Toolkit Approach Research Articles

From Educator to Broader Impacts Professional: A Case Study Analysis of the BI Toolkit Approach

Increasing emphasis is being placed by granting agencies on the need for specialists who support the translation of research into societal benefits. This societal benefit is often referred to as broader impacts (BI), and BI is important for acquiring grant funding and fulfilling land-grant university missions, among other benefits. However, few career paths lead directly to becoming a BI professional, so individuals moving into BI work need to transition from another career, which requires learning about BI. This case study examines the experiences of four former classroom teachers making the transition to both teacher educator (a teacher of teachers) and BI professional, and the ways in which their transition was supported using the Center for Advancing Research Impacts in Society (ARIS) BI Toolkit. Implications for onboarding using this toolkit are described and recommendations are made for how to use the ARIS BI Toolkit for transitioning BI professionals.

Implementation outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of a strategy to improve integration of behavioral health and primary care services

BackgroundIntegrating behavioral health services in primary care is challenging; a toolkit approach to practice implementation can help. A recent comparative effectiveness randomized clinical trial examined the impact of a toolkit for improving integration on outcomes for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Some aspects of behavioral health integration improved; patient-reported outcomes did not. This report evaluates the implementation strategy (Toolkit) using Proctor’s (2011) implementation outcomes model.MethodsUsing data from the 20 practices randomized to the active (toolkit strategy) arm (education, redesign workbooks, online learning community, remote coaching), we identified 23 measures from practice member surveys, coach interviews, reports, and field logs to assess Toolkit acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and fidelity. A practice survey score was high (met expectations) if its average was ≥ 4 on a scale 1-5; all other data were coded dichotomously, with high = 1.ResultsRegarding acceptability, 74% (14) of practices had high scores for willingness of providers and staff to use the Toolkit and 68% (13) for quality improvement teams liking the Toolkit. For appropriateness, 95% (19) of practices had high scores for the structured process being a good match and 63% (12) for the Toolkit being a good match. Feasibility, measured by Toolkit prerequisites, was scored lower by site members at project end (e.g., provider leader available as champion: 53% of practices) compared to remote coaches observing practice teams (74%). For “do-ability,” coaches rated feasibility lower for practices (e.g., completion of workbook activities: 32%) than the practice teams (68%). Fidelity was low as assessed across seven measures, with 50% to 78% of practices having high scores across the seven measures.ConclusionsExisting data from large trials can be used to describe implementation outcomes. The Toolkit was not implemented with fidelity in at least one quarter of the sites, despite being acceptable and appropriate, possibly due to low feasibility in the form of unmet prerequisites and Toolkit complexity. Variability in fidelity reflects the importance of implementation strategies that fit each organization, suggesting that further study on contextual factors and use of the Toolkit, as well as the relationship of Toolkit use and study outcomes, is needed.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02868983; date of registration: 08/15/2016.

Integrating lived experience to develop a tailored sleep intervention for people living with dementia and carepartners.

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent and have adverse health consequences for both people living with dementia and their carepartners. Despite this, they are under-addressed caregiving settings. This study aimed to explore these sleep disturbances and co-design a multimodal sleep intervention for people living with dementia and their carepartners. We conducted two focus groups and five semi-structured interviews (n = 4 people living with dementia, n = 6 carepartners). Active involvement of community advisors was sought throughout the design, development, and facilitation phases. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore sleep-related experiences and receive feedback to shape intervention development. People living with dementia reported disruptions to sleep and circadian rhythms, including sleep disturbances and confusion between day and night. Multiple sleep challenges were encountered by carepartners including insomnia, hypervigilance, and daytime impairment. The proposed sleep intervention was received positively, with significant insights emphasising the need for a multimodal toolkit approach, adaptation of the intervention across different dementia stages, and a focus on tailoring the program to carepartners. Sleep interventions for caregivers and care-recipients should target both sleep and daytime functioning to ensure holistic support. Participants were receptive towards time-friendly, online, multimodal sleep interventions that combine cognitive behaviour therapies, light therapy, mindfulness, and exercise elements.

Exploring a practice theoretical tool-kit approach for studying professional and organisational learning processes: a pragmatist interpretation

ABSTRACT This article conceptually explores different practice theoretical vantage points in empirical studies of professional and organisational learning processes. Through an ethnographic study of a management development program in Denmark, possibilities and limitations of three different practice-theoretical approaches are considered. Firstly, learning processes are examined as professional identity formation through participation in the community of practice around the development program. Next, Schatzki’s practice-theoretical approach is applied, focusing on management as situated work practice. A third approach focusing on persons’ learning paths in professional and organisational practices is considered: Ole Dreier's concept of person is discussed as a further development of practice theories in line with Schatzki’s thinking. The article explores the epistemological and ontological stances taken by the three practice theories in relation to the study of learning processes. A pragmatist interpretation of a ‘tool-kit’ approach to operationalising different practice theoretical approaches in alliance is developed, considering how this can generate constructive analytical tensions for exploring and understanding learning processes.

Assessing feasibility of a novel approach to effective medication self-management for older persons

The fact that nearly one-half of patients take medications differently than as prescribed, combined with the predisposition of older persons to adverse events, suggests a need for new strategies supporting medication self-management for older persons. This pilot study describes the development, acceptability and feasibility of a novel toolkit approach focusing on a systematic 4-step process for ensuring medication appropriateness. A preliminary qualitative assessment of the toolkit's acceptability and feasibility was carried out using a convenience sample of 39 residents aged 62-97 years in two senior living facilities convened in focus groups. A facilitator guided participants through discussions of the 4-step process. All participants indicated they perceive that the toolkit's systematic 4-step process can help older persons successfully self-manage medications. The most common medication use challenges cited by participants were related to effectiveness (35%), followed by intended medical use (27%), safety (23%), and ability to take medications (15%). This preliminary investigation suggests that older adults resonate with use of this 4-step process to confidently self-manage medications and find it feasible and acceptable to use in assessing the appropriateness of their medications. More research is needed to establish the reliability and validity of this toolkit with more diverse populations of older adults.

Governing landscapes: An agenda for the assessment of grasslands and savannahs

In this article, we propose an agenda promoting the development of a new integrated assessment toolkit (theory-based toolkit) of environmental governance in overlooked ecosystems of grasslands and savannahs in the Global South. To explore the complexity of social-ecological and governance systems, a growing number of systems-thinking approaches provide academics/practitioners with numerous analytical frameworks, theories, and methodologies that are potentially useful for unveiling institutional aspects along with their causal variables for the access, use and management of natural resources. Yet, we argue that achieving a comprehensive understanding of environmental governance systems only by using one single framework or theory is limiting. Further, there is a growing need of more social science knowledge and grassland and savannah context-specific frameworks that are tailored and applicable to policy settings. Therefore, by building on the five approaches of the political ecological framework of community-based governance (CBG) relating to key environmental governance frameworks, such as the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) and the institutional and development framework (IAD), we propose a theory-based toolkit that would review, synthesize, connect, relate and test multiple core principles in a way that more fully accounts for social-ecological interactions in focal ecosystems. We are convinced that future empirical analysis/research following our agenda and the toolkit approach can generate hypotheses that are testable in real-life contexts. To this end, we suggest guiding research questions, research methods, as well as comparable cases and their rationales.

Response to Open Peer Commentaries on “Ethical Issues in Using Behavior Contracts to Manage the ‘Difficult’ Patient Family”

This article refers to:Ethical Issues in Using Behavior Contracts to Manage the “Difficult” Patient and FamilyBehavior Contracts Are Not Psychologically NaïveThe Patient as Responsible Agent: Ethical Constructs Important to considering Behavioral Contracts for “Difficult” Patients and FamiliesUnique Ethical and Practical Considerations in the Use of Behavior Contracts for Families of Minors and Minoritized Populations in Pediatric SettingsBehavior Contracts and Lessons from Parenting “Rotten” KidsBeyond Mediation: A Toolkit Approach to Preventing and Managing Conflict with Patients and Families in DifficultyTransforming Behavior Contracts Into Collaborative Commitments With FamiliesPaperwork: Put Behavior Contracts at the Bottom of the PileEthics, Engagement, and Escalating InterventionsPotential Legal Problems Embedded in Behavior Contracts

A Toolkit Approach for Carbon Capture and Storage in Offshore Depleted Gas Field

A Toolkit Approach for Carbon Capture and Storage in Offshore Depleted Gas Field

Toolkit Approach Aids Design of CCS Projects in Depleted Offshore Fields

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 31651, “A Toolkit for Carbon Capture and Storage in an Offshore Depleted Gas Field,” by Raj Deo Tewari, SPE, Chee Phuat Tan, SPE, and Mohd Faizal Sedaralit, SPE, Petronas. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2022 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. Comprehensive screening for site selection has been carried out for suitable carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites offshore Sarawak, Malaysia, using geographical, geological, geophysical, geomechanical, and reservoir engineering data and techniques for evaluating storage volume, container architecture, pressure, and temperature conditions. The site-specific input data are integrated into static and dynamic models for characterization and generation of performance scenarios of the site. Three-way coupled modeling helped to understand the likely state of injectants in the future and associated storage mechanisms. The work flow described in the complete paper may be adopted to evaluate other CO2 projects in both carbonate and clastic reservoirs for long-term storage of greenhouse gas (GHG) worldwide. Introduction Because fossil fuels are expected to remain a significant energy source until at least the middle of this century, techniques to capture and store produced CO2, combined with other efforts, could help stabilize GHG concentration in the atmosphere. The toolkit the authors present in the complete paper can help to design carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects for the oil and gas industry offshore. The authors aim to meet the following goals: - Provide process descriptions by which CCS can protect the environment - Describe steps required in planning and execution and post-operation - Protect human health and safety - Protect underground sources of drinking water and other natural resources - Comply with regulations for emissions reduction - Deploy technologies in an efficient and cost-effective manner The authors devote much of the complete paper to a discussion of factors to be considered in storage-site screening and selection, including the characteristics of different types of storage sites and their mechanisms once CO2 is injected.

Keyphrase Extraction for Technical Language Processing.

Keyphrase extraction is an important facet of annotation tools that offer the provision of the metadata necessary for technical language processing (TLP). Because TLP imposes additional requirements on typical natural language processing (NLP) methods, we examined TLP keyphrase extraction through the lens of a hypothetical toolkit which consists of a combination of text features and classifers suitable for use in low-resource TLP applications. We compared two approaches for keyphrase extraction: The frst which applied our toolkit-based methods that used only distributional features of words and phrases, and the second was the Maui automatic topic indexer, a well-known academic method. Performance was measured against two collections of technical literature: 1153 articles from Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics (JCT) curated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Thermodynamics Research Center (TRC) and 244 articles from Task 5 of the Workshop on Semantic Evaluation (SemEval). Both collections have author-provided keyphrases available; the SemEval articles also have reader-provided keyphrases. Our fndings indicate that our toolkit approach was competitive with Maui when author-provided keyphrases were frst removed from the text. For the TRC-JCT articles, the Maui automatic topic indexer reported an F-measure of 29.4 % while our toolkit approach obtained an F-measure of 28.2 %. For the SemEval articles, our toolkit approach using a Naïve Bayes classifer resulted in an F-measure of 20.8 %, which outperformed Maui's F-measure of 18.8 %.

Evidence and consensus-based clinical practice guidelines for management of overweight and obesity in midlife women: An AIIMS-DST initiative.

Evidence and consensus-based clinical practice guidelines for management of overweight and obesity in midlife women: An AIIMS-DST initiative.

A Discretionary Toolkit: Reasoning When Teaching Controversial Issues in Norwegian Upper Secondary School

Using a toolkit approach in combination with the concept of street-level bureaucracy and theories of discretion, this article has empirically investigated the resources that influence teachers’ discretionary reasoning when teaching controversial issues. The analysis has been based on 32 classroom observations at two upper secondary schools in Oslo, Norway, in one Religion and Ethics and one Social Science class, and interviews with 16 teachers who taught the same subjects. The results have shown that professional competence, professional and personal values, and relationships with pupils worked as a toolkit of resources that teachers could draw upon when making discretionary judgments in different contexts. A better understanding of teachers’ use of discretionary reasoning may enable curriculum developers and policymakers to support teachers in the complex social landscape of teaching controversial issues.

Deployment of combined technologies to smallholder farmers in Kenya: TAAT Clearinghouse technical report series 002

Deployment of combined technologies to smallholder farmers in Kenya: TAAT Clearinghouse technical report series 002

Data-driven software design with Constraint Oriented Multi-variate Bandit Optimization (COMBO)

ContextSoftware design in e-commerce can be improved with user data through controlled experiments (i.e. A/B tests) to better meet user needs. Machine learning-based algorithmic optimization techniques extends the approach to large number of variables to personalize software to different user needs. So far the optimization techniques has only been applied to optimize software of low complexity, such as colors and wordings of text.ObjectiveIn this paper, we introduce the COMBO toolkit with capability to model optimization variables and their relationship constraints specified through an embedded domain-specific language. The toolkit generates personalized software configurations for users as they arrive in the system, and the configurations improve over time in in relation to some given metric. COMBO has several implementations of machine learning algorithms and constraint solvers to optimize the model with user data by software developers without deep optimization knowledge.MethodThe toolkit was validated in a proof-of-concept by implementing two features that are relevant to Apptus, an e-commerce company that develops algorithms for web shops. The algorithmic performance was evaluated in simulations with realistic historic user data.ResultsThe validation shows that the toolkit approach can model and improve relatively complex features with many types of variables and constraints, without causing noticeable delays for users.ConclusionsWe show that modeling software hierarchies in a formal model facilitates algorithmic optimization of more complex software. In this way, using COMBO, developers can make data-driven and personalized software products.

Abstract 6406: FAK and MEK co-targeting: A new multimodal precision therapy for GNAQ-driven uveal melanoma

Abstract Uveal melanoma (UM) is characterized by gain-of-function mutations in GNAQ or GNA11, encoding Gα proteins from the Gq/11 family. UM is the most common eye malignancy in adults. Approximately 50% of UM patients develop liver metastasis (mUM) within 5-10 years after diagnosis, independently of the successful treatment of the primary lesions. mUM is refractory to cytotoxic, targeted, and immunotherapies, with most mUM patients dying within a year. Recent information suggests that GNAQ-oncogenic signaling involves a non-canonical pathway distinct from the activation of PLCβ and PKC-MEK-ERK, which may explain the failure of MEK inhibitors (MEKi) in increasing mUM patient survival. Instead, we found that GNAQ promotes the activation of YAP1, a key oncogenic driver, by a mechanism involving the activation of RhoA by the direct association of Gαq to TRIO, a Rho-GEF (Cancer Cell, 2014). In turn, YAP1 is essential for uveal melanoma cell growth, however no effective and safe YAP1 inhibitors are currently available. Using a novel bioinformatics pipeline, we recently found that PTK2, encoding Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), is a synthetic lethal gene with GNAQ activation, and uncovered that GNAQ controls YAP1 through FAK (Cancer Cell, 2019). This study identified FAK as a druggable signaling hub downstream from GNAQ in UM. However, activation of compensatory pathways often results in resistance to targeted agents. Here, we combined the use of CRISPR-Cas9 sgRNA screens with a recently described Cancer Signaling Toolkit approach to identify synthetic lethal interactions enhancing the response to FAKi and signaling networks mediating drug resistance, respectively. Remarkably, both approaches converged to reveal that co-targeting FAK and the MEK-ERK pathway would be a promising combination for treatment of UM. Indeed, MEK-ERK pathway inhibition by multiple approved MEKis (e.g., trametinib), combined with FAK inhibition (VS-4718 or defactinib), showed remarkable synergistic growth inhibitory effects in UM cells. Additionally, the novel RAF/MEK inhibitor RO5126766 also showed synergistic anti-proliferative effects with defactinib. Accordingly, FAKi combination with MEKi exerted cytotoxic effects (apoptotic death) leading to rapid tumor shrinkage in UM xenografts, whereas single drugs were primarily cytostatic. Furthermore, the FAKi/MEKi combination was successful at reducing tumor burden in recently developed liver metastasis UM models. By coupling the unique genetic landscape of UM with the power of unbiased computational pipelines and systems biology genetic screens, our studies revealed that FAK and MEK-ERK co-targeting may provide a new network-based precision therapeutic strategy for mUM treatment. Indeed, the combination of defactinib and RO5126766 is currently being evaluated in patients with various solid tumors (NCT03875820), and could be explored in mUM based on these preclinical findings. Citation Format: Justine S. Paradis, Monica Acosta, Nadia Arang, Robert Saddawi-Konefka, Ayush Kishore, Takahito Sugase, Xiaodong Feng, Kris C. Wood, Silvia Coma, Mizue Terai, Takami Sato, Jonathan A. Pachter, J. Silvio Gutkind. FAK and MEK co-targeting: A new multimodal precision therapy for GNAQ-driven uveal melanoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 6406.

Hybrid type 1 randomized controlled trial of a tablet-based application to improve quality of care in child mental health treatment

The quality of child mental health care is highly variable in community practice settings. Innovative technology-based solutions may be leveraged to improve quality of care and, in turn, treatment outcomes. This is a protocol paper that describes an innovative study design in which we rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of a tablet-assisted intervention, Supporting Providers and Reaching Kids (SPARK). SPARK consists of a collection of interactive games and activities that are designed to improve provider fidelity and child engagement in evidence-based psychotherapies. The methodology also allows us to explore the implementation and sustainability of a technology-enhanced intervention in more than two dozen community practice settings. This paper includes a description and justification for sample selection and recruitment procedures, selection of assessment measures and methods, design of the intervention, and statistical evaluation of critical outcomes. Novel features of the design include the tablet-based toolkit approach that has strong applicability to a range of child mental health interventions and the use of a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial that allows for the simultaneous investigation of the effectiveness of the intervention and the implementation context. Challenges related to the implementation of a technology-enhanced intervention in existing mental health clinics are discussed, as well as implications for future research and practice.

Determining the Impact of Riparian Wetlands on Nutrient Cycling, Storage and Export in Permeable Agricultural Catchments

The impact of riparian wetlands on the cycling, retention and export of nutrients from land to water varies according to local environmental conditions and is poorly resolved in catchment management approaches. To determine the role a specific wetland might play in a catchment mitigation strategy, an alternative approach is needed to the high-frequency and spatially detailed monitoring programme that would otherwise be needed. Here, we present a new approach using a combination of novel and well-established geochemical, geophysical and isotope ratio methods. This combined approach was developed and tested against a 2-year high-resolution sampling programme in a lowland permeable wetland in the Lambourn catchment, UK. The monitoring programme identified multiple pathways and water sources feeding into the wetland, generating large spatial and temporal variations in nutrient cycling, retention and export behaviours within the wetland. This complexity of contributing source areas and biogeochemical functions within the wetland were effectively identified using the new toolkit approach. We propose that this technique could be used to determine the likely net source/sink function of riparian wetlands prior to their incorporation into any catchment management plan, with relatively low resource implications when compared to a full high-frequency nutrient speciation and isotope geochemistry-based monitoring approach.

Competition Law for the Digital Era: A Complex Systems’ Perspective

Competition Law for the Digital Era: A Complex Systems’ Perspective

Young Athletes’ Perceptions of Coach-Athlete Sexual Relationships: Engaging With Competing Ethics

In this paper, we use data from focus group interviews with young athletes to explore their thinking about coach-athlete sexual relationships (CASRs). Our aim is to further the understanding of the ambivalence surrounding CASRs in the sports field, which are simultaneously viewed as ethically problematic and acceptable—at least when they involve high-profile adult athletes. Inspired by Swidler’s toolkit approach to culture, we analyze how athletes understand and justify CASRs. We found that three different ethics were activated in the interviews: the safeguarding, love, and athletic-performance ethics. We discuss how these ethics are linked to different underlying “imaginaries,” or cultural frames, about the meaning of sport in society and offer thoughts on how the results can inform sporting organizations’ future prevention efforts.

Toolkit or Tinderbox? When Legal Systems Interface Conflict

In the aftermath of conflict, the need to stabilize the Rule of Law engenders broad consensus. Establishing a legitimate legal framework and strengthening institutions capable of delivering just results are considered primary steps in rebuilding societies destabilized or destroyed by conflict. Building upon existing academic theory, complying with applicable international law and drawing from concrete field experiences in Rule of Law reform over the past seven decades, this Article proposes a next stage in post-conflict reconstruction processes through the use of a “toolkit approach” that benefits from a Comparative Law methodology. Following an initial mapping process identifying root causes of conflict, a problem-solving strategy is undertaken, in which disparate aspects of legal systems are disaggregated, examined for their role in creating or resolving conflict, and reconstructed. The proposed model is not limited by traditional boundaries of legal system theory but instead seeks to address specific legal deficits that contribute to conflict and consider component aspects of a variety of legal systems as solutions. Altogether it intends to avoid cut-and-paste strategies, eliminate residual pre-conflict and post-colonial practices, and create fair and equal procedural processes that promote lasting peace and a durable Rule of Law.