Updated Research Agenda Research Articles

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Middle Level Teacher Development: A Research Synthesis

We used Standards 3 and 4 of the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) 2022 Revised Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards and The Successful Middle School: This We Believe characteristics as frameworks and presented a synthesis of the research literature (2015–2024) on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment related to middle-level teacher development. This review was part of a larger exploration of middle-level teacher development. Initially, we located 63 articles through our search terms on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment in teacher development. From there, we contributed to an updated research agenda for middle-level education . Through continued analysis and discussion, we identified trends in each area and across these three areas. We review the literature, highlight trends, and offer recommendations for middle-level educators and researchers.

Challenges and Opportunities in Transitioning Autistic Individuals Into Adulthood.

Approximately 1.2 million autistic youth will reach the legal age of adulthood over the next decade. Given dynamic changes in the socioecological context of the transition to adulthood, we produced an updated transitions research agenda reflecting the perspectives of autistic young adults, care partners (parents), and professionals who use autism research. We conducted 9 focus groups: 4 young adult, 4 care partner, and 1 professional, with 59 total participants. Young adults were grouped by self-reported identity: (1) racial and ethnic minority, (2) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other identities, and (3) nonspeaking, in addition to a general group. We selected care partners who supported youth with varying intensity of support needs. We used rapid qualitative inquiry methods to extract key points from answers to semistructured interview questions. Delays in diagnosis and transition processes, and placement on wait lists resulted in significant obstacles to successful transitions. Parents assumed a dominant role by coordinating services, navigating systems and identifying opportunities for community participation, and providing direct supports. There was an overarching need for inclusion of autistic people in transitions research and consideration of cultural differences in priorities and values. Participants prioritized investigation of variation in transitions among autistic youth with intersecting identities, navigation support (eg, peer mentors), efficacy of services and supports (eg, transition and employment services), differences in available services by location, and problems within specific benefits programs. Research should focus on understanding population-level factors of system performance on outcomes and support needs, service delivery among marginalized groups, and transformation of complex service ecosystems.

Urban Shrinkage, Degrowth, and Sustainability: An Updated Research Agenda

Shrinking cities and degrowth thinking share their parting from the dominant growth paradigm and seem to have much to offer to each other. Could degrowth be an inspiring and guiding paradigm for the sustainable development of shrinking cities? Could shrinking cities be suitable testing grounds to apply degrowth’s radical sustainability principles in practice? These and other questions regarding the connections between urban shrinkage, degrowth, and sustainability have hardly been addressed in the scientific literature thus far. This thematic issue brings together novel empirical contributions, taking stock of first attempts to connect degrowth to urban shrinkage, exploring in how far this potential unfolds in practice and what obstacles these attempts face, with a focus on the field of urban planning. In this editorial, we discuss the connections between shrinking cities, degrowth, and sustainability identified in the empirical studies and the dialogues that span across these contributions. We conclude with an updated research agenda for this field of study.

Public health genomics research in Italy: an overview of ongoing projects.

Public health genomics (PHG) aims to integrate advances in genomic sciences into healthcare for the benefit of the general population. As in many countries, there are various research initiatives in this field in Italy, but a clear picture of the national research portfolio has never been sketched. Thus, we aimed to provide an overview of current PHG research projects at the national or international level by consultation with Italian institutional and academic experts. We included 68 PHG projects: the majority were international projects in which Italian researchers participated (n = 43), mainly funded by the European Commission, while the remainder were national initiatives (N = 25), mainly funded by central government. Funding varied considerably, from € 50,000 to € 80,803,177. Three main research themes were identified: governance (N = 20); precision medicine (PM; N = 46); and precision public health (N = 2). We found that research activities are preferentially aimed at the clinical application of PM, while other efforts deal with the governance of the complex translation of genomic innovation into clinical and public health practice. To align such activities with national and international priorities, the development of an updated research agenda for PHG is needed.

Updates to the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Research Agenda.

Autistic individuals, now representing one in 36 individuals in the U.S., experience disproportionate physical health challenges relative to non-autistic individuals. The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) is an interdisciplinary, multi-center Research Network that aims to increase the health, well-being, and quality of life of autistic individuals. The current paper builds on the initial AIR-P Research Agenda (proposed in Year 1) and provides an updated vision for the Network. Updates to the Research Agenda were made via the administration of a Qualtrics survey, and disseminated widely to all AIR-P entities, including the Research Node Leaders, Steering Committee, Autistic Researcher Review Board, and collaborating academic and non-academic entities. Network members were tasked with evaluating the Year 1 Research Agenda and proposing additional priorities. Within each Research Node, all Year 1 priorities were endorsed as continued priorities for research on autism and physical health. Specific topics, including co-occurring conditions and self-determination, advocacy, and decision-making, were particularly endorsed. Opportunities for exploratory studies and intervention research were identified across Research Nodes. Qualitative responses providing feedback on additional research priorities were collected. The updated AIR-P Research Agenda represents an important step toward enacting large-scale health promotion efforts for autistic individuals across the lifespan. This updated agenda builds on efforts to catalyze autism research in historically underrepresented topic areas while adopting a neurodiversity-oriented approach to health promotion.

Campus activities leaders as stewards of hope and liberation: Reflections with Drs. Mamta Accapadi and Jan Arminio

NACA has recently released an updated Research Agenda to support the work of campus activities professionals that includes a more specific focus on and integration of values related to equity, diversity, and inclusion and student belonging. With this update in mind, JCAPS has dedicated this special issue to these topics.

Strategic Research Agenda of SUSCHEM CZ

The paper informs about the updated Strategic Research Agenda of the Czech Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry, mainly in context of the recent and upcoming chemical legislation and expected restrictions. Selected investments in the chemical industry are mentioned.

Future of the Academy 2023-2025

Future of the Academy 2023-2025

Customer Engagement in Sport: An Updated Review and Research Agenda

Customer engagement (CE) is an emerging perspective that provides a holistic view of the ways in which customers’ interactive experiences with organizations create value for both the parties. Central to this, is the need to develop an understanding of why a customer would choose to invest their resources (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) with an organization, to be able to better facilitate this engagement and properly value the outcomes from it. Sport, with its inherently strong interactions for both participants and fans, would seem an ideal setting to study CE. To date, however, the CE work in sport domains has largely followed established paths. Given CE’s potential to unify many disparate areas of sport research, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the CE work to date and highlights several ways sport can leverage and advance this work through both academic research and management practice.

The updated national research agenda 2021\u20132026 for prehospital emergency medical services in the Netherlands: a Delphi study

BackgroundIn 2015, a national research agenda was established for Dutch prehospital EMS to underpin the evidence base of care delivery and inform policymakers and funders. The continuously increasing demand for ambulance care and the reorientation towards the role of EMS in recent years may have changed research priorities. Therefore, this study aimed to update the Dutch national EMS research agenda.MethodsA three-round online Delphi survey was used to explore and discuss different viewpoints and to reach consensus on research priorities (i.e., themes and special interest groups, e.g. patient types who require specific research attention). A multidisciplinary expert panel (n = 62) was recruited in the field of prehospital EMS and delegates of relevant professional organizations and stakeholders participated. In round one, fifty-nine research themes and six special interest groups (derived from several resources) were rated on importance on a 5-point scale by the panel members. In round two, the panel selected their priority themes and special interest groups (yes/no), and those with a positive difference score were further assessed in round three. In this final round, appropriateness of the remaining themes and agreement within the panel was taken into account, following the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method, which resulted in the final list of research priorities.ResultsThe survey response per round varied between 94 and 100 percent. In round one, a reduction from 59 to 25 themes and the selection of three special interest groups was realized. Round two resulted in the prioritization of six themes and one special interest group ('Vulnerable elderly'). Round three showed an adequate level of agreement regarding all six themes: 'Registration and (digital) exchange of patient data in the chain of emergency care'; 'Mobile care consultation/Non conveyance'; 'Care coordination'; 'Cooperation with professional partners within the care domain'; 'Care differentiation' and 'Triage and urgency classification'.ConclusionsThe updated Dutch national EMS research agenda builds further on the previous version and introduces new EMS research priorities that correspond with the future challenges prehospital EMS care is faced with. This agenda will guide researchers, policymakers and funding bodies in prioritizing future research projects.

An Updated Research Agenda in NACA: A Suggested Roadmap for Future Scholarship on Practice?

Research plays a vital role in the discipline of campus activities and our society as a whole. Research provided the foundation for the most significant achievements of humankind. Conducting valid research can lead to new discoveries, prompt the questioning of commonly held assumptions, and build a base from which scholars can further advance knowledge. Booth, Colomb, and Williams (2017) wrote, “Without trustworthy published research, we all would be locked into the opinions of the moment, prisoners of what we alone experience or dupes to whatever we’re told” (p. 10). Certainly, it would not be difficult to find recent relevant examples of the necessity for research – nor the need for the skill to interpret and make sense of research.

Surgical Infection Society Research Priorities: A Narrative Review of Fourteen Years of Progress.

Background: In 2006, the Surgical Infection Society (SIS) utilized a modified Delphi approach to define 15 specific priority research questions that remained unanswered in the field of surgical infections. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the scientific progress achieved during the ensuing period in answering each of the 15 research questions and to determine if additional research in these fields is warranted. Methods: For each of the questions, a literature search using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) was performed by the Scientific Studies Committee of the SIS to identify studies that attempted to address each of the defined questions. This literature was analyzed and summarized. The data on each question were evaluated by a surgical infections expert to determine if the question was answered definitively or remains unanswered. Results: All 15 priority research questions were studied in the last 14 years; six questions (40%) were definitively answered and 9 questions (60%) remain unanswered in whole or in part, mainly because of the low quality of the studies available on this topic. Several of the 9 unanswered questions were deemed to remain research priorities in 2020 and warrant further investigation. These included, for example, the role of empiric antimicrobial agents in nosocomial infections, the use of inotropes/vasopressors versus volume loading to raise the mean arterial pressure, and the role of increased antimicrobial dosing and frequency in the obese patient. Conclusions: Several surgical infection-related research questions prioritized in 2006 remain unanswered. Further high-quality research is required to provide a definitive answer to many of these priority knowledge gaps. An updated research agenda by the SIS is warranted at this time to define research priorities for the future.

Updated research agenda for water, sanitation and antimicrobial resistance.

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including clinically relevant antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, genetic resistance elements, and antibiotic residues, presents a significant threat to human health. Reducing the incidence of infection by improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is one of five objectives in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Action Plan on AMR. In September 2019, WHO and the Health-Related Water Microbiology specialist group (HRWM-SG) of the International Water Association (IWA) organized its third workshop on AMR, focusing on the following three main issues: environmental pathways of AMR transmission, environmental surveillance, and removal from human waste. The workshop concluded that despite an increase in scientific evidence that the environment may play a significant role, especially in low-resource settings, the exact relative role of the environment is still unclear. Given many antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) can be part of the normal gut flora, it can be assumed that for environmental transmission, the burden of fecal-oral transmission of AMR in a geographical area follows that of WASH-related infections. There are some uncertainties as to the potential for the propagation of particular resistance genes within wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but there is no doubt that the reduction in viable microbes (with or without resistance genes) available for transmission via the environment is one of the goals of human waste management. Although progress has been made in the past years with respect to quantifying environmental AMR transmission potential, still more data on the spread of environmental AMR within human communities is needed. Even though evidence on AMR in WWTPs has increased, the reduction in the emergence and spread of AMR by basic sanitation methods is yet unresolved. In order to contribute to the generation of harmonized One Health surveillance data, WHO has initiated an integrated One Health surveillance strategy that includes the environment. The main challenge lies in rolling it out globally including to the poorest regions.

Local Food Supply Chain Dynamics and Resilience during COVID‐19

AbstractLocal and regional food systems (LRFS) innovated during COVID‐19 to respond to market demand and policy changes. Given their unique characteristics, we identify drivers that explain why local responses to COVID‐19 vary when compared with the national dialogue on food supply chain disruptions. We suggest LFRS enterprises are nimble and connected to supply chain partners, allowing them to innovate quickly with a targeted approach. Considering the shorter supply chains and smaller operations typical of LRFS, we assert the current regulatory environment's fairness and relevance may be scrutinized. In conclusion, we articulate an updated research and technical assistance agenda for LRFS.

Identifying Causes of and Solutions for Cybersickness in Immersive Technology: Reformulation of a Research and Development Agenda

ABSTRACT Immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, initially failed to live up to expectations, but have improved greatly, with many new head-worn displays and associated applications being released over the past few years. Unfortunately, ‘cybersickness’ remains as a common user problem that must be overcome if mass adoption is to be realized. This article evaluates the state of research on this problem, identifies challenges that must be addressed, and formulates an updated cybersickness research and development (R&D) agenda. The new agenda recommends prioritizing creation of powerful, lightweight, and untethered head-worn displays, reduction of visual latencies, standardization of symptom and aftereffect measurement, development of improved countermeasures, and improved understanding of the magnitude of the problem and its implications for job performance. Some of these priorities are unresolved problems from the original agenda which should get increased attention now that immersive technologies are proliferating widely. If the resulting R&D agenda is carefully executed, it should render cybersickness a challenge of the past and accelerate mass adoption of immersive technologies to enhance training, performance, and recreation.

Joint programming for urban transformations: the making of the JPI Urban Europe Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda

The Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe, a transnational initiative by European countries in partnership with the European Union (EU) to tackle the challenge of sustainable urbanisation by programming urban research and innovation, launched its updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in February 2019. Developed in the field of sustainable urbanisation, it is based on a wide set of sectors, disciplines, research frontiers, and their asymmetrical interconnections, as well as consultations among stakeholders in these areas, ranging from global policy and EU levels over national to regional and local actors including civil servants and politicians, researchers, commercial actors, civil society. Since the international landscape of urban policy and particularly urban transformations has recently been shifting with UN Agenda 2030, UN Habitat New Urban Agenda, and, in Europe, with an Urban Agenda for the EU, urban research and innovation, at least the parts tackling sustainable urbanisation, strives to elaborate how to support these objectives. Together with an account of how this was done from the insider perspective of a programme manager, this note presents questions and issues that will direct the JPI Urban Europe programming beyond 2020. The updated JPI Urban Europe agenda’s main novelty is a dilemma-driven approach to the thematic priorities in the programming activities and a transition arena concept for its implementation.

A Research Agenda for the Massage Therapy Profession: a Report from the Massage Therapy Foundation

The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) serves as a primary steward of massage therapy research; working to fund and advance the science and art of massage therapy for the entire massage community. The development of an updated research agenda is an essential part of furthering the MTF’s responsibility to help grow the massage therapy knowledge base and increase support for the application of quality research. Integrative health and massage community stakeholders are called upon to help move this MTF 2020 Massage Therapy Research Agenda forward. Together we must strive to continue to advance and disseminate new knowledge to all stakeholders including practitioners, students, instructors, researchers, and policy makers.

A decade of institutional work: context and opportunities for research

Abstract The theoretical approach underlying institutional work sustains the understanding of the process through which individuals create, maintain and disrupt institutions. The interest in this approach encouraged the publication of a special issue in the journal Organization Studies in 2013. Lawrence, Leca, and Zilber introduced that special issue with an analysis of this field of study pointing to three avenues to further develop the theoretical approach: a) implementation of methodologies with an emphasis on the individual’s experiences; b) development of reflexivity by individuals; and c) commitment to practical contributions. We recall their research to revise the contributions of institutional work and to evaluate how these three avenues have been followed in this field of study. We then suggest an updated research agenda based on phenomena observed in the Brazilian context. Among the contributions of this study, we highlight a) the characteristics of the field of study on institutional work (state-of-the-art); b) central and adjacent themes to institutional work (map of themes); and c) opportunities and trends to further develop research on institutional work.

An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions

Research on sustainability transitions has expanded rapidly in the last ten years, diversified in terms of topics and geographical applications, and deepened with respect to theories and methods. This article provides an extensive review and an updated research agenda for the field, classified into nine main themes: understanding transitions; power, agency and politics; governing transitions; civil society, culture and social movements; businesses and industries; transitions in practice and everyday life; geography of transitions; ethical aspects; and methodologies. The review shows that the scope of sustainability transitions research has broadened and connections to established disciplines have grown stronger. At the same time, we see that the grand challenges related to sustainability remain unsolved, calling for continued efforts and an acceleration of ongoing transitions. Transition studies can play a key role in this regard by creating new perspectives, approaches and understanding and helping to move society in the direction of sustainability.

Mosaic modularity: an updated perspective and research agenda for the evolution of vascular cambial growth.

Secondary growth from a vascular cambium, present today only in seed plants and isoetalean lycophytes, has a 400-million-yr evolutionary history that involves considerably broader taxonomic diversity, most of it hidden in the fossil record. Approaching vascular cambial growth as a complex developmental process, we review data from living plants and fossils that reveal diverse modes of secondary growth. These are consistent with a modular nature of secondary growth, when considered as a tracheophyte-wide structural feature. This modular perspective identifies putative constituent developmental modules of cambial growth, for which we review developmental anatomy and regulation. Based on these data, we propose a hypothesis that explains the sources of diversity of secondary growth, considered across the entire tracheophyte clade, and opens up new avenues for exploring the origin of secondary growth. In this hypothesis, various modes of secondary growth reflect a mosaic pattern of expression of different developmental-regulatory modules among different lineages. We outline an approach that queries three information systems (living seed plants, living seed-free plants, and fossils) and integrates data on developmental regulation, anatomy, gene evolution and phylogeny to test the mosaic modularity hypothesis and its implications, and to inform efforts aimed at understanding the evolution of secondary growth.