Group-Based Mediational Leadership in an Online Project Team Context

Mediational leadership focuses on facilitating decision-making and relationship management within a group. This study examined how mediational action could be practiced collaboratively in a multi-group online project team environment to provide expert leadership on a critical task. Data included email achives, questionnaires from group members involved in coding messages for other research, and participant-observation standpoints provided by the authors. Findings showed the expert leaders group was approached for assistance both directly and by looping inquiries through the group's designated nominal leader. Both types of connectivity to the group appeared effective in providing expert recommendations. The climate of the group also indicated it functioned effectively as a site of mediational action. However, a collaborative model like mediational leadership could prove inefficient for certain CSCW groups or teams due to the amount of time involved in interaction. Group-Based Mediational Leadership in an Online Project Team Context Computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), through the use of virtual teams and groups, has evolved to become a significant facet of organizational life (Scott, 1999). Using teams of workers dispersed over geographical locations and time horizons, yet linked together through access to communication networks, has changed the way people work in groups and redefined the nature of teamwork (Jackson, 1999; Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). While there has been a substantial amount of research on the overall effectiveness of CSCW (see Scott, 1999, for a thorough summary), relatively little is known about how process management strategies and other forms of leadership activities influence collaborative processes and performance in virtual teams and groups..

11 Ambiguous Self-Identification and Sincere Communication in CMC

Abstract. While sincerity is a necessary taken-for-granted element of face-toface communication, its status in CMC is more likely to be a ponderable (or arguable). In fact, the anonymity of CMC, facilitating and facilitated by concealment in self-presentation, allows distortions to be made through omission of information as well as through selective presentation. To understand the characteristics of this process, we analyzed the message contents of men and women participating in asynchronous online discussion. Recent research indicated men and women differed in their fidelity of message concealment. Level of concealment did not significantly predict expected relationships between identity and attributes of online message style. Findings regarding concealment and message style led to a consideration of communicator status and gender identity needs. A new message style variable, openness, was also examined. Research findings indicated that gender identity and communicator status were strongly related to message openness

Phase II study of single-agent navitoclax (ABT-263) and biomarker correlates in patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE: Bcl-2 is a critical regulator of apoptosis that is overexpressed in the majority of small cell lung cancers (SCLC). Nativoclax (ABT-263) is a potent and selective inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L). The primary objectives of this phase IIa study included safety at the recommended phase II dose and preliminary, exploratory efficacy assessment in patients with recurrent and progressive SCLC after at least one prior therapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Thirty-nine patients received navitoclax 325 mg daily, following an initial lead-in of 150 mg daily for 7 days. Study endpoints included safety and toxicity assessment, response rate, progression-free and overall survival (PFS and OS), as well as exploratory pharmacodynamic correlates. RESULTS: The most common toxicity associated with navitoclax was thrombocytopenia, which reached grade III–IV in 41% of patients. Partial response was observed in one (2.6%) patient and stable disease in 9 (23%) patients. Median PFS was 1.5 months and median OS was 3.2 months. A strong association between plasma pro–gastrin-releasing peptide (pro-GRP) level and tumor Bcl-2 copy number (R = 0.93) was confirmed. Exploratory analyses revealed baseline levels of cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1, neuron-specific enolase, pro-GRP, and circulating tumor cell number as correlates of clinical benefit. CONCLUSION: Bcl-2 targeting by navitoclax shows limited single-agent activity against advanced and recurrent SCLC. Correlative analyses suggest several putative biomarkers of clinical benefit. Preclinical models support that navitoclax may enhance sensitivity of SCLC and other solid tumors to standard cytotoxics. Future studies will focus on combination therapies

Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines

The Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Committee met in November 2014 to address one important element of the incentive systems - journals’ procedures and policies for publication. The outcome of the effort is the TOP Guidelines. There are eight standards in the TOP guidelines; each move scientific communication toward greater openness. These standards are modular, facilitating adoption in whole or in part. However, they also complement each other, in that commitment to one standard may facilitate adoption of others. Moreover, the guidelines are sensitive to barriers to openness by articulating, for example, a process for exceptions to sharing because of ethical issues, intellectual property concerns, or availability of necessary resources