Interdisciplinary Research Clusters Research Articles

RIFNET. A new agenda for the Irish family: messy realities & messier lives

ABSTRACT This special issue introduces new research on historical approaches to the Irish family. The articles in this collection have grown out of the Reconstituting the Irish Family Research Network (RIFNET), an interdisciplinary research cluster of scholars working on the Irish family. Covering families and family life from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, the issue explores several themes, including marriage, divorce, and separation; queer families and queer approaches to the family; pets, kinship, and non-human families; sibling relationships and migrating families. The publication of this special issue provides a timely reassessment of meanings and experiences of family in Ireland, coinciding with the March 2024 referendum on the Irish Constitution. The articles in this collection stand testament to the rich diversity of family forms and family experiences in Ireland, both past and present, and chart new pathways to guide future research.

Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste: introduction of a research initiative

The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE mbH) is tasked with the selection of a site for a high-level radioactive waste repository in Germany in accordance with the Repository Site Selection Act. In September 2020, 90 areas with favorable geological conditions were identified as part of step 1 in phase 1 of the Site Selection Act. Representative preliminary safety analyses are to be carried out next to support decisions on the question, which siting regions should undergo surface-based exploration. These safety analyses are supported by numerical simulations building on geoscientific and technical data. The models that are taken into account are associated with various sources of uncertainties. Addressing these uncertainties and the robustness of the decisions pertaining to sites and design choices is a central component of the site selection process. In that context, important research objectives are associated with the question of how uncertainty should be treated through the various data collection, modeling and decision-making processes of the site selection procedure, and how the robustness of the repository system should be improved. BGE, therefore, established an interdisciplinary research cluster to identify open questions and to address the gaps in knowledge in six complementary research projects. In this paper, we introduce the overall purpose and the five thematic groups that constitute this research cluster. We discuss the specific questions addressed as well as the proposed methodologies in the context of the challenges of the site selection process in Germany. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the potential benefits of a large method-centered research cluster in terms of simulation data management.

Elusive technologies, elusive responsibilities: on the perceived responsibility of basic AI researchers

AbstractThis paper studies how researchers who work in the field of basic research of artificial intelligence (AI) perceive their responsibility. A case study is conducted on an inter-university and interdisciplinary research cluster in Germany that specializes in basic artificial intelligence research. The reason for studying responsibility through the lens of such researchers is that working in basic research of AI involves a lot of uncertainty about potential consequences, more so than in other domains of AI development. After conducting focus groups with 21 respondents followed by a thematic analysis, results show that respondents restrict the boundaries of their sociotechnical visions, regard time as an influencing factor in their responsibility, and refer to many other players in the field. These themes indicate that respondents had difficulties explaining what they consider themselves responsible for, and referred to many factors beyond their own control. The only type of responsibility that was explicitly acknowledged by respondents is ex ante responsibility. Respondents define their responsibility in terms of things that are in their immediate control, i.e., responsibilities relating to their role and duties as researchers. According to the respondents, working in the field of basic research makes it difficult to make claims about ex post responsibility. Findings of this case study suggest the need to raise questions about how technological maturity is related to AI ethics.

Information systems engineering with Digital Shadows: Concept and use cases in the Internet of Production

Entering the second decade of the Industrie 4.0 vision, the production sector is facing challenges in taking full advantage of global digitalization. Production research has focused on sophisticated mathematical models ranging from molecular materials modeling to production control to supply chain logistics. These models help simulate and control the related physical system but the variety of individual situations and behaviors is captured only as statistical uncertainty. The emergence of data-driven methods adds statistical or AI models learned from real-time production data to Digital Twins, and ideally allows for continuous synchronization (twinning) between physical and virtual system.However, the complexity of today’s production systems precludes Digital Twins covering more than just a few system perspectives, especially if realtime performance is required. To achieve better performance and more precise context adaptation, the interdisciplinary research cluster “Internet of Production” at RWTH Aachen University is exploring the concept of Digital Shadows. We conceptualize Digital Shadows as a generalization of compact views on dynamic processes, whose defining “query” combines condensed measurement data with efficient simplified mathematical models. Their small size makes Digital Shadows amenable to dynamic function allocation in hybrid cloud–edge settings. In addition to showing the similarities and differences to the traditional view concept, we also present a conceptual embedding of Digital Shadows in the context of large distributed system architectures, and sovereign data exchange in international Data Space communities. Two production use case experiences demonstrate that Digital Shadows can be valuable carriers of deep and reusable engineering knowledge for technical and ecological progress.

A Research Cluster's Vision for a Pilot Factory in the South East Technological University of Ireland

A research activity proposed for the South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford in Ireland from its CONNEXIONS Catalyst pathway grant is the development of an interdisciplinary research cluster within INSYTE, which spans the schools of Business, Education, Science, Engineering and Industry. It aims to co-evolve cutting-edge models of educational delivery. This research cluster has emerged from the work of the INSYTE Centre located in the INSYTE-Cooley Research Lab (ICRL) in the Digitization Hub of the Luke Wadding Library at SETU, Waterford. Educational techniques have evolved over the past decades and these advances have not necessarily filtered down to various disciplines, e.g. engineering. The focus of this research cluster is to have the ‘Learner’ at the center of the ‘Learning Experience’ and to wrap the technology around them. This in turn, will increase the adoption and usage of such technologies. It will do this by cross-fertilization of knowledge over diverse domains to produce customised human-centred solutions for communities. Equality, diversity and inclusion are critical strands in this research. This paper shows that the European Union (EU) is supportive of changes in education required to close the skills gap in engineering and to enable reskilling to support Industry 5.0. In addition to the creation of cutting-edge models of educational delivery the vision of this multidisciplinary human centered research cluster is the establishment of a state-of-the-art pilot factory as an Irish national initiative in SETU, Waterford.

Nostalgia for Otiose Leisure: Laying Claim to an Indian Tradition ofOtium

Focusing on the representation of leisure or otium, the article discusses recent South Asian fiction and its idealization of states of otiose leisure that existed in the past and are now nostalgically dwelled on in contrast to current conditions of stress exacerbated by global capitalism. After explaining the origin of this approach to South Asian fiction in an interdisciplinary research cluster on otium, the main thesis of the article is laid out. An example text, Sunetra Gupta’sA Sin of Colour, is used to illustrate the various aspects of nostalgic leisure. The article also discusses narrative strategies that enhance a readerly experience of retardation and concentration.

Mini Special Issue on Establishment of Interdisciplinary Research Cluster of Disaster Science

Since the start of the 21st century, major disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, have caused tremendous damage. The scope of the impact has spread across borders because global chains and the like have diversified. Consequently, disaster prevention and mitigation for reduction is now an important issue in the international community. To advance disaster reduction, it has been necessary to combine the humanities and social sciences with medical science and natural sciences as well, and Tohoku University has become the base of disaster prevention. What activities have begun, and for what purpose? I would like to find out and deepen my interest through this mini special feature. The first part gives the background and objectives of the world’s top research cluster for disaster science. The second part presents survival study, or how to protect oneself from disasters such as tsunamis. Survival study is highly unique to this cluster. Reclassifying is proposed to compile the causes of death indicated by autopsy and systematizing deaths in the event of a disaster. Next, efforts in the humanities and social sciences to preserve the folk performing arts left in the community are presented. It has been pointed out that once local communities and connections are lost in disasters and its recovery faces more difficulty.

The Direction of Violence Against Women Research and Evaluation

Although researchers have made numerous advances in the understanding of the nature, extent, and dynamics of violence against women (VAW), there is an ever-increasing need for data used in academic research and within policy decision-making to be collected via rigorous methodological designs to accurately measure the incidence and impact of VAW. What is now needed are research collaborations within an interdisciplinary research cluster that will expand understanding of the complex nature of VAW. The current article details an agenda or “call to action” to address deficiencies and advance VAW research, in addition to informing VAW intervention and prevention efforts.

Integrative Knowledge Management in Interdisciplinary Research Clusters

Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) is described as a specific mode of collaboration: Besides the clash of different institutional cultures (e.g. different expectations/working processes), there is a clash of epistemic cultures (i.e. styles of thinking, different languages). Former research shows that the involved researchers demand an integrative knowledge management to support the expected integration of cultures. In this paper two major aspects regarding integrative knowledge management for IDR are discussed. On the one hand the need for integrative knowledge management based on the researchers’ perspective is depicted in the context of a use case. On the other hand the concept of a virtual mean is elaborated, which supports these needs. Both aspects underline the importance of a process-accompanying support in close coordination with the respective needs of the involved researchers.

Managing interdisciplinary applied research on sustainability in construction with the help of an innovation broker

AbstractThe article reports on how the steel industry in Germany, as a key supplier of materials and innovations to the construction sector, is carrying out a comprehensive optimization of the management of pre‐competitive cooperative research (CR) on steel applications in the construction industry. A significant aspect of this is the central use of an innovation broker (IB) role throughout the innovation process. The varying project expectations of science and industry and the related IB tasks are identified as part of an interdisciplinary research cluster on the sustainability of steel in the construction industry. A task profile is drawn up for the IB in cooperative research on the basis of various key person concepts from industrial innovation research. It is expected that the consistent implementation of this profile will increase the innovation successes from CR between the steel industry and the construction sector.

Does the Clock Drawing Test predict dementia? Results of the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+)

Background/Objectives: Being diagnosed with dementia has an enormous impact on the patients themselves as well as on caregivers and the society. Therefore research aims to identify individuals at risk prior to a diagnosis of dementia in order to maximise preventive and treatment efficacy. In recent years, research on the preclinical detection of dementia focused on the concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional phase between normal aging and dementia. Patients diagnosed with MCI are more likely to develop dementia compared to normal control groups and therefore represent a high-risk group. However, establishing a diagnosis of MCI often is time consuming. The Clock Drawing-Test (CDT) has been widely used to screen for dementia, especially because of its easy, quick and simple administration and good acceptance among elderly patients. Nonetheless, it is still questionable whether the CDT is an appropriate instrument to identify persons at an early stage or at a high risk of onset of dementia. Methods: Data were derived from the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+), a population-based study of individuals aged 75 and over. In this study the CDT version of Shulman et al. was used. MCI was diagnosed according to the international consensus criteria of Winblad. The cognitive criteria for a dementia diagnosis were based on the „Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Dementia of Alzheimer type, Multi-infarct Dementia and Dementia of other Etiology according to DSM-III-R, DSM-IV and ICD-10“ (SIDAM) or, with proxy interviews, on the „Clinical Dementia Rating Scale“ (CDR). The CDT scores and diagnosis of MCI between patients developing and patients not developing dementia were compared. Multivariate analyses (Cox proportional hazard models, Kaplan-Meier), receiver operating characteristic analyses, and sensitivity and specificity of the CDT were calculated. Results: A total of 7.3% subjects of the initial population were diagnosed with dementia at the following assessment, on average 1.4 years after the initial assessment. Individuals developing dementia at follow-up more often had an initial diagnosis of MCI (64.3% vs. 9.3%) and showed significantly higher CDT scores (2.64 vs. 1.82) compared to those not developing dementia during the study course. The results of the multivariate analysis also revealed that CDT and MCI had a significant effect on a future diagnosis of dementia after adjusting for different confounding variables. The area under the curve was 0.700 (p<0.001) for predicting dementia by using the CDT, and 0.775 (p<0.001) by using MCI-diagnosis. According to the best ratio of values of sensitivity and specificity, the best cut off point was at a CDT score of 3 points. However, the values of sensitivity (67.9%) and specificity (65.2%) were not adequate for predicting a diagnosis of dementia. Discussion/Conclusions: The Clock Drawing Test significantly differentiated between patients developing dementia and patients not developing dementia during the course of the study. Although our results indicate that a diagnosis of MCI is slightly better in predicting dementia than the CDT, the quality of prediction is insufficient for both. While diagnosing MCI is very time consuming, the CDT's major qualities are its quick application and scoring. Further research should therefore aim at improving the CDT scoring system which should focus in more detail on the placement and the size of the hands in order to increase predictive validity. Funding: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant no. 01 ET 0728), and Interdisciplinary Research Cluster of Genetic Factors, Clinical Phenotypes and Environment (LIFE Centre, University of Leipzig). Keywords: Outcome assessment, Clock Drawing Test, dementia.

Cardiovascular Disease and Obesity Prevention in Germany: An Investigation into a Heterogeneous Engineering Project

Cardiovascular diseases present the leading cause of death worldwide. Over the last decade, their preventio has become not only a central medical and public health issue but also a matter of political concern as well as a major market for pharma, nutrition, and exercise. A preventive assemblage has formed that integrates diverse kinds of knowledges, technologies, and actors, from molecular biology to social work, to foster a specific healthy lifestyle. In this article, the authors analyze this preventive assemblage as a heterogeneous engineer, that is, as an attempt to order complex everyday life into an architecture of modernism. This article draws on research conducted as part of the interdisciplinary research cluster ‘‘preventive self’’ (2006-2009) bringing together analyses from social anthropology, history, linguistics, sociology of knowledge, and medicine. The authors report here primarily from ethnographic investigations into biomedical research, primary care, and educational practices in kindergartens. The authors conclude that the preventive assemblage largely fails to install any kind of singular order. Instead, it is translated into existing orderings producing heterogeneity of a different nuance.

Geographic Information Science: Building a Doctoral Programme Integrating Interdisciplinary Concepts and Methods

Geographic Information Science (GIScience) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the nature of geographic phenomena and of geographic information. It provides theoretical foundations for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the rational for research and development of GIS in mainstream ICT. Building on Masters level education we argue that more coordinated and structured education and training is required at the doctoral level. We developed a formalized doctoral education and research training programme in GIScience at the University of Salzburg, by integrating students in three focused, interconnected, interdisciplinary research clusters. We illustrate how this programme seeks to acknowledge spatial principles, to explore scientific and educational uses of geographic information in order to elucidate the complex relationships that individuals and society have with GIS. It provides a framework for „education through research’ programme.

Complexity Theory

In popular dialogues, describing a system as "complex" is often the point of resignation, inferring that the system cannot be sufficiently described, predicted nor managed. Transport networks, management infrastructure and supply chain logistics are all often described in this way. Academic dialogues have begun to explore the collective behaviors of complex systems to define a complex system specifically as an adaptive one; i.e. a system that demonstrates 'self organising' principles and 'emergent' properties. Based upon the key principles of interaction and emergence in relation to adaptive and self organising systems in cultural artifacts and processes, this paper will argue that complex systems are cultural systems. By introducing generic principles of complex systems, and looking at the exploration of such principles in art, design and media research, this paper argues that a science of cultural systems as part of complex systems theory is the post modern science for the digital age. Furthermore, that such a science was predicated by post structuralism and has been manifest in art, design and media practice since the late 1960s.

Interrogating Fashion - Practice, Process and Presentation: Co-ordinating an Interdisciplinary Research Cluster

Interrogating Fashion - Practice, Process and Presentation: Co-ordinating an Interdisciplinary Research Cluster