Bridging Research Research Articles

Natural Resource Production and the Risk of Conflict Recurrence

ABSTRACTDo different types of natural resources have varying impacts on the risk of conflict recurrence? Using a classification of high-value natural resources according to their lootability and obstructability, this article develops a framework bridging research on natural resources and conflict recurrence. I find evidence for the destabilizing character of easily lootable resources that is coherent across different conflict data. Non-lootable resources show little robust effects at first sight; but when introducing a measure of obstructability, the analysis uncovers varying effects of obstructable and non-obstructable resources that interact with the mode of conflict termination. Overall, the results underline the importance of attending to the lootability and obstructability dimension of natural resources when researching post-conflict risks in resource endowed states.

Initial Mainstream Cultural Orientations Predict Early Social Participation in the Mainstream Cultural Group.

This work adopts a perspective that construes acculturation as a dynamic intergroup process, and social contact with members of the new community as a key mechanism underlying cultural adaptation. We argue that migrants' initial self-reported mainstream cultural orientation constitutes an important antecedent of early social participation in the new community. Results from two longitudinal studies of newly arrived international students ( N = 98 and N = 60) show that more positive initial mainstream cultural orientations prospectively predict higher social participation, specifically in the mainstream group, over the following months. This relation held after controlling for important alternative predictors, namely, extraversion/shyness, mainstream language proficiency, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a physiological index of social engagement capacity. These studies focus on the very initial stages of the temporal dynamics of acculturation, contribute to bridging research on acculturation and on intergroup relations, and establish a link between cultural orientations, a subjective attitudinal construct, and concrete social engagement behaviors.

PONTISEUM – ZBIÓR EKSPONATÓW HISTORYCZNYCH, BĘDĄCYCH POZA KLASYFIKACJĄ ZABYTKÓW

Pontiseum, a place where pieces of the oldest bridges ever built in Warsaw are exhibited, was open in 2014 at the Road and Bridge Research Institute. This article describes how documents pertaining to proper classification of bridge remains and determining their status and establishment of ownership rights circulate between administrative bodies. Since bridge remains have not been classified as historic monuments, parties of proceedings interpreted them in different ways. Moreover, the article also explains the rules governing inclusion of similar items considered as historic monuments under different categories. The authors emphasize that it is of utmost importance to preserve them for future generations.

How to Get Beyond the Zero-Sum Game Mentality between State and Non-State Actors in International Environmental Governance

Acknowledgement: This article is a shortened version of the presentation “The Pareto Optimum of Stakeholder Participation in Environmental Governance” made at the Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy – Institutions, Public Participation and Environmental Sustainability: Bridging Research and Capacity Development, which was organized by Yale University Center for Environmental Law & Policy in conjunction with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, UNITAR, on May 10-11 2008 at the Yale University in New Haven. See generally: http://www.yale.edu/envirocenter/envdem/index.htm. The ideas expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the view of the Swiss Government. The author would like to thank the comments on a previous draft of this article received from Dr. Jurg Schneider; Stephan Michel and Alexander Kopp.

Outcomes and Processes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: STEM PhD Completion, Sense of Community, Perceived Program Benefit, Science Identity, and Research Self-Efficacy.

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepresented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs than comparison students. The first of two studies in this report extends the prior research by examining levels of PhD completion for Meyerhoff (N = 479) versus comparison sample (N = 249) students among the first 16 cohorts. Entering African-American Meyerhoff students were 4.8 times more likely to complete STEM PhDs than comparison sample students. To enhance understanding of potential mechanisms of influence, the second study used data from the 22nd (Fall 2010) to 25th (Fall 2013) cohorts (N = 109) to test the hypothesis that perceived program benefit at the end of freshman year would mediate the relationship between sense of community at the end of Summer Bridge and science identity and research self-efficacy at the end of sophomore year. Study 2 results indicated that perceived program benefit fully mediated the relationship between sense of community and both criterion measures. The findings underscore the potential of comprehensive STEM intervention programs to enhance PhD completion, and suggest mechanisms of influence.

A Clinical Librarian-Nursing Partnership to Bridge Clinical Practice and Research in an Oncology Setting.

Nurses in clinical settings in which evidence-based, individualized care is expected are often the best resource to identify important clinical questions and gaps in practice. These nurses are frequently challenged by a lack of resources to fully develop their questions and identify the most appropriate methods to answer them. A strategic and ongoing partnership between medical library services and nursing can support nurses as they embark on the process of answering these questions and, ultimately, improving patient care and clinical outcomes

Exchange between researchers and practitioners in urban planning: achievable objective or a bridge too far?/The use of academic research in planning practice: who, what, where, when and how?/Bridging research and practice through collaboration: lessons from a joint working group/Getting the relationship between researchers and practitioners working/Art and urban planning: stimulating researcher, practitioner and community engagement/Collaboration between researchers and practitioners: Political

Exchange between researchers and practitioners in urban planning: achievable objective or a bridge too far?/The use of academic research in planning practice: who, what, where, when and how?/Bridging research and practice through collaboration: lessons from a joint working group/Getting the relationship between researchers and practitioners working/Art and urban planning: stimulating researcher, practitioner and community engagement/Collaboration between researchers and practitioners: Political

Do We Know Where We Stand? Neighborhood Relative Income, Subjective Social Status, and Health.

Bridging research on relative income and subjective social status (SSS), this study examines how neighborhood relative income is related to ones' SSS, and in turn, physical and mental health. Using a survey sample of 1807 U.S. adults, we find that neighborhood median income significantly moderates the relationship between household income and self-reported physical and mental health. Low-income individuals living in high-income neighborhoods (i.e., relative disadvantage) report better physical and mental health than low-income individuals living in low-income neighborhoods. In addition, high-income individuals living in low-income neighborhoods (i.e., relative advantage) report higher SSS (relative to neighbors), whereas low-income individuals living in high-income neighborhoods (i.e., relative disadvantage) also report higher SSS. We draw from social comparison theory to interpret these results positing that downward comparisons may serve an evaluative function while upward comparisons may result in affiliation with better-off others. Finally, we demonstrate that SSS explains the relationship between neighborhood relative income and health outcomes, providing empirical support for the underlying influence of perceived social position.

Approaches for Bridging Research and Industry

The collaboration between research and industry facilitating knowledge transfer is underdeveloped particularly referring small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Some reasons for this situation are lack of interest from research and education institutions to support companies, poor capabilities of SMEs to recognise the importance of innovation for their businesses and competitiveness and to engage in knowledge transfer activities, existing of practical approaches that support research abut not the transfer of research results to SMEs. In these paper two approaches applied by the authors in two European projects are presented contributing to bridge research institutions and SMEs: creating practical applications of academic knowledge for entrepreneurs which are focused on the success of their business and motivate people to work together and working partnerships between industry, research and education helping SMEs to use new technologies.

Research and construction of geosynthetic-reinforced soil integral bridges

Geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) integral bridge was developed to overcome several inherent serious problems with conventional type bridges comprising a simple-supported girder (or multiple girders) supported via bearings typically by RC abutments retaining unreinforced backfill (and a pier or piers for multiple girders). The problems include: (a) relatively high construction and maintenance costs with relatively long construction time resulting from the use of bearings and massive abutment structures usually supported by piles; (b) bumps immediately behind the abutments; and (c) a relatively low stability of the girders supported by roller bearings and the approach embankment against seismic and tsunami loads. For a GRS integral bridge, a pair of GRS walls (and an intermediate pier or piers if necessary for a long span) are first constructed. After the deformation of the supporting ground and the backfill of the GRS walls has taken place sufficiently, steel-reinforced full-height-rigid (FHR) facings are constructed by casting-in-place concrete on the wall face wrapped-around with the geogrid reinforcement. Finally a continuous girder is constructed with both ends integrated to the top of the FHR facings. The girder is also connected to the top of an intermediate pier, or piers, if constructed. The background and history of the development of GRS integral bridge is described. The first four case histories, one completed in 2012 for a new high-speed train line and the other three completed in 2014 to restore a railway damaged by a great tsunami of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, are reported.

Examining Undergraduate Student Attitude towards Interdisciplinary Education

As the global population grows, concern for a food shortage may be looming. As the next generations of agricultural and natural resource leaders are prepared to address this challenge, input throughout multiple disciplines is required to solve this dilemma. Undergraduates must be prepared to engage in problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking if our society hopes to conquer this shortage. Opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary education can offer learning experiences focused on bridging research and policy, exploring real world problems, and developing solutions for socio-environmental issues. As interdisciplinary education in academia gains momentum, exploration is needed to understand the factors and influences affecting student attitude towards enrollment in interdisciplinary courses. This research examined the relationships between undergraduate goal orientation and attitude towards participation in interdisciplinary education specifically addressing, “How do we sustainably feed nine billion people by 2050?” Data was collected from a convenience sample of undergraduates who responded to Vandewalle’s (1997) goal orientation and a researcher-developed instrument. Findings indicated undergraduates were most interested in nutrition followed by human disease management and water issues and least interested in economic concerns and plant disease management issues. Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation – prove were found to influence attitude toward interdisciplinary education.

Transdisciplinary tour-de-force: The Canadian National Transplant Research Program.

The Canadian National Transplant Research Program, launched in 2013 with funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and partners, bridges research in the fields of solid organ transplant, hematopoietic cell transplant, and organ donation. We describe the philosophy, structure, accomplishments, and challenges faced by the Canadian National Transplant Research Program to expand on facilitators and overcome roadblocks to successfully developing a transdisciplinary national research structure.

Developing Emotion-Based Case Formulations: A Research-Informed Method.

New research-informed methods for case conceptualization that cut across traditional therapy approaches are increasingly popular. This paper presents a trans-theoretical approach to case formulation based on the research observations of emotion. The sequential model of emotional processing (Pascual-Leone & Greenberg, 2007) is a process research model that provides concrete markers for therapists to observe the emerging emotional development of their clients. We illustrate how this model can be used by clinicians to track change and provides a 'clinical map,' by which therapist may orient themselves in-session and plan treatment interventions. Emotional processing offers as a trans-theoretical framework for therapists who wish to conduct emotion-based case formulations. First, we present criteria for why this research model translates well into practice. Second, two contrasting case studies are presented to demonstrate the method. The model bridges research with practice by using client emotion as an axis of integration. Key Practitioner Message Process research on emotion can offer a template for therapists to make case formulations while using a range of treatment approaches. The sequential model of emotional processing provides a 'process map' of concrete markers for therapists to (1) observe the emerging emotional development of their clients, and (2) help therapists develop a treatment plan. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Situated learning in translator and interpreter training: bridging research and good practice

ABSTRACTThis issue sets out to gauge the extent to which different embedding systems influence the implementation of Situated Learning models. Situated Learning is generally understood as a context-dependent approach to translator and interpreter training under which learners are exposed to real-life and/or highly simulated work environments and tasks, both inside and outside the classroom. Ultimately, Situated Learning seeks to enhance learners’ capacity to think and act like professionals. All our contributors address considerations pertaining to the impact of different learning environments, levels of study, fields of specialisation, the role of information, communication and translation/interpreting technologies, as well as optimal pedagogical procedures. Of these considerations, the latter stand out as one of the most prominent aspects of Situated Learning theories described in this issue, thus rendering it particularly useful for both novice and seasoned teachers of translation and interpreting (T&I) with an interest in informed practical advice on how to implement the principles of Situated Learning in teaching and learning environments that seek to promote translators’ and/or interpreters’ professional competence.

Recent research and practice of GRS integral bridges for railways in Japan

Recent research and practice of GRS integral bridges for railways in Japan

Evolution of the Requirements for Anticorrosion Protection of Road and Bridge Infrastructure

Many industries all over the world have special, sector-specific requirements concerning anti-corrosion protection. This contributes to large savings in corrosion-related costs, which account for about 6% of the Gross Domestic Product in developed countries. In 1999, the General Directorate for Public Roads published, for the first time in Poland, its requirements concerning the application and acceptance of anti-corrosion coatings for steel components of road and bridge structures. They were updated in 2006. In 2010, the military department of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways issued anti-corrosion instructions applicable to assemblable bridge structures stored as part of the military mobilization reserves of the State. The General Directorate decided to publish them due to the openwork design of these structures and the unusual conditions of their use and storage. In 2013, the Road Management Authorities in Warsaw commissioned a catalogue of anti-corrosion technologies for structures made of thin-walled sections or sheet metal with a thickness of up to 3mm. In particular, the catalogue focuses on highly durable anti-corrosion coatings for metal constructions of noise barriers. All these documents have been developed by the Road and Bridge Research Institute. As set out in the first two of these documents, the maximum duration of anti-corrosion protection is 15 years, in conformity with ISO 12944. The last document provides for anti-corrosion coatings with durability of over 25 years. It also pays more attention to aesthetic qualities of anti-corrosion coatings, whose colour may not change in a noticeable way during the first 10 years of their use (ΔE <2, while the reduction of gloss may not exceed 20%). The new coating materials are based on resins that have never been used before, such as polysiloxane resins, polyfluorinated resins, polyurea resins, new fillers and pigments. Modern, eco-friendly powder coatings (including paints with the zinc fillers) are also being used on an ever-increasing scale, especially for outdoor applications of high durability. Other new generation products include conversion coatings, which improve the adhesion and durability of systems, as well as nano-ceramic coatings, self assembling molecules, baths based on transitional metal compounds with complex-forming properties such as titanium and zirconium (also with polymers), etc. Application of these materials makes it necessary to use more and more sophisticated inspection methods and devices. This creates new requirements for professionals, from the designer and the investor to contractors and inspectors, who all need to be well aware of corrosion-related issues.The analysis of these documents focus on the development of anti-corrosion materials and anti-corrosion protection technologies. Any documents of this type must be constantly revised to keep an owner up to date with modern solutions.

Selection of Quiet Pavement Technology for Polish Climate Conditions on the Example of CiDRO Project

Transportation noise has a growing detrimental impact on the environment, humans health and living conditions. In addition to noise mitigation by erection of the expensive noise barriers, tire/pavement noise can be reduced “in source” by construction of special asphalt pavements. While that solution is commonly known in regions with moderate maritime climate (e.g. The Netherlands), in places with more harsh climate it is not popular. High number (>100/year) of freeze and thaw (F&T) cycles in Poland is a significant limitation for porous asphalt technology. This paper presents results of the research work conducted within research project called “Innovative pavement technology with reduced noise emission” with acronym CiDRO. The project was conducted by a consortium composed of Mostostal Warszawa (leader of the consortium), Warsaw University of Technology – Faculty of Civil Engineering and Road and Bridge Research Institute – Department of Pavement Technology (members of the consortium). This project was supported by Polish National Centre for Research and Development. Within the scope of the CiDRO project presented in this paper, various noise reducing asphalt technologies were tested in both laboratory and field sections. Those sections included the following types of wearing course: asphalt concrete AC 11 (reference), stone mastic (matrix) asphalt SMA 5 and SMA 8, open graded friction course OGFC 8 and OGFC 11, porous asphalt PA8 and PA11. The range of laboratory research program consists of typical quality control and evaluation studies of functional characteristics such as resistance to water and frost, low temperature cracking resistance, aging resistance, rheological properties and fatigue life. In addition, field tests such as noise emissions by CPX and SPB methods, texture depth, friction coefficient and in-situ water permeability were performed. Field tests were repeated following winter period. Moreover, to simulate clogging, dirt (previously collected road debris) was spread on the surface and cleaning treatment was performed using specialized equipment. Selected properties of the pavement surface were tested to determine the effectiveness of cleaning process. Finally, two most promising sections were proposed for construction as real traffic exposed roads and subjected for observation during their exploitation. An initial conclusions and recommendations were drawn regarding the mixture maximum aggregate size and air void content.

Professional Social Media: Instrument to Meet Researcher and Healthcare Instruments with a Model for a New Scientific Social Network

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between professional social media use and the healthcare researcher. The innovation which was introduced with biomedical databases has improved research works by making rapid steps in all kind of scientific researches. Besides, instruments such as Internet, search engines and professional social media have brought a great development in the way of rapidly connecting with the professionals and the researchers all over the world in last decades. So it is very interesting to see how they are playing a vital role today in this field through this rapid development. For example, Linkedin, Slideshare, Research gate, PubMed, NCBI, Facebook, Skype etc. has already brought a revolutionary change in the field. The possibility to bridge researchers; for example, with similar discipline or by other different discipline using professional social media has provided with the scientific community a rapid development which was never seen in last decades.

Sharing Economy and Healthcare Today: ICT, Knowledge, Skills, Projects, Practical Experience in Improving Clinical and Econom ic Outcomes

The aim of this work was to analyze the relationship between professional social media use and the healthcare in sharing economy time when used in healthcare field and specifically in pharmaceutical settings. The innovation introduced with biomedical databases has improved research works with rapid steps in all kind of scientific researches areas tools as Internet, search engines and professional social media in sharing economy time have brought a great development in the way of rapidly connecting with the professionals. The researchers and professionals all over the world in last two decades has been great possibility to sharing their experience more than past with improving in their results. So it is very interesting to see how they are playing a crucial role today healthcare through this rapid development. For example, LinkedIn, Slide share, Research gate, PubMed, YouTube, NCBI, Facebook, Skype etc. This has really brought a revolutionary change in the field. The possibility to bridge researchers and professionals; for example, with similar interests, discipline with more rapid development, never seen in last two decades. We think that using sharing economy instruments we can reduce healthcare costs about 30-40%.

Laboratory Examination of Frost-heaving Properties of Road Unbound Mixtures Based on Fines Content and Plasticity Index

In order to ensure the bearing capacity and durability of road pavement in cold climate areas, it is necessary use materials which are resistant to harmful frost impact, known as frost-heaving. Frost heave cause adverse volume changes, the upwards swelling of the pavement after freezing and deterioration of the bearing capacity of the structure after thawing. In winter, road carriageway temperatures may reach tmin = -30̊C under Polish conditions, which results in the freezing of the structural pavement and subgrade layers. Due to frost penetration into the pavement and the subgrade, heaves may form in soils and in structural layers (unbound mixtures), and during the thaw period a high level of moisture is maintained in the frozen layers, and therefore the structure has a low bearing capacity. The aim of this research was to evaluate frost susceptibility of aggregates mixtures based on content of fine-grain fractions and plasticity index IP. Potential frost susceptibility of road materials and soils is determined by laboratory testing. Frost susceptibility is connected directly with the content and quality of fines, which is why the basic test is that material grading. The criterion based on fines content is the most frequently used indicator in determining frost susceptibility for soils. The article shows whether the limit values adopted for this criterion are also applicable to aggregates. The results of frost-heaving properties are presented of 14 typical natural aggregate road mixtures, continuously graded 0/31.5 mm. Frost susceptibility was determined based on laboratory testing of the following features: content of fine-grain fractions, smaller than 0.002 mm, 0.02 mm, 0.075 mm, 0.125 mm, plasticity index IP and the value of the actual frost-heave of a compacted aggregate mixture frozen in a cylinder. The article shows the test results and their analyses according to the frost susceptibility evaluation criteria for unbound mixtures in road construction. The tests presented in the article were carried out at the Road and Bridge Research Institute in Warsaw.