Collective Project Research Articles

Collective procedural memory

Collective procedural memory is a group’s memory of how to do things, as opposed to a group’s memory of facts. It enables groups to mount effective responses to periodic events (e.g., natural hazards) and to sustain collective projects (e.g., combatting climate change). This article presents an account of collective procedural memory called the Ability Conception. The Ability Conception has various advantages over other accounts of collective procedural memory, such as those appealing to collective know-how and collective identity. It also demonstrates new applications for collective procedural memory. I develop three in this article: to social epistemology, to the ethics of memorialization, and to a pattern of group vulnerability to recurring hazardous events that I call the saeculum effect.

Predictive indicators of immune therapy efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma based on neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibits high incidence and mortality rates in China. Most cases are often diagnosed at late stages and require multi-strategy therapies. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), particularly programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibodies, have demonstrated effectiveness in comprehensive HCC treatment. However, the efficacy and prognosis vary greatly among patients. Screening suitable patients and predicting outcomes are crucial for improving the efficacy of ICIs. Although PD-L1 expression levels in tumor cells have been used as predictors of PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapy, they may not consistently correlate with clinical response in some studies; thus, exploring new biomarkers is necessary. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) emerged as a new predictor of ICI immunotherapy efficacy, and its application in HCC is worth exploring. This study utilizes the Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma Collection (TCGA-LIHC) project in the Genomic Data Commons (GDC) database for methylation and transcriptome data analysis. The correlation between NLR and ICI immunotherapy efficacy for HCC was evaluated, identifying differentially expressed genes. Analysis revealed 74 up-regulated and 445 down-regulated genes in the high-NLR group compared to the low-NLR group. NLR-related differential methylation analysis identified 68 hypermethylated and 65 hypomethylated probes in the NLR high group. Furthermore, a machine learning model using 27 intersecting genes predicted PD-1 antibody therapy efficacy, achieving an AUC value of 0.813. In summary, we established a predictive model for HCC immunotherapy based on 27 genes related to differential expressions and NLR-associated methylation, showing significant potential for clinical research potential in this field.

In Conversation with Olivier Marboeuf

Olivier Marboeuf is a writer, performer, independent curator and film producer of Caribbean origin. He founded the independent art centre Espace Khiasma, which he ran from 2004 to 2018, in Les Lilas on the outskirts of Paris. At Khiasma, he developed a program addressing minority representation through exhibitions, screenings, debates, performances and collaborative projects across the North-East of Paris. He is an educator and has taught visual arts in several European Fine Art schools. He is a member of the cinema and performance collective ‘The Living and The Dead Ensemble’ and recently presented, as an artist, the first part of his sonic collective project ‘The Museum of Breath’ in the context of the Berlin Biennale 12. He currently produces films within Spectre Productions, a production company he founded in 2013 in Rennes (France). In 2022, Marboeuf published the collection of essays, “Suites décoloniales: s’enfuir de la plantation” (Decolonial Suites: Fleeing from the Plantation) as well as the poetry book “Les matières de la nuit” (Matters of the Night) (both published by Éditions du commun, Rennes, France). In 2023, two new books will be published: L’emeutier et la sorcière’ (The Rioter and the Witch) in French and Vers un cinéma déparlant (une hypothèse caraïbe) (Towards a De-speaking Cinema: A Caribbean Hypothesis) in French, English, German and Spanish. Many of his texts are available to read on his blog, Toujours Debout.

Essay on collective project governance

Any form of collective action poses a governance problem understood, a priori, as relating to the finalization, conduct and control of the action. This question of governance cannot be addressed independently of a fundamental representation of collective action expressing what justifies its existence and underlies the trajectory of its development. The project-based theory of enterprise, valid for collective action in general, lays the collective project at the foundation of any such action. Thus is asserted the idea that the Principal is the collective project, the common good of the collective, which is to ensure collective control. The development of this conception leads to a redefinition of the notion of governance as governance of the project and by the project. The originality of this conception leads us to understand what it brings to debates on governance on the epistemological and theoretical levels.

Determinantes de desempenho para projetos agroindustriais em ações coletivas de pequenos agricultores

Abstract The important economic and social role of agroindustrial collective actions does not eliminate the challenges related to the sustained feasibility of these enterprises. This article presents and discusses the main determinants that affect the performance and feasibility of collective agroindustrial projects, assessing the importance of each determinant for establishing the future performance of enterprises. A systematic literature review supported the structuring of the proposed analytical framework, which suggested the use of 24 determinants grouped into five factors. Afterwards, a panel of 20 experts used a multiple-criteria decision-making method, the Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART), to evaluate the relative importance of the determinants proposed by the model. The framework indicates the importance of each determinant on the performance of the collective agroindustrial projects, allowing the user to apply it with a decision-making tool. The proposed model combines and incorporates a wide number of sparse determinants in other works and highlights the factor “management, operation and finance” as a factor of success in making projects feasible.

Историк в пространстве междисциплинарности: взгляд студентов

This article presents the results of a pilot study of research priorities and professional preferences of undergraduate history students at three Siberian classical universities (Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk). As an analytical framework for the study, we chose (a) the processes of reformatting socio-humanitarian knowledge and expanding areas of cooperation between historians and representatives of different disciplines; (b) the generational approach as a new direction for historical science in studying the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of corporate cultures and identities. The data were collected by a questionnaire. To analyze the data from 165 respondents, a specialized application package IBM SPSS StatisticsBase and methods of mathematical statistics were used (descriptive statistics, parametric and non-parametric tests, one-way analysis of variance, correlation and factor analysis). The results of the study are described in two sections. The first section shows that the growing interest in the research activities of historians of the zoomer generation is not accompanied by an expansion of partner disciplines and, for example, interaction with IT is on the periphery of their preferences. The data analysis revealed differences between junior and senior students in their image of a “collective project” due to the distance learning format widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave the assumption on the continuing influence of the “Soviet scientific component” in the university socialization of historians. The second section presents students’ understanding of the connection between “society” and a “historian”, which is characterized by the majority of respondents as limiting their personal employment opportunities in the Siberian region and beyond. This allows us to state the high interest of students in acquiring research and social competencies through participation in interdisciplinary projects and explain the reasons for the discrepancies between their expectations and the actual practices of implementing such scientific interactions. In conclusion, the prospects for the participation of history students in projects to create online resources of a humanitarian nature are characterized, and a typology of groups focused on experimental, programmatic and situational interdisciplinary cooperation is presented.

"Community strengthening through citizen monitoring of water quality: A systematic review".

Citizen participation in decision-making is a fundamental democratic pillar of democracy. However, the degree of citizen involvement and recognition by governmental institutions may be conditioned by the level of competence and knowledge demonstrated. Therefore, carrying out collective projects can contribute to strengthening citizen engagement in water management issues. Nonetheless, there is limited knowledge about the various types of citizen engagement and the practices that have facilitated greater inclusion in decision-making regarding water resources. This study aims to identify and analyze practices that strengthen water community organizations through citizen monitoring-based involvement. A systematic literature review was conducted using the PRISMA method. The research was guided by the following questions: What are the differences in the level of citizen involvement and the degree of transformation facilitated by citizen monitoring of water quality (CMWQ) between the global North and South? What practices strengthen community organizations in decision-making based on CMWQ? Moreover, what challenges do community water organization structures community water organization structures face when based on CMWQ? A total of 161 publications were identified for the analysis of critical themes. After applying the eligibility criteria, 33 documents were selected for content analysis. The reviewed monitoring exercises indicate that the highest level of citizen organization achieved by participants is commonly recognized as "Water Committees". One practice that strengthens these committees is the generation of collaboration agreements among different types of allies, based on a shared objective. However, in the Global South and at the institutional level, there is still resistance to water quality data generated by citizen monitors, especially in regions with large-scale open-pit mining projects. To sustain the efforts of community figures, monitoring programs with public funding need to be established, and public policies supporting these initiatives at the institutional level must be implemented.

Trans-Disciplinary Communication in Collaborative Co-Design for Knowledge Sharing

This article examines the importance of Trans-disciplinary Communication (TDC) in knowledge sharing when utilizing collaborative co-design (CCD) as a tool for large-scale collective change social innovation projects. The article describes CCD and important frameworks like "Collaborative Infrastructure" and the "Collaborative Convergence Pyramid." Next, the paper discusses knowledge sharing in this context as an essential mechanism to engage the participants effectively. As the co-design process is initiated and the work progresses, several tools of TDC are imperative, such as listening, translation, and facilitation. Then, the article presents how the tools of TDC allow for the effective CCD to progress and be led by the author. Finally, some practical, real-world examples of TDC in action for CCD will be shared. By illustrating practical, real-world examples of TDC in an effort for CCD, the article offers an insightful overview of this empowering process, not merely as a theoretical construct but as a dynamic and practical approach. This article underscores the innovative potential that TDC brings to knowledge creation and dissemination, making it an essential read for academics, practitioners, and policy-makers interested in collaboration, inclusivity, and transformative change.

Land body ecologies: The London hub

This photo essay and accompanying text visualize and represent the work that was based in London, UK of a collective project called Land Body Ecologies (LBE), a global transdisciplinary network exploring the deep interconnections of mental health and ecosystem health. LBE's research and action work combined science, art, and public engagement to understand and redress the ongoing crisis of land trauma among land-dependent and Indigenous peoples who nonetheless display remarkable resilience. The research and action have been rooted within communities seeking resilience for their interlinked culture, environment, and land rights, so that they could comprehend, document, and overcome the crises and traumas endured when their land suffers. LBE's London-based work is presented through photos of the arts-science-community space that anchored the work around the world.

East Harlem, from Frontier Neighborhood to Urban School Center of the 1940s. An Overview of Leonard Covello’s Work

The research starts from the urban and domestic dimension for a historical-anthropological reading of the neighborhood that led the inhabitants of the largest Italo-American community in the United States to collaborate in a collective project of social uplift and rethinking of educational paths in an intercultural, intergenerational and progressive key.

Partnerskap på like premisser?

‘Partnership’ is used as a collective term for cooperation on competence development between teacher education institutions and schools and is intended to lead to mutual learning. This article deals with experiences with partnerships from the teacher education`s point of view. The data material consists of interviews with teacher educators and leaders in teacher education institutions. The findings show that the staff members have many positive experiences, but they problematize certain organizational and steering challenges. They point out that it is demanding to share knowledge internally, and that research is somewhat connected to the work. They experience that the partnership primarily takes place on the school's premises, which may be related to the fact that steering expectations are directed at the teacher training programs and not at the schools. The study reveals differences in institutional practices, such as how the work is organized at a larger and a smaller teacher training institution, and whether the work is experienced as an individual or a collective project. The study shows that partnership is a complex phenomenon that shapes political and organizational conditions.

MATCHING DYADIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS WITH DYADIC ANALYTIC MODELS

Abstract Examining shared and common experiences between dyads affords opportunities to answer interesting research questions using dyadic data. Emerging dyadic methodology has expanded the types of research questions researchers can ask and answer. This session aims to equip researchers with knowledge and resources for grant writing, when planning new data collection projects, or when conducting secondary data analyses. Reviewing both cross-sectional and longitudinal methods, we will walk attendees through several types of research questions and match them with appropriate dyadic analytic strategies. These include the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), the Common Fate Model, the Dyadic Growth Curve Model (and ALT Model), the Common Fate Growth Curve Model, the Random Intercept Cross-lagged Model, as well as various extensions. We will address accounting for non-independence in dyadic models, along with how to explore substantive dyadic processes. We will review ways that different approaches conceptualize, assess, and examine within and between dyad comparisons. We will also consider ways to address self and other reports of the same construct, such as health congruence/concordance or discordance/difference, as well as perceptions of accuracy or bias, enhancement, and idealization between dyads. Attendees will learn of resources available to learn more about the methods addressed in this session.

L’alliance entre les artistes et les marques : Intérêts croisés et limites des démarches design

Collaborations between artists and brands have become common place. We investigate their cooperation through two emblematic cases. First, the Masters Collection project, a collaboration between Louis Vuitton, Jeff Koons, and the Louvre, and second, the Air Force 1 project, a collaboration between Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh, and Nike. To analyze the shared interests and inherent limits of these projects, we analyzed online data collected between May and August 2022. After presenting the historical context of the alliance between art and brand design, we indicate the field of tensions between artistic practices and contemporary industrial issues. Based on this analysis, we highlight the trivialization of the convergence between art and marketing-communication practices via our research questions: What are the links between artists’ and brands’ strategies? What are the characteristics and socio-economic logics of their collaboration? What value is created (or not) by their collaboration and for whom? We analyze the role of the artist who, through a work that ressembles design practices, operates a punctual mediation between the symbolic universes of the different stakeholders. This dialogue integrates not only aesthetic characteristics, but also project constraints (temporal, budgetary, and material constraints). We indicate, that by collaborating with brands, the artist takes on the function of a designer. A detailed analysis of these collaborations allows us to identify five key trends: 1. A diversification of collaboration strategies between artistic and branding practices. 2. A difficulty of dissociating their positioning. 3. An increase in the frequency of collaboration. 4. Experimentations with more extravagant collaborations. 5. An orientation towards political collaborations.

Flexible approaches to eCOA administration in clinical trials: The site perspective

The Critical Path Institute convened the Support Flexible Approaches to PRO Data Collection project as part of the eCOA: Getting Better Together Initiative which was instigated to identify and address common challenges and drive positive change with eCOA implementation in clinical trials.The project aimed to identify clinical trial stakeholders’ concerns related to electronic PRO (ePRO) implementation and propose areas of improvement via simplification and flexibility. One workstream focused on patient-/site-centric approaches for simplification and surveyed representatives of clinical sites and site monitors for their perspectives. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and distributed via snowball sampling to site professionals and clinical research associates (CRAs) that had ePRO experience who had been identified via representative groups or sponsor-led site networks. Responses were received from various site roles across a range of global regions; the largest contribution was from the United States. Topics raised included helpdesk capabilities, technical concerns, device types, and user interfaces among others and are discussed further in this paper. The feedback derived from the questionnaire provided the basis for concrete ideas that sponsors should consider incorporating into protocol design for participant visits, technology use, devices, and methods of back-up data collection.

Bordering in the archives: An investigation into a digital archive of the Irish asylum and refugee determination

Creating borders and borderlands is a key role of the contemporary state. Drawing on an investigation of the Irish state bordering complex determining asylum and refugee claims in Ireland, this article illustrates the importance of the actions of individual state agents and the cultures of practice in state agencies in bordering and statecraft. Building on scholarship studying the state, I conceive of statecraft as cultures of practices, understood within a feminist geopolitical framework. Studying these cultures of practice reveals the ways state agencies and state agents produce knowledge and how they work within complex power-geometries of social and political geographies. I investigate the Irish asylum determination process using an archival ethnography methodology to encounter an online archive of refugee appeals decisions in Ireland. This article shows one result of this encounter: a published database of asylum decision patterns and practices of the refugee appeals tribunals and of individual Tribunal members issuing decisions to people seeking asylum in Ireland. I argue this approach: (1) addresses real needs for systematic evidence of practice of Tribunal members, as requested by asylum seekers and legal representatives; (2) investigates cultures of practice in decision-making bodies in the asylum complex of the Irish state; (3) and shows the importance of archives of asylum decision-making in the state practice of bordering and statecraft. Analysis shows an asylum determination culture heavily dependent on who is doing the deciding, the decision-maker assigned is a major element in outcomes of asylum claims. I also propose a framework for identifying statecraft and bordering as the collective project of groups and individuals embedded within the state; this framework provides productive and systematic evidence of bordering and the ways individuals and groups go about doing statecraft in the asylum determination process.

The “kala–admi” and the “golden-haired, fair-complexioned hero”: Racial Othering and the Question of the Aboriginals in the Fairy Tale Collections of Colonial Bengal

ABSTRACT This article discusses how the representational politics of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Bengali fairy tales was heavily informed by the racial discourses of the time. The racial discourses of colonial Bengal worked in close association with the discourses of anthropology and nationalism. The discourse of ethnographic nationalism prepared the ground for the historical rise of the Hindu, upper-caste, urban, elite, male subjectivity and enabled it to define and “speak” for the so-called “aboriginal” groups in a way that best suited their convenience. The contemporary idea of the “black,” “ugly,”“backward,” and “uncivilized” aboriginals influenced the representation of the rakshasas or the giants in the fairy tales of colonial Bengal. The article analyzes the ways in which the project of fairy tale collection turned into an upper-caste, Hindu, elite discourse in the hands of the Bengali intellectuals, which operated primarily by marginalizing the category of the aboriginals. The article also historically contextualizes the categories of the elite and the aboriginal in connection with the arya-anarya theory of race, popular in nineteenth-century Bengal.

Legal History as the Perfect Vessel: Teaching with Infographics for the Development of Digital Visual Literacy Skills in Law Students

Digital literacy development must be regarded equally essential as the development of other literacies and critical thinking skills in Bachelor of Laws students. Because law teachers do not include visuals in learning materials, law students do not develop the skills to effectively interpret them. Digital visual literacy (DVL) is one of the core digital literacies law teachers can advance in their students to prepare them for our visually-driven world. Legal historical course material is the perfect vessel for visual learning materials in law, as these can effectively communicate the spacio-temporal aspects of legal history and legal historical development. A recent empirical study of the views of South African students of legal history indicated their positive sentiments toward a wide variety of visual learning materials and the inclusion of instructor-generated summary infographics in online learning materials. They were also in favour of the inclusion of descriptive visuals like timeline infographics containing additional visual elements in legal historical course content. The study also indicated that reading and interpreting infographics aid the development of DVL skills, and the more infographics students interact with, the better they become at interpreting them. Since the instructor-generated summary infographic can be designed to communicate information about a specific module, it is suited to teaching any legal content. Visual learning artefacts can be created and sourced in numerous ways, but the process can be time-consuming. Sharing these amongst colleagues and institutions as open educational resources (OER) will ultimately aid a collective project aimed at the development of the DVL skills of South African law students. The article provides examples of instructor-generated summary infographics based on legal historical course content, distributed as freely available OER.

Racism in paradise: Being migrants in urban agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractResearch on urban agriculture (UA) has revealed that alongside the opportunities these spaces open for community building, UA can also (re)produce exclusionary practices, especially towards minority groups. Engaging with critical debates, we conducted a collective autoethnography project to explore the nuances of joining UA as Latin American migrant women of colour in Wellington, Aotearoa. We discuss how weaving critical race theory and collective autoethnography helped us reflect and amplify our counter‐stories of racial oppression. By pushing academic thinking, we also aim to inspire others to recognise, resist and rework racist (and sexist) structures, building solidarity towards decolonial and antiracist spaces.

Collective reincorporation of FARC-EP and social and solidarity economies: beyond moral imagination

ABSTRACT Collective productive projects are an effective strategy to bring reconciliation and development to the most remote parts of the national territory. Incipient rural development was recognised in the peace agreement, signed between the Colombian government and the Armed Forces of Colombia People’s Army (FARC-EP), as one of the causes of the armed conflict. However, social margins and precarious conditions are not exclusive to the countryside; exclusion also occurs in urban centres. Using ethnographic methods, we visited three areas of reincorporation to identify the socio-economic practices of collective productive projects. The findings suggest that the social solidarity economy is a promising alternative led by FARC-EP ex-combatants and host communities to resist socio-economic exclusion.

‘Made in Taiwan’: Global Storytelling, Childhood Memories, and Undergraduate Research in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract ‘Made in Taiwan’ is a platform and archive of life-course interviews of people who grew up in Taiwan, designed to teach about Taiwan, one childhood memory at a time. We hope that it will spark conversations about childhood memories around the world and inspire similar projects elsewhere that bring together university instructors, undergraduate students, and local communities in an effort to learn from one another, experience knowledge production as a collective project, encounter the university as an active player in and a resource for the community, and empower undergraduate students to conduct their own investigations into other people’s lives.