The Role of Conflict and Conflict Management/Resolution in Face to Face and Remote Collaboration: A Content Analysis of a Controlled Experiment

Collaborating effectively is essential in getting work done. Regardless of physical location, being able to effectively communicate ideas and tasks to one another is essential in completing successful work. The objective of the study is to observe conflict and conflict management techniques and see how they affect a group's ability to produce good work. The study is a content analysis of video and audio produced by a separate study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The UNC study focused on the relationship between the lab environment (face to face vs. remote) of a scientific experiment and the quality of the lab reports produced. The tapes from the UNC study were coded according to a coding system devised to capture types of conflict and types of conflict management/resolution techniques. Descriptive statistics taken from the coding were compared to lab grades to infer possible affects that conflict and conflict management/resolution may have on the final lab grades

Enabling Distributed Collaboration among Heterogeneous Devices

ABSTRACT In this paper we describe a new class of collaborative scientific applications that incorporate heterogeneous devices, such as shared supercomputing or visualization resources, personal computers, and mobile devices, present some classes of collaboration tasks that could profitably make use an application infrastructure that connects heterogeneous devices, and identify some particular applications that fall into these classes. We also describe in greater detail one potential application, natural science field research that employs sensor networks. We also discuss some of the problems that need to be addressed in building an application that allows such heterogeneous device collaboration and some benefits to digital science that could be realized by building collaborative applications in this fashion

Investigating Human-Rare Historic Book Interaction among Young Adults

This paper reports on research conducted to improve understanding of human-rare historic book interaction as a necessary first step in order to design and develop physical-virtual renderings of rare books that provide integrated haptic, audio, olfactory, visual and cognitive human-rare book interaction for the public. Our synthesis of relevant literature proposes that current research and technology can be categorized according to five characteristics: expected users, content and content management, navigation, presentation, and interaction control. Our research investigates how young adults (novices) in northern Europe interact with a rare historic book and their reflections about their interaction. Results indicate that interaction engendered appreciation and curiosity regarding individual human behaviour and social practices, and regarding design and technology for novices. Interaction also had an affective impact, eliciting personal memories and emotions. Participants reported that interacting only visually with books or their representations would not have afforded the same results. The results suggest several design recommendations for future physical-virtual renderings of rare historic books

Collaboratories

No abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34569/1/1440360103_ftp.pd

Facilitating scientifc collaboration across distance: a user needs analysis of a distributed scientific research group

This paper describes a user needs analysis of a research and development center consisting of scientists at four geographically distributed universities. Observations and interviews with representative members of a research group within the center were conducted to determine the group's current collaboration practices and to assess how technology might facilitate collaboration among group members. Data analysis shows that members collaborate primarily through informal communication with co-located peers, and they rely on formal presentations at videoconference meetings to maintain an awareness of research at other locations. The technology currently in place has helped to build a foundation for collaboration; now, the Center should augment this technology to better facilitate and encourage collaboration. It appears that the Center could benefit from a system that allows for more frequent updates on individual projects to all Center members such as a virtual bulletin board, and a tool that provides a virtual shared drawing space

New Manufacturing Environments with Micro- and Nanorobotics

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020The convergence of nano-, bio-, information, and cognitive sciences and technologies (NBIC) is advancing continuously in many societal spheres. This also applies to the manufacturing sector, where technological transformations in robotics push the boundaries of human–machine interaction (HMI). Here, current technological advances in micro- and nanomanufacturing are accompanied by new socio-economic concepts for different sectors of the process industry. Although these developments are still ongoing, the blurring of the boundaries of HMI in processes at the micro- and nano- level can already be observed. According to the authors, these new socio-technical HMIs may lead to the development of new work environments, which can also have an impact on work organization. While there is still little empirical evidence, the following contribution focuses on the question whether the “manufacturing (or working) life” using enhancement practices pushes the boundaries of HMI and how these effects enable new modes of working in manufacturing. Issues of standardization, acceleration of processes, and order-oriented production become essential for technological innovation in this field. However, these trends tend to lead to a “manufacturing life” in work environments rather than to new modes of work in industry.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Proceedings of the Second PHANToM Users Group Workshop : October 19-22, 1997 : Endicott House, Dedham, MA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

"December, 1997." Cover title.Includes bibliographical references.Sponsored by SensAble Technologies, Inc., Cambridge, MA."[edited by J. Kennedy Salisbury and Mandayam A. Srinivasan]

Cutting Edge Nanotechnology

The main purpose of this book is to describe important issues in various types of devices ranging from conventional transistors (opening chapters of the book) to molecular electronic devices whose fabrication and operation is discussed in the last few chapters of the book. As such, this book can serve as a guide for identifications of important areas of research in micro, nano and molecular electronics. We deeply acknowledge valuable contributions that each of the authors made in writing these excellent chapters