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…

Success in large high-technology projects: What really works?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosby, P.

2014-08-01

Despite a plethora of tools, technologies and management systems, successful execution of big science and engineering projects remains problematic. The sheer scale of globally funded projects such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Square Kilometre Array telescope means that lack of project success can impact both on national budgets, and collaborative reputations. In this paper, I explore data from contemporary literature alongside field research from several current high-technology projects in Europe and Australia, and reveal common `pressure points' that are shown to be key influencers of project control and success. I discuss the how mega-science projects sit between being merely complicated, and chaotic, and explain the importance of understanding multiple dimensions of project complexity. Project manager/leader traits are briefly discussed, including capability to govern and control such enterprises. Project structures are examined, including the challenge of collaborations. I show that early attention to building project resilience, curbing optimism, and risk alertness can help prepare large high-tech projects against threats, and why project managers need to understand aspects of `the silent power of time'. Mission assurance is advanced as a critical success function, alongside the deployment of task forces and new combinations of contingency plans. I argue for increased project control through industrial-style project reviews, and show how post-project reviews are an under-used, yet invaluable avenue of personal and organisational improvement. Lastly, I discuss the avoidance of project amnesia through effective capture of project knowledge, and transfer of lessons-learned to subsequent programs and projects.

Quality improvement collaborative: A novel approach to improve infection prevention and control. Perceptions of lead infection prevention nurses who participated.

PubMed

Adams, Debra; Hine, Victoria; Bucior, Helen; Foster, Wendy; Mukombe, Nyarayi; Ryan, Jane; Smirthwaite, Sandra; Winfield, Jodie

2018-03-01

In response to the ongoing infection prevention (IP) challenges in England, a 90-day quality improvement (QI) collaborative programme was developed. The paper discusses the approach, benefits, challenges and evaluation of the programme. The objective of the collaborative was to develop new approaches to enable sustainable and effective IP. Six trusts in the region participated in the collaborative. Each defined their bespoke IP focus. There was no expectation that statistically significant measurable improvements would be identified during the short time frame. The experiences of the participants were sought both during the programme to facilitate its constant review and at the end of the programme to evaluate its effectiveness. The feedback focused on achievements, barriers to change and benefits of participating in a QI collaborative. To measure the potential success of the projects, participants completed the Model for Understanding Success in Quality framework. (MUSIQ; Kaplan et al., 2012). Since each trusts IP focus was bespoke commonalities of success were not evaluated. Participants identified a positive outcome from their QI interventions. The MUSIQ score identified the projects had the potential for success. The feedback from the participants demonstrated that it is worthy of further development.

NASA Human Health and Performance Center: Open Innovation Successes and Collaborative Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth E.

2014-01-01

In May 2007, what was then the Space Life Sciences Directorate published the 2007 Space Life Sciences Strategy for Human Space Exploration, which resulted in the development and implementation of new business models and significant advances in external collaboration over the next five years. The strategy was updated on the basis of these accomplishments and reissued as the NASA Human Health and Performance Strategy in 2012, and continues to drive new approaches to innovation for the directorate. This short paper describes the open innovation successes and collaborative projects developed over this timeframe, including the efforts of the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC), which was established to advance human health and performance innovations for spaceflight and societal benefit via collaboration in new markets.

Assessment Practices for Advancing Transfer Student Success: Collaborating for Educational Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Gary R.; Rhodes, Terrel L.

2016-01-01

America's institutions of higher education have been challenged to develop new strategies to improve the success of all students. With more and more students attending multiple institutions, improving the transfer process is key to ensuring all students succeed. AAC&U launched the Quality Collaboratives (QC) project in 2011 with support from…

NASA Human Health and Performance Center: Open innovation successes and collaborative projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richard, Elizabeth E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

2014-11-01

In May 2007, what was then the Space Life Sciences Directorate published the 2007 Space Life Sciences Strategy for Human Space Exploration, setting the course for development and implementation of new business models and significant advances in external collaboration over the next five years. The strategy was updated on the basis of these accomplishments and reissued as the NASA Human Health and Performance Strategy in 2012, and continues to drive new approaches to innovation for the directorate. This short paper describes the successful execution of the strategy, driving organizational change through open innovation efforts and collaborative projects, including efforts of the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC).

Climate research, citizen science and art in Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stiller-Reeve, Mathew; Naznin, Zakia; Blanchard, Anne; Bremer, Scott

2017-04-01

Our research project focuses on climate information for adaptation in the northeast region of Bangladesh. In this project, we work closely with local rural communities. Since these local people are carrying out citizen science together, then a sense of community and good team spirit are essential for success. We collaborated with a Bangladeshi artist to achieve some important goals. Not only did we want to create new and exciting outreach materials, we -more importantly- wanted to see how the artistic process could nurture a sense of community for the local participants. Despite being limited by time, we saw some promising outcomes from the collaboration. The artist successfully interacted with the project researchers and the local participants. The final artwork was a real collaboration between the artist and the participants whom felt pride and ownership in the results.

The ANTOSTRAT legacy: Science collaboration and international transparency in potential marine mineral resource exploitation of Antarctica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cooper, Alan; Barker, Peter; Barrett, Peter; Behrendt, John; Brancolini, Giuliano; Childs, Jonathan R.; Escutia, Carlota; Jokat, Wilfried; Kristoffersen, Yngve; Leitchenkov, German; Stagg, Howard; Tanahashi, Manabu; Wardell, Nigel; Webb, Peter

2009-01-01

The Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy project (ANTOSTRAT; 1989–2002) was an extremely successful collaboration in international marine geological science that also lifted the perceived “veil of secrecy” from studies of potential exploitation of Antarctic marine mineral resources. The project laid the groundwork for circum-Antarctic seismic, drilling, and rock coring programs designed to decipher Antarctica’s tectonic, stratigraphic, and climate histories. In 2002, ANTOSTRAT evolved into the equally successful and currently active Antarctic Climate Evolution research program. The need for, and evolution of, ANTOSTRAT was based on two simple tenets within SCAR and the Antarctic Treaty: international science collaboration and open access to data. The ANTOSTRAT project may be a helpful analog for other regions of strong international science and geopolitical interests, such as the Arctic. This is the ANTOSTRAT story.

The Role of the IR Office: Collaborating across the Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kroc, Rick

2015-01-01

This chapter describes a framework to guide collaboration between institutional research and other campus offices. Three examples are then provided to illustrate how the framework was applied successfully to actual projects.

Scientists' and Teachers' Perspectives about Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munson, Bruce H.; Martz, Marti Ann; Shimek, Sarah

2013-01-01

The emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is resulting in more opportunities for scientists and teachers to collaborate. The relationships can result in failed collaborations or success. We recently completed a 6-year regional project that used several approaches to develop scientist-teacher relationships.…

Implementing Learner-Centered Educational Strategies: The Bloomington Project School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dutta, Pratima

2014-01-01

The Bloomington Project School (BPS) is a charter school that has successfully adopted and implemented several learner-centered educational strategies. This case study offers a glimpse into its student-centered, collaborative, and interdisciplinary learning and teaching processes; its mastery-based assessment process; and its successful technology…

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; social issues fact sheet 12: Keys to successful collaboration

Treesearch

Christine Esposito

2006-01-01

Collaborating on fire and fuels management with a host of public and private partners may seem like an impossible undertaking, and presents many challenges. This fact sheet reviews tips for what to focus on as you embark on a collaborative fuels management project.Other...

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.

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.

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

NREL Science Central to Success of New Biofuels Projects: DuPont-NREL

Science.gov Websites

without adversely affecting the next step in the process." Long Hours, True Collaboration Meanwhile processes. "This was a true collaboration," said NREL microbiologist Mary Ann Franden, who

Project Success: An Examination of a Collaborative Effort in English Course Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community Coll. District, El Cajon, CA. Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

Project Success (PS) at California's Grossmont College provides students with concurrent enrollment in linked courses, such as College Reading and English Fundamentals, to provide an environment of complementary learning. To determine the effectiveness of the program, a study was undertaken to compare the demographics, performance, and persistence…

Collaboration in Global Software Engineering Based on Process Description Integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Harald; Rausch, Andreas; Fischer, Edward

Globalization is one of the big trends in software development. Development projects need a variety of different resources with appropriate expert knowledge to be successful. More and more of these resources are nowadays obtained from specialized organizations and countries all over the world, varying in development approaches, processes, and culture. As seen with early outsourcing attempts, collaboration may fail due to these differences. Hence, the major challenge in global software engineering is to streamline collaborating organizations towards a successful conjoint development. Based on typical collaboration scenarios, this paper presents a structured approach to integrate processes in a comprehensible way.

Experiential Collaborative Learning and Preferential Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volpentesta, Antonio P.; Ammirato, Salvatore; Sofo, Francesco

The paper presents a Project-Based Learning (shortly, PBL) approach in a collaborative educational environment aimed to develop design ability and creativity of students coming from different engineering disciplines. Three collaborative learning experiences in product design were conducted in order to study their impact on preferred thinking styles of students. Using a thinking style inventory, pre- and post-survey data was collected and successively analyzed through ANOVA techniques. Statistically significant results showed students successfully developed empathy and an openness to multiple perspectives. Furthermore, data analysis confirms that the proposed collaborative learning experience positively contributes to increase awareness in students' thinking styles.

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.

The Value of Trainee Networks in Pediatric Surgical Research.

PubMed

Skerritt, Clare; Hall, Nigel J

2015-12-01

In 2007, the first trainee-led surgical research network was founded in the United Kingdom (UK). The West Midlands Research Collaborative was started by a group of enthusiastic adult surgical trainees who saw the benefits of altruistic collaboration to generate high quality, multicenter research. Seeing the success of their research projects, including randomized controlled trials, trainees in other regions and specialties were spurred on to founding their own research collaboratives. The Pediatric Surgical Trainee Research Network was started in 2011 by a group of UK trainees with the aim to promote, facilitate, and encourage trainee-led research in pediatric surgery. This article summarizes the history and evolution of the trainee collaborative surgical research. It examines the challenges which multicenter research entails and the steps the collaboratives have taken to overcome them. We describe some of the projects which have been successfully completed and the benefits that the trainee networks have for patients and surgeons alike. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Improving medical education in Kenya: an international collaboration.

PubMed

Mayo, Alexa

2014-04-01

This paper describes a partnership between the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences (CHS) Library and the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HS/HSL). The libraries are collaborating to develop best practices for the CHS Library as it meets the challenge of changing medical education information needs in a digital environment. The collaboration is part of a Medical Education Partnership Initiative. The library project has several components: an assessment of the CHS Library, learning visits in the United States and Kenya, development of recommendations to enhance the CHS Library, and ongoing evaluation of the program's progress. Development of new services and expertise at the CHS Library is critical to the project's success. A productive collaboration between the HS/HSL and CHS Library is ongoing. A successful program to improve the quality of medical education will have a beneficial impact on health outcomes in Kenya.

Improving medical education in Kenya: an international collaboration*†

PubMed Central

Mayo, Alexa

2014-01-01

This paper describes a partnership between the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences (CHS) Library and the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HS/HSL). The libraries are collaborating to develop best practices for the CHS Library as it meets the challenge of changing medical education information needs in a digital environment. The collaboration is part of a Medical Education Partnership Initiative. The library project has several components: an assessment of the CHS Library, learning visits in the United States and Kenya, development of recommendations to enhance the CHS Library, and ongoing evaluation of the program's progress. Development of new services and expertise at the CHS Library is critical to the project's success. A productive collaboration between the HS/HSL and CHS Library is ongoing. A successful program to improve the quality of medical education will have a beneficial impact on health outcomes in Kenya. PMID:24860265

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

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.

TRANSVAC research infrastructure - Results and lessons learned from the European network of vaccine research and development.

PubMed

Geels, Mark J; Thøgersen, Regitze L; Guzman, Carlos A; Ho, Mei Mei; Verreck, Frank; Collin, Nicolas; Robertson, James S; McConkey, Samuel J; Kaufmann, Stefan H E; Leroy, Odile

2015-10-05

TRANSVAC was a collaborative infrastructure project aimed at enhancing European translational vaccine research and training. The objective of this four year project (2009-2013), funded under the European Commission's (EC) seventh framework programme (FP7), was to support European collaboration in the vaccine field, principally through the provision of transnational access (TNA) to critical vaccine research and development (R&D) infrastructures, as well as by improving and harmonising the services provided by these infrastructures through joint research activities (JRA). The project successfully provided all available services to advance 29 projects and, through engaging all vaccine stakeholders, successfully laid down the blueprint for the implementation of a permanent research infrastructure for early vaccine R&D in Europe. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

32 CFR 37.515 - Must I do anything additional to determine the qualification of a consortium?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... consultation with legal counsel, review the management plan in the consortium's collaboration agreement. The... relationship is essential to increase the research project's chances of success. (b) The collaboration agreement, commonly referred to as the articles of collaboration, is the document that sets out the rights...

Forty years of collaborative computational crystallography.

PubMed

Agirre, Jon; Dodson, Eleanor

2018-01-01

A brief overview is provided of the history of collaborative computational crystallography, with an emphasis on the Collaborative Computational Project No. 4. The key steps in its development are outlined, with consideration also given to the underlying reasons which contributed, and ultimately led to, the unprecedented success of this venture. © 2017 The Protein Society.

A Successful Model of Collaborative Undergraduate Research: A Multi-Faculty, Multi-Project, Multi-Institution Team Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodzicka, Julie A.; Ford, Thomas E.; Caudill, Abbie; Ohanmamooreni, Alyna

2015-01-01

A collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation allowed the first two authors to provide students at primarily undergraduate institutions with a multi-faculty, multi-institution team research experience. Teams of undergraduate students at Western Carolina University and Washington and Lee University collaborated with one…

One Size Does Not Fit All: A System Development Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

study seeks an understanding of the nature and characteristics of failed IT projects . These failures...are in the context of a plethora of resources made available to the Coast Guard to ensure the success of its IT projects . This study is important...features are as follows: 1. Collaboration : Agile methods are highly collaborative inside and outside the development group . 2. Code review:

Eco-logical successes : third edition, September 2012

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-09-01

Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to Developing Infrastructure Projects outlines an ecosystem-scale approach to prioritizing, developing, and delivering infrastructure projects. Eco-Logical emphasizes interagency collaboration in order to create inf...

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.

AskNow!--Evaluating an Australian Collaborative Chat Reference Service: A Project Manager's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Fran; Keys, Jacki

2004-01-01

AskNow! online answers Australia-wide, the first nation-wide chat reference service, has been a successful exercise in collaboration and cooperation. This article examines some of the lessons learnt, the challenges of collaboration and possible future directions. AskNow!, an initiative of the Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL), commenced…

In Their Own Words: Coteaching Project at Prosper High School Helps Students Create Video PSAs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Stacy; Butcher, Adria; Haight, Christine

2012-01-01

Collaboration and coteaching with classroom teachers and campus specialists are the cornerstones of a successful school library program. Whereas collaboration is the process of planning a lesson or unit of instruction, coteaching suggests a much deeper level of collaboration--one in which both the teacher and campus specialist (be it school…

Guiding principles of value creation through collaborative innovation in pharmaceutical research.

PubMed

Schweizer, Liang; He, Jeff

2018-02-01

Open innovation has become the main trend in pharmaceutical research. Potential obstacles and pitfalls of collaborations often lead to missed opportunities and/or poorly executed partnerships. This paper aims to provide a framework that facilitates the execution of successful collaborations. We start by mapping out three checkpoints onto early-stage collaborative partnerships: inception, ignition and implementation. Different value types and value drivers are then laid out for each phase of the partnership. We proceed to propose a ratio-driven approach and a value-adjustment mechanism, enhancing the probability of successes in pharmaceutical research collaborations. These guiding principles combined should help the partners either reach agreement more quickly or move on to the next potential project. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State Technologies Advancement Collaborative

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

David S. Terry

2012-01-30

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), and Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI) signed an intergovernmental agreement on November 14, 2002, that allowed states and territories and the Federal Government to better collaborate on energy research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) projects. The agreement established the State Technologies Advancement Collaborative (STAC) which allowed the states and DOE to move RDD&D forward using an innovative competitive project selection and funding process. A cooperative agreement between DOE and NASEO served as the contracting instrument for this innovative federal-state partnership obligatingmore » funds from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of Fossil Energy to plan, fund, and implement RDD&D projects that were consistent with the common priorities of the states and DOE. DOE's Golden Field Office provided Federal oversight and guidance for the STAC cooperative agreement. The STAC program was built on the foundation of prior Federal-State efforts to collaborate on and engage in joint planning for RDD&D. Although STAC builds on existing, successful programs, it is important to note that it was not intended to replace other successful joint DOE/State initiatives such as the State Energy Program or EERE Special Projects. Overall the STAC process was used to fund, through three competitive solicitations, 35 successful multi-state research, development, deployment, and demonstration projects with an overall average non-federal cost share of 43%. Twenty-two states were awarded at least one prime contract, and organizations in all 50 states and some territories were involved as subcontractors in at least one STAC project. Projects were funded in seven program areas: (1) Building Technologies, (2) Industrial Technologies, (3) Transportation Technologies, (4) Distributed Energy Resources, (5) Hydrogen Technology Learning Centers, (6) Fossil Energy, and (7) Rebuild America.« less

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

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…

Code Sharing and Collaboration: Experiences from the Scientist's Expert Assistant Project and their Relevance to the Virtual Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Jeremy; Grosvenor, Sandy; Wolf, Karl; Li, Connie; Koratkar, Anuradha; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In the Virtual Observatory (VO), software tools will perform the functions that have traditionally been performed by physical observatories and their instruments. These tools will not be adjuncts to VO functionality but will make up the very core of the VO. Consequently, the tradition of observatory and system independent tools serving a small user base is not valid for the VO. For the VO to succeed, we must improve software collaboration and code sharing between projects and groups. A significant goal of the Scientist's Expert Assistant (SEA) project has been promoting effective collaboration and code sharing between groups. During the past three years, the SEA project has been developing prototypes for new observation planning software tools and strategies. Initially funded by the Next Generation Space Telescope, parts of the SEA code have since been adopted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. SEA has also supplied code for SOFIA, the SIRTF planning tools, and the JSky Open Source Java library. The potential benefits of sharing code are clear. The recipient gains functionality for considerably less cost. The provider gains additional developers working with their code. If enough users groups adopt a set of common code and tools, defacto standards can emerge (as demonstrated by the success of the FITS standard). Code sharing also raises a number of challenges related to the management of the code. In this talk, we will review our experiences with SEA - both successes and failures - and offer some lessons learned that may promote further successes in collaboration and re-use.

Code Sharing and Collaboration: Experiences From the Scientist's Expert Assistant Project and Their Relevance to the Virtual Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korathkar, Anuradha; Grosvenor, Sandy; Jones, Jeremy; Li, Connie; Mackey, Jennifer; Neher, Ken; Obenschain, Arthur F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In the Virtual Observatory (VO), software tools will perform the functions that have traditionally been performed by physical observatories and their instruments. These tools will not be adjuncts to VO functionality but will make up the very core of the VO. Consequently, the tradition of observatory and system independent tools serving a small user base is not valid for the VO. For the VO to succeed, we must improve software collaboration and code sharing between projects and groups. A significant goal of the Scientist's Expert Assistant (SEA) project has been promoting effective collaboration and code sharing among groups. During the past three years, the SEA project has been developing prototypes for new observation planning software tools and strategies. Initially funded by the Next Generation Space Telescope, parts of the SEA code have since been adopted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. SEA has also supplied code for the SIRTF (Space Infrared Telescope Facility) planning tools, and the JSky Open Source Java library. The potential benefits of sharing code are clear. The recipient gains functionality for considerably less cost. The provider gains additional developers working with their code. If enough users groups adopt a set of common code and tools, de facto standards can emerge (as demonstrated by the success of the FITS standard). Code sharing also raises a number of challenges related to the management of the code. In this talk, we will review our experiences with SEA--both successes and failures, and offer some lessons learned that might promote further successes in collaboration and re-use.

Validating the Outcome of Partnering on Major Capital Projects

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-27

Research on the mechanics of successful collaborative partnering in roadway construction is relatively scarce; however, there is general agreement that successful partnering can result in better budget and schedule control as well as increase safety ...

A Themed and Collaborative Approach to Teaching Computers and the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roby, Teshia Young

This paper describes a 6-month bi-weekly Saturday program that was sponsored by the 100 Black Men of Atlanta (BMA) under their Project Success initiative. Project Success is a program that allows inner-city middle and high school students to be mentored by members of 100 BMA and volunteering college students. The program community consisted of one…

An App for the Cathedral in Freiberg--An Interdisciplinary Project Seminar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kröber, Cindy; Münster, Sander

2014-01-01

This project seminar aims at creating and evaluating a manual for interdisciplinary projects as part of a learning process. Working together, pedagogies and students from different disciplines assess tools and recommendations for successful collaborations while developing an app for the cathedral in Freiberg. As part of the project the students…

Engaging Communities in Education and Research: PBRNs, AHEC, and CTSA

PubMed Central

Westfall, John M.; Ingram, Beth; Navarro, Daniel; Magee, Deidre; Niebauer, Linda; Zittleman, Linda; Fernald, Douglas; Pace, Wilson

2012-01-01

Abstract Background: Community engagement has become a prominent element in medical research and is an important component of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program. Area Health Education Centers engage communities in education and workforce development. Methods: Engaging Communities in Education and Research (ECER) is a successful collaboration among the Colorado Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the Colorado Clinical Translational Science Institute, and Shared Network of Collaborative Ambulatory Practices and Partners—Colorado’s practice‐based research collaborative. The ECER Conference is an annual conference of community members, health care providers, clinical preceptors, AHEC board members, university faculty, primary care investigators, program administrators, and community organization leaders. Results: Over 1,000 people have participated in the ECER Conference representing all regions of Colorado. Several projects from the “new ideas” breakout session have been developed and completed. Six‐month follow‐up provided evidence of numerous new collaborations, campus‐community partnerships, and developing research projects. Several new collaborations highlight the long‐term nature of building on relationships started at the ECER Conference. Discussion and Conclusion: ECER has been a successful collaboration to develop and support campus‐community collaborations in Colorado. Although seemingly just a simple 3‐day conference, we have found that this event has lead to many important partnerships. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–9 PMID:22686202

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.

PKI - Crawling Out of the Grave & Into the Arms of Government

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Angio, Phil; Vassilliadas, Panos; Kaklamanis, Phaidon

This paper will analyze the characteristics of successful PKI projects lead by Government organizations. The paper will examine a recent E-Government project based on PKI credentials as well as suggest the approach for Government PKI programs emphasize strong collaboration with non-government use cases. It also examines the characteristics of PKI projects that were not successful in the past, and their role in creating the industry analyst perception that PKI was dead.

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.

"That Was Brilliant!"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Penny; Fleetwood, Colin; Garnett, Rosie; Metcalfe, Gareth

2012-01-01

In this article, the authors report on the Top Marks project and some of the successful activities that made assessment "real." The aim of Top Marks project was to "invigorate the assessment of science with fun, relevance, real-life and engagement". The project involved collaboration between schools and primary science consultants from the Centre…

Personal and Interpersonal Motivation for Group Projects: Replications of an Attributional Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Sarah E.; Schreiber, James B.

2012-01-01

We report the results of two replication studies using attribution theory to analyze personal and interpersonal motivation for collaborative projects. Undergraduate students responded to questionnaires containing hypothetical vignettes depicting success or failure outcomes due to ability or effort for dyads working on a group project. Dependent…

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

Writing a success story: lessons learned from the Spitzer Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gehrz, R. D.; Roellig, T. L.; Werner, M. W.

2010-08-01

A key to the success of the Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF) Mission was a unique management structure that promoted open communication and collaboration among scientific, engineering, and contractor personnel at all levels of the project. This helped us to recruit and maintain the very best people to work on Spitzer. We describe the management concept that led to the success of the mission. Specific examples of how the project benefited from the communication and reporting structure, and lessons learned about technology are described.

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

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.

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.

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.

Bringing Community and Academic Scholars Together to Facilitate and Conduct Authentic Community Based Participatory Research: Project UNITED

PubMed Central

Lewis, Dwight; Yerby, Lea; Tucker, Melanie; Foster, Pamela Payne; Hamilton, Kara C.; Fifolt, Matthew M.; Hites, Lisle; Shreves, Mary Katherine; Page, Susan B.; Bissell, Kimberly L.; Lucky, Felecia L.; Higginbotham, John C.

2015-01-01

Cultural competency, trust, and research literacy can affect the planning and implementation of sustainable community-based participatory research (CBPR). The purpose of this manuscript is to highlight: (1) the development of a CBPR pilot grant request for application; and (2) a comprehensive program supporting CBPR obesity-related grant proposals facilitated by activities designed to promote scholarly collaborations between academic researchers and the community. After a competitive application process, academic researchers and non-academic community leaders were selected to participate in activities where the final culminating project was the submission of a collaborative obesity-related CBPR grant application. Teams were comprised of a mix of academic researchers and non-academic community leaders, and each team submitted an application addressing obesity-disparities among rural predominantly African American communities in the US Deep South. Among four collaborative teams, three (75%) successfully submitted a grant application to fund an intervention addressing rural and minority obesity disparities. Among the three submitted grant applications, one was successfully funded by an internal CBPR grant, and another was funded by an institutional seed funding grant. Preliminary findings suggest that the collaborative activities were successful in developing productive scholarly relationships between researchers and community leaders. Future research will seek to understand the full-context of our findings. PMID:26703675

Action Steps for Advancing Transfer Student Success: Lessons Learned from Cross-Institutional Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolinsky, Rebecca; Rhodes, Terrel L.; McCambly, Heather

2016-01-01

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) launched Quality Collaboratives (QC): Assessing and Reporting Degree Qualifications Profile Competencies in the Context of Transfer in 2011 as a three-year project that engaged educational, assessment, and policy leaders in student learning outcomes assessment and transfer pathways.…

Collaboration of Extension and Grape Industry Members to Create a New Extension Publication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stafne, Eric T.; Ingels, George; Ingels, Jane; Carroll, Becky

2016-01-01

Collaboration is an important part of the interaction between Extension and industry. Successful sharing of workload can provide benefits for both parties. A project to create a workbook to address vineyard sustainability was initiated by members of the Oklahoma grape industry with assistance from land-grant university Extension. Productive…

Information Systems as a Social Space: Collaborative Teaching of Social Literacies to Technical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalil, Claudia; Monson, Jo; Nodoba, Gaontebale

2010-01-01

This article describes a successful experimental collaborative teaching project to deliver a short course to develop work-relevant social literacies in technical students. Heterogeneous work contexts require both students and educators to find ways to integrate thinking and practices across disciplines. Teaching social literacies to information…

Developing an Effective Intervention for IDU Women: A Harm Reduction Approach to Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Nancy L.; Luna, Veronica; Ramirez, M. Heliana; Vail, Kenneth A.; Williams, Clark A.

2005-01-01

Harm reduction is fundamentally a movement intended to empower the patient and consumer of health services. This project applied harm reduction theory as a strategy to empower collaborating community partners and researchers to overcome their preconceptions about each other in order to create a successful HIV prevention intervention and evaluation…

Company-School Collaboration: A Manual for Developing Successful Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onuska, Sheila

This manual, developed by members of the staff of the St. Louis, Missouri, Public Schools, is intended to help company officials responsible for planning, implementing, and coordinating company-school collaborative programs to perform these tasks and guide the co-workers who assist them. The manual is organized in five chapters. Chapter I presents…

Collaborating for Success: Team Teaching the Engineering Technical Thesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keating, Terrence; Long, Mike

2012-01-01

This paper will examine the collaborative teaching process undertaken at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) by Engineering and the Communication faculties to improve the overall quality of engineering students' capstone projects known as the Technical Thesis. The Technical Thesis is divided into two separate components: a proposal stage…

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

How to Apply for and Secure EU Funding for Collaborative IBD Research Projects

PubMed Central

Satsangi, Jack; Kitten, Olivier; Chavez, Marcela; Kalla, Rahul; Prel, Nadege; Meuwis, Marie-Alice; Scott, Stephanie; Bonetti, Illaria; Ventham, Nicholas T.

2016-01-01

The European Union offers opportunities for high-level of funding of collaborative European research. Calls are regularly published: after the end of the FP7 funding programme the new round of Horizon 2020 calls started in 2015. Several topics are relevant to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) challenges, including chronic disease management, biomarker discovery and new treatments developments. The aim of this Viewpoint article is to describe the new Horizon 2020 instrument and the project submission procedures, and to highlight these through the description of tips and tricks, taking advantage of four examples of successful projects in the field of IBD: the SADEL, IBD-BIOM, IBD Character and BIOCYCLE projects. PMID:26744440

Diversity in research projects - A key to success?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henkel, Daniela; Eisenhauer, Anton; Taubner, Isabelle

2017-04-01

According to demographers, psychologists, sociologists and economists diverse groups, which are groups of different race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, are more innovative than homogeneous groups. This is also true for groups working together in research collaborations and international cooperation involving a culturally and functionally diverse mix of individuals who have to be integrated into an effective unit - a project team. If the goal is scientific excellence, diversity should be an essential ingredient to conduct science on high level productivity, quality and innovation. Effective teamwork is a key to project success and prime responsibilities of the project manager. Therefore, the project manager has to take into consideration different characteristics such as cultures, languages, and different values related to individual project partners. Here we show how diversity can affect the performance of a research project. Furthermore, the presentation indicates skills and abilities which are required for the management in order to deal also with the challenges of diversity in research projects. The presentation is based on insights experienced in the context of an Innovative Training Network (ITN) project within Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European HORIZON 2020 program and TRION a Collaborative Research Project in the Framework of the Trilateral Program of the German Research Foundation.

Online Intercultural Collaborations Using Wikis: An Analysis of Students' Comments and Factors Affecting Project Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forsythe, Edo

2014-01-01

Online intercultural collaborations using wiki pages are becoming common in foreign language education. However, research into their effectiveness and the types of comments students make in their interactions remains scant. This study addresses this gap by exploring three years' worth of interactions among Japanese students of English and American…

Cooperative or Collaborative Literacy Practices: Mapping Metadiscourse in a Business Students' Wiki Group Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alyousef, Hesham Suleiman; Picard, Michelle Yvette

2011-01-01

Although wikis have been used successfully in collaborative learning in higher education, there is a lack of research investigating wikis in business module assessment tasks. Little research to date has been conducted on how wikis formatively develop international English as a second language (ESL) in business students' academic discourse. In this…

Collaborative Learning in an Undergraduate Theory Course: An Assessment of Goals and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDuff, Elaine

2012-01-01

This project was designed to assess whether a collaborative learning approach to teaching sociological theory would be a successful means of improving student engagement in learning theory and of increasing both the depth of students' understanding of theoretical arguments and concepts and the ability of students to theorize for themselves. A…

The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project: A Purposeful Professional Development Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jao, Limin; McDougall, Douglas

2015-01-01

The transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9 is particularly difficult for students who were not very successful in mathematics in Grade 8. Research into ways to improve this transition as well as improve the teaching practices at the Applied level will be helpful for teachers, administrators, and policy makers. The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project…

Three Interdisciplinary Studies on IT Outsourcing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gantman, Sonia Vilvovsky

2012-01-01

This dissertation provides interdisciplinary insights into the role of client's internal collaborative experience in managing communication during a complex outsourced project, building a quality client-vendor relationship and ultimately achieving success in the project. Each of the three studies in this dissertation identifies a gap in…

ENT audit and research in the era of trainee collaboratives.

PubMed

Smith, Matthew E; Hardman, John; Ellis, Matthew; Williams, Richard J

2018-05-26

Large surgical audits and research projects are complex and costly to deliver, but increasingly surgical trainees are delivering these projects within formal collaboratives and research networks. Surgical trainee collaboratives are now recognised as a valuable part of the research infrastructure, with many perceived benefits for both the trainees and the wider surgical speciality. In this article, we describe the activity of ENT trainee research collaboratives within the UK, and summarise how INTEGRATE, the UK National ENT Trainee Research Network, successfully delivered a national audit of epistaxis management. The prospective audit collected high-quality data from 1826 individuals, representing 94% of all cases that met the inclusion criteria at the 113 participating sites over the 30-day audit period. It is hoped that the audit has provided a template for subsequent high-quality and cost-effective national studies, and we discuss the future possibilities for ENT trainee research collaboratives.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality vs. Enhanced Care as Usual for Sucidal Soldiers

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

Research Projects : Patient Perspectives on Successful Management of Suicide Risk in Military and Civilian Samples Masters Student: Kaitlyn R. Schuler...Award Number: W81XWH-11-1-0164 TITLE: "A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Collaborative Assessment & Management of Suicidality vs. Enhanced Care...REPORT TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE "A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Collaborative Assessment & Management

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

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.

Tips for Ensuring Successful Software Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weathers, Robert

2013-01-01

Implementing an enterprise-level, mission-critical software system is an infrastructure project akin to other sizable projects, such as building a school. It's costly and complex, takes a year or more to complete, requires the collaboration of many different parties, involves uncertainties, results in a long-lived asset requiring ongoing…

Go / NGO success ensures Vietnam project.

PubMed

2000-02-01

This article reports the results of a joint evaluation by the Japanese Evaluation Team and the People's Committee of Nghe An on the Japan International Cooperation Agency Vietnam Reproductive Health (RH) Project. The evaluation, which was conducted through a workshop, showed that the Vietnam RH Project in Nghe An Province was successful. With two short-term experts dispatched to Vietnam in November and December 1999, the Project¿s activities were realized. Many activities were undertaken, which included retraining of community health centers, improvement of district health centers¿ monitoring capacity, and prenatal examination. Although the evaluation was carried out after only 2 years of actual activities, the Project¿s planned activities showed a smooth implementation as a result of good collaboration among Japan, the Vietnamese government, and nongovernmental organizations. With the successful outcome of the first phase of the project, both Japan and Vietnam have put up plans for future project activities.

Business and public health collaboration for emergency preparedness in Georgia: a case study.

PubMed

Buehler, James W; Whitney, Ellen A; Berkelman, Ruth L

2006-11-20

Governments may be overwhelmed by a large-scale public health emergency, such as a massive bioterrorist attack or natural disaster, requiring collaboration with businesses and other community partners to respond effectively. In Georgia, public health officials and members of the Business Executives for National Security have successfully collaborated to develop and test procedures for dispensing medications from the Strategic National Stockpile. Lessons learned from this collaboration should be useful to other public health and business leaders interested in developing similar partnerships. The authors conducted a case study based on interviews with 26 government, business, and academic participants in this collaboration. The partnership is based on shared objectives to protect public health and assure community cohesion in the wake of a large-scale disaster, on the recognition that acting alone neither public health agencies nor businesses are likely to manage such a response successfully, and on the realization that business and community continuity are intertwined. The partnership has required participants to acknowledge and address multiple challenges, including differences in business and government cultures and operational constraints, such as concerns about the confidentiality of shared information, liability, and the limits of volunteerism. The partnership has been facilitated by a business model based on defining shared objectives, identifying mutual needs and vulnerabilities, developing carefully-defined projects, and evaluating proposed project methods through exercise testing. Through collaborative engagement in progressively more complex projects, increasing trust and understanding have enabled the partners to make significant progress in addressing these challenges. As a result of this partnership, essential relationships have been established, substantial private resources and capabilities have been engaged in government preparedness programs, and a model for collaborative, emergency mass dispensing of pharmaceuticals has been developed, tested, and slated for expansion. The lessons learned from this collaboration in Georgia should be considered by other government and business leaders seeking to develop similar partnerships.

Business and public health collaboration for emergency preparedness in Georgia: a case study

PubMed Central

Buehler, James W; Whitney, Ellen A; Berkelman, Ruth L

2006-01-01

Background Governments may be overwhelmed by a large-scale public health emergency, such as a massive bioterrorist attack or natural disaster, requiring collaboration with businesses and other community partners to respond effectively. In Georgia, public health officials and members of the Business Executives for National Security have successfully collaborated to develop and test procedures for dispensing medications from the Strategic National Stockpile. Lessons learned from this collaboration should be useful to other public health and business leaders interested in developing similar partnerships. Methods The authors conducted a case study based on interviews with 26 government, business, and academic participants in this collaboration. Results The partnership is based on shared objectives to protect public health and assure community cohesion in the wake of a large-scale disaster, on the recognition that acting alone neither public health agencies nor businesses are likely to manage such a response successfully, and on the realization that business and community continuity are intertwined. The partnership has required participants to acknowledge and address multiple challenges, including differences in business and government cultures and operational constraints, such as concerns about the confidentiality of shared information, liability, and the limits of volunteerism. The partnership has been facilitated by a business model based on defining shared objectives, identifying mutual needs and vulnerabilities, developing carefully-defined projects, and evaluating proposed project methods through exercise testing. Through collaborative engagement in progressively more complex projects, increasing trust and understanding have enabled the partners to make significant progress in addressing these challenges. Conclusion As a result of this partnership, essential relationships have been established, substantial private resources and capabilities have been engaged in government preparedness programs, and a model for collaborative, emergency mass dispensing of pharmaceuticals has been developed, tested, and slated for expansion. The lessons learned from this collaboration in Georgia should be considered by other government and business leaders seeking to develop similar partnerships. PMID:17116256

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.

CosmoQuest: Making the public your students and collaborators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, Pamela; Buxner, Sanlyn; Grier, Jennifer; Richardson, Matthew; CosmoQuest Team

2018-01-01

CosmoQuest is a second generation citizen science project that makes it possible for NASA Subject Matter Experts to engage the public as both learners and collaborators in research. Engaging the public in publishable science is termed “Citizen Science.” This is a powerful technique for accomplishing research projects and tasks that require many minds and eyes to complete. While some projects may use undergraduates for help, others simply have too many images or too much data for a small population to sort through. CosmoQuest is a platform that enables scientists to take advantage of already existing science tools to engage the public in their research and to acquire the data analysis they need. Citizen scientists, like students, need their experience properly scaffolded to their understanding, and they require mentoring and training to succeed.This presentation focuses on methods for focusing research projects for successful citizen science engagement, and determining what scaffolding must be built to support citizen education and engagement.This presentation will help you understand how to transform your research project into a successful citizen science engagement. We will also present a flowchart to help you define: what is required, how to focus on what science does and doesn’t work, and what support your project requires. The content presented will allow you to successfully implement a project within the CosmoQuest facility, and determine what educational support you should provide or request aid to provide.

Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dounas-Frazer, Dimitri R.; Stanley, Jacob T.; Lewandowski, H. J.

2017-12-01

We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain—namely, upper-division physics labs—they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

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.

Successful Climate Science Communication Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinclair, P.

2016-12-01

In the past decade, efforts to communicate the facts of global change have not successfully moved political leaders and the general public to action. In response, a number of collaborative efforts between scientists and professional communicators, writers, journalists, bloggers, filmmakers, artists and others have arisen seeking to bridge that gap. As a result, a new cadre of science-literate communicators, and media-savvy scientists have made themselves visible across diverse mainstream, traditional, and social media outlets. Because of these collaborations, in recent years, misinformation, and disinformation have been successfully met with accurate and credible rebuttals within a single news cycle.Examples of these efforts is the Dark Snow Project, a science/communication collaboration focusing initially on accelerated arctic melt and sea level rise, and the Climate Science Rapid Response team, which matches professional journalists with appropriate science experts in order to respond within a single news cycle to misinformation or misunderstandings about climate science.The session will discuss successful examples and suggest creative approaches for the future.

Collaboration Is Not Meeting with the Enemy: An Analysis of a Successful University-School District Relationship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozeman, William C.; Rothberg, Robert A.

Although the literature proclaims the need for school district and university cooperation, there are few analyses of existing partnership projects or examinations of factors facilitating or impeding successful school-university linkages and cooperation. This paper focuses on the central Florida school districts' partnership with the University of…

Astronomy across State Lines: A Collaborative Model for Astronomical Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Chelen H.; Barge, Jacqueline; Linahan, Marcella; York, Donald G.; Cante, David; Cook, Mary; Daw, Maeve; Donahoe, Katherine E.; Ford, Sydney; Haecker, Lille W.; Hibbs, Cecily A.; Hogan, Eleanor B.; Karos, Demetra N.; Kozikowski, Kendall G.; Martin, Taylor A.; Miranda, Fernando; Ng, Emily; Noel, Imany; O'Bryan, Sophie E.; Sharma, Vikrant; Zegeye, David

2015-01-01

Scientists do not work in isolation, nor should student scientists. In a collaborative effort, students from three high schools examined plates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to estimate the number of galaxies that contain evidence of a black hole. Working under the direction of Don York, former SDSS director, the three teachers used Google hangouts to discuss weekly progress. At their home institutions, students examined optical spectra from SDSS Data Release 10 to determine if a quasar could be discerned. Both Type I and Type II quasars can be seen in the SDSS data. Seven teams of students from different schools compared their findings and collaborated online to discuss potential discoveries. This project can serve as a model for high school teachers who want to facilitate their students participating in an authentic research project. The keys to a successful project are working with a mentor who can guide the group through difficult concepts and communicating frequently throughout the project.

Public-Private Collaborations with Earth-Space Benefits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth E.

2014-01-01

The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) was established in October 2010 to promote collaborative problem solving and project development to advance human health and performance innovations benefiting life in space and on Earth. The NHHPC, which now boasts over 135 corporate, government, academic and non-profit members, has convened four successful workshops and engaged in multiple collaborative projects. The center is currently developing a streamlined partner engagement process to capture technical needs and opportunities of NHHPC members, facilitate partnership development, and establish and manage collaborative projects for NASA. The virtual center facilitates member engagement through a variety of vehicles, including annual inperson workshops, webcasts, quarterly electronic newsletters, web postings, and the new system for partner engagement. The most recent NHHPC workshop was conducted in November 2013 on the topic of "Accelerating Innovation: New Organizational Business Models," and focused on various collaborative approaches successfully used by organizations to achieve their goals. The powerful notion of collaboration across sectors to solve intractable problems was recently highlighted in Williams Eggers' book "The Solution Revolution,"i which provides numerous examples of how business, government and social enterprises partner to solve tough problems. Mr. Eggers was a keynote speaker at the workshop, along with Harvard Business School, Jump Associates, and the Conrad Foundation. The robust program also included an expert panel addressing collaboration across sectors, four interactive breakout sessions, and a concluding keynote on innovative ways to increase science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education by NASA Associate Administrator for Education, Leland Melvin. The NHHPC forum also provides a platform for international partners to interact on many topics. Members from around the world include ISS International Partner JAXA; the World Biomimetic Foundation in Spain who is interested in advancing the use of biomimicry to provide technical solutions in many industries; Satellite Application Catapult in London, England who interested in pursuing U.S. collaborations with the Space and Life Sciences Innovation Centre under development in Scotland; and DLR in Cologne, Germany who developed :envihab, a collaborative facility for partners to pursue research and technology projects of mutual interest. The NHHPC has sponsored two global networking forums on innovation by partners Wyle, NASA, and DLR, was featured in the 2013 Humans in Space Symposium Panel on "NHHPC and :envihab - reach out to Future Markets," and is working on an international meeting for Spring 2014 in Cologne with :envihab.

Communities ready for takeoffIntegrating social assets for biofuel site-selection modeling.

PubMed

Rijkhoff, Sanne A M; Hoard, Season A; Gaffney, Michael J; Smith, Paul M

2017-01-01

Although much of the social science literature supports the importance of community assets for success in many policy areas, these assets are often overlooked when selecting communities for new infrastructure facilities. Extensive collaboration is crucial for the success of environmental and economic projects, yet it often is not adequately addressed when making siting decisions for new projects. This article develops a social asset framework that includes social, creative, and human capital to inform site-selection decisions. This framework is applied to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance project to assess community suitability for biofuel-related developments. This framework is the first to take all necessary community assets into account, providing insight into successful site selection beyond current models. The framework not only serves as a model for future biorefinery projects but also guides tasks that depend on informed location selection for success.

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.

Taking a unified approach to teaching and implementing quality improvements across multiple residency programs: the Atlantic Health experience.

PubMed

Daniel, Donna M; Casey, Donald E; Levine, Jeffrey L; Kaye, Susan T; Dardik, Raquel B; Varkey, Prathibha; Pierce-Boggs, Kimberly

2009-12-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recently emphasized the importance of systems-based practice and systems-based learning; however, successful models of collaborative quality improvement (QI) initiatives in residency training curricula are not widely available. Atlantic Health successfully conceptualized and implemented a QI collaborative focused on medication safety across eight residency training programs representing 219 residents. During a six-month period, key faculty and resident leaders from 8 (of 10) Atlantic Health residency training programs participated in three half-day collaborative learning sessions focused on improving medication reconciliation. Each session included didactic presentations from a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts as well as the application of principles that identified challenges, barriers, and solutions to QI initiatives. The learning sessions emphasized the fundamental principles of medication reconciliation, its critical importance as a vital part of patient handoff in all health care settings, and the challenges of achieving successful medication reconciliation improvement in light of work hours restrictions and patient loads. Each residency program developed a detailed implementation and measurement plan for individual "action learning" projects, using the Plan-Do-Study-Act method of improvement. Each program then implemented its QI project, and expert faculty (e.g., physicians, nurses, pharmacists, QI staff) provided mentoring between learning sessions. Several projects resulted in permanent changes in medication reconciliation processes, which were then adopted by other programs. The structure, process, and outcomes of this effort are described in detail.

The eLIDA CAMEL Nomadic Model of Collaborative Partnership for a Community of Practice in Design for Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jameson, Jill

2008-01-01

A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a "critical friend" assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the UK JISC eLIDA…

Using the Internet in Middle Schools: A Model for Success. A Collaborative Effort between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Addessio, Barbara K.; And Others

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed a model for school networking using Los Alamos Middle School as a testbed. The project was a collaborative effort between the school and the laboratory. The school secured administrative funding for hardware and software; and LANL provided the network architecture, installation, consulting, and…

Project IMPACT: a report on barriers and facilitators to sustainability.

PubMed

Blasinsky, Margaret; Goldman, Howard H; Unützer, Jürgen

2006-11-01

Project IMPACT is a collaborative care intervention to assist older adults suffering from major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Qualitative research methods were used to determine the barriers and facilitators to sustaining IMPACT in a primary care setting. Strong evidence supports the program's sustainability, but considerable variation exists in continuation strategies and operationalization across sites. Sustainability depended on the organizations' support of collaborative care models, the availability of staff trained in the intervention, and funding. The intervention's success was the most important sustainability factor, as documented by outcome data and through the "real world" experience of treating patients with this intervention.

The European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC): experiences from a successful ERS Clinical Research Collaboration.

PubMed

Chalmers, James D; Crichton, Megan; Goeminne, Pieter C; Loebinger, Michael R; Haworth, Charles; Almagro, Marta; Vendrell, Montse; De Soyza, Anthony; Dhar, Raja; Morgan, Lucy; Blasi, Francesco; Aliberti, Stefano; Boyd, Jeanette; Polverino, Eva

2017-09-01

In contrast to airway diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, and rare diseases such as cystic fibrosis, there has been little research and few clinical trials in bronchiectasis. Guidelines are primarily based on expert opinion and treatment is challenging because of the heterogeneous nature of the disease. In an effort to address decades of underinvestment in bronchiectasis research, education and clinical care, the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) was established in 2012 as a collaborative pan-European network to bring together bronchiectasis researchers. The European Respiratory Society officially funded EMBARC in 2013 as a Clinical Research Collaboration, providing support and infrastructure to allow the project to grow. EMBARC has now established an international bronchiectasis registry that is active in more than 30 countries both within and outside Europe. Beyond the registry, the network participates in designing and facilitating clinical trials, has set international research priorities, promotes education and has participated in producing the first international bronchiectasis guidelines. This manuscript article the development, structure and achievements of EMBARC from 2012 to 2017. To understand the role of Clinical Research Collaborations as the major way in which the European Respiratory Society can stimulate clinical research in different disease areasTo understand some of the key features of successful disease registriesTo review key epidemiological, clinical and translational studies of bronchiectasis contributed by the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) project in the past 5 yearsTo understand the key research priorities identified by EMBARC for the next 5 years.

The European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC): experiences from a successful ERS Clinical Research Collaboration

PubMed Central

Crichton, Megan; Goeminne, Pieter C.; Loebinger, Michael R.; Haworth, Charles; Almagro, Marta; Vendrell, Montse; De Soyza, Anthony; Dhar, Raja ; Morgan, Lucy; Blasi, Francesco; Aliberti, Stefano; Boyd, Jeanette; Polverino, Eva

2017-01-01

In contrast to airway diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, and rare diseases such as cystic fibrosis, there has been little research and few clinical trials in bronchiectasis. Guidelines are primarily based on expert opinion and treatment is challenging because of the heterogeneous nature of the disease. In an effort to address decades of underinvestment in bronchiectasis research, education and clinical care, the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) was established in 2012 as a collaborative pan-European network to bring together bronchiectasis researchers. The European Respiratory Society officially funded EMBARC in 2013 as a Clinical Research Collaboration, providing support and infrastructure to allow the project to grow. EMBARC has now established an international bronchiectasis registry that is active in more than 30 countries both within and outside Europe. Beyond the registry, the network participates in designing and facilitating clinical trials, has set international research priorities, promotes education and has participated in producing the first international bronchiectasis guidelines. This manuscript article the development, structure and achievements of EMBARC from 2012 to 2017. Educational aims To understand the role of Clinical Research Collaborations as the major way in which the European Respiratory Society can stimulate clinical research in different disease areas To understand some of the key features of successful disease registries To review key epidemiological, clinical and translational studies of bronchiectasis contributed by the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) project in the past 5 years To understand the key research priorities identified by EMBARC for the next 5 years PMID:28894479

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.

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.

Highlights from 10 Years of NASA/KNMI/FMI Collaboration on UV Remote Sensing from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhartia, Pawan K.

2010-01-01

The first joint meeting between NASA, KNMI and FMI scientists was held on 13 & 14 June, 2000, almost exactly 10 years ago. NASA had recently selected 14 US scientists to work on instrument calibration, science algorithms, and validation activities related to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) that we being built by collaboration between the Netherlands and Finland for flight on NASA's EOS Aura satellite. The progress on this project had been remarkable for a space based instrument. Only two years before this meeting my colleague Ernest Hilsenrath and I had visited Netherlands at the invitation of Fokker Space to persuade KNMI management to collaborate with NASA on this mission. And only 4 years after the first science meeting was held OMI was lunched on the Aura spacecraft. Next month will be the 6 th anniversary of this launch and very successful operation of OMI. All this was possible because of the leadership from Dr. Hennie Kelder and KNMI management who in 1998 saw the opportunity for Netherlands in the mission and stepped up to the challenge by creating a young and talented team of scientists at KNMI under the leadership of Dr. Pieterenel Levelt. This vision has now put Netherlands as the leading country in the world in monitoring air quality from space. Recent selection of TROPOMI by ESA attests to the success of this vision. I will present some selected highlights of our very successful collaboration on this project over the past 10 years.

Directions for Success: Career Assessment and Planning for Learning Disabled High School Students, 1985-86.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplan, Linda; And Others

This four-part report describes Directions for Success, a school-college collaborative project between Middlesex Community College and 15 area school districts designed to provide learning disabled students and their parents with career assessment services and access to information which will enable them to make workable, long-range career plans.…

Addressing Needs of Employers, Older Workers, and Retirees: An Educational Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segrist, Kathleen A.; Tell, Brian; Byrd, Vicki; Perkins, Susie

2007-01-01

The Retirement Research Foundation of Chicago supported a collaborative to collect demographic data about working and aging, conduct a survey of older job seekers, and interview businesses in the region to assess their awareness and attitudes about mature workers. The 2005 project was titled the 60 + Success Project. A regional task force oversaw…

The Platte River Corridor Project: A University/K-12 Collaboration to Meet the Needs of Latino Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hof, David D.; Lopez, Samuel T.; Dinsmore, Julie A.; Baker, Jessica; McCarty, Wendy L.; Tracy, Glenn

2007-01-01

This article discusses the development and impact of the Platte River Corridor Project, a successful university/K-12 partnership designed to address the inequality in learning outcomes for Latino students by increasing the effectiveness of K-12 classroom teachers in educating Latino English Language Learner (ELL) students and by facilitating…

The Zero Exposure Project: A Community Initiative Addressing Substance Abusing Women and Their Newborns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colen, Lisa Price

2007-01-01

The Zero Exposure Project is a public awareness campaign in Hillsborough County, Florida, designed to educate the public on the dangers of combining substance use with pregnancy. The authors describe the process of building the campaign from its original conception and share the challenges and successes of their collaborations with community…

The Importance of Earth Observations and Data Collaboration within Environmental Intelligence Supporting Arctic Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casas, Joseph

2017-01-01

Within the IARPC Collaboration Team activities of 2016, Arctic in-situ and remote earth observations advanced topics such as :1) exploring the role for new and innovative autonomous observing technologies in the Arctic; 2) advancing catalytic national and international community based observing efforts in support of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region; and 3) enhancing the use of discovery tools for observing system collaboration such as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Arctic Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Arctic Collaborative Environment (ACE) project geo reference visualization decision support and exploitation internet based tools. Critical to the success of these earth observations for both in-situ and remote systems is the emerging of new and innovative data collection technologies and comprehensive modeling as well as enhanced communications and cyber infrastructure capabilities which effectively assimilate and dissemination many environmental intelligence products in a timely manner. The Arctic Collaborative Environment (ACE) project is well positioned to greatly enhance user capabilities for accessing, organizing, visualizing, sharing and producing collaborative knowledge for the Arctic.

Implementing a radiology-information technology project: mobile image viewing use case and a general guideline for radiologist-information technology team collaboration.

PubMed

Walz-Flannigan, Alisa; Kotsenas, Amy L; Hein, Shelly; Persons, Kenneth R; Langer, Steve G; Erickson, Bradley J; Tjelta, Jason A; Luetmer, Patrick H

2015-04-01

This article illustrates the importance of radiologist engagement in the successful implementation of radiology-information technology (IT) projects through the example of establishing a mobile image viewing solution for health care professionals. With an understanding of the types of decisions that benefit from radiologist input, this article outlines an overall project framework to provide a context for how radiologists might engage in the project cycle.

Practice on Upbringing Young Engineers Collaborated with Local Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiraki, Yutaka; Uno, Naotsugu; Tanaka, Yuichi; Iyama, Hirofumi; Yamashita, Toru; Miyamoto, Noritaka

The ministry of Economics and Industry started the project collaborated with National Colleges of Technology titled “Upbringing Young Engineers in small and medium-sized enterprises” , in 2006. In our college, the authors planed the upbringing-program for the die-cast engineer in automobile industries collaborated with several enterprises in neighboring area and applied for the project. The program was adopted and worked out the concrete curriculum for the first year. The curriculum contains the training of the base of mechanical design with 3D-CAD/CAE/CAM systems and the practical training on manufacturing, by means of Problem Based Learning method. The program carried out in September and finished in December successfully. This paper reports the outline of the curriculum and the results in the program.

Collaboration Platforms in China for Translational and Clinical Research: The Partnership Between Peking University Health Science Center and the University of Michigan Medical School.

PubMed

Kolars, Joseph C; Fang, Weigang; Zheng, Kai; Huang, Amy Y; Sun, Qiudan; Wang, Yanfang; Woolliscroft, James O; Ke, Yang

2017-03-01

Clinical and translational research is increasing in China, attracting faculty-to-faculty collaborations between U.S. and Chinese researchers. However, examples of successful institution-to-institution collaborations to facilitate this research are limited. The authors describe a partnership between Peking University Health Science Center (PUHSC) and the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) designed to enable faculty-initiated joint translational and clinical research projects. In 2009, UMMS leadership identified PUHSC as the most appropriate institutional partner, and the Joint Institute for Translational and Clinical Research was established in 2010. Each contributed $7 million for joint research projects in areas of mutual interest. A shared governance structure, four thematic programs (pulmonary, cardiovascular, liver, and renal diseases), three joint research-enabling cores, and processes for awarding funding have been established along with methods for collaborating and mechanisms to share data and biomaterials. As of November 2015, 52 joint faculty proposals have been submitted, and 25 have been funded. These projects have involved more than 100,000 patients in the United States and China and have generated 13 peer-reviewed publications. Pilot data have been leveraged to secure $3.3 million of U.S. extramural funding. Faculty and trainee exchanges take place regularly (including an annual symposium), and mechanisms exist to link faculty seeking collaborations. Critical determinants of success include having co-ownership at all levels with coinvestment of resources. Each institution is committed to continuing its support with a repeat $7 million investment. Next steps include initiating studies in new clinical areas and pursuing large clinical intervention trials.

Who's in Charge: Role Clarity in a Midwestern Watershed Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floress, Kristin; Prokopy, Linda Stalker; Ayres, Janet

2011-10-01

Studies of collaborative watershed groups show that effective leadership is an important factor for success. This research uses data from in-depth interviews and meeting observation to qualitatively examine leadership in a Midwestern collaborative watershed group operating with government funding. One major finding was a lack of role definition for volunteer steering-committee members. Lack of role clarity and decision-making processes led to confusion regarding project management authority among the group, paid project staff members, and agency personnel. Given the important role of government grants for funding projects to protect water quality, this study offers insight into leadership issues that groups with Clean Water Act Section 319 (h) funds may face and suggestions on how to resolve them.

Pathways to policy: Lessons learned in multisectoral collaboration for physical activity and built environment policy development from the Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) initiative.

PubMed

Politis, Christopher E; Mowat, David L; Keen, Deb

2017-06-16

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer funded 12 large-scale knowledge to action cancer and chronic disease prevention projects between 2009 and 2016 through the Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) initiative. Two projects, Healthy Canada by Design (HCBD) and Children's Mobility, Health and Happiness (CMHH), developed policies to address physical activity and the built environment through a multisectoral approach. A qualitative analysis involving a review of 183 knowledge products and 8 key informant interviews was conducted to understand what policy changes occurred, and the underlying critical success factors, through these projects. Both projects worked at the local level to change physical activity and built environment policy in 203 sites, including municipalities and schools. Both projects brought multisectoral expertise (e.g., public health, land use planning, transportation engineering, education, etc.) together to inform the development of local healthy public policy in the areas of land use, transportation and school travel planning. Through the qualitative analysis of the knowledge products and key informant interviews, 163 policies were attributed to HCBD and CMHH work. Fourteen "pathways to policy" were identified as critical success factors facilitating and accelerating the development and implementation of physical activity and built environment policy. Of the 14 pathways to policy, 8 had a focus on multisectoral collaboration. The lessons learned from the CLASP experience could support enhanced multisectoral collaborations to accelerate the development and implementation of physical activity and built environment policy in new jurisdictions across Canada and internationally.

The Earth System (ES-DOC) Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenslade, Mark; Murphy, Sylvia; Treshansky, Allyn; DeLuca, Cecilia; Guilyardi, Eric; Denvil, Sebastien

2014-05-01

ESSI1.3 New Paradigms, Modelling, and International Collaboration Strategies for Earth System Sciences Earth System Documentation (ES-DOC) is an international project supplying tools & services in support of earth system documentation creation, analysis and dissemination. It is nurturing a sustainable standards based documentation eco-system that aims to become an integral part of the next generation of exa-scale dataset archives. ES-DOC leverages open source software and places end-user narratives at the heart of all it does. ES-DOC has initially focused upon nurturing the Earth System Model (ESM) documentation eco-system. Within this context ES-DOC leverages emerging documentation standards and supports the following projects: Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5); Dynamical Core Model Inter-comparison Project (DCMIP); National Climate Predictions and Projections Platforms Quantitative Evaluation of Downscaling Workshop. This presentation will introduce the project to a wider audience and demonstrate the range of tools and services currently available for use. It will also demonstrate how international collaborative efforts are essential to the success of ES-DOC.

Public-Private Collaborations with Earth-Space Benefits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) was established in October 2010 to promote collaborative problem solving and project development to advance human health and performance innovations benefiting life in space and on Earth. The NHHPC, which now boasts over 150 corporate, government, academic and non-profit members, has convened four successful workshops and engaged in multiple collaborative projects. The virtual center facilitates member engagement through a variety of vehicles, including annual in-person workshops, webcasts, quarterly electronic newsletters, web postings, and the new system for partner engagement. NHHPC workshops serve to bring member organizations together to share best practices, discuss common goals, and facilitate development of the collaborative projects. The most recent NHHPC workshop was conducted in November 2013 on the topic of "Accelerating Innovation: New Organizational Business Models," and focused on various collaborative approaches successfully used by organizations to achieve their goals. Past workshops have addressed smart media and health applications, connecting through collaboration, microbiology innovations, and strategies and best practices in open innovation. A fifth workshop in Houston, Texas, planned for September 18, 2014, will feature "Innovation Through Co-Development: Engaging Partners". One area of great interest to NASA is mobile health applications, including mobile laboratory analytics, health monitoring, and close loop sensing, all of which also offer ground-based health applications for remote and underserved areas. Another project being coordinated by NASA and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute is the pursuit of one to several novel strategies to increase medication stability that would enable health care in remote terrestrial settings as well as during space flight. NASA has also funded work with corporate NHHPC partner GE, seeking to develop ultrasound methodologies that will enable NASA to further understand the eye changes related to long-duration space flight. The adaptation of ultrasound to this type of eye examination could also expand the use of ultrasound in health care on the Earth in settings where MRIs are not available. To further engage NHHPC members and facilitate partnership development for NASA, the NHHPC created and deployed an engagement system in 2014 that facilitates identification and evaluation of technical needs and opportunities among all NHHPC members.

Thinking Style Diversity and Collaborative Design Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volpentesta, Antonio P.; Ammirato, Salvatore; Sofo, Francesco

The paper explores the impact of structured learning experiences that were designed to challenge students’ ways of thinking and promote creativity. The aim was to develop the ability of students, coming from different engineering disciplines and characterized by particular thinking style profiles, to collaboratively work on a project-based learning experience in an educational environment. Three project-based learning experiences were structured using critical thinking methods to stimulate creativity. Pre and post-survey data using a specially modified thinking style inventory for 202 design students indicated a thinking style profile of preferences with a focus on exploring and questioning. Statistically significant results showed students successfully developed empathy and openness to multiple perspectives.

Building capacity in a health sciences library to support global health projects.

PubMed

Lackey, Mellanye; Swogger, Susan; McGraw, Kathleen A

2014-04-01

This paper describes how a large, academic health sciences library built capacity for supporting global health at its university and discusses related outcomes. Lean budgets require prioritization and organizational strategy. A committee, with leadership responsibilities assigned to one librarian, guided strategic planning and the pursuit of collaborative, global health outreach activities. A website features case studies and videos of user stories to promote how library partnerships successfully contributed to global health projects. Collaborative partnerships were formed through outreach activities and from follow-up to reference questions. The committee and a librarian's dedicated time established the library's commitment to help the university carry out its ambitious global agenda.

Alliance for Computational Science Collaboration, HBCU Partnership at Alabama A&M University Final Performance Technical Report

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

Deng, Z.T.

2001-11-15

The objective of this project was to conduct high-performance computing research and teaching at AAMU, and to train African-American and other minority students and scientists in the computational science field for eventual employment with DOE. During the project period, eight tasks were accomplished. Student Research Assistant, Work Study, Summer Interns, Scholarship were proved to be one of the best ways for us to attract top-quality minority students. Under the support of DOE, through research, summer interns, collaborations, scholarships programs, AAMU has successfully provided research and educational opportunities to minority students in the field related to computational science.

Are High Achievers Successful in Collaborative Learning? An Explorative Study of College Students' Learning Approaches in Team Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hye-Jung; Kim, Hyekyung; Byun, Hyunjung

2017-01-01

This study analyses how high-achieving students approach team project-based learning (TPBL) and aims to identify the implications and challenges of TPBL practice in higher education. After interviewing 32 high-achieving students and surveying 1022 additional students at a South Korean university, we found that four factors were particularly…

State highways as main streets : a study of community design and visioning.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

The objectives for this project were to explore community transportation design policy to improve collaboration when state highways serve as local main streets, determine successful approaches to meet the federal requirements for visioning set forth ...

A collaborative project to improve identification and management of patients with chronic kidney disease in a primary care setting in Greater Manchester.

PubMed

Humphreys, John; Harvey, Gill; Coleiro, Michelle; Butler, Brook; Barclay, Anna; Gwozdziewicz, Maciek; O'Donoghue, Donal; Hegarty, Janet

2012-08-01

Research has demonstrated a knowledge and practice gap in the identification and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In 2009, published data showed that general practices in Greater Manchester had a low detection rate for CKD. A 12-month improvement collaborative, supported by an evidence-informed implementation framework and financial incentives. 19 general practices from four primary care trusts within Greater Manchester. Number of recorded patients with CKD on practice registers; percentage of patients on registers achieving nationally agreed blood pressure targets. The collaborative commenced in September 2009 and involved three joint learning sessions, interspersed with practice level rapid improvement cycles, and supported by an implementation team from the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Greater Manchester. At baseline, the 19 collaborative practices had 4185 patients on their CKD registers. At final data collection in September 2010, this figure had increased by 1324 to 5509. Blood pressure improved from 34% to 74% of patients on practice registers having a recorded blood pressure within recommended guidelines. Evidence-based improvement can be implemented in practice for chronic disease management. A collaborative approach has been successful in enabling teams to test and apply changes to identify patients and improve care. The model has proved to be more successful for some practices, suggesting a need to develop more context-sensitive approaches to implementation and actively manage the factors that influence the success of the collaborative.

Advocating mindset for cooperative partnership for better future of construction industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omar, Datuk Wahid

2017-11-01

Construction industry players are known for their low acceptance on the changes. Hence, it is identified that the biggest challenge in the industry is changing the mindset. This paper highlights the importance of transformation in shaping for better future of the industry. Transformation favors innovation and progressive development in the industry and specifically in managing a project. Thus changes in mindset of players with an eye to the future and focus on what is coming are paramount in inculcating the transformation culture in construction eco-system. The key to the success of transformation is the collaborative and cooperative partnering which ensuring the performance of every stage of project delivery. The collaborative, cooperative and concerted effort of all parties involved in the project creates mutual understanding on mission and vision of project. Adopting healthy and harmonious project culture, implementing innovative procurement that emphasis on fair risk sharing should be a working culture. This cooperative partnership should be the future of the project undertaking in the construction industry.

How to Get What You Need (and Want) from Your Multimedia Vendor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Andrea Granick

1995-01-01

Outlines strategies for a successful collaboration with multimedia vendors. Topics include vendor and client responsibilities; six phases of a multimedia project, including analysis, design, audiovisual production, development/programming, implementation, and evaluation; and potential problems and solutions. (LRW)

Collaborative Sounding Rocket launch in Alaska and Development of Hybrid Rockets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ono, Tomohisa; Tsutsumi, Akimasa; Ito, Toshiyuki; Kan, Yuji; Tohyama, Fumio; Nakashino, Kyouichi; Hawkins, Joseph

Tokai University student rocket project (TSRP) was established in 1995 for a purpose of the space science and engineering hands-on education, consisting of two space programs; the one is sounding rocket experiment collaboration with University of Alaska Fairbanks and the other is development and launch of small hybrid rockets. In January of 2000 and March 2002, two collaborative sounding rockets were successfully launched at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. In 2001, the first Tokai hybrid rocket was successfully launched at Alaska. After that, 11 hybrid rockets were launched to the level of 180-1,000 m high at Hokkaido and Akita in Japan. Currently, Tokai students design and build all parts of the rockets. In addition, they are running the organization and development of the project under the tight budget control. This program has proven to be very effective in providing students with practical, real-engineering design experience and this program also allows students to participate in all phases of a sounding rocket mission. Also students learn scientific, engineering subjects, public affairs and system management through experiences of cooperative teamwork. In this report, we summarize the TSRP's hybrid rocket program and discuss the effectiveness of the program in terms of educational aspects.

Academic-Hospital Partnership: Conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment as a Service Learning Project.

PubMed

Krumwiede, Kelly A; Van Gelderen, Stacey A; Krumwiede, Norma K

2015-01-01

The purposes of this service learning project were to trial nursing student application of the Community-Based Collaborative Action Research (CBCAR) framework while conducting a community health needs assessment and to assess the effectiveness of the CBCAR framework in providing real-world learning opportunities for enhancing baccalaureate nursing students' public health knowledge. In this case study analysis, the CBCAR framework linked service learning and community health needs assessment with public health nursing core competencies. Fifteen nursing students partnered with collaborative members. Student observational field notes and narrative reflections were analyzed qualitatively for fidelity to the CBCAR framework and to evaluate student public health knowledge. Students successfully employed the CBCAR framework in collaboration with the critical access hospital and community stakeholders to design and conduct the community health needs assessment. Service learning themes were real-world solutions, professional development, community collaboration, and making a difference. Students developed skills in six of the eight domains of the Quad Council's core competencies for public health nurses. Community-Based Collaborative Action Research facilitates collaborative partnerships and relationships throughout the research process. Students benefited by applying what they have learned from their education to a real community who lacks resources. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developing a general practice library: a collaborative project between a GP and librarian.

PubMed

Pearson, D; Rossall, H

2001-12-01

The authors report on a self-completed questionnaire study from a North Yorkshire based general practice regarding the information needs of its clinicians. The work was carried out with a particular focus on the practice library, and the findings identified that a new approach to maintaining and developing the library was needed. The literature regarding the information needs of primary care clinicians and the role of practice libraries is considered, and compared to those of the clinicians at the practice. Discussion follows on how a collaborative project was set up between the practice and a librarian based at the local NHS Trust library in order to improve the existing practice library. Difficulties encountered and issues unique to the project are explored, including training implications presented by the implementation of electronic resources. Marketing activities implemented are discussed, how the library will operate in its new capacity, and how ongoing support and maintenance of the library will be carried out. It is concluded that although scepticism still exists regarding librarian involvement in practice libraries, collaboration between clinicians and librarians is an effective approach to the successful development and maintenance of a practice library, and recommendations are therefore made for similar collaborative work.

Learning and Improving in Quality Improvement Collaboratives: Which Collaborative Features Do Participants Value Most?

PubMed Central

Nembhard, Ingrid M

2009-01-01

Objective To understand participants' views on the relative helpfulness of various features of collaboratives, why each feature was helpful and which features the most successful participants viewed as most central to their success. Data Sources Primary data collected from 53 teams in four 2004–2005 Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Breakthrough Series collaboratives; secondary data from IHI and demographic sources. Study Design Cross-sectional analyses were conducted to assess participants' views of 12 features, and the relationship between their views and performance improvement. Data Collection Methods Participants' views on features were obtained via self-administered surveys and semi-structured telephone interviews. Performance improvement data were obtained from IHI and demographic data from secondary sources. Principal Findings Participants viewed six features as most helpful for advancing their improvement efforts overall and knowledge acquisition in particular: collaborative faculty, solicitation of their staff's ideas, change package, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, Learning Session interactions, and collaborative extranet. These features also provided participants with motivation, social support, and project management skills. Features enabling interorganizational learning were rated higher by teams whose organizations improved significantly than by other teams. Conclusions Findings identify features of collaborative design and implementation that participants view as most helpful and highlight the importance of interorganizational features, at least for those organizations that most improve. PMID:19040423

Allowing Not-Knowing in a Dialogic Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feito, José Alfonso

2007-01-01

Inspired by Bakhtin's and Vygotsky's theories of learning, this project explores how "allowing not-knowing" is enacted within collaborative student-led seminar discussions. Earlier research on student reflections (Feito, 2002) suggested that in successful seminars, participants regularly acknowledge their lack of understanding, offer…

An Australian Approach to School Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Leigh; Robinson, Taylor

2009-01-01

Contemporary education design strongly emphasises stimulating, adaptable learning environments, with spaces able to support various styles of teaching and learning. Delivering successful school buildings requires a close collaborative relationship between the architect and all key stakeholders from initial briefing through to project handover. The…

Butter battles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Nick

2013-02-01

Your article on academia-industry collaborations ("A clean solution", January pp44-45) was extremely interesting, and I wish Durham University and Procter & Gamble every success in their challenging and worthwhile project - which, as the article described, is partly aimed at improving the formulation of biological washing powders.

Reggio Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stejzygier, Aneta

2009-01-01

The paper presents the social capital as the essential element of success of the Reggio Emilia preschools known for their unique approach to the early childhood education. The collaborative effort is introduced through examples of the currently ongoing "Reggio Narrates" project of Reggio preschools, the "Dialogue with the…

Building capacity in a health sciences library to support global health projects*

PubMed Central

Lackey, Mellanye; Swogger, Susan; McGraw, Kathleen A.

2014-01-01

This paper describes how a large, academic health sciences library built capacity for supporting global health at its university and discusses related outcomes. Lean budgets require prioritization and organizational strategy. A committee, with leadership responsibilities assigned to one librarian, guided strategic planning and the pursuit of collaborative, global health outreach activities. A website features case studies and videos of user stories to promote how library partnerships successfully contributed to global health projects. Collaborative partnerships were formed through outreach activities and from follow-up to reference questions. The committee and a librarian's dedicated time established the library's commitment to help the university carry out its ambitious global agenda. PMID:24860264

Evaluating the Impact of AIRS Observations on Regional Forecasts at the SPoRT Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zavodsky, Bradley

2011-01-01

NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center collaborates with operational partners of different sizes and operational goals to improve forecasts using targeted projects and data sets. Modeling and DA activities focus on demonstrating utility of NASA data sets and capabilities within operational systems. SPoRT has successfully assimilated the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) radiance and profile data. A collaborative project is underway with the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA) to use AIRS profiles to better understand the impact of AIRS radiances assimilated within Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) in hopes of engaging the operational DA community in a reassessment of assimilation methodologies to more effectively assimilate hyperspectral radiances.

Effective communication tools to engage Torres Strait Islanders in scientific research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, A.; Barnett, B.; Williams, A. J.; Grayson, J.; Busilacchi, S.; Duckworth, A.; Evans-Illidge, E.; Begg, G. A.; Murchie, C. D.

2008-09-01

Often, research activities in Torres Strait have not delivered full benefit to Torres Strait Islanders due to a lack of consultation, ineffectual communication of research information and lack of empathy for the needs of Islander communities. As for other stakeholder groups, integration of Islanders into the research process through practical involvement in research may overcome these problems. Three case studies from research projects conducted in Torres Strait are discussed to highlight a variety of communication and engagement activities carried out by non-Indigenous researchers. How these communication and extension activities facilitate collaboration between Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous researchers provides insight in the importance of these activities to the relative success of research projects. The benefits for Islanders in collaborating with researchers may be: improved understanding of the research and how it contributes to natural resource management; a sense of control in future management decisions; a greater likelihood of successful self-regulatory management systems; enhanced skills; and increased employment opportunities. The potential benefits for researchers are enhanced support for research projects resulting in increased access to data and logistic support that may ultimately impact the successful completion of projects. Such an approach will require researchers to take time to develop relationships with Torres Strait Islanders, effectively involve Islanders in research on an equitable basis and be flexible. This will ultimately require funding organisations to recognise the importance of such activities in research proposals and provide support through sufficient funding to enable these activities to be carried out.

Final Report for "Implimentation and Evaluation of Multigrid Linear Solvers into Extended Magnetohydrodynamic Codes for Petascale Computing"

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

Srinath Vadlamani; Scott Kruger; Travis Austin

Extended magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) codes are used to model the large, slow-growing instabilities that are projected to limit the performance of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The multiscale nature of the extended MHD equations requires an implicit approach. The current linear solvers needed for the implicit algorithm scale poorly because the resultant matrices are so ill-conditioned. A new solver is needed, especially one that scales to the petascale. The most successful scalable parallel processor solvers to date are multigrid solvers. Applying multigrid techniques to a set of equations whose fundamental modes are dispersive waves is a promising solution to CEMM problems.more » For the Phase 1, we implemented multigrid preconditioners from the HYPRE project of the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at LLNL via PETSc of the DOE SciDAC TOPS for the real matrix systems of the extended MHD code NIMROD which is a one of the primary modeling codes of the OFES-funded Center for Extended Magnetohydrodynamic Modeling (CEMM) SciDAC. We implemented the multigrid solvers on the fusion test problem that allows for real matrix systems with success, and in the process learned about the details of NIMROD data structures and the difficulties of inverting NIMROD operators. The further success of this project will allow for efficient usage of future petascale computers at the National Leadership Facilities: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. The project will be a collaborative effort between computational plasma physicists and applied mathematicians at Tech-X Corporation, applied mathematicians Front Range Scientific Computations, Inc. (who are collaborators on the HYPRE project), and other computational plasma physicists involved with the CEMM project.« less

Collaboration for Actionable Climate Science in Hawaii and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keener, V. W.; Grecni, Z. N.; Helweg, D. A.

2016-12-01

Hawaii and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) encompass more than 2000 islands spread across millions of square miles of ocean. Islands can be high volcanic or low atolls, and vary widely in terms of geography, climate, ecology, language, culture, economies, government, and vulnerability to climate change impacts. For these reasons, meaningful collaboration across research groups and climate organizations is not only helpful, it is mandatory. No single group can address all the needs of every island, stakeholder, or sector, which has led to close collaboration and leveraging of research in the region to fill different niches. The NOAA-funded Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences & Assessments (RISA) program, DOI Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC), and the DOI LCC the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) all take a stakeholder oriented approach to climate research, and have successfully collaborated on both specific projects and larger initiatives. Examples of these collaborations include comprising the core team of the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA), the regional arm of the US National Climate Assessment, co-sponsoring a workshop on regional downscaling for scientists and managers, leveraging research projects across multiple sectors on a single island, collaborating on communication products such as handouts and websites to ensure a consistent message, and in the case of the Pacific RISA and the PICSC, jointly funding a PIRCA Sustained Assessment Specialist position. Barriers to collaboration have been around topics such as roles of research versus granting groups, perceived research overlap, and funding uncertainties. However, collaborations have been overwhelming positive in the Pacific Islands region due to communication, recognition of partners' strengths and expertise, and especially because of the "umbrella" organization and purpose provided by the PIRCA structure, which provides a shared platform for all regional groups working on climate science and adaptation, not owned by any one group. This work will give examples of successes and barriers encountered in the region.

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.

Collaborative Testing as a Model for Addressing Equity in Student Success in STEM Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dileonardo, C.; James, B. R.

2016-12-01

Introductory Earth science classes at two-year colleges play a critical role as "gateway courses" for underrepresented student populations into undergraduate STEM programs. Students entering college underprepared in math and science typically receive their only exposure to science at the undergraduate level in introductory courses in the Earth and space sciences. In many colleges a huge disparity exists in these classes between success rates amongst students from groups traditionally represented in the STEM fields and those from underrepresented populations. Closing the equity gap in success in these courses is a major focus of many pilot projects nationally. This concern has also led to the adoption of new teaching and learning practices, based on research in learning, in introductory Earth science pedagogy. Models of teaching practices including greater engagement, active learning approaches, and collaborative learning structures seem to help with student achievement in introductory courses. But, whereas these practices might increase overall student success they have not proven to close the equity gap in achievement. De Anza a two-year college in the San Francisco bay area has a long history in the geology department of incorporating and testing teaching practices developed out of research in learning. Collaborative learning has infused every aspect of our learning approaches in the Earth sciences, including laboratory, fieldwork, and test preparation. Though these approaches seemed to have educational benefit the huge equity gap department-wide persisted between targeted and non-targeted populations. Three years ago collaborative testing models were introduced into our geology and meteorology classes. The mechanism included methods for directly comparing collaborative to individual testing. The net result was that targeted populations including African Americans, Latinos, and Filipinos increased steadily at around 3.5% per year from 66% to 73%. The overall success rates of the non-targeted groups remained between 84% and 86%. Preliminary analysis suggests that for disengaged students in the targeted populations the opportunity to collaborate on a portion of the actual test got them more involved in the collaborative process as it offers immediate tangible return on in-class success.

Domains associated with successful quality improvement in healthcare - a nationwide case study.

PubMed

Brandrud, Aleidis Skard; Nyen, Bjørnar; Hjortdahl, Per; Sandvik, Leiv; Helljesen Haldorsen, Gro Sævil; Bergli, Maria; Nelson, Eugene C; Bretthauer, Michael

2017-09-13

There is a distinct difference between what we know and what we do in healthcare: a gap that is impairing the quality of the care and increasing the costs. Quality improvement efforts have been made worldwide by learning collaboratives, based on recognized continual improvement theory with limited scientific evidence. The present study of 132 quality improvement projects in Norway explores the conditions for improvement from the perspectives of the frontline healthcare professionals, and evaluates the effectiveness of the continual improvement method. An instrument with 25 questions was developed on prior focus group interviews with improvement project members who identified features that may promote or inhibit improvement. The questionnaire was sent to 189 improvement projects initiated by the Norwegian Medical Association, and responded by 70% (132) of the improvement teams. A sub study of their final reports by a validated instrument, made us able to identify the successful projects and compare their assessments with the assessments of the other projects. A factor analysis with Varimax rotation of the 25 questions identified five domains. A multivariate regression analysis was used to evaluate the association with successful quality improvements. Two of the five domains were associated with success: Measurement and Guidance (p = 0.011), and Professional environment (p = 0.015). The organizational leadership domain was not associated with successful quality improvements (p = 0.26). Our findings suggest that quality improvement projects with good guidance and focus on measurement for improvement have increased likelihood of success. The variables in these two domains are aligned with improvement theory and confirm the effectiveness of the continual improvement method provided by the learning collaborative. High performing professional environments successfully engaged in patient-centered quality improvement if they had access to: (a) knowledge of best practice provided by professional subject matter experts, (b) knowledge of current practice provided by simple measurement methods, assisted by (c) improvement knowledge experts who provided useful guidance on measurement, and made the team able to organize the improvement efforts well in spite of the difficult resource situation (time and personnel). Our findings may be used by healthcare organizations to develop effective infrastructure to support improvement and to create the conditions for making quality and safety improvement a part of everyone's job.

Teaching qualitative research to BSW students through exposure to aging.

PubMed

Sidell, Nancy L

2007-01-01

This article describes one rural program's efforts to expose students to gerontology through teaching qualitative research methodology. A collaborative research pilot project was developed with a local nursing home. BSW students worked in two groups to conduct and present qualitative research projects by the course's completion. This article describes the research project and evaluates the project's success from student and instructor viewpoints. Significant differences were found in self-reported student knowledge of key concepts at the project's completion, compared with pre-test knowledge. Student comments revealed value in this teaching approach. Implications for further engaging students in gerontological research are discussed.

Support for High-Impact Practices: A New Tool for Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kezar, Adrianna; Holcombe, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

Certain widely tested educational practices have been shown to have a significantly beneficial impact on student learning and success in college. These "high-impact practices" include first-year experiences, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects,…

Learning "Hands On."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritter, Janice T.

2001-01-01

Discusses a computer teacher's incorporation of hand-held computer technology into her third- and fifth-grade students' study of acid rain. The project successfully brought two grade levels together for cross-grade research, provided an opportunity for classroom teachers and technology specialists to work collaboratively, and enhanced students'…

Federal climate change programs in the water-limited Southwest: intersection of mission, stakeholders and geography to build successful collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elias, E.; Steele, C. M.; Rango, A.; Reyes, J. J.; Langston, M. A.; Johnson, K.

2016-12-01

As one of the newest federal programs to emerge in response to climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hubs were established to assist farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in their adaptation and mitigation efforts under a changing climate. The Hubs' mission is to deliver science-based information and tools to agricultural and natural resource land managers, to enable climate-informed decision-making. By facilitating and transferring tools and knowledge, the Hubs also provide value to cooperative extension, land grant institutions, and USDA itself, especially in leveraging existing resource capacity. Various federal agencies (NOAA, USGS, USFWS) have also developed climate change coordination networks: RISAs, CSCs, and LCCs. These regionally-based federal networks can best operate in collaboration with one another. At their programmatic level, however, there are fundamental discrepancies in mission, stakeholder definition and geographic region. In this presentation, we seek to compare and contrast these divergent characteristics by identifying `hot spots' and `hot moments' where definitions, programs, or priorities may intersect due to place-based or event-based issues. The Southwest (SW) region of the United States, which presently operates under warm and dry conditions, is projected to become warmer and drier in the future. On-going drought conditions have presented an opportunity to maintain and build professional networks among these federal climate change coordination networks, as well as within USDA, to better understand impacts and respond to stakeholder needs. Projects in the Rio Grande River Valley and with Tribal nations highlight successful collaboration based on geography and common stakeholders, respectively. Aridity and water scarcity characterize the SW region and provide an overarching theme to better support adaptation and mitigation, as well as create opportunities for collaborative success.

The Nursing Leadership Institute program evaluation: a critique

PubMed Central

Havaei, Farinaz; MacPhee, Maura

2015-01-01

A theory-driven program evaluation was conducted for a nursing leadership program, as a collaborative project between university faculty, the nurses’ union, the provincial Ministry of Health, and its chief nursing officers. A collaborative logic model process was used to engage stakeholders, and mixed methods approaches were used to answer evaluation questions. Despite demonstrated, successful outcomes, the leadership program was not supported with continued funding. This paper examines what happened during the evaluation process: What factors failed to sustain this program? PMID:29355180

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.

Application of ESE Data and Tools to Air Quality Management: Services for Helping the Air Quality Community use ESE Data (SHAirED)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falke, Stefan; Husar, Rudolf

2011-01-01

The goal of this REASoN applications and technology project is to deliver and use Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) data and tools in support of air quality management. Its scope falls within the domain of air quality management and aims to develop a federated air quality information sharing network that includes data from NASA, EPA, US States and others. Project goals were achieved through a access of satellite and ground observation data, web services information technology, interoperability standards, and air quality community collaboration. In contributing to a network of NASA ESE data in support of particulate air quality management, the project will develop access to distributed data, build Web infrastructure, and create tools for data processing and analysis. The key technologies used in the project include emerging web services for developing self describing and modular data access and processing tools, and service oriented architecture for chaining web services together to assemble customized air quality management applications. The technology and tools required for this project were developed within DataFed.net, a shared infrastructure that supports collaborative atmospheric data sharing and processing web services. Much of the collaboration was facilitated through community interactions through the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Air Quality Workgroup. The main activities during the project that successfully advanced DataFed, enabled air quality applications and established community-oriented infrastructures were: develop access to distributed data (surface and satellite), build Web infrastructure to support data access, processing and analysis create tools for data processing and analysis foster air quality community collaboration and interoperability.

Out of This World: A University Partnership Model for Functional Clothing Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunne, Lucy E.; Simon, Cory

2013-01-01

University collaborations with external partners can be difficult to initiate, especially in early-stage or emerging topics. External collaborators may be reluctant to commit the level of funding required to ensure that the topic is given adequate attention, and low-stakes mechanisms are relatively rare. Here, we present a successful model for collaboration between universities and NASA, which uses existing project-based coursework as a vehicle for exploration of emerging topics. This model leverages existing structures, reducing the financial and intellectual commitment of both University and NASA research partners, and facilitating pilot investigations for exploration of potential areas for more in-depth research. We outline the logistical structure and benefits for University and NASA partners over 1.5 years of collaboration.

Scientific retreats with 'speed dating': networking to stimulate new interdisciplinary translational research collaborations and team science.

PubMed

Ranwala, Damayanthi; Alberg, Anthony J; Brady, Kathleen T; Obeid, Jihad S; Davis, Randal; Halushka, Perry V

2017-02-01

To stimulate the formation of new interdisciplinary translational research teams and innovative pilot projects, the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research (SCTR) Institute (South Carolina Clinical and Translational Science Award, CTSA) initiated biannual scientific retreats with 'speed dating' networking sessions. Retreat themes were prioritized based on the following criteria; cross-cutting topic, unmet medical need, generation of novel technologies and methodologies. Each retreat begins with an external keynote speaker followed by a series of brief research presentations by local researchers focused on the retreat theme, articulating potential areas for new collaborations. After each session of presentations, there is a 30 min scientific 'speed dating' period during which the presenters meet with interested attendees to exchange ideas and discuss collaborations. Retreat attendees are eligible to compete for pilot project funds on the topic of the retreat theme. The 10 retreats held have had a total of 1004 participants, resulted in 61 pilot projects with new interdisciplinary teams, and 14 funded projects. The retreat format has been a successful mechanism to stimulate novel interdisciplinary research teams and innovative translational research projects. Future retreats will continue to target topics of cross-cutting importance to biomedical and public health research. Copyright © 2016 American Federation for Medical Research.

Scientific Retreats with ‘Speed Dating’: Networking to Stimulate New Interdisciplinary Translational Research Collaborations and Team Science

PubMed Central

Alberg, Anthony J.; Brady, Kathleen T.; Obeid, Jihad S.; Davis, Randal; Halushka, Perry V.

2016-01-01

To stimulate the formation of new interdisciplinary translational research teams and innovative pilot projects, the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute (South Carolina Clinical and Translational Science Award, CTSA) initiated biannual scientific retreats with “speed dating” networking sessions. Retreat themes were prioritized based on the following criteria; cross-cutting topic, unmet medical need, generation of novel technologies and methodologies. Each retreat commences with an external keynote speaker followed by a series of brief research presentations by local researchers focused on the retreat theme, articulating potential areas for new collaborations. After each session of presentations, there is a 30 minute scientific “speed dating” period during which the presenters meet with interested attendees to exchange ideas and discuss collaborations. Retreat attendees are eligible to compete for pilot project funds on the topic of the retreat theme. The 10 retreats held have had a total of 1004 participants, resulted in 61 pilot projects with new interdisciplinary teams, and 14 funded projects. The retreat format has been a successful mechanism to stimulate novel interdisciplinary research teams and innovative translational research projects. Future retreats will continue to target topics of cross-cutting importance to biomedical and public health research. PMID:27807146

Resolving Environmental Effects of Wind Energy

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

Sinclair, Karin C; DeGeorge, Elise M; Copping, Andrea E.

Concerns for potential wildlife impacts resulting from land-based and offshore wind energy have created challenges for wind project development. Research is not always adequately supported, results are neither always readily accessible nor are they satisfactorily disseminated, and so decisions are often made based on the best available information, which may be missing key findings. The potential for high impacts to avian and bat species and marine mammals have been used by wind project opponents to stop, downsize, or severely delay project development. The global nature of the wind industry - combined with the understanding that many affected species cross-national boundaries,more » and in many cases migrate between continents - also points to the need to collaborate on an international level. The International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Technology Collaborative Programs facilitates coordination on key research issues. IEA Wind Task 34 - WREN: Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy-is a collaborative forum to share lessons gained from field research and modeling, including management methods, wildlife monitoring methods, best practices, study results, and successful approaches to mitigating impacts and addressing the cumulative effects of wind energy on wildlife.« less

Student Information Systems: A Guide to Implementation Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cramer, Sharon F.

2005-01-01

What will expedite the implementation of a student information system? This document contains constructive examples and practical suggestions, giving readers a step-by-step approach to improving campus buy-in, communication, collaboration and funding; as well as leading project team members and campus administrators through the critically…

Art & Science Grow Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stellflue, Pat; Allen, Marie; Gerber, D. Timothy

2005-01-01

This article describes a collaborative effort that included a botany professor, an art teacher, and a science teacher, called,"Plants, Pots, and Paints." This interdisciplinary project was successful in connecting content across disciplines (science to art) and for motivating fourth-and fifth-grade students to create something beautiful both they…

Research project management 101: insiders' tips from Early Career Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristini, Luisa; Pabortsava, Katsiaryna; Stichel, Torben

2016-04-01

From the very beginning of their career, it is important for Early Career Scientists (ECS) to develop project management skills to be able to organise their research efficiently. ECS are often in charge of specific tasks within their projects or for their teams. However, without specific training or tools, the successful completion of these assignments will depend entirely on the organisational skills of individual researchers. ECS are thus facing "sink-or-swim" situations, which can be either instructive or disastrous for their projects. Here we provide experience-based tips from fellow ECS that can help manage various project activities, including: 1. Communication with supervisors and peers 2. Lab management 3. Field trips (e.g., oceanographic campaigns) 4. Internships and collaborations with other institutions 5. Literature/background research 6. Conference convening These are potential "life buoys" for ECS, which will help them to carry out these tasks efficiently and successfully.

Measuring efficiency of university-industry Ph.D. projects using best worst method.

PubMed

Salimi, Negin; Rezaei, Jafar

A collaborative Ph.D. project, carried out by a doctoral candidate, is a type of collaboration between university and industry. Due to the importance of such projects, researchers have considered different ways to evaluate the success, with a focus on the outputs of these projects. However, what has been neglected is the other side of the coin-the inputs. The main aim of this study is to incorporate both the inputs and outputs of these projects into a more meaningful measure called efficiency. A ratio of the weighted sum of outputs over the weighted sum of inputs identifies the efficiency of a Ph.D. The weights of the inputs and outputs can be identified using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. Data on inputs and outputs are collected from 51 Ph.D. candidates who graduated from Eindhoven University of Technology. The weights are identified using a new MCDM method called Best Worst Method (BWM). Because there may be differences in the opinion of Ph.D. candidates and supervisors on weighing the inputs and outputs, data for BWM are collected from both groups. It is interesting to see that there are differences in the level of efficiency from the two perspectives, because of the weight differences. Moreover, a comparison between the efficiency scores of these projects and their success scores reveals differences that may have significant implications. A sensitivity analysis divulges the most contributing inputs and outputs.

Anatomy of funded research in science

PubMed Central

Ma, Athen; Mondragón, Raúl J.; Latora, Vito

2015-01-01

Seeking research funding is an essential part of academic life. Funded projects are primarily collaborative in nature through internal and external partnerships, but what role does funding play in the formulation of these partnerships? Here, by examining over 43,000 scientific projects funded over the past three decades by one of the major government research agencies in the world, we characterize how the funding landscape has changed and its impacts on the underlying collaboration networks across different scales. We observed rising inequality in the distribution of funding and that its effect was most noticeable at the institutional level—the leading universities diversified their collaborations and increasingly became the knowledge brokers in the collaboration network. Furthermore, it emerged that these leading universities formed a rich club (i.e., a cohesive core through their close ties) and this reliance among them seemed to be a determining factor for their research success, with the elites in the core overattracting resources but also rewarding in terms of both research breadth and depth. Our results reveal how collaboration networks organize in response to external driving forces, which can have major ramifications on future research strategy and government policy. PMID:26504240

Community-Based Participatory Research-Speed Dating: An Innovative Model for Fostering Collaborations Between Community Leaders and Academic Researchers.

PubMed

Tucker, Melanie T; Lewis, Dwight W; Payne Foster, Pamela; Lucky, Felecia; Yerby, Lea G; Hites, Lisle; Higginbotham, John C

2016-11-01

Developing meaningful community-based participatory relationships between researchers and the community can be challenging. The overall success of a community-based participatory relationship should be predicated on commitment and respect from empowered stakeholders. Prior to developing the technique discussed in this article, we hypothesized that the process of fostering relationships between researchers and the community was much like a social relationship: It has to develop organically and cannot be forced. To address this challenge, we developed a community-based participatory research-speed dating technique to foster relationships based on common interests, which we call CBPR-SD. This article describes the logistics of implementing CBPR-SD to foster scholarly collaborations. As part of a federally funded community-based research project, the speed dating technique was implemented for 10 researchers and 11 community leaders with a goal of developing scholarly collaborative groups who will submit applications for community-based research grants. In the end, four collaborative groups developed through CBPR-SD, three (75%) successfully submitted grant applications to fund pilot studies addressing obesity-related disparities in rural communities. Our preliminary findings suggest that CBPR-SD is a successful tool for promoting productive scholarly relationships between researchers and community leaders. © 2016 Society for Public Health Education.

Comparative case study of two biomedical research collaboratories.

PubMed

Schleyer, Titus K L; Teasley, Stephanie D; Bhatnagar, Rishi

2005-10-25

Working together efficiently and effectively presents a significant challenge in large-scale, complex, interdisciplinary research projects. Collaboratories are a nascent method to help meet this challenge. However, formal collaboratories in biomedical research centers are the exception rather than the rule. The main purpose of this paper is to compare and describe two collaboratories that used off-the-shelf tools and relatively modest resources to support the scientific activity of two biomedical research centers. The two centers were the Great Lakes Regional Center for AIDS Research (HIV/AIDS Center) and the New York University Oral Cancer Research for Adolescent and Adult Health Promotion Center (Oral Cancer Center). In each collaboratory, we used semistructured interviews, surveys, and contextual inquiry to assess user needs and define the technology requirements. We evaluated and selected commercial software applications by comparing their feature sets with requirements and then pilot-testing the applications. Local and remote support staff cooperated in the implementation and end user training for the collaborative tools. Collaboratory staff evaluated each implementation by analyzing utilization data, administering user surveys, and functioning as participant observers. The HIV/AIDS Center primarily required real-time interaction for developing projects and attracting new participants to the center; the Oral Cancer Center, on the other hand, mainly needed tools to support distributed and asynchronous work in small research groups. The HIV/AIDS Center's collaboratory included a center-wide website that also served as the launch point for collaboratory applications, such as NetMeeting, Timbuktu Conference, PlaceWare Auditorium, and iVisit. The collaboratory of the Oral Cancer Center used Groove and Genesys Web conferencing. The HIV/AIDS Center was successful in attracting new scientists to HIV/AIDS research, and members used the collaboratory for developing and implementing new research studies. The Oral Cancer Center successfully supported highly distributed and asynchronous research, and the collaboratory facilitated real-time interaction for analyzing data and preparing publications. The two collaboratory implementations demonstrated the feasibility of supporting biomedical research centers using off-the-shelf commercial tools, but they also identified several barriers to successful collaboration. These barriers included computing platform incompatibilities, network infrastructure complexity, variable availability of local versus remote IT support, low computer and collaborative software literacy, and insufficient maturity of available collaborative software. Factors enabling collaboratory use included collaboration incentives through funding mechanism, a collaborative versus competitive relationship of researchers, leadership by example, and tools well matched to tasks and technical progress. Integrating electronic collaborative tools into routine scientific practice can be successful but requires further research on the technical, social, and behavioral factors influencing the adoption and use of collaboratories.

Student use of a Learning Management System for group projects: A case study investigating interaction, collaboration, and knowledge construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lonn, Steven D.

Web-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) allow instructors and students to share instructional materials, make class announcements, submit and return course assignments, and communicate with each other online. Previous LMS-related research has focused on how these systems deliver and manage instructional content with little concern for how students' constructivist learning can be encouraged and facilitated. This study investigated how students use LMS to interact, collaborate, and construct knowledge within the context of a group project but without mediation by the instructor. The setting for this case study was students' use in one upper-level biology course of the local LMS within the context of a course-related group project, a mock National Institutes of Health grant proposal. Twenty-one groups (82 students) voluntarily elected to use the LMS, representing two-thirds of all students in the course. Students' peer-to-peer messages within the LMS, event logs, online surveys, focus group interviews, and instructor interviews were used in order to answer the study's overarching research question. The results indicate that students successfully used the LMS to interact and, to a significant extent, collaborate, but there was very little evidence of knowledge construction using the LMS technology. It is possible that the ease and availability of face-to-face meetings as well as problems and limitations with the technology were factors that influenced whether students' online basic interaction could be further distinguished as collaboration or knowledge construction. Despite these limitations, students found several tools and functions of the LMS useful for their online peer interaction and completion of their course project. Additionally, LMS designers and implementers are urged to consider previous literature on computer-supported collaborative learning environments in order to better facilitate independent group projects within these systems. Further research is needed to identify the best types of scaffolds and overall technological improvements in order to provide support for online collaboration and knowledge construction.

UV Spectroscopy with Hubble Space Telescope- A Success Story of Pro/Am Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, W. R.; Linsky, J. L.; Wood, B. E.

2000-05-01

The Hubble Space Telescope amateur program has provided a unique opportunity for amateur astronomers to not only perform research on HST, but to also to interact with many professional astronomers during their research. In particular, a very successful partnership was established between William Alexander (amateur) and Jeff Linsky and Brian Wood (professionals). At the heart of this project was the use of the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) aboard HST to provide high-resolution UV spectra in the Lyman-alpha region at 1216 angstroms. These spectra were needed to study the Deuterium to Hydrogen (D/H) ratio along the line of sight toward lambda-Andromedae and epsilon-Indi. These measurements were important to more fully understand big bang nucleosynthesis. The amateur, Alexander, was fully involved at each stage of the project, from obtaining all of the raw data to collaborating with Linsky and Wood in the writing of the article that appeared in The Astrophysical Journal (APJ, 470: 1157-1171). This collaboration has shown that amateurs can provide significant `academic' contributions to astronomy. This contribution can be added to the numerous observational contributions that amateurs have made to astronomy through out the centuries. Funding support was provided by NASA grant GO-0100.01-92A from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Best Practices of Collaboration in Arctic Research: How to Succeed, or Fail, in Cross-Disciplinary Efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiggins, H. V.

2014-12-01

The rapid physical and social changes currently underway in the Arctic - and changes in the way in which we study and manage the region - require coordinated research efforts to improve our understanding of the Arctic's physical, biological, and social systems. At the same time, policy-makers and Arctic communities need decision-support tools and synthesized information to respond and adapt to the "new arctic". There are enormous challenges, however, in collaboration among the disparate groups of people needed for such efforts. A carefully planned strategic approach is required to bridge the scientific disciplinary and organizational boundaries, foster cooperation between local communities and science programs, and effectively communicate between scientists and policy-makers. Efforts must draw on bodies of knowledge from project management, strategic planning, organizational development, group dynamics, and other fields. In addition, collaborations between scientific disciplines face challenges unique to scientific culture. This poster presentation will discuss best practices of building and sustaining networks of people to catalyze successful cross-disciplinary activities. Specific examples and case studies - both successes and failures - will be presented that draw on several projects at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS; www.arcus.org), a nonprofit membership organization composed of universities and institutions that have a substantial commitment to research in the Arctic.

Making the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA) waiver work through collaborative governance.

PubMed

Zabawa, Barbara J

2003-01-01

This paper argues that collaborative governance should be an essential component in any HIFA waiver proposal, due to the fact that the health care system is moving away from a federal and hierarchical program design and implementation towards a more local, collaborative approach. As several current collaborative projects demonstrate, collaboration may overcome barriers to health expansion program success, such as stakeholder buy-in, notice, and state access to private health coverage information. Furthermore, collaboration within the context of the HIFA waiver process may maximize the strengths of current collaborations, such as providing: (a) access to greater and more stable funding sources; (b) access to a facilitator that can collect and distribute data; and (c) an avenue for accountability. Multiple challenges in ensuring collaborative governance are reviewed. Ms. Zabawa argues that these challenges are not insurmountable if states adopt a truly collaborative approach to designing and implementing programs under the HIFA waiver; there may be hope in expanding and improving health coverage, since collaboration is the most appropriate mechanism to address the complexity of health system reform.

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

Transitioning Students Identified as Seriously Emotionally Disturbed from High School to Adult Living: A Collaborative Project between the West Hartford Board of Education and the State of Connecticut Social Service Agencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Glenn

This report describes a pilot project of the West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools to help high school graduates who are seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) to successfully transition to community living and to employment. Program services include assessment and planning before graduation as well as support services after beginning college…

MO-FG-213-04: Managing the Relationship

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

Wong, J.

Academic-industrial collaborations are playing an increasingly prominent role in medical physics research. Successful partnerships have enabled truly translational, benchtop-to-bedside research that has significantly and positively impacted our field. Given the current flat or depleting trends in federal funding, and the increasing emphasis in the medical physics community on demonstrating translatability, efficacy, and safety prior to widespread clinical use, it is anticipated that such partnerships will become ever more important in advancing our field. In the future, it is likely that neither academia alone, nor industry alone, will be able to bring significant innovation to successfully impact patient care in radiotherapy.more » Such innovation will require partnership and symbiosis through the lifetime of the project. This symposium is aimed at professionals from academia and the industry who are interested in either initiating new collaborations or maintaining and improving existing partnerships. We will hear from four thought leaders from industry and academia on critical aspects of building and maintaining successful academic-industrial research partnerships. The following topics will be addressed: 1. Motivations: The industry perspective [Kevin Brown, Elekta] What goes into the development of a company’s R&D roadmap What are the motivations and expectations of the industry from academic partners How can academics make a successful pitch by identifying projects aligned with a company’s roadmap Why are some relationships successful and some not Milestones and progress reports - Why do we need them 2. Motivations: The academic perspective [T. Rock Mackie, Univ. of Madison, WI; Tomotherapy] What are the motivations and expectations of academic partners from the industry What are the cultural differences in academia vs industry on sharing information, exchanging ideas Partnership or entrepreneurship? When does each option make sense 3. Industrial Grants and Research Contracts – a Primer [Norbert Pelc; Stanford University] What topics are suited to industrial grants vs. academic grants How do resources (personnel effort, tuition) get allocated and charged in academia What are reasonable resource and timeline requests for small and big projects; from small and big companies “Fair market value” considerations Sections of a research agreement (IP including software confidential information, publications, data, exclusivity, support) 4. Managing the relationship [John Wong, Johns Hopkins University] How to effectively collaborate with each other How to adapt to changes in the relationship How to renew funding with the industry Moderated Panel Discussion [All speakers + moderators] Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the motivations of each partner 2. Elements that contribute to a successful partnership 3. Avoiding pitfalls - Challenges on either side that may derail a project 4. How to frame a research grant and agreement 5. How to sustain the collaborative relationship Amit Sawant: Funding from: NIH. Varian, Elekta and VisionRT; Michelle Svatos: Employee and shareholder: Varian, Board Member, TopasMC; Kevin Brown: Employee, Elekta; T. Rock Mackie: Consultant, Accuray; Norbert Pelc: Research support: Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare; John Wong: Funding from NIH, Xstrahl and Elekta. Co-founder and advisor for JPLC Associates, LLC.« less

Shared Geospatial Metadata Repository for Ontario University Libraries: Collaborative Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forward, Erin; Leahey, Amber; Trimble, Leanne

2015-01-01

Successfully providing access to special collections of digital geospatial data in academic libraries relies upon complete and accurate metadata. Creating and maintaining metadata using specialized standards is a formidable challenge for libraries. The Ontario Council of University Libraries' Scholars GeoPortal project, which created a shared…

32 CFR 37.515 - Must I do anything additional to determine the qualification of a consortium?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DoD GRANT AND AGREEMENT REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Pre-Award Business... relationship is essential to increase the research project's chances of success. (b) The collaboration... things, the consortium's: (1) Management structure. (2) Method of making payments to consortium members...

Learning Simple Machines through Cross-Age Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lancor, Rachael; Schiebel, Amy

2008-01-01

In this project, introductory college physics students (noneducation majors) were asked to teach simple machines to a class of second graders. This nontraditional activity proved to be a successful way to encourage college students to think critically about physics and how it applied to their everyday lives. The noneducation majors benefited by…

Resource Issues: A Case Study from New Orleans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garvin, James R.; Young, Alma H.

1993-01-01

One major obstacle to collaboration is perception of value--especially in urban areas where resources are shrinking and social problems are increasing. Sharing of resources is weighted by considerations of proximal benefit and proximal concern. This article shows how a New Orleans full-services school pilot project successfully garnered funding…

AstroPower-DOE Collaboration Sets Solar Cell Record

Science.gov Websites

-centimeter cell, was attained under DOE's Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) program, a multi-year effort to help industry reduce the cost of producing photovoltaic energy systems. "This advance builds on many successful photovoltaic technology projects funded by DOE," said Christine Ervin

Identifying Barriers to and Outcomes of Interdisciplinarity in the Engineering Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richter, David M.; Paretti, Marie C.

2009-01-01

In addition to developing deep knowledge of a single discipline, engineers must also be able to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries and develop interdisciplinary expertise to successfully address the complex challenges of the contemporary workplace. While numerous descriptions of interdisciplinary courses and projects appear in the…

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.

Student Research Projects in Geophysics Through a Consortium of Undergraduate Geology Departments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroeger, G. C.

2003-12-01

Beginning in 1987, and continuing to the present, the Keck Geology Consortium, a group of 12 undergraduate institutions, has sponsored a series of summer research projects. These projects typically involve from 9 to 12 students and 3 to 4 faculty members and consist of a 4 to 5 week summer research program followed by continuation of the research at the students' home institutions, often as a senior thesis. Many of these projects have included extensive field and laboratory geophysical components. In order for students to carry out successful research projects in geophysics, several hurdles have to be cleared. Frequently these students have not had a formal course in geophysics, so although they may have strong geologic and quantitative skills, there is usually the need for a concentrated classroom immersion in the geophysical theory and methods related to the project. Field geophysics projects are labor intensive, so it is common for a group of three or more students to produce only one or two complete data sets in the course of the summer program. Generating individualized projects so that students feel ownership of their thesis research can be challenging. Most of the departments do not have a geophysicist on the faculty, so follow-up support for the student research involves continued long-distance collaboration between project directors, students and sponsoring faculty. The impact of the internet on this collaboration cannot be overstated. Finally, diverse computing environments at the participating institutions were a significant problem in the early years. Migration of geophysical software to Windows from Unix, and the widespread availability of Linux has mitigated these problems in recent years. The geophysical components of these projects have been largely successful. A series of vignettes is presented showing the range and nature of geophysical projects that have been carried out. In addition to anecdotal evidence of student satisfaction, there is quantitative evidence of success. A substantial number of students have gone on to graduate work in geophysics. Of those students who did not pursue geophysics, a substantial fraction has pursued graduate work or careers in other areas of quantitative geosciences.

NEWS Climatology Project: The State of the Water Cycle at Continental to Global Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodell, Matthew; LEcuyer, Tristan; Beaudoing, Hiroko Kato; Olson, Bill

2011-01-01

NASA's Energy and Water Cycle Study (NEWS) program fosters collaborative research towards improved quantification and prediction of water and energy cycle consequences of climate change. In order to measure change, it is first necessary to describe current conditions. The goal of the NEWS Water and Energy Cycle Climatology project is to develop "state of the global water cycle" and "state of the global energy cycle" assessments based on data from modern ground and space based observing systems and data integrating models. The project is a multiinstitutional collaboration with more than 20 active contributors. This presentation will describe results of the first stage of the water budget analysis, whose goal was to characterize the current state of the water cycle on mean monthly, continental scales. We examine our success in closing the water budget within the expected uncertainty range and the effects of forcing budget closure as a method for refining individual flux estimates.

Utilizing Remote Sensing Data to Ascertain Soil Moisture Applications and Air Quality Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leptoukh, Gregory; Kempler, Steve; Teng, William; Friedl, Lawrence; Lynnes, Chris

2009-01-01

Recognizing the significance of NASA remote sensing Earth science data in monitoring and better understanding our planet's natural environment, NASA Earth Applied Sciences has implemented the 'Decision Support Through Earth Science Research Results' program. Several applications support systems through collaborations with benefiting organizations have been implemented. The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has participated in this program on two projects (one complete, one ongoing), and has had opportune ad hoc collaborations utilizing NASA Earth science data. GES DISC's understanding of Earth science missions and resulting data and information enables the GES DISC to identify challenges that come with bringing science data to research applications. In this presentation we describe applications research projects utilizing NASA Earth science data and a variety of resulting GES DISC applications support system project experiences. In addition, defining metrics that really evaluate success will be exemplified.

An exploratory analysis of the model for understanding success in quality.

PubMed

Kaplan, Heather C; Froehle, Craig M; Cassedy, Amy; Provost, Lloyd P; Margolis, Peter A

2013-01-01

Experience suggests that differences in context produce variability in the effectiveness of quality improvement (QI) interventions. However, little is known about which contextual factors affect success or how they exert influence. Using the Model for Understanding Success in Quality (MUSIQ), we perform exploratory quantitative tests of the role of context in QI success. We used a cross-sectional design to survey individuals participating in QI projects in three settings: a pediatric hospital, hospitals affiliated with a state QI collaborative, and organizations sponsoring participants in an improvement advisor training program. Individuals participating in QI projects completed a questionnaire assessing contextual factors included in MUSIQ and measures of perceived success. Path analysis was used to test the direct, indirect, and total effects of context variables on QI success as hypothesized in MUSIQ. In the 74 projects studied, most contextual factors in MUSIQ were found to be significantly related to at least one QI project performance outcome. Contextual factors exhibiting significant effects on two measures of perceived QI success included resource availability, QI team leadership, team QI skills, microsystem motivation, microsystem QI culture, and microsystem QI capability. There was weaker evidence for effects of senior leader project sponsors, organizational QI culture, QI team decision-making, and microsystem QI leadership. These initial tests add to the validity of MUSIQ as a tool for identifying which contextual factors affect improvement success and understanding how they exert influence. Using MUSIQ, managers and QI practitioners can begin to identify aspects of context that must be addressed before or during the execution of QI projects and plan strategies to modify context for increased success. Additional work by QI researchers to improve the theory, refine measurement approaches, and validate MUSIQ as a predictive tool in a wider range of QI efforts is necessary.

Developing effective interuniversity partnerships and community-based research to address health disparities.

PubMed

Carey, Timothy S; Howard, Daniel L; Goldmon, Moses; Roberson, James T; Godley, Paul A; Ammerman, Alice

2005-11-01

Health disparities are an enormous challenge to American society. Addressing these disparities is a priority for U.S. society and especially for institutions of higher learning, with their threefold mission of education, service, and research. Collaboration across multiple intellectual disciplines will be critical as universities address health disparities. In addition, universities must collaborate with communities, with state partners, and with each other. Development of these collaborations must be sensitive to the history and unique characteristics of each academic institution and population. The authors describe the challenges of all three types of collaboration, but primarily focus on collaboration between research-intensive universities and historically black colleges and universities. The authors describe a four-year collaboration between Shaw University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). These universities strategically developed multiple research initiatives to address health disparities, building on modest early success and personal relationships. These activities included participation by Shaw faculty in faculty development activities, multiple collaborative pilot studies, and joint participation in securing grants from the Agency for Health care Research and Quality of the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, including a P-60 Project EXPORT center grant. These multiple activities were sometimes led by UNC-CH, sometimes by Shaw University. Open discussion of problems as they arose, realistic expectations, and mutual recognition of the strengths of each institution and its faculty have been critical in achieving successful collaboration to date.

Developing Effective Interuniversity Partnerships and Community-Based Research to Address Health Disparities

PubMed Central

Carey, Timothy S.; Howard, Daniel L.; Goldmon, Moses; Roberson, James T.; Godley, Paul A.; Ammerman, Alice

2009-01-01

Health disparities are an enormous challenge to American society. Addressing these disparities is a priority for U.S. society and especially for institutions of higher learning, with their threefold mission of education, service, and research. Collaboration across multiple intellectual disciplines will be critical as universities address health disparities. In addition, universities must collaborate with communities, with state partners, and with each other. Development of these collaborations must be sensitive to the history and unique characteristics of each academic institution and population. The authors describe the challenges of all three types of collaboration, but primarily focus on collaboration between research-intensive universities and historically black colleges and universities. The authors describe a four-year collaboration between Shaw University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). These universities strategically developed multiple research initiatives to address health disparities, building on modest early success and personal relationships. These activities included participation by Shaw faculty in faculty development activities, multiple collaborative pilot studies, and joint participation in securing grants from the Agency for Health care Research and Quality of the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, including a P-60 Project EXPORT center grant. These multiple activities were sometimes led by UNC-CH, sometimes by Shaw University. Open discussion of problems as they arose, realistic expectations, and mutual recognition of the strengths of each institution and its faculty have been critical in achieving successful collaboration to date. PMID:16249303

Collaborative modeling: the missing piece of distributed simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarjoughian, Hessam S.; Zeigler, Bernard P.

1999-06-01

The Department of Defense overarching goal of performing distributed simulation by overcoming geographic and time constraints has brought the problem of distributed modeling to the forefront. The High Level Architecture standard is primarily intended for simulation interoperability. However, as indicated, the existence of a distributed modeling infrastructure plays a fundamental and central role in supporting the development of distributed simulations. In this paper, we describe some fundamental distributed modeling concepts and their implications for constructing successful distributed simulations. In addition, we discuss the Collaborative DEVS Modeling environment that has been devised to enable graphically dispersed modelers to collaborate and synthesize modular and hierarchical models. We provide an actual example of the use of Collaborative DEVS Modeler in application to a project involving corporate partners developing an HLA-compliant distributed simulation exercise.

Environmental exposure assessment in European birth cohorts: results from the ENRIECO project

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Environmental exposures during pregnancy and early life may have adverse health effects. Single birth cohort studies often lack statistical power to tease out such effects reliably. To improve the use of existing data and to facilitate collaboration among these studies, an inventory of the environmental exposure and health data in these studies was made as part of the ENRIECO (Environmental Health Risks in European Birth Cohorts) project. The focus with regard to exposure was on outdoor air pollution, water contamination, allergens and biological organisms, metals, pesticides, smoking and second hand tobacco smoke (SHS), persistent organic pollutants (POPs), noise, radiation, and occupational exposures. The review lists methods and data on environmental exposures in 37 European birth cohort studies. Most data is currently available for smoking and SHS (N=37 cohorts), occupational exposures (N=33), outdoor air pollution, and allergens and microbial agents (N=27). Exposure modeling is increasingly used for long-term air pollution exposure assessment; biomonitoring is used for assessment of exposure to metals, POPs and other chemicals; and environmental monitoring for house dust mite exposure assessment. Collaborative analyses with data from several birth cohorts have already been performed successfully for outdoor air pollution, water contamination, allergens, biological contaminants, molds, POPs and SHS. Key success factors for collaborative analyses are common definitions of main exposure and health variables. Our review emphasizes that such common definitions need ideally be arrived at in the study design phase. However, careful comparison of methods used in existing studies also offers excellent opportunities for collaborative analyses. Investigators can use this review to evaluate the potential for future collaborative analyses with respect to data availability and methods used in the different cohorts and to identify potential partners for a specific research question. PMID:23343014

Establishing a Presence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCandless, Jeffrey

2005-01-01

The basis for this successful collaboration was face-to-face communication. Though it was sometimes stressful being on the road so much, I really learned the importance of being present to work together and ask questions in person. Another measure of success was that in the midst of this project and traveling, my wife and I managed to start a family. My oldest boy got a real kick out of visiting Space Center Houston when he was two to learn all about the "face futtle" which goes way up in the sky. When practical, collocation and face-to-face communication on a project eliminate misunderstandings, establish relationships, make information more easily accessible, and promote a team atmosphere. Compromise is key to balancing both family and career goals. Knowing when to prioritize each is important to success in both aspects.

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.

Explaining variation in perceived team effectiveness: results from eleven quality improvement collaboratives.

PubMed

Strating, Mathilde M H; Nieboer, Anna P

2013-06-01

Explore effectiveness of 11 collaboratives focusing on 11 different topics, as perceived by local improvement teams and to explore associations with collaborative-, organisational- and team-level factors. Evidence underlying the effectiveness of quality improvement collaboratives is inconclusive and few studies investigated determinants of implementation success. Moreover, most evaluation studies on quality improvement collaboratives are based on one specific topic or quality problem, making it hard to compare across collaboratives addressing different topics. A multiple-case cross-sectional study. Quality improvement teams in 11 quality improvement collaboratives focusing on 11 different topics. Team members received a postal questionnaire at the end of each collaborative. Of the 283 improvement teams, 151 project leaders and 362 team members returned the questionnaire. Analysis of variance revealed that teams varied widely on perceived effectiveness. Especially, members in the Prevention of Malnutrition and Prevention of Medication Errors collaboratives perceived a higher effectiveness than other groups. Multilevel regression analyses showed that educational level of professionals, innovation attributes, organisational support, innovative culture and commitment to change were all significant predictors of perceived effectiveness. In total, 27·9% of the individual-level variance, 57·6% of the team-level variance and 80% of the collaborative-level variance could be explained. The innovation's attributes, organisational support, an innovative team culture and professionals' commitment to change are instrumental to perceived effectiveness. The results support the notion that a layered approach is necessary to achieve improvements in quality of care and provides further insight in the determinants of success of quality improvement collaboratives. Understanding which factors enhance the impact of quality improvement initiatives can help professionals to achieve breakthrough improvement in care delivery to patients on a wide variety of quality problems. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Astronomical large projects managed with MANATEE: management tool for effective engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Vargas, M. L.; Mujica-Alvarez, E.; Pérez-Calpena, A.

2012-09-01

This paper describes MANATEE, which is the Management project web tool developed by FRACTAL, specifically designed for managing large astronomical projects. MANATEE facilitates the management by providing an overall view of the project and the capabilities to control the three main projects parameters: scope, schedule and budget. MANATEE is one of the three tools of the FRACTAL System & Project Suite, which is composed also by GECO (System Engineering Tool) and DOCMA (Documentation Management Tool). These tools are especially suited for those Consortia and teams collaborating in a multi-discipline, complex project in a geographically distributed environment. Our Management view has been applied successfully in several projects and currently is being used for Managing MEGARA, the next instrument for the GTC 10m telescope.

Not just beneficiaries: fostering participation and local management capacity in the Tojquia fog-collection project, Guatemala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosato, M.; Rojas, F.; Schemenauer, R. S.

2010-07-01

The largest fog collection project in the world at this time is the FogQuest project in Tojquia, in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. While much attention in the past has been devoted to developing the fog collection technology and finding and evaluating appropriate sites, there is also an opportunity in Guatemala to focus on implementation factors for long-term success in community fog-collection projects. Drawing from the themes of appropriate technology, integrated water-resource management and demand-responsive approaches, this paper details the participatory and management strategies undertaken by FogQuest in the ongoing fog collection project in Tojquia. Through a collaborative effort with the community association Mam Ma Qosquix, 30 large fog collectors are in place providing a daily average of 6000 liters of water to over 130 individuals. The current critical development, it is argued, is a discussion on the successes and ongoing challenges in gender mainstreaming, to ensure women’s participation, and capacity building, to ensure operation and maintenance capacity is built for the long term. Lessons learned include the importance of fostering trust as a precursor to collaborative effort and recognizing that an engagement will be for the long-term. True sustainability will be reached when the beneficiaries are themselves managers of a fog water collection system. By sharing our experiences we hope to encourage reflection on these important issues, which are relevant throughout the entire planning process, especially when establishing new initiatives.

Assessment and management of burn pain at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital: a best practice implementation project.

PubMed

Bayuo, Jonathan; Munn, Zachary; Campbell, Jared

2017-09-01

Pain management is a significant issue in health facilities in Ghana. For burn patients, this is even more challenging as burn pain has varied facets. Despite the existence of pharmacological agents for pain management, complaints of pain still persist. The aim of this project was to identify pain management practices in the burns units of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, compare these approaches to best practice, and implement strategies to enhance compliance to standards. Ten evidence-based audit criteria were developed from evidence summaries. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence Software (PACES), a baseline audit was undertaken on a convenience sample of ten patients from the day of admission to the seventh day. Thereafter, the Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) component of PACES was used to identify barriers, strategies, resources and outcomes. After implementation of the strategies, a follow-up audit was undertaken using the same sample size and audit criteria. The baseline results showed poor adherence to best practice. However, following implementation of strategies, including ongoing professional education and provision of assessment tools and protocols, compliance rates improved significantly. Atlhough the success of this project was almost disrupted by an industrial action, collaboration with external bodies enabled the successful completion of the project. Pain management practices in the burns unit improved at the end of the project which reflects the importance of an audit process, education, providing feedback, group efforts and effective collaboration.

Leadership behaviors for successful university--community collaborations to change curricula.

PubMed

Bland, C J; Starnaman, S; Hembroff, L; Perlstadt, H; Henry, R; Richards, R

1999-11-01

What constitutes effective leadership in a collaborative effort to achieve enduring curricular and student career changes? This question was investigated as part of a larger evaluation of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnership Health Professions Education, a five-year initiative involving projects at seven sites. The goal was to produce more primary care health providers by making enduring curricular change. Data were collected from participants with respect to predictors of project success and leaders' use of 16 behaviors via telephone interviews, mailed surveys, and focus groups. Focus groups also gathered project leaders' views of skills and knowledge necessary for effective leadership. Leadership strategies associated with positive outcomes were: consistent leader; use of multiple cognitive frames, especially a human resource frame; use of a broad range of leadership behaviors, particularly participative governance and cultural influence; and a majority of community representatives on the partnership board. The primary leader, compared with a leadership team, is most influential in achieving positive outcomes. Effective leaders use a broad array of behaviors, but particularly emphasize the use of participative governance and culture/value-influencing behaviors. In addition, the more frequent use of these behaviors compared with the use of organizational power behaviors is important. It is helpful to perceive the project from a human-relations frame and at least one other frame. Using a leadership team can be helpful, especially in building coalitions, but the importance of the primary leader's behaviors to project outcomes is striking.

The experience of Australian project leaders in encouraging practitioners to adopt research evidence in their clinical practice.

PubMed

Henderson, Amanda J; Davies, Jan; Willet, Michaela R

2006-11-01

This paper describes a qualitative program evaluation which sought to identify factors that either assist or impede the adoption of clinical evidence in everyday practice. Thirteen Australian projects were funded in a competitive grant program to adopt innovative strategies to improve the uptake of research evidence in everyday clinical practice. Project leaders' reports were analysed to collate common themes related to 1) critical elements in successful application of research knowledge, 2) barriers to implementing evidence, and 3) lessons for other organisations that might implement a similar project. Despite the diversity of the methods used to establish projects and the range of topics and clinical settings, many similarities were identified in the perceived critical success elements, barriers, and lessons for adopting clinical evidence. Eighteen themes emerged across the data including: leadership support; key stakeholder involvement; practice changes; communication; resources; education of staff; evaluation of outcomes; consumers; knowledge gaps; adoption/implementing staff; access to knowledge; risk assessment; collaboration; effectiveness of clinical research evidence; structure/organisation; cultural barriers; previous experiences; and information technology. Leaders of projects to adopt evidence in clinical practice identified barriers, critical success elements and lessons that impacted on their projects. A range of influences on the adoption of evidence were identified, and this knowledge can be used to assist others undertaking similar projects.

Andragogical Modeling and the Success of the "EMPACTS" project-based learning model in the STEM disciplines: A decade of growth and learner success in the 2Y College Learning Environment.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, C. D.; Thomason, R.; Galloway, M.; Sorey, N.; Stidham, L.; Torgerson, M.

2014-12-01

EMPACTS (Educationally Managed Projects Advancing Curriculum, Technology/Teamwork and Service) is a project-based, adult learning modelthat is designed to enhance learning of course content through real-world application and problem solving self directed and collaborative learning use of technology service to the community EMPACTS students are self-directed in their learning, often working in teams to develop, implement, report and present final project results. EMPACTS faculty use community based projects to increase deeper learning of course content through "real-world" service experiences. Learners develop personal and interpersonal work and communication skills as they plan, execute and complete project goals together. Technology is used as a tool to solve problems and to publish the products of their learning experiences. Courses across a broad STEM curriculum integrate the EMPACTS project experience into the overall learning outcomes as part of the learning college mission of preparing 2Y graduates for future academic and/or workforce success. Since the program began in 2005, there have been over 200 completed projects/year. Student driven successes have led to the establishment of an EMPACTS Technology Corp, which is funded through scholarship and allows EMPACTS learners the opportunity to serve and learn from one another as "peer instructors." Engineering and 3D graphic design teams have written technology proposals and received funding for 3D printing replication projects, which have benefited the college as a whole through grant opportunities tied to these small scale successes. EMPACTS students engage in a variety of outreachprojects with area schools as they share the successes and joys of self directed, inquiry, project based learning. The EMPACTS Program has successfully trained faculty and students in the implementation of the model and conduct semester to semester and once a year workshops for college and K-12 faculty, who are interested in enhancing the learning experience and retention of course content through meaningful, engaging, character building projects. Learner Project successes are celebrated and archived within the framework of the EMPACTS Student Project website. http://faculty.nwacc.edu/EAST_original/Spring2014/Spring2014index.htm

Building Research Relationships With Managed Care Organizations: Issues and Strategies.

PubMed

Lein, Catherine; Collins, Clare; Lyles, Judith S; Hillman, Donald; Smith, Robert C

2003-06-01

Managed care is now the dominant form of healthcare in the United States. The need for clinical research about the organization, delivery, and outcomes of primary care services in managed care models is high, yet access to managed care organizations as sites for clinical research may be problematic. The purpose of this article is to describe issues involved in obtaining access to managed care settings for clinical research and practical strategies for successful collaboration using literature review and case description. Three steps for developing collaborative relationships with managed care organizations (MCOs) are presented: 1) assessment of organizational structure, history, and culture; 2) finding common ground; and 3) project implementation. These steps are discussed within the context of MCO systems issues and a relationship-centered approach to communication between researchers and individuals from the MCO. Successful relationships with MCOs for clinical research are possible when careful attention is paid to inclusion of MCOs as collaborators in the development of the research questions and design, and as partners in the research implementation process.

Freeing Worldview's development process: Open source everything!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunnoe, T.

2016-12-01

Freeing your code and your project are important steps for creating an inviting environment for collaboration, with the added side effect of keeping a good relationship with your users. NASA Worldview's codebase was released with the open source NOSA (NASA Open Source Agreement) license in 2014, but this is only the first step. We also have to free our ideas, empower our users by involving them in the development process, and open channels that lead to the creation of a community project. There are many highly successful examples of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects of which we can take note: the Linux kernel, Debian, GNOME, etc. These projects owe much of their success to having a passionate mix of developers/users with a great community and a common goal in mind. This presentation will describe the scope of this openness and how Worldview plans to move forward with a more community-inclusive approach.

PACA_Rosetta67P: Global Amateur Observing Support for ESA/Rosetta Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.; Alexander, Claudia; Morales, Efrain; Feliciano-Rivera, Christiana

2015-11-01

The PACA (Professional - Amateur Collaborative Astronomy) Project is an ecosystem of several social media platforms (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo) that takes advantage of the global and immediate connectivity amongst amateur astronomers worldwide, that can be galvanized to participate in a given observing campaign. The PACA Project has participated in organized campaigns such as Comet Observing Campaign (CIOC_ISON) in 2013 and Comet Siding Spring (CIOC_SidingSpring)in 2014. Currently the PACA Project is supporting ESA/Rosetta mission with ground-based observations of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG) through its perihelion in August 2015 and beyond; providing baseline observations of magnitude and evolution from locations around the globe. Comet 67P/CG will reach its brightest post-perihelion and pass closest to Earth in November 2015. We will present the various benefits of our professional - amateur collaboration: developing and building a core astronomer community; defining an observing campaign from basic information of the comet from its previous apparitions; coordinating with professionals and the mission to acquire observations, albeit low-resolution, but on a long timeline; while addressing the creation of several science products such as the variation of its magnitude over time and the changing morphology. We will present some of our results to date and compare with observations from professionals and previous apparations of the comet. We shall also highlight the challenges faced in building a successful collaborative partnership between the professional and amateur observers and their resolution. With the popularity of mobile platforms and instant connections with peers globally, the multi-faceted social universe has become a vital part of engagement of multiple communities for collaborative scientific partnerships and outreach. We shall also highlight other cometary observing campaigns that The PACA Project has initiated to evolve this model of collaborative partnerships.

Project development teams: a novel mechanism for accelerating translational research.

PubMed

Sajdyk, Tammy J; Sors, Thomas G; Hunt, Joe D; Murray, Mary E; Deford, Melanie E; Shekhar, Anantha; Denne, Scott C

2015-01-01

The trend in conducting successful biomedical research is shifting from individual academic labs to coordinated collaborative research teams. Teams of experienced investigators with a wide variety of expertise are now critical for developing and maintaining a successful, productive research program. However, assembling a team whose members have the right expertise requires a great deal of time and many resources. To assist investigators seeking such resources, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) created the Project Development Teams (PDTs) program to support translational research on and across the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University, Purdue University, and University of Notre Dame campuses. PDTs are multidisciplinary committees of seasoned researchers who assist investigators, at any stage of research, in transforming ideas/hypotheses into well-designed translational research projects. The teams help investigators capitalize on Indiana CTSI resources by providing investigators with, as needed, mentoring and career development; protocol development; pilot funding; institutional review board, regulatory, and/or nursing support; intellectual property support; access to institutional technology; and assistance with biostatistics, bioethics, recruiting participants, data mining, engaging community health, and collaborating with other investigators.Indiana CTSI leaders have analyzed metrics, collected since the inception of the PDT program in 2008 from both investigators and team members, and found evidence strongly suggesting that the highly responsive teams have become an important one-stop venue for facilitating productive interactions between basic and clinical scientists across four campuses, have aided in advancing the careers of junior faculty, and have helped investigators successfully obtain external funds.

An extensible and successful method of identifying collaborators for National Library of Medicine informationist projects.

PubMed

Williams, Jeff D; Rambo, Neil H

2015-07-01

The New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library used a new method to arrange in-depth discussions with basic science researchers. The objective was to identify collaborators for a new National Library of Medicine administrative supplement. The research took place at the NYU Health Sciences Library. Using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORTER, forty-four researchers were identified and later contacted through individualized emails. Nine researchers responded to the email followed by six in-person or phone discussions. At the conclusion of this process, two researchers submitted applications for supplemental funding, and both of these applications were successful. This method confirmed these users could benefit from the skills and knowledge of health sciences librarians, but they are largely unaware of this.

The "Learning Games Design Model": Immersion, Collaboration, and Outcomes-Driven Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamberlin, Barbara; Trespalacios, Jesús; Gallagher, Rachel

2012-01-01

Instructional designers in the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University have developed a specific approach for the creation of educational games, one that has been used successfully in over 20 instructional design projects and is extensible to other developers. Using this approach, game developers and content experts (a) work…

Teaching Scholar Partnerships: A Fresh Approach to College/School Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bearce, W. Hutchinson

2004-01-01

This document is intended to be a handbook for independent college and university leaders interested in learning about a fresh approach to cooperation with local elementary, middle, and high schools. It draws from the Teaching Scholar Partnerships (TSP) program, a successful demonstration project that involved ten private institutions working in…

Taking School Reform Success to "Scale": Governance and Leadership Issues in Two Restructuring Elementary Buildings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, Paul; Tindal, Gerald

This paper explores the difficulties of extending good, workable educational ideas to entire schools or districts. Two restructured schools that participated in a 4-year collaborative project that involved multi-age primary classrooms, inclusion of special-needs students in regular classrooms, and increasing specificity in assessing student…

Teachers as Awakeners: A Collaborative Approach in Language Learning and Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plutino, Alessia

2017-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the successful pedagogical project TwitTIAMO, now in its third year, where micro blogging (Twitter) has been used in Italian language teaching and learning to improve students' communicative language skills, accuracy, fluency and pronunciation outside timetabled lessons. It also explores the background and…

Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tung, Rosann; Diez, Virginia; Gagnon, Laurie; Uriarte, Miren; Stazesky, Pamela

2011-01-01

This study is part of a collaborative project entitled "Identifying Success in Schools and Programs for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools". The companion to this report, entitled "Improving Educational Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools", provides a…

Success Factors and Challenges of an Information Communication Technology Network in Rural Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mihai, Maryke A.

2017-01-01

In April 2008, an interactive information communication technology (ICT) network was established in Mpumalanga, South Africa. the network involved the implementation of SMART board interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and collaboration between a leading school and several disadvantaged schools. the main purpose of the Mpumalanga IWB project was to reach…

RoboResource Technology Learning Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keck, Tom, Comp.; Frye, Ellen, Ed.

Preparing students to be successful in a rapidly changing world means showing them how to use the tools of technology and how to integrate those tools into all areas of learning. This booklet is divided into three sections: Design Activities, Experiments, and Resources. The design activities ask students to collaborate on design projects. In these…

Learning through Life Books: Teaching Human Growth and Development in an Emotionally Rich Community Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korsmo, John; Baker-Sennett, Jacquelyn; Nicholas, Trula

2009-01-01

One challenge experienced by many educators working in pre-professional programs involves designing courses to support students as they learn how to apply subject area knowledge to professional practice. This article describes a successful collaborative community-based project that contextualizes the often abstract and predominately linear…

Developing a Model for Technology-Based Museum School Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanger, Erika; Silverman, Stan; Kraybill, Anne

2015-01-01

In 2012, The New York Institute of Technology and the Albany Institute of History & Art collaborated to increase the capacity of museum educators and classroom teachers to develop successful partnerships and deliver new programs through the use of web-based technologies. The project aligned the content expertise of museum educators from…

The Spectrum of School--University Partnerships: A Typology of Organizational Learning Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Jamie L.; Martin, Dorian

2007-01-01

School-university partnerships are not uni-dimensional projects. Success in these partnerships can be found in loosely-coupled systems such as client-server partnerships and in more tightly-coupled systems such as collaborative development centers. Using a comparative case study approach, we explore two school-university partnership case studies…

Regenerative medicine, resource and regulation: lessons learned from the remedi project.

PubMed

Ginty, Patrick J; Rayment, Erin A; Hourd, Paul; Williams, David J

2011-03-01

The successful commercialization of regenerative medicine products provides a unique challenge to the manufacturer owing to a lack of suitable investment/business models and a constantly evolving regulatory framework. The resultant slow translation of scientific discovery into safe and clinically efficacious therapies is preventing many potential products from reaching the market. This is despite of the need for new therapies that may reduce the burden on the world's healthcare systems and address the desperate need for replacement tissues and organs. The collaborative Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded remedi project was devised to take a holistic but manufacturing-led approach to the challenge of translational regenerative medicine in the UK. Through strategic collaborations and discussions with industry and other academic partners, many of the positive and negative issues surrounding business and regulatory success have been documented to provide a remedi-led perspective on the management of risk in business and the elucidation of the regulatory pathways, and how the two are inherently linked. This article represents the findings from these discussions with key stakeholders and the research into best business and regulatory practices.

Cypress pollen: botanic aspects in fourteen cypress species and prospects for research.

PubMed

Raddi, P; Moricca, S; Andréoli, C

2000-03-01

The two Research Institutes, the CNR (National Research Institute, Italy) and the INRA (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, France) which have been collaborating on the problem of cypress canker from Seiridium cardinale since 1975 in the context of EU projects, have measured in the SEM the pollen size of fourteen species of cypress, determining the differences between the maximum diameter of 100 granules per species and noting differences in pollen colour. A research strategy based on the use of material previously selectively bred for canker resistance is proposed to maintain the cypress in its Mediterranean habitat with a reduced risk of pollinosis. For the success of the project it is stressed that close collaboration between Forest research institutions and the medical profession will be necessary.

Quality improvement in neonatal care - a new paradigm for developing countries.

PubMed

Chawla, Deepak; Suresh, Gautham K

2014-12-01

Infrastructure for facility-based neonatal care has rapidly grown in India over last few years. Experience from developed countries indicates that different health facilities have varying clinical outcomes despite accounting for differences in illness severity of admitted neonates and random variation. Variation in quality of care provided at different neonatal units may account for variable clinical outcomes. Monitoring quality of care, comparing outcomes across different centers and conducting collaborative quality improvement projects can improve outcome of neonates in health facilities. Top priority should be given to establishing quality monitoring and improvement procedures at special care neonatal units and neonatal intensive care units of the country. This article presents an overview of methods of quality improvement. Literature reports of successful collaborative quality improvement projects in neonatal health are also reviewed.

Increasing Residency Research Output While Cultivating Community Research Collaborations.

PubMed

Weaver, Sally P

2018-06-01

Having a research curriculum in addition to hosting a resident research day stimulates research activity in residency programs. Research collaborations outside an individual residency program may also promote research in residency. This paper describes a community-wide health research forum that engages faculty and residents in research while bringing together potential research collaborators from the community. A yearly research forum has been held at a large community-based family medicine residency program for the past 10 years. This forum invites both residency faculty and residents to present scholarly works, and also invites researchers from the community to present health-related research. Presenters outside the residency come from hospital systems, the local university, other residency programs, and community private physicians. Peer-reviewed research publications have increased greatly since the advent of the research forum in 2006, with six publications from 1997-2006 and 26 from 2007-2016. Greater increases in numbers of peer reviewed presentations were also seen. Collaborative research has occurred between residency faculty and multiple departments at the local university including the business school, social work, public health, physiology, and statistics. There are now 28 collaborative projects completed or in progress. Development and implementation of a regional health research event has been a success in increasing faculty and resident research productivity. The even greater success however, is the progress made in advancing research collaborations between the local university and the residency program.

Connecting Hydrologic Research and Management in American Samoa through Collaboration and Capacity Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuler, C. K.; El-Kadi, A. I.; Dulai, H.; Glenn, C. R.; Mariner, M. K. E.; DeWees, R.; Schmaedick, M.; Gurr, I.; Comeros, M.; Bodell, T.

2017-12-01

In small-island developing communities, effective communication and collaboration with local stakeholders is imperative for successful implementation of hydrologic or other socially pertinent research. American Samoa's isolated location highlights the need for water resource sustainability, and effective scientific research is a key component to addressing critical challenges in water storage and management. Currently, aquifer degradation from salt-water-intrusion or surface-water contaminated groundwater adversely affects much of the islands' municipal water supply, necessitating an almost decade long Boil-Water-Advisory. This presentation will share the approach our research group, based at the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center, has taken for successfully implementing a collaboration-focused water research program in American Samoa. Instead of viewing research as a one-sided activity, our program seeks opportunities to build local capacity, develop relationships with key on-island stakeholders, and involve local community through forward-looking projects. This presentation will highlight three applications of collaborative research with water policy and management, water supply and sustainability, and science education stakeholders. Projects include: 1) working with the island's water utility to establish a long-term hydrological monitoring network, motivated by a need for data to parameterize numerical groundwater models, 2) collaboration with the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency to better understand groundwater discharge and watershed scale land-use impacts for management of nearshore coral reef ecosystems, and 3) participation of local community college and high school students as research interns to increase involvement in, and exposure to socially pertinent water focused research. Through these innovative collaborative approaches we have utilized resources more effectively, and focused research efforts on more pertinent locally-driven research questions. Additionally, this approach has enhanced our ability to provide technical support and knowledge transfer for on-island scientific needs, and helped overcome data availability barriers faced by water managers, planners, and future investigators.

Establishing good collaborative research practices in the responsible conduct of research in nursing science.

PubMed

Ulrich, Connie M; Wallen, Gwenyth R; Cui, Naixue; Chittams, Jesse; Sweet, Monica; Plemmons, Dena

2015-01-01

Team science is advocated to speed the pace of scientific discovery, yet the goals of collaborative practice in nursing science and the responsibilities of nurse stakeholders are sparse and inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine nurse scientists' views on collaborative research as part of a larger study on standards of scientific conduct. Web-based descriptive survey of nurse scientists randomly selected from 50 doctoral graduate programs in the United States. Nearly forty percent of nurse respondents were not able to identify good collaborative practices for the discipline; more than three quarters did not know of any published guidelines available to them. Successful research collaborations were challenged by different expectations of authorship and data ownership, lack of timeliness and communication, poorly defined roles and responsibilities, language barriers, and when they involve junior and senior faculty working together on a project. Individual and organizational standards, practices, and policies for collaborative research needs clarification within the discipline. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Collaboration process for integrated social and health care strategy implementation.

PubMed

Korpela, Jukka; Elfvengren, Kalle; Kaarna, Tanja; Tepponen, Merja; Tuominen, Markku

2012-01-01

To present a collaboration process for creating a roadmap for the implementation of a strategy for integrated health and social care. The developed collaboration process includes multiple phases and uses electronic group decision support system technology (GDSS). A case study done in the South Karelia District of Social and Health Services in Finland during 2010-2011. An expert panel of 13 participants was used in the planning process of the strategy implementation. The participants were interviewed and observed during the case study. As a practical result, a roadmap for integrated health and social care strategy implementation has been developed. The strategic roadmap includes detailed plans of several projects which are needed for successful integration strategy implementation. As an academic result, a collaboration process to create such a roadmap has been developed. The collaboration process and technology seem to suit the planning process well. The participants of the meetings were satisfied with the collaboration process and the GDSS technology. The strategic roadmap was accepted by the participants, which indicates satisfaction with the developed process.

Risk management in obstetric care for family physicians: results of a 10-year project.

PubMed

Nesbitt, Thomas S; Hixon, Allen; Tanji, Jeffrey L; Scherger, Joseph E; Abbott, Dana

2003-01-01

Malpractice issues within the United States remain a critical factor for family physicians providing obstetric care. Although tort reform is being widely discussed, little has been written regarding the malpractice crisis from a risk management perspective. Between 1989 and 1998, a 10-year risk management study at the UC Davis Health System provided a unique collaboration between researchers, a mutual insurance carrier and family physicians practicing obstetrics. Physicians were asked to comply with standardized clinical guidelines, attend continuing medical education (CME) seminars, and submit obstetric medical records for review. Feedback analysis was provided to each physician on their records, and the insurance carrier tracked interim malpractice claims. One hundred and ninety-four physicians participated, attending to 32,831 births. Compliance with project guidelines was 91%. Five closed obstetric cases were reported with only one settlement reported to the National Provider Data Bank. Physicians believed the project was beneficial to their practices. Family physicians practicing obstetrics are willing to participate in a collaborative risk management program and are compliant with standardized clinical guidelines. The monetary award for successful malpractice claims was relatively low. This collaborative risk management model may offer a potential solution to the current malpractice crisis.

Collaboration in Arctic Research: Best Practices to Build and Sustain Successful Cross- and Trans-disciplinary Efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiggins, H. V.; Rich, R. H.

2015-12-01

The rapid physical and social changes currently underway in the Arctic - and changes in the way in which we study and manage the region -- require coordinated research efforts to improve our understanding of the Arctic's physical, biological, and social systems and the implications of change at many scales. At the same time, policy-makers and Arctic communities need decision-support tools and synthesized information to respond and adapt to the "new Arctic". There are enormous challenges, however, in collaboration among the disparate groups of people needed for such efforts. A carefully planned strategic approach is required to bridge the scientific disciplinary and organizational boundaries, foster cooperation between local communities and science programs, and effectively communicate between scientists and policy-makers. Efforts must draw on bodies of knowledge from project management, strategic planning, organizational development, and group dynamics. This poster presentation will discuss best practices of building and sustaining networks of people to catalyze successful cross-disciplinary activities. Specific examples and case studies - both successes and failures -- will be presented that draw on several projects at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS; www.arcus.org), a nonprofit membership organization composed of universities and institutions that have a substantial commitment to research in the Arctic.

Hospital-based health technology assessment (HTA) in Finland: a case study on collaboration between hospitals and the national HTA unit.

PubMed

Halmesmäki, Esa; Pasternack, Iris; Roine, Risto

2016-04-05

This study examines, as a part of the European Union funded Adopting Hospital Based Health Technology Assessment (AdHopHTA) project, the results and barriers of collaboration between Finnish hospitals and the national health technology assessment (HTA) agency, Finohta. A joint collaborative HTA program has existed since 2006 between the Finnish hospitals and the national agency. A case study method was used. Information about the collaboration between Finnish hospitals and Finohta was retrieved from interviews and publications, and categorised per theme. Hypotheses and indicators of successful collaboration were determined beforehand and reflected on the observations from the interviews and literature. Overall, 48 collaborative HTA reports have been performed during 7 years of collaboration. However, there were no clear indications that the use of HTA information or the transparency of decision-making regarding new technologies would have increased in hospitals. The managerial commitment to incorporate HTAs into the decision-making processes in hospitals was still low. The quality of the collaborative HTA reports was considered good, but their applicability in the hospital setting limited. There were differing expectations about the timing and relevance of the content. Signs of role conflict and mistrust were observed. Despite collaborative efforts to produce HTAs for hospitals, the impact of HTA information on hospital decision-making appears to remain low. The difficulties identified in this case study, such as lack of managerial commitment in hospitals, can hopefully be better addressed in the future with the guidance and tools having been developed in the AdHopHTA project. Collaboration between hospitals and national HTA agencies remains important for the efficient sharing of skills and resources.

Understanding a successful obesity prevention initiative in children under 5 from a systems perspective.

PubMed

Owen, Brynle; Brown, Andrew D; Kuhlberg, Jill; Millar, Lynne; Nichols, Melanie; Economos, Christina; Allender, Steven

2018-01-01

Systems thinking represents an innovative and logical approach to understanding complexity in community-based obesity prevention interventions. We report on an approach to apply systems thinking to understand the complexity of a successful obesity prevention intervention in early childhood (children aged up to 5 years) conducted in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. A causal loop diagram (CLD) was developed to represent system elements related to a successful childhood obesity prevention intervention in early childhood. Key stakeholder interviews (n = 16) were examined retrospectively to generate purposive text data, create microstructures, and form a CLD. A CLD representing key stakeholder perceptions of a successful intervention comprised six key feedback loops explaining changes in project implementation over time. The loops described the dynamics of collaboration, network formation, community awareness, human resources, project clarity, and innovation. The CLD developed provides a replicable means to capture, evaluate and disseminate a description of the dynamic elements of a successful obesity prevention intervention in early childhood.

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

Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Marr, Jeffrey D.G.; Milliren, Christopher

In January 2010, the University of Minnesota, along with academic and industry project partners, began work on a four year project to establish new facilities and research in strategic areas of wind energy necessary to move the nation towards a goal of 20% wind energy by 2030. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy with funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. $7.9M of funds were provided by DOE and $3.1M was provided through matching funds. The project was organized into three Project Areas. Project Area 1 focused on design and developmentmore » of a utility scale wind energy research facility to support research and innovation. The project commissioned the Eolos Wind Research Field Station in November of 2011. The site, located 20 miles from St. Paul, MN operates a 2.5MW Clipper Liberty C-96 wind turbine, a 130-ft tall sensored meteorological tower and a robust sensor and data acquisition network. The site is operational and will continue to serve as a site for innovation in wind energy for the next 15 years. Project Areas 2 involved research on six distinct research projects critical to the 20% Wind Energy by 2030 goals. The research collaborations involved faculty from two universities, over nine industry partners and two national laboratories. Research outcomes include new knowledge, patents, journal articles, technology advancements, new computational models and establishment of new collaborative relationships between university and industry. Project Area 3 focused on developing educational opportunities in wind energy for engineering and science students. The primary outcome is establishment of a new graduate level course at the University of Minnesota called Wind Engineering Essentials. The seminar style course provides a comprehensive analysis of wind energy technology, economics, and operation. The course is highly successful and will continue to be offered at the University. The vision of U.S. DOE to establish unique, open-access research facilities and creation of university-industry research collaborations in wind energy were achieved through this project. The University of Minnesota, through the establishment of the Eolos Wind Energy Consortium and the Eolos Wind Research Field Station continue to develop new research collaborations with industry partners.« less

Collaborative engineering and design management for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope tracker upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mollison, Nicholas T.; Hayes, Richard J.; Good, John M.; Booth, John A.; Savage, Richard D.; Jackson, John R.; Rafal, Marc D.; Beno, Joseph H.

2010-07-01

The engineering and design of systems as complex as the Hobby-Eberly Telescope's* new tracker require that multiple tasks be executed in parallel and overlapping efforts. When the design of individual subsystems is distributed among multiple organizations, teams, and individuals, challenges can arise with respect to managing design productivity and coordinating successful collaborative exchanges. This paper focuses on design management issues and current practices for the tracker design portion of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Wide Field Upgrade project. The scope of the tracker upgrade requires engineering contributions and input from numerous fields including optics, instrumentation, electromechanics, software controls engineering, and site-operations. Successful system-level integration of tracker subsystems and interfaces is critical to the telescope's ultimate performance in astronomical observation. Software and process controls for design information and workflow management have been implemented to assist the collaborative transfer of tracker design data. The tracker system architecture and selection of subsystem interfaces has also proven to be a determining factor in design task formulation and team communication needs. Interface controls and requirements change controls will be discussed, and critical team interactions are recounted (a group-participation Failure Modes and Effects Analysis [FMEA] is one of special interest). This paper will be of interest to engineers, designers, and managers engaging in multi-disciplinary and parallel engineering projects that require coordination among multiple individuals, teams, and organizations.

What Works to Reduce Unnecessary Care for Bronchiolitis? A Qualitative Analysis of a National Collaborative.

PubMed

Ralston, Shawn L; Atwood, Emily Carson; Garber, Matthew D; Holmes, Alison Volpe

2017-03-01

Unnecessary care is well established as a quality problem affecting acute viral bronchiolitis, one of the most common pediatric illnesses. Although there is an extensive quality improvement literature on the disease, published work primarily reflects the experience of freestanding children's hospitals. We sought to better understand the specific barriers and drivers for successful quality improvement in community and nonfreestanding children's facilities. We undertook a mixed methods study to identify correlates of success in a bronchiolitis quality improvement collaborative of community hospitals and children's hospitals within adult hospitals. We assessed site demographic characteristics, compliance with project interventions, and team engagement for association with end of project performance. We then used performance quartiles on a composite assessment of project measures (use of bronchodilators and steroids) to design a purposive sample of sites approached for qualitative interviews. Team engagement was the only factor quantitatively associated with better performance in the overall cohort. Fifteen sites, from the total cohort of 21, completed qualitative interviews. Qualitative themes around team engagement, including the presence of buy-in for successful sites and the inability to engage colleagues at unsuccessful sites, were important differentiating factors between top and bottom performance quartiles. Regardless of performance quartile, most programs cited intrainstitutional competition for limited resources to do quality improvement work as a specific barrier for pediatrics. The ability to overcome such barriers and specifically garner information technology (IT) resources also differentiated the top and bottom performance quartiles. Team engagement showed a consistent association with success across our quantitative and qualitative evaluations. Competition for limited resources in this cohort of nonfreestanding children's programs, particularly those in hospital IT, was a key qualitative theme. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building the U.S. First Offshore Wind Farm-Applying EBM Approaches to Successfully Address Offshore Energy, Commercial Fisheries, and Recreational Boating interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipsky, A.

2016-12-01

In August 2015 construction commenced on the Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind energy project in the U.S. This pilot-scale offshore energy project, located 18 miles offshore of the Rhode Island mainland, was sited through a comprehensive ocean planning process. As the project progressed into design and construction, our team utilized potent ecosystem based management approaches to great advantage to address the human and resource interactions that existed in the project area. These practices have included designing and executing collaborative long-term monitoring ventures to fill key science gaps and reconcile fisheries concerns, establishing effective industry to industry engagement, and developing durable multi-sector agreements. This presentation will describe the specific EBM approaches used after the planning process was completed to bring the project to construction; highlighting where key aspects of the National Ocean Policy goals and principles have been successfully applied.

Building the U.S. First Offshore Wind Farm-Applying EBM Approaches to Successfully Address Offshore Energy, Commercial Fisheries, and Recreational Boating interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipsky, A.

2016-02-01

In August 2015 construction commenced on the Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind energy project in the U.S. This pilot-scale offshore energy project, located 18 miles offshore of the Rhode Island mainland, was sited through a comprehensive ocean planning process. As the project progressed into design and construction, our team utilized potent ecosystem based management approaches to great advantage to address the human and resource interactions that existed in the project area. These practices have included designing and executing collaborative long-term monitoring ventures to fill key science gaps and reconcile fisheries concerns, establishing effective industry to industry engagement, and developing durable multi-sector agreements. This presentation will describe the specific EBM approaches used after the planning process was completed to bring the project to construction; highlighting where key aspects of the National Ocean Policy goals and principles have been successfully applied.

Comparative Case Study of Two Biomedical Research Collaboratories

PubMed Central

Teasley, Stephanie D; Bhatnagar, Rishi

2005-01-01

Background Working together efficiently and effectively presents a significant challenge in large-scale, complex, interdisciplinary research projects. Collaboratories are a nascent method to help meet this challenge. However, formal collaboratories in biomedical research centers are the exception rather than the rule. Objective The main purpose of this paper is to compare and describe two collaboratories that used off-the-shelf tools and relatively modest resources to support the scientific activity of two biomedical research centers. The two centers were the Great Lakes Regional Center for AIDS Research (HIV/AIDS Center) and the New York University Oral Cancer Research for Adolescent and Adult Health Promotion Center (Oral Cancer Center). Methods In each collaboratory, we used semistructured interviews, surveys, and contextual inquiry to assess user needs and define the technology requirements. We evaluated and selected commercial software applications by comparing their feature sets with requirements and then pilot-testing the applications. Local and remote support staff cooperated in the implementation and end user training for the collaborative tools. Collaboratory staff evaluated each implementation by analyzing utilization data, administering user surveys, and functioning as participant observers. Results The HIV/AIDS Center primarily required real-time interaction for developing projects and attracting new participants to the center; the Oral Cancer Center, on the other hand, mainly needed tools to support distributed and asynchronous work in small research groups. The HIV/AIDS Center’s collaboratory included a center-wide website that also served as the launch point for collaboratory applications, such as NetMeeting, Timbuktu Conference, PlaceWare Auditorium, and iVisit. The collaboratory of the Oral Cancer Center used Groove and Genesys Web conferencing. The HIV/AIDS Center was successful in attracting new scientists to HIV/AIDS research, and members used the collaboratory for developing and implementing new research studies. The Oral Cancer Center successfully supported highly distributed and asynchronous research, and the collaboratory facilitated real-time interaction for analyzing data and preparing publications. Conclusions The two collaboratory implementations demonstrated the feasibility of supporting biomedical research centers using off-the-shelf commercial tools, but they also identified several barriers to successful collaboration. These barriers included computing platform incompatibilities, network infrastructure complexity, variable availability of local versus remote IT support, low computer and collaborative software literacy, and insufficient maturity of available collaborative software. Factors enabling collaboratory use included collaboration incentives through funding mechanism, a collaborative versus competitive relationship of researchers, leadership by example, and tools well matched to tasks and technical progress. Integrating electronic collaborative tools into routine scientific practice can be successful but requires further research on the technical, social, and behavioral factors influencing the adoption and use of collaboratories. PMID:16403717

A model for integrating clinical care and basic science research, and pitfalls of performing complex research projects for addressing a clinical challenge.

PubMed

Steck, R; Epari, D R; Schuetz, M A

2010-07-01

The collaboration of clinicians with basic science researchers is crucial for addressing clinically relevant research questions. In order to initiate such mutually beneficial relationships, we propose a model where early career clinicians spend a designated time embedded in established basic science research groups, in order to pursue a postgraduate qualification. During this time, clinicians become integral members of the research team, fostering long term relationships and opening up opportunities for continuing collaboration. However, for these collaborations to be successful there are pitfalls to be avoided. Limited time and funding can lead to attempts to answer clinical challenges with highly complex research projects characterised by a large number of "clinical" factors being introduced in the hope that the research outcomes will be more clinically relevant. As a result, the complexity of such studies and variability of its outcomes may lead to difficulties in drawing scientifically justified and clinically useful conclusions. Consequently, we stress that it is the basic science researcher and the clinician's obligation to be mindful of the limitations and challenges of such multi-factorial research projects. A systematic step-by-step approach to address clinical research questions with limited, but highly targeted and well defined research projects provides the solid foundation which may lead to the development of a longer term research program for addressing more challenging clinical problems. Ultimately, we believe that it is such models, encouraging the vital collaboration between clinicians and researchers for the work on targeted, well defined research projects, which will result in answers to the important clinical challenges of today. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Web-based Collaboration and Visualization in the ANDRILL Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, J.; Rack, F. R.; Huffman, L. T.; Cattadori, M.

2009-12-01

ANDRILL has embraced the web as a platform for facilitating collaboration and communicating science with educators, students and researchers alike. Two recent ANDRILL education and outreach projects, Project Circle 2008 and the Climate Change Student Summit, brought together classrooms from around the world to participate in cutting edge science. A large component of each project was the online collaboration achieved through project websites, blogs, and the GroupHub--a secure online environment where students could meet to send messages, exchange presentations and pictures, and even chat live. These technologies enabled students from different countries and time zones to connect and participate in a shared 'conversation' about climate change research. ANDRILL has also developed several interactive, web-based visualizations to make scientific drilling data more engaging and accessible to the science community and the public. Each visualization is designed around three core concepts that enable the Web 2.0 platform, namely, that they are: (1) customizable - a user can customize the visualization to display the exact data she is interested in; (2) linkable - each view in the visualization has a distinct URL that the user can share with her friends via sites like Facebook and Twitter; and (3) mashable - the user can take the visualization, mash it up with data from other sites or her own research, and embed it in her blog or website. The web offers an ideal environment for visualization and collaboration because it requires no special software and works across all computer platforms, which allows organizations and research projects to engage much larger audiences. In this presentation we will describe past challenges and successes, as well as future plans.

Collaborations for Arctic Sea Ice Information and Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield Guy, L.; Wiggins, H. V.; Turner-Bogren, E. J.; Rich, R. H.

2017-12-01

The dramatic and rapid changes in Arctic sea ice require collaboration across boundaries, including between disciplines, sectors, institutions, and between scientists and decision-makers. This poster will highlight several projects that provide knowledge to advance the development and use of sea ice knowledge. Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO: https://www.arcus.org/search-program/siwo) - SIWO is a resource for Alaskan Native subsistence hunters and other interested stakeholders. SIWO provides weekly reports, during April-June, of sea ice conditions relevant to walrus in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas. Collaboration among scientists, Alaskan Native sea-ice experts, and the Eskimo Walrus Commission is fundamental to this project's success. Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN: https://www.arcus.org/sipn) - A collaborative, multi-agency-funded project focused on seasonal Arctic sea ice predictions. The goals of SIPN include: coordinate and evaluate Arctic sea ice predictions; integrate, assess, and guide observations; synthesize predictions and observations; and disseminate predictions and engage key stakeholders. The Sea Ice Outlook—a key activity of SIPN—is an open process to share and synthesize predictions of the September minimum Arctic sea ice extent and other variables. Other SIPN activities include workshops, webinars, and communications across the network. Directory of Sea Ice Experts (https://www.arcus.org/researchers) - ARCUS has undertaken a pilot project to develop a web-based directory of sea ice experts across institutions, countries, and sectors. The goal of the project is to catalyze networking between individual investigators, institutions, funding agencies, and other stakeholders interested in Arctic sea ice. Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH: https://www.arcus.org/search-program) - SEARCH is a collaborative program that advances research, synthesizes research findings, and broadly communicates the results to support informed decision-making. One of SEARCH's primary science topics is focused on Arctic sea ice; the SEARCH Sea Ice Action Team is leading efforts to advance understanding and awareness of the impacts of Arctic sea-ice loss.

Building Networks for Global Clinical Research: The Basics.

PubMed

Shearer, David W; Volberding, Paul A; Schemitsch, Emil H; Cook, Gillian E; Slobogean, Gerard P; Morshed, Saam

2015-12-01

Over the last several decades, interest in global health across all fields of medicine, including orthopaedic surgery, has grown markedly. Cross-national collaborations are an effective means of conducting high-quality clinical research and offer many advantages over single-center investigations. Successful collaboration requires a well-designed research protocol, development of an effective team structure, and the funding to ensure the project is sustained to completion. Equally important, investigators must consider the social, linguistic, and cultural context in which the study is being undertaken. Although randomized clinical trials are the highest level of evidence, study designs may have to be adapted to accommodate available resources, expertise, and local contextual factors. With appropriate planning, these collaborative endeavors can generate changes in clinical practice and positively impact health policy.

Projecting Event-Based Analysis Dates in Clinical Trials: An Illustration Based on the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA) Collaboration. Projecting analysis dates for the IDEA collaboration.

PubMed

Renfro, Lindsay A; Grothey, Axel M; Paul, James; Floriani, Irene; Bonnetain, Franck; Niedzwiecki, Donna; Yamanaka, Takeharu; Souglakos, Ioannis; Yothers, Greg; Sargent, Daniel J

2014-12-01

Clinical trials are expensive and lengthy, where success of a given trial depends on observing a prospectively defined number of patient events required to answer the clinical question. The point at which this analysis time occurs depends on both patient accrual and primary event rates, which typically vary throughout the trial's duration. We demonstrate real-time analysis date projections using data from a collection of six clinical trials that are part of the IDEA collaboration, an international preplanned pooling of data from six trials testing the duration of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer, and we additionally consider the hypothetical impact of one trial's early termination of follow-up. In the absence of outcome data from IDEA, monthly accrual rates for each of the six IDEA trials were used to project subsequent trial-specific accrual, while historical data from similar Adjuvant Colon Cancer Endpoints (ACCENT) Group trials were used to construct a parametric model for IDEA's primary endpoint, disease-free survival, under the same treatment regimen. With this information and using the planned total accrual from each IDEA trial protocol, individual patient accrual and event dates were simulated and the overall IDEA interim and final analysis times projected. Projections were then compared with actual (previously undisclosed) trial-specific event totals at a recent census time for validation. The change in projected final analysis date assuming early termination of follow-up for one IDEA trial was also calculated. Trial-specific predicted event totals were close to the actual number of events per trial for the recent census date at which the number of events per trial was known, with the overall IDEA projected number of events only off by eight patients. Potential early termination of follow-up by one IDEA trial was estimated to postpone the overall IDEA final analysis date by 9 months. Real-time projection of the final analysis time during a trial, or the overall analysis time during a trial collaborative such as IDEA, has practical implications for trial feasibility when these projections are translated into additional time and resources required.

A physician team's experiences in community-based participatory research: insights into effective group collaborations.

PubMed

Dalal, Mehul; Skeete, Rachel; Yeo, Heather L; Lucas, Georgina I; Rosenthal, Marjorie S

2009-12-01

Postdoctoral fellows from the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program are among a growing number of physician-researchers training in community-based participatory research (CBPR). These fellows are uniquely positioned to observe and evaluate CBPR training needs and the experience of collaboratively conducting a CBPR project. To describe, from the perspective of physician-researchers, experiences in intragroup and intergroup collaborations while conducting CBPR. During a 2-year fellowship, a group of seven fellows received 6 months of didactic training and then spent 18 months conducting a mentored CBPR project. The CBPR project was complemented by a 2-year facilitated leadership seminar, which allowed for reflection on intragroup (among fellows) and intergroup (fellows/community members) relationships throughout the CBPR process. Seven core principles of CBPR were found to apply to not only intergroup but also intragroup relationships: (1) building trust, (2) finding a shared interest, (3) power-sharing, (4) fostering co-learning and capacity building among partners, (5) building on existing strengths, (6) employing an iterative process, and (7) finding a balance between research and action for the mutual benefit of all partners. Establishing and maintaining relationships is at the core of CBPR. The development of intragroup relationships paralleled the development of intergroup relationships with community members. Applying the core principles of CBPR to the development of intragroup relationships provided experience that may have enhanced relationships with community partners. An a priori acknowledgement of the importance of relationships and the time needed to develop and manage those relationships may add to the CBPR training experience and assist in successfully executing collaborative projects.

"Podcast Time": Negotiating Digital Literacies and Communities of Learning in a Middle Years ELL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smythe, Suzanne; Neufeld, Paul

2010-01-01

In response to uneven academic outcomes and resistance to reading and writing among ELLs in a Canadian grade 7 classroom, teachers and university-based researchers collaborated to introduce a podcast project in which children learned new digital and multimodal literacy skills as a pathway to success in academic literacies. Throughout the four…

Cost-Effective Business Practices of Schools in Massachusetts. A Collaborative Dissemination Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrimack Education Center, Chelmsford, MA.

The verified successful business practices described in this booklet were being used by Massachusetts schools in the late 1970s. The practices have resulted in cost savings, are generally easy to replicate, and usually do not require major capital outlay. The practices listed are largely conservation practices or relate to food service management,…

Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions into Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patton, Christine; Wang, Justina

2012-01-01

In this brief, Christine Patton and Justina Wang, from Harvard Family Research Project, look at ways of helping to make the transition into kindergarten a positive experience that will serve as a foundation to help children reach their full potential throughout their school years. The brief highlights promising practices in six states--New Jersey,…

Improving Undergraduate Online Retention through Gated Advisement and Redundant Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clay, Melanie N.; Rowland, Stacey; Packard, Abbot

2009-01-01

The University of West Georgia implemented a successful research-based initiative, Project DEW (Developing eCore Winners) to improve retention in its eCore courses. eCore courses are those offered through a collaborative University System of Georgia program, and includes courses required to complete the first two years of an undergraduate degree.…

Designing a Social Work Online Self-Coaching Program: Integrated Support and Joint Ownership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van de Heyde, Valentino; Stoltenkamp, Juliet; Siebrits, André

2017-01-01

The paper explores critical success factors (CSFs) in relation to the support structure for an online self-coaching pilot project, by the Centre for Innovative Education and Communication Technologies of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, in collaboration with UWC's Social Work Department and the University of South Africa…

Final Technical Report: Collaborative Research Center for Nonlinear Simulation of Energetic Particles

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

Berk, Herbert L.

2018-02-15

The study of this project focused on developing a reduced nonlinear model to describe chirping processes in a fusion plasma. A successful method was developed with results clear enough to allow an analytic theory to be developed that replicates the long term response of a nonlinear phase space structure immersed in the MHD continnuum.

Hot callusing for propagation of American beech by grafting

Treesearch

David W. Carey; Mary E. Mason; Paul Bloese; Jennifer L. Koch

2013-01-01

To increase grafting success rate, a hot callus grafting system was designed and implemented as part of a multiagency collaborative project to manage beech bark disease (BBD) through the establishment of regional BBD-resistant grafted seed orchards. Five years of data from over 2000 hot callus graft attempts were analyzed using a logistic regression model to determine...

Investigative Labs in Biology: The Importance of Attending to Team Dynamics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Martha; Gildensoph, Lynne H.; Myers, Marcella J.; Norton, Cynthia G.; Olson, Andrea M.; Wygal, Deborah D.; Tweeten, Kathleen A.

2007-01-01

This article provides some tips for success in facilitating teamwork. Working collaboratively is common in science and the functioning of teams has a large impact on both the implementation of a research project and student satisfaction with the experience. The strategies are divided into what can be done to minimize problems from the start and…

Ethical review issues in collaborative research between us and low-middle income country partners: a case example.

PubMed

McIntosh, Scott; Sierra, Essie; Dozier, Ann; Diaz, Sergio; Quiñones, Zahira; Primack, Aron; Chadwick, Gary; Ossip-Klein, Deborah J

2008-09-01

The current ethical structure for collaborative international health research stems largely from developed countries' standards of proper ethical practices. The result is that ethical committees in developing countries are required to adhere to standards that might impose practices that conflict with local culture and unintended interpretations of ethics, treatments, and research. This paper presents a case example of a joint international research project that successfully established inclusive ethical review processes as well as other groundwork and components necessary for the conduct of human behavior research and research capacity building in the host country.

Operational research leading to rapid national policy change: tuberculosis-diabetes collaboration in India.

PubMed

Kumar, A M V; Satyanarayana, S; Wilson, N C; Chadha, S S; Gupta, D; Nair, S; Zachariah, R; Kapur, A; Harries, A D

2014-06-21

In 2011, bi-directional screening for tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), although how best to implement the activity was not clear. In India, with early engagement of national programme managers and all important stakeholders, a countrywide, multicentre operational research (OR) project was designed in October 2011 and completed in 2012. The results led to a rapid national policy decision to routinely screen all TB patients for DM in September 2012. The process, experience and enablers of implementing this unique and successful collaborative model of operational research are presented.

e-Science and data management resources on the Web.

PubMed

Gore, Sally A

2011-01-01

The way research is conducted has changed over time, from simple experiments to computer modeling and simulation, from individuals working in isolated laboratories to global networks of researchers collaborating on a single topic. Often, this new paradigm results in the generation of staggering amounts of data. The intensive use of data and the existence of networks of researchers characterize e-Science. The role of libraries and librarians in e-Science has been a topic of interest for some time now. This column looks at tools, resources, and projects that demonstrate successful collaborations between libraries and researchers in e-Science.

Improving Undergraduate Research Experiences With An Intentional Mentoring Program: Lessons Learned Through Assessment of Keck Geology Consortium Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirth, K. R.; Garver, J. I.; Greer, L.; Pollock, M.; Varga, R. J.; Davidson, C. M.; Frey, H. M.; Hubbard, D. K.; Peck, W. H.; Wobus, R. A.

2015-12-01

The Keck Geology Consortium, with support from the National Science Foundation (REU Program) and ExxonMobil, is a collaborative effort by 18 colleges to improve geoscience education through high-quality research experiences. Since its inception in 1987 more than 1350 undergraduate students and 145 faculty have been involved in 189 yearlong research projects. This non-traditional REU model offers exceptional opportunities for students to address research questions at a deep level, to learn and utilize sophisticated analytical methods, and to engage in authentic collaborative research that culminates in an undergraduate research symposium and published abstracts volume. The large numbers of student and faculty participants in Keck projects also affords a unique opportunity to study the impacts of program design on undergraduate research experiences in the geosciences. Students who participate in Keck projects generally report significant gains in personal and professional dimensions, as well as in clarification of educational and career goals. Survey data from student participants, project directors, and campus advisors identify mentoring as one of the most critical and challenging elements of successful undergraduate research experiences. Additional challenges arise from the distributed nature of Keck projects (i.e., participants, project directors, advisors, and other collaborators are at different institutions) and across the span of yearlong projects. In an endeavor to improve student learning about the nature and process of science, and to make mentoring practices more intentional, the Consortium has developed workshops and materials to support both project directors and campus research advisors (e.g., best practices for mentoring, teaching ethical professional conduct, benchmarks for progress, activities to support students during research process). The Consortium continues to evolve its practices to better support students from underrepresented groups.

An extensible and successful method of identifying collaborators for National Library of Medicine informationist projects

PubMed Central

Williams, Jeff D.; Rambo, Neil H.

2015-01-01

Question/Purpose The New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library used a new method to arrange in-depth discussions with basic science researchers. The objective was to identify collaborators for a new National Library of Medicine administrative supplement. Setting The research took place at the NYU Health Sciences Library. Methods Using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORTER, forty-four researchers were identified and later contacted through individualized emails. Results Nine researchers responded to the email followed by six in-person or phone discussions. At the conclusion of this process, two researchers submitted applications for supplemental funding, and both of these applications were successful. Conclusions This method confirmed these users could benefit from the skills and knowledge of health sciences librarians, but they are largely unaware of this. PMID:26213507

Project Georgia High School/High Tech

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The High School/High Tech initiative of the President's Committee on Employment of Disabilities, Georgia's application of the collaborative "Georgia Model" and NASA's commitment of funding have shown that opportunities for High School/High Tech students are unlimited. In Georgia, the partnership approach to meeting the needs of this program has opened doors previously closed. As the program grows and develops, reflecting the needs of our students and the marketplace, more opportunities will be available. Our collaboratives are there to provide these opportunities and meet the challenge of matching our students with appropriate education and career goals. Summing up the activities and outcomes of Project Georgia High School/High Tech is not difficult. Significant outcomes have already occurred in the Savannah area as a result of NASA's grant. The support of NASA has enabled Georgia Committee to "grow" High School/High Tech throughout the region-and, by example, the state. The success of the Columbus pilot project has fostered the proliferation of projects, resulting in more than 30 Georgia High School High Tech programs-with eight in the Savannah area.

Building multi-country collaboration on watershed ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Community-based watershed resilience programs that bridge public health and environmental outcomes often require cross-boundary, multi-country collaboration. The CRESSIDA project, led by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) and supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), forwards a resilience-focused approach for Western Balkan communities in the Drini and Drina river watersheds with the goal of safeguarding public health and the environment. The initial phases of this project give a contextualized example of how to advance resilience-driven environmental health goals in Western Balkan communities, and experience within the region has garnered several theme areas that require focus in order to promote a holistic watershed management program. In this paper, using CRESSIDA as a case study, we show (1) how watershed projects designed with resilience-driven environmental health goals can work in context, (2) provide data surrounding contextualized problems with resilience and suggest tools and strategies for the implementation of projects to address these problems, and (3) explore how cross-boundary foci are central to the success of these approaches in watersheds that comprise several countries. Published in the journal, Reviews on Environmental Health.

Integrated response toward HIV: a health promotion case study from China.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhen; Wang, Debin; Yang, Sen; Duan, Mingyue; Bu, Pengbin; Green, Andrew; Zhang, Xuejun

2011-06-01

Integrated HIV response refers to a formalized, collaborative process among organizations in communities with HIV at-risk populations. It is a both comprehensive and flexible scheme, which may include community-based environment promotion, skill coalition, fund linkage, human resource collaboration and service system jointly for both HIV prevention and control. It enables decisions and actions responds over time. In 1997, the Chinese government developed a 10-year HIV project supported by World Bank Loan (H9-HIV/AIDS/STIs). It was the first integrated STI/HIV intervention project in China and provides a unique opportunity to explore the long-term comprehensive STI/HIV intervention in a low-middle income country setting. Significant outcomes were identified as development and promotion of the national strategic plan and its ongoing implementation; positive knowledge, behavioral and STI/HIV prevalence rate change; and valuable experiences for managing integrated HIV/STI intervention projects. Essential factors for the success of the project and the key tasks for the next step were identified and included well-designed intervention in rural and low economic regions, unified program evaluation framework and real-time information collection and assessment.

SMUD Community Renewable Energy Deployment Final Report

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

Sison-Lebrilla, Elaine; Tiangco, Valentino; Lemes, Marco

2015-06-08

This report summarizes the completion of four renewable energy installations supported by California Energy Commission (CEC) grant number CEC Grant PIR-11-005, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Assistance Agreement, DE-EE0003070, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Community Renewable Energy Deployment (CRED) program. The funding from the DOE, combined with funding from the CEC, supported the construction of a solar power system, biogas generation from waste systems, and anaerobic digestion systems at dairy facilities, all for electricity generation and delivery to SMUD’s distribution system. The deployment of CRED projects shows that solar projects and anaerobic digesters can be successfully implementedmore » under favorable economic conditions and business models and through collaborative partnerships. This work helps other communities learn how to assess, overcome barriers, utilize, and benefit from renewable resources for electricity generation in their region. In addition to reducing GHG emissions, the projects also demonstrate that solar projects and anaerobic digesters can be readily implemented through collaborative partnerships. This work helps other communities learn how to assess, overcome barriers, utilize, and benefit from renewable resources for electricity generation in their region.« less

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.

A 'Knowledge Ecologies' Analysis of Co-designing Water and Sanitation Services in Alaska.

PubMed

Fam, Dena; Sofoulis, Zoë

2017-08-01

Willingness to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries is necessary but not sufficient for project success. This is a case study of a transdisciplinary project whose success was constrained by contextual factors that ultimately favoured technical and scientific forms of knowledge over the cultural intelligence that might ensure technical solutions were socially feasible. In response to Alaskan Water and Sewer Challenge (AWSC), an international team with expertise in engineering, consultative design and public health formed in 2013 to collaborate on a two-year project to design remote area water and sanitation systems in consultation with two native Alaskan communities. Team members were later interviewed about their experiences. Project processes are discussed using a 'Knowledge Ecology' framework, which applies principles of ecosystems analysis to knowledge ecologies, identifying the knowledge equivalents of 'biotic' and 'abiotic' factors and looking at their various interactions. In a positivist 'knowledge integration' perspective, different knowledges are like Lego blocks that combine with other 'data sets' to create a unified structure. The knowledge ecology framework highlights how interactions between different knowledges and knowledge practitioners ('biotic factors') are shaped by contextual ('abiotic') factors: the conditions of knowledge production, the research policy and funding climate, the distribution of research resources, and differential access to enabling infrastructures (networks, facilities). This case study highlights the importance of efforts to negotiate between different knowledge frameworks, including by strategic use of language and precepts that help translate social research into technical design outcomes that are grounded in social reality.

Social Networks and Community-Based Natural Resource Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauber, T. Bruce; Decker, Daniel J.; Knuth, Barbara A.

2008-10-01

We conducted case studies of three successful examples of collaborative, community-based natural resource conservation and development. Our purpose was to: (1) identify the functions served by interactions within the social networks of involved stakeholders; (2) describe key structural properties of these social networks; and (3) determine how these structural properties varied when the networks were serving different functions. The case studies relied on semi-structured, in-depth interviews of 8 to 11 key stakeholders at each site who had played a significant role in the collaborative projects. Interview questions focused on the roles played by key stakeholders and the functions of interactions between them. Interactions allowed the exchange of ideas, provided access to funding, and enabled some stakeholders to influence others. The exchange of ideas involved the largest number of stakeholders, the highest percentage of local stakeholders, and the highest density of interactions. Our findings demonstrated the value of tailoring strategies for involving stakeholders to meet different needs during a collaborative, community-based natural resource management project. Widespread involvement of local stakeholders may be most appropriate when ideas for a project are being developed. During efforts to exert influence to secure project approvals or funding, however, involving specific individuals with political connections or influence on possible sources of funds may be critical. Our findings are consistent with past work that has postulated that social networks may require specific characteristics to meet different needs in community-based environmental management.

Project Development Teams: A Novel Mechanism for Accelerating Translational Research

PubMed Central

Sajdyk, Tammy J.; Sors, Thomas G.; Hunt, Joe D.; Murray, Mary E.; Deford, Melanie E.; Shekhar, Anantha; Denne, Scott C.

2014-01-01

The trend in conducting successful biomedical research is shifting from individual academic labs to coordinated collaborative research teams. Teams of experienced investigators with a wide variety of expertise are now critical for developing and maintaining a successful, productive research program. However, assembling a team whose members have the right expertise requires a great deal of time and many resources. To assist investigators seeking such resources, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) created the Project Development Teams (PDTs) Program to support translational research on and across the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University, Purdue University, and University of Notre Dame campuses. PDTs are multidisciplinary committees of seasoned researchers who assist investigators, at any stage of research, in transforming ideas/hypotheses into well-designed translational research projects. The teams help investigators capitalize on Indiana CTSI resources by providing investigators with, as needed, mentoring and career development; protocol development; pilot funding; institutional review board, regulatory, and/or nursing support; intellectual property support; access to institutional technology; and assistance with biostatistics, bioethics, recruiting participants, data mining, engaging community health, and collaborating with other investigators. Indiana CTSI leaders have analyzed metrics, collected since the inception of the PDT Program in 2008 from both investigators and team members, and found evidence strongly suggesting that the highly responsive teams have become an important one-stop venue for facilitating productive interactions between basic and clinical scientists across four campuses, have aided in advancing the careers of junior faculty, and have helped investigators successfully obtain external funds. PMID:25319172

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

Building a Community of Practice for Researchers: The International Network for Simulation-Based Pediatric Innovation, Research and Education.

PubMed

Cheng, Adam; Auerbach, Marc; Calhoun, Aaron; Mackinnon, Ralph; Chang, Todd P; Nadkarni, Vinay; Hunt, Elizabeth A; Duval-Arnould, Jordan; Peiris, Nicola; Kessler, David

2018-06-01

The scope and breadth of simulation-based research is growing rapidly; however, few mechanisms exist for conducting multicenter, collaborative research. Failure to foster collaborative research efforts is a critical gap that lies in the path of advancing healthcare simulation. The 2017 Research Summit hosted by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare highlighted how simulation-based research networks can produce studies that positively impact the delivery of healthcare. In 2011, the International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research and Education (INSPIRE) was formed to facilitate multicenter, collaborative simulation-based research with the aim of developing a community of practice for simulation researchers. Since its formation, the network has successfully completed and published numerous collaborative research projects. In this article, we describe INSPIRE's history, structure, and internal processes with the goal of highlighting the community of practice model for other groups seeking to form a simulation-based research network.

Implementing care programmes for frail older people: a project management perspective.

PubMed

Bindels, Jill; Cox, Karen; Abma, Tineke A; van Schayck, Onno C P; Widdershoven, Guy

2015-01-01

To examine the issues that influenced the implementation of programmes designed to identify and support frail older people in the community in the Netherlands. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the perspectives of project leaders, project members and members of the steering committee responsible for the implementation of the programmes. Interviews were conducted in 2009 (n = 10) and in 2012 (n = 13) and a focus group was organised in 2012 (n = 5). The interviews revealed that the implementation was influenced by the extent and quality of collaboration between organisations, adaptation to existing structures, future funding for the programmes and project leadership. A good relationship between participating organisations and professionals is required for successful implementation. A lack of clear project leadership and structural funding hampers the implementation of complex programmes in primary care settings. The findings of this study are useful for organisations and professionals who are planning to implement complex programmes. Identifying barriers concerning institutional collaboration, adaptation to existing structures, leadership and continuation of financial support at an early stage of the implementation process can support practitioners in overcoming them. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methodology of quality improvement projects for the Texas Medicare population.

PubMed

Pendergrass, P W; Abel, R L; Bing, M; Vaughn, R; McCauley, C

1998-07-01

The Texas Medical Foundation, the quality improvement organization for the state of Texas, develops local quality improvement projects for the Medicare population. These projects are developed as part of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program undertaken by the Health Care Financing Administration. The goal of a local quality improvement project is to collaborate with providers to identify and reduce the incidence of unintentional variations in the delivery of care that negatively impact outcomes. Two factors are critical to the success of a quality improvement project. First, as opposed to peer review that is based on implicit criteria, quality improvement must be based on explicit criteria. These criteria represent key steps in the delivery of care that have been shown to improve outcomes for a specific disease. Second, quality improvement must be performed in partnership with the health care community. As such, the health care community must play an integral role in the design and evaluation of a quality improvement project and in the design and implementation of the resulting quality improvement plan. Specifically, this article provides a historical perspective for the transition from peer review to quality improvement. It discusses key steps used in developing and implementing local quality improvement projects including topic selection, quality indicator development, collaborator recruitment, and measurement of performance/improvement. Two Texas Medical Foundation projects are described to highlight the current methodology and to illustrate the impact of quality improvement projects.

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

[Strategy and collaboration between medicinal chemists and pharmaceutical scientists for drug delivery systems].

PubMed

Mano, Takashi

2013-01-01

In order to successfully apply drug delivery systems (DDS) to new chemical entities (NCEs), collaboration between medicinal chemists and formulation scientists is critical for efficient drug discovery. Formulation scientists have to use 'language' that medicinal chemists understand to help promote mutual understanding, and medicinal chemists and formulation scientists have to set up strategies to use suitable DDS technologies at the discovery phase of the programmes to ensure successful transfer into the development phase. In this review, strategies of solubilisation formulation for oral delivery, inhalation delivery, nasal delivery and bioconjugation are all discussed. For example, for oral drug delivery, multiple initiatives can be proposed to improve the process to select an optimal delivery option for an NCE. From a technical perspective, formulation scientists have to explain the scope and limitations of formulations as some DDS technologies might be applicable only to limited chemical spaces. Other limitations could be the administered dose and, cost, time and resources for formulation development and manufacturing. Since DDS selection is best placed as part of lead-optimisation, formulation scientists need to be involved in discovery projects at lead selection and optimisation stages. The key to success in their collaboration is to facilitate communication between these two areas of expertise at both a strategic and scientific level. Also, it would be beneficial for medicinal chemists and formulation scientists to set common goals to improve the process of collaboration and build long term partnerships to improve DDS.

The power of special friends: addressing the risk of child abuse through mentoring.

PubMed

Vertermark, P; Russell, J; Mulvey, N

1995-01-01

Since 1989 two Saint Paul, Minnesota agencies have carried on a collaborative effort called the Befriender Volunteer Project. This project is designed to address the risk factors associated with child abuse which are often inherent in families headed by an adolescent. Between November of 1993 and October of 1994 a self-study of this project was conducted. An important objective of this study was to determine how the positive elements of a successful relationship affected the risk factors in these young families. Consistent with what we know about the effects of successful helping relationships, most significant improvements in young mothers were found in the areas of hopefulness, self-esteem, and parenting skills. Of significant note was the observation of the various ways the Befriender/young mother relationship enhanced the young mothers' potential for breaking the generational cycle of risk for child abuse and neglect.

Providing Undergraduate Research Opportunities Through the World Rivers Observatory Collaborative Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillies, S. L.; Marsh, S. J.; Janmaat, A.; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B.; Voss, B.; Holmes, R. M.

2013-12-01

Successful research collaboration exists between the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), a primarily undergraduate-serving university located on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and the World Rivers Observatory that is coordinated through the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC). The World Rivers Observatory coordinates time-series sampling of 15 large rivers, with particular focus on the large Arctic rivers, the Ganges-Brahmaputra, Congo, Fraser, Yangtze (Changjiang), Amazon, and Mackenzie River systems. The success of this international observatory critically depends on the participation of local collaborators, such as UFV, that are necessary in order to collect temporally resolved data from these rivers. Several faculty members and undergraduate students from the Biology and Geography Departments of UFV received on-site training from the lead-PIs of the Global Rivers Observatory. To share information and ensure good quality control of sampling methods, WHOI and WHRC hosted two international workshops at Woods Hole for collaborators. For the past four years, faculty and students from UFV have been collecting a variety of bi-monthly water samples from the Fraser River for the World Rivers Observatory. UFV undergraduate students who become involved learn proper sampling techniques and are given the opportunity to design and conduct their own research. Students have collected, analyzed and presented data from this project at regional, national, and international scientific meetings. UFV undergraduate students have also been hosted by WHOI and WHRC as guest students to work on independent research projects. While at WHOI and WHRC, students are able to conduct research using state-of-the-art specialized research facilities not available at UFV.

The International Planetary Data Alliance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, T.; Arviset, C.; Crichton, D. J.

2017-12-01

The International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA) is an association of partners with the aim of improving the quality of planetary science data and services to the end users of space based instrumentation. The specific mission of the IPDA is to facilitate global access to, and exchange of, high quality scientific data products managed across international boundaries. Ensuring proper capture, accessibility and availability of the data is the task of the individual member space agencies. The IPDA was formed in 2006 with the purpose of adopting standards and developing collaborations across agencies to ensure data is captured in common formats. Member agencies include: Armenian Astronomical Society, China National Space Agency (CNSA), European Space Agency (ESA), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Italian Space Agency (ASI), Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Air and Space Administration (NASA), National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Space Research Institute (IKI), UAE Space Agency, and UK Space Agency. The IPDA Steering Committee oversees the execution of projects and coordinates international collaboration. The IPDA conducts a number of focused projects to enable interoperability, construction of compatible archives, and the operation of the IPDA as a whole. These projects have helped to establish the IPDA and to move the collaboration forward. A key project that is currently underway is the implementation of the PDS4 data standard. Given the international focus, it has been critical that the PDS and the IPDA collaborate on its development. Also, other projects have been conducted successfully, including developing the IPDA architecture and corresponding requirements, developing shared registries for data and tools across international boundaries, and common templates for supporting agreements for archiving and sharing data for international missions. Several projects demonstrating interoperability across systems have been applied to specific missions and data sets. IPDA membership is open to space agencies and scientific research institutes. Representatives who are interested in joining the IPDA should contact the author or use the contact form on the web page http://www.planetarydata.org.

Patient participation in ERS guidelines and research projects: the EMBARC experience

PubMed Central

Timothy, Alan; Polverino, Eva; Almagro, Marta; Ruddy, Thomas; Powell, Pippa; Boyd, Jeanette

2017-01-01

The European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) is a European Respiratory Society (ERS) Clinical Research Collaboration dedicated to improving research and clinical care for people with bronchiectasis. EMBARC has created a European Bronchiectasis Registry, funded by the ERS and by the European Union (EU) Innovative Medicines Initiative Programme. From the outset, EMBARC had the ambition to be a patient-focussed project. In contrast to many respiratory diseases, however, there are no specific patient charities or European patient organisations for patients with bronchiectasis and no existing infrastructure for patient engagement. This article describes the experience of EMBARC and the European Lung Foundation in establishing a patient advisory group and then engaging this group in European guidelines, an international registry and a series of research studies. Patient involvement in research, clinical guidelines and educational activities is increasingly advocated and increasingly important. Genuine patient engagement can achieve a number of goals that are critical to the success of an EU project, including focussing activities on patient priorities, allowing patients to direct the clinical and research agenda, and dissemination of guidelines and research findings to patients and the general public. Here, we review lessons learned and provide guidance for future ERS task forces, EU-funded projects or clinical research collaborations that are considering patient involvement. Educational aims To understand the different ways in which patients can contribute to clinical guidelines, research projects and educational activities. To understand the barriers and potential solutions to these barriers from a physician’s perspective, in order to ensure meaningful patient involvement in clinical projects. To understand the barriers and potential solutions from a patient’s perspective, in order to meaningfully involve patients in clinical projects. PMID:28894480

ScreenPro FH: from the Czech MedPed to international collaboration. ScreenPro FH is a participating project of the EAS-FHCS.

PubMed

Ceska, R; Freiberger, T; Vaclova, M; Aleksicova, T; Votavova, L; Vrablik, M

2017-04-05

This article describes the evolution of our understanding of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in the Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) region, and the dissemination of this understanding to other countries. Using the ScreenPro FH project as an example, we would like to illustrate the progression from national objectives, to regional networking and, finally, to international collaboration via the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) project under the leadership of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). It is essential to improve our ability to diagnose FH. In this regard, the EAS and its FHSC project must be commended for their educational and organizational activities which, above all, are dedicated to the creation of a global FH patient registry. In the CESE region, FH diagnostics and treatment situation are markedly different than in Western Europe or North America. Since the Czech MedPed project (Make Early Diagnoses to Prevent Early Deaths in Medical Pedigrees) has been so successful (with results not only comparable to, but, for some parameters, even surpassing the results of many Western countries) we decided to apply the Czech experience to the CESE region. Thus, the ScreenPro FH project was created. The aim of ScreenPro FH is to create a specialist network in the CESE region. The primary objective of the ScreenPro FH project was to dramatically reduce the number of premature deaths due to clinical complications of atherosclerosis in FH patients. At present, ScreenPro FH comprises 18 member countries with a total population of 500,000,000; which, in terms of the FH population, represents 1-2 million patients.

Patient participation in ERS guidelines and research projects: the EMBARC experience.

PubMed

Chalmers, James D; Timothy, Alan; Polverino, Eva; Almagro, Marta; Ruddy, Thomas; Powell, Pippa; Boyd, Jeanette

2017-09-01

The European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) is a European Respiratory Society (ERS) Clinical Research Collaboration dedicated to improving research and clinical care for people with bronchiectasis. EMBARC has created a European Bronchiectasis Registry, funded by the ERS and by the European Union (EU) Innovative Medicines Initiative Programme. From the outset, EMBARC had the ambition to be a patient-focussed project. In contrast to many respiratory diseases, however, there are no specific patient charities or European patient organisations for patients with bronchiectasis and no existing infrastructure for patient engagement. This article describes the experience of EMBARC and the European Lung Foundation in establishing a patient advisory group and then engaging this group in European guidelines, an international registry and a series of research studies. Patient involvement in research, clinical guidelines and educational activities is increasingly advocated and increasingly important. Genuine patient engagement can achieve a number of goals that are critical to the success of an EU project, including focussing activities on patient priorities, allowing patients to direct the clinical and research agenda, and dissemination of guidelines and research findings to patients and the general public. Here, we review lessons learned and provide guidance for future ERS task forces, EU-funded projects or clinical research collaborations that are considering patient involvement. To understand the different ways in which patients can contribute to clinical guidelines, research projects and educational activities.To understand the barriers and potential solutions to these barriers from a physician's perspective, in order to ensure meaningful patient involvement in clinical projects.To understand the barriers and potential solutions from a patient's perspective, in order to meaningfully involve patients in clinical projects.

Facebook for scientists: requirements and services for optimizing how scientific collaborations are established.

PubMed

Schleyer, Titus; Spallek, Heiko; Butler, Brian S; Subramanian, Sushmita; Weiss, Daniel; Poythress, M Louisa; Rattanathikun, Phijarana; Mueller, Gregory

2008-08-13

As biomedical research projects become increasingly interdisciplinary and complex, collaboration with appropriate individuals, teams, and institutions becomes ever more crucial to project success. While social networks are extremely important in determining how scientific collaborations are formed, social networking technologies have not yet been studied as a tool to help form scientific collaborations. Many currently emerging expertise locating systems include social networking technologies, but it is unclear whether they make the process of finding collaborators more efficient and effective. This study was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) Which requirements should systems for finding collaborators in biomedical science fulfill? and (2) Which information technology services can address these requirements? The background research phase encompassed a thorough review of the literature, affinity diagramming, contextual inquiry, and semistructured interviews. This phase yielded five themes suggestive of requirements for systems to support the formation of collaborations. In the next phase, the generative phase, we brainstormed and selected design ideas for formal concept validation with end users. Then, three related, well-validated ideas were selected for implementation and evaluation in a prototype. Five main themes of systems requirements emerged: (1) beyond expertise, successful collaborations require compatibility with respect to personality, work style, productivity, and many other factors (compatibility); (2) finding appropriate collaborators requires the ability to effectively search in domains other than your own using information that is comprehensive and descriptive (communication); (3) social networks are important for finding potential collaborators, assessing their suitability and compatibility, and establishing contact with them (intermediation); (4) information profiles must be complete, correct, up-to-date, and comprehensive and allow fine-grained control over access to information by different audiences (information quality and access); (5) keeping online profiles up-to-date should require little or no effort and be integrated into the scientist's existing workflow (motivation). Based on the requirements, 16 design ideas underwent formal validation with end users. Of those, three were chosen to be implemented and evaluated in a system prototype, "Digital|Vita": maintaining, formatting, and semi-automated updating of biographical information; searching for experts; and building and maintaining the social network and managing document flow. In addition to quantitative and factual information about potential collaborators, social connectedness, personal and professional compatibility, and power differentials also influence whether collaborations are formed. Current systems only partially model these requirements. Services in Digital|Vita combine an existing workflow, maintaining and formatting biographical information, with collaboration-searching functions in a novel way. Several barriers to the adoption of systems such as Digital|Vita exist, such as potential adoption asymmetries between junior and senior researchers and the tension between public and private information. Developers and researchers may consider one or more of the services described in this paper for implementation in their own expertise locating systems.

Preparing Nursing Students for Interprofessional Practice: The Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Oncology Palliative Care Education.

PubMed

Hermann, Carla P; Head, Barbara A; Black, Karen; Singleton, Karen

2016-01-01

Interprofessional educational experiences for baccalaureate nursing students are essential to prepare them for interprofessional communication, collaboration, and team work. Nurse educators are ideally positioned to develop and lead such initiatives. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and implementation of an interprofessional education (IPE) project involving students in nursing, medicine, social work, and chaplaincy. The Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Oncology Palliative Care Education project uses team-based palliative oncology education as the framework for teaching students interprofessional practice skills. The need for IPE is apparent, but there are very few comprehensive, successful projects for nurse educators to use as models. This article describes the development of the curriculum by the interprofessional faculty team. Issues encountered by nursing faculty members as they implemented the IPE experience are discussed. Solutions developed to address the issues and ongoing challenges are presented. This project can serve as a model of a successful IPE initiative involving nursing students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Goal setting using telemedicine in rural underserved older adults with diabetes: experiences from the informatics for diabetes education and telemedicine project.

PubMed

West, Susan P; Lagua, Carina; Trief, Paula M; Izquierdo, Roberto; Weinstock, Ruth S

2010-05-01

To describe the use of telemedicine for setting goals for behavior change and examine the success in achieving these goals in rural underserved older adults with diabetes. Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes living in rural upstate New York who were enrolled in the telemedicine intervention of the Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) project (n = 610) participated in home televisits with nurse and dietitian educators every 4-6 weeks for 2-6 years. Behavior change goals related to nutrition, physical activity, monitoring, diabetes health maintenance, and/or use of the home telemedicine unit were established at the conclusion of each televisit and assessed at the next visit. Collaborative goal setting was employed during 18,355 televisits (mean of 33 goal-setting televisits/participant). The most common goals were related to monitoring, followed by diabetes health maintenance, nutrition, exercise, and use of the telemedicine equipment. Overall, 68% of behavioral goals were rated as "improved" or "met." The greatest success was achieved for goals related to proper insulin injection technique and daily foot care. These elderly participants had the most difficulty achieving goals related to use of the computer. No gender differences in goal achievement were observed. Televisits can be successfully used to collaboratively establish behavior change goals to help improve diabetes self-management in underserved elderly rural adults.

Using a Wiki to Enhance Cooperative Learning in a Real Analysis Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Elisha

2009-01-01

This article describes how the author used a wiki-based website in a real analysis course, and assesses its effectiveness. The wiki was used to post course materials, maintain a forum, enable students to write collaborative projects, and enable students to develop a glossary of important terms. The wiki proved to be very successful; it facilitated…

High School Transition--An Intervention That Empowers Children with Special Educational Needs and Improves School Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunn, Helena; Davis, Debbie; Speed, Emma

2017-01-01

This article discusses the process and results of a junior school initiative from a local authority in the East of England, to ensure that vulnerable pupils in the school experience a successful transition to high school. The resulting project is the consequence of an inter-organisational collaboration between the junior school, a secondary school…

Analysis of Decision Making Skills for Large Scale Disaster Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-21

Capability to influence and collaborate Compassion Teamwork Communication Leadership Provide vision of outcome / set priorities Confidence, courage to make...project evaluates the viability of expanding the use of serious games to augment classroom training, tabletop and full scale exercise, and actual...training, evaluation, analysis, and technology ex- ploration. Those techniques have found successful niches, but their wider applicability faces

Using the R2D2 Model for Creating Collaboration among Practicing Teachers and Preservice Teachers during Reading Assessment Preparation at Four Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merkley, Donna; Duffelmeyer, Frederick; Beed, Penny; Jensen, Sharon; Bobys, Aileen

2007-01-01

It is essential that preservice teachers have successful experiences with infused technology during teacher preparation. This article describes a project in which collegial interaction among practicing teachers and preservice teachers at four participating institutions of higher education was enhanced by technological innovation. The Recursive,…

Walking the Tightrope: Market Drivers versus Social Responsibility with Implications for Language, Literacy and Numeracy, and Inclusive Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livock, Cheryl

2016-01-01

For the past two years TAFE Queensland Brisbane and one of its amalgamated branches, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE, have been conducting a collaborative action research project investigating how best to support their very diverse vocational students to successfully complete their studies. This is in a climate of devaluing vocational…

Mentoring for Innovation: Key Factors Affecting Participant Satisfaction in the Process of Collaborative Knowledge Construction in Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorner, Helga; Karpati, Andrea

2010-01-01

This paper presents data about the successful use of the Mentored Innovation Model for professional development for a group of Hungarian teachers (n = 23, n = 20 in two iterations), which was employed in the CALIBRATE project in order to enhance their ICT skills and pedagogical competences needed for participation in a multicultural, multilingual…

Every Drop Counts: Students Develop Public Service Announcements on the Importance of Water Conservation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokes, Nina Christiane; Hull, Mary Margaret

2002-01-01

In today's fast-paced, technological world, it is a constant battle for teachers to find new and exciting ways to challenge and engage their students. One success story involves a unique collaborative project that focuses on water resources and conservation in which students design public service announcements (PSAs) to be produced and aired on…

A Study of Cognitive and Noncognitive Predictors of Academic Success in Nursing, Allied Health and Medical Students. AIR 1997 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyons, Kevin J.; Young, Barbara E.; Haas, Patricia S.; Hojat, Mohammadreza; Bross, Theodore M.

This study, a collaborative undertaking between the college of health professions and the medical college at Thomas Jefferson University (Pennsylvania), was part of a larger project intended to examine whether a selected set of academic, demographic, and psychosocial variables are predictive of nursing and allied health student academic…

Undergraduate Student Involvement in International Research - The IRES Program at MAX-lab, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briscoe, William; O'Rielly, Grant; Fissum, Kevin

2014-03-01

Undergraduate students associated with The George Washington University and UMass Dartmouth have had the opportunity to participate in nuclear physics research as a part of the PIONS@MAXLAB Collaboration performing experiments at MAX-lab at Lund University in Sweden. This project has supported thirteen undergraduate students during 2009 - 2011. The student researchers are involved with all aspects of the experiments performed at the laboratory, from set-up to analysis and presentation at national conferences. These experiments investigate the dynamics responsible for the internal structure of the nucleon through the study of pion photoproduction off the nucleon and high-energy Compton scattering. Along with the US and Swedish project leaders, members of the collaboration (from four different countries) have contributed to the training and mentoring of these students. This program provides students with international research experiences that prepare them to operate successfully in a global environment and encourages them to stay in areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that are crucial for our modern, technology-dependent society. We will present the history, goals and outcomes in both physics results and student success that have come from this program. This work supported by NSF OISE/IRES award 0553467.

Supporting open collaboration in science through explicit and linked semantic description of processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gil, Yolanda; Michel, Felix; Ratnakar, Varun; Read, Jordan S.; Hauder, Matheus; Duffy, Christopher; Hanson, Paul C.; Dugan, Hilary

2015-01-01

The Web was originally developed to support collaboration in science. Although scientists benefit from many forms of collaboration on the Web (e.g., blogs, wikis, forums, code sharing, etc.), most collaborative projects are coordinated over email, phone calls, and in-person meetings. Our goal is to develop a collaborative infrastructure for scientists to work on complex science questions that require multi-disciplinary contributions to gather and analyze data, that cannot occur without significant coordination to synthesize findings, and that grow organically to accommodate new contributors as needed as the work evolves over time. Our approach is to develop an organic data science framework based on a task-centered organization of the collaboration, includes principles from social sciences for successful on-line communities, and exposes an open science process. Our approach is implemented as an extension of a semantic wiki platform, and captures formal representations of task decomposition structures, relations between tasks and users, and other properties of tasks, data, and other relevant science objects. All these entities are captured through the semantic wiki user interface, represented as semantic web objects, and exported as linked data.

A Word to the Wise: Advice for Scientists Engaged in Collaborative Adaptive Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkinson, Peter; Huber, Ann; Saah, David S.; Battles, John J.

2017-05-01

Collaborative adaptive management is a process for making decisions about the environment in the face of uncertainty and conflict. Scientists have a central role to play in these decisions. However, while scientists are well trained to reduce uncertainty by discovering new knowledge, most lack experience with the means to mitigate conflict in contested situations. To address this gap, we drew from our efforts coordinating a large collaborative adaptive management effort, the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project, to offer advice to our fellow environmental scientists. Key challenges posed by collaborative adaptive management include the confusion caused by multiple institutional cultures, the need to provide information at management-relevant scales, frequent turnover in participants, fluctuations in enthusiasm among key constituencies, and diverse definitions of success among partners. Effective strategies included a dedication to consistency, a commitment to transparency, the willingness to communicate frequently via multiple forums, and the capacity for flexibility. Collaborative adaptive management represents a promising, new model for scientific engagement with the public. Learning the lessons of effective collaboration in environmental management is an essential task to achieve the shared goal of a sustainable future.

Coaching and leadership for the diffusion of innovation in health care: a different type of multi-organization improvement collaborative.

PubMed

Green, Paul L; Plsek, Paul E

2002-02-01

Health care organizations have suffered a steady decrease in operating margins in recent years while facing increased competition and pressure to provide ever-higher levels of customer service, quality of care, and innovation in delivery methodologies. The ability to rapidly find and implement changes that will lead to strategic improvement is critical. To assist member organizations in dealing with these issues, VHA Upper Midwest launched the Coaching and Leadership Initiative (VHA-CLI) in January 1999. The initiative was intended to develop new methods of collaborating for organizational learning of best practices, with a focus on generalizable change and deliberate leadership supports for deployment, diffusion, and sustainability. The emphasis was on the spread of ideas for improvement into all relevant corners of the organization. The structure of the VHA-CLI collaborative involved four waves of demonstration teams during 2 years. Each meeting of the collaborative included an executive session, team learning sessions (concepts applied to their improvement projects), and planning for the 6-month action period following the meeting. An important feature of the collaborative is the way in which teams in the various waves overlapped. For example, the Wave 1 team for a given organization came to a learning session in January 1999. At the second collaborative meeting in June 1999, the Wave 1 teams reported on the progress in their pilot sites. This meeting was also the kick-off session for the Wave 2 teams, which could learn about organizational culture and the improvement model from the efforts of their colleagues on Wave 1. Wave 1 teams also learned about and planned for spreading their efforts to other sites beyond the pilot. The pattern of multiple teams stretching across two waves of activity was repeated at every meeting of the collaborative. Each organization in the collaborative has achieved improved outcomes around its selected clinical topics. In total, 26 teams have made significant improvement in 17 different topic areas. In addition, each organization has been able to successfully spread tested improvements to other individuals, teams, or locations, and the improvement work has become easier and more rapid with each successive cycle. The learning process initiated by this project will continue for at least another year in the VHA Upper Midwest region and will be expanded as participating organizations in other regions enroll in the VHA's national effort.

The Ensemble Canon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

MIittman, David S

2011-01-01

Ensemble is an open architecture for the development, integration, and deployment of mission operations software. Fundamentally, it is an adaptation of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP), a widespread, stable, and supported framework for component-based application development. By capitalizing on the maturity and availability of the Eclipse RCP, Ensemble offers a low-risk, politically neutral path towards a tighter integration of operations tools. The Ensemble project is a highly successful, ongoing collaboration among NASA Centers. Since 2004, the Ensemble project has supported the development of mission operations software for NASA's Exploration Systems, Science, and Space Operations Directorates.

Teacher education professionals as partners in health science outreach.

PubMed

Houtz, Lynne E; Kosoko-Lasaki, Omofolasade; Zardetto-Smith, Andrea M; Mu, Keli; Royeen, Charlotte B

2004-01-01

Medical school and other health science outreach programs to educate and recruit precollege students always have relied on successful collaborative efforts. Creighton University shares the value, significance, and strategies of involving teacher education professionals in several of its current outreach programs, including HPPI, Brains Rule! Neuroscience Expositions, and HHMI Build a Human Project. The education department partner serves as an essential team member in the development, implementation, assessment, and dissemination of these projects to promote science and mathematics achievement and interest in medical careers. Specific examples and mistakes to avoid are included.

Improving tuberculosis control through public-private collaboration in India: literature review.

PubMed

Dewan, Puneet K; Lal, S S; Lonnroth, Knut; Wares, Fraser; Uplekar, Mukund; Sahu, Suvanand; Granich, Reuben; Chauhan, Lakhbir Singh

2006-03-11

To review the characteristics of public-private mix projects in India and their effect on case notification and treatment outcomes for tuberculosis. Literature review. Review of surveillance records from Indian tuberculosis programme project, evaluation reports, and medical literature for public-private mix projects in India. Project characteristics, tuberculosis case notification of new patients with sputum smear results positive for acid fast bacilli, and treatment outcome. Of 24 identified public-private mix projects, data were available from 14 (58%), involving private practitioners, corporations, and non-governmental organisations. In all reviewed projects, the public sector tuberculosis programme provided training and supervision of private providers. Among the five projects with available data on historical controls, case notification rates were higher after implementation of a public-private mix project. Among seven projects involving private practitioners, 2796 of 12 147 (23%) new patients positive for acid fast bacilli were attributed to private providers. Corporate based and non-governmental organisations served as the main source for tuberculosis programme services in seven project areas, detecting 9967 new patients positive for acid fast bacilli. In nine of 12 projects with data on treatment outcomes, private providers exceeded the programme target of 85% treatment success for new patients positive for acid fast bacilli. Public-private mix activities were associated with increased case notification, while maintaining acceptable treatment outcomes. Collaborations between public and private providers of health care hold considerable potential to improve tuberculosis control in India.

Improving the Context Supporting Quality Improvement in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Quality Collaborative: An Exploratory Field Study.

PubMed

Grooms, Heather R; Froehle, Craig M; Provost, Lloyd P; Handyside, James; Kaplan, Heather C

Successful quality improvement (QI) requires a supportive context. The goal was to determine whether a structured curriculum could help QI teams improve the context supporting their QI work. An exploratory field study was conducted of 43 teams participating in a neonatal intensive care unit QI collaborative. Using a curriculum based on the Model for Understanding Success in Quality, teams identified gaps in their context and tested interventions to modify context. Surveys and self-reflective journals were analyzed to understand how teams developed changes to modify context. More than half (55%) targeted contextual improvements within the microsystem, focusing on motivation and culture. "Information sharing" interventions to communicate information about the project as a strategy to engage more staff were the most common interventions tested. Further study is needed to determine if efforts to modify context consistently lead to greater outcome improvements.

The EU-project United4Health: User-Centred Design and Evaluation of a Collaborative Information System for a Norwegian Telehealth Service.

PubMed

Smaradottir, Berglind; Gerdes, Martin; Martinez, Santiago; Fensli, Rune

2015-01-01

This study presents the user-centred design and evaluation process of a Collaborative Information System (CIS), developed for a new telehealth service for remote monitoring of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients after hospital discharge. The CIS was designed based on the information gathered in a workshop, where target end-users described the context of use, a telehealth workflow and their preferred ways of interaction with the solution. Evaluation of the iterative refinements were made through user tests, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. A field trial reported results on the ease of use and user satisfaction during the interaction with the fully developed system. The implemented CIS was successfully deployed within the secured Norwegian Health Network. The research was a result of cooperation between international partners within the EU FP7 project United4Health.

Testing the Pairs-Reflection Model with X-Ray Spectral Variability and X-Ray Properties of Complete Samples of Radio-Selected BL Lacertae Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urry, C. Megan

1997-01-01

This grant was awarded to Dr. C. Megan Urry of the Space Telescope Science Institute in response to two successful ADP proposals to use archival Ginga and Rosat X-ray data for 'Testing the Pairs-Reflection model with X-Ray Spectral Variability' (in collaboration with Paola Grandi, now at the University of Rome) and 'X-Ray Properties of Complete Samples of Radio-Selected BL Lacertae Objects' (in collaboration with then-graduate student Rita Sambruna, now a post-doc at Goddard Space Flight Center). In addition, post-docs Joseph Pesce and Elena Pian, and graduate student Matthew O'Dowd, have worked on several aspects of these projects. The grant was originally awarded on 3/01/94; this report covers the full period, through May 1997. We have completed our project on the X-ray properties of radio-selected BL Lacs.

Big Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence Capability Development at NASA Langley Research Center: Strategy, Roadmap, and Progress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambur, Manjula Y.; Yagle, Jeremy J.; Reith, William; McLarney, Edward

2016-01-01

In 2014, a team of researchers, engineers and information technology specialists at NASA Langley Research Center developed a Big Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence Strategy and Roadmap as part of Langley's Comprehensive Digital Transformation Initiative, with the goal of identifying the goals, objectives, initiatives, and recommendations need to develop near-, mid- and long-term capabilities for data analytics and machine intelligence in aerospace domains. Since that time, significant progress has been made in developing pilots and projects in several research, engineering, and scientific domains by following the original strategy of collaboration between mission support organizations, mission organizations, and external partners from universities and industry. This report summarizes the work to date in Data Intensive Scientific Discovery, Deep Content Analytics, and Deep Q&A projects, as well as the progress made in collaboration, outreach, and education. Recommendations for continuing this success into future phases of the initiative are also made.

The Climate Change Education Partnership Alliance: Building a Network for Effective Collaboration and Impact (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scowcroft, G.

2013-12-01

The mission of the Climate Change Education Partnership Alliance (The Alliance), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is to advance exemplary climate change education through research and innovative partnerships. Through six unique regional projects, The Alliance is reaching wide and diverse audiences across the U.S., while linking groups and institutions that might not otherwise be connected by a common focus on climate change education. The goals for The Alliance include building collaborations between projects and institutions, sharing effective practices, and leveraging resources to create a community in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To foster these goals, NSF has funded a central hub, the Alliance Office. Currently, the Alliance Office is building the infrastructure necessary to support activities and communication between the projects. Successful networks need objectives for their interactions and a common vision held by the partners. In the first national meeting of The Alliance members, held in June 2013, the foundation was laid to begin this work. The Alliance now has a common mission and vision to guide the next four years of activities. An initial 'mapping' of the network has identified the scope and diversity of the network, how members are connected, current boundaries of the network, network strengths and weaknesses, and network needs. This information will serve as a baseline as the network develops. The Alliance has also identified the need for key 'working groups' which provide an opportunity for members to work across the projects on common goals. As The Alliance evolves, building blocks identified by the field of network science will be used to forge a strong and successful collaborative enterprise. Infrastructure is being established to support widespread engagement; social ties are being fostered through face-to-face meetings and monthly teleconferences; time is provided to build and share knowledge; the sharing of new and diverse perspectives is encouraged; and resources will be leveraged across and beyond the projects. This presentation will provide an overview of The Alliance activities, lessons learned thus far, and plans for the future.

DLESE Teaching Box Pilot Project: Developing a Replicable Model for Collaboratively Creating Innovative Instructional Sequences Using Exemplary Resources in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weingroff, M.

2004-12-01

Before the advent of digital libraries, it was difficult for teachers to find suitable high-quality resources to use in their teaching. Digital libraries such as DLESE have eased the task by making high quality resources more easily accessible and providing search mechanisms that allow teachers to 'fine tune' the criteria over which they search. Searches tend to return lists of resources with some contextualizing information. However, teachers who are teaching 'out of discipline' or who have minimal training in science often need additional support to know how to use and sequence them. The Teaching Box Pilot Project was developed to address these concerns, bringing together educators, scientists, and instructional designers in a partnership to build an online framework to fully support innovative units of instruction about the Earth system. Each box integrates DLESE resources and activities, teaching tips, standards, concepts, teaching outcomes, reviews, and assessment information. Online templates and best practice guidelines are being developed that will enable teachers to create their own boxes or customize existing ones. Two boxes have been developed so far, one on weather for high school students, and one on the evidence for plate tectonics for middle schoolers. The project has met with significant enthusiasm and interest, and we hope to expand it by involving individual teachers, school systems, pre-service programs, and universities in the development and use of teaching boxes. A key ingredient in the project's success has been the close collaboration between the partners, each of whom has brought unique experiences, perspectives, knowledge, and skills to the project. This first effort involved teachers in the San Francisco Bay area, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, San Francisco State University, U.S. Geological Survey, and DLESE. This poster will allow participants to explore one of the teaching boxes. We will discuss how the boxes were developed, the conditions that engendered successful collaboration and high-quality results, lessons learned, and potential adaptations for networks of user communities, for example, in ocean education or seismology.

Ethical Review Issues in Collaborative Research between US and Low – Middle Income Country Partners: A Case Example

PubMed Central

McIntosh, Scott; Sierra, Essie; Dozier, Ann; Diaz, Sergio; Quiñones, Zahira; Primack, Aron; Chadwick, Gary; Ossip-Klein, Deborah J.

2012-01-01

The current ethical structure for collaborative international health research stems largely from developed countries’ standards of proper ethical practices. The result is that ethical committees in developing countries are required to adhere to standards that might impose practices that conflict with local culture and unintended interpretations of ethics, treatments, and research. This paper presents a case example of a joint international research project that successfully established inclusive ethical review processes as well as other groundwork and components necessary for the conduct of human behavior research and research capacity building in the host country. PMID:18554278

Contextualizing learning to improve care using collaborative communities of practices.

PubMed

Jeffs, Lianne; McShane, Julie; Flintoft, Virginia; White, Peggy; Indar, Alyssa; Maione, Maria; Lopez, A J; Bookey-Bassett, Sue; Scavuzzo, Lauren

2016-09-02

The use of interorganizational, collaborative approaches to build capacity in quality improvement (QI) in health care is showing promise as a useful model for scaling up and accelerating the implementation of interventions that bridge the "know-do" gap to improve clinical care and provider outcomes. Fundamental to a collaborative approach is interorganizational learning whereby organizations acquire, share, and combine knowledge with other organizations and have the opportunity to learn from their respective successes and challenges in improvement areas. This learning approach aims to create the conditions for collaborative, reflective, and innovative experiential systems that enable collective discussions regarding daily practice issues and finding solutions for improvement. The concepts associated with interorganizational learning and deliberate learning activities within a collaborative 'Communities-of-practice'(CoP) approach formed the foundation of the of an interactive QI knowledge translation initiative entitled PERFORM KT. Nine teams participated including seven teams from two acute care hospitals, one from a long term care center, and one from a mental health sciences center. Six monthly CoP learning sessions were held and teams, with the support of an assigned mentor, implemented a QI project and monitored their results which were presented at an end of project symposium. 47 individuals participated in either a focus group or a personal interview. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using an iterative content analysis. Four key themes emerged from the narrative dataset around experiences and perceptions associated with the PERFORM KT initiative: 1) being successful and taking it to other levels by being systematic, structured, and mentored; 2) taking it outside the comfort zone by being exposed to new concepts and learning together; 3) hearing feedback, exchanging stories, and getting new ideas; and 4) having a pragmatic and accommodating approach to apply new learnings in local contexts. Study findings offer insights into collaborative, inter-organizational CoP learning approaches to build QI capabilities amongst clinicians, staff, and managers. In particular, our study delineates the need to contextualize QI learning by using deliberate learning activities to balance systematic and structured approaches alongside pragmatic and accommodating approaches with expert mentors.

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…

Teachers Engaged in Authentic EarthScope Research: Challenges and Successes (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, E.

2013-12-01

Since 2010, eight teachers from five different states who are enrolled in the Master of Education in Earth Sciences program at Penn State University have collaborated with research scientists at Penn State and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in an NSF-funded research effort focused on EarthScope data. We have investigated the connection between seismic strain transients and earthquake swarms in the western United States using a combination of Plate Boundary Observatory global positioning system data and earthquake catalog data. The participating teachers have not only taken an active role in the research but have designed classroom-ready lessons and activities they have taught to their own students. Here I discuss the challenges and successes of this project, emphasizing those I believe to be applicable to any scientist hoping to develop a similar project. Foremost, university scientists are largely unfamiliar with mentoring teachers (or any adult learners who are not planning to become researchers) in the process of doing science. Therefore, project design requires careful planning, as the background knowledge and quantitative skills of the participating teachers can vary considerably. It is important to strike a balance between manageable scope and likelihood of achieving worthwhile scientific results. Furthermore, PSU's M.Ed. in Earth Sciences program is fully online--the teacher participants are all at a distance. We prevailed over this challenge largely because the project involved analysis of digital data, making it naturally suited for asynchronous electronic collaboration and communication. The other important basis of success of this project involved distribution of labor. We analyzed data from different geographic regions and over different time periods, so each teacher participant had ownership of and gained expertise about a specific portion of the project, and the parts naturally summed to the whole. The teachers who participated in this research have asserted that their experience not only enhanced their content knowledge but also gave them a true appreciation about 'the way science really works,' and they have enthusiastically transmitted this knowledge to their own students.

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

Interaction Forms in Successful Collaborative Learning in Virtual Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vuopala, Essi; Hyvönen, Pirkko; Järvelä, Sanna

2016-01-01

Despite the numerous studies on social interaction in collaborative learning, little is known about interaction forms in successful computer-supported collaborative learning situations. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand student interaction in successful collaborative learning during a university course which was mediated by…

An Evaluation of Successful Collaboration among Agricultural Science Teachers and Extension Agents in Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphrey, Theresa Pesl; Harlin, Julie F.; Rayfield, John

2011-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate collaboration between agricultural science teachers and Extension agents in Texas from the perspective of successful collaboration. Programs, leaders, and participants in both agricultural education and Extension can be impacted positively through collaboration. However, successful collaboration…

A Model for Collaborative Learning in Undergraduate Climate Change Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teranes, J. L.

2008-12-01

Like several colleges and universities across the nation, the University of California, San Diego, has introduced climate change topics into many existing and new undergraduate courses. I have administered a program in this area at UCSD and have also developed and taught a new lower-division UCSD course entitled "Climate Change and Society", a general education course for non-majors. This class covers the basics of climate change, such as the science that explains it, the causes of climate change, climate change impacts, and mitigation strategies. The teaching methods for this course stress interdisciplinary approaches. I find that inquiry-based and collaborative modes of learning are particularly effective when applied to science-based climate, environmental and sustainability topics. Undergraduate education is often dominated by a competitive and individualistic approach to learning. In this approach, individual success is frequently perceived as contingent on others being less successful. Such a model is at odds with commonly stated goals of teaching climate change and sustainability, which are to equip students to contribute to the debate on global environmental change and societal adaptation strategies; and to help students become better informed citizens and decision makers. I present classroom-tested strategies for developing collaborative forms of learning in climate change and environmental courses, including team projects, group presentations and group assessment exercises. I show how critical thinking skills and long-term retention of information can benefit in the collaborative mode of learning. I find that a collaborative learning model is especially appropriate to general education courses in which the enrolled student body represents a wide diversity of majors, class level and expertise. I also connect collaborative coursework in interdisciplinary environmental topics directly to applications in the field, where so much "real-world" achievement in research, education, government and business is effectively accomplished in collaborative teams.

Adapting research-based curricula at Seattle Pacific University: Results on student learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Close, Eleanor; Vokos, Stamatis; Lindberg, John; Seeley, Lane

2004-05-01

Seattle Pacific University is the recent recipient of a NSF CCLI grant to improve student learning in introductory physics and calculus courses. This talk will outline the goals of this collaborative project and present some initial results on student performance. Results from research-based assessments will be presented as well as specific examples of successes and challenges from mechanics and electricity and magnetism.

The Centre for Food Innovation -- Research Areas and Potential Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

support gut health ( probiotics /prebiotics/bacteriocins), development of snack products (bars, FD fruit, HPP fruit, FD yoghurt etc.), novel ingredients...Defence feeding needs and requirements. Possible research areas identified for the CFI include:  dairy products ,  long-shelf-life foods such as...It is envisaged that the CFI collaboration will include the prototyping of novel foods designed specifically for Defence needs. Successful products

Development of High-Gradient Dielectric Laser-Driven Particle Accelerator Structures

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

Byer, Robert L.

2013-11-07

The thrust of Stanford's program is to conduct research on high-gradient dielectric accelerator structures driven with high repetition-rate, tabletop infrared lasers. The close collaboration between Stanford and SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) is critical to the success of this project, because it provides a unique environment where prototype dielectric accelerator structures can be rapidly fabricated and tested with a relativistic electron beam.

Projecting Event-Based Analysis Dates in Clinical Trials: An Illustration Based on the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA) Collaboration. Projecting analysis dates for the IDEA collaboration

PubMed Central

Renfro, Lindsay A.; Grothey, Axel M.; Paul, James; Floriani, Irene; Bonnetain, Franck; Niedzwiecki, Donna; Yamanaka, Takeharu; Souglakos, Ioannis; Yothers, Greg; Sargent, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

Purpose Clinical trials are expensive and lengthy, where success of a given trial depends on observing a prospectively defined number of patient events required to answer the clinical question. The point at which this analysis time occurs depends on both patient accrual and primary event rates, which typically vary throughout the trial's duration. We demonstrate real-time analysis date projections using data from a collection of six clinical trials that are part of the IDEA collaboration, an international preplanned pooling of data from six trials testing the duration of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer, and we additionally consider the hypothetical impact of one trial's early termination of follow-up. Patients and Methods In the absence of outcome data from IDEA, monthly accrual rates for each of the six IDEA trials were used to project subsequent trial-specific accrual, while historical data from similar Adjuvant Colon Cancer Endpoints (ACCENT) Group trials were used to construct a parametric model for IDEA's primary endpoint, disease-free survival, under the same treatment regimen. With this information and using the planned total accrual from each IDEA trial protocol, individual patient accrual and event dates were simulated and the overall IDEA interim and final analysis times projected. Projections were then compared with actual (previously undisclosed) trial-specific event totals at a recent census time for validation. The change in projected final analysis date assuming early termination of follow-up for one IDEA trial was also calculated. Results Trial-specific predicted event totals were close to the actual number of events per trial for the recent census date at which the number of events per trial was known, with the overall IDEA projected number of events only off by eight patients. Potential early termination of follow-up by one IDEA trial was estimated to postpone the overall IDEA final analysis date by 9 months. Conclusions Real-time projection of the final analysis time during a trial, or the overall analysis time during a trial collaborative such as IDEA, has practical implications for trial feasibility when these projections are translated into additional time and resources required. PMID:26989447

Surgery and anesthesia capacity-building in resource-poor settings: description of an ongoing academic partnership in Uganda.

PubMed

Lipnick, Michael; Mijumbi, Cephas; Dubowitz, Gerald; Kaggwa, Samuel; Goetz, Laura; Mabweijano, Jacqueline; Jayaraman, Sudha; Kwizera, Arthur; Tindimwebwa, Joseph; Ozgediz, Doruk

2013-03-01

Surgery and perioperative care have been neglected in the arena of global health despite evidence of cost-effectiveness and the growing, substantial burden of surgical conditions. Various approaches to address the surgical disease crisis have been reported. This article describes the strategy of Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery (GPAS), an academically based, capacity-building collaboration between North American and Ugandan teaching institutions. The collaboration's projects shift away from the trainee exchange, equipment donation, and clinical service delivery models. Instead, it focuses on three locally identified objectives to improve surgical and perioperative care capacity in Uganda: workforce expansion, research, collaboration. Recruitment programs from 2007 to 2011 helped increase the number of surgery and anesthesia trainees at Mulago Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) from 20 to 40 and 2 to 19, respectively. All sponsored trainees successfully graduated and remained in the region. Postgraduate academic positions were created and filled to promote workforce retention. A local research agenda was developed, more than 15 collaborative, peer-reviewed papers have been published, and the first competitive research grant for a principal investigator in the Department of Surgery at Mulago was obtained. A local projects coordinator position and an annual conference were created and jointly funded by partnering international efforts to promote collaboration. Sub-Saharan Africa has profound unmet needs in surgery and perioperative care. This academically based model helped increase recruitment of trainees, expanded local research, and strengthened stakeholder collaboration in Uganda. Further analysis is underway to determine the impact on surgical disease burden and other important outcome measures.

Bridging the Gap Between NASA Earth Observations and Decision Makers Through the NASA Develop National Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remillard, C. M.; Madden, M.; Favors, J.; Childs-Gleason, L.; Ross, K. W.; Rogers, L.; Ruiz, M. L.

2016-06-01

The NASA DEVELOP National Program bridges the gap between NASA Earth Science and society by building capacity in both participants and partner organizations that collaborate to conduct projects. These rapid feasibility projects highlight the capabilities of satellite and aerial Earth observations. Immersion of decision and policy makers in these feasibility projects increases awareness of the capabilities of Earth observations and contributes to the tools and resources available to support enhanced decision making. This paper will present the DEVELOP model, best practices, and two case studies, the Colombia Ecological Forecasting project and the Miami-Dade County Ecological Forecasting project, that showcase the successful adoption of tools and methods for decision making. Through over 90 projects each year, DEVELOP is always striving for the innovative, practical, and beneficial use of NASA Earth science data.

Open Source Drug Discovery in Practice: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Årdal, Christine; Røttingen, John-Arne

2012-01-01

Background Open source drug discovery offers potential for developing new and inexpensive drugs to combat diseases that disproportionally affect the poor. The concept borrows two principle aspects from open source computing (i.e., collaboration and open access) and applies them to pharmaceutical innovation. By opening a project to external contributors, its research capacity may increase significantly. To date there are only a handful of open source R&D projects focusing on neglected diseases. We wanted to learn from these first movers, their successes and failures, in order to generate a better understanding of how a much-discussed theoretical concept works in practice and may be implemented. Methodology/Principal Findings A descriptive case study was performed, evaluating two specific R&D projects focused on neglected diseases. CSIR Team India Consortium's Open Source Drug Discovery project (CSIR OSDD) and The Synaptic Leap's Schistosomiasis project (TSLS). Data were gathered from four sources: interviews of participating members (n = 14), a survey of potential members (n = 61), an analysis of the websites and a literature review. Both cases have made significant achievements; however, they have done so in very different ways. CSIR OSDD encourages international collaboration, but its process facilitates contributions from mostly Indian researchers and students. Its processes are formal with each task being reviewed by a mentor (almost always offline) before a result is made public. TSLS, on the other hand, has attracted contributors internationally, albeit significantly fewer than CSIR OSDD. Both have obtained funding used to pay for access to facilities, physical resources and, at times, labor costs. TSLS releases its results into the public domain, whereas CSIR OSDD asserts ownership over its results. Conclusions/Significance Technically TSLS is an open source project, whereas CSIR OSDD is a crowdsourced project. However, both have enabled high quality research at low cost. The critical success factors appear to be clearly defined entry points, transparency and funding to cover core material costs. PMID:23029588

Arase: mission overview and initial results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyoshi, Y.; Shinohara, I.; Takashima, T.; Asamura, K.; Wang, S. Y.; Kazama, Y.; Kasahara, S.; Yokota, S.; Mitani, T.; Higashio, N.; Kasahara, Y.; Kasaba, Y.; Yagitani, S.; Matsuoka, A.; Kojima, H.; Kazuo, S.; Seki, K.; Hori, T.; Shoji, M.; Teramoto, M.; Chang, T. F.; Kurita, S.; Matsuda, S.; Keika, K.; Miyashita, Y.; Hosokawa, K.; Ogawa, Y.; Kadokura, A.; Kataoka, R.; Ono, T.

2017-12-01

Geospace Exploation Project; ERG addresses what mechanisms cause acceleration, transportation and loss of MeV electrons of the radiation belts and evolutions of space storms. Cross-energy and cross-regional couplings are key concepts for the project. In order to address questions, the project has been organized by three research teams; satellite observations, ground-based observations, and modeling/data-analysis studies, and interdisciplinary research are realized for comprehensive understanding of geospace. The Arase (ERG) satellite had been developed and 9 science instruments are developed and provided from JAXA, universities and instituted in Japan and Taiwan. The Arase satellite was successfully launched on December 20, 2016. After the initial operation including maneuvers, Arase has started normal observations since March, 2017. Until now, Arase has observed several geomagnetic storms driven by coronal hole streams and CMEs, and several interesting features are observed associated with geomagnetic disturbances. The six particle instruments; LEP-e/LEP-i/MEP-e/MEP-i/HEP/XEP have shown large enhancement as well as loss of wide energy electrons and ions and variations as well as changes of pitch angle and energy spectrum. The two field/wave instruments: PWE and MGF observed several kinds of plasma waves such as chorus, hiss, EMIC as well as large scale electric and magnetic field variations. And newly developed S-WPIA has been operated to identify micro-process of wave-particle interactions. Since conjugate observations between Arase and ground-based observations are essential for comprehensive understanding of geospace, we organized several campaign observations that include both satellite and ground-based observations. The project has collaborated with the international projects, EISCAT, SuperDARN and other ground-based observations, and various data are obtained from such international collaborations. Moreover, multi-point satellite observations by collaboration with other satellites; Van Allen Probes, THEMIS and MMS are realized. In this presentation, we will report overview and initial highlights for the first year and discuss importance of synergies of multi-satellites and ground-based observations that are realized by international collaborations.

Collaborating across services to advance evidence-based nursing practice.

PubMed

Kenny, Deborah J; Richard, Maggie L; Ceniceros, Xochitl; Blaize, Kelli

2010-01-01

Military medical treatment facilities offer a unique environment in which to develop a culture of evidence-based practice (EBP). Distinctive issues arise in the context of changed patient care demographics because of a war-injured population. These issues offer an opportunity to enhance the quality of care through the use and adaptation of research findings in this special nursing environment. In addition, the colocation of two military medical centers offers the prospect of collaborative efforts to create a regional culture for nursing EBP. The purposes of this study were to describe the processes of a collaborative project to train nurses in EBP and to share resources in developing and implementing evidence-based clinical nursing guidelines in two large military medical centers in the Northeastern United States and to discuss the collective efforts of nurse researchers, leadership, advanced practice nurses, and staff nurses in each hospital to facilitate the EBP process. A description of the organizational structure and the climate for EBP of each facility is provided followed by discussion of training efforts and the inculcation of an organizational culture for EBP. Contextual barriers and facilitators were encountered throughout the project. The two nurse researchers leading the projects were able to overcome the barriers and capitalize on opportunities to promote EBP. Three evidence-based clinical practice guidelines were developed at each facility and are currently in various stages of implementation. Despite the barriers, EBP continues to be at the forefront of military nursing practice in the U.S. National Capital Region. Clear communication and regular meetings were essential to the success of the collaborative project within and between the two military hospitals. Military-specific barriers to EBP included high team attrition and turnover because of the war mission and the usual high staff turnover at military hospitals. Military facilitators included a common mission of providing high-quality care for war-injured service members. Lessons learned from this project can be generalized to civilian facilities.

A network collaboration implementing technology to improve medication dispensing and administration in critical access hospitals.

PubMed

Wakefield, Douglas S; Ward, Marcia M; Loes, Jean L; O'Brien, John

2010-01-01

We report how seven independent critical access hospitals collaborated with a rural referral hospital to standardize workflow policies and procedures while jointly implementing the same health information technologies (HITs) to enhance medication care processes. The study hospitals implemented the same electronic health record, computerized provider order entry, pharmacy information systems, automated dispensing cabinets (ADC), and barcode medication administration systems. We conducted interviews and examined project documents to explore factors underlying the successful implementation of ADC and barcode medication administration across the network hospitals. These included a shared culture of collaboration; strategic sequencing of HIT component implementation; interface among HIT components; strategic placement of ADCs; disciplined use and sharing of workflow analyses linked with HIT applications; planning for workflow efficiencies; acquisition of adequate supply of HIT-related devices; and establishing metrics to monitor HIT use and outcomes.

Within the International Collaboration CHAIN: a Summary of Events Observed with Flare Monitoring Telescope (FMT) in Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishitsuka, J.; Asai, A.; Morita, S.; Terrazas, R.; Cabezas, D.; Gutierrez, V.; Martinez, L.; Buleje, Y.; Loayza, R.; Nakamura, N.; Takasao, S.; Yoshinaga, Y.; Hillier, A.; Otsuji, K.; Shibata, K.; Ishitsuka, M.; Ueno, S.; Kitai, R.; Ishii, T.; Ichimoto, K.; Nagata, S.; Narukage, N.

2014-02-01

In 2008 we inaugurated the new Solar Observatory in collaboration with Faculty of Sciences of San Luis Gonzaga de Ica National University, 300 km south of Lima. In March of 2010 a Flare Monitoring Telescope of Hida Observatory of Kyoto University arrived to Ica, part of CHAIN Project (Continuous H-alpha Imaging Network). In October of the same year we hosted the First FMT Workshop in Ica, then in July of 2011 the Second FMT Workshop was opened. Since that we are focused on two events registered by FMT in Peru to publish results. FMT is a good tool to introduce young people from universities into scientific knowledge; it is good also for education in Solar Physics and outreach. Details of this successful collaboration will be explained in this presentation.

Effectively managing partnership evolution: a case study from Chicago.

PubMed

Tishuk, Brian S

Given the continued proliferation of public/ private partnerships as vehicles for sharing best practices, lessons learned and actionable information, the keys to their success become more important to identify. Effective partnerships enhance the resilience of their respective members, which, in turn, improves community resilience. Thus, identifying the attributes of a successful partnership should be a high priority for those looking to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors. This paper will illustrate with two case studies how successful partnerships creatively leverage opportunities and manage the evolution of public/private relationships, while always seeking to institutionalise these collaborative efforts. The first will discuss briefly the development of the most important national partnership within the financial sector. The other focuses on a public/private task force in Chicago, composed of public safety agencies and representatives of critical infrastructure, which owes its existence to an unexpected research project and that needed to be restructured in light of experience. The manner in which the task force formed and evolved yields many lessons for partnerships interested in remaining relevant and effective.

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.

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

Rhinefrank, Kenneth; Lamb, Bradford; Prudell, Joseph

This Project aims to satisfy objectives of the DOE’s Water Power Program by completing a system detailed design (SDD) and other important activities in the first phase of a utility-scale grid-connected ocean wave energy demonstration. In early 2012, Columbia Power (CPwr) had determined that further cost and performance optimization was necessary in order to commercialize its StingRAY wave energy converter (WEC). CPwr’s progress toward commercialization, and the requisite technology development path, were focused on transitioning toward a commercial-scale demonstration. This path required significant investment to be successful, and the justification for this investment required improved annual energy production (AEP) andmore » lower capital costs. Engineering solutions were developed to address these technical and cost challenges, incorporated into a proposal to the US Department of Energy (DOE), and then adapted to form the technical content and statement of project objectives of the resulting Project (DE-EE0005930). Through Project cost-sharing and technical collaboration between DOE and CPwr, and technical collaboration with Oregon State University (OSU), National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and other Project partners, we have demonstrated experimentally that these conceptual improvements have merit and made significant progress towards a certified WEC system design at a selected and contracted deployment site at the Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) at the Marine Corps Base in Oahu, HI (MCBH).« less

Bachelor of Science-Engineering Technology Program and Fuel Cell Education Program Concentration

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

Block, David L.; Sleiti, Ahmad

2011-09-19

The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology education project has addressed DOE goals by supplying readily available, objective, technical, and accurate information that is available to students, industry and the public. In addition, the program has supplied educated trainers and training opportunities for the next generation workforce needed for research, development, and demonstration activities in government, industry, and academia. The project has successfully developed courses and associated laboratories, taught the new courses and labs and integrated the HFCT option into the accredited engineering technology and mechanical engineering programs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). The project has alsomore » established ongoing collaborations with the UNCC energy related centers of the Energy Production & Infrastructure Center (EPIC), the NC Motorsports and Automotive Research Center (NCMARC) and the Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center (IDEAS). The results of the project activities are presented as two major areas – (1) course and laboratory development, offerings and delivery, and (2) program recruitment, promotions and collaborations. Over the project period, the primary activity has been the development and offering of 11 HFCT courses and accompanying laboratories. This process has taken three years with the courses first being developed and then offered each year over the timeframe.« less

SDH-NET: a South-North-South collaboration to build sustainable research capacities on social determinants of health in low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Cash-Gibson, Lucinda; Guerra, German; Salgado-de-Snyder, V Nelly

2015-10-22

It is desirable that health researchers have the ability to conduct research on health equity and contribute to the development of their national health system and policymaking processes. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is a limited capacity to conduct this type of research due to reasons mostly associated with the status of national (health) research systems. Building sustainable research capacity in LMICs through the triangulation of South-North-South (S-N-S) collaborative networks seems to be an effective way to maximize limited national resources to strengthen these capacities. This article describes how a collaborative project (SDH-Net), funded by the European Commission, has successfully designed a study protocol and a S-N-S collaborative network to effectively support research capacity building in LMICs, specifically in the area of social determinants of health (SDH); this project seeks to elaborate on the vital role of global collaborative networks in strengthening this practice. The implementation of SDH-Net comprised diverse activities developed in three phases. Phase 1: national level mapping exercises were conducted to assess the needs for SDH capacity building or strengthening in local research systems. Four strategic areas were defined, namely research implementation and system performance, social appropriation of knowledge, institutional and national research infrastructure, and research skills and training/networks. Phase 2: development of tools to address the identified capacity building needs, as well as knowledge management and network strengthening activities. Phase 3: identifying lessons learned in terms of research ethics, and how policies can support the capacity building process in SDH research. The implementation of the protocol has led the network to design innovative tools for strengthening SDH research capacities, under a successful S-N-S collaboration that included national mapping reports, a global open-access learning platform with tools and resources, ethical guidelines for research, policy recommendations, and academic contributions to the global SDH discourse. The effective triangulation of S-N-S partnerships can be of high value in building sustainable research capacity in LMICs. If designed appropriately, these multicultural, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary collaborations can enable southern and northern academics to contextualize global research according to their national realities.

Community-Academic Partnerships: Developing a Service-Learning Framework.

PubMed

Voss, Heather C; Mathews, Launa Rae; Fossen, Traci; Scott, Ginger; Schaefer, Michele

2015-01-01

Academic partnerships with hospitals and health care agencies for authentic clinical learning have become a major focus of schools of nursing and professional nursing organizations. Formal academic partnerships in community settings are less common despite evolving models of care delivery outside of inpatient settings. Community-Academic partnerships are commonly developed as a means to engage nursing students in service-learning experiences with an emphasis on student outcomes. The benefit of service-learning projects on community partners and populations receiving the service is largely unknown primarily due to the lack of structure for identifying and measuring outcomes specific to service-learning. Nursing students and their faculty engaged in service-learning have a unique opportunity to collaborate with community partners to evaluate benefits of service-learning projects on those receiving the service. This article describes the development of a service-learning framework as a first step toward successful measurement of the benefits of undergraduate nursing students' service-learning projects on community agencies and the people they serve through a collaborative community-academic partnership. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Building Blocks Collaborative: advancing a life course approach to health equity through multi-sector collaboration.

PubMed

Shrimali, Bina Patel; Luginbuhl, Jessica; Malin, Christina; Flournoy, Rebecca; Siegel, Anita

2014-02-01

Too many children are born into poverty, often living in disinvested communities without adequate opportunities to be healthy and thrive. Two complementary frameworks-health equity and life course-propose new approaches to these challenges. Health equity strategies seek to improve community conditions that influence health. The life course perspective focuses on key developmental periods that can shift a person's trajectory over the life course, and highlights the importance of ensuring that children have supports in place that set them up for long-term success and health. Applying these frameworks, the Alameda County Public Health Department launched the Building Blocks Collaborative (BBC), a countywide multi-sector initiative to engage community partners in improving neighborhood conditions in low-income communities, with a focus on young children. A broad cross-section of stakeholders, called to action by the state of racial and economic inequities in children's health, came together to launch the BBC and develop a Bill of Rights that highlights the diverse factors that contribute to children's health. BBC partners then began working together to improve community conditions by learning and sharing ideas and strategies, and incubating new collaborative projects. Supportive health department leadership; dedicated staff; shared vision and ownership; a flexible partnership structure; and broad collective goals that build on partners' strengths and priorities have been critical to the growth of the BBC. Next steps include institutionalizing BBC projects into existing infrastructure, ongoing partner engagement, and continued project innovation-to achieve a common vision that all babies have the best start in life.

Developing a Community-Academic Partnership to Improve Recognition and Treatment of Depression in Underserved African American and White Elders

PubMed Central

Dobransky-Fasiska, Deborah; Brown, Charlotte; Pincus, Harold A.; Nowalk, Mary P.; Wieland, Melissa; Parker, Lisa S.; Cruz, Mario; McMurray, Michelle L.; Mulsant, Benoit; Reynolds, Charles F.

2011-01-01

Objective Reducing mental health disparities among underserved populations, particularly African American elders, is an important public health priority. The authors describe the process and challenges of developing a community/academic research partnership to address these disparities. Methods The authors are using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach to gain access to underserved populations in need of depression treatment. The authors identify six stages: 1) Collaborating to Secure Funding; 2) Building a Communications Platform and Research Infrastructure; 3) Fostering Enduring Relationships; 4) Assessing Needs/Educating about Research Process; 5) Initiating Specific Collaborative Projects (meeting mutual needs/interests); and 6) Maintaining a Sustainable and Productive Partnership. Data from a needs assessment developed collaboratively by researchers and community agencies facilitated agreement on mutual research goals, while strengthening the partnership. Results A community/academic-based partnership with a solid research infrastructure has been established and maintained for 3 years. Using the results of a needs assessment, the working partnership prioritized and launched several projects. Through interviews and questionnaires, community partners identified best practices for researchers working in the community. Future research and interventional projects have been developed, including plans for sustainability that will eventually shift more responsibility from the academic institution to the community agencies. Conclusions To reach underserved populations by developing and implementing models of more effective mental health treatment, it is vital to engage community agencies offering services to this population. A successful partnership requires “cultural humility,” collaborative efforts, and the development of flexible protocols to accommodate diverse communities. PMID:20104053

The Practicalities of Crowdsourcing: Lessons from the Tea Bag Index - UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duddigan, Sarah; Alexander, Paul; Shaw, Liz; Collins, Chris

2017-04-01

The Tea Bag Index -UK is a collaborative project between the University of Reading and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), working with members of the gardening community as citizen scientists. This project aims to quantify how decomposition varies across the country, and whether decomposition is influenced by how gardeners manage their soil, particularly with respect to the application of compost. Launched in 2015 as part of a PhD project, the Tea Bag Index- UK project asks willing volunteers to bury tea bags in their gardens, as part of a large scale, litter bag style decomposition rate study. Over 450 sets of tea bags have been dispatched to participants, across the length and breadth of the UK. The group was largely recruited via social media, magazine articles and public engagement events and active discourse was undertaken with these citizen scientists using Facebook, Twitter and regular email communication. In order to run a successful crowdsourcing citizen science project there are number of stages that need to be considered including (but not limited to): planning; launch and recruitment; communications; and feedback. Throughout a project of this nature an understanding of the motivations of your volunteers is vital. Reflecting on these motivations while publicising the project, and communicating regularly with its participants is incredibly important for a successful project.

What next? Sustaining a successful small-scale alcohol consumption harm minimization project.

PubMed

Milne, Sharon; Greenaway, Sarah; Conway, Kim; Henwood, Wendy

2007-01-01

Engaging communities in alcohol consumption-related action projects requires the application of a range of flexible and responsive evidence-based methods. These include: establishing collaborative relationships, implementing strategies to improve age verification practices, encouraging organizational change, and raising awareness of local alcohol issues. The focus of this article is the sustainability of an alcohol harm minimization project for young people in Hawera (a small New Zealand town) that has produced some encouraging results. The Hawera Alcohol and Young People project began in 2000 along with external formative and impact evaluation components. This article will draw on the evaluation findings to date and the experience of community action projects in New Zealand to explore what makes a sustainable community action project and to examine the extent to which this has been achieved by the Hawera Alcohol and Young People project. The limitations of the study are noted.

[A network of LIFE projects to promote the transfer and exchange of knowledge on environment and health].

PubMed

Cori, Liliana; Carducci, Annalaura; Donzelli, Gabriele; La Rocca, Cinzia; Bianchi, Fabrizio

2018-01-01

Eleven projects within the LIFE programme (through which the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission provides funding for projects aim at protecting environment and nature) addressing environmental-health-related issues have been involved in a collaborative network called KTE LIFE EnvHealth Network. The shared issues tackled by that projects are knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE). The objective of the LIFE programme is to support the implementation of the environmental legislation in the European Union, to provide new tools and knowledge that will help to better protect both the territory and the communities. Transferring knowledge to decision makers, at the appropriate and effective level, is therefore a central function of the projects. The Network promotes national and international networking, which intends to involve other projects, to provide methodological support, to make information and successful practices circulate, with the aim of multiplying the energies of each project involved.

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.

Lessons Learned from an Industry, Government and University Collaboration to Restore Stream Habitats and Mitigate Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Nicholas E.; Scrimgeour, Garry J.; Tonn, William M.

2017-01-01

Restoration ecologists conduct both basic and applied research using a diversity of funding and collaborative models. Over the last 17 years we have assessed the effectiveness of a stream compensation project in Canada's north, where an independent university-based research program was a condition of the regulatory approval process. This resulted in a non-traditional university-government-industry partnership. Here we share seven lessons that we learned from our collective experiences with the research partnership and use the Ekati diamond mine as a case study to illustrate and support lessons learned. Our advice includes opinions on the importance of: engaging collaborators early, defining roles and responsibilities, data sharing and standardization, the use of natural streams to set restoration targets, expect setbacks and surprises, treating restoration as an opportunity to experiment, and how to define success. Many of the lessons learned are broadly applicable to those whom embark on research collaborations among industry, universities, and consulting companies within a regulatory framework and may be of particular value to collaborators in early stages of their career.

Facebook for Scientists: Requirements and Services for Optimizing How Scientific Collaborations Are Established

PubMed Central

Spallek, Heiko; Butler, Brian S; Subramanian, Sushmita; Weiss, Daniel; Poythress, M Louisa; Rattanathikun, Phijarana; Mueller, Gregory

2008-01-01

Background As biomedical research projects become increasingly interdisciplinary and complex, collaboration with appropriate individuals, teams, and institutions becomes ever more crucial to project success. While social networks are extremely important in determining how scientific collaborations are formed, social networking technologies have not yet been studied as a tool to help form scientific collaborations. Many currently emerging expertise locating systems include social networking technologies, but it is unclear whether they make the process of finding collaborators more efficient and effective. Objective This study was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) Which requirements should systems for finding collaborators in biomedical science fulfill? and (2) Which information technology services can address these requirements? Methods The background research phase encompassed a thorough review of the literature, affinity diagramming, contextual inquiry, and semistructured interviews. This phase yielded five themes suggestive of requirements for systems to support the formation of collaborations. In the next phase, the generative phase, we brainstormed and selected design ideas for formal concept validation with end users. Then, three related, well-validated ideas were selected for implementation and evaluation in a prototype. Results Five main themes of systems requirements emerged: (1) beyond expertise, successful collaborations require compatibility with respect to personality, work style, productivity, and many other factors (compatibility); (2) finding appropriate collaborators requires the ability to effectively search in domains other than your own using information that is comprehensive and descriptive (communication); (3) social networks are important for finding potential collaborators, assessing their suitability and compatibility, and establishing contact with them (intermediation); (4) information profiles must be complete, correct, up-to-date, and comprehensive and allow fine-grained control over access to information by different audiences (information quality and access); (5) keeping online profiles up-to-date should require little or no effort and be integrated into the scientist’s existing workflow (motivation). Based on the requirements, 16 design ideas underwent formal validation with end users. Of those, three were chosen to be implemented and evaluated in a system prototype, “Digital|Vita”: maintaining, formatting, and semi-automated updating of biographical information; searching for experts; and building and maintaining the social network and managing document flow. Conclusions In addition to quantitative and factual information about potential collaborators, social connectedness, personal and professional compatibility, and power differentials also influence whether collaborations are formed. Current systems only partially model these requirements. Services in Digital|Vita combine an existing workflow, maintaining and formatting biographical information, with collaboration-searching functions in a novel way. Several barriers to the adoption of systems such as Digital|Vita exist, such as potential adoption asymmetries between junior and senior researchers and the tension between public and private information. Developers and researchers may consider one or more of the services described in this paper for implementation in their own expertise locating systems. PMID:18701421

PICASSO VISION instrument design, engineering model test results, and flight model development status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Näsilä, Antti; Holmlund, Christer; Mannila, Rami; Näkki, Ismo; Ojanen, Harri J.; Akujärvi, Altti; Saari, Heikki; Fussen, Didier; Pieroux, Didier; Demoulin, Philippe

2016-10-01

PICASSO - A PICo-satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations is an ESA project led by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, in collaboration with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Clyde Space Ltd. (UK) and Centre Spatial de Liège (BE). The test campaign for the engineering model of the PICASSO VISION instrument, a miniaturized nanosatellite spectral imager, has been successfully completed. The test results look very promising. The proto-flight model of VISION has also been successfully integrated and it is waiting for the final integration to the satellite platform.

Interprofessional Clinical Assignments: A Project in Nursing Education.

PubMed

Turner, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Education involving interprofessional activities helps to improve learning and the ability to work in an effective collaborative environment. In this project, 16 baccalaureate nursing students were given the opportunity to work with other members of the health care team to develop an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each group of professionals and the communication skills needed to provide quality and safe care to patients and to positively impact their motivation to work with members of other health professions. All the students in the group documented the successful completion of these objectives in their journals.

Development and implementation of a GEOGLAM Crop Monitor web interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliva, P.; Sanchez, A.; Humber, M. L.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. J.; McGaughey, K.; Barker, B.

2016-12-01

Beginning in September 2013, the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor activity has provided earth observation (EO) data to a network of partners and collected crop assessments on a subnational basis through a web interface known as the Crop Assessment Tool. Based on the collection of monthly crop assessments, a monthly crop condition bulletin is published in the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) Market Monitor report. This workflow has been successfully applied to food security applications through the Early Warning Crop Monitor activity. However, a lack of timely and accurate information on crop conditions and prospects at the national scale is a critical issue in the majority of southern and eastern African countries and some South American countries. Such information is necessary for informed and prompt decision making in the face of emergencies, food insecurity and planning requirements for agricultural markets. This project addresses these needs through the development of relevant, user-friendly remote sensing monitor systems, collaborative internet technology, and collaboration with national and regional agricultural monitoring networks. By building on current projects and relationships established through the various GEOGLAM Crop Monitor activities, this project aims to ultimately provide EO-informed crop condition maps and charts designed for economics and policy oriented audiences, thereby providing quick and easy to understand products on crop conditions as the season progresses. Integrating these data and assessments vertically throughout the system provides a basis for regional sharing and collaboration in food security applications.

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…

Challenges of Implementing a Communication-and-Resolution Program Where Multiple Organizations Must Cooperate.

PubMed

Mello, Michelle M; Armstrong, Sarah J; Greenberg, Yelena; McCotter, Patricia I; Gallagher, Thomas H

2016-12-01

To implement a communication-and-resolution program (CRP) in a setting in which liability insurers and health care facilities must collaborate to resolve incidents involving a facility and separately insured clinicians. Six hospitals and clinics and a liability insurer in Washington State. Sites designed and implemented CRPs and contributed information about cases and operational challenges over 20 months. Data were qualitatively analyzed. Data from interviews with personnel responsible for CRP implementation were triangulated with data on program cases collected by sites and notes recorded during meetings with sites and among project team members. Sites experienced small victories in resolving particular cases and streamlining some working relationships, but they were unable to successfully implement a collaborative CRP. Barriers included the insurer's distance from the point of care, passive rather than active support from top leaders, coordinating across departments and organizations, workload, nonparticipation by some physicians, and overcoming distrust. Operating CRPs where multiple organizations must collaborate can be highly challenging. Success likely requires several preconditions, including preexisting trust among organizations, active leadership engagement, physicians' commitment to participate, mechanisms for quickly transmitting information to insurers, tolerance for missteps, and clear protocols for joint investigations and resolutions. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Mixed-Initiative Planning and Scheduling for Science Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Karen L.; Wolverton, Michael J.

2004-01-01

The objective of this joint NASA Ames/JPL/SRI project was to develop mixed-initiative planning and scheduling technology that would enable more effective and efficient planning of science missions. The original intent behind the project was to have all three organizations work closely on the overall research and technology development objectives. Shortly after the project began, however, the Ames and JPL project members made a commitment to develop and field an operational mixed-initiative planning and scheduling tool called MAPGEN for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission [Ai-Chang et al. 2003]. Because of the tremendous amounts of time and effort that went into making that tool a success, the Ames and JPL personnel were mostly unavailable for collaboration on the joint objectives of the original proposal. Until November of 2002, SRI postponed work on the project in the hope that the Ames and JPL personnel would be able to find time for the planned collaborative research. During discussions between Dr. Karen Myers (the SRI institutional PI) and Dr. John Bresina (the project PI) during November of 2002, it was mutually agreed that SRI should work independently to achieve some of the research objectives for the project. In particular, Dr. Bresina identified explanation of plans and planner behavior as a critical area for research, based on feedback from demonstrating an initial prototype of MAPGEN to the operational community. For that reason, our focus from November of 2002 through the end of the project was on designing explanation methods to address this need.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening: Collaboration between a Primary Care Clinic and Research Team.

PubMed

Green, Beverly B; Fuller, Sharon; Anderson, Melissa L; Mahoney, Christine; Mendy, Peter; Powell, Susan L

2017-01-01

Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that mailed fecal testing programs are effective in increasing colorectal cancer screening participation. However, few healthcare organization in the US have Implemented such programs. Stakeholders from one clinic in an integrated healthcare system in Washington State initiated collaboration with researchers with expertise in CRC screening, aiming to increase screening rates at their clinic. Age-eligible individuals who were overdue for CRC screening and had previously completed a fecal test were randomized to receive mailed fecal immunochemical test kits (FIT) at the start of the project (Early) or 6 months later (Late). Outcomes included comparing FIT completion at 6 months by randomization group, and overall CRC screening rates at 12 months. We also assessed implementation facilitators and challenges. Overall 2,421 FIT tests were mailed at a cost of $10,739. At 6 months, FIT completion was significantly higher among the Early compared to the Late group (62% vs.47%, p <0.001). By 12 months, after both groups had received mailings, 71% in each group had completed a FIT. The clinic's overall CRC screening rate was 75.1% at baseline and 78.0% 12 months later. Key constructs associated with successful program implementation included strong stakeholder involvement, use of evidence-based strategies, simplicity, and low cost. Challenges included lack of a plan for maintaining the program. Collaboration between clinic stakeholders and researchers led to a successful project that rapidly increased CRC screening rates. However, institutional normalization of the program would be required to maintain it.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening: Collaboration between a Primary Care Clinic and Research Team

PubMed Central

Green, Beverly B.; Fuller, Sharon; Anderson, Melissa L.; Mahoney, Christine; Mendy, Peter; Powell, Susan L.

2017-01-01

Background Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that mailed fecal testing programs are effective in increasing colorectal cancer screening participation. However, few healthcare organization in the US have Implemented such programs. Methods Stakeholders from one clinic in an integrated healthcare system in Washington State initiated collaboration with researchers with expertise in CRC screening, aiming to increase screening rates at their clinic. Age-eligible individuals who were overdue for CRC screening and had previously completed a fecal test were randomized to receive mailed fecal immunochemical test kits (FIT) at the start of the project (Early) or 6 months later (Late). Outcomes included comparing FIT completion at 6 months by randomization group, and overall CRC screening rates at 12 months. We also assessed implementation facilitators and challenges. Results Overall 2,421 FIT tests were mailed at a cost of $10,739. At 6 months, FIT completion was significantly higher among the Early compared to the Late group (62% vs.47%, p <0.001). By 12 months, after both groups had received mailings, 71% in each group had completed a FIT. The clinic’s overall CRC screening rate was 75.1% at baseline and 78.0% 12 months later. Key constructs associated with successful program implementation included strong stakeholder involvement, use of evidence-based strategies, simplicity, and low cost. Challenges included lack of a plan for maintaining the program. Discussion Collaboration between clinic stakeholders and researchers led to a successful project that rapidly increased CRC screening rates. However, institutional normalization of the program would be required to maintain it. PMID:29399669

Facilitating collaboration between pharmacists and physicians using an iterative interview process

PubMed Central

Chui, Michelle A.; Stone, Jamie A.; Odukoya, Olufumilola K.; Maxwell, Leigh

2014-01-01

Objective To elicit and describe mutually agreed upon common problems and subsequent solutions resulting from a facilitated face-to-face meeting between pharmacists and physicians. Design Descriptive, exploratory, non-experimental study. Setting Wisconsin from October to December 2011. Participants Physicians and community pharmacists Intervention Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and physicians from the same community, informed by previous individual interviews. Main outcome measure Methods to enhance collaboration and barriers to implementing collaboration between pharmacists and physicians Results Physicians and pharmacists generated ideas in which collaboration could improve patient care, including controlled substance monitoring, medication adherence, collaborative practice agreements for point of service issues, and a mechanism for urgent communication. Methods on how to collaborate on these issues were also discussed. Conclusions Bringing physicians and pharmacists together for a face-to-face interaction that was informed by information gained in previous individual interviews successfully stimulated conversation on ways in which each profession could help the other provide optimal patient care. This interaction appeared to dispel assumptions and build trust. Results of this project may provide pharmacists with the confidence to reach out to their physician colleagues. PMID:24362573

Building a Propulsion Experiment Project Management Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keiser, Ken; Tanner, Steve; Hatcher, Danny; Graves, Sara

2004-01-01

What do you get when you cross rocket scientists with computer geeks? It is an interactive, distributed computing web of tools and services providing a more productive environment for propulsion research and development. The Rocket Engine Advancement Program 2 (REAP2) project involves researchers at several institutions collaborating on propulsion experiments and modeling. In an effort to facilitate these collaborations among researchers at different locations and with different specializations, researchers at the Information Technology and Systems Center,' University of Alabama in Huntsville, are creating a prototype web-based interactive information system in support of propulsion research. This system, to be based on experience gained in creating similar systems for NASA Earth science field experiment campaigns such as the Convection and Moisture Experiments (CAMEX), will assist in the planning and analysis of model and experiment results across REAP2 participants. The initial version of the Propulsion Experiment Project Management Environment (PExPM) consists of a controlled-access web portal facilitating the drafting and sharing of working documents and publications. Interactive tools for building and searching an annotated bibliography of publications related to REAP2 research topics have been created to help organize and maintain the results of literature searches. Also work is underway, with some initial prototypes in place, for interactive project management tools allowing project managers to schedule experiment activities, track status and report on results. This paper describes current successes, plans, and expected challenges for this project.

Key Elements of a Successful Multi-System Collaboration for School-Based Mental Health: In-Depth Interviews with District and Agency Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Joelle D.; Edwards, Jeffrey D.; Blackman, Kate F.; Wegmann, Kate M.

2013-01-01

The alarming number of youth with unmet mental health needs in the US is a significant social problem. The pilot school-based mental health project described here established an innovative multi-system partnership between an urban school district, a public mental health agency, and a local university to better meet the mental health needs of youth…

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,…

A Nursing Workforce Diversity Project: Strategies for Recruitment, Retention, Graduation, and NCLEX-RN Success.

PubMed

Murray, Ted A; Pole, David C; Ciarlo, Erica M; Holmes, Shearon

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative project designed to recruit and retain students from underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged backgrounds into nursing education. Ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in the nursing workforce in comparison to the general population. The numbers of minorities enrolled in nursing education programs are insufficient to meet the health care workforce diversity needs of the future. High school students were provided with a preprofessional education program to prepare them for admission into a nursing program. Retention strategies were implemented for newly admitted and enrolled nursing education students. Twenty-one high school students enrolled in a nursing education program. The students enrolled in the nursing education program graduated and passed the licensure examination. Early recruitment and multiprong retention programs can be successful in diversifying the registered nurse workforce.

Implementation of a Sustainable Training System for Emergency in Vietnam.

PubMed

Kang, Sunjoo; Seo, Hyejin; Ho, Binh Duy; Nguyen, Phuong Thi Anh

2018-01-01

This study analyzed the project outcomes to share lessons regarding the development of an emergency medicine education system in Vietnam. Retrospective evaluation was implemented using project outcome indicators. A total of 13 training courses were administered, with the collaboration of international experts in Korea and Vietnam. A total of 23 kinds of emergency medicine education equipment were purchased, and a basic life support (BLS) and two advanced cardiac life support labs were remodeled to provide appropriate simulation training. Throughout the 2 years of the project, nine Vietnamese BLS instructors were approved by the Korea Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation under American Heart Association. Results of evaluation by Korean international development experts were based on five criteria, provided by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, were excellent. Success factors were identified as partnership, ownership, commitment, government support, and global networking. Project indicators were all accomplished and received an excellent evaluation by external experts. For sustainable success, healthcare policy and legal regulation to promote high quality and safe service to the Vietnamese people are recommended.

Lessons learned from the New York State mental health response to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

PubMed

Sederer, Lloyd I; Lanzara, Carol B; Essock, Susan M; Donahue, Sheila A; Stone, James L; Galea, Sandro

2011-09-01

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, the public mental health system in New York City mounted the largest mental health disaster response in history, called Project Liberty. The successes and challenges of Project Liberty are evaluated. The development of Project Liberty is summarized and analyzed from the perspective of the New York State and New York City officials and scientists who led the disaster response. Lessons learned that have implications for mental health support in future disaster responses are offered. A high level of interagency collaboration, engagement of nongovernmental organizations to provide services, media education efforts, and ongoing program evaluation all contributed to the program's successes. Mental health professionals' limited experiences with trauma, options for funding treatment, duration of clinical program, and existing needs assessments methodologies all proved challenging. Project Liberty was a massive and invaluable resource during the years of rebuilding in New York City in the wake of the attacks. Challenges faced have led to lessons of generalizable import for other mental health responses to large-scale events.

Teaching Tip: Developing an Intercollegiate Twitter Forum to Improve Student Exam Study and Digital Professionalism.

PubMed

Whiting, Martin; Kinnison, Tierney; Mossop, Liz

#VetFinals has been developed as a novel online Twitter teaching event designed to support intercollegiate veterinary teaching using social media. Previous studies in other fields have suggested that Twitter use within universities may have benefits for undergraduate education. This "teaching tip" paper describes a project using Twitter to host online exam study sessions. The project has been a highly successful collaborative effort between the Royal Veterinary College and Nottingham Veterinary School in the UK. Over 4 years, the #VetFinals project has developed into a long-term, self-sustaining enterprise. This initiative provides a semi-structured means for student exam preparation with direct real-time input from a faculty member. It also creates a network of peers both horizontally across institutions and vertically throughout year groups. Based on similar initiatives in other disciplines, an anticipated outcome of this project was to contribute to student online professionalism. This could help address the veterinary community's recently highlighted problems with professional conduct and appropriate use of social media. Analysis of the success of this endeavor will be available in a future publication.

Training for Collaboration: Collaborative Practice Skills for Mental Health Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bischoff, Richard J.; Springer, Paul R.; Reisbig, Allison M. J.; Lyons, Sheena; Likcani, Adriatik

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to identify skills that mental health practitioners need for successful collaborative practice in medical settings. Known experts in the field of collaborative health care completed a survey designed to elicit their suggestions about what is needed for successful collaborative care practice. Through qualitative…

‘If no one else stands up, you have to’: a story of community participation and water in rural Guatemala

PubMed Central

Lorena Ruano, Ana; Dahlblom, Kjerstin; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; San Sebastián, Miguel

2011-01-01

Background Access to water is a right and a social determinant of health that should be provided by the state. However, when it comes to access to water in rural areas, the current trend is for communities to arrange for the service themselves through locally run projects. This article presents a narrative of a single community's process of participation in implementing and running a water project in the village of El Triunfo, Guatemala. Methods Using an ethnographic approach, we conducted a series of interviews with five village leaders, field visits, and participant observations in different meetings and activities of the community. Findings El Triunfo has had a long tradition of community participation, where it has been perceived as an important value. The village has a council of leaders who have worked together in various projects, although water has always been a priority. When it comes to participation, this community has achieved its goals when it collaborated with other stakeholders who provided the expertise and/or the funding needed to carry out a project. At the time of the study, the challenge was to develop a new phase of the water project with the help of other stakeholders and to maintain and sustain the tradition of participation by involving new generations in the process. Discussion This narrative focuses on the participation in this village's efforts to implement a water project. We found that community participation has substituted the role of the central and local governments, and that the collaboration between the council and other stakeholders has provided a way for El Triunfo to satisfy some of its demand for water. Conclusion El Triunfo's case shows that for a participatory scheme to be successful it needs prolonged engagement, continued support, and successful experiences that can help to provide the kind of stable participatory practices that involves community members in a process of empowered decision-making and policy implementation. PMID:21977011

Developing tools to measure quality in congenital catheterization and interventions: the congenital cardiac catheterization project on outcomes (C3PO).

PubMed

Chaudhry-Waterman, Nadia; Coombs, Sandra; Porras, Diego; Holzer, Ralf; Bergersen, Lisa

2014-01-01

The broad range of relatively rare procedures performed in pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratories has made the standardization of care and risk assessment in the field statistically quite problematic. However, with the growing number of patients who undergo cardiac catheterization, it has become imperative that the cardiology community overcomes these challenges to study patient outcomes. The Congenital Cardiac Catheterization Project on Outcomes was able to develop benchmarks, tools for measurement, and risk adjustment methods while exploring procedural efficacy. Based on the success of these efforts, the collaborative is pursuing a follow-up project, the Congenital Cardiac Catheterization Project on Outcomes-Quality Improvement, aimed at improving the outcomes for all patients undergoing catheterization for congenital heart disease by reducing radiation exposure.

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.

The RA-MAP Consortium: a working model for academia-industry collaboration.

PubMed

Cope, Andrew P; Barnes, Michael R; Belson, Alexandra; Binks, Michael; Brockbank, Sarah; Bonachela-Capdevila, Francisco; Carini, Claudio; Fisher, Benjamin A; Goodyear, Carl S; Emery, Paul; Ehrenstein, Michael R; Gozzard, Neil; Harris, Ray; Hollis, Sally; Keidel, Sarah; Levesque, Marc; Lindholm, Catharina; McDermott, Michael F; McInnes, Iain B; Mela, Christopher M; Parker, Gerry; Read, Simon; Pedersen, Ayako Wakatsuki; Ponchel, Frederique; Porter, Duncan; Rao, Ravi; Rowe, Anthony; Schulz-Knappe, Peter; Sleeman, Matthew A; Symmons, Deborah; Taylor, Peter C; Tom, Brian; Tsuji, Wayne; Verbeeck, Denny; Isaacs, John D

2018-01-01

Collaboration can be challenging; nevertheless, the emerging successes of large, multi-partner, multi-national cooperatives and research networks in the biomedical sector have sustained the appetite of academics and industry partners for developing and fostering new research consortia. This model has percolated down to national funding agencies across the globe, leading to funding for projects that aim to realise the true potential of genomic medicine in the 21st century and to reap the rewards of 'big data'. In this Perspectives article, the experiences of the RA-MAP consortium, a group of more than 140 individuals affiliated with 21 academic and industry organizations that are focused on making genomic medicine in rheumatoid arthritis a reality are described. The challenges of multi-partner collaboration in the UK are highlighted and wide-ranging solutions are offered that might benefit large research consortia around the world.

Overcoming practical challenges to conducting clinical research in the inpatient stroke rehabilitation setting.

PubMed

Campbell, Grace B; Skidmore, Elizabeth R; Whyte, Ellen M; Matthews, Judith T

2015-10-01

There is a shortage of published empirical studies conducted in acute inpatient stroke rehabilitation, though such studies are greatly needed in order to shed light on the most efficacious inpatient stroke rehabilitation interventions. The inherent challenges of inpatient research may dissuade researchers from undertaking this important work. This paper describes our institution's experience devising practical solutions to research barriers in this setting. Through concentrated efforts to overcome research barriers, such as by cultivating collaborative relationships and capitalizing on unanticipated benefits, we successfully facilitated conduct of five simultaneous inpatient stroke studies. Tangible benefits realized include increased effectiveness of research participant identification and enrollment, novel collaborative projects, innovative clinical care initiatives, and enhanced emotional and practical support for patients and their families. We provide recommendations based on lessons learned during our experience, and discuss benefits of this collaboration for our research participants, clinical staff, and the research team.

A successful model for longitudinal community-engaged health research: the 2040 Partners for Health Student Program.

PubMed

Redman, Romany M; Reinsvold, Magdalena C; Reddy, Anireddy; Bennett, Paige E; Hoerauf, Janine M; Puls, Kristina M; Ovrutsky, Alida R; Ly, Alexandra R; White, Gregory; McNeil, Owetta; Meredith, Janet J

2017-06-01

Community-based participatory research [CBPR] is an emerging approach to collaborative research aimed at creating locally effective and sustainable interventions. The 2040 Partners for Health student program was developed as a unique model of longitudinal CBPR. Analysis of this program and its components illuminates both the challenges and the opportunities inherent in community engagement. The program rests on a foundation of a community-based, non-profit organization and a supportive academic university centre. Inter-professional health students and community members of underserved populations work together on different health projects by employing an adapted CBPR methodology. Three successful examples of sustainable CBPR projects are briefly described. The three projects are presented as primary outcomes resulting from this model. Benefits and challenges of the model as an approach to community-engaged research are discussed as well as secondary benefits of student participation. The 2040 Partners for Health student program represents a successful model of CBPR, illuminating common challenges and reiterating the profound value of community-engaged research. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Creating collaborative learning environments for transforming primary care practices now.

PubMed

Miller, William L; Cohen-Katz, Joanne

2010-12-01

The renewal of primary care waits just ahead. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) movement and a refreshing breeze of collaboration signal its arrival with demonstration projects and pilots appearing across the country. An early message from this work suggests that the development of collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams may be essential for the success of the PCMH. Our focus in this article is on training existing health care professionals toward being thriving members of this transformed clinical care team in a relationship-centered PCMH. Our description of the optimal conditions for collaborative training begins with delineating three types of teams and how they relate to levels of collaboration. We then describe how to create a supportive, safe learning environment for this type of training, using a different model of professional socialization, and tools for building culture. Critical skills related to practice development and the cross-disciplinary collaborative processes are also included. Despite significant obstacles in readying current clinicians to be members of thriving collaborative teams, a few next steps toward implementing collaborative training programs for existing professionals are possible using competency-based and adult learning approaches. Grasping the long awaited arrival of collaborative primary health care will also require delivery system and payment reform. Until that happens, there is an abundance of work to be done envisioning new collaborative training programs and initiating a nation-wide effort to motivate and reeducate our colleagues. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

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.

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.

Using CBPR for Health Research in American Muslim Mosque Communities: Lessons Learned

PubMed Central

Killawi, Amal; Heisler, Michele; Hamid, Hamada; Padela, Aasim I.

2015-01-01

Background American Muslims are understudied in health research, and there are few studies documenting community-based participatory research (CBPR) efforts among American Muslim mosque communities. Objectives We highlight lessons learned from a CBPR partnership that explored the health care beliefs, behaviors, and challenges of American Muslims. Methods We established a collaboration between the University of Michigan and four Muslim-focused community organizations in Michigan. Our collaborative team designed and implemented a two-phase study involving interviews with community stakeholders and focus groups and surveys with mosque congregants. Lessons Learned Although we were successful in meeting our research goals, maintaining community partner involvement and sustaining the project partnership proved challenging. Conclusions CBPR initiatives within mosque communities have the potential for improving community health. Our experience suggests that successful research partnerships with American Muslims will utilize social networks and cultural insiders, culturally adapt research methods, and develop a research platform within the organizational infrastructures of the American Muslim community. PMID:25981426

Achieving Hand Hygiene Success With a Partnership Between Graduate Medical Education, Hospital Leadership, and Physicians.

PubMed

Rosenbluth, Glenn; Garritson, Susan; Green, Adrienne L; Milev, Dimiter; Vidyarthi, Arpana R; Auerbach, Andrew D; Baron, Robert B

2016-11-01

Engaging physicians in hand hygiene programs is a challenge faced by many academic medical centers. Partnerships between education and academic leaders present opportunities for effective collaboration and improvement. The authors developed a robust hand hygiene quality improvement program, with attention to rapid-cycle improvements, including all levels of staff and health care providers. The program included a defined governance structure, clear data collection process, educational interventions, rapid-cycle improvements, and financial incentive for staff and physicians (including residents and fellows). Outcomes were measured on patients in all clinical areas. Run charts were used to document compliance in aggregate and by subgroups throughout the project duration. Institutional targets were achieved and then exceeded, with sustained hand hygiene compliance >90%. Physician compliance lagged behind aggregate compliance but ultimately was sustained at a level exceeding the target. Successfully achieving the institutional goal required collaboration among all stakeholders. Physician-specific data and physician champions were essential to drive improvement. © The Author(s) 2015.

Leading by Success: Impact of a Clinical & Translational Research Infrastructure Program to Address Health Inequities

PubMed Central

Shiramizu, Bruce; Shambaugh, Vicki; Petrovich, Helen; Seto, Todd B.; Ho, Tammy; Mokuau, Noreen; Hedges, Jerris R.

2016-01-01

Building research infrastructure capacity to address clinical and translational gaps has been a focus of funding agencies and foundations. Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards, Research Centers in Minority Institutions Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (RCTR) and the Institutional Development Award Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research funded by United States (US) government to fund clinical translational research programs have existed for over a decade to address racial and ethnic health disparities across the US. While the impact on the nation’s health can’t be made in a short period, assessment of a program’s impact could be a litmus test to gauge its effectiveness at the institution and communities. We report the success of a Pilot Project Program in the University of Hawaii RCTR Award in advancing careers of emerging investigators and community collaborators. Our findings demonstrated that the investment has a far-reaching impact on engagement with community-based research collaborators, career advancement of health disparities investigators, and favorable impacts on health policy. PMID:27797013

Collaboration Strategies in Nontraditional Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: Lessons From an Academic–Community Partnership With Autistic Self-Advocates

PubMed Central

Nicolaidis, Christina; Raymaker, Dora; McDonald, Katherine; Dern, Sebastian; Ashkenazy, Elesia; Boisclair, Cody; Robertson, Scott; Baggs, Amanda

2012-01-01

Background Most community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects involve local communities defined by race, ethnicity, geography, or occupation. Autistic self-advocates, a geographically dispersed community defined by disability, experience issues in research similar to those expressed by more traditional minorities. Objectives We sought to build an academic–community partnership that uses CBPR to improve the lives of people on the autistic spectrum. Methods The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) includes representatives from academic, self-advocate, family, and professional communities. We are currently conducting several studies about the health care experiences and well-being of autistic adults. Lessons Learned We have learned a number of strategies that integrate technology and process to successfully equalize power and accommodate diverse communication and collaboration needs. Conclusions CBPR can be conducted successfully with autistic self-advocates. Our strategies may be useful to other CBPR partnerships, especially ones that cannot meet in person or that include people with diverse communication needs. PMID:21623016

Creating Successful Scientist-Teacher-Student Collaborations: Examples From the GLOBE Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geary, E.; Wright, E.; Yule, S.; Randolph, G.; Larsen, J.; Smith, D.

2007-12-01

Actively engaging students in research on the environment at local, regional, and globe scales is a primary objective of the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. During the past 18 months, GLOBE, an international education and science program in 109 countries and tens of thousands of schools worldwide, has been working with four NSF-funded Earth System Science Projects to involve K-12 students, teachers, and scientists in collaborative research investigations of Seasons and Biomes, the Carbon Cycle, Local and Extreme Environments, and Watersheds. This talk will discuss progress to date in each of these investigation areas and highlight successes and challenges in creating effective partnerships between diverse scientific and educational stakeholders. More specifically we will discuss lessons learned in the following areas: (a) mutual goal and responsibility setting, (b) resource allocation, (c) development of adaptable learning activities, tools, and services, (d) creation of scientist and school networks, and (e) development of evaluation metrics, all in support of student research.

Community for Data Integration 2015 annual report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langseth, Madison L.; Chang, Michelle Y.; Carlino, Jennifer; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Birch, Daniella D.; Bradley, Joshua; Bristol, R. Sky; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Everette, Anthony L.; Graves, Tabitha A.; Greenwood, Michelle M.; Govoni, David L.; Henkel, Heather S.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Jones, Brenda K.; Kern, Tim; Lacey, Jennifer; Lamb, Rynn M.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Long, John L.; Saleh, Ra'ad A.; Smith, Stan W.; Soulard, Christopher E.; Viger, Roland J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Wesenberg, Katherine E.; Wieferich, Daniel J.; Winslow, Luke A.

2016-10-28

The Community for Data Integration (CDI) continued to experience success in fiscal year 2015. The CDI community members have been sharing, learning, and collaborating through monthly forums, workshops, working groups, and funded projects. In fiscal year 2015, CDI coordinated 10 monthly forums with 16 different speakers from the U.S. Geological Survey and external partners; funded 11 collaborative projects; and hosted an in-person, four-day workshop, which attracted 168 (134 in-person and 34 remote) data practitioners, data providers, and data consumers from across the USGS, academia, industry, and other government agencies. The Citizen Science, Connected Devices, Data Management, Semantic Web, and Tech Stack Working Groups continued to accomplish great things in fiscal year 2015. These working groups were major stakeholders in planning the 2015 CDI Workshop; they continued developing solutions to pressing challenges, and they brought in speakers throughout the year for more focused presentations and discussions. Additionally, a new working group formed during the 2015 CDI Workshop—the Earth-Science Themes Working Group.

A Plan for Academic Biobank Solvency-Leveraging Resources and Applying Business Processes to Improve Sustainability.

PubMed

Uzarski, Diane; Burke, James; Turner, Barbara; Vroom, James; Short, Nancy

2015-10-01

Researcher-initiated biobanks based at academic institutions contribute valuable biomarker and translational research advances to medicine. With many legacy banks once supported by federal funding, reductions in fiscal support threaten the future of existing and new biobanks. When the Brain Bank at Duke University's Bryan Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADRC) faced a funding crisis, a collaborative, multidisciplinary team embarked on a 2-year biobank sustainability project utilizing a comprehensive business strategy, dedicated project management, and a systems approach involving many Duke University entities. By synthesizing and applying existing knowledge, Duke Translational Medicine Institute created and launched a business model that can be adjusted and applied to legacy and start-up academic biobanks. This model provides a path to identify new funding mechanisms, while also emphasizing improved communication, business development, and a focus on collaborating with industry to improve access to biospecimens. Benchmarks for short-term Brain Bank stabilization have been successfully attained, and the evaluation of long-term sustainability metrics is ongoing. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The BINA collaboration: science at the Royal Observatory of Belgium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Cat, Peter; Cuypers, Jan; Blomme, Ronny; Frémat, Yves; Groenewegen, Martin; Lampens, Patricia; Lobel, Alex; Pauwels, Thierry; Van de Steene, Griet; van Hoof, Peter

2018-04-01

The Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) is a collaboration between Indian and Belgian astronomical institutes with the main aim to optimize the scientific output of the Indo-Belgian telescopes, being the 4.0-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope and the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope. These new facilities are both located at the Devasthal Observatory near Nainital, India. In this contribution, we introduce projects that are of scientific interest for colleagues of the department "Astronomy and Astrophysics" of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). It serves as an invitation for Indian astronomers to participate. We highlight how these projects could benefit from observations with the Indo-Belgian telescopes by using instruments from the first-generation (currently offered) and/or the next-generation (development or design phase). We show that, from an ROB point-of-view, the BINA would be the most successful if the 3.6-m DOT would be equipped with an efficient optical high-resolution spectrograph.

A Plan for Academic Biobank Solvency—Leveraging Resources and Applying Business Processes to Improve Sustainability

PubMed Central

Burke, James; Turner, Barbara; Vroom, James; Short, Nancy

2015-01-01

Abstract Researcher‐initiated biobanks based at academic institutions contribute valuable biomarker and translational research advances to medicine. With many legacy banks once supported by federal funding, reductions in fiscal support threaten the future of existing and new biobanks. When the Brain Bank at Duke University's Bryan Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADRC) faced a funding crisis, a collaborative, multidisciplinary team embarked on a 2‐year biobank sustainability project utilizing a comprehensive business strategy, dedicated project management, and a systems approach involving many Duke University entities. By synthesizing and applying existing knowledge, Duke Translational Medicine Institute created and launched a business model that can be adjusted and applied to legacy and start‐up academic biobanks. This model provides a path to identify new funding mechanisms, while also emphasizing improved communication, business development, and a focus on collaborating with industry to improve access to biospecimens. Benchmarks for short‐term Brain Bank stabilization have been successfully attained, and the evaluation of long‐term sustainability metrics is ongoing. PMID:25996355

Special and General Education Biology Teachers Working Together Collaboratively

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagne-Grosso, Melissa

Collaborative teaching, between special education and general education teachers working together, came about as a result of the No Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Education Acts. Despite the positive intentions of those acts, teachers are not always ready to teach collaboratively. Guided by the theories of fundamental change and inclusion, this study was based on a lack of understanding about collaborative teaching at 3 high schools. The research questions focused on the benefits, process, and concerns related to collaborative teaching. The perspectives of 4 special education and 8 regular education teachers in 3 urban, public high schools were collected through interviews and observations. Data were analyzed descriptively and inductively using coding, reconstruction, and interpretation of the underlying meanings. The findings revealed that teachers benefitted from being in these classrooms by having a reduced work load and shared responsibility; however, they needed more time for collaboration and modifying instruction, professional development, and stronger support. Students in these classrooms benefitted from social interactions with other students and by getting direct answers to questions. Based on these findings, a professional development training was created based on how collaborative teachers can work together to promote successful learning. This project study can have a positive impact by assisting collaborative teachers with support, communication, strategies for modifications and accommodations, and an enhanced experience, and additionally by improving the academic outcomes for their students.

The Pioneering Role of the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project (VSD) to Advance Collaborative Research and Distributed Data Networks

PubMed Central

Fahey, Kevin R.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Large-scale distributed data networks consisting of diverse stakeholders including providers, patients, and payers are changing health research in terms of methods, speed and efficiency. The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) set the stage for expanded involvement of health plans in collaborative research. Expanding Surveillance Capacity and Progress Toward a Learning Health System: From an initial collaboration of four integrated health systems with fewer than 10 million covered lives to 16 diverse health plans with nearly 100 million lives now in the FDA Sentinel, the expanded engagement of health plan researchers has been essential to increase the value and impact of these efforts. The collaborative structure of the VSD established a pathway toward research efforts that successfully engage all stakeholders in a cohesive rather than competitive manner. The scientific expertise and methodology developed through the VSD such as rapid cycle analysis (RCA) to conduct near real-time safety surveillance allowed for the development of the expanded surveillance systems that now exist. Building on Success and Lessons Learned: These networks have learned from and built on the knowledge base and infrastructure created by the VSD investigators. This shared technical knowledge and experience expedited the development of systems like the FDA’s Mini-Sentinel and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)’s PCORnet Conclusion: This narrative reviews the evolution of the VSD, its contribution to other collaborative research networks, longer-term sustainability of this type of distributed research, and how knowledge gained from the earlier efforts can contribute to a continually learning health system. PMID:26793736

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.

An international partnership approach to clean energy technology innovation: Carbon capture and storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiaoliang

Is a global research partnership effective in developing, deploying, and diffusing clean energy technologies? Drawing on and extending innovation system studies, this doctoral dissertation elaborates an analytical model for a global technology learning system; examines the rationales, mechanisms, and effectiveness of the United States-- China Clean Energy Research Center Advanced Coal Technology Consortium (CERC-ACTC); and analyzes government's role in developing and implementing carbon capture and storage technologies in the United States (U.S.) and China. Studies have shown that successful technology innovation leads to economic prosperity and national competence, and prove that technology innovation does not happen in isolation but rather within interactive systems among stakeholders. However, the innovation process itself remains unclear, particularly with regard to interactive learning among and between major institutional actors, including technology developers, regulators, and financial organizations. This study seeks to advance scholarship on the interactive learning from the angle of global interactive learning. This dissertation research project seeks, as well, to inform policy-makers of how to strengthen international collaboration in clean energy technology development. The U.S.--China CERC-ACTC announced by Presidents Obama and Hu in 2009, provided a unique opportunity to close this scholarly gap. ACTC aimed to "advance the coal technology needed to safely, effectively, and efficiently utilize coal resources including the ability to capture, store, and utilize the emissions from coal use in both nations " through the joint research and development by U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers. This dissertation project included one-year field research in the two countries, with in-depth interviews of key stakeholders, a survey of Consortium participants, analysis of available data, and site visits to collaborative research projects from 2013-2014. This research project collected new data and developed models of collaborative, international technology innovation that can be used in the analysis of policy options for clean energy technology development. The findings show that this bilateral initiative is facilitating the technology learning to some degree, becoming a major component of the U.S.-China climate change collaboration; however, policy makers and collaborative practitioners must overcome political, administrative, cultural, and other challenges in their own national contexts before achieving more concrete outcomes.

Florida State University's Institute for Family Violence Studies.

PubMed

Oehme, Karen

2018-01-01

This article outlines the role of the Institute for Family Violence Studies (IFVS) within the Florida State University College of Social Work in navigating issues intersecting social work and the law ( http://familyvio.csw.fsu.edu/ ). By developing comprehensive state and national trainings for unique populations and conducting interdisciplinary research, the IFVS promotes public policy that benefits healthy families and decreases family and intimate partner violence. The crucial role of staff and students, the IFVS's collaborative alliances, and funding sources are highlighted. Projects such as the Clearinghouse on Supervised Visitation, the National Prevention Toolkit on Officer-Involved Domestic Violence, Successful Co-Parenting After Divorce, and the LGBTQ Family Life Project are described. Plans for future projects, as well as other new avenues for research, are summarized.

Cross-Cultural Collaboration - With Integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maryboy, N. C.

2015-12-01

Cross-Cultural Collaboration - with Integrity This poster will show the value of cross-cultural collaboration, between scientific institutions and Indigenous ways of knowing, as practiced by the Indigenous Education Institute. Focus is on respect for diverse worldviews, integrity as process, and academic diversity and equity. Today, as never before, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is of vital importance as it speaks strongly to the significance of balance to create a healthy environment. Utilizing a lens of contemporary scientific perspective along with a traditional Indigenous perspective illuminates the complementary aspects of both ways of knowing and a greater sense of understanding the earth and sky than would be possible with one perspective alone. The poster will highlight several examples of successful cross-cultural collaborations. *Collaborative partnership with University of Washington, Tacoma, Symposium on Contemporary Native American Issues in Higher Education: Intersectionality of Native Language and Culture in Modern Society (Sharing Our Skies - Looking at the Stars Through Indigenous Eyes and Western Astronomy Lenses) *AST 201, Introduction to Indigenous Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University: a course that fulfills the Diversity Requirement for graduation *Native Universe: a National Science Foundation funded project, which honors Indigenous Voice in science museums to deepen our relationship with nature, vital in this time of climate change *MAVEN - Imagine Mars Through Indigenous Eyes: a NASA funded project which provides middle and high school curriculum delivered in science centers and Indigenous schools *Navajo Sky: modules and shows for planetariums, funded by NASA, that juxtapose Navajo and western astronomy concepts and context, highlighting place-based science

An Exploratory Analysis of Network Characteristics and Quality of Interactions among Public Health Collaboratives

PubMed Central

Varda, Danielle M.; Retrum, Jessica H.

2012-01-01

While the benefits of collaboration have become widely accepted and the practice of collaboration is growing within the public health system, a paucity of research exists that examines factors and mechanisms related to effective collaboration between public health and their partner organizations. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the structural and organizational characteristics of public health collaboratives. Design and Methods. Using both social network analysis and traditional statistical methods, we conduct an exploratory secondary data analysis of 11 public health collaboratives chosen from across the United States. All collaboratives are part of the PARTNER (www.partnertool.net) database. We analyze data to identify relational patterns by exploring the structure (the way that organizations connect and exchange relationships), in relation to perceptions of value and trust, explanations for varying reports of success, and factors related to outcomes. We describe the characteristics of the collaboratives, types of resource contributions, outcomes of the collaboratives, perceptions of success, and reasons for success. We found high variation and significant differences within and between these collaboratives including perceptions of success. There were significant relationships among various factors such as resource contributions, reasons cited for success, and trust and value perceived by organizations. We find that although the unique structure of each collaborative makes it challenging to identify a specific set of factors to determine when a collaborative will be successful, the organizational characteristics and interorganizational dynamics do appear to impact outcomes. We recommend a quality improvement process that suggests matching assessment to goals and developing action steps for performance improvement. Acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health Program for funding for this research. PMID:25170462

An Exploratory Analysis of Network Characteristics and Quality of Interactions among Public Health Collaboratives.

PubMed

Varda, Danielle M; Retrum, Jessica H

2012-06-15

While the benefits of collaboration have become widely accepted and the practice of collaboration is growing within the public health system, a paucity of research exists that examines factors and mechanisms related to effective collaboration between public health and their partner organizations. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the structural and organizational characteristics of public health collaboratives. Design and Methods. Using both social network analysis and traditional statistical methods, we conduct an exploratory secondary data analysis of 11 public health collaboratives chosen from across the United States. All collaboratives are part of the PARTNER (www.partnertool.net) database. We analyze data to identify relational patterns by exploring the structure (the way that organizations connect and exchange relationships), in relation to perceptions of value and trust, explanations for varying reports of success, and factors related to outcomes. We describe the characteristics of the collaboratives, types of resource contributions, outcomes of the collaboratives, perceptions of success, and reasons for success. We found high variation and significant differences within and between these collaboratives including perceptions of success. There were significant relationships among various factors such as resource contributions, reasons cited for success, and trust and value perceived by organizations. We find that although the unique structure of each collaborative makes it challenging to identify a specific set of factors to determine when a collaborative will be successful, the organizational characteristics and interorganizational dynamics do appear to impact outcomes. We recommend a quality improvement process that suggests matching assessment to goals and developing action steps for performance improvement. the authors would like to thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Public Health Program for funding for this research.

Early Exercise in the Burn Intensive Care Unit Decreases Hospital Stay, Improves Mental Health, and Physical Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

Introduction 4 2. Keywords 4 3. Accomplishments 4 4. Impact 6 5. Changes/Problems 8 6. Products 10 7. Participants & Other Collaborating...to accomplish the goals and objectives. 4. IMPACT : Describe distinctive contributions, major accomplishments, innovations...successes, or any change in practice or behavior that has come about as a result of the project relative to: What was the impact on the development

Health Care IT Collaboration in Massachusetts: The Experience of Creating Regional Connectivity

PubMed Central

Halamka, John; Aranow, Meg; Ascenzo, Carl; Bates, David; Debor, Greg; Glaser, John; Goroll, Allan; Stowe, Jim; Tripathi, Micky; Vineyard, Gordon

2005-01-01

The state of Massachusetts has significant early experience in planning for and implementing interoperability networks for exchange of clinical and financal data. Members of our evolving data-sharing organizations gained valuable experience that is of potential benefit to others regarding the governance, policies, and technologies underpinning regional health information organizations. We describe the history, roles, and evolution of organizations and their plans for and success with pilot projects. PMID:16049225

Improving Postsecondary STEM Education: Strategies for Successful Interdisciplinary Collaborations and Brokering Engagement with Education Research and Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouwma-Gearhart, Jana; Perry, Kristen H.; Presley, Jennifer B.

2014-01-01

This article describes factors that influence the success of collaborations involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and Education faculty at research-focused universities who work toward postsecondary STEM education improvement. We provide insight into how interdisciplinary faculty may successfully collaborate given…

Collaboration between Supported Employment and Human Resource Services: Strategies for Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Post, Michal; Campbell, Camille; Heinz, Tom; Kotsonas, Lori; Montgomery, Joyce; Storey, Keith

2010-01-01

The article presents the benefits of successful collaboration between supported employment agencies and human resource managers when working together to secure employment for individuals with disabilities. Two case studies are presented: one involving a successful collaboration with county human resource managers in negotiating a change in the…

Technology transfer program of Microlabsat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Y.; Hashimoto, H.

2004-11-01

A 50kg-class small satellite developed by JAXA called "MicroLabSat" was launched piggyback by H-IIA rocket No. 4 on 14 December 2002. This satellite will demonstrate small satellite bus technology and conduct experiments on a new separator feasibility and remote inspection technology. All missions were completed successfully on 25 May 2003. Furthermore, the hand-construction by young JAXA engineers motivated these engineers to higher performance in learning design, assembly and testing technology. Small and medium-sized Japanese companies have recently joined together and initiated a project to develop a small satellite. The goal of the project is to commercialise small satellites, which will require low- cost development. Therefore, they have started with a satellite incorporating the components and bus technologies of MicroLabSat and have been technically supported by universities and JAXA since 2004. This satellite project, in which industry, universities and a space agency are collaborating, seeks to meet the technical challenge of launching a low-cost satellite. This paper reports JAX's strategies for developing a small satellite for demonstrating space technology as well as the development and operation results of MicroLabSat. It also describes the project status of an industry-based satellite, developed through collaboration among industries, universities and the space agency, and how the technologies of MicroLabSat are applied.

Efficient Project Delivery Using Lean Principles - An Indian Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovvuri, P. Ramachandra Reddy; Sawhney, Anil; Ahuja, Ritu; Sreekumar, Aiswarya

2016-03-01

Construction industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. Along with this growth, the industry is facing numerous challenges that are making delivery of projects inefficient. Experts believe that capacity constraints in the industry need to be addressed immediately. Government has recommended `introduction of efficient technologies and modern management techniques' to increase the productivity of the industry. In this context, lean principles can act as a lever to make project delivery more efficient and provide the much needed impetus to the Indian construction sector. Around the globe lean principles are showing positive results on the projects. Project teams are reporting improvements in construction time, cost and quality along with softer benefits of enhanced collaboration, coordination and trust in project teams. Can adoption of lean principles provide similar benefits in the Indian construction sector? This research was conducted to answer this question. Using an action research approach a key lean construction tool called Last Planner System (LPS) was tested on a large Indian construction project. The work described in this work investigates the improvements achieved in project delivery by adopting LPS in Indian construction sector. Comparison in pre- and post-implementation data demonstrates increase in the certainty of work-flow and improves schedule compliance. This is measured through a simple LPS metric called percent plan complete. Explicit improvements in schedule performance are seen during 8 week LPS implementation along with implicit improvements in coordination, collaboration and trust in the project team. This work reports the findings of LPS implementation on the case study project outlining the barriers and drivers to adoption, strategies needed to ensure successful implementation and roadmap for implementation. Based on the findings the authors envision that lean construction can make project delivery more efficient in India.

Identifying Key Issues and Potential Solutions for Integrated Arrival, Departure, Surface Operations by Surveying Stakeholder Preferences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aponso, Bimal; Coppenbarger, Richard A.; Jung, Yoon; Quon, Leighton; Lohr, Gary; O’Connor, Neil; Engelland, Shawn

2015-01-01

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) collaborates with the FAA and industry to provide concepts and technologies that enhance the transition to the next-generation air-traffic management system (NextGen). To facilitate this collaboration, ARMD has a series of Airspace Technology Demonstration (ATD) sub-projects that develop, demonstrate, and transitions NASA technologies and concepts for implementation in the National Airspace System (NAS). The second of these sub-projects, ATD-2, is focused on the potential benefits to NAS stakeholders of integrated arrival, departure, surface (IADS) operations. To determine the project objectives and assess the benefits of a potential solution, NASA surveyed NAS stakeholders to understand the existing issues in arrival, departure, and surface operations, and the perceived benefits of better integrating these operations. NASA surveyed a broad cross-section of stakeholders representing the airlines, airports, air-navigation service providers, and industry providers of NAS tools. The survey indicated that improving the predictability of flight times (schedules) could improve efficiency in arrival, departure, and surface operations. Stakeholders also mentioned the need for better strategic and tactical information on traffic constraints as well as better information sharing and a coupled collaborative planning process that allows stakeholders to coordinate IADS operations. To assess the impact of a potential solution, NASA sketched an initial departure scheduling concept and assessed its viability by surveying a select group of stakeholders for a second time. The objective of the departure scheduler was to enable flights to move continuously from gate to cruise with minimal interruption in a busy metroplex airspace environment using strategic and tactical scheduling enhanced by collaborative planning between airlines and service providers. The stakeholders agreed that this departure concept could improve schedule predictability and suggested several key attributes that were necessary to make the concept successful. The goals and objectives of the planned ATD-2 sub-project will incorporate the results of this stakeholder feedback.

Identity Federation and Its Importance for NASA's Future: The SharePoint Extranet Pilot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baturin, Rebecca R.

2013-01-01

My project at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) during the spring 2013 Project Management and Systems Engineering Internship was to functionalJy test and deploy the SharePoint Extranet system and ensure successful completion of the project's various lifecycle milestones as described by NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 7 120.7. I worked alongside NASA Project Managers, Systems Integration Engineers, and Information Technology (IT) Professionals to pilot this collaboration capability between NASA and its External Partners. The use of identity federation allows NASA to leverage externally-issued credentials of other federal agencies and private aerospace and defense companies, versus the traditional process of granting and maintaining full NASA identities for these individuals. This is the first system of its kind at NASA and it will serve as a pilot for the Federal Government. Recognizing the novelty of this service, NASA's initial approach for deployment included a pilot period where nearby employees of Patrick Air Force Base would assist in testing and deployment. By utilizing a credential registration process, Air Force users mapped their Air Force-issued Common Access Cards (CAC) to a NASA identity for access to the External SharePoint. Once the Air Force stands up an Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) instance within their Data Center and establishes a direct trust with NASA, true identity federation can be established. The next partner NASA is targeting for collaboration is Lockheed Martin (LMCO), since they collaborate frequently for the ORION Program. Through the use of Exostar as an identity hub, LMCO employees will be able to access NASA data on a need to know basis, with NASA ultimately managing access. In a time when every dollar and resource is being scrutinized, this capability is an exciting new way for NASA to continue its collaboration efforts in a cost and resource effective manner.

Accelerators for society: succession of European infrastructural projects: CARE, EuCARD, TIARA, EuCARD2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romaniuk, Ryszard S.

2013-10-01

Accelerator science and technology is one of a key enablers of the developments in the particle physic, photon physics and also applications in medicine and industry. The paper presents a digest of the research results in the domain of accelerator science and technology in Europe, shown during the realization of CARE (Coordinated Accelerator R&D), EuCARD (European Coordination of Accelerator R&D) and during the national annual review meeting of the TIARA - Test Infrastructure of European Research Area in Accelerator R&D. The European projects on accelerator technology started in 2003 with CARE. TIARA is an European Collaboration of Accelerator Technology, which by running research projects, technical, networks and infrastructural has a duty to integrate the research and technical communities and infrastructures in the global scale of Europe. The Collaboration gathers all research centers with large accelerator infrastructures. Other ones, like universities, are affiliated as associate members. TIARA-PP (preparatory phase) is an European infrastructural project run by this Consortium and realized inside EU-FP7. The paper presents a general overview of CARE, EuCARD and especially TIARA activities, with an introduction containing a portrait of contemporary accelerator technology and a digest of its applications in modern society. CARE, EuCARD and TIARA activities integrated the European accelerator community in a very effective way. These projects are expected very much to be continued.

The Early Nutrition Programming Project (EARNEST): 5 y of successful multidisciplinary collaborative research.

PubMed

Koletzko, Berthold; Brands, Brigitte; Demmelmair, Hans

2011-12-01

Differences in nutritional experiences during sensitive periods in early life, both before and after birth, can program a person's future development, metabolism, and health. A better scientific understanding of early nutrition programming holds enormous potential for implementing preventive strategies to enhance individuals' long-term health, well-being, and performance. This understanding could reduce costs of health care and social services and may enhance the wealth of societies. The Early Nutrition Programming Project (EARNEST) brought together a multidisciplinary team of international scientists and leaders in key areas of the early nutrition programming field from 40 major research centers across 16 European countries. The project had a total budget of 16.5 million Euros and was funded by the European Communities under the Sixth Framework Program for Research and Technical Development and coordinated by the Children's Hospital at Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. The integrated program of work combined experimental studies in humans, prospective observational studies, and mechanistic animal work, including physiologic studies, cell culture models, and molecular biology techniques. The project lasted from April 2005 to October 2010. After the end of the project, the Early Nutrition Academy (http://www.early-nutrition.org) continues to serve as a platform for the exchange of information, scientific collaboration, and training activities in the area of programming. This article highlights some of the scientific results, achievements, and efforts of EARNEST.

Physicians' accounts of frontline tensions when implementing pilot projects to improve primary care.

PubMed

Mansfield, Elizabeth; Bhattacharyya, Onil; Christian, Jennifer; Naglie, Gary; Steriopoulos, Vicky; Webster, Fiona

2018-03-19

Purpose Canada's primary care system has been described as "a culture of pilot projects" with little evidence of converting successful initiatives into funded, permanent programs or sharing project outcomes and insights across jurisdictions. Health services pilot projects are advocated as an effective strategy for identifying promising models of care and building integrated care partnerships in local settings. In the qualitative study reported here, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the strengths and challenges of this approach. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 primary care physicians who discussed their experiences as pilot project leads. Following thematic analysis methods, broad system issues were captured as well as individual project information. Findings While participants often portrayed themselves as advocates for vulnerable patients, mobilizing healthcare organizations and providers to support new models of care was discussed as challenging. Competition between local healthcare providers and initiatives could impact pilot project success. Participants also reported tensions between their clinical, project management and research roles with additional time demands and skill requirements interfering with the work of implementing and evaluating service innovations. Originality/value Study findings highlight the complexity of pilot project implementation, which encompasses physician commitment to addressing care for vulnerable populations through to the need for additional skill set requirements and the impact of local project environments. The current pilot project approach could be strengthened by including more multidisciplinary collaboration and providing infrastructure supports to enhance the design, implementation and evaluation of health services improvement initiatives.

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…

Hospital readiness for health information exchange: development of metrics associated with successful collaboration for quality improvement.

PubMed

Korst, Lisa M; Aydin, Carolyn E; Signer, Jordana M K; Fink, Arlene

2011-08-01

The development of readiness metrics for organizational participation in health information exchange is critical for monitoring progress toward, and achievement of, successful inter-organizational collaboration. In preparation for the development of a tool to measure readiness for data-sharing, we tested whether organizational capacities known to be related to readiness were associated with successful participation in an American data-sharing collaborative for quality improvement. Cross-sectional design, using an on-line survey of hospitals in a large, mature data-sharing collaborative organized for benchmarking and improvement in nursing care quality. Factor analysis was used to identify salient constructs, and identified factors were analyzed with respect to "successful" participation. "Success" was defined as the incorporation of comparative performance data into the hospital dashboard. The most important factor in predicting success included survey items measuring the strength of organizational leadership in fostering a culture of quality improvement (QI Leadership): (1) presence of a supportive hospital executive; (2) the extent to which a hospital values data; (3) the presence of leaders' vision for how the collaborative advances the hospital's strategic goals; (4) hospital use of the collaborative data to track quality outcomes; and (5) staff recognition of a strong mandate for collaborative participation (α=0.84, correlation with Success 0.68 [P<0.0001]). The data emphasize the importance of hospital QI Leadership in collaboratives that aim to share data for QI or safety purposes. Such metrics should prove useful in the planning and development of this complex form of inter-organizational collaboration. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Goes Around: the process of building a community-based harm reduction research project.

PubMed

Jalloh, Chelsea; Illsley, Shohan; Wylie, John; Migliardi, Paula; West, Ethan; Stewart, Debbie; Mignone, Javier

2017-11-16

Often, research takes place on underserved populations rather than with underserved populations. This approach can further isolate and stigmatize groups that are already made marginalized. What Goes Around is a community-based research project that was led by community members themselves (Peers). This research aimed to implement a community-based research methodology grounded in the leadership and growing research capacity of community researchers and to investigate a topic which community members identified as important and meaningful. Chosen by community members, this project explored how safer sex and safer drug use information is shared informally among Peers. Seventeen community members actively engaged as both community researchers and research participants throughout all facets of the project: inception, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of results. Effective collaboration between community researchers, a community organization, and academics facilitated a research process in which community members actively guided the project from beginning to end. The methods used in What Goes Around demonstrated that it is not only possible, but advantageous, to draw from community members' involvement and direction in all stages of a community-based research project. This is particularly important when working with a historically underserved population. Purposeful and regular communication among collaborators, ongoing capacity building, and a commitment to respect the experience and expertise of community members were essential to the project's success. This project demonstrated that community members are highly invested in both informally sharing information about safer sex and safer drug use and taking leadership roles in directing research that prioritizes harm reduction in their communities.

Planned and ongoing projects (pop) database: development and results.

PubMed

Wild, Claudia; Erdös, Judit; Warmuth, Marisa; Hinterreiter, Gerda; Krämer, Peter; Chalon, Patrice

2014-11-01

The aim of this study was to present the development, structure and results of a database on planned and ongoing health technology assessment (HTA) projects (POP Database) in Europe. The POP Database (POP DB) was set up in an iterative process from a basic Excel sheet to a multifunctional electronic online database. The functionalities, such as the search terminology, the procedures to fill and update the database, the access rules to enter the database, as well as the maintenance roles, were defined in a multistep participatory feedback loop with EUnetHTA Partners. The POP Database has become an online database that hosts not only the titles and MeSH categorizations, but also some basic information on status and contact details about the listed projects of EUnetHTA Partners. Currently, it stores more than 1,200 planned, ongoing or recently published projects of forty-three EUnetHTA Partners from twenty-four countries. Because the POP Database aims to facilitate collaboration, it also provides a matching system to assist in identifying similar projects. Overall, more than 10 percent of the projects in the database are identical both in terms of pathology (indication or disease) and technology (drug, medical device, intervention). In addition, approximately 30 percent of the projects are similar, meaning that they have at least some overlap in content. Although the POP DB is successful concerning regular updates of most national HTA agencies within EUnetHTA, little is known about its actual effects on collaborations in Europe. Moreover, many non-nationally nominated HTA producing agencies neither have access to the POP DB nor can share their projects.

The Many Faces of School-University Collaboration: Characteristics of Successful Partnerships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ravid, Ruth, Ed.; Handler, Marianne G., Ed.

This book is designed to help educators entering into school-university collaborative relationships have a clearer picture of conditions that drive successful partnerships. The models described include collaboration between a university and professional development school, consultation, one-to-one collaborations, and multiple collaboration…

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.

Inter-institutional Development of a Poster-Based Cancer Biology Learning Tool

PubMed Central

Andraos-Selim, Cecile; Modzelewski, Ruth A.; Steinman, Richard A.

2010-01-01

There is a paucity of African-American Cancer researchers. To help address this, an educational collaboration was developed between a Comprehensive Cancer Center and a distant undergraduate biology department at a minority institution that sought to teach students introductory cancer biology while modeling research culture. A student-centered active learning curriculum was established that incorporated scientific poster presentations and simulated research exercises to foster learning of cancer biology. Students successfully mined primary literature for supportive data to test cancer-related hypotheses. Student feedback indicated that the poster project substantially enhanced depth of understanding of cancer biology and laid the groundwork for subsequent laboratory work. This inter-institutional collaboration modeled the research process while conveying facts and concepts about cancer. PMID:20237886

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…

Successful Collaboration between General Education and Special Education Teachers: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, Barbara D.

2017-01-01

The study focused on the experiences of general and special education teachers on what constitutes successful collaboration since there is little evidence existing on the phenomenon. For collaboration to be successful, it must go beyond having two teachers in a classroom delivering instructions. It entails deliberate practices enabling teachers to…

Exploiting Expertise and Knowledge Sharing Online for the Benefit of NASA's GN&C Community of Practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Topousis, Daria E.; Lebsock, Kenneth L.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.

2010-01-01

In 2004, NASA faced major knowledge sharing challenges due to geographically isolated field centers that inhibited engineers from sharing their experiences, expertise, ideas, and lessons learned. The necessity to collaborate on complex development projects and the reality of constrained project resources together drove the need for ensuring that personnel at all NASA centers had comparable skill sets and that engineers could find resources in a timely fashion. Mission failures and new directions for the Agency also demanded better collaborative tools for NASA's engineering workforce. In response to these needs, the online NASA Engineering Network (NEN) was formed by the NASA Office of the Chief Engineer to provide a multi-faceted system for overcoming geographic and cultural barriers. NEN integrates communities of practice with a cross-repository search and the Lessons Learned Information System. This paper describes the features of the GN&C engineering discipline CoP site which went live on NEN in May of 2008 as an online means of gathering input and guidance from practitioners. It allows GN&C discipline expertise captured at one field center to be shared in a collaborative way with the larger discipline CoP spread across the entire Agency. The site enables GN&C engineers to find the information they need quickly, to find solutions to questions from experienced engineers, and to connect with other practitioners regardless of geographic location, thus increasing the probability of project success.

Preparing Academic Medical Centers for the Clinical Learning Environment Review: Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers National Initiative IV Outcomes and Evaluation

PubMed Central

Wehbe-Janek, Hania; Markova, Tsveti; Polis, Rachael L.; Peters, Marguerite; Liu, Yang

2016-01-01

Background: Driven by changes to improve quality in patient care and population health while reducing costs, evolvement of the health system calls for restructuring health professionals' education and aligning it with the healthcare delivery system. In response to these changes, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) encourages the integration of health system leadership, faculty, and residents in restructuring graduate medical education (GME). Innovative approaches to achieving this restructuring and the CLER objectives are essential. Methods: The Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers National Initiative (NI) IV provided a multiinstitutional learning collaborative focused on supporting GME redesign. From October 2013 through March 2015, participants conducted relevant projects, attended onsite meetings, and participated in teleconferences and webinars addressing the CLER areas. Participants shared best practices, resources, and experiences. We designed a pre/post descriptive study to examine outcomes. Results: Thirty-three institutions completed NI IV, and at its conclusion, the majority reported greater CLER readiness compared with baseline. Twenty-two (88.0%) institutions reported that NI IV had a great impact on advancing their efforts in the CLER area of their project focus, and 15 (62.5%) reported a great impact in other CLER focus areas. Opportunities to share progress with other teams and the national group meetings were reported to contribute to teams' success. Conclusion: The NI IV learning collaborative prepared institutions for CLER, suggesting successful integration of the clinical and educational enterprises. We propose that national learning collaboratives of GME-sponsoring health systems enable advancement of their education mission, leading ultimately to better healthcare outcomes. This learning model may be generalizable to newfound programs for academic medical centers. PMID:27303228

Experiences of engineering Grid-based medical software.

PubMed

Estrella, F; Hauer, T; McClatchey, R; Odeh, M; Rogulin, D; Solomonides, T

2007-08-01

Grid-based technologies are emerging as potential solutions for managing and collaborating distributed resources in the biomedical domain. Few examples exist, however, of successful implementations of Grid-enabled medical systems and even fewer have been deployed for evaluation in practice. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the use in clinical practice of a Grid-based imaging prototype and to establish directions for engineering future medical Grid developments and their subsequent deployment. The MammoGrid project has deployed a prototype system for clinicians using the Grid as its information infrastructure. To assist in the specification of the system requirements (and for the first time in healthgrid applications), use-case modelling has been carried out in close collaboration with clinicians and radiologists who had no prior experience of this modelling technique. A critical qualitative and, where possible, quantitative analysis of the MammoGrid prototype is presented leading to a set of recommendations from the delivery of the first deployed Grid-based medical imaging application. We report critically on the application of software engineering techniques in the specification and implementation of the MammoGrid project and show that use-case modelling is a suitable vehicle for representing medical requirements and for communicating effectively with the clinical community. This paper also discusses the practical advantages and limitations of applying the Grid to real-life clinical applications and presents the consequent lessons learned. The work presented in this paper demonstrates that given suitable commitment from collaborating radiologists it is practical to deploy in practice medical imaging analysis applications using the Grid but that standardization in and stability of the Grid software is a necessary pre-requisite for successful healthgrids. The MammoGrid prototype has therefore paved the way for further advanced Grid-based deployments in the medical and biomedical domains.

Cast Metals Coalition Technology Transfer and Program Management Final Report

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

Gwyn, Mike

2009-03-31

The Cast Metals Coalition (CMC) partnership program was funded to ensure that the results of the Department of Energy's (DOE) metalcasting research and development (R&D) projects are successfully deployed into industry. Specifically, the CMC program coordinated the transfer and deployment of energy saving technologies and process improvements developed under separately funded DOE programs and projects into industry. The transition of these technologies and process improvements is a critical step in the path to realizing actual energy savings. At full deployment, DOE funded metalcasting R&D results are projected to save 55% of the energy used by the industry in 1998. Thismore » closely aligns with DOE's current goal of driving a 25% reduction in industrial energy intensity by 2017. In addition to benefiting DOE, these energy savings provide metalcasters with a significant economic advantage. Deployment of already completed R&D project results and those still underway is estimated to return over 500% of the original DOE and industry investment. Energy savings estimates through December 2008 from the Energy-Saving Melting and Revert Reduction Technology (E-SMARRT) portfolio of projects alone are 12 x 1012 BTUs, with a projection of over 50 x 1012 BTUs ten years after program completion. These energy savings and process improvements have been made possible through the unique collaborative structure of the CMC partnership. The CMC team consists of DOE's Office of Industrial Technology, the three leading metalcasting technical societies in the U.S: the American Foundry Society; the North American Die Casting Association; and the Steel Founders Society of America; and the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), a recognized leader in distributed technology management. CMC provides collaborative leadership to a complex industry composed of approximately 2,100 companies, 80% of which employ less than 100 people, and only 4% of which employ more than 250 people. Without collaboration, new technologies enabling energy efficiencies and environment-friendly improvements are slow to develop, and have trouble obtaining a broad application. The CMC team was able to effectively and efficiently transfer the results of DOE's metalcasting R&D projects to industry by utilizing and delivering the numerous communication vehicles identified in the proposal. The three metalcasting technical associations achieved significant technology transition results under this program. In addition to reaching over 23,000 people per year through Modern Casting and 28,000 through Engineered Casting Solutions, AFS had 84 national publications and reached over 1,200 people annually through Cast Metals Institute (CMI) education courses. NADCA's education department reached over 1,000 people each year through their courses, in addition to reaching over 6,000 people annually through Die Casting Engineer, and publishing 58 papers. The SFSA also published 99 research papers and reached over 1,000 people annually through their member newsletters. In addition to these communication vehicles, the CMC team conducted numerous technical committee meetings, project reviews, and onsite visits. All of these efforts to distribute the latest metalcasting technologies contributed to the successful deployment of DOE's R&D projects into industry. The DOE/CMC partnership demonstrated significant success in the identification and review of relevant and easy-to-implement metalcasting energy-saving processes and technologies so that the results are quickly implemented and become general practice. The results achieved in this program demonstrate that sustained technology transfer efforts are a critical step in the deployment of R&D projects to industry.« less

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.

The Power of Programming and the EarlyNutrition project: opportunities for health promotion by nutrition during the first thousand days of life and beyond.

PubMed

Koletzko, Berthold; Brands, Brigitte; Chourdakis, Michael; Cramer, Simone; Grote, Veit; Hellmuth, Christian; Kirchberg, Franca; Prell, Christine; Rzehak, Peter; Uhl, Olaf; Weber, Martina

2014-01-01

At The Power of Programming 2014 Conference, researchers from multiple disciplines presented and discussed the effects of early nutrition and other environmental cues during the first thousand days of life and beyond on the lifelong risk of noncommunicable diseases. This paper aims to summarize the concepts and some of the first achievements of the EarlyNutrition research project that initiated the conference. The EarlyNutrition consortium is a multinational, multidisciplinary research collaboration of researchers from Europe, the USA, and Australia. A focus is placed on exploration of the developmental origins of obesity, adiposity, and related health outcomes. Here we report on the first findings of experimental approaches, cohort studies, randomized clinical trials, and systematic reviews of current information, as well as position papers, which have all been developed with the involvement of project partners. We conclude that the EarlyNutrition project has successfully established itself during the first 2 project years as a very strong platform for collaborative research on early programming effects. The first results, available already at this early stage of the project, point to great opportunities for health prevention strategies via the implementation of dietary and lifestyle modifications, with large effect sizes. Further results are expected which should support improved recommendations and related policies for optimized nutrition and lifestyle choices before and during pregnancy, in infancy, and in early childhood. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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.

Dancing the two-step: Collaborating with intermediary organizations as research partners to help implement workplace health and safety interventions.

PubMed

Kramer, Desre M; Wells, Richard P; Bigelow, Phillip L; Carlan, Niki A; Cole, Donald C; Hepburn, C Gail

2010-01-01

To evaluate the effect of the involvement of intermediaries who were research partners on three intervention studies. The projects crossed four sectors: manufacturing, transportation, service sector, and electrical-utilities sectors. The interventions were participative ergonomic programs. The study attempts to further our understanding of collaborative workplace-based research between researchers and intermediary organizations; to analyze this collaboration in terms of knowledge transfer; and to further our understanding of the successes and challenges with such a process. The intermediary organizations were provincial health and safety associations (HSAs). They have workplaces as their clients and acted as direct links between the researchers and workplaces. Data was collected from observations, emails, research-meeting minutes, and 36 qualitative interviews. Interviewees were managers, and consultants from the collaborating associations, 17 company representatives and seven researchers. The article describes how the collaborations were created, the structure of the partnerships, the difficulties, the benefits, and challenges to both the researchers and intermediaries. The evidence of knowledge utilization between the researchers and HSAs was tracked as a proxy-measure of impact of this collaborative method, also called Mode 2 research. Despite the difficulties, both the researchers and the health and safety specialists agreed that the results of the research made the process worthwhile.

FEASIBILITY OF LARGE-SCALE OCEAN CO2 SEQUESTRATION

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

Dr. Peter Brewer; Dr. James Barry

2002-09-30

We have continued to carry out creative small-scale experiments in the deep ocean to investigate the science underlying questions of possible future large-scale deep-ocean CO{sub 2} sequestration as a means of ameliorating greenhouse gas growth rates in the atmosphere. This project is closely linked to additional research funded by the DoE Office of Science, and to support from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The listing of project achievements here over the past year reflects these combined resources. Within the last project year we have: (1) Published a significant workshop report (58 pages) entitled ''Direct Ocean Sequestration Expert's Workshop'', basedmore » upon a meeting held at MBARI in 2001. The report is available both in hard copy, and on the NETL web site. (2) Carried out three major, deep ocean, (3600m) cruises to examine the physical chemistry, and biological consequences, of several liter quantities released on the ocean floor. (3) Carried out two successful short cruises in collaboration with Dr. Izuo Aya and colleagues (NMRI, Osaka, Japan) to examine the fate of cold (-55 C) CO{sub 2} released at relatively shallow ocean depth. (4) Carried out two short cruises in collaboration with Dr. Costas Tsouris, ORNL, to field test an injection nozzle designed to transform liquid CO{sub 2} into a hydrate slurry at {approx}1000m depth. (5) In collaboration with Prof. Jill Pasteris (Washington University) we have successfully accomplished the first field test of a deep ocean laser Raman spectrometer for probing in situ the physical chemistry of the CO{sub 2} system. (6) Submitted the first major paper on biological impacts as determined from our field studies. (7) Submitted a paper on our measurements of the fate of a rising stream of liquid CO{sub 2} droplets to Environmental Science & Technology. (8) Have had accepted for publication in Eos the first brief account of the laser Raman spectrometer success. (9) Have had two papers submitted for the Greenhouse Gas Technology--6 Conference (Kyoto) accepted. (10) Been nominated by the U.S. Dept. of State to attend the Nov. 2002 IPCC Workshop on Carbon Capture and Storage. (11) Given presentations at national meetings, including the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting, the American Chemical Society, the Minerals, Materials, and Metals Society, the National Academy of Engineering, and given numerous invited lectures.« less

Hunting down the chimera of multiple disciplinarity in conservation science.

PubMed

Pooley, Simon P; Mendelsohn, J Andrew; Milner-Gulland, E J

2014-02-01

The consensus is that both ecological and social factors are essential dimensions of conservation research and practice. However, much of the literature on multiple disciplinary collaboration focuses on the difficulties of undertaking it. This review of the challenges of conducting multiple disciplinary collaboration offers a framework for thinking about the diversity and complexity of this endeavor. We focused on conceptual challenges, of which 5 main categories emerged: methodological challenges, value judgments, theories of knowledge, disciplinary prejudices, and interdisciplinary communication. The major problems identified in these areas have proved remarkably persistent in the literature surveyed (c.1960-2012). Reasons for these failures to learn from past experience include the pressure to produce positive outcomes and gloss over disagreements, the ephemeral nature of many such projects and resulting lack of institutional memory, and the apparent complexity and incoherence of the endeavor. We suggest that multiple disciplinary collaboration requires conceptual integration among carefully selected multiple disciplinary team members united in investigating a shared problem or question. We outline a 9-point sequence of steps for setting up a successful multiple disciplinary project. This encompasses points on recruitment, involving stakeholders, developing research questions, negotiating power dynamics and hidden values and conceptual differences, explaining and choosing appropriate methods, developing a shared language, facilitating on-going communications, and discussing data integration and project outcomes. Although numerous solutions to the challenges of multiple disciplinary research have been proposed, lessons learned are often lost when projects end or experienced individuals move on. We urge multiple disciplinary teams to capture the challenges recognized, and solutions proposed, by their researchers while projects are in process. A database of well-documented case studies would showcase theories and methods from a variety of disciplines and their interactions, enable better comparative study and evaluation, and provide a useful resource for developing future projects and training multiple disciplinary researchers. © 2013 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Hunting Down the Chimera of Multiple Disciplinarity in Conservation Science

PubMed Central

POOLEY, SIMON P; MENDELSOHN, J ANDREW; MILNER-GULLAND, E J

2014-01-01

The consensus is that both ecological and social factors are essential dimensions of conservation research and practice. However, much of the literature on multiple disciplinary collaboration focuses on the difficulties of undertaking it. This review of the challenges of conducting multiple disciplinary collaboration offers a framework for thinking about the diversity and complexity of this endeavor. We focused on conceptual challenges, of which 5 main categories emerged: methodological challenges, value judgments, theories of knowledge, disciplinary prejudices, and interdisciplinary communication. The major problems identified in these areas have proved remarkably persistent in the literature surveyed (c.1960–2012). Reasons for these failures to learn from past experience include the pressure to produce positive outcomes and gloss over disagreements, the ephemeral nature of many such projects and resulting lack of institutional memory, and the apparent complexity and incoherence of the endeavor. We suggest that multiple disciplinary collaboration requires conceptual integration among carefully selected multiple disciplinary team members united in investigating a shared problem or question. We outline a 9-point sequence of steps for setting up a successful multiple disciplinary project. This encompasses points on recruitment, involving stakeholders, developing research questions, negotiating power dynamics and hidden values and conceptual differences, explaining and choosing appropriate methods, developing a shared language, facilitating on-going communications, and discussing data integration and project outcomes. Although numerous solutions to the challenges of multiple disciplinary research have been proposed, lessons learned are often lost when projects end or experienced individuals move on. We urge multiple disciplinary teams to capture the challenges recognized, and solutions proposed, by their researchers while projects are in process. A database of well-documented case studies would showcase theories and methods from a variety of disciplines and their interactions, enable better comparative study and evaluation, and provide a useful resource for developing future projects and training multiple disciplinary researchers. PMID:24299167

The GLOBAL Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Collaboration System. Building a robust international collaboration environment for teachers, scientists and students.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overoye, D.; Lewis, C.

2016-12-01

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program founded on Earth Day 1995. Implemented in 117 countries, GLOBE promotes the teaching and learning of science, supporting students, teachers and scientists worldwide to collaborate with each other on inquiry-based investigations of the Earth system. As an international platform supporting a large number and variety of stakeholders, the GLOBE Data Information System (DIS) was re-built with the goal of providing users the support needed to foster and develop collaboration between teachers, students and scientists while supporting the collection and visualization of over 50 different earth science investigations (protocols). There have been many challenges to consider as we have worked to prototype and build various tools to support collaboration across the GLOBE community - language, security, time zones, user roles and the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) to name a few. During the last 3 years the re-built DIS has been in operation we have supported user to user collaboration, school to school collaboration, project/campaign to user collaboration and scientist to scientist collaboration. We have built search tools to facilitate finding collaboration partners. The tools and direction continue to evolve based on feedback, evolving needs and changes in technology. With this paper we discuss our approach for dealing with some of the collaboration challenges, review tools built to encourage and support collaboration, and analyze which tools have been successful and which have not. We will review new ideas for collaboration in the GLOBE community that are guiding upcoming development.

Rationale and Initial Design for a Virtual Undergraduate Internship in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berryhill, Katie; Slater, T. F.; Slater, S. J.

2012-01-01

In recent decades, research experiences for undergraduates (REUs) programs have provided students with opportunities to spend a summer working on a research project with a faculty mentor. The aim of these programs has generally been to take up the challenge of the Boyer-2 report to introduce research-based learning into the undergraduate experience (Boyer 1998). Recent efforts have been aimed at encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue STEM careers. With the advent of successful models for online degree programs that can add to the STEM workforce pipeline, there is now the possibility of expanding these research experiences to include the new diverse demographic of previously untapped online learners. Many online learners are working adults, and therefore do not have the same flexibility as traditional undergraduates to attend a summer REU at another institution, nor do they have the opportunity for internships at their home institution. This project is intended to leverage significant developments in rapidly emerging social media; investments in Internet-accessible telescopes for professional and amateur use; and contemporary advances in the learning sciences to build pathways through long-term, collaborative, astronomy research projects. The first stage involves developing initial research protocols and online mentoring infrastructures for establishing an ongoing national program for virtual astronomy internships for undergraduate STEM majors. Underlying this project is a plan for students to work collaboratively alongside active professional and amateur astronomers to conduct original research using remotely controlled and robotic telescopes. We anticipate that by the start of this project, more than 100 robotic and remotely controlled telescopes will exist around the world (mo-www.harvard.edu/OWN, aavso.org/aavsonet, and lcogt.net among others) providing continuous world-wide coverage. We plan to test and iteratively build a successful infrastructure for students to take advantage of these and other rapidly emerging resources and support an expansion of the STEM career workforce.

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.

Exploring the success of an integrated primary care partnership: a longitudinal study of collaboration processes.

PubMed

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

2015-01-22

Forming partnerships is a prominent strategy used to promote integrated service delivery across health and social service systems. Evidence about the collaboration process upon which partnerships evolve has rarely been addressed in an integrated-care setting. This study explores the longitudinal relationship of the collaboration process and the influence on the final perceived success of a partnership in such a setting. The collaboration process through which partnerships evolve is based on a conceptual framework which identifies five themes: shared ambition, interests and mutual gains, relationship dynamics, organisational dynamics and process management. Fifty-nine out of 69 partnerships from a national programme in the Netherlands participated in this survey study. At baseline, 338 steering committee members responded, and they returned 320 questionnaires at follow-up. Multiple-regression-analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between the baseline as well as the change in the collaboration process and the final success of the partnerships. Mutual gains and process management were the most significant baseline predictors for the final success of the partnership. A positive change in the relationship dynamics had a significant effect on the final success of a partnership. Insight into the collaboration process of integrated primary care partnerships offers a potentially powerful way of predicting their success. Our findings underscore the importance of monitoring the collaboration process during the development of the partnerships in order to achieve their full collaborative advantage.

Software metrics: The key to quality software on the NCC project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, Patricia J.

1993-01-01

Network Control Center (NCC) Project metrics are captured during the implementation and testing phases of the NCCDS software development lifecycle. The metrics data collection and reporting function has interfaces with all elements of the NCC project. Close collaboration with all project elements has resulted in the development of a defined and repeatable set of metrics processes. The resulting data are used to plan and monitor release activities on a weekly basis. The use of graphical outputs facilitates the interpretation of progress and status. The successful application of metrics throughout the NCC project has been instrumental in the delivery of quality software. The use of metrics on the NCC Project supports the needs of the technical and managerial staff. This paper describes the project, the functions supported by metrics, the data that are collected and reported, how the data are used, and the improvements in the quality of deliverable software since the metrics processes and products have been in use.

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...

Pentaquark Search with STAR at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salur, Sevil

2004-05-01

Several observations of a five-quark bound system, pentaquarks, from various experiments in photon-nucleus, kaon-nucleus, and proton-proton reactions have been reported*. The presence of these states was predicted by Diakonov at al. using chiral soliton models of baryons in 1997. ** The high energies and particle densities resulting from collisions at RHIC are expected to favor pentaquark production. The large acceptance of STAR's Time Projection Chamber is ideal for such rare particle searches. The short lifetimes predicted for pentaquarks require that a mixing technique be used to reconstruct the pentaquarks via their decay products. This technique has already been used successfully by STAR to reconstruct and study short-lived resonances. We report on the progress of the pentaquark search by the STAR collaboration in pp, dAu, and AuAu collisions through one of the decay modes, Θ^+arrow p+K^0. *T.Nakano et al. (LEPS Collaboration) Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 0122002(2003) *S.Stepanyan et al. (CLAS Collaboration) hep-exp/0307018 *V.V.Barmin at al. (DIANA Collaboration) hep-exp/0304040 **D. Diakonov, V. Petrov and M. Polakov Z.Phys. A359 (1997) 305-314

Implementing the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: lessons from a global collaboration

PubMed Central

Perry, WRG; Bagheri Nejad, S; Tuomisto, K; Kara, N; Roos, N; Dilip, TR; Hirschhorn, LR; Larizgoitia, I; Semrau, K; Mathai, M; Dhingra-Kumar, N

2017-01-01

The WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) was developed to ensure the delivery of essential maternal and perinatal care practices around the time of childbirth. A research collaboration was subsequently established to explore factors that influence use of the Checklist in a range of settings around the world. This analysis article presents an overview of the WHO SCC Collaboration and the lessons garnered from implementing the Checklist across a diverse range of settings. Project leads from each collaboration site were asked to distribute two surveys. The first was given to end users, and the second to implementation teams to describe their respective experiences using the Checklist. A total of 134 end users and 38 implementation teams responded to the surveys, from 19 countries across all levels of income. End users were willing to adopt the SCC and found it easy to use. Training and the provision of supervision while using the Checklist, alongside leadership engagement and local ownership, were important factors which helped facilitate initial implementation and successful uptake of the Checklist. Teams identified several challenges, but more importantly successfully implemented the WHO SCC. A critical step in all settings was the adaptation of the Checklist to reflect local context and national protocols and standards. These findings were invaluable in developing the final version of the WHO SCC and its associated implementation guide. Our experience will provide useful insights for any institution wishing to implement the Checklist. PMID:29082003

Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research and Training: Initial Outcomes and Evolution of the Affinity Research Collaboratives Model.

PubMed

Ravid, Katya; Seta, Francesca; Center, David; Waters, Gloria; Coleman, David

2017-10-01

Team science has been recognized as critical to solving increasingly complex biomedical problems and advancing discoveries in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease. In 2009, the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research (ECIBR) was established in the Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine as a new organizational paradigm to promote interdisciplinary team science. The ECIBR is made up of affinity research collaboratives (ARCs), consisting of investigators from different departments and disciplines who come together to study biomedical problems that are relevant to human disease and not under interdisciplinary investigation at the university. Importantly, research areas are identified by investigators according to their shared interests. ARC proposals are evaluated by a peer review process, and collaboratives are funded annually for up to three years.Initial outcomes of the first 12 ARCs show the value of this model in fostering successful biomedical collaborations that lead to publications, extramural grants, research networking, and training. The most successful ARCs have been developed into more sustainable organizational entities, including centers, research cores, translational research projects, and training programs.To further expand team science at Boston University, the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Office was established in 2015 to more fully engage the entire university, not just the medical campus, in interdisciplinary research using the ARC mechanism. This approach to promoting team science may be useful to other academic organizations seeking to expand interdisciplinary research at their institutions.

Online collaboration and model sharing in volcanology via VHub.org

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentine, G.; Patra, A. K.; Bajo, J. V.; Bursik, M. I.; Calder, E.; Carn, S. A.; Charbonnier, S. J.; Connor, C.; Connor, L.; Courtland, L. M.; Gallo, S.; Jones, M.; Palma Lizana, J. L.; Moore-Russo, D.; Renschler, C. S.; Rose, W. I.

2013-12-01

VHub (short for VolcanoHub, and accessible at vhub.org) is an online platform for barrier free access to high end modeling and simulation and collaboration in research and training related to volcanoes, the hazards they pose, and risk mitigation. The underlying concept is to provide a platform, building upon the successful HUBzero software infrastructure (hubzero.org), that enables workers to collaborate online and to easily share information, modeling and analysis tools, and educational materials with colleagues around the globe. Collaboration occurs around several different points: (1) modeling and simulation; (2) data sharing; (3) education and training; (4) volcano observatories; and (5) project-specific groups. VHub promotes modeling and simulation in two ways: (1) some models can be implemented on VHub for online execution. VHub can provide a central warehouse for such models that should result in broader dissemination. VHub also provides a platform that supports the more complex CFD models by enabling the sharing of code development and problem-solving knowledge, benchmarking datasets, and the development of validation exercises. VHub also provides a platform for sharing of data and datasets. The VHub development team is implementing the iRODS data sharing middleware (see irods.org). iRODS allows a researcher to access data that are located at participating data sources around the world (a cloud of data) as if the data were housed in a single virtual database. Projects associated with VHub are also going to introduce the use of data driven workflow tools to support the use of multistage analysis processes where computing and data are integrated for model validation, hazard analysis etc. Audio-video recordings of seminars, PowerPoint slide sets, and educational simulations are all items that can be placed onto VHub for use by the community or by selected collaborators. An important point is that the manager of a given educational resource (or any other resource, such as a dataset or a model) can control the privacy of that resource, ranging from private (only accessible by, and known to, specific collaborators) to completely public. VHub is a very useful platform for project-specific collaborations. With a group site on VHub collaborators share documents, datasets, maps, and have ongoing discussions using the discussion board function. VHub is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and is participating in development of larger earth-science cyberinfrastructure initiatives (EarthCube), as well as supporting efforts such as the Global Volcano Model. Emerging VHub-facilitated efforts include model benchmarking, collaborative code development, and growth in online modeling tools.

Transforming the organizational culture of a school of nursing through innovative program development.

PubMed

Lange, Jean W; Ingersoll, Gail; Novotny, Jeanne M

2008-01-01

This article illustrates how a grant designed to promote new program development provided a vehicle for organizational transformation. The collaboration surrounding this initiative created a common focus within the school that more effectively channeled its resources and resulted in an unprecedented level of scholarly achievement and recognition. Faculty leveraged the success of this initial grant to procure additional funding for related projects. The importance of partnerships and teamwork were two valuable lessons learned. We believe that our experience is replicable in other schools of nursing interested in organizational transformation. Gibson and Barsade's model of managed change guided the project's implementation and evaluation processes. Recommendations for engaging faculty, gaining support, and developing a collaborative network are discussed in the article, with findings from a stakeholder-focused evaluation demonstrating new program goal achievement as well as the transformative changes that occurred in the organizational culture. A focused, theory-derived program plan, with comprehensive process and outcome evaluation components resulted in a major transformation of one school of nursing. Unanticipated outcomes included renewed synergy among faculty; the development of a preferred vision for the future; scholarly collaboration around a central theme that effectively channeled limited resources and dramatically increased productivity; increased regional and national recognition; and the creation of regional, national, and international partnerships.

Determination of the equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter

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

Tsang, Manyee Betty

A new Time Projection Chamber (TPC), called the SπRIT (SAMURAI pion Reconstruction Ion Tracker) TPC was constructed and used successfully in two experiments with the SAMURAI spectrometer at RIKEN, Japan to study the equation of state of neutron rich matter. As a result of the project, the SπRIT collaboration, an international collaboration consisting of groups from US, Japan, Korea, Poland, China and Germany, has been formed to pursue the science opportunities provided by the SπRIT TPC. After completion of the TPC and the two experiments, the collaboration continues to develop the software to analyze the SπRIT experiments and extract constraintsmore » of symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities. Over 250 TB of data have been obtained in the last SπRIT TPC experimental campaign. Construction of the TPC provided opportunities for the scientists to develop new designs for the light-weight and thin-walled field cage for the large pad plane and for the gating grid. Two PhD students (1 US and 1 Korea) graduated in 2016 based on their research on the TPC. At least four more doctoral theses (2 US, 1 Japan and 1 Korea) based on physics from the SπRIT experiments are expected.« less

Challenges and Opportunities of US and Arab Collaborations in Health Services Research: A Case Study from Qatar

PubMed Central

Hammoud, Maya M.; Elnashar, Maha; Abdelrahim, Huda; Khidir, Amal; Elliott, Heather A.K.; Killawi, Amal; Padela, Aasim I.; Khal, Abdul Latif Al; Bener, Abdulbari; Fetters, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Economic globalization and advances in technology have made it more feasible and even necessary to develop international research collaborations in global public health. Historically, collaborations in global research described in the literature have been mostly “North-South” collaborations in which the more developed “North” country works together with a developing “South” country to conduct research in the latter. This type of collaboration has for the most part, represented unequal partnership and rarely left behind a lasting impact. Recently, the opportunity for a new kind of international research partnership has emerged in which the host country has significant financial resources, but relatively limited expertise in research methodology or techniques and research implementation. This type of collaboration features a relative equalization of power between the international partners. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of building a successful research collaboration between a team in the United States and a team in Qatar, a rich Arabic nation in Gulf. We present a case study that provides an overview of our own project focused on the development of a culturally and linguistically adapted health care quality instrument for Qatar, discussing many of the benefits and challenges we encountered during each phase of instrument development. We present recommendations for researchers seeking sustainable and equitable partnerships with the Arab World. PMID:23121751

Challenges and opportunities of US and Arab collaborations in health services research: a case study from Qatar.

PubMed

Hammoud, Maya M; Elnashar, Maha; Abdelrahim, Huda; Khidir, Amal; Elliott, Heather A K; Killawi, Amal; Padela, Aasim I; Al Khal, Abdul Latif; Bener, Abdulbari; Fetters, Michael D

2012-09-25

Economic globalization and advances in technology have made it more feasible and even necessary to develop international research collaborations in global public health. Historically, collaborations in global research described in the literature have been mostly "North-South" collaborations in which the more developed "North" country works together with a developing "South" country to conduct research in the latter. This type of collaboration has for the most part, represented unequal partnership and rarely left behind a lasting impact. Recently, the opportunity for a new kind of international research partnership has emerged in which the host country has significant financial resources, but relatively limited expertise in research Methodology or techniques and research implementation.  This type of collaboration features a relative equalization of power between the international partners. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of building a successful research collaboration between a team in the United States and a team in Qatar, a rich Arabic nation in Gulf. We present a case study that provides an overview of our own project focused on the development of a culturally and linguistically adapted health care quality instrument for Qatar, discussing many of the benefits and challenges we encountered during each phase of instrument development. We present recommendations for researchers seeking sustainable and equitable partnerships with the Arab World.

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…

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…

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…

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…

The Dynamics of Non-Convergent Learning with a Conflicting Other: Internally Persuasive Discourse as a Framework for Articulating Successful Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolikant, Yifat Ben-David; Pollack, Sarah

2015-01-01

Successful collaborative learning is often conceptualized in terms of convergence, a process through which participants' shared understanding increases. This conceptualization does not capture certain successful collaborative learning processes, especially in the humanities, where multiple perspectives are often celebrated. Such is the context of…

Experiences in Bridging the Gap between Science and Decision Making at NASA's GSFC Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kempler, Steven; Teng, Bill; Friedl, Lawrence; Lynnes, Chris; Leptoukh, Gregory

2008-01-01

Recognizing the significance of NASA remote sensing Earth science data in monitoring and better understanding our planet s natural environment, NASA has implemented the Decision Support Through Earth Science Research Results program (NASA ROSES solicitations). a) This successful program has yielded several monitoring, surveillance, and decision support systems through collaborations with benefiting organizations. b) The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has participated in this program on two projects (one complete, one ongoing), and has had opportune ad hoc collaborations gaining much experience in the formulation, management, development, and implementation of decision support systems utilizing NASA Earth science data. c) In addition, GES DISC s understanding of Earth science missions and resulting data and information, including data structures, data usability and interpretation, data interoperability, and information management systems, enables the GES DISC to identify challenges that come with bringing science data to decision makers. d) The purpose of this presentation is to share GES DISC decision support system project experiences in regards to system sustainability, required data quality (versus timeliness), data provider understanding of how decisions are made, and the data receivers willingness to use new types of information to make decisions, as well as other topics. In addition, defining metrics that really evaluate success will be exemplified.

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report.

PubMed

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-05-30

Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods.

Agile methods in biomedical software development: a multi-site experience report

PubMed Central

Kane, David W; Hohman, Moses M; Cerami, Ethan G; McCormick, Michael W; Kuhlmman, Karl F; Byrd, Jeff A

2006-01-01

Background Agile is an iterative approach to software development that relies on strong collaboration and automation to keep pace with dynamic environments. We have successfully used agile development approaches to create and maintain biomedical software, including software for bioinformatics. This paper reports on a qualitative study of our experiences using these methods. Results We have found that agile methods are well suited to the exploratory and iterative nature of scientific inquiry. They provide a robust framework for reproducing scientific results and for developing clinical support systems. The agile development approach also provides a model for collaboration between software engineers and researchers. We present our experience using agile methodologies in projects at six different biomedical software development organizations. The organizations include academic, commercial and government development teams, and included both bioinformatics and clinical support applications. We found that agile practices were a match for the needs of our biomedical projects and contributed to the success of our organizations. Conclusion We found that the agile development approach was a good fit for our organizations, and that these practices should be applicable and valuable to other biomedical software development efforts. Although we found differences in how agile methods were used, we were also able to identify a set of core practices that were common to all of the groups, and that could be a focus for others seeking to adopt these methods. PMID:16734914

Ajinomoto joins GO and NGO in promoting RH / nutrition in the Philippines.

PubMed

2000-01-01

The Integrated Project (IP) on Reproductive Health/Nutrition (RH/N) in Batangas Province in the Philippines was launched on December 2, 1999. This project is a new form of collaboration, joining government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and corporate forces to promote a RH/N project in six municipalities in Batangas. The Ajinomoto Company, one of the largest food companies in Japan, decided to support the project because of its emphasis on training of trainers such as local leaders, community health workers, and volunteers, which is the key to self-sustainability. Another reason for support was that nutrition education is considered an integral part of the IP in the Philippines, which in some way is in line with the company's mission to contribute to the improvement of the people's quality of life. The IP on RH/N is designed to expand the successful IP model achieved in villages in the municipalities of Malvar and Balayan during the past 6 years, while reinforcing the capacities of these model areas to lead in transferring their lessons and experience with successful IP to four other municipalities in Batangas. Attention will also be given to promoting the use of integrated information, education, and communication materials for RH/N.

Global Collaborations - Prospects and Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbett, Ian

2005-04-01

International collaboration has long been a feature of science. Collaborative investments in joint facilities and projects have grown considerably over the past 20-40 years, and many projects have been multinational from the start. This has been particularly true in Europe, where intergovernmental organizations such as CERN, ESA, and ESO have enabled European countries to carry out forefront science with state-of-art facilites which would have been beyond the capabilities of any one country. A brief survey of these organizations, their structure, and the possible reasons behind their success is given. The transition from regional to global creates new problems. Global scale projects face a range of generic issues which must be addressed and overcome if the project is to be a success. Each project has its own specific boundary conditions and each adopts an approach best fitted to its own objectives and constraints. Experience with billion dollar projects such as the SSC, LHC, and ITER shows the key problem areas and demonstrates the importance of preparatory work in the early stages to settle issues such as schedule, funding, location, legal and managerial structure, and oversight. A range of current and proposed intercontinental or global projects - so- called ``Megascience Projects" - is reviewed. Such projects, originally a feature of space and particle physics, are now becoming more common, and very large projects in astronomy, for example ALMA and 50 - 100m telescopes, and other areas of physics now fall into the `global' category. These projects are on such a large scale, from any scientific, managerial, financial or political perspective, and have such global importance, that they have necessarily been conceived as international from the outset. Increasing financial pressures on governments and funding agencies in the developed countries place additional demands on the project planning. The contrasting approaches, problems faced, and progress made in various projects will be analyzed and possible lessions drawn out. The role which can be played in the early stages by bodies such as the OECD Global Science Forum and G-8 Carnegie Meetings, where science policy makers meet, is examined. Experience shows that these valuable `scene setting' discussions have to be informed by coordinated input from the scientific community and must be followed up by more detailed discussions between funding agencies or their equivalent, because decision making requires the development of a consensus amongst the participants. This process can be illustrated most effectively by the care with which the ideas for the International Linear Collider have been and are being developed. Agreement on building and operating a facility is not the end of the story. The legitimate desire of scientists in all other countries to be able to participate in exploiting a major new facility has to be taken into account, and that introduces a range of proprietary and sociological issues over data access and rights, and now, with the explosion in computing and storage powers, in data archiving support. These are issues which can be addressed within the scientific community and taken to the political arena via such bodies as the OECD Global Science Forum.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

Building Successful Relationships in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial

PubMed Central

Marcus, Pamela M.; Broski, Karen G.; Buys, Saundra S.; Childs, Jeffery; Church, Timothy R.; Gohagan, John K.; Gren, Lisa H.; Higgins, Darlene; Jaggi, Rachel; Jenkins, Victoria; Johnson, Christine C.; Lappe, Karen; O’Brien, Barbara; Ogden, Sheryl L.; Prorok, Philip C.; Reding, Douglas; Shambaugh, Vicki; Yokochi, Lance A.; Yurgalevitch, Susan

2017-01-01

Biomedical research cannot succeed without funding, knowledgeable staff, and appropriate infrastructure. There are however equally important but intangible factors that are rarely considered in planning large multidisciplinary endeavors or evaluating their success. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial required extensive collaborations between individuals from many fields, including clinicians, clinical trialists, and administrators; it also addressed questions across the spectrum of cancer prevention and control, In this manuscript, we examine the experiences and opinions of trial staff regarding the building of successful relationships in PLCO. We summarize, in narrative form, data collected using open-ended questionnaires that were administered to the National Cancer Institute project officers, coordinating center staff, screening center principal investigators, and screening center coordinators in 2015, about 3 years after publication of the final primary trial manuscript. Trust, respect, listening to others, and in-person interaction were frequently mentioned as crucial to building successful relationships. PMID:26238208

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.

Integrated primary care, the collaboration imperative inter-organizational cooperation in the integrated primary care field: a theoretical framework

PubMed Central

Valentijn, Pim P; Bruijnzeels, Marc A; de Leeuw, Rob J; Schrijvers, Guus J.P

2012-01-01

Purpose Capacity problems and political pressures have led to a rapid change in the organization of primary care from mono disciplinary small business to complex inter-organizational relationships. It is assumed that inter-organizational collaboration is the driving force to achieve integrated (primary) care. Despite the importance of collaboration and integration of services in primary care, there is no unambiguous definition for both concepts. The purpose of this study is to examine and link the conceptualisation and validation of the terms inter-organizational collaboration and integrated primary care using a theoretical framework. Theory The theoretical framework is based on the complex collaboration process of negotiation among multiple stakeholder groups in primary care. Methods A literature review of health sciences and business databases, and targeted grey literature sources. Based on the literature review we operationalized the constructs of inter-organizational collaboration and integrated primary care in a theoretical framework. The framework is being validated in an explorative study of 80 primary care projects in the Netherlands. Results and conclusions Integrated primary care is considered as a multidimensional construct based on a continuum of integration, extending from segregation to integration. The synthesis of the current theories and concepts of inter-organizational collaboration is insufficient to deal with the complexity of collaborative issues in primary care. One coherent and integrated theoretical framework was found that could make the complex collaboration process in primary care transparent. This study presented theoretical framework is a first step to understand the patterns of successful collaboration and integration in primary care services. These patterns can give insights in the organization forms needed to create a good working integrated (primary) care system that fits the local needs of a population. Preliminary data of the patterns of collaboration and integration will be presented.

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…

SemanticOrganizer: A Customizable Semantic Repository for Distributed NASA Project Teams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.; Berrios, Daniel C.; Carvalho, Robert E.; Hall, David R.; Rich, Stephen J.; Sturken, Ian B.; Swanson, Keith J.; Wolfe, Shawn R.

2004-01-01

SemanticOrganizer is a collaborative knowledge management system designed to support distributed NASA projects, including diverse teams of scientists, engineers, and accident investigators. The system provides a customizable, semantically structured information repository that stores work products relevant to multiple projects of differing types. SemanticOrganizer is one of the earliest and largest semantic web applications deployed at NASA to date, and has been used in diverse contexts ranging from the investigation of Space Shuttle Columbia's accident to the search for life on other planets. Although the underlying repository employs a single unified ontology, access control and ontology customization mechanisms make the repository contents appear different for each project team. This paper describes SemanticOrganizer, its customization facilities, and a sampling of its applications. The paper also summarizes some key lessons learned from building and fielding a successful semantic web application across a wide-ranging set of domains with diverse users.

Transdisciplinary Research and Evaluation for Community Health Initiatives

PubMed Central

Harper, Gary W.; Neubauer, Leah C.; Bangi, Audrey K.; Francisco, Vincent T.

2010-01-01

Transdisciplinary research and evaluation projects provide valuable opportunities to collaborate on interventions to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Given team members’ diverse backgrounds and roles or responsibilities in such projects, members’ perspectives are significant in strengthening a project’s infrastructure and improving its organizational functioning. This article presents an evaluation mechanism that allows team members to express the successes and challenges incurred throughout their involvement in a multisite transdisciplinary research project. Furthermore, their feedback is used to promote future sustainability and growth. Guided by a framework known as organizational development, the evaluative process was conducted by a neutral entity, the Quality Assurance Team. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to garner feedback and clarify how the research project goals could be achieved more effectively and efficiently. The multiple benefits gained by those involved in this evaluation and implications for utilizing transdisciplinary research and evaluation teams for health initiatives are detailed. PMID:18936267

Success in Science, Success in Collaboration

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

Johnston, Mariann R.

2016-08-25

This is a series of four different scientific problems which were resolved through collaborations. They are: "Better flow cytometry through novel focusing technology", "Take Off ®: Helping the Agriculture Industry Improve the Viability of Sustainable, Large-Production Crops", "The National Institutes of Health's Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS)", and "Expanding the capabilities of SOLVE/RESOLVE through the PHENIX Consortium." For each one, the problem is listed, the solution, advantages, bottom line, then information about the collaboration including: developing the technology, initial success, and continued success.

ARPA-E Impacts: A Sampling of Project Outcomes, Volume II

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

Rohlfing, Eric

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is demonstrating that a collaborative model has the power to deliver real value. The Agency’s first compilation booklet of impact sheets, published in 2016, began to tell the story of how ARPA-E has already made an impact in just seven years—funding a diverse and sophisticated research portfolio on advanced energy technologies that enable the United States to tackle our most pressing energy challenges. One year later our research investments continue to pay off, with a number of current and alumni project teams successfully commercializing their technologies and advancing the state of the art inmore » transformative areas of energy science and engineering. There is no single measure that can fully illustrate ARPA-E’s success to date, but several statistics viewed collectively begin to reveal the Agency’s impact. Since 2009, ARPA-E has provided more than $1.5 billion in funding for 36 focused programs and three open funding solicitations, totaling over 580 projects. Of those, 263 are now alumni projects. Many teams have successfully leveraged ARPA-E’s investment: 56 have formed new companies, 68 have partnered with other government agencies to continue their technology development, and 74 teams have together raised more than $1.8 billion in reported funding from the private sector to bring their technologies to market. However, even when viewed together, those measures do not capture ARPA-E’s full impact. To best understand the Agency’s success, the specific scientific and engineering challenges that ARPA-E project teams have overcome must be understood. This booklet provides concrete examples of those successes, ranging from innovations that will bear fruit in the future to ones that are beginning to penetrate the market as products today. Importantly, half of the projects highlighted in this volume stem from OPEN solicitations, which the agency has run in 2009, 2012, and 2015. ARPA-E’s OPEN programs are an extraordinary opportunity for the R&D community to challenge ARPA-E in areas of technology not covered by the agency’s focused technology programs.« less

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…

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…

Inside the “Black Box” of a Knowledge Translation Program in Applied Health Research

PubMed Central

Heaton, Janet; Day, Jo; Britten, Nicky

2015-01-01

In this article, we present the findings of a participatory realistic evaluation of a 5-year program of health care research intended to promote the translation of knowledge into routine clinical practice. The program was one of the nine pilot Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care funded by the English National Institute for Health Research between 2008 and 2013. Our aim was to delineate the mechanisms by which, and circumstances in which, some projects carried out under the program achieved success in knowledge translation while others were frustrated. Using qualitative methods, we examined how closer collaboration between academics and clinicians worked in four purposefully chosen case studies. In a synthesis of the findings, we produced a “black box” model of how knowledge translation was enabled by the activation of nine mechanisms. These are summarized in the form of five simple rules for promoting knowledge translation through collaborations based on principles of coproduction. PMID:25854617

Nanoparticles Stabilize Thin Polymer Films: A Fundamental Study to Understand the Phenomenon

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

Mackay, Michael

2013-06-03

In this project we have successfully married an experimental theoretical collaboration between the University of Delaware research group and Sandia National Laboratories. To do this Prof. Mackay supervised graduate students, Ms. Erica Tzu-Chia Tseng and Mr. Wenluan Zhang, who performed experiments, and a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Venkat Padmanabhan, who performed theoretical modeling in his laboratory and interacted with Dr. Amalie Frischknecht, a theoretician at SNL. Drs. Padmanabhan and Frischknecht had weekly teleconferences on Tuesday mornings to discuss progress and had 2-3 face-to-face meetings per year. Dr. Frischknecht was funded on her part through CINT to allow this partnership. This uniquemore » collaborative effort of placing a theoretician within a group of experimentalists has tremendously aided experimental progress since the collaborators are intimately familiar with both the experimental and theoretical efforts. Furthermore development of new theoretical tools to interpret experimental results has resulted in rational verification and enhanced investigation of parameter space.« less

Inside the "Black Box" of a Knowledge Translation Program in Applied Health Research.

PubMed

Heaton, Janet; Day, Jo; Britten, Nicky

2015-11-01

In this article, we present the findings of a participatory realistic evaluation of a 5-year program of health care research intended to promote the translation of knowledge into routine clinical practice. The program was one of the nine pilot Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care funded by the English National Institute for Health Research between 2008 and 2013. Our aim was to delineate the mechanisms by which, and circumstances in which, some projects carried out under the program achieved success in knowledge translation while others were frustrated. Using qualitative methods, we examined how closer collaboration between academics and clinicians worked in four purposefully chosen case studies. In a synthesis of the findings, we produced a "black box" model of how knowledge translation was enabled by the activation of nine mechanisms. These are summarized in the form of five simple rules for promoting knowledge translation through collaborations based on principles of coproduction. © The Author(s) 2015.

Ambiguous Capture: Collaborative Capitalism and the Meningitis Vaccine Project

PubMed Central

Graham, Janice

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The primary health care approach advanced at Alma Ata to address social determinants of health was replaced by selective health care a year later at Bellagio. Subsequently, immunization was endorsed as a cost-effective technical intervention to combat targeted infectious diseases. Multilateral efforts to collaborate on immunization as a universal public health good ambiguously capture the interests of the world’s governments as well as private, public, and not-for-profit institutions. Global assemblages of scientists, governments, industry and nongovernmental organizations now work in public-private partnerships to develop and make essential vaccines accessible, with vaccines marketed as single fix solutions for global health. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in France and Burkina Faso that followed the development, regulation, and implementation of the group A meningococcal conjugate vaccine for sub-Saharan Africa, in this article I describe events during and after the development of MenAfriVac. A technological success narrative steeped in collaborative capitalist rhetoric disguises neglected health care systems. PMID:27027575

Ambiguous Capture: Collaborative Capitalism and the Meningitis Vaccine Project.

PubMed

Graham, Janice

2016-01-01

The primary health care approach advanced at Alma Ata to address social determinants of health was replaced by selective health care a year later at Bellagio. Subsequently, immunization was endorsed as a cost-effective technical intervention to combat targeted infectious diseases. Multilateral efforts to collaborate on immunization as a universal public health good ambiguously capture the interests of the world's governments as well as private, public, and not-for-profit institutions. Global assemblages of scientists, governments, industry and nongovernmental organizations now work in public-private partnerships to develop and make essential vaccines accessible, with vaccines marketed as single fix solutions for global health. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in France and Burkina Faso that followed the development, regulation, and implementation of the group A meningococcal conjugate vaccine for sub-Saharan Africa, in this article I describe events during and after the development of MenAfriVac. A technological success narrative steeped in collaborative capitalist rhetoric disguises neglected health care systems.

[Researchers training in the context of the collaborative projects: experiences of Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Alexander von Humbolt", Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia].

PubMed

Gotuzzo, Eduardo; González, Elsa; Verdonck, Kristien

2010-09-01

Research is a main element for human and social development. Under this point of view, it involves particular challenges and opportunities for the so-called "developing countries". An approach for those challenges and opportunities comes from the analysis of two interrelated activities; the training of new researchers and the research development with institutions or researchers which are external to the institution ("collaborative research"). Both activities are essential for the consolidation, widening and updating of the institutional capabilities for scientific production. We present here the experiences of the Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Alexander von Humboldt" of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, in relation to the training of new researchers, we discuss the four elements we consider key for this process; the promotion of stimulating environments for research, the proactive identification of fellows, the complementary advice and networks consolidation; and we analyze three successful models of international collaboration for the training of new researchers under different institutional approaches.

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).

Wicked Problem Solvers.

PubMed

Edmondson, Amy C

2016-06-01

Companies today increasingly rely on teams that span many industries for radical innovation, especially to solve "wicked problems." So leaders have to understand how to promote collaboration when roles are uncertain, goals are shifting, expertise and organizational cultures are varied, and participants have clashing or even antagonistic perspectives. HBS professor Amy Edmondson has studied more than a dozen cross-industry innovation projects, among them the creation of a new city, a mango supply-chain transformation, and the design and construction of leading-edge buildings. She has identified the leadership practices that make successful cross-industry teams work: fostering an adaptable vision, promoting psychological safety, enabling knowledge sharing, and encouraging collaborative innovation. Though these practices are broadly familiar, their application within cross-industry teams calls for unique leadership approaches that combine flexibility, open-mindedness, humility, and fierce resolve.

Construction of a technological semi-digital hadronic calorimeter using GRPC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laktineh, I.

2011-04-01

A high-granularity semi-digital Hadronic calorimeter using GRPC as sensitive medium is one of the two HCAL options considered by the ILD collaboration to be proposed for the detector of the future International Linear Collider project. A prototype of 1m3 has been conceived within the CALICE collaboration in order to validate this option. The prototype intends to be as close as possible to the one proposed in the ILD Letter Of Intent. Few units made of 1m2 GRPC fully equipped with semi-digital readout electronics and new gas distribution design were produced and successfully tested. In 2010 we intend to produce 40 similar units to be inserted in a self-supporting mechanical structure. The prototype will then be exposed to TestBeams at CERN for final validation.

Human-Centered Design Capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitts, David J.; Howard, Robert

2009-01-01

For NASA, human-centered design (HCD) seeks opportunities to mitigate the challenges of living and working in space in order to enhance human productivity and well-being. Direct design participation during the development stage is difficult, however, during project formulation, a HCD approach can lead to better more cost-effective products. HCD can also help a program enter the development stage with a clear vision for product acquisition. HCD tools for clarifying design intent are listed. To infuse HCD into the spaceflight lifecycle the Space and Life Sciences Directorate developed the Habitability Design Center. The Center has collaborated successfully with program and project design teams and with JSC's Engineering Directorate. This presentation discusses HCD capabilities and depicts the Center's design examples and capabilities.

Modeling and Analysis of Geoelectric Fields: Extended Solar Shield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngwira, C. M.; Pulkkinen, A. A.

2016-12-01

In the NASA Applied Sciences Program Solar Shield project, an unprecedented first-principles-based system to forecast geomagnetically induced current (GIC) in high-voltage power transmission systems was developed. Rapid progress in the field of numerical physics-based space environment modeling has led to major developments over the past few years. In this study modeling and analysis of induced geoelectric fields is discussed. Specifically, we focus on the successful incorporation of 3-D EM transfer functions in the modeling of E-fields, and on the analysis of near real-time simulation outputs used in the Solar Shield forecast system. The extended Solar Shield is a collaborative project between DHS, NASA, NOAA, CUA and EPRI.

FAA/NASA UAS Traffic Management Pilot Program (UPP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Ronald D.; Kopardekar, Parimal H.; Rios, Joseph L.

2018-01-01

NASA Ames is leading ATM R&D organization. NASA started working on UTM in 2012, it's come a long way primarily due to close relationship with FAA and industry. We have a research transition team between FAA and NASA for UTM. We have a few other RTTs as well. UTM is a great example of collaborative innovation, and now it's reaching very exciting stage of UTM Pilot Project (UPP). NASA is supporting FAA and industry to make the UPP most productive and successful.

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…

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,...

"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…

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.

Implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO)--experiences from year 1.

PubMed

Isola, Miriam; Polikaitis, Audrius; Laureto, Rose Ann

2006-01-01

Recognized as an early leader in clinical information systems, the University of Illinois Medical Center was challenged to meet the ever-increasing demand for information systems. Interviews with key stakeholders revealed unfavorable attitudes toward the Information Services department. Reasons given were that projects often are not aligned with business strategy, projects are delayed, IS itself is a barrier to progress, and a lack of proactive planning precipitates crises. Under the leadership of a new CIO, IS began developing a Project Management Office, or PMO, to better meet medical center business objectives and to more effectively manage technology projects. Successes during the first year included comprehensive IT strategic planning. Collaborative relationships were established with departmental leaders for planning, prioritizing, budgeting, and executing projects. A formal Web-based process for requesting IS projects was implemented, project management training was provided, and elements of standard project management methodology were implemented. While a framework for effective project management was created, significant effort is still required to firmly root these new processes within the organizational culture. Project management office goals for the second year include implementing a project portfolio management tool, refining the benefits methodology, and continuing the advancement of the project management methodology.

Shared Voyage: Learning and Unlearning from Remarkable Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laufer, Alexander; Post, Todd; Hoffman, Edward J.

2005-01-01

Shared Voyage is about four remarkable projects: the Advanced Composition Explorer (NASA), the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (U.S. Air Force), the Pathfinder Solar-Powered Airplane (NASA), and the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (U.S.Air Force). Each project is presented as a case study comprised of stories collected from key members of the project teams. The stories found in the book are included with the purpose of providing an effective learning source for project management, encouraging the unlearning of outdated project management concepts, and enhancing awareness of the contexts surrounding different projects. Significantly different from project concepts found in most project management literature, Shared Voyage highlights concepts like a will to win, a results-oriented focus, and collaboration through trust. All four project teams researched in this study applied similar concepts; however, they applied them differently, tailoring them to fit the context of their own particular projects. It is clear that the one best way approach which is still the prevailing paradigm in project management literature should be replaced by a new paradigm: Even though general project management principles exist, their successful application depends on the specifics of the situation.

Einstein's Symphony: A Gravitational Wave Voyage Through Space and Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro Key, Joey; Yunes, Nico; Grimberg, Irene

2015-01-01

Einstein's Symphony: A Gravitational Wave Voyage Through Space and Time is a gravitational wave astronomy planetarium show in production by a collaboration of scientists, filmmakers, and artisits from the Center for Gravitational Wave Astonomy (CGWA) at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and Montana State University (MSU). The project builds on the success of the interdisciplinary Celebrating Einstein collaboration. The artists and scientists who created the A Shout Across Time original film and the Black (W)hole immersive art installation for Celebrating Einstein are teaming with the Museum of the Rockies Taylor Planetarium staff and students to create a new full dome Digistar planetarium show that will be freely and widely distributed to planetaria in the US and abroad. The show uses images and animations filmed and collected for A Shout Across Time and for Black (W)hole as well as new images and animations and a new soundtrack composed and produced by the MSU School of Music to use the full capability of planetarium sound systems. The planetarium show will be narrated with ideas drawn from the Celebrating Einstein danced lecture on gravitational waves that the collaboration produced. The combination of products, resources, and team members assembled for this project allows us to create an original planetarium show for a fraction of the cost of a typical show. In addition, STEM education materials for G6-12 students and teachers will be provided to complement and support the show. This project is supported by the Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC), Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), and the American Physical Society (APS).

FINAL REPORT: DOE CONTRACT NUMBER FG0205ER64026 Biological Neutron Scattering: A Collaboration with the Oak Ridge Center for Structural Molecular Biology

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

Trewhella, Jill

2011-01-12

The overarching goal of this project was to promote applications of small-angle scattering in structural molecular biology by providing model examples of cutting edge applications that demonstrate the unique capabilities and potential of the DOE national user facilities at Oak Ridge, especially the newly commissioned BioSANS. The approach taken was three-fold: (1) to engage in high impact collaborative research projects that would benefit from small-angle neutron scattering to both demonstrate the power of the technique while expanding the potential user community; (2) to provide access to scattering facilities established at the University of Utah to as broad a set ofmore » researchers as possible to increase the expertise in small-angle scattering generally; and (3) to develop new methods and tools for small-angle scattering. To these ends, three major research collaborations were pursued that resulted in a significant body of published work where neutron scattering and contrast variation played a major role. These major collaborations involved studies of protein complexes involved in (1) bacterial transcription regulation and adaptive response (a DOE/BER priority area); (2) regulation of cardiac muscle; and (3) neuronal disorders. In addition, to broaden the impact of the project, smaller collaborative efforts were supported that used either small-angle X-ray or neutron scattering. Finally, the DOE supported facilities at the University of Utah were made available to researchers on a service basis and a number of independent groups took advantage of this opportunity. In all of this work, there was an emphasis on the training of students and post docs in scattering techniques, and a set of publications (a book chapter, a review, and an encyclopedia article) were produced to guide the non-specialist potential user of scattering techniques in successful applications of the techniques. We also developed a suite of user friendly web-based computational tools currently being accessed world-wide by researchers as an aid in neutron scattering data interpretation. In all, these collaborative projects and resulted in 29 original refereed journal articles published between 2005 and 2010 and engaged groups from at least 14 Universities (10 US, 4 international) and 3 National Laboratories (2 US, 1 international). An important final initiative from this project was to begin a process for international community agreement on a set of standards for the publication of biomolecular small-angle scattering data. This initiative is being championed with the International Union of Crystallography and has engaged a number of Journal Editors and is a very important step in the maturing of this now burgeoning field.« less

Building Geographic Information System Capacity in Local Health Departments: Lessons From a North Carolina Project

PubMed Central

Miranda, Marie Lynn; Silva, Jennifer M.; Overstreet Galeano, M. Alicia; Brown, Jeffrey P.; Campbell, Douglas S.; Coley, Evelyn; Cowan, Christopher S.; Harvell, Dianne; Lassiter, Jenny; Parks, Jerry L.; Sandelé, Wanda

2005-01-01

State government, university, and local health department (LHD) partners collaborated to build the geographic information system (GIS) capacity of 5 LHDs in North Carolina. Project elements included procuring hardware and software, conducting individualized and group training, developing data layers, guiding the project development process, coordinating participation in technical conferences, providing ongoing project consultation, and evaluating project milestones. The project provided health department personnel with the skills and resources required to use sophisticated information management systems, particularly those that address spatial dimensions of public health practice. This capacity-building project helped LHDs incorporate GIS technology into daily operations, resulting in improved time and cost efficiency. Keys to success included (1) methods training rooted in problems specific to the LHD, (2) required project identification by LHD staff with associated timelines for development, (3) ongoing technical support as staff returned to home offices after training, (4) subgrants to LHDs to ease hardware and software resource constraints, (5) networks of relationships among LHDs and other professional GIS users, and (6) senior LHD leadership who supported the professional development activities being undertaken by staff. PMID:16257950

VAO Tools Enhance CANDELS Research Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, Gretchen; Donley, J.; Rodney, S.; LAZIO, J.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Busko, I.; Hanisch, R. J.; VAO Team; CANDELS Team

2013-01-01

The formation of galaxies and their co-evolution with black holes through cosmic time are prominent areas in current extragalactic astronomy. New methods in science research are building upon collaborations between scientists and archive data centers which span large volumes of multi-wavelength and heterogeneous data. A successful example of this form of teamwork is demonstrated by the CANDELS (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey) and the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) collaboration. The CANDELS project archive data provider services are registered and discoverable in the VAO through an innovative web based Data Discovery Tool, providing a drill down capability and cross-referencing with other co-spatially located astronomical catalogs, images and spectra. The CANDELS team is working together with the VAO to define new methods for analyzing Spectral Energy Distributions of galaxies containing active galactic nuclei, and helping to evolve advanced catalog matching methods for exploring images of variable depths, wavelengths and resolution. Through the publication of VOEvents, the CANDELS project is publishing data streams for newly discovered supernovae that are bright enough to be followed from the ground.

Introducing quality improvement methods into local public health departments: structured evaluation of a statewide pilot project.

PubMed

Riley, William; Parsons, Helen; McCoy, Kim; Burns, Debra; Anderson, Donna; Lee, Suhna; Sainfort, François

2009-10-01

To test the feasibility and assess the preliminary impact of a unique statewide quality improvement (QI) training program designed for public health departments. One hundred and ninety-five public health employees/managers from 38 local health departments throughout Minnesota were selected to participate in a newly developed QI training program and 65 of those engaged in and completed eight expert-supported QI projects over a period of 10 months from June 2007 through March 2008. As part of the Minnesota Quality Improvement Initiative, a structured distance education QI training program was designed and deployed in a first large-scale pilot. To evaluate the preliminary impact of the program, a mixed-method evaluation design was used based on four dimensions: learner reaction, knowledge, intention to apply, and preliminary outcomes. Subjective ratings of three dimensions of training quality were collected from participants after each of the scheduled learning sessions. Pre- and post-QI project surveys were administered to collect participant reactions, knowledge, future intention to apply learning, and perceived outcomes. Monthly and final QI project reports were collected to further inform success and preliminary outcomes of the projects. The participants reported (1) high levels of satisfaction with the training sessions, (2) increased perception of the relevance of the QI techniques, (3) increased perceived knowledge of all specific QI methods and techniques, (4) increased confidence in applying QI techniques on future projects, (5) increased intention to apply techniques on future QI projects, and (6) high perceived success of, and satisfaction with, the projects. Finally, preliminary outcomes data show moderate to large improvements in quality and/or efficiency for six out of eight projects. QI methods and techniques can be successfully implemented in local public health agencies on a statewide basis using the collaborative model through distance training and expert facilitation. This unique training can improve both core and support processes and lead to favorable staff reactions, increased knowledge, and improved health outcomes. The program can be further improved and deployed and holds great promise to facilitate the successful dissemination of proven QI methods throughout local public health departments.

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…

Improving Collaboration between Public Health and Family Health Teams in Ontario

PubMed Central

Green, Michael E.; Weir, Erica; Hogg, William; Etches, Vera; Moore, Kieran; Hunter, Duncan; Birtwhistle, Richard

2013-01-01

Objectives: To identify and explore areas where responsibilities may overlap between family health teams (FHTs) and public health units (PHUs); to identify facilitators or barriers to collaboration; and to identify priority areas for increased collaboration. Design and context: Cross-sectional mixed-methods study of FHTs and PHUs in Ontario, Canada, consisting of a postal survey, key informant interviews and a roundtable meeting. Results: The survey response rate was 46%. Direct client-based services such as giving immunizations, promoting prenatal health and nutrition, and counselling related to smoking cessation were identified as the top three areas of perceived overlap. The greatest interest in collaboration was expressed in the areas of emergency planning and preparedness, immunization, and prenatal health and nutrition. Good communication with a clear understanding of roles and functions was the most important facilitator, and lack of resources and absence of a clear provincial mandate and direction to collaborate were identified as significant barriers. Conclusions: Small, simple client-based projects of interest to both kinds of organization would be the best way to move forward in the short term. Improving communication between FHTs and PHUs, understanding of roles and functions, the use of shared or interoperable information systems and greater clarity from government on the ways in which these two key sectors of the healthcare system are intended to work together were identified as important for the success of increased collaboration. PMID:23968630

Tri-Agency Coordination: Challenges and Successes in Creating a Community of Practice among Climate Change Education Principal Investigators funded by NASA, NOAA, and NSF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoedinger, S. E.; McDougall, C.; Karsten, J. L.; Campbell, D.; Pippin, M. R.; Chambers, L. H.

2013-12-01

The effort needed for comprehensive climate change education is far greater than any one institution, education sector, or even federal agency can handle. Recognizing a need to synergistically combine efforts, NSF, NASA, and NOAA have created a collaborative community of their climate change education principal investigators (PIs) through tri-agency coordination. The goals of this tri-agency collaboration are to leverage existing resources, minimize duplicate efforts, and facilitate communication among this emergent community of scientists and educators. NASA, NOAA, and NSF work together to strategically coordinate and support a portfolio of projects focused on climate literacy and education in formal and informal learning environments. The activities of the tri-agency collaboration, including annual meetings for PIs, a catalog of the agencies collective investments in climate change education and the ongoing development of a nascent common evaluation framework, have created a strong national network for effectively engaging diverse audiences with the principles of climate literacy (see Eos Vol. 92, No. 24, 14 June 2011). Last year, after 3 years of active collaboration, similar programs underway at other U.S. Global Change Research Program agencies: the EPA, National Institutes for Environmental Health Sciences, and USDA, were engaged in the collaboration. And, in an attempt to understand the interests of the private sector in this arena, conversations have begun with private philanthropic organizations. This year, as many of the funded projects are maturing, the PI meeting will have a focus on bringing this community together to create a science-theme based tangible outcome that can move the field of climate change education forward. Additional outcomes from this PI meeting will be presented as well as the challenges that were encountered in bringing together institutions with diverse missions, and approaches developed to ensure all parties feel they're benefiting from the collaboration.

The PACA Project: When Amateur Astronomers Become Citizen Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanamandra-Fisher, P. A.

2014-12-01

The Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy (PACA) project evolved from the observational campaign of C/2012 S1 or C/ISON in 2013. Following the success of the professional-amateur astronomer collaboration in scientific research via social media, it is now implemented in other comet observing campaigns. 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: (1) the establishment of a network of astronomers and related professionals, that can be galvanized into action on short notice to support observing campaigns; (2) assist in various science investigations pertinent to the campaign; (3) provide an alert-sounding mechanism should the need arise; (4) immediate outreach and dissemination of results via our media/blogger members; (5) provide a forum for discussions between the imagers and modelers to help strategize the observing campaign for maximum benefit. In 2014, two new comet observing campaigns involving pro-am collaborations have been 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 PACA portal 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. The integration of science, observations by professional and amateur astronomers, and various social media provides a dynamic and evolving collaborative partnership between professional and amateur astronomers. 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.

Perspectives of Australian nursing directors regarding educational preparation for mental health nursing practice.

PubMed

Happell, Brenda; McAllister, Margaret

2014-11-01

There is an ongoing global shortage of mental health nurses. Within Australia, the principal strategy of offering a postgraduate education programme with various incentives to encourage nurses back to study has not been successful. This has led to the consideration of radical alternatives, including the return to pre-registration specialisation in mental health. The successful introduction of this strategy would require the full support of industry partners. To date, the voice of industry has not been heard in relation to this issue. The aim of this paper is to present the views of an Australian sample of mental health nursing directors regarding the resources and other factors required, should undergraduate specialist programmes in mental health be developed, to ensure they are relevant and likely to be successful. A qualitative exploratory research project was undertaken to explore the perspectives and opinions of industry partners. In-depth interviews were conducted with nursing directors (n = 12) in Queensland Australia. Five main themes were identified: relationships with universities; clinical placement preparation and support; workplace culture; facilitators and preceptors; and practical student learning. Genuine collaboration between the two organisations was considered crucial for delivering a quality programme and providing the required support for students. Transformative leadership could inform this collaboration by promoting acknowledgement of and respect for differences.

Collaboration: a SWOT analysis of the process of conducting a review of nursing workforce policies in five European countries.

PubMed

Uhrenfeldt, Lisbeth; Lakanmaa, Riitta-Liisa; Flinkman, Mervi; Basto, Marta Lima; Attree, Moira

2014-05-01

This paper critically reviews the literature on international collaboration and analyses the collaborative process involved in producing a nursing workforce policy analysis. Collaboration is increasingly promoted as a means of solving shared problems and achieving common goals; however, collaboration creates its own opportunities and challenges. Evidence about the collaboration process, its outcomes and critical success factors is lacking. A literature review and content analysis of data collected from six participants (from five European countries) members of the European Academy of Nursing Science Scholar Collaborative Workforce Workgroup, using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis template. Two major factors affecting scholarly collaboration were identified: Facilitators, which incorporated personal attributes and enabling contexts/mechanisms, including individual commitment, responsibility and teamwork, facilitative supportive structures and processes. The second, Barriers, incorporated unmet needs for funding; time; communication and impeding contexts/mechanisms, including workload and insufficient support/mentorship. The literature review identified a low level of evidence on collaboration processes, outcomes, opportunities and challenges. The SWOT analysis identified critical success factors, planning strategies and resources of effective international collaboration. Collaboration is an important concept for management. Evidence-based knowledge of the critical success factors facilitating and impeding collaboration could help managers make collaboration more effective. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

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…

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…

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.

Ways of Knowing from Father Sky: Native and Western Research Protocols - From Paradox to Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maryboy, N.; Begay, D.; Hawkins, I.; Cline, T.

Humans across all cultures have venerated observed and studied the Sun the Moon the planets and the stars of Father Sky for thousands of years We will highlight a research and development collaboration between NASA UC Berkeley and the Indigenous Education Institute This unique astronomy-based collaboration has been ongoing for the past eight years including partnerships between the Indigenous Education Institute with several NASA entities The collaboration has sustained a successful track record because it upholds the integrity of both western and indigenous astronomy knowledge and research protocols and because it honors the native languages By working together we have been able to identify common elements from seemingly paradoxical frameworks towards an authentic and sustained collaboration We will compare and contrast the native and western research protocols using the Pleiades as an example Drawing on the fact that stars are suns and the Sun is a star we will draw from our collaborative project to delve into the Sun-Earth Connection The Sun our nearest star provides heat and energy is the cause of the seasons and is responsible for space weather effects that influence today s technology Knowledge of the Sun is also a major part of indigenous traditions and cultural practices Within the content of astronomy we will discuss juxtapositions and collaborative possibilities between western and native science We will share a CD of Navajo oral stories and sound effects developed by the Indigenous Education Institute as

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Integration and Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Michael R.; McCormick, John L.; Hoffman, Richard G.

2010-01-01

Integration and test (I&T) of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is presented. A collaborative NASA project between Goddard Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center, LADEE's mission is to explore the low lunar orbit environment and exosphere for constituents. Its instruments include two spectrometers, a dust detector, and a laser communication technology demonstration. Although a relatively low-cost spacecraft, LADEE has I&T requirements typical of most planetary probes, such as prelaunch contamination control, sterilization, and instrument calibration. To lead to a successful mission, I&T at the spacecraft, instrument, and observatory level must include step-by-step and end-to-end functional, environmental, and performance testing. Due to its compressed development schedule, LADEE I&T planning requires adjusting test flows and sequences to account for long-lead critical-path items and limited spares. A protoflight test-level strategy is also baselined. However, the program benefits from having two independent but collaborative teams of engineers, managers, and technicians that have a wealth of flight project experience. This paper summarizes the LADEE I&T planning, flow, facilities, and probe-unique processes. Coordination of requirements and approaches to I&T when multiple organizations are involved is discussed. Also presented are cost-effective approaches to I&T that are transferable to most any spaceflight project I&T program.

Use of health information technology to advance evidence-based care: lessons from the VA QUERI program.

PubMed

Hynes, Denise M; Weddle, Timothy; Smith, Nina; Whittier, Erika; Atkins, David; Francis, Joseph

2010-01-01

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Services Research and Development Service's Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) has progressed, health information technology (HIT) has occupied a crucial role in implementation research projects. We evaluated the role of HIT in VA QUERI implementation research, including HIT use and development, the contributions implementation research has made to HIT development, and HIT-related barriers and facilitators to implementation research. Key informants from nine disease-specific QUERI Centers. Documentation analysis of 86 implementation project abstracts followed up by semi-structured interviews with key informants from each of the nine QUERI centers. We used qualitative and descriptive analyses. We found: (1) HIT provided data and information to facilitate implementation research, (2) implementation research helped to further HIT development in a variety of uses including the development of clinical decision support systems (23 of 86 implementation research projects), and (3) common HIT barriers to implementation research existed but could be overcome by collaborations with clinical and administrative leadership. Our review of the implementation research progress in the VA revealed interdependency on an HIT infrastructure and research-based development. Collaboration with multiple stakeholders is a key factor in successful use and development of HIT in implementation research efforts and in advancing evidence-based practice.

Encouraging Data Use in the Classroom-DLESE Workshop Evaluation Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynds, S. E.; Buhr, S. M.; Ledley, T. S.

2005-12-01

For the last two years, the Data Services Team of the Digital Library for Earth Systems Education (DLESE) has offered annual workshops, bringing scientists, technology specialists, and education professionals together to develop ways of using scientific data in education. Teams comprised of representatives from each of five professional roles (scientist, curriculum developer, data provider, teacher, tool developer) worked on developing online educational units of the Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET--http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/). Workshop evaluation projects elicited a large amount of feedback from participants at both workshops. Consistently, the attendees most highly valued the opportunity to network with those of other professional roles and to collaborate on a real-world education project. Technology and science specialists emphasized their desire for a greater understanding of practical applications for scientific data in the classroom and what educators need for successful curricula. The evaluation project also revealed similarities in the limitations that many attendees reported in using online data. Technological barriers such as data format, bandwidth limitations, and proprietary data were all mentioned by participants regardless of professional role. This talk will discuss the barriers to and advantages of collaborations between scientists, technology specialists, and educators and the potential for this format to result in data-rich curriculum elements.

Use of EPA collaborative problem-solving model to obtain environmental justice in North Carolina.

PubMed

Wilson, Sacoby M; Wilson, Omega R; Heaney, Christopher D; Cooper, John

2007-01-01

The West End Revitalization Association (WERA), a community-based organization (CBO) in Mebane, North Carolina, was awarded a Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice (EPA OEJ). The purpose of this paper is to highlight WERA's efforts to bring stakeholders in three low-income African-American communities where environmental hazards created public health risks together for collaboration rather than litigation. WERA's board and staff organized nine working groups with specific areas of expertise that would facilitate research, identify lack of basic amenities, and encourage funding for corrective action and participation in progress reporting workshops. WERA used consensus building, dispute resolution, and resource mobilization as part of the CPS model to address noncompliance with environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Solid Waste Disposal Act. WERA's CPS "Right to Basic Amenities" project produced a framework for (1) grassroots management and ownership of a collaborative problem-solving process; (2) bringing stakeholders together with diverse and conflicting viewpoints; (3) implementation of an innovative community-owned and managed (COMR) research model; and (4) leveraging millions of dollars to fund installation of first-time municipal water/sewer services, street paving, and relocation of the 119-bypass to advance environmental health solutions. The structure and successes of WERA's Right to Basic Amenities project have been discussed at demonstration and training sessions to help others replicate the model in comparable low-income communities of color in North Carolina and across the United States.

Project management for complex ground-based instruments: MEGARA plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Vargas, María. Luisa; Pérez-Calpena, Ana; Gil de Paz, Armando; Gallego, Jesús; Carrasco, Esperanza; Cedazo, Raquel; Iglesias, Jorge

2014-08-01

The project management of complex instruments for ground-based large telescopes is a challenge itself. A good management is a clue for project success in terms of performance, schedule and budget. Being on time has become a strict requirement for two reasons: to assure the arrival at the telescope due to the pressure on demanding new instrumentation for this first world-class telescopes and to not fall in over-costs. The budget and cash-flow is not always the expected one and has to be properly handled from different administrative departments at the funding centers worldwide distributed. The complexity of the organizations, the technological and scientific return to the Consortium partners and the participation in the project of all kind of professional centers working in astronomical instrumentation: universities, research centers, small and large private companies, workshops and providers, etc. make the project management strategy, and the tools and procedures tuned to the project needs, crucial for success. MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is a facility instrument of the 10.4m GTC (La Palma, Spain) working at optical wavelengths that provides both Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) capabilities at resolutions in the range R=6,000-20,000. The project is an initiative led by Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) in collaboration with INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). MEGARA is being developed under contract with GRANTECAN.

The utah beacon experience: integrating quality improvement, health information technology, and practice facilitation to improve diabetes outcomes in small health care facilities.

PubMed

Tennison, Janet; Rajeev, Deepthi; Woolsey, Sarah; Black, Jeff; Oostema, Steven J; North, Christie

2014-01-01

The Utah Improving Care through Connectivity and Collaboration (IC3) Beacon community (2010-2013) was spearheaded by HealthInsight, a nonprofit, community-based organization. One of the main objectives of IC(3) was to improve health care provided to patients with diabetes in three Utah counties, collaborating with 21 independent smaller clinics and two large health care enterprises. This paper will focus on the use of health information technology (HIT) and practice facilitation to develop and implement new care processes to improve clinic workflow and ultimately improve patients' diabetes outcomes at 21 participating smaller, independent clinics. Early in the project, we learned that most of the 21 clinics did not have the resources needed to successfully implement quality improvement (QI) initiatives. IC(3) helped clinics effectively use data generated from their electronic health records (EHRs) to design and implement interventions to improve patients' diabetes outcomes. This close coupling of HIT, expert practice facilitation, and Learning Collaboratives was found to be especially valuable in clinics with limited resources. Through this process we learned that (1) an extensive readiness assessment improved clinic retention, (2) clinic champions were important for a successful collaboration, and (3) current EHR systems have limited functionality to assist in QI initiatives. In general, smaller, independent clinics lack knowledge and experience with QI and have limited HIT experience to improve patient care using electronic clinical data. Additionally, future projects like IC(3) Beacon will be instrumental in changing clinic culture so that QI is integrated into routine workflow. Our efforts led to significant changes in how practice staff optimized their EHRs to manage and improve diabetes care, while establishing the framework for sustainability. Some of the IC(3) Beacon practices are currently smoothly transitioning to new models of care such as Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Thus, IC(3) Beacon has been instrumental in creating a strong community partnership among various organizations to meet the shared vision of better health and lower costs, and the experience over the last few years has helped the community prepare for the changing health care landscape.

Using Collaborate Writing Groups in Undergraduate Courses to Improve Scientific Writing Skills and Confidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maclachlan, J. C.; Feist, S.

2016-12-01

Communication of primary scientific research is an aspect of undergraduate teaching that rarely researches platforms outside of the classroom. One method to encourage the dissemination of scientific findings to an international audience is the implementation of Collaborative Writing Groups (CWG). This paper will discuss the development, implementation and successful results of two Collaborative Writing Group creating within two different senior undergraduate classes offered at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada through discussion of the implementation of the assignment coupled with challenges and opportunities the process provided. A key to the successful implementation of the CWG is a detailed timeline for the students to follow with achievable goals throughout the process. The eight-week process began with students creating groups and choosing a topic of interest. As groups form it became apparent the diversity of academic skills and interest within the classroom made selecting a research project all group members could agree on difficult. Throughout the course students were given time to not only review their colleagues writing but also have discussions on particularly challenging aspects of their research and help in providing solutions. While the timeline for this project was ambitious it was necessary to allow time for effective feedback on the scientific writing from both the students and the instructional team. Overall this process has produced 11 peer-reviewed undergraduate student written papers within two special editions of the journal Cartographica published by the University of Toronto Press (Maclachlan and Lee, 2015). The papers topics are quite diverse including: the modelling of glacier melt in Iceland; a look into the effects of urban sprawl; and an exploration of the spatial characteristics of dunes in southern Ontario. This encouragement of dissemination to an international audience will create an experience that promotes self-authorship and challenges students to evaluate their knowledge claims and take ownership of their ideas. Maclachlan, J.C. & Lee, R.E. 2015. Student Collaborative Writing Groups: Mapping Glacial Geomorphology and Glacial Sedimentology. Cartographica, 50(3), pp. 163-164

The Utah Beacon Experience: Integrating Quality Improvement, Health Information Technology, and Practice Facilitation to Improve Diabetes Outcomes in Small Health Care Facilities

PubMed Central

Tennison, Janet; Rajeev, Deepthi; Woolsey, Sarah; Black, Jeff; Oostema, Steven J.; North, Christie

2014-01-01

Purpose: The Utah Improving Care through Connectivity and Collaboration (IC3) Beacon community (2010–2013) was spearheaded by HealthInsight, a nonprofit, community-based organization. One of the main objectives of IC3 was to improve health care provided to patients with diabetes in three Utah counties, collaborating with 21 independent smaller clinics and two large health care enterprises. This paper will focus on the use of health information technology (HIT) and practice facilitation to develop and implement new care processes to improve clinic workflow and ultimately improve patients’ diabetes outcomes at 21 participating smaller, independent clinics. Innovation: Early in the project, we learned that most of the 21 clinics did not have the resources needed to successfully implement quality improvement (QI) initiatives. IC3 helped clinics effectively use data generated from their electronic health records (EHRs) to design and implement interventions to improve patients’ diabetes outcomes. This close coupling of HIT, expert practice facilitation, and Learning Collaboratives was found to be especially valuable in clinics with limited resources. Findings: Through this process we learned that (1) an extensive readiness assessment improved clinic retention, (2) clinic champions were important for a successful collaboration, and (3) current EHR systems have limited functionality to assist in QI initiatives. In general, smaller, independent clinics lack knowledge and experience with QI and have limited HIT experience to improve patient care using electronic clinical data. Additionally, future projects like IC3 Beacon will be instrumental in changing clinic culture so that QI is integrated into routine workflow. Conclusion and Discussion: Our efforts led to significant changes in how practice staff optimized their EHRs to manage and improve diabetes care, while establishing the framework for sustainability. Some of the IC3 Beacon practices are currently smoothly transitioning to new models of care such as Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Thus, IC3 Beacon has been instrumental in creating a strong community partnership among various organizations to meet the shared vision of better health and lower costs, and the experience over the last few years has helped the community prepare for the changing health care landscape. PMID:25848624

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...

Social competence and collaborative guided inquiry science activities: Experiences of students with learning disabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Jennifer Anne

This thesis presents a qualitative investigation of the effects of social competence on the participation of students with learning disabilities (LD) in the science learning processes associated with collaborative, guided inquiry learning. An inclusive Grade 2 classroom provided the setting for the study. Detailed classroom observations were the primary source of data. In addition, the researcher conducted two interviews with the teacher, and collected samples of students' written work. The purpose of the research was to investigate: (a) How do teachers and peers mediate the participation of students with LD in collaborative, guided inquiry science activities, (b) What learning processes do students with LD participate in during collaborative, guided inquiry science activities, and (c) What components of social competence support and constrain the participation of students with LD during collaborative, guided inquiry science activities? The findings of the study suggest five key ideas for research and teaching in collaborative, guided inquiry science in inclusive classrooms. First, using a variety of collaborative learning formats (whole-class, small-group, and pairs) creates more opportunities for the successful participation of diverse students with LD. Second, creating an inclusive community where students feel accepted and valued may enhance the academic and social success of students with LD. Third, careful selection of partners for students with LD is important for a positive learning experience. Students with LD should be partnered with academically successful, socially competent peers; also, this study suggested that students with LD experience more success working collaboratively in pairs rather than in small groups. Fourth, a variety of strategies are needed to promote active participation and positive social interactions for students with and without LD during collaborative, guided inquiry learning. Fifth, adopting a general approach to teaching collaborative inquiry that crosses curriculum borders may enhance success of inclusive teaching practices.

The HESP (High Energy Solar Physics) project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kai, K.

1986-01-01

A project for space observations of solar flares for the coming solar maximum phase is briefly described. The main objective is to make a comprehensive study of high energy phenomena of flares through simultaneous imagings in both hard and soft X-rays. The project will be performed with collaboration from US scientists. The HESP (High Energy Solar Physics) WG of ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences) has extensively discussed future aspects of space observations of high energy phenomena of solar flares based on successful results of the Hinotori mission, and proposed a comprehensive research program for the next solar maximum, called the HESP (SOLAR-A) project. The objective of the HESP project is to make a comprehensive study of both high energy phenomena of flares and quiet structures including pre-flare states, which have been left uncovered by SMM and Hinotori. For such a study simultaneous imagings with better resolutions in space and time in a wide range of energy will be extremely important.

Reducing inequities among children with asthma in the island of Puerto Rico: experiences of a community-based, trans-sectoral effort.

PubMed

Lara, Marielena; Valencia, Gilberto Ramos; Gavillán, Jesús A González Gavillán; Reyes, Beatriz Morales; Arabía, Carmen; Malpica, Fernando López; Freytes, Dharma M; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Mario H; Chinman, Matthew

2009-01-01

Children living in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have the highest poverty and asthma prevalence rates of all U.S. children. Since 2000, a group of community, health care, education, housing, and academic representatives have been collaborating in a project to improve quality of life and reduce disparities among children with asthma in very poor communities in Puerto Rico. To date the project has implemented a successful intervention in the Luis Lloréns Torres Housing Project, aimed at adapting evidence-based interventions to improve the social and physical environment of children with asthma. The program has recently been extended to another San Juan housing area, the Manuel A. Pérez Housing Project. Using implementation theory, the authors report and reflect on the project's experience to date, provide recommendations, and discuss implications of lessons learned to address inequities in asthma care throughout other underserved areas in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Challenges to collaboration in school mental health and strategies for overcoming them.

PubMed

Weist, Mark D; Mellin, Elizabeth A; Chambers, Kerri L; Lever, Nancy A; Haber, Deborah; Blaber, Christine

2012-02-01

This article reviews challenges to collaboration in school mental health (SMH) and presents practical strategies for overcoming them. The importance of collaboration to the success of SMH programs is reviewed, with a particular focus on collaboration between school- and community-employed professionals. Challenges to effective collaboration between school- and community-employed professionals in SMH are considered. Strategies for overcoming challenges to effective collaboration are presented. Marginalization of the SMH agenda, limited interdisciplinary teamwork, restricted coordination mechanisms, confidentiality concerns, and resource and funding issues are key challenges to collaboration. Strategies targeted toward each of these challenges may help improve the effectiveness of SMH programs and ultimately student outcomes. Collaboration between school- and community-employed professionals is critical to the success of SMH programs. Despite its promise, the success of SMH programs can be jeopardized by ineffective collaboration between school- and community-employed professionals. Strategies to overcome marginalization, promote authentic interdisciplinary teamwork, build effective coordination mechanisms, protect student and family confidentiality, and promote policy change and resource enhancements should be addressed in SMH improvement planning. © 2012, American School Health Association.

Hospital readiness for health information exchange: development of metrics associated with successful collaboration for quality improvement

PubMed Central

Korst, Lisa M.; Aydin, Carolyn E.; Signer, Jordana M. K.; Fink, Arlene

2011-01-01

Objective The development of readiness metrics for organizational participation in health information exchange is critical for monitoring progress toward, and achievement of, successful inter-organizational collaboration. In preparation for the development of a tool to measure readiness for data-sharing, we tested whether organizational capacities known to be related to readiness were associated with successful participation in an American data-sharing collaborative for quality improvement. Design Cross-sectional design, using an on-line survey of hospitals in a large, mature data-sharing collaborative organized for benchmarking and improvement in nursing care quality. Measurements Factor analysis was used to identify salient constructs, and identified factors were analyzed with respect to “successful” participation. “Success” was defined as the incorporation of comparative performance data into the hospital dashboard. Results The most important factor in predicting success included survey items measuring the strength of organizational leadership in fostering a culture of quality improvement (QI Leadership): 1) presence of a supportive hospital executive; 2) the extent to which a hospital values data; 3) the presence of leaders’ vision for how the collaborative advances the hospital’s strategic goals; 4) hospital use of the collaborative data to track quality outcomes; and 5) staff recognition of a strong mandate for collaborative participation (α = 0.84, correlation with Success 0.68 [P < 0.0001]). Conclusion The data emphasize the importance of hospital QI Leadership in collaboratives that aim to share data for QI or safety purposes. Such metrics should prove useful in the planning and development of this complex form of inter-organizational collaboration. PMID:21330191

The Surgical Care Improvement Project Antibiotic Guidelines: Should We Expect More Than Good Intentions?

PubMed

Schonberger, Robert B; Barash, Paul G; Lagasse, Robert S

2015-08-01

Since 2006, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) has promoted 3 perioperative antibiotic recommendations designed to reduce the incidence of surgical site infections. Despite good evidence for the efficacy of these recommendations, the efforts of SCIP have not measurably improved the rates of surgical site infections. We offer 3 arguments as to why SCIP has fallen short of expectations. We then suggest a reorientation of quality improvement efforts to focus less on reporting, and incentivizing adherence to imperfect metrics, and more on creating local and regional quality collaboratives to educate clinicians about how to improve practice. Ultimately, successful quality improvement projects are behavioral interventions that will only succeed to the degree that they motivate individual clinicians, practicing within a particular context, to do the difficult work of identifying failures and iteratively working toward excellence.

The Surgical Care Improvement Project Antibiotic Guidelines: Should We Expect More than Good Intentions?

PubMed Central

Schonberger, Robert B.; Barash, Paul G.; Lagasse, Robert S.

2015-01-01

Since 2006, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) has promoted three perioperative antibiotic recommendations designed to reduce the incidence of surgical-site infections. Despite good evidence for the efficacy of these recommendations, SCIP's efforts have not measurably improved rates of surgical site-infections. We offer three arguments as to why SCIP has fallen-short of expectations. We then suggest a reorientation of quality improvement efforts to focus less on reporting, and incentivizing adherence to imperfect metrics, and more on creating local and regional quality collaboratives to educate clinicians about how to improve practice. Ultimately, successful quality improvement projects are behavioral interventions that will only succeed to the degree that they motivate individual clinicians, practicing within a particular context, to do the difficult work of identifying failures and iteratively working toward excellence. PMID:26197373

The perinatal quality collaborative of North Carolina's 39 weeks project: a quality improvement program to decrease elective deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation.

PubMed

Berrien, Kate; Devente, James; French, Amanda; Cochran, Keith M; McCaffrey, Marty; Horton, Bethany J; Chescheir, Nancy

2014-01-01

Despite long-standing guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that call for avoiding elective births prior to 39 weeks of gestation, elective deliveries make up almost one-third of US births occurring in weeks 36-38. Poor outcomes are more likely for infants born electively before 39 weeks than for those born at 39 weeks. The Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC) undertook the 39 Weeks Project in 2009-2010 with the aim of reducing the number of early-term elective deliveries in North Carolina hospitals. Participating hospitals (N = 33) provided retrospective data on all early-term deliveries and created new policies, or amended or enforced existing policies, to accomplish the project's goals. Project activities included in-person learning sessions, regional meetings, webinars, electronic newsletters, a secure extranet Web site where participating hospitals could share relevant materials, and individual leadership consultations with hospital teams. Hospitals submitted monthly data to PQCNC, which provided ongoing training and data analysis. Elective deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation decreased 45% over the project period, from 2% to 1.1% of all deliveries. The proportion of elective deliveries among all scheduled early-term deliveries also decreased, from 23.63% to 16.19%. There was an increase in the proportion of patients with documented evidence of medical indications for early delivery, from 62.4% to 88.2%. No data were collected to determine whether outcomes changed for patients whose deliveries were deferred. The project also depended on each hospital to code its own data. The PQCNC's 39 Weeks Project successfully decreased the rate of early-term elective deliveries in participating hospitals.

Collaborations among Diverse Support Areas for Hybrid Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haggar, Faye; Kelley, Bruce; Chen, Weichao

2017-01-01

Successful implementation of hybrid courses typically demands collaboration among diverse support areas on campus. This article examines these collaborations through the lens of Badrul Khan's theory of managing blended learning support. Also discussed is the central role that faculty developers can play in connecting these support areas to ensure…

Physical Educators and School Counselors Collaborating to Foster Successful Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Daniel; Webb, Tammy T.; Fults-McMurtery, Regina

2011-01-01

This article explains the impact federal legislation has on educating students with disabilities, the changing roles of physical educators and school counselors relative to educating students with disabilities, and collaborative approaches pertaining to how physical educators and school counselors can collaboratively foster successful inclusion of…

Reflections by a student and a faculty member on student-faculty collaborative geophysical field research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bank, C.; Rotzien, J.

2007-12-01

More and more students and faculty engage in collaborative research. Field geophysics provides a fascinating venue, as it always contributes to interpersonal relations, usually involves off-campus work, and often allows us to meet new people and explore a different culture. Tackling an authentic research problem keeps a faculty member excited about her/his discipline, while allowing a student to engage in the process of science, follow a researcher's thoughts and contribute to a real project. The exchange of ideas and the generation of new knowledge is rewarding to the student as it facilitates her/his academic growth. Despite the obvious advantages of including students in field-based research, few students are allowed such an opportunity because of the institutional commitment in time and money that is necessary for success. Other challenges in field-based geophysical research include steep learning curves related to the use of equipment, unknown outcomes (data that is often difficult to interpret), and a true commitment to the project on the student's part. The faculty member on the other hand faces additional challenges because of the responsibility for students in the field, scheduling constraints, limited funding, and students' diverse academic goals. This presentation will be given by a faculty member and a student who have engaged in various authentic research projects. Projects ranged from afternoon lab exercises on campus (eg, microgravity survey over a tunnel on campus), course projects connected to field trips (eg, magnetic study and subsequent potential field analysis), summer research projects (eg, georadar survey of Deboullie Lake rock glacier), to year-long undergraduate thesis projects (eg, potential field studies at igneous centres of the Navajo Volcanic Field). We will present highlights of these projects, examine their pedagogical merits, and discuss the advantages and rewards we earned as well as the challenges we faced. Despite all challenges, we find that the outcomes, the sense of accomplishment, the rich interpersonal exchange, and the intellectual as well as personal growth of students is well worth the effort that goes into planning and executing such projects. Our aim is to promote collaborative and authentic research, and to find out about creative ways to bring such an experience to a wider range of interested students.

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…