Collaborative Behavior Research Articles

Enhancing wineries’ sustainability through territorial certifications: a case study in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Purpose As sustainability concerns become increasingly influential in shaping wineries’ strategies at the production and processing stages, this study aims to investigate the anticipated benefits, incentives and constraints associated with a territorial sustainability certification in the wine industry. Design/methodology/approach Focusing on wine producers from the Romagna Consortium (Italy), the research explores the influence of firm characteristics on sustainability attitudes and explores the Consortium potential role in facilitating the ecological transition. Data are collected through an online survey and analyzed by means of factor and cluster analysis. Findings Findings reveal the Consortium capacity to expand its scope, incorporating elements of sustainability, resilience and territorial development. In addition, it emerges that the perception of sustainability among local producers extends beyond environmental concerns, encompassing the economic and social domains. Practical implications Acting as a cluster constituent, the Consortium can stimulate collaborative behavior and promote knowledge dissemination contributing to a mature collaborative environment. A territorial sustainability certification is thus viewed as multifunctional tool, enhancing economic performance and collective reputation, while addressing the numerous environmental challenges faced by the sector. Originality/value The study’s originality lies in its direct engagement with a considerable number of producers in a geographic area boasting a mature wine industry but with limited research focusing on coordinated efforts for improved sustainability performance.

Chinese Doctoral Students Involved in Interdisciplinary Learning Score Higher on Scientific Creativity: The Roles of Teamwork Skills and Collaborative Behaviors

Despite the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary learning in doctoral education, there is still a gap in the literature supporting the relationship between it and doctoral students’ scientific creativity in China. Based on a questionnaire survey of 457 doctoral students from the humanities and social sciences on the Chinese Mainland, this study adopted structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among interdisciplinary learning, teamwork skills, collaborative behaviors, and scientific creativity. The results indicated that there was a weak positive correlation between interdisciplinary learning and the scientific creativity of doctoral students. Teamwork skills mediated the relationship between interdisciplinary learning and creativity, while the mediating effect of collaborative behaviors did not hold. Moreover, the relationship between interdisciplinary learning and creativity can also be mediated by the sequential mediation of teamwork skills and collaborative behaviors.

Stakeholder involvement in the development of a serious game for and with healthcare professionals

Abstract Increasing pressure on the quality, accessibility and affordability of Dutch health services underlines the need for integrated approaches to healthcare that include lifestyle as preventive measure. Integrated healthcare requires coordinated collaboration between healthcare providers, which is facilitated by the concept of Positive Health as a unifying language. To support primary care providers (PCP) in developing knowledge and skills related to lifestyle as prevention, interdisciplinary collaboration and the concept of Positive Health, we are developing education in the form of a serious game: Game2Connect. Co-creation by active involvement of a consortium of educational institutes, healthcare organisations, a game developer, and PCP as end-users of Game2Connect plays a key role in its development. Data from interviews with PCP (on barriers and facilitators for health-promoting and collaborative behaviours), healthcare recipients (on input for case studies) and consortium meetings were incorporated into an initial version of Game2Connect, which is currently being piloted to assess and improve its utility and usability. Pilot sessions included an observed playthrough, followed by a usability questionnaire and a semi-structured group discussion. So far, 2 pilot sessions were held with consortium members (n = 16), and 3 sessions were held with PCP (n = 22). Learning indicators (e.g. PCP clarifying fellow players’ misconceptions) were observed in all sessions. Usability scores indicate high levels of challenge, content relevance, and positive affect, ranging between 3.3-3.6 on a 4-point scale. Qualitative feedback from group discussions resulted in the development of new case studies to appeal to a broader range of PCP, and the adjustment of a goal-setting exercise as a game component to encourage its use. These results suggest that serious gaming may be a viable and engaging method to educate PCP, especially when developed in active collaboration with stakeholders.

Evaluation of School Program Gaps Adiwiyata in Forming Character Profile Pancasila Students at SD Negeri 03 Jati Jaten Karanganyar District

The Adiwiyata program has the character value of caring for the environment in a person to carry out activities related to nature. Through the Adiwiyata School Program, students can be trained to have creative, adaptive, collaborative and independent behavior in accordance with the Pancasila student profile. The aim of this research is to evaluate the implementation of the Adiwiyata School program in finding gaps in the design, installation, process, product and cost-benefit aspects of the Adiwiyata School Program at SD Negeri 03 Jati Jaten, Karanganyar Regency. Program evaluation to ensure the Adiwiyata program is implemented in accordance with the objectives and results as a recommendation to improve the Adiwiyata program in this school. This research uses the DEM (discrepancy evaluation model) evaluation model or what is usually called a gap evaluation model which focuses on every aspect of design, installation, process, product and cost-benefit. This research uses descriptive qualitative research. Data and information collection regarding program implementation in providing guidance to students is carried out by means of interviews, document studies, and observations. Data analysis was carried out through a process of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results concluded that the Adiwiyata program at SD Negeri 03 Jati was implemented well even though it had not fully met the targets set. In the design aspect, no gaps were found at all. In the design aspect, no gaps were found at all. Meanwhile, in the installation aspect there is a gap of 12.5%, in the process aspect there is a gap of 11.25%, in the product aspect there is a gap of 16.67%, and in the cost-benefit aspect there is a gap of 12.5%. Based on the gap findings, there are several recommendations that can be proposed, firstly to the school to continue the program by improving the management of environment-based curriculum components by increasing collaboration with all school members and participatory activities by means of intensive and sustainable mentoring as well as budget allocation for the development of the Adiwiyata program. The second recommendation is for the Environmental Service and Adiwiyata School Trustees to provide assistance and provide support for Adiwiyata schools. Keywords: Program Evaluation, DEM, SD Negeri 03 Jati

Exploring the Impact of Digital Technologies on Team Collaborative Design

This paper presents the results of a protocol study exploring the impact of various digital technologies on team collaborative design processes. Previous studies have suggested that compared to traditional methods such as sketching, digital technologies can provide further benefits for collaborative processes. However, there persists a lack of understanding about the impacts of digital technologies on such processes, particularly in relation to emerging significant digital technologies such as immersive Virtual Reality (VR). Therefore, this study aims to fill that gap by exploring team collaboration behaviours of two groups of professionals working in two digital design environments—desktop 3D modelling with Revit and immersive VR using Hyve-3D—as well as their behaviours during traditional sketching sessions for benchmarking purposes. Utilising protocol analysis method, the think-aloud data of participants was recorded, transcribed and coded using an adapted collaborative practice model. Team collaboration activities are broadly categorised as ‘Content’ or ‘Process’: content referring to design task-based activities, while process refers to activities related to the organising of group processes. The results suggest that during the design collaboration process, designers allocated the majority of their efforts towards process-oriented design activities. Differences between design environments only had a minor impact on the amount of effort expended on process-oriented activities and content-oriented activities. Moreover, traditional sketching design environments were shown to be potentially beneficial for problem-solution and associated negotiation activities. Additionally, immersive environments were associated with a reduction in the designers’ cognitive effort that was expended on exploring the design environment.

Participatory Design of an Embodied Mixed Reality Experience Aimed to Assessing Individual and Collaborative Behaviors of Children

This study is part of a broader project exploring the integration of Mixed Reality (MR) in fostering prosocial behaviors among children, particularly focusing on interpersonal synchrony (IPS) and its impact on collaboration. IPS, the coordination of rhythmic movements among individuals, has been associated with improved group cohesion and prosocial behaviors, such as collaboration. Traditional assessments of prosociality typically involve structured play activities for dyads, making them difficult to adapt to other settings. To address these limitations, this research aims to design a flexible embodied MR experience that allows children to choose between collaborative or individual engagement, reflecting the natural dynamics of children's play interactions. For this purpose, we conducted an embodied participatory design (PD) and usability study with 50 children aged 8-10 years. We provide a detailed account on how the PD process was orchestrated and an evaluation of user-system interaction, children's perceptions of play modes, and experience satisfaction. The results show how the MR experience, codesigned with children, supports a free play environment, allowing children to choose their preferred play mode. This study highlights the potential of MR in psychological research and child development, providing a new avenue for assessing individual and collaborative behaviors in larger groups of children.

Shared storytelling with a virtual learning companion: prospects in child-AI collaboration

Advances in natural language processing techniques enhance the capabilities of conversational agents to process input text and generate fluent responses in various genre. In the educational setting, these conversational agents can function as learning companions to promote peer learning, enhance social interaction, and motivate collaborative behavior. In this paper, we investigate how children collaborate with conversational agents in the context of story construction. We conducted user studies and administered survey forms to collect children’s evaluation of their experience, captured the child-agent conversation logs, and used an observation checklist to monitor the interaction. We analyzed the logs to determine how children respond to varying roles portrayed by the agent and the dialogue moves that motivate collaborative behavior during storytelling. We correlated these with the children’s reported perception and our own observation of the interaction based on performance, collaboration and humanity attributes. Drawing on these results, we identified the roles of conversational agents that align with children’s traits and abilities as storytellers and propose dialogue strategies to facilitate collaborative storytelling. Findings from our study can inform future educational technology designers on the roles of conversational agents as collaborative learning companions who can adapt to the individual needs and preferences of the children.

Resolving social dilemmas with minimal reward transfer

Social dilemmas present a significant challenge in multi-agent cooperation because individuals are incentivised to behave in ways that undermine socially optimal outcomes. Consequently, self-interested agents often avoid collective behaviour. In response, we formalise social dilemmas and introduce a novel metric, the general self-interest level, to quantify the disparity between individual and group rationality in such scenarios. This metric represents the maximum proportion of their individual rewards that agents can retain while ensuring that a social welfare optimum becomes a dominant strategy. Our approach diverges from traditional concepts of altruism, instead focusing on strategic reward redistribution. By transferring rewards among agents in a manner that aligns individual and group incentives, rational agents will maximise collective welfare while pursuing their own interests. We provide an algorithm to compute efficient transfer structures for an arbitrary number of agents, and introduce novel multi-player social dilemma games to illustrate the effectiveness of our method. This work provides both a descriptive tool for analysing social dilemmas and a prescriptive solution for resolving them via efficient reward transfer contracts. Applications include mechanism design, where we can assess the impact on collaborative behaviour of modifications to models of environments.

Quality Improvement Decisions in Service Supply Chains with Collaborative and Free-Riding Behaviors

The dominant position of a member within a service supply chain plays a crucial role in fostering a willingness to improve service quality. Consequently, this study examines a service supply chain comprising a supplier and an integrator, aiming to investigate the influence of four different power structures, namely, supplier-led, integrator-led, supplier–integrator power balance, and supplier–integrator centralized decision, on the decision-making process for service quality improvement by members. The findings highlight that the optimal willingness to improve service quality in a service supply chain is not necessarily infinitely close to 100%, and is influenced by factors such as revenue share, cost, effect, and dominant position. In cases where the collaborative improvement effect is weak, even the dominant member may display a limited willingness, rendering centralized decision-making meaningless. If the collaborative improvement effect surpasses the combined independent improvement effects, the dominant position can help strengthen willingness, although it may not always result in higher profits. Conversely, a power-balanced scenario can be advantageous in achieving the highest profit for the entire supply chain.

A two-phase adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm for the electric location routing problem with range anxiety

In response to environmental pollution and global warming, electric vehicles (EVs) have been widely applied in supply chain, and lots of researches have been focused on the electric location routing problem (ELRP) to optimize the location of battery-swapping stations (BSSs). However, few studies have simultaneously considered the EV’s collaborative behavior and range anxiety in ELRP. Therefore, this study focuses on formulating an ELRP with battery-swapping stations considering both collaborative behavior and range anxiety. The model takes into account the collaboration between the supply and demand sides to share supply chain resources effectively. The detour probability function is employed to handle the uncertainty caused by drivers’ range anxiety during the trip, which can be evaluated through a proposed range anxiety function. In addition, a new two-dimensional matrix-based solution representation is proposed to explore ELRP optimal solutions intuitively and efficiently. To solve the proposed model effectively, a two-phase adaptive large neighborhood search (TALNS) algorithm that integrates the adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) algorithm and the extended binary particle swarm optimization (EBPSO) algorithm is proposed. In the EBPSO algorithm, a new position update mechanism and local search strategy are used to strengthen the local search ability. In the ALNS algorithm, multiple destroy and repair operators are developed for the proposed model. Further, to validate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed algorithm, comparison experiments with the Gurobi optimizer and other baseline heuristic algorithms are conducted.

Managing platelets supply chain under uncertainty: A two-stage collaborative robust programming approach

This study investigates the role of horizontal collaboration among blood centers in mitigating the negative impacts of fluctuations in blood platelet supply and demand during normal circumstances and after sudden-onset disasters. Specifically, four scenarios are studied: no collaboration, collaboration among blood centers, collaboration among hospitals, and collaboration among blood centers and hospitals. To formulate these scenarios, we propose a two-stage robust programming model that enables decision-makers to monitor the collaborative behavior of blood centers and hospitals before and after changes in supply and demand occur. In the first stage, a robust optimization approach is developed to cope with supply and demand uncertainties, where collaboration is limited to blood centers. In the second stage, the uncertain parameters (supply and demand) are treated as deterministic. The key decision is how to transfer platelets among hospitals located in a collaborative cluster. This research uses benchmark data from previous studies to test and validate the developed model and solution approach. Comparing the results obtained in different scenarios, we systematically select the most favorable scenario in terms of model performance under normal and emergency situations. The final results indicate that the network achieves the highest performance when blood centers and hospitals participate in the grand coalition.

Negative collaboration risk analysis and control in manufacturing service collaboration based on complex network evolutionary game

In the era of the digital economy, manufacturing service collaboration (MSC) efficiently meets the demands of user personalization and customization through networked collaboration among service providers. However, negative collaboration behaviors triggered by opportunism within the network can lead to risk generation, risk propagation and potential dysfunction of the entire collaboration network. Traditional risk control strategies are often based on experience and lack predictive validation. To improve the efficiency of risk control strategy formulation and validate the effectiveness of risk control, the article proposes a negative collaboration risk control optimal strategy exploration method. This method can realize effective optimal decision-making for risk control and validation of effectiveness by combining the complex network evolutionary game and Q-learning. The experiment results show that this method is able to formulate situation-specific risk control strategies and keep negative collaboration providers below 10%, effectively controlling MSC collaboration risk.

Research on the mechanism of human-machine security collaboration of miners considering automation trust

Safety in the coal mining industry is a long-standing issue. With the implementation of intelligent construction in coal mines, humans–machine collaboration is critical to accident prevention. We investigate the psychological dynamics among miners during intelligent construction by developing distinct evolutionary game models for miner security collaboration mechanisms, while also considering the level of trust in automation. We explore the impact of changes in automation trust on the human–machine security collaboration behaviour among miners as well as the regulatory strategies adopted by coal mining enterprises. Evidently, the current level of automation trust among miners is insufficient to ensure safety, and the safety management systems of coal mining enterprises are yet to reach a stable state. Examination of the relevant parameters using specific examples reveals that the optimal range for the level of automation trust among miners lies between 0.7 and 0.9, indicating a favourable coal mine safety production system. These conclusions provide a scientific foundation for effectively enhancing safety management in the context of intelligent construction in coal mines.

대학의 지원에 대한 성인학습자의 인식: 잠재집단 분류 및 영향요인

The purpose of this study is to identify types of perceived institutional support among adult learners at four-year universities in Korea and to investigate how predictors and outcomes of institutional support vary across different groups. A latent profile analysis was employed to analyze data of 465 adult learners, sourced from the Korea-National Survey of Student Engagement surveyed in 2023. The main findings are as follows. First, four distinct types of perceived institutional support were identified: (a) unsatisfactory and avoidance, (b) ordinary and casual, (c) satisfactory and engagement, and (d) relationship-oriented. Second, significant factors differentiating the latent profile membership probabilities included grade, university admission type, type of high school, collaborative behavior, academic self-efficacy, and career maturity. Lastly, institutional commitment, as an outcome of university experience, was found to be higher in the ‘satisfactory and engagement’ group compared to others. Based on the findings, we discussed academic and practical implications for building adult-friendly university support systems that enrich adult learners’ student engagement and institutional commitment.

Special Survival Strategy of First-Instar Scorpions Revealed by Synchronous Molting Behavior from Social Facilitation of Maternal Care and Reciprocal Aggregation.

Ecdysis is a well-known developmental feature among arthropods. Because the aggregate and synchronous molting of first-instar scorpions is markedly different from the common independent molting behavior of older scorpions and most arthropods, knowledge on the biological benefits of the unusual behavior of first-instar scorpions remain limited. Before the molting of newborn scorpions, their mothers exhibited a remarkable ability to efficiently locate the fallen offspring and help them climb onto their back, which was supported by strong maternal behavior because they climbed more swiftly than the 7-day postpartum scorpions. Most newborn scorpions molted and survived on the mother's back, with a survival rate of approximately 100%, and most newborn scorpions survived via aggregate molting behavior on sand in the absence of mothers (89.83% ± 1.91%). The important role of the mother scorpion was further highlighted in mothers with one to five first-instar scorpions. While all first-instar scorpions individually or reciprocally molted and survived on the mother's back, only 52.00% ± 7.14% to 79.20% ± 4.24% of newborn scorpions isolated from the mother could individually or reciprocally molt and survive on the sand, and the aggregated states of first-instar scorpions strengthened as their numbers on sand increased before molting. These results highlight collaborative molting as an evolutionary driving force for newborn scorpions. Taken together, both maternal care and collaborative aggregate molting behavior enhanced the survival of first-instar scorpions before and after molting, and these benefits for first-instar scorpions play essential and evolutionary roles in scorpion survival.

Mathematics teachers’ intention to participate in an online community: an investigation using the Theory of Planned Behaviour

AbstractThis study employs the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate mathematics teachers’ beliefs regarding their intention to collaborate regularly in an online community. The central premise is that initiating such a community necessitates an implementation strategy informed by a better understanding of underlying beliefs influencing teachers’ participation intention. Accordingly, this research examines the intention of Australian mathematics teachers (N = 430) to engage in an online community proposed by their peak state-based professional association. Central to this study, participants’ intentions to engage in regular collaboration predominantly ranged from ‘somewhat disagree’ to ‘agree’, with the average rating approaching ‘somewhat agree’, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to increase this intention. A prominent finding was that participants’ attitudes towards regular collaboration were the strongest predictor of their intention to participate. While participants felt somewhat in control of their collaboration behaviour, this perception did not directly influence their intention; instead, it mediated the influence of subjective approval from others and personal attitudes on their intention. Demographic factors and past online community experiences had far less impact on predicting intentions than the Theory of Planned Behaviour beliefs. Notably, the subjective norm related to perceived approval from others was rated the highest, whereas the norm related to others’ actual behaviour received the lowest ratings, reflecting a significant divergence in the perception of social approval versus actual behaviour. These findings culminate in implications for interventions and extend the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, enhancing knowledge about factors impacting teachers’ engagement in online communities.

‘ITA problem’ or opportunity? Online global communication training at a US university to increase undergraduate students’ use of collaborative strategies

Abstract Communication requires cooperative strategies by all interlocutors. Nevertheless, US undergraduate students’ complaints about multilingual international teaching assistants (ITAs) have typically led to training and assessment for ITAs, although the undergraduates may also benefit from training in global communication. The few previous undergraduate-training attempts have generally been too intensive to offer widely and did not investigate data from international undergraduates. The current study reports on a one-hour, completely online training at a US university addressing domestic and international undergraduates’ attitudes, comprehension, and strategies relevant to global communication; it analyzes participant responses to the strategies portion. According to their own ratings, participants in the treatment group (N = 534) were more likely than a control group (N = 528) to intend to use collaborative strategies with an international instructor. Positive correlations between international or multilingual background and willingness to use collaborative strategies were low, suggesting that international students may also benefit from training. Communicative strategies proposed by the students in response to open-ended questions differed for one-on-one vs. in-class communication and suggested ways of improving training to model collaborative behaviors.

The role of individual preparation before collaboration: An exploratory study on students’ computer-supported collaborative argumentation in a primary classroom

ABSTRACT Background Collaborative learning is widely applied in real-world classrooms while young learners still have challenges engaging in high-quality knowledge co-construction processes. Researchers suggested an individual preparation activity before collaboration. However, there remains a limited understanding of the role of individual preparation on students’ collaborative learning. Method Conducted in a fifth-grade English language class in a Singapore primary school, this study explored students’ collaborative learning outcome and process under two conditions: individual preparation before collaboration (With-IP) and immediate collaboration (Without-IP) conditions. Student groups’ collaborative argumentation artifacts were collected and coded. Process analysis was conducted to reveal the distribution and transitional pattern of students’ verbal discussions and online collaboration behaviors. Findings This study reveals that individual preparation (With-IP) significantly enhanced the quality of collaborative argumentation compared to no preparation (Without-IP), by fostering more idea elaboration, deeper engagement with content knowledge, and higher quality of arguments. However, the students were also found to make more coordination and regulation efforts in the With-IP condition than Without-IP condition. Contribution This research underscores the role of individual preparation on collaborative learning processes and outcomes. This insight is pivotal for educators and practitioners in tailoring collaboration scripts to the objectives of classroom teaching and learning.

A Structural Equation Model on Interpersonal Trust in the Context of School Climate, Collaborative Behavior and Leadership Practices of School Heads

A Structural Equation Model on Interpersonal Trust in the Context of School Climate, Collaborative Behavior and Leadership Practices of School Heads

Focused Team Engagements to Enhance Interprofessional Collaboration and Safety Behaviors among Novice Nurses and Medical Residents.

Team communication remains a challenge in hospital settings. Hospital-based teams are diverse, team composition changes daily, and team members are frequently not co-located. Novice nurses and medical residents entering the workforce during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic experienced higher communication challenges than before and lacked adequate opportunities for interprofessional learning and communication. We evaluated perceptions of safety and communication among novice nurses and medical residents after a 1-hour focused team engagement consisting of an interprofessional virtual simulation and debrief. We conducted a retrospective pre/post survey to measure perceptions of interprofessional collaboration using the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale. Sixty-eight pediatric nurse residents and medical residents participated in the survey. Overall, the focused team engagements significantly improve participants' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration, with participants showing statistically significant improvement in seven of nine retrospective pre/post survey questions. When analyzing by discipline, nurse residents show stronger gains than medical residents. The interprofessional structured debriefings encourage nurses and medical residents to collaborate and discuss important safety topics away from bedside stressors. After completing the virtual simulation, the outcomes show improved perceptions of interprofessional collaboration and enhanced knowledge of safety techniques.