Supporting collaborative work using interactive tabletop

PhD ThesisCollaborative working is a key of success for organisations. People work together around tables at work, home, school, and coffee shops. With the explosion of the internet and computer systems, there are a variety of tools to support collaboration in groups, such as groupware, and tools that support online meetings. However, in the case of co-located meetings and face-to-face situations, facial expressions, body language, and the verbal communications have significant influence on the group decision making process. Often people have a natural preference for traditional pen-and-paper-based decision support solutions in such situations. Thus, it is a challenge to implement tools that rely advanced technological interfaces, such as interactive multi-touch tabletops, to support collaborative work. This thesis proposes a novel tabletop application to support group work and investigates the effectiveness and usability of the proposed system. The requirements for the developed system are based on a review of previous literature and also on requirements elicited from potential users. The innovative aspect of our system is that it allows the use of personal devices that allow some level of privacy for the participants in the group work. We expect that the personal devices may contribute to the effectiveness of the use of tabletops to support collaborative work. We chose for the purpose of evaluation experiment the collaborative development of mind maps by groups, which has been investigated earlier as a representative form of collaborative work. Two controlled laboratory experiments were designed to examine the usability features and associated emotional attitudes for the tabletop mind map application in comparison with the conventional pen-and-paper approach in the context of collaborative work. The evaluation clearly indicates that the combination of the tabletop and personal devices support and encourage multiple people working collaboratively. The comparison of the associated emotional attitudes indicates that the interactive tabletop facilitates the active involvement of participants in the group decision making significantly more than the use of the pen-and-paper conditions. The work reported here contributes significantly to our understanding of the usability and effectiveness of interactive tabletop applications in the context of supporting of collaborative work.The Royal Thai governmen

Group cohesion and collaborative information behaviour: An exploration of student experiences of university group work

Modern organisations heavily rely on using interdisciplinary teams to accomplish intellectually demanding tasks. The advent of the World Wide Web, the advancements in communication technological tools and easy access to high volumes of information through the Web provide expanded capacity for individuals to work together and fulfil their shared goal but true collaboration is far from straightforward. Teamwork skills are identified as a desirable and distinguishing attribute of the graduates whom employers seek to employ. Accordingly, higher education institutions lay particular emphasis on developing students’ collaborative skills by designing and incorporating group projects into courses. The findings of relevant research demonstrate that employers are still not satisfied with the newly-hired graduates’ performance and students also reflect negative attitudes towards university group work. In this regard, scholars attempt to gain a through and deep understanding of individuals’ collaborative information behaviour when working in group settings and identify the factors that can impact on this process. This research, guided by the primary question of ‘How does group cohesion shape students’ collaborative information behaviour over the duration of group tasks?’ sought to explore the development of cohesion in student groups which has been widely recognised as an influential element in motivating group members to work collectively. Through a series of supporting research questions addressing the role that task cohesion, social cohesion and perceived cohesion play in students’ collaborative information behaviour, the work also aimed to find out how different dimensions of cohesion can have an impact on the way students make sense of the group task components, search for information and use information to accomplish group projects. This study took a qualitative approach and used Straussian grounded theory methodology to collect and analyse the data. Data collection was conducted by taking an in-depth interview approach through 10 semi-structured focus group sessions with student participants recruited from an Australian university who were undertaking project units as part of their degrees across any number of discipline areas over two successive semesters. Data was analysed using open, axial and selective coding following the Strauss and Corbin approach. Constant comparison of similarities and differences in the data enabled the researcher to elaborate on the identified concepts in terms of their properties and dimensions. This study resulted in rich description of how different dimensions of group cohesion emerged and developed in student groups over the duration of completing the group task and its association with students’ collaborative and individual information behaviour practices. Results suggest that task cohesion exerted more meaningful impact on group process and outcomes in comparison with other aspects of cohesion. It was found that students’ collaborative information behaviour activities are shaped by their perceptions of group task cohesion developed through adopting shared leadership style, the level of task complexity and interdependence and group members’ composition in terms of similarity in aspirations and academic capability. With regard to social cohesion, familiarity was identified as a factor which had immediate impact on students’ feelings of attraction and liking towards the group which did not persist over time as it fell under the influence of group members’ commitment and active involvement in group task activities. Task cohesion was then recognised as an antecedent of social cohesion in student groups and participants’ interpretation of social cohesion was based on experiencing comfortable feeling with group members instead of developing collective sense of closeness and friendship. Experiencing such a feeling within the group plays a more influential role in motivating students to communicate easily and sharing their ideas In terms of perceived cohesion, the findings of this study indicated that students in this particular sample did not intend to develop a sense of belonging and attachment to the group. They were of the mindset that once they complete their group task, the group would be disbanded so there is no potential benefit of developing such a feeling in university group context. This study highlighted the role of task design and its features on students’ collaboration as well as their choice of communication method throughout the group’s lifespan. At the early stages of the group project, the level of collaboration for identification of needed information to create a shared focus and define the project’s problem statement was heavily dependent upon the nature of the assessment task and its perceived complexity. Individual information searching was also identified as a common characteristic among all the research participants in this study but the structure of the assessment task determined the level of collaboration among members in regard to sharing information and evaluating the retrieved information in terms of relevancy and credibility. The evaluation and use of information sources to fulfil group task requirements was seen to be a collaborative activity in similar research studies but the findings from this study showed that groups assigned a highly structured task did not feel a need to have regular communication because their sub-tasks were not so much related to each other. This finding suggests that the outcomes of collaboration are not what most academics expect them to be as too little emphasis placed on the role of the task and more on the scale of the work to be delivered. The key finding of this research is that the group ‘task’ drives the behaviours of students, as individuals and as a group member, and that assigning students a project to do as a group that is too large to be done individually will not drive genuine collaboration. This research suggests an addition to the Input, Mediator, Output, Input (IMOI) model that includes a Task Calibration step by academic staff, to define the primary outcome of any given assessment task as either ‘collaboration’ or ‘product’, rather than the hope that collaboration takes place in order to deliver a big product. This shows that true collaboration would not take place by assigning students a large-scale group project; instead the tasks should be designed and structured in a way to drive and reward collaboratio

Working together, driven apart: Reflecting on a joint endeavour to address sustainable development within a university

A holistic and transformational approach to Sustainable Development within a university requires systemic change and embraces new ways of working. Champions must challenge silo mentalities, develop new processes to encourage synergies across university functions, and strive to re-align systems and goals towards the common endeavour of sustainability. But how easy is this to achieve? It is well documented that working across disciplines presents challenges but forging a synergistic relationship between the environmental management function of Estates and an academic champion for ESD is not only logical but might be an easier place to explore how two roles can work together to achieve change. This paper provides a reflective account of such an alliance, outlining a joint endeavour to address sustainable development. An analysis is provided of those factors which impede such working and the different role tensions that make working together challenging. It will also consider the benefits of collaboration, as the perspectives from the operational and academic domains provide a broader context for understandings, access to different forums, an ability to tackle conflicting agendas together and an opportunity to genuinely effect change, providing mutual support through shared perseverance. The paper will conclude by questioning the extent to which progress made will endure, if the benefits of this synergy are not acknowledged by university leadership

Can procurement affect design performance?

There is an emerging view in the construction industry that better performance or better value for money can be achieved by integrating teamwork for planning, design and construction of building projects. There are though, two opposing perspectives regarding how changes in traditional design practices should occur. Advocates of sustainable construction in North America posit that it is a matter of evolving processes, moving from a sequential to an iterative approach to design, whereas the British government supports the view that a change in how projects are procured is required to transform the context that dictates relationships among the members of the team. The objective of the research is to study the influence of procurement on the performance of integrated design teams. It analyses, through case studies representing these two perspectives, the influence of procurement on the performance of integrated teams. The research is conclusive in that it is the context created by contractual relationship, and not the process set up for conducting integrated design, that most influence team efficiency. It demonstrates that traditional procurement processes reinforce socio-cognitive barriers that hinder team efficiency. It also illustrates how new procurement modes can transform the dynamics of relationships between the client and the members of the supply chain, and have a positive impact on team performance

Ethnic Diversity and Organizational Performance: Assessing Diversity Effects at the Managerial and Street Levels

As the public sector workforce becomes more ethnically diverse and as government agencies make attempts to "manage" that diversity, the importance of understanding how diversity affects workplace interactions and work-related outcomes increases. Little public sector research has examined the impact of diversity on performance outcomes. This paper seeks to fill this gap by studying the effects of the ethnic diversity of managers and street level bureaucrats on work-related outcomes. We use basic in-group/out-group theories from psychology to form hypotheses relating diversity to performance. The results of diversity research using social identification and categorization theory and similarity/attraction theory led us to form the hypothesis that greater levels of ethnic diversity among public managers and street-level bureaucrats will lead to lower organizational performance, when the task requires significant coordination and collaboration. Diversity research that uses the information and decision-making theory, while scant, led us to form a second hypothesis that greater levels of ethnic diversity among public managers and street-level bureaucrats will lead to higher organizational performance, when the task does not require significant coordination and collaboration. Our results were mixed. We found support for the first hypothesis with respect to street-level bureaucrats but not for managers. The results did not support our second hypothesis -- we actually found an opposite relationship for street-level bureaucrats from what we expected. Overall, the results support previous research that suggests that increased levels of ethnic diversity can lead to process-oriented difficulties in the workplace and negatively affect workrelated outcomes. Working Paper 06-3

Situational Awareness Support to Enhance Teamwork in Collaborative Environments

Modern collaborative environments often provide an overwhelming amount of visual information on multiple displays. The multitude of personal and shared interaction devices leads to lack of awareness of team members on ongoing activities, and awareness of who is in control of shared artefacts. This research addresses the situational awareness (SA) support of multidisciplinary teams in co-located collaborative environments. This work aims at getting insights into design and evaluation of large displays systems that afford SA and effective teamwork

Increasing the intensity and comprehensiveness of aphasia services: identification of key factors influencing implementation across six countries

Background: Aphasia services are currently faced by increasing evidence for therapy of greater intensity and comprehensiveness. Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs (ICAPs) combine these elements in an evidence-based, time-limited group program. The incorporation of new service delivery models in routine clinical practice is, however, likely to pose challenges for both the service provider and administering clinicians. This program of research aims to identify these challenges from the perspective of aphasia clinicians from six countries and will seek to trial potential solutions. Continual advancements in global communication technologies suggest that solutions will be easily shared and accessed across multiple countries. Aims: To identify the perceived and experienced barriers and facilitators to the implementation of 1) intensive aphasia services, 2) comprehensive aphasia services, and 3) ICAPs, from aphasia clinicians across six countries. Methods and procedures: A qualitative enquiry approach included data from six focus groups (n = 34 participants) in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), and Ireland. A thematic analysis of focus group data was informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Outcomes and results: Five prominent theoretical domains from the TDF influenced the implementation of all three aphasia service types across participating countries: environmental context and resources, beliefs about consequences, social/professional role and identity, skills, and knowledge. Four overarching themes assisted the identification and explanation of the key barriers and facilitators: 1. Collaboration, joint initiatives and partnerships, 2. Advocacy, the promotion of aphasia services and evidence-based practice, 3. Innovation, the ability to problem solve challenges, and 4. Culture, the influence of underlying values. Conclusions: The results of this study will inform the development of a theoretically informed intervention to improve health services’ adherence to aphasia best practice recommendations

Understanding social creativity amongst event professionals : an action research approach

Live events represent a significant and growing sector of the creative industries but the creative process underlying this sector is little researched in the event management context. Despite the increased consumption of virtual and online media, the live event remains a popular channel of expression for a wide range of creative art forms and commercial messages. Live events use such messages as \u27props\u27 or \u27stages\u27 to produce memorable and emotionally positive moments for audiences. The creative process behind developing a live event is in itself a live event, involving groups of event professionals working in a social context to conceptualise ideas for their audiences. This research fills the gap for event professionals in the creative industries by seeking to understand the creative process intrinsic to live events. This paper suggests that social creativity is used to develop live event concepts. The phenomenon of social creativity identified from the existing literature is explored in the context of its application to event professionals. An Action Research approach is recommended to better understand the key antecedents of social creativity and how they can influence event concept development.<br /

Effects of individual prior knowledge on collaborative knowledge construction and individual learning outcome in videoconferencing

This paper deals with collaborative knowledge construction in videoconferencing. The main issue is about how to predict individual learning outcome, in particular how far individual prior knowledge and the collaborative knowledge construction can influence individual learning outcomes. In this context, the influence of prior knowledge and two measures of instructional support, a collaboration script and a content scheme were analyzed concerning the collaborative knowledge construction. An empirical study was conducted with 159 university students as sample. Students learned collaboratively in groups of three in a case based learning environment in videoconferencing and were supported by the instructional support measures. Results show that collaborative knowledge construction had more impact on individual learning outcome than individual prior knowledge.Diese Studie beschäftigt sich mit der gemeinsamen Wissenskonstruktion in Videokonferenzen. Die Hauptfragestellung befasst sich mit Prädiktoren für den individuellen Lernerfolg, insbesondere inwieweit dieser vom individuellen Vorwissen der Lernenden und der gemeinsamen Wissenskonstruktion beeinflusst wird. In diesem Kontext wird analysiert, inwiefern das individuelle Vorwissen und zwei Unterstützungsmaßnahmen - Wissensschema und Kooperationsskript - Einfluss auf die gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion nehmen. An der empirischen Studie nahmen 159 Universitätsstudierende teil. Diese lernten kooperativ in Dreiergruppen in einer fallbasierten Lernumgebung in Videokonferenzen und erhielten dabei instruktionale Unterstützung. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion einen größeren Einfluss auf die individuellen Lernerfolge hatte, als individuelles Vorwissen

Internal and contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance: From the Chinese provider's perspective

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Expert Systems with Applications. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2011 Elsevier B.V.This paper explores the influences of two internal factors, i.e. supplier team’s IT-based skills and communication with client’s team, and two contextual factors, i.e. supplier team’s understanding of client’s culture and collaboration with client’s team, on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services from the Chinese provider’s perspective. Knowledge processes are characterized by knowledge sharing, knowledge-based coordination and expertise management, and performance is measured by product success and personal satisfaction. Data have been collected in 13 companies in Xi’an Software Park, with 26 in-depth, semi-structured interviews held with top and middle managers, and 200 structured questionnaires distributed to knowledge workers who are involved in global sourcing projects. The results indicate that supplier team’s IT-based skills, communication with client’s team, cultural understanding of client’s culture and collaboration with client’s team are positively associated with knowledge process and performance. Also, knowledge sharing, knowledge-based coordination and expertise management are found to be crucial for those influential factors to function positively and contribute to the performance. The findings of this study suggest that the effects of key factors on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services appear to transcend the social and cultural differences; however, contextual factors seem to have more significant influences on knowledge processes and performance in global sourcing of IT services.National Natural Science Foundation of Chin