Virtual Individuals, Virtual Groups: Human Dimensions of Groupware and Computer Networking (Cambridge Series on Human-Computer Interaction, Series Number 11) - Hardcover

Oravec, Jo Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052145493X ISBN 13: 9780521454933

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

Those who design, implement, and use computer network applications are deeply involved in the processes of social and cultural change, whether or not they choose to consider these processes. Issues such as "community" and "privacy," "dependence" and "individualism" are no longer simply the province of philosophers and social scientists; they are tightly interwoven in the design and use of network applications. Virtual Individuals, Virtual Groups explores the social dimensions of the powerful computing applications that are shaping our culture. It addresses design and theoretical issues relating to groupware and other applications of computer networks. It considers computer network applications in terms of the notions of "genre" and "narrative," in a framework that is broadly applicable to the development of a wide range of computing and communication systems, such as virtual reality and multimedia.

About this title

Book Description

As computer networking plays greater roles in our work and in our social lives, what will the groups we participate in be like? What means will we have to express ourselves, and to what extent will we be able to control how we are seen by others? This book explores the social dimensions of the powerful computing applications that are shaping our culture, in both design and use. It emphasizes the significance of new entities associated with individuals and groups, and outlines a theoretical and design perspective that offers developers tools for designing comprehensible and powerful applications.

Review

"This is a book for serious reading and study. It is very readable and brilliantly thought through. I am lost with admiration for anyone who can have read as deeply and as widely as the author. The publication makes a huge body of work accessible to those of us who have time for only one book on the subject." Computing

"This book is a serious and effective attempt tp bring together a complex scope of social, cultural, psychological, computing, and communication science theory. It will inform students, researchers, and professionals involved in the process of emerging technologies. Designers and managers of computer network applications will find this book invaluable, as will any professional engaged in the creation of new work or learning communities through the use of technology." Information Technology and Libraries

"The work is noteworthy in its sensitivity to relevant developments....a very important work..." K.J. Gergen, Choice

"The book will help conceptualize the nature of various entities that make up these applications and will provide a theoretical basis for the same....Oravec should be commended for thoughtfully laying the groundwork for future research and discussion in this area of computer supported collaborative work applications. This is an excellent place to start." Gouthm M. Menon, PhD, Computers in Human Services

"Oravec's development of the genre-responsive design approach should be instructive and compelling for both designers and participants of CSCW applications." Journal of the American Society for Information Science

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052145493X
• ISBN 13: 9780521454933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 399