Shalini Misra

The Ecology of Team Science Understanding Contextual Influences on Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Increased public and private investments in large-scale team science initiatives over the past two decades have underscored the need to better understand how contextual factors influence the effectiveness of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Toward that goal, the findings from four distinct areas of research on team performance and collaboration are reviewed: (1) social psychological and management research on the effectiveness of teams in organizational and institutional settings; (2) studies of cyber-infrastructures (i.e., computer-based infrastructures) designed to support transdisciplinary collaboration across remote research sites; (3) investigations of community-based coalitions for health promotion; and (4) studies focusing directly on the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of scientific collaboration within transdisciplinary research centers and training programs. The empirical literature within these four domains reveals several contextual circumstances that either facilitate or hinder team performance and collaboration. A typology of contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration is proposed as a basis for deriving practical guidelines for designing, managing, and evaluating successful team science initiatives.

Psychological and Health Outcomes of Perceived Information Overload

The rapid growth and transmission of information in the digital age poses new challenges for individuals coping with the onslaught of communications from multiple sources. This research (a) conceptualizes and measures perceived information overload from cyber-based and place-based sources, (b) tests the reliability and validity of a newly developed Perceived Information Overload Scale, and (c) tests hypotheses concerning the psychological and health outcomes of information overload. A repeated-measures panel study design was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the hypothesized two-factor model of perceived information overload, encompassing cyber-based and place-based sources of stimulation. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that higher levels of perceived cyber-based overload significantly predicted self-reports of greater stress, poorer health, and less time devoted to contemplative activities, controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and baseline measures of stress and health status. Participants’ sensation-seeking levels were found to significantly moderate the relationships between cyber-based, place-based, and composite perceived information overload and stress. Directions for further study are discussed.

The Ecology of Team Science

Increased public and private investments in large-scale team science initiatives over the past two decades have underscored the need to better understand how contextual factors influence the effectiveness of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Toward that goal, the findings from four distinct areas of research on team performance and collaboration are reviewed: (1) social psychological and management research on the effectiveness of teams in organizational and institutional settings; (2) studies of cyber-infrastructures (i.e., computer-based infrastructures) designed to support transdisciplinary collaboration across remote research sites; (3) investigations of community-based coalitions for health promotion; and (4) studies focusing directly on the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of scientific collaboration within transdisciplinary research centers and training programs. The empirical literature within these four domains reveals several contextual circumstances that either facilitate or hinder team performance and collaboration. A typology of contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration is proposed as a basis for deriving practical guidelines for designing, managing, and evaluating successful team science initiatives.

Using Norm–Based Appeals to Increase Response Rates in Evaluation Research A Field Experiment

A field experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of norm-based persuasive messages for increasing response rates in online survey research. Participants in an interdisciplinary conference were asked to complete two successive postconference surveys and randomly assigned to one of two groups at each time point. The experimental group received a message asking them to complete an online survey that highlighted a descriptive social norm indicating typical response rates among attendees of prior similar conferences. The control group received a generic request to complete the online survey without any norm-based appeals. As expected, participants receiving a message highlighting the descriptive social norm, when asked to complete an online survey were more likely to comply with the request as compared to those who received the generic message without normative information. Participants receiving a double dose of the descriptive norm treatment at both time points were more likely to complete the second online survey than those who did not receive the descriptive norm intervention at either time point. Implications for future research on evaluation are discussed.

Spirituality, Culture and the Politics of Environmentalism in India

Three main themes run through this article. The first theme points out the distinct character of environmental activist movements India. Unlike environmental movements in the West, they are firmly tied to issues of social justice and equity, human rights and womens rights, and are for the survival of the large number of very poor who depend on the resources of their immediate environment. Religious symbolism is embedded in these activist movements. The second theme indicates the practice of utilitarian conservationism as opposed to protectionist conservationism by Hindus in their daily life. The role played by Hindu tradition in such cognitions and behaviours is explored. The third and final theme is the investigation of the causes of large–scale environmental degradation in India. It is argued that environmental pollution is largely a consequence of political, economic and administrative set–ups, population pressures, over–stretched infrastructure, corruption, individual and societal norms, and indifference towards the environment. The paper concludes with a perspective on the contribution of a Hindu environmental ethic to addressing sustainable development issues.

Ernesto Noronha and Premilla D’Cruz, Employee Identity in Indian Call Centres: The Notion of Professionalism, New Delhi: Response Books, 2009, 184 pp

interesting reading. Overall, the SCCL story can be read as an instructive stand-alone account of a turnaround strategy. The book could defi nitely have benefi ted from more careful editing and proof reading. The many language errors and some careless mistakes, like ‘Stephan Hawking’ and ‘Herclitus’ (pp. 24–5), could have been avoided, with a little more care. In spite of these unwelcome distractions, the book is a useful addition to the change management literature.

Theoretical perspectives on team scienceThe Ecology of Team Science: Understanding Contextual Influences on Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Increased public and private investments in large-scale team science initiatives over the past two decades have underscored the need to better understand how contextual factors influence the effectiveness of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Toward that goal, the findings from four distinct areas of research on team performance and collaboration are reviewed: (1) social psychological and management research on the effectiveness of teams in organizational and institutional settings; (2) studies of cyber-infrastructures (i.e., computer-based infrastructures) designed to support transdisciplinary collaboration across remote research sites; (3) investigations of community-based coalitions for health promotion; and (4) studies focusing directly on the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of scientific collaboration within transdisciplinary research centers and training programs. The empirical literature within these four domains reveals several contextual circumstances that either facilitate or hinder team performance and collaboration. A typology of contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration is proposed as a basis for deriving practical guidelines for designing, managing, and evaluating successful team science initiatives.