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ECSCW 2005 pp 123–142Cite as

Emergent Temporal Behaviour and Collaborative Work

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Abstract

Although collaboration manifestly takes place in time, the role of time in shaping the behaviour of collaborations, and collaborative systems, is not well understood. Time is more than clock-time or the subjective experience of time; its effects on systems include differential rates of change of system elements, temporally non-linear behaviour and phenomena such as entrainment and synchronization. As a system driver, it generates emergent effects shaping systems and their behaviour. In the paper we present a systems view of time, and consider the implications of such a view through the case of collaborative development of a new university timetabling system. Teasing out the key temporal phenomena using the notion of temporal trajectories helps us understand the emergent temporal behaviour and suggests a means for improving outcomes.

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Seebeck, L., Kim, R.M., Kaplan, S. (2005). Emergent Temporal Behaviour and Collaborative Work. In: Gellersen, H., Schmidt, K., Beaudouin-Lafon, M., Mackay, W. (eds) ECSCW 2005. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4023-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4023-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4022-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4023-8

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