Diversity and Novelty: Measurement, Learning and Optimization

The primary objective of this dissertation is to investigate research methods to answer the question: ``How (and why) does one measure, learn and optimize novelty and diversity of a set of items?" The computational models we develop to answer this question also provide foundational mathematical techniques to throw light on the following three questions: 1. How does one reliably measure the creativity of ideas? 2. How does one form teams to evaluate design ideas? 3. How does one filter good ideas out of hundreds of submissions? Solutions to these questions are key to enable the effective processing of a large collection of design ideas generated in a design contest. In the first part of the dissertation, we discuss key qualities needed in design metrics and propose new diversity and novelty metrics for judging design products. We show that the proposed metrics have higher accuracy and sensitivity compared to existing alternatives in literature. To measure the novelty of a design item, we propose learning from human subjective responses to derive low dimensional triplet embeddings. To measure diversity, we propose an entropy-based diversity metric, which is more accurate and sensitive than benchmarks. In the second part of the dissertation, we introduce the bipartite b-matching problem and argue the need for incorporating diversity in the objective function for matching problems. We propose new submodular and supermodular objective functions to measure diversity and develop multiple matching algorithms for diverse team formation in offline and online cases. Finally, in the third part, we demonstrate filtering and ranking of ideas using diversity metrics based on Determinantal Point Processes as well as submodular functions. In real-world crowd experiments, we demonstrate that such ranking enables increased efficiency in filtering high-quality ideas compared to traditionally used methods

Knowledge Solutions: Tools, Methods, and Approaches to Drive Development Forward and Enhance Its Effects

[Excerpt] Today, sustainable competitive advantage derives from strenuous efforts to identify, cultivate, and exploit an organization’s core competencies. This calls for relentless design of strategic architecture, deployment of competence carriers, and commitment to collaborate across silos. Put simply, core competencies are the product of collective learning: their tangible fruits are composite packages of products and services that anticipate and meet demand. Knowledge is what you learn from experience before, during, and after the event. Since it is both a thing and a flow, the best way to manage knowledge is to cater at all times to the environment in which it can be identified, created, stored, shared, and used. Tools, methods, and approaches are needed to enable that. And so, to drive development forward and enhance its effects, the Asian Development Bank has, since 2008, published the Knowledge Solutions series, available at www.adb.org/knowledgesolutions. It aims to build competencies in the areas of strategy development, management techniques, collaboration mechanisms, knowledge sharing and learning, and knowledge capture and storage—all of which are essential to high-performance organizations

European E-Democracy in Practice

This open access book explores how digital tools and social media technologies can contribute to better participation and involvement of EU citizens in European politics. By analyzing selected representative e-participation projects at the local, national and European governmental levels, it identifies the preconditions, best practices and shortcomings of e-participation practices in connection with EU decision-making procedures and institutions. The book features case studies on parliamentary monitoring, e-voting practices, and e-publics, and offers recommendations for improving the integration of e-democracy in European politics and governance. Accordingly, it will appeal to scholars as well as practitioners interested in identifying suitable e-participation tools for European institutions and thus helps to reduce the EU’s current democratic deficit. This book is a continuation of the book “Electronic Democracy in Europe” published by Springer

Lawrence University Course Catalog, 2021-2022

https://lux.lawrence.edu/coursecatalogs/1019/thumbnail.jp

Lawrence University Course Catalog, 2022-2023

https://lux.lawrence.edu/coursecatalogs/1020/thumbnail.jp

Changing Paradigms : Designing for a Sustainable Future

Changing Paradigms: designing for a sustainable future is intended for designers, design students and design educators, who want to understand why and how to integrate Sustainability into design education and practice. It consists of five parts; Part One presents why we must design for a sustainable future, Part Two describes how to design for a sustainable future, Part Three presents student design projects exemplifying sustainable design, Part Four is a glossary of 120 terms and concepts about Sustainability and design, and finally, Part Five includes three appendices: The Cumulus Kyoto Design Declaration, and guidelines on how to green both school campuses and conferences. This book has been edited by Peter Stebbing and Ursula Tischner, who have invited internationally renown experts to contribute chapters. Changing Paradigms offers a comprehensive survey of essential knowledge for designers and other creative professions to shift their focus to the new design paradigm for sustainable production, consumption, and life styles