Interdisciplinary Journal Research Articles

Emerging human dimensions research in coastal and nearshore Oceania.

Calls for incorporating human dimensions into marine conservation have increased and begun to coalesce as marine social science. However, it is unclear what types of research and foci have been centered in this new interdisciplinary field and what gaps remain. Seeking to clarify the state of marine social science's emerging discourses and methods, we conducted a systematic mapping review of human dimensions studies in coastal and nearshore Oceania published from 2016 to 2022. We reviewed 684 studies, most of which appeared in interdisciplinary marine science journals. We deductively coded studies using previously established human dimensions categories. Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Hawai'i, and Fiji were the focus of 65% of studies despite comprising only a fraction of the total region. Emerging themes of the study included Indigenous worldviews, complex and nuanced drivers of human behavior, diverse human-ocean relationships, and social equity and justice. Some of the studies notably complicated common assumptions about human behavior in marine domains. Over half of the studies used mixed methods, engaging multiple perspectives and allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of research domains that may set marine social science apart in its ability to incorporate understudied human dimensions into marine conservation. Participatory methods, although not yet common, provide a valuable suite of approaches to understanding issues of social equity in marine management and studies of sensory and affective dimensions, also uncommon, could be of high value in filling gaps in understanding of people's complex relationships with marine places. Expanding interdisciplinary training for the next generation of marine stewards and transdisciplinary collaborations will provide opportunities to further mainstream marine social science for a richer, more comprehensive, and just understanding of the world's peopled seas.

Graphene Oxide Research: Current Developments and Future Directions.

Graphene oxide (GO), a pivotal derivative of graphene, has revolutionized nanotechnology with its tunable physicochemical properties and interdisciplinary applications in energy storage, environmental remediation, and biomedicine. Despite its exponential research growth, existing reviews remain fragmented, lacking holistic insights into evolving synthesis-application linkages, global collaboration patterns, and emerging convergence trends. This study bridges these gaps through a scientometric analysis of 14,124 peer-reviewed articles (2022-2025) from the Web of Science Core Collection, utilizing CiteSpace for co-occurrence network mapping, burst detection, and cluster analysis. Key findings reveal (1) a thematic shift from traditional synthesis optimization (e.g., Hummers' method) toward driven material design and sustainable applications like GO membranes for water purification; (2) China's dominance in publication output (38.5%) contrasts with the U.S. and Europe's leadership in global collaborations; (3) interdisciplinary journals such as Chemical Engineering Journal (centrality: 0.25) and emerging clusters like "circular economy" signal transformative priorities; and (4) critical gaps in scalability, ecological safety, and cost-effective production hinder industrial translation. This work provides a roadmap for aligning research with sustainability goals, fostering global partnerships, and accelerating innovations in scalable nanotechnology.

PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD)

PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD) is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal of Jimma University that publishes editorials, research articles, book reviews, commentaries, and notes. PJGD offers a platform for the expression of new scientific inquiries to intellectuals of the world in general and Africa & Ethiopia in particular to reflect on how governance and development can be promoted, strengthened, and consolidated. The biannual edition is published in February and August of each year only in English language. PJGD is APC Free Journal. PJGD accepts scientific works focused on the diversified areas of Governance and Development drawn from multiple disciplines of Political Science and International Relations, Public Management, Leadership, Development Economics, Environmental Governance, Peace and Conflict, Human Rights, National and International Law, Globalization, Public Policy, Regional and International Organizations, Gender, Peace and Conflict Management, International Political Economy, Multiculturalism, Civil Society, and related areas.

Research Trends in Design Thinking Education: A Systematic Literature Review from 2014 to 2024

This study examines the research trends of Design Thinking (DT) in education during the period 2014–2024 through a systematic literature review. This study aims to analyze annual publication patterns, implementation across educational levels, research methodologies, authorship distribution, geographical spread, journal type distribution, and key themes from highly-cited publications in DT education research. The results show a significant increase in publications, especially in 2023–2024, reflecting growing academic interest in DT as an innovative approach to developing 21st-century skills. Qualitative research methods dominate, with most studies involving collaborative authorship. DT application was initially focused on higher education but expanded in secondary education while remaining limited in primary education. Asia leads in research contribution, while Africa shows lower output. Publications are distributed across educational, design-focused, and interdisciplinary journals. These findings underscore the importance of cross-disciplinary and global collaboration to accelerate DT adoption equitably. This study recommends strengthening educator training, developing holistic evaluation methods, and expanding quantitative research for more inclusive DT implementation.

Would Adopting Triple-Blind Review Increase Female Authorship in Interdisciplinary Journals? A Comment on Hassoun et al.

Would Adopting Triple-Blind Review Increase Female Authorship in Interdisciplinary Journals? A Comment on Hassoun et al.

Inaugural editorial on an interdisciplinary journal on nursing, rehabilitation and healthcare sciences

Inaugural editorial on an interdisciplinary journal on nursing, rehabilitation and healthcare sciences

IJIKM Volume 20, 2025 – Table of Contents

Table of Contents for Volume 20, 2025, of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management

Uniting Fields of Knowledge: The Role of Interdisciplinary Journals in Science

Uniting Fields of Knowledge: The Role of Interdisciplinary Journals in Science

Tourism Research in Nepal: A Review of Scientific Publications Published in NepJOL

Literature review assists as a resilient catalyst for tourism research in the academic setting as tourism studies still needs a more robust conceptual underpinning. This paper presents the results of a review of the literature on tourism from 2013 to 2024. We applied review method to maintain academic rigor. By using inclusion and exclusion criteria, the literature search included 122 research articles published in 20 different journals listed in Nepal online journal (NepJOL). The literatures were reviewed and classified into 39 micro-lines variables/themes. The content of the strategy micro-lines variables/themes was analyzed in greater depth for synthesizing findings from existing studies. This paper distinguishes three categories of approaches to the review process. First of these includes overview of the journal publishers which is followed by themes of the publications and methodology used in the studies. The study found that tourism research in Nepal has been publishing by interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary journals. The distribution of the publications themes like effect of COVID-19 Pandemic, pilgrimage tourism, cultural tourism and ecotourism having a significant share of the total publications. A significant number of studies used qualitative method, focused on urban areas and considered broader provincial or national contexts. The data sources predominantly combine primary and secondary data, reflecting a balanced approach to gathering information. However, most of the study used descriptive analysis method without ensuring reliability and validity. There is a noticeable lack of attention to advanced multivariate statistical tools and economic modeling such as growth modeling, fiscal policy modeling and tourist flow modeling. This review paper thus provides fundamentals confirming the pertinence of the review for research on tourism in Nepalese context. It also helped academics to explore the contemporary research issues and methodological gaps. We hope that the findings of the study will be acknowledged in this line and essence and also help to upgrade quality of tourism research and journal publishers.

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Armed Forces & Society: An Introduction

This commentary introduces the issue that celebrates Armed Forces & Society ( AF&S) at 50. In 1974, during the Cold War, Morris Janowitz launched an international and interdisciplinary journal that helped define a new scholarly field of study. We show how the articles of AF&S reflect the Janowitz’s goals by illustrating how journal content responded to the dynamic societal and security environments. We explore changes in the publishing environment through journal metrics and transformations in publishing technology. We then introduce the articles and commentary that fill the 50th anniversary issue. Two articles take an historical perspective focusing on our parent organization the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society at 70 and description of AF&S articles across the 50 years. Finally, we provide an insightful commentary on 10 impactful articles that demonstrate ways AF&S contributed to our collective understanding of the intersection of military and society.

Finding Like Minds and Gaining Inspiration: A Conversation with Teddie Potter

Riane Eisler interviews Dr. Teddie Potter, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies and Director of the Center for Planetary Health and Environmental Justice at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.

Our First Ten Years of Leading With Love: Transforming Cultures Through Interdisciplinary Discourse

Editor-in-Chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies Riane Eisler writes about how much the tenth anniversary of this journal means to her. She thanks those who founded IJPS, as well as its global readership, for bringing international attention to the urgent need for a cultural transformation from domination to partnership at our time of mounting existential threats such as climate change and nuclear weaponry. Eisler tells us how the questions that led to her work are deeply rooted in her childhood experiences, explains how the new social categories of partnership and domination came out of her interdisciplinary research, and briefly outlines each of their core configurations. She connects the personal and the political, sharing her 45-year partnership with the late social scientist David Loye, appeals to us to do everything we can to accelerate the shift from domination to partnership worldwide, and shows the important role IJPS has in this needed social and cultural transformation.

Artist's Statement: REBIRTH

Artist’s Statement for the cover art of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, Volume 11, Issue 2: Rebirth. Mixed Media

Girls in Comics

As the guest editors of this special issue of Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal we invited comics and media scholars to discuss girlhood from the perspective of transnational and/or transmedia practices. These investigations avoid the trap Anita Harris warned us about in All about the Girl (2004) since they approach girlhood as a “constantly shifting” category, to use the words of Kristine Moruzi (2012: 191) rather than as a natural fixed state of being. Neither do they repeat the earlier tendency to conflate girlhood with womanhood (as can be seen, for instance, in Trina Robbins's From Girls to Grrlz (1999) and in Mike Madrid's The Supergirls (2009)). This special issue aligns with the work of scholars who study comics and girlhood with a focus on different publication formats (Gibson 2023), an international approach (Marshall 2018), and a transmedia interest (Hains 2012). The authors represented here consider girlhood as produced and negotiated; they recognize that girlhood implies a multiplicity of ages, social classes, ethnicities, and religions (as did, for instance, Marla Jaksch, Catherine Cymone Fourshey, and Relebohile Moletsane (2023) who edited Girlhood Studies 16:1: Reframing African Girlhood and Salsabel Almanssori and Muna Saleh whose Hijabi Girlhood in the Intersections: Violence, Resistance, Reclamation appeared later in 2023).

Recent developments in photothermal therapy: a bibliometric and visual analysis

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has recently garnered significant attention as a prominent noninvasive treatment modality for a broad spectrum of diseases. Despite the increasing volume of scholarly output over the last 20 years, a holistic synthesis that delineates worldwide research trajectories remains elusive. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of the literature from 2004 to 2023, aiming to delineate the prevailing focal points and illuminate prospective research avenues. Research articles on PTT were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Using tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix, we comprehensively analyzed and visualized 11,184 published academic PTT papers. China has the highest number of publications. Journals related to PTT are primarily comprised of interdisciplinary and comprehensive journals. Research associated with PTT has focused primarily on its antitumor properties. Current focal areas in this domain include the synergistic combination of PTT with photodynamic therapy, immunological mechanisms of PTT to enhance its therapeutic efficacy, integrated use of PTT with nanoenzyme catalysis, and the role of PTT in antimicrobial applications. This bibliometric analysis provides an initial comprehensive examination of the medical applications of PTT, offering insights into the global research landscape, key areas of interest, and emerging trends, thereby serving as a valuable reference for future studies in this field.

E-Governance Initiatives and Citizen Participation at Global Perspective: Systematic Literature Review

Purpose: This systematic review examines extant literature to understand the relationship between e-governance initiatives and citizen participation. Design/Methodology/Approach: We conducted a systematic review of 72 articles published in interdisciplinary journals indexed in the Web of Science database between 1900 and 2024. This review examined various forms of e-governance, including digital platforms, official websites, mobile apps, social media, and open data portals Findings: This review revealed the evolution of e-governance from basic online services to sophisticated digital governance utilizing AI and data science. While e-governance initiatives hold promise for increased citizen participation, transparency, and accountability in policymaking, several factors influence their success, including technological infrastructure, digital literacy, trust in government, and legal frameworks. This study identified gaps in the current knowledge base, particularly regarding the long-term sustainability and impact of these initiatives. Implications/Originality/Value: These findings highlight the need for interdisciplinary research to better understand and evaluate the effectiveness of citizen-empowering e-governance initiatives. This study provides a structured overview of existing knowledge, pinpoints open research questions, and suggests a unified model for future research in this area.

Editors' Introduction

This issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding underscores the significance of involving end users, including the public, in the design and policy development of signage systems. The issue explores the multifaceted roles of signs and symbols in reflecting community character, supporting business branding, aiding wayfinding, and enhancing placemaking. Emphasizing evidence-based design and research, the articles present diverse methodologies, including stakeholder theory, qualitative studies, and shadowing techniques, to inform signage practices.

To reform or to eliminate an attractor?

Machery, E. (2021). A new challenge to conceptual engineering. Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2021.1967190.) argues to have identified a novel reason why deficient concepts of a certain kind are better eliminated than reformed. Namely, if the deficient concept is an attractor—a concept that we are psychologically drawn to think with—then eliminating this concept is a more feasible alternative than reforming it. Machery illustrates his argument with the example of the scientific concept of innateness, which he considers to be an attractor. I argue two things against Machery's thesis. First, there is little reason to believe that attempts to eliminate the scientific concept of innateness will be more feasible than attempts to reform it. Second, there is little reason to believe that attempts to eliminate a concept, whether it is an attractor or not, are more feasible than attempts to reform it. Moreover, a concept being an attractor even diminishes—instead of increasing—the chances that eliminating it is more feasible than reforming it.

Advancing interdisciplinary management science: A pathway to sustainable development goals

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Management Sciences (IJMS) plays a crucial role in advancing the understanding and application of management science in various fields. This editorial paper explores the intersection between interdisciplinary research and management science, emphasising the Journal's contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IJMS encourages innovative research that addresses complex managerial issues, discourses, and challenges by incorporating principles from economics, engineering, social sciences, and technology. This paper highlights key areas of focus, such as decision-making, supply chain management, innovation, human resources, financial management, marketing, sustainability, educational management, conflict management, and governance. The relevance of each area to specific SDGs is discussed, showcasing how interdisciplinary approaches can provide comprehensive understanding and solutions to global issues. Despite the cognitive obstacles posed by disciplinary boundaries, methodological disparities, and pedagogical peculiarities inherent in interdisciplinary research, there are ample opportunities to leverage technological advancements and foster collaborative research for effective knowledge advancement. The IJMS's commitment to bridging theory and practice not only advances knowledge in management science but also makes a significant contribution to achieving the SDGs. This editorial calls for increased support from scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to further recognise interdisciplinary research in line with the Journal's vision for a future where management science drives sustainable development.

Call for Papers: 10th Anniversary Issue

The second issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies (IJPS) in 2024 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the journal. We honor the past by looking to the future. The theme of this issue is Building a Partnership World. For the anniversary issue we invite authors to imagine the partnership-based future that we are co-designing. We especially invite previous IJPS authors to describe the future that their cultural transformation work is helping to create. What will this future mean for education, agriculture, our cities, our governance? What will a partnership-based future mean for our children, for elders, for currently marginalized peoples, and for the rest of Nature? The submission deadline is September 15th, 2024. See the PDF for complete information.