Project Guidelines Research Articles

A Review on Project Based Learning in Enhancing English Writing Skills

Writing is a complex skill requiring cognitive, linguistic, and creative capacities, particularly challenging for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This review explores the effectiveness of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in enhancing English writing skills, emphasizing its potential to address common challenges faced by learners. PBL promotes active engagement, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity through real-world, student-centered tasks. By integrating interdisciplinary approaches and authentic materials, PBL fosters practical language use and improves linguistic competencies, including grammar, vocabulary, and organizational skills. The review synthesizes findings from studies conducted in various educational contexts, highlighting the multifaceted benefits of PBL. Research demonstrates that PBL significantly enhances students' writing skills, including their ability to structure ideas coherently and apply genre-specific conventions. It also supports the development of essential 21st-century skills, such as problem-solving, time management, and teamwork. Furthermore, PBL has been shown to increase learners’ confidence and motivation, transforming writing tasks into meaningful and engaging experiences. While PBL presents notable advantages, challenges such as time constraints, resource limitations, and the need for teacher training remain. Addressing these barriers requires strategic implementation, adequate teacher preparation, and the use of clear project guidelines. Despite these challenges, the evidence supports PBL as a transformative pedagogical approach for enhancing writing skills. This review underscores the value of integrating PBL into EFL instruction to prepare learners for academic and professional communication demands while fostering linguistic proficiency and critical life skills.

A Proteomic Examination of Plasma Extracellular Vesicles Across Colorectal Cancer Stages Uncovers Biological Insights That Potentially Improve Prognosis.

Recent advancements in understanding plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their role in disease biology have provided additional unique insights into the study of Colorectal Cancer (CRC). This study aimed to gain biological insights into disease progression from plasma-derived extracellular vesicle proteomic profiles of 80 patients (20 from each CRC stage I-IV) against 20 healthy age- and sex-matched controls using a high-resolution SWATH-MS proteomics with a reproducible centrifugation method to isolate plasma EVs. We applied the High-Stringency Human Proteome Project (HPP) guidelines for SWATH-MS analysis, which refined our initial EV protein identification from 1362 proteins (10,993 peptides) to a more reliable and confident subset of 853 proteins (6231 peptides). In early-stage CRC, we identified 11 plasma EV proteins with differential expression between patients and healthy controls (three up-regulated and eight down-regulated), many of which are involved in key cancer hallmarks. Additionally, within the same cohort, we analysed EV proteins associated with tumour recurrence to identify potential prognostic indicators for CRC. A subset of up-regulated proteins associated with extracellular vesicle formation (GDI1, NSF, and TMED9) and the down-regulation of TSG101 suggest that micro-metastasis may have occurred earlier than previously anticipated. By employing stringent proteomic analysis and a robust SWATH-MS approach, we identified dysregulated EV proteins that potentially indicate early-stage CRC and predict recurrence risk, including proteins involved in metabolism, cytoskeletal remodelling, and immune response. While our findings underline discrepancies with other studies due to differing isolation and stringency parameters, they provide valuable insights into the complexity of the EV proteome, emphasising the need for standardised protocols and larger, well-controlled studies to validate potential biomarkers.

The role of cost-effectiveness in multisector climate investment programs: The Swedish Climate Leap

To increase the speed of implementation of carbon mitigation technologies, many countries set up publicly funded investment programs, where private and/or public entities can apply for support. These schemes are often criticized for not being cost-effective. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Swedish Climate Leap Program, which differs from most other programs through the multisector approach. We examine determinants of project approval and evaluate the heterogeneity in implicit carbon pricing across sectors. Several econometric methods are used to assess equality in carbon pricing. Results show that although the cost-effectiveness ratio plays an important role in project approval, carbon pricing differs significantly across project types. Project guidelines favor charging stations and transport measures that aid in adopting new technology and reaching economies of scale. However, the preference for transport measures is not reflected in the carbon pricing while instead energy conversion measures have a higher probability of being funded given the cost-effectiveness of the investment. Funding decisions favor densely populated municipalities, which could be motivated for investments in public goods, but is questionable for transport and housing.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TO STRENGTHEN PANCASILA STUDENT PROFILE AT ACTIVATOR SCHOOL OF SMPIT INSAN MULIA, MANOKWARI REGENCY, WEST PAPUA

The Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5), which has been implemented by activator schools in Indonesia since 2021, aims to improve the quality of character education. This project guides character education in the Merdeka Curriculum, which is implemented through a positive culture built by schools through intracurricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular learning. This research aims to analyze the whole activity by involving partners and identifying factors that support or hinder the implementation of P5 at SMPIT Insan Mulia, Manokwari Regency, West Papua. This research adopted descriptive qualitative approach with data collection techniques through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation checking. Data validity was tested using triangulation techniques and discussions with peers, while data analysis was carried out through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The P5 implementation at SMPIT Insan Mulia Manokwari began with planning and were followed by socialization to teachers, students, and parents, fostering proactive attitudes and gotong royong. Optimizing P5 according to project guidelines enhanced student engagement through innovative learning, encouraging creativity and critical thinking. Teachers facilitated reflective dialogue to develop a positive school culture. The program concluded with a learning celebration to appreciate students' efforts. Key supporting factors included the principal's role, teacher collaboration, partner involvement, and student enthusiasm, while the hindering factor was limited time allocation. Overall, the management of P5 adhered to guidelines without significant obstacles.

Spoken Spanish PoS tagging: gold standard dataset

AbstractThe development of a benchmark for part-of-speech (PoS) tagging of spoken dialectal European Spanish is presented, which will serve as the foundation for a future treebank. The benchmark is constructed using transcriptions of the Corpus Oral y Sonoro del Español Rural (COSER;“Audible corpus of spoken rural Spanish”) and follows the Universal Dependencies project guidelines. We describe the methodology used to create a gold standard, which serves to evaluate different state-of-the-art PoS taggers (spaCy, Stanza NLP, and UDPipe), originally trained on written data and to fine-tune and evaluate a model for spoken Spanish. It is shown that the accuracy of these taggers drops from 0.98$$-$$ - 0.99 to 0.94$$-$$ - 0.95 when tested on spoken data. Of these three taggers, the spaCy’s trf (transformers) and Stanza NLP models performed the best. Finally, the spaCy trf model is fine-tuned using our gold standard, which resulted in an accuracy of 0.98 for coarse-grained tags (UPOS) and 0.97 for fine-grained tags (FEATS). Our benchmark will enable the development of more accurate PoS taggers for spoken Spanish and facilitate the construction of a treebank for European Spanish varieties.

Effect of near-infrared spectroscopy on postoperative delirium in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common anesthetic side effect in cardiac surgery. However, the role of oxygen saturation monitoring in reducing postoperative delirium has been controversial. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to analyze whether NIRS monitoring during cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass could reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were systematically searched using the related keywords for randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) published from their inception to March 16, 2024. This review was conducted by the Preferred Reporting Project and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic review. The primary outcome was postoperative delirium, and the second outcomes included the length of ICU stay, the incidence of kidney-related adverse outcomes, and the incidence of cardiac-related adverse outcomes. The incidence of postoperative delirium could be reduced under the guidance of near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring (OR, 0.657; 95% CI, 0.447-0.965; P = 0.032; I2 = 0%). However, there were no significant differences in the length of ICU stay (SMD, 0.005 days; 95% CI, -0.135-0.146; P = 0.940; I2 = 39.3%), the incidence of kidney-related adverse outcomes (OR, 0.761; 95% CI, 0.386-1.500; P = 0.430; I2 = 0%), and the incidence of the cardiac-related adverse outcomes (OR, 1.165; 95% CI, 0.556-2.442; P = 0.686; I2 = 0%) between the two groups. Near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass helps reduce postoperative delirium in patients. PROSPERO, identifier, CRD42023482675.

Investigating the potential for students to contribute to climate data rescue: Introducing the Climate Data Rescue Africa project (CliDaR‐Africa)

AbstractThe majority of available climate data in global digital archives consist of data only from the 1940s or 1950s onwards, and many of these series have gaps and/or are available for only a subset of the variables which were actually observed. However, there exist billions of historical weather observations from the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s that are still in hard‐copy form and are at risk of being lost forever due to deterioration. An assessment of changes in climate extremes in several IPCC regions was not possible in IPCC AR6 WGI owing, in many cases, to the lack of available data. One such region is Africa, where the climate impact research and the ability to predict climate change impacts are hindered by the paucity of access to consistent good‐quality historical observational data. The aim of this innovative project was to use classroom‐based participatory learning to help transcribe some of the many meteorological observations from Africa that are thus far unavailable to researchers. This project transcribed quickly and effectively station series by enrolling the help of second‐year undergraduate students at Maynooth University in Ireland. The newly digitized African data will increase the temporal and spatial coverage of data in this important data‐sparse region. Students gained new skills while helping the global scientific community unearth new insight into past African climate. The project managed to transcribe 79 months of data at Andapa in Madagascar and 56 months of data for Macenta in Guinea. The digitized data will be openly and freely shared with the scientific and wider community via the Pangaea data repository, the C3S Climate Data Store, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) data centre in the US. The project model has the potential for a broader roll‐out to other educational contexts and there is no shortage of data to be rescued. This paper provides details of the project, and all supporting information such as project guidelines and templates to enable other organizations to instigate similar programs.

Impact assessment of critical success factors (CSFs) in public construction projects of Saudi Arabia

PurposeThere is a limited number of research work on critical success factors (CSFs) in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia. In response to this knowledge gap, the objective of this paper is to assess the impact of CSFs on the government construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The success factors are investigated from a broader consideration of failure criteria, from consideration of most effectiveness in successful project completion and also from consideration of the impact of implementing control processes for successful project completion.Design/methodology/approachThis study has analysed the impact of success factors on construction projects in Saudi Arabia using a descriptive methodology. An exhaustive literature survey is undertaken to identify the success and failure factors related to government construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The survey data are sorted out and analysed by cost, schedule, technical, context and finance dimensions of the projects based on project types, engineering complexity, size, modality, jurisdictional control and funding approach. To evaluate the influence of success factors implementation, qualitative data were collected in a survey via a web-based questionnaire that was sent to officials working and occupying a responsible position in national project guidelines organizations and in government construction organizations in Saudi Arabia. In all, 28 CSFs were identified, ranked and evaluated for their impact on project success. The four identified factors belong to process categories of construction projects, nine factors belong to management of construction projects and 15 success factors are identified for impact assessment of implementation in construction projects.FindingsThe study's findings have identified and ranked the top five CSFs that significantly influence project outcomes, including meeting time targets, adhering to financial budgets, delivering desired outcomes for all stakeholders, effectively managing risks and assembling the appropriate team while optimizing resource allocation. Additionally, the research indicates that hindrances to projects primarily stem from execution, economic, human and political factors. The study advocates for strict controls over incomplete engineering designs and advises against contractors independently handling design work to ensure project success. Additionally, addressing contractors' qualifications and financial matters is crucial for project success. By highlighting these CSFs and challenges, the research provides actionable insights to enhance project management practices in the construction industry.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to the infrastructure projects constructed by governmental bodies with the participation of officials from government organizations. Further study, including private projects and officials working on private projects, may be needed to generalized the research outcome.Originality/valueNumerous studies have investigated CSFs in construction projects, but few have examined their relevance to Saudi Arabian government projects. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying key CSFs specific to Saudi Arabian public sector construction projects and assessing their impact on project success. It advocates for stringent controls in the Saudi Arabian construction sector, emphasizing the importance of preventing incomplete or altered engineering designs by contractors to increase the success rate of public sector projects. This research offers practical insights to stakeholders, advancing project management practices in Saudi Arabia's construction sector for improved outcomes and resource utilization.

Barriers and facilitators to implementing a Canadian shared-care ADHD program in pediatric settings in Shanghai: a consolidated framework for implementation research approach

ObjectivesThe vast majority of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do not have access to proper diagnosis and treatment in China. The goal of this project is to identify the challenges and facilitators in implementing a Canadian ADHD Shared Care Pathways program in pediatric settings in Shanghai region.MethodsPurposive semi-structured focus groups were conducted on a total of 13 healthcare practitioners from the Shanghai Xinuha, Ninghai and Chongming hospitals. Two independent researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the data with themes emerging based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).ResultsNotable barriers identified by participants included: (1) lack of knowledge in the management of ADHD, primarily among general practitioners; (2) lack of resources such as lack of staff, time, and medication for ADHD; (3) challenges in implementing an international multicentre intervention (such as communication difficulties between teams and integration of resources available in different hospitals); and (4) mental health stigma, difficulties in identifying ADHD patients, and logistical problems related to medication procurement rules put in place by provincial governments. Notable facilitators included: (1) the strong motivation of stakeholders and their confidence in their ability to learn and subsequently execute action plans to achieve the implementation goal; (2) the compatibility between the values and goals of the stakeholders and those of the program despite some cultural tension, a positive learning climate, strong tensions for change, and the high interest of organization leaders in engaging in the program (3) the perceived benefits of the program, such as standardization of the diagnostic and treatment process, and engaging primary care providers in ADHD management; and (4) the strong relationship between participating institutions and schools as well as provincial health initiatives available to support collaborative models of care. Mixed factors to implementation were also explored.ConclusionsAppropriate training of health care providers, cultural adaptation of the program, increase public awareness about ADHD to decrease stigma, as well as strong project management and guidelines that clearly describe the role and expectations of each team member appeared essential to successful implementation.

Transforming perspectives on gender through imagined futures: A speculative design inquiry

This paper will present a second-year Fashion Design Theory project, ‘Imagining Gender Equality in 100 Years’. The project outcomes were based on the critical design approach of speculative design (SD), exploring the intersectional issues of gender relevant to a South African context. SD thrives on imagination to create scenarios that change perspectives, beliefs, and values related to social problems. The following questions were posed to the students in developing the project guidelines. Firstly, what will the change in values, beliefs, and attitudes related to issues of gender look like in the future? And how can students use design to imagine spaces in the present for discussion and debate about alternative ways of being in an imagined future? With the application of action research, the paper discusses and analyses a selection of student projects completed in 2020 and 2021. In doing this, the paper aims to reflect on the transformation of a design theory assessment by applying critical design approaches culminating in creative and conceptual outcomes for complex life problems. In addition, reflections and lessons learnt on the blended teaching and learning methods amidst Covid-19 will be imparted.

Psychosocial Distress Screening Among Interprofessional Palliative Care Teams: A Narrative Review

With increased need for palliative care and limited staffing resources, non-social workers are increasingly responsible for screening for urgent psychosocial distress. The National Consensus Project guidelines call for all palliative care team members to be competent in screening across domains. Yet, in contrast to an abundance of evidence-informed tools for palliative social work assessments, standardization for interprofessional psychosocial screening is lacking. This lack of standardized practice may lead to harmful disparities in care delivery. The purpose of this narrative review is to examine current literature on evidence-informed practices for psychosocial screening within palliative care. Google Scholar, a university Summon library search engine, and prominent palliative care journals were searched using the same phrases to locate articles for inclusion. Each article was reviewed and synthesized across common themes. Although an abundance of validated screening tools exists for outpatient oncology-specific settings, there is minimal guidance on psychosocial screening tools intended for specialty palliative care. The most oft-cited tools have been met with concern for validity across diverse palliative care populations and settings. Additional research is needed to operationalize and measure brief psychosocial screening tools that can be validated for use by interprofessional palliative care teams, a stepping-stone for increased equity in palliative care practice.

The Development of Automatic Sprinkler System Concepts for Maritime Vehicle Carriers

Closed ro-ro spaces on maritime vehicle carriers are usually protected by a total-flooding carbon dioxide system. Such systems have many benefits, for example that there are no residues that can adversely affect the protected objects (in this case thousands of vehicles) and the agent is electrically non-conductive. However, there could be a considerable time delay from the start of a fire until the carbon dioxide system is discharged. Experience has shown that this delay time can cause significant fire damage and jeopardize the performance of the system. Within the EU funded LASH FIRE project, design and installation guidelines for supplementary automatic water-based fire sprinkler systems were developed. An important design feature is that the system automatically activates at an early stage of a fire. This would allow more time to fight the fire manually or to safely evacuate the space and discharge the CO2 system when the fire is controlled to one or a few vehicles instead of at a time when it has escalated in size. The work was partly based on a comprehensive literature review that identified relevant standards and information applicable to the design of automatic fire sprinkler and deluge water spray systems. Large-scale fire tests verified that the suggested system designs were able to provide control of realistic vehicle fires, including fires in passenger cars and a freight truck.

Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Development and Implementation of a New National Training Program.

Background: Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) is a nationally scalable continuing education program designed to improve the knowledge and skills of frontline health social workers caring for patients with serious illness. Objectives: This article describes ESPEC's rationale, development, and initial implementation. Design: Following the creation of consensus-derived core primary palliative care competencies for health primary care social workers based on the eight domains of palliative care outlined in the National Consensus Project Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, an evidence-based curriculum was developed. This was used to develop a hybrid training model with a self-study component, synchronous instructor-led skills-based training, leadership training, and mentorship. The interactive curriculum incorporates patient scenarios highlighting the health social work role. Training targets high-impact skills-the biopsychosocial-spiritual assessment, advance care planning, family meetings, and interprofessional communication-and professional development. Settings/Subjects: ESPEC was launched in the United States in collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN). Results: The preliminary launch demonstrated high user acceptability, positive ratings for content and format, and gains in knowledge and competence. Conclusions: Data suggest that ESPEC can increase health social workers' knowledge and confidence as providers of palliative care interventions. National dissemination is ongoing.

Development of the Albanian translation of the Perceived Affective Qualities in the ISO/TS 12913-2 soundscape standard

The Perceived Affective Qualities (PAQs) outlined in the ISO/TS 12913-2:2018 standard have been translated into many languages and are referred to as a global standard to evaluate the acoustic environment in various contexts. There is a growing legislative framework in Albania that addresses noise pollution through Law No. 9774 and Guideline No.8. The aim of this study, which recognizes the increasing trends in acoustic research in Albania, and acknowledges the gap regarding soundscape descriptors has been to develop equivalent versions of the soundscape descriptors defined in ISO/TS 12913-2:2018 by translating the PAQs into the Albanian Language through a model fitting approach. This study, which has followed the Soundscape Attributes Translation Project (SATP) guidelines, has employed a mixed method, that is, both a qualitative investigation and a quantitative evaluation based on specific criteria built upon previous work, have been conducted. In the first phase (1a), eight linguistic experts independently translated eight affective attributes, which were later verified in the second phase (1b) by acoustic experts. After three potential translations had been generated for each of the eight PAQs, a quantitative approach, namely phase (1c), which had been proposed in previous SATP studies, was employed. Thirty-two native Albanian individuals, all of whom were proficient in English, evaluated the translated candidate terms in an online questionnaire, considering such criteria as their Appropriateness, Understandability, Clarity, Antipodal Antonymity, Orthogonal Unbiasedness, Connotativeness, Non-connotativeness, and Implicative Balance. The collected data were then subjected to a series of Kruskall Wallis tests with Bonferroni corrections to determine the final translation for each PAQ. In conclusion, eight Albanian attribute translations have been defined. Despite some limitations, our findings are promising and suggest that the selected attributes are validated inputs to the next steps of the research which involve listening experiments (SATP phase 2).

Development of a Secure Web Based Application to Automate Data Synchronization and Processing

This study aims to develop a secure web-based application that provides job recommendations for students and allows staff to process company data more efficiently. The application utilizes web scraping on internal websites to automate data processing, reducing the need for manual intervention. The data contains personal information. Therefore, the website should apply filters to the data displayed to students and ensure it is protected from any cyber threats. To ensure the application protected from any cyber threats, The web application is designed with a strong focus on security by using the Web Security Testing Guide (WSTG). The Web Security Testing Guide (WSTG) will guide ensuring that the server runs safely and is protected against vulnerabilities in its code. Furthermore, the researchers utilized the top ten Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) guidelines as a testing framework for the website, focusing on its most vulnerable areas.

데이컴 기법을 활용한 지역자활센터 종사자 직무분석

The purpose of this study is to analyze jobs to strengthen the capabilities of local self-sufficiency center workers as the self-sufficient project environment changes rapidly. To this end, the effective DACUM job analysis method was applied to curriculum development based on field expert opinions. In addition, a survey was conducted on 102 people to determine the importance and difficulty of the identified jobs. As a result of the analysis, a total of 10 missions, 24 tasks, and 46 required competencies were derived, and priority training required competencies were presented. Based on these results, the following suggestions were made. First, the derived missions and tasks must be reflected within the self-sufficient project guidelines. Second, tasks that are difficult for individual self-sufficiency centers to handle require scale-up or specialized approaches. Third, if a task is difficult to carry out with the current workforce composition of the self-sufficiency center, additional manpower support is required. Fourth, a system must be established in which practical knowledge can be accumulated and educated. Lastly, education priorities must be determined considering the importance and the need of competency.

Nurse-Led, Telephone-Based Primary Palliative Care Intervention for Patients With Lung Cancer: Domains of Quality Care.

Palliative care is traditionally delivered by specialty-trained palliative care teams. Because of a national workforce shortage of palliative care specialists, there is an urgent need to explore alternative models of palliative care delivery to meet the needs of patients living with serious illness. As part of a multisite randomized controlled trial, 2 registered nurses without previous palliative care experience were trained to deliver a primary palliative care intervention to patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. The intervention focused on assessing and managing symptoms, psychosocial needs, education, and initiating goals-of-care discussions. The primary outcome, improved symptom burden and quality of life, was not statistically significant. Despite this finding, nurses addressed 5 of the 8 National Consensus Project Guidelines domains of quality palliative care: structure and processes of care; physical, psychological, and social aspects of care; and ethical and legal aspects. Patients' engagement in goals-of-care discussions, a measure of high-quality palliative care, increased. Clinical recommendations offered by the nurses to the patients' clinicians were addressed and accepted on a timely basis. Most patients rated satisfaction with the intervention as "very or extremely" satisfied. These findings may inform future nurse-led palliative care interventions on the specific quality domains of palliative care.

Application of Constructivism Theory and ADDIE Model in the Development of Final Year Project E-Modules (e-PTA) for Vocational Colleges

The aim of this study is to develop a web-based learning module (e-module) for the Final Year Project Course (PTA) specifically for the Culinary Arts Program at the Malaysian Vocational College. The development of the e-module follows the challenges faced in the learning and facilitation process (PdPc), a string from the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, it was developed to help teaching staff and Culinary Arts Diploma students at Vocational College (KV) in implementing 21st century learning methods which are still not applied in PdPc at KV. The e-PTA module was developed by adapting the procedure in the ADDIE model which contains five phases, namely the phase of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This module also applies the learning theory of Constructivism which brings the understanding of student-centered active learning and is based on the theory of Connectivism as a learning theory of the digital era. The development of the e-PTA module also takes into account blended learning strategies in implementing project-based learning such as PTA courses. This e-PTA module is expected to be complementary to the Vocational College Final Year Project Guidelines and can further improve the implementation of PTA courses at KV in accordance with 21st century learning.

A comparative review of advanced practice nurse programmes in the Nordic and Baltic countries

BackgroundAdvanced practice nurses (APNs) programs are career-development opportunities significant for nursing workforce retention as well as for the quality of patient care. Inconsistency regarding policy, education, titles, scope of practice, skills and competencies have been identified as major challenges in developing advanced practice nursing in Europe. APN roles and education are under development in the Nordic and Baltic countries. However, there is a lack of information on the current state in this region. ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to compare APN programs in the Nordic and Baltic countries to identify their commonalities and differences. Design and methodsThis descriptive comparative study reviewed seven master's level APN programs in six Nordic and Baltic countries. Data was extracted from the programme by the expert teachers or leaders of the programmes (N = 9). Competencies recommended in the European Tuning Project (ETP) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) guidelines on advanced practice nursing, were used to evaluate the programs. The same informants provided additional information on the current state of APN education in the country. ResultsThe admission requirements were similar in the six countries but in two, clinical work experience is an entry requirement. There are two commonly identified APN roles: clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and nurse practitioner (NP). Most of the programs included all the EPT and ICN competencies. The main differences regarded prescribing competencies. All programmes included clinical training, but the methods on how it is implemented varies. ConclusionThe findings indicate that APN programs in the Nordic and Baltic countries correspond with the recommendations of the European Tuning Project and ICN guidelines. This is an important message for administrators, policymakers, and politicians, as well as the nursing community, on providing opportunities for APNs to practice to their full potential within each country as well as cross-country. Tweetable abstract“APN programmes in the Nordic and Baltic countries correspond with international guidelines. Special attention is needed in future on the clinical training of APNs”.

Integrating Facilities Management knowledge in municipal school building: Swedish case studies

Due to population growth and evolving demands for flexible premises, the design and construction of school facilities is currently a highly prioritized activity for many Swedish municipalities. However, previous research has found that facilities management (FM) knowledge is rarely integrated in the design of schools, resulting in construction deficiencies, high lifecycle costs and lower user functionality. The propensity to integrate FM knowledge in school projects varies greatly across Swedish municipalities, but the underlying factors shaping such organizational capabilities are less studied. In response, this study investigates how Swedish municipalities are currently organizing the integration of FM knowledge in the design phase of schools. The case study includes three municipalities of different sizes, where 18 interviews were performed with 22 representatives from users, operations and maintenance, construction project management, procurement and top management. To analyse the findings, a framework based on knowledge management was applied. The findings showed that FM knowledge is increasingly translated into codified processes and project planning standards and guidelines, but that personalized knowledge still plays an important role. Further, knowledge sharing in this field is complex and municipalities still face challenges despite improvement efforts. Thus, there is considerable potential to strengthen knowledge codification and sharing between municipalities and on the sector level. The study also points at the importance of studying knowledge governance at higher municipal levels, where many key organizational decisions are made.