Collaborative decision making in complex work settings: a process of managing inter dependencies

There exists disparity between the conceptualization and occurrence of Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) in everyday work activities of complex work settings. Current notions in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) based on studies of decision making in groups typically portray CDM as an isolated event in which multiple personnel jointly undertake decision making. In the real world, however, decisions are made during work performance and interlaced with other processes and activities. Moreover, the complex work setting is a cooperative arrangement in which decision making is distributed. This research aims to alleviate the disparity by investigating how people in a complex working environment make decisions collaboratively. The original contribution to knowledge made by this thesis is the theory of CDM as a process of managing interdependencies. Field-studies conducted in an airport to examine the way CDM is undertaken during Air Traffic Control operations inform theory development. The study takes a qualitative approach and is guided by Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). The findings of this research indicate that undertaking decision making in the cooperative arrangement of complex work settings requires managing the distributions and interconnections inherent in this setup. In addition, participation and contribution of personnel in decision making is found to be structured by the dependencies between their activities. These findings form the central focus of the theory leading to the depiction of CDM as a process of managing interdependencies. The theory presented in this thesis clarifies and extends existing views by explicating the differentiated process of CDM in the cooperative arrangement of a complex work setting. Based on this a new definition of CDM is formulated. In addition, a conceptual framework of ten parameters is derived to serve as a tool for analysing CDM taking place in a particular work setting. Application of this framework is demonstrated by analysing an aircraft accident report to draw insights about the occurrence of CDM in this setting

Governance of Dual-Use Technologies: Theory and Practice

The term dual-use characterizes technologies that can have both military and civilian applications. What is the state of current efforts to control the spread of these powerful technologies—nuclear, biological, cyber—that can simultaneously advance social and economic well-being and also be harnessed for hostile purposes? What have previous efforts to govern, for example, nuclear and biological weapons taught us about the potential for the control of these dual-use technologies? What are the implications for governance when the range of actors who could cause harm with these technologies include not just national governments but also non-state actors like terrorists? These are some of the questions addressed by Governance of Dual-Use Technologies: Theory and Practice, the new publication released today by the Global Nuclear Future Initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The publication's editor is Elisa D. Harris, Senior Research Scholar, Center for International Security Studies, University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. Governance of Dual-Use Technologies examines the similarities and differences between the strategies used for the control of nuclear technologies and those proposed for biotechnology and information technology. The publication makes clear the challenges concomitant with dual-use governance. For example, general agreement exists internationally on the need to restrict access to technologies enabling the development of nuclear weapons. However, no similar consensus exists in the bio and information technology domains. The publication also explores the limitations of military measures like deterrence, defense, and reprisal in preventing globally available biological and information technologies from being misused. Some of the other questions explored by the publication include: What types of governance measures for these dual-use technologies have already been adopted? What objectives have those measures sought to achieve? How have the technical characteristics of the technology affected governance prospects? What have been the primary obstacles to effective governance, and what gaps exist in the current governance regime? Are further governance measures feasible? In addition to a preface from Global Nuclear Future Initiative Co-Director Robert Rosner (University of Chicago) and an introduction and conclusion from Elisa Harris, Governance of Dual-Use Technologiesincludes:On the Regulation of Dual-Use Nuclear Technology by James M. Acton (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)Dual-Use Threats: The Case of Biotechnology by Elisa D. Harris (University of Maryland)Governance of Information Technology and Cyber Weapons by Herbert Lin (Stanford University

Annual Report 2017-2018 of the Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7756)

The annual report of the Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies of KIT summarizes its research activities and provides some highlights of each working group, like thermal-hydraulic analyses for nuclear fusion reactors, accident analyses for light water reactors, and research on innovative energy technologies: liquid metal technologies for energy conversion, hydrogen technologies and geothermal power plants. The institute has been engaged in education and training in energy technologies

Technology appropriation in transnational networks of social activists : a study of the European Social Forum

Civil society organizations and other networks of social activists have gained significant importance in supporting citizens, as states are rolling back from their duties. In order to be an effective force, these networks have become transnational in their operations. These transnational networks are typically characterized by a lack of resources, an absence of formal hierarchical structures and differences in languages and culture among the activists. Modern technologies could help these networks in improving their working. Technology support for transnational social movements and civil society organizations is an important field of research not only due to the increased political importance of this sector in a globalizing world but also due to their organizational characteristics. In order to design appropriate technological support for social activists' etworks, it is important to understand their work practices, which widely differ from traditional businessorganizations. In this thesis, I present results from a long-term ethnographical field study of the European Social Forum (ESF), a network of heterogeneous political activist organizations. In this network different actors organize a periodic (biannual) event. During my data collection phase, the 5th and 6th European Social Fora were held in Malmo (2008) and Istanbul (2010), in which some 13,000 and 3,000 activists participated, respectively. I particularly focused on the usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in preparing and conducting ESF events and knowledge sharing practices during the transition phase. I specifically highlighted coordination and knowledge management practices to understand the potential for ICT support. The thesis describes complex social practice of organizing ESF events. I use the term fragmented meta-coordination to highlight coordination in this type of practice. Mundane ICT applications, such as a mailing list and a content management system, play a central role in enabling different aspects of fragmented meta-coordination. The findings also indicate how lack of resources, organizational distribution, and technical limitations hamper the preparation process and reduce transparency of political decision-making. I also present a specific type of knowledge, termed as nomadic knowledge. It is required periodically by different actors and travels along foreseeable paths between groups or communities of actors. This type of knowledge lets us question generally held assumptions about the way knowledge is enacted. Nomadic knowledge is a specialized type of knowledge, which is enacted in a discontinuous pattern by a changing set of actors and further flows on a defined trajectory. This knowledge is quite important but is required sporadically, so it has varying levels of importance for stakeholders at different instances of time. The limited interest of knowledge holders after the creation of knowledge makes knowledge sharing process complex. Furthermore, new actors overloaded by the tasks at hand often ignore the knowledge sharing aspect due to urgency. The thesis provides insights into the complexity of managing nomadic knowledge and implications for organizational processes. Moreover, the issues, which make the transfer of nomadic knowledge complex, are also discussed and the potentials for ICT support for management and transfer of nomadic knowledge are also highlighted. Moreover, the thesis provides a historic perspective on the evolution of ICT artifacts in the organizational boundaries. A user-centered evaluation of two technology artifacts (European mailing list and OpenESF) is also carried out to identify design improvements. The empirical findings highlight how the mailing list is used for a variety of different activities such as collaborative work, decision-making, coordination and information sharing. I discuss the findings with regard to the discourse on cooperative work and come up with implications for design. The analysis highlights central organizational and technological challenges related to ICT appropriation in transnational networks of social activists. As a next step it is important to design appropriate prototypes aligned with highlighted work practices to evaluate them in the field and realign if necessary. In order to better support this application domain universities and community-based organizations need to work jointly on action research projects to improve organizational processes of civil society organizations

CLARIN. The infrastructure for language resources

CLARIN, the "Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure", has established itself as a major player in the field of research infrastructures for the humanities. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the organization, its members, its goals and its functioning, as well as of the tools and resources hosted by the infrastructure. The many contributors representing various fields, from computer science to law to psychology, analyse a wide range of topics, such as the technology behind the CLARIN infrastructure, the use of CLARIN resources in diverse research projects, the achievements of selected national CLARIN consortia, and the challenges that CLARIN has faced and will face in the future. The book will be published in 2022, 10 years after the establishment of CLARIN as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium by the European Commission (Decision 2012/136/EU)