Barriers to research collaboration: are social scientists constrained by their desire for autonomy?

Researchers everywhere are being pushed to collaborate. Individual academics are being urged to join teams, small teams are encouraged to merge with others to become bigger teams, and institution-wide and inter-institutional collaborations are spreading. With potential benefits including increased chances of funding, visibility, and impact, why, asks Jenny M. Lewis, are social scientists not embracing collaboration more? Might it be the value they place on their autonomy, the freedom to pursue their own ideas and choose which topics to work on, that is constraining them? Researcher interviews suggest it may actually be time pressures and managerial constraints that are bounding autonomy, crowding out space to develop collaborations

A network approach for researching partnerships in health

BACKGROUND: The last decade has witnessed a significant move towards new modes of governing that are based on coordination and collaboration. In particular, local level partnerships have been widely introduced around the world. There are few comprehensive approaches for researching the effects of these partnerships. The aim of this paper is to outline a network approach that combines structure and agency based explanations to research partnerships in health. Network research based on two Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) in Victoria is used to demonstrate the utility of this approach. The paper examines multiple types of ties between people (structure), and the use and value of relationships to partners (agency), using interviews with the people involved in two PCPs – one in metropolitan Melbourne and one in a rural area. RESULTS: Network maps of ties based on work, strategic information and policy advice, show that there are many strong connections in both PCPs. Not surprisingly, PCP staff are central and highly connected. Of more interest are the ties that are dependent on these dedicated partnership staff, as they reveal which actors become weakly linked or disconnected without them. Network measures indicate that work ties are the most dispersed and strategic information ties are the most concentrated around fewer people. Divisions of general practice are weakly linked, while local government officials and Department of Human Services (DHS) regional staff appear to play important bridging roles. Finally, the relationships between partners have changed and improved, and most of those interviewed value their new or improved links with partners. CONCLUSION: Improving service coordination and health promotion planning requires engaging people and building strong relationships. Mapping ties is a useful means for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of partnerships, and network analysis indicates concentration and dispersion, the importance of particular individuals, and the points at which they will fragment. A narrative approach adds an assessment of whether the partnerships are being used and valued. The approach outlined here, which examines structure and agency as separate but related explanations, has much to offer in examining partnerships

Evaluation of a hand-held point-of-care analyser for measurement of creatinine in cats

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate whether a handheld creatinine analyser (StatSensor Xpress; SSXp), available for human patients, can be used to measure creatinine reliably in cats.MethodsAnalytical performance was evaluated by determining within- and between-run coefficient of variation (CV, %), total error observed (TEobs, %) and sigma metrics. Fifty client-owned cats presenting for investigation of clinical disease had creatinine measured simultaneously, using SSXp (whole blood and plasma) and a reference instrument (Konelab, serum); 48 paired samples were included in the study. Creatinine correlation between methodologies (SSXp vs Konelab) and sample types (SSXpwhole bloodvs SSXpplasma) was assessed by Spearman’s correlation coefficient and agreement was determined using Bland–Altman difference plots. Each creatinine value was assigned an IRIS stage (1–4); correlation and agreement between Konelab and SSXp IRIS stages were evaluated.ResultsWithin-run CV (4.23–8.85%), between-run CV (8.95–11.72%), TEobs(22.15–34.92%) and sigma metrics (⩽3) did not meet desired analytical requirements. Correlation between sample types was high (SSXpwhole bloodvs SSXpplasma; r = 0.89), and between instruments was high (SSXpwhole bloodvs Konelabserum; r = 0.85) to very high (SSXpplasmavs Konelabserum; r = 0.91). Konelab and SSXpwhole bloodIRIS scores exhibited high correlation ( r = 0.76). Packed cell volume did not significantly affect SSXp determination of creatinine. Bland–Altman difference plots identified a positive bias for the SSXp (7.13 μmol/l SSXpwhole blood; 20.23 μmol/l SSXpplasma) compared with the Konelab. Outliers (1/48 whole blood; 2/48 plasma) occurred exclusively at very high creatinine concentrations. The SSXp failed to identify 2/21 azotaemic cats.Conclusions and relevanceAnalytical performance of the SSXp in feline patients is not considered acceptable. The SSXp exhibited a high to very high correlation compared with the reference methodology but the two instruments cannot be used interchangeably. Improvements in the SSXp analytical performance are needed before its use can be recommended in feline clinical practice.</jats:sec

Mapping Public Sector Innovation Units in Australia and New Zealand 2018 Survey Report

Public sector innovation (PSI) units are increasingly being established and commissioned by governments in Australia and New Zealand to bring new insights and approaches to policy design and the delivery of public services. This report is part of an ANZSOG-funded research project, conducted by Melbourne University’s Policy Lab, to analyse the methodology of PSIs and their role within the broader policy environment. It found that while there is a wide range of structures to PSIs, they are generally small, reliant on contractors and consultants, located within a single department and focused on the early stages of the policy cycle. The survey notes that, internationally, the rise of PSI units has been framed as a response by governments to increasingly complex challenges, particularly in the field of social policy. In Australia and New Zealand the PSIs are focused far more heavily on areas of social policy and services, rather than areas such as energy and taxation. Only four PSI units reported that their establishment was an initiative of an elected official or member of government. This suggests that the emergence of PSI units within government in Australia and New Zealand is being driven by public managers and administrators, rather than by politicians or elected officials. The Policy Lab’s research team will continue this project and build on the survey results by carrying out five case studies of PSI units working on various policy and innovation domains at different levels of government. The results of this research will be available towards the end of 2018 and a public summary will be shared on the project web page: http://go.unimelb.edu.au/ix8

Properties of Active Galaxies Deduced from H I Observations

We completed a new survey for H I emission for a large, well-defined sample of 154 nearby (z < 0.1) galaxies with type 1 AGNs. We make use of the extensive database presented in a companion paper to perform a comprehensive appraisal of the cold gas content in active galaxies and to seek new strategies to investigate the global properties of the host galaxies and their relationship to their central black holes (BHs). We show that the BH mass obeys a strong, roughly linear relation with the host galaxy's dynamical mass. BH mass follows a looser, though still highly significant, correlation with the maximum rotation velocity of the galaxy, as expected from the known scaling between rotation velocity and central velocity dispersion. Neither of these H I-based correlations is as tight as the more familiar relations between BH mass and bulge luminosity or velocity dispersion, but they offer the advantage of being insensitive to the glare of the nucleus and therefore are promising new tools for probing the host galaxies of both nearby and distant AGNs. We present evidence for substantial ongoing BH growth in the most actively accreting AGNs. In these nearby systems, BH growth appears to be delayed with respect to the assembly of the host galaxy but otherwise has left no detectable perturbation to its mass-to-light ratio or its global gas content. The host galaxies of type 1 AGNs, including those luminous enough to qualify as quasars, are generally gas-rich systems, possessing a cold interstellar medium reservoir at least as abundant as that in inactive galaxies of the same morphological type. This calls into question current implementations of AGN feedback in models of galaxy formation that predict strong cold gas depletion in unobscured AGNs. (Abridged)Comment: To appear in ApJ; 14 page

From Entitlement to Experiment: Industry Report on Case Studies of high performing providers

The abstract is included in the text

Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Early life stress (ELS) consists of child family adversities (CFA: negative experiences that happened within the family environment) and/or peer bullying. ELS plays an important role in the development of adolescent depressive symptoms and clinical disorders. Identifying factors that may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents with ELS may have important public mental health implications. METHODS: We used structural equation modelling and examined the impact of adolescent friendships and/or family support at age 14 on depressive symptoms at age 17 in adolescents exposed to ELS before age 11. To this end, we used structural equation modelling in a community sample of 771 adolescents (322 boys and 477 girls) from a 3 year longitudinal study. Significant paths in the model were followed-up to test whether social support mediated or moderated the association between ELS and depressive symptoms at age 17. RESULTS: We found that adolescent social support in adolescence is negatively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms in boys and girls exposed to ELS. Specifically, we found evidence for two mediational pathways: In the first pathway family support mediated the link between CFA and depressive symptoms at age 17. Specifically, CFA was negatively associated with adolescent family support at age 14, which in turn was negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In the second pathway we found that adolescent friendships mediated the path between peer bullying and depressive symptoms. Specifically, relational bullying was negatively associated with adolescent friendships at age 14, which in turn were negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In contrast, we did not find a moderating effect of friendships and family support on the association between CFA and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Friendships and/or family support in adolescence mediate the relationship between ELS and late adolescent depressive symptoms in boys and girls. Therefore, enhancing affiliate relationships and positive family environments may benefit the mental health of vulnerable youth that have experienced CFA and/or primary school bullying.AlvH was supported by a Rubicon Fellowship from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. IMG was supported by a Wellcome Trust programme grant, and grants from the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research, and Care (CLAHRC) for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; IMG, AlvH, and JLG were supported through a grant from Kidscompany UK; PBJ was supported by Wellcome Trust grants, and National Institute for Health Research grant; RAK is supported by a Wellcome grant; JLG reports grants from ESRC, grants from MRC, grants, and personal fees from Royal College of Speech, and Language therapists.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.015371

PAndAS' progeny: extending the M31 dwarf galaxy cabal

We present the discovery of five new dwarf galaxies, Andromeda XXIII-XXVII, located in the outer halo of M31. These galaxies were found in the second year of data from the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) of the M31/M33 subgroup. This survey now provides an almost complete panoramic view of the M31 halo out to an average projected radius of ~150 kpc. The metal-poor stellar density map for this whole region serves, not only as an illustration of the discovery space for satellite galaxies, but also gives a birds-eye view of the ongoing assembly process of an L* disk galaxy. Four of the new dwarfs appear as well-defined spatial over-densities of stars lying on the expected locus of metal-poor red giant branch stars at the distance of M31. The fifth over-density, And XXVII, is embedded in an extensive stream of such stars and is possibly the remnant of a strong tidal disruption event. All five satellites have metallicities and luminosities typical of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and continue the trend whereby the brighter dwarf spheroidal satellites of M31 generally have much larger half-light radii than their Milky Way counterparts. With an extended sample of M31 satellite galaxies we also revisit the spatial distribution of this population and find that, within the current limits of the PAndAS survey, the surface density of satellites is essentially constant out to 150 kpc. This corresponds to a radial density distribution of satellites varying as 1/r, a result seemingly in conflict with the predictions of cosmological simulations. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 16 pages, 8 figure