In this paper, we describe two experiments that show the powerful influence of interface complexity and entropy on online information sharing behaviour. 134 participants were asked to do a creativity test and answer six open questions against three different screen backgrounds of increasing complexity. Our data shows that, as an interface becomes more complex and has more entropy users refer less to themselves and show less information sharing breadth. However, their verbal creativity and information sharing depth do not suffer in the same way. Instead, an inverse U shaped relationship between Interface complexity and creativity as well as information sharing depth can be observed: Users become more creative and thoughtful until a certain tipping point of interface complexity is reached. At that point, creativity and th inking suffer, leading to significantly less disclosure. This result challenges the general HCI assumption that simplicity is always best for computers interface design , as users'creativity and information sharing depth initially increases with more interface complexity. Our results suggest that the Yerkes Dodson Law may be a key theory underlying online creativity and depth of online disclosures.

This thesis develops a mathematical framework for analyzing the average bit error rate performance of five different selection diversity combining schemes over slow, frequency non-selective Rayleigh, Nakagami-m and Ricean fading channels. Aside from the classical selection diversity, generalized selection combining and the "maximum output" selection methods, two new selection rules based on choosing the branch providing the largest magnitude of log-likelihood ratio for binary phase shift keying signals (with and without phase compensation in the selection process) are also investigated. The proposed analytical framework is sufficiently general to study the effects of dissimilar fading parameter and unequal mean received signal strengths across the independent diversity paths. The effect of branch correlation on the performance of a dual-diversity system is also studied. The accuracies of our analytical expressions have been validated by extensive Monte-Carlo simulation runs. The proposed selection schemes based on the log-likelihood ratio are attractive in the design of low-complexity rake receivers for wideband CDMA and ultra wideband communication systems. / Master of Science

Engineering complex systems and New Product Development (NPD) are major challenges for contemporary engineering design and must be studied at three levels of: Products, Processes and Organizations (PPO). The science of complexity indicates that complex systems share a common characteristic: they are robust yet fragile. Complex and large scale systems are robust in the face of many uncertainties and variations; however, they can collapse, when facing certain conditions. This is so since complex systems embody many subtle, intricate and nonlinear interactions. If formal modelling exercises with available computational approaches are not able to assist designers to arrive at accurate predictions, then how can we immunize our large scale and complex systems against sudden catastrophic collapse? This thesis is an investigation into complex product design. We tackle the issue first by introducing a template and/or design methodology for complex product design. This template is an integrated product design scheme which embodies and combines elements of both design theory and organization theory; in particular distributed (spatial and temporal) problem solving and adaptive team formation are brought together. This design methodology harnesses emergence and innovation through the incorporation of massive amount of numerical simulations which determines the problem structure as well as the solution space characteristics. Within the context of this design methodology three design methods based on measures of complexity are presented. Complexity measures generally reflect holistic structural characteristics of systems. At the levels of PPO, correspondingly, the Immunity Index (global modal robustness) as an objective function for solutions, the real complexity of decompositions, and the cognitive complexity of a design system are introduced These three measures are helpful in immunizing the complex PPO from chaos and catastrophic failure. In the end, a conceptual decision support system (DSS) for complex NPD based on the presented design template and the complexity measures is introduced. This support system (IMMUNE) is represented by a Multi Agent Blackboard System, and has the dual characteristic of the distributed problem solving environments and yet reflecting the centralized viewpoint to process monitoring. In other words IMMUNE advocates autonomous problem solving (design) agents that is the necessary attribute of innovative design organizations and/or innovation networks; and at the same time it promotes coherence in the design system that is usually seen in centralized systems.

Engineering complex systems and New Product Development (NPD) are major challenges for contemporary engineering design and must be studied at three levels of: Products, Processes and Organizations (PPO). The science of complexity indicates that complex systems share a common characteristic: they are robust yet fragile. Complex and large scale systems are robust in the face of many uncertainties and variations; however, they can collapse, when facing certain conditions. This is so since complex systems embody many subtle, intricate and nonlinear interactions. If formal modelling exercises with available computational approaches are not able to assist designers to arrive at accurate predictions, then how can we immunize our large scale and complex systems against sudden catastrophic collapse? This thesis is an investigation into complex product design. We tackle the issue first by introducing a template and/or design methodology for complex product design. This template is an integrated product design scheme which embodies and combines elements of both design theory and organization theory; in particular distributed (spatial and temporal) problem solving and adaptive team formation are brought together. This design methodology harnesses emergence and innovation through the incorporation of massive amount of numerical simulations which determines the problem structure as well as the solution space characteristics. Within the context of this design methodology three design methods based on measures of complexity are presented. Complexity measures generally reflect holistic structural characteristics of systems. At the levels of PPO, correspondingly, the Immunity Index (global modal robustness) as an objective function for solutions, the real complexity of decompositions, and the cognitive complexity of a design system are introduced These three measures are helpful in immunizing the complex PPO from chaos and catastrophic failure. In the end, a conceptual decision support system (DSS) for complex NPD based on the presented design template and the complexity measures is introduced. This support system (IMMUNE) is represented by a Multi Agent Blackboard System, and has the dual characteristic of the distributed problem solving environments and yet reflecting the centralized viewpoint to process monitoring. In other words IMMUNE advocates autonomous problem solving (design) agents that is the necessary attribute of innovative design organizations and/or innovation networks; and at the same time it promotes coherence in the design system that is usually seen in centralized systems.

The main goal of this thesis is the development of a novel methodology to generate creative solutions at functional level for design tasks without binding solution spaces with designers&rsquo / individual experiences and prejudices. For this purpose, an evolutionary methodology for the conceptual design of engineering products has been proposed. This methodology performs evaluation, combination and modification of the existing solutions repetitively to generate new solution alternatives. Therefore, initially a representation scheme, which is generic enough to cover all alternatives in solution domain, has been defined. Following that, the evolutionary operations have been defined and two evaluation metrics have been proposed. Finally, the computer implementation of the developed theory has been performed. The test-runs of developed software resulted in creative alternatives for the design task. Consequently, the evolutionary design methodology presents a systematic design approach for less experienced or inexperienced designers and establishes a base for experienced designers to conceive many other solution alternatives beyond their experiences.

Stimuler la créativité demeure un enjeu majeur pour soutenir l’innovation. Depuis les travaux théoriques fondateurs des années 1950-1960, il existe aujourd’hui un grand nombre d’outils, de méthodes, et de guides d’aide au choix diffusés parmi les praticiens. Cependant, les entreprises font aujourd’hui face à une telle complexité, à la fois technique et organisationnelle, que les outils et méthodes traditionnellement utilisés arrivent à leurs limites et manquent d’efficacité. Non seulement nous manquons encore d’une théorie fondamentale de la créativité qui fasse consensus, mais la recherche dans ce domaine manque souvent de pertinence en termes de transfert dans la pratique et d’adéquation avec les besoins pragmatiques industriels. Cette thèse explore comment l'approche systémique permet d’étudier la créativité afin de mettre en évidence de nouveaux moyens de la stimuler dans des contextes industriels complexes. Cette approche nous a permis de synthétiser les mécanismes de la créativité dans un modèle systémique, et de faire émerger trois interactions fondamentales : sensori-motrice, cognitive, et sociale. Pour stimuler simultanément ces interactions, trois axes méthodologiques ont été proposés puis testés au sein d’un contexte industriel automobile, dans le cadre de projets d’innovation réels. Les résultats de nos expérimentations montrent que l'utilisation conjointe, d’une part d’outils de stimulation analogique, d’autre part d'un langage de formes visuelles, et enfin d'un processus cyclique alternant imagination, conception, et création, permet d’améliorer notablement la performance créative. Notre modèle de la créativité, désormais entendu comme le « système complexe de la création », nous permet d’enrichir conjointement le champ scientifique théorique et les pratiques méthodologiques. Il ouvre également des perspectives de développement en sciences de gestion et en management de l’innovation. / Stimulating creativity remains a major challenge to support innovation. Since pioneering theoretical work from 1950-1960, there is now a large number of tools, methods, and guidelines disseminated among practitioners. However, companies today face such complexity, both technical and organizational, that the tools and methods traditionally used reach their limits and became inefficient. Not only we don’t have any strong fundamental theory of creativity, but also research in this field often lacks relevance in terms of transfer into practice and adequacy with pragmatic industrial needs. This thesis explores how the systemic approach allows the study of creativity to highlight new ways to stimulate it in complex industrial settings. This approach allowed us to synthesize the mechanisms of creativity in a systemic model, and bring out three fundamental interactions: sensorimotor, cognitive, and social. To simultaneously stimulate these interactions, three methodological guidelines have been proposed and tested in a car manufacturer industrial environment, in the context of real innovation projects. The results of our experiments show that the combined use of, first analogical stimulation tools, the other a language of visual forms, and finally a cyclical process alternating imagination, design and creation, can significantly improve the creative performance. Our model of creativity, now understood as "the complex system of creation", enables us to jointly enrich the theoretical scientific field and also methodological practices. It also opens developing prospects for innovation management and management sciences.