Knowledge transfer in website design:exploring the processes and benefits of design collaboration for non-creative Micros

This thesis explores the interaction between Micros (<10 employees) from non-creative sectors and website designers ("Creatives") that occurred when creating a website of a higher order than a basic template site. The research used Straussian Grounded Theory Method with a longitudinal design, in order to identify what knowledge transferred to the Micros during the collaboration, how it transferred, what factors affected the transfer and outcomes of the transfer including behavioural additionality. To identify whether the research could be extended beyond this, five other design areas were also examined, as well as five Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) engaged in website and branding projects. The findings were that, at the start of the design process, many Micros could not articulate their customer knowledge, and had poor marketing and visual language skills, knowledge core to web design, enabling targeted communication to customers through images. Despite these gaps, most Micros still tried to lead the process. To overcome this disjoint, the majority of the designers used a knowledge transfer strategy termed in this thesis as ‘Bi-Modal Knowledge Transfer’, where the Creative was aware of the transfer but the Micro was unaware, both for drawing out customer knowledge from the Micro and for transferring visual language skills to the Micro. Two models were developed to represent this process. Two models were also created to map changes in the knowledge landscapes of customer knowledge and visual language – the Knowledge Placement Model and the Visual Language Scale. The Knowledge Placement model was used to map the placement of customer knowledge within the consciousness, extending the known Automatic-Unconscious -Conscious model, adding two more locations – Peripheral Consciousness and Occasional Consciousness. Peripheral Consciousness is where potential knowledge is held, but not used. Occasional Consciousness is where potential knowledge is held but used only for specific tasks. The Visual Language Scale was created to measure visual language ability from visually responsive, where the participant only responds personally to visual symbols, to visually multi-lingual, where the participant can use visual symbols to communicate with multiple thought-worlds. With successful Bi-Modal Knowledge Transfer, the outcome included not only an effective website but also changes in the knowledge landscape for the Micros and ongoing behavioural changes, especially in marketing. These effects were not seen in the other design projects, and only in two of the SME projects. The key factors for this difference between SMEs and Micros appeared to be an expectation of knowledge by the Creatives and failure by the SMEs to transfer knowledge within the company.

An actor-network theory study of public sector inter-organisational collaboration

EMBARGOED The literature on inter-organisational collaboration, although wide-ranging, offers little guidance on collaboration as process. It focuses in the main on human attributes like leadership, trust and agency, but gives little consideration to the role of objects in the development of inter-organisational collaborations. A central aim of this thesis is to understand the interaction of objects and humans in the development of a particular health and social care partnership in the North East of England. This socio-material perspective was achieved through actor-network theory (ANT) as a methodology, in which the researcher is equally sensitised to the role of human and non-human entities in the development of a network. The case study is that of the North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (CTP). This was a unique health and social care collaboration arrangement between North East Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust, setup to address heath inequalities in the region. The CTP was conceived and developed at a local level by the respective organisation’s decision makers in the face of considerable opposition from regional policy makers and national regulators. However, despite this opposition, the directors eventually achieved their goal and the CTP became operational on 1st September 2007. This study seeks to understand how the CTP was conceived and developed, in the face of this opposition. The thesis makes a number of original contributions. Firstly, it adds to the current body of literature on collaboration by identifying how objects can help problematize issues and cement inter-organisational collaborations. Secondly it provides a novel account describing how two public sector organisations created a unique collaboration, despite pressing resistance from the regulatory authorities; and thirdly it extends Callon’s (1996) notion of problematization to examine how, what is rather vaguely described as ‘context’ in the literature, becomes enmeshed in decisions to collaborate. UNTIL 03/02/2016 THIS THESIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Frontline employees' collaboration in industrial service innovation:routes of co-creation's effects on new service performance

From a Service-Dominant Logic (S-DL) perspective, employees constitute operant resources that firms can draw to enhance the outcomes of innovation efforts. While research acknowledges that frontline employees (FLEs) constitute, through service encounters, a key interface for the transfer of valuable external knowledge into the firm, the range of potential benefits derived from FLE-driven innovation deserves more investigation. Using a sample of knowledge intensive business services firms (KIBS), this study examines how the collaboration with FLEs along the new service development (NSD) process, namely FLE co-creation, impacts on service innovation performance following two routes of different effects. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results indicate that FLE co-creation benefits the NS success among FLEs and firm’s customers, the constituents of the resources route. FLE co-creation also has a positive effect on the NSD speed, which in turn enhances the NS quality. NSD speed and NS quality integrate the operational route, which proves to be the most effective path to impact the NS market performance. Accordingly, KIBS managers must value their FLEs as essential partners to achieve successful innovation from an internal and external perspective, and develop the appropriate mechanisms to guarantee their effective involvement along the NSD process.

Issues of collaboration, representation, meaning and emotions:utilising participant-led visual diaries to capture the everyday lives of people in mid to later life

In recent years there has been an increasing use of visual methods in ageing research. There are, however, limited reflections and critical explorations of the implications of using visual methods in research with people in mid to later life. This paper examines key methodological complexities when researching the daily lives of people as they grow older and the possibilities and limitations of using participant-generated visual diaries. The paper will draw on our experiences of an empirical study, which included a sample of 62 women and men aged 50 years and over with different daily routines. Participant-led photography was drawn upon as a means to create visual diaries, followed by in-depth, photo-elicitation interviews. The paper will critically reflect on the use of visual methods for researching the daily lives of people in mid to later life, as well as suggesting some wider tensions within visual methods that warrant attention. First, we explore the extent to which photography facilitates a ‘collaborative’ research process; second, complexities around capturing the ‘everydayness’ of daily routines are explored; third, the representation and presentation of ‘self’ by participants within their images and interview narratives is examined; and, finally, we highlight particular emotional considerations in visualising daily life.

A joint approach to treating dental phobia:a re-evaluation of a collaboration between community dental services and specialist psychotherapy services ten years on

Objective To audit the records of a group of patients who had previously benefited from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for dental phobia.Aim To ascertain if they had returned to the use of intravenous (IV) sedation to facilitate dental treatment. Ten years ago these patients were routinely requiring IV sedation to facilitate dental treatment due to severe dental phobia.Method Sixty patients entered the original pilot project. Of those, 30 were offered CBT and 21 attended. Twenty of those patients (95.2%) were subsequently able to have dental treatment without IV sedation. In this follow-up study the electronic records of 19 of the 20 patients who had originally been successful with CBT were re-audited. Our purpose was to see if there was any record of subsequent IV sedation administration in the intervening ten years.Results Of the 19 successful CBT patients available to follow-up, 100% had not received IV sedation since the study ten years ago. This may suggest the initial benefit of CBT has endured over the ten-year period.Conclusion This study indicates that the use of CBT for patients with dental phobia proves beneficial not only in the initial treatment but that the benefits may endure over time. This results in a significant reduction in health risks to the patient from repeated IV sedation. It may also translate into significant financial savings for dental care providers. Our evidence for CBT as treatment for dental phobia suggests dental services should be implementing this approach now rather than pursuing further research. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Online grocery provision resistance:understanding urban (non-)collaboration and ambiguous supply chain environments

This chapter investigates the resistance by institutional actors in ambiguous supply chain environments for online grocery provision. Recent studies have shown that significant shifts in urban geographies are increasing consumers' expectations of online retail provision. However, at the same time there is also growing evidence that the collaborative practice in online grocery provision within the urban supply chains is resisted. That these trends are found despite growing demand of online provision highlights both the difficulty of bringing geographically dispersed supply partners together and the problems associated with operating within and across ambiguous environments. Drawing upon twenty-nine in-depth interviews with a range of institutional actors, including retail, logistics, and urban planning experts within an urban metropolis in an emerging market, we detail the different ways that collaboration is resisted in online retail provision. Several different patterns of resistance were identified in (non-) collaboration notably, ideological, functional, regulatory and spatial. © 2011, IGI Global. C.

Interorganizational innovation and collaboration in the UK medical device sector

Interorganizational team research is a growing body of literature and research has started toexamine team related factors such as interorganizational trust (i.e. Stock, 2006) in theinterorganizational setting. This research applies insights from the intraorganizational teamfield into the interorganizational team setting in order to determine the team related factorspertaining to effective collaboration in medical device innovation projects.Interorganizational collaboration has been a persistent feature within the interorganizationalrelations literature, due to the added benefits that can come with working collaborativelytowards a common goal (Berg-Weger & Schnieder, 1998). While much research has exploredthe structures and performance outcomes of engaging in this cross-boundary working, theliterature is sparse with respect to interpersonal relationships, practices and processes leadingto effective collaboration (Bergenholtz & Waldstrom, 2011; Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa & Bargherz,2015). An interpretivist perspective has informed an exploratory mixed methods approach to datacollection, with contextual insights informing each phase of data collection. Three exploratoryphases of data collection have provided (1) qualitative ethnography data, (1i) qualitativeinterview data and (2) quantitative survey data. The NHS has recently set out agendas to increase innovative procurement (Department ofHealth, 2008), work more closely with industry and SMEs (Innovation and Procurement Plan:Department of Health, 2009) and to increase innovative practice (IHW: NHS, 2011). SMEsdeveloping novel medical devices require input from the NHS to ensure that their devices areclinically applicable and therefore will be adopted by the NHS. These contextual insightsprovide the backdrop for Studies 1i and 2. The findings suggest that the intraorganizational team literature can be extended into theinterorganizational collaboration literature, whilst also explaining the factors relating toeffectiveness and success of interorganizational team innovation.

Munkahelyi tanulást befolyásoló tényezők – humán-számítógép együttműködés vizsgálata (Influencing factors of on-the-job learning – Analysis of human-computer collaboration)

A komplex, dinamikus, tudásalapú társadalomban nemcsak a tanulás formái, hanem a tanulás helyszínei is módosulnak, s a munkahely tanulásban betöltött szerepe felértékelődött. A munkahelyi környezet is számos átalakuláson esett át, az információs és kommunikációs technológiák (IKT) fejlődésével egyidejűleg lehetővé vált többek között a távmunka, jelentősen átformálva a munkavégzés és a munkahelyi interakciók módját. A kutatók arra keresték a választ kutatásukban, hogy a szervezeten belül milyen tényezők támogatják vagy gátolják a munkahelyi tanulást. A kutatás fő üzenete, hogy a tanulás keretrendszere, az egyéni képességek és az észlelt tanulási szituáció együttesen határozza meg a munkahelyi tanulást. A kutatók eredményüket kvalitatív kutatással feltárt három esettanulmányon keresztül ismertetik. ____ In a knowledge-based society not only the forms of learning have been changed but also the places of learning. The role of workplace in the learning process is becoming more important. Meantime, there has been a substantial change in the working conditions as the development in information and communication technologies (ICTs) makes it possible to telecommute transforming remarkably the way of working and the interactions at the workplace. The central question of the research is which intra-organizational factors support or hinder onthe- job learning. The main message of the research is that the learning framework, the individual cognitive competences and the perceived learning situation influence collectively on-the-job learning. Authors present the results of the qualitative research though three case studies.

Instructional change through collaboration and reflection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Facilitator-Collaborative-Reflective Model, a strategic plan for changing teachers' practices and beliefs, on a selected group of middle school teachers. This model of staff development training was based on Corey's (1953) Cooperative-Action-Research Model and Anders and Richardson (1994) Collaborative-Reflective Model. It supports the notion that earning a teachers' commitment to change by focusing on collaboration, reflection and the normative-re-educative process aids in altering teachers' beliefs and practices especially crucial to the change process. The year-long training provided for reflection, inquiry, and learning that was useful to teachers as they pursued their goals with their students. The lead teacher, as a change agent and transformational leader, assisted in this commitment to change by improving the teachers' self-concepts as they slowly changed. The collaborative and receptive environment of the staff development fostered acceptance and stimulation of ideas.^ Given the collaborative nature of the change process, qualitative research methods were used in the investigation. The research process was based on Stufflebeam's Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) Evaluation Model (Madaus, Scriven & Stufflebeam, 1983). This allowed for all three factors of the staff development model to be evaluated. The case studies and focus group were effective in discerning any actual change in practices or beliefs.^ The findings of the qualitative evaluation, consisting of a baseline survey, case studies, questionnaire and modified focus group interviews, concluded that all of the teachers were strongly influenced by the intervention model which was the subject of this study. From this evaluation, three distinct indicators were looked at to determine if any change in the teachers' practices and beliefs emerged: (1) change in practice and belief, (2) reflective feedback and (3) collaborative reflection. These indicators were common throughout the teacher responses thus substantiating the infusion of the Facilitator-Collaborative-Reflective Model at the school level for effective staff development. ^

Perceptions of collaboration between emergency nurses and paramedics

Collaboration between emergency room (ER) nurses and paramedics is vital due to the increasing number of critically ill patients entering the hospital via the "911" system. This descriptive study examined the perception of the collaborative relationship using the Revised Pehl Collaboration Scale (RPCS) and by qualitative data from four free response questions. The results of this study indicated that the overall relationship between the ER nurses and paramedics was friendly but not fully trusting. The content analysis of the free response questions identified that the "report" of patient information was the origin the most conflict. The nurses felt that paramedic patient assessment, patient priorities, and by-pass protocol were problems. Whereas, the paramedics identified the nurses condescending manner and mistrust, not being "listened" to, and overcrowded emergency rooms as the source of conflict. Data was not statistically significant with regards to personal attributes or social demographics from the RPCS.

Pour réussir dans la vie professionnelle, a-t-on besoin d'un bon quotient intellectuel (QI) ou d'un bon quotient émotionnel (QÉ)?

Après avoir présenté brièvement deux courants conceptuels à propos de l’intelligence émotionnelle (IÉ), nous abordons l’impact de celle-ci sur sept aspects du monde du travail : le leadership, la formation du personnel, la sélection du personnel, le rendement à la tâche, la gestion des conflits, les attitudes au travail et le bien-être au travail. Alors que l’intelligence émotionnelle promettait au départ de bouleverser le monde du travail, un grand nombre d’études montre que celle-ci ne fait pas le poids, particulièrement au plan de sa validité. Comparée à la valeur prédictive du quotient intellectuel (QI), l’intelligence émotionnelle montre un faible pouvoir prédicteur, en dépit des instruments judicieux que ses promoteurs ont mis au point pour mesurer ses effets.

Concomitance de violence conjugale et de mauvais traitements envers les enfants : représentations des intervenants et défis de collaboration pour l'offre d'une aide cohérente

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Exploration des connaissances relatives à la collaboration interprofessionnelle chez les finissants d'une école de service social

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.