For this research project I used grounded theory methodology and qualitative research methods to examine how and why citizens participated in local community-based planning and land development entitlement processes, and learn about their experiences participating in those processes. I conceptualized the citizens' main concern as preserving the character of the place they consider their community. This research demonstrates that citizens participate in community-based planning and land development entitlement processes out of a concern for preserving the character of their communities. They define the character of their communities in terms of their geographic boundaries, history, traditions, people, lifestyle, and qualitative features including land uses, architecture, terrain, and environmental attributes. "Preserving Place" refers to citizens' efforts to maintain the character of their communities as they know and embrace them. Citizens participate in collaborative community-based planning because they believe the process affords them an opportunity to set public policy that directly impacts their lives and their communities. Likewise, citizens participate in land development decision-making and entitlement processes in an effort to ensure that land use decisions are consistent with their community plan and preserve their community's character. Citizens form networks, such as voluntary community organizations, through which they organize their efforts and mentor each other to learn about complex local government land use processes and how to participate in them effectively. Through their network organizations citizens also marshal resources when necessary to mount formal legal actions in response to land development decisions they perceive as inconsistent with their community plan and their community's character. Citizens who participate in local government land use processes are often pejoratively called "activists" and accused of being "anti-growth" or "NIMBY" (Not-In-My-Back-Yard). However, this research shows the main concern of citizens who participate in the community-based planning and other land use processes is not to oppose growth and development in their communities; but rather to plan for growth and development and ensure they occur in a way that respects and preserves what the citizens know as the character of the places they consider their communities. I collected data from public records of community-based planning workshops and other land use decision-making processes that affected three communities in Hillsborough County, Florida between 1998 and 2011. I analyzed public record archives and interviewed 22 citizens, all of whom had participated in community-based planning or plan review processes and land development entitlement processes. The model that emerged from the data in this research demonstrates how significant the character of a community is to the people who embrace the community and consider it their home, and how their concern for preserving the character of their community motivates people to get involved in land use policies that affect them. The model further demonstrates the capacity of citizens to organize their efforts to defend and preserve their community's character. This research contributes to the literature on citizen participation by providing an explanatory model that demonstrates how and why citizens participate in local government land use processes. This research can also be applied to practice to improve collaborative processes and help local government land use policy makers and land developers understand the motivations behind citizen participation in land use processes, and thus how to approach the resolution of conflicts among citizens, planners, local governments, private landowners and land development interests.

With the improvement of computer technology and the prevalence of the Internet, learning activities taking place in cyberspace by means of computer-mediated communication have become more common and accessible than even a decade ago. Being interested in how politeness phenomena as universal principles in human interaction played a role in the process of online collaborative learning in a graduate-level course, I conducted a naturalistic inquiry to explore students’ interaction through the lens of Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory (1987). I analyzed the exchanges of 18 students divided into four teams with a consideration for such contextual factors as concerns about netiquette, time, modes of online communication, discourse functions, and sense of community. Influenced by the tradition of interpretivist/constructivist research paradigm, I adopted diverse data collection methods and discourse analytical techniques. Data are reported as a case study of a purposefully selected focal team of five students with supporting evidence interweaving multiple data sources (online discussion, self-reflective blog entries, self-report portfolios, peer/self assessments, field notes, videotapes of voice chat sessions, audiotapes of interviews, and online survey responses). Given the context of students being required to work collaboratively as a team throughout the semester, the findings of this study suggested that the focal team used a variety of politeness strategies to establish cohesion among members and to moderate the force imposed by presupposing too much underlying solidarity. Five contextual factors also emerged as influencing the focal team’s use of politeness strategies: norms/convention, online communication medium, topics and content of discussion, social distance, and personal differences. Instructional technology is subject to innovation and is meant to facilitate learning. Incorporating new technology (e.g., Second Life) into instructional settings can create new opportunities for learning on which learners’ use of politeness strategies depends. Thus, this study about politeness in an online collaborative learning context not only contributes to enriching views of politeness theory, but also in being able to help prepare learners to collaborate effectively in new immersive learning environments with comfort in the ways of fostering awareness of face-saving concerns to avoid or redress face threat situations that may damage team collaboration and lead to a negative learning experience. / text

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Scardamalia’s (2002) socio-cognitive determinants of knowledge building emerge in a computer-supported collaborative writing task, and to understand students’ perceptions of knowledge building experience and the use of tools, including wikis, to support the collaborative writing process. The setting of this study was a graduate level online course on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), in which all course activities were conducted collaboratively in an online environment. Data sources included: transcripts of online inputs in the wiki areas; interviews with 15 participants; participants’ reflective journals; transcripts of asynchronous online discussions and synchronous chats. Data were analyzed using content analysis for the transcripts of wiki areas and grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used in the analysis of data from the interviews. Results of the data analysis indicated that the three groups in this study participated in the collaborative knowledge building activity in different ways. The three factors that influenced their participation in the activity included: group dynamics, collaborative writing task, and collaborative writing tools. These factors interacted with each another and impacted their knowledge building discourse in the following ways: improvable ideas, constructive use of authoritative sources, epistemic agency, and embedded and transformative assessment. As a result of their engagement in knowledge building discourse, participants successfully completed the collaborative writing project and shared a strong sense of community and co-ownership of the knowledge product. The findings of this study may shed light on the strategies and environmental factors that encourage knowledge building discourse as well as the synergetic combination of technology tools and knowledge building task. In addition, understanding the process of knowledge building in a computer-supported collaborative writing task and the participants perception of knowledge building and the use of tools may help instructor better prepare learners to become collaborative learners and effective knowledge workers. / text

No description available.

This study explores leadership dynamics in collaborative governance. The research features a collaboration case study of sixteen federal and state agency and NGO stakeholders. The collaboration is conducting a ten-year, basin-scale monitoring project of salmonid habitat restoration projects in the Middle Fork John Day (MFJD) River basin in Eastern Oregon. The monitoring project is known as an intensively monitored watershed (IMW), one of sixteen throughout the Pacific Northwest. The research is guided by the following question: How do leadership dynamics in the MFJD IMW collaborative governance structure facilitate effective collaborative process or create limitations to that process? This study uses qualitative research methods in evaluating multiple research sources. Insights from this study may prove valuable in providing guidance on effectively structuring and managing basin-scale collaborative habitat monitoring projects, including future IMW projects. This study further aims to contribute to research on collaborative leadership for the greater scholarship on collaboration.

La problématique centrale de la thèse est l'évaluation de l'impact de démarches utilisant la formulation de scénarios et de personnages sur les phases d'expression des besoins en conception innovante. La méthodologie de recherche mise en œuvre est une démarche empirique qui s'appuie sur l'analyse de situations de conception. Au cours du doctorat, un protocole expérimental mis en œuvre a été dupliqué trois fois dans des laboratoires partenaires. Cette recherche aboutit à un mémoire de thèse qui présente plusieurs contributions : La première contribution se situe autour de la méthodologie de recherche proposée. Le protocole d'étude empirique mis en place est original, il s'appuie sur l'état de l'art des réflexions de la communauté et sur ces démarches de recherche, et proposes des éléments nouveaux à cette réflexion en conciliant approches quantitatives et qualitatives. La seconde contribution porte sur la caractérisation de l'impact des méthodologies étudiées sur la construction d'une représentation partagée du problème de conception et de la formalisation des exigences de conception. Enfin la troisième contribution porte sur l'analyse des interactions dans les activités de conception étudiées. Les analyses identifient et qualifient les impacts des méthodes étudiées sur le contenu des interactions dans les phases amont de la conception. / In this study, we are more concerned with the early stages of the new product design: the product definition phase. The fundamental purpose of this phase is to gather right kind of information in a way that allows the formalization of stakeholder needs into a set of requirements. Literature review on this phase shows the difficulty to elicit needs of so called intended users and have a shared understanding of their requirements between design actors. To overcome these obstacles, support methods can be used. However, the appropriateness and effectiveness of the various methods is unknown. Our assumption in this research project is that scenarios and personas can be used as support methods to handle above-mentioned obstacles. An experiment is designed and conducted in a laboratory environment in order to test this assumption. The question of whether they have an impact on the creation of shared understanding between design actors is discussed under two sub-categories: perspective clarification and convergence to a common perspective. On the other hand, their impact on the elicitation of the intended user requirements is observed under three sub-categories: requirement elicitation, capture of the design rationale and creation of the empathy. Some qualitative and quantitative indicators are proposed to evaluate these impacts. Based on the analysis of seven observed collaborative design sessions, the findings of research study are discussed. The results points out that the major impact of these methods is that they evoke empathy for the intended users. In the groups that these methods are used the discussions are also richer regarding to the number of different needs are addressed. Moreover, these methods are also promising to keep the trace of design rationale. However design actors have tendency to accept them just as communication support, rather than documentation one. As a communication support they help design actors to clarify their arguments, to negotiate and to take decisions. However, the findings were not adequate to conclude that they have a significant impact on the perspective clarification and convergence. Hence, the main contribution of this research lies from one part in the evaluation of the impacts of these methods in requirement elicitation activity. And, in other part description of a research approach, which guides the experimental study in engineering design.

In recent decades, reflective practice and mentoring have become vehicles for endorsing professional development and competency among student teachers during their induction into the teaching profession. This research study aims to explore the extent to which peer-mentoring can inform reflective practice among student teachers within a community of practice. The mentoring concepts illuminated within this study suggest a move away from hierarchical expert-novice approaches towards mentoring, in exchange for more reciprocal endeavour where power dynamics are removed and both participants become equal receivers and disseminators of knowledge regarding teaching and learning. A qualitative approach was employed through a four-phase, sequential data collection strategy to gather the narrative data collated. Interviews, reflective pro-formas, workshops and open-ended questionnaires were used as instruments to collate narrative data concerning the peer-mentoring experiences of four student teachers. The data was analysed utilising an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach. The student teachers involved in this study were selected from a purposive sample. Importantly, the participants selected demonstrated professional characteristics which resonated with the aims of this study. A conceptual framework was designed to capture and examine six dimensions of collaborative mentoring in which student teachers could explore aspects of their own teaching practice through action research. The findings generated within the study point towards a range of contexts and challenges concerning peer-mentoring. The findings revealed that the mentoring dimensions used to stimulate meaningful reflection influenced professional development, while the challenges presented issues concerning; trust, power and time. However, the findings also indicate that challenges to peer-mentoring are not insurmountable. This particular study contends that further research is recommended into: firstly, how educational institutions can create supportive, collaborative learning cultures; secondly, how can reflective practice be encouraged throughout professional teaching careers; and finally, how can the challenges of peer-mentoring be minimised in attempting to encourage such endeavour among student teachers.

En conception distribuée, dans la phase du dimensionnement du produit, des incohérences peuvent émerger entre les objectifs de conception et entre les procédures de travail des sous-systèmes hétérogènes. Dans cette phase, les acteurs de conception doivent collaborer d’une manière concourante, car leurs tâches sont reliées les unes aux autres par les couplages de dimensionnement entre leurs sous-problèmes. Les incohérences peuvent provoquer des conflits de conception en raison de ces couplages. La question est de savoir comment obtenir une convergence collaborative pour satisfaire les objectifs globaux et individuels des acteurs de conception lorsque ces acteurs prennent des décisions de conception sous incertitude. L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer un modèle pour empêcher et résoudre les conflits de conception, tout en surmontant le problème de l'incertitude de la conception avec l'approche de « conception basée sur les ensembles » (SBD). Pour cela, les attitudes de conception sont modélisées avec le paradigme « Croyances-Désirs-Intentions » afin d'explorer les incohérences et gérer les conflits dans les processus de conception. L'approche ascendante conventionnelle est ainsi étendue grâce à des techniques de modélisation multi-agents. Dans cette approche, les agents de conception peuvent fixer des exigences directement sur leurs indicateurs de « bien-être ». Ces indicateurs représentent la manière dont leurs objectifs de conception sont susceptibles d'être satisfaits à un moment donné du processus. Des simulations de Monte Carlo sont effectuées pour évaluer la performance de cette approche, offrant une variété d'attitudes de l'agent. Par rapport aux approches classiques de conception ascendante et descendante, les résultats révèlent moins de conflits de conception et une intensité des conflits réduite. Les techniques de « problème de satisfaction de contraintes » (CSP) et les attitudes de conception sont appliquées pour détecter et justifier des conflits de conception entre les agents hétérogènes. Une nouvelle forme du modèle « Cooperative CSP » (CoCSP) est ainsi mise au point afin de résoudre les conflits de conception en détectant le compromis entre les contraintes. Le système de résolution des conflits peut être adopté grâce à différentes stratégies proposées qui prennent en compte l'architecture de solidarité des agents. Les résultats des simulations montrent que l'intensité des conflits en conception distribuée est réduite par la promotion de la solidarité qui déclenche une aide aux agents en souffrance. / In the product dimensioning phase of a distributed design, inconsistencies can emerge among design objectives as well as among working procedures of heterogeneous subsystems. In this phase, design actors which compose subsystems must collaborate concurrently, since their works are linked to each other through dimensioning couplings among their sub-problems. Inconsistencies through these couplings yield thus to design conflicts. The issue is how to obtain a collaborative convergence to satisfy the global and individual objectives of design actors when making design decisions under uncertainty. The objective of this dissertation is to propose a model for preventing and resolving design conflicts in order to obtain a collaborative convergence, while overcoming the design uncertainty through Set-based Design (SBD). Design attitudes are modeled with Belief-Desire-Intention paradigm to explore inconsistencies and manage conflicts in design processes. The conventional bottom-up approach is thus extended through agent-based attitude modeling techniques. In this approach, design agents can set requirements directly on their wellbeing values that represent how their design targets are likely to be met at a given moment of the design process. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate the performance of this approach, providing a variety of agent attitudes. Compared to conventional bottom-up and top-down design approaches, the results reveal a fewer number of design conflicts and a reduced aggregated conflict intensity. Constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) techniques and design attitudes are both applied to detect and justify design conflicts of heterogeneous design agents. A novel cooperative CSP (CoCSP) is developed in order to resolve design conflicts through compromising constraint restriction. The conflict resolution system can be adopted for different proposed strategies which take into account the solidarity architecture of design agents. The simulation results show that while promoting solidarity in distributed design by helping agents that suffer, the conflict intensity is reduced, and better design results are obtained.

La conception de systèmes multi-physiques impliquant des ingénieurs de différentes disciplines (mécanique, électronique, physique des capteurs, etc.), et plus particulièrement les systèmes destinés à l'exploitation dans des conditions sévères (sous contraintes dimensionnelles, chocs et vibrations, supportant des températures élevées et des hautes pressions), soulève de nombreuses questions difficiles dans la conception de systèmes complexes. Ces produits hautement intégrés sont caractérisés par de multiples flux fonctionnels passant par des composants communs. Les attendu très élevé des différents ingénieurs peuvent sur-contraindre les modules architecturaux, ainsi que les connections et les performances de certaines fonctions. Cette intégration de fonctions multi-physiques dans les produits de taille limitée qui opèrent dans des conditions sévères résulte d’une interaction intense entre les paramètres de conception et de fonctionnalités attendues. Dès qu'un paramètre de conception est modifié, les performances de plusieurs fonctions peuvent être affectées. Cela est dû au degré élevé d'optimisation des performances et le fait que plusieurs fonctions font partie du flux de processus résultant d'une seule composante. En outre, certaines disciplines peuvent être plus contraintes que d'autres selon le challenge que représentent l’atteinte des performances données et le concept considéré. Ci-après, nous nous référons aux modules architecturaux, aux connexions et aux disciplines comme des objets contraignables. Aujourd'hui, sans aucun outil de prédiction permettant de localiser ces aspects qui sont susceptibles d'être fortement contraints, les conséquences peuvent être dramatiques. Par exemple, la gestion de projet dans l'industrie pétrolière est souvent responsable de dérives inacceptables pour le cout du projet et son planning pouvant aller jusqu'à l’échec du projet.Dans notre étude, nous proposons d'enrichir sémantiquement des représentations conventionnelles de la complexité du produit. Nous utilisons une matrice DSM (Design Structure Matrix) pour représenter les connexions physiques dans les alternatives de concepts, une matrice DMM (Domain Mapping Matrix) pour relier les fonctions avec l'architecture, et une matrice Maison de la Qualité – QFD (Quality Function Deployment) d'une façon non conventionnelle, afin de propager la vision des ingénieurs sur les performances des composants comme la traditionnelle «voix du client». Notre première contribution concerne l'enrichissement de ces représentations. Nous enrichissons la représentation DSM par une typologie de connexion physique, permettant un éventail d’alternative à un stade de la conception. Pour une connexion, l'information donnée sur la nature des difficultés susceptibles est incorporée dans un modèle de données. Nous enrichissons la représentation DMM par la description du flux fonctionnel au travers des modules architecturaux. Nous adaptons la méthode QFD pour capturer la voix de disciplines impliquée dans le projet; cet enrichissement ontologique des données de conception rend plus facile le management des conflits en conception de systèmes multi-physiques. Dans cet objectif, sept tableaux de bord sont proposés à l'équipe de conception comme des outils utiles pour converger à partir d'un ensemble de configurations architecturales potentielles vers une architecture unique. Ce processus de convergence est supporté par la nécessité d'éviter les contraintes trop fortes sur certaines disciplines, cet équilibre est réalisé par la propagation des contraintes de conception dans le système. Les sept tableaux de bord sont organisés en deux vecteurs: le vecteur d'ambition et le vecteur de difficulté. Le vecteur d’ambition indique le degré de liberté dans l'exploration de l'espace de conception de l'architecture. Le vecteur difficulté offre des informations heuristiques sur la nature et les niveaux de la difficulté à atteindre les objectifs de performance. [...] / MultiGphysics systems design, including the design of mechatronics systems, involvings designers in different disciplines (e.g., mechanics, electronics, physics of sensors, etc.), particularly design for systems intended for operation in severe conditions (withstanding shocks, vibrations, high temperatures, and high pressures in limited dimensions), raises many of the challenging issues in the design of complex systems. Consequently, highly integrated products are characterized by multiple functional flows passing through common components. Very high performance requirements from the different designers may over-constrain architectural modules, as well as connections, and the performance of some functions. The integration of multi-physics functions within products of limited size that operate in severe conditions results in an intense" interaction between design parameters and expected functionality. As soon as a design parameter is changed, the performance of several functions may be impacted. This is due to a high degree of performance optimization and the fact that several functions are part of the functional flow stemming from a single component. In addition, some disciplines may be more constrained than others, depending upon given performance challenges and the concept architecture being considered. Hereafter, we refer to architectural modules, connections and disciplines as constrainable objects. Today, with no prediction tool for locating the aspects that are likely to be highly constrained, consequences may be dramatic. For instance, project management for systems in the oil industry is often responsible for unacceptable additions to project overhead costs and project timelines for a project that may simply fail in the end. In our study, we propose to semantically enrich conventional representation models of product complexity.We use a design structure matrix (DSM) to represent admissible architecture connections and dependency configurations, a domain mapping matrix (DMM) to link functions and architecture, and quality function deployment (QFD), in a non conventional way, in order to propagate the designers aims for performance of the components more than the traditional voice of the customer. We enrich DSM representations with a physical connection typology, allowing a range of choices at an early design stage For a given connection, information regarding the nature of likeldesign difficulties is incorporated into a data model. We enrich DMM representations with functional flow sequencing along the architectural modules. We adapt the QFD method to capture the voice of the engineering disciplines involved in the project this ontological enrichment of design data makes it easier to envision and manage design challenges for multiGphysics systems. Seven design assessment cards are proposed to the design team as meaningful tools used to converge from a set of potential architectural configurations toward single architecture. This convergence process is driven by the necessity of avoiding highly constrained constrainable objects, achieved by balancing and spreading the design constraints throughout the system. The seven assessment cards are organized into two major design quality vectors: the ambition vector and the difficulty vector. The ambition vector indicates degrees of freedom in exploration of the architecture design space. The difficulty vector offers heuristic information on the nature and levels of the difficulties in meeting performance targets. The resulting method, which we call the multi-physics design scorecard" (MPDS), was applied to the design of a power electronics controller (PEC), a regulator board involving three sectors: mechanics, electronics, and packaging. Data gathering and implementation of theMPDSmethod took the design team just one day. The method immediately generated improved architectures, guaranteeing at the same time a more robust further design process.

Detaljhandeln i fysiska butiker är utsatt av konkurrens från en betydligt mer innovationsrik e-handel och har därför ett behov av att vidareutvecklas. Ett sätt för detaljhandeln att utvecklas är att utnyttja tekniker som visats fungera bra inom e-handeln. Rekommendationssystem som ger rekommendationer till sina användare har nått stora framgångar och används av i stort sett alla företag inom e-handeln. Den mest använda tekniken för att ta fram rekommendationer kallas för collaborative filtering. Inom detaljhandel används dock inte detta i någon större utsträckning. Det finns därför förhållandevis lite kunskap om vad kunder anser om rekommendationer i butik. Syftet med studien är därför att utvärdera hur ett rekommendationssystem baserat på collaborative filtering presterar i en fysisk butik. Utvärderingen sker genom att mäta träffsäkerheten på rekommendationerna kunder får i en butik samt vad kunderna anser om dessa. Studien ämnar även att ta reda på hur kunder förhåller sig till automatiska rekommendationer i butik. I studien används två forskningsmetodiker för att uppnå dess forskningsmål. Design science har tillämpats för att utvärdera hur ett rekommendationssystem baserat på collaborative filtering presterar i en fysisk butik. En prototyp baserat på collaborative filtering utvecklades för att generera rekommendationer. Prototypen användes sedan i ett användartest som genomfördes i en butiksmiljö. För att belysa hur kunder förhåller sig till automatiska rekommendationer i butik användes en enkätundersökning som utfördes i samband med studiens användartest. Studiens resultat visar att prototypen gav rekommendationer med en hög träffsäkerhet där deltagarna upplevde rekommendationerna som bra och relevanta. Resultaten visar även att deltagarna i studien var positivt inställda till att få rekommendationer i butik. Detta leder till slutsatsen att rekommendationssystem baserat på collaborative filtering kan prestera väl i butiker vilket ger en indikation om att detta kan vara ett sätt för butiker att vidareutveckla handeln. / Retail stores are challenged by competition from the more innovative retailers in e-commerce and thus needs to adapt and evolve in order to stay competitive. This could be accomplished by using technology which has been proven successful in e-commerce. Recommender systems that produces recommendations to its users has been used successfully and is used by essentially all businesses involved in e-commerce. The most common method employed in these recommender systems is called collaborative filtering. Recommender systems have however not yet found its way into retail stores to a greater extent. This has led to a gap in knowledge regarding customer’s opinions of recommendations in retail stores. The purpose of this study is therefore to evaluate how recommender system based on collaborative filtering performs when used in retail stores. The evaluation is performed by measuring the accuracy of the recommendations a customer receives in a retail store as well as what the customer thinks of the recommendation. This study also intends to explore and shed light on people’s opinions concerning automatic recommendations in retail stores. Two different research methods have been used in this study. Design science is being used in order to evaluate how a recommender system based on collaborative filtering performs when used in retail stores. A prototype based on collaborative filtering was developed in order to generate recommendations. The prototype was then used in a user-test taking place in a retail-like environment. In order to shed light on people’s opinions regarding automatic recommendations in retail stores a questionnaire was handed out to the participants in conjunction with the user-test. The results of the study show that the prototype could produce high accuracy recommendations where the participants perceived the recommendations as good and relevant. The results also show that the participants of the study have positive attitude and were in favor of receiving automatic recommendations in retail stores. This leads to the conclusion that recommendations based on collaborative filtering could indeed perform well in retail stores. This indicates that recommender systems using collaborative filtering is one possible way for retail stores to evolve their business.