The Ambience of Innovation: a Material Semiotic Analysis of Corporate and Community Innovation Sites

There are unprecedented opportunities in professional and technical writing (PTW) and rhetoric research thanks to a contemporary expansion of rhetorical studies beyond the linguistic/symbolic and into the material, accounting for the rhetorical contributions of “nonhumans” (Latour Reassembling the Social). Material rhetoric frameworks such as Thomas Rickert’s ambient rhetoric and Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory, provide fertile grounds for PTW/rhetoric research that explores the diffusion of “rhetoric into material space” (Rickert xii) which has especially exciting implications for the study of place and how it embodies values and rhetorically shapes acting, thinking, and the entire spectrum of “human flourishing” (Rickert xii). This renewed interest in the rhetoric of artifacts and how they unite to enact agency within material spaces correlates with an enduring PTW/rhetoric interest in the process that creates things: innovation. The rhetoric of innovation analyzes the complex communication process involved with generating, conveying, and transferring ideas into marketable technology products (Doheny-Farina; Akrich, Callon, and Latour). This work, then, contributes to contemporary PTW/rhetoric research by applying commitments of rhetorical material-semiotics to innovation to understanding the context of innovation and the role of place in ideation. My underlying rhetorical interest within these spaces is the generation, communication, and dispersal of agency during ideation. I explore this process from three perspectives: how the designers of innovation spaces and workshop leverage material context to convey values of innovation; how the artifacts within innovation spaces enact agency upon facilitators and participants to shape their approaches to the innovation process; and how agency is symmetrically distributed across a network of human and nonhuman actants during real time ideation. My project analyzes innovation workshops, brainstorming sessions, and strategic planning sessions, within eight material spaces designed to cultivate creativity through different material means. These spaces are diverse as are the sessions I observed, but, across all of them, I apply a mix of observation, interviews, and ambience descriptions in order to pursue the answers to my research questions and uncover insights about the dispersal of agency within innovation spaces. My analysis of these spaces has numerous implications for PTW/Rhetoric scholars in its expansion of material rhetorics into space analysis; it also has implications PTW/Rhetoric teaching related to materially distribution of agency in the classroom space. Finally, it can help innovation practitioners such as interior designers, engineers, and industrial designers to rhetorically communicate their values of innovation and establish a culture of innovation in their companies through material-linguistic means

Managing as Designing: Transforming Digital Healthcare Interoperability

Digital healthcare transformations promise improved overall quality healthcare and patient continued care among others. However, quality healthcare and continued patient care can be hampered by various challenges including insufficient collaboration among healthcare centers, and limited data exchanges between health information systems (HIS). Such challenges can be overcome through collaborative digital healthcare initiatives in which, HIS are designed with data exchange capabilities that enable healthcare centers to easily exchange patient information across boundaries. However, several existing initiatives are carried out in isolation, and there is limited practical knowledge on how to collaboratively manage and design HIS’ interoperability. Consequently, this study investigated a managing as designing (MaD) approach taken by a successful HIS interoperability initiative in Sweden. Data was collected mainly through interviews with key informants within the implementation team. Based on study findings, a MaD HIS-interoperability conceptual framework that can guide the management and design of future HIS’ interoperability was developed

The effectiveness of virtual facilitation in supporting GDSS appropriation and structured group decision making

Since their introduction a quarter of a century ago, group decision support systems (GDSS) have evolved from applications designed primarily to support decision making for groups in face-to-face settings, to their growing use for “web conferencing,” online collaboration, and distributed group decision-making. Indeed, it is only recently that such groupware applications for conducting face-to-face, as well as “virtual meetings” among dispersed workgroups have achieved mainstream status, as evidenced by Microsoft’s ubiquitous advertising campaign promoting its “Live Meeting” electronic meeting systems (EMS) software. As these applications become more widely adopted, issues relating to their effective utilization are becoming increasingly relevant. This research addresses an area of growing interest in the study of group decision support systems, and one which holds promise for improving the effective utilization of advanced information technologies in general: the feasibility of using virtual facilitation (system-directed multi-modal user support) for supporting the GDSS appropriation process and for improving structured group decision-making efficiency and effectiveness. A multi-modal application for automating the GDSS facilitation process is used to compare conventional GDSS-supported groups with groups using virtual facilitation, as well as groups interacting without computerized decision-making support. A hidden-profile task designed to compare GDSS appropriation levels, user satisfaction, and decision-making efficiency and effectiveness is utilized in an experiment employing auditors, accountants, and IT security professionals as participants. The results of the experiment are analyzed and possible directions for future research efforts are discussed

Investigation of the effects of group composition and conference structure on group creativity and induvidual perceptions of transactional distance in university students

PhD ThesisThe main purpose of this study was to investigate online collaborative activities based on the differences of individual students, to enhance creativity in small groups and reduce transactional distance (TD) in an online learning environment. The relationships among gender, thinking styles, individual creative ability and group creativity were also explored. Both experimental and survey data were collected to provide a rich understanding of the related issues. Different grouping and structuring strategies were developed and manipulated in this work. The 3 x 3 factorial quasi-experimental design employed a pretest-posttest comparison group, with two independent variables: thinking styles and conference structure. The dependent variables were group creativity and student perceptions of transactional distance. One hundred and thirty-eight second year students from three intact classes at Southern Taiwan University were selected as the participants for the main study. Four research instruments were used to collect data: the Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI), the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA), the Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS), and the individual’s perceptions of transactional distance questionnaire. The findings confirmed that male students tended to prefer the legislative thinking style more than the female ones. There was no significant difference between male and female students in the overall creative ability. However, the male students had significantly higher creative ability with regard to originality. The findings also supported Sternberg’s argument that ability is different from style. In addition, this study found that there was no significant association between the average group member creative ability and the overall group creative performance. As for the test results for the influences of the two proposed factors in terms of group composition and conference structure on group creativity, no significant differences were found for these two factors or their interaction on group creativity. In addition, group composition and conference structure had no significant interaction effect on any dimension of transactional distance, but two main effects were significant. Group composition had a significant effect on the learner autonomy dimension of transactional distance. The level of conference structure had a significant effect on individual perceptions of interaction, conference structure and interface transactional distance. Moreover, in the context of the present study, using synchronous online conferencing, a high degree of TD - interaction was associated with a high degree of TD - conference structure, TD - learner autonomy and TD - interface

Improving Hybrid Brainstorming Outcomes with Scripting and Group Awareness Support

Previous research has shown that hybrid brainstorming, which combines individual and group methods, generates more ideas than either approach alone. However, the quality of these ideas remains similar across different methods. This study, guided by the dual-pathway to creativity model, tested two computer-supported scaffolds – scripting and group awareness support – for enhancing idea quality in hybrid brainstorming. 94 higher education students,grouped into triads, were tasked with generating ideas in three conditions. The Control condition used standard hybrid brainstorming without extra support. In the Experimental 1 condition, students received scripting support during individual brainstorming, and students in the Experimental 2 condition were provided with group awareness support during the group phase in addition. While the quantity of ideas was similar across all conditions, the Experimental 2 condition produced ideas of higher quality, and the Experimental 1 condition also showed improved idea quality in the individual phase compared to the Control condition

Governance for Sustainable Systems: The Development of a Participatory Framework

Despite an increasing recognition of the need for an integrative approach to sustainable development, there remains a tendency for this to be anthropocentric. Attempts to govern sustainability are invariably focused on the pre-eminence of the human perspective and social systems in the pursuit of human goals. This often means either excluding or attempting to control the external environment rather than understanding and responding to it. This thesis explores more holistic approaches to governance that are based upon the need for an improved understanding about the interconnections between social, economic and ecological systems. It examines current literature on governance for sustainable development and systems thinking as applied to it, with specific reference to Socio-Technical Systems (STS), social learning about systems’ interrelations and the nature of public goods. On the basis of this analysis, a systemic conception of governance for sustainability is developed and translated into a provisional framework that can aid participatory social learning relating to sustainable development. Three initial Socio-Technical Systems (STS) case studies are drawn upon to populate the empty framework (the European Critical Electricity Infrastructure (ECEI), the Finnish security system and the transition of energy systems towards a post carbon society); these are then analysed thematically to derive common governance for sustainability criteria. The final modified framework is then applied to an in depth, and on-going, case study of food systems’ security and sustainability and a final discussion considers how this governance framework (GAME) might contribute to future holistic decision making for more sustainable Socio-Technical Systems. The multi-method GAME supports the generation of future scenarios and core sustainability criteria by multiple stakeholders; reflecting needs, capabilities and limits that can maintain systems’ equilibrium. It also implies a more normative governance for sustainability and a commitment to improved evidence-based decision-making that reflects systems’ complexity and contributes to bridging the gaps between science, policy and society. The GAME is currently being extended to incorporate the user-friendly geospatial representations of impacts

Guiding Design Principle Projects: A Canvas for Young Design Science Researchers

Particularly young researchers face challenges in organizing large design science research (DSR) projects and often struggle to capture, communicate, and reflect on important components to produce purposeful outcomes. Making informed decisions at the project start, such as selecting suitable kernel theories and development procedures, is of great relevance because they affect the entire design process and the resulting design products. Although DSR can produce different types of outcomes, from more situational artifacts to more abstract design knowledge, scholars point to the need for generalizing insights collected in such projects to advance the knowledge base. As design principles are among the prevailing forms of such design knowledge, this paper builds a visual inquiry tool—represented as a canvas—that navigates researchers through common components for crafting design principles and leverages collaborative reflections on essential project decisions. To build our canvas, we adapt inquiry-based learning (IBL) guidelines and visual inquiry tools to DSR education. Evaluations with doctoral students revealed promising indications for the canvas’s applicability and usefulness in guiding iterative DSR projects, reflecting on basic components, and communicating work-in-progress to other scholars and practice. Overall, we complement the body of DSR literature by providing an educational visual inquiry tool for producing design principles

A case study of collaborative learning among preparatory year students and their teachers at Hail University in Saudi Arabia

The concept of collaborative learning (CL) relates to the educational use of small groups, in which students work together to maximise their learning and to teach and learn from each other as much as possible, after receiving guidelines and instructions from their teachers. Collaborative learning in Saudi higher education (SHE) has been promoted at the government level in recent years as part of a trend to increase the adoption of e-learning. The policy also aligns with educational reforms and the drive to make the Saudi economy more competitive and diverse. Nevertheless, it is still enforcing itself to become a norm in the teaching and learning process as it is a radical shift from the traditional centralised decision making in educational settings and teacher-centred teaching, which indicate a high power distance structure. Therefore, this study investigates the perceptions of preparatory year students and teachers at Hail University regarding the implementation of CL. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Data were gathered from observations, six focus groups (composed of five students in each group) and individual interviews with 12 teachers on the foundation year. The findings of this study indicated two modalities for deploying CL: traditional CL (TCL/non-computer- supported collaborative learning [CSCL]) and computer-supported CL (CSCL) in Saudi higher Education. Furthermore, the results showed that CL indeed provides personal, social, and academic benefits. It is still, however, marred by challenges such that effective implementation is curtailed and thus does not produce positive learning outcomes among students. Overall, given the cultural background, the preference for retaining a high power distance, and what teachers and students are accustomed to, the study suggests further research be conducted to implement an form of CL adapted to suit Saudi culture

Patient partnership in quality improvement of healthcare services: Patients’ inputs and challenges faced

This research focuses on the perception of patients who participated in Continuous Quality Improvement Committees (CIC) regarding their contribution, lessons learned, and challenges encountered. The committees are engaged in a care partnership approach where patients are recognized for their experiential knowledge and treated as full members of the clinical team. Based on patient interviews, we conclude that they bring a structured and thoughtful vision of their experience. They identify themselves as real partners in the care process and are grateful for the opportunity to improve the care provided to other patients by using their own experience and by bringing changes to the patient-professional relationship, particularly in terms of communication. They also become better acquainted with the complexity of the health system and its organization. However, their participation in CICs raised two challenges. The first was their availability, as their professional schedules did not always allow them to participate in meetings. The second was their frustration with the slow decision-making process and implementation of necessary measures for quality improvement of healthcare and services. This study highlights the contribution of successful patient participation to quality of care improvement. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Relationship development processes in global virtual teams

Working on projects in global virtual teams has become the norm in the modern world. In the beginning, such teams were used to enhance the productivity and efficiency of the firms; however, over time we have realized that this organizational form is not sustainable without considering the wellbeing of global virtual teams (GVTs). The relationships the members of such teams form and develop over time are crucial to their wellbeing. Many studies have focused on the connection between relationships and a firm’s performance, while others have focused on singular aspects, such as the role of trust in relationships. Most of these studies have followed the input-process-outcome approach. This study takes a critical stance towards the mainstream view of input-process-outcome models, arguing that before we embark on the singular variable approach, we must evaluate what we know about relationship development processes and how they unfold in GVTs. To accomplish this aim, the researcher followed a number of GVTs from their formation to dissolution to reveal how the processes of relationship development unfold in GVTs. This research applies interpretive philosophy through the sensemaking perspective and uses narratives to build individual-level explanations of relationship development processes. To further explain these processes at the group level, lifecycle, teleological, dialectical, and evolutionary process types were used. The above methodology and methods were applied to the empirical data collected from the GVTs, which consisted of student teams. These individuals were enrolled in Master’s degree programs and executive business education in different universities across four different European countries and represented more than 11 nationalities. The members of these teams did not have prior interactions. Much of the qualitative data gathered from these GVTs was in the form of individual reflections on the activities undertaken by the teams, class interactions, qualitative feedback from instructors on GVTs task performance, and informal discussions with the participants of the study. Relationships among GVT members are dynamic and a combination of fluid processes unfolding at multiple levels. These processes are driven by virtual communication, through which GVTs try to realize projects. While projects and communication influence relationship development processes, they also create a team climate that influences these processes. This study proposes three theses to explain the relationship development processes in GVTs. These theses are based on the fact that individuals in GVTs are not merely resources but capable and complex human beings. Their sensemaking of the events leads to the enactment of social structures and shared understandings, which in turn enable the formation and development of relationships. The “organizational thesis” of relationship development shows that three aspects (task, communication, and team climate) are interlinked, and therefore they influence and are influenced by one another. This implies that the people responsible for overseeing the working of GVTs must first implement the essential structural elements of task and communication. The repeated adaptive actions and future interactions relating to tasks, communication, and team climate then decide the trajectory of relationship development processes. The “perception, interaction, and reflection thesis” proposes that these three basic dimensions work dynamically to create multiple outcomes, including relationship development processes. These dimensions include individuals’ perceptions, interactions with other team members, and self-reflection processes pertaining to the project work, based on the tools used to create a virtual environment. Each dimension drives perceptions and interactions at different levels, shaping individual thinking patterns and group dynamics while team members work together . The individual perceptions contribute to the understanding of tasks and others in the team. These individual perceptions, combined with others’ perceptions of interactions, create a shared space based on shared perceptions. These shared perceptions help to precipitate personal meaning to a team-level meaning. The group-level shared perceptions and the actual execution of the tasks lead to a team climate helpful in further developing the processes of relationships. The psychological safety thesis argues that individuals in a GVT, initially, perceive relationship development processes through their sociocultural background. Due to continuous interactions with others, over time, psychological safety becomes an entity responsible for the team climate. Everyone simultaneously interacts with technology and with each other, and this human-technology interaction contributes to the team climate, which gives rise to the relationship development processes. The assurance of a psychologically safe environment during these complex interactions makes it possible for GVTs to develop positive relationships.Yhä useammat työskentelevät globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä. Alkuun tiimien tavoitteena oli yritysten tuottavuuden ja tehokkuuden parantuminen, mutta ne ovat vähitellen vakiinnuttaneet asemansa pysyvinä toimintamalleina erilaisissa organisaatioissa. Kokemuksen kautta on myös ymmärretty, että globaalit virtuaalitiimit ovat kestävä organisaatiomuoto ainoastaan, jos niiden hyvinvointiin kiinnitetään huomiota. Tiimeissä muodostuu ihmissuhteita, jotka voivat olla ratkaisevan tärkeitä tiimien jäsenten hyvinvoinnille. Monet aikaisemmat tutkimukset aikaisemmat tutkimukset ovat keskittyneet ihmissuhteiden ja yrityksen suorituskyvyn välisen yhteyden tarkasteluun tai yksittäisiin tekijöihin, kuten luottamuksen rooliin näissä suhteissa. Pääosa tästä aikaisemmasta tutkimuksesta on perustunut panos-prosessi-tulos-lähestymistapaan. Tämä tutkimus suhtautuu kriittisesti valtavirtaa edustaviin panos-prosessi-tulos-malleihin, koska keskittyminen yksittäisiin muuttujiin on mahdollista vain, jos ymmärrämme miten ihmissuhteet kehittyvät globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä. Tässä tutkimuksessa seurattiin usean globaalin virtuaalitiimin kehittymistä koko niiden elinkaaren ajan muodostumisesta purkautumiseen, tarkastellen erityisesti ihmissuhteiden kehittymistä. Tutkimus lähestyy aihetta tulkitsevan filosofian näkökulmasta ja pohjaa sensemaking -teoriaan. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osassa hyödynnetään narratiiveja, jotta voidaan tarkastella ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosesseja yksilötasolla. Ryhmätason tarkastelussa käytettiin elinkaari-, teleologista, dialektista sekä evoluutioprosessityyppejä. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin opiskelijaryhmistä koostuvista globaaleista virtuaalitiimeistä. Opiskelijat suorittivat maisteritutkinto-ohjelmaa tai yritysjohdon koulutusta eri yliopistoissa neljässä eri Euroopan maassa ja edustivat yli 11 kansallisuutta. Ryhmien jäsenillä ei ollut ollut aikaisempaa vuorovaikutusta keskenään. Kerätty laadullinen aineisto koostuu pääosin yksilötason reflektioista liittyen tiimin toimintaan, opetukseen liittyvään vuorovaikutukseen, ohjaajien kirjalliseen palautteeseen ryhmätehtävien suorittamisesta sekä epävirallisista keskusteluista tutkimukseen osallistuneiden opiskelijoiden kanssa. Tutkimus osoittaa, että globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä ihmissuhteet ovat dynaamisia ja monitasoisia ja ne kehittyvät monimuotoisissa prosesseissa. Näitä prosesseja ohjaa virtuaalinen kommunikaatio, jonka kautta globaalit virtuaalitiimit pyrkivät toteuttamaan projekteja. Projektin ominaisuudet ja kommunikaatio vaikuttavat ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosesseihin, mutta luovat myös tiimin ilmapiirin, joka vaikuttaa näihin kehittymisprosesseihin. Tämä tutkimus nostaa esiin kolme teesiä selittämään ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosesseja globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä. Nämä teesit perustuvat oletukseen, että globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä yksilöt eivät ole pelkästään resursseja, vaan osaavia ja monitahoisia ihmisiä. Yksilötasolla tapahtumien järkeistäminen (sensemaking) johtaa tiimitasolla sosiaalisten rakenteiden toteuttamiseen ja jaettuun ymmärrykseen, joka puolestaan mahdollistaa ihmissuhteiden muodostumisen ja kehittymisen. Ensimmäinen, ”organisatorinen” teesi osoittaa, että kolme keskeistä ryhmätason tekijää (tiimille annettu tehtävä, kommunikaatio ja tiimin ilmapiiri) vaikuttavat toinen toisiinsa. Tämä tarkoittaa, että globaalin virtuaalitiimin toiminnan ohjauksesta vastaavien on ensin varmistettava tehtävän ja kommunikaation olennaiset rakenteelliset elementit. Näiden peruselementtien pohjalta virtuaalitiimin ihmissuhteiden kehitysprosessi muovautuu toistuvien mukautuvien toimien ja vuorovaikutuksen muokatessa tehtävää, kommunikaatiota ja tiimin ilmapiiriä. Toinen teesi liittyy vuorovaikutukseen ja reflektioon tiimissä. Sen mukaan kolme yksilötason ulottuvuutta – yksilöiden käsitykset, vuorovaikutus tiimin jäsenten kanssa ja itsereflektio – vaikuttavat dynaamisesti ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosessiin. Ryhmän työskennellessä yhteisen tavoitteen eteen nämä kolme ulottuvuutta ohjaavat niin yksilöllisiä ajattelumalleja kuin ryhmädynamiikkaa. Yksilölliset käsitykset auttavat ymmärtämään tehtäviä ja muita tiimin jäseniä. Nämä yksilölliset käsitykset yhdessä muiden tiimin jäsenten käsityksiin vuorovaikutuksesta muodostavat tiimille jaetun käsityksen ja luo yhteisen tilan toiminnalle ja ajattelulle. Nämä tiimin yhteiset käsitykset auttavat yhdistämään henkilökohtaisen merkityksen tiimitason merkitykseksi. Ryhmätason jaetut käsitykset ja tehtävien käytännön toteuttaminen johtavat tiimi-ilmapiiriin, joka edesauttaa edelleen ihmissuhteiden kehittymistä. Kolmas ”psykologisen turvallisuuden” teesi väittää että yksilöt globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä, lähtökohtaisesti tulkitsevat ihmissuhteiden kehittymistä oman sosiokulttuurisen taustansa kautta. Pidemmällä aikavälillä jatkuvan kommunikaation myötä psykologinen turvallisuus muuttuu yhä olennaisemmaksi osaksi tiimin ilmapiiriä. Tiimin jäsenet ovat yhtäaikaisesti vuorovaikutuksessa teknologian ja toistensa kanssa, ja tämä ihmisteknologia vuorovaikutus kontribuoi tiimin ilmapiiriin, ja sitä kautta edelleen ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosesseihin tiimissä. Näin ollen psykologisen turvallisuuden takaaminen tässä monitahoisessa vuorovaikutuksessa mahdollistaa positiivisen ihmissuhteiden kehittymisprosessin globaaleissa virtuaalitiimeissä