Sample records for collaborative cluster projects

  1. Tulane/Xavier University hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River basin. Quarterly progress report, January 1--March 31, 1996

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

    NONE

    1996-05-17

    The objectives of this report are to provide the necessary administrative support to assure that the scientific and educational goals of the project are obtained and to assure that all Department of Energy reporting requirements and requests are fulfilled. The grant reporting is divided into three aspects: Collaborative Cluster projects, Initiation projects and Education projects. A cluster project is one or more closely related collaborative, multidisciplinary research projects in which a group of investigators employs a synergistic approach to the solution of problems in the same general area of research. The accomplishments this quarter of eleven cluster projects are presented.more » An initial project typically involves a single investigator. The purpose of the project is to undertake pilot work, lasting no more than one year, which will lead to the successful submission of an externally-funded proposal or the development of a collaborative cluster project. The accomplishments this quarter of eleven initiation projects are presented. The education projects are designed to develop courses with emphasis on environmental studies and/or to train students in areas of environmental research.« less

  2. Collaborative filtering recommendation model based on fuzzy clustering algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Ye; Zhang, Yunhua

    2018-05-01

    As one of the most widely used algorithms in recommender systems, collaborative filtering algorithm faces two serious problems, which are the sparsity of data and poor recommendation effect in big data environment. In traditional clustering analysis, the object is strictly divided into several classes and the boundary of this division is very clear. However, for most objects in real life, there is no strict definition of their forms and attributes of their class. Concerning the problems above, this paper proposes to improve the traditional collaborative filtering model through the hybrid optimization of implicit semantic algorithm and fuzzy clustering algorithm, meanwhile, cooperating with collaborative filtering algorithm. In this paper, the fuzzy clustering algorithm is introduced to fuzzy clustering the information of project attribute, which makes the project belong to different project categories with different membership degrees, and increases the density of data, effectively reduces the sparsity of data, and solves the problem of low accuracy which is resulted from the inaccuracy of similarity calculation. Finally, this paper carries out empirical analysis on the MovieLens dataset, and compares it with the traditional user-based collaborative filtering algorithm. The proposed algorithm has greatly improved the recommendation accuracy.

  3. Envri Cluster - a Community-Driven Platform of European Environmental Researcher Infrastructures for Providing Common E-Solutions for Earth Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asmi, A.; Sorvari, S.; Kutsch, W. L.; Laj, P.

    2017-12-01

    European long-term environmental research infrastructures (often referred as ESFRI RIs) are the core facilities for providing services for scientists in their quest for understanding and predicting the complex Earth system and its functioning that requires long-term efforts to identify environmental changes (trends, thresholds and resilience, interactions and feedbacks). Many of the research infrastructures originally have been developed to respond to the needs of their specific research communities, however, it is clear that strong collaboration among research infrastructures is needed to serve the trans-boundary research requires exploring scientific questions at the intersection of different scientific fields, conducting joint research projects and developing concepts, devices, and methods that can be used to integrate knowledge. European Environmental research infrastructures have already been successfully worked together for many years and have established a cluster - ENVRI cluster - for their collaborative work. ENVRI cluster act as a collaborative platform where the RIs can jointly agree on the common solutions for their operations, draft strategies and policies and share best practices and knowledge. Supporting project for the ENVRI cluster, ENVRIplus project, brings together 21 European research infrastructures and infrastructure networks to work on joint technical solutions, data interoperability, access management, training, strategies and dissemination efforts. ENVRI cluster act as one stop shop for multidisciplinary RI users, other collaborative initiatives, projects and programmes and coordinates and implement jointly agreed RI strategies.

  4. Evaluating Types of Students' Interactions in a Wiki-Based Collaborative Learning Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prokofieva, Maria

    2013-01-01

    Wiki technology has been promoted as a collaborative software platform. This study investigates interactions that occur in a wiki-based collaborative learning project. The study draws on interaction literature and investigates the types of interactions with which students are engaged in wiki-based group projects, clusters that reflect online…

  5. Nanoscale Materials and Architectures for Energy Conversion

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

    Grulke, Eric A.; Sunkara, Mahendra K.

    2011-05-25

    The Kentucky EPSCoR Program supported an inter-university, multidisciplinary energy-related research cluster studying nanomaterials for converting solar radiation and residual thermal energy to electrical energy and hydrogen. It created a collaborative center of excellence based on research expertise in nanomaterials, architectures, and their synthesis. The project strengthened and improved the collaboration between the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, and NREL. The cluster hired a new faculty member for ultra-fast transient spectroscopy, and enabled the mentoring of one research scientist, two postdoctoral scholars and ten graduate students. Work was accomplished with three focused cluster projects: organic and photoelectrochemical solar cells,more » solar fuels, and thermionic energy conversion.« less

  6. Innovation in collaborative health research training: the role of active learning.

    PubMed

    Poole, Gary; Egan, John P; Iqbal, Isabeau

    2009-03-01

    This paper describes and discusses the essential pedagogical elements of the Partnering in Community Health Research (PCHR) program, which was designed to address the training needs of researchers who participate in collaborative, interdisciplinary health research. These elements were intended to foster specific skills that helped learners develop research partnerships featuring knowledge, capabilities, values and attitudes needed for successful research projects. By establishing research teams called "clusters", PCHR provided research training and experience for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, as well as for community health workers and professionals. Pedagogical elements relied on active learning approaches such as inquiry-based and experience-based learning. Links between these elements and learning approaches are explained. Through their work in cluster-based applied research projects, the development of learning plans, and cross-cluster learning events, trainees acquired collaborative research competencies that were valuable, relevant and theoretically informed.

  7. Optics industry in Spain: a cluster approach to increasing competitiveness through collaboration in R&D and innovation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cifuentes, Andrés F.

    2011-10-01

    The optics industry in Spain pooled together to create the Southern European Cluster in Photonics and Optics - SECPhO, founded in April 2009, with the mission to help the sector increase competitiveness, specially through collaboration. From 10 founding members, SECPhO no incorporates over 40 members, which is nearly 40% of the optics industry in the region. From the beginning of operations the cluster has focused on three strategic challenges: R&D+i and Productivity, Visibility and Internationalization, and Betterment and Retention of Talent. A brief summary of the clusters activities is given. In this article, the focus will be on R&D and innovation, through industry driven collaborative initiatives and the tools and actions that lead to successful partnerships. Topics discussed in this work are will be a cluster's role in promoting strategic change, the value chain approach to partnerships, international collaboration in projects and specific cluster activities. Some practical examples of initiatives relating to effective collaboration are described, focusing on one of the mayor challenges of our time: the greening of the planet. Examples will be addressed in smart cities, efficient LASER applications and lightweight optical sensors for civil security. In all cases the collaboration between the public and private sectors is shown.

  8. Tulane/Xavier Universities hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Quarterly progress report, October 1, 1995--December 31, 1995

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

    NONE

    1995-12-31

    To provide the necessary administrative support to assure that the scientific and educational goals of the project are obtained and to assure that all Department of Energy reporting requirements and requests are fulfilled.The grant reporting is divided into three aspects: Collaborative Cluster projects, Initiation projects and Education projects. A cluster project is one or more closely related collaborative, multidisciplinary research projects in which a group of investigators employs a synergistic approach to the solution of problems in the same general area of research. An initiation project typically involves a single investigator. The purpose of the project is to undertaken pilotmore » work, lasting no more than one year, which will lead to the successful submission of an externally-funded proposal or the development of a collaborative cluster project. The education projects are designed to develop courses with emphasis on environmental studies and/or to train students in areas of environmental research. Accomplishments this quarter are: (1) Issued a request for proposals (RFP) to complete work during the next year of the project. Forty-two proposals were received in response to the RFP. (2) Selected and convened a panel of experts to review the proposals and make funding recommendations. (3) Assigned each proposal to two or more reviewers and sent copies of all proposals to each review panelist. (4) Interfaced with Oak Ridge National Laboratory regarding QA/QC issues related to sampling and analysis for the project. (5) Held numerous phone conversations with DOE representatives regarding funding allocations procedure changes as a result of the delays in the Federal budget and appropriations process this year. This quarterly report briefly describes research projects ongoing in this program.« less

  9. Health consequences of Chernobyl and other radiation accidents. Report on the European Union Cluster Contractors' workshop (San Miniato, Italy, 17-22 June 1997).

    PubMed

    Karaoglou, A; Chadwick, K H

    1998-04-01

    The Radiation Protection Research Unit of the European Commission has been supporting collaborative research projects on the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident since 1991. However, in the Fourth Framework Programme of the Commission which started in 1996, the collaboration with scientists in the former Soviet Union has been placed on a different footing, and the programme has been expanded to include other regions, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan, where previous nuclear incidents have led to the exposure of workers and the local populations and to widespread radioactive contamination. There are 15 projects on health-related studies in the newly started programme, and in order to improve the collaboration between the different scientists working in these projects a Cluster Contractors' Meeting was organised in San Miniato, Italy, in June 1997 with the participation of some 50 scientists from the European Union (EU) and the Newly Independent States (NIS). This report summarizes the different topics, including molecular biology and treatment of childhood thyroid cancer, various epidemiological studies and dose reconstruction, which were discussed at the meeting and which form the major projects in the new collaborative programme.

  10. Google Classroom and Open Clusters: An Authentic Science Research Project for High School Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, Chelen H.; Linahan, Marcella; Cuba, Allison Frances; Dickmann, Samantha Rose; Hogan, Eleanor B.; Karos, Demetra N.; Kozikowski, Kendall G.; Kozikowski, Lauren Paige; Nelson, Samantha Brooks; O'Hara, Kevin Thomas; Ropinski, Brandi Lucia; Scarpa, Gabriella; Garmany, Catharine D.

    2016-01-01

    STEM education is about offering unique opportunities to our students. For the past three years, students from two high schools (Breck School in Minneapolis, MN, and Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, IL) have collaborated on authentic astronomy research projects. This past year they surveyed archival data of open clusters to determine if a clear turnoff point could be unequivocally determined. Age and distance to each open cluster were calculated. Additionally, students requested time on several telescopes to obtain original data to compare to the archival data. Students from each school worked in collaborative teams, sharing and verifying results through regular online hangouts and chats. Work papers were stored in a shared drive and on a student-designed Google site to facilitate dissemination of documents between the two schools.

  11. A Failure to Collaborate

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanders, Martin

    2008-01-01

    Based on a successful scholarly collaboration experience, the writer assigned a group project in a graduate seminar that confronted a wave of resentment. Small clusters of students were to tackle a multi-layered research assignment requiring textual decisions, bibliographic work, critical theory, historical research, and editorial design. As the…

  12. Flickering Clusters: Women, Science, and Collaborative Transformations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ney, Cheryl, Ed; Ross, Jacqueline, Ed.; Stempel, Laura, Ed.

    The essays in this collection discuss the development and implementation of the collaborative Women and Science Project, which aimed to improve undergraduate science education by increasing faculty expertise in gender and science scholarship and pedagogy, and by providing role models of professional women scientists, improving the classroom…

  13. Project ACTIVate: Innovations from New Zealand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yelas, Janet; Engles, Paul

    2010-01-01

    This case study discusses a collaborative three year project involving two school clusters located in the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. The project was named "Project ACTIVate" and its main thrust was to study how the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) combined with teaching, learning and research across schools. The…

  14. Early Results from Star Date: M83 - A Citizen Science Project to Age Date Star Clusters in the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heartley, Jeremy; Whitmore, B. C.; Blair, W. P.; Christian, C. A.; Donaldson, T.; Hammer, D.; Smith, S.; Viana, A.

    2014-01-01

    The M83 Citizen Science Project is a collaborative effort currently in development between the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Zooniverse under the guidance of Dr. Brad Whitmore as part of Cy 19 proposal 12513 (PI - Dr. William Blair). This unique citizen science project will allow users to analyze individual star clusters within The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, M83. The project will show users color-composite images taken with Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and ask them to estimate the age of the star cluster. Through a multistage process, the project will educate and familiarize the user with the appearance of each age category based on the presence and shape of H-alpha emission, degree of resolution of the individual stars, and color of the cluster. (Whitmore et al. 2011). Additionally, the project will involve the actual measurement of the star cluster and H-alpha cloud radii to be used for further assessment and reinforcement of age. The data from this project and the statistics it yields will quantify these ages which can then be used to inform the debate between universal and environmental models of star cluster formation and destruction in galaxies. The tentative launch date is December 2013, therefore early results should be available at the time of the conference.

  15. Hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Quarterly progress report, July 1, 1995--September 30, 1995

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

    NONE

    1995-12-01

    This report is the quarterly progress report for July through September 1995 for work done by Tulane and Xavier Universities under DOE contract number DE-FG01-93-EW53023. Accomplishments for various tasks including administrative activities, collaborative cluster projects, education projects, initiation projects, coordinated instrumentation facility, and an investigators` retreat are detailed in the report.

  16. Problem-Solving Environments (PSEs) to Support Innovation Clustering

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gill, Zann

    1999-01-01

    This paper argues that there is need for high level concepts to inform the development of Problem-Solving Environment (PSE) capability. A traditional approach to PSE implementation is to: (1) assemble a collection of tools; (2) integrate the tools; and (3) assume that collaborative work begins after the PSE is assembled. I argue for the need to start from the opposite premise, that promoting human collaboration and observing that process comes first, followed by the development of supporting tools, and finally evolution of PSE capability through input from collaborating project teams.

  17. CLUSTER: University-Science Center Partnership for Science Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saxman, Laura J.; Gupta, Preeti; Steinberg, Richard N.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe and present results from the fourth year of a five-year collaborative research project between an interactive science center and a local college. The purpose of the project is not only to recruit and train approximately 50 highly qualified science teachers who will teach in New York City public schools, but…

  18. Building CHAOS: An Operating System for Livermore Linux Clusters

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

    Garlick, J E; Dunlap, C M

    2003-02-21

    The Livermore Computing (LC) Linux Integration and Development Project (the Linux Project) produces and supports the Clustered High Availability Operating System (CHAOS), a cluster operating environment based on Red Hat Linux. Each CHAOS release begins with a set of requirements and ends with a formally tested, packaged, and documented release suitable for use on LC's production Linux clusters. One characteristic of CHAOS is that component software packages come from different sources under varying degrees of project control. Some are developed by the Linux Project, some are developed by other LC projects, some are external open source projects, and some aremore » commercial software packages. A challenge to the Linux Project is to adhere to release schedules and testing disciplines in a diverse, highly decentralized development environment. Communication channels are maintained for externally developed packages in order to obtain support, influence development decisions, and coordinate/understand release schedules. The Linux Project embraces open source by releasing locally developed packages under open source license, by collaborating with open source projects where mutually beneficial, and by preferring open source over proprietary software. Project members generally use open source development tools. The Linux Project requires system administrators and developers to work together to resolve problems that arise in production. This tight coupling of production and development is a key strategy for making a product that directly addresses LC's production requirements. It is another challenge to balance support and development activities in such a way that one does not overwhelm the other.« less

  19. Neural network based visualization of collaborations in a citizen science project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morais, Alessandra M. M.; Santos, Rafael D. C.; Raddick, M. Jordan

    2014-05-01

    Citizen science projects are those in which volunteers are asked to collaborate in scientific projects, usually by volunteering idle computer time for distributed data processing efforts or by actively labeling or classifying information - shapes of galaxies, whale sounds, historical records are all examples of citizen science projects in which users access a data collecting system to label or classify images and sounds. In order to be successful, a citizen science project must captivate users and keep them interested on the project and on the science behind it, increasing therefore the time the users spend collaborating with the project. Understanding behavior of citizen scientists and their interaction with the data collection systems may help increase the involvement of the users, categorize them accordingly to different parameters, facilitate their collaboration with the systems, design better user interfaces, and allow better planning and deployment of similar projects and systems. Users behavior can be actively monitored or derived from their interaction with the data collection systems. Records of the interactions can be analyzed using visualization techniques to identify patterns and outliers. In this paper we present some results on the visualization of more than 80 million interactions of almost 150 thousand users with the Galaxy Zoo I citizen science project. Visualization of the attributes extracted from their behaviors was done with a clustering neural network (the Self-Organizing Map) and a selection of icon- and pixel-based techniques. These techniques allows the visual identification of groups of similar behavior in several different ways.

  20. Visualization and characterization of users in a citizen science project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morais, Alessandra M. M.; Raddick, Jordan; Coelho dos Santos, Rafael D.

    2013-05-01

    Recent technological advances allowed the creation and use of internet-based systems where many users can collaborate gathering and sharing information for specific or general purposes: social networks, e-commerce review systems, collaborative knowledge systems, etc. Since most of the data collected in these systems is user-generated, understanding of the motivations and general behavior of users is a very important issue. Of particular interest are citizen science projects, where users without scientific training are asked for collaboration labeling and classifying information (either automatically by giving away idle computer time or manually by actually seeing data and providing information about it). Understanding behavior of users of those types of data collection systems may help increase the involvement of the users, categorize users accordingly to different parameters, facilitate their collaboration with the systems, design better user interfaces, and allow better planning and deployment of similar projects and systems. Behavior of those users could be estimated through analysis of their collaboration track: registers of which user did what and when can be easily and unobtrusively collected in several different ways, the simplest being a log of activities. In this paper we present some results on the visualization and characterization of almost 150.000 users with more than 80.000.000 collaborations with a citizen science project - Galaxy Zoo I, which asked users to classify galaxies' images. Basic visualization techniques are not applicable due to the number of users, so techniques to characterize users' behavior based on feature extraction and clustering are used.

  1. TOSCA-based orchestration of complex clusters at the IaaS level

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caballer, M.; Donvito, G.; Moltó, G.; Rocha, R.; Velten, M.

    2017-10-01

    This paper describes the adoption and extension of the TOSCA standard by the INDIGO-DataCloud project for the definition and deployment of complex computing clusters together with the required support in both OpenStack and OpenNebula, carried out in close collaboration with industry partners such as IBM. Two examples of these clusters are described in this paper, the definition of an elastic computing cluster to support the Galaxy bioinformatics application where the nodes are dynamically added and removed from the cluster to adapt to the workload, and the definition of an scalable Apache Mesos cluster for the execution of batch jobs and support for long-running services. The coupling of TOSCA with Ansible Roles to perform automated installation has resulted in the definition of high-level, deterministic templates to provision complex computing clusters across different Cloud sites.

  2. Pandora Cluster Seen by Spitzer

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-09-28

    This image of galaxy cluster Abell 2744, also called Pandora's Cluster, was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The gravity of this galaxy cluster is strong enough that it acts as a lens to magnify images of more distant background galaxies. This technique is called gravitational lensing. The fuzzy blobs in this Spitzer image are the massive galaxies at the core of this cluster, but astronomers will be poring over the images in search of the faint streaks of light created where the cluster magnifies a distant background galaxy. The cluster is also being studied by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory in a collaboration called the Frontier Fields project. In this image, light from Spitzer's infrared channels is colored blue at 3.6 microns and green at 4.5 microns. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20920

  3. Education with Infrared Astronomy and Spitzer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hemphill, Rosa; Blackwell, J. A.; Herrold, A.; Petroff, E.

    2007-12-01

    We present education and outreach results using our experiences involving the Spitzer Space Telescope project, Star Formation in High Redshift Clusters with Spitzer. The project is a collaboration between the Spitzer Science Center and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measured star formation rates in three galaxy clusters at intermediate redshifts. Six teachers were chosen for the program, each with an interest and involvement in astronomy education. From this project, lesson plans, public outreach, lectures and demonstrations were generated which better the understanding of infrared astronomy, multiwavelength astronomy, galaxy and star formation, and cosmology. The teacher mentors are Dr. Gregory Rudnick (NOAO), Dr. Rose Finn (Siena College), and Dr. Vandana Desai (Caltech). Please see the companion posters by Emily Petroff, Zak Schroeder, and Thomas Loughran, et al, for information concerning the science results.

  4. WA29 "we are all one" compassionate cities "a global community joined for care".

    PubMed

    Molina, Emilio Herrera; Flores, Silvia Librada

    2015-04-01

    The NewHealth Foundation, a Spanish non-for-profit organisation, is leading the project Compassionate Cities. "We are all one". The project aims to involve citizens in creating communities of care to help people at the end of life phase. To design and develop a practical model to engage communities in the process of improving the quality of public palliative care. To empower key advocates of end-of-life care. To evaluate communities' interventions, their feasibility and impact in terms of shared benefit for stakeholders. Identification and recruitment of key advocates of care. Design of an innovative model of compassionate cities. Define community of care activities through a triple-dimension methodology: [To Want - To Know - To Do]. An innovative model has been developed: The Collaborating Centre (schools, colleges, cultural centres, professional's associations, patient's associations, NGOs, brotherhoods, churches, etc.) organises the agenda of training events and promotes networking. Citizens set up "care clusters", becoming available to provide care. The Beneficiaries Centres (hospices, nursing homes, residential centres, patient organisations, hospitals, health and social care centres, etc.) contact the clusters when care needs of patients are identified. The palliative care specialist supports Compassionate Communities training and refer patients to clusters. Local Government (also a collaborating centre) encourages awareness campaigns and provides institutional support. Companies collaborate in promoting and funding the project. Six cities in Spain and 3 in Colombia have already been selected and local initiatives are already being promoted (more results to be provided at the Congress). This model supports people to become the real co-producers of services, as they know which services best respond to their needs. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  5. Collaborative Physical Chemistry Projects Involving Computational Chemistry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whisnant, David M.; Howe, Jerry J.; Lever, Lisa S.

    2000-02-01

    The physical chemistry classes from three colleges have collaborated on two computational chemistry projects using Quantum CAChe 3.0 and Gaussian 94W running on Pentium II PCs. Online communication by email and the World Wide Web was an important part of the collaboration. In the first project, students used molecular modeling to predict benzene derivatives that might be possible hair dyes. They used PM3 and ZINDO calculations to predict the electronic spectra of the molecules and tested the predicted spectra by comparing some with experimental measurements. They also did literature searches for real hair dyes and possible health effects. In the final phase of the project they proposed a synthetic pathway for one compound. In the second project the students were asked to predict which isomer of a small carbon cluster (C3, C4, or C5) was responsible for a series of IR lines observed in the spectrum of a carbon star. After preliminary PM3 calculations, they used ab initio calculations at the HF/6-31G(d) and MP2/6-31G(d) level to model the molecules and predict their vibrational frequencies and rotational constants. A comparison of the predictions with the experimental spectra suggested that the linear isomer of the C5 molecule was responsible for the lines.

  6. Relative Age Dating of Young Star Clusters from YSOVAR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, Chelen H.; Gibbs, John C.; Linahan, Marcella; Rebull, Luisa; Bernstein, Alexandra E.; Child, Sierra; Eakins, Emma; Elert, Julia T.; Frey, Grace; Gong, Nathaniel; Hedlund, Audrey R.; Karos, Alexandra D.; Medeiros, Emma M.; Moradi, Madeline; Myers, Keenan; Packer, Benjamin M.; Reader, Livia K.; Sorenson, Benjamin; Stefo, James S.; Strid, Grace; Sumner, Joy; Sundeen, Kiera A.; Taylor, Meghan; Ujjainwala, Zakir L.

    2018-01-01

    The YSOVAR (Young Stellar Object VARiability; Rebull et al. 2014) Spitzer Space Telescope observing program monitored a dozen star forming cores in the mid-infrared (3.6 and 4.5 microns). Rebull et al. (2014) placed these cores in relative age order based on numbers of YSO candidates in SED class bins (I, flat, II, III), which is based on the slope of the SED between 2 and 25 microns. PanSTARRS data have recently been released (Chambers et al. 2016); deep optical data are now available over all the YSOVAR clusters. We worked with eight of the YSOVAR targets (IC1396-N, AFGL 490, NGC 1333, Mon R2, GGD 12-15, L 1688, IRAS 20050+2720, and Ceph C) and the YSO candidates identified therein as part of YSOVAR (through their infrared colors or X-ray detections plus a star-like SED; see Rebull et al. 2014). We created and examined optical and NIR color-magnitude diagrams and color-color diagrams of these YSO candidates to determine if the addition of optical data contradicted or reinforced the relative age dating of the clusters obtained with SED class ratios.This project is a collaborative effort of high school students and teachers from three states. We analyzed data individually and later collaborated online to compare results. This project is the result of many years of work with the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP).

  7. DEFI Photonique: a French national training project for optics and photonics industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boéri, E.; Cormier, E.

    2014-07-01

    The French government supports a structuring project for French Photonics. This project name DEFI Photonique is carried by the CNOP (National Committee for Optics and Photonics) for a period of 5 years (2013-2017). One of the most important tasks is dedicated to training for industry, particularly SMEs. The project aims at elaborating a training offer based on the experience of PYLA, the Bordeaux training facility for Optics and Photonics, and create a national network throughout all the French Photonics clusters. The project plans to initiate, develop and coordinate training courses based on the players skills in the sector, in particular regional clusters, depending on their field of excellence. This deployment of training courses should enable a mesh structure both thematically and geographically. Collaborative work between training players in each pole, including joint actions, will facilitate access to training courses for companies, especially SMEs. A market survey is already being conducted in 2013 in photonics industry and application sectors. Implementation of actions involves all French photonics clusters as well as professional organizations. We will rely on the feedback we have with PYLA to show how training courses can be a strategic tool for development of technologies and industries. At this stage of the DEFI Photonique project we will be able to present the results of different analyses that have been conducted in key sectors and plans that will be implemented for the realization of the first actions.

  8. A new collaborative recommendation approach based on users clustering using artificial bee colony algorithm.

    PubMed

    Ju, Chunhua; Xu, Chonghuan

    2013-01-01

    Although there are many good collaborative recommendation methods, it is still a challenge to increase the accuracy and diversity of these methods to fulfill users' preferences. In this paper, we propose a novel collaborative filtering recommendation approach based on K-means clustering algorithm. In the process of clustering, we use artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm to overcome the local optimal problem caused by K-means. After that we adopt the modified cosine similarity to compute the similarity between users in the same clusters. Finally, we generate recommendation results for the corresponding target users. Detailed numerical analysis on a benchmark dataset MovieLens and a real-world dataset indicates that our new collaborative filtering approach based on users clustering algorithm outperforms many other recommendation methods.

  9. A New Collaborative Recommendation Approach Based on Users Clustering Using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    Ju, Chunhua

    2013-01-01

    Although there are many good collaborative recommendation methods, it is still a challenge to increase the accuracy and diversity of these methods to fulfill users' preferences. In this paper, we propose a novel collaborative filtering recommendation approach based on K-means clustering algorithm. In the process of clustering, we use artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm to overcome the local optimal problem caused by K-means. After that we adopt the modified cosine similarity to compute the similarity between users in the same clusters. Finally, we generate recommendation results for the corresponding target users. Detailed numerical analysis on a benchmark dataset MovieLens and a real-world dataset indicates that our new collaborative filtering approach based on users clustering algorithm outperforms many other recommendation methods. PMID:24381525

  10. Collaborative Filtering Based on Sequential Extraction of User-Item Clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Honda, Katsuhiro; Notsu, Akira; Ichihashi, Hidetomo

    Collaborative filtering is a computational realization of “word-of-mouth” in network community, in which the items prefered by “neighbors” are recommended. This paper proposes a new item-selection model for extracting user-item clusters from rectangular relation matrices, in which mutual relations between users and items are denoted in an alternative process of “liking or not”. A technique for sequential co-cluster extraction from rectangular relational data is given by combining the structural balancing-based user-item clustering method with sequential fuzzy cluster extraction appraoch. Then, the tecunique is applied to the collaborative filtering problem, in which some items may be shared by several user clusters.

  11. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN

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

    John A. McLachlan

    In December 1992, the CBR was awarded a five-year grant of $25M from the US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to study pollution in the Mississippi River system. The ''Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments of the Mississippi River Basin'' project was an interdisciplinary, collaborative research and education project aimed at elucidating the nature and magnitude of toxic materials that contaminate aquatic environments. This project funded 15 collaborative cluster multi-year projects and 41 one-year initiation projects out of 165 submitted research proposals. This project was carried out by 134 research and technical support faculty from Xavier University (Schoolmore » of Arts and Sciences, and College of Pharmacy) and Tulane University (Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Public Health and Tropical Medicine), and 173 publications and 140 presentations were produced. More than 100 graduate and undergraduate students were trained through these collaborative cluster and initiation research projects. Nineteen Tulane graduate students received partial funding to conduct their own competitively-chosen research projects, and 28 Xavier undergraduate LIFE Scholars and 30 LIFE Interns were supported with DOE funding to conduct their mentored research projects. Studies in this project have defined: (1) the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants, (2) the actual and potential impact on ecological systems and health, and (3) the mechanisms through which these impacts might be remediated. The bayou and spoil banks of Bayou Trepagnier were mapped and analyzed in terms of risks associated with the levels of hydrocarbons and metals at specific sample sites. Data from contaminated sample sites have been incorporated into a large database and used in GIS analyses to track the fate and transport of heavy metals from spoil banks into the surrounding marsh. These data are crucial to understanding how heavy metals move through wetlands environments. These data, coupled with plume characterization data, indicate that Bayou Trepagnier is a model system for understanding how wetlands populations of fish, amphibians, and plants respond to long-term hydrocarbon and metals contamination. The CBR has fifteen years of experience in developing model aquatic ecosystems for evaluating environmental problems relevant to DOE cleanup activities. Using biotechnology screens and biomarkers of exposure, this project supports other CBR research demonstrating that chemicals in the environment can signal/alter the development of species in aquatic ecosystems, and show detrimental impacts on community, population, and the ecosystem, including human health. CBR studies funded through this grant have resulted in private sector investments, international collaborations, development of new technologies, and substantial new knowledge concerning the effects of hazardous materials on human and ecosystem health. Through the CBR, Tulane and Xavier Universities partnered with DOE-EM to lay groundwork for an effective research agenda that has become part of the DOE long term stewardship science and technology program and institutional management of the DOE complex.« less

  12. A parallel-processing approach to computing for the geographic sciences; applications and systems enhancements

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crane, Michael; Steinwand, Dan; Beckmann, Tim; Krpan, Greg; Liu, Shu-Guang; Nichols, Erin; Haga, Jim; Maddox, Brian; Bilderback, Chris; Feller, Mark; Homer, George

    2001-01-01

    The overarching goal of this project is to build a spatially distributed infrastructure for information science research by forming a team of information science researchers and providing them with similar hardware and software tools to perform collaborative research. Four geographically distributed Centers of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are developing their own clusters of low-cost, personal computers into parallel computing environments that provide a costeffective way for the USGS to increase participation in the high-performance computing community. Referred to as Beowulf clusters, these hybrid systems provide the robust computing power required for conducting information science research into parallel computing systems and applications.

  13. CERN@school: demonstrating physics with the Timepix detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whyntie, T.; Bithray, H.; Cook, J.; Coupe, A.; Eddy, D.; Fickling, R. L.; McKenna, J.; Parker, B.; Paul, A.; Shearer, N.

    2015-10-01

    This article shows how the Timepix hybrid silicon pixel detector, developed by the Medipix2 Collaboration, can be used by students and teachers alike to demonstrate some key aspects of any well-rounded physics curriculum with CERN@school. After an overview of the programme, the detector's capabilities for measuring and visualising ionising radiation are examined. The classification of clusters - groups of adjacent pixels - is discussed with respect to identifying the different types of particles. Three demonstration experiments - background radiation measurements, radiation profiles and the attenuation of radiation - are described; these can used as part of lessons or as inspiration for independent research projects. Results for exemplar data-sets are presented for reference, as well as details of ongoing research projects inspired by these experiments. Interested readers are encouraged to join the CERN@school Collaboration and so contribute to achieving the programme's aim of inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

  14. About the Clusters Program

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Environmental Technology Innovation Clusters Program advises cluster organizations, encourages collaboration between clusters, tracks U.S. environmental technology clusters, and connects EPA programs to cluster needs.

  15. User roles and contributions during the new product development process in collaborative innovation communities.

    PubMed

    Guo, Wei; Zheng, Qing; An, Weijin; Peng, Wei

    2017-09-01

    Collaborative innovation (co-innovation) community emerges as a new product design platform where companies involve users in the new product development (NPD) process. Large numbers of users participate and contribute to the process voluntarily. This exploratory study investigates the heterogeneous roles of users based on a global co-innovation project in online community. Content analysis, social network analysis and cluster method are employed to measure user behaviors, distinguish user roles, and analyze user contributions. The study identifies six user roles that emerge during the NPD process in co-innovation community: project leader, active designer, generalist, communicator, passive designer, and observer. The six user roles differ in their contribution forms and quality. This paper contributes to research on co-innovation in online communities, including design team structure, user roles and their contribution to design task and solution, as well as user value along the process. In addition, the study provides practices guidance on implementing project, attracting users, and designing platform for co-innovation community practitioners. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. ENVRIplus - European collaborative development of environmental infrastructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asmi, A.; Brus, M.; Kutsch, W. L.; Laj, P.

    2016-12-01

    European Research Infrastructures (RI) are built using ESFRI process, which dictates the steps towards a common European RIs. Building each RI separately creates unnessary barriers towards service users (e.g. on differing standards) and is not effiicient in e.g. e-science tool or data system development. To answer these inter-RI issues, the European Commission has funded several large scale cluster projectsto bring these RIs together already in planning and development phases to develop common tools, standards and methodologies, as well as learn from the exisiting systems. ENVRIplus is the cluster project for the environmental RIs in Europe, and provides platform for common development and sharing within the RI community. The project is organized around different themes, each having several workpackages with specific tasks. Major themesof the ENVRIplus are: Technical innovation, including tasks such as RI technology transfer, new observation techniques, autonomous operation, etc.; Data for science, with tasks such as RI reference model development, data discovery and citation, data publication, processing, etc.; Access to RIs, with specific tasks on interdicplinary and transnational access to RI services, and common access governance; Societal relevance and understanding, tackling on ethical issues on RI operations and understanding on human-environmental system and citizen science approaches, among others; Knowledge transfer, particularly between the RIs, and with developing RI organizations, organizing training and staff exchange; and Communication and dissemination, working towards a common environmental RI community (ENVRI community platform), and creating an own advisory RI discussion board (BEERi), and disseminating the ENVRIplus products globally. Importantly, all ENVRIplus results are open to any users from any country. Also, collaboration with international RIs and user communities are crucial to the success of the ENVRI initiatives. Overall goal is to do science globally, to answer global and regional critical challenges. The presentation will not only present the project, its state after nearly 2 years of operation, but will alsop present ideas towards building international and even more interdiciplinary collaboration on research infrastructures and their users.

  17. Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Methodology and Projections for Joint Analysis of Galaxy Clustering, Galaxy Lensing, and CMB Lensing Two-point Functions

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

    Giannantonio, T.; et al.

    Optical imaging surveys measure both the galaxy density and the gravitational lensing-induced shear fields across the sky. Recently, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration used a joint fit to two-point correlations between these observables to place tight constraints on cosmology (DES Collaboration et al. 2017). In this work, we develop the methodology to extend the DES Collaboration et al. (2017) analysis to include cross-correlations of the optical survey observables with gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as measured by the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck. Using simulated analyses, we show how the resulting set of five two-pointmore » functions increases the robustness of the cosmological constraints to systematic errors in galaxy lensing shear calibration. Additionally, we show that contamination of the SPT+Planck CMB lensing map by the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect is a potentially large source of systematic error for two-point function analyses, but show that it can be reduced to acceptable levels in our analysis by masking clusters of galaxies and imposing angular scale cuts on the two-point functions. The methodology developed here will be applied to the analysis of data from the DES, the SPT, and Planck in a companion work.« less

  18. Understanding students' motivation in project work: a 2 x 2 achievement goal approach.

    PubMed

    Liu, Woon Chia; Wang, C K John; Tan, Oon Seng; Ee, Jessie; Koh, Caroline

    2009-03-01

    The project work (PW) initiative was launched in 2000 by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, to encourage application of knowledge across disciplines, and to develop thinking, communication, collaboration, and metacognitive skills. Although PW has been introduced for a few years, few studies have examined the motivation of students in PW, especially with the use of the recently proposed 2 x 2 achievement goal framework. To use a cluster analytic approach to identify students' achievement goal profiles at an intra-individual level, and to examine their links to various psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes in PW. Participants were 491 Secondary 2 students (mean age = 13.78, SD = 0.77) from two government coeducational schools. Cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct subgroups of students with similar achievement goal profiles. One-way MANOVAs, followed by post hoc Tukey HSD tests for pairwise comparisons were used to determine whether there was any significant difference amongst clusters in terms of the psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes in PW. Four distinct clusters of students were identified. The cluster with high achievement goals and the cluster with moderately high goals had the most positive psychological characteristics and perceived outcomes. In contrast, the cluster with very low scores for all four achievement goals had the most maladaptive profile. The study provides support for the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework, and demonstrates that multiple goals can operate simultaneously. However, it highlights the need for cross-cultural studies to look into the approach-avoidance dimension in the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework.

  19. The Video Collaborative Localization of a Miner's Lamp Based on Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks for Underground Coal Mines.

    PubMed

    You, Kaiming; Yang, Wei; Han, Ruisong

    2015-09-29

    Based on wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) deployed in an underground coal mine, a miner's lamp video collaborative localization algorithm was proposed to locate miners in the scene of insufficient illumination and bifurcated structures of underground tunnels. In bifurcation area, several camera nodes are deployed along the longitudinal direction of tunnels, forming a collaborative cluster in wireless way to monitor and locate miners in underground tunnels. Cap-lamps are regarded as the feature of miners in the scene of insufficient illumination of underground tunnels, which means that miners can be identified by detecting their cap-lamps. A miner's lamp will project mapping points on the imaging plane of collaborative cameras and the coordinates of mapping points are calculated by collaborative cameras. Then, multiple straight lines between the positions of collaborative cameras and their corresponding mapping points are established. To find the three-dimension (3D) coordinate location of the miner's lamp a least square method is proposed to get the optimal intersection of the multiple straight lines. Tests were carried out both in a corridor and a realistic scenario of underground tunnel, which show that the proposed miner's lamp video collaborative localization algorithm has good effectiveness, robustness and localization accuracy in real world conditions of underground tunnels.

  20. Hybrid Collaborative Learning for Classification and Clustering in Sensor Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Sosnowski, Scott; Lane, Terran

    2012-01-01

    Traditionally, nodes in a sensor network simply collect data and then pass it on to a centralized node that archives, distributes, and possibly analyzes the data. However, analysis at the individual nodes could enable faster detection of anomalies or other interesting events as well as faster responses, such as sending out alerts or increasing the data collection rate. There is an additional opportunity for increased performance if learners at individual nodes can communicate with their neighbors. In previous work, methods were developed by which classification algorithms deployed at sensor nodes can communicate information about event labels to each other, building on prior work with co-training, self-training, and active learning. The idea of collaborative learning was extended to function for clustering algorithms as well, similar to ideas from penta-training and consensus clustering. However, collaboration between these learner types had not been explored. A new protocol was developed by which classifiers and clusterers can share key information about their observations and conclusions as they learn. This is an active collaboration in which learners of either type can query their neighbors for information that they then use to re-train or re-learn the concept they are studying. The protocol also supports broadcasts from the classifiers and clusterers to the rest of the network to announce new discoveries. Classifiers observe an event and assign it a label (type). Clusterers instead group observations into clusters without assigning them a label, and they collaborate in terms of pairwise constraints between two events [same-cluster (mustlink) or different-cluster (cannot-link)]. Fundamentally, these two learner types speak different languages. To bridge this gap, the new communication protocol provides four types of exchanges: hybrid queries for information, hybrid "broadcasts" of learned information, each specified for classifiers-to-clusterers, and clusterers-to-classifiers. The new capability has the potential to greatly expand the in situ analysis abilities of sensor networks. Classifiers seeking to categorize incoming data into different types of events can operate in tandem with clusterers that are sensitive to the occurrence of new kinds of events not known to the classifiers. In contrast to current approaches that treat these operations as independent components, a hybrid collaborative learning system can enable them to learn from each other.

  1. Research and Project Activities in Astrophysics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harnden, F. Rick, Jr.; Kaluzienski, Louis J. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    In collaboration with G Micela, S. Sciortino, and others at the Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo G. S. Valens, we conducted studies of X-ray emission from normal stars, primarily via observations of several open star clusters and star forming regions (viz. the Pleiades, NBC 2516, NBC 2264, and the Orion Nebula Cluster). Our work was based on combined data from several X-ray observatories, Einstein, ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Chandra, as well as ground-based optical and radio data. Preliminary results were presented at several meetings: HEAD/AAS, November, 1997 a 195th AAS Meeting, January 2000 a Three Islands Conference, April 2000 a X-ray Astronomy 2000, September 2000 a 197th AAS Meeting, January 2001 Two Years of Science with Chandra, September 2001

  2. Collaboration processes and perceived effectiveness of integrated care projects in primary care: a longitudinal mixed-methods study.

    PubMed

    Valentijn, Pim P; Ruwaard, Dirk; Vrijhoef, Hubertus J M; de Bont, Antoinette; Arends, Rosa Y; Bruijnzeels, Marc A

    2015-10-09

    Collaborative partnerships are considered an essential strategy for integrating local disjointed health and social services. Currently, little evidence is available on how integrated care arrangements between professionals and organisations are achieved through the evolution of collaboration processes over time. The first aim was to develop a typology of integrated care projects (ICPs) based on the final degree of integration as perceived by multiple stakeholders. The second aim was to study how types of integration differ in changes of collaboration processes over time and final perceived effectiveness. A longitudinal mixed-methods study design based on two data sources (surveys and interviews) was used to identify the perceived degree of integration and patterns in collaboration among 42 ICPs in primary care in The Netherlands. We used cluster analysis to identify distinct subgroups of ICPs based on the final perceived degree of integration from a professional, organisational and system perspective. With the use of ANOVAs, the subgroups were contrasted based on: 1) changes in collaboration processes over time (shared ambition, interests and mutual gains, relationship dynamics, organisational dynamics and process management) and 2) final perceived effectiveness (i.e. rated success) at the professional, organisational and system levels. The ICPs were classified into three subgroups with: 'United Integration Perspectives (UIP)', 'Disunited Integration Perspectives (DIP)' and 'Professional-oriented Integration Perspectives (PIP)'. ICPs within the UIP subgroup made the strongest increase in trust-based (mutual gains and relationship dynamics) as well as control-based (organisational dynamics and process management) collaboration processes and had the highest overall effectiveness rates. On the other hand, ICPs with the DIP subgroup decreased on collaboration processes and had the lowest overall effectiveness rates. ICPs within the PIP subgroup increased in control-based collaboration processes (organisational dynamics and process management) and had the highest effectiveness rates at the professional level. The differences across the three subgroups in terms of the development of collaboration processes and the final perceived effectiveness provide evidence that united stakeholders' perspectives are achieved through a constructive collaboration process over time. Disunited perspectives at the professional, organisation and system levels can be aligned by both trust-based and control-based collaboration processes.

  3. Clustering excellence to exert transformative change: the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI).

    PubMed

    McBride, Angela Barron; Watman, Rachael; Escobedo, Marcus; Beilenson, John

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes how the John A. Hartford Foundation sought to maximize the influence of its various geriatric nursing projects by organizing and managing them collectively as the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI). This initiative aimed to develop a shared identity, encouraged cross-pollination of efforts, convened project leaders to address opportunities and problems, launched across-project collaborations, and created tools and resources to support overall efforts. This paper ends with some reflections on the processes implemented to maximize HGNI effectiveness, particularly the importance of forging a common identity in order to encourage expanded solutions. The HGNI can serve as an example of how intersecting interests can fuel new ideas, thus helping others think more strategically about change efforts in the future. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. CILogon: An Integrated Identity and Access Management Platform for Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basney, J.

    2016-12-01

    When scientists work together, they use web sites and other software to share their ideas and data. To ensure the integrity of their work, these systems require the scientists to log in and verify that they are part of the team working on a particular science problem. Too often, the identity and access verification process is a stumbling block for the scientists. Scientific research projects are forced to invest time and effort into developing and supporting Identity and Access Management (IAM) services, distracting them from the core goals of their research collaboration. CILogon provides an IAM platform that enables scientists to work together to meet their IAM needs more effectively so they can allocate more time and effort to their core mission of scientific research. The CILogon platform enables federated identity management and collaborative organization management. Federated identity management enables researchers to use their home organization identities to access cyberinfrastructure, rather than requiring yet another username and password to log on. Collaborative organization management enables research projects to define user groups for authorization to collaboration platforms (e.g., wikis, mailing lists, and domain applications). CILogon's IAM platform serves the unique needs of research collaborations, namely the need to dynamically form collaboration groups across organizations and countries, sharing access to data, instruments, compute clusters, and other resources to enable scientific discovery. CILogon provides a software-as-a-service platform to ease integration with cyberinfrastructure, while making all software components publicly available under open source licenses to enable re-use. Figure 1 illustrates the components and interfaces of this platform. CILogon has been operational since 2010 and has been used by over 7,000 researchers from more than 170 identity providers to access cyberinfrastructure including Globus, LIGO, Open Science Grid, SeedMe, and XSEDE. The "CILogon 2.0" platform, launched in 2016, adds support for virtual organization (VO) membership management, identity linking, international collaborations, and standard integration protocols, through integration with the Internet2 COmanage collaboration software.

  5. The Video Collaborative Localization of a Miner’s Lamp Based on Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks for Underground Coal Mines

    PubMed Central

    You, Kaiming; Yang, Wei; Han, Ruisong

    2015-01-01

    Based on wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) deployed in an underground coal mine, a miner’s lamp video collaborative localization algorithm was proposed to locate miners in the scene of insufficient illumination and bifurcated structures of underground tunnels. In bifurcation area, several camera nodes are deployed along the longitudinal direction of tunnels, forming a collaborative cluster in wireless way to monitor and locate miners in underground tunnels. Cap-lamps are regarded as the feature of miners in the scene of insufficient illumination of underground tunnels, which means that miners can be identified by detecting their cap-lamps. A miner’s lamp will project mapping points on the imaging plane of collaborative cameras and the coordinates of mapping points are calculated by collaborative cameras. Then, multiple straight lines between the positions of collaborative cameras and their corresponding mapping points are established. To find the three-dimension (3D) coordinate location of the miner’s lamp a least square method is proposed to get the optimal intersection of the multiple straight lines. Tests were carried out both in a corridor and a realistic scenario of underground tunnel, which show that the proposed miner’s lamp video collaborative localization algorithm has good effectiveness, robustness and localization accuracy in real world conditions of underground tunnels. PMID:26426023

  6. A framework using cluster-based hybrid network architecture for collaborative virtual surgery.

    PubMed

    Qin, Jing; Choi, Kup-Sze; Poon, Wai-Sang; Heng, Pheng-Ann

    2009-12-01

    Research on collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) opens the opportunity for simulating the cooperative work in surgical operations. It is however a challenging task to implement a high performance collaborative surgical simulation system because of the difficulty in maintaining state consistency with minimum network latencies, especially when sophisticated deformable models and haptics are involved. In this paper, an integrated framework using cluster-based hybrid network architecture is proposed to support collaborative virtual surgery. Multicast transmission is employed to transmit updated information among participants in order to reduce network latencies, while system consistency is maintained by an administrative server. Reliable multicast is implemented using distributed message acknowledgment based on cluster cooperation and sliding window technique. The robustness of the framework is guaranteed by the failure detection chain which enables smooth transition when participants join and leave the collaboration, including normal and involuntary leaving. Communication overhead is further reduced by implementing a number of management approaches such as computational policies and collaborative mechanisms. The feasibility of the proposed framework is demonstrated by successfully extending an existing standalone orthopedic surgery trainer into a collaborative simulation system. A series of experiments have been conducted to evaluate the system performance. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is capable of supporting collaborative surgical simulation.

  7. Competition in collaborative clothing: a qualitative case study of influences on collaborative quality improvement in the ICU.

    PubMed

    Dainty, Katie N; Scales, Damon C; Sinuff, Tasnim; Zwarenstein, Merrick

    2013-04-01

    Multiorganisational quality improvement (QI) collaborative networks are promoted for improving quality within healthcare. Recently, several large-scale QI initiatives have been conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) environment with successful quantitative results. However, the mechanisms through which such networks lead to QI success remain uncertain. We aim to understand ICU staff perspectives on collaborative QI based on involvement in a multiorganisational improvement network and hypothesise about theoretical constructs that might explain the effect of collaboration in such networks. Qualitative study using a modified grounded theory approach. Key informant interviews were conducted with staff from 12 community hospital ICUs that participated in a cluster randomized control trial (RCT) of a QI intervention using a collaborative approach between 2006 and 2008. Data analysis followed the standard procedure for grounded theory using constant comparative methodology. The collaborative network was perceived to promote increased intrateam cooperation over interorganisational cooperation, but friendly competition with other ICUs appeared to be a prominent driver of behaviour change. Bedsides, clinicians reported that belonging to a collaborative network provided recognition for the high-quality patient care that they already provided. However, the existing communication structure was perceived to be ineffective for staff engagement since it was based on a hierarchical approach to knowledge transfer and project awareness. QI collaborative networks may promote behaviour change by improving intrateam communication, fostering competition with other institutions, and increasing recognition for providing high-quality care. Other commonly held assumptions about their potential impact, for instance, increasing interorganisational legitimisation, communication and collaboration, may be less important.

  8. An Effective Collaborative Mobile Weighted Clustering Schemes for Energy Balancing in Wireless Sensor Networks.

    PubMed

    Tang, Chengpei; Shokla, Sanesy Kumcr; Modhawar, George; Wang, Qiang

    2016-02-19

    Collaborative strategies for mobile sensor nodes ensure the efficiency and the robustness of data processing, while limiting the required communication bandwidth. In order to solve the problem of pipeline inspection and oil leakage monitoring, a collaborative weighted mobile sensing scheme is proposed. By adopting a weighted mobile sensing scheme, the adaptive collaborative clustering protocol can realize an even distribution of energy load among the mobile sensor nodes in each round, and make the best use of battery energy. A detailed theoretical analysis and experimental results revealed that the proposed protocol is an energy efficient collaborative strategy such that the sensor nodes can communicate with a fusion center and produce high power gain.

  9. Clues from Bent Jets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2018-04-01

    Powerful jets emitted from the centers of distant galaxies make for spectacular signposts in the radio sky. Can observations of these jets reveal information about the environments that surround them?Signposts in the SkyVLA FIRST images of seven bent double-lobed radio galaxies from the authors sample. [Adapted from Silverstein et al. 2018]An active supermassive black hole lurking in a galactic center can put on quite a show! These beasts fling out accreting material, often forming intense jets that punch their way out of their host galaxies. As the jets propagate, they expand into large lobes of radio emission that we can spot from Earth observable signs of the connection between distant supermassive black holes and the galaxies in which they live.These distinctive double-lobed radio galaxies (DLRGs) dont all look the same. In particular, though the jets are emitted from the black holes two poles, the lobes of DLRGs dont always extend perfectly in opposite directions; often, the jets become bent on larger scales, appearing to us to subtend angles of less than 180 degrees.Can we use our observations of DLRG shapes and distributions to learn about their surroundings? A new study led by Ezekiel Silverstein (University of Michigan) has addressed this question by exploring DLRGs living in dense galaxy-cluster environments.Projected density of DLRGcentral galaxy matches (black) compared to a control sample of random positionscentral galaxy matches (red) for different distances from acluster center. DLRGs have a higher likelihood of being located close to a cluster center. [Silverstein et al. 2018]Living Near the HubTo build a sample of DLRGs in dense environments, Silverstein and collaborators started from a large catalog of DLRGs in Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars with radio lobes visible in Very Large Array data. They then cross-matched these against three galaxy catalogs to produce a sample of 44 DLRGs that are each paired to a nearby massive galaxy, galaxy group, or galaxy cluster.To determine if these DLRGs locations are unusual, the authors next constructed a control sample of random galaxies using the same selection biases as their DLRG sample.Silverstein and collaborators found that the density of DLRGs as a function of distance from a cluster center drops off more rapidly than the density of galaxies in a typical cluster. Observed DLRGs are therefore more likely than random galaxies to be found near galaxy groups and clusters. The authors speculate that this may be a selection effect: DLRGs further from cluster centers may be less bright, preventing their detection.Bent Under PressureThe angle subtended by the DLRG radio lobes, plotted against the distance of the DLRG to the cluster center. Central galaxies (red circle) experience different physics and are therefore excluded from the sample. In the remaining sample, bent DLRGs appear to favor cluster centers, compared to unbent DLRGs. [Silverstein et al. 2018]In addition, Silverstein and collaborators found that location appears to affect the shape of a DLRG. Bent DLRGs (those with a measured angle between their lobes of 170 or smaller) are more likely to be found near a cluster center than unbent DLRGs (those with angles of 170180). The fraction of bent DLRGs is 78% within 3 million light-years of the cluster center, and 56% within double that distance compared to a typical fraction of just 29% in the field.These results support the idea that ram pressure the pressure experienced by a galaxy as it moves through the higher density environment closer to the center of a cluster is what bends the DLRGs.Whats next to learn? This study relies on a fairly small sample, so Silverstein and collaborators hope that future deep optical surveys will increase the completeness of cluster catalogs, enabling further testing of these outcomes and the exploration of other physics of galaxy-cluster environments.CitationEzekiel M Silverstein et al 2018 AJ 155 14. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa9d2e

  10. Louisiana NASA EPSCoR Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wefel, John P.

    2002-01-01

    In 1994, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a Cooperative Agreement (CA) to the State of Louisiana, through the Louisiana Board of Regents (BOB), for the performance of scientific research under the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Project. Originally constructed as a three-year program with an optional two-year follow on, this federal-state partnership culminated on 31 October 2001, including two CA extensions. The total value of the project reached $3.3M in NASA funding, matched by $2.75M in BOB funds, and supplemented by several million dollars in institutional contributions. Three Research Clusters comprised the state-wide research effort coupled with scientific/technical management and a teacher involvement component. The three research clusters addressed the Enterprises of Space Science, Earth Science and Aerospace Technology with research in High Energy Astrophysics, the Global Carbon Cycle, and Propulsion. Ten universities, over two dozen faculty, over 150 students and numerous support personnel were involved. All of the scientific and technical objectives were met or exceeded. In aggregate, the clusters generated about $18M in outside support, better than a 2:1 return on investment (better than 5:1 considering only the NASA investment). Moreover, two of the clusters have advanced to the level of applying for major NSF research center designation. This project was a trial of the model of building research infrastructure through mentoring. While not completely successful, the results at the smaller institutions were, none the less, positive. Faculty were engaged in major research and involved their students. Administrations improved their capabilities to handle grants and contracts. Faculty release time was granted, research space was provided and, in some cases, equipment was made available for the research. Some of the faculty at these schools have remained involved in research and/or formed collaborations for new endeavors, demonstrating that the mentoring model can be successful.

  11. ICM: a web server for integrated clustering of multi-dimensional biomedical data.

    PubMed

    He, Song; He, Haochen; Xu, Wenjian; Huang, Xin; Jiang, Shuai; Li, Fei; He, Fuchu; Bo, Xiaochen

    2016-07-08

    Large-scale efforts for parallel acquisition of multi-omics profiling continue to generate extensive amounts of multi-dimensional biomedical data. Thus, integrated clustering of multiple types of omics data is essential for developing individual-based treatments and precision medicine. However, while rapid progress has been made, methods for integrated clustering are lacking an intuitive web interface that facilitates the biomedical researchers without sufficient programming skills. Here, we present a web tool, named Integrated Clustering of Multi-dimensional biomedical data (ICM), that provides an interface from which to fuse, cluster and visualize multi-dimensional biomedical data and knowledge. With ICM, users can explore the heterogeneity of a disease or a biological process by identifying subgroups of patients. The results obtained can then be interactively modified by using an intuitive user interface. Researchers can also exchange the results from ICM with collaborators via a web link containing a Project ID number that will directly pull up the analysis results being shared. ICM also support incremental clustering that allows users to add new sample data into the data of a previous study to obtain a clustering result. Currently, the ICM web server is available with no login requirement and at no cost at http://biotech.bmi.ac.cn/icm/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  12. Inter-organizational collaboration projects in the public sector: a balance between integration and demarcation.

    PubMed

    Löfström, Mikael

    2010-01-01

    For several years, the development of the Swedish public sector has been accompanied by a discussion about inter-organizational collaboration, which has been examined in several national experiments. The experience, however, indicates significant difficulties in implementing collaboration in local authorities' regular activities. This article argues that organizing inter-organizational collaboration in projects tends to be counterproductive, since the purpose of this collaboration is to increase the integration of local authorities. This article is based on case studies of three different collaboration projects. Each project is analyzed in relation to the way collaboration is organized within the project and how the relationship to the local authorities' activities is designed. The outcome of these studies shows that while collaboration projects increase integration between the responsible authorities, the integration stays within the projects. This is due to the fact that the projects were designed as units separate from the responsible authorities. As a result, the collaboration that occurs in the projects is not implemented in the local authorities' activities, and the viability of the increased integration of different responsible authorities does not extend beyond the projects. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. An Effective Collaborative Mobile Weighted Clustering Schemes for Energy Balancing in Wireless Sensor Networks

    PubMed Central

    Tang, Chengpei; Shokla, Sanesy Kumcr; Modhawar, George; Wang, Qiang

    2016-01-01

    Collaborative strategies for mobile sensor nodes ensure the efficiency and the robustness of data processing, while limiting the required communication bandwidth. In order to solve the problem of pipeline inspection and oil leakage monitoring, a collaborative weighted mobile sensing scheme is proposed. By adopting a weighted mobile sensing scheme, the adaptive collaborative clustering protocol can realize an even distribution of energy load among the mobile sensor nodes in each round, and make the best use of battery energy. A detailed theoretical analysis and experimental results revealed that the proposed protocol is an energy efficient collaborative strategy such that the sensor nodes can communicate with a fusion center and produce high power gain. PMID:26907285

  14. Comulang: towards a collaborative e-learning system that supports student group modeling.

    PubMed

    Troussas, Christos; Virvou, Maria; Alepis, Efthimios

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an e-learning system that is expected to further enhance the educational process in computer-based tutoring systems by incorporating collaboration between students and work in groups. The resulting system is called "Comulang" while as a test bed for its effectiveness a multiple language learning system is used. Collaboration is supported by a user modeling module that is responsible for the initial creation of student clusters, where, as a next step, working groups of students are created. A machine learning clustering algorithm works towards group formatting, so that co-operations between students from different clusters are attained. One of the resulting system's basic aims is to provide efficient student groups whose limitations and capabilities are well balanced.

  15. OHD/SRC - Collaborative Research Projects

    Science.gov Websites

    Collaborative Research Program Current Announcement Past Announcements Collaborative Research Projects General services. Collaborative Research Projects Fiscal Year 2004 Fiscal Year 2007 Fiscal Year 2008 Fiscal Year

  16. Addressing Health Disparities through Multi-institutional, Multidisciplinary Collaboratories

    PubMed Central

    Fleming, Erik S.; Perkins, James; Easa, David; Conde, José G.; Baker, Richard S.; Southerland, William M.; Dottin, Robert; Benabe, Julio E.; Ofili, Elizabeth O.; Bond, Vincent C.; McClure, Shelia A.; Sayre, Michael H.; Beanan, Maureen J.; Norris, Keith C.

    2009-01-01

    The national research leadership has recently become aware of the tremendous potential of translational research as an approach to address health disparities. The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Translational Research Network (RTRN) is a research network that supports multi-institutional, multidisciplinary collaboration with a focus on key diseases and conditions for which disproportionately adverse racial and ethnic health disparities exist. The RTRN is designed to facilitate the movement of scientific advances across the translational research spectrum by providing researchers at different institutions with the infrastructure and tools necessary to collaborate on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects relating to specific health outcomes for which major racial/ethnic disparities exist. In the past, the difficulty of overcoming the restrictions imposed by time and space have made it difficult to carry out this type of large-scale, multilevel collaboration efficiently. To address this formidable challenge, the RTRN will deploy a translational research cluster system that uses “cyber workspaces” to bring researchers with similar interests together by using online collaboratory technology. These virtual meeting environments will provide a number of tools, including videoconferences (seminars, works in progress, meetings); project management tools (WebCT, Microsoft Share Point); and posting areas for projects, concepts, and other research and educational activities. This technology will help enhance access to resources across institutions with a common mission, minimize many of the logistical hurdles that impede intellectual exchange, streamline the planning and implementation of innovative interdisciplinary research, and assess the use of protocols and practices to assist researchers in interacting across and within cyber workspaces. PMID:18646341

  17. Addressing health disparities through multi-institutional, multidisciplinary collaboratories.

    PubMed

    Fleming, Erik S; Perkins, James; Easa, David; Conde, José G; Baker, Richard S; Southerland, William M; Dottin, Robert; Benabe, Julio E; Ofili, Elizabeth O; Bond, Vincent C; McClure, Shelia A; Sayre, Michael H; Beanan, Maureen J; Norris, Keith C

    2008-01-01

    The national research leadership has recently become aware of the tremendous potential of translational research as an approach to address health disparities. The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Translational Research Network (RTRN) is a research network that supports multi-institutional, multidisciplinary collaboration with a focus on key diseases and conditions for which disproportionately adverse racial and ethnic health disparities exist. The RTRN is designed to facilitate the movement of scientific advances across the translational research spectrum by providing researchers at different institutions with the infrastructure and tools necessary to collaborate on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects relating to specific health outcomes for which major racial/ethnic disparities exist. In the past, the difficulty of overcoming the restrictions imposed by time and space have made it difficult to carry out this type of large-scale, multilevel collaboration efficiently. To address this formidable challenge, the RTRN will deploy a translational research cluster system that uses "cyber workspaces" to bring researchers with similar interests together by using online collaboratory technology. These virtual meeting environments will provide a number of tools, including videoconferences (seminars, works in progress, meetings); project management tools (WebCT, Microsoft Share Point); and posting areas for projects, concepts, and other research and educational activities. This technology will help enhance access to resources across institutions with a common mission, minimize many of the logistical hurdles that impede intellectual exchange, streamline the planning and implementation of innovative interdisciplinary research, and assess the use of protocols and practices to assist researchers in interacting across and within cyber workspaces.

  18. Quantum Materials at the Nanoscale - Final Report

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

    Cooper, Stephen Lance

    The central aim of the Quantum Materials at the Nanoscale (QMN) cluster was to understand and control collective behavior involving the interplay of spins, orbitals, and charges, which governs many scientifically interesting and technologically important phenomena in numerous complex materials. Because these phenomena involve various competing interactions, and influence properties on many different length and energy scales in complex materials, tackling this important area of study motivated a collaborative effort that combined the diverse capabilities of QMN cluster experimentalists, the essential theoretical analysis provided by QMN cluster theorists, and the outstanding facilities and staff of the FSMRL. During the fundingmore » period 2007-2014, the DOE cluster grant for the Quantum Materials at the Nanoscale (QMN) cluster supported, at various times, 15 different faculty members (14 in Physics and 1 in Materials Science and Engineering), 7 postdoctoral research associates, and 57 physics and materials science PhD students. 41 of these PhD students have since graduated and have gone on to a variety of advanced technical positions at universities, industries, and national labs: 25 obtained postdoctoral positions at universities (14), industrial labs (2 at IBM), DOE national facilities (3 at Argonne National Laboratory, 1 at Brookhaven National Lab, 1 at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and 1 at Sandia National Lab), and other federal facilities (2 at NIST); 13 took various industrial positions, including positions at Intel (5), Quantum Design (1), Lasque Industries (1), Amazon (1), Bloomberg (1), and J.P. Morgan (1). Thus, the QMN grant provided the essential support for training a large number of technically advanced personnel who have now entered key national facilities, industries, and institutions. Additionally, during the period 2007-2015, the QMN cluster produced 159 publications (see pages 14-23), including 23 papers published in Physical Review Letters; 16 papers in Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Materials, or Nature Communications; 4 papers in Science, and 8 papers in Applied Physics Letters. In this report, we provide some key highlights of the collaborative projects in which the QMN cluster members have been involved since 2007.« less

  19. Evaluation on Collaborative Satisfaction for Project Management Team in Integrated Project Delivery Mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, L.; Li, Y.; Wu, Q.

    2013-05-01

    Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a newly-developed project delivery approach for construction projects, and the level of collaboration of project management team is crucial to the success of its implementation. Existing research has shown that collaborative satisfaction is one of the key indicators of team collaboration. By reviewing the literature on team collaborative satisfaction and taking into consideration the characteristics of IPD projects, this paper summarizes the factors that influence collaborative satisfaction of IPD project management team. Based on these factors, this research develops a fuzzy linguistic method to effectively evaluate the level of team collaborative satisfaction, in which the authors adopted the 2-tuple linguistic variables and 2-tuple linguistic hybrid average operators to enhance the objectivity and accuracy of the evaluation. The paper demonstrates the practicality and effectiveness of the method through carrying out a case study with the method.

  20. SONG-China Project: A Global Automated Observation Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Z. Z.; Lu, X. M.; Tian, J. F.; Zhuang, C. G.; Wang, K.; Deng, L. C.

    2017-09-01

    Driven by advancements in technology and scientific objectives, data acquisition in observational astronomy has been changed greatly in recent years. Fully automated or even autonomous ground-based network of telescopes has now become a tendency for time-domain observational projects. The Stellar Observations Network Group (SONG) is an international collaboration with the participation and contribution of the Chinese astronomy community. The scientific goal of SONG is time-domain astrophysics such as asteroseismology and open cluster research. The SONG project aims to build a global network of 1 m telescopes equipped with high-precision and high-resolution spectrographs, and two-channel lucky-imaging cameras. It is the Chinese initiative to install a 50 cm binocular photometry telescope at each SONG node sharing the network platform and infrastructure. This work is focused on design and implementation in technology and methodology of SONG/50BiN, a typical ground-based network composed of multiple sites and a variety of instruments.

  1. Nationwide Natural Resource Inventory of the Philippines Using Lidar: Strategies, Progress, and Challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blanco, A. C.; Tamondong, A.; Perez, A. M.; Ang, M. R. C.; Paringit, E.; Alberto, R.; Alibuyog, N.; Aquino, D.; Ballado, A.; Garcia, P.; Japitana, M.; Ignacio, M. T.; Macandog, D.; Novero, A.; Otadoy, R. E.; Regis, E.; Rodriguez, M.; Silapan, J.; Villar, R.

    2016-06-01

    The Philippines has embarked on a detailed nationwide natural resource inventory using LiDAR through the Phil-LiDAR 2 Program. This 3-year program has developed and has been implementing mapping methodologies and protocols to produce high-resolution maps of agricultural, forest, coastal marine, hydrological features, and renewable energy resources. The Program has adopted strategies on system and process development, capacity building and enhancement, and expanding the network of collaborations. These strategies include training programs (on point cloud and image processing, GIS, and field surveys), workshops, forums, and colloquiums (program-wide, cluster-based, and project-based), and collaboration with partner national government agencies and other organizations. In place is a cycle of training, implementation, and feedback in order to continually improve the system and processes. To date, the Program has achieved progress in the development of workflows and in rolling out products such as resource maps and GIS data layers, which are indispensable in planning and decision-making. Challenges remains in speeding up output production (including quality checks) and in ensuring sustainability considering the short duration of the program. Enhancements in the workflows and protocols have been incorporated to address data quality and data availability issues. More trainings have been conducted for project staff hired to address human resource gaps. Collaborative arrangements with more partners are being established. To attain sustainability, the Program is developing and instituting a system of training, data updating and sharing, information utilization, and feedback. This requires collaboration and cooperation of the government agencies, LGUs, universities, other organizations, and the communities.

  2. QoE collaborative evaluation method based on fuzzy clustering heuristic algorithm.

    PubMed

    Bao, Ying; Lei, Weimin; Zhang, Wei; Zhan, Yuzhuo

    2016-01-01

    At present, to realize or improve the quality of experience (QoE) is a major goal for network media transmission service, and QoE evaluation is the basis for adjusting the transmission control mechanism. Therefore, a kind of QoE collaborative evaluation method based on fuzzy clustering heuristic algorithm is proposed in this paper, which is concentrated on service score calculation at the server side. The server side collects network transmission quality of service (QoS) parameter, node location data, and user expectation value from client feedback information. Then it manages the historical data in database through the "big data" process mode, and predicts user score according to heuristic rules. On this basis, it completes fuzzy clustering analysis, and generates service QoE score and management message, which will be finally fed back to clients. Besides, this paper mainly discussed service evaluation generative rules, heuristic evaluation rules and fuzzy clustering analysis methods, and presents service-based QoE evaluation processes. The simulation experiments have verified the effectiveness of QoE collaborative evaluation method based on fuzzy clustering heuristic rules.

  3. Clusters of community exposure to coastal flooding hazards based on storm and sea level rise scenarios—implications for adaptation networks in the San Francisco Bay region

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hummel, Michelle; Wood, Nathan J.; Schweikert, Amy; Stacey, Mark T.; Jones, Jeanne; Barnard, Patrick L.; Erikson, Li H.

    2018-01-01

    Sea level is projected to rise over the coming decades, further increasing the extent of flooding hazards in coastal communities. Efforts to address potential impacts from climate-driven coastal hazards have called for collaboration among communities to strengthen the application of best practices. However, communities currently lack practical tools for identifying potential partner communities based on similar hazard exposure characteristics. This study uses statistical cluster analysis to identify similarities in community exposure to flooding hazards for a suite of sea level rise and storm scenarios. We demonstrate this approach using 63 jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay region of California (USA) and compare 21 distinct exposure variables related to residents, employees, and structures for six hazard scenario combinations of sea level rise and storms. Results indicate that cluster analysis can provide an effective mechanism for identifying community groupings. Cluster compositions changed based on the selected societal variables and sea level rise scenarios, suggesting that a community could participate in multiple networks to target specific issues or policy interventions. The proposed clustering approach can serve as a data-driven foundation to help communities identify other communities with similar adaptation challenges and to enhance regional efforts that aim to facilitate adaptation planning and investment prioritization.

  4. Evaluation of diagnostic tools that tertiary teachers can apply to profile their students' conceptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schultz, Madeleine; Lawrie, Gwendolyn A.; Bailey, Chantal H.; Bedford, Simon B.; Dargaville, Tim R.; O'Brien, Glennys; Tasker, Roy; Thompson, Christopher D.; Williams, Mark; Wright, Anthony H.

    2017-03-01

    A multi-institution collaborative team of Australian chemistry education researchers, teaching a total of over 3000 first year chemistry students annually, has explored a tool for diagnosing students' prior conceptions as they enter tertiary chemistry courses. Five core topics were selected and clusters of diagnostic items were assembled linking related concepts in each topic together. An ordered multiple choice assessment strategy was adopted to enable provision of formative feedback to students through combination of the specific distractors that they chose. Concept items were either sourced from existing research instruments or developed by the project team. The outcome is a diagnostic tool consisting of five topic clusters of five concept items that has been delivered in large introductory chemistry classes at five Australian institutions. Statistical analysis of data has enabled exploration of the composition and validity of the instrument including a comparison between delivery of the complete 25 item instrument with subsets of five items, clustered by topic. This analysis revealed that most items retained their validity when delivered in small clusters. Tensions between the assembly, validation and delivery of diagnostic instruments for the purposes of acquiring robust psychometric research data versus their pragmatic use are considered in this study.

  5. Advances in Grid Computing for the FabrIc for Frontier Experiments Project at Fermialb

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

    Herner, K.; Alba Hernandex, A. F.; Bhat, S.

    The FabrIc for Frontier Experiments (FIFE) project is a major initiative within the Fermilab Scientic Computing Division charged with leading the computing model for Fermilab experiments. Work within the FIFE project creates close collaboration between experimenters and computing professionals to serve high-energy physics experiments of diering size, scope, and physics area. The FIFE project has worked to develop common tools for job submission, certicate management, software and reference data distribution through CVMFS repositories, robust data transfer, job monitoring, and databases for project tracking. Since the projects inception the experiments under the FIFE umbrella have signicantly matured, and present an increasinglymore » complex list of requirements to service providers. To meet these requirements, the FIFE project has been involved in transitioning the Fermilab General Purpose Grid cluster to support a partitionable slot model, expanding the resources available to experiments via the Open Science Grid, assisting with commissioning dedicated high-throughput computing resources for individual experiments, supporting the eorts of the HEP Cloud projects to provision a variety of back end resources, including public clouds and high performance computers, and developing rapid onboarding procedures for new experiments and collaborations. The larger demands also require enhanced job monitoring tools, which the project has developed using such tools as ElasticSearch and Grafana. in helping experiments manage their large-scale production work ows. This group in turn requires a structured service to facilitate smooth management of experiment requests, which FIFE provides in the form of the Production Operations Management Service (POMS). POMS is designed to track and manage requests from the FIFE experiments to run particular work ows, and support troubleshooting and triage in case of problems. Recently a new certicate management infrastructure called Distributed Computing Access with Federated Identities (DCAFI) has been put in place that has eliminated our dependence on a Fermilab-specic third-party Certicate Authority service and better accommodates FIFE collaborators without a Fermilab Kerberos account. DCAFI integrates the existing InCommon federated identity infrastructure, CILogon Basic CA, and a MyProxy service using a new general purpose open source tool. We will discuss the general FIFE onboarding strategy, progress in expanding FIFE experiments presence on the Open Science Grid, new tools for job monitoring, the POMS service, and the DCAFI project.« less

  6. Advances in Grid Computing for the Fabric for Frontier Experiments Project at Fermilab

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herner, K.; Alba Hernandez, A. F.; Bhat, S.; Box, D.; Boyd, J.; Di Benedetto, V.; Ding, P.; Dykstra, D.; Fattoruso, M.; Garzoglio, G.; Kirby, M.; Kreymer, A.; Levshina, T.; Mazzacane, A.; Mengel, M.; Mhashilkar, P.; Podstavkov, V.; Retzke, K.; Sharma, N.; Teheran, J.

    2017-10-01

    The Fabric for Frontier Experiments (FIFE) project is a major initiative within the Fermilab Scientific Computing Division charged with leading the computing model for Fermilab experiments. Work within the FIFE project creates close collaboration between experimenters and computing professionals to serve high-energy physics experiments of differing size, scope, and physics area. The FIFE project has worked to develop common tools for job submission, certificate management, software and reference data distribution through CVMFS repositories, robust data transfer, job monitoring, and databases for project tracking. Since the projects inception the experiments under the FIFE umbrella have significantly matured, and present an increasingly complex list of requirements to service providers. To meet these requirements, the FIFE project has been involved in transitioning the Fermilab General Purpose Grid cluster to support a partitionable slot model, expanding the resources available to experiments via the Open Science Grid, assisting with commissioning dedicated high-throughput computing resources for individual experiments, supporting the efforts of the HEP Cloud projects to provision a variety of back end resources, including public clouds and high performance computers, and developing rapid onboarding procedures for new experiments and collaborations. The larger demands also require enhanced job monitoring tools, which the project has developed using such tools as ElasticSearch and Grafana. in helping experiments manage their large-scale production workflows. This group in turn requires a structured service to facilitate smooth management of experiment requests, which FIFE provides in the form of the Production Operations Management Service (POMS). POMS is designed to track and manage requests from the FIFE experiments to run particular workflows, and support troubleshooting and triage in case of problems. Recently a new certificate management infrastructure called Distributed Computing Access with Federated Identities (DCAFI) has been put in place that has eliminated our dependence on a Fermilab-specific third-party Certificate Authority service and better accommodates FIFE collaborators without a Fermilab Kerberos account. DCAFI integrates the existing InCommon federated identity infrastructure, CILogon Basic CA, and a MyProxy service using a new general purpose open source tool. We will discuss the general FIFE onboarding strategy, progress in expanding FIFE experiments presence on the Open Science Grid, new tools for job monitoring, the POMS service, and the DCAFI project.

  7. Insights from Hydrogen Refueling Station Manufacturing Competitiveness Analysis

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

    Mayyas, Ahmad

    2015-12-18

    In work for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC), NREL is currently collaborating with Great Lakes Wind Network in conducting a comprehensive hydrogen refueling stations manufacturing competitiveness and supply chain analyses. In this project, CEMAC will be looking at several metrics that will facilitate understanding of the interactions between and within the HRS supply chain, such metrics include innovation potential, intellectual properties, learning curves, related industries and clustering, existing supply chains, ease of doing business, and regulations and safety. This presentation to Fuel Cell Seminar and Energy Exposition 2015 highlights initial findings from CEMAC's analysis.

  8. Image Recommendation Algorithm Using Feature-Based Collaborative Filtering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Deok-Hwan

    As the multimedia contents market continues its rapid expansion, the amount of image contents used in mobile phone services, digital libraries, and catalog service is increasing remarkably. In spite of this rapid growth, users experience high levels of frustration when searching for the desired image. Even though new images are profitable to the service providers, traditional collaborative filtering methods cannot recommend them. To solve this problem, in this paper, we propose feature-based collaborative filtering (FBCF) method to reflect the user's most recent preference by representing his purchase sequence in the visual feature space. The proposed approach represents the images that have been purchased in the past as the feature clusters in the multi-dimensional feature space and then selects neighbors by using an inter-cluster distance function between their feature clusters. Various experiments using real image data demonstrate that the proposed approach provides a higher quality recommendation and better performance than do typical collaborative filtering and content-based filtering techniques.

  9. The DataBridge: A System For Optimizing The Use Of Dark Data From The Long Tail Of Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lander, H.; Rajasekar, A.

    2015-12-01

    The DataBridge is a National Science Foundation funded collaborative project (OCI-1247652, OCI-1247602, OCI-1247663) designed to assist in the discovery of dark data sets from the long tail of science. The DataBridge aims to to build queryable communities of datasets using sociometric network analysis. This approach is being tested to evaluate the ability to leverage various forms of metadata to facilitate discovery of new knowledge. Each dataset in the Databridge has an associated name space used as a first level partitioning. In addition to testing known algorithms for SNA community building, the DataBridge project has built a message-based platform that allows users to provide their own algorithms for each of the stages in the community building process. The stages are: Signature Generation (SG): An SG algorithm creates a metadata signature for a dataset. Signature algorithms might use text metadata provided by the dataset creator or derive metadata. Relevance Algorithm (RA): An RA compares a pair of datasets and produces a similarity value between 0 and 1 for the two datasets. Sociometric Network Analysis (SNA): The SNA will operate on a similarity matrix produced by an RA to partition all of the datasets in the name space into a set of clusters. These clusters represent communities of closely related datasets. The DataBridge also includes a web application that produces a visual representation of the clustering. Future work includes a more complete application that will allow different types of searching of the network of datasets. The DataBridge approach is relevant to geoscience research and informatics. In this presentation we will outline the project, illustrate the deployment of the approach, and discuss other potential applications and next steps for the research such as applying this approach to models. In addition we will explore the relevance of DataBridge to other geoscience projects such as various EarthCube Building Blocks and DIBBS projects.

  10. The HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Freedman, W. L.

    1994-12-01

    One of the major unresolved problems in observational cosmology is the determination of the Hubble Constant, (H_0). The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale aims to provide a measure of H_0 to an accuracy of 10%. Historically the route to H_0 has been plagued by systematic errors; hence there is no quick and easy route to a believeable value of H_0. Achieving plausible error limits of 10% requires careful attention to eliminating potential sources of systematic error. The strategy adopted by the Key Project team is threefold: First, to discover Cepheids in spiral galaxies located in the field and in small groups that are suitable for the calibration of several independent secondary methods. Second, to make direct Cepheid measurements of 3 spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster and 2 members of the Fornax cluster. Third, to provide a check on the the Cepheid distance scale via independent distance estimates to nearby galaxies, and in addition, to undertake an empirical test of the sensitivity of the zero point of the Cepheid PL relation to heavy-element abundances. First results from the HST Key Project will be presented. We have now determined Cepheid distances to 4 galaxies using the HST: these are the nearby galaxies M81 and M101, the edge-on galaxy NGC 925, and the face-on spiral galaxy M100 in the Virgo cluster. Recently we have measured a Cepheid distance for M100 of 17 +/- 2 Mpc, which yields a value of H_0 = 80 +/- 17 km/sec/Mpc. This work was carried out in collaboration with the other members of the HST Key Project team, R. Kennicutt, J. Mould, F. Bresolin, S. Faber, L. Ferrarese, H. Ford, J. Graham, J. Gunn, M. Han, P. Harding, J. Hoessel, R. Hill, J. Huchra, S. Hughes, G. Illingworth, D. Kelson, B. Madore, R. Phelps, A. Saha, N. Silbermann, P. Stetson, and A. Turner.

  11. The Integration of a Three-Year-Long Intercultural Collaborative Project into a Foreign Language Classroom for the Development of Intercultural Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirotani, Maki; Fujii, Kiyomi

    2015-01-01

    Many studies on intercultural communication introduced how their collaborative projects were conducted. There are also several studies that discuss how intercultural collaborative activities can be integrated into a foreign language curriculum, as well as a big project (the INTENT project) that helps teachers integrate collaborative activities…

  12. The Canadian Preterm Birth Network: a study protocol for improving outcomes for preterm infants and their families

    PubMed Central

    Shah, Prakesh S.; McDonald, Sarah D.; Barrett, Jon; Synnes, Anne; Robson, Kate; Foster, Jonathan; Pasquier, Jean-Charles; Joseph, K.S.; Piedboeuf, Bruno; Lacaze-Masmonteil, Thierry; O'Brien, Karel; Shivananda, Sandesh; Chaillet, Nils; Pechlivanoglou, Petros

    2018-01-01

    Background: Preterm birth (birth before 37 wk of gestation) occurs in about 8% of pregnancies in Canada and is associated with high mortality and morbidity rates that substantially affect infants, their families and the health care system. Our overall goal is to create a transdisciplinary platform, the Canadian Preterm Birth Network (CPTBN), where investigators, stakeholders and families will work together to improve childhood outcomes of preterm neonates. Methods: Our national cohort will include 24 maternal-fetal/obstetrical units, 31 neonatal intensive care units and 26 neonatal follow-up programs across Canada with planned linkages to provincial health information systems. Three broad clusters of projects will be undertaken. Cluster 1 will focus on quality-improvement efforts that use the Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality method to evaluate information from the CPTBN database and review the current literature, then identify potentially better health care practices and implement identified strategies. Cluster 2 will assess the impact of current practices and practice changes in maternal, perinatal and neonatal care on maternal, neonatal and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Cluster 3 will evaluate the effect of preterm birth on babies, their families and the health care system by integrating CPTBN data, parent feedback, and national and provincial database information in order to identify areas where more parental support is needed, and also generate robust estimates of resource use, cost and cost-effectiveness around preterm neonatal care. Interpretation: These collaborative efforts will create a flexible, transdisciplinary, evaluable and informative research and quality-improvement platform that supports programs, projects and partnerships focused on improving outcomes of preterm neonates. PMID:29348260

  13. Structuring Communication Relationships for Interprofessional Teamwork (SCRIPT): a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Zwarenstein, Merrick; Reeves, Scott; Russell, Ann; Kenaszchuk, Chris; Conn, Lesley Gotlib; Miller, Karen-Lee; Lingard, Lorelei; Thorpe, Kevin E

    2007-09-18

    Despite a burgeoning interest in using interprofessional approaches to promote effective collaboration in health care, systematic reviews find scant evidence of benefit. This protocol describes the first cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to design and evaluate an intervention intended to improve interprofessional collaborative communication and patient-centred care. The objective is to evaluate the effects of a four-component, hospital-based staff communication protocol designed to promote collaborative communication between healthcare professionals and enhance patient-centred care. The study is a multi-centre mixed-methods cluster randomized controlled trial involving twenty clinical teaching teams (CTTs) in general internal medicine (GIM) divisions of five Toronto tertiary-care hospitals. CTTs will be randomly assigned either to receive an intervention designed to improve interprofessional collaborative communication, or to continue usual communication practices. Non-participant naturalistic observation, shadowing, and semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore existing patterns of interprofessional collaboration in the CTTs, and to support intervention development. Interviews and shadowing will continue during intervention delivery in order to document interactions between the intervention settings and adopters, and changes in interprofessional communication. The primary outcome is the rate of unplanned hospital readmission. Secondary outcomes are length of stay (LOS); adherence to evidence-based prescription drug therapy; patients' satisfaction with care; self-report surveys of CTT staff perceptions of interprofessional collaboration; and frequency of calls to paging devices. Outcomes will be compared on an intention-to-treat basis using adjustment methods appropriate for data from a cluster randomized design. Pre-intervention qualitative analysis revealed that a substantial amount of interprofessional interaction lacks key core elements of collaborative communication such as self-introduction, description of professional role, and solicitation of other professional perspectives. Incorporating these findings, a four-component intervention was designed with a goal of creating a culture of communication in which the fundamentals of collaboration become a routine part of interprofessional interactions during unstructured work periods on GIM wards. Registered with National Institutes of Health as NCT00466297.

  14. International scientific collaboration in HIV and HPV: a network analysis.

    PubMed

    Vanni, Tazio; Mesa-Frias, Marco; Sanchez-Garcia, Ruben; Roesler, Rafael; Schwartsmann, Gilberto; Goldani, Marcelo Z; Foss, Anna M

    2014-01-01

    Research endeavours require the collaborative effort of an increasing number of individuals. International scientific collaborations are particularly important for HIV and HPV co-infection studies, since the burden of disease is rising in developing countries, but most experts and research funds are found in developed countries, where the prevalence of HIV is low. The objective of our study was to investigate patterns of international scientific collaboration in HIV and HPV research using social network analysis. Through a systematic review of the literature, we obtained epidemiological data, as well as data on countries and authors involved in co-infection studies. The collaboration network was analysed in respect to the following: centrality, density, modularity, connected components, distance, clustering and spectral clustering. We observed that for many low- and middle-income countries there were no epidemiological estimates of HPV infection of the cervix among HIV-infected individuals. Most studies found only involved researchers from the same country (64%). Studies derived from international collaborations including high-income countries and either low- or middle-income countries had on average three times larger sample sizes than those including only high-income countries or low-income countries. The high global clustering coefficient (0.9) coupled with a short average distance between researchers (4.34) suggests a "small-world phenomenon." Researchers from high-income countries seem to have higher degree centrality and tend to cluster together in densely connected communities. We found a large well-connected community, which encompasses 70% of researchers, and 49 other small isolated communities. Our findings suggest that in the field of HIV and HPV, there seems to be both room and incentives for researchers to engage in collaborations between countries of different income-level. Through international collaboration resources available to researchers in high-income countries can be efficiently used to enroll more participants in low- and middle-income countries.

  15. A parallel-processing approach to computing for the geographic sciences

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crane, Michael; Steinwand, Dan; Beckmann, Tim; Krpan, Greg; Haga, Jim; Maddox, Brian; Feller, Mark

    2001-01-01

    The overarching goal of this project is to build a spatially distributed infrastructure for information science research by forming a team of information science researchers and providing them with similar hardware and software tools to perform collaborative research. Four geographically distributed Centers of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are developing their own clusters of low-cost personal computers into parallel computing environments that provide a costeffective way for the USGS to increase participation in the high-performance computing community. Referred to as Beowulf clusters, these hybrid systems provide the robust computing power required for conducting research into various areas, such as advanced computer architecture, algorithms to meet the processing needs for real-time image and data processing, the creation of custom datasets from seamless source data, rapid turn-around of products for emergency response, and support for computationally intense spatial and temporal modeling.

  16. Exploiting the Use of Social Networking to Facilitate Collaboration in the Scientific Community

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

    Coppock, Edrick G.

    The goal of this project was to exploit social networking to facilitate scientific collaboration. The project objective was to research and identify scientific collaboration styles that are best served by social networking applications and to model the most effective social networking applications to substantiate how social networking can support scientific collaboration. To achieve this goal and objective, the project was to develop an understanding of the types of collaborations conducted by scientific researchers, through classification, data analysis and identification of unique collaboration requirements. Another technical objective in support of this goal was to understand the current state of technology inmore » collaboration tools. In order to test hypotheses about which social networking applications effectively support scientific collaboration the project was to create a prototype scientific collaboration system. The ultimate goal for testing the hypotheses and research of the project was to refine the prototype into a functional application that could effectively facilitate and grow collaboration within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research community.« less

  17. An effective trust-based recommendation method using a novel graph clustering algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moradi, Parham; Ahmadian, Sajad; Akhlaghian, Fardin

    2015-10-01

    Recommender systems are programs that aim to provide personalized recommendations to users for specific items (e.g. music, books) in online sharing communities or on e-commerce sites. Collaborative filtering methods are important and widely accepted types of recommender systems that generate recommendations based on the ratings of like-minded users. On the other hand, these systems confront several inherent issues such as data sparsity and cold start problems, caused by fewer ratings against the unknowns that need to be predicted. Incorporating trust information into the collaborative filtering systems is an attractive approach to resolve these problems. In this paper, we present a model-based collaborative filtering method by applying a novel graph clustering algorithm and also considering trust statements. In the proposed method first of all, the problem space is represented as a graph and then a sparsest subgraph finding algorithm is applied on the graph to find the initial cluster centers. Then, the proposed graph clustering algorithm is performed to obtain the appropriate users/items clusters. Finally, the identified clusters are used as a set of neighbors to recommend unseen items to the current active user. Experimental results based on three real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms several state-of-the-art recommender system methods.

  18. Students' approaches to learning in clinical interprofessional context.

    PubMed

    Hylin, Uffe; Lonka, Kirsti; Ponzer, Sari

    2011-01-01

    Health care professionals are supposed to work in teams. Students in health care need to learn how to collaborate during their undergraduate education. Interprofessional learning environments, where collaboration is necessary, may be differently accepted by students depending on their approach to learning. We investigated health care students' evaluations of interprofessional clinical training in relation to their study orientations. The participants were 369 students (40 occupational therapy-, 85 medical-, 52 physiotherapy-, and 192 nursing students) attending an IPE course at a Swedish University Hospital. Data were collected by questionnaires measuring orientations to studying and attitudes towards the clinical training and the IPE concept before and after the training. The response rate was 77 %. Study groups were formed by a cluster analysis on the basis of the students' learning orientations. Three clusters were found: Low collaboration-, Collaborative Constructivist-, and Cookbook groups. These clusters were related to different professions and how students perceived their interprofessional learning environment. Study orientations appear to play a role in the way students evaluate interprofessional training. This should be taken into account in instruction. Students with a 'Cookbook' approach to learning showed an increased understanding of interprofessional collaboration after the course.

  19. Clustering Strategy in Intellectually Gifted Children: Assessment Using a Collaborative Recall Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Huan; Zhang, Xingli; He, Yunfeng; Shi, Jiannong

    2017-01-01

    This study examined three aspects of the clustering strategy used by participants: the differences of clustering strategy between intellectually gifted and average children; the relationship between clustering strategy and recall performance in intellectually gifted and average children; and the differences in recall performance on collaborative…

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

    Pendse, Hemant P.

    Maine and its industries identified more efficient utilization of biomass as a critical economic development issue. In Phase I of this implementation project, a research team was assembled, research equipment was implemented and expertise was demonstrated in pyrolysis, hydrodeoxygenation of pyrolysis oils, catalyst synthesis and characterization, and reaction engineering. Phase II built upon the infrastructure to innovate reaction pathways and process engineering, and integrate new approaches for fuels and chemical production within pulp and paper and other industries within the state. This research cluster brought together chemists, engineers, physicists and students from the University of Maine, Bates College, and Bowdoinmore » College. The project developed collaborations with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory. The specific research projects within this proposal were of critical interest to the DoE - in particular the biomass program within EERE and the catalysis/chemical transformations program within BES. Scientific and Technical Merit highlights of this project included: (1) synthesis and physical characterization of novel size-selective catalyst/supports using engineered mesoporous (1-10 nm diameter pores) materials, (2) advances in fundamental knowledge of novel support/ metal catalyst systems tailored for pyrolysis oil upgrading, (3) a microcalorimetric sensing technique, (4) improved methods for pyrolysis oil characterization, (5) production and characterization of woody biomass-derived pyrolysis oils, (6) development of two new patented bio oil pathways: thermal deoxygenation (TDO) and formate assisted pyrolysis (FASP), and (7) technoeconomics of pyrolysis of Maine forest biomass. This research cluster has provided fundamental knowledge to enable and assess pathways to thermally convert biomass to hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.« less

  1. Collaborative Clustering for Sensor Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wagstaff. Loro :/; Green Jillian; Lane, Terran

    2011-01-01

    Traditionally, nodes in a sensor network simply collect data and then pass it on to a centralized node that archives, distributes, and possibly analyzes the data. However, analysis at the individual nodes could enable faster detection of anomalies or other interesting events, as well as faster responses such as sending out alerts or increasing the data collection rate. There is an additional opportunity for increased performance if individual nodes can communicate directly with their neighbors. Previously, a method was developed by which machine learning classification algorithms could collaborate to achieve high performance autonomously (without requiring human intervention). This method worked for supervised learning algorithms, in which labeled data is used to train models. The learners collaborated by exchanging labels describing the data. The new advance enables clustering algorithms, which do not use labeled data, to also collaborate. This is achieved by defining a new language for collaboration that uses pair-wise constraints to encode useful information for other learners. These constraints specify that two items must, or cannot, be placed into the same cluster. Previous work has shown that clustering with these constraints (in isolation) already improves performance. In the problem formulation, each learner resides at a different node in the sensor network and makes observations (collects data) independently of the other learners. Each learner clusters its data and then selects a pair of items about which it is uncertain and uses them to query its neighbors. The resulting feedback (a must and cannot constraint from each neighbor) is combined by the learner into a consensus constraint, and it then reclusters its data while incorporating the new constraint. A strategy was also proposed for cleaning the resulting constraint sets, which may contain conflicting constraints; this improves performance significantly. This approach has been applied to collaborative clustering of seismic and infrasonic data collected by the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory in Antarctica. Previous approaches to distributed clustering cannot readily be applied in a sensor network setting, because they assume that each node has the same view of the data set. A view is the set of features used to represent each object. When a single data set is partitioned across several computational nodes, distributed clustering works; all objects have the same view. But when the data is collected from different locations, using different sensors, a more flexible approach is needed. This approach instead operates in situations where the data collected at each node has a different view (e.g., seismic vs. infrasonic sensors), but they observe the same events. This enables them to exchange information about the likely cluster membership relations between objects, even if they do not use the same features to represent the objects.

  2. The study designed by a committee: design of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project.

    PubMed

    Henry, David B; Farrell, Albert D

    2004-01-01

    This article describes the research design of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project (MVPP), organized and funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC's objectives, refined in the course of collaboration among investigators, were to evaluate the efficacy of universal and targeted interventions designed to produce change at the school level. The project's design was developed collaboratively, and is a 2 x 2 cluster-randomized true experimental design in which schools within four separate sites were assigned randomly to four conditions: (1) no-intervention control group, (2) universal intervention, (3) targeted intervention, and (4) combined universal and targeted interventions. A total of 37 schools are participating in this study with 8-12 schools per site. The impact of the interventions on two successive cohorts of sixth-grade students will be assessed based on multiple waves of data from multiple sources of information, including teachers, students, parents, and archival data. The nesting of students within teachers, families, schools and sites created a number of challenges for designing and implementing the study. The final design represents both resolution and compromise on a number of creative tensions existing in large-scale prevention trials, including tensions between cost and statistical power, and between internal and external validity. Strengths and limitations of the final design are discussed.

  3. A web-based online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varikuti, Sainath

    Effective communication and collaboration among students, faculty and industrial sponsors play a vital role while formulating and solving engineering design projects. With the advent in the web technology, online platforms and systems have been proposed to facilitate interactions and collaboration among different stakeholders in the context of senior design projects. However, there are noticeable gaps in the literature with respect to understanding the effects of online collaboration platforms for formulating engineering design projects. Most of the existing literature is focused on exploring the utility of online platforms on activities after the problem is defined and teams are formed. Also, there is a lack of mechanisms and tools to guide the project formation phase in senior design projects, which makes it challenging for students and faculty to collaboratively develop and refine project ideas and to establish appropriate teams. In this thesis a web-based online collaboration platform is designed and implemented to share, discuss and obtain feedback on project ideas and to facilitate collaboration among students and faculty prior to the start of the semester. The goal of this thesis is to understand the impact of an online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects, and how a web-based online collaboration platform affects the amount of interactions among stakeholders during the early phases of design process. A survey measuring the amount of interactions among students and faculty is administered. Initial findings show a marked improvement in the students' ability to share project ideas and form teams with other students and faculty. Students found the online platform simple to use. The suggestions for improving the tool generally included features that were not necessarily design specific, indicating that the underlying concept of this collaborative platform provides a strong basis and can be extended for future online platforms. Although the platform was designed to promote collaboration, adoption of the collaborative platform by students and faculty has been slow. While the platform appears to be very useful for collaboration, more time is required for it to be widely used by all the stakeholders and to fully convert from email communication to the use of the online collaboration platform.

  4. Clustering cancer gene expression data by projective clustering ensemble

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Xianxue; Yu, Guoxian

    2017-01-01

    Gene expression data analysis has paramount implications for gene treatments, cancer diagnosis and other domains. Clustering is an important and promising tool to analyze gene expression data. Gene expression data is often characterized by a large amount of genes but with limited samples, thus various projective clustering techniques and ensemble techniques have been suggested to combat with these challenges. However, it is rather challenging to synergy these two kinds of techniques together to avoid the curse of dimensionality problem and to boost the performance of gene expression data clustering. In this paper, we employ a projective clustering ensemble (PCE) to integrate the advantages of projective clustering and ensemble clustering, and to avoid the dilemma of combining multiple projective clusterings. Our experimental results on publicly available cancer gene expression data show PCE can improve the quality of clustering gene expression data by at least 4.5% (on average) than other related techniques, including dimensionality reduction based single clustering and ensemble approaches. The empirical study demonstrates that, to further boost the performance of clustering cancer gene expression data, it is necessary and promising to synergy projective clustering with ensemble clustering. PCE can serve as an effective alternative technique for clustering gene expression data. PMID:28234920

  5. [Collaborative and stepped care for depression: Development of a model project within the Hamburg Network for Mental Health (psychenet.de)].

    PubMed

    Härter, Martin; Heddaeus, Daniela; Steinmann, Maya; Schreiber, Robert; Brettschneider, Christian; König, Hans-Helmut; Watzke, Birgit

    2015-04-01

    Depression is one of the most widespread mental disorders in Germany and causes a great suffering and involves high costs. Guidelines recommend stepped and interdisciplinary collaborative care models for the treatment of depression. Stepped and collaborative care models are described regarding their efficacy and cost-effectiveness. A current model project within the Hamburg Network for Mental Health exemplifies how guideline-based stepped diagnostics and treatment incorporating innovative low-intensity interventions are implemented by a large network of health care professionals and clinics. An accompanying evaluation using a cluster randomized controlled design assesses depressive symptom reduction and cost-effectiveness for patients treated within "Health Network Depression" ("Gesundheitsnetz Depression", a subproject of psychenet.de) compared with patients treated in routine care. Over 90 partners from inpatient and outpatient treatment have been successfully involved in recruiting over 600 patients within the stepped care model. Communication in the network was greatly facilitated by the use of an innovative online tool for the supply and reservation of treatment capacities. The participating professionals profit from the improved infrastructure and the implementation of advanced training and quality circle work. New treatment models can greatly improve the treatment of depression owing to their explicit reference to guidelines, the establishment of algorithms for diagnostics and treatment, the integration of practices and clinics, in addition to the implementation of low-intensity treatment alternatives. These models could promote the development of a disease management program for depression.

  6. Examining the Emergence of Large-Scale Structures in Collaboration Networks: Methods in Sociological Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghosh, Jaideep; Kshitij, Avinash

    2017-01-01

    This article introduces a number of methods that can be useful for examining the emergence of large-scale structures in collaboration networks. The study contributes to sociological research by investigating how clusters of research collaborators evolve and sometimes percolate in a collaboration network. Typically, we find that in our networks,…

  7. Photometric redshifts as a tool for studying the Coma cluster galaxy populations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adami, C.; Ilbert, O.; Pelló, R.; Cuillandre, J. C.; Durret, F.; Mazure, A.; Picat, J. P.; Ulmer, M. P.

    2008-12-01

    Aims: We apply photometric redshift techniques to an investigation of the Coma cluster galaxy luminosity function (GLF) at faint magnitudes, in particular in the u* band where basically no studies are presently available at these magnitudes. Methods: Cluster members were selected based on probability distribution function from photometric redshift calculations applied to deep u^*, B, V, R, I images covering a region of almost 1 deg2 (completeness limit R ~ 24). In the area covered only by the u* image, the GLF was also derived after a statistical background subtraction. Results: Global and local GLFs in the B, V, R, and I bands obtained with photometric redshift selection are consistent with our previous results based on a statistical background subtraction. The GLF in the u* band shows an increase in the faint end slope towards the outer regions of the cluster. The analysis of the multicolor type spatial distribution reveals that late type galaxies are distributed in clumps in the cluster outskirts, where X-ray substructures are also detected and where the GLF in the u* band is steeper. Conclusions: We can reproduce the GLFs computed with classical statistical subtraction methods by applying a photometric redshift technique. The u* GLF slope is steeper in the cluster outskirts, varying from α ~ -1 in the cluster center to α ~ -2 in the cluster periphery. The concentrations of faint late type galaxies in the cluster outskirts could explain these very steep slopes, assuming a short burst of star formation in these galaxies when entering the cluster. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is also partly based on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. Also based on data from W. M. Keck Observatory which is operated as a scientific partnership between the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and NASA. It was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

  8. A Pilot Study: Facilitating Cross-Cultural Understanding with Project-Based Collaborative Learning in an Online Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shadiev, Rustam; Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Huang, Yueh-Min

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated three aspects: how project-based collaborative learning facilitates cross-cultural understanding; how students perceive project-based collaborative learning implementation in a collaborative cyber community (3C) online environment; and what types of communication among students are used. A qualitative case study approach…

  9. Do project management and network governance contribute to inter-organisational collaboration in primary care? A mixed methods study.

    PubMed

    Schepman, Sanneke; Valentijn, Pim; Bruijnzeels, Marc; Maaijen, Marlies; de Bakker, Dinny; Batenburg, Ronald; de Bont, Antoinette

    2018-06-07

    The need for organisational development in primary care has increased as it is accepted as a means of curbing rising costs and responding to demographic transitions. It is only within such inter-organisational networks that small-scale practices can offer treatment to complex patients and continuity of care. The aim of this paper is to explore, through the experience of professionals and patients, whether, and how, project management and network governance can improve the outcomes of projects which promote inter-organisational collaboration in primary care. This paper describes a study of projects aimed at improving inter-organisational collaboration in Dutch primary care. The projects' success in project management and network governance was monitored by interviewing project leaders and board members on the one hand, and improvement in the collaboration by surveying professionals and patients on the other. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to assess the projects. These were analysed, finally, using multi-level models in order to account for the variation in the projects, professionals and patients. Successful network governance was associated positively with the professionals' satisfaction with the collaboration; but not with improvements in the quality of care as experienced by patients. Neither patients nor professionals perceived successful project management as associated with the outcomes of the collaboration projects. This study shows that network governance in particular makes a difference to the outcomes of inter-organisational collaboration in primary care. However, project management is not a predictor for successful inter-organisational collaboration in primary care.

  10. The Ilgarijiri Project: A collaboration between Aboriginal communities and radio astronomers in the Murchison Region of Western Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goldsmith, John

    2014-07-01

    The international radio astronomy initiative known as the Square Kilometre Array is a cutting-edge science project, aimed atdramatically expanding our vision and understanding of the Universe. The $2billion+ international project is being shared between Southern Africa and Australia. The Australian component, centred in the Murchison region of Western Australia, is based upon collaboration with Aboriginal communities. A collaborative project called "Ilgarijiri- Things Belonging to the Sky" shared scientific and Aboriginal knowledge of the night sky. Through a series of collaborative meetings and knowledge sharing, the Ilgarijiri project developed and showcased Aboriginal knowledge of the night sky, via an international touring Aboriginal art exhibition, in Australia, South Africa, the USA and Europe. The Aboriginal art exhibition presents Aboriginal stories relating to the night sky, which prominently feature the 'Seven Sisters' and the 'Emu', as well as the collaborative experience with radio astronomers. The success of the Ilgarijiri collaborative project is based upon several principles, which can help to inform and guide future cultural collaborative projects.

  11. Folksonomies and clustering in the collaborative system CiteULike

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Capocci, Andrea; Caldarelli, Guido

    2008-06-01

    We analyze CiteULike, an online collaborative tagging system where users bookmark and annotate scientific papers. Such a system can be naturally represented as a tri-partite graph whose nodes represent papers, users and tags connected by individual tag assignments. The semantics of tags is studied here, in order to uncover the hidden relationships between tags. We find that the clustering coefficient can be used to analyze the semantical patterns among tags.

  12. Global Collaborative STEM Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meabh Kelly, Susan; Smith, Walter

    2016-04-01

    Global Collaborative STEM Education, as the name suggests, simultaneously supports two sets of knowledge and skills. The first set is STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math. The other set of content knowledge and skills is that of global collaboration. Successful global partnerships require awareness of one's own culture, the biases embedded within that culture, as well as developing awareness of the collaborators' culture. Workforce skills fostered include open-mindedness, perseverance when faced with obstacles, and resourceful use of technological "bridges" to facilitate and sustain communication. In respect for the 2016 GIFT Workshop focus, Global Collaborative STEM Education projects dedicated to astronomy research will be presented. The projects represent different benchmarks within the Global Collaborative STEM Education continuum, culminating in an astronomy research experience that fully reflects how the global STEM workforce collaborates. To facilitate wider engagement in Global Collaborative STEM Education, project summaries, classroom resources and contact information for established international collaborative astronomy research projects will be disseminated.

  13. A Comprehensive Careers Cluster Curriculum Model. Health Occupations Cluster Curriculum Project and Health-Care Aide Curriculum Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bortz, Richard F.

    To prepare learning materials for health careers programs at the secondary level, the developmental phase of two curriculum projects--the Health Occupations Cluster Curriculum Project and Health-Care Aide Curriculum Project--utilized a model which incorporated a key factor analysis technique. Entitled "A Comprehensive Careers Cluster Curriculum…

  14. The National Library of Medicine's Native American outreach portfolio: a descriptive overview*

    PubMed Central

    Wood, Frederick B.; Siegel, Elliot R.; Dutcher, Gale A.; Ruffin, Angela; Logan, Robert A.; Scott, John C.

    2005-01-01

    Objectives: This paper provides the most complete accounting of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM's) Native outreach since 1995, when there were only a few scattered projects. Method: The descriptive overview is based on a review of project reports, inventories, and databases and input from the NLM Specialized Information Services Division, National Network Office of the Library Operations Division, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and Office of Health Information Programs Development of the Office of the NLM Director. The overview focuses on NLM-supported or sponsored outreach initiatives involving Native peoples: American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Results: The review of NLM's relevant activities resulted in a portfolio of projects that clustered naturally into the following areas: major multisite projects: Tribal Connections and related, Native American Information Internship Project: Sacred Root, tribal college outreach and tribal librarianship projects, collaboration with inter-tribal and national organizations, participation in Native American Powwows, Native American Listening Circle Project, Native American Health Information, and other Native American outreach projects. Implications: NLM's Native American Outreach reached programmatic status as of late 2004. The companion paper identifies several areas of possible new or enhanced Native outreach activities. Both papers highlight the importance of solid reporting and evaluation to optimize project results and programmatic balance and priorities. PMID:16239955

  15. The National Library of Medicine's Native American outreach portfolio: a descriptive overview.

    PubMed

    Wood, Frederick B; Siegel, Elliot R; Dutcher, Gale A; Ruffin, Angela; Logan, Robert A; Scott, John C

    2005-10-01

    This paper provides the most complete accounting of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM's) Native outreach since 1995, when there were only a few scattered projects. The descriptive overview is based on a review of project reports, inventories, and databases and input from the NLM Specialized Information Services Division, National Network Office of the Library Operations Division, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and Office of Health Information Programs Development of the Office of the NLM Director. The overview focuses on NLM-supported or sponsored outreach initiatives involving Native peoples: American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. The review of NLM's relevant activities resulted in a portfolio of projects that clustered naturally into the following areas: major multisite projects: Tribal Connections and related, Native American Information Internship Project: Sacred Root, tribal college outreach and tribal librarianship projects, collaboration with inter-tribal and national organizations, participation in Native American Powwows, Native American Listening Circle Project, Native American Health Information, and other Native American outreach projects. NLM's Native American Outreach reached programmatic status as of late 2004. The companion paper identifies several areas of possible new or enhanced Native outreach activities. Both papers highlight the importance of solid reporting and evaluation to optimize project results and programmatic balance and priorities.

  16. An Attributional Analysis of Personal and Interpersonal Motivation for Collaborative Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Sarah E.; Schreiber, James B.

    2006-01-01

    Attribution theory provides a framework for examining personal and interpersonal motivation for collaborative projects. Undergraduates were asked to read vignettes concerning student dyads engaged in collaborative projects. The vignettes systematically varied on outcome of the project, student self-ability, student self-effort, partner ability,…

  17. Collaborators and Communication Channels in Eight Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

    PubMed

    Chase, Dian A; Dorr, David A; Cohen, Deborah J; Ash, Joan S

    2017-01-01

    The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) concept requires collaboration among clinicians both within the medical home clinic, and outside the clinic. As we redesign health information technology (HIT) to support transformation to the PCMH, we need to better understand these collaboration patterns. This study provides quantitative data describing these collaborations in order to facilitate the design of systems to allow for more efficient collaboration. Eighty-four clinicians in eight clinics identified their two most recent significant collaborators - one each within the clinic and in the medical neighborhood. They also identified the communication channels used in these collaborations. We used k-means clustering to identify communication patterns. Within the clinic, half of the primary care providers (PCPs) identified a care manager as their most recent collaborator. Outside specialists were their most common external collaborators. Ninety-two percent of the non-PCP participants identified PCP's as their most recent internal collaborators. The best model for communication channel usage (p < .0001) had six clusters. In general, inside communications were more informal but outside collaborations were more often formal written communications (faxes, letters) or the exchange of electronic health record progress notes. But there were exceptions to these patterns and in many cases multiple channels were used for the same collaboration. Systems design (and redesign) needs to focus on reducing communications load and increasing communication effectiveness while maintaining flexibility.

  18. Facilitating Collaboration across Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Fields in Program Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ejiwale, James A.

    2014-01-01

    Collaboration plays a major role in interdisciplinary activities among Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) disciplines or fields. It also affects the relationships among cluster members on the management team. Although effective collaboration does not guarantee success among STEM disciplines, its absence usually assures…

  19. Strong Lensing Mass Reconstruction: from Frontier Fields to the Typical Lensing Clusters of Future Surveys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharon, Keren; Gladders, Michael D.; Rigby, Jane R.; Bayliss, Matthew B.; Wuyts, Eva; Dahle, Håkon; Johnson, Traci L.; Florian, Michael K.; Dunham, Samuel; Murray, Katherine; Whitaker, Kate; Li, Nan

    Driven by the unprecedented wealth of high quality data that is accumulating for the Frontier Fields, they are becoming some of the best-studied strong lensing clusters to date, and probably the next few years. As will be discussed intensively in this focus meeting, the FF prove transformative for many fields: from studies of the high redshift Universe, to the assembly and structure of the clusters themselves. The FF data and the extensive collaborative effort around this program will also allow us to examine and improve upon current lens modeling techniques. Strong lensing is a powerful tool for mass reconstruction of the cores of galaxy clusters of all scales, providing an estimate of the total (dark and seen) projected mass density distribution out to 0.5 Mpc. Though SL mass may be biased by contribution from structures along the line of sight, its strength is that it is relatively insensitive to assumptions on cluster baryon astrophysics and dynamical state. Like the Frontier Fields clusters, the most ``famous'' strong lensing clusters are at the high mass end; they lens dozens of background sources into multiple images, providing ample lensing constraints. In this talk, I will focus on how we can leverage what we learn from modeling the FF clusters in strong lensing studies of the hundreds of clusters that will be discovered in upcoming surveys. In typical clusters, unlike the Frontier Fields, the Bullet Cluster and A1689, we observe only one to a handful of background sources, and have limited lensing constraints. I will describe the limitations that such a configuration imposes on strong lens modeling, highlight measurements that are robust to the richness of lensing evidence, and address the sources of uncertainty and what sort of information can help reduce those uncertainties. This category of lensing clusters is most relevant to the wide cluster surveys of the future.

  20. Strong Lensing Mass Reconstruction: from Frontier Fields to the Typical Lensing Clusters of Future Surveys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharon, Keren

    2015-08-01

    Driven by the unprecedented wealth of high quality data that is accumulating for the Frontier Fields, they are becoming some of the best-studied strong lensing clusters to date, and probably the next few years. As will be discussed intensively in this focus meeting, the FF prove transformative for many fields: from studies of the high redshift Universe, to the assembly and structure of the clusters themselves. The FF data and the extensive collaborative effort around this program will also allow us to examine and improve upon current lens modeling techniques. Strong lensing is a powerful tool for mass reconstruction of the cores of galaxy clusters of all scales, providing an estimate of the total (dark and seen) projected mass density distribution out to ~0.5 Mpc. Though SL mass may be biased by contribution from structures along the line of sight, its strength is that it is relatively insensitive to assumptions on cluster baryon astrophysics and dynamical state. Like the Frontier Fields clusters, the most "famous" strong lensing clusters are at the high mass end; they lens dozens of background sources into multiple images, providing ample lensing constraints. In this talk, I will focus on how we can leverage what we learn from modeling the FF clusters in strong lensing studies of the hundreds of clusters that will be discovered in upcoming surveys. In typical clusters, unlike the Frontier Fields, the Bullet Cluster and A1689, we observe only one to a handful of background sources, and have limited lensing constraints. I will describe the limitations that such a configuration imposes on strong lens modeling, highlight measurements that are robust to the richness of lensing evidence, and address the sources of uncertainty and what sort of information can help reduce those uncertainties. This category of lensing clusters is most relevant to the wide cluster surveys of the future.

  1. Collaborative Simulation Grid: Multiscale Quantum-Mechanical/Classical Atomistic Simulations on Distributed PC Clusters in the US and Japan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kikuchi, Hideaki; Kalia, Rajiv; Nakano, Aiichiro; Vashishta, Priya; Iyetomi, Hiroshi; Ogata, Shuji; Kouno, Takahisa; Shimojo, Fuyuki; Tsuruta, Kanji; Saini, Subhash; hide

    2002-01-01

    A multidisciplinary, collaborative simulation has been performed on a Grid of geographically distributed PC clusters. The multiscale simulation approach seamlessly combines i) atomistic simulation backed on the molecular dynamics (MD) method and ii) quantum mechanical (QM) calculation based on the density functional theory (DFT), so that accurate but less scalable computations are performed only where they are needed. The multiscale MD/QM simulation code has been Grid-enabled using i) a modular, additive hybridization scheme, ii) multiple QM clustering, and iii) computation/communication overlapping. The Gridified MD/QM simulation code has been used to study environmental effects of water molecules on fracture in silicon. A preliminary run of the code has achieved a parallel efficiency of 94% on 25 PCs distributed over 3 PC clusters in the US and Japan, and a larger test involving 154 processors on 5 distributed PC clusters is in progress.

  2. Collaborative project-based learning: an integrative science and technological education project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baser, Derya; Ozden, M. Yasar; Karaarslan, Hasan

    2017-04-01

    Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills.

  3. The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) . Galaxy clustering and redshift-space distortions at z ≃ 0.8 in the first data release

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de la Torre, S.; Guzzo, L.; Peacock, J. A.; Branchini, E.; Iovino, A.; Granett, B. R.; Abbas, U.; Adami, C.; Arnouts, S.; Bel, J.; Bolzonella, M.; Bottini, D.; Cappi, A.; Coupon, J.; Cucciati, O.; Davidzon, I.; De Lucia, G.; Fritz, A.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Garilli, B.; Ilbert, O.; Krywult, J.; Le Brun, V.; Le Fèvre, O.; Maccagni, D.; Małek, K.; Marulli, F.; McCracken, H. J.; Moscardini, L.; Paioro, L.; Percival, W. J.; Polletta, M.; Pollo, A.; Schlagenhaufer, H.; Scodeggio, M.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Tojeiro, R.; Vergani, D.; Zanichelli, A.; Burden, A.; Di Porto, C.; Marchetti, A.; Marinoni, C.; Mellier, Y.; Monaco, P.; Nichol, R. C.; Phleps, S.; Wolk, M.; Zamorani, G.

    2013-09-01

    We present the general real- and redshift-space clustering properties of galaxies as measured in the first data release of the VIPERS survey. VIPERS is a large redshift survey designed to probe in detail the distant Universe and its large-scale structure at 0.5 < z < 1.2. We describe in this analysis the global properties of the sample and discuss the survey completeness and associated corrections. This sample allows us to measure the galaxy clustering with an unprecedented accuracy at these redshifts. From the redshift-space distortions observed in the galaxy clustering pattern we provide a first measurement of the growth rate of structure at z = 0.8: fσ8 = 0.47 ± 0.08. This is completely consistent with the predictions of standard cosmological models based on Einstein gravity, although this measurement alone does not discriminate between different gravity models. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal, Chile, using the Very Large Telescope under programmes 182.A-0886 and partly 070.A-9007. Also based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. The VIPERS web site is http://www.vipers.inaf.it/

  4. Structuring communication relationships for interprofessional teamwork (SCRIPT): a cluster randomized controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    Zwarenstein, Merrick; Reeves, Scott; Russell, Ann; Kenaszchuk, Chris; Conn, Lesley Gotlib; Miller, Karen-Lee; Lingard, Lorelei; Thorpe, Kevin E

    2007-01-01

    Background Despite a burgeoning interest in using interprofessional approaches to promote effective collaboration in health care, systematic reviews find scant evidence of benefit. This protocol describes the first cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to design and evaluate an intervention intended to improve interprofessional collaborative communication and patient-centred care. Objectives The objective is to evaluate the effects of a four-component, hospital-based staff communication protocol designed to promote collaborative communication between healthcare professionals and enhance patient-centred care. Methods The study is a multi-centre mixed-methods cluster randomized controlled trial involving twenty clinical teaching teams (CTTs) in general internal medicine (GIM) divisions of five Toronto tertiary-care hospitals. CTTs will be randomly assigned either to receive an intervention designed to improve interprofessional collaborative communication, or to continue usual communication practices. Non-participant naturalistic observation, shadowing, and semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore existing patterns of interprofessional collaboration in the CTTs, and to support intervention development. Interviews and shadowing will continue during intervention delivery in order to document interactions between the intervention settings and adopters, and changes in interprofessional communication. The primary outcome is the rate of unplanned hospital readmission. Secondary outcomes are length of stay (LOS); adherence to evidence-based prescription drug therapy; patients' satisfaction with care; self-report surveys of CTT staff perceptions of interprofessional collaboration; and frequency of calls to paging devices. Outcomes will be compared on an intention-to-treat basis using adjustment methods appropriate for data from a cluster randomized design. Discussion Pre-intervention qualitative analysis revealed that a substantial amount of interprofessional interaction lacks key core elements of collaborative communication such as self-introduction, description of professional role, and solicitation of other professional perspectives. Incorporating these findings, a four-component intervention was designed with a goal of creating a culture of communication in which the fundamentals of collaboration become a routine part of interprofessional interactions during unstructured work periods on GIM wards. Trial registration Registered with National Institutes of Health as NCT00466297. PMID:17877830

  5. Enhancing interdisciplinary mathematics and biology education: a microarray data analysis course bridging these disciplines.

    PubMed

    Tra, Yolande V; Evans, Irene M

    2010-01-01

    BIO2010 put forth the goal of improving the mathematical educational background of biology students. The analysis and interpretation of microarray high-dimensional data can be very challenging and is best done by a statistician and a biologist working and teaching in a collaborative manner. We set up such a collaboration and designed a course on microarray data analysis. We started using Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) materials and Microarray Genome and Clustering Tool software and added R statistical software along with Bioconductor packages. In response to student feedback, one microarray data set was fully analyzed in class, starting from preprocessing to gene discovery to pathway analysis using the latter software. A class project was to conduct a similar analysis where students analyzed their own data or data from a published journal paper. This exercise showed the impact that filtering, preprocessing, and different normalization methods had on gene inclusion in the final data set. We conclude that this course achieved its goals to equip students with skills to analyze data from a microarray experiment. We offer our insight about collaborative teaching as well as how other faculty might design and implement a similar interdisciplinary course.

  6. Enhancing Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Biology Education: A Microarray Data Analysis Course Bridging These Disciplines

    PubMed Central

    Evans, Irene M.

    2010-01-01

    BIO2010 put forth the goal of improving the mathematical educational background of biology students. The analysis and interpretation of microarray high-dimensional data can be very challenging and is best done by a statistician and a biologist working and teaching in a collaborative manner. We set up such a collaboration and designed a course on microarray data analysis. We started using Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) materials and Microarray Genome and Clustering Tool software and added R statistical software along with Bioconductor packages. In response to student feedback, one microarray data set was fully analyzed in class, starting from preprocessing to gene discovery to pathway analysis using the latter software. A class project was to conduct a similar analysis where students analyzed their own data or data from a published journal paper. This exercise showed the impact that filtering, preprocessing, and different normalization methods had on gene inclusion in the final data set. We conclude that this course achieved its goals to equip students with skills to analyze data from a microarray experiment. We offer our insight about collaborative teaching as well as how other faculty might design and implement a similar interdisciplinary course. PMID:20810954

  7. magHD: a new approach to multi-dimensional data storage, analysis, display and exploitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Angleraud, Christophe

    2014-06-01

    The ever increasing amount of data and processing capabilities - following the well- known Moore's law - is challenging the way scientists and engineers are currently exploiting large datasets. The scientific visualization tools, although quite powerful, are often too generic and provide abstract views of phenomena, thus preventing cross disciplines fertilization. On the other end, Geographic information Systems allow nice and visually appealing maps to be built but they often get very confused as more layers are added. Moreover, the introduction of time as a fourth analysis dimension to allow analysis of time dependent phenomena such as meteorological or climate models, is encouraging real-time data exploration techniques that allow spatial-temporal points of interests to be detected by integration of moving images by the human brain. Magellium is involved in high performance image processing chains for satellite image processing as well as scientific signal analysis and geographic information management since its creation (2003). We believe that recent work on big data, GPU and peer-to-peer collaborative processing can open a new breakthrough in data analysis and display that will serve many new applications in collaborative scientific computing, environment mapping and understanding. The magHD (for Magellium Hyper-Dimension) project aims at developing software solutions that will bring highly interactive tools for complex datasets analysis and exploration commodity hardware, targeting small to medium scale clusters with expansion capabilities to large cloud based clusters.

  8. AWOB: A Collaborative Workbench for Astronomers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J. W.; Lemson, G.; Bulatovic, N.; Makarenko, V.; Vogler, A.; Voges, W.; Yao, Y.; Kiefl, R.; Koychev, S.

    2015-09-01

    We present the Astronomers Workbench (AWOB1), a web-based collaboration and publication platform for a scientific project of any size, developed in collaboration between the Max-Planck institutes of Astrophysics (MPA) and Extra-terrestrial Physics (MPE) and the Max-Planck Digital Library (MPDL). AWOB facilitates the collaboration between geographically distributed astronomers working on a common project throughout its whole scientific life cycle. AWOB does so by making it very easy for scientists to set up and manage a collaborative workspace for individual projects, where data can be uploaded and shared. It supports inviting project collaborators, provides wikis, automated mailing lists, calendars and event notification and has a built in chat facility. It allows the definition and tracking of tasks within projects and supports easy creation of e-publications for the dissemination of data and images and other resources that cannot be added to submitted papers. AWOB extends the project concept to larger scale consortia, within which it is possible to manage working groups and sub-projects. The existing AWOB instance has so far been limited to Max-Planck members and their collaborators, but will be opened to the whole astronomical community. AWOB is an open-source project and its source code is available upon request. We intend to extend AWOB's functionality also to other disciplines, and would greatly appreciate contributions from the community.

  9. Collaborative decision-making on wind power projects based on AHP method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Badea, A.; Proştean, G.; Tămăşilă, M.; Vârtosu, A.

    2017-01-01

    The complexity of projects implementation in Renewable Energy Sources (RES) requires finding collaborative alliances between suppliers and project developers in RES. Links activities in supply chain in RES, respectively, transportation of heavy components, processing orders to purchase quality raw materials, storage and materials handling, packaging, and other complex activities requiring a logistics system collaboratively to be permanently dimensioned properly selected and monitored. Requirements imposed by stringency of wind power energy projects implementation inevitably involves constraints in infrastructure, implementation and logistics. Thus, following an extensive research in RES project, to eliminate these constraints were identified alternative collaboration to provide feasible solutions on different levels of performance. The paper presents a critical analysis of different collaboration alternatives in supply chain for RES projects, selecting the ones most suitable for particular situations by using decision-making method Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The role of AHP method was to formulate a decision model by which can be establish the collaboration alternative choice through mathematical calculation to reduce the impact created by constraints encountered. The solution provided through AHP provides a framework for detecting optimal alternative collaboration between suppliers and project developers in RES and avoids some breaks in the chain by resizing safety buffers for leveling orders in RES projects.

  10. Mapping an Experiment-Based Assessment of Collaborative Behavior onto Collaborative Problem Solving in PISA 2015: A Cluster Analysis Approach for Collaborator Profiles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herborn, Katharina; Mustafic, Maida; Greiff, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Collaborative problem solving (CPS) assessment is a new academic research field with a number of educational implications. In 2015, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed CPS with a computer-simulated human-agent (H-A) approach that claimed to measure 12 individual CPS skills for the first time. After reviewing the…

  11. RMS: a platform for managing cross-disciplinary and multi-institutional research project collaboration.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jake; Apperson-Hansen, Carolyn; Pelfrey, Clara M; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

    2014-11-30

    Cross-institutional cross-disciplinary collaboration has become a trend as researchers move toward building more productive and innovative teams for scientific research. Research collaboration is significantly changing the organizational structure and strategies used in the clinical and translational science domain. However, due to the obstacles of diverse administrative structures, differences in area of expertise, and communication barriers, establishing and managing a cross-institutional research project is still a challenging task. We address these challenges by creating an integrated informatics platform to reduce the barriers to biomedical research collaboration. The Request Management System (RMS) is an informatics infrastructure designed to transform a patchwork of expertise and resources into an integrated support network. The RMS facilitates investigators' initiation of new collaborative projects and supports the management of the collaboration process. In RMS, experts and their knowledge areas are categorized and managed structurally to provide consistent service. A role-based collaborative workflow is tightly integrated with domain experts and services to streamline and monitor the life-cycle of a research project. The RMS has so far tracked over 1,500 investigators with over 4,800 tasks. The research network based on the data collected in RMS illustrated that the investigators' collaborative projects increased close to 3 times from 2009 to 2012. Our experience with RMS indicates that the platform reduces barriers for cross-institutional collaboration of biomedical research projects. Building a new generation of infrastructure to enhance cross-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration has become an important yet challenging task. In this paper, we share the experience of developing and utilizing a collaborative project management system. The results of this study demonstrate that a web-based integrated informatics platform can facilitate and increase research interactions among investigators.

  12. Mixed-Initiative Clustering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Yifen

    2010-01-01

    Mixed-initiative clustering is a task where a user and a machine work collaboratively to analyze a large set of documents. We hypothesize that a user and a machine can both learn better clustering models through enriched communication and interactive learning from each other. The first contribution or this thesis is providing a framework of…

  13. Mapping mHealth (mobile health) and mobile penetrations in sub-Saharan Africa for strategic regional collaboration in mHealth scale-up: an application of exploratory spatial data analysis.

    PubMed

    Lee, Seohyun; Cho, Yoon-Min; Kim, Sun-Young

    2017-08-22

    Mobile health (mHealth), a term used for healthcare delivery via mobile devices, has gained attention as an innovative technology for better access to healthcare and support for performance of health workers in the global health context. Despite large expansion of mHealth across sub-Saharan Africa, regional collaboration for scale-up has not made progress since last decade. As a groundwork for strategic planning for regional collaboration, the study attempted to identify spatial patterns of mHealth implementation in sub-Saharan Africa using an exploratory spatial data analysis. In order to obtain comprehensive data on the total number of mHelath programs implemented between 2006 and 2016 in each of the 48 sub-Saharan Africa countries, we performed a systematic data collection from various sources, including: the WHO eHealth Database, the World Bank Projects & Operations Database, and the USAID mHealth Database. Additional spatial analysis was performed for mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people to suggest strategic regional collaboration for improving mobile penetration rates along with the mHealth initiative. Global Moran's I and Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA) were calculated for mHealth programs and mobile subscriptions per 100 population to investigate spatial autocorrelation, which indicates the presence of local clustering and spatial disparities. From our systematic data collection, the total number of mHealth programs implemented in sub-Saharan Africa between 2006 and 2016 was 487 (same programs implemented in multiple countries were counted separately). Of these, the eastern region with 17 countries and the western region with 16 countries had 287 and 145 mHealth programs, respectively. Despite low levels of global autocorrelation, LISA enabled us to detect meaningful local clusters. Overall, the eastern part of sub-Saharan Africa shows high-high association for mHealth programs. As for mobile subscription rates per 100 population, the northern area shows extensive low-low association. This study aimed to shed some light on the potential for strategic regional collaboration for scale-up of mHealth and mobile penetration. Firstly, countries in the eastern area with much experience can take the lead role in pursuing regional collaboration for mHealth programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Secondly, collective effort in improving mobile penetration rates for the northern area is recommended.

  14. [Potential Benchmarks for Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration Projects in Germany: A Systematic Review].

    PubMed

    Weißenborn, Marina; Schulz, Martin; Kraft, Manuel; Haefeli, Walter E; Seidling, Hanna M

    2018-06-21

    Collaboration between general practitioners and community pharmacists is essential to ensure safe and effective patient care. However, collaboration in primary care is not standardized and varies greatly. This review aims to highlight projects about professional collaboration in ambulatory care in Germany and identifies promising approaches and successful benchmarks that should be considered for future projects. A systematic literature search was performed based on the PRISMA guidelines to identify articles focusing on professional collaboration between general practitioners and pharmacists. A total of 542 articles were retrieved. Six potential premises for successful cooperation projects were identified: GP and CP knowing each other (I), involvement of both health care providers in the project planning (II), sharing of experience or concerns during regular joint meetings enabling continuing evaluation and adaption (III), ensuring (technical) feasibility (IV), particularly by providing incentives (V), and by integrating these projects into existing health care structures (VI). Only few studies have been published in scientific journals. There was no standardized assessment of how the participants perceived their collaboration and how it facilitates their daily work, even when the study aimed to evaluate GP-CP collaboration. Successful cooperation between GP and CP in daily routine care was often characterized by personal contact and longtime relationships. Therefore, collaborative teaching sessions at university might establish sympathy and mutual understanding right from the beginning. There is a strong need to establish standardized tools to evaluate collaboration in future projects and to enable comparability of different studies. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  15. Strategy of Daiichi Sankyo discovery research in oncology.

    PubMed

    Akahane, Kouichi; Hirokawa, Kazunori

    2014-02-01

    We would like to introduce Daiichi Sankyo's approach to developing cancer targeted medicines with special reference to the drug discovery strategy, global discovery activities and external research collaboration leading to generation of innovative drugs for cancer patients. We are developing 14 clinical projects for cancer treatment and three of them have been previously approved. These are mostly targeted for growth and survival signals of cancer cells. To overcome the drug resistance mechanism derived from the heterogeneous nature of cancer, we are developing selective inhibitors in three major clusters of signal pathways which may allow future rational combinations of oncology products. In addition to the main research facility in Japan, research sites in the EU and the USA provide us with different technical expertise and diversified ideas of drug discovery. To access novel drug targets, we are facilitating research collaboration with leading academia and successful cancer research scientists. In conclusion, we intend to focus more on developing innovative personalized medicines for better treatment of cancer.

  16. The Need for an Effective Collaboration across Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Fields for a Meaningful Technological Development in Nigeria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haruna, Umar Ibrahim

    2015-01-01

    Collaboration plays a major role in interdisciplinary activities among Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) disciplines or fields. It also affects the relationships among cluster members on the management team. Although effective collaboration does not guarantee success among STEM disciplines, its absence usually assures…

  17. The impact of collaborations between universities and private organizations on cluster development and competitiveness in Romania

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoicovici, D.; Bănică, M.; Ungureanu, M.; Stoicovici, M.

    2017-05-01

    While the European Union has put a lot of emphasis on cluster development due to their inherent advantages such as lower transaction costs, technological transfer and regional development, little is known about how clusters emerge and what can facilitate their competitiveness. This paper aims to study the impact of public-private cooperation between universities and organizations on cluster development and competitiveness. A literature review is employed to develop the model while 4 qualitative case studies provide the initial test of its validity. The analysis suggests that cooperating with research institutions impacts cluster development first through education of industrial staff, but also by developing innovation processes through the facilitation of the appearance of innovative ideas and also of knowledge sharing among organizations. The research has several implications both for organizations and for government officials. First of all, R&D and top management should actively seek to cooperate with research institutions both for training of their staff but also in seeking new ideas and as a way of collaborating with other organizations within the field without fear of losing competitive advantage. Second, government officials should try to create more incentives both for organizations (through for example tax returns) and for universities (extra funding or salary incentives) that can increase collaboration between these actors. This paper is the first one to asses empirically how cooperation with research institutions affect cluster competitiveness and development, especially within the developing region of Eastern Europe, Romania.

  18. Coarse cluster enhancing collaborative recommendation for social network systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yao-Dong; Cai, Shi-Min; Tang, Ming; Shang, Min-Sheng

    2017-10-01

    Traditional collaborative filtering based recommender systems for social network systems bring very high demands on time complexity due to computing similarities of all pairs of users via resource usages and annotation actions, which thus strongly suppresses recommending speed. In this paper, to overcome this drawback, we propose a novel approach, namely coarse cluster that partitions similar users and associated items at a high speed to enhance user-based collaborative filtering, and then develop a fast collaborative user model for the social tagging systems. The experimental results based on Delicious dataset show that the proposed model is able to dramatically reduce the processing time cost greater than 90 % and relatively improve the accuracy in comparison with the ordinary user-based collaborative filtering, and is robust for the initial parameter. Most importantly, the proposed model can be conveniently extended by introducing more users' information (e.g., profiles) and practically applied for the large-scale social network systems to enhance the recommending speed without accuracy loss.

  19. Accountability for Project-Based Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jamal, Abu-Hussain; Essawi, Mohammad; Tilchin, Oleg

    2014-01-01

    One perspective model for the creation of the learning environment and engendering students' thinking development is the Project-Based Collaborative Learning (PBCL) model. This model organizes learning by collaborative performance of various projects. In this paper we describe an approach to enhancing the PBCL model through the creation of…

  20. Long-term clinical and cost-effectiveness of collaborative care (versus usual care) for people with mental-physical multimorbidity: cluster-randomised trial.

    PubMed

    Camacho, Elizabeth M; Davies, Linda M; Hann, Mark; Small, Nicola; Bower, Peter; Chew-Graham, Carolyn; Baguely, Clare; Gask, Linda; Dickens, Chris M; Lovell, Karina; Waheed, Waquas; Gibbons, Chris J; Coventry, Peter

    2018-05-15

    Collaborative care can support the treatment of depression in people with long-term conditions, but long-term benefits and costs are unknown.AimsTo explore the long-term (24-month) effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of collaborative care in people with mental-physical multimorbidity. A cluster randomised trial compared collaborative care (integrated physical and mental healthcare) with usual care for depression alongside diabetes and/or coronary heart disease. Depression symptoms were measured by the symptom checklist-depression scale (SCL-D13). The economic evaluation was from the perspective of the English National Health Service. 191 participants were allocated to collaborative care and 196 to usual care. At 24 months, the mean SCL-D13 score was 0.27 (95% CI, -0.48 to -0.06) lower in the collaborative care group alongside a gain of 0.14 (95% CI, 0.06-0.21) quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The cost per QALY gained was £13 069. In the long term, collaborative care reduces depression and is potentially cost-effective at internationally accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds.Declaration of interestNone.

  1. Principles for a Successful Computerized Physician Order Entry Implementation

    PubMed Central

    Ash, Joan S.; Fournier, Lara; Stavri, P. Zoë; Dykstra, Richard

    2003-01-01

    To identify success factors for implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE), our research team took both a top-down and bottom-up approach and reconciled the results to develop twelve overarching principles to guide implementation. A consensus panel of experts produced ten Considerations with nearly 150 sub-considerations, and a three year project using qualitative methods at multiple successful sites for a grounded theory approach yielded ten general themes with 24 sub-themes. After reconciliation using a meta-matrix approach, twelve Principles, which cluster into groups forming the mnemonic CPOE emerged. Computer technology principles include: temporal concerns; technology and meeting information needs; multidimensional integration; and costs. Personal principles are: value to users and tradeoffs; essential people; and training and support. Organizational principles include: foundational underpinnings; collaborative project management; terms, concepts and connotations; and improvement through evaluation and learning. Finally, Environmental issues include the motivation and context for implementing such systems. PMID:14728129

  2. On Services for Collaborative Project Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ollus, Martin; Jansson, Kim; Karvonen, Iris; Uoti, Mikko; Riikonen, Heli

    This paper presents an approach for collaborative project management. The focus is on the support of collaboration, communication and trust. Several project management tools exist for monitoring and control the performance of project tasks. However, support of important intangible assets is more difficult to find. In the paper a leadership approach is identified as a management means and the use of new IT technology, especially social media for support of leadership in project management is discussed.

  3. Opportunity for collaboration: a conceptual model of success in tobacco control and cancer prevention.

    PubMed

    Stillman, Frances A; Schmitt, Carol L; Rosas, Scott R

    2012-01-01

    Collaborations between cancer prevention and tobacco control programs can leverage scarce resources to address noncommunicable diseases globally, but barriers to cooperation and actual collaboration are substantial. To foster collaboration between cancer prevention and tobacco control programs, the Global Health Partnership conducted research to identify similarities and differences in how the 2 programs viewed program success. Using concept mapping, cancer prevention and tobacco control experts generated statements describing the components of a successful cancer prevention or tobacco control program and 33 participants sorted and rated the final 99 statements. Multidimensional scaling analysis with a 2-dimensional solution was used to identify an 8-cluster conceptual map of program success. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients for all 99 statements to compare the item-level ratings of both groups and used t tests to compare the mean importance of ratings assigned to each cluster. Eight major clusters of success were identified: 1) advocacy and persuasion, 2) building sustainability, 3) partnerships, 4) readiness and support, 5) program management fundamentals, 6) monitoring and evaluation, 7) utilization of evidence, and 8) implementation. We found no significant difference between the maps created by the 2 groups and only 1 mean difference for the importance ratings for 1 of the clusters: cancer prevention experts rated partnerships as more important to program success than did tobacco control experts. Our findings are consistent with those of research documenting the necessary components of successful programs and the similarities between cancer prevention and tobacco control. Both programs value the same strategies to address a common risk factor: tobacco use. Identifying common ground between these 2 research and practice communities can benefit future collaborations at the local, state, tribal, national, and international levels, and inform the broader discussion on resource sharing among other organizations whose mission focuses on noncommunicable diseases.

  4. Collaborative Project-Based Learning: An Integrative Science and Technological Education Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baser, Derya; Ozden, M. Yasar; Karaarslan, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills. Purpose: The study aims to understand how seventh grade students…

  5. Using concept mapping to mobilize a Black faith community to address HIV

    PubMed Central

    Szaflarski, Magdalena; Vaughn, Lisa M; McLinden, Daniel; Wess, Yolanda; Ruffner, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Research that partners with community stakeholders increases contextual relevance and community buy-in and maximizes the chance for intervention success. Within a framework of an academic-community partnership, this project assessed a Black faith-community’s needs and opportunities to address HIV. We used concept mapping to identify/prioritize specific HIV-related strategies that would be acceptable to congregations. Ninety stakeholders brainstormed strategies to address HIV; 21 sorted strategies into groups and rated their importance and feasibility. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were applied to the sorting to produce maps that illustrated the stakeholders’ conceptual thinking about HIV interventions. Of 278 responses, 93 were used in the sorting task. The visual maps represented eight clusters: church acceptance of people living with HIV; education (most feasible); mobilization and communication; church/leaders’ empowerment; church involvement/collaboration; safety/HIV prevention; media outreach; and, stigma (most important). Concept mapping clarified multifaceted issues of HIV in the Black faith community. The results will guide HIV programming in congregations. PMID:28239439

  6. Creating Mechanisms for Meaningful Collaboration Between Members of Urban Communities and University-Based HIV Prevention Researchers.

    PubMed

    McKay, Mary M; Hibbert, Richard; Lawrence, Rita; Miranda, Ana; Paikoff, Roberta; Bell, Carl C; Madison-Boyd, Sybil; Baptiste, Donna; Coleman, Doris; Pinto, Rogério M; Bannon, William M

    2007-01-01

    This article provides a description of a Community/University Collaborative Board, a formalized partnership between representatives from an inner-city community and university-based researchers. This Collaborative Board oversees a number of research projects focused on designing, delivering and testing family-based HIV prevention and mental health focused programs to elementary and junior high school age youth and their families. The Collaborative Board consists of urban parents, school staff members, representatives from community-based agencies and university-based researchers. One research project, the CHAMP (Collaborative HIV prevention and Adolescent Mental health Project) Family Program Study, an urban, family-based HIV prevention project will be used to illustrate how the Collaborative Board oversees a community-based research study. The process of establishing a Collaborative Board, recruiting members and developing subcommittees is described within this article. Examples of specific issues addressed by the Collaborative Board within its subcommittees, Implementation, Finance, Welcome, Research, Grant writing, Curriculum, and Leadership, are detailed in this article along with lessons learned.

  7. Electronic Collaboration Logbook

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gysin, Suzanne; Mandrichenko, Igor; Podstavkov, Vladimir; Vittone, Margherita

    2012-12-01

    In HEP, scientific research is performed by large collaborations of organizations and individuals. The logbook of a scientific collaboration is an important part of the collaboration record. Often it contains experimental data. At Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), we developed an Electronic Collaboration Logbook (ECL) application, which is used by about 20 different collaborations, experiments and groups at FNAL. The ECL is the latest iteration of the project formerly known as the Control Room Logbook (CRL). We have been working on mobile (IOS and Android) clients for the ECL. We will present the history, current status and future plans of the project, as well as design, implementation and support solutions made by the project.

  8. Scientific authorship and collaboration network analysis on malaria research in Benin: papers indexed in the web of science (1996-2016).

    PubMed

    Azondekon, Roseric; Harper, Zachary James; Agossa, Fiacre Rodrigue; Welzig, Charles Michael; McRoy, Susan

    2018-01-01

    To sustain the critical progress made, prioritization and a multidisciplinary approach to malaria research remain important to the national malaria control program in Benin. To document the structure of the malaria collaborative research in Benin, we analyze authorship of the scientific documents published on malaria from Benin. We collected bibliographic data from the Web Of Science on malaria research in Benin from January 1996 to December 2016. From the collected data, a mulitigraph co-authorship network with authors representing vertices was generated. An edge was drawn between two authors when they co-author a paper. We computed vertex degree, betweenness, closeness, and eigenvectors among others to identify prolific authors. We further assess the weak points and how information flow in the network. Finally, we perform a hierarchical clustering analysis, and Monte-Carlo simulations. Overall, 427 publications were included in this study. The generated network contained 1792 authors and 116,388 parallel edges which converted in a weighted graph of 1792 vertices and 95,787 edges. Our results suggested that prolific authors with higher degrees tend to collaborate more. The hierarchical clustering revealed 23 clusters, seven of which form a giant component containing 94% of all the vertices in the network. This giant component has all the characteristics of a small-world network with a small shortest path distance between pairs of three, a diameter of 10 and a high clustering coefficient of 0.964. However, Monte-Carlo simulations suggested our observed network is an unusual type of small-world network. Sixteen vertices were identified as weak articulation points within the network. The malaria research collaboration network in Benin is a complex network that seems to display the characteristics of a small-world network. This research reveals the presence of closed research groups where collaborative research likely happens only between members. Interdisciplinary collaboration tends to occur at higher levels between prolific researchers. Continuously supporting, stabilizing the identified key brokers and most productive authors in the Malaria research collaborative network is an urgent need in Benin. It will foster the malaria research network and ensure the promotion of junior scientists in the field.

  9. 76 FR 54730 - Committees on Administration and Management, Collaborative Governance, Judicial Review, and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-02

    ... Committees on Administration and Management, Collaborative Governance, Judicial Review, and Regulation ACTION... Governance The Committee on Collaborative Governance will meet to consider two projects. The committee will... FACA committees. The Committee on Collaborative Governance will also discuss a project regarding the...

  10. The Ecological Marine Units Project as a Framework for Collaborative Data Exploration, Distribution, and Knowledge Building

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wright, Dawn; Sayre, Roger; Breyer, Sean; Butler, Kevin; VanGraafeiland, Keith; Goodin, Kathy; Kavanaugh, Maria; Costello, Mark; Cressie, Noel; Basher, Zeenatul; Harris, Peter; Guinotte, John

    2017-04-01

    A data-derived, ecological stratification-based ecosystem mapping approach was recently demonstrated by Sayre et al. for terrestrial ecosystems, resulting in a standardized map of nearly 4000 global ecological land units (ELUs) at a base spatial resolution of 250 m. The map was commissioned by the Group on Earth Observations for eventual use by the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and was also a contribution to the Climate Data Initiative of US President Barack Obama. We now present a similar environmental stratification approach for extending a global ecosystems map into the oceans through the delineation of analog global ecological marine units (EMUs). EMUs are comprised of a global point mesh framework, created from over 52 million points from NOAA's World Ocean Atlas with a spatial resolution of ¼ by ¼ degree ( 27 x 27 km at the equator) at varying depths and a temporal resolution that is currently decadal. Each point carries attributes of chemical and physical oceanographic structure (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate) that are likely drivers of many marine ecosystem responses. We used a k-means statistical clustering algorithm to identify physically distinct, relatively homogenous, volumetric regions within the water column (the EMUs). Backwards stepwise discriminant analysis determined if all of six variables contributed significantly to the clustering, and a pseudo F-statistic gave us an optimum number of clusters worldwide at 37. Canonical discriminant analysis verified that all 37 clusters were significantly different from one another. A major intent of the EMUs is to support marine biodiversity conservation assessments, economic valuation studies of marine ecosystem goods and services, and studies of ocean acidification and other impacts (e.g., pollution, resource exploitation, etc.). As such, they represent a rich geospatial accounting framework for these types of studies, as well as for scientific research on species distributions and their relationships to the marine physical environment. To further benefit the community and facilitate collaborate knowledge building, data products are shared openly and interoperably via www.esri.com/ecological-marine-units. This includes provision of 3D point mesh and EMU clusters at the surface, bottom, and within the water column in varying formats via download, web services or web apps, as well as generic algorithms and GIS workflows that scale from global to regional and local. A major aim is for the community members to may move the research forward with higher-resolution data from their own field studies or areas of interest, with the original EMU project team assisting with GIS implementation (especially via a new online discussion forum), or hosting of additional data products as needed.

  11. Enhancing Integrative Motivation: The Japanese-American Collaborative Learning Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kato, Fumie

    2016-01-01

    The Collaborative Learning Project is a language exchange program in which American and Japanese university students have the opportunity to interact with native speakers over the course of a three-week period. This paper reports the outcomes of the Collaborative Learning Project in terms of its effectiveness in fulfilling student expectations and…

  12. Characterizing Cross-Professional Collaboration in Research and Development Projects in Secondary Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schenke, Wouter; van Driel, Jan H.; Geijsel, Femke P.; Sligte, Henk W.; Volman, Monique L. L.

    2016-01-01

    Collaboration between practitioners and researchers can increasingly be observed in research and development (R&D) projects in secondary schools. This article presents an analysis of cross-professional collaboration between teachers, school leaders and educational researchers and/or advisers as part of R&D projects in terms of three…

  13. Collaborative Elder Abuse Prevention Project Quarterly Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDaniel, Garry L.

    The Texas Department of Human Services, in collaboration with 13 other public and private organizations, co-sponsored a statewide collaborative elder abuse prevention project, to prevent abuse of elderly and disabled adults. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan for the prevention of elder abuse, a method for…

  14. The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) . Luminosity and stellar mass dependence of galaxy clustering at 0.5 < z < 1.1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marulli, F.; Bolzonella, M.; Branchini, E.; Davidzon, I.; de la Torre, S.; Granett, B. R.; Guzzo, L.; Iovino, A.; Moscardini, L.; Pollo, A.; Abbas, U.; Adami, C.; Arnouts, S.; Bel, J.; Bottini, D.; Cappi, A.; Coupon, J.; Cucciati, O.; De Lucia, G.; Fritz, A.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Garilli, B.; Ilbert, O.; Krywult, J.; Le Brun, V.; Le Fèvre, O.; Maccagni, D.; Małek, K.; McCracken, H. J.; Paioro, L.; Polletta, M.; Schlagenhaufer, H.; Scodeggio, M.; Tasca, L. A. M.; Tojeiro, R.; Vergani, D.; Zanichelli, A.; Burden, A.; Di Porto, C.; Marchetti, A.; Marinoni, C.; Mellier, Y.; Nichol, R. C.; Peacock, J. A.; Percival, W. J.; Phleps, S.; Wolk, M.; Zamorani, G.

    2013-09-01

    Aims: We investigate the dependence of galaxy clustering on luminosity and stellar mass in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 1.1, using the first ~ 55 000 redshifts from the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). Methods: We measured the redshift-space two-point correlation functions (2PCF), ξ(s) and ξ(rp,π) , and the projected correlation function, wp(rp), in samples covering different ranges of B-band absolute magnitudes and stellar masses. We considered both threshold and binned galaxy samples, with median B-band absolute magnitudes - 21.6 ≲ MB - 5log (h) ≲ - 19.5 and median stellar masses 9.8 ≲ log (M⋆ [h-2 M⊙]) ≲ 10.7. We assessed the real-space clustering in the data from the projected correlation function, which we model as a power law in the range 0.2 < rp [h-1 Mpc ] < 20. Finally, we estimated the galaxy bias as a function of luminosity, stellar mass, and redshift, assuming a flat Λ cold dark matter model to derive the dark matter 2PCF. Results: We provide the best-fit parameters of the power-law model assumed for the real-space 2PCF - the correlation length, r0, and the slope, γ - as well as the linear bias parameter, as a function of the B-band absolute magnitude, stellar mass, and redshift. We confirm and provide the tightest constraints on the dependence of clustering on luminosity at 0.5 < z < 1.1. We prove the complexity of comparing the clustering dependence on stellar mass from samples that are originally flux-limited and discuss the possible origin of the observed discrepancies. Overall, our measurements provide stronger constraints on galaxy formation models, which are now required to match, in addition to local observations, the clustering evolution measured by VIPERS galaxies between z = 0.5 and z = 1.1 for a broad range of luminosities and stellar masses. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile, under programmes 182.A-0886 (LP) at the Very Large Telescope, and also based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Science de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. The VIPERS web site is http://vipers.inaf.it/

  15. Collaborative outreach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sanmarti-Vila, Lydia; García-Matos, Marta; Beduini, Federica; Carrasco, Silvia

    2016-09-01

    Many research projects and scientific initiatives multiple their impact and relevance through collaborations. It is the contact and exchange with others that often brings a scientist's work to the next level. The same happens with outreach: sharing activities, concepts, materials and knowhow may lead to greater impact, more innovative, inspirational ideas with enough potential to create pioneering outreach activities. A good example for this is the FP7 European project "GoPhoton!", an initiative of ECOP (European Centres of Outreach in Photonics) that ran through 2014 and 2015 and finished at the beginning of 2016 and was directed at the general public, young minds as well as current and future entrepreneurs. This project was based on the idea of sharing activities - which is at the core of ECOP's identity- already existing in other nodes (institutions within the project), or created within GoPhoton! The main concept was the effective leverage of local links such as the networks of educators and professionals in general, industrial clusters, museums, universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, all from a Pan-European perspective possible through ECOP. This has resulted in over 200 events impacting over two million people. The sharing of activities across institutions that have different resources, facilities, and cultural environments is not straightforward. One of the biggest challenges for the consortium was to be able to extract the concept and identity of each activity, so that it could be realistically adapted to each local context. A crucial point was being able to effectively use the knowhow gained from a partner's activity, in a way that the essence of the activity remained untainted across the participating nodes, while still triggering innovation locally.

  16. Collaborative Writing among Second Language Learners in Academic Web-Based Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kessler, Greg; Bikowski, Dawn; Boggs, Jordan

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates Web-based, project oriented, many-to-many collaborative writing for academic purposes. Thirty-eight Fulbright scholars in an orientation program at a large Midwestern university used a Web-based word processing tool to collaboratively plan and report on a research project. The purpose of this study is to explore and…

  17. Promoting Technology-Based Collaboration among Pre-Service Music Educators: An Inter-University Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Wendy; Johnson, Daniel C.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this inter-university project was to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of collaboration and use of online technology. Twenty-two undergraduate music education majors from two separate universities participated in an eleven-week collaborative project to develop, teach, and self-assess general music lesson plans via a variety…

  18. Collaborative School Innovation Project as a Pivot for Teachers' Professional Development: The Case of Acharnes' Second Chance School in Greece

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katsarou, Eleni; Tsafos, Vassilis

    2008-01-01

    A collaborative school innovation project is explored as a pivot for the professional development of the teachers involved. The Second Chance School (SCS) of Acharnes in Greece constitutes such a collaborative innovative project, regarding the underlying theory of multiliteracies, its decentralised character, respect for student individuality, and…

  19. The Effects of a Creative Commons Approach on Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Chen-Chung; Tao, Shu-Yuan; Chen, Wei-Hung; Chen, Sherry Y.; Liu, Baw-Jhiune

    2013-01-01

    Social media on the World Wide Web, such as Wiki, are increasingly applied to support collaborative learning for students to conduct a project together. However, recent studies indicated that students, learning in the collaborative project, may not actively contribute to the collaborative work and are involved only in a limited level of positive…

  20. Collaboration, Intragroup Conflict, and Social Skills in Project-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Dabae; Huh, Yeol; Reigeluth, Charles M.

    2015-01-01

    This case study was conducted in two high school classrooms that utilized collaborative project-based learning (PBL). Collaboration is an important instructional strategy, especially used in conjunction with PBL, and is an essential learning outcome for the twenty-first century. This study examined how collaboration can be achieved as a learning…

  1. Lives in Context: Facilitating Online, Cross-Course, Collaborative Service Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elwood, Susan A.

    2014-01-01

    An inquiry-based, cross-course, collaborative structure is being implemented toward a graduate program's goals of using project-based learning as a consistent, core learning experience in each course cycle. This paper focuses upon the course collaborative structure and the two key forms of assessment used in each collaborative cycle: a progressive…

  2. A Fault-Oblivious Extreme-Scale Execution Environment (FOX)

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

    Van Hensbergen, Eric; Speight, William; Xenidis, Jimi

    IBM Research’s contribution to the Fault Oblivious Extreme-scale Execution Environment (FOX) revolved around three core research deliverables: • collaboration with Boston University around the Kittyhawk cloud infrastructure which both enabled a development and deployment platform for the project team and provided a fault-injection testbed to evaluate prototypes • operating systems research focused on exploring role-based operating system technologies through collaboration with Sandia National Labs on the NIX research operating system and collaboration with the broader IBM Research community around a hybrid operating system model which became known as FusedOS • IBM Research also participated in an advisory capacity with themore » Boston University SESA project, the core of which was derived from the K42 operating system research project funded in part by DARPA’s HPCS program. Both of these contributions were built on a foundation of previous operating systems research funding by the Department of Energy’s FastOS Program. Through the course of the X-stack funding we were able to develop prototypes, deploy them on production clusters at scale, and make them available to other researchers. As newer hardware, in the form of BlueGene/Q, came online, we were able to port the prototypes to the new hardware and release the source code for the resulting prototypes as open source to the community. In addition to the open source coded for the Kittyhawk and NIX prototypes, we were able to bring the BlueGene/Q Linux patches up to a more recent kernel and contribute them for inclusion by the broader Linux community. The lasting impact of the IBM Research work on FOX can be seen in its effect on the shift of IBM’s approach to HPC operating systems from Linux and Compute Node Kernels to role-based approaches as prototyped by the NIX and FusedOS work. This impact can be seen beyond IBM in follow-on ideas being incorporated into the proposals for the Exasacale Operating Systems/Runtime program.« less

  3. Collaborative drug discovery for More Medicines for Tuberculosis (MM4TB)

    PubMed Central

    Ekins, Sean; Spektor, Anna Coulon; Clark, Alex M.; Dole, Krishna; Bunin, Barry A.

    2016-01-01

    Neglected disease drug discovery is generally poorly funded compared with major diseases and hence there is an increasing focus on collaboration and precompetitive efforts such as public–private partnerships (PPPs). The More Medicines for Tuberculosis (MM4TB) project is one such collaboration funded by the EU with the goal of discovering new drugs for tuberculosis. Collaborative Drug Discovery has provided a commercial web-based platform called CDD Vault which is a hosted collaborative solution for securely sharing diverse chemistry and biology data. Using CDD Vault alongside other commercial and free cheminformatics tools has enabled support of this and other large collaborative projects, aiding drug discovery efforts and fostering collaboration. We will describe CDD's efforts in assisting with the MM4TB project. PMID:27884746

  4. Collaboration in research and the influential factors in Golestan University of Medical Sciences research projects (2005-2007): an academic sample from Iran.

    PubMed

    Borghei, Afsaneh; Qorbani, Mostafa; Rezapour, Aziz; Majdzadeh, Reza; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Asayesh, Hamid; Mansourian, Morteza; Noroozi, Mahdi; Jahahgir, Fereydoon

    2013-08-01

    Number of Iranian articles published in ISI journals has increased significantly in recent years.Despite the quantitative progress, studies performed in Iran represent low collaboration in research; therefore,we decided to evaluate collaboration in Golestan University of Medical Sciences (GOUMS) research projects. In this cross-sectional study, all GOUMS research projects that had got grants from the universitybetween 2005-2007 were studied. Among 107 research projects included in our study, 102 projects were evaluatedand checklists were completed. The researcher's questionnaire was sent to the principle investigators (n=46) of the projects and eventually 40 questionnaires were collected. The review of 102 research proposals shows that 10 projects (9.8%) have been performed in collaborationwith other organizations. Scientific outputs in these projects have been more than projects which wereconfined to the university (98% compare to 68%; p= 0.04). The total cost of the projects under study was a littlemore than 300,000 US$. In just 12 projects (11.8%) a part of the cost had been provided by organizations outsidethe university. About 50% of researchers declared that they had chosen their research topic based on their"personal interest". Only 1 project was performed by the demand of nongovernmental organizations and 12 researchersreported no collaboration in their activities. This study shows that collaboration in GOUMS research projects is low. Moreover, collaborationswith governmental and nongovernmental organizations are trivial. The scientific outputs in collaborativeresearch projects are much more than other projects.

  5. We Scrum Every Day: Using Scrum Project Management Framework for Group Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pope-Ruark, Rebecca

    2012-01-01

    Collaborative group projects have documented learning benefits, yet collaboration is challenging for students because the educational system values individual achievement. This article explores Scrum, an approach to framing, planning, and managing group projects used in Web-software development. Designed for multi-faceted projects, this approach…

  6. Supporting multi-state collaboration on privacy and security to foster health IT and health information exchange.

    PubMed

    Banger, Alison K; Alakoye, Amoke O; Rizk, Stephanie C

    2008-11-06

    As part of the HHS funded contract, Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration, 41 states and territories have proposed collaborative projects to address cross-state privacy and security challenges related to health IT and health information exchange. Multi-state collaboration on privacy and security issues remains complicated, and resources to support collaboration around these topics are essential to the success of such collaboration. The resources outlined here offer an example of how to support multi-stakeholder, multi-state projects.

  7. Preventing Elder Abuse: The Texas Plan for a Coordinated Service Delivery System. Collaborative Elder Abuse Prevention Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDaniel, Garry L.

    The Texas Department of Human Services, in collaboration with 13 other public and private organizations, co-sponsored a statewide Collaborative Elder Abuse Prevention project. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan for the prevention of elder abuse, a method for achieving a coordinated service delivery system for…

  8. The Collaboration to Improve Reading in the Content Areas (The CIRCA Project). Reading Education Report No. 65.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Armbruster, Bonnie B.; And Others

    The Collaboration to Improve Reading in the Content Areas (CIRCA) project, a collaborative effort between the Center for the Study of Reading and the Chicago Public Schools, is described in this paper. Noting that the project was designed to translate research about content area reading into practice, the first section briefly discusses the…

  9. "In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity"--Using a Case Study to Identify Critical Success Factors Contributing to the Initiation of International Collaborative Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Ian M.

    2005-01-01

    This paper identifies factors that contribute to the successful initiation of international collaborative projects intended to support the development of education for librarianship and information sciences. It discusses the widespread failure to analyse the Critical Success Factors in international collaborative projects and proposes a case study…

  10. Transferring skills in quality collaboratives focused on improving patient logistics.

    PubMed

    Weggelaar-Jansen, Anne Marie; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen

    2018-04-02

    A quality improvement collaborative, often used by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is used to educate healthcare professionals and improve healthcare at the same time. However, no prior research has been done on the knowledge and skills healthcare professionals need to achieve improvements or the extent to which quality improvement collaboratives help enhance both knowledge and skills. Our research focused on quality improvement collaboratives aiming to improve patient logistics and tried to identify which knowledge and skills are required and to what extent these were enhanced during the QIC. We defined skills important for logistic improvements in a three-phase Delphi study. Based on the Delphi results we made a questionnaire. We surveyed participants in a national quality improvement collaborative to assess the skills rated as 1) important, 2) available and 3) improved during the collaborative. At two sense-making meetings, experts reflected on our findings and hypothesized on how to improve (logistics) collaboratives. The Delphi study found 18 skills relevant for reducing patient access time and 21 for reducing throughput time. All skills retrieved from the Delphi study were scored as 'important' in the survey. Teams especially lacked soft skills connected to project and change management. Analytical skills increased the most, while more reflexive skills needed for the primary goal of the collaborative (reduce access and throughput times) increased modestly. At two sense-making meetings, attendees suggested four improvements for a quality improvement collaborative: 1) shift the focus to project- and change management skills; 2) focus more on knowledge transfer to colleagues; 3) teach participants to adapt the taught principles to their own situations; and 4) foster intra-project reflexive learning to translate gained insights to other projects (inter-project learning). Our findings seem to suggest that Quality collaboratives could benefit if more attention is paid to the transfer of 'soft skills' (e.g. change, project management and communication skills) and reflexive skills (e.g. adjusting logistics principles to specific situations and inter-project translation of experiences).

  11. Considerations for preparing collaborative international research: a Ugandan experience.

    PubMed

    Musil, Carol M; Mutabaazi, Jemimah; Walusimbi, Mariam; Okonsky, Jennifer G; Biribonwa, Yedidah; Eagan, Sabrina; Dimarco, Marguerite A; Mbaballi, Speciosa; Fitzpatrick, Joyce J

    2004-08-01

    This article describes issues to consider when planning and conducting international research projects. Key considerations include building collaboration, developing a comprehensive and feasible research plan, funding and budgets, addressing human subjects concerns, and analyzing and disseminating project findings. These considerations and related methodological issues are discussed in the context of a replication pilot project conducted outside Kampala, Uganda. Ongoing dialog, flexibility, and collaboration, in addition to good science, are critical to developing successful international research projects.

  12. Hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Annual technical report, December 30, 1992--December 29, 1993

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

    Not Available

    1993-12-31

    Tulane and Xavier Universities have singled out the environment as a major strategic focus for research and training for now and by the year 2000. In December, 1992, the Tulane/Xavier CBR was awarded a five year grant to study pollution in the Mississippi River system. The ``Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments of the Mississippi River Basin`` project is a broad research and education program aimed at elucidating the nature and magnitude of toxic materials that contaminate aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Studies include defining the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants, the actual and potentialmore » impact on ecological systems and health, and the mechanisms through which these impacts might be remediated. The Mississippi River Basin represents a model system for analyzing and solving contamination problems that are found in aquatic systems world-wide. These research and education projects are particularly relevant to the US Department of Energy`s programs aimed at addressing aquatic pollution problems associated with DOE National Laboratories. First year funding supported seven collaborative cluster projects and twelve initiation projects. This report summarizes research results for period December 1992--December 1993.« less

  13. Collaboration in the Context of Teaching, Scholarship, and Language Revitalization: Experience from the Chatino Language Documentation Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cruz, Emiliana; Woodbury, Anthony C.

    2014-01-01

    We describe our own experience of linguist-community collaboration over the last ten years in our Chatino Language Documentation Project, focused on the Chatino languages (Otomanguean; Oaxaca, Mexico). We relate episodes in the emergence and evolution of the collaboration between ourselves, and of the collaboration among ourselves and the Chatino…

  14. Social science to improve fuels management: a synthesis of research on collaboration.

    Treesearch

    Victoria Sturtevant; Margaret Ann Moote; Pamela Jakes; Anthony S. Cheng

    2005-01-01

    A series of syntheses were commissioned by the USDA Forest Service to aid in fuels mitigation project planning. This synthesis focuses on collaboration research, and offers knowledge and tools to improve collaboration in the planning and implementation of wildland fire and fuels management projects. It covers a variety of topics including benefits of collaboration,...

  15. "A Guided Walk in the Woods": Boundary Crossing in a Collaborative Action Research Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobs, Gaby

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses the ideal and practice of collaboration in a collaborative action research project in which university researchers work together with staff from the field of primary education. A qualitative case study was conducted using the theory of boundary crossing to make sense of the ways collaboration took place within the project…

  16. Professionals' views on the development process of a structural collaboration between child and adolescent psychiatry and child welfare: an exploration through the lens of the life cycle model.

    PubMed

    Van den Steene, Helena; van West, Dirk; Peeraer, Griet; Glazemakers, Inge

    2018-03-23

    This study, as a part of a participatory action research project, reports the development process of an innovative collaboration between child and adolescent psychiatry and child welfare, for adolescent girls with multiple and complex needs. The findings emerge from a qualitative descriptive analysis of four focus groups with 30 professionals closely involved in this project, and describe the evolution of the collaborative efforts and outcomes through time. Participants describe large investments and negative consequences of rapid organizational change in the beginning of the collaboration project, while benefits of the intensive collaboration only appeared later. A shared person-centred vision and enhanced professionals' confidence were pointed out as important contributors in the evolution of the collaboration. Findings were compared to the literature and showed significant analogy with the life cycle model for shared service centres that describe the maturation of collaborations from a management perspective. These findings enrich the knowledge about the development process of collaboration in health and social care. In increasingly collaborative services, child and adolescent psychiatrists and policy makers should be aware that gains from a collaboration will possibly only be achieved in the longer term, and benefit from knowing which factors have an influence on the evolution of a collaboration project.

  17. MASGOMAS project: building a bona-fide catalog of massive star cluster candidates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrero, Artemio; Rübke, Klaus; Ramírez Alegría, Sebastián; Garcia, Miriam; Marín-Franch, Antonio

    2017-11-01

    MASGOMAS (MAssive Stars in Galactic Obscured MAssive clusterS) is a project aiming at discovering OB stars in Galactic, dust enshrouded, star-forming massive clusters (Marín-Franch et al. 2009, A&A 502, 559). The project has gone through different phases of increasing automatization, that have allowed us to discover massive clusters like MASGOMAS-1 (Ramírez Alegría et al. 2012, A&A 541, A75) (with M~20,000 M⊙).

  18. A Compound LAMS-MOODLE Environment to Support Collaborative Project-Based Learning: A Case Study with the Group Investigation Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paschalis, Giorgos

    2017-01-01

    Collaborative project-based learning is well established as a component of several courses in higher education, since it seems to motivate students and make them active in the learning process. Collaborative Project-Based Learning methods are demanded so that tutors become able to intervene and guide the students in flexible ways: by encouraging…

  19. Enhancing Successful Outcomes of Wiki-Based Collaborative Writing: A State-of-the-Art Review of Facilitation Frameworks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoddart, Andrew; Chan, Joe Yong-Yi; Liu, Gi-Zen

    2016-01-01

    This state-of-the-art review research undertook a survey of a variety of studies regarding wiki-based collaborative writing projects and from this body of work extracted the best practices tenets of facilitation. Wiki-based collaborative writing projects are becoming more common in second language (L2) pedagogy. Such projects have multiple aims.…

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

    Westerly, D.

    Experimental research in medical physics has expanded the limits of our knowledge and provided novel imaging and therapy technologies for patients around the world. However, experimental efforts are challenging due to constraints in funding, space, time and other forms of institutional support. In this joint ESTRO-AAPM symposium, four exciting experimental projects from four different countries are highlighted. Each project is focused on a different aspect of radiation therapy. From the USA, we will hear about a new linear accelerator concept for more compact and efficient therapy devices. From Canada, we will learn about novel linear accelerator target design and themore » implications for imaging and therapy. From France, we will discover a mature translational effort to incorporate theranostic nanoparticles in MR-guided radiation therapy. From Germany, we will find out about a novel in-treatment imaging modality for particle therapy. These examples of high impact, experimental medical physics research are representative of the diversity of such efforts that are on-going around the globe. J. Robar, Research is supported through collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and Brainlab AGD. Westerly, This work is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. COI: NONEK. Parodi, Part of the presented work is supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation) Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics) and has been carried out in collaboration with IBA.« less

  1. MO-FG-BRC-04: Ionacoustic Imaging for Particle Range Verification

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

    Parodi, K.

    2016-06-15

    Experimental research in medical physics has expanded the limits of our knowledge and provided novel imaging and therapy technologies for patients around the world. However, experimental efforts are challenging due to constraints in funding, space, time and other forms of institutional support. In this joint ESTRO-AAPM symposium, four exciting experimental projects from four different countries are highlighted. Each project is focused on a different aspect of radiation therapy. From the USA, we will hear about a new linear accelerator concept for more compact and efficient therapy devices. From Canada, we will learn about novel linear accelerator target design and themore » implications for imaging and therapy. From France, we will discover a mature translational effort to incorporate theranostic nanoparticles in MR-guided radiation therapy. From Germany, we will find out about a novel in-treatment imaging modality for particle therapy. These examples of high impact, experimental medical physics research are representative of the diversity of such efforts that are on-going around the globe. J. Robar, Research is supported through collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and Brainlab AGD. Westerly, This work is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. COI: NONEK. Parodi, Part of the presented work is supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation) Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics) and has been carried out in collaboration with IBA.« less

  2. The Study Designed by a Committee

    PubMed Central

    Henry, David B.; Farrell, Albert D.

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the research design of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project (MVPP), organized and funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC's objectives, refined in the course of collaboration among investigators, were to evaluate the efficacy of universal and targeted interventions designed to produce change at the school level. The project's design was developed collaboratively, and is a 2 × 2 cluster-randomized true experimental design in which schools within four separate sites were assigned randomly to four conditions: (1) no-intervention control group, (2) universal intervention, (3) targeted intervention, and (4) combined universal and targeted interventions. A total of 37 schools are participating in this study with 8–12 schools per site. The impact of the interventions on two successive cohorts of sixth-grade students will be assessed based on multiple waves of data from multiple sources of information, including teachers, students, parents, and archival data. The nesting of students within teachers, families, schools and sites created a number of challenges for designing and implementing the study. The final design represents both resolution and compromise on a number of creative tensions existing in large-scale prevention trials, including tensions between cost and statistical power, and between internal and external validity. Strengths and limitations of the final design are discussed. PMID:14732183

  3. Project-based learning with international collaboration for training biomedical engineers.

    PubMed

    Krishnan, Shankar

    2011-01-01

    Training biomedical engineers while effectively keeping up with the fast paced scientific breakthroughs and the growth in technical innovations poses arduous challenges for educators. Traditional pedagogical methods are employed for coping with the increasing demands in biomedical engineering (BME) training and continuous improvements have been attempted with some success. Project-based learning (PBL) is an academic effort that challenges students by making them carry out interdisciplinary projects aimed at accomplishing a wide range of student learning outcomes. PBL has been shown to be effective in the medical field and has been adopted by other fields including engineering. The impact of globalization in healthcare appears to be steadily increasing which necessitates the inclusion of awareness of relevant international activities in the curriculum. Numerous difficulties are encountered when the formation of a collaborative team is tried, and additional difficulties occur as the collaboration team is extended to international partners. Understanding and agreement of responsibilities becomes somewhat complex and hence the collaborative project has to be planned and executed with clear understanding by all partners and participants. A model for training BME students by adopting PBL with international collaboration is proposed. The results of previous BME project work with international collaboration fit partially into the model. There were many logistic issues and constraints; however, the collaborative projects themselves greatly enhanced the student learning outcomes. This PBL type of learning experience tends to promote long term retention of multidisciplinary material and foster high-order cognitive activities such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. In addition to introducing the students to experiences encountered in the real-life workforce, the proposed approach enhances developing professional contracts and global networking. In conclusion, despite initial challenges, adopting project-based learning with international collaboration has strong potentials to be valuable in the training of biomedical engineering students.

  4. Collaborative research, knowledge and emergence.

    PubMed

    Zittoun, Tania; Baucal, Aleksandar; Cornish, Flora; Gillespie, Alex

    2007-06-01

    We use the notion of emergence to consider the sorts of knowledge that can be produced in a collaborative research project. The notion invites us to see collaborative work as a developmental dynamic system in which various changes constantly occur. Among these we examine two sorts of knowledge that can be produced: scientific knowledge, and collaborative knowledge. We argue that collaborative knowledge can enable researchers to reflectively monitor their collaborative project, so as to encourage its most productive changes. On the basis of examples taken from this special issue, we highlight four modes of producing collaborative knowledge and discuss the possible uses of such knowledge.

  5. Using a Collaborative Problem Solving Strategy To Facilitate the Mainstreaming of Students with Severe Handicaps (The Collaborative Education Project). Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salisbury, Christine; Evans, Ian M.

    The Collaborative Education Project's goal was to assess the effectiveness of collaborative problem solving (CPS) by peer advocates for enhancing the integration of students with severe disabilities into regular early education contexts. The CPS strategy gives some responsibility to nondisabled students for the planning and design of activities…

  6. When Collaborative Learning Meets Nature: Collaborative Learning as a Meaningful Learning Tool in the Ecology Inquiry Based Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rozenszayn, Ronit; Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi

    2011-01-01

    This research suggests utilizing collaborative learning among high school students for better performance on ecology inquiry-based projects. A case study of nine 12th grade students who participated in collaborative learning sessions in the open field and in class is examined. The results show that the students concentrated on discussing the…

  7. A Balanced Scorecard for Open Innovation: Measuring the Impact of Industry-University Collaboration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flores, Myrna; Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Magyar, Andrea

    The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) can be considered as a strategic measurement tool. Since its first publication by Norton and Kaplan in the early 1990’s, many companies have applied it to measure four key aspects of their organisations’ performance: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth. Although it is widely used in the business arena, this original BSC was not developed to assess the impact of collaborative research projects under an open innovation strategy, where the outputs of research and development (R&D) developed by collaborative projects undertaken by industry and universities should be measured in a different way. In fact, many companies are losing important opportunities to spur their R&D results by not being able to quantify the results of such collaborations. Therefore, this paper will propose a Scorecard to measure the outcomes of collaborative research. It is important to recall that this scorecard has been developed during a collaborative research project by CEMEX Research Group AG (Switzerland) and Cranfield University (UK). During such project, a survey was developed to carry out eleven face-to-face interviews in a sample of ten companies in UK, which provided important inputs to design such strategic scorecard. It was confirmed that a collaborative balanced scorecard is a very useful tool to measure, track and improve the impact of conducting collaborative projects with universities.

  8. Scaling Critical Zone analysis tasks from desktop to the cloud utilizing contemporary distributed computing and data management approaches: A case study for project based learning of Cyberinfrastructure concepts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swetnam, T. L.; Pelletier, J. D.; Merchant, N.; Callahan, N.; Lyons, E.

    2015-12-01

    Earth science is making rapid advances through effective utilization of large-scale data repositories such as aerial LiDAR and access to NSF-funded cyberinfrastructures (e.g. the OpenTopography.org data portal, iPlant Collaborative, and XSEDE). Scaling analysis tasks that are traditionally developed using desktops, laptops or computing clusters to effectively leverage national and regional scale cyberinfrastructure pose unique challenges and barriers to adoption. To address some of these challenges in Fall 2014 an 'Applied Cyberinfrastructure Concepts' a project-based learning course (ISTA 420/520) at the University of Arizona focused on developing scalable models of 'Effective Energy and Mass Transfer' (EEMT, MJ m-2 yr-1) for use by the NSF Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) project. EEMT is a quantitative measure of the flux of available energy to the critical zone, and its computation involves inputs that have broad applicability (e.g. solar insolation). The course comprised of 25 students with varying level of computational skills and with no prior domain background in the geosciences, collaborated with domain experts to develop the scalable workflow. The original workflow relying on open-source QGIS platform on a laptop was scaled to effectively utilize cloud environments (Openstack), UA Campus HPC systems, iRODS, and other XSEDE and OSG resources. The project utilizes public data, e.g. DEMs produced by OpenTopography.org and climate data from Daymet, which are processed using GDAL, GRASS and SAGA and the Makeflow and Work-queue task management software packages. Students were placed into collaborative groups to develop the separate aspects of the project. They were allowed to change teams, alter workflows, and design and develop novel code. The students were able to identify all necessary dependencies, recompile source onto the target execution platforms, and demonstrate a functional workflow, which was further improved upon by one of the group leaders over Spring 2015. All of the code, documentation and workflow description are currently available on GitHub and a public data portal is in development. We present a case study of how students reacted to the challenge of a real science problem, their interactions with end-users, what went right, and what could be done better in the future.

  9. Characterization of fundamental catalytic properties of MoS2/WS2 nanotubes and nanoclusters for desulfurization catalysis - a surface temperature study

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

    U. Burghaus

    2012-07-05

    The prior project consisted of two main project lines. First, characterization of novel nanomaterials for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) applications. Second, studying more traditional model systems for HDS such as vapor-deposited silica-supported Mo and MoSx clusters. In the first subproject, we studied WS2 and MoS2 fullerene-like nanoparticles as well as WS2 nanotubes. Thiophene (C4H4S) was used as the probe molecule. Interestingly, metallic and sulfur-like adsorption sites could be identified on the silica-supported fullerene-particles system. Similar structures are seen for the traditional system (vapor-deposited clusters). Thus, this may be a kinetics fingerprint feature of modern HDS model systems. In addition, kinetics data allowedmore » characterization of the different adsorption sites for thiophene on and inside WS2 nanotube bundles. The latter is a unique feature of nanotubes that has not been reported before for any inorganic nanotube system; however, examples are known for carbon nanotubes, including prior work of the PI. Although HDS has been studied for decades, utilizing nanotubes as nanosized HDS reactors has never been tried before, as far as we know. This is of interest from a fundamental perspective. Unfortunately, the HDS activity of the nanocatalysts at ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions was close to the detection limit of our techniques. Therefore, we propose to run experiments at ambient pressure on related nanopowder samples as part of the renewal application utilizing a now-available GC (gas chromatograph) setup. In addition, Ni and Co doped nanocatalyts are proposed for study. These dopants will boost the catalytic activity. In the second subproject of the prior grant, we studied HDS-related chemistry on more traditional supported cluster catalysts. Mo clusters supported by physical vapor deposition (PVD) on silica have been characterized. Two reaction pathways are evident when adsorbing thiophene on Mo and MoSx clusters: molecular adsorption and dissociation. PVD Mo clusters turned out to be very reactive toward thiophene bond activation. Sulfur and carbon residuals form, which poison the catalyst and sulfide the Mo clusters. Sulfided silica-supported MoSx samples are not reactive toward thiophene bond activation. In addition to S and C deposits, H2, H2S, and small organic molecules were detected in the gas phase. Catalyst reactivation procedures, including O2 and atomic hydrogen treatments, have been tested. Cluster size effects have been seen: thiophene adsorbs molecularly with larger binding energies on smaller clusters. However, larger clusters have smaller activation energy for C4H4S bond activation than smaller clusters. The latter is consistent with early catalysis studies. Kinetics and dynamics parameters have been determined quantitatively. We spent a significant amount of time on upgrades of our equipment. A 2nd-hand refurbished X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) has been integrated into the existing molecular beam scattering system and is already operational (supported by the DoE supplemental grant available in October 2009). We also added a time of flight (TOF) system to the beam scattering apparatus and improved on the accessible impact energy range (new nozzle heater and gas mixing manifold) for the beam scattering experiments. In addition, a GC-based powder atmospheric flow reactor for studies on powder samples is now operational. Furthermore, a 2nd UHV kinetics system has been upgraded as well. In summary, mostly single crystal systems have so far been considered in basic science studies about HDS. Industrial catalysts, however, can be better approximated with the supported cluster systems that we studied in this project. Furthermore, an entirely new class of HDS systems, namely fullerene-like particles and inorganic nanotubes, has been included. Studying new materials and systems has the potential to impact science and technology. The systems investigated are closely related to energy and environmental-related surface science/catalysis. This prior project, conducted at NDSU by a small team, resulted in a total of 14 printed publications,1-5, 7-12, 14, 19, 20eight months before the end of the funding period. In addition, collaborators at national laboratories and abroad were part of the projects, as proposed. More specifically, projects about HDS on MoS2 and WS2 inorganic fullerene-like nanoparticles,1, 5 inorganic WS2 nanotubes,2 Mo and MoS2 vapor-deposited nanoclusters,3 modeling,19 reviews/book chapter,7, 11 and side projects8-10 have been conducted, as proposed, acknowledging solely (exception ref.7) funding from this grant. A list of publications and coworkers is given in sect. 6.« less

  10. To Support Research Activities Under the NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gregory, John C.

    2003-01-01

    The Alabama NASA EPSCoR Program is a collaborative venture of The Alabama Space Grant Consortium, The Alabama EPSCoR, and faculty and staff at 10 Alabama colleges and universities as well as the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile. There are two Research Clusters which include infrastructure-building and outreach elements embedded in their research activities. Each of the two Research Clusters is in an area of clear and demonstrable relevance to NASA's mission, to components of other Alabama EPSCoR projects, and to the State of Alabama's economic development. This Final Report summarizes and reports upon those additional activities occurring after the first report was submitted in March 2000 (included here as Appendix C). Since the nature of the activities and the manner in which they relate to one another differ by cluster, these clusters function independently and are summarized in parallel in this report. They do share a common administration by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC) and by this means, good ideas from each group were communicated to the other, as appropriate. During the past year these research teams, involving 15 scientists, 16 graduate students, 16 undergraduates, and 7 high school students involving 10 Alabama universities had 14 peer reviewed scientific journal articles published, 21 others reviewed for publication or published in proceedings, gave 7 formal presentations and numerous informal presentations to well over 3000 people, received 3 patents and were awarded 14 research proposals for more than $213K dollars in additional research related to these investigations. Each cluster's activities are described and an Appendix summarizes these achievements.

  11. The Clusters - Collaborative Models of Sustainable Regional Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mănescu, Gabriel; Kifor, Claudiu

    2014-12-01

    The clusters are the subject of actions and of whole series of documents issued by national and international organizations, and, based on experience, many authorities promote the idea that because of the clusters, competitiveness increases, the workforce specializes, regional businesses and economies grow. The present paper is meant to be an insight into the initiatives of forming clusters in Romania. Starting from a comprehensive analysis of the development potential offered by each region of economic development, we present the main types of clusters grouped according to fields of activity and their overall objectives

  12. Electronic construction collaboration system : phase III.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-12-01

    This phase of the electronic collaboration project involved two major efforts: 1) implementation of AEC Sync (formerly known as Attolist), a web-based project management system (WPMS), on the Broadway Viaduct Bridge Project and the Iowa Falls Arch Br...

  13. Coordinating Centers in Cancer-Epidemiology Research: The Asia Cohort Consortium Coordinating Center

    PubMed Central

    Rolland, Betsy; Smith, Briana R; Potter, John D

    2011-01-01

    Although it is tacitly recognized that a good Coordinating Center (CC) is essential to the success of any multi-site collaborative project, very little study has been done on what makes a CC successful, why some CCs fail, or how to build a CC that meets the needs of a given project. Moreover, very little published guidance is available, as few CCs outside the clinical-trial realm write about their work. The Asia Cohort Consortium (ACC) is a collaborative cancer-epidemiology research project that has made strong scientific and organizational progress over the past three years by focusing its CC on the following activities: collaboration development; operations management; statistical and data management; and communications infrastructure and tool development. Our hope is that, by sharing our experience building the ACC CC, we can begin a conversation about what it means to run a coordinating center for multi-institutional collaboration in cancer epidemiology, help other collaborative projects solve some of the issues associated with collaborative research, and learn from others. PMID:21803842

  14. Promoting Collaboration in a Project-Based E-Learning Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Papanikolaou, Kyparisia; Boubouka, Maria

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the value of collaboration scripts for promoting metacognitive knowledge in a project-based e-learning context. In an empirical study, 82 students worked individually and in groups on a project using the e-learning environment MyProject, in which the life cycle of a project is inherent. Students followed a particular…

  15. Blalock FIRST: A Collaborative Project between Georgia State University & the Atlanta Public Schools. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nurss, Joanne R.; And Others

    This report describes Blalock FIRST, a 3-year collaborative research project designed to improve literacy skills of low-income, African American families living in a severely depressed urban housing project. Project implementation, and antecedents to the implementation, are described. Objectives of the project were to: (1) increase achievement in…

  16. Comparing art-science collaboration efforts to highlight changes in the marine environment of Arctic Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, O. A.

    2016-12-01

    Significant changes to the Arctic marine environment is anticipated as a result of decreasing sea ice and increasing anthropogenic activity that may occur with increasing access to ice-free waters. Two different collaboration efforts between scientists and artists on projects related to changes in the Alaskan Arctic waters are compared to present different outcomes from two collaboration strategies. The first collaboration involved a funded project to develop visualizations of change on the North Slope as part of an outreach effort for the North Slope Science Initiative Scenarios project. The second collaboration was a voluntary art-science collaboration to develop artwork about changing sea ice habitat for walrus as one contribution to a featured art show during the 2016 Arctic Science Summit Week. Both collaboration opportunities resulted in compelling visualizations. However the funded collaboration provided for more iterative discussions between the scientist and the collaborators for the film and animation products throughout the duration of the project. This ensured that the science remained an important focal point. In contrast, the product of the voluntary collaboration effort was primarily driven by the artist's perspective, although the discussions with the scientist played a role in connecting the content of the three panels in the final art and sculpture piece. This comparison of different levels of scientist-involvement and resources used to develop the visualizations highlights the importance of defining the intended audience and expectations for all collaborators early.

  17. Collaborative Teacher Learning: Findings from Two Professional Development Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erickson, G.; Minnes Brandes, G.; Mitchell, I.; Mitchell, J.

    2005-01-01

    This article discusses two projects that were aimed at enhancing the opportunities for professional development of the participants through collaboration between classroom teachers and teacher educators. The two projects, the Australian Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) and the Canadian Learning Strategies Group (LSG), focused on the…

  18. Project Administration Techniques for Successful Classroom Collaborative Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kryder, LeeAnne Giannone

    1991-01-01

    Focuses on the collaborative writing done for a large report or proposal over a period of several weeks or months in a business writing course. Discusses short-term writing projects and nonwriting tasks for project administration, meeting management, student/instructor conference, project planning and time estimates, and oral presentations. (PRA)

  19. The DAFT/FADA Survey status and latest results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guennou, L.

    2011-12-01

    We present here the latest results obtained from the American French collaboration called the Dark energy American French Team/French American DArk energy Team (DAFT/FADA). The goal of the DAFT/FADA collaboration is to carry out a weak lensing tomography survey of z = 0.4-0.9 rich clusters of galaxies. Unlike supernovae or other methods such as cluster of galaxy counts, weak lensing tomography is purely based on geometry and does not depend on knowledge of the physics of the objects used as distance indicators. In addition, the reason for analyzing observations in the direction of clusters is that the shear signal is enhanced by about 10 over the field. Our work will eventually contain results obtained on 91 rich clusters from the HST archive combined with ground based work to obtain photo-zs. This combination of photo-z and weak lensing tomography will enable us to constrain the equation of state of dark energy. We present here the latest results obtained so far in this study.

  20. Cluster: A fleet of four spacecraft to study plasma structures in three dimensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schmidt, R.; Goldstein, M. L.

    1988-01-01

    The four Cluster spacecraft are spin stabilized spacecraft which are designed and built under stringent requirements as far as electromagnetic cleanliness is concerned. Conductive surfaces and low electromagnetic background noise are mandatory for accurate electric field and cold plasma measurements. The mission is implemented in collaboration between ESA and NASA. A Russian mission will be closely coordinated with Cluster.

  1. Greening up Auto Part Manufacturing: A Collaboration between Academia and Industry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kneas, Kristi A.; Armstrong, Drew L.; Brank, Alice R.; Johnson, Amanda L.; Kissinger, Chelsea A.; Mabe, Adam R.; Sezer, Ozge; Fontinell, Mike

    2009-01-01

    Historically, manufacture of automotive electronic components and screen-printing of automotive instrument clusters at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. required washing of equipment such as screens, stencils, and jigs with sizable quantities of volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. Collaborative efforts between the Maryville…

  2. North-South health research collaboration: challenges in institutional interaction.

    PubMed

    Maina-Ahlberg, B; Nordberg, E; Tomson, G

    1997-04-01

    North-South health development cooperation often includes research financed largely by external donors. The cooperation varies between projects and programmes with regard to subject area, mix of disciplines involved, research methods, training components and project management arrangements. A variety of problems is encountered, but they are rarely described and discussed in published project reports. We authors conducted a study of a small number of European health researchers collaborating with researchers from the Third World. We focused upon projects involving both biomedical and social science researchers, and apart from a literature review three methods were applied: self-administered questionnaires to European researchers, semistructured interviews with five IHCAR researchers, and written summaries by the three authors, each on one recent or ongoing collaborative project of their choice. Most collaborative projects were initiated from the North and are monodisciplinary or partly interdisciplinary in the sense that researchers did independent data collection preceded by joint planning and followed by joint analysis and write-up. There may be disagreements concerning remuneration such as allowances in relation to fieldwork and training. Socio-cultural misunderstanding and conflict was reportedly rare, and no serious problems were reported regarding authorship and publishing. It is concluded that collaborative research is a complex and poorly understood process with considerable potential and worth pursuing despite the problems. Difficulties related to logistics and finance are easily and freely discussed, while there is little evidence that transdisciplinary research is conducted or even discussed. We recommend that published and unpublished reports on collaborative research projects include more detailed accounts of the North-South collaborative arrangements and their management, ethical and financial aspects.

  3. Partnerships in global health and collaborative governance: lessons learnt from the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine at the Geneva University Hospitals.

    PubMed

    Beran, David; Aebischer Perone, Sigiriya; Alcoba, Gabriel; Bischoff, Alexandre; Bussien, Claire-Lise; Eperon, Gilles; Hagon, Olivier; Heller, Olivia; Jacquerioz Bausch, Frédérique; Perone, Nicolas; Vogel, Thomas; Chappuis, François

    2016-04-29

    In 2007 the "Crisp Report" on international partnerships increased interest in Northern countries on the way their links with Southern partners operated. Since its establishment in 2007 the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine at the Geneva University Hospitals has developed a variety of partnerships. Frameworks to assess these partnerships are needed and recent attention in the field of public management on collaborative governance may provide a useful approach for analyzing international collaborations. Projects of the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine were analyzed by collaborators within the Division using the model proposed by Emerson and colleagues for collaborative governance, which comprises different components that assess the collaborative process. International projects within the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine can be divided into four categories: Human resource development; Humanitarian response; Neglected Tropical Diseases and Noncommunicable diseases. For each of these projects there was a clear leader from the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine as well as a local counterpart. These individuals were seen as leaders both due to their role in establishing the collaboration as well as their technical expertise. Across these projects the actual partners vary greatly. This diversity means a wide range of contributions to the collaboration, but also complexity in managing different interests. A common definition of the collaborative aims in each of the projects is both a formal and informal process. Legal, financial and administrative aspects of the collaboration are the formal elements. These can be a challenge based on different administrative requirements. Friendship is part of the informal aspects and helps contribute to a relationship that is not exclusively professional. Using collaborative governance allows the complexity of managing partnerships to be presented. The framework used highlights the process of establishing collaborations, which is an element often negated by other more traditional models used in international partnerships. Applying the framework to the projects of the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine highlights the importance of shared values and interests, credibility of partners, formal and informal methods of management as well as friendship.

  4. Collaboration: Perceptions of FCS Professionals in Teaching, Research, and Service

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kandiah, Jay; Saiki, Diana

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals' perceptions of multidisciplinary collaboration in teaching, research, and service. A focus group and survey were participants identified projects, strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions related to collaboration.Topics and projects that incorporated…

  5. CRP: Collaborative Research Project (A Mathematical Research Experience for Undergraduates)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parsley, Jason; Rusinko, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    The "Collaborative Research Project" ("CRP")--a mathematics research experience for undergraduates--offers a large-scale collaborative experience in research for undergraduate students. CRP seeks to widen the audience of students who participate in undergraduate research in mathematics. In 2015, the inaugural CRP had 100…

  6. 78 FR 27198 - Applications for New Awards; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-09

    ... Rehabilitation Research--Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Centers Collaborative Research Project AGENCY... Brain Injury Model Systems Centers Collaborative Research Projects; Notice inviting applications for new... competition. Priority 1, the DRRP Priority for the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Centers Collaborative...

  7. Collaboration in health technology assessment (EUnetHTA joint action, 2010-2012): four case studies.

    PubMed

    Huić, Mirjana; Nachtnebel, Anna; Zechmeister, Ingrid; Pasternak, Iris; Wild, Claudia

    2013-07-01

    The aim of this study was to present the first four collaborative health technology assessment (HTA) processes on health technologies of different types and life cycles targeted toward diverse HTA users and facilitators, as well as the barriers of these collaborations. Retrospective analysis, through four case studies, was performed on the first four collaboration experiences of agencies participating in the EUnetHTA Joint Action project (2010-12), comprising different types and life cycles of health technologies for a diverse target audience, and different types of collaboration. The methods used to initiate collaboration, partner contributions, the assessment methodology, report structure, time frame, and factors acting as possible barriers to and facilitators of this collaboration were described. Two ways were used to initiate collaboration in the first four collaborative HTA processes: active brokering of information, so-called "calls for collaboration," and individual contact between agencies after identifying a topic common to two agencies in the Planned and Ongoing Projects database. Several success factors are recognized: predefined project management, high degree of commitment to the project; adherence to timelines; high relevance of technology; a common understanding of the methods applied and advanced experience in HTA; finally, acceptance of English-written reports by decision makers in non-English-speaking countries. Barriers like late identification of collaborative partners, nonacceptance of English language and different methodology of assessment should be overcome. Timely and efficient, different collaborative HTA processes on relative efficacy/effectiveness and safety on different types and life cycles of health technologies, targeted toward diverse HTA users in Europe are possible. There are still barriers to overcome.

  8. Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network: Keeping Education in the Dark

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ross, Rachel J.

    2007-12-01

    Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network is a non-profit organization that is building a completely robotic network of telescopes for education (24 x 0.4m, clusters of 4) and science (18 x 1.0m, clusters of 3 and 2 x 2.0 meters) which will be longitudinally spaced so there will always be at least one cluster in the dark. The network will be completely accessible online with observations being completed in either real-time or queued-based modes. The network will also have the ability to complete very long observations of all kinds of variable objects and include a rapid response system will allow the telescopes to quickly slew to unexpected phenomena and provide around-the-clock monitoring. Students will be able to do research projects using and collecting data from both the long observations (e.g. extrasolar planet follow-up, variable star light curves, etc.) and the quick response (e.g. supernovae, GRBs, etc.), as well as use their own ideas to create personalized projects. Also available online will be a huge archive of data and the ability to use online software to process it. A large library of activities and resources will be available for all age groups and levels of science. LCOGTN will work cooperatively with international organizations to bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience together to create a world class program. Through these collaborations, pilots have already been started in a few European countries, as well as trial programs involving schools partnered between the USA and UK. LCOGTN's education network will provide an avenue for educators and learners to use cutting edge technology to do real science. All you need is a broadband internet connection, computer, and lots of enthusiasm and imagination.

  9. Federated data storage system prototype for LHC experiments and data intensive science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiryanov, A.; Klimentov, A.; Krasnopevtsev, D.; Ryabinkin, E.; Zarochentsev, A.

    2017-10-01

    Rapid increase of data volume from the experiments running at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) prompted physics computing community to evaluate new data handling and processing solutions. Russian grid sites and universities’ clusters scattered over a large area aim at the task of uniting their resources for future productive work, at the same time giving an opportunity to support large physics collaborations. In our project we address the fundamental problem of designing a computing architecture to integrate distributed storage resources for LHC experiments and other data-intensive science applications and to provide access to data from heterogeneous computing facilities. Studies include development and implementation of federated data storage prototype for Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) centres of different levels and University clusters within one National Cloud. The prototype is based on computing resources located in Moscow, Dubna, Saint Petersburg, Gatchina and Geneva. This project intends to implement a federated distributed storage for all kind of operations such as read/write/transfer and access via WAN from Grid centres, university clusters, supercomputers, academic and commercial clouds. The efficiency and performance of the system are demonstrated using synthetic and experiment-specific tests including real data processing and analysis workflows from ATLAS and ALICE experiments, as well as compute-intensive bioinformatics applications (PALEOMIX) running on supercomputers. We present topology and architecture of the designed system, report performance and statistics for different access patterns and show how federated data storage can be used efficiently by physicists and biologists. We also describe how sharing data on a widely distributed storage system can lead to a new computing model and reformations of computing style, for instance how bioinformatics program running on supercomputers can read/write data from the federated storage.

  10. DYNAMIC PROJECT COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE (UXO) REMOVAL Case Study: Jefferson Proving Ground UXO Removal Projector

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

    Daffron, James Y.

    2003-02-27

    Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) removal and investigation projects typically involve multiple organizations including Government entities, private contractors, and technical experts. Resources are split into functional ''teams'' who perform the work and interface with the clients. The projects typically generate large amounts of data that must be shared among the project team members, the clients, and the public. The ability to efficiently communicate and control information is essential to project success. Web-based project collaboration is an effective management and communication tool when applied to ordnance and explosives (OE) projects. During a recent UXO/OE removal project at the Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) inmore » Madison, IN, American Technologies, Inc. (ATI) successfully used the Project Commander(reg sign) (www.ProCommander.com) project collaboration website as a dynamic project and information management tool.« less

  11. Building Bridges: A Study of Coordination in Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hemphill, Libby Marie

    2009-01-01

    In our efforts to understand how collaborative work can be accomplished, we often turn to discussions of "coordination" for help. However, the concept of coordination is inadequate for explaining the many interdependent processes at work within successful collaborations. In this dissertation, I examined a collaborative construction project--the…

  12. Improving Student Teamwork in a Collaborative Project-Based Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kapp, Edward

    2009-01-01

    While collaborative student projects can be effective in improving student learning, the failure of students to work together effectively remains a widely reported problem in collaborative learning. This article describes a team-building intervention designed to improve the students' abilities to work together in teams successfully. The…

  13. The Collaborative Peer Supervision Group Project: A Continuing Education Model to Promote Professional Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomasgard, Michael; Warfield, Janeece

    2005-01-01

    Thomasgard, a physician, and Warfield, a psychologist, describe the multidisciplinary Collaborative Peer Supervision Group Project, originally developed and implemented in Columbus, Ohio. Collaborative Peer Supervision Groups (CPSGs) foster the development of case-based, interdisciplinary, continuing education. CPSGs are designed to improve the…

  14. Online Music Collaboration Project: Digitally Mediated, Deterritorialized Music Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cremata, Radio; Powell, Bryan

    2017-01-01

    This article investigates and interrogates notions of student-centered music learning through collaboration in digital spaces. By harnessing the power and potential of Internet networks, one music educator in Miami, FL challenged his students to an online music collaboration project (OMCP) where students were asked to engage in deterritorialized…

  15. Assisting Instructional Assessment of Undergraduate Collaborative Wiki and SVN Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Jihie; Shaw, Erin; Xu, Hao; Adarsh, G. V.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we examine the collaborative performance of undergraduate engineering students who used shared project documents (Wikis, Google documents) and a software version control system (SVN) to support project collaboration. We present an initial implementation of TeamAnalytics, an instructional tool that facilitates the analyses of the…

  16. INPROF--Promoting Teamwork Processes and Interprofessional Collaboration in Emergency Work (2010-2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collin, Kaija; Paloniemi, Susanna; Herranen, Sanna

    2015-01-01

    This paper summarises the findings of a research project on interprofessional collaboration in the emergency unit of a major Finnish hospital. The findings are discussed through a broad conceptual framework which involves work process knowledge and interprofessional collaboration. The project, carried out from 2010-2012, investigated different…

  17. What Does Wiki Reveal about the Knowledge Processing Strategies of School Pupils? Seventh-Graders as Users of Wiki and Processors of Knowledge in a Collaborative Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahlholm, Maria; Grünthal, Satu; Harjunen, Elina

    2017-01-01

    On the basis of one teaching project carried out in a school, this article discusses collaborative writing in wiki platforms. It aims to find out what wiki reveals about pupils' knowledge construction, creation, and division and their collaborative writing skills. In this project, wiki is treated as a useful tool for analyzing these processes…

  18. A "Mixed" Strategy for Collaborative Group Formation and Its Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acharya, Anal; Sinha, Devadatta

    2018-01-01

    This study uses homogeneity in personal learning styles and heterogeneity in subject knowledge for collaborative learning group decomposition indicating that groups are "mixed" in nature. Homogeneity within groups was formed using K-means clustering and greedy search, whereas heterogeneity imbibed using agenda-driven search. For checking…

  19. Lensing is low: cosmology, galaxy formation or new physics?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leauthaud, Alexie; Saito, Shun; Hilbert, Stefan; Barreira, Alexandre; More, Surhud; White, Martin; Alam, Shadab; Behroozi, Peter; Bundy, Kevin; Coupon, Jean; Erben, Thomas; Heymans, Catherine; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Miller, Lance; Moraes, Bruno; Pereira, Maria E. S.; Rodríguez-Torres, Sergio A.; Schmidt, Fabian; Shan, Huan-Yuan; Viel, Matteo; Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco

    2017-05-01

    We present high signal-to-noise galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey constant mass (CMASS) sample using 250 deg2 of weak-lensing data from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Stripe 82 Survey. We compare this signal with predictions from mock catalogues trained to match observables including the stellar mass function and the projected and two-dimensional clustering of CMASS. We show that the clustering of CMASS, together with standard models of the galaxy-halo connection, robustly predicts a lensing signal that is 20-40 per cent larger than observed. Detailed tests show that our results are robust to a variety of systematic effects. Lowering the value of S_8=σ _8 \\sqrt{Ω _m/0.3} compared to Planck Collaboration XIII reconciles the lensing with clustering. However, given the scale of our measurement (r < 10 h-1 Mpc), other effects may also be at play and need to be taken into consideration. We explore the impact of baryon physics, assembly bias, massive neutrinos and modifications to general relativity on ΔΣ and show that several of these effects may be non-negligible given the precision of our measurement. Disentangling cosmological effects from the details of the galaxy-halo connection, the effect of baryons, and massive neutrinos, is the next challenge facing joint lensing and clustering analyses. This is especially true in the context of large galaxy samples from Baryon Acoustic Oscillation surveys with precise measurements but complex selection functions.

  20. Harnessing the Power of Technologies to Manage Collaborative e-Learning Projects in Dispersed Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gosper, Maree Veroncia; McNeill, Margot Anne; Woo, Karen

    2010-01-01

    "The impact of web-based lecture technologies on current and future practice in learning and teaching" was a collaborative project across four Australian universities, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). The project was both exploratory and developmental in nature and according to the project's external…

  1. The Design and Development of a Computerized Tool Support for Conducting Senior Projects in Software Engineering Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Chung-Yang; Teng, Kao-Chiuan

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a computerized tool support, the Meetings-Flow Project Collaboration System (MFS), for designing, directing and sustaining the collaborative teamwork required in senior projects in software engineering (SE) education. Among many schools' SE curricula, senior projects serve as a capstone course that provides comprehensive…

  2. Dimensions of Problem Based Learning--Dialogue and Online Collaboration in Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andreasen,, Lars Birch; Nielsen, Jørgen Lerche

    2013-01-01

    The article contributes to the discussions on problem based learning and project work, building on and reflecting the experiences of the authors. Four perspectives are emphasized as central to a contemporary approach to problem- and project-based learning: the exploration of problems, projects as a method, online collaboration, and the dialogic…

  3. Software Engineering Research/Developer Collaborations in 2005

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pressburger, Tom

    2006-01-01

    In CY 2005, three collaborations between software engineering technology providers and NASA software development personnel deployed three software engineering technologies on NASA development projects (a different technology on each project). The main purposes were to benefit the projects, infuse the technologies if beneficial into NASA, and give feedback to the technology providers to improve the technologies. Each collaboration project produced a final report. Section 2 of this report summarizes each project, drawing from the final reports and communications with the software developers and technology providers. Section 3 indicates paths to further infusion of the technologies into NASA practice. Section 4 summarizes some technology transfer lessons learned. Also included is an acronym list.

  4. Star Formation in Merging Clusters of Galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mansheim, Alison Seiler

    This thesis straddles two areas of cosmology, each of which are active, rich and plagued by controversy in their own right: merging clusters and the environmental dependence of galaxy evolution. While the greater context of this thesis is major cluster mergers, our individual subjects are galaxies, and we apply techniques traditionally used to study the differential evolution of galaxies with environment. The body of this thesis is drawn from two papers: Mansheim et al. 2016a and Mansheim et al. 2016b, one on each system. Both projects benefited from exquisite data sets assembled as part of the Merging Cluster Collaboration (MC2), and Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large Scale Environments (ORELSE) survey, allowing us to scrutinize the evolutionary states of galaxy populations in multiple lights. Multi-band optical and near-infrared imaging was available for both systems, allowing us to calculate photometric redshifts for completeness corrections, colors (red vs. blue) and stellar masses to view the ensemble properties of the populations in and around each merger. High-resolution spectroscopy was also available for both systems, allowing us to confirm cluster members by measuring spectroscopic redshifts, which are unparalleled in accuracy, and gauge star formation rates and histories by measuring the strengths of certain spectral features. We had the luxury of HST imaging for Musket Ball, allowing us to use galaxy morphology as an additional diagnostic. For Cl J0910, 24 mum imaging allowed us to defeat a most pernicious source of uncertainty. Details on the acquisition and reduction of multi-wavelength data for each system are found within each respective chapter. It is important to note that the research presented in Chapter 3 is based on a letter which had significant space restrictions, so much of the observational details are outsourced to papers written by ORELSE collaboration members. Below is a free-standing summary of each project, drawn from the abstracts of each paper. The Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the topic and motivation to fill a vacuum in knowledge using our hypothesis. Chapter 4, following the meat of the thesis in Chapters 2 and 3, gives closure and looks to the future. In Chapter 2, we investigate star formation in DLSCL J0916.2+2953, a dissociative merger of two clusters at z = 0.53 that has progressed 1.1 +1.3-0.4 Gyr since first pass-through. We attempt to reveal the effects a collision may have had on the evolution of the cluster galaxies by tracing their star formation history. We probe current and recent activity to identify a possible star formation event at the time of the merger using EW(Hdelta), EW(OII) and Dn(4000) measured from the composite spectra of 64 cluster and 153 coeval field galaxies. We supplement Keck DEIMOS spectra with DLS and HST imaging to determine the color, stellar mass, and morphology of each galaxy and conduct a comprehensive study of the populations in this complex structure. Spectral results indicate the average cluster and cluster red sequence galaxies experienced no enhanced star formation relative to the surrounding field during the merger, ruling out a predominantly merger-quenched population. We find that the average blue galaxy in the North cluster is currently active and in the South cluster is currently post-starburst having undergone a recent star formation event. While the North activity could be latent or long-term merger effects, a young blue stellar population and irregular geometry suggest the cluster was still forming prior the collision. While the South activity coincides with the time of the merger, the blue early-type population could be a result of secular cluster processes. The evidence suggests that the dearth or surfeit of activity is indiscernible from normal cluster galaxy evolution. In Chapter 3, we examine the effects of an impending cluster merger on galaxies in the large scale structure (LSS) RX Cl J0910 at z =1.105. Using multi-wavelength data, including 102 spectral members drawn from the ORELSE survey and precise photometric redshifts, we calculate extinction-corrected star formation rates and map the specific star formation rate density of the LSS galaxies. These analyses along with an investigation of the color-magnitude properties of LSS galaxies indicate lower levels of star formation activity in the region between the merging clusters relative to the outskirts of the system. We suggest gravitational tidal forces due to the potential of merging halos may be the physical mechanisms responsible for the observed suppression of star formation in galaxies caught between the merging clusters. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

  5. Preliminary results on the control of Aedes spp. in a remote Guatemalan community vulnerable to dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus: community participation and use of low-cost ecological ovillantas for mosquito control

    PubMed Central

    Ulibarri, Gerard; Betanzos, Angel; Betanzos, Mireya; Rojas, Juan Jacobo

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To study the effectiveness of an integrated intervention of health worker training, a low-cost ecological mosquito ovitrap, and community engagement on Aedes spp. mosquito control over 10 months in 2015 in an urban remote community in Guatemala at risk of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus transmission. Methods: We implemented a three-component integrated intervention consisting of: web-based training of local health personnel in vector control, cluster-randomized assignment of an ecological modified ovitrap (ovillantas: ovi=egg, llanta=tire) or standard ovitraps to capture Aedes spp. mosquito eggs (no efforts have been taken to determine the exact Aedes species at this moment), and community engagement to promote participation of community members and health personnel in the understanding and maintenance of ovitraps for mosquito control. The intervention was implemented in local collaboration with Guatemala’s  Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Programme, and in international collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico. Findings: Eighty percent of the 25 local health personnel enrolled in the training programme received accreditation of their improved knowledge of vector control. When ovillantas were used in a cluster of ovitraps (several in proximity), significantly more eggs were trapped by  ecological ovillantas than standard ovitraps over the 10 month (42 week) study period (t=5.2577; p<0.05). Repetitive filtering and recycling of the attractant solution (or water) kept the ovillanta clean, free from algae growth. Among both community members and health workers, the levels of knowledge, interest, and participation in community mosquito control and trapping increased. Recommendations for enhancing and sustaining community mosquito control were identified. Conclusion: Our three-component integrated intervention proved beneficial to this remote community at risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. The combination of training of health workers, cluster use of low-cost ecological ovillanta to destroy the second generation of mosquitoes, and community engagement ensured the project met local needs and fostered collaboration and participation of the community, which can help improve sustainability. The ovillanta intervention and methodology may be modified to target other species such as Culex, should it be established that such mosquitoes carry Zika virus in addition to Aedes. PMID:28105304

  6. New York: Northern Manhattan CARE Collaborative (A Former EPA CARE Project)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Northern Manhattan CARE Collaborative project is the recipient of a Level II CARE cooperative agreement, building on a successful level I award of 2007. West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT) will be the organization leading this project.

  7. Learning at the Boundaries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goos, Merrilyn

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports on a project that aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between mathematicians and mathematics educators in pre-service teacher education. The project involves 23 investigators from six universities. Interviews were conducted with selected project participants to identify conditions that enable or hinder collaboration,…

  8. Critical thinking in higher education: The influence of teaching styles and peer collaboration on science and math learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quitadamo, Ian Joseph

    Many higher education faculty perceive a deficiency in students' ability to reason, evaluate, and make informed judgments, skills that are deemed necessary for academic and job success in science and math. These skills, often collected within a domain called critical thinking (CT), have been studied and are thought to be influenced by teaching styles (the combination of beliefs, behavior, and attitudes used when teaching) and small group collaborative learning (SGCL). However, no existing studies show teaching styles and SGCL cause changes in student CT performance. This study determined how combinations of teaching styles called clusters and peer-facilitated SGCL (a specific form of SGCL) affect changes in undergraduate student CT performance using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test research design and valid and reliable CT performance indicators. Quantitative analyses of three teaching style cluster models (Grasha's cluster model, a weighted cluster model, and a student-centered/teacher-centered cluster model) and peer-facilitated SGCL were performed to evaluate their ability to cause measurable changes in student CT skills. Based on results that indicated weighted teaching style clusters and peer-facilitated SGCL are associated with significant changes in student CT, we conclude that teaching styles and peer-facilitated SGCL influence the development of undergraduate CT in higher education science and math.

  9. Evolution of the cluster optical galaxy luminosity function in the CFHTLS: breaking the degeneracy between mass and redshift

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarron, F.; Martinet, N.; Durret, F.; Adami, C.

    2018-06-01

    Obtaining large samples of galaxy clusters is important for cosmology: cluster counts as a function of redshift and mass can constrain the parameters of our Universe. They are also useful in order to understand the formation and evolution of clusters. We develop an improved version of the Adami & MAzure Cluster FInder (AMACFI), now the Adami, MAzure & Sarron Cluster FInder (AMASCFI), and apply it to the 154 deg2 of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) to obtain a large catalogue of 1371 cluster candidates with mass M200 > 1014 M⊙ and redshift z ≤ 0.7. We derive the selection function of the algorithm from the Millennium simulation, and cluster masses from a richness-mass scaling relation built from matching our candidates with X-ray detections. We study the evolution of these clusters with mass and redshift by computing the i'-band galaxy luminosity functions (GLFs) for the early-type (ETGs) and late-type galaxies (LTGs). This sample is 90% pure and 70% complete, and therefore our results are representative of a large fraction of the cluster population in these redshift and mass ranges. We find an increase in both the ETG and LTG faint populations with decreasing redshift (with Schechter slopes αETG = -0.65 ± 0.03 and αLTG = -0.95 ± 0.04 at z = 0.6, and αETG = -0.79 ± 0.02 and αLTG = -1.26 ± 0.03 at z = 0.2) and also a decrease in the LTG (but not the ETG) bright end. Our large sample allows us to break the degeneracy between mass and redshift, finding that the redshift evolution is more pronounced in high-mass clusters, but that there is no significant dependence of the faint end on mass for a given redshift. These results show that the cluster red sequence is mainly formed at redshift z > 0.7, and that faint ETGs continue to enrich the red sequence through quenching of brighter LTGs at z ≤ 0.7. The efficiency of this quenching is higher in large-mass clusters, while the accretion rate of faint LTGs is lower as the more massive clusters have already emptied most of their environment at higher redshifts. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/IRFU, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at Terapix available at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS.The candidate cluster catalog is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/613/A67

  10. Discovering Beaten Paths in Collaborative Ontology-Engineering Projects using Markov Chains

    PubMed Central

    Walk, Simon; Singer, Philipp; Strohmaier, Markus; Tudorache, Tania; Musen, Mark A.; Noy, Natalya F.

    2014-01-01

    Biomedical taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies in the form of the International Classification of Diseases as a taxonomy or the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus as an OWL-based ontology, play a critical role in acquiring, representing and processing information about human health. With increasing adoption and relevance, biomedical ontologies have also significantly increased in size. For example, the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which is currently under active development by the World Health Organization contains nearly 50, 000 classes representing a vast variety of different diseases and causes of death. This evolution in terms of size was accompanied by an evolution in the way ontologies are engineered. Because no single individual has the expertise to develop such large-scale ontologies, ontology-engineering projects have evolved from small-scale efforts involving just a few domain experts to large-scale projects that require effective collaboration between dozens or even hundreds of experts, practitioners and other stakeholders. Understanding the way these different stakeholders collaborate will enable us to improve editing environments that support such collaborations. In this paper, we uncover how large ontology-engineering projects, such as the International Classification of Diseases in its 11th revision, unfold by analyzing usage logs of five different biomedical ontology-engineering projects of varying sizes and scopes using Markov chains. We discover intriguing interaction patterns (e.g., which properties users frequently change after specific given ones) that suggest that large collaborative ontology-engineering projects are governed by a few general principles that determine and drive development. From our analysis, we identify commonalities and differences between different projects that have implications for project managers, ontology editors, developers and contributors working on collaborative ontology-engineering projects and tools in the biomedical domain. PMID:24953242

  11. Discovering beaten paths in collaborative ontology-engineering projects using Markov chains.

    PubMed

    Walk, Simon; Singer, Philipp; Strohmaier, Markus; Tudorache, Tania; Musen, Mark A; Noy, Natalya F

    2014-10-01

    Biomedical taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies in the form of the International Classification of Diseases as a taxonomy or the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus as an OWL-based ontology, play a critical role in acquiring, representing and processing information about human health. With increasing adoption and relevance, biomedical ontologies have also significantly increased in size. For example, the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which is currently under active development by the World Health Organization contains nearly 50,000 classes representing a vast variety of different diseases and causes of death. This evolution in terms of size was accompanied by an evolution in the way ontologies are engineered. Because no single individual has the expertise to develop such large-scale ontologies, ontology-engineering projects have evolved from small-scale efforts involving just a few domain experts to large-scale projects that require effective collaboration between dozens or even hundreds of experts, practitioners and other stakeholders. Understanding the way these different stakeholders collaborate will enable us to improve editing environments that support such collaborations. In this paper, we uncover how large ontology-engineering projects, such as the International Classification of Diseases in its 11th revision, unfold by analyzing usage logs of five different biomedical ontology-engineering projects of varying sizes and scopes using Markov chains. We discover intriguing interaction patterns (e.g., which properties users frequently change after specific given ones) that suggest that large collaborative ontology-engineering projects are governed by a few general principles that determine and drive development. From our analysis, we identify commonalities and differences between different projects that have implications for project managers, ontology editors, developers and contributors working on collaborative ontology-engineering projects and tools in the biomedical domain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Common ground: the HealthWeb project as a model for Internet collaboration.

    PubMed Central

    Redman, P M; Kelly, J A; Albright, E D; Anderson, P F; Mulder, C; Schnell, E H

    1997-01-01

    The establishment of the HealthWeb project by twelve health sciences libraries provides a collaborative means of organizing and enhancing access to Internet resources for the international health sciences community. The project is based on the idea that the Internet is common ground for all libraries and that through collaboration a more comprehensive, robust, and long-lasting information product can be maintained. The participants include more than seventy librarians from the health sciences libraries of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), an academic consortium of twelve major research universities. The Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine serves as a cosponsor. HealthWeb is an information resource that provides access to evaluated, annotated Internet resources via the World Wide Web. The project vision as well as the progress reported on its implementation may serve as a model for other collaborative Internet projects. PMID:9431420

  13. Understanding collaboration in a multi-national research capacity-building partnership: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Varshney, Dinansha; Atkins, Salla; Das, Arindam; Diwan, Vishal

    2016-08-18

    Research capacity building and its impact on policy and international research partnership is increasingly seen as important. High income and low- and middle-income countries frequently engage in research collaborations. These can have a positive impact on research capacity building, provided such partnerships are long-term collaborations with a unified aim, but they can also have challenges. What are these challenges, which often result in a short term/ non viable collaboration? Does such collaboration results in capacity building? What are the requirements to make any collaboration sustainable? This study aimed to answer these and other research questions through examining an international collaboration in one multi-country research capacity building project ARCADE RSDH (Asian Regional Capacity Development for Research on Social Determinants of Health). A qualitative study was conducted that focused on the reasons for the collaboration, collaboration patterns involved, processes of exchanging information, barriers faced and perceived growth in research capacity. In-depth interviews were conducted with the principal investigators (n = 12), research assistants (n = 2) and a scientific coordinator (n = 1) of the collaborating institutes. Data were analysed using thematic framework analysis. The initial contact between institutes was through previous collaborations. The collaboration was affected by the organisational structure of the partner institutes, political influences and the collaboration design. Communication was usually conducted online, which was affected by differences in time and language and inefficient infrastructure. Limited funding resulted in restricted engagement by some partners. This study explored work in a large, North-South collaboration project focusing on building research capacity in partner institutes. The project helped strengthen research capacity, though differences in organization types, existing research capacity, culture, time, and language acted as obstacles to the success of the project. Managing these differences requires preplanned strategies to develop functional communication channels among the partners, maintaining transparency, and sharing the rewards and benefits at all stages of collaboration.

  14. Using Wikis to Investigate Communication, Collaboration and Engagement in Capstone Engineering Design Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berthoud, L.; Gliddon, J.

    2018-01-01

    In today's global Aerospace industry, virtual workspaces are commonly used for collaboration between geographically distributed multidisciplinary teams. This study investigated the use of wikis to look at communication, collaboration and engagement in 'Capstone' team design projects at the end of an engineering degree. Wikis were set up for teams…

  15. Moving beyond the Barriers: Supporting Meaningful Teacher Collaboration to Improve Secondary School Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jao, Limin; McDougall, Doug

    2016-01-01

    The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project was a professional development initiative that sought to improve the teaching and learning of Grade 9 Applied mathematics by encouraging teachers to work collaboratively. The project brought together Grade 9 Applied mathematics teachers from 11 schools across four neighboring public school boards in the…

  16. Collaboration: From Analogue to Digital & Back.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burke, Gerald; Jaeger, Numo

    Situated at a place where art meets collaboration and speaking to the 1999 InSEA World Congress's "Cultures and Transitions" theme, this paper tells a collaborative story that began as an "art-i-fax/art-e-post" project initiated via the Getty Center's educational Web site and has led to combined art projects and exhibitions…

  17. Hybrid employment recommendation algorithm based on Spark

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Zuoquan; Lin, Yubei; Zhang, Xingming

    2017-08-01

    Aiming at the real-time application of collaborative filtering employment recommendation algorithm (CF), a clustering collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm (CCF) is developed, which applies hierarchical clustering to CF and narrows the query range of neighbour items. In addition, to solve the cold-start problem of content-based recommendation algorithm (CB), a content-based algorithm with users’ information (CBUI) is introduced for job recommendation. Furthermore, a hybrid recommendation algorithm (HRA) which combines CCF and CBUI algorithms is proposed, and implemented on Spark platform. The experimental results show that HRA can overcome the problems of cold start and data sparsity, and achieve good recommendation accuracy and scalability for employment recommendation.

  18. A social network's changing statistical properties and the quality of human innovation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uzzi, Brian

    2008-06-01

    We examined the entire network of creative artists that made Broadway musicals, in the post-War period, a collaboration network of international acclaim and influence, with an eye to investigating how the network's structural features condition the relationship between individual artistic talent and the success of their musicals. Our findings show that some of the evolving topographical qualities of degree distributions, path lengths and assortativity are relatively stable with time even as collaboration patterns shift, which suggests their changes are only minimally associated with the ebb and flux of the success of new productions. In contrast, the clustering coefficient changed substantially over time and we found that it had a nonlinear association with the production of financially and artistically successful shows. When the clustering coefficient ratio is low or high, the financial and artistic success of the industry is low, while an intermediate level of clustering is associated with successful shows. We supported these findings with sociological theory on the relationship between social structure and collaboration and with tests of statistical inference. Our discussion focuses on connecting the statistical properties of social networks to their performance and the performance of the actors embedded within them.

  19. Collaborative research: empowering students and connecting to community.

    PubMed

    Mills-Dick, Kelly; Hull, Jessie Mia

    2011-01-01

    Public health social work is committed to improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Collaborative partnerships can be a tremendous resource and valuable approach to meeting community needs. This article discusses the essential role of partnership and community learning through the case study of a student-faculty team engaged in collaborative research on homelessness in upstate New York in an effort to inform the development of a community affordable housing plan. The goals of the project were to (1) improve understanding of homelessness at the local level, (2) contribute to community planning efforts to end homelessness, and (3) enrich public health social work skills. This case study describes the various ways in which collaboration is cultivated and infused throughout the life of a project. The authors reflect on benefits and challenges of collaboration, and suggest considerations for designing collaborative research projects. This article discusses the impact faculty-student and college-community collaborative partnerships can have on expanding knowledge and enhancing community well-being.

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

    Wang, Jun

    Our group has been working with ANL collaborators on the topic bridging the gap between parallel file system and local file system during the course of this project period. We visited Argonne National Lab -- Dr. Robert Ross's group for one week in the past summer 2007. We looked over our current project progress and planned the activities for the incoming years 2008-09. The PI met Dr. Robert Ross several times such as HEC FSIO workshop 08, SC08 and SC10. We explored the opportunities to develop a production system by leveraging our current prototype to (SOGP+PVFS) a new PVFS version.more » We delivered SOGP+PVFS codes to ANL PVFS2 group in 2008.We also talked about exploring a potential project on developing new parallel programming models and runtime systems for data-intensive scalable computing (DISC). The methodology is to evolve MPI towards DISC by incorporating some functions of Google MapReduce parallel programming model. More recently, we are together exploring how to leverage existing works to perform (1) coordination/aggregation of local I/O operations prior to movement over the WAN, (2) efficient bulk data movement over the WAN, (3) latency hiding techniques for latency-intensive operations. Since 2009, we start applying Hadoop/MapReduce to some HEC applications with LANL scientists John Bent and Salman Habib. Another on-going work is to improve checkpoint performance at I/O forwarding Layer for the Road Runner super computer with James Nuetz and Gary Gridder at LANL. Two senior undergraduates from our research group did summer internships about high-performance file and storage system projects in LANL since 2008 for consecutive three years. Both of them are now pursuing Ph.D. degree in our group and will be 4th year in the PhD program in Fall 2011 and go to LANL to advance two above-mentioned works during this winter break. Since 2009, we have been collaborating with several computer scientists (Gary Grider, John bent, Parks Fields, James Nunez, Hsing-Bung Chen, etc) from HPC5 and James Ahrens from Advanced Computing Laboratory in Los Alamos National Laboratory. We hold a weekly conference and/or video meeting on advancing works at two fronts: the hardware/software infrastructure of building large-scale data intensive cluster and research publications. Our group members assist in constructing several onsite LANL data intensive clusters. Two parties have been developing software codes and research papers together using both sides resources.« less

  1. Advanced engineering environment collaboration project.

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

    Lamph, Jane Ann; Pomplun, Alan R.; Kiba, Grant W.

    2008-12-01

    The Advanced Engineering Environment (AEE) is a model for an engineering design and communications system that will enhance project collaboration throughout the nuclear weapons complex (NWC). Sandia National Laboratories and Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) worked together on a prototype project to evaluate the suitability of a portion of PTC's Windchill 9.0 suite of data management, design and collaboration tools as the basis for an AEE. The AEE project team implemented Windchill 9.0 development servers in both classified and unclassified domains and used them to test and evaluate the Windchill tool suite relative to the needs of the NWC using weaponsmore » project use cases. A primary deliverable was the development of a new real time collaborative desktop design and engineering process using PDMLink (data management tool), Pro/Engineer (mechanical computer aided design tool) and ProductView Lite (visualization tool). Additional project activities included evaluations of PTC's electrical computer aided design, visualization, and engineering calculations applications. This report documents the AEE project work to share information and lessons learned with other NWC sites. It also provides PTC with recommendations for improving their products for NWC applications.« less

  2. Social Networking Tools to Facilitate Cross-Program Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace, Paul; Howard, Barbara

    2010-01-01

    Students working on a highly collaborative project used social networking technology for community building activities as well as basic project-related communication. Requiring students to work on cross-program projects gives them real-world experience working in diverse, geographically dispersed groups. An application used at Appalachian State…

  3. The Depression Inventory Development Workgroup: A Collaborative, Empirically Driven Initiative to Develop a New Assessment Tool for Major Depressive Disorder.

    PubMed

    Vaccarino, Anthony L; Evans, Kenneth R; Kalali, Amir H; Kennedy, Sidney H; Engelhardt, Nina; Frey, Benicio N; Greist, John H; Kobak, Kenneth A; Lam, Raymond W; MacQueen, Glenda; Milev, Roumen; Placenza, Franca M; Ravindran, Arun V; Sheehan, David V; Sills, Terrence; Williams, Janet B W

    2016-01-01

    The Depression Inventory Development project is an initiative of the International Society for CNS Drug Development whose goal is to develop a comprehensive and psychometrically sound measurement tool to be utilized as a primary endpoint in clinical trials for major depressive disorder. Using an iterative process between field testing and psychometric analysis and drawing upon expertise of international researchers in depression, the Depression Inventory Development team has established an empirically driven and collaborative protocol for the creation of items to assess symptoms in major depressive disorder. Depression-relevant symptom clusters were identified based on expert clinical and patient input. In addition, as an aid for symptom identification and item construction, the psychometric properties of existing clinical scales (assessing depression and related indications) were evaluated using blinded datasets from pharmaceutical antidepressant drug trials. A series of field tests in patients with major depressive disorder provided the team with data to inform the iterative process of scale development. We report here an overview of the Depression Inventory Development initiative, including results of the third iteration of items assessing symptoms related to anhedonia, cognition, fatigue, general malaise, motivation, anxiety, negative thinking, pain and appetite. The strategies adopted from the Depression Inventory Development program, as an empirically driven and collaborative process for scale development, have provided the foundation to develop and validate measurement tools in other therapeutic areas as well.

  4. Distributed Sensing and Processing Adaptive Collaboration Environment (D-SPACE)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-07-01

    to the query graph, or subgraph permutations with the same mismatch cost (often the case for homogeneous and/or symmetrical data/query). To avoid...decisions are generated in a bottom-up manner using the metric of entropy at the cluster level (Figure 9c). Using the definition of belief messages...for a cluster and a set of data nodes in this cluster , we compute the entropy for forward and backward messages as (,) = −∑ (

  5. Advances in Toxico-Cheminformatics: Supporting a New ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA’s National Center for Computational Toxicology is building capabilities to support a new paradigm for toxicity screening and prediction through the harnessing of legacy toxicity data, creation of data linkages, and generation of new high-throughput screening (HTS) data. The DSSTox project is working to improve public access to quality structure-annotated chemical toxicity information in less summarized forms than traditionally employed in SAR modeling, and in ways that facilitate both data-mining and read-across. Both DSSTox Structure-Files and the dedicated on-line DSSTox Structure-Browser are enabling seamless structure-based searching and linkages to and from previously isolated, chemically indexed public toxicity data resources (e.g., NTP, EPA IRIS, CPDB). Most recently, structure-enabled search capabilities have been extended to chemical exposure-related microarray experiments in the public EBI Array Express database, additionally linking this resource to the NIEHS CEBS toxicogenomics database. The public DSSTox chemical and bioassay inventory has been recently integrated into PubChem, allowing a user to take full advantage of PubChem structure-activity and bioassay clustering features. The DSSTox project is providing cheminformatics support for EPA’s ToxCastTM project, as well as supporting collaborations with the National Toxicology Program (NTP) HTS and the NIH Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC). Phase I of the ToxCastTM project is generating HT

  6. Tulane/Xavier University hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Annual technical report, January 1--December 31, 1995

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

    NONE

    1996-05-02

    Tulane and Xavier Universities have singled out the environment as a major strategic focus for research and training for now and beyond the year 2000. In 1989, the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research (CBR) was established as the umbrella organization which coordinates environmental research at both universities. In December, 1992, the Tulane/Xavier CBR was awarded a five year grant to study pollution in the Mississippi River system. The Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments of the Mississippi River Basin project is a broad research and education program aimed at elucidating the nature and magnitude of toxic materials that contaminate aquatic environmentsmore » of the Mississippi River Basin. Studies include defining the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants, the actual and potential impact on ecological systems and health, and the mechanisms through which these impacts might be remediated. The Mississippi River Basin represents a model system for analyzing and solving contamination problems that are found in aquatic systems world-wide. Summaries which describe objectives, goals, and accomplishments are included on ten collaborative cluster projects, two education projects, and six initiation projects. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less

  7. LigoDV-web: Providing easy, secure and universal access to a large distributed scientific data store for the LIGO scientific collaboration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Areeda, J. S.; Smith, J. R.; Lundgren, A. P.; Maros, E.; Macleod, D. M.; Zweizig, J.

    2017-01-01

    Gravitational-wave observatories around the world, including the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), record a large volume of gravitational-wave output data and auxiliary data about the instruments and their environments. These data are stored at the observatory sites and distributed to computing clusters for data analysis. LigoDV-web is a web-based data viewer that provides access to data recorded at the LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston and GEO600 observatories, and the 40 m prototype interferometer at Caltech. The challenge addressed by this project is to provide meaningful visualizations of small data sets to anyone in the collaboration in a fast, secure and reliable manner with minimal software, hardware and training required of the end users. LigoDV-web is implemented as a Java Enterprise Application, with Shibboleth Single Sign On for authentication and authorization, and a proprietary network protocol used for data access on the back end. Collaboration members with proper credentials can request data be displayed in any of several general formats from any Internet appliance that supports a modern browser with Javascript and minimal HTML5 support, including personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. Since its inception in 2012, 634 unique users have visited the LigoDV-web website in a total of 33 , 861 sessions and generated a total of 139 , 875 plots. This infrastructure has been helpful in many analyses within the collaboration including follow-up of the data surrounding the first gravitational-wave events observed by LIGO in 2015.

  8. Clustering of risk factors and the risk of incident cardiovascular disease in Asian and Caucasian populations: results from the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration

    PubMed Central

    Peters, Sanne A E; Wang, Xin; Lam, Tai-Hing; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Ho, Suzanne; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Knuiman, Matthew; Vaartjes, Ilonca; Bots, Michael L; Woodward, Mark

    2018-01-01

    Objective To assess the relationship between risk factor clusters and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in Asian and Caucasian populations and to estimate the burden of CVD attributable to each cluster. Setting Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration. Participants Individual participant data from 34 population-based cohorts, involving 314 024 participants without a history of CVD at baseline. Outcome measures Clusters were 11 possible combinations of four individual risk factors (current smoking, overweight, blood pressure (BP) and total cholesterol). Cox regression models were used to obtain adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for CVD associated with individual risk factors and risk factor clusters. Population-attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated. Results During a mean follow-up of 7 years, 6203 CVD events were recorded. The ranking of HRs and PAFs was similar for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and Asia; clusters including BP consistently showed the highest HRs and PAFs. The BP–smoking cluster had the highest HR for people with two risk factors: 4.13 (3.56 to 4.80) for Asia and 3.07 (2.23 to 4.23) for ANZ. Corresponding PAFs were 24% and 11%, respectively. For individuals with three risk factors, the BP–smoking–cholesterol cluster had the highest HR (4.67 (3.92 to 5.57) for Asia and 3.49 (2.69 to 4.53) for ANZ). Corresponding PAFs were 13% and 10%. Conclusions Risk factor clusters act similarly on CVD risk in Asian and Caucasian populations. Clusters including elevated BP were associated with the highest excess risk of CVD. PMID:29511013

  9. Challenges Encountered in Building a University-High School Collaboration: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quebec Fuentes, Sarah; Spice, Loren

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we describe the second year of a multi-year project that we developed to foster collaboration between high school teachers and university undergraduates. The project incorporates specific tools that help partners find an approach to collaboration that is right for them, allowing it to offer more flexibility than traditional…

  10. Using Mendeley to Support Collaborative Learning in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khwaja, Tehmina; Eddy, Pamela L.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the use of Mendeley, a free online reference management and academic networking software, as a collaborative tool in the college classroom. Students in two iterations of a Graduate class used Mendeley to collaborate on a policy research project over the course of a semester. The project involved…

  11. An Examination of Tri-Level Collaboration around Student Achievement Using the Gap Analysis Approach: School Site Leadership Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salinas, Esther Charlotte

    2013-01-01

    Using the Gap Analysis problem-solving framework (Clark & Estes, 2008), this project examined collaboration around student achievement at the school site leadership level in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). This project is one of three concurrent studies focused on collaboration around student achievement in the PUSD that include…

  12. An Examination of Tri-Level Collaboration around Student Achievement Using the Gap Analysis Approach: Teacher Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carruthers, Anthony Steven

    2013-01-01

    Using the Gap Analysis problem-solving framework (Clark & Estes, 2008), this project examined collaboration around student achievement in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) from the teacher perspective. As part of a tri-level study, two other projects examined collaboration around student achievement in PUSD from the perspectives of…

  13. 12om Methodology: Process v1.1

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-31

    in support of the Applied Research Project (ARP) 12om entitled “Collaborative Understanding of Complex Situations”. The overall purpose of this...Definition ARP Applied Research Project CF Canadian Forces CFOPP Canadian Forces Operational Planning Process CIDA Canadian International... Research Project (ARP) 12om entitled “Collaborative Understanding of Complex Situations”. The overall purpose of this project is to develop a

  14. Collaborative Teaching and Learning through Multi-Institutional Integrated Group Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Long, Suzanna K.; Carlo, Héctor J.

    2013-01-01

    This teaching brief describes an innovative multi-institutional initiative through which integrated student groups from different courses collaborate on a common course project. In this integrated group project, students are asked to design a decentralized manufacturing organization for a company that will manufacture industrial Proton-Exchange…

  15. Intercultural Education in Primary School: A Collaborative Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santos, Marta; Araújo e Sá, Maria Helena; Simões, Ana Raquel

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we present and discuss a collaborative project on intercultural education developed by a group of educational partners. The group was made up of 12 people representing different institutions in the community, namely primary schools, cultural and social associations and the local council. The project takes an intercultural approach…

  16. Environmental Influences on Independent Collaborative Play

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mawson, Brent

    2010-01-01

    Data from two qualitative research projects indicated a relationship between the type of early childhood setting and children's independent collaborative play. The first research project involved 22 three and four-year-old children in a daylong setting and 47 children four-year-old children in a sessional kindergarten. The second project involved…

  17. Collaborative Learning in Technological Project Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hong, Jon-Chao; Yu, Kuang-Chao; Chen, Mei-Yung

    2011-01-01

    The POWERTECH contest in Taiwan was established in an attempt to promote inventiveness and technology to elementary school pupils. The POWERTECH contest is designed as a collaborative learning system for project design. Project design is comprised of technical processes, which include the construction of an artifact and improvement of its…

  18. Tribal TANF and CCDF Guide to Financial Management, Grants Administration, and Program Accountability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Child Care Bureau, 2004

    2004-01-01

    This publication was developed in conjunction with a special Tribal Cluster Training, "Collaboration and Accountability as Foundations for Success," held in Portland, Oregon on August 24-25, 2004. This Tribal Cluster Training is jointly sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), which administers the Tribal Temporary Assistance…

  19. MO-FG-BRC-00: Joint AAPM-ESTRO Symposium: Advances in Experimental Medical Physics

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

    NONE

    Experimental research in medical physics has expanded the limits of our knowledge and provided novel imaging and therapy technologies for patients around the world. However, experimental efforts are challenging due to constraints in funding, space, time and other forms of institutional support. In this joint ESTRO-AAPM symposium, four exciting experimental projects from four different countries are highlighted. Each project is focused on a different aspect of radiation therapy. From the USA, we will hear about a new linear accelerator concept for more compact and efficient therapy devices. From Canada, we will learn about novel linear accelerator target design and themore » implications for imaging and therapy. From France, we will discover a mature translational effort to incorporate theranostic nanoparticles in MR-guided radiation therapy. From Germany, we will find out about a novel in-treatment imaging modality for particle therapy. These examples of high impact, experimental medical physics research are representative of the diversity of such efforts that are on-going around the globe. J. Robar, Research is supported through collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and Brainlab AGD. Westerly, This work is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. COI: NONEK. Parodi, Part of the presented work is supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation) Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics) and has been carried out in collaboration with IBA.« less

  20. MO-FG-BRC-02: Low-Z Switching Linear Accelerator Targets: New Options for Image Guidance and Dose Enhancement in Radiotherapy

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

    Robar, J.

    2016-06-15

    Experimental research in medical physics has expanded the limits of our knowledge and provided novel imaging and therapy technologies for patients around the world. However, experimental efforts are challenging due to constraints in funding, space, time and other forms of institutional support. In this joint ESTRO-AAPM symposium, four exciting experimental projects from four different countries are highlighted. Each project is focused on a different aspect of radiation therapy. From the USA, we will hear about a new linear accelerator concept for more compact and efficient therapy devices. From Canada, we will learn about novel linear accelerator target design and themore » implications for imaging and therapy. From France, we will discover a mature translational effort to incorporate theranostic nanoparticles in MR-guided radiation therapy. From Germany, we will find out about a novel in-treatment imaging modality for particle therapy. These examples of high impact, experimental medical physics research are representative of the diversity of such efforts that are on-going around the globe. J. Robar, Research is supported through collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and Brainlab AGD. Westerly, This work is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. COI: NONEK. Parodi, Part of the presented work is supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation) Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics) and has been carried out in collaboration with IBA.« less

  1. MO-FG-BRC-01: MR-Guided Radiation Therapy with Gadolinium Nanoparticles: From Chalkboard to First Clinical Trials

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

    Sancey, L.

    2016-06-15

    Experimental research in medical physics has expanded the limits of our knowledge and provided novel imaging and therapy technologies for patients around the world. However, experimental efforts are challenging due to constraints in funding, space, time and other forms of institutional support. In this joint ESTRO-AAPM symposium, four exciting experimental projects from four different countries are highlighted. Each project is focused on a different aspect of radiation therapy. From the USA, we will hear about a new linear accelerator concept for more compact and efficient therapy devices. From Canada, we will learn about novel linear accelerator target design and themore » implications for imaging and therapy. From France, we will discover a mature translational effort to incorporate theranostic nanoparticles in MR-guided radiation therapy. From Germany, we will find out about a novel in-treatment imaging modality for particle therapy. These examples of high impact, experimental medical physics research are representative of the diversity of such efforts that are on-going around the globe. J. Robar, Research is supported through collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and Brainlab AGD. Westerly, This work is supported by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. COI: NONEK. Parodi, Part of the presented work is supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation) Cluster of Excellence MAP (Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics) and has been carried out in collaboration with IBA.« less

  2. Collaboration patterns in the German political science co-authorship network.

    PubMed

    Leifeld, Philip; Wankmüller, Sandra; Berger, Valentin T Z; Ingold, Karin; Steiner, Christiane

    2017-01-01

    Research on social processes in the production of scientific output suggests that the collective research agenda of a discipline is influenced by its structural features, such as "invisible colleges" or "groups of collaborators" as well as academic "stars" that are embedded in, or connect, these research groups. Based on an encompassing dataset that takes into account multiple publication types including journals and chapters in edited volumes, we analyze the complete co-authorship network of all 1,339 researchers in German political science. Through the use of consensus graph clustering techniques and descriptive centrality measures, we identify the ten largest research clusters, their research topics, and the most central researchers who act as bridges and connect these clusters. We also aggregate the findings at the level of research organizations and consider the inter-university co-authorship network. The findings indicate that German political science is structured by multiple overlapping research clusters with a dominance of the subfields of international relations, comparative politics and political sociology. A small set of well-connected universities takes leading roles in these informal research groups.

  3. Crossmaps: Visualization of overlapping relationships in collections of journal papers

    PubMed Central

    Morris, Steven A.; Yen, Gary G.

    2004-01-01

    A crossmapping technique is introduced for visualizing multiple and overlapping relations among entity types in collections of journal articles. Groups of entities from two entity types are crossplotted to show correspondence of relations. For example, author collaboration groups are plotted on the x axis against groups of papers (research fronts) on the y axis. At the intersection of each pair of author group/research front pairs a circular symbol is plotted whose size is proportional to the number of times that authors in the group appear as authors in papers in the research front. Entity groups are found by agglomerative hierarchical clustering using conventional similarity measures. Crossmaps comprise a simple technique that is particularly suited to showing overlap in relations among entity groups. Particularly useful crossmaps are: research fronts against base reference clusters, research fronts against author collaboration groups, and research fronts against term co-occurrence clusters. When exploring the knowledge domain of a collection of journal papers, it is useful to have several crossmaps of different entity pairs, complemented by research front timelines and base reference cluster timelines. PMID:14762168

  4. Investigating the Effects of Traffic on Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Sharon

    2001-01-01

    Discusses the benefits of bringing scientists into the classroom to collaborate with children on environmental research projects. Describes one collaborative project that focused on the effects of traffic on air pollution. (DDR)

  5. A case study of collaborative facilities use in engineering design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monroe, Laura; Pugmire, David

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we describe the use of visualization tools and facilities in the collaborative design of a replacement weapons system, the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). We used not only standard collaboration methods but also a range of visualization software and facilities to bring together domain specialists from laboratories across the country to collaborate on the design and integrate this disparate input early in the design. This was the first time in U.S. weapons history that a weapon had been designed in this collaborative manner. Benefits included projected cost savings, design improvements and increased understanding across the project.

  6. A Stigmergy Approach for Open Source Software Developer Community Simulation

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

    Cui, Xiaohui; Beaver, Justin M; Potok, Thomas E

    2009-01-01

    The stigmergy collaboration approach provides a hypothesized explanation about how online groups work together. In this research, we presented a stigmergy approach for building an agent based open source software (OSS) developer community collaboration simulation. We used group of actors who collaborate on OSS projects as our frame of reference and investigated how the choices actors make in contribution their work on the projects determinate the global status of the whole OSS projects. In our simulation, the forum posts and project codes served as the digital pheromone and the modified Pierre-Paul Grasse pheromone model is used for computing developer agentmore » behaviors selection probability.« less

  7. The Earth System CoG Collaboration Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeLuca, C.; Murphy, S.; Cinquini, L.; Treshansky, A.; Wallis, J. C.; Rood, R. B.; Overeem, I.

    2013-12-01

    The Earth System CoG supports collaborative Earth science research and product development in virtual organizations that span multiple projects and communities. It provides access to data, metadata, and visualization services along with tools that support open project governance, and it can be used to host individual projects or to profile projects hosted elsewhere. All projects on CoG are described using a project ontology - an organized common vocabulary - that exposes information needed for collaboration and decision-making. Projects can be linked into a network, and the underlying ontology enables consolidated views of information across the network. This access to information promotes the creation of active and knowledgeable project governance, at both individual and aggregate project levels. CoG is being used to support software development projects, model intercomparison projects, training classes, and scientific programs. Its services and ontology are customizable by project. This presentation will provide an overview of CoG, review examples of current use, and discuss how CoG can be used as knowledge and coordination hub for networks of projects in the Earth Sciences.

  8. Upgrading of the LGD cluster at JINR to support DLNP experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bednyakov, I. V.; Dolbilov, A. G.; Ivanov, Yu. P.

    2017-01-01

    Since its construction in 2005, the Computing Cluster of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems has been mainly used to perform calculations (data analysis, simulation, etc.) for various scientific collaborations in which DLNP scientists take an active part. The Cluster also serves to train specialists. Much has changed in the past decades, and the necessity has arisen to upgrade the cluster, increasing its power and replacing the outdated equipment to maintain its reliability and modernity. In this work we describe the experience of performing this upgrading, which can be helpful for system administrators to put new equipment for clusters of this type into operation quickly and efficiently.

  9. Promoting Socially Shared Metacognitive Regulation in Collaborative Project-Based Learning: A Framework for the Design of Structured Guidance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Dongho; Lim, Cheolil

    2018-01-01

    Despite the emergence of collaborative project-based learning in higher education settings, how it can be supported has received little attention. We noted the positive impact of socially shared metacognitive regulation on students' collaboration processes. The purpose of this study was to present a framework for the design and implementation of…

  10. Play with the Slinky[R]: Learning to Lead Collaboration through a Statewide Training Project Aimed at Grants for Community Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curry, Elizabeth A.

    2005-01-01

    How can training develop the philosophical commitment that library staff members need to successfully lead collaborative projects? How do conversation as a training model and play as an activity shape the collaborative learning process? How do we stimulate libraries and library staff to assume leadership roles in community building? This article…

  11. 21st Century Skills Development: Learning in Digital Communities--Technology and Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Short, Barbara J.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines some aspects of student performance in the 21 st century skills of Information and Communication (ICT) Literacy and collaboration. In this project, extant data from the Assessment and Teaching for 21st Century Skills project (ATC21S) will be examined. ATC21S is a collaborative effort among educational agencies in six countries,…

  12. 1986 Annual Report to the Ford Foundation: The Urban Mathematics Collaborative Project. Program Report 87-4.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Romberg, Thomas A.; And Others

    In 1984, the Ford Foundation initiated the Urban Mathematics Collaborative (UMC) project to contribute to the improvement of mathematics education in inner-city schools, and more generally, to enhance the professional life of teachers. By 1986, the Ford Foundation had funded collaboratives in 11 urban areas. This document describes the overall UMC…

  13. Collaboration using roles. [in computer network security

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bishop, Matt

    1990-01-01

    Segregation of roles into alternative accounts is a model which provides not only the ability to collaborate but also enables accurate accounting of resources consumed by collaborative projects, protects the resources and objects of such a project, and does not introduce new security vulnerabilities. The implementation presented here does not require users to remember additional passwords and provides a very simple consistent interface.

  14. Radial Velocity and Metallicity Determinations for Remote Globular Clusters in M31 and M33

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferguson, Annette; Barmby, Pauline; Cote, Pat; Harris, Bill; Huxor, Avon; Mackey, Dougal; Puzia, Thomas

    2009-08-01

    We propose to determine radial velocities and metallicities for a sample of ~ 20 remote globular clusters (GCs) which we have discovered in the outer halos of the Local Group galaxies M31 and M33. Most of these objects have been uncovered in the course of the PAndAs survey, an international collaboration which is using CFHT/MegaPrime to map more than 300 square degrees in the g and i bands around M31 and M33. The target clusters, all of which have been identified from high- quality imaging (typically ≲ 0.8'' seeing), lie at projected radii of up to 130 kpc from M31 and 30 kpc from M33 and thus lie significantly beyond all previously-known GCs in these systems. Rather intriguingly, many of the new discoveries exhibit either possible associations with halo tidal streams, or show unusual spatial anisotropies with respect to their host galaxy. Velocity and metallicity data for these objects will provide a detailed characterization of the ensemble properties of the outer halo GC populations, and, through the search for kinematic and metallicity correlations within groups of GCs, help determine what fraction of these objects can be attributed to either late or ongoing accretion events. Ultimately, these data will also provide a basis for improved dynamical mass estimates of both galaxies.

  15. Improving the quality of life of aged care residents through the joy of food: The Lantern Project.

    PubMed

    Hugo, Cherie; Dwonczyk, Marcia; Skinner, Jan; Isenring, Liz

    2018-03-23

    Mealtimes directly impact the quality of life of residents in aged care. The objective of The Lantern Project is to improve the dining experience of aged care residents to reduce malnutrition risk through improving dietary intake, meal. A transdisciplinary team of aged care professionals and resident advocates was formed as a collaboration collectively known as The Lantern Project. This paper outlines the journey and timeline of The Lantern Project collaboration since its inception and the interplay between the monthly stakeholder meetings and inter-related research projects demonstrating improved outcomes. Transdisciplinary collaboration offers well-grounded benefits and realistic strategies sensitive to the complexity of the aged care setting. © 2018 AJA Inc.

  16. Land-cover change in the Ozark Highlands, 1973-2000

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Karstensen, Krista A.

    2010-01-01

    Led by the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Land-Cover Trends Project was initiated in 1999 and aims to document the types, geographic distributions, and rates of land-cover change on a region by region basis for the conterminous United States, and to determine some of the key drivers and consequences of the change (Loveland and others, 2002). For 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000 land-cover maps derived from the Landsat series are classified by visual interpretation, inspection of historical aerial photography and ground survey, into 11 land-cover classes. The classes are defined to capture land cover that is discernable in Landsat data. A stratified probability-based sampling methodology undertaken within the 84 Omernik Level III Ecoregions (Omernik, 1987) was used to locate the blocks, with 9 to 48 blocks per ecoregion. The sampling was designed to enable a statistically robust 'scaling up' of the sample-classification data to estimate areal land-cover change within each ecoregion (Loveland and others, 2002; Stehman and others, 2005). At the time of writing, approximately 90 percent of the 84 conterminous United States ecoregions have been processed by the Land-Cover Trends Project. Results from these completed ecoregions illustrate that across the conterminous United States there is no single profile of land-cover/land-use change, rather, there are varying pulses affected by clusters of change agents (Loveland and others, 2002). Land-Cover Trends Project results for the conterminous United States to-date are being used for collaborative environmental change research with partners such as; the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The strategy has also been adapted for use in a NASA global deforestation initiative, and elements of the project design are being used in the North American Carbon Program's assessment of forest disturbance.

  17. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Gaia DR1 open cluster members (Gaia Collaboration+, 2017)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaia Collaboration; van Leeuwen F.; Vallenari, A.; Jordi, C.; Lindegren, L.; Bastian, U.; Prusti, T.; de Bruijne, J. H. J.; Brown, A. G. A.; Babusiaux, C.; Bailer-Jones, C. A. L.; Biermann, M.; Evans, D. W.; Eyer, L.; Jansen, F.; Klioner, S. A.; Lammers, U.; Luri, X.; Mignard, F.; Panem, C.; Pourbaix, D.; Randich, S.; Sartoretti, P.; Siddiqui, H. I.; Soubiran, C.; Valette, V.; Walton, N. A.; Aerts, C.; Arenou, F.; Cropper, M.; Drimmel, R.; Hog, E.; Katz, D.; Lattanzi, M. G.; O'Mullane, W.; Grebel, E. K.; Holland, A. D.; Huc, C.; Passot, X.; Perryman, M.; Bramante, L.; Cacciari, C.; Castaneda, J.; Chaoul, L.; Cheek, N.; de Angeli, F.; Fabricius, C.; Guerra, R.; Hernandez, J.; Jean-Antoine-Piccolo, A.; Masana, E.; Messineo, R.; Mowlavi, N.; Nienartowicz, K.; Ordonez-Blanco, D.; Panuzzo, P.; Portell, J.; Richards, P. J.; Riello, M.; Seabroke, G. M.; Tanga, P.; Thevenin, F.; Torra, J.; Els, S. G.; Gracia-Abril, G.; Comoretto, G.; Garcia-Reinaldos, M.; Lock, T.; Mercier, E.; Altmann, M.; Andrae, R.; Astraatmadja, T. L.; Bellas-Velidis, I.; Benson, K.; Berthier, J.; Blomme, R.; Busso, G.; Carry, B.; Cellino, A.; Clementini, G.; Cowell, S.; Creevey, O.; Cuypers, J.; Davidson, M.; De Ridder, J.; de Torres, A.; Delchambre, L.; Dell'Oro, A.; Ducourant, C.; Fremat, Y.; Garcia-Torres, M.; Gosset, E.; Halbwachs, J.-L.; Hambly, N. C.; Harrison, D. L.; Hauser, M.; Hestroffer, D.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Huckle, H. E.; Hutton, A.; Jasniewicz, G.; Jordan, S.; Kontizas, M.; Korn, A. J.; Lanzafame, A. C.; Manteiga, M.; Moitinho, A.; Muinonen, K.; Osinde, J.; Pancino, E.; Pauwels, T.; Petit, J.-M.; Recio-Blanco, A.; Robin, A. C.; Sarro, L. M.; Siopis, C.; Smith, M.; Smith, K. W.; Sozzetti, A.; Thuillot, W.; van Reeven, W.; Viala, Y.; Abbas, U.; Abreu Aramburu, A.; Accart, S.; Aguado, J. J.; Allan, P. M.; Allasia, W.; Altavilla, G.; Alvarez, M. A.; Alves, J.; Anderson, R. I.; Andrei, A. H.; Anglada Varela, E.; Antiche, E.; Antoja, T.; Anton, S.; Arcay, B.; Bach, N.; Baker, S. G.; Balaguer-Nunez, L.; Barache, C.; Barata, C.; Barbier, A.; Barblan, F.; Barrado, Y. Navascues D.; Barros, M.; Barstow, M. A.; Becciani, U.; Bellazzini, M.; Bello Garcia, A.; Belokuro, V. V.; Ben Djoya, P.; Berihuete, A.; Bianchi, L.; Bienayme, O.; Billebaud, F.; Blagorodnova, N.; Blanco-Cuaresma, S.; Boch, T.; Bombrun, A.; Borrachero, R.; Bouquillon, S.; Bourda, G.; Bouy, H.; Bragaglia, A.; Breddels, M. A.; Brouillet, N.; Bruesemeister, T.; Bucciarelli, B.; Burgess, P.; Burgon, R.; Burlacu, A.; Busonero, D.; Buzzi, R.; Caffau, E.; Cambras, J.; Campbell, H.; Cancelliere, R.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Carlucci, T.; Carrasco, J. M.; Castellani, M.; Charlot, P.; Charnas, J.; Chiavassa, A.; Clotet, M.; Cocozza, G.; Collins, R. S.; Costigan, G.; Crifo, F.; Cross, N. J. G.; Crosta, M.; Crowley, C.; Dafonte, C.; Damerdji, Y.; Dapergolas, A.; David, P.; David, M.; De Cat, P.; de Felice, F.; de Laverny, P.; de Luise, F.; de March, R.; de Martino, D.; de Souza, R.; Debosscher, J.; Del Pozo, E.; Delbo, M.; Delgado, A.; Delgado, H. E.; Di Matteo, P.; Diakite, S.; Distefano, E.; Dolding, C.; Dos Anjos, S.; Drazinos, P.; Duran, J.; Dzigan, Y.; Edvardsson, B.; Enke, H.; Evans, N. W.; Eynard Bontemps, G.; Fabre, C.; Fabrizio, M.; Faigler, S.; Falcao, A. J.; Farras Casas, M.; Federici, L.; Fedorets, G.; Fernandez-Hernandez, J.; Fernique, P.; Fienga, A.; Figueras, F.; Filippi, F.; Findeisen, K.; Fonti, A.; Fouesneau, M.; Fraile, E.; Fraser, M.; Fuchs, J.; Gai, M.; Galleti, S.; Galluccio, L.; Garabato, D.; Garcia-Sedano, F.; Garofalo, A.; Garralda, N.; Gavras, P.; Gerssen, J.; Geyer, R.; Gilmore, G.; Girona, S.; Giuffrida, G.; Gomes, M.; Gonzalez-Marcos, A.; Gonzalez-Nunez, J.; Gonzalez-Vidal, J. J.; Granvik, M.; Guerrier, A.; Guillout, P.; Guiraud, J.; Gurpide, A.; Gutierrez-Sanchez, R.; Guy, L. P.; Haigron, R.; Hatzidimitriou, D.; Haywood, M.; Heiter, U.; Helmi, A.; Hobbs, D.; Hofmann, W.; Holl, B.; Holland, G.; Hunt, J. A. S.; Hypki, A.; Icardi, V.; Irwin, M.; Jevardat de Fombelle, G.; Jofre, P.; Jonker, P. G.; Jorissen, A.; Julbe, F.; Karampelas, A.; Kochoska, A.; Kohley, R.; Kolenberg, K.; Kontizas, E.; Koposov, S. E.; Kordopatis, G.; Koubsky, P.; Krone-Martins, A.; Kudryashova, M.; Kull, I.; Bachchan, R. K.; Lacoste-Seris, F.; Lanza, A. F.; Lavigne, J.-B.; Le Poncin-Lafitte, C.; Lebreton, Y.; Lebzelter, T.; Leccia, S.; Lecler, C. N.; Lecoeur-Taibi, I.; Lemaitre, V.; Lenhardt, H.; Leroux, F.; Liao, S.; Licata, E.; Lindstrom, H. E. P.; Lister, T. A.; Livanou, E.; Lobel, A.; Loeffler, W.; Lopez, M.; Lorenz, D.; MacDonald, I.; Magalhaes Fernandes, T.; Managau, S.; Mann, R. G.; Mantelet, G.; Marchal, O.; Marchant, J. M.; Marconi, M.; Marinoni, S.; Marrese, P. M.; Marschalko, G.; Marshall, D. J.; Martin-Fleitas, J. M.; Martino, M.; Mary, N.; Matijevic, G.; Mazeh, T.; McMillan, P. J.; Messina, S.; Michalik, D.; Millar, N. R.; Miranda, B. M. H.; Molina, D.; Molinaro, R.; Molinaro, M.; Molnar, L.; Moniez, M.; Montegriffo, P.; Mor, R.; Mora, A.; Morbidelli, R.; Morel, T.; Morgenthaler, S.; Morris, D.; Mulone, A. F.; Muraveva, T.; Musella, I.; Narbonne, J.; Nelemans, G.; Nicastro, L.; Noval, L.; Ordenovic, C.; Ordieres-Mere, J.; Osborne, P.; Pagani, C.; Pagano, I.; Pailler, F.; Palacin, H.; Palaversa, L.; Parsons, P.; Pecoraro, M.; Pedrosa, R.; Pentikaeinen, H.; Pichon, B.; Piersimoni, A. M.; Pineau, F.-X.; Plachy, E.; Plum, G.; Poujoulet, E.; Prsa, A.; Pulone, L.; Ragaini, S.; Rago, S.; Rambaux, N.; Ramos-Lerate, M.; Ranalli, P.; Rauw, G.; Read, A.; Regibo, S.; Reyle, C.; Ribeiro, R. A.; Rimoldini, L.; Ripepi, V.; Riva, A.; Rixon, G.; Roelens, M.; Romero-Gomez, M.; Rowell, N.; Royer, F.; Ruiz-Dern, L.; Sadowski, G.; Sagrista Selles, T.; Sahlmann, J.; Salgado, J.; Salguero, E.; Sarasso, M.; Savietto, H.; Schultheis, M.; Sciacca, E.; Segol, M.; Segovia, J. C.; Segransan, D.; Shih, I.-C.; Smareglia, R.; Smart, R. L.; Solano, E.; Solitro, F.; Sordo, R.; Soria Nieto, S.; Souchay, J.; Spagna, A.; Spoto, F.; Stampa, U.; Steele, I. A.; Steidelmueller, H.; Stephenson, C. A.; Stoev, H.; Suess, F. F.; Sueveges, M.; Surdej, J.; Szabados, L.; Szegedi-Elek, E.; Tapiador, D.; Taris, F.; Tauran, G.; Taylor, M. B.; Teixeira, R.; Terrett, D.; Tingley, B.; Trager, S. C.; Turon, C.; Ulla, A.; Utrilla, E.; Valentini, G.; van Elteren, A.; van Hemelryck, E.; Vanleeuwen, M.; Varadi, M.; Vecchiato, A.; Veljanoski, J.; Via, T.; Vicente, D.; Vogt, S.; Voss, H.; Votruba, V.; Voutsinas, S.; Walmsley, G.; Weiler, M.; Weingrill, K.; Wevers, T.; Wyrzykowski, L.; Yoldas, A.; Zerjal, M.; Zucker, S.; Zurbach, C.; Zwitter, T.; Alecu, A.; Allen, M.; Allende Prieto, C.; Amorim, A.; Anglada-Escude, G.; Arsenijevic, V.; Azaz, S.; Balm, P.; Beck, M.; Bernstein, H.-H.; Bigot, L.; Bijaoui, A.; Blasco, C.; Bonfigli, M.; Bono, G.; Boudreault, S.; Bressan, A.; Brown, S.; Brunet, P.-M.; Bunclark, P.; Buonanno, R.; Butkevich, A. G.; Carret, C.; Carrion, C.; Chemin, L.; Chereau, F.; Corcione, L.; Darmigny, E.; de Boer, K. S.; de Teodoro, P.; de Zeeuw, P. T.; Delle Luche, C.; Domingues, C. D.; Dubath, P.; Fodor, F.; Frezouls, B.; Fries, A.; Fustes, D.; Fyfe, D.; Gallardo, E.; Gallegos, J.; Gardiol, D.; Gebran, M.; Gomboc, A.; Gomez, A.; Grux, E.; Gueguen, A.; Heyrovsky, A.; Hoar, J.; Iannicola, G.; Isasi Parache, Y.; Janotto, A.-M.; Joliet, E.; Jonckheere, A.; Keil, R.; Kim, D.-W.; Klagyivik, P.; Klar, J.; Knude, J.; Kochukhov, O.; Kolka, I.; Kos, J.; Kutka, A.; Lainey, V.; Lebouquin, D.; Liu, C.; Loreggia, D.; Makarov, V. V.; Marseille, M. G.; Martayan, C.; Martinez-Rubi, O.; Massart, B.; Meynadier, F.; Mignot, S.; Munari, U.; Nguyen, A.-T.; Nordlander, T.; O'Flaherty, K. S.; Ocvirk, P.; Olias Sanz, A.; Ortiz, P.; Osorio, J.; Oszkiewicz, D.; Ouzounis, A.; Palmer, M.; Park, P.; Pasquato, E.; Peltzer, C.; Peralta, J.; Peturaud, F.; Pieniluoma, T.; Pigozzi, E.; Poels, J.; Prat, G.; Prod'homme, T.; Raison, F.; Rebordao, J. M.; Risquez, D.; Rocca-Volmerange, B.; Rosen, S.; Ruiz-Fuertes, M. I.; Russo, F.; Sembay, S.; Serraller Vizcaino, I.; Short, A.; Siebert, A.; Silva, H.; Sinachopoulos, D.; Slezak, E.; Soffel, M.; Sosnowska, D.; Straizys, V.; Ter Linden, M.; Terrell, D.; Theil, S.; Tiede, C.; Troisi, L.; Tsalmantza, P.; Tur, D.; Vaccari, M.; Vachier, F.; Valles, P.; van Hamme, W.; Veltz, L.; Virtanen, J.; Wallut, J.-M.; Wichmann, R.; Wilkinson, M. I.; Ziaeepour, H.; Zschocke, S.

    2017-04-01

    We have determined and examined the astrometric data for 19 open clusters, ranging from the Hyades at just under 47pc to NGC 2422 at nearly 440pc. The clusters are : the Hyades, Coma Berenices, the Pleiades, Praesepe, alpha Per, IC 2391, IC 2602, Blanco 1, NGC 2451, NGC 6475, NGC 7092, NGC 2516, NGC 2232, IC 4665, NGC 6633, Collinder 140, NGC 2422, NGC 3532 and NGC 2547. (2 data files).

  18. Mississippi State University Center for Air Sea Technology. FY93 and FY 94 Research Program in Navy Ocean Modeling and Prediction

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-09-30

    relational versus object oriented DBMS, knowledge discovery, data models, rnetadata, data filtering, clustering techniques, and synthetic data. A secondary...The first was the investigation of Al/ES Lapplications (knowledge discovery, data mining, and clustering ). Here CAST collabo.rated with Dr. Fred Petry...knowledge discovery system based on clustering techniques; implemented an on-line data browser to the DBMS; completed preliminary efforts to apply object

  19. Fast Constrained Spectral Clustering and Cluster Ensemble with Random Projection

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Wenfen

    2017-01-01

    Constrained spectral clustering (CSC) method can greatly improve the clustering accuracy with the incorporation of constraint information into spectral clustering and thus has been paid academic attention widely. In this paper, we propose a fast CSC algorithm via encoding landmark-based graph construction into a new CSC model and applying random sampling to decrease the data size after spectral embedding. Compared with the original model, the new algorithm has the similar results with the increase of its model size asymptotically; compared with the most efficient CSC algorithm known, the new algorithm runs faster and has a wider range of suitable data sets. Meanwhile, a scalable semisupervised cluster ensemble algorithm is also proposed via the combination of our fast CSC algorithm and dimensionality reduction with random projection in the process of spectral ensemble clustering. We demonstrate by presenting theoretical analysis and empirical results that the new cluster ensemble algorithm has advantages in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore, the approximate preservation of random projection in clustering accuracy proved in the stage of consensus clustering is also suitable for the weighted k-means clustering and thus gives the theoretical guarantee to this special kind of k-means clustering where each point has its corresponding weight. PMID:29312447

  20. Collaborations between Multicultural Educators and Archivists: Engaging Students with Multicultural History through Archival Research Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernández, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    When multicultural educators and archivists collaborate to design projects that engage students with multicultural history through archival research, students can learn in-depth research skills with primary source documents, creatively share their knowledge, and, on a broader level, engage with their local community history. The projects shared in…

  1. A PDS Partnership Goes International: Phase I of an American-Slovenian Collaborative Research Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Catelli, Linda; Carlino, Joan; Jackson, Valerie; Petraglia, GinaMarie

    2011-01-01

    The focus of the article is on Phase I of an American-Slovenian collaborative research project that was aimed at investigating effective classroom teaching-learning performances. The international project involved Dowling College and its first Professional Development School (PDS)--the Belmont Elementary PDS--and the University of Primorska at…

  2. Boundary Crossing in R&D Projects in Schools: Learning through Cross-Professional Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schenke, Wouter; van Driel, Jan; Geijsel, Femke P.; Volman, Monique L. L.

    2017-01-01

    Background/Context: School leaders, teachers, and researchers are increasingly involved in collaborative research and development (R&D) projects in schools, which encourage crossing boundaries between the fields of school and research. It is not clear, however, what and how professionals in these projects learn through cross-professional…

  3. National Writing Project's Multimodal Literacies and Teacher Collaboration: Enhanced Student Learning on Global Social Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iyengar, Kalpana; Hood, Caleb

    2016-01-01

    Iyengar and Hood, both teacher consultants with the San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP), and instructors of an undergraduate society and social issues class, collaborated to enhance their undergraduate students' writing experiences using the National Writing Project model (Lieberman & Wood, 2003). Iyengar and Hood used strategies such as…

  4. Impact of Collaborative Project-Based Learning on Self-Efficacy of Urban Minority Students in Engineering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Pearl; Hernandez, Anthony; Dong, Jane

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project that studies the impact of collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) on the development of self-efficacy of students from various ethnic groups in an undergraduate senior-level computer networking class. Grounded in social constructivist and situated theories of learning, the study…

  5. Project Trans(m)it: Creating Dance Collaboratively via Technology--A Best Practices Overview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Rebecca; Mizanty, Megan; Allen, Lora

    2017-01-01

    Project Trans(m)it is a collaborative research project among a cohort of intercontinental artists exploring dance creation via technological platforms. This paper seeks to disseminate our practice-led research findings on "best practices" for transferring embodied information via technology, as well as posit how technology will shape and…

  6. Full Circle: Stakeholders' Evaluation of a Collaborative Enquiry Action Research Literacy Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forey, Gail; Firkins, Arthur S.; Sengupta, Sima

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on school-university collaboration during an action research project, which aimed to build a writing pedagogy for students with Learning Disabilities in the trilingual, biliterate educational context of Hong Kong. The project was established through interpersonal relationships built from the ground up between stakeholders from a…

  7. A Collaborative Project to Integrate Information Literacy Skills into an Undergraduate Psychology Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birkett, Melissa; Hughes, Amy

    2013-01-01

    A collaborative project between an academic librarian and faculty member was implemented in an undergraduate psychology course with the goal of integrating specific information literacy learning outcomes relating to students' use of resources. As part of a semester-long, cumulative project, students' annotated bibliography assignments (N = 67),…

  8. Collaborative Online Projects for English Language Learners in Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Rivas, Carmen

    2013-01-01

    This paper summarizes how collaborative online projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National Science Foundation. A COP is a 10-week thematic science unit, completely online, and bilingual (Spanish and English) designed to…

  9. Virtual Teaming and Collaboration Technology: A Study of Influences on Virtual Project Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Broils, Gary C.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore the relationships between the independent variables, contextual factors for virtual teams and collaboration technology, and the dependent variable, virtual project outcomes. The problem leading to the need for the study is a lower success rate for virtual projects compared to…

  10. Is Action Research Necessarily Collaborative? Changing Mutuality within a Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sousa, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    This article reports a study on collaboration within an action research project that was conducted by university researchers and elementary school teachers in the Azores, Portugal. More specifically, it examines how different kinds of participants worked together in different phases of the project. The notion of mutuality (i.e., the relative…

  11. Collaboration across eight research centers: unanticipated benefits and outcomes for project managers.

    PubMed

    Perez, Norma A; Weathers, Benita; Willis, Marilyn; Mendez, Jacqueline

    2013-02-01

    Managers of transdisciplinary collaborative research lack suitable didactic material to support the implementation of research methodologies and to build ongoing partnerships with community representatives and peers, both between and within multiple academic centers. This article will provide insight on the collaborative efforts of project managers involved in multidisciplinary research and their subsequent development of a tool kit for research project managers and/or directors. Project managers from the 8 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities across the nation participated in monthly teleconferences to share experiences and offer advice on how to achieve high participation rates and maintain community involvement in collaboration with researchers and community leaders to achieve the common goal of decreasing health inequities. In the process, managers recognized and seized the opportunity to produce a tool kit that was designed for future project managers and directors. Project managers in geographically distinct locations maintained a commitment to work together over 4 years and subsequently built upon an existing communications network to design a tool kit that could be disseminated easily to a diverse audience.

  12. Overcoming organizational, cultural and technological barriers in a cluster of European Research Infrastructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asmi, Ari; Brus, Magdalena; Laj, Paolo; Kutsch, Werner

    2017-04-01

    European Research Infrastructures (RIs) in the ESFRI roadmap are major international organizations, with established user bases and highly developed products. However, particularly in the environmental sciences, there are many global challenges which individual disciplinary RIs are not suited to answer by themselves. This need of interoperability, together with the requirements for e.g. better cost efficiency, better data management and societal impact, have created a need for common cluster projects to help the RIs develop together. This paper is based on experiences from working in the FP7 ENVRI cluster project and on managing the ongoing H2020 ENVRIplus (www.envriplus.eu) project. The cluster project, even seen as useful for many aspects by the RIs, is still challenging to manage. Many cultural, organizational and technological challenges persist and need to be addressed. In the ENVRI community, there are more than 20 RIs, representing wide variety of geosciences, from solid earth and deep sea observatories to high atmosphere radars. This variety in the disciplines covered is also represented in the different scientific practices and cultures in the Consortium. Even more challenging is the difference in working culture between the Technical expert work packages (often mainly driven by IT specialists) and the RI operatives with science background. The ENVRI and ENVRIplus projects have brought many experiences worth sharing to the project management community, particularly in very heterogeneous and multidisciplinary communities. Some of the key lessons learned can be summarized: 1) Engagement from the beginning is crucial, taking the user communities (in this case, the RIs inside the Consortium) into the planning process and all the way to the product updates reduces the risk of misfit products and failure in implementation, however, there must be... 2) ... follow through in engagement, building agile teams if needed. Even if the RIs (clients) are a part of the planning process, they are often limited in personnel resources and thus there is always a risk of losing connection. This needs to be checked from the project management level, including e.g. preparation of deliverables, etc. to avoid need of later corrections. Some help comes from including actual PMs in the project plan to the user community involvement (i.e. in ENVRIplus the RIs get direct PMs to engage in the technical development), but this alone is not enough to ensure the connection; 3) Outreach, even inside the consortium is crucial. Informing others on the activities in a major project is important and many tools are needed for such activities. Passive methods, such as email lists, newsletters, videos and plenary talks in meetings are useful, but nothing seems to be as effective as physical meeting; 4) Concentrating physical meeting time, is a tool to make sure that the information flow in a large project is manageable and to ensure that all the key people are available. In ENVRIplus, there are twice a year organized ENVRIweek, where all project partners and stakeholders join in a week-long conference. This has additional challenges though, particularly in organizing parallel sessions with attendance conflicts. One key outreach success has been lightning talks in the evenings on project advances, followed by poster session with refreshments; 5) Regular virtual meetings are needed for working teams, and these need to be followed regularly by the Project Management; 6) Proper document management and other virtual tools are crucial to the success. Particular attention should be paid to ease of use, and standardization of tools, as not all project participants use these tools often; 7) Concentrated outreach activities (e.g. common ENVRI booth in EGU) make sure that the project and the community will have necessary visibility, and they help in.. 8) ...Building a community which is one of the key advances in ENVRI: A community makes it far easier to find peer support, and build successful collaboration.

  13. Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of collaborative care for depression in UK primary care (CADET): a cluster randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Richards, David A; Bower, Peter; Chew-Graham, Carolyn; Gask, Linda; Lovell, Karina; Cape, John; Pilling, Stephen; Araya, Ricardo; Kessler, David; Barkham, Michael; Bland, J Martin; Gilbody, Simon; Green, Colin; Lewis, Glyn; Manning, Chris; Kontopantelis, Evangelos; Hill, Jacqueline J; Hughes-Morley, Adwoa; Russell, Abigail

    2016-02-01

    Collaborative care is effective for depression management in the USA. There is little UK evidence on its clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. To determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of collaborative care compared with usual care in the management of patients with moderate to severe depression. Cluster randomised controlled trial. UK primary care practices (n = 51) in three UK primary care districts. A total of 581 adults aged ≥ 18 years in general practice with a current International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition depressive episode, excluding acutely suicidal people, those with psychosis, bipolar disorder or low mood associated with bereavement, those whose primary presentation was substance abuse and those receiving psychological treatment. Collaborative care: 14 weeks of 6-12 telephone contacts by care managers; mental health specialist supervision, including depression education, medication management, behavioural activation, relapse prevention and primary care liaison. Usual care was general practitioner standard practice. Blinded researchers collected depression [Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)], anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7) and quality of life (European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions three-level version), Short Form questionnaire-36 items) outcomes at 4, 12 and 36 months, satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8) outcomes at 4 months and treatment and service use costs at 12 months. In total, 276 and 305 participants were randomised to collaborative care and usual care respectively. Collaborative care participants had a mean depression score that was 1.33 PHQ-9 points lower [n = 230; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35 to 2.31; p = 0.009] than that of participants in usual care at 4 months and 1.36 PHQ-9 points lower (n = 275; 95% CI 0.07 to 2.64; p = 0.04) at 12 months after adjustment for baseline depression (effect size 0.28, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.52; odds ratio for recovery 1.88, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.75; number needed to treat 6.5). Quality of mental health but not physical health was significantly better for collaborative care at 4 months but not at 12 months. There was no difference for anxiety. Participants receiving collaborative care were significantly more satisfied with treatment. Differences between groups had disappeared at 36 months. Collaborative care had a mean cost of £272.50 per participant with similar health and social care service use between collaborative care and usual care. Collaborative care offered a mean incremental gain of 0.02 (95% CI -0.02 to 0.06) quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) over 12 months at a mean incremental cost of £270.72 (95% CI -£202.98 to £886.04) and had an estimated mean cost per QALY of £14,248, which is below current UK willingness-to-pay thresholds. Sensitivity analyses including informal care costs indicated that collaborative care is expected to be less costly and more effective. The amount of participant behavioural activation was the only effect mediator. Collaborative care improves depression up to 12 months after initiation of the intervention, is preferred by patients over usual care, offers health gains at a relatively low cost, is cost-effective compared with usual care and is mediated by patient activation. Supervision was by expert clinicians and of short duration and more intensive therapy may have improved outcomes. In addition, one participant requiring inpatient treatment incurred very significant costs and substantially inflated our cost per QALY estimate. Future work should test enhanced intervention content not collaborative care per se. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN32829227. This project was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) (G0701013) and managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on behalf of the MRC-NIHR partnership.

  14. Skate Genome Project: Cyber-Enabled Bioinformatics Collaboration

    PubMed Central

    Vincent, J.

    2011-01-01

    The Skate Genome Project, a pilot project of the North East Cyber infrastructure Consortium, aims to produce a draft genome sequence of Leucoraja erinacea, the Little Skate. The pilot project was designed to also develop expertise in large scale collaborations across the NECC region. An overview of the bioinformatics and infrastructure challenges faced during the first year of the project will be presented. Results to date and lessons learned from the perspective of a bioinformatics core will be highlighted.

  15. The Frontier Fields lens modelling comparison project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meneghetti, M.; Natarajan, P.; Coe, D.; Contini, E.; De Lucia, G.; Giocoli, C.; Acebron, A.; Borgani, S.; Bradac, M.; Diego, J. M.; Hoag, A.; Ishigaki, M.; Johnson, T. L.; Jullo, E.; Kawamata, R.; Lam, D.; Limousin, M.; Liesenborgs, J.; Oguri, M.; Sebesta, K.; Sharon, K.; Williams, L. L. R.; Zitrin, A.

    2017-12-01

    Gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies offers a powerful probe of their structure and mass distribution. Several research groups have developed techniques independently to achieve this goal. While these methods have all provided remarkably high-precision mass maps, particularly with exquisite imaging data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the reconstructions themselves have never been directly compared. In this paper, we present for the first time a detailed comparison of methodologies for fidelity, accuracy and precision. For this collaborative exercise, the lens modelling community was provided simulated cluster images that mimic the depth and resolution of the ongoing HST Frontier Fields. The results of the submitted reconstructions with the un-blinded true mass profile of these two clusters are presented here. Parametric, free-form and hybrid techniques have been deployed by the participating groups and we detail the strengths and trade-offs in accuracy and systematics that arise for each methodology. We note in conclusion that several properties of the lensing clusters are recovered equally well by most of the lensing techniques compared in this study. For example, the reconstruction of azimuthally averaged density and mass profiles by both parametric and free-form methods matches the input models at the level of ∼10 per cent. Parametric techniques are generally better at recovering the 2D maps of the convergence and of the magnification. For the best-performing algorithms, the accuracy in the magnification estimate is ∼10 per cent at μtrue = 3 and it degrades to ∼30 per cent at μtrue ∼ 10.

  16. The North Texas aerospace manufacturing and aviation industries: An explanatory case study of school-to-work collaborative networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, Cynthia Ann

    The purpose of this study is to explore how educators, business partners and facilitators developed ties or networks to initiate a school-to-work collaboration to prepare students for jobs and careers in the aerospace manufacturing and aviation industries. There is growing concern about preparing a future workforce supply in these industries in North Texas. Workforce projections call for 8000 additional jobs between 2010 and 2020 (North Central Texas Council of Governments, 2013). Collaboration is recognized as a valuable asset to connect disjointed segments within the K-16 trajectory. This study explores the contradiction between the stated need for collaborative strategies and the inability of stakeholders attempting to collaborate across organizational and institutional boundaries to sustain these connections. Through the lens of networking theory, the roles of facilitators and the operation of networks and ties between and among partners are investigated. Ten participants in a high school curriculum development project were interviewed, representing a business, community college, and K-12 education. Data analysis revealed findings associated with three major themes: facilitation, project activity and relationships. Nine individuals were identified as facilitators, and facilitators were perceived as helping the project move forward. Project activity benefited from the structured curriculum development process. Although relationships characterized by strong ties helped start the project, weak ties predominated among project participants. Implications for theory include the need for more knowledge about facilitator roles and group dynamics. Further research about the functioning of weak and strong ties and facilitator skill sets relating to collaborative leadership would be valuable. Implications for practice include capturing lessons learned to apply to other industries, and overtly acknowledging the existence and importance of facilitators.

  17. Harnessing collaboration to build nursing research capacity: a research team journey.

    PubMed

    Priest, Helena; Segrott, Jeremy; Green, Barbara; Rout, Amelia

    2007-08-01

    This paper discusses a qualitative evaluation study, designed to explore nursing lecturers' research capability development through their engagement as co-researchers in a larger case study project (referred to as the 'main project'). It explores the justification for supporting research capacity development using this collaborative approach, the process and experience of undertaking collaborative research, and the effectiveness of this model of collaboration in developing new researchers. The paper also makes connections between the process of undertaking the research (designed to offer opportunities for inexperienced researchers to be involved) and the main project findings (which explored the ways in which academic schools develop research capacity). We first set the main project in its wider context and map key issues relating to research capacity development and collaboration in the literature, before outlining how we involved neophyte and 'midiphyte' researchers. The evaluative study, which is the focus of this paper, discusses the experiences of the neophyte researchers, and explores the synergies between the main project's key findings and the process of undertaking it. We conclude with some principles for using collaboration to build research capacity, visualised through a conceptual model. While this project was located within two universities in the UK, the development of research skills amongst nurses is likely to have broad international relevance. NB1 References to 'nursing', 'nursing research', and 'nursing education' are taken throughout to apply equally to midwifery, midwifery research, and midwifery education. NB2 For the purpose of this project, neophyte researchers are defined as staff needing formal training in research and involvement in others' research, and 'midiphyte' researchers as those with some training but needing support to develop research ideas.

  18. Exploiting Publication Contents and Collaboration Networks for Collaborator Recommendation

    PubMed Central

    Kong, Xiangjie; Jiang, Huizhen; Yang, Zhuo; Xu, Zhenzhen; Xia, Feng; Tolba, Amr

    2016-01-01

    Thanks to the proliferation of online social networks, it has become conventional for researchers to communicate and collaborate with each other. Meanwhile, one critical challenge arises, that is, how to find the most relevant and potential collaborators for each researcher? In this work, we propose a novel collaborator recommendation model called CCRec, which combines the information on researchers’ publications and collaboration network to generate better recommendation. In order to effectively identify the most potential collaborators for researchers, we adopt a topic clustering model to identify the academic domains, as well as a random walk model to compute researchers’ feature vectors. Using DBLP datasets, we conduct benchmarking experiments to examine the performance of CCRec. The experimental results show that CCRec outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of precision, recall and F1 score. PMID:26849682

  19. A Persuasive Example of Collaborative Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carlsmith, Kevin M.; Cooper, Joel

    2002-01-01

    Describes the 12-week long collaborative learning project used in a persuasion and propaganda course. Explains that the students worked in groups on a persuasive campaign to change a target population. States that the student projects were persuasive. (CMK)

  20. NASA Remediation Technology Collaboration Development Task, Overview and Project Summaries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Romeo, James G.

    2014-01-01

    An overview presentation of NASA's Remediation Technology Collaboration Development Task including the following project summaries: in situ groundwater monitor, in situ chemical oxidation, in situ bioremediation, horizontal multi-port well, and high resolution site characterization.

  1. Identifying collaborative care teams through electronic medical record utilization patterns.

    PubMed

    Chen, You; Lorenzi, Nancy M; Sandberg, Warren S; Wolgast, Kelly; Malin, Bradley A

    2017-04-01

    The goal of this investigation was to determine whether automated approaches can learn patient-oriented care teams via utilization of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. To perform this investigation, we designed a data-mining framework that relies on a combination of latent topic modeling and network analysis to infer patterns of collaborative teams. We applied the framework to the EMR utilization records of over 10 000 employees and 17 000 inpatients at a large academic medical center during a 4-month window in 2010. Next, we conducted an extrinsic evaluation of the patterns to determine the plausibility of the inferred care teams via surveys with knowledgeable experts. Finally, we conducted an intrinsic evaluation to contextualize each team in terms of collaboration strength (via a cluster coefficient) and clinical credibility (via associations between teams and patient comorbidities). The framework discovered 34 collaborative care teams, 27 (79.4%) of which were confirmed as administratively plausible. Of those, 26 teams depicted strong collaborations, with a cluster coefficient > 0.5. There were 119 diagnostic conditions associated with 34 care teams. Additionally, to provide clarity on how the survey respondents arrived at their determinations, we worked with several oncologists to develop an illustrative example of how a certain team functions in cancer care. Inferred collaborative teams are plausible; translating such patterns into optimized collaborative care will require administrative review and integration with management practices. EMR utilization records can be mined for collaborative care patterns in large complex medical centers. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  2. Results of student-peer collaboration in the development of the Geoscience Student Data Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Block, K. A.; Snyder, W. S.; Williams, N.; Rudolph, E.

    2012-12-01

    The Geoscience Student Data Network (GSDNet) is an NSF-CCLI project to develop a software application that facilitates student collaboration and data analysis. Cyberinfrastructure development is accompanied by a three-course curriculum that includes a field component implemented jointly at City College of New York (CCNY) and Boise State University (BSU). We report on the challenges of utilizing existing social networking technology for student collaboration and the hurdles of real-time information exchange on heavily taxed networks and facilities. The field component and research project currently underway is engaging eight students from CCNY and their BSU peer-mentors. Students are characterizing a geothermal prospect in Idaho by combining data collected in the field, laboratory studies and cyberinfrastructure outlets using the GSDNet prototype. We will summarize results of student projects from data collection, metadata documentation, online collaboration, and project dissemination.

  3. A Social Contract for University-Industry Collaboration: A Case of Project-Based Learning Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vartiainen, Tero

    This study determines a social contract for a form of university-industry collaboration to a project-based learning environment in close collaboration with industry. The author's previous studies on moral conflicts in a project-based learning (PjBL) environment and his 5-year engagement in the PjBL environment are used as background knowledge, and John Rawls' veil of ignorance is used as a method in the contract formulation. Fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for with the contract which constitutes of sets of obligations for each party, students, clients, and university (instructors) in the chosen project course. With the contract fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for and the most dilemmatic moral conflicts are tried to be avoided. The forming of the social contract is evaluated, and implications for research and collaborations in practice are offered.

  4. 7 CFR 4285.58 - How to apply for cooperative agreement funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... arrangements. If the nature of the proposed project requires collaboration or subcontractual arrangements with... identify the collaborator(s) and provide a full explanation of the nature of the collaboration. Evidence (i...

  5. Adaptive clustering procedure for continuous gravitational wave searches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Avneet; Papa, Maria Alessandra; Eggenstein, Heinz-Bernd; Walsh, Sinéad

    2017-10-01

    In hierarchical searches for continuous gravitational waves, clustering of candidates is an important post-processing step because it reduces the number of noise candidates that are followed up at successive stages [J. Aasi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 102002 (2013), 10.1103/PhysRevD.88.102002; B. Behnke, M. A. Papa, and R. Prix, Phys. Rev. D 91, 064007 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.064007; M. A. Papa et al., Phys. Rev. D 94, 122006 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevD.94.122006]. Previous clustering procedures bundled together nearby candidates ascribing them to the same root cause (be it a signal or a disturbance), based on a predefined cluster volume. In this paper, we present a procedure that adapts the cluster volume to the data itself and checks for consistency of such volume with what is expected from a signal. This significantly improves the noise rejection capabilities at fixed detection threshold, and at fixed computing resources for the follow-up stages, this results in an overall more sensitive search. This new procedure was employed in the first Einstein@Home search on data from the first science run of the advanced LIGO detectors (O1) [LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration, arXiv:1707.02669 [Phys. Rev. D (to be published)

  6. Quantitative evidence of an intrinsic luminosity spread in the Orion nebula cluster

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reggiani, M.; Robberto, M.; Da Rio, N.; Meyer, M. R.; Soderblom, D. R.; Ricci, L.

    2011-10-01

    Aims: We study the distribution of stellar ages in the Orion nebula cluster (ONC) using accurate HST photometry taken from HST Treasury Program observations of the ONC utilizing the cluster distance estimated by Menten and collaborators. We investigate whether there is an intrinsic age spread in the region and whether the age depends on the spatial distribution. Methods: We estimate the extinction and accretion luminosity towards each source by performing synthetic photometry on an empirical calibration of atmospheric models using the package Chorizos of Maiz-Apellaniz. The position of the sources in the HR-diagram is compared with different theoretical isochrones to estimate the mean cluster age and age dispersion. On the basis of Monte Carlo simulations, we quantify the amount of intrinsic age spread in the region, taking into account uncertainties in the distance, spectral type, extinction, unresolved binaries, accretion, and photometric variability. Results: According to the evolutionary models of Siess and collaborators, the mean age of the Cluster is 2.2 Myr with a scatter of few Myr. With Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the observed age spread is inconsistent with that of a coeval stellar population, but in agreement with a star formation activity between 1.5 and 3.5 Myr. We also observe some evidence that ages depends on the spatial distribution.

  7. Project Proposals Evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Encheva, Sylvia; Tumin, Sharil

    2009-08-01

    Collaboration among various firms has been traditionally used trough single project joint ventures for bonding purposes. Eventhough the performed work is usually beneficial to some extend to all participants, the type of collaboration option to be adapted is strongly influenced by overall purposes and goals that can be achieved. In order to facilitate a choice of collaboration option best suited to a firm's need a computer based model is proposed.

  8. The Integrated Marine Postdoc Network: Support for postdoctoral researchers in marine sciences in Kiel, Germany

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braker, Gesche; Schelten, Christiane K.

    2016-04-01

    Despite the important role postdoctoral researchers play in the German academic system their status is largely undefined: Being challenged by a multitude of tasks, their employment situation is often characterized by short term contracts and a well-defined and articulated academic career path is lacking. Moreover, their employment situation becomes increasingly insecure as the time post Ph.D. increases unless they manage to shift into a tenured professorship or into similar opportunities in the non-academic employment sector. All this results in insecurity in terms of career perspectives. The support of postdoctoral researchers through the 'Integrated Marine Postdoc Network (IMAP)' has been identified as one of the strategic goals of the Cluster of Excellence 'The Future Ocean' in Kiel, Germany, a large collaborative research project funded through the German Excellence Initiative. To improve the situation of researchers post Ph.D., IMAP has identified three main actions: Building a vibrant community of postdoctoral researchers, engaging in a strategic dialogue on structural changes within the academic system in Germany with special emphasis on more predictable career paths below the professorship level and enhancing the competitiveness of postdoctoral researchers in marine sciences in Kiel through tailored schemes for career support. Since 2012 IMAP has developed into a vibrant network of researchers post Ph.D. who engage in the diverse disciplines of marine sciences in Kiel - in natural, social and medical sciences, computing, economics, and law. With currently more than 90 members working at one of the partner institutions of the Cluster in Kiel - Kiel University, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, and the Institute for the World Economy the network hosts broad scientific expertise in integrated ocean research. It is professionally coordinated and operates at the interface between the partner institutions and large scale collaborative research projects, e.g. the SFB 754 'Climate-biogeochemical interactions in the tropical ocean' in Kiel, to provide a structure for complementary support of researchers post Ph.D. (This contribution is linked to the presentation by Dr. Christiane K. Schelten.)

  9. Sulfur in Cometary Dust

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fomenkova, M. N.

    1997-01-01

    The computer-intensive project consisted of the analysis and synthesis of existing data on composition of comet Halley dust particles. The main objective was to obtain a complete inventory of sulfur containing compounds in the comet Halley dust by building upon the existing classification of organic and inorganic compounds and applying a variety of statistical techniques for cluster and cross-correlational analyses. A student hired for this project wrote and tested the software to perform cluster analysis. The following tasks were carried out: (1) selecting the data from existing database for the proposed project; (2) finding access to a standard library of statistical routines for cluster analysis; (3) reformatting the data as necessary for input into the library routines; (4) performing cluster analysis and constructing hierarchical cluster trees using three methods to define the proximity of clusters; (5) presenting the output results in different formats to facilitate the interpretation of the obtained cluster trees; (6) selecting groups of data points common for all three trees as stable clusters. We have also considered the chemistry of sulfur in inorganic compounds.

  10. Power, empowerment, and critical consciousness in community collaboration: lessons from an advisory panel for an HIV awareness media campaign for women.

    PubMed

    Champeau, Donna A; Shaw, Susan M

    2002-01-01

    This study examines the interplay of power, empowerment, and critical consciousness in the dynamics of a public health community collaboration around an HIV prevention media campaign for women. Methodology included a process evaluation consisting of participant observation, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with advisory board members. Findings suggest that attention to the dynamics of power should begin at the very earliest levels of planning collaborative health projects for women. Additionally, findings indicate that the invisibility of power and privilege affect women's participation in collaborative projects. It is recommended that intentional educational efforts be implemented to help participants in collaborative health projects for women develop the necessary skills and awareness to create an atmosphere of respect and mutuality rather than one of domination and subordination. Education for critical consciousness is suggested as one means for achieving this goal.

  11. Project-based learning in Geotechnics: cooperative versus collaborative teamwork

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pinho-Lopes, Margarida; Macedo, Joaquim

    2016-01-01

    Since 2007/2008 project-based learning models have been used to deliver two fundamental courses on Geotechnics in University of Aveiro, Portugal. These models have evolved and have encompassed either cooperative or collaborative teamwork. Using data collected in five editions of each course (Soil Mechanics I and Soil Mechanics II), the different characteristics of the models using cooperative or collaborative teamwork are pointed out and analysed, namely in terms of the students' perceptions. The data collected include informal feedback from students, monitoring of their marks and academic performance, and answers to two sets of questionnaires: developed for these courses, and institutional. The data indicate students have good opinion of the project-based learning model, though collaborative teamwork is the best rated. The overall efficacy of the models was analysed (sum of their effectiveness, efficiency and attractiveness). The collaborative model was found more adequate.

  12. Galaxy evolution in clusters since z~1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aragon-Salamanca, Alfonso

    2010-09-01

    Galaxy clusters provide some of the most extreme environments in which galaxies evolve, making them excellent laboratories to study the age old question of "nature" vs. "nurture" in galaxy evolution. Here I review some of the key observational results obtained during the last decade on the evolution of the morphology, structure, dynamics, star-formation history and stellar populations of cluster galaxies since the time when the universe was half its present age. Many of the results presented here have been obtained within the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) and Space Telescope A901/02 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES) collaborations.

  13. Galaxy Evolution in Clusters Since z ~ 1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aragón-Salamanca, A.

    Galaxy clusters provide some of the most extreme environments in which galaxies evolve, making them excellent laboratories to study the age old question of "nature" vs. "nurture" in galaxy evolution. Here I review some of the key observational results obtained during the last decade on the evolution of the morphology, structure, dynamics, star-formation history and stellar populations of cluster galaxies since the time when the Universe was half its present age. Many of the results presented here have been obtained within the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) and Space Telescope A901/02 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES) collaborations.

  14. Learning from Follow Up Surveys of Graduates: The Austin Teacher Program and the Benchmark Project. A Discussion Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Thomas E.

    This paper describes Austin College's (Texas) participation in the Benchmark Project, a collaborative followup study of teacher education graduates and their principals, focusing on the second round of data collection. The Benchmark Project was a collaboration of 11 teacher preparation programs that gathered and analyzed data comparing graduates…

  15. Seeking to Bridge the Divide: Linking Formal and Non-Formal Education in Uttar-Pradesh, India. IBE Collaborative Projects: Strengthening Capacities through Action

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zutshi, Bupinder

    2004-01-01

    The new monograph series, IBE Collaborative Projects: Strengthening Capacities through Action, documents projects initiated and managed by local or national level institutions in diverse countries, which have been technically or academically assisted by UNESCO's International Bureau of Education (IBE). This first publication in the series…

  16. Research at USAFA 2010

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    optical surveillance program for Space Situational Awareness (SSA), cadet First class Sean harte’s break-through repair technique for enamel ...also undertaken several collaborative projects to include Air Force Research Lab projects such as crack growth studies and a c-130 center Wingbox...research. the research projects involved in the collaboration include energy harvesting, corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of aging aircraft

  17. A Collaborative Media Production Project on Human Rights: Bridging Everyday and Media Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haydari, Nazan; Kara, Mustafa

    2015-01-01

    Given the importance of media institutions and universities as spaces of knowledge productions, development of "critical media pedagogy" becomes crucial for the establishment of a responsible and ethical media environment. Drawing from the collaborative project of The First Step into Human Rights: I do not do it!--A Short Film Project on…

  18. Online Tools Allow Distant Students to Collaborate on Research Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    T.H.E. Journal, 2005

    2005-01-01

    The Wesleyan Academy and Moravian School in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, recently joined forces with Evergreen Elementary in Fort Lewis, Wash., to collaborate on a research project using My eCoach Online (http://myecoach.com) as the primary medium to share information, post ideas and findings, and develop inquiry projects on 10 topics about water.…

  19. Mentoring the Consultancy Project: Lessons in Collaboration and Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Daniel E.

    2017-01-01

    This article examines a dissertation program at an higher education institution. The consultancy project is the first of two key projects that candidates in the EdD program are required to complete. It provides students opportunities to apply research and leadership skills to a real-world problem of practice in a collaborative venture with schools…

  20. Focus on Linguistic Form in a Collaborative Drama Project: Tokyo Detective Story

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banks, Sachie

    2014-01-01

    This study explores the effectiveness and challenges of a collaborative drama project conducted in a beginner-level Japanese language university class. The project had two main objectives: firstly, it encouraged students to focus on linguistic elements during the process of writing, examining and editing the scenario, and to embed it in an…

  1. Contextualizing a University-School STEM Education Collaboration: Distributed and Self-Activated Leadership for Project Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson, Peter; English, Lyn D.; Dawes, Les; Macri, Jo

    2012-01-01

    Implementing educational reform requires partnerships, and university-school collaborations in the form of investigative and experimental projects can aim to determine the practicalities of reform. However, there are funded projects that do not achieve intended outcomes. In the context of a new reform initiative in education, namely, science,…

  2. The "Corporate Correspondence Project": Fostering Audience Awareness and Extended Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brumberger, Eva R.

    2004-01-01

    This article focuses on an extended, interactive, collaborative project in a junior/senior-level business communication class. The main goal of the project is to address a difficult task central to many college-level writing courses: teaching students to consider and to write for specific audiences other than the teacher. A second goal is to focus…

  3. Near-source air quality assessment: challenges and collaboration

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation is to give a general overview of near-source air pollution concerns and recent EPA projects (near-road, near-rail, near-port), as well as explaining how these projects were implemented through collaboration internally and externally.

  4. MOCCA code for star cluster simulation: comparison with optical observations using COCOA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Askar, Abbas; Giersz, Mirek; Pych, Wojciech; Olech, Arkadiusz; Hypki, Arkadiusz

    2016-02-01

    We introduce and present preliminary results from COCOA (Cluster simulatiOn Comparison with ObservAtions) code for a star cluster after 12 Gyr of evolution simulated using the MOCCA code. The COCOA code is being developed to quickly compare results of numerical simulations of star clusters with observational data. We use COCOA to obtain parameters of the projected cluster model. For comparison, a FITS file of the projected cluster was provided to observers so that they could use their observational methods and techniques to obtain cluster parameters. The results show that the similarity of cluster parameters obtained through numerical simulations and observations depends significantly on the quality of observational data and photometric accuracy.

  5. 78 FR 3879 - Ochoco National Forest, Paulina Ranger District; Oregon; Fox Canyon Cluster Allotment Management...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-17

    ...; Fox Canyon Cluster Allotment Management Plan Project EIS AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice... preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze the effects of changing grazing management in four allotments on the Paulina Ranger District. The Fox Canyon Cluster project area is located...

  6. Collaboration for Diverse Learners: Viewpoints and Practices.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Risko, Victoria J., Ed.; Bromley, Karen, Ed.

    This book suggests that a solution to schools' lack of comprehensive literacy programs may be found through innovations in collaborative decision making about curriculum and instruction. It provides analyses of collaborative efforts, multiple ways to think about collaboration and its implementation, and examples of collaborative projects. After an…

  7. Development and validation of the European Cluster Assimilation Techniques run libraries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Facskó, G.; Gordeev, E.; Palmroth, M.; Honkonen, I.; Janhunen, P.; Sergeev, V.; Kauristie, K.; Milan, S.

    2012-04-01

    The European Commission funded the European Cluster Assimilation Techniques (ECLAT) project as a collaboration of five leader European universities and research institutes. A main contribution of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is to provide a wide range global MHD runs with the Grand Unified Magnetosphere Ionosphere Coupling simulation (GUMICS). The runs are divided in two categories: Synthetic runs investigating the extent of solar wind drivers that can influence magnetospheric dynamics, as well as dynamic runs using measured solar wind data as input. Here we consider the first set of runs with synthetic solar wind input. The solar wind density, velocity and the interplanetary magnetic field had different magnitudes and orientations; furthermore two F10.7 flux values were selected for solar radiation minimum and maximum values. The solar wind parameter values were constant such that a constant stable solution was archived. All configurations were run several times with three different (-15°, 0°, +15°) tilt angles in the GSE X-Z plane. The result of the 192 simulations named so called "synthetic run library" were visualized and uploaded to the homepage of the FMI after validation. Here we present details of these runs.

  8. Outcomes of a Self-Regulated Learning Curriculum Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peters-Burton, Erin E.

    2015-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe connections among students' views of nature of science in relation to the goals of a curriculum delivered in a unique setting, one where a researcher and two teachers collaborated to develop a course devoted to teaching students about how knowledge is built in science. Students proceeded through a cycle of self-regulated phases, forethought, performance, and self-reflection, during each segment of the curriculum: (a) independent research, (b) knowledge building in the discipline of science, and (c) a citizen science project. Student views were measured at the beginning and end of the course using epistemic network analysis. The pretest map reported student understanding of science as experimentation and indicated three clusters representing the durability of knowledge, empirical evidence, and habits of mind, which were loosely connected and represented knowledge generation as external to personal thinking. The posttest map displayed a broader understanding of scientific endeavors beyond experimentation, a shift toward personal knowledge generation, and indicated a larger number of connections among three more tightly oriented clusters: empirical evidence, habits of mind, and tentativeness. Implications include the potential to build curriculum that purposefully considers reinforcing cycles of learning of the nature of science in different contexts.

  9. hackseq: Catalyzing collaboration between biological and computational scientists via hackathon.

    PubMed

    2017-01-01

    hackseq ( http://www.hackseq.com) was a genomics hackathon with the aim of bringing together a diverse set of biological and computational scientists to work on collaborative bioinformatics projects. In October 2016, 66 participants from nine nations came together for three days for hackseq and collaborated on nine projects ranging from data visualization to algorithm development. The response from participants was overwhelmingly positive with 100% (n = 54) of survey respondents saying they would like to participate in future hackathons. We detail key steps for others interested in organizing a successful hackathon and report excerpts from each project.

  10. A Path to Successful Energy Retrofits: Early Collaboration through Integrated Project Delivery Teams

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

    Parrish, Kristen

    2012-10-01

    This document guides you through a process for the early design phases of retrofit projects to help you mitigate frustrations commonly experienced by building owners and designers. It outlines the value of forming an integrated project delivery team and developing a communication and information-sharing infrastructure that fosters collaboration. This guide does not present a complete process for designing an energy retrofit for a building. Instead, it focuses on the early design phase tasks related to developing and selecting energy efficiency measures (EEMs) that benefit from collaboration, and highlights the resulting advantages.

  11. hackseq: Catalyzing collaboration between biological and computational scientists via hackathon

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    hackseq ( http://www.hackseq.com) was a genomics hackathon with the aim of bringing together a diverse set of biological and computational scientists to work on collaborative bioinformatics projects. In October 2016, 66 participants from nine nations came together for three days for hackseq and collaborated on nine projects ranging from data visualization to algorithm development. The response from participants was overwhelmingly positive with 100% (n = 54) of survey respondents saying they would like to participate in future hackathons. We detail key steps for others interested in organizing a successful hackathon and report excerpts from each project. PMID:28417000

  12. Alternatives to the 15% Rule

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

    Broderick, Robert Joseph; Quiroz, Jimmy Edward; Reno, Matthew J.

    2015-11-01

    The third solicitation of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment (RD&D) Program established by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) is supporting the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) with collaboration from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), in research to improve the Utility Application Review and Approval process for interconnecting distributed energy resources to the distribution system. Currently this process is the most time - consuming of any step on the path to generating power onmore » the distribution system. This CSI RD&D solicitation three project has completed the tasks of collecting data from the three utilities, clustering feeder characteristic data to attain representative feeders, detailed modeling of 16 representative feeders, analysis of PV impacts to those feeders, refinement of current screening processes, and validation of those suggested refinements. In this report each task is summarized to produce a final summary of all components of the overall project.« less

  13. The Fabric of the Universe: Exploring the Cosmic Web in 3D Prints and Woven Textiles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diemer, Benedikt; Facio, Isaac

    2017-05-01

    We introduce The Fabric of the Universe, an art and science collaboration focused on exploring the cosmic web of dark matter with unconventional techniques and materials. We discuss two of our projects in detail. First, we describe a pipeline for translating three-dimensional (3D) density structures from N-body simulations into solid surfaces suitable for 3D printing, and present prints of a cosmological volume and of the infall region around a massive cluster halo. In these models, we discover wall-like features that are invisible in two-dimensional projections. Going beyond the sheer visualization of simulation data, we undertake an exploration of the cosmic web as a three-dimensional woven textile. To this end, we develop experimental 3D weaving techniques to create sphere-like and filamentary shapes and radically simplify a region of the cosmic web into a set of filaments and halos. We translate the resulting tree structure into a series of commands that can be executed by a digital weaving machine, and present a large-scale textile installation.

  14. Collaborative Research for Water Resource Management under Climate Change Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brundiers, K.; Garfin, G. M.; Gober, P.; Basile, G.; Bark, R. H.

    2010-12-01

    We present an ongoing project to co-produce science and policy called Collaborative Planning for Climate Change: An Integrated Approach to Water-Planning, Climate Downscaling, and Robust Decision-Making. The project responds to motivations related to dealing with sustainability challenges in research and practice: (a) state and municipal water managers seek research that addresses their planning needs; (b) the scientific literature and funding agencies call for more meaningful engagement between science and policy communities, in ways that address user needs, while advancing basic research; and (c) empirical research contributes to methods for the design and implementation of collaborative projects. To understand how climate change might impact water resources and management in the Southwest US, our project convenes local, state, and federal water management practitioners with climate-, hydrology-, policy-, and decision scientists. Three areas of research inform this collaboration: (a) the role of paleo-hydrology in water resources scenario construction; (b) the types of uncertainties that impact decision-making beyond climate and modeling uncertainty; and (c) basin-scale statistical and dynamical downscaling of climate models to generate hydrologic projections for regional water resources planning. The project engages all participants in the research process, from research design to workshops that build capacity for understanding data generation and sources of uncertainty to the discussion of water management decision contexts. A team of “science-practice translators” facilitates the collaboration between academic and professional communities. In this presentation we contextualize the challenges and opportunities of use-inspired science-policy research collaborations by contrasting the initial project design with the process of implementation. We draw from two sources to derive lessons learned: literature on collaborative research, and evaluations provided by participating scientists and water managers throughout the process. Lessons learned include: RESULTS: The research process needs to generate academic (peer-reviewed publications, grant proposals) and applied (usable dataset, communication support) products. Additionally, the project also strives for intangible products, e.g., the research currently continues to support efforts to predict future regional hydroclimatology, whereas management requires a paradigm shift toward anticipation of needs for adapting to multiple possible futures. APPROACH: Collaborative research is not a one-off event or consultation, but a process of mutual engagement that needs to allow for adaptive evolution of the project and its organization. TOPICS: With the acceptance of hydroclimatic non-stationarity, the focus of water managers shifts from reducing scientific uncertainty to enhancing their ability to present academically and politically defensible scenarios to their constituencies. This requires addressing the related need for exploring how to deal with political and institutional uncertainties in decision-making.

  15. Combining symmetry collective states with coupled-cluster theory: Lessons from the Agassi model Hamiltonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hermes, Matthew R.; Dukelsky, Jorge; Scuseria, Gustavo E.

    2017-06-01

    The failures of single-reference coupled-cluster theory for strongly correlated many-body systems is flagged at the mean-field level by the spontaneous breaking of one or more physical symmetries of the Hamiltonian. Restoring the symmetry of the mean-field determinant by projection reveals that coupled-cluster theory fails because it factorizes high-order excitation amplitudes incorrectly. However, symmetry-projected mean-field wave functions do not account sufficiently for dynamic (or weak) correlation. Here we pursue a merger of symmetry projection and coupled-cluster theory, following previous work along these lines that utilized the simple Lipkin model system as a test bed [J. Chem. Phys. 146, 054110 (2017), 10.1063/1.4974989]. We generalize the concept of a symmetry-projected mean-field wave function to the concept of a symmetry projected state, in which the factorization of high-order excitation amplitudes in terms of low-order ones is guided by symmetry projection and is not exponential, and combine them with coupled-cluster theory in order to model the ground state of the Agassi Hamiltonian. This model has two separate channels of correlation and two separate physical symmetries which are broken under strong correlation. We show how the combination of symmetry collective states and coupled-cluster theory is effective in obtaining correlation energies and order parameters of the Agassi model throughout its phase diagram.

  16. EarthShape: A Strategy for Investigating the Role of Biota on Surface Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Übernickel, Kirstin; Ehlers, Todd Alan; von Blanckenburg, Friedhelm; Paulino, Leandro

    2017-04-01

    EarthShape - "Earth surface shaping by biota" is a 6-year priority research program funded by the German science foundation (DFG-SPP 1803) that performs soil- and landscape-scale critical zone research at 4 locations along a climate gradient in Chile, South America. The program is in its first year and involves an interdisciplinary collaboration between geologists, geomorphologists, ecologists, soil scientists, microbiologists, geophysicists, geochemists, hydrogeologists and climatologists including 18 German and 8 Chilean institutions. EarthShape is composed of 4 research clusters representing the process chain from weathering of substrate to deposition of eroded material. Cluster 1 explores micro-biota as the "weathering engine". Investigations in this cluster quantify different mechanisms of biogenic weathering whereby plants, fungi, and bacteria interact with rock in the production of soil. Cluster 2 explores bio-mediated redistribution of material within the weathering zone. Studies in this cluster focus on soil catenas along hill slope profiles to investigate the modification of matter along its transport path. Cluster 3 explores biotic modulation of erosion and sediment routing at the catchment scale. Investigations in this cluster explore the effects of vegetation cover on solute and sediment transport from hill slopes to the channel network. Cluster 4 explores the depositional legacy of coupled biogenic and Earth surface systems. This cluster investigates records of vegetation-land surface interactions in different depositional settings. A final component of EarthShape lies in the integration of results from these 4 clusters using numerical models to bridging between the diverse times scales used by different disciplines. The Chilean Coastal Cordillera between 25° and 40°S was selected to carry out this research because its north-south orientation captures a large ecological and climate gradient. This gradient ranges from hyper-arid (Atacama desert) to temperate to humid conditions without a dry season and pristine temperate Araucaria forest. All study sites comprise granitic, previously unglaciated mountain ranges. It is one of the very few regions on Earth with uniquely rich conditions for quantifying biotic interactions with topography. Here, we benefit from (1) similar rock type, (2) tectonic uplift providing a topographic gradient for erosion on geological time-scales, (3) glaciation free catchments, and (4) well-documented records of climate change (marine, and lacustrine sediment records available). The presentation provides an introduction to the EarthShape project and an overview of activities over the first year.

  17. History in Perspective (HIP): A Collaborative Project between the University of New Hampshire, SAU #56, and 13 Other School Districts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moyer, Judith; Onosko, Joseph; Forcey, Charles; Cobb, Casey

    2003-01-01

    This article discusses the History in Perspective Project (HIP), a collaborative project between the University of New Hampshire (UNH), its Supervisory Administration Unit #56 (SAU #56), and 13 other school districts. The authors' three-pronged plan was simple, straightforward, and, in some ways, experimental. From observation and experience, they…

  18. Fantasy Island Meets the Real World: Using Online Discussion Forums in Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martens-Baker, Susan

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the Tribal Paradise Project the author and her colleagues designed for their high school students. This project was a bold attempt to bring together the real-world skills of collaboration and online writing into one major, cross-school project. Adapted from the famous "Flimibuff" assignment cited by Ray Saitz on his teacher…

  19. A Comparison of Telecollaborative Classes between Japan and Asian-Pacific Countries--Asian-Pacific Exchange Collaboration (APEC) Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shimizu, Yoshihiko; Pack, Dwayne; Kano, Mikio; Okazaki, Hiroyuki; Yamamura, Hiroto

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to compare the effects of "telecollaborative classes" between students in Japan and those in Asian-Pacific countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States (Hawaii). The telecollaborative classes are part of the Asian-Pacific Exchange Collaboration (APEC) project, a 4-year project involving students…

  20. Breaking ground in Tanzania. GO-NGO collaboration.

    PubMed

    1998-05-01

    JOICFP's reproductive health(RH)-oriented Integrated Project (IP) is being implemented by JOICFP's counterpart, the Family Planning Association of Tanzania (UMATI). The Japanese government usually provides support to help governmental programs. However, through this collaborative effort, the government of Japan is providing commodity and equipment assistance to support the RH/family planning and safe motherhood activities promoted by UMATI in collaboration with the Tanzanian government, with support provided through multilateral-bilateral assistance in collaboration with UNFPA. The Japanese government has agreed to provide US$170,000 annually in commodity and equipment assistance to the project over the period 1997-2000. The funds will be used to support family planning/maternal and child health clinics and dispensaries in project areas run by the government, as well as to support UMATI activities.

  1. Training Students in Distributed Collaboration: Experiences from Two Pilot Projects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Munkvold, Bjorn Erik; Line, Lars

    Distributed collaboration supported by different forms of information and communication technologies (ICT) is becoming increasingly widespread. Effective realization of technology supported, distributed collaboration requires learning and careful attention to both technological and organizational aspects of the collaboration. Despite increasing…

  2. Project UNITY: Cross Domain Visualization Collaboration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, J.; Havig, P.

    UNITY is an International Cooperative Research and Development (ICR&D) project between the United States and Great Britain under the Research and Development Projects (RDP) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). UNITYs objectives are to develop and evaluate the operational concepts and requirements for undertaking combined operations: a) pursuant to the interests of mission partners, b) develop, experiment, and demonstrate, transitionable emergent technologies, capabilities, or concepts, which facilitate the sharing of information and products between mission partners, and c) identify and define additional emerging technologies that may need to be developed to support current and future military information sharing. Collaboration between coalition partners is essentially for accurate and timely decision making in the ever increasing nature and tempo of global security. The purpose for this project is to develop engineering solutions in order to further investigate the human factors issues that arise while sharing information in a collaborative environment where security is an issue. The biggest difference between existing available solutions are in the presentation and interaction with the interface on both ends of the collaboration in order to preserve the expressed intent of shared situation awareness while also enabling markups and content on one screen that the other collaborator does not see and vice versa. The UNITY project stresses collaboration differently than all known realtime collaboration software in production, aka groupware, on the market today. The tradition of What You See Is What I See (WYSIWIS) as in typical implementations of shared whiteboards simply do not address the need for local and private information to be displayed in context with shareable data. This paper addresses the concerns, problems, and some solutions for shared 3D visualization and 2D tabular visualizations which are explored and presented within the space situation awareness problem set.

  3. Librarians as Part of Cross-Disciplinary, Multi-Institutional Team Projects: Experiences from the VIVO Collaboration

    PubMed Central

    Garcia-Milian, Rolando; Norton, Hannah F.; Auten, Beth; Davis, Valrie I.; Holmes, Kristi L.; Johnson, Margeaux; Tennant, Michele R.

    2013-01-01

    Cross-disciplinary, team-based collaboration is essential for addressing today’s complex research questions, and librarians are increasingly entering into such collaborations. This study identifies skills needed as librarians integrate into cross-disciplinary teams, based on the experiences of librarians involved in the development and implementation of VIVO, a research discovery and collaboration platform. Participants discussed the challenges, skills gained, and lessons learned throughout the project. Their responses were analyzed in the light of the science of team science literature, and factors affecting collaboration on the VIVO team were identified. Skills in inclusive thinking, communication, perseverance, adaptability, and leadership were found to be essential. PMID:23833333

  4. Mobile clusters of single board computers: an option for providing resources to student projects and researchers.

    PubMed

    Baun, Christian

    2016-01-01

    Clusters usually consist of servers, workstations or personal computers as nodes. But especially for academic purposes like student projects or scientific projects, the cost for purchase and operation can be a challenge. Single board computers cannot compete with the performance or energy-efficiency of higher-value systems, but they are an option to build inexpensive cluster systems. Because of the compact design and modest energy consumption, it is possible to build clusters of single board computers in a way that they are mobile and can be easily transported by the users. This paper describes the construction of such a cluster, useful applications and the performance of the single nodes. Furthermore, the clusters' performance and energy-efficiency is analyzed by executing the High Performance Linpack benchmark with a different number of nodes and different proportion of the systems total main memory utilized.

  5. Software Engineering Research/Developer Collaborations in 2004 (C104)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pressburger, Tom; Markosian, Lawrance

    2005-01-01

    In 2004, six collaborations between software engineering technology providers and NASA software development personnel deployed a total of five software engineering technologies (for references, see Section 7.2) on the NASA projects. The main purposes were to benefit the projects, infuse the technologies if beneficial into NASA, and give feedback to the technology providers to improve the technologies. Each collaboration project produced a final report (for references, see Section 7.1). Section 2 of this report summarizes each project, drawing from the final reports and communications with the software developers and technology providers. Section 3 indicates paths to further infusion of the technologies into NASA practice. Section 4 summarizes some technology transfer lessons learned. Section 6 lists the acronyms used in this report.

  6. Multiconstrained gene clustering based on generalized projections

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Gene clustering for annotating gene functions is one of the fundamental issues in bioinformatics. The best clustering solution is often regularized by multiple constraints such as gene expressions, Gene Ontology (GO) annotations and gene network structures. How to integrate multiple pieces of constraints for an optimal clustering solution still remains an unsolved problem. Results We propose a novel multiconstrained gene clustering (MGC) method within the generalized projection onto convex sets (POCS) framework used widely in image reconstruction. Each constraint is formulated as a corresponding set. The generalized projector iteratively projects the clustering solution onto these sets in order to find a consistent solution included in the intersection set that satisfies all constraints. Compared with previous MGC methods, POCS can integrate multiple constraints from different nature without distorting the original constraints. To evaluate the clustering solution, we also propose a new performance measure referred to as Gene Log Likelihood (GLL) that considers genes having more than one function and hence in more than one cluster. Comparative experimental results show that our POCS-based gene clustering method outperforms current state-of-the-art MGC methods. Conclusions The POCS-based MGC method can successfully combine multiple constraints from different nature for gene clustering. Also, the proposed GLL is an effective performance measure for the soft clustering solutions. PMID:20356386

  7. Collaboration Networks in Applied Conservation Projects across Europe

    PubMed Central

    Manolache, Steluta; Ciocănea, Cristiana Maria; Miu, Iulia Viorica; Popescu, Viorel Dan

    2016-01-01

    The main funding instrument for implementing EU policies on nature conservation and supporting environmental and climate action is the LIFE Nature programme, established by the European Commission in 1992. LIFE Nature projects (>1400 awarded) are applied conservation projects in which partnerships between institutions are critical for successful conservation outcomes, yet little is known about the structure of collaborative networks within and between EU countries. The aim of our study is to understand the nature of collaboration in LIFE Nature projects using a novel application of social network theory at two levels: (1) collaboration between countries, and (2) collaboration within countries using six case studies: Western Europe (United Kingdom and Netherlands), Eastern Europe (Romania and Latvia) and Southern Europe (Greece and Portugal). Using data on 1261 projects financed between 1996 and 2013, we found that Italy was the most successful country not only in terms of awarded number of projects, but also in terms of overall influence being by far the most influent country in the European LIFE Nature network, having the highest eigenvector (0.989) and degree centrality (0.177). Another key player in the network is Netherlands, which ensures a fast communication flow with other network members (closeness—0.318) by staying connected with the most active countries. Although Western European countries have higher centrality scores than most of the Eastern European countries, our results showed that overall there is a lower tendency to create partnerships between different organization categories. Also, the comparisons of the six case studies indicates significant differences in regards to the pattern of creating partnerships, providing valuable information on collaboration on EU nature conservation. This study represents a starting point in predicting the formation of future partnerships within LIFE Nature programme, suggesting ways to improve transnational cooperation and communication. PMID:27723834

  8. Collaboration Networks in Applied Conservation Projects across Europe.

    PubMed

    Nita, Andreea; Rozylowicz, Laurentiu; Manolache, Steluta; Ciocănea, Cristiana Maria; Miu, Iulia Viorica; Popescu, Viorel Dan

    2016-01-01

    The main funding instrument for implementing EU policies on nature conservation and supporting environmental and climate action is the LIFE Nature programme, established by the European Commission in 1992. LIFE Nature projects (>1400 awarded) are applied conservation projects in which partnerships between institutions are critical for successful conservation outcomes, yet little is known about the structure of collaborative networks within and between EU countries. The aim of our study is to understand the nature of collaboration in LIFE Nature projects using a novel application of social network theory at two levels: (1) collaboration between countries, and (2) collaboration within countries using six case studies: Western Europe (United Kingdom and Netherlands), Eastern Europe (Romania and Latvia) and Southern Europe (Greece and Portugal). Using data on 1261 projects financed between 1996 and 2013, we found that Italy was the most successful country not only in terms of awarded number of projects, but also in terms of overall influence being by far the most influent country in the European LIFE Nature network, having the highest eigenvector (0.989) and degree centrality (0.177). Another key player in the network is Netherlands, which ensures a fast communication flow with other network members (closeness-0.318) by staying connected with the most active countries. Although Western European countries have higher centrality scores than most of the Eastern European countries, our results showed that overall there is a lower tendency to create partnerships between different organization categories. Also, the comparisons of the six case studies indicates significant differences in regards to the pattern of creating partnerships, providing valuable information on collaboration on EU nature conservation. This study represents a starting point in predicting the formation of future partnerships within LIFE Nature programme, suggesting ways to improve transnational cooperation and communication.

  9. The role of relationships in collaborative partnership success: Lessons from the Alaska Fourth R project.

    PubMed

    Crooks, Claire V; Exner-Cortens, Deinera; Siebold, Wendi; Moore, Kami; Grassgreen, Lori; Owen, Patricia; Rausch, Ann; Rosier, Mollie

    2018-04-01

    Collaborative partnerships are critical to achieving health equity. As such, it is important to understand what contributes to the success of such partnerships. This paper describes the Alaska Fourth R collaborative, a multisectoral group of agencies (including education, health and human services, the violence against women sector, the governor's council on domestic violence, and an external evaluator) that successfully planned, implemented and evaluated a multi-focus health education program statewide. The purpose of this paper was to explore the ways in which seven pre-identified factors contributed to the successful achievement of the collaborative's goals. This project was grounded in community-based research principles, and collectively, the group chose to use Roussos and Fawcett's (2000) seven-factor model as the basis for the project. Using this model as a guide, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five leaders from the key organizations in the collaborative. In interviews, stakeholders described how each of the seven factors functioned in the Alaska collaborative to contribute to project success, with a particular focus on the critical role of relationships. Three specific relationship facets emerged as cross-cutting themes: flexibility, transparency, and prioritization. In sum, taking the time to build deep and authentic relationships, and then developing a shared vision and mission within the context of relationships that are flexible, transparent and prioritized, provided a strong foundation for future success in this collaborative. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 25 CFR 170.100 - What do the terms “consultation, collaboration, and coordination” mean?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false What do the terms âconsultation, collaboration, and... Consultation, Collaboration, Coordination § 170.100 What do the terms “consultation, collaboration, and... explanation. (b) Collaboration means that all parties involved in carrying out planning and project...

  11. 25 CFR 170.100 - What do the terms “consultation, collaboration, and coordination” mean?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What do the terms âconsultation, collaboration, and... Consultation, Collaboration, Coordination § 170.100 What do the terms “consultation, collaboration, and... explanation. (b) Collaboration means that all parties involved in carrying out planning and project...

  12. Engineering and Language Discourse Collaboration: Practice Realities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harran, Marcelle

    2011-01-01

    This article describes a situated engineering project at a South African HE institution which is underpinned by collaboration between Applied Language Studies (DALS) and Mechanical Engineering. The collaboration requires language practitioners and engineering experts to negotiate and collaborate on academic literacies practices, discourse…

  13. NASA as a Convener: Government, Academic and Industry Collaborations Through the NASA Human Health and Performance Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth E.

    2011-01-01

    On October 18, 2010, the NASA Human Health and Performance center (NHHPC) was opened to enable collaboration among government, academic and industry members. Membership rapidly grew to 60 members (http://nhhpc.nasa.gov ) and members began identifying collaborative projects as detailed below. In addition, a first workshop in open collaboration and innovation was conducted on January 19, 2011 by the NHHPC resulting in additional challenges and projects for further development. This first workshop was a result of the SLSD successes in running open innovation challenges over the past two years. In 2008, the NASA Johnson Space Center, Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) began pilot projects in open innovation (crowd sourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical problems. From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external challenges were conducted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, Yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive platform, customized to NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results from the 34 challenges involved not only technical solutions that were reported previously at the 61st IAC, but also the formation of new collaborative relationships. For example, the TopCoder pilot was expanded by the NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate to the NASA Tournament Lab in collaboration with Harvard Business School and TopCoder. Building on these initial successes, the NHHPC workshop in January of 2011, and ongoing NHHPC member discussions, several important collaborations are in development: Space Act Agreement between NASA and GE for collaborative projects, NASA and academia for a Visual Impairment / Intracranial Hypertension summit (February 2011), NASA and the DoD through the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative (DeVenCI) for a technical needs workshop (June 2011), NASA and the San Diego Zoo in Biomimicry, NASA and the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Flight for collaborative projects, NASA and the FDA concerning automatic external defibrillators, and NASA and Tufts University for an education pilot. These and other collaborations will be detailed in the paper demonstrating that a government-sponsored convening entity (the NHHPC) can facilitate industry, academic, and non-profit collaborations for products of mutual benefit.

  14. 76 FR 38124 - Applications for New Awards; Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network Regional...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-29

    ...) National Network Regional Centers and ADA National Network Collaborative Research Projects AGENCY: Office... National Network Regional Centers (formerly the Disability Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs), and ADA National Network Collaborative Research Projects. Notice inviting applications for new awards...

  15. Report on Collaborative Facilities Projects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    California Community Colleges, Sacramento. Office of the Chancellor.

    California's community colleges develop their own requests in concert with their district five-year master plan. They then submit those requests to the State Chancellor's Office for review. This document discusses the current process of submitting proposals for collaborative facilities projects, and outlines and discusses five recommendations for…

  16. Exploring the Internal Dynamics of Globular Clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watkins, Laura L.; van der Marel, Roeland; Bellini, Andrea; Luetzgendorf, Nora; HSTPROMO Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    Exploring the Internal Dynamics of Globular ClustersThe formation histories and structural properties of globular clusters are imprinted on their internal dynamics. Energy equipartition results in velocity differences for stars of different mass, and leads to mass segregation, which results in different spatial distributions for stars of different mass. Intermediate-mass black holes significantly increase the velocity dispersions at the centres of clusters. By combining accurate measurements of their internal kinematics with state-of-the-art dynamical models, we can characterise both the velocity dispersion and mass profiles of clusters, tease apart the different effects, and understand how clusters may have formed and evolved.Using proper motions from the Hubble Space Telescope Proper Motion (HSTPROMO) Collaboration for a set of 22 Milky Way globular clusters, and our discrete dynamical modelling techniques designed to work with large, high-quality datasets, we are studying a variety of internal cluster properties. We will present the results of theoretical work on simulated clusters that demonstrates the efficacy of our approach, and preliminary results from application to real clusters.

  17. Building a Framework that Supports Project Teams: An Example from a University/Community Collaborative Initiative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kolb, Judith A.; Sandmeyer, Louise E.

    2007-01-01

    In the university initiative described in this article, a series of project teams were funded to work on a variety of collaborative projects. The focus of this piece is on the framework that was developed and executed to select, support, and evaluate these teams. The framework is explained and described using data gathered throughout the study and…

  18. Rx-CADRE (Prescribed Fire Combustion-Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiments) collaborative research in the core fire sciences

    Treesearch

    D. Jimenez; B. Butler; K. Hiers; R. Ottmar; M. Dickinson; R. Kremens; J. O' Brien; A. Hudak; C. Clements

    2009-01-01

    The Rx-CADRE project was the combination of local and national fire expertise in the field of core fire research. The project brought together approximately 30 fire scientists from six geographic regions and seven diff erent agencies. The project objectives were to demonstrate the capacity for collaborative research by bringing together individuals and teams with a...

  19. A Stigmergy Collaboration Approach in the Open Source Software Developer Community

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

    Cui, Xiaohui; Pullum, Laura L; Treadwell, Jim N

    2009-01-01

    The communication model of some self-organized online communities is significantly different from the traditional social network based community. It is problematic to use social network analysis to analyze the collaboration structure and emergent behaviors in these communities because these communities lack peer-to-peer connections. Stigmergy theory provides an explanation of the collaboration model of these communities. In this research, we present a stigmergy approach for building an agent-based simulation to simulate the collaboration model in the open source software (OSS) developer community. We used a group of actors who collaborate on OSS projects through forums as our frame of reference andmore » investigated how the choices actors make in contributing their work on the projects determines the global status of the whole OSS project. In our simulation, the forum posts serve as the digital pheromone and the modified Pierre-Paul Grasse pheromone model is used for computing the developer agents behavior selection probability.« less

  20. International Collaboration and Academic Exchange of the CHAIN Project in this Three Years (Period)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ueno, Satoru; Shibata, Kazunari; Morita, Satoshi; Kimura, Goichi; Asai, Ayumi; Kitai, Reizaburo; Ichimoto, Kiyoshi; Nagata, Shin'ichi; Ishii, Takako; Nakatani, Yoshikazu; Masashi, Yamaguchi; et al.

    2014-02-01

    We will introduce contents of international collaboration and academic exchange of the CHAIN project in recent three years (ISWI period). After April of 2010, we have not obtained any enough budget for new instruments. Therefore, we have not been able to install new Flare Monitoring Telescopes (FMT) in new countries, such as Algeria. On the other hand, however, we have continued international academic exchange through scientific and educational collaboration with mainly Peru, such as data-analysis training, holding scientific workshops etc. Additionally, in this year, King Saudi University of Saudi Arabia and CRAAG of Algeria have planned to build a new FMT in their university by their own budget. Therefore, we have started some collaboration in the field of technical advices of instruments and scientific themes etc. Moreover, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) also offered us participation in the CHAIN-project. We would like to continue to consider the possibility of academic collaboration with such new positive developing nations, too.

  1. The Unified Medical Language System: an informatics research collaboration.

    PubMed

    Humphreys, B L; Lindberg, D A; Schoolman, H M; Barnett, G O

    1998-01-01

    In 1986, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) assembled a large multidisciplinary, multisite team to work on the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), a collaborative research project aimed at reducing fundamental barriers to the application of computers to medicine. Beyond its tangible products, the UMLS Knowledge Sources, and its influence on the field of informatics, the UMLS project is an interesting case study in collaborative research and development. It illustrates the strengths and challenges of substantive collaboration among widely distributed research groups. Over the past decade, advances in computing and communications have minimized the technical difficulties associated with UMLS collaboration and also facilitated the development, dissemination, and use of the UMLS Knowledge Sources. The spread of the World Wide Web has increased the visibility of the information access problems caused by multiple vocabularies and many information sources which are the focus of UMLS work. The time is propitious for building on UMLS accomplishments and making more progress on the informatics research issues first highlighted by the UMLS project more than 10 years ago.

  2. Evaluation of the effect of co-financing on collaboration between health care, social services and social insurance in Sweden.

    PubMed

    Hultberg, Eva-Lisa; Lönnroth, Knut; Allebeck, Peter

    2002-01-01

    In this paper, we present an ongoing research project aimed to determine the impact of co-financing on collaboration around patients with musculoskeletal disorders. A trial legislation that allows the social insurance, social services and health care services to unite in co-financing under joint political steering has been tested in different areas in Sweden. In a series of studies, we compare collaboration processes and health outcome for patients with musculoskeletal disorders between health centres with co-financing projects and control health centres without co-financing projects. In this paper the studies are described and some preliminary results are discussed.

  3. Anatomical and Electrophysiological Clustering of Superficial Medial Entorhinal Cortex Interneurons

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Local GABAergic interneurons regulate the activity of spatially-modulated principal cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), mediating stellate-to-stellate connectivity and possibly enabling grid formation via recurrent inhibitory circuitry. Despite the important role interneurons seem to play in the MEC cortical circuit, the combination of low cell counts and functional diversity has made systematic electrophysiological studies of these neurons difficult. For these reasons, there remains a paucity of knowledge on the electrophysiological profiles of superficial MEC interneuron populations. Taking advantage of glutamic acid decarboxylase 2 (GAD2)-IRES-tdTomato and PV-tdTomato transgenic mice, we targeted GABAergic interneurons for whole-cell patch-clamp recordings and characterized their passive membrane features, basic input/output properties and action potential (AP) shape. These electrophysiologically characterized cells were then anatomically reconstructed, with emphasis on axonal projections and pial depth. K-means clustering of interneuron anatomical and electrophysiological data optimally classified a population of 106 interneurons into four distinct clusters. The first cluster is comprised of layer 2- and 3-projecting, slow-firing interneurons. The second cluster is comprised largely of PV+ fast-firing interneurons that project mainly to layers 2 and 3. The third cluster contains layer 1- and 2-projecting interneurons, and the fourth cluster is made up of layer 1-projecting horizontal interneurons. These results, among others, will provide greater understanding of the electrophysiological characteristics of MEC interneurons, help guide future in vivo studies, and may aid in uncovering the mechanism of grid field formation. PMID:29085901

  4. Using Technology to Enhance Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wasonga, Teresa A.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this research project is to explore the use of technology in enhancing and creating opportunities for collaborative learning by connecting prospective school leaders and practicing principals from multiple settings. Design/methodology/approach: This was a research project in which an internet-based network system was…

  5. Faculty Collaboration on Multidisciplinary Web-Based Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saad, Ashraf; Uskov, Vladimir L.; Cedercreutz, Kettil; Geonetta, Sam; Spille, Jack; Abel, Dick

    In 1998, faculty members at the University of Cincinnati started a project as an interdepartmental collaboration to investigate the use of World Wide Web-based instructional (WBI) tools. The project team included representatives from various areas such as information engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, chemical technology,…

  6. Project DULCE: Strengthening Families through Enhanced Primary Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sege, Robert; Kaplan-Sanof, Margot; Morton, Samantha J.; Velasco-Hodgson, M. Carolina; Preer, Genevieve; Morakinyo, Grace; DeVos, Ed; Krathen, Julie

    2014-01-01

    Project DULCE (Developmental understanding and legal Collaboration for everyone) integrated the Strengthening families approach to building family protective factors into routine health care visits for infants in a primary health care setting. The core collaborators--Boston medical Center pediatric primary care, the medical-legal partnership |…

  7. 78 FR 37591 - Making the Most of Big Data: Request for Information

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-21

    ... expanded collaboration between the public and private sectors. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Overview: Aiming... collaboration between the public and private sectors. The Administration is particularly interested in projects... innovation projects across the country. Later this year, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP...

  8. Collaborative Educational Ethnography: Problems and Profits.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gibson, Margaret A.

    1985-01-01

    The Punjabi Education Project was a collaborative research effort involving a Sikh community in California, a school district, a community organization, and an educational anthropologist. The project aimed to improve relations between the ethnic and mainstream groups at a local high school and simultaneously to improve educational performance…

  9. Conflict from Teamwork in Project-Based Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, Lim Ha; Chen, Ching-Huei

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the conflict occurring during teamwork among college seniors in project-based collaborative learning in a capstone course. It found that conflict emerged with poor communication, task management, and work allocation; unequal treatments among classmates; egocentricity; a clash of values; and lack of responsibility and…

  10. Enhancing Thinking Skills with School-University Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McInerney, William D.; Kolter, Gerald E.

    1988-01-01

    Describes a collaborative Purdue University and Twin Lakes School Corporation (Indiana) project to specify and demonstrate research-based instructional models facilitating the development of students' higher thinking skills. The project has developed a special site where student teachers can observe and practice teaching these skills. Includes 10…

  11. Learning Effects of an International Group Competition Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akpinar, Murat; del Campo, Cristina; Eryarsoy, Enes

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of collaboration and competition on students' learning performance in a course of business statistics. The collaboration involved a simultaneously organised group competition project with analysis of real-life business problems among students. Students from the following schools participated: JAMK University of…

  12. Theoretical research program to study transition metal trimers and embedded clusters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walch, S. P.

    1984-01-01

    Small transition metal clusters were studied at a high level of approximation, including all the valence electrons in the calculation and extensive electron correlation, in order to understand the electronic structure of these small metal clusters. By comparison of dimers, trimers, and possibly higher clusters, the information obtained was used to provide insights into the electronic structure of bulk transition metals. Small metal clusters are currently of considerable experimental interest and some information is becomming available both from matrix electron spin resonance studies and from gas phase spectroscopy. Collaboration between theorists and experimentalists is thus expected to be especially profitable at this time since there is some experimental information which can serve to guide the theoretical work.

  13. [French biomedical competitiveness clusters: opportunities for public-private partnerships].

    PubMed

    Vasmant, Daniel

    2009-12-01

    A "competitive cluster" is a partnership between businesses, research units and training centers, working together to generate synergies for innovative projects in a particular geographic area. Since 2005, the first five calls for cluster projects have led to the funding of 645 R&D projects involving 13,000 researchers. Together, the R&D expenditure of these projects has so far totaled nearly Euro 3.6 billion. This included public funding of Euro 1300 million, Euro 840 million of which was provided by central government. In the biomedical field, 80 R&D projects have been funded to the tune of Euro 140 million (Euro 81 million from central government and Euro 59 million from local government). A total of 288 agreements have been signed, 12% with large companies, 36% with SMEs and 49.8% with public research laboratories. Alongside the more classical biomedical research funding sources, such as the National Research Agency and government-sponsored projects (on cancer, Alzheimer's disease, rare diseases, etc.), competitive clusters provide the impetus for profound changes in research culture. They draw on the principle of professional guidance and public-private partnerships to build a bridge between the "academic" and "industrial" research arenas. By facilitating knowledge generation and sharing, competitive clusters create a climate of action-driven mutual respect and trust.

  14. Creating a Linked Data Hub in the Geosciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Narock, T. W.; Rozell, E. A.; Robinson, E. M.

    2012-12-01

    Linked data is a paradigm for publishing data on the Web by using, among other things, non-proprietary data formats and resolvable identifiers for things in your dataset. One linked data initiative, DBPedia, is widely used as a "crystallization point" for linked data on the Web. It serves as a hub for links from external datasets covering a broad variety of domains. Within the Earth Science Information Partnership (ESIP) efforts have begun to create a similar crystallization point for linked data in the geosciences. The initial project was created by converting more than 100,000 abstracts from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) into linked data using the Resource Description Framework. Like the Wikipedia data DBPedia is derived from, AGU publications have extremely broad coverage of topics in the geosciences. To better characterize the network, we have linked this AGU data to ESIP meeting and membership data, as well as to National Science Foundation-funded research projects. In doing so, we can visualize connections between different collaborative clusters like the ESIP Community or NSF grantees within the broader Geosciences communities that attend AGU conferences. Efforts to extend this project include - the ability to annotate abstracts, provide links to referenced tools or datasets, and the enabling of a crowd-sourcing approach to co-reference resolution.

  15. Security and Policy for Group Collaboration

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

    Ian Foster; Carl Kesselman

    2006-07-31

    “Security and Policy for Group Collaboration” was a Collaboratory Middleware research project aimed at providing the fundamental security and policy infrastructure required to support the creation and operation of distributed, computationally enabled collaborations. The project developed infrastructure that exploits innovative new techniques to address challenging issues of scale, dynamics, distribution, and role. To reduce greatly the cost of adding new members to a collaboration, we developed and evaluated new techniques for creating and managing credentials based on public key certificates, including support for online certificate generation, online certificate repositories, and support for multiple certificate authorities. To facilitate the integration ofmore » new resources into a collaboration, we improved significantly the integration of local security environments. To make it easy to create and change the role and associated privileges of both resources and participants of collaboration, we developed community wide authorization services that provide distributed, scalable means for specifying policy. These services make it possible for the delegation of capability from the community to a specific user, class of user or resource. Finally, we instantiated our research results into a framework that makes it useable to a wide range of collaborative tools. The resulting mechanisms and software have been widely adopted within DOE projects and in many other scientific projects. The widespread adoption of our Globus Toolkit technology has provided, and continues to provide, a natural dissemination and technology transfer vehicle for our results.« less

  16. Developing A Large-Scale, Collaborative, Productive Geoscience Education Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manduca, C. A.; Bralower, T. J.; Egger, A. E.; Fox, S.; Ledley, T. S.; Macdonald, H.; Mcconnell, D. A.; Mogk, D. W.; Tewksbury, B. J.

    2012-12-01

    Over the past 15 years, the geoscience education community has grown substantially and developed broad and deep capacity for collaboration and dissemination of ideas. While this community is best viewed as emergent from complex interactions among changing educational needs and opportunities, we highlight the role of several large projects in the development of a network within this community. In the 1990s, three NSF projects came together to build a robust web infrastructure to support the production and dissemination of on-line resources: On The Cutting Edge (OTCE), Earth Exploration Toolbook, and Starting Point: Teaching Introductory Geoscience. Along with the contemporaneous Digital Library for Earth System Education, these projects engaged geoscience educators nationwide in exploring professional development experiences that produced lasting on-line resources, collaborative authoring of resources, and models for web-based support for geoscience teaching. As a result, a culture developed in the 2000s in which geoscience educators anticipated that resources for geoscience teaching would be shared broadly and that collaborative authoring would be productive and engaging. By this time, a diverse set of examples demonstrated the power of the web infrastructure in supporting collaboration, dissemination and professional development . Building on this foundation, more recent work has expanded both the size of the network and the scope of its work. Many large research projects initiated collaborations to disseminate resources supporting educational use of their data. Research results from the rapidly expanding geoscience education research community were integrated into the Pedagogies in Action website and OTCE. Projects engaged faculty across the nation in large-scale data collection and educational research. The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network and OTCE engaged community members in reviewing the expanding body of on-line resources. Building Strong Geoscience Departments sought to create the same type of shared information base that was supporting individual faculty for departments. The Teach the Earth portal and its underlying web development tools were used by NSF-funded projects in education to disseminate their results. Leveraging these funded efforts, the Climate Literacy Network has expanded this geoscience education community to include individuals broadly interested in fostering climate literacy. Most recently, the InTeGrate project is implementing inter-institutional collaborative authoring, testing and evaluation of curricular materials. While these projects represent only a fraction of the activity in geoscience education, they are important drivers in the development of a large, national, coherent geoscience education network with the ability to collaborate and disseminate information effectively. Importantly, the community is open and defined by active participation. Key mechanisms for engagement have included alignment of project activities with participants needs and goals; productive face-to-face and virtual workshops, events, and series; stipends for completion of large products; and strong supporting staff to keep projects moving and assist with product production. One measure of its success is the adoption and adaptation of resources and models by emerging projects, which results in the continued growth of the network.

  17. Creating Networks through Interinstitutional Faculty Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marino, Sarah R.

    2002-01-01

    Describes efforts by the consortium Associated Colleges of the Midwest to support interinstitutional faculty collaboration and development. Focuses on three programs: the Global Partners Project, an information literacy grant, and an academic collaboration grant. (EV)

  18. The Study of Clusters of Galaxies and Large Scale Structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1998-01-01

    Many research projects have been initiated and completed under support of this program. The results are summarized below. The work on the ROSAT Deep Survey has been successfully completed. A number of interesting results have been established within this joint MPE, Cal Tech, JHU, ST ScI, ESO collaboration. First, a very large fraction, 70-80 percent, of the X-ray background has been directly resolved into point sources. We have derived a new log N-log S for X-ray sources and have measured a source density of 970 sources per square degree at a limiting flux level. Care was taken in these studies to accurately model and measure the effects of sources confusion. This was possible because of our observing strategy which included both deep PSPC and HRI observations. No evidence of a population of narrow emission line galaxies has been established but some evidence for the evolution of low luminosity AGN (Seyfert galaxies) has been reported. The work on the ROSAT All Sky Survey Northern Cluster Survey has been substantially concluded but the publication of the list has been held up by the need to analyze newly re-calibrated data. This should result in publication over the next year. During the past year we have submitted a paper to the Astrophysical Journal which utilized a sample of clusters originally selected from the ROSAT All-sky survey at redshifts greater than 0.3. This sample was studied with ASCA to determine temperature and luminosity.

  19. Neuroscience thinks big (and collaboratively).

    PubMed

    Kandel, Eric R; Markram, Henry; Matthews, Paul M; Yuste, Rafael; Koch, Christof

    2013-09-01

    Despite cash-strapped times for research, several ambitious collaborative neuroscience projects have attracted large amounts of funding and media attention. In Europe, the Human Brain Project aims to develop a large-scale computer simulation of the brain, whereas in the United States, the Brain Activity Map is working towards establishing a functional connectome of the entire brain, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science has embarked upon a 10-year project to understand the mouse visual cortex (the MindScope project). US President Barack Obama's announcement of the BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative) in April 2013 highlights the political commitment to neuroscience and is expected to further foster interdisciplinary collaborations, accelerate the development of new technologies and thus fuel much needed medical advances. In this Viewpoint article, five prominent neuroscientists explain the aims of the projects and how they are addressing some of the questions (and criticisms) that have arisen.

  20. Collaboration between Writers and Graphic Designers in Documentation Projects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mirel, Barbara; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Analyzes collaborations between software manual writers and graphic designers to discover how their processes of collaboration directly affect the form of a finished manual. Identifies three models of collaboration: assembly line (linear drafting), swap meet (iterative drafting and joint problem solving), and symphony (codevelopment in every…

  1. Shaping Globular Clusters with Black Holes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2018-03-01

    How many black holes lurk within the dense environments of globular clusters, and how do these powerful objects shape the properties of the cluster around them? One such cluster, NGC 3201, is now helping us to answer these questions.Hunting Stellar-Mass Black HolesSince the detection of merging black-hole binaries by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the dense environments of globular clusters have received increasing attention as potential birthplaces of these compact binary systems.The central region of the globular star cluster NGC 3201, as viewed by Hubble. The black hole is in orbit with the star marked by the blue circle. [NASA/ESA]In addition, more and more stellar-mass black-hole candidates have been observed within globular clusters, lurking in binary pairs with luminous, non-compact companions. The most recent of these detections, found in the globular cluster NGC 3201, stands alone as the first stellar-mass black hole candidate discovered via radial velocity observations: the black holes main-sequence companion gave away its presence via a telltale wobble.Now a team of scientists led by Kyle Kremer (CIERA and Northwestern University) is using models of this system to better understand the impact that black holes might have on their host clusters.A Model ClusterThe relationship between black holes and their host clusters is complicated. Though the cluster environment can determine the dynamical evolution of the black holes, the retention rate of black holes in a globular cluster (i.e., how many remain in the cluster when they are born as supernovae, rather than being kicked out during the explosion) influences how the host cluster evolves.Kremer and collaborators track this complex relationship by modeling the evolution of a cluster similar to NGC 3201 with a Monte Carlo code. The code incorporates physics relevant to the evolution of black holes and black-hole binaries in globular clusters, such as two-body relaxation, single and binary star evolution, galactic tides, and multi-body encounters. From their grid of models with varying input parameters, the authors then determine which fit best to NGC 3201s final observational properties.Surface brightness profiles for all globular-cluster models at late times compared to observations of NGC 3201 (yellow circles). Blue lines represent models with few retained black holes; black lines represent models with many retained black holes. [Kremer et al. 2018]Retention MattersKremer and collaborators find that the models that best represent NGC 3201 all retain more than 200 black holes at the end of the simulation; models that lost too many black holes due to natal kicks did not match observations of NGC 3201 as well. The models with large numbers of retained black holes also harbored binaries just like the one recently detected in NGC 3201.Models that retain few black holes, on the other hand, may instead be good descriptions of so-called core-collapsed globular clusters observed in the Milky Way. The authors demonstrate that these clusters could contain black holes in binaries with stars known as blue stragglers, which may also be detectable with radial velocity techniques.Kremer and collaborators results suggest that globular clusters similar to NGC 3201 contain hundreds of invisible black holes waiting to be discovered, and they indicate some of the differences in cluster properties caused by hosting such a large population of black holes. We can hope that future observations and modeling will continue to illuminate the complicated relationship between globular clusters and the black holes that live in them.CitationKyle Kremer et al 2018 ApJL 855 L15. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aab26c

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

    Springmeyer, R R; Brugger, E; Cook, R

    The Data group provides data analysis and visualization support to its customers. This consists primarily of the development and support of VisIt, a data analysis and visualization tool. Support ranges from answering questions about the tool, providing classes on how to use the tool, and performing data analysis and visualization for customers. The Information Management and Graphics Group supports and develops tools that enhance our ability to access, display, and understand large, complex data sets. Activities include applying visualization software for large scale data exploration; running video production labs on two networks; supporting graphics libraries and tools for end users;more » maintaining PowerWalls and assorted other displays; and developing software for searching and managing scientific data. Researchers in the Center for Applied Scientific Computing (CASC) work on various projects including the development of visualization techniques for large scale data exploration that are funded by the ASC program, among others. The researchers also have LDRD projects and collaborations with other lab researchers, academia, and industry. The IMG group is located in the Terascale Simulation Facility, home to Dawn, Atlas, BGL, and others, which includes both classified and unclassified visualization theaters, a visualization computer floor and deployment workshop, and video production labs. We continued to provide the traditional graphics group consulting and video production support. We maintained five PowerWalls and many other displays. We deployed a 576-node Opteron/IB cluster with 72 TB of memory providing a visualization production server on our classified network. We continue to support a 128-node Opteron/IB cluster providing a visualization production server for our unclassified systems and an older 256-node Opteron/IB cluster for the classified systems, as well as several smaller clusters to drive the PowerWalls. The visualization production systems includes NFS servers to provide dedicated storage for data analysis and visualization. The ASC projects have delivered new versions of visualization and scientific data management tools to end users and continue to refine them. VisIt had 4 releases during the past year, ending with VisIt 2.0. We released version 2.4 of Hopper, a Java application for managing and transferring files. This release included a graphical disk usage view which works on all types of connections and an aggregated copy feature for quickly transferring massive datasets quickly and efficiently to HPSS. We continue to use and develop Blockbuster and Telepath. Both the VisIt and IMG teams were engaged in a variety of movie production efforts during the past year in addition to the development tasks.« less

  3. Institutional Computing Executive Group Review of Multi-programmatic & Institutional Computing, Fiscal Year 2005 and 2006

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

    Langer, S; Rotman, D; Schwegler, E

    The Institutional Computing Executive Group (ICEG) review of FY05-06 Multiprogrammatic and Institutional Computing (M and IC) activities is presented in the attached report. In summary, we find that the M and IC staff does an outstanding job of acquiring and supporting a wide range of institutional computing resources to meet the programmatic and scientific goals of LLNL. The responsiveness and high quality of support given to users and the programs investing in M and IC reflects the dedication and skill of the M and IC staff. M and IC has successfully managed serial capacity, parallel capacity, and capability computing resources.more » Serial capacity computing supports a wide range of scientific projects which require access to a few high performance processors within a shared memory computer. Parallel capacity computing supports scientific projects that require a moderate number of processors (up to roughly 1000) on a parallel computer. Capability computing supports parallel jobs that push the limits of simulation science. M and IC has worked closely with Stockpile Stewardship, and together they have made LLNL a premier institution for computational and simulation science. Such a standing is vital to the continued success of laboratory science programs and to the recruitment and retention of top scientists. This report provides recommendations to build on M and IC's accomplishments and improve simulation capabilities at LLNL. We recommend that institution fully fund (1) operation of the atlas cluster purchased in FY06 to support a few large projects; (2) operation of the thunder and zeus clusters to enable 'mid-range' parallel capacity simulations during normal operation and a limited number of large simulations during dedicated application time; (3) operation of the new yana cluster to support a wide range of serial capacity simulations; (4) improvements to the reliability and performance of the Lustre parallel file system; (5) support for the new GDO petabyte-class storage facility on the green network for use in data intensive external collaborations; and (6) continued support for visualization and other methods for analyzing large simulations. We also recommend that M and IC begin planning in FY07 for the next upgrade of its parallel clusters. LLNL investments in M and IC have resulted in a world-class simulation capability leading to innovative science. We thank the LLNL management for its continued support and thank the M and IC staff for its vision and dedicated efforts to make it all happen.« less

  4. Collaborations in art/science: Renaissance teams.

    PubMed

    Cox, D J

    1991-01-01

    A Renaissance Team is a group of specialists who collaborate and provide synergism in the quest for knowledge and information. Artists can participate in Renaissance Teams with scientists and computer specialists for scientific visualization projects. Some projects are described in which the author functioned as programmer and color expert, as interface designer, as visual paradigm maker, as animator, and as producer. Examples are provided for each of these five projects.

  5. Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Methodology of Clinical Projects

    PubMed Central

    Mattson, Sarah N.; Foroud, Tatiana; Sowell, Elizabeth R.; Jones, Kenneth Lyons; Coles, Claire D.; Fagerlund, Åse; Autti-Rämö, Ilona; May, Philip A.; Adnams, Colleen M.; Konovalova, Valentina; Wetherill, Leah; Arenson, Andrew D.; Barnett, William K.; Riley, Edward P.

    2009-01-01

    The Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD) was created in 2003 to further understanding of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Clinical and basic science projects collect data across multiple sites using standardized methodology. This paper describes the methodology being used by the clinical projects that pertain to assessment of children and adolescents. Domains being addressed are dysmorphology, neurobehavior, 3D facial imaging, and brain imaging. PMID:20036488

  6. Scientific Grid activities and PKI deployment in the Cybermedia Center, Osaka University.

    PubMed

    Akiyama, Toyokazu; Teranishi, Yuuichi; Nozaki, Kazunori; Kato, Seiichi; Shimojo, Shinji; Peltier, Steven T; Lin, Abel; Molina, Tomas; Yang, George; Lee, David; Ellisman, Mark; Naito, Sei; Koike, Atsushi; Matsumoto, Shuichi; Yoshida, Kiyokazu; Mori, Hirotaro

    2005-10-01

    The Cybermedia Center (CMC), Osaka University, is a research institution that offers knowledge and technology resources obtained from advanced researches in the areas of large-scale computation, information and communication, multimedia content and education. Currently, CMC is involved in Japanese national Grid projects such as JGN II (Japan Gigabit Network), NAREGI and BioGrid. Not limited to Japan, CMC also actively takes part in international activities such as PRAGMA. In these projects and international collaborations, CMC has developed a Grid system that allows scientists to perform their analysis by remote-controlling the world's largest ultra-high voltage electron microscope located in Osaka University. In another undertaking, CMC has assumed a leadership role in BioGrid by sharing its experiences and knowledge on the system development for the area of biology. In this paper, we will give an overview of the BioGrid project and introduce the progress of the Telescience unit, which collaborates with the Telescience Project led by the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR). Furthermore, CMC collaborates with seven Computing Centers in Japan, NAREGI and National Institute of Informatics to deploy PKI base authentication infrastructure. The current status of this project and future collaboration with Grid Projects will be delineated in this paper.

  7. A clustering method of Chinese medicine prescriptions based on modified firefly algorithm.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Feng; Liu, Hong; Chen, Shou-Qiang; Xu, Liang

    2016-12-01

    This paper is aimed to study the clustering method for Chinese medicine (CM) medical cases. The traditional K-means clustering algorithm had shortcomings such as dependence of results on the selection of initial value, trapping in local optimum when processing prescriptions form CM medical cases. Therefore, a new clustering method based on the collaboration of firefly algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm was proposed. This algorithm dynamically determined the iteration of firefly algorithm and simulates sampling of annealing algorithm by fitness changes, and increased the diversity of swarm through expansion of the scope of the sudden jump, thereby effectively avoiding premature problem. The results from confirmatory experiments for CM medical cases suggested that, comparing with traditional K-means clustering algorithms, this method was greatly improved in the individual diversity and the obtained clustering results, the computing results from this method had a certain reference value for cluster analysis on CM prescriptions.

  8. Establishing Foundations for University/Professional Association Collaboration: The Profession Selection Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Queeney, Donna S.; Melander, Jacqueline J.

    The selection of professions that became part of the Continuing Professional Education Development Project, a joint research and development effort of The Pennsylvania State University and the Kellogg Foundation, is discussed. In addition to establishing collaboration between the university and the professions, the project sought to develop and…

  9. Design Based Research Methodology for Teaching with Technology in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jetnikoff, Anita

    2015-01-01

    Design based research (DBR) is an appropriate method for small scale educational research projects involving collaboration between teachers, students and researchers. It is particularly useful in collaborative projects where an intervention is implemented and evaluated in a grounded context. The intervention can be technological, or a new program…

  10. The Purchasing Power of Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosenthal, Amy; Mavrolas, Pamela; Rusmore, Barbara; Liquori, Toni

    2017-01-01

    Purpose/Objectives: School Food Focus (Focus) developed the Focus Midwest project on the premise that school food professionals (SFPs) could work together to minimize effort and maximize potential to find new or improved products to serve. Focus designed this project as an experiment to explore how and to what extent this collaborative approach…

  11. Promoting the Role of Occupational Therapy in School-Based Collaboration: Outcome Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christner, Andrea

    2015-01-01

    This evidence-based project provided a professional development opportunity for educators to enhance the awareness of school-based occupational therapy and promote a collaborative approach when supporting student participation in daily learning tasks. Through asynchronous web-based delivery, participants viewed five narrated PowerPoint…

  12. Foundations for a Team Oriented Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neal, Brandi; Martz, Ben

    2016-01-01

    The business world today values collaboration and team work skills such as those found in the area of project management, business process reengineering, quality circles, etc. In response, the use of group projects permeates many curricula today with varying consequences and levels of success. Technology claims to enhance collaboration in…

  13. Collaborative Learning in Advanced Supply Systems: The KLASS Pilot Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhodes, Ed; Carter, Ruth

    2003-01-01

    The Knowledge and Learning in Advanced Supply Systems (KLASS) project developed collaborative learning networks of suppliers in the British automotive and aerospace industries. Methods included face-to-face and distance learning, work toward National Vocational Qualifications, and diagnostic workshops for senior managers on improving quality,…

  14. Translanguaging Space and Creative Activity: Theorising Collaborative Arts-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Jessica; Moore, Emilee; Simpson, James; Atkinson, Louise

    2018-01-01

    This paper focuses on an innovative transdisciplinary educational arts-based learning project, LangScape Curators, which links to and leads from research conducted for the AHRC-funded "Translation and Translanguaging" project. Here, we describe how we work collaboratively with creative practitioners to use a variety of creative arts…

  15. Promoting Health Literacy through the Health Education Assessment Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marx, Eva; Hudson, Nancy; Deal, Tami B.; Pateman, Beth; Middleton, Kathleen

    2007-01-01

    Background: The Council of Chief State School Officers' State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards Health Education Assessment Project (SCASS-HEAP) allows states to pool financial and human resources to develop effective ready-to-use health education assessment resources through a collaborative process. The purpose of this article is…

  16. Developing Thoughtful Practitioners through School/University Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooper, Mary Gendernalik; Morey, Ann I.

    This paper discusses the New Teacher Retention Project, a collaborative partnership between San Diego State University and the San Diego Unified School District, California. The purposes of this project are to develop a practical model of support and assistance to new teachers, particularly those working with students from culturally diverse…

  17. The Collaborative Case: From Class Assignment to Publication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharen, Colleen; Feltham, Mark; Braecker, Michelle

    2017-01-01

    This essay describes an undergraduate research project involving collaboration among two professors and a student. The result, a business case about the student's workplace, was ultimately presented at an academic conference and is now under consideration for publication. We describe the circumstances that led to the project, its outcomes, and our…

  18. Teleconferencing Technology Facilitates Collaboration. Spotlight Feature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dopke-Wilson, MariRae

    2006-01-01

    Big, comprehensive projects involving multiple teachers, components, and electronic media can daunt the most ambitious educator. But for Library Media Specialist Bonnie French, big projects are no problem! A pioneer SOS database contributor, Bonnie can be aptly dubbed the "queen of collaboration." In this article, the author discusses how Bonnie…

  19. Collaborative Wikipedia Projects in the Virtual Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenny, A. J.; Wolt, J. D.; Hurd, H. S.

    2013-01-01

    Wikipedia is a web-based, free-content encyclopedia that is openly editable and, thus, provides a unique platform for collaborations. Wikipedia projects are increasingly being integrated into upper-level courses across the country to explore advanced concepts, communicate science, and provide high-quality information to the public. Here we outline…

  20. Partners in Inquiry: A Collaborative Life Science Investigation with Preservice Teachers and Kindergarten Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eckhoff, Angela

    2017-01-01

    This article documents a collaborative project involving preservice early childhood education students' development of inquiry-based learning experiences alongside kindergarten students within a science methods course. To document this project, I utilized a multiple methods approach and data included classroom observations, transcripts from lesson…

  1. Developing Foreign Language Skills, Competence and Identity through a Collaborative Creative Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feuer, Avital

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a collaborative creative writing project on identity formation and overall language proficiency development among advanced Hebrew students. In an exercise called "The Zoning Committee", college students created the fictional Israeli-American town of Beit Shemesh, located in northern Michigan.…

  2. Exploring Social and Moral Learning Frameworks through Collaborative Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dyer, Becky

    2014-01-01

    This article reflects on the best teaching practices explored and developed by members of a teachers' community and action research project in Arizona. The project is an ongoing collaborative inquiry and curriculum development endeavor that involves seven dance educators who are currently teaching or have previously taught in secondary dance…

  3. 2002 Report to Congress: Evaluating the Consensus Best Practices Developed through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Collaborative Hazardous Waste Management Demonstration Project

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This report discusses a collaborative project initiated by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to establish and evaluate a performance-based approach to management of hazardous wastes in the laboratories of academic research institutions.

  4. Networking between community health programs: a case study outlining the effectiveness, barriers and enablers

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background In India, since the 1990s, there has been a burgeoning of NGOs involved in providing primary health care. This has resulted in a complex NGO-Government interface which is difficult for lone NGOs to navigate. The Uttarakhand Cluster, India, links such small community health programs together to build NGO capacity, increase visibility and better link to the government schemes and the formal healthcare system. This research, undertaken between 1998 and 2011, aims to examine barriers and facilitators to such linking, or clustering, and the effectiveness of this clustering approach. Methods Interviews, indicator surveys and participant observation were used to document the process and explore the enablers, the barriers and the effectiveness of networks improving community health. Results The analysis revealed that when activating, framing, mobilising and synthesizing the Uttarakhand Cluster, key brokers and network players were important in bridging between organisations. The ties (or relationships) that held the cluster together included homophily around common faith, common friendships and geographical location and common mission. Self interest whereby members sought funds, visibility, credibility, increased capacity and access to trainings was also a commonly identified motivating factor for networking. Barriers to network synthesizing included lack of funding, poor communication, limited time and lack of human resources. Risk aversion and mistrust remained significant barriers to overcome for such a network. Conclusions In conclusion, specific enabling factors allowed the clustering approach to be effective at increasing access to resources, creating collaborative opportunities and increasing visibility, credibility and confidence of the cluster members. These findings add to knowledge regarding social network formation and collaboration, and such knowledge will assist in the conceptualisation, formation and success of potential health networks in India and other developing world countries. PMID:22812627

  5. Networking between community health programs: a case study outlining the effectiveness, barriers and enablers.

    PubMed

    Grills, Nathan J; Robinson, Priscilla; Phillip, Maneesh

    2012-07-19

    In India, since the 1990s, there has been a burgeoning of NGOs involved in providing primary health care. This has resulted in a complex NGO-Government interface which is difficult for lone NGOs to navigate. The Uttarakhand Cluster, India, links such small community health programs together to build NGO capacity, increase visibility and better link to the government schemes and the formal healthcare system. This research, undertaken between 1998 and 2011, aims to examine barriers and facilitators to such linking, or clustering, and the effectiveness of this clustering approach. Interviews, indicator surveys and participant observation were used to document the process and explore the enablers, the barriers and the effectiveness of networks improving community health. The analysis revealed that when activating, framing, mobilising and synthesizing the Uttarakhand Cluster, key brokers and network players were important in bridging between organisations. The ties (or relationships) that held the cluster together included homophily around common faith, common friendships and geographical location and common mission. Self interest whereby members sought funds, visibility, credibility, increased capacity and access to trainings was also a commonly identified motivating factor for networking. Barriers to network synthesizing included lack of funding, poor communication, limited time and lack of human resources. Risk aversion and mistrust remained significant barriers to overcome for such a network. In conclusion, specific enabling factors allowed the clustering approach to be effective at increasing access to resources, creating collaborative opportunities and increasing visibility, credibility and confidence of the cluster members. These findings add to knowledge regarding social network formation and collaboration, and such knowledge will assist in the conceptualisation, formation and success of potential health networks in India and other developing world countries.

  6. Reconstruction of the two-dimensional gravitational potential of galaxy clusters from X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tchernin, C.; Bartelmann, M.; Huber, K.; Dekel, A.; Hurier, G.; Majer, C. L.; Meyer, S.; Zinger, E.; Eckert, D.; Meneghetti, M.; Merten, J.

    2018-06-01

    Context. The mass of galaxy clusters is not a direct observable, nonetheless it is commonly used to probe cosmological models. Based on the combination of all main cluster observables, that is, the X-ray emission, the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) signal, the velocity dispersion of the cluster galaxies, and gravitational lensing, the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters can be jointly reconstructed. Aims: We derive the two main ingredients required for this joint reconstruction: the potentials individually reconstructed from the observables and their covariance matrices, which act as a weight in the joint reconstruction. We show here the method to derive these quantities. The result of the joint reconstruction applied to a real cluster will be discussed in a forthcoming paper. Methods: We apply the Richardson-Lucy deprojection algorithm to data on a two-dimensional (2D) grid. We first test the 2D deprojection algorithm on a β-profile. Assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, we further reconstruct the gravitational potential of a simulated galaxy cluster based on synthetic SZ and X-ray data. We then reconstruct the projected gravitational potential of the massive and dynamically active cluster Abell 2142, based on the X-ray observations collected with XMM-Newton and the SZ observations from the Planck satellite. Finally, we compute the covariance matrix of the projected reconstructed potential of the cluster Abell 2142 based on the X-ray measurements collected with XMM-Newton. Results: The gravitational potentials of the simulated cluster recovered from synthetic X-ray and SZ data are consistent, even though the potential reconstructed from X-rays shows larger deviations from the true potential. Regarding Abell 2142, the projected gravitational cluster potentials recovered from SZ and X-ray data reproduce well the projected potential inferred from gravitational-lensing observations. We also observe that the covariance matrix of the potential for Abell 2142 reconstructed from XMM-Newton data sensitively depends on the resolution of the deprojected grid and on the smoothing scale used in the deprojection. Conclusions: We show that the Richardson-Lucy deprojection method can be effectively applied on a grid and that the projected potential is well recovered from real and simulated data based on X-ray and SZ signal. The comparison between the reconstructed potentials from the different observables provides additional information on the validity of the assumptions as function of the projected radius.

  7. A Multi-Collaborative Ambient Assisted Living Service Description Tool

    PubMed Central

    Falcó, Jorge L.; Vaquerizo, Esteban; Artigas, José Ignacio

    2014-01-01

    Collaboration among different stakeholders is a key factor in the design of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) environments and services. Throughout several AAL projects we have found repeated difficulties in this collaboration and have learned lessons by the experience of solving real situations. This paper highlights identified critical items for collaboration among technicians, users, company and institutional stakeholders and proposes as a communication tool for a project steering committee a service description tool which includes information from the different fields in comprehensible format for the others. It was first generated in the MonAMI project to promote understanding among different workgroups, proven useful there, and further tested later in some other smaller AAL projects. The concept of scalable service description has proven useful for understanding of different disciplines and for participatory decision making throughout the projects to adapt to singularities and partial successes or faults of each action. This paper introduces such tool, relates with existing methodologies in cooperation in AAL and describes it with a example to offer to AAL community. Further work on this tool will significantly improve results in user-centered design of sustainable services in AAL. PMID:24897409

  8. An Interprofessional Collaborative Practice model for preparation of clinical educators.

    PubMed

    Scarvell, Jennie M; Stone, Judy

    2010-07-01

    Work-integrated learning is essential to health professional education, but faces increasing academic and industry resource pressures. The aim of this pilot "Professional Practice Project" was to develop and implement an innovative education intervention for clinical educators across several health disciplines. The project used interprofessional collaboration as its underlying philosophy, and a participatory action research methodology in four cycles: Cycle 1: Formation of an interprofessional project executive and working party from academic staff. Data collection of student insights into work integrated learning. Cycle 2: Formation of an interprofessional reference group to inform curriculum development for a series of clinical education workshops. Cycle 3: Delivery of workshops; 174 clinical educators, supervisors and preceptors attended two workshops: "Introduction to experiential learning" and " utilizing available resources for learning". Cycle 4: Seminar discussion of the Professional Practice Project at a national health-education conference. This pilot project demonstrated the advantages of using collaborative synergies to allow innovation around clinical education, free from the constraints of traditional discipline-specific education models. The planning, delivery and evaluation of clinical education workshops describe the benefits of interprofessional collaboration through enhanced creative thinking, sharing of clinical education models and a broadening of experience for both learners and facilitators.

  9. Navigating a Transdisciplinary Research Project with a Non-Traditional Academic Background: Climate Change, Soil Health and Sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basche, A.

    2014-12-01

    The Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agriculture Project (CSCAP) is a collaboration of 150+ team members spanning a range of scientific disciplinary backgrounds. The project goal is to produce collaborative research, education and extension aimed at mitigating and adapting Midwest cropping systems to climate variability and change. My PhD work in Agronomy and Sustainable Agriculture is a part of the CSCAP although my prior academic background was in applied climate science and biology, thus proposing a potential challenge to the new academic landscape. Further, graduate students within CSCAP are a part of a natural experiment in how the next generation of scientists operates in a transdisciplinary environment. As part of my leadership in the CSCAP, I helped to develop a "roadmap" document outlining the learning opportunities available to students. This document was meant to underscore the skills and experiences that will aid us in future collaborative research projects. Through these leadership experiences, I believe that the underpinning of any successful collaborative research project requires time: to develop relationships, earn trust and develop shared understandings and respect for different academic backgrounds.

  10. Identification of Tools and Techniques to Enhance Interdisciplinary Collaboration During Design and Construction Projects.

    PubMed

    Keys, Yolanda; Silverman, Susan R; Evans, Jennie

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to collect the perceptions of design professionals and clinicians regarding design process success strategies and elements of interprofessional engagement and communication during healthcare design and construction projects. Additional objectives were to gather best practices to maximize clinician engagement and provide tools and techniques to improve interdisciplinary collaboration for future projects. Strategies are needed to enhance the design and construction process and create interactions that benefit not only the project but the individuals working to see its completion. Meaningful interprofessional collaboration is essential to any healthcare design project and making sure the various players communicate is a critical element. This was a qualitative study conducted via an online survey. Respondents included architects, construction managers, interior designers, and healthcare personnel who had recently been involved in a building renovation or new construction project for a healthcare facility. Responses to open-ended questions were analyzed for themes, and descriptive statistics were used to provide insight into participant demographics. Information on the impressions, perceptions, and opportunities related to clinician involvement in design projects was collected from nurses, architects, interior designers, and construction managers. Qualitative analysis revealed themes of clinician input, organizational dynamics, and a variety of communication strategies to be the most frequently mentioned elements of successful interprofessional collaboration. This study validates the need to include clinician input in the design process, to consider the importance of organizational dynamics on design team functioning, and to incorporate effective communication strategies during design and construction projects.

  11. Merging symmetry projection methods with coupled cluster theory: Lessons from the Lipkin model Hamiltonian

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

    Wahlen-Strothman, J. M.; Henderson, T. H.; Hermes, M. R.

    Coupled cluster and symmetry projected Hartree-Fock are two central paradigms in electronic structure theory. However, they are very different. Single reference coupled cluster is highly successful for treating weakly correlated systems, but fails under strong correlation unless one sacrifices good quantum numbers and works with broken-symmetry wave functions, which is unphysical for finite systems. Symmetry projection is effective for the treatment of strong correlation at the mean-field level through multireference non-orthogonal configuration interaction wavefunctions, but unlike coupled cluster, it is neither size extensive nor ideal for treating dynamic correlation. We here examine different scenarios for merging these two dissimilar theories.more » We carry out this exercise over the integrable Lipkin model Hamiltonian, which despite its simplicity, encompasses non-trivial physics for degenerate systems and can be solved via diagonalization for a very large number of particles. We show how symmetry projection and coupled cluster doubles individually fail in different correlation limits, whereas models that merge these two theories are highly successful over the entire phase diagram. Despite the simplicity of the Lipkin Hamiltonian, the lessons learned in this work will be useful for building an ab initio symmetry projected coupled cluster theory that we expect to be accurate in the weakly and strongly correlated limits, as well as the recoupling regime.« less

  12. Advancing Innovation Through Collaboration: Implementation of the NASA Space Life Sciences Strategy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth E.

    2010-01-01

    On October 18, 2010, the NASA Human Health and Performance center (NHHPC) was opened to enable collaboration among government, academic and industry members. Membership rapidly grew to 90 members (http://nhhpc.nasa.gov ) and members began identifying collaborative projects as detailed in this article. In addition, a first workshop in open collaboration and innovation was conducted on January 19, 2011 by the NHHPC resulting in additional challenges and projects for further development. This first workshop was a result of the SLSD successes in running open innovation challenges over the past two years. In 2008, the NASA Johnson Space Center, Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) began pilot projects in open innovation (crowd sourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical problems. From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external challenges were conducted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, Yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive platform, customized to NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results from the 34 challenges involved not only technical solutions that were reported previously at the 61st IAC, but also the formation of new collaborative relationships. For example, the TopCoder pilot was expanded by the NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate to the NASA Tournament Lab in collaboration with Harvard Business School and TopCoder. Building on these initial successes, the NHHPC workshop in January of 2011, and ongoing NHHPC member discussions, several important collaborations have been developed: (1) Space Act Agreement between NASA and GE for collaborative projects (2) NASA and academia for a Visual Impairment / Intracranial Hypertension summit (February 2011) (3) NASA and the DoD through the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative (DeVenCI) for a technical needs workshop (June 2011) (4) NASA and the San Diego Zoo for a joint challenge in biomimicry (5) NASA and the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Flight for five collaborative projects (6) NASA and ESA for a Space Medicine Workshop (July 2011) (7) NASA and Tufts University for an education pilot (8) Establishment of long-term contracts (August 2011) to enable future challenges (9) Establishment of a new Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (July 2011) for all federal agencies in the US

  13. Collaborative Learning and Competence Development in School Health Nursing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Wistoft, Karen

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process and learning outcomes of peer collaboration in a Danish health developmental project in school health nursing. The paper explores how peer collaboration influences the school nurses' collaborative learning and competence development. Design/methodology/approach: The article is based…

  14. Some Female Professors' Experiences of Collaboration: Mapping the Collaborative Process through Rough Terrain.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elliott, Anne E.; Woloshyn, Vera E.

    1997-01-01

    Seven Canadian female faculty members described their involvement in collaborative projects, including collaborations with a school principal, school teachers, a former student, a graduate student, and other faculty. Common themes included building rapport, establishing goals and rewards, negotiation of tasks, commitment and interpersonal support,…

  15. Exploring Metaphoric Language Use to Assess Collaboration between Educational Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newberry, Melissa; Richardson, Michael

    2015-01-01

    In this single case study of a school and university collaborative project, positioning theory was used to deconstruct the metaphors expressed in descriptions of roles of 23 participants. Present in the metaphors were discrepancies in understandings of collaboration that revealed ways that collaboration was inhibited as participants positioned…

  16. Acts of Construction: The Conditions of Collaboration. A Response to Vassiliki Papatsiba

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ozga, Jenny

    2013-01-01

    This response to Vassiliki Papatsiba's article on collaboration draws attention to structural barriers to collaborative research: for example, increased competition for scarce resources, increased steering of research, and the casualisation of research workers. It draws on experience of collaborative work in a large, EU-funded project to…

  17. Leading, Managing and Participating in Inter-University Teaching Grant Collaborations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willcoxson, Lesley; Kavanagh, Marie; Cheung, Lily

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we examine the leadership and management of multi-university collaborations funded by national teaching grants. The paper commences with a review of literature relating to stages of project development, key operational issues, impediments to collaboration and the leadership and management of teaching grant collaborations. Finally, we…

  18. An X-ray Luminous, Distant (z=0.78) Cluster of Galaxies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Donahue, Megan

    2001-01-01

    This granted funded ASCA studies of the most X-ray luminous clusters of galaxies in the Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey. These studies leveraged further observations with Chandra and sparked a new collaboration between the PI and John Carlstrom's Sunyaev-Zel'dovich team. The major scientific results due largely or in part from these observations: the first z=0.5-0.8 cluster temperature function, constraints on cluster evolution which showed definitively that the density of the universe divided by the critical density, Omega-m, could not be 1.0, constraints on cluster evolution limiting Omega_m to 0.2-0.5, independent of lambda, the first detections of intracluster iron in a z>0.6 cluster of galaxies. These results are independent of the supernova and cosmological microwave background results, and provide independent constraint on cosmological parameters.

  19. Cluster munitions: a threat to health and human rights.

    PubMed

    Parikh, Sujal M

    2010-01-01

    Over the course of 2009, dozens of nations signed a new convention on cluster munitions, and several nations ratified the convention. To determine how public health professionals can participate in preventing death and injury from cluster munitions, we review the history of these weapons, their effects on individuals and communities, the history of efforts to limit their use, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and ways that health professionals can support efforts to ban their use. Cluster munitions are a threat to civilians in conflict and post-conflict settings. They render homes, farms and businesses dangerous and inaccessible, and delay resettlement after the end of a conflict. Health professionals have led efforts to limit the use and proliferation of other weapons, and global collaboration to support the Convention on Cluster Munitions would be a step towards protecting the public's health.

  20. Projected Hartree-Fock theory as a polynomial of particle-hole excitations and its combination with variational coupled cluster theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qiu, Yiheng; Henderson, Thomas M.; Scuseria, Gustavo E.

    2017-05-01

    Projected Hartree-Fock theory provides an accurate description of many kinds of strong correlations but does not properly describe weakly correlated systems. Coupled cluster theory, in contrast, does the opposite. It therefore seems natural to combine the two so as to describe both strong and weak correlations with high accuracy in a relatively black-box manner. Combining the two approaches, however, is made more difficult by the fact that the two techniques are formulated very differently. In earlier work, we showed how to write spin-projected Hartree-Fock in a coupled-cluster-like language. Here, we fill in the gaps in that earlier work. Further, we combine projected Hartree-Fock and coupled cluster theory in a variational formulation and show how the combination performs for the description of the Hubbard Hamiltonian and for several small molecular systems.

  1. Application of the dynamically allocated virtual clustering management system to emulated tactical network experimentation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marcus, Kelvin

    2014-06-01

    The U.S Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has built a "Network Science Research Lab" to support research that aims to improve their ability to analyze, predict, design, and govern complex systems that interweave the social/cognitive, information, and communication network genres. Researchers at ARL and the Network Science Collaborative Technology Alliance (NS-CTA), a collaborative research alliance funded by ARL, conducted experimentation to determine if automated network monitoring tools and task-aware agents deployed within an emulated tactical wireless network could potentially increase the retrieval of relevant data from heterogeneous distributed information nodes. ARL and NS-CTA required the capability to perform this experimentation over clusters of heterogeneous nodes with emulated wireless tactical networks where each node could contain different operating systems, application sets, and physical hardware attributes. Researchers utilized the Dynamically Allocated Virtual Clustering Management System (DAVC) to address each of the infrastructure support requirements necessary in conducting their experimentation. The DAVC is an experimentation infrastructure that provides the means to dynamically create, deploy, and manage virtual clusters of heterogeneous nodes within a cloud computing environment based upon resource utilization such as CPU load, available RAM and hard disk space. The DAVC uses 802.1Q Virtual LANs (VLANs) to prevent experimentation crosstalk and to allow for complex private networks. Clusters created by the DAVC system can be utilized for software development, experimentation, and integration with existing hardware and software. The goal of this paper is to explore how ARL and the NS-CTA leveraged the DAVC to create, deploy and manage multiple experimentation clusters to support their experimentation goals.

  2. Using wikis to investigate communication, collaboration and engagement in Capstone engineering design projects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berthoud, L.; Gliddon, J.

    2018-03-01

    In today's global Aerospace industry, virtual workspaces are commonly used for collaboration between geographically distributed multidisciplinary teams. This study investigated the use of wikis to look at communication, collaboration and engagement in 'Capstone' team design projects at the end of an engineering degree. Wikis were set up for teams of engineering students from different disciplinary backgrounds and years. The students' perception of the usefulness of the tool were surveyed and the user contribution statistics and content categorisation were analysed for a case study wiki. Recommendations and lessons learned for the deployment of wikis are provided for interested academic staff from other institutions. Wikis were found to be of limited use to investigate levels of communication and collaboration in this study, but may be of interest in other contexts. Wikis were considered a potentially useful tool to track engagement for Capstone design projects in engineering subjects.

  3. Advanced engineering environment pilot project.

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

    Schwegel, Jill; Pomplun, Alan R.; Abernathy, Rusty

    2006-10-01

    The Advanced Engineering Environment (AEE) is a concurrent engineering concept that enables real-time process tooling design and analysis, collaborative process flow development, automated document creation, and full process traceability throughout a product's life cycle. The AEE will enable NNSA's Design and Production Agencies to collaborate through a singular integrated process. Sandia National Laboratories and Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) are working together on a prototype AEE pilot project to evaluate PTC's product collaboration tools relative to the needs of the NWC. The primary deliverable for the project is a set of validated criteria for defining a complete commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutionmore » to deploy the AEE across the NWC.« less

  4. The PACA Project : Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanamandra-Fisher, P. A.

    2014-04-01

    The Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy (PACA) project is the next stage of evolution of the paradigm developed for the observational campaign of C/2012 S1 or C/ISON. Four different phases of collaboration are identified, and illustrate the integration of scientific investigations with amateur astronomer community via observations, and models; and the rapid dissemination of the results via a multitude of social media for rapid global access. The success of the paradigm shift in scientific research is now implemented in other comet observing campaigns. Both communities (scientific and amateur astronomers) benefit from these collective, collaborative partnerships; while outreach is the instantaneous deliverable that provides both a framework for future data analyses and the dissemination of the results. While PACA identifies a collaborative approach to pro-am collaborations, given the volume of data generated for each campaign, new ways of rapid data analysis, mining access and storage are needed.

  5. Existing Whole-House Solutions Case Study: Pilot Demonstration of Phased Retrofits in Florida Homes - Central and South Florida Homes

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

    None

    2014-08-01

    In this pilot project, the Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction and Florida Power and Light are collaborating to retrofit a large number of homes using a phased approach to both simple and deep retrofits. This project will provide the information necessary to significantly reduce energy use through larger community-scale projects in collaboration with utilities, program administrators and other market leader stakeholders.

  6. The motivations, institutions and organization of university-industry collaborations in the Netherlands.

    PubMed

    Bodas Freitas, Isabel Maria; Verspagen, Bart

    2017-01-01

    This study builds on the economics and organization literatures to explore whether and how institutions and organizational structure complement or substitute each other to create specific spaces of alignment where specific individual actors' motivations co-exist. Focusing on university-industry collaborations, the study examines whether and how different axes of alignment of university and industry motivations are integrated in projects with specific technological objectives and organizational structures, benefitting from the presence of specific institutions designed to facilitate collaboration. Empirically, the study relies on in-depth data on 30 university-industry collaborations in the Netherlands, and provides preliminary evidence that the technological objective and organizational structure of collaboration are malleable variables allowing the integration of both partners' objectives and expectations. Different institutional incentives for university-industry collaboration favor specific axes of alignment of motivations and certain types of collaborative projects' design. Hence, our exploratory results suggest that specific organizational and technological structures tend to prevail in the presence of specific institutions.

  7. Astronomy in Georgia - Present Status and Perspectives

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Todua, M.

    2016-09-01

    Astronomy in Georgia is generally represented in Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory found in 1932. It is one of the leading scientific institutes in the country. Main fields of research are solar system bodies (including near-Earth asteroids), various aspects of solar physics, stellar astronomy (including binary stars and open clusters), extragalactic objects (AGNs), theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics. Several telescopes are operational today, as well as the instruments for atmospheric studies. In 2007 the Observatory was integrated with Ilia State University, merging scientific research and education which facilitated the growth of a new generation of researchers. There are groups of astronomers and astrophysicists in other Georgian universities and institutions as well. Georgian scientists collaborate with research centers and universities worldwide. Research groups participate in various international scientific projects. The interest in astronomy in Georgia has been growing, which increases future perspectives of its development in the country.

  8. German-French Case Study: Using Multi-Online Tools to Collaborate across Borders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brautlacht, Regina; Ducrocq, Csilla

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines how students learn to collaborate in English by participating in an intercultural project that focuses on teaching students to work together on a digital writing project using various online tools, and documents their reflections working in an intercultural context. Students from Université Paris Sud Orsay and Bonn…

  9. uCollaborator: Framework for STEM Project Collaboration among Geographically-Dispersed Student/Faculty Teams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fiore, Stephen M.; Rodriguez, Walter E.; Carstens, Deborah S.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a framework for facilitating communication among STEM project teams that are geographically dispersed in synchronous or asynchronous online courses. The framework has been developed to: (a) improve how engineering and technology students and faculty work with collocated and geographically-dispersed teams; and (b) to connect the…

  10. Project-Based Learning in Geotechnics: Cooperative versus Collaborative Teamwork

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinho-Lopes, Margarida; Macedo, Joaquim

    2016-01-01

    Since 2007/2008 project-based learning models have been used to deliver two fundamental courses on Geotechnics in University of Aveiro, Portugal. These models have evolved and have encompassed either cooperative or collaborative teamwork. Using data collected in five editions of each course (Soil Mechanics I and Soil Mechanics II), the different…

  11. Gearbox Reliability Collaborative Projects | Wind | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    partners. This process documented and analyzed the design process and produced a new drivetrain design that Reliability Collaborative) activities. The new design represents the next phase in the DRC project, and will design loads required for wind turbine gearbox design and testing standards. While wind turbine gearboxes

  12. The RAP: A Recreational Activities Project, Academic Service-Learning Course and Qualitative Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker, Kathlyn

    2008-01-01

    The author (a university instructor) and her community partner (a public school teacher) have collaborated in teaching an academic service-learning course in special education. This collaboration, the RAP (recreational activities project), was completed by university undergraduate students and young adults with cognitive impairment and/or…

  13. Tele-Collaborative Projects: Monsters.com?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LeLoup, Jean; Ponterio, Robert

    2003-01-01

    Examines a collaborative language learning project that brought together elementary and middle school students in France, Canada, and a Basque school to communicate about monsters--a topic of concern to any child who has heard a fairy tale or watched a Disney movie. The Internet is used as the medium of interaction, allowing more students to…

  14. Collaborative Writing to Enhance Academic Writing Development through Project Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robayo Lun, Alma Milena; Hernandez Ortiz, Luz Stella

    2013-01-01

    Advanced students at university level struggle with many aspects of academic writing in English as a foreign language. The purpose of this article is to report on an investigation aimed at analyzing what collaborative writing through project work tells us about students' academic writing development at the tertiary level. The compositions written…

  15. The Kamusi Project Edit Engine: A Tool for Collaborative Lexicography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benjamin, Martin; Biersteker, Ann

    2001-01-01

    Discusses the design and implementation of the Kamusi Project Edit Engine, a Web-based software system uniquely suited to the needs of Swahili collaborative lexicography. Describes the edit engine, including organization of the lexicon and the mechanics by which participants use the system, discusses philosophical issues confronted in the design,…

  16. School District-College Collaboration in Research: A Case of Novice Researchers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Siskind, Theresa G.; Leonard, Gary

    1995-01-01

    Reports on a collaborative effort between five graduate education students at the Citadel (Charleston, South Carolina) and the Berkeley County School District (South Carolina) in evaluating the district's in-school suspension programs. Comments from those involved in the project indicate that small, short-term projects between colleges and schools…

  17. Postproduction Focus Groups in Dance: A Case Study and Protocol

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huskey, Sybil; Latulipe, Celine; Word, Melissa; Lottridge, Danielle

    2018-01-01

    This case study looks at the use of focus groups as a reflective pedagogical tool in a collaborative project at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The study involved the DanceDraw project, a collaboration between choreographers and computer scientists investigating the intersection of dance and technology. Eight dance and technology…

  18. Online Collaborative Learning in a Project-Based Learning Environment in Taiwan: A Case Study on Undergraduate Students' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Ke; Peng, Shiang Wuu; Hung, Jui-long

    2009-01-01

    This case study investigated undergraduate students' first experience in online collaborative learning in a project-based learning (PBL) environment in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews of 48 students, instructor's field notes, researchers' online observations, students' online discourse, and group artifacts. The findings revealed…

  19. Case Studies of the Urban Mathematics Collaborative Project: Program Report 91-3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Popkewitz, Thomas S.; Myrdal, Sigurjon

    The Urban Mathematics Collaborative (UMC) project has the goal of contributing to the improvement of mathematics education in the inner-city schools by identifying models to enhance the professional lives of teachers and encouraging the entry of high school mathematics teachers into a larger mathematics community including mathematicians from…

  20. Collaborative Learning Using a Project across Multiple Business Courses: A Cognitive Load and Knowledge Convergence Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhowmick, Sandeep; Chandra, Aruna; Harper, Jeffrey S.; Sweetin, Vernon

    2015-01-01

    Four business professors at a state university in the Midwestern United States launched a collaborative learning project grounded in cognitive learning theory and knowledge convergence theory with the objective of assessing student learning gains in cross-functional knowledge (CFK), course-related knowledge (CRK), and overall satisfaction with…

  1. NICBR Announces First Collaboration Project Awards | Poster

    Cancer.gov

    Courtesy of the NICBR Public Affairs/Community Relations Subcommittee The National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (NICBR) announced the 2012 NICBR Collaboration Project Award (CPA) Program winners in December. The award, the first of its kind for NICBR, was adapted from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Young Investigator Award Program. This year, the

  2. Literature-Based Collaborative Internet Projects in Elementary Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karchmer-Klein, Rachel; Layton, Victoria

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' use of literature-based collaborative Internet projects (CIP) in their elementary classrooms. These practices require two or more classrooms to read and analyze texts on specified topics and then share responses over the Internet. The participants, all female, represented 15 different U.S. states…

  3. The Hemingway Project: A Collaborative School-based Program for Teacher Certification.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Shannon K.; And Others

    At Weber State University (Utah), teacher educators have collaborated with English faculty to design a pilot program (Hemingway Project) which serves as an initial effort to restructure the teacher education program. The program, funded by the Hemingway Foundation, is intended to provide greater integration of the university experience with actual…

  4. Collaborative Project on Serving Linguistically Diverse Seniors. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burt, Miriam

    In 2002, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) collaborated with the Senior Service Association (SSA) and the American Society on Aging (ASA) on a two-phase project to improve the effectiveness of ASA's sub-grantees in serving linguistically and culturally diverse populations. SSA provides subsidized employment for low-income seniors and funds…

  5. Communication by Design: A Collaborative Project for Student Choreographers and Costume Designers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLaine, Gretchen; McCabe, Janine

    2013-01-01

    This article describes Communication by Design, a year-long project developed to foster an important dialogue between emerging student costume designers and student choreographers. Two university professors, one teaching costume design and one teaching dance, collaborated to help their students gain an understanding of how these two disciplines…

  6. Purposeful Action Research: Reconsidering Science and Technology Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    vanOostveen, Roland

    2017-01-01

    Initial plans for this project arose from a need to address issues of professional development of science and technology teachers that went beyond the norm available within school board settings. Two teams of 4 teachers responded to an invitation to participate in a collaborative action research project. Collaborative action research was chosen in…

  7. Promoting Perceived Benefits of Group Projects: The Role of Instructor Contributions and Intragroup Processes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Sarah; Barber, Larissa K.; Ferguson, Amanda J.

    2015-01-01

    Group projects are often used in psychology courses to prepare students for future collaborative work. However, psychology alumni report that their education did not adequately prepare them for collaborative work. To better understand these perceptions, this study examined how instructor contributions (involvement and evaluation techniques)…

  8. Developing Collaborative Approaches to Enhance the Professional Development of Primary Mathematics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNeill, Jane; Butt, Graham; Armstrong, Andy

    2016-01-01

    This research project promoted a collaborative model of professional development between lead teachers from three schools, supported by a project coordinator and a researcher from a local university. Each lead teacher worked with their head teacher to design, lead, and evaluate an innovative, personalised, and school-based mathematics continuing…

  9. Bringing Town and Gown Together: Using Local History to Engage Students and Create Collaborative Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ford, Elyssa

    2016-01-01

    Local history projects allow undergraduate students to engage with their surrounding community and forge relationships between universities and museums. By assigning work that requires input from both students and the museums, these projects help create collaborative partnerships as students leave campus to conduct research, participate in and…

  10. Integrating Bar-Code Medication Administration Competencies in the Curriculum: Implications for Nursing Education and Interprofessional Collaboration.

    PubMed

    Angel, Vini M; Friedman, Marvin H; Friedman, Andrea L

    This article describes an innovative project involving the integration of bar-code medication administration technology competencies in the nursing curriculum through interprofessional collaboration among nursing, pharmacy, and computer science disciplines. A description of the bar-code medication administration technology project and lessons learned are presented.

  11. Home-School Collaboration in Sweden and China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kristoffersson, Margaretha; Gu, Limin; Zhang, Yan

    2013-01-01

    This article is a working paper presenting a network building cooperative project between Umea University in Sweden and Zhejiang University in China. The project focuses on parents' involvement and home-school collaboration in Sweden and China and has an ambition to entail a set of empirical objectives: (1) to map and compare the systems,…

  12. A Collaborative Action Research Project towards Embedding ESD within the Higher Education Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cebrián, Gisela

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to present a collaborative action research project conducted at the University of Southampton with the aim to promote curriculum and professional development in education for sustainable development (ESD) and learn from everyday practices of academics. Design/methodology/approach: An action research approach guided by…

  13. [Assessing the correlation between international collaboration and academic influence in parasitic diseases: a case study of National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention].

    PubMed

    Yao, Jia-wen; Jia, Tie-wu; Zhou, Xiao-nong

    2013-08-01

    To investigate the activity of scientific research and international collaboration in National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) from 2002 to 2012, and assess the relationship between international collaboration and academic influence at an individual level. Non-bibliometric indicators including number and structure of scientific research personnel, number of projects and funds, visiting frequency, etc, were used to assess the activity of scientific research and international collaboration, and bibliometric indicators including publications and h index, were employed to estimate the academic influence of senior professionals in NIPD, China CDC. The relationship between the international collaboration and international academic influence in the control and research of parasitic diseases was evaluated by using analysis of covariance and generalized linear models. There was an increase tendency of the number of projects, funds and visiting frequency in NIPD, China CDC since the foundation of the institute in 2002, notably after 2011. The h2 index of NIPD, China was 7. Analysis of covariance and generalized linear model analysis revealed that the number of international partners (F = 81.75, P < 0.0001) , number of international projects (F = 22.81, P < 0.0001) , number of national projects (F = 7.30, P = 0.0110), and academic degree (F = 3.80, P = 0.0330) contributed greatly to individual academic influence, while visiting frequency, professional title and length of service had no significant association with h index. Elevation of international collaboration projects and development of long-term, stable international partnership may enhance the institutional and individual international academic influence in the field of parasitic diseases.

  14. The PACA Project: Convergence of Scientific Research, Social Media and Citizen Science in the Era of Astronomical Big Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.

    2015-08-01

    The Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy (PACA) project promotes and supports the professional-amateur astronomer collaboration in scientific research via social media and has been implemented in several comet observing campaigns. In 2014, two comet observing campaigns involving pro-am collaborations were initiated: (1) C/2013 A1 (C/SidingSpring) and (2) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG), target for ESA/Rosetta mission. The evolving need for individual customized observing campaigns has been incorporated into the evolution of The PACA Project that currently is focused on comets: from supporting observing campaigns of current comets, legacy data, historical comets; interconnected with social media and a set of shareable documents addressing observational strategies; consistent standards for data; data access, use, and storage, to align with the needs of professional observers in the era of astronmical big data. The empowerment of amateur astronomers vis-à-vis their partnerships with the professional scientists creates a new demographic of data scientists, enabling citizen science of the integrated data from both the professional and amateur communities.While PACA identifies a consistent collaborative approach to pro-am collaborations, given the volume of data generated for each campaign, new ways of rapid data analysis, mining access and storage are needed. Several interesting results emerged from the synergistic inclusion of both social media and amateur astronomers. The PACA Project is expanding to include pro-am collaborations on other solar system objects; allow for immersive outreach and include various types of astronomical communities, ranging from individuals, to astronmical societies and telescopic networks. Enabling citizen science research in the era of astronomical big data is a challenge which requires innovative approaches and integration of professional and amateur astronomers with data scientists and some examples of recent projects will be highlighted.

  15. Evaluating a collaborative IT based research and development project.

    PubMed

    Khan, Zaheer; Ludlow, David; Caceres, Santiago

    2013-10-01

    In common with all projects, evaluating an Information Technology (IT) based research and development project is necessary in order to discover whether or not the outcomes of the project are successful. However, evaluating large-scale collaborative projects is especially difficult as: (i) stakeholders from different countries are involved who, almost inevitably, have diverse technological and/or application domain backgrounds and objectives; (ii) multiple and sometimes conflicting application specific and user-defined requirements exist; and (iii) multiple and often conflicting technological research and development objectives are apparent. In this paper, we share our experiences based on the large-scale integrated research project - The HUMBOLDT project - with project duration of 54 months, involving contributions from 27 partner organisations, plus 4 sub-contractors from 14 different European countries. In the HUMBOLDT project, a specific evaluation methodology was defined and utilised for the user evaluation of the project outcomes. The user evaluation performed on the HUMBOLDT Framework and its associated nine application scenarios from various application domains, resulted in not only an evaluation of the integrated project, but also revealed the benefits and disadvantages of the evaluation methodology. This paper presents the evaluation methodology, discusses in detail the process of applying it to the HUMBOLDT project and provides an in-depth analysis of the results, which can be usefully applied to other collaborative research projects in a variety of domains. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Complexities of Implementing Cluster Supply Chain - Case Study of JCH

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Xiao; Zhang, Jibiao; Wang, Yang

    As a new type of management pattern, "cluster supply chain" (CSC) can help SMEs to face the global challenges through all kinds of collaboration. However, a major challenge in implementing CSC is the gap between theory and practice in the field. In an effort to provide a better understanding of this emerging phenomenon, this paper presents the implementation process of CSC in the context of JingCheng Mechanical & Electrical Holding co., ltd.(JCH) as a case study. The cast study of JCH suggests that the key problems in the practice of cluster supply chain: How do small firms use cluster supply chain? Only after we clarify the problem, the actual construction and operation of cluster supply chain does show successful results as it should be.

  17. Impact of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network

    PubMed Central

    Ribisl, Kurt M.; Fernandez, Maria E.; Friedman, Daniela B.; Hannon, Peggy; Leeman, Jennifer; Moore, Alexis; Olson, Lindsay; Ory, Marcia; Risendal, Betsy; Sheble, Laura; Taylor, Vicky; Williams, Rebecca; Weiner, Bryan J.

    2018-01-01

    The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) is a thematic network dedicated to accelerating the adoption of evidence-based cancer prevention and control practices in communities by advancing dissemination and implementation science. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute, CPCRN has operated at two levels: Each participating Network Center conducts research projects with primarily local partners as well as multicenter collaborative research projects with state and national partners. Through multicenter collaboration, thematic networks leverage the expertise, resources, and partnerships of participating centers to conduct research projects collectively that might not be feasible individually. Although multicenter collaboration often is advocated, it is challenging to promote and assess. Using bibliometric network analysis and other graphical methods, this paper describes CPCRN’s multicenter publication progression from 2004 to 2014. Searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in 2014 identified 249 peer-reviewed CPCRN publications involving two or more centers out of 6,534 total. The research and public health impact of these multicenter collaborative projects initiated by CPCRN during that 10-year period were then examined. CPCRN established numerous workgroups around topics such as: 2-1-1, training and technical assistance, colorectal cancer control, federally qualified health centers, cancer survivorship, and human papillomavirus. The paper discusses the challenges that arise in promoting multicenter collaboration and the strategies that CPCRN uses to address those challenges. The lessons learned should broadly interest those seeking to promote multisite collaboration to address public health problems, such as cancer prevention and control. PMID:28215371

  18. Interdisciplinary collaboration in action: tracking the signal, tracing the noise

    PubMed Central

    Callard, Felicity; Fitzgerald, Des; Woods, Angela

    2016-01-01

    Interdisciplinarity is often framed as an unquestioned good within and beyond the academy, one to be encouraged by funders and research institutions alike. And yet there is little research on how interdisciplinary projects actually work—and do not work—in practice, particularly within and across the social sciences and humanities. This article centres on “Hubbub”, the first interdisciplinary 2-year research residency of The Hub at Wellcome Collection, which is investigating rest and its opposites in neuroscience, mental health, the arts and the everyday. The article describes how Hubbub is tracing, capturing and reflecting on practices of interdisciplinarity across its large, dispersed team of collaborators, who work across the social sciences, humanities, arts, mind and brain sciences, and public engagement. We first describe the distinctiveness of Hubbub (a project designed for a particular space, and one in which the arts are not positioned as simply illustrating or disseminating the research of the scientists), and then outline three techniques Hubbub has developed to map interdisciplinary collaboration in the making: (1) ethnographic analysis; (2) “In the Diary Room”, an aesthetics of collaboration designed to harness and capture affective dynamics within a large, complex project; and (3) the Hubbub Collaboration Questionnaire, which yields quantitative and qualitative data, as well as a social network analysis of collaborators. We conclude by considering some themes that other inter-disciplinary projects might draw on for their own logics of tracking and tracing. This article forms part of an ongoing thematic collection dedicated to interdisciplinary research. PMID:27516896

  19. Multicentre research and the WISECARE experience. Workflow Information Systems for European Nursing Care.

    PubMed

    Kearney, N; Miller, M; Sermeus, W; Hoy, D; Vanhaecht, K

    2000-10-01

    The benefits of collaborative research are becoming recognized increasingly within the profession of nursing due to the associated increased likelihood of funding, variety of practice settings and increased access to resources that collaboration brings. While such benefits have made collaborative research one of the most desirable strategies for achieving the goals of research, the potential problems of language and communication, culturally sensitive instruments, access to subjects, availability of technology and lack of research resources have complicated collaborative international research initiatives. Review of the literature, although encouraging such initiatives, does little to provide information regarding the processes involved in multinational collaboration or the associated advantages and disadvantages to guide those embarking on such large scale, multinational, cross-cultural studies. The diverse meanings of collaboration within research initiatives further hamper this understanding. Positive definitions focus on aspects such as sharing expertise, making a valuable contribution to the research and ultimately shared ownership of the accomplishments of the research. One such research project led by nurses was the WISECARE project. WISECARE (Workflow Information Systems for European Nursing Care) was funded by the European Commission and aimed to improve cancer nursing practice and ultimately patient outcomes through the integration and utilization of state of the art information technology. Such a project was developed as a result of nursing's apparent invisibility within health care delivery and the problems experienced by nurses in articulating their worth within an increasingly cost-conscious health care system. Oncology care was selected as the domain for the project not only because this speciality of nursing already has an established network of nurses throughout Europe in the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) but also because the practice of cancer nursing encompasses all aspects of nursing care. This paper will address the advantages and disadvantages associated with collaboration, using the WISECARE project as an example.

  20. The Power of Partnership

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

    Hazi, A

    2005-09-20

    Institutions Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conduct similar or complementary research often excel through collaboration. Indeed, much of Lawrence Livermore's research involves collaboration with other institutions, including universities, other national laboratories, government agencies, and private industry. In particular, Livermore's strategic collaborations with other University of California (UC) campuses have proven exceptionally successful in combining basic science and applied multidisciplinary research. In joint projects, the collaborating institutions benefit from sharing expertise and resources as they work toward their distinctive missions in education, research, and public service. As Laboratory scientists and engineers identify resources needed to conduct their work, they often turn tomore » university researchers with complementary expertise. Successful projects can expand in scope to include additional scientists and engineers both from the Laboratory and from UC, and these projects may become an important element of the research portfolios of the cognizant Livermore directorate and the university department. Additional funding may be provided to broaden or deepen a research project or perhaps develop it for transfer to the private sector for commercial release. Occasionally, joint projects evolve into a strategic collaboration at the institutional level, attracting the attention of the Laboratory director and the UC chancellor. Government agencies or private industries may contribute funding in recognition of the potential payoff of the joint research, and a center may be established at one of the UC campuses. Livermore scientists and engineers and UC faculty are recruited to these centers to focus on a particular area and achieve goals through interdisciplinary research. Some of these researchers hold multilocation appointments, allowing them to work at Livermore and another UC campus. Such centers also attract postdoctoral researchers and graduate students pursuing careers in the centers specialized areas of science. foster university collaboration is through the Laboratory's institutes, which have been established to focus university outreach efforts in fields of scientific importance to Livermore's programs and missions. Some of these joint projects may grow to the level of a strategic collaboration. Others may assist in Livermore's national security mission; provide a recruiting pipeline from universities to the Laboratory; or enhance university interactions and the vitality of Livermore's science and technology environment through seminars, workshops, and visitor programs.« less

  1. Supporting interoperability of collaborative networks through engineering of a service-based Mediation Information System (MISE 2.0)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benaben, Frederick; Mu, Wenxin; Boissel-Dallier, Nicolas; Barthe-Delanoe, Anne-Marie; Zribi, Sarah; Pingaud, Herve

    2015-08-01

    The Mediation Information System Engineering project is currently finishing its second iteration (MISE 2.0). The main objective of this scientific project is to provide any emerging collaborative situation with methods and tools to deploy a Mediation Information System (MIS). MISE 2.0 aims at defining and designing a service-based platform, dedicated to initiating and supporting the interoperability of collaborative situations among potential partners. This MISE 2.0 platform implements a model-driven engineering approach to the design of a service-oriented MIS dedicated to supporting the collaborative situation. This approach is structured in three layers, each providing their own key innovative points: (i) the gathering of individual and collaborative knowledge to provide appropriate collaborative business behaviour (key point: knowledge management, including semantics, exploitation and capitalisation), (ii) deployment of a mediation information system able to computerise the previously deduced collaborative processes (key point: the automatic generation of collaborative workflows, including connection with existing devices or services) (iii) the management of the agility of the obtained collaborative network of organisations (key point: supervision of collaborative situations and relevant exploitation of the gathered data). MISE covers business issues (through BPM), technical issues (through an SOA) and agility issues of collaborative situations (through EDA).

  2. How big is too big or how many partners are needed to build a large project which still can be managed successfully?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henkel, Daniela; Eisenhauer, Anton

    2017-04-01

    During the last decades, the number of large research projects has increased and therewith the requirement for multidisciplinary, multisectoral collaboration. Such complex and large-scale projects pose new competencies to form, manage, and use large, diverse teams as a competitive advantage. For complex projects the effort is magnified because multiple large international research consortia involving academic and non-academic partners, including big industries, NGOs, private and public bodies, all with cultural differences, individually discrepant expectations on teamwork and differences in the collaboration between national and multi-national administrations and research organisations, challenge the organisation and management of such multi-partner research consortia. How many partners are needed to establish and conduct collaboration with a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach? How much personnel effort and what kinds of management techniques are required for such projects. This presentation identifies advantages and challenges of large research projects based on the experiences made in the context of an Innovative Training Network (ITN) project within Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European HORIZON 2020 program. Possible strategies are discussed to circumvent and avoid conflicts already at the beginning of the project.

  3. Understanding Collaboration Environments to Support Green Infrastructure Construction

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-12-01

    Close collaboration among stakeholders has long been recognized as an important factor of a successful project. In todays climate of a heightened focus on sustainability, collaboration needs to be taken to a new level in the design and constructio...

  4. Managing uncertainty in collaborative robotics engineering projects: The influence of task structure and peer interaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jordan, Michelle

    Uncertainty is ubiquitous in life, and learning is an activity particularly likely to be fraught with uncertainty. Previous research suggests that students and teachers struggle in their attempts to manage the psychological experience of uncertainty and that students often fail to experience uncertainty when uncertainty may be warranted. Yet, few educational researchers have explicitly and systematically observed what students do, their behaviors and strategies, as they attempt to manage the uncertainty they experience during academic tasks. In this study I investigated how students in one fifth grade class managed uncertainty they experienced while engaged in collaborative robotics engineering projects, focusing particularly on how uncertainty management was influenced by task structure and students' interactions with their peer collaborators. The study was initiated at the beginning of instruction related to robotics engineering and preceded through the completion of several long-term collaborative robotics projects, one of which was a design project. I relied primarily on naturalistic observation of group sessions, semi-structured interviews, and collection of artifacts. My data analysis was inductive and interpretive, using qualitative discourse analysis techniques and methods of grounded theory. Three theoretical frameworks influenced the conception and design of this study: community of practice, distributed cognition, and complex adaptive systems theory. Uncertainty was a pervasive experience for the students collaborating in this instructional context. Students experienced uncertainty related to the project activity and uncertainty related to the social system as they collaborated to fulfill the requirements of their robotics engineering projects. They managed their uncertainty through a diverse set of tactics for reducing, ignoring, maintaining, and increasing uncertainty. Students experienced uncertainty from more different sources and used more and different types of uncertainty management strategies in the less structured task setting than in the more structured task setting. Peer interaction was influential because students relied on supportive social response to enact most of their uncertainty management strategies. When students could not garner socially supportive response from their peers, their options for managing uncertainty were greatly reduced.

  5. O8.10A MODEL FOR RESEARCH INITIATIVES FOR RARE CANCERS: THE COLLABORATIVE EPENDYMOMA RESEARCH NETWORK (CERN)

    PubMed Central

    Armstrong, T.S.; Aldape, K.; Gajjar, A.; Haynes, C.; Hirakawa, D.; Gilbertson, R.; Gilbert, M.R.

    2014-01-01

    Ependymoma represents less than 5% of adult central nervous system (CNS) tumors and a higher percentage of pediatric CNS tumors, but it remains an orphan disease. The majority of the laboratory-based research and clinical trials have been conducted in the pediatric setting, a reflection of the relative incidence and funding opportunities. CERN, created in 2006, was designed to establish a collaborative effort between laboratory and clinical research and pediatric and adult investigators. The organization of CERN is based on integration and collaboration among five projects. Project 1 contains the clinical trials network encompassing both adult and pediatric centers. This group has completed 2 clinical trials with more underway. Project 2 is focused on molecular classification of human ependymoma tumor tissues and also contains the tumor repository which has now collected over 600 fully clinically annotated CNS ependymomas from adults and children. Project 3 is focused on drug discovery utilizing robust laboratory models of ependymoma to perform high throughput screening of drug libraries, then taking promising agents through extensive preclinical testing including monitoring of drug delivery to tumor using state of the art microdialysis. Project 4 contains the basic research efforts evaluating the molecular pathogenesis of ependymoma and has successfully translated these findings by generating the first mouse models of ependymoma that are employed in preclinical drug development in Project 3. Project 5 studies patient outcomes, including the incorporation of these measures in the clinical trials. This project also contains an online Ependymoma Outcomes survey, collecting data on the consequences of the disease and its treatment. These projects have been highly successful and collaborative. For example, the serial measurement of symptom burden (Project 5) has greatly contributed to the evaluation of treatment efficacy of a clinical trial (Project 1) and investigators from Project 2 are evaluating potential predictive markers from tumor tissue from the same clinical trial. Results from genomic and molecular discoveries generated by Project 4 were evaluated using the clinical material from the Tumor Registry (Project 2). Agents identified from the high throughput screening in Project 3 are being used to create novel clinical trials (Project 1). As a complimentary effort, CERN's community outreach efforts provide a major gateway to patients, families, caregivers and healthcare providers, contributing to greater awareness of ependymoma, and supporting clinical trial accrual in Project 1. In summary, CERN has successfully created a collaborative, multi-national integrated effort combining pediatric- and adult-focused investigators spanning from basic science to patient outcomes measures. This research paradigm may be an effective approach for other rare cancers.

  6. Nesting doctoral students in collaborative North-South partnerships for health systems research.

    PubMed

    Loukanova, Svetla; Prytherch, Helen; Blank, Antje; Duysburgh, Els; Tomson, Göran; Gustafsson, Lars L; Sié, Ali; Williams, John; Leshabari, Melkizedeck; Haefeli, Walter E; Sauerborn, Rainer; Fonn, Sharon

    2014-01-01

    The European Union (EU) supports North-South Partnerships and collaborative research projects through its Framework Programmes and Horizon 2020. There is limited research on how such projects can be harnessed to provide a structured platform for doctoral level studies as a way of strengthening health system research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The aim of this study was to explore the challenges of, and facilitating factors for, 'nesting' doctoral students in North-South collaborative research projects. The term nesting refers to the embedding of the processes of recruiting, supervising, and coordinating doctoral students in the overall research plan and processes. This cross-sectional qualitative study was undertaken by the EU-funded QUALMAT Project. A questionnaire was implemented with doctoral students, supervisors, and country principal investigators (PIs), and content analysis was undertaken. Completed questionnaires were received from nine doctoral students, six supervisors, and three country PIs (86% responses rate). The doctoral students from SSA described high expectations about the input they would receive (administrative support, equipment, training, supervision). This contrasted with the expectations of the supervisors for proactivity and self-management on the part of the students. The rationale for candidate selection, and understandings of the purpose of the doctoral students in the project were areas of considerable divergence. There were some challenges associated with the use of the country PIs as co-supervisors. Doctoral student progress was at times impeded by delays in the release of funding instalments from the EU. The paper provides a checklist of essential requirements and a set of recommendations for effective nesting of doctoral students in joint North-South projects. There are considerable challenges to the effective nesting of doctoral students within major collaborative research projects. However, ways can be found to overcome them. The nesting process ultimately helped the institutions involved in this example to take better advantage of the opportunities that collaborative projects offer to foster North-South partnerships as a contribution to the strengthening of local research capacity.

  7. Live Storybook Outcomes of Pilot Multidisciplinary Elementary Earth Science Collaborative Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soeffing, C.; Pierson, R.

    2017-12-01

    Live Storybook Outcomes of pilot multidisciplinary elementary earth science collaborative project Anchoring phenomena leading to student led investigations are key to applying the NGSS standards in the classroom. This project employs the GLOBE elementary storybook, Discoveries at Willow Creek, as an inspiration and operational framework for a collaborative pilot project engaging 4th grade students in asking questions, collecting relevant data, and using analytical tools to document and understand natural phenomena. The Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), a GLOBE Partner, the Outdoor Campus, an informal educational outdoor learning facility managed by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, University of Sioux Falls, and All City Elementary, Sioux Falls are collaborating partners in this project. The Discoveries at Willow Creek storyline introduces young students to the scientific process, and models how they can apply science and engineering practices (SEPs) to discover and understand the Earth system in which they live. One innovation associated with this project is the formal engagement of elementary students in a global citizen science program (for all ages), GLOBE Observer, and engaging them in data collection using GLOBE Observer's Cloud and Mosquito Habitat Mapper apps. As modeled by the fictional students from Willow Creek, the 4th grade students will identify their 3 study sites at the Outdoor Campus, keep a journal, and record observations. The students will repeat their investigations at the Outdoor Campus to document and track change over time. Students will be introduced to "big data" in a manageable way, as they see their observations populate GLOBE's map-based data visualization and . Our research design recognizes the comfort and familiarity factor of literacy activities in the elementary classroom for students and teachers alike, and postulates that connecting a science education project to an engaging storybook text will contribute to a successful implementation and measurable learning outcomes. We will report on the Fall 2017 pilot metrics of success, along with a discussion of multi partner collaborations, project scale-up and sustainability.

  8. Collaborative Project: Improving the Representation of Coastal and Estuarine Processes in Earth System Models

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

    Bryan, Frank; Dennis, John; MacCready, Parker

    This project aimed to improve long term global climate simulations by resolving and enhancing the representation of the processes involved in the cycling of freshwater through estuaries and coastal regions. This was a collaborative multi-institution project consisting of physical oceanographers, climate model developers, and computational scientists. It specifically targeted the DOE objectives of advancing simulation and predictive capability of climate models through improvements in resolution and physical process representation.

  9. Final Report Collaborative Project: Improving the Representation of Coastal and Estuarine Processes in Earth System Models

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

    Bryan, Frank; Dennis, John; MacCready, Parker

    This project aimed to improve long term global climate simulations by resolving and enhancing the representation of the processes involved in the cycling of freshwater through estuaries and coastal regions. This was a collaborative multi-institution project consisting of physical oceanographers, climate model developers, and computational scientists. It specifically targeted the DOE objectives of advancing simulation and predictive capability of climate models through improvements in resolution and physical process representation.

  10. Bioconductor: open software development for computational biology and bioinformatics

    PubMed Central

    Gentleman, Robert C; Carey, Vincent J; Bates, Douglas M; Bolstad, Ben; Dettling, Marcel; Dudoit, Sandrine; Ellis, Byron; Gautier, Laurent; Ge, Yongchao; Gentry, Jeff; Hornik, Kurt; Hothorn, Torsten; Huber, Wolfgang; Iacus, Stefano; Irizarry, Rafael; Leisch, Friedrich; Li, Cheng; Maechler, Martin; Rossini, Anthony J; Sawitzki, Gunther; Smith, Colin; Smyth, Gordon; Tierney, Luke; Yang, Jean YH; Zhang, Jianhua

    2004-01-01

    The Bioconductor project is an initiative for the collaborative creation of extensible software for computational biology and bioinformatics. The goals of the project include: fostering collaborative development and widespread use of innovative software, reducing barriers to entry into interdisciplinary scientific research, and promoting the achievement of remote reproducibility of research results. We describe details of our aims and methods, identify current challenges, compare Bioconductor to other open bioinformatics projects, and provide working examples. PMID:15461798

  11. Equal Opportunities for Women in Marine Sciences in Kiel: Activities and Measures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamm, Ruth

    2016-04-01

    Women are still largely underrepresented in geosciences in general. Particularly at the level of professorships and permanent research staff positions this also applies to marine science institutions in Kiel, i.e. the research focus Kiel Marine Sciences at Kiel University and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Both institutions are closely collaborating, for instance in the frame of two major third-party funded collaborative projects: The Cluster of Excellence 'The Future Ocean', funded within the German Excellence Initiative, and the Collaborative Research Centre 'Climate - Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean' (SFB 754) financed through the German Research Foundation (DFG). Both funding schemes request for measures to increase the participation of female scientists in leading positions. As an innovative approach, The Future Ocean and SFB 754 jointly finance the position of a coordinator for gender measures who is based at the university's Central Office for Gender Equality, Diversity & Family since 2012. This allows for the coordinated development and implementation of programmes to support female marine scientists, with a focus on the postdoctoral phase, and to offer a broader spectrum of activities to raise awareness of gender imbalance in the research community. The aim of this presentation is to give insight into activities and achievements, among them the mentoring programme via:mento_ocean for female postdocs in marine sciences. The programme via:mento_ocean has been acknowledged as a best practice instrument to support women scientists in a close disciplinary but international setting and was incorporated into the DFG's online toolbox of gender equality measures.

  12. Exploring Vietnamese co-authorship patterns in social sciences with basic network measures of 2008-2017 Scopus data.

    PubMed

    Ho, Tung Manh; Nguyen, Ha Viet; Vuong, Thu-Trang; Dam, Quang-Minh; Pham, Hiep-Hung; Vuong, Quan-Hoang

    2017-01-01

    Background: Collaboration is a common occurrence among Vietnamese scientists; however, insights into Vietnamese scientific collaborations have been scarce. On the other hand, the application of social network analysis in studying science collaboration has gained much attention all over the world. The technique could be employed to explore Vietnam's scientific community. Methods: This paper employs network theory to explore characteristics of a network of 412 Vietnamese social scientists whose papers can be found indexed in the Scopus database. Two basic network measures, density and clustering coefficient, were taken, and the entire network was studied in comparison with two of its largest components. Results: The networks connections are very sparse, with a density of only 0.47%, while the clustering coefficient is very high (58.64%). This suggests an inefficient dissemination of information, knowledge, and expertise in the network. Secondly, the disparity in levels of connection among individuals indicates that the network would easily fall apart if a few highly-connected nodes are removed. Finally, the two largest components of the network were found to differ from the entire networks in terms of measures and were both led by the most productive and well-connected researchers. Conclusions: High clustering and low density seems to be tied to inefficient dissemination of expertise among Vietnamese social scientists, and consequently low scientific output. Also low in robustness, the network shows the potential of an intellectual elite composed of well-connected, productive, and socially significant individuals.

  13. Exploring Vietnamese co-authorship patterns in social sciences with basic network measures of 2008-2017 Scopus data

    PubMed Central

    Ho, Tung Manh; Nguyen, Ha Viet; Vuong, Thu-Trang; Dam, Quang-Minh; Pham, Hiep-Hung; Vuong, Quan-Hoang

    2017-01-01

    Background: Collaboration is a common occurrence among Vietnamese scientists; however, insights into Vietnamese scientific collaborations have been scarce. On the other hand, the application of social network analysis in studying science collaboration has gained much attention all over the world. The technique could be employed to explore Vietnam’s scientific community. Methods: This paper employs network theory to explore characteristics of a network of 412 Vietnamese social scientists whose papers can be found indexed in the Scopus database. Two basic network measures, density and clustering coefficient, were taken, and the entire network was studied in comparison with two of its largest components. Results: The networks connections are very sparse, with a density of only 0.47%, while the clustering coefficient is very high (58.64%). This suggests an inefficient dissemination of information, knowledge, and expertise in the network. Secondly, the disparity in levels of connection among individuals indicates that the network would easily fall apart if a few highly-connected nodes are removed. Finally, the two largest components of the network were found to differ from the entire networks in terms of measures and were both led by the most productive and well-connected researchers. Conclusions: High clustering and low density seems to be tied to inefficient dissemination of expertise among Vietnamese social scientists, and consequently low scientific output. Also low in robustness, the network shows the potential of an intellectual elite composed of well-connected, productive, and socially significant individuals. PMID:28928958

  14. Community College/High School Feedback and Collaboration: Preventative Measures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richey, Deborah K.; Mathern, Jeanette; O'Shea, Carol S.; Pierce, Shelby J.

    1997-01-01

    Describes a successful collaboration between high school and community college faculty that effected a reduced need for first-time college student remedial writing instruction. Discusses Ohio's Early English Composition Assessment Program, the model for collaborative success, and project recommendations. (YKH)

  15. Collaboration: integrating practice and research in public health nursing.

    PubMed

    Henry, V; Schmitz, K; Reif, L; Rudie, P

    1992-12-01

    The need to integrate clinical practice and research has been stressed for many years in both public health and nursing. This article describes such a collaborative project between two rural upper Midwest public health nursing agencies and public health nursing faculty from a small, liberal arts, baccalaureate nursing program. The high-risk prenatal research project provided an opportunity for nursing staff and faculty research consultants to work together on a clinical study. A model for collaborative research is illustrated, and advantages and disadvantages for practice, administration, and research are discussed.

  16. The Global Research Collaboration of Network Meta-Analysis: A Social Network Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Li, Lun; Catalá-López, Ferrán; Alonso-Arroyo, Adolfo; Tian, Jinhui; Aleixandre-Benavent, Rafael; Pieper, Dawid; Ge, Long; Yao, Liang; Wang, Quan; Yang, Kehu

    2016-01-01

    Background and Objective Research collaborations in biomedical research have evolved over time. No studies have addressed research collaboration in network meta-analysis (NMA). In this study, we used social network analysis methods to characterize global collaboration patterns of published NMAs over the past decades. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were searched (at 9th July, 2015) to include systematic reviews incorporating NMA. Two reviewers independently selected studies and cross-checked the standardized data. Data was analyzed using Ucinet 6.0 and SPSS 17.0. NetDraw software was used to draw social networks. Results 771 NMAs published in 336 journals from 3459 authors and 1258 institutions in 49 countries through the period 1997–2015 were included. More than three-quarters (n = 625; 81.06%) of the NMAs were published in the last 5-years. The BMJ (4.93%), Current Medical Research and Opinion (4.67%) and PLOS One (4.02%) were the journals that published the greatest number of NMAs. The UK and the USA (followed by Canada, China, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany) headed the absolute global productivity ranking in number of NMAs. The top 20 authors and institutions with the highest publication rates were identified. Overall, 43 clusters of authors (four major groups: one with 37 members, one with 12 members, one with 11 members and one with 10 members) and 21 clusters of institutions (two major groups: one with 62 members and one with 20 members) were identified. The most prolific authors were affiliated with academic institutions and private consulting firms. 181 consulting firms and pharmaceutical industries (14.39% of institutions) were involved in 199 NMAs (25.81% of total publications). Although there were increases in international and inter-institution collaborations, the research collaboration by authors, institutions and countries were still weak and most collaboration groups were small sizes. Conclusion Scientific production on NMA is increasing worldwide with research leadership of Western countries (most notably, the UK, the USA and Canada). More authors, institutions and nations are becoming involved in research collaborations, but frequently with limited international collaborations. PMID:27685998

  17. Involving consumers and the community in the development of a diagnostic instrument for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Australia

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Australia’s commitment to consumer and community participation in health and medical research has grown over the past decade. Participatory research models of engagement are the most empowering for consumers. Methods As part of a project to develop a diagnostic instrument for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Australia (FASD Project), the Australian FASD Collaboration (Collaboration), including a consumer advocate and two consumer representatives, was established. On completion of the FASD Project an on-line survey of Collaboration members was conducted to assess their views on consumer involvement. Women in the community were also invited to participate in Community Conversations to discuss real life situations regarding communications with health professionals about alcohol and pregnancy. Community Conversation feedback was analysed qualitatively and attendees were surveyed about their views of the Community Conversation process. Results The on-line survey was completed by 12 members of the Collaboration (71%). Consumer and community participation was considered important and essential, worked well, and was integral to the success of the project. The 32 women attending the Community Conversations generated 500 statements that made reference to prevention, how information and messages are delivered, and appropriate support for women. Nearly all the attendees at the Community Conversations (93%) believed that they had an opportunity to put forward their ideas and 96% viewed the Community Conversations as a positive experience. Conclusions The successful involvement of consumers and the community in the FASD Project can be attributed to active consumer and community participation, which included continued involvement throughout the project, funding of participation activities, and an understanding of the various contributions by the Collaboration members. PMID:23898969

  18. A Symmetric Time-Varying Cluster Rate of Descent Model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ray, Eric S.

    2015-01-01

    A model of the time-varying rate of descent of the Orion vehicle was developed based on the observed correlation between canopy projected area and drag coefficient. This initial version of the model assumes cluster symmetry and only varies the vertical component of velocity. The cluster fly-out angle is modeled as a series of sine waves based on flight test data. The projected area of each canopy is synchronized with the primary fly-out angle mode. The sudden loss of projected area during canopy collisions is modeled at minimum fly-out angles, leading to brief increases in rate of descent. The cluster geometry is converted to drag coefficient using empirically derived constants. A more complete model is under development, which computes the aerodynamic response of each canopy to its local incidence angle.

  19. Knowledge Translation of Interprofessional Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice: The Working Together Project Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacDonald, Colla J.; Archibald, Douglas; Stodel, Emma; Chambers, Larry W.; Hall, Pippa

    2008-01-01

    The Working Together (WT) project involved the design and delivery of an online learning resource for healthcare teams in long-term care (LTC) so that knowledge regarding interprofessional collaborative patient-centred practice (ICPCP) could be readily accessed and then transferred to the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to better…

  20. Campus Community Involvement in an Experimental Food Research Project Increases Students' Motivation and Improves Perceived Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goto, K.; Bianco-Simeral, S.

    2009-01-01

    Although the effects of pedagogical strategies using collaborative learning on students' perceived learning outcomes have been studied, little has been examined about possible benefits and challenges in collaborating with the campus community in a food science research project conducted by nutrition majors. We examined the effects of involving…

  1. Physical-Biological-Optics Model Development and Simulation for the Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay, California

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-04-01

    advanced ROMS-CoSiNE-Optics model in a full three-dimensional environment. We collaborate with Dr. Curt Mobley at Sequoia Scientific to implement...projects. Besides working closely with the modeling group at the NRL and their BioSpace project, we are collaborating with Dr. Curtis Mobley of Sequoia

  2. The Underutilization of Information and Communication Technology-Assisted Collaborative Project-Based Learning among International Educators: A Delphi Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kramer, Barry S.; Walker, Andrew E.; Brill, Jennifer M.

    2007-01-01

    This study explores the barriers associated with teachers implementing information and communication technology-assisted collaborative project-based learning (ICTCPrjBL) as a classroom teaching methodology with students. We used a Web-based Delphi method to engage experienced educators in anonymous consensus building consisting of three rounds of…

  3. How Changing Views about Collaborative Service Delivery Models for Children and Their Families Affect Preservice Teacher Education Programs: The GIFTTS Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hibbard, Katherine L.

    The Guilford Initiative for Training and Treatment Services (GIFTTS) Project is a collaborative effort between the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Guilford County Schools, the Department of Social Services, Juvenile Courts, the Health Department, and the Mental Health division of the local Mental Health/Development…

  4. A Canada-Ukraine Collaborative Initiative for Introducing Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities in Ukraine: Participant Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loreman, Tim; McGhie-Richmond, Donna; Kolopayvea, Alla; Tarenchenko, Oksana; Mazin, Dymtro; Crocker, Cheryl; Petryshyn, Roman

    2016-01-01

    This article examines the experiences of Canadian and Ukrainian educators who collaborated on a 5-year Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project to develop local capacity to implement inclusive education for children with disabilities in Ukraine. Ukrainian and Canadian educators and project coordinators engage in reflective…

  5. Health Assessment and Readiness To Learn: An Interagency Collaborative Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatfield, Maryellen Brown

    Consistent with the first of the National Educational Goals 1990 (to ensure that all children in America will start school ready to learn by the year 2000), South Carolina initiated the Pre-School Health Appraisal Project (PSHAP), a collaborative practice model based on the experiences of 4 years of project development and findings. Initiated in…

  6. Collaborative Complexities: Co-Authorship, Voice, and African American Rhetoric in Oral History Community Literacy Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grobman, Laurie

    2015-01-01

    This co-authored article describes a community literacy oral history project involving 14 undergraduate students. It is intellectually situated at the intersection of writing studies, oral history, and African American rhetoric and distinguished by two features: 1) we were a combined team of 20 collaborators, and 2) our narrator, Frank Gilyard,…

  7. Pilot Study on the Feasibility and Indicator Effects of Collaborative Online Projects on Science Learning for English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Walden, Emily

    2015-01-01

    The 2006 National Science Board called for new strategies and instructional materials for teachers to better serve English Learners' (EL) needs. Bilingual Collaborative Online Projects in science were created to assist ELs' construction of science knowledge, facilitate academic English acquisition, and improve science learning. Two bilingual…

  8. Collaborative Teaching in a Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Higher Education Setting: A Case Study of a Postgraduate Accounting Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Elaine; Tindale, Jen; Cable, Dawn; Mead, Suzanne Hamil

    2009-01-01

    The Language for Professional Communication in Accounting project has changed teaching practice in a linguistically and culturally diverse postgraduate accounting program at Macquarie University in Australia. This paper reflects on the project's interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to diversity in the classroom by tracing its growth and…

  9. Does Documenting the Regulation Process on a Blog Enhance Pre-Service Teachers' Self- and Co-Regulation in a Collaborative Project?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cho, Moon-Heum; Lim, Seongmi; Lee, Kyeonghwa

    2017-01-01

    Students often complain about unsatisfactory experiences resulting from disproportionate contributions to collaborative projects. To improve the experience, we applied regulation theory to design a process to document regulation on a blog and examined whether such documentation enhanced students' self-regulation and co-regulation skills while…

  10. Practice into Pedagogy into Practice: Collaborative Postcards from Hong Kong

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Archer, Carol

    2017-01-01

    A collaborative postcard project completed by 22 students as part of a drawing course conducted at a university in Hong Kong is introduced. The project entailed inviting students into an art practice in which the author was herself engaged as a practitioner as well as a researcher. After introducing the educational context in which the project…

  11. Tensions and Trade-Offs in Voluntary Involvement: Evaluating the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenseid, Lija O.; Lawrenz, Frances

    2011-01-01

    A team at the University of Minnesota conducted the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) core evaluation between 1999 and 2004. The purpose of the CETP core evaluation was to achieve consensus among CETP project leaders and project evaluators on evaluation questions; to develop, pilot, and field test evaluation instruments…

  12. HIT collaborative base project at APS of Argonne

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, H.; Wang, L.

    2012-12-01

    Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) launched collaborative base project at Argonne National Laboratory in 2010, and progress will be presented in this paper. The staff and students from HIT involved in advanced technological developments, which included tomography. high energy PDF, diffraction and scattering, and inelastic scattering techniques in APS to study structures changes under high pressure conditions.

  13. Interdisciplinary collaboration within project-level NEPA teams in the US Forest Service

    Treesearch

    James W. Freeman; Marc J. Stern; Michael Mortimer; Dale J. Blahna; Lee K. Cerveny

    2011-01-01

    Interdisciplinary teamwork has become a foundation of natural resources planning and management in the US. Yet, we know little about the degree of interdisciplinary collaboration of natural resource planning teams. We conducted 10 case studies of Forest Service NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) teams working on projects related to the 2005 Travel Management Rule...

  14. Online Project-Based Learning: How Collaborative Strategies and Problem Solving Processes Impact Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, W. Randall; Macgregor, S. Kim

    2005-01-01

    The goal of this study was to gain insights into the interactions that occur in online communications in a project-based learning activity implemented in an undergraduate course. A multi-case study was conducted of six collaborative groups, focusing on the types and frequencies of interactions that occurred within each group and the perceptions…

  15. Broadening the Efficiency Bandwidth Product of Electrically small Antenna through Direct Antenna Modulation (DAM) Transmitting

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-12-04

    public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions...Project Contribution: International Collaboration: International Travel : National Academy Member: N Person Months Worked: 6.00 Funding...Support: Project Contribution: International Collaboration: International Travel : National Academy Member: N Participant Type

  16. Collaborative Academic Projects on Social Network Sites to Socialize EAP Students into Academic Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dashtestani, Reza

    2018-01-01

    Learning English for academic purposes (EAP) can help university students promote their academic literacy through socializing them into academic communities of practice. This study examined the impact of the use of collaborative projects on three social network sites on EAP students' attitudes towards EAP and academic content learning. Three…

  17. EFL Learners' Intercultural Competence Development in an International Web Collaboration Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lázár, Ildikó

    2015-01-01

    This article is based on an analysis of a small sample of data from an international web collaboration project between four classes of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners guided by their English teachers in four different countries in Europe. As few studies have been published about intercultural communication in blended learning EFL…

  18. Redefining Professional Identity: The Voice of a Language Teacher in a Context of Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinho, Ana Sofia; Andrade, Ana Isabel

    2015-01-01

    Following a narrative and biographic approach, in this study, we present the case of an in-service language teacher and her professional learning trajectory in the context of the project "Languages and education: constructing and sharing training". This project aimed at the construction of a collaborative teacher education context for…

  19. Revisiting platform mounds and townhouses in the Cherokee heartland: a collaborative approach

    Treesearch

    Benjamin A. Steere

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the development and initial results of the Western North Carolina Mounds and Towns Project, a collaborative endeavor initiated by the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research Program at the University of Georgia. The goal of this project is to generate new...

  20. The Collaborative Career Adjustment Project (CCAP): A Model to Recruit and Retain Speech-Language Pathologists in Rural Communities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farmer, Stephen S.

    1994-01-01

    Describes the Collaborative Career Adjustment Project, a program that allows licensed teachers in rural New Mexico to continue teaching while taking weekend, summer, or distance education courses to obtain a master's degree in speech-language pathology. Includes recommendations for the recruitment and retention of rural students in communication…

  1. Collaborative Action Research as a Tool for Generating Formative Feedback on Teachers' Classroom Assessment Practice: The KREST Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Christine

    2013-01-01

    This paper sets out to explore science teachers' classroom assessment practices and outlines some of the tensions and synergies in changing assessment practices. It describes episodes from a collaborative action research project with science teachers designed to support the strengthening of classroom assessment practices--the King's Researching…

  2. Using Wikis for Online Group Projects: Student and Tutor Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kear, Karen; Donelan, Helen; Williams, Judith

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a study of the use of wikis to support online group projects in two courses at the UK Open University. The research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a wiki in supporting (i) student collaboration and (ii) tutors' marking of the students' collaborative work. The paper uses the main factors previously identified by the…

  3. Informal Aspects of "Becoming Peer" in Undergraduate Research: "Still Connected but Going Our Separate Ways"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker-Rees, Rod; Haynes, Joanna

    2013-01-01

    This study is grounded in a research project, the CARITAS project (Collaborative Application of Research Into Tutoring for Autonomous Study), which ran in our university from 2007 to 2009. Tutors from a variety of programmes collaborated to review literature and to investigate both formal and informal support for students involved in…

  4. WikiTextbooks: Designing Your Course around a Collaborative Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, Brian P.; Thoren, Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    We have used wiki technology to support large-scale, collaborative writing projects in which the students build reference texts (called WikiTextbooks). The goal of this paper is to prepare readers to adapt this idea for their own courses. We give examples of the implementation of WikiTextbooks in a variety of courses, including lecture and…

  5. Modeling Data from Collaborative Assessments: Learning in Digital Interactive Social Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Mark; Gochyyev, Perman; Scalise, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    This article summarizes assessment of cognitive skills through collaborative tasks, using field test results from the Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S) project. This project, sponsored by Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft, aims to help educators around the world enable students with the skills to succeed in future career and…

  6. Learning Needs Analysis of Collaborative E-Classes in Semi-Formal Settings: The REVIT Example

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mavroudi, Anna; Hadzilacos, Thanasis

    2013-01-01

    Analysis, the first phase of the typical instructional design process, is often downplayed. This paper focuses on the analysis concerning a series of e-courses for collaborative adult education in semi-formal settings by reporting and generalizing results from the REVIT project. REVIT, an EU-funded research project, offered custom e-courses to…

  7. Unsteady flow and dynamic response analyses for helicopter rotor blades

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bratanow, T.

    1979-01-01

    Research is presented on helicopter rotor blade vibration and on two and three dimensional analyses of unsteady incompressible viscous flow past oscillating helicopter rotor blades. A summary is presented of the two international research collaborations which resulted from the NASA project: the collaboration under the auspices of NATO between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Brussels, Belgium and the Aerodynamics Research Establishment in Goettingen, West Germany, and the collaboration under the auspices of the National Science Foundation between UWM and the University of Hamburg and the Ship Research Establishment in Hamburg, West Germany. A summary is given of the benefits from the NASA project to UWM, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the participants on the project.

  8. [Scientific writing, scientific communication and open access: an international, multidisciplinary project--NECOBELAC].

    PubMed

    Pulido, Diony; Robledo, Rocío; Agudelo, Carlos A

    2009-01-01

    A collaboration network involving 6 countries in Europe, Latin-America and the Caribbean has embarked on a project (Network of Collaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean Countries-NECOBELAC; www.necobelac.eu) aimed at improving scientific writing open access and scholarly communication to spread know-how regarding current and future issues and information related to health. The NECOBELAC project is sponsored by the European Community (7th Framework Programme) and will last for 3 years. The project recognises the challenge arising from socio-cultural differences between the participating countries and will deal with generating networks involving institutions working in close collaboration for carrying out training and know-how exchange programmes aimed at producing open access information and spreading it (including technical and ethical aspects). The NECOBELAC project currently involves the Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS from Italy (coordinating the project), the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) from Spain, the University of Nottingham (SHERPA) from the United Kingdom, BIREME from Brazil, the Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP) from Colombia and the Universidade de Minho from Portugal.

  9. Study of Collaborative Management for Transportation Construction Project Based on BIM Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jianhua, Liu; Genchuan, Luo; Daiquan, Liu; Wenlei, Li; Bowen, Feng

    2018-03-01

    Abstract. Building Information Modeling(BIM) is a building modeling technology based on the relevant information data of the construction project. It is an advanced technology and management concept, which is widely used in the whole life cycle process of planning, design, construction and operation. Based on BIM technology, transportation construction project collaborative management can have better communication through authenticity simulation and architectural visualization and can obtain the basic and real-time information such as project schedule, engineering quality, cost and environmental impact etc. The main services of highway construction management are integrated on the unified BIM platform for collaborative management to realize information intercommunication and exchange, to change the isolated situation of information in the past, and improve the level of information management. The final BIM model is integrated not only for the information management of project and the integration of preliminary documents and design drawings, but also for the automatic generation of completion data and final accounts, which covers the whole life cycle of traffic construction projects and lays a good foundation for smart highway construction.

  10. Designing for Online Collaborations and Local Environmental Action In Citizen Science: A Multiple Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kermish-Allen, Ruth

    Traditional citizen science projects have been based on the scientific communities need to gather vast quantities of high quality data, neglecting to ask what the project participants get in return. How can participants be seen more as collaborative partners in citizen science projects? Online communities for citizen science are expanding rapidly, giving participants the opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities, from monitoring invasive species to identifying far-off galaxies. These communities can bring together the virtual and physical worlds in new ways that are egalitarian, collaborative, applied, localized and globalized to solve real environmental problems. There are a small number of citizen science projects that leverage the affordances of an online community to connect, engage, and empower participants to make local change happen. This multiple case study applies a conceptual framework rooted in sociocultural learning theory, Non-Hierarchical Online Learning Communities (NHOLCs), to three online citizen communities that have successfully fostered online collaboration and on-the-ground environmental actions. The purpose of the study is to identify the range and variation of the online and programmatic functions available in each project. The findings lead to recommendations for designing these innovative communities, specifically the technological and programmatic components of online citizen science communities that support environmental actions in our backyards.

  11. International Collaboration Program in Innovative Chemical Processing of Superior Electronic and Optical Materials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-06-01

    Peyghambarian for X(3) measurements. 3. Research on Nonlinear Optical Materials based on Ultrafine Metal Clusters in ORMOSILS Another family of ultrafine ... particles which, when dispersed in a glassy matrix, has been show to have high X(3) involves metal clusters. Because of the importance of obtaining...NSG Workshop on: Science and Application of Photonic Materials II, Osaka, Japan, November (1992). Haixing, Z., and Mackenzie, J.D., " Ultrafine

  12. Extrinsic Sources of Scatter in the Richness-mass Relation of Galaxy Clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rozo, Eduardo; Rykoff, Eli; Koester, Benjamin; Nord, Brian; Wu, Hao-Yi; Evrard, August; Wechsler, Risa

    2011-10-01

    Maximizing the utility of upcoming photometric cluster surveys requires a thorough understanding of the richness-mass relation of galaxy clusters. We use Monte Carlo simulations to study the impact of various sources of observational scatter on this relation. Cluster ellipticity, photometric errors, photometric redshift errors, and cluster-to-cluster variations in the properties of red-sequence galaxies contribute negligible noise. Miscentering, however, can be important, and likely contributes to the scatter in the richness-mass relation of galaxy maxBCG clusters at the low-mass end, where centering is more difficult. We also investigate the impact of projection effects under several empirically motivated assumptions about cluster environments. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey data and the maxBCG cluster catalog, we demonstrate that variations in cluster environments can rarely (≈1%-5% of the time) result in significant richness boosts. Due to the steepness of the mass/richness function, the corresponding fraction of optically selected clusters that suffer from these projection effects is ≈5%-15%. We expect these numbers to be generic in magnitude, but a precise determination requires detailed, survey-specific modeling.

  13. Eliciting probabilistic expectations: Collaborations between psychologists and economists

    PubMed Central

    Bruine de Bruin, Wändi

    2017-01-01

    We describe two collaborations in which psychologists and economists provided essential support on foundational projects in major research programs. One project involved eliciting adolescents’ expectations regarding significant future life events affecting their psychological and economic development. The second project involved eliciting consumers’ expectations regarding inflation, a potentially vital input to their investment, saving, and purchasing decisions. In each project, we sought questions with the precision needed for economic modeling and the simplicity needed for lay respondents. We identify four conditions that, we believe, promoted our ability to sustain these transdisciplinary collaborations and coproduce the research: (i) having a shared research goal, which neither discipline could achieve on its own; (ii) finding common ground in shared methodology, which met each discipline’s essential evidentiary conditions, but without insisting on its culturally acquired tastes; (iii) sharing the effort throughout, with common language and sense of ownership; and (iv) gaining mutual benefit from both the research process and its products. PMID:28270610

  14. Eliciting probabilistic expectations: Collaborations between psychologists and economists.

    PubMed

    Bruine de Bruin, Wändi; Fischhoff, Baruch

    2017-03-28

    We describe two collaborations in which psychologists and economists provided essential support on foundational projects in major research programs. One project involved eliciting adolescents' expectations regarding significant future life events affecting their psychological and economic development. The second project involved eliciting consumers' expectations regarding inflation, a potentially vital input to their investment, saving, and purchasing decisions. In each project, we sought questions with the precision needed for economic modeling and the simplicity needed for lay respondents. We identify four conditions that, we believe, promoted our ability to sustain these transdisciplinary collaborations and coproduce the research: ( i ) having a shared research goal, which neither discipline could achieve on its own; ( ii ) finding common ground in shared methodology, which met each discipline's essential evidentiary conditions, but without insisting on its culturally acquired tastes; ( iii ) sharing the effort throughout, with common language and sense of ownership; and ( iv ) gaining mutual benefit from both the research process and its products.

  15. Comparison of Collaboration and Performance in Groups of Learners Assembled Randomly or Based on Learners' Topic Preferences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cela, Karina L.; Sicilia, Miguel Ángel; Sánchez, Salvador

    2015-01-01

    Teachers and instructional designers frequently incorporate collaborative learning approaches into their e-learning environments. A key factor of collaborative learning that may affect learner outcomes is whether the collaborative groups are assigned project topics randomly or based on a shared interest in the topic. This is a particularly…

  16. Examining What We Mean by "Collaboration" in Collaborative Action Research: A Cross-Case Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruce, Catherine D.; Flynn, Tara; Stagg-Peterson, Shelley

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of collaboration in a multi-year, large-scale collaborative action research project in which a teachers' federation (in Ontario, Canada), university researchers and teachers partnered to investigate teacher-selected topics for inquiry. Over two years, 14 case studies were generated involving six…

  17. Neurokinin B-producing projection neurons in the lateral stripe of the striatum and cell clusters of the accumbens nucleus in the rat.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Ligang; Furuta, Takahiro; Kaneko, Takeshi

    2004-12-06

    Neurons producing preprotachykinin B (PPTB), the precursor of neurokinin B, constitute 5% of neurons in the dorsal striatum and project to the substantia innominata (SI) selectively. In the ventral striatum, PPTB-producing neurons are collected mainly in the lateral stripe of the striatum (LSS) and cell clusters of the accumbens nucleus (Acb). In the present study, we first examined the distribution of PPTB-immunoreactive neurons in rat ventral striatum and found that a large part of the PPTB-immunoreactive cell clusters was continuous to the LSS, but a smaller part was not. Thus, we divided the PPTB-immunoreactive cell clusters into the LSS-associated and non-LSS-associated ones. We next investigated the projection targets of the PPTB-producing ventral striatal neurons by combining immunofluorescence labeling and retrograde tracing. After injection of Fluoro-Gold into the basal component of the SI (SIb) and medial part of the interstitial nucleus of posterior limb of the anterior commissure, many PPTB-immunoreactive neurons were retrogradely labeled in the LSS-associated cell clusters and LSS, respectively. When the injection site included the ventral part of the sublenticular component of the SI(SIsl), retrogradely labeled neurons showed PPTB-immunoreactivity frequently in non-LSS-associated cell clusters. Furthermore, these PPTB-immunoreactive projections were confirmed by the double-fluorescence method after anterograde tracer injection into the ventral striatum containing the cell clusters. Since the dorsalmost part of the SIsl is known to receive strong inputs from PPTB-producing dorsal striatal neurons, the present results indicate that PPTB-producing ventral striatal neurons project to basal forebrain target regions in parallel with dorsal striatal neurons without significant convergence. 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Tracking the NGS revolution: managing life science research on shared high-performance computing clusters.

    PubMed

    Dahlö, Martin; Scofield, Douglas G; Schaal, Wesley; Spjuth, Ola

    2018-05-01

    Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has transformed the life sciences, and many research groups are newly dependent upon computer clusters to store and analyze large datasets. This creates challenges for e-infrastructures accustomed to hosting computationally mature research in other sciences. Using data gathered from our own clusters at UPPMAX computing center at Uppsala University, Sweden, where core hour usage of ∼800 NGS and ∼200 non-NGS projects is now similar, we compare and contrast the growth, administrative burden, and cluster usage of NGS projects with projects from other sciences. The number of NGS projects has grown rapidly since 2010, with growth driven by entry of new research groups. Storage used by NGS projects has grown more rapidly since 2013 and is now limited by disk capacity. NGS users submit nearly twice as many support tickets per user, and 11 more tools are installed each month for NGS projects than for non-NGS projects. We developed usage and efficiency metrics and show that computing jobs for NGS projects use more RAM than non-NGS projects, are more variable in core usage, and rarely span multiple nodes. NGS jobs use booked resources less efficiently for a variety of reasons. Active monitoring can improve this somewhat. Hosting NGS projects imposes a large administrative burden at UPPMAX due to large numbers of inexperienced users and diverse and rapidly evolving research areas. We provide a set of recommendations for e-infrastructures that host NGS research projects. We provide anonymized versions of our storage, job, and efficiency databases.

  19. Tracking the NGS revolution: managing life science research on shared high-performance computing clusters

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has transformed the life sciences, and many research groups are newly dependent upon computer clusters to store and analyze large datasets. This creates challenges for e-infrastructures accustomed to hosting computationally mature research in other sciences. Using data gathered from our own clusters at UPPMAX computing center at Uppsala University, Sweden, where core hour usage of ∼800 NGS and ∼200 non-NGS projects is now similar, we compare and contrast the growth, administrative burden, and cluster usage of NGS projects with projects from other sciences. Results The number of NGS projects has grown rapidly since 2010, with growth driven by entry of new research groups. Storage used by NGS projects has grown more rapidly since 2013 and is now limited by disk capacity. NGS users submit nearly twice as many support tickets per user, and 11 more tools are installed each month for NGS projects than for non-NGS projects. We developed usage and efficiency metrics and show that computing jobs for NGS projects use more RAM than non-NGS projects, are more variable in core usage, and rarely span multiple nodes. NGS jobs use booked resources less efficiently for a variety of reasons. Active monitoring can improve this somewhat. Conclusions Hosting NGS projects imposes a large administrative burden at UPPMAX due to large numbers of inexperienced users and diverse and rapidly evolving research areas. We provide a set of recommendations for e-infrastructures that host NGS research projects. We provide anonymized versions of our storage, job, and efficiency databases. PMID:29659792

  20. Fertility, kinship and the evolution of mass ideologies.

    PubMed

    David-Barrett, Tamas; Dunbar, Robin I M

    2017-03-21

    Traditional human societies are organised around kinship, and use kinship networks to generate large scale community projects. This is made possible by a combination of linguistic kin recognition, a uniquely human trait, which is mediated by the reliability of kin as collaborators. When effective fertility falls, this results in two simultaneous effects on social networks: there are fewer kin that can be relied on, and the limiting effect of the local kin-clustering becomes stronger. To capture this phenomenon, we used a model of kinship lineages to build populations with a range of fertility levels combined with a behavioural synchrony model to measure the efficiency of collective action generated on kin networks within populations. Our findings suggest that, whenever effective cooperation depends on kinship, falling fertility creates a crisis when it results in too few kin to join the community project. We conclude that, when societies transition to small effective kin networks, due to falling fertility, increased relative distance to kin due to urbanisation or high mortality due to war or epidemics, they will be able to remain socially cohesive only if they replace disappearing kin networks with quasi-kin alternatives based on membership of guilds or clubs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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