IT Enablers for Task Organization and Innovation Support to drive Team Performance

Teams drive organizational innovation by applying knowledge to solve complex problems. However, many teams underperform and organizations do not sufficiently harvest the benefits they could gain from effective IT support for team processes consisting of creative (exploration) and structurally controlled (exploitation) processes. This paper investigates the impact of knowledge application on support for innovation, task organization, and team performance in a mixed method case study in two medium-sized, knowledge-intensive, information technology-affine organizations. We surveyed 204 employees and found that knowledge application positively affects task organization. Knowledge application and task organization positively affect support for innovation. Both, task organization and support for innovation positively affect team performance. Subsequent focus group interviews with 16 employees provided us with an in-depth understanding of factors that support team performance. Qualitative content analysis resulted in nine IT enablers, which can be adapted by organizations to foster coordination while at the same time promote innovation

Will and Jane in love

Sowohl William Shakespeare als auch Jane Austen blicken auf eine jahrhundertelange Geschichte der Verkörperung der Autorenfigur zurück. Bereits kurz nach dem Tod der Autoren, der bei Shakespeare im Jahre 1616 und bei Jane Austen 1817 eintrat, verlor sich die „Wahrheit“ über diese beiden Persönlichkeiten – ihr Ruhm und die Aufmerksamkeit, die den Autoren wie auch ihren Werken geschenkt wurde, begannen jedoch stetig anzusteigen. Schon bald wollte sich der „Fan“ nicht mehr mit der Idee einer Autorenfigur, welche die literarischen Legenden zurückließen, begnügen und William Shakespeare sowie Jane Austen bekamen verschiedene Rollen und Körper zugedacht. Die Bandbreite dieser Rollen und Körper war und ist unermesslich: Von gefeierten Ruhmträgern, über kultisch verehrte Stars und Heilige, bis hin zur Touristenattraktion – die Autoren fanden sich über die Jahrhunderte in den unterschiedlichsten Verkörperungen wieder. Neben dieser Apotheose und der kultischen Anbetung der beiden Autoren existiert jedoch ein weiterer Trend, der ebenfalls kurz nach ihrem Tod einsetzte und der sich nun vor allem in den Print- und Filmmedien des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts herauskristallisiert: William Shakespeare und Jane Austen werden in einer Form rekonstruiert, die es dem/r LeserIn bzw. AnhängerIn ermöglicht, nicht mehr länger zu den Autoren aufzublicken, sondern sich ihnen so nahe und verbunden wie möglich zu fühlen – die Schriftsteller werden mit einem tatsächlichen Aussehen - einem physikalischen Körper - als auch mit einem individuellen Charakter versehen. Unter all den diversen Erscheinungsformen, seien es jene in Literatur und Film oder auch frühe Portraits wie Martin Droeshouts Portrait von William Shakespeare oder Cassandra Austens Aquarell-Darstellung ihrer Schwester Jane, hat es sich diese Arbeit zur Aufgabe gemacht, die beiden Autoren in der Rolle der Liebhaber zu untersuchen. Dass sowohl William Shakespeare als auch Jane Austen mit romantischer Liebe assoziiert werden, ist keine neue Erscheinung und ist, unter anderem, auf die Rezeption ihrer literarischen Werke zurückzuführen. Dass die beiden Autoren jedoch selbst in romantischen Beziehungen dargestellt werden, ist ein relativ junges Phänomen, das sich aufgrund seiner Aktualität nicht nur in Printmedien, sondern auch im Filmmedium wiederfindet. Eben diese romantische Vorstellung der Autorenfiguren William Shakespeare und Jane Austen im populären Kino unmittelbar vor und kurz nach der Jahrtausendwende liegt im Interesse dieser Studie und wird anhand der Filme Shakespeare in Love (Regisseur John Madden, 1998) und Becoming Jane (Regisseur Julian Jarrold, 2007) analysiert. Um eine Basis für das Verständis der Freiheit und der Beliebigkeit in der Rekonstruktion der beiden Schriftsteller zu bilden, wird das Konzept der objektiven Geschichtsschreibung relativiert und der Film wird als alternative Geschichtsschreibung etabliert. Weiters werden die Bausteine des romantischen Filmgenres erläutert, um ein Werkzeug für die Analyse der romantischen Körper der Autoren in den beiden Filmen zu schaffen. Letztendlich wird im analytischen Teil der Arbeit aufgezeigt, welche Elemente des romantischen Filmgenres in Shakespeare in Love und in Becoming Jane sowieso im Speziellen in der Darstellung der beiden Protagonisten angewendet werden mit dem Ziel die beiden Autoren zu romantisieren. Dabei werden Charakteristika der Romanze, wie immer wiederkehrende Handlungsstränge oder Symbole für romantische Liebe, in den beiden Filmen veranschaulicht. Somit wird nicht nur gezeigt, dass sich die beiden Autoren in einer romantischen Verkörperung wiederfinden, sondern es wird auch geklärt wie solch eine Romantisierung im populären Film um die Jahrtausendwende zustande kommt. Hierbei wird unterstrichen, dass von William Shakespeare als auch von Jane Austen im 21. Jahrhundert lediglich ein beliebiges Konstrukt zuückbleibt, das einer ständigen Transformation unterliegt. Der tatsächliche Autor bleibt ebenso wenig greifbar wie das Konzept einer objektiven Geschichtsschreibung oder die Idee der romantischen Liebe.The embodiment of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen is no recent phenomenon, but has a history that is centuries-long. Only shortly after their respective death in 1616 in Shakespeare’s case and in 1817 in Jane Austen’s, the ‘truth’ about the authors disappeared – however, their fame and the attention paid to them and their literary works has increased steadily. Soon the ‘fan’ was no longer content with a mere idea of the author figure left behind by the literary celebrities and William Shakespeare as well as Jane Austen were imaged and presented in diverse roles and bodies. The spectrum of these roles and bodies was and still is immense: From celebrated figures of fame to tourist attractions and from adored stars to saints – the authors have experienced various embodiments throughout the centuries. Apart from the apotheosis and the cult of the authors there exists another trend that originated only years after they had died and that is particularly strongly expressed in literature and film in the 20th and the 21st century: William Shakespeare and Jane Austen’s readership and fan community reconstruct their ‘idols’ in a way that enables them to stop looking up to the authors and instead feel as close and intimate to the them as possible. William Shakespeare und Jane Austen werden in einer Form rekonstruiert, die es dem/r LeserIn bzw. The writers are endowed with a tangible appearance – a phyical body and an individual character. Among all diverse representations emerging from the constant reconstruction of the authors, be it those in literature and film or early portraits such as the Martin Droeshout of William Shakespeare or Cassandra Austen’s watercolor sketch of her sister Jane, the present paper sets itself to examine the authors on the role of lovers. That William Shakespeare as well as Jane Austen are generally associated with romantic love is no recent development and is, among other reasons, to be attributed to the reception of their literary works. However, that the two authors themselves are pictured in romantic relationships is a contemporary emergence that is not only found in print but is also shown in film due to its currency. Exactly this amorous depiction of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen in popular cinema around the millennium is subject to analysis in this study and is inspected on the basis of the movies Shakespeare in Love (dir. John Madden, 1998) and Becoming Jane (dir. Julian Jarrold, 2007). In order to create a basic understanding for the freedom and arbitrariness in the reconstruction of the writers the concept of evidentiary history is relativized and film is established as ‘another kind of history’. In a further step, the building stones of the romantic film genre are elucidated to form a framework for the succeeding analysis of the authors‘romantic bodies in the two films. Finally, the practical part of the paper examines the characteristic elements of the romance in Shakespeare in Love and in Becoming Jane and pays special attention to these characteristics in the depiction of the two protagonists, as they aim at romanticizing them. In the course of this analysis traditional components of the romantic film such as conventional narrative strands or symbols representing romantic love are illustrated. Thus, it is not only demonstrated that the authors’ bodies are romanticized but it is also clarified how the process of romanticizing in popular film around the millennium is achieved. Thereby, William Shakespeare and Jane Austen are emphasized as being mere constructs in the 21st century that underlie constant transformation. The ‘real’ author remains just as little tangible as the concept of evidentiary history and the notion of romantic love

Design principles for competence-based recommender systems

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Optimising allocation of knowledge workers to learning measures for competence development

Competence development of knowledge workers is a primary concern at the crossroads between human resource development (HRD) and knowledge management. HRD needs to facilitate competence development for self-organised knowledge workers and to align it with organisational goals. The aim of this paper is to support decision makers in allocating knowledge management and e-learning efforts in HRD. Motivated by a case study and its identified knowledge work practices, we propose a mathematical model optimising the allocation of workers to competence development measures. The suggested model is intended to support HRD decision making. Moreover, the paper discusses challenges of the identified knowledge work practice that could not be addressed and presents suggestions for extensions of the model that may solve these additional challenges

Probabilistic Modeling of Space Shuttle Debris Impact

On Feb 1, 2003, the Shuttle Columbia was lost during its return to Earth. As a result of the conclusion that debris impact caused the damage to the left wing of the Columbia Space Shuttle Vehicle (SSV) during ascent, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommended that an assessment be performed of the debris environment experienced by the SSV during ascent. A flight rationale based on probabilistic assessment is used for the SSV return-to-flight. The assessment entails identifying all potential debris sources, their probable geometric and aerodynamic characteristics, and their potential for impacting and damaging critical Shuttle components. A probabilistic analysis tool, based on the SwRI-developed NESSUS probabilistic analysis software, predicts the probability of impact and damage to the space shuttle wing leading edge and thermal protection system components. Among other parameters, the likelihood of unacceptable damage depends on the time of release (Mach number of the orbiter) and the divot mass as well as the impact velocity and impact angle. A typical result is visualized in the figures below. Probability of impact and damage, as well as the sensitivities thereof with respect to the distribution assumptions, can be computed and visualized at each point on the orbiter or summarized per wing panel or tile zone

Artificial Cognition for Social Human-Robot Interaction: An Implementation

© 2017 The Authors Human–Robot Interaction challenges Artificial Intelligence in many regards: dynamic, partially unknown environments that were not originally designed for robots; a broad variety of situations with rich semantics to understand and interpret; physical interactions with humans that requires fine, low-latency yet socially acceptable control strategies; natural and multi-modal communication which mandates common-sense knowledge and the representation of possibly divergent mental models. This article is an attempt to characterise these challenges and to exhibit a set of key decisional issues that need to be addressed for a cognitive robot to successfully share space and tasks with a human. We identify first the needed individual and collaborative cognitive skills: geometric reasoning and situation assessment based on perspective-taking and affordance analysis; acquisition and representation of knowledge models for multiple agents (humans and robots, with their specificities); situated, natural and multi-modal dialogue; human-aware task planning; human–robot joint task achievement. The article discusses each of these abilities, presents working implementations, and shows how they combine in a coherent and original deliberative architecture for human–robot interaction. Supported by experimental results, we eventually show how explicit knowledge management, both symbolic and geometric, proves to be instrumental to richer and more natural human–robot interactions by pushing for pervasive, human-level semantics within the robot's deliberative system

Qualitätsmanagement und Qualitätscontrolling in der öffentlichen Verwaltung

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