A Developmental Organization for Robot Behavior

This paper focuses on exploring how learning and development can be structured in synthetic (robot) systems. We present a developmental assembler for constructing reusable and temporally extended actions in a sequence. The discussion adopts the traditions of dynamic pattern theory in which behavior is an artifact of coupled dynamical systems with a number of controllable degrees of freedom. In our model, the events that delineate control decisions are derived from the pattern of (dis)equilibria on a working subset of sensorimotor policies. We show how this architecture can be used to accomplish sequential knowledge gathering and representation tasks and provide examples of the kind of developmental milestones that this approach has already produced in our lab

The influence of organizational culture on problem creation process: exploring the relationship using CAS perspective

Research question: How does organizational culture, using complex adaptive systems perspective, influence problem creation process in the front end of innovation? Theoretical perspectives: Front end of innovation literature is the core subject of this thesis,focusing on problem creation process. Academic literature on organizational culture and complex adaptive systems is presented to show the relationships between theoretical concepts and highlight gaps and contribution to existing literature Conclusions: The findings supported that organizational culture shapes problem Creation process and the level of the innovativeness of its outcome by influencing how individuals interact within an organization, how diverse the interactions and related information sharing is and how productive and effective such interactions are, as well as, by shaping the individual beliefs and norms related to which actions are being collectively encouraged when engaging in problem finding, framing and formulation activities within an organization. In particular, it was identified that characteristics such open and informal, collective, product-oriented and problem-solving culture were influencing and shaping how problem creation process was conducted and thus what was the resulting level of problem newness as its outcom

The Concept of Knowledge for a Knowledge-based Society: from Knowledge to Learning

The present paper discusses knowledge from a management perspective, mainly focusing on knowledge management literature; as an exploration of the conceptualization of knowledge in the so-called knowledge society. The paper relates epistemological theories with management approaches to knowledge. The paper presents a framework to understand different knowledge-related terms recurrent in the literature such as data, information, knowledge and expertise; tacit and explicit knowledge or know-how and how-what.JRC.G.9-Econometrics and statistical support to antifrau

Property rights, collective Action, and poverty: The role of institutions for poverty reduction

"This paper presents a conceptual framework on how institutions of property rights and collective action can contribute to poverty reduction, including through external interventions and action by poor people themselves. The first part of the paper examines the initial conditions of poverty, highlighting the role of assets, risks and vulnerability, legal structures and power relations. The latter part investigates the decision-making dynamics of actors—both poor and non-poor—and how they can use the tangible and intangible resources they have to shape their livelihoods and the institutions that govern their lives. The paper concludes with a discussion of how attention to property rights and collective action can improve the understanding of outcomes in terms of changes in wellbeing." authors' abstractCollective action, Property rights, Poverty reduction, Conceptual framework, Vulnerability, Power, Institutions, Wellbeing,