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Ideation is a key step in organizational problem solving, so researchers have developed a variety of technological interventions for improving ideation quality, which we define as the degree to which an ideation activity produces ideas that are helpful in attaining a goal. In this paper, we examine the four measures typically used to evaluate ideation quality, including idea-count, sum-of-quality, average-quality, and good-idea-count, and discuss their validity and potential biases. An experimental study comparing three levels of social comparison was used to illustrate the differences in the ideation quality measures and revealed that research conclusions were dependent on the measure used. Based on our analysis of the measures and experimental results, we recommend that only good-idea-count be used as a measure to evaluate ideation treatments and call into question research that has based its findings on the other measures. Finally, we discuss implications for research and other potential approaches to evaluating ideation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both standard formulations of the frame problem and standard solutions implicitly assume that the re-identification of objects as persisting individuals between pre- and post-action contexts is unproblematic. In the case of human beings, this assumption is false: humans dedicate considerable cognitive resources to object re-identification. An analysis of both the phenomenology and neurocognitive implementation of object re-identification is used to show that in humans, all of the information architecturally available to solve the frame problem is in fact deployed for object re-identification. The frame problem is, therefore, equivalent to the object re-identification problem in the case of human problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The relationship between preferential paw use and problem solving was investigated for the first time in domestic dogs. [•] Non-lateralized (ambilateral) dogs were more successful i.e. faster at accessing the apparatus than lateralized dogs. [•] No difference in problem-solving performance was found between right and left-pawed dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One point emphasized in management and organizational research literature is that the practice of collaborative inquiry in small groups is of central importance to organizational learning, adaptation and knowledge creation - processes regarded as important in contemporary organizations. Yet, research in the social-psychology lab casts doubt over the presumed superiority of groups over individuals in solving problems. The variations in group problem solving performance may be attributed, in part, to a group's norms of intellectual interaction. This paper explores the role that socio-cultural norms of intellectual interaction can play in shaping the cognitive processes that underlie collaborative inquiry, effective problem solving and knowledge creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although the contract net protocol answers some of the questions in cooperative distributed problem solving (CDPS), it raises many others that CDPS researchers are still trying to answer. In contract net protocol, an agent may play the role of a manager or a bidder. Without a coordination mechanism, a manager may acquire excessive resources from the bidders in forming a collaborative network to execute the assigned task and thus hinder the progress of the tasks assigned to other managers due to resource contention. As a result, application of contract net protocol may not always lead to feasible solutions to accomplish tasks effectively. As a general framework for exchanging messages, the original contract net protocol does not prescribe how agents should cooperate. How to develop a collaborative mechanism to effectively perform the tasks is an important issue. This paper aims to improve the insufficiency of the contract net by developing a mechanism to facilitate cooperation of agents to accomplish their tasks while avoiding undesirable states and enhance the overall system performance in manufacturing systems. To achieve these objectives, detail process models about how agents accomplish their tasks are required. Due to the advantages in modeling concurrent, synchronous and/or asynchronous activities, Petri nets are adopted in this paper. Based on Petri net models, we study the information needed for agents to make cooperative decisions, mechanism to make agents cooperate, and how to enhance the performance in the system level by taking advantage of the agents’ cooperation capabilities. To characterize the condition for cooperation, we represent the collaborative networks formed based on the contract net protocol with Petri nets and then find the condition for a collaborative network to be feasible. The feasible condition also serves as a condition for the development of cooperation mechanism for managers. We propose a cooperation mechanism based on the idea of resource donation, including unilateral resource donation and reciprocal resource donation. Implementation architecture has also been proposed to realize our methodology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tools and methods developed during the era of quality and optimization have shown their limitations and become inappropriate in the context of the requirements of innovation. Nowadays the need to rebuild design practices in enterprises is strongly felt both in terms of human skills and methodological expertise. In part, a way to face the innovation era's difficulties has been provided through the theory of inventive problem solving. This theory represents a significant breakthrough in driving problem statement and solving in a direction that is expressed through the idea that technical systems are driven by objective laws. A second postulate concerns the notion of contradiction, but so far only few contributions have addressed the relations between laws and contradictions. This paper, through a qualitative approach, presents a solution to this limitation and proposes a possible use of laws within the choice of the appropriate conflicting pair, prior to the use of any TRIZ solving techniques. Tests to observe the impact of the proposed approach were conducted in a French engineering ‘grande école’ during three semesters with 180 engineers. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, there is a theoretical contribution to the theory of inventive problem solving. In addition, the proposed method offers especially TRIZ practitioners new ways for problem understanding and problem formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global product development teams work in ambiguously complex dynamic networks. Characterization of the distributed work environment includes many factors, including: individuals and sub-teams are geographically distributed; they belong to different organizational cultures; they operate in different time zones and within different cultural and professional-frameworks. From a communication perspective, individual team members may speak different languages and lack a common tongue. Even in these scenarios, project teams are expected to produce quality products and bring them quickly to the market. The design-to-market life cycle has shortened markedly in the past decade in many industries. How do they manage to perform effectively in the face of these many obstacles? Development team “Coaching” has emerged as a guiding force in many project-organized environments. Individuals may have arrived at the role informally, tacitly responding to the needs of teams around them, or they are professionals with formal training as we find in SAP’s “Design Team Services” group (Plattner 2007, personal comunication). We have observed that the coach provides project team members with assistance that ranges from problem solving to moral support. In spite of the growing use of coaching, there is significant confusion about the nature of the role, the attributes of good versus poor coaching, associated terminology and definitions. We report on the development of a conceptual framework for further research in the emerging domain of design engineering coaching. Our efforts began with an extensive literature review that yielded leading candidates for role terminology and the scope of the subject. With that framework in hand, we performed a field assessment (survey) in an industry-academic environment that is noted for the extreme nature of its project-based learning paradigm and deep corporate engagement, including a mixture of industry liaisons and academic advisors who are in coaching roles. We expect the combination of methods to provide common ground for further work and to better explain the issues to students and industry partners. The resulting framework consists of five main roles that design-team coaches have been observed to assume. It is anticipated that our results will help others identify new research questions and apply an expanded set of empirical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined average-, high- and top-performing US fourth graders' rational number problem solving and their understanding of rational number representations. In phase one, all students completed a written test designed to tap their skills for multiplication, division and rational number word-problem solving. In phase two, a subset of students sorted cards that showed part-whole, ratio, quotient, measure, and operator perspectives of rational number representations. Each perspective was shown in numerical notational, word-problem, and visual formats. The results indicated that top-performing students scored significantly higher in problem solving and showed more effectively linked rational number representations than the other groups. The results imply that successful rational number problem solving is intertwined with representational knowledge for a wide range of rational numbers and that the bulk of US students do not possess effective skills for working with rational number representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on mathematical lens problem solving from basic fractions to calculus. It reports that the Simplex lock is said to incorporate thousands of codes, exactly 1082 combinations. It infers that the metallic lock is made up of five buttons that can be pushed individually or simultaneously with the other four buttons. A fresh and new look in contrived-rate problems from a true problem-solving perspective. It states that problem solving from basic fractions do not differ much from solving calculus.

Recently, TRIZ, a Russian acronym that means 'Theory of Inventive Problem Solving', developed by Genrich Altshuller, has been recognized as a widely popular subject concerning innovation in the technological field. In this study, we attempt to extend the TRIZ methodology to a broader application in a non-technological area. A systematic framework based on the TRIZ methodology is proposed, and a case study involving an e-commerce company is used to illustrate the applicability of the framework in terms of service quality improvement. Aside from this, in order to improve the effectiveness of the conventional TRIZ problem-solving process for its practitioners, a parameter corresponding table is developed to provide an efficient way of applying the TRIZ contradiction matrix to resolve service problems. Through the practical result of our case study, the valuable contribution of the TRIZ methodology in the service industry is further obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the lessons to learn after the tragic explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986. According to the author, the accident took place caused by direct result of overlooked fact which include the tools designed for process improvement is not always possible to the level of complex system. It also involves problem solving especially in complex systems which demands capabilities that process improvement tools cannot provide. Moreover, the article also reminds the importance of potential thinking process, particularly in dealing complex system policy problems that cannot be solve through easy quantification.

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment's (NIATx) Model for Improvement. Emphasizing five phases of change, five key principles for change, and four revolving aims, NIATx has taught hundreds of addiction treatment administrative and clinical staff to lead successful process improvement initiatives. This paper draws on experience from NIATx and offers methods and concepts to consider in the teaching of core process improvement tools and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current study explores the inferential abilities of visually impaired children in a task presented in two formats, manipulative and verbal. The results showed that in the group of visually impaired children, just as with children with normal sight, there was a wide range of inference types. It was found that the visually impaired children perform slightly better in the use of inductive and relational inferences in the verbal format, while in the manipulative format children with normal sight perform better. These results suggest that in inferential functioning of young children, and especially visually impaired children, the format of the task influences performance more than the child''s visual ability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors investigated the association between emotional intelligence and counseling self-efficacy. Participants were 140 counseling students and practicing counselors who completed the Emotional Judgment Inventory and the Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory. Emotional intelligence differentiated counselors from noncounselors (Mdn d = .6650) but provided mixed results in differentiating counseling students and counselors. Moreover, the emotional intelligence factors Identifying Own Emotions, Expressing Emotions Adaptively, and Using Emotions in Problem Solving successfully predicted counseling self-efficacy of both counseling students and practicing counselors (R = .537). Emotional intelligence may be another marker for individuals exploring professional counseling as a career and for improving students' counseling self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between students' knowledge of underlying legal doctrine and their ability to learn effective methods of practice in law school skills courses. One of the primary goals of skills training in law school, especially clinical legal education, is to teach students how to apply what they have learned in doctrinal courses in the "real world." While much has been written about training students in proper methods of practice and problem solving in skills courses, little attention has been paid to the significance of doctrinal knowledge to this training. Reviewing recent cognitive psychology research on the development of expertise and creativity, and in particular, a number of empirical studies examining the development of clinical skills in medical education, this article concludes that basic knowledge of substantive legal doctrine is a necessary prerequisite to learning effective legal practice. Skills law teachers, for the most part, have incorrectly downplayed that role. The article concludes by proposing some curricular changes in skills and clinical programs to take into account the role that legal doctrine performs in learning effective methods of legal practice and suggests future empirical studies on the relationship between legal doctrine and skills training in the legal education setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe how a manager should approach the development of any type of change to get significantly better results. Where to start? How to build a good plan? How to get the best chances of an innovative and effective implemented solution? Research on many leading solution creators in all fields (architecture, urban planning, engineering, executives, and so on) found that, instead of a conventional problem-solving approach, they intuitively used an approach that took a holistic view of the assignment and led them to create award- winning and peer-recognized solutions. The FIST (future ideal solution target) approach is a synthesis of the research, enhanced and made easier to use by subsequent practice with it by us and our colleagues around the world. The FIST concept provides a big picture perspective to be sure it results in real and continuing changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the relevance of the concept of mental kinesiophobia (respectively cogniphobia or fear of mental exertion) for clients with chronic stress problems was explored. It was hypothesized that cognitive, chronic stress complaints, such as concentration problems or decreased problem solving abilities, could be catastrophized as signs of heightened personal vulnerability, with a chance of becoming permanent. As a consequence, mental exertion is avoided. This line of reasoning comes from the existing concept of kinesiophobia. This concept describes the avoidance behavior in chronic benign pain patients and refers to their fear of inflicting irreversible bodily damage due to physical exertion.An illustrative case of cogniphobia is presented. In an explorative pilot-study it was demonstrated that chronically stressed clients scored significantly higher on an experimental questionnaire measuring avoidance tendencies for mental exertion, compared with actively working employees. Consequences for treatment and suggestions for further study are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents information on the effects of training in creativity and creative problem finding upon business people. Creativity and problem finding can affect the functioning and effectiveness of business people. The power behind the creative ability is partially dependent on its availability as supplied by the human resource. The supply is a function of the degree to which creativity has been nurtured. To ignore latent and underdeveloped talents is to misuse and waste productive resources. Business organizations can proliferate the effects of underdeveloped creative and problem solving skills that are experienced through education. Many disregard the responsibility of developing creative and problem solving potentials of employees. The result is limited employee performance for a lifetime. Development of creativity and problem solving skills may well raise the ceiling of the creative operating levels of the business world.

This article describes work on developing an indexing system tailored to the thinking involved in the process of invention. The system facilitates the process (and technical problem solving in general) through connecting technical needs with possible answers in a database. The article discusses the process of invention and then describes a functional indexing system for aiding it. The system was developed from the results of classifying 3,000 industrial products by their functions and distinctive attributes. The procedure for indexing entails describing the functions of technologies with controlled vocabularies of verbs, objects, and modifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and scholars have been concerned for many years with the normative aspects of amalgamating Individual preferences to form a group decision. The present paper studies how managers actually make decisions involving intransitive preference functions by examining how the Voter's Paradox Conflict (VPC) is actually resolved by homogeneous groups of subjects from five different populations (Denmark, England, Switzerland, U.S. Private, and U.S. Military). The results showed that level of cooperation, the reward structure (real versus imaginary money), and experience with the VPC are the major factors relating to the solution obtained. Nationality differences explained little of the variance in decision outcomes. Intrasitivity in preferences seems to be handled similarly by executives in the countries studied. Interpretations are drawn in the context of cooperative and competitive decision theory and for cross-cultural decision research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a perspective about brief interventions in families. In this context, there are five families that had been discussed and were seen for between one and six sessions each. A structural approach to solving the problems as seen by two families in the first article is discussed. While in the second article the move from structural to strategic work with a problem solving focus in three different families will be described. The authors are interested to record in some detail the way in which the about interventions to contribute to the pool of British family therapy had been thought and thinking published in this journal that is illustrated by clinical material.

Naturalistic observation of 96 preschoolers permitted categorizing them as either players (displayed make-believe) or nonplayers. All subjects were then exposed to 1 of 3 treatment conditions (free play, imitation, problem solving) and subsequently given an alternate-uses test. Free play enhanced associative fluency, but only for players who actually engaged in make-believe. These findings were interpreted as consistent with the hypothesis that associative fluency is not automatically. enhanced by the lack of structure in free-play situations, but that it can be enhanced by the freely assimilative character of make-believe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In exploring young children's verbalization skills in experimental tasks, it is common to (a) display the material and (b) pose questions that require the child to justify his behavior toward the objects (e.g., "Why did you pick this one?"). The present research indicates that both these factors interfere with the child's optimal performance in that the presentation of material leads to nonverbal (pointing) responses and the posing of "how" and "why" to seemingly irrelevant verbalization. By contrast, appropriate verbalization is obtained in children as young as 3 years if the objects are removed from view and the request is phrased in the form "tell me which one." The implications of these results for studying communication and problem solving are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granot and Hammer (1971, 1975) have shown constructively that the set of 0-1 vectors x satisfying a polynomial constraint with non negative coefficients remains unchanged if the polynomial constraint is replaced by an appropriate finite collection of linear inequalities in x. When rewritten in the complementary vector &xmacr; ≡ 1 - x, the linear inequalities are those of a linear covering problem. This reduction is used here to give a cutting-plane algorithm for solving the positive 0-1 polynomial program of finding a 0-1 vector that maximizes a nondecreasing linear function subject to the restrictions that several polynomials do not exceed given numbers. The algorithm consists of solving (by implicit enumeration) a nested sequence of linear covering problems, each of which is a relaxation of the original positive 0-1 polynomial program. Each covering problem is found by adding to its predecessor a small number (one suffices, but more speed convergence) of covering constraints that are violated by the optimal solution found for the preceding covering problem. Over 200 randomly generated problems with up to 50 variables and 50 constraints were solved using our covering relaxation algorithm. The CPU time was often less than one second and has exceeded one minute only for three problems. The number of iterations, i.e., the number of linear covering problems solved, ranged between 1 and 6, while the number of covers in the largest covering problem solved usually did not exceed the number of constraints in the original problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last issue of AME we published the Pulitzer Prize-winning article "Hubble Error: Time, Money and Millionths of an Inch" and invited some top scholars in the Held of management to comment. What follows is a perceptive analysis of the events that led to what the authors call a "dramatic tragedy." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the Program Planning Model (PPM) provides a normative strategy of collective action for coping with complex problems. The argument is based on seven propositions which explain how the PPM guides complex problem solving in turbulent settings and avoids several basic limitations of alternative models of collective problem solving and decision making. The argument centers on the following distinguishing characteristics of the PPM: It is based on a decentralized and incremental mode of planning and coordination; It admits to multiple and conflicting power groups and views rationality as achieved by political behavior and mutual adjustments among these partisan groups; It focuses attention on the processes of developing and structuring ideas; It is a procedural model for collective action that matches the varying situations encountered during problem solving with different task phases, decision strategies, and partisan participants; It initiates collective behavior by obtaining direct and personal data on problems which trigger adaptable thresholds for humans to act; It motivates collective behavior by involving partisan interest groups who become "watchdogs" for values they fear will be neglected by other groups. Multiple decision makers facilitate problems of coordination; It facilitates collective learning and guidance by merging planning, implementation, and evaluation activities.

The article discusses the effects of environmental deprivation on basic psychological processes and cognitive development of children. Theories propose perceptual processes and their development as the foundation for later abstract and cognitive skills. Other theorists have placed more emphasis on language and language development as crucial to the problem solving process. Part of the basis for what can be considered of the assumption that the development of language is socially determined, but that perceptual development is not.

Arizona International Campus (AIC) of the University of Arizona has implemented a curriculum that is both interdisciplinary and focused on specific skills, competencies, and substantive knowledge as student outcomes. The skills and competencies targeted by AIC are communication, problem solving, quantitative and qualitative analysis, technical literacy, moral discernment, and global and intercultural competence. These skills and competencies are not identified with particular courses on campus but are integrated throughout the curriculum. The assessment approach designed by the faculty in consultation with the assessment office is to create checklists for each of the skills and competencies. The checklists contain the specific outcomes for each of the skills and competencies.