54 research outputs found
Introduction to the special issue: "Cognitive perspectives on group decision and negotiation"
No full textMany organizations today rely heavily on their knowledge assets and engage in collaboration to leverage those assets.Managers and decision makers increasingly are forced to forge strategy, negotiate, and make decisions based on a vast amount of complex and dynamic information and expertise. Furthermore, the implementation of planned courses of action increasingly requires consensus and commitment among diverse stakeholders. In sum, all facets of the problem solving process including problem identification, idea generation, convergence, and implementation, as well as harmonization among stakeholders, increases the demand for smart and effective group support. To design such support we believe the research on Group Decision and Negotiation would benefit from an increased understanding of the cognitive load and the cognitive processes that go on in the minds of decision makers and negotiators. Historically, the cognitive activities included in collaboration research have tended to be embedded and theorized about in the context of larger input-process-output (IPO)models. Such models often focus more on the interactions between individual team members than the cognitive mechanisms of the individuals themselves. Some of the more seminal IPO research models stress the social or organizational context of the work including individual and task characteristics (e.g., Nunamaker et al. 1991; Rao and Jarvenpaa 1991; Zigurs and Buckland 1998) or facilitation techniques and approaches (e.g., Miranda and Bostrom 1999; Wheeler and Valacich 1996). Grand models, however useful, tend to offer limited insight into the cognitive mechanisms involved in collaboration because they are simultaneously tackling somany dimensions of collaboration such as group characteristics, technological features, task-related characteristics, and the organizational environment (e.g., DeSanctis and Poole 1994; Gopal et al. 1993; Markus and Robey 1988). More recent research has focused on patterns of collaboration (Vreede et al. 2009) and design patterns for effective collaboration such as thinkLets (Vreede et al. 2006). These patterns are based on best practices and offer insight in the mechanisms that make collaborative activities more or less effective. However, they are based on practical know how, not on a more detailed theoretical understanding of why these techniques and methods work. To understand this, we need to understand the conditions for synergy; effective aggregation of individual contributions into a group result. Part of this puzzle, we believe lies in understanding the cognitive perspective on group decision and negotiation activities. In this special issue, we seek to advance the same goals of making organizations and teams more efficient and more productive but do so by focusing first and foremost on the individual cognitive activities involved in collaboration activity. Understanding cognitive load and cognitive activities involved in collaboration offers various design principles to efficiently and effectively use cognitive capacity. Cognitive research has mainly focused on individual tasks. In order to design interventions that improve cognitive efficiency in collaborative tasks we seek to understand individual cognition in the context of collaborative tasks. This special issue therefore intends to spark a rather newperspective, or at least an increased emphasis, in research on groupwork and collaboration; the cognitive perspective.We will present you five interesting papers that each discusses one or more cognitive aspects of group decision and negotiation. The papers show that the cognitive perspective can help us to identify new and promising design directions for collaboration, decision, and negotiation support. Further, the papers demonstrate that this perspective presents methodological challenges that will need to be addressed as researchers pursue new and innovative research approaches. In this introduction we will first summarize the papers in the special issue. Next we will discuss the key research challenges and potential of the cognitive perspective. Based on this we will sketch a research agenda to further explore this line of thinking and inquiry.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen
On The Relationship Between Idea-Quantity and Idea-Quality During Ideation
No full textA great deal of research has been conducted to develop methods and techniques to improve group ideation. Most of this research focuses on techniques for increasing the quantity of ideas generated during ideation; less attention has been given to the quality of the ideas produced. This focus stems from the widely held quantity–quality conjecture, that, all else being equal, more ideas give rise to more good ideas. In this paper, we argue that cognitive inertia and scarcity of solution space may affect the relationship between idea-quantity and idea-quality as ideation proceeds, resulting in a condition of diminishing returns for additional ideas. Results of a laboratory study using fourteen groups supported the diminishing returns hypothesis. Recommendations for future ideation research are suggested.Systems EngineeringTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Taking a Risk and Getting Involved
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (pages 42-46)The design of the present study explored whether a motivational presentation based on the author???s own internship experience would be an effective way to increase students??? awareness of the potential internship benefits and risks and motivate them to consider searching for an internship opportunity. Sixty one percent of college seniors graduated with some internship experience in 2014 (14). Thus, there is a sizeable percentage of students who have yet to gain internship experiences.
The author received permission from instructors of five undergraduate classes to enter their class and give a speech on the importance of taking a risk and getting involved with internships. Of the five classes, two were Kinesiology (KIN) 200 introductory courses and the remaining three were freshman level University (UNIV) 100 courses with a diversity of majors. The two KIN 200 courses were assigned one specific intervention: Motivational speech & demonstration. The three UNIV 100 courses were randomly assigned to one of the four interventions: (1) Motivational speech & demonstration, (2) Motivational speech, (3) demonstration, and (4) survey (control group). The motivational speech was a personal anecdote that talks about the value of internship engagement from the speaker???s own perspective. The demonstration was a low intensity workout demonstrated in complete silence called the ???Silent Workout???. The control group was asked only to answer the pre-test survey and post-test survey.
The author met with each class a total of two times. One week prior to the intervention, the subjects were handed a pre-test survey inquiring about their perception on internships. One week later, the author entered the classrooms and conducted the intervention (except for the survey/control group). Following the intervention, the subjects were asked to complete a post-test survey. The pre-test and post-test surveys were written specifically for this project with no prior validation. The questions were to be answered on a Likert Scale, with ???1??? being ???Strongly disagree???, ???3??? being Neutral, ???5??? being ???Strongly Agree???.
Due to small sample sizes in the control group (N=9) and the motivational speech-only group (N = 13), analysis included only the classes that received the motivational speech & demonstration (MS+D) intervention (3 ??? 2 KIN 200 and 1 UNIV 100). The total sample size for MS+D group was 63. Cronbach???s alpha was calculated to determine the level of internal consistency of groups of questions measuring the same construct. Results show that students receiving the MS+D intervention significantly changed the students??? understanding of the benefits of internships. Students??? perception of the risks in internships significantly increased. Finally, results showed students significantly reporting that they will consider searching for internships and are motivated to do so.
Results suggest the use of a guest speaker who gives a motivational speech and demonstration could be a successful way to motivate students who were not considering getting involved with internships. However, results with this specific speech and demonstration prevent the results from being generalized to all students in all majors
Taking a Risk and Getting Involved
No full textThe design of the present study explored whether a motivational presentation based on the author’s own internship experience would be an effective way to increase students’ awareness of the potential internship benefits and risks and motivate them to consider searching for an internship opportunity. Sixty one percent of college seniors graduated with some internship experience in 2014 (14). Thus, there is a sizeable percentage of students who have yet to gain internship experiences. The author received permission from instructors of five undergraduate classes to enter their class and give a speech on the importance of taking a risk and getting involved with internships. Of the five classes, two were Kinesiology (KIN) 200 introductory courses and the remaining three were freshman level University (UNIV) 100 courses with a diversity of majors. The two KIN 200 courses were assigned one specific intervention: Motivational speech & demonstration. The three UNIV 100 courses were randomly assigned to one of the four interventions: (1) Motivational speech & demonstration, (2) Motivational speech, (3) demonstration, and (4) survey (control group). The motivational speech was a personal anecdote that talks about the value of internship engagement from the speaker’s own perspective. The demonstration was a low intensity workout demonstrated in complete silence called the “Silent Workout”. The control group was asked only to answer the pre-test survey and post-test survey. The author met with each class a total of two times. One week prior to the intervention, the subjects were handed a pre-test survey inquiring about their perception on internships. One week later, the author entered the classrooms and conducted the intervention (except for the survey/control group). Following the intervention, the subjects were asked to complete a post-test survey. The pre-test and post-test surveys were written specifically for this project with no prior validation. The questions were to be answered on a Likert Scale, with “1” being “Strongly disagree”, “3” being Neutral, “5” being “Strongly Agree”. Due to small sample sizes in the control group (N=9) and the motivational speech-only group (N = 13), analysis included only the classes that received the motivational speech & demonstration (MS+D) intervention (3 – 2 KIN 200 and 1 UNIV 100). The total sample size for MS+D group was 63. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to determine the level of internal consistency of groups of questions measuring the same construct. Results show that students receiving the MS+D intervention significantly changed the students’ understanding of the benefits of internships. Students’ perception of the risks in internships significantly increased. Finally, results showed students significantly reporting that they will consider searching for internships and are motivated to do so. Results suggest the use of a guest speaker who gives a motivational speech and demonstration could be a successful way to motivate students who were not considering getting involved with internships. However, results with this specific speech and demonstration prevent the results from being generalized to all students in all majors.Includes bibliographical references (pages 42-46)California State University, Northridge. Department of Kinesiology
Das Bild Des Mannes Im Frauenroman Der Siebziger Jahre. (German Text)
No full textThe study provides a comparative analysis of novels by contemporary female writers from Austria (Schwaiger), Canada (Atwood), the Federal Republic of Germany (Struck), the German Democratic Republic (Reinig), the United Kingdom (Lessing), and the United States (Jong). In the examined novels men are portrayed as a patriarchal trinity: the son-man, the father-man, and the disturbing spirit.The young man is torn between the male and the female world while struggling for his position in society. Gradually his interest turns to patriarchy, which tends to fascinate him more than women. He then is either crushed by the existing rules of masculine norms or he accepts them and emerges as a patriarchal figure himself. A third variation depicts him as an idealized women pleaser.The son-man is contrasted with a powerful father type who dominates the world. The father-man has conquered his place in society; he makes the rules. For work and success he has sacrificed his true feelings and his private relations. Outer forms have become more important to him than inner values. In order to cultivate his public image he conforms to patriarchal rules.The third type, the disturbing spirit, is the eternal seducer who does not believe in fixed rules and who likes to play with the world. Frequently he symbolizes a disappointment; rarely does he keep his promise to inspire and to point out new directions. Like the father type he is the unattainable man and therefore most attractive to his female counterpart.The attitudes of the female characters toward men reflect the cultural differences which shape the works of each national author. Atwood and Schwaiger draw male protagonists who force women into inner isolation. Patriarchy in their novels is intact; women do not develop a collective consciousness. Man the would-be-conqueror controls power. Powerlessness does not allow for a future perspective in the female characters. Struck and Jong make an effort to deal with feminism. Struck repudiates it; Jong supports it. Both authors feel compelled to create the new woman but not the new man. Yet they become entangled in the old sexual stereotypes. Only Reinig and Lessing reach out for Utopia and design possible patterns for a new man.Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-16T06:50:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
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Previous issue date: 1981Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 71627
Lift date: Forever
Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDsRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDsU of I Only367 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1981
Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees
No full textemail Suzanne orcd idCopyright: © 2015 Williams et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.NHM Repositor
Coming to terms with staying, going, and returning: a rural community ethnography
No full text2012 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis studies how people in a rural small town within the larger United States come to understand and talk about the dynamic processes of young people "staying" in, "going" from, and "returning" to their hometown. The exigency for this thesis is twofold. First, people from small towns must at some point face the question of whether to remain in or to leave their hometown. For the younger generation this question is typically answered during the transition into adulthood (i.e., high school graduation and one's 18th birthday), but often will be addressed many more times in their lifetime. While "staying," "going," and "returning" may be understood as a normative process, these actions have profound and distinct impacts on the future of the U.S. American rural small town. Second, the small town in middle America provides a unique and academically underappreciated location for inquiry. Understanding how both young people and other members of a community make sense of "staying" and "going" provides insights into rural community life. Grounded in the Ethnography of Communication this study takes up three broad research questions for analysis: RQ 1: How do people in a rural community make sense of young people's (i.e., 18-30 years of age) practices of staying, leaving, and returning to their hometown? RQ 2: What are the localized taxonomy of terms (Hymes, 1974) used by participants to describe the phenomenon of "staying," "going," and "returning?" RQ 3: What do participant discourses reveal about "coming to terms with cultures" (Philipsen, 2008)--the negotiation of two or more cultural codes in one's life? Using ethnographic interview procedures, supplemented by participant observation of the community, the narratives of 11 interlocutors--six young people and five older community members--are engaged in responses to research questions. Young people narrate the pinnacle moment of high school graduation as a catalyst opportunity to leave the community. Throughout interviews both young people and community members describe the importance of young people coming back to visit during the years that they are away at college and beyond. Moreover, not all young people intend to leave the community and never return. Those who do return, both to visit and to live, are situated as forever members of the community by older generations who take vested interests in the lives of young people. Three unique, interconnected taxonomies develop in participants' narratives regarding considerations: "you come back," "it's (like) family," and "everybody knows everybody." Interlocutors' negotiations of "everybody knows everybody" in contrast to "everybody knows your business" reveal tensions between autonomy and collectivity as interlocutors personally and communally engage in "coming to terms with 'staying,' 'going,' and 'returning.'" Ultimately, collective orientations towards family are privileged in motivating "staying" and "returning" practices. An underlying tension arose in narratives; how can the cultural code of collectivity, or code of "staying," be maintained when an individualistic narrative, or code of "leaving," is appropriated? While the default trajectory of "schooling" and jobs elsewhere explains why some young people leave indefinitely, young people's narratives are supplanted by their overarching commitments to stay and contribute to the community. Instead of focusing on the liminal experience, interlocutors elect to focus on their small town identities, creating a code of recognition that acknowledges the requisite need for education beyond high school. The requisite post-high school education means young people must leave and perhaps will subsequently relocate. That said, the code of recognition is firmly grounded in the collectivistic role of family and community in one's life. Ultimately, the code of recognition acknowledges the presence of individualistic and collectivistic ways of speaking and being. This thesis then explores "coming to terms with cultures" (Philipsen 2008) through the codes of "staying," "going," and "returning," making contributions to the study of U.S. American speech communities first called for by Philipsen in 1975
Geschlecht gehört gehört?!
No full textDiese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Repräsentation und Verhandlung von Geschlecht in den mit dem "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden" ausgezeichneten Hörspielen von Autorinnen der ersten sechzig Jahre des Bestehens des Preises (1952-2012): "Der gute Gott von Manhattan" von Ingeborg Bachmann, "Der Bussard über uns" von Margarete Jehn, "Das Aquarium" von Christa Reinig, "Nachtschatten" von Friederike Roth, "Jackie" von Elfriede Jelinek und "Föhrenwald" von Michaela Melián.
Der "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden", einer der renommiertesten (deutschsprachigen) Hörspielpreise und durch sein langjähriges Bestehen ein Spiegel der Hörspielgeschichte und -entwicklung, ist ein jährlich vergebener, non-monetärer Preis des "Bundes der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V. (BKD)", der an ein deutschsprachiges, im vorangegangenen Jahr urgesendetes Hörspiel verliehen wird.
Diese Arbeit stellt sich die Frage nach der Konstruiertheit, Prozessualität und Performanz von dichotomischen Geschlechter-Strukturen in Hörspieltexten auf der Folie von zeitgenössischen Ansätzen der Geschlechterforschung. Ziel ist ein Sichtbarmachen der jeweiligen Konzepte von Geschlecht, deren Kontextualisierung in feministischen und gender-wissenschaftlichen Theoriekonzepten sowie, daraus resultierend, eine Reflexion über die Bedeutung von Geschlechterkonzeptionen in der literarischen Gattung Hörspiel.
Die Auseinandersetzung mit den ausgewählten Hörspielen soll darüber hinaus zur verstärkten Präsenz dieser Hörspiele und deren Autorinnen beitragen und somit zu deren verstärkter Kanonisierung führen.
Die Arbeit gliedert sich in zwei Teile. Der erste Teil beinhaltet die theoretische Einbettung der Fragestellung. Er geht auf die Geschichte und die Theorieentwicklung des Hörspiels, aktuelle Debatten über verschiedene Geschlechter-Konzepte, die Bedeutung des Kanons in der gesellschaftlichen Sozialisation von Menschen sowie die Skizzierung einer Hörspielanalyse aufbauend auf Dramen- und insbesondere Figurenanalyse ein.
Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden" leitet zum zweiten Teil, der Analyse der ausgewählten Hörspiele, über. In der Betrachtung der Hörspiele zeigt sich eine starke Kontinuität in der Repräsentation von im alltäglichen Leben auffindbaren Geschlechter-, Gesellschafts- und Beziehungsmustern. Die geschlechtlichen Rollenbilder entsprechen – oft bedingt durch die zeitliche Verortung und die Erzählung konkreter Lebensereignisse – den vorherrschenden tradierten Mustern. Frauen werden dabei über das Bild der Mutter oder die Reduzierung auf Emotionalität oder den Körper dargestellt. Auch Männer werden wie Frauen in ‚typischen‘ Bildern geschildert. So werden ihnen die Aufgaben von Erwerbstätigkeit und Krieg zugeschrieben. Die Geschlechterbeziehungen bleiben in heterosexuellen Strukturen mit einem starken differenzfeministischen Denken verhaftet.
Das Aufzeigen dieser Strukturen und das Hinterfragen derselben, vor allem durch die Bezugnahme auf die Veränderbarkeit von Sprache, ermöglichen eine Reflexion über die gegebenen Zuschreibungen und das anscheinend unveränderbare Macht- und Beziehungsgeflecht unserer (westlichen, europäischen) Gesellschaft.This thesis concentrates on the representation and negotiation of gender in the radio-plays of the female award winners of the "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden" during the first sixty years of the prize’s existence (1952-2012): "Der gute Gott von Manhattan" by Ingeborg Bachmann, "Der Bussard über uns" by Margarete Jehn, "Das Aquarium" by Christa Reinig, "Nachtschatten" by Friederike Roth, "Jackie" by Elfriede Jelinek and "Föhrenwald" by Michaela Melián.
The "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden" is one of the most renowned prizes for German-speaking radio-plays and due to its long existence reflects the history and development of this genre. It is a non-monetary prize awarded annually by the "Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V. (BKD)" to the author of a radio-play in German language broadcasted the preceding year.
This work draws attention to the construction, processuality and performance of dichotomous gender structures in radio-plays using contemporary approaches in gender research as a theoretical background. The aim is to describe the represented gender concepts and to contextualise them in feminist and gender theories enabling a reflexive view on the importance of gender concepts in the literary genre radio-play.
In addition, the discussion of the selected radio-plays aims at increasing their presence and that of their authors, thereby leading to their growing canonization.
The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part outlines the theoretical embedding of the research object. It illustrates the historical and theoretical development of the radio-play genre, current debates on different gender concepts, the importance of the canon for the socialisation of humans and it sketches a radio-play analysis based on drama and – in particular – character analysis.
An overview of the "Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden" leads to the second part, the analysis of the selected radio-plays. The discussion of the plays reveals a strong continuity in the representation of common patterns of gender, society and partnership. The represented gender role models match the prevailing traditional patterns – in many cases due to the temporal localisation of the stories and the narration of actual life events. Women are shown as mothers or reduced to their emotionality and bodies. Men are also portrayed in ‚typical’ gender roles, in a work context or at war. Gender relations remain in heterosexual structures and show a strong differential feminist approach.
Presenting and questioning these structures, particularly by referring to the variability of language, allows a reflection on the given attributes and the seemingly unchangeable networks of power and gender relations of our (Western, European) society
Prevalence and causes of vision loss in China from 1990 to 2019: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
No full textBackground:
Vision loss is an important public health issue in China, but a detailed understanding of national and regional trends in its prevalence and causes, which could inform health policy, has not been available. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, causes, and regional distribution of vision impairment and blindness in China in 1990 and 2019.
Methods:
Data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 were used to estimate the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment and blindness in China and compare with other Group of 20 (G20) countries. We used GBD methodology to systematically analyse all available demographic and epidemiological data at the provincial level in China. We compared the age-standardised prevalences across provinces, and the changes in proportion of vision loss attributable to various eye diseases in 1990 and 2019. We used two different counterfactual scenarios with respect to population structure and age-specific prevalence to assess the contribution of population growth and ageing to trends in vision loss.
Findings:
In 2019, the age-standardised prevalence was 2·57% (uncertainty interval [UI] 2·28–2·86) for moderate vision impairment, 0·25% (0·22–0·29) for severe vision impairment, and 0·48% (0·43–0·54) for blindness in China, which were all below the global average, but the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment had increased more rapidly than in other G20 countries from 1990 to 2019. The prevalence of vision loss increased with age, and the main causes of vision loss varied across age groups. The leading causes of vision impairment in China were uncorrected refractive error, cataract, and macular degeneration in both 1990 and 2019 in the overall population. From 1990 to 2019, the number of people with moderate vision impairment increased by 133·67% (from 19·65 to 45·92 million), those with severe vision impairment increased by 147·14% (from 1·89 to 4·67 million), and those with blindness increased by 64·35% (from 5·29 to 8·69 million); in each case, 20·16% of the increase could be explained by population growth. The contributions to these changes by population ageing were 87·22% for moderate vision impairment, 116·06% for severe vision impairment, and 99·22% for blindness, and the contributions by age-specific prevalence were 26·29% for moderate vision impairment, 10·91% for severe vision impairment, and −55·04% for blindness. The prevalence and specific causes of vision loss differed across provinces.
Interpretation:
Although a comprehensive national policy to prevent blindness is in place, public awareness of visual health needs improving, and reducing the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment should be prioritised in future work
Use of multidimensional item response theory methods for dementia prevalence prediction: an example using the Health and Retirement Survey and the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study
No full textBackground
Data sparsity is a major limitation to estimating national and global dementia burden. Surveys with full diagnostic evaluations of dementia prevalence are prohibitively resource-intensive in many settings. However, validation samples from nationally representative surveys allow for the development of algorithms for the prediction of dementia prevalence nationally.
Methods
Using cognitive testing data and data on functional limitations from Wave A (2001–2003) of the ADAMS study (n = 744) and the 2000 wave of the HRS study (n = 6358) we estimated a two-dimensional item response theory model to calculate cognition and function scores for all individuals over 70. Based on diagnostic information from the formal clinical adjudication in ADAMS, we fit a logistic regression model for the classification of dementia status using cognition and function scores and applied this algorithm to the full HRS sample to calculate dementia prevalence by age and sex.
Results
Our algorithm had a cross-validated predictive accuracy of 88% (86–90), and an area under the curve of 0.97 (0.97–0.98) in ADAMS. Prevalence was higher in females than males and increased over age, with a prevalence of 4% (3–4) in individuals 70–79, 11% (9–12) in individuals 80–89 years old, and 28% (22–35) in those 90 and older.
Conclusions
Our model had similar or better accuracy as compared to previously reviewed algorithms for the prediction of dementia prevalence in HRS, while utilizing more flexible methods. These methods could be more easily generalized and utilized to estimate dementia prevalence in other national surveys
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