Collaborative Working

Depuis plusieurs années, le monde du travail est traversé par des changements liés à de nouvelles manières de travailler basées sur la collaboration et le travail à distance. Cette évolution rencontre certains besoins de la société actuelle, comme la possibilité d'aménager son temps professionnel et son temps privé et familial, ou la nécessité de réduire le temps passé dans les transports couplée à des préoccupations d'ordre écologique [1]. Le renforcement de la collaboration et le soutien au travail à distance cherchent également à rencontrer les enjeux des organisations en termes de rationalisation, d'efficacité, d'innovation et de bien-être des travailleurs [2,3]. Ces changements organisationnels sont notamment inspirés par la vague du " New World of Work " , sorte de configuration technico-organisationnelle portée par Microsoft [4] et diverses entreprises actives dans les secteurs de la technologie, du management et de la formation. On parle aujourd'hui plus largement de " New Ways of Working " (NWOW). Taskin [5] définit les NWOW comme " un 'mix organisationnel' de pratiques de flexibilité du temps et de l'espace de travail, d'organisation du travail et de management dont la mise en oeuvre est facilitée par les technologies de l'information et de la communication et qui participent au projet d'une entreprise collaborative et davantage démocratique dans sa gouvernance. ". Cette évolution modifie le travail de bureau tant dans les entreprises privées que les institutions publiques. S'y développent de nouvelles pratiques professionnelles s'appuyant sur les outils technologiques omniprésents aujourd'hui dans les environnements de travail (cloud computing, agenda partagé, visioconférence, technologies mobiles, etc.). Ces pratiques demandent aux travailleurs de mobiliser des compétences adaptées aux exigences des modes de travail collaboratif nomades et à l'utilisation des outils numériques qui les soutiennent. La présente communication vise à proposer une réflexion sur les compétences numériques et médiatiques des travailleurs impliqués dans des environnements de travail collaboratif et à distance, au regard des enjeux soulevés par les évolutions que connaissent les organisations. Quelles sont les valeurs soutenues par les projets menés actuellement dans les organisations concernant les nouveaux modes de travail collaboratif et à distance ? Quels enjeux soulèvent-elles au niveau de la littératie numérique et médiatique des travailleurs ? Pour répondre à ces questions, notre réflexion s'appuie sur les données recueillies lors de la phase exploratoire du projet de recherche LITME@WORK, " Littératie numérique et médiatique dans les environnements de travail collaboratif et à distance ". Considérant ces compétences comme un enjeu majeur des environnements de travail actuels et futurs, ce projet entend proposer un cadre pour identifier les compétences numériques et médiatiques des travailleurs. Financé pour quatre ans par la Politique scientifique fédérale belge, il rassemble quatre équipes universitaires plurisdisciplinaires : le Pôle de Recherches sur la Communication et Durant la phase exploratoire, des entretiens semi-directifs ont été menés auprès de huit représentants d'organisations publiques (trois) et privées (cinq). Leurs discours révèlent quatre valeurs qui traversent les évolutions des environnements de travail. A partir des apports de la littérature sur la littératie numérique et médiatique, nous identifierons dans un second temps les aspects relatifs aux compétences qui apparaissent comme des enjeux au regard de ces évolutions.

The construction industry in Hong Kong has adopted relational contracting (RC) as a way forward to address frequent conflicts in construction projects and to promote sustainable development. Despite this effort, adversarial behavior of project team members is still prevalent, stemming from conflicting agendas, which hinders the successful implementation of RC. There is a need to improve collaborative attitudes and behavior among project team members in RC projects, but there is still a lack of understanding of factors that can promote this inter-organizational collaboration. Therefore, using the theory of planned behavior, this research investigates factors that form relational attitudes, collaborative intentions, and collaborative behavior, and their relationships in RC projects in Hong Kong. Quantitative data were collected from experienced practitioners in RC projects and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal that senior management commitment and relational norms are needed to nurture relational attitudes, which in turn influence the development of collaborative intentions. These intentions can eventually promote collaborative behavior, which is expressed by teamwork, affective trust, and extra-role behavior (striving beyond roles to maintain collaboration). The findings advance knowledge and contribute to practice by providing a structured process to nurture collaboration in RC projects for sustainable development.

The concept of transparency in architecture has evolved through the years. Nowadays, transparency is not just a means to an end, but the goal itself, serving both functional and symbolic purposes. Traditional architecture used solid masses as a basis, and pierced through them to create the voids. Modern architecture, on the other hand, designs the voids and surrounds them by masses. This shows us the importance of the void, the transparent part of the building, both as a quality of space and a metaphor for the philosophy of our modern, democratic free-thinking societies.
With the emergence of the Creative Class (Florida, 2002), there became a need for a new type of working environment; the co-working space. Co-working spaces are social hubs, meant to promote interaction between users. However, it is difficult to define what co-working spaces really are. What can be said for certain is that they are working spaces that can exist only in a community that is open and inclusive. The logic behind these spaces is that knowledge should be shared and that via the collaboration and physical proximity, people from different backgrounds can work together, adding a wider range of variables in a holistic equation.
From theory to practice, we examine the concept of transparency through the design of a project that includes both co-working and social spaces that aim to bring young creative professionals together. This creative cluster is placed in Oporto, Portugal, in the city grid, in an area overlooking the river of Douro. The design of this co-working space has three main objectives: flexibility, transparency and adaptability, in order to promote and assist the innovative and creative spirit of the young professionals and to offer them spaces that can easily transform to fit their needs perfectly.

Educational programmes at all levels should consider and reflect authentic real life applications. In modern working world, net-and team-working skills are considered as important as job-related knowledge. Continuous assessment of team work and the input of individual members (throughput) together with related response are essential in enhancing successful team work and learning. Assessment is traditionally understood as grading and often concentrates even in HEI on the outcome. However, assessment can be progressive and develop throughout the teaching and learning process, a study unit, and guide the student in the learning process (formative) instead of purely limiting to a giving a grade (summative). Even the summative assessment of team work requires the assessment of the individual student's throughput and learning, not only the team's final output. The aim of this paper is to bring new elements in the discussion on team work assessment and especially concerning the challenges related to continuous assessment of learning in HEI. We discuss challenges of promoting and developing formative assessment and use of peer-assessment as a tool. Supportive assessment culture and the teachers' positive attitude towards continuous assessment together with adapted tools enhance students' engagement and learning. Peer-assessment can be a useful way for teachers to learn about the team work, the dynamics of the group, about the individual student's engagement and input as well as the team work processes including roles and tasks, respect of timetable, communication and conflict management. Feedback seeks to make self-and peer-assessment visible so that both the student and the evaluator can interpret on an equal footing. Continuous supervision is necessary for students to realise the importance of assessment and feedback in guiding the students in the learning process. This also helps the team to understand the role of the team in the individual team members' learning process. This paper is part of a study called Innovaatiokompetenssien mittaaminen (Innokomppi) conducted in 2012–2014 with the European Social Funding (ESF).