Cultivating creative thinking in engineering student teams: Can a computer-mediated virtual laboratory help?

In engineering design, engineers must be able to think creatively, effectively toggling between divergent thinking (developing multiple novel ideas) and convergent thinking (pursuing an appropriate idea using engineering analyses). However, creative thinking is not emphasized in many undergraduate engineering programs. In this empirical study, we analyze the divergent thinking of teams working on a virtual laboratory project. Fifteen student teams' solution paths–as represented by Model Maps–were analyzed to characterize and compare the various elements of divergent thinking: fluency, flexibility, and originality. The solution paths of these teams were compared in two physical laboratory projects and to experts completing the same virtual laboratory project. We found that students demonstrated more divergent thinking in the virtual laboratory project than in the physical laboratory projects; yet, divergent thinking and quality of solution did not correlate. There was little difference between measured elements of divergent thinking between student teams and experts.     

Teams of intelligent agents which learn using artificial immune systems

We consider the problem of having an agent respond appropriately to dynamically changing environments. We work within the Beliefs–Desires–Intentions paradigm and show how an agent may use concepts suggested by Artificial Immune Systems to dynamically change its intentions in response to a dynamically changing environment. We illustrate these ideas with teams of agents who must either compete or cooperate in the context of simple artificial games in order to fulfil their specific desires.     

A constraint programming approach to the multiple-venue,sport-scheduling problem

In this paper, we consider the problem of scheduling sports competitions over several venues which are not associated with any of the competitors. A two-phase, constraint programming approach is developed, first identifying a solution that designates the participants and schedules each of the competitions, then assigning each competitor as the “home” or the “away” team. Computational experiments are conducted and the results are compared with an integer goal programming approach. The constraint programming approach achieves optimal solutions for problems with up to sixteen teams, and near-optimal solutions for problems with up to thirty teams.     

The manpower allocation problem with time windows and job-teaming constraints: A branch-and-price approach

In this paper, we consider the manpower allocation problem with time windows, job-teaming constraints and a limited number of teams (m-MAPTWTC). Given a set of teams and a set of tasks, the problem is to assign to each team a sequential order of tasks to maximize the total number of assigned tasks. Both teams and tasks may be restricted by time windows outside which operation is not possible. Some tasks require cooperation between teams, and all teams cooperating must initiate execution simultaneously. We present an integer programming model for the problem, which is decomposed using Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition. The problem is solved by column generation in a branch-and-price framework. Simultaneous execution of tasks is enforced by the branching scheme. To test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, 12 realistic test instances are introduced. The algorithm is able to find the optimal solution in 11 of the test instances. The main contribution of this article is the addition of synchronization between teams in an exact optimization context.     

Organizational change and virtual teams: strategic and operational integration

Abstract. This paper focuses on the challenges involved in integrating virtual teams strategically and operationally into organizational systems. It argues that an understanding of virtual team integration must consider both the context within which virtual teams are being introduced and processes involved in their implementation. Such an approach demands that we consider the strategic rationales involved in teamworking generally, and virtual teams in particular. By looking at change processes, attention is drawn to the social, cultural and political dynamics that affect the implementation and operation of virtual teams. This analysis is used to suggest further avenues for research on virtual teams, as well as pointing to practical considerations     

WebSphere Portal 6.1: an agile development success story

Agile software development techniques are promising to deliver software faster, in better quality, and at a lower cost. Most examples relate to small, co-located teams working on a completely new project, with no legacy. This article focuses on applying Agile methods to a world-wide project with hundreds of developers delivering a market-leading product.In contrast to projects starting from scratch, existing customers have natural demands for support, bug fixes, and new features that focus on their particular needs.This article provides an overview of the most important Agile software development methods in addition to presenting ideas and solutions on how to apply Agile ideas to a large, existing product or solution. Important aspects that should be considered while deciding on what the Agile setup for your next software project should look like are explained.     

Relationship between decentralized controller design usingH∞ and stochastic risk-averse criteria

Considers discrete-time decentralized risk-averse LEQG (linear exponential of quadratic cost Gaussian) teams, and shows that the team-optimal solutions are identical to one of the solutions for minimax team problems. The author first gives the result for static teams, and extends the result to dynamic teams, with a quasi-classical information pattern, using a dynamic programming argument. In the process, the author also establishes differences between the two problems by pointing out the existence of multiple solutions to the minimax team problem, while there exists a unique solution to the LEQG team problem     

Evaluation of computer tools for idea generation and team formation in project-based learning

The main objective of this research was to validate the effectiveness of Wikideas and Creativity Connector tools to stimulate the generation of ideas and originality by university students organized into groups according to their indexes of creativity and affinity. Another goal of the study was to evaluate the classroom climate created by these tools and the method “Think Actively in a Social Context” (TASC) proposed by Wallace and Adams (1993) and framed within project-based learning (PBL). The research was conducted with a sample of 34 students in the third year of a Computer Engineering degree, which, during a period of 15 weeks, required them to design and implement an innovative distributed application project. The procedure consisted of the implementation of the eight phases of the TASC method integrated to the Wikideas and Creativity Connector tools. The information provided by the tools, interviews and questionnaires administered to students were used to analyze our hypothesis. The results show that the tools helped the students to generate, evaluate and select the most relevant ideas and to form teams for project execution. They also revealed that teams with high indexes of creativity and affinity (type α) achieved the best grades in academic performance and project originality. Furthermore, research data show that Wikideas and Creativity Connector along with the TASC approach created a positive classroom climate for students. Based on this work, several suggestions can be extracted on the use of the tools and the TASC method for project-based learning.     

Comparing the task effectiveness of instant messaging and electronic mail for geographically dispersed teams in Taiwan

To improve task effectiveness of geographically dispersed teams, media selection approaches a complex issue involving media features and user characteristics. This study compares user perceptions about task effectiveness between instant messengers (IM) and e-mail (EM). Using a field experiment, the design contrasted teams using EM with teams using IM. Thirty-four teams of two graduate students were enrolled as participants from five universities in Taiwan. Two people were separated geographically and had to communicate accordingly. Results indicate that IM-supported teams generated more ideas and task success. However, no significant difference was found in task difficulty between the IM and EM users.     

A Lagrangian approach for minimum cost single round robin tournaments

Single round robin tournaments are a well known class of sports leagues schedules. We consider leagues with a set T of n teams where n is even. Costs are associated to each match and period. Since matches are carried out at one of the both opponents venues matches may be forbidden in certain periods due to unavailability of stadiums. The goal is to find a minimum cost tournament among those having no match scheduled infeasible. We employ a Lagrangian relaxation approach in order to obtain tight lower bounds. Moreover, we develop a cost-oriented repair mechanism yielding a feasible tournament schedule to each solution of the relaxed problem.     

How Does Cognitive Conflict in Design Teams Support the Development of Creative Ideas?

Is cognitive conflict detrimental to the development of innovative ideas in design teams, or is it a precondition for innovative performance? Assuming that there is a relationship between cognitive conflict and innovation, what kind of strategies do teams use in situations of cognitive conflict and what are the consequences for creativity? This paper reports on a study analysing how design teams cope with cognitive conflict during idea generation in an experiment. The design process was captured in protocols that were generated from video recordings. We report the results of the analysis of verbal protocols according to the five styles of (cognitive) conflict behaviour: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Out of six teams, the results of the two highest and two lowest scoring teams are compared as regards innovation and functionality, which we see as the two components of creative outcomes. We show that design teams, even in a laboratory environment, encounter a considerable amount of cognitive conflict. A statistical comparison between the groups with the highest and the lowest innovative/functional design concept scores reveals significant differences in their conflict behaviour styles. The high innovation and high functionality groups used a more competing and a more compromising style, whereas groups rated low on the same parameters used a more collaborating style. The high rating groups on both creativity components used a more associating and rejecting behaviour style; the high innovation groups also generated more new ideas than the low innovation groups. The low rating groups on both innovation and functionality tended to repeat ideas more frequently. The main finding is that, in contrast with reports in previous research, the groups with higher innovation and functionality scores collaborated less than their peers in the low rating groups on these parameters. We interpret these results as signifying that creative performance in teams is not achieved mainly by agreement but needs cognitive confrontation.     

RoboCup Rescue as multiagent task allocation among teams: experiments with task interdependencies

This paper addresses distributed task allocation among teams of agents in a RoboCup Rescue scenario. We are primarily concerned with testing different mechanisms that formalize issues underlying implicit coordination among teams of agents. These mechanisms are developed, implemented, and evaluated using two algorithms: Swarm-GAP and LA-DCOP. The latter bases task allocation on a comparison between an agent’s capability to perform a task and the capability demanded by this task. Swarm-GAP is a probabilistic approach in which an agent selects a task using a model inspired by task allocation among social insects. Both algorithms were also compared to another one that allocates tasks in a greedy way. Departing from previous works that tackle task allocation in the rescue scenario only among fire brigades, here we consider the various actors in the RoboCup Rescue, a step forward in the direction of realizing the concept of extreme teams. Tasks are allocated to teams of agents without explicit negotiation and using only local information. Our results show that the performance of Swarm-GAP and LA-DCOP are similar and that they outperform a greedy strategy. Also, it is possible to see that using more sophisticated mechanisms for task selection does pay off in terms of score.     

Minimizing costs in round robin tournaments with place constraints

In this paper we consider a general sports league scheduling problem and propose solution algorithms for it. The objective is to find a feasible schedule for a round robin tournament with minimum number of breaks and minimum total costs where additionally place constraints are taken into account. We present a “first-break, then-schedule” approach which uses an enumerative procedure to generate home-away patterns and integer programming for finding corresponding schedules. Computational results are presented for leagues with up to 14 teams.     

A pseudospectral method for the optimal control of constrained feedback linearizable systems

We consider the optimal control of feedback linearizable dynamical systems subject to mixed state and control constraints. In general, a linearizing feedback control does not minimize the cost function. Such problems arise frequently in astronautical applications where stringent performance requirements demand optimality over feedback linearizing controls. In this paper, we consider a pseudospectral (PS) method to compute optimal controls. We prove that a sequence of solutions to the PS-discretized constrained problem converges to the optimal solution of the continuous-time optimal control problem under mild and numerically verifiable conditions. The spectral coefficients of the state trajectories provide a practical method to verify the convergence of the computed solution. The proposed ideas are illustrated by several numerical examples.     

A methodology for the design of optimal traffic shapers incommunication networks

The authors consider the problem of optimally regulating the source traffic in a communication network to simultaneously satisfy a finite number of affine burstiness constraints. They prove that an optimal solution is a series connection of correspondingly dimensioned “leaky buckets.” They propose a simple “fork-join” implementation of the optimal solution and study extensions to the problem of optimally shaping the traffic flow to meet a burstiness constraint specified by a concave increasing function. A consequence of their optimality results is that permutations of leaky buckets in a series connection are input-output equivalent     

Single-agent parallel window search

Parallel window search is applied to single-agent problems by having different processes simultaneously perform iteration of Iterative-Deepening-A* (IDA*) on the same problem but with different cost thresholds. This approach is limited by the time to perform the goal iteration. To overcome this disadvantage, the authors consider node ordering. They discuss how global node ordering by minimum h among nodes with equal f=g+h values can reduce the time complexity of serial IDA* by reducing the time to perform the iterations prior to the goal iteration. Finally, the two ideas of parallel window search and node ordering are combined to eliminate the weaknesses of each approach while retaining the strengths. The resulting approach, called simply parallel window search, can be used to find a near-optimal solution quickly, improve the solution until it is optimal, and then finally guarantee optimality, depending on the amount of time available     

Measures and models of personality and their effects on communication and team performance

The importance of teams and their impact on the contemporary workplace cannot be overstated. Many studies have been conducted to point to specific relevant factors related to team performance. Nonetheless, there remains relatively little that is known about the mechanisms and interactions that lead to high performing teams. In this study we consider communication (a key feature of teamwork) as a potentially mediating factor between each aspect of human personality (as measured by the Five Factor Model) and team performance. This exploratory study sheds further light on how personalities affect teams via communication, using a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicate that at least one team measure of extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness is moderated by communication in influencing team performance.Relevance to industryThis research can aid managers on the relative importance of personality metrics on team performance, as well as the nature of the relationships among these metrics. This has the potential to improve organizational performance and reinforces the need for communication in fostering teamwork.     

LdShake support for team-based learning design

Some educational innovation initiatives require practitioners to team up on the design of new learning activities. However, existing learning design tooling does not integrally support their tasks. Some tools enable authoring of designs, while other tools support sharing and commenting of learning design ideas, but none of them offers an integrated provision of technological features to support the work of design teams specifically. The requirements include team formation, the storage and retrieval of designs, and the promotion of interaction in the co-creation of designs. The LdShake platform has been conceived to enable sharing and co-editing of learning designs. This paper introduces LdShake’s technological features and evaluates to what extent they support the aforementioned requirements. A first evaluation context is focused on learning design, while a second one is devoted to devising research ideas. The results obtained in the two contexts are complementary, pointing out distinct affordances and user behaviors (e.g., on browsing designs) that depend on the characteristics of each context, while also bringing to light the relevance of LdShake’s social network related features. Overall, the design considerations proposed and the evaluation results obtained contribute toward an improved understanding of how to support networked teams.     

Optimal control of systems with delayed observation sharing patterns via input–output methods

In this paper we present an input–output point of view of certain optimal control problems with constraints on the processing of the measurement data. In particular, we consider norm minimization optimal control problems under the so-called one-step delay observation sharing pattern. We present a Youla parametrization approach that leads to their solution by converting them to nonstandard, yet convex, model matching problems. This conversion is always possible whenever the part of the plant that relates controls to measurements possesses the same structure in its feedthrough term with the one imposed by the observation pattern on the feedthrough term of the controller, i.e., (block-)diagonal. When that is not the case, it amounts to the so-called non-classical information pattern problems. For the case, using loop-shifting ideas, a simple sufficient condition is given under which the problem can be still converted to a convex, model matching problem. We also demonstrate that there are several nontrivial classes of problems satisfying this condition. Finally, we extend these ideas to the case of a N-step delay observation sharing pattern.