Leader delegation and trust in global software teams

Virtual teams are an important work structure in global software development. The distributed team structure enables access to a diverse set of expertise which is often not available in one location, to a cheaper labor force, and to a potentially accelerated development process that uses a twenty-four hour work structure. Many software teams are partially distributed, that is, part of the team is colocated. Such partially distributed global software teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what affects or improves team members’ motivation and job satisfaction in the partially distributed environment. This study investigates the effects of leader delegation to sub-teams and trust between sub-teams on global software team members’ motivation and job satisfaction. It proposes a research framework based on specific hypotheses regarding these effects. A survey instrument was created and a pilot study conducted on student project teams in two U.S. universities. In addition, a study combining interviews and a survey distribution using industry software development teams was also conducted. The studies found that team competence predicts leader delegation to a sub-team in global software projects. Leader delegation related to teamwork process improves team members’ motivation and satisfaction with the leader. However, leader delegation may also generate negative consequences for the sub-teams, such as anxiety and pressure. Cultural distance and geographical distance impair trust development between members across sub-teams. Temporal distance causes conflicts related to excessive overtime and meeting scheduling. Trust in sub-teams is critical to improving motivation in a global software project. In addition, this study explores the impacts of language differences and software engineering profession culture on global software team members’ interactions. Suggestions are proposed for how to shape delegation strategies in partially distributed global software projects and how to improve team members’ trust in each other and their motivation. This work provides important findings for organizations interested in developing leadership skills for global software teams and retaining IT professionals at distributed sites

The Formation Process towards Conglomeration of Digital Ecosystems: A Hybrid Organizing Perspective

The evolving trend of promoting active student instructional strategies to facilitate improved performance has gained momentum. So, too, is the impact of information communications technology (ICT) tools for enhancing productivity in the education sector. Nonetheless, for over a decade, student throughput at South African universities has been estimated to be around 15 percent. Despite high rate of the students’ under preparedness at South African universities of technology, students’ academic participation using ICT tools in their required educational work is insufficient. Factors deterring active participation and ICT adoption in South African HE are largely unknown. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effectiveness of using ICT enables tutorial strategies to promote improved instructional performance. The study employs a 2 x 2 factorial quasi-experimental design to investigate the interactive effects of instructional strategies and cognitive preferences in database systems knowledge acquisition. The study adopts a quantitative research design, and the data was collected using paper-based pre and post-tests. The QUEST Interactive Test Analysis System estimate was used to analyse the experimental data

ANO1 as a marker of oral squamous cell carcinoma and silencing ANO1 suppresses migration of human SCC-25 cells

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to confirm that ANO1 correlates with occurrence and metastasis of OSCC. Study Design: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of ANO1 in 160 specimens of OSCC and normal tissues. Lentiviral silencing ANO1 was used in scc-25 cell line to study the cell migration and cell detachment. Results: Immunohistochemical staining revealed that ANO1 was expressed in a large majority (132 out of 160, 82.5%) of OSCC specimens and that the rate of ANO1 expression in OSCC was significantly higher than that of normal tissue ( P <0.05); The rate of ANO1 expression was higher in metastatic tumors than in non-metastatic tumors, and the difference was significant ( P <0.05). The results of cell migration assay showed that the percent - age of cells through the membrane was 26.61 ±0.81 in assay group, and 54.26 ±3.74 in control group, respectively (t =-16.22, P <0.0001). The results of cell detachment assay showed that the percentage of cells detachment was 37.42 ±0.90 in assay group, and 87.38 ±1.59 in control group, respectively (t=-62.34, P <0.0001). The results of wound healing assay showed the assay group had a reduced migration rate compared with the control group in 32 h (F=1038.78, P <0.0001). Wound closure was no significantly different between the assay and control cells when DIDS was used in wound healing assay (F=4.61, P >0.05). Conclusions: Our study shows that abnormal expression of ANO1 correlated with the occurrence and metastasis of OSCC in clinical specimens and that silencing ANO1 greatly reduced migration ability of scc-25 cells. Calcium activated chloride channel activity of ANO1 promoted the cell migration. Thus, ANO1 could represent a new diagnostic biomarker and a potentially important therapeutic target of OSCC