Abstract
This paper reports findings from an analysis of attitudes toward and use of active badges and associated applications in a large corporate research laboratory. The evidence will show that there were two distinct sets of views about active badges, leading one group within the institution to be strongly opposed to their introduction and use, and another very supportive. Analysis of these views will show that they were the manifestation of two different morally cohered communities. The demonstrable existence of these communities was in part achieved through and displayed by the avowal of these distinct sets of attitudes and views. Further, analysis of the particular communities will suggest that some of these views and attitudes had the character of being sacred or semi-sacred; in this sense they were beliefs. On the basis of these materials, the paper will conclude with discussion of how beliefs can form the bedrock of any and all communities, and how it is necessary to respect those beliefs if one wishes to introduce technologies to support group activities. Failure to do so can lead to the rejection of systems on grounds well removed from the purported purpose of those systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agre, P. E. (1995): Conceptions of the user in computer systems design. InThe Social and Interactive Dimensions of Human-Computer Interfaces, ed. P. J. Thomas, pp. 67–107.
Bacon, J., Bates, J., Hayton, R. and Moody, K. (1995): Using events to build distributed applications.Proceedings of Second International Workshop on Services for Distributed and Networked Environments, IEEE, June 5–6th, Whistler, BC, Canada, pp. 148–155.
Bowker, G. and Star, S. L. (1994): Knowledge and infrastructure in international information management. InInformation Acumen: The Understanding and Use of Knowledge in Modern Business, ed. L. Bud-Frierman, pp. 194–209.
Bud-Frierman, L. (ed.) (1994):Information Acumen: The Understanding and Use of Knowledge in Modern Business, London and New York: Routledge.
Easterbrook, S. (ed.) (1993):CSCW: Co-Operation or Conflict? London: Springer-Verlag.
Easterbrook, S., Beck, E. E., Goodlet, J. S., Plowman, L., Sharples, M. and Wood, C. C. (1993): A survey of empirical studies of conflict. InCSCW: Co-Operation or Conflict?, ed. S. Easterbrook, pp. 1–69.
Graube, N. and O'Shea, T. (1991): An architecture for user control of active badge systems,Technical Report EPC-91, Rank Xerox Research Centre, Cambridge, England.
Harper, R. H. R. (1990): The social organisation of invention: preliminary comments on an ongoing ethnography, Paper presented to the Sociology Dept., Manchester University, Dec. 12th.
Harper, R. H. R. (1992): Looking at ourselves: an examination of the social organisation of two research laboratories.Proceedings of CSCW '92, 31 Oct.–4 Nov., Toronto, ACM, New York, pp. 330–337.
Harper, R. H. R. (1995): The faces of information work: collaborative tools, information, and organisational symbols.Proceedings, Colloquium on Workplace Studies, King's College, London, Sept. 7–18th.
Harper, R. H. R., Lamming, M. G. and Newmann, W. N. (1992): Locating systems at work.Interacting with Computers, vol. 4(3), pp. 343–363.
Harter, A. and Hopper, A. (1994): A distributed location system for the active office.IEEE Network, January/February, pp. 62–70.
Lamming, M. and Flynn, M. (1994): Forget-me-not: intimate computing in support of human memory. InFRIEND21 Symposium on Next Generation Human Interfaces, Tokyo, Japan. Also available as RXRC TR 94-103, 61 Regent St., Cambridge, UK.
Lamming, M., Brown, P., Carter, K., Eldridge, M., Flynn, M., Louie, G., Robinson, P. and Sellen, A. (1994): The design of a human memory prosthesis.Computer Journal, 37(3), pp. 153–163.
Mestrovic, S. (1989): Moral theory based on the ‘heart’ versus the ‘mind’: Schopenhauer's and Durkheim's critique of Kantian ethics.Sociological Review, 37, pp. 431–457.
Newman, W. N., Eldridge, M. and Lamming, M. G. (1991): Pepy's: generating autobiographies by automatic tracking.Proceedings of EC-CSCW '91, 25–27 Sept., Amsterdam, the Netherlands, pp. 175–188.
Nyce, J. M. and Lowgren, J. (1995): Towards a foundational analysis in human-computer interaction. InThe Social and Interactional Dimensions of Human-Computer Interfaces, ed. P. J. Thomas, pp. 37–48.
Orlikowski, W. (1992): Learning from notes: organisational issues in groupware implementation.Proceedings of CSCW '92, 31 Oct.–4 Nov., Toronto, ACM, New York, pp. 362–369.
Pace, R. C. (1990): Personalized and depersonalized conflict in small group discussions: an examination of differentiation. Small Group Research, 21, pp. 79–96.
Pier, K. (ed.) (1991): Active badge panel.Proceedings, Conference on Organizational Computing Systems, November 5–8, Atlanta, Georgia.
Spreitzer, M. and Theimer, M. (1993): Scalable, secure, mobile computing with location information. InSpecial Issue, Computer-Augmented Environments, CACM, 36(7), July, p. 27.
Star, S. L. (1993): Co-operation and consensus in scientific problem solving: dynamics of closure in open systems. InCSCW: Co-Operation or Conflict?, ed. S. Easterbrook, pp. 93–107.
Thomas, P. J. (ed.) (1995).The Social and Interactional Dimensions of Human-Computer Interfaces, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Want, R., Hopper, A. and Falcao, V. (1992): The active badge locator system.ACM Transactions on Office Information Systems, 10(1), January, pp. 91–102.
Want R. and Hopper, A. (1992): Active badges and personal interactive computing objects.IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, 38(1), February, pp. 10–20.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harper, R.H.R. Why people do and don't wear active badges: A case study. Comput Supported Coop Work 4, 297–318 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01846697
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01846697