Research Highlights, August 2004

Provide an outstanding educational program that enables our graduates to become leaders in their professions by imparting fundamental principles, skills, and tools to innovate and excel. Pursue the discovery of fundamental knowledge and its applications to position the department among the leaders in research. Respond to the needs of the State of Iowa and the nation by building a strong outreach program that serves industry and the engineering profession.

Research News, Winter 2006-2007

Newsletter of Research and Technology Bureau - Highway Division

Research News, Spring 2007

Newsletter of Research and Technology Bureau - Highway Division

Research priorities for nursing care of infants, children and adolescents: a West Australian Delphi study.

This paper describes a study that aimed to identify research priorities for the care of infants, children and adolescents at the sole tertiary referral hospital for children in Western Australia. The secondary aim was to stimulate nurses to explore clinical problems that would require further inquiry. Background. Planning for research is an essential stage of research development; involving clinicians in this exercise is likely to foster research partnerships that are pertinent to clinical practice. Nursing research priorities for the paediatric population have not previously been reported in Australia. Design. Delphi study. Method. Over 12 months in 2005-2006, a three-round questionnaire, using the Delphi technique, was sent to a randomly selected sample of registered nurses. This method was used to identify and prioritise nursing research topics relevant to the patient and the family. Content analysis was used to analyse Round I data and descriptive statistics for Round II and III data. Results. In Round I, 280 statements were identified and reduced to 37 research priorities. Analysis of data in subsequent rounds identified the top two priority research areas as (1) identification of strategies to reduce medication incidents (Mean = 6 center dot 47; SD 0 center dot 88) and (2) improvement in pain assessment and management (Mean = 6; SD 1 center dot 38). Additional comments indicated few nurses access the scientific literature or use research findings because of a lack of time or electronic access. Conclusions. Thirty-seven research priorities were identified. The identification of research priorities by nurses provided research direction for the health service and potentially other similar health institutions for children and adolescents in Australia and internationally. Relevance to clinical practice. The nurse participants showed concern about the safety of care and the well-being of children and their families. This study also enabled the identification of potential collaborative research and development of pain management improvement initiatives.

Annual report of the Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY 2006

The Highway Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation engages in research and development for two reasons: first, to find workable solutions to the many problems that require more than ordinary, routine investigation; and second, to identify and implement improved engineering and management practices. This report is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects, which were in progress on June 30, 2006; it is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, and ending June 30, 2006.

O empreendedorismo. O perfil do empreendedor da Ilha de Santiago Cabo Verde

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo qualitativo, desenvolvido através de pesquisa exploratória, bibliográfica e de campo, feito a trezentos e noventa e nove empreendedores e empresários da Ilha de Santiago, tendo em consideração o cenário económico actual e a preocupação à volta do sector privado. Procurou-se através de pesquisa junto às empresas activas, e cujo número de pessoas ao seu serviço não ultrapassa vinte, identificar três pontos fundamentais relacionados com os empreendedores: investigar os factores que levaram as pessoas a tornarem-se empreendedores; investigar as características principais do empreendedor de sucesso; identificar as características imprescindíveis para se atingir o sucesso empresarial relacionadas com o conhecimento, competências, atitude e talento, sequenciadas por ordem de importância. Para um melhor entendimento destas questões foi utilizado um referencial teórico que aborda o empreendedorismo. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada através de utilização de questionários – entrevistas às empresas estabelecidas nesta ilha, e o método de recolha de dados foi o de entrevista directa. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os empreendedores enfatizam a importância dos factores comportamentais no sucesso das pequenas e médias empresas e evidenciaram que os factores mais significativos e limitativos do sucesso dos empreendedores no Município da Praia, ilha de Santiago, se referem ao ambiente interno do negócio. Considerando todos estes factores e de acordo com as pesquisas desenvolvidas e analisadas, este trabalho recolheu informações específicas dos empreendedores de sucesso da ilha de Santiago e que podem ser úteis para os que almejam o sucesso empresarial e para eventuais programas de capacitação e formação empreendedora na ilha. This work presents a qualitative study developed through exploratory, bibliographic and field research to three hundred and ninety nine managers and entrepreneurs from Santiago Island, taking into consideration the present economical scenario and main concerns linked to private sector. Through a research in active enterprises and whose staff number doesn’t exceed twenty, the goal was to identify three main issues related to entrepreneurs: look into the factors that encouraged people to become entrepreneurs; examine the main characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and identify, sequenced by order of importance, the most critical characteristics related to knowledge, skills, attitude and talent, that allow entrepreneurial success achievement. For a better understanding of these questions, a theoretical approach to entrepreneurship was exploited. Field research was carried on through the use of questionnaires in enterprises located in Praia, and the data collection method was direct interviews. Results obtained showed that entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of behavioral factors in the success of small and medium enterprises and they evidenced that the most significant and restrictive factors of entrepreneurs’ success in Santiago Island are related to internal business environment. Considering these factors, and according to research developed and analyzed, the work has collected specific information of successful entrepreneurs in Santiago that can be useful for those, in the island, who seek entrepreneurial success and for eventual capacity building and entrepreneurial training programs.

Violence as a research object and intervention in the health field: an analysis from the production of the Research Group on Gender, Health and Nursingi

The study aimed to describe how violence is revealed in the production of the Research Group on Gender, Health and Nursing. This is a historical research of qualitative approach, which evaluated the production of the Research Group, through content analysis. The results show gender as a central category in determining violence and health practices. This aspect determines limitations on professional practices of coping, such as the invisibility of the problem. The female autonomy, the use of alcohol and drugs and social vulnerability play an important relation with the phenomenon and the bond is revealed as potentiality of health practices to address the problem. Conclusion: The gender perspective in nursing research is an innovative field and counter-hegemonic, a possibility to assume a meaning of praxis by transforming potential of understanding and modes of intervention in the phenomenon of gender violence.

Supplemental nursing staff´s experiences at a Spanish hospital: Qualitative phenomenology research

The objective of this study was to describe the Supplemental Nursing Staff´s experiences at different hospital units. A qualitative phenomenological approach was conducted; a purposeful and theoretical sampling was implemented with supplemental nursing staff at Santa Barbara Hospital of Soria (Spain), to gain a more in-depth understanding of the Supplemental Nursing Staff ´s experience. Data were collected by in-depth interviews and through a field notebook. Data were analyzed using the Giorgi proposal. Twenty-one nurses with a mean age of 46 years were included. Three main topics emerged from the data analysis: building the first contact, carving out a niche and establishing interprofessional/interpersonal relationships. We conclude that the experience of hosting the supplemental nursing staff in changing clinical environments is conditioned by various factors. It is necessary for nurses and hospital managers to establish clear objectives with regard to the supplemental nursing staff´s role in the units.

Ethical dimension of circle Integrative Community Therapy on qualitative research

This study discusses ethical issues in research involving human beings and seeks to understand the relationship between qualitative research and the ethical care guidelines for Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) circles based on Resolution 466/12 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health of Brazil. This is documentary research, which analyzed Resolution 466/12 and ICT circles seeking to make a connection between the ethical guidelines contained in both. The analysis of the corpus was directed toward the construction of the following results: the person's perception, cultural diversity and community. It also brings in consideration of the influence of the ethical dimension of the ICT circles on qualitative research. We conclude that ICT circles are innovative in the sense of the diversity of participants and respect for cultural and social differences. Thus, ICT circles promote acquisition of quality information for social research as well as compliance with the ethical guidelines outlined in Resolution No. 466/12.

Narrative interviews: an important resource in qualitative research

Objetives This methodological study explain and emphasize the extent and fertility of the narrative interview in qualitative research. Methods To describe the narrative method within the qualitative research. Results The qualitative research method is characterized by addressing issues related to the singularities of the field and individuals investigated, being the narrative interviews a powerful method for use by researchers who aggregate it. They allow the deepening of research, the combination of life stories with socio-historical contexts, making the understanding of the senses that produce changes in the beliefs and values that motivate and justify the actions of possible informants. Conclusion The use of narrative is an advantageous investigative resource in qualitative research, in which the narrative is a traditional form of communication whose purpose is to serve content from which the subjective experiences can be transmitted.

Model endophenotype for bipolar disorder: Qualitative Analysis, etiological factors, and research areas

The aim of this study is to present an updated view of the writings on the endophenotype model for bipolar disorder using analytical methodologies. A review and analysis of networks was performed through descriptors and keywords that characterize the composition of the endophenotype model as a model of health. Information was collected from between 1992 and 2014, and the main thematic areas covered in the articles were identified. We discuss the results and question their cohesion, emphasizing the need to strengthen and identify the points of connection between etiological factors and characteristics that make up the model of endophenotypes for bipolar disorder.

Research recommendations for selected IARC-classified agents.

OBJECTIVES: There are some common occupational agents and exposure circumstances where evidence of carcinogenicity is substantial but not yet conclusive for humans. The objectives are to identify research gaps and needs for twenty agents prioritized for review based on evidence of widespread human exposures and potential carcinogenicity in animals or humans. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review was conducted of new data published since the most recent pertinent IARC monograph meeting. DATA EXTRACTION: Reviewers were charged with identifying data gaps and general and specific approaches to address them, focusing on research that would be important in resolving classification uncertainties. An expert meeting brought reviewers together to discuss each agent and the identified data gaps and approaches. DATA SYNTHESIS: Several overarching issues were identified that pertained to multiple agents; these included the importance of recognizing that carcinogenic agents can act through multiple toxicity pathways and mechanisms, including epigenetic mechanisms, oxidative stress and immuno- and hormonal modulation. CONCLUSIONS: Studies in occupational populations provide important opportunities to understand the mechanisms through which exogenous agents cause cancer and intervene to prevent human exposure and/or prevent or detect cancer among those already exposed. Scientific developments are likely to increase the challenges and complexities of carcinogen testing and evaluation in the future, and epidemiologic studies will be particularly critical to inform carcinogen classification and risk assessment processes.[Authors]