47 research outputs found
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A debate dashboard to enhance on-line knowledge sharing
Purpose â Web 2.0 technologies have radically modified the way in which knowledge is created, managed and shared, improving productivity and accelerating innovation processes for the enterprises. These technologies have allowed enterprises to produce knowledge, leverage collective intelligence and build social capital on a scale that was unimaginable a few years ago. In this paper we focus on a particular kind of web-based collaborative platforms known as argument mapping tools and we discuss the main barriers to the adoption of them. Literature has proved that these argument mapping tools provide large and small and medium enterprise with several advantages, but nevertheless, they have low level adoption. In this paper we explore new technological solutions to support the adoption of argument mapping tools. In particular, we propose the design of a Debate Dashboard to provide visual feedback to support online deliberation. These visual feedback aims at compensating the loss of information due to the mediation of the technology. The Debate Dashboard is composed of a set of suitable visualization tools that have been selected on the basis of a literature review of the visualization tools.
Design/methodology/approach - We propose a literature review of existing visualization tools. Building on the literature review we selected thirty visualization tools, which have been classified on the basis of the kind of feedback they are able to provide. We identify three classes of feedback: Community feedback (identikit of users), Interaction feedback (about how users interact) and Absorption feedback (about generated content and its organization). We distilled the Debate Dashboard features by building on results of a literature review on Web 2.0 tools for data visualization. As output of literature review we selected six visualization tools. We consider these selected tools as a sort of starting point. Indeed, our aim is the improvement of them through the addition of further features and functions in order to make them more effective in providing feedback.
Originality/value â Our paper enriches the debate about computer mediated conversation and visualization tools. We propose a Dashboard prototype to augment collaborative
knowledge mapping tools by providing visual feedback on conversations. The Dashboard will provide at the same time three different kinds of feedback about: details of the
participants to the conversation, interaction processes and generated content. This will allow the improvement of the benefits and reduce the costs deriving from the use of
mapping tools. Moreover, another important novelty is that visualization tools will be integrated to mapping tools, as until now they have been used only to visualize data contained in forums (as Usenet or Slash.dot), chat or email archives
Practical implications â The Dashboard provides feedback about participants, interaction processes and generated contents, thus supporting the adoption of mapping tools as
technologies able to foster knowledge sharing among remote workers or/and customers and supplier.
The integration of Debate Dashboard with common online argument mapping tools aims at enabling the following advantages:
1. Reduction of misunderstanding;
2. Reduction of cognitive effort required to use argument mapping tools;
3. Improvement of the exploration and the analysis of the maps - the Debate Dashboard feedback improves the usability of the object (the map), thus allowing users to pitch into the conversation in the right place
Regional innovation systems as complex adaptive systems: The case of lagging European regions
This article proposes an agent-based model to support the development of self-sustaining
regional innovation systems (RIS). The model is the base of a computational laboratory, CARIS (Complex
Adaptive Regional Innovation System), which aims at evaluating the self-sustainability of RIS and at
investigating what are the resources, competencies and mechanisms able to trigger powerful innovation
and economic growth processes. Such a topic is particularly interesting for the so-called lagging regions,
which, notwithstanding noticeable policy interventions, have been unable to significantly improve
their innovation performances. Results of this study show that the exploration capacity, the propensity
to cooperation, and the endowed competencies of actors belonging to a region could be considered as
key aspects in affecting the regional innovation performance. This means that policy-makers should
(i) incentivize investments in research and development activities both at the public and private
levels; (ii) support public-private partnerships; (iii) enhance national and regional university systems;
and (iv) increase the number of researchers employed both in the public and private sectors. In the
next future, the CARIS laboratory could be adopted as policy support instrument to evaluate how
much effective are current innovation policies and what are the most effective ones to reassess the
current patterns
The drivers of ecoâinnovations in small and mediumâsized enterprises: A systematic literature review and research directions
The debate on innovations that contributes to the decoupling of economic growth
and environmental degradation or fosters the transition from the brown to the green
economy is becoming increasingly relevant in the academic and business worlds, fuelling
a research stream that is proving very interesting for its economic, environmental
and social implications. Although the debate on the adoption of environmental
innovations is well underway, the discussion on eco-innovation in the context of
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is at a less developed stage and deserves
more attention, especially given the relevance of these companies in the economic
system of several countries. Thus, this study proposes a systematic literature review
of the determinants of eco-innovation in SMEs and explores the relationships among
them by starting from the criticalities highlighted in the five literature reviews of
determinants of eco-innovations in SMEs that have been recently published. The first
step of the research concerns a detailed description of the selection process of the
articles under consideration and of their characteristics. In the second step, 14 main
categories of determinants are identified. Additionally, in the third step, as result of
this investigation, three basilar research directions and 13 related research questions
emerged
Development, Optimization, and Comparison of Different Sample Pre-Treatments for Simultaneous Determination of Vitamin E and Vitamin K in Vegetables
The absence of vitamin E from the diet can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts, and premature aging. Vitamin K deficiency can lead to bleeding disorders. These fat-soluble vitamins are important nutritional factors that can be determined in different methods in vegetables. In this work, the simultaneous determination of α-tocopherol, α-tocopheryl acetate, phylloquinone, and menaquinone-4 by gas chromatographyâmass spectrometry (GCâMS) has been optimized using both direct injection and solid phase microextraction (SPME). Three different sample pre-treatment approaches based on: (A) solidâliquidâliquidâliquid extraction (SLEâLLE), (B) SLE, and (C) SPME were then applied to extract the target analytes from vegetables samples using menaquinone as internal standard. All the procedures allowed the determination of the target analytes in onion, carrot, celery, and curly kale samples. Similar results were obtained with the three different approaches, even if the one based on SPME offers the best performance, together with a reduced use of solvent, time consumption, and experimental complexity, which makes it the preferable option for industrial applications
Socially-augmented argumentation tools: rationale, design and evaluation of a debate dashboard
Collaborative Computer-Supported Argument Visualization (CCSAV) is a technical methodology that offers support for online collective deliberation over complex dilemmas. As compared with more traditional conversational technologies, like wikis and forums, CCSAV is designed to promote more critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning, by using representations that highlight conceptual relationships between contributions, and through computational analytics that assess the structural integrity of the network. However, to date, CCSAV tools have achieved adoption primarily in small-scale educational contexts, and only to a limited degree in real world applications. We hypothesise that by reifying conversations as logical maps to address the shortcomings of chronological streams, CCSAV tools underestimate the importance of participation and interaction in enhancing collaborative knowledge-building. We argue, therefore, that CCSAV platforms should be socially augmented in order to improve their mediation capability. Drawing on Clark and Brennanâs influential Common Ground theory, we designed a Debate Dashboard, which augmented a CCSAV tool with a set of widgets that deliver meta-information about participants and the interaction process. An empirical study simulating a moderately sized collective deliberation scenario provides evidence that this experimental version outperformed the control version on a range of indicators, including usability, mutual understanding, quality of perceived collaboration, and accuracy of individual decisions. No evidence was found that the addition of the Debate Dashboard impeded the quality of the argumentation or the richness of content
Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTICâHF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials
Aims:
The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTICâHF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTICâHF and how these compare with other contemporary trials.
Methods and Results:
Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA)ââ„âII, EF â€35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokineticâguided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50âmg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), nonâwhite (22%), mean age 65âyears] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NTâproBNP 1971âpg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTICâHF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressureâ<â100âmmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate <â30âmL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitrilâvalsartan at baseline (n = 1594).
Conclusions:
GALACTICâHF enrolled a wellâtreated, highârisk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation
Knowledge sharing VS construction in online-conversations: a Debate Dashboard to support distributed decision making through the collaborative construction of shared knowledge representations
This study aims at improving argumentation mediation capabilities in order to exploit their inherent advantages and, at the same time, fostering interaction among online users through the implementation of an online Debate Dashboard. Debat Dashboard is made up of a set of visual widgets able to provide feedback about users, interaction process and generated content.
Through an empirical study, we tested several hypotheses: i. the impact of visual feedback on Mutual Understanding, ii. the effect of Mutual Understanding on the usersâ performances, iii. the impact of feedback on usersâ performances. iv. the mediation effects of Mutual Understanding between feedback and usersâ performances.
The results confirm the expectations. In other words, the provision of visual feedback impacts on usersâ mutual understanding and performances, namely quality of collaboration, quality of decision and usability.
Practical and theoretical contributions have emerged from this study. First, the findings from the analysis of structural equation model confirm that visual, social and conversational feedback impact on mutual understanding and on usersâ performances. Second, the results indicate that mutual understanding has a role of mediator and catalyst among visual feedback and usersâ performances. Third, in order to support efficient and effective distributed decision making process, online collaborative tools have to be able both to foster interactions and support knowledge organization. In turns, Socialization and knowledge organization are two crucial condition for supporting deliberation and decision making successfully
Supporting Entrepreneurship Policy: An overview of Italian Start-up Competitions
Innovative start-ups are currently considered to be an important
channel for industrial change and for the renewal of economic systems. Among
the initiatives that have been implemented to promote their diffusion, start-up
competitions (SUCs) have received much recognition from policy-makers,
followers and participants. Although the number of SUCs has grown, there are
no comprehensive or systematic overviews of SUCs in the literature. Hence,
this paper presents a cross-sectional exploratory analysis of Italian SUCs to
provide an overview of their core characteristics. This in-depth study will
support the diffusion of SUCs and will provide a foundation for the creation of
a suitable ecosystem to improve the proc
esses of business start-ups. The results
show that the diffusion of SUCs is accompanied by deep structural changes,
which can be interpreted as a consequence of the growing involvement of
private organisations in promoting SUCs. Nevertheless, wide-ranging public
intervention appears to be necessary to increase the effectiveness of SUCs.
Keywords
Il processo evolutivo dei knowledge intensive business services: una panoramica per la Campania
Il contributo illustra alcune dinamiche e processi che interessano lâaggregato economico rappresentato dei servizi alla produzione ad alta intensitĂ di conoscenza, comunemente riconosciuti, tanto a livello nazionale quanto internazionale, con lâacronimo di KIBS - Knowledge Intensive Business Services -, nonchĂ© il ruolo da essi svolto nei moderni sistemi economici. In particolare, il lavoro mira allâidentificazione delle componenti di attivitĂ rientranti nei KIBS ed alla relativa quantificazione con precipuo riferimento ad una delle piĂč rappresentative regione del Mezzogiorno, la Campania