Partner Institutions Research Articles

Transnational Research Infrastructure

This paper discusses best practices in the development and operation of the network of Knowledge centres within the framework of the transnational and cross-disciplinary CLARIN Knowledge Infrastructure. A Knowledge centre is an institution or a collective of institutions which “have agreed to share their knowledge and expertise with others” (Branco et al. 2023), which has been certified by Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure CLARIN, and which has an established website providing the users with information on the offered services and contact forms. Currently, there are 28 Knowledge centres from different countries covering a wide range of topics, offering various research and training related services and organised as either a virtual centre of one or several institutional partners in one country or distributed across multiple countries. This paper aims to present this rich diversity of the research infrastructure and its state-of-the-art by reviewing existing Knowledge centres and their areas of expertise, describing the activities initiated by CLARIN to strengthen K-centre networking, showcasing different types of K-centres, and presenting the operation and collaboration practices shared by K-centres in their annual reports.

Perfil de agentes de inovação social: Proposta metodológica para o segmento da agricultura familiar

This research outlined the professional performance profile of the 'social innovation agent' at Embrapa. This definition strengthens the social innovation actions in the Company and in the partner institutions, establishing the main roles to be played to promote socioeconomic development in the context of family farming. The research adopted the qualitative approach of the bibliographic review type. It was concluded that the exercise of the function of social innovation agent is comprehensive and involves a range of attributions that complement and interrelate each other. Three categories of roles were identified, considered essential to compose the professional profile of this function, namely: articulation, facilitation and management. The exercise of these roles does not require the development/acquisition of specialized technical and procedural knowledge (skills) that are the basis for the development of roles/competencies, and Embrapa should be the protagonist in the training of these agents to strengthen the Innovation ecosystem in family farming.

K problematice stejnopohlavních vztahů: Manželství a partnerství

The article is based on the differentiation between marriage as the institutional dimension and partnership as the relational dimension of an intimate relation of two people. While marriage is a historically changing and multiform social institution, an intimate partnership is a phenomenon permanently present in the history. Based on the modern deeper understanding of human nature including homosexuality as an “other normal”, the article shows that the category of partnership can and should be opened to same-sex relations as well. These – as any other intimate relationships – cannot be reduced to sexual dimension only. And precisely therefore, it is not possible to apply any biblical mentions of same-sex intercourse to this debate, because the biblical testimonies do not know homosexuality in the contemporary meaning and speak only about same-sex intercourse without any relational framing. From the perspective of today’s responsible theological stance, there is thus no argument that would hinder to support the same-sex relations and their formal institutional framing also by the churches.

Police and civil society partnership: Peculiarities of implementation in modern conditions

The purpose of the article is to find out the peculiarities of the implementation of partnership relations between the police and civil society in modern conditions, based on the analysis of current Ukrainian and foreign legislation, as well as scientific literature. Partnership as a type of social interaction is characterized by the authors of the article. The essence of the term “partnership” in modern foreign science is analyzed. The main features of the partnership model of interaction of subjects are characterized, with an emphasis on the partnership between the police and civil society institutions. The main components of the mechanism of partnership interaction between the institutions of the State and civil society institutions in the field of law enforcement are considered. The experience of different countries related to the partnership of law enforcement agencies and civil society institutions is described, with the aim of promoting the formation of effective forms of partnership between the police and civil society institutions in modern Ukraine. The importance of building in Ukraine an effective partnership model of cooperation between the police and civil society institutions in modern Ukraine is emphasized. The importance of public participation in the implementation of state functions in the field of security in modern conditions is proved. The importance of trust for effective partnership is emphasized.

Наукові парки як учасники інноваційних відносин в умовах появи нових соціально-економічних викликів

The article considers science parks as an effective form of participation of higher education institutions and research institutions in innovation relations. The author emphasises that higher education institutions and research institutions are the generators of all innovation processes in society, and therefore the creation of science parks with their participation is an effective platform for the development and implementation of innovations. Science parks are a legal instrument for obtaining funding for the activities of higher education and research institutions. As a result, science parks are legal entities in which society is most interested. Therefore, the author defines science parks as legal entities with special social value. The article emphasises that while for a classical entrepreneurial legal entity the symbiosis of private and public interests characteristic of it is manifested in the dominance of the former, the legal nature of science parks determines the priority of public interests, which is manifested in the functions of a science park established by law. Legislation is based on special legal regulation of science parks which are established and operate in one of the forms of economic partnerships. The article notes the evolution of legal regulation of science parks. The author emphasises that the first version of the special law emphasised public law mechanisms for regulating science parks. The law established an exclusively permissive procedure for the establishment of science parks, a higher education institution or a research institution could be the founder of only one science park, and the form of a science park was not defined. The current version of the special law is marked by changes in the direction of private law approaches to the regulation of science parks. The law clearly defines that science parks are created and operate in the form of business entities, and removes restrictions on the number of science parks that can be created by a higher education institution or research institution. Science parks have become a more universal form of innovation development and implementation. The author concludes that the conceptual approach to the circle of science park founders (higher education institution and/or research institution, other legal entities) and the mechanisms for involving other persons in the implementation of projects by a science park through the institution of partnership is correct. At the same time, the author emphasises the need for certain clarifications of the provisions set out in the special law, which are based on achieving the efficiency of the science park’s implementation of the functions and purpose of its creation.

Two‐Minute Drill

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N-TUTORR: Addressing Artificial Intelligence as one element of the transformation of Ireland’s technological higher education sector

A major transformation programme is underway across seven technological higher education institutions in Ireland. Investment of €40m #NextGenerationEU funding enables a programme to empower learners, to enhance staff capabilities, to improve the digital infrastructure, and to ensure long-lasting sustainable impact. Designed and implemented by significant collaboration of partner institutions, the programme explicitly adopts a holistic approach with inter-related work streams and work packages. The programme is underpinned by the six core themes of academic integrity, digital transformation, education for sustainability, employability, equality diversity & inclusion, universal design for learning. This comprehensive structure enables focus on key issues, emerging topics, and ensuring sustainable enhancement of learning, teaching and assessment across the technological sector. Multiple elements of the programme provided opportunities to reflect on the role of artificial intelligence, ranging from the perspective of challenges associated with academic integrity to the wider potential to be exploited to support and enhance learning and teaching. Students play an active role in considering these issues through focussed projects in partnership with staff and by acting as student champions to ensure that students‟ perspectives inform related discussions. Staff development opportunities have focussed on artificial intelligence and specific training is in place for senior institutional leaders. Active cooperation with the National Academic Integrity Network, which is facilitated by the national external quality agency, has led to complementary focussed activities. A national practitioners‟ network is being established to examine the impact of generative AI on higher education. Many of these structures could be replicated in other institutions or groups of institutions. While there are many examples of programme activities addressing important or topical issues, this paper particularly focuses on themes relating to the 2024 EDEN conference.

EDNAqua-Plan—Standardisation Overview for eDNA Sequencing of Aquatic Organisms and the Downstream Data Ecosystem

The eDNAqua-Plan project stands as a beacon of innovation in the biomonitoring of marine and freshwater ecosystems, propelled by the urgent need to integrate DNA-based approaches in aquatic bioassessment and monitoring frameworks. The broad utilisation of cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) and DNA barcoding methodologies is dependent on complete, reliable, and accessible reference DNA sequence data (Rimet et al. 2021). Complete and interoperable metadata is crucial to allow a broad reuse of (e)DNA data and analysis outputs, and for a broader uptake of results by end users. The eDNAqua-Plan project aims to address key limitations to the routine implementation of eDNA-based monitoring methods in Europe by developing plans for federated DNA barcode reference libraries and eDNA data repositories to support DNA-based environmental monitoring. This will ensure a sustainable and reliable infrastructure to underpin its broad use, thereby paving the way for more effective conservation and management strategies. The project is working towards creating a comprehensive overview of standardisation efforts and data workflows, through collaborations with other projects, initiatives and infrastructures for aquatic monitoring across the European Union (EU) and associated countries. We are analysing existing archives (e.g., International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC), Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS)), portals, and papers to determine current and best practices through the use of questionnaires, manual evaluation of repositories, and machine learning methods (LLMs). This includes an overview of the usage of existing metadata and data standards (e.g., Minimum Information about any (X) Sequence Specifications from the Genomics Standards Consortium (GSC), Darwin Core standard). The results are being integrated by a team of experts in marine and freshwater biomonitoring. With a diverse consortium comprising 18 partner institutions from 11 countries and one international institute, eDNAqua-Plan brings together experts in marine and freshwater monitoring, eDNA analysis, and data science. The collective effort by this consortium will lay the groundwork for the creation of a digital ecosystem of eDNA repositories and an integrated reference library of marine and freshwater species, adhering to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles.

Application of Hydroponic Systems and Women's Empowerment in Food Security Efforts

Jongbiru Village is one of the villages supported by the State University of Malang which has potential natural resources and human resources that need to be developed optimally to increase village food security. Food security is an effort to eliminate hunger (zero hunger) which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Currently, hydroponic vegetable plantations have been initiated under the technical guidance of BUMDES Jongbiru Village and Mitra Rotasi Institute. However, BUMDES still faces many obstacles in implementing hydroponics. Therefore, the service team from FEB UM will hold hydroponic vegetable training based on a circular economy that minimizes waste by involving students. It is hoped that after participating in the training and FGD, the participation of residents (especially women) and BUMDES as well as Rotation Institute partners supported by the FEB UM service team will be maximized so that hydroponic vegetable plantations can strengthen the food security of Jongbiru village and its surroundings. This community partnership service focuses on a number of trainings with potential relevance, including the introduction of a circular economy, as well as optimizing BUMDES and the role of women.

(Invited) Electrochemical Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR)

Ebb Carbon is developing an electrochemical system to safely remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the ocean as dissolved inorganic carbon. The core process uses bipolar electrodialysis (BPED) to process incoming seawater into aqueous acid and alkaline seawater. The acid is kept on land and used for beneficial purposes that result in its neutralization. The alkaline seawater is returned to the ocean, shifting the carbonate buffer system toward carbonate, resulting in the removal of CO2 from the air into oceanic bicarbonate as air-sea equilibration is restored.For the mCDR system to be impactful on a global level, it must reach gigaton scale while being energy efficient and cost effective.The BPED stack dominates the energy demand of the system and is a prime design task for Ebb Carbon. The stack and system are undergoing development and testing in Ebb Carbon’s labs as well as at the labs of institutional partners. Combining all of these system elements requires a multitude of scientific and engineering disciplines to work together. In this talk, I will discuss the potential for improving the energy and Faradaic efficiencies of these systems, including the opportunity for collaboration with the electrochemical research community.

Trends of machine learning for dental caries research in Southeast Asia: insights from a bibliometric analysis

Background Dental caries is a common chronic oral disease, posing a serious public health issue. By analyzing large datasets, machine learning shows potential in addressing this problem. This study employs bibliometric analysis to explore emerging topics, collaborations, key authors, and research trends in Southeast Asia related to the application of machine learning in dental caries management. Methods A comprehensive selection using the Scopus database to obtain relevant research, covering publications from inception to July 2024 was done. We employed the Bibliometric approaches, including co-authorship networks, yearly publishing trends, institutional and national partnerships, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and citation analysis, for the collected data. To explore the visualization and network analysis, we employed the tools such as VOSviewer and Bibliometrix in R package. Results The final bibliometric analysis included 246 papers. We found that Malaysia became the top contributor with 59 publications, followed by Indonesia (37) and Thailand (29). Malaysia had the highest Multiple Country Publications (MCP) ratio at 0.407. Top institutions including the Universiti Sains Malaysia led with 39 articles, followed by Chiang Mai University (36) and the National University of Singapore (30) became the leader. Co-authorship analysis using VOSviewer revealed six distinct clusters. A total of 1220 scholars contributed to these publications. The top 10 keywords, including ‘human’ and ‘dental caries,’ indicated research hotspots. Conclusion We found growing evidence of machine learning applications to address dental caries in Southeast Asia. The bibliometric analysis highlights key authors, collaborative networks, and emerging topics, revealing research trends since 2014. This study underscores the importance of bibliometric analysis in tackling this public health issue.

The Imperative to Promote Diversity Post-Students for Fair Admissions Analyzing the Effects of Student-Body Diversity on Attrition, GPA, and Bar Passage in Law Students and Graduates

ABSTRACT In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts declared the consideration of race in university admissions unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Now, as the era of race-conscious admissions draws to a close, this study examines whether the educational benefits that flow from racial and ethnic student-body diversity acknowledged in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) persist in a law school context. Using data from the American Bar Association (ABA), the U.S. Census Bureau, and institutional partnerships with 21 law schools, we model student racial/ethnic diversity on law school campuses as a predictor of law-school-level attrition (n = 183), law-student-level GPA (n = 5,129), and law-student-level first-time bar passage (n = 4,808) among underrepresented law students of color. Campus diversity is operationalized as a Blau’s Diversity index. Our findings demonstrate modest benefits associated with racial and ethnic student-body diversity for student retention and first-time bar passage among underrepresented law students of color.

Enhancing undergraduate education and research in aging to eliminate health disparities (ENGAGED) – A pipeline program to advance diversity in aging research

ABSTRACT The Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) program takes advantage of the broad, multidisciplinary research established in the area of aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and its partner institutions, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University. The ENGAGED program is designed to provide undergraduate students who are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences an opportunity to participate in educational and research training in aging and health disparities. Funded since August 2019, ENGAGED has provided 73 academic year internships and 46 summer internships, with another 8 internships starting in Fall 2023. A total of 61 students (67% female, 64% African American, 21% Hispanic) have participated in the ENGAGED program, reflecting the fact that 49% participate in more than one session or program offering. To date, 38 of the ENGAGED trainees have graduated (100% with a science, technology, engineering, or math degree), 84% of whom are working or pursuing advanced degrees in the biomedical sciences. Given the unique strengths, existing infrastructure, and long-standing collaborations among the partner institutions, the ENGAGED program is helping advance diversity in aging and health disparities research by creating a pipeline for well-trained underrepresented students interested in biomedical research careers.

Social Justice in Community Environments: A Collaborative Photovoice Process

A small New England University and a local community center undertook a community based participatory research approach to understand the community-driven factors that most impact health. Photovoice was utilized to collaboratively highlight priority issues and to collectively advocate for change. The Photovoice approach was particularly useful in this context to transcend language differences and foster community dialogue between community and institutional partners in a way that dismantled traditional — and historically harmful — power dynamics between institutions and communities. The goal of utilizing this participatory-based method was to support community-identified social-ecological change, advocate for identified environmental justice priority issues, and support sustained community involvement. The novel aspects of the approach included guiding students and community members through this process in a community-engaged learning context that brought together linguistically diverse populations with a foundation of cultural humility, respect, and multi-directional learning.

Localisation of content and language integrated learning in China: tensions in teacher professional development

ABSTRACT Unlocking the potential of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in China’s higher education landscape has magnified the demand for teacher professional development. Beyond just implementation, teachers are tasked with localising CLIL to fit China’s unique educational context. Yet, the professional needs of Chinese CLIL teachers remain largely unexplored. Through an interpretivist lens, this study delves into the tensions faced by these educators and unveils their pressing needs. Guided by the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, our research unveils a landscape marked by a scarcity of professional development opportunities. We dissect the findings into pivotal areas: hurdles in accessing essential tools, forging collaborations with institutional and academic partners, navigating conflicting self-expectations and institutional demands, and juggling myriad roles within educational institutions. This inquiry casts a spotlight on the intricate world of professional development for Chinese CLIL teachers, advocating for targeted solutions to address their needs.

Archives of Photographic PLates for Astronomical USE (APPLAUSE)

Aims. The Archives of Photographic PLates for Astronomical USE (APPLAUSE) project is aimed at digitising astronomical photographic plates from three major German plate collections, making them accessible through integration into the International Virtual Observatory (IVO). Methods. Photographic plates and related materials (logbooks, envelopes, etc.) were scanned with commercial flatbed scanners. Astrometric and photometric calibrations were carried out with the developed PyPlate software, using Gaίa EDR3 data as a reference. The APPLAUSE data publication complies with IVO standards. Results. The latest data release contains images and metadata from 27 plate collections from the partner institutes in Hamburg, Bamberg, and Potsdam, along with digitised archives provided by Tautenburg, Tartu, and Vatican observatories. Altogether, over two billion calibrated measurements extracted from about 70 000 direct photographic plates can readily be used to create long-term light curves. For instance, we constructed the historic light curve of the enigmatic dipping star KIC 8462852. We found no evidence of previously assumed variations on timescales of decades in our light curve. Potential uses of APPLAUSE images for transient sources can be appreciated by following the development of the nova shell of GK Per (1901) over time and the change in brightness of two extragalactic supernovae. The database holds about 10 000 spectral plates. We made use of objective prism plates to follow the temporal changes of Nova DN Gem through 1912 and 1913, highlighting an outburst in early 1913.

STEM Connections: A model for empowering academics to deliver outreach by reducing barriers to engagement

STEM Connections worked with academic staff to develop their skills and confidence to communicate with any audience. Through creating a demonstration of their area of expertise and speaking with school-aged students, the academics hear a range of perspectives and repeatedly practice pitching their presentations. This project aimed to develop staff, engage the public, and work in partnership with local cultural institutions – in this case CV Life. Training has been provided by third-party organisations, by the project team and by the partner institution in both years. Over two years, the project has worked with 23 academic members of staff across 17 different areas of research. Events have been run with 19 schools, either within those schools or at Coventry Transport Museum, reaching a total of 944 students with high-quality interactions. As of January 2024, the online resources have received over 36,000 views. Demonstrations have been used outside of the STEM Connections project for interactions with visitors, VIPs, funding bodies, and also filmed by TV crews for media work. Several staff on the project have mentioned STEM Connections in promotion cases and award nominations. Produced materials have complimented academic teaching and have been used to explain concepts more effectively during lectures. All the project resources and staff involved can be found at www.warwick.ac.uk/stemconnections. The project targeted 5 key elements of outreach that are challenging for academics and may make engagement more difficult for them. This paper reflects on those challenges and how the project worked to reduce the barriers to engagement.

Physicians, pharmacists and take-home naloxone: What practices? The SINFONI study

For several years, both the French Addictovigilance Network and French health authorities have consistently emphasized the need to provide opioid users with take-home naloxone (THN), the specific antidote for opioid overdoses. In March 2022, the French Health Authority recommended systematically assessing the appropriateness of prescribing THN to all opioid users, regardless of the context, and identified 8 high-risk situations. However, at present, THN distribution remains limited, particularly among primary care healthcare professionals. This study, conducted by the Pays de la Loire Centre for Evaluation and Information on Drug Dependence-Addictovigilance and supported by the Regional Health Agency, aims to explore healthcare professionals' practices and perceptions of these high-risk situations. An ad-hoc questionnaire was distributed via mail by the project's regional institutional partners to the target healthcare professionals: pharmacists, general practitioners (GPs), physicians practicing in specialities other than general medicine (SPs: algologists, psychiatrists and addictologists). It was completed online from 20/10/2022 to 30/12/2022. Out of the 355 participants (158 pharmacists, 167 GPs and 30 SPs), nearly all were managing patients on opioids. In total, 47.7% of physicians and 27.8% of pharmacists reported experiencing difficulties in dealing with the risk of overdose when prescribing or dispensing opioids to their patients. In the 12months preceding the study, only 8 pharmacists and 34 physicians had prescribed/dispensed THN, primarily due to a lack of awareness of its existence (52% of pharmacists and 72% of physicians) and challenges in addressing the eight overdose risk situations listed by the HAS (ranging from 54% to 83% for all professionals). The best-trained healthcare professionals were those who prescribed the most THN (P<0.001). The identification of barriers related to THN distribution in the regional SINFONI study, conducted among primary care healthcare professionals managing patients on opioids, highlights the need to develop a training tool specifically tailored for these professionals.

Exploring Land-grant Institution Partnerships to Better Serve Audiences

Exploring Land-grant Institution Partnerships to Better Serve Audiences

Social Sciences (Miscellaneous) Public-Private Partnership in The Field of Public Control

This article is devoted to the analysis of the current state and development of the institution of public-private partnership in the field of public control. The work analyzes the system of legal guarantees that ensure the implementation, protection and protection in the Russian Federation of the system of constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen, the rights and legitimate interests of public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations. The role and place of the institution of public control in the system of these legal guarantees has been studied. The main problems that impede the preservation and development of this institution of civil society in Russia are formalized and explored. It is substantiated that the key of these problems is the lack of certainty in the functioning of the institution of public-private partnership in the sphere of public control in the Russian Federation. The work develops and substantiates the author's definition of the concept of public-private partnership in general, as well as its most important variety in the field of public control. The authors formalized and analyzed the main problems associated with the functioning of public-private partnerships in the field of public control, in particular, the lack of: formalization of this institution of civil society in the Russian Constitution; consolidating the concept and content of the institution of public-private partnership in the legislation on public control; a unified approach in the legal framework and scientific legal doctrine to understanding the essence and limits of public-private partnership in the field of public control; a systematic approach in Russia to the analysis, adaptation and use of positive foreign experience in this area of functioning of civil society; proper use of modern digital technologies in this area of interaction between subjects of public control and individuals and legal entities. The work has developed and justified a system of measures to resolve these problems, in particular, by: incorporating the institution of public control into the Basic Law of the Russian Federation, and the institution of public-private partnership into the legislation on public control (with details in it of the concept, essence and limits of implementation the specified institution of public-private partnership in the specified area, taking into account foreign experience and modern digital technologies.); instructions to the Government of Russia, with the support of the Public Chamber of Russia, of the processes of analysis, adaptation and implementation into legislation and the scientific legal doctrine of the institution.