TY - CHAP T1 - The politics of design: Next generation computational environments T2 - Computerization movements and technology diffusion: From mainframes to ubiquitous computing Y1 - 2008 A1 - Mark S. Ackerman ED - Margaret S Elliott ED - Kraemer, Kenneth L KW - pervasive KW - Semantic Web KW - socio-technical KW - socio-technical design KW - socio-technical evolution KW - ubicomp AB -

This paper describes and analyzes two next-generation computational environments and their architectures: the Semantic Web and pervasive computing. Each of these necessarily carries with it political assumptions about how the environments will be used, and these political assumptions are reflected in the accompanying computerization movement’s rhetoric. However, unlike "first growth" computerization efforts, both the Semantic Web and pervasive computing will result within a growing infrastructure that does not allow topdown design (or even overall design) but within which new designs must fit. The underlying assumptions for both environments are largely libertarian but with differing modalities of user control. This paper examines the libertarian assumptions, the promise of democratization in one but not the other, and the resulting conceptual tensions surrounding these two second-generation computerization movements.

JF - Computerization movements and technology diffusion: From mainframes to ubiquitous computing PB - Information Today CY - New York UR - Complete ER - TY - CONF T1 - Knowledge Work Artifacts: Kernel Cousins for Free/Open Source Software Development T2 - Proceedings of the 2007 International ACM Conference on Supporting Group Work (Group'07) Y1 - 2007 A1 - Margaret S Elliott A1 - Mark S. Ackerman A1 - Scacchi, Walt KW - F/OSS KW - free/open software systems KW - knowledge artifacts KW - knowledge management KW - online discussions KW - software engineering AB -

Most empirical studies of peer production have focused on the final products of these efforts (such as software in Free/Open Source projects), but there are also many other knowledge artifacts that improve the effectiveness of the project. This paper presents a study of an intermediate work product, or informalism, used in a Free/Open Source Software project, GNUe. A digest-like artifact called the Kernel Cousin (KC) was used extensively in the project. These KCs allowed critical coordination and memory, but at the cost of considerable effort. The paper presents two examples of the KCs' use in the project as well as an analysis of their benefits and costs.

JF - Proceedings of the 2007 International ACM Conference on Supporting Group Work (Group'07) UR - Complete ER -