Zusammenarbeit mit klinischen Auftragsforschungsinstituten

ZusammenfassungKlinische Studien mit Arzneimitteln oder Medizinprodukten stellen zunehmend komplexe Anforderungen an Sponsoren und beteiligte Zentren. In den letzten 2 Jahrzehnten delegieren Sponsoren regulatorische sowie organisatorische Studienaufgaben zunehmend an medizinische Auftragsinstitute (engl. Clinical Research Organisation [CRO]). In der Regel sind diese Unternehmen die Hauptschnittstelle für die Zusammenarbeit mit den beteiligten Studienzentren. Hauptzweck der Mitwirkung ist die Unterstützung der Studienzentren zur Erzielung einer maximalen Studienqualität. Die in der Arbeitsgemeinschaft DOG Klinische Studienzentren verbundenen Studienzentren beobachten unterschiedliche Erfahrungen in der Zusammenarbeit mit CROs. Solche Erfahrungen sollen künftig systematisch an den beteiligten Zentren erfasst und vom Leiter der klinischen Studie ausgewertet werden. Die Spiegelung dieser Erfahrungen an die jeweiligen Auftragsinstitute und die sie beauftragenden Sponsoren kann in der Zukunft zur Qualität der Unterstützung durch CROs und damit zur Studienqualität beitragen. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt vor, welche Bereiche der Zusammenarbeit im Fragebogen erfasst und analysiert werden.

How the COVID-19 pandemic impacts social scientific research on sustainability: questions of methodology, ethics and justice: comment on Santana et al. 2021

In a highly relevant contribution, Santana et al. (2021) outlined the challenges for qualitative enquiries during the pandemic. We agree that overcoming these challenges is very important since qualitative research is vital for understanding both the impacts of COVID-19 on human communities around the globe and its significance for sustainable futures. However, we argue that a more fundamental approach is needed to address problems within scientific organisations, thinking and practices that directly affect qualitative research capabilities. In this comment, we focus on justice, research organisation, the ways social scientists position themselves and changed understandings of social worlds.

Detection of duplicate and non-face images in the eRecruitment applications using machine learning techniques

The objective of this work is to develop methodologies to detect, and report the noncompliant images with respect to indian space research organisation (ISRO) recruitment requirements. The recruitment software hosted at U. R. rao satellite centre (URSC) is responsible for handling recruitment activities of ISRO. Large number of online applications are received for each post advertised. In many cases, it is observed that the candidates are uploading either wrong or non-compliant images of the required documents. By non-compliant images, we mean images which do not have faces or there is not enough clarity in the faces present in the images uploaded. In this work, we attempt to address two specific problems namely: 1) To recognise image uploaded to recruitment portal contains a human face or not. This is addressed using a face detection algorithm. 2) To check whether images uploaded by two or more applications are same or not. This is achieved by using machine learning (ML) algorithms to generate similarity score between two images, and then identify the duplicate images. Screening of valid applications becomes very challenging as the verification of such images using a manual process is very time consuming and requires large human efforts. Hence, we propose novel ML techniques to determine duplicate and non-face images in the applications received by the recruitment portal.

Woven Tapestries: Dialogues and Dilemmas in Editing a Diary

Naomi Mitchison (1897-1999) was an established novelist and political campaigner throughout her life. During the Second World War, she kept an extensive daily diary from her home on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland which she sent in instalments to the London offices of the social research organisation, Mass Observation. Until the 1980s, this diary, together with 500 other diaries for the same period, remained largely unread. It was stored as part of the valuable Mass Observation Archive which was deposited at the University of Sussex in 1970. Between 1982 and 1984 it was edited for publication by Dorothy Sheridan, the Mass Observation archivist, in collaboration with Naomi Mitchison herself. It was first published as a book in 1985 by Gollancz as Among you taking notes: the wartime diary of Naomi Mitchison 1939-1945. This article is an account of the collaborative process of editing the original diary for publication and addresses questions of ownership, ethics and methodology raised by the process of editing life documents.

Developing Professional Guidelines for Administrators and Heads of Research at Research Organisations

Introduction. The development and deployment of professional guidelines for research organisation administrators and heads of research at research organisations are motivated by the ever-growing productivity requirements for research and scientific and technical activity. They are also motivated by the quality requirements for the results of research and their practical application, as well as the area of activity and qualification requirements for administrators and heads of research. The purpose of this study is to elaborate on the process of drafting professional guidelines for two job types: research organisation administrator and head of research at a research organisation. Methods. We develop the guidelines for research organisation administrators and heads of research at research organisations by using a systemic approach and relying on comparative and functional analysis. Other methods employed include expert surveys, expert assessments, content analysis of expert comments and a graphical method that clearly illustrates the stages in which the proposals received from experts are processed. The theoretical methods used in this study include abstraction and specification, induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, classification and generalisation. We also employ the simulation of professional activity while developing models of professional guidelines and drafting the professional guidelines themselves. Results and Discussion. As a result of this study, we present the methods of drafting professional guidelines for two job types: Research Organisation Administrator and Head of Research at a Research Organisation, informed by analysing the literature on the subject. In addition, we study how professional guidelines are used abroad, the development of said guidelines, analyse the critiques and suggestions received from experts and interested parties during a public discussion in the professional community, and further adjust our guidelines. Conclusion. After summarising our analysis, we conclude that the development of administrator and head of research activity at research organisations has excellent potential, as these positions are the ones that shape a given research organisation's contribution to resolving the social and economic issues faced by the national government. Our draft guidelines for administrators and heads of research are aimed at introducing an effective HR policy and competent personnel management within research organisations. The structure and content of the draft guidelines are optimal for bridging the gap between professional education and the actual labour market requirements. They fully reflect all skill, knowledge and competence requirements.

Coproduction, participation and empowerment: A participatory evaluation of a young care leavers project in prison

This practice note presents the results of a participatory evaluation of a coproduced project for care leavers at two young offenders institutions in the North East of England. The project has been delivered by Nepacs, a North East charity that provides family support to those affected by imprisonment and evaluated by Barefoot Research, a social research organisation. We think reporting on our experiences is worthy of sharing because both coproduction and participatory evaluation are unusual in criminal justice settings, particularly custodial ones. Our practice note shows that both approaches have yielded interesting findings relating to the development of young people’s own intrinsic capabilities, their ability to access their entitlements and their feelings of empowerment.

Validation and Reliability of the Alzheimer’s Disease-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Food Frequency Questionnaire

Accuracy in measuring intake of dietary constituents is an important issue in studies reporting the associations between diet and chronic diseases. We modified a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to include foods of interest in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research. The aim of the current study was to determine the reliability and validity of the AD-CSIROFFQ in 148 cognitively normal older adults. The AD-CSIROFFQ was completed before and after completion of a four-day weighed food record. Of the 508 food and beverage items reported, 309 had sufficient consumption levels for analysis of reliability. Of the 309 items, over 78% were significantly correlated between the two questionnaire administrations (Spearman’s rank correlations). We used two additional methods to assess absolute nutrient intake agreement between the AD-CSIROFFQ and the weighed food records (Pearson’s correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots) and quintile rankings to measure group level agreement. The adequate correlations observed between questionnaire responses suggest that the AD-CSIROFFQ is reliable. All nutrient intakes were acceptable for ranking of individuals on a group level, whilst the agreement levels with respect to the weighed food records for 11 of the 46 nutrients show validity in terms of their individual level absolute intake. The AD-CSIROFFQ makes an important contribution to the tools available for assessing usual dietary intake in groups of older adults with respect to AD research.

New scale insect country records for Kenya (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) from old samples in insect collections

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) are some of the least understood insects, particularly in agriculture, even though they can cause high crop losses. Due to their small size and cryptic habits they are rarely noticed at the onset of an infestation. In Kenya, efforts have been initiated to understand these pests better. Scale insects from Kenya, found in samples between 13 and 107 years old, were studied in the insect collections of the Natural History Museum, London, U.K. and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation, Nairobi, Kenya. The study identified 51 new country records of scale insects including one new continental record for Africa, Ferrisia dasylirii (Cockerell) (Pseudococcidae). Of the new records, 35 species (68.6%) are native to Africa and 16 (31.4%) have been introduced from elsewhere. Six of the 51 species (11.8%) are pests in Kenya today. Amongst the introduced species, at least one (Aonidiella comperei McKenzie) could cause plant quarantine issues in trade, and four (25.0%) are pests, more than four times the frequency of pests amongst the African species (5.7%). The remaining 45 species have been present in Kenya for at least 13 years and many have not been collected again since the original samples, suggesting that either they have not survived or they are rare because they are under good natural control. Most of the introduced species listed (75.0%) have not caused economic problems in Kenya to date, so it is thought unlikely that they will do so in the future. Key words: Scale insects, introduced species, native species