This chapter presents data from a case study of two academic authors writing together across great geographic distance, using telephones and computers connected over an international network. Not only the document being written but also the process itself was continuously changing, with the authors making creative use of the technology available to them. The information they offered each other concerned not only changes in the document, but also the authors' individual context of work. Rules and agreements were open to reinterpretation. The context sensitive interpretation of agreements facilitated a highly flexible process. The observations have implications of how collaboration is conceptualized in Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and for what kinds of computer systems would be best suited to support this kind of distributed work. Respondent's comment introducing new section in manuscript draft: This section is an experiment. Bits of it may get broken up, reworded and put somewhere else. I'm making some strong claims here that we've not really discussed, and you might disagree violently! Articulation work amounts to the following: First, the meshing of the often numerous tasks, clusters of tasks, and segments of the total arc. Second, the meshing of efforts of various unit-workers (individuals, departments, etc.). Third, the meshing of actors with their various types of work and implicated tasks. (Strauss, 1985)
A COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM FOR HETEROGENEOUS CSCW SYSTEMS: CASE STUDY OF ACADEMIC APPLICATIONS
