Thematic Network Project Research Articles

Farmers’ wellbeing is a concern for all of us

Farmers’ wellbeing is a concern for all of us FARMWELL was a European Thematic Network project supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme between 2021 and 2023. The project aimed at improving the mental, physical and social wellbeing of farmers through bringing relevant social innovations closer to farmers and making practical information on social innovations more accessible.

Building a community-based taxonomic resource for digitization of parasites and their hosts

Abstract Classification of the biological diversity on Earth is foundational to all areas of research within the natural sciences. Reliable biological nomenclatural and taxonomic systems facilitate efficient access to information about organisms and their names over time. However, broadly sharing, accessing, delivering, and updating these resources remains a persistent problem. This barrier has been acknowledged by the biodiversity data sharing community, yet concrete efforts to standardize and continually update taxonomic names in a sustainable way remain limited. High diversity groups such as arthropods are especially challenging as available specimen data per number of species is substantially lower than vertebrate or plant groups. The Terrestrial Parasite Tracker Thematic Collections Network project developed a workflow for gathering expert-verified taxonomic names across all available sources, aligning those sources, and publishing a single resource that provides a model for future endeavors to standardize digital specimen identification data. The process involved gathering expert-verified nomenclature lists representing the full taxonomic scope of terrestrial arthropod parasites, documenting issues experienced, and finding potential solutions for reconciliation of taxonomic resources against large data publishers. Although discordance between our expert resources and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility are relatively low, the impact across all taxa affects thousands of names that correspond to hundreds of thousands of specimen records. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism for the delivery and continued maintenance of these taxonomic resources, while highlighting the current state of taxon name curation for biodiversity data sharing.

Study of the permanent deformation of three soils employed in highway subgrades in the municipality of Santa Maria-RS, Brazil

Permanent deformation is associated with wheel track rutting (WTR) and is one of the main causes of defects in the pavements of Brazilian highways. Seeking to mitigate this situation, this paper presents a study about the permanent deformation of three typical subgrade soils of the Santa Maria region, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the southern region of Brazil. In addition to the physical, chemical, and mechanical characterization of the materials, this research presents results from repeated load triaxial tests to obtain the resilient modulus (RM) and the permanent deformation (PD) parameters. The Compound model of the resilient modulus, posteriorly cited on the Petrobras Asphalt Thematic Network Project, showed the best results. The permanent deformation tests were conducted using a frequency of 2 Hz and 150,000 load application cycles and posteriorly adjusted to the Guimaraes Model, of which average statistical correlation was 0.91. However, the predominance of fine materials combined with low compaction energy resulted in high deformation rates and the occurrence of shakedown in domains: A (plastic shakedown), B (plastic creep) and C (incremental collapse).

Towards sustainable European grassland farming with Inno4Grass: an infrastructure for innovation and knowledge sharing

European agriculture is facing tremendous challenges related to the rapid decrease in farm populations, competitiveness on open markets and the preservation of natural resources. Grasslands, which are highly significant for nature conservation often face land-use competition with arable cropping, urbanisation and other uses. Farmers need dedicated innovations to improve the economic performance of grasslands and their effective implementation in practice. This requires co-creation of knowledge between researchers and farmland practitioners, as was broadly pointed out by the European Commission. This paper describes a novel approach for creating a collaborative space for grassland innovations contributing to profitability of European grassland farms while preserving environmental benefits. Innovative modes of collaboration between practice and science are enabled by an international thematic network across eight European member states. A methodology that serves to collect farmers’ innovative ideas and to stimulate collaboration among various stakeholders (farmers’ groups, extension services, education and research) including cross-border collaborations, where grassland-related knowledge is made available for local conditions. This interactive innovation model fosters knowledge exchange and establishes a farmland-specific information management system. The aim is to stimulate a renewed, collaborative innovation culture for European Union (EU) grasslands. The methods are conceptualised and put into practice by the thematic network project Inno4Grass funded under Horizon 2020.

Monitoring analysis of two pavement sections of highway BR-448/RS included in the Asphalt Thematic Network Project

Highways are the mode of transport used for the transportation of the majority of loads and passengers in Brazil; however, the lack of conservation of pavements has caused several economical losses to the country. Only through suitable pavement management the rehabilitation measures taken might ensure a satisfactory level of service. The present research aimed at evaluating the performance of two pavement sections of the federal highway BR-448/RS, in southern Brazil. For three years, the evolution of the pavement structural capacity and functional condition were followed in order to propose performance trends. Deflections, permanent deformations, and surface defects surveys scarcely varied and were quite low due to the thick asphalt layers used (19 cm). On the other hand, segregation of the asphalt mixture was observed when the final layer was laid. That segregation affected pavement texture, reduced tire-road friction, and caused the formation of surface water films; thus, reducing the road safety. In general, the proposed trend lines predicted quite accurately the pavement performance throughout the period evaluated and will be used in the MeDiNa software database for the creation of a new Brazilian pavement design method.

Cenozoic Marine Formations of Washington and Oregon: an annotated catalogue

An annotated list of Cenozoic, fossiliferous marine formations from western Oregon and Washington State, U.S.A., and southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, has been assembled. This chart is a product of the Eastern Pacific Invertebrate Communities of the Cenozoic (EPICC) Thematic Collections Network project that is digitizing over 1.6 million Cenozoic marine invertebrate fossils from the eastern Pacific margin (Alaska to Chile) housed in the network’s museums. The chart includes formation names currently recognized by Geolex, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geologic Map Database. Also included on the chart are prior names, original authors, biozonations, ages from the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC), and references for the most recent age calls.

Dental Education in Europe

Dental Education in Europe

Fracture Assessment of Flaws in Weldments using FITNET FFS Procedure: An Overview

Recently a European community funded thematic network project (participation of 17 countries) FITNET (www.eurofitnet.org) has completed a new and unified engineering assessment procedure (FITNET FFS Procedure) of flaws in metallic structures and welds. This newly developed procedure (under CEN Workshop Agreement WA22) provides assessment rules for flaws or damage due to fracture, fatigue, creep and corrosion to demonstrate the structural integrity of the component. This paper gives an overview of the FITNET Fitness-for-Service (FFS) Procedure and specifically presents the features and basic equations of the Fracture Module. It also presents two brief examples for the validation of the procedure using laser welded specimens.

Stakeholder Needs for Air Pollution and Health Information

Within the European Commission-supported thematic network project AIRNET, a stakeholder survey was performed to identify key questions and issues of concern for end users regarding air pollution and health information. On the whole, survey respondents typically asked general questions concerning air pollution and health (i.e., regarding the type of pollutant, emission sources, monitoring, and health impact). Furthermore, an overwhelming response across all stakeholder categories was not the unavailability of information sources to inform policy, but the lack of time available to read and absorb all the information. Overall, the respondents expressed their preference for information that is (1) presented as short and clear overviews, (2) ready for policy use by including a practical linkage between the research findings and implementation of public protection, and (3) in a format easily passed on to others.

Teacher training and ‘quality’ in higher education language teaching: strategies and options

The article focuses on the training of higher education language teachers from a quality enhancement perspective. After a brief discussion of the nature of quality in higher education, the article considers the implications which the expansion of language learning in higher education in Europe has for the teachers involve in designing and delivering language programmes. The main body of the article is then devoted to a discussion of the strategies and options in the field of the training of language teachers which emerged from reports on quality enhancement in higher education language studies prepared in 18 European countries. The reports were prepared within the framework of Thematic Network Project 2, organised by the European Language Council. The article concludes by highlighting the crucial role of teacher training in the ‘quality cycle’ with respect to both teaching and student learning. L'article traite de la formation d'enseignants de langue travaillant dans l'enseignement supérieur d'une perspective axée sur l'amélioration de la qualité. Suite à une brève discussion de la notion de qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur, l'article examine les implications de l'expansion de l'apprentissage des langues dans l'enseignement supérieur en Europe pour les enseignants responsables de la conception et de la réalisation pédagogique de programmes de langue. La partie principale de l'article est alors consacrée à l'analyse des choix et stratégies dans le domaine de la formation d'enseignants de langues qui se sont dégagés de rapports sur l'amélioration de la qualité dans le domaine des langues dans l'enseignement supérieur dans 18 pays de l'Europe. Ces rapports furent préparés dans le cadre du Projet de Réseau Thématique 2, organisé par le Conseil Européen pour les Langues. En conclusion, l'article souligne le rôle crucial joué par la formation des enseignants par rapport à la qualité autant de l'enseignement que de l'apprentissage des langues par les étudiants. El artículo trata de la formación de profesores de lengua que trabajan en la enseñanza superior, desde la perspectiva de la mejora de la calidad. Tras una breve discusión acerca de la nociœn de calidad en la enseñanza superior, el artículo examina las implicaciones de la expansión del aprendizaje de las lenguas en la enseñanza superior en Europa para los profesores responsables de la concepción y de la realización pedagógica de programas de lengua. La parte principal del artículo se consagra por tanto al análisis de las elecciones y estrategias en el campo de la formación de profesores de lenguas, tal como se desprenden de los informes sobre la mejora de la calidad en el campo de las lenguas en la enseñanza superior en 18 países de Europa. Estos informes fueron preparados en el marco del Proyecto de Red Temática 2, organizado por el Consejo Europeo para las Lenguas. En conclusión, el artículo subraya el papel crucial desempeñado por la formación de los profesores en la calidad tanto de la ensepanza como del aprendizaje de las lenguas por los estudiantes. Der Artikel behandelt die Ausbildung von Sprachlehrkräften an Hochschulen aus der Sicht der Qualitätsverbesserung. Nach einer kurzen Erörterung der Spezifität der Qualität in der Hochschulbildung, befasst sich der Artikel mit den Konsequenzen des verstärkten Lehrens und Lernens von Sprachen an Hochschulen für die mit der Planung und Umsetzung von Sprachlehrprogrammen betrauten Lehrkräfte. Der Hauptteil des Artikels ist der Analyse von Strategien und Möglichkeiten im Bereich der Ausbildung von Sprachlehrkräften gewidmet, die aus 18 europäischen Länderberichten über Qualitätsverbesserung im Sprachenbereich an Hochschulen hervorgingen. Diese Berichte wurden innerhalb des vom Europäischen Sprachenrat organisierten Thematischen Netzwerkprojekts Sprachen II (TNP2) erstellt. Am Schluss des Artikels wird die entscheidende Rolle der Ausbildung der Sprachlehrkräfte für die Qualität des Lehrens und Lernens von Sprachen an Hochschulen hervorgehoben.

Meeting Report: National Workshops for the Communication of Air Pollutionand Health Information: Summary of Four Workshops in Different Regionsof Europe

AIRNET was a thematic network project (2002–2004) initiated to stimulate the interaction between researchers in air pollution and health in Europe. As part of AIRNET’s communication strategy, a standardized workshop model was developed to organize national meetings on air pollution and health (AIRNET network days). Emphasis was given to tailor the national workshop information and related activities to the specific needs of a wider range of stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, nongovernmental organizations, industry representatives). In this report we present an overview of the results of four workshops held in western, northern, central/eastern, and southern regions of Europe in 2004. Overall, workshop experiences indicated that by actively involving participants in the planning of each meeting, AIRNET helped create an event that addressed participants’ needs and interests. A wide range of communication formats used to discuss air pollution and health also helped stimulate active interaction among participants. Overall, the national workshops held by AIRNET offered a way to improve communication among the different stakeholders. Because a broad stakeholder involvement in decision making can positively affect the development of widely supported policies, such meetings should be continued for Europe and elsewhere.

EVALUATION OF REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT — TRANSITIONS AND PROSPECTS

Evaluation practice, "regional development" and "sustainability" are each complex and contentious. Each shows rapid trends and transitions, and opportunities to be gained for more integrated governance and regional development. This paper takes a case study approach, based on the "Evaluation Workshop" of the EU thematic network project REGIONET. The case studies each concerned the restructuring and modernization process: one in an industrial conurbation, another in an agricultural region and a third in a peripheral region. For each case study, the workshop sessions explored in depth the current evaluation practice, the technical tools, the social processes and the trends and prospects in sight. The results of this exploration highlight the rapid transitions emerging in several areas — in technical tools, in social participation and in multi-level governance. The implications are for a new kind of evaluation toolkit, a "meta-information system", which helps to link between existing methods and tools. They also point towards an evaluation approach that is based on a proactive "opportunity building", as much as a reactive "impact assessment".

GUEST EDITORIAL: EVALUATION OF REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT — MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE

This editorial introduction takes an overview of the policy and technical context for evaluation methods and tools, as applied to regional sustainable development (RSD). The papers are drawn from the European expert workshop of the REGIONET Thematic Network project. The papers were grouped into four themes to reflect the structure of the workshop: current practice; technical tools; social processes; and integrated frameworks. Each of these demonstrates different aspects of the current "landscape" of evaluation in theory and practice, and the future developments in prospect. One emerging theme is the tension between a policy orientation and a technical orientation, and the many current experiments on this interface.

ROAD PRICING AND URBAN FREIGHT TRANSPORT: PRACTICES AND DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE BESTUFS PROJECT

This paper provides an overview on practices and developments related to road pricing in Europe in an urban freight context. It is based on the outcome of the BESTUFS project (Best Urban Freight Solutions, 2000-03), a thematic network project within the 5th Framework Program of the European Commission. The main focus is on practices with implemented pricing schemes in urban areas in Europe, and also on truck pricing. Although most of the implemented schemes in urban areas were designed originally for passenger transport, the contribution will take the viewpoint of the freight transport side. Success and failure factors have been identified, and recommendations for the implementation are made.

Concluding remarks

The most important results from the EU-sponsored ENTRANSFOOD Thematic Network project are reviewed, including the design of a detailed step-wise procedure for the risk assessment of foods derived from genetically modified crops based on the latest scientific developments, evaluation of topical risk assessment issues, and the formulation of proposals for improved risk management and public involvement in the risk analysis process.

The GENIE workshop and their contribution to curricula for inclusive design

The GENIE (Gerontechnology Education Network In Europe) Thematic Network project was established to improve the quality of education in gerontechnology and to promote its acceptance across institutions of higher learning. A key component of the final GENIE meeting in Helsinki, August 2001, consisted of a number of Workshops spanning different age groups and disciplines. The purpose of these workshops was to provide an experimental and learning opportunity, enabling students to work together with older people to identify potential design solutions. The final outcome of the workshops was in the form of an idea for a new product, technology, service, system, or environment. Since the focus of the methodology used was to involve the user group of older persons in all stages of the design process: (i) obtaining information on a specific topic in relation to the users, (ii) identifying users’ requirements, (iii) translating them into realistic designs, (iv) discussing their utility and usability with the seniors, (v) refining the designs, and (vi) later assessing whether the needs are being met, these outcomes matched to the requirements of the seniors and resulted in valuable solutions for this user group. As an example of the methodology, the mobility theme will be treated. The paper will conclude with suggestions emerging from the workshop which can contribute to key knowledge and skills for curricula in inclusive design.

High temperature defect assessment procedures

Development of a unified fracture risk evaluation method for industry will provide assurance for new innovative constructions in choice of materials and/or fabrication methods and assurance in plant operation. Safe plant operation with extended component life and enhanced decision making processes in run/repair/replace situations is facilitated by validated defect assessment procedures. Guidelines and methodologies for high temperature defect assessment and well developed in-house expertise exist in Europe. However, lack of commonality and very limited validation significantly limit their application. Substantial effort has been made by Industry and Research Organizations during the last decade to generate data and draft codes of practice. A systematic and coordinated approach will produce a validated and easy-to-use unified defect assessment procedure. The present paper gives a review on the high temperature defect assessment procedures which are most commonly used by the EC supported Thematic Network project PLAN partners both in their projects and in their organizations. This is followed by a review of on-going programmes in collaborative EC Projects.

Dental Education in Europe: The Challenges of Variety

Dental education varies considerably across Europe, with differing traditions of stomatology (dentistry as a specialty of medicine) and odontology (single autonomous discipline). Dental curricula within the European Union (EU) are governed by European law expressed in directives that are binding on all EU member states. The Dental Directives (78/686/EC) base the curriculum on the odontological model, but compliance by individual schools is often poor. The differences within the EU will likely intensify with the accession of Eastern/Central European countries where the stomatological tradition is strong. Moreover, current proposals within the EU will reduce even the limited existing effectiveness of the Dental Directives. The DentEd Thematic Network Project, which aims to promote convergence of European curricula through voluntary self-assessment and outside peer review, has involved about 25 percent of European schools. Its effectiveness in inducing changes in individual schools is unknown. It is not an accreditation system, and there is no intention to establish a European-wide common curriculum. Dentists' vocational training, here defined as "the organised education of the newly qualified dentist in supervised practice," is present in various models in many European countries, but is compulsory in only a few. Continuing dental education (CDE) is encouraged in most countries, but CDE-dependent licensure is required in only two.

European convergence towards higher standards in dental education: the DentEd Thematic Network Project.

This paper describes a Thematic Network Project (TNP) funded by the European Union's Directorate for Education and Culture. It focused on convergence towards higher standards in dental education in the European Union and included those 'Associate Countries' seeking membership of an expanding EU. The DentEd Project sought to use peer influence in promoting convergence towards higher standards in European dental education and training. There is evidence of serious differences in standards despite the European Union's Dental Directives and the series of guidelines and recommendations of their Advisory Committee on the Training of Dental Practitioners. The DentEd TNP sought to improve communication, better understanding of different systems and to pool intellectual resources. A central objective of the network was to promote outcome analysis and the implementation of evidence-based treatments. DentEd sought to identify and disseminate innovations and best practices in European dental schools and stomatological institutions. This was achieved by instigating 30 self-assessments of dental schools throughout Europe. Self-assessment was followed by a visit from a team of international peers. Each assessment comprised 19 sections and was placed on the DentEd web site (www.dented.org) after it was jointly approved by the visitors and host school. The 30 self-assessment reports together with the visitors comments and recommendations were then divided into their component sections and analysed. Responsibility for each section was allocated to one of 19 different international working groups of between 8 and 12 people. Preliminary analyses from these working groups were presented and debated on the DentEd interactive web site. They finalised their findings in the DentEd Report at a Plenary meeting in the Nobel Forum in the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The meeting was organised in such a way that each working group finalised their report. This was followed by the rotation of the working groups to listen and respond to the presentation of another group on the basis of a series interactive meetings. At the end of the meeting the original groups reassembled and revised their analysis on the basis of the additional input from the other 200 individuals involved and then finalised their group's report on the web site. These reports are available on the web site and were also published in hard copy.1 The three-year DentEd Project achieved its stated objectives. The DentEd Thematic Network Project employed a process of schools visits, plenary meetings and the use of an interactive web site to help reach consensus on innovations, best practices and significant divergence in standards in dental education in Europe. This process has proven an effective method of improving communication and of increasing the understanding of diversity in a wide range of educational methods. It also emphasised the importance of continuing quality improvement and outcome analysis of the clinical competence of graduates from European dental schools. It is important to emphasise that schools visited are likely to reflect those with an open and flexible attitude to educational reform and development and perhaps they were not representative of those schools that would benefit most from a self-assessment followed by peer review. On completion of the DentEd Thematic Network Project (TNP) the European Union's Directorate for Education and Culture approved a new three-year DentEdEvolves TNP and the consortium has recently submitted a major proposal in the EU's eLearning initiative on the basis of the success of this collaboration. This has extended to include 75% of dental schools from North America and plans for extension to South-east Asia will bring a major meeting to Singapore in April 2002.

SOME THOUGHTS ON CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDY PROGRAMMES/MINTYS APIE STATYBOS KRYPTIES STUDIJŲ PROGRAMAS

More than four hundred study programmes are registered in Lithuanian higher education institutions for undergraduate level, and the same number for postgraduate studies. Any demand of a labour market cannot substantiate such an abundance of programmes. Some details of the previous mechanism of financing universities had stipulated the increase of the number. Sickness of the abundance is characteristic of the civil engineering subject area as well. In Table 1 there are listed all the programmes in this subject area: 12 different programmes for undergraduate, 10 for Master, and 5 for specialised professional studies. Some very specialised names of programmes make us suppose the programmes are for non-university studies. Basic (undergraduate), Master and Doctoral studies make a consistent system of Lithuanian civil engineering higher education. Specialised one-year professional postgraduate study programmes do not fit to the system, they have been provoked by a wrong image of inferiority of undergraduate programmes. Similar subjects are included into both undergraduate and “professional” study programmes (examples are presented in Table 2). The title of Dipl Eng could be justified if it would be awarded by any professional body, not by universities. If it is necessary to lengthen duration of civil engineering education, it is better to substitute the four-year undergraduate programmes for five-year ones. Binary higher education system is coming to Lithuania, non-university study programmes and higher education institutions (colleges) will be introduced. Civil engineering study programmes fitting for this new higher education sector should be selected. Almost all the civil engineering programmes consist of very small courses (mostly of two-three credits), and six-seven subjects are studied every term. It is reasonable to shorten the term list up to five subjects, not more. Some efforts of civil engineers are directed to creating a common European higher education area according to the Sorbonne and Bologna declarations [3, 4]. The European Union Civil Engineering Education and Training Thematic Network Project (EUCEET) has a task to elaborate common requirements of curriculum, quality assessment and mutual recognition of the higher education.