March 12, 2006
Flexible working research: Europe pushing forward
According to research by UPS Europe Business Monitor involving a survey of around 1500 business leaders from Europe’s top 15,000 companies organisations are developing more support for policies to help women attain more senior positions.
For example, two thirds of the companies surveyed offer flexitime to help women break into boardroom positions. For details click here.
Posted by Ken Thompson on March 12, 2006 at 12:00 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
Biomimicry database launched to support biomimetrics discipline
The new scientific discipline of biomimicry (also known as biomimetrics) is gaining a lot of attention. It can be defined as 'taking ideas from nature and implementing them in another technology such as engineering, design or computing'. The Rocky Mountain Institute and The Biomimicry Guild have launched a new Biomimicry Database to enable knowledge sharing to support researchers and practitioners. They are looking for user feedback.
Introduction
The relationship between bioteaming and biomimetrics is discussed further in Virtual teams, biomimicry and biomimetrics - Learning from mother nature's designs becomes scientific mainstream.
In a nutshell bioteaming can be considered as a form of biomimetrics in the domain of organisational and team design.
One of the key elements of this emerging discipline is the creation of a Biomimicry Database – an alpha-prototype of which is available here as a project of Rocky Mountain Institute and the Biomimicry Guild.
The Database is intended as a tool to cross-pollinate biological knowledge across discipline boundaries. It will be a place where designers, architects, and engineers can search biological information, find experts, and collaborate, to find ideas that potentially solve their design/engineering challenges.
The Biomimicry Database holds six types of information:
- Challenges
Challenges are human design problems that need solutions. - Strategies
Strategies are potential solutions to those problems; almost all are biological solutions, but some human-invented solutions are also listed. - Organisms
Organism records describe specific organisms, listing their taxonomic categorization, a description of what the organism has/does that might be inspiring, and data on the organism's environment. - People
People/User records contain a description of a person/group relevant to a topic, contact information, an image, profession / field of study and whether they are an expert in their field(s), and a listing of the user's database entries. - Citations
Citation records contain basic bibliographic information and abstracts for papers referred to in Challenges, Strategies, or other records providing sources for further research on their respective topics. - Products
Product records have descriptions of biomimetic products, including company names and contact information and product availability.
For example, here is what a sample search on "Swarm Intelligence" produced
=============================================================================================
Organism Results
Ant - an insect that displays collectively intelligent behavior (swarm intelligence) when foraging for food, fighting off predators, or constructing a nest.
Citation Results
Animal behavior - Survey flights in honeybees Collett, T., Nature, 2000
Calculating Swarms: ant teamwork suggests models for computing faster and organizing better Peterson, I., Science News, 2000
Swarm intelligence - A whole new way to think about business Bonabeau, E. Meyer, C., Harvard Business Review, 2001
Swarm smarts Bonabeau, E. Theraulaz, G., Scientific American, 2000
User Results
Dr. Eric Bonabeau - Expert on Swarm Intelligence, which explores collective (or distributed) problem solving without centralized control. This was inspired by the study of ant colonies.
=============================================================================================
A quick guide to the database is available
Posted by Ken Thompson on February 16, 2006 at 12:00 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
January 5, 2006
The Virtual Lie Detector
New Scientist Magazine reports that the US Department of Defense plans to develop a lie detector that can be used without the subject knowing they are being assessed. In a call for proposals on a DoD website, contractors are being given until 13 January to suggest ways to develop the Remote Personnel Assessment (RPA).
The RPA will use microwave or laser beams reflected off a subject's skin to assess various physiological parameters without the need for wires or skin contacts.
To checkout the actual call for RPA proposals on the DoD website.
We look forward to the OpenSource Bluetooth web-based version which checks out whether virtual team members are exaggerating progress in team meetings.
To read The lie detector you'll never know is there
Posted by Ken Thompson on January 5, 2006 at 05:33 PM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 31, 2005
How ants avoid wasted effort: new research
Usually we think of the importance of sharing 'positive' intelligence between organisational team members (for example Virtual Team Behavior - Curiosity and Learning). However recent UK research on foraging Pharaoh ants indicates that sharing 'negative' intelligence to avoid wasted effort may be just as important.
In Scents and sensibility: How foraging ants get the food we read how Pharaoh ants scouting for food place a tiny scent marker on branches that do not lead to a reward, according to a study just published in Nature, the weekly British science journal.
The team concludes that the ants use a repellent pheromone to mark unrewarding branches at "decision-points" - where branches fork.
"It provides advance warning, like human road signs situated before junctions," the authors suggest.
Pheromone-based messaging is the oldest and most evolved form of biological signalling and its potential application in mobile and distributed human teams is described in The perfect mobile group communications system.
Posted by Ken Thompson on December 31, 2005 at 12:00 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (2)
December 24, 2005
Can bioteaming improve your well being
The theory of Biophilia, put forward by Edward Wilson, author of Journey to the Ants, suggests that human well-being and health is dependent on our relationships with the natural environment. New clinical research by Howard Frumkin of Emory University in Atlanta seems to back this up.
In, Do animals induce a sense of wellbeing? we read how In a paper published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2001, public health scientist Howard Frumkin of Emory University, Atlanta, reviews the evidence for the health benefits of four kinds of contact with the natural environment: contact with animals, plants, wilderness and viewing landscapes.
Frumkin also pointed to research which showed that:
- Pet owners have fewer health problems than non-pet owners.
- Patients waiting for dental surgery experience a clinically significant drop in blood pressure after staring at fish in an aquarium for 20 minutes.
- Children with autism who were allowed to play with dogs became more verbal and engaged with therapists.
Perhaps there is a whole new dimension to bioteams as yet unexplored - stretching its focus from how teams can learn from nature's best teams to how human communities of all forms can co-exist to mutual benefit with nature in the broadest possible sense?
Posted by Ken Thompson on December 24, 2005 at 12:00 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 19, 2005
Collaborative networks conference call for papers
The 12th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising (ICE 2006) will be held at the Palazzo delle Stelline, Milan, Italy, 26-28 June 2006. This is a major forum for practitioners, researchers and tool vendors to demonstrate and share the results of their work in the broad domain of Concurrent Enterprising, which is a combination of Concurrent Engineering and the Virtual/ Extended Enterprise. The theme of this year's conference is "Innovative Products and Services through Collaborative Networks ". For more details on the conference.
Posted by Ken Thompson on December 19, 2005 at 09:41 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
Pattern recognition in bees: new research
Bees recognise human faces
The pattern recognition skills of bees are well-known, thought to have evolved to enable them to discriminate between different types of flowers. As social insects, they can also recognise and differentiate between their hivemates. Now a new study shows that these capabilities are so powerful that bees can recognize human faces better than some humans and with one-ten thousandth of the brain cells. The results may help lead to better face-recognition software. To read boingboing synopsis.
Posted by Ken Thompson on December 14, 2005 at 08:56 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 6, 2005
Major collaborative business networks programme launched
Ecolead is a major European applied research project on collaborative networked organisations (CNOs)
Ecolead (European Collaborative Networked Organisations Leadership Initiative) looks like it could be one of the most important strategic research projects in the virtual collaboration area in Europe and beyond over the next 4 years.
It is, what the EU calls, an “Integrated Project” - a major industrial applied research project supported by the Sixth Framework Programme and running over a 4-year period.
All work is undertaken collaboratively – in this case with 20 partners in 14 countries who represent a broad mix of practitioners, users and research institutes.
The programme's bold ambitions are summed up by Roberto Santoro, Ecolead Contact Manager:
“If we succeed we will change the way business is done in Europe and beyond – there will need to be new EU directives to support this radically new organisational form – the CNO (collaborative networked organisation)”
The Ecolead work programme centres around three main areas:
- VBE – how to develop effective “Virtual Breeding Environments” for Networks and Professional Communities
- DVO - "Dynamic Virtual Organisations" to support collaboration of enterprises and organisations
- PVC - the new emerging form of the "Professional Virtual Community" to support collaboration of professional individuals
The area of collaborative research into collaboration is a very difficult area with a chequered track record however a number of things may differentiate Ecolead from what has happened before including:
- Trying to address the fundamental issues of collaboration (such as how it differs from cooperation) which most have so far dodged
- Recognising the importance of individuals in networks as well as enterprises
- Building on a strong foundation of past work and not starting from scratch again
- Realising that networks need to be bred and cultivated – they need to be pro-actively prepared for collaboration
- Adopting an open collaborative approach themselves by looking for multipliers and involving real business networks in pilots
If Ecolead can manage to maintain its focus and not get sidetracked then it might just produce some very valuable results.
If you would like to find out more about Ecolead visit the programme web-site
Posted by Ken Thompson on November 6, 2005 at 04:58 PM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 5, 2005
Why do humans cooperate
Without perceived fairness cooperation breaks down
Andrew Brown, writing in The Guardian, on Saturday October 29, 2005, Basic instincts - Humans are inclined to love their neighbours, so long as they play fair points out firstly that co-operative and altruistic behavior between humans must make sense or else evolution would have rendered it extinct:
"If human nature is generous, trusting and sympathetic, that didn't happen despite biology. We have these instincts because those of our ancestors who were generous, trusting, and sympathetic, within reasonable limits, had more surviving children than those who were treacherous, grasping and callous towards everyone."
He then goes on to point out that this co-operation is in fact very fragile and constantly depends on how other people in society behave:
"Nothing, then, threatens political support for the welfare state more than the perception of unfairness - the sense that someone is breaking the rules and getting away with it."
So if you want your team or group co-operate well first make sure you have a 'transparency system' so that anybody can see how everyone else is playing the game.
Posted by Ken Thompson on November 5, 2005 at 08:00 PM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 23, 2005
The team with three brains
The difference between the Lizard brain, Dog brain and Human brain
James Thornton in “You Have Three Brains” for TheBiggestIdeas.com reports on research by Paul D Maclean on the ‘triune’ brain.
Apparently Maclean’s research suggests that we each have, not one but, three brains nested within our skulls – a lizard brain, a dog brain, and a human brain.
This research got me thinking – if teams are really living systems then they might have 3 brains too?
The Evolution of the different brains
The lizard brain evolved first – it is very small and just controls the basics such as breathing, vision and bodily movements and very elemental emotions such as anger or lust.
Then came the dog brain (limbic system) which grew on top of the lizard brain – and controls the basic functions (in a more advanced way) and adds in emotions such as love and loyalty.
Then finally came the human brain (neo-cortex) and with it all the sophistication with goes with language.
The brains don't have much to do with each other
James goes on to say:
“This neo-cortex is functionally semi-independent from the lizard and dog brains. That is why our experience is so odd. Consider this: language lies in the human brain, but emotions lie within the separate dog and lizard brains. So the emotions are in a different world from language entirely. Not only that, reason too lives in the new human brain while emotions live in the older brains. The lizard and dog brains are running their emotion programs while the human brain is running its thinking programs. They don’t have too much to do with each other. “
So do teams have 3 brains?
Teams would use their Lizard brain for the fast instinctive reactions.
They would use their Dog brain for all the social, relationship and networking aspects of the team.
Finally they would use their Human brain for all their planned, reasoned and strategic work.
If this is true how would it be organised?
There are two main options:
Certain team members playing certain brain roles?
Or
The three brains being an emergent property of the team as a whole?
My sense would be the latter is much more likely.
So how many brains does your team have?
This could be a useful quick diagnostic for a team
Question 1: How many of the team brains are functioning?
Question 2: Are the team brains which are functioning working together or is one dominating the others?
A good objective for bioteaming is to create teams where all three brains are not just functioning but also working in harmony.
Posted by Ken Thompson on October 23, 2005 at 12:00 AM in Research | Permalink | Comments (0)
Flexible working research: Europe pushing forward
March 12, 2006
Biomimicry database launched to support biomimetrics discipline
February 16, 2006
The Virtual Lie Detector
January 5, 2006
How ants avoid wasted effort: new research
December 31, 2005
Can bioteaming improve your well being
December 24, 2005
Collaborative networks conference call for papers
December 19, 2005
Pattern recognition in bees: new research
December 14, 2005
Major collaborative business networks programme launched
November 6, 2005
Why do humans cooperate
November 5, 2005
The team with three brains
October 23, 2005
PLEASE NOTE Deadline for Team Beliefs research collaboration is now Friday October 21
October 15, 2005
New social network research may explain why some team tasks never get done
October 12, 2005
High performing team member beliefs questionnaire
October 8, 2005
Update on European virtual network research
October 6, 2005
What team members can learn from software agents
October 5, 2005