This book seeks to establish an interdisciplinary, applied social scientific model for researchers and students that advocates a cooperative effort between machines and people. After showing that basic research on social processes offers much needed guidance for those creating technology and designing tools for group work, its papers demonstrate the mutual relevance of social science and information system design, and encourage better integration of these disciplines.
This comprehensive collection closely examines the variety of electronic tools being deployed to solve traditional problems in communication and coordination. Unfortunately, research shows that these tools have not been as successful as their designers had envisioned, partially because they were not always produced with the needs and goals of their human users in mind. The editors' goal is to entice more social scientists to orient their research around questions of practical interest to information system designers and to convince designers to search for the knowledge about social and organizational behavior that would make their tools more useful.

Addressing the question: How does one spread out a successful educational reform, the authors recount the scale-ups of a variety of programs, describing the challenges they faced and the lessons they drew from their experiences.

Examines current and prospective use of simulation in training for US Navy Ships. A number of naval exercises can be conducted in port, using various forms of simulation, rather than at sea. Some groups, such as commercial shipping, already rely more heavily on such training than the US Navy does. Can the US Navy do the same, yet still maintain or improve readiness? The authors look at current uses of simulation and suggest ways to best use underway and simulation training time and strategies for implementation.