In-Time On-Place Learning

The aim of this short paper is to look at how mobile video recording devices could support learning related to physical practices or places and situations at work. This paper discusses particular kind of workplace learning, namely learning using short video clips that are related to physical environment and tasks preformed in situ. The paper presents challenges of supporting learning as part of work practices taking place in the workplace, because learning has different attributes during work than in formal educational contexts: e.g. it is informal, just in time and social. The theoretical framework of the design is the tradition of pragmatism. We start with the concepts of experience, change of practices / habits and reflection, claiming that living through experiences suggest changes for practices and these trigger reflective processing of the situations. We present an Android application ‘Ach So!’ for creating and annotating short videos as potential solution for informal learning for physical work practices. The paper ends in proposing future steps in the development of the application. The co-design process for the application is lean and iterative, where the design receives feedback from the project partners, skilled workers, apprentices and managers of SMEs targeted to be the main users of the application.Peer reviewe

Interim research assessment 2003-2005 - Computer Science

This report primarily serves as a source of information for the 2007 Interim Research Assessment Committee for Computer Science at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The report also provides information for others interested in our research activities

Collaborative decision making in complex work settings: a process of managing inter dependencies

There exists disparity between the conceptualization and occurrence of Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) in everyday work activities of complex work settings. Current notions in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) based on studies of decision making in groups typically portray CDM as an isolated event in which multiple personnel jointly undertake decision making. In the real world, however, decisions are made during work performance and interlaced with other processes and activities. Moreover, the complex work setting is a cooperative arrangement in which decision making is distributed. This research aims to alleviate the disparity by investigating how people in a complex working environment make decisions collaboratively. The original contribution to knowledge made by this thesis is the theory of CDM as a process of managing interdependencies. Field-studies conducted in an airport to examine the way CDM is undertaken during Air Traffic Control operations inform theory development. The study takes a qualitative approach and is guided by Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). The findings of this research indicate that undertaking decision making in the cooperative arrangement of complex work settings requires managing the distributions and interconnections inherent in this setup. In addition, participation and contribution of personnel in decision making is found to be structured by the dependencies between their activities. These findings form the central focus of the theory leading to the depiction of CDM as a process of managing interdependencies. The theory presented in this thesis clarifies and extends existing views by explicating the differentiated process of CDM in the cooperative arrangement of a complex work setting. Based on this a new definition of CDM is formulated. In addition, a conceptual framework of ten parameters is derived to serve as a tool for analysing CDM taking place in a particular work setting. Application of this framework is demonstrated by analysing an aircraft accident report to draw insights about the occurrence of CDM in this setting

The effect of Facebook self-disclosure on the reduction of uncertainty, liking and social attractiveness

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati utjecaj samootkrivanja na Facebooku na smanjenje nesigurnosti, sviđanje i socijalnu atraktivnost prilikom inicijalnog kontakta. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 196 studenata) u dobi od 18 do 25 godina koji su bili raspoređeni u tri eksperimentalne situacije. Svaka situacija razlikovala se po razini samootkrivanja na Facebook profilu (niska, srednja, visoka). Sudionici su procjene vlastite nesigurnosti, sviđanja i socijalne atraktivnosti prezentirane osobe izvršavali na Skali opće nesigurnosti, Skali sviđanja, Skali interpersonalne privlačnosti- subskala Socijalne atraktivnosti te su ispunili i upitniku o njihovim sociodemografskim podacima. Korelacije između ispitivanih varijabli nisu se pokazale statistički značajnima. Složenom analizom varijance utvrđeno je da ne postoji efekt individualnih faktora, razina samootkrivanja i spola procjenjivača, ali je dobivena njihova statistički značajna interakcija u slučaju procjene nesigurnosti koju izaziva prezentirana osoba te razine sviđanja. Prema dobivenim rezultatima žene pokazuju manju razinu nesigurnosti i višu razinu sviđanja u situaciji većeg samootkrivanja prezentirane ženske osobe nego muškarci.The aim of this study was to examine the effects of self-disclosure via Facebook on uncertainty reduction, liking and social attraction in initial interaction. The sample consisted of 196 students (M = 96, F = 100) ranging from 18 to 25 years. They were divided into three experimental situations differing by the level of self-disclosure on Facebook profile (low, medium, high). Participants completed a survey reporting their levels of uncertainty, liking and social attraction while making judgements about presented person on General uncertainty scale, Likability Scale and Interpersonal Attraction Scale- subscale Social attraction. They, also, filled out sociodemografic questionnare about themselves. No significant association between examined variables were found. The results of MANOVA indicated that there is no univariate main effects for self-disclosure level and percievers gender, but significant interaction effect for the level of uncertainty and liking evoked by the presented person. Results showed that women had lower levels of uncertainty and higher levels of liking in the situation of high level of self disclosure on female Facebook profile than male

The Mind's Eye on Personal Profiles - How to inform trustworthiness assessments in virtual project teams

Rusman, E. (2011). The Mind's Eye on Personal Profiles - How to inform trustworthiness assessments in virtual project teams (Doctoral dissertation). June, 17, 2011, Open University in the Netherlands (CELSTEC), Heerlen, The Netherlands.The central research question of this thesis is: How to inform trustworthiness assessments of virtual project team members in the initial phase of collaboration?There is common agreement that the availability of personal information and the possibility to interact informally at the start of a project accelerates the trust formation process. This goes for face-to-face as well as for virtual project teams. However, there is no shared understanding as to what information is critical for this acceleration and why it is so. Acceleration of the trust formation process is beneficial, as interpersonal trust is one of the key factors influencing performance in face-to-face as well as virtual teams. When little or no trust exists within a team, serious collaboration problems are bound to occur. Virtual project teams experience more problems with interpersonal trust formation than face-to-face teams. This is likely to be due to the diminished availability of information and its computer-mediated character. Once we know what information is important for trustworthiness assessments and why it is so, we could use it for the design of measures to accelerate the formation of interpersonal trust. To investigate the central research question we combined a theoretical (top-down) with a practical, design-oriented (bottom-up) research approach. We concluded our research with an evaluation.Open Universiteit Nederland; SIKS research school (dissertation serie No. 2011-19); Cooper Project (Contract 027073