Successful Knowledge Integration Research Articles

Connecting Humans and Non-Humans

A recent trend in public health campaigns has been to include non-human health data to capture all relevant variables related to human well-being. This specific approach is the foundation of the World Health Organization restructuring in the early 2000s as they adopted the “one health” framework. Politically, this movement is influential and draws significant health funding globally. "One health" is characterized by a multi-disciplinary collaboration between medical, veterinary, and health sciences. Similarly, the post-human turn in medical anthropology recognizes that viewing the non-human contributions to the cultural construction of health as symbolic does not adequately address how non-humans and nature independently contribute to human health realities. Ethnographic studies of the non-human perspective shed light on how humans are not the only beings that influence culturally constructed reality, nor are they exclusively in control of cultural phenomena. Theoretical trends in anthropology and public health seemingly converge; however, an artificial academic barrier between the sciences and social sciences remains. As these two disciplines are coming closer together through their data, breaking down structural barriers that prevent the successful integration of knowledge has potential to improve human health outcomes. Methodological concessions will have to occur on all sides to make the inclusion of the social sciences in public health possible. Doing so can bring academia closer to a comprehensive scientific understanding of human health.

Knowledge integration in interdisciplinary research teams: Role of social networks

Successful knowledge integration in interdisciplinary research teams is critical for solving complex problems and achieving innovation. Empirical research on knowledge integration in interdisciplinary research teams only emphasizes the role of knowledge heterogeneity but with mixed findings and ignores the impacts of team social networks where members are embedded. Based on the knowledge-based view and social network theories, we examine the effect of knowledge heterogeneity on knowledge integration in the interdisciplinary research team context and the influences of social network factors, including tie strength, structural equivalence, and betweenness centrality on the main effect. Based on a questionnaire survey of 346 members of 46 interdisciplinary research teams in a top research university in China, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and knowledge integration. Tie strength and structural equivalence positively moderate the quadratic relationship, respectively. We do not find support for the moderating role of betweenness centrality. This study extends our knowledge of the relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and knowledge integration and enriches the literature on interdisciplinary collaboration and social network theories.

From transaction to co-creation in Geely’s acquisition of Volvo Cars: impact on innovation output and market performance

ABSTRACT The last decade has witnessed numerous cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) undertaken by emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). Only a few EMNEs achieve co-creation with the acquired partner by mobilising and enhancing their knowledge resources. This paper centres on how post-M&A co-creation is achieved and what its impacts are on the innovation output and market performance of firms. We employed an in-depth longitudinal case study of the acquisition of Volvo Cars by Geely, supplementing the case study with patent portfolio analysis and business analysis. We link innovation and cross-border M&A literature to address co-creation post-M&A. The findings showed how the high level of freedom given to the acquired firm allowed it to preserve innovation capacity and, later, successfully integrate with the acquirer. The patent portfolio analysis demonstrates that the firms’ innovation outputs became more similar over time, demonstrating the successful knowledge integration achieved in the case.

Towards Successful Knowledge Integration in Online Collaboration

Successful knowledge integration, that is, systematic synthesis of unshared information, is key to suc-cess, but at the same time a challenging venture for teams with distributed knowledge collaborating online. For example, teams with heterogeneous knowledge often have only vague or even wrong ideas about who knows what. This situation is further complicated if the collaboration partners do not know each other and merely communicate online. Previous research has found meta-knowledge, that is, knowledge about one's own and the partner's knowledge areas, to be a promising but not yet sufficient-ly investigated approach to promote knowledge integration. With our experimental study we aimed to address this desideratum of research on the role of meta-knowledge in net-based collaborations. We "simulated" a chat-based collaboration between partners with heterogeneous knowledge by assigning specific information to students collaborating in dyads on a Hidden Profile task. To arrive at the correct joint solution for this task, collaborating partners had to pool their shared, but more importantly their unshared information. We compared two conditions: In the experimental condition meta-knowledge was promoted by providing the collaboration partners with self-presentations of each other's roles, which pointed to their unique fields of knowledge, while participants in the control condition did not receive this information. Results suggest a positive impact of the meta-knowledge manipulation on two key factors of collaboration: knowledge integration and construction of a transactive memory system (TMS).

Communication processes in intercultural transdisciplinary research: framework from a group perspective

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) that aims at the co-production of knowledge in the process of addressing sustainability problems requires effective communication among scientists and practitioners. In international TDR cooperation, it is recognized that particular attention must be paid to intercultural communication, to enhance knowledge integration and mutual learning. However, there is little knowledge about the role of communication in TDR and how TDR group members with diverse socio-cultural backgrounds can communicate effectively. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis on transdisciplinary communication, with a particular focus on group dynamics and intercultural communication. On this basis, we develop a framework for TDR communication that encompasses topics and indicators for successful communication. This framework was applied in a Chinese–German project conducted in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China, to guide the transdisciplinary communication processes. We focused on the development of trusted relationships among scientists and practitioners in the TDR team, while simultaneously accomplishing various tasks, such as problem framing and scenario development. In this study, we provide insights into intercultural communication in TDR, particularly in the context of Europe–Asia transdisciplinary cooperation. Our findings show that power relations, translator roles and researchers’ mindsets influence effective communication and successful knowledge integration. In the future, additional attention should be paid to improving the supporting system and institutional arrangement for transdisciplinary communication.

The mechanisms supporting successful collaborative innovation projects in clusters

This study investigates the dynamics of knowledge integration in cluster contexts that influence the success of collaborative innovation projects. Innovation is increasingly viewed as a collective action, which involves heterogeneous actors that exchange and combine their knowledge. In this view, many studies focus on how clusters contexts facilitate the exchange of knowledge but we still know relatively little about how clusters facilitate the combination of knowledge among heterogeneous actors. The Combination process appears to be a critical point to foster successful knowledge integration that would conduct to innovation collaborations. This is the aim of this paper: explore the micro- mechanisms that explain how a cluster' structure can favours knowledge integration, with a specific focus on the combination process, and why these micro-mechanisms are critical for collaborative innovation projects to arise locally. Following a qualitative methodology (grounded theory) based on a case study research de...

Transdisciplinary Research on Cancer-Healing Systems Between Biomedicine and the Maya of Guatemala: A Tool for Reciprocal Reflexivity in a Multi-Epistemological Setting.

Transdisciplinarity (TD) is a participatory research approach in which actors from science and society work closely together. It offers means for promoting knowledge integration and finding solutions to complex societal problems, and can be applied within a multiplicity of epistemic systems. We conducted a TD process from 2011 to 2014 between indigenous Mayan medical specialists from Guatemala and Western biomedical physicians and scientists to study cancer. Given the immense cultural gap between the partners, it was necessary to develop new methods to overcome biases induced by ethnocentric behaviors and power differentials. This article describes this intercultural cooperation and presents a method of reciprocal reflexivity (Bidirectional Emic-Etic tool) developed to overcome them. As a result of application, researchers observed successful knowledge integration at the epistemic level, the social-organizational level, and the communicative level throughout the study. This approach may prove beneficial to others engaged in facilitating participatory health research in complex intercultural settings.

A conceptual model for knowledge integration in interdisciplinary teams: orchestrating individual learning and group processes

A well-known barrier to successful interdisciplinary work is the difficulty of integrating knowledge across disciplines. Integrated conceptualizations must leverage the combined knowledge of team members in productive ways for a given problem. The process of knowledge integration has been investigated from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including organizational science, team psychology, social science, and the learning sciences. These various perspectives are converging on a few key processes that mediate successful knowledge integration: ability to learn each other’s perspectives, participatory processes, and flexible, adaptive problem formulation. This article summarizes key findings from the research literature on knowledge integration and presents a new conceptual model for developing interdisciplinary conceptualizations that links individual, group, and system factors. The model provides clarity regarding the interactions between individual learning and group processes and the challenges these present, identifies strategies for overcoming those challenges, and frames the problem as one of developing a new distributed cognitive system.

Creating a biodiversity science community: Experiences from a European Network of Knowledge

Abstract As biodiversity continues to decline despite our increased knowledge of the drivers and consequences of biodiversity loss, much of the current focus is on strengthening interfaces between biodiversity knowledge and policy-making. While many of the challenges associated with science–policy interfaces are well known, what is less well studied is the more specific issue of how to integrate the broad range of knowledge relating to complex issues such as biodiversity and ecosystem services, to inform decision-making at regional and global scales. Based on a formative evaluation of the development of a European Network of Knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services, we identify key themes to build a broad biodiversity science community capable of developing integrated knowledge to inform decision-making. Based on these findings we outline future steps for the successful integration of knowledge in decision-making at the European, and also the global scale, in particular the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews

BackgroundKiller whales (Orcinus orca) are the most widely distributed cetacean, occurring in all oceans worldwide, and within ocean regions different ecotypes are defined based on prey preferences. Prey items are largely unknown in the eastern Canadian Arctic and therefore we conducted a survey of Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to provide information on the feeding ecology of killer whales. We compiled Inuit observations on killer whales and their prey items via 105 semi-directed interviews conducted in 11 eastern Nunavut communities (Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk regions) from 2007-2010.ResultsResults detail local knowledge of killer whale prey items, hunting behaviour, prey responses, distribution of predation events, and prey capture techniques. Inuit TEK and published literature agree that killer whales at times eat only certain parts of prey, particularly of large whales, that attacks on large whales entail relatively small groups of killer whales, and that they hunt cooperatively. Inuit observations suggest that there is little prey specialization beyond marine mammals and there are no definitive observations of fish in the diet. Inuit hunters and elders also documented the use of sea ice and shallow water as prey refugia.ConclusionsBy combining TEK and scientific approaches we provide a more holistic view of killer whale predation in the eastern Canadian Arctic relevant to management and policy. Continuing the long-term relationship between scientists and hunters will provide for successful knowledge integration and has resulted in considerable improvement in understanding of killer whale ecology relevant to management of prey species. Combining scientists and Inuit knowledge will assist in northerners adapting to the restructuring of the Arctic marine ecosystem associated with warming and loss of sea ice.

Service-Learning-Based Instruction Enhances Students' Perceptions of Their Abilities to Engage in Evidence-Based Practice

ABSTRACTEducation leaders in occupational therapy (OT) propose that active learning is one means to developing critical thinking skills essential for successful integration of knowledge into evidence-based practice. This study examines the impact of one type of active learning, service-learning, on students' perceptions of their knowledge, skills, and confidence in their abilities to provide OT services to adults with neurological conditions. Change in OT students' (n == 43) perceptions before and after engagement in service-learning were assessed using quantitative and qualitative data in a triangulation mixed-methods design. Results support previous studies indicating that service-learning can influence positive gains in student knowledge and confidence.

Integration or co-optation? Traditional knowledge and science in the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has become a focus of increasing attention by natural resource managers over the past decade, particularly in the context of the shared management authority between resource users and government agencies (co-management). Little work has been done on how TEK can be successfully integrated with science and applied in contemporary science-based resource management institutions, and the efficacy and legitimacy of co-management and associated attempts to document TEK or integrate it with science have recently been questioned. The cooperative research programme of one co-management group, the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee (ABWC), was studied to describe how TEK and science are integrated and applied in the research process, document perceptions and attitudes of native hunters and scientists towards TEK and science, and identify organizational characteristics that facilitate knowledge integration. Hunters and TEK played a variety of roles in ABWC's research programme, including hypothesis generation, sample collection and data interpretation. Hunters and scientists defined TEK similarly, but differed in their views of science, which hunters often perceived as a tool of state control. Despite political undercurrents, the ABWC displayed several indicators of successful knowledge integration. Organizational characteristics that facilitated integration included a membership structure fostering genuine power-sharing and a range of opportunities for formal and informal interactions among hunters and scientists leading to long-term relationships and an organizational culture of open communication and transparency in decision-making. Given the importance of long-term relationships between scientists and hunters for successful knowledge integration, this study raises questions about (1) the potential for meaningful integration in short-term projects such as environmental impact assessment and (2) the use of TEK documentation studies in the absence of other forms of active participation by TEK- holders.

The incompatibility of knowledge regimes: consequences of the material world for cross-domain work

In this paper, we argue that successful integration of knowledge across work domains in the short-term can mask the generation of long-term consequences. We explore a setting, the introduction of environmental considerations into semiconductor manufacturing, where the eventual adoption of common measurement artifacts and associated practices enabled knowledge integration, but failed to address significant underlying consequences. Drawing from observational, interview, and archival data we develop an understanding of the work practices of the Tech and EnviroTech groups as structured by the material world and broader collective conventions. We introduce the concept of knowledge regime to outline the differences in knowledge across these work domains. More specifically, we find that differences in the causal specificity and developmental time horizon of knowledge and the measurement artifacts that result contribute to the relative power of one knowledge regime over another. Understanding these sources of incompatibility provides insight into the design requirements of information systems as boundary objects for knowledge integration, but also specifies the potential limits to any design effort.

Malignant hyperthermia: excitation-contraction coupling, Ca2+ release channel, and cell Ca2+ regulation defects.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a disorder of skeletal muscle in which certain anesthetic agents trigger a sustained elevation in myoplasmic Ca2+ concentration that activates metabolic and contractile activity. This review focuses on the biochemical and physiological alterations in the skeletal muscle of MH-susceptible (MHS) pigs and humans that appear responsible for this inherited disorder. In porcine MH, these studies identified the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channel gene (RYR1) as the site of the defect. A mutation in this protein results in altered excitation-contraction coupling and secondary changes in porcine muscle structure and function. Although RYR1 mutations have been reported in many MHS human families, there is also significant genetic heterogeneity, and much less is known as to the underlying mechanism responsible for altered human myoplasmic Ca2+ regulation. The effects of caffeine and anesthetic agents on MHS and normal muscle are also discussed to better understand the basis for the in vitro clinical test for this disorder and mechanisms responsible for the initiation and maintenance of MH episodes in susceptible individuals. Finally, we examine the possiblity of a defect in Ca2+ regulation in tissues other than skeletal muscle. Current understanding of the molecular basis of MH elegantly illustrates the successful integration of knowledge obtained from all fields of biological and clinical science.