Not all sharing is equal: the impact of a large display on small group collaborative work

Large, shared displays are used in support of many forms of collaborative work and are generally assumed to benefit the work. We investigate this in a qualitative study of an intervention to introduce such a display to support the work of shift handover in a medical setting. Results suggest that the consequences of introducing a shared display can be more subtle than expected. In particular, we highlight the fact that the common distinction between private and public information is too coarse-grained and discuss the importance of considering how access to public information is initiated. We briefly touch upon implications for interaction design. Categories and Subject Descriptors K.4.3 [Computers and Society]: Organizational Issues – Computer-Supported Collaborative Work. General Terms: Design, Human Factors Keywords Large shared display, shift handover, public versus private work.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Stephanie Wilson, Julia Galliers, James Fone
• Keywords: Collaborative Work, CSCW 2006, Public Information, Shift Handover, Social Sciences