First record of the invasive medusa Blackfordia virginica (Hydrozoa: Leptomedusae in the Río de la Plata estuary, Argentina-Uruguay Primer registro de la medusa invasora Blackfordia virginica (Hydrozoa: Leptomedusae en el estuario del Río de la Plata, Argentina-Uruguay

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GABRIEL GENZANO

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Blackfordia virginica is a well-known invasive medusa inhabiting estuarine areas. It was recently detected in northern Argentina, constituting the first record of invasive hydromedusa for the Argentine Sea. In this work more than 1,500 plankton samples in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (34-55º S from 1983 to 2000 were analyzed. More than 5,000 specimens per sample of B. virginica were found in Río de la Plata estuary for the first time in February 2000. This river is one of the large waterways of South America with an intense nautical traffic and several exotic species has been recorded here, mainly due to trans-oceanic shipping traffic. It is important to point out that we found medusae of both sexes (therefore this species could be introduced in either the medusa or the polyp stages or both, different size classes (including very small juveniles and maturation stages, and in such high numbers that would suggest local reproduction. For this reason the recent finding of this hydromedusa could represent the starting point of an successful introductionBlackfordia virginica es una medusa invasora reconocida por habitar áreas estuariales. Recientemente fue descubierta en el norte de Argentina, constituyendo el primer registro de una hidromedusa invasora para el mar argentino. En este trabajo se analizaron más de 1.500 muestras de plancton en el Océano Atlántico sudoccidental (34-55º S desde 1983 hasta el año 2000. Más de 5.000 especímenes por muestra fueron encontrados por primera vez en el estuario del Río de la Plata durante febrero del año 2000. Este río es una de las mayores vías de agua de América del Sur, posee un intenso tráfico náutico y varias especies exóticas se han registrado allí, principalmente debido al tráfico marítimo transoceánico. Es importante señalar que se encontraron medusas de ambos sexos (por lo tanto esta especie podría haber sido introducida en su estadio medusa, pólipo o ambos, con diferentes

: Writing as medusa

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Telma Scherer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7917.2016v21n2p118 In this paper I’ll offer a personal reading of the short novel Água viva (medusa, or “living water”, in Portuguese from Clarice Lispector, through Helène Cixous statements about the creative process which she explains in her book Three steps in the ladder or writing. Cixous creates the image of a descendent ladder that has three steps: death, dreams and roots. Lispector does the same movement searching her “it”, and composes a radical practice with language that is also an investigation. In order to follow this path of the descendent ladder and analyze the “it” through comparative reading, I’ll bring some of Hilda Hilst’s poems, from her book Poemas malditos, gozozos e devotos and also Sylvia Plath’s, from Ariel, namely “Lady Lazarus”. Hilst constructs a game between obedience and subversion, faith and poetic creation, proposing a complexity of images from the idea of God, transfigured. Plath already brings to the reflection the cyclic recurrence, which is also a kind of all fear letting go. The readings of Hilst and Plath give light, in its own way, to the route undertaken in Cixous trail and enrich the search of the Lispector`s "it".

Trophic Cascading of Medusae on the Relationships between Copepods and Diatoms in a Subtropical Coastal Ecosystem

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Jia-Lu Chung

2009-01-01

Full Text Available To investigate the spatial and temporal variation of phytoplankton and copepods, eight seasonal cruises (January 2005 ~ Oc to ber 2006 were conducted in a subtropical coast site that encom passed 19 sampling stations. The results in dicated that the temperature (18.4 - 29.7°C varied more than 10°C seasonally, while nutrient concentrations (ni trate: 0.4 - 6.3 mM, phosphate: 0.1 - 0.8 mM, and silicate 2.1 - 12.1 mM were in versely corre lated with temperature. Diatoms (2792 - 1602437 cells m-3 constituted > 90% of the phytoplankton as semblages and dinoflagellates (226 - 10029 cells m-3 represented only ~10% of the algaebiomass. Copepod abun dance (8 - 1031 ind. m-3 varied positively with that of diatom and tempeature. Therelative abundance of Temora spp. (1 - 712 ind. m-3 varied from 69% in summer; that of Paracalanus spp. (0.1 - 176 ind. m-3 were > 25% in spring and au tumn and Calanus spp. (0.5 - 24 ind. m-3 dom i nated in win ter and spring, but ac counted for only ~10% of the to tal copepods. Both di a tom den sity and copepod abun dance were positively correlated with temperature, indicating these two plank tongroups were left bot tom-up control. The copepod abun dance positively co-aried with diatoms in 2005, but not in 2006. Fur ther sea son-to-sea son analysis showed that the diatomvs. copepodratios changed positively only when the medusa abun dance changed greatly (> 40-fold between consecutive sea sons. During periods when the medusa abundance varied less than 10-fold between seasons, there is no relationship between the ratios and the medusa abun dance. This study suggests that the stability of the medusa abundance from season to season could be important in regulating the ecological linkage between diatoms and their predators ¡V copepods.

MEDUSA-2.0: an intermediate complexity biogeochemical model of the marine carbon cycle for climate change and ocean acidification studies

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A. Yool

2013-10-01

Full Text Available MEDUSA-1.0 (Model of Ecosystem Dynamics, nutrient Utilisation, Sequestration and Acidification was developed as an "intermediate complexity" plankton ecosystem model to study the biogeochemical response, and especially that of the so-called "biological pump", to anthropogenically driven change in the World Ocean (Yool et al., 2011. The base currency in this model was nitrogen from which fluxes of organic carbon, including export to the deep ocean, were calculated by invoking fixed C:N ratios in phytoplankton, zooplankton and detritus. However, due to anthropogenic activity, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2 has significantly increased above its natural, inter-glacial background. As such, simulating and predicting the carbon cycle in the ocean in its entirety, including ventilation of CO2 with the atmosphere and the resulting impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems, requires that both organic and inorganic carbon be afforded a more complete representation in the model specification. Here, we introduce MEDUSA-2.0, an expanded successor model which includes additional state variables for dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen and detritus carbon (permitting variable C:N in exported organic matter, as well as a simple benthic formulation and extended parameterizations of phytoplankton growth, calcification and detritus remineralisation. A full description of MEDUSA-2.0, including its additional functionality, is provided and a multi-decadal spin-up simulation (1860–2005 is performed. The biogeochemical performance of the model is evaluated using a diverse range of observational data, and MEDUSA-2.0 is assessed relative to comparable models using output from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5.

Understanding Aggregation and Estimating Seasonal Abundance of Chrysaora quinquecirrha Medusae from a Fixed-station Time Series in the Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay

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Tay, J.; Hood, R. R.

2016-02-01

Although jellyfish exert strong control over marine plankton dynamics (Richardson et al. 2009, Robison et al. 2014) and negatively impact human commercial and recreational activities (Purcell et al. 2007, Purcell 2012), jellyfish biomass is not well quantified due primarily to sampling difficulties with plankton nets or fisheries trawls (Haddock 2004). As a result, some of the longest records of jellyfish are visual shore-based surveys, such as the fixed-station time series of Chrysaora quinquecirrha that began in 1960 in the Patuxent River in Chesapeake Bay, USA (Cargo and King 1990). Time series counts from fixed-station surveys capture two signals: 1) demographic change at timescales on the order of reproductive processes and 2) spatial patchiness at shorter timescales as different parcels of water move in and out of the survey area by tidal and estuarine advection and turbulent mixing (Lee and McAlice 1979). In this study, our goal was to separate these two signals using a 4-year time series of C. quinquecirrha medusa counts from a fixed-station in the Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay. Idealized modeling of tidal and estuarine advection was used to conceptualize the sampling scheme. Change point and time series analysis was used to detect demographic changes. Indices of aggregation (Negative Binomial coefficient, Taylor's Power Law coefficient, and Morisita's Index) were calculated to describe the spatial patchiness of the medusae. Abundance estimates revealed a bloom cycle that differed in duration and magnitude for each of the study years. Indices of aggregation indicated that medusae were aggregated and that patches grew in the number of individuals, and likely in size, as abundance increased. Further inference from the conceptual modeling suggested that medusae patch structure was generally homogenous over the tidal extent. This study highlights the benefits of using fixed-station shore-based surveys for understanding the biology and ecology of jellyfish.

Medusa structure of the gene regulatory network: dominance of transcription factors in cancer subtype classification.

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Guo, Yuchun; Feng, Ying; Trivedi, Niraj S; Huang, Sui

2011-05-01

Gene expression profiles consisting of ten thousands of transcripts are used for clustering of tissue, such as tumors, into subtypes, often without considering the underlying reason that the distinct patterns of expression arise because of constraints in the realization of gene expression profiles imposed by the gene regulatory network. The topology of this network has been suggested to consist of a regulatory core of genes represented most prominently by transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs, that influence the expression of other genes, and of a periphery of 'enslaved' effector genes that are regulated but not regulating. This 'medusa' architecture implies that the core genes are much stronger determinants of the realized gene expression profiles. To test this hypothesis, we examined the clustering of gene expression profiles into known tumor types to quantitatively demonstrate that TFs, and even more pronounced, microRNAs, are much stronger discriminators of tumor type specific gene expression patterns than a same number of randomly selected or metabolic genes. These findings lend support to the hypothesis of a medusa architecture and of the canalizing nature of regulation by microRNAs. They also reveal the degree of freedom for the expression of peripheral genes that are less stringently associated with a tissue type specific global gene expression profile.

Picadura de medusa Olindias sambaquiensis: Análisis de 49 casos

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Juan H Mosovich

2012-10-01

Full Text Available La picadura de la medusa o agua viva Olindia sambaquiensis es de ocurrencia frecuente en las playas de la costa de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Se notifican entre quinientas y mil picaduras de medusas por temporada en la localidad balnearia de Monte Hermoso, al sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires. El daño cutáneo que provoca por su elevada acción urticante plantea un serio inconveniente para el desarrollo del turismo. Durante el mes de enero de 1998, en la localidad de Monte Hermoso se reunieron un total de 49 casos que fueron examinados dentro de la hora posterior a la picadura. Veintiocho eran de sexo masculino (57.1%. La edad promedio fue de 16 ± 4.1 (rango 5-80. El 54% presentó lesiones eritemato-edematosas de configuración lineal, el 28% presentó lesiones predominantemente eritematosas y el 18% presentó placas eritemato-edematosas. En el 73% de los casos las lesiones se localizaron en miembros inferiores. Hemos redefinido la lesión cutánea producida por la medusa O. sambaquiensis, su evolución, sus dimensiones y localizaciones más frecuentes. Además, se ha tipificado y cuantificado el dolor que produce, y otros signos y síntomas que acompañan a la picadura en la hora posterior, a las primeras 24 horas y a los 30 días. Describimos las conductas terapéuticas utilizadas en nuestra costa, evaluamos la efectividad de algunas de ellas en el control del dolor y finalmente proponemos un esquema terapéutico para dicha picadura.Olindias sambaquiensis jellyfish sting occurs frequently in Buenos Aires province coast beaches. Among five hundred and one thousand stings by jellyfish are reported each season at Monte Hermoso, a beach village in the South of Buenos Aires province. The skin damage provoked because of its highly irritant effect poses a serious issue related to tourism development. A total number of 49 cases that were examined during the first hour after the sting were enrolled in Monte Hermoso during January 1998. Twenty

On the occurrence of Obelia medusa blooms and empirical evidence of unusual massive accumulations of Obelia and Amphisbetia hydroids on the Argentina shoreline Bloom de la medusa Obelia y evidencia empírica de una inusual acumulación masiva de hidroides de Obelia y Amphisbetia en la línea de costa en Argentina

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Gabriel Genzano

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Medusa blooms are a scarcely known phenomenon. For temperate, southwestern Atlantic waters, reports of such events are almost nonexistent. This research reports the analysis of a total of 1043 plankton samples taken from 1993 to 2006 and benthic samples collected by seasonal SCUBA diving since 1997 along the Buenos Aires coast. The medusa Obelia longissima was observed in very low densities and frequen-cies, except in October 2003, when a bloom of this species was detected. Soon afterward, two consecutive massive accumulations of O. longissima and Amphisbetia operculata colonies were detected on the coast by the mhabitants of Mar del Plata (38°00'S-57°32'W and the coastal Mar Chiquita Lagoon (37°32'S-57°19'W between March and April 2004. The colonies of both species were collected from the shoreline at low tide at both sites. The environmental factors of that period seemed to be particularly appropriate for promoting optimum growth conditions for these hydroid species. This paper reports and describes the mentioned abnormal phe-nomena, providing baseline information on these little-understood events.Los blooms de medusas son un fenómeno escasamente conocido. En las aguas templadas del Atlántico sudoccidental, esta clase de eventos son casi inexistentes. Un total de 1.043 muestras de plancton de 1993 a 2006 fueron analizadas como también aquellas de bentos colectadas por SCUBA estacionalmente desde 1997 en la costa de Buenos Aires. Para la medusa Obelia longissima fueron observadas muy bajas densidades y frecuencias, con excepción de octubre de 2003 cuando un bloom de esta medusa fue detectado. Seguidamente, dos acumulaciones masivas consecutivas de colonias de O. longissima y de Amphisbetia operculata fueron detectadas sobre la línea de costa por habitantes de Mar del Plata (38°00'S-57°32'W y de la laguna costera Mar Chiquita (37°32'S-57°19'W entre marzo y abril del 2004. Las colonias de ambas especies fueron colectadas desde la l

Molecular characterization and prevalence of two capulaviruses: Alfalfa leaf curl virus from France and Euphorbia caput-medusae latent virus from South Africa.

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Bernardo, Pauline; Muhire, Brejnev; François, Sarah; Deshoux, Maëlle; Hartnady, Penelope; Farkas, Kata; Kraberger, Simona; Filloux, Denis; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Galzi, Serge; Ferdinand, Romain; Granier, Martine; Marais, Armelle; Monge Blasco, Pablo; Candresse, Thierry; Escriu, Fernando; Varsani, Arvind; Harkins, Gordon W; Martin, Darren P; Roumagnac, Philippe

2016-06-01

Little is known about the prevalence, diversity, evolutionary processes, genomic structures and population dynamics of viruses in the divergent geminivirus lineage known as the capulaviruses. We determined and analyzed full genome sequences of 13 Euphorbia caput-medusae latent virus (EcmLV) and 26 Alfalfa leaf curl virus (ALCV) isolates, and partial genome sequences of 23 EcmLV and 37 ALCV isolates. While EcmLV was asymptomatic in uncultivated southern African Euphorbia caput-medusae, severe alfalfa disease symptoms were associated with ALCV in southern France. The prevalence of both viruses exceeded 10% in their respective hosts. Besides using patterns of detectable negative selection to identify ORFs that are probably functionally expressed, we show that ALCV and EcmLV both display evidence of inter-species recombination and biologically functional genomic secondary structures. Finally, we show that whereas the EcmLV populations likely experience restricted geographical dispersion, ALCV is probably freely moving across the French Mediterranean region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medusa: una aplicación de la integración entre PDF y ASP:NET®

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CARLOS M. ZAPATA J.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available El formato de Documentos Portátiles (PDF por sus siglas en inglés se ha venido consolidando en el mundo como un estándar para la transmisión de documentos vía Web, especialmente reconocidos como sólo lectura. Sin embargo, poco se han trabajado las capacidades interactivas de dicha tecnología, en particular para la captura y transmisión de datos a un servidor. En este artículo se presenta MEDUSA, un software basado en tecnología PDF que interactúa con ASP® y ASP.NET® para el manejo de una plataforma de compras vía Web.

The Medusa Multi-Coil Versus Alternative Vascular Plugs for Iliac Artery Aneurysm Embolization (MVP-EMBO) Study.

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George, Jon C; Varghese, Vincent; Kovach, Richard

2016-01-01

Transcatheter embolization has evolved from the use of autologous clot as the embolic agent, to stainless-steel coils, to braided-nitinol vascular plugs. However, there are disadvantages to platinum and metal coils, including procedural time, radiation exposure, mass effect, risk of distal embolization, recanalization, imaging artifacts, and cost. Therefore, a large vessel-occluding device is needed to mitigate these current disadvantages. The Medusa Multi-Coil (MMC; EndoShape, Inc) is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved embolization device constructed primarily of radioopaque coils with synthetic fibers to promote thrombogenicity, and a unique delivery platform with both proximal and distal attachment to assist with precise placement. We report our experience with the endovascular treatment of internal iliac artery aneurysms using platinum coils vs MMCs.

A Medusa e o gozo: uma leitura da diferença sexual em psicanálise

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Maria Cristina Poli

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Pretende-se retomar, nas obras de Freud e Lacan, algumas das principais balizas do estatuto da diferença sexual em psicanálise. O enigma feminino, assinalado por Freud, e as diferentes formas de gozo, referidas por Lacan, situam o registro da referida diferença. Por fim, algumas contribuições de Foucault nos permitem avaliar a implicação política da psicanálise em relação a esse tema.The Medusa and the joy: a reading of the sexual difference in psychoanalysis. This article revisits the texts of Freud and Lacan, indicating some of the main beacons of the statute of the sexual difference in psychoanalysis. The feminine enigma, designated from Freud, and the different forms of joy, related from Lacan, point out the register of the sexual difference in psychoanalysis. Some contributions of Foucault allow for the politic implication of the psychoanalysis in relation to this subject.

Summer composition and distribution of the jellyfish (Cnidaria: Medusozoa in the shelf area off the central Mexican Pacific Composición y distribución de las medusas (Cnidaria: Medusozoa en la plataforma continental central del Pacifico mexicano

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Lourdes Segura-Puertas

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The composition, distribution, and abundance of the jellyfish community of a shelf area of the Mexican tropical Pacific were surveyed during August 1988. Zooplankton samples were collected along transects on the outer and inner sectors of the continental shelf to determine the structure of the jellyfish community and its variation in this area during the rainy season. A total of 23 species were recorded, with Aglaura hemistoma, Solmundella bitentaculata, Liriope tetraphylla, Pelagia noctiluca, and Rhopalonema velatum being the most abundant. The total abundance of medusae and of the most abundant species was statistically independent of depth and distance to the coast. Hence, the total jellyfish abundance of the most abundant species, and Shannon's Diversity index had a uniform distribution in both the inner and the outer shelf; furthermore, neritic-oceanic forms and oceanic species occurred indistinctly over the entire continental shelf. On the outer shelf A. hemistoma and S. bitentaculata were most abundant; the former species, together with L. tetraphylla, weakly characterized the inner shelf jellyfish community. The narrowness of the shelf, the wide distribution of the most abundant forms, and the possible effect of local advective processes from the oceanic zone masked a definite gradient across the shelf. Three species have not been recorded previously in the Mexican Pacific: Amphinema dinema (Péron and Lesueur, 1810, Sarsia coccometra Bigelow, 1909, and Clytia mccradyi (Brooks, 1888. The finding of A. dinema is the first in the Eastern Pacific.Se estudió la composición, distribución y abundancia de la comunidad de medusas de la plataforma continental en el Pacífico mexicano durante agosto 1988. Las muestras de zooplancton provienen de transectos en las zonas externa e interna de la plataforma para determinar la estructura de la comunidad de medusas y su variación durante la época de lluvias. Se identificaron 23 especies; las m

MEDUSA: The ExoMars experiment for in-situ monitoring of dust and water vapour

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Colangeli, L.; Lopez-Moreno, J. J.; Nørnberg, P.; Della Corte, V.; Esposito, F.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Merrison, J.; Molfese, C.; Palumbo, P.; Rodriguez-Gomez, J. F.; Rotundi, A.; Visconti, G.; Zarnecki, J. C.; The International Medusa Team

2009-07-01

Dust and water vapour are fundamental components of the Martian atmosphere. In view of tracing the past environmental conditions on Mars, that possibly favoured the appearing of life forms, it is important to study the present climate and its evolution. Here dust and water vapour have (and have had) strong influence. Of major scientific interest is the quantity and physical, chemical and electrical properties of dust and the abundance of water vapour dispersed in the atmosphere and their exchange with the surface. Moreover, in view of the exploration of the planet with automated systems and in the future by manned missions, it is of primary importance to analyse the hazards linked to these environmental factors. The Martian Environmental Dust Systematic Analyser (MEDUSA) experiment, included in the scientific payload of the ESA ExoMars mission, accommodates a complement of sensors, based on optical detection and cumulative mass deposition, that aims to study dust and water vapour in the lower Martian atmosphere. The goals are to study, for the first time, in-situ and quantitatively, physical properties of the airborne dust, including the cumulative dust mass flux, the dust deposition rate, the physical and electrification properties, the size distribution of sampled particles and the atmospheric water vapour abundance versus time.

Medusa-Isosampler: A modular, network-based observatory system for combined physical, chemical and microbiological monitoring, sampling and incubation of hydrothermal and cold seep fluids

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Schultz, A.; Flynn, M.; Taylor, P.

2004-12-01

The study of life in extreme environments provides an important context from which we can undertake the search for extraterrestrial life, and through which we can better understand biogeochemical feedback in terrestrial hydrothermal and cold seep systems. The Medusa-Isosampler project is aimed at fundamental research into understanding the potential for, and limits to, chemolithoautotrophic life, i.e. primary production without photosynthesis. One environment that might foster such life is associated with the high thermal and chemical gradient environment of hydrothermal vent structures. Another is associated with the lower thermal and chemical gradient environment of continental margin cold seeps. Under NERC, NASA and industrial support, we have designed a flexible instrumentation system, operating as networked, autonomous modules on a local area network, that will make possible simultaneous physical and chemical sampling and monitoring of hydrothermal and cold seep fluids, and the in situ and laboratory incubation of chemosynthetic microbes under high pressure, isobaric conditions. The system has been designed with long-term observatory operations in mind, and may be reconfigured dynamically as the requirements of the observatory installation change. The modular design will also accommodate new in situ chemical and biosensor technologies, provided by third parties. The system may be configured for seafloor use, and can be adapted to use in IODP boreholes. Our overall project goals are provide an instrumentation system capable of probing both high and low-gradient water-rock systems for chemolithoautotrophic biospheres, to identify the physical and chemical conditions that define these microhabitats and explore the details of the biogeochemical feedback loops that mediate these microhabitats, and to attempt to culture and identify chemolithoautotrophic microbial communities that might exist there. The Medusa-Isosampler system has been produced and is now

[Spectral characteristics of dissolved organic matter released during the metabolic process of small medusa].

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Guo, Dong-Hui; Yi, Yue-Yuan; Zhao, Lei; Guo, Wei-Dong

2012-06-01

The metabolic processes of jellyfish can produce dissolved organic matter (DOM) which will influence the functioning of the aquatic ecosystems, yet the optical properties of DOM released by jellyfish are unknown. Here we report the absorption and fluorescence properties of DOM released by a medusa species Black fordia virginica during a 24 h incubation experiment. Compared with the control group, an obvious increase in the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), absorption coefficient (a280) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) was observed in incubation group. This clearly demonstrated the release of DOM, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) and dissolved nutrients by B. virginica which feed on enough of Artemia sp. before the experiment. The increase in spectral slope ratio (SR) and decrease in humification index (HIX) indicated that the released DOM was less-humified and had relatively lower molecular weight. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) decomposed the fluorescence matrices of DOM into three humic-like components (C1-C3) and one protein-like component (C4). The Fmax of two components (C2: 400 nm showed little changes. Thus, we suggested a zooplankton index (ZIX) to trace and characterize the DOM excreted by metabolic activity of zooplankton, which is calculated as the ratio of the sum of Fmax of all fluorescence components with the emission wavelength 400 nm.

Variación lipídica en los ovocitos de la medusa Stomolophus meleagris (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae, durante el desarrollo gonádico, en la laguna Las Guásimas, Sonora, México

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Liliana Carvalho-Saucedo

2010-03-01

Full Text Available La medusa S. meleagris, ha mostrado potencial de explotación pero hay escasa información sobre su biología reproductiva. El presente trabajo pretende conocer el contenido de los triglicéridos y fosfolípidos en los ovocitos durante el desarrollo gonadal, así como la proporción de sexos, talla de primera madurez y la concentración de proteínas y lípidos totales en la medusa. Se realizaron muestreos mensuales durante 2005 y 2006. A las medusas recolectadas en 2005, se les aplicó la técnica del sudán negro, para describir las características del ovocito y la cantidad triglicéridos y fosfolípidos y la técnica de hematoxilina-eosina para conocer el grado de desarrollo gonádico y la proporción de sexos. Las medusas del 2006 se emplearon para determinar la talla de primera madurez y el contenido de proteínas y lípidos totales. Se observaron cuatro fases de desarrollo en ambos sexos, con un desarrollo gamético continúo. El mayor porcentaje de organismos maduros se registró en abril. La proporción de sexos fue de 0.7:1.3. Se encontró mayor concentración de triglicéridos que de fosfolípidos en el citoplasma. Se obtuvo una correlación positiva entre triglicéridos y el diámetro del ovocito. La talla de primera madurez para ambos sexos fue de 105 mm. El mayor contenido de proteínas se obtuvo en abril y para lípidos en marzo.Lipid variation in oocytes of the jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae from Las Guasimas Lagoon, Mexico, during gonadal development. The jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris has potential for commercial exploitation but there is little information on their reproductive biology. This paper seeks to evaluate some biochemical and demographic characteristics of the species. Samples were taken monthly during 2005 and 2006. Jellyfish collected in 2005 were used to describe the characteristics and quantity of oocyte triglycerides and phospholipids with the Sudan black technique, and to ascertain

Plant-pathogen interactions: leaf physiology alterations in poplars infected with rust (Melampsora medusae).

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Gortari, Fermín; Guiamet, Juan José; Graciano, Corina

2018-01-23

Rust produced by Melampsora sp. is considered one of the most relevant diseases in poplar plantations. Growth reduction in poplar plantations takes place because rust, like other pathogens, alters leaf physiology. There is not a complete evaluation of several of the physiological traits that can be affected by rust at leaf level. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate, in an integrative way and in the same pathosystem, which physiological processes are affected when Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. leaves are infected by rust (Melampsora medusae Thümen). Leaves of two clones with different susceptibility to rust were analyzed. Field and pot experiments were performed, and several physiological traits were measured in healthy and infected leaves. We conclude that rust affects leaf mesophyll integrity, and so water movement in the leaf in liquid phase is affected. As a consequence, gas exchange is reduced, affecting both carbon fixation and transpiration. However, there is an increase in respiration rate, probably due to plant and fungal respiration. The increase in respiration rate is important in the reduction of net photosynthetic rate, but also some damage in the photosynthetic apparatus limits leaf capacity to fix carbon. The decrease in chlorophyll content would start later and seems not to explain the reduction in net photosynthetic rate. Both clones, although they have different susceptibility to rust, are affected in the same physiological mechanisms. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

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Carter, L.M.; Campbell, B.A.; Watters, T.R.; Phillips, R.J.; Putzig, N.E.; Safaeinili, A.; Plaut, J.J.; Okubo, C.H.; Egan, A.F.; Seu, R.; Biccari, D.; Orosei, R.

2009-01-01

The SHARAD (shallow radar) sounding radar on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detects subsurface reflections in the eastern and western parts of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The radar waves penetrate up to 580 m of the MFF and detect clear subsurface interfaces in two locations: west MFF between 150 and 155?? E and east MFF between 209 and 213?? E. Analysis of SHARAD radargrams suggests that the real part of the permittivity is ???3.0, which falls within the range of permittivity values inferred from MARSIS data for thicker parts of the MFF. The SHARAD data cannot uniquely determine the composition of the MFF material, but the low permittivity implies that the upper few hundred meters of the MFF material has a high porosity. One possibility is that the MFF is comprised of low-density welded or interlocked pyroclastic deposits that are capable of sustaining the steep-sided yardangs and ridges seen in imagery. The SHARAD surface echo power across the MFF is low relative to typical martian plains, and completely disappears in parts of the east MFF that correspond to the radar-dark Stealth region. These areas are extremely rough at centimeter to meter scales, and the lack of echo power is most likely due to a combination of surface roughness and a low near-surface permittivity that reduces the echo strength from any locally flat regions. There is also no radar evidence for internal layering in any of the SHARAD data for the MFF, despite the fact that tens-of-meters scale layering is apparent in infrared and visible wavelength images of nearby areas. These interfaces may not be detected in SHARAD data if their permittivity contrasts are low, or if the layers are discontinuous. The lack of closely spaced internal radar reflectors suggests that the MFF is not an equatorial analog to the current martian polar deposits, which show clear evidence of multiple internal layers in SHARAD data. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc.

Monitoring the airborne dust and water vapor in the low atmosphere of Mars: the MEDUSA experiment for the ESA ExoMars mission

Science.gov (United States)

Esposito, Francesca; Colangeli, Luigi; Palumbo, Pasquale; Della Corte, Vincenzo; Molfese, Cesare; Merrison, Jonathan; Nornberg, Per; Lopez-Moreno, J. J.; Rodriguez Gomez, Julio

rates and geographic variability are matter of controversy. The instrument MEDUSA (Martian Environmental DUst Systematic Analyser) has been designed to measure directly and quantitatively in situ the cumulative dust mass flux and dust deposition rate, the physical and electrification properties, the size distribution of intercepted particles and the water vapour abundance versus time, a goal that has never been reached so far. MEDUSA has been selected by ESA as one of the environmental instruments to be included in the payload Humboldt of ExoMars lander.

Evolution of life cycle, colony morphology, and host specificity in the family Hydractiniidae (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria).

Science.gov (United States)

Miglietta, Maria Pia; Cunningham, Clifford W

2012-12-01

Biased transitions are common throughout the tree of life. The class hydrozoa is no exception, having lost the feeding medusa stage at least 70 times. The family hydractiniidae includes one lineage with pelagic medusae (Podocoryna) and several without (e.g., Hydractinia). The benthic colony stage also varies widely in host specificity and in colony form. The five-gene phylogeny presented here requires multiple transitions between character states for medusae, host specificity, and colony phenotype. Significant phylogenetic correlations exist between medusoid form, colony morphology, and host specificity. Species with nonfeeding medusae are usually specialized on a single host type, and reticulate colonies are correlated with nonmotile hosts. The history of feeding medusae is less certain. Podocoryna is nested within five lineages lacking medusae. This requires either repeated losses of medusae, or the remarkable re-evolution of a feeding medusa after at least 150 million years. Traditional ancestral reconstruction favors medusa regain, but a likelihood framework testing biased transitions cannot distinguish between multiple losses versus regain. A hypothesis of multiple losses of feeding medusae requires transient selection pressure favoring such a loss. Populations of species with feeding medusae are always locally rare and lack of feeding medusae does not result in restricted species distribution around the world. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Effects of dietary polysaccharides from the submerged fermentation concentrate of Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. on fat deposition in broilers.

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Shang, Hong Mei; Song, Hui; Shen, Si Jie; Yao, Xu; Wu, Bo; Wang, Li Na; Jiang, Yun Yao; Ding, Guo Dong

2015-01-01

The present study was conducted to investigate the lipid-lowering effect of polysaccharides from the submerged fermentation concentrate of Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. (HFCP) in broilers. A total of 480 female Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into four dietary treatments, each consisting of six pens as replicates, and fed diets containing 0 (control), 1, 3 or 5 g kg(-1) HFCP. The results revealed that the average daily gain of broilers increased (linear (L), P < 0.01; quadratic (Q), P < 0.01) when the HFCP levels increased. The serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased (Q, P < 0.05) while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased (Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. The caecum Escherichia coli count and pH decreased (Q, P < 0.01) while the lactobacilli count and bifidobacteria count increased (L, P < 0.05; Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. The propionic acid and butyric acid concentrations increased (L, P < 0.001; Q, P < 0.001) while the abdominal fat rate and liver fat content decreased (L, P < 0.01; Q, P < 0.05) when the HFCP levels increased. Dietary supplementation with HFCP may lead to the development of low abdominal fat of broilers as demanded by health-conscious consumers. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

First record of the association between Lychnorhiza lucerna (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae and Cyrtograpsus affinis (Decapoda, Varunidae Primer registro de la asociación entre Lychnorhiza lucerna (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae y Cyrtograpsus affinis (Decapoda, Varunidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agustín Schiariti

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We report the association between the jellyfish Lychnorhiza lucerna and the crab Cyrtograpsus affinis. Numerous examples of associations between medusae and brachyurans have been observed in the field and noted in the literature. All of these cases involve medusae of the Class Scyphozoa and crabs belonging to the families Majidae and Portunidae. The presence of three individuals of C. affinis within the subgenital space of L. lucerna constitutes a striking finding since none species of this brachyuran family (Varunidae has been previously reported associated to scyphomedusae.Se reporta la asociación entre la medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna y el cangrejo Cyrtograpsus affinis. Existen numerosos ejemplos de asociaciones entre medusas y brachiuros mencionados en la literatura. Todos ellos involucran a las medusas de la Clase Scyphozoa y a cangrejos pertenecientes a las familias Majidae y Portunidae. La presencia de tres individuos de C. affinis dentro de la cavidad subgenital de L. lucerna es un hecho llamativo dado que, hasta el momento, no se habia reportado a ninguna especie de esta familia de brachiuros (Varunidae asociada con medusas de la Clase Scyphozoa.

Indoles induce metamorphosis in a broad diversity of jellyfish, but not in a crown jelly (Coronatae).

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Helm, Rebecca R; Dunn, Casey W

2017-01-01

Many animals go through one or more metamorphoses during their lives, however, the molecular underpinnings of metamorphosis across diverse species are not well understood. Medusozoa (Cnidaria) is a clade of animals with complex life cycles, these life cycles can include a polyp stage that metamorphoses into a medusa (jellyfish). Medusae are produced through a variety of different developmental mechanisms-in some species polyps bud medusae (Hydrozoa), in others medusae are formed through polyp fission (Scyphozoa), while in others medusae are formed through direct transformation of the polyp (Cubozoa). To better understand the molecular mechanisms that may coordinate these different forms of metamorphosis, we tested two compounds first identified to induce metamorphosis in the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita (indomethacin and 5-methoxy-2-methylindole) on a broad diversity of medusozoan polyps. We discovered that indole-containing compounds trigger metamorphosis across a broad diversity of species. All tested discomedusan polyps metamorphosed in the presence of both compounds, including species representatives of several major lineages within the clade (Pelagiidae, Cyaneidae, both clades of Rhizostomeae). In a cubozoan, low levels of 5-methoxy-2-methylindole reliably induced complete and healthy metamorphosis. In contrast, neither compound induced medusa metamorphosis in a coronate scyphozoan, or medusa production in either hydrozoan tested. Our results support the hypothesis that metamorphosis is mediated by a conserved induction pathway within discomedusan scyphozoans, and possibly cubozoans. However, failure of these compounds to induce metamorphosis in a coronate suggests this induction mechanism may have been lost in this clade, or is convergent between Scyphozoa and Cubozoa.

Mapping Variability in the Medusae Fossae Formation: Yardang Morphologies, Fluvial Reworking, and Crater Depth to Diameter Ratios

Science.gov (United States)

Khuller, A. R.; Kerber, L.

2017-12-01

The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) is a voluminous, fine-grained deposit thought to be of pyroclastic origin. While it contains widespread, well-preserved inverted fluvial features, its pervasive cover of dust means that little is known about its composition, and indirect means must be used to characterize its material properties. This project aims to correlate fluvial features in the Western MFF with other indicators of material strength: yardang morphology and crater depth-to-diameter ratios. For this work, Context Camera (CTX) images were used to map features of fluvial origin (inverted channels, sinuous ridges, alluvial fans). The presence of rounded, meso-yardangs in close proximity to fluvial features was also mapped. Crater depth-diameter (d/D) ratios (for craters 1-512km) were analyzed using a global Mars crater database (Robbins and Hynek, 2012) as a proxy for material strength. Approximately 1400 fluvial segments were mapped, with the most populous cluster located in Aeolis and Zephyria Plana. Rounded meso-yardangs were found to be common in areas that also have fluvial features. In agreement with previous work (Barlow, 1993), MFF craters were found to have a greater d/D ratio (0.0523) than the global mean (0.0511). Ratios between MFF lobes differ significantly, providing insight into the heterogeneity of induration within the formation. The deepest craters are found in Eumenides Dorsum and the shallowest in Aeolis Planum, consistent with a greater degree of induration and reworking in the western part of the formation where the fluvial features and "salt-playa" meso-yardangs are found. It also suggests that Eumenides, which is the tallest MFF outcrop, could also be the least compacted. The presence of long, complex, and sometimes overlapping branching networks imply multiple relative episodes of channel formation. Rounded meso-yardangs, which are associated with salt playa surfaces on Earth, provide additional evidence for the presence of liquid water

Predicting the Presence of Scyphozoan Jellyfish in the Gulf of Mexico Using a Biophysical Model

Science.gov (United States)

Aleksa, K. T.; Nero, R. W.; Wiggert, J. D.; Graham, W. M.

2016-02-01

The study and quantification of jellyfish (cnidarian medusae and ctenophores) is difficult due to their fragile body plan and a composition similar to their environment. The development of a predictive biophysical jellyfish model would be the first of its kind for the Gulf of Mexico and could provide assistance in ecological research and human interactions. In this study, the collection data of two scyphozoan medusae, Chrysaora quinquecirrha and Aurelia spp., were extracted from SEAMAP trawling surveys and were used to determine biophysical predictors for the presence of large jellyfish medusae in the Gulf of Mexico. Both in situ and remote sensing measurements from 2003 to 2013 were obtained. Logistic regressions were then applied to 27 biophysical parameters derived from these data to explore and determine significant predictors for the presence of medusae. Significant predictors identified by this analysis included water temperature, chlorophyll a, turbidity, distance from shore, and salinity. Future application for this model include foraging assessment of gelatinous predators as well as possible near real time monitoring of the distribution and movement of these medusae in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. polysaccharide enhance innate immune response, immune-related genes expression and disease resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

Science.gov (United States)

Gou, Changlong; Wang, Jiazhen; Wang, Yuqiong; Dong, Wenlong; Shan, Xiaofeng; Lou, Yujie; Gao, Yunhang

2018-01-01

The objective was to add 0, 400, 800 or 1200 mg/kg of Hericium caput-medusae polysaccharide (HCMP) to the basal diet of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and determine effects on humoral innate immunity, expression of immune-related genes and disease resistance. Adding HCMP enhanced (P < 0.05) bactericidal activity at 1, 2 and 3 weeks and also lysozyme activity, complement C3, and SOD activity at 2 and 3 weeks. Supplementing 800 or 1200 mg/kg of HCMP for 2 or 3 weeks increased (P < 0.05) serum concentrations of total protein, albumin and globulin. Two immune-related genes (IL-1β and TNF-α) were up-regulated (P < 0.05) in HCMP supplemented groups given 800 or 1200 mg/kg HCMP after 2 and 3 weeks of feeding. Expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was down-regulated (P < 0.05) after receiving 800 or 1200 mg/kg HCMP for 2 or 3 weeks. Fish fed 800 mg/kg HCMP had maximal disease resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila (65.4%). In conclusion, HCMP enhanced immune response and expression of immune-related genes and increased disease resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in grass carp, with greatest effects in fish given 800 mg/kg HCMP for 3 weeks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proterodiplostome Parasites (Digenea, Proterodiplostomidae of the Caiman, Caiman crocodilus yacare (Reptilia, Crocodylia in the Pantanal mato-Grossense, Brazil, with the description of two new species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João B. Catto

1994-12-01

Full Text Available Two new species are described from the caiman. Caiman crocodilus yacare. Proterodiplostomum breve n. sp. differs from all other species in the genus by the following chacacteristics: (1 the paraprostate gland is shorter and club-shaped; (2 the genital cone is, in average, eight times longer than that of P. medusae; (3 the genital atrium is larger and without pseudosuckers; (4 the oral sucker and pharynx are longer; and (5 there are larger numbers of papillae surrounding the tribocytic organ (40 against 20 in P. longum, 16 in p. tumidilum, 8 in P. ophidum, and 16-18 in P. medusae. Proterodiplostomum globulare n. sp. differs from all the other species in the fenus by the following characteristics: (1 from P. tumidilum, P. lomgum, P. medusae, and P. breve n. sp. for the absense of pseudosuckers or muscular bunches in the inferior wall of the genital atrium; (2 the shape of the paraprostate gland, which is globular and not cylindrical as in P. longum, P. tumidilum, P. medusae, and P. ophidum; (3 the size of the tribocytic organ 201-407 long, 183-495 wide, while is 138-270 long, 102-292 wide in P. medusae, and 138-270 long, 255 wide in P. ophidum; (4 the number of papillae in the tribocytic organ (18-20 in P. globulare and 16-18 in P. medusae, and 8 in P. ophidum. Specimens belonging to six other species of proterodiplostomes are recorded for the first time infecting the caiman, C. c. yacare in the Pantanal Mato-grossense, Brazil, namely: Proterodiplostomum medusae, P. tumidilum, Cystodiplostomum hollyi, Prolecithodiplostomum constrictum, Paradiplostomum abbreviatum, and Herpetodiplostomum caimancola.

Reduced salinity increases susceptibility of zooxanthellate jellyfish to herbicide toxicity during a simulated rainfall event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, Shannon G.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Carroll, Anthony R.

2016-01-01

Accurately predicting how marine biota are likely to respond to changing ocean conditions requires accurate simulation of interacting stressors, exposure regimes and recovery periods. Jellyfish populations have increased in some parts of the world and, despite few direct empirical tests, are hypothesised to be increasing because they are robust to a range of environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the effects of contaminated runoff on a zooxanthellate jellyfish by exposing juvenile Cassiopea sp. medusae to a photosystem II (PSII) herbicide, atrazine and reduced salinity conditions that occur following rainfall. Four levels of atrazine (0ngL"−"1, 10ngL"−"1, 2μgL"−"1, 20μgL"−"1) and three levels of salinity (35 ppt, 25 ppt, 17 ppt) were varied, mimicking the timeline of light, moderate and heavy rainfall events. Normal conditions were then slowly re-established over four days to mimic the recovery of the ecosystem post-rain and the experiment continued for a further 7 days to observe potential recovery of the medusae. Pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence, growth and bell contraction rates of medusae were measured. Medusae exposed to the combination of high atrazine and lowest salinity died. After 3 days of exposure, bell contraction rates were reduced by 88% and medusae were 16% smaller in the lowest salinity treatments. By Day 5 of the experiment, all medusae that survived the initial pulse event began to recover quickly. Although atrazine decreased YII under normal salinity conditions, YII was further reduced when medusae were exposed to both low salinity and atrazine simultaneously. Atrazine breakdown products were more concentrated in jellyfish tissues than atrazine at the end of the experiment, suggesting that although bioaccumulation occurred, atrazine was metabolised. Our results suggest that reduced salinity may increase the susceptibility of medusae to herbicide exposure during heavy rainfall events. - Highlights: �

Fecundidad de la medusa Stomolophus meleagris (Rhizostomeae: Stomolophidae en el Golfo de California Stomolophus meleagris fecundity (Rhizostomeae: Stomolophidae in the Gulf of California

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Liliana Carvalho Saucedo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available La medusa Stomolophus meleagris es considerada un recurso pesquero de alto valor comercial. Debido a la relevancia de conocer aspectos de importancia biológica actualmente desconocidos, el presente trabajo analiza la fecundidad con base en la estimación del número de ovocitos vitelogénicos en la gónada; su relación con la longitud, diámetro y peso húmedo; y la relación del índice gonadosomático (IGS con su diámetro y longitud. De enero a mayo 2006 se recolectaron 30 ejemplares mensuales que fueron medidos y pesados, de los cuales se analizaron 60 hembras maduras para calcular el volumen de sus gónadas. Se extrajeron las gónadas, se tiñeron con hematoxilina-eosina y se seleccionaron las hembras con madurez gonadal. Mediante la digitalización de imágenes se estimó el número de ovocitos vitelogénicos y previtelogénicos. Se emplearon datos de captura en Las Guásimas para el análisis de reclutamiento poblacional, estimado con FISAT II. La fecundidad se incrementó con la longitud, el diámetro y el peso húmedo total. La menor fecundidad se observó en febrero y la mayor en mayo (11 873 071 y 37 528 197 millones de ovocitos vitelogénico por gónada, respectivamente. El IGS se incrementó con la longitud y diámetro de los ejemplares, con su máximo en mayo de 3.7%. Se observó una producción continua de ovocitos previtelogénicos en todo el periodo de recolecta. El máximo reclutamiento se observó en julio y noviembre (37.50% y 28.01% respectivamente. La alta fecundidad encontrada en S. meleagris sugiere un alto potencial reproductivo para la población y sustenta la posibilidad de la consolidación de una importante pesquería de esta medusa.The cannonball jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris is regarded as a fishery resource with high commercial value, but with scarce biological information. With the aim to generate preliminary information on reproductive aspects, the present study analyzes its fecundity, based on the estimated

Effects of dietary fermentation concentrate of Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. on growth performance, digestibility, and intestinal microbiology and morphology in broiler chickens.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Hong Mei; Song, Hui; Xing, Ya Li; Niu, Shu Li; Ding, Guo Dong; Jiang, Yun Yao; Liang, Feng

2016-01-15

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of fermentation concentrate of Hericium caput-medusae (Bull.:Fr.) Pers. (HFC) on growth performance, digestibility, intestinal microbiology, and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens. A total of 600 male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into five dietary treatments (20 broilers per pen with six pens per treatment): CON (basal diet), ANT (basal diet supplemented with 5 mg kg(-1) flavomycin) and HFC (basal diet supplemented with 6, 12, and 18 g kg(-1) HFC). The experimental lasted for 42 days. The results revealed that the average daily gain [linear (L), P < 0.01; quadratic (Q), P < 0.01] of broilers increased when the HFC levels increased during the starter (days 1-21), finisher (days 22-42), and the overall experiment period (days 1 to 42). In the small intestinal digesta and the caecum digesta, the Escherichia coli count (L, P < 0.05; Q, P < 0.001) decreased while the Lactobacilli count (L, P < 0.01; Q, P < 0.001) and Bifidobacteria count (L, P < 0.001; Q, P < 0.001) increased when the HFC levels increased. The crude protein digestibility of broilers (L, P < 0.01; Q, P < 0.001) increased when the HFC levels increased. In the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of broilers, the villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio (L, P < 0.001; Q, P < 0.001) increased when the HFC levels increased. Dietary supplementation with HFC increased gut Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria counts and inhibited E. coli growth, improved nutrient utilisation and intestine villus structure, and thus improved the growth of broilers. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multiple photoreceptor systems control the swim pacemaker activity in box jellyfish

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garm, Anders Lydik; Mori, S.

2009-01-01

Like all other cnidarian medusae, box jellyfish propel themselves through the water by contracting their bell-shaped body in discrete swim pulses. These pulses are controlled by a swim pacemaker system situated in their sensory structures, the rhopalia. Each medusa has four rhopalia each with a s......Like all other cnidarian medusae, box jellyfish propel themselves through the water by contracting their bell-shaped body in discrete swim pulses. These pulses are controlled by a swim pacemaker system situated in their sensory structures, the rhopalia. Each medusa has four rhopalia each...... with a similar set of six eyes of four morphologically different types. We have examined how each of the four eye types influences the swim pacemaker. Multiple photoreceptor systems, three of the four eye types, plus the rhopalial neuropil, affect the swim pacemaker. The lower lens eye inhibits the pacemaker...... when stimulated and provokes a strong increase in the pacemaker frequency upon light-off. The upper lens eye, the pit eyes and the rhopalial neuropil all have close to the opposite effect. When these responses are compared with all-eye stimulations it is seen that some advanced integration must take...

Thermal and Osmotic Tolerance of 'Irukandji' Polyps: Cubozoa; Carukia barnesi.

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Robert Courtney

Full Text Available This research explores the thermal and osmotic tolerance of the polyp stage of the Irukandji jellyfish Carukia barnesi, which provides new insights into potential polyp habitat suitability. The research also targets temperature, salinity, feeding frequency, and combinations thereof, as cues for synchronous medusae production. Primary findings revealed 100% survivorship in osmotic treatments between 19 and 46‰, with the highest proliferation at 26‰. As salinity levels of 26‰ do not occur within the waters of the Great Barrier Reef or Coral Sea, we conclude that the polyp stage of C. barnesi is probably found in estuarine environments, where these lower salinity conditions commonly occur, in comparison to the medusa stage, which is oceanic. Population stability was achieved at temperatures between 18 and 31°C, with an optimum temperature of 22.9°C. We surmise that C. barnesi polyps may be restricted to warmer estuarine areas where water temperatures do not drop below 18°C. Asexual reproduction was also positively correlated with feeding frequency. Temperature, salinity, feeding frequency, and combinations thereof did not induce medusae production, suggesting that this species may use a different cue, possibly photoperiod, to initiate medusae production.

Life-history stages of the jellyfish Aurelia aurita - towards a demographic understanding of jellyfish blooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Josephine

2017-01-01

Jellyfish blooms are conspicuous demographic events that have received increasing attention by the public and the scientific community over the last decades due to their negative impact on fisheries, tourism and other human industries. Several aspects of the complex life cycles of the jellyfish......, including frequent mass occurrence of A. aurita medusae in temperate Danish waters. The present novel data show for instance, that jellyfish blooms of A. aurita are strongly affected by food availability and corresponding shifts between asexually reproducing benthic polyps and sexually reproducing pelagic...... medusae, which might be highly representative for the majority of bloom-forming jellyfish species. Findings further indicate that seasonal shrinkage and subsequent disappearance of A. aurita medusae is rather driven by food limitation than by a trade-off between sexual reproduction and metabolic...

Influences of temperature and salinity on asexual reproduction and development of scyphozoan jellyfish from the British Isles

OpenAIRE

Widmer, Chad L.

2015-01-01

Jellyfish (Phylum Cnidaria, Class Scyphozoa) play important roles in pelagic ecosystems as predators and prey. Seasonally they form blooms facilitating reproductive success, but that are at times problematic for human enterprise. Medusa abundance has been correlated with environmental variables in several instances. However, the direct mechanisms for changes in medusa abundance are unclear. As global sea surface temperatures continue to change there is increasing concern that warming may enha...

Sex determination and differentiation in Aurelia sp.1: the absence of temperature dependence

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chunsheng; Gu, Zhifeng; Xing, Mengxin; Sun, Yun; Chen, Siqing; Chen, Zhaoting

2018-03-01

Cnidarians, being regarded as `basal' metazoan animals, are considered to have relatively high plasticity in terms of sex reversal. In this study we used an experimental approach to demonstrate sexual differentiation and plasticity in benthic polyps and pelagic medusae of Aurelia sp.1 maintained at different temperatures. Results indicated that in Aurelia sp.1, sex differentiation has been determined at the polyp stage and that all medusae originating from a given polyp are, phenotypically, of the same sex. In addition, the sex of polyps budding from the same clone (either male or female) at different temperatures appears to be the same as that of the parent. The sex of medusae that had originated from a known-sex polyp was observed to remain the same as that of the parent, irrespective of differences in strobilation or rearing temperatures. These results indicate that the mechanism of sex determination of Aurelia sp.1. is not influenced by prevailing temperature regimes. A comparison of variability in terms of sexual plasticity of Aurelia sp.1 with that of Hydrozoa and Anthozoa suggests that species characterized by a free-swimming medusa life stage have a high dispersal potential, which probably results in a lower rate of sex reversal.

Reproduction of the giant jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae), in 2006-2008 as peripherally-transported populations

Science.gov (United States)

Iguchi, Naoki; Lee, Hye Eun; Yoon, Won Duk; Kim, Suam

2010-06-01

This study investigated the sexual maturation process, release of spermatozoa or eggs and oocyte diameter of the rhizostomid medusae Nemopilema nomurai using samples collected from August 2006 to June 2008 from the waters around Korea and Japan, including peripheral areas outside the species’ usual habitat. Immature medusae were observed from June to October only in the western sector of the study area. The onset of spermatozoa and egg release occurred in September and October, respectively, and peaked in December and January. Medusae migrated eastward from source areas with the Tsushima Warm Current, where they formed gametes and spawned. Peak position and maximum oocyte diameter increased as the gonads developed according to the size-frequency distribution of oocytes. No fertilized eggs or embryos were found in the gonads. The correlation was analyzed with bell diameter, maximum oocyte diameter, sampling date, surface water temperature and gonad color to estimate which environmental factors and maturation indices were related to the maturation stage of females. Maturation stage correlated well with maximum oocyte diameter, which correlated negatively with surface water temperature. There was no significant correlation between bell diameter and maturation stage. Therefore, bell diameter was inappropriate for determining maturation index. Sex could not be distinguished clearly by gonad color. However, light pink gonads were more prevalent in males and various deep colors such as orange and brown were more frequent in female medusae.

Time-Dependent Simulation of Free-Electron Laser Amplifiers and Oscillators

CERN Document Server

Freund, H

2005-01-01

Time-dependent FEL simulations use a variety of techniques. Most simulations use a slowly varying envelope approximation (SVEA). One such technique assumes that the envelope varies only in z combined with a field representation as an ensemble of discrete harmonics, which is equivalent to a time-dependent simulation [1] but is computationally prohibitive. A second technique uses an SVEA in both in z and t [2]. The particles and fields are advanced in z using the same process as in steady-state simulations and then the time derivative describing slippage is applied. This is used in wiggler-averaged codes such as GINGER [3] and GENESIS [4]. We describe the inclusion of this technique in the non-wiggler-averaged code MEDUSA [5], which is applied to amplifiers and oscillators. MEDUSA differs from GINGER and GENESIS also in the way the field is treated. GINGER and GENESIS use a field solver and must explicitly propagate the field outside the wiggler oscillators. This is computationally intensive. MEDUSA uses a Gaus...

Population dynamics and factors controlling somatic degrowth of the common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, in a temperate semi-enclosed cove (Kertinge Nor, Denmark)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Josephine; Riisgård, Hans Ulrik

2016-01-01

Life expectancy of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita seems closely linked to seasonal shrinkage, or somatic degrowth, which occurs synchronously with sexual reproduction in temperate regions. In the present study, the mechanisms controlling body mass losses and subsequent disappearance of medusae w...... reproduction. Seasonal variability in food supply, rather than energy allocation to reproduction, appears to shorten life spans of A. aurita medusae in temperate Danish waters.......Life expectancy of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita seems closely linked to seasonal shrinkage, or somatic degrowth, which occurs synchronously with sexual reproduction in temperate regions. In the present study, the mechanisms controlling body mass losses and subsequent disappearance of medusae......, mm), following the exponential relationship NL = 160.8 × e0.029d. The percentage of body mass made up by planulae ranged from 6 to 11 % in Kertinge Nor and 10 to 33 % in Great Belt. ≤15 % of total size-specific body mass losses were due to the release of planulae in Kertinge Nor, suggesting shortage...

Floating nurseries? Scyphozoan jellyfish, their food and their rich symbiotic fauna in a tropical estuary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José M. Riascos

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Background The anthropogenic modification of trophic pathways is seemingly prompting the increase of jellyfish populations at the expense of planktivorous fishes. However, gross generalizations are often made because the most basic aspects of trophic ecology and the diverse interactions of jellyfish with fishes remain poorly described. Here we inquire on the dynamics of food consumption of the medusoid stage of the scyphozoan jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris and characterize the traits and diversity of its symbiotic community. Methods S. meleagris and their associated fauna were sampled in surface waters between November 2015 and April 2017 in Málaga Bay, an estuarine system at the Colombian Pacific. Stomach contents of medusae were examined and changes in prey composition and abundance over time analysed using a multivariate approach. The associated fauna was identified and the relationship between the size of medusae and the size those organisms tested using least-square fitting procedures. Results The presence of S. meleagris medusa in surface waters was seasonal. The gut contents analysis revealed that algae, copepods and fish early life stages were the more abundant items, and PERMANOVA analysis showed that the diet differed within the seasons (P(perm = 0.001 but not between seasons (P(perm = 0.134. The majority of the collected medusae (50.4% were associated with individuals of 11 symbiotic species, 95.3% of them fishes, 3.1% crustaceans and 1.6% molluscs. Therefore, this study reports 10 previously unknown associations. The bell diameter of S. meleagris was positively related to the body sizes of their symbionts. However, a stronger fit was observed when the size relationship between S. meleagris and the fish Hemicaranx zelotes was modelled. Discussion The occurrence of S. meleagris was highly seasonal, and the observed patterns of mean body size through the seasons suggested the arrival of adult medusae to the estuary from adjacent

Floating nurseries? Scyphozoan jellyfish, their food and their rich symbiotic fauna in a tropical estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre, Willington; Hopfe, Charlotte; Morales, Diego; Navarrete, Ángela; Tavera, José

2018-01-01

Background The anthropogenic modification of trophic pathways is seemingly prompting the increase of jellyfish populations at the expense of planktivorous fishes. However, gross generalizations are often made because the most basic aspects of trophic ecology and the diverse interactions of jellyfish with fishes remain poorly described. Here we inquire on the dynamics of food consumption of the medusoid stage of the scyphozoan jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris and characterize the traits and diversity of its symbiotic community. Methods S. meleagris and their associated fauna were sampled in surface waters between November 2015 and April 2017 in Málaga Bay, an estuarine system at the Colombian Pacific. Stomach contents of medusae were examined and changes in prey composition and abundance over time analysed using a multivariate approach. The associated fauna was identified and the relationship between the size of medusae and the size those organisms tested using least-square fitting procedures. Results The presence of S. meleagris medusa in surface waters was seasonal. The gut contents analysis revealed that algae, copepods and fish early life stages were the more abundant items, and PERMANOVA analysis showed that the diet differed within the seasons (P(perm) = 0.001) but not between seasons (P(perm) = 0.134). The majority of the collected medusae (50.4%) were associated with individuals of 11 symbiotic species, 95.3% of them fishes, 3.1% crustaceans and 1.6% molluscs. Therefore, this study reports 10 previously unknown associations. The bell diameter of S. meleagris was positively related to the body sizes of their symbionts. However, a stronger fit was observed when the size relationship between S. meleagris and the fish Hemicaranx zelotes was modelled. Discussion The occurrence of S. meleagris was highly seasonal, and the observed patterns of mean body size through the seasons suggested the arrival of adult medusae to the estuary from adjacent waters. The diet

Floating nurseries? Scyphozoan jellyfish, their food and their rich symbiotic fauna in a tropical estuary.

Science.gov (United States)

Riascos, José M; Aguirre, Willington; Hopfe, Charlotte; Morales, Diego; Navarrete, Ángela; Tavera, José

2018-01-01

The anthropogenic modification of trophic pathways is seemingly prompting the increase of jellyfish populations at the expense of planktivorous fishes. However, gross generalizations are often made because the most basic aspects of trophic ecology and the diverse interactions of jellyfish with fishes remain poorly described. Here we inquire on the dynamics of food consumption of the medusoid stage of the scyphozoan jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris and characterize the traits and diversity of its symbiotic community. S. meleagris and their associated fauna were sampled in surface waters between November 2015 and April 2017 in Málaga Bay, an estuarine system at the Colombian Pacific. Stomach contents of medusae were examined and changes in prey composition and abundance over time analysed using a multivariate approach. The associated fauna was identified and the relationship between the size of medusae and the size those organisms tested using least-square fitting procedures. The presence of S. meleagris medusa in surface waters was seasonal. The gut contents analysis revealed that algae, copepods and fish early life stages were the more abundant items, and PERMANOVA analysis showed that the diet differed within the seasons ( P (perm)  = 0.001) but not between seasons ( P (perm)  = 0.134). The majority of the collected medusae (50.4%) were associated with individuals of 11 symbiotic species, 95.3% of them fishes, 3.1% crustaceans and 1.6% molluscs. Therefore, this study reports 10 previously unknown associations. The bell diameter of S. meleagris was positively related to the body sizes of their symbionts. However, a stronger fit was observed when the size relationship between S. meleagris and the fish Hemicaranx zelotes was modelled. The occurrence of S. meleagris was highly seasonal, and the observed patterns of mean body size through the seasons suggested the arrival of adult medusae to the estuary from adjacent waters. The diet of S. meleagris in the study

Higher-order harmonics coupling in different free-electron laser codes

Science.gov (United States)

Giannessi, L.; Freund, H. P.; Musumeci, P.; Reiche, S.

2008-08-01

The capability for simulation of the dynamics of a free-electron laser including the higher-order harmonics in linear undulators exists in several existing codes as MEDUSA [H.P. Freund, S.G. Biedron, and S.V. Milton, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 27 (2000) 243; H.P. Freund, Phys. Rev. ST-AB 8 (2005) 110701] and PERSEO [L. Giannessi, Overview of Perseo, a system for simulating FEL dynamics in Mathcad, , in: Proceedings of FEL 2006 Conference, BESSY, Berlin, Germany, 2006, p. 91], and has been recently implemented in GENESIS 1.3 [See ]. MEDUSA and GENESIS also include the dynamics of even harmonics induced by the coupling through the betatron motion. In addition MEDUSA, which is based on a non-wiggler averaged model, is capable of simulating the generation of even harmonics in the transversally cold beam regime, i.e. when the even harmonic coupling arises from non-linear effects associated with longitudinal particle dynamics and not to a finite beam emittance. In this paper a comparison between the predictions of the codes in different conditions is given.

Seasonality in polyps of a tropical cubozoan: A latina nr mordens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Courtney

Full Text Available A latina nr mordens have been located in large predictable spawning aggregations near Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea eight to ten days after a full moon; however, polyps have never been located in-situ. The polyp stage contributes to the abundance of medusae through asexual reproduction and metamorphosis, and may influence the periodicity of medusae by metamorphosis of the polyp. To elucidate the relationship between medusae periodicity and polyp ecology, polyps were exposed to thermal and osmotic treatments in order to determine the theoretical environmental limits to their distribution. Maximum fecundity occurred in thermal treatments of 21 to 25ºC and the theoretical minimum thermal requirement for population stability was approximately 17ºC. Polyps were also exposed to five feeding regimes and fecundity was found to be positively correlated with feeding frequency. Thermal and osmotic variations did not induce metamorphosis in this species, however, reduced food did. The implications of asexual reproduction and cues for metamorphosis in relation to population dynamics of this species are discussed.

A multigroup treatment of radiation transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahir, N.A.; Laing, E.W.; Nicholas, D.J.

1980-12-01

A multi-group radiation package is outlined which will accurately handle radiation transfer problems in laser-produced plasmas. Bremsstrahlung, recombination and line radiation are included as well as fast electron Bremsstrahlung radiation. The entire radiation field is divided into a large number of groups (typically 20), which diffuse radiation energy in real space as well as in energy space, the latter occurring via electron-radiation interaction. Using this model a radiation transport code will be developed to be incorporated into MEDUSA. This modified version of MEDUSA will be used to study radiative preheat effects in laser-compression experiments at the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Laboratory. The model is also relevant to heavy ion fusion studies. (author)

Polyp Removal of a Bloom Forming Jellyfish, Aurelia coerulea, in Korean Waters and Its Value Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Wonduk; Chae, Jinho; Koh, Byoung-Seol; Han, Changhoon

2018-04-01

Aurelia coerulea is a bloom forming jellyfish that first appeared before 1980 in the western and southern Korean seas and which has been blamed for huge economical losses in all fields of marine activities. As a preventive measure to reduce economical losses, polyp removal was undertaken at Lake Shihwa, Lake Saemangeum, and Masan Bay, Korea. In the course of efforts during 2 years to remove polyps, polyps were surveyed, quantified, and removed. In these areas, the initial total polyp abundance was 5.04 × 109 and 46.25% of them were removed; Lake Shihwa the highest rates of removal and Lake Saemangeum the lowest. These efforts to remove polyps prevented the appearance of 1.20 × 109 medusae, corresponding to 78.28 × 106 kg. The cost of polyp removal was evaluated and compared with that of medusae removal. The ratio between the cost of polyp removal and that of medusae removal ranged between 0.78-3.14%, indicating large cost savings for polyp removal undertakings. However, the effect of polyp removal varied from positive to none, and we assumed that the cleared surface for polyp removal, quantity of removed polyp, and existence of polyps' hotspots in neighboring areas were the causes of the non-effectiveness of polyp removal undertakings.

Entre la Venadita y la Medusa

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Valcárcel, Amelia

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Feminism has made in the last decades relevant advances towards equity between men and women in western societies. However, both mysogyny and gynophobia are still at work, giving as a result a «deflation of expectations» among women who enter the worlds of politics, information, corporations, economic power, knowledge, religion or art, and find a glass ceiling in full operation. The paper focuses on women artists, examines the anger expressed in feminist art as an answer to exclusion, and argues for feminist strategies of analysis and correction of inequalities.

El feminismo ha conseguido en los últimos años importantes avances hacia la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres en las sociedades occidentales. Y, sin embargo, tanto la misoginia como la ginofobia siguen vigentes, provocando una «deflación de expectativas » entre las mujeres que se incorporan a los mundos de la política, la información, las organizaciones empresariales, el poder económico, el saber, la religión o la creatividad, y se topan con el techo de cristal a pleno funcionamiento. El artículo se centra en las mujeres creadoras para examinar la cólera expresada en el arte feminista como respuesta a la exclusión y defender estrategias feministas de análisis y corrección de desigualdades.

The Medusa Algorithm for Polynomial Matings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boyd, Suzanne Hruska; Henriksen, Christian

2012-01-01

of its Julia set. Whether these approximations converge is answered using Thurston's topological characterization of rational maps. This algorithm was designed by John Hamal Hubbard, and implemented in 1998 by Christian Henriksen and REU students David Farris and Kuon Ju Liu. In this paper we describe...

Beyond Medusa: recovering history on stage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Röttger, K.

2010-01-01

The theatre work of the Austrian Elfriede Jelinek is known for its critique of mythology. In her recent "work in progress", which closely follows media reports about the Iraq war and the tortures in Abu Ghraib, Jelinek concentrates on the mythologizing effects of a "wartainment" that a supposedly

In-field radon measurement in water: a novel approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talha, S.A.; Meijer, R.J. de; Lindsay, R.; Newman, R.T.; Maleka, P.P.; Hlatshwayo, I.N.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach of measuring radon in-water in the field by inserting a MEDUSA gamma-ray detector into a 210 L or 1000 L container. The experimental measurements include investigating the effect of ambient background gamma-rays on in-field radon measurement, calibrating the detector efficiency using several amounts of KCl salt dissolved in tap water, and measuring radon in borehole water. The results showed that there is fairly good agreement between the field and laboratory measurements of radon in water, based on measurements with Marinelli beakers on a HPGe detector. The MDA of the method is 0.5 Bq L -1 radon in-water. -- Research highlights: →Radon-in-water, large volume container, in-field measurements, MEDUSA gamma-ray detection system.

Toxic effects of domestic sewage on zooplankton

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gajbhiye, S.N.; Nair, V.R.; Desai, B.N.

that they are very sensitive to the sewage. Copepods, Lucifer and decapod larvae (20-30% concentration.) were moderately tolerant. Acetes, medusae, ctenophores and mysids were the most resistant groups (42-49% concentration)....

Aurelia labiata jellyfish in Roscoe Bay on the West Coast of Canada: Seasonal changes in adult bell diameter and mingling of juvenile and adult populations

Science.gov (United States)

Albert, David J.; Walsh, Michael L.

2014-01-01

The bell diameter of adult Aurelia labiata in Roscoe Bay increased from spring (April) to early summer (May/June) and decreased over the rest of the year (2009/2010). The increase in bell diameter in the spring would have been supported by the increase in zooplankton that occurs in the northeast Pacific at this time. Over the summer, bell diameter may have decreased because the food available/medusa would have been decreased by the arrival of a large number of juveniles and may have decreased further over the fall and winter when zooplankton levels are known to be low. Adults and juveniles were intermingled during 2010, 2011, and 2012. Correlations between the number of adults and number of juveniles obtained in individual net lifts across the entire bay and in different parts of the bay were all positive and most were statistically significant. In 2012, salinity in the entire water column of the west side of the bay dropped below 20 ppt in July and most medusae migrated to higher salinity in the east side of the bay, a distance of about 0.5 km. The mingling of adults and juveniles supports other evidence that adult Aurelia sp. medusae do not prey upon juveniles. The ability to withstand months with insufficient food and to inhibit preying on juveniles would contribute greatly to the survival of Aurelia sp. jellyfish.

Identification and characterisation of a highly divergent geminivirus: evolutionary and taxonomic implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardo, Pauline; Golden, Michael; Akram, Mohammad; Naimuddin; Nadarajan, Nagaswamy; Fernandez, Emmanuel; Granier, Martine; Rebelo, Anthony G; Peterschmitt, Michel; Martin, Darren P; Roumagnac, Philippe

2013-10-01

During a large scale "non a priori" survey in 2010 of South African plant-infecting single stranded DNA viruses, a highly divergent geminivirus genome was isolated from a wild spurge, Euphorbia caput-medusae. In addition to being infectious in E. caput-medusae, the cloned viral genome was also infectious in tomato and Nicotiana benthamiana. The virus, named Euphorbia caput-medusae latent virus (EcmLV) due to the absence of infection symptoms displayed by its natural host, caused severe symptoms in both tomato and N. benthamiana. The genome organisation of EcmLV is unique amongst geminiviruses and it likely expresses at least two proteins without any detectable homologues within public sequence databases. Although clearly a geminivirus, EcmLV is so divergent that we propose its placement within a new genus that we have tentatively named Capulavirus. Using a set of highly divergent geminiviruses genomes, it is apparent that recombination has likely been a primary process in the genus-level diversification of geminiviruses. It is also demonstrated how this insight, taken together with phylogenetic analyses of predicted coat protein and replication associated protein (Rep) amino acid sequences indicate that the most recent common ancestor of the geminiviruses was likely a dicot-infecting virus that, like modern day mastreviruses and becurtoviruses, expressed its Rep from a spliced complementary strand transcript. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of Seafloor Deformation in the Marine Sector of the Campi Flegrei Caldera (Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Iannaccone, Giovanni; Guardato, Sergio; Donnarumma, Gian Paolo; De Martino, Prospero; Dolce, Mario; Macedonio, Giovanni; Chierici, Francesco; Beranzoli, Laura

2018-01-01

We present an assessment of vertical seafloor deformation in the shallow marine sector of the Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) obtained from GPS and bottom pressure recorder (BPR) data, acquired over the period April 2016 to July 2017 in the Gulf of Pozzuoli by a new marine infrastructure, MEDUSA. This infrastructure consists of four fixed buoys with GPS receivers; each buoy is connected by cable to a seafloor multisensor module hosting a BPR. The measured maximum vertical uplift of the seafloor is about 4.2 ± 0.4 cm. The MEDUSA data were then compared to the expected vertical displacement in the marine sector according to a Mogi model point source computed using only GPS land measurements. The results show that a single point source model of deformation is able to explain both the GPS land and seafloor data. Moreover, we demonstrate that a network of permanent GPS buoys represents a powerful tool to measure the seafloor vertical deformation field in shallow water. The performance of this system is comparable to on-land high-precision GPS networks, marking a significant achievement and advance in seafloor geodesy and extending volcano monitoring capabilities to shallow offshore areas (up to 100 m depth). The GPS measurements of MEDUSA have also been used to confirm that the BPR data provide an independent measure of the seafloor vertical uplift in shallow water.

El mito de Perseo en los mosaicos hispanorromanos : particularidades hispanas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guadalupe López Monteagudo

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Análisis iconográfico de las distintas fases del mito de Perseo en ios mosaicos romanos, siguiendo las fuentes literarias - Dánae recibiendo la lluvia de oro, llegada de Dánae con el niño Perseo a las costas de Seripfios, Perseo dando muerte a la medusa volviendo la cabeza al escudo de Atfienea, llegada del tiéroe volando ai lugar donde se fiallaba expuesta Andrómeda, Perseo vencedor de la medusa y del kethos, Perseo contemplando a Andrómeda encadenada a la roca, el gorgoneion en el centro de un escudo de triángulos curvilíneos o de escamas en alusión a la égida o ai escudo de Atlienea - y las creaciones artísticas típicamente romanas - Perseo liberando a Andrómeda y Perseo y Andrómeda contemplando la cabeza de la medusa en el agua - con especial atención al tratamiento iconográfico y alegórico de los ejemplares hispanos.Iconograpfíical analysis of the Perseus' mytfi related on the román mosaics, througfi the literary sources - Danae and the goiden rain, Danae and Perseus arriving at Seriphos' coast, Perseus cutting de Medusa's head and turning back his head toward Athenea's shield, Perseus' arrival fiying on the site where Andrómeda is exposed against the rock, the hero hoiding the gorgoneion in the raised hand over kethos, the mude contemplation of the giri's beauty, Gorgon's head at centre of shield of lozenges or imbhcation pattern - and the original figured representations created by román art - Perseus helps Andrómeda step down from the cliff where she was chained and the two lovers seatted on a rock with the gorgoneion held overhead to reflect in the water - with a special emphasis in the iconographical variations and symbolic significance of the spanish patterns.

(Cnidaria: Limnomedusae) from southern Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1992-01-27

Jan 27, 1992 ... the 1940s, when a number of exotic species were introduced, associated with man's ... its distribution from Europe, North America and China. 143. (Dejdar 1934 ... inter-basin transfers. The appearance of freshwater medusae.

Research for Development in the Middle East and North Africa

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Despite advances in the availability of hardware and accessories, and ..... The high degree of social stress is aggravated by serious qualitative retreats in the ...... 11 Medusa bags are floating plastic containers, pulled by boat to transport water.

Occurrence of swarms of Sagitta enflata (Chaetognatha) and Pleurobrachia globosa (Ctenophora) in the coastal waters of Goa

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Goswami, S.C.

Swarms of Chaetognatha @iSagitta enflata@@ Grassi and Ctenophore @iPleurobrachia globosa@@. Moser were studied in coastal waters of Goa. These two forms together constituted 90 to 94% of total biomass. Medusae and Siphonophora were the other main...

Success of seeding native compared with introduced perennial vegetation for revegetating medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangeland

Science.gov (United States)

Millions of hectares of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle &Young) rangeland have been invaded by medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski), an exotic annual grass that degrades wildlife habitat, reduces forage production, and decreases biodiversity....

Ecology, genetics, and biological control of invasive annual grasses in the Great Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Several annual grass species native to Eurasia, including cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), red brome (B. rubens), and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) have become invasive in the western USA. These invasive species degrade rangelands by compromising forage, outcompeting native flora, and exacerb...

Surrealist's Dreams and Classical Tradition

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bažant, Jan

2015-01-01

Roč. 48, č. 1 (2015), s. 82-94 ISSN 0044-9008 Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : Medusa * snakes * surrealism Subject RIV: AB - History http://www.dejum.sav.sk/?language=sk§ion=magazine&id=98&textId=590&sub=study

Nausithoe aurea n. sp. (Scyphozoa: Coronatae: Nausithoidae), a species with two pathways of reproduction after strobilation: sexual and asexual

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Silveira, da Fábio Lang; Morandini, André Carrara

1997-01-01

Nausithoe aurea, a new species of scyphozoan Coronatae, is described from São Paulo State, Brazil. The solitary scyphistomae, with some zooxanthellae, strobilated producing planuloids and medusae; this represents an intermediate life cycle between that of metagenetic Nausithoidae and the submarine

Medusa: um ambiente musical distribuído

OpenAIRE

Flávio Luiz Schiavoni

2013-01-01

A popularização das redes de computadores, o aumento da capacidade computacional e sua utilização para produção musical despertam o interesse na utilização de computadores para comunicação síncrona de conteúdo musical. Esta comunicação pode permitir um novo nível de interatividade entre máquinas e pessoas nos processos de produção musical, incluindo a distribuição de atividades, pessoas e recursos em um ambiente computacional em rede. Neste contexto, este trabalho apresenta uma solução para c...

The Mysteries and Curiosities of Mars: A Tour of Unusual and Unexplained Terrains

Science.gov (United States)

Kerber, L.

2017-12-01

The large amount of data available from orbiting satellites around Mars has provided a wealth of information about the Martian surface and geological history. The published literature tends to focus on regions of Mars for which there are ready explanations; however, many regions of Mars remain mysterious. In this contribution, we present some of the strangest and least explained terrains on Mars: The Taffy Terrain: This complex terrain, consisting of swirling layers with variably sized bands, is present mostly at the bottom of Hellas Basin, but versions of it can also be found on the floor of Melas Chasma and in the Medusae Fossae Formation near Apollinaris Sulci. While little has been written about the taffy terrain, hypotheses include "glacial features" and salt domes. The taffy terrain bears some resemblance to submarine salt domes in the Gulf of Mexico, glacial deposits with mixed ash and ice in Iceland, or chalk formations in Egypt's White Desert. The Fishscale Terrain: At the northern edge of Lucus Planum, the friable Medusae Fossae Formation transitions into a chaos-like terrain with hundreds of mesas forming a pattern like the scales of a fish. While chaos terrains are mysterious in general, this morphologically fresh, near-equatorial chaos is especially unusual. Polygonal Ridges in Gordii Dorsum: Also a part of the Medusae Fossae Formation, the ridges in Gordii Dorsum represent a negative image of the fishscale terrain—a intricate lattice of slender black ridges. These are thought to form via the embayment of the fishscale terrain with lava and the subsequent erosion of the original mesas. Horseshoe Features: These geomorphological features look like inverted barchan dunes, but they are actually pits eroded into the surface of the Medusae Fossae Formation. Channels surrounding Elysium Mons: These channel systems are among the most complex on Mars, but they appear on a young Amazonian lava surface. The channels cut through topography, anastomose, and

Pattern- and contrast-dependent visual response in the box jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garm, Anders; Hedal, Ida; Islin, Majken

2013-01-01

Cubomedusae possess a total of 24 eyes, some of which are structurally similar to vertebrate eyes. Accordingly, the medusae also display a range of light-guided behaviours including obstacle avoidance, diurnal activity patterns and navigation. Navigation is supported by spatial resolution and image...

El plancton del Atlántico suroeste: dinamica y ecología

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angeles Alvariño

1980-12-01

Full Text Available Plankton was collected in Nov.-Dec. 1972, during the Cato-6 Expedition (R/VMelville. Distribution of Siphonophores and Medusae and ecological implications pointed out by these organisms are discussea. 25 species of Siphonophorae were obtained corresponding to tropical, temperate, and Antarctic Subantarctic categories. 5 species of Medusae appeared , showing the peculiar erratic distribution typical of these organisms. Faunistic data are presented in tables and maps. Effects of Brazil, Falkland Currents and upwelling, centers appear well defined by the distribution of the siphonophores. Cosmopolitan siphonophores, typical of temperate and warm waters inhabited a band (zone of Rio Grande rise between the southernmost and northernmost progressions of Brazil and Falkland Currents. These populations are carried toward South-american coasts by the anticyclonic circulation of the Central South Atlantic, forming a convergence; and a divergence towards the north is responsible for development of upwelling systems

Mechanistic site-based emulation of a global ocean biogeochemical model (MEDUSA 1.0 for parametric analysis and calibration: an application of the Marine Model Optimization Testbed (MarMOT 1.1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. P. Hemmings

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Biogeochemical ocean circulation models used to investigate the role of plankton ecosystems in global change rely on adjustable parameters to capture the dominant biogeochemical dynamics of a complex biological system. In principle, optimal parameter values can be estimated by fitting models to observational data, including satellite ocean colour products such as chlorophyll that achieve good spatial and temporal coverage of the surface ocean. However, comprehensive parametric analyses require large ensemble experiments that are computationally infeasible with global 3-D simulations. Site-based simulations provide an efficient alternative but can only be used to make reliable inferences about global model performance if robust quantitative descriptions of their relationships with the corresponding 3-D simulations can be established. The feasibility of establishing such a relationship is investigated for an intermediate complexity biogeochemistry model (MEDUSA coupled with a widely used global ocean model (NEMO. A site-based mechanistic emulator is constructed for surface chlorophyll output from this target model as a function of model parameters. The emulator comprises an array of 1-D simulators and a statistical quantification of the uncertainty in their predictions. The unknown parameter-dependent biogeochemical environment, in terms of initial tracer concentrations and lateral flux information required by the simulators, is a significant source of uncertainty. It is approximated by a mean environment derived from a small ensemble of 3-D simulations representing variability of the target model behaviour over the parameter space of interest. The performance of two alternative uncertainty quantification schemes is examined: a direct method based on comparisons between simulator output and a sample of known target model "truths" and an indirect method that is only partially reliant on knowledge of the target model output. In general, chlorophyll

Radon generation and transport in and around a gold mine tailings dam in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Speelman, W.J.; Lindsay, R.; Newman, R.T.; Meijer, R.J. de

2006-01-01

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (N.O.R.M.) occurs in most soil and rock, and by mining and mineral processing, some of the radionuclides are significantly enhanced. An in-situ gamma-ray detector called M.E.D.U.S.A., has been used to produce a map of relative activity concentrations in a gold mine tailings dam on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. A CsI(Na) scintillation detector is used in this system. M.E.D.U.S.A. spectra obtained from the survey were analyzed using the Full-Spectrum Analysis (F.S.A.) procedure to compute the 40 K, 238 U and 232 Th activity concentrations. The activity concentrations are used with global positioning data (G.P.S.) to produce the concentration maps. A hyper-pure germanium gamma-ray detector (Hp Ge) was used to measure gamma-rays from the naturally occurring nuclides for soil samples taken at different points on the site to calibrate the M.E.D.U.S.A. system. Radon soil gas measurements were performed at certain points on the mine tailings with a continuous radon monitor; R.A.D.7, and emanation coefficients were measured with electret technology. These parameters have been combined with the activity concentrations to obtain an average radon exhalation rate of about 0.1 Bq.m -2 .s -1 (with an uncertainty of about 20%) from the tailings dam. The purpose of the study is to also review and develop a mathematical model for radon activity concentration predictions in gold mine dumps. (authors)

Radon generation and transport in and around a gold mine tailings dam in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Speelman, W.J.; Lindsay, R. [Western Cape Univ., Dept. of Physics (South Africa); Newman, R.T. [IThemba LABS, Somerset West (South Africa); Meijer, R.J. de [Nuclear Geophysics Division (NGD), KVI, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Netherlands)

2006-07-01

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (N.O.R.M.) occurs in most soil and rock, and by mining and mineral processing, some of the radionuclides are significantly enhanced. An in-situ gamma-ray detector called M.E.D.U.S.A., has been used to produce a map of relative activity concentrations in a gold mine tailings dam on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. A CsI(Na) scintillation detector is used in this system. M.E.D.U.S.A. spectra obtained from the survey were analyzed using the Full-Spectrum Analysis (F.S.A.) procedure to compute the {sup 40}K, {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th activity concentrations. The activity concentrations are used with global positioning data (G.P.S.) to produce the concentration maps. A hyper-pure germanium gamma-ray detector (Hp Ge) was used to measure gamma-rays from the naturally occurring nuclides for soil samples taken at different points on the site to calibrate the M.E.D.U.S.A. system. Radon soil gas measurements were performed at certain points on the mine tailings with a continuous radon monitor; R.A.D.7, and emanation coefficients were measured with electret technology. These parameters have been combined with the activity concentrations to obtain an average radon exhalation rate of about 0.1 Bq.m{sup -2}.s{sup -1} (with an uncertainty of about 20%) from the tailings dam. The purpose of the study is to also review and develop a mathematical model for radon activity concentration predictions in gold mine dumps. (authors)

The homeobox gene Msx in development and transdifferentiation of jellyfish striated muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Galle, Sabina; Yanze, Nathalie; Seipel, Katja

2005-01-01

Bilaterian Msx homeobox genes are generally expressed in areas of cell proliferation and in association with multipotent progenitor cells. Likewise, jellyfish Msx is expressed in progenitor cells of the developing entocodon, a cell layer giving rise to the striated and smooth muscles of the medusa. However, in contrast to the bilaterian homologs, Msx gene expression is maintained at high levels in the differentiated striated muscle of the medusa in vivo and in vitro. This tissue exhibits reprogramming competence. Upon induction, the Msx gene is immediately switched off in the isolated striated muscle undergoing transdifferentiation, to be upregulated again in the emerging smooth muscle cells which, in a stem cell like manner, undergo quantal cell divisions producing two cell types, a proliferating smooth muscle cell and a differentiating nerve cell. This study indicates that the Msx protein may be a key component of the reprogramming machinery responsible for the extraordinary transdifferentation and regeneration potential of striated muscle in the hydrozoan jellyfish.

Searching for microbial biological control candidates for invasive grasses: coupling expanded field research with strides in biotechnology and grassland restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Highly invasive grasses (e.g. Bromus spp., Pennisetum ciliare, Taeniatherum caput-medusae) are largely unabated in much of the arid Western U.S., despite more than 70 years of control attempts with a wide array of tools and management practices. The development and sustained integration of new appro...

A Working Ranch with an Effective Medusahead Management Program

Science.gov (United States)

Since 2005, rancher Ben McGough, owner of the Circle Bar Ranch in Mitchell, Oregon, has been working with USDA-ARS rangeland ecologist Roger Sheley to implement EBIPM on the ranch. More than 600 acres were infested with medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) when they began working together. We de...

Ontogeny reversal and phylogenetic analysis of Turritopsis sp.5 (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Oceaniidae, a possible new species endemic to Xiamen, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun-yuan Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Ontogeny reversal, as seen in some cnidarians, is an unprecedented phenomenon in the animal kingdom involving reversal of the ordinary life cycle. Three species of Turritopsis have been shown to be capable of inverted metamorphosis, a process in which the pelagic medusa transforms back into a juvenile benthic polyp stage when faced with adverse conditions. Turritopsis sp.5 is a species of Turritopsis collected from Xiamen, China which presents a similar ability, being able to reverse its life cycle if injured by mechanical stress. Phylogenetic analysis based on both 16S rDNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI genetic barcodes shows that Turritopsis sp.5 is phylogenetically clustered in a clade separate from other species of Turritopsis. The genetic distance between T. sp.5 and the Japanese species T. sp.2 is the shortest, when measured by the Kimura 2-Parameter metric, and the distance to the New Zealand species T. rubra is the largest. An experimental assay on the induction of reverse development in this species was initiated by cutting medusae into upper and lower parts. We show, for the first time, that the two dissected parts have significantly different potentials to transform into polyps. Also, a series of morphological changes of the reversed life cycle can be recognised, including medusa stage, contraction stage I, contraction stage II, cyst, cyst with stolons, and polyp. The discovery of species capable of reverse ontogeny caused by unfavorable conditions adds to the available systems with which to study the cell types that contribute to the developmental reversal and the molecular mechanisms of the directional determination of ontogeny.

Timoides agassizii Bigelow, 1904, little-known hydromedusa (Cnidaria), appears briefly in large numbers off Oman, March 2011, with additional notes about species of the genus Timoides.

Science.gov (United States)

Purushothaman, Jasmine; Kharusi, Lubna Al; Mills, Claudia E; Ghielani, Hamed; Marzouki, Mohammad Al

2013-12-11

A bloom of the hydromedusan jellyfish, Timoides agassizii, occurred in February 2011 off the coast of Sohar, Al Batinah, Sultanate of Oman, in the Gulf of Oman. This species was first observed in 1902 in great numbers off Haddummati Atoll in the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean and has rarely been seen since. The species appeared briefly in large numbers off Oman in 2011 and subsequent observation of our 2009 samples of zooplankton from Sohar revealed that it was also present in low numbers (two collected) in one sample in 2009; these are the first records in the Indian Ocean north of the Maldives. Medusae collected off Oman were almost identical to those recorded previously from the Maldive Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Guam, the South China Sea, and Okinawa. T. agassizii is a species that likely lives for several months. It was present in our plankton samples together with large numbers of the oceanic siphonophore Physalia physalis only during a single month's samples, suggesting that the temporary bloom off Oman was likely due to the arrival of mature, open ocean medusae into nearshore waters. We see no evidence that T. agassizii has established a new population along Oman, since if so, it would likely have been present in more than one sample period. We are unable to deduce further details of the life cycle of this species from blooms of many mature individuals nearshore, about a century apart. Examination of a single damaged T. agassizii medusa from Guam, calls into question the existence of its congener, T. latistyla, known only from a single specimen.

Feeding behaviour of the hydromedusa Aequorea vitrina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Ulrik RiisgÅrd

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The prey-capture mechanism of the hydromedusa Aequorea vitrina was studied by means of laboratory video-microscope observations. In stagnant water A. vitrina remains stationary with its very long (about 4x bell diameter marginal tentacles motionless hanging down in the water, ready for ambush capture of prey organisms that collide with the tentacles. A. vitrina was found to be efficient at capturing brine shrimps (Artemia salina, less efficient at capturing rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis, and very inefficient at capturing copepods (Acartia tonsa. The initial hauling up of an extended marginal tentacle with an adhering prey is fast (>10 mm s-1. Both the bell margin and the mouth move towards each other so that the captured prey can be transferred from the tentacle to the elongated mouth-lips to be further transported into the mouth and stomach. It takes about 20 s from when an Artemia prey organism encounters a tentacle until it is transferred to the mouth-lips. The subsequent digestion in the stomach takes about 30 min. When A. vitrina encounters a jellyfish-prey (a small medusa of Aurelia aurita, it starts to swim in order to adhere the relatively big prey to its mouth-lips. Then A. vitrina opens its mouth wide to swallow the captured medusa, a process which takes about 15 to 20 min. The subsequent digestion takes 2 to 3 h. Field observations of undisturbed A. vitrina made by snorkelling in the Limfjord (Denmark revealed that the feeding behaviour was similar to that observed in the laboratory in stagnant water. It is concluded that A. vitrina is an ambush-predator, and not a cruising-predatory medusa as previously suggested.

New combinations for two coronate polyp species (Atorellidae and Nausithoidae, Coronatae, Scyphozoa, Cnidaria)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morandini, A.C.; Jarms, G.

2005-01-01

Within the order Coronatae, six valid species remain known only by their polyp stage. The inability to relate them to any medusae genera of the group is a problem that remains to be solved in the order. With the examination of type specimens, we reassign the species Stephanoscyphistoma sibogae and

Seasonal variation of macromedusae (Cnidaria at North Bay, Florianópolis, southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miodeli Nogueira Júnior

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Seasonal variation of large medusae abundance and biomass was studied in the North Bay, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil (27°30'S, 48° 32'W, from February to December 2005. Collecting was conducted seasonally with the help of fishing bottom trawl in 30-minute sections (12 in summer, 18 in each of the remaining seasons in six stations, totaling 66 samples. Eight species were found: the hydrozoans Aequorea sp., Olindias sambaquiensis Müller, 1861, and Rhacostoma atlantica L. Agassiz, 1850; the cubozoans Chiropsalmus quadrumanus (Müller, 1859 and Tamoya haplonema Müller, 1859, and the scyphozoans Aurelia sp., Chrysaora lactea Eschscholtz, 1829 and Lychnorhiza lucerna Haeckel, 1880. Capture rates were low, up to 38 indiv. ha-1, and only ~47% of the samples were positive for jellyfish, comprising 206 individuals. Medusae abundance and species richness clearly changed from one season to another, but did not vary between the sites. Higher species richness (7 out of 8 and greater abundances were recorded during the fall (~60% and 72% of all medusae individuals and biomass respectively. Specific frequency of capture varied from 1.5 to 29% and C. lactea was the only species found in more than 25% of the samples. The three most common species dominated in different periods of the year: C. lactea during fall (78% of individuals and 60% of biomass, R. atlantica during winter (90% of individuals and 17% of biomass, and O. sambaquiensis in spring (78% of individuals and 40% of biomass. Only two individuals were caught during summer, one C. lactea and one R. atlantica. The results offer a general picture of the distribution of the macromedusae in the North Bay, but a continuous monitoring is desirable for a more detailed knowledge on the jellyfish dynamics in the Brazilian coastal waters.

Automated assessment of joint synovitis activity from medical ultrasound and power doppler examinations using image processing and machine learning methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafal Cupek

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives : Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common rheumatic disease with arthritis, and causes substantial functional disability in approximately 50% patients after 10 years. Accurate measurement of the disease activity is crucial to provide an adequate treatment and care to the patients. The aim of this study is focused on a computer aided diagnostic system that supports an assessment of synovitis severity. Material and methods : This paper focus on a computer aided diagnostic system that was developed within joint Polish–Norwegian research project related to the automated assessment of the severity of synovitis. Semiquantitative ultrasound with power Doppler is a reliable and widely used method of assessing synovitis. Synovitis is estimated by ultrasound examiner using the scoring system graded from 0 to 3. Activity score is estimated on the basis of the examiner’s experience or standardized ultrasound atlases. The method needs trained medical personnel and the result can be affected by a human error. Results : The porotype of a computer-aided diagnostic system and algorithms essential for an analysis of ultrasonic images of finger joints are main scientific output of the MEDUSA project. Medusa Evaluation System prototype uses bone, skin, joint and synovitis area detectors for mutual structural model based evaluation of synovitis. Finally, several algorithms that support the semi-automatic or automatic detection of the bone region were prepared as well as a system that uses the statistical data processing approach in order to automatically localize the regions of interest. Conclusions : Semiquantitative ultrasound with power Doppler is a reliable and widely used method of assessing synovitis. Activity score is estimated on the basis of the examiner’s experience and the result can be affected by a human error. In this paper we presented the MEDUSA project which is focused on a computer aided diagnostic system that supports an

How Well Can We Detect Lineage-Specific Diversification-Rate Shifts? A Simulation Study of Sequential AIC Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

May, Michael R; Moore, Brian R

2016-11-01

Evolutionary biologists have long been fascinated by the extreme differences in species numbers across branches of the Tree of Life. This has motivated the development of statistical methods for detecting shifts in the rate of lineage diversification across the branches of phylogenic trees. One of the most frequently used methods, MEDUSA, explores a set of diversification-rate models, where each model assigns branches of the phylogeny to a set of diversification-rate categories. Each model is first fit to the data, and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) is then used to identify the optimal diversification model. Surprisingly, the statistical behavior of this popular method is uncharacterized, which is a concern in light of: (1) the poor performance of the AIC as a means of choosing among models in other phylogenetic contexts; (2) the ad hoc algorithm used to visit diversification models, and; (3) errors that we reveal in the likelihood function used to fit diversification models to the phylogenetic data. Here, we perform an extensive simulation study demonstrating that MEDUSA (1) has a high false-discovery rate (on average, spurious diversification-rate shifts are identified [Formula: see text] of the time), and (2) provides biased estimates of diversification-rate parameters. Understanding the statistical behavior of MEDUSA is critical both to empirical researchers-in order to clarify whether these methods can make reliable inferences from empirical datasets-and to theoretical biologists-in order to clarify the specific problems that need to be solved in order to develop more reliable approaches for detecting shifts in the rate of lineage diversification. [Akaike information criterion; extinction; lineage-specific diversification rates; phylogenetic model selection; speciation.]. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists.

Green Fluorescence of Cytaeis Hydroids Living in Association with Nassarius Gastropods in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Prudkovsky, Andrey A.; Ivanenko, Viatcheslav N.; Nikitin, Mikhail A.; Lukyanov, Konstantin A.; Belousova, Anna; Reimer, James D.; Berumen, Michael L.

2016-01-01

Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFPs) have been reported from a wide diversity of medusae, but only a few observations of green fluorescence have been reported for hydroid colonies. In this study, we report on fluorescence displayed by hydroid polyps of the genus Cytaeis Eschscholtz, 1829 (Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata: Filifera) found at night time in the southern Red Sea (Saudi Arabia) living on shells of the gastropod Nassarius margaritifer (Dunker, 1847) (Neogastropoda: Buccinoidea: Nassariidae). We examined the fluorescence of these polyps and compare with previously reported data. Intensive green fluorescence with a spectral peak at 518 nm was detected in the hypostome of the Cytaeis polyps, unlike in previous reports that reported fluorescence either in the basal parts of polyps or in other locations on hydroid colonies. These results suggest that fluorescence may be widespread not only in medusae, but also in polyps, and also suggests that the patterns of fluorescence localization can vary in closely related species. The fluorescence of polyps may be potentially useful for field identification of cryptic species and study of geographical distributions of such hydroids and their hosts.

Green Fluorescence of Cytaeis Hydroids Living in Association with Nassarius Gastropods in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Prudkovsky, Andrey A.

2016-02-03

Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFPs) have been reported from a wide diversity of medusae, but only a few observations of green fluorescence have been reported for hydroid colonies. In this study, we report on fluorescence displayed by hydroid polyps of the genus Cytaeis Eschscholtz, 1829 (Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata: Filifera) found at night time in the southern Red Sea (Saudi Arabia) living on shells of the gastropod Nassarius margaritifer (Dunker, 1847) (Neogastropoda: Buccinoidea: Nassariidae). We examined the fluorescence of these polyps and compare with previously reported data. Intensive green fluorescence with a spectral peak at 518 nm was detected in the hypostome of the Cytaeis polyps, unlike in previous reports that reported fluorescence either in the basal parts of polyps or in other locations on hydroid colonies. These results suggest that fluorescence may be widespread not only in medusae, but also in polyps, and also suggests that the patterns of fluorescence localization can vary in closely related species. The fluorescence of polyps may be potentially useful for field identification of cryptic species and study of geographical distributions of such hydroids and their hosts.

Fulltext PDF

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

expressed in closed form? Anagrams of Wiiliam Burnside: I WARN DUMB LILIES. SIMILAR, BLUE WIND. I WILL SUM IN BREAD. MEDUSA ILL; WIN RIB. I WILL DREAM IN BUS. BILL; I MUSE INWARD. INLA W IS MULE BIRD. I DRAW IN SEMI-BULL. I WILL DUB SEMINAR. BILL; I MUSE DARWIN. I AM ILL; WIN RED BUS.

The sensitivity theory for inertial confinement pellet fusion system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Shaohui; Zhang, Yuquan.

1986-01-01

A sensitivity theory for inertial confinement pellet fusion system is developed based on a physical model similar to that embodied in the laser fusion code MEDUSA. The theory presented here can be an efficient tool for estimating the effects of many alternations in the data field. Our result is different from Greenspan's work in 1980. (author)

Fulltext PDF

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

earlier issue of Resonance. The Medusa and the Snail is a collection of essays that seem completely different - one could be on cloning, and the next on schizophrenia! But they all have a single common thread running through - each essay explores an aspect of 'selfness'. It is difficult to give you a sense of what I mean by ...

Multi-dimensional free-electron laser simulation codes: a comparison study

CERN Document Server

Biedron, S G; Dejus, Roger J; Faatz, B; Freund, H P; Milton, S V; Nuhn, H D; Reiche, S

2000-01-01

A self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL) is under construction at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Five FEL simulation codes were used in the design phase: GENESIS, GINGER, MEDUSA, RON, and TDA3D. Initial comparisons between each of these independent formulations show good agreement for the parameters of the APS SASE FEL.

Multi-dimensional free-electron laser simulation codes: a comparison study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biedron, S. G.; Chae, Y. C.; Dejus, R. J.; Faatz, B.; Freund, H. P.; Milton, S. V.; Nuhn, H.-D.; Reiche, S.

1999-01-01

A self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL) is under construction at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Five FEL simulation codes were used in the design phase: GENESIS, GINGER, MEDUSA, RON, and TDA3D. Initial comparisons between each of these independent formulations show good agreement for the parameters of the APS SASE FEL

The APS SASE FEL: modeling and code comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biedron, S. G.

1999-01-01

A self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL) is under construction at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Five FEL simulation codes were used in the design phase: GENESIS, GINGER, MEDUSA, RON, and TDA3D. Initial comparisons between each of these independent formulations show good agreement for the parameters of the APS SASE FEL

Radon soil-gas concentration and exhalation from mine tailings dams in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ongori, J.; Lindsay, R. [University of the Western Cape, Department of Physics, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535 (South Africa); Newman, R. [Stellenbosch University, Department of Physics, Private Bag X1 Matieland 7602 (South Africa); Maleka, P. [iThemba LABS, Department of Nuclear Physics, P. O. Box 722, Somerset West 7129 (South Africa)

2014-07-01

, temperature, moisture and atmospheric pressure influence radon exhalation. At Kloof mine dump radon exhalation was mapped using a novel technique by means of a MEDUSA (Multi-Element Detector for Underwater Sediment Activity) gamma-ray detection system. The MEDUSA detector uses a CsI(Na) crystal and was mounted on the front of a 4x4 vehicle, 0.6 m off the ground. With this setup the MEDUSA detector measures the average activity concentration in the top 30 cm when accessible parts are traversed. The spectra acquired by the MEDUSA system were analysed and the activity concentrations for {sup 238}U, {sup 40}K and {sup 232}Th, were extracted using the Full Spectrum Analysis approach. Radon exhalation from a particular location in the mine dump was obtained by comparing the ratios of the activity concentrations of the {sup 214}Bi obtained in the field using the MEDUSA gamma-ray detector system to the activity concentrations of the {sup 214}Bi obtained in the laboratory using the HPGe gamma-ray detector system. In this case it is assumed that the {sup 40}K and {sup 232}Th series activity concentrations are not or hardly affected by radon exhalation. The application of this new technique gave an average normalised radon flux of 0.12±0.02 Bq.m{sup -2}.s{sup -1} for the mine dump. Document available in abstract form only. (authors)

Perseus

Science.gov (United States)

Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

(abbrev. Per, gen. Persei; area 615 sq. deg.) A northern constellation which lies between Andromeda and Auriga, and culminates at midnight in early November. It is named after the hero in Greek mythology who beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and rescued Andromeda from being sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus. Its brightest stars were cataloged by Ptolemy (c. AD 100-175) in the Almagest....

Can Aurelia (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa species be differentiated by comparing their scyphistomae and ephyrae?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Gambill

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Debate exists regarding the number of species of the moon jellyfish (genus Aurelia, a common member of the planktonic community of the coastal shelf seas around the world. Three Aurelia congeners (A. aurita, A. labiata and A. limbata are currently considered to exist but recent genetic analyses suggested that this is an oversimplification. We analyzed the morphological characteristics of scyphistomae, morphological characteristics of ephyrae and differences in the time span of the strobilation process of Aurelia congeners from 17, 7 and 6 different source populations, respectively, of known species. Morphological characteristics of scyphistomae were similar among the 17 populations but those of ephyrae, such as the shape and form of lappets, were effective discriminators in the 6 cases examined. We recommend identifying species based on differences in 1 the morphological characteristics of scyphistomae and ephyrae (and not only medusae, 2 the genetics of individuals, and 3 the geographical occurrence of the population. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on scyphozoan scyphistomae and ephyrae, stages of the metagenic life cycle of scyphozoans that have received relatively little study compared to medusae.

Warburg, Shakespeare e la prima impresa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Barale

2012-12-01

Full Text Available With his fight against the sea monster Medusa, Perseus embodies for Warburg the “world-directed energy”. Warburg's “energetic  aesthetics” could be interpreted then as nothing but another version of the hypertrophic, despotic subject Ferraris has often written about. We will show it that is not the case by considering the relationship that Warburg draws between Perseus and Hamlet.

Pegasus

Science.gov (United States)

Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

(the Winged Horse; abbrev. Peg, gen. Pegasi; area 1121 sq. deg.) A northern constellation that extends from Cygnus, Lacerta and Andromeda almost to the celestial equator, and culminates at midnight in early September. It is named after the winged horse in Greek mythology that sprang from the body of Medusa, the Gorgon, when she was beheaded by Perseus, and later was tamed by the hero Bellerophon. ...

Computed tomographic reconstruction of beam profiles with a multi-wire chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso, J.R.; Tobias, C.A.; Chu, W.T.

1979-03-01

MEDUSA (MEdical Dose Uniformity SAmpler), a 16 plane multi-wire proportional chamber, has been built to accurately measure beam profiles. The large number of planes allows for reconstruction of highly detailed beam intensity structures by means of Fourier convolution reconstruction techniques. This instrument is being used for verification and tuning of the Bevalac radiotherapy beams, but has potential applications in many beam profile monitoring situations

Il museo della scienza di Villa Farnesina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Salvemini

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Rappresentavano l’Astronomia le due logge romane del viridario di villa Farnesina con la Sala adiacente del Trionfo di Ercole: lo spazio, l’astrolabio zodiacale della Sala di Galatea - in testa le stelle dell’Orsa minore fatte di “sasso” da Medusa, Peruzzi nella biografia di Vasari - e il tempo, la meccanica dello gnomone solare del Trionfo di Cupido.

Comparison of zooxanthellae densities from upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana, across coastal habitats of The Bahamas

OpenAIRE

Stoner, Elizabeth W.; Sebilian, Serina S.; Layman, Craig A.

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic disturbances may drive jellyfish blooms, and previous studies have suggested this is the case for upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana). Cassiopea were found to have higher mean zooxanthellae densities in human-impacted areas on Abaco Island, The Bahamas, suggesting that nutrient loading in impacted sites may be one factor driving zooxanthellate jellyfish blooms. Gut contents from Cassiopea medusae were positively correlated to zooxanthellae densities, indicating that hete...

Reproductive biology and variation of nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS sequences in the Calligonum mongolicum complex (Polygonaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Shi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To explore the biosystematics of the Calligonum mongolicum complex (Polygonaceae, the flowering phenological period, breeding and pollination characters and seed set of the complex (C. Mongolicum Turze, C. chinense A. Los., C. gobicum A. Los., C. pumilum A. Los. and C. zaidamense A. Los. were documented in the Turpan Eremophyte Botanical Garden, China. The sequences of the nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS region were employed to differentiate the C. mongolicum complex and other species in sect. Medusae. The results showed species of the C. mongolicum complex occupied overlapping flowering periods and had consistent pollination agents. Their breeding systems are all self-compatible, tend to be out-crossing and they interbreed amongst each other (out-crossing index, OCI = 4.The crosses within and amongst species had high seed sets (44 - 65%. Phylogenetic analyses of Calligonum sect. Medusae and the network analysis of nrDNA (ITS and ETS in the complex suggest interbreeding amongst “species” within the complex and provide evidence for taxonomically merging the five species in the complex. The detected hybridisation, occurring within the complex, suggests the need to improve traditional methods of ex situ plant conservation in botanical gardens for maintaining genetic diversity of Calligonum within and amongst species from different geographic areas.

MED101: a laser-plasma simulation code. User guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodgers, P.A.; Rose, S.J.; Rogoyski, A.M.

1989-12-01

Complete details for running the 1-D laser-plasma simulation code MED101 are given including: an explanation of the input parameters, instructions for running on the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory IBM, Atlas Centre Cray X-MP and DEC VAX, and information on three new graphics packages. The code, based on the existing MEDUSA code, is capable of simulating a wide range of laser-produced plasma experiments including the calculation of X-ray laser gain. (author)

TECHNIQUES DE MYSTIFICATION DU SACRÉ DANS LA LITTÉRATURE MYTHOLOGISANTE DE LA GRÈCE ANTIQUE

OpenAIRE

Dr. Maria-Luiza Oancea (Dumitru)

2008-01-01

This paper entails the sacred mytification motif, a subject hardly debated, but extremely challenging, that we can identify in several myths and episodes of the ancient Greek mythology literature (Thanatos-Sisyphus myth, Sirens-Odysseus or Sirens-Orpheus myth, Polifem-Odysseus myth, Gorgo Medusa-Perseus myth, etc.). Our essay starts from the general thesis that a direct confrontation with the Sacred is essentially impossible, making the Sacred almost always manipulated (cf. R. Caillois, R. Gi...

Biogeographical plant-soil relations of invasive medusahead (Elymus caput-medusae)

Science.gov (United States)

Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the success of invasive plant species is integral to predicting and ameliorating their negative impacts. Many hypotheses have consequently been proposed to explain invasive behavior. This lack of consensus within invasion ecology can partially be attributed...

Venous infraction of developmental venous anomaly: A case report with perfusion imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jung Youn; Kim, Hye Jeong; Hyun, Su Jeong; Kim, Hee Yeong; Kim, Han Myun; Hwang, Ji Young; Hong, Hye Suk; Woo, Ji Young; Yang, Ik [Dept. of Radiology, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Eun Soo [Dept. of Radiology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

Developmental venous anomaly (DVA) is a common congenital venous malformation characterized by dilated medullary veins in caput medusa configuration and a draining vein. Despite the high incidence of DVAs, they are benign anatomic variations and rarely cause symptoms. Here, we report computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings with perfusion images of acute infarction from underlying DVA in a 63-year-old female patient who presented with acute onset of neurologic symptoms and recovered without any neurologic deficit.

Working principle of bio-inspired shape memory alloy composite actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Colin; Villanueva, Alex; Joshi, Keyur; Tadesse, Yonas; Priya, Shashank

2011-01-01

Recently, bio-inspired shape memory alloy composite (BISMAC) actuators have been shown to mimic the deformation characteristics of natural jellyfish medusa. In this study, a constant cross-section BISMAC actuator was characterized in terms of bending deflection and force in conjunction with microscopy to understand its deformation mechanism. The actuator showed bending deflection of 111% with respect to the active length along with a blocking force of 0.061 N. The resulting energy density of the composite actuator was 4929 J m −3 at an input voltage and current level of 12 V and 0.7 A, respectively. For a dry-state actuator, this performance is extremely high and represents an optimum combination of force and deflection. Experiments reveal that BISMAC's performance is related to the moment induced from tip attachment of the shape memory alloy (SMA) rather than to friction within the composite structure. A physics-based model of BISMAC structure is presented which shows that the actuator is highly sensitive to the distance between the SMA wire and the incompressible component. While SMA has both stress and strain limitations, the limiting factor in BISMAC actuators is dependent on separation distance. The limiting factor in BISMAC's suitability for mimicking the performance of medusa was experimentally found to be related to the maximum 4% strain of the SMA and not its force generation. (fast track communication)

Fungus diseases of poplar that pose a threat to Italy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castellani, E.; Cellerino, G.P.; Garibaldi, A.

1981-01-01

European Economic Community Directive No. 7793 on the exchange of, and trade in, plant material between member countries specified Hypoxylon mammatum, Mycosphaerella populorum, Melampsora medusae and Xanthomonas populi as the causal agents of serious poplar diseases the introduction of which into Italy should be avoided. Information is given on the geographic distribution, morphology and biology of the four pathogens, together with notes on the symptoms of attack, host plants and damage caused. Control measures to avoid their introduction and spread are suggested.

MEDUSA: Mining Events to Detect Undesirable uSer Actions in SCADA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hadziosmanovic, D.; Bolzoni, D.; Hartel, Pieter H.; Jha, Somesh; Sommer, Robin; Kreibich, Christian

2010-01-01

Standard approaches for detecting malicious behaviors, e.g. monitoring network traffic, cannot address process-related threats in SCADA(Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems. These threats take place when an attacker gains user access rights and performs actions which look legitimate,

FMRFamide immunoreactivity in the nervous system of the medusa Polyorchis penicillatus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grimmelikhuijzen, C J; Spencer, A N

1984-01-01

with several antisera to oxytocin/vasopressin and bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide. The morphology and location of most FMRFamide-immunoreactive neurons in Polyorchis coincides with two identified neuronal systems, which have been recently discovered from neurophysiological studies....... immunoreactivity was found in neurons of the ectodermal nerve nets of the manubrium and tentacles, in neurons of the sensory epithelium, and in neurons at the periphery of the sphincter muscle. Strong immunoreactivity was also present in processes and perikarya of the whole outer nerve ring, in the ocellar nerves...

Gaze and power. A post-structuralist interpretation on Perseus’ myth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaya Fernández Guerrero

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Gaze hierarchizes, manages and labels reality. Then, according to Foucault, gaze can be understood as a practice of power. This paper is inspired by his theories, and it applies them to one of the most powerful symbolic spheres of Western culture: Greek Myths. Notions such as visibility, invisibility and panopticism bring new light into the story of Perseus and Medusa, and they enable a re-reading of this Myth focused on the different ways of power that emerge from the gaze.

Increasing marketability and profitability of product line thru PATRAN and NASTRAN

Science.gov (United States)

Hyatt, Art

1989-01-01

Starting with the design objective the operational cycle life of the Swaging Tool was increased. To accomplish this increase in cycle life without increasing the size or weight of the tool would be engineering achievement. However, not only was the operational cycle life increased between 2 to 10 times but simultaneously the size and weight of the Swage Tool was decreased by about 50 percent. This accomplishment now becomes an outstanding engineering achievement. This achievement was only possible because of the computerized Patran, Nastran and Medusa programs.

Fields of dreams[Oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeLuca, Marshall

2001-04-01

The steady increase in deepwater development projects in the US Gulf of Mexico is discussed, and individual field descriptions are given with details of the development, the water depth, onstream date, and location for the Typhoon (Chevron), Prince (El Paso), Brutus (Shell), Nansen/Boomvang (Kerr-McGee), Canyon Express (TotalFinaElf), Medusa (Murphy), Horn Mountain (BP), NaKika (Shell), Crazy Horse (BP), Serrano/Oregano (Shell), and Crosby (Shell) projects. Information on the production, reserves, water depths and locations of >100 projects in the area are tabulated.

Molecular cloning of a preprohormone from sea anemones containing numerous copies of a metamorphosis-inducing neuropeptide: a likely role for dipeptidyl aminopeptidase in neuropeptide precursor processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leviev, I; Grimmelikhuijzen, C J

1995-01-01

a polyp, a medusa, and a planula larva stage. Recently, a neuropeptide, metamorphosis in a hydroid planula larva to become a hydropolyp [Leitz, T., Morand, K. & Mann, M. (1994) Dev. Biol. 163, 440-446]. Here, we have cloned...... the precursor protein for this metamorphosis-inducing neuropeptide from sea anemones. The precursor protein is 514-amino acid residues long and contains 10 copies of the immature, authentic neuropeptide (Gln-Gln-Pro-Gly-Leu-Trp-Gly). All neuropeptide copies are preceded by Xaa-Pro or Xaa-Ala sequences...

Diversity Dynamics in Nymphalidae Butterflies: Effect of Phylogenetic Uncertainty on Diversification Rate Shift Estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Carlos; Espeland, Marianne

2015-01-01

The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC) is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE) and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution. PMID:25830910

Respiratory response to temperature of three populations of Aurelia aurita polyps in northern Europe.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danja P Höhn

Full Text Available The benthic life stage (polyp or scyphistoma of the bloom-forming jellyfish, Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1759, also known as the moon jellyfish, contributes to the seasonal occurrence and abundance of medusa blooms via asexual reproduction. A. aurita is widely distributed in coastal areas in northern Europe, and one of the most studied jellyfish species. While the physiology of the visible medusa is largely understood, understanding of the physiology of the perennial benthic life-stage is scarce. To measure the physiological tolerance of A. aurita, the scyphistoma's temperature sensitivity across its distributional range was investigated. Respiration rates of polyps from three northern European locations exposed to 11 temperatures between 2 and 22°C were measured. There was a significant difference in respiration rate among the three polyp populations, which may reflect on differences in their thermal tolerance window. A critical temperature was reached at 14°C with the metabolic rate decreasing below and above that temperature. This pattern was less pronounced in the Norwegian population but polyps were able to survive, at least temporarily, those temperatures exceeding their natural range. While polyps collected from northern Norway, with a narrow environmental thermal window, displayed a low baseline metabolism with a Q10 value of 1.2, polyps from southern England and Scotland had Q10 values of 1.6 and 2.5, respectively. Differences in polyps' respiration rates across their distributional range suggest that populations have evolved adaptations to local environmental thermal conditions.

Environmental factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa) in South-Western Mediterranean coasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Canepa, Antonio; Fuentes, Verónica; Bosch-Belmar, Mar; Acevedo, Melissa; Toledo-Guedes, Kilian; Ortiz, Antonio; Durá, Elia; Bordehore, César; Gili, Josep-Maria

2017-01-01

Jellyfish blooms cause important ecological and socio-economic problems. Among jellyfish, cubozoans are infamous for their painful, sometimes deadly, stings and are a major public concern in tropical to subtropical areas; however, there is little information about the possible causes of their outbreaks. After a bloom of the cubomedusa Carybdea marsupialis (Carybdeidae) along the coast of Denia (SW Mediterranean, Spain) in 2008 with negative consequences for local tourism, the necessity to understand the ecological restrictions on medusae abundance was evident. Here we use different models (GAM and zero-inflated models) to understand the environmental and human related factors influencing the abundance and distribution of C. marsupialis along the coast of Denia. Selected variables differed among medusae size classes, showing different environmental restriction associated to the developmental stages of the species. Variables implicated with dispersion (e.g. wind and current) affected mostly small and medium size classes. Sea surface temperature, salinity and proxies of primary production (chl a, phosphates, nitrates) were related to the abundances of small and large size classes, highlighting the roles of springtime salinity changes and increased primary production that may promote and maintain high densities of this species. The increased primary (and secondary) production due to anthropogenic impact is implicated as the factor enabling high numbers of C. marsupialis to thrive. Recommendations for monitoring blooms of this species along the study area and applicable to Mediterranean Sea include focus effort in coastal waters where productivity have been enriched by anthropogenic activities.

Environmental factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa in South-Western Mediterranean coasts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Canepa

Full Text Available Jellyfish blooms cause important ecological and socio-economic problems. Among jellyfish, cubozoans are infamous for their painful, sometimes deadly, stings and are a major public concern in tropical to subtropical areas; however, there is little information about the possible causes of their outbreaks. After a bloom of the cubomedusa Carybdea marsupialis (Carybdeidae along the coast of Denia (SW Mediterranean, Spain in 2008 with negative consequences for local tourism, the necessity to understand the ecological restrictions on medusae abundance was evident. Here we use different models (GAM and zero-inflated models to understand the environmental and human related factors influencing the abundance and distribution of C. marsupialis along the coast of Denia. Selected variables differed among medusae size classes, showing different environmental restriction associated to the developmental stages of the species. Variables implicated with dispersion (e.g. wind and current affected mostly small and medium size classes. Sea surface temperature, salinity and proxies of primary production (chl a, phosphates, nitrates were related to the abundances of small and large size classes, highlighting the roles of springtime salinity changes and increased primary production that may promote and maintain high densities of this species. The increased primary (and secondary production due to anthropogenic impact is implicated as the factor enabling high numbers of C. marsupialis to thrive. Recommendations for monitoring blooms of this species along the study area and applicable to Mediterranean Sea include focus effort in coastal waters where productivity have been enriched by anthropogenic activities.

Diversity dynamics in Nymphalidae butterflies: effect of phylogenetic uncertainty on diversification rate shift estimates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Peña

Full Text Available The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution.

Box jellyfish use terrestrial visual cues for navigation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garm, Anders; Oskarsson, Magnus; Nilsson, Dan-Eric

2011-01-01

been a puzzle why they need such a complex set of eyes. Here we report that medusae of the box jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora are capable of visually guided navigation in mangrove swamps using terrestrial structures seen through the water surface. They detect the mangrove canopy by an eye type...... that is specialized to peer up through the water surface and that is suspended such that it is constantly looking straight up, irrespective of the orientation of the jellyfish. The visual information is used to navigate to the preferred habitat at the edge of mangrove lagoons....

Analyzers Measure Greenhouse Gases, Airborne Pollutants

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

to fuel cellular functions. "We think this chemical process did not exist when life first formed on Earth," he says, "because it is based on oxygen being available, and there was little oxygen available on the early Earth." It is possible that there are anaerobic regions beneath the sea floor in which life forms like those early non-Krebs Cycle microbes may yet exist. To detect and potentially collect samples of life emerging from hydrothermal vents, Flynn and his colleagues created Medusa, a multi-sensor instrument designed for long-term observation of diked vents on the ocean floor. When the vents erupt, Medusa assesses indicators of life within the expelled water. If the results are positive, the observatory collects samples and detaches from the ocean floor, making the long journey to the surface for retrieval by scientists. One of the indicators Medusa measures is the ratio of carbon isotopes in the water, namely carbon-12 and carbon-13. Living organisms preferentially take up carbon-12, Flynn says, so examining the ratio of these isotopes can help to determine the source of carbon in an environment as either biological or non-biological. "On Mars, there is evidence of localized methane in the atmosphere, and that methane could come from biological sources or from geochemical ones," Flynn says. "Determining the background planetary carbon isotope ratios and then evaluating the specific carbon ratios in this methane would help to determine how it was formed." A long-duration observatory similar to Medusa could one day provide essential evidence for or against the presence of life on the Red Planet or beneath the ice-crusted oceans of Europa.

Arte, mito e historia en dos obras de Ricardo Menéndez Salmón

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanna Fiordaliso

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract – The object of this study are two works written by Ricardo Menéndez Salmon (1971- , La luz es más antigua que el amor (2010 and Medusa (2012. These texts are very interesting because, as postmodern works, they result as a mixture of different genres (essay, novel, biography and because they are built with a combination of fiction and history, through the red line of the reflection on Art. Through the experience of several artists, imagined or real, Ricardo Menéndez Salmon proposes a reflection on History and Myth, on the role of literature and art, establishing a significant relationship between the present and the past, memory and oblivion, language and images. Resumen – Objeto de este estudio son dos obras del escritor Ricardo Menéndez Salmón (1971- , La luz es más antigua que el amor (2010 y Medusa (2012. Estos textos son muy interesantes porque se fundan en una mezcla de varios géneros (ensayo, novela, biografía y se caracterizan por una manera original de combinar ficción e historia, reflexionando sobre el papel del Arte. A través de la experiencia de varios artistas, unos imaginados, otros reales, Ricardo Menéndez Salmón nos propone una reflexión sobre la Historia, el Mito, el papel de la literatura y el arte, el establecimiento de una relación significativa entre el presente y el pasado, la memoria y el olvido, el lenguaje y las imágenes.

Cellular respiration, oxygen consumption, and trade-offs of the jellyfish Cassiopea sp. in response to temperature change

Science.gov (United States)

Aljbour, Samir M.; Zimmer, Martin; Kunzmann, Andreas

2017-10-01

Pelagic jellyfish blooms are increasing worldwide as a potential response to climate-change. However, virtually nothing is known about physiological responses of jellyfish to e.g. sudden changes in water temperature due to extreme weather events. When confronted with a sudden decrease or increase in water temperature by 6 °C, medusae of Cassiopea sp. exhibited a strong response in locomotor activity (i.e., bell pulsation increased and decreased by ca. 37 and 46% in hot and cold acute (2 h) treatments, respectively) relative to control. Although medusae significantly gained in body mass (wet weight) upon chronic (2 weeks) heat treatment, their body size (e.g., bell diameter) did not change over this time interval. In contrast, chronic cold treatment resulted in both significant shrinking (reduced diameter) and mass loss. Measurements of mitochondrial electron transport system (ETS) activities and rate of respiratory oxygen uptake (MO2) are good estimates of energy consumption and the potential aerobic metabolic rates of an organism. While both acute treatments significantly increased ETS-activities, acclimation over two weeks resulted in a drop in activities to the control levels. Whereas acute heat treatment significantly increased MO2, chronic exposure resulted in significant MO2 decrease compared to control; however no changes in MO2 could be observed in both acute and chronic cold treatments. Overall these results suggest an enhanced growth in response to global warming, whereas low temperatures may set the limits for successful invasion of Cassiopea into colder water bodies. Our results provide a framework for understanding the physiological tolerance of Cassiopea under possible future climate changes.

MEDUSA - An overset grid flow solver for network-based parallel computer systems

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Merritt H.; Pallis, Jani M.

1993-01-01

Continuing improvement in processing speed has made it feasible to solve the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations for simple three-dimensional flows on advanced workstations. Combining multiple workstations into a network-based heterogeneous parallel computer allows the application of programming principles learned on MIMD (Multiple Instruction Multiple Data) distributed memory parallel computers to the solution of larger problems. An overset-grid flow solution code has been developed which uses a cluster of workstations as a network-based parallel computer. Inter-process communication is provided by the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) software. Solution speed equivalent to one-third of a Cray-YMP processor has been achieved from a cluster of nine commonly used engineering workstation processors. Load imbalance and communication overhead are the principal impediments to parallel efficiency in this application.

Medusa spectroscopy of A400, A576, A1767, and A2124

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hintzen, P.; Hill, J.M.; Lindley, D.; Scott, J.S.; Angel, J.R.P.

1982-01-01

Galaxy velocity data taken with the Steward Observatory multiple aperture fiber optic spectrograph are presented for four Abell clusters. The root-mean-square external errors in these velocities are about 100 km/s; accuracy which compares favorably with that obtained from single-object observations. We expect that the recent adoption of a CCD detector should decrease external errors to about 50 km/s. All four of the clusters observed are known x-ray sources and our data agree well with empirically derived velocity dispersion--x-ray luminosity relations for clusters of galaxies. Abell 400 is interesting in this regard, since both its x-ray luminosity and its velocity dispersion are quite small. Such objects are particularly important in determining the slope of the velocity dispersion--x-ray luminosity relation. The large microwave decrement observed in A576 was initially interpreted as due to Compton scattering of the microwave background by the x-ray-emitting intracluster gas. White and Silk have presented Einstein x-ray data which indicate that A576 contains too little gas to produce the observed microwave decrement by Compton scattering. Our velocity dispersion for 47 members of this cluster strengthens their conclusion

Medusa spectroscopy of A400, A576, A1767, and A2124

Science.gov (United States)

Hintzen, P.; Hill, J. M.; Lindley, D.; Scott, J. S.; Angel, J. R. P.

1982-01-01

Galaxy velocity data taken with the Steward Observatory multiple aperture fiber optic spectrograph are presented for four Abell clusters. The root-mean-square external errors in these velocities are about 100 km/s; accuracy which compares favorably with that obtained from single-object observations. It is expected that the recent adoption of a CCD detector should decrease external errors to about 50 km/s. All four of the clusters observed are known X-ray sources and the present data agree well with empirically derived velocity dispersion-X-ray luminosity relations for clusters of galaxies. Abell 400 is interesting in this regard, since both its X-ray luminosity and its velocity dispersion are quite small. Such objects are particularly important in determining the slope of the velocity dispersion-X-ray luminosity relation. The large microwave decrement observed in A576 was initially interpreted as due to Compton scattering of the microwave background by the X-ray-emitting intracluster gas. White and Silk have presented Einstein X-ray data which indicate that A576 contains too little gas to produce the observed microwave decrement by Compton scattering. The velocity dispersion obtained here for 47 members of this cluster strengthens their conclusion.

[Problems caused by poisonous tropical marine animals].

Science.gov (United States)

Lääveri, Tinja; Räisänen-Sokolowski, Anne; Jama, Timo

2014-01-01

A Finnish physician encounters problems caused by tropical marine animals either during her/his own travelling or while treating travelers who have returned home. Certain species of medusae and cone shells as well as the stings by some fish species are life-threateningly poisonous. A person stung or bitten by any of the most dangerous species must immediately be admitted to the hospital. Foreign material remaining in tissues after stings by echinoderms and spiky fish may cause problems months after the actual injury. The injuries become easily infected, and antimicrobial drug therapy must thus cover gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria as well.

[Conversations with the Sphinx. Images of Greek myth in Freud's collection].

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Janine

2006-01-01

In Freud's art collection, the myth of Oedipus, a central tenet of psychoanalysis, is represented by several Greek statues and vases, as well as a reproduction of Ingres' painting. Originally a protective male Egyptian deity, in Greek myth, the Sphinx was female and associated with death. In addition, Freud had sculptures of Medusa the Gorgon, a terrifying winged female, and of provocative Baubo, both also figuring in his writings. By describing these works of art and some of their mythological ramifications, the author suggests that they represented aspects of feminity not really covered by Freud's theories.

Gene Expression Data from the Moon Jelly, Aurelia, Provide Insights into the Evolution of the Combinatorial Code Controlling Animal Sense Organ Development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagayasu Nakanishi

Full Text Available In Bilateria, Pax6, Six, Eya and Dach families of transcription factors underlie the development and evolution of morphologically and phyletically distinct eyes, including the compound eyes in Drosophila and the camera-type eyes in vertebrates, indicating that bilaterian eyes evolved under the strong influence of ancestral developmental gene regulation. However the conservation in eye developmental genetics deeper in the Eumetazoa, and the origin of the conserved gene regulatory apparatus controlling eye development remain unclear due to limited comparative developmental data from Cnidaria. Here we show in the eye-bearing scyphozoan cnidarian Aurelia that the ectodermal photosensory domain of the developing medusa sensory structure known as the rhopalium expresses sine oculis (so/six1/2 and eyes absent/eya, but not optix/six3/6 or pax (A&B. In addition, the so and eya co-expression domain encompasses the region of active cell proliferation, neurogenesis, and mechanoreceptor development in rhopalia. Consistent with the role of so and eya in rhopalial development, developmental transcriptome data across Aurelia life cycle stages show upregulation of so and eya, but not optix or pax (A&B, during medusa formation. Moreover, pax6 and dach are absent in the Aurelia genome, and thus are not required for eye development in Aurelia. Our data are consistent with so and eya, but not optix, pax or dach, having conserved functions in sensory structure specification across Eumetazoa. The lability of developmental components including Pax genes relative to so-eya is consistent with a model of sense organ development and evolution that involved the lineage specific modification of a combinatorial code that specifies animal sense organs.

Are Hox genes ancestrally involved in axial patterning? Evidence from the hydrozoan Clytia hemisphaerica (Cnidaria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxane Chiori

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The early evolution and diversification of Hox-related genes in eumetazoans has been the subject of conflicting hypotheses concerning the evolutionary conservation of their role in axial patterning and the pre-bilaterian origin of the Hox and ParaHox clusters. The diversification of Hox/ParaHox genes clearly predates the origin of bilaterians. However, the existence of a "Hox code" predating the cnidarian-bilaterian ancestor and supporting the deep homology of axes is more controversial. This assumption was mainly based on the interpretation of Hox expression data from the sea anemone, but growing evidence from other cnidarian taxa puts into question this hypothesis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Hox, ParaHox and Hox-related genes have been investigated here by phylogenetic analysis and in situ hybridisation in Clytia hemisphaerica, an hydrozoan species with medusa and polyp stages alternating in the life cycle. Our phylogenetic analyses do not support an origin of ParaHox and Hox genes by duplication of an ancestral ProtoHox cluster, and reveal a diversification of the cnidarian HOX9-14 genes into three groups called A, B, C. Among the 7 examined genes, only those belonging to the HOX9-14 and the CDX groups exhibit a restricted expression along the oral-aboral axis during development and in the planula larva, while the others are expressed in very specialised areas at the medusa stage. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Cross species comparison reveals a strong variability of gene expression along the oral-aboral axis and during the life cycle among cnidarian lineages. The most parsimonious interpretation is that the Hox code, collinearity and conservative role along the antero-posterior axis are bilaterian innovations.

An experimental study of Aurelia aurita feeding behaviour: Inference of the potential predation impact on a temperate estuarine nursery area

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Rita; Teodósio, Maria Alexandra; Garrido, Susana

2014-06-01

Temperate estuaries are nursery areas for economically important fisheries resources. The common jellyfish Aurelia aurita is a resident species in many of these areas, where it can reach high abundances. This work aimed to determine the potential for predation of A. aurita on zooplanktonic organisms and early life stages of fishes, measuring feeding rates at concentrations that mimic those occurring for zooplankton, fish eggs and larvae in an estuarine nursery area. A set of experiments was aimed at determining the feeding selectivity of jellyfish when offered a mixture of fish eggs and larvae and wild plankton. Clearance rates varied markedly with prey availability and concentrations. When given mixtures of different prey types, jellyfish preferentially elected some taxa (copepods and fish eggs). Data obtained in the laboratory experiments were used to infer the potential impact of jellyfish predation upon zooplankton and ichthyoplankton in the Guadiana estuary (Southern Iberia). Repeated sampling of zooplankton, fish eggs and medusae was undertaken during the summer season of 2011. Abundance determinations were combined with experimentally estimated clearance rates of individual medusa to infer the potential jellyfish-induced mortality on prey in the area. In June and early August jellyfish-induced mortality rates were very high, and half-life times (t1/2) were consequently short for the zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. Although the potentially overestimation of our feeding rates typical of confined laboratory experiments, the results show high ingestion and clearance rates at high temperatures, typical from summer condition, and results also suggest that either by predation on early life stages of fish, or by competition for food resources, jellyfish may have a significant impact on estuarine communities and its nursery function.

Particle Methods in Bluff Body Aerodynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Johannes Tophøj

. The implementation is two-dimensional and sequential. The implementation is validated against the analytic solution to the Perlman test case and by free-space simulations of the onset flow around fixed and rotating circular cylinders and bluff body flows around bridge sections. Finally a three-dimensional vortex...... is important. This dissertation focuses on the use of vortex particle methods and computational efficiency. The work is divided into three parts. A novel method for the simulation of the aerodynamic admittance in bluff body aerodynamics is presented. The method involves a model for describing oncoming...... section during the construction phase and the swimming motion of the medusa Aurelia aurita....

MedusaScore: An accurate force field-based scoring function for virtual drug screening

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Yin, S.; Biedermannová, Lada; Vondrášek, Jiří; Dokholyan, N. V.

2008-01-01

Roč. 48, č. 8 (2008), s. 1656-1662 ISSN 1549-9596 Grant - others:NIH(US) RO1-GM080742 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : free-energy calculation * protein-ligand complex * binding-affinity * flexible docking * molecular recognition Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.643, year: 2008

Para além de Medusa: retomar a história no palco

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Röttger, K.

2011-01-01

O trabalho em teatro da austríaca Elfridine Jelinek é conhecido por sua crítica da mitologia. No seu recente 'work in progress', que segue de perto os relatos da mídia sobre a Guerra do Iraque e as torturas em Abu Ghraib, Jelinek concentra-se no efeito mitologizante do 'wartainment' que uma

La ficción entre trauma real e imaginario: “Shelter” de José Emilio Pacheco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margherita Cannavacciuolo

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The study analyzes the short story “Shelter” (1964 by José Emilio Pacheco (México D.F., 1939, published in the volume La sangre de Medusa y otros cuentos marginales (1991. The apocalypse marks the narrative construction of a traumatic imaginary related with dichotomy between real and imaginary trauma. The protagonist’s fear of a Third World War produces a suspension of reality’s principle and the projection of his interiority, leading to a fracture into the story between the level of imagination and the real experience. The texts reflects the configuration of a discourse where trauma plays as the significant in the organization of subjectivity and fiction.

Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust in der spanischen Gegenwartsliteratur: Fiktionalisierte ‚images malgré tout‘ bei Ricardo Menéndez Salmón

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Thomas Bosshard

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Der vorliegende Artikel untersucht die literarischen Repräsentationen von nationalsozialistischen Kriegsverbrechen in den Romanen La ofensa und Medusa des spanischen Schriftstellers Ricardo Menéndez Salmón. Ausgehend von einer Kontextualisierung der Romane im Gesamtschaffen des Autors werden intertextuelle Bezüge nicht nur zu anderen literarischen Texten, sondern auch zur Theorie herausgearbeitet. Gegenüber dem im Zusammenhang mit Holocaust-Darstellungen oft postulierten ‚Bilderverbot‘ realisiert Menéndez Salmón in Anlehnung an Didi-Huberman fiktionalisierte images malgré tout im Medium der Sprache, deren Funktion über die Darstellung von Nazi-Verbrechen hinausgeht und eine metamediale Reflexion über den Zusammenhang von Bild, Sprache und Schrecken anstößt.

Las miradas poéticas de Narciso y Medusa: la transformacion de lo real

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Blanco

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Al ser director tanto académico como artístico de este proyecto europeo Crossing Stages, esta doble condición me lleva a tomar la palabra desde estos dos lugares, es decir, desde lo académico y desde lo artístico. Desde dos lugares entonces casi antagónicos. La toma de la palabra académica responde en cierta forma a ciertas máximas de claridad y precisión, suele tender a ser un discurso mesurado, ordenado y equilibrado, que en cierta forma busca un conocimiento erudito por medio de procedimientos científicos lo más objetivos y sólidos posibles. Mientras que la toma de la palabra artística es todo lo contrario, es una palabra oscura, confusa, hiperbólica, amanerada, completamente desmesurada y caótica, y basada en experiencias y caprichos inminentemente subjetivos. Se me plantea entonces desde qué lugar hablar:  

Martin Chalfie y la proteína verde fluorescente Martin Chalfie y la proteína verde fluorescente

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zacarías Pereira Vega

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The history of the green fluorescent protein (GFP starts with Osamu Shimomura at the beginning of the 1960s, with his discovery from the extracts of the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. However, it is not until the beginning of the 1990s, that the neurobiologist Martin Chalfie, applying genetic engineering tech- niques, achieved for the first time the heterology expression of the GFP in prokaryotes (E. coli and eukaryotes (Caernohabditis elegans, from a clone of the jellyfish’s gen that codifies the GFP prepared by Douglas Prasher. Besides fluorescing in green, the results from this work also demonstrated that it does not require any other cofactor or enzyme of the jellyfish for its expression or for the own forming of a fluorophore. At the same time, Chalfie proposed that the GFP could be used for the marking of cells on living ani- mals or the tag of proteins. Based upon these results, many scientists started working on research related to the GFP; actually this protein is used on different fields such as biotechnol- ogy, development biology, environmental chemistry and medicine. In the case of the latter, it has helped to elucidate the cellular mechanisms from which diseases are made of. Science owes Roger Tsien, amongst other contributions, the creation of differ- ent mutations of the GFP.La historia de la proteína verde fluorescente (GFP se inicia con Osamu Shimomura a principios de la década de 1960, con su descubrimiento de esta proteína a partir de extractos de la medusa Aequorea victoria. Sin embargo, es a principios de la década de 1990 que el neurobiólogo Martin Chalfie, aplicando técnicas de ingeniería genética, logra por primera vez la expresión heteróloga de la GFP en procariotas (Escherichia coli y eucariotas (Caernohabditis elegans, a partir de un clon del gen de la medusa que codifica a la GFP, preparado por Douglas Prasher. Además de fluorescer en verde, los resultados de este trabajo también demostraron que no se

Seawater for the cooling of decay power. Partial report 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poern, K.; Agnedal, P.O.; Evans, S.; Sundblad, B.

1980-11-01

It is stated that there should be provisions made for to cool down the decay power of a reactor. The intake of coolant should be kept clean of hindrances. The variations of the obstacles in the coolant intake of the Ringhals power plant has been investigated during the period 1976-78 in order to find the correlation of simultaneous conditions of wind, water flow, water level and temperature in relation to the blocking up. If one considers the dredged matter as typical for a medusae season, the amount of the substance can be considered having lognormal distribution. An estimate of the probability of the substance to exceed a critical limit at a given coolant flow can be made.(G.B.)

A safer, urea-based in situ hybridization method improves detection of gene expression in diverse animal species.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinigaglia, Chiara; Thiel, Daniel; Hejnol, Andreas; Houliston, Evelyn; Leclère, Lucas

2018-02-01

In situ hybridization is a widely employed technique allowing spatial visualization of gene expression in fixed specimens. It has greatly advanced our understanding of biological processes, including developmental regulation. In situ protocols are today routinely followed in numerous laboratories, and although details might change, they all include a hybridization step, where specific antisense RNA or DNA probes anneal to the target nucleic acid sequence. This step is generally carried out at high temperatures and in a denaturing solution, called hybridization buffer, commonly containing 50% (v/v) formamide - a hazardous chemical. When applied to the soft-bodied hydrozoan medusa Clytia hemisphaerica, we found that this traditional hybridization approach was not fully satisfactory, causing extensive deterioration of morphology and tissue texture which compromised our observation and interpretation of results. We thus tested alternative solutions for in situ detection of gene expression and, inspired by optimized protocols for Northern and Southern blot analysis, we substituted the 50% formamide with an equal volume of 8M urea solution in the hybridization buffer. Our new protocol not only yielded better morphologies and tissue consistency, but also notably improved the resolution of the signal, allowing more precise localization of gene expression and reducing aspecific staining associated with problematic areas. Given the improved results and reduced manipulation risks, we tested the urea protocol on other metazoans, two brachiopod species (Novocrania anomala and Terebratalia transversa) and the priapulid worm Priapulus caudatus, obtaining a similar reduction of aspecific probe binding. Overall, substitution of formamide by urea during in situ hybridization offers a safer alternative, potentially of widespread use in research, medical and teaching contexts. We encourage other workers to test this approach on their study organisms, and hope that they will also

Climate change and ocean acidification impacts on lower trophic levels and the export of organic carbon to the deep ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Yool

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Most future projections forecast significant and ongoing climate change during the 21st century, but with the severity of impacts dependent on efforts to restrain or reorganise human activity to limit carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions. A major sink for atmospheric CO2, and a key source of biological resources, the World Ocean is widely anticipated to undergo profound physical and – via ocean acidification – chemical changes as direct and indirect results of these emissions. Given strong biophysical coupling, the marine biota is also expected to experience strong changes in response to this anthropogenic forcing. Here we examine the large-scale response of ocean biogeochemistry to climate and acidification impacts during the 21st century for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 2.6 and 8.5 using an intermediate complexity global ecosystem model, MEDUSA-2.0. The primary impact of future change lies in stratification-led declines in the availability of key nutrients in surface waters, which in turn leads to a global decrease (1990s vs. 2090s in ocean productivity (−6.3%. This impact has knock-on consequences for the abundance of the low trophic level biogeochemical actors modelled by MEDUSA-2.0 (−5.8%, and these would be expected to similarly impact higher trophic level elements such as fisheries. Related impacts are found in the flux of organic material to seafloor communities (−40.7% at 1000 m, and in the volume of ocean suboxic zones (+12.5%. A sensitivity analysis removing an acidification feedback on calcification finds that change in this process significantly impacts benthic communities, suggesting that a~better understanding of the OA-sensitivity of calcifying organisms, and their role in ballasting sinking organic carbon, may significantly improve forecasting of these ecosystems. For all processes, there is geographical variability in change – for instance, productivity declines −21% in the Atlantic and increases +59% in

Usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of portosystemic collaterals in liver cirrhosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsukune, Yoshihiko

1984-01-01

This study assesses the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of portosystemic collaterals in liver cirrhosis. Seventy-eight patients with liver cirrhosis underwent both CT and angiography. Comparison was made between CT and angiography on eleven types of collaterals, and many of them were demonstrated on CT scans better than angio. Especially, esophageal varices, paraesophageal varices, umbilical pathway and caput medusa were diagnostic on CT scans. Gastrorenal collaterals, splenorenal collaterals, retroperitoneal pathway are also well demonstrated. Dilatation of azygos systems and small veins in the liver surface are only observed on CT scans. However, coronary varices and short gastric varices are well diagnostic in angiography. But considering all types of collaterals, it was stressed that angiography can be eliminated by CT in evaluation of collaterals in liver cirrhosis. (author)

Diagrama de estabilidad termodinámico del sistema de flotación cobre/agua/amilxantato

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Beatriz Ramírez-Serrano

2015-05-01

Full Text Available El propósito del trabajo fue obtener el diagrama de estabilidad termodinámico que caracteriza al sistema de flotación cobre/agua/amilxantato, como parte del fundamento teórico necesario para el análisis del proceso de flotación de iones cobre con el reactivo colector de flotación amilxantato de potasio. A partir del sistema de reacciones químicas fundamentales y con ayuda del sofware Medusa se obtuvo el diagrama Eh-pH en el cual se definen las zonas de estabilidad de las diferentes especies químicas y se establece que en el rango de pH de 4 a 13 coexisten las especies xantogenadas de cobre(I y (II cuya relación disminuye con el incremento del pH.

El mundo del libro: septiembre de 1964

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Agustín Rodríguez Garavito

1964-09-01

Full Text Available El documento presenta las reseñas de los siguientes títulos: Los pasos en la sombra -Por Helcías Martán Góngora -Poesía- Ediciones Medusa. Colombia. Diccionario Biográfico de Artistas delNuevo Reino de Granada - Edición: Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Hispánica. Bogotá. Artículos y Ensayos -Por José Joaquín Vargas Valdés -Introducción y Selección de Aníbal Vargas Barón -Universidad de Oregón. U.S.A. De lo celeste y tenebroso -Gabriel Uliosa -Poemas- Editorial Iqueima. San Andrés y Providencia -James J. Parsons. -Talleres Gráficos del Banco de la República -Bogotá-Colombia

Feasibility of an XUV FEL Oscillator Driven by a SCRF Linear Accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lumpkin, A. H.; Freund, H. P.; Reinsch, M.

2014-01-01

The Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA) facility is currently under construction at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Using a1-ms-long macropulse composed of up to 3000 micropulses, and with beam energies projected from 45 to 800 MeV, the possibility for an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser oscillator (FELO) with the higher energy is evaluated. We have used both GINGER with an oscillator module and the MEDUSA/OPC code to assess FELO saturation prospects at 120 nm, 40 nm, and 13.4 nm. The results support saturation at all of these wavelengths which are also shorter than the demonstrated shortest wavelength record of 176 nm from a storage-ring-based FELO. This indicates linac-driven FELOs can be extended into this XUV wavelength regime previously only reached with single-pass FEL configurations.

Evaluation of computed tomography on diagnosis of portosystemic collaterals in portal hypertension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohe, Takashi; Kuronuma, Yukio; Fujiwara, Hiromichi; Ibuki, Yoshikazu; Maehara, Misao; Sugaya, Hitoshi; Harada, Takashi; Iwasaki, Naoya; Hyodo, Haruo

1987-01-01

We analyzed the diagnostic capability of CT to demonstrate the eight types of portosystemic collaterals in patient with portal hypertension. A total of 62 patients with portal hypertension underwent both CT and conventional angiography. All of these eight types of collaterals, such as esophageal varices, paraesophageal varices, coronary and short gastric pathway, dilated vein in splenic hilus, splenorenal and splenoretroperitoneal pathway, paraumbilical pathway and small veins on liver surface, caput medusa, azygos system, were demonstrated on CT better than angiography, except coronary and short gastric pathyway. And we also made comparative study of CT with per-rectal portal scintigraphy in 9 patients who underwent both studies. In 7 of these 9 patients, portosystemic collaterals were recognized on scintigram less than CT. In conclusion, CT provides much qualified images than conventional angiography or per-rectal portal scintigraphy in evaluating portosystemic collaterals. (author)

Evaluation of computed tomography on diagnosis of portosystemic collaterals in portal hypertension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohe, T; Kuronuma, Y; Fujiwara, H; Ibuki, Y; Maehara, M; Sugaya, H; Harada, T; Iwasaki, N; Hyodo, H

1987-04-01

We analyzed the diagnostic capability of CT to demonstrate the eight types of portosystemic collaterals in patient with portal hypertension. A total of 62 patients with portal hypertension underwent both CT and conventional angiography. All of these eight types of collaterals, such as esophageal varices, paraesophageal varices, coronary and short gastric pathway, dilated vein in splenic hilus, splenorenal and splenoretroperitoneal pathway, paraumbilical pathway and small veins on liver surface, caput medusa, azygos system, were demonstrated on CT better than angiography, except coronary and short gastric pathyway. And we also made comparative study of CT with per-rectal portal scintigraphy in 9 patients who underwent both studies. In 7 of these 9 patients, portosystemic collaterals were recognized on scintigram less than CT. In conclusion, CT provides much qualified images than conventional angiography or per-rectal portal scintigraphy in evaluating portosystemic collaterals.

A method for in situ estimation of prey selectivity and predation rate in large plankton, exemplified with the jellyfish Aurelia aurita (L.)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansson, L.J.

2006-01-01

, predation rate can be calculated as increase in gut content over time. Clearance rates for different prey can be calculated from predation rates and prey concentrations in the water, allowing accurate estimates of prey selectivity. Thus, the problem of unknown feeding history and feeding environment, which...... of a specific individual plankton predator in situ.After prey has been evacuated from the gut of an individual predator, the predator is incubated in situ, and observed by SCUBA-divers who recapture the individual after a defined time. Given that this incubation time is shorter than prey digestion time...... among individual jellyfish and among the various oral arms and gastric pouches within individuals. Clearance rates varied strongly with prey type. The medusae selected large crustacean prey (cladocerans and copepods/copepodites) over echinoderm larvae and copepod nauplii. Prey distribution within...

Reflectance Confocal Microscopy in Lentigo Maligna.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamo, R; Pampín, A; Floristán, U

2016-12-01

Lentigo maligna is the most common type of facial melanoma. Diagnosis is complicated, however, as it shares clinical and dermoscopic characteristics with other cutaneous lesions of the face. Reflectance confocal microscopy is an imaging technique that permits the visualization of characteristic features of lentigo maligna. These include a disrupted honeycomb pattern and pagetoid cells with a tendency to show folliculotropism. These cells typically have a dendritic morphology, although they may also appear as round cells measuring over 20μm with atypical nuclei. Poorly defined dermal papillae and atypical cells may be seen at the dermal-epidermal junction and can form bridges resembling mitochondrial structures. Other characteristic findings include junctional swelling with atypical cells located around the follicles, resembling caput medusae. Reflectance confocal microscopy is a very useful tool for diagnosing lentigo maligna. Copyright © 2016 AEDV. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Photosynthetic planulae and planktonic hydroids: contrasting strategies of propagule survival

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrizia Pagliara

2000-12-01

Full Text Available Settlement delays can be important to prevent propagule waste when proper settling substrates are not immediately available. Under laboratory conditions, the planulae of Clytia viridicans underwent two alternative developmental patterns. Some settled on the bottom, forming a hydranth-gonotheca complex that produced up to four medusae and later either degenerated or gave rise to a hydroid colony. Other planulae settled right below the air-water interface, forming floating colonies that eventually fell to the bottom and settled. Halecium nanum released planulae with a rich population of symbiotic zooxanthellae that survived into a rearing jar for three months. After a long period of apparent quiescence (possibly fuelled by photosynthetic activities of zooxanthellae the planulae produced new colonies. Both photosynthetic planulae and settlement at the interface air-water allow a delay in the passage from a planktonic to a fully functional benthic life.

First Description of Sulphur-Oxidizing Bacterial Symbiosis in a Cnidarian (Medusozoa Living in Sulphidic Shallow-Water Environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sylvie Abouna

Full Text Available Since the discovery of thioautotrophic bacterial symbiosis in the giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila, there has been great impetus to investigate such partnerships in other invertebrates. In this study, we present the occurrence of a sulphur-oxidizing symbiosis in a metazoan belonging to the phylum Cnidaria in which this event has never been described previously.Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM observations and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXs analysis, were employed to unveil the presence of prokaryotes population bearing elemental sulphur granules, growing on the body surface of the metazoan. Phylogenetic assessments were also undertaken to identify this invertebrate and microorganisms in thiotrophic symbiosis. Our results showed the occurrence of a thiotrophic symbiosis in a cnidarian identified as Cladonema sp.This is the first report describing the occurrence of a sulphur-oxidizing symbiosis in a cnidarian. Furthermore, of the two adult morphologies, the polyp and medusa, this mutualistic association was found restricted to the polyp form of Cladonema sp.

THE POTENTIAL OF γ-RAY SPECTROSCOPY FOR SOIL PROXIMAL SURVEY IN CLAYEY SOILS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Priori

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Gamma-ray spectroscopy surveys the intensity and distribution of γ-rays emitted from radionuclides of soils and bedrocks. The most important radionuclides of soils and rocks are: 40K, 232Th, 238U and 137Cs, the latter due to Chernobyl burst or radioactive pollution. Distribution and quantity of these radionuclides into the soil is strictly linked to parent material mineralogy and soil cation exchange capacity. The aim of this work is to show the makings of γ-ray spectroscopy proximal survey within experimental fields with clayey soils in western Sicily.The γ-ray spectrometer used for the fieldwork was “The Mole”, made by “The Soil Company”, “Medusa system” and the University of Groningen, from The Netherlands. During the survey of eight experimental fields, 55 soil samples were collected for laboratory analysis of particle size distribution, calcium carbonate, organic carbon and total nitrogen content. The results of the work showed the statistical correlations between soil features and γ-ray data. 

Interannual variability, growth, reproduction and feeding of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) in the Straits of Messina (Central Mediterranean Sea): Linkages with temperature and diet

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, S.; Pansera, M.; Granata, A.; Guglielmo, L.

2013-02-01

To identify some of the possible environmental factors stimulating the increasingly frequent outbreaks of the scyphomedusa Pelagia noctiluca in the Straits of Messina, we investigated its abundance, growth, reproduction and feeding over a 4-year period, from 2007 to 2011, at two coastal sites. Using either field investigations and manipulative experiments we show that, among the various factors considered, shifts in water temperature (influencing medusae metabolism, growth and reproduction rates) and the size structure of the zooplankton community (their natural preys) can promote the proliferation of P. noctiluca. In particular, we show that increased temperature let jellyfishes to grow more rapidly and reach exceptional sizes. We also report a peculiar opportunistic behavior of P. noctiluca, which makes this species a potentially strong competitor in the pelagic trophic web of the Straits ecosystem. We therefore propose that more frequent P. noctiluca outbreaks stimulated by increasing sea surface temperature and shifts in their prey availability and composition would become, in the near future, a major cause of ecosystem shift.

Invertebrados Fósiles del Paleozoico de Sonora, México

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Francisco Javier Cuen Romero

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A través de los fósiles es posible conocer la vida en el pasado geológico. La vida se originó en el mar hace 3700 Ma, siendo formas muy sencillas atribuibles a algas e invertebrados como las medusas; las primeras formas complejas se originaron a inicios del Paleozoico hace 541 Ma. El Paleozoico se divide en seis periodos: Cámbrico, Ordovícico, Silúrico, Devónico, Carbonífero y Pérmico; los cuales se caracterizan por una gran biodiversidad y abundancia de invertebrados. En Sonora se conocen diversas localidades con fósiles marinos del Paleozoico, destacando la presencia de poríferos, celenterados, braquiópodos, briozoarios, moluscos, artrópodos y equinodermos. El Paleozoico termina hace 252 Ma con la mayor extinción conocida en la historia de la biosfera, culminando con el 95% de las especies marinas.

Fine-Scale Layering of Mars Polar Deposits and Signatures of Ice Content in Nonpolar Material From Multiband SHARAD Data Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Bruce A.; Morgan, Gareth A.

2018-02-01

The variation of Shallow Radar (SHARAD) echo strength with frequency reveals material dielectric losses and polar layer properties. Loss tangents for Elysium and Amazonis Planitiae deposits are consistent with volcanic flows and sediments, while the Medusae Fossae Formation, lineated valley fill, and lobate debris aprons have low losses consistent with a major component of water ice. Mantling materials in Arcadia and Utopia Planitiae have higher losses, suggesting they are not dominated by ice over large fractions of their thickness. In Gemina Lingula, there are frequent deviations from a simple dependence of loss on depth. Within reflector packets, the brightest reflectors are often different among the frequency subbands, and there are cases of reflectors that occur in only the high- or low-frequency echoes. Many polar radar reflections must arise from multiple thin interfaces, or single deposits of appropriate thickness, that display resonant scattering behaviors. Reflector properties may be linked to climate-controlled polar dust deposition.

[Research advances in the effects of environmental factors on the growth and development of Aurelia spp].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jian-Yan; Yu, Zhi-Gang; Zhen, Yu; Mi, Tie-Zhu; Yao, Qing-Zhen; Wang, Guo-Shan

2012-11-01

Aurelia spp. is a cosmopolitan coastal species, and also, one dominant species of large jellyfish in the coastal waters of China. In recent years, Aurelia spp. bloom events occur frequently in the world, causing severe damage to marine ecosystems, coastal economy, and society development. Aurelia spp. has a complicated life history comprising a benthic asexually-reproducing polyp generation and a sexually-reproducing medusa generation, and various vegetative reproduction (budding, strobilation, and podocyst production) and sexual reproduction. Surrounding physical and biological factors affect each growth stage of Aurelia spp., especially the juvenile stage of planktonic-benthic life cycle, which has major effect on the population dynamics of Aurelia spp. This paper reviewed the research advances in the effects of environmental factors on Aurelia spp. at its different growth and development stages, and discussed some problems worthy of further study, aimed to provide useful reference for the research of the key factors controlling the jellyfish blooms in coastal waters of China.

The use of tropical bromeliads (Tillandsia spp.) for monitoring atmospheric pollution in the town of Florence, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Brighigna, Luigi; Papini, Alessio; Mosti, Stefano; Cornia, Andrea; Bocchini, Paola; Galletti, Guido

2002-06-01

The results of an experiment with two species of epiphytic angiosperms (Tillandsia caput-medusae and T. bulbosa) for monitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the air of Florence, Italy, are presented. PAHs are compounds known to be dangerous because of their carcinogenic potential, and among cormophytes, tillands (monocotyledons equipped with peculiar, specialised, epidermal trichomes) are considered promising for air pollution biomonitoring. PAHs data were obtained using GC/MS analysis of plant extracts. Analytical data indicated an increasing trend in time of PAHs bioaccumulation. This result was compared with instrumentally recorded parameters such as meteorological (rain) and environmental ones (PM10), indicating that trichome-operated physical capture of aerial particles was prominent in PAHs bioaccumulation on tillands. SEM (scanning electron microscope) observations confirmed the role of the trichomes. This work indicates that tillands are particularly useful, low-cost biomonitoring organisms inside their area of distribution (all Latin American countries and southern USA) where these plants are easily available, but also wherever the climate allows them to survive.

[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and infectious diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Ledermann D, Walter

2010-10-01

Besides a pleasant author of best sellers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a medical doctor, writing excellent short stories about the exercise of his profession in England. However, even he mentions The British Medical Journal and The Lancet in the Sherlock Holmes's stories, when in the plot introduces infectious diseases, Conan Doyle ignores important discoveries in the field of tetanus. Anyway, the appearing of infectious diseases in the adventures of the detective are rare: one mention of tetanus, another of leprosy and- the most analyzed in medical literature a case of murder by inoculation of bacteria, probably the agent of melioidosis. Also he makes his hero discovers the toxic actions of a medusa and a transplant of solid organ. Little for a physician and less for an author who also wrote science fiction: it seems that the history of the great medical discoveries at the end of nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth has passed by his side.., and he just couldn't see it.

Glaciambulata neumayeri gen. et sp. nov., a new Antarctic trachymedusa (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa, with a revision of the family Ptychogastriidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horia R. Galea

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A new genus and species of sympagic trachymedusa, Glaciambulata neumayeri gen. et sp. nov., are described based on material from Antarctica. Its generic features are compared to those of its relatives, Ptychogastria Allman, 1878 and Tesserogastria Beyer, 1959, and a review of the family Ptychogastriidae Mayer, 1910, based on literature data, is provided. From this, it results that the poorly-known Pectis antarctica Haeckel, 1879, formerly assigned to Ptychogastria by a number of authors, displays all characters of the contemporary rhopalonematid genus Voragonema Naumov, 1971. It is additionally demonstrated that V. laciniata Bouillon et al., 2001 is coterminous with P. antarctica, a finding that clarifies, 137 years later, the morphology and the taxonomic status of Haeckel’s medusa. In accordance with the Principle of Priority, Pectis is recognized as the valid name of the genus, and Voragonema is assigned to its synonymy. Similarly so, the specific name introduced by Haeckel has priority over laciniata.

First Description of Sulphur-Oxidizing Bacterial Symbiosis in a Cnidarian (Medusozoa) Living in Sulphidic Shallow-Water Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Abouna, Sylvie; Gonzalez-Rizzo, Silvina; Grimonprez, Adrien; Gros, Olivier

2015-01-01

Since the discovery of thioautotrophic bacterial symbiosis in the giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila, there has been great impetus to investigate such partnerships in other invertebrates. In this study, we present the occurrence of a sulphur-oxidizing symbiosis in a metazoan belonging to the phylum Cnidaria in which this event has never been described previously. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) observations and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXs) analysis, were employed to unveil the presence of prokaryotes population bearing elemental sulphur granules, growing on the body surface of the metazoan. Phylogenetic assessments were also undertaken to identify this invertebrate and microorganisms in thiotrophic symbiosis. Our results showed the occurrence of a thiotrophic symbiosis in a cnidarian identified as Cladonema sp. This is the first report describing the occurrence of a sulphur-oxidizing symbiosis in a cnidarian. Furthermore, of the two adult morphologies, the polyp and medusa, this mutualistic association was found restricted to the polyp form of Cladonema sp.

Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

OpenAIRE

Pohan, Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani; Ancok, Djamaludin

2010-01-01

This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

OpenAIRE

Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani Pohan; Djamaludin Ancok

2015-01-01

This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

Medusas (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa de una zona de afloramiento costero, Bahía Culebra, Pacífico, Costa Rica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Rodríguez-Sáenz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Las hidromedusas tienen un papel importante en redes tróficas marinas debido a sus hábitos alimenticios depredadores. Este es el primer estudio de este grupo del zooplancton gelatinoso en un area de afloramiento costero en América Central. Durante seis meses de 1999, se estudió la abundancia de hidromedusas en cuatro estaciones en Bahía Culebra, Golfo de Papagayo, costa Pacífica de Costa Rica (10º 37’N-85º40’W. Se identificó un total de 53 especies de las que 26 son registros nuevos para Costa Rica, 21 son registros nuevos para América Central y 8 son nuevos registros para el Pacífico Oriental Tropical. Las especies más abundantes durante el estudio (con más de 30% de la abundancia total fueron Liriope tetraphylla, Solmundella bitentaculata y Aglaura hemistoma. Seis especies se presentaron en todos los muestreos, 10 especies se presentaron únicamente durante la época seca y 17 se presentaron únicamente durante la época lluviosa. Se mostraron diferencias significativas entre las épocas lluviosa y seca. La máxima abundancia promedio de hidromedusas (2.1±4.3 ind./m³ fue encontrada durante las fechas que se espera el afloramiento costero, indicado por alta concentración de oxígeno y baja temperatura. La rica composición de especies encontrada en Bahía Culebra puede ser el resultado de varios factores, incluyendo la condición prístina de la bahía, el transporte de especies por la Contra Corriente Nor-Ecuatorial (NECC y los aportes de origen terrestre. Se incluyen ilustraciones de las 15 especies más importantes para facilitar su identificación y promover estudios futuros en la región.

Study on team evaluation. Team process model for team evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasou Kunihide; Ebisu, Mitsuhiro; Hirose, Ayako

2004-01-01

Several studies have been done to evaluate or improve team performance in nuclear and aviation industries. Crew resource management is the typical example. In addition, team evaluation recently gathers interests in other teams of lawyers, medical staff, accountants, psychiatrics, executive, etc. However, the most evaluation methods focus on the results of team behavior that can be observed through training or actual business situations. What is expected team is not only resolving problems but also training younger members being destined to lead the next generation. Therefore, the authors set the final goal of this study establishing a series of methods to evaluate and improve teams inclusively such as decision making, motivation, staffing, etc. As the first step, this study develops team process model describing viewpoints for the evaluation. The team process is defined as some kinds of power that activate or inactivate competency of individuals that is the components of team's competency. To find the team process, the authors discussed the merits of team behavior with the experienced training instructors and shift supervisors of nuclear/thermal power plants. The discussion finds four team merits and many components to realize those team merits. Classifying those components into eight groups of team processes such as 'Orientation', 'Decision Making', 'Power and Responsibility', 'Workload Management', 'Professional Trust', 'Motivation', 'Training' and 'staffing', the authors propose Team Process Model with two to four sub processes in each team process. In the future, the authors will develop methods to evaluate some of the team processes for nuclear/thermal power plant operation teams. (author)

Are real teams healthy teams?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buljac, M.; van Woerkom, M.; van Wijngaarden, P.

2013-01-01

This study examines the impact of real-team--as opposed to a team in name only--characteristics (i.e., team boundaries, stability of membership, and task interdependence) on team processes (i.e., team learning and emotional support) and team effectiveness in the long-term care sector. We employed a

Team Learning in Teacher Teams: Team Entitativity as a Bridge between Teams-in-Theory and Teams-in-Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Vangrieken, Katrien; Dochy, Filip; Raes, Elisabeth

2016-01-01

This study aimed to investigate team learning in the context of teacher teams in higher vocational education. As teacher teams often do not meet all criteria included in theoretical team definitions, the construct "team entitativity" was introduced. Defined as the degree to which a group of individuals possesses the quality of being a…

Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

2017-04-01

Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader's verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time.

Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams

Science.gov (United States)

van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

2017-01-01

Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader’s verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time. PMID:28490856

Structural and Developmental Disparity in the Tentacles of the Moon Jellyfish Aurelia sp.1.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David A Gold

Full Text Available Tentacles armed with stinging cells (cnidocytes are a defining trait of the cnidarians, a phylum that includes sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, and hydras. While cnidarian tentacles are generally characterized as structures evolved for feeding and defense, significant variation exists between the tentacles of different species, and within the same species across different life stages and/or body regions. Such diversity suggests cryptic distinctions exist in tentacle function. In this paper, we use confocal and transmission electron microscopy to contrast the structure and development of tentacles in the moon jellyfish, Aurelia species 1. We show that polyp oral tentacles and medusa marginal tentacles display markedly different cellular and muscular architecture, as well as distinct patterns of cellular proliferation during growth. Many structural differences between these tentacle types may reflect biomechanical solutions to different feeding strategies, although further work would be required for a precise mechanistic understanding. However, differences in cell proliferation dynamics suggests that the two tentacle forms lack a conserved mechanism of development, challenging the textbook-notion that cnidarian tentacles can be homologized into a conserved bauplan.

X-ray microanalysis of elements present in the matrix of cnidarian nematocysts.

Science.gov (United States)

Tardent, P; Zierold, K; Klug, M; Weber, J

1990-01-01

The composition and concentration of elements, in particular those of metallic cations, present in the intracapsular matrix and the wall of nematocysts of various cnidarian species have been recorded by means of X-ray microanalysis performed on 100nm thick cryosections. The predominant cation detected in the nematocyst matrix of the hydrozoan Podocoryne carnea (medusa), the scyphozoan Aurelia aurita (scyphopolyp) and the anthozoan Calliactis parasitica (tentacles and acontia) is K(+). Mg(2+) prevails in tentacular cysts of Anthopleura elegantissima, Actinia equina and Anemonia viridis, whereas, the acrorhagial cysts of A. elegantissima and A. equina contain Ca(2+) instead of Mg(2+). The acrorhagial cysts of A. viridis contain Mg(2+) like those of the tentacles. In the tentacular nematocysts of Podocoryne carnea polyps (Hydrozoa) on the other hand ambiguous element contents were found indicating that the cysts of this species has no preference for a particular cation. The high values of sulfur recorded in the matrix and particularly the wall of all the cysts are reflecting the presence of numerous protein disulfide bonds within the structural components (wall, shaft, tubule) of the nematocysts.

Iirimaale : [luuletused] / Percy Bysshe Shelley ; tlk. Minni Nurme, Ants, Oras

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

2006-01-01

Sisu: Iirimaale ; Armastuse roos ; Harrietile ; Muutlikkus ; Vangist vabanenud sõbrale ; Minevik ; Byronile ; Kaduvik ; Laul : "Maa magas, külm kui surm..." ; Hümn vaimsele ilule ; Laul : "Too aeg on läind, mu armsam, läind..." ; Ozymandias ; Sonett ; India serenaad ; Leonardo da Vinci Medusa Firenze kunstikogus ; Armu filosoofia ; Ood läänetuulele ; Mary Shelleyle ; Laul briti meestele ; Uus rahvushümn ; Inglismaa 1819. a. ; Ära madu ärata ; Head ööd! ; Pilv ; Apolloni hümn ; Paani hümn ; Lõoke ; Vabadus ; Suvi ja talv ; Maailmarändurid ; Küsimus ; Aeg, mis hajus ; Ööle ; -le : "Üht sõna on labastand suud..." ; -le : "Kui kirg kord mööduks, aga jääks..." ; Õhtu Ponte al Marel, Pisas ; Mälestus ; Muusika ; Aeg ; Põgenejad ; Ma olla kuningas ei tahaks ; "Homne päev, kus oled praegu..." ; "Laps rahus kord on emaihus..." ; Üksik lind ; "Kui lamp pihuks langend..." ; Epitaaf ; Kutse Janeþile ; Tähed vilkusid valgust ; Leinalaul ; Pühendus. Eluloolisi andmeid autori kohta lk. 389

Medusae from the sea around Laccadive group of islands (7 degrees-18 degrees N/69 degrees-76 degrees E)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Santhakumari, V.

stream_size 7 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name 2_Workshop_Scient_Result_FORV_Sagar_Sampada_Proc_1996_249.pdf.txt stream_source_info 2_Workshop_Scient_Result_FORV_Sagar_Sampada_Proc_1996_249.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859...

The use of tropical bromeliads (Tillandsia spp. for monitoring atmospheric pollution in the town of Florence, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luigi Brighigna

2002-06-01

Full Text Available The results of an experiment with two species of epiphytic angiosperms (Tillandsia caput-medusae and T. bulbosa for monitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs in the air of Florence, Italy, are presented. PAHs are compounds known to be dangerous because of their carcinogenic potential, and among cormophytes, tillands (monocotyledons equipped with peculiar, specialised, epidermal trichomes are considered promising for air pollution biomonitoring. PAHs data were obtained using GC/MS analysis of plant extracts. Analytical data indicated an increasing trend in time of PAHs bioaccumulation. This result was compared with instrumentally recorded parameters such as meteorological (rain and environmental ones (PM10, indicating that trichome-operated physical capture of aerial particles was prominent in PAHs bioaccumulation on tillands. SEM (scanning electron microscope observations confirmed the role of the trichomes. This work indicates that tillands are particularly useful, low-cost, biomonitoring organisms inside their area of distribution (all Latin American countries and southern USA where these plants are easily available, but also wherever the climate allows them to surviveSe presentan los resultados de un experimento con dos especies de angiospermas epífitas (Tillandsia caput-medusae y T. bulbosa para monitorear hidrocarbonos aromáticos policíclicos (PAHs en el aire de Florencia, Italia. Los PAHs son compuestos que se sabe son peligrosos por su potencial carcinogénico, y, entre las cormófitas, las tilandsias (monocotiledóneas equipadas con tricomas epidérmicos, especializados y peculiares son consideradas promisorias para el biomonitoreo de la contaminación del aire. Se obtuvieron datos de PAHs usando el análisis de GC/MS de extractos de plantas. Los datos analíticos indicaron una tendencia creciente de la bioacumulación de PAH’s en el tiempo. Este resultado se comparó con los parámetros registrados instrumentalmente como

Composition, abundance and distribution of macrozooplankton in Culebra Bay, Gulf of Papagayo, Pacific coast of Costa Rica and its value as bioindicator of pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melinda Bednarski

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The abundance, distribution and composition of the macrozooplankton of Culebra Bay, Costa Rica (10º 38’ N - 85º 40’ W were studied at four stations throughout the dry (February - May and rainy (September - November seasons of 2000. The samples were collected at two-week intervals using a 500µm mesh net with a 0.5 m diameter opening. Copepods (23-31% and ostracods (20-34% were predominant throughout the year, followed by cladocerans (2.5-14%, zoea (6.6-9.5%, and siphonophores (2.5-7.2%. High densities of zooplankton were obtained in February and March with peak abundance on March 18. The lowest densities were observed on September 3 and November 5. Significant differences in abundances at each station were observed for the groups Acartia tonsa (Copepoda, Ctenophora, Medusae, Ostracoda, Zoea, and Amphipoda. Comparison of the dry and rainy seasons revealed significantly higher zooplankton abundance in the dry season and copepod domination of all stations; during the rainy season ostracods dominated the off-shore areas. Zooplankton abundance and distribution are influenced by upwelling, which occurs during the dry season in Culebra BayLa abundancia, distribución y composición del macrozooplancton fue estudiada en bahía Culebra Costa Rica (10º 38’ N and 85º 40’ W en cuatro estaciones durante la época seca (Febrero-Mayo y lluviosa (Setiembre - Noviembre del año 2000. Las muestras fueron colectadas en intervalos de dos semanas usando una red de 500µm de poro y 0.50-m de diámetro. Copépodos (23-31% y ostrácodos (20-34% fueron predominantes através del año, seguidos por los cladóceros (2.5-14%, zoea (6.6-9.5%, y sifonóforos (2.5-7.2%. Altas densidades de zooplancton fueron obtenidas en Febrero y Marzo, con un pico el 18 de Marzo. Las más bajas densidades fueron observadas el 3 de Septiembre y 5 de Noviembre. Se observaron diferencias significativas en las abundancias en cada estación para los copépodos de la especie Acartia

When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hooft, Edwin A J; Van Mierlo, Heleen

2018-01-01

Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams' composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams' motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members' stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams' collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hooft, Edwin A. J.; Van Mierlo, Heleen

2018-01-01

Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination. PMID:29674991

When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwin A. J. Van Hooft

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

Team Learning and Team Composition in Nursing

Science.gov (United States)

Timmermans, Olaf; Van Linge, Roland; Van Petegem, Peter; Elseviers, Monique; Denekens, Joke

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to explore team learning activities in nursing teams and to test the effect of team composition on team learning to extend conceptually an initial model of team learning and to examine empirically a new model of ambidextrous team learning in nursing. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research utilising exploratory…

The Research of Self-Management Team and Superior-Direction Team in Team Learning Influential Factors

OpenAIRE

Zhang Wei

2013-01-01

Team learning is a cure for bureaucracy; it facilitates team innovation and team performance. But team learning occurs only when necessary conditions were met. This research focused on differences of team learning influential factors between self-management team and superior-direction team. Four variables were chosen as predictors of team learning though literature review and pilot interview. The 4 variables are team motivation, team trust, team conflict and team leadership. Selected 54 self ...

The impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors: A panel analysis of professional basketball teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sieweke, Jost; Zhao, B.

2015-01-01

To explore the dynamics involved in team coordination, we examine the impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors (TCEs). We argue that team familiarity has a U-shaped effect on TCEs. We study the moderating effects of team leader prior experience and team

Better team management--better team care?

Science.gov (United States)

Shelley, P; Powney, B

1994-01-01

Team building should not be a 'bolt-on' extra, it should be a well planned, integrated part of developing teams and assisting their leaders. When asked to facilitate team building by a group of NHS managers we developed a framework which enabled individual members of staff to become more effective in the way they communicated with each other, their teams and in turn within the organization. Facing the challenge posed by complex organizational changes, staff were able to use 3 training days to increase and develop their awareness of the principles of teamwork, better team management, and how a process of leadership and team building could help yield better patient care.

Team responsibility structure and team performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doorewaard, J.A.C.M.; Hootegem, G. van; Huys, R.

2002-01-01

The purpose is to analyse the impact of team responsibility (the division of job regulation tasks between team leader and team members) on team performance. It bases an analysis on 36 case studies in The Netherlands which are known to have implemented team‐based work. The case studies were executed

Team cohesion and team success in sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Carron, Albert V; Bray, Steven R; Eys, Mark A

2002-02-01

The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between task cohesiveness and team success in elite teams using composite team estimates of cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine statistically the consistency (i.e. 'groupness') present in team members' perceptions of cohesion. Elite university basketball teams (n = 18) and club soccer teams (n = 9) were assessed for cohesiveness and winning percentages. Measures were recorded towards the end of each team's competitive season. Our results indicate that cohesiveness is a shared perception, thereby providing statistical support for the use of composite team scores. Further analyses indicated a strong relationship between cohesion and success (r = 0.55-0.67). Further research using multi-level statistical techniques is recommended.

Improving Care Teams' Functioning: Recommendations from Team Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiscella, Kevin; Mauksch, Larry; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Salas, Eduardo

2017-07-01

Team science has been applied to many sectors including health care. Yet there has been relatively little attention paid to the application of team science to developing and sustaining primary care teams. Application of team science to primary care requires adaptation of core team elements to different types of primary care teams. Six elements of teams are particularly relevant to primary care: practice conditions that support or hinder effective teamwork; team cognition, including shared understanding of team goals, roles, and how members will work together as a team; leadership and coaching, including mutual feedback among members that promotes teamwork and moves the team closer to achieving its goals; cooperation supported by an emotionally safe climate that supports expression and resolution of conflict and builds team trust and cohesion; coordination, including adoption of processes that optimize efficient performance of interdependent activities among team members; and communication, particularly regular, recursive team cycles involving planning, action, and debriefing. These six core elements are adapted to three prototypical primary care teams: teamlets, health coaching, and complex care coordination. Implementation of effective team-based models in primary care requires adaptation of core team science elements coupled with relevant, practical training and organizational support, including adequate time to train, plan, and debrief. Training should be based on assessment of needs and tasks and the use of simulations and feedback, and it should extend to live action. Teamlets represent a potential launch point for team development and diffusion of teamwork principles within primary care practices. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MARSIS data and simulation exploited using array databases: PlanetServer/EarthServer for sounding radars

Science.gov (United States)

Cantini, Federico; Pio Rossi, Angelo; Orosei, Roberto; Baumann, Peter; Misev, Dimitar; Oosthoek, Jelmer; Beccati, Alan; Campalani, Piero; Unnithan, Vikram

2014-05-01

parallel computing has been developed and tested on a Tier 0 class HPC cluster computer located at CINECA, Bologna, Italy, to produce accurate simulations for the entire MARSIS dataset. Although the necessary computational resources have not yet been secured, through the HPC cluster at Jacobs University in Bremen it was possible to simulate a significant subset of orbits covering the area of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF), a seeimingly soft, easily eroded deposit that extends for nearly 1,000 km along the equator of Mars (e.g. Watters et al., 2007; Carter et al., 2009). Besides the MARSIS data, simulation of MARSIS surface clutter signal are included in the db to further improve its scientific value. Simulations will be available throught the project portal to end users/scientists and they will eventually be provided in the PSA/PDS archives. References: Baumann, P. On the management of multidimensional discrete data. VLDB J. 4 (3), 401-444, Special Issue on Spatial Database Systems, 1994. Carter, L. M., Campbell, B. A., Watters, T. R., Phillips, R. J., Putzig, N. E., Safaeinili, A., Plaut, J., Okubo, C., Egan, A. F., Biccari, D., Orosei, R. (2009). Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars. Icarus, 199(2), 295-302. Nouvel, J.-F., Herique, A., Kofman, W., Safaeinili, A. 2004. Radar signal simulation: Surface modeling with the Facet Method. Radio Science 39, 1013. Oosthoek, J.H.P, Flahaut J., Rossi, A. P., Baumann, P., Misev, D., Campalani, P., Unnithan, V. (2013) PlanetServer: Innovative Approaches for the Online Analysis of Hyperspectral Satellite Data from Mars, Advances in Space Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2013.07.002 Picardi, G., and 33 colleagues 2005. Radar Soundings of the Subsurface of Mars. Science 310, 1925-1928. Rossi, A. P., Baumann, P., Oosthoek, J., Beccati, A., Cantini, F., Misev, D. Orosei, R., Flahaut, J., Campalani, P., Unnithan, V. (2014),Geophys. Res. Abs., Vol. 16, #EGU2014-5149, this meeting. Watters, T. R

Relationships among Team Trust, Team Cohesion, Team Satisfaction and Project Team Effectiveness as Perceived by Project Managers in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Han-Ping Fung

2014-01-01

Today, more and more project teams are formed to achieve organizational objectives as organizations generally recognized the importance and benefits of project teams. There is a compelling reason to study what are the team outcome factors that can predict project team effectiveness as it is unclear whether these team outcome factors can yield the same result in project setting whereby there is resource and time constraint compare to normal work teams which are ongoing and operational in natur...

Making Teamwork Work: Team Knowledge for Team Effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Guchait, Priyanko; Lei, Puiwa; Tews, Michael J

2016-01-01

This study examined the impact of two types of team knowledge on team effectiveness. The study assessed the impact of taskwork knowledge and teamwork knowledge on team satisfaction and performance. A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service-management teams involving 178 students in a real-life restaurant setting. Teamwork knowledge was found to impact both team outcomes. Furthermore, team learning behavior was found to mediate the relationships between teamwork knowledge and team outcomes. Educators and managers should therefore ensure these types of knowledge are developed in teams along with learning behavior for maximum effectiveness.

New Mediterranean Marine biodiversity records (June 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. SIOKOU

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper concerns records of species that have extended their distribution in the Mediterranean Sea. The finding of the rare brackish angiosperm Althenia filiformis in the island of Cyprus is interesting since its insertion in the Red Data Book of the Flora of Cyprus is suggested. The following species enriched the flora or fauna lists of the relevant countries: the red alga Sebdenia dichotoma (Greece, the hydrachnid mite Pontarachna adriatica (Slovenia, and the thalassinid Gebiacantha talismani (Turkey. Several alien species were recorded in new Mediterranean localities. The record of the burrowing goby Trypauchen vagina in the North Levantine Sea (Turkish coast, suggests the start of spreading of this Lessepsian immigrant in the Mediterranean Sea. The findings of the following species indicate the extension of their occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea: the foraminifer Amphistegina lobifera (island of Zakynthos, Greece, the medusa Cassiopea andromeda (Syria, the copepod Centropages furcatus (Aegean Sea, the decapod shrimp Melicertus hathor (island of Kastellorizo, Greece, the crab Menoethius monoceros (Gulf of Tunis, the barnacles Balanus trigonus, Megabalanus tintinnabulum, Megabalanus coccopoma and the bivalves Chama asperella, Cucurbitula cymbium (Saronikos Gulf, Greece.

Nested radiations and the pulse of angiosperm diversification: increased diversification rates often follow whole genome duplications.

Science.gov (United States)

Tank, David C; Eastman, Jonathan M; Pennell, Matthew W; Soltis, Pamela S; Soltis, Douglas E; Hinchliff, Cody E; Brown, Joseph W; Sessa, Emily B; Harmon, Luke J

2015-07-01

Our growing understanding of the plant tree of life provides a novel opportunity to uncover the major drivers of angiosperm diversity. Using a time-calibrated phylogeny, we characterized hot and cold spots of lineage diversification across the angiosperm tree of life by modeling evolutionary diversification using stepwise AIC (MEDUSA). We also tested the whole-genome duplication (WGD) radiation lag-time model, which postulates that increases in diversification tend to lag behind established WGD events. Diversification rates have been incredibly heterogeneous throughout the evolutionary history of angiosperms and reveal a pattern of 'nested radiations' - increases in net diversification nested within other radiations. This pattern in turn generates a negative relationship between clade age and diversity across both families and orders. We suggest that stochastically changing diversification rates across the phylogeny explain these patterns. Finally, we demonstrate significant statistical support for the WGD radiation lag-time model. Across angiosperms, nested shifts in diversification led to an overall increasing rate of net diversification and declining relative extinction rates through time. These diversification shifts are only rarely perfectly associated with WGD events, but commonly follow them after a lag period. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Mostri e meraviglie. Echi dall’ antico nelle opere di Sylvia Plath

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Letizia Lanza

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Nell’universo visionario di Sylvia Plath numerose sono le immagini, le fantasie, gli spettri che infestano e, d’altro canto, alimentano la sua anima e la sua poesia. In non piccolo numero affiorano da un passato più o meno remoto, anche dal patrimonio della mitologia classica, e si innestano su mostri più recenti, vivi, dunque pericolosissimi. È questo il caso della Gorgone Medusa, presente nelle evidenze letterarie e artistiche dell’antichità greco–romana ed etrusca, che trova infausta personificazione nella figura (reale della madre–matrigna Aurelia – come dimostrano sia brani in poesia e in prosa sia, di più ancora, le vibranti pagine dei Diari. È dunque l’eterno, irrisolto conflitto con la figura materna a determinare fin dagli inizi, nella poeta americana, tutta una serie di pulsioni, inquietudini, desideri, rifiuti, incertezze, ansie, in un continuo, sofferto alternarsi di vittorie e sconfitte. Motivi e ossessioni che trovano ulteriori benché diversi echi nei brani sull’esperienza matrimoniale con Hughes, destinata a chiudersi tragicamente, per Sylvia, con la delusione dell’adulterio e il successivo suicidio all’età di 30 anni.

High-power free-electron laser amplifier using a scalloped electron beam and a two-stage wiggler

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. C. Nguyen

2006-05-01

Full Text Available High-power free-electron laser (FEL amplifiers present many practical design and construction problems. One such problem is possible damage to any optical beam control elements beyond the wiggler. The ability to increase the optical beam’s divergence angle after the wiggler, thereby reducing the intensity on the first optical element, is important to minimize such damage. One proposal to accomplish this optical beam spreading is to pinch the electron beam thereby focusing the radiation as well. In this paper, we analyze an approach that relies on the natural betatron motion to pinch the electron beam near the end of the wiggler. We also consider a step-tapered, two-stage wiggler to enhance the efficiency. The combination of a pinched electron beam and step-taper wiggler leads to additional optical guiding of the optical beam. This novel configuration is studied in simulation using the MEDUSA code. For a representative set of beam and wiggler parameters, we discuss (i the effect of the scalloped beam on the interaction in the FEL and on the focusing and propagation of the radiation, and (ii the efficiency enhancement in the two-stage wiggler.

Groups Meet . . . Teams Improve: Building Teams That Learn

Science.gov (United States)

Hillier, Janet; Dunn-Jensen, Linda M.

2013-01-01

Although most business students participate in team-based projects during undergraduate or graduate course work, the team experience does not always teach team skills or capture the team members' potential: Students complete the task at hand but the explicit process of becoming a team is often not learned. Drawing from organizational learning…

Teams make it work: how team work engagement mediates between social resources and performance in teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Torrente, Pedro; Salanova, Marisa; Llorens, Susana; Schaufeli, Wilmar B

2012-02-01

In this study we analyze the mediating role of team work engagement between team social resources (i.e., supportive team climate, coordination, teamwork), and team performance (i.e., in-role and extra-role performance) as predicted by the Job Demands-Resources Model. Aggregated data of 533 employees nested within 62 teams and 13 organizations were used, whereas team performance was assessed by supervisor ratings. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as expected, team work engagement plays a mediating role between social resources perceived at the team level and team performance as assessed by the supervisor.

Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours in Response Teams

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Boon, Anne; Raes, Elisabeth; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

2013-01-01

Purpose: Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's…

Personality and community prevention teams: Dimensions of team leader and member personality predicting team functioning.

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Feinberg, Mark E; Kim, Ji-Yeon; Greenberg, Mark T

2008-11-01

The predictors and correlates of positive functioning among community prevention teams have been examined in a number of research studies; however, the role of personality has been neglected. In this study, we examined whether team member and leader personality dimensions assessed at the time of team formation predicted local prevention team functioning 2.5-3.5 years later. Participants were 159 prevention team members in 14 communities participating in the PROSPER study of prevention program dissemination. Three aspects of personality, aggregated at the team level, were examined as predictors: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. A series of multivariate regression analyses were performed that accounted for the interdependency of five categories of team functioning. Results showed that average team member Openness was negatively, and Conscientiousness was positively linked to team functioning. The findings have implications for decisions about the level and nature of technical assistance support provided to community prevention teams.

Consequences of team charter quality: Teamwork mental model similarity and team viability in engineering design student teams

Science.gov (United States)

Conway Hughston, Veronica

Since 1996 ABET has mandated that undergraduate engineering degree granting institutions focus on learning outcomes such as professional skills (i.e. solving unstructured problems and working in teams). As a result, engineering curricula were restructured to include team based learning---including team charters. Team charters were diffused into engineering education as one of many instructional activities to meet the ABET accreditation mandates. However, the implementation and execution of team charters into engineering team based classes has been inconsistent and accepted without empirical evidence of the consequences. The purpose of the current study was to investigate team effectiveness, operationalized as team viability, as an outcome of team charter implementation in an undergraduate engineering team based design course. Two research questions were the focus of the study: a) What is the relationship between team charter quality and viability in engineering student teams, and b) What is the relationship among team charter quality, teamwork mental model similarity, and viability in engineering student teams? Thirty-eight intact teams, 23 treatment and 15 comparison, participated in the investigation. Treatment teams attended a team charter lecture, and completed a team charter homework assignment. Each team charter was assessed and assigned a quality score. Comparison teams did not join the lecture, and were not asked to create a team charter. All teams completed each data collection phase: a) similarity rating pretest; b) similarity posttest; and c) team viability survey. Findings indicate that team viability was higher in teams that attended the lecture and completed the charter assignment. Teams with higher quality team charter scores reported higher levels of team viability than teams with lower quality charter scores. Lastly, no evidence was found to support teamwork mental model similarity as a partial mediator of the team charter quality on team viability

When teams fail to self-regulate: Predictors and outcomes of team procrastination among debating teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E.A.J. van Hooft (Edwin); H. van Mierlo (Heleen)

2018-01-01

textabstractModels of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The

On teams, teamwork, and team performance: discoveries and developments.

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Salas, Eduardo; Cooke, Nancy J; Rosen, Michael A

2008-06-01

We highlight some of the key discoveries and developments in the area of team performance over the past 50 years, especially as reflected in the pages of Human Factors. Teams increasingly have become a way of life in many organizations, and research has kept up with the pace. We have characterized progress in the field in terms of eight discoveries and five challenges. Discoveries pertain to the importance of shared cognition, the measurement of shared cognition, advances in team training, the use of synthetic task environments for research, factors influencing team effectiveness, models of team effectiveness, a multidisciplinary perspective, and training and technological interventions designed to improve team effectiveness. Challenges that are faced in the coming decades include an increased emphasis on team cognition; reconfigurable, adaptive teams; multicultural influences; and the need for naturalistic study and better measurement. Work in human factors has contributed significantly to the science and practice of teams, teamwork, and team performance. Future work must keep pace with the increasing use of teams in organizations. The science of teams contributes to team effectiveness in the same way that the science of individual performance contributes to individual effectiveness.

Team player styles, team design variables and team work effectiveness in Egypt

OpenAIRE

El-Kot, Ghada Awed Hassan

2001-01-01

The literature has revealed few studies of management in Arab countries in general and particularly in Egypt. Many Egyptian organisations implemented the team concept a number of years ago, however, there do not appear to be any studies investicitaýt inc",D team work effectiveness in Egypt. The literature review and the findings of a pilot study emphasised the need for empirical research in team work in Egypt. Team effectiveness models are examined in order to identify the fact...

TEAM.

Science.gov (United States)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

This document presents materials covering the television campaign against drunk driving called "TEAM" (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management). It is noted that TEAM's purpose is to promote effective alcohol management in public facilities and other establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. TEAM sponsors are listed, including…

Team dynamics within quality improvement teams: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, Paula; Lising, Dean; Sinclair, Lynne; Baker, G Ross

2018-03-31

This scoping review examines what is known about the processes of quality improvement (QI) teams, particularly related to how teams impact outcomes. The aim is to provide research-informed guidance for QI leaders and to inform future research questions. Databases searched included: MedLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and SCOPUS. Eligible publications were written in English, published between 1999 and 2016. Articles were included in the review if they examined processes of the QI team, were related to healthcare QI and were primary research studies. Studies were excluded if they had insufficient detail regarding QI team processes. Descriptive detail extracted included: authors, geographical region and health sector. The Integrated (Health Care) Team Effectiveness Model was used to synthesize findings of studies along domains of team effectiveness: task design, team process, psychosocial traits and organizational context. Over two stages of searching, 4813 citations were reviewed. Of those, 48 full-text articles are included in the synthesis. This review demonstrates that QI teams are not immune from dysfunction. Further, a dysfunctional QI team is not likely to influence practice. However, a functional QI team alone is unlikely to create change. A positive QI team dynamic may be a necessary but insufficient condition for implementing QI strategies. Areas for further research include: interactions between QI teams and clinical microsystems, understanding the role of interprofessional representation on QI teams and exploring interactions between QI team task, composition and process.

Increasing Student-Learning Team Effectiveness with Team Charters

Science.gov (United States)

Hunsaker, Phillip; Pavett, Cynthia; Hunsaker, Johanna

2011-01-01

Because teams are a ubiquitous part of most organizations today, it is common for business educators to use team assignments to help students experientially learn about course concepts and team process. Unfortunately, students frequently experience a number of problems during team assignments. The authors describe the results of their research and…

Effects of team emotional authenticity on virtual team performance

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Catherine E Connelly

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Members of virtual teams lack many of the visual or auditory cues that are usually used as the basis for impressions about fellow team members. We focus on the effects of the impressions formed in this context, and use social exchange theory to understand how these impressions affect team performance. Our pilot study, using content analysis (n = 191 students, suggested that most individuals believe that they can assess others’ emotional authenticity in online settings by focusing on the content and tone of the messages. Our quantitative study examined the effects of these assessments. Structural equation modeling (SEM analysis (n = 81 student teams suggested that team-level trust and teamwork behaviors mediate the relationship between team emotional authenticity and team performance, and illuminate the importance of team emotional authenticity for team processes and outcomes.

Measuring Team Learning Behaviours through Observing Verbal Team Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Raes, Elisabeth; Boon, Anne; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

2015-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to explore, as an answer to the observed lack of knowledge about actual team learning behaviours, the characteristics of the actual observed basic team learning behaviours and facilitating team learning behaviours more in-depth of three project teams. Over time, team learning in an organisational context has been…

The Relationship between Management Team Size and Team Performance: The Mediating Effect of Team Psychological Safety

OpenAIRE

Midthaug, Mari Bratterud

2017-01-01

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between team size (number of team members) and team performance in management teams. There is a lack of empirical research exploring the potential links between these two elements within management teams. Further, little attention has been paid to potential mechanisms affecting this relationship. In this study, team psychological safety has been examined as a potential mediator in the size-performance relationship, hypothesizing that t...

Leading Teams of Leaders: What Helps Team Member Learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins, Monica; Young, Lissa; Weiner, Jennie; Wlodarczyk, Steven

2010-01-01

School districts are moving toward a new form of management in which superintendents need to form and nurture leadership teams. A study of 25 such teams in Connecticut suggests that a team's effectiveness is maximized when the team members are coached by other team members, not the superintendent, and when they are coached on task-related…

A Project Team: a Team or Just a Group?

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Kateřina

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction, brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work is to verify the validity of the assumptions that the analyzed team represents a very disparate group as for its composition from the perspective of personality types, types of motivation, team roles and interpersonal relations in terms of the willingness of cooperation and communication. A separate output shall focus on sociometric investigation of those team members where willingness to work together and communicate is based on the authors’ assumption of tight interdependence.

The Team Climate Inventory: application in hospital teams and methodological considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouwens, M; Hulscher, M; Akkermans, R; Hermens, R; Grol, R; Wollersheim, H

2008-08-01

To test the validity, reliability and discriminating capacity of an instrument to assess team climate, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), in a sample of Dutch hospital teams. The TCI is based on a four-factor theory of team climate for innovation. Validation study. Hospital teams in The Netherlands. 424 healthcare professionals; 355 nurses working in 22 nursing teams and 69 nurses and doctors working in 14 quality-improvement teams. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson's product moment correlations, internal homogeneity of the TCI scales based on Cronbach alpha, and the TCI capability to discriminate between two types of healthcare teams, namely nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The validity test revealed the TCI's five-factor structure and moderate data fit. The Cronbach alphas of the five scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The TCI discriminated between nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The mean scores of quality-improvement teams were all significantly higher than those of the nursing teams. Patient care teams are essential for high-quality patient care, and team climate is an important characteristic of successful teams. This study shows that the TCI is a valid, reliable and discriminating self-report measure of team climate in hospital teams. The TCI can be used as a quality-improvement tool or in quality-of-care research.

Team Psychological Safety and Team Learning: A Cultural Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Cauwelier, Peter; Ribière, Vincent M.; Bennet, Alex

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate if the concept of team psychological safety, a key driver of team learning and originally studied in the West, can be applied in teams from different national cultures. The model originally validated for teams in the West is applied to teams in Thailand to evaluate its validity, and the views team…

Management Teams

CERN Document Server

Belbin, R Meredith Meredith

2012-01-01

Meredith Belbin's work on teams has become part of everyday language in organizations all over the world. All kinds of teams and team behaviours are covered. At the end of the book is a self-perception inventory so that readers can match their own personalities to particular team roles. Management Teams is required reading for managers concerned with achieving results by getting the best from their key personnel.

Virtual Team Governance: Addressing the Governance Mechanisms and Virtual Team Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Yihong; Bai, Yu; Liu, Ziheng

As technology has improved and collaborative software has been developed, virtual teams with geographically dispersed members spread across diverse physical locations have become increasingly prominent. Virtual team is supported by advancing communication technologies, which makes virtual teams able to largely transcend time and space. Virtual teams have changed the corporate landscape, which are more complex and dynamic than traditional teams since the members of virtual teams are spread on diverse geographical locations and their roles in the virtual team are different. Therefore, how to realize good governance of virtual team and arrive at good virtual team performance is becoming critical and challenging. Good virtual team governance is essential for a high-performance virtual team. This paper explores the performance and the governance mechanism of virtual team. It establishes a model to explain the relationship between the performance and the governance mechanisms in virtual teams. This paper is focusing on managing virtual teams. It aims to find the strategies to help business organizations to improve the performance of their virtual teams and arrive at the objectives of good virtual team management.

Putting the "Team" in the Fine Arts Team: An Application of Business Management Team Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Ryan

2007-01-01

In this article, the author discusses current challenges to the idea of teamwork in fine arts teams, redefines the terms team and collaboration using a business management perspective, discusses the success of effective teams in the business world and the characteristics of those teams, and proposes the implementation of the business model of…

A Project Team: A Team or Just a Group?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katerina Hrazdilova Bockova

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part which discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work was to determine whether the existing team is not by its nature rather a working group that contributes to the generally perceived stagnation of that field.

Employee Knowledge Sharing in Work Teams: Effects of Team Diversity, Emergent States, and Team Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Jae Hang

2013-01-01

Knowledge sharing in work teams is one of the critical team processes. Without sharing of knowledge, work teams and organizations may not be able to fully utilize the diverse knowledge brought into work teams by their members. The purpose of this study was to investigate antecedents and underlying mechanisms influencing the extent to which team…

[Investigation of team processes that enhance team performance in business organization].

Science.gov (United States)

Nawata, Kengo; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki; Hatano, Toru; Aoshima, Mika

2015-02-01

Many researchers have suggested team processes that enhance team performance. However, past team process models were based on crew team, whose all team members perform an indivisible temporary task. These models may be inapplicable business teams, whose individual members perform middle- and long-term tasks assigned to individual members. This study modified the teamwork model of Dickinson and McIntyre (1997) and aimed to demonstrate a whole team process that enhances the performance of business teams. We surveyed five companies (member N = 1,400, team N = 161) and investigated team-level-processes. Results showed that there were two sides of team processes: "communication" and "collaboration to achieve a goal." Team processes in which communication enhanced collaboration improved team performance with regard to all aspects of the quantitative objective index (e.g., current income and number of sales), supervisor rating, and self-rating measurements. On the basis of these results, we discuss the entire process by which teamwork enhances team performance in business organizations.

Individual and team performance in team-handball: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Herbert; Finkenzeller, Thomas; Würth, Sabine; von Duvillard, Serge P

2014-12-01

Team handball is a complex sport game that is determined by the individual performance of each player as well as tactical components and interaction of the team. The aim of this review was to specify the elements of team-handball performance based on scientific studies and practical experience, and to convey perspectives for practical implication. Scientific studies were identified via data bases of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SPORT Discus, Google Scholar, and Hercules. A total of 56 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition, we supplemented the review with 13 additional articles, proceedings and book sections. It was found that the specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, team-handball techniques, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors specify the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition. Although we found comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex or age, there is a lack of studies, particularly for team-handball specific training, as well as cognition and social factors. Key PointsThe specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, specific skills, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors define the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition.To increase individual and team performance in team-handball specific training based on these determinants have been suggested.Although there are comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex, or age are published, there is a lack of training studies, particularly for team-handball specific techniques and endurance, as well as cognition and social factors.

The effects on team emotions and team effectiveness of coaching in interprofessional health and social care teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimas, Isabel Dórdio; Renato Lourenço, Paulo; Rebelo, Teresa

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching behaviours provided by peers and by the leader on the emotions experienced by interprofessional health and social care teams and on members' satisfaction with the team, as well as on team performance. Data were obtained from a survey among 344 employees working in 52 interprofessional health and social care teams from nine Portuguese organizations. The results show that leader coaching and peer coaching have a positive effect on the level of team members' satisfaction with the team and on positive emotions, and a negative effect on negative emotions. Furthermore, coaching provided by peers presents a positive effect on team performance as assessed by the leader of the team. Our findings put forward the importance of engaging in coaching behaviours to promote quality of the team experience, as well as the achievement of team performance objectives. Further studies should explore how coaching behaviours impact the patient, whose well-being is the ultimate objective of a team in the health and social care system, namely in terms of the patient's perception of quality care or patient outcomes.

Teaming up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warhuus, Jan; Günzel-Jensen, Franziska; Robinson, Sarah

2016-01-01

types of team formation: random teacher pre-assigned, student selection, and teacher directed diversity. In each of these modules, ethnographic methods (interviews and observations) were employed. Additionally, we had access to students learning logs, formative and summative assessments, and final exams...... functioning entrepreneurial student teams as most teams lack personal chemistry which makes them anchor their work too much in a pre-defined project. In contrast, we find that students that can form their own teams aim for less diverse teams than what is achieved by random assignment. However, the homophily......Questions we care about (Objectives): When students have to work on challenging tasks, as it is often the case in entrepreneurship classrooms that leverage experiential learning, team success becomes central to the students learning. Yet, the formation of teams is often left up to the students...

Cheap Talk: “Team Factors and Management Practices Influence on Team Trust”

OpenAIRE

Doris Padmini Selvaratnam; Aini Aman; Muhamad Maziz Mahyuddin Bin Kamaludin; Gary Lynn; Richard Reilly

2016-01-01

Team trust has been cited as a contributing factor towards team performance. This paper looks at the antecedents of team trust and to what extent they influence team trust. The antecedents of team trust are team factors like team autonomy, team stability and team member experience; and the management practices are top management involvement and management support. The results demonstrated that team factors and management practices influence team trust individually. The key find...

Cohesion in Online Student Teams versus Traditional Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, David E.

2016-01-01

Researchers have found that the electronic methods in use for online team communication today increase communication quality in project-based work situations. Because communication quality is known to influence group cohesion, the present research examined whether online student project teams are more cohesive than traditional teams. We tested…

Team Action Imagery and Team Cognition: Imagery of Game Situations and Required Team Actions Promotes a Functional Structure in Players' Representations of Team-Level Tactics.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Cornelia; Linstromberg, Gian-Luca; Hennig, Linda; Heinen, Thomas; Schack, Thomas

2018-02-01

A team's cognitions of interpersonally coordinated actions are a crucial component for successful team performance. Here, we present an approach to practice team action by way of imagery and examine its impact on team cognitions in long-term memory. We investigated the impact of a 4-week team action imagery intervention on futsal players' mental representations of team-level tactics. Skilled futsal players were assigned to either an imagery training group or a no imagery training control group. Participants in the imagery training group practiced four team-level tactics by imagining team actions in specific game situations for three times a week. Results revealed that the imagery training group's representations were more similar to that of an expert representation after the intervention compared with the control group. This study indicates that team action imagery training can have a significant impact on players' tactical skill representations and thus order formation in long-term memory.

Cross-standard user description in mobile, medical oriented virtual collaborative environments

Science.gov (United States)

Ganji, Rama Rao; Mitrea, Mihai; Joveski, Bojan; Chammem, Afef

2015-03-01

By combining four different open standards belonging to the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG11 (a.k.a. MPEG) and W3C, this paper advances an architecture for mobile, medical oriented virtual collaborative environments. The various users are represented according to MPEG-UD (MPEG User Description) while the security issues are dealt with by deploying the WebID principles. On the server side, irrespective of their elementary types (text, image, video, 3D, …), the medical data are aggregated into hierarchical, interactive multimedia scenes which are alternatively represented into MPEG-4 BiFS or HTML5 standards. This way, each type of content can be optimally encoded according to its particular constraints (semantic, medical practice, network conditions, etc.). The mobile device should ensure only the displaying of the content (inside an MPEG player or an HTML5 browser) and the capturing of the user interaction. The overall architecture is implemented and tested under the framework of the MEDUSA European project, in partnership with medical institutions. The testbed considers a server emulated by a PC and heterogeneous user devices (tablets, smartphones, laptops) running under iOS, Android and Windows operating systems. The connection between the users and the server is alternatively ensured by WiFi and 3G/4G networks.

Hunting in bioluminescent light: Vision in the nocturnal box jellyfish Copula sivickisi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders eGarm

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Cubomedusae all have a similar set of six eyes on each of their four rhopalia. Still, there is a great variation in activity patterns with some species being strictly day active while others are strictly night active. Here we have examined the visual ecology of the medusa of the night active Copula sivickisi from Okinawa using optics, morphology, electrophysiology, and behavioural experiments. We found the lenses of both the upper and the lower lens eyes to be image forming but under-focused, resulting in low spatial resolution in the order of 10 – 15 degrees. The photoreceptor physiology is similar in the two lens eyes and they have a single opsin peaking around 460 nm and low temporal resolution with a flicker fusion frequency (fff of 2.5 Hz indicating adaptions to vision in low light intensities. Further, the outer segments have fluid filled swellings, which may concentrate the light in the photoreceptor membrane by total internal reflections, and thus enhance the signal to noise ratio in the eyes. Finally our behavioural experiments confirmed that the animals use vision when hunting. When they are active at night they seek out high prey-concentration by visual attraction to areas with abundant bioluminescent flashes triggered by their prey.

Molecular phylogeny of Atractus (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with emphasis on Ecuadorian species and the description of three new taxa

Science.gov (United States)

Arteaga, Alejandro; Mebert, Konrad; Valencia, Jorge H.; Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F.; Peñafiel, Nicolás; Reyes-Puig, Carolina; Vieira-Fernandes, José L.; Guayasamin, Juan M.

2017-01-01

Abstract We present a molecular phylogeny of snake genus Atractus, with an improved taxon sampling that includes 30 of the 140 species currently recognized. The phylogenetic tree supports the existence of at least three new species in the Pacific lowlands and adjacent Andean slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, which we describe here. A unique combination of molecular, meristic and color pattern characters support the validity of the new species. With the newly acquired data, we propose and define the Atractus iridescens species group, as well as redefine the Atractus roulei species group. The species Atractus iridescens is reported for the first time in Ecuador, whereas Atractus bocourti and Atractus medusa are removed from the herpetofauna of this country. We provide the first photographic vouchers of live specimens for Atractus multicinctus, Atractus paucidens and Atractus touzeti, along with photographs of 19 other Ecuadorian Atractus species. The current status of Atractus occidentalis and Atractus paucidens is maintained based on the discovery of new material referable to these species. With these changes, the species number reported in Ecuador increases to 27, a number that is likely to increase as material not examined in this work becomes available and included in systematic studies. PMID:28769604

[The worlds of gods in medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Karenberg, A

2017-09-01

A number of designations for diseases, medicines and human body structures derive from classical mythology. To date, these eponyms have not been systematically investigated. This paper provides an overview of this fringe component of medical vocabulary, looks at the history of several terms and formulates hypotheses as to why such creative etymologies have come into being. In addition to relevant texts on ancient mythology, a variety of medical textbooks from the early modern period were analyzed. Between the 16th and the 20th centuries some 30 figures from Greek and Roman literature made their way into the terminology of medical sciences. A few of these expressions can be encountered in clinical use (e. g., Caput Medusae, Proteus, Oedipus complex) and remain official anatomical (atlas, Achilles tendon) or pharmaceutical nomenclature (atropine, morphine). The choice of these designations has often been similarity of form or analogies in function. Classical eponyms have gained acceptance on account of their succinctness, conciseness and scholarly veneer. Finally, this vocabulary shares its origin with other relevant terminology. In clinical classes, mythological designations can serve as a point of departure for digressions into literary, art and medical history in order to provide an understanding of cultural traditions and enhance education.

Environmental control of phase transition and polyp survival of a massive-outbreaker jellyfish.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Prieto

Full Text Available A number of causes have been proposed to account for the occurrence of gelatinous zooplankton (both jellyfish and ctenophore blooms. Jellyfish species have a complex life history involving a benthic asexual phase (polyp and a pelagic sexual phase (medusa. Strong environmental control of jellyfish life cycles is suspected, but not fully understood. This study presents a comprehensive analysis on the physicochemical conditions that control the survival and phase transition of Cotylorhiza tuberculata; a scyphozoan that generates large outbreaks in the Mediterranean Sea. Laboratory experiments indicated that the influence of temperature on strobilation and polyp survival was the critical factor controlling the capacity of this species to proliferate. Early life stages were less sensitive to other factors such as salinity variations or the competitive advantage provided by zooxanthellae in a context of coastal eutrophication. Coherently with laboratory results, the presence/absence of outbreaks of this jellyfish in a particular year seems to be driven by temperature. This is the first time the environmental forcing of the mechanism driving the life cycle of a jellyfish has been disentangled via laboratory experimentation. Projecting this understanding to a field population under climatological variability results in a pattern coherent with in situ records.

Extract from the Zooxanthellate Jellyfish Cotylorhiza tuberculata Modulates Gap Junction Intercellular Communication in Human Cell Cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Piraino

2013-05-01

Full Text Available On a global scale, jellyfish populations in coastal marine ecosystems exhibit increasing trends of abundance. High-density outbreaks may directly or indirectly affect human economical and recreational activities, as well as public health. As the interest in biology of marine jellyfish grows, a number of jellyfish metabolites with healthy potential, such as anticancer or antioxidant activities, is increasingly reported. In this study, the Mediterranean “fried egg jellyfish” Cotylorhiza tuberculata (Macri, 1778 has been targeted in the search forputative valuable bioactive compounds. A medusa extract was obtained, fractionated, characterized by HPLC, GC-MS and SDS-PAGE and assayed for its biological activity on breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKa. The composition of the jellyfish extract included photosynthetic pigments, valuable ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, and polypeptides derived either from jellyfish tissues and their algal symbionts. Extract fractions showed antioxidant activity and the ability to affect cell viability and intercellular communication mediated by gap junctions (GJIC differentially in MCF-7and HEKa cells. A significantly higher cytotoxicity and GJIC enhancement in MCF-7 compared to HEKa cells was recorded. A putative action mechanism for the anticancer bioactivity through the modulation of GJIC has been hypothesized and its nutraceutical and pharmaceutical potential was discussed.

Measurements of Prompt Radiation-Induced Conductivity of Pyralux®

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartman, E. Frederick [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Radiation Effects Experimentation Dept.; Zarick, Thomas Andrew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Radiation Effects Experimentation Dept.; McLain, Michael Lee [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Radiation Effects Experimentation Dept.; Sheridan, Timothy J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Radiation Effects Experimentation Dept.; Preston, Eric F. [ITT Exelis, Colorado Springs, CO (United States); Stringer, Thomas Arthur [ITT Exelis, Colorado Springs, CO (United States)

2014-01-01

In this report, measurements of the prompt radiation-induced conductivity (RIC) in 3 mil samples of Pyralux® are presented as a function of dose rate, pulse width, and applied bias. The experiments were conducted with the Medusa linear accelerator (LINAC) located at the Little Mountain Test Facility (LMTF) near Ogden, UT. The nominal electron energy for the LINAC is 20 MeV. Prompt conduction current data were obtained for dose rates ranging from ~2 x 10⁹ rad(Si)/s to ~1.1 x 10¹¹ rad(Si)/s and for nominal pulse widths of 50 ns and 500 ns. At a given dose rate, the applied bias across the samples was stepped between -1500 V and 1500 V. Calculated values of the prompt RIC varied between 1.39x10^-8 Ω^-1 · m^-1 and 2.67x10^-7 Ω^-1 · m^-1 and the prompt RIC coefficient varied between 1.25x10^-18 Ω^-1 · m^-1/(rad/s) and 1.93x10^-17 Ω^-1 · m^-1/(rad/s).

A novel modelling framework to prioritize estimation of non-point source pollution parameters for quantifying pollutant origin and discharge in urban catchments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraga, I; Charters, F J; O'Sullivan, A D; Cochrane, T A

2016-02-01

Stormwater runoff in urban catchments contains heavy metals (zinc, copper, lead) and suspended solids (TSS) which can substantially degrade urban waterways. To identify these pollutant sources and quantify their loads the MEDUSA (Modelled Estimates of Discharges for Urban Stormwater Assessments) modelling framework was developed. The model quantifies pollutant build-up and wash-off from individual impervious roof, road and car park surfaces for individual rain events, incorporating differences in pollutant dynamics between surface types and rainfall characteristics. This requires delineating all impervious surfaces and their material types, the drainage network, rainfall characteristics and coefficients for the pollutant dynamics equations. An example application of the model to a small urban catchment demonstrates how the model can be used to identify the magnitude of pollutant loads, their spatial origin and the response of the catchment to changes in specific rainfall characteristics. A sensitivity analysis then identifies the key parameters influencing each pollutant load within the stormwater given the catchment characteristics, which allows development of a targeted calibration process that will enhance the certainty of the model outputs, while minimizing the data collection required for effective calibration. A detailed explanation of the modelling framework and pre-calibration sensitivity analysis is presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OF TEAMS

OpenAIRE

Goparaju Purna SUDHAKAR

2013-01-01

Popularity of teams is growing in 21st Century. Organizations are getting their work done through different types of teams. Teams have proved that the collective performance is more than the sum of the individual performances. Thus, the teams have got different dimensions such as quantitative dimensions and qualitative dimensions. The Quantitative dimensions of teams such as team performance, team productivity, team innovation, team effectiveness, team efficiency, team decision making and tea...

Beautiful Teams Inspiring and Cautionary Tales from Veteran Team Leaders

CERN Document Server

Stellman, Andrew

2009-01-01

What's it like to work on a great software development team facing an impossible problem? How do you build an effective team? Beautiful Teams takes you behind the scenes with some of the most interesting teams in software engineering history. You'll learn from veteran team leaders' successes and failures, told through a series of engaging personal stories -- and interviews -- by leading programmers, architects, project managers, and thought leaders.

Team Building e a enfermagem Team Building e enfermería Team Building and nursing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipa Homem

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Num ambiente de insatisfação crescente e de imprevisibilidade como é o da enfermagem, cada vez mais é fundamental motivar as equipas, conferindo-lhes competências pessoais, relacionais, comunicacionais e, acima de tudo, fomentar o trabalho em equipa e consequentemente a produtividade. O Team Building, surge assim como uma estratégia eficaz para obter resultados positivos. Por ser uma estratégia ainda pouco utilizada em Portugal, decidimos realizar este artigo teórico sobre o assunto e refletir sobre a sua pertinência e potencialidades nas equipas de enfermagem, tendo definido como objetivos: aprofundar conhecimentos sobre Team Building, contextualizar o Team Building no âmbito das teorias organizacionais, descrever diferentes modelos de Team Building e refletir sobre a utilidade do Team Building na qualidade da prestação de cuidados de enfermagem. Deste modo, foram pesquisados artigos na plataforma eletrónica de bases de dados EBSCO, assim como consultada literatura relacionada com a psicologia organizacional. Com a presente pesquisa conclui-se que esta estratégia de dinamização de equipas é útil no âmbito da enfermagem, podendo melhorar a comunicação e relações interpessoais, identificar pontos fortes e fracos das equipas, proporcionar maior satisfação no trabalho e, deste modo, aumentar a qualidade dos cuidados de saúde prestados.En un ambiente de creciente descontento y de imprevisibilidad como el de la enfermería, es cada vez más primordial motivar a los equipos, dándoles competencias personales, relacionales, y, sobre todo, fomentar el trabajo en equipo y consecuentemente la productividad. El Team Building surge así como una estrategia eficaz para lograr resultados positivos. Al ser una estrategia aún poco utilizada en Portugal, se decidió realizar este artículo teórico sobre el asunto y reflexionar sobre la pertinencia y el potencial de los equipos de enfermería, para lo que se definieron los objetivos

The Relationship Between Team Psychological Safety and Team Effectiveness in Management Teams: The Mediating Effect of Dialogue.

OpenAIRE

Bilstad, Julie Brat

2016-01-01

This study is a response to the research and request presented by Bang and Midelfart (2010), to further investigate the effect dialogue can have on management team s effectiveness. The purpose of the study was to investigate and explain the effect of team psychological safety on task performance and team member satisfaction, with dialogue as a mediator in this relationship. 215 Norwegian and Danish management teams in the private and public sector were studied. As expected, team psychological...

Culture and teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkman, Bradley L; Shapiro, Debra L; Lu, Shuye; McGurrin, Daniel P

2016-04-01

We first review research on culture effects in teams, illustrating that mean levels of team cultural values have main (i.e. direct) effects, indirect effects (i.e. mediated by intervening variables), and moderating influences on team processes and outcomes. Variance in team cultural values or on country of origin (i.e. nationality diversity) also has main effects on team functioning, and we highlight contextual variables that strengthen or weaken these main effects. We next review research examining the effect of variance in team cultural values on global virtual teams, specifically. Finally, we review research on how cultural values shape employees' receptivity to empowering leadership behavior in teams. We conclude by discussing critical areas for future research. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The innovative rehabilitation team: an experiment in team building.

Science.gov (United States)

Halstead, L S; Rintala, D H; Kanellos, M; Griffin, B; Higgins, L; Rheinecker, S; Whiteside, W; Healy, J E

1986-06-01

This article describes an effort by one rehabilitation team to create innovative approaches to team care in a medical rehabilitation hospital. The major arena for implementing change was the weekly patient rounds. We worked to increase patient involvement, developed a rounds coordinator role, used a structured format, and tried to integrate research findings into team decision making. Other innovations included use of a preadmission questionnaire, a discharge check list, and a rounds evaluation questionnaire. The impact of these changes was evaluated using the Group Environment Scale and by analyzing participation in rounds based on verbatim transcripts obtained prior to and 20 months after formation of the Innovative Rehabilitation Team (IRT). The results showed decreased participation by medical personnel during rounds, and increased participation by patients. The rounds coordinator role increased participation rates of staff from all disciplines and the group environment improved within the IRT. These data are compared with similar evaluations made of two other groups, which served as control teams. The problems inherent in making effective, lasting changes in interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams are reviewed, and a plea is made for other teams to explore additional ways to use the collective creativity and resources latent in the team membership.

Harnessing members' positive mood for team-directed learning behaviour and team innovation : The moderating role of perceived team feedback

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Walter, Frank; van der Vegt, Gerben S.

2013-01-01

This study examines the role of individual team members' positive mood and perceived team feedback for their team-directed learning behaviour. Results obtained in a sample of 186 members from 27 work teams showed that positive mood was positively associated with team-directed learning behaviour if

FMEA team performance in health care: A qualitative analysis of team member perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wetterneck, Tosha B; Hundt, Ann Schoofs; Carayon, Pascale

2009-06-01

: Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a commonly used prospective risk assessment approach in health care. Failure mode and effects analyses are time consuming and resource intensive, and team performance is crucial for FMEA success. We evaluate FMEA team members' perceptions of FMEA team performance to provide recommendations to improve the FMEA process in health care organizations. : Structured interviews and survey questionnaires were administered to team members of 2 FMEA teams at a Midwest Hospital to evaluate team member perceptions of FMEA team performance and factors influencing team performance. Interview transcripts underwent content analysis, and descriptive statistics were performed on questionnaire results to identify and quantify FMEA team performance. Theme-based nodes were categorized using the input-process-outcome model for team performance. : Twenty-eight interviews and questionnaires were completed by 24 team members. Four persons participated on both teams. There were significant differences between the 2 teams regarding perceptions of team functioning and overall team effectiveness that are explained by difference in team inputs and process (e.g., leadership/facilitation, team objectives, attendance of process owners). : Evaluation of team members' perceptions of team functioning produced useful insights that can be used to model future team functioning. Guidelines for FMEA team success are provided.

Team Leadership: Leadership Role Achievement in Supervision Teams in Turkey

OpenAIRE

Ali Sabanci; Izzet Ozdemir

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of team leaders and team members of supervision teams about the extent that team leaders achieve their team leadership roles in Turkey. This research was conducted as a survey. The population of the study consisted of approximately 2650 supervisors (inspectors) working in 81 provinces distributed to seven geographical regions in Turkey. The sample consisted of 563 supervisors which were selected out by random sampling. The data were gathered b...

Leader-team complementarity: Exploring the interactive effects of leader personality traits and team power distance values on team processes and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jia; Judge, Timothy A

2017-06-01

Integrating the leader trait perspective with dominance complementarity theory, we propose team power distance as an important boundary condition for the indirect impact of leader extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness on team performance through a team's potency beliefs and through relational identification with the leader. Using time-lagged, 3-source data from 71 teams, we found that leader extraversion had a positive indirect impact on team in-role and extrarole performance through relational identification, but only for high power distance teams; leader conscientiousness had a positive influence on team in-role performance through team potency, but only for high power distance teams; and leader agreeableness had a positive effect on team in-role and extrarole performance via relational identification and on team in-role performance via team potency, but only for low power distance teams. The findings address prior inconsistencies regarding the relationships between leader traits and team effectiveness, identify an important boundary condition and key team processes that bridge the links, and provide a deeper understanding of the role of leader traits in teams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between servant leadership, affective team commitment and team effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bright Mahembe

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Value-based leadership practices play a critical role in teamwork in high-performance organisations.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to empirically validate a theoretical model explicating the structural relationships between servant leadership, affective team commitment and team effectiveness.Motivation for the study: The increased eliance on teams for production calls for an analysis of the role of follower-focused leadership practices in enhancing eam effectiveness.Research design, approach and method: A non-probabilityand multicultural sample consisting of 202 primary and secondary school teachers was drawn from 32 chools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.Main findings: High levels of reliability were found and uni-dimensionality of the subscales was demonstrated through exploratory factor analyses. Good fit with the data was found for the measurement models through confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation modelling showed a reasonable fit for the structural model. Positive relationships were found amongst servant leadership, team effectiveness and affective team commitment. Standard multiple regression analysis showed that affective team commitment moderated the relationship between servant leadership and team effectiveness.Practical/managerial implications: The findings emphasise the central role played by servant leadership and affective team commitment in team performance. Servant leadership fosters team effectiveness if employees feel committed to their work team.Contribution/value-add: The servant leadership style alone may not be a sufficient condition for team effectiveness; other variables, such as affective team commitment, also play a role. The study suggested specific variables that may also combine with leadership to positively influence team effectiveness.

The team halo effect: why teams are not blamed for their failures.

Science.gov (United States)

Naquin, Charles E; Tynan, Renee O

2003-04-01

In this study, the existence of the team halo effect, the phenomenon that teams tend not to be blamed for their failures, is documented. With 2 studies using both real teams and controlled scenarios, the authors found evidence that the nature of the causal attribution processes used to diagnose failure scenarios leads to individuals being more likely to be identified as the cause of team failure than the team as a collective. Team schema development, as indexed by team experience, influences this effect, with individuals who have more team experience being less likely to show the team halo effect

Transforming Virtual Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Pernille

2005-01-01

Investigating virtual team collaboration in industry using grounded theory this paper presents the in-dept analysis of empirical work conducted in a global organization of 100.000 employees where a global virtual team with participants from Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, and North America were...... studied. The research question investigated is how collaboration is negotiated within virtual teams? This paper presents findings concerning how collaboration is negotiated within a virtual team and elaborate the difficulties due to invisible articulation work and managing multiple communities...... in transforming the virtual team into a community. It is argued that translucence in communication structures within the virtual team and between team and management is essential for engaging in a positive transformation process of trustworthiness supporting the team becoming a community, managing the immanent...

Team Orientations, Interpersonal Relations, and Team Success

Science.gov (United States)

Nixon, Howard L.

1976-01-01

Contradictions in post research on the concepts of "cohesiveness" and team success seem to arise from the ways in which cohesiveness is measured and the nature of the teams investigated in each study. (MB)

Bringing the Science of Team Training to School-Based Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Benishek, Lauren E.; Gregory, Megan E.; Hodges, Karin; Newell, Markeda; Hughes, Ashley M.; Marlow, Shannon; Lacerenza, Christina; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Salas, Eduardo

2016-01-01

Teams are ubiquitous in schools in the 21st Century; yet training for effective teaming within these settings has lagged behind. The authors of this article developed 5 modules, grounded in the science of team training and adapted from an evidence-based curriculum used in medical settings called TeamSTEPPS®, to prepare instructional and…

The relationship between servant leadership, affective team commitment and team effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bright Mahembe

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Value-based leadership practices play a critical role in teamwork in high-performance organisations. Research purpose: The aim of the study was to empirically validate a theoretical model explicating the structural relationships between servant leadership, affective team commitment and team effectiveness. Motivation for the study: The increased eliance on teams for production calls for an analysis of the role of follower-focused leadership practices in enhancing eam effectiveness. Research design, approach and method: A non-probabilityand multicultural sample consisting of 202 primary and secondary school teachers was drawn from 32 chools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Main findings: High levels of reliability were found and uni-dimensionality of the subscales was demonstrated through exploratory factor analyses. Good fit with the data was found for the measurement models through confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation modelling showed a reasonable fit for the structural model. Positive relationships were found amongst servant leadership, team effectiveness and affective team commitment. Standard multiple regression analysis showed that affective team commitment moderated the relationship between servant leadership and team effectiveness. Practical/managerial implications: The findings emphasise the central role played by servant leadership and affective team commitment in team performance. Servant leadership fosters team effectiveness if employees feel committed to their work team. Contribution/value-add: The servant leadership style alone may not be a sufficient condition for team effectiveness; other variables, such as affective team commitment, also play a role. The study suggested specific variables that may also combine with leadership to positively influence team effectiveness.

Practice effects on intra-team synergies in football teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Pedro; Chung, Dante; Carvalho, Thiago; Cardoso, Tiago; Davids, Keith; Araújo, Duarte; Garganta, Júlio

2016-04-01

Developing synchronised player movements for fluent competitive match play is a common goal for coaches of team games. An ecological dynamics approach advocates that intra-team synchronization is governed by locally created information, which specifies shared affordances responsible for synergy formation. To verify this claim we evaluated coordination tendencies in two newly-formed teams of recreational players during association football practice games, weekly, for fifteen weeks (thirteen matches). We investigated practice effects on two central features of synergies in sports teams - dimensional compression and reciprocal compensation here captured through near in-phase modes of coordination and time delays between coupled players during forward and backwards movements on field while attacking and defending. Results verified that synergies were formed and dissolved rapidly as a result of the dynamic creation of informational properties, perceived as shared affordances among performers. Practising once a week led to small improvements in the readjustment delays between co-positioning team members, enabling faster regulation of coordinated team actions. Mean values of the number of player and team synergies displayed only limited improvements, possibly due to the timescales of practice. No relationship between improvements in dimensional compression and reciprocal compensation were found for number of shots, amount of ball possession and number of ball recoveries made. Findings open up new perspectives for monitoring team coordination processes in sport. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

It's a team game: exploring factors that influence team experience

OpenAIRE

Martin, Eleanor

2015-01-01

Many multiplayer games feature teams, and whether they are pitted against each other or against the game itself it seems likely that the way these teams bond will affect the players' experience. What are the factors that influence the experience of being a team member in a game? To what extent can the game designer manipulate the cohesion of the teams by changing the game design? How does the satisfaction of the player with their team relate to their feeling of cohesion? How does cohesion dif...

Collective autonomy and absenteeism within work teams: a team motivation approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Rousseau, Vincent; Aubé, Caroline

2013-01-01

This study investigates the role of collective autonomy in regard to team absenteeism by considering team potency as a motivational mediator and task routineness as a moderator. The sample consists of 90 work teams (327 members and 90 immediate superiors) drawn from a public safety organization. Results of structural equation modeling indicate that the relationships between collective autonomy and two indicators of team absenteeism (i.e., absence frequency and time lost) are mediated by team potency. Specifically, collective autonomy is positively related to team potency which in turn is negatively related to team absenteeism. Furthermore, results of hierarchical regression analyses show that task routineness moderates the relationships between collective autonomy and the two indicators of team absenteeism such that these relationships are stronger when the level of task routineness is low. On the whole, this study points out that collective autonomy may exercise a motivational effect on attendance at work within teams, but this effect is contingent on task routineness.

Initiating and utilizing shared leadership in teams: The role of leader humility, team proactive personality, and team performance capability.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Chia-Yen Chad; Owens, Bradley P; Tesluk, Paul E

2016-12-01

The present study was designed to produce novel theoretical insight regarding how leader humility and team member characteristics foster the conditions that promote shared leadership and when shared leadership relates to team effectiveness. Drawing on social information processing theory and adaptive leadership theory, we propose that leader humility facilitates shared leadership by promoting leadership-claiming and leadership-granting interactions among team members. We also apply dominance complementary theory to propose that team proactive personality strengthens the impact of leader humility on shared leadership. Finally, we predict that shared leadership will be most strongly related to team performance when team members have high levels of task-related competence. Using a sample composed of 62 Taiwanese professional work teams, we find support for our proposed hypothesized model. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for team leadership, humility, team composition, and shared leadership are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Hoe teams deadlines halen : een aanzet tot team-timemanagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gevers, J.M.P.; Rutte, C.G.

2014-01-01

Dit artikel geeft een overzicht van de stand van zaken in de wetenschappelijk literatuur ten aanzien van de vraag hoe teams hun deadlines halen. Het beschikbare materiaal wijst erop dat teams beter in staat zijn om deadlines te halen als teamleden, naast een gemeenschappelijke visie op het team en

Teaming up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warhuus, Jan; Günzel-Jensen, Franziska; Robinson, Sarah

or pre-arranged at random. Therefore we investigate the importance of team formation in the entrepreneurial classroom and ask: (i) What are the underlying factors that influence outcomes of teamwork in student groups? (ii) How does team formation influence student perception of learning?, and (iii) Do...... different team formation strategies produce different teamwork and learning outcomes? Approach: We employed a multiple case study design comprising of 38 student teams to uncover potential links between team formation and student perception of learning. This research draws on data from three different....... A rigorous coding and inductive analysis process was undertaken. Pattern and relationship coding were used to reveal underlying factors, which helped to unveil important similarities and differences between student in different teams’ project progress and perception of learning. Results: When students...

The effects of team reflexivity on psychological well-being in manufacturing teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jingqiu; Bamberger, Peter A; Song, Yifan; Vashdi, Dana R

2018-04-01

While the impact of team reflexivity (a.k.a. after-event-reviews, team debriefs) on team performance has been widely examined, we know little about its implications on other team outcomes such as member well-being. Drawing from prior team reflexivity research, we propose that reflexivity-related team processes reduce demands, and enhance control and support. Given the centrality of these factors to work-based strain, we posit that team reflexivity, by affecting these factors, may have beneficial implications on 3 core dimensions of employee burnout, namely exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (reduced personal accomplishment). Using a sample of 469 unskilled manufacturing workers employed in 73 production teams in a Southern Chinese factory, we implemented a time lagged, quasi-field experiment, with half of the teams trained in and executing an end-of-shift team debriefing, and the other half assigned to a control condition and undergoing periodic postshift team-building exercises. Our findings largely supported our hypotheses, demonstrating that relative to team members assigned to the control condition, those assigned to the reflexivity condition experienced a significant improvement in all 3 burnout dimensions over time. These effects were mediated by control and support (but not demands) and amplified as a function of team longevity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Leading Teams of Higher Education Administrators: Integrating Goal Setting, Team Role, and Team Life Cycle Theories

Science.gov (United States)

Posthuma, Richard; Al-Riyami, Said

2012-01-01

Leaders of higher education institutions can create top management teams of academic administrators to guide and improve their organizations. This study illustrates how the leadership of top management teams can be accomplished successfully through a combination of goal setting (Doran, 1981; Locke & Latham, 1990), understanding of team roles…

Extra-team connections for knowledge transfer between staff teams

Science.gov (United States)

Ramanadhan, Shoba; Wiecha, Jean L.; Emmons, Karen M.; Gortmaker, Steven L.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

2009-01-01

As organizations implement novel health promotion programs across multiple sites, they face great challenges related to knowledge management. Staff social networks may be a useful medium for transferring program-related knowledge in multi-site implementation efforts. To study this potential, we focused on the role of extra-team connections (ties between staff members based in different site teams) as potential channels for knowledge sharing. Data come from a cross-sectional study of afterschool childcare staff implementing a health promotion program at 20 urban sites of the Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Boston. We conducted a sociometric social network analysis and attempted a census of 91 program staff members. We surveyed 80 individuals, and included 73 coordinators and general staff, who lead and support implementation, respectively, in this study. A multiple linear regression model demonstrated a positive relationship between extra-team connections (β = 3.41, P knowledge transfer. We also found that intra-team connections (within-team ties between staff members) were also positively related to skill receipt. Connections between teams appear to support knowledge transfer in this network, but likely require greater active facilitation, perhaps via organizational changes. Further research on extra-team connections and knowledge transfer in low-resource, high turnover environments is needed. PMID:19528313

Job satisfaction among mental healthcare professionals: The respective contributions of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states

Science.gov (United States)

Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie

2017-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the respective contribution of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states on the job satisfaction of 315 mental health professionals from Quebec (Canada). Methods: Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were organized into four categories according to a conceptual framework inspired from the Input-Mediator-Outcomes-Input Model. The contribution of each category of variables was assessed using hierarchical regression analysis. Results: Variations in job satisfaction were mostly explained by team processes, with minimal contribution from the other three categories. Among the six variables significantly associated with job satisfaction in the final model, four were team processes: stronger team support, less team conflict, deeper involvement in the decision-making process, and more team collaboration. Job satisfaction was also associated with nursing and, marginally, male gender (professional characteristics) as well as with a stronger affective commitment toward the team (team emergent states). Discussion and Conclusion: Results confirm the importance for health managers of offering adequate support to mental health professionals, and creating an environment favorable to collaboration and decision-sharing, and likely to reduce conflicts between team members. PMID:29276591

Job satisfaction among mental healthcare professionals: The respective contributions of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the respective contribution of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states on the job satisfaction of 315 mental health professionals from Quebec (Canada). Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were organized into four categories according to a conceptual framework inspired from the Input-Mediator-Outcomes-Input Model. The contribution of each category of variables was assessed using hierarchical regression analysis. Variations in job satisfaction were mostly explained by team processes, with minimal contribution from the other three categories. Among the six variables significantly associated with job satisfaction in the final model, four were team processes: stronger team support, less team conflict, deeper involvement in the decision-making process, and more team collaboration. Job satisfaction was also associated with nursing and, marginally, male gender (professional characteristics) as well as with a stronger affective commitment toward the team (team emergent states). Results confirm the importance for health managers of offering adequate support to mental health professionals, and creating an environment favorable to collaboration and decision-sharing, and likely to reduce conflicts between team members.

The Team Climate Inventory: application in hospital teams and methodological considerations.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouwens, M.M.T.J.; Hulscher, M.E.J.L.; Akkermans, R.P.; Hermens, R.P.M.G.; Grol, R.P.T.M.; Wollersheim, H.C.H.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To test the validity, reliability and discriminating capacity of an instrument to assess team climate, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), in a sample of Dutch hospital teams. The TCI is based on a four-factor theory of team climate for innovation. DESIGN: Validation study. SETTING:

Team Scaffolds: How Minimal Team Structures Enable Role-based Coordination

OpenAIRE

Valentine, Melissa A

2013-01-01

In this dissertation, I integrate research on role-based coordination with concepts adapted from the team effectiveness literature to theorize how minimal team structures support effective coordination when people do not work together regularly. I argue that role-based coordination among relative strangers can be interpersonally challenging and propose that team scaffolds (minimal team structures that bound groups of roles rather than groups of individuals) may provide occupants with a tempor...

Teams, Team Motivation, and the Theory of the Firm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foss, Nicolai Juul; Lindenberg, Siegwart

A concern with teams was central to early attempts to grasp the nature of the firm, but fell out of favor in later work. We encourage a return to the emphasis on teams, but argue that the idea of teams as central to the nature of the firm needs to be grounded in an appreciation of the importance...

Managing multicultural teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C

2006-11-01

Multicultural teams offer a number of advantages to international firms, including deep knowledge of different product markets, culturally sensitive customer service, and 24-hour work rotations. But those advantages may be outweighed by problems stemming from cultural differences, which can seriously impair the effectiveness of a team or even bring itto a stalemate. How can managers best cope with culture-based challenges? The authors conducted in-depth interviews with managers and members of multicultural teams from all over the world. Drawing on their extensive research on dispute resolution and teamwork and those interviews, they identify four problem categories that can create barriers to a team's success: direct versus indirect communication, trouble with accents and fluency, differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority, and conflicting norms for decision making. If a manager--or a team member--can pinpoint the root cause of the problem, he or she is likelier to select an appropriate strategy for solving it. The most successful teams and managers, the authors found, dealt with multicultural challenges in one of four ways: adaptation (acknowledging cultural gaps openly and working around them), structural intervention (changing the shape or makeup of the team), managerial intervention (setting norms early or bringing in a higher-level manager), and exit (removing a team member when other options have failed). Which strategy is best depends on the particular circumstances--and each has potential complications. In general, though, managers who intervene early and set norms; teams and managers who try to engage everyone on the team; and teams that can see challenges as stemming from culture, not personality, succeed in solving culture-based problems with good humor and creativity. They are the likeliest to harvest the benefits inherent in multicultural teams.

Team Effectiveness and Team Development in CSCL

Science.gov (United States)

Fransen, Jos; Weinberger, Armin; Kirschner, Paul A.

2013-01-01

There is a wealth of research on computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) that is neglected in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) research. CSCW research is concerned with contextual factors, however, that may strongly influence collaborative learning processes as well, such as task characteristics, team formation, team members'…

Group, Team, or Something in Between? Conceptualising and Measuring Team Entitativity

Science.gov (United States)

Vangrieken, Katrien; Boon, Anne; Dochy, Filip; Kyndt, Eva

2017-01-01

The current gap between traditional team research and research focusing on non-strict teams or groups such as teacher teams hampers boundary-crossing investigations of and theorising on teamwork and collaboration. The main aim of this study includes bridging this gap by proposing a continuum-based team concept, describing the distinction between…

Trust in Diverse Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Lisbeth

, maintaining team cohesiveness in multicultural teams to collaborate effectively presents a number of challenges. The present study employs the concept of trust to explore influences on team collaboration in high performing teams. The study is based on observation of teams in seven multinational corporations...... and interviews with managers from the US, Europe, China and Japan. The study presents a conceptual framework - a ‘trust buffer’ – which enables analysis and exemplification of the dynamics and challenges of teams as drivers of change. Each team has strategically important tasks, unique capacities and deal...... with change in particular ways: Each team is analyzed in relation to its global (HQ) mandate, local (national) stakeholders and organizational context. It is found that communication energy, resources and team mandate underscore the sense of trust in high performing teams. Diversity is understood...

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process.

Climate uniformity: its influence on team communication quality, task conflict, and team performance.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Romá, Vicente; Hernández, Ana

2014-11-01

We investigated whether climate uniformity (the pattern of climate perceptions of organizational support within the team) is related to task conflict, team communication quality, and team performance. We used a sample composed of 141 bank branches and collected data at 3 time points. The results obtained showed that, after controlling for aggregate team climate, climate strength, and their interaction, a type of nonuniform climate pattern (weak dissimilarity) was directly related to task conflict and team communication quality. Teams with weak dissimilarity nonuniform patterns tended to show higher levels of task conflict and lower levels of team communication quality than teams with uniform climate patterns. The relationship between weak dissimilarity patterns and team performance was fully mediated by team communication quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

[Developing team reflexivity as a learning and working tool for medical teams].

Science.gov (United States)

Riskin, Arieh; Bamberger, Peter

2014-01-01

Team reflexivity is a collective activity in which team members review their previous work, and develop ideas on how to modify their work behavior in order to achieve better future results. It is an important learning tool and a key factor in explaining the varying effectiveness of teams. Team reflexivity encompasses both self-awareness and agency, and includes three main activities: reflection, planning, and adaptation. The model of briefing-debriefing cycles promotes team reflexivity. Its key elements include: Pre-action briefing--setting objectives, roles, and strategies the mission, as well as proposing adaptations based on what was previously learnt from similar procedures; Post-action debriefing--reflecting on the procedure performed and reviewing the extent to which objectives were met, and what can be learnt for future tasks. Given the widespread attention to team-based work systems and organizational learning, efforts should be made toward ntroducing team reflexivity in health administration systems. Implementation could be difficult because most teams in hospitals are short-lived action teams formed for a particular event, with limited time and opportunity to consciously reflect upon their actions. But it is precisely in these contexts that reflexive processes have the most to offer instead of the natural impulsive collective logics. Team reflexivity suggests a potential solution to the major problems of iatorgenesis--avoidable medical errors, as it forces all team members to participate in a reflexive process together. Briefing-debriefing technology was studied mainly in surgical teams and was shown to enhance team-based learning and to improve quality-related outcomes and safety.

“Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, 4th Edition”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Homan

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Team Building is an important issue for Youth Development professionals. We utilize team-focused work to achieve our objectives in educating youth. The team building skills we integrate into programming serve to prepare youth for the dynamic, highly interpersonal work environment of today. “Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, 4th Edition,” by W. Dyer, W.G. Dyer, and J. Dyer (2007, provides a practical theoretical framework for those interested in team building application, training, and practice in everyday work.

Using Existing Teams to Teach about Teams: How an MBA Course in Managing Teams Helps Students and the Program

Science.gov (United States)

Isabella, Lynn A.

2005-01-01

This article chronicles the unique manner in which a second-year MBA elective course in managing teams has been crafted using existing first-year learning teams as its core. The design and orchestration of this course are detailed, as are the challenges posed, in delivering a course that not only teaches about teams and team dynamics but does so…

Using artificial team members for team training in virtual environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diggelen, J. van; Muller, T.; Bosch, K. van den

2010-01-01

In a good team, members do not only perform their individual task, they also coordinate their actions with other members of the team. Developing such team skills usually involves exercises with all members playing their role. This approach is costly and has organizational and educational drawbacks.

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine Gibbard

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process.

Teams as innovative systems: multilevel motivational antecedents of innovation in R&D teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Gilad; Farh, Jiing-Lih; Campbell-Bush, Elizabeth M; Wu, Zhiming; Wu, Xin

2013-11-01

Integrating theories of proactive motivation, team innovation climate, and motivation in teams, we developed and tested a multilevel model of motivators of innovative performance in teams. Analyses of multisource data from 428 members of 95 research and development (R&D) teams across 33 Chinese firms indicated that team-level support for innovation climate captured motivational mechanisms that mediated between transformational leadership and team innovative performance, whereas members' motivational states (role-breadth self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation) mediated between proactive personality and individual innovative performance. Furthermore, individual motivational states and team support for innovation climate uniquely promoted individual innovative performance, and, in turn, individual innovative performance linked team support for innovation climate to team innovative performance. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Study on team evaluation (4). Reliability and validity of questionnaire survey-based team work evaluation method of power plant operator team

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasou, Kunihide; Hirose, Ayako; Misawa, Ryou; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki

2006-01-01

The series of this study describes the necessity of the evaluation of team work from two aspects of operator's behavior and operators' mind. The authors propose Team Work Element Model which consists of necessary elements to build high performance team. This report discusses a method to evaluate team work from the second aspect, that is, competency trust, competition, for-the team spirit, etc. The authors survey the previous studies on psychological measures and organize a set of questions to evaluate 10 team work sub elements that are the parts of Team Work Element Model. The factor analysis shows that this set of questions is consists of 13 factors such as task-oriented leadership, harmony-oriented team atmosphere, etc. Close examination of the questions in each factor shows that 8 of 10 team work sub elements can be evaluated by this questionnaire. In addition, this questionnaire comprises scales additional 8 scales such as job satisfaction, leadership, etc. As a result, it is possible to evaluate team work from more comprehensive view points. (author)

Does team stability mediate the relationship between leadership and team learning? An empirical study among Dutch project teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Savelsbergh, Chantal M.J.H.; Poell, Rob F.; van der Heijden, Beatrice

2014-01-01

An exploratory field study was conducted among 30 project teams in the sectors of building and utilities, engineering and construction, infrastructure, and area decontamination and development in the Netherlands. It examined the influence of leadership on team learning behaviors and included team

Does team stability mediate the relationship between leadership and team learning? : An empirical study among Dutch project teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Savelsbergh, C.; Poell, R.F.; van der Heijden, B.

2015-01-01

An exploratory field study was conducted among 30 project teams in the sectors of building and utilities, engineering and construction, infrastructure, and area decontamination and development in the Netherlands. It examined the influence of leadership on team learning behaviors and included team

Using team cognitive work analysis to reveal healthcare team interactions in a birthing unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashoori, Maryam; Burns, Catherine M; d'Entremont, Barbara; Momtahan, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) as an analytical approach for examining complex sociotechnical systems has shown success in modelling the work of single operators. The CWA approach incorporates social and team interactions, but a more explicit analysis of team aspects can reveal more information for systems design. In this paper, Team CWA is explored to understand teamwork within a birthing unit at a hospital. Team CWA models are derived from theories and models of teamwork and leverage the existing CWA approaches to analyse team interactions. Team CWA is explained and contrasted with prior approaches to CWA. Team CWA does not replace CWA, but supplements traditional CWA to more easily reveal team information. As a result, Team CWA may be a useful approach to enhance CWA in complex environments where effective teamwork is required. This paper looks at ways of analysing cognitive work in healthcare teams. Team Cognitive Work Analysis, when used to supplement traditional Cognitive Work Analysis, revealed more team information than traditional Cognitive Work Analysis. Team Cognitive Work Analysis should be considered when studying teams.

Using team cognitive work analysis to reveal healthcare team interactions in a birthing unit

Science.gov (United States)

Ashoori, Maryam; Burns, Catherine M.; d'Entremont, Barbara; Momtahan, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) as an analytical approach for examining complex sociotechnical systems has shown success in modelling the work of single operators. The CWA approach incorporates social and team interactions, but a more explicit analysis of team aspects can reveal more information for systems design. In this paper, Team CWA is explored to understand teamwork within a birthing unit at a hospital. Team CWA models are derived from theories and models of teamworkand leverage the existing CWA approaches to analyse team interactions. Team CWA is explained and contrasted with prior approaches to CWA. Team CWA does not replace CWA, but supplements traditional CWA to more easily reveal team information. As a result, Team CWA may be a useful approach to enhance CWA in complex environments where effective teamwork is required. Practitioner Summary: This paper looks at ways of analysing cognitive work in healthcare teams. Team Cognitive Work Analysis, when used to supplement traditional Cognitive Work Analysis, revealed more team information than traditional Cognitive Work Analysis. Team Cognitive Work Analysis should be considered when studying teams PMID:24837514

Quality charters or quality members? A control theory perspective on team charters and team performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Courtright, Stephen H; McCormick, Brian W; Mistry, Sal; Wang, Jiexin

2017-10-01

Though prevalent in practice, team charters have only recently received scholarly attention. However, most of this work has been relatively devoid of theory, and consequently, key questions about why and under what conditions team charter quality affects team performance remain unanswered. To address these gaps, we draw on macro organizational control theory to propose that team charter quality serves as a team-level "behavior" control mechanism that builds task cohesion through a structured exercise. We then juxtapose team charter quality with an "input" team control mechanism that influences the emergence of task cohesion more organically: team conscientiousness. Given their redundant effects on task cohesion, we propose that the effects of team charter quality and team conscientiousness on team performance (through task cohesion) are substitutive such that team charter quality primarily impacts team performance for teams that are low (vs. high) on conscientiousness. We test and find support for our hypotheses in a sample of 239 undergraduate self-managing project teams. Our study contributes to the groups and teams literature in the following ways: first, relative to previous studies, we take a more theory-driven approach toward understanding team charters, and in doing so, uncover when and why team charter quality impacts team performance; second, we integrate two normally disparate perspectives on team effectiveness (team development and team selection) to offer a broader perspective on how teams are "built"; and third, we introduce team charter quality as a performance-enhancing mechanism for teams lower on conscientiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Team health, an assessment approach to engage first year students in cross-cultural and cross-discipline teams towards more effective team-working

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathy Egea

Full Text Available Specialists who work in a globalised environment, need to work in teams, if they are to be continuously effective. The challenge for IT educators is to design and implement inter-cultural teamwork practices into their curriculum. Investigating this challenge, this case study describes Team Health, an assessment approach designed to skill students to be more effective in team working in cross-cultural and cross-discipline teams. The educational context is teamwork practice within a first year introductory web design course. Framed by Saunders\\'s virtual team lifecycle model (relationship building and team processes and Hofstede\\'s cultural dimensions (communication and working cross-culturally, the assessment approach utilises reflective and iterative strategies to support team working. At three points in the semester, students complete a survey on these four concepts, identify team strengths and weaknesses from the results of the surveys and work towards addressing one team weakness. The final assessment activity requires students to reflect on team working for the semester. Key attributes for effective team working are identified from the three surveys and the final reflective summaries. This paper compares course outcomes such as team cohesion and student grades to the previous course offering and shows that with the introduction of Team Health, the more complex student cohorts under this study achieve equally well. It is concluded that the guided reflective practices underpinning Team Health can prepare students for first year approaches to teamwork, and thereby provide starting points for working in future global teams where members are both culturally diverse and from different discipline areas.

The Relationships between Work Team Strategic Intent and Work Team Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Edison, Thomas R

2007-01-01

...) executive level, six- week program management class in six different locations. The study not only underscores the significance of team focus on performance but also highlights how team characteristics affect team focus and performance...

We will be champions: Leaders' confidence in 'us' inspires team members' team confidence and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Fransen, K; Steffens, N K; Haslam, S A; Vanbeselaere, N; Vande Broek, G; Boen, F

2016-12-01

The present research examines the impact of leaders' confidence in their team on the team confidence and performance of their teammates. In an experiment involving newly assembled soccer teams, we manipulated the team confidence expressed by the team leader (high vs neutral vs low) and assessed team members' responses and performance as they unfolded during a competition (i.e., in a first baseline session and a second test session). Our findings pointed to team confidence contagion such that when the leader had expressed high (rather than neutral or low) team confidence, team members perceived their team to be more efficacious and were more confident in the team's ability to win. Moreover, leaders' team confidence affected individual and team performance such that teams led by a highly confident leader performed better than those led by a less confident leader. Finally, the results supported a hypothesized mediational model in showing that the effect of leaders' confidence on team members' team confidence and performance was mediated by the leader's perceived identity leadership and members' team identification. In conclusion, the findings of this experiment suggest that leaders' team confidence can enhance members' team confidence and performance by fostering members' identification with the team. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Developing high-performance cross-functional teams: Understanding motivations, functional loyalties, and teaming fundamentals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, M.A.

1996-08-01

Teamwork is the key to the future of effective technology management. Today`s technologies and markets have become too complex for individuals to work alone. Global competition, limited resources, cost consciousness, and time pressures have forced organizations and project managers to encourage teamwork. Many of these teams will be cross-functional teams that can draw on a multitude of talents and knowledge. To develop high-performing cross-functional teams, managers must understand motivations, functional loyalties, and the different backgrounds of the individual team members. To develop a better understanding of these issues, managers can learn from experience and from literature on teams and teaming concepts. When studying the literature to learn about cross-functional teaming, managers will find many good theoretical concepts, but when put into practice, these concepts have varying effects. This issue of varying effectiveness is what drives the research for this paper. The teaming concepts were studied to confirm or modify current understanding. The literature was compared with a {open_quotes}ground truth{close_quotes}, a survey of the reality of teaming practices, to examine the teaming concepts that the literature finds to be critical to the success of teams. These results are compared to existing teams to determine if such techniques apply in real-world cases.

The Importance of Team Sex Composition in Team-Training Research Employing Complex Psychomotor Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarrett, Steven M; Glaze, Ryan M; Schurig, Ira; Arthur, Winfred

2017-08-01

The relationship between team sex composition and team performance on a complex psychomotor task was examined because these types of tasks are commonly used in the lab-based teams literature. Despite well-documented sex-based differences on complex psychomotor tasks, the preponderance of studies-mainly lab based-that use these tasks makes no mention of the sex composition of teams across or within experimental conditions. A sample of 123 four-person teams with varying team sex composition learned and performed a complex psychomotor task, Steal Beasts Pro PE. Each team completed a 5-hr protocol whereby they conducted several performance missions. The results indicated significant large mean differences such that teams with larger proportions of males had higher performance scores. These findings demonstrate the potential effect of team sex composition on the validity of studies that use complex psychomotor tasks to explore and investigate team performance-related phenomena when (a) team sex composition is not a focal variable of interest and (b) it is not accounted for or controlled. Given the proclivity of complex psychomotor action-based tasks used in lab-based team studies, it is important to understand and control for the impact of team sex composition on team performance. When team sex composition is not controlled for, either methodologically or statistically, it may affect the validity of the results in teams studies using these types of tasks.

The impact of team characteristics and context on team communication: An integrative literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiferes, Judith; Bisantz, Ann M

2018-04-01

Many studies on teams report measures of team communication; however, these studies vary widely in terms of the team characteristics, situations, and tasks studied making it difficult to understand impacts on team communication more generally. The objective of this review is systematically summarize relationships between measures of team communication and team characteristics and situational contexts. A literature review was conducted searching in four electronic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Ergonomics Abstracts, and SocINDEX). Additional studies were identified by cross-referencing. Articles included for final review had reported at least one team communication measure associated with some team and/or context dimension. Ninety-nine of 727 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data extracted from articles included characteristics of the studies and teams and the nature of each of the reported team and/or context dimensions-team communication properties relationships. Some dimensions (job role, situational stressors, training strategies, cognitive artifacts, and communication media) were found to be consistently linked to changes in team communication. A synthesized diagram that describes the possible associations between eleven team and context dimensions and nine team communication measures is provided along with research needs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward Learning Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoda, Rashina; Babb, Jeff; Nørbjerg, Jacob

2013-01-01

to sacrifice learning-focused practices. Effective learning under pressure involves conscious efforts to implement original agile practices such as retrospectives and adapted strategies such as learning spikes. Teams, their management, and customers must all recognize the importance of creating learning teams......Today's software development challenges require learning teams that can continuously apply new engineering and management practices, new and complex technical skills, cross-functional skills, and experiential lessons learned. The pressure of delivering working software often forces software teams...

MANAGING MULTICULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cezar SCARLAT

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article is based on literature review and authors’ own recent experience in managing multicultural project teams, in international environment. This comparative study considers two groups of projects: technical assistance (TA projects versus information technology (IT projects. The aim is to explore the size and structure of the project teams – according to the team formation and its lifecycle, and to identify some distinctive attributes of the project teams – both similarities and differences between the above mentioned types of projects. Distinct focus of the research is on the multiculturalism of the project teams: how the cultural background of the team members influences the team performance and team management. Besides the results of the study are the managerial implications: how the team managers could soften the cultural clash, and avoid inter-cultural misunderstandings and even conflicts – in order to get a better performance. Some practical examples are provided as well.

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Weingart, Laurie R

2003-08-01

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated.

Team Sports

Science.gov (United States)

... Games. USA Hockey offers additional information and resources. Softball It's not easy to field full teams of ... an annual tournament sponsored by the National Wheelchair Softball Association , where thirty or so teams show up ...

Study on dynamic team performance evaluation methodology based on team situation awareness model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Suk Chul

2005-02-01

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a theoretical framework and its evaluation methodology of team dynamic task performance of operating team at nuclear power plant under the dynamic and tactical environment such as radiological accident. This thesis suggested a team dynamic task performance evaluation model so called team crystallization model stemmed from Endsely's situation awareness model being comprised of four elements: state, information, organization, and orientation and its quantification methods using system dynamics approach and a communication process model based on a receding horizon control approach. The team crystallization model is a holistic approach for evaluating the team dynamic task performance in conjunction with team situation awareness considering physical system dynamics and team behavioral dynamics for a tactical and dynamic task at nuclear power plant. This model provides a systematic measure to evaluate time-dependent team effectiveness or performance affected by multi-agents such as plant states, communication quality in terms of transferring situation-specific information and strategies for achieving the team task goal at given time, and organizational factors. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model and its quantification method, the case study was carried out using the data obtained from a full-scope power plant simulator for 1,000MWe pressurized water reactors with four on-the-job operating groups and one expert group who knows accident sequences. Simulated results team dynamic task performance with reference key plant parameters behavior and team-specific organizational center of gravity and cue-and-response matrix illustrated good symmetry with observed value. The team crystallization model will be useful and effective tool for evaluating team effectiveness in terms of recruiting new operating team for new plant as cost-benefit manner. Also, this model can be utilized as a systematic analysis tool for

Study on dynamic team performance evaluation methodology based on team situation awareness model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Suk Chul

2005-02-15

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a theoretical framework and its evaluation methodology of team dynamic task performance of operating team at nuclear power plant under the dynamic and tactical environment such as radiological accident. This thesis suggested a team dynamic task performance evaluation model so called team crystallization model stemmed from Endsely's situation awareness model being comprised of four elements: state, information, organization, and orientation and its quantification methods using system dynamics approach and a communication process model based on a receding horizon control approach. The team crystallization model is a holistic approach for evaluating the team dynamic task performance in conjunction with team situation awareness considering physical system dynamics and team behavioral dynamics for a tactical and dynamic task at nuclear power plant. This model provides a systematic measure to evaluate time-dependent team effectiveness or performance affected by multi-agents such as plant states, communication quality in terms of transferring situation-specific information and strategies for achieving the team task goal at given time, and organizational factors. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model and its quantification method, the case study was carried out using the data obtained from a full-scope power plant simulator for 1,000MWe pressurized water reactors with four on-the-job operating groups and one expert group who knows accident sequences. Simulated results team dynamic task performance with reference key plant parameters behavior and team-specific organizational center of gravity and cue-and-response matrix illustrated good symmetry with observed value. The team crystallization model will be useful and effective tool for evaluating team effectiveness in terms of recruiting new operating team for new plant as cost-benefit manner. Also, this model can be utilized as a systematic analysis tool for

Attributions by Team Members for Team Outcomes in Finnish Working Life

OpenAIRE

Valo, Maarit; Hurme, Pertti

2010-01-01

This study focuses on teamwork in Finnish working life. Through a wide cross-section of teams the study examines the causes to which team members attribute the outcomes of their teams. Qualitative data was collected from 314 respondents. They wrote 616 stories to describe memorable experiences of success and failure in teamwork. The stories revealed 1930 explanations. The findings indicate that both favorable and unfavorable team outcomes are perceived as being caused by ...

A Measure of Team Resilience: Developing the Resilience at Work Team Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

McEwen, Kathryn; Boyd, Carolyn M

2018-03-01

This study develops, and initial evaluates, a new measure of team-based resilience for use in research and practice. We conducted preliminary analyses, based on a cross-sectional sample of 344 employees nested within 31 teams. Seven dimensions were identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The measure had high reliability and significant discrimination to indicate the presence of a unique team-based aspect of resilience that contributed to higher work engagement and higher self-rated team performance, over and above the effects of individual resilience. Multilevel analyses showed that team, but not individual, resilience predicted self-rated team performance. Practice implications include a need to focus on collective as well as individual behaviors in resilience-building. The measure provides a diagnostic instrument for teams and a scale to evaluate organizational interventions and research the relationship of resilience to other constructs.

A Conceptual Framework for Team Social Capital as Basis for Organizational Team Synergy

OpenAIRE

Raluca ZOLTAN

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to outline a conceptual framework of team social capital as a basis for reaching organizational team synergy. The dimensions of team social capital and the basic conditions required for organizational team synergy enable the extension of current model of team social capital by including of other variables. Today’s managers must consider these variables since the team tends to be the basic structural unit of current organizations and synergy, the key to achieving h...

An interdisciplinary team communication framework and its application to healthcare 'e-teams' systems design.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuziemsky, Craig E; Borycki, Elizabeth M; Purkis, Mary Ellen; Black, Fraser; Boyle, Michael; Cloutier-Fisher, Denise; Fox, Lee Ann; MacKenzie, Patricia; Syme, Ann; Tschanz, Coby; Wainwright, Wendy; Wong, Helen

2009-09-15

There are few studies that examine the processes that interdisciplinary teams engage in and how we can design health information systems (HIS) to support those team processes. This was an exploratory study with two purposes: (1) To develop a framework for interdisciplinary team communication based on structures, processes and outcomes that were identified as having occurred during weekly team meetings. (2) To use the framework to guide 'e-teams' HIS design to support interdisciplinary team meeting communication. An ethnographic approach was used to collect data on two interdisciplinary teams. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data according to structures, processes and outcomes. We present details for team meta-concepts of structures, processes and outcomes and the concepts and sub concepts within each meta-concept. We also provide an exploratory framework for interdisciplinary team communication and describe how the framework can guide HIS design to support 'e-teams'. The structures, processes and outcomes that describe interdisciplinary teams are complex and often occur in a non-linear fashion. Electronic data support, process facilitation and team video conferencing are three HIS tools that can enhance team function.

An interdisciplinary team communication framework and its application to healthcare 'e-teams' systems design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MacKenzie Patricia

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are few studies that examine the processes that interdisciplinary teams engage in and how we can design health information systems (HIS to support those team processes. This was an exploratory study with two purposes: (1 To develop a framework for interdisciplinary team communication based on structures, processes and outcomes that were identified as having occurred during weekly team meetings. (2 To use the framework to guide 'e-teams' HIS design to support interdisciplinary team meeting communication. Methods An ethnographic approach was used to collect data on two interdisciplinary teams. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data according to structures, processes and outcomes. Results We present details for team meta-concepts of structures, processes and outcomes and the concepts and sub concepts within each meta-concept. We also provide an exploratory framework for interdisciplinary team communication and describe how the framework can guide HIS design to support 'e-teams'. Conclusion The structures, processes and outcomes that describe interdisciplinary teams are complex and often occur in a non-linear fashion. Electronic data support, process facilitation and team video conferencing are three HIS tools that can enhance team function.

Travelling with football teams

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ultimately on the performance of the teams on the playing field and not so much ... However, travelling with a football team presents the team physician .... physician to determine the nutritional ..... diarrhoea in elite athletes: an audit of one team.

Developing Your Dream Team

Science.gov (United States)

Gatlin, Kenda

2005-01-01

Almost anyone has held various roles on a team, be it a family unit, sports team, or a project-oriented team. As an educator, one must make a conscious decision to build and invest in a team. Gathering the best team possible will help one achieve one's goals. This article explores some of the key reasons why it is important to focus on the team…

A Conceptual Framework for Team Social Capital as Basis for Organizational Team Synergy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca ZOLTAN

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to outline a conceptual framework of team social capital as a basis for reaching organizational team synergy. The dimensions of team social capital and the basic conditions required for organizational team synergy enable the extension of current model of team social capital by including of other variables. Today’s managers must consider these variables since the team tends to be the basic structural unit of current organizations and synergy, the key to achieving high performance in global competition.

Building the team for team science

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Emily K.; O'Rourke, M.; Hong, G. S.; Hanson, P. C.; Winslow, Luke A.; Crowley, S.; Brewer, C. A.; Weathers, K. C.

2016-01-01

The ability to effectively exchange information and develop trusting, collaborative relationships across disciplinary boundaries is essential for 21st century scientists charged with solving complex and large-scale societal and environmental challenges, yet these communication skills are rarely taught. Here, we describe an adaptable training program designed to increase the capacity of scientists to engage in information exchange and relationship development in team science settings. A pilot of the program, developed by a leader in ecological network science, the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), indicates that the training program resulted in improvement in early career scientists’ confidence in team-based network science collaborations within and outside of the program. Fellows in the program navigated human-network challenges, expanded communication skills, and improved their ability to build professional relationships, all in the context of producing collaborative scientific outcomes. Here, we describe the rationale for key communication training elements and provide evidence that such training is effective in building essential team science skills.

The impact of brief team communication, leadership and team behavior training on ad hoc team performance in trauma care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Nicole K; Williams, Reed G; Schwind, Cathy J; Sutyak, John A; McDowell, Christopher; Griffen, David; Wall, Jarrod; Sanfey, Hilary; Chestnut, Audra; Meier, Andreas H; Wohltmann, Christopher; Clark, Ted R; Wetter, Nathan

2014-02-01

Communication breakdowns and care coordination problems often cause preventable adverse patient care events, which can be especially acute in the trauma setting, in which ad hoc teams have little time for advanced planning. Existing teamwork curricula do not address the particular issues associated with ad hoc emergency teams providing trauma care. Ad hoc trauma teams completed a preinstruction simulated trauma encounter and were provided with instruction on appropriate team behaviors and team communication. Teams completed a postinstruction simulated trauma encounter immediately afterward and 3 weeks later, then completed a questionnaire. Blinded raters rated videotapes of the simulations. Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction and intent to change practice after the intervention. Participants changed teamwork and communication behavior on the posttest, and changes were sustained after a 3-week interval, though there was some loss of retention. Brief training exercises can change teamwork and communication behaviors on ad hoc trauma teams. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura U. A. Gärtner

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers’ preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers’ OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design. Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46 were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline, under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age, and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company. Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers’ OFTP on the relation between workers’ age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers’ age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams.

Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

Science.gov (United States)

Gärtner, Laura U. A.; Hertel, Guido

2017-01-01

Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers’ preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP) is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers’ OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design). Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46) were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline), under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age), and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company). Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers’ OFTP on the relation between workers’ age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers’ age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams. PMID:29018376

Future Time Perspective in Occupational Teams: Do Older Workers Prefer More Familiar Teams?

Science.gov (United States)

Gärtner, Laura U A; Hertel, Guido

2017-01-01

Working in teams is quite popular across different industries and cultures. While some of these teams exist for longer time periods, other teams collaborate only for short periods and members switch into new teams after goals are accomplished. However, workers' preferences for joining a new team might vary in different ways. Based on Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory, we predict that emotionally meaningful teams are prioritized when occupational future time perspective (OFTP) is perceived as limited. Building and expanding on studies outside of the work context, we expected that older as compared to younger workers prefer more familiar teams, and that this effect is mediated by workers' OFTP. Moreover, we assumed that experimentally manipulated OFTP can change such team preferences. The hypotheses were tested in an online scenario study using three experimental conditions (within-person design). Four hundred and fifty-four workers (57% female, age M = 45.98, SD = 11.46) were asked to choose between a familiar and a new team in three consecutive trials: under an unspecified OFTP (baseline), under an expanded OFTP (amendment of retirement age), and under a restricted OFTP (insolvency of the current company). Whereas the baseline condition was always first, the order of the second and third conditions was randomized among participants. In the baseline condition, results showed the expected mediation effect of workers' OFTP on the relation between workers' age and preference for a familiar over a new team. Higher age was associated with more limited OFTP, which in turn was associated with higher preference for a familiar over a new team. Moreover, experimentally restricting OFTP increased preference for a familiar team over a new team regardless of workers' age, providing further evidence for the assumed causal processes and showing interesting avenues for practical interventions in occupational teams.

The impact of athlete leaders on team members’ team outcome confidence: A test of mediation by team identification and collective efficacy

OpenAIRE

Fransen, Katrien; Coffee, Pete; Vanbeselaere, Norbert; Slater, Matthew; De Cuyper, Bert; Boen, Filip

2014-01-01

Research on the effect of athlete leadership on pre-cursors of team performance such as team confidence is sparse. To explore the underlying mechanisms of how athlete leaders impact their team’s confidence, an online survey was completed by 2,867 players and coaches from nine different team sports in Flanders (Belgium). We distinguished between two types of team confidence: collective efficacy, assessed by the CEQS subscales of Effort, Persistence, Preparation, and Unity; and team outcome con...

Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagemann, Vera; Kluge, Annette

2017-01-01

Complex problem solving is challenging and a high-level cognitive process for individuals. When analyzing complex problem solving in teams, an additional, new dimension has to be considered, as teamwork processes increase the requirements already put on individual team members. After introducing an idealized teamwork process model, that complex problem solving teams pass through, and integrating the relevant teamwork skills for interdependently working teams into the model and combining it with the four kinds of team processes (transition, action, interpersonal, and learning processes), the paper demonstrates the importance of fulfilling team process demands for successful complex problem solving within teams. Therefore, results from a controlled team study within complex situations are presented. The study focused on factors that influence action processes, like coordination, such as emergent states like collective orientation, cohesion, and trust and that dynamically enable effective teamwork in complex situations. Before conducting the experiments, participants were divided by median split into two-person teams with either high ( n = 58) or low ( n = 58) collective orientation values. The study was conducted with the microworld C3Fire, simulating dynamic decision making, and acting in complex situations within a teamwork context. The microworld includes interdependent tasks such as extinguishing forest fires or protecting houses. Two firefighting scenarios had been developed, which takes a maximum of 15 min each. All teams worked on these two scenarios. Coordination within the team and the resulting team performance were calculated based on a log-file analysis. The results show that no relationships between trust and action processes and team performance exist. Likewise, no relationships were found for cohesion. Only collective orientation of team members positively influences team performance in complex environments mediated by action processes such as

Leading team learning: what makes interprofessional teams learn to work well?

Science.gov (United States)

Chatalalsingh, Carole; Reeves, Scott

2014-11-01

This article describes an ethnographic study focused on exploring leaders of team learning in well-established nephrology teams in an academic healthcare organization in Canada. Employing situational theory of leadership, the article provides details on how well established team members advance as "learning leaders". Data were gathered by ethnographic methods over a 9-month period with the members of two nephrology teams. These learning to care for the sick teams involved over 30 regulated health professionals, such as physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians and other healthcare practitioners, staff, students and trainees, all of whom were collectively managing obstacles and coordinating efforts. Analysis involved an inductive thematic analysis of observations, reflections, and interview transcripts. The study indicated how well established members progress as team-learning leaders, and how they adapt to an interprofessional culture through the activities they employ to enable day-to-day learning. The article uses situational theory of leadership to generate a detailed illumination of the nature of leaders' interactions within an interprofessional context.

Collocation Impact on Team Effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Eccles

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The collocation of software development teams is common, specially in agile software development environments. However little is known about the impact of collocation on the team’s effectiveness. This paper explores the impact of collocating agile software development teams on a number of team effectiveness factors. The study focused on South African software development teams and gathered data through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The key finding was that collocation has a positive impact on a number of team effectiveness factors which can be categorised under team composition, team support, team management and structure and team communication. Some of the negative impact collocation had on team effectiveness relate to the fact that team members perceived that less emphasis was placed on roles, that morale of the group was influenced by individuals, and that collocation was invasive, reduced level of privacy and increased frequency of interruptions. Overall through it is proposed that companies should consider collocating their agile software development teams, as collocation might leverage overall team effectiveness.

Exploring effectiveness of team communication: Balancing synchronous and asynchronous communication in design teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otter, den A.F.H.J.; Emmitt, S.

2007-01-01

Purpose – Effective teams use a balance of synchronous and asynchronous communication. Team communication is dependent on the communication acts of team members and the ability of managers to facilitate, stimulate and motivate them. Team members from organizations using different information systems

Managing Geographically Dispersed Teams: From Temporary to Permanent Global Virtual Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svane Hansen, Tine; Hope, Alexander John; Moehler, Robert C.

2012-01-01

for organisations to move towards establishing permanent Global Virtual Teams in order to leverage knowledge sharing and cooperation across distance. To close this gap, this paper will set the scene for a research project investigating the changed preconditions for organisations. As daily face-to-face communication......The rise and spread of information communication technologies (ICT) has enabled increasing use of geographically dispersed work teams (Global Virtual Teams). Originally, Global Virtual Teams were mainly organised into temporary projects. Little research has focused on the emergent challenge...... generation of self-lead digital natives, who are already practising virtual relationships and a new approach to work, and currently joining the global workforce; and improved communication technologies. Keywords: Global Virtual teams, ICT, leadership, motivation, self-management, millenials....

How Team-Level and Individual-Level Conflict Influences Team Commitment: A Multilevel Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sanghyun; Kwon, Seungwoo; Shin, Shung J.; Kim, MinSoo; Park, In-Jo

2018-01-01

We investigate how two different types of conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict) at two different levels (individual-level and team-level) influence individual team commitment. The analysis was conducted using data we collected from 193 employees in 31 branch offices of a Korean commercial bank. The relationships at multiple levels were tested using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results showed that individual-level relationship conflict was negatively related to team commitment while individual-level task conflict was not. In addition, both team-level task and relationship conflict were negatively associated with team commitment. Finally, only team-level relationship conflict significantly moderated the relationship between individual-level relationship conflict and team commitment. We further derive theoretical implications of these findings. PMID:29387033

How Team-Level and Individual-Level Conflict Influences Team Commitment: A Multilevel Investigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanghyun Lee

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate how two different types of conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict at two different levels (individual-level and team-level influence individual team commitment. The analysis was conducted using data we collected from 193 employees in 31 branch offices of a Korean commercial bank. The relationships at multiple levels were tested using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM. The results showed that individual-level relationship conflict was negatively related to team commitment while individual-level task conflict was not. In addition, both team-level task and relationship conflict were negatively associated with team commitment. Finally, only team-level relationship conflict significantly moderated the relationship between individual-level relationship conflict and team commitment. We further derive theoretical implications of these findings.

The Impact of Environmental Complexity and Team Training on Team Processes and Performance in Multi-Team Environments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cobb, Marshall

1999-01-01

This study examined how manipulating the level of environmental complexity and the type of team training given to subject volunteers impacted important team process behaviors and performance outcomes...

76 FR 42683 - Establishment of a Team Under the National Construction Safety Team Act

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-19

...-01] Establishment of a Team Under the National Construction Safety Team Act AGENCY: National..., announces the establishment of a National Construction Safety Team pursuant to the National Construction Safety Team Act. The Team was established to study the effects of the tornado that touched down in Joplin...

Netball team members, but not hobby group members, distinguish team characteristics from group characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillman, Jennifer A; Fletcher, Richard B; Carr, Stuart C

2007-04-01

Research on groups is often applied to sport teams, and research on teams is often applied to groups. This study investigates the extent to which individuals have distinct schemas for groups and teams. A list of team and group characteristics was generated from 250 individuals, for use in this and related research. Questions about teams versus groups carry an a priori implication that differences exist; therefore, list items were presented to new participants and were analyzed using signal detection theory, which can accommodate a finding of no detectable difference between a nominated category and similar items. Participants were 30 members from each of the following: netball teams, the general public, and hobby groups. Analysis revealed few features that set groups apart from teams; however, teams were perceived as more structured and demanding, requiring commitment and effort toward shared goals. Team and group characteristics were more clearly defined to team members than they were to other participant groups. The research has implications for coaches and practitioners.

Leading multiple teams: average and relative external leadership influences on team empowerment and effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Luciano, Margaret M; Mathieu, John E; Ruddy, Thomas M

2014-03-01

External leaders continue to be an important source of influence even when teams are empowered, but it is not always clear how they do so. Extending research on structurally empowered teams, we recognize that teams' external leaders are often responsible for multiple teams. We adopt a multilevel approach to model external leader influences at both the team level and the external leader level of analysis. In doing so, we distinguish the influence of general external leader behaviors (i.e., average external leadership) from those that are directed differently toward the teams that they lead (i.e., relative external leadership). Analysis of data collected from 451 individuals, in 101 teams, reporting to 25 external leaders, revealed that both relative and average external leadership related positively to team empowerment. In turn, team empowerment related positively to team performance and member job satisfaction. However, while the indirect effects were all positive, we found that relative external leadership was not directly related to team performance, and average external leadership evidenced a significant negative direct influence. Additionally, relative external leadership exhibited a significant direct positive influence on member job satisfaction as anticipated, whereas average external leadership did not. These findings attest to the value in distinguishing external leaders' behaviors that are exhibited consistently versus differentially across empowered teams. Implications and future directions for the study and management of external leaders overseeing multiple teams are discussed.

Staff Turnover in Assertive Community Treatment (Act) Teams: The Role of Team Climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xi; Wholey, Douglas R; Cain, Cindy; Natafgi, Nabil

2017-03-01

Staff turnover in Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams can result in interrupted services and diminished support for clients. This paper examines the effect of team climate, defined as team members' shared perceptions of their work environment, on turnover and individual outcomes that mediate the climate-turnover relationship. We focus on two climate dimensions: safety and quality climate and constructive conflict climate. Using survey data collected from 26 ACT teams, our analyses highlight the importance of safety and quality climate in reducing turnover, and job satisfaction as the main mediator linking team climate to turnover. The findings offer practical implications for team management.

Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands

Science.gov (United States)

Hagemann, Vera; Kluge, Annette

2017-01-01

Complex problem solving is challenging and a high-level cognitive process for individuals. When analyzing complex problem solving in teams, an additional, new dimension has to be considered, as teamwork processes increase the requirements already put on individual team members. After introducing an idealized teamwork process model, that complex problem solving teams pass through, and integrating the relevant teamwork skills for interdependently working teams into the model and combining it with the four kinds of team processes (transition, action, interpersonal, and learning processes), the paper demonstrates the importance of fulfilling team process demands for successful complex problem solving within teams. Therefore, results from a controlled team study within complex situations are presented. The study focused on factors that influence action processes, like coordination, such as emergent states like collective orientation, cohesion, and trust and that dynamically enable effective teamwork in complex situations. Before conducting the experiments, participants were divided by median split into two-person teams with either high (n = 58) or low (n = 58) collective orientation values. The study was conducted with the microworld C3Fire, simulating dynamic decision making, and acting in complex situations within a teamwork context. The microworld includes interdependent tasks such as extinguishing forest fires or protecting houses. Two firefighting scenarios had been developed, which takes a maximum of 15 min each. All teams worked on these two scenarios. Coordination within the team and the resulting team performance were calculated based on a log-file analysis. The results show that no relationships between trust and action processes and team performance exist. Likewise, no relationships were found for cohesion. Only collective orientation of team members positively influences team performance in complex environments mediated by action processes such as

Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera Hagemann

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Complex problem solving is challenging and a high-level cognitive process for individuals. When analyzing complex problem solving in teams, an additional, new dimension has to be considered, as teamwork processes increase the requirements already put on individual team members. After introducing an idealized teamwork process model, that complex problem solving teams pass through, and integrating the relevant teamwork skills for interdependently working teams into the model and combining it with the four kinds of team processes (transition, action, interpersonal, and learning processes, the paper demonstrates the importance of fulfilling team process demands for successful complex problem solving within teams. Therefore, results from a controlled team study within complex situations are presented. The study focused on factors that influence action processes, like coordination, such as emergent states like collective orientation, cohesion, and trust and that dynamically enable effective teamwork in complex situations. Before conducting the experiments, participants were divided by median split into two-person teams with either high (n = 58 or low (n = 58 collective orientation values. The study was conducted with the microworld C3Fire, simulating dynamic decision making, and acting in complex situations within a teamwork context. The microworld includes interdependent tasks such as extinguishing forest fires or protecting houses. Two firefighting scenarios had been developed, which takes a maximum of 15 min each. All teams worked on these two scenarios. Coordination within the team and the resulting team performance were calculated based on a log-file analysis. The results show that no relationships between trust and action processes and team performance exist. Likewise, no relationships were found for cohesion. Only collective orientation of team members positively influences team performance in complex environments mediated by action processes

Team-based global organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zander, Lena; Butler, Christina; Mockaitis, Audra

2015-01-01

diversity in enhancing team creativity and performance, and 2) the sharing of knowledge in team-based organizations, while the other two themes address global team leadership: 3) the unprecedented significance of social capital for the success of global team leader roles; and 4) the link between shared......This chapter draws on a panel discussion of the future of global organizing as a team-based organization at EIBA 2014 in Uppsala, Sweden. We began by discussing contemporary developments of hybrid forms of hierarchy and teams-based organizing, but we venture to propose that as organizations become...... characterized by decreased importance of hierarchal structures, more fluidity across borders, even a possible dissolution of firm boundaries, we move towards team-based organizing as an alternative to more traditional forms of hierarchical-based organizing in global firms. To provide input for a discussion...

Team Creativity: The Effects of Perceived Learning Culture, Developmental Feedback and Team Cohesion

Science.gov (United States)

Joo, Baek-Kyoo; Song, Ji Hoon; Lim, Doo Hun; Yoon, Seung Won

2012-01-01

This study investigates the influence of perceived learning culture, developmental feedback and team cohesion on team creativity. The results showed that the demographic variables, the three antecedents and their interactions explained 41 per cent of variance in team creativity. Team creativity was positively correlated with a higher level of…

The bigger they are, the harder they fall: linking team power, team conflict, and performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greer, L.L.; Caruso, H.M.; Jehn, K.A.

2011-01-01

Across two field studies, we investigate the impact of team power on team conflict and performance. Team power is based on the control of resources that enables a team to influence others in the company. We find across both studies that low-power teams outperform high-power teams. In both studies,

Stimulating teachers’ team performance through team-oriented HR practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwmans, Machiel; Runhaar, Piety; Wesselink, Renate; Mulder, Martin

2017-01-01

Teams of teachers are increasingly held accountable for the quality of education and educational reforms in vocational education and training institutions. However, historically teachers have not been required to engage in deep-level collaboration, thus team-oriented HR practices are being used

Ability Dispersion and Team Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoogendoorn, Sander; Parker, Simon C.; Van Praag, Mirjam

What is the effect of dispersed levels of cognitive ability of members of a (business) team on their team's performance? This paper reports the results of a field experiment in which 573 students in 49 (student) teams start up and manage real companies under identical circumstances for one year. We...... ensured exogenous variation in otherwise random team composition by assigning students to teams based on their measured cognitive abilities. Each team performs a variety of tasks, often involving complex decision making. The key result of the experiment is that the performance of business teams first...... increases and then decreases with ability dispersion. We seek to understand this finding by developing a model in which team members of different ability levels form sub- teams with other team members with similar ability levels to specialize in different productive tasks. Diversity spreads production over...

Speeding Up Team Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmondson, Amy; Bohmer, Richard; Pisano, Gary

2001-01-01

A study of 16 cardiac surgery teams looked at how the teams adapted to new ways of working. The challenge of team management is to implement new processes as quickly as possible. Steps for creating a learning team include selecting a mix of skills and expertise, framing the challenge, and creating an environment of psychological safety. (JOW)

Diversity in goal orientation, team reflexivity, and team performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieterse, Anne Nederveen; van Knippenberg, Daan; van Ginkel, Wendy P.

Although recent research highlights the role of team member goal orientation in team functioning, research has neglected the effects of diversity in goal orientation. In a laboratory study with groups working on a problem-solving task, we show that diversity in learning and performance orientation

Performance of student software development teams: the influence of personality and identifying as team members

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, Conal; Bizumic, Boris; Reynolds, Katherine; Smithson, Michael; Johns-Boast, Lynette; van Rooy, Dirk

2015-01-01

One prominent approach in the exploration of the variations in project team performance has been to study two components of the aggregate personalities of the team members: conscientiousness and agreeableness. A second line of research, known as self-categorisation theory, argues that identifying as team members and the team's performance norms should substantially influence the team's performance. This paper explores the influence of both these perspectives in university software engineering project teams. Eighty students worked to complete a piece of software in small project teams during 2007 or 2008. To reduce limitations in statistical analysis, Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed to extrapolate from the results of the original sample to a larger simulated sample (2043 cases, within 319 teams). The results emphasise the importance of taking into account personality (particularly conscientiousness), and both team identification and the team's norm of performance, in order to cultivate higher levels of performance in student software engineering project teams.

Trauma teams and time to early management during in situ trauma team training.

Science.gov (United States)

Härgestam, Maria; Lindkvist, Marie; Jacobsson, Maritha; Brulin, Christine; Hultin, Magnus

2016-01-29

To investigate the association between the time taken to make a decision to go to surgery and gender, ethnicity, years in profession, experience of trauma team training, experience of structured trauma courses and trauma in the trauma team, as well as use of closed-loop communication and leadership styles during trauma team training. In situ trauma team training. The patient simulator was preprogrammed to represent a severely injured patient (injury severity score: 25) suffering from hypovolemia due to external trauma. An emergency room in an urban Scandinavian level one trauma centre. A total of 96 participants were divided into 16 trauma teams. Each team consisted of six team members: one surgeon/emergency physician (designated team leader), one anaesthesiologist, one registered nurse anaesthetist, one registered nurse from the emergency department, one enrolled nurse from the emergency department and one enrolled nurse from the operating theatre. HRs with CIs (95% CI) for the time taken to make a decision to go to surgery was computed from a Cox proportional hazards model. Three variables remained significant in the final model. Closed-loop communication initiated by the team leader increased the chance of a decision to go to surgery (HR: 3.88; CI 1.02 to 14.69). Only 8 of the 16 teams made the decision to go to surgery within the timeframe of the trauma team training. Conversely, call-outs and closed-loop communication initiated by the team members significantly decreased the chance of a decision to go to surgery, (HR: 0.82; CI 0.71 to 0.96, and HR: 0.23; CI 0.08 to 0.71, respectively). Closed-loop communication initiated by the leader appears to be beneficial for teamwork. In contrast, a high number of call-outs and closed-loop communication initiated by team members might lead to a communication overload. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Exploring effectiveness of team communication: Balancing synchronous and asynchronous communication in design teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

den Otter, Ad; Emmitt, Stephen

2007-01-01

Effective teams use a balance of synchronous and asynchronous communication. Team communication is dependent on the communication acts of team members and the ability of managers to facilitate, stimulate and motivate them. Team members from organizations using different information systems tend...... to have different understanding, opinions, and rates of adoption and skills levels regarding specific IT tools. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effective use of tools for communication in design teams and the strategies for the use of specific tools....

Team structure and regulatory focus: the impact of regulatory fit on team dynamic.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimotakis, Nikolaos; Davison, Robert B; Hollenbeck, John R

2012-03-01

We report a within-teams experiment testing the effects of fit between team structure and regulatory task demands on task performance and satisfaction through average team member positive affect and helping behaviors. We used a completely crossed repeated-observations design in which 21 teams enacted 2 tasks with different regulatory focus characteristics (prevention and promotion) in 2 organizational structures (functional and divisional), resulting in 84 observations. Results suggested that salient regulatory demands inherent in the task interacted with structure to determine objective and subjective team-level outcomes, such that functional structures were best suited to (i.e., had best fit with) tasks with a prevention regulatory focus and divisional structures were best suited to tasks with a promotion regulatory focus. This contingency finding integrates regulatory focus and structural contingency theories, and extends them to the team level with implications for models of performance, satisfaction, and team dynamics.

The interplay of diversity training and diversity beliefs on team creativity in nationality diverse teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Homan, Astrid C; Buengeler, Claudia; Eckhoff, Robert A; van Ginkel, Wendy P; Voelpel, Sven C

2015-09-01

Attaining value from nationality diversity requires active diversity management, which organizations often employ in the form of diversity training programs. Interestingly, however, the previously reported effects of diversity training are often weak and, sometimes, even negative. This situation calls for research on the conditions under which diversity training helps or harms teams. We propose that diversity training can increase team creativity, but only for teams with less positive pretraining diversity beliefs (i.e., teams with a greater need for such training) and that are sufficiently diverse in nationality. Comparing the creativity of teams that attended nationality diversity training versus control training, we found that for teams with less positive diversity beliefs, diversity training increased creative performance when the team's nationality diversity was high, but undermined creativity when the team's nationality diversity was low. Diversity training had less impact on teams with more positive diversity beliefs, and training effects were not contingent upon these teams' diversity. Speaking to the underlying process, we showed that these interactive effects were driven by the experienced team efficacy of the team members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for nationality diversity management. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender Composition of Tactical Decision Making Teams; Impact on Team Process and Outcome

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Elliott, Linda

1997-01-01

This study investigates the performance of teams differing in gender composition on a university-developed synthetic task, the Team Interactive Decision Exercise for Teams Incorporating Distributed Expertise (TIDE2...

Model of Team Organization and Behavior and Team Description Method

Science.gov (United States)

1984-10-01

PERFORMING ORG& REPORT’ NUMBER 7.AUTHIOR(&) 0. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMOSR(ej J. Thomas Roth Rohn J. Hritz HDA 903-81-C-0198: VEa Donald W. McGill 9...team descriptions are included, acid procedures for data recording are provided. 4q-4 4 iv, G OP S• . . • ,," $1 . . ’ __ _ _ _ ’ / . • , Utilization...Listing of thi! number acid identification of the roles adopted by team members in the actual team structure, along with KOS and primary equipment

Implementation of a team-based learning course: Work required and perceptions of the teaching team.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Jenny

2016-11-01

Team-based learning was selected as a strategy to help engage pre-registration undergraduate nursing students in a second-year evidence-informed decision making course. To detail the preparatory work required to deliver a team-based learning course; and to explore the perceptions of the teaching team of their first experience using team-based learning. Descriptive evaluation. Information was extracted from a checklist and process document developed by the course leader to document the work required prior to and during implementation. Members of the teaching team were interviewed by a research assistant at the end of the course using a structured interview schedule to explore perceptions of first time implementation. There were nine months between the time the decision was made to use team-based learning and the first day of the course. Approximately 60days were needed to reconfigure the course for team-based learning delivery, develop the knowledge and expertise of the teaching team, and develop and review the resources required for the students and the teaching team. This reduced to around 12days for the subsequent delivery. Interview data indicated that the teaching team were positive about team-based learning, felt prepared for the course delivery and did not identify any major problems during this first implementation. Implementation of team-based learning required time and effort to prepare the course materials and the teaching team. The teaching team felt well prepared, were positive about using team-based learning and did not identify any major difficulties. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Your cancer care team

Science.gov (United States)

... gov/ency/patientinstructions/000929.htm Your cancer care team To use the sharing features on this page, ... help your body heal. Working with Your Care Team Each member of your care team plays an ...

Conceptualizing Interprofessional Teams as Multi-Team Systems-Implications for Assessment and Training.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Courtney; Landry, Karen; Graham, Anna; Graham, Lori; Cianciolo, Anna T; Kalet, Adina; Rosen, Michael; Sherman, Deborah Witt

2015-01-01

SGEA 2015 CONFERENCE ABSTRACT (EDITED). Evaluating Interprofessional Teamwork During a Large-Scale Simulation. Courtney West, Karen Landry, Anna Graham, and Lori Graham. CONSTRUCT: This study investigated the multidimensional measurement of interprofessional (IPE) teamwork as part of large-scale simulation training. Healthcare team function has a direct impact on patient safety and quality of care. However, IPE team training has not been the norm. Recognizing the importance of developing team-based collaborative care, our College of Nursing implemented an IPE simulation activity called Disaster Day and invited other professions to participate. The exercise consists of two sessions: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The disaster scenario is announced just prior to each session, which consists of team building, a 90-minute simulation, and debriefing. Approximately 300 Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Radiology students and over 500 standardized and volunteer patients participated in the Disaster Day event. To improve student learning outcomes, we created 3 competency-based instruments to evaluate collaborative practice in multidimensional fashion during this exercise. A 20-item IPE Team Observation Instrument designed to assess interprofessional team's attainment of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies was completed by 20 faculty and staff observing the Disaster Day simulation. One hundred sixty-six standardized patients completed a 10-item Standardized Patient IPE Team Evaluation Instrument developed from the IPEC competencies and adapted items from the 2014 Henry et al. PIVOT Questionnaire. This instrument assessed the standardized or volunteer patient's perception of the team's collaborative performance. A 29-item IPE Team's Perception of Collaborative Care Questionnaire, also created from the IPEC competencies and divided into 5 categories of Values/Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities

Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams. Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-12

Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling Tristan E. Johnson, Ph.D. Learning ...REPORT DATE AUG 2010 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Strategies to Enhance Online Learning ...TeamsTeam Strategies to Enhance Online Learning Teams: Team Assessment and Diagnostics Instrument and Agent-based Modeling 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT

Determinants of team-sport performance: implications for altitude training by team-sport athletes

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, David J; Girard, Olivier

2013-01-01

Team sports are increasingly popular, with millions of participants worldwide. Athletes engaged in these sports are required to repeatedly produce skilful actions and maximal or near-maximal efforts (eg, accelerations, changes in pace and direction, sprints, jumps and kicks), interspersed with brief recovery intervals (consisting of rest or low-intensity to moderate-intensity activity), over an extended period of time (1–2 h). While performance in most team sports is dominated by technical and tactical proficiencies, successful team-sport athletes must also have highly-developed, specific, physical capacities. Much effort goes into designing training programmes to improve these physical capacities, with expected benefits for team-sport performance. Recently, some team sports have introduced altitude training in the belief that it can further enhance team-sport physical performance. Until now, however, there is little published evidence showing improved team-sport performance following altitude training, despite the often considerable expense involved. In the absence of such studies, this review will identify important determinants of team-sport physical performance that may be improved by altitude training, with potential benefits for team-sport performance. These determinants can be broadly described as factors that enhance either sprint performance or the ability to recover from maximal or near-maximal efforts. There is some evidence that some of these physical capacities may be enhanced by altitude training, but further research is required to verify that these adaptations occur, that they are greater than what could be achieved by appropriate sea-level training and that they translate to improved team-sport performance. PMID:24282200

Determinants of team-sport performance: implications for altitude training by team-sport athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, David J; Girard, Olivier

2013-12-01

Team sports are increasingly popular, with millions of participants worldwide. Athletes engaged in these sports are required to repeatedly produce skilful actions and maximal or near-maximal efforts (eg, accelerations, changes in pace and direction, sprints, jumps and kicks), interspersed with brief recovery intervals (consisting of rest or low-intensity to moderate-intensity activity), over an extended period of time (1-2 h). While performance in most team sports is dominated by technical and tactical proficiencies, successful team-sport athletes must also have highly-developed, specific, physical capacities. Much effort goes into designing training programmes to improve these physical capacities, with expected benefits for team-sport performance. Recently, some team sports have introduced altitude training in the belief that it can further enhance team-sport physical performance. Until now, however, there is little published evidence showing improved team-sport performance following altitude training, despite the often considerable expense involved. In the absence of such studies, this review will identify important determinants of team-sport physical performance that may be improved by altitude training, with potential benefits for team-sport performance. These determinants can be broadly described as factors that enhance either sprint performance or the ability to recover from maximal or near-maximal efforts. There is some evidence that some of these physical capacities may be enhanced by altitude training, but further research is required to verify that these adaptations occur, that they are greater than what could be achieved by appropriate sea-level training and that they translate to improved team-sport performance.

Trauma team leaders' non-verbal communication: video registration during trauma team training.

Science.gov (United States)

Härgestam, Maria; Hultin, Magnus; Brulin, Christine; Jacobsson, Maritha

2016-03-25

There is widespread consensus on the importance of safe and secure communication in healthcare, especially in trauma care where time is a limiting factor. Although non-verbal communication has an impact on communication between individuals, there is only limited knowledge of how trauma team leaders communicate. The purpose of this study was to investigate how trauma team members are positioned in the emergency room, and how leaders communicate in terms of gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures during trauma team training. Eighteen trauma teams were audio and video recorded during trauma team training in the emergency department of a hospital in northern Sweden. Quantitative content analysis was used to categorize the team members' positions and the leaders' non-verbal communication: gaze direction, vocal nuances, and gestures. The quantitative data were interpreted in relation to the specific context. Time sequences of the leaders' gaze direction, speech time, and gestures were identified separately and registered as time (seconds) and proportions (%) of the total training time. The team leaders who gained control over the most important area in the emergency room, the "inner circle", positioned themselves as heads over the team, using gaze direction, gestures, vocal nuances, and verbal commands that solidified their verbal message. Changes in position required both attention and collaboration. Leaders who spoke in a hesitant voice, or were silent, expressed ambiguity in their non-verbal communication: and other team members took over the leader's tasks. In teams where the leader had control over the inner circle, the members seemed to have an awareness of each other's roles and tasks, knowing when in time and where in space these tasks needed to be executed. Deviations in the leaders' communication increased the ambiguity in the communication, which had consequences for the teamwork. Communication cannot be taken for granted; it needs to be practiced

Team Proactivity as a Linking Mechanism between Team Creative Efficacy, Transformational Leadership, and Risk-Taking Norms and Team Creative Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Yuhyung; Eom, Chanyoung

2014-01-01

Despite the growing body of research on creativity in team contexts, very few attempts have been made to explore the team-level antecedents and the mediating processes of team creative performance on the basis of a theoretical framework. To address this gap, drawing on Paulus and Dzindolet's (2008) group creativity model, this study proposed team…

Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams

OpenAIRE

Nieboer Anna P; Strating Mathilde MH

2009-01-01

Abstract Background Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory in healthcare quality improvement teams participating in a Dutch quality collaborative. Methods This study included quality improvement teams participating in the Care for Better improvement program for...

Innovation in globally distributed teams: the role of LMX, communication frequency, and member influence on team decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gajendran, Ravi S; Joshi, Aparna

2012-11-01

For globally distributed teams charged with innovation, member contributions to the team are crucial for effective performance. Prior research, however, suggests that members of globally distributed teams often feel isolated and excluded from their team's activities and decisions. How can leaders of such teams foster member inclusion in team decisions? Drawing on leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, we propose that for distributed teams, LMX and communication frequency jointly shape member influence on team decisions. Findings from a test of our hypotheses using data from 40 globally distributed teams suggest that LMX can enhance member influence on team decisions when it is sustained through frequent leader-member communication. This joint effect is strengthened as team dispersion increases. At the team level, member influence on team decisions has a positive effect on team innovation. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Comparison of indicators of the team game performance between the U.S. team and teams of his rivals at the World Championship Men 2010

OpenAIRE

Rédli, Tomáš

2011-01-01

Title of thesis: Comparison of indicators of the team game performance between the U.S. team and teams of his rivals at the Wprld Championship Men 2010 Aim of the thesis: The aim of the thesis is to compare indicators of the team game performance of Team USA and its rivals. On the basis of this comparison will be a confrontation of both teams after the match and find differences in their game performance. Methods of the thesis: The main method of the thesis is quantitative analysis of 6 selec...

Honor among thieves: The interaction of team and member deviance on trust in the team.

Science.gov (United States)

Schabram, Kira; Robinson, Sandra L; Cruz, Kevin S

2018-05-03

In this article, we examine member trust in deviant teams. We contend that a member's trust in his or her deviant team depends on the member's own deviant actions; although all members will judge the actions of their deviant teams as rational evidence that they should not be trusted, deviant members, but not honest members, can hold on to trust in their teams because of a sense of connection to the team. We tested our predictions in a field study of 562 members across 111 teams and 24 organizations as well as in an experiment of 178 participants in deviant and non-deviant teams. Both studies show that honest members experience a greater decline in trust as team deviance goes up. Moreover, our experiment finds that deviant members have as much trust in their deviant teams as honest members do in honest teams, but only in teams with coordinated rather than independent acts of deviance, in which deviant members engage in a variety of ongoing dynamics foundational to a sense of connection and affective-based trust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Tinkering self-efficacy and team interaction on freshman engineering design teams

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Arlisa Labrie

This study utilizes Bandura's theory of self-efficacy as a framework to examine the development of tinkering skills white working on a freshman engineering design team. The four sources of self-efficacy were analyzed in the context of tinkering within the design team. The research question, 'Does tinkering self-efficacy change for female students during the Freshman Engineering Design class while working on mixed sex teams?', was addressed using quantitative data collection and field observations. Approximately 41 students enrolled in a freshman engineering design class at a public university in the southwest participated by providing self-reports about their tinkering involvement during each design project. In addition, three mixed-sex student teams were observed while working to complete the course design projects. An observation protocol based on Bandura's sources of self efficacy, was used to document tinkering interactions within the three observed teams. The results revealed that Bandura's sources of self-efficacy influenced tinkering involvement. The self-efficacy source, performance accomplishment measured through prior tinkering experience, was the most influential on tinkering involvement. Unlike Bandura's ranking of influence, verbal persuasion was shown to correlate with more tinkering behaviors than the observation of others. The number of females on a team had no impact on tinkering involvement. Tinkering involvement did not change as students progressed from one project to another. However, the competitive nature of the design project appeared to have a negative impact on tinkering involvement and the division of tasks within the team. In addition, a difference was found in the female students' perception of their tinkering involvement and observation of their tinkering involvement. The findings suggest that effective implementation of teamwork including teamwork preparation, more emphasis on the design process and the elimination of competition

Building multidisciplinary business teams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyson, C.J.; Winte, N.C.

1991-01-01

This paper is a description of an approach to managing Exploration and Production assets through the operation of multidisciplinary business teams. The business team approach can assist in improved asset performance in terms of efficiency, motivation and business results, compared with more traditional matrix style hierarchies. Within this paper certain critical success factors for the long term success of multidiscipline teams are outlined, together with some of the risk of business team operation

Formalization of Team Creation

OpenAIRE

Cerman, Tomáš

2010-01-01

This paper is divided to practical and theoretical part. Theoretical part defines essential background of personality and work psychology which are pillars for using the personality and roles typology in practical part. I also define conceptions such as group, team, procedures of making the team. Practical part is focused at making the repertoary grid which outlines proximity of team roles, anchored in the repertoary grids upon personal atributes basis and picked team positions.

En atferdsfortolkning av team-effektivitet: med fagartikkel: Problemløsende strategi for team-atferd

OpenAIRE

Eriksen-Deinoff, Tina E. Svedenborg

2014-01-01

Master i læring i komplekse systemer The concept of team defines a group of people by design or by selection of behaviour in a collaborating working process. Overall, teams are supposed to perform with better outcome than individuals do. Scholars have voiced the need for more scientific research and documentation of how teams perform with higher efficiency and better effectiveness. Mainly, scholars measure team-effectiveness and team-efficiency with surveys, observer ratings or behavi...

Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team information sharing, psychological safety, and power distance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jia; Erdogan, Berrin; Jiang, Kaifeng; Bauer, Talya N; Liu, Songbo

2018-03-01

In this study, we identify leader humility, characterized by being open to admitting one's limitations, shortcomings, and mistakes, and showing appreciation and giving credit to followers, as a critical leader characteristic relevant for team creativity. Integrating the literatures on creativity and leadership, we explore the relationship between leader humility and team creativity, treating team psychological safety and team information sharing as mediators. Further, we hypothesize and examine team power distance as a moderator of the relationship. We tested our hypotheses using data gathered from 72 work teams and 354 individual members from 11 information and technology firms in China using a multiple-source, time-lagged research design. We found that the positive relationship between leader humility and team information sharing was significant and positive only within teams with a low power distance value. In addition, leader humility was negatively related to team psychological safety in teams with a high power distance value, whereas the relationship was positive yet nonsignificant in teams with low power distance. Furthermore, team information sharing and psychological safety were both significantly related to team creativity. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for leadership and work teams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Dreu, C.K.W.; Weingart, L.R.

2003-01-01

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, resultsrevealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and

Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: an examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jia; Liden, Robert C

2011-07-01

Integrating theories of self-regulation with team and leadership literatures, this study investigated goal and process clarity and servant leadership as 3 antecedents of team potency and subsequent team effectiveness, operationalized as team performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Our sample of 304 employees represented 71 teams in 5 banks. Results showed that team-level goal and process clarity as well as team servant leadership served as 3 antecedents of team potency and subsequent team performance and team organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, we found that servant leadership moderated the relationships between both goal and process clarity and team potency, such that the positive relationships between both goal and process clarity and team potency were stronger in the presence of servant leadership.

Helping fluid teams work: A research agenda for effective team adaptation in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedwell, Wendy L; Ramsay, P Scott; Salas, Eduardo

2012-12-01

Although membership changes within teams are a common practice, research into this phenomenon is relatively nascent (Summers et al.; Acad Manag J 55:314-338, 2012). The small literature base, however, does provide insight into skills required for effective adaptation. The purpose of this effort is to provide a brief research synopsis, leading to research hypotheses about medical team training. By generalizing previous scientific findings regarding skills required for effective membership adaptation in different kinds of teams, we posit mechanisms whereby teamwork training might also support adaptation among medical teams (Burke et al.; Qual & Saf Health Care 13:i96-i104, 2004 and Salas et al.; Theor Issues Ergon Sci 8:381-394, 2007). We provide an overview of the membership change literature. Drawing upon literature from both within and outside of the medical domain, we suggest a framework and research propositions to aid in research efforts designed to determine the best content for helping to create adaptable medical teams through team training efforts. For effective adaptation, we suggest ad hoc teams should be trained on generalizable teamwork skills, to share just "enough" and the "right" information, to engage in shared leadership, and to shift from explicit to implicit coordination. Our overarching goal was to present what is known from the general research literature on successful team adaptation to membership changes, and to propose a research agenda to evaluate whether findings generalize to member changes in medical teams.

Leadership for Distributed Teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Rooij, J.P.G.

2009-01-01

The aim of this dissertation was to study the little examined, yet important issue of leadership for distributed teams. Distributed teams are defined as: “teams of which members are geographically distributed and are therefore working predominantly via mediated communication means on an

Interpersonal team leadership skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, M

1995-05-01

To say that a team leader's job is a tough one is certainly not saying enough. It is up to the team leader to manage a group of people to be individuals but yet work as a team. The team leader must keep the peace and yet create a revolution with this group all at the same time. The good leader will require a lot of education, training, and tons of practical application to be a success. The good news, however, is that the team leader's job is a rewarding one, one that they'll always feel good about if they do it right. How many of us get the opportunity to take a group of wonderful, thinking individual minds and pull from them ideas that a whole team can take to success? Yes, the job is indeed tough, but the paybacks are many.

The role of justice in team member satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, J M; Douthitt, E A; Hyland, M M

2001-04-01

This study examined the effects of team decision accuracy, team member decision influence, leader consideration behaviors, and justice perceptions on staff members' satisfaction with the leader and attachment to the team in hierarchical decision-making teams. The authors proposed that staff members' justice perceptions would mediate the relationship between (a) team decision accuracy, (b) the amount of influence a staff member has in the team leader's decision, and (c) the leader's consideration behaviors and staff attachment to the team and satisfaction with the leader. The results of an experiment involving 128 participants in a total of 64 teams, who made recommendations to a confederate acting as the team leader, generally support the proposed model.

Team leaders' motivational behaviour and its influence upon team performance. A study on self-perceptions and team members' perceptions in a South African multinational

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Heijden, Beatrice; Verbaan, W.H.

2006-01-01

The aim of the study that is described in this article was to determine the relationship between team leaders' motivational behavior and the performance of their team members. Moreover, the differences between the team leaders' self-assessments of their motivational behavior and their team members'

Cultural Diversity and Team Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoogendoorn, Sander; Van Praag, Mirjam

One of the most salient and relevant dimensions of team heterogeneity is cultural background. We measure the impact of cultural diversity on the performance of business teams using a field experiment. Companies are set up by teams of undergraduate students in business studies in realistic though...... similar circumstances. We vary the cultural composition of otherwise randomly composed teams in a multi-cultural student population. Our data indicate that a moderate level of cultural diversity has no effect on team performance in terms of business outcomes (sales, profits and profits per share). However......, if at least the majority of team members is culturally diverse then more cultural diversity seems to affect the performance of teams positively. Our data suggest that this might be related to the more diverse pool of relevant knowledge facilitating (mutual) learning within culturally diverse teams....

Team skills training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coe, R.P.; Carl, D.R.

1991-01-01

Numerous reports and articles have been written recently on the importance of team skills training for nuclear reactor operators, but little has appeared on the practical application of this theoretical guidance. This paper describes the activities of the Training and Education Department at GPU Nuclear (GPUN). In 1987, GPUN undertook a significant initiative in its licensed operator training programs to design and develop initial and requalification team skills training. Prior to that time, human interaction skills training (communication, stress management, supervisory skills, etc.) focused more on the individual rather than a group. Today, GPU Nuclear conducts team training at both its Three Mile Island (YMI), PA and Oyster Creek (OC), NJ generating stations. Videotaped feedback is sued extensively to critique and reinforce targeted behaviors. In fact, the TMI simulator trainer has a built-in, four camera system specifically designed for team training. Evaluations conducted on this training indicated these newly acquired skills are being carried over to the work environment. Team training is now an important and on-going part of GPUN operator training

Me, Myself, My Team How to be an effective team player using NLP

CERN Document Server

McLeod, Angus

2006-01-01

Me, Myself, My Team brings you effective strategies to improve your team's communication and motivation, discover new perceptions and begin new courses of action. Full of practical ideas, this exceptional book demonstrates how team playing achieves the best results.

Development of an Integrated Team Training Design and Assessment Architecture to Support Adaptability in Healthcare Teams

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

provision of training is not a major focus of this project, trainees were able to practice trauma management skills as well as leadership skills...SUBJECT TERMS Military healthcare team; Trauma teams; Team training; Teamwork; Adaptive performance; Leadership ; Simulation; Modeling; Bayesian belief...ABBREVIATIONS Healthcare team Trauma Trauma teams Team training Teamwork Adaptability Adaptive performance Leadership Simulation Modeling

The rehabilitation team: staff perceptions of the hospital environment, the interdisciplinary team environment, and interprofessional relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Strasser, D C; Falconer, J A; Martino-Saltzmann, D

1994-02-01

Although inpatient rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary activity organized around a treatment team, there is a limited understanding of the workings of the interdisciplinary process. To elucidate staff perceptions of key aspects of the rehabilitation treatment process, we surveyed staff (n = 113) from selected inpatient teams. The staff completed social psychological instruments that measure perceptions of the hospital environment (The Ward Atmosphere Scale [WAS]), the team's environment (the Group Environment Scale [GES]), and interprofessional relations (Interprofessional Perception Scale [IPS]). Rehabilitation staff generally endorse the team approach, but express concerns over professional boundaries. Interprofessional difficulties seemed to be independent of team membership or professional training. Compared with published data from other settings, rehabilitation teams resembled task-oriented groups, but showed significant differences across teams in their perceptions of the team and hospital environments. The task-oriented character of rehabilitation teams, team-specific characteristics, and discord in interprofessional relationships may need to be considered in studies of rehabilitation teams effectiveness.

Facilitating Team Cognition : How designers mirror what NPD teams do

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stompff, G.

2012-01-01

Products are developed by large multi-disciplinary teams. The teams deal with many topics requiring the expertise of several specialists simultaneously. They have to decide together if something is a problem; propose multi-disciplinary solutions; and align their activities into a seamless whole.

Fostering teachers' team learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwmans, Machiel; Runhaar, Piety; Wesselink, Renate; Mulder, Martin

2017-01-01

The implementation of educational innovations by teachers seems to benefit from a team approach and team learning. The study's goal is to examine to what extent transformational leadership is associated with team learning, and to investigate the mediating roles of participative decision-making,

Leader evaluation and team cohesiveness in the process of team development: A matter of gender?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Núria Rovira-Asenjo

Full Text Available Leadership positions are still stereotyped as masculine, especially in male-dominated fields (e.g., engineering. So how do gender stereotypes affect the evaluation of leaders and team cohesiveness in the process of team development? In our study participants worked in 45 small teams (4-5 members. Each team was headed by either a female or male leader, so that 45 leaders (33% women supervised 258 team members (39% women. Over a period of nine months, the teams developed specific engineering projects as part of their professional undergraduate training. We examined leaders' self-evaluation, their evaluation by team members, and team cohesiveness at two points of time (month three and month nine, the final month of the collaboration. While we did not find any gender differences in leaders' self-evaluation at the beginning, female leaders evaluated themselves more favorably than men at the end of the projects. Moreover, female leaders were evaluated more favorably than male leaders at the beginning of the project, but the evaluation by team members did not differ at the end of the projects. Finally, we found a tendency for female leaders to build more cohesive teams than male leaders.

Leader evaluation and team cohesiveness in the process of team development: A matter of gender?

Science.gov (United States)

Sczesny, Sabine; Gumí, Tània; Guimerà, Roger; Sales-Pardo, Marta

2017-01-01

Leadership positions are still stereotyped as masculine, especially in male-dominated fields (e.g., engineering). So how do gender stereotypes affect the evaluation of leaders and team cohesiveness in the process of team development? In our study participants worked in 45 small teams (4–5 members). Each team was headed by either a female or male leader, so that 45 leaders (33% women) supervised 258 team members (39% women). Over a period of nine months, the teams developed specific engineering projects as part of their professional undergraduate training. We examined leaders’ self-evaluation, their evaluation by team members, and team cohesiveness at two points of time (month three and month nine, the final month of the collaboration). While we did not find any gender differences in leaders’ self-evaluation at the beginning, female leaders evaluated themselves more favorably than men at the end of the projects. Moreover, female leaders were evaluated more favorably than male leaders at the beginning of the project, but the evaluation by team members did not differ at the end of the projects. Finally, we found a tendency for female leaders to build more cohesive teams than male leaders. PMID:29059231

Effects of team tenure and leadership in self-managing teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stoker, J.I.

2008-01-01

Purpose - This study seeks to identify the relationship between leader behaviour and the effectiveness of the members of a self-managing team (SMT) in terms of perceived individual performance and emotional exhaustion. In particular, it aims to examine the moderating role of individual team tenure.

The impact of team and work characteristics on team functioning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molleman, E.; Slomp, J.

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors seek to strengthen the theoretical foundation of team and cell formation through the inclusion of human factors. They distinguish three types of team characteristics: global, shared, and compositional attributes. In this last category, they also deal with diversity in

Effects of presentation modality on team awareness and choice accuracy in a simulated police team task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Streefkerk, J.W.; Wiering, C.; Esch van-Bussemakers, M.; Neerincx, M.

2008-01-01

Team awareness is important when asking team members for assistance, for example in the police domain. This paper investigates how presentation modality (visual or auditory) of relevant team information and communication influences team awareness and choice accuracy in a collaborative team task. An

PENGARUH EMOTIONAL INTELLEGENCE, KNOWLEDGE SHARING DAN TEAM CONFLICT TERHADAP TEAM PERFORMANCE DI RUMAH SAKIT UNDATA PALU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukman Setiawan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to: (1 analyze the influence of emotional intellegence to performance team at Undata Hospital, (2 to analyze the influence of Knowledge Sharing to the performance team at Undata Hospital, (3 to analyze the influence of  team conflict to the team Performance at Undata Hospital, (4 to analyze the influence of emotional intellegence, Knowledge Sharing and team Conflict to the team Performance at Undata Hospital, (5 to know the dominant variable affecting the performance team at Undata Hospital. This study uses primary data through survey as many as 31 employees of the leadership element as a sample, the survey conducted for 2 (two months of May s.d July 2017. Data were analyzed using the program SPSS.22 The results showed that: (1 Emotional Intelligence and knowledge sharing have positive and significant influence on performance team at Undata Hospital, (2 Emotional Intellegence dominant influence to performance team at Undata Hospital. This means that emotional intellegence, knowledge sharing and team conflict can improve team performance at Undata Hospital with scientific facts found in this study indicate that emotional intellegence is the dominant variable of influence on team performance at Undata Hospital

Tiger Team audits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheney, G.T.

1992-01-01

This paper will address the purpose, scope, and approach of the Department of Energy Tiger Team Assessments. It will use the Tiger Team Assessment experience of Sandia National Laboratories at Albuquerque, New Mexico, as illustration

Structuring Effective Student Teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickson, Ellen L.

1997-01-01

Experience with student teams working on policy analysis projects indicates the need for faculty supervision of teams in the process of addressing complex issues. The problem-solving approach adopted in one policy analysis course is described, including assignments and tasks, issues and sponsors, team dynamics, conflict management, and the…

The NPD team conflict

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Zheng; Lin, Chih-Cheng; Tanev, Stoyan

2012-01-01

elaborates on the role of culture diversity and geographical dispersion in NPD team conflict. A simulation is conducted where organizations may be regarded as complex systems to affect the team conflict with a variety of influences. The results firstly indicate that there are two dimensions of NPD team...... conflict: stable and unstable dimensions with four elements: task characteristics, group members’ relationship, cultural diversity and geographical dispersion; secondly, there are two phenomena whereby the geographical dispersion influences the NPD team interaction, and the influence between cultural...

Affirmative action and team performance

OpenAIRE

Kölle, Felix

2016-01-01

We experimentally investigate spillover effects of affirmative action policies in tournaments on subsequent team performance and the willingness to work in teams. In three different team environments, we find that such policies in form of gender quotas do not harm performance and cooperation within teams, and do not weaken people's willingness to work in teams. Our results, thus, provide further evidence that gender quotas can have the desired effect of promoting women without harming efficie...

Project team motyvation

OpenAIRE

Jasionis, Dominykas

2016-01-01

The term paper is to analyze the formation of the team and its - motyvation, and interviews from four different companies and find out the leaders in terms of your team, and what principle he tries to motivate her. The Tasks of this paper is to review the organization formed by a team; investigate the promotion of employees in enterprises; The four firms interviewed; Assess how you can work in different organizations. Methods used To analyze the topic, I decided to interview four different co...

A season-long team-building intervention: examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Senécal, Julie; Loughead, Todd M; Bloom, Gordon A

2008-04-01

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the implementation of a season-long team-building intervention program using team goal setting increased perceptions of cohesion. The participants were 86 female high school basketball players from 8 teams. The teams were randomly assigned to either an experimental team goal-setting or control condition. Each participant completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 2002; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985), which assessed cohesion at both the beginning and end of the season. Overall, the results revealed a significant multivariate effect, Pillai's trace F(12, 438) = 2.68, p = .002. Post hoc analyses showed that at the beginning of the season, athletes from both conditions did not differ in their perceptions of cohesion. However, at the end of the season, athletes in the team goal-setting condition held higher perceptions of cohesion than athletes in the control condition. Overall, the results indicated that team goal setting was an effective team-building tool for influencing cohesiveness in sport teams.

Virtual team learning: The role of collaboration process and technology affordance in team decision making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean Cordes

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The study examines two dimensions that impact virtual team decision making. One is the influence of collaboration process structure: the sequences, patterns, and routines participants use to interact and solve problems. The other is technology affordance: the strengths and weaknesses of technologies in terms of the usefulness they offer to teams when performing tasks. Some teams used a structured collaboration process with monitoring, coordination, and backup functions during a decision-making discussion. Other teams had no discussion process instructions. In addition, some teams possessed stronger technology affordance including both chat and an editable document. Other teams used chat technology alone, which offered fewer collaboration possibilities. The collaboration process and technology affordance factors were tested in an experiment in which four-person online teams worked as a personnel hiring committee. Information about four job candidates was distributed to create a hidden profile in which some information was shared across all team members, while other information was visible only to specific members. Two hundred and eight students, comprising fifty-two teams completed the study. Teams using the structured collaboration process made more accurate and higher-quality decisions. In addition, scores were higher when technology affordance included both chat and editable document tools, but this influence was not significant.

Team Training for Dynamic Cross-Functional Teams in Aviation: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Performance Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlepage, Glenn E; Hein, Michael B; Moffett, Richard G; Craig, Paul A; Georgiou, Andrea M

2016-12-01

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a training program designed to improve cross-functional coordination in airline operations. Teamwork across professional specializations is essential for safe and efficient airline operations, but aviation education primarily emphasizes positional knowledge and skill. Although crew resource management training is commonly used to provide some degree of teamwork training, it is generally focused on specific specializations, and little training is provided in coordination across specializations. The current study describes and evaluates a multifaceted training program designed to enhance teamwork and team performance of cross-functional teams within a simulated airline flight operations center. The training included a variety of components: orientation training, position-specific declarative knowledge training, position-specific procedural knowledge training, a series of high-fidelity team simulations, and a series of after-action reviews. Following training, participants demonstrated more effective teamwork, development of transactive memory, and more effective team performance. Multifaceted team training that incorporates positional training and team interaction in complex realistic situations and followed by after-action reviews can facilitate teamwork and team performance. Team training programs, such as the one described here, have potential to improve the training of aviation professionals. These techniques can be applied to other contexts where multidisciplinary teams and multiteam systems work to perform highly interdependent activities. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Virtual Project Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Pernille

technology in six real-life virtual teams, two in industry and four in education, applying interpretative research and action research methods. Two main lines of investigation are pursued: the first involves an examination of the organisational issues related to groupware adaptation in virtual project teams......, professional disciplines, time differences and technology. This thesis comprises a general introduction, referred to as the summary report, and seven research papers, which deal in detail with the results and findings of the empirical cases. The summary report provides a general introduction to the research......, while the second looks at the social context and practices of virtual project teams. Two of the key findings are 1) that the process of groupware adaptation by virtual project teams can be viewed as a process of expanding and aligning the technological frames of the participants, which includes mutual...

The Relationship between Creative Personality Composition, Innovative Team Climate, and Team Innovativeness: An Input-Process-Output Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Mathisen, Gro Ellen; Martinsen, Oyvind; Einarsen, Stale

2008-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between creative personality composition, innovative team climate, and team innovation based on an input-process-output model. We measured personality with the Creative Person Profile, team climate with the Team Climate Inventory, and team innovation through team-member and supervisor reports of team…

Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.M.H. Strating (Mathilde); A.P. Nieboer (Anna)

2009-01-01

textabstractAbstract BACKGROUND: Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate

Team errors: definition and taxonomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasou, Kunihide; Reason, James

1999-01-01

In error analysis or error management, the focus is usually upon individuals who have made errors. In large complex systems, however, most people work in teams or groups. Considering this working environment, insufficient emphasis has been given to 'team errors'. This paper discusses the definition of team errors and its taxonomy. These notions are also applied to events that have occurred in the nuclear power industry, aviation industry and shipping industry. The paper also discusses the relations between team errors and Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs). As a result, the proposed definition and taxonomy are found to be useful in categorizing team errors. The analysis also reveals that deficiencies in communication, resource/task management, excessive authority gradient, excessive professional courtesy will cause team errors. Handling human errors as team errors provides an opportunity to reduce human errors

Establishment of self-governing teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Voxted, Søren

Paperet har til formål at diskutere former for deltaglse og autonomi ved forkellige typer af teams både som team og for teamets enkeldeltagere......Paperet har til formål at diskutere former for deltaglse og autonomi ved forkellige typer af teams både som team og for teamets enkeldeltagere...

Predictors of Team Work Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Hamlyn-Harris, James H.; Hurst, Barbara J.; von Baggo, Karola; Bayley, Anthony J.

2006-01-01

The ability to work in teams is an attribute highly valued by employers of information technology (IT) graduates. For IT students to effectively engage in team work tasks, the process of working in teams should be satisfying for the students. This work explored whether university students who were involved in compulsory team work were satisfied…

Interactions of Team Mental Models and Monitoring Behaviors Predict Team Performance in Simulated Anesthesia Inductions

Science.gov (United States)

Burtscher, Michael J.; Kolbe, Michaela; Wacker, Johannes; Manser, Tanja

2011-01-01

In the present study, we investigated how two team mental model properties (similarity vs. accuracy) and two forms of monitoring behavior (team vs. systems) interacted to predict team performance in anesthesia. In particular, we were interested in whether the relationship between monitoring behavior and team performance was moderated by team…

Performance of Student Software Development Teams: The Influence of Personality and Identifying as Team Members

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, Conal; Bizumic, Boris; Reynolds, Katherine; Smithson, Michael; Johns-Boast, Lynette; van Rooy, Dirk

2015-01-01

One prominent approach in the exploration of the variations in project team performance has been to study two components of the aggregate personalities of the team members: conscientiousness and agreeableness. A second line of research, known as self-categorisation theory, argues that identifying as team members and the team's performance norms…

Leadership by Confidence in Teams

OpenAIRE

Kobayashi, Hajime; Suehiro, Hideo

2008-01-01

We study endogenous signaling by analyzing a team production problem with endogenous timing. Each agent of the team is privately endowed with some level of confidence about team productivity. Each of them must then commit a level of effort in one of two periods. At the end of each period, each agent observes his partner' s move in this period. Both agents are rewarded by a team output determined by team productivity and total invested effort. Each agent must personally incur the cost of effor...

Team Creative Environment as a Mediator Between CWX and R&D Team Performance and Moderating Boundary Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bornay-Barrachina, Mar; Herrero, Inés

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how high-quality dyadic co-worker relationships (CWXs) favour or hinder team performance. Specifically, we examine the role played by CWX, team creative environment, job complexity and task interdependence to achieve higher levels of team performance. We analyse data from 410 individuals belonging to 81 R&D teams in technology sciences to examine the quality of the dyadic relationships between team members under the same supervisor (co-workers) and team performance measured by the number of publications as their research output. Higher levels of team average CWX relationships are positively related to the establishment of a favourable creative team environment, ending into higher levels of team performance. Specifically, the role played by team average CWX in such relationship is stronger when job complexity and task interdependence are also high. Team's output not only depends on the leader and his/her relationships with subordinates but also on quality relationships among team members. CWXs contribute to creative team environments, but they are essential where jobs are complex and tasks are highly dependent. This study provides evidence of the important role played by CWXs in determining a creative environment, irrespective of their leaders. Previous research has provided information about how leader's role affects team outcomes, but the role of dyadic co-worker relationships in a team remains still relatively unknown. Considering job complexity and task interdependence variables, the study provides with a better understanding about how and when high-quality CWXs should be promoted to achieve higher team performance.

Leadership for Team Learning: The Case of University Teacher Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke G. M.; Van der Klink, Marcel R.; Van den Bossche, Piet; Gijselaers, Wim H.

2018-01-01

Teacher team involvement is considered a key factor in achieving sustainable innovation in higher education. This requires engaging in team learning behaviors that should result in new knowledge and solutions. However, university teachers are not used to discussing their work practices with one another and tend to neglect any innovation in their…

Experimental evaluation of the influence of the team members' personalities on the team performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagasaka, Akihiko

1998-01-01

This report deals with the result of the experiment that testees' teams had coped with abnormal events on power plant simulator. 8 teams were AAA1, AAA2, ACD1, ACD2, CCC1, CCC2, DDD1 and DDD2 consist of 3 members. Members of teams were intentionally united by his personality with the results examined by Yatabe-Guilford personality test (A: Average type, C: Calm type, D: Director type). Each team coped with 8 abnormal events (leak from the pipe after the condensate booster pump-A and feedwater control system failure, vacuum pump-A failure, etc.). Teams' behaviors were evaluated and calculated the evaluated values about 3 team's functions: (1) direction and orientation (11 items), (2) recovery (13 items) and (3) maintenance of cooperation (13 items). The order of the evaluated values were almost AAAs≤ACDs≤CCCs< DDDs with each function. And the results on multiple comparison of the evaluated values are as follows: (a) There are remarkable significances between DDDs and other combinations of personalities (32 cases per 36 cases). (b) Some cases are significant among 2 teams of same combination of personalities (4 cases per 12 cases). Also the results on analysis of utterances of team member are as follows: (c) There is good correspondence of the number of utterances to the evaluated values. (d) With AAAs, the number of 'Instruction' is very small. (e) With CCCs, utterances related to maintenance of cooperation are relatively few. On these results, the author is convinced that combination of personalities in not matured team certainly relates team performance and utterances among the members. (author)

An examination of organizational and team commitment in a self-directed team environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, James W; Scott, K Dow

2000-06-01

A model hypothesizing differential relationships among predictor variables and individual commitment to the organization and work team was tested. Data from 485 members of sewing teams supported the existence of differential relationships between predictors and organizational and team commitment. In particular, intersender conflict and satisfaction with coworkers were more strongly related to team commitment than to organizational commitment. Resource-related conflict and satisfaction with supervision were more strongly related to organizational commitment than to team commitment. Perceived task interdependence was strongly related to both commitment foci. Contrary to prediction, the relationships between perceived task interdependence and the 2 commitment foci were not significantly different. Relationships with antecedent variables help explain how differential levels of commitment to the 2 foci may be formed. Indirect effects of exogenous variables are reported.

Leader emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, trust and team commitment: Testing a model within a team context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton F. Schlechter

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This exploratory study tested a model within a team context consisting of transformational-leadership behaviour, team-leader emotional intelligence, trust (both in the team leader and in the team members and team commitment. It was conducted within six manufacturing plants, with 25 teams participating. Of the 320 surveys distributed to these teams, 178 were received (which equals a 56% response rate. The surveys consisted of the multi-factor leadership questionnaire (MLQ, the Swinburne University emotional intelligence test (SUEIT, the organisational-commitment scale (OCS (adapted for team commitment and the workplace trust survey (WTS. The validity of these scales was established using exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confrmatory factor analysis (CFA. The Cronbach alpha was used to assess the reliability of the scales. The model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM; an acceptable level of model ft was found. Signifcant positive relationships were further found among all the constructs. Such an integrated model has not been tested in a team context before and the positive fndings therefore add to existing teamwork literature. The fnding that transformational leadership and leader emotional intelligence are positively related to team commitment and trust further emphasises the importance of effective leadership behaviour in team dynamics and performance.

Cohesion, team mental models, and collective efficacy: towards an integrated framework of team dynamics in sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Filho, Edson; Tenenbaum, Gershon; Yang, Yanyun

2015-01-01

A nomological network on team dynamics in sports consisting of a multiframework perspective is introduced and tested. The aim was to explore the interrelationship among cohesion, team mental models (TMMs), collective efficacy (CE) and perceived performance potential (PPP). Three hundred and forty college-aged soccer players representing 17 different teams (8 female and 9 male) participated in the study. They responded to surveys on team cohesion, TMMs, CE and PPP. Results are congruent with the theoretical conceptualisation of a parsimonious view of team dynamics in sports. Specifically, cohesion was found to be an exogenous variable predicting both TMMs and CE beliefs. TMMs and CE were correlated and predicted PPP, which in turn accounted for 59% of the variance of objective performance scores as measured by teams' season record. From a theoretical standpoint, findings resulted in a parsimonious view of team dynamics, which may represent an initial step towards clarifying the epistemological roots and nomological network of various team-level properties. From an applied standpoint, results suggest that team expertise starts with the establishment of team cohesion. Following the establishment of cohesiveness, teammates are able to advance team-related schemas and a collective sense of confidence. Limitations and key directions for future research are outlined.

Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nieboer Anna P

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory in healthcare quality improvement teams participating in a Dutch quality collaborative. Methods This study included quality improvement teams participating in the Care for Better improvement program for home care, care for the handicapped and the elderly in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2008. As part of a larger evaluation study 270 written questionnaires from team members were collected at baseline and 139 questionnaires at end measurement. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, Pearson correlations and paired samples t-tests were conducted to investigate construct validity, reliability, predictive validity and temporal stability. Results Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the expected four-factor structure and good fit indices. For the four subscales – vision, participative safety, task orientation and support for innovation – acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients and high inter-item correlations were found. The four subscales all proved significant predictors of perceived team effectiveness, with participatory safety being the best predictor. As expected the four subscales were found to be stable over time; i.e. without significant changes between baseline and end measurement. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the TCI-14 are satisfactory. Together these results show that the TCI-14 is a useful instrument to assess to what extent aspects of team climate influence perceived team effectiveness of quality improvement teams.

Psychometric test of the Team Climate Inventory-short version investigated in Dutch quality improvement teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Strating, Mathilde M H; Nieboer, Anna P

2009-07-24

Although some studies have used the Team Climate Inventory within teams working in health care settings, none of these included quality improvement teams. The aim of our study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory in healthcare quality improvement teams participating in a Dutch quality collaborative. This study included quality improvement teams participating in the Care for Better improvement program for home care, care for the handicapped and the elderly in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2008. As part of a larger evaluation study 270 written questionnaires from team members were collected at baseline and 139 questionnaires at end measurement. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, Pearson correlations and paired samples t-tests were conducted to investigate construct validity, reliability, predictive validity and temporal stability. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the expected four-factor structure and good fit indices. For the four subscales--vision, participative safety, task orientation and support for innovation--acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients and high inter-item correlations were found. The four subscales all proved significant predictors of perceived team effectiveness, with participatory safety being the best predictor. As expected the four subscales were found to be stable over time; i.e. without significant changes between baseline and end measurement. The psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the TCI-14 are satisfactory. Together these results show that the TCI-14 is a useful instrument to assess to what extent aspects of team climate influence perceived team effectiveness of quality improvement teams.

Is perceived athlete leadership quality related to team effectiveness? A comparison of three professional sports teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Fransen, Katrien; Haslam, S Alexander; Mallett, Clifford J; Steffens, Niklas K; Peters, Kim; Boen, Filip

2017-08-01

Researchers have argued that leadership is one of the most important determinants of team effectiveness. The present study examined the extent to which the perceived quality of athlete leadership was related to the effectiveness of elite sports teams. Three professional football teams (N=135) participated in our study during the preparation phase for the Australian 2016 season. Players and coaching staff were asked to assess players' leadership quality in four leadership roles (as task, motivational, social, and external leader) via an online survey. The leadership quality in each of these roles was then calculated in a social network analysis by averaging the indegree centralities of the three best leaders in that particular role. Participants also rated their team's performance and its functioning on multiple indicators. As hypothesized, the team with the highest-quality athlete leadership on each of the four leadership roles excelled in all indicators of team effectiveness. More specifically, athletes in this team had a stronger shared sense of the team's purpose, they were more highly committed to realizing the team's goals, and they had a greater confidence in their team's abilities than athletes in the other teams. Moreover, this team demonstrated a higher task-involving and a lower ego-involving climate, and excelled on all measures of performance. High-quality athlete leadership is positively related to team effectiveness. Given the importance of high-quality athlete leadership, the study highlights the need for well-designed empirically-based leadership development programs. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Basketball teams as strategic networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Fewell, Jennifer H; Armbruster, Dieter; Ingraham, John; Petersen, Alexander; Waters, James S

2012-01-01

We asked how team dynamics can be captured in relation to function by considering games in the first round of the NBA 2010 play-offs as networks. Defining players as nodes and ball movements as links, we analyzed the network properties of degree centrality, clustering, entropy and flow centrality across teams and positions, to characterize the game from a network perspective and to determine whether we can assess differences in team offensive strategy by their network properties. The compiled network structure across teams reflected a fundamental attribute of basketball strategy. They primarily showed a centralized ball distribution pattern with the point guard in a leadership role. However, individual play-off teams showed variation in their relative involvement of other players/positions in ball distribution, reflected quantitatively by differences in clustering and degree centrality. We also characterized two potential alternate offensive strategies by associated variation in network structure: (1) whether teams consistently moved the ball towards their shooting specialists, measured as "uphill/downhill" flux, and (2) whether they distributed the ball in a way that reduced predictability, measured as team entropy. These network metrics quantified different aspects of team strategy, with no single metric wholly predictive of success. However, in the context of the 2010 play-offs, the values of clustering (connectedness across players) and network entropy (unpredictability of ball movement) had the most consistent association with team advancement. Our analyses demonstrate the utility of network approaches in quantifying team strategy and show that testable hypotheses can be evaluated using this approach. These analyses also highlight the richness of basketball networks as a dataset for exploring the relationships between network structure and dynamics with team organization and effectiveness.

Professional Team Foundation Server 2010

CERN Document Server

Blankenship, Ed; Holliday, Grant; Keller, Brian

2011-01-01

Authoritative guide to TFS 2010 from a dream team of Microsoft insiders and MVPs!Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) has evolved until it is now an essential tool for Microsoft?s Application Lifestyle Management suite of productivity tools, enabling collaboration within and among software development teams. By 2011, TFS will replace Microsoft?s leading source control system, VisualSourceSafe, resulting in an even greater demand for information about it. Professional Team Foundation Server 2010, written by an accomplished team of Microsoft insiders and Microsoft MVPs, provides

The Ability–Motivation–Opportunity Framework for Team Innovation: Efficacy Beliefs, Proactive Personalities, Supportive Supervision and Team Innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Krapež Trošt

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Based on ability–motivation–opportunity theoretical framework, the study explores the interplay among team members’ proactive personalities (abilities, collective efficacy (motivation, and supportive supervision (opportunity, and their interaction in predicting team innovation. Multi-level study of 249 employees nested within 64 teams from one German and three Slovenian hi-tech companies showed that collective efficacy was positively related to team innovation. However, the effect of collective efficacy on team innovation was weaker when high levels of supportive supervision and proactivity moderated this relationship. When teams perceived lower levels of collective efficacy, team proactivity, and supportive supervision were more important for achieving higher levels of team innovation as they were when teams perceived lower levels of motivation. We discuss theoretical and practical implications

Climate Action Team

Science.gov (United States)

Science Partnerships Contact Us Climate Action Team & Climate Action Initiative The Climate Action programs and the state's Climate Adaptation Strategy. The CAT members are state agency secretaries and the . See CAT reports Climate Action Team Pages CAT Home Members Working Groups Reports Back to Top

Cognitive model supported team skill training

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doesburg, W.A. van; Stroomer, S.M.

2006-01-01

Complex tasks require coordinated performance by multiple team members. To perform the task effectively each team member must not only master the individual task component but also needs to function in the overall team. To increase team performance, each team member will need to acquire the relevant

The moderating role of team resources in translating nursing teams' accountability into learning and performance: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rashkovits, Sarit; Drach-Zahavy, Anat

2017-05-01

The aim of this study was to test the moderated-mediation model suggesting that nursing teams' accountability affects team effectiveness by enhancing team learning when relevant resources are available to the team. Disappointing evidence regarding improvement in nurses' safe and quality care elevate the need in broadening our knowledge regarding the factors that enhance constant learning in nursing teams. Accountability is considered as crucial for team learning and quality of care but empirical findings have shown mixed evidence. A cross-sectional design. Forty-four nursing teams participated in the study. Data were collected in 2013-2014: Head nurses completed validated questionnaires, regarding team resources for learning (time availability, team autonomy and team performance feedback), and nursing teams' effectiveness; and nurses answered questionnaires regarding teams' accountability and learning (answers were aggregated to the team level). The model was tested using a moderated-mediation analysis with resources as moderating variables, and team learning as the mediator in the team accountability-team effectiveness link. The results of a mixed linear regression show that, as expected, nursing teams' accountability was positively linked to nursing teams' learning, when time availability, and team autonomy were high rather than low, and team performance feedback was low rather than high. Nurturing team accountability is not enough for achieving team learning and subsequent team effectiveness. Rather there is a need to provide nursing teams with adequate time, autonomy, and be cautious with performance feedback, as the latter may motivate nurses to repeat routine work strategies rather than explore improved ones. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Self-Managed Work Teams in Nursing Homes: Implementing and Empowering Nurse Aide Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Yeatts, Dale E.; Cready, Cynthia; Ray, Beth; DeWitt, Amy; Queen, Courtney

2004-01-01

Purpose: This article describes the progress of our study to examine the advantages and costs of using self-managed nurse aide teams in nursing homes, steps that are being taken to implement such teams, and management strategies being used to manage the teams. Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental design is underway where certified nurse aide…

Team Mentoring for Interdisciplinary Team Science: Lessons From K12 Scholars and Directors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Geller, Stacie; Regensteiner, Judith G; Raymond, Nancy; Nagel, Joan

2017-02-01

Mentoring is critical for academic success. As science transitions to a team science model, team mentoring may have advantages. The goal of this study was to understand the process, benefits, and challenges of team mentoring relating to career development and research. A national survey was conducted of Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program directors-current and former scholars from 27 active National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded BIRCWH NIH K12 programs-to characterize and understand the value and challenges of the team approach to mentoring. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Responses were received from 25/27 (93%) program directors, 78/108 (72%) current scholars, and 91/162 (56%) former scholars. Scholars reported that team mentoring was beneficial to their career development (152/169; 90%) and research (148/169; 88%). Reported advantages included a diversity of opinions, expanded networking, development of stronger study designs, and modeling of different career paths. Challenges included scheduling and managing conflicting opinions. Advice by directors offered to junior faculty entering team mentoring included the following: not to be intimidated by senior mentors, be willing to navigate conflicting advice, be proactive about scheduling and guiding discussions, have an open mind to different approaches, be explicit about expectations and mentors' roles (including importance of having a primary mentor to help navigate discussions), and meet in person as a team. These findings suggest that interdisciplinary/interprofessional team mentoring has many important advantages, but that skills are required to optimally utilize multiple perspectives.

Leader-team congruence in power distance values and team effectiveness: the mediating role of procedural justice climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Michael S; Carter, Min Z; Zhang, Zhen

2013-11-01

We examine the effect of (in)congruence between leaders' and teams' power distance values on team effectiveness. We hypothesize that the (in)congruence between these values would differentially predict team effectiveness, with procedural justice climate serving as a mediator. Using multisource data and polynomial regression, we found that similarities (and differences) between leaders' and their teams' power distance values can have consequential effects on teams' justice climate and, ultimately, their effectiveness (viz., team performance and team organizational citizenship behavior). We conclude that to fully understand the implications of power distance, one should consider the multiple perspectives of both leaders and team members. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Using Artificial Team Members for Military Team Training in Virtual Environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diggelen, J. van; Heuvelink, A.; Muller, T.; ; Bosch, K. van den

2010-01-01

Developing good team skills usually involves exercises with all team members playing their role. This approach is costly and has organizational and educational drawbacks. For the Netherlands army, we developed a more efficient and flexible approach by setting training in virtual environments, and

Healthcare management strategies: interdisciplinary team factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreatta, Pamela; Marzano, David

2012-12-01

Interdisciplinary team factors are significant contributors to clinical performance and associated patient outcomes. Quality of care and patient safety initiatives identify human factors associated with team performance as a prime improvement area for clinical patient care. The majority of references to interdisciplinary teams in obstetrics and gynecology in the literature recommends the use of multidisciplinary approaches when managing complex medical cases. The reviewed literature suggests that interdisciplinary team development is important for achieving optimally efficient and effective performance; however, few reports provide specific recommendations for how to optimally achieve these objectives in the process of providing interdisciplinary care to patients. The absence of these recommendations presents a significant challenge for those tasked with improving team performance in the workplace. The prescribed team development programs cited in the review are principally built around communication strategies and simulation-based training mechanisms. Few reports provide descriptions of optimal team-based competencies in the various contexts of obstetric and gynecology teams. However, team-based evaluation strategies and empirical data documenting the transfer of team training to applied clinical care are increasing in number and quality. Our findings suggest that research toward determining team factors that promote optimal performance in applied clinical practice requires definition of specific competencies for the variable teams serving obstetrics and gynecology.

Three images of interdisciplinary team meetings.

Science.gov (United States)

Crepeau, E B

1994-08-01

Teams are an essential aspect of health care today, especially in rehabilitation or chronic illness where the course of care is frequently long, complex, and unpredictable. The coordinative function of teams and their interdisciplinary aspects are thought to improve patient care because team members bring their unique professional skills together to address patient problems. This coordination is enacted through the team meeting, which typically results in an integrated care plan. This professional image of team meetings is explicit and addresses the description and provision of care as objective and rational activities. In contrast, the constructed and ritualistic images of health care team meetings are implicit and concern the less objective and rational aspects of planning care. The constructed image pertains to the definitional activity of team members as they try to understand patient troubles and achieve consensus. This process involves the individual clinical reasoning of team members and the collective reasoning of the group. The ritualistic image is that aspect of team meetings in which the team affirms and reaffirms its collective identity. Drawing from field research of geropsychiatric team meetings, this article defines and explicates these images, focusing on the constructed and ritualistic aspects of team meetings and the influence of these images on group function.

Using team cognitive work analysis to reveal healthcare team interactions in a birthing unit

OpenAIRE

Ashoori, Maryam; Burns, Catherine M.; d'Entremont, Barbara; Momtahan, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) as an analytical approach for examining complex sociotechnical systems has shown success in modelling the work of single operators. The CWA approach incorporates social and team interactions, but a more explicit analysis of team aspects can reveal more information for systems design. In this paper, Team CWA is explored to understand teamwork within a birthing unit at a hospital. Team CWA models are derived from theories and models of teamworkand leverage the exis...

Engaged work teams in healthy companies: drivers, processes, and outcomes of team work engagement

OpenAIRE

Torrente Barberà, Pedro

2014-01-01

This PhD thesis analyses work engagement in the context of work teams taking a collective, psychosocial perspective. Throughout this thesis, the following topics will be addressed: 1) the state-of-the-art in the topic of team work engagement, 2) the measurement of team work engagement, 3) the association of team work engagement with other relevant individual-level constructs and how it fits in traditional research models in the field of Positive Occupational Health Psychology, 4) the antecede...

On multi-team predator-prey models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elettreby, M.F.; Saker, S.H.; Ahmed, E.

2005-05-01

Many creatures form teams. This has, at least, two main advantages: the first is the improvement in foraging, since looking for food in a team is more efficient than doing it alone. The second is that living in a team reduces predation risk due to early spotting of predators and that existing in a team gives a higher probability that the predator will attack another member of the team. In this paper models are given where two teams of predators interact with two teams of preys. The teams of each group (predators or preys) help each other. In this paper we propose three different versions of the multi-team predator prey model. We study the equilibrium solutions, the conditions of their local asymptotic stability, persistence and the global stability of the solution of one of the models. Some numerical simulations are done. (author)

Basketball Teams as Strategic Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Fewell, Jennifer H.; Armbruster, Dieter; Ingraham, John; Petersen, Alexander; Waters, James S.

2012-01-01

We asked how team dynamics can be captured in relation to function by considering games in the first round of the NBA 2010 play-offs as networks. Defining players as nodes and ball movements as links, we analyzed the network properties of degree centrality, clustering, entropy and flow centrality across teams and positions, to characterize the game from a network perspective and to determine whether we can assess differences in team offensive strategy by their network properties. The compiled network structure across teams reflected a fundamental attribute of basketball strategy. They primarily showed a centralized ball distribution pattern with the point guard in a leadership role. However, individual play-off teams showed variation in their relative involvement of other players/positions in ball distribution, reflected quantitatively by differences in clustering and degree centrality. We also characterized two potential alternate offensive strategies by associated variation in network structure: (1) whether teams consistently moved the ball towards their shooting specialists, measured as “uphill/downhill” flux, and (2) whether they distributed the ball in a way that reduced predictability, measured as team entropy. These network metrics quantified different aspects of team strategy, with no single metric wholly predictive of success. However, in the context of the 2010 play-offs, the values of clustering (connectedness across players) and network entropy (unpredictability of ball movement) had the most consistent association with team advancement. Our analyses demonstrate the utility of network approaches in quantifying team strategy and show that testable hypotheses can be evaluated using this approach. These analyses also highlight the richness of basketball networks as a dataset for exploring the relationships between network structure and dynamics with team organization and effectiveness. PMID:23139744

Basketball teams as strategic networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer H Fewell

Full Text Available We asked how team dynamics can be captured in relation to function by considering games in the first round of the NBA 2010 play-offs as networks. Defining players as nodes and ball movements as links, we analyzed the network properties of degree centrality, clustering, entropy and flow centrality across teams and positions, to characterize the game from a network perspective and to determine whether we can assess differences in team offensive strategy by their network properties. The compiled network structure across teams reflected a fundamental attribute of basketball strategy. They primarily showed a centralized ball distribution pattern with the point guard in a leadership role. However, individual play-off teams showed variation in their relative involvement of other players/positions in ball distribution, reflected quantitatively by differences in clustering and degree centrality. We also characterized two potential alternate offensive strategies by associated variation in network structure: (1 whether teams consistently moved the ball towards their shooting specialists, measured as "uphill/downhill" flux, and (2 whether they distributed the ball in a way that reduced predictability, measured as team entropy. These network metrics quantified different aspects of team strategy, with no single metric wholly predictive of success. However, in the context of the 2010 play-offs, the values of clustering (connectedness across players and network entropy (unpredictability of ball movement had the most consistent association with team advancement. Our analyses demonstrate the utility of network approaches in quantifying team strategy and show that testable hypotheses can be evaluated using this approach. These analyses also highlight the richness of basketball networks as a dataset for exploring the relationships between network structure and dynamics with team organization and effectiveness.

Imagery Integration Team

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, Tracy; Melendrez, Dave

2014-01-01

The Human Exploration Science Office (KX) provides leadership for NASA's Imagery Integration (Integration 2) Team, an affiliation of experts in the use of engineering-class imagery intended to monitor the performance of launch vehicles and crewed spacecraft in flight. Typical engineering imagery assessments include studying and characterizing the liftoff and ascent debris environments; launch vehicle and propulsion element performance; in-flight activities; and entry, landing, and recovery operations. Integration 2 support has been provided not only for U.S. Government spaceflight (e.g., Space Shuttle, Ares I-X) but also for commercial launch providers, such as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corporation, servicing the International Space Station. The NASA Integration 2 Team is composed of imagery integration specialists from JSC, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), who have access to a vast pool of experience and capabilities related to program integration, deployment and management of imagery assets, imagery data management, and photogrammetric analysis. The Integration 2 team is currently providing integration services to commercial demonstration flights, Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), and the Space Launch System (SLS)-based Exploration Missions (EM)-1 and EM-2. EM-2 will be the first attempt to fly a piloted mission with the Orion spacecraft. The Integration 2 Team provides the customer (both commercial and Government) with access to a wide array of imagery options - ground-based, airborne, seaborne, or vehicle-based - that are available through the Government and commercial vendors. The team guides the customer in assembling the appropriate complement of imagery acquisition assets at the customer's facilities, minimizing costs associated with market research and the risk of purchasing inadequate assets. The NASA Integration 2 capability simplifies the process of securing one

Approach to team skills training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koontz, J.L.; Roe, M.L.; Gaddy, C.D.

1987-01-01

The US commercial nuclear power industry has recognized the importance of team skills in control room operation. The desire to combine training of team interaction skills, like communications, with technical knowledge of reactor operations requires a unique approach to training. An NRC-sponsored study identified a five-phase approach to team skills training designed to be consistent with the systems approach to training currently endorsed by the NRC Policy Statement on Training and Qualification. This paper describes an approach to team skills training with emphasis on the nuclear power plant control room crew. An approach to team skills training

Exploring the importance of team psychological safety in the development of two interprofessional teams.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, Denise Fiona

2016-01-01

It has been previously demonstrated that interactions within interprofessional teams are characterised by effective communication, shared decision-making, and knowledge sharing. This article outlines aspects of an action research study examining the emergence of these characteristics within change management teams made up of nurses, general practitioners, physiotherapists, care assistants, a health and safety officer, and a client at two residential care facilities for older people in Ireland. The theoretical concept of team psychological safety (TPS) is utilised in presenting these characteristics. TPS has been defined as an atmosphere within a team where individuals feel comfortable engaging in discussion and reflection without fear of censure. Study results suggest that TPS was an important catalyst in enhancing understanding and power sharing across professional boundaries and thus in the development of interprofessional teamwork. There were differences between the teams. In one facility, the team developed many characteristics of interprofessional teamwork while at the other there was only a limited shift. Stability in team membership and organisational norms relating to shared decision-making emerged as particularly important in accounting for differences in the development of TPS and interprofessional teamwork.

Virtual Teams and Knowledge Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehtonen, Miikka; Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

2014-01-01

How does culture affect virtual teams and the knowledge communication processes in which they engage? As virtual spaces are increasingly used to support teams and establish collaboration in cross-cultural projects, the notion of cross-cultural communication can be understood as shifting from...... contextual perspective to a semiotic perspective. That is to say, although the team members are using the same vocabulary they might attach different meanings to and have different knowledge about them thus highlighting the importance of approaching virtual teams and collaboration from a semiotic perspective....... To look at how knowledge about virtual work is established in a multinational context, we interviewed members of a team that connects Finland and India. Results reveal five objects shared between the team members with varying knowledge about them. By making these differences in knowledge visible through...

Exploring team working in dentistry using a process model of team effectiveness

OpenAIRE

Willcocks, Stephen George

2018-01-01

This article explores team working in the context of dentistry in the UK. It uses an input-process-output model of team effectiveness as a framework to analyse the key issues and determine a possible way forward. The article outlines possible barriers to effective team working revealed by the application of this model. It is argued that collaborative working is important and may be facilitated by shared leadership. It discusses the implications of this and how this may be developed.

The Quantitative Analysis of a team game performance made by men basketball teams at OG 2008

OpenAIRE

Kocián, Michal

2009-01-01

Title: The quantitative analysis of e team game performance made by men basketball teams at Olympis games 2008 Aims: Find reason successes and failures of teams in Olympis game play-off using quantitative (numerical) observation of selected game statistics. Method: The thesis was made on the basic a quantitative (numerical) observation of videorecordings using KVANTÝM. Results: Obtained selected statistic desribed the most essentials events for team winning or loss. Keywords: basketball, team...

Improving supervision: a team approach.

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

This issue of "The Family Planning Manager" outlines an interactive team supervision strategy as a means of improving family planning service quality and enabling staff to perform to their maximum potential. Such an approach to supervision requires a shift from a monitoring to a facilitative role. Because supervisory visits to the field are infrequent, the regional supervisor, clinic manager, and staff should form a team to share ongoing supervisory responsibilities. The team approach removes individual blame and builds consensus. An effective team is characterized by shared leadership roles, concrete work problems, mutual accountability, an emphasis on achieving team objectives, and problem resolution within the group. The team supervision process includes the following steps: prepare a visit plan and schedule; meet with the clinic manager and staff to explain how the visit will be conducted; supervise key activity areas (clinical, management, and personnel); conduct a problem-solving team meeting; conduct a debriefing meeting with the clinic manager; and prepare a report on the visit, including recommendations and follow-up plans. In Guatemala's Family Planning Unit, teams identify problem areas on the basis of agreement that a problem exists, belief that the problem can be solved with available resources, and individual willingness to accept responsibility for the specific actions identified to correct the problem.

Factors Contributing to Research Team Effectiveness: Testing a Model of Team Effectiveness in an Academic Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Omar, Zoharah; Ahmad, Aminah

2014-01-01

Following the classic systems model of inputs, processes, and outputs, this study examined the influence of three input factors, team climate, work overload, and team leadership, on research project team effectiveness as measured by publication productivity, team member satisfaction, and job frustration. This study also examined the mediating…

Illusions of team working in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Michael A; Lyubovnikova, Joanne

2013-01-01

The ubiquity and value of teams in healthcare are well acknowledged. However, in practice, healthcare teams vary dramatically in their structures and effectiveness in ways that can damage team processes and patient outcomes. The aim of this paper is to highlight these characteristics and to extrapolate several important aspects of teamwork that have a powerful impact on team effectiveness across healthcare contexts. The paper draws upon the literature from health services management and organisational behaviour to provide an overview of the current science of healthcare teams. Underpinned by the input-process-output framework of team effectiveness, team composition, team task, and organisational support are viewed as critical inputs that influence key team processes including team objectives, leadership and reflexivity, which in turn impact staff and patient outcomes. Team training interventions and care pathways can facilitate more effective interdisciplinary teamwork. The paper argues that the prevalence of the term "team" in healthcare makes the synthesis and advancement of the scientific understanding of healthcare teams a challenge. Future research therefore needs to better define the fundamental characteristics of teams in studies in order to ensure that findings based on real teams, rather than pseudo-like groups, are accumulated.

Developing team cognition: A role for simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Rosemarie; Shah, Sachita; Rosenman, Elizabeth D.; Kozlowski, Steve W. J.; Parker, Sarah Henrickson; Grand, James A.

2016-01-01

SUMMARY STATEMENT Simulation has had a major impact in the advancement of healthcare team training and assessment. To date, the majority of simulation-based training and assessment focuses on the teamwork behaviors that impact team performance, often ignoring critical cognitive, motivational, and affective team processes. Evidence from team science research demonstrates a strong relationship between team cognition and team performance and suggests a role for simulation in the development of this team-level construct. In this article we synthesize research from the broader team science literature to provide foundational knowledge regarding team cognition and highlight best practices for using simulation to target team cognition. PMID:28704287

Interactive Team Cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Cooke, Nancy J.; Gorman, Jamie C.; Myers, Christopher W.; Duran, Jasmine L.

2013-01-01

Cognition in work teams has been predominantly understood and explained in terms of shared cognition with a focus on the similarity of static knowledge structures across individual team members. Inspired by the current zeitgeist in cognitive science, as well as by empirical data and pragmatic concerns, we offer an alternative theory of team…

Entrepreneurial team cognition: A review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Mol, E.; Khapova, S.N.; Elfring, T.

2015-01-01

Entrepreneurial team scholars highlight the importance of studying entrepreneurial team cognition in gaining a better understanding of why some entrepreneurial teams are capable of developing teamwork leading to successful entrepreneurial outcomes while others are not. However, in the absence of a

The cohesiveness of sourcing teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lidegaard, Nina

2015-01-01

Sourcing teams are introduced as an approach to achieving the interdepartmental integration necessary for companies to address the complexity of strategic sourcing. Companies aim at facilitating teams capable of balancing the goals and tasks of the team with departmental expectations; however...

Trends in the diversity, distribution and life history strategy of Arctic Hydrozoa (Cnidaria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Ronowicz

Full Text Available This is the first attempt to compile a comprehensive and updated species list for Hydrozoa in the Arctic, encompassing both hydroid and medusa stages and including Siphonophorae. We address the hypothesis that the presence of a pelagic stage (holo- or meroplanktonic was not necessary to successfully recolonize the Arctic by Hydrozoa after the Last Glacial Maximum. Presence-absence data of Hydrozoa in the Arctic were prepared on the basis of historical and present-day literature. The Arctic was divided into ecoregions. Species were grouped into distributional categories according to their worldwide occurrences. Each species was classified according to life history strategy. The similarity of species composition among regions was calculated with the Bray-Curtis index. Average and variation in taxonomic distinctness were used to measure diversity at the taxonomic level. A total of 268 species were recorded. Arctic-boreal species were the most common and dominated each studied region. Nineteen percent of species were restricted to the Arctic. There was a predominance of benthic species over holo- and meroplanktonic species. Arctic, Arctic-Boreal and Boreal species were mostly benthic, while widely distributed species more frequently possessed a pelagic stage. Our results support hypothesis that the presence of a pelagic stage (holo- or meroplanktonic was not necessary to successfully recolonize the Arctic. The predominance of benthic Hydrozoa suggests that the Arctic could have been colonised after the Last Glacial Maximum by hydroids rafting on floating substrata or recolonising from glacial refugia.

Are diversification rates and chromosome evolution in the temperate grasses (Pooideae) associated with major environmental changes in the Oligocene-Miocene?

Science.gov (United States)

Pimentel, Manuel; Escudero, Marcial; Sahuquillo, Elvira; Minaya, Miguel Ángel; Catalán, Pilar

2017-01-01

The Pooideae are a highly diverse C3 grass subfamily that includes some of the most economically important crops, nested within the highly speciose core-pooid clade. Here, we build and explore the phylogeny of the Pooideae within a temporal framework, assessing its patterns of diversification and its chromosomal evolutionary changes in the light of past environmental transformations. We sequenced five plastid DNA loci, two coding ( ndhF , matk ) and three non-coding ( trnH-psbA , trnT-L and trnL-F ), in 163 Poaceae taxa, including representatives for all subfamilies of the grasses and all but four ingroup Pooideae tribes. Parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were conducted and divergence times were inferred in BEAST using a relaxed molecular clock. Diversification rates were assessed using the MEDUSA approach, and chromosome evolution was analyzed using the chromEvol software. Diversification of the Pooideae started in the Late-Eocene and was especially intense during the Oligocene-Miocene. The background diversification rate increased significantly at the time of the origin of the Poodae + Triticodae clade. This shift in diversification occurred in a context of falling temperatures that potentially increased ecological opportunities for grasses adapted to open areas around the world. The base haploid chromosome number n  = 7 has remained stable throughout the phylogenetic history of the core pooids and we found no link between chromosome transitions and major diversification events in the Pooideae.

GAAP: Genome-organization-framework-Assisted Assembly Pipeline for prokaryotic genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Lina; Yu, Yang; Zhu, Yanmin; Li, Yulai; Li, Changqing; Li, Rujiao; Ma, Qin; Siu, Gilman Kit-Hang; Yu, Jun; Jiang, Taijiao; Xiao, Jingfa; Kang, Yu

2017-01-25

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have greatly promoted the genomic study of prokaryotes. However, highly fragmented assemblies due to short reads from NGS are still a limiting factor in gaining insights into the genome biology. Reference-assisted tools are promising in genome assembly, but tend to result in false assembly when the assigned reference has extensive rearrangements. Herein, we present GAAP, a genome assembly pipeline for scaffolding based on core-gene-defined Genome Organizational Framework (cGOF) described in our previous study. Instead of assigning references, we use the multiple-reference-derived cGOFs as indexes to assist in order and orientation of the scaffolds and build a skeleton structure, and then use read pairs to extend scaffolds, called local scaffolding, and distinguish between true and chimeric adjacencies in the scaffolds. In our performance tests using both empirical and simulated data of 15 genomes in six species with diverse genome size, complexity, and all three categories of cGOFs, GAAP outcompetes or achieves comparable results when compared to three other reference-assisted programs, AlignGraph, Ragout and MeDuSa. GAAP uses both cGOF and pair-end reads to create assemblies in genomic scale, and performs better than the currently available reference-assisted assembly tools as it recovers more assemblies and makes fewer false locations, especially for species with extensive rearranged genomes. Our method is a promising solution for reconstruction of genome sequence from short reads of NGS.

Resolution of fine biological structure including small narcomedusae across a front in the Southern California Bight

Science.gov (United States)

McClatchie, Sam; Cowen, Robert; Nieto, Karen; Greer, Adam; Luo, Jessica Y.; Guigand, Cedric; Demer, David; Griffith, David; Rudnick, Daniel

2012-04-01

We sampled a front detected by SST gradient, ocean color imagery, and a Spray glider south of San Nicolas Island in the Southern California Bight between 14 and 18 October 2010. We sampled the front with an unusually extensive array of instrumentation, including the Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler (CUFES), the undulating In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS) (fitted with temperature, salinity, oxygen, and fluorescence sensors), multifrequency acoustics, a surface pelagic trawl, a bongo net, and a neuston net. We found higher fluorescence and greater cladoceran, decapod, and euphausiid densities in the front, indicating increased primary and secondary production. Mesopelagic fish were most abundant in oceanic waters to the west of the front, market squid were abundant in the front associated with higher krill and decapod densities, and jack mackerel were most common in the front and on the shoreward side of the front. Egg densities peaked to either side of the front, consistent with both offshore (for oceanic squid and mesopelagic fish) and shelf origins (for white croaker and California halibut). We discovered unusually high concentrations of predatory narcomedusae in the surface layer of the frontal zone. Potential ichthyoplankton predators were more abundant either in the front (decapods, euphausiids, and squid) or shoreward of the front (medusae, chaetognaths, and jack mackerel). For pelagic fish like sardine, which can thrive in less productive waters, the safest place to spawn would be offshore because there are fewer potential predators.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule expression in oral squamus cell carcinoma and its association with clinical and histopathologic parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Mirmohammadkhani

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The aim of the present research was to study the expression of activated-leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM in oral squamus cell carcinoma (OSCC and its association with histopathological and prognostic parameters.Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, samples of OSCC tumors from tongue and oral mucosa available in Institute of Cancer of Imam Hospital in Tehran were simultaneously studied in term of tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and differentiation and ALCAM expression. Analysis was performed using multiple logistic regression models. Results: 39 samples of tongue and 19 samples of oral medusa belonged to 35 men and 23 women with mean (Standard deviation of age 58(15.69 years of old were studied. More than half of lesions had good differentiation and lymph node metastasis. From all, 42 (72.4% of samples were positive of ALCAM. Odds of ALCAM total expression in tumors with size of at least 20 mm was more (OR=3.9, p=0.001. Odds ratios for membranous and cytoplasmic expression of ALCAM in positive samples of lymph node metastasis (OR=0.4, p=0.03 and in patients with age 40 and more (OR=2.7, p=0.002 were respectively significant.Conclusion: The study confirmed positive relationship between ALCAM expression and tumor size as while as ambiguity of ALCAM role as a "Paradox" indicator. Next researches may make the role of ALCAM in different phases of tumor developing clearer

Promoting teamwork and surgical optimization: combining TeamSTEPPS with a specialty team protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Tibbs, Sheila Marie; Moss, Jacqueline

2014-11-01

This quality improvement project was a 300-day descriptive preintervention and postintervention comparison consisting of a convenience sample of 18 gynecology surgical team members. We administered the Team Strategies & Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS®) Teamwork Perception Questionnaire to measure the perception of teamwork. In addition, we collected data regarding rates of compliance (ie, huddle, time out) and measurable surgical procedure times. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the number of team members present for each procedure, 2.34 μ before compared with 2.61 μ after (P = .038), and in the final time-out (FTO) compliance as a result of a clarification of the definition of FTO, 1.05 μ before compared with 1.18 μ after (P = .004). Additionally, there was improvement in staff members' perception of teamwork. The implementation of team training, protocols, and algorithms can enhance surgical optimization, communication, and work relationships. Copyright © 2014 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shared Leadership and Team Creativity: A Social Network Analysis in Engineering Design Teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiong Wu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This research explores the relationship between shared leadership and creativity in engineering design teams. To do this, a social network perspective was adopted using four measures to assess key elements of shared leadership networks. These are (a network density, (b centralization, (c efficiency and (d strength. Data was collected from a sample of 22 engineering design teams who adopt a shared leadership approach. Our results support previous findings that the density of a shared leadership network is positively related to team creativity. In contrast, we learned that centralization exerts a negative influence on it. Moreover, while we found that there is no evidence to support a positive correlation between efficiency and team creativity, we demonstrate an inverted U-shaped relationship between strength and team creativity in a shared leadership network. These findings are important because they add to the academic debate in the shared leadership area and provide valuable insights for managers.

Addressing dysfunctional relations among healthcare teams: improving team cooperation through applied organizational theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Sujin K; Horwitz, Irwin B; Barshes, Neal R

2011-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated that communication failure and interpersonal conflicts are significant impediments among health-care teams to assess complex information and engage in the meaningful collaboration necessary for optimizing patient care. Despite the prolific research on the role of effective teamwork in accomplishing complex tasks, such findings have been traditionally applied to business organizations and not medical contexts. This chapter, therefore, reviews and applies four theories from the fields of organizational behavior (OB) and organization development (OD) as potential means for improving team interaction in health-care contexts. This study is unique in its approach as it addresses the long-standing problems that exist in team communication and cooperation in health-care teams by applying well-established theories from the organizational literature. The utilization and application of the theoretical constructs discussed in this work offer valuable means by which the efficacy of team work can be greatly improved in health-care organizations.

A Quantitative Team Situation Awareness Measurement Method Considering Technical and Nontechnical Skills of Teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ho Bin Yim

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Human capabilities, such as technical/nontechnical skills, have begun to be recognized as crucial factors for nuclear safety. One of the most common ways to improve human capabilities in general is training. The nuclear industry has constantly developed and used training as a tool to increase plant efficiency and safety. An integrated training framework was suggested for one of those efforts, especially during simulation training sessions of nuclear power plant operation teams. The developed training evaluation methods are based on measuring the levels of situation awareness of teams in terms of the level of shared confidence and consensus as well as the accuracy of team situation awareness. Verification of the developed methods was conducted by analyzing the training data of real nuclear power plant operation teams. The teams that achieved higher level of shared confidence showed better performance in solving problem situations when coupled with high consensus index values. The accuracy of nuclear power plant operation teams' situation awareness was approximately the same or showed a similar trend as that of senior reactor operators' situation awareness calculated by a situation awareness accuracy index (SAAI. Teams that had higher SAAI values performed better and faster than those that had lower SAAI values.

The importance of team level tacit knowledge and related characteristics of high-performing health care teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Leonard H; Bernell, Stephanie L

2006-01-01

Team level tacit knowledge is related to the collective knowledge of the team members. It is the shared experience that results in the ability to successfully anticipate the reactions of teammates in typical and nontypical situations. This study evaluates how tacit knowledge and related team characteristics influence the performance of cardiothoracic surgery teams.

Teaming up for learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fransen, Jos

2012-01-01

Fransen, J. (2012). Teaming up for learning: Team effectiveness in collaborative learning in higher education (Doctoral dissertation). November, 16, 2012, Open University in the Netherlands (CELSTEC), Heerlen, The Netherlands.

Team work on international projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayfield, F.

1983-01-01

A successful team will result in Project efficiency and so lead to a better achievement of the Project objectives. Such a team will be self-motivating and have a high level of morale. An effective team will also create a better context for transfer of know-how and so better prepare its members for greater roles on future Project teams. The nature of Project work forces the process of team building to recognize several facts of life. A Project team can have a life as short as one year and as long as ten years. A team usually consists of people on temporary transfer from different departments yet retaining a link of some sort to their departments of origin. It may consist of members of one company only or of several as in a joint-venture and may include Client personnel. On International Projects, the members of a team may have different nationalities and be working in a language foreign to many of them. Many of the Project people may be expatriates to the Project area on a bachelor or on a married status well away from their head or usual office. Team building is a complex organizational and human process, with no mathematical formula for the ideal solution. It starts with the selection of the right Project Manager who should be a leader, a technocrat manager and an integrator all at the same time. The Project Manager must have the authority to create the organizational and human climate that will motivate to a maximum each member of the team. Each member must understand clearly his role and realize that this contribution to the Project will influence his career development. Loyalty to the Project Manager must be possible and the Departmental Manager has to recognize this necessity. This presentation will indicate the basic steps of a team building process on a typical major international Project

Reaping the benefits of task conflict in teams: the critical role of team psychological safety climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Bret H; Postlethwaite, Bennett E; Klotz, Anthony C; Hamdani, Maria R; Brown, Kenneth G

2012-01-01

Past research suggests that task conflict may improve team performance under certain conditions; however, we know little about these specific conditions. On the basis of prior theory and research on conflict in teams, we argue that a climate of psychological safety is one specific context under which task conflict will improve team performance. Using evidence from 117 project teams, the present research found that psychological safety climate moderates the relationship between task conflict and performance. Specifically, task conflict and team performance were positively associated under conditions of high psychological safety. The results support the conclusion that psychological safety facilitates the performance benefits of task conflict in teams. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Pay Dispersion and Performance in Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Bucciol, Alessandro; Foss, Nicolai J.; Piovesan, Marco

2014-01-01

Extant research offers conflicting predictions about the effect of pay dispersion on team performance. We collected a unique dataset from the Italian soccer league to study the effect of intra-firm pay dispersion on team performance, under different definitions of what constitutes a “team”. This peculiarity of our dataset can explain the conflicting evidence. Indeed, we also find positive, null, and negative effects of pay dispersion on team performance, using the same data but different definitions of team. Our results show that when the team is considered to consist of only the members who directly contribute to the outcome, high pay dispersion has a detrimental impact on team performance. Enlarging the definition of the team causes this effect to disappear or even change direction. Finally, we find that the detrimental effect of pay dispersion is due to worse individual performance, rather than a reduction of team cooperation. PMID:25397615

Leadership Team | Wind | NREL

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Leadership Team Leadership Team Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the wind Initiative and provides leadership in the focus areas of high-fidelity modeling, wind power plant controls

Measuring the Impact of the Micronegotiation Technique on Team Member Satisfaction and Team Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Jeffery David