Interdisciplinary Subject Research Articles

Using e-notebooks to explore biochemistry with an agricultural lens.

The interdisciplinary subject of agricultural biochemistry can provide an abundance of didactic opportunities for educators teaching biochemistry and molecular biology in secondary-level science courses. This is especially true in present times when virtual-learning strategies supersede in-person instruction and contemporary approaches are needed to engage students with relevant applications of science. In this communication, we discuss how pairing daily lessons in agricultural biochemistry with periodic e-notebook usage further refines this strategy by promoting content-retrieval and providing educators with formative feedback on student progress in a simple and inexpensive manner.

Problem-, Project- and Design-Based Learning: Their Relationship to Teaching Science, Technology and Engineering in School

Purpose: The present study aims at shedding light on the meaning of three teaching and learning methods - problem-based learning, project-based learning and design-based learning, aimed at fostering students’ lifelong learning skills such as problem solving, collaborative learning and self-direct learning. Methods: this work is derived from the literature of constructivist pedagogy, and student-centered teaching and learning methods with focus on science, technology and engineering. Results: Problem-based learning has to do mainly with creating theoretical knowledge, for example in science or mathematics. In project-based learning, there is a longstanding tradition in schools for "doing projects," incorporating "hands-on" activities, developing interdisciplinary themes, implementing laboratory investigations and the creation of a useful artifact or system. Design-based learning corresponds to project-based learning, except that DBL requires learners to work according to acceptable engineering design processes. In the hearth of engineering design is generating alternative solutions and choosing systematically the optimal one, because engineering is merely a process of optimization and tradeoffConclusions: In the present article, we have highlighted the differences between three problem-based learning, project-based learning and design-based learning, with hope that becoming familiar with these teaching methods will encourage educators and engineers to integrate them into teaching science, technology and engineering in schools.

Knowledge Mapping of Government Trust and Social Media Research: A Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace

ABSTRACT The interaction between social media and government trust has been one of the most critical and dynamic research areas in the field of governance in recent years. In this paper, a scientometric analysis of 668 academic publications published from 2000 to 2018 related to social media and government trust is presented to characterise the intellectual landscape by identifying and visualising the evolution of the collaboration network, the co-citation network, and the emerging trends. The results show that the number of publications in this field has increased rapidly, and it has become an increasingly more popular interdisciplinary research subject. The most productive authors and institutions in this subject area are in the USA, China, Australia, and European countries. In this paper, we identify the most pressing topics of social media and government trust research as represented in the existing literature, which include the relationship between the Internet and governance, the impact of social media on government trust, and the contribution of social media to government trust and mitigation responses. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of social media and government trust research to better understand governance and the directions in this field that have emerged over the past 19 years.

A small step towards unification of economics and physics

Unification of natural science and social science is a centuries-old, unmitigated debate. Natural science has a chronological advantage over social science because the latter took time to include many social phenomena in its fold. History of science witnessed quite a number of efforts by social scientists to fit this discipline in a rational if not mathematical framework. On the other hand a tendency among some physicists has been observed especially since the last century to recast a number of social phenomena in the mould of events taking place in physical world and governed by well-known systems and equations of physics. It necessitated the introduction of social physics as a new inter-disciplinary subject. Obviously this attempt is aimed at explaining hitherto unsolved or highly debated issues of social science. Physicists are showing special interest on problems on economics, ranging from some topics of normative economics to the movement of prices of derivatives. Statistics has been widely used in these attempts and at least two sub-disciplines of the subject, namely, stochastic process and time series analysis deserve special mention. All these research activities gave birth to another inter-disciplinary subject named as econophysics. Interestingly, global financial crisis of 2007–08 has revived the need of determination of prices of derivatives in a more accurate manner. This article adumbrates a sketch of the theoretical synthesis between physics and economics and the role played by statistics in this process.

A cognitive brain model for multimodal sentiment analysis based on attention neural networks

Multimodal sentiment analysis is one of the most attractive interdisciplinary research topics in artificial intelligence (AI). Different from other classification issues, multimodal sentiment analysis of human is a much finer classification problem. However, most current work accept all multimodalities as the input together and then output final results at one time after fusion and decision processes. Rare models try to divide their models into more than one fusion modules with different fusion strategies for better adaption of different tasks. Additionally, most recent multimodal sentiment analysis methods pay great focuses on binary classification, but the accuracy of multi-classification still remains difficult to improve. Inspired by the emotional processing procedure in cognitive science, both binary and multi-classification abilities are improved in our method by dividing the complicated problem into smaller issues which are easier to be handled. In this paper, we propose a Hierarchal Attention-BiLSTM (Bidirectional Long-Short Term Memory) model based on Cognitive Brain limbic system (HALCB). HALCB splits the multimodal sentiment analysis into two modules responsible for two tasks, the binary classification and the multi-classification. The former module divides the input items into two categories by recognizing their polarity and then sends them to the latter module separately. In this module, Hash algorithm is utilized to improve the retrieve accuracy and speed. Correspondingly, the latter module contains a positive sub-net dedicated for positive inputs and a negative sub-nets dedicated for negative inputs. Each of these binary module and two sub-nets in multi-classification module possesses different fusion strategy and decision layer for matching its respective function. We also add a random forest at the final link to collect outputs from all modules and fuse them at the decision-level at last. Experiments are conducted on three datasets and compare the results with baselines on both binary classification and multi-classification tasks. Our experimental results surpass the state-of-the-art multimodal sentiment analysis methods on both binary and multi-classification by a big margin.

Dark skies and dark screens as a precondition for astronomy tourism and general well-being

Light pollution is one of the fastest-growing pollutants of the environment and considering the amount and diversity of negative consequences, it is a highly interdisciplinary subject. So far, most of the research about the negative influence of light pollution on human health was based on the disruption of the circadian clock, sleep deprivation, and other physical diseases. Together with artificial lighting, the rapid development of information and communication technology significantly contributed to the increased lighting levels in the indoor environment and at the same time influenced the perception of natural darkness as something unnatural and undesired. On the other hand, the same technologies can be a useful asset in the popularization of astronomy-related activities, thus promoting the necessity for dark skies preservation. This paper aims to emphasize the importance of dark skies and appropriate usage of ICTs in the nighttime hours for our psychological health and well-being in general and at the same time to propose astronomy tourism as a part of the sustainable tourism offer as a tool for fighting light pollution.

Comparison of citations and attention of cover and non-cover papers

• This paper compares the citations and Altmetrics of cover and non-cover papers, and six dimensions were considered. • The citations and Altmetric scores of cover papers are significantly higher than those of non-cover papers. • The degree of influence of cover papers on citations and Altmetric scores was higher than that of non-cover papers. • Papers in biological and physical sciences reached high citations and Altmetric scores. Exploring the differences between the academic and social impacts of journal cover and non-cover papers is crucial for evaluating scientific research. We compared the differences in citations and Altmetric scores between cover and non-cover papers published in Nature . Six dimensions were considered: coverage, annual geometric mean and median, interval distribution, correlation coefficient, impact significance, and subject terms. We analysed the citations of 1,266 cover and 10,241 non-cover papers from 2006 to 2015 and the characteristics of the Altmetric scores and interdisciplinary subjects of 503 cover and 5,361 non-cover papers from 2011 to 2015. The results of our empirical study demonstrate that the citations and Altmetric scores of cover papers are significantly higher than those of non-cover papers, though a smaller difference was observed in more recent years. The Spearman correlation coefficients of the citations with Altmetric scores and several subdivision indices of cover papers were higher than those of non-cover papers in more recent years. Furthermore, the degree of influence of cover papers on citations and Altmetric scores was higher than that of non-cover papers. In biological sciences, physical sciences, and other interdisciplinary subjects, the degree of interdisciplinarity between highly cited and high-Altmetric-score cover papers was relatively high.

Benefits of medication charts provided at transitions of care: a narrative systematic review

ObjectivesParticularly at transitions of care points information concerning current medication tends to be incomplete. A medication chart that contains all essential information on current therapy is likely to be a...

Research on The Developmental Aspects of The Steam Education Program Development in Korea

This study examines the types of STEAM education programs through its development in Korea and the direction in which Korean creative education research focuses based on ICT in the fourth industrial era. The preliminary data of this study were investigated based on KOFAC's proposal request, and the development pattern by year and type from 2012 to 2020 is analyzed. The STEAM education program development maintains three basic types, and the other types are subtle but attempt to change in education development by presenting new fields every year. The three basic types are: Interdisciplinary Subject Integration Advanced Products Utilization and Science-Arts Convergence. Based on the development process in the subject area according to each type, the characteristics and relationships of the type are examined, and the link between the development of science and technology and social phenomenon is confirmed. As a researcher who continuously participated in the STEAM education project, the purpose is to analyze the linkage between the types and to suggest the direction of STEAM education development in Korean education in the future.

Increasing self-efficacy to improve the transition to university: an Australian case study

ABSTRACT The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students’ baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject’s highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention.

Teaching Problems and Countermeasures Analysis of the Course of Chinese Modern Economic History in History Major

Chinese Modern Economic History is an interdisciplinary subject closely related to history and economics. The course of “Chinese Modern Economic History” set up by the history major of higher vocational education has an irreplaceable role in improving the subjectivity and independence of the subject, and is conducive to promoting the employment of students. However, with the in-depth reform of China’s vocational education system, there are still many problems in the course that need to be resolved. This article focuses on the problems and countermeasures related to the teaching of the history of Chinese Modern Economic History.

Communicating Science With YouTube Videos: How Nine Factors Relate to and Affect Video Views

Recent works about science communication through online videos on YouTube have focused mostly on categorization, content description, and the video's approach to scientific themes. However, still little is known about factors affecting science video popularity on the platform. This study aims to describe the relationship between nine content-related and content-agnostic factors, and the popularity of science videos on YouTube, defined as the number of views per days since the video posting. We collected a sample of 441 semi-randomly selected videos produced by the ScienceVlogs Brasil project – a Brazilian alliance of science channels hosted by independent science communicators on YouTube. Content-related factors were video theme, video format and video editing features, while content-agnostic factors were video length, video age, channel productivity, number of likes, number of comments and channel to which the video belongs. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed with the R software to assess the correlation of each factor with the popularity of each video. Descriptive results show that the most popular science videos are those with interdisciplinary themes, styled either as vlog, animation or group conversation, and those belonging to the channels “Ciencia Todo Dia”, “Minuto da Terra”, “Canal do Pirula” e “Papo de Biologo”. The inferential analysis shows that the most relevant factors to predict popularity, according to our model, are number of likes per video, channel productivity, video age and video format.

The Learning Effect of Electroacoustic Music in Secondary Education An Interdisciplinary Practice in Greek Schools

In the rise of the 21st century, the music educator in modern schools is challenged to educate and train students in both conventional and contemporary music theory and practice. The contemporary approach to music learning and composition requests knowledge and practical skills from interdisciplinary fields. Electronics, physics, mathematics, computer science and music are merged to produce different contemporary styles of music. Students, in secondary education, are challenged to develop listening, performing and computer music skills, to expand their musical aesthetics and culture, together with their musical memory. Music educators are expected to teach a wide range of musical styles and techniques. Science and technology are parts of the musical practice in schools. Music has become an interdisciplinary subject, capable, more today than ever, to educate and shape personalities in school and for preparing students to be strong and healthy for entering society. Scientific and empirical research continues to be conducted to provide helpful guidelines for teachers' intentional use of music, in every class. This paper provides music educators with successful and valuable methods for incorporating electroacoustic music into the teaching and learning school environment applicable to secondary school settings

Revisiting geographies of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh

On 15 August 1947, the subcontinent of undivided India was partitioned into India and Pakistan (West and East Pakistan) using the two-nation theory. However, approximately 24 years after, Bangladesh was carved out of East Pakistan. The key purpose of this study is to revisit the geographies of nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh, which emerged at the cost of colossal sacrifice during its 1971 Liberation War against Pakistani forces when its people derived gargantuan inspiration from ‘creole nationalism’ stemming from their language and culture. There is a severe dearth of literature by geographers on nationalism in Bangladesh. Hence, this study deploys a collage of both rich and grey literature from interdisciplinary subjects, including geography. Following the independence of Bangladesh, Bengali nationalism and Bengali identity were enshrined in the Constitution. Nevertheless, both nationalism and national identity based on ‘creole nationalism’ were shifted within four years of the Liberation War and were transformed into Bangladeshi nationalism and Bangladeshi national identity. This new nationalism was a product of the renewed form of ‘two-nation theory’, separating Bangladeshis from other Bengalis, especially those living in the state of West Bengal, India. Besides, Bangladeshi nationalism emphasized ‘Muslim identity’ of Bengali Muslim instead of Bengali identity. Although the current Awami League government has reinstated Bengali nationalism into the Constitution, the false dichotomy between Bengali and Bangladeshi constructed by the ruling elites continues in current Bangladesh. Bengali language and culture are an integral part of independent Bangladesh. Simultaneously, Muslim identity and the identity of the indigenous population remains intrinsic in the current context of the country. This study argues that geographies of inclusiveness remain paramount in addressing nationalism and national identity in Bangladesh.

Carrying out basic research on wound repair using interdisciplinary approaches

This article is based on the spirit of the National Postgraduate Education Conference that has just been held. The newly added interdisciplinary subjects will bring new opportunities to the construction of burns and wound repair disciplines. This article discusses the intersecting progress of wound repair and the related fields, leading to thoughts and suggestions such as " what basic scientific issues can be paid attention to in basic research on wound repair" and " how to learn from other disciplines to solve scientific problems of wound repair" . The aim is to seize the opportunity to further expand and deepen basic research on wound repair by taking advantage of the cross-disciplines to enhance the development of discipline.

Smart energy technologies

The development of information technologies allowed digitalization in different fields, as in, for instance, the engineering field, which is one of the most challenging fields, since smart supported solutions can bring important benefits to society in general. The energy sector is already experiencing gradual digitalization with important advances to be made in the upcoming next decades. Moreover, the role of smart energy technologies is a significant one in the ongoing energy transitions, since it can ensure various technological upgrades, especially in the case of hybrid energy systems or in different energy generation technologies in general. Efficiency improvement of energy technologies, processes, as well as specific system components is possible through the implementation of smart technologies. Additionally, environmental footprints of different energy technologies could also be reduced by the implementation of smart and Internet of Things (IoT) supported devices or products. However, the development of smart energy technologies needs to be provided in a controlled manner to reach sustainable criteria. Namely, the rapid rise in various smart technologies is potentially causing fast consumption of limited raw resources needed for assembly of electronic equipment; on the other hand, we are potentially being faced with the increased generation of electronic waste and release of other pollutants. Development of smart technologies should be carefully monitored to ensure long-term feasibility and environmental suitability. Finally, the progress of smart energy technologies strongly depends on further advances in the development of electronic components, software solutions, sensor technologies, and general network infrastructure. Smart energy technologies are for certain an opportunity for humanity, which brings important and useful benefits. This special issue is related to selected papers from the 4th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech2019), which was held in Split and Bol (Island of Brač), Croatia, in June 2019. The SpliTech2019 event linked various engineering professions and provided a platform for a vibrant and sounding discussion between researchers and professionals from the industry. The conference hosted over 200 delegates from 35 countries worldwide. The focus of the conference was directed to the role of smart technologies in the technological development of societies as well as the impact of the smart technologies on the use of resources. Over 200 presentations were delivered and related to the fundamental and applied research from interdisciplinary research topics. Tutorials, workshops, as well as round-table discussions were organized to promote research-based solutions with industrial applications. A traditional, “Meet the Editor” workshop was organized and hosted distinguished editors from reputable peer-review journals to support young and less experienced authors. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the keynote and invited speakers, to the technical program committee members, session chairs, reviewers, and to the valuable authors for their general contribution. Special thanks to the SpliTech2019 organization team, who made this event possible and to the conference sponsors for their continuous support. Special thanks to Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Dincer for his overall support and efforts during the initial preparation as well as for the realization of this special issue. Prof. Dr. Sandro Nižetić would also like to acknowledge the support of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture together with the University of Split and to the IEEE Communications Society.

International Journal of Innovation - IJI completes 7 years

International Journal of Innovation - IJI completes 7 years

Lowering the walls: an integrative approach to first-year undergraduate business education

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of interdisciplinary thinking and the conditions and processes that foster it among first-year undergraduate students. Design/methodology/approach This study with 510 Australian students drawn from 2 cohorts explored an initiative to promote interdisciplinary teaching in an undergraduate ethics-based subject. The study focused on a case-study-based reflective essay intervention to compare the teaching and learning outcomes in the two student cohorts. Findings The results show how a case-study-based reflective essay intervention impacted on interdisciplinary learning. Introducing the case-study-based reflective essay improved interdisciplinary thinking. Findings show that integral to engaging students in interdisciplinary learning is a need for more experiential and active approaches built into education itself. Research limitations/implications The study findings extend Spelt et al.’s (2009) model in the business education context to link student learning outcomes to the learning processes, learning environment and interdisciplinary thinking. A key limitation of this study is that the intervention is limited to only two student cohorts. Practical implications The study recommends the use of reflective practice in interdisciplinary subjects to support a variety of learning outcomes across disciplines including classroom-based and assignment-based reflective practices which influence interdisciplinary thinking and active learning. Originality/value There is limited understanding on how business schools should or could attempt to promote interdisciplinary teaching and the actual methods for doing so. This study highlights the significance of integrating reflective practice in undergraduate business education to promote students’ interdisciplinary thinking.

ORGAN DONATION, A NEW SUBJECT DEVELOPED IN CHINA TOWARDS PROFESSIONALISM

Introduction: It has been 10 years since the kick-off of national pilot program of deceased organ donation (OD) in China. The number of deceased OD has increased from 34 in 2010 to 6302 in 2018, accounting for more than 15% of the global annual total. As described by World Health Organization, China has established a scientific-ethical system to foster the OD and organ transplantation (OT) practices. This paper provides a 10-year review for the development of OD in China at the professional level, aiming to look for the best practice in achieving self-sufficiency for OT through enhancing professionalism. Materials and Methods: By reviewing the progress of promoting OD toward professionalism in the recent decade, from a professional prospective. Results: In the past decade, foundation has been laid out for OD to be developed as a an interdisciplinary subject. Those include: 1) The legal framework: following the implementation of National Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation, the legal framework for OD and OT has also been built at the regional level. 2) Interdisciplinary integration: the practice of OD involves not only the knowledge in medicine, but also in law, ethics, health economy and social humanities. This integration has been reflected in the content of our clinical guideline and the multidisciplinary background of professionals participating daily. 3) The set-up of clinical pathway and dedicating teams for OD: The educational pathway for professionals in the field has been established. More than 2600 donation coordinators have been certified by China organ donation administrative center. Through the joint effort from the international and local group, more than 2000 Chinese medical staffs form ICU, emergency department, neurology, hospital management also received training for the filed. A selecting group of doctors in each region has been trained and certified by national authority. 4) Management model for OD was launched: In 2019, National Health Commission called for the construction of organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the hospital/regional level, meanwhile, being independent with any transplant teams. 5) The implementation of quality-control system for OD has been put into practice, both at national/hospital level. Discussion: Even in many of well-developed countries in this field, actions have been taking continuously to improve OD rate. It is also the responsibility for local experts to absorb such valuable experience worldwide and to implement program that best fits to the local situation. Conclusion: Sets of action have been taking in the country to promote OD as a new scientific subject. However, The OD rate per million population (4.53 in 2018) is far from satisfaction. In additional to the strong governmental support, professionalism is another key element and the next step in achieving self-sufficiency for OT for the country. Meanwhile, it is necessary to create an academic atmosphere and a clear career path for staffs in the fields.

Surveying Italian and International Baccalaureate Teachers to Compare Their Opinions on System Concept and Interdisciplinary Approaches in Chemistry Education

This paper focuses on system concept use in teaching either chemical core concepts or interdisciplinary chemistry-related topics. The system concept is important in order to develop global competen...