Enhancement Of Research Capacity Research Articles

Johannesburg Cancer Study (JCS): contribution to knowledge and opportunities arising from 20 years of data collection in an African setting

The Johannesburg Cancer Study (JCS) aims were to examine whether cancer risk factors identified in Western countries applied to black patients in Johannesburg, South Africa and to understand the impact of HIV on cancer risk, with a view to identifying previously unrecognised HIV associated cancers.A total of 24 971 black patients with an incident histologically proven (>95%) cancer of any type were enrolled between 1995-2016. Response rates were >90%. Patients provided informed consent, lifestyle and demographic information using a structured questionnaire; 19 351 provided a serum sample and 18 972 a whole blood sample for genomic analyses. This is currently the largest cancer epidemiological biobank in Africa. JCS uses a cancer case-control method; controls being cancer types unrelated to exposures of interest.Published results show the importance of HIV in several cancers known to be infection associated e.g. Kaposi sarcoma (OR = 1683; CI = 595-5194) in those with high Kaposi-sarcoma-associated-herpesvirus titres; no effect of HIV on lung or liver cancer-in the latter showing a strong association with HBVDNA, sAg and c positivity (OR = 47; CI = 21-104). Comparable data to higher-income country studies include lung cancer ORs in relation to smoking (15+g tobacco/day) (ORMales = 37; CI = 21-67, ORFemales = 18.5; CI = 8-45) and associations between alcohol and oesophageal cancer in smokers (ORM&F = 4.4; CI = 3-6). Relationship between hormonal contraception declined to null 10 or more years after stopping for breast (OR = 1.1; CI = 0.9-1.4) and cervical cancer (OR = 1.0;CI = 0.8-1.2), and protective effects shown, five or more years after stopping for ovarian (OR = 0.6; CI = 0.4-1) and endometrial cancer (OR = 0.4; CI = 0.2-0.9).Preferential access is based on data requests promoting data pooling, equal collaborative opportunities and enhancement of research capacity in South Africa.The JCS is a practical and valid design in otherwise logistically difficult settings.

Research Productivity of Chinese Young Thousand Talents

While it is commonly agreed that globally bred talent returning to China greatly contributes to the enhancement of research capacity, whether returnees perform better than those who stay overseas remains to be examined. We compared the research productivity of Chinese “Young Thousand Talents” (Y1000Ts) and Chinese researchers remaining in the United States. The results of our analysis demonstrate that while the two groups publish at a similar rate, Y1000T lag slightly behind their US-affiliated counterparts in terms of quality of publications. This could be explained by the assessment system of research performance in China.

Becoming and Being an African Scholar: A 15-Year Perspective on Capacity-Building Projects in Ghana

Universities in Africa are increasingly seen as key drivers for development and, hence, as a focus point for development agencies in the North. Through the ENhancement of REsearch Capacity (ENRECA) programme 1989–2009, the Danish Development Agency has facilitated Ph.D. education and research in partnerships with African higher education institutions. As other capacity-building projects, ENRECA has been evaluated by donor-initiated missions looking at research output, degrees awarded and interviewing heads and administrators. But how did the individuals who opted for an academic career experience the process? – are they still part of the university system or have they found other opportunities? – and what do their narratives tell us about long-term capacity building? These are relevant questions to address for understanding the role of African Universities as drivers and actors in development processes. Through two analyses of nine narrative interviews with former ENRECA Ph.D. students from the University of Ghana, we unfold their encounter with the transition into becoming and being an African scholar. The analyses show that the processes of becoming a Ph.D. are important not only at the time of the Ph.D. study but also for the informants’ experiences of present possibilities. Four different academic life approaches are found that frame the informants’ re-telling of who they are, how they became who they are, and how the ENRECA programme affected these processes. The article concludes that the ENRECA programme facilitated several kinds of empowerment for the participants, not only during their Ph.D. studies but also in their job positions 15 years later.

The Outline of the “Collaborative Study on Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases in Vietnam, Enhancement of Research Capacity”

The Institute of Tropical Medicine, of Nagasaki University (ITM) and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam (NIHE), have been jointly conducting a joint project since 2005 on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases under a grant from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. A Vietnam research station established on the NIHE campus has been the site of a number of research activities. Project for clarifying environmental and social factors affecting outbreaks of zoonosis, vector-borne infectious diseases, diarrhoea, and childhood pneumonia have been conducted within a collaborative project framework. Having achieved the goals set or research in the project’s first phase (from 2005 to 2009), the next objectives have been underlined, clarifying the factors and mechanisms causing infectious diseases. Four groups were established to answer these research questions, i.e., diarrhoea, vector-borne disease, clinical epidemiology, and zoonosis. These groups have conducted 15 independent activities. To conduct projects on a higher level, cooperation has been established with three Vietnamese governmental research institutions and with JICA-supported national hospitals. The outcome of such activities is expected to contribute greatly to promoting public health and improving medical care.

A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MOTIVATION AND INFLUENCES FOR ACADEMIC GREEN BUILDING DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES

Green building projects have been adopted by many universities in Australia as part of their renovation and expansion. In order to investigate the motivations of academic decision makers to invest in green facilities, a comprehensive analysis of media articles of 24 green academic buildings approved by the Green Building Council of Australia (between 2004 and 2011) were analysed using a qualitative analytical approach based on grounded theory. Findings in this work show that the decision makers in Australian universities are more likely to be driven by the direct benefits green buildings brought to the universities, enhancing universities’ reputation and meeting the specific needs for education and research. Other factors that deal with improving universities’ financial conditions and environmental protection were found to be a lower significance for investments. However the connections between the motivating factors also reveal the indirect benefits of green buildings which are an enhancement in reputation by fulfilling an environmental protection responsibility and research capacity enhancement by supplying technical study opportunities for students and researchers. This paper proposes an approach to deal with the complex network of vague and subjective concepts of the green buildings comprehension. It supplies researchers with tools for analysing abstract concepts and determining their interactions.

BALANCING RESEARCH AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING IN FRONT‐END PROJECT DESIGN: EXPERIENCES FROM DANIDA'S ENRECA PROGRAMME

SUMMARYNorth–South research capacity building (RCB) partnerships have attracted considerable academic attention during the last two decades, especially with regard to issues related to partnership governance. Less attention has been given to the management aspects of partnership implementation, but in order for partnerships to comply with general governance‐level recommendations, a better understanding is needed of how specific context‐dependent factors influence the development and execution of projects. In this article, we aim to contribute to the understanding of factors influencing the design phase of RCB partnerships and examine how they influence the balance between performing collaborative research and developing general organizational capacity. Data collection was based on a survey (n = 25), and individual interviews and focus group discussions with 17 Danish project managers from the Danish Bilateral Programme for Enhancement of Research Capacity in Developing Countries. Our results lead to rejection of the proposition that RCB projects are either focused on building capacity for research or conducting merit‐based research. Because of the ‘politics’ of the front‐end process, reality is more complex. We identify 11 specific factors influencing front‐end project management related to structure, process and relationship, and we theorize about how these factors influence the choice between research and more general capacity development activities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mental and neurological health research priorities setting in developing countries

A multi-region consultation process designed to generate locally produced regional and global research priorities on mental and neurological health in low- and middle-income countries. Between 2003 and 2005, priority setting exercises on MNH research, using the systematic combined approach matrix (CAM) were held in the six regions of the developing world. One regional meeting per region was convened, and a global meeting was organized before and after the regional exercises. During regional meetings, regional agendas were created listing both research priorities and local problems in MNH. During global meetings, a global research agenda was established and four crucial areas of research priorities were identified: awareness and advocacy, enhancement of research capacity, training for service delivery, and development of evidence based policy. The combined matrix approach enabled the development of regional and global MNH research agendas, derived from bottom up consultations within and between low- and middle-income countries. Collaboration between regions with similar priorities was instituted. Such research agendas are designed to assist policy-makers and donors in the allocation of scarce resources, but they require regular review to reflect changing needs.

Chapter 6: The Policy Agenda of ISPRM

This paper suggests a comprehensive policy agenda and first steps to be undertaken by the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) in order to realize its humanitarian, professional and scientific mandates. The general aims of ISPRM, as formulated in its guiding documents, the relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations system, and demands of ISPRM's constituency herein form the basis of this policy agenda. Agenda items encompass contributions to the establishment of rehabilitation services worldwide and the development of rapid rehabilitation disaster response, the enhancement of research capacity in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM), and the development of PRM societies. ISPRM's possible input in general curricula in disability and rehabilitation, and in fighting discrimination against people experiencing disability are discussed. Moreover, the implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in medicine, contributions to WHO guidelines relevant to disability and rehabilitation, the provision of a conceptual description of the rehabilitation strategy and the outline of a rehabilitation services matrix are seen as important agenda items of ISPRM's external policy. With regard to its constituency and internal policy, a definition of the field of competence and a conceptual description of PRM, as well as the development of a consistent and comprehensive congress topic list and congress structure appear to be crucial items. The proposed agenda items serve as a basis for future discussions.

Pitfalls and opportunities in knowledge sharing: experiences from a research capacity building project in Central America

A number of attempts have been made in the North to assist in the formation of independent research capacities in the South by establishing knowledge sharing through North-South research collaboration. The development aid department of the Danish ministry of foreign affairs initiated one such attempt. Aalborg University was approached by the National University of Costa Rica to make a joint research venture within the field of sustainable development. The project got a Central American regional perspective by including participants from Nicaragua and El Salvador. It aimed at the support of relevant Central American research activities, including the formation of adequate organisational setups. In this paper, the Central American universities are viewed as important subsystems of the respective national systems of innovation. It discusses research capacity enhancement through collaborative research between Denmark and Central America. To what extent did the knowledge transfer and sharing, as well as the organisational capacity building efforts, succeed? Our overall conclusion is that the research capacity that exists in the North has to be carefully adapted to the specific context in places where it is expected to be useful. Research capacity is built much more by interaction and collaboration than by one-way transfers.

Research capacity building through twinning: experiences from a Danish–Malaysian twinning project

AbstractTwinning and its contribution to institutional capacity building in developing countries is the theme of an ongoing debate in Public Administration and Development. Unlike earlier contributions this article focuses on twinning in the context of research capacity enhancement. Using a 3 year Danish–Malaysian twinning research project as case our objective is to evaluate whether the general premises regarding a twinning project, as formulated by the Danish Development Cooperation Agency (Danida), appropriately support the twinning ambitions when the capacities in focus concern research. Besides institutional capacity building, twinning is expected to favour local ownership, involvement of the Danish resource base and continuing of cooperation after termination of funding. From 21 semi‐structured interviews with project participants it was found that although new research capacities had been gained, the prospects on continued cooperation are rather discouraging, both sides pointing to the lack of truly joint research experiences as the main reason. To care for this important incentive, the twinning premises are recommended to be modified to allow for the Northern resource base to advance its own research, and for Southern partner to demonstrate in‐house research capacities. Further, the North–South balance in project management needs to be more equal. This apart, the twinning premises appear sound. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.