Transdisciplinary Project Research Articles

Teaching young consumers in Europe: a multicentre qualitative needs assessment with educators on food hygiene and food safety

Aim:Foodborne illnesses have a significant global burden and can be life-threatening, with higher risk in vulnerable groups such as children. SafeConsume is an EU-funded, transdisciplinary project aiming to improve consumers’ food safety behaviour. Developing educational resources on food safety for use in schools has potential to improve teaching of our young consumers. The aim of this study was to explore school educators’ attitudes, behaviours and knowledge towards food hygiene, safety and education.Methods:Focus groups and interviews in England, France, Portugal and Hungary explored educator knowledge, skills, intentions and beliefs around educating young people (11–18 years) about food safety. Data were analysed using NVivo and emerging themes were applied to the Theoretical Domains Framework.Results:A total of 48 educators participated. Knowledge, confidence and skills to teach food safety to young people varied depending on background and training. Educators reported they had a role to teach food safety to young people, were positive about delivering education and optimistic they could improve students’ food safety behaviour. Barriers to teaching included lack of national curriculum coverage, limited time and money, and lack of facilities. Educators reported that social influences (family, celebrity chefs, public health campaigns and social media) were important opportunities to improve young peoples’ awareness of food safety and consequences of foodborne illness.Conclusion:Educator food safety expertise varied; training could help to optimise educator knowledge, confidence and skills. Ministries of Health and Education need encouragement to get food safety incorporated further into school curricula across Europe, so schools will be motivated to prioritise these topics.

Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education

Recent environmental changes have demonstrated that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene. In this new age, complex interactions between human and natural systems exacerbate “wicked problems” that challenge researchers to engage both deep disciplinary expertise and broad integrative knowledge to address these societally relevant problems. Researchers and practitioners are making an increased effort to bridge the divide between human and natural systems research by facilitating multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary collaborations. Despite 21st century changes to the research environment, the structure of a typical graduate education remains largely unchanged over the past several decades. Wicked problems necessitate communication and collaboration expertise; innovative transdisciplinary training and research opportunities can equip graduate students with these necessary skills. Oregon State University has offered such an opportunity through an NSF-funded Research Traineeship Program (NRT) for students focusing on Risk and Uncertainty Quantification and Communication in Marine Science. Herein, we reflect on the experience of graduate students who successfully completed the NRT and assert that support for transdisciplinary training and research at the graduate stage is urgently needed. We present five lessons learned from our year-long transdisciplinary project focused on the development of an approach for integrating diverse data sets within a social-ecological systems framework to reach a broader understanding of the interconnections between a marine reserve system, people, and the environment. Finally, we present current challenges and paths forward to enhance the success of early career transdisciplinary research.

OF SOME SPECIFICS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES FOR TECH TRANSFERS OF BIOTECH INNOVATIONS / THE CASE OF THE BULGARIAN UNIVERSITY PLATFORM “VITA PLUS”/

The first-of-its-kind University of Plovdiv transdisciplinary project “Vita Plus” is deemed to adopt some positive international practices to initiate and announce that there are researchers at the University of Plovdiv, interested in realizing tech transfers in the field of biotech innovations. Thus, the goal of the present paper is to explain what factors might be crucial to both characterize technological transfer of biotech innovations as successful from University researchers’ viewpoint, and present them to business ventures for commercial purposes. Research methods of the study include data of the most recent thematic study of the World Bank on Bulgaria and analytical reviews of contemporary scientific literature to establish a modern Bulgarian platform for transfer of biotechnological know-hows to bio-based industries in the forthcoming era of bioeconomy. The results of the research are aimed at formation of comparative-analytical parameters and benchmark indicators for economic valuation of implementation of biotechnological solutions in the emerging Bulgarian circular economy, based on observations at the “Vita Plus” project. Conclusions relate to derivation of a set of recommendations for formation of a new integrated approach for creating a working model for technological transfer of University researches and solutions in real bio-based industrial production through the University platform “Vita Plus”.

What is quantitative plant biology?

Quantitative plant biology is an interdisciplinary field that builds on a long history of biomathematics and biophysics. Today, thanks to high spatiotemporal resolution tools and computational modelling, it sets a new standard in plant science. Acquired data, whether molecular, geometric or mechanical, are quantified, statistically assessed and integrated at multiple scales and across fields. They feed testable predictions that, in turn, guide further experimental tests. Quantitative features such as variability, noise, robustness, delays or feedback loops are included to account for the inner dynamics of plants and their interactions with the environment. Here, we present the main features of this ongoing revolution, through new questions around signalling networks, tissue topology, shape plasticity, biomechanics, bioenergetics, ecology and engineering. In the end, quantitative plant biology allows us to question and better understand our interactions with plants. In turn, this field opens the door to transdisciplinary projects with the society, notably through citizen science.

Linking European and Southeast Asian Transdisciplinary Knowledge Production: Lessons Learnt by Doing Evaluation

This article aims to explore knowledge co-production through a critical (and self-critical) reflection of experiences with doing evaluation within the Fostering Multi-Lateral Knowledge Networks of Transdisciplinary Studies to Tackle Global Challenges (KNOTS) project. KNOTS started as a collaborative project to explore the possibilities and increase the expertise of seven institutions from Europe and Southeast Asia in teaching a transdisciplinary approach at their higher education institutions. Planned as a capacity-building tool for higher education, its main objectives were to create a teaching manual and to es- tablish sustainable networks and knowledge hubs in this field of knowledge production. This was to be achieved mainly by means of summer schools and fieldtrips in Southeast Asia, which would enable learning through practical application of the knowledge developed. The realization of this ambitious conceptual formulation turned out to be pretty complex and this holds for the very process of evaluation itself as well. We discuss and illustrate the specific problems of a strict evaluation in such a complex transdisciplinary project. The notorious complexity of interdisciplinary and the more transdisciplinary projects was further increased by the intercultural, respective, transcultural dimension involved. Topics discussed include structurally immanent difficulties, unintended effects of financial and political constraints, complications caused by hierarchies and language, and effects of cultural differences, especially different university science cultures. In the form of lessons learned during the evaluation process, we give some hints for the development and implementation of the transdisciplinary approach as a new tool for reaching socially relevant knowledge, especially in cross-cultural settings.

Transdisciplinarity ‘Meets’ Power Structures: Challenges and Experiences of a Capacity Building Project on Transdisciplinarity

The aim of the paper is to discuss and to reflect on the experiences and challenges encountered during the North-South capacity building project on transdisciplinarity, KNOTS (Fostering Multi-Lateral Knowledge Networks of Transdisciplinary Studies to Tackle Global Challenges), which was financed by the EU through the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education program. Despite the large body of literature on transdisciplinary approaches and projects, not many studies exist that discuss both the political and the power dimensions within transdisciplinary endeavors, especially not from a social science perspective. Based on the experiences, challenges, and progress over the course of the project, I will analyze how power relations influenced and structured KNOTS. I argue that the success of transdisciplinary North-South collaborations depends very much on awareness of power hierarchies, reflexivity, and positionality as well as different understandings of knowledge. Although differences will be highlighted regarding, for example, the aims of transdisciplinarity or the role of different understandings of science and knowledge, the paper does not aim to increase skepticism regarding transdisciplinarity. Instead, the intent of the reflections is to increase awareness of the influences of power structures and relations in transdisciplinarity projects, especially North-South collaboration projects.

Enhancing Quality of Life through Sustainable Urban Transformation in Cambodia: Introduction to the Build4People Project

This policy brief introduces preliminary research results of the Build4People project, funded by the German government as part of the multi-phase focus programme “Sustainable Development of Urban Regions”. Furthermore, the research agenda of the upcoming main four-year Research and Development phase (RD phase) will be introduced based on insights gained in previous shorter funding periods. The Build4People research consortium consists of representatives from four German universities and two German companies with their respective research, implementation and dissemination partners in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Build4People’s rationale is based on Phnom Penh‘s dynamic economic growth, which is coupled with a local urbanisation and construction boom. However, new buildings and neighbourhoods are rarely constructed in a sustainable way with direct and indirect negative environmental impacts. Issues of sustainability are hardly addressed by decision-makers in the construction sector, related ministries, city administrations or building users. The overall aim of the multi- and trans-disciplinary Build4People project during the RD phase is to support and analyse the transformative shift in Phnom Penh’s current business-as-usual urban development pathway towards a pathway with higher sustainability and liveability levels. The entry points for the research are the building and neighbourhood planning sectors. Methods, tools and key instruments to achieve the objectives of the RD phase are collaborative planning workshops, strategic niche management approaches, transition management approaches and subsequent experimental implementation. All of these measures will generate applied knowledge for local stakeholders and a basis for evidence-based decision-making. Urban quality of life as a people-driven approach serves as the integrating link for all of our scientific, conceptional, analytical and normative dimensions. During our research, we will jointly conceptualize, measure and model urban quality of life and consider its political dimension and its often-ambiguous relationship to sustainability.

Ethics and the Role of Humanities in Transdisciplinary Research? A Short Reflection on the KNOTS Project

In this paper, we reflect upon our role as researchers embedded in humanities in the KNOTS project. In the course of the project, we noticed various misapprehensions among both staff and students stemming, among others, form different cultural, political, and educational backgrounds. While a diversity of inputs and perspectives is considered an advantage for transdisciplinary projects, cooperation among actors with various backgrounds can also be challenging. Based on our observations and previous experience living and working in Vietnam, we created a session focusing on ethics for the last summer school in Ho Chi Minh City. We decided to bring participants’ attention to research ethics and issues of cross-cultural communication, and suggested reflection and discussion as a coping strategy. In the course of a three years long mutual learning process, we realized that striving to create a common understanding of research ethics and cross-cultural awareness is an indispensable element of teaching and doing transdisciplinary research in a multicultural environment.

Fostering Transdisciplinary Collaboration Through Transdisciplinary Literature Reviews: Investigating the Accessibility of mHealth Technologies

Transdisciplinary research aims to investigate complex problems by integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines through knowledge co-creation. Initiating and planning transdisciplinary research requires a thorough review of the literature within many disciplines, demanding that researchers conciliate meanings of concepts from different disciplines, define the boundaries of each discipline within the topic and identify synergies between disciplines. Thus, conducting a transdisciplinary literature review can pose a challenge to researchers, and little guidance is available on how to approach this challenge in a systematic way. To address this, we develop a protocol for transdisciplinary literature reviews, extending the heuristics proposed by Leavy (2011). We describe how researchers can determine the relevant bodies of knowledge for the issue investigated, how they can locate and summarise relevant literature from all relevant disciplines, how they can determine the scope of each discipline within the project and how they can visualise the interaction between disciplines in regards to the topic researched. We also suggest methods for researchers to create new interactions between disciplines and propose new conceptual frameworks on the basis of the literature synthesis performed in the transdisciplinary literature review. To demonstrate how our framework can be employed to review literature on complex issues while integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines, we use the issue of accessibility of mHealth technologies as a case study and apply our guidelines to conduct a transdisciplinary literature review on the topic. We integrate findings from the social sciences, ethics, economics, law, psychology, medicine and engineering, among other disciplines to examine the accessibility of mHealth and propose promising areas for future transdisciplinary projects. The findings from this case study suggest the proposed transdisciplinary review guidelines can be used as a sole research methodology for initial transdisciplinary research projects, as well as an auxiliary tool for larger transdisciplinary projects.

European Standards of Care for Newborn Health—A project protocol

Among children who receive hospital care, preterm infants are Europe's largest group, whose numbers are continually increasing. Currently, no pan-European standards of care for preterm or critically ill infants are available, except for a few specific topics, and practices vary widely in different regions. The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) has initiated a transdisciplinary collaboration project to provide agreed standards for high-quality perinatal and neonatal care, whose implementation will ensure fairer and more equitable care across Europe. This will improve care for these vulnerable infants and their families, ameliorate the long-term conditions found in preterm and critically ill infants and enhance the quality of family life of affected families. More than 220 experts-healthcare professionals, patient representatives and other relevant stakeholders-have come together for the first time to develop a broad reference guidance in neonatology and associated fields. Ninety-six standards on 11 overarching topic areas were developed and endorsed. This reference framework serves as a basis for the development of binding national standards for high-quality care. A robust translation and implementation strategy is facilitated, with the goal of improved health outcomes following preterm birth all around Europe.

Addressing complex, political and intransient sustainability challenges of transdisciplinarity: The case of the MEGADAPT project in Mexico City

Transdisciplinarity (TD) is now recognized as one of several core approaches to sustainability science. Efforts over the last decade have led to the conceptualization of transdisciplinary endeavors and the definition of practices that define the fundamental ambition and aspiration of TD. Nevertheless, while the principles defining transdisciplinary research are increasingly clear, the practice and disparate contexts of TD often receive a less critical examination. The ideal of research co-design and knowledge co-production is particularly challenging —although arguably particularly salient— in the highly contested, highly politicized, urgent, yet also uncertain settings of many sustainability problems.In this paper, we use the case of an international, transdisciplinary project to explore some of the challenges in scientist-stakeholder interactions in addressing a truly wicked sustainability problem in Mexico City: chronic flooding and water scarcity. We argue that in cases such as that of water risk in Mexico City, clear and transparent procedural – or algorithmic -- approaches can serve as robust mechanisms for integrating disparate knowledge. When linked to “boundary objects” such as the geographic support decision-making system used in our work, procedural approaches enabled our team to illustrate the interdependence of disparate actors' values, decision priorities and actions, and the effect of these interdependencies on the city's vulnerability. We contend that the realities of countries like Mexico compel the implementation of “transgressive TD” to push the frontiers of sustainability rather than reinforce pre-existing (and unsustainable) patterns and paradigms.

Conflict, Controversy, Compromise, and Compression: The Pragmatics of Transdisciplinary (Development) Projects

Drawing upon qualitative interviews, this article narrates central controversies and conflicts that scholars working in the field of “development” face in their daily work. Based on how these conflicts and controversies have been reconstructed, I place them in the discourse on transdisciplinarity, drawing into question the claim to authority and novelty around the term “transdisciplinarity” that Western institutions have attributed themselves with in recent years. Finally, I turn to the question of collaboration: How can transdisciplinary projects deal with the fact of pluralism on the one hand and the necessity to work towards shared problem definitions, solutions, and strategies on the other? In this context, I make a case against transdisciplinarity’s often-held conceptions of harmony, comprehensiveness and total systems as well as unity and for compromise, partiality and joint contextual strategies. The “art of deliberation”, thus, replaces the notion of transcendence as a central competence of transdisciplinary scholars.

Aesthetic Expressions of Queer Kinship in Children’s Drawings

This article describes and discusses a transdisciplinary research project that archives children’s drawings of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer + (LGBTQ+) family structures. Children with LGBTQ+ parents from Ontario, Canada, were interviewed and asked to draw a portrait of their family. The drawings and related interviews have provided empirical data with which to generate theory about their subjective realities. Analysis rests in two locations: the act of a child drawing and the adult’s collective witnessing of the drawings. In asking what new forms of kinship can be symbolically elaborated in their drawings, we have worked with the children to cultivate representations that re-figure notions of family so that a multiplicity of attachments and forms of cohabitation are better understood. Our analysis employs affect theory, psychoanalysis, and arts-based research methods, with emphasis on the socio-political significance of aesthetic expression.

What Does He Need?: Reflections on a cross-sectorial and transdisciplinary project unfolding in public

What Does He Need?: Reflections on a cross-sectorial and transdisciplinary project unfolding in public

178 Towards better usage of data in dairy farms: The Dairy Brain initiative

Abstract With increasing use of new technologies in dairy farms, vast amounts of data are generated. Each data stream has its own frequency, diversity, type and quantity of data. While data diversity is beneficial to the farmer, it also makes more difficult data integration of different data streams. Even though different data streams are poorly linked to each other, there is an opportunity to add value to the farm management and decision-making processes by standardizing and integrating the different data sources available at the farm. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a system that can collect, integrate, manage, and analyze on- and off-farm data in real-time for practical and relevant actions: The Dairy Brain project. This is a trans-disciplinary research and extension project that engages multi-disciplinary scientists, dairy farmers, and industry professionals. We are using the state-of-the-art database management system from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for High Throughput Computing to develop our Agricultural Data Hub (AgDH) that connects and analyzes cow and herd data on a permanent basis. This involves cleaning and normalizing the data as well as allowing data retrieval on demand.The Dairy Brain, a suite of predictive and prescriptive analytics modules that leverages the AgDH to provide insight to the management of dairy operations and serve as an exemplar of an ecosystem of connected services. Therefore, decision support tools are developed to add value to the data and improve farm management at different levels.

237 Developing a Dairy Brain: Improved Decision-Making from Continuous Integrated Data

Abstract Data pervades the dairy farming industry. However, specific data streams are most often ad-hoc and poorly linked to each other and to decision making processes. It is imperative to develop a system that can collect, integrate, manage, and analyze on- and off-farm data in real-time for practical and relevant actions. Hence, we are developing a real-time, data-integrated, data-driven, continuous decision-making engine: The Dairy Brain by applying Precision Farming, Big Data analytics, and the Internet of Things. This is a trans-disciplinary research and extension project that engages multi-disciplinary scientists, dairy farmers, and industry professionals. We have a four-part strategy: (1) Create a Coordinated Innovation Network (CIN) to shape data service development; (2) Create a prototype Agricultural Data Hub (AgDH) to gather/disseminate multiple data streams relevant to dairy operations; (3) Build the Dairy Brain – a suite of analytical modules that leverages the AgDH to provide insight to the management of dairy operations and serve as an exemplar of an ecosystem of connected services; and (4) Design and execute an innovative Extension program. We will illustrate our Dairy Brain concept with a few practical applications. Tomorrow’s dairy industry will be built on the effective capture and integration of more data streams, not fewer. This is a critical moment to develop the structures that can move the industry towards modernized data exchange. We are confident the Dairy Brain concept could shift the paradigm of how dairy farms operate.

Exploring collaboration experiences at the society-science nexus in a food security project in Tanzania

ABSTRACT In the search for solutions to global challenges, the way scientific research is carried out is rapidly changing. Interdisciplinary approaches through collaborative research projects are replacing traditional approaches. As complex operational details, including stakeholder perspectives, are oft overlooked in these projects, conflict and failure are more likely. Analysing the conflict experience of stakeholders and project members in a transdisciplinary research project, this paper examines the science-society nexus. Using an international, transdisciplinary project, conflict drivers and levels of conflict are identified. Continuous communication and monitoring throughout a project’s lifetime with internal conflict prevention and management measures are proposed to facilitate collaborations.

Transdisciplinary Synthesis Research in Unruly Environments: Reflecting on a Case Study of Vulnerability and Urban Fishing in the American Gulf Coast

Transdisciplinary research (TR) is valuable for studying complex environmental health issues. Paying attention to how practices ‘on the ground’ can - and should - inform policy and planning requires disrupting the silos in which these entities frequently operate. Yet in practice, bridging disparate fields of inquiry towards a common goal is a difficult task, and few empirical examples exist to guide researchers interested in using TR to examine environmental health issues in real-world contexts. In this paper, we reflect on the design and execution of a collaborative, transdisciplinary project that examines localized effects of urban and environmental governance on urban subsistence fishing as a foodway with key health implications. We first review the socio-environmental literatures on urban fishing to outline the utility of TR. Next, we present our TR synthesis, which integrates secondary data from federal, state, and municipal agencies in two U.S. Gulf Coast metropolitan areas, including a subset of results to demonstrate TR in action. Finally, we critically reflect on our TR experience in relation to corresponding theory, allowing insight into the strengths and drawbacks of utilizing TR in practice. Benefits include a more holistic linkage of complex socio-environmental components, the illumination of power dynamics between stakeholders, and the co-creation of knowledge in a multidisciplinary research team. The challenges we faced highlight issues of translation across disciplinary methods when framing research questions and when integrating data sources collected for different sectoral purposes. In particular, we discuss the role of synthesis - the triangulation of diverse secondary sources - to the practice of TR. We share these lessons to inform further integrated research on the relationships between place-based health, urban development, and environmental equity.

Water reuse in hydroponic systems: a realistic future scenario for Germany? Facts and evidence gained during a transdisciplinary research project

Abstract The HypoWave transdisciplinary research project investigated the innovation of water reuse in a hydroponic system, focusing on its applicability in Germany. The methods applied were the operation of a pilot plant for the appropriate treatment and subsequent reuse of water in a hydroponic system, expert interviews, feasibility studies, an impact assessment and a stakeholder dialogue. To identify the concept's advantages and disadvantages, publications specialising in the various disciplines involved and meeting protocols were analysed and the results grouped together in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. This revealed that the system has potential for application in Germany subject to certain requirements being met, such as suitable local wastewater treatment conditions and actors looking for new business opportunities within agricultural production. This system is not recommended for the country as a whole, but it does offer an interesting alternative for locations that meet the appropriate conditions. Nevertheless, additional efforts and knowledge are required to promote and operate a new system of this kind. These include the reliable supply of irrigation water with guaranteed plant nutrition, comprehensive quality management to manage potential risks, a good understanding of the cooperation arrangements required and a more detailed examination of energy aspects.

Transdisciplinary Collaboration in Renewable Energy Projects - A Case Study from Mustang, Nepal

In the recent years, transdisciplinary research and development have received increased attention, also in renewable energy planning and design. In contrast to theory-driven research, transdisciplinary approaches relate to the real-life phenomena and societally relevant problems. Transdisciplinary collaboration (TDC) emphasizes the mutual learning process between researchers and actors from outside academia, and the common creation of knowledge that is solution-oriented, socially robust and transferable to both scientific and societal practice. The following article discusses a transdisciplinary collaboration project on planning and designing a Solar Street Light solution in the village of Jhong, Mustang. The project is part of the MSESSD program at IOE, which has the goal to plan and implement renewable energy solution in rural areas in Nepal. The goal of the solar street light project was to contribute to Jhong’s approach of becoming a sustainable settlement. The article analyses three TDC phases of the project: 1. Gather information, discuss the problem with stakeholders and translate material, functional, operational requirements into scientific researchable questions. 2. Documenting strategies to develop a mutual learning process and 3. Assessing results for both for the stakeholders and for academic practice. Findings of the project indicate that transdisciplinary collaboration in renewable energy projects can help to operationalize learning between different actors and realize applicable results on contextualized levels. However, planned outcomes may vary and from a scientific perspective, methodologies for TC are not clearly defined or systematized yet, terminologies are vague, and de facto power relations in the field can obstruct the collaboration process. The last part of the article will point out some of the future challenges and possibilities for transdisciplinary research and development.