Analyzing collaborative contexts: Professional musicians, corporate engineers, and communities in the Himalayas

This paper reports on the collaborative experiences and theories of members of professional and community settings who work with others in their everyday practices. Data are drawn from interviews and field observations with professional musicians who collaborate regularly for performances, corporate engineers working in groups, and community members exchanging perspectives on sustainable practices for their village. Performing chamber music, designing a new technology-driven plane, or making decisions about sustainability in rural communities, all require sophisticated collaboration to generate ideas from multiple perspectives, problem solve, and innovate. The research we present explores the demands on the environment, the relational space, and the shifts that occur for participants in their collaborative settings. The findings from these studies emphasize the multidimensionality of collaboration and the importance of collaboration as a tool for learning and decision-making in given contexts.