Community structure and patterns of scientific collaboration in Business and Management

This is the author's accepted version of this article deposited at arXiv (arXiv:1006.1788v2 [physics.soc-ph]) and subsequently published in Scientometrics October 2011, Volume 89, Issue 1, pp 381-396. The final publication is available at link.springer.com http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11192-011-0439-1Author's note: 17 pages. To appear in special edition of Scientometrics. Abstract on arXiv meta-data a shorter version of abstract on actual paper (both in journal and arXiv full pape

Exploring the feasibility of international collaboration and relationship building through a virtual partnership scheme

International collaboration is an under-studied component of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This study sheds light on the process of international collaboration by illustrating an exploratory approach to the process of forming and maintaining collaborative partnerships. Participants in this study were put into pairs (each one comprised of one individual from the University of Glasgow and another from the University of Wisconsin System) and asked to participate in email correspondence over the course of one year. The text of participants’ emails was pooled and analyzed through a general inductive approach using NVivo software. The study, though small in nature, helps to illustrate and further understand international collaborative relationships. We offer suggestions for future international collaborations and discuss the implications of emphasizing such partnerships within SoTL

How and why physicists and chemists use blogs

This study examined how and why chemists and physicists blog. Two qualitative methods were used: content analysis of blog and “about” pages and in-depth responsive interviews with chemists and physicists who maintain blogs. Analysis of the data yielded several cross-cutting themes that provide a window into how physicists and chemists use their blogs and what value they receive from maintaining a blog and participating in a blogging community. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for supporting scientists’ work

Coordination and Success in Multidisciplinary Scientific Collaborations

The research enterprise increasingly involves multidisciplinary collaboration, sometimes over geographic distance. Technological advances have made these collaborations possible, and the history of past innovations suggests these collaborations are desirable. Yet multidisciplinary projects can carry high coordination costs. This study investigated how collaborations address disciplinary differences and geographic dispersion to coordinate people and tasks to achieve success. We conducted an inductive study of 62 scientific collaborations supported by a program of the U.S. National Science Foundation in 1998 and 1999. Projects with principal investigators in more disciplines did not appear to suffer more coordination losses and reported as many positive outcomes as did projects involving fewer disciplines. By contrast, geographic dispersion, rather than multidisciplinarity, was most problematic. Dispersed projects, with principal investigators from more universities, were significantly less well coordinated and reported fewer positive outcomes than collocated projects. Coordination mechanisms that brought researchers together physically somewhat reduced the negative impact of dispersion. We discuss several implications for theory, practice, and policy

Perpustakaan elektronik sebagai sumber maklumat global: Satu kajian penerokaan

Pembangunan perpustakaan elektronik merupakan fenomena global yang selari dengan kewujudan zaman maklumat. Perpustakaan elektronik adalah inovasi dan transformasi daripada versi konvensional perpustakaan tradisional kepada penggunaan keupayaan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi (ICT) sebagai platform. Rasional pembangunan perpustakaan elektronik adalah unik di antara organisasi, namun dari segi falsafah ia adalah bertujuan untuk menjadi sumber rujukan masyarakat global. Kertas kerja ini secara khususnya membincangkan inisiatif‐inisiatif yang telah dilakukan bagi pembangunan perpustakaan elektronik dengan merujuk kepada projek khusus di dalam Negara dan luar Negara. Antara projek perpustakaan digital adalah Multimedia Library Link Project (Australia), Projek MyLib dan SIRIM Electronic Library (Malaysia), dan Globethics.net Library (Switzerland). Kajian penerokaan ini adalah menggunakan teknik analisis kandungan dengan menganalisis struktur dan kandungan perkhidmatan perpustakaan elektronik terpilih. Kemudian, kelebihan dan kelemahan perpustakaan eletronik dibincangkan dan cadangan dikemukakan bagi mempertingkatkan perkhidmatan perpustakaan elektronik ini

Patterns of scholarly collaboration among academics in Nigerian universities: Knowledge sharing or knowledge hoarding?

This study investigates the patterns of scholarly collaboration among academic staff in the four Nigerian universities, Bayero University, Kano; University of Maiduguri; University of Ibadan; and University of Porthacourt, using quantitative approach through survey questionnaire administered randomly to collect data from the population of academics in the four universities. The study found that Nigerian university academics collaborate in the pursuit of their scholarly activities in the areas of publishing/writing article, data collection, data analysis, and workshops/seminar presentations. The findings also revealed that phones, emails, web forums/blogs/wikis, instant messaging service, Voice over IP (VoIP), social networking sites and post mail were the means of communicating research and other scholarly endeavors to colleagues, both within and outside their universities. The study will serves as a springboard for strengthening and facilitating scholarly collaborations and knowledge sharing, thereby bridging the knowledge gaps that exist between the haves and have not knowledge in the Nigerian higher education sub-sector. The contribution of the study lies in the fact that the findings add to the understanding of knowledge sharing activities available in the Nigerian universities, and no such study exists in the literature

Developing Creativity: Artificial Barriers in Artificial Intelligence

The greatest rhetorical challenge to developers of creative artificial intelligence systems is convincingly arguing that their software is more than just an extension of their own creativity. This paper suggests that “creative autonomy,” which exists when a system not only evaluates creations on its own, but also changes its standards without explicit direction, is a necessary condition for making this argument. Rather than requiring that the system be hermetically sealed to avoid perceptions of human influence, developing creative autonomy is argued to be more plausible if the system is intimately embedded in a broader society of other creators and critics. Ideas are presented for constructing systems that might be able to achieve creative autonomy

Responding to Change and Transition in INKE’s Year 3

Use of project teams is increasing, however little is known about collaboration as it actually occurs over the life of projects. This paper explores the nature of collaboration within Implementing New Knowledge Environments (INKE) after three years of funded research. The third year is characterized by change and transition with new team members, partners, and sub-research areas. INKE continues to draw upon structures and processes, including team building activities, in-person meetings, multiple communication channels, evolving governance documents to support the collaboration, and incorporating collaboration-ready individuals.  The paper concludes with recommendations for similar long term, large-scale project teams