Collective learning Conflict between Computerised Collective Memory and the Prescriptive Organisation Organizational Memory as Process not Object Collective decision making and knowledge management in oncology Cooperative work conditions in a satellite control room. READ MY LIPS....BUT ALSO THE REST Collective memory from the everyday work. Visualised co-ordination support in distributed decision making Knowledge Management for Collective Learning and Organisational Memory Knowledge graphs Shifting Perspectives on Organizational Memory General discussion

Collective learning and collective memory for coping with dynamic complexity Pierre Falzon & Catherine Sauvagnac Laboratoire d'Ergonomie Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers 41 rue Gay-Lussac, 75005 Paris, France falzon@cnam.fr Summary Medical decision is not always the result of an individual process of analysis. In complex, unusual and risky situations, decisions are taken by groups of highly trained specialists who meet in order to reach a common understanding of the case and to decide on a therapeutic procedure. We are studying these situations of collective decision making with two objectives. The first one is to reach a better comprehension of the way in which these groups work in order to optimize their functioning. The second objective deals with knowledge elaboration. Beyond the case-specific therapeutic decision, do practitioners build new general knowledge while processing successive cases ? How could this knowledge elaboration process be assisted ? Our long-term goal is to help the group in practicing a meta-functional activity (Falzon, 1994), that is an activity that, although triggered by the occurrence of specific operational problems, is aimed at the production of new knowledge and new cognitive or organizational tools that can be re-used in later situations. The text goes as follows. The first section describes the general context of the situation under study. The second section analyzes the functioning of a specific group, and more specifically the elements of knowledge that form the shared knowledge space, the modes of elaboration of that knowledge space, and finally the trace that is presently kept of the work of the group (as compared to the effective functioning of this group). Presentation and discussion In his presentation, Pierre Falzon stressed the importance of meta-functional activities. He pointed out that expertise lies in adapting old knowledge to new cases and that knowledge is goal-oriented and context-sensitive. By metafunctionality is meant the elaboration of new knowledge and new tools through a reflexive activity. The following examples were given: ATC language has been developed as a tool, and has not been designed by engineers. At breaks ATC - personnel talk about work and particular cases occuring during the day. This can be regarded as a game to play with their particular problem space. The personnel keeps note-books with activities which are useful for work. When the note-books are full, they copy the parts of them they want to keep into another note-book. They are not supposed to do so, it is even forbidden to keep note-books, still this seems to be an important activity and "memory" for them. The important lesson is that space has to be provided for these activities. Catherine Sauvignac. Presentation and discussion Catherine Sauvignac presented some interesting details from observations of specialists discussing the treatment in oncology. The therapy is a result of a collective activity, where the disease is evolving, the consequences of a treatment are difficult to predict, and several disciplines must be involved. It was found inter alia that in the writing of a report, to be stored in a decision committree folder, some elements of the discussion were eliminated. Such omitted elements included justifications of decisions, rejected solutions, as well as pieces of general knowledge that were provided in the course of the discussion of a case. On the other hand some information was reconstructed such as elements of the patient's file that were not mentioned in the committee's discussion. The discussion concerned the changes in collective memory made from meeting to report and the functions of these changes. It was suggested that the changes served the purpose of efficiency but not the purpose of learning.