Managing information effectively is crucial for improving processes within organisations. To this end, a more holistic approach is required which aligns the organisations information and technology needs with its people, processes and business model. This should shift the emphasis from collaborating on individual projects to a long term view of how best to support an organisation s business strategy. It also shifts the emphasis from managing information (storing information to exploit it) to managing with information (harnessing information to gain competitive advantage across the organisation). This thesis is the culmination of a four year EngD research critically investigating improvements in the effectiveness of Information Management (IM) in construction industry based organisations. It begins with an introduction to the research, its aims and objectives, and then presents a detailed review of related literature about the subject matter and the methodology employed in conducting the research. The eight research tasks carried out using extensive, varied and appropriate methods including literature reviews, case studies, interviews, surveys and workshops are then explained based upon which a number of key recommendations are drawn. The findings define IM as distinct from Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) and provide a critical insight into IM in construction industry based organisations including its strategic drivers, key influencers and barriers. It further highlights the four components of a holistic approach to IM as: The Content Model - the nature and structure of the content including metadata; The Enterprise Model - operational structure of the company including its business processes and information dependent activities; Systems and Technology - the most appropriate technological solutions in light of the defined content and enterprise models; and Implementation and Change Management - support for people and managing the transition into improved ways of working. The findings show that a clear alignment between an organisations information needs and its operational processes is key to developing and implementing an effective IM strategy. It shows that a unified approach is more appropriate for organisations than a single approach as certain multi-dimensional context specific factors exist which influence the nature of each organisations needs and therefore most suitable solutions to address them. The findings also demonstrate the importance of metadata in integrating organisations and enabling a holistic IM Strategy. A standard IM framework is developed and validated which provides a structured and systematic approach for organisations seeking to develop suitable metadata standards to meet their needs. The holistic approach applied to a number of case studies provides novel insights into the use of metadata in information retrieval; the development of aligned information architecture and the creation of holistic strategies for improving knowledge sharing and innovation. The thesis concludes with a critical review of the research and a number of key recommendations for organisations, IM research and the wider construction industry. All the findings and insights have been and continue to be disseminated through a number of peer reviewed publications.

The intention of this study is to examine whether leadership and collaboration can explain success in crisis management, and if so to what extent and how. A hypothesis presented in previous research, suggesting that leadership and collaboration are key to successful crisis management, is applied and tested. The management of the terror attack in Stockholm in April 2017 was deemed successful and serves as a case of successful crisis management for the hypothesis to be tested on.The findings in this study suggest that although several organisations and actors were part of the crisis response the police were viewed as the main leader to whom other actors and the public turned for confirmation. Additionally, the thesis finds that the collaboration between similar actors, or actors with similar tasks, is of particular importance rather than all actors being involved in the collaboration. Conclusively, the result of this study suggests that fortunate circumstances were also a key to success in this case.

No description available.

No description available.

This research presents a new method for integrating client server architectures that are used for the development of Massive Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) into multi-user engineering software tools. The new method creates a new architecture named CAx Connect by changing the client-pull-server communication pipeline to a server-push-client communication pipeline, effectively reducing the amount of bandwidth consumed and allowing these tools to utilize multiple server processors for complex calculations. This method was used on the new NX Connect multi-user CAx prototype developed at BYU. The new method provides a road map to further implement this architecture and its services into additional multi-user CAx tools. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this technology, a prototype architecture was built to provide a front end service, a message relay service, and a database insertion service, which were integrated into the current architecture. The front end service provides load balancing of clients, while the feature administration service passes messages throughout the architecture. The database insertion service inserts features passed from the NX Connect client into the database. The results show that this architecture is more efficient and that a scalable architecture was created, successfully demonstrating the integration of this architecture with multi-user CAx tools.

Cette étude de cas, adoptant une méthodologie qualitative, se veut de comprendre comment les enseignant.e.s ont mis en pratique la collaboration lors d’une formation professionnelle basée sur le mouvement Bricoleur et comment ils ont remis en œuvre celle-ci dans leur pratique pédagogique. La première phase de la collecte de données s’est déroulée en juillet 2018, lors de l’Institut canadien pour l’apprentissage des littératies numériques à l’Université d’Ottawa, consistant en un questionnaire en ligne, tandis que la seconde phase de la recherche, effectuée en automne 2018, comprenait des entretiens semi-dirigés avec les participant.e.s. Les enseignant.e.s ont bénéficié de la formation afin de collaborer par la conceptualisation d’un projet personnel, soit la fabrication d’un artefact physique ou numérique, en vivant l’expérience du Bricolage, en tant qu’apprenant.e. Par la suite, les enseignant.e.s ont réinvesti la collaboration découlant de cette formation en mettant en œuvre une communauté Bricoleur dans leur pratique.

In questioning the complexity of human identity, the multiplicity of the self is uniquely grounded within embodied experience. Unearthing edges : constructing gaps is the result of creative research centered on investigation of the following questions: What can practices of collaborative movement making bring to the process of illuminating, excavating, and perhaps reconciling these alternate versions of the self? In practices supporting the development of individual movement vocabularies and physical agency what can be learned of the complications of the self and identity? What can be revealed of self and community in collective movement practice and in sharing solo practice? How can improvisational work, practiced in the realm of rehearsal and performance, engage with these ideas? Through studio practice utilizing a range of methodologies, this project seeks to contend with ideas of the self, identity, alternate reality, spontaneity, empathy, agency, and community.

Interprofessional collaboration and collaborative patient and family-centered practice is increasingly advocated as a means of improving patient outcomes and the cost effectiveness of health care. The Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative and Registered Nurses Association of Ontario identified best practices and competencies required for interprofessional collaboration and collaborative practice. Despite the widespread dissemination of these competencies and best practice guidelines to health professional schools, there remains a gap in nursing practice regarding nursing knowledge about the core competencies required for interprofessional collaboration. The purpose of this project was the planning of an education program for nurses on interprofessional collaboration and collaborative care. At the project facility, the interprofessional practice team planned an education program for nursing staff to promote interprofessional collaborative practices and thereby improve patient and population health outcomes. The education project was guided by a model of instructional design used previously by the interprofessional practice department. The education program included a handout and a PowerPoint presentation describing the contents of the handout and clinical application of the competencies in nursing practice. The PowerPoint will be retained by the organization to present to nursing staff employed at the organization. Process evaluation included a team member questionnaire assessing leadership, participant involvement and meeting facilitation. Members of the interprofessional practice team agreed on the success of the process and involvement in the overall project. Increasing nursing knowledge about interprofessional collaboration and collaborative practices would represent positive social change to improve nursing practices and as a result, health outcomes for patients and their families.

No description available.

In the face of increasing budget cuts, public K-12 schools are collaborating with both public and private organizations in an effort to more efficiently meet the needs of the students they serve. When schools share a facility with a community-based organization, the school not only saves costs in regard to facility maintenance and operations, but potentially improves services to their student population. In addition to facility sharing, community agencies might partner with schools to provide students services that satisfy basic needs, including medical, vision, and dental care, to allow students to perform better in school. Other community organizations have cooperated with school districts to provide before- and after-school programming to assist working parents concerned about the supervision of their children outside the school day. This is a case study of a collaboration between a school district and a nonprofit organization for the purpose of building two high school facilities together. Through interviews with district and nonprofit leaders, this study explores how this was accomplished. Analysis of interview data resulted in five emergent themes. These themes were juxtaposed with Melaville and Blank's 1991 framework. Melaville and Blank's research consisted of a study of multiple partnerships and resulted in five common variables: The Five Variables Shaping Interagency Partnerships. The final chapter of this study synthesizes the collaborative literature and the case study data to suggest a new framework for collaboration: The Five Steps to an Enduring School/Community Collaboration. Educational researchers can use this study and its framework to further explore collaborations in education. School leaders can use this framework to guide them through their own collaborative processes. All educators can use this research to answer the question, "What works in collaboration?"