1,491 research outputs found
The Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network: An international research consortium investigating environment, climate, and health
No full textThe MCC Collaborative Research Network- Collaborators: Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Portugal (Susana das Neves Pereira da Silva, Joana Madureira).Short CommunicationsResearch on the health risks of environmental factors and climate change requires epidemiological evidence on associated health risks at a global scale. Multi-center studies offer an excellent framework for this purpose, but they present various methodological and logistical problems. This contribution illustrates the experience of the Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network, an international collaboration working on a global research program on the associations between environmental stressors, climate, and health in a multi-center setting. The article illustrates the collaborative scheme based on mutual contribution and data and method sharing, describes the collection of a huge multi-location database, summarizes published research findings and future plans, and discusses advantages and limitations. The Multi-Country Multi-City represents an example of a collaborative research framework that has greatly contributed to advance knowledge on the health impacts of climate change and other environmental factors and can be replicated to address other research questions across various research fields.What this study adds: This is the first contribution that presents the Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) Collaborative Research Network, detailing the origin and purpose of the collaboration and the research work undertaken so far. In addition to information on the data collection and the multi-location database gathered over the years, this contribution illustrates the study protocol and the mode of collaboration adopted by the MCC Network, based on a flexible framework that promotes data sharing and collective participation. The article also offers an overview of the publications by MCC on different research topics, as well as the methodological developments supporting these works. Finally, this article kickstarts an article collection, with a series of epidemiological works to be published in Environmental Epidemiology, featuring the latest contributions from the MCC Network on topical environmental research issues
The Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network An international research consortium investigating environment, climate, and health
No full textResearch on the health risks of environmental factors and climate change requires epidemiological evidence on associated health risks at a global scale. Multi-center studies offer an excellent framework for this purpose, but they present various methodological and logistical problems. This contribution illustrates the experience of the Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network, an international collaboration working on a global research program on the associations between environmental stressors, climate, and health in a multi-center setting. The article illustrates the collaborative scheme based on mutual contribution and data and method sharing, describes the collection of a huge multi-location database, summarizes published research findings and future plans, and discusses advantages and limitations. The Multi-Country Multi-City represents an example of a collaborative research framework that has greatly contributed to advance knowledge on the health impacts of climate change and other environmental factors and can be replicated to address other research questions across various research fields
Global, regional, and national burden of mortality associated with cold spells during 2000–19: a three-stage modelling study
No full textData sharing:
All used data were obtained from the Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) Collaborative Research Network (https://mccstudy.lshtm.ac.uk/) under a data sharing agreement and cannot be made publicly available. Researchers can refer to MCC participants, who are listed as coauthors of our study, for information on accessing the data for each country.Supplementary Material is available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519623002772#sec1 .Background:
Exposure to cold spells is associated with mortality. However, little is known about the global mortality burden of cold spells.
Methods:
A three-stage meta-analytical method was used to estimate the global mortality burden associated with cold spells by means of a time series dataset of 1960 locations across 59 countries (or regions). First, we fitted the location-specific, cold spell-related mortality associations using a quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model with a lag period of up to 21 days. Second, we built a multivariate meta-regression model between location-specific associations and seven predictors. Finally, we predicted the global grid-specific cold spell-related mortality associations during 2000–19 using the fitted meta-regression model and the yearly grid-specific meta-predictors. We calculated the annual excess deaths, excess death ratio (excess deaths per 1000 deaths), and excess death rate (excess deaths per 100 000 population) due to cold spells for each grid across the world.
Findings:
Globally, 205 932 (95% empirical CI [eCI] 162 692–250 337) excess deaths, representing 3·81 (95% eCI 2·93–4·71) excess deaths per 1000 deaths (excess death ratio), and 3·03 (2·33–3·75) excess deaths per 100 000 population (excess death rate) were associated with cold spells per year between 2000 and 2019. The annual average global excess death ratio in 2016–19 increased by 0·12 percentage points and the excess death rate in 2016–19 increased by 0·18 percentage points, compared with those in 2000–03. The mortality burden varied geographically. The excess death ratio and rate were highest in Europe, whereas these indicators were lowest in Africa. Temperate climates had higher excess death ratio and rate associated with cold spells than other climate zones.
Interpretation:
Cold spells are associated with substantial mortality burden around the world with geographically varying patterns. Although the number of cold spells has on average been decreasing since year 2000, the public health threat of cold spells remains substantial. The findings indicate an urgency of taking local and regional measures to protect the public from the mortality burdens of cold spells.Australian Research Council, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, EU's Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion. This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP210102076), the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (APP2000581) and the EU's Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion (Grant ID: 820655). YGa and WH were supported by the China Scholarship Council (number 202008110182 and number 202006380055). YGu was supported by the Leader Fellowship (number APP2008813) of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. QZ was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province in China (grant ZR2021QH318) and the Shandong Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas) (grant 2022HWYQ-055). AG was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion (Grant ID: 820655). JK and AU were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project 22-24920S). VH was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement Number 101032087), and SL was supported by an Emerging Leader Fellowship of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (number APP2009866)
Interplay between network configurations and network governance mechanisms in supply networks a systematic literature review
No full textPurpose: This work systematically reviews the extant academic management literature on supply networks. It specifically examines how network configurations and network governance mechanisms influence each other in supply networks.
Design: 125 analytical and empirical studies were identified using an evidence-based approach to review the literature mainly published between 1985 and 2012.
Synthesis: Drawing on a multi-disciplinary theoretical foundation, this work develops an integrative framework to identify three distinct yet interdependent themes that characterize the study of supply networks: a) Network Configurations (structures and relationships); b) Network Governance Mechanisms (formal and informal); and c) The Interplay between Network Configurations and Network Governance Mechanisms.
Findings: Network configurations and network governance mechanisms mutually influence each other and cannot be considered in isolation. Formal and informal governance mechanisms provide better control when used as complements rather than as substitutes. The choice of governance mechanism depends on the nature of exchange; role of management; desired level of control; level of flexibility in formal contracts; and complementary role of formal and informal governance mechanism.
Research implications: This nascent field has thematic and methodological research opportunities for academics. Comparative network analysis using longitudinal case studies offers a rich area for further study.
Practical Implications: The complexity surrounding the conflicting roles of managers at the organisation and network levels poses a significant challenge during the development and implementation stage of strategic network policies.
Originality/value: This review reveals that formal and informal governance mechanisms provide better control when used as complements rather than as substitutes
Co-authorship Network of Scientometrics Research Collaboration
No full textThis paper examines the co-authorship network in the field of scientometrics using social network analysis techniques with the aim of developing an understanding of research collaboration in this scientific community. Using co-authorship data from 3125 articles published in the journal Scientometrics with a time span of more than three decades (1980-2012), we construct an evolving co-authorship network and calculate three centrality measures (closeness, betweenness, and degree) for 3024 authors, 1207 institutions, 68 countries and 22 academic fields in this network. This paper also discusses the usability of centrality measures in author ranking, and suggests that centrality measures can be useful indicators for impact analysis. Findings revealed that scientometrics was not dominated by a couple of key researchers as quite a significant number of popular researchers were identified. The United States occupies the topmost position in all measures except for degree centrality. The most active, central and collaborative academic discipline in scientometrics is Information & Library Science
Author Correction: Rapid increase in the risk of heat-related mortality.
No full textCorrection to: Nature Communicationshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40599-x, published online 24 August 2023 The original version of this Article omitted from the author list the 17th author, “Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) collaborative research network”, which is the consortium providing the mortality data. A list of consortium authors and their affiliations are provided in the HTML version of this Correction. Part of the Author Contributions statement was incorrectly given and should have read ‘A.M.V.C., E.M.F., B.A., M.D.S.Z.S.C., Y.L.G., Y.G., Y.H., V.H., J.K., E.L., D.R., N.R., N.S., S.S., A.U., A.G. and the MCC were involved in resources and data curation.’ In addition, the primary affiliation ‘Climate Research Foundation (FIC), Madrid, Spain’ for Dominic Roye was missing
Seasonal variation in mortality and the role of temperature: a multi-country multi-city study
No full textData availability: Data have been collected within the MCC (Multi-Country Multi-City) Collaborative Research Network (https://mccstudy.lshtm.ac.uk) under a data-sharing agreement and cannot be made publicly available. The R code for the analysis is available from the first author.Copyright . Background:
Although seasonal variations in mortality have been recognized for millennia, the role of temperature remains unclear. We aimed to assess seasonal variation in mortality and to examine the contribution of temperature.
Methods:
We compiled daily data on all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality, temperature and indicators on location-specific characteristics from 719 locations in tropical, dry, temperate and continental climate zones. We fitted time-series regression models to estimate the amplitude of seasonal variation in mortality on a daily basis, defined as the peak-to-trough ratio (PTR) of maximum mortality estimates to minimum mortality estimates at day of year. Meta-analysis was used to summarize location-specific estimates for each climate zone. We estimated the PTR with and without temperature adjustment, with the differences representing the seasonal effect attributable to temperature. We also evaluated the effect of location-specific characteristics on the PTR across locations by using meta-regression models.
Results:
Seasonality estimates and responses to temperature adjustment varied across locations. The unadjusted PTR for all-cause mortality was 1.05 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.11] in the tropical zone and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.20–1.25) in the temperate zone; adjusting for temperature reduced the estimates to 1.02 (95% CI: 0.95–1.09) and 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07–1.12), respectively. Furthermore, the unadjusted PTR was positively associated with average mean temperature.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that seasonality of mortality is importantly driven by temperature, most evidently in temperate/continental climate zones, and that warmer locations show stronger seasonal variations in mortality, which is related to a stronger effect of temperature.This work was primarily supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [Grant Number 19K19461]. Y.C. was supported by a Senior Research grant [2019R1A2C1086194] from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). V.H. received support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness [Grant ID: PCIN-2017-046]. J.K. and A.U. were supported by the Czech Science Foundation [project 18-22125S]. A.S. acknowledged funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 820655 (EXHAUSTION). A.G. was supported by the Medical Research Council-UK [Grant ID: MR/R013349/1], the Natural Environment Research Council UK [Grant ID: NE/R009384/1] and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion [Grant ID: 820655]. M.H. was supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) as part of SICORP [Grant Number JPMJSC20E4]
Seasonality of mortality under climate change: a multicountry projection study
No full textData sharing:
All data used in our study were obtained from the MCC Collaborative Research Network under a data-sharing agreement and cannot be made publicly available. Researchers can refer to collaborators of the Network, who are listed as coauthors of this Article (primary contact: Antonio Gasparrini, [email protected]), for information on accessing the data for each country. The R code is available on request, and a reproducible example is publicly available on the personal GitHub website of the first author (https://github.com/LinaMadaniyazi).For more on the MCC see https://mccstudy.lshtm.ac.uk/Supplementary Material is available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519623002693#sec1 .Background:
Climate change can directly impact temperature-related excess deaths and might subsequently change the seasonal variation in mortality. In this study, we aimed to provide a systematic and comprehensive assessment of potential future changes in the seasonal variation, or seasonality, of mortality across different climate zones.
Methods:
In this modelling study, we collected daily time series of mean temperature and mortality (all causes or non-external causes only) via the Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative (MCC) Research Network. These data were collected during overlapping periods, spanning from Jan 1, 1969 to Dec 31, 2020. We projected daily mortality from Jan 1, 2000 to Dec 31, 2099, under four climate change scenarios corresponding to increasing emissions (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways [SSP] scenarios SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5). We compared the seasonality in projected mortality between decades by its shape, timings (the day-of-year) of minimum (trough) and maximum (peak) mortality, and sizes (peak-to-trough ratio and attributable fraction). Attributable fraction was used to measure the burden of seasonality of mortality. The results were summarised by climate zones.
Findings:
The MCC dataset included 126 809 537 deaths from 707 locations within 43 countries or areas. After excluding the only two polar locations (both high-altitude locations in Peru) from climatic zone assessments, we analysed 126 766 164 deaths in 705 locations aggregated in four climate zones (tropical, arid, temperate, and continental). From the 2000s to the 2090s, our projections showed an increase in mortality during the warm seasons and a decrease in mortality during the cold seasons, albeit with mortality remaining high during the cold seasons, under all four SSP scenarios in the arid, temperate, and continental zones. The magnitude of this changing pattern was more pronounced under the high-emission scenarios (SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5), substantially altering the shape of seasonality of mortality and, under the highest emission scenario (SSP5-8.5), shifting the mortality peak from cold seasons to warm seasons in arid, temperate, and continental zones, and increasing the size of seasonality in all zones except the arid zone by the end of the century. In the 2090s compared with the 2000s, the change in peak-to-trough ratio (relative scale) ranged from 0·96 to 1·11, and the change in attributable fraction ranged from 0·002% to 0·06% under the SSP5-8.5 (highest emission) scenario.
Interpretation:
A warming climate can substantially change the seasonality of mortality in the future. Our projections suggest that health-care systems should consider preparing for a potentially increased demand during warm seasons and sustained high demand during cold seasons, particularly in regions characterised by arid, temperate, and continental climates.This study was primarily supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (grant number JPMEERF20231007) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency, provided by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. MH was supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency as part of the Strategic International Collaborative Research Program (grant number JPMJSC20E4). AG was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (grant number MR/V034162/1) and the EU's Horizon 2020 research project Exhaustion (grant number 820655). AU and JK were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project 22–24920S). JJKJ was supported by the Academy of Finland (grant number 310372; Global Health Risks Related to Atmospheric Composition and Weather Consortium). FS was supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, Department of Excellence project 2023–2027, Rethinking Data Science—Department of Statistics, Computer Science and Applications—University of Florence
Collaborative Educational Systems in the Virtual Environment
No full textThe work leads to an original approach to the construction of collaborative systems metrics. The approach is based both on research already conducted by the author, on the experimental results obtained, and the foundation taken from the specific literature. The collaborative systems in knowledgebased economy are formalized and their characteristics are identified. The virtual campus structure is described and a comparison with the classical university is achieved. The architecture of virtual is designed and the categories of agents in virtual campus are analyzed.
Assessment of (computer-supported) collaborative learning
No full textWithin the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CS)CL research community there has been an extensive dialogue on theories and perspectives on learning from collaboration, approaches to scaffold (script) the collaborative process, and most recently research methodology. In contrast, the issue of assessment of collaborative learning has received much less attention. This article discusses how assessment of collaborative learning has been addressed, provides a perspective on what could be assessed, and highlights limitations of current approaches. Since assessment of collaborative learning is a demanding experience for teachers and students alike, they require adequate computer-supported and intelligent tools for monitoring and assessment. A roadmap for the role and application of intelligent tools for assessment of (CS)CL is presented
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