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The Impact of Avatars, Social Norms and Copresence on the Collaboration Effectiveness of AEC Virtual Teams

Anderson, Anne; Dossick, Carrie Sturts; Iorio, Josh; Taylor, John E. (2017). The Impact of Avatars, Social Norms and Copresence on the Collaboration Effectiveness of AEC Virtual Teams. Journal Of Information Technology In Construction, 22, 287 – 304.

Abstract

A growing number of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms are outsourcing complex design and construction work to international vendors. Due to the significant geographic distances that can separate project team members in global design networks, much of this work is executed in virtual teams, defined as teams composed of geographically separated members who collaborate to accomplish organizational tasks mediated by technology. The challenges of working in geographically distributed networks have prompted the development of alternative, virtual workspaces. Questions remain on how these virtual workspaces support or hinder collaborative work. People are social beings that rely on body language and other non-verbal cues to communicate. What happens to team formation and collaborative effectiveness when non-verbal cues are mediated through avatar actions? In this paper, qualitative ethnographic data collected over four years from studies conducted in a 3D virtual world are used to examine collaboration effectiveness of global virtual engineering project teams. We found that avatar movement and position was effective at communicating nonverbal information, even when done so unintentionally. Avatar actions that map to established social norms in the physical world results in more efficient communication. Collaboration was also enhanced when gesture bubbles were used for backchannel communication and when text chat was used to avoid interrupting voice communication. We found collaboration was hindered when the learning curve was too steep for participants to adapt to tool use or avatar actions in the environment. These findings have important implications for the future of collaboration in virtual environments, particularly in the AEC industry where 3D models can be imported into the virtual environment and explored synchronously by a project team.

Keywords

Architectural Design; Human Resource Management; International Trade; Bim Coordination; Collaboration Technology; Distributed Teams; Social Norm; Virtual Worlds; Communication; Design; Technology; Dimensions; Teamwork; Behavior; Collaboration Technologies; Social Norms

Cybergrid: A Virtual Workspace for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

Taylor, John E.; Alin, Pauli; Anderson, Anne; Çomu, Semra; Dossick, Carrie Sturts; Hartmann, Timo; Iorio, Josh; Mahalingam, Ashwin; Mohammadi, Neda. (2018). Cybergrid: A Virtual Workspace for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction. Transforming Engineering Education: Innovative, Computer-mediated Learning Technologies, 291-321.

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Abstract

Projects in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry frequently involve a large number of firms that increasingly span national boundaries. National boundary spanning by AEC firms engaged in complex, interdependent work introduces coordination challenges because stakeholders may not share the same language, culture or work practices. These types of firms have begun to explore the use of technologies that can meaningfully create productive work connections between the distributed participants 47 and help improve work coordination and execution. In this chapter, we describe the CyberGRID (Cyber-enabled Global Research Infrastructure for Design); a virtual workspace designed to support geographically distributed AEC work coordination and execution. The CyberGRID was created as a research tool to both enable and study virtual AEC teamwork. We summarize findings from multiple experiments over the jive year history of CyberGRID research and development. These findings help to improve our understanding of interactional dynamics among virtual teams in complex sociotechnical systems like the CyberGRID. We then discuss the challenges faced in developing the CyberGRID and in achieving widespread adoption of such tools in the industry. We close the chapter with a discussion of future research opportunities to develop improved sociotechnical systems to better support the execution of AEC projects. Our goal with this chapter is to argue that sociotechnical systems like the CyberGRID can fundamentally and positively transform the interactional dynamics of AEC project stakeholders to create more efficient global virtual work practices.

Keywords

Civil Engineering Computing; Construction Industry; Data Visualisation; Groupware; Project Management; Team Working; Virtual Reality; Cybergrid; Virtual Workspace; Construction; Engineering; National Boundaries; National Boundary Spanning; Aec Firms; Complex Work; Interdependent Work; Coordination Challenges; Culture; Productive Work Connections; Chapter; Global Research Infrastructure; Geographically Distributed Aec Work Coordination; Research Tool; Virtual Aec Teamwork; Virtual Teams; Complex Sociotechnical Systems; Future Research Opportunities; Improved Sociotechnical Systems; Aec Projects; Aec Project Stakeholders; Efficient Global Virtual Work Practices

Dynamic Production Scheduling Model Under Due Date Uncertainty in Precast Concrete Construction

Kim, Taehoon; Kim, Yong-Woo; Cho, Hunhee. (2020). Dynamic Production Scheduling Model Under Due Date Uncertainty in Precast Concrete Construction. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 257.

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Abstract

Precast concrete structures (PCs) are widely used in the construction industry to reduce project delivery times and improve quality. On-time delivery of PCs is critical for successful project completion because the processes involving precast concrete are the critical paths in most cases. However, existing models for scheduling PC production are not adequate for use in dynamic environments where construction projects have uncertain construction schedules because of various reasons such as poor labor productivity, inadequate equipment, and poor weather. This research proposes a dynamic model for PC production scheduling by adopting a discrete-time simulation method to respond to due date changes in real time and by using a new dispatching rule that considers the uncertainty of the due dates to minimize tardiness. The model is validated by simulation experiments based on various scenarios with different levels of tightness and due date uncertainty. The results of this research will contribute to construction project productivity with a reliable and economic precast concrete supply chain. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Multiple Production; Demand Variability; Supply Chain; Shop; Management; Minimize; Lines; Precast Concrete Production; Dynamic Simulation; Uncertainty; Production Scheduling; Dispatching Rule

Accelerated Construction of Urban Intersections with Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP)

Nemati, Kamran M.; Uhlmeyer, Jeff S. (2021). Accelerated Construction of Urban Intersections with Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP). Case Studies In Construction Materials, 14.

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Abstract

The frequent maintenance required on asphalt concrete (AC) pavement sections has made reconstruction with portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) a feasible alternative. However, many constructability issues need to be addressed in order to realize the full potential of this alternative. Accelerated paving encompasses three classes of activities: methods to accelerate the rate of strength gain, methods to minimize the construction time, and traffic control strategies to minimize user delay. In this paper a case study will be presented in which an AC intersection was reconstructed with portland cement concrete pavement. The entire reconstruction of the intersection, including demolition of the AC pavement and its replacement with PCCP, took place over a period of three days, starting on Thursday evening and opening the intersection to the traffic on Sunday afternoon. This paper documents this effort in order to provide practitioners additional options for rapid reconstruction of urban intersections and includes documentation of the construction process, traffic management strategies, and an analysis of the costs. The results of this investigation can be used to educate pavement construction professionals and the academic community on the use of PCCP for accelerated reconstruction of major urban intersections with minimal user and traffic disruption, using innovative construction techniques and traffic management optimization principles. This investigation produced valuable information to demonstrate that concrete pavements can be constructed efficiently and quickly. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

Concrete; Accelerated Construction; Pavement; Portland Cement Concrete Pavement; Maturity Method

A Case Study of the Failure of Digital Communication to Cross Knowledge Boundaries in Virtual Construction

Neff, Gina; Fiore-Silfvast, Brittany; Dossick, Carrie Sturts. (2010). A Case Study of the Failure of Digital Communication to Cross Knowledge Boundaries in Virtual Construction. Information Communication & Society, 13(4), 556 – 573.

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Abstract

When can digital artefacts serve to bridge knowledge barriers across epistemic communities? There have been many studies of the roles new information and communication technologies play within organizations. In our study, we compare digital and non-digital methods of inter-organizational collaboration. Based on ethnographic fieldwork on three construction projects and interviews with 65 architects, engineers, and builders across the USA, we find that IT tools designed to increase collaboration in this setting instead solidify and make explicit organizational and cultural differences between project participants. Our study suggests that deeply embedded disciplinary thinking is not easily overcome by digital representations of knowledge and that collaboration may be hindered through the exposure of previously implicit distinctions among the team members' skills and organizational status. The tool that we study, building information modelling, reflects and amplifies disciplinary representations of the building by architects, engineers, and builders instead of supporting increased collaboration among them. We argue that people sometimes have a difficult time overcoming the lack of interpretive flexibility in digital coordinating tools, even when those tools are built to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords

Digital Communications; Data Transmission Systems; Communication & Technology; Digital Electronics; System Analysis; Building Information Modelling; Collaboration; Qualitative Methods; Teams; Civil Engineering Computing; Digital Communication; Groupware; Knowledge Representation; Organisational Aspects; Virtual Reality; Case Study; Virtual Construction; Knowledge Barriers; Epistemic Community; Interorganizational Collaboration; Ethnographic Fieldwork; Interpretive Flexibility; Digital Coordinating Tool; Digital Collaboration; Technology; Objects; Design; Representations; Organizations

Free: Accounting for the Costs of the Internet’s Most Popular Price

Hoofnagle, Chris Jay; Whittington, Jan. (2014). Free: Accounting for the Costs of the Internet’s Most Popular Price. UCLA Law Review, 61(3), 606 – 670.

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Abstract

Offers of free services abound on the Internet. But the focus on the price rather than on the cost of free services has led consumers into a position of vulnerability. For example, even though internet users typically exchange personal information for the opportunity to use these purportedly free services, one court has found that users of free services are not consumers for purposes of California consumer protection law. This holding reflects the common misconception that the costs of free online transactions are negligible when in fact true costs may be quite significant. To elucidate the true costs of these allegedly free services, we apply a transaction cost economics (TCE) approach. Unlike orthodox economic theory, TCE provides a framework for analyzing exchanges in which the price of the product seems to be zero. Under a TCE analysis, we argue that information-intensive companies misuse the term free to promote products and services that involve numerous nonpecuniary costs. In so doing, firms generate contractual hazards for consumers, ignore consumer preferences for privacy, and mislead consumers by creating the impression that a given transaction will be free. While psychological research and behavioral economics may support an outright ban of free offers because of their biasing effects, TCE suggests reforming governance structures to place the business risks associated with free transactions more firmly in the hands of businesses. We suggest alterations to governance structures such as the Federal Trade Commission's Guide Concerning Use of the Word Free (FTC Guide) to curb the incentives of firms to raise transaction costs for consumers. The FTC Guide provides support for two of the consumer protection measures we propose: first, a requirement that free service providers clearly disclose that such providers seek users' personal information in exchange for those services, and, second, the establishment of a regular price before providers can market a service as free. We further argue that the recognition of users of free services as consumers for purposes of consumer protection law would better align incentives and ensure users access to legal redress against some of the most popular services on the Internet. Lastly, we suggest the adoption of alternative governance structures designed to reduce the cost of transacting by curbing the collection of personal information from consumers of free services and by enhancing the rights of consumers to govern the dispersal of personal information from free online services to third parties.

Keywords

Free Internet Service Providers; Internet Usage Monitoring; Transaction Cost Theory Of The Firm; Internet Privacy -- Law & Legislation; Law; United States. Federal Trade Commission; Vertical Integration; Privacy

Seeking Northlake: Place, Technology, and Public as Enabling Constraints for Urban Transdisciplinary Research

Brown, Megan; Benson, G. Odessa Gonzalez; Keel, Roneva; Mahoney, Eleanor; Porter, Jennifer; Thompson, James. (2017). Seeking Northlake: Place, Technology, and Public as Enabling Constraints for Urban Transdisciplinary Research. Cities, 60, 314 – 322.

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Abstract

This article reviews the urban transdisciplinary research of the Northlake Collective, a multidisciplinary group of graduate students in the University of Washington's Lake Union Laboratory. Through a series of place-based investigations, we explored a small slice of Seattle ultimately seeking to engage the public through an online digital humanities portal. The broader goal of our work and this paper is to address how we, as a team of emerging scholars, understand and investigate 'cities' in the current century as both networked at the global scale and dynamic places for everyday interactions and processes. The paradoxes and complexity inherent to understanding the 'city' and how to address these concerns led us to develop a framework that might enrich grounded urban theory through the 'enabling constraints' of place, technology and public. The productive character of these three concepts, combined with the practical constraints and interrelationships they bring to bear, allowed us to deepen our work and produced the context for our research of Northlake. We propose this tripartite framework for exploring the contemporary city via the structure afforded by transdisciplinary, born-digital collaborations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Memory-work; Local Trap; City; Politics; Context; Cities; Geographies; Thinking; Systems; Agency; Transdisciplinary Urbanism; Enabling Constraints; Place; Technology; Public; Collaboration

Development of a Regional Lidar-Derived Above-Ground Biomass Model with Bayesian Model Averaging for Use in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer Forests in Arizona and New Mexico, USA

Tenneson, Karis; Patterson, Matthew S.; Mellin, Thomas; Nigrelli, Mark; Joria, Peter; Mitchell, Brent. (2018). Development of a Regional Lidar-Derived Above-Ground Biomass Model with Bayesian Model Averaging for Use in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer Forests in Arizona and New Mexico, USA. Remote Sensing, 10(3).

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Abstract

Historical forest management practices in the southwestern US have left forests prone to high-severity, stand-replacement fires. Reducing the cost of forest-fire management and reintroducing fire to the landscape without negative impact depends on detailed knowledge of stand composition, in particular, above-ground biomass (AGB). Lidar-based modeling techniques provide opportunities to increase ability of managers to monitor AGB and other forest metrics at reduced cost. We developed a regional lidar-based statistical model to estimate AGB for Ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest systems of the southwestern USA, using previously collected field data. Model selection was performed using Bayesian model averaging (BMA) to reduce researcher bias, fully explore the model space, and avoid overfitting. The selected model includes measures of canopy height, canopy density, and height distribution. The model selected with BMA explains 71% of the variability in field-estimates of AGB, and the RMSE of the two independent validation data sets are 23.25 and 32.82 Mg/ha. The regional model is structured in accordance with previously described local models, and performs equivalently to these smaller scale models. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of lidar for developing cost-effective, robust regional AGB models for monitoring and planning adaptively at the landscape scale.

Keywords

Laser Scanner Data; Landscape Restoration Program; Canopy Fuel Parameters; Discrete-return Lidar; Western United-states; Wave-form Lidar; Airborne Laser; Tropical Forest; Climate-change; Adaptive Management; Forest Biomass; Aboveground Biomass; Airborne Lidar; Monitoring; Regional Forest Inventory; Variable Selection; Bayesian Model Averaging; Multiple Linear Regression

The Impact of Empowering Front-Line Managers on Planning Reliability and Project Schedule Performance

Kim, Yong-Woo; Rhee, Byong-Duk. (2020). The Impact of Empowering Front-Line Managers on Planning Reliability and Project Schedule Performance. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 36(3).

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Abstract

This study applies empowerment theory to production planning at the level of frontline managers in a construction project. Using structural equation modeling, we investigate how empowering frontline managers impacts their planning performance. In contrast to prior studies, we find that although psychological empowerment of frontline managers has no direct effect on their production planning reliability or scheduling performance, it has an indirect effect on planning reliability and scheduling performance, as long as the organization supports the empowerment structurally during production planning. This implies that a project manager should provide frontline managers at the operational level with proper formal and informal authority over workflow development, shielding, and resource allocation when planning production in order to enhance job performance through psychological empowerment. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on construction management by exploring the impact of psychological and structural empowerment of frontline managers on their performance of production planning reliability and scheduling performance.

Keywords

Psychological Empowerment; Work; Model; Variables; System; Job; Planning Reliability; Production Planning; Scheduling Performance; Structural Empowerment; Structural Equation Modeling

Biophilic Photobiological Adaptive Envelopes for Sub-Arctic Buildings: Exploring Impacts of Window Sizes and Shading Panels’ Color, Reflectance, and Configuration

Parsaee, Mojtaba; Demers, Claude M. H.; Potvin, Andre; Lalonde, Jean-Francois; Inanici, Mehlika; Hebert, Marc. (2021). Biophilic Photobiological Adaptive Envelopes for Sub-Arctic Buildings: Exploring Impacts of Window Sizes and Shading Panels’ Color, Reflectance, and Configuration. Solar Energy, 220, 802 – 827.

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Abstract

Northern building envelopes must provide efficient indoor-outdoor connections based on photobiologicalpsychological needs of occupants for positive relationships with the sub-Arctic nature, particularly daylighting and day/night cycles. Envelope configurations of Northern Canada's buildings have not yet considered such requirements. Potentials of adaptive systems are also still limited. This research develops a fundamental model of adaptive multi-skin envelopes for sub-Arctic buildings based on main biophilic and photobiological indicators which characterize efficient indoor-outdoor connections. Biophilic indicators characterize the state of connections among occupants and outdoors which could stimulate biological-psychological responses. Photobiological indicators determine human-centric lighting adaptation scenarios for hourly lighting qualities and sufficient darkness in relation to local day/night cycles and daylighting. Biophilic performance of the proposed envelope was evaluated through 18 numerical models in terms of impacts of window and shading sizes on occupants' field of views. Photobiological lighting performance was evaluated by experimental methods using 23 physical models at 1:10 scale. Surface characteristics of dynamic shading panels, including color, reflectance, orientation, and inclination, were studied for potential photobiological impacts in terms of melanopic/photopic ratios and color temperatures. Results show that the proposed envelope could (i) offer acceptable direct visual connections with the outdoor nature through efficient window sizes for biophilia, and (ii) modify daylighting qualities to address hourly/seasonal photobiological needs of sub-Arctic occupants. Challenges of the proposed envelope to implement under sub-Arctic climatic conditions are underlined especially in terms of energy issues. The research outcomes help architects and decision-makers to improve occupants' wellbeing and healthy buildings in subArctic climates.

Keywords

Window Shades; Building Envelopes; Reflectance; Color Temperature; Daylighting; Building-integrated Photovoltaic Systems; Daylight; Outdoor Living Spaces; Canada; Adaptive Envelope; Arctic Climate; Biophilic Design; Healthy Building; Photobiological Lighting; Light; Exposure; Stress; Design; Architecture; Sensitivity; Illuminance; Environment; Melatonin; Recovery; Surface Properties; Performance Evaluation; Indicators; Polar Environments; Lighting; Shading; Darkness; Decision Making; Envelopes; Configurations; Buildings; Color; Adaptive Systems; Climatic Conditions; Numerical Models; Mathematical Models; Panels; Night; Climate; Orientation; Arctic Region