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Collaboration (co+labor+ation) refers abstractly to all processes wherein people work together —applying both to the work of individuals as well as larger collectives and societies. As an intrinsic aspect of human society, the term is used in many varying contexts such as science, art, education, and business. In certain political contexts (such as a state of war) the term "collaboration" (ism) or "collaborator" may refer (pejoratively) to individuals who are claimed to have been working with an outside entity against their own societies. Research into the properties of and process of collaboration has intensified with the advent of the Internet, collaborative editing, and computer mediated communication (CMC). As software designers, facilitators and theorists from diverse fields of study strive to create more useful and effective collaborative environments and methods, more light is shone on this ubiquitous and taken for granted practice, and the nature of collaboration is coming under more intensive study. Questions More research into the nature of collaboration is needed to answer such questions as: Currently there exists no unifying general theory of collaboration. Etymology Dating from 1871, collaboration is a back-formation from collaborator (1802), from the French collaborateur, ultimately from the Latin collaboratus, past participle of collaborare ("work with"), itself derived from com- ("with") and labore ("to work"). Nuances "Collaborate" implies "to work together on a project". When individuals work together as in an academic setting, "collaborate" includes the nuance "to be jointly accredited" for the work completed. When individuals and organizations work together, or organizations with other organizations, nuances include "usually but not necessarily willingly" and "with another organization with which one is not normally connected".. Barriers To Collaboration One opinion is that whilst collaboration is natural in some societies, and is generally natural in pre-existing teams, collaboration is unnatural in new groups and western society. Some of the perceived barriers to collaboration are: Whilst much of the discussion around the topic of collaboration refers to the use of IT, perhaps more research is required on how to provide an effective social process that will help overcome the barriers! Differentiating coordination, cooperation, collaboration & teamwork The differences between these terms can be illustrated by considering these criteria: Preconditions for success ("must-haves") Enablers (additional "nice to haves") It is debatable if sanctions are necessary to secure productive collaboration and motivate free-riders to give inputs. "behavioral economics", see Fehr,Rockenbach; Detrimental Effect of sanctions on human altruism (download). The findings of the research employing game theory are that voluntary compliance is most important. Sanctions should not be outspoken and applied frequently but fair sanctions should be in place in order to support altruism with the players. Gächter and Thöni conclude in their paper Social learning and voluntary cooperation among like-minded people, Dec. 2004 (download) that provenience i.e. similar set of values is an enabler of collaboration. Purpose of using this approach Desired outcome Optimal application Examples Appropriate tools Degree of interdependence in designing the efforts work-products (and need for physical co-location of participants) Degree of individual latitude in carrying out the agreed-upon design One way to think of differentiating definitions Where do teams, partnerships, think-tanks, open-source and joint ventures fit in this schema? The general definition of a team is an interdependent group, which suggests that collaborative groups are teams, coordinated groups are not, and cooperative groups may or may not be. Partnerships and joint ventures are both primarily cooperative undertakings, whose objectives evolve over time. Open-source developments can run the gamut among all three types of undertaking. So theoretically can think-tanks, though in reality much think-tank work is solitary and not really collaborative. Even the work of scientists on major international projects is substantially individual, with a lot more coordination and cooperation than true collaboration. Wartime collaboration Main article: Collaborationism As a pejorative term, the word "collaboration' can describe the treason of cooperating with enemy forces occupying one's country. As such it implies criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, including complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions, pillage, and economic exploitation as well as participation in a puppet government. The use of "collaboration" to mean "traitorous cooperation with the enemy," dates from 1940, originally in reference to the Vichy Regime in France, as well as the French civilians who sympathised with Nazi Germany's doctrine and voluntary troops (LVF) who fought against the Fighting France and later De Gaulle's French Force. Since then, the words collaboration and collaborateur have this very pejorative meaning in French (the shortened form collabo only has this pejorative and insulting meaning). During World War II, those accused of collaboration with Axis Powers included: Commercial / Scientific Collaboration Even if the term collaboration has a lot of negative meaning and especially in France is not very usual (see Crozier, M. The Bureaucratic Phenomenon, Chicago 1964) there is a neutral to positive root for the term. There are various variants of multi client and/or multi contractor work. Open collaboration with market near products needs tight non disclosure agreements excluding background or previously known information from the protected intellectual property rights.(see also an example Collaborative Research and Development Agreement). Musical Collaboration Musical collaboration occurs when one or more musicians in different places or groups work on the same album or song. Collaboration between musicians, especially with regards to jazz, is often heralded as the epitome of complex collaborative practice. Special software has been written to facilitate musical collaboration over the internet, such as VSTunnel. See also | |||||||
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