In the Spirit of Collaborating

Nilan, Michael; D'Eredita, Michael A.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/15091 Copy

Description

Title

In the Spirit of Collaborating

Author(s)

• Nilan, Michael
• D'Eredita, Michael A.

Issue Date

2008-02-28

Keyword(s)

• cognitive
• social cognition
• collaborating
• communicating
• information use

Abstract

"A field is judged by the questions it addresses. We believe that the i-field is at a critical juncture that is defined by increasing standards for profound, value-added insight as technology becomes more ubiquitous. While we see value in focusing on the ""I"" more than the ""T"" in IT, we believe that profound insight will only come through a deeper understanding of the intersection among human beings, information and technology. We see the basic goal of our field as helping to facilitate interactions among individuals, groups and ""information"" through more informed design of technology. We assume that human beings are fundamentally social beings and both information and technology to be artifacts of human experience proffered in the spirit of collaborating. We begin with a discussion of collaborating and communicating behaviors which are inherently linguistic (broadly cast) and - we believe, by definition - functional in nature. This position is logically prior to artifacts or any technology associated with the creation, dissemination, storage, retrieval or other processing of “information.” We argue, for example, that it is insufficient for our field to bound a domain after artifacts are created – we must become engaged in the creation of artifacts, specifying how the artifact will be useful to the user (either at present or in the future), and for which problems/situations the artifact is pertinent. If one assumes an active user focused on addressing their own needs as well as those of others--as opposed to a more passive stance generally made by many of the traditional behavioral fields--then insight into artifact creation, use and re-use will not only result in profound insights into the human condition, but more informed system design. We humbly invite you to collaborate with us in this endeavor. We feel that it is not only critical to intensify this discussion, but both timely and necessary."

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/15091

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