Successful Interdisciplinary Collaborations Research Articles

On the role of data, statistics and decisions in a pandemic

A pandemic poses particular challenges to decision-making because of the need to continuously adapt decisions to rapidly changing evidence and available data. For example, which countermeasures are appropriate at a particular stage of the pandemic? How can the severity of the pandemic be measured? What is the effect of vaccination in the population and which groups should be vaccinated first? The process of decision-making starts with data collection and modeling and continues to the dissemination of results and the subsequent decisions taken. The goal of this paper is to give an overview of this process and to provide recommendations for the different steps from a statistical perspective. In particular, we discuss a range of modeling techniques including mathematical, statistical and decision-analytic models along with their applications in the COVID-19 context. With this overview, we aim to foster the understanding of the goals of these modeling approaches and the specific data requirements that are essential for the interpretation of results and for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. A special focus is on the role played by data in these different models, and we incorporate into the discussion the importance of statistical literacy and of effective dissemination and communication of findings.

XR Art and Culture: Successful Collaborations in Interdisciplinary Development Processes

Abstract In this paper we present different approaches for interdisciplinary collaborations between art and culture professionals resp. cultural institutions and the interdisciplinary XR experts of our research group. We discuss lessons learned and best practices devised from multiple years of experience in interdisciplinary collaborations. Different project settings need different solutions: With our contribution, we hope to show exemplary ways for successful interdisciplinary collaborations at the intersection of culture and computer science – and to show the potential of such projects for the development of new ways and tools of collaboration.

Digital phenotyping in depression diagnostics: Integrating psychiatric and engineering perspectives.

Depression is a serious medical condition and is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Current depression diagnostics and assessment has significant limitations due to heterogeneity of clinical presentations, lack of objective assessments, and assessments that rely on patients' perceptions, memory, and recall. Digital phenotyping (DP), especially assessments conducted using mobile health technologies, has the potential to greatly improve accuracy of depression diagnostics by generating objectively measurable endophenotypes. DP includes two primary sources of digital data generated using ecological momentary assessments (EMA), assessments conducted in real-time, in subjects' natural environment. This includes active EMA, data that require active input by the subject, and passive EMA or passive sensing, data passively and automatically collected from subjects' personal digital devices. The raw data is then analyzed using machine learning algorithms to identify behavioral patterns that correlate with patients' clinical status. Preliminary investigations have also shown that linguistic and behavioral clues from social media data and data extracted from the electronic medical records can be used to predict depression status. These other sources of data and recent advances in telepsychiatry can further enhance DP of the depressed patients. Success of DP endeavors depends on critical contributions from both psychiatric and engineering disciplines. The current review integrates important perspectives from both disciplines and discusses parameters for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. A clinically-relevant model for incorporating DP in clinical setting is presented. This model, based on investigations conducted by our group, delineates development of a depression prediction system and its integration in clinical setting to enhance depression diagnostics and inform the clinical decision making process. Benefits, challenges, and opportunities pertaining to clinical integration of DP of depression diagnostics are discussed from interdisciplinary perspectives.

A Creative Model for an Interdisciplinary Approach to Service-Learning.

The biological sciences are inherently interdisciplinary and important advances in biology cannot be made without collaboration. Despite the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinarity in higher education, science courses only rarely extend to content outside of the STEM discipline. Classes are typically taught by one faculty member in one discipline. To demonstrate relevance while addressing genuine community needs, faculty can use service-learning in their courses. Service-learning is an experiential learning strategy where students learn course content and additional relevant skills through completing service with a community partner. Community needs are frequently beyond the scope of a single course or discipline. In order to better meet community needs, an interdisciplinary collaboration provides a more comprehensive experience that highlights the application and interconnection of course content. This article presents a generalisable model for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. While the nature of course scheduling, academic department structure, and faculty workload can be barriers to collaboration between faculty, they are not insurmountable and accomplishable within this framework. The benefits to the students and the community far outweigh navigating these challenges. Using an interdisciplinary approach in teaching will not only enrich course content and expand student learning in multiple areas, but also increase collaboration within the academy while better meeting community needs.

Embedding Academic Literacies through Growing Student and Staff Communities

In the UK, HE practical writing support has not kept pace with advances in our understanding of how students learn to write in their disciplines or greater comprehension of the nature of these discourses they are acquiring. Current institutional provision can be still be characterized as fragmented offering generic, deficit focused, skills-based instruction, despite such approaches being theoretically discredited. One alternative means to develop academic literacies in more inclusive and nuanced ways is to embed this work at a disciplinary level; while long recommended this model is unusual in the UK. This paper reviews approaches to embedding academic literacies work and reports on our attempts to embed writing development work within a social science department through an extended action research project which aimed to increase student mastery of academic literacies within one department. We focused on building opportunities for engagement using Writing Exemplars, Retreats and Writing Circles. Key features of our work are identified that appear transferable and may further facilitate successful interdisciplinary collaborations.

Unveiling assumptions through interdisciplinary scrutiny: Observations from the German Priority Program on Climate Engineering (SPP 1689)

The interdisciplinary exchange in climate engineering research offers a unique opportunity to make assumptions more explicit for such research projects. While making assumptions explicit is the standard in all disciplinary sciences, some assumptions in the context of societal challenges can only be usefully unveiled, discussed, and verified from the perspective of other research disciplines. Results from successful interdisciplinary collaborations are then more accessible and more generalizable to actors beyond the confines of the academic community. We aim to illustrate how interdisciplinary exchange helps to unveil assumptions in research endeavors and why this is important for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. We therefore follow different stages of the German Priority Program on Climate Engineering (SPP 1689), which we use as an example case of a successful interdisciplinary project. SPP 1689 focused on risks, challenges, and opportunities of Climate Engineering from the perspectives of numerous disciplines. Major results were that the initial assessments of technologies had to be sobered, the consideration of trade-offs is crucial for the potential assessment, and governance issues appeared larger than previously considered. From the reflections of SPP 1689, we conclude with three lessons learned: (1) The project profited from egalitarian organizational structures and communicative practices, preventing the predominance from single disciplines. (2) Within the project continuous efforts were undertaken to foster interdisciplinary understanding. In addition, the flexible project structure allowed for the accommodation of research needs arising as a result of these exchanges. (3) SPP 1689 offered early career researchers a platform for professional exchange on common challenges and best practices of being a part of an interdisciplinary research project.

Value of Collaboration among Multi-Domain Experts in Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics Data.

The recent explosion and ease of access to large-scale genomics data is intriguing. However, serious obstacles exist to the optimal management of the entire spectrum from data production in the laboratory through bioinformatic analysis to statistical evaluation and ultimately clinical interpretation. Beyond the multitude of technical issues, what stands out the most is the absence of adequate communication among the specialists in these domains. Successful interdisciplinary collaborations along the genomics pipeline extending from laboratory experiments to bioinformatic analyses to clinical application are notable in large scale, well managed projects such as The Cancer Genome Atlas. However, in certain settings in which the various experts perform their specialized research activities in isolation, the siloed approach to their research contributes to the generation of questionable genomic interpretations. Such situations are particularly concerning when the ultimate endpoint involves genetic/genomic interpretations that are intended for clinical applications. In spite of the fact that clinicians express interest in gaining a better understanding of clinical genomic applications, the lack of communication from upstream experts leaves them with a serious level of discomfort in applying such genomic knowledge to patient care. This discomfort is especially evident among healthcare providers who are not trained as geneticists, in particular primary care physicians. We offer some initiatives that have potential to address this problem, with emphasis on improved and ongoing communication among all the experts in these fields, constituting a comprehensive genomic "pipeline" from laboratory to patient.

Get Started or Unstuck: Four Elements of Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Extension

Minnesota Extension needs to increase interdisciplinary collaboration across the organization to remain successful. Through interviews with associate deans and Extension educators, we investigated elements of existing interdisciplinary collaboration and recommended ways to approach such collaborations. Common themes identified were (a) the need to identify an issue requiring collaboration, (b) the need to define success, (c) the need to clarify expectations, and (d) the need to determine resources. Our findings can help Extension professionals get started, or unstuck, in the pursuit of successful interdisciplinary collaborations.

Argumentation: Building Students’ Capacity for Reasoning Essential to Learning Mathematics and Sciences

In this article we present the results of a study focused on engaging students in argumentation to support their growth as mathematical learners, which in turn strengthens their science learning experiences. We identify five argumentation categories that promote the learning of argumentation skills and enrich mathematical reasoning at the undergraduate level. Using these categories, we present and discuss rich learning tasks that meaningfully engage students in mathematical argumentation. In addition, these argumentation tasks support the development of students’ communication and critical thinking skills - all essential to learning in partner disciplines. Finally, recognizing that collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines is crucial to understand and address learning objectives beyond mathematics, we also present lessons learned from our successful interdisciplinary collaborations.

Embracing an interdisciplinary approach to plastics pollution awareness and action

This paper considers how an interdisciplinary approach to the "wicked problem" of plastics pollution offers unique and important collaborative possibilities. Specially, the paper considers the approach of the Synthetic Collective, a group comprising artists, humanities scholars, and scientists. Considering first how artists and scientists might respond differently to tracking, mapping, understanding, and representing plastics pollution, we then look for potential points of commonality across disciplinary difference. In respect to the urgent and multifaceted problem of marine plastics pollution in the Great Lakes region, we ask what are some of the successes and pitfalls of bringing together diverse approaches and interests? The paper concludes with a clear strategy: a set of instructions geared towards building successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Ultimately, we conclude that a strong relationship amongst scientists and artists is possible, fruitful, and indeed warranted when shared goals are the driving principle of the group.

Music technology, composition teaching and employability skills

Abstract This article explores the relationship between the creative skills taught as part of the music technology BA course at Lancaster University and the skills valued by graduates and employers in the creative industries. The study investigated ways of enhancing specific and generic employability skills intrinsic to music technology teaching while working in close collaboration with industry partners and Lancaster University graduates. A survey of students, graduates and industry experts showed that generic and discipline-based skills linked to music technology composition teaching, such as communication, planning and organizing and critical listening, are highly valued by both recruiting professionals and students. These results are in line with findings from an earlier project that showed the importance of non-disciplinary knowledge shared among students from different backgrounds for the design and implementation of successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Future developments of the project will investigate ways of enhancing generic and specific employability skills within interdisciplinary learning environments for art and science students.

Shared Cognitive–Emotional–Interactional Platforms

Given the growing centrality of interdisciplinarity to scientific research, gaining a better understanding of successful interdisciplinary collaborations has become imperative. Drawing on extensive case studies of nine research networks in the social, natural, and computational sciences, we propose a construct that captures the multidimensional character of such collaborations, that of a shared cognitive–emotional–interactional (SCEI) platform. We demonstrate its value as an integrative lens to examine markers of and conditions for successful interdisciplinary collaborations as defined by researchers involved in these groups. We show that (1) markers and conditions embody three different dimensions: cognitive, emotional, and interactional; (2) these dimensions are present in all networks, albeit to different degrees; (3) the dimensions are intertwined and mutually constitutive; and (4) they operate in conjunction with institutional conditions created by funders. We compare the SCEI platforms to available frameworks for successful interdisciplinary work.

Interdisciplinary research and geography: Overcoming barriers through proximity

Contributions on interdisciplinary research have so far focused on barriers to such collaborations and strategies for overcoming these. In this paper, we propose that a geographical perspective contributes to understand the formation of successful interdisciplinary research collaborations. The empirical analysis of a centre for clinical cancer research illustrates the importance of considering the role of geographical proximity to collaborators and decision-makers, as well as the co-location of excellent research groups within different fields, in overcoming barriers to interdisciplinary research. We suggest that policies aimed at stimulating lasting interdisciplinary research collaborations should take the distance between collaborators into account.

Emerging Ideas and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change

The challenges posed by global climate change require basic scientific knowledge and management strategies drawn from tools, techniques, and insights from across the social, natural, and engineering sciences. The Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Climate Change Research (DISCCRS) was formed in 2002 to prepare recent Ph.D. recipients for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Since its inception, more than 2400 early‐career scientists representing nearly 600 institutions and 69 countries have logged on to the DISCCRS website (http://disccrs.org/) and signed up for its e‐newsletter. In addition, DISCCRS has hosted eight symposia, gathering 279 scholars from 28 countries to catalyze interdisciplinary climate research.

Improving Postsecondary STEM Education: Strategies for Successful Interdisciplinary Collaborations and Brokering Engagement With Education Research and Theory

Improving Postsecondary STEM Education: Strategies for Successful Interdisciplinary Collaborations and Brokering Engagement With Education Research and Theory

A roadmap for forming successful interdisciplinary education research collaborations: a reflective approach

Current literature about interdisciplinary education research is focused on three points: conceptual definitions of interdisciplinarity, the need for interdisciplinary research to tackle the advent of problem-based research and the positive curriculum outcomes to be gained from interdisciplinary research. While this research is important, it does not always include an account of the often complex and politicised interactions that might affect the outcomes of interdisciplinary research groups. This paper provides one possible ‘roadmap’ for successful interdisciplinary collaboration. It is based on a reflective case study of the authors’ own formation of an interdisciplinary research group and the practical resolutions to both the theoretical and the practical issues involved in achieving interdisciplinarity in education research.

Preface: Research and Management for the Conservation of Coastal Lagoon Ecosystems, South–North Comparisons

Coastal lagoons are aquatic ecosystems that share many features with estuaries, where seawater mixes with freshwater from continental origin, and also bear resemblances with shallow lakes as they often occur as shallow water bodies separated from the ocean by a barrier and are usually oriented parallel to the coastline (Kjerfve, 1994). The latter aspect may explain why in the vernacular languages of South France, Italy, and Spain the same word is used both for lagoons and for shallow lakes. On a global scale, these systems comprise 13% of world coastlines (Barnes, 1980) and 5.3% of the European coastlines. The SE coast of the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Southern Europe represent the major lagoon regions in Europe. The coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea comprise about six hundred lagoons that are listed by the Transitional Water Data Platform developed within the CIRCLEMED project ClimBioMedNet (www.circlemednet.unisalento.it). Some important hydrological, geomorphological, and biodiversity aspects of North African lagoons have been described in a special Hydrobiologia issue (Thomson & Flower, 2009). In the 1980s, the European research on coastal lagoons was focused on describing the geomorphology, hydrology, and ecological classification criteria, while during the 1990s it broadened in scope to include more functional ecology and biogeochemistry (Viaroli et al., 2005a). During the first decade of the 21st century, the coastal lagoon research has even further broadened in scope and now comprises a large panel of disciplines, including environmental economics, sociology, history, and politicology in addition to the natural sciences. The enforcement of the Water Framework Directive also stimulated a new effort in synthesizing knowledge and developing future research (Basset et al., 2005; Zaldivar et al., 2008; Tagliapietra et al., 2009). Some integrated projects have succeeded in developing successful interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle important questions about reconciling biodiversity conservation with human uses of lagoons, while placing the lagoons in the context of the aquatic Guest editors: R. de Wit, N. Mazouni & P. Viaroli / Research and Management for the Conservation of Coastal Lagoon Ecosystems: South – North Comparisons

Forging successful interdisciplinary research collaborations: A nationwide survey of departments of surgery

Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of academic surgeons engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations and identify success factors and challenges to establishing these collaborations. Chairs of surgery at US medical schools and selected hospitals and research institutes were surveyed in 2009 to determine the frequency, types, outcomes, and value of interdisciplinary collaborations; National Institutes of Health funding for these collaborations; major barriers and success factors; and departmental and institutional activities to promote collaborations. Eighty-two department chairs (58%) completed the survey. Ninety-three percent answered that their faculty engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations, and 71% stated that it was critical for their research success. On average, 27% of full-time MDs/MD-PhDs were involved in collaborations compared to 81% of PhDs within their departments. The most frequent collaborators included other clinical (43%) and basic science (24%) departments. Only 5% indicated that their most frequent collaborators were with other university programs, primarily with bioengineering or biomedical engineering. Collaborations resulted most often in publications, research opportunities for surgical residents, and National Institutes of Health funding. Pilot funding and active networking were key success factors. Longer chair tenure was statistically significantly associated with more success factors and fewer barriers to collaborations. Surgeons were much less likely to participate in institution-wide efforts than in departmental activities, although these activities were ongoing in more than two-thirds of institutions. Surgeons value collaborations as critical for their research success. Our survey indicates the potential for additional collaborations through more involvement with institutional efforts and with other university faculty. Stable, supportive department chairs are critical to establishing these activities.

Lab‐scale intervention

From mobile phones and laptop computers to in vitro fertilization and social networks on the Internet, technological devices, products and services are increasingly shaping the lives of people around the world. The pervasiveness of technology and the underlying science that makes it possible has led to a certain ambivalence: most people trust that ‘science’ will eventually help them to live longer, healthier and happier lives. However, they also feel increasingly uncomfortable about certain new technologies, often those that challenge or improve on ‘nature’. Genetically modified crops, gene therapy, stem cell research, cloning, renewed interest in nuclear power: the list of controversial topics involving science and technology is growing steadily and debates on these topics regularly occupy centre stage in public and political arenas. > …the research process itself constitutes a largely overlooked opportunity for addressing social concerns Policy‐makers have responded by calling for increased attention to be paid to the ethical, legal and social aspects of scientific research and technological developments. In particular, new and emerging areas of research—such as genomics, synthetic biology and nanotechnology—have been accompanied by studies of their broader societal implications as well as public‐engagement efforts, in order to guide research and development in ways that respect societal concerns. Such attempts to shape technological trajectories have traditionally occurred both before scientific research, for example, through research policy, technology assessment or public participation, and afterwards, through regulations or market mechanisms. Although these stages are crucial points at which to intervene, the research process itself constitutes a largely overlooked opportunity for addressing social concerns. Indeed, if one acknowledges the central role that scientific research has in the innovation process, this is an area well worth examining. Shaping technological trajectories will, at some point, include shaping the very research processes that help to characterize them (Fisher et al , 2006). Social and …

Developing an interdisciplinary science of organizations : Karlene H. Roberts, Charles L. Hulin, and Denise M. Rousseau. Jossey-Bass, Inc. (433 California Street, San Francisco, California 94104), 1978, 171 pp., hardcover-$11.95

Developing solutions to contemporary sustainability challenges requires new integrative forms of knowledge production, such as those embodied by interdisciplinary research approaches. The growing interest and investment toward building successful interdisciplinary collaborations has led to an emergent body of literature focused on understanding how to optimize interdisciplinary research processes. One of the recurrent themes throughout this literature has been the importance of establishing shared goals at the onset of research efforts, which can increase the efficiency and efficacy of both knowledge production processes, and efforts to link that knowledge to decision-making processes. To date, however, there remains little guidance for the most effective methods for establishing shared goals within interdisciplinary research environments. To help address this gap, in this paper and via a case study, we explore the utility of an organizational psychology model, the ASPIRe model, for developing shared goals within sustainability-focused interdisciplinary research teams.