scholarly journals 2553 Authors’ perceptions of the interdisciplinarity of their research

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (S1) ◽  
pp. 5-5
Author(s):  
Christine M. Weston ◽  
Mia S. Terkowitz ◽  
Daniel E. Ford

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The objectives of this study were to compare different methods for determining the disciplines involved in a research article. We sought to address the following questions: To what extent does the number of disciplines reported by an article’s corresponding author agree with their description of the article as unidisciplinary or interdisciplinary? (Q1) and To what extent does the corresponding author’s description of the research as unidisciplinary or interdisciplinary agree with its classification as unidisciplinary or interdisciplinary based on the affiliation of its co-authors? (Q2). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Using Scopus, we randomly selected 100 articles from 2010 and 2015 from science teams that had at least 1 author affiliated with Johns Hopkins. Author affiliations were grouped into common academic disciplines: Basic Science, Medicine (and all clinical specialties), Public Health, Engineering, Social Science, Computer Science, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Other. Articles with more than 1 discipline were considered, interdisciplinary. We then sent an online Qualtrics survey to the corresponding author of each article and asked them to indicate (1) all of the disciplines that contributed to the research article at hand, and (2) to indicate whether they considered the research to be “unidisciplinary” or “interdisciplinary” based on definitions that we provided. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: For Q1, we asked corresponding authors to indicate the number of disciplines involved in their research and then to choose the definition that best described their research. Among 76 respondents, 42 indicated that their research consisted of 1 discipline, and 34 indicated that their research consisted of more than 1 discipline. Of the 42 respondents who indicated that their research consisted of one discipline, 21 (50%) respondents described their research as “unidisciplinary” and 21 (50%) described their research as “interdisciplinary.” However, of the 34 respondents who indicated that their research consisted of more than 1 discipline, all but 1 (97%) described their research as “interdisciplinary.” For Q2, we assigned a discipline to each co-author based on his/her affiliation and counted the number of disciplines involved. Among 76 respondents, of the 22 who described their research as “unidisciplinary,” 16 (73%) were categorized as “unidisciplinary” and 6 (27%) were categorized as “interdisciplinary,” using this method. Of the 54 respondents who described their research as “interdisciplinary,” 30 (56%) were categorized as “interdisciplinary” and 24 (44%) as “unidisciplinary.” DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our results highlight that different methods for determining whether a given research article is interdisciplinary are likely to yield different results. Even when researchers indicate that their research is based within one major discipline, they may still consider it interdisciplinary. Likewise, classifying an article as either unidisciplinary or interdisciplinary based on the affiliations of its co-authors, may not be consistent with the way it is viewed by its authors. It is important to acknowledge that assessing the interdisciplinarity of research is complex and that objective and subjective views may differ.

2019 ◽  
pp. 177-195
Author(s):  
Sanja Maglov

Along with the title, the abstract is a part of the research article that readers first encounter when they want to read a particular article as it provides the most important information related to the article itself. The appealing character of an abstract depends mostly on its content and the way it has been written. This article compares the use of reference as part of grammatical cohesion in mechanical engineering and social science abstracts in English and Serbian. Three types of reference have been analysed, namely personal, demonstrative and comparative in the corpus comprising 25 research article abstracts for each discipline and each language. More frequent use of reference, primarily demonstrative, in the English abstracts implies that their authors use those structures not only to achieve better textual cohesion and density of expression, but also to guide their readers through the text. Especially, the combination of demonstratives and the definite article with general and other nouns leads to the interlacing of lexical and grammatical cohesion, thus providing a wider range of expressions, argumentation and generalization. Unlike the English abstracts, the mechanical abstracts in Serbian rely more on lexical cohesion, with very few personal pronouns as cohesive devices. The awareness of such differences can be an important guideline to all researchers attempting to write for international readership.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Monica Cecilia ◽  
Novarianti Novarianti ◽  
Christine Christine

The unhygienic environment of the hospital will allow the transmission of diseases that can affect public health in that hospital.  Therefore, hospital sanitation services need to be organized in order to create a comfortable and clean hospital environment, so that it can support efforts to cure and prevent the transmission of nosocomial infections in the hospital environment.  The purpose of this study was to determine the number of germs on the inpatient bed of District Madani Hospital of Palu.  The method of this study used descriptive with observational approach. The study population was all inpatient beds in Melon, Jambu, Rambutan, Nangka, Semangka, dan Markisa treatment rooms at Madani Regional Hospital of Palu.  The sample of this study was a part of the impatient bed in rooms of Melon 10, Jambu 10, Rambutan 10, Rambutan 9,  Semangka 7, and Markisa 4, which were taken by simple random sampling.  The results showed that the number of germs did not meet the requirements of> 10 colonies / cm².  So it can be concluded that the number of germs on the inpatient bed of the treatment room at the Palu Madani Regional Hospital does not meet the requirements.


Author(s):  
Martin Surbeck ◽  
Gottfried Hohmann

The nature of the relationships between males is a characteristic trait of many multi-male group living species with implications for the individuals. In our study population of bonobos, certain male dyads exhibit clear preferences for ranging in the same party and sitting in proximity. These preferences are not reflected in the frequency of aggression towards each other and only to some extent in their affiliative and socio-sexual behaviours. While bonobo males at LuiKotale clearly do not benefit from close relationships in the way chimpanzee males do (cooperative hunting, territorial patrol, mate competition), some relationships might result from close associations between their mothers. In some particular situations, these male relationships can be very important as in the case of an orphan adopted by his older maternal brother. La nature des relations entre mâles est un trait caractéristique de plusieurs groupes qui ont plusieurs mâles, avec des implications au niveau d’individus. Dans notre étude des populations de bonobos, certains dyades mâles montrent une préférence à aller dans le même groupe et s’asseoir proche l’un de l’autre. Cette préférence n’est pas reflétée dans la fréquence d’agression entre eux et est seulement lié, à degrés, à leur comportements socio-sexuels et d’appartenance. Tandis que les mâles bonobos à LuiKotale ne profitent pas de leur fortes relations comme les chimpanzés mâles (chasse coopérative, patrouille territoriale, compétition pour compagnon), ils peuvent aider leur partenaires à supporter le stress de la vie en groupe et peuvent en conséquence contribuer au bien-être des individus. Quelques proches associations entre les mâles peuvent provenir d’associations entre leurs mères. Dans quelques situations particulières, ces relations mâles prouvent leur importance comme dans le cas d’un orphelin adopté par son grand frère maternel.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 568-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Allen ◽  
Colin Fisher ◽  
Mohamed Chetouani ◽  
Ming Ming Chiu ◽  
Hatice Gunes ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Reuveny

Abstract Background Social science models find the ecological impacts of climate change (EICC) contribute to internal migration in developing countries and, less so, international migration. Projections expect massive climate-related migration in this century. Nascent research calls to study health, migration, population, and armed conflict potential together, accounting for EICC and other factors. System science offers a way: develop a dynamic simulation model (DSM). We aim to validate the feasibility and usefulness of a pilot DSM intended to serve as a proof-of-concept and a basis for identifying model extensions to make it less simplified and more realistic. Methods Studies have separately examined essential parts. Our DSM integrates their results and computes composites of health problems (HP), health care (HC), non-EICC environmental health problems (EP), and environmental health services (ES) by origin site and by immigrants and natives in a destination site, and conflict risk and intensity per area. The exogenous variables include composites of EICC, sociopolitical, economic, and other factors. We simulate the model for synthetic input values and conduct sensitivity analyses. Results The simulation results refer to generic origin and destination sites anywhere on Earth. The effects’ sizes are likely inaccurate from a real-world view, as our input values are synthetic. Their signs and dynamics are plausible, internally consistent, and, like the sizes, respond logically in sensitivity analyses. Climate migration may harm public health in a host area even with perfect HC/ES qualities and full access; and no HP spillovers across groups, conflict, EICC, and EP. Deviations from these conditions may worsen everyone’s health. We consider adaptation options. Conclusions This work shows we can start developing DSMs to understand climate migration and public health by examining each case with its own inputs. Validation of our pilot model suggests we can use it as intended. We lay a path to making it more realistic for policy analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy C Jao ◽  
Marcia M Tan ◽  
Phoenix A Matthews ◽  
Melissa A Simon ◽  
Robert Schnoll ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Despite the overall decline in the prevalence of cigarette use in the United States, menthol cigarette use among smokers is rising, and evidence shows that it may lead to more detrimental effects on public health than regular cigarette use. One of the mechanisms by which nicotine sustains tobacco use and dependence is due to its cognitive enhancing properties, and basic science literature suggests that menthol may also enhance nicotine’s acute effect on cognition. Aims and Methods The purpose of this review is to suggest that the cognitive enhancing effects of menthol may be a potentially important neuropsychological mechanism that has yet to be examined. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of basic science studies examining neurobiological and cognitive effects of menthol and menthol cigarette smoking. We also review studies examining menthol essential oils among humans that indicate menthol alone has acute cognitive enhancing properties. Finally, we present factors influencing the rising prevalence of menthol cigarette use among smokers and the importance of this gap in the literature to improve public health and smoking cessation treatment. Conclusions Despite the compelling evidence for menthol’s acute cognitive enhancing and reinforcing effects, this mechanism for sustaining tobacco dependence and cigarette use has yet to be examined and validated among humans. On the basis of the basic science evidence for menthol’s neurobiological effects on nicotinic receptors and neurotransmitters, perhaps clarifying menthol’s effect on cognitive performance can help to elucidate the complicated literature examining menthol and tobacco dependence. Implications Menthol cigarette use has continued to be a topic of debate among researchers and policy makers, because of its implications for understanding menthol’s contribution to nicotine dependence and smoking persistence, as well as its continued use as a prevalent flavoring in tobacco and nicotine products in the United States and internationally. As international tobacco regulation policies have begun to target menthol cigarettes, research studies need to examine how flavoring additives, specifically menthol, may acutely influence neurobiological and cognitive functioning as a potential mechanism of sustained smoking behavior to develop more effective treatments.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Li ◽  
Yuan Xiong ◽  
Hao Fong Sit ◽  
Weiming Tang ◽  
Brian J Hall ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Mobile health (mHeath)–based HIV and sexual health promotion among men who have sex with men (MSM) is feasible in low- and middle-income settings. However, many currently available mHealth tools on the market were developed by the private sector for profit and have limited input from MSM communities. OBJECTIVE A health hackathon is an intensive contest that brings together participants from multidisciplinary backgrounds to develop a proposed solution for a specific health issue within a short period. The purpose of this paper was to describe a hackathon event that aimed to develop an mHealth tool to enhance health care (specifically HIV prevention) utilization among Chinese MSM, summarize characteristics of the final prototypes, and discuss implications for future mHealth intervention development. METHODS The hackathon took place in Guangzhou, China. An open call for hackathon participants was advertised on 3 Chinese social media platforms, including Blued, a popular social networking app among MSM. All applicants completed a Web-based survey and were then scored. The top scoring applicants were grouped into teams based on their skills and content area expertise. Each team was allowed 1 month to prepare for the hackathon. The teams then came together in person with on-site expert mentorship for a 72-hour hackathon contest to develop and present mHealth prototype solutions. The judging panel included experts in psychology, public health, computer science, social media, clinical medicine, and MSM advocacy. The final prototypes were evaluated based on innovation, usability, and feasibility. RESULTS We received 92 applicants, and 38 of them were selected to attend the April 2019 hackathon. A total of 8 teams were formed, including expertise in computer science, user interface design, business or marketing, clinical medicine, and public health. Moreover, 24 participants self-identified as gay, and 3 participants self-identified as bisexual. All teams successfully developed a prototype tool. A total of 4 prototypes were designed as a mini program that could be embedded within a popular Chinese social networking app, and 3 prototypes were designed as stand-alone apps. Common prototype functions included Web-based physician searching based on one’s location (8 prototypes), health education (4 prototypes), Web-based health counseling with providers or lay health volunteers (6 prototypes), appointment scheduling (8 prototypes), and between-user communication (2 prototypes). All prototypes included strategies to ensure privacy protection for MSM users, and some prototypes offered strategies to ensure privacy of physicians. The selected prototypes are undergoing pilot testing. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of using a hackathon to create mHealth intervention tools. This suggests a different pathway to developing mHealth interventions and could be relevant in other settings.


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