Organisational Appropriation of Technology: A Case Study

This paper investigates how organisations – as joint cognitive systems – deal with change. This is explored in a case study into the use of web-based technology in an organisation and the ways in which its current and future use may be influenced by the local concerns of the actors with it. The paper looks at some of the factors that need to be taken into account for improving technology, and more specifically, in intranet development. In particular, the paper discusses the case experience in the light of previous research in IT-enabled organisational transformation and contributes to our understanding of human interaction with network technologies in an organisational context.     

The Region of Aachen as a ‘Learning Region’: A Case Study

All economic processes are increasingly being networked across the globe. This economic globalisation has become possible through the globalisation of information and communication technology networks. In view of such growing globalisation of economic processes, the region and its enterprises can only sustain competitiveness on the basis of continuous innovation processes, i.e., through continuous learning. The question, however, is which kind of economic framework – established by regional or transregional politics – is needed to support such innovation and learning processes in the region. In this paper, some aspects of this framework and its structural change processes are described, leading to the strategy to implement the concept of a Learning Region. The Learning Region is characterised in that it recognises its own needs for change and to accept these challenges, leading to its own learning processes within its cooperative networks.     

Learning Organisations: The Process of Innovation and Technological Change

In the present scenario of globalisation, knowledge has become the prime factor of production for competitive advantage. This calls for acquisition and utilisation of knowledge for innovation and technical change on a constant basis, which is only possible in a ‘learning organisation’. Innovative activities of a learning organisation are influenced by three main factors: (1) internal learning; (2) external learning; and (3) the innovation strategies decided upon by the enterprise management. An assumption has been made that, particularly in developing countries, absorption and adaptation of technologies, i.e. indigenisation, take place through a process of ‘learning by doing’. Taking this into consideration, this paper focuses on a few case studies carried out at NISTADS, New Delhi, India, on small enterprises in the formal as well as traditional sectors, highlighting the learning process in an organisational context and how it brings in innovation and technological change at enterprise level. The study demonstrates that the learning environment in an organisational context is an indispensable process to be innovative and building up capabilities for technological change. This in turn also calls for strong networking of the enterprises with academia, R&D institutions and other enterprises, to create knowledge clusters. This builds up a strong case for a network approach of learning organisations not only at the regional level but also at the cross-cultural level for constant innovation and technical change.     

Performance Management in Breast Screening: A Case Study of Professional Vision

As part of a programme to investigate the requirements for computer-based detection aids in the NHS breast screening programme, we have been studying how the work of mammogram reading is done within different screening centres. Our findings show how various interactional practices have been evolved in order to help maintain readers’ performance within acceptable levels. In this paper, we investigate one of these in detail, the use of annotations on screening reporting forms, and we consider their role in managing readers’ performance. Finally, we consider the implications of such practices for the design of computer-based systems and tools for breast screening.     

Cognitive Theories and Engineering Approaches for Safety Assessment and Design of automated systems: A Case Study of a Power Plant

This paper concerns methods and techniques for analysis and assessment of human factors in automated plant. A well-known theory is reviewed and an engineering approach is devised for retrospective accident evaluations and prospective studies. The lessons learnt from a serious accident for the safety assessment of a real plant are discussed in detail. The relevance of the human contribution to the accident and the likely improvements identified by the application of the method confirm the importance and advantages of performing accurate human factors analyses for design and safety of technological systems.     

Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff: A Study of the Detection of Alarms

The research in this paper considers the evidence on the success of alarm reduction strategies reported in the open literature. Despite strong beliefs to the contrary, the empirical evidence suggest that alarm reduction strategies have not been as successful as initially expected. This seems to be due to the fact that alarm reduction strategies actually deprive process control operators of information. In order to determine the ability of people to sift through alarm information, a study of alarm detection with three ratios of target to non-target alarms was devised (i.e. 2%, 6% and 10%) and the information was presented at three rates (i.e. 1 second, 4 seconds and 8 seconds). The results show that the ratio of target alarms has no effect on detection performance, but the temporal rate does. Given that process operators are rarely required to acknowledge alarm information in real time, it is suggested that more emphasis should be placed on initial definition of alarms and better presentation methods, rather than attempts to block the flow of alarms that have already been triggered.     

Socio-Cognitive Factors in the Acquisition and Transfer of Knowledge

Within cooperative learning great emphasis is placed on the benefits of ?two heads being greater than one?. However, further examination of this adage reveals that the value of learning groups can often be overstated and taken for granted for different types of problems. When groups are required to solve ill-defined and complex problems under real world constraints, different socio-cognitive factors (e.g., metacognition, collective induction, and perceptual experience) are expected to determine the extent to which cooperative learning is successful. Another facet of cooperative learning, the extent to which groups enhance the use of knowledge from one situation to another, is frequently ignored in determining the value of cooperative learning. This paper examines the role and functions of cooperative learning groups in contrast to individual learning conditions, for both an acquisition and transfer task. Results for acquisition show groups perform better overall than individuals by solving more elements of the Jasper problem as measured by their overall score in problem space analysis. For transfer, individuals do better overall than groups in the overall amount of problem elements transferred from Jasper. This paradox is explained by closer examination of the data analysis. Groups spend more time engaged with each other in metacognitive activities (during acquisition) whereas individuals spend more time using the computer to explore details of the perceptually based Jasper macrocontext. Hence, results show that individuals increase their perceptual learning during acquisition whereas groups enhance their metacognitive strategies. These investments show different pay-offs for the transfer problem. Individuals transfer more overall problem elements (as they explored the context more) but problem solvers who had the benefit of metacognition in a learning group did better at solving the most complex elements of the transfer problem. Results also show that collective induction groups (ones that freely share) – in comparison to groups composed of dominant members – enhance certain kinds of transfer problem solving (e.g., generating subgoals). The results are portrayed as the active interplay of socio-cognitive elements that impact the outcomes (and therein success) of cooperative learning.     

Magic Touch: A Simple Object Location Tracking System Enabling the Development of Physical-Virtual Artefacts in Office Environments

A novel method for tracking physical activities is presented. The method is based on the assumption that all changes to the physical environment are done by users themselves, and that these actions can be tracked using wearable computer technology placed on human hands. Various limitations of the proposed method are discussed. Acknowledging these limitations, a range of possible applications are presented, e.g. a set of Physical-Virtual Artefacts intended to decrease the gap between the physical and virtual environments within offices. Also, some aspects of the modelling of user actions in office environments are discussed.     

An Indigenous Process of Pedagogic Innovation: A Case Study on Curriculum Development

We describe our attempts at curriculum development at the undergraduate level working within the constraints of a large traditional university system. Curriculum reform is described as a three-step process of product innovation, accommodation and assimilation. In a dual-pronged strategy, students are constructively engaged, first, in investigative projects and assigned specific tasks, giving them a flavour of creative research, and, second, in development of curricular products. The process of transfer of pedagogic innovations into the formal classroom is enhanced by a teacher training programme that aims to provide experiential learning of research-based innovative teaching practices, catalyse a process of reflection through classroom research and establish a collaborative network of teachers.     

Exploring the Suitability of Virtual Environments for Safety Training: Signals, Norms and Ambiguity in a Simulated Emergency Escape

This study aims at exploring the suitability of virtual environments for safety training in large public spaces. A virtual library was constructed which simulated many of the physical and normative characteristics of the ‘real’ university library which was the target of the virtual safety training project. In the virtual library, two different types of signals (fixed red signs vs. moving green arrows) for guiding people to the emergency exits were presented, and their efficacy on escape times was tested in three different conditions, differing with respect to the distance of participants from the escape exits (measured according to the number of corners separating participants from direct visual discovery of the emergency exit). No significant differences between the different kinds of signals were found, whereas surprising discrepancies among the three conditions appeared. The differences in performance in the three conditions were contingent upon the presence in the virtual library of peculiar environmental features embodying social norms – like a red ribbon indicating no transit. Uncertainty about the sense of such normative features in the context of the simulated emergency made some participants prone to peculiar knowledge-based errors consisting of inadequate sense-making of the normative aspects of the ongoing situation. This kind of error shows that the simulation succeeded in capturing one of the crucial characteristics of ‘real’ social context: ambiguity, which mostly depends on the fact that the social norms structuring public spaces and defining their legitimate uses are often ill defined and context dependent. Every valid experience in safety training requires coping with ambiguity in situations.     

Regional Specialisation for Technological Innovation in R&D Laboratories: A Strategic Perspective

The present paper attempts to highlight the strategy of regional specialisation for technological innovation in R&D laboratories. The paper makes a proposition that regional specialisation should be recognised as a strategic initiative for technology development in R&D laboratories. The rationale for this strategic initiative has been substantiated with the help of illustrations from the cases of technology development efforts taken up in different laboratories in the country under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India. In this direction, CSIR and other centres of excellence have played a pioneering role in the development of various industrial clusters and artisan concentrations in different parts of the country. The implications of adoption or otherwise of this strategy initiative for technological innovation in R&D laboratories have been discussed.     

The Cayun Builder and the Jiu-Jitsu Entrepreneur: A Narrative of the Making of an Entrepreneur in the Digital Age

This narrative describes the making of a German electrical engineer, Kurt Beyer, into a micro-entrepreneur. He set for himself the goal of sailing around the world in his own vessel – without being able to afford to buy such a ship. Many people in Germany have in recent years started to build their own sea-going vessels in order to escape from the creativity-stifling and restrictive patterns of their lives and work. Only a few of them have ever finished building their vessels. Firstly, this report describes the experiences of one of those few who have made it. Secondly, it tells the story of how this engineer himself turned into a micro-entrepreneur during the period of yacht-building and how later he started his own charter enterprise, centred around his yacht. Following the model of entrepreneurship described by Dassen-Housen in this issue of AI & Society, the narrative illustrates what it means to run such an enterprise in view of the international competition. Here follows the narrative of the engineer and ship-builder himself (translated by D. Brandt).