Online Collaboration of Groups with Varying Tasks and Goals

This research assesses factors leading to satisfaction and productivity in team collaboration. A longitudinal design is used in analyzing predictive relationships between team communication, social process factors (group feedback and interpersonal trust), and productivity and satisfaction. Virtual and face-to-face teams pursuing varying tasks and goals are paired to provide information and collaborative support. Data collection continues

Pediatricians' weight assessment and obesity management practices

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinician adherence to obesity screening guidelines from United States health agencies remains suboptimal. This study explored how personal and career demographics influence pediatricians' weight assessment and management practices.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A web-based survey was distributed to U.S. pediatricians. Respondents were asked to identify the weight status of photographed children and about their weight assessment and management practices. Associations between career and personal demographic variables and pediatricians' weight perceptions, weight assessment and management practices were evaluated using univariate and multivariate modeling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>3,633 pediatric medical providers correctly identified the weight status of children at a median rate of 58%. The majority of pediatric clinicians were white, female, and of normal weight status with more than 10 years clinical experience. Experienced pediatric medical providers were less likely than younger colleagues to correctly identify the weight status of pictured children and were also less likely to know and use BMI criteria for assessing weight status. General pediatricians were more likely than subspecialty practitioners to provide diverse interventions for weight management. Non-white and Hispanic general practitioners were more likely than counterparts to consider cultural approaches to weight management.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pediatricians' perceptions of children's weight and their weight assessment and management practices are influenced by career and personal characteristics. Objective criteria and clinical guidelines should be uniformly applied by pediatricians to screen for and manage pediatric obesity.</p

Some Relations of Response Sets to Discriminations by Tests of Personality Integration

100 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1953.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

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&apos;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 &amp; 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..

Needle thoracentesis decompression: observations from postmortem computed tomography and autopsy.

BACKGROUND: Needle thoracentesis decompression (NTD) is a recommended emergency treatment for tension pneumothorax. Current doctrine recognizes two suitable sites: the second intercostal space in the midclavicular line and the fourth or fifth intercostal space in the anterior axillary line. METHODS: A review was conducted of postmortem computed tomography and autopsy results in 16 cases where NTD was performed as an emergency procedure. RESULTS: In 16 cases with 23 attempted procedures, the outcome was confirmed in 17 attempts. In 7 placements, the catheter was in the pleural cavity; in 7 placements, the catheter never entered the pleural cavity; and in 3 placements, cavity penetration was verified at autopsy even though the catheter was no longer in the cavity. Success was noted in 6 of 13 anterior attempts and 4 of 4 lateral attempts, for an overall success rate of 59% (10 of 17). In the remaining 6 attempted procedures, a catheter was noted in the soft tissue on imaging; however, presence or absence of pleural cavity penetration was equivocal. All placements were attempted in the combat environment; no information is available about specifically where or by whom. CONCLUSION: NTD via a lateral approach was more successful than that via an anterior approach, although it was used in fewer cases. This supports the revision of the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Guidelines specifying the lateral approach as an alternative to an anterior approach

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