Clear as a bell: the influence of analogies on the development of cross-understanding in design teams

Purpose This study reviews the construct of analogy as an individual communication mode, examining its relationship with cross-understanding in knowledge-diverse teams. The authors theorize that analogy use enhances team information processing beyond mere communication frequency through bridging knowledge differences across team members. The authors propose that analogies will have a direct relationship to knowledge application, and an indirect effect via cross-understanding. However, communication frequency will have only an indirect effect on knowledge application through cross-understanding. Design/methodology/approach The authors sampled a 49-member team with 14 subteams, yielding 146 usable dyadic relationships. Two mediation models were estimated while using linear mixed-effect models in SPSS. Findings The results confirm the importance of analogies and cross-understanding in teams, generally supporting the hypotheses. Mere communication frequency was not related to knowledge application, indicating that “how you say it” may be more important than how often a team member speaks. Research limitations/implications This research explored these constructs through a three-week project in a sample of graduate students working with a real-world client. Future research could explore the validity of this model in other organizational settings and test the analogy construct on the team level. Practical implications The effectiveness of team member communication should be measured not only as frequency but also in terms of analogies to transmit meaning. Originality/value This paper contributes to an understanding of teams as information processors by building empirical support for the utility of analogical communication in design teams, establishing the relationship of analogies to cross-understanding and knowledge application

Communication modes in collaboration: An empirical assessment of metaphors, visualization, and narratives in multidisciplinary design student teams

Universities increasingly incorporate multidisciplinary design projects into their curriculum to better prepare their students for the labor market. In these projects, student team members of various disciplinary backgrounds develop new product or service concepts for organizational partners. This structure enables students to learn not only from the interaction with the content and lecturer, but also from communication with other team members. Little is known, however, about the relative effectiveness of specific communication modes on improving student learning outcomes in these interactions. This study examines the effect of three important communication modes – metaphors, visualizations, and narratives – on reported learning from other members. A total of 64 students working on two large multidisciplinary design student teams participated in this study. Survey results indicate that perceived learning increases through awareness and use of metaphorical communication, beyond previously supported effects for narratives and visualization. We conclude with implications for the way information is represented and structured within multidisciplinary design student teams, and future research directions

Mississippi expectations and federal bayonets: The Black Code and its aftermath

Thesis (B.A.) History -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-70)Microfiche of typescript. [Urbana, Ill.]: Photographic Services, University of Illinois, U of I Library, [1990]. 2 microfiches (77 frames): negative.s 1990 ilu n

Phenology of Annulus Formation in Walleye and Smallmouth Bass Otoliths

Walleye Sander vitreus and smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were sampled monthly (May-October) from Lake Sharpe, South Dakota during 2006 and 2007 to estimate the timing of otolith annulus formation and to evaluate the influence of fish age, sex, and sample location (walleye only) on the timing and detection of annulus formation. Timing of annulus formation was evaluated using marginal increment analysis. Walleye samples were stratified by age, sex, and sample location (i.e., upper and lower Lake Sharpe) and smallmouth bass samples were stratified by age and sex. Monthly mean marginal increment measurements for both species generally increased from May to June, declined in July, and slowly increased from August to October. Although monthly differences in marginal increment measurements across analysis strata were rarely consistent, July generally had the lowest mean marginal increment across species and strata, suggesting that annulus formation in walleye and smallmouth bass in Lake Sharpe likely occurs in July. The lack of differences in timing of annulus formation across species-specific strata was surprising given the well-known influences of age, sex, and water temperature on somatic growth. Nonetheless, results will aid managers in improving the accuracy of age estimates

The euro and prices: changeover-related inflation and price convergence in the euro area

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of the 'euro cash changeover' on consumer prices in the euro area. The report begins by describing price developments at the time of the introduction of euro notes and coins. The study also investigates the impact of price developments at the euro changeover on different households by socio-economic group. The third part of the report focuses on inflation perceptions and a fourth section explores the cross-border convergence of prices since the euro changeover. The following findings can be highlighted: (1) it appears that aggregate inflation rates were largely unaffected by the introduction of the euro; (2) overall, differences in inflation rates across different types of households are small; (3) inflation perceptions are mainly driven by lagged perceptions, inflation expectations and actual inflation while different individual inflation experiences also help to explain the 'jumps' in perception data; (4) price differentials have generally declined over time across European countries though there is no sizeable euro introduction convergence effect.The Euro and Prices: Changeover-related Inflation and Price Convergence in the Euro Area, euro changeover, inflation, perceptions, convergence, household-specific inflation, Sturm, Fritsche, Graff, Lamla, Lein, Nitsch, Liechti, Triet

Thiazolidinediones Regulate Adipose Lineage Dynamics

SummaryWhite adipose tissue regulates metabolism; the importance of this control is highlighted by the ongoing pandemic of obesity and associated complications such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cancer. White adipose tissue maintenance is a dynamic process, yet very little is known about how pharmacologic stimuli affect such plasticity. Combining in vivo lineage marking and BrdU labeling strategies, we found that rosiglitazone, a member of the thiazolidinedione class of glucose-lowering medicines, markedly increases the evolution of adipose progenitors into adipocytes. Notably, chronic rosiglitazone administration disrupts the adipogenic and self-renewal capacities of the stem cell compartment and alters its molecular characteristics. These data unravel unknown aspects of adipose dynamics and provide a basis to manipulate the adipose lineage for therapeutic ends

REBECA – eine autonome Publish/Subscribe Middleware

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively

White Fat Progenitor Cells Reside in the Adipose Vasculature

White adipose (fat) tissues regulate metabolism, reproduction, and life span. Adipocytes form throughout life, with the most marked expansion of the lineage occurring during the postnatal period. Adipocytes develop in coordination with the vasculature, but the identity and location of white adipocyte progenitor cells in vivo are unknown. We used genetically marked mice to isolate proliferating and renewing adipogenic progenitors. We found that most adipocytes descend from a pool of these proliferating progenitors that are already committed, either prenatally or early in postnatal life. These progenitors reside in the mural cell compartment of the adipose vasculature, but not in the vasculature of other tissues. Thus, the adipose vasculature appears to function as a progenitor niche and may provide signals for adipocyte development