Collaborative Systems

A Roadmap For Strategic Research On Virtual Organizations

by Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

In Processes and foundations for virtual organizations, Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 1-4020-7638-X, Oct 2003

A roadmap to the necessary integrated research and technological development towards a new generation of virtual... more A roadmap to the necessary integrated research and technological development towards a new generation of virtual organizations is presented. In special the roadmapping methodology developed in the VOmap project is described and exemplified.

Towards a Semantically Augmented Collaborative Working Environment - Designing a Service Oriented Architecture Environment for eProfesionals

by Antonio Ruiz-Martínez

The Role of Collaborative Networks in Sustainability

by Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

In: Collaborative Networks for a Sustainable World, (L.M. Camarinha-Matos, X. Boucher, H. Afsarmanesh, Editors), IFIP AICT Series 336/2010, Springer.

There is a great potential for mutual beneficial synergies between the two fields of Collaborative Networks and... more There is a great potential for mutual beneficial synergies between the two fields of Collaborative Networks and Sustainability science. This potential has in fact been recognized in many fields where these synergies are leading to
novel approaches and solutions. It is particularly evident that the challenges of sustainability call for a wide collaboration among multiple stakeholders, as the needed changes exceed the capacity and capability of individual actors. With the purpose to illustrate the possible contribution and challenges for
collaborative networks in sustainability, a number of relevant cases where examples of such synergies are already identified are briefly introduced.

References on ARCON reference model for collaborative networks

by Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

Towards collaborative environments for ontology construction and sharing

by Vasant Honavar

Digital Product Development in a Distributed Virtual Environment

by Dirk Langenberg

Cao, Weiqun; Gärtner, Hendrik; Conrad, Stefan; Kruijff, Ernst; Langenberg, Dirk; Schultz, Ralph

Virtual Reality leads Digital Product Development technology to a more effective and convenient way by presenting the... more Virtual Reality leads Digital Product Development technology to a more effective and convenient way by presenting the product model in an immersive real 3D environment. Distributed VR even gives the possibility for partners to discuss the design of the product independent of their locations. This paper introduces the ongoing work with a Digital Product Development System with Virtually Cooperating Teams Using Optical Networks-ProVit, which aims at building up immersive telepresence systems for design review running over high-bandwidth networks. Video and audio streams are integrated in the virtual environment to support teleconference aspects of the distributed design review sessions. A network management system has been developed for the supervision, maintenance and processing of distributed setups, and network security.

Technical Architecture for configurable working environments for SMEs

by Dirk Langenberg

Langenberg, D.; Dryndos, J. 2009. “Technical Architecture for configurable working environments for SMEs.” In 15th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising (ICE) 2009.

Collaborations between SME are different than the traditional OEM-supplier chains. Here are other requirements in the... more Collaborations between SME are different than the traditional OEM-supplier chains. Here are other requirements in the focus of interest: Low costs are often more important than powerful and complex software products as well as flexibility to integrate with any kind of application is more necessary than already available integration solution for big enterprise application, which are only sporadic used in SMEs. Therefore the CoVES (Collaborative Virtual Engineering for SMEs) project followed a new approach for flexible integration of web applications in collaboration environments. The approach differs from the currently promoted service oriented architectures. This paper focuses on two technical aspects of the CoVES architecture: Mashup concept, which is a technology for a seamless integration of web applications, and Single Sign On for an easy access on the distributed data sources.

Collaborative Virtual Engineering for SMEs: Technical Architecture

by Dirk Langenberg

Dryndos, J.; Kazi, A. S.; Langenberg, D.; Löh, H.;Stark, R. 2008. “Collaborative Virtual Engineering for SMEs: Technical Architecture.” In 14th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising (ICE) 2008, p. 507–514.

Collaboration and mobility are two actual trends in new product development today. Due to the globalization of the... more Collaboration and mobility are two actual trends in new product development today. Due to the globalization of the economies and the outsourcing of specific tasks, companies have to work together as Virtual Organisations. However, the work environments of the collaborating people are very complex. In every company different processes and IT systems are used. Additionally, people are seldom at their company site, especially in small and medium sized companies (SME) the key personnel are often on the road. There they have no access to their digital files and information resources of their companies. This paper describes the architecture concept of a mobile collaborative environment addressing these problems.

Design Review in a Distributed Collaborative Virtual Environment

by Dirk Langenberg

Cao, Weiqun; Gärtner, Hendrik; Guddat, Hannes; Straube, Andreas M; Conrad, Stefan; Kruijff, Ernst; Langenberg, Dirk

Virtual Reality leads Digital Product Development technology to a more effective and convenient way by presenting the... more Virtual Reality leads Digital Product Development technology to a more effective and convenient way by presenting the product model in an immersive real 3D environment. Distributed VR even enables partners to discuss the design of the product independent of their locations. This paper introduces our work with a Digital Product Development System with Virtually Cooperating Teams Using High Bandwidth Networks — ProViT, which aims at building up immersive telepresence systems for design review across high-bandwidth networks. Video and audio streaming are integrated in the virtual environment to support immersive teleconference aspects of the distributed design review sessions. A network management system has been developed for the supervision, maintenance and processing of distributed setups, and network security.

Organizational forms and Social Network types – A framework for analysis

by Karthikeyan Iyer

Co-authored with Navneet Bhushan, Communicated to the Social Network Analysis Conference 2008 hosted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai on Dec 26-27, 2008

Recent developments in society and business have triggered the emergence of new forms of organizations, beyond the... more Recent developments in society and business have triggered the emergence of new forms of organizations, beyond the traditional hierarchical form. A study of contemporary literature and industry practices reveals the following distinct forms:hierarchical, ambidextrous, collaborative, learning and emergent. Simultaneously, embedded within organizations are different types of social networks. Our research indicates classifications of social networks along three key dimensions - the type of
response generated by these networks (customized response, modular response and routine response), the centrality of the networks (ego-centric, socio-centric and open networks) and the network architecture (centralized networks, request-based
networks, hub-swarms and swarms).This paper examines the relevance of social network types to organizational forms. We have designed a survey instrument based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process to solicit opinions of experts in the above areas. Preliminary results of this initial survey clearly indicate that specific combinations of social network types are found in particular organization forms. Potential applications of this study towards organizational design and transformation are also explored in the paper.

Virtual Collaboration and Community

by Jonathan Bowen

Ann Borda (VeRSI, Australia) and Jonathan P. Bowen. In Information Resources Management Association (ed.), Virtual Communities: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications, IGI Global, chapter 8.9, pages 2600-2611, 2011.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch809
ISBN13: 9781609601003
ISBN10: 1609601009
EISBN13: 9781609601010

See sample: http://www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=48824

This chapter introduces the concept of a Virtual Organization (VO), using the Internet to link geographically... more This chapter introduces the concept of a Virtual Organization (VO), using the Internet to link geographically separated participants in an efficient and novel manner. In particular, the chapter contrasts the attributes of Project VOs and Community VOs. The former tend to be more formal and arise for a particular collaborative goal with a limited lifetime. The latter are less formal and more open-ended, with a less specific purpose, largely aimed at developing an online community as an end in itself. The features of Project and Community VOs are compared and the various technologies are discussed. Two case studies are presented as examples. This is a rapidly changing area with new technologies becoming rapidly available, but the underlying concepts and reasons for the existence of VOs in the support of virtual collaborative practice remain more stable.

Is the Unfolding of the Group Discussion Off-Pattern? Improving Coordination Support in Educational Forums Using Mobile Devices

by Marco Aurelio Gerosa

GEROSA, M. A. ; FILIPPO, Denise ; PIMENTEL, Mariano ; FUKS, Hugo ; Lucena, Carlos J.P. . Is the unfolding of the group discussion off-pattern? Improving coordination support in educational forums using mobile devices. Computers and Education, v. 54, p. 528-544, 2010.

A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to... more A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to continually pay close attention in order to coordinate learners’ activities. Moreover, monitoring a forum is time consuming given that it is impossible to know in advance when new messages are going to be posted. Additionally, a forum may be inactive for a long period and suddenly receive a burst of messages forcing forum mediators to frequently log on in order to know how the discussion is unfolding to intervene whenever it is necessary. Mediators also need to deal with a large amount of messages to identify off-pattern situations. This work presents a piece of action research that investigates how to improve coordination support in a forum using mobile devices for mitigating mediator’s difficulties in following the status of a forum. Based on summarized information extracted from message meta-data, mediators consult visual information summaries on PDAs and receive textual notifications in their mobile phone. This investigation revealed that mediators used the mobile-based coordination support to keep informed on what is taking place within the forum without the need to log on their desktop computer.

Made in Midland

by Marina Lommerse

Exhibition, design mentoring workshops, and catalogue, Made in Midland, ed R. Eggleston, FORM, Perth, 2006, Co-mentored & co-curated by Marina Lommerse, Rebecca Eggleston & Jon Goulder.

Made in Midland  showcased the results of one of FORM’s Designing Futures projects, aimed at assisting the... more Made in Midland  showcased the results of one of FORM’s Designing Futures projects, aimed at assisting the business and artistic development of a cluster of seven fine-wood designers in the Midland region.

Designing Futures: A model for innovation, growth and sustainability of the craft and design industry

by Marina Lommerse

Marina Lommerse, Rebecca Eggleston & Kris Brankovic, ‘Designing Futures: A model for innovation, growth and sustainability of the craft and design industry’, Design Principles and Practices: an international journal, Vol 5 pp.x-x, 2011.

An industry development program, Designing Futures, has engaged design practitioners in evolving their work and the... more An industry development program, Designing Futures, has engaged design practitioners in evolving their work and the arts community over a decade. This paper describes the context, development and evolution of a cluster-led model, the Designing Futures Cluster Program, aimed at building capacity
in the craft and design field in Western Australia. Through a framework encouraging groups of practitioners to collaborate, it provides design, production, management and marketing mentoring and assistance. The Cluster Program  is set in the context of the cultural and socio-economic contribution
that creative industries can make to communities, and the impacts of policy and funding on fostering creative futures. Case study and action research methodologies were combined for the research, which resulted in a model. Using the results a comprehensive ‘manual’ was developed to articulate the model and guide future delivery of the program. The case study illustrates how cluster development enables increased productivity within creative practice, by mentoring and fostering links and professional networks with a range of industry representatives. The model, which has been proven to accelerate learning and professional growth of participants, is being explored for wider application.

Collaborating Wiki with University Database for Focused Learning Support

by Shahrinaz Ismail

International Journal for the Advancement of Science & Arts, Vol.1, No.2, 2010: 49-63;
APICTA Award 2010 Finalist under Tertiary Education Software/Hardware Category

With the development of Web 2.0 technology, social media has evolved from diverse concepts and work together... more With the development of Web 2.0 technology, social media has evolved from diverse concepts and work together collaboratively in supporting personal knowledge management and interactive learning. Wiki, which is a new concept of content management system with database for creating, browsing and searching through information, has found its niche among adult learners and institute of higher learning. The issue of information overload, due to exposure to the Internet, is neatly ironed out with the use of wiki. Yet, a normal wiki would have hyperlinks to information on other websites, which could cause a diversion of attention on the learners’ side, making the learners out of focus on the original subject. This paper suggests an implementation of wiki and the university database integration to provide focused learning support and environment to the adult learners. Seeing the advantage of wiki, there is a possibility of reducing the users’ resistance, which this study takes into account in the questionnaire survey. Diagrams are presented for further elaboration on the architecture of the proposed system. Recommendations on the learning contents, the use of this wiki in focused learning support, and the role of instructor in facilitating learners in using wiki are included. This study is part of a bigger picture in using the advantages of social media in the current research of “Social Realm of Teaching (and Learning) System (SOCRATES)”.

Contributions of Web Based Collaborative Tools and Platforms on Organizational Performance

by Cemil UZUN

Cemil UZUN
Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

In the study described in this paper, the role of technology in organizational learning and performance, and... more In the study described in this paper, the role of technology in organizational learning and performance, and collaborative platforms’ contributions on improving organizational performance are explored. The paper also mentions major types of collaborative tools and platforms used for organizational performance improvement. This study investigates the possible contributions of the usage of technology together with appropriate collaborative strategy to the organizational learning and performance improvement.

The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs

by Nader Ale Ebrahim نادر آل ابراهیم

ALE EBRAHIM, N., AHMED, S., ABDUL RASHID, S. H. & TAHA, Z. (2010). The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs. In: The 11th Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference (APIEMS 2010), 7 – 10 December 2010, Melaka, Malaysia. 1-6.

The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D)... more The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have a high potential for SMEs growth. Due to the fast growing complexity of the new product, coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs virtual R&D teams. An online questionnaire emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires were received, representing a 20.8 percent return rate. To avoid the bias that may result from pre-suggested answer, a series of open-ended questions asked from expertise. This study based on analyzing an open-ended question; extract four main themes among expertise recommendations on the effectiveness of virtual teams for SMEs growth and performance. These are suitable for SMEs new product design manager to realize the key advantage and importance of virtual R&D teams in the process of NPD, which lead to increase the effectiveness of the new product's procedure.

Virtual R&D Teams and SMEs Growth: A Comparative Study between Iranian and Malaysian SMEs

by Nader Ale Ebrahim نادر آل ابراهیم

African Journal of Business Management Vol. 4(11), pp. 2368-2379, 4 September, 2010

This paper explores potential advantages of using virtual teams for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a... more This paper explores potential advantages of using virtual teams for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a comprehensive review on various aspects of virtual teams. Based on the standing of the pertinent literature, attempt has been made to study the aspects by online survey method in Iran and Malaysia. In both countries, SMEs play an important role in their economies, employments, and capacity building. Virtual R&D team can be one of the means to increase SMEs efficiency and competitiveness in their local as well as global markets. In this context, surveys have been conducted to evaluate the effects of virtuality to the growth of SMEs. The study addresses some differences between two countries in engaging virtual research and development (R&D) teams in their SMEs. It is observed that there is a significant difference between the SMEs turnover that employed virtual team and that did not employ the virtual team. The way for further studies and recommend improvements are proposed.

Critical Factors for New Product Developments in Smes Virtual Team

by Nader Ale Ebrahim نادر آل ابراهیم

African Journal of Business Management Vol. 4(11), pp. 2247-2257, 4 September, 2010

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered as an engine for economic growth all over the world and especially... more Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered as an engine for economic growth all over the world and especially for developing countries. During the past decade, new product development (NPD) has increasingly been recognized as a critical factor in ensuring the continued survival of SMEs. On the other hand, the rapid rate of market and technological changes has accelerated in the past decade, so this turbulent environment requires new methods and techniques to bring successful new products to the marketplace. Virtual team can be a solution to answer the requested demand. However, literature have shown no significant differences between traditional NPD and virtual NPD in general, whereas NPD in SME’s virtual team has not been systematically investigated in developing countries. This paper aims to bridge this gap by first reviewing the NPD and its relationship with virtuality and then identifies the critical factors of NPD in virtual teams. The statistical method was utilized to perform the required analysis of data from the survey. The results were achieved through factor analysis at the perspective of NPD in some Malaysian and Iranian manufacturing firms (N = 191). The 20 new product development factors were grouped into five higher level constructs. It gives valuable insight and guidelines, which hopefully will help managers of firms in developing countries to consider the main factors in NPD.

Consideration of the virtual team work and disabled citizens, as promising opportunity providers for the e government infrastructure's formation

by Nader Ale Ebrahim نادر آل ابراهیم

SHAFIA, M. A., ALE EBRAHIM, N., AHMED, S. & TAHA, Z. (2009). Consideration of the virtual team work and disabled citizens, as promising opportunity providers for the e government infrastructure's formation. In: The Second Conference on Electronic City (e-city 2009), 24-25, May, 2009 Tehran, Iran. 959-966.

The Information area has revolutionized the workplace. Douglas Kruse, a professor of human resources and the director... more The Information area has revolutionized the workplace. Douglas Kruse, a professor of human resources and the director of the program for disability research at Rutgers University, states that 7% of employed persons with disabilities work 20 hours or more a week from home. While some modern countries have established “virtual teams”, which are said to be comprised of people who are geographically scattered and who work across boundaries of space and time using computer driven communication technologies, it is also true that many developing countries remain structured around conventional face-to-face teams. A motive toward virtual team working may be cost effectiveness. Increasing transport and human resource costs makes face to face contact less attractive unless they are essential. In an environment of urging to move into the direction of governing the activities via electronic moves, consideration of the individuals who deliver their services to the society in the form of virtual teams are of the primary value which should accelerate the E culture while E government is aimed at. By reviewing literature and theories, this paper present the definition and characteristics of virtual teams. A comparison of different types of virtual teams along with the application, strengths and limitations of them regarding as the promising elements of e activities are elaborated. Persons with disabilities are entitled to and capable of the same career options as their non-disabled counterparts and increasing numbers of them are taking advantage of virtual workplaces therefore creating a condition to facilitate the cultivation of e moves in the society.