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We subsequently pieced together these specifications into a conceptual framework exhibiting
the five functionalities: (1) Knowledge Map, (2) Digital IDs, (3) Social Proxy, (4) Dialogue, and
(5) Repository (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Conceptual Framework for Guiding Digital Socialization Developments
Knowledge Map
The knowledge map links a set of digital knowledge ‘communities,’ each bringing together groups
of users with shared practices and similar interests (Girgensohn and Lee 2002). Digital
communities facilitate ‘interaction’ by intuitively allowing users to recognize other participants’
competences (Erickson and Kellogg 2000). Maps of knowledge communities mimic ‘corporeal
proximity,’ which facilitates non-routine and informal conversations (Koskinen 2003).
Digital IDs
Digital IDs enhance the visibility of users’ digital presence (Höök et al. 2003). Each user holds a
persistent identity and profile that documents the history of interactions with members of the
knowledge map. Digital IDs help users recognize each other in future interactions, keep track of
Dialogue
Search
Engage in
Creates
Possess
Linked to
Awareness
Through
Knowledge Map
Knowledge
Community
Digital IDs
Social proxy
Repository
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whom is logged on to the system, and build a reputation based on the quality of their contributions
in the digital space (Jensen et al. 2002).
Social Proxy
The social proxy provides users with graphical cues to convey social awareness. It enhances user
awareness and recognition of other users’ knowledge, situation, availability, and activity (Isaacs et
al. 2002). Social proxies can convey cues both ‘passively’ and ‘actively’ (Tollmar et al. 1996).
Instant Dialogue
This functionality allows users to engage in synchronous communication to facilitate the creation
of common grounding (Hollan and Stornetta 1992). Instant dialogue allows clarifying, in real-
time, possible misunderstandings and misinterpretation of ideas (Clark and Schaefer 1989).
Knowledge Repository
The knowledge repository allows users to document parts of a chat-based dialogue into a
persistent, searchable database of contextualized conversations to facilitate asynchronous
dissemination of individual into group tacit knowledge (Erickson and Kellogg 2000). It also
allows users to annotate documented dialogues with insightful stories and lessons learned.
IDRAK: Implementing the Conceptual Framework
We termed IDRAK ─ an acronym for Internet Dialogue and Repository for Acquired Knowledge
─
to our proof-of-concept prototype of a Rich Internet Application (RIA) for supporting
socialization in engineering design. The words ‘Dialogue’ and ‘Repository’ reflect respectively
the synchronous and asynchronous knowledge exchange features offered by IDRAK. ‘Acquired
Knowledge’ expresses the ability of IDRAK to help users reuse knowledge from one project to the
next. We implemented IDRAK as a single-screen Rich Internet Application (RIA). All data is
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visually displayed in one browser window made up of two user-interface panels, a visual approach
known to make applications more functional and user-friendly (Apple 2005) (Figure 2). Appendix
I describes in detail the architecture of IDRAK and implementation issues.
Figure 2 - IDRAK’s User Interface showing: (1) Active Social Proxy, (2) Navigation Bar, (3)
Passive Social Proxy, (4) Knowledge Map, and (5) Digital ID
Top User-Interface Panel of IDRAK
The top panel shows two main elements: the Navigation Bar and the Social Proxy. The Navigation
Bar has two purposes. First, it allows users to customize some settings, including bandwidth
characteristics (e.g., modem, ADSL, LAM, Dial-up), as well as the color for the people-like icon
in the social proxy and for the text entries in the dialogue box. Second, it provides users with a
ring button to trigger a sound alert on the desktop of other logged-in users. IDRAK acknowledges
that logged-in users may keep the IDRAK window minimized on their computer desktop while
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they work with other applications. A logged-in user can use the ‘ring’ button to grab the attention
of other users.
The Social Proxy is a graphical social navigation approach for developing social awareness. It
includes two components, one ‘active’ and one ‘passive.’ In the ‘active’ component, logged-in
users are depicted as movable, semi-transparent colored, people-like icons. These icons turn
opaque and graphically propagate a sound wave when a logged-in user types in the IDRAK
window. If a user is logged-in but starts working (typing) on another application her icon turns
semi-transparent, stops displaying a sound wave, shrinks in size, and moves to the background.
Conversely, when a logged-in user becomes active, i.e., starts typing in the IDRAK window, the
people-like icon moves to the foreground and the size of the icon grows. This feature conveys a
sense for the availability of logged-in users to engage into a digital conversation. The ‘passive’
component of the Social Proxy further enables users to make others aware of their availability to
dialogue through text- and color-based cues, including ’online’ (blue), ‘away’ (white), ‘be right
back’ (green), and ‘out to lunch’ (orange).
Bottom User-Interface Panel
The bottom panel of IDRAK shows two main elements: the Knowledge Map and Digital ID and
the Instant Dialogue and Knowledge Repository. The Digital ID and Knowledge Map is an
interactive ‘yellow-pages’ feature (Girgensohn and Lee 2002) to which we added real-time search
capabilities. It displays information entered by users when they register with IDRAK, including
name, job role, contact details, and knowledge profile in terms of experience, interests, and
capabilities. The registration act also requires a user to graphically plot herself into one or more
communities in the knowledge map. The position of the dot relative to the geometric centre of the
intersection between knowledge communities conveys information about the extent a user feels
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