Predicting the Paths of Peripherals: The Interaction of Identification and Future Possibilities

Two studies investigated how both degree of identification and the individual's position within the group influence aspects of group loyalty. The authors considered ingroup position in terms of both the individual's current position within a group and expectations concerning the likelihood that one's position might change., in the future. Peripheral group members learned that their acceptance by other group members would improve in the future or that they could expect rejection by other group members. Various indices of group loyalty (ingroup homogeneity, motivation to work for the group, and evaluation of a motivated group member) showed that when group members anticipated future rejection, the lower the identification the less loyal they were. In contrast, those who expected future acceptance were more loyal (more motivated to work for the group) the lower their identification. Current group behavior depends on both intragroup future expectations and level of identification.

Approaches to sharing knowledge in group problem structuring

Problem-structuring techniques are an integral aspect of 'Soft-OR'. SSM, SAST, Strategic Choice, and JOURNEY Making, all depend for their success on a group developing a shared view of a problem through some form of explicit modelling. The negotiated problem structure becomes the basis for problem resolution. Implicit to this process is an assumption that members of the group share and build their knowledge about the problem domain. This paper explores the extent to which this assumption is reasonable. The research is based on detailed records from the use of JOURNEY Making, where it has used special purpose Group Support software to aid the group problem structuring. This software continuously tracks the contributions of each member of the group and thus the extent to which they appear to be 'connecting' and augmenting their own knowledge with that of other members of the group. Software records of problem resolution in real organisational settings are used to explore the sharing of knowledge among senior managers. These explorations suggest a typology of knowledge sharing. The implications of this typology for problem structuring and an agenda for future research are considered.

Outside in-group and out-group identities? Constructing male solidarity and female exclusion in UK builders’ talk

This article examines the spoken interactions of a group of British construction workers to discover whether it is possible to identify a distinctive ‘builders’ discourse’. Given that builders work for a mostly all-male profession (Curjao, 2006), we ask whether the ways in which male builders converse with each other while ‘on the job’ can be held in any way responsible for the under-representation of women within this major occupational sector in the UK. This article reports on a case study of the conversations of three white, working-class, male builders, which took place while travelling in a truck between different building sites. This forms part of a larger ethnographic study of builders’ discourse in different work locations. The analysis shows that male builders are highly collaborative in constructing narratives of in-group and out-group identities (Duszak, 2002; Tajfel, 1978). Various other male groups are demonized in these conversations: Polish immigrant builders, rude clients and rival builders. However, there is almost no reference to women. The article concludes that women are viewed as so unthreatening to male ascendancy in the building industry that they do not even feature within the ‘out-group’.

The use of multivariate methods in the identification of subtypes of Alzheimer's disease: a comparison of principal components and cluster analysis

Two contrasting multivariate statistical methods, viz., principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were applied to the study of neuropathological variations between cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To compare the two methods, 78 cases of AD were analyzed, each characterised by measurements of 47 neuropathological variables. Both methods of analysis revealed significant variations between AD cases. These variations were related primarily to differences in the distribution and abundance of senile plaques (SP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in the brain. Cluster analysis classified the majority of AD cases into five groups which could represent subtypes of AD. However, PCA suggested that variation between cases was more continuous with no distinct subtypes. Hence, PCA may be a more appropriate method than cluster analysis in the study of neuropathological variations between AD cases.

Services for activities in group editing 'sage'

The project described in this thesis investigates the needs of a group of people working cooperatively in an OSI environment, and recommends tools and services to meet these needs. The project looks specifically at Services for Activities in Group Editing, and is identified as the `SAGE' project. The project uses case studies to identify user requirements and to determine common functionalities for a variety of group editing activities. A prototype is implemented in an X.400 environment to help refine user requirements, as a source of new ideas and to test the proposed functionalities. The conceptual modelling follows current CCITT proposals, but a new classification of group activities is proposed: Informative, Objective and Supportive application groups. It is proposed that each of these application groups have their own Service Agent. Use of this classification allows the possibility of developing three sets of tools which will cover a wide range of group activities, rather than developing tools for individual activities. Group editing is considered to be in the Supportive application group. A set of additional services and tools to support group editing are proposed in the context of the CCITT draft on group communication, X.gc. The proposed services and tools are mapped onto the X.400 series of recommendations, with the Abstract Service Definition of the operational objects defined, along with their associated component files, by extending the X.420 protocol functionality. It is proposed that each of the Informative, Objective and Supportive application groups should be implemented as a modified X.420 inter-personal messaging system.

In silico identification of novel G protein coupled receptors

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a superfamily of membrane integral proteins responsible for a large number of physiological functions. Approximately 50% of marketed drugs are targeted toward a GPCR. Despite showing a high degree of structural homology, there is a large variance in sequence within the GPCR superfamily which has lead to difficulties in identifying and classifying potential new GPCR proteins. Here the various computational techniques that can be used to characterize a novel GPCR protein are discussed, including both alignment-based and alignment-free approaches. In addition, the application of homology modeling to building the three-dimensional structures of GPCRs is described.

Loss of Akt activity increases circulating soluble endoglin release in preeclampsia:identification of inter-dependency between Akt-1 and heme oxygenase-1

Aims - Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of preeclampsia. Desensitization of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway underlies endothelial dysfunction and haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is decreased in preeclampsia. To identify therapeutic targets, we sought to assess whether these two regulators act to suppress soluble endoglin (sEng), an antagonist of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signalling, which is known to be elevated in preeclampsia. Methods and results - Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), and insulin, which all activate the PI3K/Akt pathway, inhibited the release of sEng from endothelial cells. Inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway, by overexpression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) or a dominant-negative isoform of Akt (Aktdn) induced sEng release from endothelial cells and prevented the inhibitory effect of VEGF-A. Conversely, overexpression of a constitutively active Akt (Aktmyr) inhibited PTEN and cytokine-induced sEng release. Systemic delivery of Aktmyr to mice significantly reduced circulating sEng, whereas Aktdn promoted sEng release. Phosphorylation of Akt was reduced in preeclamptic placenta and this correlated with the elevated level of circulating sEng. Knock-down of Akt using siRNA prevented HO-1-mediated inhibition of sEng release and reduced HO-1 expression. Furthermore, HO-1 null mice have reduced phosphorylated Akt in their organs and overexpression of Aktmyr failed to suppress the elevated levels of sEng detected in HO-1 null mice, indicating that HO-1 is required for the Akt-mediated inhibition of sEng. Conclusion - The loss of PI3K/Akt and/or HO-1 activity promotes sEng release and positive manipulation of these pathways offers a strategy to circumvent endothelial dysfunction.

The relationship between intergroup competition and longitudinal change in group effectiveness

Presentation of an abstract

The interactive effects of mood and trait negative affect in group decision making

Extending the growing interest in affect in work groups, we propose that groups with distributed information make higher quality decisions when they are in a negative rather than a positive mood, but that these effects are moderated by group members' trait negative affect. In support of this hypothesis, an experiment (N = 175 groups) showed that positive mood led to lower quality decisions than did negative or neutral moods when group members were low in trait negative affect, whereas such mood effects were not observed in groups higher in trait negative affect. Mediational analysis based on behavioral observations of group process confirmed that group information elaboration mediated this effect. These results provide an important caveat on the benefits of positive moods in work groups, and suggest that the study of trait × state affect interactions is an important avenue for future research.

Overall justice, work group identification and work outcomes:test of moderated mediation process

This study examined an integrated model of the antecedents and outcomes of organisational and overall justice using a sample of Indian Call Centre employees (n = 458). Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that the four organisational justice dimensions relate to overall justice. Further, work group identification mediated the influence of overall justice on counterproductive work behaviors, such as presenteeism and social loafing, while conscientiousness was a significant moderator between work group identification and presenteeism and social loafing. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Some applications of computers in group technology

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Towards the in silico identification of class II restricted T-cell epitopes:a partial least squares iterative self-consistent algorithm for affinity prediction

Motivation: The immunogenicity of peptides depends on their ability to bind to MHC molecules. MHC binding affinity prediction methods can save significant amounts of experimental work. The class II MHC binding site is open at both ends, making epitope prediction difficult because of the multiple binding ability of long peptides. Results: An iterative self-consistent partial least squares (PLS)-based additive method was applied to a set of 66 pep- tides no longer than 16 amino acids, binding to DRB1*0401. A regression equation containing the quantitative contributions of the amino acids at each of the nine positions was generated. Its predictability was tested using two external test sets which gave r pred =0.593 and r pred=0.655, respectively. Furthermore, it was benchmarked using 25 known T-cell epitopes restricted by DRB1*0401 and we compared our results with four other online predictive methods. The additive method showed the best result finding 24 of the 25 T-cell epitopes. Availability: Peptides used in the study are available from http://www.jenner.ac.uk/JenPep. The PLS method is available commercially in the SYBYL molecular modelling software package. The final model for affinity prediction of peptides binding to DRB1*0401 molecule is available at http://www.jenner.ac.uk/MHCPred. Models developed for DRB1*0101 and DRB1*0701 also are available in MHC- Pred

Serologies use in the identification of insects predators prey.

This study aimed to produce antiserum for the main pests found in maize, Spodoptera frugiperda, Helicoverpa zea and armigera, Rhopalosiphum maidis, and uses it to determine their predators. Pest samples were macerated in 0.85% saline solution. The macerated were centrifuged and the supernatants were used as immunizing antigens to obtain the antiserum. For this purpose, a rabbit was immunized with 3.0 ml of the immunizing antigen on the lymph node region. Homologous serological tests were performed by double diffusion in agar. The homologous serological reactions were positive after seven days of antigen inoculation. The technique has sensitivity to detect predation of the pests studied. The tests were positive for a prey in the digestive tract of the predator to 96 hours of ingestion. Regarding the number of prey ingested there was no difference in the lines. It is concluded that after a single injection of antigen in rabbit lymph node region, it was possible to get an antiserum specific for pests of corn. Field tests showed that there was a certain food preference of Doru luteipes by S. frugiperda, Chrysoperla externa by aphid.