The Component Packaging Problem: A Vehicle for the Development of Multidisciplinary Design and Analysis Methodologies

This report summarizes academic research which has resulted in an increased appreciation for multidisciplinary efforts among our students, colleagues and administrators. It has also generated a number of research ideas that emerged from the interaction between disciplines. Overall, 17 undergraduate students and 16 graduate students benefited directly from the NASA grant: an additional 11 graduate students were impacted and participated without financial support from NASA. The work resulted in 16 theses (with 7 to be completed in the near future), 67 papers or reports mostly published in 8 journals and/or presented at various conferences (a total of 83 papers, presentations and reports published based on NASA inspired or supported work). In addition, the faculty and students presented related work at many meetings, and continuing work has been proposed to NSF, the Army, Industry and other state and federal institutions to continue efforts in the direction of multidisciplinary and recently multi-objective design and analysis. The specific problem addressed is component packing which was solved as a multi-objective problem using iterative genetic algorithms and decomposition. Further testing and refinement of the methodology developed is presently under investigation. Teaming issues research and classes resulted in the publication of a web site, (http://design.eng.clemson.edu/psych4991) which provides pointers and techniques to interested parties. Specific advantages of using iterative genetic algorithms, hurdles faced and resolved, and institutional difficulties associated with multi-discipline teaming are described in some detail

Teaching in the Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment of Second Life: Design Considerations For Virtual World Developers

Educators are seeking ways to better engage their students including the use of collaborative virtual learning environments (CVLEs). Some virtual worlds can serve as CVLEs as the advent of Second Life has created particular interest within the education community. Second Life, however, was not initially designed to facilitate education alone. I propose that as a CVLE, Second Life may be failing educators' expectations of its initial, ongoing, and future use as a system for supporting education. In order to determine how Second Life may be failing educators, I conducted a case study with a group of university-level educators that examined their reasons for and against adopting Second Life as a CVLE, the affordances they explored, the barriers they encountered, and how these affordances and barriers affected student learning and the participant's future use of Second Life and future virtual worlds in education. I then compare their use of Second Life to that of traditional groupware systems. As a result, I propose and detail the development of a rich integrated development environment, application programming interface, more flexible privacy policy, and more robust community tools for educators based on these comparisons

MEETINGS – THE INNOVATIVE GLUE BETWEEN THE ORGANISATION SYSTEM AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

The research presented aims for enhanced utilization of human skills, collaboration, and information sharing. This paper concerns the production context, and the needs and challenges of people striving for high-quality, innovative, and efficient work. The paper presents a model of the information system (IS) and organisations system (OS) and their integration. Main conclusions are that these systems overlap, and create an innovative working arena for the different working processes. People with knowledge gather into meetings held for different purposes supported by technical systems. These meetings provide a core element for efficient and innovative collaboration, requiring parallel development of IS and OS

The CSCW paradigm for software development

People work together to solve a wide variety of problems using different forms of cooperation for each class of problem. Modern technology is complex, and therefore it is unusual for an individual to attempt the development of a major project single-handedly. In an attempt to provide computer-based support for the problems that arise when two or more people attempt to cooperate to perform a task or solve a problem, the area of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) becomes relevant. The software development process almost invariably involves cooperation that crosses group, professional, and subcultural boundaries. The complexity of software development demands that highly integrated groups of analysts, designers, and users are involved in the process. Many development activities may occur concurrently. The area of CSCW and advanced information technology, with its enormous capabilities for transmitting and storing information, holds considerable promise for the software development process