Metaphors as symbolic environment of the self: How self-knowledge is expressed verbally

In current social psychology, the self is conceptualized as a "set of beliefs" (Baumeister, 1998). As there is no direct way to observe the self, a large part of self-knowledge remains tacit. Researchers mostly analyze "traces of the self" represented in language, for example as metaphors. It is argued that language can be conceptualized as symbolic environment individuals are socialized into much like the physical and social environment. In two studies (N 1 =12, N 2 =63), patterns of metaphors of the self were analyzed and related to self-concept aspects and the big five dimensions of personality. Theoretical and methodological implications for self-concept research are discussed

Only a click away? – What makes virtual meetings, emails and outsourcing successful

Good communication is vital for organisations at all phases of the economic cycle. In virtual, multicultural teams it is complex, sensitive and can be a considerable challenge. Karin Moser’s article, ‘Only a click away’, illustrates how even the tiniest matters – such as etiquette, forms of address and degrees of informality – can have significant effects. Outlining the differences between on-site and dispersed teams, Moser shows how norms of behaviour are unconsciously formed and maintained by people who meet face-to-face regularly and argues that different approaches must be actively implemented when developing dispersed teams. The article concludes with a handy list of practical tips. This article was a winner of 'Management Articles of Year 2013' in the UK

The Challenges of Digitalization in Higher Education Teaching

This chapter focuses on the challenges and changes that the introduction of digital technologies into higher education teaching has brought about. To date the response to the possibilities of digital media in higher education has been mainly reactive and consisted mostly of ‘managing after the fact’ rather than a proactive approach with visions for the future. Many universities still seem to be in a state of ‘catching up’ but not always ‘catching on’ which in part can also be attributed to generational differences between faculty and students. I propose that the most fundamental and challenging of all the changes related to the digitalization of higher education is the way that academics relate to and interact with their students, rather than the technologies themselves. I also propose that in the future we will see the emergence of two distinct ways of teaching: Mostly online courses for lectures and seminars on the one hand and highly individualized face to face tutoring and supervision on the other hand. The most successful universities will be those that manage to integrate both modes of teaching, and who have the staff with the competencies to do both successfully

No two gangs are alike: The digital divide in street gangs’ differential adaptations to social media

© 2020 The Authors Social media provide novel opportunities for street gangs to operate beyond their traditional borders to sell drugs, recruit members and control their territory, virtually and physically. Although social media have contributed to the means available to street gangs today, it does not mean that every gang agrees on their use. Drawing on different perspectives (ex-gang members, law enforcement) on gangs using a multi-method design in a London borough, the current study shows that social media have polarized gangs, resulting in two distinct types of digital adaptation. The proposed division of ‘digitalist’ and ‘traditionalist’ gangs is rooted in Thrasher's (1927) dictum that no two gangs are alike and explains how some gangs prefer to keep a low profile, thus, avoiding social media use. ‘Digitalists’, by contrast, prefer to use social media as a way to gain reputation and territorial expansion. They use it to brand themselves and to appear attractive for recruits and customers alike. These differences can be theoretically explained firstly as a generational gap, meaning that younger gang members prefer the use of social media; and secondly, by how well established a gang already is, as newer gangs need more attention to establish themselves

The Role of Norms in Virtual Work: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Although existing literature points to the importance of developing shared norms in virtual work and there is some work on norms within online communities, there is little research focusing specifically on how different types of norms operate within virtual work environments. Because differences in expectations across locations can result in increased conflict and reduced motivation and can hamper cooperation and performance within virtual environments, we chose to address this gap in current research and to edit a special issue on the topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

The effect of reward interdependence on cooperation and information-sharing intentions

Incentives are central to the reinforcement of behavior. In the context of group work, it is important to distinguish between individual and collective incentives as rewards. High reward interdependence should constitute an incentive for cooperation among group members (e.g., collective vs. individual financial rewards), but experimental studies provide no support for this assumption, whereas some field studies found an increase in information exchange and team productivity. In the two experimental studies presented here (N1 = 46, N2 = 28), high reward interdependence resulted in a higher willingness to share information with and to help other group members, stronger responses to the poor quality of others' work, higher preference for a group layout, and less withdrawal as a response to the reluctant commitment of others. The findings suggest that high reward interdependence can indeed act as an incentive for cooperative behavior and information sharing in an experimental setting as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

A visual guide for lower limb prothetic alignment

A novel method to provide an objective visual guide during lower limb prosthetic alignment is proposed. A customized ambulatory device was built to collect kinematic and temporal gait data from 3 subjects walking in four different experiment setups. Multiple gait events within a gait cycle and stride time were derived as feature variables and were pre-processed using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). Distinctive clusters due to different walking setups were noticed in a PCA plot in two dimensions. Dispersion of each clusters and distances amongst each other explains the walking variability and differences under different setups

Knowledge management and team innovation: understanding the team processes underlying high innovativeness

Being innovative means being willing ‘to go the extra mile’ beyond routine tasks in teams. It also means that team members are willing to consider different perspectives in heterogeneous teams and to share information. Important antecedents of team innovation are successful information sharing and helping behaviour among team members. Although the importance of information sharing for innovation is seemingly self-evident, we still know very little about the group processes that support team innovation (West, 2002). Information sharing is a group process that is an indispensable part of team integration. Team roles and team tasks need to be discussed to successfully achieve team goals. In heterogeneous teams with members from different occupational backgrounds integrating processes such as information sharing are even more important. To date, research on information sharing has focused mainly on the type of information that is shared or unshared (Brodbeck, Kerschreiter, Mojzisch, Frey, & Schulz-Hardt, 2002; Stasser, Stewart, & Wittenbaum, 1995) and on antecedents of information sharing, such as trust (Butler, 1999), task and reward interdependence (Moser & Wodzicki, 2007), or how person perception might affect information exchange (de Bruin & Van Lange, 2000). The link between output measures of group performance, such as innovativeness, and information sharing has always been implied and has been explored theoretically to some extent (Diehl & Ziegler, 2000), but empirical studies that go beyond organisational case studies (Basadur & Gelade, 2006) are still scarce. If we define innovation as the introduction of new ideas and new ways of doing things at work as suggested by West (2002), then sharing information about these new ideas and developing ideas further in the team through information sharing is a prerequisite for team innovation. However, the role of information is likely to be very different for routine team tasks and for team innovation. Especially in heterogeneous teams with members from different occupational backgrounds, task interdependence is likely to be lower for new and innovative processes than for established procedures and routine tasks. This means that information sharing is ‘nice to have’ and would be expected to affect team innovation, but is at the same time not indispensable for completing routine team tasks. This distinction is important, because under low task interdependence different social processes come into play in groups (Moser & Wodzicki, 2007). Information sharing under low task interdependence can be defined as a form of prosocial behaviour at work. It means that team members are willing to put in an extra effort and ‘go the extra mile’ to discuss their perspectives on the team task with colleagues from a different disciplinary background. In the studies presented here we argue that the importance of information sharing and helping behaviour for team innovation should therefore increase if occupational diversity is high and team size is large. The hypothesis was tested in two independent samples of health care teams (N1=72 breast cancer care teams, N2=113 community mental health teams), using team innovation rated by independent experts as outcome variable. Multiple regression analysis showed that helping behaviour had a significant independent effect on innovation for both team types, while information sharing only had a significant association with innovation for breast cancer teams. The interaction effects of team size and occupational diversity were tested with moderated regression analysis for both helping behaviour and information sharing. Both team processes showed strong main effects, which were even stronger if occupational diversity was high. There was also a main effect of team size on innovation, which is increased especially if helping behaviour in the team is strong. The interaction effect with team size could thus be confirmed for both teams, while the interaction with team size was only found for the mental health care teams. The partially different results for the two different team types could be explained by the differences in task and team structures. While mental health teams have stable membership and meet less regularly than breast cancer teams, breast cancer teams are cross-functional teams with multiple team memberships. In conclusion, it can be said that especially helping behaviour seems to be crucial for team innovation. If teams are large, and helping behaviour among team members is strong, the capacity for innovation seems to be greatly increased. Implications for understanding the psychological processes underlying team innovation and for managing knowledge sharing in teams are discussed

Enhancing Ministry & Improving Clergy Well-Being: Exploring the impact of Bowen’s Systems Coaching on the Work-Related Psychological Health of Clergy

Substantial societal changes over the past twenty years together with the professionalisation of the Church of England have greatly impacted the clergy role (Robbins & Francis, 2014). While clergy continue to gain a great deal of satisfaction and accomplishment from ministry (Francis et al., 2009), one third of all clerical sickness within the Church of England (CoE) is now due to stress, anxiety or other mental health issues (St Luke’s, 2010). Research exploring the aetiology of clergy mental health indicates the fundamental role of relational risk factors such as conflict & role expectations within the development of negative psychological health (Berry et al., 2012). Positive psychological health also relies on relational variables including levels of support from family and congregation (Proeschold-Bell, 2015)