Collaborative Transdisciplinary Research Research Articles

Perspective: Expanding Transdisciplinary Collaborative Research to Graduate Education

Highlights Shared perspectives from a panel discussion at the 2023 ASABE Annual International Meeting. There is a need for creativity and guidance to assess transdisciplinary collaborative work in graduate programs. There is a need to sustain transdisciplinary collaborative graduate programs long-term. Shifting the culture around transdisciplinary collaborative graduate education would support increasing programmatic support and assessment methods. Abstract. To prepare graduate students to address today’s complex agri-food systems challenges in research, government, and industry, there is a need for a workforce already trained in collaborative transdisciplinary research skills such as systems thinking, teamwork, and communication across disciplines. This perspective addresses this need through three major themes—assessment, support, and culture—identified from a panel discussion of academic and industry perspectives at the 2023 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Graduate student assessment (Theme 1) may include a diverse portfolio beyond the individual thesis demonstrating collaborative transdisciplinary competencies. Short-term grant-funded programs exist, but there needs to be longer-term programmatic support (Theme 2). Shifting the culture in graduate education towards regular incorporation of transdisciplinary aspects within student training (Theme 3) is a potential scaffold to increase programmatic support (Theme 2) and, ultimately, the adoption of more comprehensive assessment methods (Theme 1). Keywords: Graduate Education, Programmatic Support, Student Assessment, Transdisciplinary Collaboration.

Transdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Past Australian Aboriginal Foodways

Global understanding of past food systems is based on many lines of evidence, involving complex multidisciplinary contributions. It has long been considered that since Australia’s first colonisation, now dated to 65,000 years ago, its peoples were supported largely through foraging as opposed to farming. Recent research has challenged that perspective, contentiously proposing that Australia’s first nations peoples developed agricultural systems before European colonisation. This proposal has been subject to significant critique, but support of the food-producing nature of Aboriginal society has been boosted by new multi-disciplinary evidence for early aquaculture and possibly cultivation, as well as for the translocation of plants though trans-continental trade systems. While this analysis has generated new discussion and debate, it has also highlighted systemic empirical biases; archaeological data for pre-European plant exploitation remains sparse, and we consistently rely on potentially unrepresentative and historically shallow ethnographic information to fill that gap. We argue that by employing collaborative transdisciplinary research that incorporates Western scientific and Indigenous knowledge pathways, we can more effectively explore the diverse and complex nature of Aboriginal foodways in Australia’s past, from the earliest human arrivals to its current mosaic of different food systems.

Why archaeology's relevance to global challenges has not been recognised

Archaeologists are increasingly publishing articles proclaiming the relevance of our field for contemporary global challenges, yet our research has little impact on other disciplines or on policy-making. Here, the author discusses three reasons for this impasse in relevance: archaeologists do not understand how relevance is constructed between fields; too little of our work follows a rigorous scientific epistemology; and we are confused about the target audiences for our messages concerning our discipline's relevance. The author suggests two strategies for moving forward: transdisciplinary collaborative research and the production of quantitative scientific results that will be useful to scientists in disciplines more closely involved in today's global challenges.

Charting a Path to Trans-Disciplinary Collaborative Design for Adaptation to Sea Level Rise

NSF project to evaluate, test and model effective trans-disciplinary collaborative research and design in teaching, learning, and productivity among architecture and civil engineering and civil engineering technology students who develop real world interventions for communities impacted by flooding related to sea level rise. The studio-based learning (SBL) engages students in different stages of learning and provides opportunities to acknowledge conflicts between methods and models within each discipline. The application of the impacts of SBL and trans-disciplinary study would provide useful data and replicable models for programs seeking to improve minority persistence and success in STEM-related inquiry and future professional and academic achievements.

A Model for Developing a SOTEL Research Cluster

This case study critically reflects upon the development of a scholarship of technology enhanced learning (SOTEL) research cluster in clinical sciences higher education. The research cluster has grown from an initial community of practice established in 2015 in the context of Paramedicine education (Cochrane, Cook, Aiello, Harrison, & Aguayo, 2016), to a collaborative transdisciplinary research cluster that now encompasses: the School of Clinical Sciences, Journalism, the Centre for Teaching And Learning, the AppLAB, and international research partners (Cochrane, 2019; Cochrane et al., 2018). The MESH360 research cluster (initially standing for the Multiple Environment Simulation VR Hub, but now covering the growing body of immersive reality enhanced learning projects) focuses upon the common domain of the exploration of immersive reality to enhance higher education to develop student creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving capabilities.
 
 The research cluster is built upon the shared ontology, epistemology, and research methodology of the wider SOTEL research cluster hub (https://sotel.nz/about-the-cluster/). We established an ecology of resources to support the research cluster (Cochrane & Narayan, 2018), and encourage open educational practice via social media, publishing in open access channels, and regular project showcases. Outcomes from the MESH360 research cluster include: innovative curriculum design, journal articles, conference proceedings, 2 Vice Chancellors teaching innovation awards, a Prime Minister’s research scholarship, and award of a variety of internal project funding. The activity of the research cluster is curated in a ResearchGate Project at https://www.researchgate.net/project/MESH360 and on social media via the #MESH360 hashtag. While the activity of the MESH360 has been predominantly within the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, we are seeing wider impact into Schools within the other Faculties at the university, and potential national and international collaborations.
 
 The SOTEL model includes the following main elements:
 
 An online hub - The SOTEL Research Cluster https://sotel.nz/
 An annual Symposium showcasing SOTEL in practice https://sotel.nz
 The Pacific Journal of Educational Technology (PJTEL)
 The CMALT cMOOC and the MOSOMELT cMOOC
 A weekly webinar series
 Brokering international TEL networks such as the ASCILITE Mobile Learning Special Interest Group
 A series of TEL workshops and showcases
 
 
 The presentation will outline the above elements of the SOTEL Research Cluster. We believe the MESH360 research cluster model can be applied to a wide variety of higher education domains.
 References
 
 Cochrane, T. (2019). How AUT is Designing Authentic Student Learning Experiences with Immersive Reality. Paper presented at the 2nd New Zealand Digital Campus and Blended Learning Transformation From K6 to Higher education: Immersive AR/VR, blended learning innovations and next generation learning spaces, Stamford Plaza, Auckland, New Zealand. https://tinyurl.com/SOTELprojects
 Cochrane, T., Cook, S., Aiello, S., Harrison, D., & Aguayo, C. (2016, 28-30 November). Designing Virtual Reality Environments for Paramedic Education: MESH360. Paper presented at the Show Me The Learning. Proceedings ASCILITE 2016 Adelaide, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
 Cochrane, T., & Narayan, V. (2018, 25-29 June, 2018). The Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning: Reimagining SOTL for the Social Network Age. Paper presented at the EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
 Cochrane, T., Stretton, T., Aiello, S., Britnell, S., Cook, S., & Narayan, V. (2018). Authentic Interprofessional Health Education Scenarios using Mobile VR. Research in Learning Technology, 26, 2130. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2130

Conflict Causes and Prevention Strategies at the Society-Science Nexus in Transdisciplinary Collaborative Research Settings: A Case Study of a Food Security Project in Tanzania

Collaboration between researchers and society is essential when addressing challenging 21st Century questions. Such collaboration often comprises international, inter- and trans-disciplinary teams, as well as temporal constraints, resulting in inherently complex research projects. Although practitioners increasingly appreciate the value of bottom-up approaches, operational details are often overlooked. Further knowledge is necessary, especially about what might endanger project success. Using a food security project, this paper analyzes conflict experiences and prevention strategies between project members and local stakeholders through personal interviews and focus group discussions. Data for this case study was collected in four Tanzanian villages. This paper identifies multiple conflict drivers, including missing information transfers; diverging expectations; overlaps of field activities with seasonal farming activities; and obscure participant selection. Identified conflict prevention strategies include developing trust, reducing language barriers, and involving locals. Research practitioners, institutes, and hegemonic actors are responsible for ensuring that projects will not worsen the entered situation and negatively affect the community, adhering to the “do no harm” principle; therefore, it is vital to be aware and seek to improve international and collaborative research projects that actively involve local stakeholders. This paper supports the understanding of interacting with local communities in a food security context to support the development of innovative collaboration approaches and methods. Through collaboration, it is possible to find sustainable solutions to pressing issues.

Music Listening Intervention vs Local Anaesthetic Cream for Pain Management in Infants Undergoing Venepuncture: A Collaborative Trans-Disciplinary Research

Music Listening Intervention vs Local Anaesthetic Cream for Pain Management in Infants Undergoing Venepuncture: A Collaborative Trans-Disciplinary Research

Collaborative Transdisciplinary Research in a Small Institution: Challenges and Opportunities.

Aim/PurposeIn this paper, we discuss how a Transdisciplinary (TD) and a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) initiative was conceptualized, developed, implemented, and sustained at a small academic institution with limited research infrastructure, emphasizing die role of capacity building.BackgroundMost examples of die implementation of TD research come from large-scale initiatives in research-intensive institutions or centers widi multiple resources to establish collaborations among experts from different disciplines. However less is known about die implementation of TD and CBPR initiatives in small academic settings.MethodologyThis paper includes a discussion of the challenges and lessons learned of this process in a teaching-intensive Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), which included a research component as part of the institutional priorities when it transitioned to a 4-year college in 2001.ContributionWe hope diat our experience helps odier researchers in similar institutions to engage in diis type of research.FindingsIn this case, a collaborative TD and CBPR initiative was successfully implemented despite limited resources for capacity building and research infrastructure, as well as diversity among researchers and community members.Recommendation for ResearchersTo sustain institutional collaborative capacity in this type of institution, authors recommend continuous capacity building efforts and the development of modules and/or courses to provide formal TD training for junior faculty while encouraging researchers to interact and collaborate. In addition, the importance of the role of the community liaison is highlighted.Impact on SocietySuccessful TD and CBPR initiatives may have a positive impact on the reduction or elimination of health disparities which involve complex phenomena that requires a broad view from different perspectives.Future ResearchEven though capacity building can facilitate the implementation of TD and CBPR, many challenges arise as an inherent result of community engagement and the integration of different disciplines. Thus, the need of continuous reflection to acknowledge them becomes critical for advancing TD and CBPR efforts.

The true value of materials: BRIDGE (Building Research and Innovation Deals for the Green Economy)

Assessing the value of materials, lifecycle and applications was central to the European Union INTERREG IV project BRIDGE (Building Research and Innovation Deals for the Green Economy) 2011–2014. Here, the complex philosophies of sustainability (protection of people, profit and planet) underpinned innovation, knowledge transfer, data visualization and design thinking, to develop green entrepreneurs, and market differentiation in Southern England and Northern France Channel regions. The model followed transdisciplinary collaborative research methods resulting in ‘green best practice’, which was visualized and disseminated extensively via digital technologies, mixed media and exhibitions. Information generated by the research was debated and shared at cross-channel conferences, business-to-business, incubation events, workshops and research exchange visits focussing on two materials: textiles and wood, sourced in the UK and France. Partners came from universities, regional authorities, non-governmental organisations and business communities to discuss the economic, environmental and societal value of these regional materials and innovative proofs of concept, eco and sustainable design products, processes, services and material experiments were generated from this collaborative peer learning, community of practice approach. More sustainable proof of concept products and systems were developed by knowledgeable practitioners which embody an understanding of green business, where the philosophical rationales and complexity of ethics, climate change and waste issues, for example, were communicated through materials and objects to expert and non-expert audiences and consumers. This embodiment and honest communication of knowledge in a product is a unique selling point, creating market value and consumer differentiation through narrative. Stakeholders exchanged complex data, methods and ideas towards developing green employment opportunities, informing a research theme for UK and EU funders to the year 2020 and beyond. This is a descriptive narrative on the evolvement of the project which enables incisive, reflective and theoretical analysis to take place simultaneously in other publishing areas to assess the longer term impact and value of BRIDGE in subsequent transdisciplinary projects. This work contributes to literature on value and use of materials with a focus on collaboration, design, innovation, applied research and societal benefit to develop green employment.

Participation in medical research as a resource-seeking strategy in socio-economically vulnerable communities: call for research and action.

The freedom to consent to participate in medical research is a complex subject, particularly in socio-economically vulnerable communities, where numerous factors may limit the efficacy of the informed consent process. Informal consultation among members of the Switching the Poles Clinical Research Network coming from various sub-Saharan African countries, that is Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Benin, seems to support the hypothesis that in socio-economical vulnerable communities with inadequate access to health care, the decision to participate in research is often taken irrespectively of the contents of the informed consent interview, and it is largely driven by the opportunity to access free or better quality care and other indirect benefits. Populations' vulnerability due to poverty and/or social exclusion should obviously not lead to exclusion from medical research, which is most often crucially needed to address their health problems. Nonetheless, to reduce the possibility of exploitation, there is the need to further investigate the complex links between socio-economical vulnerability, access to health care and individual freedom to decide on participation in medical research. This needs bringing together clinical researchers, social scientists and bioethicists in transdisciplinary collaborative research efforts that require the collective input from researchers, research sponsors and funders.

Neonatal research in India: current status, challenges, and the way forward.

The present article systematically reviews the current status of neonatal research in India by examining the research articles published by Indian authors in the last 10 years. It also enlists the major challenges and proposes a few potential solutions to improve the status of neonatal research in the country. The systematic review of 574 eligible articles indicates that majority of the studies were observational in nature, facility-based, and primarily investigator-driven with no external funding, had small sample size, and were published in journals with low impact factor. Only a few select government and non-government academic institutions contributed to most studies. The major challenges include shortage of faculty, no provision for dedicated research time, inadequate knowledge/skills in research methods, lack of funding opportunities, limited access to literature, non-existence of research administrative cell, inappropriately low perks to research staff, and poor support for data management and statistical analysis. The recently revised guidelines on clinical trials involving drugs have further increased the researcher's dilemma. The potential solutions are to increase the faculty strength in medical colleges, allow dedicated research time to them, appoint dedicated research cadre with emoluments at par with clinical faculty, initiate formal training in research methods, create nationwide free portal for access to literature, facilitate development of good protocols through technical guidance at all stages, make the process of funding quick and transparent, and to promote collaborative trans-disciplinary research. Experts from different domains should come together and formulate evidence based research priorities. Regulatory mechanisms should be kept proportionate to plausible risks of research, and detailed ethical guidelines for research in children should be formulated. And last but not least, harnessing postgraduate thesis potential to answer simple and relevant clinical questions in a methodologically rigorous way is the need of the hour.

The Touch Pad Body: A Generative Transcultural Digital Device Interrupting Received Ideas and Practices in Aboriginal Health

Yolŋu Aboriginal understandings of the body, health, life and sickness, and roles their ancestral epistemologies and knowledge practices play in making agreement have seldom been taken seriously in the biomedical world. In this paper, we describe how insights developed in three different cross-cultural collaborative transdisciplinary research projects led to the design of a digital device aimed at intervening in communicative practices around body, health, life and sickness, interrupting the received practices and assumptions on both sides of the practitioner-client divide. The interrupting device slows down and opens up communication practices potentially leading to mutual understanding, collective agreement making, and bottom-up changes in remote Aboriginal health policy and practice.

Integrating Media Studies of Climate Change into Transdisciplinary Research: Which Direction Should We Be Heading?

Research in the area of media coverage on climate change communication represents one of the most prolific areas of inquiry within communication and mass communication studies. This body of literature, which ranges from empirical to critical studies, continues to expand. Much research has focused on representations of climate change causes, effects, and human actions, while some has assessed the impacts of these representations. What is broadly missing from this literature, however, is a discussion of how we might integrate media analysis into transdisciplinary collaborative research aimed at creating solutions to the social, environmental, and economic issues intertwined with climate change. Given the magnitude of problems the society and science are currently grasping with, it behooves us to understand how media studies can contribute most effectively to characterizing and solving problems. We maintain that the move toward integrating media studies into transdisciplinary collaborative research marks an essential transition for environmental communication in general, but climate change communication in particular, given the urgency and magnitude of creating meaningful adaptation and mitigation strategies to address this pressing, complex challenge. Drawing on our work as part of a large transdisciplinary sustainability science team, we provide a case study for understanding what collaborations are key to moving media studies into a transdisciplinary context and the key opportunities and barriers that come along with that move. We argue that media studies must increasingly engage directly in collaboration with other researchers, stakeholders, and communities to serve on-the-ground decision-making and enhance society's ability to take action.

Advancing Rural Food Access Policy Research Priorities: Process and Potential of a Transdisciplinary Working Group

Residents of rural communities currently face disproportionately higher risk for nutrition-related chronic diseases compared to residents of urban communities. Rural residents also face disparities and unique barriers in accessing healthy, affordable foods. In 2011, participants of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)–funded Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN) formed the Rural Food Access Working Group (RFAWG). Since then, the RFAWG has been focusing on conducting collaborative transdisciplinary research that includes a concept mapping project that identified and prioritized policy research ideas perceived as important to improving access to healthy, affordable foods in rural communities. This commentary reflects on the process and potential of this emergent transdisciplinary RFAWG to advance rural food access policy research priorities, sharing how after nearly two years of convening, RFAWG has identified and started to address various rural food access policy research needs and opportunities that the group has deemed important for the near and long-term. The research priorities and process taken thus far by RFAWG reflect the participants' own work, institutional and geographic strengths, and negotiated approaches to collaborating with the transdisciplinary team using pooled but often limited resources. The group has benefited from the involvement of a variety of experts skilled in various disciplines and research methodologies touching the food system. RFAWG continues to strategize methods to advance rural food access policy research priorities through transdisciplinary team efforts, innovative partnerships, rigorously designed research processes, and contextually crafted dissemination and translation approaches.

Collaboration Across Eight Research Centers: Unanticipated Benefits and Outcomes for Project Managers

Managers of transdisciplinary collaborative research lack suitable didactic material to support the implementation of research methodologies and to build ongoing partnerships with community representatives and peers, both between and within multiple academic centers. This article will provide insight on the collaborative efforts of project managers involved in multidisciplinary research and their subsequent development of a tool kit for research project managers and/or directors. Project managers from the 8 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities across the nation participated in monthly teleconferences to share experiences and offer advice on how to achieve high participation rates and maintain community involvement in collaboration with researchers and community leaders to achieve the common goal of decreasing health inequities. In the process, managers recognized and seized the opportunity to produce a tool kit that was designed for future project managers and directors. Project managers in geographically distinct locations maintained a commitment to work together over 4 years and subsequently built upon an existing communications network to design a tool kit that could be disseminated easily to a diverse audience.

Emotions in organisational research in nursing homes

Emotions clearly play an important role in living and working in nursing homes. Therefore research in cooperation with nursing homes or other long term care settings has to find a way to deal with these phenomena. This paper presents emotions as an integrated part of doing organisational research. The paper draws on transdisciplinary collaborative research with nursing homes on gender, ethical decisions and needs management. Feelings and emotions are core dimensions for knowledge construction and theory building on these issues. Working within a qualitative paradigm and a relational approach, it will be argued that care ethics serves as important source of basic principles.

Climate Change and Tropical Andean Glacier Recession: Evaluating Hydrologic Changes and Livelihood Vulnerability in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Climate change is forcing dramatic glacier mass loss in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, resulting in hydrologic transformations across the Rio Santa watershed and increasing human vulnerability. This article presents results from two years of transdisciplinary collaborative research evaluating the complex relationships between coupled environmental and social change in the region. First, hydrologic results suggest there has been an average increase of 1.6 (± 1.1) percent in the specific discharge of the more glacier-covered catchments (>20 percent glacier area) as a function of changes in stable isotopes of water (δ18O and δ2H) from 2004 to 2006. Second, there is a large (mean 60 percent) component of groundwater in dry season discharge based on results from the hydrochemical basin characterization method. Third, findings from extensive key interviews and seventy-two randomly sampled household interviews within communities located in two case study watersheds demonstrate that a large majority of households perceive that glacier recession is proceeding very rapidly and that climate change–related impacts are affecting human vulnerability across multiple shifting vectors including access to water resources, agro-pastoral production, and weather variability.

Yolngu Studies: A case study of Aboriginal community engagement

The Yolngu studies program at Charles Darwin University has been active in the teaching of Yolngu (East Arnhemland Aboriginal) languages and culture, in collaborative transdisciplinary research, and in community engagement for well over ten years. The original undergraduate teaching program was set up under the guidance of Yolngu elders. They instituted key principles for the tertiary level teaching of Yolngu languages and culture, which reflected protocols for knowledge production and representation derived from traditional culture. These principles ensured the continuation of an ongoing community engagement practice that enabled the flourishing of a collaborative research culture in which projects were negotiated; these projects remain faithful to both western academic standards, and ancestral Aboriginal practices. The paper gives details of the program, the underlying Aboriginal philosophy, and some of the research projects. The success of the whole program can be seen to derive from the co-constitutivity of community engagement, research and teaching. In 2005 the program won the Prime Minister's award for Australia's best tertiary teaching program.

Leisure and Active Lifestyles: Research Reflections

Leisure researchers have been studying active living for many years. The research, however, has focused more on individual factors than social and environmental determinants that enable physical activity and health. The focus of the introduction to this special issue on “leisure and active lifestyles” is to highlight leisure literature that can be directly tied to active living. These dimensions include outdoor recreation, community recreation areas and facilities, time usage, barriers and constraints, and social interdependence. We provide an overview of the significance of the papers in this special issue and offer some reflections regarding future research related to active living, physical activity, health, and leisure. We underline the value of the holistic approach evident in leisure research and call for broader methods and more collaborative transdisciplinary research.

Planetary Technoetics: Art, Technology and Consciousness

As the planet becomes telematically unified, the self becomes dispersed. The convergence of dry silicon pixels and biologically wet particles is creating a moistmedia substrate for art where digital systems, telematics, genetic engineering and nanotechnology meet. A technoetic aesthetic not only will embrace new media, technology, consciousness research and non-classical science but also will gain new insights from older cultural traditions previously banished from materialist discourse. In the present post- 9/11 crisis, collaborative transdisciplinary research is needed if a truly planetary culture is to emerge that is techno-ethical as well as technoetic.