The purpose of this thesis is to create an indoor rescue scenario with multiple self-localizing robots that are able to collaborate for a victim search. Victims are represented by RFID tags and detecting them combined with an accurate enough location data is considered as a successful finding. This setup is created for use in a laboratory assignment at Linköping University. We consider the indoor localization problem by trying to use as few sensors as possible and implement three indoor localization methods - odometry based, passive RFID based, and our approach by fusing both sensor data with particle filter.The Results show that particle filter based localization performs the best in comparison to the two other implemented methods and satisfies the accuracy requirements stated for the scenario. The victim search problem is solved by an ant mobility (pheromone-based) approach which integrates our localization method and provides a collaborative navigation through the rescue area. The purpose of the pheromone mobility approach is to achieve a high coverage with an acceptable resource consumption.Experiments show that area is covered with approximately 30-40% overhead in traveled distance comparing to an optimal path.

Group role assignment (GRA) is an important task in Role-Based Collaboration (RBC). The complexity of group role assignment becomes very high as the constraints are introduced. According to recent studies, considerable efforts have been put towards research on complex group role assignment problems. Some of these problems are clearly defined and initial solutions are proposed. However some of these solutions were unable to guarantee an optimal result, or the time complexity is very high. In fact, many real world collaboration problems concern many types of constraints. Therefore, to make them practical, the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithms should be improved. Role is the center of a role-based collaboration mechanism. Role plays a very essential part in the whole process of a collaboration system, without the roles, there would be no collaboration. One important function of the role is that it defines the features or requirements of a position which can be used to filter or access the candidates. The definition of roles greatly influences the evaluation results of candidates, which in turn influence the RBC algorithms significantly. Based on previous research, the role-based evaluation is associated with multiple attribute decision making (MADM). Role-based evaluation methods can be adopted from MADM methods. Selecting an appropriate method for a specific problem is difficult and domain oriented. Therefore, a dynamic evaluation model which can be expanded by domain experts and adapted to many cases is required. At present, there is limited research related to this requirement. This thesis first focuses on two complex role-based collaboration problems. The first being group role assignment problems with constraints of conflicting agents, and the iv second an agent training problem for a sustainable group. Practical solutions to these problems are proposed and resolved by IBM ILOG CPLEX. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of these solutions. From which I compare the solutions’ performances with the initial solutions, and indicate the improvement of these proposed solutions. Secondly, this thesis clarifies the difficulties of connecting evaluation methods with real world requirements. In order to overcome these difficulties, I introduce an additional parameter, propose a dynamic evaluation model, and provide four synthesis methods to facilitate the requirements of a co-operation project which is funded by NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). The contributions of this thesis includes: clarifying the complexity of two complex role-based collaboration problem; proposing a better solution and verifying its efficiency and practicability; discussing the difficulties of connecting evaluation methods with real world problems; introducing an additional parameter to improve the accuracy of evaluation to some problems; proposing a role-based evaluation model to meet the requirements of adaptive and expandable.

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No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Intercultural communication addresses some of the apparent challenges that surface from interactions among diverse people. The concept stretches beyond language and dialect barriers and includes the ways in which culture influences how people understand, create and respond to communication depending on where they are from, their life experiences, social structure, ethnicity, religion, education, occupation, and so on. This research acknowledges that culture is a broad and difficult to define concept because it influences individuals and groups in different ways, especially in an era of globalization. Through an exploration of literature, semi-structured interviews and a focus group, and applying the concept of intercultural communication to active planning practice, the research examines how a sample of Winnipeg planners learn and practice such intercultural communication. Their perspectives on this practice are then considered in the context of collaboration, where it is concluded that intercultural communication competencies can directly foster collaboration. The practice has potential benefits for the many diverse publics that now need to be better served through planning processes. Intercultural communication is an important practice of planners in culturally diverse cities such as Winnipeg because planners often find themselves in intermediary 'bridging' roles among diverse cultures. It is confirmed that intercultural communication requires a necessary set of competencies, values and skills that must influences one's planning practice.

Technology is becoming an integral part of teaching and learning in schools. This thesis explored the use of a wiki, a collaborative editable webpage within physical education teacher education. An interpretive inquiry investigated the perceptions of a cohort of 28 final year physical education teacher candidates (PETC) through an online group project. The objective of the assignment was for PETC to develop deeper understanding of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach. Information collected from reflective journals, writing samples and focus groups identified both enabling and constraining factors this wiki brought to the wiki project. Data analyses confirmed that the wiki facilitated collaboration among group members, improved writing skills and enhanced deeper understanding through scaffolding of one’s own ideas as well as those of others. In their efforts to work collaboratively, the students realized that establishing roles and responsibilities and creating more opportunity for communication were necessary ingredients for learning.

This thesis outlines the history of thinking about provenance in the archival profession, focusing specifically on the emergence of the concept of societal provenance and its implications for Aboriginal societal memory. It presents various ways in which the archival profession is currently involved in participatory projects for the public at large and for Aboriginal communities in particular. This thesis asks the question, if records are a creation of community and society, then should not community and society be more involved in their archiving? The thesis calls on archivists to advance the practice of participatory archiving by continuing to engage in collaborative projects, to open dialogue between the archival profession and Aboriginal communities as a means of establishing relationships of trust, and to embrace ways of remembering that challenge and unsettle the traditional archival application of provenance.

This research study documents the perceptions of Manitoba teachers working with educational assistants as schools comply with the Appropriate Educational Programming Amendment to the Public Schools Act (Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2005). Eight teachers who work with educational assistants in rural and urban Manitoba were asked about four aspects of this emerging role: (i) What are their experiences working with educational assistants in the classroom (what roles do they perceive educational assistants to perform), (ii) the competencies they think they need for their work, (iii) how they have been prepared for this responsibility, and (iv) how they think teachers should or could be (better) prepared for their work with educational assistants. The study invited four novice teachers (less than two years of teaching experience) and four veteran teachers (more than 10 years of teaching experience) to participate in one-on-one face-to-face interviews. Open-ended questions based in current research prompted the participants to reflect on their own practice. The study reveals some of the perceived issues teachers report as challenges in their changing role to meet new legislative mandates. It examines the need to introduce collaboration with educational assistants during pre-service training and access to professional in-service learning opportunities to facilitate teachers understanding of the role of educational assistants in Manitoba schools. The study also reveals some of the competencies required for managing the activities of educational assistants.

Watershed planning and land use development planning are two different planning processes dealing with many of the same water and land resources. Watershed planning is conducted on watershed boundaries; land use development plans focus on municipal or planning district boundaries. It is important that these plans are properly integrated so they are mutually supportive of one another. This study focuses on Manitoba, where land and water issues include potential floods and droughts, poor water quality in major lakes, and the need to protect drinking water for human use. The severity of these issues could increase in the future as Manitoba is projected to experience climate change that will further impact water and land resources in the province. The research explores different modes of integration, finding that collaboration is valuable in some circumstances in terms of maximizing collective resources, but that it is important to build upon strong cooperation and coordination. Results indicate that land use planners have a role to play in watershed management, using both technical and soft skills to protect watershed health through land use planning tools and plans. Watershed management planning and land use planning integration in other Canadian provinces is explored. The study concludes with a conceptual framework for integrating watershed and land use plans, as well as recommendations for improving integration in Manitoba, including: ongoing public education, pooling existing resources, more collaboration between watershed and land use planners, consideration of future water-related land use regulatory authority for watershed-based organizations, establishing clear responsibility for ensuring integration, continued learning by doing, creating a guiding framework for integrating watershed plans and land use plans, and using an adaptive management approach in both planning processes.