Promote Research Activities Research Articles

Big Tech platforms in health research: Re-purposing big data governance in light of the General Data Protection Regulation’s research exemption

The emergence of a global industry of digital health platforms operated by Big Tech corporations, and its growing entanglements with academic and pharmaceutical research networks, raise pressing questions on the capacity of current data governance models, regulatory and legal frameworks to safeguard the sustainability of the health research ecosystem. In this article, we direct our attention toward the challenges faced by the European General Data Protection Regulation in regulating the potentially disruptive engagement of Big Tech platforms in health research. The General Data Protection Regulation upholds a rather flexible regime for scientific research through a number of derogations to otherwise stricter data protection requirements, while providing a very broad interpretation of the notion of “scientific research”. Precisely the breadth of these exemptions combined with the ample scope of this notion could provide unintended leeway to the health data processing activities of Big Tech platforms, which have not been immune from carrying out privacy-infringing and socially disruptive practices in the health domain. We thus discuss further finer-grained demarcations to be traced within the broadly construed notion of scientific research, geared to implementing use-based data governance frameworks that distinguish health research activities that should benefit from a facilitated data protection regime from those that should not. We conclude that a “re-purposing” of big data governance approaches in health research is needed if European nations are to promote research activities within a framework of high safeguards for both individual citizens and society.

Barriers to research productivity among gastroenterologists and hepatologists in Saudi Arabia.

Background:Clinical research is essential for the advancement of medical knowledge and evidence-based medical practice. In this study, we aimed to identify barriers that limit research productivity among gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia.Methods:We conducted a national online survey targeting gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia. Participants were asked about the patterns of their practice, their prior research activities, and potential barriers to research productivity. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the association between different factors and research productivity.Results:A total of 85 gastroenterologists completed the survey. Respondents were predominantly male physicians (90.6%) and 40% of them belonged to the age group of 40-49 years. About 85.9% had at least one prior research participation of any type. Around 67.1% of the respondents had been a primary investigator at least once in the last 5 years, while only 23.5% had been a primary investigator at a minimum average rate of once a year. Multiple barriers to research productivity were identified: insufficient research time (78.8%), lack of funding and compensation (77.6%), lack of a statistician (68.2%), insufficient research training (64.7%), lack of connection (60%), lack of technical support (57.6%), and lack of interest (31%). On univariate analysis, insufficient research time and lack of funding and compensation were significantly associated with no research participation (P <0.01 and 0.03, respectively). On multivariate analysis, lack of funding and compensation was independently associated with no research participation (adjusted OR 15.32;95% C.I 2.66, 121.58, P < 0.01).Conclusions:Barriers to research productivity are highly prevalent among gastroenterologists in Saudi Arabia. Insufficient research time and lack of funding and compensation are the most common. Interventions are needed to promote research activities.

Glance into solid-state transformer technology: a mirror for possible research areas

Solid-State Transformer (SST), a power electronics based transformer is an emerging technology in electric power system. The transformer is being investigated to completely replace existing Line/Low Frequency Transformer (LFT). SST is composed of either of the two topologies: AC-DC-AC, two steps approach; or AC-AC, single-step approach. The two steps approach consists of three stages: AC-DC; DC-DC; and DC-AC stages. The DC-DC stage is made up of a boost DC-DC converter, a DC-AC inverter and a High Frequency Transformer, HFT. Therefore, SST performs the tasks of LFT by means of power electronic converters and HFT. The main essence of SST is to provide solution to the problem of bulkiness and heaviness of the LFT in the power distribution network. This is with the view to providing reduction in construction cost, cost of maintenance and transportation. The power electronics transformer provides numerous advantages which are grouped into: The transformer has high power density; it functions in blackouts and brownouts; and it provides easy means of distributed renewable energy integration into associated grid. Therefore, this paper provides a glance into the technology of the SST for its better understating and promotion of research activities in the area.

Interest in research among the undergraduate students of medical and dental colleges of Pakistan.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to find the interest in research among the undergraduate students of medical and dental colleges of Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Amongst the students of four medical institutes. Period: April to May 2018. Material &amp; Methods: Sample size was 500 of undergraduate MBBS and BDS students from 1st year to final year. Participants were given a questionnaire and responses were analyzed with SPSS software version 21. Results: The mean age of participants was 23.24 +/- 1.85 years. Female students were more (63%) as compared to male students (37%). Seventy percent (70%) students were interested in different research work and more than 85% students were interested to continue their future career in academics. Participants were more interested in practical training as compared to research and theory. Most of the students were interested to carry out research in clinical field as compared to non-clinical field. The knowledge of research methodology was more in senior students. Student’s knowledge about “impact factor of journal” was low. Conclusion: In this research it has been found that a good number of participants were interested in research activities so measures should be taken to facilitate and motivate them by giving some sort of award to the researchers to increase the publications from Pakistan. Easy access to internet facilities must be provided to promote research activities. Efforts should be made to find out reasons why some students consider research less important. It is also need of the day to develop culture of research by senior faculty members of academic institutes.

A Comparison of R&amp;D Tax Incentives in Turkey

Tax incentives play a crucial role in the decision-making process of companies and individuals engaged in R&amp;D. To stimulate R&amp;D investment in Turkey, the government has introduced several pieces of incentive legislation, mostly tax allowance and exemption schemes, each taking a different approach. This article focusses on three major incentives, namely Law No. 4691 on the Technology Development Zones Incentive, Law No. 5746 on Promoting Research, Development and Design Activities and article 5(B) of the Corporate Income Tax Law.

Big Tech Platforms in Health Research: Re-purposing Big Data Governance in Light of the GDPR’s Research Exemption

The emergence of a global industry of digital health platforms operated by Big Tech corporations, and its growing entanglements with academic and pharmaceutical research networks, raise pressing questions on the capacity of current data governance models, regulatory and legal frameworks to safeguard the sustainability of the health research ecosystem. In this article, we direct our attention towards the challenges faced by the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in regulating the potentially disruptive engagement of Big Tech platforms in health research. The GDPR upholds a rather flexible regime for scientific research through a number of derogations to otherwise stricter data protection requirements, while providing a very broad interpretation of the notion of ‘scientific research’. Precisely the breadth of these exemptions combined with the ample scope of this notion could provide unintended leeway to the health data processing activities of Big Tech platforms, which have not been immune from carrying out privacy-infringing and socially disruptive practices in the health domain. We thus discuss further finer-grained demarcations to be traced within the broadly construed notion of scientific research, geared to implementing use-based data governance frameworks that distinguish health research activities that should benefit from a facilitated data protection regime from those that should not. We conclude that a ‘re-purposing’ of big data governance approaches in health research is needed if European nations are to promote research activities within a framework of high safeguards for both individual citizens and society.

What opportunities do early career psychiatrists have in Europe and beyond?

The European Psychiatric Association (EPA), the main association in the field of mental health in Europe, has long been supporting the development of early career psychiatrists. The EPA Early Career Psychiatrists Committee (ECPC) and its core task forces promote research activities among young psychiatrists, contribute to their professional development through organising courses and other educational events, prepare online educational materials and publications, and actively collaborate with other organisations. The EPA ECPC is always open to fostering cooperation on new professional, educational or research initiatives with early career psychiatrists from different countries.

Editorial Vol.1

Siddajyoti Education Campus (SJEC) is a community campus located at Kamalamai Municipality-5, Phosretar, a rural area of Sindhuli district. The campus is affiliated with Tribhuvan University, and managed by the local community envisioning to stand as one of the leading academic institutions in the country for quality education and promoting research activities. It follows the rules, regulations, guidelines, curriculum, examination system, and other academic norms of Tribhuvan University. The campus enrolls and provides support to the students of rural areas in this region particularly Chhori (daughters) and Buhari (daughters-in-law).&#x0D; Since research is to create new knowledge and to use the existing bodies of knowledge in a new and creative ways so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings, SJEC believes on developing research culture for effective, meaningful and productive classroom instruction in this ever-changing world. Apprehending this reality SJEC has established Research Management Cell (RMC) with the support of University Grants Commission (UGC). RMC has been launching research oriented trainings, workshops, seminars, course refresher trainings, capacity development trainings to develop professional skills of teachers as well as students. RMC also supports teachers for doing mini researches, and students for thesis writing.&#x0D; SJEC believes that delivering lecture and providing the same old notes culture has been failure in our context. Therefore, RMC decided to publish research-based academic journal, Siddhajyoti Interdisciplinary Journal (SIJ), an official journal of SJEC. It aims to encourage teachers to read, write and share their researches and ideas among teachers, trainers, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners of interdisciplinary subjects (Education, Curriculum, Psychology, EPM, English, Nepali, Mathematics, Social, Population, Economics, Health and physical Education etc.) in the academic world through publication.&#x0D; In this first volume of Siddhajyoti Interdisciplinary Journal (SIJ), we have included 15 articles by following rigorous peer review and editing process. This volume includes the articles of novice scholars of Nepal from English, Health, Economics, Nepali, Education and Mathematics backgrounds. In the article from Nepali discipline Dr. Jibalal Basyal explores the contemporary issues of writing Nepali poem, Surendra Bam, Heramba Raj Bastola, Ramesh Bhattrai, Krishna Prasad Subedi and Jhagindra Raj Dhakal analyse and synthesise the ideas of professional development of language teacher, role of teaching materials in multilingual class, self evaluation practice in instruction development, different aspects of origin of language and various types and ways of reading, respectively.&#x0D; In English Nani Babu Ghimire explores the responsibilities and expectation of the teachers of community campus for their professional development, Man Bahadur Jora talks about the burning issue of English Medium Instruction regarding ethnics groups' parents believe on it, Dipak Tamang attempted to justify the language policy in Nepal concerning on multilingual practice in family, and Sakun Kumar Joshi discusses about linguistic intelligences at basic level learners in Nepal. Likewise, Keshar Bahadur Kunwar argues on foreign direct investment and economic growth of Nepal, Yam Prasad Pandeya looks into parental factors and their effects on students' learning in mathematics, Sapana Adhikari investigates struggle of Tamang children in achieving elementary education, Shanti Devi Rai explains Suptulung as indigenous knowledge of Kirat Rai people in Nepal. Exploring the issue of Health education Kosh Bilash Bagale avers about menstruation as still dark side of the society in 21th century in Nepal.&#x0D; We are very confident that these articles will be instrumental in guiding the coming generations of multidisciplinary practitioners of Nepal. We make call to all valuable readers to contribute by writing for the upcoming issues, reading articles and writing comments as well as bringing changes in your profession. Let's try our hand not only in the classroom but also in strengthening our academic development through this publication.&#x0D; We express our gratitude to all authors for their valuable contributions. Our sincere gratitude goes to all reviewers, who supported the Editorial Team throughout the process. We are equally grateful to Campus Management Committee of SJEC and RMC for their continuous support. We are also thankful to the designer, Prakhar Sindhuliya for the elegant design.&#x0D; Happy reading!

Atacama Database: a platform of the microbiome of the Atacama Desert.

The Atacama Desert is one of the oldest and driest places on Earth. In the last decade, microbial richness and diversity has been acknowledged as an important biological resource of this region. Owing to the value of the microbial diversity apparent in potential biotechnology applications and conservation purposes, it is necessary to catalogue these microbial communities to promote research activities and help to preserve the wide range of ecological niches of the Atacama region. A prototype Atacama Database has been designed and it provides a description of the rich microbial diversity of the Atacama Desert, and helps to visualise available literature resources. Data has been collected, curated, and organised into several categories to generate a single record for each organism in the database that covers classification, isolation metadata, morphology, physiology, genome and metabolism information. The current version of Atacama Database contains 2302 microorganisms and includes cultured and uncultured organisms retrieved from different environments within the desert between 1984 and 2016. These organisms are distributed in bacterial, archaeal or eukaryotic domains, along with those that are unclassified taxonomically. The initial prototype of the Atacama Database includes a basic search and taxonomic and advanced search tools to allow identification and comparison of microbial populations, and space distribution within this biome. A geolocation search was implemented to visualise the microbial diversity of the ecological niches defined by sectors and extract general information of the sampling sites. This effort will aid understanding of the microbial ecology of the desert, microbial population dynamics, seasonal behaviour, impact of climate change over time, and reveal further biotechnological applications of these microorganisms. The Atacama Database is freely available at: https://www.atacamadb.cl.

Research activity among European hand surgery residents.

During residency, most hand surgeons may be encouraged to participate in clinical or basic science research projects. The research committee of the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH) is dedicated to support research activities, especially of young surgeons, including residents. In 2018, we initiated a survey among European hand surgeons to assess hurdles that limit research activity during hand surgery training and to explore if FESSH can take a more active role in promoting research activities.

Preface

Preface

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASES OF TEACHING THE COURSE «MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS SELECTION AND ORIENTATION» IN TRAINING BACHELOR PROGRAM «PHYSICAL CULTURE AND SPORTS»

The article deals with theoretical and methodological bases of teaching optional course «Medical and Biological aspects of sports selection and orientation» for bachelor students of the Faculty of Physical Education of Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University. The goal, objectives of the course, the list of professional competencies and skills which are obligatory after the completion of the course are defined.The components of educational-methodical complex of the subject was determined: training and content syllabus, supporting lecture notes with questions for self-instructional training, materials for practical classes and independent work, tests for current and module control of students knowledge, final tests.The system of training highly qualified specialists provides classroom (lectures and practical classes) and independent work. In order to promote research activities a master student has 2/3 from all kind of training time.According to the educational subject syllabus the teacher suggested the following ways of evaluation of educational achievements of bachelor students as current, modular, final control. Current knowledge assessment and control module are performed in the forms of different tests. The final assessment consists of all points earned during the current testing and modul controls, as well as the performance of individual work. Overall evaluation of bachelor students success is rating and is set by 100-scale system and totraditional scale accepted in Ukraine. A range of points that students may get for the topics of content moduleswere given.

How do NHS organisations plan research capacity development? Strategies, strengths, and opportunities for improvement

Research that is integral into a ‘learning healthcare system’ can promote cost effective services and knowledge creation. As such, research is defined as a ‘core function’ in UK health service organisations, and is often planned through research and development (R&D) strategies that aim to promote research activity and research capacity development (RCD).The discussion focuses around the content of ten R&D strategies for healthcare organisations in England and Scotland, with respect to RCD. These organisations were engaged with a research interest network called ACORN (Addressing Organisational Capacity to do Research Network) that included two Scottish Health Boards, four community and mental health trusts, two provincial district hospitals, and two teaching hospitals.We undertook a thematic documentary analysis of the R&D strategies which identified 11 ‘core activities’ of RCD. The potential for building research capacity in these ‘core activities’ was established by reviewing them through the lens of a RCD framework.Core activities aimed to ‘hard wire’ RCD into health organisations. They demonstrated a complex interplay between developing a strong internal organisational infrastructure, and supporting individual career planning and skills development, in turn enabled by organisational processes. They also included activities to build stronger inter-organisational relationships and networks. Practitioner, manager and patient involvement was a cross cutting theme. The potential to demonstrate progress was included in plans through monitoring activity across all RCD principles. Strategies were primarily aimed at research production rather than research use. Developing ‘actionable dissemination’ was poorly addressed in the strategies, and represents an area for improvement.We describe strengths of RCD planning activities, and opportunities for improvement. We explore how national policy and research funders can influence health systems’ engagement in research.

Undergraduate Pre-service EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Research: A Quantitative Analysis

This study explores, from a pragmatist perspective, the conceptions of research of undergraduate pre-service teachers from an English Language Major at a public Mexican university. A survey design was used. The informants were 108 pre-service EFL teachers from the second, sixth and tenth semesters. The conceptions of research showed similar percentages among the pre-service teachers from those semesters. Only a slight variation was found in the factor “misconceptions about research”. The factor “research about problem solution” was the only one that showed a significant but weak correlation with the semester in which undergraduate pre-service EFL teachers were. Slight differences were also found between age range and conceptions of research. The lack of differences among the research conceptions of these undergraduate pre-service EFL teachers is opposed to the findings of previous studies. This can be explained by the fact that those studies were done in varied contexts and with post graduate students from disciplines different from the foreign language teaching area. It is suggested to correct students’ misconceptions and promote research activities during the bachelor degree.

Research Promoting Guidelines for the College of Government, Rangsit University, Thailand

&lt;p class="Body"&gt;Considering that researches are perceived as the main mission for every universities in Thailand, a key performance indicator representing performance quality of relevant agencies, as well as an assessment factor for world leading university ranking programmes. None the less, there are no clear guidelines set by the College of Government, Rangsit University with respect to the internal practices towards the promotion of research activities. Accordingly, this study aims to (i) examine all researches context and research promotion policy found within the College of Government, Rangsit University; (ii) conduct a strength-weakness analysis; (iii) analyse experiences and lessons learned of other institutes; and lastly; (iv) provide applicable recommendations, based on literature reviews of both primary and secondary materials, for the College. From the research findings, it is discovered that (i) supports given by the University have, in general, led to a higher number of research publications, however, more could still be achieved should they had utilised the support programme more effectively; (ii) despite the College’s research support programme including its fostering environment and favourable organization culture, a lack of research initiatives as well as limited number of competent staffs are essentially main challenges that restrict possible research potentials; (iii) the challenges faced by either the College or Rangsit University are also present amongst other institutions, of which they have laid down relevant guidelines aiming to promote research publications; (iv) there are three steps that the College could undergo, as an ad hoc response, the College should provide greater research incentives and more supporting environment for its academics, followed by creating appealing conditions to encourage publications and disseminations, and lastly as an ultimate long run solution, practical strategy and systematic regimes should be put in place.&lt;/p&gt;

Welcome Remarks

At Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), we take pride in expanding new ideas and promoting lifelong knowledge. UNITEN has an academic environment where exceptional students and scholars worldwide can be inspired to excel in their fields of study and research. The BOLD 2020 strategic plan for Universiti Tenaga Nasional represents a commitment to improving quality, and an aspiration to be recognised among the leading institutions of higher learning in Malaysia and in the rest of the world.Sustainable research in the energy sector is one of the key agenda of UNITEN. This is clearly worded in its mission statement as; “We strive to advance knowledge and learning experience through research and innovation that will best serve human society”. BOLD 2020 has also set a goal for Advancing Research in the Energy Industry, in line with UNITEN as “The National Energy University”. UNITEN’s commitment in promoting research activities is evident from the amount of research undertaken that continues to increase year after year.The Centre for Renewable Energy, CRE, was established by UNITEN, as a centre of excellence for research and development in Renewable Energy. The core of CRE's strategic direction is in research and development programmes mainly in understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels. CRE has established its core strength through continuous, innovative and excellent research achievements. CRE provides a sustainable platform for strategic partnerships between the authorities, industry and academia into greater achievements in national renewable energy development with the vision to be the leading centre of excellence and regional knowledge hub in renewable energy. The centre's pool of scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. The centre thereby directly contributes to our nation's goal for finding new renewable ways to power our homes, industries, businesses, and transportation.My heartiest congratulations to CRE and the ICARET 2016 Organizing Committee for putting together this important event, providing an intellectual forum for exchange of knowledge and information in the development of renewable energy (RE), and its related enabling technologies. The outcomes and proceedings of the conference will be an important input to the Nation’s effort on Green Technology and Renewable Energy implementation.I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all participants and wish all of you the very best in your deliberations and discussions on this important topic of renewable energy.Thank you.

설명 단계를 강조한 POE 과학수업이 초등학생들에게 미치는 효과

The purpose of this study was to see the influences of POE science class that emphasizes explanation on science research ability, motivation of science class as well as scientific attitude of elementary students. The results drawn from this analysis were as below. Firstly, positive relationship was found between science research ability and POE science class was shown among research group. This shows that science research ability was improved as POE science class encouraged the research activities of students. It indicates that POE science class emphasizing explanation is effective in improving science research ability of students. Secondly, positive relationship was found between motivation of science class and POE science class among research group and this means that POE science class that emphasizes explanation stimulates intellectual curiosity of students and improves their attitude by actively promoting research activities. Thirdly, there was a positive relationship between scientific attitude and POE science class among research group. This presents that POE science class emphasizing explanation is effective in improving students` attitude toward science by promoting research activities. Above results show that POE science class emphasizing explanation is highly effective for elementary students. It is considered that scientific writing, discussion and debate classes have positive influences on research ability, motivation of science class and scientific attitude of elementary students. Thus, it is needed to apply POE science class to current science class as it can promote wider scientific activities among students.

Colil: a database and search service for citation contexts in the life sciences domain.

BackgroundTo promote research activities in a particular research area, it is important to efficiently identify current research trends, advances, and issues in that area. Although review papers in the research area can suffice for this purpose in general, researchers are not necessarily able to obtain these papers from research aspects of their interests at the time they are required. Therefore, the utilization of the citation contexts of papers in a research area has been considered as another approach. However, there are few search services to retrieve citation contexts in the life sciences domain; furthermore, efficiently obtaining citation contexts is becoming difficult due to the large volume and rapid growth of life sciences papers.ResultsHere, we introduce the Colil (Comments on Literature in Literature) database to store citation contexts in the life sciences domain. By using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and a newly compiled vocabulary, we built the Colil database and made it available through the SPARQL endpoint. In addition, we developed a web-based search service called Colil that searches for a cited paper in the Colil database and then returns a list of citation contexts for it along with papers relevant to it based on co-citations. The citation contexts in the Colil database were extracted from full-text papers of the PubMed Central Open Access Subset (PMC-OAS), which includes 545,147 papers indexed in PubMed. These papers are distributed across 3,171 journals and cite 5,136,741 unique papers that correspond to approximately 25 % of total PubMed entries.ConclusionsBy utilizing Colil, researchers can easily refer to a set of citation contexts and relevant papers based on co-citations for a target paper. Colil helps researchers to comprehend life sciences papers in a research area more efficiently and makes their biological research more efficient.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13326-015-0037-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Understanding student engagement with research: a study of pre-service teachers’ research perceptions, research experience, and motivation

This study reports on findings from a research project that investigated the extent to which pre-service teachers at a major metropolitan Australian university engage with research, and the factors that influence their level of engagement or disengagement. Results from survey responses (n = 235) and focus group interviews suggest that attitudes towards research are more positive among pre-service teachers who possess research experience and those who are intrinsically motivated with respect to their university studies. The article discusses the implications of these results for the effective organisation and promotion of research activities for pre-service teachers.

ARCS전략을 적용한 스토리텔링 과학수업이 초등학생들의 과학수업 동기 및 과학적 태도에 미치는 효과

The purpose of this study was to see the effects of science classes applying ARCS strategies on motivation of science class as well as scientific attitude of elementary students. For this purpose, 47 elementary students in 2 classes from 5th grade of M elementary school based in P metropolitan city were targeted. One class with 24 students was assigned as experimental group and the other class with 23 students were assigned as control group. The chapter of `solar system and star` in the curriculum revised in 2009 was taught over 10 classes from mid-April to end of June in 2015. For verification, 10 times science classes applying ARCS strategies were performed on experimental group while 10 times of general science class were performed on control group. The results drawn from this analysis were as below. Firstly, positive relationship was found between motivation of science class and science class applying ARCS strategy among experimental group and this means that science classes applying ARCS strategy stimulate intellectual curiosity of students and improves their attitude by actively promoting research activities. Secondly, there was a positive relationship between scientific attitude and science classes applying ARCS strategy among experimental group. This presents that science classes applying ARCS strategy were effective in improving students` scientific attitude by promoting research activities. Above results show that science classes applying ARCS strategy were highly effective for elementary students.