Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Self-Determination and Autonomy: A Conference Report

A Conference Report

Although historians have much to contribute to understanding such "Big Science" projects as the Human Genome project, they also face special challenges in placing these ongoing events in historical context. To address these problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, the Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry brought together a group of scholars and students of contemporary science on September 12-13, 1991, with a specific mandate to explore their common methodologies. Sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the conference on Writing History of Science While it Happens revealed that the difficulties faced by historians interested in contemporary science are shared by scholars of other disciplines. Historians, journalists, sociologists, and anthropologists increasingly share both tools and subjects of interest.

This book is the result of the First Ukulele International Conference (UIC 2021) – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Performance, Composition, and Organology (December 3-4, 2021), the first academic event ever dedicated to the instrument. The edited volume collects selected essays and contributions by authors with different (or with multiple) professional backgrounds: researchers in the ukulele’s cultural history, musicologists with scholarship in performance and instrumentality issues, composers (or composer-performers) of music for ukulele, performers engaged in scholarly research and in popularizing the instrument, and professionals involved in the technological innovation of the instrument. The purpose of this book is to provide a sample of possible questions related to the instrument, with the awareness that many others may only be fully formulated in future research. In addition to the general tenet of interdisciplinarity—crucial for addressing an instrument endowed with such high and intrinsic "plasticity"—the book presents a further challenge: extending research on the ukulele to research with the ukulele, namely understanding it as an instrument (in a more etymological sense), a scientific tool to investigate different topics in music-making.

The International Work Conference on Bioinspired Intelligence (IWOBI) is an annual event that comprises both an international peer-reviewed scientific conference and a set of workshops and other activities in order to foster the research abilities and expertise of young researchers in the field of bioinspired intelligence. IWOBI 2018 has been characterized by a strong transdisciplinary component. The main conference themes were at the intersection between classical engineering disciplines and computer science, and the life and health sciences. This was motivated by the scientific environment that defines research that is being conducted in Costa Rica. Even though IWOBI is an international event, it was very important for the local organizing committee to focus on knowledge areas that were considered of special interest to Costa Rican researchers and to students looking to start their scientific careers. With such great expectations, IWOBI 2018 has been the first IWOBI conference in history to have parallel tracks. In addition to a regular track, a biocomputation and related techniques track was developed, as well as another one devoted to high-performance computing (HPC) systems applications for life and health sciences applications. Workshops were another important resource developed within IWOBI 2018. They were considered a very important tool in order to foster and train young researchers within the country and they are a very valuable chance to establish direct networking with elite researchers from different countries and research interests. IWOBI 2018 was the first IWOBI conference that implemented real and effective workshops. There were two workshops, one of them devoted to COPASI software and the other one focused on the use of the message passing interface (MPI) parallel programming library.

After last year's successful Academia Juris Internationalis workshop on local products, Prof. Dr. Thilo Marauhn and Dr. Sebastian Heselhaus (Academia Juris Internationalis Franz von Liszt, Faculty of Law, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen) organized the second Jean Monnet – Workshop in the Senate Hall of the Main Building of Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen, Germany, on 2 July 2004.

On 3 June 2016 an international conference on Current Health Law Issues in Central and Eastern Europe took place at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The conference was organised by the Department of Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administra-tion under the honorary patronage of the European Association of Health Law (EAHL). The aim of the above-mentioned meeting was to create the platform for exchange of experiences and sharing views by researches and experts from the field of health law from post-communist countries where transformation processes caused many changes in the health system, also in the perspective of their EU memberships. The foreign research centres represented at the conference were the Masaryk University in Brno from the Czech Republic, the National Academy of Management in Kiev and the Legislation Institute of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from Ukraine, the University of Ljubljana from Slovenia, and the Kauno Kolegija University of Applied Sciences from Lithuania. Polish speakers and other participants derived, among others, from the Medical University of Lublin, the Jagiel-lonian University, the University of Rzeszów and the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.

BackgroundInternational research collaboration in the field of neuropsychopharmacology offers immense potential to bridge the gap between cutting-edge neuroscience discoveries and their application in clinical psychiatry. Despite the rapid advancements in understanding brain function and psychotropic mechanisms, a disconnect persists between the latest neuroscientific evidence and its integration into everyday psychiatric practice. For early career researchers (ECRs), engaging in international research can be a pivotal step toward fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and translating research into clinical innovations. However, significant barriers impede their ability to contribute effectively on a global scale.Aims & ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to uncover the challenges faced by ECRs involved in international collaborations within the field of neuropsychopharmacology.MethodA survey was created by the participants of the 1st CINP Fellowship Program and shared online through CINP’s official communication channels. The inclusion criteria were as follows: psychiatrists up to five years post psychiatric qualification and researchers up to five years after Ph.D. (or equivalent), conducting research in the field of neuropsychopharmacology, with a background in medicine, pharmacy, neuroscience, psychology, natural sciences, or similar disciplines. All respondents gave their consent to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia (EK 4/2024).ResultsAs of now, we have received 50 responses from participants across 24 countries. There were 27 (54%) female respondents. The majority of the respondents were aged 25-34 years (54%). In terms of current positions, there were 1 undergraduate medical student, 9 Ph.D. students, 9 psychiatry residents, 5 dual Ph.D. students/psychiatry residents, 12 post-doctoral researchers, 7 consultant psychiatrists, 1 associate professor, 4 assistant professors, and 2 full professors. The majority of participants had a medicine background (65%). While 98% (49 out of 50) expressed interest in and recognized the value of international collaborations in neuropsychopharmacological research, only 60% had prior international collaboration experience. Major barriers included: lack of financial and external support (88%), scarcity of specialty- or methodology-specific resources (70%), shortage of networking opportunities such as conferences (58%), logistical difficulties such as language barriers and organizing meetings in different time zones (58%), and insufficient technological resources (44%).Discussion & ConclusionsThis study highlights strong interest among ECRs in international neuropsychopharmacology collaborations, despite significant barriers including financial constraints, insufficient support, and limited access to specialized resources. Difficulty in collecting responses from international ECRs, particularly non-medical researchers, suggests challenges in accessing international networks. This may result in their underrepresentation in studies and research collaborations. Addressing these challenges through targeted funding, enhanced networking platforms, and accessible resources can foster greater global collaboration and interdisciplinary perspectives. Such efforts are crucial to bridge the disconnect between neuroscientific evidence and clinical practice, engage researchers globally, and ultimately advance mental health research and care.Funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I03-03-V04-00207.

“When a stone is put in your way, you can view it either as an obstacle – or as a stepping stone.” This well-known phrase was quoted in one of the opening speeches at the Joint Conference of the Protestant Academy Loccum and the African Law Association in Rehburg-Loccum, Germany, on 30 November 2007. It set the tone for a three-day conference on African law which explored the “Administration of Justice in Africa – Effectiveness, Acceptance and Assistance” in many facets, focusing on different countries and various approaches ranging from women's rights to development cooperation. The African Law Association (Gesellschaft für afrikanisches Recht e.V.), founded in 1973, aims at promoting and furthering the knowledge of the African legal systems. In keeping with the African Law Association's focus on different aspects of law in Africa – not only legal aspects, but also points of view from politics, history, development cooperation and ethnology – the conference participants came from various backgrounds: professors and lecturers from Germany and various African states were present as well as other members of the African Law Association and undergraduate and PhD students from several universities. A large student group, of which the author was a member, came from the University of Würzburg, their interest in African law awakened by a series of lectures in their home university and a cooperation project of the Faculty of Law of the University of Würzburg, the Namibian Ministry of Justice and the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek, Namibia.

Conference Report for a Conference on Recent Developments in International Criminal Law, organised by the Academia Juris Internationalis Franz von Liszt of the Faculty of Law of Justus-Liebig-University (Giessen, Germany) and the Hesse State Ministry of Justice in the Justice Ministry Building in Wiesbaden, Germany, on 27 April 2004.

One of the most significant questions in Europe is constitutional identity. The progression of globalisation and the federalisation of the European Union (EU), hindered sovereignty of the member states. In this climate, the notion of constitutional identity, which is a component of national identity enshrined in constitutions, has become one of the key tools for regaining autonomy. Many conflicting opinions have emerged in the scholarly world regarding the application of constitutional identity. One view is that it is just a vague instrument that aims to obstruct European integration, while another group of experts states that it is the last resort to stop the enforcement of an ideologically filled common identity generated by judicial organs, which is often contrary to national identities. To discuss this topic, a research group titled ‘Constitutional Identity and Relations Between the EU Law and the Domestic Law of the Member States’ was established. The group of renowned experts from France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Italy, and the Slovak Republic led by Professor András Zs. Varga conducted structured scientific research using a common questionnaire. The first outcome of their work was the International Scientific Conference on the ‘Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Constitutional Identity’ presented at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. The event served as an extraordinary opportunity to observe the meaning of constitutional identity in member countries, how it is protected, and the similarities and differences between member states. In this short report, I summarised the fundamental points of each presentation to provide key themes and messages.

CONFERENCE REPORT: 2ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN NETWORK OF LEGAL SCHOLARS (CEENELS): “AN UNEASY LEGACY: REMNANTS OF SOCIALIST LEGAL AND POLITICAL THINKING IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE”, JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF LAW AND ADMINISTRATION, 7-8 JANUARY 2017

On 20-21 September 2019, the first Global Shareholder Stewardship conference took place at King’s College London. The conference was co-hosted by the Dickson Poon School Law, the Transnational Law Institute (King’s College London) and the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) and funded by the Dickson Poon School of Law (King's College London), the Transnational Law Institute (King's College London), the British Academy's Partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the ESRC Social Science Impact Fund. The conference co-organisers Dr Dionysia Katelouzou (Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London) and Dr Dan Puchniak (Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore) gathered a collection of academics, policymakers and market players to share experiences, enhance dialogue, disseminate good practice, guide scholarship, and shape future stewardship policy through evidence-based recommendations. This report provides a summary of the key findings of this conference. The overarching aim of the conference was to examine and compare national, supranational, and international stewardship principles, elaborate institutions’ investment practices, showcase the impact of soft and hard regulation on current and evolving stewardship practices and understand the interaction of private and public actors in generating public policy. The findings will, therefore, contribute to current corporate governance debates and policymaking at national, supranational and international levels and will inform a wide range of academic and non-academic beneficiaries, including institutional investors, companies, and other stakeholders.

The conference report provides for brief description of papers presented during the plenary session of the 70th anniversary annual conference of the University of Latvia. The plenary session was dedicated to the legal environment of innovations and was held on February 2, 2012 in the Faculty of Law, University of Latvia.

Thomas Mann (1875-1955) wrote his «novel of the epoch» «Doctor Faustus» (1947) living in USA during the Second World War while inevitable approaching of the «German catastrophe» and soon after it. The conference reports consider this text in various socio-cultural contexts and interdisciplinary perspectives including musicological. The philosophical, aesthetic, thematic and theoretical-literary relevance of this literary text today was reliably demonstrated.

In what way does national history shape the interpretation of international events in that country's media? Germany has always had a particularly sensitive and complex relationship with Israel. The Holocaust left such a scar on German identity that the country cannot consider Israel without confronting its own history. In Israel, Germany sees a “reflection“ of its own historical and symbolic space. In this article, I draw together a close reading of major German newspapers with more interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives in order to illuminate the mechanism of what I call “mirror reading,“ and especially to reveal its workings during what I consider a key shift in the discourse on German identity. The German print media, which I treat as the activating agent in German narration of national identity, plays a central role in this reflection by projecting national symbols onto Israel. In particular, I identify the initial reception of the Israeli wall (2003-2004) as a turning point in the debate on German self-understanding after the Holocaust. I establish that there are two extremes in a continuum of how German national history can frame the Israeli wall, one making Germany an active agent and the other a passive one. Employing national symbols in the media distorts the domestic perception of foreign events. My study casts a first light on this little understood—but nonetheless crucial—phenomenon.