Personality,threat and affective responses to cultural diversity

The present study tried to reconcile assumptions from Terror Management Theory that individual differences in openness to diversity are enhanced by existential threat with own recent findings suggesting that individual differences are diminished by threat. A model was supported assuming that it is the nature of the threat that determines which pattern will hold. We predicted that for stress‐related but not for social traits, threat enhances individual differences in reactions to diversity. Students were confronted with a videotaped meeting of a homogeneous versus diverse work group. Threat was induced using a Terror Management Intervention. Indeed, whereas for Emotional Stability individual differ ences in responses to diversity were restricted to conditions of threat, for Social Initiative, individual differences solely occurred under normal circumstances. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Facilitating Interorganizational Collaboration: The Contributions of Interorganizational Alliances

In an attempt to promote service delivery integration and improve interorganizational collaboration, many recent human service delivery initiatives have included the development of interorganizational alliances such as coalitions and coordinating councils. Despite their popularity, little is known about how these alliances influence interorganizational collaboration, specifically the extent to which they alter the interactions among human service delivery organizations. The present study examined the interorganizational interactions, specifically the exchange relationships, within one county that was implementing two interorganizational alliances—a countywide coordinating council and interagency service delivery teams. Membership on both alliances was associated with broader interorganizational exchange networks. Organizations involved in a coordinating council were more likely to be included in client, information, and resource exchanges, and participate in joint ventures with a broader range of organizations. Providers involved in interagency teams also exchanged clients and information with a broader sector of service delivery organizations than nonparticipating providers. Observational data suggested that both alliances created structures and processes intended to facilitate interorganizational exchanges. Together, these results suggest that the development of opportunities for and encouragement of staff and leader involvement in these types of alliances may be an important part of our attempt to create a more integrated social service delivery system. The implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

人类基因组计划中的计算机科学

叙述了人类基因组计划（HGP）实施过程中计算机科学向基因组学领域的不断渗透及面临的挑战。基因组数据库及网络系统的构建与完善为基因组信息的交流提供了基础,一系列计算机软件的开发和改进简化了HGP这一繁重的劳动。在HGP的推动下,世界各大信息技术公司也加盟到基因组研究中,使生物学中融入了更多的计算机专业技能,有利于引进新的思维模式,开拓新的研究方法。但目前在基因组信息的交流与分析方面,标准化和精确性仍显不足,信息的处理能力也受到计算机存储量和运算速度的制约,这些问题将随着计算机科学的不断发展而逐渐解决。     

人类基因组计划带给不同文化传统的伦理挑战

分析了人类基因组计划带给四种不同文化传统中的人们的伦理挑战,即南美、印度、西方传统和儒家传统。西方传统又分为天主教道德传统、英美传统和欧洲大陆传统三方面阐述,并指出不同的文化背景对HGP研究的不同导向。最后强调此领域中的跨文化研究有待进一步深入。     

L’attitude défaitiste des responsables d’équipe : un frein à l’innovation?

The goal of this study is to investigate the role of defeatist attitude in regard to process innovation by considering the mediating role of group potency and the moderating effect of collective autonomy. Data was gathered from 101 work teams (381 members and 101 immediate supervisors) in a public safety organization located in Canada. Results show that group potency may have a mediating role in the relationship between defeatist attitude and process innovation. Moreover, results indicate that the relationship between group potency and process innovation is moderated by collective autonomy, such that this relationship is stronger when the level of collective autonomy is high.     

Where are we coming from versus who we will become: The effect of priming different contents of European identity on cooperation

In two experiments, we investigated how priming European identity as common project versus common heritage affects participants' cooperation in a social dilemma; an additional aim was to explore the mediators involved in the process. In the first experiment, 82 students played a public good dilemma with a European bogus partner and then completed self‐report measures of identification with the European Union (EU), group‐based trust and collective interest. Results showed that priming a common project‐based but not a common heritage‐based European social identity fostered cooperative behaviour; this effect was mediated by two sequential mediators: the common project prime increased participants' strength of identification with EU (mediator 1) which, in turn, positively affected group‐based trust (mediator 2), fostering greater cooperation. Experiment 2 was conducted with a similar procedure on a sample of 124 students, using a different measure of trust and changing the order of mediators. Results supported those of previous experiment: Priming a project‐based EU identity content (compared to heritage‐based one) had significant direct and indirect effects on cooperation.     

The impact of virtuality on team effectiveness in organizational and non-organizational teams: A meta-analysis

We meta-analytically assess the virtuality-team effectiveness relationship using 73 samples of organizational teams (5738 teams) reporting on a wide range of productive (e.g. earnings), performance (e.g. customer ratings), social (e.g. cohesion), and team member (e.g. project satisfaction) outcomes. Our results suggest that in work organizations, virtuality is not a direct input—negative or positive—to team effectiveness. In contrast, using 109 samples of non-organizational teams (5620 teams), we show that virtuality is a significant negative input to team effectiveness. We also meta-analytically assess the issue of results generalizability from non-organizational to organizational settings, and find that overall, results from non-organizational studies largely fail to generalize to organizational virtual teams. Using moderator analysis, we explore a number of study features that may explain the poor results generalizability from non-organizational to organizational studies. We find that results from non-organizational studies using undergraduate students, short team duration, and laboratory settings drive the non-generalizability effect, whereas results from non-organizational studies using graduate students, longer team duration, and classroom settings produce results comparable to those of organizational studies of virtual teams. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.     

Minority influence in work teams: The impact of newcomers

Although initial work on minority influence was spurred by interest in group processes, relevant research has rarely examined interactions between majority and minority factions. In particular, little is known about how current members of work teams respond to newcomers’ efforts to change existing work practices. In this study, three-person teams (a commander and two subordinates) used a computer-based air-surveillance system to monitor planes flying through a simulated airspace. After either choosing or being assigned a task strategy, teams completed a work shift and received feedback that they had either failed or succeeded. One subordinate was then replaced by a confederate (newcomer) who suggested a new strategy for the next shift. As predicted, newcomers were more influential when teams had been assigned rather than chosen their initial strategy and had subsequently failed rather than succeeded. Although newcomers are often portrayed as passive recipients of influence, this study identifies conditions under which they can function as influence agents.     

Qualitative undergraduate project supervision in psychology: current practices and support needs of supervisors across North East England and Scotland

The dissertation is a core component of a psychology undergraduate degree, though very little research has been conducted into supervision processes at undergraduate level. This study examined the accounts of supervisors of qualitative dissertations in order to identify current practices of supervision and possible resources that might support supervision. Seventeen supervisors from psychology departments in North East England and Scotland were interviewed, and three main themes were identified using thematic analysis: the quantitative culture in psychology teaching, supervisors’ expertise, and the supervision process. Supervisors noted that students were typically constrained in their choice of methodology due to limited qualitative methods teaching, lack of training and guidance for supervisors, and concerns about the risks of demanding qualitative projects. Supervisors therefore often reported staying within their comfort zone, electing where possible to supervise only the methods that they themselves use. Recommendations for practical resources are provided to help support students and supervisors in the process of undertaking qualitative psychology dissertations.     

Confidence in Dyadic Decision Making: The Role of Individual Differences

Groups typically express more confidence than individuals, yet how individual‐level confidence combines during collaborative decision tasks is not well understood. We prescreened 686 community members using a novel confidence measure (a true/false trivia test) intentionally designed to be difficult (accuracy rates were not significantly better than chance) and randomly assigned 72 individuals to collaborate on a matched version of the same test in dyads composed of two low‐confidence individuals, two high‐confidence individuals, or one of each (“mixed”). Consistent with past research, we found that the confidence expressed by dyads was higher than the confidence expressed by individuals; importantly, however, this pattern varied markedly by dyad type, with low‐confidence dyads showing the largest increase, mixed dyads showing a moderate increase, and high‐confidence dyads showing no increase—despite the fact that all dyads showed similarly low accuracy (about 55%). These results highlight the conditions under which groups express greater confidence than individuals and offer insights for the composition of collaborative decision‐making teams. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.