I think it is time for me to start reflecting on what I have learned within this course. Basically I divide it into two main aspects - technical skills and collaborative skills.
I realised that we learn things from experience and mistakes. I was stressed that I was driven to delicate so much time learning every single sofeware that we need to use in this course, but the outcome of that is, I did learn a lot.
Because Liming and I live nearby, we meet up together to do work quite often. The way we do things together is a bit interesting, but it works - I am the person who researches for, works through all the tutorials, and trying out errors in unfamilar softwares (such as how to do screen capturing by using captivate and fraps; how to export files from director to premiere / edit videos in premiere; how to upload videos on Youtube; how to embed the link in WIKI; modelling and texture importing in ut3; terrain; lighting; surrounding ect), while Liming is working the softwares that she has already known (such as Movie Maker, Director, 3Ds MAX). I always make sure that my "updated" knowledge is available to Liming so that we can proceed the task smoothly. For exmaple, everytime when Liming is up to a stage that she need some more knowledge to continue working on the task, she either passes me the task or learns that knowledge from me. By sitting together and finding solutions, I found that to work with others actually provides me an opportunity to learn from others' strengths, and it gives more options in decision-making.
In order to approach a given task, there are lots of ways of doing that. To start off the project, I looked for different tools for our group communications (to save our some time for meeting up face to face), such as msn and basecamp. I was not nominated as a team leader in the beginning, however I am sort of picking up the responsibilities of a team leader since we do need some sort of hierarchy to make the group running in on a track. They include: orgainising group meetings, allocating and checking individual's tasks each week; taking meeting minutes; giving help and providing advices for each team members ect. By allocating tasks for our group members very week, I found that we need to make our planning realistic, but at the same time, as an orgainising person, I need to move the dead line a bit forward to allow some errors happenning. I think it is a good idea to keep a record of our process, so that we can aways track back to what happened and that provides evidents, which can reduce unecessary argument.I think as a group, we should all learn the lesson from not having any planning right from the beginning. It is essential for a group to set a common goal because that indicates how much efford we would like to put into this project. Secondly, time management is very important within a group working environment. We need to do things that we are committed to do for each week, otherwise, tasks will be accumulated, and it only makes the coming days tougher.
The theme for our next presentation is conflict. As I have mentioned in the previous presentation, our group is working in a context of the existance of conflict. It is indeed a challenging topic for me to study due to the fact that each of us confront a lot of conflicts in this group project. I am going to explaning more about what I have learned from conflict management a bit more.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Week 10 - Planning
A strategic planning process is not something that can happen in an ad hoc way, at a regular planning meeting or during a staff meeting. It requires careful planning to set it up so that the process is thorough and comprehensive. When we develop or revise a strategic planning, we are setting the parameters for the work of our organisation, usually for two to three years or longer. So it does make sense to spend some time and energy planning for the strategic planning process.[1]
There are many definitions for strategic planning. In a collaborative project, characteristics of a strategic plan may include:
-define the purpose and mission of the project;
-identify current and long term aims;
-a framework for both day to day detailed planning and long term planning;
-strategic decision-making over time;
-all levels of management[2]
There are some advices for a strategic planning process:
· A strategic planning process is essential when a new project is initiating
· Do not do a strategic planning process more than once every two year, yet strategic review can be seen as a sort of reality check against what is happening internally or externally
· Review progress when the end of a major phase in a project is reached
In terms of who should participate in the strategic planning process, it is important to involve the whole collaborative team in at least part of the planning process because the strategic planning process helps to clarify, consolidate or establish the strategic framework.
Here is a guide for who should get involved in a particular strategic planning phase:
-Planning the process – the management team of the project
-Understanding the context – all members if it is important for them to understand the project’s issues
-Vision, values and mission discussion – all board members as it is likely to provide a set of operating principles
-Review of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats – Programme or professional member for the whole of this process
-Discussion of strategic options and goals – professional and board members
-Organisational structure – the management team with input from the rest of the member
------------------------------------------------
Reference:
[1] Janet Shapiro, “Strategic Planning Toolkit”, viewed 25 May 2008, <http://www.civicus.org/new/media/Strategic%20Planning.pdf>
[2] Paul Bullen, “Strategic Planning outline”, Management Alternative Pty Ltd, viewed 25 May 2008, <http://www.mapl.com.au/A10.htm>
There are many definitions for strategic planning. In a collaborative project, characteristics of a strategic plan may include:
-define the purpose and mission of the project;
-identify current and long term aims;
-a framework for both day to day detailed planning and long term planning;
-strategic decision-making over time;
-all levels of management[2]
There are some advices for a strategic planning process:
· A strategic planning process is essential when a new project is initiating
· Do not do a strategic planning process more than once every two year, yet strategic review can be seen as a sort of reality check against what is happening internally or externally
· Review progress when the end of a major phase in a project is reached
In terms of who should participate in the strategic planning process, it is important to involve the whole collaborative team in at least part of the planning process because the strategic planning process helps to clarify, consolidate or establish the strategic framework.
Here is a guide for who should get involved in a particular strategic planning phase:
-Planning the process – the management team of the project
-Understanding the context – all members if it is important for them to understand the project’s issues
-Vision, values and mission discussion – all board members as it is likely to provide a set of operating principles
-Review of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats – Programme or professional member for the whole of this process
-Discussion of strategic options and goals – professional and board members
-Organisational structure – the management team with input from the rest of the member
------------------------------------------------
Reference:
[1] Janet Shapiro, “Strategic Planning Toolkit”, viewed 25 May 2008, <http://www.civicus.org/new/media/Strategic%20Planning.pdf>
[2] Paul Bullen, “Strategic Planning outline”, Management Alternative Pty Ltd, viewed 25 May 2008, <http://www.mapl.com.au/A10.htm>
Monday, May 26, 2008
Week 9 - working progress
OMG! I did 20+ chapters of ut3 tutorial videos yesterday!
Now I am feeling a bit sick of UT3 after working on it for many hours in a row, but at the same time I learned a lot and I am indeed starting to taste the playful side of UT3. I found that compared to the tutorials on the web, the video tutorials are explaining a lot more, such as the problems or errors that we may come aross and how we should solve them.
These two days, I have worked out lighting in a more advanced level, how to create sky-dome, the collision, adding game players, actors. However, I still need to play around with adding trigger and terrain.
By today, Liming has already finished her model in MAX and importing. As soon as Mydung passes me the materials, I will start applying materials, and try to finish the texture and lighting by tomorrow.
Liming is leaving on this Friday, so we really need to get things done as much as possible. I think we can get over it!
Now I am feeling a bit sick of UT3 after working on it for many hours in a row, but at the same time I learned a lot and I am indeed starting to taste the playful side of UT3. I found that compared to the tutorials on the web, the video tutorials are explaining a lot more, such as the problems or errors that we may come aross and how we should solve them.
These two days, I have worked out lighting in a more advanced level, how to create sky-dome, the collision, adding game players, actors. However, I still need to play around with adding trigger and terrain.
By today, Liming has already finished her model in MAX and importing. As soon as Mydung passes me the materials, I will start applying materials, and try to finish the texture and lighting by tomorrow.
Liming is leaving on this Friday, so we really need to get things done as much as possible. I think we can get over it!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Week 9 - Remuneration
In general terms, remuneration refers to the way in which employees are rewarded at the workplace. These rewards can take various forms, often a broad distinction being drawn between intrinsic and extrinsic reward. Intrinsic reward is a self-generation outcome such as personal esteem and fulfillment derived from say undertaking ‘interesting’ or ‘useful’ work. Extrinsic reward is reflected in more tangible monetary and non-monetary payments in the guise of wages or fringe benefits provided by others. This range of available rewards is reflected in Bloom and Mikovich’s definition of remuneration as a ‘bundle of returns offered in exchange for a cluster of employee contributions’ [1].
However, a range of social science disciplines work on the basis of very different assumptions about the way individuals, groups, organizations and societies functions;
Psychologists – focus on the effectiveness of reward, in terms of individual and group motivation, e.g. the link between motivation, reward and perceived employee needs and values.
Economists – more narrowly focus on pay, e.g. how employers and workers have used pay in the rational pursuit of their respective objectives.
Sociologists – emphasis on the influence of social norms and values in shaping the selection, operation and impact of reward systems at different societal levels.
In practice, extrinsic rewards review the link between pay and job, performance and person have been affected by competition, the changing nature of the workforce and regulation. It is argued that the impact of these pressures on approaches to pay should not be exaggerated’ practice still lags behind rhetoric. However, there have been changes given to the respective pay contingencies and been reflected in a new concern with pay processes rather thatn narrowly conceived pay outcomes [2].
The range of jobs are differential worth to management and therefore they need to be differentiated by hierarchy with pay determined by where exactly each individual is positioned. After following the completion of a job evaluation exercise, an organization will have to decide how to position its pay rates for the evaluated jobs in relation to external labor market rates.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reference:
[1],[2] Stephen Bach, Blackwell Publishing 2005, Managing Human Resources: Personnel Management in Transition
However, a range of social science disciplines work on the basis of very different assumptions about the way individuals, groups, organizations and societies functions;
Psychologists – focus on the effectiveness of reward, in terms of individual and group motivation, e.g. the link between motivation, reward and perceived employee needs and values.
Economists – more narrowly focus on pay, e.g. how employers and workers have used pay in the rational pursuit of their respective objectives.
Sociologists – emphasis on the influence of social norms and values in shaping the selection, operation and impact of reward systems at different societal levels.
In practice, extrinsic rewards review the link between pay and job, performance and person have been affected by competition, the changing nature of the workforce and regulation. It is argued that the impact of these pressures on approaches to pay should not be exaggerated’ practice still lags behind rhetoric. However, there have been changes given to the respective pay contingencies and been reflected in a new concern with pay processes rather thatn narrowly conceived pay outcomes [2].
The range of jobs are differential worth to management and therefore they need to be differentiated by hierarchy with pay determined by where exactly each individual is positioned. After following the completion of a job evaluation exercise, an organization will have to decide how to position its pay rates for the evaluated jobs in relation to external labor market rates.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reference:
[1],[2] Stephen Bach, Blackwell Publishing 2005, Managing Human Resources: Personnel Management in Transition
Friday, May 16, 2008
Week 9 - group meeting
Hey ladies in group 3,
I had a brief look at some UT3 tutorials on the web, and was trying to figure out what tutorials in UT3 we have to do in order to finish the fabrication project. However, it is difficult for me to have a clue before we get together and decide what sort of things we want to have in UT3. Can each of us skim through the tutorials to have a sound idea of what can be done in UT3 (which is suitable for our project), and meet up to discuss about it on monday or tuesday night? Please wirte down your availabilities and get back to me ASAP!
I had a brief look at some UT3 tutorials on the web, and was trying to figure out what tutorials in UT3 we have to do in order to finish the fabrication project. However, it is difficult for me to have a clue before we get together and decide what sort of things we want to have in UT3. Can each of us skim through the tutorials to have a sound idea of what can be done in UT3 (which is suitable for our project), and meet up to discuss about it on monday or tuesday night? Please wirte down your availabilities and get back to me ASAP!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Week 8 - Context
Conflict can be seen as a way of learning more about what is working in a collaboration team and discovering how conflict can be resolved. Context has different definition in different cases. For example, in an architectural collaborative group project, context can be seen as a common goal that to be achieved as well as the background or environmental surroundings of the building itself.
The usefulness of the solution depends on the depth of your communication and understanding of the problem. For example by using proper context in communication, we can express and understand each other’s ideas effectively. However, without a context, people start going for different directions, and the collaboration will be messed up.
Once a group member has gained a deeper understanding of the other person, themselves and the conflict there is the relationship, the interaction and connection between those elements to be understood. As an example two group members may experience conflict over the distribution of the work load, but it might escalate a result of how they communicate their need to each other. When we alter how we see our group members we automatically change our definition of ourselves which then changes our understanding of the context of the dispute, the relationship and the nature of conflict generally. If it is possible for us to see our conflicts as opportunities and what fuels our negative attitudes towards conflict or get trapped in it? These answers can be found in the context we created for perceiving and engaging in our conflicts. Once you listen to your conflicts your group members can listen to you and together you can search for collaboration and constructive solutions. Context in term of collaboration, it is a way to bridge the gap between office and real time collaboration; structured content as offered by line of business systems and platform of formal and informal. It is important to gather enough information to understand context of an activities. Suppose we want to send email to a customer, we will need to have senders’ details, recipients, subjects, and contents of the email; we will also need to know the application that can navigate to business entity.
Both concepts and contexts are used in a broad sense, and can be interpreted into different ways. The concept can be seen as a solution to a context. Whether the concept will be influenced by the context depends on how we define the context and concept. A concept will be meaningless without a specified context.
An inferred design concept is unique to each individual although the context does not change. For instant, Opera House. A understands the concept of Opera House comes from orange peel, and B thinks the concept of Opera House comes from sailboats; but orange peels are considered to be the truthful concept because that is what inspires the designer.
An image showing different perspectives toward a design concept, edited by Andrea Zheng
Let us narrow it down to one person's perspective. Here we take the site of the building as the context of a design. If one’s concept of the design is taken and applied to a certain site, the concept may not be changed even the context changes from time to time. However, if one’s concept of the design is not taken yet, and will be applied to a different site, the concept may vary.
We can also interpret the function of the building as the context of a design concept. In this case, if the context changes, one’s concept will be changed as a consequence.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Reference:
Kenneth Cloke & Joan Goldsmith, Wiley San Francisco 2000, Resolving conflicts at work : a complete guide for everyone on the job
The usefulness of the solution depends on the depth of your communication and understanding of the problem. For example by using proper context in communication, we can express and understand each other’s ideas effectively. However, without a context, people start going for different directions, and the collaboration will be messed up.
Once a group member has gained a deeper understanding of the other person, themselves and the conflict there is the relationship, the interaction and connection between those elements to be understood. As an example two group members may experience conflict over the distribution of the work load, but it might escalate a result of how they communicate their need to each other. When we alter how we see our group members we automatically change our definition of ourselves which then changes our understanding of the context of the dispute, the relationship and the nature of conflict generally. If it is possible for us to see our conflicts as opportunities and what fuels our negative attitudes towards conflict or get trapped in it? These answers can be found in the context we created for perceiving and engaging in our conflicts. Once you listen to your conflicts your group members can listen to you and together you can search for collaboration and constructive solutions. Context in term of collaboration, it is a way to bridge the gap between office and real time collaboration; structured content as offered by line of business systems and platform of formal and informal. It is important to gather enough information to understand context of an activities. Suppose we want to send email to a customer, we will need to have senders’ details, recipients, subjects, and contents of the email; we will also need to know the application that can navigate to business entity.
Both concepts and contexts are used in a broad sense, and can be interpreted into different ways. The concept can be seen as a solution to a context. Whether the concept will be influenced by the context depends on how we define the context and concept. A concept will be meaningless without a specified context.
An inferred design concept is unique to each individual although the context does not change. For instant, Opera House. A understands the concept of Opera House comes from orange peel, and B thinks the concept of Opera House comes from sailboats; but orange peels are considered to be the truthful concept because that is what inspires the designer.
An image showing different perspectives toward a design concept, edited by Andrea Zheng
Let us narrow it down to one person's perspective. Here we take the site of the building as the context of a design. If one’s concept of the design is taken and applied to a certain site, the concept may not be changed even the context changes from time to time. However, if one’s concept of the design is not taken yet, and will be applied to a different site, the concept may vary.
We can also interpret the function of the building as the context of a design concept. In this case, if the context changes, one’s concept will be changed as a consequence.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Reference:
Kenneth Cloke & Joan Goldsmith, Wiley San Francisco 2000, Resolving conflicts at work : a complete guide for everyone on the job
Week 8 - Working progress
Hi everyone,
Liming and I have imported some parts of the building into UT3 and applied textures on it.
Today I am doing the lighting tutorials and will try to put the lighting into the building in UT3.
By tonight we need to finish a template for the powerpoint presentation. Everyone needs to find the images for your own question/topic.
Liming and I have imported some parts of the building into UT3 and applied textures on it.
Today I am doing the lighting tutorials and will try to put the lighting into the building in UT3.
By tonight we need to finish a template for the powerpoint presentation. Everyone needs to find the images for your own question/topic.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Week 7 - working progress
Today I have been starting to import our building into UT3. However, I come across a few problems.
- Because Liming did the model in 3d max with vray too, when I open the material editors, those material spheres disappeared. I never used vray in my life, so I got help from someone, who told me to install vray1.5, and then those spheres came back.
- The building is quite complicated... I just realised that it is time consuming for us to put uvw mapping on all the building elements one by one. (Gosh, we should had done that right from the beginning!)
- When the whole building has been imported, the scale of the building is too small to zoom in and out.
Therefore, we need to firstly, adjust the scale of the building, and then apply uvw mapping. Liming and me will go back to uni and keep working on it tomorrow.
After discussion with Liming today, between two of us, I will act as an software investigator, who does all the tutorials in UT3, such as putting textures and lighting. Once I have been familiar with that software, I will be teacher her face by face, and we will we finish the fabrication together.
For the other two girls, please find as many materials and samples as possible, so that we have everything ready to go.
See you all at 9pm on Sunday!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Week 7 - Hierarchy
Many human organizations, such as governments, educational institutions, businesses, churches, armies and political movements are hierarchical organizations, at least officially; commonly seniors, called "bosses", have more power than their subordinates. Thus the relationship defining this hierarchy is "commands" or "has power over". Some analysts question whether power "actually" works in the way the traditional organizational chart indicates, however. This view tends to emphasize the significance of the informal organization.
In collaboration, each party accepts responsibility for its own inputs as well as for the equitable sharing of returns on outputs. Collaborative relationships are voluntary. They facilitate knowledge creation. Corporations, however, are typically based on hierarchical, non-voluntary relationships. Corporations are built to exploit knowledge and to appropriate a financial profit from it. Consequently, collaboration is difficult tocombine with corporate hierarchy. Nevertheless, there is a growing list of examplesillustrating successful co-existence of collaboration and hierarchy.[1]
Hierarchy also provides deference and decisional authority to persons at the highest levels. In fact such persons enjoy a broad range of authorities, many of which directly affect the freedoms of their subordinates. To maintain needed predictability, hierarchy often restrict the freedoms of persons within the organization. Differentiation plays an important roll in organisational complexity within collaboration, which includes number of hierarchical levels, number of formal organisational units, division of task, number of specialisation etc. Group decisions can be made in a number of ways:
- Decision by authority without discussion, ie. leader makes all the decisions without the group. It is efficient but does not build team commmitment.
- Expert member decides for team. That can cause difficulty deciding who.
- Average of mumber's opinions- Decision by authority after discussion, ie. designate leader makes decision after discussion with group. Only as effective as the leaders ability to listen.
- Minority control, ie. two or more members constituting less than 50% of group make decision by acting as a special problem solving sub group or as an executive committee.
- Majority control, ie. discussion occurs until 51% of members agree on course of action.
- Consensus. Most effective method in terms of quality and gaining member commitment to decision. Consensus is achieved when everyone has had their say and will commit to the decision even though not everyone agrees with the decision. [2]
A hierarchy diagram for human resource [3]
The origins of education's hierarchy are rooted somewhere in the human need to assert ascendancy over others. That involves a protocol of behavious that emphasize ordered relationships and routine predictability. well before reowned German sociologist Max Weber asserted the need for graded levels of authority in bureaucratic organizations, hierarchies were evident everywhere, such as the aggressive over the passive, and the strong over the weak.[4] Those occupying the highest levels of the hierarchy invariably sustain their positions and maintain the organization by requiring predictable behaviours.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Reference
[1] "Entrepreneurial Organizations: The Role of Hierarchy and Collaboration", accessed on 5 May, 2008, <http://www.iou.uzh.ch/bwl/iou/lehrveranstaltungen/SS2004/Topics_and_Literature_Seminar_Collaboration_SS_2004.pdf>
[2] Bruce Carnie's lecture note on Teamwork for SDES 2116
[3] "Human Hierarchy + Creative Collaboration in the Workplace", accessed on 5 May, 2008, <http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/07/human_hierarchy.html>
[4] Mike Koehler & Jeanne C. Baxter, Eye On Education,Inc 1997, Leadership Through Collaboration: Alternatives to the Hierarchy
In collaboration, each party accepts responsibility for its own inputs as well as for the equitable sharing of returns on outputs. Collaborative relationships are voluntary. They facilitate knowledge creation. Corporations, however, are typically based on hierarchical, non-voluntary relationships. Corporations are built to exploit knowledge and to appropriate a financial profit from it. Consequently, collaboration is difficult tocombine with corporate hierarchy. Nevertheless, there is a growing list of examplesillustrating successful co-existence of collaboration and hierarchy.[1]
Hierarchy also provides deference and decisional authority to persons at the highest levels. In fact such persons enjoy a broad range of authorities, many of which directly affect the freedoms of their subordinates. To maintain needed predictability, hierarchy often restrict the freedoms of persons within the organization. Differentiation plays an important roll in organisational complexity within collaboration, which includes number of hierarchical levels, number of formal organisational units, division of task, number of specialisation etc. Group decisions can be made in a number of ways:
- Decision by authority without discussion, ie. leader makes all the decisions without the group. It is efficient but does not build team commmitment.
- Expert member decides for team. That can cause difficulty deciding who.
- Average of mumber's opinions- Decision by authority after discussion, ie. designate leader makes decision after discussion with group. Only as effective as the leaders ability to listen.
- Minority control, ie. two or more members constituting less than 50% of group make decision by acting as a special problem solving sub group or as an executive committee.
- Majority control, ie. discussion occurs until 51% of members agree on course of action.
- Consensus. Most effective method in terms of quality and gaining member commitment to decision. Consensus is achieved when everyone has had their say and will commit to the decision even though not everyone agrees with the decision. [2]
A hierarchy diagram for human resource [3]
The origins of education's hierarchy are rooted somewhere in the human need to assert ascendancy over others. That involves a protocol of behavious that emphasize ordered relationships and routine predictability. well before reowned German sociologist Max Weber asserted the need for graded levels of authority in bureaucratic organizations, hierarchies were evident everywhere, such as the aggressive over the passive, and the strong over the weak.[4] Those occupying the highest levels of the hierarchy invariably sustain their positions and maintain the organization by requiring predictable behaviours.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Reference
[1] "Entrepreneurial Organizations: The Role of Hierarchy and Collaboration", accessed on 5 May, 2008, <http://www.iou.uzh.ch/bwl/iou/lehrveranstaltungen/SS2004/Topics_and_Literature_Seminar_Collaboration_SS_2004.pdf>
[2] Bruce Carnie's lecture note on Teamwork for SDES 2116
[3] "Human Hierarchy + Creative Collaboration in the Workplace", accessed on 5 May, 2008, <http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/07/human_hierarchy.html>
[4] Mike Koehler & Jeanne C. Baxter, Eye On Education,Inc 1997, Leadership Through Collaboration: Alternatives to the Hierarchy
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Week 7 - Following weeks schedule
Hi everyone, here is a rough schedule regarding to our fabrication project for the next few weeks. Due to the fact that Liming is leaving on 30 of May, we have to finish the fabrication part before she leaves. It might need to be changed after futher discussion. Now lets set milestones and break the work down into weeks:
Wed 07 May: Import the whole model into UT3 and locate it in the built terrain, develop interior spaces and apply textures
Wed 14 May: WIKI - context, more textures and lighting
Wed 21 May: Complete model, and brainstorm the final presentation
Wed 28 May: Video capture the model and prepare for the Final presentation
Wed 4 June: WIKI - conflict
Wed 18 June: Final Presentation - Fabrication
It will not take you too much time, as long as you spend a few hours a week, we are done! Ladies, we CAN do it! Do not make excuses, otherwise you are gonna fail!
Wed 07 May: Import the whole model into UT3 and locate it in the built terrain, develop interior spaces and apply textures
Wed 14 May: WIKI - context, more textures and lighting
Wed 21 May: Complete model, and brainstorm the final presentation
Wed 28 May: Video capture the model and prepare for the Final presentation
Wed 4 June: WIKI - conflict
Wed 18 June: Final Presentation - Fabrication
It will not take you too much time, as long as you spend a few hours a week, we are done! Ladies, we CAN do it! Do not make excuses, otherwise you are gonna fail!
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