Simulating the Emergence of Task Rotation

In work groups, task rotation may decrease the negative consequences of boredom and lead to a better task performance. In this paper we use multi agent simulation to study several organisation types in which task rotation may or may not emerge. By looking at the development of expertise and motivation of the different agents and their performance as a function of self-organisation, boredom, and task rotation frequency, we describe the dynamics of task rotation. The results show that systems in which task rotation emerges perform better than systems in which the agents merely specialise in one skill. Furthermore, we found that under certain circumstances, a task that leads to a high degree of boredom was performed better than a task causing a low level of boredom.Organisation, Task Rotation, Work Groups, Psychological Theory, Multi Agent Simulation

Cultural transmission results in convergence towards colour term universals.

As in biological evolution, multiple forces are involved in cultural evolution. One force is analogous to selection, and acts on differences in the fitness of aspects of culture by influencing who people choose to learn from. Another force is analogous to mutation, and influences how culture changes over time owing to errors in learning and the effects of cognitive biases. Which of these forces need to be appealed to in explaining any particular aspect of human cultures is an open question. We present a study that explores this question empirically, examining the role that the cognitive biases that influence cultural transmission might play in universals of colour naming. In a large-scale laboratory experiment, participants were shown labelled examples from novel artificial systems of colour terms and were asked to classify other colours on the basis of those examples. The responses of each participant were used to generate the examples seen by subsequent participants. By simulating cultural transmission in the laboratory, we were able to isolate a single evolutionary force-the effects of cognitive biases, analogous to mutation-and examine its consequences. Our results show that this process produces convergence towards systems of colour terms similar to those seen across human languages, providing support for the conclusion that the effects of cognitive biases, brought out through cultural transmission, can account for universals in colour naming

Modelling and simulation of a quad-rotor helicopter

Small size quad-rotor helicopters are often used due to the simplicity of their construction and maintenance, their ability to hover and also to take-off and land vertically. The first step in control development is an adequate dynamic system modelling, which should involve a faithful mathematical representation of the mechanical system. This paper presents a detailed dynamic analytical model of the quad-rotor helicopter using the linear Taylor series approximation method. The developed analytical model was simulated in the MatLab/Simulink environment and the dynamic behaviour of the quad-rotor assessed due to voltage changes. The model is further calibrated and linearized for use on any quad-rotor helicopter

Recent results in the development of band steaming for intra-row weed control

The recent achievements with developing band-steaming techniques for intra-row weed control in vegetables are presente

Combining physical and cultural weed control with biological methods – prospects for integrated non-chemical weed management strategies

The paper deals with the possibilities of combining physical weed control with biological weed control

When Does a Newcomer Contribute to a Better Performance? A Multi-Agent Study on Self-Organising Processes of Task Allocation

This paper describes how a work group and a newcomer mutually adapt. We study two types of simulated groups that need an extra worker, one group because a former employee had left the group and one group because of its workload. For both groups, we test three conditions, newcomers being specialists, newcomers being generalists, and a control condition with no newcomer. We hypothesise that the group that needs an extra worker because of its workload will perform the best with a newcomer being a generalist. The group that needs an extra worker because a former employee had left the group, will perform better with a specialist newcomer. We study the development of task allocation and performance, with expertise and motivation as process variables. We use two performance indicators, the performance time of the slowest agent that indicates the speed of the group and the sum of performance of all agents to indicate labour costs. Both are indicative for the potential benefit of the newcomer. Strictly spoken the results support our hypotheses although the differences between the groups with generalists and specialists are negligible. What really mattered was the possibility for a newcomer to fit in.Task Allocation, Group Processes, Psychological Theory, Small Groups, Self-Organisation