Dissemination Events Research Articles

LG-13SECOND-LINE TREATMENT FOR PEDIATRIC LOW GRADE GLIOMA (LGG) - EXPERIENCES FROM THE GERMAN AND SWISS SIOP-LGG-2004 COHORT

LG-13. SECOND-LINE TREATMENT FOR PEDIATRIC LOW GRADE GLIOMA (LGG) EXPERIENCES FROM THE GERMAN AND SWISS SIOP-LGG-2004 COHORT Daniela Kandels1, Rene Schmidt2, Sabine Breitmoser-Greiner1, and Astrid K. Gnekow1; Children’s Hospital, Klinikum Augsburg, 86156 Augsburg, Germany; Institute of Biostatistics and Clinical Research, University of Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany OBJECTIVE: Though chemo(CT) and radiotherapy (RT) are effective for non-resectable pediatric LGG, progression following first non-surgical treatment is frequent. Wereport results for salvage-therapy of events after first nonsurgical treatment.METHODSAND RESULTS: 180 events followed primary treatment in the SIOP-LGG-2004-trial (30/169 RT [2/10 NF1]; 150/321 CT [37/124 NF1]), median follow-up (FU) since start of first therapy: 6.9 years. 54/150 events occurred during chemotherapy (early, 18/54 died), 96/150 after termination (median time to progression: 3.0 years, 5/96 died). Second-line-radiotherapy: 3/30 RT-, 43/150 CT-patients. Second-line-chemotherapy: 14/30 RT-, 70/150 CT-patients. Followingmultiple progressions 3 or more lines of rescue-therapy were applied in 7/30 RT-, 46/150 CT-patients. Vincristin/cisplatin/cyclophosphamide (VCR/Cis/Cyc, n 1⁄4 25), vincristin/carboplatin (VCR/Carb, n 1⁄4 25), vinblastine (VBL, n 1⁄4 19) and temozolomide (TMZ, n 1⁄4 8) were used most commonly as second-line chemotherapy. Median time to next progression varied between drugs: VCR/Carb 2.4 years (median FU 3.5 years), VCR/Cis/Cyc 1.9 years (median FU 6.6 years), VBL 1.1 years (median FU 1.5 years), TMZ 0.9 years (median FU 4.4 years). 30/180 patients died. Three-years-overall-survival since first event after start of first therapy differed for patients with vs. without dissemination (75.0% vs. 88.2%, p 1⁄4 0.043), diffuse glioma WHO-grade II vs. other histologies (61.5% vs. 86.6%, p 1⁄4 0.018), with a trend for caudal-brainstem-site vs. other localization (73.8% vs. 86.8%, p 1⁄4 0.105). CONCLUSION: Although progression of non-resectable LGG is frequent following first-line therapy, patients can be salvaged by subsequent treatment(s). Second progression-free survival is longer following platinumbased chemotherapy. Impaired survival after first treatment-failure seems to be associated with dissemination, diffuse histology, caudal-brainstem-site and early events. Standardized second-line treatment-protocols are required. Neuro-Oncology 18:iii78–iii96, 2016. doi:10.1093/neuonc/now075.13 #The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

“WELCOME TO THE CLUB”: USING SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A STRATEGY TO REACH THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN GOIÂNIA

This paper analyzes the creation, dissemination and interaction events promoted by El Club, a socialization space for youth in Goiânia, on Facebook, a leading social networks in the world, between 2010 and 2012. For this, it uses quantitative and qualitative instruments to interpret the data obtained in the El Club page on Facebook, Socialbakers and other scientific works.

Annual Cycles of Two Cyanobacterial Mat Communities in Hydro-Terrestrial Habitats of the High Arctic.

Cyanobacteria form extensive macroscopic mats in shallow freshwater environments in the High Arctic and Antarctic. In these habitats, the communities are exposed to seasonal freezing and desiccation as well as to freeze-thawing and drying-rewetting cycles. Here, we characterized the annual cycles of two Phormidium communities in very shallow seepages located in central Svalbard. We observed the structure of the communities and the morphology, ultrastructure, metabolic activity, and viability of filaments and single cells. The communities overwintered as frozen mats, which were formed by long filaments enclosed in thick multilayered polysaccharide sheaths. No morphologically and/or ultrastructurally distinct spore-like cells were produced for surviving the winter, and the winter survival of the communities was not provided by a few resistant cells, which did not undergo visible morphological and ultrastructural transformations. Instead, a high proportion of cells in samples (85%) remained viable after prolonged freezing. The sheaths were the only morphological adaption, which seemed to protect the trichomes from damage due to freezing and freeze-associated dehydration. The cells in the overwintering communities were not dormant, as all viable cells rapidly resumed respiration after thawing, and their nucleoids were not condensed. During the whole vegetative season, defined by the presence of water in a liquid state, the communities were constantly metabolically active and contained <1% of dead and injured cells. The morphology and ultrastructure of the cells remained unaltered during observations throughout the year, except for light-induced changes in thylakoids. The dissemination events are likely to occur in spring as most of the trichomes were split into short fragments (hormogonia), a substantial proportion of which were released into the environment by gliding out of their sheaths, as well as by cracking and dissolving their sheaths. The short fragments subsequently grew longer and gradually produced new polysaccharide sheaths.

Developing a culture of publication: a joint enterprise writing retreat

Purpose – Many students irrespective of level of study produce excellent course work which, if given support and encouragement, could clearly be of a publishable standard. Academic staff are expected to produce quality publications meeting peer-review standards although they may be relatively novice authors. All are engaged in some aspects of academic writing practices but not as frequently involved in co-production of publications emanating from student work. This activity is still at the margins of much of the student experience. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Mindful of these issues, the authors designed and offered a writing programme including a writing retreat. This brought together undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of applied disciplines (health and art, design and architecture) and their supervisors with the aim of co-producing publications and participating in a community of scholarly practice. The project was delivered over nine months. It involved four days “compulsory” attendance and included a preparatory workshop, a two day off-campus writing retreat and a dissemination event. Student and supervisors applied to participate as a team. Kirkpatrick’s (2006) four-stage classic model: reaction, learning, changes in behaviour and real world results was used as a framework for the educational evaluation. Findings – Key findings organised thematically were: supervisor-supervisee relationships; space and time; building confidence enabling successful writing and publication. Originality/value – This paper will provide an overview of the design, content and approaches used for successful delivery of this innovative project. It will draw on examples that illustrate the different types of joint enterprise that emerged, illuminate experiences of co-production and co-authorship along with recommendations for future ventures.

Design of a methodology for impact assessment of energy efficiency programs: measuring indirect effects in the Chilean case

Today, many countries are promoting energy efficiency (EE) measures as part of their energy strategy. Among the goals sought with these actions are producing a decoupling between economic growth and energy consumption, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels as a primary energy source, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring direct, indirect, and co-benefit effects of EE programs is crucial. However, in the current literature and practice, assessments of EE programs have focused on direct impacts (i.e., impacts whose energy savings can be directly and instantaneously quantified) due to their objectivity and simplicity to put evaluations in a cost-effectiveness framework. Moreover, several assessment methodologies studying the indirect effects of EE programs only focus on identifying the effects and quantifying a proxy of the effects in terms of the number of activities developed or the number of people attending EE training or dissemination events. Some few existing methodologies correctly assess the indirect effects of EE measures, but they often require a significant budget. We propose a new methodology to assess the impacts of EE programs, especially focusing on indirect effects (i.e., long-term effects on energy use), that is suitable for low-budget programs. We focus on those indirect effects having the capability of mobilizing long-term energy savings through transformations in energy markets. We attempt to measure the potential future energy savings that are sustainable in the long term due to a behavioral transformation of energy markets. In order to measure these indirect effects, we use three axes: presence, valuation, and mobilizing capacity. This methodology was applied to 12 EE programs (implemented during 2011 and 2012 in Chile) in order to obtain their indirect impact assessment.

Improving access to high-quality primary care for socioeconomically disadvantaged older people in rural areas: a mixed method study protocol

IntroductionThe UK has an ageing population, especially in rural areas, where deprivation is high among older people. Previous research has identified this group as at high risk of poor access...

Independent Emergence of the Cosmopolitan Asian Chikungunya Virus, Philippines 2012.

Outbreaks involving the Asian genotype Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) caused over one million infections in the Americas recently. The outbreak was preceded by a major nationwide outbreak in the Philippines. We examined the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships of representative CHIKV isolates obtained from the 2012 Philippines outbreak with other CHIKV isolates collected globally. Asian CHIKV isolated from the Philippines, China, Micronesia and Caribbean regions were found closely related, herein denoted as Cosmopolitan Asian CHIKV (CACV). Three adaptive amino acid substitutions in nsP3 (D483N), E1 (P397L) and E3 (Q19R) were identified among CACV. Acquisition of the nsP3-483N mutation in Compostela Valley followed by E1-397L/E3-19R in Laguna preceded the nationwide spread in the Philippines. The China isolates possessed two of the amino acid substitutions, nsP3-D483N and E1-P397L whereas the Micronesian and Caribbean CHIKV inherited all the three amino acid substitutions. The unique amino acid substitutions observed among the isolates suggest multiple independent virus dissemination events. The possible biological importance of the specific genetic signatures associated with the rapid global of the virus is not known and warrant future in-depth study and epidemiological follow-up. Molecular evidence, however, supports the Philippines outbreak as the possible origin of the CACV.

Barriers and Solutions to Linking and Using Health and Social Care Data in Scotland

Integration of health and social care will require integrated data to drive service evaluation, design, joint working and research. We describe the results of a Scottish meeting of key stakeholders in this area. Potential uses for linked data included understanding client populations, mapping trajectories of dependency, identifying at risk groups, predicting required capacity for future service provision, and research to better understand the reciprocal interactions between health, social circumstances and care. Barriers to progress included lack of analytical capacity, incomplete understanding of data provenance and quality, intersystem incompatibility and issues of consent for data sharing. Potential solutions included better understanding the content, quality and provenance of social care data; investment in analytical capacity; improving communication between data providers and users in health and social care; clear guidance to systems developers and procurers; and enhanced engagement with the public. We plan a website for communication across Scotland on health and social care data linkage, educational resources for front line staff and researchers, plus further events for training and information dissemination. We believe that these processes hold lessons for other countries with an interest in linking health and social care data, as well as for cross-sector data linkage initiatives in general.

Doing transformational change in the English NHS in the context of "big bang" redisorganisation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a bold and ambitious scheme known as the North East transformation system (NETS). The principal aim of the NETS is the achievement of a step-change in the quality of health services delivered to people living in the North East region of England. The paper charts the origins of the NETS and its early journey before describing what happened to it when the UK coalition government published its proposals for unexpected major structural change in the NHS. This had a profound impact on the leadership and direction of the NETS and resulted in it taking a different direction from that intended. The research design took the form of a mixed methods, longitudinal 3.5-year study aimed at exploring transformational change in terms of content, context, process and outcomes. The sample of study sites comprised 14 NHS trusts in the North East region chosen to provide geographical coverage of the area and to reflect the scale, scope and variety of the bodies that formed part of the NETS programme. The qualitative component of the research, which the paper draws upon, included 68 semi-structured interviews, observational studies and focus groups. Data analysis made use of both deductive and inductive frameworks. The deductive framework adopted was Pettigrew et al.'s "receptive contexts for change" and four of the eight factors stood out as especially important and form the basis of the paper. The fate of the NETS was shaped and influenced by the eight factors comprising the Pettigrew et al. receptive contexts for change framework but four factors in particular stood out as being especially significant: environmental pressure, quality and coherence of policy, key people leading change, supportive organisational culture. Perhaps the most significant lesson from the NETS is that achieving whole systems change is particularly vulnerable to the vicissitudes of politics especially where that system, like the UK NHS, is itself subject to those very same pressures. Yet, despite having an enormous influence on health policy, the political context is frequently avoided in research or not regarded as instrumental in determining the outcomes in respect of transformational change. The chief limitation is the credibility and authenticity of the interviews captured at particular points in time. These formed the datebase for subsequent analysis. The authors sought to guard against possible bias by supplementing interviews with observational studies and focus groups as well as running two dissemination events at which emerging findings from the study were subjected to independent external scrutiny and comment. These events provided a form of validation for the key study findings. The research findings demonstrate the importance of context for the likely outcome and success of complex transformational change initiatives. These require time to become embedded and demonstrate results especially when focused on changing culture and behaviour. But, in practice, allowing sufficient time during which the organisation may remain sufficiently stable to allow the change intervention to run its course and become embedded and sustainable is highly problematic. The consequence is that bold and ambitious efforts like the NETS are not given the space and stability to prove themselves. Too often, politics and external environmental pressures intrude in ways that may prove dysfunctional and negative. Unless a different approach to transformational change and its leadership and management is adopted, then changing the NHS to enable it to appear more responsive to changing health care needs and expectations will remain a cause for concern. Ultimately the public will be the losers if the NHS remains insensitive to changing needs and expectations. The patient experience was at the centre of the NETS programme. The study is original insofar as no other has sought to evaluate the NETS independently and over a reasonable time period. The research design, based on a mixed-methods approach, is unusual in evaluations of this nature. The study's conclusions are not so original but their value lies in largely confirming and reinforcing the findings from other studies. It perhaps goes further in stressing the impact of politics on health policy and the negative consequences of constant organisational change on attempts to achieve deep change in the way the NHS is organised and led.

Communicating future overheating risks to building design practitioners: Using the Low Carbon Futures tool

The Low Carbon Futures tool provides a probabilistic assessment of future overheating risks and cooling demands for domestic and nondomestic buildings in the UK. The approach adopted for the development of the Low Carbon Futures tool includes academic rigour within the development of the calculation engine, and also practitioner feedback throughout the process. This paper discusses the journey of the tool from modelling and simulation to the practitioner engagement, which took place by means of a questionnaire, focus groups and interviews with building design professionals aimed at understanding how the issue of overheating in buildings is being addressed. Throughout these events, the synergies between designing for low-carbon targets and designing for a future climate were explored. A final dissemination event was held to identify output styles that could be generated by the Low Carbon Futures tool that would be more practical and useful for specific client types. The workshop discussions serve to shape the outputs from the tool, and the feedback gathered will be used to inform a number of output styles, based on client type. Practical application: This paper outlines the development of the Low Carbon Futures tool for analysing overheating risks in buildings and discusses the practitioner feedback obtained from industry professionals on the use and applicability of the tool, in a final event hosted by the Low Carbon Futures research team in London. This event confirmed that practitioners need to be comfortable with the layout and format of the output in order to communicate its meaning and possible implications to a range of clients. A balanced output is required, which conveys some of the complexity of the underlying analysis, but which is easily understood and conveyed to a potentially lay audience.

The Partnership in Research and Presentation of Archaeological Heritage

This contribution presents a successful research and educational project, which was completed in 2014 at the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň in cooperation with 3 partner institutions. The project aimed at finding innovative ways of collaboration amongst university, museum and culture heritage management sectors through sharing research and educational resources. This goal was achieved by joint research activities, mostly realized as field schools with students’ participation, as well as through discussion of interdisciplinary topics conducted at educational and dissemination events, namely study stays, conferences, seminars and workshops. IANSA 2014 ● V/2 ● 163–170 Ladislav Smejda: The Partnership in Research and Presentation of Archaeological Heritage 164 everyday tasks carried out at the visited institutions and their individual departments. They participated in field research and gained insight into the predominant routines of laboratory and documentation procedures. An important part of the visits consisted of extensive use of institutional libraries and field reports for pursuing individual research interests, as well as opportunities to consult particular problems with specialists from the cooperating institutions. These discussions and involvement of visitors in the host’s daily agenda led to effective start-ups of new collaborative research plans and the strengthening of personal bonds between the professionals and graduate students of the networked institutions. This type of inter-institutional collaboration and research support has already generated new publications (Kristuf et al. 2012; Moravcova, Vokounova Franzeova 2012; Baierl et al. 2013; Gersdorfova et al. 2013; Hložek 2013; Hložek, Mensik 2013a, b, c). One of the most remarkable outcomes of this joint research was an archaeological contribution to the large published volume presenting the past of the town of Unicov from the first human settlements up to the present (Buresova ed. 2013). This book received the award of the Olomouc Region for Outstanding Book of the Year. A number of these collaborative ventures provided opportunities for running training field schools and courses for students, which represented another structural component of the project. 3. Field schools for students (key activity #2) During the period of project implementation (2011–2014), 25 field schools of varied length and thematic content were realised in total for students of archaeology and related disciplines. These were aimed at obtaining practical fieldwork skills and familiarity with surveying, sampling, excavating and recording of various types of archaeological sites (Figure 1). Field reports have been produced for each conducted campaign and on the basis of these a number of the results have already been published. Detailed publications and several larger studies containing extensive amounts of data are forthcoming and their preparation may be supported by additional follow-up projects. Our team covered a broad spectrum of chronological periods and categories of archaeological sites in order to offer undergraduate and postgraduate students from several universities varied stimuli and exposure to field archaeology. We were focused on and conducted research on the following main categories of archaeological heritage: a) Palaeolithic and Mesolithic landscapes and sites, namely the Horni Břiza and Jistebsko regions (Moravcova, Vokounova Franzeova 2012; Moravcova et al. 2014). b) The Neolithic enclosure in Křimice. c) Prehistoric burial mounds, particularly a Late Eneolithic tumulus cemetery near Dřevohostice in East Moravia (Kristuf et al. 2012; Hejcman et al. 2013), the Middle Bronze Age burial mound Butov near Střibro in West Bohemia (Metlicka 2014) and to a minor extent various sites in South Bohemia (Mensik

Disseminating results: community response and input on Kisumu breastfeeding study.

Communicating findings to study participants and their communities is a practice that often gets overlooked or receives low prioritization by research investigators, but is crucially important. The purpose of this study was to describe the process and community response to the dissemination of results from the Kisumu Breastfeeding Study (KiBS), specifically in terms of (1) community research knowledge and expectations and (2) impressions of result dissemination efforts. A qualitative evaluation was completed for 10 result dissemination events using focus group discussions (FGDs) (n = 10; total number of participants = 98). An inductive, thematic qualitative data analysis was completed in NVivo 8.0. Overall, FGD participants expressed great appreciation for being given information on the study results. Participants had a good understanding of what research entails and had specific expectations for the process, including that the community receive information about the study, not only at the end of the study but also at regular intervals throughout the study's conduct. They also wanted to receive the communications from a credible source, the principal investigator preferably. Other expectations centered on better community and research interactions and development and the use of community collaborators. Impressions of KiBS result dissemination events were positive, but suggestions for the future included having the event in a larger area, inviting more people, having more written materials, and putting the information in an entertaining format such as skits or movies. Sharing study findings with local community members is essential and beneficial to the researchers' long-term engagement with communities and importantly, the successful implementation of study findings when appropriate. It is imperative that dissemination of results be embedded as an integral part of research project planning and development.

Enhanced antitumor and anti-metastasis efficiency via combined treatment with CXCR4 antagonist and liposomal doxorubicin

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer treatment failure and death. However, current therapies are designed to impair carcinoma metastasis mainly by impairing initial dissemination events. CXCR4 is a G-protein coupled receptor that exclusively binds its ligand CXCL12, which can stimulate cells to metastasize to distant sites. As the antagonist of chemokine receptor CXCR4, Peptide S exhibited anti-metastasis effect. In order to enhance treatment efficiency through destroying primary tumors and inhibiting their metastases, we combined PEGylated doxorubicin-loaded liposomes (DOX-Lip) with anti-metastasis Peptide S for tumor therapy for the first time. DOX-Lip exhibited similar cytotoxic activity compared to free DOX in vitro, and Peptide S showed no toxic effect on cell viability. However, the Peptide S sensitized CXCR4-positive B16F10 melanoma cells to DOX-Lip (5μM) when cocultured with stromal cells (50.18±0.29% of viable cells in the absence of Peptide S vs 33.70±3.99% of viable cells in the presence of Peptide S). Both Peptide S and DOX-Lip inhibited the adhesion of B16F10 cells to stromal cells. We further confirmed that the inhibition of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) by Peptide S played a key role due to the fact that activation of pAkt by DOX-Lip promoted resistance to chemotherapy. Migration and invasion assays showed that DOX-Lip enhanced anti-metastasis effect of Peptide S in vitro because of the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin. In vivo studies also showed that the combined treatment with DOX-Lip and Peptide S not only retarded primary tumor growth, but also reduced lung metastasis. Both the DOX-Lip and DOX-Lip+Peptide S exhibited even more outstanding tumor inhibition effect (with tumor growth inhibition rates of 32.1% and 37.9% respectively). In conclusion, our combined treatment with CXCR4 antagonist and liposomal doxorubicin was proved to be promising for antitumor and anti-metastasis therapy.

Abstract 4199: Riluzole modulates the production of exosomes in melanoma cells

Abstract Exosomes are naturally occurring small membrane enclosed microvesicles generated constitutively and released by various cell types and more frequently released by tumor cells. It was postulated that exosomes may facilitate communication within the local microenvironment and the primary tumor, supporting melanoma cell dissemination and early events in metastasis. A gain-of-function mutation of a neuronal receptor, metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (GRM1), when ectopically expressed in melanocytes, was sufficient to induce in vitro melanocytic transformation and spontaneous malignant melanoma development in vivo in a transgenic mouse model. Normal mouse melanocytes transformed with an expression vector containing GRM1 showed production and secretion of exosomes confirmed by electron microscopy, while the parental normal melanocytes showed no detectable presence of exosomes. In light of this data, It was hypothesized that over-expression of GRM1 in melanoma cells normally expressing a moderate amount of the protein, may promote elevated levels of exosome formation, while inhibitors to the receptor or limiting the levels of available ligand may suppress exosome production. Preliminary results demonstrated the working hypothesis is correct. Our earlier studies showed that inhibitors of the receptor modulated GRM1-mediated signaling events interfere with downstream effectors resulting in a decrease in both cell proliferation in vitro and tumor progression in vivo. It is not known if GRM1 acts directly, via its signaling cascade, or by another route, on exosome production regulation, this will be investigated. In addition to the pharmacological inhibitors we will also use a genetic approach with silencing RNA to modulate GRM1 expression levels. Citation Format: Allison L. Isola, Yvonne Wen, James Goydos, Suzie Chen. Riluzole modulates the production of exosomes in melanoma cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4199. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4199

A European framework for measuring progress

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the European Framework for Measuring Progress (e-Frame). It is a coordination project funded by the European Commission (EC) which builds on the latest political directions with particular attention to the priorities identified by the Europe 2020 strategy. Design/methodology/approach – e-Frame aims at contributing to empower the European debate on “GDP and beyond”, taking a broad approach by looking together on social, economic, environmental and global dimensions. Main general actions are coordinating initiatives of different actors to foster the debate by involving all relevant stakeholders through different communication channels and networking activities; streamlining the stocktaking on what has been reached so far and organizing dissemination events. Findings – The e-Frame project is largely contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) and beyond debate. Its main outcomes range from thematic achievements to more strategically and politically or...

Functionality and feedback: a protocol for a realist synthesis of the collation, interpretation and utilisation of PROMs data to improve patient care

IntroductionThe feedback and public reporting of PROMs data aims to improve the quality of care provided to patients. Existing systematic reviews have found it difficult to draw overall conclusions about...

NMI and EMT.

NMI and EMT.

Clinician's Commentary on Salbach et al.

Clinician's Commentary on Salbach et al.

Background, Structure and Priorities of the 2013 Geneva Declaration on Person-centered Health Research.

Declarations are relevant tools to frame new areas in health care, to raise awareness and to facilitate knowledge-to-action. The International College on Person Centered Medicine (ICPCM) is seeking to extend the impact of the ICPCM Conference Series by producing a declaration on every main topic. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of the 2013 Geneva Declaration on Person-centered Health Research and to provide additional information on the research priority areas identified during this iterative process. There is a need for more PCM research and for the incorporation of the PCM approach into general health research. Main areas of research focus include: Conceptual, terminological, and ontological issues; research to enhance the empirical evidence of PCM main components such as PCM informed clinical communication; PCM-based diagnostic models; person-centered care and interventions; and people-centered care, research on training and curriculum development. Dissemination and implementation of PCM knowledge-base is integral to Person-centered Health Research and shall engage currently available scientific and translational dissemination tools such journals, events and eHealth.

A matter of interpretation: developing primary pupils’ enquiry skills using position-linked datalogging

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers’ confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of their science teaching; (2) pupils’ abilities to collect and interpret relevant environmental monitoring data; and (3) the use of scientific data within environmental education in the project schools. Programme description: The project used software which integrates data from Global Positioning System (GPS) with sensor data collected outdoors to produce Google Earth visualisations of environmental quality in each school’s locality. Sample: Phase 1 involved 10 primary schools in the South West of England (2008–9), and phase 2 was implemented in six primary schools in Greater London during 2010. All pupils in the 9–10-year-old age range participated to some extent (N ≈ 450) and each school identified a focus group of between two and four pupils (n = 38) together with two members of staff (n = 32) to be more closely involved in the project. Design and methods: The evaluation adopted a multi-method approach, drawing upon documentary sources (n = 40); observations of continuing professional development (CPD) cluster days (n = 8) and dissemination events (June 2009 and January 2011): baseline pupil assessment tasks (n = 291) and teachers’ baseline questionnaire (n = 25) in September 2008 and March 2010; classroom observations; samples of pupil work (n = 31); end-of-project pupil assessment (n = 38) and teachers’ and pupils’ responses to the project (n ≈ 180) in June 2009 and December 2010; and a longitudinal evaluation in February 2012. Results: Datalogging had become a regular feature of practical science in nearly all project schools up to 30 months after the end of the project, but the use of position-linked logging had not been sustained. While there is evidence of pupils developing a range of scientific enquiry skills through the project, the extent to which their interpretation of data improved is unclear. All participating schools made greater use of scientific data than before the project to develop their environmental education. Conclusions: The project has demonstrated the potential of combining datalogging with GPS technology to support challenging, motivating and relevant scientific enquiry. Primary teachers require targeted technical and pedagogical support to maximise learning benefits for pupils.