In the construction industry, the major project participants include the owner, the architect, the contractor and the subcontractors. Traditionally, each participant's activity in the construction process has been isolated to its particular organization's goals. In recent years, one of the leading trends of project deliveries has been a movement toward a more collaborative, teaming environment. Successful collaboration requires effective interaction among project participants. A fundamental understanding of barriers and challenges to effective interaction among a diverse project team is necessary towards creating truly collaborative project teams in construction. Emotional intelligence reflects an individual's emotional awareness and emotional regulation, both important factors of social interaction. An initial understanding of the project participant's emotional intelligence would provide meaningful direction for the construction industry in regards where improvements should be focused. As such, the present research study investigates the 21 components of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) within the construction industry. This investigation creates an emotional intelligence yardstick by which to measure and compare future research. This study also explores several trends and relationships within this benchmarking in regards to demographics and General Contractor characteristics. In addition, this current research explores the General Contracting sector's perception of other A/E/C industry sectors. This research study adds to the already growing research that is focusing on the impact of social factors on the success of the A/E/C industry. The results of this study provide a meaningful initial understanding of the emotional intelligence levels of the General Contracting sector. This initial understanding provides academia and industry with several key findings and directions for future research. / Master of Science

Communication delay in distributed teams is salient problem, especially in operational setting where communication is critical to team safety and success. The present study investigated the impact of communication delays affect distributed team performance and processes, and if being able to see one's team member would lessen the effects of delays. In addition, team gender composition was investigated, to see how delays affected the interactions of same and mixed-gender teams, as well as teams with familiar and unfamiliar members. Lastly, a supplemental was performed on a subset of the experimental data to determine if teams with familiar members' communicated more efficiently than unfamiliar teams when coordination complexity was high. Thirty distributed dyads, were assigned the role of intelligence analysts, and performed a collaborative problem solving task, using audioconferencing and videoconferencing technologies. During the task, participants verbally shared and discussed information in order to solve a fictitious terror plot. Communication between team members was delayed by 0 ms, 800, or 1600 ms. Linear mixed models showed that participants took longer to solve the task at the 800 ms delay. Task accuracy was not affected by delays. At the 1600 ms delay, participants shared less information with each other, and rated their frustration higher compared to the 0 ms delay. Audiovisual technology affected overall workload scores, with lower scores at the 0 ms delay compared to the 800 ms delay. Although delays did not have the anticipated effect on familiar and same-gender teams, there were some interactive effects of interest. Specifically, in gender-diverse teams task accuracy was higher with audiovisual technology than audio-alone, but this effect was independent of delays. Also, familiar teams exhibited higher levels of cognitive trust across all levels of delay and technology. Results of the supplemental analysis showed no differences in communication efficiency between familiar and unfamiliar teams when coordination complexity was high. Based on the results of this work, recommendations were proposed for strategies to lessen the effects of communication delays and future research directions were outlined. / Doctor of Philosophy / Communication delay in distributed teams is salient problem, especially in operational settings where communication is critical to team safety and success. In previous work, communication delays have been shown to disrupt turn-taking in conversations and create instances of overlaps or interruptions. The present study was conducted to further investigate the effects of communication delays on various aspects of distributed team performance and to determine if being able to see one’s team member via video technology may potentially lessen the effects of delays. In addition, team gender composition was investigated, to see how delays affected the interactions of same and mixed-gender teams, as well as teams with familiar and unfamiliar members. Lastly, a supplemental analysis was performed using a subset of the experimental data to determine if teams with familiar members’ communicated more efficiently than unfamiliar teams when coordination complexity was high. Thirty distributed teams of two members or dyads, performed a collaborative problem solving task, using audio conferencing and videoconferencing technologies. During the task, participants verbally shared and discussed information in order to identify the solution to a fictitious terror plot. Communication between team members was delayed by 0 ms, 800, or 1600 ms. Overall, results showed that participants took longer to solve the task at the 800 ms delay, with no effects on task accuracy. At the 1600 ms delay, participants shared less information with each other, and rated their frustration higher compared to the 0 ms delay. When teams used audiovisual technology, workload scores were lower at 0 ms compared to the 800 ms delay. Although delays did not have the anticipated effects on familiar and same-gender teams, there were some other interesting effects that emerged. Namely, gender-diverse teams scored higher accuracy with audiovisual technology than audio-alone, but this effect was independent of delays. Also, teams with familiar members exhibited higher levels of cognitive trust across all levels of delay and technology. Results of the supplemental analysis showed that unfamiliar teams communicated more efficiently with audiovisual technology, but only when coordination complexity was low.

In this thesis I present Noosphere, a system for the collaborative production of digital libraries. Further, I describe the special features of Noosphere which allow it to support mathematical and scientific content, and how it applies an encyclopedic organizational style. I also describe how Noosphere frees the digital library maintainer from a heavy administrative burden by implementing the design pattern of zero content administration. Finally, I discuss evidence showing that Noosphere works and is sustainable, both in the a priori and empirical senses. / Master of Science

Sociality is one of the most fundamental aspects of being human. The key to sociality is coordination, that is, the bringing of people "into a common action, movement or condition" [134]. Coordination is, at base, how social creatures get social things done in the world. Being social creatures, we engage in highly coordinative activities in everyday life"two girls play hopscotch together, a group of musicians play jazz in a jam session and a father teaches a son how to ride a bicycle. Even mundane actions such as greetings, answering a phone call, and asking a question to ask a question by saying "Can I ask you a question?" are complex and intricate. Actors not only need to plan and perform situated actions, but also need to process the responding actions----even unforeseen ones----from the other party in real time and adjust their own subsequent actions. Yet, we expertly coordinate with each other in performing highly intricate coordinative actions. In this work, I look at how people coordinate joint activities at the moment of interaction and aim to unveil a range of coordinative issues, using "methodologies and approaches that fundamentally question the mainstream frameworks that define what counts as knowledge" (p.2, [80]) in the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). To investigate computer mediated interactions among co-located people, I examine different interactional choices people make in the course of carrying out their joint activities, and the consequences of their choices. By investigating co-located groups as they played a collaborative, problem-solving game using distributed technologies in experimental settings, I (1) provide critical case reports which question and challenge non-discussed, often-taken-for-granted assumptions about face-to-face interactions and coordination, and (2) tie the observations to the creation of higher level constructs which, in turn, can affect subsequent design choices. More specifically, I ran two studies to look at how co-located people coordinate and manage their attention, tasks at hand, and joint activities in an experimental setting. I asked triads to work on a Sudoku puzzle collectively as a team. I varied support for the deictic mechanism in the software as well as form factors of mediating technology. My research findings show that: (1) different tools support different deictic behaviors. Explicit support for pointing is desirable to support complex reference tasks, but may not be needed for simpler ones. On the other hand, users without sophisticated explicit support may give up the attempt to engaged in complex reference. (2) talk is diagnostic of user satisfaction but lack of talk is not diagnostic of dissatisfaction. Therefore, designers must be careful in their use of talk as a measurement of collaboration. (3) the more people talk about complex relationships in the puzzle, the higher their increase in positive emotion. Either engaging with the problem at hand is rewarding or having the ability to engage with the problem effectively enough to speak about it is engaging. (4) amount of talk is related to form factor. People in both computer conditions talked less about the specifics oF the game board than people in the paper condition, but only people in the laptop condition experienced a significant decrease in positive emotion. (5) different mediating technologies afford different types of non-response situations. The most common occurrences of non-responses were precipitated by speakers talking to themselves in the computer conditions. Participants did not talk to themselves much in the paper condition. Differences in technology form factors may influence people's behaviors and emotion differently. These findings represent a portrait of how different technologies provide different interactional possibilities for people. With my quantitative and qualitative analyses I do not make bold and futile claims such as "using a highlighter tool will make users collaborate more efficiently," or "making people talk more will make the group perform better." I, instead, illustrate the interactional choices people made in the presence of given technological conditions and how their choices eventuated in situ. I then propose processlessness as an idea for preparing designs that are open to multiple interactional possibilities, and nudgers as an idea for enabling and aiding users to create and design their own situated experiences. / Ph. D.

With Industrial Internet, businesses can pool their resources to acquire large amounts of data that can then be used in machine learning tasks. Despite the potential to speed up training and deployment and improve decision-making through data-sharing, rising privacy concerns are slowing the spread of such technologies. As businesses are naturally protective of their data, this poses a barrier to interoperability. While previous research has focused on privacy-preserving methods, existing works typically consider data that is averaged or randomly sampled by all contributors rather than selecting data that are best suited for a specific downstream learning task. In response to the dearth of efficient data-sharing methods for diverse machine learning tasks in the Industrial Internet, this work presents an end-to end working demonstration of a search engine prototype built on PriED, a task-driven data-sharing approach that enhances the performance of supervised learning by judiciously fusing shared and local participant data. / Master of Science / My work focuses on PriED - a data sharing framework that enhances machine learning performance while also preserving user data privacy. In particular, I have built a working demonstration of a search engine that leverages the PriED framework and allows users to collaborate with their data without compromising their data privacy.

No

<p>In the dynamic landscape of modern warfare, innovation stands as a critical driver of military prowess and strategic advantage. This research initiative embarks on a comprehensive exploration. Seeking to elucidate the intricate interplay between academic research, effective leadership traits, and their combined influence on fostering innovation within the U.S. military. Through an integrated methodology that encompasses surveys and interviews, this study aims to unravel the complex mechanisms that underpin innovation and to provide insights that can enhance the U.S. military’s efficiency and effectiveness.</p> <p>Innovation has emerged as an indispensable component of military success, enabling armed forces to adapt swiftly to evolving challenges. The purpose of this research is to dissect the relationships between academic research, leadership efficacy, and innovation, with the overarching goal of identifying the key factors that drive innovation within the military sphere.<br> </p> <p>The research methodologies include a thoughtful blend of approaches, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture a holistic understanding of the intricate connections between academic research, leadership, and innovation. A comprehensive literature review forms the cornerstone of this study. This allows for the synthesis of existing theories and empirical insights pertaining to military innovation and leadership dynamics.</p> <p>Supplementing the theoretical framework, an in-depth examination will provide contextualized insights into how effective leadership and academic contributions have synergistically fueled innovation within the military domain. Surveying and conducting interviews will constitute the crucial mechanisms for gathering primary data in this research endeavor. These two principal methodologies, thoughtfully selected for this study, will elevate the insights obtained from the literature review and the existing case studies drawn from related domains. This deliberate approach facilitates an immediate and unmediated investigation into the perspectives and experiences of active-duty military personnel, spanning both officers and enlisted members.</p> <p>The central drive of this research lies within surveys and interviews conducted among active-duty military personnel. This diverse participant pool encompasses officers and enlisted members, offering a cross-sectional perspective that illuminates innovation dynamics at multiple levels of the military hierarchy. The survey instrument meticulously addresses various dimensions of military innovation, including participants’ assessment of the prevailing level of innovation within their specific roles, the noticeable influence of commanders on innovative practices, leadership attributes that contribute to innovative outcomes, and the extent to which collaborations with external entities engender effective problem-solving and process enhancement.<br> </p> <p>The research project holds the promise of generating insights with real-world applicability. By combining the insights obtained from active-duty personnel, this study endeavors to construct a comprehensive narrative that explains the multifaceted aspects of military innovation. These insights have direct implications for policy formulation, potentially influencing decisions that facilitate and amplify innovative initiatives within the U.S. military.</p> <p>In summary, this research project aspires to shed light on the intricate relationship between academic research, leadership efficacy, and innovation within the U.S. military. Through the perspectives of military personnel, this study aims to decode the essential elements that catalyze military innovation. The outcomes of this research are envisaged to contribute to informed decision-making, fostering an environment where academic research and effective leadership synergistically fuel innovation. This, in turn, is anticipated to strengthen the efficiency and efficacy of the U.S. military, empowering it to navigate the complexities of contemporary security challenges with resilience and ingenuity.<br> </p> <p><br></p> <p>Keywords: Academic Research, Leadership Effectiveness, Collaboration.<br> </p>

This dissertation explores the impact of special education teacher (SET) turnover on general education teachers (GETs) in K – 12 schools. Students with disabilities are increasingly placed in general education settings, where collaboration with SETs is critical. However, high SET turnover rates threaten this partnership. This mixed methods study investigates the relationship between SET and GET turnover and its impact on GET experiences. Findings reveal a positive association, particularly when GETs have more students with disabilities. Additionally, qualitative data suggests SET co-teacher turnover disrupts collaboration and creates challenges for GETs in the following year. To improve outcomes for students with disabilities, the study calls for increased support for teachers and stronger collaboration between special and general education teachers. These findings can inform policies and school-based strategies to improve teacher retention and collaboration, ultimately benefiting students with disabilities.

As a result of recent federal legislative changes affecting educational policies, co-teaching, which requires general and special educators to work together to provide instruction to students in inclusion classrooms, has been on the rise and is considered by some educators as a method for meeting mandates required by law. While co-teaching is an idea that should work in practice, teachers who implement co-teaching find themselves facing complex issues regarding their roles and responsibilities within the context of program logistics. This qualitative study was designed to help co-teaching partners and others to understand how co-teaching partnerships are formed, develop, and work in classrooms. This understanding may be helpful to others as they seek to overcome barriers and form relationships that facilitate successful co-teaching partnerships. Elementary co-teachers in a rural school district were interviewed face-to-face, and a document analysis was conducted to examine how co-teachers experience co-teaching partnerships. Six general education co-teachers and six special education co-teachers were randomly selected for interviews, and they were asked to bring any literature that they had received on co-teaching to the interviews. Results indicate that co-teachers thought compatibility was important when working as co-teachers. They expressed the need for a mutual planning time during the school day, and both general and special education co-teachers were concerned about the amount of uninterrupted time special education teachers could spend in inclusion classrooms. When co-teachers thought they had a compatible partnership, they were willing to make alternative planning arrangements, and they were accepting of the time special education co-teachers could spend in the classroom. / Ed. D. / Co-teaching requires general and special education teachers to work together to provide instruction to students in inclusion classrooms. Co-teaching has been on the rise and is considered by some educators as a method for meeting mandates required by law. While coteaching is an idea that should work in practice, teachers who are practicing co-teaching find themselves facing complex issues regarding their roles and responsibilities in the classroom. This study was designed to help co-teaching partners and others to understand how co-teaching partnerships are formed, develop, and work in classrooms. This understanding may be helpful to others as they seek to overcome barriers and form relationships that facilitate successful coteaching partnerships. Elementary co-teachers in a rural school district were interviewed face-to-face, and a document analysis of any literature co-teachers had received on co-teaching was conducted to examine how co-teachers experience co-teaching partnerships. Six general education coteachers and six special education co-teachers were randomly selected for interviews, and they were asked to bring any literature that they had received on co-teaching to the interviews. Results indicate that co-teachers thought compatibility, to be able to get along together, was important when working as co-teachers. They expressed the need for the same planning time during the school day, and both general and special education co-teachers were concerned about the amount of uninterrupted time special education teachers could spend in inclusion classrooms. When co-teachers thought they had a compatible partnership, they were willing to make alternative planning arrangements, and they were accepting of the time special education co-teachers could spend in the classroom.

Depuis plus de cinq ans, je poursuis une recherche portant sur les fictions sous-jacentes à mon réel et ce, afin d'en faire émerger de nouveaux récits. Situé à la frontière du documentaire et de la fiction, mon travail se base sur une méthode d'autofilmage et de documentation obsessive me permettant d'aborder le monde et de provoquer des situations sujettes à la métamorphose fictive par le récit et le montage. De la pratique intimiste en vidéo à la réalisation d'un projet de long métrage collectif, mes projets sont le résultat de rencontres filmées, autant avec l'Autre qu'avec le Soi, à travers différents niveaux d'existence. Inspiré de la formule de Rimbaud, mon corpus d'œuvres réalisé à la maîtrise porte le nom *Je est un autre*. Son noyau, *Le Forget Show*, est un projet de long-métrage tourné lors d'une résidence de création au Domaine Forget en mai 2022. Ce film, ainsi que les expérimentations vidéographiques qui l'accompagnent, servent de témoignages de mon parcours vécu et performé pendant les deux dernières années. Mon travail sera présenté sous une forme hybride - entre l'exposition et la salle de cinéma - lors d'un événement public, rassemblant les acteurs et actrices improvisés, amis et famille ayant été transformés, avec moi, en personnages de mon univers filmique. Ce mémoire-essai, explorant les différentes étapes de ma méthode ainsi que les principes de la rencontre filmée, tentera de mettre en lumière les questions soulevées par ma démarche, à savoir les idées qui se sont dégagées à travers ces deux années de production de films docufictifs collaboratifs. / For over five years, I have been researching the underlying fictions of my reality in order to create new narratives. Situated on the border between documentary and fiction, my work is based on a method of self-filming and obsessive documentation, enabling me to navigate the world and to provoke situations that undergo fictional metamorphosis through narrative and editing. From intimate video practice to the realization of a collective feature-length film, my projects are the result of filmed encounters with both the Other and the Self, across different levels of existence. Inspired by Rimbaud's formula, my body of work completed during my master's degree in art bears the title *Je est un autre*. Its core, *Le Forget Show*, is a feature-length project shot during a creative residency at Domaine Forget in May 2022. This film, along with other video experimentations, serve as a record of the journey I have lived and performed over the past two years. My work will be presented in a hybrid form - between exhibition and the movie theatre - during a public event, bringing together the improvised actors, friends and family who have been transformed, with me, into characters of my filmic universe. This essay-memoir, exploring the different steps of my method as well as the principles of the filmed encounter, will attempt to shed light on the questions raised by my approach, namely the ideas that have emerged through these two years of collaborative docufictive film production.