University Cooperation Research Articles

International scientific cooperation in public health: A performance measurement framework based on the “Syphilis No!” Project in Brazil

In this article, we aim to propose indicators to evaluate the performance of international scientific cooperation in public health, based on the operation experience in Brazil’s “Syphilis No!” Project. This is an action research project, based upon Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard Method, developed in five stages: (i) Reorganization of the indicators, (ii) validation of the new indicators, (iii) construction of the dimensions of the indicators, (iv) data collection for the indicators, (v) development of the framework for the “Syphilis No!” Project. The metrics and 34 indicators are presented and grouped into four dimensions: technical-scientific, investment, products, and impact. The cooperation that emerged from the project has built an international research network that has the potential to transcend syphilis research. The framework demonstrated that international scientific cooperations, focused on research and product development, have contributed to the promotion of public health policies and have enabled the exchange of knowledge, techniques, experiences, and technologies, fundamental to the international scientific cooperation of Brazilian universities. This contribution will have implications for studies in the field of international relations in health and education.

Legal intervention by the Cooperative University of Colombia in the study of problems of the vulnerable population in the region

Legal intervention by the Cooperative University of Colombia in the study of problems of the vulnerable population in the region

Intravenous iron infusions in pediatric patients: A retrospective review of efficacy and safety.

Pediatric iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is often treated with oral iron supplementation as the first-line therapy despite poor adherence. This single-institution retrospective chart review of pediatric patients was conducted to assess the safety, efficacy, and adherence of intravenous (IV) iron infusions compared to oral iron therapy in patients who had failed a trial of oral iron supplementation. We reviewed medical records of patients aged 1-21 with IDA who received at least one IV iron infusion at Cooper University Hospital between 2016 and 2021. Paired t-tests compared pre-infusion and post-infusion hematologic indices of hemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell count, red cell distribution width, ferritin, total iron binding capacity, iron stores, and iron saturation. We compared adherence and adverse reactions to both oral iron supplementation and IV iron infusions using McNemar's test. A total of 107 subjects were included (mean age of 12.7 years). Hgb, ferritin, iron, and iron saturation between pre-infusion and post-final infusion significantly improved (p < 0.001). Hgb, ferritin, and iron improved when subcategorizing by race and etiology of IDA. Adherence to IV iron infusions (70.1%) was significantly greater than adherence to oral iron therapy (43.0%). There were also significantly fewer adverse effects with IV iron infusions (3.7%) compared to oral iron (77.9%). We demonstrated the safety, efficacy, and improved adherence of IV iron infusions compared to oral iron supplementation for treatment of pediatric IDA in patients who were unable to tolerate oral iron supplementation. Future studies could compare adherence to multiple doses of IV iron infusions in contrast with other single-dosing IV iron formulations.

Abstract 6825: Epigenetic dysregulation in well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET): An immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis

Abstract Epigenetic dysregulation through DNA Methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is integral to pancreatic neuroendocrine tumorigenesis. We aim to investigate the interplay between epigenetic modifiers and pathogenetic markers in the PNET microenvironment. 12 paraffin-embedded PNET specimens and 12 benign adjacent tissue specimens, used as controls, were obtained from Cooper University Hospital Pathology Department (IRB 23-130). IHC was performed using epigenetic markers, including DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B, and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5-HMC), and pathogenic markers, including Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia 1 (MEN1), Protein-Tyrosine Phosphatase (PTEN), and Ras Association Domain Family 1 (RASSF1). Image J software was utilized for IHC scoring under the guidance of a board-certified pathologist. DNMT1 was upregulated in PNET tumor specimens with a mean density score of 72.02 +/- 31 versus 16.02 +/- 17 in adjacent benign tissue (p&amp;lt;.001). Grade 2 tumors displayed increased DNMT1 expression compared to Grade 1 tumors with a mean score of 37 +/-21 versus 71 +/- 23 (p&amp;lt;.05). Decreased expression of 5-HMC was noted in tumor specimens in comparison to benign tissue with a mean score of 3.92 +/- 5.05 versus 19.37 +/- 5.05 (p&amp;lt;.05). Loss of 5-HMC was observed in higher tumor grades with a mean score of .79 +/- 2 versus 8.2+/-2 (p&amp;lt;.01). DNMT3B was upregulated in PNET tumor specimens with a mean score of 13.16 +/- 3.94 versus 7.02+/- 2.553 (p&amp;lt;.01) in adjacent benign tissue and was positively correlated to DNMT1 expression. DNMT3A was not found to have a difference in expression between tumor and benign tissue. MEN1 was downregulated in PNET, with 45% of tumor specimens displaying loss of MEN1 expression. Mean MEN1 density in tumor tissue was 4.47 +/- 5.95 versus 11.41 +/- 3.53 in adjacent benign (p&amp;lt;.01). Increased expression of DNMT1 found to negatively correlate with MEN1 expression (R2=.23). Loss of RASSF1 expression was present in 70% of tumor specimens with a mean score of 1.32 +/- 1.99 versus 9.50+/- 6.89 (p&amp;lt;.001) in adjacent benign tissue. RASSF1 expression correlated negatively with DNMT1 (R2=.21). PTEN expression showed intratumoral homogeneity to benign tissue, and its expression was not correlated with any epigenetic markers. Our work provides a framework of epigenetic regulators involved in the pathobiology of PNET, and can refine prognostic evaluation while providing therapeutic benefits for patients with PNET. Citation Format: Zena Saleh, Yazid Ghanem, Hansa Joshi, Mathew C. Moccia, Helen Toma, Yahui Li, Upsana Joneja, Tao Gao, Young Hong. Epigenetic dysregulation in well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET): An immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 6825.

Two-Case Study of Rural Migrant TVET Female Students in Western China: Aspirations of Learning English

This study is an investigation of the English language learning aspirations and deprivations of female rural migrant youth in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) schools in two locales in western China. This study adopted basic interpretive research focused on individual voices and experiences. The capability approach provided the conceptual framework. Participants in this research primarily aspired to learn English for instrumental purposes: to pass exams, earn higher degrees, find better jobs in cities, and support their children in learning English. A lack of English proficiency, economic situation, and living environment greatly limited their aspirations. Participants showed a spectrum of levels of aspirations of English learning. For participants with low levels of English proficiency, their English could neither support their educational and employment goals nor inspire them for greater future plans. Participants from the TVET–university joint program formulated a stronger and wider range of aspirations when compared to those encapsulated in secondary TVET. Recommendations include increasing opportunities for exposure to English, reforming exam-oriented English learning, enriching the prevailing culture of learning and the perceived value and social uses of English, increasing TVET school and university cooperation, and adapting the TVET English curriculum to economic imperatives.

Pelatihan Pengukuran Kinerja Koperasi Sesuai Tujuannya bagi Sarjana Aparatur Sipil Negara (ASN) Kementrian Koperasi dan UKM Angkatan II-Tahun 2023

In the last two years, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs has had strategic policies and superior programs, namely the cooperative modernization program with three pillars: institutional modernization, business, and cooperative finance. To realize this program, it needs to be supported by young State Civil Apparatus (ASN) who have strong cooperative competencies. Therefore, through collaboration with the Indonesian Cooperative University LPPM, in 2023 carried out a Basic Cooperative Training Program Batch I and II. This training aimed to improve the cognitive competence, attitudes, and skills of ASN in the cooperative sector. The training method used was competency-based training with adult training methods (andragogy). The results of the training evaluation indicate that this training has been able to provide effective changes in participants' cognitive, attitudes and skills.

Institutional habitus and individual postgraduation plans: an analysis of Chinese students in transnational higher education

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on an emerging group in Chinese higher education – students in transnational higher education (TNHE). Recent research has documented much about students’ motivations for attending TNHE institutions. However, the impact of such institutions on student outputs remains under-researched. This study conducted interviews with 78 final-year undergraduates and 10 staff from two Sino-foreign cooperative universities (SFCUs) to understand how their plans for postgraduate study and career, as well as their relevant preparedness, were affected by their in-situ experiences. Using institutional habitus in conjunction with the concepts of capital and field as a conceptual framework, the study showed that the students negotiated a complex mix of institutional sociocultural status, Westernised organisational practices and neoliberal climate as they projected and prepared their postgraduation plans. The transformative outcomes of TNHE experiences are intertwined with the institutional habitus of SFCUs. The findings indicated that institutional forces strengthened the students’ educational disposition to pursue postgraduate studies in Western countries. The new culture and norms experienced by Chinese students at these institutions modified their sense of constraint, enhanced their cosmopolitan orientation towards the workplace and were manifested in more flexible career attitudes. The findings also revealed that neoliberal culture has penetrated the institutional environment, influencing the extent to which students enacted agency in their preparation for the future, with some students developing enterprising selves while others felt marginalised and disempowered by competition. This study has implications for TNHE practitioners to support their students’ transition to next stage.

Pelatihan Pengembangan Unit Usaha Koperasi Pegawai Negeri Angkasa RRI: Strategi dan Tantangan

The Angkasa RRI Civil Servant Cooperative is an employee cooperative whose members are employees of Radio Republik Indonesia in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Currently, the cooperative only has one business unit, namely the savings and loans unit. As a form of effort to continue trying to improve the welfare of its members, the administrators of the Angkasa RRI Civil Servant Cooperative intend to carry out business development by providing services to both members and non-members. Therefore, training was carried out for administrators, supervisors, and members and involved students from the Indonesian Cooperative University (Ikopin University) who were carrying out Field Practices. On this occasion, the training participants seemed enthusiastic about participating in the training. And it was conveyed that to carry out business development there are several strategic options that can be used by the Angkasa RRI Civil Servant Cooperative. These include a differentiation strategy, a cheaper price strategy than competitors, a focus strategy, a diversification strategy, and an integration strategy. In designing business development, new businesses must remain a priority for members. However, it is still permissible to serve non-members as long as the members are served well and feel satisfied. The steps that need to be prepared in planning business development are evaluating the current cooperative business situation using SWOT analysis, setting business development goals, identifying opportunities and challenges, identifying competitors and target markets, developing business plans, financing and budgeting, and introducing risks, development team, implementation schedule, performance evaluation and measurement, Stakeholder Communication and Engagement, Monitoring, and adjustments. By applying These steps will carefully help the Angkasa RRI civil servant cooperative to plan business development more effectively and increase the chances of success in achieving its business goals.

Role of middle managers in dealing with hierarchy and network logics: exploration in the context of Sino-Foreign Cooperative University.

While organizations tend to introduce network mechanism to activate the potential of members in the hierarchical dominated context, it is not clear how individual members deal with the complexity caused by two logics of hierarchy and network. To address this gap, this study focuses on the role of middle managers in collaborating with others in the multiple-logic complexity. We identify three types of collaboration scenarios, top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal, through 27 semi-structured interviews within a Sino-Foreign Cooperative University from 2021 to 2023. Guided by the grounded theory approach, we conceptualize the composite role of middle managers as the translucent hand of explicit and implicit connections, which help us to interpret middle managers' tangibly and intangibly impact under a hybrid organization context. The empirical results also reveal that the boundary perception of authority and responsibility as an important factor determines middle managers' awareness of power involvement in cooperation. The findings extend the understanding of middle managers in network organizations in the higher education context and provide suggestions for the dynamic role of middle managers and hybrid university management in the information age.

The aftertext phenomenon

A new collective monograph (this is an important generic definition for the authors), brought out by the Ural State University in cooperation with a St. Petersburg press Aleteya, is their fourth publication devoted to the ‘marginal issues.’ The first three dealt with the ‘author’s crisis,’ ‘author’s failure,’ and ‘the unfinished.’ In the present book a collective effort is aimed at the analysis of the generic forms considered as ‘aftertexts.’ They range from the author’s inscription on the book to various personal documents, critical reaction, and in the broadest sense up to the whole cultural tradition dependent on the text. Most of the papers are devoted to Russian literature in the 20th c. and include a random selection of Bunin’s inscriptions, his marginalia on the book of Blok’s verse among them, Zoshchenko’s letters to his readers, the brothers Strugatsky’s reputation as a myth, etc. The collective theoretical effort does not help much to clarify the term, or to locate it with any precision in the contemporary scholarly discourse, but it wittily chooses it as an umbrella to cover the papers collected in book and considered as variations of the ‘aftertext.’

Introduction: the Europeanisation of identities through everyday practices

ABSTRACT In this introduction to the special issue on ‘The Europeanisation of identities through everyday practices’, we argue for a more thorough shift towards everyday practices, lifeworlds and leisure-time activities as important terrains for research into (ultimately also politically relevant) identifications among Europeans. Doing so entails the idea that the Europeanisation of identities might unfold in a more subliminal manner, and might hence be anchored less in policy changes and people’s positionings towards political issues in a narrower sense. In contrast, mindsets, aspirations and frames of reference might undo a more unconscious transformation due to various activities in lifeworldly, cultural, leisure time-related, and even private spheres. Drawing on a multitude of fields (e.g. cultural heritage, university cooperation, everyday routines in the border region, arts, sports and gaming) as well as varying approaches and different methodologies, this Special Issue aims at demonstrating that ever more Europeanised identities might emerge from multiple sources and activities, which are not obviously tied to political agendas and frameworks.

Research on Existing Problems and Countermeasures in School-enterprise Cooperation in Private Higher Vocational Colleges

From the characteristics and significance of school-enterprise cooperation and the important way that school-enterprise cooperation is suitable for the transformation and development of private vocational colleges and universities, this paper expounds the necessity of implementing school-enterprise cooperation in Guangdong private vocational colleges and universities. From the four aspects of schools, students, enterprises and society, this paper analyzes the problems existing in the cooperation between enterprises of private vocational colleges and universities in Guangdong. Put forward four strategies of cooperation between enterprises of private vocational colleges and universities in Guangdong: reform of talent training model based on cooperation between schools and enterprises; To construct a reasonable and effective cooperative operation mechanism for schools and enterprises; Strengthen the school connotation construction, improve talent competitiveness; To create a good social environment for cooperation between schools and enterprises.

Üsküdar University explores the future with projects

The "Science and Idea Festival", organized by Üsküdar University in cooperation with the İstanbul Directorate of National Education, is being held for the 9th time this year.

Research on Collaborative Educational Mechanism of School-Enterprise Cooperation in Higher Vocational Colleges and Universities Based on Deep Learning

Research on Collaborative Educational Mechanism of School-Enterprise Cooperation in Higher Vocational Colleges and Universities Based on Deep Learning

Frontier – binder without borders. Polish–German cross-border cooperation of universities in the Pomerania Euroregion. Conceptual insights

Cross-border cooperation was broadly defined by European Union in 1980s. The joint action taken by frontier territories are the key aspects of European integration and are the main aims of maintaining sustainable development in many aspects of life on both sides of the border. This article explores Polish–German cross-border cooperation within the Pomerania Euroregion taking into account educational dimension. In particular, this analysis focuses on involvement of Szczecin universities in the implementation of cross-border Small Projects Funds in years 1995–2022. The presented study analyze 64 projects from among 3,071 shared ones. The article raises important insights into a wide area of research that indicates not only the need to describe and identify the phenomenon of initiated cross-border cooperation of educational institutions within Euroregions, but also reveals the need for a deeper, individual and comparative analysis of many Euroregions and their activities in the field of creating educational policy

Challenges of Clinical Education: From the Perspective of Clinical Instructors and Clinical Staffs at Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, Qualitative Study.

To explore the challenges of clinical education from the perspective of clinical instructors and clinical staff at Dire Dawa University College of Health Science. An institutional-based phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. Clinical instructors and staff provided data through in-depth interviews and key informant discussions, which were facilitated by a semistructured tool and a voice recorder. A total of 17 participants, including 11 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with clinical instructors (including two key informants) and six IDIs with clinical staff were included in this study. A purposive sampling method was used to select study participants, and the data were analyzed thematically using the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti7. The thematic analysis with an inductive approach involves six steps: familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and writing. Clinical instructors and clinical staff noted a number of challenges in clinical education, including insufficient medical equipment, low incentives, clinical site repetition, unfavorable clinical practice sites, lack of communication from instructors, skill attrition, lack of orientation for instructors and students, client/patient unwelcomingness, uncooperative healthcare workers, and poor university cooperation. The aforementioned issues contributed to the quality of clinical education and its desired impact, as outlined in this research. A multidisciplinary and collaborative effort is needed to address these challenges.

Why do Chinese High School Graduates Choose Sino-Foreign Cooperative Universities? A Grounded Theory Approach

Sino-foreign cooperative universities (SFCU) represent the advanced manifestation of transnational education in China and has profoundly shaped the country’s higher education landscape. Despite the tremendous development of SFCUs, there is limited research on the motivations and driving factors of students choosing to study at SFCUs. To bridge this research gap, this study employs the grounded theory approach to examine why Chinese high school graduates choose SFCUs as study destinations. This study reveals that Chinese students’ choice of SFCUs results from personal considerations, institution-level characteristics, and social contexts. A theoretical framework is further proposed to better understand Chinese students’ motivations behind their choice to SFCUs. We also draw theoretical contributions on students’ mobility and marketing strategies that attract Chinese students to study at SFCUs with the findings.

Leading Educational Change: A Study of the Impact of Transnational University on China's Higher Education Reform

This study investigates the external impacts derived from the development of Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) in China and how the impacts have driven individual practitioners and Chinese higher education institutions to promote China’s Higher Education (HE) reform through the lens of individual learning and organizational learning. This study interviewed nine research participants from Chinese universities by employing a qualitative case-study focusing on the experiences of a Sino-foreign cooperative university in China. It examined various institutional documents to uncover the impacts and how they have been exerted. The findings indicate that TNHE can contribute to the transformational changes of the HE sector through exerting influences on individual cognition, which further triggers individual behavioural changes, and the aggregated individual change agent’s initiatives lead to organizational cultural shift as an institutional response to social calls for changes. This process of impacts is an interactive, dynamic and continuous organizational learning process, which relies on both Chinese participants and TNHE universities to take intentional initiatives.

Research on OBE Based Effective Learning Mode in Sino foreign Cooperative Universities

Internationalization of education is an inevitable trend in the development of higher education. Against the backdrop of increasingly widespread international cooperation in higher education in China, as a window for China’s education to enter the world, Sino foreign cooperative universities are facing an important issue of how to carry out student-centered, output oriented, and continuous improvement oriented teaching reforms, and cultivate international talents with an international perspective. This article explores the necessity of applying the OBE based effective learning mode in teaching in Sino foreign cooperative universities, and conducts a specific analysis of the application and practice of the OBE based effective learning mode in teaching in Sino foreign cooperative universities, in order to provide theoretical support and practical experience for cultivating high-quality composite talents.

Universidad sin fronteras en la Eurorregión Galicia-Norte de Portugal: una exploración desde las experiencias de estudiantes y docentes

The literature review on university cooperation in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion allows for the development of the script for in-depth interviews, a fundamental source of information in this study. The study explores student and academic mobility, as well as research mobility from Galicia to Northern Portugal, specifically towards the Escola Superior de Enfermagem Dr. José Timóteo Montalvão Machado for the former, and the Universidade do Minho for the latter. Emphasis is placed on understanding cross-border relations, the role of linguistic issues, how residence is addressed, and what the facilitators are. This exploratory research reveals the importance of relational capital in cooperation beyond the necessary community framework and the existence of formal structures, emphasizing the relevance of this Euroregion as a spatial frame of reference.