System Usage: A Shared Mental Model Perspective

The failure rate of Information Systems (IS) projects is high and has been high for many years. Failed IS projects leave organizations with systems that have very low usage and a negative rate of return on their investment. System use is a key measure of IS success. User participation and involvement (UPI) during application development and configuration are key factors that influence system use. However, empirical studies have shown mixed results for the influence of UPI on system use. This study explores the extent to which shared mental model (SMM) of a project team influences the impact of UPI on system use. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from UPI and SMM body of research, this study introduces SMM as a variable to better explain how and why UPI effects system use outcomes. The findings are based on multiple case studies conducted over many months and reviewed eight IS projects by different teams within an organization. The findings illustrate effects of UPI on system use outcomes is moderated by SMM, such that a) higher levels of SMM positively influences the effects of UPI on system use outcome and b) lower levels of SMM negatively influences the effects of UPI on system use outcomes. The wide ranging implications of these findings for IS research and practitioners are discussed

Conducting a Shared Mental Model of Student Evaluation: Implications for Nurse Educators

Subjective evaluation of student performance, by its definition, is open to bias, the possibility of being inequitable, and of being unfair. One faculty member may consider a student performance passing, while the next faculty member may not. Grading criteria may not have the same meaning to all evaluators, which compounds the issue. In search of narrowing the variables, faculty may develop a shared mental model, where faculty reach agreement on the terms and criteria used for subjective evaluation. The use of a shared mental model should decrease subjectivity, and result in student evaluations that are more fair and equitable. This is based on faculty use of more specific, objective criteria for subjective evaluations. The benefits to faculty are that a shared mental model of conducting evaluations promotes best practices in evaluation, and may provide defensible evaluations in high-stakes situations if students grieve the evaluation or decide to pursue legal action

The Role ofSocial Capital and Shared Mental Model inVirtualR&D Teams

The working style of virtual R&D team is becoming more and more popular, so lots of researchers concern about the performance of virtual R&D teams. Shared mental model (SMM) is a concept in psychology which is defined as a common thinking style developed by similar experience and individual mental models. In this paper, we consider two types of SMM, which are task-related SMM and member-related SMM, and hope to investigatewhether SMM could influence the performance of R&D virtual teams and the antecedent relationship of SMM using social capital theory. The research results indicate that we could use social capital theory to explain the antecedents of task-related SMM and member-related SMM.Wealso find that task-related SMM and member-related SMM are both positively related to virtual R&Dteam performance. This researchemphasizes the importance of the notice on SMM in virtual team establishment, which should be paid more attentions

Exploring the Cognitive Nature of Boards of Directors and Its Implication for Board Effectiveness

In this paper we propose a theoretical framework that emphasizes the development of a shared mental model (SMM) of a board of directors and its impact on board effectiveness and suggest that the accuracy and scope of the SMM in a board will moderate the relationship between a board’s SMM and board effectiveness. Also, we examine the impact of task and relationship conflict on the development of a SMM. Finally, we examine three board attributes (board size, CEO duality, and the proportion of outside directors on a board) as antecedents to the development of conflict among board members.Boards of directors, corporate governance, shared mental models

Towards a shared mental model of progressive competence in postgraduate medical education

Many professions have hierarchies and a promotion structure. Postgraduate medicine has a tradition of promoting residents based on time spent in a certain specialty. The military, too, may promote its personnel based on factors other than just merit. Both professions have been criticized for divorcing competence from promotion. While Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) partly solves this problem in medicine, many models of CBME, including the Canadian one, retain distinct stages of training. We urgently need a shared mental model of what a learner in each stage looks like. Some models have been proposed but fall short

An Inquiry into Mental Models of Web Interface Design

Here we adopt a cognitive science orientation to inquire into web interface design using the lens of mental models. A mental model is an internal cognitive representation of some aspect of the real world. The human mind automatically constructs and refines these models to provide a basis from which we can reason, make decisions, and form expectations. Even without conscious awareness, cognitive theory suggests that each web user has developed a mental model of what constitutes agreeable web interface design. But what is the nature of these mental models? Further, to what extent do people possess a general, shared mental model of web interface design? We examine these questions using a novel methodological approach in conjunction with statistical analyses and thermal imaging. We find not only that people possess a shared mental model of web interface design, but also that this shared model is remarkably cohesive from person to person

Organizational behaviour during instability: A critical discourse analysis of shared mental model through various forms of acute care learning using mixed methods

Background: The purpose of this study is to better understand nurses\u27 performance based on training processes. This will determine if group training will increase performance compared to independent training through a shared mental model in a contextual setting of unpredictability mediated by the effects of nurses’ perceptions of patient safety climate. A mixed methods study is conducted using critical discourse analysis of organizational documentation and semi-structured interviews to determine measures of contextual setting when identifying and treating sex trade workers. Methods: Pragmatic study will analyze two groups of 125 nurses each determining the impact of group and individual training when developing a shared mental model based on performance of identifying trafficked persons. New identification tools will be introduced to identical departments separated geographically that have comparable staff who currently receive identical training. Results: Little research exists that examines influence of contextual setting of unpredictable environments with shared mental model, and examining the mediating effects of patient safety climate. It is anticipated that this research will produce new findings towards the current body of literature. Discussion & Conclusion: Beyond the increase to current literature regarding training methods nursing professionals working in an environment of uncertainty, there will also be an anticipated benefit towards the sample populating of sex workers who have increased risk of harm due to recent changes in Canadian legislation (C-36). Interdisciplinary Reflection: Concepts from the social sciences and business are combined for increased understanding of how training influences the mental model in unpredicted environments

Distance ratio: an exploratory application to compare complex networks

Books of Abastracts disponível em http://eccs2012.ulb.ac.be/media/eccs_handbook_web.pdfThis paper describes an experimental application of the distance ratio measure used to compare individual networks among themselves and to analyze the aggregated network representing the group mental model from the field of emergency management. The data was obtained by surveying a group of Civil Protection graduates and aggregating all the answers (shared mental model). The data allowed us to deepen the analysis of the resulting network in order to research for differences among networks

Shared Mental Models: National Representative Coaches’ Thinking on Importance, Characteristics, and Development

The aims of the study were to explore how national representative handball coaches reflect on the cognitive properties of the team and how these attributes are developed through team practice. A theoretical (shared mental models) thematic analysis was conducted, and five coaches with extensive experience from the national team and elite clubs participated. The data were analyzed with regard to three overarching topics: importance, characteristics, and development of shared mental models. The interviews revealed that measures intended to influence a shared mental model permeate team practice and underpin the assumption of opponent-specific shared mental models. Alignment between briefings and debriefings as well as field practice were emphasized and used to enhance a shared mental model and understood as measures that facilitate pattern recognition and primed decisions. Single-loop as well as double-loop learning were identified as coaching initiatives to promote the development of shared mental models. Systematic practice with the goal of promoting coordination through repetition of the coordinative patterns in critical game situations was emphasized. Implicit communication is a characteristic of teams sharing a mental model, and distinct proactive bodily movements were emphasized as a crucial requirement for coordination. A model was elaborated to show how the categories can be understood in the cyclic relation between matches and the development of shared mental models.publishedVersio

Shared Mental Models: National Representative Coaches’ Thinking on Importance, Characteristics, and Development

The aims of the study were to explore how national representative handball coaches reflect on the cognitive properties of the team and how these attributes are developed through team practice. A theoretical (shared mental models) thematic analysis was conducted, and five coaches with extensive experience from the national team and elite clubs participated. The data were analyzed with regard to three overarching topics: importance, characteristics, and development of shared mental models. The interviews revealed that measures intended to influence a shared mental model permeate team practice and underpin the assumption of opponent-specific shared mental models. Alignment between briefings and debriefings as well as field practice were emphasized and used to enhance a shared mental model and understood as measures that facilitate pattern recognition and primed decisions. Single-loop as well as double-loop learning were identified as coaching initiatives to promote the development of shared mental models. Systematic practice with the goal of promoting coordination through repetition of the coordinative patterns in critical game situations was emphasized. Implicit communication is a characteristic of teams sharing a mental model, and distinct proactive bodily movements were emphasized as a crucial requirement for coordination. A model was elaborated to show how the categories can be understood in the cyclic relation between matches and the development of shared mental models.publishedVersio