Team Self-Maintenance during Long-Duration Space Exploration: A Conceptual Framework.

OBJECTIVE: We developed a conceptual framework of Team Self-Maintenance (TSM) within long-duration space exploration (LDSE), which we define as the process of monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining the psychological well-being of a team in the absence of external support. BACKGROUND: Specific to LDSE and isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments, periods of routine can have a debilitating effect on the crew's well-being and performance, and TSM is a critical process for avoiding these detrimental effects. METHOD: Based on themes drawn from nine subject matter expert interviews combined with an extensive literature review on related concepts, we developed an integrative conceptual framework of the key inputs, processes, and outputs involved in TSM within LDSE contexts. RESULTS: Our TSM framework suggests team well-being as a key outcome that must be maintained during LDSE and information sharing, self-regulation, resource recovery, and emotional support as the key processes that enable team well-being. We also identify several contextual inputs that can serve as intervention points for enabling effective TSM. CONCLUSION: Our framework suggests that future research and practice aimed at effective LDSE should emphasize team well-being, rather than just performance, and that there are many open questions in terms of how teams will manage their own socio-emotional needs (e.g., conflict, recovery activities, and boredom) without external systems and support. APPLICATION: This conceptual framework describes the primary inputs, processes, and outcomes involved in the team self-maintenance process. This framework reflects context-specific theorizing most likely to be applicable only to LDSE contexts.

Student Teamwork During COVID-19: Challenges, Changes, and Consequences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected all of society, including teams in organizational settings. Collaborative teamwork is particularly susceptible to pandemic disruptions, as coordination across individuals becomes challenging in socially distanced and virtual contexts. Unfortunately, COVID-19 research thus far has primarily studied individual health and performance. Analysis of 90 open-ended survey responses gives voice to students working in project teams during the pandemic and provides future research directions regarding the multilevel impacts of the pandemic on teamwork. Results reflect three themes: (1) challenges experienced; (2) changes to team communication, tasks, and roles; and (3) consequences to team progress and outcomes.

Measuring cognition in teams: a cross-domain review.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is twofold: to provide a critical cross-domain evaluation of team cognition measurement options and to provide novice researchers with practical guidance when selecting a measurement method. BACKGROUND: A vast selection of measurement approaches exist for measuring team cognition constructs including team mental models, transactive memory systems, team situation awareness, strategic consensus, and cognitive processes. METHODS: Empirical studies and theoretical articles were reviewed to identify all of the existing approaches for measuring team cognition. These approaches were evaluated based on theoretical perspective assumed, constructs studied, resources required, level of obtrusiveness, internal consistency reliability, and predictive validity. RESULTS: The evaluations suggest that all existing methods are viable options from the point of view of reliability and validity, and that there are potential opportunities for cross-domain use. For example, methods traditionally used only to measure mental models may be useful for examining transactive memory and situation awareness. The selection of team cognition measures requires researchers to answer several key questions regarding the theoretical nature of team cognition and the practical feasibility of each method. CONCLUSIONS: We provide novice researchers with guidance regarding how to begin the search for a team cognition measure and suggest several new ideas regarding future measurement research. APPLICATIONS: We provide (1) a broad overview and evaluation of existing team cognition measurement methods, (2) suggestions for new uses of those methods across research domains, and (3) critical guidance for novice researchers looking to measure team cognition.

Team knowledge research: emerging trends and critical needs.

OBJECTIVE: This article provides a systematic review of the team knowledge literature and guidance for further research. BACKGROUND: Recent research has called attention to the need for the improved study and understanding of team knowledge. Team knowledge refers to the higher level knowledge structures that emerge from the interactions of individual team members. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review of the team knowledge literature, focusing on empirical work that involves the measurement of team knowledge constructs. For each study, we extracted author degree area, study design type, study setting, participant type, task type, construct type, elicitation method, aggregation method, measurement timeline, and criterion domain. RESULTS: Our analyses demonstrate that many of the methodological characteristics of team knowledge research can be linked back to the academic training of the primary author and that there are considerable gaps in our knowledge with regard to the relationships between team knowledge constructs, the mediating mechanisms between team knowledge and performance, and relationships with criteria outside of team performance, among others. We also identify categories of team knowledge not yet examined based on an organizing framework derived from a synthesis of the literature. CONCLUSION: There are clear opportunities for expansion in the study of team knowledge; the science of team knowledge would benefit from a more holistic theoretical approach. APPLICATION: Human factors researchers are increasingly involved in the study of teams. This review and the resulting organizing framework provide researchers with a summary of team knowledge research over the past 10 years and directions for improving further research.