Virtual Modeling for Cities of the Future. State-Of Art and Virtual Modeling for Cities of the Future. State-Of Art AN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valencia, J.; Muñoz-Nieto, A.; Rodriguez-Gonzalvez, P.

2015-02-01

3D virtual modeling, visualization, dissemination and management of urban areas is one of the most exciting challenges that must face geomatics in the coming years. This paper aims to review, compare and analyze the new technologies, policies and software tools that are in progress to manage urban 3D information. It is assumed that the third dimension increases the quality of the model provided, allowing new approaches to urban planning, conservation and management of architectural and archaeological areas. Despite the fact that displaying 3D urban environments is an issue nowadays solved, there are some challenges to be faced by geomatics in the coming future. Displaying georeferenced linked information would be considered the first challenge. Another challenge to face is to improve the technical requirements if this georeferenced information must be shown in real time. Are there available software tools ready for this challenge? Are they useful to provide services required in smart cities? Throughout this paper, many practical examples that require 3D georeferenced information and linked data will be shown. Computer advances related to 3D spatial databases and software that are being developed to convert rendering virtual environment to a new enriched environment with linked information will be also analyzed. Finally, different standards that Open Geospatial Consortium has assumed and developed regarding the three-dimensional geographic information will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be devoted on KML, LandXML, CityGML and the new IndoorGML.

Child neurology: past, present, and future: part 3: the future.

PubMed

Ridel, Keith R; Gilbert, Donald L

2010-10-12

This is the last of a 3-part series exploring the past, present, and future of the field of child neurology. This article addresses the 2 fundamental challenges facing child neurology. The most important challenge is our inadequate workforce; based on current numbers, recruitment patterns, and projected retirement, the child neurology clinical and research workforce shortage will likely worsen. The second challenge involves adapting our training to prepare child neurologists for changes ahead. We propose that these 2 issues are related, and that solutions need to include consideration of career options in research, education, and patient care.

Academic Futures: Prospects for Post-Secondary Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shere, Waris, Ed.; Duhamel, Ronald, Ed.

Present trends and future directions in postsecondary education in Canada and the United States are addressed in 15 essays and an introduction by Ron Duhamel. Authors and titles are as follows: "Traditional Values in the Contemporary University" (Robin H. Farquhar); "Facing the Future" (R. J. Duhamel); "Challenges to the…

Teacher Education Futures: Today's Trends, Tomorrow's Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aubusson, Peter; Schuck, Sandy

2013-01-01

Education is facing significant political and contextual challenges that will impact its future. This study employs a Delphi methodology to investigate teacher educators' views of current trends and their consequences for teacher education futures. Interviews were conducted with a sample of expert teacher educators drawn from eight countries. This…

Rewards and unique challenges faced by African-American custodial grandmothers: the importance of future planning.

PubMed

Crowther, Martha R; Huang, Chao-Hui Sylvia; Allen, Rebecca S

2015-01-01

This exploratory study examined the context and consequences of custodial grandparenting, along with attitudes and preferences regarding future planning among 22 African-American custodial grandmothers. A mixed-method research design was employed. Based on our integration of two theories regarding future planning and health behavior change, caregiving, emotional distress, religiosity and spirituality, and future planning were assessed using questionnaires along with semi-structured interviews. African-American custodial grandmothers (mean age M = 53.64, SD = 9.58) perceived their caregiving role as rewarding (72%) yet challenging (86%). More than 40% reported significant emotional distress (CES-D ≥ 16) that warrants clinical attention. Findings showed that while 64% of study participants had future plans regarding who will substitute in their caregiving role if they become incapacitated, only 9% had completed a living will. Three major themes emerged regarding custodial grandmothers' caregiving role which includes: (1) rewards; (2) challenges including feeling overwhelmed and health concerns; and (3) caregiving decisions including conflicts between 'My plan was…/put self on-hold' for grandchildren and difficulty with future planning. These themes highlighted the dynamics of caregiving across time, including current context and the ongoing process of decision-making. Findings suggest that while African-American custodial grandmothers find caregiving rewarding, they face unique challenges in contemplating and developing future plans. Custodial grandmothers think about substitute caregivers for their grandchildren but need assistance communicating a plan focused on their own needs for future care. Culturally sensitive interventions designed to facilitate effective utilization of future plans within this caregiver population are needed.

Enabling the SMART Wind Power Plant of the Future Through Science-Based Innovation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dykes, Katherine L.; Hand, M. M.; Lantz, Eric J.

This report describes the scientific challenges facing wind energy today and the recent scientific advancements that position the research community to tackle those challenges, as well as the new U.S. Department of Energy applied research program Atmosphere to Electrons that takes an integrated approach to addressing those challenges. It also ties these resulting scientific accomplishments to future technological innovation and quantifies the impact of that collection of innovations on 2030 wind power cost of energy.

Adaptive Management for a Turbulent Future

EPA Science Inventory

The challenges that face humanity today differ from the past because as the scale of human influence has increased, our biggest challenges have become global in nature, and formerly local problems that could be addressed by shifting populations or switching resources, now aggrega...

Face to Face with Distance Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhanarajan, Gajaraj

1997-01-01

Begins with a tribute to Professor G. Ram Reddy (founder of Indira Gandhi National Open University), then focuses on the challenges for India of education in the coming decades. Highlights include global problems that future generations will inherit; educational investment needs; a new group of educational clients; skills needed in the 21st…

Environmental and Developmental Risks and Stressors Impacting a 2050 Vision

EPA Science Inventory

A vision of what our water resources and environment may look like in the year 2050 must consider the increasing risks and stressors facing our planet. Recent papers, reports and books are used as the source and basis for identifying the range of future challenges facing the worl...

The Entrepreneurial Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roueche, John E., Ed.; Jones, Barbara R., Ed.

2005-01-01

Environmental factors currently affecting today's community colleges either will cause irreparable damage to their fiscal health and organizational structure or contribute to their rebirth--transforming systems and processes to meet current and future challenges successfully. Community colleges are facing challenges on many levels: (1) In 2003,…

An ecology for cities: A transformational nexus of design and ecology to advance climate change resilience and urban sustainability

Treesearch

Daniel L. Childers; Mary L. Cadenasso; J. Morgan Grove; Victoria Marshall; Brian McGrath; Steward T.A. Pickett

2015-01-01

Cities around the world are facing an ever-increasing variety of challenges that seem to make more sustainable urban futures elusive. Many of these challenges are being driven by, and exacerbated by, increases in urban populations and climate change. Novel solutions are needed today if our cities are to have any hope of more sustainable and resilient futures. Because...

Reviewing education challenges and solutions for health professionals in community care.

PubMed

Kirk, Mary

2015-10-01

The biggest asset of the NHS is its staff. Health professionals working in the community are faced with a number of challenges to maintain and develop their knowledge and skills in their clinical practice. NHS England's Five Year Forward View describes the need for change, identifying the necessity to reshape care delivery, harnessing technology, and driving down variations in quality and safety of care. This article explores some of the challenges faced by community health-care providers and reviews possible solutions to meet community health-care needs for now as well as the future.

An Investigation of Environmental Factors that Influence Knowledge Transfer in the Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-03-26

96 Future Research............................................................................................................ 97...operate its current weapons systems, but it must also fill research and development positions to create future weapons systems (Norman, 2000...has the potential to save an organization’s money while positioning it better to face future challenges; however, organizational culture is a strong

Market analysis of construction materials with recommendations for the future of the industry : final report, January 14, 2010.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-14

Due to the volatility of current highway construction commodity prices, owners, contractors, and designers are facing serious challenges in both short-term estimating and long-term planning. Among these challenges is significant uncertainty about the...

Facing Our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science (2011 EFRC Forum)

ScienceCinema

Dehmer, Patricia M.

2018-04-26

Patricia Dehmer, Deputy Director for Science Programs at DOE, opened the May 26, 2011 EFRC Forum session, 'Global Perspectives on Frontiers in Energy Research,' with the talk, 'Facing Our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science.' In her presentation, Dr. Dehmer gave a tutorial on the energy challenges facing our Nation and showed how the DOE research portfolio addresses those issues. The 2011 EFRC Summit and Forum brought together the EFRC community and science and policy leaders from universities, national laboratories, industry and government to discuss 'Science for our Nation's Energy Future.' In August 2009, the Office of Science established 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers. The EFRCs are collaborative research efforts intended to accelerate high-risk, high-reward fundamental research, the scientific basis for transformative energy technologies of the future. These Centers involve universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit firms, singly or in partnerships, selected by scientific peer review. They are funded at $2 to $5 million per year for a total planned DOE commitment of $777 million over the initial five-year award period, pending Congressional appropriations. These integrated, multi-investigator Centers are conducting fundamental research focusing on one or more of several 'grand challenges' and use-inspired 'basic research needs' recently identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community. The purpose of the EFRCs is to integrate the talents and expertise of leading scientists in a setting designed to accelerate research that transforms the future of energy and the environment.

Challenges and needs in fire management: A landscape simulation modeling perspective [chapter 4

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Geoffrey J. Cary; Mike D. Flannigan

2011-01-01

Fire management will face many challenges in the future from global climate change to protecting people, communities, and values at risk. Simulation modeling will be a vital tool for addressing these challenges but the next generation of simulation models must be spatially explicit to address critical landscape ecology relationships and they must use mechanistic...

Inventing Our Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Glenn; Vosevich, Mary; O'Connor, Michael; Whitefield, Joe; Medlin, E. Lander

2011-01-01

Glenn Smith, APPA's Vice President for Professional Development, had the honor of introducing the closing panel discussion at APPA's annual conference in Boston last July--a discussion centered on the theme "Inventing Our Future." Previous general plenary sessions and related breakout sessions had explored the challenges people face in these…

Recreating America's Community Colleges: Critical Policy Issues Facing America's Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeyman, David S.; Sullivan, Michael D.

2006-01-01

During the conduct of the 2004 Community Colleges Futures Assembly, sponsored by the University of Florida, delegates to the meeting identified three critical policy issues facing America's community colleges and challenged the delegates attending the 2005 Assembly to debate these issues and make recommendations. A total of 252 higher-education…

Top Strategic Issues Facing HBCUs, Now and into the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge-Clark, Kristen; Daniels, Brandon D.

2014-01-01

Created in a time of segregation and discrimination to educate students of color, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played a pivotal role in transforming the landscape of higher education in the United States. Today, in an era of rapid transformation, HBCUs face historic challenges as well as new obstacles. Questions about…

Big Data Challenges for Large Radio Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Dayton L.; Wagstaff, Kiri; Thompson, David; D'Addario, Larry; Navarro, Robert; Mattmann, Chris; Majid, Walid; Lazio, Joseph; Preston, Robert; Rebbapragada, Umaa

2012-01-01

Future large radio astronomy arrays, particularly the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will be able to generate data at rates far higher than can be analyzed or stored affordably with current practices. This is, by definition, a "big data" problem, and requires an end-to-end solution if future radio arrays are to reach their full scientific potential. Similar data processing, transport, storage, and management challenges face next-generation facilities in many other fields.

Futures Symposium. Youth, Work & Economic Productivity: Wisconsin at Risk? Parker Project Number 7. Bulletin No. 4413.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oinonen, Charlotte M.

These proceedings consist of the texts of papers and panel discussions presented at a Parker Project-sponsored futures symposium on youth, work, economic productivity, and the challenges facing Wisconsin's secondary schools in providing job training for the future. Addressed in the individual presentations included in this volume are the…

The Future of the Humanities in Primary Schools--Reflections in Troubled Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eaude, Tony; Butt, Graham; Catling, Simon; Vass, Peter

2017-01-01

This article reflects on the implications for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers of the future of the humanities in primary schools in the light of the challenges facing future generations. There is wide divergence in the four jurisdictions of the UK. The humanities are perceived as important, in principle, though curriculum frameworks…

Missed Opportunities for Science Learning: Unacknowledged Unscientific Arguments in Asynchronous Online and Face-to-Face Discussions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callis-Duehl, Kristine; Idsardi, Robert; Humphrey, Eve A.; Gougis, Rebekka Darner

2018-02-01

We explored the scientific argumentation that occurs among university biology students during an argumentation task implemented in two environments: face-to-face in a classroom and online in an asynchronous discussion. We observed 10 student groups, each composed of three students. Our analysis focused on how students respond to their peers' unscientific arguments, which we define as assertions, hypotheses, propositions, or explanations that are inaccurate or incomplete from a scientific perspective. Unscientific arguments provide opportunities for productive dissent, scientific argumentation, and conceptual development of scientifically desirable conceptions. We found that students did not respond to the majority of unscientific arguments in both environments. Challenges to unscientific arguments were expressed as a question or through explanation, although the latter was more common online than face-to-face. Students demonstrated significantly more epistemic distancing in the face-to-face environment than the online environment. We discuss the differences in discourse observed in both environments and teaching implications. We also provide direction for future research seeking to address the challenges of engaging students in productive scientific argumentation in both face-to-face and online environments.

Future internet architecture and cloud ecosystem: A survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Man; Yin, Shiqun

2018-04-01

The Internet has gradually become a social infrastructure, the existing TCP/IP architecture faces many challenges. So future Internet architecture become hot research. This paper introduces two ways of idea about the future research of Internet structure system, probes into the future Internet architecture and the environment of cloud ecosystem. Finally, we focuses the related research, and discuss basic principles and problems of OpenStack.

Ethical challenges facing veterinary professionals in Ireland: results from Policy Delphi with vignette methodology

PubMed Central

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, M.; More, S. J.; Morton, D. B.; Hanlon, A.

2016-01-01

Ethics is key to the integrity of the veterinary profession. Despite its importance, there is a lack of applied research on the range of ethical challenges faced by veterinarians. A three round Policy Delphi with vignette methodology was used to record the diversity of views on ethical challenges faced by veterinary professionals in Ireland. Forty experts, comprising veterinary practitioners, inspectors and nurses, accepted to participate. In round 1, twenty vignettes describing a variety of ethically challenging veterinary scenarios were ranked in terms of ethical acceptability, reputational risk and perceived standards of practice. Round 2 aimed at characterising challenges where future policy development or professional guidance was deemed to be needed. In round 3, possible solutions to key challenges were explored. Results suggest that current rules and regulations are insufficient to ensure best veterinary practices and that a collective approach is needed to harness workable solutions for the identified ethical challenges. Challenges pertaining mostly to the food chain seem to require enforcement measures whereas softer measures that promote professional discretion were preferred to address challenges dealing with veterinary clinical services. These findings can support veterinary representative bodies, advisory committees and regulatory authorities in their decision making, policy and regulation. PMID:27613779

Ethical challenges facing veterinary professionals in Ireland: results from Policy Delphi with vignette methodology.

PubMed

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, M; More, S J; Morton, D B; Hanlon, A

2016-10-29

Ethics is key to the integrity of the veterinary profession. Despite its importance, there is a lack of applied research on the range of ethical challenges faced by veterinarians. A three round Policy Delphi with vignette methodology was used to record the diversity of views on ethical challenges faced by veterinary professionals in Ireland. Forty experts, comprising veterinary practitioners, inspectors and nurses, accepted to participate. In round 1, twenty vignettes describing a variety of ethically challenging veterinary scenarios were ranked in terms of ethical acceptability, reputational risk and perceived standards of practice. Round 2 aimed at characterising challenges where future policy development or professional guidance was deemed to be needed. In round 3, possible solutions to key challenges were explored. Results suggest that current rules and regulations are insufficient to ensure best veterinary practices and that a collective approach is needed to harness workable solutions for the identified ethical challenges. Challenges pertaining mostly to the food chain seem to require enforcement measures whereas softer measures that promote professional discretion were preferred to address challenges dealing with veterinary clinical services. These findings can support veterinary representative bodies, advisory committees and regulatory authorities in their decision making, policy and regulation. British Veterinary Association.

State of Science: ergonomics and global issues.

PubMed

Thatcher, Andrew; Waterson, Patrick; Todd, Andrew; Moray, Neville

2018-02-01

In his 1993 IEA keynote address, Neville Moray urged the ergonomics discipline to face up to the global problems facing humanity and consider how ergonomics might help find some of the solutions. In this State of Science article we critically evaluate what the ergonomics discipline has achieved in the last two and a half decades to help create a secure future for humanity. Moray's challenges for ergonomics included deriving a value structure that moves us beyond a Westernised view of worker-organisation-technology fit, taking a multidisciplinary approach which engages with other social and biological sciences, considering the gross cross-cultural factors that determine how different societies function, paying more attention to mindful consumption, and embracing the complexity of our interconnected world. This article takes a socio-historical approach by considering the factors that influence what has been achieved since Moray's keynote address. We conclude with our own set of predictions for the future and priorities for addressing the challenges that we are likely to face. Practitioner Summary: We critically reflect on what has been achieved by the ergonomics profession in addressing the global challenges raised by Moray's 1993 keynote address to the International Ergonomics Association. Apart from healthcare, the response has largely been weak and disorganised. We make suggestions for priority research and practice that is required to facilitate a sustainable future for humanity.

The "Virtual" Reality of High-Tech Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justice, Jamie

2004-01-01

Community and technical colleges are at a crossroads in their history and mission in preparing individuals for the challenges of lifelong learning and the workforce of the future. Many industries are faced with the challenges of replacing an aging and retiring workforce, updating employee skill sets, and maintaining quality and production…

Challenges and Solutions When Using Technologies in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Amy M.; Jacovina, Matthew E.; Russell, Devin G.; Soto, Christian M.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to present common challenges faced by educators when attempting to integrate technology in the classroom, and offer potential solutions to those problems. Examination of these issues should be valuable to current and future educators, school administrators, as well as educational technology researchers. The chapter…

Understanding the Coping Strategies of International Students: A Qualitative Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khawaja, Nigar G.; Stallman, Helen M.

2011-01-01

International students encounter a range of additional challenges as a part of their tertiary study experience. A qualitative approach was used to understand the challenges faced by international students, coping strategies that promoted their personal resilience and advice they have for future international students. Twenty-two international…

Seeing the Forest through the Trees: A Challenge Facing Communication across the Curriculum Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garside, Colleen

2002-01-01

Notes that communication across the curriculum programs (CXCPs) are designed to increase students' communication competence and enhance student learning. Examines the challenge of maintaining the integrity of multiple disciplines when communication gets taken across the curriculum. Concludes with suggestions for future program directions and…

The Student Homelessness Crisis and the Role of School Psychology: Missed Opportunities, Room for Improvement, and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulkowski, Michael L.

2016-01-01

Affecting more than 1 million youth, student homelessness is growing at an unprecedented rate in the United States. This is alarming because homeless students face significant barriers to their academic success and positive life outcomes. Unfortunately, despite the significant risks and challenges they face, homeless students often are overlooked…

California's Changing Face: The Challenge Ahead. Future in Focus, 2000-2025: Population.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kan-Rice, Pamela, Ed.

2000-01-01

Part of a series on California's future through 2025, this theme issue of California Agriculture examines how demographic changes and increased ethnic diversity will affect the state's agriculture, economy, and educational system. Research articles are: "Immigration, High Fertility Fuel State's Population Growth" (William A. V. Clark);…

Future Proof for Physics: Preserving the Record of SLAC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deken, Jean Marie

2005-01-01

This article provides a brief introduction to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), discusses the origins of the SLAC Archives and History Office, its present-day operations, and the present and future challenges it faces in attempting to preserve an accurate historical record of SLAC's activities. (Contains 21 notes.)

The Future Problem Solving Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crabbe, Anne B.

1989-01-01

Describes the Future Problem Solving Program, in which students from the U.S. and around the world are tackling some complex challenges facing society, ranging from acid rain to terrorism. The program uses a creative problem solving process developed for business and industry. A sixth-grade toxic waste cleanup project illustrates the process.…

Not-for-profit hospitals fight tax-exempt challenges.

PubMed

Hudson, T

1990-10-20

The message being sent by local tax boards, state agencies, and the Internal Revenue Service is clear: Not-for-profit hospitals will have to justify their tax-exempt status. But complying with this demand can be a costly administrative burden. Just ask the executives who have been through the experience. CEO Richard Anderson, of St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem, PA, is luckier than some executives who have faced tax-exempt challenges. He won his hospital's case. But he still faces a yearly battle: The hospital must prove its compliance annually to the county board of assessors. Other executives report similar experiences. Our cover story takes an in-depth look at how administrators faced challenges to their hospital's tax status and what they learned about their relationship with their communities, as well as a complete state and federal legislative outlook for future developments.

Futures project anticipates changes and challenges facing forests of the northern United States

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; W. Keith Moser; Michael E. Goerndt; Nianfu Song; Mark D. Nelson; David J. Nowak; Patrick D. Miles; Brett J. Butler; Ryan D. DeSantis; Francisco X. Aguilar; Brian G. Tavernia

2014-01-01

The Northern Forest Futures Project aims to reveal how today's trends and choices are likely to change the future forest landscape in the northeastern and midwestern United States. The research is focused on the 20-state quadrant bounded by Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Minnesota. This area, which encompasses most of the Central Hardwood Forest region, is the...

Education as an intergenerational process of human learning, teaching, and development.

PubMed

Cole, Michael

2010-11-01

In this article I argue that the future of psychological research on educational processes would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach that enables psychologists to locate their objects of study within the cultural, social, and historical contexts of their research. To make this argument, I begin by examining anthropological accounts of the characteristics of education in small, face-to-face, preindustrial societies. I then turn to a sample of contemporary psychoeducational research that seeks to implement major, qualitative changes in modern educational practices by transforming them to have the properties of education in those self-same face-to-face societies. Next I examine the challenges faced by these modern approaches and briefly describe a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary system of education that responds to these challenges while offering a model for educating psychology students in a multigenerational system of activities with potential widespread benefits. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Pollution exposure on marine protected areas: A global assessment.

PubMed

Partelow, Stefan; von Wehrden, Henrik; Horn, Olga

2015-11-15

Marine protected areas (MPAs) face many challenges in their aim to effectively conserve marine ecosystems. In this study we analyze the extent of pollution exposure on the global fleet of MPAs. This includes indicators for current and future pollution and the implications for regionally clustered groups of MPAs with similar biophysical characteristics. To cluster MPAs into characteristic signature groups, their bathymetry, baseline biodiversity, distance from shore, mean sea surface temperature and mean sea surface salinity were used. We assess the extent at which each signature group is facing exposure from multiple pollution types. MPA groups experience similar pollution exposure on a regional level. We highlight how the challenges that MPAs face can be addressed through governance at the appropriate scale and design considerations for integrated terrestrial and marine management approaches within regional level networks. Furthermore, we present diagnostic social-ecological indicators for addressing the challenges facing unsuccessful MPAs with practical applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions: Past, present, and future operational challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ochs, William R.; Barbehenn, George M.; Crabb, William G.

1996-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to be serviced by the Space Shuttle to upgrade systems, replace failed components and boost the telescope into higher orbits. There exists many operational challenges that must be addressed in preparation for the execution of a servicing mission, including technical and managerial issues. The operational challenges faced by the Hubble operations and ground system project for the support of the first servicing mission and future servicing missions, are considered. The emphasis is on those areas that helped ensure the success of the mission, including training, testing and contingency planning.

Wildland fire management futures: insights from a foresight panel

Treesearch

Robert L. Olson; David N. Bengston; Leif A. DeVaney; Trevor A.C. Thompson

2015-01-01

Wildland fire management faces unprecedented challenges in the 21st century: the increasingly apparent effects of climate change, more people and structures in the wildland-urban interface, growing costs associated with wildfire management, and the rise of high-impact fires, to name a few. Given these significant and growing challenges, conventional fire management...

Diverse Classrooms--Opportunities and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Driel, Barry; van Dijk, Lutz

2010-01-01

In April 2009, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam invited more than 30 experts in the field of Holocaust education from a dozen countries for a three-day seminar to share their thoughts and experiences to provide insight into the kinds of opportunities and challenges educators might face in the future when teaching about the Holocaust in diverse…

Education and Training--Research and Development: Report of Futuring Group 1

Treesearch

1987-01-01

Public agencies involved in natural resource management and fire protection will face many challenges over the next few decades, including decreasing real budgets, lower staffing levels, increasing responsibilities, expanding technologies and a more sophisticated and demanding public. In addressing these challenges, resource managers must be prepared to enter a new...

Leadership, Governance, and Sustainability of Black Colleges and Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ezzell, Jack L., Jr.; Schexnider, Alvin J.

2010-01-01

A topic of continuing interest in American higher education and society is the future of historically black colleges and universities, commonly referred to as HBCUs. The nation's public and private black institutions of higher education have proved their mettle, and yet they face persistent challenges to survive. A huge part of the challenge black…

Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pellegrino, James W., Ed.; Hilton, Margaret L., Ed.

2012-01-01

Americans have long recognized that investments in public education contribute to the common good, enhancing national prosperity and supporting stable families, neighborhoods, and communities. Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Today's children can meet future challenges if their…

Role of ICT in Shaping the Future of Pakistani Higher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaikh, Zaffar Ahmed; Khoja, Shakeel Ahmed

2011-01-01

This study examined the challenges faced by the Pakistani higher education system (HES) in integrating information and communication technology (ICT); it aimed at understanding ICT needs, measuring the increase in ICT demand, determining the relationship between ICT and HES performance, and understanding how the HES copes with the challenges of…

The Benefits to Taxpayers from Increases in Students' Educational Attainment. Monograph

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Stephen J.; Erkut, Emre

2009-01-01

Meeting the educational demands of the future will be expensive; however, in most states, public schools from kindergarten through the university level already experience budgetary challenges. Policymakers face the challenge of motivating taxpayers to provide the funds needed to meet mounting education needs. In this volume, Carroll and Erkut…

Water management: Current and future challenges and research directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosgrove, William J.; Loucks, Daniel P.

2015-06-01

Water distinguishes our planet compared to all the others we know about. While the global supply of available freshwater is more than adequate to meet all current and foreseeable water demands, its spatial and temporal distributions are not. There are many regions where our freshwater resources are inadequate to meet domestic, economic development and environmental needs. In such regions, the lack of adequate clean water to meet human drinking water and sanitation needs is indeed a constraint on human health and productivity and hence on economic development as well as on the maintenance of a clean environment and healthy ecosystems. All of us involved in research must find ways to remove these constraints. We face multiple challenges in doing that, especially given a changing and uncertain future climate, and a rapidly growing population that is driving increased social and economic development, globalization, and urbanization. How best to meet these challenges requires research in all aspects of water management. Since 1965, the journal Water Resources Research has played an important role in reporting and disseminating current research related to managing the quantity and quality and cost of this resource. This paper identifies the issues facing water managers today and future research needed to better inform those who strive to create a more sustainable and desirable future.

Measurement in Service Businesses: Challenges and Future Directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyagi, Rajesh Kumar

This chapter presents challenges faced by service businesses while implementing a measurement system. A review of existing frameworks is presented and a new framework, the Service Scorecard, is introduced. The Service Scorecard is an adaptation of the Six Sigma Business Scorecard for the service sector. The framework has also been influenced by existing frameworks such as the Malcom Baldrige award criteria, the Balanced Scorecard, the European Quality award and the Service Profit Chain model. The seven elements of the Service Scorecard are Growth, Leadership, Acceleration, Collaboration, Innovation, Execution, and Retention. The examples of measurement systems are presented with concrete real-world case examples. Final thoughts and the challenges faced are also presented.

Virtual reality in surgical training.

PubMed

Lange, T; Indelicato, D J; Rosen, J M

2000-01-01

Virtual reality in surgery and, more specifically, in surgical training, faces a number of challenges in the future. These challenges are building realistic models of the human body, creating interface tools to view, hear, touch, feel, and manipulate these human body models, and integrating virtual reality systems into medical education and treatment. A final system would encompass simulators specifically for surgery, performance machines, telemedicine, and telesurgery. Each of these areas will need significant improvement for virtual reality to impact medicine successfully in the next century. This article gives an overview of, and the challenges faced by, current systems in the fast-changing field of virtual reality technology, and provides a set of specific milestones for a truly realistic virtual human body.

Faculty Perspectives in Saudi Arabia Pertaining to Attributes of Successful Universities and Future Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kutbi, Ibrahim; Hashim, Khairuddin

2017-01-01

Universities face the challenge of being relevant. This study investigates respondents' perspectives pertaining to attributes of successful universities and future learning environments. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the 2016 academic year. The sample size was 518 King Abdulaziz University (KAU) academics. The…

Planning for a Better Future: California 2025. 2011 Update

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Public Policy Institute of California, 2011

2011-01-01

California's current economic and fiscal realities make nonpartisan, objective information on the state's future challenges all the more critical. Understandably, the search is on for immediate solutions to the unprecedented crises people face today. But if the present crises make policymakers shelve long-term planning, the result may be an even…

Kinesiology Faculty for the 21st Century: Steping into the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DePauw, Karen P.

2014-01-01

Kinesiology faculty for the 21st century was one of the featured strands of the 2014 NAKHE Collaborative Congress: "STEPS into the future: Exploring opportunities and facing the challenges for the 21st century." Following a brief introduction delegates were assigned to discussion groups with conversations focused around six…

Baldcypress swamp management and climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Middleton, Beth A.

2006-01-01

In the future, climates may become warmer and drier in the southeastern United States; as a result, the range of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps may shrink. Managers of baldcypress swamps at the southern edge of the range may face special challenges in attempting to preserve these swamp habitats in the future if climates become warmer and drier.

American Families and the Future: Analyses of Possible Destinies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Settles, Barbara H., Ed.; And Others

Noting the increasing challenges faced by families today, this book explores demographic, social and economic, and technological issues affecting the dynamics of and planning process for family well-being. Chapters in the book are: (1) "Expanding Choice in Long Term Planning for Family Futures" (Barbara H. Settles); (2) "Recent Demographic Change:…

A Model for Establishing a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moskal, Edward J.

2015-01-01

In order to effectively ensure our continued technical advantage and future cybersecurity, we need a technologically skilled and cyber savvy workforce and an effective pipeline of future employees. Our Government has identified Cybersecurity as one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation and has ear-marked…

Professional Counseling in Nigeria: Past, Present, and Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okocha, Aneneosa A. G.; Alika, Ijeoma H.

2012-01-01

The events that circumscribed the parameters of today's counseling in Nigeria are many and varied regarding their influence in shaping the development of the profession in the country. The authors review these events and the current status of counseling in Nigeria, including the challenges faced in the profession. Future trends and suggestions for…

Health care for undocumented immigrants in Texas: past, present, and future.

PubMed

Kuruvilla, Rohit; Raghavan, Rajeev

2014-07-01

Providing health care to the 1.6 million undocumented immigrants in Texas is an existing challenge. Despite continued growth of this vulnerable population, legislation between 1986 and 2013 has made it more difficult for states to provide adequate and cost-effective care. As this population ages and develops chronic illnesses, Texas physicians, health care administrators, and legislators will be facing a major challenge. New legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act and immigration reform, does not address or attempt to solve the issue of providing health care to this population. One example of inadequate care and poor resource allocation is the experience of undocumented immigrants with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In Texas, these immigrants depend on safety net hospital systems for dialysis treatments. Often, treatments are provided only when their conditions become an emergency, typically at a higher cost, with worse outcomes. This article reviews the legislation regarding health care for undocumented immigrants, particularly those with chronic illnesses such as ESRD, and details specific challenges facing Texas physicians in the future.

Results and lessons from the GMOS survey of transiting exoplanet atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todorov, Kamen; Desert, Jean-Michel; Huitson, Catherine; Bean, Jacob; Fortney, Jonathan; Bergmann, Marcel; Stevenson, Kevin

2018-01-01

We present results from the first comprehensive survey program dedicated to probing transiting exoplanet atmospheres using transmission spectroscopy with a multi-object spectrograph (MOS). Our four-years survey focussed on ten close-in giant planets for which the wavelength dependent transit depths in the visible were measured with Gemini/GMOS. We present the complete analysis of all the targets observed (50 transits, 300 hours), and the challenges to overcome to achieve the best spectrophotometric precision (200-500 ppm / 10 nm). We also present the main results and conclusions from this survey. We show that the precision achieved by this survey permits to distinguish hazy atmospheres from cloud-free ones. We discuss the challenges faced by such an experiment, and the lessons learnt for future MOS survey. We lay out the challenges facing future ground based MOS transit surveys aiming for the atmospheric characterization of habitable worlds, and utilizing the next generation of multi-object spectrographs mounted on extremely large ground based telescopes (ELT, TMT).

Challenges faced in long term ventricular assist device support.

PubMed

Ikegami, Hirohisa; Kurlansky, Paul; Takeda, Koji; Naka, Yoshifumi

2016-08-01

The development of ventricular assist device (VAD) has been one of the revolutionary advancements in end-stage heart failure management. Although the device has developed and improved significantly over the last few decades, we still face multiple challenges. This review will discuss quality of life, survival, and clinically encountered complications in patients with VAD support. The literature was extensively reviewed for studies describing the above topic area. We describe the impact of major challenges faced in VAD support and discuss their future and expectations. Expert commentary: The technological advancement of VADs has contributed to major improvement of overall survival, enhancement of quality of life and decrease of incidence of complications. It is expected that technologies will continue to evolve. At the same time, the indications for and timing of device implantation, and selection of device type are continuously important in clinical practice setting.

Preparing future fisheries professionals to make good decisions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colvin, Michael E.; Peterson, James T.

2017-01-01

Future fisheries professionals will face decision-making challenges in an increasingly complex field of fisheries management. Though fisheries students are well trained in the use of the scientific method to understand the natural world, they are rarely exposed to structured decision making (SDM) as part of an undergraduate or graduate education. Specifically, SDM encourages users (e.g., students, managers) to think critically and communicate the problem and then identify specific, measurable objectives as they relate to the problem. Next, users must think critically and creatively about management alternatives that can be used to meet the objectives—there must be more than one alternative or there is no decision to be made. Lastly, the management alternatives are evaluated with regard to how likely they are to succeed in terms of multiple, possibly completing, objectives, such as how stakeholder groups value outcomes of management actions versus monetary cost. We believe that exposure to SDM and its elements is an important part of preparing future fisheries professional to meet the challenges they may face. These challenges include reduced budgets, the growth of potentially competing natural resource interest groups, and stakeholder desire to be involved in management decisions affecting public trust resources, just to name a few.

Shaping a career trajectory in academic administration: leadership development for the deanship.

PubMed

Green, Alexia; Ridenour, Nancy

2004-11-01

The nursing profession continues to face many challenges, one of which is an insufficient number of aspiring leaders. The role of an academic leader, specifically that of dean, brings with it unique challenges and opportunities. Shaping a career in academic administration requires careful consideration of the leadership skills necessary to perform in this complex and challenging role. However, it is critical to the future of nursing as a profession that ample numbers of aspiring leaders can successfully make this transition. One can be better prepared to take on this exciting and rewarding leadership opportunity when one understands the challenges deans face, asks questions such as "Do I really want a deanship?," identifies the required leadership skills, defines a career trajectory and pathway, and develops the leadership skills necessary for deans.

Regulatory challenges in the review of data from global clinical trials: the PMDA perspective.

PubMed

Asano, K; Tanaka, A; Sato, T; Uyama, Y

2013-08-01

Regulatory agencies face challenges in reviewing data from global clinical trials (GCTs) in the era of globalization of drug development. One major challenge is consideration of ethnic factors in evaluating GCT data so as to extrapolate foreign population data to one's own national population. Here, we present the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) perspective in reviewing GCT data in new drug applications (NDAs) and discuss future challenges for new drug approval.

Accessing Flexible Learning Opportunities: Children's and Young People's Use of Laptops in a Paediatric Hospital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nisselle, Amy; Hanns, Shaun; Green, Julie; Jones, Tony

2012-01-01

Hospitalised children and young people not only face challenges to their health but also to their continued education and social connections. These challenges can impact on future life trajectories, so it is crucial to maintain learning and socialising. Educational technologies, such as laptops and iPads, are used in the multidisciplinary…

Space Acquisitions: Some Programs Have Overcome Past Problems, but Challenges and Uncertainty Remain for the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-29

are being conducted for the SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launch system. In addition, in its fiscal year 2016 President’s Budget request, DOD requested funding...DOD expects SpaceX to be certified by June 2015. Additionally, the department has faced unexpected complications, such as challenges to its

The challenges facing midwifery educators in sustaining a future education workforce.

PubMed

Albarran, John W; Rosser, Elizabeth A

2014-08-01

national and international trends have identified concerns over the ability of health and social care workforces in meeting the needs of service users. Attention has increasingly been drawn to problems of recruiting and retaining professionals within higher education; however data in relation to the midwifery profession is scant. to examine the perceptions and experiences of midwifery educators, in south-west England, about the challenges facing them sustaining the education workforce of the future. a mixed methodology approach was adopted involving heads of midwifery education and midwife educators. midwifery participants were recruited from three higher education institutions in south west England. Data collection comprised of self-administered questionnaires plus individual qualitative interviews with heads of midwifery education (n=3), and tape recorded focus groups with midwife academics (n=19). Numerical data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Textual data were analysed for themes that represented the experiences and perspectives of participants. Ethics approval was granted by one University Ethics committee. demographic data suggests that within south-west England, there is a clear ageing population and few in possession of a doctorate within midwifery. The six identified sub-themes represented in the data describe challenges and tensions that midwifery academics experienced in their efforts to attract new recruits and retain those in post in a highly changing educational environment which demands more from a contracting workforce. there remain some serious challenges facing midwifery educators in sustaining the future education workforce, which if unresolved may jeopardise standards of education and quality of care women receive. Active succession planning and more radical approaches that embrace flexible careers will enable educational workforce to be sustained and by a clinically credible and scholarly orientated midwifery workforce. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Multi-Method Qualitative Study of a New Teacher Inservice Training Program to Improve Teaching in a Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Diann C.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this multi-method qualitative study was to collect data for a future development of an in-service training program for new teachers employed by Lake Forest Academy (pseudonym). New teachers of children with special educational needs faced challenges teaching in this Middle East country in addition to those faced by the new general…

Epilepsy Genetics—Past, Present, and Future

PubMed Central

Poduri, Annapurna; Lowenstein, Daniel

2014-01-01

Human epilepsy is a common and heterogeneous condition in which genetics play an important etiological role. We begin by reviewing the past history of epilepsy genetics, a field that has traditionally included studies of pedigrees with epilepsy caused by defects in ion channels and neurotransmitters. We highlight important recent discoveries that have expanded the field beyond the realm of channels and neurotransmitters and that have challenged the notion that single genes produce single disorders. Finally, we project toward an exciting future for epilepsy genetics as large-scale collaborative phenotyping studies come face to face with new technologies in genomic medicine. PMID:21277190

Wealth from Health: an incentive program for disease and population management: a 12-year project.

PubMed

Ratner, D; Louria, D; Sheffet, A; Fain, R; Curran, J; Saed, N; Bhaskar, S; Quereshi, M; Cable, G

2001-01-01

The future of healthcare is linked with its ability to face the challenges of consumerism. Disease and population management will represent the dominant style of healthcare delivery in the future. This article describes the Wealth from Health programs which utilize current and future technologies to help the healthcare system become a leader in healthcare delivery and to assist many communities at an affordable cost.

20+ Years of Environmental Education Centers in Greece: Teachers' Perceptions and Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanniris, Constantinos

2015-01-01

For the first time after decades of expansion and systematic innovative practice, environmental education in Greece faces an uncertain future as a result of the contemporary political and economic crisis. This research aims to contribute to the international exchange of good practices by focusing on the effects and functions of the Greek network…

Education for Tomorrow or Education for the Individual: What Works for the Future?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephenson, Elspeth

2016-01-01

This theoretical paper explores current literature relative to challenges faced by early childhood teachers in relation to the increasing accountability to improve measureable literacy and numeracy skills in young children. This sits within a context which has a developing focus on preparing children for the role they will play in future society.…

2010 Community College Futures Assembly Focus: Effective Leadership-Addressing the Graduation Challenge in the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Dale F.; Yu, Hongwei

2010-01-01

The Community College Futures Assembly has served as a national independent policy think tank since 1995. Its purpose is to articulate the critical issues facing American community colleges and recognize innovative programs. Convening annually in January in Orlando, Florida, the Assembly provides an interactive learning environment where tough…

Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact on Students of the Musical Futures Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Susan; Creech, Andrea; McQueen, Hilary

2017-01-01

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The "Musical Futures" (MF) initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based…

Emerging issues and future directions of the field of health communication.

PubMed

Hannawa, Annegret F; Kreps, Gary L; Paek, Hye-Jin; Schulz, Peter J; Smith, Sandi; Street, Richard L

2014-01-01

The interdisciplinary intersections between communication science and health-related fields are pervasive, with numerous differences in regard to epistemology, career planning, funding perspectives, educational goals, and cultural orientations. This article identifies and elaborates on these challenges with illustrative examples. Furthermore, concrete suggestions for future scholarship are recommended to facilitate compatible, coherent, and interdisciplinary health communication inquiry. The authors hope that this article helps current and future generations of health communication scholars to make more informed decisions when facing some of the challenges discussed in this article so that they will be able to seize the interdisciplinary and international potential of this unique and important field of study.

The Challenges of Plasma Material Interactions in Nuclear Fusion Devices and Potential Solutions

DOE PAGES

Rapp, J.

2017-07-12

Plasma Material Interactions in future fusion reactors have been identified as a knowledge gap to be dealt with before any next step device past ITER can be built. The challenges are manifold. They are related to power dissipation so that the heat fluxes to the plasma facing components can be kept at technologically feasible levels; maximization of the lifetime of divertor plasma facing components that allow for steady-state operation in a reactor to reach the neutron fluences required; the tritium inventory (storage) in the plasma facing components, which can lead to potential safety concerns and reduction in the fuel efficiency;more » and it is related to the technology of the plasma facing components itself, which should demonstrate structural integrity under the high temperatures and neutron fluence. This contribution will give an overview and summary of those challenges together with some discussion of potential solutions. New linear plasma devices are needed to investigate the PMI under fusion reactor conditions and test novel plasma facing components. The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment MPEX will be introduced and a status of the current R&D towards MPEX will be summarized.« less

The Challenges of Plasma Material Interactions in Nuclear Fusion Devices and Potential Solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rapp, J.

Plasma Material Interactions in future fusion reactors have been identified as a knowledge gap to be dealt with before any next step device past ITER can be built. The challenges are manifold. They are related to power dissipation so that the heat fluxes to the plasma facing components can be kept at technologically feasible levels; maximization of the lifetime of divertor plasma facing components that allow for steady-state operation in a reactor to reach the neutron fluences required; the tritium inventory (storage) in the plasma facing components, which can lead to potential safety concerns and reduction in the fuel efficiency;more » and it is related to the technology of the plasma facing components itself, which should demonstrate structural integrity under the high temperatures and neutron fluence. This contribution will give an overview and summary of those challenges together with some discussion of potential solutions. New linear plasma devices are needed to investigate the PMI under fusion reactor conditions and test novel plasma facing components. The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment MPEX will be introduced and a status of the current R&D towards MPEX will be summarized.« less

Go girl! Facilitating exploration of transportation careers for girls

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-07-01

The transportation engineering profession, like every other profession that relies heavily on the engineering, technology and science fields, faces a challenging future. A recent study by the National Science Board reported a troubling decline in the...

Air Traffic Services Performance Plan for Fiscal Years 2000-2002

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-10-01

Each year, Air Traffic Services (ATS) executives and staff assess the : organization's performance and actions taken to improve aviation services : during the previous 12 months, and evaluate the current and future challenges : facing its customers. ...

Counselling Psychology in South Africa

PubMed Central

Bantjes, Jason; Kagee, Ashraf; Young, Charles

2016-01-01

The origin and development of counselling psychology in South Africa has been profoundly influenced by the country’s socio-political history and the impact of apartheid. As a result of this, counselling psychologists in the country face a number of challenges and opportunities for the future. In this paper we provide a portrait of counselling psychology in South Africa by describing the current character of the specialty and the context in which South African psychologists work. We critically discuss the challenges that the specialty faces to meet the country’s mental health care needs, contest the current Scope of Practice; affirm multiculturalism without essentializing or reifying race and ethnicity, and build an evidence base for community interventions in the country. We also consider how, in the future, counselling psychologists in South Africa may make a more meaningful contribution within public health and the country’s health care and education systems. PMID:27867261

Counselling Psychology in South Africa.

PubMed

Bantjes, Jason; Kagee, Ashraf; Young, Charles

The origin and development of counselling psychology in South Africa has been profoundly influenced by the country's socio-political history and the impact of apartheid. As a result of this, counselling psychologists in the country face a number of challenges and opportunities for the future. In this paper we provide a portrait of counselling psychology in South Africa by describing the current character of the specialty and the context in which South African psychologists work. We critically discuss the challenges that the specialty faces to meet the country's mental health care needs, contest the current Scope of Practice; affirm multiculturalism without essentializing or reifying race and ethnicity, and build an evidence base for community interventions in the country. We also consider how, in the future, counselling psychologists in South Africa may make a more meaningful contribution within public health and the country's health care and education systems.

The Efficacy of a Home-School Intervention for Preschoolers with Challenging Behaviors: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Preschool First Step to Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feil, Edward G.; Frey, Andy; Walker, Hill M.; Small, Jason W.; Seeley, John R.; Golly, Annemieke; Forness, Steven R.

2014-01-01

The field of early intervention is currently faced with the challenge of reducing the prevalence of antisocial behavior in children. Longitudinal outcomes research indicates that increased antisocial behavior and impairments in social competence skills during the preschool years often serve as harbingers of future adjustment problems in a number…

Education First: Building America's Future. The Fifth Annual State of American Education Speech, Seattle, Washington.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riley, Richard W.

Public education in the United States faces many challenges. Ways in which districts are meeting these challenges are discussed in this State of American Education speech given by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. After providing an overview of American education, with mention of reading scores, drug use, the Hispanic dropout rate,…

Constructing New Finance Models That Balance Equity, Adequacy and Efficiency with Responsiveness. Education Finance in the States: Its Past, Present and Future. ECS Issue Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, James W.

Policymakers continue to face major challenges in education finance, despite a history of reforms. Today's challenges include ensuring financial adequacy, maintaining gains in distributional equality, coping with the increasing need for teachers, satisfying public preference for diversity in schools and programs, and devising performance…

YogaHome: teaching and research challenges in a yoga program with homeless adults.

PubMed

Davis-Berman, Jennifer; Farkas, Jean

2012-01-01

YogaHome is a therapeutic yoga program for homeless women. Developing and refining YogaHome provided a unique opportunity to explore the process of teaching yoga to women faced with the physical and emotional stress of living in a homeless shelter. Unique teaching and research challenges are presented and recommendations for future programs are discussed.

Physics, Physicists and Revolutionary Capabilities for the Intelligence Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, Lisa

2009-05-01

Over the past several decades, physicists have made seminal contributions to technological capabilities that have enabled the U.S. intelligence community to provide unexpected and unparalleled information to our nation's decision makers and help dispel the cloud of uncertainty they face in dealing with crises and challenges around the world. As we look to the future, we recognize that the ever-quickening pace of changes in the world and the threats we must confront demand continued innovation and improvement in the capabilities needed to provide the information on which our leaders depend. This talk will focus on some of the major technological challenges that the intelligence community faces in the coming years, and the many ways that physicists can help to overcome those challenges. The potential impact of physicists on the future capabilities of the US intelligence community is huge. In addition to the more obvious and direct impact through research in areas ranging from novel sensors to quantum information science, the unique approach physicists bring to a problem can also have an indirect but important effect by influencing how challenges in areas ranging from cybersecurity to advanced analytics are approached and solved. Several examples will be given.

Taxonomy of Challenges for Digital Forensics.

PubMed

Karie, Nickson M; Venter, Hein S

2015-07-01

Since its inception, over a decade ago, the field of digital forensics has faced numerous challenges. Despite different researchers and digital forensic practitioners having studied and analysed various known digital forensic challenges, as of 2013, there still exists a need for a formal classification of these challenges. This article therefore reviews existing research literature and highlights the various challenges that digital forensics has faced for the last 10 years. In conducting this research study, however, it was difficult for the authors to review all the existing research literature in the digital forensic domain; hence, sampling and randomization techniques were employed to facilitate the review of the gathered literature. Taxonomy of the various challenges is subsequently proposed in this paper based on our review of the literature. The taxonomy classifies the large number of digital forensic challenges into four well-defined and easily understood categories. The proposed taxonomy can be useful, for example, in future developments of automated digital forensic tools by explicitly describing processes and procedures that focus on addressing specific challenges identified in this paper. However, it should also be noted that the purpose of this paper was not to propose any solutions to the individual challenges that digital forensics face, but to serve as a survey of the state of the art of the research area. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Biometric Challenges for Future Deployments: A Study of the Impact of Geography, Climate, Culture, and Social Conditions on the Effective Collection of Biometrics

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

to iris or face recognition. In addition, breathing the dust is prevented with something covering the mouth , which will cause problems with face...headgear that “obscures the hair or hairline”. [58] One database of face images has images of people with and without scarves over their mouth . [59... Electronic Systems Magazine. Vol 19, Number 9, September 2004. [58] U.S. Department of State. How to Apply [for a Passport] in Person. [On-line

A Diamond in the Rough: Divining the Future of E-Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirshon, Arnold

2005-01-01

The challenges we face in the e-content environment are significant, and errors are costly. Our ability to divine the future is limited, but the prognostication diamond can help. We must examine not only those changes at the center of the diamond--that is, within higher education--but also those changes at the four connecting points of the…

Future Sex Educator Perceptions of Rural versus Urban Instruction: A Case for Community-Centered Sexual Health Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Christina L.; Jensen, Robin E.; Selzer King, Abigail

2014-01-01

Instructors of sexual health courses in rural areas face unique challenges as they are often forced to use school-based prevention curricula field-tested in urban areas. Research has yet to consider what future sex educators' regional expectations are for their profession and how those expectations might have an impact on the classroom. Drawing…

American Indian Millennium: Renewing Our Way of Life for Future Generations. Proceedings (Ithaca, New York, November 29-December 2, 2001).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barreiro, Jose, Ed.; Johnson, Tim, Ed.

2002-01-01

In November 2001, elders, youth, educators, culture bearers, and community members came together to speak from within their own experiences about the critical issues and challenges facing Native people in the 21st century and to envision the positive thinking required for future generations. This proceedings documents 34 oral presentations and…

"To Be or Not to Be:" School Libraries and the Future of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todd, Ross J.

2010-01-01

School libraries face a challenging future. Substantive claims are being made that they are no longer viable because of the access to vast quantities of information on the Internet and because they are costly infrastructures to maintain because of the increasing cost of print materials as well as the cost of personnel. Research show that students…

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At a luncheon during Space Congress Week, Michael Kostelnik, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, speaks to luncheon attendees about the future challenges the Agency faces. Held April 29-May 2, 2003, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., the Space Congress is an international conference that gathers attendees from the scientific community, the space industry workforce, educators and local supporting industries. This year's event commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center and the Centennial of Flight. The theme for the Space Congress was "Linking the Past to the Future: A Celebration of Space."

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At a luncheon during Space Congress Week, Michael Kostelnik, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, speaks to luncheon attendees about the future challenges the Agency faces. Held April 29-May 2, 2003, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., the Space Congress is an international conference that gathers attendees from the scientific community, the space industry workforce, educators and local supporting industries. This year's event commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center and the Centennial of Flight. The theme for the Space Congress was "Linking the Past to the Future: A Celebration of Space."

Insights from Parents about Caring for a Child with Birth Defects

PubMed Central

Lemacks, Jodi; Fowles, Kristin; Mateus, Amanda; Thomas, Kayte

2013-01-01

Birth defects affect 1 in 33 babies. Having a child with a birth defect impacts the whole family. Parents of children who have birth defects face unique challenges and desire to make life better for their kids. They also want to help to prevent birth defects in the future. Some of the challenges parents face involve communication with healthcare professionals, quality of life issues, creating awareness and advocating for research and funding, finding resources and support, and helping teens transition to appropriate, specialized adult care. This paper addresses these issues and their sub-issues, provides examples, and makes suggestions for improvement and research. PMID:23965922

The paradox of homeless youth pregnancy: a review of challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Begun, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Compared to their housed counterparts, homeless youth become pregnant at exceptionally high rates. Causes of such pregnancies are multifaceted, while a paradoxically high proportion of these pregnancies are intended. This review discusses causes and risk factors associated with homeless youth pregnancies, and notes experiences of pregnancy decision-making discord, challenges encountered during and following pregnancy, and difficulties faced by homeless youth when or if they become parents. Because homeless youth face a wide array of unique risks, future research would benefit from exploring alternative approaches to prevention to reduce pregnancies and improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes among this population.

The Future of Dental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simonsen, Richard J.

1994-01-01

The author, a representative of the American Dental Trade Association, identifies major challenges facing dental education in the areas of predoctoral dental education, postdoctoral dental education, and continuing dental education. Ten recommendations address preclinical and clinical courses, licensing examinations, mandatory continuing…

Models of Community Colleges in Mainland China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yi

2017-01-01

This chapter provides an overview of community colleges in mainland China, addressing briefly the recent history of community college development, defining these institutions, detailing various models with examples, and discussing challenges faced by these institutions and recommendations for future development.

Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.

PubMed

Gordon, T A C; Harding, H R; Clever, F K; Davidson, I K; Davison, W; Montgomery, D W; Weatherhead, R C; Windsor, F M; Armstrong, J D; Bardonnet, A; Bergman, E; Britton, J R; Côté, I M; D'agostino, D; Greenberg, L A; Harborne, A R; Kahilainen, K K; Metcalfe, N B; Mills, S C; Milner, N J; Mittermayer, F H; Montorio, L; Nedelec, S L; Prokkola, J M; Rutterford, L A; Salvanes, A G V; Simpson, S D; Vainikka, A; Pinnegar, J K; Santos, E M

2018-03-01

Populations of fishes provide valuable services for billions of people, but face diverse and interacting threats that jeopardize their sustainability. Human population growth and intensifying resource use for food, water, energy and goods are compromising fish populations through a variety of mechanisms, including overfishing, habitat degradation and declines in water quality. The important challenges raised by these issues have been recognized and have led to considerable advances over past decades in managing and mitigating threats to fishes worldwide. In this review, we identify the major threats faced by fish populations alongside recent advances that are helping to address these issues. There are very significant efforts worldwide directed towards ensuring a sustainable future for the world's fishes and fisheries and those who rely on them. Although considerable challenges remain, by drawing attention to successful mitigation of threats to fish and fisheries we hope to provide the encouragement and direction that will allow these challenges to be overcome in the future. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Future and outlook: Where are we, and where will the spatial information management in wildlife ecology be in 50 years from now? [Chapter 24

Treesearch

Samuel A. Cushman; Falk Huettmann

2010-01-01

In this final chapter we briefly look back over what we have attempted in this book, and then look toward the future to discuss the outlook for overcoming the challenges we face within our fields of ecological science and in the greater application of this knowledge to enhance the prospect for a sustainable future for the biosphere. Looking back, we have tried...

Key challenges in the development and implementation of telehealth projects.

PubMed

Joseph, Victor; West, Robert M; Shickle, Darren; Keen, Justin; Clamp, Susan

2011-01-01

A literature review was carried out to identify the key challenges in the implementation of telehealth. This was followed by a survey of organisations in England involved in telehealth projects in order to understand the challenges they faced. Ten of the 13 health or local authority organisations surveyed had telehealth projects and three were at the planning stage. The analysis revealed seven key challenges facing implementers of telehealth in England. Based on the findings from the literature review and the survey, a model was constructed and a checklist drawn up. The model contained the following elements: identifying issues, needs and partners; producing a strategy; securing funding; implementing changes; and monitoring and evaluating a telehealth project. The checklist was validated by using key informants from the organisations originally surveyed. The checklist may be useful to guide telehealth development and implementation in the future.

Does Educational Development Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knapper, Christopher

2016-01-01

This essay provides reflections on the growth and influence of educational development, and the changes in approaches to teaching in universities. It also identifies some areas in which educational development and developers face challenges for the future, including educational technology, leadership and resistance to change.

Deployment of sustainable fueling/charging systems at California highway safety roadside rest areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-12-01

The transportation and electricity sectors are facing the challenges of shifting toward a sustainable future. Building hydrogen : fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles and fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EV), and installing grid-level...

HIV Infection and Health Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiss, Robin; Hardy, Leslie M.

1990-01-01

Describes issues facing policymakers dealing with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Addresses six challenges for policymakers: (1) protecting people from discrimination; (2) designing testing and screening programs; (3) developing safe and effective antiviral drugs; (4) planning for future vaccine trials; (5) organizing and…

Behavioral medicine: a voyage to the future.

PubMed

Keefe, Francis J

2011-04-01

This paper discusses trends and future directions in behavioral medicine. It is divided into three sections. The first briefly reviews key developments in the history of behavioral medicine. The second section highlights trends and future directions in pain research and practice as a way of illustrating future directions for behavioral medicine. Consistent with the biopsychosocial model of pain, this section focuses on trends and future directions in three key areas: biological, psychological, and social. The third section describes recent Society of Behavioral Medicine initiatives designed to address some of the key challenges facing our field as we prepare for the future.

Adaptation and development of software simulation methodologies for cardiovascular engineering: present and future challenges from an end-user perspective

PubMed Central

Díaz-Zuccarini, V.; Narracott, A.J.; Burriesci, G.; Zervides, C.; Rafiroiu, D.; Jones, D.; Hose, D.R.; Lawford, P.V.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the use of diverse software tools in cardiovascular applications. These tools were primarily developed in the field of engineering and the applications presented push the boundaries of the software to address events related to venous and arterial valve closure, exploration of dynamic boundary conditions or the inclusion of multi-scale boundary conditions from protein to organ levels. The future of cardiovascular research and the challenges that modellers and clinicians face from validation to clinical uptake are discussed from an end-user perspective. PMID:19487202

Aerodynamics for Revolutionary Air Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sellers, William L., III; Singer, Bart A.; Leavitt, Laurence D.

2003-01-01

Aeronautics research has seriously declined partly because of the perception that it is a mature science and only incremental improvements are possible. Recent aeronautics roadmapping activities at NASA Langley paint a different picture of the future. Breakthroughs are still felt to be possible if we expand the current design space of today's vehicles and optimize the airspace and vehicles as a system. The paper describes some of the challenges that the aircraft and airline industry face. These challenges include political, technical and environmental issues. Examples of the opportunities and technologies that could provide a different vision for the future are discussed.

Tailored program evaluation: Past, present, future.

PubMed

Suggs, L Suzanne; Cowdery, Joan E; Carroll, Jennifer B

2006-11-01

This paper discusses measurement issues related to the evaluation of computer-tailored health behavior change programs. As the first generation of commercially available tailored products is utilized in health promotion programming, programmers and researchers are becoming aware of the unique challenges that the evaluation of these programs presents. A project is presented that used an online tailored health behavior assessment (HBA) in a worksite setting. Process and outcome evaluation methods are described and include the challenges faced, and strategies proposed and implemented, for meeting them. Implications for future research in tailored program development, implementation, and evaluation are also discussed.

Adaptation and development of software simulation methodologies for cardiovascular engineering: present and future challenges from an end-user perspective.

PubMed

Díaz-Zuccarini, V; Narracott, A J; Burriesci, G; Zervides, C; Rafiroiu, D; Jones, D; Hose, D R; Lawford, P V

2009-07-13

This paper describes the use of diverse software tools in cardiovascular applications. These tools were primarily developed in the field of engineering and the applications presented push the boundaries of the software to address events related to venous and arterial valve closure, exploration of dynamic boundary conditions or the inclusion of multi-scale boundary conditions from protein to organ levels. The future of cardiovascular research and the challenges that modellers and clinicians face from validation to clinical uptake are discussed from an end-user perspective.

Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua and Aura Space Weather Effects on Operational Collision Avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guit, Bill

2017-01-01

This presentation will describe recent EOS Aqua and Aura operational collision avoidance experience during periods of solar and geomagnetic storm activity. It will highlight challenges faced by the operations team during short-notice, high-risk predicted close approaches. The presentation will highlight the evolution of the operational collision avoidance process for the EOS Aqua and Aura missions. The presentation will highlight operational challenges that have occurred, process improvements that have been implemented and identify potential future challenges.

The next generation of command post computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Ross D.; Lieb, Aaron J.; Samuel, Jason M.; Burger, Mitchell A.

2015-05-01

The future of command post computing demands an innovative new solution to address a variety of challenging operational needs. The Command Post of the Future is the Army's primary command and control decision support system, providing situational awareness and collaborative tools for tactical decision making, planning, and execution management from Corps to Company level. However, as the U.S. Army moves towards a lightweight, fully networked battalion, disconnected operations, thin client architecture and mobile computing become increasingly essential. The Command Post of the Future is not designed to support these challenges in the coming decade. Therefore, research into a hybrid blend of technologies is in progress to address these issues. This research focuses on a new command and control system utilizing the rich collaboration framework afforded by Command Post of the Future coupled with a new user interface consisting of a variety of innovative workspace designs. This new system is called Tactical Applications. This paper details a brief history of command post computing, presents the challenges facing the modern Army, and explores the concepts under consideration for Tactical Applications that meet these challenges in a variety of innovative ways.

Distance Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ASPBAE Courier, 1984

1984-01-01

This publication is devoted to distance education. "The Future of Distance Teaching Universities in a Worldwide Perspectives" (John S. Daniel) examines challenges likely to face the various countries and regions of the world in the next decade. "An Australian University's Approach to Distance Education--Formal and Non-Formal"…

The future of PanDA in ATLAS distributed computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De, K.; Klimentov, A.; Maeno, T.; Nilsson, P.; Oleynik, D.; Panitkin, S.; Petrosyan, A.; Schovancova, J.; Vaniachine, A.; Wenaus, T.

2015-12-01

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) face unprecedented computing challenges. Heterogeneous resources are distributed worldwide at hundreds of sites, thousands of physicists analyse the data remotely, the volume of processed data is beyond the exabyte scale, while data processing requires more than a few billion hours of computing usage per year. The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system was developed to meet the scale and complexity of LHC distributed computing for the ATLAS experiment. In the process, the old batch job paradigm of locally managed computing in HEP was discarded in favour of a far more automated, flexible and scalable model. The success of PanDA in ATLAS is leading to widespread adoption and testing by other experiments. PanDA is the first exascale workload management system in HEP, already operating at more than a million computing jobs per day, and processing over an exabyte of data in 2013. There are many new challenges that PanDA will face in the near future, in addition to new challenges of scale, heterogeneity and increasing user base. PanDA will need to handle rapidly changing computing infrastructure, will require factorization of code for easier deployment, will need to incorporate additional information sources including network metrics in decision making, be able to control network circuits, handle dynamically sized workload processing, provide improved visualization, and face many other challenges. In this talk we will focus on the new features, planned or recently implemented, that are relevant to the next decade of distributed computing workload management using PanDA.

Medical education in an era of health-care reform.

PubMed

Cohen, Jordan J

2011-01-01

Medical educators are facing a challenge today that is quite analogous to that addressed by Abraham Flexner, namely how to transform a legacy system of education that is no longer preparing future physicians adequately to meet contemporary expectations and responsibilities. In facing up this challenge, however, today's educators not only must equip students to deal effectively with the rapidly changing paradigms in health care and medical practice, they also must adapt their curricula and pedagogical methods to the demanding new paradigms of medical education. Their success in addressing these dual imperatives will determine whether the educational transformations currently underway will have as momentous an effect on the public's health as did those stimulated by Flexner a century ago.

[Medico-social aspects of AIDS].

PubMed

Rabitti, G; Stati, A; Del Bove Orlandi, G; Gallese, A

1992-01-01

The AIDS crisis has brought us face to face with complex medical and social challenges unparalleled in this century. The magnitude of this tragic epidemic is measured not only in the cost in human lives, but also the enormous financial burdens of health care and lost productivity which each and every one of us, as well as future generations, will ultimately bear. This article presents an opportunity to explore a variety of health, social, economic, juridical and working issues of AIDS.

The role of structural dynamics in the design and operations of space systems: The history, the lessons, the technical challenges of the future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, Robert S.

1994-01-01

Structural dynamics and its auxiliary fields are the most progressive and challenging areas space system engineering design and operations face. Aerospace systems are dependent on structural dynamicists for their success. Past experiences (history) are colored with many dynamic issues, some producing ground or flight test failures. The innovation and creativity that was brought to these issues and problems are the aura from the past that lights the path to the future. Using this illumination to guide understanding of the dynamic phenomena and designing for its potential occurrence are the keys to successful space systems. Our great paradox, or challenge, is how we remain in depth specialists, yet become generalists to the degree that we make good team members and set the right priorities. This paper will deal with how we performed with acclaim in the past, the basic characteristics of structural dynamics (loads cycle, for example), and the challenges of the future.

Medical oncology future plan of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology: challenges and future needs of the Spanish oncologists.

PubMed

Rivera, F; Andres, R; Felip, E; Garcia-Campelo, R; Lianes, P; Llombart, A; Piera, J M; Puente, J; Rodriguez, C A; Vera, R; Virizuela, J A; Martin, M; Garrido, P

2017-04-01

The SEOM Future Plan is aimed at identifying the main challenges, trends and needs of the medical oncology speciality over the next years, including potential oncologist workforce shortages, and proposing recommendations to overcome them. The estimations of the required medical oncologists workforce are based on an updated Medical Oncologist Register in Spain, Medical Oncology Departments activity data, dedication times and projected cancer incidence. Challenges, needs and future recommendations were drawn from an opinion survey and an advisory board. A shortage of 211 FTE medical oncologist specialists has been established. To maintain an optimal ratio of 158 new cases/FTE, medical oncology workforce should reach 1881 FTE by 2035. Main recommendations to face the growing demand and complexity of oncology services include a yearly growth of 2.5% of medical oncologist's workforce until 2035, and development and application of more accurate quality indicators for cancer care and health outcomes measure.

The Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe): bringing structure to biology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Velankar, Sameer; Kleywegt, Gerard J., E-mail: gerard@ebi.ac.uk

2011-04-01

Some future challenges for the PDB and its guardians are discussed and current and future activities in structural bioinformatics at the Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) are described. The Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) is the European partner in the Worldwide PDB and as such handles depositions of X-ray, NMR and EM data and structure models. PDBe also provides advanced bioinformatics services based on data from the PDB and related resources. Some of the challenges facing the PDB and its guardians are discussed, as well as some of the areas on which PDBe activities will focus in themore » future (advanced services, ligands, integration, validation and experimental data). Finally, some recent developments at PDBe are described.« less

Planetary Cartography - Activities and Current Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nass, Andrea; Di, Kaichang; Elgner, Stephan; van Gasselt, Stephan; Hare, Trent; Hargitai, Henrik; Karachevtseva, Irina; Kereszturi, Akos; Kersten, Elke; Kokhanov, Alexander; Manaud, Nicolas; Roatsch, Thomas; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Skinner, James, Jr.; Wählisch, Marita

2018-05-01

Maps are one of the most important tools for communicating geospatial information between producers and receivers. Geospatial data, tools, contributions in geospatial sciences, and the communication of information and transmission of knowledge are matter of ongoing cartographic research. This applies to all topics and objects located on Earth or on any other body in our Solar System. In planetary science, cartography and mapping have a history dating back to the roots of telescopic space exploration and are now facing new technological and organizational challenges with the rise of new missions, new global initiatives, organizations and opening research markets. The focus of this contribution is to introduce the community to the field of planetary cartography and its historic foundation, to highlight some of the organizations involved and to emphasize challenges that Planetary Cartography has to face today and in the near future.

[Research in space environmental medicine: review and future].

PubMed

Yu, Xue-jun; Qi, Zhang-nian; Chang, Shao-yong; Liang, Hong; Liu, Hong-tao

2003-01-01

The investigation progress of space environmental medicine in China is summarized. Then, the application of space environmental medicine to formulating medical requirements for the crew module design, and performing medical evaluation for Shenzhou spaceship are addressed. Additionally, the medical and engineering means for the protection from harmful agents during spaceflight is illustrated. Finally, the objective and challenge of space environment medicine faced in the future research in China are presented.

Documentary Linguistics: Methodological Challenges and Innovatory Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thieberger, Nick

2016-01-01

Seeing the present situation, I think that, at the very least, it behooves us as scientists and as human beings to work responsibly both for the future of our science and for the future of our languages, not so much for reward according to the fashion of the day, but for the sake of posterity. What we need to do now stares us in the face. If we do…

The Importance of Studying Past Extreme Floods to Prepare for Uncertain Future Extremes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burges, S. J.

2016-12-01

Hoyt and Langbein, 1955 in their book `Floods' wrote: " ..meteorologic and hydrologic conditions will combine to produce superfloods of unprecedented magnitude. We have every reason to believe that in most rivers past floods may not be an accurate measure of ultimate flood potentialities. It is this superflood with which we are always most concerned". I provide several examples to offer some historical perspective on assessing extreme floods. In one example, flooding in the Miami Valley, OH in 1913 claimed 350 lives. The engineering and socio-economic challenges facing the Morgan Engineering Co in how to mitigate against future flood damage and loss of life when limited information was available provide guidance about ways to face an uncertain hydroclimate future, particularly one of a changed climate. A second example forces us to examine mixed flood populations and illustrates the huge uncertainty in assigning flood magnitude and exceedance probability to extreme floods in such cases. There is large uncertainty in flood frequency estimates; knowledge of the total flood hydrograph, not the peak flood flow rate alone, is what is needed for hazard mitigation assessment or design. Some challenges in estimating the complete flood hydrograph in an uncertain future climate, including demands on hydrologic models and their inputs, are addressed.

Avoiding Road-Kill on the Information Highway.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcus, Stephen

1994-01-01

Describes the available computer network resources and some of the relevant terms, practices, and notions that are quickly evolving with the growth of the so-called information superhighway. Covers the historical trends and considers future challenges to be faced in view of changing technologies. (HB)

The future of artisanal fishing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pauly, Daniel

2018-04-01

Written by Kevin Bailey, a marine fisheries biologist, Fishing Lessons is a small book with an urgent plea for readers, seafood consumers, and society in general to pay more attention to the challenges faced by artisanal fisheries, where much of the fish used for human consumption is caught.

Non-Renewal of Probationary Teachers: Negative Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nixon, Andy; Packard, Abbot; Douvanis, Gus

2010-01-01

For students, quality teaching means the difference between a bright or potentially dim future. School principals face several challenges that work against recommending contract non-renewal for incompetent teachers. This study investigates the reasons that school principals recommend contract non-renewal of probationary teachers. Targeted…

Tree fruit orchard of the future: An overview

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mechanization has been prevailing in row crops over the past decades, and now gradually in some fruit crops, with integration of innovative computers, robotics, mechanics, and precision orchard management. This talk will give an overview of challenges facing commercial fruit industries and needs of ...

Challenges in Elevated CO2 Experiments on Forests

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Current forest Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments are reaching completion. It is the time to define the scientific goals and priorities of future experimental facilities. The overarching issues are three-fold: first, which are the most urgent scientific questions and which technological aspe...

Supporting Greenhouse Gas Management Strategies with Observations and Analysis - Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, J. H.; Tarasova, O. A.

2014-12-01

Climate-change challenges facing society in the 21st century require an improved understanding of the global carbon-cycle and of the impacts and feedbacks of past, present, and future emissions of carbon-cycle gases. Global society faces a major challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to virtually zero, most notably those of CO2, while at the same time facing variable and potentially overwhelming Earth System feedbacks. How it goes about this will depend upon the nature of impending international agreements, national laws, regional strategies, and social and economic forces. The challenge to those making observations to support, inform, or verify these reduction efforts, or to address potential Earth System feedbacks, lies in harmonizing a diverse array of observations and observing systems. Doing so is not trivial. Providing coherent, regional-scale information from these observations also requires improved modelling and ensemble reanalysis, but in the end such information must be relevant and reasonably certain. The challenge to us is to ensure a globally coherent observing and analysis system to supply the information that society will need to succeed. Policy-makers, scientists, government agencies, and businesses will need the best information available for decision-making and any observing and analysis system ultimately must be able to provide a coherent story over decades.

Earth BioGenome Project: Sequencing life for the future of life.

PubMed

Lewin, Harris A; Robinson, Gene E; Kress, W John; Baker, William J; Coddington, Jonathan; Crandall, Keith A; Durbin, Richard; Edwards, Scott V; Forest, Félix; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Goldstein, Melissa M; Grigoriev, Igor V; Hackett, Kevin J; Haussler, David; Jarvis, Erich D; Johnson, Warren E; Patrinos, Aristides; Richards, Stephen; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos; van Sluys, Marie-Anne; Soltis, Pamela S; Xu, Xun; Yang, Huanming; Zhang, Guojie

2018-04-24

Increasing our understanding of Earth's biodiversity and responsibly stewarding its resources are among the most crucial scientific and social challenges of the new millennium. These challenges require fundamental new knowledge of the organization, evolution, functions, and interactions among millions of the planet's organisms. Herein, we present a perspective on the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a moonshot for biology that aims to sequence, catalog, and characterize the genomes of all of Earth's eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of 10 years. The outcomes of the EBP will inform a broad range of major issues facing humanity, such as the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems, and the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services. We describe hurdles that the project faces, including data-sharing policies that ensure a permanent, freely available resource for future scientific discovery while respecting access and benefit sharing guidelines of the Nagoya Protocol. We also describe scientific and organizational challenges in executing such an ambitious project, and the structure proposed to achieve the project's goals. The far-reaching potential benefits of creating an open digital repository of genomic information for life on Earth can be realized only by a coordinated international effort.

Evaluation of the Progress and Challenges facing the Ponseti Method Program in Vietnam

PubMed Central

Wu, Vincent; Nguyen, Michelle; Nhi, Huynh Manh; Thanh, Do Van; Oprescu, Florin; Cook, Thomas; Morcuende, Jose A.

2012-01-01

Introduction In 2003, an ICRC-SFD Ponseti program was introduced in southern Vietnam. Additional programs were introduced by the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation and independently by physicians trained at our center. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact, progress and challenges facing Ponseti practitioners and patients' family members in Vietnam. In addition, web-conferencing (Ponseti Virtual Forum) for continued medical education in the method was also assessed. Methods Multiple questionnaires were developed to conduct face-to-face practitioner interviews, focus group interviews, and parental interviews. Observation was done at multiple site clinics to determine or confirm additional challenges faced by practitioners. Web conferencing was introduced to sites in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City. Results The number of clubfoot patients treated with the Ponseti method has increased over time with approximately 1,252 infants treated between 2003 and 2010. Specific challenges were identified relating to communication, networking, distance and transportation, and finances for both practitioners and parents. The PVF was not only found to facilitate rapid, relevant dissemination of medical knowledge – thus increasing physician and patient satisfaction – but it may also be found to act as an interface in which medical culture, insight, and compassion are shared benefiting all virtual forum participants. Conclusion The identified progress and challenges mirrored that of similar studies done in other countries with several factors affecting progress. Focusing on improving communication channels and networking while working with the ministry of health may improve the facilitation of the Ponseti method in Vietnam. Further implementation and evaluation of the PVF may act as a guide for current and future programs in Vietnam or other countries. PMID:23576933

Education for an Aging Planet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingman, Stan; Amin, Iftekhar; Clarke, Egerton; Brune, Kendall

2010-01-01

As low income societies experience rapid aging of their populations, they face major challenges in developing educational policies to prepare their workforce for the future. We review modest efforts undertaken to assist colleagues in three societies: Mexico, China, and Jamaica. Graduate education in gerontology has an important opportunity to…

Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larsen-Freeman, Diane

2000-01-01

Discusses the second language acquisition (SLA) process and the differential success of second language learners. Examines the fundamental challenges that this characterization faces, and highlights the contributions SLA is capable of in the coming decade. Offers topics for a training and development of curriculum for future applied linguists from…

Coping with Computing Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breslin, Richard D.

Elements of computing success of Iona College, the challenges it currently faces, and the strategies conceived to cope with future computing needs are discussed. The college has mandated computer literacy for students and offers nine degrees in the computerized information system/management information system areas. Since planning is needed in…

The Comprehensive Mission of Rural Community Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavan, John

1995-01-01

Reviews the comprehensive mission of rural community colleges, arguing that they are major elements in the life of their service areas and must meet community needs. Describes the role of rural college presidents and the importance of environmental scanning. Reviews challenges facing rural institutions in the future. (MAB)

Legal Issues in Education Practice: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century. Papers [of the] Education Law Association Annual Conference (46th, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9-11, 2000). Topic Outlines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Law Association, Dayton, OH.

This document contains the conference papers of the Education Law Association's 2000 conference. The papers examine school prayer; student speech under the Equal Access Act; the control of student behavior and expression; legal challenges facing the charter-school movement, the future of special-education law, school desegregation decrees, and…

Achievements and Challenges in the Science of Space Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koskinen, Hannu E. J.; Baker, Daniel N.; Balogh, André; Gombosi, Tamas; Veronig, Astrid; von Steiger, Rudolf

2017-11-01

In June 2016 a group of 40 space weather scientists attended the workshop on Scientific Foundations of Space Weather at the International Space Science Institute in Bern. In this lead article to the volume based on the talks and discussions during the workshop we review some of main past achievements in the field and outline some of the challenges that the science of space weather is facing today and in the future.

Smart wearable systems: current status and future challenges.

PubMed

Chan, Marie; Estève, Daniel; Fourniols, Jean-Yves; Escriba, Christophe; Campo, Eric

2012-11-01

Extensive efforts have been made in both academia and industry in the research and development of smart wearable systems (SWS) for health monitoring (HM). Primarily influenced by skyrocketing healthcare costs and supported by recent technological advances in micro- and nanotechnologies, miniaturisation of sensors, and smart fabrics, the continuous advances in SWS will progressively change the landscape of healthcare by allowing individual management and continuous monitoring of a patient's health status. Consisting of various components and devices, ranging from sensors and actuators to multimedia devices, these systems support complex healthcare applications and enable low-cost wearable, non-invasive alternatives for continuous 24-h monitoring of health, activity, mobility, and mental status, both indoors and outdoors. Our objective has been to examine the current research in wearable to serve as references for researchers and provide perspectives for future research. Herein, we review the current research and development of and the challenges facing SWS for HM, focusing on multi-parameter physiological sensor systems and activity and mobility measurement system designs that reliably measure mobility or vital signs and integrate real-time decision support processing for disease prevention, symptom detection, and diagnosis. For this literature review, we have chosen specific selection criteria to include papers in which wearable systems or devices are covered. We describe the state of the art in SWS and provide a survey of recent implementations of wearable health-care systems. We describe current issues, challenges, and prospects of SWS. We conclude by identifying the future challenges facing SWS for HM. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ask the experts: automation: part I.

PubMed

Allinson, John L; Blick, Kenneth E; Cohen, Lucinda; Higton, David; Li, Ming

2013-08-01

Bioanalysis invited a selection of leading researchers to express their views on automation in the bioanalytical laboratory. The topics discussed include the challenges that the modern bioanalyst faces when integrating automation into existing drug-development processes, the impact of automation and how they envision the modern bioanalytical laboratory changing in the near future. Their enlightening responses provide a valuable insight into the impact of automation and the future of the constantly evolving bioanalytical laboratory.

[Systems epidemiology].

PubMed

Huang, T; Li, L M

2018-05-10

The era of medical big data, translational medicine and precision medicine brings new opportunities for the study of etiology of chronic complex diseases. How to implement evidence-based medicine, translational medicine and precision medicine are the challenges we are facing. Systems epidemiology, a new field of epidemiology, combines medical big data with system biology and examines the statistical model of disease risk, the future risk simulation and prediction using the data at molecular, cellular, population, social and ecological levels. Due to the diversity and complexity of big data sources, the development of study design and analytic methods of systems epidemiology face new challenges and opportunities. This paper summarizes the theoretical basis, concept, objectives, significances, research design and analytic methods of systems epidemiology and its application in the field of public health.

Iterative ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dietze, Michael C.; Fox, Andrew; Betancourt, Julio L.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Keitt, Tim H.; Kenney, Melissa; Laney, Christine; Larsen, Laurel; Loescher, Henry W.; Lunch, Claire; Pijanowski, Bryan; Randerson, James T.; Read, Emily; Tredennick, Andrew T.; Weathers, Kathleen; White, Ethan P.

2016-01-01

A fundamental environmental challenge facing humanity in the 21st century and beyond is predicting the impacts of global environmental change. This challenge is complicated by the fact that we live on a non-stationary, unreplicated planet that is rapidly moving outside the envelope of natural variability into an historical non-analog world. In other words, while the past helps inform us about how the world has worked, it may no longer be the relevant frame of reference for management, conservation, and sustainability. In this future world the two questions at the foundation of sustainability are “How are ecosystems and the services they provide going to change in the future?” and “How do human decisions affect this trajectory?” These are, at their heart, questions about ecological forecasting.

Adaptive Management: From More Talk to Real Action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Byron K.; Brown, Eleanor D.

2014-02-01

The challenges currently facing resource managers are large-scale and complex, and demand new approaches to balance development and conservation goals. One approach that shows considerable promise for addressing these challenges is adaptive management, which by now is broadly seen as a natural, intuitive, and potentially effective way to address decision-making in the face of uncertainties. Yet the concept of adaptive management continues to evolve, and its record of success remains limited. In this article, we present an operational framework for adaptive decision-making, and describe the challenges and opportunities in applying it to real-world problems. We discuss the key elements required for adaptive decision-making, and their integration into an iterative process that highlights and distinguishes technical and social learning. We illustrate the elements and processes of the framework with some successful on-the-ground examples of natural resource management. Finally, we address some of the difficulties in applying learning-based management, and finish with a discussion of future directions and strategic challenges.

Nanomaterials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells; Materials Challenges Facing Electrical Energy Storate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gopal Rao, MRS Web-Editor; Yury Gogotsi, Drexel University; Karen Swider-Lyons, Naval Research Laboratory

Symposium T: Nanomaterials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are under intense investigation worldwide for applications ranging from transportation to portable power. The purpose of this seminar is to focus on the nanomaterials and nanostructures inherent to polymer fuel cells. Symposium topics will range from high-activity cathode and anode catalysts, to theory and new analytical methods. Symposium U: Materials Challenges Facing Electrical Energy Storage Electricity, which can be generated in a variety of ways, offers a great potential for meeting future energy demands as a clean and efficient energy source. However, the use ofmore » electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind or sunlight, requires efficient electrical energy storage. This symposium will cover the latest material developments for batteries, advanced capacitors, and related technologies, with a focus on new or emerging materials science challenges.« less

Fairness in Assessment of English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abedi, Jamal; Levine, Harold G.

2013-01-01

English language learners (ELLs) face a challenging academic future in learning a new language while simultaneously mastering content in the language they may be struggling to learn. Assessment plays an extremely important role in the academic careers of ELL students, perhaps more so than for native speakers of English. Major changes and…

Libya After Qaddafi: Lessons and Implications for the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors . All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer...8 The Need for Far-Reaching Security Sector Reform...World Bank , International Monetary Fund, IHS, Inter- national Foundation for Electoral Systems, Dartmouth College, the National Endowment for

Opportunity Texas[TM]: Learn. Earn. Save.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2010

2010-01-01

Texas faces numerous challenges but also has abundant opportunities to build the middle class and increase prosperity. Unfortunately, too many Texans are on the sideline, lacking access to opportunities to learn, earn, and save to secure a more prosperous future for themselves and their families. To create jobs, increase income, and promote…

Exploring the Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Laura

2009-01-01

Throughout life, people are faced with the challenge of defining all aspects of their being. Definitions of self can emerge by taking time to contemplate the meaning that saturates thoughts and actions. This process is essential for the unfolding of the future so a person does not become someone who wanders aimlessly through life. Self-awareness…

Internet/Web-based administration of benefits.

PubMed

Vitiello, J

2001-09-01

Most funds will face the challenge of deploying at least some Web-based functionality in the near future, if they have not already done so. Clear objectives and careful planning will help ensure success. Issues that must be considered include support requirements, security concerns, functional business objectives, and employer and member Web access.

Transforming the Dysfunctional Academic Department: Dialoguing the Disabling Past, Collaborating Positivity for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Mark E.

2013-01-01

Leaders new to academic departments that possess dysfunctional histories due to ineffective "management" face many difficulties in the transformation of department dynamics. Indeed, the challenge for transformational department leaders is fostering positive and proactive attitudes among faculty where previous management was hostile,…

Higher Expectations: Essays on the Future of Postsecondary Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Governors' Association, Washington, DC. Center for Best Practices.

The essays in this collection were commissioned to launch an initiative focusing on state policies to respond to the challenges facing higher education in the new century. The initiative will engage governors and their key advisors in three priorities: increasing student access, learning, and degree attainment; building and sustaining seamless…

NAEYC Accreditation: The First Decade of NAEYC Accreditation: Growth and Impact on the Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bredekamp, Sue; Glowacki, Stephanie

1996-01-01

Describes development of NAEYC accreditation and offers a description of the process. Highlights the effects of accreditation and discusses its future. Notes that accreditation provides opportunities and motivation for valuable professional development, and that quality control is the greatest challenge faced by accreditation efforts. Notes…

Future Directions: Conclusion and Sources for Further Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Patrice A.; Nichols, Scott G.

1980-01-01

The challenges and concerns facing annual fund directors in coming years and resources for further information are offered. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which sponsors conferences and workshops and publishes materials related to annual giving, is cited as a good source for information. (MLW)

Reflecting: Perspectives on the College Presidency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Stephen J.

2014-01-01

This article provides Stephen J. Nelson's perspectives on challenges faced by college presidents today, how and when to use the bully pulpit of the college presidency, and advice for future college presidents. Nelson recently wrote his fifth book about college presidents, "College Presidents Reflect: Life in and out of the Ivory…

Children as Global Citizens: A Socratic Approach to Teaching Character

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helterbran, Valeri R.; Strahler, Brianna R.

2013-01-01

Educators around the world are being challenged to promote positive global citizenship skills in the face of daily news concerning widespread discord, dissonance, injustice, and corruption. This article describes a Socratic approach to developing global citizenship. Recognizing the central role of teachers in educating future generations of a…

Using the Internet for B2B Activities: A Review and Future Directions for Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gattiker, Urs E.; Perlusz, Stefano; Bohmann, Kristoffer

2000-01-01

Illustrates some of the challenges that electronic commerce practitioners and researchers face, focusing on business to business (B2B) transactions. Highlights include a conceptual framework of Web user behavior; purchasing context; socio-demographic characteristics; cultural factors; economic factors; attitudes toward information technology;…

Enabling Substantive Reform in the Preparation of School Leaders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Michelle D.; Petersen, George J.

2002-01-01

Explores some of the challenges facing educational leadership from the position of university educational-leadership preparation programs. Examines the current and future context of leadership preparation through the metaphor of the sports league, in which each franchise is not independent, but interdependent. (Contains 1 figure and 55…

The challenge of salinity: Hope for the future with new avocado rootstocks

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

California avocado growers face diminishing returns in areas where Phytophthora root rot and saline irrigation water predominate. To help find answers to this production issue, a research trial was planted at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in 2011. The goal of this trial was to determ...

American Universities in a Global Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clotfelter, Charles T., Ed.

2010-01-01

In higher education, the United States is the preeminent global leader, dominating the list of the world's top research universities. But there are signs that America's position of global leadership will face challenges in the future, as it has in other realms of international competition. "American Universities in a Global Market"…

Climate change response framework overview: Chapter 1

Treesearch

Chris Swanston; Maria Janowiak; Patricia Butler

2012-01-01

Managers currently face the immense challenge of anticipating the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems and then developing and applying management responses for adapting forests to future conditions. The Climate Change Response Framework (CCRF) is a highly collaborative approach to helping land managers understand the potential effects of climate change on...

The Future Economic Challenges for the Liberal Arts College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPherson, Michael S.; Schapiro, Morton Owen

1999-01-01

Liberal arts colleges face a public skeptical about rising college costs, and pricing policies that seem unfairly "redistributive;" an education economy in which new information technologies are transforming how and why people need schooling; and a competitive environment that favors resource-wasting maneuvers to gain tactical advantage, rather…

Vote. Election Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield.

This election-education program is designed to help develop an informed electorate and to instill in future voters an appreciation of the importance of the right to vote. It provides a framework for discussions of the electoral process and gives students an opportunity to face the responsibilities and challenges associated with citizenship and…

Preparation of biobased sponges from un-tanned hides

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

One of our research endeavors to address ongoing challenges faced by the U.S. hide and leather industries is to develop innovative uses and novel biobased products from hides to improve prospective markets and to secure a viable future for hides and leather industries. We had previously investigate...

Organisational Structure & Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2006

2006-01-01

Structural change is seen as a way to meet the challenges of the future that face many organisations. While some writers agree that broad-ranging structural change may not always transform an organisation or enhance its performance, others claim that innovation will be a major source of competitive advantage to organisations, particularly when…

Hopeful Thinking: Conceptualizing a Future beyond Domestic Abuse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zombil, Henri

2017-01-01

Domestic violence is a continuing public health problem. Immigrant women facing domestic violence have additional challenges in dealing with domestic violence and accessing services. Hopeful thinking has been identified as a strategy for intervening and surviving beyond domestic violence. The purpose of this multiple descriptive case study was to…

Formalising the Future of Languages Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Denis

2004-01-01

Education is the right, but not the reality, of all. Various international trends are identified to set the scene for languages education. Challenges facing the teaching profession--in the contexts of teachers, students, teacher training, conditions and the curriculum--are addressed by effective strategies. Policy is prioritised, as it is in this…

Conceptualizing Holistic Community Resilience to Climate Events: Foundation for a Climate Resilience Screening Index

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of resilience has been evolving over the past decade as a way to address the current and future challenges nations, states, and cities face from a changing climate. Understanding how the environment (natural and built), climate event risk, societal interactions, and g...

THE POTENTIAL MID-TERM ROLE OF NUCLEAR POWER IN THE UNITED STATES: A SCENARIO ANALYSIS USING MARKAL

EPA Science Inventory

With all nations facing enormous challenges related to energy security, sustainability and environmental quality, nuclear power is likely to play an increasingly important role in the future. In particular, the life-cycle emissions of criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG...

E-hancing the Master of Business Administration (MBA) Managerial Accounting Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zabriskie, Fern H.; McNabb, David E.

2007-01-01

Professional education, including managerial accounting education, at independent colleges and universities faces two challenges: (a) meeting shifting demand with static or declining resources and (b) ensuring that graduates gain the technological knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in their future careers. For many schools, the…

Preparing Future Teachers and Doctoral-Level Leaders in Deaf Education: Meeting the Challenge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Jean F.; Covell, John A.

2007-01-01

The deaf education profession faces a critical juncture. First, the 2006 leadership crisis that swept deaf education's flagship institution--Gallaudet University--will propel professionals to think deeply about promoting diversity, equity, and access in deaf education teacher and leadership preparation programs. Second, personnel shortages require…

Monitoring and verification R&D

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pilat, Joseph F; Budlong - Sylvester, Kory W; Fearey, Bryan L

2011-01-01

The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) report outlined the Administration's approach to promoting the agenda put forward by President Obama in Prague on April 5, 2009. The NPR calls for a national monitoring and verification R&D program to meet future challenges arising from the Administration's nonproliferation, arms control and disarmament agenda. Verification of a follow-on to New START could have to address warheads and possibly components along with delivery capabilities. Deeper cuts and disarmament would need to address all of these elements along with nuclear weapon testing, nuclear material and weapon production facilities, virtual capabilities from old weapon and existingmore » energy programs and undeclared capabilities. We only know how to address some elements of these challenges today, and the requirements may be more rigorous in the context of deeper cuts as well as disarmament. Moreover, there is a critical need for multiple options to sensitive problems and to address other challenges. There will be other verification challenges in a world of deeper cuts and disarmament, some of which we are already facing. At some point, if the reductions process is progressing, uncertainties about past nuclear materials and weapons production will have to be addressed. IAEA safeguards will need to continue to evolve to meet current and future challenges, and to take advantage of new technologies and approaches. Transparency/verification of nuclear and dual-use exports will also have to be addressed, and there will be a need to make nonproliferation measures more watertight and transparent. In this context, and recognizing we will face all of these challenges even if disarmament is not achieved, this paper will explore possible agreements and arrangements; verification challenges; gaps in monitoring and verification technologies and approaches; and the R&D required to address these gaps and other monitoring and verification challenges.« less

An introduction to global carbon cycle management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sundquist, Eric T.; Ackerman, Katherine V.; Parker, Lauren; Huntzinger, Deborah N.

2009-01-01

Past and current human activities have fundamentally altered the global carbon cycle. Potential future efforts to control atmospheric CO2 will also involve significant changes in the global carbon cycle. Carbon cycle scientists and engineers now face not only the difficulties of recording and understanding past and present changes but also the challenge of providing information and tools for new management strategies that are responsive to societal needs. The challenge is nothing less than managing the global carbon cycle.

Sustainable Development and Energy Geotechnology Potential Roles for Geotechnical Engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

FragaszyProgram Dire, Dr. R. J.; Santamarina, Carlos; Espinoza, N.

2011-01-01

The world is facing unprecedented challenges related to energy resources, global climate change, material use, and waste generation. Failure to address these challenges will inhibit the growth of the developing world and will negatively impact the standard of living and security of future generations in all nations. The solutions to these challenges will require multidisciplinary research across the social and physical sciences and engineering. Although perhaps not always recognized, geotechnical engineering expertise is critical to the solution of many energy and sustainability-related problems. Hence, geotechnical engineers and academicians have opportunity and responsibility to contribute to the solution of these worldwidemore » problems. Research will need to be extended to non-standard issues such as thermal properties of soils; sediment and rock response to extreme conditions and at very long time scales; coupled hydro-chemo-thermo-bio-mechanical processes; positive feedback systems; the development of discontinuities; biological modification of soil properties; spatial variability; and emergent phenomena. Clearly, the challenges facing geotechnical engineering in the future will require a much broader knowledge base than our traditional educational programs provide. The geotechnical engineering curricula, from undergraduate education through continuing professional education, must address the changing needs of a profession that will increasingly be engaged in alternative/renewable energy production; energy efficiency; sustainable design, enhanced and more efficient use of natural resources, waste management, and underground utilization.« less

Pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia: A vision of the future.

PubMed

Aljadhey, Hisham; Asiri, Yousef; Albogami, Yaser; Spratto, George; Alshehri, Mohammed

2017-01-01

Background: Pharmacy education in developing countries faces many challenges. An assessment of the challenges and opportunities for the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia has not been conducted. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to ascertain the views and opinions of pharmacy education stakeholders regarding the current issues challenging pharmacy education, and to discuss the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 48 participants attended a one-day meeting in October 2011, designed especially for the purpose of this study. The participants were divided into six round-table discussion sessions with eight persons in each group. Six major themes were explored in these sessions, including the need to improve pharmacy education, program educational outcomes, adoption of an integrated curriculum, the use of advanced teaching methodologies, the need to review assessment methods, and challenges and opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training. The round-table discussion sessions were videotaped and transcribed verbatim and analyzed by two independent researchers. Results: Participants agreed that pharmacy education in the country needs improvement. Participants agreed on the need for clear, measureable, and national educational outcomes for pharmacy programs in the Kingdom. Participants raised the importance of collaboration between faculty members and departments to design and implement an integrated curriculum. They also emphasized the use of new teaching methodologies focusing on student self-learning and active learning. Assessments were discussed with a focus on the use of new tools, confidentiality of examinations, and providing feedback to students. Several points were raised regarding the opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training, including the need for more experiential sites and qualified preceptors, addressing variations in training quality between experiential sites, the need for accreditation of experiential sites, and the use of technology to track experiential activities and assessments. Conclusion: Several challenges for improving pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia were discussed by stakeholders. To tackle these challenges facing most pharmacy schools in the Kingdom, national efforts need to be considered by involving all stakeholders.

Challenges for the aircraft structural integrity program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lincoln, John W.

1994-01-01

Thirty-six years ago the United States Air Force established the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) because flight safety had been degraded by fatigue failures of operational aircraft. This initial program evolved, but has been stable since the issuance of MIL-STD-1530A in 1975. Today, the program faces new challenges because of a need to maintain aircraft longer in an environment of reduced funding levels. Also, there is increased pressure to reduce cost of the acquisition of new aircraft. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the challenges for the ASIP and identify the changes in the program that will meet these challenges in the future.

Hydrogen storage and fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Di-Jia

2018-01-01

Global warming and future energy supply are two major challenges facing American public today. To overcome such challenges, it is imperative to maximize the existing fuel utilization with new conversion technologies while exploring alternative energy sources with minimal environmental impact. Hydrogen fuel cell represents a next-generation energy-efficient technology in transportation and stationary power productions. In this presentation, a brief overview of the current technology status of on-board hydrogen storage and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell in transportation will be provided. The directions of the future researches in these technological fields, including a recent "big idea" of "H2@Scale" currently developed at the U. S. Department of Energy, will also be discussed.

Challenges facing European agriculture and possible biotechnological solutions.

PubMed

Ricroch, Agnès; Harwood, Wendy; Svobodová, Zdeňka; Sági, László; Hundleby, Penelope; Badea, Elena Marcela; Rosca, Ioan; Cruz, Gabriela; Salema Fevereiro, Manuel Pedro; Marfà Riera, Victoria; Jansson, Stefan; Morandini, Piero; Bojinov, Bojin; Cetiner, Selim; Custers, René; Schrader, Uwe; Jacobsen, Hans-Joerg; Martin-Laffon, Jacqueline; Boisron, Audrey; Kuntz, Marcel

2016-10-01

Agriculture faces many challenges to maximize yields while it is required to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. In the present study, we analyze the major agricultural challenges identified by European farmers (primarily related to biotic stresses) in 13 countries, namely Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, UK and Turkey, for nine major crops (barley, beet, grapevine, maize, oilseed rape, olive, potato, sunflower and wheat). Most biotic stresses (BSs) are related to fungi or insects, but viral diseases, bacterial diseases and even parasitic plants have an important impact on yield and harvest quality. We examine how these challenges have been addressed by public and private research sectors, using either conventional breeding, marker-assisted selection, transgenesis, cisgenesis, RNAi technology or mutagenesis. Both national surveys and scientific literature analysis followed by text mining were employed to evaluate genetic engineering (GE) and non-GE approaches. This is the first report of text mining of the scientific literature on plant breeding and agricultural biotechnology research. For the nine major crops in Europe, 128 BS challenges were identified with 40% of these addressed neither in the scientific literature nor in recent European public research programs. We found evidence that the private sector was addressing only a few of these "neglected" challenges. Consequently, there are considerable gaps between farmer's needs and current breeding and biotechnology research. We also provide evidence that the current political situation in certain European countries is an impediment to GE research in order to address these agricultural challenges in the future. This study should also contribute to the decision-making process on future pertinent international consortia to fill the identified research gaps.

Usability and accessibility in consumer health informatics current trends and future challenges.

PubMed

Goldberg, Larry; Lide, Bettijoyce; Lowry, Svetlana; Massett, Holly A; O'Connell, Trisha; Preece, Jennifer; Quesenbery, Whitney; Shneiderman, Ben

2011-05-01

It is a truism that, for innovative eHealth systems to have true value and impact, they must first and foremost be usable and accessible by clinicians, consumers, and other stakeholders. In this paper, current trends and future challenges in the usability and accessibility of consumer health informatics will be described. Consumer expectations of their healthcare providers and healthcare records in this new era of consumer-directed care will be explored, and innovative visualizations, assistive technologies, and other ways that healthcare information is currently being provided and/or shared will be described. Challenges for ensuring the usability of current and future systems will also be discussed. An innovative model for conducting systematic, timely, user-centered research on consumer-facing websites at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the ongoing efforts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to promote health information technology (HIT) usability standards and evaluation criteria will also be presented. Copyright © 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

NAIMA as a solution for future GMO diagnostics challenges.

PubMed

Dobnik, David; Morisset, Dany; Gruden, Kristina

2010-03-01

In the field of genetically modified organism (GMO) diagnostics, real-time PCR has been the method of choice for target detection and quantification in most laboratories. Despite its numerous advantages, however, the lack of a true multiplexing option may render real-time PCR less practical in the face of future GMO detection challenges such as the multiplicity and increasing complexity of new transgenic events, as well as the repeated occurrence of unauthorized GMOs on the market. In this context, we recently reported the development of a novel multiplex quantitative DNA-based target amplification method, named NASBA implemented microarray analysis (NAIMA), which is suitable for sensitive, specific and quantitative detection of GMOs on a microarray. In this article, the performance of NAIMA is compared with that of real-time PCR, the focus being their performances in view of the upcoming challenge to detect/quantify an increasing number of possible GMOs at a sustainable cost and affordable staff effort. Finally, we present our conclusions concerning the applicability of NAIMA for future use in GMO diagnostics.

Astroinformatics, data mining and the future of astronomical research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brescia, Massimo; Longo, Giuseppe

2013-08-01

Astronomy, as many other scientific disciplines, is facing a true data deluge which is bound to change both the praxis and the methodology of every day research work. The emerging field of astroinformatics, while on the one end appears crucial to face the technological challenges, on the other is opening new exciting perspectives for new astronomical discoveries through the implementation of advanced data mining procedures. The complexity of astronomical data and the variety of scientific problems, however, call for innovative algorithms and methods as well as for an extreme usage of ICT technologies.

Teaching Domestic Violence Online: A Step Forward or a Step Backward?

PubMed

Danis, Fran S

2016-10-01

With the increasing number of courses and degree programs available online, faculty may be interested in developing an online course on domestic violence. This article analyzes the similarities and differences involved in teaching about domestic violence online versus face-to-face. Highlights of course activities and notable online resources are identified including YouTube videos, webinars, online training modules, and websites. The limitations and challenges of teaching domestic violence in an asynchronous online course and recommendations for future teaching are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Software Carpentry: lessons learned

PubMed Central

Wilson, Greg

2016-01-01

Since its start in 1998, Software Carpentry has evolved from a week-long training course at the US national laboratories into a worldwide volunteer effort to improve researchers' computing skills. This paper explains what we have learned along the way, the challenges we now face, and our plans for the future. PMID:24715981

UNSCOM faces entirely new verification challenges in Iraq

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trevan, T.

1993-04-01

Starting with the very first declarations and inspections, it became evident that Iraq was not acting in good faith, would use every possible pretext to reinterpret UNSCOM's inspection rights, and occasionally would use harassment tactics to make inspections as difficult as possible. Topics considered in detail include; initial assumptions, outstanding issues, and UNSCOM's future attitude.

Dare We Build a New Curriculum for a New Age?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seif, Elliott

Ten major elements in developing a curriculum to prepare students to face future challenges and problems are outlined. One, mastery and understanding of technology, should focus on the use of tools and machines with an emphasis on problems related to technology in our lives. Two, cooperative living skills, can be achieved through classroom…

Early Returns on District of Columbia Charter Schools. Capital Campaign

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mead, Sara

2005-01-01

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author examines charter schooling in Washington, D.C., including the region's unique history of charter schooling and the challenges these schools face. She is optimistic about the future of the District's charter school movement, but argues that District and…

Advanced Education and Technology Business Plan, 2007-10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education, 2007

2007-01-01

The Government of Alberta Strategic Business Plan addresses significant opportunities and challenges facing Alberta over the next three years and positions Alberta to make the most of its economic, social and natural advantages. It is a plan to strategically manage growth and plan for a sustainable and secure future. Advanced Education and…

Ready, Steady, Go! Strategies to Improve Texans' Financial Readiness to Pay for College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmcamp, Leslie

2011-01-01

Texas faces numerous challenges, but also abundant opportunities to build the middle class and increase prosperity. Unfortunately, too many Texans are sidelined, lacking access to opportunities to learn, earn, and save to secure a prosperous future for themselves and their families. A college education provides opportunities for Texans to obtain…

Chapter 11: Dinkey north and south project

Treesearch

M North; R. Rojas

2012-01-01

Designing and implementing vegetation treatments that can move a forest landscape toward a desired future condition is often challenging. Faced with diverse stakeholder interests and the unknown effects of changing climate conditions, managers need to engage and build collaborative projects. One such effort is the Dinkey project designed to help restore a healthy,...

EPA leadership on Science, Innovation, and Decision Support Tools for Addressing Current and Future Challenges

EPA Science Inventory

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established nearly 50 years ago, the nation faced serious threats to its air, land, and water, which in turn impacted human health. These threats were effectively addressed by the creation of EPA (in 1970) and many subsequen...

Challenges and Opportunities in Adult Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brand, Betsy

Literacy and work force preparedness are two of the most important issues facing education today. Findings of nationwide studies show that reading and writing performance of students is inadequate. One of every eight current workers reads at the fourth-grade level or lower. The nation's economic future will be determined by the quality and…

Using Real-time Quantitative PCR to Examine the Dynamics of Soil Fungi and Bacteria in Response to Ecosystem Warming

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As atmospheric trace gas concentrations and global temperatures climb, scientists are challenged to determine how microbial communities may mediate plant response to future climate change. To this end, a Temperature Free-Air Controlled Enrichment (T-FACE) experiment was implemented in a spring wheat...

APPLYING MULTIMETRIC INDICES AT HIGH RESOLUTION: AN INVESTIGATION OF SPATIAL PATTERNS AND TEMPORAL VARIATION WITHIN AN OREGON WATERSHED

EPA Science Inventory

Like many inland waters worldwide, streams and rivers of the Western U.S. are faced with a multitude of challenges stemming from past land use practices and changing future conditions. To address these issues, the USEPA has developed empirical tools for evaluating instream condi...

International Graduate Student Mobility in the US: What More Can We Be Doing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Darbi L.

2012-01-01

This article examines the current growth statistics of international graduate student populations in the United States in order to present trends in international student mobility. Although many scholars suggest the United States is facing a decrease in future international student demand, recent studies seem to challenge this theory. This article…

Integrating climate change considerations into forest management tools and training

Treesearch

Linda M. Nagel; Christopher W. Swanston; Maria K. Janowiak

2010-01-01

Silviculturists are currently facing the challenge of developing management strategies that meet broad ecological and social considerations in spite of a high degree of uncertainty in future climatic conditions. Forest managers need state-of-the-art knowledge about climate change and potential impacts to facilitate development of silvicultural objectives and...

Relational Inquiries and the Research Interview: Mentoring Future Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoskins, Marie L.; White, Jennifer

2013-01-01

In this article we describe some of the challenges and constraints that students face when they engage in qualitative research interviews. We borrow extensively from Ron Pelias' in-depth description of "leaning in" during everyday life encounters. Although he refers to other kinds of relationships, we believe that the similarities…

A Study of Factors Affecting University Professors' Research Output: Perspectives of Taiwanese Professors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jason Cheng-Cheng

2017-01-01

Higher education in Taiwan is facing competition and challenges from the macro environment of globalization. Taiwan's key policy direction is enhancing university quality in order to respond to these future trends. Universities' international competitiveness relies on not only faculty members' teaching quality, but also their research performance.…

Comparative and International Education: Policy Transfer, Context Sensitivity and Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Michael; Watson, Keith

2009-01-01

This paper examines the intellectual and professional contribution of comparative and international studies to the field of education. It explores the nature of the challenges that are currently being faced, and assesses its potential for the advancement of future teaching, research and professional development. Attention is paid to the place of…

Highway research : the Second Strategic Highway Research Program addresses the four required areas, but some anticipated research was not funded : report to congressional committees.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-02-01

The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users authorized the Department of Transportation to establish a highway research program to address future challenges facing the U.S. highway system. In 2006, th...

The Community College of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrey, John N.

An overview is provided of the challenges facing community colleges due to the shift from a global society shaped by political philosophies to a society shaped by economic powers. Introductory comments are followed by a description of recent changes in the world community, including the rise of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and…

An Evaluation and Analysis of Past Landfill Closures in Puerto Rico as Guidance for Current and Future Closures

EPA Science Inventory

The island of Puerto Rico has faced several challenges related to the issue of closed landfills – historically, many municipal landfills in Puerto Rico were not closed properly or abandoned, while others were closed in accordance with applicable rules but have sustained physical ...

Facing Future Users--The Challenge of Transforming a Traditional Online Database into a Web Service.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolonen, Eva

The Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) agreement included 19 member countries spanning four continents: Japan and the Republic of Korea; Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; Canada, Mexico, and the United States; and Brazil. The participating…

The Living Arrangements of Children of Immigrants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landale, Nancy S.; Thomas, Kevin J. A.; Van Hook, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Children of immigrants are a rapidly growing part of the U.S. child population. Their health, development, educational attainment, and social and economic integration into the nation's life will play a defining role in the nation's future. Nancy Landale, Kevin Thomas, and Jennifer Van Hook explore the challenges facing immigrant families as they…

Books, Bytes, Buildings, and Bodies: Public Libraries in the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hage, Christine Lind

1999-01-01

Considers the changing roles of public libraries and challenges facing them in the future. Topics include core skills needed by library professionals, print and nonprint materials, the inclusion of new formats, blending traditional and electronic library resources, the expanded roles and responsibilities of librarians, meeting user needs, and…

Aligning Professional Skills and Active Learning Methods: An Application for Information and Communications Technology Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llorens, Ariadna; Berbegal-Mirabent, Jasmina; Llinàs-Audet, Xavier

2017-01-01

Engineering education is facing new challenges to effectively provide the appropriate skills to future engineering professionals according to market demands. This study proposes a model based on active learning methods, which is expected to facilitate the acquisition of the professional skills most highly valued in the information and…

A Framework for the Education of the Information Professions in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Partridge, Helen; Yates, Christine

2012-01-01

In recent years there has been considerable discussion afforded to the challenges facing the future of library and information science (LIS) education in Australia. This paper outlines a twelve-month project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council that was undertaken by eleven institutions representing university and vocational LIS…

The physical properties, morphology and viscoelasticity of biobased sponges prepared from un-tanned hides

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

One of our research endeavors to address ongoing challenges faced by the U.S. hide and leather industries is to develop innovative uses and novel biobased products from hides to improve prospective markets and to secure a viable future for hides and leather industries. We had previously investigate...

The Future of Natural Selection Knowledge Measurement: A Reply to Anderson et al. (2010)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nehm, Ross H.; Schonfeld, Irvin Sam

2010-01-01

The development of rich, reliable, and robust measures of the composition, structure, and stability of student thinking about core scientific ideas (such as natural selection) remains a complex challenge facing science educators. In their recent article (Nehm & Schonfeld 2008), the authors explored the strengths, weaknesses, and insights provided…

Changing International Constructs: How Metropolitan Universities Must Engage Globally

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leventhal, Mitch; Zimpher, Nancy L.

2007-01-01

The mission of American metropolitan universities has never before been so relevant, both to the future of institutions themselves and to the United States. The success of the mission requires that we develop a deep understanding of the impact of both urbanization and de-urbanization, as well as the challenges metropolitan universities face with…

A Guide to Addressing Multiple Priorities in Core Content Instruction for Students with Severe Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Root, Jenny R.; Knight, Victoria F.; Mims, Pamela J.

2017-01-01

Instruction in academic core content provides students with moderate to severe disabilities a full educational opportunity that promotes current and future options in the community and can complement acquisition of daily living skills. However, high school teachers face many challenges in balancing instructional priorities given the mission to…

Reaching Successful Futures: Experiences of Participants in the Education and Training Vouchers Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Katharine; Peyton, Larissa

2017-01-01

Youths who have been in foster care face many challenges in accessing and completing postsecondary education. The Chafee Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) program is a federally funded program that assists current and former foster youths in accessing postsecondary learning opportunities by providing scholarship money for their education. This…

Science Education in Arab States: Bright Future or Status Quo?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dagher, Zoubeida R.; BouJaoude, Saouma

2011-01-01

This paper describes the current state of science education in Arab states and anticipates some of the challenges faced by those states as they reform their science education. After discussing problems of illiteracy, access and quality we provide contextual information about the structure of the educational systems and describe recent efforts to…

Sustainability and the University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clough, G. Wayne; Chameau, Jean-Lou; Carmichael, Carol

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors state that one of the major challenges facing the human race is charting a course for the future that allows economic growth while protecting the fragile planet. The authors discuss the role that higher education must play to help create a vibrant economy and high quality of life, while sustaining natural resources.…

Our Visible Work: Community & Collaboration in an Educator Inquiry Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Margaret R.

2016-01-01

Early childhood education has recently been heralded as the cornerstone of a brighter future for the United States, playing an important role in the healthy development of our youngest children (Perry, 2015; Bornfreund, 2015). However, the teachers of these children face multiple challenges in the profession, including unlivable wages, low morale…

Globalization and the Business Schools: Toward Business and World-Sustainable Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dieck-Assad, María de Lourdes

2013-01-01

Globalization is a force that produces deep changes in business and society. Business schools face great challenges and opportunities in educating future leaders who can work across countries and cultures. This article presents some strategic issues regarding the type of education that business schools should offer from a global perspective, aimed…

Preserving and Strengthening Together: Collective Strategies of U.S.Women's College Presidents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Auden D.

2008-01-01

Women's colleges in the 1970s and 1980s faced highly uncertain futures. Soaring popularity of coeducation left them with serious enrollment downturns, and challenges from proposed equal rights legislation threatened to render illegal their single-sex admissions policies. These perilous external conditions drew together the presidents of U.S.…

Postbaccalaureate Futures: New Markets, Resources, Credentials. American Council on Education/Oryx Press Series on Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohl, Kay J., Ed.; LaPidus, Jules B., Ed.

The 15 papers in this book consider the issues, opportunities, and challenges facing higher education with regard to postbaccalaureate education, focusing particularly on how to ensure a productive, competitive workforce in today's global-based economy. Titles in Part 1, "Emerging Markets for Postbaccalaureate Education," are: (1)…

Complex Challenges in the Less-Developed World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, P. J.

2016-12-01

The developing world faces special challenges in a changing climate. The immediate impacts of possible increased precipitation, more frequent and severe hazard events and sea-level rise are compounded by lack of resources and, often, rapidly growing populations. We examine the concept that the society that learns to deal with hazards in the current climate will be best placed to deal with possibly more frequent and more intense hazards in the future. We use as an example the conundrum facing Bangladesh where global sea-level rise is exaggerated by delta subsidence of river sediment. Sedimentation is expected to increase with increased river flow. We explore how authorities may deal with these multifaceted threats and how they need to carefully thread a strategy that leads to solutions and not exaggerations of the problem.

Future implications of eHealth interventions for chronic pain management in underserved populations.

PubMed

DeMonte, Colette M; DeMonte, William D; Thorn, Beverly E

2015-01-01

Many underserved communities, especially those in rural settings, face unique challenges that make high quality healthcare less accessible. The implementation of eHealth technologies has become a potentially valuable option to disseminate interventions. The authors' work in rural Alabama Federally Qualified Health Centers provide insights into the access to technology as well as the likelihood of utilizing eHealth technology in underserved communities. This paper will review current challenges related to digital dissemination of behavioral health interventions for chronic pain. Two major concerns are the lack of technological resources and the lack of appropriate materials for patients who may have low levels of reading, health and/or digital literacy. We will propose some recommendations to address common barriers faced by those providing care.

Recruiting and retaining future generations of physician scientists in mental health.

PubMed

Kupfer, David J; Hyman, Steven E; Schatzberg, Alan F; Pincus, Harold A; Reynolds, Charles F

2002-07-01

The authors discuss 6 challenges facing the recruitment and retention of physician scientists as career mental health researchers. These challenges include (1) early identification and recruitment at the undergraduate and medical student level; (2) recruitment of a more diverse group of trainees; (3) safety nets for reducing attrition; (4) strategies to promote successful competition for K awards; (5) definition of appropriate roles and career development opportunities in multisite clinical trials; and (6) strategies for the mentoring "cost." A coalition of stakeholders--federal, academic, foundational, and in the pharmaceutical industry--is needed to meet these challenges.

Pricing medicines: theory and practice, challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Gregson, Nigel; Sparrowhawk, Keiron; Mauskopf, Josephine; Paul, John

2005-02-01

The pricing of medicines has become one of the most hotly debated topics of recent times, with the pharmaceutical industry seemingly being attacked from all quarters. From a company perspective, determining the price for each new product is more crucial than ever, given the present dearth of new drug introductions. But how are pricing strategies developed in practice? What is value-based pricing and how are financial models of return on investment constructed? What are the challenges faced in setting the price for a particular product, and how will scientific and environmental trends provide future pricing challenges or opportunities?

Towards Global Transdisciplinary Research: Lessons Learned from the Belmont Forum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paillard, S. J.; Uhle, M. E.; van Jaarsveld, A. S.; Monfray, P.

2014-12-01

The Belmont Forum was initiated in 2009 by a sub group of the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research. The Belmont Challenge embodies the Forum's central goal: to deliver knowledge needed for societies to take action to mitigate and adapt to detrimental environmental change. This is fostered through collaboration among scientists across the globe and by stressing the importance of co-production of knowledge associated with coupled natural and social systems. The Belmont Challenge was clearly aligned with other collective thinking processes within the research community and key knowledge users from intergovernmental bodies. Convergence of these efforts gave rise to the S&T Alliance for Global Sustainability and its initiative - Future Earth. Collaborative Research Actions, consisting primarily of multilateral research calls to address topics relevant to Future Earth, have been the main tool developed to address the Belmont Challenge and some early lessons emerged. First, obstacles faced by the Belmont Forum are similar to those met by scientists collaborating across traditional boundaries. Building shared languages and interests between various disciplines and across global cultures, remains difficult; this results in a persistent underestimation of the transformation required to move knowledge creation towards a truly global inter- and transdisciplinary science. Second, the diversity of organizations, cultures and practices within the Belmont Forum is the main source of its creativity and its challenges. While some convergence is needed to build coherent strategies and work efficiently together, diversity is necessary to design actions suitable for all partners regardless of their national research system and science-policy priorities. Finding the right trade-offs is a learning process that Future Earth is also facing; thus both initiatives are not only linked through funding relations but also through strongly intertwined learning curves.

Priorities for children and young people - opportunities and challenges for children and young people's nurses.

PubMed

Smith, Fiona

2016-05-09

Across Europe children's nurses today face many challenges, including rising childhood obesity, the soaring incidence of issues with the mental health of children and young people, the effects of social media, child maltreatment and the impact of poverty, war and conflict on children and families. There are opportunities for children's nurses to undertake new roles and to influence both policy and practice to improve the health outcomes of children and young people, and thereby the future health of the population.

Joint Conference on Marine Safety and Environment/Ship Production (1st), held 1-5 June 1992

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-05

have to face fresh challenges in the future. But as long as we regard these challenges as opportunities, we will remain masters of our own destiny ...has recently published for discussion an “ Embryo Code of Practice” (1991) entitled “Engineers and Risk Issues”. Thii draft Code is intended to...Department of Energy5 Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Cm.1310. The Engineering Counci1 (1991) Engineers and Risk Issues : An Embryo Code of Practice. London

ARPA-E: Celebrating the Energy Entrepreneur

ScienceCinema

Williams, Ellen; Henshall, Dave; Babinec, Sue; Wessells, Colin; Zakhor, Avideh; Mockler, Todd

2018-01-16

The world faces urgent energy challenges brought on by projected population increases, aging infrastructure and the global threat of climate change. ARPA-E is investing in some of the country’s brightest energy entrepreneurs that are developing innovative technological options to help meet future energy needs. Featuring remarks from ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams, as well as interviews with the Deputy Director of Commercialization Dave Henshall, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor Sue Babinec, and a number of ARPA-E awardees, this video highlights the energy entrepreneur, and the critical role they play in creating solutions to address future energy challenges and ensure a secure energy future. The video also incorporates footage shot on site with several ARPA-E awardees who are spurring innovation, much of which will be highlighted in other videos shown throughout the Summit.

ARPA-E: Celebrating the Energy Entrepreneur

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, Ellen; Henshall, Dave; Babinec, Sue

The world faces urgent energy challenges brought on by projected population increases, aging infrastructure and the global threat of climate change. ARPA-E is investing in some of the country’s brightest energy entrepreneurs that are developing innovative technological options to help meet future energy needs. Featuring remarks from ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen D. Williams, as well as interviews with the Deputy Director of Commercialization Dave Henshall, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor Sue Babinec, and a number of ARPA-E awardees, this video highlights the energy entrepreneur, and the critical role they play in creating solutions to address future energy challenges and ensure a securemore » energy future. The video also incorporates footage shot on site with several ARPA-E awardees who are spurring innovation, much of which will be highlighted in other videos shown throughout the Summit.« less

A shifting mosaic of scholarly publishing, scientific delivery, and future impact changing the face of learned societies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leslie, David M.

2007-01-01

Nonprofit scientific societies hope that their activities advance their particular mission and impact their profession and, in the broadest sense, humanity in positive ways. The digital age has provided unprecedented mechanisms to enhance the delivery of science to the world. The marketplace of scientific publishing is a rapidly shifting mosaic of challenges and opportunities, and the responses of nonprofit and commercial publishers vary widely, but their outcomes are still uncertain. The response of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) provides an example of how a relatively small society has altered its scientific delivery to enhance member benefits while attempting to sustain its economic viability. Since 2000, ASM has moved from a self-publishing, break-even, print-only model to a copublishing agreement with a commercial publisher (Alliance Communications Group, a division of Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas), which now offers members various print and electronic options and generates a shared royalty. Although it is too early to gauge the economic impact of these changes, the ASM leadership clearly attempted to signal its desire for members to view their society as a package of opportunities for edification and involvement rather than just a provider of serial subscriptions. Future challenges facing nonprofit scientific societies include open access, fiscal realities, archiving of publications, and scientific and societal impact; future opportunities include a strengthening of member responsibilities and professionalism, development of data registries to enhance scientific progress, and bundling of like societies. The manner in which nonprofit scientific societies respond to these challenges and opportunities will no doubt affect their sustainability and future impact. ?? 2007 American Society of Mammalogists.

Pharmacy executive leadership issues and associated skills, knowledge, and abilities.

PubMed

Meadows, Andrew B; Maine, Lucinda L; Keyes, Elizabeth K; Pearson, Kathy; Finstuen, Kenn

2005-01-01

To identify challenges that current and future pharmacy executives are facing or will face in the future and to define what skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKAs) are required to successfully negotiate these challenges. Delphi method for executive decision making. Civilian pharmacy profession. 110 pharmacists who graduated from the GlaxoSmithKline Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders. Two iterations of the Delphi method for executive decision making separated by an expert panel content analysis. Round 1--participants were asked to identify five major issues they believed to be of greatest importance to pharmacy leaders in the next 5-10 years and name specific SKAs that might be needed by future leaders to successfully deal with those issues. An expert panel reviewed the issues, classified issues into specific domains, and titled each domain. Round 2-participants rated the SKAs on a 7-point scale according to their individual assessment of importance in each domain. For Delphi rounds 1 and 2, response rates were 21.8% and 18.2%, respectively. More than 100 total issue statements were identified. The expert panel sorted the issues into five domains: management and development of the pharmacy workforce, pharmacy finance, total quality management of work-flow systems, influences on the practice of pharmacy, and professional pharmacy leadership. Five of the top 15 SKAs-and all four highest ranked items--came from the professional pharmacy leadership domain, including ability to see the big picture, ability to demonstrate the value of pharmacy services, ability to lead and manage in an ethical manner, and skills for influencing an organization's senior leadership. Through successful integration of communication skills, critical thinking, and problem solving techniques, future public-sector pharmacy executives will be better equipped to effectively position their organizations and the profession for the challenges that lie ahead.

Sustainable development: challenges and opportunities for the natural sciences (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutter, J. C.; Fishman, R.; Anttila-Hughes, J. K.; Hsiang, S. M.

2009-12-01

The challenges of sustainable development -- equitably improving global human welfare while ensuring that the environment is preserved for future generations - demand research at the nexus of the social and natural sciences. Massive and inevitable changes in climate, ecosystem functions, and human interaction with the environment will perturb societies throughout the world in different ways over the coming century. The changes faced by poor societies and their ability to cope differs markedly from those that face the richest. Yet in all regions the dynamic interaction of social and natural drivers will govern the prospects for human welfare and its improvement. Developing an understanding of these phenomena will require field research together with analytical and modeling capabilities that couple physical and social phenomena, allowing feedback between the two to manifest and permit forecasting over long time scales. Heterogeneous income and population growth further complicate this need through their consequences for food security, migration, resource allocation, and conflict. In this contribution, we identify some key concepts of sustainable development, open research questions and outline how scientific research might engage this emerging discipline. Using recent examples of interaction, we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the further development of this dialogue.

EPA Leadership on Science, Innovation, and Decision Support Tools for Addressing Current and Future Challenges.

PubMed

Hecht, Alan D; Ferster, Aaron; Summers, Kevin

2017-10-16

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established nearly 50 years ago, the nation faced serious threats to its air, land, and water, which in turn impacted human health. These threats were effectively addressed by the creation of EPA (in 1970) and many subsequent landmark environmental legislations which in turn significantly reduced threats to the Nation's environment and public health. A key element of historic legislation is research aimed at dealing with current and future problems. Today we face national and global challenges that go beyond classic media-specific (air, land, water) environmental legislation and require an integrated paradigm of action and engagement based on (1) innovation based on science and technology, (2) stakeholder engagement and collaboration, and (3) public education and support. This three-pronged approach recognizes that current environmental problems, include social as well as physical and environmental factors, are best addressed through collaborative problem solving, the application of innovation in science and technology, and multiple stakeholder engagement. To achieve that goal, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is working directly with states and local communities to develop and apply a suite of accessible decision support tools (DST) that aim to improve environmental conditions, protect human health, enhance economic opportunity, and advance a resilient and sustainability society. This paper showcases joint EPA and state actions to develop tools and approaches that not only meet current environmental and public health challenges, but do so in a way that advances sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities well into the future. EPA's future plans should build on current work but aim to effectively respond to growing external pressures. Growing pressures from megatrends are a major challenge for the new Administration and for cities and states across the country. The recent hurricanes hitting Texas and the Gulf Coast, part of the increase in extreme weather events, make it clear that building resilient infrastructure is a crucial step to sustainability.

Global 3ν oscillation analysis: Status of unknown parameters and future systematic challenges for ORCA and PINGU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capozzi, Francesco; Lisi, Eligio; Marrone, Antonio

2016-04-01

Within the standard 3ν oscillation framework, we illustrate the status of currently unknown oscillation parameters: the θ23 octant, the mass hierarchy (normal or inverted), and the possible CP-violating phase δ, as derived by a (preliminary) global analysis of oscillation data available in 2015. We then discuss some challenges that will be faced by future, high-statistics analyses of spectral data, starting with one-dimensional energy spectra in reactor experiments, and concluding with two-dimensional energy-angle spectra in large-volume atmospheric experiments. It is shown that systematic uncertainties in the spectral shapes can noticeably affect the prospective sensitivities to unknown oscillation parameters, in particular to the mass hierarchy.

Safe and Secure Virtualization: Answers for IMA next Generation and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almeida, Jose; Vatrinet, Francis

2010-08-01

This paper presents some of the challenges the aerospace industry is facing for the future and explains why and how a safe and secured virtualization technology can help solving these challenges Efforts around the next generation of IMA have already started, like the European FP7 funded project SCARLETT or the IDEE5 project and many avionics players and working groupware focused on how the new technologies like SMP capabilities introduced in latest CPU architectures, can help increasing system performances in future avionics system. We present PikeOS, a separation micro-kernel, which applies the state-of-the-art techniques and widely recognized standards such as ARINC 653 and MILS in order to guarantee safety and security properties, and still improve overall performance.

How is cyber threat evolving and what do organisations need to consider?

PubMed

Borrett, Martin; Carter, Roger; Wespi, Andreas

Organisations and members of the public are becoming accustomed to the increasing velocity, frequency and variety of cyber-attacks that they have been facing over the last few years. In response to this challenge, it is important to explore what can be done to offer commercial and private users a reliable and functioning environment. This paper discusses how cyber threats might evolve in the future and seeks to explore these threats more fully. Attention is paid to the changing nature of cyber-attackers and their motivations and what this means for organisations. Finally, useful and actionable steps are provided, which practitioners can use to understand how they can start to address the future challenges of cyber security.

Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering: From Discovery to Applications

PubMed Central

Shi, Jinjun; Votruba, Alexander R.; Farokhzad, Omid C.; Langer, Robert

2010-01-01

The application of nanotechnology in medicine, referred to as nanomedicine, is offering numerous exciting possibilities in healthcare. Herein, we discuss two important aspects of nanomedicine—drug delivery and tissue engineering—highlighting the advances we have recently experienced, the challenges we are currently facing, and what we are likely to witness in the near future. PMID:20726522

Nanotechnology in drug delivery and tissue engineering: from discovery to applications.

PubMed

Shi, Jinjun; Votruba, Alexander R; Farokhzad, Omid C; Langer, Robert

2010-09-08

The application of nanotechnology in medicine, referred to as nanomedicine, is offering numerous exciting possibilities in healthcare. Herein, we discuss two important aspects of nanomedicine, drug delivery and tissue engineering, highlighting the advances we have recently experienced, the challenges we are currently facing, and what we are likely to witness in the near future.

The Missing Middle: Aligning Education and the Knowledge Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnevale, Anthony P.; Desrochers, Donna M.

2002-01-01

While no one can predict the future, today's economic and demographic realities suggest the opportunities and challenges that will face America in the years to come. The U.S. economy has already undergone dramatic changes in the latter part of the twentieth century. The extension of product and labor markets has expanded global competition, and…

Investing in College Completion. The Progress of Education Reform. Volume 11, Number 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Commission of the States (NJ1), 2010

2010-01-01

States are faced with the difficult challenge of increasing college completion rates at a time of historic budget shortfalls. While most agree that increasing the education level of U.S. citizens is essential to future economic prosperity (and public revenue collection), institutions will need to meet the goal through the more efficient use of…

Securing a Better Future: A Portrait of Female Students in Mississippi's Community Colleges. Report #C417

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Cynthia; Krohn, Sylvia; Reichlin, Lindsey; Román, Stephanie; Gault, Barbara

2014-01-01

Community colleges are a critical resource for women seeking to achieve economic security and stability, yet many women who are community college students face challenges that make it difficult to persist in their education and complete their degrees. To understand the circumstances and experiences of female community college students in…

Future Developments of Educational Research in the Asia-Pacific Region: Paradigm Shifts, Reforms, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yin Cheong

2007-01-01

In facing up to the challenges and impacts of globalization, high technology, economic transformation, international competitions and local developments in the new century, there have been numerous educational reforms and initiatives in many countries in the Asia-Pacific Region (Cheng, 2005a, A new paradigm for re-engineering education:…

Foundations for the Future: The Fundraising Role of Foundation Boards at Public Colleges and Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worth, Michael

2012-01-01

In the face of rising costs and a prolonged economic downturn, public colleges and universities are being challenged to increase their sources of private support and philanthropy. Drawing on the findings of a recent AGB survey of public college- and university-affiliated foundation board chairs and chief executive officers, Foundations for the…

Strategizing for the Future: Evolving Cultural Resource Centers in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shek, Yen Ling

2013-01-01

Cultural resource centers have been an ongoing and integral component to creating a more welcoming campus climate for Students of Color since its establishment in the 1960s. While the racial dynamics may have changed, many of the challenges Students of Color faced on predominantly White campuses have not. Interestingly, cultural resource centers…

Incorporating Sustainability and 21st-Century Problem Solving into Physics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Michael; Pfaff, Tom; Hamilton, Jason; Erkan, Ali

2013-01-01

As educators we are facing an unprecedented challenge to prepare our students not only for traditional careers but also for future careers that don't exist today. Many of these careers will require a firm grounding in disciplines such as physics, along with multidisciplinary, Global, and systems thinking skill sets. Our Multidisciplinary…

The Triad Research University or a Post 20th Century Research University Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tadmor, Zehev

2006-01-01

In this paper, a model for the future research university is proposed, which answers some of the key challenges facing universities. It consists of three independent yet closely knitted entities: a research institute, a university teaching college and a business unit creating a "triad" structure. The possible inevitability, the advantages and…

Colorado School Finance Partnership: Report and Recommendations. Financing Colorado's Future: Assessing Our School Finance System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado Children's Campaign, 2012

2012-01-01

Over the last decade, Colorado has emerged as a national leader in crafting innovative solutions for challenges facing its public school system. From implementing the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reforms to more recent legislation including standards and assessments for a preschool-through-college…

Visions Lost and Dreams Forgotten: Environmental Education, Systems Thinking, and Possible Futures in American Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cassell, John A.; Nelson, Thomas

2010-01-01

This article discusses the contributions to this special issue of "Teacher Education Quarterly." At the core of all the contributions is the compellingly urgent realization that humanity is facing, and must deal with, enormous ecological and social problems and challenges. This situation has created an urgent and compelling need centered…

Education for Sustainability in Career and Technical Education: A Multiple Case Study of Innovative Community College Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruppel, Karen R.

2012-01-01

Research indicates we are faced with environmental, social, and economic challenges and higher education is being called upon to provide education for a sustainable future. The literature surrounding Education for Sustainability (EfS) in higher education points toward implementing EN into all levels of education. Very few Career and Technical…

Facing tomorrow's challenges: U.S. Geological Survey science in the decade 2007-2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

- A National Hazards, Risk, and Resilience Assessment Program: Ensuring the Long-Term Health and Wealth of the Nation - The Role of Environment and Wildlife in Human Health: A System that Identifies Environmental Risk to Public Health in America - A Water Census of the United States: Quantifying, Forecasting, and Securing Freshwater for America's Future

Making Sense of Academic Life: Academics, Universities and Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Peter G.

Universities and academics today are facing challenges that require more active and self-interested management. The book argues that higher education in the future will not become any more ordered, but will actually become more complex, more fractured and less bounded, and that academics will have to respond with new ways of thinking. The book…

Establishing the Infrastructure to Comprehensively Address Cancer Disparities: A Model for Transdisciplinary Approaches

PubMed Central

Green, B. Lee; Rivers, Desiree A.; Kumar, Nagi; Baldwin, Julie; Rivers, Brian M.; Sultan, Dawood; Jacobsen, Paul; Gordon, Leslene E.; Davis, Jenna; Roetzheim, Richard

2014-01-01

Summary The Center for Equal Health (CEH), a transdisciplinary Center of Excellence, was established to investigate cancer disparities comprehensively and achieve health equity through research, education, training, and community outreach. This paper discusses challenges faced by CEH, strategies employed to foster collaborations, lessons learned, and future considerations for establishing similar initiatives. PMID:24185157

Building the Business Case for Sustainable Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Bill

2011-01-01

While it is too early to measure changes in fall 2011 enrollments, overcrowding on campuses is likely to remain a problem, at least for the foreseeable future. For community colleges, many of which face steep budget cuts in the coming year, the challenge will be how to draw back spending without negatively affecting the student experience.…

Visual business ecosystem intelligence: lessons from the field.

PubMed

Basole, Rahul C

2014-01-01

Macroscopic insight into business ecosystems is becoming increasingly important. With the emergence of new digital business data, opportunities exist to develop rich, interactive visual-analytics tools. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have been developing and implementing visual business ecosystem intelligence tools in corporate settings. This article discusses the challenges they faced, the lessons learned, and opportunities for future research.

Physicians Who Treat the Elderly in Rural Florida: Trends Indicating Concerns regarding Access to Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunderson, Anne; Menachemi, Nir; Brummel-Smith, Ken; Brooks, Robert

2006-01-01

Context: Rural elderly patients are faced with numerous challenges in accessing care. Additional strains to access may be occurring given recent market pressures, which would have significant impact on this vulnerable population. Purpose: This study focused on the practice patterns and future plans of rural Florida physicians who routinely see…

Preparing America's Future. The High School Symposium (Washington, DC, April 4, 2002). Excerpted.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2003

This document presents nine papers from a symposium on challenges currently facing U.S. high schools and their role in preparing students for high achievement in postsecondary education. The following papers are included: "What Ails High Schools? How Should They Be Reformed? Is There a Federal Role?" (Chester E. Finn); "Achievement:…

Radar Resource Management in a Dense Target Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-01

problem faced by networked MFRs . While relaxing our assumptions concerning information gain presents numerous challenges worth exploring, future research...linear programming MFR multifunction phased array radar MILP mixed integer linear programming NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization PDF probability...1: INTRODUCTION Multifunction phased array radars ( MFRs ) are capable of performing various tasks in rapid succession. The performance of target search

Silvicultural decisionmaking in an uncertain climate future: a workshop-based exploration of considerations, strategies, and approaches

Treesearch

Maria K. Janowiak; Christopher W. Swanston; Linda M. Nagel; Christopher R. Webster; Brian J. Palik; Mark J. Twery; John B. Bradford; Linda R. Parker; Andrea T. Hille; Sheela M. Johnson

2011-01-01

Land managers across the country face the immense challenge of developing and applying appropriate management strategies as forests respond to climate change. We hosted a workshop to explore silvicultural strategies for addressing the uncertainties surrounding climate change and forest response in the northeastern and north-central United States. Outcomes of this...

State Arts Policy: Trends and Future Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowell, Julia F.

2008-01-01

State arts agencies (SAAs)--key players within the U.S. system of public support for the arts--face growing economic, political, and demographic challenges to the roles and missions they adopted when founded in the mid-1960s. This report, the fourth and final in a multiyear study, looks at state arts agencies' efforts to rethink their roles and…

A Brighter Future for Rural America? Strategies for Communities and States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, DeWitt; And Others

This book outlines the competitive challenge facing rural America and discusses signs of hope for the rural economy. It reports some "secrets of success" in 16 rural farm belt counties that have gained employment while most rural areas are losing jobs. It also describes new state initiatives to help rural communities and lists operating…

The Nativization of the Tribal Workforce: A Vision for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmed Al-Asfour

2018-01-01

Perhaps the most challenging issue facing many Native nations is employment--or rather, the lack of employment opportunity--on or near the reservation. How to best foster economic development for Native American communities has long been discussed at the local, state, and federal levels. Agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have…

Forests in the balance: linking tradition and technology in landscape mosaics

Treesearch

Margaret S. Devall; Geoffrey C. Smith

2007-01-01

The future of forests around the world is uncertain: forests are being cleared and the lands converted to other uses, while existing forests face many challenges from a variety of sources. The pressures on forests come from two usually opposing perspectives, timber production and wildlife conservation. This special issue volume attempts to bridge between these two...

Business-School Cooperatives: Meeting Educational Needs. Bar/School Partnership Programs Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Elenor

Business-school cooperatives are a potential solution to the need of students and educators to learn more about business, its functions in U.S. society, and the need of businesses to have a future workforce ready to face the challenges of an increasingly more complicated and highly technical work atmosphere. Such cooperatives, which are an…

Adoptive Identity and Adjustment from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: A Person-Centered Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grotevant, Harold D.; Lo, Albert Y. H.; Fiorenzo, Lisa; Dunbar, Nora D.

2017-01-01

Adopted persons face special challenges in the development of identity, as aspects of their histories may be unknown, making it difficult to construct a coherent narrative linking past, present, and future. Extensive literature on adjustment outcomes for adopted persons indicates an elevated risk for adjustment problems. In this study, a low-risk…

Psychosocial Support for Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chitiyo, Jonathan; Chitiyo, Argnue; Chitiyo, Morgan

2016-01-01

Healthy psychosocial development during childhood is a key determinant to the future well-being of all individuals. In many areas of Africa, demand for psychosocial support continues to grow in response to the increasing number of children left orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These orphans face various challenges and yet, in most…

Evaluating the sources of potential migrant species: implications under climate change

Treesearch

Ines Ibanez; James S. Clark; Michael C. Dietze

2008-01-01

As changes in climate become more apparent, ecologists face the challenge of predicting species responses to the new conditions. Most forecasts are based on climate envelopes (CE), correlative approaches that project future distributions on the basis of the current climate often assuming some dispersal lag. One major caveat with this approach is that it ignores the...

A Practitioner Review of the Great Leap in Mainland China's Tertiary VET

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Junqing; Gao, Xuesong; Su, Zhigang

2006-01-01

In this paper, we attempt to give an insider's perspective on mainland China's tertiary vocational education/training (VET) through reflecting upon its recent history, the social and economic conditions for its current growth and survival, and the challenges facing its future. We will take stock of four major problems that have been hindering the…

Perspectives on the Development and Future of Advanced Placement® Human Geography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hildebrant, Barbara

2016-01-01

Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography faced a number of hurdles that nearly derailed the course before it launched in 2000-2001. A dedicated cadre of geography professionals and high school teachers rose to the challenge and the course remains one of the fastest growing AP courses currently offered by College Board. Seventeen readers and leaders…

Planning the future's forests with assisted migration [Chapter 8

Treesearch

Mary I. Williams; R. Kasten Dumroese

2016-01-01

If the climate changes faster than the adaptation or migration capability of plants (Zhu et al. 2012; Gray and Hamann 2013), foresters and other land managers will face an overwhelming challenge. Growing trees that survive may become more important than growing perfectly formed trees (Hebda 2008) and may require selection of adapted plant materials and/or assisting the...

Transportation Education and Outreach Pilot Program Targeting Students in Grades K-12. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhn, Beverly T.

The transportation engineering profession faces a challenging future in the 21st century. Over the past decade, advances in transportation and technology applications have altered and expanded the list of knowledge, skills, and abilities that transportation professionals must have. The end result is a rapidly changing industry that needs qualified…

U.S. Offshore Wind Manufacturing and Supply Chain Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamilton, Bruce

2013-02-22

This report seeks to provide an organized, analytical approach to identifying and bounding uncertainties around offshore wind manufacturing and supply chain capabilities; projecting potential component-level supply chain needs under three demand scenarios; and identifying key supply chain challenges and opportunities facing the future U.S. market and current suppliers of the nation’s landbased wind market.

Introduction to SWAT+, a completely restructured version of the soil and water assessment tool

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

SWAT+ is a completely revised version of SWAT that was developed to face present and future challenges in water resources modeling and management and to meet the needs of the growing worldwide user community. SWAT+ addresses several of the limitations of the model reported in the large body of peer...

Think Piece: Cognitive Justice and Integration without Duress. The Future of Development Education--Perspectives from the South

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odora Hoppers, Catherine A.

2015-01-01

"In a time of unacceptable global injustice, growing inequalities in the distribution of power, accelerating climate change, and unwavering racism and social exclusion, we are today facing the biggest challenges of human history" (European Conference on Intercultural Dialogue in Development Education, 2008: 1). A favourable wind is…

Formation of Future Teachers' Professional Competence on the Basis of Polylingual Approach: The State Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhorabekova, Ainur N.

2015-01-01

Nowadays the institutions of higher education are facing new challenges, the which aim is to provide highly qualified specialists who have mastered not only professional knowledge, but also ready for intercultural multilingual communication, solving problems independently, teaching subjects in two or more languages. For teacher training, we need a…

Perceived Barriers and Protective Factors of Juvenile Offenders on Their Developmental Pathway to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unruh, Deanne; Povenmire-Kirk, Tiana; Yamamoto, Scott

2009-01-01

Adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system face multiple challenges on their pathway to adulthood. These adolescents not only have an increased risk of committing future crimes and are further at risk of not becoming healthy, productive adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk and protective factors and associations…

Pupils' Perceptions of Informal Learning in School Music Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Susan; Creech, Andrea; McQueen, Hilary

2018-01-01

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The 'Musical Futures' initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based initially on…

Financing EU Student Mobility: A Proposed Credit Union Scheme for Europe. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.17.10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoareau, Cecile

2010-01-01

Governments worldwide face the challenge of financing a growing student population with limited resources, especially in the current context of difficult economic recovery. Student loan schemes, because they appear as cost-efficient and are defendable on the lines of social equity (students invest in their future), are increasingly politically…

The Evolution of NxtWave Leaders for 21st-Century Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Jody K.

2015-01-01

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

Surviving the deepening downturn

Treesearch

Urs Buehlmann; Matt Bumgardner; Al Schuler; Jeff Crissey

2009-01-01

With the housing crisis having spread to the entire economy, woodworking companies face challenges to position themselves for future opportunities for profits and growth. What is the industry doing to sustain itself? As a follow-up to last year's survey, an exclusive study by Virginia Tech, the U.S. Forest Service and Modern Woodworking took an updated look at the...

Sustainable Leadership and Future-Oriented Decision Making in the Educational Governance--A Finnish Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metsamuuronen, Jari; Kuosa, Tuomo; Laukkanen, Reijo

2013-01-01

Purpose: During the new millennium the Finnish educational system has faced a new challenge: how to explain glorious PISA results produced with only a small variance between schools, average national costs and, as regards the average duration of studies, relatively efficiently. Explanations for this issue can be searched for in many different…

At the Precipice: A Prospective Exploration of Medical Students' Expectations of the Pre-Clerkship to Clerkship Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soo, Jason; Brett-MacLean, Pamela; Cave, Marie-Therese; Oswald, Anna

2016-01-01

Medical learners face many challenging transitions. We prospectively explored students' perceptions of their upcoming transition to clerkship and their future professional selves. In 2013, 160/165 end-of-second-year medical students wrote narrative reflections and 79/165 completed a questionnaire on their perceptions of their upcoming transition…

3D and 4D Bioprinting of the Myocardium: Current Approaches, Challenges, and Future Prospects

PubMed Central

Ong, Chin Siang; Nam, Lucy; Ong, Kingsfield; Krishnan, Aravind; Huang, Chen Yu; Fukunishi, Takuma

2018-01-01

3D and 4D bioprinting of the heart are exciting notions in the modern era. However, myocardial bioprinting has proven to be challenging. This review outlines the methods, materials, cell types, issues, challenges, and future prospects in myocardial bioprinting. Advances in 3D bioprinting technology have significantly improved the manufacturing process. While scaffolds have traditionally been utilized, 3D bioprinters, which do not require scaffolds, are increasingly being employed. Improved understanding of the cardiac cellular composition and multiple strategies to tackle the issues of vascularization and viability had led to progress in this field. In vivo studies utilizing small animal models have been promising. 4D bioprinting is a new concept that has potential to advance the field of 3D bioprinting further by incorporating the fourth dimension of time. Clinical translation will require multidisciplinary collaboration to tackle the pertinent issues facing this field. PMID:29850546

Four Cornerstones for Ensuring a Sustainable Workforce and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Geoscientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keane, C. M.; Houlton, H. R.

2012-04-01

The great demographic shift underway in many developed nations is impacting the geosciences extraordinarily hard. We examine the situation in the United States as an example of how there are four clear overarching issues to establishing a sustainable geosciences workforce: Carrying Capacity of the Educational Sector, the fundamentals of meeting future demand, the issue of graduate quality, and the emerging challenge of sustaining the capacity building of future geoscientist generations. The United States currently hosts about half of all geoscientists globally and is facing the imminent, and in the case of the Federal geosciences workforce, attrition of the Baby Boom generation geoscientists. This demographic shift is impacting all parts of the geosciences and when coupled by internal shifts in the geosciences on subdisciplinary thrusts, the match between the skill portfolio of new graduates is not necessarily well-aligned with the exiting skills of retirees. In particular, the US geosciences face the challenge of, based on current demand, attrition, and graduation rates of being short nearly 150,000 geoscientists by 2021. At the same time, the educational community is seeing the retirement of faculty that are leading into constrained ability to educate students in a number of topics, especially those in the resource industries. Given current funding trends and priorities, this phenomenon is likely to be in a feedback loop and will complicate the broad skill portfolio of the future geosciences. We also examine the issues of global migration and how it does not appear to be nearly as important to addressing the challenges as assumed by many. In addition, the prospective future geosciences majors appear to be of lesser quality than even 5 years ago based on test score, yet we will also present several broad strategies and cautionary tales that can help the US, and likely the global, geosciences community to ensure a stable and effective future and how this is actually opening new opportunities for the next generation of geoscientists.

What are the new challenges, goals, and tasks of occupational health in China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (13th FYP) period?

PubMed Central

Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Kang, Liangguo; Huang, Lang; Pan, Wei

2018-01-01

Objective: In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to occupational health under the guidance of people-oriented concept. This paper introduces the current status and future development of occupational health in China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (13th FYP) period (2016-2020) to promote the cooperation and exchange on occupational health between China and other countries. Methods: We collected statistical data about occupational diseases and information addressing occupational diseases. We included all types of official reports, guidelines, policies, and relevant laws published by the Chinese government. Results: China has carried out a series of strategies and measures to reduce the incidence of occupational diseases, and has made progress in occupational health protection. However, occupational health in China still faces severe conditions and challenges for occupational diseases that have not been prevented and controlled effectively. To actively promote the future development of occupational health during the 13th FYP period, China has issued a series of important policy documents (such as the Plan for a Healthy China 2030, the 13th FYP for Occupational Disease Prevention and Control, and the 13th FYP for Occupational Health Hazard Prevention and Control) in the last two years. Conclusion: The overall situation condition of occupational health in China is still serious. Occupational health in China's 13th FYP period faces a series of challenges, future tasks include plans to add the employer and regulatory levels of occupational health management, and occupational health education and publicity to the current technology-dominated approaches. PMID:29563366

Collision induced unfolding of isolated proteins in the gas phase: past, present, and future.

PubMed

Dixit, Sugyan M; Polasky, Daniel A; Ruotolo, Brandon T

2018-02-01

Rapidly characterizing the three-dimensional structures of proteins and the multimeric machines they form remains one of the great challenges facing modern biological and medical sciences. Ion mobility-mass spectrometry based techniques are playing an expanding role in characterizing these functional complexes, especially in drug discovery and development workflows. Despite this expansion, ion mobility-mass spectrometry faces many challenges, especially in the context of detecting small differences in protein tertiary structure that bear functional consequences. Collision induced unfolding is an ion mobility-mass spectrometry method that enables the rapid differentiation of subtly-different protein isoforms based on their unfolding patterns and stabilities. In this review, we summarize the modern implementation of such gas-phase unfolding experiments and provide an overview of recent developments in both methods and applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organs-on-chips: Progress, challenges, and future directions

PubMed Central

Low, Lucie A

2017-01-01

The National Institutes of Health Microphysiological Systems (MPS) program, led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, is part of a joint effort on MPS development with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and with regulatory guidance from FDA, is now in its final year of funding. The program has produced many tangible outcomes in tissue chip development in terms of stem cell differentiation, microfluidic engineering, platform development, and single and multi-organ systems—and continues to help facilitate the acceptance and use of tissue chips by the wider community. As the first iteration of the program draws to a close, this Commentary will highlight some of the goals met, and lay out some of the challenges uncovered that will remain to be addressed as the field progresses. The future of the program will also be outlined. Impact statement This work is important to the field as it outlines the progress and challenges faced by the NIH Microphysiological Systems program to date, and the future of the program. This is useful information for the field to be aware of, both for current program stakeholders and future awardees and partners. PMID:28343437

Effect of bariatric surgery on future general surgical procedures.

PubMed

Kini, Subhash; Kannan, Umashankkar

2011-04-01

Bariatric surgery is now accepted as a safe and effective procedure for morbid obesity. The frequency of bariatric procedures is increasing with the adoption of the laparoscopic approach. The general surgeons will be facing many more of such patients presenting with common general surgical problems. Many of the general surgeons, faced with such situations, may not be aware of the changes in the gastrointestinal anatomy following bariatric procedures and management of these clinical situations will therefore present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We hereby present a review of management of few common general surgical problems in patients with a history of bariatric surgery.

Biomarkers of tolerance: searching for the hidden phenotype.

PubMed

Perucha, Esperanza; Rebollo-Mesa, Irene; Sagoo, Pervinder; Hernandez-Fuentes, Maria P

2011-08-01

Induction of transplantation tolerance remains the ideal long-term clinical and logistic solution to the current challenges facing the management of renal allograft recipients. In this review, we describe the recent studies and advances made in identifying biomarkers of renal transplant tolerance, from study inceptions, to the lessons learned and their implications for current and future studies with the same goal. With the age of biomarker discovery entering a new dimension of high-throughput technologies, here we also review the current approaches, developments, and pitfalls faced in the subsequent statistical analysis required to identify valid biomarker candidates.

Adolescents in Wartime U.S. Military Families: A Developmental Perspective on Challenges and Resources

PubMed Central

Milburn, Norweeta G.; Lightfoot, Marguerita

2013-01-01

Adolescents in wartime U.S. military families are a unique group of young people who are experiencing the usual milestones of adolescent development, including establishing their identities and becoming autonomous, while they face the challenges of military life such as multiple frequent moves, relocation and parent deployment to combat settings. This paper reviews research on adolescents in wartime U.S. military families, within the context of adolescent development, to identify their behavioral, emotional and academic risk status, and challenges and resources. Recommendations for future research and interventions to foster the healthy development of these adolescents are also provided. PMID:23780722

Looking Back to the Future: Current Issues Facing Nursing Education From the Reflections of a Member of the Silent Generation.

PubMed

Keating, Sarah B

2016-07-01

As a member of the Silent Generation, the author, through her lived experiences, reflects upon the successes and challenges facing nursing education in the mid-20th to 21st centuries. The author looks "back to the future" and reviews current issues that surround four key nursing education milestones. From the early entry-level baccalaureate programs in the 1950s to the current growth of the Doctor of Nursing Practice as entry into advanced practice, milestones in nursing education are linked to the cultural changes and healthcare system demands that took place at the time and their influence on nursing education and the profession. Looking to the future, the author speaks of the implications from the forecasted changes in the healthcare system that will demand interdisciplinary education and practice and the continued need for nursing research to increase the body of scientific knowledge in practice, education, and technology. Keating. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Challenges of a community based pragmatic, randomised controlled trial of weight loss maintenance.

PubMed

Randell, Elizabeth; McNamara, Rachel; Shaw, Christine; Espinasse, Aude; Simpson, Sharon Anne

2015-12-18

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have a reputation for being inherently difficult to deliver as planned and often face unforeseen challenges and delays, particularly in relation to organisational and governance difficulties, participant interest, constraints due to allocation of costs, local investigator interest and lengthy bureaucracy. Recruitment is often difficult and the challenges faced often impact on the cost and delivery of a successful trial within the funded period. This paper reflects upon the challenges faced in delivering a pragmatic RCT of weight loss maintenance in a community setting and suggests some potential solutions. The weight loss maintenance in adults trial aimed to evaluate the impact of a 12 month, individually tailored weight maintenance intervention on BMI 3 years from randomisation. Participants were recruited primarily from participant identification centres (PICs)-GP surgeries, exercise on referral schemes and slimming world. The intervention was delivered in community settings. A recruitment strategy implementation plan was drafted to address and monitor poor recruitment. Delays in opening and recruitment were experienced early on. Some were beyond the control of the study team such as; disagreement over allocation of national health service costs and PIC classification as well as difficulties in securing support from research networks. That the intervention was delivered in community settings was often at the root of these issues. Key items to address at the design stage of future trials include feasibility of eligibility criteria. The most effective element of the recruitment implementation plan was to refocus sources of recruitment and target only those who could fulfil the eligibility criteria immediately. Learnings from this trial should be kept in mind by those designing similar studies in the future. Considering potential governance, cost and research network support implications at the design stage of pragmatic trials of any community-based complex intervention is paramount. The appropriateness and viability of inclusion criteria also require careful consideration as does use of a targeted advertising strategy. ISRCTN35774128, 12/01/2010.

Bordetella pertussis pathogenesis: current and future challenges.

PubMed

Melvin, Jeffrey A; Scheller, Erich V; Miller, Jeff F; Cotter, Peggy A

2014-04-01

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, has recently re-emerged as a major public health threat despite high levels of vaccination against the aetiological agent Bordetella pertussis. In this Review, we describe the pathogenesis of this disease, with a focus on recent mechanistic insights into B. pertussis virulence-factor function. We also discuss the changing epidemiology of pertussis and the challenges facing vaccine development. Despite decades of research, many aspects of B. pertussis physiology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood. We highlight knowledge gaps that must be addressed to develop improved vaccines and therapeutic strategies.

Present and Future of Neurosurgery Training and Education

PubMed Central

GASCO, Jaime

2014-01-01

Multiple challenges are faced by educators and trainees. These challenges are multidimensional and pertain to a scenario in which trainees have to become in a short period of time competent technical neurosurgeons, while at the same time conscious of economic and professional factors that will influence their practice. It is the duty of societies and leading educators to come together in developing continental methods of training aimed towards “organised learning”. The goal should strictly be the education of our residents, not just the utilisation of their manpower for a number of years. PMID:24639605

New challenges for palliative nursing.

PubMed

Aranda, Sanchia

1997-05-02

Editorials by Jeanette Webber and Libby White (IJPN 2(3)) explored threats to both the nursing profession and palliative nursing as the health system faces the reality of limited resources and expanding client needs. I wish to pick up on these issues in the light of changes proposed for palliative care in one Australian state, Victoria. My central argument is that to secure the future of palliative nursing, efforts must focus on demonstrating clearly the value and contribution of nurses to client and family outcomes. Why do I think we are challenged to do this?

Treading lightly on shifting ground: The direction and motivation of future geological research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Witt, A.C.

2011-01-01

The future of the geosciences and geological research will involve complex scientific challenges, primarily concerning global and regional environmental issues, in the next 20-30 years. It is quite reasonable to suspect, based on current political and socioeconomic events, that young geoscientists will be faced with and involved in helping to resolve some well defined problems: water and energy security, the effects of anthropogenic climate change, coastal sea level rise and development, and the mitigation of geohazards. It is how we choose to approach these challenges that will define our future. Interdisciplinary applied research, improved modeling and prediction augmented with faster and more sophisticated computing, and a greater role in creating and guiding public policy, will help us achieve our goals of a cleaner and safer Earth environment in the next 30 years. In the far future, even grander possibilities for eliminating the risk of certain geohazards and finding sustainable solutions to our energy needs can be envisioned. Looking deeper into the future, the possibilities for geoscience research push the limits of the imagination.

Future changes driving dietetics workforce supply and demand: future scan 2012-2022.

PubMed

Rhea, Marsha; Bettles, Craig

2012-03-01

The dietetics profession faces many workforce challenges and opportunities to ensure that registered dietitians (RDs) and dietetic technicians, registered (DTRs) are at the forefront of health and nutrition. The profession must prepare for new public priorities, changes in population, and the restructuring of how people learn and work, as well as new advances in science and technology. In September 2010, the Dietetics Workforce Demand Task Force, in consultation with a panel of thought leaders, identified 10 change drivers that affect dietetics workforce supply and demand. This future scan report provides an overview of eight of these drivers. Two change drivers-health care reform and population risk factors/nutrition initiatives-are addressed in separate technical articles. A change matrix has been included at the end of this executive summary. The matrix contains a summary of each change driver and its expected impact and is designed to present the drivers in the context of a larger, dynamic system of change in the dietetics profession. The impact of any of these change drivers individually and collectively in a dynamic system is uncertain. The outcome of any change driver is also uncertain. The dietetics profession faces many choices within each change driver to meet the workforce challenges and seize the opportunities for leadership and growth. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negotiating Family, Navigating Resettlement: Family Connectedness amongst Resettled Youth with Refugee Backgrounds Living in Melbourne, Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMichael, C.; Gifford, S. M.; Correa-Velez, I.

2011-01-01

Refugee adolescents resettling in a new country face many challenges, and being part of a supportive family is a critical factor in assisting them to achieve wellbeing and create positive futures. This longitudinal study documents experiences of family life in the resettlement context of 120 young people with refugee backgrounds living in…

States Pass Diverse Slate of Mental Health Legislation in 2013. Mental Health: 2013 Legislative Session

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomsen, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Recent violence in schools and on college campuses has brought into sharp focus the need to address mental health issues in educational settings. Getting students with mental health problems the help they need, without stigmatizing mental illness, may help prevent future tragedies. Children with mental health problems face a host of challenges,…

Necessary Educational Reform for the 21st Century: The Future of Public Schools in Our Democracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laguardia, Armando; Pearl, Arthur

2009-01-01

We offer a theoretical and ecological argument for the preparation of citizens in U.S. public schools. This democratic education draws legitimacy from the concern of the nations founders for a populace educated to govern itself. We also emphasize the need for new democratic skills and knowledge in the face of today's challenges, and our…

Assessing Medical Students' Moral Judgment over the Course of a Four-Year Professionalism and Humanism Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riegle, Sandra E.; Frye, Ann W.; Glenn, Jason; Smith, Kirk L.

2012-01-01

Teachers tasked with developing moral character in future physicians face an array of pedagogic challenges, among them identifying tools to measure progress in instilling the requisite skill set. One validated instrument for assessing moral judgment is the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). Based on the work of Lawrence Kohlberg, the test's main…

Human Needs and Nature's Balance: Population, Resources, and the Environment. A Population Learning Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crews, Kimberly A.

One of the challenges that face humanity is how to manage resource and environmental endowments in a way that will guarantee continued survival and ensure the well-being of future generations. Those resources most important to human survival are food, water, and energy. When the population of the world reached 5 billion in 1987, approximately 87…

Changing the Introductory IS Course to Improve Future Enrollments: An Irish Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whelan, Eoin; Firth, David

2012-01-01

A significant challenge facing the IS discipline worldwide is the reversal of the low numbers of students currently enrolling in IS courses. While there is a growing body of literature which offers various insights into the IS enrollment crisis, almost all of this work is either from U.S. scholars or based on findings from U.S. universities. This…

Understanding Hospital Value-Based Purchasing.

PubMed

Brooks, Jo Ann

2016-05-01

This column is designed to provide a nursing perspective on new hospital quality measurements. Future articles will cover the various quality indicators hospitals face and the role of the nurse in meeting mandated benchmarks. Reader responses to this column are welcome and will help to make it more useful to nurses in meeting the challenges posed by health care reform and changing Medicare reimbursement programs.

The Effects of a Strengths-Based Assessment and Development Program on First-Term Masters of Business Administration Students and Future Academic Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hohn, Michael C.

2009-01-01

Adults returning to graduate school to acquire a master of business administration (MBA) degree face a myriad of challenges as they attempt to manage academic responsibilities, work, family, and social obligations. Currently, a number of educational professionals only look to identify and remediate student deficiencies. Developing existing…

Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Pains: How Cues about State Aid Learning in Dynamic Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gureckis, Todd M.; Love, Bradley C.

2009-01-01

Successful investors seeking returns, animals foraging for food, and pilots controlling aircraft all must take into account how their current decisions will impact their future standing. One challenge facing decision makers is that options that appear attractive in the short-term may not turn out best in the long run. In this paper, we explore…

The New Forgotten Half and Research Directions to Support Them. A William T. Grant Foundation Inequality Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenbaum, James; Ahearn, Caitlin; Becker, Kelly; Rosenbaum, Janet

2015-01-01

In 1988, the William T. Grant Foundation issued "The Forgotten Half," the final report of the Foundation's Commission on Youth and America's Future. Focusing on inequality in American society, specifically among non-college-bound 16-24 year olds, the report explored the challenges facing young people and the institutions that serve them.…

Effects of Immediate Feedback Delivered via Webcam and Bug-in-Ear Technology on Preservice Teacher Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheeler, Mary Catherine; McKinnon, Kathleen; Stout, Jonathan

2012-01-01

University faculty and supervisors dedicated to the preparation of future teachers are facing more challenges than ever before in doing more with less. This includes supervising more preservice teachers in more schools, spread out over a wide geographic area. Feedback is essential to learning, and recent research suggests that the most effective…

Training Tomorrow's Environmental Journalists: Assessing the Extent of Environmental-Themed Training in College-Level Journalism Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Hans C.

2017-01-01

While the scale of the environmental problems facing the planet mean that effective environmental journalism is now more important than ever, the environmental beat can be extremely challenging for journalists. One way to address this is by providing specialized training for future journalists. This study involves an investigation of the extent to…

Fellowship training at John Hopkins: programs leading to careers in librarianship and informatics as informaticians or informationists.

PubMed

Campbell, Jayne M; Roderer, Nancy K

2005-01-01

Preparing librarians to meet the information challenges faced in the current and future health care environments is critical. At Johns Hopkins University, three NLM-funded fellowship programs provide opportunities for librarians to utilize the rich environments of the Welch Medical Library and the Division of Health Sciences Informatics in support of life-long learning.

National Forum on Adult Education and Literacy: Views from Adult Learners (Washington, D.C., September 1997).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. Div. of Adult Education and Literacy.

A national forum was conducted in September 1997 to obtain the views of former and current students in adult literacy education programs about challenges they faced and ways to facilitate success for future students. The thoughts of 57 literacy delegates from 44 states were elicited on 4 topics: participants' hopes and expectations; accessibility…

Imagining a Future, Living in the Present and Remembering the Past

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Stephanie

2017-01-01

The remit for this short piece was to identify themes emerging from the articles in this edition by Julie McLeod, Duncan Waite and Eugenie Samier, to consider how these themes reflect on the current field, and to identify their ongoing relevance. Additionally, I was asked to consider the current challenges that the field is facing and what this…

Challenges Facing School Leadership in Promoting ICT Integration in Instruction in the Public Schools of Bahrain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdul Razzak, Nina

2015-01-01

The future of Bahrain's economy and the prosperity of its citizens are, like elsewhere in the world, strongly correlated with ICT integration in almost every life aspect (Anderson 2010). ICT integration depends heavily on digital literacy, which is the ability to make use of ICT in learning and work activities (Erstad in "Education and…

Strand IV: Environmental and Community Health. Environmental and Public Health, Grades 4-6. Special Edition for Evaluation and Discussion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Elementary Curriculum Development.

This prototypic curriculum is designed to develop awareness of the challenges man faces in his crowded communities to insure clean water, pest control, waste removal, safe food handling and adequate community health facilities. It distinguishes between the prevention of future environmental abuse and compensation for past abuses. Both the gaining…

Learners' Ensemble Based Security Conceptual Model for M-Learning System in Malaysian Higher Learning Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahalingam, Sheila; Abdollah, Faizal Mohd; Sahib, Shahrin

2014-01-01

M-Learning has a potential to improve efficiency in the education sector and has a tendency to grow advance and transform the learning environment in the future. Yet there are challenges in many areas faced when introducing and implementing m-learning. The learner centered attribute in mobile learning implies deployment in untrustworthy learning…

Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. 2010/11-2012/13 Service Plan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, 2010

2010-01-01

British Columbia is facing challenging economic times. Indeed, the province is managing the effects of an economic recession that has been truly global in nature. In times like these, it becomes even more important to draw on the core strengths of the province and clearly recognize that the opportunities for everyone's future lie in the innovative…

Interactive Exploration of Big Scientific Data: New Representations and Techniques.

PubMed

Hjelmervik, Jon M; Barrowclough, Oliver J D

2016-01-01

Although splines have been in popular use in CAD for more than half a century, spline research is still an active field, driven by the challenges we are facing today within isogeometric analysis and big data. Splines are likely to play a vital future role in enabling effective big data exploration techniques in 3D, 4D, and beyond.

A Review of Video Triggers and Video Production in Higher Education and Continuing Education PBL Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasi, Päivi M.; Poikela, Sari

2016-01-01

Higher education faces the challenges of bridging education and authentic work. In addition, it needs to respond to the highly multimodal and participatory communication and content creation practices, preferences, and cultures of present and future students. The aim of our article is to discuss how the use of video triggers and video production…

Assessing the Workforce Development Needs of Healthcare Employers in Southeastern Wisconsin. Research Brief. Volume 98, Number 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Million, Laura

2010-01-01

Despite near-record unemployment rates in the region, southeast Wisconsin's healthcare sector faces a distinctive challenge: finding sufficient numbers of qualified and trained workers to fill current and future job openings. A May 2009 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee analysis found that one out of every four full-time job openings and one out…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shiltsev, Vladimir

The 2014 P5 report indicated the accelerator-based neutrino and rare decay physics research as a centerpiece of the US domestic HEP program. Operation, upgrade and development of the accelerators for the near-term and longer-term particle physics program at the Intensity Frontier face formidable challenges. Here we discuss key elements of the accelerator physics and technology R&D program toward future multi-MW proton accelerators.

The Trade Unions in Germany. Facing New Challenges. IN Visitors' Information Special Report. 2nd Quarter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horstkotte, Hermann; Schroder, Karsten

A study examined the current status and likely future of trade unions in the German Trade Union Federation. The study focused on the following topics: unions as part of a social partnership, unions as partners in self-administration, collective pay policy against unemployment, plant reorganization and its impact on work and wages, the trend toward…

Building the Capacity to Manage Orthopaedic Trauma After a Catastrophe in a Low-Income Country.

PubMed

Furey, Andrew; Rourke, James; Larsen, Hans

2015-10-01

Providing trauma care in an austere environment is very challenging, especially when the country is faced with a natural disaster. Unfortunately the combination of these elements highlights the deficiencies in managing orthopaedic trauma both in a developing country and in the face of a natural disaster, exponentially amplifying the effects of each. When considering the implementation and practice of orthopaedic trauma care in such an environment, one must consider the initial phase of program development and look further to the future in the development of a resilient program, which is sustainable. Through the use of the example of Haiti and a specific Non-Governmental Organization, we discuss the evidence for and thoughts behind developing orthopaedic trauma care program immediately after a natural disaster. This program aims to build capacity and empower a developing nation's health professionals to advance the care of orthopaedic trauma patients. We describe a model of capacity building that serves as a framework to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of low-to middle-income countries in providing orthopaedic trauma care when faced with such a challenge.

Grand Challenges and Future Opportunities for Metal–Organic Frameworks

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) allow compositional and structural diversity beyond conventional solid-state materials. Continued interest in the field is justified by potential applications of exceptional breadth, ranging from gas storage and separation, which takes advantage of the inherent pores and their volume, to electronic applications, which requires precise control of electronic structure. In this Outlook we present some of the pertinent challenges that MOFs face in their conventional implementations, as well as opportunities in less traditional areas. Here the aim is to discuss select design concepts and future research goals that emphasize nuances relevant to this class of materials as a whole. Particular emphasis is placed on synthetic aspects, as they influence the potential for MOFs in gas separation, electrical conductivity, and catalytic applications. PMID:28691066

Roles and challenges of the health information management educator: a national HIM faculty survey.

PubMed

Houser, Shannon H; Tesch, Linde; Hart-Hester, Susan; Dixon-Lee, Claire

2009-01-01

Health information technology initiatives created the framework for a national health information infrastructure that concomitantly fostered a need to build intellectual capacity within our current and future health information management (HIM) work force. Results from the 2008 HIM Educator Survey are discussed. Developed for voluntary electronic participation, the survey comprised a series of questions about educators' professional interests and responsibilities. Summary data from the 402 respondents are provided and highlight areas such as academic rank, teaching status, salary range, levels of interest in various issues, and use of virtual learning tools. Data from this survey provide insights into the concerns and challenges many HIM educators face in today's training institutions and suggest implications for future directions in work force training and professional development within the HIM field.

A review of smart homes- present state and future challenges.

PubMed

Chan, Marie; Estève, Daniel; Escriba, Christophe; Campo, Eric

2008-07-01

In the era of information technology, the elderly and disabled can be monitored with numerous intelligent devices. Sensors can be implanted into their home for continuous mobility assistance and non-obtrusive disease prevention. Modern sensor-embedded houses, or smart houses, cannot only assist people with reduced physical functions but help resolve the social isolation they face. They are capable of providing assistance without limiting or disturbing the resident's daily routine, giving him or her greater comfort, pleasure, and well-being. This article presents an international selection of leading smart home projects, as well as the associated technologies of wearable/implantable monitoring systems and assistive robotics. The latter are often designed as components of the larger smart home environment. The paper will conclude by discussing future challenges of the domain.

Grand Challenges and Future Opportunities for Metal–Organic Frameworks

DOE PAGES

Hendon, Christopher H.; Rieth, Adam J.; Korzyński, Maciej D.; ...

2017-06-06

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) allow compositional and structural diversity beyond conventional solid-state materials. Continued interest in the field is justified by potential applications of exceptional breadth, ranging from gas storage and separation, which takes advantage of the inherent pores and their volume, to electronic applications, which requires precise control of electronic structure. In this Outlook we present some of the pertinent challenges that MOFs face in their conventional implementations, as well as opportunities in less traditional areas. Here the aim is to discuss select design concepts and future research goals that emphasize nuances relevant to this class of materials as amore » whole. Particular emphasis is placed on synthetic aspects, as they influence the potential for MOFs in gas separation, electrical conductivity, and catalytic applications.« less

48 CFR 1480.903 - Award in the face of challenge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Award in the face of challenge. 1480.903 Section 1480.903 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Award in the face of challenge. (a) Award of a contract in the face of challenge may be made on the...

48 CFR 1480.903 - Award in the face of challenge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Award in the face of challenge. 1480.903 Section 1480.903 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Award in the face of challenge. (a) Award of a contract in the face of challenge may be made on the...

Achieving the health Millennium Development Goals for South Africa: challenges and priorities.

PubMed

Chopra, Mickey; Lawn, Joy E; Sanders, David; Barron, Peter; Abdool Karim, Salim S; Bradshaw, Debbie; Jewkes, Rachel; Abdool Karim, Quarraisha; Flisher, Alan J; Mayosi, Bongani M; Tollman, Stephen M; Churchyard, Gavin J; Coovadia, Hoosen

2009-09-19

15 years after liberation from apartheid, South Africans are facing new challenges for which the highest calibre of leadership, vision, and commitment is needed. The effect of the unprecedented HIV/AIDS epidemic has been immense. Substantial increases in mortality and morbidity are threatening to overwhelm the health system and undermine the potential of South Africa to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However The Lancet's Series on South Africa has identified several examples of leadership and innovation that point towards a different future scenario. We discuss the type of vision, leadership, and priority actions needed to achieve such a change. We still have time to change the health trajectory of the country, and even meet the MDGs. The South African Government, installed in April, 2009, has the mandate and potential to address the public health emergencies facing the country--will they do so or will another opportunity and many more lives be lost?

Animal models of binge drinking, current challenges to improve face validity.

PubMed

Jeanblanc, Jérôme; Rolland, Benjamin; Gierski, Fabien; Martinetti, Margaret P; Naassila, Mickael

2018-05-05

Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent advances in the development of aerospace materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xuesong; Chen, Yongjun; Hu, Junling

2018-02-01

In recent years, much progress has been made on the development of aerospace materials for structural and engine applications. Alloys, such as Al-based alloys, Mg-based alloys, Ti-based alloys, and Ni-based alloys, are developed for aerospace industry with outstanding advantages. Composite materials, the innovative materials, are taking more and more important roles in aircrafts. However, recent aerospace materials still face some major challenges, such as insufficient mechanical properties, fretting wear, stress corrosion cracking, and corrosion. Consequently, extensive studies have been conducted to develop the next generation aerospace materials with superior mechanical performance and corrosion resistance to achieve improvements in both performance and life cycle cost. This review focuses on the following topics: (1) materials requirements in design of aircraft structures and engines, (2) recent advances in the development of aerospace materials, (3) challenges faced by recent aerospace materials, and (4) future trends in aerospace materials.

Western water and climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dettinger, Michael; Udall, Bradley; Georgakakos, Aris P.

2015-01-01

In this context, four iconic river basins offer glimpses into specific challenges that climate change may bring to the West. The Colorado River is a system in which overuse and growing demands are projected to be even more challenging than climate-change-induced flow reductions. The Rio Grande offers the best example of how climate-change-induced flow declines might sink a major system into permanent drought. The Klamath is currently projected to face the more benign precipitation future, but fisheries and irrigation management may face dire straits due to warming air temperatures, rising irrigation demands, and warming waters in a basin already hobbled by tensions between endangered fisheries and agricultural demands. Finally, California's Bay-Delta system is a remarkably localized and severe weakness at the heart of the region's trillion-dollar economy. It is threatened by the full range of potential climate-change impacts expected across the West, along with major vulnerabilities to increased flooding and rising sea levels.

Challenges faced with the implementation of Web-Based Data Query Systems for population health: development of a questionnaire based on expert consensus.

PubMed

Ahuja, Manik; Aseltine, Robert; Warren, Nicholas; Reisine, Susan; Williams, Pam Holtzclaw; Cislo, Andy

2018-01-01

State health agencies (SHA) and local health agencies (LHA) face several challenges with the dissemination of local health data using Web-Based Data Query Systems (WDQS). To help guide future research, this study aimed to utilize expert consensus to identify the most relevant items that contribute to these challenges. A total of 17 researchers and public health professionals agreed to participate in a three-round Delphi process. In round 1, four topics were represented on a 42-item questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale, along with free-text responses. Free-text responses were analyzed leading to a series of items for a second Delphi round. Participants were given an opportunity to revise results in round 3 for items that did not meet consensus in round 1 or round 2. Consensus on expert opinions was defined at interquartile range (IQR) ≤ 1. The experts reached consensus on a total of 21 (50%) of the 42 items presented in the initial questionnaire. Eleven of the 15 (73%) of the items extracted from the free-text responses met consensus. Items in consensus from this pilot study were used to develop an instrument for a broader survey across Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) coordinators across all 50 US states. Experts confirmed that software development costs, inadequate human resources, data sharing gaps, a lack of political support, and poor data quality contribute significantly to challenges in their data implementation. The findings from this pilot study inform us of items of public health significance that will help guide future research.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education in Singapore: challenges for the future.

PubMed

Wong, Mee Lian; Sen, Priya; Wong, Christina M; Tjahjadi, Sylvia; Govender, Mandy; Koh, Ting Ting; Yusof, Zarina; Chew, Ling; Tan, Avin; K, Vijaya

2012-12-01

We reviewed the current human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education programmes in Singapore, discussed the challenges faced and proposed prevention education interventions for the future. Education programmes on HIV prevention have shown some success as seen by reduced visits to sex workers among the general adult population and a marked increase in condom use among brothel-based sex workers. However, we still face many challenges such as low awareness of HIV preventive strategies and high prevalence of HIV stigma in the general population. Voluntary HIV testing and condom use remain low among the priority groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual men who buy sex. Casual sex has increased markedly from 1.1% in 1989 to 17.4% in 2007 among heterosexuals in Singapore, with the majority (84%) practising unprotected sex. Sex workers have moved from brothels to entertainment venues where sex work is mostly hidden with lack of access to sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/ HIV prevention education and treatment programmes. Education programmes promoting early voluntary testing is hampered because of poor access, high cost and stigma towards people living with HIV. It remains a challenge to promote abstinence and consistent condom use in casual and steady sexual relationships among heterosexuals and MSM. New ways to promote condom use by using a positive appeal about its pleasure enhancing effects rather than the traditional disease-oriented approach should be explored. Education programmes promoting early voluntary testing and acceptance of HIV-infected persons should be scaled up and integrated into the general preventive health services.

Future of Pacific salmon in the face of environmental change: Lessons from one of the world's remaining productive salmon regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schoen, Erik R.; Wipfli, Mark S.; Trammell, Jamie; Rinella, Daniel J.; Floyd, Angelica L.; Grunblatt, Jess; McCarthy, Molly D.; Meyer, Benjamin E.; Morton, John M.; Powell, James E.; Prakash, Anupma; Reimer, Matthew N.; Stuefer, Svetlana L.; Toniolo, Horacio; Wells, Brett M.; Witmer, Frank D. W.

2017-01-01

Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. face serious challenges from climate and landscape change, particularly in the southern portion of their native range. Conversely, climate warming appears to be allowing salmon to expand northwards into the Arctic. Between these geographic extremes, in the Gulf of Alaska region, salmon are at historically high abundances but face an uncertain future due to rapid environmental change. We examined changes in climate, hydrology, land cover, salmon populations, and fisheries over the past 30–70 years in this region. We focused on the Kenai River, which supports world-famous fisheries but where Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha populations have declined, raising concerns about their future resilience. The region is warming and experiencing drier summers and wetter autumns. The landscape is also changing, with melting glaciers, wetland loss, wildfires, and human development. This environmental transformation will likely harm some salmon populations while benefiting others. Lowland salmon streams are especially vulnerable, but retreating glaciers may allow production gains in other streams. Some fishing communities harvest a diverse portfolio of fluctuating resources, whereas others have specialized over time, potentially limiting their resilience. Maintaining diverse habitats and salmon runs may allow ecosystems and fisheries to continue to thrive amidst these changes.

Visionary leadership and the future of VA health system.

PubMed

Bezold, C; Mayer, E; Dighe, A

1997-01-01

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes the change over to Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISNs) the need for new and better leadership is warranted if VA wants to not only survive, but thrive in the emerging twenty-first century healthcare system. VA can prepare for the future and meet the challenges facing them by adopting a system of visionary leadership. The use of scenarios and vision techniques are explained as they relate to VA's efforts to move toward their new system of VISNs. The four scenarios provide snapshots of possible futures for the U.S. healthcare system as well as the possible future role and mission of VA--from VA disappearing to its becoming a premier virtual organization.

Technology-based interventions for weight management: current randomized controlled trial evidence and future directions

PubMed Central

Buscemi, Joanna; Hawkins, Misty A. W.; Wang, Monica L.; Breland, Jessica Y.; Ross, Kathryn M.; Kommu, Anupama

2018-01-01

Obesity is a prevalent health care issue associated with disability, premature morality, and high costs. Behavioral weight management interventions lead to clinically significant weight losses in overweight and obese individuals; however, many individuals are not able to participate in these face-to-face treatments due to limited access, cost, and/or time constraints. Technological advances such as widespread access to the Internet, increased use of smartphones, and newer behavioral self-monitoring tools have resulted in the development of a variety of eHealth weight management programs. In the present paper, a summary of the most current literature is provided along with potential solutions to methodological challenges (e.g., high attrition, minimal participant racial/ethnic diversity, heterogeneity of technology delivery modes). Dissemination and policy implications will be highlighted as future directions for the field of eHealth weight management. PMID:27783259

Age synthesis and estimation via faces: a survey.

PubMed

Fu, Yun; Guo, Guodong; Huang, Thomas S

2010-11-01

Human age, as an important personal trait, can be directly inferred by distinct patterns emerging from the facial appearance. Derived from rapid advances in computer graphics and machine vision, computer-based age synthesis and estimation via faces have become particularly prevalent topics recently because of their explosively emerging real-world applications, such as forensic art, electronic customer relationship management, security control and surveillance monitoring, biometrics, entertainment, and cosmetology. Age synthesis is defined to rerender a face image aesthetically with natural aging and rejuvenating effects on the individual face. Age estimation is defined to label a face image automatically with the exact age (year) or the age group (year range) of the individual face. Because of their particularity and complexity, both problems are attractive yet challenging to computer-based application system designers. Large efforts from both academia and industry have been devoted in the last a few decades. In this paper, we survey the complete state-of-the-art techniques in the face image-based age synthesis and estimation topics. Existing models, popular algorithms, system performances, technical difficulties, popular face aging databases, evaluation protocols, and promising future directions are also provided with systematic discussions.

Grand challenges in mass storage: A systems integrators perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Richard R.; Mintz, Daniel G.

1993-01-01

Within today's much ballyhooed supercomputing environment, with its CFLOPS of CPU power, and Gigabit networks, there exists a major roadblock to computing success; that of Mass Storage. The solution to this mass storage problem is considered to be one of the 'Grand Challenges' facing the computer industry today, as well as long into the future. It has become obvious to us, as well as many others in the industry, that there is no clear single solution in sight. The Systems Integrator today is faced with a myriad of quandaries in approaching this challenge. He must first be innovative in approach, second choose hardware solutions that are volumetric efficient; high in signal bandwidth; available from multiple sources; competitively priced, and have forward growth extendibility. In addition he must also comply with a variety of mandated, and often conflicting software standards (GOSIP, POSIX, IEEE, MSRM 4.0, and others), and finally he must deliver a systems solution with the 'most bang for the buck' in terms of cost vs. performance factors. These quandaries challenge the Systems Integrator to 'push the envelope' in terms of his or her ingenuity and innovation on an almost daily basis. This dynamic is explored further, and an attempt to acquaint the audience with rational approaches to this 'Grand Challenge' is made.

Beyond Hammers and Nails: Mitigating and Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurney, Kevin Robert

2013-05-01

One of the biggest challenges to future international agreements on climate change is an independent, science-driven method of verifying reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) [Niederberger and Kimble, 2011]. The scientific community has thus far emphasized atmospheric measurements to assess changes in emissions. An alternative is direct measurement or estimation of fluxes at the source. Given the many challenges facing the approach that uses "top-down" atmospheric measurements and recent advances in "bottom-up" estimation methods, I challenge the current doctrine, which has the atmospheric measurement approach "validating" bottom-up, "good-faith" emissions estimation [Balter, 2012] or which holds that the use of bottom-up estimation is like "dieting without weighing oneself" [Nisbet and Weiss, 2010].

Using Promotores Programs to Improve Latino Health Outcomes: Implementation Challenges for Community-based Nonprofit Organizations

PubMed Central

Twombly, Eric C.; Holtz, Kristen D.; Stringer, Kimberly

2012-01-01

Promotores are community lay health workers, who provide outreach and services to Latinos. Little research on the promotores programs exists and the focus of this article is to identify the challenges faced by community-based nonprofits when implementing promotores programs. To explore this type of program telephone interviews were conducted with ten promotores academic experts and nonprofit executives. The results suggest that implementation challenges fall into three major categories: the lack of standardized information on promotores programs, labor issues, and organizational costs. Future recommendations are made which highlight promotores recruitment and retention strategies, and the development of a clearinghouse of programmatic implementation information for community-based nonprofits. PMID:23188929

Challenges and opportunities in dermal/transdermal delivery

PubMed Central

Paudel, Kalpana S; Milewski, Mikolaj; Swadley, Courtney L; Brogden, Nicole K; Ghosh, Priyanka; Stinchcomb, Audra L

2010-01-01

Transdermal drug delivery is an exciting and challenging area. There are numerous transdermal delivery systems currently available on the market. However, the transdermal market still remains limited to a narrow range of drugs. Further advances in transdermal delivery depend on the ability to overcome the challenges faced regarding the permeation and skin irritation of the drug molecules. Emergence of novel techniques for skin permeation enhancement and development of methods to lessen skin irritation would widen the transdermal market for hydrophilic compounds, macromolecules and conventional drugs for new therapeutic indications. As evident from the ongoing clinical trials of a wide variety of drugs for various clinical conditions, there is a great future for transdermal delivery of drugs. PMID:21132122

What is a Hospital? Future Roles and Prospects for Success

PubMed Central

Shalowitz, Joel

2013-01-01

As hospitals consolidate and take on more financial and clinical risk, they face numerous obstacles. While the past can provide answers to solving many of the challenges, some issues are new and require innovative approaches. This article, from a speech delivered to The Business of Medicine: A Course for Physician Leaders symposium presented by Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Medical Directors Leadership Council at Yale University in November 2012, discusses the models for these hospital organizations and the pitfalls they will face in coordinating care. The insights will help these systems overcome potential problems and enhance their chances of success. PMID:24058316

Thirty Years of Music and Drama Education in the Madeira Island: Facing Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mota, Graça; Abreu, Liliana

2014-01-01

In this paper we give an overview of relevant findings of a three years long case study that was carried out in the Madeira Island, Portugal. It addresses a thirty years old project in music and drama education in primary schools, which involves all children within the school curriculum, but also in extra-curriculum activities. The study used…

Investing in Wisconsin's Future: A Proposal for a State Higher Education Nest Egg Program. WISCAPE Viewpoints

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winters, Dennis

2010-01-01

Wisconsin will face serious challenges in the coming decades if it fails to increase the size and quality of the state workforce talent pool. One potential solution is a "Higher Ed Nest Egg Program", which would put $1,000 per student per year into an account with the sole purpose that the funds be used for postsecondary education in…

A Priority for California's Future: Science for Students. Analysis of Public Opinion Research. Strengthening Science Education in California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 2010

2010-01-01

California's public schools have struggled since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, and today face enormous challenges to try to regain lost quality and standing as a national education leader. In light of the current economic crisis, competition for limited resources is fierce and the pressure is on to eliminate all but the basic "Three…

The New Forgotten Half and Research Directions to Support Them. Summary and Key Findings. A William T. Grant Foundation Inequality Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenbaum, James; Ahearn, Caitlin; Becker, Kelly; Rosenbaum, Janet

2015-01-01

In 1988, the William T. Grant Foundation issued "The Forgotten Half," the final report of the Foundation's Commission on Youth and America's Future. Focusing on inequality in American society, specifically among non-college-bound 16-24 year olds, the report explored the challenges facing young people and the institutions that serve them.…

Preparing Future Scholars for Academia and Beyond: A Mixed Method Investigation of Doctoral Students' Preparedness for Multiple Career Paths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cason, Jennifer

2016-01-01

This action research study is a mixed methods investigation of doctoral students' preparedness for multiple career paths. PhD students face two challenges preparing for multiple career paths: lack of preparation and limited engagement in conversations about the value of their research across multiple audiences. This study focuses on PhD students'…

Near earth tracking/data exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spearing, Robert

1990-01-01

The future challenges facing NASA's data acquisition program are examined, with emphasis on the near-earth exploration activity and the associated data systems. It is noted that the process that is being followed is an evolutionary one: new technologies are being gradually integrated into currently operating systems. For example, advanced handling is already being introduced into such programs as the Space Telescope and the Gamma Ray Source Observatory System.

Evaluation of the CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton model for the Texas rolling plains region and simulation of deficit irrigation strategies for increasing water use efficiency

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cotton is one of the major crops cultivated in the Texas Rolling Plains region and it is a major contributor to the regional economy. Cotton cultivation in this region is facing severe challenges due to the increase in the frequency of droughts and projected decrease in rainfall in the future. Devel...

Meaningful Experiences in PE for All Students: An Activist Research Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walseth, Kristin; Engebretsen, Berit; Elvebakk, Lisbeth

2018-01-01

Background and purpose: The research literature in physical education (PE) is placing a growing focus on the need for research that can illuminate not only the challenges PE faces but also how we can develop PE to meet the needs of all students. The activist approach aims to study future possibilities in PE, and the goal is for all young people…

Policy-Impact Analysis: A Rational Method to Respond to the Challenges Faced by Higher Education in the Eighties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, James L.

Policy-impact analysis is introduced as a model to aid higher education in dealing with the significant problems in the decade of the 1980s. The model provides a framework within which a variety of futures research techniques are tied to policy development, implementation, and evaluation. The utility of the model is that it structures…

What of the Future for Academic Freedom in Higher Education in Aotearoa New Zealand?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zepke, Nick

2012-01-01

A major challenge facing higher education is balancing two competing discourses. One sees higher education as a place of learning and teaching in academic freedom, a place to enable staff and students to research and learn without restrictions, a place in which to be able to critique the status quo. The other discourse is rooted in neo-liberalism.…

Finland could become the world leader in horizontal and vertical integration—reason for enthusiasm or worry? …

PubMed Central

Kokko, Simo

2010-01-01

This keynote paper examines how the development of integrated care in Finland has become a key aspect of health and welfare reforms in recent years. However, it poses questions as to whether future reforms to the Finnish system will continue to support care integration and outlines many of the key challenges faced in supporting such an agenda.

Miconia biocontrol: Where are we going and when will we get there?

Treesearch

M.T. Johnson

2010-01-01

We have made much progress in evaluating potential agents for biocontrol of miconia, and several appear likely to be suitable for future introduction to Hawaiÿi. Unfortunately, none of them is an obvious silver bullet. We face the challenge of prioritizing the existing candidates and inventing the combination of agents that will achieve our goals. Now is an opportune...

From Online Student to Online Instructor: Assistive Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, Jodi

2012-01-01

With the influx of online learning opportunities, online students and instructors are faced with a variety of challenges. Online students face the same challenges as do face-to-face learners, but by facing them in an online context, the interpretations of those challenges can lead to the success or failure of their overall educational experience.…

Enhancing international collaboration among early career researchers.

PubMed

Carroll, Jennifer K; Albada, Akke; Farahani, Mansoureh; Lithner, Maria; Neumann, Melanie; Sandhu, Harbinder; Shepherd, Heather L

2010-09-01

The European Association of Communication in Healthcare (EACH) Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) aims are to (1) promote international collaboration among young investigators and (2) provide a support network for future innovative communication research projects. In October 2009, Miami, USA at a workshop facilitated by the ECRN at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) hosted by the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare we explored common facilitators and challenges faced by early career researchers in health communication research. Attendees introduced themselves, their research area(s) of interest, and listed one facilitator and one barrier for their career development. EACH ECRN members then led a discussion of facilitators and challenges encountered in communication research projects and career development. We discussed potential collaboration opportunities, future goals, and activities. Having supportive collegial relationships, institutional support, job security, and funding are critical facilitators for early career investigators. Key challenges include difficulty with time management and prioritizing, limited resources, and contacts. International collaboration among early career researchers is a feasible and effective means to address important challenges, by increasing opportunities for professional support and networking, problem-solving, discussion of data, and ultimately publishing. Future AACH-EACH Early Career Researcher Networks should continue to build collaborations by developing shared research projects, papers, and other scholarly products. Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Enhancing international collaboration among early-career researchers

PubMed Central

Carroll, Jennifer K; Albada, Akke; Farahani, Mansoureh; Lithner, Maria; Neumann, Melanie; Sandhu, Harbinder; Shepherd, Heather L

2010-01-01

Objective The European Association of Communication in Healthcare (EACH) Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) aims are to (1) promote international collaboration among young investigators and (2) provide a support network for future innovative communication research projects. In October 2009, Miami, USA at a workshop facilitated by the ECRN at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) hosted by the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare we explored common facilitators and challenges faced by early career researchers in health communication research. Methods Attendees introduced themselves, their research area(s) of interest, and listed one facilitator and one barrier for their career development. EACH ECRN members then led a discussion of facilitators and challenges encountered in communication research projects and career development. We discussed potential collaboration opportunities, future goals, and activities. Results Having supportive collegial relationships, institutional support, job security, and funding are critical facilitators for early career investigators. Key challenges include difficulty with time management and prioritizing, limited resources, and contacts. Conclusion International collaboration among early career researchers is a feasible and effective means to address important challenges, by increasing opportunities for professional support and networking, problem-solving, discussion of data, and ultimately publishing. Practice Implications Future AACH-EACH Early Career Researcher Networks should continue to build collaborations by developing shared research projects, papers, and other scholarly products. PMID:20663630

Deep Space Habitat Wireless Smart Plug

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morgan, Joseph A.; Porter, Jay; Rojdev, Kristina; Carrejo, Daniel B.; Colozza, Anthony J.

2014-01-01

NASA has been interested in technology development for deep space exploration, and one avenue of developing these technologies is via the eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge. In 2013, NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) project was in need of sensors that could monitor the power consumption of various devices in the habitat with added capability to control the power to these devices for load shedding in emergency situations. Texas A&M University's Electronic Systems Engineering Technology Program (ESET) in conjunction with their Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL) accepted this challenge, and over the course of 2013, several undergraduate students in a Capstone design course developed five wireless DC Smart Plugs for NASA. The wireless DC Smart Plugs developed by Texas A&M in conjunction with NASA's Deep Space Habitat team is a first step in developing wireless instrumentation for future flight hardware. This paper will further discuss the X-Hab challenge and requirements set out by NASA, the detailed design and testing performed by Texas A&M, challenges faced by the team and lessons learned, and potential future work on this design.

Sociopolitical Participation of Kuwaiti Women in the Development Process: Current State and Challenges Ahead

PubMed Central

Alzuabi, Ali Z.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This study explores the sociocultural status of Kuwaiti women and examines the obstacles that may hinder them from participating in socioeconomic development of Kuwait. The study analyzes the nature of legislative, political, sociocultural, and economic challenges faced by Kuwaiti women and suggests measures to overcome these obstacles to help women in attaining a prime role in the development process. The survey sample included 300 Kuwaiti citizens of both genders selected randomly from different social and professional backgrounds. Statistical analyses including mean values and covariance analysis revealed the awareness of gender-based differences in attitudes on the nature of constraints faced in moving toward the progress of Kuwaiti women. Discussed are social, economic, and knowledge-based constraints that restrain women from playing an active role in the socioeconomic development of Kuwait. Future directions include the acknowledgement of increased levels of education among Kuwaiti women and the available talent pool that will remain underutilized if women are not raised to leadership levels. Further research is needed on the scope and challenges in implementing strategies for the empowerment of women as a part of legislation. PMID:27812232

The Y.E.S. Network: An IYPE legacy for engaging future generations of early-career geoscientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, L. M.; Govoni, D.; Micucci, L.; Gaines, S. M.; Venus, J.; Meng, W.

2009-12-01

The Y.E.S. Network, an association of early-career geoscientists who represent professional societies, geoscience companies, and geoscience departments from across the world, was formed as a direct result of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). Currently the Y.E.S. Network has representatives in thirty-five countries from six continents. The goal of the network is to engage early-career representatives from geological associations and institutions, policy-makers, and delegates from administrative bodies to establish a worldwide network of future leaders, policy-makers and geoscientists who will work collaboratively to address the scientific challenges future generations will face. To this end, the Y.E.S. Network, in collaboration with IYPE and with the patronage of UNESCO, organized the first international Y.E.S. Congress which was hosted by the China University of Geosciences in Beijing. The conference focused on scientific and career challenges faced by early-career geoscientists, with a particular emphasis on how the Y.E.S. Network can work collaborative and internationally towards solving these challenges and furthering the IYPE motto of “Earth Sciences for Society”. The conference focused on the ten major themes of the IYPE (e.g. health, climate, groundwater, ocean, soils, deep earth, megacities, hazards, resources, and life) at its poster and oral sessions. Roundtable symposia engaged senior and early-career geoscientists via presentations, panel discussions, and working group sessions where strategies related to scientific challenges (i.e. climate change in the polar regions, natural hazards, natural resource sustainability) and academic and career pathway challenges (i.e. academic-industry linkages, gender parity in the geosciences, geoscience education sustainability, and international licensure issues) were developed. These strategies were then tasked to the Y.E.S. Network for further development and implementation. Future Y.E.S. Network activities include the development of an interactive Y.E.S. Network website that will enable Y.E.S. country representative to post relevant events and activities, and will facilitate continued collaboration between Y.E.S. Network members on the strategies developed at the Y.E.S. Congress roundtable symposia. The next international Y.E.S. Congress will be held in conjunction with the 34th IGC in Brisbane, Australia in August 2012.

Land use politics and law in the 1970's

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamb, C. M.

1975-01-01

Political facets of the general land use challenge faced in the United States, and the legal authority for governmental action by state and federal officials under given conditions are discussed. Some current and future implications of these political and legal developments are presented. An overview of local versus state versus federal powers is presented along with practices for solving the nation's land use challenge. An analysis is provided of land use law and politics in five states playing active roles in land control. Land use politics and law at the federal level is addressed, with emphasis on three key legislative measures.

Precision gas therapy using intelligent nanomedicine.

PubMed

He, Qianjun

2017-10-24

Gas therapy is an emerging and promising field, utilizing the unique therapeutic effects of several kinds of gases (NO, CO, H 2 S and H 2 ) towards many major diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and it is also facing challenges relating to enhancing gas therapy efficacy and avoiding gas poisoning risks. Here, we have proposed a new concept for precision gas therapy using a nanomedicine strategy to overcome the challenges. In this perspective, we have addressed a series of existing and potential solutions from the point of view of nanomedicine, and conveyed a collection of opinions about future expandable research into precision gas therapy.

Bugs and gas: Agreements banning chemical and biological weapons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikulak, Robert P.

2017-11-01

The use of chemical or biological weapons, whether by a State or terrorists, continues to be a serious security concern. Both types of weapons are prohibited by multilateral treaties that have very broad membership, but both the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention are facing major challenges. In particular, the continued use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war by government forces risks eroding the norm against the use of such weapons. This paper briefly explore the recent history of efforts to constrain chemical and biological weapons and outlines challenges for the future.

The biological sciences in India

PubMed Central

Dell, Karen

2009-01-01

India is gearing up to become an international player in the life sciences, powered by its recent economic growth and a desire to add biotechnology to its portfolio. In this article, we present the history, current state, and projected future growth of biological research in India. To fulfill its aspirations, India's greatest challenge will be in educating, recruiting, and supporting its next generation of scientists. Such challenges are faced by the US/Europe, but are particularly acute in developing countries that are racing to achieve scientific excellence, perhaps faster than their present educational and faculty support systems will allow. PMID:19204144

Imaging without lenses: achievements and remaining challenges of wide-field on-chip microscopy

PubMed Central

Greenbaum, Alon; Luo, Wei; Su, Ting-Wei; Göröcs, Zoltán; Xue, Liang; Isikman, Serhan O; Coskun, Ahmet F; Mudanyali, Onur; Ozcan, Aydogan

2012-01-01

We discuss unique features of lens-free computational imaging tools and report some of their emerging results for wide-field on-chip microscopy, such as the achievement of a numerical aperture (NA) of ~0.8–0.9 across a field of view (FOV) of more than 20 mm2 or an NA of ~0.1 across a FOV of ~18 cm2, which corresponds to an image with more than 1.5 gigapixels. We also discuss the current challenges that these computational on-chip microscopes face, shedding light on their future directions and applications. PMID:22936170

Threats to US energy security: the challenge of Arab oil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, J.

1979-08-13

Assured access to foreign oil supplies is a vital national interest of the United States which has been repeatedly jeopardized in the 1970s and one that will face additional critical challenges in the 1980s. This paper identifies and analyzes various threats to US energy security both in terms of their past use and future usability. Since the most ominous threat to US energy security is posed in connection with the Arab-Israeli conflict, the paper focuses on the Arab oil weapon, although the energy-security implications of the Iranian revolution are also assessed.

Future challenges for vection research: definitions, functional significance, measures, and neural bases

PubMed Central

Palmisano, Stephen; Allison, Robert S.; Schira, Mark M.; Barry, Robert J.

2015-01-01

This paper discusses four major challenges facing modern vection research. Challenge 1 (Defining Vection) outlines the different ways that vection has been defined in the literature and discusses their theoretical and experimental ramifications. The term vection is most often used to refer to visual illusions of self-motion induced in stationary observers (by moving, or simulating the motion of, the surrounding environment). However, vection is increasingly being used to also refer to non-visual illusions of self-motion, visually mediated self-motion perceptions, and even general subjective experiences (i.e., “feelings”) of self-motion. The common thread in all of these definitions is the conscious subjective experience of self-motion. Thus, Challenge 2 (Significance of Vection) tackles the crucial issue of whether such conscious experiences actually serve functional roles during self-motion (e.g., in terms of controlling or guiding the self-motion). After more than 100 years of vection research there has been surprisingly little investigation into its functional significance. Challenge 3 (Vection Measures) discusses the difficulties with existing subjective self-report measures of vection (particularly in the context of contemporary research), and proposes several more objective measures of vection based on recent empirical findings. Finally, Challenge 4 (Neural Basis) reviews the recent neuroimaging literature examining the neural basis of vection and discusses the hurdles still facing these investigations. PMID:25774143

Effects of immune challenge on the oviposition strategy of a noctuid moth.

PubMed

Staudacher, H; Menken, S B J; Groot, A T

2015-08-01

Infections can have detrimental effects on the fitness of an animal. Reproducing females may therefore be sensitive to cues of infection and be able to adaptively change their oviposition strategy in the face of infection. As one possibility, females could make a terminal investment and shift reproductive effort from future to current reproduction as life expectancy decreases. We hypothesized that females of the noctuid moth Heliothis virescens make a terminal investment and adapt their oviposition timing as well as their oviposition site selectivity in response to an immune challenge. We indeed found that females that were challenged with the bacterial entomopathogen Serratia entomophila laid more eggs than control females one night after the challenge. Additionally, bacteria-challenged females were less discriminating between oviposition sites than control females. Whereas control females preferred undamaged over damaged plants, immune-challenged females did not differentiate between the two. These results indicate that terminal investment is part of the life history of H. virescens females. Moreover, our results suggest that the strategy of terminal investment in H. virescens oviposition represents a fitness trade-off for females: in the face of infection, an increase in oviposition rate enhances female fitness, whereas low oviposition site selectivity reduces female fitness. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Charting the landscape of priority problems in psychiatry, part 1: classification and diagnosis.

PubMed

Stephan, Klaas E; Bach, Dominik R; Fletcher, Paul C; Flint, Jonathan; Frank, Michael J; Friston, Karl J; Heinz, Andreas; Huys, Quentin J M; Owen, Michael J; Binder, Elisabeth B; Dayan, Peter; Johnstone, Eve C; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Montague, P Read; Schnyder, Ulrich; Wang, Xiao-Jing; Breakspear, Michael

2016-01-01

Contemporary psychiatry faces major challenges. Its syndrome-based disease classification is not based on mechanisms and does not guide treatment, which largely depends on trial and error. The development of therapies is hindered by ignorance of potential beneficiary patient subgroups. Neuroscientific and genetics research have yet to affect disease definitions or contribute to clinical decision making. In this challenging setting, what should psychiatric research focus on? In two companion papers, we present a list of problems nominated by clinicians and researchers from different disciplines as candidates for future scientific investigation of mental disorders. These problems are loosely grouped into challenges concerning nosology and diagnosis (this Personal View) and problems related to pathogenesis and aetiology (in the companion Personal View). Motivated by successful examples in other disciplines, particularly the list of Hilbert's problems in mathematics, this subjective and eclectic list of priority problems is intended for psychiatric researchers, helping to re-focus existing research and providing perspectives for future psychiatric science. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Para Sport Athletic Identity from Competition to Retirement: A Brief Review and Future Research Directions.

PubMed

Guerrero, Michelle; Martin, Jeffrey

2018-05-01

The primary purpose of this article is to review the literature on para sport athletic identity and provide avenues for future research direction. First, the authors briefly describe the existing quantitative and qualitative research on para sport athletic identity and, thereby, illustrate the complexities para sport athletes experience regarding the way they describe their participation in competitive sport. Next, the authors describe how para sport athletes with acquired permanent disabilities and congenital disabilities face similar, yet unique, identity-related challenges. Finally, the authors argue that future researchers should consider examining para sport athletes' identity through narrative identity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

South African Academic Health--the future challenge.

PubMed

van Zyl, G J

2004-02-01

In South Africa, significant changes in Academic Health have taken place since the first democratic elections in 1994. Academic Health came from a separated academic hospital, departmental-based curriculum and research focussed on achievement, and an abundance of money, to a position of integrated service delivery with specific reference to primary health care, separation of service levels, a new integrated curriculum, research focussed according to the need and contract research, and financial constraints with limited budgets. The management of this change is a task challenging the manager in all fields of Academic Health. Leaders need to know their environment and organisation to be able to manage change. Academic Health centres are experiencing major changes as a result of the effects of managed care, reduced rate and growing expenditure on health services. In addition to restructuring of the clinical services, Academic Health centres are being challenged to sustain their academic mission and priorities in the face of resource constraints. In order to tackle these challenges, institutions need physicians in administrative positions at all levels who can provide leadership and thoughtful managerial initiatives. The future challenge for managers focuses on service delivery, research, health education and training, Academic Health management, professionalism and financial management.

2010 Panel on the Biomaterials Grand Challenges

PubMed Central

Reichert, William “Monty”; Ratner, Buddy D.; Anderson, James; Coury, Art; Hoffman, Allan S.; Laurencin, Cato T.; Tirrell, David

2014-01-01

In 2009, the National Academy for Engineering issued the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century comprised of 14 technical challenges that must be addressed to build a healthy, profitable, sustainable, and secure global community (http://www.engineeringchallenges.org). Although crucial, none of the NEA Grand Challenges adequately addressed the challenges that face the biomaterials community. In response to the NAE Grand Challenges, Monty Reichert of Duke University organized a panel entitled Grand Challenges in Biomaterials at the at the 2010 Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting in Seattle. Six members of the National Academies—Buddy Ratner, James Anderson, Allan Hoffman, Art Coury, Cato Laurencin, and David Tirrell—were asked to propose a grand challenge to the audience that, if met, would significantly impact the future of biomaterials and medical devices. Successfully meeting these challenges will speed the 60-plus year transition from commodity, off-the-shelf biomaterials to bioengineered chemistries, and biomaterial devices that will significantly advance our ability to address patient needs and also to create new market opportunities. PMID:21171147

Extended-Range Forecasts at Climate Prediction Center: Current Status and Future Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, A.

2016-12-01

Motivated by a user need to provide forecast information on extended-range time-scales (i.e., weeks 2-4), in recent years Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has made considerable efforts towards developing and testing the feasibility for developing the required forecasts. The forecasts targeting this particular time-scale face a unique challenge in that while the forecast skill due to atmospheric initial conditions is small (because of rapid decay in the memory associated with the atmospheric initial conditions), short time averages for which forecasts are made do not benefit from skill associated with anomalous boundary conditions either. Despite these challenges, CPC has embarked on providing an experimental outlook for weeks 3-4 average. The talk will summarize the current status of CPC's current suite of extended-range forecast products, and further, will discuss some future plans.

Big data challenges for large radio arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, D. L.; Wagstaff, K.; Thompson, D. R.; D'Addario, L.; Navarro, R.; Mattmann, C.; Majid, W.; Lazio, J.; Preston, J.; Rebbapragada, U.

2012-03-01

Future large radio astronomy arrays, particularly the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will be able to generate data at rates far higher than can be analyzed or stored affordably with current practices. This is, by definition, a "big data" problem, and requires an end-to-end solution if future radio arrays are to reach their full scientific potential. Similar data processing, transport, storage, and management challenges face next-generation facilities in many other fields. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing technologies to address big data issues, with an emphasis in three areas: 1) Lower-power digital processing architectures to make highvolume data generation operationally affordable, 2) Date-adaptive machine learning algorithms for real-time analysis (or "data triage") of large data volumes, and 3) Scalable data archive systems that allow efficient data mining and remote user code to run locally where the data are stored.

Medical education in Saudi Arabia: a review of recent developments and future challenges.

PubMed

Telmesani, A; Zaini, R G; Ghazi, H O

2011-08-01

Medical education has been changing rapidly in Saudi Arabia. Within a decade, the number of medical colleges increased from 5 medical schools with traditional disciplined-based curricula to 21 medical colleges with varied curricula ranging from the traditional to more innovative, problem-based, community-oriented programmes. The private sector has started investing in higher education generally and medical education in particular. Also other government sectors that provide advanced health services have started established new medical colleges. The expansion of quantity in medical education has been associated with a drive for greater quality assurance. Accreditation of higher education institutes began with the establishment of the National Commission for Academic Assessment and Accreditation in 2005. This review focuses on documenting developments in Saudi medical education up to 2008 and discussing the future potential and challenges facing the sector.

The Future of Gero-Oncology Nursing.

PubMed

Kagan, Sarah H

2016-02-01

To project the future of gero-oncology nursing as a distinct specialty, framed between analysis of current challenges and explication of prospective solutions. Peer-reviewed literature, policy directives, web-based resources, and author expertise. Oncology nursing faces several challenges in meeting the needs of older people living with cancer. Realigning cancer nursing education, practice, and research to match demographic and epidemiological realities mandates redesign. Viewing geriatric oncology as an optional sub-specialty limits oncology nursing, where older people represent the majority of oncology patients and cancer survivors. The future of gero-oncology nursing lies in transforming oncology nursing itself. Specific goals to achieve transformation of oncology nursing into gero-oncology nursing include assuring integrated foundational aging and cancer content across entry-level nursing curricula; assuring a gero-competent oncology nursing workforce with integrated continuing education; developing gero-oncology nurse specialists in advanced practice roles; and cultivating nurse leadership in geriatric oncology program development and administration along with expanding the scope and sophistication of gero-oncology nursing science. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Isolated thoughts and feelings and unsolved concerns: adolescents' and parents' perspectives on living with type 1 diabetes - a qualitative study using visual storytelling.

PubMed

Castensøe-Seidenfaden, Pernille; Teilmann, Grete; Kensing, Finn; Hommel, Eva; Olsen, Birthe Susanne; Husted, Gitte Reventlov

2017-10-01

To explore and describe the experiences of adolescents and their parents living with type 1 diabetes, to identify their needs for support to improve adolescents' self-management skills in the transition from child- to adulthood. Adolescents with type 1 diabetes often experience deteriorating glycaemic control and distress. Parents are important in adolescents' ability to self-manage type 1 diabetes, but they report anxiety and frustrations. A better understanding of the challenges adolescents and parents face, in relation to the daily self-management of type 1 diabetes, is important to improve clinical practice. A qualitative explorative study using visual storytelling as part of individual interviews. A purposive sample of nine adolescents and their parents (seven mothers, six fathers) took photographs illustrating their experiences living with type 1 diabetes. Subsequently, participants were interviewed individually guided by participants' photographs and a semistructured interview guide. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Four major themes were consistent across adolescents and their parents: (1) striving for safety, (2) striving for normality, (3) striving for independence and (4) worrying about future. Although adolescents and parents had same concerns and challenges living with type 1 diabetes, they were experienced differently. Their thoughts and feelings mostly remained isolated and their concerns and challenges unsolved. The concerns and challenges adolescents and their parents face in the transition from child- to adulthood are still present despite new treatment modalities. Parents are fundamental in supporting the adolescents' self-management-work; however, the parties have unspoken concerns and challenges. Healthcare providers should address the parties' challenges and concerns living with type 1 diabetes to diminish worries about future including fear of hypoglycaemia, the burden of type 1 diabetes and the feeling of being incompetent in diabetes self-management. It is important to focus on supporting both adolescents and their parents, and to provide a shared platform for communication. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project - Catalyst for Space Station advanced automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Healey, Kathleen J.

1988-01-01

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP) was initiated by NASA to address the advanced automation needs for the Space Station program. The application of advanced automation to the Space Station's operations management system (OMS) is discussed. The SADP's future goals and objectives are discussed with respect to OMS functional requirements, design, and desired evolutionary capabilities. Major technical challenges facing the designers, developers, and users of the OMS are identified in order to guide the definition of objectives, plans, and scenarios for future SADP demonstrations, and to focus the efforts on the supporting research.

Lessons Learned in Evaluating a Multisite, Comprehensive Teen Dating Violence Prevention Strategy: Design and Challenges of the Evaluation of Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships.

PubMed

Niolon, Phyllis Holditch; Taylor, Bruce G; Latzman, Natasha E; Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M; Valle, Linda Anne; Tharp, Andra T

2016-03-01

This paper describes the multisite, longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design of the evaluation of the Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Relationships initiative, and discusses challenges faced in conducting this evaluation. Health departments in 4 communities are partnering with middle schools in high-risk, urban communities to implement 2 models of teen dating violence (TDV) prevention over 4 years. Schools were randomized to receive either the Dating Matters comprehensive strategy or the "standard of care" strategy (an existing, evidence-based TDV prevention curriculum). Our design permits comparison of the relative effectiveness of the comprehensive and standard of care strategies. Multiple cohorts of students from 46 middle schools are surveyed in middle school and high school, and parents and educators from participating schools are also surveyed. Challenges discussed in conducting a multisite RCT include site variability, separation of implementation and evaluation responsibilities, school retention, parent engagement in research activities, and working within the context of high-risk urban schools and communities. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches to these challenges in the hopes of informing future research. Despite multiple challenges, the design of the Dating Matters evaluation remains strong. We hope this paper provides researchers who are conducting complex evaluations of behavioral interventions with thoughtful discussion of the challenges we have faced and potential solutions to such challenges.

Lessons Learned in Evaluating a Multisite, Comprehensive Teen Dating Violence Prevention Strategy: Design and Challenges of the Evaluation of Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships

PubMed Central

Niolon, Phyllis Holditch; Taylor, Bruce G.; Latzman, Natasha E.; Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M.; Valle, Linda Anne; Tharp, Andra T.

2018-01-01

Objective This paper describes the multisite, longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design of the evaluation of the Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Relationships initiative, and discusses challenges faced in conducting this evaluation. Method Health departments in 4 communities are partnering with middle schools in high-risk, urban communities to implement 2 models of teen dating violence (TDV) prevention over 4 years. Schools were randomized to receive either the Dating Matters comprehensive strategy or the “standard of care” strategy (an existing, evidence-based TDV prevention curriculum). Our design permits comparison of the relative effectiveness of the comprehensive and standard of care strategies. Multiple cohorts of students from 46 middle schools are surveyed in middle school and high school, and parents and educators from participating schools are also surveyed. Results Challenges discussed in conducting a multisite RCT include site variability, separation of implementation and evaluation responsibilities, school retention, parent engagement in research activities, and working within the context of high-risk urban schools and communities. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches to these challenges in the hopes of informing future research. Conclusions Despite multiple challenges, the design of the Dating Matters evaluation remains strong. We hope this paper provides researchers who are conducting complex evaluations of behavioral interventions with thoughtful discussion of the challenges we have faced and potential solutions to such challenges. PMID:29607239

Current Situation and Reforms Making Way for Future Positive Developments in the National Education System of Bulgaria: An Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Genova, Teodora

2015-01-01

This paper on the education system of Bulgaria is aimed at presenting its structure, current situation, problems and challenges that it faces, and on-going reforms leading to some positive trends in the development of the national education sector. At the moment of writing this paper in the year 2015, we will mark the 1160th anniversary of the…

Is your financial house in order?

PubMed

Kubik, M J

1998-01-01

In today's rapidly changing world individuals are being faced by many new issues that are challenging their ability to survive financially. It is therefore important that we recognize the need to manage our financial lives. To do that requires a commitment of time to identify assets held and determine how best to protect them, set future financial goals, and then determine how assets can be used to reach those goals.

Processing NASA Earth Science Data on Nebula Cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Aijun; Pham, Long; Kempler, Steven

2012-01-01

Three applications were successfully migrated to Nebula, including S4PM, AIRS L1/L2 algorithms, and Giovanni MAPSS. Nebula has some advantages compared with local machines (e.g. performance, cost, scalability, bundling, etc.). Nebula still faces some challenges (e.g. stability, object storage, networking, etc.). Migrating applications to Nebula is feasible but time consuming. Lessons learned from our Nebula experience will benefit future Cloud Computing efforts at GES DISC.

Rural and Small Schools: Excellence for All. Annual Rural and Small Schools Conference (10th, Manhattan, Kansas, October 24-25, 1988).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horn, Jerry G., Ed.; Havlicek, Barbara, Ed.

This document contains the full text of the conference keynote address and abstracts of conference papers. The keynote address--"Excellence in Rural Education: Our Heritage and Our Future," by Duane M. Nielsen--outlines: (1) demographic changes in rural America in the 1970s and 1980s; (2) the challenges facing rural education due to increasing…

Does the Field of Study Influence the Choice of Leadership? A Cross Cultural Comparison of Business vs Non-Business Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monahan, Michael; Shah, Amit; Bao, Yan; Rana, Jyoti

2015-01-01

China and India are the two most populous countries on the planet. To deal with the myriad of challenges and opportunities these countries face will require leadership. The future leaders who will address many of these issues come from institutions of higher education. But, do these students have the requisite leadership training and does it vary…

One Northwest community - People, salmon, rivers, and the sea: Towards sustainable salmon fisheries

USGS Publications Warehouse

MacDonald, Donald D.; Steward, Cleveland R.; Knudsen, E. Eric; Knudsen, E. Eric; Steward, Cleveland R.; MacDonald, Donald; Williams, Jack E.; Reiser, Dudley W.

1999-01-01

Pacific salmon management is in crisis. Throughout their range, salmon and steelhead populations are being adversely affected by human activities. Without coordinated, effective, and timely action, the future of the Pacific salmon resource is most certainly in doubt. To address the challenges that are currently facing salmon management, concerned citizens representing a diverse array of government agencies and non-governmental organizations have agreed to cooperate in the development of a Sustainable Fisheries Strategy for west coast salmon and steelhead populations. The Strategy builds on the contents of this book, resulting from the Sustainable Fisheries Conference and subsequent community- and watershed-based citizen forums. This chapter presents the key elements of the Strategy including a common vision for the future, a series of guiding principles, and specific strategies for supporting sustainable fisheries. As such, the Strategy embraces an ecosystem-based approach to managing human activities, rather than the traditional egocentric approach to managing salmonid populations and associated habitats. A system of community-based, watershed-oriented councils, including all stakeholders and agency representatives, is proposed for effective transition to ecosystem-based salmon and steelhead management. It is our hope that everyone involved in Pacific salmon management will embrace both the spirit and the specific elements of the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy as we face the difficult challenges ahead.

Tolerating Uncertainty: Perceptions of the Future for Ageing Parent Carers and Their Adult Children with Intellectual Disabilities.

PubMed

Pryce, Laura; Tweed, Alison; Hilton, Amanda; Priest, Helena M

2017-01-01

Improved life expectancy means that more adults with intellectual disabilities are now living with ageing parents. This study explored older families' perceptions of the future. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine older parents and three adults with intellectual disabilities and analysed to produce an explanatory thematic framework. 'Tolerating uncertainty' was the major theme in participants' attempts to manage anxieties about the future, encompassing sub-themes of 'accepting the parenting role', 'facing challenges', 'being supported/isolated', 'positive meaning making', 're-evaluating as time moves on' and 'managing future thinking'. Some participants expressed preferences for their future which were in contrast to their parents' views, and provide a unique perspective that has often been neglected in prior research. This research has found commonalities in how families tolerate the uncertainty of the future, but also unique differences that require tailored interventions and prospective action by services. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Introduction to the supplement.

PubMed

Rappuoli, Rino

2015-06-08

In July of 2014, a symposium entitled "Enhancing Vaccine Immunity and Value" was held in Siena, Italy. The focus of the symposium was on how to best meet the challenge of developing and implementing vaccines for future disease targets. Vaccination has been responsible for averting estimated 3 billion cases of disease and more than 500 million lives to date through the prevention of infectious diseases. This has largely been responsible for dramatic increases in life span in developed countries. However, with the demographics of the world's population are changing, with many adults now surviving into their 80s, we now face the challenge of protecting the aging and other underserved populations not only against infectious diseases but also against cancer and other chronic conditions that occur in older adults. To face this challenge, we must harness new technologies derived from recent advances in the fields of immunology, structural biology, synthetic biology and genomics that promise a revolution in the vaccine field. Specifically, vaccine adjuvants have the potential to harness the immune system to provide protection against new types of diseases, improve protection in young children and expand this protection to adults and the elderly. However, in order to succeed, we need to overcome the non-technical challenges that could limit the implementation of innovative vaccines, including controversies regarding the safety of adjuvants, increasing regulatory complexity, the inadequate methods used to assess the value of novel vaccines, and the resulting industry alienation from future investment. In this supplement, we have assembled manuscripts from lectures and discussions of the symposium last July that addressed two related questions: how to improve vaccine efficacy using breakthrough technologies and how to capture the full potential of novel vaccines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The future of breast cancer systemic therapy: the next 10 years.

PubMed

Telli, Melinda L; Sledge, George W

2015-02-01

Over the past 50 years, substantial progress has been made in the systemic treatment of early-stage and advanced breast cancer. The use of chemotherapy in the adjuvant and metastatic settings has demonstrated proven efficacy and it has been clearly demonstrated that targeting the estrogen receptor and human growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is efficacious in early and advanced disease. Despite these advances, vexing clinical challenges remain particularly related to the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC; estrogen receptor [ER]-negative, progesterone receptor [PR]-negative, and HER2-negative) where little progress has been made therapeutically in more than a decade. While recurrences of hormone-responsive breast cancer are overall less common, late relapses after cessation of endocrine therapy are a more frequent occurrence in modern times and reflect the problem of underlying tumor dormancy that as yet has not been overcome. Multiple molecular tools are now available to interrogate the biology of breast cancer, though exactly how to make this information meaningful in the clinic has proven challenging, and molecularly driven clinical trials have faced feasibility challenges. In parallel, focus has expanded from tumor to host with the ability to ascertain underlying germline alterations, such as inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, which may be responsible for breast cancer carcinogenesis and, importantly, may have implications for treatment. These clinical advances in germline genetics, made possible by both scientific investigation as well as the courts, still face challenges related to increasing encounters with variants of unknown significance and difficulty in predicting risks associated with less well-characterized inherited cancer predisposition syndromes. In this paper, we attempt to predict the next 10 years of breast cancer, in particular focusing on how the past serves as prologue to the future in this disease.

The changing face of hemostasis testing in modern laboratories: consolidation, automation, and beyond.

PubMed

Lippi, Giuseppe; Plebani, Mario; Favaloro, Emmanuel J

2015-04-01

The reality of laboratory diagnostics as a whole, and hemostasis testing in particular, is evolving under new paradigms of efficiency. The driving forces of health care and laboratory diagnostics in the third millennium are mainly represented by macro- and microeconomics. In a world with limited resources, shattered by an unprecedented economic crisis, laboratory diagnostics is undergoing a substantial reorganization, with emergence of new models under the imperative of terms, such as bedside testing, consolidation, and networking. The paradigms under which these changes are being developed include a variety of environment, preanalytical, technological, professional, and health-care aspects. The maintenance of continued quality is indeed the major challenge to be faced in the foreseeable future. In fact, some challenges prepotently emerge during a consolidation process, which basically involve delayed testing, centrifugation, transportation, and stability of the specimens, as well as the potential mismatch of sample matrix. This article is aimed to provide an overview of the current economic scenario of laboratory diagnostics and discuss the changing face of hemostasis testing in modern laboratories, providing a synthetic overview about potential drawbacks of actualized solutions. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Ethical challenges in developing an educational video to empower potential participants during consent processes in HIV cure research in South Africa.

PubMed

Staunton, Ciara; de Roubaix, Malcolm; Baatjies, Dianno; Black, Gill; Hendricks, Melany; Rossouw, Theresa; Moodley, Keymanthri

2018-04-01

Obtaining consent for HIV research is complex, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Low levels of education, complexity of science and research processes, confusion about basic elements of research, and socio-economic conditions that make access to medical care difficult have collectively led to concerns about the adequacy of the consent process. Given the exponential growth of HIV prevention and treatment research in South Africa, HIV researchers are increasingly facing challenges obtaining authentic informed consent from potential participants. It is anticipated that HIV cure research, despite being in its infancy in South Africa, will introduce a new discourse into a population that is often struggling to understand the differences between 'cure', 'preventive and therapeutic vaccines' and other elements of the research process. Coupled with this, South Africa has a complex history of 'illegitimate' or 'false cures' for HIV. It is therefore logical to anticipate that HIV cure research may face significant challenges during consent processes. HIV prevention research in South Africa has demonstrated the importance of early community engagement in educating potential research participants and promoting community acceptance of research. Consequently, in an attempt to extrapolate from this experience of engaging with communities early regarding cure research, a 15-minute educational video entitled ' I have a dream: a world without HIV ' was developed to educate and ultimately empower potential research participants to make informed choices during consent processes in future HIV cure clinical trials. To aid others in the development of educational interventions, this paper discusses the challenges faced in developing this educational video.

When the globe is your classroom: teaching and learning about large-scale environmental change online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, E. A.; Coleman, K. J.; Barford, C. L.; Kucharik, C.; Foley, J. A.

2005-12-01

Understanding environmental problems that cross physical and disciplinary boundaries requires a more holistic view of the world - a "systems" approach. Yet it is a challenge for many learners to start thinking this way, particularly when the problems are large in scale and not easily visible. We will describe our online university course, "Humans and the Changing Biosphere," which takes a whole-systems perspective for teaching regional to global-scale environmental science concepts, including climate, hydrology, ecology, and human demographics. We will share our syllabus and learning objectives and summarize our efforts to incorporate "best" practices for online teaching. We will describe challenges we have faced, and our efforts to reach different learner types. Our goals for this presentation are: (1) to communicate how a systems approach ties together environmental sciences (including climate, hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, and demography) that are often taught as separate disciplines; (2) to generate discussion about challenges of teaching large-scale environmental processes; (3) to share our experiences in teaching these topics online; (4) to receive ideas and feedback on future teaching strategies. We will explain why we developed this course online, and share our experiences about benefits and challenges of teaching over the web - including some suggestions about how to use technology to supplement face-to-face learning experiences (and vice versa). We will summarize assessment data about what students learned during the course, and discuss key misconceptions and barriers to learning. We will highlight the role of an online discussion board in creating classroom community, identifying misconceptions, and engaging different types of learners.

Retaining Critical Therapeutic Elements of Behavioral Interventions Translated For Delivery via the Internet: Recommendations and an Example Using Pain Coping Skills Training

PubMed Central

Porter, Laura S; Somers, Tamara J; McKee, Daphne C; Keefe, Francis J

2014-01-01

Evidence supporting the efficacy of behavioral interventions based on principles of cognitive behavioral therapies has spurred interest in translating these interventions for delivery via the Internet. However, the benefits of this dissemination method cannot be realized unless the translated interventions are as effective as possible. We describe a challenge that must be overcome to ensure this occurs—Internet interventions must retain therapeutic components and processes underlying the success of face-to-face interventions on which they are based. These components and processes vary in the ease with which they can be translated to the online environment. Moreover, some are subtle and may be overlooked, despite being recognized as essential to the success of face-to-face interventions. We provide preliminary guidance for retaining critical therapeutic components and processes in the translation process, using Pain Coping Skills Training for osteoarthritis pain to illustrate methods. Directions for future research are also discussed. PMID:25532216

Assessment of Institutional and Personnel-Related Challenges Facing Educational Programme for the Mentally Challenged Persons at Kaimosi Special School, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mmbwanga, Daniel M.; Matemba, Collins K.; Bota, Kennedy N.

2015-01-01

The mentally challenged child (MC) can achieve a lot if the right environment and curriculum are designed for him/her. However, the realization of the desirable outcomes faces many challenges. The objective of the study was to examine institutional and personnel-related challenges facing education programs for the MC persons at Kaimosi Special…

Psychological research with Muslim Americans in the age of Islamophobia: trends, challenges, and recommendations.

PubMed

Amer, Mona M; Bagasra, Anisah

2013-04-01

Like other minority groups in North America, Muslim Americans have been largely ignored in the psychological literature. The overwhelming pressures faced by this group, including surveillance, hate crimes, and institutional discrimination, stimulate an urgent need for psychologists to better understand and ensure the well-being of this population. This article reviews challenges in conducting research with Muslim Americans in order to offer recommendations for culturally sensitive approaches that can enhance the growth of future scholarship. We first contextualize this endeavor by assessing trends in psychological scholarship pertinent to Muslims in North America over the past two decades. A total of 559 relevant publications were identified through a PsycINFO database search. The 10 years post 9/11 saw a more than 900% increase in the annual number of publications, paralleling a national interest in the Muslim American community subsequent to the World Trade Center attacks. Researchers who conducted these studies faced numerous barriers, including unclear definition of the target sample, unavailability of culturally sensitive measures, sampling difficulties, and obstacles to participant recruitment. To navigate these challenges, we provide a framework for effective research design along the continuum of the research process from study conceptualization to dissemination of results. The challenges and recommendations are illustrated with examples from previous studies.

Challenges in Conducting Qualitative Research with Persons with Dementia

PubMed Central

Beuscher, Linda; Grando, Victoria T.

2010-01-01

Qualitative research can capture the meaningful experiences and life values of persons with dementia not reported in quantitative studies. This researcher shares personal experience of the challenges faced and the lessons learned while conducting a qualitative study of 15 persons with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues concerning determination of capacity to consent to research, consent/assent, communication challenges, and trustworthiness of data when conducting a qualitative study of persons with dementia. Understanding communication challenges due to dementia is important to develop effective communication strategies, such as simplifying the structure of questions, allowing ample time for participant’s response, using reminiscence, and redirecting the dialogue. This information will be valuable to researchers conducting future qualitative studies and the resulting contributions to the body of knowledge about Alzheimer’s PMID:20077988

Are attractive male crickets better able to pay the costs of an immune challenge?

PubMed Central

Telemeco, Melissa S.C.; Bartholomay, Lyric C.

2015-01-01

Reproduction and immunity are fitness-related traits that trade-off with each other. Parasite-mediated theories of sexual selection suggest, however, that higher-quality males should suffer smaller costs to reproduction-related traits and behaviours (e.g., sexual display) from an immune challenge because these males possess more resources with which to deal with the challenge. We used Gryllus texensis field crickets to test the prediction that attractive males should better maintain the performance of fitness-related traits (e.g., calling effort) in the face of an immune challenge compared with unattractive males. We found no support for our original predictions. However, that immune activation causes attractive males to significantly increase their calling effort compared with unattractive males suggests that these males might terminally invest in order to compensate for decreased future reproduction. PMID:26713249

Maximizing research study effectiveness in malaria elimination settings: a mixed methods study to capture the experiences of field-based staff.

PubMed

Canavati, Sara E; Quintero, Cesia E; Haller, Britt; Lek, Dysoley; Yok, Sovann; Richards, Jack S; Whittaker, Maxine Anne

2017-09-11

In a drug-resistant, malaria elimination setting like Western Cambodia, field research is essential for the development of novel anti-malarial regimens and the public health solutions necessary to monitor the spread of resistance and eliminate infection. Such field studies often face a variety of similar implementation challenges, but these are rarely captured in a systematic way or used to optimize future study designs that might overcome similar challenges. Field-based research staff often have extensive experience and can provide valuable insight regarding these issues, but their perspectives and experiences are rarely documented and seldom integrated into future research protocols. This mixed-methods analysis sought to gain an understanding of the daily challenges encountered by research field staff in the artemisinin-resistant, malaria elimination setting of Western Cambodia. In doing so, this study seeks to understand how the experiences and opinions of field staff can be captured, and used to inform future study designs. Twenty-two reports from six field-based malaria studies conducted in Western Cambodia were reviewed using content analysis to identify challenges to conducting the research. Informal Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and In-depth Interviews were also conducted among field research staff. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken using Nvivo 9 ® software. Triangulation and critical case analysis was also used. There was a lack of formalized avenues through which field workers could report challenges experienced when conducting the malaria studies. Field research staff faced significant logistical barriers to participant recruitment and data collection, including a lack of available transportation to cover long distances, and the fact that mobile and migrant populations (MMPs) are usually excluded from studies because of challenges in follow-up. Cultural barriers to communication also hindered participant recruitment and created unexpected delays. Field staff often paid a physical, emotional and financial cost, going beyond their duty in order to keep the study running. Formal monthly reports filled out by field study staff could be a key tool for capturing field study staff experiences effectively, but require specific report fields to encourage staff to outline their challenges and to propose potential solutions. Forging strong bonds with communities and their leaders may improve communication, and decrease barriers to participant recruitment. Study designs that make it feasible for MMPs to participate should be pursued; in addition to increasing the potential participant pool, this will ensure that the most malaria-endemic demographic is taken into account in research studies. Overlaps between clinical care and research create ethical dilemmas for study staff, a fact that warrants careful consideration. Lessons learned from study field staff should be used to create a set of locally-relevant recommendations to inform future study designs.

Identifying the challenges and facilitators of implementing a COPD care bundle.

PubMed

Lennox, Laura; Green, Stuart; Howe, Cathy; Musgrave, Hannah; Bell, Derek; Elkin, Sarah

2014-01-01

Care bundles have been shown to improve outcomes, reduce hospital readmissions and reduce length of hospital stay; therefore increasing the speed of uptake and delivery of care bundles should be a priority in order to deliver more timely improvements and consistent high-quality care. Previous studies have detailed the difficulties of obtaining full compliance to bundle elements but few have described the underlying reasons for this. In order to improve future implementation this paper investigates the challenges encountered by clinical teams implementing a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care bundle and describes actions taken to overcome these challenges. An initial retrospective documentary analysis of data from seven clinical implementation teams was undertaken to review the challenges faced by the clinical teams. Three focus groups with healthcare professionals and managers explored solutions to these challenges developed during the project. Documentary analysis identified 28 challenges which directly impacted implementation of the COPD care bundle within five themes; staffing, infrastructure, process, use of improvement methodology and patient and public involvement. Focus groups revealed that the five most significant challenges for all groups were: staff too busy, staff shortages, lack of staff engagement, added workload of the bundle and patient coding issues. The participants shared facilitating factors used to overcome issues including: shifting perceptions to improve engagement, further education sessions to increase staff participation and gaining buy-in from managers through payment frameworks. Maximising the impact of a care bundle relies on its successful and timely implementation. Teams implementing the COPD care bundle encountered challenges that were common to all teams and sites. Understanding and learning from the challenges faced by previous endeavours and identifying the facilitators to overcoming these barriers provides an opportunity to mitigate issues that waste time and resources, and ensures that training can be tailored to the anticipated challenges.

Predators and the public trust.

PubMed

Treves, Adrian; Chapron, Guillaume; López-Bao, Jose V; Shoemaker, Chase; Goeckner, Apollonia R; Bruskotter, Jeremy T

2017-02-01

Many democratic governments recognize a duty to conserve environmental resources, including wild animals, as a public trust for current and future citizens. These public trust principles have informed two centuries of U.S.A. Supreme Court decisions and environmental laws worldwide. Nevertheless numerous populations of large-bodied, mammalian carnivores (predators) were eradicated in the 20th century. Environmental movements and strict legal protections have fostered predator recoveries across the U.S.A. and Europe since the 1970s. Now subnational jurisdictions are regaining management authority from central governments for their predator subpopulations. Will the history of local eradication repeat or will these jurisdictions adopt public trust thinking and their obligation to broad public interests over narrower ones? We review the role of public trust principles in the restoration and preservation of controversial species. In so doing we argue for the essential roles of scientists from many disciplines concerned with biological diversity and its conservation. We look beyond species endangerment to future generations' interests in sustainability, particularly non-consumptive uses. Although our conclusions apply to all wild organisms, we focus on predators because of the particular challenges they pose for government trustees, trust managers, and society. Gray wolves Canis lupus L. deserve particular attention, because detailed information and abundant policy debates across regions have exposed four important challenges for preserving predators in the face of interest group hostility. One challenge is uncertainty and varied interpretations about public trustees' responsibilities for wildlife, which have created a mosaic of policies across jurisdictions. We explore how such mosaics have merits and drawbacks for biodiversity. The other three challenges to conserving wildlife as public trust assets are illuminated by the biology of predators and the interacting behavioural ecologies of humans and predators. The scientific community has not reached consensus on sustainable levels of human-caused mortality for many predator populations. This challenge includes both genuine conceptual uncertainty and exploitation of scientific debate for political gain. Second, human intolerance for predators exposes value conflicts about preferences for some wildlife over others and balancing majority rule with the protection of minorities in a democracy. We examine how differences between traditional assumptions and scientific studies of interactions between people and predators impede evidence-based policy. Even if the prior challenges can be overcome, well-reasoned policy on wild animals faces a greater challenge than other environmental assets because animals and humans change behaviour in response to each other in the short term. These coupled, dynamic responses exacerbate clashes between uses that deplete wildlife and uses that enhance or preserve wildlife. Viewed in this way, environmental assets demand sophisticated, careful accounting by disinterested trustees who can both understand the multidisciplinary scientific measurements of relative costs and benefits among competing uses, and justly balance the needs of all beneficiaries including future generations. Without public trust principles, future trustees will seldom prevail against narrow, powerful, and undemocratic interests. Without conservation informed by public trust thinking predator populations will face repeated cycles of eradication and recovery. Our conclusions have implications for the many subfields of the biological sciences that address environmental trust assets from the atmosphere to aquifers. © 2015 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Reducing myocardial infarct size: challenges and future opportunities

PubMed Central

Bulluck, Heerajnarain; Yellon, Derek M; Hausenloy, Derek J

2016-01-01

Despite prompt reperfusion by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), the mortality and morbidity of patients presenting with an acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remain significant with 9% death and 10% heart failure at 1 year. In these patients, one important neglected therapeutic target is ‘myocardial reperfusion injury’, a term given to the cardiomyocyte death and microvascular dysfunction which occurs on reperfusing ischaemic myocardium. A number of cardioprotective therapies (both mechanical and pharmacological), which are known to target myocardial reperfusion injury, have been shown to reduce myocardial infarct (MI) size in small proof-of-concept clinical studies—however, being able to demonstrate improved clinical outcomes has been elusive. In this article, we review the challenges facing clinical cardioprotection research, and highlight future therapies for reducing MI size and preventing heart failure in patients presenting with STEMI at risk of myocardial reperfusion injury. PMID:26674987

Establishing a national resource: a health informatics collection to maintain the legacy of health informatics development.

PubMed

Ellis, Beverley; Roberts, Jean; Cooper, Helen

2007-01-01

This case study report of the establishment of a national repository of multi-media materials describes the creation process, the challenges faced in putting it into operation and the opportunities for the future. The initial resource has been incorporated under standard library and knowledge management practices. A collaborative action research method was used with active experts in the domain to determine the requirements and priorities for further development. The National Health Informatics Collection (NatHIC) is now accessible and the further issues are being addressed by inclusion in future University and NHS strategic plans. Ultimately the Collection will link with other facilities that contribute to the description and maintenance of effective informatics in support of health globally. The issues raised about the National Health Informatics Collection as established in the UK have resonance with the challenges of capturing the overall historic development of an emerging discipline in any country.

Gazing into the crystal ball: future considerations for ensuring sustained growth of the functional food and nutraceutical marketplace.

PubMed

Marinangeli, Christopher P F; Jones, Peter J H

2013-06-01

Over the last decade the concept of functional foods and nutraceuticals (FFN) has gained support from various stakeholders including the food industry, scientific and academic community, government institutions or regulators, producers and consumers. However, as one begins to evaluate the global FFN industry, several issues emerge including (i) a lack of consensus across jurisdictions for acknowledging safe and efficacious FFN, (ii) challenges regarding the classification of novel food-derived bioactives as FFN or drugs, and (iii) a disconnect between nutrient requirements and dosages of FFN required to facilitate health benefits. The objectives of the present review are to discuss the role of existing stakeholders within the FFN marketplace and identify performance indicators for growth within the FFN sector. In addition, the following report provides feasible resolutions to present and future challenges facing the global FFN industry to ensure sustained long-term growth.

Understanding Leadership in Schools Facing Challenging Circumstances: A Chilean Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahumada, Luis; Galdames, Sergio; Clarke, Simon

2016-01-01

During the last 10 years, research into schools facing challenging circumstances has attracted the attention of researchers around the world. The aim of this study was to understand the challenges that school leaders face as they per form their work, the nature of the context in which these challenges arise, the strategies school leaders adopt to…

Time-Line in HFEA Developments and Regulatory Challenges: 20 Years of Overseeing Fertility Practices and Research in the UK.

PubMed

Agrawal, Rina; Burt, Elizabeth; Homburg, Roy

2013-12-01

In the wake of political upheaval, the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority (HFEA) has faced increasing insecurity over its future as a pivotal regulatory body of fertility practices in the UK. HFEA regulates activities by means of licensing, audit, and inspection of fertility centers and maintaining the Code of Practice, which ensures the optimum undertaking of licensed activities by fertility centers. In 2009, amendments to the 1990 Act came into force representing an amalgamation of cumulative proposals, debates, and changes in legislation, which have shaped the world of reproductive medicine. The medical world has, in many cases, adapted to righteous political and social demands, and continues to evolve at a rapid rate. The HFEA has faced many regulatory challenges and changes, and through this study, we aim to provide an overview of some of these changes, particularly those during the last 10 years and the implications that they may have had to fertility practices.

Hepatitis Vaccines

PubMed Central

Ogholikhan, Sina; Schwarz, Kathleen B.

2016-01-01

Viral hepatitis is a serious health problem all over the world. However, the reduction of the morbidity and mortality due to vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B has been a major component in the overall reduction in vaccine preventable diseases. We will discuss the epidemiology, vaccine development, and post-vaccination effects of the hepatitis A and B virus. In addition, we discuss attempts to provide hepatitis D vaccine for the 350 million individuals infected with hepatitis B globally. Given the lack of a hepatitis C vaccine, the many challenges facing the production of a hepatitis C vaccine will be shown, along with current and former vaccination trials. As there is no current FDA-approved hepatitis E vaccine, we will present vaccination data that is available in the rest of the world. Finally, we will discuss the existing challenges and questions facing future endeavors for each of the hepatitis viruses, with efforts continuing to focus on dramatically reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with these serious infections of the liver. PMID:26978406

Issues in conducting epidemiologic research among elders: lessons from the MOBILIZE Boston Study.

PubMed

Samelson, Elizabeth J; Kelsey, Jennifer L; Kiel, Douglas P; Roman, Anthony M; Cupples, L Adrienne; Freeman, Marcie B; Jones, Richard N; Hannan, Marian T; Leveille, Suzanne G; Gagnon, Margaret M; Lipsitz, Lewis A

2008-12-15

Conducting research in elderly populations is important, but challenging. In this paper, the authors describe specific challenges that have arisen and solutions that have been used in carrying out The MOBILIZE Boston Study, a community-based, prospective cohort study in Massachusetts focusing on falls among 765 participants aged 70 years or older enrolled during 2005-2007. To recruit older individuals, face-to-face interactions are more effective than less personal approaches. Use of a board of community leaders facilitated community acceptance of the research. Establishing eligibility for potential participants required several interactions, so resources must be anticipated in advance. Assuring a safe and warm environment for elderly participants and offering a positive experience are a vital priority. Adequate funding, planning, and monitoring are required to provide transportation and a fully accessible environment in which to conduct study procedures as well as to select personnel highly skilled in interacting with elders. It is hoped that this paper will encourage and inform future epidemiologic research in this important segment of the population.

Blended learning: strengths, challenges, and lessons learned in an interprofessional training program.

PubMed

Lotrecchiano, G R; McDonald, P L; Lyons, L; Long, T; Zajicek-Farber, M

2013-11-01

This field report outlines the goals of providing a blended learning model for an interdisciplinary training program for healthcare professionals who care for children with disabilities. The curriculum blended traditional face-to-face or on-site learning with integrated online interactive instruction. Credit earning and audited graduate level online coursework, community engagement experiences, and on-site training with maternal and child health community engagement opportunities were blended into a cohesive program. The training approach emphasized adult learning principles in different environmental contexts integrating multiple components of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program. This paper describes the key principles adopted for this blended approach and the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned. The discussion offers examples from training content, material gathered through yearly program evaluation, as well as university course evaluations. The lessons learned consider the process and the implications for the role of blended learning in this type of training program with suggestions for future development and adoption by other programs.

St. Michael's Improvement Program - A Collaborative Approach to Sustainable Cost Savings.

PubMed

Trafford, Anne; Jane, Danielle

2017-01-01

In response to a challenging financial environment and increasing patient demand, St. Michael's Hospital needed to find long-term sustainable solutions to continue to provide high-quality patient care and invest in key priorities. By conducting Operational Reviews in focused areas, the hospital achieved $7.4 million of in-year savings in the first year, found standardizations, process efficiencies and direct cost savings that positioned itself for success in future funding models. Initiatives were grounded in evidence and relied heavily on the effective execution by the leadership, front-line staff and physicians. As organizations face similar challenges, this journey can provide key learnings.

Long-range strategic planning: a case study.

PubMed

Moller-Tiger, D

1999-05-01

In highly competitive healthcare markets, integrated delivery systems (IDSs) that have exhausted traditional means of maintaining market competitiveness are challenged to identify effective new strategies that will ensure market success in an uncertain future. Finding itself facing this challenge, Legacy Health System, a Portland, Oregon-based IDS, undertook an innovative, long-range, strategic-planning initiative based on an evaluation of key market trends. Legacy discovered that it might benefit from making some changes in the way it approached its mission. These changes included focusing on specific customer segments, developing products and services aimed at those customers, and broadening physician and insurer relationships to enhance service and improve customers' access to health care.

Conservation in Saudi Arabia; moving from strategy to practice.

PubMed

Barichievy, Chris; Sheldon, Rob; Wacher, Tim; Llewellyn, Othman; Al-Mutairy, Mohammed; Alagaili, Abdulaziz

2018-02-01

Conservation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is relatively young, yet have made considerable gains in conservation through strategic proclamation and reintroductions. Changes in land use, illegal hunting and competition with domestic stock has decimated the native ungulates, meaning that the survival of the native ungulate species is now completely dependent on protected area network. The challenge is to sustain this network to make meaningful conservation impact into the future. We review the status of ungulate conservation in Saudi Arabia and highlight that the conservation strategy is well developed. The major challenge faced in conservation in Saudi Arabia now is to implement what has been sanctioned.

Tree physiology research in a changing world.

PubMed

Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Linder, Sune

1996-01-01

Changes in issues and advances in methodology have contributed to substantial progress in tree physiology research during the last several decades. Current research focuses on process interactions in complex systems and the integration of processes across multiple spatial and temporal scales. An increasingly important challenge for future research is assuring sustainability of production systems and forested ecosystems in the face of increased demands for natural resources and human disturbance of forests. Meeting this challenge requires significant shifts in research approach, including the study of limitations of productivity that may accompany achievement of system sustainability, and a focus on the biological capabilities of complex land bases altered by human activity.

Minnesota K-12 Education: The Current Debate, the Present Condition. A Report of the CURA/College of Education Project on the Future of K-12 Public Education in Minnesota.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peek, Thomas R.; And Others

The purpose of this report is to provide an accurate picture of the nature and condition of Minnesota's K-12 public education system and the challenges it faces in the coming years. Section I describes the major concerns about Minnesota education (centering on excellence and student performance, system accountability and responsiveness, and…

Preparing Professionals to Face Ethical Challenges in Today's Workplace: Review of the Literature, Implications for PI, and a Proposed Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frisque, Deloise A.; Lin, Hong; Kolb, Judith A.

2004-01-01

Ethics is very much in the news today and on the minds of those who teach and/or train current and future professionals to work successfully in today's workplaces. While there seems to be agreement that organizations need to address the topic of ethics, there is also a concern about how best to proceed. Ethics and compliance offices, professional…

The Third Nuclear Age: How I Learned to Start Worrying about the Clean Bomb

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-14

Fourth generation fusion nuclear weapons (FGNW) represent a significant improvement in nuclear weapons technology and suggest the potential for...future challenges that the United States and its Air Force may face twenty-five years from now. This paper does not answer whether the fusion technology...is possible and assumes it as an inevitable technological advancement. Instead, this study predicts a world in which low yield, clean fusion

Baby Boy Jones Interactive Case-Based Learning Activity: A Web-Delivered Teaching Strategy.

PubMed

Cleveland, Lisa M; Carmona, Elenice Valentim; Paper, Bruce; Solis, Linda; Taylor, Bonnie

2015-01-01

Faced with limited resources, nurse educators are challenged with transforming nursing education while preparing enough qualified nurses to meet future demand; therefore, innovative approaches to teaching are needed. In this article, we describe the development of an innovative teaching activity. Baby Boy Jones is a Web-delivered, case-based learning activity focused on neonatal infection. It was created using e-learning authoring software and delivered through a learning management system.

The Astrophysics Source Code Library: Where Do We Go from Here?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, A.; Berriman, B.; DuPrie, K.; Hanisch, R. J.; Mink, J.; Nemiroff, R. J.; Shamir, L.; Shortridge, K.; Taylor, M. B.; Teuben, P.; Wallen, J.

2014-05-01

The Astrophysics Source Code Library1, started in 1999, has in the past three years grown from a repository for 40 codes to a registry of over 700 codes that are now indexed by ADS. What comes next? We examine the future of the , the challenges facing it, the rationale behind its practices, and the need to balance what we might do with what we have the resources to accomplish.

Balancing professional and personal satisfaction of nurse managers: current and future perspectives in a changing health care system.

PubMed

Thorpe, Karran; Loo, Robert

2003-09-01

The objectives of this research were to explore and describe emerging new roles of First-Line Nurse Managers (F-LNMs i.e. individuals who oversee the daily operations of nursing units, regardless of their titles) in one Canadian province, identify their requisite knowledge, skills, competencies, and determine the training and development needs of these managers. F-LNMs, recognized as key players in health care systems, face major challenges (e.g. continuing organizational change, lack of resources) daily. These challenges affect their ability to achieve quality work experiences for their staff members and quality of nursing care for their patients and for themselves. The research design entails a triangulation of investigators (nursing and management), methods (interviews and a Delphi Study), samples (interviews with 26 F-LNMs and a Delphi Study with 62 panelists), and data (qualitative and quantitative). Institutions were randomly selected and then F-LNMs were randomly selected to participate in personal interviews and the remaining F-LNMs, along with nominated senior administrators, were invited to participate in the Delphi Study. Key findings relate to role changes (e.g. job enlargement and emphasis on efficiency), challenges (e.g. staffing and retention, frustrations), and recommendations for administrators (e.g. provide resources, training and development) and educators (e.g. link education to organizational needs). Ultimately, organizational changes and challenges affect how F-LNMs perceive their future professional (e.g. providing quality of patient care) and personal (e.g. high quality of life) satisfaction levels. This research suggests that the role of F-LNMs continues to evolve, consistent with the changing health care system. F-LNMs face challenges that compromise performance of their functions as they believe their work should be completed. To enhance satisfaction in their roles, F-LNMs express a desire for balance in their professional and personal lives.

Challenges faced in daily life by persons with type 2 diabetes: A meta-synthesis.

PubMed

Inga-Britt, Lindh; Kerstin, Blomqvist

2018-01-01

Objectives To derive improved understanding of the implicit meanings of challenges in daily life from the perspective of persons with type 2 diabetes. Methods A meta-synthesis was conducted with an interpretive and constructivist approach. Four databases were searched for articles published between 2007 and 2011, producing 37 articles for analysis. Van Deurzen's life world theory was applied as an analytic grid. Results Challenges in daily life with type 2 diabetes could be understood as living in a tension between opposing forces, implying a struggle with inevitable paradoxes: living in the present and for the future, trusting oneself while relying on others, and being normal while feeling changed and different. Discussion This synthesis adds knowledge to previous understanding of living with type 2 diabetes, revealing the complexity of daily life when struggling with a lifelong illness. Person-centred care could be used to understand what challenges diabetes may cause in family and working life and the ambivalent feelings the illness can lead to. Future research is needed to implement and evaluate a person-centred care in practice. Since new qualitative research is continuously added to this topic, metasyntheses should be undertaken regularly.

Do women CEOs face greater threat of shareholder activism compared to male CEOs? A role congruity perspective.

PubMed

Gupta, Vishal K; Han, Seonghee; Mortal, Sandra C; Silveri, Sabatino Dino; Turban, Daniel B

2018-02-01

We examine the glass cliff proposition that female CEOs receive more scrutiny than male CEOs, by investigating whether CEO gender is related to threats from activist investors in public firms. Activist investors are extraorganizational stakeholders who, when dissatisfied with some aspect of the way the firm is being managed, seek to change the strategy or operations of the firm. Although some have argued that women will be viewed more favorably than men in top leadership positions (so-called "female leadership" advantage logic), we build on role congruity theory to hypothesize that female CEOs are significantly more likely than male CEOs to come under threat from activist investors. Results support our predictions, suggesting that female CEOs may face additional challenges not faced by male CEOs. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

International nurse migration: lessons from the Philippines.

PubMed

Brush, Barbara L; Sochalski, Julie

2007-02-01

Developed countries facing nursing shortages have increasingly turned to aggressive foreign nurse recruitment, primarily from developing nations, to offset their lagging domestic nurse supplies and meet growing health care demands. Few donor nations are prepared to manage the loss of their nurse workforce to migration. The sole country with an explicit nurse export policy and the world's leading donor of nurse labor - the Philippines - is itself facing serious provider maldistribution and countrywide health disparities. Examining the historical roots of Philippines nurse migration provides lessons from which other nurse exporting countries may learn. The authors discuss factors that have predicated nurse migration and policies that have eased the way. Furthermore, the authors analyze how various stakeholders influence migratory patterns, the implications of migration for nurses and the public in their care, and the challenges that future social policy and political systems face in addressing global health issues engendered by unfettered recruitment of nurses and other health workers.

Automation in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

PubMed

Novak, Susan M; Marlowe, Elizabeth M

2013-09-01

Imagine a clinical microbiology laboratory where a patient's specimens are placed on a conveyor belt and sent on an automation line for processing and plating. Technologists need only log onto a computer to visualize the images of a culture and send to a mass spectrometer for identification. Once a pathogen is identified, the system knows to send the colony for susceptibility testing. This is the future of the clinical microbiology laboratory. This article outlines the operational and staffing challenges facing clinical microbiology laboratories and the evolution of automation that is shaping the way laboratory medicine will be practiced in the future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Offshore Europe 95: Securing the future: 12th Aberdeen-based conference & exhibition to examine future of European oil & gas industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-08-01

Offshore Europe 95 - which will be held September 5-8, 1995, in Aberdeen, Scotland - was designed to generate interest across the oil and gas industry and to be relevant to everyone from CEOs to trainee engineers. While the European offshore oil and gas industry has had some remarkable success in reducing its costs, it faces difficult and growing challenges, and Offshore Eurpoe is the perfect opportunity for companies to learn from each other how to successfully face these hurdles. Sessions will be held on every aspect of the oil and gas industry and are organized under eight technical categories:more » drilling; exploration; management and economics; development and abandonment; well intervention; health, safety, and environment; production; and reservoir management. Much greater operating effectiveness and striking technological advances have enabled us to maintain reserves, prolong the lives of mature producing fields, and continue the pace of new development.« less

The Role for Virtual Patients in the Future of Medical Education.

PubMed

Berman, Norman B; Durning, Steven J; Fischer, Martin R; Huwendiek, Soren; Triola, Marc M

2016-09-01

The medical education community is working-across disciplines and across the continuum-to address the current challenges facing the medical education system and to implement strategies to improve educational outcomes. Educational technology offers the promise of addressing these important challenges in ways not previously possible. The authors propose a role for virtual patients (VPs), which they define as multimedia, screen-based interactive patient scenarios. They believe VPs offer capabilities and benefits particularly well suited to addressing the challenges facing medical education. Well-designed, interactive VP-based learning activities can promote the deep learning that is needed to handle the rapid growth in medical knowledge. Clinically oriented learning from VPs can capture intrinsic motivation and promote mastery learning. VPs can also enhance trainees' application of foundational knowledge to promote the development of clinical reasoning, the foundation of medical practice. Although not the entire solution, VPs can support competency-based education. The data created by the use of VPs can serve as the basis for multi-institutional research that will enable the medical education community both to better understand the effectiveness of educational interventions and to measure progress toward an improved system of medical education.

Contributions and challenges for worldwide vaccine safety: The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety at 15 years.

PubMed

Asturias, Edwin J; Wharton, Melinda; Pless, Robert; MacDonald, Noni E; Chen, Robert T; Andrews, Nicholas; Salisbury, David; Dodoo, Alexander N; Hartigan-Go, Kenneth; Zuber, Patrick L F

2016-06-17

In 1999, the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide independent scientific advice on issues relating to the safety of vaccines and immunization. Fifteen years onward, we conducted a multi-faceted review to evaluate the impact, reach and challenges facing GACVS, including the role GACVS plays in informing global, regional and WHO member state vaccine policy. The methods included measures of organizational structure, citation impact, themes approached, and a discussion by previous and current members to evaluate past, present and future challenges. Given the increasing range of data sources and the deployment of many new vaccines, the Committee is facing the complex task of identifying the best available evidence for recommendations on vaccine safety. To help meet the increased demand for public transparency in decision making, GACVS-structured methodology for evidence-based decisions is evolving. GACVS also promotes best practices and capacity building for timely and accurate risk assessment; risk communications; outreach to help countries maintain and, if needed, rebuild public trust in vaccines; and advocacy for bridging the major gaps in vaccine safety capacity globally. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family physicians and dementia in Canada: Part 2. Understanding the challenges of dementia care.

PubMed

Pimlott, Nicholas J G; Persaud, Malini; Drummond, Neil; Cohen, Carole A; Silvius, James L; Seigel, Karen; Hollingworth, Gary R; Dalziel, William B

2009-05-01

To explore the challenges Canadian family physicians face in providing dementia care. Qualitative study using focus groups. Academic family practice clinics in Calgary, Alta, Ottawa, Ont, and Toronto, Ont. Eighteen family physicians. We conducted 4 qualitative focus groups of 4 to 6 family physicians whose practices we had audited in a previous study. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using the principles of thematic analysis. Five major themes related to the provision of dementia care by family physicians emerged: 1) diagnostic uncertainty; 2) the complexity of dementia; 3) time as a paradox in the provision of dementia care; 4) the importance of patients' families; 5) and familiarity with patients. Participants expressed uncertainty about diagnosing dementia and a strong need for expert verification of diagnoses owing to the complexity of dementia. Time, patients' family members, and familiarity with patients were seen as both barriers and enablers in the provision of dementia care. Family physicians face many challenges in providing dementia care. The results of this study and the views of family physicians should be considered in the development and dissemination of future dementia guidelines, as well as by specialist colleagues, policy makers, and those involved in developing continuing physician education about dementia.

Challenges to professionalism: Social accountability and global environmental change.

PubMed

Pearson, David; Walpole, Sarah; Barna, Stefi

2015-01-01

This article explores the concept of professionalism as it relates to social change and social accountability, and expands on them in the light of global environmental changes. Professionalism in medicine includes concepts of altruism, service, professional knowledge, self-regulation and autonomy. Current dialogues around social accountability suggest that medical schools should re-orientate their strategy and desired education, research and service outcomes to the health needs of the communities they serve.This article addresses the following questions: • How do we reconcile ideas of medical professionalism with the demands of creating a more equal, just, sustainable and socially inclusive society? • What new challenges do or will we face in relation to environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, ecosystem health and climate change? • How can medical schools best teach social and environmental responsiveness within a framework of professionalism? • How do medical schools ensure that tomorrow's doctors possess the knowledge, skills and attitude to adapt to the challenges they will face in future roles?We offer ideas about why and how medical educators can change, recommendations to strengthen the teaching of professionalism and social accountability and suggestions about the contribution of an emerging concept, that of "environmental accountability".

Minimally Invasive Surgery in Gastrointestinal Cancer: Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions for Underutilization

PubMed Central

Gusani, Niraj J.; Kimchi, Eric T.; Kavic, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

Background and Objectives: After the widespread application of minimally invasive surgery for benign diseases and given its proven safety and efficacy, minimally invasive surgery for gastrointestinal cancer has gained substantial attention in the past several years. Despite the large number of publications on the topic and level I evidence to support its use in colon cancer, minimally invasive surgery for most gastrointestinal malignancies is still underused. Methods: We explore some of the challenges that face the fusion of minimally invasive surgery technology in the management of gastrointestinal malignancies and propose solutions that may help increase the utilization in the future. These solutions are based on extensive literature review, observation of current trends and practices in this field, and discussion made with experts in the field. Results: We propose 4 different solutions to increase the use of minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies: collaboration between surgical oncologists/hepatopancreatobiliary surgeons and minimally invasive surgeons at the same institution; a single surgeon performing 2 fellowships in surgical oncology/hepatopancreatobiliary surgery and minimally invasive surgery; establishing centers of excellence in minimally invasive gastrointestinal cancer management; and finally, using robotic technology to help with complex laparoscopic skills. Conclusions: Multiple studies have confirmed the utility of minimally invasive surgery techniques in dealing with patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. However, training continues to be the most important challenge that faces the use of minimally invasive surgery in the management of gastrointestinal malignancy; implementation of our proposed solutions may help increase the rate of adoption in the future. PMID:25489209

Career Advancement: Meeting the Challenges Confronting the Next Generation of Endocrinologists and Endocrine Researchers.

PubMed

Santen, Richard J; Joham, Anju; Fishbein, Lauren; Vella, Kristen R; Ebeling, Peter R; Gibson-Helm, Melanie; Teede, Helena

2016-12-01

Challenges and opportunities face the next generation (Next-Gen) of endocrine researchers and clinicians, the lifeblood of the field of endocrinology for the future. A symposium jointly sponsored by The Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society of Australia was convened to discuss approaches to addressing the present and future Next-Gen needs. Data collection by literature review, assessment of previously completed questionnaires, commissioning of a new questionnaire, and summarization of symposium discussions were studied. Next-Gen endocrine researchers face diminishing grant funding in inflation-adjusted terms. The average age of individuals being awarded their first independent investigator funding has increased to age 45 years. For clinicians, a workforce gap exists between endocrinologists needed and those currently trained. Clinicians in practice are increasingly becoming employees of integrated hospital systems, resulting in greater time spent on nonclinical issues. Workforce data and published reviews identify challenges specifically related to early career women in endocrinology. Strategies to Address Issues: Recommendations encompassed the areas of grant support for research, mentoring, education, templates for career development, specific programs for Next-Gen members by senior colleagues as outlined in the text, networking, team science, and life/work integration. Endocrine societies focusing on Next-Gen members provide a powerful mechanism to support these critical areas. A concerted effort to empower, train, and support the next generation of clinical endocrinologists and endocrine researchers is necessary to ensure the viability and vibrancy of our discipline and to optimize our contributions to improving health outcomes. Collaborative engagement of endocrine societies globally will be necessary to support our next generation moving forward.

A student's perspective of managing data collection in a complex qualitative study.

PubMed

Dowse, Eileen Mary; van der Riet, Pamela; Keatinge, Diana Rosemary

2014-11-01

To highlight from a doctoral student's perspective some of the unexpected and challenging issues that may arise when collecting data in a complex, qualitative study. Using a qualitative approach to undertaking a PhD requires commitment to the research topic, the acquisition of a variety of research skills and the development of expertise in writing. Despite close research supervision and guidance, the first author of this paper experienced unexpected hurdles when collecting data. This article highlights these hurdles and compares them with similar and dissimilar challenges raised by a social researcher with 30 years' experience (White 2012). The first author's experience of field research during her PhD candidature. Informed by a critical theoretical perspective, a snowballing technique was used to examine issues related to data collection by a doctoral student in a qualitative research study. The first author found the logistics of qualitative data collection, concerns about transparency, role confusion and power differentials with participants, and the effective use of video recording technology, unexpectedly challenging. Many of these issues are highlighted in the literature and/or during research supervision. However, the student researcher remains a novice when entering the field. It is often only on reflection after encountering the hurdle that the student recognises future pre-emptive or alternative methods of data collection. The challenges faced as a doctoral student managing the data collection phase of the study concurred with White's discussion of some of the 'real life challenges that novice researchers might face' (2012). Specific guidance and prudence are needed by research students to know when enough data have been collected for manageable analysis within the limits of candidature. Use of reflexivity and mindfulness practised by the student during this phase assisted the ability to reflect, respond and learn from issues as they arose and aim for a harmonious work, study and life balance. This paper highlights these issues and offers suggestions for other research higher degree students facing similar challenges when collecting data in a complex qualitative study.

No Prior Entry for Threat-Related Faces: Evidence from Temporal Order Judgments

PubMed Central

Schettino, Antonio; Loeys, Tom; Pourtois, Gilles

2013-01-01

Previous research showed that threat-related faces, due to their intrinsic motivational relevance, capture attention more readily than neutral faces. Here we used a standard temporal order judgment (TOJ) task to assess whether negative (either angry or fearful) emotional faces, when competing with neutral faces for attention selection, may lead to a prior entry effect and hence be perceived as appearing first, especially when uncertainty is high regarding the order of the two onsets. We did not find evidence for this conjecture across five different experiments, despite the fact that participants were invariably influenced by asynchronies in the respective onsets of the two competing faces in the pair, and could reliably identify the emotion in the faces. Importantly, by systematically varying task demands across experiments, we could rule out confounds related to suboptimal stimulus presentation or inappropriate task demands. These findings challenge the notion of an early automatic capture of attention by (negative) emotion. Future studies are needed to investigate whether the lack of systematic bias of attention by emotion is imputed to the primacy of a non-emotional cue to resolve the TOJ task, which in turn prevents negative emotion to exert an early bottom-up influence on the guidance of spatial and temporal attention. PMID:23646126

The Cauvery river basin in southern India: major challenges and possible solutions in the 21st century.

PubMed

Vanham, D; Weingartner, R; Rauch, W

2011-01-01

India is facing major challenges in its water resources management (WRM) sector. Water shortages are attributed to issues such as an explosion in population, rapid urbanization and industrialization, environmental degradation and inefficient water use, all aggravated by changing climate and its impacts on demand, supply and water quality. This paper focuses on the contemporary and future situation in the Cauvery river basin in Southern India, shared by different states, predominantly Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As water issues largely fall under the authority of the states, inter-state water disputes have a long tradition in the Cauvery river basin. Future changes in precipitation during the two monsoon seasons will only increase these tensions. Both states depend on the arrival of these monsoon rains to water their crops and to replenish the groundwater. The paper identifies the major challenges and general possible solutions for sustainable WRM within the river basin. It synthesises the relevant literature, describes practices that should be addressed in the scope of integrated WRM--including water availability increase and demand management--and stresses the need for further quantitative analyses.

The Future of Health Care in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq: Toward an Effective, High-Quality System with an Emphasis on Primary Care.

PubMed

Moore, Melinda; Anthony, C Ross; Lim, Yee-Wei; Jones, Spencer S; Overton, Adrian; Yoong, Joanne K

2014-01-01

At the request of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), RAND researchers undertook a yearlong analysis of the health care system in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a focus on primary care. RAND staff reviewed available literature on the Kurdistan Region and information relevant to primary care; interviewed a wide range of policy leaders, health practitioners, patients, and government officials to gather information and understand their priorities; collected and studied all available data related to health resources, services, and conditions; and projected future supply and demand for health services in the Kurdistan Region; and laid out the health financing challenges and questions. In this volume, the authors describe the strengths of the health care system in the Kurdistan Region as well as the challenges it faces. The authors suggest that a primary care-oriented health care system could help the KRG address many of these challenges. The authors discuss how such a system might be implemented and financed, and they make recommendations for better utilizing resources to improve the quality, access, effectiveness, and efficiency of primary care.

Strengthening capacity to research the social determinants of health in low- and middle-income countries: lessons from the INTREC programme.

PubMed

Henschke, Nicholas; Mirny, Anna; Haafkens, Joke A; Ramroth, Heribert; Padmawati, Siwi; Bangha, Martin; Berkman, Lisa; Trisnantoro, Laksono; Blomstedt, Yulia; Becher, Heiko; Sankoh, Osman; Byass, Peter; Kinsman, John

2017-05-25

The INDEPTH Training & Research Centres of Excellence (INTREC) collaboration developed a training programme to strengthen social determinants of health (SDH) research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It was piloted among health- and demographic researchers from 9 countries in Africa and Asia. The programme followed a blended learning approach and was split into three consecutive teaching blocks over a 12-month period: 1) an online course of 7 video lectures and assignments on the theory of SDH research; 2) a 2-week qualitative and quantitative methods workshop; and 3) a 1-week data analysis workshop. This report aims to summarise the student evaluations of the pilot and to suggest key lessons for future approaches to strengthen SDH research capacity in LMICs. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with 24 students from 9 countries in Africa and Asia were used to evaluate each teaching block. Information was collected about the students' motivation and interest in studying SDH, any challenges they faced during the consecutive teaching blocks, and suggestions they had for future courses on SDH. Of the 24 students who began the programme, 13 (54%) completed all training activities. The students recognised the need for such a course and its potential to improve their skills as health researchers. The main challenges with the online course were time management, prior knowledge and skills required to participate in the course, and the need to get feedback from teaching staff throughout the learning process. All students found the face-to-face workshops to be of high quality and value for their work, because they offered an opportunity to clarify SDH concepts taught during the online course and to gain practical research skills. After the final teaching block, students felt they had improved their data analysis skills and were better able to develop research proposals, scientific manuscripts, and policy briefs. The INTREC programme has trained a promising cadre of health researchers who live and work in LMICs, which is an essential component of efforts to identify and reduce national and local level health inequities. Time management and technological issues were the greatest challenges, which can inform future attempts to strengthen research capacity on SDH.

Challenges for an Active Role of Women in Physics in Ecuador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayala, Paola; Guaño, Sonia; Apolo, Alberto Celi

2009-04-01

The social reality of Ecuador is not far from the experience of most countries of the Andean region in South America. Many factors contribute to a preference for short-learning-curve or business-oriented careers, and also make traditional and time-demanding careers less appealing. Physics is one of the least attractive professions in a country like Ecuador. However, in the last few years, the number of bachelor's-degree candidates in physics has increased significantly. This result, together with the new postgraduate courses offered inland, show promising changes for the future of this career. Developed countries face challenges that involve mainly gender issues in the scientific daily routine, whereas in Ecuador the challenge is still to attract students to this scientific path regardless of their gender.

The changing face of nanomaterials: Risk assessment challenges along the value chain.

PubMed

Mattsson, Mats-Olof; Simkó, Myrtill

2017-03-01

Risk assessment (RA) of manufactured nanomaterials (MNM) is essential for regulatory purposes and risk management activities. Similar to RA of "classical" chemicals, MNM RA requires knowledge about exposure as well as of hazard potential and dose response relationships. What makes MNM RA especially challenging is the multitude of materials (which is expected to increase substantially in the future), the complexity of MNM value chains and life cycles, the accompanying possible changes in material properties over time and in contact with various environmental and organismal milieus, and the difficulties to obtain proper exposure data and to consider the proper dose metric. This article discusses these challenges and also critically overviews the current state of the art regarding MNM RA approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective.

PubMed

Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

2018-01-01

In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context.

Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective

PubMed Central

Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

2018-01-01

In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context. PMID:29445349

Engineering craniofacial structures: facing the challenge.

PubMed

Zaky, S H; Cancedda, R

2009-12-01

The human innate regenerative ability is known to be limited by the intensity of the insult together with the availability of progenitor cells, which may cause certain irreparable damage. It is only recently that the paradigm of tissue engineering found its way to the treatment of irreversibly affected body structures with the challenge of reconstructing the lost part. In the current review, we underline recent trials that target engineering of human craniofacial structures, mainly bone, cartilage, and teeth. We analyze the applied engineering strategies relative to the selection of cell types to lay down a specific targeted tissue, together with their association with an escorting scaffold for a particular engineered site, and discuss their necessity to be sustained by growth factors. Challenges and expectations for facial skeletal engineering are discussed in the context of future treatment.

Chimeric-antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy for solid tumors: challenges and opportunities

PubMed Central

Xia, An-Liang; Wang, Xiao-Chen; Lu, Yi-Jun; Lu, Xiao-Jie; Sun, Beicheng

2017-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells (CAR-T cells) have been shown to have unprecedented efficacy in B cell malignancies, most notably in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with up to a 90% complete remission rate using anti-CD19 CAR-T cells. However, CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors currently is faced with numerous challenges such as physical barriers, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the specificity and safety. The clinical results in solid tumors have been much less encouraging, with multiple cases of toxicity and a lack of therapeutic response. In this review, we will discuss the current stats and challenges of CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors, and propose possibl e solutions and future perspectives. PMID:29163850

Global Interconnectivity Between Mobile Satellite and Terrestrial Users: Call Signalling Issues and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estabrook, Polly; Moon, Todd; Spade, Rob

1996-01-01

This paper will discuss some of the challenges in connecting mobile satellite users and mobile terrestrial users in a cost efficient manner and with a grade of service comparable to that of satellite to fixed user calls. Issues arising from the translation between the mobility management protocols resident at the satellite Earth station and those resident at cellular switches - either GSM (Group Special Mobile) or IS-41 (used by U.S. digital cellular systems) type - will be discussed. The impact of GSM call routing procedures on the call setup of a satellite to roaming GSM user will be described. Challenges facing provision of seamless call handoff between satellite and cellular systems will be given. A summary of the issues explored in the paper are listed and future work outlined.

The Future of the Small Rural Grocery Store: A Qualitative Exploration.

PubMed

Pinard, Courtney A; Fricke, Hollyanne E; Smith, Teresa M; Carpenter, Leah R; Yaroch, Amy L

2016-11-01

Rural communities face unique challenges to and opportunities for offering more healthful foods and are often understudied in comparison to their urban counterparts. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative assessment of rural storeowners' perceptions of their communities, their business practices, and factors that influences their viability, sustainability, and ability to support healthy food choices. We conducted interviews with storeowners (N = 15) in small stores in rural Nebraska and explored perceptions of business practices, role in the community, and consumer demand for more healthful foods. The storeowners reported strategies they employ to remain competitive, such as selling alcohol and tobacco, focusing on customer service, and ensuring quality of products. Manufacturer and distributor agreements often put constraints on their business models. Key challenges reported included a dwindling population and competition with larger chains in neighboring towns set in a sparsely populated landscape. Goals for the future included expanding equipment, largely to offer more prepared foods. This study adds to the literature around food access in rural communities, and can inform future implementation strategies to work with storeowners to improve healthy food access.

Advances in Monitoring Cell-Based Therapies with Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Ngen, Ethel J.; Artemov, Dmitri

2017-01-01

Cell-based therapies are currently being developed for applications in both regenerative medicine and in oncology. Preclinical, translational, and clinical research on cell-based therapies will benefit tremendously from novel imaging approaches that enable the effective monitoring of the delivery, survival, migration, biodistribution, and integration of transplanted cells. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers several advantages over other imaging modalities for elucidating the fate of transplanted cells both preclinically and clinically. These advantages include the ability to image transplanted cells longitudinally at high spatial resolution without exposure to ionizing radiation, and the possibility to co-register anatomical structures with molecular processes and functional changes. However, since cellular MRI is still in its infancy, it currently faces a number of challenges, which provide avenues for future research and development. In this review, we describe the basic principle of cell-tracking with MRI; explain the different approaches currently used to monitor cell-based therapies; describe currently available MRI contrast generation mechanisms and strategies for monitoring transplanted cells; discuss some of the challenges in tracking transplanted cells; and suggest future research directions. PMID:28106829

Healthy and sustainable diets for future generations.

PubMed

Green, Hilary; Broun, Pierre; Cook, Douglas; Cooper, Karen; Drewnowski, Adam; Pollard, Duncan; Sweeney, Gary; Roulin, Anne

2018-07-01

Global food systems will face unprecedented challenges in the coming years. They will need to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population and feed an expanding demand for proteins. This is against a backdrop of increasing environmental challenges (water resources, climate change, soil health) and the need to improve farming livelihoods. Collaborative efforts by a variety of stakeholders are needed to ensure that future generations have access to healthy and sustainable diets. Food will play an increasingly important role in the global discourse on health. These topics were explored during Nestlé's second international conference on 'Planting Seeds for the Future of Food: The Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainability Nexus', which took place in July 2017. This article discusses some of the key issues from the perspective of three major stakeholder groups, namely farming/agriculture, the food industry and consumers. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The importance of living botanical collections for plant biology and the “next generation” of evo-devo research

PubMed Central

Dosmann, Michael; Groover, Andrew

2012-01-01

Living botanical collections include germplasm repositories, long-term experimental plantings, and botanical gardens. We present here a series of vignettes to illustrate the central role that living collections have played in plant biology research, including evo-devo research. Looking toward the future, living collections will become increasingly important in support of future evo-devo research. The driving force behind this trend is nucleic acid sequencing technologies, which are rapidly becoming more powerful and cost-effective, and which can be applied to virtually any species. This allows for more extensive sampling, including non-model organisms with unique biological features and plants from diverse phylogenetic positions. Importantly, a major challenge for sequencing-based evo-devo research is to identify, access, and propagate appropriate plant materials. We use a vignette of the ongoing 1,000 Transcriptomes project as an example of the challenges faced by such projects. We conclude by identifying some of the pinch points likely to be encountered by future evo-devo researchers, and how living collections can help address them. PMID:22737158

New Challenges Facing Small Undergraduate Departments And The Role Of Faculty And Administrators.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Shazly, A. K.

2003-12-01

Small geoscience departments with 5 faculty members or less in undergraduate institutions are facing serious challenges that will have a profound impact on their future, as well as the future of geoscience education. In addition to past and future budget cuts that affect all departments, small departments are more vulnerable to such problems as (i) decreased enrollments in introductory level classes, (ii) small number of geology majors, (iii) small number of graduates per year (iv) lack or paucity of equipment necessary for faculty and student research, (v) limited opportunities for external funding, (vi) need to offer upper division classes on an alternate year basis, (vii) difficulty in recruiting and retaining students, (viii) high teaching loads for faculty, and (ix) designing rigorous curricula based on 120 credit hours with a significant component of liberal art classes. These problems pose new challenges for faculty, department chairs and administrators. Faculty need to design curricula tailored to the need of the job market, without compromising rigor or the quality of the program. New classes/ concentrations in environmental science, hydrogeology and geographical information systems should be offered, and traditional classes in petrology, geophysics and tectonics should be maintained. Classes in Physics, Chemistry and Math should be core requirements. Student involvement in research should be encouraged at an early stage (sophomore/ junior levels). Department chairs need to assign duties in their department carefully to capitalize on the strengths of their faculty: faculty with strong research backgrounds should be helped in their efforts to pursue external funding opportunities, whereas those with strong teaching abilities should be evaluated primarily on their performance in the classroom. Student credit hour production should not be used as a criterion for evaluating faculty. Administrators should evaluate programs and departments based on the success of their graduates in the workplace/ graduate school, not their numbers, and the quality of faculty research and its impact on attracting new majors and acquisition of funds.

Challenging Airway Secondary to Purpura Fulminans With Face and Neck Bullae in a Premature Infant: A Case Report.

PubMed

Ekeoduru, Rhashedah A; Greives, Matthew R; Nesrsta, Eric A

2017-02-15

A former 25-week-old neonate presented at 34 weeks postconceptual age with necrotizing fasciitis and purpura fulminans because of Group B Streptococcus infection. He was septic and coagulopathic when he was intubated, and the endotracheal tube was secured with adhesives. When he subsequently developed large purpuric, bullous lesions on the face and neck, he presented to the operating room for excision and debridement of his facial lesions. No change was made in how the endotracheal tube was secured. Midprocedure, an unintentional extubation occurred. We describe how we subsequently secured the airway and make recommendations on how to avoid this problem in the future and for rescue preparation before the procedure.

United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-18

future challenges facing the USAF and the Joint Force through 2047. Michael B. Donley Secretary of the Air Force - 3 - AJI ¥-Jcf2c .~~~ Norton A...is depicted along a DOTMLPF-P stratified timeline as a colored triangle. Red triangles represent actions that require senior leader involvement to...Flag, and Red Flag. Joint UAS training may lead to greater training efficiencies and standardization. Training standards may be applied based on the

Building a culture for innovation: a leadership challenge.

PubMed

Maher, Lynne

2014-01-01

It is recognized that health services are facing increasing cost pressures amid a climate of increasing demand and increasing expectations from patients and families. The ability to innovate is important for the future success of all health care organizations. By malting some simple but profound changes in behaviours and processes as illustrated across seven dimensions, leaders can have great impact on the culture for innovation. This in turn can support the transformation of health services through increased innovation.

Challenges faced by Arab women who are interested in becoming physicians.

PubMed

Bisharat, Bishara; Bowirrat, Abdalla

2015-01-01

Understanding the underlying reasons for the under-representation of Arab women within the health care system in Israel is crucial for creating future strategies for intervention, in order to minimize the gaps in the health care system and thus improve the medical services and health status. Our commentary tries to shed light on the underrepresentation and the marginalization of the Arab women in society in general and in the medical field in specific.

Defect Categorization: Making Use of a Decade of Widely Varying Historical Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shull, Forrest; Seaman, Carolyn; Godfrey, Sara H.; Guo, Yuepu

2008-01-01

This paper describes our experience in aggregating a number of historical datasets containing inspection defect data using different categorizing schemes. Our goal was to make use of the historical data by creating models to guide future development projects. We describe our approach to reconciling the different choices used in the historical datasets to categorize defects, and the challenges we faced. We also present a set of recommendations for others involved in classifying defects.

A Direct Assessment of “Obesogenic” Built Environments: Challenges and Recommendations

PubMed Central

Gasevic, Danijela; Vukmirovich, Ina; Yusuf, Salim; Teo, Koon; Chow, Clara; Dagenais, Gilles; Lear, Scott A.

2011-01-01

This paper outlines the challenges faced during direct built environment (BE) assessments of 42 Canadian communities of various income and urbanization levels. In addition, we recommend options for overcoming such challenges during BE community assessments. Direct BE assessments were performed utilizing two distinct audit methods: (1) modified version of Irvine-Minnesota Inventory in which a paper version of an audit tool was used to assess BE features and (2) a Physical Activity and Nutrition Features audit tool, where the presence and positions of all environmental features of interest were recorded using a Global-Positioning-System (GPS) unit. This paper responds to the call for the need of creators and users of environmental audit tools to share experiences regarding the usability of tools for BE assessments. The outlined BE assessment challenges plus recommendations for overcoming them can help improve and refine the existing audit tools and aid researchers in future assessments of the BE. PMID:22174727

Digital media in the home: technical and research challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribas-Corbera, Jordi

2005-03-01

This article attempts to identify some of the technology and research challenges facing the digital media industry in the future. We first discuss several trends in the industry, such as the rapid growth of broadband Internet networks and the emergence of networking and media-capable devices in the home. Next, we present technical challenges that result from these trends, such as effective media interoperability in devices, and provide a brief overview of Windows Media, which is one of the technologies in the market attempting to address these challenges. Finally, given these trends and the state of the art, we argue that further research on data compression, encoder optimization, and multi-format transcoding can potentially make a significant technical and business impact in digital media. We also explore the reasons that research on related techniques such as wavelets or scalable video coding is having a relatively minor impact in today"s practical digital media systems.

Challenges facing the development of the Arabic chatbot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AlHagbani, Eman Saad; Khan, Muhammad Badruddin

2016-07-01

The future information systems are expected to be more intelligent and will take human queries in natural language as input and answer them promptly. To develop a chatbot or a computer program that can chat with humans in realistic manner to extent that human get impressions that he/she is talking with other human is a challenging task. To make such chatbots, different technologies will work together ranging from artificial intelligence to development of semantic resources. Sophisticated chatbots are developed to perform conversation in number of languages. Arabic chatbots can be helpful in automating many operations and serve people who only know Arabic language. However, the technology for Arabic language is still in its infancy stage due to some challenges surrounding the Arabic language. This paper offers an overview of the chatbot application and the several obstacles and challenges that need to be resolved to develop an effective Arabic chatbot.

The hospital of the future: the vision, the journey, the reality.

PubMed

Covert, Michael H

2014-01-01

Palomar Medical Center, like many California healthcare institutions in the 1990s, faced the challenge of needing to meet state building seismic requirements. As a result of the mandate and infrastructure demands that would need to be made to accommodate the new standards, the health system set out to assess the larger needs of the communities served, evaluate the medical and technological changes that would be part of future clinical care delivery systems, and assess our capability to meet the financial impact such changes would have on the organization. This article shares our journey to build a new hospital--one that could be studied by other health systems facing the same or similar challenges. It incorporates elements associated with the concept of "Fable Hospital"--a design promulgated by leading architects and designers from around the world and researched by the Center for Health Design--which considers the use of evidenced-based principles gathered over the past 20 years that, when incorporated, can lead to the creation of buildings that enhance the quality of care, provide safety for patients and staff, and meet the needs of patients and families in meaningful ways. Finally, Palomar Medical Center is an environment that allows for effective, flexible integration of technology and expansion of staff while improving the efficiency of operations that are critical to the management of the hospital in a changing healthcare delivery world.

Identifying Barriers and Pathways to Success for Renewable Energy Development on American Indian Lands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Necefer, Len Edward; Jones, Thomas Elisha

American Indian tribes possess lands rich with renewable energy (RE) resources. Tribes have great potential and need to develop these resources, yet face a host of barriers that continue to impede development. Understanding these challenges as well as the pathways that can be taken to overcome them may facilitate more economic development to meet community needs and better position tribes to play a role in securing a low-carbon energy future for the United States. This paper presents the results of an expert elicitation of 24 tribal energy experts from federal, tribal, academic, and private industry backgrounds to identify barriers andmore » opportunities for federally recognized tribes in the lower 48 states. Experts identified a number of unique challenges facing tribes including financing and funding, infrastructure, tribal leadership and staff, state-level influence, and partnerships. Cultural factors were seen only to be of concern with large-scale development. Tribal sovereignty is a significant motivation for RE development and has yet to be fully realized. Cultural considerations are critical to the success of future projects; smaller residential and community-scale projects may be a better fit. Improving partnerships between tribes and the private sector can increase RE deployment and overcome historical distrust. States can have a double-ended influence on projects within tribal lands through taxation.« less

E-Mentoring the Online Doctoral Student from the Dissertation Prospectus through Dissertation Completion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Ronald

2017-01-01

Faculty who mentor online doctoral candidates face many of the same challenges and opportunities as those mentoring doctoral candidates in traditional, face-to-face modalities. The main difference is that E-Mentoring is based on interacting in the online space rather than interacting face-to-face, which may present challenges for both the…

But I Don't Understand You: One Faculty's Observations of the Challenges Facing International Healthcare Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuBose, Cheryl O.

2017-01-01

International students face many challenges when pursuing a degree in higher education. Communication and cultural differences are typically cited as the most challenging aspects of any study abroad program. Students attempting to complete a healthcare program face sometimes insurmountable issues, as communication, cultural differences, and…

The Sisters of Mercy in the Crimean War: Lessons for Catholic health care

PubMed Central

Paradis, Mary Raphael; Hart, Edith Mary; O’Brien, Mary Judith

2017-01-01

In 1856, an appeal went out to nurses in both England and Ireland, and especially to religious nurses, to care for the troops fighting in the Crimean War. The Sisters of Mercy, founded in 1831 by Venerable Catherine McAuley, answered that call. This article describes the enormous challenges the Sisters faced in that mission, which was a test of their nursing skills, flexibility, organizational ability, and their spirit of mercy. The challenges they faced professionally and as religious Sisters, the manner in which they faced those challenges, and their spiritual lives as religious women shaped their ability to give comprehensive care. Some applications are made to the challenges which religious communities and organizations working in health care face in our country at this time. Summary: This article describes the challenges faced by a group of Sisters of Mercy from England and Ireland who volunteered to serve as nurses in the Crimean War from 1856 to 1858. Applications are made to challenges which are faced by religious communities and organizations in the current secular healthcare environment. PMID:28392597

The Sisters of Mercy in the Crimean War: Lessons for Catholic health care.

PubMed

Paradis, Mary Raphael; Hart, Edith Mary; O'Brien, Mary Judith

2017-02-01

In 1856, an appeal went out to nurses in both England and Ireland, and especially to religious nurses, to care for the troops fighting in the Crimean War. The Sisters of Mercy, founded in 1831 by Venerable Catherine McAuley, answered that call. This article describes the enormous challenges the Sisters faced in that mission, which was a test of their nursing skills, flexibility, organizational ability, and their spirit of mercy. The challenges they faced professionally and as religious Sisters, the manner in which they faced those challenges, and their spiritual lives as religious women shaped their ability to give comprehensive care. Some applications are made to the challenges which religious communities and organizations working in health care face in our country at this time. Summary: This article describes the challenges faced by a group of Sisters of Mercy from England and Ireland who volunteered to serve as nurses in the Crimean War from 1856 to 1858. Applications are made to challenges which are faced by religious communities and organizations in the current secular healthcare environment.

Personalized Age Progression with Bi-Level Aging Dictionary Learning.

PubMed

Shu, Xiangbo; Tang, Jinhui; Li, Zechao; Lai, Hanjiang; Zhang, Liyan; Yan, Shuicheng

2018-04-01

Age progression is defined as aesthetically re-rendering the aging face at any future age for an individual face. In this work, we aim to automatically render aging faces in a personalized way. Basically, for each age group, we learn an aging dictionary to reveal its aging characteristics (e.g., wrinkles), where the dictionary bases corresponding to the same index yet from two neighboring aging dictionaries form a particular aging pattern cross these two age groups, and a linear combination of all these patterns expresses a particular personalized aging process. Moreover, two factors are taken into consideration in the dictionary learning process. First, beyond the aging dictionaries, each person may have extra personalized facial characteristics, e.g., mole, which are invariant in the aging process. Second, it is challenging or even impossible to collect faces of all age groups for a particular person, yet much easier and more practical to get face pairs from neighboring age groups. To this end, we propose a novel Bi-level Dictionary Learning based Personalized Age Progression (BDL-PAP) method. Here, bi-level dictionary learning is formulated to learn the aging dictionaries based on face pairs from neighboring age groups. Extensive experiments well demonstrate the advantages of the proposed BDL-PAP over other state-of-the-arts in term of personalized age progression, as well as the performance gain for cross-age face verification by synthesizing aging faces.

ROMANIA - IYPE AND BEYOND

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mocanu, V. I.; Sandulescu, M.

2009-12-01

Challenged by a long and shaking transition from the communist to democratic political and social system, the long term tradition of the Romanian Geosciences faced a new opportunity with the occasion of the International Year of Planet Earth. Special activities have been dedicated to exciting new, integrated Earth Sciences. In addition to regular activities, a special attention has been paid to the young, very young generation and the attempt to open their mind towards our changing Planet and its importance for their future. Another focal point has been represented by the advance in communicating our Science to the General Public, decision makers from central and local level, trying to persuade them towards decision in which our Planet and our future on it has to be seriously taken into consideration. A summary of past, present and future activities is presented.

2013 Schroth faces of the future symposium to highlight early career professionals in Mycology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The 2013 Schroth Faces of the Future symposium was created to recognize early career professionals (those within 10 years of graduation) who represent the future in their field via innovative research. For this year, future faces in mycology research were recognized. Drs. Jason Slot, Erica Goss, Jam...

Challenges faced by multidisplinary new investigators on addressing grand challenges in global health.

PubMed

Logie, Carmen; Dimaras, Helen; Fortin, Anny; Ramón-García, Santiago

2014-04-15

The grand challenges approach aims to spark innovative and transformative strategies to overcome barriers to significant global health issues. Grand Challenges Canada endorses an 'Integrated Innovation™' approach that focuses on the intersection of scientific/technological, social and business innovation. In this article we explore themes emerging from a dialogue between the authors, who are multidisciplinary recipients of the 'Rising Stars in Global Health' award from Grand Challenges Canada, regarding benefits of engaging in integrated innovation research, and recommendations for how this approach may develop in the future. Our dialogue followed a semi-structured interview format that addressed three topics: 1) reflections on applying an Integrated Innovation™ approach for global health; 2) thoughts on participation in the Grand Challenges 2012 meeting; and 3) authors' visions of Grand Challenges Canada and the Grand Challenge movement towards 2020. The dialogue was transcribed verbatim and we used thematic analysis techniques to identify, analyze and report themes in the data. Benefits of working using the Grand Challenges approach centered on two themes: a) the potential for scientific breakthrough and b) building interdisciplinary collaborations and a community of scholars. Challenges and opportunities for Grand Challenges in moving forward included: a) capacity building, particularly regarding Integrated Innovation™ and scale-up planning; b) interdisciplinary and international mentorship for new investigators; and c) potential for future commercialization. Our discussion highlighted that Integrated Innovation™ offers the opportunity to develop new theories, methods and approaches to global health while simultaneously fostering a collaborative spirit grounded in international, interdisciplinary collaborations. However, the arguable over-emphasis on corporatization poses a major challenge for new investigators. We propose a more balanced way forward that can harness technology to foster mentorship across time and space to support the development of such skills and ideas among new investigators.

Western water and climate change.

PubMed

Dettinger, Michael; Udall, Bradley; Georgakakos, Aris

2015-12-01

The western United States is a region long defined by water challenges. Climate change adds to those historical challenges, but does not, for the most part, introduce entirely new challenges; rather climate change is likely to stress water supplies and resources already in many cases stretched to, or beyond, natural limits. Projections are for continued and, likely, increased warming trends across the region, with a near certainty of continuing changes in seasonality of snowmelt and streamflows, and a strong potential for attendant increases in evaporative demands. Projections of future precipitation are less conclusive, although likely the northern-most West will see precipitation increases while the southernmost West sees declines. However, most of the region lies in a broad area where some climate models project precipitation increases while others project declines, so that only increases in precipitation uncertainties can be projected with any confidence. Changes in annual and seasonal hydrographs are likely to challenge water managers, users, and attempts to protect or restore environmental flows, even where annual volumes change little. Other impacts from climate change (e.g., floods and water-quality changes) are poorly understood and will likely be location dependent. In this context, four iconic river basins offer glimpses into specific challenges that climate change may bring to the West. The Colorado River is a system in which overuse and growing demands are projected to be even more challenging than climate-change-induced flow reductions. The Rio Grande offers the best example of how climate-change-induced flow declines might sink a major system into permanent drought. The Klamath is currently projected to face the more benign precipitation future, but fisheries and irrigation management may face dire straits due to warming air temperatures, rising irrigation demands, and warming waters in a basin already hobbled by tensions between endangered fisheries and agricultural demands. Finally, California's Bay-Delta system is a remarkably localized and severe weakness at the heart of the region's trillion-dollar economy. It is threatened by the full range of potential climate-change impacts expected across the West, along with major vulnerabilities to increased flooding and rising sea levels.

The Human Face as a Dynamic Tool for Social Communication.

PubMed

Jack, Rachael E; Schyns, Philippe G

2015-07-20

As a highly social species, humans frequently exchange social information to support almost all facets of life. One of the richest and most powerful tools in social communication is the face, from which observers can quickly and easily make a number of inferences - about identity, gender, sex, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical health, attractiveness, emotional state, personality traits, pain or physical pleasure, deception, and even social status. With the advent of the digital economy, increasing globalization and cultural integration, understanding precisely which face information supports social communication and which produces misunderstanding is central to the evolving needs of modern society (for example, in the design of socially interactive digital avatars and companion robots). Doing so is challenging, however, because the face can be thought of as comprising a high-dimensional, dynamic information space, and this impacts cognitive science and neuroimaging, and their broader applications in the digital economy. New opportunities to address this challenge are arising from the development of new methods and technologies, coupled with the emergence of a modern scientific culture that embraces cross-disciplinary approaches. Here, we briefly review one such approach that combines state-of-the-art computer graphics, psychophysics and vision science, cultural psychology and social cognition, and highlight the main knowledge advances it has generated. In the light of current developments, we provide a vision of the future directions in the field of human facial communication within and across cultures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: A Challenge to Science and Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plag, H.

2009-12-01

Society is challenged by the risk of an anticipated rise of coastal Local Sea Level (LSL) as a consequence of future global warming. Many low-lying and often subsiding and densely populated coastal areas are under risk of increased inundation, with potentially devastating consequences for the global economy, society, and environment. Faced with a trade-off between imposing the very high costs of coastal protection and adaptation upon today's national economies and leaving the costs of potential major disasters to future generations, governments and decision makers are in need of scientific support for the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies for the coastal zone. Low-frequency to secular changes in LSL are the result of many interacting Earth system processes. The complexity of the Earth system makes it difficult to predict Global Sea Level (GSL) rise and, even more so, LSL changes over the next 100 to 200 years. Humans have re-engineered the planet and changed major features of the Earth surface and the atmosphere, thus ruling out extrapolation of past and current changes into the future as a reasonable approach. The risk of rapid changes in ocean circulation and ice sheet mass balance introduces the possibility of unexpected changes. Therefore, science is challenged with understanding and constraining the full range of plausible future LSL trajectories and with providing useful support for informed decisions. In the face of largely unpredictable future sea level changes, monitoring of the relevant processes and development of a forecasting service on realistic time scales is crucial as decision support. Forecasting and "early warning" for LSL rise would have to aim at decadal time scales, giving coastal managers sufficient time to react if the onset of rapid changes would require an immediate response. The social, environmental, and economic risks associated with potentially large and rapid LSL changes are enormous. Therefore, in the light of the current uncertainties and the unpredictable nature of some of the forcing processes for LSL changes, the focus of scientific decision support may have to shift from projections of LSL trajectories on century time scales to the development of models and monitoring systems for a forecasting service on decadal time scales. The requirements for such a LSL forecasting service and the current obstacles will be discussed.

Community in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arasaratnam-Smith, Lily A.; Northcote, Maria

2017-01-01

Exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the concepts of community and communication in online higher education, this paper reconsiders the intention to replicate face-to-face learning and teaching strategies in online learning environments. Rather than beginning with the assumption that face-to-face education is the prototype…

Space and the Third Offset Symposium - Summary Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bahney, B.

The Third Offset Workshop explored the nature of the challenges and opportunities facing the United States as it is increasingly forced to integrate space into defense strategy as well as deterrence and strategic stability frameworks. Participants broadly agreed that Washington’s deep ties to allies and partners, as well as its history of leveraging an innovative U.S private sector, will be enduring competitive advantages against potential rivals into the foreseeable future. Yet panelists also highlighted key challenges from Russia and China’s rapid integration of space capabilities into conventional and nuclear warfighting, the pronounced growth in Chinese and Russian counterspace capabilities, andmore » tensions in the U.S.-Russia relationship.« less

Ensuring pain relief for children at the end of life

PubMed Central

Grégoire, Marie-Claude; Frager, Gerri

2006-01-01

Pain management in the context of pediatric palliative care can be challenging. The present article reviews, through a case-based presentation, the nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods used to ensure adequate pain control in children facing end of life. Details on the impressive range of opioid dosages required and routes of administration are highlighted from published literature and clinical experience. Where available, evidence-based recommendations are provided. Potential side effects of pain medication and barriers to good pain control are discussed. Novel analgesics and innovative delivery methods are presented as future tools enhancing pain relief at the end of life. Some challenges to ethically grounded research in this important context of care are reviewed. PMID:16960633

Managing in turbulent times: issues and challenges in health care mergers and acquisitions.

PubMed

Jones, S A

1999-09-01

The environment of the health care system in the present and foreseeable future has been described as a revolution whose impetus comes from Wall Street. The new system of health care is characterized by mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. For-profit conversions and mergers of religious and secular organizations were almost unheard of before the last decade. The challenges facing nursing leadership in these turbulent times are (1) dealing with the human dynamics associated with creating new organizational cultures, (2) shifting focus away from event-driven cost avoidance and protecting institutional assets, and (3) shifting focus toward stewardship of community resources and nursing practice beyond institutional boundaries.

A Priority-Based View of Future Challenges in International Nuclear Safeguards.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matteucci, Kayla

The international nuclear safeguards community is faced with a host of challenges in the coming years, many of which have been outlined but have not been described in terms of their urgency. Literature regarding safeguards challenges is either broad and devoid of any reference to prioritization or tailored to a specific problem and removed from the overall goals of the safeguards community. For example, developing new methods of environmental sampling, improving containment and surveillance (C/S) technologies to increase efficiency and decrease inspection time, advancing nuclear material accountancy (NMA) techniques, and planning safeguards approaches for new types of nuclear facilities aremore » all important. They have not, however, been distinctly prioritized at a high level within the safeguards community. Based on a review of existing literature and interviews with experts on these upcoming challenges, this paper offers a high-level summary of present and future priorities in safeguards, with attention both to what is feasible and to what is most imperative. In doing so, the paper addresses the potential repercussions for failing to prioritize, with a focus on the risk of diversion of nuclear material. Within the context of shifts in the American political landscape, and keeping in mind that nonproliferation issues may take a backseat to others in the near future, a prioritized view of safeguards objectives will be vital. In the interest of expanding upon this work, the paper offers several potential conceptual models for prioritization which can be explored in greater depth upon further research.« less

Planning for the Future, a Look from Apollo to the Present

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Segrera, David

2008-01-01

Future missions out of low Earth orbit, returning to the moon and Mars, will be some of the most complicated endeavors ever attempted by mankind. It will require the wealth of nations and the dedicated efforts of thousand of individuals working in a concerted effort to take man to the moon, Mars and beyond. These missions will require new equipment and new approaches to optimize our limited resources and time in space. This daily planning and optimization which currently is being performed by scores of people in MCC Houston and around the world will need to adapt to the challenges faced far from Earth. By studying the processes, methodologies, and tools employed from Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle, ISS, and other programs such as NEEMO, we can learn from the past to plan for the future. This paper will explore the planning process used from Apollo onward and will discuss their relevancy in future applications.

Shared Electronic Health Record Systems: Key Legal and Security Challenges.

PubMed

Christiansen, Ellen K; Skipenes, Eva; Hausken, Marie F; Skeie, Svein; Østbye, Truls; Iversen, Marjolein M

2017-11-01

Use of shared electronic health records opens a whole range of new possibilities for flexible and fruitful cooperation among health personnel in different health institutions, to the benefit of the patients. There are, however, unsolved legal and security challenges. The overall aim of this article is to highlight legal and security challenges that should be considered before using shared electronic cooperation platforms and health record systems to avoid legal and security "surprises" subsequent to the implementation. Practical lessons learned from the use of a web-based ulcer record system involving patients, community nurses, GPs, and hospital nurses and doctors in specialist health care are used to illustrate challenges we faced. Discussion of possible legal and security challenges is critical for successful implementation of shared electronic collaboration systems. Key challenges include (1) allocation of responsibility, (2) documentation routines, (3) and integrated or federated access control. We discuss and suggest how challenges of legal and security aspects can be handled. This discussion may be useful for both current and future users, as well as policy makers.

Past, present and future of spike sorting techniques

PubMed Central

Rey, Hernan Gonzalo; Pedreira, Carlos; Quian Quiroga, Rodrigo

2015-01-01

Spike sorting is a crucial step to extract information from extracellular recordings. With new recording opportunities provided by the development of new electrodes that allow monitoring hundreds of neurons simultaneously, the scenario for the new generation of algorithms is both exciting and challenging. However, this will require a new approach to the problem and the development of a common reference framework to quickly assess the performance of new algorithms. In this work, we review the basic concepts of spike sorting, including the requirements for different applications, together with the problems faced by presently available algorithms. We conclude by proposing a roadmap stressing the crucial points to be addressed to support the neuroscientific research of the near future. PMID:25931392

The development of a diversity mentoring program for faculty and trainees: A program at the Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium

PubMed Central

de Dios, Marcel A.; Kuo, Caroline; Hernandez, Lynn; Clark, Uraina S.; Wenze, Susan J.; Boisseau, Christina L.; Hunter, Heather L.; Reddy, Madhavi K.; Tolou-Shams, Marina; Zlotnick, Caron

2013-01-01

There is a critical need for increasing the diversity representation among clinicians and researchers in academic medicine, including departments of psychiatry and psychology. Mentorship of under-represented groups has been identified as an important way to remediate diversity-related barriers in the field. This paper outlines the early development and pilot implementation of a diversity mentorship program at Brown University. In an effort to inform and guide future diversity programs, we discuss the challenges faced in creating the program, the successes experienced during the first year, and the future directions undertaken as a means for improving the program. PMID:25346563

Human Factors Research for Space Exploration: Measurement, Modeling, and Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaiser, Mary K.; Allen, Christopher S.; Barshi, Immanuel; Billman, Dorrit; Holden, Kritina L.

2010-01-01

As part of NASA's Human Research Program, the Space Human Factors Engineering Project serves as the bridge between Human Factors research and Human Spaceflight applications. Our goal is to be responsive to the operational community while addressing issues at a sufficient level of abstraction to ensure that our tools and solutions generalize beyond the point design. In this panel, representatives from four of our research domains will discuss the challenges they face in solving current problems while also enabling future capabilities.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This report describes the 1992 Westinghouse Hanford Company/US Department of Energy Environmental Summer Science Camp. The objective of the ``camp`` was to motivate sixth and seventh graders to pursue studies in math, science, and the environment. This objective was accomplished through hands-on fun activities while studying the present and future challenges facing our environment. The camp was funded through Technical Task Plan, 424203, from the US Department of Energy-Headquarters, Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Technology Development,to Westinghouse Hanford Company`s International Environmental Institute, Education and Internship Performance Group.

Challenges and issues facing lithium metal for solid-state rechargeable batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauger, A.; Armand, M.; Julien, C. M.; Zaghib, K.

2017-06-01

The commercial use of lithium metal batteries was delayed because of dendrite formation on the surface of the lithium electrode, and the difficulty finding a suitable electrolyte that has both the mechanical strength and ionic conductivity required for solid electrolytes. Recently, strategies have developed to overcome these difficulties, so that these batteries are currently an option for different applications, including electric cars. In this work, we review these strategies, and discuss the different routes that are promising for progress in the near future.

Roadmap on structured light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina; Forbes, Andrew; Berry, M. V.; Dennis, M. R.; Andrews, David L.; Mansuripur, Masud; Denz, Cornelia; Alpmann, Christina; Banzer, Peter; Bauer, Thomas; Karimi, Ebrahim; Marrucci, Lorenzo; Padgett, Miles; Ritsch-Marte, Monika; Litchinitser, Natalia M.; Bigelow, Nicholas P.; Rosales-Guzmán, C.; Belmonte, A.; Torres, J. P.; Neely, Tyler W.; Baker, Mark; Gordon, Reuven; Stilgoe, Alexander B.; Romero, Jacquiline; White, Andrew G.; Fickler, Robert; Willner, Alan E.; Xie, Guodong; McMorran, Benjamin; Weiner, Andrew M.

2017-01-01

Structured light refers to the generation and application of custom light fields. As the tools and technology to create and detect structured light have evolved, steadily the applications have begun to emerge. This roadmap touches on the key fields within structured light from the perspective of experts in those areas, providing insight into the current state and the challenges their respective fields face. Collectively the roadmap outlines the venerable nature of structured light research and the exciting prospects for the future that are yet to be realized.

Lighting: a driver of the sustainable revolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verhaar, Harry

2018-04-01

Some of the most important things in life are taken for granted, and nowhere is this truer than with light. In this article, we will look at some important milestones marking light's path from human evolution to sustainable revolution, challenges facing the modern lighting industry as well as the world we live in, and what the future promises. In a sense, a new revolution is at hand. It would be hard to overestimate the fundamental importance of light as it shapes virtually everything we sense and experience.

FERMILAB ACCELERATOR R&D PROGRAM TOWARDS INTENSITY FRONTIER ACCELERATORS : STATUS AND PROGRESS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shiltsev, Vladimir

2016-11-15

The 2014 P5 report indicated the accelerator-based neutrino and rare decay physics research as a centrepiece of the US domestic HEP program at Fermilab. Operation, upgrade and development of the accelerators for the near- term and longer-term particle physics program at the Intensity Frontier face formidable challenges. Here we discuss key elements of the accelerator physics and technology R&D program toward future multi-MW proton accelerators and present its status and progress. INTENSITY FRONTIER ACCELERATORS

The Society of Surgical Oncology and the Commission on Cancer: progress through synergism.

PubMed

Winchester, D P

1998-09-01

The 1998 Presidential Address highlights the history of The Society of Surgical Oncology and the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, cites specific examples of progress through synergism, and discusses some of the many challenges facing surgical oncologists in the future. These include the necessity to synergize in clinical trials, to accelerate the diffusion of knowledge into the practicing community, and to redefine surgical oncology and its relation to general surgery and the American Board of Surgery.

Earth, Wind, and Fire: Elemental Properties of Army and Air Force Cooperation in Close Air Support, 1945-1991

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

9 Carl H. Builder, The Icarus Syndrome : The Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.S. Air Force (New Brunswick, New... head -on in Europe. In rapid sequence, the United States faced another strategic challenge in October 1949, when Mao Zedong and the Chinese...General Twining took the experiences in Korea as an example of where future warfare would be heading and made it a point throughout the

The study on privacy preserving data mining for information security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaohui

2012-04-01

Privacy preserving data mining have a rapid development in a short year. But it still faces many challenges in the future. Firstly, the level of privacy has different definitions in different filed. Therefore, the measure of privacy preserving data mining technology protecting private information is not the same. So, it's an urgent issue to present a unified privacy definition and measure. Secondly, the most of research in privacy preserving data mining is presently confined to the theory study.

Disruptive visions.

PubMed

Satava, R M

2002-10-01

Numerous advanced technologies, both medical and nonmedical, are emerging faster than their social, behavioral, political, moral, and ethical implications can be understood. Some of these technologies will fundamentally challenge the practice of surgery: human cloning, genetic engineering, tissue engineering, intelligent robotics, nanotechnology, suspended animation, regeneration, and species prolongation. Because of the rapidity of change, the current status of these emerging technologies with their specific moral and ethical issues must be addressed at this time by the new generation of surgeons, or we must all face the consequences of an uncontrolled and unprepared future.

[Strategic thinking of the construction of national schistosomiasis laboratory network in China].

PubMed

Qin, Zhi-Qiang; Xu, Jing; Feng, Ting; Zhu, Hong-Qing; Li, Shi-Zhu; Xiao, Ning; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

2013-08-01

A schistosomiasis laboratory network and its quality assurance system have been built and will be more and more perfect in China. This paper introduces the present situation of schistosomiasis diagnosis in China and expounds the basic ideas and the progress in the construction of schistosomiasis network platform. Furthermore, the face of schistosomiasis diagnosis network platform construction and operation of the challenge and the future work will be put forward in the latter part of this paper.

Earth Science Applications Showcase

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-05

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks with young professionals about their project during the annual DEVELOP Earth Science Application Showcase at NASA headquarters Tuesday, August 5, 2014. The Earth Science Applications Showcase highlights the work of over 150 participants in the 10-week DEVELOP program that started in June. The DEVELOP Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth science and society, building capacity in both its participants and partner organizations, to better prepare them to handle the challenges that face our society and future generations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)