Team Task Research Articles

Team building’s social practice in large international projects

The article presents the results of an analytical review of publications and practical experience of team building in a large-scale international project for the development of agro-ecological education SAGRIS. The purpose of the study is to broadcast the positive experience of organizing teamwork in solving global problems, developing modern principles for the implementation of educational projects covering several large regions of the world. We carried out a comparative analysis of the identification of common goals and specific tasks of national project teams from countries that participated in the implementation of the SAGRIS program. 29 people took part in the team building procedures at the full-time stage of the program and in the subsequent expert survey – scientific and pedagogical staff of 4 Russian agricultural universities. The positive experience of team building in a large international project is formulated, which can be used to develop and implement new organizational and methodological approaches in the development of agro-ecological education at the international level, effectively combining the efforts of representatives of the scientific and pedagogical community of several universities in solving scientific problems of our time.

The sustainability of hybrid learning: An investigation of how international virtual learning groups develop into effective learning teams

Trends indicate that blended learning is and will maintain a key role in higher education. A virtual learning group is only truly effective once it becomes a virtual learning team. This study aims to explore the stages of development of virtual learning groups’ as they progress towards teams by analyzing the perceptions of multinational teams of students (N=95). The data were gathered using a quantitative instrument based upon Tuckman’s group development model and adapted to an educational setting. The study extends previous research into how teams skip stages by also finding that progression through the stages of development is not linear, with some teams stagnating at a given stage and others regressing to an earlier stage. There is also weak agreement between team members on their perceived effectiveness as a team. It is recommended that practitioners increase the use of monitoring during online team tasks and allow time after task completion for team reflection on their effectiveness with constructive discussion between members and feedback from the instructor. Findings also indicate the need for initial lessons in task-based e-learning to foster openness and constructure criticism between students.

Attempts to (re)capture the school history curriculum? Reflections on the history ministerial task team's report

The History Ministerial Task Team Report (HMTT) on the proposed compulsory school history in South Africa was made public in February 2018. Ever since, it has generated many debates and concerns among in- and pre-service history educators, History (of) Education scholars as well as the general public. Many of these concerns are premised on the fear that there is an attempt, at least by the state, through the work of the HMTT to (re)capture school history. This (re)capture, some argue, would deliver a school history that is both nationalist and patriotic in its approach, and glorifies only the African National Congress's (ANC) role in history, much in the same way as the apartheid curriculum glorified the role of the National Party (NP), Afrikaner nationalism and white supremacy thinking. However, we are convinced that there might as well be a different reading of the HMTT and its Report; thus, a different form of (re)capture. In this paper, we will explore, theorise and reflect on the HMTT's work and Report, as well as recent scholarly debates regarding the HMTT itself and its Report. This we do by employing the notion of (re)capture as our theoretical framework which is derived from the current 'state capture' discourse in South Africa. We then use this theoretical lens to review literature on the contested epistemic nature of school history, as well as to read and make sense of the HMTT and its Report. We conclude that those who argue that there are indeed attempts to (re)capture the school history for narrow nationalistic aspirations which are nativist in nature, provide us with a different reading of the HMTT and its report. We contend that the form of (re)capture advanced by the HMTT, and its Report is for a greater cause related to current calls for decolonisation and Africanisation of school history in post-apartheid South Africa - where the colonised ways of knowing and being can also take centre stage in the historical literature and where cognitive, epistemic, existential, and ontological justice is realised.

Assessment of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools of Jammu District- A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Provision of safe sanitation services reduces transmission of fecooral diseases, school drop outs,under-nutrition which in turn are important for overall development of children. The study was conducted toevaluate the adequacy of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools of rural Jammu.Methodology: A Cross Sectional survey was conducted in 54 (public and private) schools in rural Jammu usingthe questionnaire approved by the Global Task Team for Monitoring WASH in Schools.Results: Piped water was the main source of water supply. Facilities for drinking water were available in allschools. 94.3% schools had 1-9 drinking water points. All schools were doing filtration/chlorination of water. 51%schools reported water and soap availability in girl’s toilets and group hand washing activities were conductedonce a week in 31.5% schools. Toilets were cleaned once per day in 80% of the schools. 88% schools had toiletswithin school premises. Menstrual hygiene materials were available in 42 schools.Conclusions: Environment and sanitation facilities at most of the surveyed schools were reasonably good but notfully satisfactory.

Exploring emotional regulation and team politics in teams: team learning and educational practices

To learn about teamwork, research has widely discussed cohesion as a key bridge between team performance and its predictors, yet ‘blind’ cohesion often hampers a team’s achievement. Without thoroughly understanding cohesion and its relevant variables, managers’ initiatives developed at improving cohesion and team performance will remain practically ineffective based on misapprehension or blind faith. To open the black box of cohesion, this study draws upon the social exchange theory and social cognitive theory to explore the development of cohesion and team performance. The empirical results of hierarchical regression analysis reveal that collective efficacy moderates the positive relationship between social cohesion and task cohesion and the negative relationship between team politics and task cohesion. Finally, this study discusses research and managerial implications based on its empirical results.

A review of the framework and strategy for disability and rehabilitation services in South Africa.

Rehabilitation is imperative for the successful integration of persons with disabilities into their social environments. The Framework and strategy for disability and rehabilitation services (FSDR) in South Africa, 2015-2020.was developed to strengthen access to rehabilitation services and ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of community life. Despite the FSDR being commissioned, access to rehabilitation is a challenge for persons with disabilities and further compounded in rural communities. The study aimed to describe the barriers and facilitators that influenced the process of development, implementation and monitoring of the FSDR. This qualitative study employed a single case study design. Data was collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews utilising the Walt & Gilson policy analysis framework that outlines the context, content, actors and process of policy development and implementation. In-depth interviews were conducted with twelve key informants (N=12) who were selected purposively for the study. Data obtained from the in-depth interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. We found many factors that influenced the implementation of the framework. Actor dynamics, insufficient resources, the rushed process, poor record-keeping, inappropriate leadership, negative attitudes of staff members and the insufficient monitoring impeded the successful implementation of the framework. While positive attitude, mentorship and support amongst the task team facilitated the implementation process, albeit with challenges. There is a need to address implementation gaps so that the FSDR is responsive to the current rehabilitation needs of persons with disabilities in South Africa. This study may inform future disability policy, and can be used as a tool to advocate for the rights for persons with disabilities.

Short-Term Efficacy of Capacitive-Resistive Electrical Transfer Therapy in Short-Haired Sled Dogs in Middle-Distance Competition.

Achieving the successful recovery of sled dogs is one of the key tasks for veterinary teams involved in clinical care for middle-distance sled dog competitions. This study compares the efficacy of capacitive-resistive electrical transfer (CRet) with that of massage in the treatment of lower back pain in 40 short-haired sled dogs during a medium-distance snow sled race (LekkarodTM-2021). The dogs were divided into two groups: a CRet group (20 dogs) and a massage group (20 dogs). All subjects received a single 18 min treatment session and were evaluated one hour after the end of the treatment. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed in which pre- and post-treatment pain measures were evaluated in relation to age and type of treatment. Older dogs were found to have higher significant pain scores before starting treatment. Both treatments reduce pain short-term in all cases. However, post-treatment pain values were significantly lower in dogs treated with CRet when compared to dogs treated with massage. The results show that capacitive-resistive electrical transfer has better short-term results and is beneficial in both younger and older dogs, making this technique attractive to veterinary teams working in canine sporting competitions.

Investigating the pathways between swift trust and team creativity among nursing student teams in Taiwan: A moderated mediation model

BackgroundConsiderable theoretical and empirical work indicates that a multitude of factors are associated with team creativity in an organizational context. The complex relationships between the contributors, however, are not well understood in nursing education. This study was to take a process view investigating the pathways from swift trust to creativity via collaborative interactions and to explore whether task conflict would further change the strength of the indirect effect.MethodsThis study utilized a cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive design. Taiwanese nursing students (final n = 629), who enrolled in capstone courses of small interdisciplinary groups collaborating with industrial design students on designing healthcare products, participated in the study. Data were collected from students during 2018 and 2020. Questionnaires assessed their perceptions about teams' swift trust (including cognition- and affect-based), collaborative interactions (including constructive controversy, helping behavior, and spontaneous communication), task conflict, and creativity. SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the proposed moderated mediation model.ResultsBivariate correlation analysis showed that greater team creativity was associated with increased cognition-based team swift trust and collaborative interactions. Results revealed that collaborative interactions serving as the underlying mechanisms mediating the effect of cognition- and affect-based swift trust on team creativity. Moreover, the indirect effect of collaborative interactions, specifically, spontaneous communication, on linking swift trust to team creativity varied as a function of task conflict. As task conflict decreased, the effect became stronger.ConclusionFindings suggest that nursing student teams’ spontaneous communication serves as the underlying mechanism in linking the relationship between swift trust and team creativity and that lower task conflict plays a crucial role in enhancing the indirect effect. The proposed pathway could provide guidance for nursing educators to promote creativity outcomes by promoting swift trust and collaborative interactions as well as preventing task conflict for interdisciplinary nursing student teams.

COVID-19 infection at a psychiatric hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Clinical service planning and challenges.

South Africa had over 4 million cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and more than 1 million COVID-19-related deaths. Despite the devastating psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is little qualitative, critical evaluation of government mental health services in this resource-limited setting. The authors describe the clinical service plan and response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a government psychiatric hospital. KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A descriptive narrative overview of the specialised psychiatric hospital's clinical response (April 2020 - March 2021) to the COVID-19 pandemic was undertaken in the following domains: screening policy; testing and swabbing policy; staff training and monitoring; and restructuring the wards to accommodate mental health care users (MHCUs) with suspected cases of COVID-19. The in-depth narrative reviews led to the introduction of staff training, routine COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of all MHCUs, the creation of designated quarantine and isolation facilities and screening of physical health status of patients with COVID-19 prior to transfer being implemented to prevent an outbreak or increased morbidity or mortality. Implementing a service plan early which included staff training, screening and routine COVID-19 testing services for psychiatric admissions in a rapidly evolving environment with few additional resources was challenging. The absence of guidelines early in the pandemic that addressed the unique needs of a clinical psychiatric inpatient population is a noteworthy learning point. The article highlights that the inpatient infrastructural requirements and clinical management protocols of acutely psychiatrically ill inpatients, in the context of infectious outbreaks, require dedicated task teams and bespoke policies.

Who do I want in my team: Social avoidance of high qualified partners in depression and social anxiety

• Measuring social avoidance with a novel interactive task • “Team Task” allows measuring social avoidance in people with depression and social anxiety • Depression and social anxiety symptoms involved in social decision making • Social comparison processes involved in decision making • Social avoidance as a key feature in depression and social anxiety Social difficulties are inherent to social anxiety and are critical in depression. A key feature in both disorders is social avoidance, which leads to the loss of opportunities and precludes from improving social abilities. The need for studying social functioning using interactive tasks that immerse the subject in a social context has been highlighted. We developed an interactive task that allows measuring social avoidance. In each round, participants choose between two categories of co-players, with which kind of partner they would like to make a team. In material terms, it is always better to choose the high-category option. However, this maximizes chances for being the worst player in the team, which relates to upward social comparison and guilt. Participants with varied levels of depression and social anxiety symptoms performed this task. The higher the depression and social anxiety symptoms, the more that participants avoided the high-category partners, the lower the number of points earned and the higher the negative emotions (guilt, nervousness, shame) reported about having to play with a co-player, with this effect becoming more accentuated as the rank of the co-player increased. The study sample was restricted to university students and included mostly women. This work provides a tool for studying social avoidance through an interactive set-up and contributes to the understanding of this behavior in mental health.

Classification of Task Types in Software Development Projects

Managing software development processes is still a serious challenge and offers the possibility of introducing improvements that will reduce the resources needed to successfully complete projects. The article presents the original concept of classification of types of project tasks, which will allow for more beneficial use of the collected data in management support systems in the IT industry. The currently used agile management methods—described in the article—and the fact that changes during the course of projects are inevitable, were the inspiration for creating sets of tasks that occur in software development. Thanks to statistics for generating tasks and aggregating results in an iterative and incremental way, the analysis is more accurate and allows planning the further course of work in the project, selecting the optimal number of employees in task teams, and identifying bottlenecks that may decide on faster completion of the project with success. The use of data from actual software projects in the IT industry made it possible to classify the types of tasks and the necessary values for further work planning, depending on the nature of the planned software development project.

Quasi-synchronous discussions: A proposal to measure the effect of Teams on cooperation, belonging, emotion and interactions

As students begin to reconnect after the COVID-19 pandemic, changing student expectations around online engagement seem to be suggesting that new approaches should be adopted. Recent research has found that students who engaged with each other in a discussion task in a synchronous mode were more willing to work together, felt more positive and more like they belonged than students in an asynchronous mode. We wish to extend these findings by investigating whether Microsoft Teams promotes a quasi-synchronous mode of discussion and has a similar beneficial effect. The proposed study adopts a mixed-methods approach of quasi-experimental design to address this question. Students will be randomly assigned to groups of five and provided with online forums (control) then re-form and use Teams (experimental) for a discussion task. Data will be collected through survey, digital artefacts and interviews. We aim to contribute robust, empirical evidence on the effects of Teams on student engagement, which will be of interest to educational leaders and teachers.

Questions on the Ordination of “Homosexual” Members in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

This article aims to engage the topic of homosexuality, with special reference to the ordination of homosexual people. This was informed by the ongoing conversation that has been happening within the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) since their 2005 Pietermaritzburg General Synod. The church has put a moratorium on the licensing of ministry students, ordination of proponents and marriage officiation of its homosexual members until such a time that the synod makes its decision. A task team was appointed to do research and consult with congregations of the church. The aim of the article is not to provide answers but rather to ask radical theological, medical and biological questions that would assist the church in making informed decisions based on current experiences and realities. The Reformed and Creation theologies shall be used as a tool to engage and clarify questions. Questions are viewed as important to move towards finding answers and solutions to the issue of the ordination of “homosexual” ministers from the LGBTQIA+ community.

Translating responsible leadership into team customer relationship performance in the tourism context: the role of collective job crafting

PurposeThis study aims to unravel the role of teams’ job crafting in translating responsible leadership into their customer relationship performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data were gathered from 87 managers and 608 employees from tour companies. The data analysis was performed via multilevel structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results demonstrated that crafting of team tasks played a mediating role for the link of responsible leadership to the team’s customer relationship performance. Task interdependence, outcome interdependence and their interaction attenuated the influence of responsible leadership on collective job crafting.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that tourism managers can enhance customer relationship performance of their team through training and development of responsible leadership, encouraging team members’ crafting of team tasks, as well as enhancing outcome and task interdependence.Originality/valueThis research expands the literature by identifying how and when responsible leadership promotes team customer relationship performance in tourism companies.

Perceived Faults that Exist in Laws Governing the Appointment of School Principals in South African Schools

The purpose of the article is to explore the faults that exist in the laws governing the appointment of school principals in schools in South Africa. The article advances an argument that there are numerous flaws in the laws that regulate the appointment of school principals in schools. The article will contribute to the revision and strengthening of the laws that are used in the appointment of school principals. Some sections of South African Schools Act 9) SASA regulate the appointment of school principals and are used to militate against the good intentions of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to have the best suitable candidates appointed as school principals. The appointment processes of educators in schools are seen as fraught with fraud and corruption. A report emerged in the year 2016 that the process of selecting candidates for appointment in the Education Sector is riddled with inconsistencies. The report emanated from the probe by a Ministerial Task Team into allegations of selling of teachers’ posts. Principals should be selected by means of experienced panels inclusive of a DBE representative. It was recommended that Cadre Deployment be done away with. The appointment of candidates as principals was supposed to be made purely on the basis of merit in terms of the report.

O063 Impact of sleep deprivation on distributed team performance and cohesion

Abstract Distributed teams often have limited contact resulting in less effective collaboration and decreased cohesion. Those in 24/7 industries are further impacted by fatigue and sleep loss which threatens workers’ safety, productivity, and performance. To date little is known about distributed team cohesion with extended periods of time awake. Hence, this study examined the impact of sleep deprivation on distributed team performance and cohesion. 22 healthy individuals (M=22.81,SD=4.4 years,11f) aged 18-45 years participated in a five-day sleep study. Participants were randomly allocated into teams consisting of four members and underwent 62h of total sleep deprivation (TSD). Distributed teams completed the COHESION task at 10h intervals throughout the wake period. COHESION required distributed teams to attempt resource movements, while avoiding visible and invisible barriers. Team members could dedicate time to reveal barriers to all, making successful resource movements easier. Distributed team performance was assessed using team successful resource movements. Distributed team cohesion was assessed through team members’ barrier reveal responses in relation to their total responses. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results showed that distributed team cohesion decreased with TSD (F(5,495.19)=3.18,p=.008), and there were significant differences between teams (F(5,21.99)=8.74,p<.001). Team performance also decreased with TSD (F(5,144)=3.01,p=.013), with significant differences between teams (F(5,21.01)=7.03,p<.001). This study found distributed team cohesion was reduced with TSD, as was overall team performance. We found each distributed team used a different strategy to manage the team task during sleep deprivation and these differences impacted their overall team performance.

Task uncertainty on the relationship between social hierarchy and leadership emergence

Self-managing teams have gained popularity, yet those teams in practice often have limited formal hierarchical differentiation, formal order, or imposed coordination. Social hierarchy has functions of establishing order and facilitating coordination, and it plays important roles in teams where team members autonomously interact and manage tasks. Two important forms of social hierarchy, status and power, critically affect how individuals on a team emerge as leaders, and thus help self-managing teams’ coordination. In the current study, two questions are explored: 1) How do informal status and power affect leadership emergence in project teams? 2) How do team task types affect the relationship between informal status/power and leadership emergence in project teams? A field study was conducted in a consulting firm in South Korea. The results show that the high-status individuals are most likely to emerge as leaders of project teams, and that the relationship between status and leadership emergence is stronger in teams dealing with highly uncertain tasks.

Dynamic team composition: A theoretical framework exploring potential and kinetic dynamism in team capabilities.

Organizations are increasingly called upon to solve complex problems in changing conditions that require the combined knowledge, skills, perspectives, and efforts of multiple individuals. These dynamic situations often require dynamic team composition. Dynamic team composition is sometimes thought of as synonymous to changes in membership, however, we contend that it also can occur through other means including team member development, the alignment between team member capabilities and the team's tasks, and changes in the accessibility to team member capabilities. Given the lack of overarching theories to organize and provide guidance on research and practice related to dynamic team composition, we take an interdisciplinary approach and leverage the fundamental concepts of potential and kinetic energy as a guiding framework to integrate the disparate literatures on dynamic team composition. We bring dynamic team composition to the forefront and delineate four types of dynamic team composition through staffing, development, situational relevance of member knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and access to member KSAs through relational resources. Next, we provide tangible recommendations for the design, measurement, and analysis of dynamic team composition. Finally, we provide guidance on developing dynamic research questions and infusing dynamics into existing theories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Swiftly judging whom to bring on board: How person perception (accurate or not) influences selection of prospective team members

We develop and test a holistic model of how team members’ swift judgments about a prospective team member impact their selection decisions and how accurate those judgments are in predicting the prospective member’s performance. Applying the social psychology literature on person perception to the organizational literature on team member selection, we argue that team members’ perceptions of the prospective member’s competence primarily shape their predictions about the prospective member’s task-related performance in the team, whereas perceptions of warmth primarily shape predictions about the prospective member’s interpersonal contextual performance in the team. We further propose that, although team members rely on both performance predictions when choosing a prospective member, predicted task-related performance receives more weight than predicted interpersonal contextual performance, and that the importance of predicted interpersonal contextual performance is elevated when team task interdependence is high. Importantly, we theorize that the predictions about task-related performance show good accuracy, whereas the predictions about interpersonal contextual performance do not, which makes the reliance on the latter erroneous. Across two studies utilizing prospective members’ actual task-related and interpersonal contextual performance (objective and peer-rated), as well as team members’ predictions about such performances, we found support for our predictions. Our research resolves several outstanding puzzles in the literature on person perception, integrates it into organizational research, and offers novel and actionable insights for selecting prospective team members.

An exploratory analysis of the corporate identity of selected national government departments in South Africa

A communication task team appointed by the Government of South Africa in 1996suggested that there should be one corporate identity for the government. A problemresulting from this suggestion was what this unitary corporate identity should reflectand which elements it should include.This article is based on a study into the viability of creating one corporate identity forall the South African government departments.Background is given for a government decision to create one corporate identity. Theview that corporate identity consists of the integration between visual identity andbehavioural identity and its possible application on the government departments ofSouth Africa is discussed.The main finding of this study is that the current corporate identity of four selectedgovernment departments consists of corporate service and behaviour, dynamism andvisual identity