Tang and MSU Colleagues receive NSF grant

Jiliang Tang, Assistant Professors of Computer Science and Engineering,  and  MSU colleagues Sinem Mollaoglu (PI), Ken Frank, Hanzhe Zhang, Richard P. DeShon, have been awarded an NSF grant entitled "Intelligent Social Network Interventions to Augment Human Cognition for Bolstered Interdisciplinary Interactions in Project Teams".

Abstract:

The goal of this integrative research is to augment human cognition and the functioning of multiteam systems via immediate and machine/deep learning enabled social network interventions to help individuals develop the skills needed for the future of work and facilitate short and long-term economic and social benefits. Large-scale projects are incredibly complex requiring smooth coordination and integration of ideas across a large set of interdisciplinary and interorganizational individuals. The products of such systems generally have long-term social, economic, and environmental impacts such as those in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. As complex, large-scale projects become common, it is increasingly important for workers to develop knowledge and skills that support highly interdependent work contributions in complex social and task structures. to achieve the study aims, a trans-disciplinary team of engineering, computer science, education, social networks, organizational psychology, and economics experts developed a model addressing: (1) Preparing individuals for the future of work in complex social systems; (2) Social network interventions to bolster multiteam coordination; (3) Machine learning to automate sociogram development and diagnose network problems to augment human cognition for multiteam coordination; and (4) Economic and social implications. We propose a longitudinal, comparative research design involving three AEC project teams (i.e., authentic teams) and 18 classroom test-beds (i.e., students teams) where an equal number of cases are to receive: (a) Manual, (b) Machine Learning Bolstered, and (c) No Social Network Interventions.

(Date Posted: 2019-09-03)