Use of Maximal Spanning Trees and the Gamma Test of Monotone

Trend in the Development and Assessment of Teams

Nicole Bhalla Fernandez, Juliet Aiken, James T. Smith III, Georgetown

University Law Center

Analysis of Social Networks may be further supported through the

collection of ordinal data. Such data may help to determine potentially
optimal teams extending across groups or departments through the use of
Kruskal’s Algorithm for the identification of Maximal Spanning Trees.

Ordinal assessments of workers by those who have collaborated with them

in the past may be aggregated into simple, stratified network visualizations
to identify high performing members as well as those who may need re-
training or reassignment. Contingency table analysis and the Gamma Test
of Monotone Trend may provide further evidence supporting the
identification of such individuals. Additionally, the Gamma Test offers a
more powerful and informative alternative to the Chi-Squared Test of
Independence. These methods stand out as an area for further research
in practical settings and may be streamlined into existing research
practices with ease.

Download copies of COINs 2009 research and industry papers at

ScienceDirect.

Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/59087-2010-999979995-
2182758

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 2, Issue 4, The 1st

Collaborative Innovation Networks Conference - COINs2009. Edited by
Kenneth Riopelle, Peter Gloor, Christine Miller and Julia Gluesing.

Connect to the COINs 2010 Conference community across these media

platforms:

o COINs 2010 http://www.coins2010.com

1
 o Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Savannah-
GA/Collaborative-Innovation-Networks-COINS2010-
Conference/102489653133049
o Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/coinsconference/
o Livestream http://www.livestream.com/coinsconference
o Scribd http://www.scribd.com/SwarmCreativity
o Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
o Twitter http://twitter.com/coins_2010
o Hashtag #COINS2010
o Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/user4147060
o You Tube http://www.youtube.com/coinsconference

The COINs 2010 conference, Oct. 7–9, 2010, is presented by I-Open and
the COINs Collaborative, an initiative of the Savannah College of Art and
Design, Wayne State University College of Engineering Department of
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, and the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology Center for Collective Intelligence. The collaborative builds
open knowledge networks to advance the emerging science of
collaboration for research and industry competitive advantage. Hosted by
SCAD. For more information about the COINs 2010 conference, visit
www.coins2010.com.