ABSTRACT: This paper examines the use of cultural probes as a method for fostering collaboration within groups of diverse experts working on creative projects. Using two case examples, we show that probes—short, oblique, and at times whimsical sets of activity prompts—have boundary object...Read more
JA: In this article, Carey Kaplan and Ellen Cronan Rose discuss their long-term experiences collaborating together on various writing projects.Read more
Abstract: There are three components to boundary objects as outlined in the original 1989 article. Interpretive flexibility, the structure of informatic and work
process needs and arrangements, and, finally, the dynamic between illstructured
and more tailored uses of the objects. Much of...Read more
Ludwik Fleck uses cases studies in the history of biology and medical science to develop his conception of thought styles and thought collectives, arguing that all knowledge is relative to epistemic communities with historically specific manners of thinking and interacting.Read more
Abstract: Scientific work is heterogeneous, requiring many different actors and viewpoints. It also requires cooperation. The two create tension between divergent viewpoints and the need for generalizable findings. We present a model of how one group of actors managed this tension. It draws on...Read more
Michael Gorman discusses the utility of the concepts "boundary objects" and "trading zones" in the study of collaborations across differing levels of expertise.Read more
From the Introduction: "The relationship between ethnography and anthropological method is at the center of these questions raised in the Exchange presented here. On the one hand, the participants consider various questions concerning the status of ethnographic authority, and its relationship to...Read more