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Here are a few examples of the possible assignments with INSPIRE. We would appreciate your suggestions and comments.

Information Systems

INSPIRE and INSS are the first systems of their kind. Possible questions that students may address are:

• Design issues of a Web-based negotiation support system.
• Ease of use.
• Elements and enhancements that would make the system more expressive and easier to use.
• Can the system be used for real-life negotiations?
• How the system can be used in collaborative work.
• The role of graphical output on decision making. (Both systems represent the negotiation dynamics in terms of a chart which may impact the user's perception of his/her negotiation and concessions made by both parties.)
• An assignment

Management Science

In general, the systems can be used to evaluate the applicability of decision theoretic techniques in negotiation and individual decision making:

• Utility construction based on conjoint analysis.
• Efficiency and Pareto-optimal solutions.
• Pareto-optimal solutions are introduced only in the post-negotiation phase. That is, users achieve a compromise without the system's help in terms of constructing a joint utility and suggesting joint improvements. Is this a detriment or not?
• Negotiation support based on decision theory.
  
• An assignment

International Management

INSPIRE provides an excellent opportunity for direct interaction with a counterpart from another culture. Since each student conducts his/her own negotiations, the negotiations can provide a rich base for cross-cultural comparisons. Some of the relevant issues include:

• Comparative management.
• The impact of value-based assumptions on inter-cultural processes.
• Negotiation processes.
• Cross-cultural communication.
• Decision making.
• International strategy.

Strategic Management

The case around which INSPIRE is built links a manufacturer with a potential overseas supplier. It introduces students to the details of strategy implementation as well as the cross-cultural implications of global strategies. The negotiation experience can be used to motivate discussions of:

• Bargaining with strategic partners.
• International strategy.
• Implementation.
• Negotiation in a global environment.
• Multiple criteria decisions.
• Logistics in international strategy.

Courses in English as a Second Language (ESL)

• Reading and following instructions.
• Introduction of such concepts as criteria and ranking.
• Can be used for reading charts.
• Promotes the use of e-mail on a specific topic.
• Can be used for writing reflective journals in which students analyze their decision making and reflect on the process.
• Allows students from different backgrounds to become familiar with computing and communication technologies used by mainstream and regular students.

As part of a course, ESL for Academic Purposes (Intermediate Level), Margaret Kersten from the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Carleton University, has prepared a set of materials for an INSPIRE assignment. More details.