Mechanisms to improve integrative research at the science-policy interface for sustainable catchment management

Greater integration between researchers and policy makers is required to provide an evidence base that is transparent, integrated, and adaptive to support the complexities of sustainable catchment management. Opening-up and closing-down mechanisms are equally important in creating and establishing such an evidence base. We provide examples of both types based on our recent research and knowledge-transfer activities at the science-policy interface. Through our coordination role for the United Kingdom government we provide opening up physical and virtual forums for researchers and government science and policy staff to learn about and assess the gaps and uncertainties of the evidence base. Closing-down mechanisms are vital to policy cycles, in that they distil what is known and what is unknown. The Diffuse Pollution User Manual provides a valuable tool for policy and catchment management staff to assess the potential effectiveness of different combinations of remedial diffuse-pollution mitigation methods. It is vital that that opening-up and closing-down mechanisms are iteratively linked given the complexity and uncertainty of the science and policy cycles. Advances in integrative research at the science-policy interface are vital if there is to be a move to more deliberative policy making

Equation level matching: An extension of the method of matched asymptotic expansion for problems of wave propagation

We introduce an alternative to the method of matched asymptotic expansions. In the "traditional" implementation, approximate solutions, valid in different (but overlapping) regions are matched by using "intermediate" variables. Here we propose to match at the level of the equations involved, via a "uniform expansion" whose equations enfold those of the approximations to be matched. This has the advantage that one does not need to explicitly solve the asymptotic equations to do the matching, which can be quite impossible for some problems. In addition, it allows matching to proceed in certain wave situations where the traditional approach fails because the time behaviors differ (e.g., one of the expansions does not include dissipation). On the other hand, this approach does not provide the fairly explicit approximations resulting from standard matching. In fact, this is not even its aim, which to produce the "simplest" set of equations that capture the behavior

Evaluating allied health students’ readiness for placement learning

Background: Experiential learning opportunities, such as work integrated learning placements, are often challenging for health professional students. It is therefore imperative that students are adequately prepared before engaging in placement learning. Operationalising ‘readiness for learning on placement’ as a construct, is necessary for providing quality student feedback and assessment. Methods: An integrative mixed methods approach was adopted for this study, utilising a survey to canvass the perspectives of academics, students, and placement educators around the construct of readiness to inform potential assessment items. An assessment tool measuring student readiness for placement was then developed. Data from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology programs were evaluated using Rasch analysis to explore the unidimensionality of this construct. Results: The online survey was completed by 64 participants, confirming the importance and measurability of foundational skills integral to readiness for placement learning. These foundational skills were then reflected in a pilot 20-item tool covering domains of professional and learner behaviour, communication, information gathering skills and reasoning. The Rasch analysis of 359 pre-registration student assessments confirmed unidimensionality, suggesting that the skills and attributes (operationalised as assessment items) that are considered part of ‘readiness for placement’ are components of this construct. Together, these findings provide support that the items on this tool are relevant and representative of the skills and behaviours that indicate readiness for placement learning. Two items regarding documentation and appropriate professional dress demonstrated some lower importance scores and interpretation variance warranting further investigation. Conclusion: Through the exploration of the construct of readiness for placement learning, we have created and subsequently revised, an innovative assessment tool that measures novice students’ pre-placement capabilities. Further research is now needed to explore the psychometric properties of the tool

Plasma levels of angiopoietin-1 and -2 predict cerebral malaria outcome in Central India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria (CM) syndrome are not well understood. Previous studies have shown a strong association of inflammatory chemokines, apoptotic markers and angiogenic molecules with CM associated mortality. Recognizing the importance of angiopoietins (ANG) in the pathogenesis of CM, a retrospective investigation was carried out in a hospital cohort of malaria patients with <it>Plasmodium </it>infection in central India to determine if these factors could be suitable markers of CM associated severity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients enrolled in the study were clinically characterized as healthy controls (HC), mild malaria (MM), CM survivors (CMS) and CM non-survivors (CMNS) based on their malaria status and hospital treatment outcome. Plasma ANG-1 and ANG-2 levels were assessed using sandwich ELISA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to calculate area under the curve (AUC) for each biomarker in order to assess predictive accuracy of individual biomarkers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The plasma levels of ANG-1 were lower in CMS and CMNS compared to control groups (mild malaria and healthy controls) at the time of hospital admission. On the contrary, ANG-2 levels positively correlated with malaria severity and were significantly higher in CMNS. The ratio of ANG-2/ANG-1 was highest in CMNS compared to other groups. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that compared to ANG-1 (AUC = 0.35), ANG-2 (AUC = 0.95) and ratio of ANG-2/ANG-1 (AUC = 0.90) were better markers to discriminate CMNS from MM cases. However, they were less specific in predicting fatal outcome amongst CM cases at the time of hospital admission.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that at the time of admission plasma levels of ANG-2 and ratio of ANG-2/ANG-1 are clinically informative biomarkers to predict fatal CM from MM cases while they have limited usefulness in discriminating fatal CM outcomes in a pool of CM cases in endemic settings of Central India.</p

Predictors of self-perceived cultural responsiveness in entry-level physiotherapy students in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

Background: Ensuring physiotherapy students are well prepared to work safely and effectively in culturally diverse societies upon graduation is vital. Therefore, determining whether physiotherapy programs are effectively developing the cultural responsiveness of students is essential. This study aimed to evaluate the level of self-perceived cultural responsiveness of entry level physiotherapy students during their training, and explore the factors that might be associated with these levels. Methods: A cross sectional study of physiotherapy students from nine universities across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire containing three parts: The Cultural Competence Assessment tool, Altemeyer’s Dogmatism scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale- short form. Demographic data relating to university, program, and level of study were also collected. Data was analysed using one-way ANOVA, t-tests and multiple regression analysis. Results: A total of 817 (19% response rate) students participated in this study. Overall, students had a moderate level of self-perceived cultural responsiveness (Mean (SD) = 5.15 (0.67)). Fewer number of weeks of clinical placement attended, lower levels of dogmatism, and greater social desirability were related to greater self-perceived cultural responsiveness. Additionally, fourth year undergraduate students perceived themselves to be less culturally responsive than first and second year students (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results provide educators with knowledge about the level of self-perceived cultural responsiveness in physiotherapy students, and the factors that may need to be assessed and addressed to support the development of culturally responsive practice

Extraterrestrial surface propulsion systems

Lunar traction systems, Mars oxygen production, and Mars methane engine operation were the three topics studied during 1992. An elastic loop track system for lunar construction operations was redesigned and is being tested. A great deal of work on simulating the lunar environment to facilitate traction testing has been reported. Operation of an oxygen processor under vacuum conditions has been the focus of another design team. They have redesigned the processor facility. This included improved seals and heat shields. Assuming methane and oxygen can be produced from surface resources on Mars, a third design team has addressed the problem of using Mars atmospheric carbon dioxide to control combustion temperatures in an internal combustion engine. That team has identified appropriate tests and instrumentation. They have reported on the test rig that they designed and the computer-based system for acquiring data

Au-Ag template stripped pattern for scanning probe investigations of DNA arrays produced by Dip Pen Nanolithography

We report on DNA arrays produced by Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) on a novel Au-Ag micro patterned template stripped surface. DNA arrays have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) showing that the patterned template stripped substrate enables easy retrieval of the DPN-functionalized zone with a standard optical microscope permitting a multi-instrument and multi-technique local detection and analysis. Moreover the smooth surface of the Au squares (abput 5-10 angstrom roughness) allows to be sensitive to the hybridization of the oligonucleotide array with label-free target DNA. Our Au-Ag substrates, combining the retrieving capabilities of the patterned surface with the smoothness of the template stripped technique, are candidates for the investigation of DPN nanostructures and for the development of label free detection methods for DNA nanoarrays based on the use of scanning probes.Comment: Langmuir (accepted

Cross-scale analysis of social-ecological systems:Policy options appraisal for delivering NetZero and other environmental objectives in Scotland

Public policy confronts complex, contested, wicked problems such as climate and biodiversity crises with challenges of how issues are framed, analysed, codified, and interpreted. Social-ecological systems provide an analytical framework that couples the biosphere and technosphere, recognising biophysical limits and emphasising the importance of critical reflection within policy decision-making. Conducting policy-options appraisals is increasingly seen as a transdisciplinary research-policy endeavour with researchers engaging policy actors in an extended peer community (post-normal science). This paper presents a case study of analysis undertaken with researchers, policy analysts, policy makers and other stakeholders to support decisions on how to implement future agriculture support in Scotland, so that the policy programme better delivers across social, economic and environmental objectives. The key change being considered in the future agricultural support programme is Enhanced Conditionality (EC) where the level of financial support provided to farm-businesses will depend on their undertaking agri-environmental measures that deliver against the key priorities of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reversing biodiversity losses. The paper outlines the policy context within which the EC options appraisal takes place – highlighting how EC is a crucial component in making the wider suite of policy measures work. The transdisciplinary approach, Quantitative Story Telling (QST) is presented, emerging from decision support, participatory research, and post-normal science for policy domains. The stages of QST highlight the importance of analysis that underpins any quantification (decision on how issues are framed and what it included in the analysis) and the expectation that research outputs with be deliberated on with, and interpreted from, stakeholder perspectives. The project specific analyses are outlined, combining top-down options appraisal of how macro-policy decisions could constrain EC and bottom-up analysis of potential uptake and effectiveness of EC measures, undertaken in inter-disciplinary workshops with domain experts from biodiversity, soils and waters. The paper highlights challenges for implementation and evaluation at meso-scale with interactions between farm-businesses and catchment, landscape and regional objectives. The conclusions of the analysis, in policy terms, are that EC presents an opportunity to significantly realign how agricultural land management is conducted in Scotland, so that it is more effective in delivering climate change and biodiversity objectives, but there are formidable challenges in resolving the policy “sudoku”. Meso-scale issues are likely to mean the need to integrate alternative modelling paradigms such as spatial, empirical agent-based modelling (ABM) into policy option appraisals. By taking multi-scale, social-ecological systems perspectives on EC it has been possible to identify key policy decisions at a range of scales on which the success of EC will depend, to have a realistic understanding of how effective the EC measures might be in heterogenous Scottish environments and what are the likely barriers to uptake. The analysis also highlighted where outcomes of the policy change are likely to be challenging to monitor-evaluate; and where there are dependencies between farm-businesses that mean EC measures need to be supplemented with mechanisms that (1) promote cooperation between land managers and (2) identify and respond to agreed local priorities. The value of the participatory QST process was in making sure the analyses being undertaken were salient and the outputs seen as credible – but the challenges of interpreting necessarily complex outputs remain. The greatest value of QST may be that it provides a structured way to navigate complexity with policy makers rather than seeking to control or eliminate it.</p

Cross-scale analysis of social-ecological systems:Policy options appraisal for delivering NetZero and other environmental objectives in Scotland

Public policy confronts complex, contested, wicked problems such as climate and biodiversity crises with challenges of how issues are framed, analysed, codified, and interpreted. Social-ecological systems provide an analytical framework that couples the biosphere and technosphere, recognising biophysical limits and emphasising the importance of critical reflection within policy decision-making. Conducting policy-options appraisals is increasingly seen as a transdisciplinary research-policy endeavour with researchers engaging policy actors in an extended peer community (post-normal science). This paper presents a case study of analysis undertaken with researchers, policy analysts, policy makers and other stakeholders to support decisions on how to implement future agriculture support in Scotland, so that the policy programme better delivers across social, economic and environmental objectives. The key change being considered in the future agricultural support programme is Enhanced Conditionality (EC) where the level of financial support provided to farm-businesses will depend on their undertaking agri-environmental measures that deliver against the key priorities of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reversing biodiversity losses. The paper outlines the policy context within which the EC options appraisal takes place – highlighting how EC is a crucial component in making the wider suite of policy measures work. The transdisciplinary approach, Quantitative Story Telling (QST) is presented, emerging from decision support, participatory research, and post-normal science for policy domains. The stages of QST highlight the importance of analysis that underpins any quantification (decision on how issues are framed and what it included in the analysis) and the expectation that research outputs with be deliberated on with, and interpreted from, stakeholder perspectives. The project specific analyses are outlined, combining top-down options appraisal of how macro-policy decisions could constrain EC and bottom-up analysis of potential uptake and effectiveness of EC measures, undertaken in inter-disciplinary workshops with domain experts from biodiversity, soils and waters. The paper highlights challenges for implementation and evaluation at meso-scale with interactions between farm-businesses and catchment, landscape and regional objectives. The conclusions of the analysis, in policy terms, are that EC presents an opportunity to significantly realign how agricultural land management is conducted in Scotland, so that it is more effective in delivering climate change and biodiversity objectives, but there are formidable challenges in resolving the policy “sudoku”. Meso-scale issues are likely to mean the need to integrate alternative modelling paradigms such as spatial, empirical agent-based modelling (ABM) into policy option appraisals. By taking multi-scale, social-ecological systems perspectives on EC it has been possible to identify key policy decisions at a range of scales on which the success of EC will depend, to have a realistic understanding of how effective the EC measures might be in heterogenous Scottish environments and what are the likely barriers to uptake. The analysis also highlighted where outcomes of the policy change are likely to be challenging to monitor-evaluate; and where there are dependencies between farm-businesses that mean EC measures need to be supplemented with mechanisms that (1) promote cooperation between land managers and (2) identify and respond to agreed local priorities. The value of the participatory QST process was in making sure the analyses being undertaken were salient and the outputs seen as credible – but the challenges of interpreting necessarily complex outputs remain. The greatest value of QST may be that it provides a structured way to navigate complexity with policy makers rather than seeking to control or eliminate it.</p