<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
the	O
method	O
of	O
collaboration	O
between	O
virtual	O
team	O
members	O
that	O
is	O
carried	O
out	O
via	O
technology-mediated	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
follows	O
the	O
same	O
process	O
as	O
collaboration	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
parties	O
involved	O
in	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
do	O
not	O
physically	O
interact	O
and	O
communicate	O
exclusively	O
through	O
technological	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributed	O
teams	O
use	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
to	O
simulate	O
the	O
information	O
transfer	O
present	O
in	O
face-to-face	O
meetings	O
,	O
communicating	O
virtually	O
through	O
verbal	O
,	O
visual	O
,	O
written	O
,	O
and	O
digital	O
means	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
commonly	O
used	O
by	O
globally	O
distributed	O
business	O
and	O
scientific	O
teams	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ideally	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
most	O
effective	O
when	O
it	O
can	O
simulate	O
face-to-face	O
interaction	O
between	O
team	O
members	O
through	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
contextual	O
information	O
,	O
but	O
technological	O
limits	O
in	O
sharing	O
certain	O
types	O
of	O
information	O
prevent	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
from	O
being	O
as	O
effective	O
as	O
face-to-face	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
meant	O
to	O
enable	O
the	O
sharing	O
of	O
knowledge	O
between	O
parties	O
who	O
cannot	O
exchange	O
information	O
due	O
to	O
physical	O
separation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
platforms	O
allow	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
information	O
between	O
collaborators	O
to	O
work	O
towards	O
a	O
common	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dispersed	O
Collaborators	O
:	O
Collaborators	O
within	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
are	O
physically	O
separated	O
from	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
can	O
only	O
interact	O
virtually	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Being	O
able	O
to	O
physically	O
interact	O
with	O
a	O
team	O
member	O
affords	O
many	O
benefits	O
that	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
cannot	O
provide	O
,	O
and	O
eliminates	O
any	O
need	O
for	O
virtual	O
meetings	O
(	O
sharing	O
of	O
context	O
,	O
interpersonal	O
relationships	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
platforms	O
are	O
carried	O
out	O
via	O
the	O
internet	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
email	O
,	O
video	O
conferencing	O
,	O
and	O
virtual	O
workspaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audio	O
conferencing	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
,	O
as	O
information	O
is	O
shared	O
over	O
a	O
telephone	O
or	O
other	O
audio	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
synchronous	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
include	O
instant	O
messaging	O
,	O
chat	O
rooms	O
,	O
and	O
video	O
or	O
audio	O
conferencing	O
(	O
See	O
figure	O
1	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
asynchronous	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
include	O
e-mail	O
,	O
discussion	O
boards	O
,	O
application-specific	O
groupware	B-Application
,	O
or	O
shared	O
databases	O
(	O
See	O
figure	O
1	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pooling	O
of	O
expertise	O
:	O
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
provides	O
more	O
opportunities	O
for	O
experts	O
to	O
join	O
project	O
groups	O
where	O
their	O
knowledge	O
can	O
be	O
best	O
used	O
,	O
and	O
be	O
complemented	O
with	O
other	O
experts	O
whose	O
knowledge	O
contributes	O
to	O
a	O
common	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
allows	O
teams	O
to	O
be	O
formed	O
based	O
on	O
subject	O
and	O
expertise	O
,	O
without	O
the	O
restriction	O
of	O
physical	O
proximity	O
of	O
collaborators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pool	O
of	O
expertise	O
is	O
much	O
greater	O
abroad	O
than	O
in	O
most	O
local	O
team	O
settings	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
gives	O
teams	O
an	O
opportunity	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
quality	O
expert	O
that	O
fits	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cost	O
effective	O
:	O
Compared	O
to	O
face-to-face	O
meetings	O
of	O
distributed	O
group	O
members	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
much	O
less	O
costly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
with	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
people	O
tend	O
to	O
have	O
more	O
intragroup	O
conflict	O
than	O
F2F	O
this	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
fewer	O
social	O
remarks	O
and	O
less	O
participation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
technology	O
like	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
are	O
deprived	O
of	O
facial	O
expression	O
,	O
vocal	O
intonations	O
and	O
indicator	O
of	O
understanding	O
therefore	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
trust	O
and	O
satisfaction	O
in	O
the	O
among	O
the	O
team	O
members	O
collaborating	O
virtually	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
disadvantages	O
that	O
come	O
with	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
are	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
those	O
found	O
in	O
virtual	O
groups	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
virtual	O
groups	O
cannot	O
physically	O
interact	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reliance	O
on	O
Technology	O
:	O
Any	O
problems	O
that	O
arise	O
with	O
the	O
technology	O
can	O
obstruct	O
a	O
collaborative	O
effort	O
due	O
to	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
’s	O
complete	O
reliance	O
on	O
technology	O
for	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teams	O
that	O
have	O
do	O
not	O
understand	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
technology	O
cannot	O
perform	O
their	O
tasks	O
as	O
efficiently	O
and	O
have	O
higher	O
frustration	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Means	O
of	O
exclusion	O
:	O
The	O
method	O
of	O
information	O
transfer	O
in	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
can	O
allow	O
for	O
team	O
members	O
to	O
choose	O
who	O
does	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
receive	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
challenges	O
are	O
emphasized	O
for	O
utilizing	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
outcomes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
needs	O
to	O
have	O
knowledge	O
of	O
both	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
their	O
work	O
and	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
media	O
they	O
choose	O
,	O
and	O
select	O
the	O
best	O
suited	O
media	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
most	O
suitable	O
situation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
proves	O
useful	O
in	O
a	O
military	O
setting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
has	O
become	O
indispensable	O
for	O
conducting	O
a	O
daily	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
used	O
for	O
physician	O
and	O
nurses	O
,	O
or	O
these	O
hospital	O
members	O
and	O
their	O
patients	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
connected	O
even	O
when	O
they	O
are	O
apart	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
share	O
valuable	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
Web	O
2.0	O
applications	O
,	O
particularly	O
wikis	B-Protocol
,	O
blogs	O
,	O
and	O
podcasts	O
,	O
have	O
been	O
widely	O
used	O
by	O
many	O
online	O
health-related	O
professional	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
such	O
as	O
raid	O
quest	O
or	O
military	O
simulation	O
is	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
an	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
corporate	O
businesses	O
for	O
its	O
efficiency	O
,	O
innovation	O
,	O
and	O
ability	O
to	O
gain	O
or	O
keep	O
competitive	O
advantages	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Businesses	O
commonly	O
use	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
technology	O
to	O
facilitate	O
problem	O
solving	O
between	O
teams	O
within	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
to	O
collaborate	O
with	O
other	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
improves	O
profit	O
margins	O
by	O
increasing	O
operational	O
efficiency	O
and	O
productivity	O
within	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
either	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
innovating	O
solutions	O
or	O
through	O
the	O
increased	O
sharing	O
of	O
knowledge	O
through	O
virtual	O
means	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
leaders	O
in	O
using	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
to	O
promote	O
business	O
processes	O
,	O
has	O
developed	O
many	O
systems	O
to	O
help	O
employees	O
collaborate	O
more	O
easily	O
across	O
boundaries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
is	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
connect	O
experts	O
in	O
a	O
scientific	O
field	O
to	O
others	O
that	O
wish	O
collaborate	O
for	O
researching	O
or	O
educating	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
wikis	B-Protocol
and	O
virtual	O
conferencing	O
have	O
shown	O
to	O
be	O
effective	O
in	O
sharing	O
expert	O
information	O
to	O
educate	O
students	O
or	O
other	O
individuals	O
interested	O
in	O
the	O
subject	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wikis	B-Protocol
are	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
because	O
they	O
enable	O
people	O
to	O
contribute	O
to	O
an	O
online	O
document	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
and	O
edited	O
by	O
other	O
users	O
via	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wikis	B-Protocol
are	O
considered	O
a	O
Web	O
2.0	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
fall	O
into	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
due	O
to	O
the	O
collaborative	O
process	O
that	O
documents	O
go	O
through	O
when	O
put	O
into	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wikis	B-Protocol
may	O
be	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
open	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
"	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
theories	O
of	O
living	O
systems	O
and	O
includes	O
concepts	O
such	O
as	O
self-organization	O
,	O
chaos	O
theory	O
and	O
emergence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Open	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
allows	O
persons	O
with	O
a	O
connection	O
to	O
the	O
internet	O
to	O
seek	O
out	O
participation	O
from	O
others	O
in	O
the	O
design	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
new	O
ideas	O
,	O
processes	O
,	O
products	O
,	O
and	O
services	O
for	O
personal	O
and	O
commercial	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
International	O
Business	O
Machines	O
(	O
IBM	O
)	O
and	O
Procter	O
&	O
Gamble	O
were	O
early	O
commercial	O
beneficiaries	O
of	O
the	O
practice	O
of	O
open	O
virtual	B-Application
collaboration	I-Application
.	O
</s>
