Shared leadership and team learning: the story of three project teams

Les organitzacions actuals se veuen obligades a establir avantatges competitius sostenibles per tal de prosperar en el mercat global. Les innovacions amb èxit han estat considerades àmpliament una base fonamental per generar avantatge competitiu (Dodgson et al., 2005). Aquestes innovacions les generen habitualment els equips (Brown i Eisenhardt, 1995). Liderar un equip d’innovació s’ha identificat com un dels factors clau d’èxit per als projectes innovadors (Amabile i Khaire, 2008). El lideratge no tan sols repercuteix en uns indicadors d’acompliment hard com el caràcter innovador del projecte, sinó que s’ha vist que també contribueix a millorar l’actitud de l’equip, les seves percepcions i creences (Gordon i Yukl, 2002). En concret, los líders d’equip eficaços són els que participen en activitats orientades a la substància de la tasca de l’equip, les relacions i el canvi (Yukl, 2010), les quals alhora faciliten els processos de grup i es demostra que repercuteixen positivament en uns resultats diversos pel que fa a l’acompliment (Burke et al., 2006). En la mesura que el lideratge s’orienta a influir en els processos d’equip pel que fa a construir condicions socials, estructurar les tasques de l’equip i obrir la mentalitat dels seus membres cap a coses noves (Yukl, 2010), és interessant estudiar un procés d’equip que es basi en les condicions creades per les activitats de lideratge. L’aprenentatge cooperatiu o en equip (team learning), que aquí es defineix com la interacció entre la reflexió i l’acció (Edmondson, 2002), és un procés que requereix interaccions personals, com també l’estructura de la tasca de l’equip. A més, l’aprenentatge cooperatiu millora molt quan algú de l’equip l’impulsa a mirar més enllà dels seus límits o en qüestiona l’statu quo. El motiu d’estudiar aquests conceptes no tan sols es justifica per les condicions necessàries per a l’aprenentatge que es generen a través del lideratge, sinó també pel fet que el lideratge com a factor d’input i l’aprenentatge cooperatiu com a procés de grup són dues precondicions crítiques perquè l’equip adopti un caràcter innovador (Amabile et al., 2004; Wong, 2004). Atès que l’aprenentatge cooperatiu és especialment important en aquells equips que participen en tasques creatives no rutinàries (Edmondson, 1999), m’he centrat en el lideratge compartit en aquest projecte de tesi doctoral perquè aquest enfocament del lideratge és especialment adequat per als equips que realitzen tasques creatives, complexes i no rutinàries (Pearce, 2004). A diferència del lideratge vertical, en el lideratge compartit tot l’equip, inclòs el líder del projecte, participa en el lideratge (Carson et al., 2007; Pearce, 2004). Aquest projecte de tesi doctoral és un primer pas cap a la construcció d’aquesta teoria centrant-se en el rol del lideratge compartit en l’aprenentatge cooperatiu. He presentat dades extretes d’un estudi observatori sobre el lideratge compartit i el procés d’aprenentatge en tres equips de projecte. Observant i entrevistant aquests equips, vam extraure les conclusions següents de les dades obtingudes. En primer lloc, cercant interrelacions entre cada una de les tres substàncies del lideratge i l’aprenentatge cooperatiu, proporcionem uns coneixements amb profunditat concretament sobre la relació existent entre la substància de la tasca i la del canvi, que afecten la reflexió i l’acció, per tal com aquestes relacions mai abans no s’havien estudiat (Edmondson et al., 2008). Les relacions i la substància del canvi primerament recolzaven la part reflexiva de l’aprenentatge, mentre que la substància de la tasca del lideratge bàsicament millorava la part activa de l’aprenentatge. En segon lloc, no tan sols he estudiat aquests tres categories de lideratge en l’aprenentatge cooperatiu individualment, sinó que també he analitzat el caràcter complementari d’aquestes tres substàncies del lideratge pel que fa a l’aprenentatge cooperatiu. Les conclusions empíriques han demostrat que, per participar en cicles de reflexió i acció amb èxit, l’equip necessita prendre part en activitats de lideratge com les tasques, les relacions i el canvi.Las organizaciones actuales se ven obligadas a fijar ventajas competitivas sostenibles con el fin de prosperar en el mercado global. Las innovaciones de éxito han sido consideradas ampliamente una base fundamental para generar ventaja competitiva (Dodgson et al., 2005). Dichas innovaciones son generadas habitualmente por equipos (Brown y Eisenhardt, 1995). Liderar un equipo de innovación se ha identificado como uno de los factores clave de éxito para los proyectos de innovación (Amabile y Khaire, 2008). El liderazgo no solo repercute en unos indicadores de desempeño hard como el carácter innovador del proyecto, sino que también se ha visto que contribuye a mejorar la actitud del equipo, sus percepciones y creencias (Gordon y Yukl, 2002). En concreto, los líderes de equipo eficaces son los que toman parte en actividades orientadas a la sustancia de la tarea del equipo, las relaciones y el cambio (Yukl, 2010), que, a su vez, facilitan los procesos de grupo y se demuestra que repercuten positivamente en unos resultados del desempeño diversos (Burke et al., 2006). En la medida que el liderazgo se dirige a influir en los procesos de equipo en lo relativo a construir condiciones sociales, estructurar las tareas del equipo y abrir la mentalidad de sus miembros hacia algo nuevo (Yukl, 2010), resulta interesante estudiar un proceso de equipo que se base en las condiciones creadas por las actividades del liderazgo. El aprendizaje cooperativo o en equipo (team learning), que aquí se define como la interacción entre la reflexión y la acción (Edmondson, 2002), es un proceso que requiere interacciones personales, así como la estructura de la tarea del equipo. Además, el aprendizaje cooperativo mejora mucho cuando alguien del equipo lo impulsa a mirar más allá de sus límites o cuestiona su statu quo. La razón para estudiar estos conceptos no solo se justifica por las condiciones necesarias para el aprendizaje que se generan a través del liderazgo, sino también por el hecho de que el liderazgo como factor de input y el aprendizaje cooperativo como proceso de grupo son dos precondiciones críticas para que el equipo adopte un carácter innovador (Amabile et al., 2004; Wong, 2004). Puesto que el aprendizaje cooperativo es especialmente importante en aquellos equipos que participan en tareas creativas no rutinarias (Edmondson, 1999), me he centrado en el liderazgo compartido en este proyecto de tesis doctoral porque este enfoque del liderazgo es especialmente adecuado para los equipos que realizan tareas creativas, complejas y no rutinarias (Pearce, 2004). A diferencia del liderazgo vertical, en el liderazgo compartido todo el equipo, incluyendo al líder del proyecto, participa en el liderazgo (Carson et al., 2007; Pearce, 2004). Este proyecto de tesis doctoral es un primer paso hacia la construcción de esta teoría centrándose en el rol del liderazgo compartido en el aprendizaje cooperativo. He presentado datos extraídos de un estudio observatorio sobre el liderazgo compartido y el proceso de aprendizaje en tres equipos de proyecto. Observando y entrevistando a estos equipos, extrajimos las siguientes conclusiones de los datos obtenidos. En primer lugar, buscando interrelaciones entre cada una de las tres sustancias del liderazgo y el aprendizaje cooperativo, proporcionamos unos conocimientos en profundidad concretamente sobre la relación existente entre la sustancia de la tarea y la del cambio que afectan a la reflexión y a la acción, tal como estas relaciones jamás se habían estudiado anteriormente (Edmondson et al., 2008). Las relaciones y la sustancia del cambio principalmente apoyaban la parte reflexiva del aprendizaje, mientras que la sustancia de la tarea del liderazgo básicamente mejoraba la parte activa del aprendizaje. En segundo lugar, no sólo he estudiado estas tres categorías de liderazgo en el aprendizaje cooperativo individualmente, sino que también he analizado el carácter complementario de estas tres sustancias del liderazgo en lo relativo al aprendizaje cooperativo. Las conclusiones empíricas han demostrado que, para participar en ciclos de reflexión y acción exitosos, el equipo necesita tomar parte en actividades de liderazgo como las tareas, las relaciones y el cambio.Today’s organizations are forced to establish sustainable competitive advantages in order to outpace the global market. Successful innovations have been broadly considered a vital basis for the generation of competitive advantage (Dodgson et al., 2005). Such innovations are typically generated by teams (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1995). Leading an innovation team has been identified as one of the key success factors for innovation projects (Amabile & Khaire, 2008). Leadership does not only impact on hard performance indicators such as project innovativeness but is also shown to enhance a team’s attitude, perceptions and beliefs (Gordon & Yukl, 2002). Particularly, effective team leaders are those engaging in activities directed at the substance of the team’s task, relations and change (Yukl, 2010) which, in turn, facilitate group processes and are shown to positively impact diverse performance outcomes (Burke et al., 2006). As leadership is directed at influencing team processes in terms of building up social conditions, framing the team’s tasks and opening team members’ minds for something new (Yukl, 2010), it is interesting to study a team process which is based on the conditions created by leadership activities. Team learning, here defined as the interplay of reflection and action (Edmondson, 2002), is a process which requires personal interactions as well as a frame of the team’s task. Additionally, team learning is much enhanced when someone in the team is pushing the team to look outside its boundaries or challenging the status quo. Not only the required conditions for learning generated through leadership highlight the reason for studying these two concepts, but also the fact that leadership as an input factor and team learning as a group process are both critical antecedent conditions for team innovativeness (Amabile et al., 2004; Wong, 2004). Since team learning is especially important for teams engaging in creative non-routine tasks (Edmondson, 1999), I have focused on shared leadership in this PhD project because this leadership approach is especially suitable for teams in charge of creative, complex and non-routine tasks (Pearce, 2004). In contrast to vertical leadership, in shared leadership the team including the project leader is engaged in leadership (Carson et al., 2007; Pearce, 2004). This PhD project is a first step towards building up this theory by focusing on the role of shared leadership in team learning. I have presented data from an observatory study on shared leadership and learning process in three project teams. By observing and interviewing those teams, the following findings emerged from the data: Firstly, by researching interrelations between each of the three leadership substances and team learning, I provide in-depth knowledge, in particular concerning the link between the task and change substance affecting reflection and action as these links have not studied been before (Edmondson et al., 2008): Relations and change substance primarily supported the reflection part of learning, whereas the task substance of leadership basically enhanced the action part of learning. Secondly, not only have I studied these three leadership categories on team learning individually, but I have also provided insights into the complementary character of these three leadership substances as regards team learning. Empirical findings have shown that in order to engage in successful learning cycles of reflection and action, a team needs to engage in leadership activities of task, relations and change

From a Link Semantic to Semantic Links - Building Context in Educational Hypermedia

Modularization and granulation are key concepts in educational content management, whereas teaching, learning and understanding require a discourse within thematic contexts. Even though hyperlinks and semantically typed references provide the context building blocks of hypermedia systems, elaborate concepts to derive, manage and propagate such relations between content objects are not around at present. Based on Semantic Web standards, this paper makes several contributions to content enrichment. Work starts from harvesting multimedia annotations in class-room recordings, and proceeds to deriving a dense educational semantic net between eLearning Objects decorated with extended LOM relations. Special focus is drawn on the processing of recorded speech and on an Ontological Evaluation Layer that autonomously derives meaningful inter-object relations. Further on, a semantic representation of hyperlinks is developed and elaborated to the concept of semantic link contexts, an approach to manage a coherent rhetoric of linking. These solutions have been implemented in the Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs), our eLearning content management system. hylOs is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR adaptive context linking environment (MIRaCLE), its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standards XML and JNDI. hylOs benefits from configurable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high-level authoring tools like the WYSIWYG XML editor and its Instructional Designer.Comment: Summary of several conference article

The haematopoietic GTPase RhoH modulates IL3 signalling through regulation of STAT activity and IL3 receptor expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RhoH is a constitutively active member of the family of Rho GTPases. Its expression is restricted to the haematopoietic lineage, where it serves as a positive regulator for T cell selection and mast cell function and as a negative regulator for growth-related functions in other lineages. Here, we examined the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins in response to stimulation with interleukin 3 (IL3).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the murine IL3-dependent cell line BaF3 we investigated the influence of RhoH protein expression levels on IL3-mediated cellular responses. RhoH overexpressing cells showed lower sensitivity to IL3 and decreased STAT5 activation. SiRNA-mediated repression of <it>RhoH </it>gene expression led to an increase in proliferation and STAT5 activity which correlated with an increased number of IL3 receptor α chain molecules, also known as CD123, expressed at the cell surface. Interestingly, these findings could be reproduced using human THP-1 cells as a model system for acute myeloid leukaemia, where low RhoH levels are known to be an unfavourable prognostic marker. Overexpression of RhoH on the other hand caused an induction of STAT1 activity and western blot analysis revealed that activated STAT1 is phosphorylated on Tyr701. STAT1 is known to induce apoptosis or cell cycle arrest and we detected an upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKI) <it>p21^Cip1</it>and <it>p27^Kip1</it>in RhoH overexpressing BaF3 cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We propose that RhoH functions as a negative regulator for IL3-induced signals through modulation of the JAK-STAT pathway. High levels of RhoH allow the IL3-dependent activation of STAT1 causing decreased proliferation through upregulation of <it>p21^Cip1</it>and <it>p27^Kip1</it>. Low RhoH levels on the other hand led to an upregulation of IL3-dependent cell growth, STAT5 activity and an increase of CD123 surface expression, linking RhoH to a CD123/STAT5 phenotype that has been described in AML patients.</p

A Semantic Approach to Automated Content Augmentation for eLearning Objects

Over the last years IEEE LOM eLearning Objects have been well established as the basic building blocks for educational online content. Equipped with an expressive set of metadata and structured by a variety of named relations, they are nicely suited for self-explorative learning approaches within adaptive hypermedia applications. The authoring of such 'Knowledge Nuggets', though, not only requires content editing, but the provision of meta descriptors and numerous interrelations. Facing the latter in the context of large repositories, where a new object may attain relations to any previously filed entity, clearly demonstrates the effort to be requested from an author. In the present paper we update the status of our educational content management system hylOs. We introduce instructional design concepts and tools, as well as a content acquisition and analysis toolset, targeting at the semi-automated generation of eLearning Objects. Starting from classroom recordings or offline content production, automated keyword extraction and classification is applied to the raw learning object. In the second part of this paper we redefine and sharpen the semantic of LOM relations, thereby extending its set by entities missing from the educational perspective. We construct an ontology and inference rules for these inter--object relations. Based on this newly introduced Ontological Evaluation Layer and the automated classifications, appropriate relations between learning objects are autonomously derived. These solutions have been implemented in the Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs), our prototype of an eLearning content management system. hylOs is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR adaptive context linking environment (MIRaCLE), its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standard XML, CORBA and JNDI. hylOs benefits from manageable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high-level authoring tools like the eLO editor responsible for the semi-manual creation of meta data and WYSIWYG like content editing, allowing for rapid distributed content development

From a Link Semantic to Semantic Links - Building Context in Educational Hypermedia

Modularization and granulation are key concepts in educational content management, whereas teaching, learning and understanding require a discourse within thematic contexts. Even though hyperlinks and semantically typed references provide the context building blocks of hypermedia systems, elaborate concepts to derive, manage and propagate such relations between content objects are not around at present. Based on Semantic Web standards, this paper makes several contributions to content enrichment. Work starts from harvesting multimedia annotations in class-room recordings, and proceeds to deriving a dense educational semantic net between eLearning Objects decorated with extended LOM relations. Special focus is drawn on the processing of recorded speech and on an Ontological Evaluation Layer that autonomously derives meaningful inter-object relations. Further on, a semantic representation of hyperlinks is developed and elaborated to the concept of semantic link contexts, an approach to manage a coherent rhetoric of linking. These solutions have been implemented in the Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs), our eLearning content management system. hylOs is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR adaptive context linking environment (MIRaCLE), its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standards XML and JNDI. hylOs benefits from configurable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high-level authoring tools like the WYSIWYG XML editor and its Instructional Designer

Semantic Overlays in Educational Content Networks -- The hylOs Approach

Over the last few years, networking technologies and distributed information systems have moved up the OSI layer and are established well within application-centric middleware. Most recently, content overlay networks have matured, incorporating the semantics of data files into their self-organisational structure with the aim of optimising data-centric distributed indexing and retrieval. In educational content management, simple file distribution is considered insufficient. Instead, IEEE LOM standardised eLearning objects have been well established as the basic building blocks for educational online content. They are nicely suited for self-explorative learning approaches within adaptive hypermedia applications. Even though eLearning objects typically reside within content repositories, they may propagate metadata relations beyond repository limits. Given the explicit meaning of these interobject references, a semantic net of content strings can be knotted, overlaying the repository infrastructure. In this present paper, we briefly introduce our educational content management system hylOs. Enabled through an advanced authoring toolset, hylOs allows the definition of instructional overlays of a given eLearning object mesh. Based on a newly introduced Ontological Eval¬uation Layer, additional meaningful overlay relations between knowledge objects are shown to derive autonomously. A technology framework to extend the resulting semantic nets beyond repository limits is also presented. The Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs) is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR adaptive context linking environment (MIRaCLE): its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standard XML, CORBA and JNDI. hylOs benefits from manageable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high-level authoring tools like the eLO editor responsible for the semi-manual creation of meta data and WYSIWYG like XML content editing, allowing for rapid distributed content development

Pasteurella multocida Toxin-Stimulated Osteoclast Differentiation Is B Cell Dependent ▿

Pasteurella multocida is a Gram-negative bacillus that infects a number of wild and domestic animals, causing respiratory diseases. Toxigenic Pasteurella multocida strains produce a protein toxin (PMT) that leads to atrophic rhinitis in swine due to enhanced osteoclastogenesis and the inhibition of osteoblast function. We show that PMT-induced osteoclastogenesis is promoted by an as-yet-uncharacterized B-cell population. The toxin, however, is not acting at the level of hematopoietic stem cells, since purified CD117+ cells from murine hematopoietic progenitor cells cultivated with PMT did not mature into osteoclasts. The early macrophages contained within this cell population (CD117+/CD11b+) did not further differentiate into osteoclasts but survived and were able to phagocytose. Within the CD117− population, however, we detected PMT-induced generation of a B220+/CD19+ and B220+/IgM+ B-cell population that was able to take up fluorescently labeled PMT. Using purified B-cell and macrophage populations, we show that these B cells are needed to efficiently generate osteoclasts from macrophages. Cells of the immune system are thought to affect osteoclast formation and function by secreting cytokines and growth factors. We show here that PMT-stimulated B cells produce elevated levels of the osteoclastogenic factors interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and receptor activator of nuclear factor receptor ligand (RANKL) compared to B cells generated through incubation with IL-7. These results suggest that the osteoclastic properties characteristic for PMT may result from a cross talk between bone cells and lymphoid cells and that B cells might be an important target of Pasteurella multocida