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

Mediation role of boundary objects in articulating common information spaces.

This paper presents a conceptualization of the mediation role of common information artifacts in articulating collaborative work. These artifacts are perceived as boundary objects which are characterized as device for intermediating local and global articulation, device for interpretive articulation, and device for organizing coordination. This conception is based on grounded theory driven qualitative study of collaboration among heterogeneous work communities in the air traffic control work process. Each work community setting in the airport is taken to be a Common Information Space (CIS), with the airport constituting multiple overlapping interdependent CISs. The common information systems constituting the CIS of different work communities act as boundary objects. These act not only as devices for placing information in common but also as devices that help synthesize multiple perspectives and establish common enough interpretation of shared information to undertake tasks collaboratively

Developing a framework of common information space (CIS): grounded theory analysis of airport CIS

The notion of Common Information Space (CIS) has been proposed in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) as a conceptual framework for analyzing cooperative work processes. The area is still in its formative years and requires more research to contribute to its development. This paper presents findings from an investigation undertaken for such an endeavor. Three perceptions of CIS are presented, which are, CIS as a sociotechnical arrangement, dynamic arrangement, and dependency management arrangement. These have been derived from review of existing research contributing to CIS notion development and Grounded Theory analysis of collaborative work process in air traffic control setting. The findings presented in this paper provide a comprehensive and consolidated view of the notion development. The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of CIS notion development by making theoretical as well as methodological contribution

Attitude of Agents towards the Services of General Insurance Corporation Subsidiray Companies in Madurai, Tamilnadu – A Study

General Insurance Corporation was given the status of a company in 1972 and it commenced its business on the 1st of January of 1973.  The Government of India subscribed to the capital of GIC. The organization today is on the point of opening up of new vistas, striving and straining to reach new heights and is surging ahead in quest of excellence. For the economic growth of the country, insurance provides a strong base and mind, protection against loss of property and adequate capital to produce more wealth. Insurance agent being an individual who receives or agrees to receive payment by way of commission or other remuneration in consideration of his soliciting or procuring insurance business including business relating to the continuance, renewal or revival of policies of insurance. In the present study the researcher has made an emphasis on the role of agents and problems faced by them of general insurance companies.  The agency service is a vital organ of marketing of general insurance policies.  The agents are the heart of the General Insurance Corporation. In the present study, the researcher has identified 18 variables and an attempt has been made to find out the factors influencing the agents in utilizing the four general insurance companies namely, NIAC, OIC, NIC and VIIC. The principal competent method of factor analysis has been employed to study the pattern of mutual inter-dependence among those variables using Kaiser’s Varimax Criterion. Keyword: Insurance, Agents, Attitude, Eigen Value and Varimax

Impact of Micro Credit on Social Empowerment of Women in Madurai District - Tamil Nadu, A Study

Micro-credit is a critical antipoverty tool, a wise investment in human capital. When the poorest especially women receive credit, they become economic actors with power to improve not only their own lives, but in a widening circle of impact, the lives of their families, their communities and their relations. Social Empowerment to create an enabling environment through various affirmative developments polices and programmes for development of women besides providing them easy and equal access to all the basic minimum services so as to enable them to realize their full potentials. The social empowerment of the respondents of sample beneficiaries was measured by using the changes in a set of parameters such as improvement in social recognition, participation, self – sufficiency, social communication, social independence, social interaction and social responsibility between pre – credit and post – credit situation. The relationship between social variables namely social recognition, participation, self – sufficiency, social communication, social independence, social interaction and social responsibility is calculated with the help of karl pearson correlation co-efficient at pre and post-credit situations. Combined group activism with social participation may be encouraged through imparting training and motivation to animators on the concepts like group cohesiveness, basic maintenance of records and success stories of other groups. Keywords: Empowerment, Micro-credit, Parameters and Indices

A grounded theory approach towards conceptualizing CIS for heterogeneous work communities

The notion of Common Information Space (CIS) is an area that has been gaining attention in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) over the last few years. This paper discusses one aspect of the investigation being undertaken to develop the conceptualization of CIS pertaining to heterogeneous work communities. This is based on empirical study of collaborative decision making involving different work communities in an airport of the air traffic control setting. The theory development is founded on the Grounded Theory approach. We present some of the findings of the ongoing analysis. In particular we discuss how the Grounded Theory methodological process has been adapted to this investigation by presenting illustrations of emergent theory development at the theoretical coding phase of the process

Analysis of Empowerment through Decision Making of Women in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu – A Study

Poor people, especially poor women have traditionally not been recognized as credit-worthy or able to save and thus they are not perceived to be a profitable market of credit.  This forces them to fall in the vicious cycle of everlasting high interest and high collateral loan from money lenders.  The sine quo non of any anti-poverty strategy is the irrepressible desire and innate capacity of the poor to uplift their conditions.  Therefore, the need comes for innovative credit delivery systems which deviate from formal collateral oriented lending institutions to informal structures.  It has been felt all over the world today that micro-finance performances can simultaneously help in alleviation of poverty and empowering women. Many micro credit institutions/programmes (MFI/Ps) have targeted women who live in households having little or no assets.  These MFI/Ps have significantly increased women’s security, autonomy, self-confidence and status within the households by providing opportunities for self-employment. Micro credit managed and utilized by women borrowers themselves has the greatest impact on poverty reduction. Keywords: Empowerment, Micro-credit, Decision- Making, women and Indices.

Development of an LH receptor assay capable of measuring serum LH/CG in a wide variety of species

The development of a radioreceptor assay (RRA) that can measure serum LH in a variety of species and CG in sera and urine of pregnant women and monkeys is reported. Using sheep luteal membrane as the receptor source and 125I-labelled hLH/hCG as the tracer, dose-response (displacement) curves were obtained using hLH or hCG as standard. The addition of LH-free serum (200 μl per tube) had no affect on the standard displacement curve. The assay is simple, requires less than 90 min to complete and provides reproducible results. The sensitivity of the assay was 0.6 ng hLH per tube and the intra- and interassay variations were 9.6 and 9.8, respectively. Sera obtained from male and female bonnet monkeys (Macaca radiata) and monkey pituitary extract showed parallelism to the standard curve. The concentrations of LH measured correlated with the physiological status of the animals. Sera of rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea-pigs, sheep and humans showed parallelism to the hLH standard curve indicating the viability of the RRA to measure serum LH of different species. Since the receptors recognize LH and CG, detection of pregnancy in monkeys and women was possible using this assay. The sensitivity of the assay for hCG was 8.7 miu per tube. This RRA could be a convenient alternative to the Leydig cell bioassay for obtaining the LH bioactivity profile of sera and biological fluids

How analysts think: think-steps as a tool for structuring sensemaking in criminal intelligence analysis

Sensemaking has been described as a process involving information structuring. However, there are few detailed accounts of how this manifests in practice, particularly in relation to the creation and use of external representations such as data visualisations, and how such structuring aids sensemaking. To explore these questions in depth, we present an interview study of police crime analysts from which a model of their analysis process is developed. We describe the model focusing on the notion of 'think-steps', which for the analysts acted as a primary structuring concept. We describe how 'think-steps' propagate throughout the analysis process captured in the model. For the analysts, 'think-steps' are extensible templates that decompose a case into elements, provide a way of storing and visually structuring data, support generation of requests for information, focus research, simulate a case, and shape reporting. We reflect on the implications that our findings might have for design, including the possibility of a repertoire of evolving, sharable and reusable templates for sensemaking within a community of practice