It's not so easy: researching the complexity of emergent participant roles and awareness in asynchronous networked learning discussions

Abstract In this paper, we explore some of the complexities of emergent role development and group awareness among participants in an asynchronous Networked Learning discussion in a higher education context. We used content analysis to provide participant profiles for learning and tutoring processes within a group of collaborating professionals. Using these we selected three distinct student participants with whom we then conducted critical event recall. Our findings suggest how distinct roles emerge, and how they effect the group dynamics. They show the importance of group process awareness, and how this may be used and developed by participants. Some implications for pedagogical and software design are discussed.     

Collaborative networked organizations: Status and trends in manufacturing

Collaborative networked organizations represent an important paradigm to help manufacturing companies cope with the challenges of market turbulence. Through collaboration, assisted by ICT, companies extend their “reach ability space” and participate in agile value creation networks. After a brief summary of the main concepts and collaborative forms, this article presents a survey of the recent advances and suggests main research challenges for various focus areas. A list of emerging collaborative forms in different domains and their characterization are introduced. Among these forms, the customer involvement in innovation networks is discussed as a particularly relevant example for manufacturing.     

Networked identities: understanding relationships between strong and weak ties in networked environments

Abstract   In this paper we take up a critique of the concept of Communities of Practice (CoP) voiced by several authors, who suggest that networks may provide a better metaphor to understand social forms of organization and learning. Through a discussion of the notion of networked learning and the critique of CoPs we shall argue that the metaphor or theory of networked learning is itself confronted with some central tensions and challenges that need to be addressed. We then explore these theoretical and analytic challenges to the network metaphor, through an analysis of a Danish social networking site. We argue that understanding meaning making and 'networked identities' may be relevant analytic entry points in navigating the challenges.     

Epistemic activities and collaborative learning: towards an analytical model for studying knowledge construction in networked learning settings

The aim of this paper is to provide an analytical model for studying knowledge creation among geographically dispersed students in an online postgraduate programme by using the concept of epistemic activity. Rooted in qualitative methodologies, it takes a case study approach which strengthens the grounding of theory on social learning by using triangulation of evidence from online discussions and seven semi‐structured interviews. The analytical model that emerges, distinguishes a set of moves that serve understanding negotiation of meaning and co‐construction of knowledge in online discussion. The findings of the study suggest that knowledge advancement processes can be understood as part of identifying key strategies in the form of online epistemic activities for postgraduate learners in a networked learning context. The paper offers a conceptual account for researching knowledge construction in higher education.     

The lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender community online: discussions of bullying and self-disclosure in YouTube videos

Computer-mediated communication has become a popular platform for identity construction and experimentation as well as social interaction for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The creation of user-generated videos has allowed content creators to share experiences on LGBT topics. With bullying becoming more common amongst LGBT youth, it is important to obtain a greater understanding of this phenomenon. In our study, we report on the analysis of 151 YouTube videos which were identified as having LGBT- and bullying-related content. The analysis reveals how content creators openly disclose personal information about themselves and their experiences in a non-anonymous rhetoric with an unknown public. These disclosures could indicate a desire to seek friendship, support and provide empathy.     

Codesign of controller,routing and scheduling in WirelessHART networked control systems

In this paper, we provide a novel methodology to co‐design controller, scheduling and routing in a wireless control network compliant with the WirelessHART protocol. We both provide a modeling framework and derive a novel suboptimal solution to the linear‐quadratic regulator problem for a class of systems that extends Markov jump linear system considering both continuous and discrete inputs. To allow that, our results can be directly implemented in a real WirelessHART network, we setup a receding horizon optimization problem that takes into account the constraint for compliance with WirelessHART and validate our solution on a batch reactor control loop.     

Transition rather than balance: Organizing constraints for collective creativity in pharmaceutical development

When it comes to organizing for collective creativity, management scholars typically advise balancing between constraint and freedom. However, this suggestion to balance is often too enigmatic in practice, neglects the dynamics inherent in creative processes, and predominantly highlights the inhibiting aspects of constraints. Thus, the present article aims to rethink this balancing proposition by asking how constraints unfold during collective creative processes. Based on four cases of pharmaceutical development, it illustrates how collective creativity is enabled by constraints from two distinct sources, namely restraint and contingency. The article further shows how and why these constraint sources alternate along the development trajectory. While constraints can enable collective creativity, phases of constraint transition are eventually necessary to revitalize the development process. Building upon these findings, the article concludes that organizing constraints for collective creativity is a matter of transition rather than balance.     

A new networked predictive control approach for systems with random network delay in the forward channel

This article is concerned with the design of a networked predictive control (NPC) scheme with random network delay in the forward channel. A new design method of NPC is proposed. Correspondingly, the necessary and sufficient conditions on the stability of the closed-loop networked control system are derived. The merit of the proposed design method lies in its decreased conservativeness, which is achieved by packing the current predictive control signal with history predictive signals. By this means, the future plant input is known. Therefore, the state predictor can be designed such that its performance and stability will not be affected by the future input of the plant, while the existing design methods of NPC cannot do so. The proposed design method is shown to be much less conservative than the existing result through several examples.     

Investigating the use of ICT-based concept mapping techniques on creativity in literacy tasks

Abstract The key research question in this small‐scale study focuses on the effects that an ICT (information and communications technologies)‐based concept mapping intervention has on creativity and writing achievement in 10–11‐year‐old primary age pupils. The data shows that pupils using a concept mapping intervention significantly improve their NFER non‐verbal reasoning age‐standardised scores over a control group with a higher baseline whose scores remain constant. Evidence linking this with using ICT‐based concept mapping remains inconclusive. Correlation studies show that writing achievement and creativity are linked and that writing achievement and concept mapping connectivity are linked. However, there is no conclusive evidence for linking concept mapping connectivity with creativity. Findings show that concept mapping components increase post‐test and that concept mapping ability can be evaluated using a connectivity index that may have some predictive value in assessing writing achievement. The findings suggest that ICT‐based concept mapping provides a reliable framework from which to structure writing and that ICT enhances learning and use of this representational technique and provides opportunities for developing innovative and educationally valid practices.     

Standing in others' shoes: The role of leader prosocial motivation in facilitating employee creativity

By reference to social learning theory, this research examines the effect of leader prosocial motivation on employee creativity through investigating the mediating role of employee perspective taking and the moderating role of leader performance. Using a dyadic sample of 262 subordinates and their direct supervisors, the results reveal that leader prosocial motivation positively relates to employee perspective taking and employee perspective taking can mediate the correlation of leader prosocial motivation with employee creativity. Meanwhile, leader performance can moderate the correlation of leader prosocial motivation with employee perspective taking. Moreover, the perspective taking's mediating role between leader prosocial motivation and employee creativity can be moderated by leader performance. Finally, according to the findings and limitations of the study, its future research and managerial implications are discussed.     

Uploaders' definition of the networked public on YouTube and their feedback preferences: a multi-method approach

Since its launch in 2005, video-sharing service YouTube has become one of the most popular Web 2.0 platforms with a daily increment of over 150,000 videos. Still, despite the large research body on the platform, it remains unclear for whom ordinary YouTube users upload their videos. A first qualitative study indicates that uploaders distinguish three types within YouTube's networked public. First, videos are uploaded for a select group of people with whom the uploader shares an offline bond (offline-identified public). Second, uploaders define part of their potential viewers as people with whom they are unfamiliar, but with whom they share a similar interest, opinion or practice (online-identified public). Third, uploaders also take into account the YouTube platform as a whole (online-unidentified public). A second, quantitative study of 450 recent uploaders validates these findings and tests the proposed associations with the importance that is attributed to receiving different types of feedback. As hypothesised, the expectancy of an offline-identified public positively predicts both offline and online off-platform feedback, while expecting an online-identified public positively predicts both on- and off-platform online feedback. However, the expectancy of an online-unidentified public yields a negative prediction for on-platform feedback.     

On the delay effects of different channels in Internet-based networked control systems

The sensor-to-controller and the controller-to-actuator delays in networked control systems (NCSs) are investigated for the first time with respect to their different effects on the system performance. This study starts with identifying the delay-independent and delay-dependent control laws in NCSs, and confirms that only two delay-dependent control laws can cause different delay effects in different channels. The conditions under which the different delays in different channels can cause different effects are then given for both delay-dependent control laws. The results are verified by numerical examples. Potentially, these results can be regarded as important design principles in the practical implementation of NCSs.     

The impact of absorptive capacity,exploration, and exploitation on individual creativity: Moderating effect of subjective well-being

This study proposes a new individual creativity model divided into seven main constructs: creative self-efficacy, individual knowledge, IT support, individual absorptive capacity, exploration, exploitation, and individual creativity. We assumed that creative self-efficacy, individual knowledge, and IT support positively affect individual creativity through the mediating effect of individual absorptive capacity, exploration, and exploitation. Additionally, we examined the moderating effects of subjective well-being by dividing the sample into a high subjective well-being group and a low subjective well-being group. After collecting 706 valid questionnaires from IT companies in South Korea, we applied a structural equation modeling technique to analyze the data. Empirical results reveal the following: (1) creative self-efficacy, individual knowledge, and IT support influence individual creativity through individual absorptive capacity, exploration, exploitation; and (2) subjective well-being moderates the relationship between the two constructs of the research model.     

Making the most out of the innovation of meaning: The importance of inclusion for creativity in inside-out envisioning

Innovation of meaning (IoM) is one of the streams that has attracted attention in design thinking research. Inside-out envisioning aims to assist non-designer employees practice IoM in a similar manner to how visionary executives and designers perform. The process starts with exposing their intrinsic visions to innovate the dominant social or organizational meanings. This makes the employees' creativity that comes from intrinsic goals and values an important driving force of inside-out envisioning. Thus, it is crucial to foster an organizational culture that encourages employees to engage in inside-out envisioning and enhance their creativity. This study explores whether inclusion, as an organizational culture, is an antecedent of creativity in inside-out envisioning. Inclusion refers to a state in which an individual's uniqueness is valued by other group members and externalized to improve group performance. Based on data from a survey conducted with 1104 Japanese employees, this study reveals that inclusion significantly impacts creativity in inside-out envisioning. A multigroup analysis demonstrates differences in the effects of the mediating variables of this relationship based on the successful experience of inside-out envisioning. This study concludes that it is important for design thinking researchers to study inclusion more deeply as a way to implement inside-out envisioning.     

Employee creativity formation: The roles of knowledge seeking,knowledge contributing and flow experience in Web 2.0 virtual communities

Knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing are two distinct types of behaviors, both of which must occur for the presumed benefits of knowledge sharing to be realized. Self-perception theory posits that individuals come to ‘know’ their own internal beliefs by inferring them partially from observations of their own overt behavior. Building on self-perception theory and adhering to the principle that knowledge sharing facilitates knowledge creation, we develop a research model to explore the consequences of both knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing behavior given the consideration that flow plays a lubricating role in the formation of creativity. Data collected from 232 users of Web 2.0 virtual communities were used to test the model. We found that both knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing can lead to a state of flow and can further result in creativity at work. These findings and their implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Artificial intelligence capability: Conceptualization,measurement calibration,and empirical study on its impact on organizational creativity and firm performance

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been heralded by many as the next source of business value. Grounded on the resource-based theory of the firm and on recent work on AI at the organizational context, this study (1) identifies the AI-specific resources that jointly create an AI capability and provides a definition, (2) develops an instrument to capture the AI capability of the firms, and (3) examines the relationship between an AI capability and organizational creativity and performance. Findings empirically support the suggested theoretical framework and corresponding instrument and provide evidence that an AI capability results in increased organizational creativity and performance.     

Individual profiles and team classes of the climate for creativity: A multilevel latent profile analysis

Understanding the team climate to enhance creativity is important in academia and industry given the need for organizations to respond to the changing environment. Research on team creativity is a relatively recent trend, but most studies have been conducted from a variable‐centered perspective. Despite the contributions of this type of research, there are limitations in understanding subgroups based on individuals' perceptions. To address the limitations, the purposes of this person‐centered study are firstly to identify individual‐level latent profiles and team‐level latent classes based on the climate for creativity, and secondly to examine the differences in individual‐ and team‐level outcomes between the identified profiles and classes. This study used multilevel latent profile analysis (MLPA) with 238 individuals in 26 project teams. We identified two individual profiles, high impediments and high stimulants, and two team classes, low impediments teams and mixed impediments teams. Low impediments teams included mostly high stimulants, and mixed impediments teams included half high stimulants and half low impediments. We further determined that high stimulants and low impediments teams showed higher individual‐ and team‐level outcomes than the other profile and class. This study theoretically and practically contributes to team creativity management from a person‐centered perspective.     

Investigating patterns of interaction in networked learning and computer-supported collaborative learning: A role for Social Network Analysis

The focus of this study is to explore the advances that Social Network Analysis (SNA) can bring, in combination with other methods, when studying Networked Learning/Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (NL/CSCL). We present a general overview of how SNA is applied in NL/CSCL research; we then go on to illustrate how this research method can be integrated with existing studies on NL/CSCL, using an example from our own data, as a way to synthesize and extend our understanding of teaching and learning processes in NLCs. The example study reports empirical work using content analysis (CA), critical event recall (CER) and social network analysis (SNA). The aim is to use these methods to study the nature of the interaction patterns within a networked learning community (NLC), and the way its members share and construct knowledge. The paper also examines some of the current findings of SNA analysis work elsewhere in the literature, and discusses future prospects for SNA. This paper is part of a continuing international study that is investigating NL/CSCL among a community of learners engaged in a master’s program in e-learning.     

Enterprise social networking usage as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and employee creativity: A multilevel study

Enterprise social networking (ESN) techniques have been widely adopted by organizations to provide a platform for public communication among employees. Based on the job demand–control–support model and communication visibility theory, this study investigates how the relationships between the perceived work stressors of employees (i.e., challenge and hindrance stressors) and their creativity are moderated by team task- and relationship-oriented ESN usage. We used the hierarchical linear model to test this multilevel model. Results of a survey of 260 employees in 72 groups indicate that two ESN usage types differentially moderate the relationship between work stressors and employee creativity. Specifically, task-oriented ESN usage positively moderates the effects of the two types of stressors on employee creativity, whereas relationship-oriented ESN usage negatively moderates the relationship between hindrance stressors and employee creativity. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.