Team's Ability Research Articles

Responding to public health crises

This paper examines how the cognitive framework of collective mindfulness complements tenets of user experience in public health crisis communication. Collective mindfulness attunes an organization into preemptively identifying and avoiding potential failures that can have adverse safety and public relations outcomes. To illustrate the connection between this cognitive framework and user experience, this article shares findings from a case study with the 2014 Johns Hopkins Medicine Ebola Crisis Communications Team, whose primary goals were to improve the usability of Ebola personal protective equipment protocols and to prepare healthcare providers for a U.S. Ebola crisis. Based on a grounded theory investigation, this article suggests that the collective mindfulness principles of deference to expertise, resilience, and refusal to simplify complex procedures informed the team's ability to avoid a catastrophic communication failure. Additionally, these principles allowed the team to attune to key user experience principles, including addressing user context and user limitations.

Repeated Sprint Ability Depending on the Level of Condition among University Soccer Players

The purpose of this study is to investigate the repeated sprint ability (RSA) performance among university soccer players. Twenty-four university representatives were voluntarily recruited as participants of this study and were asked to perform the RSA test that was modified which includes change of direction component in it. Participants were required to perform the RSA test in two conditions, with and without ball. Sprint time, fatigue index (FI) and percentage of decrement score of sprinting (Sdec) were analysed and compared between both protocols. Results showed that the sprint time without ball was significantly faster compared to sprint time with ball. Besides that, the FI and Sdec were shown to be significantly higher in with ball condition compared to without ball condition. Due to the drop of performance seen in the with ball condition, it shown the need for coaches and athletes to enhance the ability to move fast with ball, as this will enhance their team ability to control the ball possession which may affect the outcome of a soccer match.

Effect of fatigue on the movement activities of senior male Zimbabwean national rugby sevens players

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of fatigue on the percentage of time sevens rugby players spend on the movement activities during the two different halves of match play and to compare the percentage of time starter and substitute players spend on high and low-intensity movement activities. Sixty-one time-motion analyses data-sets of twelve (12) senior male elite Zimbabwean rugby sevens players with a mean age of 27.8 years were gathered at two International Sevens rugby tournaments. Time-motion analysis data were captured at 10 Hz with a minimaxX GPS device. Results indicated that starter players covered a significantly greater distance (r = 0.26) than substitute players. However, substitute players covered a significantly greater relative distance (distance per minute) (r = 0.33) than the starter players. Hence, the substitute players had less rest during match play and therefore a higher work-to-rest ratio than the starter players. No large practically significant differences found between the high intensity movement activities of the players during the two halves of match play, suggesting that fatigue did not affect the players’ movement activities. The results therefore suggest that the use of substitute players may support the ability of teams to increase the players work rate.

The Influence of Team Composition on Attacking and Defending in Football

This article examines the effects of team composition on the performance of European football (soccer) teams. The scorelines of 1,822 matches involving 98 first-tier teams were analyzed in terms of the overall ability of the teams and the spread of player abilities (heterogeneity) within them. As expected, total team ability has a beneficial effect on performance; the number of goals a team scores is positively related to its own ability and negatively related to the ability of its opponents. Team heterogeneity on the other hand has both beneficial and detrimental effects on performance. Heterogeneous teams score more goals than homogeneous teams, but they also concede more goals. As the effect of heterogeneity on goals conceded is greater than its effect on goals scored, the net effect of heterogeneity is to depress overall performance. The results are discussed in terms of Steiner’s framework of group dynamics.

Collaboration in Health Care

Health care involves the participation of patients, family, and a diverse team of often highly specialized health care professionals. Involvement of all these team members in a cooperative and coordinated way is essential to providing exceptional care. This article introduces key concepts relating to interprofessional collaborative teamwork. Approaches to measuring and studying collaboration and evidence demonstrating the benefits of collaboration are presented. The structural, psychological, and educational factors which may determine collaborative behaviour are described. Learning ObjectivesBy the end of this CME article, participants will be able to1. Distinguish between multifunctional and interdisciplinary teams,2. Define collaboration in a health care setting,3. Describe the value of collaboration to patients, staff, and organizations,4. Understand approaches to measuring collaboration, and5. Identify factors that determine the ability of teams to collaborate.This article is a CME article and provides the equivalent of 2 hours of continuing education that may be applied to your professional development credit system. A 20-question multiple choice quiz follows this reading, and answers can be found on page 216. Please note that no formalized credit (Category A) is available from CAMRT.

Measuring the effectiveness of protected area management by comparing habitat utilization and threat dynamics

The conservation outcomes of a protected area depend on management actions. The effectiveness of protected area management remains a concern for donors and policy-makers. However, very few feasible methods assessing the ability and performance of management teams have been developed. Behavioral shifts in habitat usage, direct and sensitive wildlife responses to threats, have been ignored in the evaluation of protected area management. To address the technical limitations, we developed a method that uses the behavioral dynamics of target species as indicators of the efficacy of threat reduction, control, and overall management effort. By comparing wildlife behavior with threat avoidance distances and patterns we can examine threat mitigation efficacy as a proxy for overall reserve management effectiveness. Using evidence of giant panda habitat utilization in eleven reserves across Qinling Mountains from 2000 to 2012, we built a model of behavior based on the avoidance of four types of anthropogenic threat. We stratified the eleven reserves into five efficacies, of which Changqing reserve was deemed to have the highest management effectiveness. Our approach was validated and supported by changes in suitable habitat and population size across reserves. Focusing on the end result of all threats and management effort means that our framework is straightforward for reserve staff to implement, produces easily interpreted results, and is worthy of application. This study highlights the value of behavioral dynamics when making a full and scientific assessment of the effectiveness of protected area management, and helps investors and policy-makers realize the efficacy of conservation inputs.

Horizon Report: Knowledge Obsolescence, Artificial Intelligence, and Rethinking the Educator Role.

The New Medium Consortium Horizon Report 2017 is a mixture of old, continuing, and a few new concepts (Adams Becker et al., 2017). Each year I summarize results of this report, which identifies trends, challenges, and emerging technologies on horizon. (The method used to determine these factors is outlined in report.)TRENDSAs in past, report presents short-term, mid-term, and longterm trends. The short-term trends highlighted for 2017 are blended and collaborative learning. Blended has been a consistent trend since 2012. As online has become more accepted in academy (Skiba, 2017a), research to identify best practices in online and face-to-face has spearheaded offering of blended opportunities. With availability of more dynamic management platforms, universities are able to offer flexibility, ease of access, and various multimedia technologies to complement occasional face-to-face meetings. Adams Becker et al. (2017, p. 9) note that current focus of this trend has shifted to understanding how applications of digital modes of teaching are impacting students.Collaborative learning, mentioned in 2012, has now resurfaced and focuses on four principles: placing learner at center, emphasizing interaction, working in groups, and developing solutions to real (Adams Becker et al., 2017, p. 9). The term has been around for a long time as many in online arena have formed communities of practice. What has changed is technology. We now have cloud-based services and shared workspace tools that facilitate ability of groups and teams to work together, anytime and anywhere.A mid-term trend, mentioned since 2013, is measurement of and use of assessment tools to document academic readiness, progress, and educational outcomes. What is different now is availability of data mining and visualization tools. One continuing difficulty is how to measure soft skills that employers value, such as collaboration and creativity. The other mid-term trend, mentioned since 2015, is redesign of spaces with more digital tools to promote active and engagement in classroom settings.The two long-term trends are both familiar. The goal of deeper (project based, challenge based, or inquiry based), first mentioned in 2012, is mastery of content that engages students in critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-directed learning (Adams Becker et al., 2017, p. 9). In nursing, deeper could be intertwined with interprofessional team goals outlined in your curriculum.The second long-term trend is advancing cultures of innovation, mentioned since 2015. As many faculty know, it is difficult to foster an environment of innovation. As noted by Adams Becker et al. (2017, p. 10), a recent Chronicle of Higher Education study (http:// chroniclegreatcolleges.com/blog/indicators-cultureinnovation/) identified five overarching themes to foster innovation: the need for open communication, collaboration within departments, job security when challenging status quo, shared responsibility, and top-down support. I remember when we first transitioned courses to an online format in 1998. As associate dean, I wrote letters extolling leadership and creativity of those early faculty who were fearful of getting terrible course evaluations because they were challenging status quo.CHALLENGESTwo solvable challenges have been on list since 2015: improving digital literacy and integrating formal and informal learning. We need to push our institutions to have general requirements about digital literacy and provide educational materials to prepare all students and faculty. In nursing education, we need to build on this foundation and expand our teaching from merely judging validity and veracity of web pages to encompass social media tools and mobile applications used by our patients. …

Wound Closure in Nonidiopathic Scoliosis: Does Closure Matter?

Postoperative wound complications after posterior spinal fusion are difficult to manage. The incidence in the nonidiopathic patient population is significantly higher than the adolescent idiopathic population. A comparison of wound complications after posterior spinal fusion for nonidiopathic scoliosis between the utilization of the orthopaedic surgical team at the time of closure performing a nonstandardized wound closure versus a plastic surgeon with a plastic multilayered closure technique and rotational flap coverage when needed had not previously been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to compare the complication rate between nonstandardized and plastic multilayered closure of the surgical incision in patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for nonidiopathic scoliosis. The charts of 76 patients with a primary diagnosis of scoliosis associated with a syndrome or neuromuscular disease and who underwent a posterior spinal fusion were reviewed. Forty-two patients had their incisions closed using the nonstandardized technique and 34 using the plastic multilayered technique. These 2 groups were compared for age, sex, primary diagnosis, number of levels fused, estimated blood loss, number of units transfused, operating room time, wound complication, and return to operating room. The wound complication rate in the nonstandardized closure group was 19% (8/42) compared with 0% (0/34) in the plastic multilayered closure group (P=0.007). The unanticipated return to the operating room rate was 11.9% (5/42) for the nonstandardized closure patients versus 0% (0/34) for the plastic multilayered closure patients (P=0.061). The use of the plastic multilayered closure technique in this patient population is important in an effort to decrease postoperative wound complications. The ability of the surgical team to decrease the infection rate of nonidiopathic scoliosis cannot be overstated. The method of wound closure plays a major role in lowering this incidence. Level III-therapeutic.

Identifying patient-related information problems: A study of information use by patient-care teams during morning rounds

ObjectiveThis study identifies the types of patient-related information problems (PIPs) that patient-care teams encounter during morning rounds, and how those PIPs are identified and managed. PIPs are any issues related to patient information (e.g., wrong, missing, incomplete information) that affect the patient-care team's ability to perform their work. Not addressing PIPs can lead to workflow challenges, delayed patient-care decisions, and negative impacts to the patient. Materials and methodsWe employed qualitative data collection methods by shadowing patient-care teams during 29 morning rounds resulting in 155h of observation. We observed the interactions between the rounding physicians and other patient-care team members, including: nurses, consulting physicians, care coordinators, pharmacists, social workers, and therapists. ResultsThis study resulted in identifying seven types of PIPs that occur during morning rounds. Additionally, the study presents the different ways that participants identified and managed the PIPs. DiscussionWe discuss the potential negative effects of PIPs on the patient-care workflow. We also discuss socio-technical recommendations for organizational policies and training, as well as electronic health record (EHR) design improvements that could help patient-care teams more effectively identify and manage PIPs. ConclusionHospital teams rely on accurate, available, and up-to-date information in order to make informed decisions on patient care. However, PIPs exist in EHR systems, paper documents, and verbal conversations. This study identifies a set of PIPs and how they are currently being identified and managed.

Is perceived athlete leadership quality related to team effectiveness? A comparison of three professional sports teams.

Researchers have argued that leadership is one of the most important determinants of team effectiveness. The present study examined the extent to which the perceived quality of athlete leadership was related to the effectiveness of elite sports teams. Three professional football teams (N=135) participated in our study during the preparation phase for the Australian 2016 season. Players and coaching staff were asked to assess players' leadership quality in four leadership roles (as task, motivational, social, and external leader) via an online survey. The leadership quality in each of these roles was then calculated in a social network analysis by averaging the indegree centralities of the three best leaders in that particular role. Participants also rated their team's performance and its functioning on multiple indicators. As hypothesized, the team with the highest-quality athlete leadership on each of the four leadership roles excelled in all indicators of team effectiveness. More specifically, athletes in this team had a stronger shared sense of the team's purpose, they were more highly committed to realizing the team's goals, and they had a greater confidence in their team's abilities than athletes in the other teams. Moreover, this team demonstrated a higher task-involving and a lower ego-involving climate, and excelled on all measures of performance. High-quality athlete leadership is positively related to team effectiveness. Given the importance of high-quality athlete leadership, the study highlights the need for well-designed empirically-based leadership development programs.

Growing Managers: Moving from Team Member to Team Leader

This case describes a newly promoted middle manager in a global, multi-cultural organization who is challenged by a number of factors in the workplace which are impacting her and her team's ability to perform to the expectations of her regional manager. While it would be easy to blame the new manager, deeper analysis in fact reveals that many forces are at work here in addition to her inexperience including communication of strategy and performance objectives, mismanaged team members, cultural inconsistencies, and a lack of leadership direction and/or skill from the very top to her supervising manager.After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to 1) analyze and diagnose unmet expectations for performance at work, 2) apply motivation theories and constructs to common behavioral and attitudinal challenges in a team setting, and 3) learn to avoid the fundamental attribution error described in the social psychological literature on judgment in decision-making.

Logistic regression analysis for factors influencing cost performance of design-bid-build and design-build projects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the influencing factors of cost performance of design-bid-build (DBB) and design-build (DB) projects and comparing the differences of influencing factors between these two delivery methods.Design/methodology/approachThis research identified and refined 14 influencing factors through literature review and academic expert discussions. Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data about the influencing factors and project cost performance. Then those factors were reduced to four components by factor analysis. Logistic regression analysis is used to investigate the relationship between four principal components and project cost performance.FindingsThe results indicate that the significant influencing factors of project cost performance of DBB projects and DB projects are different. For DBB projects, owner abilities, such as owner team ability, owner experience, and owner finance, are important influencing factors causing cost overruns, while for DB projects cost performance is more sensitive to the contractor abilities, namely, contractor team ability, contractor finance, contractor experience, etc.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the paper are mainly derived by quantitative research method based on the survey of 144 samples, so the results may need validation by qualitative studies. Further research could apply case study or interview to validate the findings in this research. In addition, project type and location are not considered as control variables due to the limited number of samples, future research could be conducted to investigate their relationship with project performance.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research not only help practitioners have a better understanding of the factors influencing project cost performance, but also provide some guidelines for practitioners to pay attention to different factors to better control the cost performance within different delivery systems.Originality/valueOwner ability and contractor ability are found to be of different importance in influencing cost performance of DBB and DB projects. This research extends previous research on cost management by considering different significant factors in influencing project cost performance within DBB and DB projects.

Do great teams think alike? An examination of team mental models and their impact on team performance

Team mental models represent the shared understanding of team members within their relevant environment. Thus, team mental models should have a substantial impact on a team's ability to engage in purposeful and coordinated action. We sought to examine the impact of shared team mental models on team performance and to investigate if team mental models increase over time as teams continue to work together. New surgery interns were assigned randomly to 1 of 10 teams. Each team participated in one unique simulation every day for 5days, each followed by video-based debriefing with a facilitator. Participants also completed independently a concept similarity tool validated previously in nonmedical team literature to assess team mental models. All performances were video recorded and evaluated with a scenario-specific team performance tool by a single, blinded junior surgeon under an institutional review board-approved protocol. Changes in performance and team mental models over time were assessed with paired samples t tests. Regression analysis was used to examine the extent to which team mental models predicted team performance. Thirty interns (age 27; 77% men) participated in the training program. Percentage of items achieved (x¯±SD) on the performance evaluation was 39±20, 51±14, 22±17, 63±14, and 77±25 for Days 1-5, respectively. Team mental models were 30±5, 28±6, 27±8, 26±7, and 25±6 for Days 1-5 respectively, such that larger values corresponded to greater differences in team mental models. Paired sample t tests indicated that both average performance and team mental models similarity improved from the first to last day (P<.01, P<.05, respectively). Additionally, regression analyses indicated that team mental models predicted team performance on Days 2-5 (all P<.05) but not on the first day of simulations. These results demonstrate that greater sharing of team mental models among the teams leads to better team performance. Additionally, the increase in team mental models over time suggests that engaging in team-based simulation may catalyze the process by which surgery teams are able to develop shared knowledge.

Innovations in Major League Baseball catalysing factors: when winning is not enough

Major League Baseball (MLB) is facing stiff competition from fast growing global sports, yet little is known about how teams maintain their privileged position in the hearts and minds of fans. In-depth interviews with senior managers were analysed to better understand catalysing factors used by MLB teams to build their brand identity and crystallise the emotional bond with their fans. Moreover, we discuss some innovations that influence a team's ability to make its brand transcend the on-field performance and help create more distinctive marketing strategies.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC-TECHNICAL PROJECT'S EXECUTIVE TEAM

The article offers a method to evaluate the performance of executive managers teams involved in scientific-technical projects, which considers a range of factors allowing the team to reach applied targets. Within this methdology framework for evaluating the readiness of an innovative scientific-technical project, such method can be utilized for defining the team's ability to match the requirements level of the planned or already realized project. Applying suggested method will allow formulating recommendations for the development of the project team, that will lead to eliminating risks in failing to reach set targets. The methodology has been approved for federal budget programme «Research and Development in priority areas of the scientific-technical complex in Russia for 2014–2020 years».

Home Advantage in Professional Football in Iran - Differences between Teams, Levels of Play and the Effects of Climate

Although much has been written about home advantage in football, almost all studies have used data from European countries. To address this deficiency, a single Asian country, Iran, was selected, with the aim of shedding fresh light onto the many factors currently implicated with the existence of home advantage. For each season since its creation in 2001, home advantage was quantified for each team in the Persian Gulf Pro League, adjusting for annual league variation and team ability. Data were also obtained for the level 2 Azadegan League. ANOVA was used to test for differences between teams and a stepwise regression to assess the influence of the explanatory variables which included altitude and climatic variables. Overall home advantage was 59.3%, higher than in most Asian countries. It was greater (p<.001) at level 2 than at level 1, and differed between teams (p<.001), being generally high for team locations alongside the Caspian Sea, while below average for teams from Tehran. The independent effect of playing in high humidity increased home advantage (p<.01), whereas it was lowered for teams playing at home in a capital city (p<.001). Altitude, temperature and the absence of a running track had no effect.

Mobile Real-time Tracking of Acute Stroke Patients and Instant, Secure Inter-team Communication - the Join App.

PurposeThe primary correlate to survival and preservation of neurologic function in patients suffering from an acute ischemic stroke is time from symptom onset to initiation of therapy and reperfusion. Communication and coordination among members of the stroke team are essential to maximizing efficiency and subsequently early reperfusion. In this work, we aim to describe our preliminary experience using the Join mobile application as a means to improve interdisciplinary team communication and efficiency.Materials and MethodsWe describe our pilot experience with the initiation of the Join mobile application between July 2015 and July 2016. With this application, a mobile beacon is transported with the patient on the ambulance. Transportation milestone timestamps and geographic coordinates are transmitted to the treating facility and instantly communicated to all treatment team members. The transport team / patient can be tracked en route to the treating facility.ResultsDuring our pilot study, 62 patients were triaged and managed using the Join application. Automated time-stamping of critical events, geographic tracking of patient transport and summary documents were obtained for all patients. Treatment team members had an overall favorable impression of the Join application and recommended its continued use.ConclusionThe Join application is one of several components of a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary effort to improve the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The ability of the treatment team to track patient transport and communicate with the transporting team may improve reperfusion time and, therefore, improve neurologic outcomes.

Examining the Feasibility and Predictive Validity of the SAGAT Tool to Assess Situation Awareness Among Medical Trainees.

Situational awareness (SA) describes a team's ability to perceive environmental elements, comprehend their meaning, and anticipate future events. Although SA is consistently described as a critical competency among surgical teams, there is a dearth of research identifying efficacious methods to assess and develop SA in such settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of implementing an objective tool that has been used to measure SA in other intense and dynamic environments -the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT)-and to examine its ability to predict surgical trainee team performance. Ten team-training sessions were conducted involving 2 standardized high-fidelity trauma simulation scenarios. Teams consisted of 4 or 5 participants, and roles were randomly assigned. Team situational awareness was assessed using the SAGAT method, which involves intermittent freezes to probe trainee awareness of the situation. Team performance was assessed using the Mayo High-Performance Teamwork Scale. Hierarchical regression was used to examine SA-performance relationships for each scenario. Forty-three third-year medical students participated in the training sessions. Team SA ranged from 45% to 79% and 46% to 97% for the first and second scenarios, respectively. Additionally, team SA significantly predicted team performance for both the first scenario (F(1, 42)=19.57; P<0.001; R=0.30) and second scenario (F(1,42)=26.18, P<0.001; R=0.38). The SAGAT is a valid, reliable tool for assessing surgical trainee SA. Information provided by the SAGAT can help diagnose team performance problems, inform debriefing discussion points, and inform curriculum development endeavors.

The Impact of Team Ability Disparity and Reward Structure on Performance

We examine how the performance of teams and of the individuals within them varies with disparity in team member ability and with the reward structure in place. We carry out an experiment on a sample of 240 participants which first played a Counter‐Strike Game to determine their level of proficiency, then played in three‐person teams made up of a high, a medium and a low level performer. We observed the effect of both a competitive reward and of a cooperative one on team performance. The results indicate that when the disparity in ability is large, teams compensated using a competitive reward outperform those subject to a cooperative reward, but when the disparity in ability is small, reward structure has no influence on team performance. Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) analysis confirms these findings at the individual level. Our study has implications for optimal team composition and the structuring of rewards. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Construction and Grouping of a Chinese People's Armed Police Forces Provincial-Level Mobile Rescue Hospital System.

In recent years, with the increasingly frequent variety of large-scale disasters that have happened in China, the Chinese People's Armed Police Forces (PAP) has undertaken increasingly frequent and diversified tasks, which has led to greater requirements for the construction of emergency medical rescue equipment. Therefore, as determined by the characteristics of the PAP's tasks and based on the construction of special boxes and frame tent equipment, a new PAP mobile rescue hospital system was successfully developed, and all PAP provincial-level medical rescue teams have been equipped with this system. In the present article, we describe this mobile rescue hospital system, which is mainly composed of professional emergency vehicles, frame-type tents, and advanced medical equipment. The system has the following characteristics: significant integration, a fast response, flexibility, and practicability. The mobile rescue system is generally used as the army's own health service support system and to provide certain emergency medical rescue services to disaster-stricken people. The successful construction and further application of this system have significance in terms of accelerating the response of rescue teams and the emergency treatment ability of the PAP's provincial-level emergency medical rescue teams. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:455-459).