Collaborative Context Research Articles

Heritage management, education, and community involvement in Thailand: A central Thai community case

ABSTRACT This paper presents a case study of a long-term collaboration between academic scholars and a cohort of local community agents and personnel in the management of an archaeological site in central Thailand. There is a brief historical background of cultural heritage preservation in Thailand, including various aspects of collaborative approaches for cultural heritage management. We discuss and summarize background, reasons, context for collaboration, methodology (types and methods of collaboration), collaborator typology, problems and obstacles, and suggestions for best practices in cultural heritage preservation. This paper also discusses public education and the awareness of cultural heritage significance in protecting and preserving archaeological sites as national and local cultural properties.

Exploring How Students Construct Collaborative Thought Experiments During Physics Problem-Solving Activities

Thought experiments are personal and tacit processes of experimentation that scientists perform within their own imagery in formulating new theories or refuting existing theories. However, by viewing learning as a social process, this study aims to show that thought experiments can also be constructed collaboratively and to present a detailed mechanism of how thought experiments occur as a collective activity. The paper presents a study involving 12 students divided into 3 groups. The physics problem-solving activities were used to set the necessary conditions for observing the processes of students in constructing collaborative thought experiments. The results show that while solving physics problems, students design, share, rethink, and evaluate their thought experiments. This indicates that thought experiments can be constructed in a collaborative context even though the thought experiments are mostly individual in nature. In the process of constructing collaborative thought experiments, the students carried out five activities: visualizing imaginary worlds, performing experiments, describing the results, sharing and evaluating experiments, and drawing conclusions. We refer to these activities as the steps of collaborative thought experiments. In the process of evaluating thought experiments, four evaluation sources were then identified: conceptual understanding, past–daily experience, logical reasoning, and conceptual–logical inference. Based on these results, we discuss the importance and implication of collaborative thought experiments to both current and future physics teachers.

Exploring the University-based Entrepreneurial Activities in International Collaboration: Development Cases of HEIs

Abstract Objective: This paper attempts to shed some light on the entrepreneurial university elements through the examination of two HEIs – Karelia University of Applied Sciences and Poznan University of Technology. The case study explores the prerequisites for effective result-driven entrepreneurship education and business collaboration. Furthermore, the study examines what is the potential to build joint entrepreneurial pathways for HEI students and staff in an international context within the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project “Entrepreneurship and Communication in Multicultural Teams (ECMT+)”. Methodology: The nature of this exploratory case study is descriptive and data was collected using literature and reports review, participatory observation, reflection, and inference tools. The HEIs cases of practical implementation of the entrepreneurial university framework were selected with a purposeful sampling technique. The applied case study was practical orientated. Due to the small number of informants within the case and its qualitative nature, no generable conclusions can be drawn. Findings: Even as a subjective and descriptive case study, it offers an arena to explore one authentic example of a community of practice and entrepreneurial education platform promoting the systematic competence and skills development in international collaboration context. Entrepreneurial university with a true multicultural nature supports building inclusive education bridging universities with their regions and businesses. Value Added: The study reveals that the higher education has to be more inclusive and develop practices to meet the more diverse learners who may have disabilities and learning difficulties, diverse racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds or meet with social and economic challenges. The value resulting from the research allow to state that the effective cooperation and building of entrepreneurial university practices at ECMT+ partner universities are beneficial both for students, teachers and the HEIs and they could be applied at other HEIs. Recommendations: The strategic development of higher education should be oriented to promote the entrepreneurial mindset reforming the curricula to provide academic graduates more practical skilled, multi-disciplinary and social competent to discover the entrepreneurial opportunities and boosting employability. Despite the qualitative nature of the study it may enrich the discussion on the entrepreneurial university practice.

Transition to digital resources as a critical process in teachers’ trajectories: the case of Anna’s documentation work

In this paper we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of digital resources on mathematics teachers’ work and professional development. For this purpose we focus on the emblematic case of an experienced mathematics teacher at secondary level, Anna, who has also worked as a teacher educator in a university department. Using the lens of the Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD), we investigate her case, with a particular interest in digital resources, including both digital curriculum resources (e.g., e-textbooks, online resources) and digital technologies (e.g., for communicating, sharing). Two notions appear essential for supporting this investigation: the notion of resource system for studying the teacher’s activity as a whole, and the notion of documentational trajectory for studying the teacher’s activity over the time. Methodologically, specific tools were developed for gaining deeper insights into the teacher’s resource system, or her documentational trajectory. This study provides a window into mathematics teacher use and design of digital/non-digital resources in/for their teaching. Moreover, it helps us to develop better understandings of teacher professional learning over time, and of the ways the context of collaboration shapes their professional work and learning. More and also contrasting cases (e.g., of newly qualified teachers) would need to be studied to fully understand this field.

An Information Management Conceptual Approach for the Strategies Alignment Collaborative Process

This paper proposes an information management approach to deal with the strategies alignment collaborative process. Much attention has been given to the information management in collaborative networks (CNs), resulting in a wide variety of information management approaches and frameworks. The treatment, estimation, and collection of data are key issues that still need to be addressed, due to the complexity associated with the information exchange and the need to build trust relationships within the CN. In order to address this literature gap, this paper presents an approach to manage information in the specific collaborative process of strategies alignment. The approach is composed of a methodology, that enables to identify the roles participating in the application of the collaborative process, select the collaborative application context, determine the level of collaboration to be applied, and estimate and gather the data required to feed the strategies alignment process. The proposed information management approach bridges the conceptual model of strategies alignment process, with its application in real-world CNs.

New contextual collaborative filtering system with application to personalized healthy nutrition education

Nowadays, the Internet is becoming a platform of choice where the number of users and items grows dramatically making recommender systems (RS) the most required and widespread technology. This paper deals with context aware collaborative RS and presents a double contribution that consists of a two Dimensions Contextual Collaborative Recommender System (2DCCRS) and a related application. Our first contribution proposes a new framework for collaborative context aware RS that relies on two key ideas. The first one suggests splitting the context into two parts namely internal and external contexts in order to deal with both internal and external context attributes in different and more appropriate manners. This allows addressing the complexity of the context model in a more effective way. In the second idea, we introduce two concepts; namely the “Stakeholders” and “Aggregation” to effectively alleviate the problems of new user and new item. 2DCCRS is based on a multi-layer architecture. Its highest layer relies on a pre-filtering algorithm that deals with the cold start system problem, and is mainly based on the similarity between the user profile and the items features. The middle layer is based on a collaborative filtering algorithm that takes into account the users’ preferences, interests and priorities; while the deepest layer, which is considered the most relevant in our multilayer architecture, focuses on a post-filtering algorithm in which the recommendations are much more adapted to the user environment. In Our second contribution, we present a case study of 2DCCRS in order to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Indeed, we propose a personalized Healthy and Tasty application (H&T) that generates items based on 2DCCRS framework to guide the user toward the healthy and tasty meals that best meet his needs. The obtained results are very promising and show the effectiveness of our proposal.

Learning to be an interdisciplinary researcher: incorporating training about dispositional and epistemological differences into graduate student environmental science teams

The interdisciplinary research (IR) that is necessary for the creation of innovative solutions for the many complex environmental challenges facing society requires collaboration and the sharing and integration of knowledge from different disciplines in teams. Higher education programs should deploy effective pedagogical approaches to train students in interdisciplinary, team research collaboration. This paper discusses the design of three learning modules that supported the development of collaboration and teamwork skills among doctoral students during an IR workshop held in 2017 at the University of Texas at El Paso. The module activities were scaffolded to provide multiple opportunities for students to develop knowledge about the impacts that individual dispositional characteristics and differences in epistemological philosophies can have on teamwork processes. The activities and the workshop overall created opportunities for the students to apply this knowledge in a variety of authentic, collaborative contexts. An inquiry approach to pedagogical practice was used to address two key questions: (1) Did the learning modules increase knowledge of the impact of sharing dispositional features of team members on the practice of IR? (2) How confident were workshop participants in their ability to adapt to dispositional and epistemological diversity during future IR team activities? Results from a post-workshop questionnaire data, group reflections, and retrospective pre- and post-assessment showed (1) participants learned and practiced essential collaborative skills in authentic contexts; (2) the modules were valued and helped participants recognize the important role that personal dispositional characteristics have on the development of effective IR teams; (3) participants’ confidence in adapting to differences among team members increased; and (4) participants recognized that effective collaboration is an emergent property of a team that benefits from the overall intentionality of using a defined process and communication strategy.

Collective identity construction in international collaborations

This article explores the dynamic processes of collective identity formation among the participating organizational members in interorganizational collaborations that cross national boundaries. A longitudinal, qualitative multi-case study research approach was adopted in the empirical investigation of collective identity in three international business collaborations that involve a Sino-British strategic partnership, a Sino-Australian, and a Sino-Polish joint venture. Based on the analyses of the data collected from in-depth interviews, participant observation, and archival materials, a theoretical framework of collective identity (re)formation is developed. It suggests that two inseparable elements (states and processes) constitute a cyclic and enduring process of collective identity formation through partners’ orchestrating discursive resources involving a common sense of ‘we-ness’. The shifts between various states are driven by partners’ processes of negotiation, integration, solidification, and reformation of collective identity. A deconstruction process may also emerge, giving rise to the termination of the collaborative relationship. The research presented in this article advances the understanding of collective identity formation in the field of organizational identity by extending the discursive perspective of collective identity into the context of interorganizational collaborations that cross national borders. This research also provides further empirical evidence on the active role played by organizational members in the use of cultural narratives as strategic resources to express their identity beliefs, which differs from the deterministic view of culture in shaping organizational members’ behaviors.

Music Gesture and the Correspondence of Lines: Collaborative Video Mediation and Methodology

Music Gesture can be thought of as being made up of dynamic, multisensorial lines. From this, the author draws from Ingold's “correspondence of lines” as a conception of music and a transformative compositional process, informing gestural line expressions and the development of notation systems for the body. The author outlines the technology he has developed for two compositions, involving a video scoring methodology and software that enables interactive video gestural sampling in a collaborative art music context. The author also engages with Ingold's concept of the “mesh,” as lines that overflow, and imagines how the mesh could be perceived through sensory modalities. This discourse of lines is contextualized through examples of absurdist instrumental pieces and corporeally based music.

Using smartphone leaf area index data acquired in a collaborative context within vineyards in southern France

Aim: The objective of this short communication is to study the opportunity of using a smartphone application for leaf area index (LAI) observations within vineyards in southern France in a farmsourcing context, i.e. when several operators make parallel acquisitions over the same area. In this context, several sources of variability are likely to affect measurement quality, such as the smartphone model or the operator. Understanding these sources of variability will enhance the ability to properly interpret LAI observations to produce relevant information for decision-making.Methods and material: A study was specifically designed to evaluate the ability of a smartphone application to differentiate sites with different LAI and to determine the origin and the relative importance of different sources of variation in a context of farmsourcing data collection. This focused on the VitiCanopy application, which has been developed specifically for viticulture LAI measurements. Measurements were performed by 18 operators with 11 different smartphone models, on three different vines presenting controlled canopy size to evaluate the ability of the smartphone application to differentiate sites under varying acquisition conditions. Controlled repetitions over seven vines by seven operators with seven smartphone models were performed to further determine the sources of variation and their relative importance.Results: LAI estimations made with VitiCanopy were consistent with the different levels of controlled vine size in the experiment. The operator and the smartphone model had a significant effect on the variance of the estimated LAI. The variance caused by the observation protocol was relatively low compared to the variability between plants within the observation site (seven vines).Conclusions: This study showed that the VitiCanopy application was relevant for ordering or classifying vines according to LAI. In an operational context, the results of this study support the use of this smartphone application for relative measurements. However, the best results were achieved when smartphone model differences were minimised or avoided and with homogeneous acquisition conditions between operators. This last condition will require the organisation of group training sessions to minimise an observed operator effect on measurement variability.Significance and impact of the study: This short communication demonstrated the potential of LAI observations collected with smartphones by several operators for decision-making in a context of farmsourcing. The results showed that this new source of observations, which is inexpensive to collect, made it possible to characterise vine size (LAI) differences in vineyards of southern France. This shows the potential of this app for large production areas such as cooperatives. Further investigations are needed to understand how different training systems may affect the measurement. This source of observations could be complementary to other information sources that are more precise or more accurate, but also more expensive (i.e. destructive methods).

An Assessment of Idea Emergence in Subject-Matter Collaborative Learning

Idea emergence is critical in learning as knowledge creation. Although recent advancements make it possible to detect emergent ideas and evaluate how students engage in knowledge creation in collaborative learning contexts, the relationship between the learning processes and final learning outcomes has not been well studied. One compound factor is how much students engage in their study topic during collaboration. In this study, therefore, we propose a new procedure for evaluating idea emergence in the context of jigsaw instruction by combining a socio-semantic network analysis of discourse and a text-mining algorithm, “the term-frequency.” This procedure was used to evaluate how high-school learners engaged in their social process of knowledge creation as well as how much they discuss their study topics, the human immune system. Results showed that the weight of priority on a study topic did not significantly differ in both high and low learning-outcome groups, but high learning-outcome groups were more engaged in sharing and discussing ideas in the early stage of their collaboration. It is suggested that students’ recognition of the study topic was not different depending on the levels of their learning outcomes in a well-structured collaborative learning context such as jigsaw instruction. However, what matters is how students discuss their ideas through collaborative discourse.

Exploring the Relationships Among Middle School Students’ Peer Interactions, Task Efficiency, and Learning Engagement in Game-Based Learning

Background. Middle school students’ math anxiety and low engagement have been major issues in math education. In order to reduce their anxiety and support their math learning, game-based learning (GBL) has been implemented. GBL research has underscored the role of social dynamics to facilitate a qualitative understanding of students’ knowledge. Whereas students’ peer interactions have been deemed a social dynamic, the relationships among peer interaction, task efficiency, and learning engagement were not well understood in previous empirical studies. Method. This mixed-method research implemented E-Rebuild, which is a 3D architecture game designed to promote students’ math problem-solving skills. We collected a total of 102 50-minutes gameplay sessions performed by 32 middle school students. Using video-captured and screen-recorded gameplaying sessions, we implemented behavior observations to measure students’ peer interaction efficiency, task efficiency, and learning engagement. We used association analyses, sequential analysis, and thematic analysis to explain how peer interaction promoted students’ task efficiency and learning engagement. Results. Students’ peer interactions were negatively related to task efficiency and learning engagement. There were also different gameplay patterns by students’ learning/task-relevant peer-interaction efficiency (PIE) level. Students in the low PIE group tended to progress through game tasks more efficiently than those in the high PIE group. The results of qualitative thematic analysis suggested that the students in the low PIE group showed more reflections on game-based mathematical problem solving, whereas those with high PIE experienced distractions during gameplay. Discussion. This study confirmed that students’ peer interactions without purposeful and knowledge-constructive collaborations led to their low task efficiency, as well as low learning engagement. The study finding shows further design implications: (1) providing in-game prompts to stimulate students’ math-related discussions and (2) developing collaboration contexts that legitimize students’ interpersonal knowledge exchanges with peers.

Measuring PMO Performance – Application of the Balanced Scorecard in a Collaborative Research Context

This article provides discussion and analysis of the successful deployment by a university-based project management office (PMO) of the balanced scorecard as a performance measurement tool. The research study builds on a supporting literature review on the balanced scorecard along with background material on collaborative research projects. This is followed by a case study investigation of the design and implementation of the scorecard for a university PMO over a 4-year period. Various managerial insights have been generated that have value to project management professionals engaged in the roll-out of a performance measurement system to support the management of research projects. There is a need to carefully adapt scorecard metrics to the academic requirements in regard to the management of a portfolio of research projects. Furthermore, although data collection is necessary for the sustained use of the scorecard to support team operations, it is also important to consider the people or social dimensions when utilizing the scorecard approach. The article also includes specific details on how scorecard’s key performance indicators have been derived through distilling strategic objectives into operational requirements.

Urban river governance through community movement to increase the adaptive capacity to climate change of the poor: a case study of Yogyakarta

This paper explains how the community movement governed the urban rivers’ climate adaptation using the case of Yogyakarta’s three main rivers. Before, these areas were prone to floods and disease outbreak. The Sultan Ground and private owned land statuses by the riversides created difficulties since many urban poor in this city lived in these areas. The local authority supported the poor through community engagement. This scheme resulted in a breakthrough. The communities there became more aware of the misuse of rivers. They proactively participated in the discussions and initiated a movement to conserve the riverside areas. The urban river governance proceeded both bottom-up and top-down approaches. This case used the explanation with purposive sampling derived from a list of related informants. The primary data was acquired through snowballing interviews, while secondary data was obtained from related stakeholders’ archives. Both types of data were collected to understand the multilevel governance structure within the stakeholders’ collaboration context. The movement resulted in better city planning. It reduced the vulnerability of the poor, while increasing their adaptive capacity to climate change. Using Yogyakarta as a case, this paper adds to the knowledge of urban resilience strategy in developing countries.

MODELING AND SIMULATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE GROWTH PROCESS AMONG NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FIRMS IN THE DISTRIBUTED INNOVATION NETWORK

Against the background of the distributed innovation network, collaborative innovation among new energy technology firms is the most crucial network link. The process of collaborative R&D involves significant data exchange and knowledge management across firm boundaries. Moreover, the context(refers to the strategic context,the cultural context, the institutional context and the network context) of new energy technology firms in the network and the R&D among these firms massively impact overall knowledge emergence in the network. In order to explore the optimal knowledge growth process among new energy technology firms in the distributed network, the influence of collaborative context and collaborative behavior vis-à-vis knowledge growth was discussed in this study based on the features of multi-agent technology from the perspective of collaborative R&D among the firms. On the basis of a theoretical deduction and empirical test, the model of behavioral interaction among multiple agents was built and the simulation applied to the model via the Netlogo platform. The results show that, in a single cycle, the collaborative context exerts a positive impact on knowledge growth among new energy technology firms. However, certain differences exist. Such as the fact that the promotional effect of knowledge sharing vis-à-vis collaborative behavior on knowledge growth decreases as the difference in knowledge potential among firms in the network decreases,until it disappears. Moreover, when the new energy technology firms with a high knowledge potential cease diffusing knowledge, knowledge growth in the whole network stagnates. If there is no information sharing among new energy technology firms in the network, then the collaboration between them may collapse. Specific asset investment plays a positive role in the promotion of knowledge spillover and knowledge diffusion among the firms, while also facilitating knowledge growth among new energy technology firms and improving collaborative efficiency. Keywords: new energy technology firm, collaborative context,cooperative behavior,multi-agent, knowledge growth

The Role of Proximities in the Construction of Managerial Innovation in a Collaborative Context

The dialogue between researchers in management and practitioners is increasingly intensive and regular. The objective of this research is to present a process of the co-creation of a new practice of human resources management: the labor loan for an ecosystem. For some time now, a number of French organizations have used an innovative human resources management system: the loan of labor. This system, which is regulated by French law, aims simultaneously at safeguarding local employment and at temporarily relieving companies of their payroll. The system also helps to develop the skills and employability of employees in an employment area. This research analyzes the emergence of this new practice in light of the analytical approach of proximity. A longitudinal and original methodological framework makes it possible to understand how the actors co-construct the devices of labor loan, in order to appropriate them and disseminate them within a pool of jobs. It also shows the significance of inter-organizational dynamics and the interactions between researchers and practitioners in the emergence of the system.JEL Codes: M, M5

Towards an understanding of GPs' viewpoint on diagnosing postnatal depression in general practice: a small-scale realist evaluation.

Less than half of postnatal depression cases are identified in routine clinical assessment. Guidelines and current literature suggest that general practitioners (GPs) may have an opportunistic role in detecting postnatal depression due to their early contact and existing rapport with many new mothers. There is limited research on the diagnostic approaches chosen by GPs in different GP-patient contexts. Our small-scale study evaluates the thought processes of seven GPs based in one practice when forming a clinical diagnosis of postnatal depression under different contexts. Seven GP participants were interviewed using case vignettes about postnatal depression, based on an adapted Johari's window framework. A realist approach to analysis was undertaken with the intention of understanding GPs' responses to different situations. Context-mechanism-outcome configurations were constructed, and a programme theory was formed to consolidate the findings. Findings suggest that diagnoses may be a clinician-led or collaborative process between GP and patient. In collaborative contexts, stigmatising views were addressed by GPs, time for self-reflection was encouraged and mothers' views were accounted for. Clinician-led diagnoses often occurred in contexts where there was a lack of acknowledgement of symptoms on behalf of the patient or where safety was a concern. The personal and clinical experience of GPs themselves, as well as effective communication channels with other primary care professionals, was significant mechanisms. GPs use a variety of strategies to support patient disclosure and acceptance of their condition. The complexity of GP-patient contexts may influence the clinical thought process. We address some of the gaps in existing literature by exploring postnatal depression diagnosis in primary care and provide tentative explanations to suggest what works, for whom and in what contexts.

CERN Analysis Preservation and Reuse Framework: FAIR research data services for LHC experiments

In this paper we present the CERN Analysis Preservation service as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) research data preservation repository platform for LHC experiments. The CERN Analysis Preservation repository allows LHC collaborations to deposit and share the structured information about analyses as well as to capture the individual data assets associated to the analysis. We describe the typical data ingestion pipelines, through which an individual physicist can preserve and share their final n-tuples, ROOT macros, Jupyter notebooks, or even their full analysis workflow code and any intermediate datasets of interest for preservation within the restricted context of experimental collaboration. We discuss the importance of annotating the deposited content with high-level structured information about physics concepts in order to promote information discovery and knowledge sharing inside the collaboration. Finally, we describe techniques used to facilitate the reusability of preserved data assets by capturing and re-executing reproducible recipes and computational workflows using the REANA Reusable Analysis platform.

Understanding the context of multifaceted collaborations for social-ecological sustainability: a methodology for cross-case analysis

There are limited approaches available that enable researchers and practitioners to conduct multiple case study comparisons of complex cases of collaboration in natural resource management and conservation. The absence of such tools is felt despite the fact that over the past several years a great deal of literature has reviewed the state of the science regarding collaboration. Much of this work is based on case studies of collaboration and highlights the importance of contextual variables, further complicating efforts to compare outcomes across case-study areas and the likely failure of approaches based on one size fits all generalizations. We expand on the standard overview of the field by identifying some of the challenges associated with managing complex systems with multiple resources, multiple stakeholder groups with diverse knowledges/understandings, and multiple objectives across multiple scales, i.e., multifaceted collaborative initiatives. We then elucidate how a realist methodology, within a critical realist framing, can support efforts to compare multiple case studies of such multifaceted initiatives. The methodology we propose considers the importance and impact of context for the origins, purpose, and success of multifaceted collaborative natural resource management and conservation initiatives in social-ecological systems.

Multidimensional analysis of embeddedness and cooperation in a cluster – a literature and empirical study

Cooperation of enterprises within inter-organizational networks is a complex research and cognitive area due to the multidimensional nature of cooperation, which is often a mixture of motives, intentions, goals and operating conditions. Literature studies have revealed the so far very meager and scattered work in the field of embedding cooperation between enterprises in inter-organizational networks, which definitely does not sufficiently describe the impact of the context of collaboration on enterprise cooperation. The main aim of the article was to understand and explain, on the basis of the concept of embeddedness, whether there are relations between the participation of enterprises in a cluster-type inter-organizational network (embeddedness and its dimensions) and their cooperation in the cluster. Implementation of research goals required the development of a research process covering three stages. The essence and dimensions of embeddedness of cooperating enterprises in inter-organizational networks (structural, relational, social, positional, territorial, geographical, spatial, institutional, ecological, political and temporal) were determined. Next, a survey of European cluster managers (study 1) on cooperation in a cluster was carried out in order to better understand the dimensions of embeddedness of enterprises cooperating in clusters (qualitative research, IDI). In the next stage, a survey of cluster enterprises was carried out (study 2) to determine the relations between their embeddedness in the cluster and cooperation with other cluster companies (quantitative research, CAWI). Then, triangulation of data sources, research methods and context was used. As a result, it was established that four dimensions of embeddedness are of key importance for cooperating enterprises embedded in the cluster, namely: structural, geographical, institutional and relational. Moreover, the results of the research show that there is a positive relation between embedding enterprises in the cluster and their cooperation.