Collaborative academic/practitioner research in project management : examples and applications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a cost-benefit interpretation of academic-practitioner research by describing and analysing several recent relevant examples of academic-practitioner research with a focus on doctoral theses carried out at universities and business schools in clusters of research centred in North America, Australia and Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Using case study examples, a value proposition framework for undertaking collaborative research for higher degree level study is developed and presented. Findings – Value proposition benefits from this level of collaborative research can be summarised as enhancing competencies at the individual and organisational level as well as providing participating universities with high-quality candidates/students and opportunities for industry engagement. The project management (PM) professional bodies can also extend PM knowledge but they need to be prepared to provide active support. Practical implications – A model for better defining the value proposition of collaborative research from a range of stakeholder perspectives is offered that can be adapted for researchers and industry research sponsors. Originality/value – Few papers offer a value proposition framework for explaining collaborative research benefits. This paper addresses that need.

Multi-site genetic analysis of diffusion images and voxelwise heritability analysis: A pilot project of the ENIGMA-DTI working group

The ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium was set up to analyze brain measures and genotypes from multiple sites across the world to improve the power to detect genetic variants that influence the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) yields quantitative measures sensitive to brain development and degeneration, and some common genetic variants may be associated with white matter integrity or connectivity. DTI measures, such as the fractional anisotropy (FA) of water diffusion, may be useful for identifying genetic variants that influence brain microstructure. However, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) require large populations to obtain sufficient power to detect and replicate significant effects, motivating a multi-site consortium effort. As part of an ENIGMA-DTI working group, we analyzed high-resolution FA images from multiple imaging sites across North America, Australia, and Europe, to address the challenge of harmonizing imaging data collected at multiple sites. Four hundred images of healthy adults aged 18-85 from four sites were used to create a template and corresponding skeletonized FA image as a common reference space. Using twin and pedigree samples of different ethnicities, we used our common template to evaluate the heritability of tract-derived FA measures. We show that our template is reliable for integrating multiple datasets by combining results through meta-analysis and unifying the data through exploratory mega-analyses. Our results may help prioritize regions of the FA map that are consistently influenced by additive genetic factors for future genetic discovery studies. Protocols and templates are publicly available at (http://enigma.loni.ucla.edu/ongoing/dti-working-group/).

Intellectual property and emerging technologies: The new biology

This unique and comprehensive collection investigates the challenges posed to intellectual property by recent paradigm shifts in biology. It explores the legal ramifications of emerging technologies, such as genomics, synthetic biology, stem cell research, nanotechnology, and biodiscovery. Extensive contributions examine recent controversial court decisions in patent law – such as Bilski v. Kappos, and the litigation over Myriad’s patents in respect of BRCA1 and BRCA2 – while other papers explore sui generis fields, such as access to genetic resources, plant breeders' rights, and traditional knowledge. The collection considers the potential and the risks of the new biology for global challenges – such as access to health-care, the protection of the environment and biodiversity, climate change, and food security. It also considers Big Science projects – such as biobanks, the 1000 Genomes Project, and the Doomsday Vault. The inter-disciplinary research brings together the work of scholars from Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK and the US and involves not only legal analysis of case law and policy developments, but also historical, comparative, sociological, and ethical methodologies. Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies will appeal to policy-makers, legal practitioners, business managers, inventors, scientists and researchers.

Search for genetic variants influencing human height

Human growth and attained height are determined by a combination of genetic and environmental effects and in modern Western societies > 80% of the observed variation in height is determined by genetic factors. Height is a fundamental human trait that is associated with many socioeconomic and psychosocial factors and health measures, however little is known of the identity of the specific genes that influence height variation in the general population. This thesis work aimed to identify the genetic variants that influence height in the general population by genome-wide linkage analysis utilizing large family samples. The study focused on analysis of three separate sets of families consisting of: 1) 1,417 individuals from 277 Finnish families (FinnHeight), 2) 8,450 individuals from 3,817 families from Australia and Europe (EUHeight) and 3) 9,306 individuals from 3,302 families from the United States (USHeight). The most significant finding in this study was found in the Finnish family sample where we a locus in the chromosomal region 1p21 was linked to adult height. Several regions showed evidence for linkage in the Australian, European and US families with 8q21 and 15q25 being the most significant. The region on 1p21 was followed up with further studies and we were able to show that the collagen 11-alpha-1 gene (COL11A1) residing at this location was associated with adult height. This association was also confirmed in an independent Finnish population cohort (Health 2000) consisting of 6,542 individuals. From this population sample, we estimated that homozygous males and females for this gene variant were 1.1 and 0.6 cm taller than the respective controls. In this thesis work we identified a gene variant in the COL11A1 gene that influences human height, although this variant alone explains only 0.1% of height variation in the Finnish population. We also demonstrated in this study that special stratification strategies such as performing sex-limited analyses, focusing on dizygous twin pairs, analyzing ethnic groups within a population separately and utilizing homogenous populations such as the Finns can improve the statistical power of finding QTL significantly. Also, we concluded from the results of this study that even though genetic effects explain a great proportion of height variance, it is likely that there are tens or even hundreds of genes with small individual effects underlying the genetic architecture of height.

Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the cause-specific prevalence and distribution of blindness and low vision in the United States by age, race/ethnicity, and gender, and to estimate the change in these prevalence figures over the next 20 years. METHODS: Summary prevalence estimates of blindness (both according to the US definition of < or =6/60 [< or =20/200] best-corrected visual acuity in the better-seeing eye and the World Health Organization standard of < 6/120 [< 20/400]) and low vision (< 6/12 [< 20/40] best-corrected vision in the better-seeing eye) were prepared separately for black, Hispanic, and white persons in 5-year age intervals starting at 40 years. The estimated prevalences were based on recent population-based studies in the United States, Australia, and Europe. These estimates were applied to 2000 US Census data, and to projected US population figures for 2020, to estimate the number of Americans with visual impairment. Cause-specific prevalences of blindness and low vision were also estimated for the different racial/ethnic groups. RESULTS: Based on demographics from the 2000 US Census, an estimated 937 000 (0.78%) Americans older than 40 years were blind (US definition). An additional 2.4 million Americans (1.98%) had low vision. The leading cause of blindness among white persons was age-related macular degeneration (54.4% of the cases), while among black persons, cataract and glaucoma accounted for more than 60% of blindness. Cataract was the leading cause of low vision, responsible for approximately 50% of bilateral vision worse than 6/12 (20/40) among white, black, and Hispanic persons. The number of blind persons in the US is projected to increase by 70% to 1.6 million by 2020, with a similar rise projected for low vision. CONCLUSIONS: Blindness or low vision affects approximately 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 years. The specific causes of visual impairment, and especially blindness, vary greatly by race/ethnicity. The prevalence of visual disabilities will increase markedly during the next 20 years, owing largely to the aging of the US population.

Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma among adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the prevalence and distribution of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in the United States by age, race/ethnicity, and gender.

METHODS:

Summary prevalence estimates of OAG were prepared separately for black, Hispanic, and white subjects in 5-year age intervals starting at 40 years. The estimated rates were based on a meta-analysis of recent population-based studies in the United States, Australia, and Europe. These rates were applied to 2000 US census data and to projected US population figures for 2020 to estimate the number of the US population with OAG.

RESULTS:

The overall prevalence of OAG in the US population 40 years and older is estimated to be 1.86% (95% confidence interval, 1.75%-1.96%), with 1.57 million white and 398 000 black persons affected. After applying race-, age-, and gender-specific rates to the US population as determined in the 2000 US census, we estimated that OAG affects 2.22 million US citizens. Owing to the rapidly aging population, the number with OAG will increase by 50% to 3.36 million in 2020. Black subjects had almost 3 times the age-adjusted prevalence of glaucoma than white subjects.

CONCLUSIONS:

Open-angle glaucoma affects more than 2 million individuals in the United States. Owing to the rapid aging of the US population, this number will increase to more than 3 million by 2020.

Hints to both Parties

Full Title: Hints to both parties : or, Observations on the proceedings in Parliament upon the petitions against the Orders in council, and on the conduct of His Majesty's Ministers in granting licenses to import the staple commodities of the enemy. Printed for E. Sargeant

Mathematical modelling in mathematics education and instruction

This paper aims at giving a concise survey of the present state-of-the-art of mathematical modelling in mathematics education and instruction. It will consist of four parts. In part 1, some basic concepts relevant to the topic will be clarified and, in particular, mathematical modelling will be defined in a broad, comprehensive sense. Part 2 will review arguments for the inclusion of modelling in mathematics teaching at schools and universities, and identify certain schools of thought within mathematics education. Part 3 will describe the role of modelling in present mathematics curricula and in everyday teaching practice. Some obstacles for mathematical modelling in the classroom will be analysed, as well as the opportunities and risks of computer usage. In part 4, selected materials and resources for teaching mathematical modelling, developed in the last few years in America, Australia and Europe, will be presented. The examples will demonstrate many promising directions of development.

Recurrent Deletion of ZNF630 at Xp11.23 Is Not Associated With Mental Retardation

ZNF630 is a member of the primate-specific Xp11 zinc finger gene cluster that consists of six closely related genes, of which ZNF41, ZNF81, and ZNF674 have been shown to be involved in mental retardation. This suggests that mutations of ZNF630 might influence cognitive function. Here, we detected 12 ZNF630 deletions in a total of 1,562 male patients with mental retardation from Brazil, USA, Australia, and Europe. The breakpoints were analyzed in 10 families, and in all cases they were located within two segmental duplications that share more than 99% sequence identity, indicating that the deletions resulted from non-allelic homologous recombination. In 2,121 healthy male controls, 10 ZNF630 deletions were identified. In total, there was a 1.6-fold higher frequency of this deletion in males with mental retardation as compared to controls, but this increase was not statistically significant (P-value = 0.174). Conversely, a 1.9-fold lower frequency of ZNF630 duplications was observed in patients, which was not significant either (P-value = 0.163). These data do not show that ZNF630 deletions or duplications are associated with mental retardation. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

How many cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine: a systematic review and metaanalysis

Background. No comprehensive systematic review has been published since 1998 about the frequency with which cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Methods. MEDLINE, AMED, and Embase databases were searched for surveys published until January 2009. Surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States with at least 100 adult cancer patients were included. Detailed information on methods and results was independently extracted by 2 reviewers. Methodological quality was assessed using a criteria list developed according to the STROBE guideline. Exploratory random effects metaanalysis and metaregression were applied. Results. Studies from 18 countries (152; >65 000 cancer patients) were included. Heterogeneity of CAM use was high and to some extent explained by differences in survey methods. The combined prevalence for “current use” of CAM across all studies was 40%. The highest was in the United States and the lowest in Italy and the Netherlands. Metaanalysis suggested an increase in CAM use from an estimated 25% in the 1970s and 1980s to more than 32% in the 1990s and to 49% after 2000. Conclusions. The overall prevalence of CAM use found was lower than often claimed. However, there was some evidence that the use has increased considerably over the past years. Therefore, the health care systems ought to implement clear strategies of how to deal with this. To improve the validity and reporting of future surveys, the authors suggest criteria for methodological quality that should be fulfilled and reporting standards that should be required.

Practical approach to the use of daylight photodynamic therapy with topical methyl aminolevulinate for actinic keratosis: a European consensus

INTRODUCTION Daylight-mediated photodynamic therapy has been shown to be an effective therapy for actinic keratoses (AKs) and a simple and tolerable treatment procedure in three randomized Scandinavian studies and two recent Phase III randomized controlled studies in Australia and Europe. OBJECTIVES To establish consensus recommendations for the use of daylight photodynamic therapy (DL-PDT) using topical methyl aminolaevulinate (MAL) in European patients with AKs. METHODS The DL-PDT consensus recommendations were developed on behalf of the European Society for Photodynamic Therapy in Dermatology and comprised of 10 dermatologists from different European countries with experience in how to treat AK patients with PDT. Consensus was developed based on literature review and experience of the experts in the treatment of AK using DL-PDT. RESULTS The recommendations arising from this panel of experts provide general guidance on the use of DL-PDT as a dermatological procedure with specific guidance regarding patient selection, therapeutic indications, when to treat, pre-treatment skin preparation, MAL application and daylight exposure for patients with AK in different countries of Europe. CONCLUSIONS This consensus recommendation provides a framework for physicians to perform DL-PDT with MAL cream while ensuring efficiency and safety in the treatment of patients with AK in different European countries.

Diplacanthid acanthodians from the Aztec Siltstone (late Middle Devonian) of southern Victoria Land, Antartica

One articulated and several partial, semi-articulated specimens of acanthodians were collected in 1970 from the freshwater deposits of the Aztec Siltstone (Middle Devonian; Givetian), Portal Mountain, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, during a Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition. The Portal Mountain fish fauna, preserved in a finely laminated, non-calcareous siltstone, includes acanthodians, palaeoniscoids, and bothriolepid placoderms. The articulated acanthodian specimens are the most complete fossil fish remains documented so far from the Aztec assemblage, which is the most diverse fossil vertebrate fauna known from Antarctica. They are described as a new taxon, Milesacanthus antarctica gen. et sp. nov., which is assigned to the family Diplacanthidae. Its fin spines show some similarities to spine fragments named Byssacanthoides debenhami from glacial moraine at Granite Harbour, Antarctica, and much larger spines named Antarctonchus glacialis from outcrops of the Aztec Siltstone in the Boomerang Range, southern Victoria Land. Both of these are reviewed, and retained as form taxa for isolated spines. Various isolated remains of fin spines and scales are described from Portal Mountain and Mount Crean (Lashly Range), and referred to Milesacanthus antarctica gen. et sp. nov. The histology of spines and scales is documented for the first time, and compared with acanthodian material from the Devonian of Australia and Europe. Distinctive fin spines from Mount Crean are provisionally assigned to Culmacanthus antarctica Young, 1989b. Several features on the most complete of the new fish specimens - in particular, the apparent lack of an enlarged cheek plate - suggest a revision of the diagnosis for the Diplacanthidae.

OCIS and Beyond: International Relations in Australia: Introduction

The Oceanic Conference for International Studies (OCIS) has grown from a small, mostly Australian and New Zealand, affair to an international biennial gathering of scholars from North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Established by a small organising committee drawn from universities across Australia and New Zealand, the principal aim of OCIS was to bring together the Oceanic International Relations (IR) community in an organic and inclusive fashion. There would be no secretariat, minimal bureaucracy, costs would be kept as low as possible, and assistance provided to graduate students. The first OCIS, held at the Australian National University in 2004, proved more successful than the organisers had envisaged. The conference continued to grow at its subsequent meetings at the University of Melbourne (2006) and the University of Queensland (2008). With each conference, a new organising committee was established to take carriage of OCIS. At the 2008 meeting, the question of creating a permanent organising meeting and beginning the transition towards a professional association was discussed in detail. If the transition happens at all, it will be gradual, organic, inclusive, and will prioritise the maintenance of the sense of community OCIS has helped establish. Whilst OCIS itself has flourished, associated initiatives such as OCIS working groups and the OCIS newsletter and listserv have withered on the vine, confirming the original organising committee’s view that endeavours such as this will only prosper to the extent that they are derived and driven from the community as a whole. In 2010, OCIS will hold its first conference in New Zealand, hosted by the University of Auckland...

Printmaking as an expanding field in contemporary art practice : a case study of Japan, Australia and Thailand

This thesis proposes that contemporary printmaking, at its most significant, marks the present through reconstructing pasts and anticipating futures. It argues this through examples in the field, occurring in contexts beyond the Euramerican (Europe and North America). The arguments revolve around how the practice of a number of significant artists in Japan, Australia and Thailand has generated conceptual and formal innovations in printmaking that transcend local histories and conventions, whilst paradoxically, also building upon them and creating new meanings. The arguments do not portray the relations between contemporary and traditional art as necessarily antagonistic but rather, as productively dialectical. Furthermore, the case studies demonstrate that, in the 1980s and 1990s particularly, the studio practice of these printmakers was informed by other visual arts disciplines and reflected postmodern concerns. Departures from convention witnessed in these countries within the Asia-Pacific region shifted the field of the print into a heterogeneous and hybrid realm. The practitioners concerned (especially in Thailand) produced work that was more readily equated with performance and installation art than with printmaking per se. In Japan, the incursion of photography interrupted the decorative cast of printmaking and delivered it from a straightforward, craft-based aesthetic. In Australia, fixed notions of national identity were challenged by print practitioners through deliberate cultural rapprochements and technical contradictions (speaking across old and new languages).However time-honoured print methods were not jettisoned by any case study artists. Their re-alignment of the fundamental attributes of printmaking, in line with materialist formalism, is a core consideration of my arguments. The artists selected for in-depth analysis from these three countries are all innovators whose geographical circumstances and creative praxis drew on local traditions whilst absorbing international trends. In their radical revisionism, they acknowledged the specificity of history and place, conditions of contingency and forces of globalisation. The transformational nature of their work during the late twentieth century connects it to the postmodern ethos and to a broader artistic and cultural nexus than has hitherto been recognised in literature on the print. Emerging from former guild-based practices, they ambitiously conceived their work to be part of a continually evolving visual arts vocabulary. I argue in this thesis that artists from the Asia-Pacific region have historically broken with the hermetic and Euramerican focus that has generally characterised the field. Inadequate documentation and access to print activity outside the dominant centres of critical discourse imply that readings of postmodernism have been too limited in their scope of inquiry. Other locations offer complexities of artistic practice where re-alignments of customary boundaries are often the norm. By addressing innovative activity in Japan, Australia and Thailand, this thesis exposes the need for a more inclusive theoretical framework and wider global reach than currently exists for ‘printmaking’.