Interactions In Natural Settings Research Articles

Handling Community Tensions During the Hajj Waiting Period

Hajj, a pillar of Islam for Muslims who are able, has a high spiritual dimension while involving social, economic, and psychological aspects in its preparation and execution. The waiting period before Hajj is often challenging, especially in the context of people's anxiety. This study aims to analyze and understand anxiety during the Hajj waiting period and its impact on the preparation and actualization of worship. In the context of the data type and research objectives, a non-positivistic or naturalism paradigm was used. Qualitative research, which focuses on human actions and interactions in natural settings, defines this approach. The research findings show that the frustration experienced by prospective pilgrims is not only influenced by the long waiting period and the additional costs required but also includes a deeper aspect of cosmological roots in Muslim understanding. Hajj, one of Islam's high pillars, has shifted people's perceptions to be more than just an achievement in the spiritual journey. However, it should be noted that this study needs to be more focused in its focus, which is on analyzing the queuing aspect of the waiting period. This study has yet to explore the regulation of Hajj worldwide, which has significant variations, including developing the nusuk application technology proposed by the Saudi Arabian government to address queuing issues.

Coding social interactions in naturalistic settings: The taxonomy of dyadic conversation.

Social interaction and conversation is an essential aspect of human behavior, yet existing methods for coding conversations are outdated, and often can only be used in contrived research settings. The Taxonomy of Dyadic Conversation (TDC) is a coding system designed to code dyadic interactions in natural settings by labeling the utterances and turns taken within an interaction using speech categories. The TDC was used to code child-caregiver and adult-adult conversations in a children's museum and during a public forum, respectively. Results supported hypotheses that predicted adult-adult interactions would contain more Declarative Statement and Acknowledgment utterances than child-caregiver interactions, while child-caregiver interactions contained fewer Conversational Turns, as well as more Command and Encouragement utterances. Results also indicated high levels of inter-rater reliability. The potential for additions and modifications to be applied to the standard TDC is discussed.

Naturalistic evaluation of preschoolers' spontaneous interactions: The Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale.

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder who were cognitively able versus typical age-mates, (b) explore each group’s hierarchical pattern of peer interaction behaviors, and (c) identify Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale’s links with standard reports for assessing social-communication functioning (Vineland Behavior Scales, 2nd ed.), social impairment (Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed.), autism severity (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd ed.), and intelligence quotient (Mullen) in the cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder group. Participants comprised 85 preschoolers (50 cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder, intelligence quotient > 75; 35 typical). Groups were matched for age, intelligence quotient, and maternal education. Significant group differences emerged on all Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale categories, in favor of typical. In cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder, correlation analyses indicated that more typical peer relations on Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale were linked with better adaptive and socialization skills (Vineland Behavior Scales, 2nd ed.) and fewer social atypicalities (Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed.). Higher intelligence quotient scores were linked with better Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale social-communication functioning. Only a few Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale social-communication categories significantly correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd ed. Findings highlight the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale as differentiating between groups and providing knowledge about peer interaction in natural settings. This new tool can help personalize social-communication programs and evaluations of early intervention outcomes.Lay abstractPeer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are limited. This study examined the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale, with 17 subcategories, which evaluate naturalistic peer interaction processes in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder and typical development. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder who were cognitively able versus typical age-mates, (b) explore each group’s hierarchical pattern of peer interaction behaviors, and (c) identify Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale’s links with standard reports for assessing social-communication functioning (Vineland Behavior Scales, 2nd ed.), social impairment (Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed.), autism severity (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd ed.), and intelligence quotient (Mullen) in the cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder group. Participants comprised 85 preschoolers (50 cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder, intelligence quotient > 75; 35 typical). Groups were matched according to age, intelligence quotient, and maternal education. Significant group differences emerged on all Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale categories, with the typical group showing better social-communication functioning as compared to the cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder group. Also, in cognitively able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder that observed as demonstrating more typical peer relations on the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale showed better adaptive and socialization skills on the Vineland (Vineland Behavior Scales, 2nd ed.) and fewer social atypicalities on the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed. Higher intelligence quotient scores were linked with better observed social-communication functioning (on Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale). Few Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale social-communicative categories significantly correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd ed. Findings highlight the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale as differentiating the two preschooler groups and providing additional knowledge about socially communicative peer interaction in natural settings. This new tool can help personalize social-communication programs and evaluations of early intervention outcomes, thereby leading to a fuller picture of these young children’s functioning.

Theory of Mind Impairments Highlighted With an Ecological Performance-Based Test Indicate Behavioral Executive Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: In view of the recent literature, the negative impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on social cognition remains a debated issue. On one hand, a considerable number of studies reported significant impairments in emotion recognition, empathy, moral reasoning, social problem solving, and mentalizing or theory of mind (ToM) abilities in patients with TBI. On the other hand, the ecological validity of social cognition tasks is still a matter of concern and debate for clinicians and researchers.Objectives: The objectives of the present study were 2-fold: (1) to assess social cognition in TBI with an ecological performance-based test which focuses on ToM ability, and (2) to study the relationship between performances on this task and behavioral disorders. To this end, 47 patients with moderate to severe TBI in the chronic stage were assessed with a ToM task, the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC), a film displaying social interactions in natural settings and asking for an evaluation of the emotions, thoughts, and intentions of the characters. Behavioral disorders were assessed with the Behavioral Dysexecutive Syndrome Inventory (BDSI), a structured interview of an informant in assessing changes compared with previous behavior in 12 domains.Results: Patients were significantly less accurate in mental state attribution than a demographically matched group of 38 healthy control subjects. Significant others of patients also reported more behavioral executive problems than controls' relatives on most of the domains of the BDSI. In addition, social cognition performance in the MASC was significantly correlated with behavioral dysexecutive problems rated by proxies on the BDSI.Conclusions: This study is the first to find association between impairments in mentalizing abilities in the MASC and behavioral impairments in patients with TBI, confirming the added value of this ecological task and that the recognition of social signals is a key element for adequate behavioral functioning.

Lightweight and optimized sound source localization and tracking methods for open and closed microphone array configurations

Human–robot interaction in natural settings requires filtering out the different sources of sounds from the environment. Such ability usually involves the use of microphone arrays to localize, track and separate sound sources online. Multi-microphone signal processing techniques can improve robustness to noise but the processing cost increases with the number of microphones used, limiting response time and widespread use on different types of mobile robots. Since sound source localization methods are the most expensive in terms of computing resources as they involve scanning a large 3D space, minimizing the amount of computations required would facilitate their implementation and use on robots. The robot’s shape also brings constraints on the microphone array geometry and configurations. In addition, sound source localization methods usually return noisy features that need to be smoothed and filtered by tracking the sound sources. This paper presents a novel sound source localization method, called SRP-PHAT-HSDA, that scans space with coarse and fine resolution grids to reduce the number of memory lookups. A microphone directivity model is used to reduce the number of directions to scan and ignore non significant pairs of microphones. A configuration method is also introduced to automatically set parameters that are normally empirically tuned according to the shape of the microphone array. For sound source tracking, this paper presents a modified 3D Kalman (M3K) method capable of simultaneously tracking in 3D the directions of sound sources. Using a 16-microphone array and low cost hardware, results show that SRP-PHAT-HSDA and M3K perform at least as well as other sound source localization and tracking methods while using up to 4 and 30 times less computing resources respectively.

Evaluation of the accuracy, reliability, efficiency, and acceptability of fast forwarding to score problem behavior

Technological advances have allowed professionals to obtain extended recordings of caregiver-client interactions in natural settings, but scoring recorded video at normal speed to identify instances of low-rate problem behavior is impractical in terms of scoring time. Fast forwarding is a continuous measurement system in which all seconds of an observation are viewed at a speed faster than normal. In Study 1, we evaluated whether three groups of five observers could discriminate problem behavior at three fast-forwarding speeds across 10-min observations. We analyzed the efficiency of using fast forwarding compared to continuous scoring, and interobserver agreement across the fast-forwarding speeds. In Study 2, we compared the accuracy, efficiency, and social acceptability of fast forwarding (3.5x) and momentary time sampling (3.5 s) across 90-min observations. Results support the use of 3.5x fast forwarding as a viable measurement system of improving the practicality of scoring problem behavior from video.

The development of verbal morphology and word order in an Indonesian-German bilingual child: A case study

Abstract The contexts and circumstances of the occurrence of cross-linguistic influence in bilingual children’s language development are still a matter of debate. The present study argues that in the early development of a bilingual child exposed to two typologically distinct languages (Indonesian and German), the child developed two separate linguistic systems. The child, raised in Indonesia, was exposed to Indonesian by her Indonesian mother and to German by her German father. The study focuses on the early stages of verbal morphology and word order, from ages 1;3 to 2;2. The corpus took the form of conversational text or speech based on spontaneous interactions in natural settings. The data was collected using diary records, supplemented by weekly video recordings. In analysing the data, two software systems were used: ELAN and Toolbox. The speech was segmented based on utterances. All verbal morphology and word order was coded. The results show that verbal morphology in Indonesian and German was acquired by the child at different times, with the development of German verbs occurring later than Indonesian verb acquisition. In addition, there is evidence of interaction between the two developing systems. Cross-linguistic interference was identified when the child used the Indonesian vocatives-predicate combination in German utterances while, at the same time, the child also applied the German verb-final clause structure in Indonesian utterances when she should have produced German utterances. Thus, the results from this case study suggest that both language external and internal factors account for the occurrence of cross-linguistic influence.

The evolutionary biology of floral mimicry

Deceptive flowers exploit pollinators by signalling the presence of a reward without providing it. At the core of this phenomenon is mimicry, which results in insects thinking something that is not true – in other words, cognitive misclassification of floral signals by insects. This definition, adopted by Steven Johnson and Florian Schiestl in their book on floral mimicry, excludes camouflage and crypsis, which do not involve detection and cognitive misclassification. To discover mimicry requires field observations of interactions in natural settings, combined with knowledge of insect life histories, sensory perception, and cognition. Early work on mimicry in plants focused on orchids mimicking bee or wasp sexual pheromones (Kullenberg 1961) or orchids mimicking fungi (Vogel 1973), but most of the research covered in this book came out after the 1980s, with studies on plant mimicry now apparently making up 30% of all publications dealing with biological mimicry. Mimicry today is studied on every biological level from genomes to populations, and Floral Mimicry is a well-written book that is the first to cover all aspects of the topic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

The effect of daily challenges in children with autism on parents' couple problem-solving interactions.

The vulnerability-stress-adaptation model guided this examination of the impact of daily fluctuations in the symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on parents' couple problem-solving interactions in natural settings and as these interactions spontaneously occur. A 14-day daily diary was completed by mothers and fathers in 176 families who had a child with ASD. On each day of the diary, parents separately reported on the child with ASD's daily level of symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems and the topic and level of negative affect in their most meaningful or important daily couple problem-solving interaction. Multilevel modeling was used to account for the within-person, within-couple nested structure of the data. Results indicated that many parents are resilient to experiencing a day with a high level of child ASD symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems and do not report more negative couple problem-solving interactions. However, household income, level of parental broader autism phenotype, and presence of multiple children with special care needs served as vulnerability factors in that they were related to a higher overall rating of negative affect in couple interactions and moderated the impact of reporting a day with a high level of child ASD symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems on next-day ratings of negative couple problem-solving interactions. The magnitude of these effects was small. Understanding mechanisms that support adaptive couple interactions in parents of children with ASD is critical for promoting best outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Code-Switching as a Sociolinguistic Marker in EFL Classroom Interaction

Code-switching is a language alternation used by students speaking English as second or foreign language in communication. It is effectively used to create a communicative interaction in natural settings of foreign language, that is, classroom settings in Indonesia. However, Indonesian teachers teaching English consider switching codes as language competence failure. This study proved that using Indonesian while expressing ideas in English was effectively used to meet sociolinguistic functions- equivalence, floor-holding, reiteration, and conflict control. In addition, it was a communicative strategy used by EFL learners to overcome communication difficulties to achieve an intended communication. Therefore, this paper places a great importance of utilizing code-switching for classroom interaction for beginners as proved by this study. By the findings of this study, it is expected that code-switching is not considered as a communicative competence failure in learning English as a foreign language, but as communication strategy a continuity of the speech.

Engagement and avoidance in support staff working with people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour: A multiple-case study

Background Challenging behaviour of clients influences emotional wellbeing of staff; this in turn affects levels of staff engagement and avoidance within interactions with clients. The main goal of this study was to investigate to what extent levels of staff engagement and staff avoidance are related to challenging and desirable client behaviours and clients' initiatives for contact.Method Participants were 8 support staff and 3 clients. Staff and client behaviours were measured within moments of interaction in natural settings using systematic observational data.Results The results showed that general levels of staff engagement, avoidance, and client behaviours seem to be related. However, individual, sequential analyses do not support these relationships.Conclusions Future research should take a more individual and intrapersonal view of staff behaviour and staff–client interaction into account, in order to obtain a detailed and realistic image of individual patterns in interactions between support staff and clients.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: A Bacterial Exploitative Competition Strategy in Fluctuating Environments

One promising frontier for synthetic biology is the development of synthetic ecologies, whereby interacting species form an additional layer of connectivity for engineered gene circuits. Toward this goal, an important step is to understand different types of bacterial interactions in natural settings, among which competition is the most prevalent. By constructing a two-species population dynamics model, here, we mimicked bacterial growth in nature with resource-limited fluctuating environments and searched for optimal strategies for bacterial exploitative competition. In a simple game with two strategy options (constant or susceptible growth), we found that the species playing the constant growth strategy always outplays or is evenly matched with its competitor, suggesting that constant growth is a "no-loss" good bet. We also showed that adoption of sophisticated strategies enables a species to maximize its fitness when its competitor grows susceptibly. The pursuit of fitness maximization is, however, associated with potential loss if both species are capable of strategy adjustment, indicating an intrinsic risk-return trade-off. These findings offer new insights into bacterial competition and may also facilitate the engineering of microbial consortia for synthetic biology applications.

Reminders as Interactive and Embodied Tools for Socially Distributed and Situated Remembering

Current approaches to socially distributed remembering maintain that remembering is a fluid action coordinating minds, bodies, and the physical and the social world to accomplish particular goals. That is, the act of remembering is always an active reconstruction of the past in the present. How this act of remembering unfolds is highly dynamic and malleable and is contingent on the means by which the recollection is communicated and the social and material environments in which these processes unfold. These communicative acts of remembering are always embodied, multimodal, and interactive. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the influence that the interplay of multiple behavioral channels have in collaborative remembering in small groups. The aim of this exploratory study is to demonstrate the central role that questions have as embodied and interactive tools for collaborative remembering in two small group multimodal interactions in natural settings. This study suggests that questions acting as a reminder in multimodal activities of collaborative remembering foster the formation of specific types of interactional sequences with their own temporal dynamics.

A conceptual frame model for the analysis of aggression in social interactions.

Abstract Research on aggression focuses almost exclusively on the aggressive individual so that aggression is usually described as an individual-centered event. By contrast, the model presented in this article was developed through research of naturally occurring, aggressive interactions between adolescents in which the social and physical environment of aggressive events is a critical focus. The model provides a conceptual frame for the analysis of aggression in social interactions in natural settings that takes the complexity of social, environmental, and individual factors into account by distinguishing three systems (the biological, psychic, and social systems) and analyzing their interrelations and co-evolutionary processes. This article considers consequences for aggressive behavior when systems of different phylogenetic ages affect one another, and it delineates the interrelationships between systems and their environments and their mutual influence on one another. The model generated an innovative methodology for assessing aggression in natural settings and new technique, the use of camera-glasses for recording data of social interactions and environments from the aggressively reacting individual’s perspective.

Parental Supports for Parents With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The concept of supports is crucial in the lives of all people, especially for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In fact, the introduction of the idea of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as needing supports was a crucial step for the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), because this concept is different from the medical model of disability, which is focused on individuals’ deficiencies. In the 11th edition of the AAIDD manual, Schalock et al. (2010) defined supports as ‘‘resources and strategies that aim to promote the development, education, interests, and personal well-being of a person and that enhance individual functioning’’ (p. 105). Supports are seen as important for these individuals participating in a variety of life domains, including social roles, which are defined as ‘‘valid activities considered normative for a specific age group’’ (Shalock et al., 2010, p. 16). Supports for one important social role, however, that is normative for many working-age adults, the social role of parenting, has received little attention in the field. There are currently few formal sources of support to assist parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the role of parenting, and many parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities have to rely on informal supports and are at high risk for losing their children. Over the past several decades, there have been several calls for attention to the need for parental supports, notably by Booth and Booth (1996) from Great Britain and Llewellyn and McConnell (2002) from Australia, and a few innovative programs striving to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in parenting (Feldman, 2010; Feldman, Ducharme, & Case, 1999; Garbus & Kennedy, 1999; Llewellyn, McConnell, Russo, Mayes, & Honey, 2002). Parents with disabilities have indicated that supports help them to better parent their children (McGaw, Ball, & Clark, 2002; Tarleton & Ward, 2007). However, programs serving parents with disabilities are scarce, and of these few, many are focused on increasing individual parenting ability, with less emphasis on increasing formal and informal supports. The notion of parental supports for parents with disabilities in the United States has become more prominent only recently, and a number of new state laws are now mandating courts to look at parental supports for parents with disabilities who are involved in the child welfare system. The child welfare system historically has not recognized the concept of supports for parents with disabilities or the notion of interdependent parenting, although in the past decade, there are a few small, but dramatic changes within the child welfare system signaling that the concept of parental supports may be on the rise. In the present article we discuss the rise of the concept of parental supports within child welfare legislation, define parental supports for parents with disabilities, and discuss the need for a normalization of the concept of parental supports in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Las dificultades de interacción en niños no vocales con déficit motores graves, desde la óptica de la Psicología de la Salud

This work analizes the non-vocal communicative interaction of children with severemotor deficits in school and family settings. Their interaction problems are analized asa case of learned helplesmess, and an intervention procedure is used to reduce helplessnes.Results show: 1) non-vocal interaction between the child and adult is initiated and directedby the latteri 2) the adult's contingent responses to control child negatively covarywith learned helplesmess; 3) children are helpless in family setting before the interventionprocedure; and 4) helplesmess is reduced in family setting by this procedure. lt is concludedthat non-vocal communication systems are a necessary, but not a sufficient conditionto improve interaction in natural settings.

Impact of Multiple Inhibitors or Substrates of Cytochrome P450 2D6 on Plasma Risperidone Levels in Patients on Polypharmacy

Studies that focus on multidrug interactions in natural settings are sparse. In this investigation, data from therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) were used to study the impact of multiple cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP) 2D6 substrates and inhibitors on plasma risperidone levels. CYP2D6 catalyzes the conversion of risperidone to the active metabolite 9-OH-risperidone. The question whether CYP2D6 activity is important for the level of the "active moiety" (ie, the sum of risperidone and 9-OH-risperidone) is controversial. Concentration-to-dose (C:D) ratios of risperidone and 9-OH-risperidone in 218 patients were associated with the number of concomitantly used substrates or inhibitors of CYP2D6. The C:D ratios of risperidone in patients with 0, 1, and >1 numbers of CYP2D6 inhibitors were 2.6, 8.5, and 17 nmol L mg, respectively. Differences between the groups were highly significant (P < 0.001). All patients with >1 CYP2D6 inhibitors were administered at least 1 potent CYP2D6 inhibitor, that is fluoxetine, paroxetine, thioridazine, and/or levomepromazine. The C:D ratios of the active moiety (risperidone + 9-OH-risperidone) in patients with 0, 1, and >1 numbers of concomitant CYP2D6 inhibitors were 17, 24, and 30 nmol L mg, respectively (P = 0.001), which was explained by higher levels of risperidone without any change in the levels of 9-OH-risperidone. Concomitant use of 1 or several drugs recognized as substrates for CYP2D6, without any proven inhibitory effect, had no apparent influence on the levels of risperidone or 9-OH-risperidone, suggesting that the risk of drug-drug interactions between different substrates of CYP2D6 is low when used in therapeutic doses. In conclusion, the results suggest that an increase in the number of concomitant inhibitors may be associated with a lower CYP2D6 activity, although the type of inhibitor is probably more important. Drug-dependent inhibition of CYP2D6 increases the active moiety of risperidone. An indication for risperidone TDM should therefore include concomitant medication with established CYP inhibitors.

Working Relationships: Communicative Patterns and Strategies among Couples in Everyday Life

The recent growth in dual-income families has led to new configurations of domestic work distribution among family members. Because working parents are required to spend a great deal of time and energy at their respective jobs outside the home while also managing parenting responsibilities and household tasks, a high premium is placed on how partners negotiate and enact the division of labor inside the home. This paper draws from videotaped interviews and naturally occurring interactions in the home to explore working couples' perspectives on the challenges of managing household work and parenting. Transcripts of these videotapes are presented to examine couples' ongoing negotiation of responsibilities and expectations, with particular reference to the requests that partners make of one another and subsequent responses to these requests. Findings suggest that the degree of ambiguity in the models governing couples' expectations for and performance of housework responsibilities affects the behaviors that working parents exchange. Clear models appear to facilitate efficient management of household tasks, minimize bids for influence, and enable partners to feel effective and respected, while ambiguous models entail continued negotiation of responsibilities, repeated demands and directives, and tension within the dyad. The value of studying marital interaction in natural settings with observational methods, using principles from psychology and anthropology, is emphasized.

Shaping mutuality: nurse-family caregiver interactions in caring for older people with depression.

This paper reports on the research findings derived from a grounded theory study that examined the processes through which community mental health nurses work with families of older people with depression. Data were collected through semistructured, in-depth interviews with six community mental health nurses and seven family caregivers of older people with depression, and observations of their interactions in natural settings. Data collection and analysis were guided by theoretical sampling and the constant comparative process. The findings indicate that the nurse-family caregiver relationship involves working towards mutuality, which is shaped by both the nurse and family caregiver. It is through the process of "shaping mutuality" that a nurse and family caregiver learn to collaborate, and achieve their individual goals and desired outcomes, both for the patient and for themselves.

A Research Methodology Analysis: Creativity and Management in the Media Industry

The author proposes to study tactical conflict in the context of strategic cooperation (coflict) between Creative Professionals (CPs) and Business Managers (BMs) in media organizations. The research aim is to determine which, if any, management techniques might optimize team outcomes. Available literature reveals a research gap. While many scholars focus on problem solving and innovation, a type of creativity, few have studied the effects of artistic or problem finding creativity in an organizational setting. Furthermore, few researchers who deal with diversity and team performance consider the impact that nature of task may have on outcomes. An analysis of various analytical and empirical research methods (Wacker 1998) indicates that empirical methods are typically most useful for studies of human interaction in natural settings. Thus, the author recommends a two-phase research approach: first, an Internet survey; second, a holistic single case study that includes interviews, observations, and document (with artifacts) analysis in a publishing house. The author concludes by creating a classification system to frame the project, reviewing relevant domain literature, and recommending theories and models that may support the proposed applied theory-building research.