 percent update performance
advantage in transaction contexts such as OLTP (On Line Transaction
Processing) applications. Kala requires only 1 + 1/n disk accesses per
update (one to write the new data to free storage, and a fraction to
record the commit where the commit record is shared with other
transactions). A high-performance conventional DBMS needs 2 + 1/n disk
accesses for the same task (one to write the former value in case of
crash, one to write the new data back over the former value, and
again, a fraction for the commit). This performance gain is not at the
expense of data reliability and recoverability.

-----------------------------------------------
Persistent Data Servers Versus Object Databases
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Any quality ODBMS can recover all transactions that have been
committed, even if it were only milliseconds before the crash.
Persistent data servers can do the same, while performing as fast as
less reliable systems such as file systems.

  Many conventional ODBMS that have good performance as single-client
applications with systematic access patterns, but degrade badly in
multiple- client applications such as groupware, or when used
concurrently by different applications that randomly access large
pools of data. Many ODBMSes are tuned to display quick response to
predictable access patterns. Thus they often achieve local
(per-client) optimums at the expense of global (across clients)
slow-down.

  For example, some ODBMSs improve object faulting performance by
page- mapping databases using the file-mapping facilities of the OS.
In this instance, the unit of transfer is the fixed size virtual
memory page (or a multiple of it). These ODBMSes show no sensitivity
to the actual access patterns of the application.

 If the data is a payroll database, an application may need pay
records scattered throughout the database. The result in a page-based
ODBMS is that it may bring a 4- or 8-KB page into memory to get an
object that may be a few hundred bytes at most. The remainder --
perhaps 80 or 90 percent of the total space and access time -- is
wasted. The ODBMS may be performing well but the application grinds to
a halt due to thrashing in the operating system's page manager.

  By contrast, Kala's user-specified units of transfer eliminate
internal fragmentation. You get only what you requested -- that is, as
little as one byte and as much as the size of the virtual memory, or
more. In a multi-user environment, this feature also takes care of the
severe security loopholes introduced by page- mapping based approaches
-- another acute real-world problem.

  In conventional systems with single users, you can overcome
thrashing and other performance problems by having the user manually
cluster the data, relying on the programmer's ability to predict the
access patterns of a single application and thus optimize the database
for that application alone. However, this traditional technique breaks
down badly when one application needs one selection of data from the
database, and a second application, perhaps running concurrently for
other users, needs different selections. The result is
less-than-optimal global behavior.

  Kala doesn't employ such local optimizations. Instead, it uses
actual access history to dynamically rearrange the store, so that
global optimum occurs. If there is only a single user application,
this type of software should be able to achieve clustering as good as
the best packing performed by hand. It also should give globally
optimum performance in multiple applications, without requiring the
services of an expensive database administrator to tune the
clustering.

--------------
Moving Forward
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Persistent data servers such as Kala provide a new and exciting middle
ground between the performance and simplicity of file systems and the
capabilities of database managers. They are particularly useful as the
underpinnings of object stores because they maintain the structure of
the data on the disk, making it independent of the application that
created it.

  More and more, applications need access to complex data types. More
and more, applications must support multiple users in a distributed
environment. From flat files to objects, persistent data servers can
handle them all.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Ivan Godard and Sergiu S. Simmel are co-founders of Penobscot
 Development Corporation of Arlington, Massachusetts. Simmel holds an
    MS in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of
   Minnesota.  His areas of expertise include CASE, hypermedia, and
 object-oriented databases. Godard has contributed to the development
 of Algol68, Ada, and Mary, the first wide-spectrum language, and has
taught post-graduate courses at Carnegie-Mellon and the University of
  Maine. You can reach them at +1-617-646-3951 or on the Internet as
			 kala@world.std.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


From zanetti@ghost.dsi.unimi.it (Alessandro Zanetti)
Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior Managers
References: <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Organization: Computer Science Dep. - Milan University
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 13:42:38 GMT
Message-ID: <1992Nov16.134238.24736@ghost.dsi.unimi.it>
Lines: 44

Fadi A. Rabie <FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> writes:

>Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
>   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
>   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.


>PLEASE REPLY,  THANK YOU.


I'm happy to read such questions, not just because I have an answer, but now I
know there is someone else that have or had to do with this problems.

So I want to write here what I have to do, hoping that someone can give me some
suggestions.

In the sphere of CSCW we are developing software for the communication between
members of organizations.

This kind of communication is ruled by Petri Nets, and stands on some theories
of the language (Searle).
If you know COORDINATOR you have an idea of this kind of communication.

In real organizations, members have a role, manager, responsible of an area,
...slave... and so on.

I'm trying to formalize concepts such as manager, responsibility, area of
activity, sub-area, commitment, resource, ...

Then I'll have to implement such model in an Object-Oriented Language based on
Common Lisp.

What I ask is:

IS THERE SOMEONE IN THE WORLD DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM I DESCRIBED (HOW TO FIND
A MODEL OF ORGANIZATION) THAT IS SO KIND TO EXCHANGE WORDS AND IDEAS WITH ME???

Thank you in advance, Alessandro

-----
Alessandro Zanetti
Department of Computer Science, Milan University - Italy

e-mail: zanetti@ghost.dsi.unimi.it


From david@ruc.dk (David Stodolsky)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware,news.answers
Subject: Introduction to comp.groupware (Periodic informational Posting)
Supersedes: <groupware-intro_720856821@athena.mit.edu>
Followup-To: comp.groupware
Date: 18 Nov 1992 06:00:26 GMT
Organization: Roskilde University
Lines: 321
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Distribution: world
Expires: 16 Dec 1992 06:00:17 GMT
Message-ID: <groupware-intro_722066417@athena.mit.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pit-manager.mit.edu
Summary: Guidelines for posting to the Usenet newsgroup comp.groupware.
Keywords: CSCW, orgware, group, interactive, shared, environments
X-Last-Updated: 1992/10/06

Archive-name: groupware-intro
Last-modified: 1992/10/6
Version: 1.2

Please read carefully:
Any article posted to comp.groupware uses a minimum of ten hours of
readers' time. Do not post test messages to comp.groupware (see section
5 below). 

This article is posted automatically every 14 days to introduce the
group to the more than one thousand new readers that have subscribed
during that period. 

---------------- Contents (and revision information) ------------

Sections in this article (Revised in last modification)

0. Groupware is software and hardware for shared interactive
environments. (Revised ordering of paragraphs)
1. Set your distribution to "world".
2. Sign your article.
3. Comp.groupware is being archived. (Revised)
4. If you are posting copyrighted work...
5. Authors should refer to "Guidelines for posting on Usenet"...
(Revised)
6. When you reply to a message, do not change the subject line...
7. Comp.groupware is read by over 47,000 people.

------------ End of Contents (and revision information) ----------


0. Groupware is software and hardware for shared interactive
environments.

The term "environment" includes software and hardware that sets the
context for interaction. Hardware can include specially designed
furnishings and architectural spaces that are considered integral to
correct utilization of a given software application. A groupware
application may require a specific organizational environment to
function as expected. More powerful applications can adapt to, or
overcome limitations of, their environments.

The term "interactive" is used to indicate that time constraints are
managed by the system. Many groupware applications appear to support
real-time interaction. Others merely enforce deadlines that can span
weeks. In either case, the technical limitations on the pace of
interaction are made (to appear) negligible in terms of the objectives
of the application. Systems that exclude reference to real time are not
groupware applications.

The term "shared" indicates that two or more participants interact with
one another in such a manner that each person influences and is
influenced by each other person. No upper limit in the number of
participants is indicated, because mediated groups, as opposed to
natural ones, can maintain joint awareness with very large numbers of
persons. (Joint awareness is one way that "group" is defined.) An
objective of some groupware applications is to increase the number of
persons that can interact "as a group".

Some definitions of groupware include the notion of a common goal. While
all systems require some agreement among participants (at minimum that
they should be jointly used), interactions can be predominately
conflictual. Management of conflict is often a crucial feature of a
groupware system. Vote collecting systems are an example.

Definitions:

Group - Two or more persons who are interacting
with one another in such a manner that each person
influences and is influenced by each other person
(Shaw, M. E. _Group dynamics: The psychology of
small group behaviour_. 1976, p. 11).

Ware - 1 a) manufactured articles, products of art
or craft.... b) an article of merchandise.... 3) an
intangible item (as a service) that is a marketable
commodity. (_Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary_,
1976, p. 1319).


1. Set your distribution to "world". Comp.groupware is delivered to all
continents. Do not limit your chances for feedback by restricting
distribution. Restricted distribution can cause confusion when people
read responses to articles they have not seen. If you notice an article
has a restricted distribution, inform the poster by mail.

If you are restricted from posting to "world" by your administrator,
request a change in your privileges, at least for this newsgroup. If
refused, determine what your rights are in terms of appeal, based upon
information available at your site. An alternative is to use the Net to
find information and persons to contact concerning your rights. 
Try the newsgroups:

comp.org.eff.news
comp.org.eff.talk
misc.legal.computing
alt.society.civil-liberty
alt.comp.acad-freedom.news
alt.society.cu-digest

A frequently asked questions file can be retrieved by sending email to:
archive-server@eff.org, 
include the line "send caf-faq netnews.writing".
Information about the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) can be
requested from eff@eff.org. You can also retrieve information about EFF
and its projects via anonymous FTP from ftp.eff.org.

As a final resort, send a summary of your case to:

Carl Kadie (kadie@eff.org)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
155 Second Street
Cambridge, MA 02141, USA
Tel.: +1 (617) 864-0665
Fax: +1 (617) 864-0866.

If you can send email off-site, you can post using a Usenet-news mail
server. Email to "comp-groupware@ucbvax.berkeley.edu" is posted with the
subject line of your letter becoming the subject line of the article.
(Note: "." in the newsgroup name is written as "-".) This allows you to
post to a newsgroup even if you have read-only access to Network News.


2. Sign your article. Each name should have one and only one user. If
the article is a joint product, indicate this at the beginning and end
of the article. Some news reading programs allow certain names to be to
be automatically selected. Help the reader by using the same name at all
times. This will improve the chances that people will read your
articles.

The signature should include complete name, address, and telephone
number (this allows quick verification in case forgery is suspected).
E-mail addresses ought to be included in the signature in case headers
get munged. Another nice feature is geographical coordinates, so the
time zone can be determined (useful in telephoning). The signature
should be limited to four lines as is suggested practice on Usenet.


3. Comp.groupware is being archived. Selected discussions will be
reprinted in the _Writings on Computer Science_ (_Datalogiske Skrifter_)
working paper series available from the Institute of Geography,
Socio-economic Analysis, and Computer Science, Roskilde University, Post
Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark (ISSN 0109-9779-xx). Material
appearing in the series can be published elsewhere.

Authors will not be contacted individually before publication, but the
draft will be posted to comp.groupware for comment and correction before
being sent to the printer. All articles will be reproduced exactly as
posted (headers may be included, and parts (e.g., data sets) may be
moved to appendices and other changes making the articles more suitable
for printing may be made).

tvv@ncsc.org (Terry Myerson) began archiving comp.groupware 92.10.6.
The archive is available by anonymous ftp from: 
avs.ncsc.org ( 128.109.178.23 )

in the directory:
~ftp/newsgroups/comp.groupware

The archives are in mail folders named MONTH_YEAR.
For example, to peruse all of the postings in the month of
October, you could download the archive Oct_92, and execute

%       Mail -f Oct_92

Articles from comp.groupware are also available by anonymous FTP from: 
gorm.ruc.dk

in the directory:
~groupware/art/comp/groupware/

Login as "anonymous" and give your user name as your password.
Those without FTP access should send e-mail to:
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu

with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find out
how to do FTP by e-mail.


4. If you are posting copyrighted work, indicate at the beginning of the
article whether permission has been obtained. If you do not want an
article reproduced, indicate this (e.g., Copyright - Net distribution
only).


5. Authors should refer to "Guidelines for posting on Usenet" in the
newsgroup "news.announce.newusers" to make sure they know to spell check
their articles, etc. "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions",
"Introduction to news.announce", "Hints on writing style for Usenet"
available in the same newsgroup also contain information for new users.

Do not post test messages to comp.groupware. There are special groups
for testing. And tests should be as limited in their distribution as
possible. This is basic information from "Guidelines for posting on
Usenet". Posting of test messages inappropriately is considered abusive
and will cause a loss of readership for your articles.

Always use your Subject line to state the *topic* of your article as
completely as possible (e.g., "Macintosh II voice-mail based real-time
meeting software ready.", rather than "Meeting software"). Summary lines
should indicate *what* your message says about the topic (e.g., "New
meeting coordination software available via anonymous FTP"). Statements
should always end with periods, questions with question marks
(typically), and high energy, high impact declarations with exclamation
points. These rules makes articles much easier for recipients to handle
appropriately. 

If you ask a question, your subject line should include "question",
"query", "(Q)" or should end with a "?". Questions should clearly
explain your problem and surrounding issues. Otherwise, you will simply
waste the time of those who want to help you. Tell people the kind of
work you are doing or contemplating doing. This helps them provide the
information you need. Indicate what efforts, if any, you have made thus
far, and what information was found.

Subject, Summary, and Keyword headers are scanned by many news reading
programs, thus permitting readers to find your article easily. You will
have your articles read more often if you select these carefully.


6. When you reply to a message, do not change the subject line or
redirect follow-ups (unless you are changing the subject).  Such changes
make it harder for some news readers to follow the threads in a
discussion. Include a "Summary" line which indicates specifically what
your message says. This permits your article to be found even if it is a
follow-up to an article with poorly chosen subject and keyword
information.

Please, do not post responses to articles you feel are inappropriate or
abusive. (If you can not resist, consider alt.flame as an alternative
newsgroup for your article [it has greater readership than
comp.groupware]). If the author is not saying anything worth reading,
enter the name in your "kill" file, and then no more of your time will
be wasted by that person. If you feel that the author is saying
something worth reading, but in an inappropriate way, respond by mail.
Tell the author what you think is incorrect about the article. If
possible, suggest how to accomplish the objective in an appropriate way
(e. g., post to another newsgroup). If you have responded to a person by
mail a few times without the desired effect, and you feel that the group
as a whole could benefit by a solution to the problem, only then should
you post an article.  The nature of your article should be a suggestion,
if possible, of how such problems can be avoided in the future.


7. Comp.groupware is read by over 47,000 people. Consider the cost to
readers of any post. If even an obviously inappropriate article is
distributed, one that just takes readers a few seconds to scan, and then
skip or kill, the total time used is still large. With 36,000 readers, a
post that takes an average of 1 second for each reader to deal with (i.
e., examining the subject line) means a total of ten hours used (36,000
seconds / 3,600 seconds/hour = 10 hours). If the article uses up an
average of four seconds, then the total time expenditure is 40 hours,
the equivalent of a work week. This is probably the minimum time
expenditure on any article that is even selected for scanning. So, if
you spend a week preparing an article and then post it to
comp.groupware, there will be a balance between your time investment and
that used by readers, even if they only scan your article and make no
response. The lack of a separate feedback channel is an unfortunate
deficiency in the Network News system as it is currently structured.

This analysis should not discourage anyone from posting a simple
question. Some of the most interesting and valuable exchanges in
comp.groupware have resulted from such questions. However, authors must
not make such requests unnecessarily. On the other hand, a carefully
prepared article or a report of an extensive project may not receive any
comment at all. This could mean that the article is clear and error
free. It could also mean it was not of sufficient interest to anyone to
be read in detail. What can be assumed is that it was seriously
considered. This is a result of the currently low traffic level in
comp.groupware and high quality of articles posted.

If your email reply to an author fails, try again using information in
the signature lines. An X.500 directory information server can be
consulted to find a person's email address. Read the informational
article, "How to find people's email addresses" (in the newsgroup
"news.answers"), so you know to contact the postmaster at the site of
the person you are trying to reach, and so on. Do not post a reply until
you have tried to reach the author by telephone, facsimile, or paper
mail. If these fail, ask yourself if getting the reply through is worth
ten hours of readers' time. If so, post the message. Do not post a
message asking a person to send you an email address, unless your letter
must be kept private (If this is true, consider using encryption). If it
is not of general interest, use only the person's name as the subject
(e.g., "To: Foo Bar"). If other readers might find it interesting, also
give full subject information. 

Similarly, do not broadcast requests for information you can obtain from
a known source. Requests such as, "What are the contents of book Foo
published by Bar" are not appropriate. This information can normally be
obtained by a short telephone call and a few minutes of work by someone
being paid to provide that service. Let's not deprive someone of a job
and at the same time get comp.groupware readers fired because they are
wasting all their time reading unnecessary articles :-).

Post long articles as a single unit if they are less than 30,000
characters. Otherwise, post separate sections as follow-ups to the
first, breaking at meaningful places. This permits the sections to be
treated as a single unit, thus minimizing expenditure of attention on
the article. The cost of transmitting articles is negligible, so long
posts that take one second to delete "cost" the same as short ones.

Disregarding these considerations or a lack of self discipline in
following them will result in defensive attention management. That is,
certain authors will not be read at all by many readers or valuable
discussions will take place by email instead of being posted. This would
have the unfortunate effect of fractionating the joint awareness that
permits the comp.groupware readership to function as a group. Thus, it
is recommended that authors who prefer entertainment to rigor in their
news reading, post to other newsgroups.

-------

This article compiled with assistance from numerous readers of
comp.groupware.

Corrections, comments, and suggestions to:

David S. Stodolsky                Messages: + 45 46 75 77 11 x 24 41
Department of Computer Science                 Tel: + 45 31 95 92 82
Bldg. 20.1, Roskilde University Center        Internet: david@ruc.dk
Post Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark        Fax: + 45 46 75 42 01


From sdb@cs.nott.ac.uk (Steve Benford)
Subject: Collaborative Computing - Call for Papers
Message-ID: <1992Nov18.173840.25583@cs.nott.ac.uk>
Organization: Nottingham University
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 17:38:40 GMT
Lines: 155


		      FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS
	
		     COLLABORATIVE COMPUTING
		     =======================

		A New Journal From Chapman and Hall


Edited by:
Steve Benford, University of Nottingham, UK
Hiroshi Ishii, NTT, Japan
Simon Kaplan, University of Illinois, USA
Tom Rodden, University of Lancaster, UK


Aims and Scope
--------------

The integration of computing and telecommunications promises to
revolutionize the fundamental human process of collaboration.  The new
quarterly journal of Collaborative Computing is an international journal
which covers the areas of group work, collaborative systems,
telecommunications, computing and distributed systems thereby
providing a forum for exchange of information and experiences for those
involved in this revolution.

The journal will publish innovative research in Computer Supported
Cooperative Work (CSCW), Groupware and Computer Mediated
Communications (CMC), with particular emphasis on the development of
computer and communication technologies to support group work.  It
will be concerned with the design of cooperative systems and
Groupware; experiences with the use of such systems; and advances in
group support technologies. Areas of particular interest will include:

* reports of new CSCW systems and Groupware;

* architectures and environments for CSCW;

* the application of distributed systems technologies and
  approaches such as Open Distributed Processing (ODP) and 
  OSI to CSCW;

* the theoretical basis of CSCW

* models of collaboration;

* user interface tools and techniques for collaboration
  (e.g. Virtual Reality).

* evaluation of and experiences with CSCW systems;

* the relationship between CSCW and standards;

* the use of multi-media technologies in CSCW

* the process of design of CSCW systems

* the relationship between social and psychological theories
  of interaction and computational models.

The journal will encourage contributions from a wide range of
disciplines including computer science, social sciences, HCI, business
and management and information science. Particular emphasis will be
placed on inter-disciplinary approaches towards the development of
collaborative systems.

In addition to research papers, the journal will review CSCW products,
conferences and projects. It will also provide a forum for informing
readers of developments within the research community including new
initiatives, laboratory reports and interviews with leading
researchers.


Submission guidelines
---------------------

Send FIVE copies of your manuscript to one of the following:-

	Steve Benford 
	Editor - Collaborative Computing
	Department of Computer Science
	The University of Nottingham
	Nottingham NG7 2RD
	UK

	Simon Kaplan
	Editor - Collaborative Computing
	Department of Computer Science
	University of Illinois
	1304 W. Springfield Avenue
	Urbana
	Illinois 61801
	USA

	Hiroshi Ishii
	Editor - Collaborative Computing
	Dr.  Hiroshi  ISHII
	NTT Human Interface Laboratories
	1-2356 Take, 
	Yokosuka-Shi, 
	Kanagawa, 238-03 
	JAPAN


For more information contact one of the following:-

Steve Benford
Tel: +44 602 514203
Fax: +44 602 514254
Email: sdb@cs.nott.ac.uk

Tom Rodden
Tel: +44 524 65201 ext 3823
Fax  +44 524 381707
Email: tom@comp.lan

Simon Kaplan
Tel: +1 217 244 0392
Fax:   +1 217 333 3501
Email: kaplan@marula.cs.uiuc.edu

Hiroshi Ishii
Tel: +81 468 59 3522
Fax: +81 468 59 2332
Email: ishii@ntthif.ntt.jp


Advisory Board
--------------

Clarence Ellis, University of Colorado, USA
John Smith, University of North Carolina, USA
Nathaniel Borenstein, Bellcore, USA
Sid Ahuja, AT&T Bell Labs, USA
Tom Moran, Xerox PARC, USA
Allan Shepherd, Hewlett-Packard, USA
Jonathan Grudin, University of California Irvine, USA
Ehud Shapiro, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Alistair Rogers, British Telecom, UK
Leandro Navarro, UPC Barcelona, Spain
Ahmed Patel, University College Dublin, Ireland
Encarnor Pastor, University of Madrid, Spain
Giorgio Di Michelis, University of Milan, Italy
Tom Rudebusch, University Karlsruhe, Germany
Wolfgang Prinz, GMD, Germany
Phil Hughes, Bell Northern Research Europe
Paul Dourish, Xerox EuroPARC
Toshihiko Yamakami, NTT Telecommunications Research Laboratories, Japan
Shiro Sakata, NEC Corporation, Japan
Thore Danielsen, Norwegian Telecom Research, NTR, Norway
Lennart Fahlen, Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Sweden
Hannes Lubich, ETH Zurich, Switzerland




From joet@dcatlas.dot.gov (Joe Trott)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior Managers
Message-ID: <1992Nov18.213110.17174@dcatlas.dot.gov>
Date: 18 Nov 92 21:31:10 GMT
References: <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> <1992Nov16.134238.24736@ghost.dsi.unimi.it>
Organization: U.S Dept. of Transportation
Lines: 51

zanetti@ghost.dsi.unimi.it (Alessandro Zanetti) writes:

>Fadi A. Rabie <FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> writes:

>>Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
>>   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
>>   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.
Authority can be delegated at will; _responsibility_, however, cannot.  If a
manager delegates the authority for certain decisions to a lower level, and
the lower livel screws up, he will _still_ be flamed for the results. 
Although this may seem unfair, it actually makes sense.

>I'm happy to read such questions, not just because I have an answer, but now I
>know there is someone else that have or had to do with this problems.
I haven't personally had the problem, but this topic is covered in some detail
in the Industrial Management program at Georgia Tech (probably most good
business programs; anyway I'm GT Class of '83).

>So I want to write here what I have to do, hoping that someone can give me some
>suggestions.
You might pick up a book on management theory.  No titles come readily to
mind, but checking out a local college bookstore should help.  Be warned,
however, that this will be among the most boring reading you'll ever do; so
much of it is obviously common sense, and so much that may not be seems too
easy to dismiss without serious thought.

>In real organizations, members have a role, manager, responsible of an area,
>...slave... and so on.
Roles and the people who fill them are not necessarily the same.  A person
can have many roles, and one role may be filled by many people.  If you find
some material on organizational structure, check out the matrix style of
organization for some ideas.

>I'm trying to formalize concepts such as manager, responsibility, area of
>activity, sub-area, commitment, resource, ...
Remember that these are just words, although you do speak specifically of
_concepts_.  I always found them a little hard to define without using
themselves in the definition.

>Then I'll have to implement such model in an Object-Oriented Language based on
>Common Lisp.
Now here, I cannot help you.  Sorry.

>What I ask is:

>IS THERE SOMEONE IN THE WORLD DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM I DESCRIBED (HOW TO FIND
>A MODEL OF ORGANIZATION) THAT IS SO KIND TO EXCHANGE WORDS AND IDEAS WITH ME???
If I can contribute something useful, I will be satisfied with having done so.
You be the judge...send email if you like.

-JTT


From kswenson@tycho.ossi.com (Keith Swenson)
Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior
Message-ID: <BxzGF7.G3M@news.fai.com>
Sender: news@news.fai.com (Usenet News)
Nntp-Posting-Host: 133.164.190.190
Reply-To: kswenson@tycho.ossi.com
Organization: Open System Solutions, Inc.
References: <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 21:45:07 GMT
Lines: 25

In article 154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu, Fadi A. Rabie <FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> () writes:
>Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
>   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
>   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.
>
>
>PLEASE REPLY,  THANK YOU.

Yes!
Naturally, a critical part of a manager's job is to decide what, when, and 
to whom to delegate.  Also, studies of how organizations are evolving are
saying that in order to become more productive and to remain competitive 
organizations need to find ways to move the decision making closer to where 
the work is being done, i.e. to lower levels of management.  It seems to me 
that providing systems that make this easier for organizations is one of 
the goals of groupware.

Should the manager remain part of the decision?  I imagine there are cases
where the decision will be delegated, and other cases where the manager
only wishes to involve the junior in the decision process.  Neither case
should be excluded.

-Keith Swenson
 Fujitsu Open Systems



From mcitera@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Seeking information on electronic whiteboards
Message-ID: <1992Nov19.213403.5716@desire.wright.edu>
Date: 19 Nov 92 21:34:03 EST
Organization:  Wright State University 
Lines: 10

MI am interested in information on electronic whiteboards.  I would
like information concerning the use of electronic whiteboards in
group decision making.  I am also interested in finding out about
different electronic whiteboards currently available.  Any information
that you could provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
MCITERA@Desire.Wright.Edu
Maryalice Citera



From david@ruc.dk (David Stodolsky)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: inappropriate articles - Readme needed?
Summary: New introduction posting needed
Keywords: administration posting student teacher followup
Message-ID: <1992Nov22.201231.7063@ruc.dk>
Date: 22 Nov 92 20:12:31 GMT
Organization: Roskilde Universitetscenter, Danmark
Lines: 36

American University has been the source of several student contributions
to comp.groupware recently. This is apparently a result of a teacher
assigning students participation in a newsgroup as one possible way of
fulfilling class requirements. 

I have exchanged email with the teacher, who agreed that this was not
appropriate, especially considering that he did not ensure that students
had read the "Introduction to comp.groupware" before posting. Other
contributors in the group have responded to these students' articles by
giving information and commenting that questions were not adequately
prepared. These reactions have not stopped these articles. I suggest
that no further follow-ups be posted in response to these types of
articles.

I have added a section to the "Introduction to comp.groupware" for
teachers in the hope that we can avoid another rash of inappropriate
articles. However, I think we need another periodic post to ensure that
students and others who have not prepared adequately are aware of the
standards we are trying to maintain. This would have to be shorter than
the "Introduction to comp.groupware", easy to read (my word processor
indicates that the "Introduction to comp.groupware" requires grade 13
education for comprehension), and a title, maybe "README BEFORE
POSTING", that would make it more likely that it would be read by even
the most inexperienced Netnews users.

I would like someone else to do this, since I have trouble writing at
the appropriate level. The README should primarily ensure that
inappropriate articles are not posted, and then refer readers to the
"Introduction to comp.groupware" for more information. I can arrange for
the actual posting if preferred.

-- 
David S. Stodolsky                Messages: + 45 46 75 77 11 x 24 41
Department of Computer Science                 Tel: + 45 31 95 92 82
Bldg. 20.1, Roskilde University Center        Internet: david@ruc.dk
Post Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark        Fax: + 45 46 75 42 01


From rekers@elc2 (Jan Rekers)
Subject: Re: Seeking information on electronic whiteboards
Message-ID: <1992Nov23.091738.21123@rulway.LeidenUniv.nl>
Sender: rekers@rulwi.leidenuniv.nl (Jan Rekers)
Nntp-Posting-Host: rulwielc2.leidenuniv.nl
Organization: Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science, Leiden University
References: <1992Nov19.213403.5716@desire.wright.edu>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 09:17:38 GMT
Lines: 24


Check out the We-Met system developed at IBM.  This is a pen-based
tool which supports both the communication and information retrieval
needs of small group meetings.  It implements an electronic black (or
white if you wish) board to support design meetings.


@techreport{WeMet,
  author = {Wolf, C.G. and Rhyne, J.R. and Briggs, L.K.},
  title = {Communication and Information Retrieval with a Pen-based Meeting Support Tool},
  institution = {IBM T.J.Watson Research Center},
  address = {P.O.Box 704, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA},
  number = {RC 17842},
  year = 1992
}

Kind regards,						Jan Rekers



-- 
J. Rekers, Department of Computer Science, Leiden University
P.O. box 9512, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
email: rekers@rulwi.LeidenUniv.nl, Phone: +31 71 277092, Fax: +31 71 276985


From droms@regulus.cs.bucknell.edu (Ralph E. Droms)
Newsgroups: comp.infosystems,comp.multimedia,comp.groupware
Subject: CFP: Special Issue of "Internetworking" on Networking Support for Remote Conferencing
Message-ID: <DROMS.92Nov23082046@regulus.cs.bucknell.edu>
Date: 23 Nov 92 13:20:46 GMT
Reply-To: droms@bucknell.edu
Distribution: comp
Organization: Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.
Lines: 63
NNTP-Posting-Host: regulus.cs.bucknell.edu





                              Call for Papers


                 Internetworking:  Research and Experience


        Special Issue on Networking Support for Remote Conferencing


Real-time  interactions  with  colleagues  through  network   communications
are rapidly  becoming  an  important  means  of  communications  as  network
technologies become  better  able to  support  such applications.     Recent
experiments with remote conferencing, such as the multicast of presentations
from the  July,   1992  meeting  of  the IETF  across  the  Internet,   have
demonstrated the viability of the technology and have pointed out new  areas
of investigation.   Remote conferencing puts  special demands on  networking
hardware and protocols:   data must  be generated,  delivered and  presented
at the  destination in  a timely  fashion.   Remote  conferencing  protocols
may prefer  to discard  out of  order or  late data  rather than  delay  the
presentation at the destination.   Multi-way  conferences may use  multicast
algorithms to minimize  the volume of  transmitted data.   Data  compression
techniques may be used to  reduce the volume of data.   The purpose of  this
special issue is  to focus  on issues and  experiences with  internetworking
support for remote conferencing, such as:



  o Multicast protocols for remote conferencing

  o Multi-media data transmission protocols

  o Data compression techniques for video and audio data on internetworks

  o Service requirements for remote conferencing data delivery

  o Experiences with remote conferencing systems


Papers submitted for this  special issue of  Internetworking:  Research  and
Experience should meet  the journal's normal  requirements for  publication.
Original papers,  not published  elsewhere or  not simultaneously  submitted
for publication elsewhere,  will be considered.   The  manuscript should  be
double-spaced, with a separate title  page including the author(s)  name(s),
affiliation(s) and  address(es).    The body  of  the manuscript  should  be
preceded by a  summary of no  more than  200 words.   Up to  five key  words
should be provided for indexing.   Four copies  of the manuscript should  be
delivered by January 15, 1993 to:


                        Professor Ralph Droms
                        Computer Science Department
               323 Dana Engineering  droms@bucknell.edu
               Bucknell University   (717) 524-1145 (office)
               Lewisburg, PA 17837   (717) 524-3760 (fax)
--
- Ralph Droms                 Computer Science Department
  droms@bucknell.edu          323 Dana Engineering
  (717) 524-1145              Bucknell University
  (717) 524-3760 (fax)        Lewisburg, PA 17837


From rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk (Roger Whitehead)
Subject: inappropriate articles - Readme needed? 
Cc: rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk
Reply-To: rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 08:24:00 +0000
Message-ID: <memo.764565@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Sender: usenet@gate.demon.co.uk
Lines: 29

> I would like someone else to do this, since I have trouble writing at
> the appropriate level. The README should primarily ensure that
> inappropriate articles are not posted, and then refer readers to the
> "Introduction to comp.groupware" for more information. I can arrange for
> the actual posting if preferred.

How about posting the README instead of the Introduction?  No other group I
download finds it necessary to go into such detail at such frequent
intervals.  Furthermore, nobody I know who reads this group (and that's not
just in the UK) finds the Introduction anything other than a pain in the
backside.

Do the decent thing, David, and send it to the knacker's yard.   8->

Roger

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roger Whitehead,
Director,
Office Futures,
14 Amy Road,
Oxted,
Surrey    RH8 0PX
England

Telephone:  +44 883 713074
Fax:  +44 883 716793
Email:  rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk


From david@ruc.dk (David Stodolsky)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: inappropriate articles - Readme needed?
Message-ID: <1992Nov23.220339.3549@ruc.dk>
Date: 23 Nov 92 22:03:39 GMT
References: <memo.764565@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Organization: Roskilde Universitetscenter, Danmark
Lines: 52

rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk (Roger Whitehead) writes:

>> I would like someone else to do this, since I have trouble writing at
>> the appropriate level. The README should primarily ensure that
>> inappropriate articles are not posted, and then refer readers to the
>> "Introduction to comp.groupware" for more information. I can arrange for
>> the actual posting if preferred.

>How about posting the README instead of the Introduction?  No other group I
>download finds it necessary to go into such detail at such frequent

If the README alone can achieve the desired effect fine. However, you
should be aware (especially after our earlier email discussion) that you
are reading this newsgroup in a way that doesn't permit you to handle
periodic posts properly. This is a newsgroup, not a mailing list. What
is appropriate for one, is poor practice for the other. If you must
"download" the group, instead of reading it with a newsreader, you will
find it inconvenient to use at times. The "Introduction" is a slim
volume (14 K) compared to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posted to
other groups such as comp.unix.shell (90 K). Look in news.answers to get
an idea what is current practice on Usenet. There will, hopefully, soon
be both a periodic post of groupware literature and a periodic post of
groupware products appearing on a regular basis. Periodic posts could
then easily reach 100 K every two weeks.

I have repeatedly gotten requests to set up a groupware mailing list for
people who for some reason cannot read news. If you, or anyone else,
wishes to maintain a mailing list, I am sure it would be appreciated.
This list could filter periodic posts and organize other services for
people with only email access. Until that time, I do not feel changes to
accommodate a few "downloaders" should be made at the expense of 50,000
Usenet readers. 

My earlier message was made necessary by the failure of the
"Introduction" alone to maintain the quality of the newsgroup. This
points in the direction of *more* introductory material being made
available, not less.

You earlier indicated an interest in republishing material posted to
comp.groupware. This makes you an ideal candidate for maintaining a
mailing list, since such a list is more like a paper publication than a
newsgroup. It would also put you in a position to routinely obtain
copyrights from authors. With this type of business interest, can't you
at least justify a Usenet account?

Get a Usenet account and live it up :-)

-- 
David S. Stodolsky                Messages: + 45 46 75 77 11 x 24 41
Department of Computer Science                 Tel: + 45 31 95 92 82
Bldg. 20.1, Roskilde University Center        Internet: david@ruc.dk
Post Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark        Fax: + 45 46 75 42 01


From schmidt@uxmail.ust.hk (DR. ROY SCHMIDT)
Subject: RE:  Inappropraite articles -- README needed?
Message-ID: <1992Nov24.014712.1026@uxmail.ust.hk>
Sender: usenet@uxmail.ust.hk (usenet account)
Organization: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 01:47:12 GMT
Lines: 99

Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: inappropriate articles - Readme needed? 
Summary: 
Expires: 
References: <memo.764565@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Sender: 
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Keywords: 

In article <memo.764565@cix.compulink.co.uk> rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk writes:
>> I would like someone else to do this, since I have trouble writing at
>> the appropriate level. The README should primarily ensure that
>> inappropriate articles are not posted, and then refer readers to the
>> "Introduction to comp.groupware" for more information. I can arrange for
>> the actual posting if preferred.
>
>How about posting the README instead of the Introduction?  No other group I
>download finds it necessary to go into such detail at such frequent
>intervals.  Furthermore, nobody I know who reads this group (and that's not
>just in the UK) finds the Introduction anything other than a pain in the
>backside.
>
>Do the decent thing, David, and send it to the knacker's yard.   8->
>
>Roger

Hear, hear!

David, who defines "inappropriate"?  Is it inappropriate for
students to seek knowledge through an alternative source?  Do we have to
have some special badge or permit before we can post appropriate
articles?  Have you ever consider the possibility that your definition
of appropriate (or groupware for that matter) might be too narrow?

Are you trying to save our precious time at the expense of throttling
the free exchange of ideas?

Note the very low volume of postings to this group.  I wonder why such a
group even exists if no one dares (or cares) to post to it.  Here we
have a forum where researchers and practitioners from around the world
can share experiences and ideas about a field that is at the forefront
of innovation.  Yet you, David, point with pride to the low volume of
postings.  You reason that the low volume denotes quality rather than
quantity.

I guess you would say that, since about 25% of the postings are your
"Introduction" :-)!  I must say I was not impressed when I read it.

BTW, since some of us did indeed answer the students' questions (I for
one, sent direct mail rather than posting when the answer was rather
simplistic) I would say that is an indication that we had no particular
objection to the posts.  Actually, I was beginning to wonder about the
competency of American University's IS faculty if the students had to
ask such things to the world ;->.

You say you are archiving postings and compiling some sort of journal
for publication.  Who are the referees for this archiving?  Don't tell
me that you alone decide what is appropriate for inclusion in this
journal???  I don't want to be rude, but David, you are begging for such
sentiment among those who pariticpate in this forum.  

I can see that by holding the decision of what gets included in the
journal over the heads of posters, you can hold some amount of fear of
posting this sort of note.  But, personally, considering the fact that I
have not seen much worthwhile on this group for several months, I would
say that your journal is in danger of being too slim and too narrowly
focussed.

If you are going to do this right, how about an editorial panel?  Set up
"departmental" editors.  Trim your introduction to an explanation of
goals, a list of deparments and editors, and an appeal to readers of the
group to become reviewers.  Each time some "appropriate" material is
posted, assign an editor to that stream.  Review the stream as a piece
of work.  If the reviewers and the editor agree that the stream is
appropriate, then it gets included in the hardcopy journal.

If you treat the posting of articles here the same as if the articles
had been submitted to a journal for consideration of publication, then
you would certainly attract some high quality posts.  By refereeing the
process and putting the final results in hardcopy (and posting the table
of contents), you would motivate posters to get serious about this
outlet for their work.

Above is just my views off the top of my head.  I won't get a heart
attack and die if someone says it's a rotten idea.  I would certainly
get a little upset if the thought police told me that my posting was
"inappropriate" :-( !

Well, I guess I have done my part to waste hundreds of hours of
attention time throughout the world.  Now, GET BACK TO WORK!  :-)


-- 
Roy Schmidt        schmidt@usthk.ust.hk        schmidt@uxmail.ust.hk
Business Information Systems Dept, School of Business and Management
         The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
                Clearwater Bay,  Sai Kung,  HONG KONG


From san@daffy.Berkeley.EDU (Steve Sanderson)
Newsgroups: comp.groupware
Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior
Message-ID: <2987@devnull.mpd.tandem.com>
Date: 24 Nov 92 19:04:03 GMT
References: <BxzGF7.G3M@news.fai.com> <92318.154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu>
Sender: news@devnull.mpd.tandem.com
Lines: 66

Personally, I agree with the notion of delegating *responsibility* and
authority to the individual.  In fact I advocate a non-hierarchical form
of management all together, but that's another thread.

But... I believe the real issue here is how much POLICY is set in
groupware software.  Does the software lead w/it's own policy, does
it follow by working with a customer specified policy, or some
combination of both.

Clearly a product which was configurable would be most versatile, but
perhaps that versatility itself would be against a customers policy!

At CSCW '86 (I think) there was a study on the effects of introducing
e-mail ( or similar system ) at the Forestry service. This system
had hard coded policy on how messages should flow, i.e. they must follow
the management hierarchy.  It meant that seperate foresters could not
mail direct to each other or that they could not mail to someone up too
many levels in the hierarchy.

One result was that the end-users found ways to circumvent the hard-coded
policies, and mailed more direct as they needed.  Analyzing the traffic
flow, there appeared to be a whole layer of middle managers who served
no purpose!

Clearly, there are all kinds of organizational ramifications for that one!

(the above is from memory, and details may not be exact - but I believe
this to be substantially accurate)

So this leaves the question at "where does the policy direction for a
groupware system come from" and what are the various risks of having
policy from that source?

Steve Sanderson
san@mpd.tandem.com

In article <BxzGF7.G3M@news.fai.com>, kswenson@tycho.ossi.com (Keith
Swenson) writes:
> From: kswenson@tycho.ossi.com (Keith Swenson)
> Subject: Re: Should managers delegate authority to Junior
> 
> In article 154235FR5641A@auvm.american.edu, Fadi A. Rabie
<FR5641A@auvm.american.edu> () writes:
> >Should managers delegate authority to his subordenates,  and if so
> >   should they have the power to make decisions.  Should this happen
> >   should the manager be part of the group-decision process.
> >
> >
> >PLEASE REPLY,  THANK YOU.
> 
> Yes!
> Naturally, a critical part of a manager's job is to decide what, when, and 
> to whom to delegate.  Also, studies of how organizations are evolving are
> saying that in order to become more productive and to remain competitive 
> organizations need to find ways to move the decision making closer to where 
> the work is being done, i.e. to lower levels of management.  It seems to me 
> that providing systems that make this easier for organizations is one of 
> the goals of groupware.
> 
> Should the manager remain part of the decision?  I imagine there are cases
> where the decision will be delegated, and other cases where the manager
> only wishes to involve the junior in the decision process.  Neither case
> should be excluded.
> 
> -Keith Swenson
>  Fujitsu Open Systems


From rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk (Roger Whitehead)
Subject: Re: inappropriate articles - Readme need
Cc: rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk
Reply-To: rwhitehead@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 19:34:00 +0000
Message-ID: <memo.768037@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Sender: usenet@gate.demon.co.uk
Lines: 22

I like the way you dish out work, David.  I shall have decline in this
instance, mainly because I'm already busy with moderating the groupware
conference on the CIX network, here in the UK.  (The activity level on this
is modest but, pro rata, is at least two orders of magnitude greater than on
comp.groupware.  Perhaps it's because I've never imposed rules on
contributors, still less had the brass neck to dump a 14Kb message on them.)

I'd be interested to know the evidence upon which some of your assertions are
based.  For example, what number of 'downloaders' constitutes "a few"?  And,
how many people actually 'subscribe' to comp.groupware?

It seems to me that you would be well advised to ask people what they want
from this letter.  Your remarks suggest that you are, putting it politely,
somewhat remote from your 'customers'.  (I shall particularly treasure your
remark, "My earlier message was made necessary by the failure of the
"Introduction" alone to maintain the quality of the newsgroup."  Priceless!)

Roger

PS  "You earlier indicated an interest in republishing material posted to
    comp.groupware."  I certainly did, but that was several months ago.  This
    has been the first response to that enquiry.  Get a grip, old chap.


From alan@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: comp.groupware,uk.events
Subject: March 16th CSCW SIG meeting - call for papers
Message-ID: <722614606.9487@minster.york.ac.uk>
Date: 24 Nov 92 14:16:46 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England
Lines: 59



                      Call For Papers

          CSCW Issues for Mobile and Tele-Workers


     A joint UK CSCW SIG/IEE Computing and Control seminar

          At IEE headquarters, Savoy Place, London
                  On Tuesday 16th March 1993



Mobile workers (such as sales or  technical  support  staff)
and  remote workers (such as tele-workers and small offices)
are separated from  their  colleagues  and  their  corporate
information  repositories.  In addition, their communication
channels are often poor, low bandwidth or intermittent.  How
can such workers cooperate?


Papers are requested on the following and related areas:

o    Experience and studies of mobile and remote workers

o    Mobile computing/telecommunications  as  a  medium  for
     cooperation

o    Support for highly asynchronous cooperative work

o    Distributed information sharing, update and control  --
     the user's interface


The seminar proceedings will be published in the BCS CSCW
book series (Springer-Verlag), and a full length paper will
be required for this.   However, the initial deadlines are
for a short abstract and an extended abstract.

Timetable:
   Jan.  8th   final date for abstracts
   Jan. 15th   preliminary programme
   Feb. 15th   extended abstract (2-4 pages) for distribution at meeting    Mar. 16th   meeting in London

The above are final dates, but we would particularly appreciate
hearing as soon as possible from those who intend to submit abstracts.
Please send abstracts to Alan Dix (below) either by post or email.

Any enquiries contact:


             Alan Dix                        Russell Beale
 Human-Computer Interaction Group      School of Computer Science
   Computer Science Department        The University of Birmingham
        University of York                     Edgbaston
       York, YO1 5DD, U.K.              Birmingham, B15 2TT, U.K.
  email: alan@uk.ac.york.minster         R.Beale@uk.ac.bham.cs
         tel: 0904 432778                     021 414 3729


From berman@gboro.glassboro.edu (Mike Berman)
Subject: bulletin board software wanted
Message-ID: <1992Nov27.171132.6055@gboro.glassboro.edu>
Organization: Rowan College of New Jersey
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 1992 17:11:32 GMT
Lines: 26

I need suggestions for software with the following
characteristics:

Essential:

1.	Simple interface suitable for simple users
2.	Ability to follow threads by topic within a group
3.	Low cost (< $100 per simultaneous user)
4.	Interfaces to standard editors for composing messages,
	or contains an embedded, high quality editor.

Preferences:

1.	Runs in a networked DOS or Macintosh environment (will
	consider Unix or VMS solutions)
2.	Interface to Usenet news

This software will be used to facilitate computer-based
discussion in a general education course.  Please respond via
email, not by followup posting.  Thanks for any suggestions. 

-- 
===========================================================================
A. Michael Berman    Assistant Professor     Department of Computer Science
Rowan College of New Jersey, Glassboro NJ 08028 USA. Voice: +1 609 863-6521 
Fax: +1 609 863-6553 Internet: berman@gboro.glassboro.edu 


From kling@ics.uci.edu (Rob Kling)
Subject: Position statement: Broadening Computer Science
Message-ID: <9211291154.aa01092@q2.ics.uci.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.groupware,comp.infosystems
Lines: 227
Date: 29 Nov 92 19:54:18 GMT

I'm soliciting comments on this position paper and would like to learn
your reactions. Best wishes,  Rob Kling
==============================================


               Computing for Our Future in a Social World

                               Rob Kling
             Department of Information & Computer Science
                  University of California at Irvine,
                         Irvine, CA 92717, USA
                           kling@ics.uci.edu

                           November 29, 1992

Abstract

The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research
Council has recently issued a report, "Computing the Future[1]." It sets a
new agenda for Computer Science. This short paper argues that effective CS
practitioners who "compute for the future" in many organizations need some
skills in social analysis to help understand appropriate systems
requirements and the conditions which transform high performance computing
into high performance organizations. It is time for the academic Computer
Science to embrace Organizational Informatics as a key area of research and
instruction.

A. Introduction

   "Computing the Future" (CTF) [1] is a welcome report which argues that
   academic Computer Scientists must acknowledge the driving forces behind
   the generally good Federal support for the discipline. The explosive
   growth of computing and demand for CS in the last decade has been driven
   by a diverse array of applications and new modes of computing in diverse
   social contexts.  CTF takes a strong and useful position in encouraging
   all computer scientists to broaden our conceptions of the discipline.

   The authors encourage Computer Scientists to envision new technologies
   in the social contexts in which they will be used. The numerous examples
   of computer applications that the authors identify as having significant
   social value rest on social analyses of these technologies. Further, the
   report tacitly requires that the CS community develop reliable
   knowledge, based in systematic research, to support effective social
   analysis. And it requires an ability to teach such skills to
   practitioners and students. Without a disciplined skill in social
   analysis, Computer Scientists' claims about the usability and social
   value of specific technologies is mere opinion, and bears an exceptional
   risk of being self-serving opinion. Further, Computer Scientists who do
   not have refined social analytical skills have sometimes conceived and
   promoted technologies which were far less useful or far more costly than
   they claimed. Effective CS practitioners who "compute for the future" in
   many organizations need some skills in social analysis to help
   understand appropriate systems requirements and the conditions which
   transform high performance computing into high performance
   organizations. Since the report does not spell out these tacit
   implications, I'd like to explain them here.

B. Broadening Computer Science: From Computability to Usability

   The only way to restrict CS to a theoretical basis in mathematics is for
   Computer Scientists to eschew usability as a value for the discipline.
   Some applications, such as as supercomputing and computational science
   are evolutionary extensions of traditional scientific computation, even
   though they have taken a new direction with rich graphical front ends for
   visualizing enormous mounds of data. But some other, newer modes of
   computing, such as networking and microcomputing, changed the
   distribution of applications. While they support traditional numerical
   computation, albeit in newer formats such as spreadsheets, they have also
   expanded the diversity of non-numerical computations. They have made
   digitally represented text and graphics accessible to tens of millions of
   people. None of these advances are inconsistent with mathematical
   foundations, such as Turing machine formulations. But they are not well
   conceptualized by the foundational mathematical models of computation.
   Nor do our foundational mathematical models provide useful ways of
   conceptualizing advances in even more traditional elements of computers
   systems such as operating systems and database systems.

   Of the diverse trends in computing, the growing emphasis of usability is
   one of the most dominant. The usability tradition has deep roots in CS,
   and extends back into the design of programming languages, and operating
   systems. But each of these topics also rested on mathematical analysis
   which Computer Scientists could point to as "the foundations" of these
   subdisciplines. However, the growth of diverse applications for
   non-technical professionals, including text processing, electronic mail,
   graphics, and multimedia has placed a premium on making computer systems
   relatively simple to use. HCI is now considered a core subdiscipline.

   One important repercussion of the integration of HCI into the core of CS
   is the resulting need to expand our conception of the theoretical
   foundations of the discipline. While every computational interface is
   reducible to a Turing computation, the foundational mathematical models
   of CS do not (and could not) provide a sound theoretical basis for
   understanding why some interfaces are more effective for some groups of
   people than are others. The theoretical foundations about effective
   computer interfaces must rest on sound theories of human behavior and
   their empirical manifestations. Further, interfaces involve capabilities
   beyond the primary information processing capabilities of a technology.
   They entail ways that people can learn about the system and ways to
   manage the diverse data sets that routinely arise in using many
   computerized systems. Understanding the diversity and character of these
   interfaces, which are required to make many systems usable rests, in an
   understanding the way that people and groups organize their work and
   expertise with computing. Appropriate theories of the diverse interfaces
   that make many computer systems truly useful must rest on theories of
   work and organization which characterize these phenomena.

C. Broadening Computer Science: From High Performance Computing to High
      Performance Organizations

   The foundations of CTF go beyond interface design to claims that
   computerized systems will improve the performance of organizations.  The
   report argues that the US should invest close to a billion dollars a year
   in CS research because of the economic and social gains that must pour
   forth from CS research. These are important claims, for which critics can
   ask for systematic evidence. For example, one can ask about the evidence
   that 20 years of major computing R&D and corporate investment in the US
   has helped provide proportionate economic and social value.

   CTF is filled with numerous examples where computer-based systems have
   provided value to people and organizations. The tough question is whether
   the overall productive value of these investments has been worth the
   overall acquisition and operation costs. In the last few years economists
   have found it hard to give unambiguously affirmative answers to this
   question. In fact, the question has been termed "The Productivity
   Paradox," based on a comment attributed to Nobel laureate Robert Solow
   who remarked that "computers are showing up everywhere except in the
   [productivity] statistics."

   There are numerous potential slips in translating high performance
   computing into cost-effective technological support to improve
   organizational performance. Some technologies require extensive technical
   support which provides hidden costs. Some technologies are superb for
   well-trained experts, but are difficult for less experienced people or
   "casual users." Further, a significant body of empirical research has
   shown that the social processes by which computer systems are introduced
   and organized makes a substantial difference in their value to people,
   groups and organizations. Most seriously, some computer applications do
   not fit a person or groups's work practices. While they may make sense in
   a simplified world, they can actually complicate or misdirect real work.
   We graduate about 30,000 computer scientists every year and many of them
   find employment on organizational information systems projects.
   Unfortunately, few of them have developed an adequate conceptual basis
   for understanding when information systems will actually improve
   organizational performance.

   CTF anchors the value of CS research on the belief that interesting new
   technologies will certainly yield significant economic and social value.
   These assessments rest on social analyses. Unfortunately, the CS academic
   community is not organized (or funded) to provide a significant body of
   trustworthy research to help answer these kinds of questions.

D. Organizational Informatics

   CTF places dual responsibilities on Computer Scientists. One
   responsibility is to produce a significant body of applicable research.
   The other responsibility is to educate a significant fraction of CS
   students to be more effective in conceiving and implementing systems that
   will actually enhance organizational performance. Today, most of the tens
   of thousands people who obtain BS and MS degrees in CS have no
   opportunities for systematic exposure to reliable knowledge about the
   value of computing in a social world. Yet a substantial fraction of these
   students go on to work for organizations attempting to produce or
   maintain systems which improve organizational performance without a good
   conceptual basis for their work. Consequently, many of them develop
   systems which underperform, and are sometimes even counterproductive, in
   organizational terms.

   Organizational Informatics includes studies of the usability of
   computerized information systems and communication systems in
   organizations. It also includes studies of their effective
   implementation, use, organizational value, and their consequences for
   people and an organization's clients. It is an intellectually rich and
   also practical research area.

   In the last 20 years a substantial body of scientific research in
   Organizational Informatics has developed. The best of the research is
   conducted by faculty in the Information Systems departments in Business
   schools and by scattered social scientists. But the body of research and
   teaching cannot be left to Business Schools or "sociologists." They
   rarely ask questions with attention to fine grained technological
   variations which are important for CS and they do not teach CS students.

   CTF is permeated with interesting claims about the social value of recent
   and emerging computer-based technologies. While many of these
   observations are of a kind that should rest on an empirically grounded
   scientific footing, Computer Scientists have deprived themselves of
   access to such research. Consequently, many of the "obvious" claims about
   the value of various computing technologies that we Computer Scientists
   make are more akin to the lore of home remedies for curing illness. Some
   are valid, others are unfounded speculation. More seriously, the
   theoretical basis for recommending home medical remedies and new computer
   technologies is not advanced without having sound research programs.


E. What is needed

   CTF sets the stage for a broader appreciation of value of Organizational
   Informatics within Computer Science. It bases the expansion of the
   discipline on a rich array of applications in which many of the
   effective technologies must be conceived in relationship to plausible
   uses in order provide attractive social value for multi-billion dollar
   public investments.

   The CS community needs an institutionalized research capability to
   produce a reliable body of knowledge about the usability and of
   computerized systems and the conditions under which computer systems
   improve organizational performance. The CS curriculum must include
   opportunities for students to learn the most reliable knowledge about
   the social dimensions of systems development and use. While the study of
   Organizational Informatics builds upon both the traditional
   technological foundations of CS and the social sciences, it is not a
   sustainable topic within the social sciences at most universities. Other
   disciplines will not do our important work for us. Mathematics
   departments may be willing to teach graph theory for CS students, but
   the analysis of algorithms would be a much weaker field if it could only
   be carried out within Mathematics Departments. For similar reasons, it
   is time for the academic Computer Science to embrace Organizational
   Informatics as a key area of research and instruction.


F. References:

   [1] Computing the Future: A Broader Agenda for Computer Science and
   Engineering. Juris Hartmanis and herbert Lin (Eds). National Academy
   Press, 1992.

   [Briefly summaried in Communications of the ACM, November 1992]


