Incentives and Efficiency in Uncertain Collaborative Environments

We consider collaborative systems where users make contributions across multiple available projects and are rewarded for their contributions in individual projects according to a local sharing of the value produced. This serves as a model of online social computing systems such as online Q&A forums and of credit sharing in scientific co-authorship settings. We show that the maximum feasible produced value can be well approximated by simple local sharing rules where users are approximately rewarded in proportion to their marginal contributions and that this holds even under incomplete information about the player's abilities and effort constraints. For natural instances we show almost 95% optimality at equilibrium. When players incur a cost for their effort, we identify a threshold phenomenon: the efficiency is a constant fraction of the optimal when the cost is strictly convex and decreases with the number of players if the cost is linear

Managing projects for change: Contextualised project management

This paper will detail three projects which focussed on enhancing online learning at a large Australian distance education University within a School of Business,School of Health and School of Education. Each project had special funding and took quite distinctive project management approaches, which reflect the desire to embed innovation and ownership at the instructor and student interface. By responding to the stakeholder requirements these three projects provide insight into a) how integrated professional development serves to enable change in practice; b) why leadership at both junior and senior levels of the organisation is an important driver to support instructor engagement for real change; c) what role external private contractors can play; and, d) how instructors were integrated through the varied project management approaches. The integrating theme of the paper is instructor engagement for real change. Each project will be detailed as mini-cases and key lessons drawn out that describe and explain the challenges, opportunities and scope of varied project management approaches to suit the distinct four contexts. This paper builds on and brings together considerable investigation into how we can support and enhance dissemination of a variety of project-based models that respond to contextual needs and issues. The multiple school case study methodology serves to provide an approach that is both robust and cognisant of current trends in increased university investment through shortterm project funding. The final recommendations will highlight how different approaches to project management are both desirable and essential for successfully embedding change of instructor practices for enhancing student learning in distance education modes

The Role of Community Values in Wind Energy Development: Exploring the Benefits and Applications of Community Wind for Reducing Local Opposition to Wind Energy Systems

Worldwide, wind energy generation is growing rapidly as a cleaner and less invasive alternative to traditional fossil-fuel energy sources. Yet, in the United States, the advancement of wind energy has been stunted by three factors: (1) the uncertainty of the federal Production Tax Credit; (2) the lack of transmission lines connecting wind projects to electricity grids; and (3) enduring local cultural and aesthetic objections to wind turbines. Frustrated with the imbalanced allocation of costs and benefits imposed by most wind energy projects, some individuals and municipalities have deployed zoning laws, nuisance claims, or environmentalist arguments to discourage wind energy development in their area. “Community wind” is a model of wind energy generation that improves residents’ perception of turbines by using local ownership, services and utility grids to concentrate the economic benefits of wind power in the communities that produce it. This paper sets forth a proposal for applying the community wind model in a suburban context, through the mechanism of the homeowner’s association (HOA). HOAs are uniquely situated to implement community wind to lower their energy costs, provide affordable housing, enhance local schools, and shift Americans’ perception of wind farms in a more positive direction

Entitlement, Rules, Coordination, Club, Market and Hierarchy - General Budget Support Practice and Theory: Implications

The paper discusses implications for practice and theory of the recently completed Joint Evaluation of General Budget Support 2004-06 based on case studies in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Uganda and Vietnam. The paper first looks at the extent to which general budget support, on the evidence of the evaluation, stands up to common criticisms of the effects of aid on government in low income, aid dependent countries. Allowing for much caution owing to the short period of partnership general budget support (PGBS) programmes in some countries, the finding is that there are small but positive impacts (notably reducing unnecessary transaction costs and increasing discretion of government-thereby raising allocative and operational efficiency). Net benefits are generally greater where PGBS programmes are longer established. ...aid, budget support, entitlement, rules, club, market, coordination

Enforcement in Dynamic Spectrum Access Systems

The spectrum access rights granted by the Federal government to spectrum users come with the expectation of protection from harmful interference. As a consequence of the growth of wireless demand and services of all types, technical progress enabling smart agile radio networks, and on-going spectrum management reform, there is both a need and opportunity to use and share spectrum more intensively and dynamically. A key element of any framework for managing harmful interference is the mechanism for enforcement of those rights. Since the rights to use spectrum and to protection from harmful interference vary by band (licensed/unlicensed, legacy/newly reformed) and type of use/users (primary/secondary, overlay/underlay), it is reasonable to expect that the enforcement mechanisms may need to vary as well.\ud \ud In this paper, we present a taxonomy for evaluating alternative mechanisms for enforcing interference protection for spectrum usage rights, with special attention to the potential changes that may be expected from wider deployment of Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) systems. Our exploration of how the design of the enforcement regime interacts with and influences the incentives of radio operators under different rights regimes and market scenarios is intended to assist in refining thinking about appropriate access rights regimes and how best to incentivize investment and growth in more efficient and valuable uses of the radio frequency spectrum

Innovative practices for special warfare

Special Warfare forces are tasked with conducting operations in uncertain environments defined by rapidly changing environmental elements (instability) and the interaction of many diverse external factors (complexity). In order to succeed, organizations operating in uncertain environments should decentralize decision-making to the appropriate level and emphasize an organic approach that focuses on the importance of people, adaptation, and innovation. The current USASOC bureaucracy, mirroring the conventional Army, is built to maximize internal efficiency and specialize in previously predicted scenarios. Due to persistently high operational tempo, personnel downsizing, and fiscal constraints, redesigning USASOC is not feasible at this time. However, the improvement of processes and incremental enhancement to align better with the operational environment within the existing design is possible. This study explores best practices from innovative and adaptive organizations that ARSOF can draw upon to increase its capability to conduct special warfare. Through the examination of these best practices, the study identified four key factors that lead to innovation: collaboration, organizational structure, incentives, and acceptance. This study recommends that Special Warfare forces apply these factors by increasing career flexibility, internal and external linkages through broadening opportunities and liaisons, and the collective intelligence of the organization through the use of cross-functional teams and increased communication measures. Adopting these enhancements may promote innovation and adaptation and increase Special Warfare forces’ contributions to national defense.http://archive.org/details/innovativepracti1094547858Major, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Rough Road to Market: Institutional Barriers to Innovations in Africa

Translating R&D and inventive efforts into a market product is characterized by significant financial skills, and the ability to overcome technical and instititonal barriers. Research into and translation of new technologies such as biotechnology products to the market requires even greater resources. This paper aims to understand the key factors that foster or hinder the complex process of translating R&D efforts into innovative products. Different pathways exist in developed countries such as firm-level efforts, the use of IPs, the spin-off of new firms that develop new products, or a mixture of these. Developing countries differ substantially in the kinds of instruments they use because of their considerably weaker institutional environment and for this reason our framework takes a systemic and institutional perspective. The paper comtributes to this issue by examining systemic institutional barriers to commercializing biotechnology in a develping context within a systems of innovation framework.research and development, biotechnology, commercialization, innovation, Africa, learning, institution building

Sector Wide Approaches to Education - A Strategic Analysis

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation: Transforming a Public Safety Net Delivery System to Achieve Higher Performance

Describes the results of the public benefit corporation's improvement initiatives -- a common clinical information system for continuity, coordination on chronic disease management, teamwork and continuous innovation, and access to appropriate care