Book excerpt: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is an interdisciplinary research area devoted to exploring the issues of designing computer-based systems that enhance the abilities to cooperate and integrate activities in an efficient and flexible manner for people in cooperative work situations. This volume is a rigorous selection of papers that represent both practical and theoretical approaches to CSCW from many leading researchers in the field. As an interdisciplinary area of research, CSCW brings together widely disparate research traditions and perspectives from computer, human, organisational and design sciences. The papers selected reflect a variety of approaches and cultures in the field. Audience: Of interest to a wide audience because of the huge practical impact of the issues and the interdisciplinary nature of the problems and solutions proposed. In particular: researchers and professionals in computing, sociology, cognitive science, human factors, and system design.