Why more competent adolescents advance or regress after assymetrical peer interaction: Studying dialogue characteristics that make a difference

This study explores differences between more and less competent peers in joint problem-solving dialogues, related to opposite interaction outcomes of more competent students (progression/regression). Ten asymmetrical peer dyads were selected from 47 dyads participating in the previous study: five in which more competent (MC) student progressed the most, and five in which MC students regressed the most after a post-test. Ten dialogue characteristics were established in 50 conversations of these dyads. Cluster analysis revealed two dialogue types associated with different interaction outcomes of MC students. In the first one, MC students justified correct answers but behaved inconsistently with their higher competences. The second cluster characterizes domination-submissiveness pattern and MC students? unwillingness to justify opinion. All regressing MC students participated in the first dialogue type and 56% of progressing MC students in the second. Qualitative analysis of the conversations typical for extracted clusters implies that although ready to provide arguments to their peers when they can, regressing MC students exhibit uncertainty, thereby losing from interaction. Progressing MC students seem to protect themselves against possible interaction disturbances by dominant attitude and withdrawal from communication.

Strategic supplier relationships and supply chain resilience: Is digital transformation that precludes trust beneficial?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the role that communication, trust and digital transformation can play in the relationship between joint problem-solving and supply chain resilience. More specifically, the authors try to examine the possibility of digital transformation as a replacement for trust within a joint problem-solving context.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was developed and administrated to manufacturing firms within the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on data collected from 291 senior managers, multiple linear regressions were conducted through a customized process model to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results point to the actual impact of digital transformation being far more complicated than the initial benefits that it appears to bring within a supply chain. Thus, technology is only effective when applied within the right context. The authors showcase that the trio of digital transformation, trust and joint problem-solving can be highly valuable to establish supply chain resilience and that further investigation on the interrelationships between these concepts is warranted.Practical implicationsManufacturing firms that aim to adopt new technologies should not consider advanced digital technologies as an alternative to trust. While digital transformation can improve resource sharing and integration, governance mechanisms–such as trust–will remain the cornerstones of strategic supplier relationships. Therefore, supply chain partners must strive to achieve a balance between trust and the right type of digital technology.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature focusing on the role that digital transformation can play in developing supply chain capabilities. It adds an early empirical insight on the role of technology and governance in joint problem-solving and supply chain resilience.

Balancing Shareability and Positive Interdependence to Support Collaborative Problem-Solving on Interactive Tabletops

To support collaboration, researchers from different fields have proposed the design principles of shareability (engaging users in shared interactions around the same content) and positive interdependence (distributing roles and information to make users dependent on each other). While, on its own, each principle was shown to successfully support collaboration in different contexts, these principles are also partially conflicting, and their combination creates several design challenges. This paper describes how shareability and positive interdependency were jointly implemented in an interactive tabletop-mediated environment called Orbitia, with the aim of inducing collaboration between three adult participants. We present the design details and rationale behind the proposed application. Furthermore, we describe the results of an empirical evaluation focusing on joint problem-solving efficiency, collaboration styles, participation equity, and perceived collaboration effectiveness.

Risk Appraisal and Action Plans

This chapter describes the first session and the basic components of the REACH OUT intervention. The first session focuses on risk appraisal, conducted using two standardized measures, which helps the clinician and caregiver jointly establish a hierarchy of needs and goals for treatment and organize them according to the five risk areas. The chapter then outlines, step-by-step, the core process of REACH OUT: the creation of formal Action Plans. The goal of this intervention is to engage the caregiver in joint problem solving with the objective of creating written Action Plans targeting specific caregiving problems (e.g., improving caregiver health, addressing hazards in the physical environment). The chapter ends with tips for the clinician to keep in mind when working with caregivers to develop Action Plans.

SIERRA LEONE: MAPPING THE DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILISATION-REMOBILISATION AND REINTEGRATION OF EX-COMBATANTS. PROSPECTS FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE

Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes are necessary in states that experience armed conflict. Several post-conflict societies are usually characterised by the activities of individuals who undermine state-building efforts and prefer to work against joint problem solving aimed at sustaining peace. The study explores the change and continuity in the DDR programme and prospects for sustainable peace in Sierra Leone. With primary and secondary sources, including key informant interview with a former Minister, the paper responds to these questions: To what extent did remobilisation undermine peace agreements? How were the weapons and ex-combatants controlled by the government? What were the lessons and challenges of the DDR programme? How are the stakeholders sustaining post-DDR peace at the community level? The success of the state-building was occasioned by the joint problem-solving approach adopted by the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR), ECOMOG troops, the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leon, and other stakeholders at the community level. This paper stresses that the remobilisation of ex-combatants increased the intensity of the war which necessitated more external intervention to create enabling environment for state-building and security sector reforms. Sustaining peace in Sierra Leone demands continuous empowerment of youths and their active involvement in informal peace education. Post-DDR peacebuilding should be more youth-focused and development-oriented to prevent the resurgence of armed conflicts. Keywords:DDR, Ex-combatants, Peace agreement, Remobilisation, State building.

The Use of Computer Tools in Assessing the Development of Learning Interactions in Primary Schoolchildren

The article presents results of a study on the possibilities of using the ‘Scales’ research technique for assessing the effectiveness of learning interactions in primary school children. The study involved 90 students of primary school (N=90), grades 1 to 4. We discuss the issue of using computer tools in activity- based assessments. In our study, we have implemented the fundamental theoretical principle, according to which the very nature of participants’ activities determines the structure of the digital system construction. We show that evaluating the effectiveness of learning interactions in joint problem-solving tasks is possible in situations when the ‘digital shell’ of the students’ activities becomes a means to actualize the processes of communication, exchange of actions, mutual understanding and reflection, which determine the process of setting the learning task and finding the generalised way of solving it. It is noted that in the course of solving experimental problems, there is a qualitative change in these processes, which are an integral characteristic of the sense of community that arises between children and adults and, in turn, allows children to reach beyond the framework of the current subject problem and to move over to meaning-based interactions (Z=-3.651, Asympt.Sig.(2-tailed)<0.001, p=0.05).

Federalism

This chapter focuses on Swiss federalism. Federalism allows the division of power between one central and many regional governments and is therefore a widely used institutional arrangement in multicultural societies. But rather than just focusing on local and regional autonomy and differences, Swiss federalism also allows for collective participation and coming-together for the purpose of joint problem-solving. Federalism thus understood and practised has helped bridge the gap between different cultural communities. In difference to other countries, not so much competition and regional rivalries than rather solidarity and mutuality characterise Swiss federalism. Key expression of this solidarity is a sophisticated system of fiscal equalisation made up of both vertical (top-down) and horizontal (inter-cantonal) payments.

When Government Gets It Right: How a Strategic Visioning Process Aligned Nested Government Systems to Champion Local Relevance and Determination

This theme issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies addresses government/civic partnerships. Do government services always orient toward hierarchies of domination? Our answer is a resounding no. This article offers as evidence the actions of one government funder that removed hierarchical barriers, working in partnership with diverse grantees to envision a program that prioritizes community relevance and participation. Even as our article revolves around a strategic visioning event, it is a culmination of a government funder living out its guiding principles of mutual respect, joint problem solving, and valuing diversity, as well as the values, experiences, and collaborative spirit that diverse grantees brought. Our collective stories offer a clear example of how a partnership-based government program can engage and promote the strengths, needs, and priorities of the community not only because it is the appropriate and respectful approach, but also because it leads to stronger program results.