Institutional Research Management using an Integrated Information System

AbstractResearch constitutes a fundamental activity within Higher Education and, for many institutions, comprises a major revenue income stream. Moreover, research increasingly becomes dependent on information systems to manage the complex information flows that it creates. This study introduces a web based software system built on Java technologies that supports institutional research management. The system provides decision support mechanisms using graph metrics in combination with data envelopment analysis as a method for efficiency measurement. Comparing the R&D outcomes of academic units with the dynamics of the collaboration patterns extracted from graphs, the developed system enables research managers to evaluate specific criteria and correlate strategic goals with research performance

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Academic Research Policy-making and Evaluation Using Graph Visualisation

Print ISBN : 978-1-61284-962-1International audienceHigher education institutions need to have a social responsibility and attainable objectives regarding their education and research activities. In our approach we use multi-indicator analysis in order to evaluate the research activities of an institution as well the degree of achievement for a specified research policy. Our work is a part of prototype system that supports academic evaluation and decision-making processes concerning research policies, using visual analytics. The presented case study emphasises on the analysis of the research collaborations indicated in published research work. Our main data sources are the Scopus library, Google Scholar and the Quality Assurance Unit Service of a Greek higher education institution. Data are retrieved and enriched by additional analysis and graph metrics. The developed system provides enables user to evaluate aspects of the quality of academic research activities in the context of specific policies and criteria and make informed decisions on the establishment of new strategies

Institutional Research Management using an Integrated Information System

International audienceResearch constitutes a fundamental activity within Higher Education and, for many institutions, comprises a major revenue income stream. Moreover, research increasingly becomes dependent on information systems to manage the complex information flows that it creates. This study introduces a web based software system built on Java technologies that supports institutional research management. The system provides decision support mechanisms using graph metrics in combination with data envelopment analysis as a method for efficiency measurement. Comparing the R&D outcomes of academic units with the dynamics of the collaboration patterns extracted from graphs, the developed system enables research managers to evaluate specific criteria and correlate strategic goals with research performance

Using visual representation for decision support in Institutional Research Evaluation

International audienceHigher Education Institutes worldwide are facing an increased demand to strengthen their capacities for research and innovation. This study introduces an ontology-based software system architecture that supports research policy evaluation processes and decision-making strategies, using visual analytics. A knowledge modeling technique drawing on multi criteria analysis and data visualisation is proposed. In addition, the paper presents a prototype built on Protegé, Pellet reasoner and Java Technologies, which is friendly to the user and capable of interactive synthesis of institutional decision support criteria. In this work we make a transition from knowledge to visual web-based decision support systems with different kinds of visualisations. The developed system enables research managers to evaluate key aspects of academic research activity in the context of specific policies and criteria, correlate strategic goals with research performance and make informed decisions on the establishment of research strategies

Co-authorship networks in academic research communities: the role of network strenght

Print ISBN : 978-1-4673-2720-6International audienceEducational institutions increasingly need to assess and enhance their activities, in order to improve research effectiveness and measure future capability as well as past performance. Research effectiveness is, among others, an important indicator of the quality assurance process in Higher Education. This study examines the research collaboration structures within a Higher Education academic unit, over a four-year period, with the aim of supporting institutional evaluation and reaching a deeper understanding of the process by which academics share research activities. Our approach focuses on the analysis and visualization of the relationships that exist among authors as well as of the researchers' activity and participativeness in intra and inter-institutional research groups