Socio-Technical Affordances for Large-Scale Collaborations: Introduction to a Virtual Special Issue

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvind Malhotra ◽  
Ann Majchrzak ◽  
Kalle Lyytinen
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Knowledge Dissemination ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Organization Science ◽  
Geographically Distributed ◽  
Complex Architecture ◽  
Dissemination Efficiency

In this special issue, we review 14 articles published in Organization Science over the past 25 years examining large-scale collaborations (LSCs) tasked with knowledge dissemination and innovation. LSCs involve sizeable pools of participants carrying out a common mission such as developing open-source software, detector technologies, complex architecture, encyclopedias, medical cures, or responses to climate change. LSCs depend on technologies because they are often geographically distributed, incorporate multiple and diverse epistemic perspectives. How such technologies need to be structured and appropriated for effective LSC collaborations has been researched in piecemeal fashion by examining a single technology used in a single collaboration context with little opportunity for generalization. Studies have tended to black box technology use even though they acknowledge such uses to be critical to the LSC operation. We unveil the black box surrounding LSC collaboration technologies by identifying three challenges that LSCs face when they pursue an LSC effort: (1) knowledge exchange challenges, (2) knowledge deliberation challenges, and (3) knowledge combination challenges. We examine how technology was used in responding to these challenges, synthesizing their use into three socio-technical affordances to improve knowledge dissemination efficiency and innovation effectiveness: knowledge collaging, purposeful deliberating, and knowledge interlacing. We demonstrate the intellectual benefit of incorporating socio-technical affordances in studies of LSCs including what small group collaboration research can learn from LSCs.

scholarly journals Guest Editorial: Special Issue on Large-Scale Wireless-Powered Networks With Backscatter Communications

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1961-1964
Author(s):  
Sami Muhaidat ◽  
Paschalis C. Sofotasios ◽  
Kaibin Huang ◽  
Muhammad Ali Imran ◽  
Zhiguo Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Guest Editorial ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Editorial Special Issue

scholarly journals Temporal concatenation for Markov decision processes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Ruiyang Song ◽  
Kuang Xu
Keyword(s):  
Markov Decision Processes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Upper Bounds ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Decision Processes ◽  
Optimal Solutions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Markov Decision ◽  
Speed Up

We propose and analyze a temporal concatenation heuristic for solving large-scale finite-horizon Markov decision processes (MDP), which divides the MDP into smaller sub-problems along the time horizon and generates an overall solution by simply concatenating the optimal solutions from these sub-problems. As a “black box” architecture, temporal concatenation works with a wide range of existing MDP algorithms. Our main results characterize the regret of temporal concatenation compared to the optimal solution. We provide upper bounds for general MDP instances, as well as a family of MDP instances in which the upper bounds are shown to be tight. Together, our results demonstrate temporal concatenation's potential of substantial speed-up at the expense of some performance degradation.

Supporting our supervisors: a Summary and Discussion of the Special Issue on CBT supervision

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory F. Newman ◽  
Robert P. Reiser ◽  
Derek L. Milne
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Cognitive Behaviour ◽  
Feedback Strategies ◽  
Technical Innovations ◽  
Procedural Guidance

AbstractContributors to this Special Issue of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist have considered the kind of infrastructure that should be in place to best support and guide CBT supervisors, providing practical advice and extensive procedural guidance. Here we briefly summarize and discuss in turn the 10 papers within this Special Issue, including suggestions for further enhancements. The first paper, by Milne and Reiser, conceptualized this infrastructure in terms of an ‘SOS’ (supporting our supervisors) framework, from identifying supervision competencies, to training, evaluation and feedback strategies. The next nine papers illustrate this framework with specific technical innovations, educational enhancements and procedural issues, or through comprehensive quality improvement systems, all designed to support supervisors. These papers suggest an assortment of workable infrastructure developments: two large-scale and comprehensive initiatives, some promising proposals and technologies, and a series of local, exploratory work. Collectively, they provide us with models for further developing evidence-based cognitive-behavioural supervision, and offer practical suggestions for giving supervisors the tools and support to maximize their supervisees’ learning, and to improve the associated client outcomes. Much research and development work remains to be done, and successful implementation will require institutional and political support, as well as cross-cultural adaptations. We conclude with an optimistic assessment of progress toward addressing some of the infrastructure improvements required to adequately support supervisors.

scholarly journals Participatory Mapping for Strengthening Environmental Governance on Socio-Ecological Impacts of Infrastructure in the Amazon: Lessons to Improve Tools and Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14048
Author(s):  
Carla Mere-Roncal ◽  
Gabriel Cardoso Carrero ◽  
Andrea Birgit Chavez ◽  
Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano ◽  
Bette Loiselle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Participatory Mapping ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Novel Approach

The Amazon region has been viewed as a source of economic growth based on extractive industry and large-scale infrastructure development endeavors, such as roads, dams, oil and gas pipelines and mining. International and national policies advocating for the development of the Amazon often conflict with the environmental sector tasked with conserving its unique ecosystems and peoples through a sustainable development agenda. New practices of environmental governance can help mitigate adverse socio-economic and ecological effects. For example, forming a “community of practice and learning” (CoP-L) is an approach for improving governance via collaboration and knowledge exchange. The Governance and Infrastructure in the Amazon (GIA) project, in which this study is embedded, has proposed that fostering a CoP-L on tools and strategies to improve infrastructure governance can serve as a mechanism to promote learning and action on factors related to governance effectiveness. A particular tool used by the GIA project for generating and sharing knowledge has been participatory mapping (Pmap). This study analyzes Pmap exercises conducted through workshops in four different Amazonian regions. The goal of Pmap was to capture different perspectives from stakeholders based on their experiences and interests to visualize and reflect on (1) areas of value, (2) areas of concern and (3) recommended actions related to reducing impacts of infrastructure development and improvement of governance processes. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore textual analysis, regional multi-iteration discussion with stakeholders, participatory mapping and integration with ancillary geospatial datasets. We believe that by sharing local-knowledge-driven data and strengthening multi-actor dialogue and collaboration, this novel approach can improve day to day practices of CoP-L members and, therefore, the transparency of infrastructure planning and good governance.

scholarly journals Towards developing multimodal literacies in the ESP classroom: methodological insights and practical applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli ◽  
Inmaculada Fortanet-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Knowledge Dissemination ◽  
Multimodal Approach ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Multimodal Literacy ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Innovative Research ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Literacy Research

Abstract In this article, we provide an introduction to this special issue of Multimodal Communication entitled “Multimodal approaches in ESP: Innovative research and practice”. The Special Issue showcases innovative research presented at the 2019 International Conference on Knowledge Dissemination and Multimodal Literacy: Research Perspectives on ESP in a Digital Age. After briefly discussing the multimodal approach in language teaching and specifically in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and its key role in developing multimodal competence, each of the five featured contributions is previewed. The contributions offer theoretically grounded and research-informed applications of the multimodal approach in the ESP classroom.

scholarly journals Introduction to special issue: Learning assessments for sustainability? Exploring the interaction between two global movements

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Oren Pizmony-Levy ◽  
Dafna Gan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Learning Assessments ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Meaningful Engagement ◽  
Global Movements ◽  
The 1960S

The aim of this special issue, “Learning Assessments for Sustainability?”, is to examine the interaction between the environmental and sustainability education (ESE) movement and the international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) movement. Both global educational movements emerged in the 1960s and their simultaneous work have affected each other since then. While the articles in this special issue highlight the potential benefits of ILSAs as a source of data for secondary analysis, they also demonstrate the limitations of ILSAs and their negative consequences to ESE. As such, we call for more research on the interaction between ESE and ILSAs and for a serious consideration of how test-based accountability practices might work against meaningful engagement with ESE. This introductory article includes three sections. The first section provides context about the movements. The second section presents an overview of the articles and alternative ways for reading them. The third section discusses lessons learned from the collection of articles. We conclude with a call for further research and reflection.

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