The RoboFlag SURF competition: results, analysis, and future work

The culmination of the 2002 RoboFlag Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, jointly operated between California Institute of Technology and Cornell University, was a final competition between two teams of three undergraduate researchers. After ten weeks of preparation, Team Pasadena defeated Team Ithaca in two of the three final games. This paper provides the detailed results of the competition, an analysis of the competition, and reviews the future work

Within-Team Competition in the Minimum Effort Coordination Game

We report the results of an experiment on a continuous version of the minimum effort coordination game. The introduction of within-team competition significantly increases effort levels relative to a baseline with no competition and increases coordination relative to a secure treatment where the payoff-dominant equilibrium strategy weakly dominates all other actions. Nonetheless, within-team competition does not prevent subjects to polarize both in the efficient and the inefficient equilibria.Coordination Games, Team Incentives, Minimum Effort Game

Courtesy and Idleness: Gender Differences in Team Work and Team Competition

Does gender play a role in the context of team work? Our results based on a real-effort experiment suggest that performance depends on the composition of the team. We find that female and male performance differ most in mixed teams with revenue sharing between the team members, as men put in significantly more effort than women. The data also indicate that women perform best when competing in pure female teams against male teams whereas men perform best when women are present or in a competitive environment

Using Active Learning and Team Competition to Teach Gas Turbine Cycle Design

An elective, Analysis and Design of Propulsion Systems, has been a traditional lecture course teaching gas turbine engines from a design perspective. This past fall semester additional active learning modules were introduced to make the course more interactive. Students formed teams of four and each team was designated a company. The task was to design a replacement engine for the B-52H which served as the basis for learning about gas turbine engine design. The companies picked a name, developed a logo, and wrote a mission statement. Competition was encouraged and the “companies” were tasked to eventually design the lowest cost, most efficient high bypass turbofan engine to replace the existing engine. A three part design project led to a final report on the engine design. To conclude the process, each team presented their engine as if they were a company trying to sell their product to a customer. The customer, the professor, picked an overall winner based on the information presented. Assessment of the course showed that the students appreciated the competitive environment giving them insight into how a gas turbine company, such as Rolls-Royce, GE, or Pratt & Whitney, might operate. In conclusion, the active learning modules and the design project were effective in challenging and exciting the students about the design of gas turbine engines. The company context for teams prepares students for what they might encounter in industry.Cockrell School of Engineerin

RWU Students Claim Fourth Place in Robotics Challenge

Interdisciplinary team engineers a robot for the IEEE Region 1 Micromouse Competition

Sequential Teamwork in Competitive Environments: Theory and Evidence from Swimming Data

The aim of the paper is to assess whether there is free-riding in teams when team production is sequential and when there is competition between teams. This a common case, which, however, has not been considered in the literature so far. We develop a model where team members contributing earlier have an incentive to free-ride more even when there is competition between teams. These predictions are tested on more than 300.000 observations on swimmers’ performance at competitions from all over the world. We find that swimmers in relays perform weaker as compared to their individual performance, and that earlier swimmers’ performance in relays is weaker relative to later swimmers. Our results suggest that competition does not solve the free-riding problem in team production with sequential contributions.team production, contest, intergroup competition, sequential contribution, free-riding, swimming

Stampede January 28, 2020

Graduate success reaches all-time high Be advised: WMU monitoring emergent coronavirus, CDC guidance Wellness matters Bronco pitch competition open to aspiring entrepreneurs Team claims top spot in national digital marketing competition Sustainability office awards $41,000 in grants for green project

Modeling team knowledge sharing and team flexibility : the role of within-team competition

This study examines the role of within-team competition (i.e. team hypercompetition and team development competition) in a team process. We developed and tested a model that associates team collectivism as the antecedent of within-team competition, and knowledge sharing and team flexibility as the outcomes. The model was empirically tested with data from 141 knowledge-intensive teams. The empirical findings showed that team collectivism had a positive relationship with team development competition and a negative relationship with team hypercompetition. Regarding the outcomes, team development competition and team hypercompetition had an indirect relationship with knowledge sharing and team flexibility through team empowerment. We offer a number of original contributions to the team effectiveness literature, especially by showing that team hypercompetition and team development competition have different impacts on team knowledge sharing and team flexibility

Courtesy and Idleness: Gender Differences in Team Work and Team Competition

Does gender play a role in the context of team work? Our results based on a real-effort experiment suggest that performance depends on the composition of the team. We find that female and male performance differ most in mixed teams with revenue sharing between the team members, as men put in significantly more effort than women. The data also indicate that women perform best when competing in pure female teams against male teams whereas men perform best when women are present or in a competitive environment.team incentives; gender; tournaments