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Sample records for series interdisciplinary team

  1. Computer-mediated interdisciplinary teams: theory and reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vroman, Kerryellen; Kovacich, Joann

    2002-05-01

    The benefit of experience, tempered with the wisdom of hindsight and 5 years of text-based, asynchronous, computer-mediated, interdisciplinary team communications, provides the energy, insights and data shared in this article. Through the theoretical lens of group dynamics and the epistemology of interdisciplinary teaming, we analyze the interactions of a virtual interdisciplinary team to provide an understanding and appreciation of collaborative interdisciplinary communication in the context of interactive technologies. Whilst interactive technologies may require new patterns of language similar to that of learning a foreign language, what is communicated in the interdisciplinary team process does not change. Most important is the recognition that virtual teams, similar to their face-to-face counterparts, undergo the same challenges of interdisciplinary teaming and group developmental processes of formation: forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming. After examining these dynamics of communication and collaboration in the context of the virtual team, the article concludes with guidelines facilitating interdisciplinary team computer-mediated communication.

  2. Ten principles of good interdisciplinary team work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nancarrow, Susan A; Booth, Andrew; Ariss, Steven; Smith, Tony; Enderby, Pam; Roots, Alison

    2013-05-10

    Interdisciplinary team work is increasingly prevalent, supported by policies and practices that bring care closer to the patient and challenge traditional professional boundaries. To date, there has been a great deal of emphasis on the processes of team work, and in some cases, outcomes. This study draws on two sources of knowledge to identify the attributes of a good interdisciplinary team; a published systematic review of the literature on interdisciplinary team work, and the perceptions of over 253 staff from 11 community rehabilitation and intermediate care teams in the UK. These data sources were merged using qualitative content analysis to arrive at a framework that identifies characteristics and proposes ten competencies that support effective interdisciplinary team work. Ten characteristics underpinning effective interdisciplinary team work were identified: positive leadership and management attributes; communication strategies and structures; personal rewards, training and development; appropriate resources and procedures; appropriate skill mix; supportive team climate; individual characteristics that support interdisciplinary team work; clarity of vision; quality and outcomes of care; and respecting and understanding roles. We propose competency statements that an effective interdisciplinary team functioning at a high level should demonstrate.

  3. Healthcare management strategies: interdisciplinary team factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andreatta, Pamela; Marzano, David

    2012-12-01

    Interdisciplinary team factors are significant contributors to clinical performance and associated patient outcomes. Quality of care and patient safety initiatives identify human factors associated with team performance as a prime improvement area for clinical patient care. The majority of references to interdisciplinary teams in obstetrics and gynecology in the literature recommends the use of multidisciplinary approaches when managing complex medical cases. The reviewed literature suggests that interdisciplinary team development is important for achieving optimally efficient and effective performance; however, few reports provide specific recommendations for how to optimally achieve these objectives in the process of providing interdisciplinary care to patients. The absence of these recommendations presents a significant challenge for those tasked with improving team performance in the workplace. The prescribed team development programs cited in the review are principally built around communication strategies and simulation-based training mechanisms. Few reports provide descriptions of optimal team-based competencies in the various contexts of obstetric and gynecology teams. However, team-based evaluation strategies and empirical data documenting the transfer of team training to applied clinical care are increasing in number and quality. Our findings suggest that research toward determining team factors that promote optimal performance in applied clinical practice requires definition of specific competencies for the variable teams serving obstetrics and gynecology.

  4. The Interdisciplinary Geriatric/Gerontological Team in the Academic Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellor, M Joanna; Solomon, Renee

    1992-01-01

    Geriatric health care requires the services of an interdisciplinary health care team to assess, treat and order the social service needs of the older person, and this concept needs to be included in geriatric social work education. But while the necessity of interdisciplinary team care is recognized, little focus has been placed on the actual process of developing a functional team. The issues that arise-disparate terminologies, organizational and administrative differentials, turf-and the steps needed for a team to become viable are described, using an interdisciplinary team based in academia as a case model. The academic interdisciplinary team may easily become a forum for 'hot air' rather than a catalyst for good practice. This danger is reviewed with reference to stages in the interdisciplinary team development-- goal development group affiliation; team awareness; and goal evaluation. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the impact of the interdisciplinary team on faculty, students and the academic setting.

  5. An interdisciplinary team communication framework and its application to healthcare 'e-teams' systems design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuziemsky, Craig E; Borycki, Elizabeth M; Purkis, Mary Ellen; Black, Fraser; Boyle, Michael; Cloutier-Fisher, Denise; Fox, Lee Ann; MacKenzie, Patricia; Syme, Ann; Tschanz, Coby; Wainwright, Wendy; Wong, Helen

    2009-09-15

    There are few studies that examine the processes that interdisciplinary teams engage in and how we can design health information systems (HIS) to support those team processes. This was an exploratory study with two purposes: (1) To develop a framework for interdisciplinary team communication based on structures, processes and outcomes that were identified as having occurred during weekly team meetings. (2) To use the framework to guide 'e-teams' HIS design to support interdisciplinary team meeting communication. An ethnographic approach was used to collect data on two interdisciplinary teams. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data according to structures, processes and outcomes. We present details for team meta-concepts of structures, processes and outcomes and the concepts and sub concepts within each meta-concept. We also provide an exploratory framework for interdisciplinary team communication and describe how the framework can guide HIS design to support 'e-teams'. The structures, processes and outcomes that describe interdisciplinary teams are complex and often occur in a non-linear fashion. Electronic data support, process facilitation and team video conferencing are three HIS tools that can enhance team function.

  6. An interdisciplinary team communication framework and its application to healthcare 'e-teams' systems design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MacKenzie Patricia

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are few studies that examine the processes that interdisciplinary teams engage in and how we can design health information systems (HIS to support those team processes. This was an exploratory study with two purposes: (1 To develop a framework for interdisciplinary team communication based on structures, processes and outcomes that were identified as having occurred during weekly team meetings. (2 To use the framework to guide 'e-teams' HIS design to support interdisciplinary team meeting communication. Methods An ethnographic approach was used to collect data on two interdisciplinary teams. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data according to structures, processes and outcomes. Results We present details for team meta-concepts of structures, processes and outcomes and the concepts and sub concepts within each meta-concept. We also provide an exploratory framework for interdisciplinary team communication and describe how the framework can guide HIS design to support 'e-teams'. Conclusion The structures, processes and outcomes that describe interdisciplinary teams are complex and often occur in a non-linear fashion. Electronic data support, process facilitation and team video conferencing are three HIS tools that can enhance team function.

  7. Communication dynamics in hospice teams: understanding the role of the chaplain in interdisciplinary team collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Oliver, Debra Parker; Demiris, George; Baldwin, Paula; Regehr, Kelly

    2008-12-01

    Hospice chaplains provide a specific expertise to patient and family care, however, individual roles and responsibilities that facilitate the interdisciplinary team environment are less well known. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how hospice chaplains perceive their role in interdisciplinary team meetings and to what extent hospice chaplains share common experiences within the interdisciplinary team approach in hospice. Hospice chaplains within a 10-state region participated in a 39-item phone survey about professional roles, group roles, and structural characteristics that influence their ability to participate in interdisciplinary collaboration. Findings revealed that professional role conflict is experienced, primarily with social workers. Informal group task and maintenance roles included team spiritual care advisor and conflict manager, and structural characteristics consisted of extracurricular communication outside of the organization. Although chaplains foster interdisciplinary collaboration within the hospice team, future research needs to address improvements to the chaplain's role within the interdisciplinary team process.

  8. Diagnosing and improving functioning in interdisciplinary health care teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackmore, Gail; Persaud, D David

    2012-01-01

    Interdisciplinary teams play a key role in the delivery of health care. Team functioning can positively or negatively impact the effective and efficient delivery of health care services as well as the personal well-being of group members. Additionally, teams must be able and willing to work together to achieve team goals within a climate that reflects commitment to team goals, accountability, respect, and trust. Not surprisingly, dysfunctional team functioning can limit the success of interdisciplinary health care teams. The first step in improving dysfunctional team function is to conduct an analysis based on criteria necessary for team success, and this article provides meaningful criteria for doing such an analysis. These are the following: a common team goal, the ability and willingness to work together to achieve team goals, decision making, communication, and team member relationships. High-functioning interdisciplinary teams must exhibit features of good team function in all key domains. If a team functions well in some domains and needs to improve in others, targeted strategies are described that can be used to improve team functioning.

  9. Occupational therapists in the interdisciplinary team setting.

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    Reed, S M

    1984-01-01

    The interdisciplinary team approach to patient care provides an answer to the fragmentation and confusion patients feel when dealing with our complex healthcare system. Even though the team approach has been in use for the past two decades, implementation of a successful team is very difficult and rarely sustained over a significant period of time. This is especially true in general hospitals and in physical rehabilitation programs that spring from general hospitals where the physician and the nurse are the traditional care group. Occupational therapists, as they establish roles on interdisciplinary teams as staff members and team leaders, will require a knowledge of what makes a team function effectively. They can use this knowledge to evaluate the status of their own team and contribute to changes that will insure its long-term success. Six key issues should be addressed during the planning stage of any new healthcare team to insure its continued viability. These issues are: program philosophy, client focus, role clarification, collaboration and information sharing, policies and procedures, and staff supportiveness.

  10. Use of the Interdisciplinary Team Approach in the Rehabilitation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Research and clinical experience have shown the importance of using a team approach in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. The interdisciplinary team approach is recommended in the managing or rehabilitation of such patients. This study sought to determine if the interdisciplinary team approach was utilized in the ...

  11. Clinical interdisciplinary health team care: an educational experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazur, H; Beeston, J J; Yerxa, E J

    1979-09-01

    With increasing concern for teamwork in clinical practice in health care settings, the need to identify the concepts, methods, and learning processes for improving interdisciplinary team skills is apparent. This paper describes patient-centered, clinical-research-demonstration programs for teams of students, preceptors, and faculty members from six disciplines who provided patient care in a long-term rehabilitation setting. The teams were involved in the theory and practice of team-building, including weekly sessions on leadership styles, communication, group decision-making, and team effectiveness assessment. Objective and subjective measurements were administered throughout the program. The results indicate that task-oriented patient care favors the learning of team skills, especially when all levels of administration support and participate in the processes. Question are raised concerning the effect of clinical teams on the quality of patient care, their cost-effectiveness, and the low priority given to teaching interdisciplinary team skills in professional education.

  12. Exploring Parental Involvement Strategies Utilized by Middle School Interdisciplinary Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Chris; Searby, Linda

    2013-01-01

    Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a…

  13. Effective healthcare process redesign through an interdisciplinary team approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Rita; Huynh, Nathan; Cai, Bo; Vidal, José; Bennett, Kevin

    2013-01-01

    Healthcare process redesign is a complex and often high risk undertaking. Typically, there is a limited understanding of the baseline process and often inadequate tools by which to assess it. This can be confounded by narrow redesign team expertise that can result in unanticipated and/or unintended redesign consequences. Interdisciplinary research teams of healthcare, biostatistics, engineering and computer science experts provide broad support for a more effective and safer approach to healthcare process redesign. We describe an interdisciplinary research team focused on medication administration process (MAP)redesign and its achievements and challenges.

  14. 42 CFR 460.102 - Interdisciplinary team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ELDERLY (PACE) PACE Services § 460.102 Interdisciplinary team. (a) Basic requirement. A PACE organization... the following: (i) Managing a participant's medical situations. (ii) Overseeing a participant's use of.... (iii) Documenting changes of a participant's condition in the participant's medical record consistent...

  15. Interdisciplinary Team Teaching versus Departmentalization in Middle Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alspaugh, John W.; Harting, Roger D.

    1998-01-01

    Studied the effects of interdisciplinary teaming versus departmentalization on student achievement in middle schools. Found no significant differences for reading, math, science, and social studies achievement. Results suggest that team teaching merits further investigation as a potential strategy for mediating the student achievement loss…

  16. The rehabilitation team: staff perceptions of the hospital environment, the interdisciplinary team environment, and interprofessional relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strasser, D C; Falconer, J A; Martino-Saltzmann, D

    1994-02-01

    Although inpatient rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary activity organized around a treatment team, there is a limited understanding of the workings of the interdisciplinary process. To elucidate staff perceptions of key aspects of the rehabilitation treatment process, we surveyed staff (n = 113) from selected inpatient teams. The staff completed social psychological instruments that measure perceptions of the hospital environment (The Ward Atmosphere Scale [WAS]), the team's environment (the Group Environment Scale [GES]), and interprofessional relations (Interprofessional Perception Scale [IPS]). Rehabilitation staff generally endorse the team approach, but express concerns over professional boundaries. Interprofessional difficulties seemed to be independent of team membership or professional training. Compared with published data from other settings, rehabilitation teams resembled task-oriented groups, but showed significant differences across teams in their perceptions of the team and hospital environments. The task-oriented character of rehabilitation teams, team-specific characteristics, and discord in interprofessional relationships may need to be considered in studies of rehabilitation teams effectiveness.

  17. Interdisciplinary preceptor teams to improve the clinical nurse leader student experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Penny; Schmidt, Debra; Howington, Lynnette

    2014-01-01

    The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) role was introduced by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in 2003 (AACN, 2003). There are now over 2,500 certified CNLs in the United States. Still some areas of the country have no CNLs in practice; this was true of north central Texas until May 2010 when Texas Christian University (TCU) had its first graduating class. Lack of CNLs to serve as preceptors for the practicum courses in the CNL program was one concern, although AACN does offer options when CNLs are not available. TCU's CNL teaching team developed the interdisciplinary preceptor team (IPT) model to strengthen the practicum component of CNL education at TCU. One advantage of the IPT model is the match it provides with several CNL competencies: lateral integration of care via interdisciplinary teams, member and leader of health care teams, skillful communication within teams, and implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to safe, quality, patient care. Components of the IPT model are discussed with specific information about preceptor selection, team development, and examples of feedback from preceptors and students. © 2014.

  18. Overcoming parochialism: interdisciplinary training of the generalist team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, J A

    1997-01-01

    The work force that will staff most health care systems of the future will include a complex array of professionals working together in teams. The traditional inpatient model of patient care has been only multidisciplinary--nurses, medical social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, and physicians, all interested in each patient, but with divided responsibilities, training formats, and faculties--whereas interdisciplinary teams openly share decision making, expectations for care, goals for the team, and mutual respect.

  19. Strategies for effective collaborative manuscript development in interdisciplinary science teams

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    Oliver, Samantha K.; Fergus, C. Emi; Skaff, Nicholas K.; Wagner, Tyler; Tan, Pang-Ning; Cheruvelil, Kendra Spence; Soranno, Patricia A.

    2018-01-01

    Science is increasingly being conducted in large, interdisciplinary teams. As team size increases, challenges can arise during manuscript development, where achieving one team goal (e.g., inclusivity) may be in direct conflict with other goals (e.g., efficiency). Here, we present strategies for effective collaborative manuscript development that draw from our experiences in an interdisciplinary science team writing collaborative manuscripts for six years. These strategies are rooted in six guiding principles that were important to our team: to create a transparent, inclusive, and accountable research team that promotes and protects team members who have less power to influence decision‐making while fostering creativity and productivity. To help alleviate the conflicts that can arise in collaborative manuscript development, we present the following strategies: understand your team composition, create an authorship policy and discuss authorship early and often, openly announce manuscript ideas, identify and communicate the type of manuscript and lead author management style, and document and describe authorship contributions. These strategies can help reduce the probability of group conflict, uphold individual and team values, achieve fair authorship practices, and increase science productivity.

  20. Three images of interdisciplinary team meetings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crepeau, E B

    1994-08-01

    Teams are an essential aspect of health care today, especially in rehabilitation or chronic illness where the course of care is frequently long, complex, and unpredictable. The coordinative function of teams and their interdisciplinary aspects are thought to improve patient care because team members bring their unique professional skills together to address patient problems. This coordination is enacted through the team meeting, which typically results in an integrated care plan. This professional image of team meetings is explicit and addresses the description and provision of care as objective and rational activities. In contrast, the constructed and ritualistic images of health care team meetings are implicit and concern the less objective and rational aspects of planning care. The constructed image pertains to the definitional activity of team members as they try to understand patient troubles and achieve consensus. This process involves the individual clinical reasoning of team members and the collective reasoning of the group. The ritualistic image is that aspect of team meetings in which the team affirms and reaffirms its collective identity. Drawing from field research of geropsychiatric team meetings, this article defines and explicates these images, focusing on the constructed and ritualistic aspects of team meetings and the influence of these images on group function.

  1. Scientific Retreats with ‘Speed Dating’: Networking to Stimulate New Interdisciplinary Translational Research Collaborations and Team Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberg, Anthony J.; Brady, Kathleen T.; Obeid, Jihad S.; Davis, Randal; Halushka, Perry V.

    2016-01-01

    To stimulate the formation of new interdisciplinary translational research teams and innovative pilot projects, the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute (South Carolina Clinical and Translational Science Award, CTSA) initiated biannual scientific retreats with “speed dating” networking sessions. Retreat themes were prioritized based on the following criteria; cross-cutting topic, unmet medical need, generation of novel technologies and methodologies. Each retreat commences with an external keynote speaker followed by a series of brief research presentations by local researchers focused on the retreat theme, articulating potential areas for new collaborations. After each session of presentations, there is a 30 minute scientific “speed dating” period during which the presenters meet with interested attendees to exchange ideas and discuss collaborations. Retreat attendees are eligible to compete for pilot project funds on the topic of the retreat theme. The 10 retreats held have had a total of 1004 participants, resulted in 61 pilot projects with new interdisciplinary teams, and 14 funded projects. The retreat format has been a successful mechanism to stimulate novel interdisciplinary research teams and innovative translational research projects. Future retreats will continue to target topics of cross-cutting importance to biomedical and public health research. PMID:27807146

  2. Interdisciplinary collaboration within project-level NEPA teams in the US Forest Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    James W. Freeman; Marc J. Stern; Michael Mortimer; Dale J. Blahna; Lee K. Cerveny

    2011-01-01

    Interdisciplinary teamwork has become a foundation of natural resources planning and management in the US. Yet, we know little about the degree of interdisciplinary collaboration of natural resource planning teams. We conducted 10 case studies of Forest Service NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) teams working on projects related to the 2005 Travel Management Rule...

  3. Scientific retreats with 'speed dating': networking to stimulate new interdisciplinary translational research collaborations and team science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranwala, Damayanthi; Alberg, Anthony J; Brady, Kathleen T; Obeid, Jihad S; Davis, Randal; Halushka, Perry V

    2017-02-01

    To stimulate the formation of new interdisciplinary translational research teams and innovative pilot projects, the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research (SCTR) Institute (South Carolina Clinical and Translational Science Award, CTSA) initiated biannual scientific retreats with 'speed dating' networking sessions. Retreat themes were prioritized based on the following criteria; cross-cutting topic, unmet medical need, generation of novel technologies and methodologies. Each retreat begins with an external keynote speaker followed by a series of brief research presentations by local researchers focused on the retreat theme, articulating potential areas for new collaborations. After each session of presentations, there is a 30 min scientific 'speed dating' period during which the presenters meet with interested attendees to exchange ideas and discuss collaborations. Retreat attendees are eligible to compete for pilot project funds on the topic of the retreat theme. The 10 retreats held have had a total of 1004 participants, resulted in 61 pilot projects with new interdisciplinary teams, and 14 funded projects. The retreat format has been a successful mechanism to stimulate novel interdisciplinary research teams and innovative translational research projects. Future retreats will continue to target topics of cross-cutting importance to biomedical and public health research. Copyright © 2016 American Federation for Medical Research.

  4. Team Mentoring for Interdisciplinary Team Science: Lessons From K12 Scholars and Directors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Geller, Stacie; Regensteiner, Judith G; Raymond, Nancy; Nagel, Joan

    2017-02-01

    Mentoring is critical for academic success. As science transitions to a team science model, team mentoring may have advantages. The goal of this study was to understand the process, benefits, and challenges of team mentoring relating to career development and research. A national survey was conducted of Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program directors-current and former scholars from 27 active National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded BIRCWH NIH K12 programs-to characterize and understand the value and challenges of the team approach to mentoring. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Responses were received from 25/27 (93%) program directors, 78/108 (72%) current scholars, and 91/162 (56%) former scholars. Scholars reported that team mentoring was beneficial to their career development (152/169; 90%) and research (148/169; 88%). Reported advantages included a diversity of opinions, expanded networking, development of stronger study designs, and modeling of different career paths. Challenges included scheduling and managing conflicting opinions. Advice by directors offered to junior faculty entering team mentoring included the following: not to be intimidated by senior mentors, be willing to navigate conflicting advice, be proactive about scheduling and guiding discussions, have an open mind to different approaches, be explicit about expectations and mentors' roles (including importance of having a primary mentor to help navigate discussions), and meet in person as a team. These findings suggest that interdisciplinary/interprofessional team mentoring has many important advantages, but that skills are required to optimally utilize multiple perspectives.

  5. An Interdisciplinary Team Project: Psychology and Computer Science Students Create Online Cognitive Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flannery, Kathleen A.; Malita, Mihaela

    2014-01-01

    We present our case study of an interdisciplinary team project for students taking either a psychology or computer science (CS) course. The project required psychology and CS students to combine their knowledge and skills to create an online cognitive task. Each interdisciplinary project team included two psychology students who conducted library…

  6. Knowledge and attitude toward interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in teaching hospitals in South East Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyoke, Chukwuemeka Anthony; Lawani, Lucky Osaheni; Ugwu, George Onyemaechi; Ajah, Leonard Ogbonna; Ezugwu, Euzebus Chinonye; Onah, Paul; Onwuka, Chidinma Ifechi

    2015-01-01

    Interdisciplinary team working could facilitate the efficient provision and coordination of increasingly diverse health services, thereby improving the quality of patient care. The purpose of this study was to describe knowledge of interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in two teaching hospitals in South East Nigeria and to determine their attitude toward an interdisciplinary collaborative approach to patient care in these institutions. This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 17.0 for Windows. In total, 116 doctors participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 31.9±7.0 (range 22-51) years. Approximately 74% of respondents were aware of the concept of interdisciplinary team working. Approximately 15% of respondents who were aware of the concept of interdisciplinary team working had very good knowledge of it; 52% had good knowledge and 33% had poor knowledge. Twenty-nine percent of knowledgeable respondents reported ever receiving formal teaching/training on interdisciplinary team working in the course of their professional development. About 78% of those aware of team working believed that interdisciplinary teams would be useful in obstetrics and gynecology practice in Nigeria, with 89% stating that it would be very useful. Approximately 77% of those aware of team working would support establishment and implementation of interdisciplinary teams at their centers. There was a high degree of knowledge of the concept and a positive attitude toward interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in the study centers. This suggests that the attitude of physicians may not be an impediment to implementation of a collaborative interdisciplinary approach to clinical care in the study centers.

  7. Performance feedback: An exploratory study to examine the acceptability and impact for interdisciplinary primary care teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background This mixed methods study was designed to explore the acceptability and impact of feedback of team performance data to primary care interdisciplinary teams. Methods Seven interdisciplinary teams were offered a one-hour, facilitated performance feedback session presenting data from a comprehensive, previously-conducted evaluation, selecting highlights such as performance on chronic disease management, access, patient satisfaction and team function. Results Several recurrent themes emerged from participants' surveys and two rounds of interviews within three months of the feedback session. Team performance measurement and feedback was welcomed across teams and disciplines. This feedback could build the team, the culture, and the capacity for quality improvement. However, existing performance indicators do not equally reflect the role of different disciplines within an interdisciplinary team. Finally, the effect of team performance feedback on intentions to improve performance was hindered by a poor understanding of how the team could use the data. Conclusions The findings further our understanding of how performance feedback may engage interdisciplinary team members in improving the quality of primary care and the unique challenges specific to these settings. There is a need to develop a shared sense of responsibility and agenda for quality improvement. Therefore, more efforts to develop flexible and interactive performance-reporting structures (that better reflect contributions from all team members) in which teams could specify the information and audience may assist in promoting quality improvement. PMID:21443806

  8. Cocitation or Capacity-Building? Defining Success within an Interdisciplinary, Sustainability Science Team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abby J. Roche

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available To address gaps in knowledge and to tackle complex social–ecological problems, scientific research is moving toward studies that integrate multiple disciplines and ways of knowing to explore all parts of a system. Yet, how these efforts are being measured and how they are deemed successful is an up-and-coming and pertinent conversation within interdisciplinary research spheres. Using a grounded theory approach, this study addresses how members of a sustainability science-focused team at a Northeastern U.S. university funded by a large, National Science Foundation (NSF grant contend with deeply normative dimensions of interdisciplinary research team success. Based on semi-structured interviews (N = 24 with researchers (e.g., faculty and graduate students involved in this expansive, interdisciplinary team, this study uses participants’ narrative accounts to progress our understanding of success on sustainability science teams and addresses the tensions arising between differing visions of success present within the current literature, and perpetuated by U.S. funding agencies like NSF. Study findings reveal that team members are forming definitions of interdisciplinary success that both align with, and depart from, those appearing in the literature. More specifically, some respondents’ notions of team success appear to mirror currently recognized outcomes in traditional academic settings (i.e., purpose driven outcomes—citations, receipt of grant funding, etc.. At the same time, just as many other respondents describe success as involving elements of collaborative research not traditionally acknowledged as a forms of “success” in their own right (i.e., capacity building processes and outcomes—relationship formation, deep understandings of distinct epistemologies, etc.. Study results contribute to more open and informed discussions about how we gauge success within sustainability science collaborations, forming a foundation for

  9. Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Gerontology and Geriatrics in Latin America: Conceptual Approaches and Health Care Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Fernando; Curcio, Carmen Lucia

    2013-01-01

    The underlying rationale to support interdisciplinary collaboration in geriatrics and gerontology is based on the complexity of elderly care. The most important characteristic about interdisciplinary health care teams for older people in Latin America is their subjective-basis framework. In other regions, teams are organized according to a…

  10. Doing Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Health Care Research: Working the Boundaries, Tensions, and Synergistic Potential of Team-Based Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesse-Biber, Sharlene

    2016-04-01

    Current trends in health care research point to a shift from disciplinary models to interdisciplinary team-based mixed methods inquiry designs. This keynote address discusses the problems and prospects of creating vibrant mixed methods health care interdisciplinary research teams that can harness their potential synergy that holds the promise of addressing complex health care issues. We examine the range of factors and issues these types of research teams need to consider to facilitate efficient interdisciplinary mixed methods team-based research. It is argued that concepts such as disciplinary comfort zones, a lack of attention to team dynamics, and low levels of reflexivity among interdisciplinary team members can inhibit the effectiveness of a research team. This keynote suggests a set of effective strategies to address the issues that emanate from the new field of research inquiry known as team science as well as lessons learned from tapping into research on organizational dynamics. © The Author(s) 2016.

  11. A multimethod analysis of shared decision-making in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings including family caregivers.

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    Washington, Karla T; Oliver, Debra Parker; Gage, L Ashley; Albright, David L; Demiris, George

    2016-03-01

    Much of the existing research on shared decision-making in hospice and palliative care focuses on the provider-patient dyad; little is known about shared decision-making that is inclusive of family members of patients with advanced disease. We sought to describe shared decision-making as it occurred in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings that included family caregivers as participants using video-conferencing technology. We conducted a multimethod study in which we used content and thematic analysis techniques to analyze video-recordings of hospice interdisciplinary team meetings (n = 100), individual interviews of family caregivers (n = 73) and hospice staff members (n = 78), and research field notes. Participants in the original studies from which data for this analysis were drawn were hospice family caregivers and staff members employed by one of five different community-based hospice agencies located in the Midwestern United States. Shared decision-making occurred infrequently in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings that included family caregivers. Barriers to shared decision-making included time constraints, communication skill deficits, unaddressed emotional needs, staff absences, and unclear role expectations. The hospice philosophy of care, current trends in healthcare delivery, the interdisciplinary nature of hospice teams, and the designation of a team leader/facilitator supported shared decision-making. The involvement of family caregivers in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings using video-conferencing technology creates a useful platform for shared decision-making; however, steps must be taken to transform family caregivers from meeting attendees to shared decision-makers. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Capstone Interdisciplinary Team Project: A Requirement for the MS in Sustainability Degree

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiji, Latif M.; Schonfeld, Irvin Sam; Smith, George A.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to describe experience gained with a required six-credit year-long course, the Capstone Interdisciplinary Team Project, a key component of the Master of Science (MS) in Sustainability degree at the City College of New York. A common feature of sustainability problems is their interdisciplinary nature. Solutions to…

  13. Beyond Interdisciplinary Teaming: Findings and Implications of the NASSP National Middle Level Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackmann, Donald G.; Petzko, Vicki N.; Valentine, Jerry W.; Clark, Donald C.; Nori, John R.; Lucas, Stephen E.

    2002-01-01

    Reports trends and implications of interdisciplinary teaming practices in middle schools, based on findings from a national survey. Noting that nearly 80 percent of schools currently implement teaming, challenges principals and teachers to move beyond simple formation of teams to the creation of an infrastructure that supports high-performing…

  14. Impact of crisis resource management simulation-based training for interprofessional and interdisciplinary teams: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fung, Lillia; Boet, Sylvain; Bould, M Dylan; Qosa, Haytham; Perrier, Laure; Tricco, Andrea; Tavares, Walter; Reeves, Scott

    2015-01-01

    Crisis resource management (CRM) abilities are important for different healthcare providers to effectively manage critical clinical events. This study aims to review the effectiveness of simulation-based CRM training for interprofessional and interdisciplinary teams compared to other instructional methods (e.g., didactics). Interprofessional teams are composed of several professions (e.g., nurse, physician, midwife) while interdisciplinary teams are composed of several disciplines from the same profession (e.g., cardiologist, anaesthesiologist, orthopaedist). Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ERIC were searched using terms related to CRM, crisis management, crew resource management, teamwork, and simulation. Trials comparing simulation-based CRM team training versus any other methods of education were included. The educational interventions involved interprofessional or interdisciplinary healthcare teams. The initial search identified 7456 publications; 12 studies were included. Simulation-based CRM team training was associated with significant improvements in CRM skill acquisition in all but two studies when compared to didactic case-based CRM training or simulation without CRM training. Of the 12 included studies, one showed significant improvements in team behaviours in the workplace, while two studies demonstrated sustained reductions in adverse patient outcomes after a single simulation-based CRM team intervention. In conclusion, CRM simulation-based training for interprofessional and interdisciplinary teams show promise in teaching CRM in the simulator when compared to didactic case-based CRM education or simulation without CRM teaching. More research, however, is required to demonstrate transfer of learning to workplaces and potential impact on patient outcomes.

  15. From words to action: visibility of management in supporting interdisciplinary team working in an acute rehabilitative geriatric hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buttigieg, Sandra C; Cassar, Vincent; Scully, Judy W

    2013-01-01

    The following case study aims to explore management's, health professionals' and patients' experiences on the extent to which there is visibility of management support in achieving effective interdisciplinary team working, which is explicitly declared in the mission statement of a 60-bed acute rehabilitative geriatric hospital in Malta. A total of 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the above-mentioned key stakeholders. Three main distinct yet interdependent themes emerged as a result of thematic analysis: "managing a team-friendly hospital", "interdisciplinary team components", and "interdisciplinary team processes". The findings show that visibility of management support and its alignment with the process and content levels of interdisciplinary teamwork are key to integrated care for acute rehabilitative geriatric patients. The emerging phenomena may not be reproducible in a different context; although many of the emerging themes could be comfortably matched with the existing literature. The implications are geared towards raising the consciousness and conscientiousness of good practice in interdisciplinary teamwork in hospitals, as well as in emphasizing organizational and management support as crucial factors for team-based organizations. Interdisciplinary teamwork in acute rehabilitative geriatrics provides optimal quality and integrated health care delivery with the aim that the older persons are successfully discharged back to the community. The authors draw on solid theoretical frameworks--the complexity theory, team effectiveness model and the social identity theory--to support their major finding, namely the alignment of organizational and management support with intra-team factors at the process and content level.

  16. An exploration of knowledge integration problems in interdisciplinary research teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bayerl, P.S.; Steinheider, B.

    2009-01-01

    The integration of function-specific expertise into a shared knowledge base is a crucial, but complex process for success in interdisciplinary teams. This paper presents an empirically derived typology of knowledge integration problems and links their occurrence to degree of heterogeneity and

  17. Bridges and Barriers to Developing and Conducting Interdisciplinary Graduate-Student Team Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wayde Cameron. Morse

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding complex socio-environmental problems requires specialists from multiple disciplines to integrate research efforts. Programs such as the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship facilitate integrated research efforts and change the way academic institutions train future leaders and scientists. The University of Idaho and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Costa Rica collaborate on a joint research program focusing on biodiversity conservation and sustainable production in fragmented landscapes. We first present a spectrum of integration ranging from disciplinary to transdisciplinary across seven aspects of the research process. We then describe our experiences and lessons learned conducting interdisciplinary graduate student team research. Using our program as a case study, we examine the individual, disciplinary, and programmatic bridges and barriers to conducting interdisciplinary research that emerged during our student team research projects. We conclude with a set of recommendations for exploiting the bridges and overcoming the barriers to conducting interdisciplinary research, especially as part of graduate education programs.

  18. Improving the Interdisciplinary Team Work in the Operating Room

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tørring, Birgitte

    In surgical teams, where health professionals are highly interdependent and work under time pressure, it is of particular importance that the team work is well-functioning to secure treatment quality and patient safety. Using the theory of relational coordination (RC) may be the key to unlocking...... the black box of teamwork in search for relational elements critical to successful collaboration and communication. Few single studies exists which explore how RC could be observed and improved in this context. The present study examines surgical teams in selected operating rooms (OR) focusing on RC...... period in 2014 in two orthopedic surgical wards in a university hospital. A directed content analysis on the basis of theory of RC is used to transform the data to show different typologies of interdisciplinary team work. RC was subsequently measured using the RC Survey. Data describe very complex...

  19. Interdisciplinary collaboration in gerontology and geriatrics in Latin America: conceptual approaches and health care teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Fernando; Curcio, Carmen Lucia

    2013-01-01

    The underlying rationale to support interdisciplinary collaboration in geriatrics and gerontology is based on the complexity of elderly care. The most important characteristic about interdisciplinary health care teams for older people in Latin America is their subjective-basis framework. In other regions, teams are organized according to a theoretical knowledge basis with well-justified priorities, functions, and long-term goals, in Latin America teams are arranged according to subjective interests on solving their problems. Three distinct approaches of interdisciplinary collaboration in gerontology are proposed. The first approach is grounded in the scientific rationalism of European origin. Denominated "logical-rational approach," its core is to identify the significance of knowledge. The second approach is grounded in pragmatism and is more associated with a North American tradition. The core of this approach consists in enhancing the skills and competences of each participant; denominated "logical-instrumental approach." The third approach denominated "logical-subjective approach" has a Latin America origin. Its core consists in taking into account the internal and emotional dimensions of the team. These conceptual frameworks based in geographical contexts will permit establishing the differences and shared characteristics of interdisciplinary collaboration in geriatrics and gerontology to look for operational answers to solve the "complex problems" of older adults.

  20. Interdisciplinarity and Team Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, William M.; LeBold, William K.

    1975-01-01

    Describes eight experimental courses in a series called the Man Series, instituted at Purdue University to improve the social dimensions of engineering education. Each course is team taught by engineering, humanities, and social science faculty members and is interdisciplinary in nature. (MLH)

  1. Impact of a Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Educational Program for Interdisciplinary Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murgu, Septimiu; Rabito, Robb; Lasko, Greg; Jackson, Chad; Mino-Kenudson, Mari; Ettinger, David S; Ramalingam, Suresh S; Edell, Eric S

    2018-04-01

    Successful implementation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) evidence-based guideline recommendations requires effective educational programs that target all clinicians from interdisciplinary teams. This study describes and evaluates the Engaging an Interdisciplinary Team for NSCLC (GAIN 3.0) experiential learning-based educational curriculum. GAIN 3.0 was designed to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration for effective NSCLC diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. The program used a flipped classroom model that included an e-learning component prior to a live 6-hour interactive program. The interactive program included hands-on simulations, small group workshops, gamification, and case discussions. Participants included academic and community members of multidisciplinary lung cancer teams. Assessments included an online baseline survey, a pretest and posttest, a program evaluation, a long-term survey (LTS), and on-site faculty evaluation of participants. Of 416 attendees to 13 live GAIN 3.0 programs (nine in the United States and four in Europe), 304 (73%) completed the pretest and 187 (45%) completed the posttest. Out of a perfect score of 12 points, program participants had a mean test score of 6.3 ± 2.1 on the pretest (52%) and 7.8 ± 2.1 on the posttest (65%) (P = .03). There was an overall knowledge increase of 13% from pretest to posttest. Most LTS respondents (65%) rated the GAIN 3.0 live programs as "high impact." On the LTS, the areas with the greatest gains in participants who had very high confidence were communication across disciplines, use of a team-based approach, and personalized treatment. GAIN 3.0 was a highly successful interdisciplinary activity that improved participants' knowledge, competence, and likely the clinical care provided to patients with NSCLC. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. The Geology and Sociology of Consumption: Team-Teaching Sustainability in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Emily O.; Davis, Emily Calhoun

    2017-01-01

    The complex consequences of current consumption practices, such as climate change and ecosystem degradation, necessitate increased interdisciplinary exploration. In order to raise student awareness of these consumption-related issues, we designed a first-year team-taught seminar on sustainability. This innovative interdisciplinary course links…

  3. Distant yet Near: Promoting Interdisciplinary Learning in Significantly Diverse Teams through Socially Responsible Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adya, Monica; Temple, Bryan K.; Hepburn, Donald M.

    2015-01-01

    With global specialization of work units within organizations, interdisciplinary work practices comprised of collaborative efforts between technical and business teams are increasingly common in today's workplace. While higher education has responded by creating opportunities for remote teams to learn from collaborative work, occasions for…

  4. Assessing the facilitators and barriers of interdisciplinary team working in primary care using normalisation process theory: An integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Reilly, Pauline; Lee, Siew Hwa; O'Sullivan, Madeleine; Cullen, Walter; Kennedy, Catriona; MacFarlane, Anne

    2017-01-01

    Interdisciplinary team working is of paramount importance in the reform of primary care in order to provide cost-effective and comprehensive care. However, international research shows that it is not routine practice in many healthcare jurisdictions. It is imperative to understand levers and barriers to the implementation process. This review examines interdisciplinary team working in practice, in primary care, from the perspective of service providers and analyses 1 barriers and facilitators to implementation of interdisciplinary teams in primary care and 2 the main research gaps. An integrative review following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Following a search of 10 international databases, 8,827 titles were screened for relevance and 49 met the criteria. Quality of evidence was appraised using predetermined criteria. Data were analysed following the principles of framework analysis using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), which has four constructs: sense making, enrolment, enactment, and appraisal. The literature is dominated by a focus on interdisciplinary working between physicians and nurses. There is a dearth of evidence about all NPT constructs apart from enactment. Physicians play a key role in encouraging the enrolment of others in primary care team working and in enabling effective divisions of labour in the team. The experience of interdisciplinary working emerged as a lever for its implementation, particularly where communication and respect were strong between professionals. A key lever for interdisciplinary team working in primary care is to get professionals working together and to learn from each other in practice. However, the evidence base is limited as it does not reflect the experiences of all primary care professionals and it is primarily about the enactment of team working. We need to know much more about the experiences of the full network of primary care professionals regarding all aspects of implementation work. International

  5. Interdisciplinary Educational Approaches to Promote Team-Based Geriatrics and Palliative Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Judith L.; Sherman, Deborah Witt

    2006-01-01

    Despite the increasing public demand for enhanced care of older patients and those with life-threatening illness, health professionals have had limited formal education in geriatrics and palliative care. Furthermore, formal education in interdisciplinary team training is limited. In order to remedy this situation, proactive interventions are being…

  6. Interdisciplinary team working in physical and rehabilitation medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Vera; Gutenbrunner, Christoph; Fialka-Moser, Veronika; Christodoulou, Nicolas; Varela, Enrique; Giustini, Alessandro; Delarque, Alain

    2010-01-01

    Effective team working plays a crucial role in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM). As part of its role of optimizing and harmonizing clinical practice across Europe, the Professional Practice Committee of Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS) Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) Section reviewed patterns of team working and debated recommendations for good practice at a meeting of national UEMS delegates held in Riga, Latvia, in September 2008. This consensus statement is derived from that discussion and from a review of the literature concerning team working. Effective team working produces better patient outcomes (including better survival rates) in a range of disorders, notably following stroke. There is limited published evidence concerning what constitute the key components of successful teams in PRM programmes. However, the theoretical basis for good team working has been well-described in other settings and includes agreed aims, agreement and understanding on how best to achieve these, a multi-professional team with an appropriate range of knowledge and skills, mutual trust and respect, willingness to share knowledge and expertise and to speak openly. UEMS PRM Section strongly recommends this pattern of working. PRM specialists have an essential role to play in interdisciplinary teams; their training and specific expertise enable them to diagnose and assess severity of health problems, a prerequisite for safe intervention. Training spans 4-5 years in Europe, and includes knowledge and critical analysis of evidence-based rehabilitation strategies. PRM physicians are therefore well-placed to coordinate PRM programmes and to develop and evaluate new management strategies. Their broad training also means that they are able to take a holistic view of an individual patient's care.

  7. Challenges in interdisciplinary weight management in primary care: lessons learned from the 5As Team study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asselin, J; Osunlana, A M; Ogunleye, A A; Sharma, A M; Campbell-Scherer, D

    2016-04-01

    Increasingly, research is directed at advancing methods to address obesity management in primary care. In this paper we describe the role of interdisciplinary collaboration, or lack thereof, in patient weight management within 12 teams in a large primary care network in Alberta, Canada. Qualitative data for the present analysis were derived from the 5As Team (5AsT) trial, a mixed-method randomized control trial of a 6-month participatory, team-based educational intervention aimed at improving the quality and quantity of obesity management encounters in primary care practice. Participants (n = 29) included in this analysis are healthcare providers supporting chronic disease management in 12 family practice clinics randomized to the intervention arm of the 5AsT trial including mental healthcare workers (n = 7), registered dietitians (n = 7), registered nurses or nurse practitioners (n = 15). Participants were part of a 6-month intervention consisting of 12 biweekly learning sessions aimed at increasing provider knowledge and confidence in addressing patient weight management. Qualitative methods included interviews, structured field notes and logs. Four common themes of importance in the ability of healthcare providers to address weight with patients within an interdisciplinary care team emerged, (i) Availability; (ii) Referrals; (iii) Role perception and (iv) Messaging. However, we find that what was key to our participants was not that these issues be uniformly agreed upon by all team members, but rather that communication and clinic relationships support their continued negotiation. Our study shows that firm clinic relationships and deliberate communication strategies are the foundation of interdisciplinary care in weight management. Furthermore, there is a clear need for shared messaging concerning obesity and its treatment between members of interdisciplinary teams. © 2016 World Obesity.

  8. Restructuring Vocational Special Needs Education through Interdisciplinary Team Effort: Local Motion in the Pacific Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Garnett J.; Stodden, Robert A.

    1994-01-01

    The Restructuring through Interdisciplinary Team Effort project focuses on changing the culture and structure of vocational special needs education in the Pacific Basin. Its three dimensions are cognitive core (best practices, outcome-focused design, strategic planning); team network of stakeholders; and systemic renewal (school-to-work…

  9. Assessing the facilitators and barriers of interdisciplinary team working in primary care using normalisation process theory: An integrative review

    Science.gov (United States)

    O’Reilly, Pauline; Lee, Siew Hwa; O’Sullivan, Madeleine; Cullen, Walter; Kennedy, Catriona; MacFarlane, Anne

    2017-01-01

    Background Interdisciplinary team working is of paramount importance in the reform of primary care in order to provide cost-effective and comprehensive care. However, international research shows that it is not routine practice in many healthcare jurisdictions. It is imperative to understand levers and barriers to the implementation process. This review examines interdisciplinary team working in practice, in primary care, from the perspective of service providers and analyses 1 barriers and facilitators to implementation of interdisciplinary teams in primary care and 2 the main research gaps. Methods and findings An integrative review following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Following a search of 10 international databases, 8,827 titles were screened for relevance and 49 met the criteria. Quality of evidence was appraised using predetermined criteria. Data were analysed following the principles of framework analysis using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), which has four constructs: sense making, enrolment, enactment, and appraisal. The literature is dominated by a focus on interdisciplinary working between physicians and nurses. There is a dearth of evidence about all NPT constructs apart from enactment. Physicians play a key role in encouraging the enrolment of others in primary care team working and in enabling effective divisions of labour in the team. The experience of interdisciplinary working emerged as a lever for its implementation, particularly where communication and respect were strong between professionals. Conclusion A key lever for interdisciplinary team working in primary care is to get professionals working together and to learn from each other in practice. However, the evidence base is limited as it does not reflect the experiences of all primary care professionals and it is primarily about the enactment of team working. We need to know much more about the experiences of the full network of primary care professionals regarding all aspects

  10. The Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory: A Student Team Approach to the Fourth-Year Research Thesis Project Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piunno, Paul A. E.; Boyd, Cleo; Barzda, Virginijus; Gradinaru, Claudiu C.; Krull, Ulrich J.; Stefanovic, Sasa; Stewart, Bryan

    2014-01-01

    The advanced interdisciplinary research laboratory (AIRLab) represents a novel, effective, and motivational course designed from the interdisciplinary research interests of chemistry, physics, biology, and education development faculty members as an alternative to the independent thesis project experience. Student teams are assembled to work…

  11. How best to structure interdisciplinary primary care teams: the study protocol for a systematic review with narrative framework synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wranik, W Dominika; Hayden, Jill A; Price, Sheri; Parker, Robin M N; Haydt, Susan M; Edwards, Jeanette M; Suter, Esther; Katz, Alan; Gambold, Liesl L; Levy, Adrian R

    2016-10-04

    Western publicly funded health care systems increasingly rely on interdisciplinary teams to support primary care delivery and management of chronic conditions. This knowledge synthesis focuses on what is known in the academic and grey literature about optimal structural characteristics of teams. Its goal is to assess which factors contribute to the effective functioning of interdisciplinary primary care teams and improved health system outcomes, with specific focus on (i) team structure contribution to team process, (ii) team process contribution to primary care goals, and (iii) team structure contribution to primary care goals. The systematic search of academic literature focuses on four chronic conditions and co-morbidities. Within this scope, qualitative and quantitative studies that assess the effects of team characteristics (funding, governance, organization) on care process and patient outcomes will be searched. Electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PAIS, Web of Science) will be searched systematically. Online web-based searches will be supported by the Grey Matters Tool. Studies will be included, if they report on interdisciplinary primary care in publicly funded Western health systems, and address the relationships between team structure, process, and/or patient outcomes. Studies will be selected in a three-stage screening process (title/abstract/full text) by two independent reviewers in each stage. Study quality will be assessed using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool. An a priori framework will be applied to data extraction, and a narrative framework approach is used for the synthesis. Using an integrated knowledge translation approach, an electronic decision support tool will be developed for decision makers. It will be searchable along two axes of inquiry: (i) what primary care goals are supported by specific team characteristics and (ii) how should teams be structured to support specific primary care goals? The results of this evidence

  12. The codesign of an interdisciplinary team-based intervention regarding initiating palliative care in pediatric oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Douglas L; Walter, Jennifer K; Casas, Jessica A; DiDomenico, Concetta; Szymczak, Julia E; Feudtner, Chris

    2018-04-07

    Children with advanced cancer are often not referred to palliative or hospice care before they die or are only referred close to the child's death. The goals of the current project were to learn about pediatric oncology team members' perspectives on palliative care, to collaborate with team members to modify and tailor three separate interdisciplinary team-based interventions regarding initiating palliative care, and to assess the feasibility of this collaborative approach. We used a modified version of experience-based codesign (EBCD) involving members of the pediatric palliative care team and three interdisciplinary pediatric oncology teams (Bone Marrow Transplant, Neuro-Oncology, and Solid Tumor) to review and tailor materials for three team-based interventions. Eleven pediatric oncology team members participated in four codesign sessions to discuss their experiences with initiating palliative care and to review the proposed intervention including patient case studies, techniques for managing uncertainty and negative emotions, role ambiguity, system-level barriers, and team communication and collaboration. The codesign process showed that the participants were strong supporters of palliative care, members of different teams had preferences for different materials that would be appropriate for their teams, and that while participants reported frustration with timing of palliative care, they had difficulty suggesting how to change current practices. The current project demonstrated the feasibility of collaborating with pediatric oncology clinicians to develop interventions about introducing palliative care. The procedures and results of this project will be posted online so that other institutions can use them as a model for developing similar interventions appropriate for their needs.

  13. The work ability divide: holistic and reductionistic approaches in Swedish interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ståhl, Christian; Svensson, Tommy; Petersson, Gunilla; Ekberg, Kerstin

    2009-09-01

    Stakeholder cooperation in return to work has been increasingly emphasised in research, while studies on how such cooperation works in practise are scarce. This article investigates the relationship between professionals in Swedish interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams, and the aim of the article is to determine the participants' definitions and uses of the concept of work ability. The methods chosen were individual interviews with primary health care centre managers and focus groups with twelve interdisciplinary teams including social insurance officers, physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers and coordinators. The results show that the teams have had problems with reaching a common understanding of their task, due to an inherent tension between the stakeholders. This tension is primarily a result of two factors: divergent perspectives on work ability between the health professionals and the Social Insurance Agency, and different approaches to cooperative work among physicians. Health professionals share a holistic view on work ability, relating it to a variety of factors. Social insurance officers, on the other hand, represent a reductionistic stance, where work ability is reduced to medical status. Assessments of work ability therefore tend to become a negotiation between insurance officers and physicians. A suggestion from the study is that the teams, with proper education, could be used as an arena for planning and coordinating return-to-work, which would strengthen their potential in managing the prevention of work disability.

  14. Interdisciplinary Team-Teaching Experience for a Computer and Nuclear Energy Course for Electrical and Computer Engineering Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Charles; Jackson, Deborah; Keiller, Peter

    2016-01-01

    A new, interdisciplinary, team-taught course has been designed to educate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) so that they can respond to global and urgent issues concerning computer control systems in nuclear power plants. This paper discusses our experience and assessment of the interdisciplinary computer and nuclear energy…

  15. Clinical social work roles in an integrative, interdisciplinary team: enhancing parental compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terry, P O

    1981-01-01

    This paper is directed toward those attempting to develop effective social work functions within an interdisciplinary treatment team and utilizes a specialized group as a demonstration model. The Inborn Errors of Metabolism Team at the University of Tennessee Child Development Center deals with children whose genetic disorders require precise dietary management for the prevention of various handicapping conditions including mental retardation. Representatives of the six disciplines forming the core team recognize that professional interdependence must combine with parental cooperation if the program is to succeed. The clinical social worker is a permanent member of the team and focuses on the family during the years each child is followed. Social work roles are multiple and include those of crisis interventionist, family therapist, marriage counselor, patient advocate, and team interpreter. Such social work involvement is essential in the holistic approach to long-term patient care which recognizes that no disorder exists apart from the patient, nor the patient from his family.

  16. Interdisciplinary Health Team Care: Proceedings of the Annual Conference (8th, Columbus, Ohio, September 18-20, 1986).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, Marjorie L., Ed.; Casto, R. Michael, Ed.

    The following are among the 40 papers included in this proceedings: "Code of Ethics for Interdisciplinary Care" (Thomasma); "Training Model for Increasing Team Excellence and Efficiency" (Clayton, Lund); "Organizational Structures of Health Care Teams" (Farrell, Schmitt, Heinemann); "Nutrition Support Practice" (Johnson); "Dividing up the Work on…

  17. Early Career Summer Interdisciplinary Team Experiences and Student Persistence in STEM Fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadavid, A. C.; Pedone, V. A.; Horn, W.; Rich, H.

    2015-12-01

    STEPS (Students Targeting Engineering and Physical Science) is an NSF-funded program designed to increase the number of California State University Northridge students getting bachelor's degrees in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering and computer science. The greatest loss of STEM majors occurs between sophomore and junior- years, so we designed Summer Interdisciplinary Team Experience (SITE) as an early career program for these students. Students work closely with a faculty mentor in teams of ten to investigate regionally relevant problems, many of which relate to sustainability efforts on campus or the community. The projects emphasize hands-on activities and team-based learning and decision making. We report data for five years of projects, qualitative assessment through entrance and exit surveys and student interviews, and in initial impact on retention of the participants.

  18. Funding and remuneration of interdisciplinary primary care teams in Canada: a conceptual framework and application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wranik, W Dominika; Haydt, Susan M; Katz, Alan; Levy, Adrian R; Korchagina, Maryna; Edwards, Jeanette M; Bower, Ian

    2017-05-15

    Reliance on interdisciplinary teams in the delivery of primary care is on the rise. Funding bodies strive to design financial environments that support collaboration between providers. At present, the design of financial arrangements has been fragmented and not based on evidence. The root of the problem is a lack of systematic evidence demonstrating the superiority of any particular financial arrangement, or a solid understanding of options. In this study we develop a framework for the conceptualization and analysis of financial arrangements in interdisciplinary primary care teams. We use qualitative data from three sources: (i) interviews with 19 primary care decision makers representing 215 clinics in three Canadian provinces, (ii) a research roundtable with 14 primary care decision makers and/or researchers, and (iii) policy documents. Transcripts from interviews and the roundtable were coded thematically and a framework synthesis approach was applied. Our conceptual framework differentiates between team level funding and provider level remuneration, and characterizes the interplay and consonance between them. Particularly the notions of hierarchy, segregation, and dependence of provider incomes, and the link between funding and team activities are introduced as new clarifying concepts, and their implications explored. The framework is applied to the analysis of collaboration incentives, which appear strongest when provider incomes are interdependent, funding is linked to the team as a whole, and accountability does not have multiple lines. Emergent implementation issues discussed by respondents include: (i) centrality of budget negotiations; (ii) approaches to patient rostering; (iii) unclear funding sources for space and equipment; and (iv) challenges with community engagement. The creation of patient rosters is perceived as a surprisingly contentious issue, and the challenges of funding for space and equipment remain unresolved. The development and

  19. Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration during Discharge of Depressed Older Persons: A Norwegian Qualitative Implementation Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Lise Holm

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to deliver effective care, it is necessary to organise interdisciplinary activities for older persons who suffer from depressive disorders. This paper evaluated the interdisciplinary team members’ perceptions of cooperation in the discharge planning of depressed older persons based on the Chronic Care Model (CCM. A qualitative implementation design was used, data were collected by means of multistage focus groups, and a thematic analysis was performed. Three themes emerged: lack of effective team leadership in the community, the need to change the delivery system, and enhancing self-management support for depressed older persons as well as the participation of their families. It was concluded that nurse managers must find ways of supporting the depressed older persons by better structuring the care, increasing cooperation with organisational leadership, and creating an environment characterised by trust and mutual respect. Distrust can have serious implications for discharge planning collaboration. The development of a common vision of transparency in the organization is important as is a policy of change among leadership and in clinical practice.

  20. Team Teaching an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar on Magic, Religion, and the Origins of Science: A "Pieces-to-Picture" Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nungsari, Melati; Dedrick, Maia; Patel, Shaily

    2017-01-01

    Interdisciplinary teaching has been advocated as a means to foster cooperation between traditionally separate fields and broaden students' perspectives in the classroom. We explored the pedagogical difficulties of interdisciplinary team teaching through a first-year seminar in magic, religion, and the origins of science. Although many accounts in…

  1. Improving Interdisciplinary Relationships in Primary Care with the Implementation of TeamSTEPPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole Siddons

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge in healthcare is lack of interdisciplinary collaboration (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008. The Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System (1999, shows that errors often occur due to lapses in partnership and communication. This article describes the implementation of TeamSTEPPS, an evidence-based tool for optimizing staff relationships and partnership, in a clinic in which a change in the care model had affected interprofessional collaboration and teamwork, threatening healthcare outcomes and staff engagement. The implementation of TeamSTEPPS, customized using elements of IDEO’s (2015 Human-Centered Design, shifted the culture of the clinic towards partnership, resulting in improved staff perceptions of teamwork and statistically significant improvements in the quality of patient care.

  2. The Work Ability Divide : Holistic and Reductionistic Approaches in Swedish Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Teams

    OpenAIRE

    Ståhl, Christian; Svensson, Tommy; Petersson, Gunilla; Ekberg, Kerstin

    2009-01-01

    Stakeholder cooperation in return to work has been increasingly emphasised in research, while studies on how such cooperation works in practise are scarce. This article investigates the relationship between professionals in Swedish interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams, and the aim of the article is to determine the participants’ definitions and uses of the concept of work ability. Methods The methods chosen were individual interviews with primary health care centre managers and focus groups...

  3. Promoting Interdisciplinary Research among Faculty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Elena; Zhao, Weinan; Reiser, Robert A.

    2014-01-01

    With the growing recognition of the importance of interdisciplinary research, many faculty have increased their efforts to form interdisciplinary research teams. Oftentimes, attempts to put together such teams are hampered because faculty have a limited picture of the research interests and expertise of their colleagues. This paper reports on…

  4. [Experience of a nursing student in an interdisciplinary team: factory of ideas].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaie, S; Barros, S

    2001-06-01

    The experience of the Curricular Training in a mental health work attendance to out-patients, CAPS, lead to this study development in the attempt to understand and characterize interdisciplinary team in this institution, as well as to understand the admittance of a nursing student in this team. The analysis of the replies disclosed that in the reports is found the concept of interdiscipline as well as of the multidiscipline (work in compartments). The conception which has of the model of assistance and of the admittance of the project in it is compatible with the conceptions that establish the description of the work: flexibility, the projects inter-relation the enlarged practice and the psychosocial rehabilitation. The fact that the service has a Program of lecturing--Assistance Integration, "naturalizes" and validates the participation of a nursing student in the projects of assistance or sociability.

  5. Systems innovation model: an integrated interdisciplinary team approach pre- and post-bariatric surgery at a veterans affairs (VA) medical center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenberg, Dan; Lohnberg, Jessica A; Kubat, Eric P; Bates, Cheryl C; Greenberg, Lauren M; Frayne, Susan M

    2017-04-01

    Provision of bariatric surgery in the Veterans Health Administration must account for obese veterans' co-morbidity burden and the geographically dispersed location of patients relative to Veterans Affairs (VA) bariatric centers. To evaluate a collaborative, integrated, interdisciplinary bariatric team of surgeons, bariatricians, psychologists, dieticians, and physical therapists working in a hub-and-spokes care model, for pre- and post-bariatric surgery assessment and management. This is a description of an interdisciplinary clinic and bariatric program at a VA healthcare system and a report on program evaluation findings. Retrospective data of a prospective database was abstracted. For program evaluation, we abstracted charts to characterize patient data and conducted a patient survey. Since 2009, 181 veterans have undergone bariatric surgery. Referrals came from 7 western U.S. states. Mean preoperative body mass index was 46 kg/m 2 (maximum 71). Mean age was 53 years, with 33% aged>60 years; 79% were male. Medical co-morbidity included diabetes (70%), hypertension (85%), and lower back or extremity joint pain (84%). A psychiatric diagnosis was present in 58%. At 12 months, follow-up was 81% and percent excess body mass index loss was 50.5%. Among 54 sequential clinic patients completing anonymous surveys, overall satisfaction with the interdisciplinary team approach and improved quality of life were high (98% and 94%, respectively). The integrated, interdisciplinary team approach using a hub-and-spokes model is well suited to the VA bariatric surgery population, with its heavy burden of medical and mental health co-morbidity and its system of geographically dispersed patients receiving treatment at specialty centers. As the VA seeks to expand the use of bariatric surgery as an option for obese veterans, interdisciplinary models crafted to address case complexity, care coordination, and long-term outcomes should be part of policy planning efforts. Published by

  6. Knowledge flow and exchange in interdisciplinary primary health care teams (PHCTs): an exploratory study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibbald, Shannon L.; Wathen, C. Nadine; Kothari, Anita; Day, Adam M. B.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Improving the process of evidence-based practice in primary health care requires an understanding of information exchange among colleagues. This study explored how clinically oriented research knowledge flows through multidisciplinary primary health care teams (PHCTs) and influences clinical decisions. Methods: This was an exploratory mixed-methods study with members of six PHCTs in Ontario, Canada. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed with social network analysis (SNA) using UCINet. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed with content analysis procedures using NVivo8. Results: It was found that obtaining research knowledge was perceived to be a shared responsibility among team members, whereas its application in patient care was seen as the responsibility of the team leader, usually the senior physician. PHCT members acknowledged the need for resources for information access, synthesis, interpretation, or management. Conclusion: Information sharing in interdisciplinary teams is a complex and multifaceted process. Specific interventions need to be improved such as formalizing modes of communication, better organizing knowledge-sharing activities, and improving the active use of allied health professionals. Despite movement toward team-based models, senior physicians are often gatekeepers of uptake of new evidence and changes in practice. PMID:23646028

  7. Contributions to clinical Occupational Therapy in the area of early intervention in interdisciplinary team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dani Laura Peruzzolo

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Specialized care for infants considers that the sooner the intervention in risk and symptoms occurs, the greater the possibility of obtaining better results. Aims: To describe the process of early intervention provided by an extension program of graduate studies in Occupational Therapy and Hearing, Speech and Languages Science courses and also discuss the theoretical and practical paths in the care for infants and in the Occupational Therapy area. Method: Case report with convenience sample. The study was carried out through an assessment interpreted in light of psychomotor, occupational therapeutic, and speech, hearing and language contributions. The intervention was under the responsibility of an occupational therapist supported by an interdisciplinary team. It occurred once a week from August 2011 to January 2012 and from March 2012 to July 2012. Data analysis was carried out by comparing the entry assessment test and the final assessment test. Results: The boy had not developed concepts of body schema and body image that could sustain his relationship with objects, space and other persons. He presented little linguistic evolution. Considering the contributions of occupational therapy in psychomotor clinic, the boy reconstructed his family place in early intervention. The possibility of language functioning connected to the boy’s demands allowed access to symbolism. Conclusion: The proposal of early occupational therapy intervention with a single therapist supported by an interdisciplinary team was able to overcome the structural and instrumental obstacles to the boy’s development.

  8. Interdisciplinary teamwork: is the influence of emotional intelligence fully appreciated?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCallin, Antoinette; Bamford, Anita

    2007-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to discuss how emotional intelligence affects interdisciplinary team effectiveness. Some findings from a larger study on interdisciplinary teamworking are discussed. Teams are often evaluated for complementary skill mix and expertise that are integrated for specialist service delivery. Interactional skills and emotional intelligence also affect team behaviour and performance. An effective team needs both emotional intelligence and expertise, including technical, clinical, social and interactional skills, so that teamwork becomes greater or lesser than the whole, depending on how well individuals work together. Team diversity, individuality and personality differences, and interprofessional safety are analysed to raise awareness for nurse managers of the complexity of interdisciplinary working relationships. If nursing input into interdisciplinary work is to be maximized, nurse managers might consider the role of emotional intelligence in influencing team effectiveness, the quality of client care, staff retention and job satisfaction.

  9. Learning about the educational uses of the internet by producing an educational web site in an interdisciplinary and virtual team

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taconis, R.; Verhoef, N.; Bakx, A.W.E.A.; Dehing, A.J.M.

    2003-01-01

    The 'ICT-2000' project at the University Teacher Training Department for Science and Technology (TULO) at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, puts student teachers to work in a productivelearning task. Student teachers at different TULO locations cooperate in an interdisciplinary team

  10. Report on an interdisciplinary program for allied health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peloquin, S M; Cavazos, H; Marion, R; Stephenson, K S; Pearrow, D

    2007-11-01

    A central recommendation from the Pew Health Commission to educators has been to empower future care providers to function effectively as teams. Administrators and faculty members within a school of allied health sciences thus established an interdisciplinary program where students would learn to function as team members and demonstrate competencies required for practice in diverse, demanding, and continually changing health care environments. Students from five disciplines have participated in featured events, mentored activities and capstone projects, earning credit in an interdisciplinary course of study that complements offerings in their home disciplines. This follow-up article reports on the progress and development since 2002 of an interdisciplinary program known as Team IDEAL. Formative evaluation measures used to assess satisfaction with the program are presented alongside a discussion of new directions. Team IDEAL will move forward in a streamlined form that reflects its central aim. IDEAL leadership will remain cognizant of the effects of discipline-specific curricular changes, complex programming, and student perspectives on the process interdisciplinary education.

  11. The interdisciplinary team in type 2 diabetes management: Challenges and best practice solutions from real-world scenarios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret McGill

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Global Partnership for Effective Diabetes Management has previously recommended the implementation of an interdisciplinary team (IDT approach to type 2 diabetes (T2DM management as one of 10 practical steps for health care professionals to help more people achieve their glycaemic goal. This article discusses some of the key contributors to success and also the challenges faced when applying IDT care, by examining case studies and examples from around the world. The real-world practices discussed show that implementing successful interdisciplinary care in diabetes is possible despite significant barriers such as established hierarchal structures and financial resource constraints. Instituting collaborative, integrated working relationships among multiple disciplines under strong leadership, together with enhanced and active communication and improved patient access to appropriate specialties is essential. Patients have a crucial role in the management of their own disease and including them as part of the treatment team is also critical. IDTs in diabetes care improve patient outcomes in terms of control of glycaemia and cardiometabolic risk factors, and decreased risk of diabetes complications. Ensuring access to an appropriate IDT, in whatever form, is paramount to enable the best care to be delivered.

  12. Quality improvement of interdisciplinary rounds by leadership training based on essential quality indicators of the Interdisciplinary Rounds Assessment Scale

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ten Have, Elsbeth C. M.; Nap, Raoul E.; Tulleken, Jaap E.

    2013-01-01

    The implementation of interdisciplinary teams in the intensive care unit (ICU) has focused attention on leadership behavior. Daily interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) in ICUs integrate leadership behavior and interdisciplinary teamwork. The purpose of this intervention study was to measure the effect of

  13. Barriers and Solutions to Conducting Large International, Interdisciplinary Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pischke, Erin C.; Knowlton, Jessie L.; Phifer, Colin C.; Gutierrez Lopez, Jose; Propato, Tamara S.; Eastmond, Amarella; de Souza, Tatiana Martins; Kuhlberg, Mark; Picasso Risso, Valentin; Veron, Santiago R.; Garcia, Carlos; Chiappe, Marta; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.

    2017-12-01

    Global environmental problems such as climate change are not bounded by national borders or scientific disciplines, and therefore require international, interdisciplinary teamwork to develop understandings of their causes and solutions. Interdisciplinary scientific work is difficult enough, but these challenges are often magnified when teams also work across national boundaries. The literature on the challenges of interdisciplinary research is extensive. However, research on international, interdisciplinary teams is nearly non-existent. Our objective is to fill this gap by reporting on results from a study of a large interdisciplinary, international National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) research project across the Americas. We administered a structured questionnaire to team members about challenges they faced while working together across disciplines and outside of their home countries in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Analysis of the responses indicated five major types of barriers to conducting interdisciplinary, international research: integration, language, fieldwork logistics, personnel and relationships, and time commitment. We discuss the causes and recommended solutions to the most common barriers. Our findings can help other interdisciplinary, international research teams anticipate challenges, and develop effective solutions to minimize the negative impacts of these barriers to their research.

  14. Barriers and Solutions to Conducting Large International, Interdisciplinary Research Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pischke, Erin C; Knowlton, Jessie L; Phifer, Colin C; Gutierrez Lopez, Jose; Propato, Tamara S; Eastmond, Amarella; de Souza, Tatiana Martins; Kuhlberg, Mark; Picasso Risso, Valentin; Veron, Santiago R; Garcia, Carlos; Chiappe, Marta; Halvorsen, Kathleen E

    2017-12-01

    Global environmental problems such as climate change are not bounded by national borders or scientific disciplines, and therefore require international, interdisciplinary teamwork to develop understandings of their causes and solutions. Interdisciplinary scientific work is difficult enough, but these challenges are often magnified when teams also work across national boundaries. The literature on the challenges of interdisciplinary research is extensive. However, research on international, interdisciplinary teams is nearly non-existent. Our objective is to fill this gap by reporting on results from a study of a large interdisciplinary, international National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) research project across the Americas. We administered a structured questionnaire to team members about challenges they faced while working together across disciplines and outside of their home countries in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Analysis of the responses indicated five major types of barriers to conducting interdisciplinary, international research: integration, language, fieldwork logistics, personnel and relationships, and time commitment. We discuss the causes and recommended solutions to the most common barriers. Our findings can help other interdisciplinary, international research teams anticipate challenges, and develop effective solutions to minimize the negative impacts of these barriers to their research.

  15. Synergistic Knowledge Development in Interdisciplinary Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broussard, Shorna R.; La Lopa, Joseph Mick; Ross-Davis, Amy

    2007-01-01

    Problem solving, interpersonal skills, information literacy, and critical and independent thinking are essential qualities that employers seek, yet many undergraduates lack. We structured an interdisciplinary classroom and experiential learning environment where students from three undergraduate courses (Hospitality and Tourism Management,…

  16. Development of an Interdisciplinary Experimental Series for the Laboratory Courses of Cell and Molecular Biology and Advance Inorganic Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Montserrat Rabago; McAllister, Robert; Newkirk, Kiera; Basing, Alexander; Wang, Lihua

    2012-01-01

    An interdisciplinary approach to education has become more important in the development of science and technology, which requires universities to have graduates with broad knowledge and skills and to apply these skills in solving real-world problems. An interdisciplinary experimental series has been developed for the laboratories in cell and…

  17. Structured nursing communication on interdisciplinary acute care teams improves perceptions of safety, efficiency, understanding of care plan and teamwork as well as job satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gausvik C

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Christian Gausvik,1 Ashley Lautar,2 Lisa Miller,2 Harini Pallerla,3 Jeffrey Schlaudecker4,5 1University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 3Department of Family and Community Medicine, 4Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 5Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program, University of Cincinnati/The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA Abstract: Efficient, accurate, and timely communication is required for quality health care and is strongly linked to health care staff job satisfaction. Developing ways to improve communication is key to increasing quality of care, and interdisciplinary care teams allow for improved communication among health care professionals. This study examines the patient- and family-centered use of structured interdisciplinary bedside rounds (SIBR on an acute care for the elderly (ACE unit in a 555-bed metropolitan community hospital. This mixed methods study surveyed 24 nurses, therapists, patient care assistants, and social workers to measure perceptions of teamwork, communication, understanding of the plan for the day, safety, efficiency, and job satisfaction. A similar survey was administered to a control group of 38 of the same staff categories on different units in the same hospital. The control group units utilized traditional physician-centric rounding. Significant differences were found in each category between the SIBR staff on the ACE unit and the control staff. Nurse job satisfaction is an important marker of retention and recruitment, and improved communication may be an important aspect of increasing this satisfaction. Furthermore, improved communication is key to maintaining a safe hospital environment with quality patient care. Interdisciplinary team rounds that take place at the bedside improve both nursing satisfaction and related communication markers of quality and safety, and may help to achieve higher nurse retention and safer

  18. [Multiprofessional team working in palliative medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osaka, Iwao

    2013-04-01

    Now, more than ever, palliative medicine has been gaining recognition for its essential role in cancer treatment. Since its beginning, it has emphasized the importance of collaboration among multidisciplinary professionals, valuing a comprehensive and holistic philosophy, addressing a wide range of hopes and suffering that patients and families experience. There are three models (approaches) for the medical teams: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. Palliative care teams often choose the interdisciplinary team model, and the teams in the palliative care units may often choose the transdisciplinary team model. Recently, accumulating research has shown the clinical benefits of the interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach in palliative care settings. Clarifying appropriate functions and ideal features of physicians in the health care team, and enforcing the suitable team approach will contribute to improve the quality of whole medical practice beyond the framework of "palliative medicine".

  19. Entrepreneurial Thinking in Interdisciplinary Student Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumeyer, Xaver; McKenna, Ann

    2016-01-01

    Our work investigates students' perception of collaborative expertise and the role of inquiry-based learning in the context of team-based entrepreneurship education. Specifically, we examine students' perception of communication, division of work, shared goals, team conflicts and leadership in their respective teams. In addition, we look at the…

  20. Chaos: a topic for interdisciplinary education in physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bae, Saebyok

    2009-01-01

    Since society and science need interdisciplinary works, the interesting topic of chaos is chosen for interdisciplinary education in physics. The educational programme contains various university-level activities such as computer simulations, chaos experiment and team projects besides ordinary teaching. According to the participants, the programme seems useful and good. In addition, we discuss some issues which can be important to interdisciplinary education in physics: for example the possible difficulties in programme design, the expertise barriers of non-major fields, the role of non-theoretical education in understanding and the project-type team activities

  1. High fidelity simulation based team training in urology: a preliminary interdisciplinary study of technical and nontechnical skills in laparoscopic complications management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jason Y; Mucksavage, Phillip; Canales, Cecilia; McDougall, Elspeth M; Lin, Sharon

    2012-04-01

    Simulation based team training provides an opportunity to develop interdisciplinary communication skills and address potential medical errors in a high fidelity, low stakes environment. We evaluated the implementation of a novel simulation based team training scenario and assessed the technical and nontechnical performance of urology and anesthesiology residents. Urology residents were randomly paired with anesthesiology residents to participate in a simulation based team training scenario involving the management of 2 scripted critical events during laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, including the vasovagal response to pneumoperitoneum and renal vein injury during hilar dissection. A novel kidney surgical model and a high fidelity mannequin simulator were used for the simulation. A debriefing session followed each simulation based team training scenario. Assessments of technical and nontechnical performance were made using task specific checklists and global rating scales. A total of 16 residents participated, of whom 94% rated the simulation based team training scenario as useful for communication skill training. Also, 88% of urology residents believed that the kidney surgical model was useful for technical skill training. Urology resident training level correlated with technical performance (p=0.004) and blood loss during renal vein injury management (p=0.022) but not with nontechnical performance. Anesthesia resident training level correlated with nontechnical performance (p=0.036). Urology residents consistently rated themselves higher on nontechnical performance than did faculty (p=0.033). Anesthesia residents did not differ in the self-assessment of nontechnical performance compared to faculty assessments. Residents rated the simulation based team training scenario as useful for interdisciplinary communication skill training. Urology resident training level correlated with technical performance but not with nontechnical performance. Urology residents

  2. The Implementation of an Interdisciplinary Co-planning Team Model Among Mathematics and Science Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Michelle Cetner

    In recent years, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become a significant focus of numerous theoretical and commentary articles as researchers have advocated for active and conceptually integrated learning in classrooms. Drawing connections between previously isolated subjects, especially mathematics and science, has been shown to increase student engagement, performance, and critical thinking skills. However, obstacles exist to the widespread implementation of integrated curricula in schools, such as teacher knowledge and school structure and culture. The Interdisciplinary Co-planning Team (ICT) model, in which teachers of different subjects come together regularly to discuss connections between content and to plan larger interdisciplinary activities and smaller examples and discussion points, offers a method for teachers to create sustainable interdisciplinary experiences for students within the bounds of the current school structure. The ICT model is designed to be an iterative, flexible model, providing teachers with both a regular time to come together as "experts" and "teach" each other important concepts from their separate disciplines, and then to bring their shared knowledge and language back to their own classrooms to implement with their students in ways that fit their individual classes. In this multiple-case study, which aims to describe the nature of the co-planning process, the nature of plans, and changes in teacher beliefs as a result of co-planning, three pairs of secondary mathematics and science teachers participated in a 10-week intervention with the ICT model. Each pair constituted one case. Data included observations, interviews, and artifact collection. All interviews, whole-group sessions, and co-planning sessions were transcribed and coded using both theory-based and data-based codes. Finally, a cross-case comparison was used to present similarities and differences across cases. Findings suggest that the

  3. Design as a Cultural Venue for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geert Jensen, Birgitte; Rasmussen, Jørgen; Volf, Mette

    2014-01-01

    Sense Making has become the strategic fuel for meaningful Change Making in organizations today. 1 When designers enter into and facilitate large interdisciplinary teams it changes the role of the designer from being characterised by aesthetic professionalism to thinking strategically and facilita......Sense Making has become the strategic fuel for meaningful Change Making in organizations today. 1 When designers enter into and facilitate large interdisciplinary teams it changes the role of the designer from being characterised by aesthetic professionalism to thinking strategically...... and visual skills can be the link between mental models and languages that occur in interdisciplinary teams. The designer's methods such as visualization and prototyping as well as their Sensemaking methods2 can strengthen a team's chance to imagine future scenarios and their implications. It provides...... a common ground for discussing and reflecting on choices made. The article describes two different cases in which the visual methods of designers made Sensemaking possible in the organisation. The methods used are elements within the design process: visual sensemaking, user observations, interviews...

  4. Are Nursing Students Appropriate Partners for the Interdisciplinary Training of Surgery Residents?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Ingram, Katherine M; Williams, Kristy H; Bencken, Crystal L; Swiderski, Dawn

    2015-01-01

    Interdisciplinary team training in a simulation center recreates clinical team interactions and holds promise in improving teamwork of clinicians by breaking down educational silos. The objective of our study was to assess the appropriateness of interdisciplinary training with general surgery residents and nursing students. Over 2 consecutive academic years (2012-2013 and 2013-2014), general surgery residents participated in interdisciplinary team-training simulation-based sessions with senior nursing students. Scenario objectives included demonstration of appropriate teamwork and communication, and clinical decision making; sessions incorporated interdisciplinary debriefing of the scenarios. Participants were asked to assess their team-training experience and the appropriateness of their team-training partner. Responses were compared. A total of 16 team-training sessions were conducted during the study period. Overall, 12 surgery residents (67%) and 44 nursing students (63%) who had participated in at least 1 session responded to the survey. Although both residents and nursing students indicated that the knowledge and team skills acquired during these sessions were useful to them in clinical practice (73% vs 86%, respectively; p = not significant), residents rated their educational value lower (3.3 vs 4.3 on a 5-point scale, respectively; p training partners whereas 100% residents preferred practicing nurses and 0% with nursing students owing to their limited clinical experience. Interdisciplinary team training and debriefing of surgery residents with nursing students is feasible and highly valued by nursing students. Nevertheless, our experience indicates that residents do not prefer nursing students as team-training partners owing to their limited clinical experience and would rather train with experienced nurses. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Structured nursing communication on interdisciplinary acute care teams improves perceptions of safety, efficiency, understanding of care plan and teamwork as well as job satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gausvik, Christian; Lautar, Ashley; Miller, Lisa; Pallerla, Harini; Schlaudecker, Jeffrey

    2015-01-01

    Efficient, accurate, and timely communication is required for quality health care and is strongly linked to health care staff job satisfaction. Developing ways to improve communication is key to increasing quality of care, and interdisciplinary care teams allow for improved communication among health care professionals. This study examines the patient- and family-centered use of structured interdisciplinary bedside rounds (SIBR) on an acute care for the elderly (ACE) unit in a 555-bed metropolitan community hospital. This mixed methods study surveyed 24 nurses, therapists, patient care assistants, and social workers to measure perceptions of teamwork, communication, understanding of the plan for the day, safety, efficiency, and job satisfaction. A similar survey was administered to a control group of 38 of the same staff categories on different units in the same hospital. The control group units utilized traditional physician-centric rounding. Significant differences were found in each category between the SIBR staff on the ACE unit and the control staff. Nurse job satisfaction is an important marker of retention and recruitment, and improved communication may be an important aspect of increasing this satisfaction. Furthermore, improved communication is key to maintaining a safe hospital environment with quality patient care. Interdisciplinary team rounds that take place at the bedside improve both nursing satisfaction and related communication markers of quality and safety, and may help to achieve higher nurse retention and safer patient care. These results point to the interconnectedness and dual benefit to both job satisfaction and patient quality of care that can come from enhancements to team communication.

  6. Chaos: A Topic for Interdisciplinary Education in Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Saebyok

    2009-01-01

    Since society and science need interdisciplinary works, the interesting topic of chaos is chosen for interdisciplinary education in physics. The educational programme contains various university-level activities such as computer simulations, chaos experiment and team projects besides ordinary teaching. According to the participants, the programme…

  7. Interdisciplinary Education: A Reflection of the Real World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald A. Styron, Jr.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper contains a discussion of curricular implications of interdisciplinary education and pedagogical strategies. The focus of the literature cited in this work is on application activities aimed at developing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication to prepare students to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Know/Do/Be conceptual model for interdisciplinary education, the pros and cons of interdisciplinary education, and pedagogies that lend themselves well to interdisciplinary strategies, such as Inquiry-Based Learning and Team-based Learning, and instructor competencies are examined.

  8. Qualitative evaluation of the implementation of the Interdisciplinary Management Tool: a reflective tool to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork using Structured, Facilitated Action Research for Implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nancarrow, Susan A; Smith, Tony; Ariss, Steven; Enderby, Pamela M

    2015-07-01

    Reflective practice is used increasingly to enhance team functioning and service effectiveness; however, there is little evidence of its use in interdisciplinary teams. This paper presents the qualitative evaluation of the Interdisciplinary Management Tool (IMT), an evidence-based change tool designed to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork through structured team reflection. The IMT incorporates three components: an evidence-based resource guide; a reflective implementation framework based on Structured, Facilitated Action Research for Implementation methodology; and formative and summative evaluation components. The IMT was implemented with intermediate care teams supported by independent facilitators in England. Each intervention lasted 6 months and was evaluated over a 12-month period. Data sources include interviews, a focus group with facilitators, questionnaires completed by team members and documentary feedback from structured team reports. Data were analysed qualitatively using the Framework approach. The IMT was implemented with 10 teams, including 253 staff from more than 10 different disciplines. Team challenges included lack of clear vision; communication issues; limited career progression opportunities; inefficient resource use; need for role clarity and service development. The IMT successfully engaged staff in the change process, and resulted in teams developing creative strategies to address the issues identified. Participants valued dedicated time to focus on the processes of team functioning; however, some were uncomfortable with a focus on teamwork at the expense of delivering direct patient care. The IMT is a relatively low-cost, structured, reflective way to enhance team function. It empowers individuals to understand and value their own, and others' roles and responsibilities within the team; identify barriers to effective teamwork, and develop and implement appropriate solutions to these. To be successful, teams need protected time to take

  9. Killer Apps: Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Poppe, Ronald

    2017-10-01

    As part of the Lorentz workshop, "Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics," held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team contexts that are meaningful and challenging for both. First, we discuss interaction processes during team meetings as a research topic for both Groupies and Geeks. Second, we highlight teamwork in health care settings as an interdisciplinary research challenge. Third, we discuss how an automated solution for optimal team design could benefit team effectiveness and feed into team-based interventions. Fourth, we discuss team collaboration in massive open online courses as a challenge for both Geeks and Groupies. We argue for the necessary integration of social and computational research insights and approaches. In the hope of inspiring future interdisciplinary collaborations, we develop criteria for evaluating killer apps-including the four proposed here-and discuss future research challenges and opportunities that potentially derive from these developments.

  10. Introduction of an interdisciplinary heart team-based transcatheter aortic valve implantation programme: short and mid-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, G J; Seco, M; Jaijee, S K; Adams, M R; Cartwright, B L; Forrest, P; Celermajer, D S; Vallely, M P; Wilson, M K; Ng, M K C

    2014-09-01

    Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been developed to treat symptomatic aortic stenosis in patients deemed too high risk for open-heart surgery. To address this complex population, an interdisciplinary heart team approach was proposed. Present the short- and mid-term outcomes of the first 100 patients in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital multidisciplinary TAVI programme. Single-centre registry. Baseline and procedural data were prospectively recorded. Outcomes were recorded according to Valve Academic Research Consortium - version 2 guidelines. All patients underwent a comprehensive interdisciplinary pre-procedural evaluation. Sixty-eight transfemoral and 32 transapical implantations were performed. Mean age was 82 (±8.9) years old with an average logistic EuroSCORE of 33. Although 13 procedures had major complications, there was no intraprocedural mortality. During the first month, 9% of patients were re-admitted due to heart failure and 13% had a permanent pacemaker implanted. A 3% 30-day and 8% follow-up (mean 17 months) mortalities were recorded. While no significant differences in the rate of complications were found between the first and second half of the experience, all cases of mortality within 30 days (n = 3) occurred in the initial half. Sustained haemodynamic results were obtained with TAVI (immediate mean aortic valve gradient reduction from 47 to 9 mmHg; 1-year echocardiographic gradient 9.9 mmHg, with no moderate or severe aortic regurgitation). Excellent results can be achieved with TAVI in very high-risk patients at an Australian institution. A comprehensive evaluation based on a heart team can overcome most of the difficulties imposed by this challenging population. © 2014 The Authors; Internal Medicine Journal © 2014 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

  11. Teaching Bioethics from an Interdisciplinary Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singleton, Rivers, Jr.; Brock, D. Heyward

    1982-01-01

    Outlines an interdisciplinary workshop in bioethics for secondary teachers taught by a team consisting of a scientist, a philosopher, and a literary critic. Discusses definitions, topics, reading selections, problems, and value. (DC)

  12. Some Results from Rehabilitation Team Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Settles, Robert B.; Crisler, Jack R.

    Provision of training for an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team in a center serving mental patients was investigated. An autonomous service delivery rehabilitation team was formed and provided training in cooperative function. Findings indicate that the experimental team became a particularly cohesive functional unit, and that their support of…

  13. Individual teacher learning in a context of collaboration in teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meirink, Jacobiene Albertina

    2007-01-01

    In this study we aimed to examine teacher learning within a context of collaboration in interdisciplinary teams. Five interdisciplinary teams were studied for a period of one year. Data was collected on what and how the teachers learned, by means of examining changes in beliefs and by asking

  14. Developing an Interdisciplinary, Team-Based Quality Improvement Leadership Training Program for Clinicians: The Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Sandhya K; Carballo, Victoria; Cummings, Brian M; Millham, Frederick; Jacobson, Joseph O

    Although there has been tremendous progress in quality improvement (QI) education for students and trainees in recent years, much less has been published regarding the training of active clinicians in QI. The Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program (CPIP) is a 6-day experiential program. Interdisciplinary teams complete a QI project framed by didactic sessions, interactive exercises, case-based problem sessions, and a final presentation. A total of 239 teams composed of 516 individuals have graduated CPIP. On completion, participant satisfaction scores average 4.52 (scale 1-5) and self-reported understanding of QI concepts improved. At 6 months after graduation, 66% of survey respondents reported sustained QI activity. Three opportunities to improve the program have been identified: (1) increasing faculty participation through online and tiered course offerings, (2) integrating the faculty-focused program with the trainee curriculum, and (3) developing a postgraduate curriculum to address the challenges of sustained improvement.

  15. Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons): Undergraduate Education Through Interdisciplinary, Team-Based, Real-World Problem Solving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuominen, Mark

    2013-03-01

    Attitude, Skills, Knowledge (ASK) - In this order, these are fundamental characteristics of scientific innovators. Through first-hand practice in using science to unpack and solve complex real-world problems, students can become self-motivated scientific leaders. This presentation describes the pedagogy of a recently developed interdisciplinary undergraduate science education program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst focused on addressing global challenges with scientific solutions. Integrated Concentration in Science (iCons) is an overarching concentration program that supplements the curricula provided within each student's chosen major. iCons is a platform for students to perform student-led research in interdisciplinary collaborative teams. With a schedule of one course per year over four years, the cohort of students move through case studies, analysis of real-world problems, development of potential solutions, integrative communication, laboratory practice, and capstone research projects. In this presentation, a track emphasizing renewable energy science is used to illustrate the iCons pedagogical methods. This includes discussion of a third-year laboratory course in renewable energy that is educationally scaffolded: beginning with a boot camp in laboratory techniques and culminating with student-designed research projects. Among other objectives, this course emphasizes the practice of using reflection and redesign, as a means of generating better solutions and embedding learning for the long term. This work is supported in part by NSF grant DUE-1140805.

  16. Interdisciplinary approach to the management of medical supplies in the nursing home setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Francisco Peris Martí

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Given the impact of pressure ulcers in institutionalized elderly people, an interdisciplinary approach to the care of ulcers and the management of medical supplies is essential. The aim of this study is to describe and evaluate the management of medical supplies by an interdisciplinary team in order to promote their rational use in the nursing home setting. Methods: An interdisciplinary team was set up, coordinated by a Pharmacy Unit including representatives of 18 elderly nursing homes (1,599 beds. Team interventions were assessed in terms of improvements in the management of wound care supplies. In addition, a retrospective descriptive study was carried out on those patients with pressure ulcers, in order to consider future interventions. Results: The team interventions led to a selection of 15% of the 180 wound care supplies from the public tender process. The monthly savings in wound dressing material purchases was at least 17%. Furthermore, a reduction in consumption greater than 50% was found in 7 centres. The prevalence of ulcers was 5.59%. A fourth of these ulcers were originated outside nursing homes. Conclusions: The creation of an interdisciplinary team, in which the pharmacist gets closer to patient needs, and where nurses share responsibility for the selection and management of medical supplies, leads to positive results and represents an opportunity for improvement in elderly care.

  17. Killer Apps : Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis Philippe; Poppe, Ronald

    2017-01-01

    As part of the Lorentz workshop, “Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics,” held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team

  18. Killer Apps: Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Poppe, R.W.

    2017-01-01

    As part of the Lorentz workshop, “Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics,” held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team

  19. Advancing MCH Interdisciplinary/Interprofessional Leadership Training and Practice Through a Learning Collaborative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHugh, Meaghan C; Margolis, Lewis H; Rosenberg, Angela; Humphreys, Elizabeth

    2016-11-01

    Purpose The Interdisciplinary Leadership Learning Collaborative (ILLC), under the sponsorship of AUCD and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, brought together six teams, composed of 14 MCHB and UCEDD training programs to enhance their leadership training. Description Using adult learning principles, interactive training methods, and skill-focused learning, the ILLC built upon the evidence-based Interdisciplinary Leadership Development Program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The program began with a 4-day on-site intensive and then continued through monthly conference calls, a mid-term on-site workshop, and a summary virtual workshop to present programmatic accomplishments and share plans for sustainability. Coaching/consultation for the teams around particular challenges was also part of the program. Assessment All teams reported enhancements in intentional leadership training, threading of leadership concepts across clinical, didactic, and workshop settings, and new collaborative partnerships for leadership training. Teams also identified a number of strategies to increase sustainability of their intentional leadership training efforts. Conclusion for Practice The learning collaborative is a productive model to address the growing need for interdisciplinary MCH leaders.

  20. The surfacing of past assessment strategies within interdisciplinary teams when encountering an open-ended assignment in an undergraduate sustainability course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, K.; Dzulkifli, D. D. B.; Moynihan, M. A.; Salman, R.; Goodkin, N.

    2017-12-01

    267 undergraduate students in an interdisciplinary environmental sustainability course were divided into 66 groups for the duration of the semester. The formation of the groups proceeded by first assigning all of the science majors to groups in a random order. This was followed by assigning the engineering majors, the liberal arts majors, and finally the business majors in turn. After all of the students had been assigned to a group, every group had at least one engineering student and one science student. 11 groups had a liberal arts student but no business student. 26 groups had a business student but no liberal arts student. 29 groups were composed of students from all four majors. During the semester, the groups created an environmental action plan to address one of Singapore's major sustainability concerns: food. In service of the course's emphasis on interdisciplinary communication, the groups were required to create a video to support their environmental action plan. The evaluation method for the videos built on our prior work with rubrics (Hartman & Goodkin, 2016). While we provided a number of examples of videos communicating environmental action plans, students were not prescribed a particular format for their video. To the consternation of some students, the instructor deliberately left the video assessment open-ended. After the semester ended, a researcher coded all 66 videos for the food sustainability issues they identified, their proposed solutions, and their video approach. Approaches included animations, virtual handwriting/drawing, role-playing, PowerPoint presentations, and picture slideshows. Given the open-ended nature of the video project, we hypothesized that groups would converge on approaches that at least one team member was familiar with. We knew from prior work with the business school, that its students engage in role-play activities fairly frequently. Teams with a business major and without a liberal arts major adopted the role

  1. Spirituality and job satisfaction among hospice interdisciplinary team members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Leah; Leedy, Stephen; McDonald, Laurie; Muller, Barbara; Lamb, Cheryl; Mendez, Tracy; Kim, Sehwan; Schonwetter, Ronald

    2007-12-01

    As a continuing effort to enhance the quality of palliative care for the dying, this study examined (1) the prevalence of spirituality among hospice interdisciplinary team (IDT) members; (2) whether spirituality is related to job satisfaction; and (3) the structural path relationships among four variables: spiritual belief, integration of spirituality at work, self actualization and job satisfaction. The study surveyed 215 hospice IDT members who completed the Jarel Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Chamiec-Case Spirituality Integration and Job Satisfaction Scales. Multiple regression and structural path modeling methods were applied to explain the path relationships involving all four variables. The IDT members surveyed were: nurses, 46.4%; home health aids, 24.9%; social workers, 17.4%; chaplains, 4.2%; physicians, 2.3%; and other, 4.8%. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents viewed themselves as having spiritual well-being. On a 0-100 scale, IDT staff reported high spiritual belief (mean = 89.4) and they were self-actualizing (mean = 82.6). Most reported high job satisfaction (mean = 79.3) and spiritual integration (mean = 67.9). In multiple regression, spirituality, integration and self-actualization explained 22% of the variation in job satisfaction (R = 0.48; adjusted R(2) = 0.218; df = 3,175; F = 17.2; p = 0.001). Structural path models revealed that job satisfaction is more likely to be realized by a model that transforms one's spirituality into processes of integrating spirituality at work and self actualization (chi(2) = 0.614; df = 1; p = 0.433) than a model that establishes a direct path from spirituality to job satisfaction (chi(2) = 1.65; df = 1; p = 0.199). Hospice IDT member's integration of their spirituality at work and greater self actualization significantly improve job satisfaction.

  2. Practice-Based Interdisciplinary Approach and Environmental Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ranjan Kumar Datta

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Interdisciplinary researchers and educators, as community members, creators of knowledge, and environmental activists and practitioners, have a responsibility to build a bridge between community practice, academic scholarship, and professional contributions aimed at establishing environmental sustainability. In this paper, I focus on an undervalued area of environmental politics, practices, and often unarticulated assumptions which underlie human–environmental relations. This article challenges interdisciplinary studies that are not connected with practice by reconfiguring the meaning of a community-based, interdisciplinary approach. Drawing from works by Foucault, Latour, and Haraway, this paper first shows how to reconfigure the meaning of an interdisciplinary approach. Second, using Bourdieu and Brightman’s ethnographic studies as a framework, the paper situates practice as central to our efforts to deconstruct and replace current interdisciplinary initiatives with a practice-based approach. Through a practice-based interdisciplinary approach (PIA, environmental educators and researchers gain an awareness of and learn to make an investment in sustainable communities. As teams of environmental researchers practising in the local community, they are meaningfully involved with the community, with each other, and with the environment.

  3. Interdisciplinary Research: Performance and Policy Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossini, Frederick A.; Porter, Alan L.

    1981-01-01

    Successful interdisciplinary research performance, it is suggested, depends on such structural and process factors as leadership, team characteristics, study bounding, iteration, communication patterns, and epistemological factors. Appropriate frameworks for socially organizing the development of knowledge such as common group learning, modeling,…

  4. Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research and Training: Initial Outcomes and Evolution of the Affinity Research Collaboratives Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravid, Katya; Seta, Francesca; Center, David; Waters, Gloria; Coleman, David

    2017-10-01

    Team science has been recognized as critical to solving increasingly complex biomedical problems and advancing discoveries in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease. In 2009, the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research (ECIBR) was established in the Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine as a new organizational paradigm to promote interdisciplinary team science. The ECIBR is made up of affinity research collaboratives (ARCs), consisting of investigators from different departments and disciplines who come together to study biomedical problems that are relevant to human disease and not under interdisciplinary investigation at the university. Importantly, research areas are identified by investigators according to their shared interests. ARC proposals are evaluated by a peer review process, and collaboratives are funded annually for up to three years.Initial outcomes of the first 12 ARCs show the value of this model in fostering successful biomedical collaborations that lead to publications, extramural grants, research networking, and training. The most successful ARCs have been developed into more sustainable organizational entities, including centers, research cores, translational research projects, and training programs.To further expand team science at Boston University, the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Office was established in 2015 to more fully engage the entire university, not just the medical campus, in interdisciplinary research using the ARC mechanism. This approach to promoting team science may be useful to other academic organizations seeking to expand interdisciplinary research at their institutions.

  5. Interdisciplinary education in palliative care: impact on attitudes of students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and chaplaincy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrader, Susan L; Brechtelsbauer, David; Heins, Jodi; Holland, Peter; Schroeder, Pamela A

    2012-10-01

    Interdisciplinary education among health professions has been recommended, and related evaluation can be found in the literature. However questions remain on how effective interdisciplinary education is and what impact it has. The objective of this study was to determine changes in student attitudes and perceptions upon completion of a 5-week interdisciplinary palliative care seminar. Pre-test and post-test instruments were administered at three five-week Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Seminars in Sioux Falls, SD during 2009-2010. The central hypotheses were that, at the conclusion of the seminar, students will have greater familiarity with their role in a team and more understanding of the roles of other disciplines in palliative care, and will identify positive contributions to professional practice and patient care using the team approach. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. Participating students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and chaplaincy (N = 88) completed surveys. Quantitative data suggest that interdisciplinary education enhances students' understanding of their discipline and the work of other disciplines. Data show students perceive the team approach as enhancing patient outcomes, goal setting, and communication among colleagues. Qualitative data reinforced the importance of interdisciplinary education while revealing strains among disciplines in hierarchy and valuing. Playing one's part in the team strengthens students' confidence and comfort in interdisciplinary settings. Yet, the hazard of experiencing the limitations of teamwork in action must be acknowledged for some.

  6. Diagnostic radiology on multiple injured patients: interdisciplinary management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linsenmaier, U.; Pfeifer, K.J.; Kanz, K.G.; Mutschler, W.

    2001-01-01

    The presence of a radiologist within the admitting area of an emergency department and his capability as a member of the trauma team have a major impact on the role of diagnostic radiology in trauma care. The knowledge of clinical decision criteria, algorithms, and standards of patient care are essential for the acceptance within a trauma team. We present an interdisciplinary management concept of diagnostic radiology for trauma patients, which comprises basic diagnosis, organ diagnosis, radiological ABC, and algorithms of early clinical care. It is the result of a prospective study comprising over 2000 documented multiple injured patients. The radiologist on a trauma team should support trauma surgery and anesthesia in diagnostic and clinical work-up. The radiological ABC provides a structured approach for diagnostic imaging in all steps of the early clinical care of the multiple injured patient. Radiological ABC requires a reevaluation in cases of equivocal findings or difficulties in the clinical course. Direct communication of radiological findings with the trauma team enables quick clinical decisions. In addition, the radiologist can priority-oriented influence the therapy by using interventional procedures. The clinical radiologist is an active member of the interdisciplinary trauma team, not only providing diagnostic imaging but also participating in clinical decisions. (orig.) [de

  7. Designing Interdisciplinary Assessments in Sciences for College Students: An Example on Osmosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Ji; Liu, Ou Lydia; Sung, Shannon

    2014-01-01

    College science education needs to foster students' habit of mind beyond disciplinary constraints. However, little research has been devoted to assessing students' interdisciplinary understanding. To address this problem, we formed a team of experts from different disciplines to develop interdisciplinary assessments that target…

  8. Practical Preconditions for the Development of the Interdisciplinary Collaboration Competence in Healthcare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raimonda Brunevičiūtė

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the results of the fourth stage of the longitudinal research performed at Kaunas University of Medicine (since 2010 – Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Vytautas Magnus University. The main goal of the research was to investigate educational possibilities and preconditions for the development of the education of professional intercultural communication for students in the education programs of medicine and social work. Previous stages of the study revealed the peculiarities of intercultural/interdisciplinary teamwork, and educational premises for professional education of the team members. The fourth stage of the study is focused on the analysis of the practical activity of the interdisciplinary (intercultural team, striving to improve health specialists’ and social workers’ interdisciplinary collaboration competence.

  9. Research and Teaching: Toward Interdisciplinary Perspectives--Using Osmotic Pressure as an Example for Analyzing Textbook Explanations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Shannon; Shen, Ji; Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Wiegert, Craig; Li, Wan-l; Brown, Scott; Robertson, Tom

    2015-01-01

    Despite the increasing interests and practices in interdisciplinary science education, little research has been documented to develop effective assessments targeting students' interdisciplinary learning. In response to this gap, a team of scientists and educators developed an interdisciplinary assessment instrument targeting osmosis, which was…

  10. Killer Apps: Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness

    OpenAIRE

    Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Poppe, Ronald

    2017-01-01

    As part of the Lorentz workshop, “Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics,” held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team contexts that are meaningful and challenging for both. First, we discuss interaction processes during team meetings as a research topic for both Groupies and Geeks. Second, we highlight teamwork in heal...

  11. Exercise physiologists: essential players in interdisciplinary teams for noncommunicable chronic disease management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soan EJ

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Esme J Soan,1–3 Steven J Street,1,2 Sharon M Brownie,3,4 Andrew P Hills1–31Mater Mothers' Hospital, South Brisbane, 2Mater Research Institute – University of Queensland, South Brisbane, 3Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia; 4Green Templeton College, Oxford University, Oxford, UKAbstract: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, are a growing public health challenge in Australia, accounting for a significant and increasing cost to the health care system. Management of these chronic conditions is aided by interprofessional practice, but models of care require updating to incorporate the latest evidence-based practice. Increasing research evidence reports the benefits of physical activity and exercise on health status and the risk of inactivity to chronic disease development, yet physical activity advice is often the least comprehensive component of care. An essential but as yet underutilized player in NCD prevention and management is the "accredited exercise physiologist," a specialist in the delivery of clinical exercise prescriptions for the prevention or management of chronic and complex conditions. In this article, the existing role of accredited exercise physiologists in interprofessional practice is examined, and an extension of their role proposed in primary health care settings.Keywords: interdisciplinary team, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, exercise physiology, accredited exercise physiologist

  12. Best practices and pearls in interdisciplinary mentoring from Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Directors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Nagel, Joan D; Regensteiner, Judith G

    2012-11-01

    Increasingly, national programs and leaders are looking at interdisciplinary collaborations as essential to future research. Twelve years ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) developed and implemented the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) K12 program to focus on interdisciplinary mentored career development for junior faculty in women's health research. We applied a mixed-methods approach using an electronic survey and in-person presentations and discussions to understand best practices and lessons learned for interdisciplinary mentoring across BIRCWH K12 program leaders. We received responses from all 29 active BIRCWH programs. Factors associated with success included ensuring sufficient protected time for regular (weekly or biweekly) mentoring; mentors promoting the research independence of the Scholar; a team mentoring approach, including career as well as content mentors; and explicit and clear expectations outlined between the Scholar and mentor. The majority of programs conduct formal evaluations of mentorship, and 79% of programs offer training in mentorship for either Scholars, mentors, or both. This article presents program leaders' best practices, challenges, and lessons learned from mentoring junior faculty who are conducting women's health research, whether basic, clinical, behavioral, translational, or health services research, using an interdisciplinary mentoring approach.

  13. Interdisciplinary SBME : a case study in development of B-SBME

    OpenAIRE

    Shahoumian, Armineh; Parchoma, Gale; Saunders, Murray; Hanson, Jacky; Dickinson, Mike; Pimblett, Mark

    2013-01-01

    This study examines interdisciplinary practices in the development a blended learning approach to Simulation Based Medical Education (B-SBME). The project team included an emergency medicine consultant, two health care professionals/simulation facilitators, an educational researcher, and an educational research student. The terms, multi- and inter-disciplinary, are often used interchangeably. Whilst in multi-disciplinary projects members of different disciplines “work together on a joint proj...

  14. An interdisciplinary visual team in an acute and sub-acute stroke unit: Providing assessment and early rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norup, Anne; Guldberg, Anne-Mette; Friis, Claus Radmer; Deurell, Eva Maria; Forchhammer, Hysse Birgitte

    2016-07-15

    To describe the work of an interdisciplinary visual team in a stroke unit providing early identification and assessment of patients with visual symptoms, and secondly to investigate frequency, type of visual deficits after stroke and self-evaluated impact on everyday life after stroke. For a period of three months, all stroke patients with visual or visuo-attentional deficits were registered, and data concerning etiology, severity and localization of the stroke and initial visual symptoms were registered. One month after discharge patients were contacted for follow-up. Of 349 acute stroke admissions, 84 (24.1%) had visual or visuo-attentional deficits initially. Of these 84 patients, informed consent was obtained from 22 patients with a mean age of 67.7 years(SD 10.1), and the majority was female (59.1%). Based on the initial neurological examination, 45.4% had some kind of visual field defect, 27.2% had some kind of oculomotor nerve palsy, and about 31.8% had some kind of inattention or visual neglect. The patients were contacted for a phone-based follow-up one month after discharge, where 85.7% reported changes in their vision since their stroke. In this consecutive sample, a quarter of all stroke patients had visual or visuo-attentional deficits initially. This emphasizes how professionals should have increased awareness of the existence of such deficits after stroke in order to provide the necessary interdisciplinary assessment and rehabilitation.

  15. Development of a Pedagogical Model to Help Engineering Faculty Design Interdisciplinary Curricula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Maria; Foutz, Timothy; Thompson, Sidney; Singer, Kerri Patrick

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a model to help engineering faculty overcome the challenges they face when asked to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula. Researchers at a U.S. University worked with an Interdisciplinary Consultant Team and prepared a steering document with Guiding Principles and Essential Elements for the…

  16. Students' Perception of Interdisciplinary, Problem-Based Learning in a Food Biotechnology Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Betsy L. L.; Yap, Kueh C.; Hoh, Yin K.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract: Students' perception of 8 criteria (rationale of the problem; interdisciplinary learning; facilitator asked essential questions; learner's skills; assessments; facilitation procedures; team's use of resources [team collaboration], and facilitator within a problem-based learning context) were assessed for a food biotechnology course that…

  17. Team Research at the Biology-Mathematics Interface: Project Management Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milton, John G.; Radunskaya, Ami E.; Lee, Arthur H.; de Pillis, Lisette G.; Bartlett, Diana F.

    2010-01-01

    The success of interdisciplinary research teams depends largely upon skills related to team performance. We evaluated student and team performance for undergraduate biology and mathematics students who participated in summer research projects conducted in off-campus laboratories. The student teams were composed of a student with a mathematics…

  18. Interdisciplinary Information Design with an Empowerment Strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barlach, Anders; Engberg, Axel; Pallesen, Bodil

    2006-01-01

    An innovative research into a model for ICT enabled Empowerment. By deliberate use of ICT and a feedback-focused communication model in a prototyping process, e-health information based on an empowerment strategy is evaluated. Overall a risk-driven spiral model is applied for Progress...... and Complexity handling in order to ensure success. The process model devised has a proactive approach to interdisciplinary teamwork, organisational web maturity, and the post-modern user's interaction with ICT. The research is performed and evaluated in cooperation with an interdisciplinary team of health......'s perspective. ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL: Nursing Informatics becomes a tool in the interdisciplinary understanding, allowing the nurses to take responsibility for core nursing themes regarding the healthy and the diseased phases of the patients' lives. Iterative modelling ensuring the results is evident and derived...

  19. [Multiprofessional family-system training programme in psychiatry--effects on team cooperation and staff strain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwack, Julika; Schweitzer, Jochen

    2008-01-01

    How does the interdisciplinary cooperation of psychiatric staff members change after a multiprofessional family systems training programme? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 49 staff members. Quantitative questionnaires were used to assess burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory, MBI) and team climate (Team-Klima-Inventar, TKI). The multiprofessional training intensifies interdisciplinary cooperation. It results in an increased appreciation of the nurses involved and in a redistribution of therapeutic tasks between nurses, psychologists and physicians. Staff burnout decreased during the research period, while task orientation and participative security within teams increased. The multiprofessional family systems training appears suitable to improve quality of patient care and interdisciplinary cooperation and to reduce staff burnout.

  20. Participation in interdisciplinary meetings on genetic diagnostics (NGS)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koole, Tom; van Burgsteden, Lotte; Harms, Paulien; van Diemen, Cleo C; van Langen, Irene M

    2017-01-01

    Diagnostics using next generation sequencing (NGS) requires high-quality interdisciplinary collaboration. In order to gain insight into this crucial collaborative process, we made video recordings of a new multidisciplinary team at work in the clinical genetics department of the University Medical

  1. Research design: the methodology for interdisciplinary research framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobi, Hilde; Kampen, Jarl K

    2018-01-01

    Many of today's global scientific challenges require the joint involvement of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds (social sciences, environmental sciences, climatology, medicine, etc.). Such interdisciplinary research teams face many challenges resulting from differences in training and scientific culture. Interdisciplinary education programs are required to train truly interdisciplinary scientists with respect to the critical factor skills and competences. For that purpose this paper presents the Methodology for Interdisciplinary Research (MIR) framework. The MIR framework was developed to help cross disciplinary borders, especially those between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The framework has been specifically constructed to facilitate the design of interdisciplinary scientific research, and can be applied in an educational program, as a reference for monitoring the phases of interdisciplinary research, and as a tool to design such research in a process approach. It is suitable for research projects of different sizes and levels of complexity, and it allows for a range of methods' combinations (case study, mixed methods, etc.). The different phases of designing interdisciplinary research in the MIR framework are described and illustrated by real-life applications in teaching and research. We further discuss the framework's utility in research design in landscape architecture, mixed methods research, and provide an outlook to the framework's potential in inclusive interdisciplinary research, and last but not least, research integrity.

  2. Building the occupational health team: keys to successful interdisciplinary collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wachs, Joy E

    2005-04-01

    Teamwork among occupational health and safety professionals, management, and employees is vital to solving today's complex problems cost-effectively. No single discipline can meet all the needs of workers and the workplace. However, teamwork can be time-consuming and difficult if attention is not given to the role of the team leader, the necessary skills of team members, and the importance of a supportive environment. Bringing team members together regularly to foster positive relationships and infuse them with the philosophy of strength in diversity is essential for teams to be sustained and work to be accomplished. By working in tandem, occupational health and safety professionals can become the model team in business and industry delivering on their promise of a safe and healthy workplace for America's work force.

  3. An Honors Interdisciplinary Community-Based Research Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunbar, David; Terlecki, Melissa; Watterson, Nancy; Ratmansky, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    This article describes how two faculty members at Cabrini College--one from biology and the other from psychology--incorporated interdisciplinary community-based research in an honors course on environmental watershed issues. The course, Environmental Psychology, was team-taught in partnership with a local watershed organization, the Valley Creek…

  4. PERCEPTION AND PERFORMANCE OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM IN SERVING DRUG DEPENDENTS IN SPECIALIZED NETWORK OF MENTAL HEALTH SINOP, MATO GROSSO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. V. C. Santos

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Chemical dependency is currently one of the most important public health problems in our country. The study deals with a quantitative and qualitative research, whose goal is to evaluate the perception and performance of the interdisciplinary team in serving drug dependents in specialized network of mental health Sinop, Mato Grosso. Applied a semi-structured questionnaire with objective and subjective questions with 11 professionals in health care at the Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS and Medical Specialties Center (EMC. The results reveal the importance of the preparation of these professionals to work in service to dependents and interdisciplinarity proved to be the best option to achieve a dignified and humane care

  5. Measurement properties and implementation of a checklist to assess leadership skills during interdisciplinary rounds in the intensive care unit

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ten Have, Elsbeth C M; Nap, Raoul E; Tulleken, Jaap E

    2015-01-01

    The implementation of interdisciplinary teams in the intensive care unit (ICU) has focused attention on leadership behavior. A daily recurrent situation in ICUs in which both leadership behavior and interdisciplinary teamwork are integrated concerns the interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs). Although IDRs

  6. The values underlying team decision-making in work rehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loisel, Patrick; Falardeau, Marlène; Baril, Raymond; José-Durand, Marie; Langley, Ann; Sauvé, Sandrine; Gervais, Julie

    2005-05-20

    This paper presents the results of a qualitative study on the values underlying the decision-making process of an interdisciplinary team working in a work rehabilitation facility of a Québec teaching hospital. In order to document the values underlying the decision-making process, a single case observational study was conducted. Interdisciplinary team weekly discussions on ongoing cases of 22 workers absent from work due to musculoskeletal disorders were videotaped. All discourses were transcribed and analyzed following an inductive and iterative approach. The values identified were validated by feedback from team members. Ten common decision values emerged from the data: (1) team unity and credibility, (2) collaboration with stakeholders, (3) worker's internal motivation, (4) worker's adherence to the program, (5) worker's reactivation, (6) single message, (7) reassurance, (8) graded intervention, (9) pain management and (10) return to work as a therapy. The analysis of these values led to the design of a model describing interrelations between them. This study throws light on some mechanisms underlying the decisions made by the team and determining its action. This improves understanding of the actions taken by an interdisciplinary team in work rehabilitation and may facilitate knowledge transfer in the training of other teams.

  7. Modeling interdisciplinary activities involving Mathematics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, Steffen Møllegaard

    2006-01-01

    In this paper a didactical model is presented. The goal of the model is to work as a didactical tool, or conceptual frame, for developing, carrying through and evaluating interdisciplinary activities involving the subject of mathematics and philosophy in the high schools. Through the terms...... of Horizontal Intertwining, Vertical Structuring and Horizontal Propagation the model consists of three phases, each considering different aspects of the nature of interdisciplinary activities. The theoretical modelling is inspired by work which focuses on the students abilities to concept formation in expanded...... domains (Michelsen, 2001, 2005a, 2005b). Furthermore the theoretical description rest on a series of qualitative interviews with teachers from the Danish high school (grades 9-11) conducted recently. The special case of concrete interdisciplinary activities between mathematics and philosophy is also...

  8. Rural interdisciplinary mental health team building via satellite: a demonstration project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornish, Peter A; Church, Elizabeth; Callanan, Terrence; Bethune, Cheri; Robbins, Carl; Miller, Robert

    2003-01-01

    This paper reports on the results of a demonstration project that examined the role of telehealth/telemedicine (hereafter referred to as telehealth) in providing interdisciplinary mental health training and support to health professionals in a rural region of Atlantic Canada. Special emphasis was placed on addressing the question of how training might affect interdisciplinary collaboration among the rural health professionals. Five urban mental health professionals from three disciplines provided training and support via video-satellite and internet, print and video resources to 34 rural health and community professionals. In order to assess the rural community's needs and the impact of the interventions, questionnaires were administered and on-site interviews were conducted before and after the project. Throughout the project, field notes were recorded and satisfaction ratings were obtained. Satisfaction with the video-satellite presentations was high and stable, with the exception of one session when signal quality was very poor. Rural participants were most satisfied with opportunities for interaction and least satisfied with the variable quality of the video transmission signal. High staff turnover among rural professionals resulted in insufficient power to permit statistical analysis. Positive reports of the project impact included expanded knowledge and heightened sensitivity to mental health issues, increased cross-disciplinary connections, and greater cohesion among professionals. The results suggest that, with some refinements, telehealth technology can be used to facilitate mental health training and promote interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals in a rural setting.

  9. Team-based Service Delivery for Students with Disabilities: Practice Options and Guidelines for Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogletree, Billy T.; Bull, Jeannette; Drew, Ruby; Lunnen, Karen Y.

    2001-01-01

    This article reviews the assessment procedures, treatment procedures, and the advantages and disadvantages of three professional-family team models: multidisciplinary teams, interdisciplinary teams, and transdisciplinary teams. Guidelines for optimal team participation are provided. The importance of mission statements, communication, trust,…

  10. Heuristic thinking: interdisciplinary perspectives on medical error

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annegret F. Hannawa

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Approximately 43 million adverse events occur across the globe each year at a cost of at least 23 million disability-adjusted life years and $132 billion in excess health care spending, ranking this safety burden among the top 10 medical causes of disability in the world.1 These findings are likely to be an understatement of the actual severity of the problem, given that the numbers merely reflect seven types of adverse events and completely neglect ambulatory care, and of course they only cover reported incidents. Furthermore, they do not include statistics on children and incidents from India and China, which host more than a third of the world’s population. Best estimates imply that about two thirds of these incidents are preventable. Thus, from a public health perspective, medical errors are a seri- ous global health burden, in fact ahead of high-profile health problems like AIDS and cancer. Interventions to date have not reduced medical errors to satisfactory rates. Even today, far too often, hand hygiene is not practiced properly (even in developed countries, surgical procedures take place in underequipped operating theaters, and checklists are missing or remain uncompleted. The healthcare system seems to be failing in managing its errors − it is costing too much, and the complexity of care causes severe safety hazards that too often harm rather than help patients. In response to this evolving discussion, the International Society for Quality in Healthcare recently nominated an Innovations Team that is now developing new strategies. One of the emerging themes is that the medical field cannot resolve this problem on its own. Instead, interdisciplinary collaborations are needed to advance effective, evidence-based interventions that will eventually result in competent changes. In March 2013, the Institute of Communication and Health at the University of Lugano organized a conference on Communicating Medical Error (COME 2013 in

  11. Team working in intensive care: current evidence and future endeavors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Joanne; West, Michael A; Cuthbertson, Brian H

    2010-12-01

    It has recently been argued that the future of intensive care medicine will rely on high quality management and teamwork. Therefore, this review takes an organizational psychology perspective to examine the most recent research on the relationship between teamwork, care processes, and patient outcomes in intensive care. Interdisciplinary communication within a team is crucial for the development of negotiated shared treatment goals and short-team patient outcomes. Interventions for maximizing team communication have received substantial interest in recent literature. Intensive care coordination is not a linear process, and intensive care teams often fail to discuss how to implement goals, trigger and align activities, or reflect on their performance. Despite a move toward interdisciplinary team working, clinical decision-making is still problematic and continues to be perceived as a top-down and authoritative process. The topic of team leadership in intensive care is underexplored and requires further research. Based on findings from the most recent research evidence in medicine and management, four principles are identified for improving the effectiveness of team working in intensive care: engender professional efficacy, create stable teams and leaders, develop trust and participative safety, and enable frequent team reflexivity.

  12. The innovative rehabilitation team: an experiment in team building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halstead, L S; Rintala, D H; Kanellos, M; Griffin, B; Higgins, L; Rheinecker, S; Whiteside, W; Healy, J E

    1986-06-01

    This article describes an effort by one rehabilitation team to create innovative approaches to team care in a medical rehabilitation hospital. The major arena for implementing change was the weekly patient rounds. We worked to increase patient involvement, developed a rounds coordinator role, used a structured format, and tried to integrate research findings into team decision making. Other innovations included use of a preadmission questionnaire, a discharge check list, and a rounds evaluation questionnaire. The impact of these changes was evaluated using the Group Environment Scale and by analyzing participation in rounds based on verbatim transcripts obtained prior to and 20 months after formation of the Innovative Rehabilitation Team (IRT). The results showed decreased participation by medical personnel during rounds, and increased participation by patients. The rounds coordinator role increased participation rates of staff from all disciplines and the group environment improved within the IRT. These data are compared with similar evaluations made of two other groups, which served as control teams. The problems inherent in making effective, lasting changes in interdisciplinary rehabilitation teams are reviewed, and a plea is made for other teams to explore additional ways to use the collective creativity and resources latent in the team membership.

  13. Interdisciplinary medical, nursing, and administrator education in practice: the Johns Hopkins experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walrath, Jo M; Muganlinskaya, Nailya; Shepherd, Megan; Awad, Michael; Reuland, Charles; Makary, Martin A; Kravet, Steven

    2006-08-01

    Reforming graduate medical, nursing and health administrators' education to include the core competencies of interdisciplinary teamwork and quality improvement (QI) techniques is a key strategy to improve quality in hospital settings. Practicing clinicians are best positioned in these settings to understand systems issues and craft potential solutions. The authors describe how, in ten months during 2004 and 2005 the school of medicine, the school of nursing, and an administrative residency program, all at Johns Hopkins University, implemented and evaluated the Achieving Competency Today II Program (ACT II), a structured and interdisciplinary approach to learning QI that was piloted at various sites around the United States. Six teams of learners participated, each consisting of a medical, nursing, and administrative resident. The importance of interdisciplinary participation in planning QI projects, the value of the patient's perspective on systems issues, and the value of a system's perspective in crafting solutions to issues all proved to be valuable lessons. Challenges were encountered throughout the program, such as (1) participants' difficulties in balancing competing academic, personal and clinical responsibilities, (2) difficulties in achieving the intended goals of a broad curriculum, (3) barriers to openly discussing interdisciplinary team process and dynamics, and (4) the need to develop faculty expertise in systems thinking and QI. In spite of these challenges steps have been identified to further enhance and develop interdisciplinary education within this academic setting.

  14. [Hospital-based acute care of emergency patients: the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gräff, I; Lenkeit, S

    2014-10-01

    The care of emergency patients with life-threatening injuries or diseases presents a special challenge to the treatment team. Good interdisciplinary cooperation is essential for fast, priority-oriented, and efficient emergency room management. Particularly in complex situations, such as trauma room care, so-called human factors largely determine the safety and performance of the individual as well as the team. Approximately 70 % of all adverse events stem from human factors rather than from a lack of medical expertise. It has been shown that 70-80 % of such incidents are preventable through special training. Established course concepts based on so-called ABCDE schemes are a good basis for creating algorithms for targeted therapy, yet they are not sufficient for the training of team-specific issues. For this, special course concepts are required, such as crew resource management, which is provided through simulator-based training scenarios. This includes task management, teamwork, decision-making, and communication. The knowledge of what needs to be done in a team under the adverse and complex conditions of a medical emergency must be gained by training based on realistic and effective measures. Course concepts that are geared toward interdisciplinary and interprofessional team training optimize patient safety and care by supporting the nontechnical abilities of team members.

  15. Interdisciplinary teamwork for the treatment of people with Parkinson's disease and their families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giladi, Nir; Manor, Yael; Hilel, Ariela; Gurevich, Tanya

    2014-11-01

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative and multidimensional disease that involves a range of disabling motor and nonmotor symptoms. These symptoms can have a major impact on the quality of life of PD patients. The focus of this article is to stress the importance of the interdisciplinary team intervention approach in the treatment of patients with PD. The team approach uses experts in PD from different health care professions, including a neurologist, a nurse, a speech and language therapist, a physiotherapist, a social worker, a psychiatrist, an occupational therapist, a sexologist, and a dietician. The major aim of the team and of teamwork is to provide professional care in all motor and nonmotor aspects of PD throughout the course of the disease. There are different models of multidisciplinary teams: inpatient facility, community rehabilitation facility, and synchronized multiprofessional treatment in the community. The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center model of interdisciplinary care was designed to create a coordinated multidisciplinary team in the Movement Disorders Unit. The role of each team member and their professional objective are described. Their collaboration is by design a promotion of a team goal for maintaining and enhancing the quality of life of PD patients and their families.

  16. Design and Implementation of an Interdisciplinary Marketing/Management Course on Technology and Innovation Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athaide, Gerard A.; Desai, Harsha B.

    2005-01-01

    Given increasing industry demand for integrative learning, marketing curricula need to emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Although team teaching is a useful method for achieving cross-functional integration, there are very few frameworks for effectively implementing team teaching. Consequently, marketing educators seeking to offer…

  17. Mathematics in Literature and Cinema: An Interdisciplinary Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabrán, H. Rafael; Kozek, Mark

    2016-01-01

    We describe our team-taught, interdisciplinary course "Numb3rs in Lett3rs & Fi1ms: Mathematics in Literature and Cinema," which explores mathematics in the context of modern literature and cinema. Our goal with this course is to advance collaborations between mathematics and the written/theatre-based creative arts.

  18. Interdisciplinary action of nurses to children with suspected sexual abuse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lia Leão Ciuffo

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Understanding the role of nurses as members of interdisciplinary teams in the care of children with suspected sexual abuse. Methodology. This is a qualitative research based on the sociological phenomenology of Alfred Schutz. In 2008 were interviewed eleven nurses who worked in reference institutions for the care of child victims of sexual abuse in Rio de Janeiro. Results. The category called 'Interacting with other professionals in child care' emerged from the analysis of performance of professionals. The intersubjective relations between the nurses and the interdisciplinary team will enable to understand the intent of care from the perspective of social, emotional and psychological needs of children and their families. Conclusion. Interdisciplinarity favored the development of actions based on acceptance, listening and agreements on possible solutions in the care of children with suspected sexual abuse.

  19. Amelogenesis imperfecta and the treatment plan - interdisciplinary team approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suchancova, B; Holly, D; Janska, M; Stebel, J; Lysy, J; Thurzo, A; Sasinek, S

    2014-01-01

    Amelogenesis imperfecta is a set of hereditary defects representing mainly the development defects of enamel without the presence of whole-body symptoms. Developmental disorders can manifest a complete absence of enamel, which is caused by improper differentiation of ameloblasts. This article describes the diagnosis and treatment of a patient with amelogenesis imperfecta, as well as the need for interdisciplinary cooperation to achieve the best possible morphological, skeletal, functional and aesthetic rehabilitation of the patients with this diagnosis. Furthermore, the article reviews literature dealing with other anomalies occurring in association with amelogenesis imperfect (Fig. 12, Ref. 20).

  20. Improving communication for interdisciplinary teams working on storage of digital information in DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesketh, Emily E; Sayir, Jossy; Goldman, Nick

    2018-01-01

    Close collaboration between specialists from diverse backgrounds and working in different scientific domains is an effective strategy to overcome challenges in areas that interface between biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Communication in such collaborations can itself be challenging.  Even when projects are successfully concluded, resulting publications - necessarily multi-authored - have the potential to be disjointed. Few, both in the field and outside, may be able to fully understand the work as a whole. This needs to be addressed to facilitate efficient working, peer review, accessibility and impact to larger audiences. We are an interdisciplinary team working in a nascent scientific area, the repurposing of DNA as a storage medium for digital information. In this note, we highlight some of the difficulties that arise from such collaborations and outline our efforts to improve communication through a glossary and a controlled vocabulary and accessibility via short plain-language summaries. We hope to stimulate early discussion within this emerging field of how our community might improve the description and presentation of our work to facilitate clear communication within and between research groups and increase accessibility to those not familiar with our respective fields - be it molecular biology, computer science, information theory or others that might become relevant in future. To enable an open and inclusive discussion we have created a glossary and controlled vocabulary as a cloud-based shared document and we invite other scientists to critique our suggestions and contribute their own ideas.

  1. Interdisciplinary eHealth Practice in Cancer Care: A Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssen, Anna; Brunner, Melissa; Keep, Melanie; Hines, Monique; Nagarajan, Srivalli Vilapakkam; Kielly-Carroll, Candice; Dennis, Sarah; McKeough, Zoe; Shaw, Tim

    2017-10-25

    This review aimed to identify research that described how eHealth facilitates interdisciplinary cancer care and to understand the ways in which eHealth innovations are being used in this setting. An integrative review of eHealth interventions used for interdisciplinary care for people with cancer was conducted by systematically searching research databases in March 2015, and repeated in September 2016. Searches resulted in 8531 citations, of which 140 were retrieved and scanned in full, with twenty-six studies included in the review. Analysis of data extracted from the included articles revealed five broad themes: (i) data collection and accessibility; (ii) virtual multidisciplinary teams; (iii) communication between individuals involved in the delivery of health services; (iv) communication pathways between patients and cancer care teams; and (v) health professional-led change. Use of eHealth interventions in cancer care was widespread, particularly to support interdisciplinary care. However, research has focused on development and implementation of interventions, rather than on long-term impact. Further research is warranted to explore design, evaluation, and long-term sustainability of eHealth systems and interventions in interdisciplinary cancer care. Technology evolves quickly and researchers need to provide health professionals with timely guidance on how best to respond to new technologies in the health sector.

  2. Transporting ideas between marine and social sciences: experiences from interdisciplinary research programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucy M. Turner

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The oceans comprise 70% of the surface area of our planet, contain some of the world’s richest natural resources and are one of the most significant drivers of global climate patterns. As the marine environment continues to increase in importance as both an essential resource reservoir and facilitator of global change, it is apparent that to find long-term sustainable solutions for our use of the sea and its resources and thus to engage in a sustainable blue economy, an integrated interdisciplinary approach is needed. As a result, interdisciplinary working is proliferating. We report here our experiences of forming interdisciplinary teams (marine ecologists, ecophysiologists, social scientists, environmental economists and environmental law specialists to answer questions pertaining to the effects of anthropogenic-driven global change on the sustainability of resource use from the marine environment, and thus to transport ideas outwards from disciplinary confines. We use a framework derived from the literature on interdisciplinarity to enable us to explore processes of knowledge integration in two ongoing research projects, based on analyses of the purpose, form and degree of knowledge integration within each project. These teams were initially focused around a graduate program, explicitly designed for interdisciplinary training across the natural and social sciences, at the Gothenburg Centre for Marine Research at the University of Gothenburg, thus allowing us to reflect on our own experiences within the context of other multi-national, interdisciplinary graduate training and associated research programs.

  3. Interdisciplinary Roles of Professionals Involved in Mainstreaming Black Exceptional Students in the Mainstream of a Secondary School.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarmiento, Kathleen; And Others

    A Connecticut school's interdisciplinary team approach toward maintaining black handicapped students in the mainstream of a secondary school is described from the point of view of individual team members. The team consists of a social worker, a guidance counselor/psychologist, special education teacher, and reading specialist. The special…

  4. Interdisciplinary team care of cleft lip and palate: social and psychological aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, R P; Broder, H

    1985-10-01

    The organizational example of a university-based team and two patient case studies illustrate how team interaction affects decision making. The model presented for effective team organization is an egalitarian one. Interdependency, flexibility, and open communication among members are essential. Cleft lip and palate teams provide evaluation and treatment that include input from a variety of professional disciplines. The team context makes it possible for care to be coordinated and alleviates the fragmentation of seeking treatment from several independent specialists. Teams also have a special opportunity to address the complex social and psychological issues prevalent in treating persons with birth defects. Specialists, like psychologists and social workers, identify these issues so that surgeons, dentists, and other clinicians may provide a comprehensive treatment plan and management approach. If psychologists or social workers are not available to a team, the group may still successfully integrate a variety of social and personal factors into their decision making. Examples of problem areas and of issues that may be associated with difficulties in adjusting to cleft therapy are included in this article. Teams that effectively address the psychosocial needs of their patients will enhance patient satisfaction, cooperation, and treatment outcomes.

  5. Honorary Authorship Practices in Environmental Science Teams: Structural and Cultural Factors and Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Kevin C; Settles, Isis H; Montgomery, Georgina M; Brassel, Sheila T; Cheruvelil, Kendra Spence; Soranno, Patricia A

    2017-01-01

    Overinclusive authorship practices such as honorary or guest authorship have been widely reported, and they appear to be exacerbated by the rise of large interdisciplinary collaborations that make authorship decisions particularly complex. Although many studies have reported on the frequency of honorary authorship and potential solutions to it, few have probed how the underlying dynamics of large interdisciplinary teams contribute to the problem. This article reports on a qualitative study of the authorship standards and practices of six National Science Foundation-funded interdisciplinary environmental science teams. Using interviews of the lead principal investigator and an early-career member on each team, our study explores the nature of honorary authorship practices as well as some of the motivating factors that may contribute to these practices. These factors include both structural elements (policies and procedures) and cultural elements (values and norms) that cross organizational boundaries. Therefore, we provide recommendations that address the intersection of these factors and that can be applied at multiple organizational levels.

  6. Best Practices for Interdisciplinary Care Management by Hospital Glycemic Teams: Results of a Society of Hospital Medicine Survey Among 19 U.S. Hospitals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magee, Michelle; Ramos, Pedro; Seley, Jane Jeffrie; Nolan, Ann; Kulasa, Kristen; Caudell, Kathryn Ann; Lamb, Aimee; MacIndoe, John; Maynard, Greg

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Objective. The Society for Hospital Medicine (SHM) conducted a survey of U.S. hospital systems to determine how nonphysician providers (NPPs) are utilized in interdisciplinary glucose management teams. Methods. An online survey grouped 50 questions into broad categories related to team functions. Queries addressed strategies that had proven successful, as well as challenges encountered. Fifty surveys were electronically distributed with an invitation to respond. A subset of seven respondents identified as having active glycemic committees that met at least every other month also participated in an in-depth telephone interview conducted by an SHM Glycemic Advisory Panel physician and NPP to obtain further details. The survey and interviews were conducted from May to July 2012. Results. Nineteen hospital/hospital system teams completed the survey (38% response rate). Most of the teams (52%) had existed for 1–5 years and served 90–100% of noncritical care, medical critical care, and surgical units. All of the glycemic control teams were supported by the use of protocols for insulin infusion, basal-bolus subcutaneous insulin orders, and hypoglycemia management. However, > 20% did not have protocols for discontinuation of oral hypoglycemic agents on admission or for transition from intravenous to subcutaneous insulin infusion. About 30% lacked protocols assessing A1C during the admission or providing guidance for insulin pump management. One-third reported that glycemic triggers led to preauthorized consultation or assumption of care for hyperglycemia. Institutional knowledge assessment programs were common for nurses (85%); intermediate for pharmacists, nutritionists, residents, and students (40–45%); and uncommon for fellows (25%) and attending physicians (20%). Many institutions were not monitoring appropriate use of insulin, oral agents, or insulin protocol utilization. Although the majority of teams had a process in place for post-discharge referrals

  7. Wahlfach Teamarbeit: Ergebnisse eines Pilotprojektes zur interprofessionellen und interdisziplinären Ausbildung mit formativem Team-OSCE (TOSCE [Teamwork elective: Results of a German pilot project on interprofessional and interdisciplinary education with formative team OSCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schmidt, Anita

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available [english] Aims: There is a growing need to implement teamworking in medical education. In reality, interdisciplinary and interprofessional education is often absent. Here we describe a pilot trial developed jointly by the nursing college and the medical faculty in Erlangen (Germany in which nursing students and undergraduate medical students formed interprofessional teams and were confronted with interprofessional cases using simulated patients (SPs and phantoms. The elective was planned using standard curriculum planning instruments and finally evaluated with a novel formative team OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation instrument.Methods: During one year, 20 nursing students participated voluntarily in the project and 10 medical students took the course as an elective. Results: The pilot project was first performed with two tutors, one from the medical school and one from the nursing school, as well as one to two SPs. During the second course, there was only one tutor. Overall evaluation of the voluntary students was good, with some elements (acute stroke, factual knowledge, and general organizational problems that needed to be improved. Performance of a four-station team OSCE was feasible, but raters reported problems in assessing individuals and the team at the same time. Interobserver agreement was satisfactory (kappa 0.35.Conclusions: Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education between a nursing school and a medical school is feasible within an elective, but requires substantial personnel resources. Design and performance of a team OSCE is possible. The validity of the test has to be shown on follow-up.[german] Zielsetzung: Das Lernziel „Fähigkeit zur interprofessionellen und interdisziplinären Teamarbeit“ wird sowohl in der aktuellen Approbationsordnung für Ärzte als auch im Krankenpflegegesetz gefordert. In der Realität gibt es in beiden Ausbildungen kaum gemeinsame Lehreinheiten. Wir beschreiben ein Pilotprojekt

  8. Humor adds the creative touch to CQI teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balzer, J W

    1994-07-01

    The health care industry is looking to continuous quality improvement as a process to both improve patient care and promote cost effectiveness. Interdisciplinary teams are learning to work together and to use data-driven problem solving. Humor adds a creative and welcome touch to the process that makes it easier and more fun to work in teams. The team leader or facilitator who uses humor along the journey sanctions the risk-taking behavior that accompanies creative solutions to tough problems.

  9. Opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary research career development: implementation of a women's health research training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domino, Steven E; Smith, Yolanda R; Johnson, Timothy R B

    2007-03-01

    A key component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap for Medical Research is the development of interdisciplinary research teams. How best to teach and foster interdisciplinary research skills has not been determined. An effort at promoting interdisciplinary research was initiated by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at NIH in 1999. The following year, 12 academic centers were funded to support 56 scholar positions for 2-5 years under Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH). A second cohort of 12 centers, called BIRCWH II, was funded in 2002. In this paper, we present the experience of the University of Michigan BIRCWH program, including a practical approach to dealing with the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary research training. Scholars are mentored not only by their primary research advisor but also by a three-person mentor team as well as by their peers. All scholars and a core of supportive faculty meet regularly to discuss interdisciplinary research career development and approaches to apply knowledge in new ways. Of the original cohort of 10 scholars at the University of Michigan, 7 have achieved independent research funding. Challenges include arranging times to meet, developing a common language and knowledge base, dealing proactively with expectations and misunderstandings, focusing on a conceptual model, and providing timely feedback.

  10. Paradigmatic approaches to studying environment and human health: (Forgotten) implications for interdisciplinary research

    OpenAIRE

    Phoenix, Cassandra; Osborne, Nicholas J.; Redshaw, Clare; Moran, Rebecca; Stahl-timmins, Will; Depledge, Michael H.; Fleming, Lora E.; Wheeler, Benedict W.

    2013-01-01

    Interdisciplinary research is increasingly promoted in a wide range of fields, especially so in the study of relationships between the environment and human health. However, many projects and research teams struggle to address exactly how researchers from a multitude of disciplinary and methodological backgrounds can best work together to maximize the value of this approach to research. In this paper, we briefly review the role of interdisciplinary research, and emphasise that it is not only ...

  11. Leadership styles in interdisciplinary health science education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasnett, Bonita; Clay, Maria

    2008-12-01

    The US Institute of Medicine recommends that all health professionals should deliver patient-centered care as members of interdisciplinary health science teams. The current application of the Bolman and Deal Leadership model to health sciences provides an interesting point of reference to compare leadership styles. This article reviews several applications of that model within academic health care and the aggregate recommendations for leaders of health care disciplines based on collective findings.

  12. Solving challenges in inter- and trans-disciplinary working teams: Lessons from the surgical technology field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korb, Werner; Geißler, Norman; Strauß, Gero

    2015-03-01

    Engineering a medical technology is a complex process, therefore it is important to include experts from different scientific fields. This is particularly true for the development of surgical technology, where the relevant scientific fields are surgery (medicine) and engineering (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, etc.). Furthermore, the scientific field of human factors is important to ensure that a surgical technology is indeed functional, process-oriented, effective, efficient as well as user- and patient-oriented. Working in such trans- and inter-disciplinary teams can be challenging due to different working cultures. The intention of this paper is to propose an innovative cooperative working culture for the interdisciplinary field of computer-assisted surgery (CAS) based on more than ten years of research on the one hand and the interdisciplinary literature on working cultures and various organizational theories on the other hand. In this paper, a retrospective analysis of more than ten years of research work in inter- and trans-disciplinary teams in the field of CAS will be performed. This analysis is based on the documented observations of the authors, the study reports, protocols, lab reports and published publications. To additionally evaluate the scientific experience in an interdisciplinary research team, a literature analysis regarding scientific literature on trans- and inter-disciplinarity was performed. Own research and literature analyses were compared. Both the literature and the scientific experience in an interdisciplinary research team show that consensus finding is not always easy. It is, however, important to start trans- and interdisciplinary projects with a shared mental model and common goals, which include communication and leadership issues within the project teams, i.e. clear and unambiguous information about the individual responsibilities and objectives to attain. This is made necessary due to differing

  13. Team approach to management of oro.facial cleft among African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: An interdisciplinary team approach concept has been proposed for management of oro.facial cleft in the last two decades. Our objective was to evaluate the practice of the team approach concept and practices of the specialists involved in oro.facial cleft care in Africa. Materials and Methods: A snapshot survey ...

  14. Time Series Trends in Corporate Team Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priest, Simon; Lesperance, Mary Ann

    1994-01-01

    In two studies, the Team Development Indicator was repeatedly administered to intact work groups participating in intensive 48-hour residential corporate adventure training (CAT) and various follow-up procedures. CAT significantly improved team behaviors in all training groups, but improvements were maintained or increased only in groups that…

  15. Beautiful Teams Inspiring and Cautionary Tales from Veteran Team Leaders

    CERN Document Server

    Stellman, Andrew

    2009-01-01

    What's it like to work on a great software development team facing an impossible problem? How do you build an effective team? Beautiful Teams takes you behind the scenes with some of the most interesting teams in software engineering history. You'll learn from veteran team leaders' successes and failures, told through a series of engaging personal stories -- and interviews -- by leading programmers, architects, project managers, and thought leaders.

  16. When Teams Go Crazy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuhrmann, Marco; Münch, Jürgen

    2016-01-01

    Software development consists to a large extend of human-based processes with continuously increasing demands regarding interdisciplinary team work. Understanding the dynamics of software teams can be seen as highly important to successful project execution. Hence, for future project managers......, knowledge about non-technical processes in teams is significant. In this paper, we present a course unit that provides an environment in which students can learn and experience the impact of group dynamics on project performance and quality. The course unit uses the Tuckman model as theoretical framework......, and borrows from controlled experiments to organize and implement its practical parts in which students then experience the effects of, e.g., time pressure, resource bottlenecks, staff turnover, loss of key personnel, and other stress factors. We provide a detailed design of the course unit to allow...

  17. The human side of lean teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wackerbarth, Sarah B; Strawser-Srinath, Jamie R; Conigliaro, Joseph C

    2015-05-01

    Organizations use lean principles to increase quality and decrease costs. Lean projects require an understanding of systems-wide processes and utilize interdisciplinary teams. Most lean tools are straightforward, and the biggest barrier to successful implementation is often development of the team aspect of the lean approach. The purpose of this article is to share challenges experienced by a lean team charged with improving a hospital discharge process. Reflection on the experience provides an opportunity to highlight lessons from The Team Handbook by Peter Scholtes and colleagues. To improve the likelihood that process improvement initiatives, including lean projects, will be successful, organizations should consider providing training in organizational change principles and team building. The authors' lean team learned these lessons the hard way. Despite the challenges, the team successfully implemented changes throughout the organization that have had a positive impact. Training to understand the psychology of change might have decreased the resistance faced in implementing these changes. © 2014 by the American College of Medical Quality.

  18. Interdisciplinary preoperative patient education in cardiac surgery.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weert, J. van; Dulmen, S. van; Bar, P.; Venus, E.

    2003-01-01

    Patient education in cardiac surgery is complicated by the fact that cardiac surgery patients meet a lot of different health care providers. Little is known about education processes in terms of interdisciplinary tuning. In this study, complete series of consecutive preoperative consultations of 51

  19. Team Science, Justice, and the Co-Production of Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tebes, Jacob Kraemer

    2018-06-08

    Science increasingly consists of interdisciplinary team-based research to address complex social, biomedical, public health, and global challenges through a practice known as team science. In this article, I discuss the added value of team science, including participatory team science, for generating scientific knowledge. Participatory team science involves the inclusion of public stakeholders on science teams as co-producers of knowledge. I also discuss how constructivism offers a common philosophical foundation for both community psychology and team science, and how this foundation aligns well with contemporary developments in science that emphasize the co-production of knowledge. I conclude with a discussion of how the co-production of knowledge in team science can promote justice. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

  20. Achieving clinical nurse specialist competencies and outcomes through interdisciplinary education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievers, Beth; Wolf, Sherry

    2006-01-01

    Without formal education, many healthcare professionals fail to develop interdisciplinary team skills; however, when students are socialized to interdisciplinary practice through academic clinical learning experiences, effective collaboration skills can be developed. Increasingly, educational environments are challenged to include clinical experiences for students that teach and model interdisciplinary collaboration. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to create an interdisciplinary educational experience for clinical nurse specialist (CNS) students and postgraduate physicians. The interdisciplinary learning experience, supported by an educational grant, provided an interdisciplinary cohort of learners an opportunity to engage in a clinically focused learning experience. The interdisciplinary cohort consisted of CNS students and physicians in various stages of postgraduate training. The clinical experience selected was a quality improvement initiative in which the students were introduced to the concepts and tools of quality improvement. During this 1-month clinical experience, students applied the new skills by implementing a quality improvement project focusing on medication reconciliation in the outpatient setting. The CNS core competencies and outcomes were used to shape the experience for the CNS students. The CNS students exhibited 5 of the 7 essential characteristics of the CNS (leadership, collaboration, consultation skills, ethical conduct, and professional attributes) while demonstrating competencies and fulfilling performance expectations. During this learning experience, the CNS students focused on competencies and outcomes in the organizational sphere of influence. Multiple facilitating factors and barriers were identified. This interdisciplinary clinical experience in a quality improvement initiative provided valuable opportunities for CNS students to develop essential CNS characteristics and to explore practice competencies in the

  1. Translating concerns into action: a detailed qualitative evaluation of an interdisciplinary intervention on medical wards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Stephanie; Johnston, Maximillian J; Beveridge, Iain; Long, Susannah Jane; Athanasiou, Thanos; Sevdalis, Nick

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To understand how frontline reports of day-to-day care failings might be better translated into improvement. Design Qualitative evaluation of an interdisciplinary team intervention capitalising on the frontline experience of care delivery. Prospective clinical team surveillance (PCTS) involved structured interdisciplinary briefings to capture challenges in care delivery, facilitated organisational escalation of the issues they identified, and feedback. Eighteen months of ethnography and two focus groups were conducted with staff taking part in a trial of PCTS. Results PCTS fostered psychological safety—a confidence that the team would not embarrass or punish those who speak up. This was complemented by a hard edge of accountability, whereby team members would regulate their own behaviour in anticipation of future briefings. Frontline concerns were triaged to managers, or resolved autonomously by ward teams, reversing what had been well-established normalisations of deviance. Junior clinicians found a degree of catharsis in airing their concerns, and their teams became more proactive in addressing improvement opportunities. PCTS generated tangible organisational changes, and enabled managers to make a convincing case for investment. However, briefings were constrained by the need to preserve professional credibility, and staff found some comfort in avoiding accountability. At higher organisational levels, frontline concerns were subject to competition with other priorities, and their resolution was limited by the scale of the challenges they described. Conclusions Prospective safety strategies relying on staff-volunteered data produce acceptable, negotiated accounts, subject to the many interdisciplinary tensions that characterise ward work. Nonetheless, these strategies give managers access to the realities of frontline cares, and support frontline staff to make incremental changes in their daily work. These are goals for learning healthcare

  2. Improvements in CanMEDS competencies for medical students in an interdisciplinary and voluntary setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vildbrad MD

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Mads Dam Vildbrad, Johanne Marie Lyhne International Medical Cooperation Committee, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Background: To practice medicine, doctors must master leadership, communication, team management, and collaboration, in addition to medical knowledge. The CanMEDS framework describes seven roles of a doctor, but the six nonmedical expert roles are de-emphasized in the academic medical curriculum. Innovative opportunities are needed for medical students to develop as participants in a world of interdisciplinary health care. Methods: We founded a volunteer-based, interdisciplinary, student-run project called SUNDdag (HEALTHday with 60 students from 12 different educational backgrounds. To evaluate the learning outcomes of the project, we conducted a cross-sectional study using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. Results: Students joined the project due to it being health-promoting, volunteer-based, and interdisciplinary. The medical students reported a significant increase of skills in all seven roles except for “medical expert”. They reported an increased understanding of the non-health-related students' skills. Conclusion: In their future careers, medical students must collaborate with health care professionals in a team-based approach to patient care and with non-health-related professionals in administrative tasks. Interdisciplinary volunteer-based initiatives like SUNDdag are potential platforms for medical students to improve their CanMEDS competencies. We encourage students to initiate similar projects and we encourage faculties to support volunteer-based, interdisciplinary initiatives due to their favorable cost-benefit ratio. Keywords: medical education, voluntarism, interprofessional education, medical students

  3. Organizational and training factors that promote team science: A qualitative analysis and application of theory to the National Institutes of Health's BIRCWH career development program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Winter, Susan; Fiore, Stephen M; Regensteiner, Judith G; Nagel, Joan

    2017-04-01

    Research organizations face challenges in creating infrastructures that cultivates and sustains interdisciplinary team science. The objective of this paper is to identify structural elements of organizations and training that promote team science. We qualitatively analyzed the National Institutes of Health's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health, K12 using organizational psychology and team science theories to identify organizational design factors for successful team science and training. Seven key design elements support team science: (1) semiformal meta-organizational structure, (2) shared context and goals, (3) formal evaluation processes, (4) meetings to promote communication, (5) role clarity in mentoring, (6) building interpersonal competencies among faculty and trainees, and (7) designing promotion and tenure and other organizational processes to support interdisciplinary team science. This application of theory to a long-standing and successful program provides important foundational elements for programs and institutions to consider in promoting team science.

  4. Study on team evaluation. Team process model for team evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasou Kunihide; Ebisu, Mitsuhiro; Hirose, Ayako

    2004-01-01

    Several studies have been done to evaluate or improve team performance in nuclear and aviation industries. Crew resource management is the typical example. In addition, team evaluation recently gathers interests in other teams of lawyers, medical staff, accountants, psychiatrics, executive, etc. However, the most evaluation methods focus on the results of team behavior that can be observed through training or actual business situations. What is expected team is not only resolving problems but also training younger members being destined to lead the next generation. Therefore, the authors set the final goal of this study establishing a series of methods to evaluate and improve teams inclusively such as decision making, motivation, staffing, etc. As the first step, this study develops team process model describing viewpoints for the evaluation. The team process is defined as some kinds of power that activate or inactivate competency of individuals that is the components of team's competency. To find the team process, the authors discussed the merits of team behavior with the experienced training instructors and shift supervisors of nuclear/thermal power plants. The discussion finds four team merits and many components to realize those team merits. Classifying those components into eight groups of team processes such as 'Orientation', 'Decision Making', 'Power and Responsibility', 'Workload Management', 'Professional Trust', 'Motivation', 'Training' and 'staffing', the authors propose Team Process Model with two to four sub processes in each team process. In the future, the authors will develop methods to evaluate some of the team processes for nuclear/thermal power plant operation teams. (author)

  5. Illusions of team working in health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Michael A; Lyubovnikova, Joanne

    2013-01-01

    The ubiquity and value of teams in healthcare are well acknowledged. However, in practice, healthcare teams vary dramatically in their structures and effectiveness in ways that can damage team processes and patient outcomes. The aim of this paper is to highlight these characteristics and to extrapolate several important aspects of teamwork that have a powerful impact on team effectiveness across healthcare contexts. The paper draws upon the literature from health services management and organisational behaviour to provide an overview of the current science of healthcare teams. Underpinned by the input-process-output framework of team effectiveness, team composition, team task, and organisational support are viewed as critical inputs that influence key team processes including team objectives, leadership and reflexivity, which in turn impact staff and patient outcomes. Team training interventions and care pathways can facilitate more effective interdisciplinary teamwork. The paper argues that the prevalence of the term "team" in healthcare makes the synthesis and advancement of the scientific understanding of healthcare teams a challenge. Future research therefore needs to better define the fundamental characteristics of teams in studies in order to ensure that findings based on real teams, rather than pseudo-like groups, are accumulated.

  6. Measurement properties and implementation of a checklist to assess leadership skills during interdisciplinary rounds in the intensive care unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ten Have, Elsbeth C M; Nap, Raoul E; Tulleken, Jaap E

    2015-01-01

    The implementation of interdisciplinary teams in the intensive care unit (ICU) has focused attention on leadership behavior. A daily recurrent situation in ICUs in which both leadership behavior and interdisciplinary teamwork are integrated concerns the interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs). Although IDRs are recommended to provide optimal interdisciplinary and patient-centered care, there are no checklists available for leading physicians. We tested the measurement properties and implementation of a checklist to assess the quality of leadership skills in interdisciplinary rounds. The measurement properties of the checklist, which included 10 essential quality indicators, were tested for interrater reliability and internal consistency and by factor analysis. The interrater reliability among 3 raters was good (κ, 0.85) and the internal consistency was acceptable (α, 0.74). Factor analysis showed all factor loadings on 1 domain (>0.65). The checklist was further implemented during videotaped IDRs which were led by senior physicians and in which 99 patients were discussed. Implementation of the checklist showed a wide range of "no" and "yes" scores among the senior physicians. These results may underline the need for such a checklist to ensure tasks are synchronized within the team.

  7. Palliative care teams: effective through moral reflection.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hermsen, M.A.; Have, H.A.M.J. ten

    2005-01-01

    Working as a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary team is an essential condition to provide good palliative care. This widespread assumption is based on the idea that teamwork makes it possible to address the various needs of the patient and family more effectively. This article is about teamwork

  8. Medicine as It Should Be: Teaching Team and Teamwork during a Palliative Care Clerkship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Head, Barbara A; Furman, Christian Davis; Lally, Andrew M; Leake, Kimberly; Pfeifer, Mark

    2018-05-01

    Interprofessional Education (IPE) is an important component of medical education. Rotations with palliative care interdisciplinary teams (IDTs) provide an optimal environment for IPE and teaching teamwork skills. Our objective was to assess the learning of senior medical students during a palliative care rotation. A constant comparison method based on grounded theory was used in this qualitative study. Senior medical students completed a semi-structured reflective writing exercise after a required one-week palliative care clerkship. Sixty randomly selected reflective writings were analyzed. The reflective writings were analyzed to evaluate the student's experiences. Dominant themes identified were related to teams and teamwork. Eight specific themes were identified: value of IDT for team members; value of IDT for patient/family; importance of each team member; reliance on other team members; roles of team members; how teams work; team communication; and interdisciplinary assessment and care planning. Students described exposure to novel experiences and planned to incorporate newly learned behaviors in their future practice. By participating in palliative care IDTs, medical students consistently learned about teamwork within healthcare. Additionally, they learned the importance of such teamwork to patients and the team itself. Rotations with palliative care IDTs have a significant role to play in IPE and preparing medical students to practice on teams.

  9. What makes teacher teams in a vocational education context effective?: A qualitative study of managers' view on team working

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Truijen, Karin; Sleegers, Peter; Meelissen, Martina; Nieuwenhuis, Loek

    2018-01-01

    Purpose – At a time when secondary vocational education is implementing competence-based education (CBE) on a large scale, to adapt to the needs of students and of the labour market in a modern society, many vocational schools have recognised that interdisciplinary teacher teams are an important

  10. What makes teacher teams in a vocational education context effective? A qualitative study of managers' view on team working

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Truijen, K.J.P.; Sleegers, P.J.C.; Meelissen, Martina R.M.; Nieuwenhuis, Loek

    2013-01-01

    Purpose – At a time when secondary vocational education is implementing competence-based education (CBE) on a large scale, to adapt to the needs of students and of the labour market in a modern society, many vocational schools have recognised that interdisciplinary teacher teams are an important

  11. Personality and community prevention teams: Dimensions of team leader and member personality predicting team functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Mark E; Kim, Ji-Yeon; Greenberg, Mark T

    2008-11-01

    The predictors and correlates of positive functioning among community prevention teams have been examined in a number of research studies; however, the role of personality has been neglected. In this study, we examined whether team member and leader personality dimensions assessed at the time of team formation predicted local prevention team functioning 2.5-3.5 years later. Participants were 159 prevention team members in 14 communities participating in the PROSPER study of prevention program dissemination. Three aspects of personality, aggregated at the team level, were examined as predictors: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. A series of multivariate regression analyses were performed that accounted for the interdependency of five categories of team functioning. Results showed that average team member Openness was negatively, and Conscientiousness was positively linked to team functioning. The findings have implications for decisions about the level and nature of technical assistance support provided to community prevention teams.

  12. The adoption of an interdisciplinary instructional model in secondary education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misicko, Martin W.

    This study describes the experiences of a secondary high school involved in the adoption of an interdisciplinary curriculum. An interdisciplinary curriculum is defined as both the precalculus and physics curriculums taught collaboratively throughout the school year. The students' academic performances were analyzed to gage the success of the interdisciplinary model. The four year study compared students taught precalculus in a traditional discipline-based classroom versus those facilitated in an interdisciplinary precalculus/physics model. It also documents the administrative changes necessary in restructuring a high school to an interdisciplinary team teaching model. All of the students in both pedagogical models received instruction from the same teacher, and were given identical assessment materials. Additionally, the curriculum guidelines and standards of learning were duplicated for both models. The primary difference of the two models focused on the applications of mathematics in the physics curriculum. Prerequisite information was compared in both models to ensure that the students in the study had comparable qualifications prior to the facilitation of the precalculus curriculum. Common trends were analyzed and discussed from the student's performance data. The students enrolled in the interdisciplinary model appeared to outperform the discipline-based students in common evaluative assessments. The themes and outcomes described in this study provide discussion topics for further investigation by other school districts. Further study is necessary to determine whether scheduling changes may have influenced student performances, and to examine whether other content areas may experience similar results.

  13. Interdisciplinary methods and practices for integrating social sciences into studies on catchment evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, G.

    2017-12-01

    Real world problems rarely regard disciplinary boundaries. This is particularly apparent in catchments, where knowledge and understanding from many different research disciplines is essential to address the water resource challenges facing society. People are an integral part of any catchment. Therefore a comprehensive understanding of catchment evolution needs to include the social system. Socio-hydrological models that can simulate the co-evolution of human-water systems, for example, with regards to floods and droughts, show great promise in their capacity to capture and understand such systems. Yet, to develop socio-hydrological models into more comprehensive analysis tools that adequately capture the social components of the system, researchers need to embrace interdisciplinary working and multi-disciplinary research teams. By exploring the development of interdisciplinary research in a water programme, several key practices have been identified that support interdisciplinary collaboration. These include clarification where researchers discuss and re-explain their research or position to expose all the assumptions being made until all involved understand it; harnessing differences where different opinions and types of knowledge are treated respectfully to minimise tensions and disputes; and boundary setting where defensible limits to the research enquiry are set with consideration for the restrictions (funds, skills, resources) through negotiation and discussion between the research team members. Focussing on these research practices while conducting interdisciplinary collaborative research into the human-water system, is anticipated to support the development of more integrated approaches and models.

  14. Multidisciplinary team functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovitz, K E; Dougan, P; Riese, R; Brummitt, J R

    1984-01-01

    This paper advocates the need to move beyond interdisciplinary team composition as a minimum criterion for multidisciplinary functioning in child abuse treatment. Recent developments within the field reflect the practice of shared professional responsibility for detection, case management and treatment. Adherence to this particular model for intervention requires cooperative service planning and implementation as task related functions. Implicitly, this model also carries the potential to incorporate the supportive functioning essential to effective group process. However, explicit attention to the dynamics and process of small groups has been neglected in prescriptive accounts of multidisciplinary child abuse team organization. The present paper therefore focuses upon the maintenance and enhancement aspects of multidisciplinary group functioning. First, the development and philosophy of service for the Alberta Children's Hospital Child Abuse Program are reviewed. Second, composition of the team, it's mandate for service, and the population it serves are briefly described. Third, the conceptual framework within which the program functions is outlined. Strategies for effective group functioning are presented and the difficulties encountered with this model are highlighted. Finally, recommendations are offered for planning and implementing a multidisciplinary child abuse team and for maintaining its effective group functioning.

  15. Improvements in CanMEDS competencies for medical students in an interdisciplinary and voluntary setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lyhne, Mads Dam; Lyhne, Johanne Dam

    2014-01-01

    . Innovative opportunities are needed for medical students to develop as participants in a world of interdisciplinary health care. METHODS: We founded a volunteer-based, interdisciplinary, student-run project called SUNDdag (HEALTHday) with 60 students from 12 different educational backgrounds. To evaluate...... seven roles except for "medical expert". They reported an increased understanding of the non-health-related students' skills. CONCLUSION: In their future careers, medical students must collaborate with health care professionals in a team-based approach to patient care and with non...

  16. Interdisciplinary Transgender Veteran Care: Development of a Core Curriculum for VHA Providers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shipherd, Jillian C.; Kauth, Michael R.; Firek, Anthony F.; Garcia, Ranya; Mejia, Susan; Laski, Sandra; Walden, Brent; Perez-Padilla, Sonia; Lindsay, Jan A.; Brown, George; Roybal, Lisa; Keo-Meier, Colton L.; Knapp, Herschel; Johnson, Laura; Reese, Rebecca L.; Byne, William

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Purpose: The Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) has created a training program for interdisciplinary teams of providers on the unique treatment needs of transgender veterans. An overview of this program's structure and content is described along with an evaluation of each session and the program overall. Methods: A specialty care team delivered 14 didactic courses supplemented with case consultation twice per month over the course of 7 months through video teleconferencing to 16 teams of learners. Each team, consisting of at least one mental health provider (e.g., social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist) and one medical provider (e.g., physician, nurse, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, or pharmacist), received training and consultation on transgender veteran care. Results: In the first three waves of learners, 111 providers across a variety of disciplines attended the sessions and received training. Didactic topics included hormone therapy initiation and adjustments, primary care issues, advocacy within the system, and psychotherapy issues. Responses were provided to 39 veteran-specific consult questions to augment learning. Learners reported an increase in knowledge plus an increase in team cohesion and functioning. As a result, learners anticipated treating more transgender veterans in the future. Conclusion: VHA providers are learning about the unique healthcare needs of transgender veterans and benefitting from the training opportunity offered through the Transgender Specialty Care Access Network–Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes program. The success of this program in training interdisciplinary teams of providers suggests that it might serve as a model for other large healthcare systems. In addition, it provides a path forward for individual learners (both within VHA and in the community) who wish to increase their knowledge. PMID:29159298

  17. String Quartets as Self-Managed Teams: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilboa, Avi; Tal-Shmotkin, Malka

    2012-01-01

    This article examines empirically and systematically whether a string quartet (SQ) ensemble is perceived as a self-managed team (SMT). SMTs, which were initially employed in the industrial world, are groups of employees that have a total responsibility for a defined project. The hypothesis that the SQ would exhibit more typical SMT characteristics…

  18. [Involvement of medical representatives in team medical care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirotsu, Misaki; Sohma, Michiro; Takagi, Hidehiko

    2009-04-01

    In recent years, chemotherapies have been further advanced because of successive launch of new drugs, introduction of molecular targeting, etc., and the concept of so-called Team Medical Care ,the idea of sharing interdisciplinary expertise for collaborative treatment, has steadily penetrated in the Japanese medical society. Dr. Naoto Ueno is a medical oncologist at US MD Anderson Cancer Center, the birthplace of the Team Medical Care. He has advocated the concept of ABC of Team Oncology by positioning pharmaceutical companies as Team C. Under such team practice, we believe that medical representatives of a pharmaceutical company should also play a role as a member of the Team Medical Care by providing appropriate drug use information to healthcare professionals, supporting post-marketing surveillance of treated patients, facilitating drug information sharing among healthcare professionals at medical institutions, etc.

  19. Development of Emotional Skills through Interdisciplinary Practices Integrated into a University Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. L. Pertegal-Felices

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The emotional profile of university students has been related to both academic performance and professional success. Such evidence has led higher education professionals to ask whether students can be trained in emotional skills at university stage. However, learning specific emotional skills requires a considerable investment of time from students. This paper presents an intervention aimed at developing emotional skills through interdisciplinary teamwork, without adding specific courses that could decrease the time that students devote to their core studies. The results indicated that working in interdisciplinary teams improved the level of emotional skills without hindering the attainment of academic objectives.

  20. Two Project-Based Strategies in an Interdisciplinary Mathematical Modeling in Biology Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludwig, Patrice; Tongen, Anthony; Walton, Brian

    2018-01-01

    James Madison University faculty team-teach an interdisciplinary mathematical modeling course for mathematics and biology students. We have used two different project-based approaches to emphasize the mathematical concepts taught in class, while also exposing students to new areas of mathematics not formally covered in class. The first method…

  1. Challenges and potential improvements in the admission process of patients with spinal cord injury in a specialized rehabilitation clinic - an interview based qualitative study of an interdisciplinary team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röthlisberger, Fabian; Boes, Stefan; Rubinelli, Sara; Schmitt, Klaus; Scheel-Sailer, Anke

    2017-06-26

    The admission process of patients to a hospital is the starting point for inpatient services. In order to optimize the quality of the health services provision, one needs a good understanding of the patient admission workflow in a clinic. The aim of this study was to identify challenges and potential improvements in the admission process of spinal cord injury patients at a specialized rehabilitation clinic from the perspective of an interdisciplinary team of health professionals. Semi-structured interviews with eight health professionals (medical doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses) at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre (acute and rehabilitation clinic) were conducted based on a maximum variety purposive sampling strategy. The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The interviewees described the challenges and potential improvements in this admission process, focusing on five themes. First, the characteristics of the patient with his/her health condition and personality and his/her family influence different areas in the admission process. Improvements in the exchange of information between the hospital and the patient could speed up and simplify the admission process. In addition, challenges and potential improvements were found concerning the rehabilitation planning, the organization of the admission process and the interdisciplinary work. This study identified five themes of challenges and potential improvements in the admission process of spinal cord injury patients at a specialized rehabilitation clinic. When planning adaptations of process steps in one of the areas, awareness of effects in other fields is necessary. Improved pre-admission information would be a first important step to optimize the admission process. A common IT-system providing an interdisciplinary overview and possibilities for interdisciplinary exchange would support the management of the admission process. Managers of other hospitals can supplement

  2. How to successfully publish interdisciplinary research: learning from an Ecology and Society Special Feature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Pohl

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available What are the factors that hinder or support publishing interdisciplinary research? What does a successful interdisciplinary publishing process look like? We address these questions by analyzing the publishing process of the interdisciplinary research project titled "Mountland." Project researchers published most of their main results as a Special Feature of Ecology and Society. Using the story wall method and qualitative content analysis, we identified ten factors contributing to the success or failure of publishing interdisciplinary research. They can be assigned to four groups of resources: scientific resources, i.e., previous joint research, simultaneously written manuscripts; human resources, i.e., coordination, flexibility, composition of the team; integrative resources, i.e., vision of integration, chronology of results; and feedback resources, i.e., internal reviews, subject editors, external reviewers. According to this analysis, an ideal-typical publishing process necessitates, among other things, (1 a strong, interdisciplinary coordinator, (2 a clear shared vision of integration and a common framework, (3 flexibility in terms of money and time, (4 a certain sense of timing regarding when and how to exchange results and knowledge, (5 subject editors who are familiar with the specific project and its interdisciplinary merits, and (6 reviewers who are open minded about interdisciplinary efforts.

  3. Highly comparative time-series analysis: the empirical structure of time series and their methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulcher, Ben D; Little, Max A; Jones, Nick S

    2013-06-06

    The process of collecting and organizing sets of observations represents a common theme throughout the history of science. However, despite the ubiquity of scientists measuring, recording and analysing the dynamics of different processes, an extensive organization of scientific time-series data and analysis methods has never been performed. Addressing this, annotated collections of over 35 000 real-world and model-generated time series, and over 9000 time-series analysis algorithms are analysed in this work. We introduce reduced representations of both time series, in terms of their properties measured by diverse scientific methods, and of time-series analysis methods, in terms of their behaviour on empirical time series, and use them to organize these interdisciplinary resources. This new approach to comparing across diverse scientific data and methods allows us to organize time-series datasets automatically according to their properties, retrieve alternatives to particular analysis methods developed in other scientific disciplines and automate the selection of useful methods for time-series classification and regression tasks. The broad scientific utility of these tools is demonstrated on datasets of electroencephalograms, self-affine time series, heartbeat intervals, speech signals and others, in each case contributing novel analysis techniques to the existing literature. Highly comparative techniques that compare across an interdisciplinary literature can thus be used to guide more focused research in time-series analysis for applications across the scientific disciplines.

  4. Technological Augmentation of Human Cognition: An Interdisciplinary Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

    A series of five interdisciplinary conferences held over a two-year period explored new teaching and training concepts and methodologies which offer powerful, symbiotic means of augmenting human cognition. The basic discussion points of the conferences are summarized. It was felt that the conferences were significant in that they brought together…

  5. Interdisciplinary shock-room care: tasks for the radiologist from the viewpoint of the trauma surgeon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mutschler, W.; Kanz, K.G.

    2002-01-01

    Efficient resuscitation of major trauma requests an interdisciplinary communication between trauma surgeons, anaesthesiologists and radiologists. Trauma outcome is significantly influenced by horizontal trauma team organisation and coherence to clinical algorithms, which allow fast diagnosis and intervention. A radiologist present on patients arrival in the trauma room provides a major impact on trauma care. Nevertheless optimal integration in the trauma team implies profound knowledge of the priorities of advanced trauma life support and trauma algorithms. His or her involvement is not limited to patient care only, also active participation in trauma room design, interdisciplinary algorithm development and trauma research are essential tasks for radiologists devoted to emergency radiology. Based on the pathophysiology of polytrauma and the structure of German trauma system, current concepts and proven clinical algorithms with special regard to the radiologist and his duties and tasks will are presented. (orig.) [de

  6. Interdisciplinary innovations in biomedical and health informatics graduate education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demiris, G

    2007-01-01

    Biomedical and health informatics (BHI) is a rapidly growing domain that relies on the active collaboration with diverse disciplines and professions. Educational initiatives in BHI need to prepare students with skills and competencies that will allow them to function within and even facilitate interdisciplinary teams (IDT). This paper describes an interdisciplinary educational approach introduced into a BHI graduate curriculum that aims to prepare informatics researchers to lead IDT research. A case study of the "gerontechnology" research track is presented which highlights how the curriculum fosters collaboration with and understanding of the disciplines of Nursing, Engineering, Computer Science, and Health Administration. Gerontechnology is a new interdisciplinary field that focuses on the use of technology to support aging. Its aim is to explore innovative ways to use information technology and develop systems that support independency and increase quality of life for senior citizens. As a result of a large research group that explores "smart home" technologies and the use of information technology, we integrated this new domain into the curriculum providing a platform for computer scientists, engineers, nurses and physicians to explore challenges and opportunities with our informatics students and faculty. The interdisciplinary educational model provides an opportunity for health informatics students to acquire the skills for communication and collaboration with other disciplines. Numerous graduate and postgraduate students have already participated in this initiative. The evaluation model of this approach is presented. Interdisciplinary educational models are required for health informatics graduate education. Such models need to be innovative and reflect the needs and trends in the domains of health care and information technology.

  7. Building Bridges. Researchers on their experiences with interdisciplinary research in the Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Boer, Y.; De Gier, A.; Verschuur, M.; De Wit, B.

    2006-01-01

    The central question in this booklet is: what can we learn from interdisciplinary research and individual interdisciplinary researchers? How did they deal with specific problems in the field of epistemology, methodology and organization? What kind of persons are best suited to carry out interdisciplinary research or fulfil the task of project or programme coordinator? For this purpose, a series of interviews was held with fifteen scientists in the Netherlands. Most, but not all of the researchers interviewed are engaged in environmental and climate change research. A minority of the interviewed do research on other topics like demography, social geography, nano technology and philosophy of science

  8. A multidimensional approach to examine student interdisciplinary learning in science and engineering in higher education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spelt, Elisabeth Jacoba Hendrika; Luning, Pieternelleke Arianne; van Boekel, Martinus A. J. S.; Mulder, Martin

    2017-11-01

    Preparing science and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams necessitates research on teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking. A multidimensional approach was taken to examine student interdisciplinary learning in a master course on food quality management. The collected 615 student experiences were analysed for the cognitive, emotional, and social learning dimensions using the learning theory of Illeris. Of these 615 experiences, the analysis showed that students reported 214, 194, and 207 times on, respectively, the emotional, the cognitive, and the social dimension. Per learning dimension, key learning experiences featuring interdisciplinary learning were identified such as 'frustrations in selecting and matching disciplinary knowledge to complex problems' (emotional), 'understanding how to apply theoretical models or concepts to real-world situations' (cognitive), and 'socially engaging with peers to recognise similarities in perceptions and experiences' (social). Furthermore, the results showed that students appreciated the cognitive dimension relatively more than the emotional and social dimensions.

  9. A Multidisciplinary Team-Teaching Approach to Sustainable Business Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izberk-Bilgin, Elif; Klein, Barbara D.; Chandra, Charu; Lee, Hei-Wai; Susko, David; Lee, Moses; Zikanov, Oleg

    2012-01-01

    Sustainability has been identified as one of the most pressing challenges for business and society. However, research shows that sustainability topics are still not given sufficient attention in higher education, particularly in the undergraduate business curriculum. This paper offers a template for an interdisciplinary, team-taught undergraduate…

  10. Quality improvement of interdisciplinary rounds by leadership training based on essential quality indicators of the Interdisciplinary Rounds Assessment Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ten Have, Elsbeth C M; Nap, Raoul E; Tulleken, Jaap E

    2013-10-01

    The implementation of interdisciplinary teams in the intensive care unit (ICU) has focused attention on leadership behavior. Daily interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) in ICUs integrate leadership behavior and interdisciplinary teamwork. The purpose of this intervention study was to measure the effect of leadership training on the quality of IDRs in the ICU. A nonrandomized intervention study was conducted in four ICUs for adults. The intervention was a 1-day training session in a simulation environment and workplace-based feedback sessions. Measurement included 28 videotaped IDRs (total, 297 patient presentations) that were assessed with 10 essential quality indicators of the validated IDR Assessment Scale. Participants were 19 intensivists who previously had no formal training in leading IDRs. They were subdivided by cluster sampling into a control group (ten experienced intensivists) and intervention group (nine intensive care fellows). Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare results between control and intervention groups. Baseline measurements of control and intervention groups revealed two indicators that differed significantly. The frequency of yes ratings for the intervention group significantly increased for seven of the ten indicators from before to after intervention. The frequency of yes ratings after training was significantly greater in the intervention than control groups for eight of the ten essential quality indicators. The leadership training improved the quality of the IDRs performed in the ICUs. This may improve quality and safety of patient care.

  11. Challenges and rewards on the road to translational systems biology in acute illness: four case reports from interdisciplinary teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Gary; Hunt, C Anthony; Clermont, Gilles; Neugebauer, Edmund; Vodovotz, Yoram

    2007-06-01

    Translational systems biology approaches can be distinguished from mainstream systems biology in that their goal is to drive novel therapies and streamline clinical trials in critical illness. One systems biology approach, dynamic mathematical modeling (DMM), is increasingly used in dealing with the complexity of the inflammatory response and organ dysfunction. The use of DMM often requires a broadening of research methods and a multidisciplinary team approach that includes bioscientists, mathematicians, engineers, and computer scientists. However, the development of these groups must overcome domain-specific barriers to communication and understanding. We present 4 case studies of successful translational, interdisciplinary systems biology efforts, which differ by organizational level from an individual to an entire research community. Case 1 is a single investigator involved in DMM of the acute inflammatory response at Cook County Hospital, in which extensive translational progress was made using agent-based models of inflammation and organ damage. Case 2 is a community-level effort from the University of Witten-Herdecke in Cologne, whose efforts have led to the formation of the Society for Complexity in Acute Illness. Case 3 is an institution-based group, the Biosystems Group at the University of California, San Francisco, whose work has included a focus on a common lexicon for DMM. Case 4 is an institution-based, transdisciplinary research group (the Center for Inflammation and Regenerative Modeling at the University of Pittsburgh), whose modeling work has led to internal education efforts, grant support, and commercialization. A transdisciplinary approach, which involves team interaction in an iterative fashion to address ambiguity and is supported by educational initiatives, is likely to be necessary for DMM in acute illness. Communitywide organizations such as the Society of Complexity in Acute Illness must strive to facilitate the implementation of DMM in

  12. Ties That Bind International Research Teams: A Network Multilevel Model of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kollasch, Aurelia Wiktoria

    2012-01-01

    Today large research projects require substantial involvement of researchers from different organizations, disciplines, or cultures working in groups or teams to accomplish a common goal of producing, sharing, and disseminating scientific knowledge. This study focuses on the international research team that was launched in response to pressing…

  13. Team research at the biology-mathematics interface: project management perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milton, John G; Radunskaya, Ami E; Lee, Arthur H; de Pillis, Lisette G; Bartlett, Diana F

    2010-01-01

    The success of interdisciplinary research teams depends largely upon skills related to team performance. We evaluated student and team performance for undergraduate biology and mathematics students who participated in summer research projects conducted in off-campus laboratories. The student teams were composed of a student with a mathematics background and an experimentally oriented biology student. The team mentors typically ranked the students' performance very good to excellent over a range of attributes that included creativity and ability to conduct independent research. However, the research teams experienced problems meeting prespecified deadlines due to poor time and project management skills. Because time and project management skills can be readily taught and moreover typically reflect good research practices, simple modifications should be made to undergraduate curricula so that the promise of initiatives, such as MATH-BIO 2010, can be implemented.

  14. Music therapy applied to complex blast injury in interdisciplinary care: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaudreuil, Rebecca; Avila, Luis; Bradt, Joke; Pasquina, Paul

    2018-04-24

    Music therapy has a long history of treating the physiological, psychological, and neurological injuries of war. Recently, there has been an increase in the use of music therapy and other creative arts therapies in the care of combat injured service members returning to the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan, especially those with complex blast-related injuries. This case report describes the role of music therapy in the interdisciplinary rehabilitation of a severely injured service member. Music therapy was provided as stand-alone treatment and in co-treatment with speech language pathology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. The report is based on clinical notes, self-reports by the patient and his wife, and interviews with rehabilitation team members. In collaboration with other treatment disciplines, music therapy contributed to improvements in range of motion, functional use of bilateral upper extremities, strength endurance, breath support, articulation, task-attention, compensatory strategies, social integration, quality of life, and overall motivation in the recovery process. The inclusion of music therapy in rehabilitation was highly valued by the patient, his family, and the treatment team. Music therapy has optimized the rehabilitation of a service member through assisting the recovery process on a continuum from clinic to community. Implications for Rehabilitation Music therapy in stand-alone sessions and in co-treatment with traditional disciplines can enhance treatment outcomes in functional domains of motor, speech, cognition, social integration, and quality of life for military populations. Music therapists can help ease discomfort and difficulty associated with rehabilitation activities, thereby enhancing patient motivation and participation in interdisciplinary care. Music therapy assists treatment processes from clinic to community, making it highly valued by the patient, family, and interdisciplinary team members in military

  15. Interdisciplinary Care Model Independently Decreases Use of Critical Care Services After Corrective Surgery for Adult Degenerative Scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adogwa, Owoicho; Elsamadicy, Aladine A; Sergesketter, Amanda R; Ongele, Michael; Vuong, Victoria; Khalid, Syed; Moreno, Jessica; Cheng, Joseph; Karikari, Isaac O; Bagley, Carlos A

    2018-03-01

    Interdisciplinary management of elderly patients requiring spine surgery has been shown to improve short- and long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether an interdisciplinary team approach mitigates use of intensive care unit (ICU) resources. A unique comanagement model for elderly patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery was implemented at a major academic medical center. The Peri-operative Optimization of Senior Health Program (POSH) was launched with the aim of improving outcomes in elderly patients (>65 years old) undergoing complex lumbar spine surgery. In this model, a geriatrician evaluates elderly patients preoperatively, comanages daily throughout hospital course, and coordinates multidisciplinary rehabilitation, along with the neurosurgical team. We retrospectively reviewed the first 100 cases after the initiation of the POSH protocol and compared them with the immediately preceding 25 cases to assess the rates of ICU transfer and independent predictors of ICU admission. A total of 125 patients undergoing lumbar decompression and fusion surgery were enrolled in this pilot program. Baseline characteristics and intraoperative variables, as well as number of fusion levels and duration of surgery, were similar between both cohorts. There was a significant difference in the use of ICU services (ICU admission rates) between both cohorts, with the non-POSH cohort having a 3-fold increase compared with the POSH cohort (P < 0.0001). In a multivariate analysis, lack of an interdisciplinary comanagement team approach was an independent predictor for ICU transfers in elderly patients undergoing corrective surgery (odds ratio 8.51, 95% confidence interval 2.972-24.37, P < 0.0001). Our study suggests that an interdisciplinary comanagement model between geriatrics and neurosurgery is independently associated with reduced use of critical care services. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Social Workers' Perceptions of Job Satisfaction, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and Organizational Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marmo, Suzanne; Berkman, Cathy

    2018-01-01

    To address job satisfaction, and therefore employment retention, of hospice social workers, this study examined how relationships with other members of the interdisciplinary hospice team and perceptions of hospice leadership may be associated with job satisfaction of hospice social workers. The sample of 203 hospice social workers was recruited by e-mailing invitations to hospice social workers identified by hospice directors in three states, use of online social media sites accessed by hospice social workers, and snowball sampling. Study measures included professional experience, hospice characteristics, interdisciplinary collaboration, perception of servant leadership, and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Variables significant in the model for intrinsic satisfaction were perception of servant leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and feeling valued by the hospice physician. Variables significant in the model for extrinsic satisfaction were perception of servant leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, feeling valued by the hospice physician, and number of social workers at the hospice. Interdisciplinary collaboration was more important for intrinsic job satisfaction and leadership style was more important for extrinsic job satisfaction. Profit status of the hospice, experience of the social worker, caseload size, and other variables were not significant in either model. These results support previous findings that leadership style of the hospice director and relationships with hospice colleagues are important for hospice social workers' job satisfaction. Such low-cost modifications to the hospice work environment, albeit not simple, may improve job satisfaction of hospice social workers.

  17. Developing your Career in an Age of Team-Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucker, Deborah

    2013-01-01

    Academic institutions and researchers are becoming increasingly involved in translational research to spur innovation in addressing many complex biomedical and societal problems, and in response to the focus of the NIH and other funders. One approach to translational research is to development interdisciplinary research teams. By bringing together collaborators with diverse research backgrounds and perspectives, these teams seek to blend their science and the workings of the scientists to push beyond the limits of current research. While team-science promises individual and team benefits in creating and implementing innovations, its increased complexity poses challenges. In particular, since academic career advancement commonly focuses on individual achievement, team-science might differentially impact early stage researchers. This need to be recognized for individual accomplishments in order to move forward in an academic career may give rise to research-team conflicts. Raising awareness to career-related aspects of team science will help individuals (particularly trainees and junior faculty) take steps to align their excitement and participation with the success of both the team and their personal career advancement. PMID:22525235

  18. INTERDISCIPLINARY MODULE IN PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION IN POPULATION HEALTH FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandt, Jørgen

    -operate towards appropriate solutions. The groups suggest and present preventive and health promotion solutions and strategies especially designed for this particular situation. The groups are supervised by an interdisciplinary team of occupational therapy and physiotherapy lecturers. In addition......PURPOSE: The purpose is to provide physiotherapy and occupational therapy students at the University College Cvu vita in Holstebro, Denmark, the opportunity to develop competences for interdisciplinary working situations concerning promotion of population health. RELEVANCE: The Danish Ministry...... of the Interior and Health participates in co-operation within the European Union on health areas, which focuses on efforts with respect to public health (Article 152 of the Treaty on EU). The curricula for both educations underline the importance of preparing the students for interdisciplinary co...

  19. Online Interaction and “Real Information Flow”: Contrasts Between Talking About Interdisciplinarity and Achieving Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet Smithson

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available In this article we study how members of an interdisciplinary research team use an online forum for communicating about their research project. We use the concepts of “community of practice” and “connectivity” to consider the online interaction within a wider question of how people from different academic traditions “do” interdisciplinarity. The online forum for this Grey and Pleasant Land project did not take off as hoped, even after a series of interventions and amendments, and we consider what the barriers were and how they might be overcome. Barriers to involvement included participants’ expectations of interaction and collaboration--expectation that real interaction happens elsewhere, tensions between academic discourse and forum talk norms, unfamiliarity with the technology, and different conceptions of appropriate academic discussion. We suggest that common academic practice does not prepare us well for creating interdisciplinary research communities through online collaboration tools, whereas such tools are our best bet currently for including geographically dispersed members in collaborative projects. Therefore, careful planning and competence building would be necessary if such tools are to be used in collaborative research. Suggested interventions, based on our experience, include providing a more focused forum, making technical support easily available, and setting up particular tasks or items to debate, within a preset, synchronous timeframe, focusing on issues relevant to the project at that time.

  20. Team learning for innovation in higher education : a mixed methods study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bron, Rike; Endedijk, Maaike; Sleegers, P.J.C.

    2015-01-01

    In Higher Education, many changes towards more student-centred and interdisciplinary education are designed and implemented. In order to design such educational innovations, teachers in higher education have to work together in teams. In this research we study these teacher collaboration processes

  1. Team Training for Dynamic Cross-Functional Teams in Aviation: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Performance Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littlepage, Glenn E; Hein, Michael B; Moffett, Richard G; Craig, Paul A; Georgiou, Andrea M

    2016-12-01

    This study evaluates the effectiveness of a training program designed to improve cross-functional coordination in airline operations. Teamwork across professional specializations is essential for safe and efficient airline operations, but aviation education primarily emphasizes positional knowledge and skill. Although crew resource management training is commonly used to provide some degree of teamwork training, it is generally focused on specific specializations, and little training is provided in coordination across specializations. The current study describes and evaluates a multifaceted training program designed to enhance teamwork and team performance of cross-functional teams within a simulated airline flight operations center. The training included a variety of components: orientation training, position-specific declarative knowledge training, position-specific procedural knowledge training, a series of high-fidelity team simulations, and a series of after-action reviews. Following training, participants demonstrated more effective teamwork, development of transactive memory, and more effective team performance. Multifaceted team training that incorporates positional training and team interaction in complex realistic situations and followed by after-action reviews can facilitate teamwork and team performance. Team training programs, such as the one described here, have potential to improve the training of aviation professionals. These techniques can be applied to other contexts where multidisciplinary teams and multiteam systems work to perform highly interdependent activities. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  2. Intraprofessional, team-based treatment planning for oral health students in the comprehensive care clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattheos, Nikos; Storrs, Mark; Foster, Lea; Oberholzer, Theunis

    2012-12-01

    In 2009, Griffith University School of Dentistry and Oral Health, in Queensland, Australia, introduced into its various curricula the concept of team-based treatment planning (TBTP), aiming to facilitate intraprofessional, interdisciplinary training and peer learning among its students. Fifty student teams were organized, each of which included students from three programs (Dental Science, Oral Health Therapy, and Dental Technology) and three years of study (third-, fourth-, and fifth-year students). This study prospectively evaluated the impact of TBTP on students' perceptions and attitudes towards teamwork and their role in a team of peers. A total of 202 students who participated in fifty TBTP teams were prospectively surveyed at baseline and at six and twelve months after introduction of TBTP. "Reliable" and "responsible" were reported to be the most important qualities of both an effective team leader and member. Fifth-year students identified "hard-working" as an important quality of the ideal leader as opposed to the fourth-year students who ranked "supportive" higher. Attitudes of the fifth-year students towards TBTP appeared to have declined significantly from the previous years, while fourth-year students remained consistently more positive. In addition, fourth-year students appeared more likely to enjoy working in a team and considered themselves more effective in a team. No gender differences were observed, other than female students' appearing less confident to lead a team. It was concluded that the function of student-directed interdisciplinary, intraprofessional treatment planning teams might pose disproportionate strain on fifth-year students, impacting their attitudes to such modes of work.

  3. Interdisciplinary Education from a College of Nursing and School of Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleton, Sarah; Nacht, Amy

    2015-01-01

    We examine a newly designed, interdisciplinary education program and clinical rotation for the first-year obstetrics and gynecology resident, implemented at the University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, between the College of Nursing midwifery faculty and the School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The barriers to program development, along with the advantages and disadvantages of collaboration between nursing and medical schools, are reviewed. The clinical experience, consisting of 5 clinical shifts, was designed using the conceptual model of collaborative intelligence. A formal rotation with the midwife was constructed for the first-year resident on the labor and delivery unit, providing care to intrapartum and postpartum women and families. The program included didactic and clinical teaching, with an emphasis on the normal physiologic process of birth and introduction to the midwifery scope of practice and philosophy of care. Formative evaluation of the clinical rotation demonstrated strong interest for continuation of the program and an ability to appreciate midwifery components of care in a limited exposure. Moreover, program development was successful without requiring large curricular changes for the resident. Future planning includes expansion of the program with increased emphasis on the postpartum and breastfeeding woman and continued program evaluation. The long-term success of such collaborations will depend on the continued support of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in developing and improving interdisciplinary educational teams. This article is part of a special series of articles that address midwifery innovations in clinical practice, education, interprofessional collaboration, health policy, and global health. © 2015 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

  4. The 5As team intervention: bridging the knowledge gap in obesity management among primary care practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogunleye, Ayodele; Osunlana, Adedayo; Asselin, Jodie; Cave, Andrew; Sharma, Arya Mitra; Campbell-Scherer, Denise Lynn

    2015-12-22

    Despite opportunities for didactic education on obesity management, we still observe low rates of weight management visits in our primary care setting. This paper describes the co-creation by front-line interdisciplinary health care providers and researchers of the 5As Team intervention to improve obesity prevention and management in primary care. We describe the theoretical foundations, design, and core elements of the 5AsT intervention, and the process of eliciting practitioners' self-identified knowledge gaps to inform the curricula for the 5AsT intervention. Themes and topics were identified through facilitated group discussion and a curriculum relevant to this group of practitioners was developed and delivered in a series of 12 workshops. The research question and approach were co-created with the clinical leadership of the PCN; the PCN committed internal resources and a practice facilitator to the effort. Practice facilitation and learning collaboratives were used in the intervention For the content, front-line providers identified 43 topics, related to 13 themes around obesity assessment and management for which they felt the need for further education and training. These needs included: cultural identity and body image, emotional and mental health, motivation, setting goals, managing expectations, weight-bias, caregiver fatigue, clinic dynamics and team-based care, greater understanding of physiology and the use of a systematic framework for obesity assessment (the "4Ms" of obesity). The content of the 12 intervention sessions were designed based on these themes. There was a strong innovation values fit with the 5AsT intervention, and providers were more comfortable with obesity management following the intervention. The 5AsT intervention, including videos, resources and tools, has been compiled for use by clinical teams and is available online at http://www.obesitynetwork.ca/5As_Team . Primary care interdisciplinary practitioners perceive important

  5. eProblem-Based Learning: Problem-Based Learning Using Virtual Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodie, L. M.

    2009-01-01

    Literature on engineering education stresses the need for graduates to have skills such as working globally in a multicultural environment; working in interdisciplinary teams; sharing of tasks on a global, around the clock basis; working with digital communication tools and in a virtual environment. In addition, accreditation criteria include…

  6. How to Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence--Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brassler, Mirjam; Dettmers, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Interdisciplinary competence is important in academia for both employability and sustainable development. However, to date, there are no specific interdisciplinary education models and, naturally, no empirical studies to assess them. Since problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) are learning approaches that emphasize…

  7. Improving Resident Performance Through a Simulated Rapid Response Team: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Peter A; Vest, Michael T; Kher, Hemant; Deutsch, Joseph; Daya, Sneha

    2015-07-01

    The Joint Commission requires hospitals to develop systems in which a team of clinicians can rapidly recognize and respond to changes in a patient's condition. The rapid response team (RRT) concept has been widely adopted as the solution to this mandate. The role of house staff in RRTs and the impact on resident education has been controversial. At Christiana Care Health System, eligible residents in their second through final years lead the RRTs. To evaluate the use of a team-based, interdisciplinary RRT training program for educating and training first-year residents in an effort to improve global RRT performance before residents start their second year. This pilot study was administered in 3 phases. Phase 1 provided residents with classroom-based didactic sessions using case-based RRT scenarios. Multiple choice examinations were administered, as well as a confidence survey based on a Likert scale before and after phase 1 of the program. Phase 2 involved experiential training in which residents engaged as mentored participants in actual RRT calls. A qualitative survey was used to measure perceived program effectiveness after phase 2. In phase 3, led by senior residents, simulated RRTs using medical mannequins were conducted. Participants were divided into 5 teams, in which each resident would rotate in the roles of leader, nurse, and respiratory therapist. This phase measured resident performance with regard to medical decision making, data gathering, and team behaviors during the simulated RRT scenarios. Performance was scored by an attending and a senior resident. A total of 18 residents were eligible (N=18) for participation. The average multiple choice test score improved by 20% after didactic training. The average confidence survey score before training was 3.44 out of 5 (69%) and after training was 4.13 (83%), indicating a 14% improvement. High-quality team behaviors correlated with medical decision making (0.92) more closely than did high-quality data

  8. A Systematic Review of Tools Used to Assess Team Leadership in Health Care Action Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenman, Elizabeth D; Ilgen, Jonathan S; Shandro, Jamie R; Harper, Amy L; Fernandez, Rosemarie

    2015-10-01

    To summarize the characteristics of tools used to assess leadership in health care action (HCA) teams. HCA teams are interdisciplinary teams performing complex, critical tasks under high-pressure conditions. The authors conducted a systematic review of the PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, key journals, and review articles published through March 2012 for English-language articles that applied leadership assessment tools to HCA teams in all specialties. Pairs of reviewers assessed identified articles for inclusion and exclusion criteria and abstracted data on study characteristics, tool characteristics, and validity evidence. Of the 9,913 abstracts screened, 83 studies were included. They described 61 team leadership assessment tools. Forty-nine tools (80%) provided behaviors, skills, or characteristics to define leadership. Forty-four tools (72%) assessed leadership as one component of a larger assessment, 13 tools (21%) identified leadership as the primary focus of the assessment, and 4 (7%) assessed leadership style. Fifty-three studies (64%) assessed leadership at the team level; 29 (35%) did so at the individual level. Assessments of simulated (n = 55) and live (n = 30) patient care events were performed. Validity evidence included content validity (n = 75), internal structure (n = 61), relationship to other variables (n = 44), and response process (n = 15). Leadership assessment tools applied to HCA teams are heterogeneous in content and application. Comparisons between tools are limited by study variability. A systematic approach to team leadership tool development, evaluation, and implementation will strengthen understanding of this important competency.

  9. Enhancing interdisciplinary climate change work through comprehensive evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenna Klink

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper shares the details of an evaluation plan from an interdisciplinary climate change project that developed decision support tools (DSTs for agricultural advisors and farmers. It showcases how evaluation enhanced the project work by providing opportunities for the team to reflect on and use data to improve performance. The plan included both formative and summative approaches, team member interviews to assess team functioning, usability testing of DSTs, outreach and marketing campaign evaluation. Outreach evaluation included surveying those reached, monitoring project website traffic, and tracking and mapping outreach details. Marketing evaluation included pre-testing campaign materials, assessing open and click rates of email campaign, and monitoring associated traffic to website. The Useful to Usable (U2U team was generally high functioning, but team interviews allowed the evaluators and leaders to discern factors that were influencing intended outcomes, respond to needs, assign resources, and catalyze activities that were crucial in shaping the outcomes. Usability testing surfaced issues related to default values and search and help features that were addressed by the team and resulted in improved usability. Outreach evaluation found geographic and methodological gaps that were filled, resulting in more target audiences reached and more effective methods used (e.g., hands-on events. Marketing evaluation allowed for improving contact lists over time and improving campaign messaging before deployment. Evaluators and project leaders working on similar projects may adapt or utilize methods detailed in this paper, along with the recommendations, while designing and implementing improvement-oriented evaluation plans.

  10. 'Walk with Us…' Student Peer-Mentoring in Interdisciplinary Cancer Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Maqrashi, Zainab; Al-Lawati, Yasser; Al-Sadi, Amira; Al-Wahaiby, Malak; Lakhtakia, Ritu

    2017-02-27

    'Walk with us…' reflects on a series of innovative educational journeys that have offered value addition in cancer education of health professions students. It provides an insight into interdisciplinary peer education through extra-curricular pathways. It taps on student creativity and inspirational techniques in health education that stimulate student-centered learning.

  11. Building interdisciplinary leadership skills among health practitioners in the 21st century: an innovative training model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Preeti eNegandhi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Transformational learning is the focus of 21st century global educational reforms. In India there is a need to amalgamate the skills and knowledge of medical, nursing and public health practitioners and to develop robust leadership competencies among them. This initiative proposed to identify interdisciplinary leadership competencies among Indian health practitioners, and to develop a training program for interdisciplinary leadership skills through an Innovation Collaborative. Medical, nursing and public health institutions partnered in this endeavour. An exhaustive literature search was undertaken to identify leadership competencies in these three professions. Published evidence was utilized in searching for the need for interdisciplinary training of health practitioners, including current scenarios in inter-professional health education and the key competencies required. The interdisciplinary leadership competencies identified were: self-awareness, vision, self-regulation, motivation, decisiveness, integrity, interpersonal communication skills, strategic planning, team-building, innovation and being an effective change agent. Subsequently, a training program was developed and three training sessions were piloted with 66 participants. Each cohort comprised of a mix of participants from different disciplines. The pilot training guided the development of a training model for building interdisciplinary leadership skills and organizing interdisciplinary leadership workshops. The need for interdisciplinary leadership competencies is recognized. The long-term objective of the training model is integration into the regular medical, nursing and public health curricula, with the aim of developing interdisciplinary leadership skills among them. Although challenging, formal incorporation of leadership skills into health professional education is possible within the interdisciplinary classroom setting using principles of transformative learning.

  12. Building Interdisciplinary Leadership Skills among Health Practitioners in the Twenty-First Century: An Innovative Training Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negandhi, Preeti; Negandhi, Himanshu; Tiwari, Ritika; Sharma, Kavya; Zodpey, Sanjay P; Quazi, Zahiruddin; Gaidhane, Abhay; Jayalakshmi N; Gijare, Meenakshi; Yeravdekar, Rajiv

    2015-01-01

    Transformational learning is the focus of twenty-first century global educational reforms. In India, there is a need to amalgamate the skills and knowledge of medical, nursing, and public health practitioners and to develop robust leadership competencies among them. This initiative proposed to identify interdisciplinary leadership competencies among Indian health practitioners and to develop a training program for interdisciplinary leadership skills through an Innovation Collaborative. Medical, nursing, and public health institutions partnered in this endeavor. An exhaustive literature search was undertaken to identify leadership competencies in these three professions. Published evidence was utilized in searching for the need for interdisciplinary training of health practitioners, including current scenarios in interprofessional health education and the key competencies required. The interdisciplinary leadership competencies identified were self-awareness, vision, self-regulation, motivation, decisiveness, integrity, interpersonal communication skills, strategic planning, team building, innovation, and being an effective change agent. Subsequently, a training program was developed, and three training sessions were piloted with 66 participants. Each cohort comprised a mix of participants from different disciplines. The pilot training guided the development of a training model for building interdisciplinary leadership skills and organizing interdisciplinary leadership workshops. The need for interdisciplinary leadership competencies is recognized. The long-term objective of the training model is integration into the regular medical, nursing, and public health curricula, with the aim of developing interdisciplinary leadership skills among them. Although challenging, formal incorporation of leadership skills into health professional education is possible within the interdisciplinary classroom setting using principles of transformative learning.

  13. Team science and the physician-scientist in the age of grand health challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steer, Clifford J; Jackson, Peter R; Hornbeak, Hortencia; McKay, Catherine K; Sriramarao, P; Murtaugh, Michael P

    2017-09-01

    Despite remarkable advances in medical research, clinicians face daunting challenges from new diseases, variations in patient responses to interventions, and increasing numbers of people with chronic health problems. The gap between biomedical research and unmet clinical needs can be addressed by highly talented interdisciplinary investigators focused on translational bench-to-bedside medicine. The training of talented physician-scientists comfortable with forming and participating in multidisciplinary teams that address complex health problems is a top national priority. Challenges, methods, and experiences associated with physician-scientist training and team building were explored at a workshop held at the Second International Conference on One Medicine One Science (iCOMOS 2016), April 24-27, 2016, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A broad range of scientists, regulatory authorities, and health care experts determined that critical investments in interdisciplinary training are essential for the future of medicine and healthcare delivery. Physician-scientists trained in a broad, nonlinear, cross-disciplinary manner are and will be essential members of science teams in the new age of grand health challenges and the birth of precision medicine. Team science approaches have accomplished biomedical breakthroughs once considered impossible, and dedicated physician-scientists have been critical to these achievements. Together, they translate into the pillars of academic growth and success. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

  14. Effect of playing tactics on achieving score-box possessions in a random series of team possessions from Norwegian professional soccer matches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenga, Albin; Holme, Ingar; Ronglan, Lars Tore; Bahr, Roald

    2010-02-01

    Methods of analysis that include an assessment of opponent interactions are thought to provide a more valid means of team match performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of playing tactics on achieving score-box possession by assessing opponent interactions in Norwegian elite soccer matches. We analysed a random series of 1703 team possessions from 163 of 182 (90%) matches played in the professional men's league during the 2004 season. Multidimensional qualitative data obtained from ten ordered categorical variables were used. Offensive tactics were more effective in producing score-box possessions when playing against an imbalanced defence (28.5%) than against a balanced defence (6.5%) (P tactics on producing score-box possessions, and improves the validity of team match-performance analysis in soccer.

  15. Why saying what you mean matters: An analysis of trauma team communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Hee Soo; Warner-Hillard, Charles; Thompson, Ryan; Haines, Krista; Moungey, Brooke; LeGare, Anne; Shaffer, David Williamson; Pugh, Carla; Agarwal, Suresh; Sullivan, Sarah

    2018-02-01

    We hypothesized that team communication with unmatched grammatical form and communicative intent (mixed mode communication) would correlate with worse trauma teamwork. Interdisciplinary trauma simulations were conducted. Team performance was rated using the TEAM tool. Team communication was coded for grammatical form and communicative intent. The rate of mixed mode communication (MMC) was calculated. MMC rates were compared to overall TEAM scores. Statements with advisement intent (attempts to guide behavior) and edification intent (objective information) were specifically examined. The rates of MMC with advisement intent (aMMC) and edification intent (eMMC) were also compared to TEAM scores. TEAM scores did not correlate with MMC or eMMC. However, aMMC rates negatively correlated with total TEAM scores (r = -0.556, p = 0.025) and with the TEAM task management component scores (r = -0.513, p = 0.042). Trauma teams with lower rates of mixed mode communication with advisement intent had better non-technical skills as measured by TEAM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Study on team evaluation (4). Reliability and validity of questionnaire survey-based team work evaluation method of power plant operator team

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasou, Kunihide; Hirose, Ayako; Misawa, Ryou; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki

    2006-01-01

    The series of this study describes the necessity of the evaluation of team work from two aspects of operator's behavior and operators' mind. The authors propose Team Work Element Model which consists of necessary elements to build high performance team. This report discusses a method to evaluate team work from the second aspect, that is, competency trust, competition, for-the team spirit, etc. The authors survey the previous studies on psychological measures and organize a set of questions to evaluate 10 team work sub elements that are the parts of Team Work Element Model. The factor analysis shows that this set of questions is consists of 13 factors such as task-oriented leadership, harmony-oriented team atmosphere, etc. Close examination of the questions in each factor shows that 8 of 10 team work sub elements can be evaluated by this questionnaire. In addition, this questionnaire comprises scales additional 8 scales such as job satisfaction, leadership, etc. As a result, it is possible to evaluate team work from more comprehensive view points. (author)

  17. IDES-EDU – new interdisciplinary education program for Sustainable Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dvorakova, Pavla; Kabele, Karel; Brunsgaard, Camilla

    2013-01-01

    Buildings fulfilling all requirements related to energy, economy and environment are necessary to be designed by interdisciplinary teams with efficient transfer of information and good knowledge base. IDES EDU is a project co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe program in which 15 European...... universities make a concerted effort to develop and implement balanced master and postgraduate courses on Sustainable Energy Design providing skills and knowledge that exceed the requirements of the EPBD. The resulting courses focus on different aspects of sustainable building design from the perspective...

  18. The Challenge of Interdisciplinary Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locker, Kitty O.

    1994-01-01

    Discusses what makes business communication research interdisciplinary and why interdisciplinary research is difficult yet desirable. Details the value of interdisciplinary concepts, methods, and perspectives. Notes how business communication research might be made interdisciplinary and points out the need for tolerance in interdisciplinary…

  19. What makes teacher teams in a vocational education context effective?: A qualitative study of managers' view on team working

    OpenAIRE

    Truijen, Karin; Sleegers, Peter; Meelissen, Martina; Nieuwenhuis, Loek

    2018-01-01

    Purpose – At a time when secondary vocational education is implementing competence-based education (CBE) on a large scale, to adapt to the needs of students and of the labour market in a modern society, many vocational schools have recognised that interdisciplinary teacher teams are an important condition for this implementation. In order to provide students with the right competences for the labour market, different subject teachers should work and learn together and, by doing so, should be ...

  20. Review: Christine von Blanckenburg, Birgit Böhm, Hans-Luidger Dienel & Heiner Legewie (2005. Leitfaden für interdisziplinäre Forschergruppen: Projekte initiieren – Zusammenarbeit gestalten [Guidelines for Interdisciplinary Research Teams: Initiating Projects—Developing Cooperation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iris Rittenhofer

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Today, project-oriented work is an integral part of academic life. However, not all academics are ready to cope with this organizational aspect of scientific work or with the management of research teams. "Guidelines for Interdisciplinary Research Teams" provides a detailed outline of the various project stages, the potential conflicts and burgeoning power issues, as well as the basics and techniques of moderation. This volume offers excellent insight into the scientific enterprise and provides useful strategic options for managing teamwork. Thus, the volume is suitable for two purposes, namely as a set of guidelines for those inexperienced in scientific cooperation, and as a reference book for those who want to master their previous project experiences and utilize them in future enterprises. However, the intercultural aspect of scientific project organization is not discussed in the volume. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0801179

  1. A Prospectus on Restoring Late Successional Forest Structure to Eastside Pine Ecosystems Through Large-Scale, Interdisciplinary Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steve Zack; William F. Laudenslayer; Luke George; Carl Skinner; William Oliver

    1999-01-01

    At two different locations in northeast California, an interdisciplinary team of scientists is initiating long-term studies to quantify the effects of forest manipulations intended to accelerate andlor enhance late-successional structure of eastside pine forest ecosystems. One study, at Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest, uses a split-plot, factorial, randomized block...

  2. Improving communication for interdisciplinary teams working on storage of digital information in DNA [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily E. Hesketh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Close collaboration between specialists from diverse backgrounds and working in different scientific domains is an effective strategy to overcome challenges in areas that interface between biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Communication in such collaborations can itself be challenging.  Even when projects are successfully concluded, resulting publications — necessarily multi-authored — have the potential to be disjointed. Few, both in the field and outside, may be able to fully understand the work as a whole. This needs to be addressed to facilitate efficient working, peer review, accessibility and impact to larger audiences. We are an interdisciplinary team working in a nascent scientific area, the repurposing of DNA as a storage medium for digital information. In this note, we highlight some of the difficulties that arise from such collaborations and outline our efforts to improve communication through a glossary and a controlled vocabulary and accessibility via short plain-language summaries. We hope to stimulate early discussion within this emerging field of how our community might improve the description and presentation of our work to facilitate clear communication within and between research groups and increase accessibility to those not familiar with our respective fields — be it molecular biology, computer science, information theory or others that might become relevant in future. To enable an open and inclusive discussion we have created a glossary and controlled vocabulary as a cloud-based shared document and we invite other scientists to critique our suggestions and contribute their own ideas.

  3. Political Science and Speech Communication--A Team Approach to Teaching Political Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blatt, Stephen J.; Fogel, Norman

    This paper proposes making speech communication more interdisciplinary and, in particular, combining political science and speech in a team-taught course in election campaigning. The goals, materials, activities, and plan of such a course are discussed. The goals include: (1) gaining new insights into the process of contemporary campaigns and…

  4. [Team work and interdiciplinarity: challenges facing the implementation of comprehensive outpatient care for people with HIV/Aids in Pernambuco].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Maria Jucineide Lopes; Sampaio, Aletheia Soares; Gurgel, Idê Gomes Dantas

    2012-01-01

    The complexity of providing healthcare to people with HIV/Aids requires investment in comprehensive action and care, constituting a challenge for the multidisciplinary work teams to build an interdisciplinary practice. This study sought to analyze comprehensive healthcare in the Specialized Assistance Services for HIV/Aids (SAE-HIV/Aids) in Recife, in the State of Pernambuco, starting with the process and organization of team work. This is a case study developed in three SAE-HIV/Aids units, based on a qualitative approach using different research techniques. The results show that SAE-HIV/Aids have complied with most of the Brazilian Health Ministry recommendations in terms of basic infrastructure, though none of them had a team of appropriate size. These services have shown signs of fragmentation and difficulty in establishing a systematic intersectorial and interdisciplinary practice, with failings in ensuring the reference and counter-reference flow. It was seen that there was little appreciation of the role of the manager as team leader. The need to perceive the user as a whole was identified, as well as for the team to work in a coordinated manner in order to ensure communicative and relational activities.

  5. Mobile Real-time Tracking of Acute Stroke Patients and Instant, Secure Inter-team Communication - the Join App.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munich, Stephan A; Tan, Lee A; Nogueira, Danilo M; Keigher, Kiffon M; Chen, Michael; Crowley, R Webster; Conners, James J; Lopes, Demetrius K

    2017-09-01

    The primary correlate to survival and preservation of neurologic function in patients suffering from an acute ischemic stroke is time from symptom onset to initiation of therapy and reperfusion. Communication and coordination among members of the stroke team are essential to maximizing efficiency and subsequently early reperfusion. In this work, we aim to describe our preliminary experience using the Join mobile application as a means to improve interdisciplinary team communication and efficiency. We describe our pilot experience with the initiation of the Join mobile application between July 2015 and July 2016. With this application, a mobile beacon is transported with the patient on the ambulance. Transportation milestone timestamps and geographic coordinates are transmitted to the treating facility and instantly communicated to all treatment team members. The transport team / patient can be tracked en route to the treating facility. During our pilot study, 62 patients were triaged and managed using the Join application. Automated time-stamping of critical events, geographic tracking of patient transport and summary documents were obtained for all patients. Treatment team members had an overall favorable impression of the Join application and recommended its continued use. The Join application is one of several components of a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary effort to improve the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The ability of the treatment team to track patient transport and communicate with the transporting team may improve reperfusion time and, therefore, improve neurologic outcomes.

  6. [Interdisciplinary orthodontic surgical treatment of children with cleft lip and palate from 9 to 20 years of age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Molen, A.B. van der; Bierenbroodspot, F.; Borstlap, W.A.

    2015-01-01

    Cleft lip and palate is a common congenital malformation with a prevalence of 1:600 newborns. Children with orofacial clefts are treated by an interdisciplinary team of specialists while parents and child play a key role in their own care process. The orthodontic and facial orthopedic treatment of a

  7. The role of architect in interdisciplinary collaborative design studios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Jutraž

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Architectural design is a complex process involving different actors. While studying architecture, students usually work alone, and they do not have many opportunities to collaborate with other professions. Consequently, they end up lacking the knowledge regarding other professions, as well as regarding communic42ation and collaboration with other professionals. They become too proud of themselves, which eventually prevents them from engaging in active collaboration and accepting compromises. Furthermore, it is essential for their future professional careers that architects collaborate with other professions, adopt their ideas and requirements. Such collaboration is recommended from the early stages of the design process onwards. The main focus of this article is to determine the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in architecture projects through the process of studying architecture, the role of the architect within this process, and the manner in which decisions are usually made within an interdisciplinary team. The following research is based on the AEC Global Teamwork Course, which took place during school years 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, 2013 at Stanford University under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Renate Fruchter. Students from all around the world worked together on an architectural project from its initial stages. They met twice only: at the beginning and at the end of the project, otherwise they worked on a virtual basis, using different digital tools intended for long-distance interdisciplinary collaboration. There were three case studies examined for the purposes of this article in which the main focus was placed on architects, more specifically on the challenges and the problems they were facing, the knowledge architects gained through interdisciplinary collaboration, and lessons learned in such a course that could help them with their professional careers.

  8. Interdisciplinary team communication among forensic nurses and rape victim advocates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Debra

    2014-01-01

    Victim advocates and forensic nurses provide integrated care to address the complex legal, medical, and mental health needs of rape survivors. Research suggests that conflict exists between nurses and advocates, but it remains unknown how their communication patterns contribute to or resolve these conflicts. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, the current study interviewed 24 nurses and advocates from a Midwest organization to better understand team communication patterns when addressing conflicts. The findings suggest that most nurses communicate concerns directly while advocates avoid direct communication. Factors that influenced direct and indirect communication and their implications for practice will be discussed.

  9. International Work-Conference on Time Series

    CERN Document Server

    Pomares, Héctor

    2016-01-01

    This volume presents selected peer-reviewed contributions from The International Work-Conference on Time Series, ITISE 2015, held in Granada, Spain, July 1-3, 2015. It discusses topics in time series analysis and forecasting, advanced methods and online learning in time series, high-dimensional and complex/big data time series as well as forecasting in real problems. The International Work-Conferences on Time Series (ITISE) provide a forum for scientists, engineers, educators and students to discuss the latest ideas and implementations in the foundations, theory, models and applications in the field of time series analysis and forecasting. It focuses on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research encompassing the disciplines of computer science, mathematics, statistics and econometrics.

  10. Interdisciplinary Team Education Promotes Innovations in the Home Care of Older People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitkälä, Kaisu H.; Finne-Soveri, Harriet; Immonen, Susanna; Lehti, Tuuli; Tiilikainen, Ida; Vesterinen, Teppo; Saarinen, Esa

    2018-01-01

    This article describes a new type of team training that involves undergraduate students of medicine, students from the Aalto University (industrial engineering and management, architecture, information networks, collaborative and industrial design and bioinformation technology) and specialized home care nurses. During the course, the students…

  11. Image/Time Series Mining Algorithms: Applications to Developmental Biology, Document Processing and Data Streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tataw, Oben Moses

    2013-01-01

    Interdisciplinary research in computer science requires the development of computational techniques for practical application in different domains. This usually requires careful integration of different areas of technical expertise. This dissertation presents image and time series analysis algorithms, with practical interdisciplinary applications…

  12. Supporting students in building interdisciplinary connections across physics and biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turpen, Chandra

    2014-03-01

    Our research team has been engaged in the iterative redesign of an Introductory Physics course for Life Science (IPLS) majors to explicitly bridge biology and physics in ways that are authentic to the disciplines. Our interdisciplinary course provides students opportunities to examine how modeling decisions (e.g. knowing when and how to use different concepts, identifying implicit assumptions, making and justifying assumptions) may differ depending on canonical disciplinary aims and interests. Our focus on developing students' interdisciplinary reasoning skills requires 1) shifting course topics to focus on core ideas that span the disciplines, 2) shifting epistemological expectations, and 3) foregrounding typically tacit disciplinary assumptions. In working to build an authentic interdisciplinary course that bridges physics and biology, we pay careful attention to supporting students in constructing these bridges. This course has been shown to have important impacts: a) students seek meaningful connections between the disciplines, b) students perceive relevance and utility of ideas from different disciplines, and c) students reconcile challenging disciplinary ideas. Although our focus has been on building interdisciplinary coherence, we have succeeded in maintaining strong student learning gains on fundamental physics concepts and allowed students to deepen their understanding of challenging concepts in thermodynamics. This presentation will describe the shifts in course content and the modern pedagogical approaches that have been integrated into the course, and provide an overview of key research results from this project. These results may aid physicists in reconsidering how they can meaningfully reach life-science students. This work is supported by NSF-TUES DUE 11-22818, the HHMI NEXUS grant, and a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE 0750616).

  13. What makes maternity teams effective and safe? Lessons from a series of research on teamwork, leadership and team training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siassakos, Dimitrios; Fox, Robert; Bristowe, Katherine; Angouri, Jo; Hambly, Helen; Robson, Lauren; Draycott, Timothy J

    2013-11-01

    We describe lessons for safety from a synthesis of seven studies of teamwork, leadership and team training across a healthcare region. Two studies identified successes and challenges in a unit with embedded team training: a staff survey demonstrated a positive culture but a perceived need for greater senior presence; training improved actual emergency care, but wide variation in team performance remained. Analysis of multicenter simulation records showed that variation in patient safety and team efficiency correlated with their teamwork but not individual knowledge, skills or attitudes. Safe teams tended to declare the emergency earlier, hand over in a more structured way, and use closed-loop communication. Focused and directed communication was also associated with better patient-actor perception of care. Focus groups corroborated these findings, proposed that the capability and experience of the leader is more important than seniority, and identified teamwork and leadership issues that require further research. © 2013 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  14. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Patient Webcasts / Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series This series of five videos ... member of our patient care team. Managing Your Arthritis Managing Your Arthritis Managing Chronic Pain and Depression ...

  15. Exploring Social Structures in Extended Team Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zahedi, Mansooreh; Ali Babar, Muhammad

    2013-01-01

    Extended Team Model (ETM) as a type of offshore outsourcing is increasingly becoming popular mode of Global Software Development (GSD). There is little knowledge about the social structures in ETM and their impact on collaboration. Within a large interdisciplinary project to develop the next...... generation of GSD technologies, we are exploring the role of social structures to support collaboration. This paper reports some details of our research design and initial findings about the mechanisms to support social structures and their impact on collaboration in an ETM....

  16. Creating interdisciplinary education within monodisciplinary structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindvig, Katrine; Lyall, Catherine; R. Meagher, Laura

    2017-01-01

    The literature on interdisciplinary higher education is influenced by two overall trends: one looks at the institutional level of specially designed interdisciplinary institutions, while the other assesses individual interdisciplinary educational activities. Much less attention is given...... to the processes of creating interdisciplinary education initiatives within traditional monodisciplinary universities. In this study, we thus explore how interdisciplinary education and teaching emerge and develop within universities that have little or no established infrastructure to support interdisciplinarity....... Using qualitative data from a multi-part case study, we examine the development of diverse interdisciplinary educational efforts within a traditional faculty-structured university in order to map the ways in which interdisciplinary educational elements have been created, supported, challenged or even...

  17. Cultural diversity and team performance in the Italian Serie A

    OpenAIRE

    Addesa, FA; Rossi, GB; Bove, V

    2017-01-01

    Cultural diversity features prominently in management studies. A diverse range of skills and perspectives can produce innovation and a greater variety of solutions to day to day problems. At the same time, however, the same heterogeneous approaches and experiences can result in communication and coordination problems, lack of trust and intra/intergroup conflict. We analyse a newly constructed dataset on team composition and performance for 29 teams, 1,238 players and 1,899 matches in the Ital...

  18. Predicting the names of the best teams after the knock-out phase of a cricket series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemmer, Hermanus Hofmeyr

    2014-01-01

    Cricket players' performances can best be judged after a large number of matches had been played. For test or one-day international (ODI) players, career data are normally used to calculate performance measures. These are normally good indicators of future performances, although various factors influence the performance of a player in a specific match. It is often necessary to judge players' performances based on a small number of scores, e.g. to identify the best players after a short series of matches. The challenge then is to use the best available criteria in order to assess performances as accurately and fairly as possible. In the present study the results of the knock-out phase of an International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup ODI Series are used to predict the names of the best teams by means of a suitably formulated logistic regression model. Despite using very sparse data, the methods used are reasonably successful. It is also shown that if the same technique is applied to career ratings, very good results are obtained.

  19. Interdisciplinary rehabilitation for a patient with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury and multimorbidity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vining, Robert D.; Gosselin, Donna M.; Thurmond, Jeb; Case, Kimberlee; Bruch, Frederick R.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Rationale: This report describes interdisciplinary rehabilitation for a 51-year-old male recovering from incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple comorbidities following an automobile accident. Patient concerns: The patient was admitted to a rehabilitation specialty hospital approximately 2 months post SCI and 2 separate surgical fusion procedures (C3–C6). Diagnoses: Clinical presentation at the rehabilitation hospital included moderate to severe motor strength loss in both upper and lower extremities, a percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy tube (PEG), dysphagia, bowel/bladder incontinence, dependence on a mechanical lift and tilting wheelchair due to severe orthostatic hypotension, and pre-existing shoulder pain from bilateral joint degeneration. Interventions: The interdisciplinary team formally coordinated rehabilitative care from multiple disciplines. Internal medicine managed medications, determined PEG removal, monitored co-morbid conditions, and overall progress. Chiropractic care focused on alleviating shoulder and thoracic pain and improving spinal and extremity mobility. Physical therapy addressed upright tolerance, transfer, gait, and strength training. Occupational therapy focused on hand coordination and feeding/dressing activities. Psychology assisted with coping strategies. Nursing ensured medication adherence, nutrient intake, wound prevention, and incontinence management, whereas physiatry addressed abnormal muscle tone. Outcomes: Eleven months post-admission the patient's progress allowed discharge to a long-term care facility. At this time he was without dysphagia or need for a PEG. Orthostatic hypotension and bilateral shoulder pain symptoms were also resolved while bowel/bladder incontinence and upper and lower extremity motor strength loss remained. He was largely independent in transferring from bed to wheelchair and in upper body dressing. Lower body dressing/bathing required maximal assistance. Gait with a 2

  20. International Work-Conference on Time Series

    CERN Document Server

    Pomares, Héctor; Valenzuela, Olga

    2017-01-01

    This volume of selected and peer-reviewed contributions on the latest developments in time series analysis and forecasting updates the reader on topics such as analysis of irregularly sampled time series, multi-scale analysis of univariate and multivariate time series, linear and non-linear time series models, advanced time series forecasting methods, applications in time series analysis and forecasting, advanced methods and online learning in time series and high-dimensional and complex/big data time series. The contributions were originally presented at the International Work-Conference on Time Series, ITISE 2016, held in Granada, Spain, June 27-29, 2016. The series of ITISE conferences provides a forum for scientists, engineers, educators and students to discuss the latest ideas and implementations in the foundations, theory, models and applications in the field of time series analysis and forecasting.  It focuses on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary rese arch encompassing the disciplines of comput...

  1. [Working with a family systems therapy approach as part of the routine treatment on acute psychiatric wards: sustained effects on team members' workload].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haun, Markus W; Kordy, Henrike; Ochs, Matthias; Schweitzer, Jochen; Zwack, Julika

    2012-11-01

    Assessing long-term effects of a family systems therapy approach (systems therapy methods in acute psychiatry, SYMPA) on occupational stress and interdisciplinary cooperation of team members in three German psychiatric hospitals. Pre-post-follow-up survey using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Team Climate Inventory (TCI) questionnaires complemented by semi-structured in-depth interviews (N = 56). Three years after implementing a family systems therapy approach, experienced work load and staff burnout remain significantly lower than before. Interdisciplinary cooperation was intensified and nursing staff status increased. Following systemic case conceptualisations and interventions the therapeutic alliance moved towards a need-adapted treatment approach. Seven years after implementation, the family systems therapy approach still included significantly lower workload burden, an intensified interdisciplinary cooperation, and a need-adapted treatment orientation that strengthens the alliance between staff and client system. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. Multidisciplinary care considerations for gender nonconforming adolescents with eating disorders: A case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donaldson, Abigail A; Hall, Allison; Neukirch, Jodie; Kasper, Vania; Simones, Shannon; Gagnon, Sherry; Reich, Steven; Forcier, Michelle

    2018-05-01

    Gender nonconforming youth are at risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Currently, only a small body of literature addresses this high-risk group. The five cases in this series highlight important themes for this patient population from an interdisciplinary perspective. Identified themes include increased risk for self-harm/suicide, complex psychiatric, and medical implications of delay to treatment for either gender dysphoria or disordered eating, and the importance of collaborative management to maximize care and facilitate healthy development to adulthood. The purpose of this case series is to expand the interdisciplinary discussion regarding the breadth of presentation and management considerations for gender nonconforming adolescents with disordered eating. An interdisciplinary approach to care might enhance access to comprehensive, collaborative treatment for disordered eating, and gender dysphoria in this unique population. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. The importance of team functioning to natural resource planning outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Marc J; Predmore, S Andrew

    2012-09-15

    In its recent history, the U.S. Forest Service is among many federal land management agencies struggling with questions concerning why its planning procedures are sometimes inefficient, perform poorly in the eyes of the public, and fail to deliver outputs that advance agency mission. By examining a representative sample of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes conducted by the agency between 2007 and 2009, we provide new insights into what drives outcomes in these planning processes. We examined team leaders' perceptions of the following outcomes: achievement of agency goals and NEPA mandates, process efficiency, public relations, and team outcomes. The most consistently important predictors of positive outcomes were team harmony and a clearly empowered team leader. Other factors, such as perceptions of the use of best science, a clear and unambiguous purpose and need, team turnover (personnel changes during the process), extra-agency engagement, and intra-agency relations, were also important, but played a less consistent role. The findings suggest the importance of empowering team leaders and team members through enhancing elements of discretion, responsibility, clear role definition, collaborative interdisciplinary deliberation, and perceived self-efficacy. The results also suggest the importance of genuine concern and respect for participating publics and effective inter-agency coordination. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Conveying empathy to hospice family caregivers: team responses to caregiver empathic communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Debra, Parker Oliver; Demiris, George; Rankin, Anna; Shaunfield, Sara; Kruse, Robin L

    2012-10-01

    The goal of this study was to explore empathic communication opportunities presented by family caregivers and responses from interdisciplinary hospice team members. Empathic opportunities and hospice team responses were analyzed from bi-weekly web-based videoconferences between family caregivers and hospice teams. The authors coded the data using the Empathic Communication Coding System (ECCS) and identified themes within and among the coded data. Data analysis identified 270 empathic opportunity-team response sequences. Caregivers expressed statements of emotion and decline most frequently. Two-thirds of the hospice team responses were implicit acknowledgements of caregiver statements and only one-third of the team responses were explicit recognitions of caregiver empathic opportunities. Although hospice team members frequently express emotional concerns with family caregivers during one-on-one visits, there is a need for more empathic communication during team meetings that involve caregivers. Hospice clinicians should devote more time to discussing emotional issues with patients and their families to enhance patient-centered hospice care. Further consideration should be given to training clinicians to empathize with patients and family caregivers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Students' Attitudes towards Interdisciplinary Education: A Course on Interdisciplinary Aspects of Science and Engineering Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gero, Aharon

    2017-01-01

    A course entitled "Science and Engineering Education: Interdisciplinary Aspects" was designed to expose undergraduate students of science and engineering education to the attributes of interdisciplinary education which integrates science and engineering. The core of the course is an interdisciplinary lesson, which each student is…

  6. A modeling paradigm for interdisciplinary water resources modeling: Simple Script Wrappers (SSW)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steward, David R.; Bulatewicz, Tom; Aistrup, Joseph A.; Andresen, Daniel; Bernard, Eric A.; Kulcsar, Laszlo; Peterson, Jeffrey M.; Staggenborg, Scott A.; Welch, Stephen M.

    2014-05-01

    Holistic understanding of a water resources system requires tools capable of model integration. This team has developed an adaptation of the OpenMI (Open Modelling Interface) that allows easy interactions across the data passed between models. Capabilities have been developed to allow programs written in common languages such as matlab, python and scilab to share their data with other programs and accept other program's data. We call this interface the Simple Script Wrapper (SSW). An implementation of SSW is shown that integrates groundwater, economic, and agricultural models in the High Plains region of Kansas. Output from these models illustrates the interdisciplinary discovery facilitated through use of SSW implemented models. Reference: Bulatewicz, T., A. Allen, J.M. Peterson, S. Staggenborg, S.M. Welch, and D.R. Steward, The Simple Script Wrapper for OpenMI: Enabling interdisciplinary modeling studies, Environmental Modelling & Software, 39, 283-294, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2012.07.006 http://code.google.com/p/simple-script-wrapper/

  7. A Call for Saving Interdisciplinary Pain Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Xiulu; Kaye, Alan David

    2016-12-01

    Chronic pain is pervasive and costly. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark report on chronic pain, which estimated that more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, making pain a major and significant public health problem. The benefits of interdisciplinary pain management programs are undeniable and have been demonstrated for over a half century. Until health care leaders and other stakeholders such as insurers work together to ensure best practices in pain management, we will certainly end up in a lose-lose situation for both the health care teams and patients. In order to impact health care policy more effectively, we need to better understand the politics of health policy decision making. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(12):1021-1023. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0611.

  8. A community-based, interdisciplinary rehabilitation engineering course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundy, Mary; Aceros, Juan

    2016-08-01

    A novel, community-based course was created through collaboration between the School of Engineering and the Physical Therapy program at the University of North Florida. This course offers a hands-on, interdisciplinary training experience for undergraduate engineering students through team-based design projects where engineering students are partnered with physical therapy students. Students learn the process of design, fabrication and testing of low-tech and high-tech rehabilitation technology for children with disabilities, and are exposed to a clinical experience under the guidance of licensed therapists. This course was taught in two consecutive years and pre-test/post-test data evaluating the impact of this interprofessional education experience on the students is presented using the Public Service Motivation Scale, Civic Actions Scale, Civic Attitudes Scale, and the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale.

  9. Impact of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research in Mathematics and Biology on the Development of a New Course Integrating Five STEM Disciplines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caudill, Lester; Hill, April; Hoke, Kathy; Lipan, Ovidiu

    2010-01-01

    Funded by innovative programs at the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Richmond faculty in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science teamed up to offer first- and second-year students the opportunity to contribute to vibrant, interdisciplinary research projects. The result was…

  10. Constructing an Interdisciplinary Context for Definition of Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsokolov, S. A.

    One of the main problems in understanding life is that that lifecannot be defined as a self-evident phenomenon. Instead, definitions of life inevitably depend on the context: social, ethical, theological, and scientific. Even in a purely scientific context, different scientific disciplines and approaches provide a variety of criteria related to life. My intention is to define life in an interdisciplinary context, where the class of living systems can be presented as a particular case in series of systems: physical, chemical, prebiotic, biotic, ecological, social, cognitive, etc. related by a universal principle. To this end, the first step in establishing general criteria for life is to define the essential features of life processes. The very functional principle of living beings is circular organization (feedback circularity) embedded on different levels of organization: molecular, genetic, cellular, neural, behavioural, mental, and social. Understanding that the degree of system's wholeness, i.e. degree of feedback net integration can serve as a primary parameter, we can in principle construct an interdisciplinary context in which different systems including living beings can be analyzed, defined and compared.

  11. Voluntary versus Enforced Team Effort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Keser

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available We present a model where each of two players chooses between remuneration based on either private or team effort. Although at least one of the players has the equilibrium strategy to choose private remuneration, we frequently observe both players to choose team remuneration in a series of laboratory experiments. This allows for high cooperation payoffs but also provides individual free-riding incentives. Due to significant cooperation, we observe that, in team remuneration, participants make higher profits than in private remuneration. We also observe that, when participants are not given the option of private remuneration, they cooperate significantly less.

  12. Interdisciplinary Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagib Callaos

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Communication is fundamental in scientific practice and an integral part of academic work. The practice of communication cannot be neglected by those who are trying to advance scientific research. Effective means should continuously be identified in order to open channels of communication within and among disciplines, among scientists and between scientists and the general public.[1]The increasing importance of interdisciplinary communication has been pointed out by an increasing number of researchers and scholars, as well as in conferences and roundtables on the subject. Some authors even estimate that "interdisciplinary study represents the future of the university."[2] Since interdisciplinary study is "the most underthought critical, pedagogical and institutional concept in modern academy"[3] it is important to think and reflect, and even do some research, on this concept or notion. Research and practice based reflections with regards to this issue are important especially because the increasing complexity and proliferation of scientific research is generating countless specialties, sub-specialties and sub-sub-specialties, with their respective special languages; which were "created for discrete local areas of research based upon the disconnected branches of science."[4] On the other hand, scientific, technical and societal problems are requiring multi- or inter-disciplinary consideration. Consequently, interdisciplinary communication channels are being needed with urgency, and scientific research should be integrated, not just in the context of its discipline, but also in the context of related disciplines. Much more reflection and research should be done on this issue. Research on adequate research integration and communication is urgently required, i.e. meta-research efforts should be done in order to relate research results in an adequate and more useful way. This meta-research effort might be done in the context of each particular

  13. Organizational Influences on Interdisciplinary Interactions during Research and Design of Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGowan, Anna-Maria R.; Seifert, Colleen M.; Papalambros, Panos Y.

    2012-01-01

    The design of large-scale complex engineered systems (LaCES) such as an aircraft is inherently interdisciplinary. Multiple engineering disciplines, drawing from a team of hundreds to thousands of engineers and scientists, are woven together throughout the research, development, and systems engineering processes to realize one system. Though research and development (R&D) is typically focused in single disciplines, the interdependencies involved in LaCES require interdisciplinary R&D efforts. This study investigates the interdisciplinary interactions that take place during the R&D and early conceptual design phases in the design of LaCES. Our theoretical framework is informed by both engineering practices and social science research on complex organizations. This paper provides preliminary perspective on some of the organizational influences on interdisciplinary interactions based on organization theory (specifically sensemaking), data from a survey of LaCES experts, and the authors experience in the research and design. The analysis reveals couplings between the engineered system and the organization that creates it. Survey respondents noted the importance of interdisciplinary interactions and their significant benefit to the engineered system, such as innovation and problem mitigation. Substantial obstacles to interdisciplinarity are uncovered beyond engineering that include communication and organizational challenges. Addressing these challenges may ultimately foster greater efficiencies in the design and development of LaCES and improved system performance by assisting with the collective integration of interdependent knowledge bases early in the R&D effort. This research suggests that organizational and human dynamics heavily influence and even constrain the engineering effort for large-scale complex systems.

  14. Training the Workforce: Description of a Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Education and Mentoring Program in Palliative Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Stacie; O'Mahony, Sean; Baron, Aliza; Ansari, Aziz; Deamant, Catherine; Frader, Joel; Leyva, Ileana; Marschke, Michael; Preodor, Michael

    2017-04-01

    The rapid increase in demand for palliative care (PC) services has led to concerns regarding workforce shortages and threats to the resiliency of PC teams. To describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a regional interdisciplinary training program in PC. Thirty nurse and physician fellows representing 22 health systems across the Chicago region participated in a two-year PC training program. The curriculum was delivered through multiple conferences, self-directed e-learning, and individualized mentoring by expert local faculty (mentors). Fellows shadowed mentors' clinical practices and received guidance on designing, implementing, and evaluating a practice improvement project to address gaps in PC at their institutions. Enduring, interdisciplinary relationships were built at all levels across health care organizations. Fellows made significant increases in knowledge and self-reported confidence in adult and pediatric PC and program development skills and frequency performing these skills. Fellows and mentors reported high satisfaction with the educational program. This interdisciplinary PC training model addressed local workforce issues by increasing the number of clinicians capable of providing PC. Unique features include individualized longitudinal mentoring, interdisciplinary education, on-site project implementation, and local network building. Future research will address the impact of the addition of social work and chaplain trainees to the program. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Teaching Interdisciplinary Engineering and Science Educations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kofoed, Lise B.; S. Stachowicz, Marian

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we study the challenges for the involved teachers who plan and implement interdisciplinary educations. They are confronted with challenges regarding their understanding of using known disciplines in a new interdisciplinary way and see the possibilities of integrating disciplines when...... creating new knowledge. We will address the challenges by defining the term interdisciplinary in connection with education, and using the Problem Based Learning educational approach and experience from the engineering and science educational areas to find the obstacles. Two cases based on interdisciplinary...... and understand how different expertise can contribute to an interdisciplinary education....

  16. Electronic health record tools' support of nurses' clinical judgment and team communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kossman, Susan P; Bonney, Leigh Ann; Kim, Myoung Jin

    2013-11-01

    Nurses need to quickly process information to form clinical judgments, communicate with the healthcare team, and guide optimal patient care. Electronic health records not only offer potential for enhanced care but also introduce unintended consequences through changes in workflow, clinical judgment, and communication. We investigated nurses' use of improvised (self-made) and electronic health record-generated cognitive artifacts on clinical judgment and team communication. Tanner's Clinical Judgment Model provided a framework and basis for questions in an online survey and focus group interviews. Findings indicated that (1) nurses rated self-made work lists and medication administration records highest for both clinical judgment and communication, (2) tools aided different dimensions of clinical judgment, and (3) interdisciplinary tools enhance team communication. Implications are that electronic health record tool redesign could better support nursing work.

  17. InTeGrate: Interdisciplinary Teaching about the Earth for a Sustainable Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manduca, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    InTeGrate supports integrated interdisciplinary learning about resource and environmental issues across the undergraduate curriculum to create a sustainable and just civilization. The project has developed teaching materials and examples of their use in programs and is currently engaged in a suite of activities that support use of these resources in improving undergraduate Earth education. Thirty-three sets of teaching materials supporting instruction over time periods of 2 weeks to a full semester have been developed by teams of faculty and peer-reviewed to ensure strong research-based pedagogic design and attention to five design principles: 1) address one or more grand challenges involving the Earth and society, 2) develop student ability to address interdisciplinary problems, 3) improve student understanding of the nature and methods of science and developing geoscientific habits of mind, 4) make use of authentic and credible science data to learn central concepts in the context of scientific methods of inquiry, and, 5) incorporate systems thinking. They have been tested in a wide variety of institutional and disciplinary settings and are documented with instructor notes describing adaptation for specific settings. All published materials passed a review for scientific accuracy. Sixteen program models demonstrate strategies for strengthening learning about Earth and sustainability at scales ranging from a department to an interinstitutional collaboration. These examples document the use of InTeGrate resources in the development and evaluation of these programs. A synthesis of lessons learned by these projects addresses strategies for teaching about the Earth across the curriculum. InTeGrate is currently supporting use of ideas and resources developed over the past six years of project work through a webinar series, workshops at professional society meetings, a traveling workshop program for departments and regions, a set of online learning communities and

  18. A systematic review of team-building interventions in non-acute healthcare settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Christopher J; Kim, Bo; Silverman, Allie; Bauer, Mark S

    2018-03-01

    Healthcare is increasingly delivered in a team-based format emphasizing interdisciplinary coordination. While recent reviews have investigated team-building interventions primarily in acute healthcare settings (e.g. emergency or surgery departments), we aimed to systematically review the evidence base for team-building interventions in non-acute settings (e.g. primary care or rehabilitation clinics). We conducted a systematic review in PubMed and Embase to identify team-building interventions, and conducted follow-up literature searches to identify articles describing empirical studies of those interventions. This process identified 14 team-building interventions for non-acute healthcare settings, and 25 manuscripts describing empirical studies of these interventions. We evaluated outcomes in four domains: trainee evaluations, teamwork attitudes/knowledge, team functioning, and patient impact. Trainee evaluations for team-building interventions were generally positive, but only one study associated team-building with statistically significant improvement in teamwork attitudes/knowledge. Similarly mixed results emerged for team functioning and patient impact. The evidence base for healthcare team-building interventions in non-acute healthcare settings is much less developed than the parallel literature for short-term team function in acute care settings. Only one intervention we identified has been tested in multiple non-acute settings by distinct research teams. Positive findings regarding the utility of team-building interventions are tempered by a lack of control conditions, inconsistency in outcome measures, and high probability of bias. Considering these results alongside the well-recognized costs of poor healthcare teamwork suggests that additional research is sorely needed to develop the evidence base for team-building in non-acute settings.

  19. Second-Order Science of Interdisciplinary Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alrøe, Hugo Fjelsted; Noe, Egon

    2014-01-01

    require and challenge interdisciplinarity. Problem: The conventional methods of interdisciplinary research fall short in the case of wicked problems because they remain first-order science. Our aim is to present workable methods and research designs for doing second-order science in domains where...... there are many different scientific knowledges on any complex problem. Method: We synthesize and elaborate a framework for second-order science in interdisciplinary research based on a number of earlier publications, experiences from large interdisciplinary research projects, and a perspectivist theory...... of science. Results: The second-order polyocular framework for interdisciplinary research is characterized by five principles. Second-order science of interdisciplinary research must: 1. draw on the observations of first-order perspectives, 2. address a shared dynamical object, 3. establish a shared problem...

  20. Activities of the NASA sponsored SRI technology applications team in transferring aerospace technology to the public sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berke, J. G.

    1971-01-01

    The organization and functions of an interdisciplinary team for the application of aerospace generated technology to the solution of discrete technological problems within the public sector are presented. The interdisciplinary group formed at Stanford Research Institute, California is discussed. The functions of the group are to develop and conduct a program not only optimizing the match between public sector technological problems in criminalistics, transportation, and the postal services and potential solutions found in the aerospace data base, but ensuring that appropriate solutions are acutally utilized. The work accomplished during the period from July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1971 is reported.

  1. Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Medication-Related Falls Prevention in Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lisa; Turner, Jazmin; Brandt, Nicole J

    2018-04-01

    The older adult population continues to steadily increase. Largely attributed to longer life spans and aging of the Baby Boomer generation, continued growth of this population is expected to affect a multitude of challenging public health concerns. Specifically, falls in older adults are prevalent but overlooked concerns. Health care providers are well-positioned to provide valuable interventions in this aspect. An interdisciplinary, team-based approach of health care providers is required to maximize falls prevention through patient-centered and collaborative care. The current article highlights the implications of inappropriate medication use and the need to improve care coordination to tackle this public health issue affecting older adults. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(4), 11-15.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  2. Team-Based Learning in the Gross Anatomy Laboratory Improves Academic Performance and Students' Attitudes toward Teamwork

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huitt, Tiffany W.; Killins, Anita; Brooks, William S.

    2015-01-01

    As the healthcare climate shifts toward increased interdisciplinary patient care, it is essential that students become accomplished at group problem solving and develop positive attitudes toward teamwork. Team-based learning (TBL) has become a popular approach to medical education because of its ability to promote active learning, problem-solving…

  3. Do primary care professionals agree about progress with implementation of primary care teams: results from a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tierney, E; O'Sullivan, M; Hickey, L; Hannigan, A; May, C; Cullen, W; Kennedy, N; Kineen, L; MacFarlane, A

    2016-11-22

    Primary care is the cornerstone of healthcare reform with policies across jurisdictions promoting interdisciplinary team working. The effective implementation of such health policies requires understanding the perspectives of all actors. However, there is a lack of research about health professionals' views of this process. This study compares Primary Healthcare Professionals' perceptions of the effectiveness of the Primary Care Strategy and Primary Care Team (PCT) implementation in Ireland. Design and Setting: e-survey of (1) General Practitioners (GPs) associated with a Graduate Medical School (N = 100) and (2) Primary Care Professionals in 3 of 4 Health Service Executive (HSE) regions (N = 2309). After piloting, snowball sampling was used to administer the survey. Descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS. Ratings across groups were compared using non-parametric tests. There were 569 responses. Response rates varied across disciplines (71 % for GPs, 22 % for other Primary Healthcare Professionals (PCPs). Respondents across all disciplines viewed interdisciplinary working as important. Respondents agreed on lack of progress of implementation of formal PCTs (median rating of 2, where 1 is no progress at all and 5 is complete implementation). GPs were more negative about the effectiveness of the Strategy to promote different disciplines to work together (median rating of 2 compared to 3 for clinical therapists and 3.5 for nurses, P = 0.001). Respondents identified resources and GP participation as most important for effective team working. Protected time for meetings and capacity to manage workload for meetings were rated as very important factors for effective team working by GPs, clinical therapists and nurses. A building for co-location of teams was rated as an important factor by nurses and clinical therapists though GPs rated it as less important. Payment to attend meetings and contractual arrangements were considered important factors by

  4. [Interdisciplinary teamwork in the OR: Identification and measurement of teamwork in the operating room].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passauer-Baierl, Stefanie; Baschnegger, Heiko; Bruns, Christiane; Weigl, Matthias

    2014-01-01

    Effective teamwork is one of the essentials in conducting successful and safe surgical procedures in the operating theatre (OT). The present paper aims to provide a selective review of various approaches describing effective interdisciplinary teamwork in the OT. Furthermore, it covers observational methods to assess OT teamwork with particular focus on Germany. Our definition of successful surgical teamwork is based on an already established classification system considering five criteria for effective and safe OT teams: coordination, communication, cooperation, leadership, and team monitoring. Well-defined and reliable measures are necessary to examine the quality of OT teamwork. Those methods should entail the special characteristics of the OT team. They should include all phases of the surgical procedure and incorporate all the professions involved (surgeons, surgical nurses, and anaesthetic staff). We conclude that research into methods for the assessment of OTs in Germany needs to be undertaken as a prerequisite to investigating the relationship between OT teamwork and its effects on patient safety and surgical quality. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  5. Recruiting and retaining mental health professionals to rural communities: an interdisciplinary course in Appalachia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Deborah; Hamel-Lambert, Jane; Tice, Carolyn; Safran, Steven; Bolon, Douglas; Rose-Grippa, Kathleen

    2005-01-01

    Faculty from 5 disciplines (health administration, nursing, psychology, social work, and special education) collaborated to develop and teach a distance-learning course designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to seek mental health services employment in rural areas and to provide the skills, experience, and knowledge necessary for successful rural practice. The primary objectives of the course, developed after thorough review of the rural retention and recruitment literature, were to (1) enhance interdisciplinary team skills, (2) employ technology as a tool for mental health practitioners, and (3) enhance student understanding of Appalachian culture and rural mental health. Didactic instruction emphasized Appalachian culture, rural mental health, teamwork and communication, professional ethics, and technology. Students were introduced to videoconferencing, asynchronous and synchronous communication, and Internet search tools. Working in teams of 3 or 4, students grappled with professional and cultural issues plus team process as they worked through a hypothetical case of a sexually abused youngster. The course required participants to engage in a nontraditional manner by immersing students in Web-based teams. Student evaluations suggested that teaching facts or "content" about rural mental health and Appalachian culture was much easier than the "process" of using new technologies or working in teams. Given that the delivery of mental health care demands collaboration and teamwork and that rural practice relies increasingly more on the use of technology, our experience suggests that more team-based, technology-driven courses are needed to better prepare students for clinical practice.

  6. Primary care teams in Ireland: a qualitative mapping review of Irish grey and published literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Sullivan, M; Cullen, W; MacFarlane, A

    2015-03-01

    The Irish government published its primary care strategy, Primary Care: A New Direction in 2001. Progress with the implementation of Primary care teams is modest. The aim of this paper is to map the Irish grey literature and peer-reviewed publications to determine what research has been carried out in relation to primary care teams, the reform process and interdisciplinary working in primary care in Ireland. This scoping review employed three methods: a review of Web of Science, Medline and Embase databases, an email survey of researchers across academic institutions, the HSE and independent researchers and a review of Lenus and the Health Well repository. N = 123 outputs were identified. N = 14 were selected for inclusion. A thematic analysis was undertaken. Common themes identified were resources, GP participation, leadership, clarity regarding roles in primary care teams, skills and knowledge for primary care team working, communication and community. There is evidence of significant problems that disrupt team formation and functioning that warrants more comprehensive research.

  7. Interdisciplinary rehabilitation for a patient with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury and multimorbidity: A case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vining, Robert D; Gosselin, Donna M; Thurmond, Jeb; Case, Kimberlee; Bruch, Frederick R

    2017-08-01

    This report describes interdisciplinary rehabilitation for a 51-year-old male recovering from incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple comorbidities following an automobile accident. The patient was admitted to a rehabilitation specialty hospital approximately 2 months post SCI and 2 separate surgical fusion procedures (C3-C6). Clinical presentation at the rehabilitation hospital included moderate to severe motor strength loss in both upper and lower extremities, a percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy tube (PEG), dysphagia, bowel/bladder incontinence, dependence on a mechanical lift and tilting wheelchair due to severe orthostatic hypotension, and pre-existing shoulder pain from bilateral joint degeneration. The interdisciplinary team formally coordinated rehabilitative care from multiple disciplines. Internal medicine managed medications, determined PEG removal, monitored co-morbid conditions, and overall progress. Chiropractic care focused on alleviating shoulder and thoracic pain and improving spinal and extremity mobility. Physical therapy addressed upright tolerance, transfer, gait, and strength training. Occupational therapy focused on hand coordination and feeding/dressing activities. Psychology assisted with coping strategies. Nursing ensured medication adherence, nutrient intake, wound prevention, and incontinence management, whereas physiatry addressed abnormal muscle tone. Eleven months post-admission the patient's progress allowed discharge to a long-term care facility. At this time he was without dysphagia or need for a PEG. Orthostatic hypotension and bilateral shoulder pain symptoms were also resolved while bowel/bladder incontinence and upper and lower extremity motor strength loss remained. He was largely independent in transferring from bed to wheelchair and in upper body dressing. Lower body dressing/bathing required maximal assistance. Gait with a 2-wheeled walker was possible up to 150 feet with verbal cues and occasional

  8. A team approach in palliative care: enhancing outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrader, Susan L; Horner, Arlene; Eidsness, LuAnn; Young, Sandy; Wright, Chris; Robinson, Michael

    2002-07-01

    While most Americans envision a "good death" as one occurring quickly and painlessly at home surrounded by loved ones, many people do not die in this fashion. Palliative care focuses on holistic treatment of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment, and strives to improve quality of life for patients and families at end-of-life (EOL). This hospital-based study examines the extent to which a palliative care consultant team makes a difference in EOL for patients and families. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 50 hospitalized patients referred to an interdisciplinary palliative care consulting team at a South Dakota tertiary hospital during 2001. Various palliative care interventions were introduced during the course of hospitalization, and data were collected two days later to see if quality of life had improved. Statistically significant improvements were found in pain levels, non-pain symptom management, numerous psychosocial measures of quality of life, change in code status, and perceptions of communication and treatment during hospitalization. The study demonstrates that consultations with a palliative care team are beneficial and enhance the EOL experience for patients and families.

  9. State of nutrition support teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLegge, Mark Henry; Kelly, Andrea True; Kelley, Andrea True

    2013-12-01

    The incidence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients is relatively high (up to 55%) despite breakthroughs in nutrition support therapies. These patients have increased morbidity and mortality, extended hospital stays, and care that is associated with higher costs. These patients are often poorly managed due to inadequate nutrition assessment and poor medical knowledge and practice in the field of nutrition. Nutrition support teams (NSTs) are interdisciplinary support teams with specialty training in nutrition that are often comprised of physicians, dietitians, nurses, and pharmacists. Their role includes nutrition assessment, determination of nutrition needs, recommendations for appropriate nutrition therapy, and management of nutrition support therapy. Studies have demonstrated significant improvements in patient nutrition status and improved clinical outcomes as well as reductions in costs when patients were appropriately managed by a multispecialty NST vs individual caregivers. Despite this, there has been steady decline in the number of formal NST in recent years (65% of hospitals in 1995 to 42% in 2008) as hospitals and other healthcare organizations look for ways to cut costs. Given the importance of nutrition status on clinical outcomes and overall healthcare costs, a number of institutions have introduced and sustained strong nutrition training and support programs and teams, demonstrating both clinical and economic benefit. The benefits of NST, training and implementation strategies, and tips for justifying these clinically and economically beneficial groups to healthcare organizations and governing bodies are discussed in this review.

  10. An Interdisciplinary Approach Between Medical Informatics and Social Sciences to Transdisciplinary Requirements Engineering for an Integrated Care Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vielhauer, Jan; Böckmann, Britta

    2017-01-01

    Requirements engineering of software products for elderly people faces some special challenges to ensure a maximum of user acceptance. Within the scope of a research project, a web-based platform and a mobile app are approached to enable people to live in their own home as long as possible. This paper is about a developed method of interdisciplinary requirements engineering by a team of social scientists in cooperation with computer scientists.

  11. Conference report: interdisciplinary workshop in the philosophy of medicine: parentalism and trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, Emma; Gergel, Tania; Kingma, Elselijn

    2015-06-01

    On 13 June 2014, the Centre for the Humanities and Health at King's College London hosted a 1-day workshop on 'parentalism and trust'. This workshop was the sixth in a series of workshops whose aim is to provide a new model for high-quality open interdisciplinary engagement between medical professionals and philosophers. This report briefly describes the workshop methodology and the discussions on the day. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Interdisciplinary Introductory Course in Bioinformatics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kortsarts, Yana; Morris, Robert W.; Utell, Janine M.

    2010-01-01

    Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field that integrates computer science, mathematics, biology, and information technology to manage, analyze, and understand biological, biochemical and biophysical information. We present our experience in teaching an interdisciplinary course, Introduction to Bioinformatics, which was developed…

  13. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching in a multi-disciplinary context - A model for teaching geociences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmun, H.

    2015-12-01

    As a major component of an NSF-funded STEM program, a seminar-style course called the Catalyst Seminar was developed and offered over three consecutive semesters. The program included undergraduate students in the geosciences, computer science, mathematics and physics. The Catalyst Seminar was designed to expose scholars to the interdisciplinary research options and careers in these disciplines. The Seminar also provided a venue for scholars to meet regularly, build a sense of community and to engage in research projects that would enhance their preparation for multi and interdisciplinary careers in the sciences. The first semester of the Seminar was devoted to Exposure and Connections, accomplished through lectures by invited speakers on topics related to the disciplines participating in the Program. Scholars were required to read journal articles related to the lectures and to write a final short paper reflecting on the experience, all activities that are known to students at this level. Overall, this was a somewhat passive learning approach to research in classrooms. In the following two semesters a more active approach to engage students in interdisciplinary research was used. Students were asked to take ownership of their learning process through disciplinary and interdisciplinary engagement in a project. In one semester this process was guided by the seminar coordinator who was in charge of selecting and leading the 'research project' which although challenging to scholars, was 'safe' enough that answers were readily available. In the other semester the approach was student-centered, with a coordinator that merely facilitated the formation of interdisciplinary research teams that took complete charge of the entire research enterprise. I will discuss our observations and assessment of the outcomes of this instructional experience with relation to the teaching of geoscience, in particular to attracting students into this field.

  14. Determining the need for team-based training in delirium management: A needs assessment of surgical healthcare professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sockalingam, Sanjeev; Tehrani, Hedieh; Kacikanis, Anna; Tan, Adrienne; Hawa, Raed; Anderson, Ruthie; Okrainec, Allan; Abbey, Susan

    2015-01-01

    The high incidence of delirium in surgical units is a serious quality concern, given its impact on morbidity and mortality. While successful delirium management depends upon interdisciplinary care, training needs for surgical teams have not been studied. A needs assessment of surgical units was conducted to determine perceived comfort in managing delirium, and interprofessional training needs for team-based care. We administered a survey to 106 General Surgery healthcare professionals (69% response rate) with a focus on attitudes towards delirium and team management. Although most respondents identified delirium as important to patient outcomes, only 61% of healthcare professionals indicated that a team-based approach was always observed in practice. Less than half had a clear understanding of their role in delirium care, while just over half observed team communication of delirium care plans during handover. This is the first observation of clear gaps in perceived team performance in a General Surgery setting.

  15. Building a Community of Research Practice: Intragroup Team Social Dynamics in Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmings, Annette; Beckett, Gulbahar; Kennerly, Susan; Yap, Tracey

    2013-01-01

    This article explicates the intragroup social dynamics and work of a nursing and education research team as a community of research practice interested in organizational cultures and occupational subcultures. Dynamics were characterized by processes of socialization through reeducation and group social identity formation that enabled members to…

  16. Diagnostic radiology on multiple injured patients: interdisciplinary management; Radiologische Diagnostik beim Polytrauma: interdisziplinaeres Management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Linsenmaier, U.; Pfeifer, K.J. [Inst. fuer Radiologische Diagnostik, Klinikum der Univ. Muenchen (Germany); Kanz, K.G.; Mutschler, W. [Chirurgische Klinik Innenstadt, Klinikum der Univ. Muenchen, (Germany)

    2001-06-01

    The presence of a radiologist within the admitting area of an emergency department and his capability as a member of the trauma team have a major impact on the role of diagnostic radiology in trauma care. The knowledge of clinical decision criteria, algorithms, and standards of patient care are essential for the acceptance within a trauma team. We present an interdisciplinary management concept of diagnostic radiology for trauma patients, which comprises basic diagnosis, organ diagnosis, radiological ABC, and algorithms of early clinical care. It is the result of a prospective study comprising over 2000 documented multiple injured patients. The radiologist on a trauma team should support trauma surgery and anesthesia in diagnostic and clinical work-up. The radiological ABC provides a structured approach for diagnostic imaging in all steps of the early clinical care of the multiple injured patient. Radiological ABC requires a reevaluation in cases of equivocal findings or difficulties in the clinical course. Direct communication of radiological findings with the trauma team enables quick clinical decisions. In addition, the radiologist can priority-oriented influence the therapy by using interventional procedures. The clinical radiologist is an active member of the interdisciplinary trauma team, not only providing diagnostic imaging but also participating in clinical decisions. (orig.) [German] Die Anwesenheit des Radiologen im Schockraum und dessen Teamfaehigkeit bestimmen den Status der diagnostischen Radiologie in der Traumaversorgung. Voraussetzung zur Mitarbeit im interdisziplinaeren Traumateam ist die detaillierte Kenntnis der wesentlichen Entscheidungskriterien, Algorithmen und Behandlungsablaeufe. Das hier vorgestellte interdisziplinaere Managementkonzept der radiologischen Diagnostik beim Polytrauma mit Basisdiagnostik, Organdiagnostik, radiologischer ABC-Regel und Algorithmen zur fruehklinischen Behandlung beruht auf einer prospektiven Polytraumastudie mit

  17. Exploring the concept of a team approach to wound care: Managing wounds as a team.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Zena; Butcher, Gillian; Corbett, Lisa Q; McGuiness, William; Snyder, Robert J; van Acker, Kristien

    2014-05-01

    Background - The growing prevalence and incidence of nonhealing acute and chronic wounds is a worrying concern. A major challenge is the lack of united services aimed at addressing the complex needs of individuals with wounds. However, the WHO argues that interprofessional collaboration in education and practice is key to providing the best patient care, enhancing clinical and health-related outcomes and strengthening the health system. It is based on this background that the team approach to wound care project was conceptualised. The project was jointly initiated and realised by the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC-USA), the Australian Wound Management Association (AWMA) and the European Wound Management Association (EWMA). Aim - The aim of this project was to develop a universal model for the adoption of a team approach to wound care. Objective The overarching objective of this project was to provide recommendations for implementing a team approach to wound care within all clinical settings and through this to develop a model for advocating the team approach toward decision makers in national government levels. Method An integrative literature review was conducted. Using this knowledge, the authors arrived at a consensus on the most appropriate model to adopt and realise a team approach to wound care. Results - Eighty four articles met the inclusion criteria. Following data extraction, it was evident that none of the articles provided a definition for the terms multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary in the context of wound care. Given this lack of clarity within the wound care literature, the authors have here developed a Universal Model for the Team Approach to Wound Care to fill this gap in our current understanding. Conclusion - We advocate that the patient should be at the heart of all decision-making, as working with the Universal Model for the Team Approach to Wound Care begins with the needs of the patient. To

  18. Using a profile of a modified Brief ICF Core Set for chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain with qualifiers for baseline assessment in interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Löfgren M

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Monika Löfgren,1,2 Jan Ekholm,2 Lisbet Broman,3 Philipe Njoo,1 Marie-Louise Schult1–3 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Stockholm, Danderyd University Hospital, Sweden; 2Karolinska Institutet, Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; 3Karolinska Institutet, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden Aim: To describe the use of a “workable” visual profile of function and disability, based on a modified Brief International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF Core Set for chronic widespread pain, for initial assessments in a clinical setting of interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation teams. Method: The Brief ICF Core Set was slightly adapted to meet the needs of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation medicine team working in a university outpatient clinic and admitting patients referred from primary care. The Core Set categories were made measurable by means of eg, assessment instruments and clinical investigations. The resulting profile was given a workable shape to facilitate rapid understanding of the initial assessment outcome. Results: Individual patients showed different profiles of problems and resources, which facilitated individual rehabilitation planning. At the level of the study group, the profiles for the Core Set component Body Functions showed that most patients had severe impairment in the sensation of pain and exercise tolerance categories of function, but most had resources in the motivation and memory categories of function. Likewise, for the component Activities, most patients had limitations in lifting and carrying objects and remunerative employment, but most had resources in intimate relationships and family relationships. At first, the use of the modified Brief ICF Core Set in the team conference was rather time consuming, but after a couple of months of experience, the team assessment took

  19. Team functioning as a predictor of patient outcomes in early medical home implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Frances M; Rubenstein, Lisa V; Yoon, Jean

    2018-03-12

    New models of patient-centered primary care such as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) depend on high levels of interdisciplinary primary care team functioning to achieve improved outcomes. A few studies have qualitatively assessed barriers and facilitators to optimal team functioning; however, we know of no prior study that assesses PCMH team functioning in relationship to patient health outcomes. The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between primary care team functioning, patients' use of acute care, and mortality. Retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis of patient outcomes measured at two time points (2012 and 2013) after PCMH implementation began in Veterans Health Administration practices. Multilevel models examined practice-level measures of team functioning in relationship to patient outcomes (all-cause and ambulatory care-sensitive condition-related hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and mortality). We controlled for practice-level factors likely to affect team functioning, including leadership support, provider and staff burnout, and staffing sufficiency, as well as for individual patient characteristics. We also tested the model among a subgroup of vulnerable patients (homeless, mentally ill, or with dementia). In adjusted analyses, higher team functioning was associated with lower mortality (OR = 0.92, p = .04) among all patients and with fewer all-cause admissions (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.90, p team functioning within PCMH models for achieving improved patient outcomes. A focus on team functioning is important especially in the early implementation of team-based primary care models.

  20. Dearfield Dream Project: Developing an Interdisciplinary Historical/Cultural Research Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Brunswig

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The Dearfield Dream Project is a collaborative research initiative to conduct historical, cultural, archaeological, and environmental studies on the early 20th Century African-American colony site of Dearfield, Colorado, USA. Because the breadth and significance of the Dearfield Project requires an interdisciplinary research team, a network of research collaborators has been assembled. This research network seeks to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge of the site and its surrounding farmsteads’ economic, social, political, and environmental history for better understanding and interpretation of its contributions to Colorado and U.S. history. Herein, we detail progress that has been made on this important historical/cultural research project. Further, we outline the future of the Dearfield research network along with our current and anticipated subjects of inquiry.

  1. The Team to Address Bariatric Care in Canadian Children (Team ABC3): Team Grant Research Proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-05

    Severe obesity (SO) in Canadian children remains poorly understood. However, based on international data, the prevalence of SO appears to be increasing and is associated with a number of psychosocial, bio-mechanical, and cardiometabolic health risks. The purpose of our national Team to Address Bariatric Care in Canadian Children (Team ABC3) is to develop and lead a series of inter-related studies to enhance the understanding and management of SO in Canadian children and adolescents (0-18 years). From 2015 to 2019, Team ABC3 will conduct a series of projects at the regional, provincial, and national levels using multiple methods and study designs to respond to key knowledge gaps by (i) generating evidence on the prevalence of SO and its impact on health services utilization in children using existing Canadian data sources from primary care settings, (ii) exploring contemporary definitions of SO that link with health outcomes, (iii) comparing and contrasting health risks across the continuum of SO, (iv) understanding potential barriers to and facilitators of treatment success in children with SO, and (v) examining innovative lifestyle and behavioral interventions designed to successfully manage SO in children and their families. Furthermore, to examine the impact of innovative interventions on the management SO, we will (vi) evaluate whether adding a health coach, who provides support via text, email, and/or phone, improves children's ability to adhere to a web-based weight management program and (vii) test the feasibility and impact of a community-based weight management program for pre-school children with SO and their parents that combines group-based parenting sessions with in-home visits. Our research aligns with national priorities in obesity research, brings together leading scientists, clinicians, and stakeholders from across Canada, and will inform health services delivery throughout the country to provide the best care possible for children with SO and

  2. Solar Technical Assistance Team 2013 Webinars | State, Local, and Tribal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Governments | NREL 3 Webinars Solar Technical Assistance Team 2013 Webinars The Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) 2013 webinar series provides an overview of solar technologies, resources, and the following sessions are available: Solar Finance for Residential and Commercial Customers and Potential Roles

  3. Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ennion L

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Liezel Ennion, Anthea Rhoda Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa Background: Major lower limb amputations result in a significant sense of loss, psychological stress, and decrease in function and overall quality of life for the amputee. The holistic, patient-centered prosthetic rehabilitation of an amputee requires input from a team of dedicated health professionals from different disciplines commonly referred to as a multidisciplinary team (MDT. MDT rehabilitation is considered crucial in the reintegration of the amputee into the community, as well as for providing psychological support after limb loss. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary rehabilitation has been proven to be more successful than therapy provided by individual therapists in a number of different populations, regardless of the population studied. However, in most developing countries, there is a significant lack of multidisciplinary rehabilitation.Aim: To explore the roles and challenges of the members of the MDT involved in trans-tibial amputation rehabilitation in a rural community in South Africa (SA.Design: An explorative sequential qualitative descriptive study.Setting: A rural district in the KwaZulu Natal province in SA.Participants: Nine prosthetic users, three surgeons, three traditional healers, 17 therapists, four prosthetists, and four community health workers.Instruments for data collection: Semistructured interviews and focus group discussions.Results: The roles of the members of the MDT were clarified, and various members of the MDT highlighted specific challenges relating to their experiences and roles in the rehabilitation team. Lack of interdisciplinary rehabilitation and communication among team members, as well as lack of resources, and patient education negatively impact the rehabilitation of trans-tibial amputees.Conclusion: Aiming to address the limited resources

  4. Teams and teamwork during a cancer diagnosis: interdependency within and between teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taplin, Stephen H; Weaver, Sallie; Chollette, Veronica; Marks, Lawrence B; Jacobs, Andrew; Schiff, Gordon; Stricker, Carrie T; Bruinooge, Suanna S; Salas, Eduardo

    2015-05-01

    This article discusses the care process among three groups (primary care, radiology, and surgery) aiding a 57-year-old woman during her screening mammography and diagnosis of breast cancer. This is the first in a series of articles exploring principles and topics relevant to teams guiding clinicians involved in cancer care. The challenges demonstrated in this case illustrate how clinicians work within and between groups to deliver this first phase of cancer care. The case helps demonstrate the differences between groups and teams. Focusing on the patient and the overall process of care coordination can help move groups toward becoming teams who deliver better care by identifying and managing goals, roles, and interdependent care tasks. Care providers and researchers can use the case to consider their own work and essential aspects of teamwork needed to improve care, patient outcomes, and the evidence that supports each. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  5. The 1993 Finnish Interdisciplinary Seminar on SETI - A review of aims, approaches and conclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seppanen, Jouko

    1993-10-01

    The communications of the International Interdisciplinary Seminar on SETI, held on March 6-7, 1993 in Vantaa, Finland, are reviewed and the contents and conclusions of papers summarized. The seminar was organized jointly by the Finnish Artificial Intelligence Society (FAIS), Finnish Astronomical Society, Ursa Astronomical Association and Heureka - The Finnish Science Centre. As the ninth in a series of intelligence-related seminars of FAIS, SETI was chosen as the topic for spring 1993, noting the new ten year NASA SETI program HRMS (High Resolution Micro-wave Survey), commenced on Columbus Day, October 12, 1992. The aims and the interdisciplinary format of the seminar are described, the main results and conclusions of papers are restated, and the seminar publications introduced. The summaries of papers are based on their abstracts and contain excerpts from texts.

  6. Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

    OpenAIRE

    Pohan, Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani; Ancok, Djamaludin

    2010-01-01

    This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

  7. Team Learning Ditinjau dari Team Diversity dan Team Efficacy

    OpenAIRE

    Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani Pohan; Djamaludin Ancok

    2015-01-01

    This research attempted to observe team learning from the level of team diversity and team efficacy of work teams. This research used an individual level of analysis rather than the group level. The team members measured the level of team diversity, team efficacy and team learning of the teams through three scales, namely team learning scale, team diversity scale, and team efficacy scale. Respondents in this research were the active team members in a company, PT. Alkindo Mitraraya. The total ...

  8. Interdisciplinary Work in Schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tofteng, Ditte Maria Børglum; Rasmussen, Gitte Lyng

    In a Danish school or institutional context there is a variety of professionals working around children’s lives, both as a part of an ordinary child life and when there are cognitive or social challenges connected to this life. Thus, the professionals are often working closely together in both......, combined with their more formal organizational affiliation. In this way, professionals can be working directly within the school or institution, or they can be in a supportive role being formally affiliated to the local council. Both these types of affiliations entail interdisciplinary cooperation......, interdisciplinary work is part of the new vision of how welfare systems can work more effectively and successfully, and in this logic, it is framed as a new standard for working systematically and consistently with cases. Hence, interdisciplinary work also represents a meaningful way of working with cases...

  9. The Economics of the Duration of the Baseball World Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassuto, Alexander E.; Lowenthal, Franklin

    2007-01-01

    This note examines some statistical features of the major league baseball World Series. We show that, based upon actual historical data, we cannot reject the hypothesis that the two World Series teams are evenly matched. Yet, we can also calculate the relative strengths of the teams that would best match the actual outcomes, and we find that those…

  10. University of Idaho Water of the West Initiative: Development of a sustainable, interdisciplinary water resources program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boll, J.; Cosens, B.; Fiedler, F.; Link, T.; Wilson, P.; Harris, C.; Tuller, M.; Johnson, G.; Kennedy, B.

    2006-12-01

    Recently, an interdisciplinary group of faculty from the University of Idaho was awarded a major internal grant for their project "Water of the West (WoW)" to launch an interdisciplinary Water Resources Graduate Education Program. This Water Resources program will facilitate research and education to influence both the scientific understanding of the resource and how it is managed, and advance the decision-making processes that are the means to address competing societal values. By educating students to integrate environmental sciences, socio-economic, and political issues, the WoW project advances the University's land grant mission to promote economic and social development in the state of Idaho. This will be accomplished through novel experiential interdisciplinary education activities; creation of interdisciplinary research efforts among water resources faculty; and focusing on urgent regional problems with an approach that will involve and provide information to local communities. The Water Resources Program will integrate physical and biological sciences, social science, law, policy and engineering to address problems associated with stewardship of our scarce water resources. As part of the WoW project, faculty will: (1) develop an integrative problem-solving framework; (2) develop activities to broaden WR education; (3) collaborate with the College of Law to offer a concurrent J.D. degree, (4) develop a virtual system of watersheds for teaching and research, and (5) attract graduate students for team-based education. The new program involves 50 faculty from six colleges and thirteen departments across the university. This university-wide initiative is strengthened by collaboration with the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, and participation from off-campus Centers in Idaho Falls, Boise, Twin Falls, and Coeur d'Alene. We hope this presentation will attract university faculty, water resources professionals, and others for stimulating discussions on

  11. Qualitative Inquiry with Women in Poverty in Mexico City: Reflections on the Emotional Responses of a Research Team

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez-Salgado, Carolina

    2009-01-01

    While conducting a qualitative inquiry involving in-depth interviews on the perceptions of health risks within a group of profoundly poor urban families in the southern part of Mexico City, Martinez-Salgado and her interdisciplinary team of women interviewers got involved in emotionally complex situations with the women participants in the study.…

  12. The pipeline training program in maternal and child health: interdisciplinary preparation of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pizur-Barnekow, Kris; Rhyner, Paula M; Lund, Shelley

    2010-05-01

    The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training program provided financial support and specialized training to occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in maternal and child health. The project assisted undergraduate trainees to matriculate into graduate programs in their respective fields and facilitated application into long-term maternal and child health training programs. Sixteen trainees (8 OT and 8 SLP) participated in an undergraduate training program with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaming, family mentoring, leadership development, public health and population-based research. Instruction occurred in community and classroom settings through didactic instruction and small group discussions. Fifteen of the trainees applied to and were accepted in graduate programs in their respective fields. Two trainees applied to a long-term MCH training program. Students reported increased knowledge about programs that serve women and children, the effects of poverty on health, interdisciplinary teaming and the daily routines of families who have a child with a special health care need. The MCH PASS program provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in OT and SLP to learn about public health with an emphasis on maternal and child health. The specialized preparation enabled students to understand better the health concerns of underserved families whose children have special health care needs.

  13. The interdisciplinary nature of the skills needed by project managers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor Nesbit

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the additional skills that are transferrable across different sectors, that project managers require and that go beyond technical project management skills to enable them to be successful in what is becoming an increasingly interdisciplinary role.The conclusions highlight that the project management role requires a range of non- technical project management skills and characteristics to enable project management to be carried out successfully. These non- technical project management skills and characteristics include the ability to build relationships with stakeholders; possessing formal project management certification; understanding the creation and functioning of project teams; understanding the political environment that the project exists in; the ability to work in a team; possessing leadership and management skills; possessing interpersonal and communication skills and possessing a strategic orientation.The skills and characteristics that are perceived by the cross section of project managers as being the most important are possessing interpersonal and communication skills; possessing leadership and management skills; the ability to work in a team and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders. Interpersonal and communication skills along with the ability to work in a team are not included significantly in job advertisements for project managers, with the requirement to have them potentially being assumed and not needed to be stated.This research provides a basis for a further study involving in-depth interviews with project managers from the information technology sector with the aim of highlighting specific projects where these additional skills have been vital to the success of these projects.Issues surrounding the political environment of the project from the perspective of different genders; the importance interpersonal and communication skills along with team work for

  14. Interdisciplinary Symposium on Complex Systems

    CERN Document Server

    Zelinka, Ivan; Rössler, Otto

    2014-01-01

    The book you hold in your hands is the outcome of the "ISCS 2013: Interdisciplinary Symposium on Complex Systems" held at the historical capital of Bohemia as a continuation of our series of symposia in the science of complex systems. Prague, one of the most beautiful European cities, has its own beautiful genius loci. Here, a great number of important discoveries were made and many important scientists spent fruitful and creative years to leave unforgettable traces. The perhaps most significant period was the time of Rudolf II who was a great supporter of the art and the science and attracted a great number of prominent minds to Prague. This trend would continue. Tycho Brahe, Niels Henrik Abel, Johannes Kepler, Bernard Bolzano, August Cauchy Christian Doppler, Ernst Mach, Albert Einstein and many others followed developing fundamental mathematical and physical theories or expanding them. Thus in the beginning of the 17th century, Kepler formulated here the first two of his three laws of planetary motion on ...

  15. The Chernobyl reactor accident, ten years on. Teaching projects for mathematics instruction in interdisciplinary working groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boer, H.; Delle, E.; Mies, K.; Warmeling, A.

    1996-01-01

    The booklet presents background information and addresses the following aspects: ionizing radiation and radiation effects; safety of German nuclear power plants; statistical evidence of radiation injuries; short-lived and long-lived ionizing radiation; radioactive waste; CO 2 emissions as an argument in favour of nuclear power generation. The material presented is intended for use by a school project team interested in the subjects, or as a basis for collaborative, interdisciplinary teaching in working groups, and it offers information and problems for mathematics teaching. (HP) [de

  16. Synthesis and Metalation of a Ligand: An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Experiment for Second-Year Organic and Introductory Inorganic Chemistry Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasting, Benjamin J.; Bowser, Andrew K.; Anderson-Wile, Amelia M.; Wile, Bradley M.

    2015-01-01

    An interdisciplinary laboratory experiment involving second-year undergraduate organic chemistry and introductory inorganic chemistry undergraduate students is described. Organic chemistry students prepare a series of amine-bis(phenols) via a Mannich reaction, and characterize their products using melting point; FTIR; and [superscript 1]H,…

  17. Creating High Reliability Teams in Healthcare through In situ Simulation Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristi Miller RN

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The importance of teamwork on patient safety in healthcare has been well established. However, the theory and research of healthcare teams are seriously lacking in clinical application. While conventional team theory assumes that teams are stable and leadership is constant, a growing body of evidence indicates that most healthcare teams are unstable and lack constant leadership. For healthcare organizations to reduce error and ensure patient safety, the true nature of healthcare teams must be better understood. This study presents a taxonomy of healthcare teams and the determinants of high reliability in healthcare teams based on a series of studies undertaken over a five-year period (2005–2010.

  18. Reflections on the contributions of self-advocates to an interdisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students in health affairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Angela; Zuver, Deborah; Kermon, McCafferty; Fernandez, Claudia; Margolis, Lewis H

    2018-04-01

    To advance equity and to enhance leadership skills, self-advocates with intellectual/developmental disabilities are now part of the cohort of trainees in the University of North Carolina LEND, which means that they fully participate in the Interdisciplinary Leadership Development Program, a collaboration among programs in public health, social work, and LEND, which meets monthly. Given this important new participation by self-advocates, this study analyzes the reflections of graduate students on the contributions of self-advocates to their leadership training. At the conclusion of the program each year, graduate students respond to a questionnaire about how self-advocates influenced the content and interactions/discussions of the monthly workshops and are asked to provide specific examples to explain their perceptions. The 12 MCH leadership competencies were used to guide the coding of the comments for this qualitative, directed content analysis. Forty-six of 58 students (79.3%) from two consecutive cohorts responded for this cross-sectional study. Interactions with self-advocates prompted comments on 8 of the 12 leadership competencies, including interdisciplinary team building (29% of the comments); developing others through teaching and mentoring (22%); and self-reflection (18%). The inclusion of self-advocates throughout an interdisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students in health affairs can strengthen MCH leadership competencies for all participants as they enter an increasingly interdisciplinary workforce. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. American Bar Association Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases: Implications for Social Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Arlene Bowers

    2012-01-01

    When a client faces a penalty of death, defense attorneys may call on social workers in many capacities: mitigation specialist, expert witness, consulting specialist, direct witness, or defense-initiated victim outreach worker. The American Bar Association set forth standards for capital defense attorneys, which led an interdisciplinary team to…

  20. Impact of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research in Mathematics and Biology on the Development of a New Course Integrating Five STEM Disciplines

    OpenAIRE

    Caudill, Lester; Hill, April; Hoke, Kathy; Lipan, Ovidiu

    2010-01-01

    Funded by innovative programs at the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Richmond faculty in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science teamed up to offer first- and second-year students the opportunity to contribute to vibrant, interdisciplinary research projects. The result was not only good science but also good science that motivated and informed course development. Here, we describe four recent undergraduate research proj...

  1. Providing Data Access for Interdisciplinary Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooper, R. P.; Couch, A.

    2012-12-01

    Developing an interdisciplinary understanding of human and environmental interactions with water requires access to a variety of data kinds collected by various organizations. The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) is a standards-based, services-oriented architecture designed for time-series data. Such data represents an important type of data in water studies. Through the efforts of HIS, a standard transmission language, WaterML2, has been adopted by the Open Geospatial Consortium and is under consideration by the World Meteorologic Organization as an international standards. Web services have also been developed to retrieve data and metadata. HIS is completed with a metadata catalog, hosted by San Diego Supercomputing Center, which indexes more than 20 million time series provided from over 90 different services. This catalog is supported through a hierarchically organized controlled vocabulary that is open for community input and mediation. Data publishers include federal agencies, universities, state agencies, and non-profit organizations such as watershed associations. Accessing data from such a broad spectrum of sources through a uniform service standard promises to truly transform the way in which hydrologic research is done. CUAHSI HIS is a large-scale prototype at this time, but a proposal is under consideration by the National Science Foundation to operationalize HIS through a data facility, tentatively called the CUAHSI Water Data Center. Establishing HIS is an important step to enable research into human-environment interactions with water, but it is only one step. Other data structures will need to be made accessible and interoperable to support this research. Some data—such as two-dimensional GIS coverages—already have widely used standards for transmission and sharing. The US Federal government has long operated a clearinghouse for federal geographic data that is now being augmented with other services such as ArcGIS OnLine. Other data

  2. Design considerations regarding the development of an interdisciplinary engineering innovation course involving collaboration with small and micro-sized companies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Nynne Budtz; Ashworth, David; Ulrich, Mai-Mai

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses some of the issues and dilemmas that have come up when designing courses aimed at teaching innovation competencies to engineering students through means of authentic industry collaboration with small and medium sized enterprises (SME). The paper is focused around the phase...... of designing the course SME Innovation and Intrapreneurship where the aim has been to create a match between the company need for short, result oriented innovation projects and the structured professional and interdisciplinary learning goals for a coming bachelor of engineering. The main dilemmas...... in the development have evolved around the concept of bridging real-life with a university learning context, the question of how to change teaching and exam structure to support new and different learning objectives, as well as the challenges of handling interdisciplinary teams. The 13 week, 10 ECTS credit course...

  3. In competition for the best energy-plus building. German teams score at Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 with architecture, engineering and marketing opportunities; Im Wettkampf um das beste Plusenergiehaus. Deutsche Teams punkten beim Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 mit Architektur, Konstruktion und Vermarktungschancen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gintars, Dorothee

    2012-07-01

    For the competition, 18 interdisciplinary student teams from all over the world developed and built houses that generate at least as much energy - using solar systems - as they consume. They were supported by their universities, researchers and companies. From Germany, students took part from Hochschule Konstanz University of Applied Sciences (HTWG) and RWTH Aachen University, supported with government energy research funds. Whereas the design from Constance has perfected a modular construction system, with the Aachen team the focus is on recycling. After ten disciplines, the two homes achieved 4{sup th} and 5{sup th} places. (orig.)

  4. An Interdisciplinary Education Initiative to Promote Blood Conservation in Cardiac Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goda, Tamara S; Sherrod, Brad; Kindell, Linda

    Transfusion practices vary extensively for patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures, leading to high utilization of blood products despite evidence that transfusions negatively impact outcomes. An important factor affecting transfusion practice is recognition of the importance of teams in cardiac surgery care delivery. This article reports an evidenced-based practice (EBP) initiative constructed using the Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) 2011 Blood Conservation Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to standardize transfusion practice across the cardiac surgery team at a large academic medical center. Project outcomes included: a) Improvement in clinician knowledge related to the STS Blood Conservation CPGs; and b) Decreased blood product utilization for patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures. Participants' scores reflected an improvement in the overall knowledge of the STS CPGs noting a 31.1% (p = 0.012) increase in the number of participants whose practice reflected the Blood Conservation CPGs post intervention. Additionally, there was a reduction in overall blood product utilization for all patients undergoing cardiac surgery procedures post intervention (p = 0.005). Interdisciplinary education based on the STS Blood Conservation CPGs is an effective way to reduce transfusion practice variability and decrease utilization of blood products during cardiac surgery.

  5. Defining features of the practice of global health research: an examination of 14 global health research teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Stephen

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This paper strives to develop a pragmatic view of the scope of practice and core characteristics of global health research (GHR by examining the activities of 14 Canadian-funded global health teams that were in the process of implementing research programs. Methods: Information was collected by a reflective exploration of team proposals and progress reports, a content analysis of the outputs from an all-team meeting and review of the literature. Results: Teams adopted equity-centered, problem-focused, systems-based approaches intended to find upstream determinants that could make people more resilient to social and ecological factors impacting their health. Long-term visions and time frames were needed to develop and solidify fully functional interdisciplinary, multinational, multicultural partnerships. The implementation of research into practice was a motivating factor for all teams, but to do this, they recognized the need for evidence-based advice on how to best do this. Traditional measures of biomedical research excellence were necessary but not sufficient to encompass views of excellence of team-based interdisciplinary research, which includes features like originality, coherence and cumulative contributions to fields of study, acceptance by peers and success in translating research into gains in health status. An innovative and nuanced approached to GHR ethics was needed to deal with some unique ethical issues because the needs for GHR were not adequately addressed by institutional biomedical research ethics boards. Core competencies for GHR researchers were a blend of those needed for health promotion, population health, international development, sustainable development, and systems science. Discussion: Developing acceptable and meaningful ways to evaluate the short-term contributions for GHR and forecast its long-term impacts is a strategic priority needed to defend decisions being made in GHR development. Planning and

  6. Transformational and transactional leadership skills for mental health teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrigan, P W; Garman, A N

    1999-08-01

    Many treatments for persons with severe mental illness are provided by mental health teams. Team members work better when led by effective leaders. Research conducted by organizational psychologists, and validated on mental health teams, have identified a variety of skills that are useful for these leaders. Bass (1990, 1997) identified two sets of especially important skills related to transformational and transactional leadership. Leaders using transformational skills help team members to view their work from more elevated perspectives and develop innovative ways to deal with work-related problems. Skills related to transformational leadership promote inspiration, intellectual stimulation, individual consideration, participative decision making, and elective delegation. Mental health and rehabilitation teams must not only develop creative and innovative programs, they must maintain them over time as a series of leader-team member transactions. Transactional leadership skills include goal-setting, feedback, and reinforcement strategies which help team members maintain effective programs.

  7. Deploying Team Science Principles to Optimize Interdisciplinary Lung Cancer Care Delivery: Avoiding the Long and Winding Road to Optimal Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osarogiagbon, Raymond U; Rodriguez, Hector P; Hicks, Danielle; Signore, Raymond S; Roark, Kristi; Kedia, Satish K; Ward, Kenneth D; Lathan, Christopher; Santarella, Scott; Gould, Michael K; Krasna, Mark J

    2016-11-01

    The complexity of lung cancer care mandates interaction between clinicians with different skill sets and practice cultures in the routine delivery of care. Using team science principles and a case-based approach, we exemplify the need for the development of real care teams for patients with lung cancer to foster coordination among the multiple specialists and staff engaged in routine care delivery. Achieving coordinated lung cancer care is a high-priority public health challenge because of the volume of patients, lethality of disease, and well-described disparities in quality and outcomes of care. Coordinating mechanisms need to be cultivated among different types of specialist physicians and care teams, with differing technical expertise and practice cultures, who have traditionally functioned more as coactively working groups than as real teams. Coordinating mechanisms, including shared mental models, high-quality communication, mutual trust, and mutual performance monitoring, highlight the challenge of achieving well-coordinated care and illustrate how team science principles can be used to improve quality and outcomes of lung cancer care. To develop the evidence base to support coordinated lung cancer care, research comparing the effectiveness of a diverse range of multidisciplinary care team approaches and interorganizational coordinating mechanisms should be promoted.

  8. Student Socialization in Interdisciplinary Doctoral Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boden, Daniel; Borrego, Maura; Newswander, Lynita K.

    2011-01-01

    Interdisciplinary approaches are often seen as necessary for attacking the most critical challenges facing the world today, and doctoral students and their training programs are recognized as central to increasing interdisciplinary research capacity. However, the traditional culture and organization of higher education are ill-equipped to…

  9. Interdisciplinary Issues at the Intersection of Assessing and Treating Substance Use Disorders and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Clinical Social Work and Clinical Behavioral Analysis with Veterans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica M. Matthieu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Veterans and military personnel may be at higher risk for developing addictions due to increased prevalence rates of co-occurring mental health disorders including posttraumatic stress and substance abuse disorders. However, clinicians may feel unprepared to assess and to treat these co-occurring disorders, especially when it includes a behavioral addiction such as gambling. Clinical social work and clinical behavior analysis are two fields with complementary interdisciplinary approaches that can lead to improved client-centered outcomes. Yet, limited evidence exists to guide interdisciplinary treatment teams in effective treatment of gambling addictions and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD. The current article provides an interdisciplinary treatment model to assist clinicians in selecting appropriate evidence-based assessments and treatments. A case example focuses on the use of assessment tools and treatment approaches drawn from recommendations from best practice guidelines for veterans. Finally, resources related trauma and addictions are presented.

  10. Improving post-stroke recovery: the role of the multidisciplinary health care team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clarke DJ

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available David J Clarke, Anne Forster Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford, UK Abstract: Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability, the effects of which may be prolonged with physical, emotional, social, and financial consequences not only for those affected but also for their family and friends. Evidence for the effectiveness of stroke unit care and the benefits of thrombolysis have transformed treatment for people after stroke. Previously viewed nihilistically, stroke is now seen as a medical emergency with clear evidence-based care pathways from hospital admission to discharge. However, stroke remains a complex clinical condition that requires health professionals to work together to bring to bear their collective knowledge and specialist skills for the benefit of stroke survivors. Multidisciplinary team working is regarded as fundamental to delivering effective care across the stroke pathway. This paper discusses the contribution of team working in improving recovery at key points in the post-stroke pathway. Keywords: stroke care, rehabilitation, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, team working

  11. Interdisciplinary Collaboration between Natural and Social Sciences – Status and Trends Exemplified in Groundwater Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidl, Roman

    2017-01-01

    Interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly between natural and social sciences, is perceived as crucial to solving the significant challenges facing humanity. However, despite the need for such collaboration being expressed more frequently and intensely, it remains unclear to what degree such collaboration actually takes place, what trends and developments there are and which actors are involved. Previous studies, often based on bibliometric analysis of large bodies of literature, partly observed an increase in interdisciplinary collaboration in general, but in particular, the collaboration among distant fields was less explored. Other more qualitative studies found that interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly between natural and social scientists was not well developed, and obstacles abounded. To shed some light on the actual status and developments of this collaboration, we performed an analysis based on a sample of articles on groundwater research. We first identified journals and articles therein that potentially combined natural and social science aspects of groundwater research. Next, we analysed the disciplinary composition of their authors’ teams, cited references, titles and keywords, making use of our detailed personal expertise in groundwater research and its interdisciplinary aspects. We combined several indicators developed from this analysis into a final classification of the degree of multidisciplinarity of each article. Covering the period between 1990 and 2014, we found that the overall percentage of multidisciplinary articles was in the low single-digit range, with only slight increases over the past decades. The interdisciplinarity of individuals plays a major role compared to interdisciplinarity involving two or more researchers. If collaboration with natural sciences takes place, social science is represented most often by economists. As a side result, we found that journals publishing multidisciplinary research had lower impact

  12. City evacuations an interdisciplinary approach

    CERN Document Server

    Binner, Jane; Branicki, Layla; Galla, Tobias; Jones, Nick; King, James; Kolokitha, Magdalini; Smyrnakis, Michalis

    2015-01-01

    Evacuating a city is a complex problem that involves issues of governance, preparedness education, warning, information sharing, population dynamics, resilience and recovery. As natural and anthropogenic threats to cities grow, it is an increasingly pressing problem for policy makers and practitioners.   The book is the result of a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers in the physical and social sciences to consider how an interdisciplinary approach can help plan for large scale evacuations.  It draws on perspectives from physics, mathematics, organisation theory, economics, sociology and education.  Importantly it goes beyond disciplinary boundaries and considers how interdisciplinary methods are necessary to approach a complex problem involving human actors and increasingly complex communications and transportation infrastructures.   Using real world case studies and modelling the book considers new approaches to evacuation dynamics.  It addresses questions of complexity, not only ...

  13. Technical discussions on Emissions and Atmospheric Modeling (TEAM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, G. J.; Henderson, B.; Lefer, B. L.

    2017-12-01

    A new informal activity, Technical discussions on Emissions and Atmospheric Modeling (TEAM), aims to improve the scientific understanding of emissions and atmospheric processes by leveraging resources through coordination, communication and collaboration between scientists in the Nation's environmental agencies. TEAM seeks to close information gaps that may be limiting emission inventory development and atmospheric modeling and to help identify related research areas that could benefit from additional coordinated efforts. TEAM is designed around webinars and in-person meetings on particular topics that are intended to facilitate active and sustained informal communications between technical staff at different agencies. The first series of TEAM webinars focuses on emissions of nitrogen oxides, a criteria pollutant impacting human and ecosystem health and a key precursor of ozone and particulate matter. Technical staff at Federal agencies with specific interests in emissions and atmospheric modeling are welcome to participate in TEAM.

  14. Assessment of teamwork during structured interdisciplinary rounds on medical units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, Kevin J; Boudreau, Yvonne N; Creden, Amanda J; Slade, Maureen E; Williams, Mark V

    2012-01-01

    Interdisciplinary rounds (IDR) provide a means to assemble hospital team members and improve collaboration. Little is known about teamwork during IDR. To evaluate and characterize teamwork during IDR. Cross-sectional observational study. Six medical units which had implemented structured interdisciplinary rounds (SIDR). We adapted the Observational Teamwork Assessment for Surgery (OTAS) tool, a behaviorally anchored rating scale shown to be reliable and valid in surgical settings. OTAS provides scores ranging from 0 to 6 (0 = problematic behavior; 6 = exemplary behavior) across 5 domains (communication, coordination, cooperation/backup behavior, leadership, and monitoring/situational awareness) and for prespecified subteams. Two researchers conducted direct observations using the adapted OTAS tool. We conducted 7-8 independent observations for each unit (total = 44) and 20 joint observations. Inter-rater reliability was excellent at the unit level (Spearman's rho = 0.75), and good across domains (rho = 0.53-0.68) and subteams (rho = 0.53-0.76) with the exception of the physician subteam, for which it was poor (rho = 0.35). Though teamwork scores were generally high, we found differences across units, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) 4.5 (3.9-4.9) for the lowest and 5.4 (5.3-5.5) for the highest performing unit (P teamwork during SIDR across units, domains, and most subteams. Variation in performance suggests a need to improve consistency of teamwork and emphasizes the importance of leadership. Copyright © 2012 Society of Hospital Medicine.

  15. Convalescence care for seniors of lower Manhattan: an interdisciplinary outreach, rehabilitation, and education model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moroz, Alex; Schoeb, Veronika; Fan, Grace; Vitale, Kenneth; Lee, Mathew

    2004-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of an interdisciplinary geriatric outreach, rehabilitation, and education program for seniors. Community-dwelling Chinese seniors in lower Manhattan were recruited through outreach activities (17 educational workshops, three community health fairs, media interviews) and community physician referrals to offer rehabilitation services. The instrument administered at entry and exit included questions about pain intensity, quality of life, activities of daily living (ADLs), and an assessment of a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to life participation. The sample included 70 seniors (53 women) with a mean age of 70.5 +/- 7.48 years (range 60-93 years old) of whom 86% were Cantonese-speaking Chinese. The barriers-to-life participation assessment revealed cultural, communication, transportation, and physical environmental barriers as well as insufficient financial resources. Thirty-four patients who completed the program showed a significant improvement in quality of life. Patients' reports reflected a high degree of satisfaction with the program. Interdisciplinary team-oriented patient care, including a physiatrist, social worker, and rehabilitation staff, may result in good outcomes and high patient satisfaction in ambulatory community seniors.

  16. Assessing Interdisciplinary Education in U.S. Dental Hygiene Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Lorie; Bray, Kimberly; Mayberry, Bill; Overman, Pamela

    2000-01-01

    Survey responses from 136 of 216 dental hygiene programs indicated that 31% included interdisciplinary activities in the curriculum; only 15% included both clinical and instructional interdisciplinary coursework. However, 74% felt that students would benefit from interdisciplinary experiences. (SK)

  17. Reflecting on healthcare and self-care in the Intensive Care Unit: our story

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allan Peterkin

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Health care professionals working in Intensive Care Units (ICUs are exposed to high levels of stress-provoking stimuli. Some may unconsciously employ negative coping skill s which may contribute to burnout and negatively affect patient care. We chose to explore ways of facilitating and encouraging self-reflective practice in an effort to increase empathic traits and enhance communication. A narrative medicine series, which included six sessions that were focused on different narrative approaches, was organized for staff of an academic teaching hospital. Totally, 132 interdisciplinary ICU staff attended the sessions. They were generally open to exploring the selected approaches and discussing their reflections within the interdisciplinary environment. The narrative medicine series provided tools for health care professionals to enhance self-reflective skills utilizing a team-based learning approach. The anticipated outcomes were improved self-care, increased empathy and communication skills, enhanced team functioning, which all contribute to better patient care at the bedside.

  18. Interdisciplinary Education and Research in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villa-Soto, Juan Carlos

    2016-01-01

    In this article we discuss interdisciplinary teaching and research in Latin America through the lens of Mexican perspectives, in particular the experiences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The history of these experiences goes back to the creation of the frst interdisciplinary education programs in Mexico in the 1970s and…

  19. A comparative study of job satisfaction among nurses, psychologists/psychotherapists and social workers working in Quebec mental health teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Bamvita, Jean-Marie

    2017-01-01

    This study identified multiple socio-professional and team effectiveness variables, based on the Input-Mediator-Output-Input (IMOI) model, and tested their associations with job satisfaction for three categories of mental health professionals (nurses, psychologists/psychotherapists, and social workers). Job satisfaction was assessed with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were classified into four categories: 1) Socio-professional Characteristics; 2) Team Attributes; 3) Team Processes; and 4) Team Emergent States. Variables were entered successively, by category, into a hierarchical regression model. Team Processes contributed the greatest number of variables to job satisfaction among all professional groups, including team support which was the only significant variable common to all three types of professionals. Greater involvement in the decision-making process, and lower levels of team conflict (Team Processes) were associated with job satisfaction among nurses and social workers. Lower seniority on team (Socio-professional Characteristics), and team collaboration (Team Processes) were associated with job satisfaction among nurses, as was belief in the advantages of interdisciplinary collaboration (Team Emergent States) among psychologists. Knowledge sharing (Team Processes) and affective commitment to the team (Team Emergent States) were associated with job satisfaction among social workers. Results suggest the need for mental health decision-makers and team managers to offer adequate support to mental health professionals, to involve nurses and social workers in the decision-making process, and implement procedures and mechanisms favourable to the prevention or resolution of team conflict with a view toward increasing job satisfaction among mental health professionals.

  20. Are real teams healthy teams?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buljac, M.; van Woerkom, M.; van Wijngaarden, P.

    2013-01-01

    This study examines the impact of real-team--as opposed to a team in name only--characteristics (i.e., team boundaries, stability of membership, and task interdependence) on team processes (i.e., team learning and emotional support) and team effectiveness in the long-term care sector. We employed a

  1. Team Learning in Teacher Teams: Team Entitativity as a Bridge between Teams-in-Theory and Teams-in-Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vangrieken, Katrien; Dochy, Filip; Raes, Elisabeth

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate team learning in the context of teacher teams in higher vocational education. As teacher teams often do not meet all criteria included in theoretical team definitions, the construct "team entitativity" was introduced. Defined as the degree to which a group of individuals possesses the quality of being a…

  2. Promoting Interdisciplinary Education: The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blöschl, Günter; Bucher, Christian; Carr, Gemma; Farnleitner, Andreas; Rechberger, Helmut; Wagner, Wolfgang; Zessner, Matthias

    2010-05-01

    An interdisciplinary approach is often described as a valuable strategy to assist in overcoming the existing and emerging challenges to water resource management. The development of educational approaches to instil a culture of interdisciplinarity in the future generation of water resource professionals will help to meet this strategic need. The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems demonstrates how the adoption of an interdisciplinary education framework has been applied to a graduate programme in the water sciences. The interdisciplinary approach aims to provide doctoral research students with an understanding of the wide spectrum of processes relevant to water resource systems. This will enable them to bring together a range of ideas, strategies and methods to their current research and future careers. The education programme also aims to teach the softer skills required for successful interdisciplinary work such as the ability to communicate clearly with non-specialist professionals and the capacity to listen to and accommodate suggestions from experts in different disciplines, which have often not traditionally been grouped together. The Vienna Doctoral Programme achieves these aims through teaching an appreciation for a wide variety of approaches including laboratory analysis, field studies and numerical methods across the fields of hydrology, remote sensing, hydrogeology, structural mechanics, microbiology, water quality and resource management. Teaching takes the form of a detailed study programme on topics such as socio-economic concepts, resource and river basin management, modelling and simulation methods, health related water quality targets, urban water management, spatial data from remote sensing and basics for stochastic mechanics. Courses are also held by internationally recognised top scientists, and a guest scientist seminar series allows doctoral researchers to profit from the expertise of senior researchers from around the world

  3. Leadership training in health care action teams: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenman, Elizabeth D; Shandro, Jamie R; Ilgen, Jonathan S; Harper, Amy L; Fernandez, Rosemarie

    2014-09-01

    To identify and describe the design, implementation, and evidence of effectiveness of leadership training interventions for health care action (HCA) teams, defined as interdisciplinary teams whose members coordinate their actions in time-pressured, unstable situations. The authors conducted a systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, key journals, and review articles published through March 2012. They identified peer-reviewed English-language articles describing leadership training interventions targeting HCA teams, at all levels of training and across all health care professions. Reviewers, working in duplicate, abstracted training characteristics and outcome data. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Of the 52 included studies, 5 (10%) focused primarily on leadership training, whereas the remainder included leadership training as part of a larger teamwork curriculum. Few studies reported using a team leadership model (2; 4%) or a theoretical framework (9; 17%) to support their curricular design. Only 15 studies (29%) specified the leadership behaviors targeted by training. Forty-five studies (87%) reported an assessment component; of those, 31 (69%) provided objective outcome measures including assessment of knowledge or skills (21; 47%), behavior change (8; 18%), and patient- or system-level metrics (8; 18%). The mean MERSQI score was 11.4 (SD 2.9). Leadership training targeting HCA teams has become more prevalent. Determining best practices in leadership training is confounded by variability in leadership definitions, absence of supporting frameworks, and a paucity of robust assessments.

  4. Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

    2017-04-01

    Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader's verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time.

  5. Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Haar, Selma; Koeslag-Kreunen, Mieke; Euwe, Eline; Segers, Mien

    2017-01-01

    Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader’s verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time. PMID:28490856

  6. Reducing Teenage Binge Drinking and Drunk Driving on the Reservation: The Pikanii Action Team

    Science.gov (United States)

    Still Smoking, Dorothy; Bull Shoe, Debbie Whitegrass

    2012-01-01

    The Pikanii Action Team project addressed the issues of teenage drinking and drunk driving on the Blackfeet Reservation. Basing their actions on locally-generated research, the Pikanii Action Team conducted a series of activities and initiatives to promote public awareness and action related to high-risk activities related to drinking. The team's…

  7. A spectral analysis of team dynamics and tactics in Brazilian football.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moura, Felipe Arruda; Martins, Luiz Eduardo Barreto; Anido, Ricardo O; Ruffino, Paulo Régis C; Barros, Ricardo M L; Cunha, Sergio Augusto

    2013-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to characterise the total space covered and the distances between players within teams over ten Brazilian First Division Championship matches. Filmed recordings, combined with a tracking system, were used to obtain the trajectories of the players (n = 277), before and after half-time. The team surface area (the area of the convex hull formed by the positions of the players) and spread (the Frobenius norm of the distance-between-player matrix) were calculated as functions of time. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was applied to each time series. The median frequency was then calculated. The results of the surface area time series median frequencies for the first half (0.63 ± 0.10 cycles · min⁻¹) were significantly greater (P < 0.01) than the second-half values (0.47 ± 0.14 cycles · min⁻¹). Similarly, the spread variable median frequencies for the first half (0.60 ± 0.14 cycles · min⁻¹) were significantly greater (P < 0.01) than the second-half values (0.46 ± 0.16 cycles · min⁻¹). The median frequencies allowed the characterisation of the time series oscillations that represent the speed at which players distribute and then compact their team formation during a match. This analysis can provide insights that allow coaches to better control the team organisation on the pitch.

  8. Introduction of interdisciplinary teaching: two case studies : commentary on "teaching science, technology, and society to engineering students: a sixteen year journey".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spitzer, Hartwig

    2013-12-01

    Interdisciplinary courses on science, engineering and society have been successfully established in two cases, at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey, and at the University of Hamburg, Germany. In both cases there were institutional and perceptual barriers that had to be overcome in the primarily disciplinary departments. The ingredients of success included a clear vision of interdisciplinary themes and didactics, and the exploitation of institutional opportunities. Haldun M. Ozaktas in Ankara used the dynamics of an accreditation process to establish courses on engineering and society. At the University of Hamburg the introduction of optional courses into all curricula allowed for the establishment of a seminar series on physics and society, as well as on peace education and peace building. Both of these approaches have a weakness in common: the courses can disappear once their initiators have left, unless the interdisciplinary themes are integrated into compulsory core curricula.

  9. Co-producing knowledge through dialogue in an interdisciplinary team in “person-centred” care for people with dementia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Phillips, Louise Jane

    to residents with dementia. Drawing on Bakhtinian dialogic communication theory, an empirical analysis is presented of how knowledge is co-produced collaboratively in team case meetings. The focus is on the shifting relations between different voices, articulating different knowledge forms and professional...... identities, and on the relational construction of ”person-centred care” and the collective identity of the team in opposition to the practices and identities of residential care workers and relatives of residents. In conclusion, the paper discusses the implications of the empirical results in relation...

  10. Measuring patterns in team interaction sequences using a discrete recurrence approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Jamie C; Cooke, Nancy J; Amazeen, Polemnia G; Fouse, Shannon

    2012-08-01

    Recurrence-based measures of communication determinism and pattern information are described and validated using previously collected team interaction data. Team coordination dynamics has revealed that"mixing" team membership can lead to flexible interaction processes, but keeping a team "intact" can lead to rigid interaction processes. We hypothesized that communication of intact teams would have greater determinism and higher pattern information compared to that of mixed teams. Determinism and pattern information were measured from three-person Uninhabited Air Vehicle team communication sequences over a series of 40-minute missions. Because team members communicated using push-to-talk buttons, communication sequences were automatically generated during each mission. The Composition x Mission determinism effect was significant. Intact teams' determinism increased over missions, whereas mixed teams' determinism did not change. Intact teams had significantly higher maximum pattern information than mixed teams. Results from these new communication analysis methods converge with content-based methods and support our hypotheses. Because they are not content based, and because they are automatic and fast, these new methods may be amenable to real-time communication pattern analysis.

  11. Pävi Naskali, Marjaana Seppänen & Shahnaj Begum (eds., Ageing, Wellbeing and Climate Change in the Arctic. An interdisciplinary analysis (London: Routledge, 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermann Óskarsson

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Book review of: Pävi Naskali, Marjaana Seppänen and Shahnaj Begum (eds., Ageing, Wellbeing and Climate Change in the Arctic. An interdisciplinary analysis (London: Routledge’s series on advances in climate change research, 2015

  12. Integrating cognitive rehabilitation: A preliminary program description and theoretical review of an interdisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleeman, Jennifer A; Stavisky, Christopher; Carson, Simon; Dukelow, Nancy; Maier, Sheryl; Coles, Heather; Wager, John; Rice, Jordyn; Essaff, David; Scherer, Marcia

    2015-01-01

    Interdisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation is emerging as the expected standard of care for individuals with mild to moderate degrees of cognitive impairment for a variety of etiologies. There is a growing body of evidence in cognitive rehabilitation literature supporting the involvement of multiple disciplines, with the use of cognitive support technologies (CSTs), in delivering cognitive therapy to individuals who require cognitive rehabilitative therapies. This article provides an overview of the guiding theories related to traditional approaches of cognitive rehabilitation and the positive impact of current theoretical models of an interdisciplinary approach in clinical service delivery of this rehabilitation. A theoretical model of the Integrative Cognitive Rehabilitation Program (ICRP) will be described in detail along with the practical substrates of delivering specific interventions to individuals and caregivers who are living with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. The ultimate goal of this article is to provide a clinically useful resource for direct service providers. It will serve to further clinical knowledge and understanding of the evolution from traditional silo based treatment paradigms to the current implementation of multiple perspectives and disciplines in the pursuit of patient centered care. The article will discuss the theories that contributed to the development of the interdisciplinary team and the ICRP model, implemented with individuals with mild to moderate cognitive deficits, regardless of etiology. The development and implementation of specific assessment and intervention strategies in this cognitive rehabilitation program will also be discussed. The assessment and intervention strategies utilized as part of ICRP are applicable to multiple clinical settings in which individuals with cognitive impairment are served. This article has specific implications for rehabilitation which include: (a) An Interdisciplinary Approach is an

  13. NASA technology applications team: Applications of aerospace technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-01-01

    This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1992 through 30 September 1993. The work reported herein was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Contract No. NASW-4367. Highlights of the RTI Applications Team activities over the past year are presented in Section 1.0. The Team's progress in fulfilling the requirements of the contract is summarized in Section 2.0. In addition to our market-driven approach to applications project development, RTI has placed increased effort on activities to commercialize technologies developed at NASA Centers. These Technology Commercialization efforts are summarized in Section 3.0. New problem statements prepared by the Team in the reporting period are presented in Section 4.0. The Team's transfer activities for ongoing projects with the NASA Centers are presented in Section 5.0. Section 6.0 summarizes the status of four add-on tasks. Travel for the reporting period is described in Section 7.0. The RTI Team staff and consultants and their project responsibilities are listed in Appendix A. Appendix B includes Technology Opportunity Announcements and Spinoff! Sheets prepared by the Team while Appendix C contains a series of technology transfer articles prepared by the Team.

  14. Designing and Evaluating an Interprofessional Experiential Course Series Involving Medical and Pharmacy Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dueñas, Gladys G.; Zanoni, Aileen; Grover, Anisha B.

    2016-01-01

    Objective. To prepare first-year and second-year pharmacy and medical students to build effective collaborative health care teams by participating in an interprofessional experiential 6-semester course series. Design. An interprofessional experiential course series was designed using a variety of teaching methods to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. A standardized objective behavioral assessment was developed to measure team performance of interprofessional communication and teamwork. In addition, student perceptions were measured using a validated instrument. Assessment. A majority of teams demonstrated appropriate competence with respect to interprofessional communication and teamwork. Additionally, a majority of students expressed positive perceptions of interprofessional collaboration with respect to teamwork, roles and responsibilities, and patient outcomes. Conclusion. An interprofessional experiential course series can be successfully implemented to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. Highly collaborative teams and positive student perceptions provide evidence of achievement of interprofessional education learning outcomes. PMID:27402988

  15. Past, Present and Future in Interdisciplinary Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusdorf, Georges

    1977-01-01

    Presents examples of interdisciplinary research since the origin of western science and predicts that future interdisciplinary approaches to epistemological writing will take into account divergent thinking patterns and thereby end the domination by western intellectual imperialism. For journal availability, see SO 506 201. (Author/DB)

  16. Interdisciplinary Investigation of CO2 Sequestration in Depleted Shale Gas Formations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zoback, Mark D. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Kovscek, Anthony R. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Wilcox, Jennifer [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

    2013-09-30

    This project investigates the feasibility of geologic sequestration of CO2 in depleted shale gas reservoirs from an interdisciplinary viewpoint. It is anticipated that over the next two decades, tens of thousands of wells will be drilled in the 23 states in which organic-rich shale gas deposits are found. This research investigates the feasibility of using these formations for sequestration. If feasible, the number of sites where CO2 can be sequestered increases dramatically. The research embraces a broad array of length scales ranging from the ~10 nanometer scale of the pores in the shale formations to reservoir scale through a series of integrated laboratory and theoretical studies.

  17. Interdisciplinary care for adequate adherence totreatment in patients with lupus nephritis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gladys Gaviria-García

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The review is based on the contribution that each discipline should provide the patient for a holistic care, which include medical assessment, monitoring and counselling as emotional support, assessment and nutritional monitoring as a key element in core requirements, physical activity that optimize the quality of life, social activities that can enter the individual in active groups, follow-up by nurses to the fulfillment of the ordered drug treatment, car care and orientation education to the family. The novelty of this proposal is to basically carry out care of the interdisciplinary team for treatment adherence. This review concluded that patients with lupus nephritis (NL treated after assessment and follow-up holistic, such as system monitoring and adherence to the treatment of comprehensive care, provides better quality of life, and minimizes the risks of complication of the patient, avoiding recurrent hospitalizations.

  18. Engaging Undergraduates through Interdisciplinary Research in Nanotechnology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goonewardene, Anura U.; Offutt, Christine; Whitling, Jacqueline; Woodhouse, Donald

    2012-01-01

    To recruit and retain more students in all science disciplines at our small (5,000 student) public university, we implemented an interdisciplinary strategy focusing on nanotechnology and enhanced undergraduate research. Inherently interdisciplinary, the novelty of nanotechnology and its growing career potential appeal to students. To engage…

  19. Peer mentoring program in an interprofessional and interdisciplinary curriculum in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Camila Aparecida Machado; de França Carvalho, Carolina Prado; Céspedes, Isabel Cristina; de Oliveira, Flávia; Le Sueur-Maluf, Luciana

    2015-01-01

    The Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus was founded in 2006 with five degree-granting programs in physical education, physiotherapy, nutrition, psychology, and occupational therapy. The guiding principle behind the programs' educational mission was centered on the development of health care professionals capable of working in interdisciplinary teams with an emphasis on holistic patient care. This pedagogical structure required peer-mentoring programs in order to integrate different areas of knowledge and to improve learning strategies among new generations of students. The authors' objective in the present report is to discuss the strategies and activities of the peer-mentoring program in histophysiology and gross anatomy in an interdisciplinary and interprofessional curriculum. Evaluations by students, mentors and professors are presented, along with a statistical analysis of variance comparing student performance in the module assessments according to their participation in the peer-mentoring activities. The results demonstrated that students who participated in peer-mentoring activities enjoyed a higher rate of academic success than those who did not participate. In addition, student and mentor evaluations of the peer mentoring program were highly positive. The program enabled mentors to gain a deeper knowledge of the subjects addressed in the learning modules, as well as to develop intrinsic teaching skills during their time as mentors. In short, the authors believe that the peer-mentoring program has been validated for its effectiveness in raising student academic performance. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

  20. Team-based learning for midwifery education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore-Davis, Tonia L; Schorn, Mavis N; Collins, Michelle R; Phillippi, Julia; Holley, Sharon

    2015-01-01

    Many US health care and education stakeholder groups, recognizing the need to prepare learners for collaborative practice in complex care environments, have called for innovative approaches in health care education. Team-based learning is an educational method that relies on in-depth student preparation prior to class, individual and team knowledge assessment, and use of small-group learning to apply knowledge to complex scenarios. Although team-based learning has been studied as an approach to health care education, its application to midwifery education is not well described. A master's-level, nurse-midwifery, didactic antepartum course was revised to a team-based learning format. Student grades, course evaluations, and aggregate American Midwifery Certification Board examination pass rates for 3 student cohorts participating in the team-based course were compared with 3 student cohorts receiving traditional, lecture-based instruction. Students had mixed responses to the team-based learning format. Student evaluations improved when faculty added recorded lectures as part of student preclass preparation. Statistical comparisons were limited by variations across cohorts; however, student grades and certification examination pass rates did not change substantially after the course revision. Although initial course revision was time-consuming for faculty, subsequent iterations of the course required less effort. Team-based learning provides students with more opportunity to interact during on-site classes and may spur application of knowledge into practice. However, it is difficult to assess the effect of the team-based learning approach with current measures. Further research is needed to determine the effects of team-based learning on communication and collaboration skills, as well as long-term performance in clinical practice. This article is part of a special series of articles that address midwifery innovations in clinical practice, education, interprofessional

  1. Interdisciplinary Best Practices for Adapted Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szostak, Rick

    2016-01-01

    This article provides an introduction to the literature on interdisciplinary research. It then draws lessons from that literature for the field of adapted physical activity. It is argued that adapted physical activity should be a self-consciously interdisciplinary field. It should insist that research be performed according to recognized…

  2. Interdisciplinary planning in the education of professionals in education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eudaldo Enrique Espinoza-Freire

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The work had as objective to compile information in the scientific literature, on the implementation of interdisciplinary in the educational teaching process in the formation of the professional of the education. The methodology followed in this inquiry, was to consult the literature results of research about interdisciplinary and ways of implementing it in the teaching-learning process, planning and educational relations interdisciplinary, it-reviewed publications in journals, thesis of degree of master's degrees and doctorates, and other materials such as conferences. In this review, we found the problems existing in educational institutions with respect to teacher training and the interdisciplinary approach, the conceptualization of this category, among other aspects. As a result, we present an updated material that will contribute to the update of the teachers about the content about interdisciplinary and its implementation in the teaching-learning process.

  3. Employing Model-Based Reasoning in Interdisciplinary Research Teams: Evidence-Based Practices for Integrating Knowledge Across Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennington, D. D.; Vincent, S.

    2017-12-01

    The NSF-funded project "Employing Model-Based Reasoning in Socio-Environmental Synthesis (EMBeRS)" has developed a generic model for exchanging knowledge across disciplines that is based on findings from the cognitive, learning, social, and organizational sciences addressing teamwork in complex problem solving situations. Two ten-day summer workshops for PhD students from large, NSF-funded interdisciplinary projects working on a variety of water issues were conducted in 2016 and 2017, testing the model by collecting a variety of data, including surveys, interviews, audio/video recordings, material artifacts and documents, and photographs. This presentation will introduce the EMBeRS model, the design of workshop activities based on the model, and results from surveys and interviews with the participating students. Findings suggest that this approach is very effective for developing a shared, integrated research vision across disciplines, compared with activities typically provided by most large research projects, and that students believe the skills developed in the EMBeRS workshops are unique and highly desireable.

  4. Interdisciplinary research framework for identifying research needs. Case: bioenergy-biodiversity interlinkages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furman, E.; Peltola, T.; Varjopuro, R. (eds.)

    2009-05-15

    A loss of biological diversity continues in spite of the existing, and in some respects, rather elaborate and heavy attempts at management and protection. It has been argued that one of the reasons for the lack of success is the unmet and challenging knowledge needs. Meeting the needs requires integration of various sciences and expertise, since attempts to manage biodiversity gives rise also to many emerging, complex and political questions. Integration of the disciplines needs practices that are able to overcome practical, institutional and cultural obstacles. ALTER-Net, a European network for research on biological diversity under the 6th framework programme, has aimed to undertake further interdisciplinary research that will feed into the addressing of societal needs. This report describes how the integration of research progressed and succeeded during the five year life span of ALTER-Net. Initially the integration between disciplines was given as an overall goal, which did result in determining concrete practices of integration between the sciences, teams and partner organisations. The analysis shows that in spite of complications an interdisciplinary research approach can evolve in large research networks, but this can happen also through unanticipated channels. A large network allows room for several parallel processes of integration. The report depicts the development of and choices leading to the development of an interdisciplinary research framework for ALTER-Net, the IDR framework. The framework presents a method to enhance interdisciplinary syntheses of emerging policy-relevant issues and to further develop the identification of relevant topics as interdisciplinary research projects. The IDR framework was tested by focusing on the interlinkages between the bioenergy question and biodiversity. The report consists of a synthesis of pressing research needs pertaining to that topic. The report presents how the IDR framework was constructed using a method

  5. Factors that impact interdisciplinary natural science research collaboration in academia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maglaughlin, Kelly L.; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

    2005-01-01

    to provide a more comprehensive understanding of interdisciplinary scientific research collaboration within the natural sciences in academia. Data analysis confirmed factors previously identified in various literatures and yielded new factors. A total of twenty factors were identified, and classified......Interdisciplinary collaboration occurs when people with different educational and research backgrounds bring complementary skills to bear on a problem or task. The strength of interdisciplinary scientific research collaboration is its capacity to bring together diverse scientific knowledge...... to address complex problems and questions. However, interdisciplinary scientific research can be difficult to initiate and sustain. We do not yet fully understand factors that impact interdisciplinary scientific research collaboration. This study synthesizes empirical data from two empirical studies...

  6. Forging Alliances in Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research (FAIRR): A Logic Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, Simone V; Khetani, Mary A; Yinusa-Nyahkoon, Leanne; McManus, Beth; Gardiner, Paula M; Tickle-Degnen, Linda

    2017-07-01

    In a patient-centered care era, rehabilitation can benefit from researcher-clinician collaboration to effectively and efficiently produce the interdisciplinary science that is needed to improve patient-centered outcomes. The authors propose the use of the Forging Alliances in Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research (FAIRR) logic model to provide guidance to rehabilitation scientists and clinicians who are committed to growing their involvement in interdisciplinary rehabilitation research. We describe the importance and key characteristics of the FAIRR model for conducting interdisciplinary rehabilitation research.

  7. Insects: An Interdisciplinary Unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leger, Heather

    2007-01-01

    The author talks about an interdisciplinary unit on insects, and presents activities that can help students practice communication skills (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and learn about insects with hands-on activities.

  8. Improving Communication Skills among High School Assistant Principals To Increase Administrative Team Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosack, Mary Browne

    This paper describes a practicum program that was developed to increase the effectiveness of the administrative team at one high school. A lack of communication skills had prevented the target group from working together as a team. Strategies included role-play activities, workshops, and communication skill-development meetings. A series of…

  9. Style Guide: An Interdisciplinary Communication Tool to Support the Process of Generating Tailored Infographics From Electronic Health Data Using EnTICE3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arcia, Adriana; Velez, Mark; Bakken, Suzanne

    2015-01-01

    In this case study we describe key features of the structured communication tool-a style guide-used to support interdisciplinary collaboration, and we propose the use of such a tool for research teams engaged in similar projects. We employ tailored infographics to present patient reported outcome data from a community health survey back, in a comprehensible and actionable manner, to the individuals who provided it. The style guide was developed to bridge the semantic gap between the domain and programming experts engaged in this effort. The style guide supports the communication of complex design specifications in a highly structured format that is nevertheless flexible enough to accommodate project growth. Unlike the typical corporate style guide that has a more narrative format, our style guide is innovative in its use of consistent fields across multiple, standalone entries. The process of populating the style guide prompted the designer toward greater design efficiency and led to consistent and specific instructions that met the framework architect's stated information needs. The guiding values in the creation of the style guide were consistency, clarity, and flexibility. It serves as a durable reference to the desired look and functionality of the final infographic product without dictating an implementation strategy. The style guide format can be adapted to meet the communication needs of other interdisciplinary teams facing a semantic gap.

  10. Nuclear Nonproliferation Ontology Assessment Team Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strasburg, Jana D.; Hohimer, Ryan E.

    2012-01-01

    Final Report for the NA22 Simulations, Algorithm and Modeling (SAM) Ontology Assessment Team's efforts from FY09-FY11. The Ontology Assessment Team began in May 2009 and concluded in September 2011. During this two-year time frame, the Ontology Assessment team had two objectives: (1) Assessing the utility of knowledge representation and semantic technologies for addressing nuclear nonproliferation challenges; and (2) Developing ontological support tools that would provide a framework for integrating across the Simulation, Algorithm and Modeling (SAM) program. The SAM Program was going through a large assessment and strategic planning effort during this time and as a result, the relative importance of these two objectives changed, altering the focus of the Ontology Assessment Team. In the end, the team conducted an assessment of the state of art, created an annotated bibliography, and developed a series of ontological support tools, demonstrations and presentations. A total of more than 35 individuals from 12 different research institutions participated in the Ontology Assessment Team. These included subject matter experts in several nuclear nonproliferation-related domains as well as experts in semantic technologies. Despite the diverse backgrounds and perspectives, the Ontology Assessment team functioned very well together and aspects could serve as a model for future inter-laboratory collaborations and working groups. While the team encountered several challenges and learned many lessons along the way, the Ontology Assessment effort was ultimately a success that led to several multi-lab research projects and opened up a new area of scientific exploration within the Office of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Verification.

  11. Enhancing Performance & Preventing Injuries in Team Sport Players

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Does, Hendrike

    2016-01-01

    Next to physical load and recovery as a result of training, psychosocial stress and recovery affect performance and injury risk of team sport players. This can be concluded based on a series of studies that focus on the relation between jumping technique, training load, training recovery,

  12. From Surprise Parties to Mapmaking: Undergraduate Journeys toward Interdisciplinary Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, Carolyn; Leonard, Jeannie Brown

    2010-01-01

    As educators in academic programs featuring interdisciplinary learning, the authors can attest that helping undergraduate students in an interdisciplinary studies major engage in interdisciplinary learning--that is, draw from two or more disciplines to advance understanding of a problem, question, or phenomenon--is no mean feat. Consequently, the…

  13. Negotiating geophysical hazards in Nepal: An interdisciplinary approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oven, Katie; Petley, Dave; Rosser, Nick; Dunn, Chris; Rigg, Jonathan

    2010-05-01

    It is widely accepted that the impact of natural hazards reflects not only the nature of geophysical processes but also the social conditions that prevail. The need for collaborative research to address these complex interactions between the natural and human systems is well recognised, however moving from theory to practice presents a number of significant challenges. How researchers frame problems; develop their research questions; select the methodologies to explore these questions; and privilege certain knowledges over others, can be seen to vary between physical and social science. Drawing on a case study examining the vulnerability of rural communities to landslides in the Upper Bhote Koshi Valley, Central Nepal, this paper explores how these barriers can be overcome and the benefits of undertaking interdisciplinary research within the natural hazards field. This research investigates the different framings of landslide risk and vulnerability from different stakeholder and disciplinary perspectives. Specifically, we ask: 1. Who is vulnerable to landslide hazard? 2. Why do people occupy landslide prone areas? 3. How do ‘at risk' rural communities perceive and respond to landslide hazard and risk? The findings, based on a series of participatory methodologies, challenge a number of assumptions made regarding landslide vulnerability in mountain communities. Within the Upper Bhote Koshi Valley clear transitions in settlement patterns, rural livelihoods and thus the occupation of landslide prone areas have been seen over time. For the majority of households, their decision to occupy these areas is driven by the economic and social benefits associated with the Arniko Highway which runs through the valley, linking Nepal with Tibet. Landslide vulnerability therefore emerges not just from societal marginalisation but also from situations of relative prosperity. The findings suggest that occupants of landslide prone areas have a good understanding of landslide hazard

  14. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hooft, Edwin A J; Van Mierlo, Heleen

    2018-01-01

    Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams' composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams' motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members' stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams' collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

  15. Interdisciplinary Dissertation Research Among Public Health Doctoral Trainees, 2003-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golembiewski, Elizabeth H; Holmes, Ann M; Jackson, Joanna R; Brown-Podgorski, Brittany L; Menachemi, Nir

    Given the call for more interdisciplinary research in public health, the objectives of this study were to (1) examine the correlates of interdisciplinary dissertation completion and (2) identify secondary fields most common among interdisciplinary public health graduates. We analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from 11 120 doctoral graduates in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2003-2015. The primary outcome was interdisciplinary dissertation completion. Covariates included primary public health field, sociodemographic characteristics, and institutional attributes. From 2003 to 2015, a total of 4005 of 11 120 (36.0%) doctoral graduates in public health reported interdisciplinary dissertations, with significant increases observed in recent years. Compared with general public health graduates, graduates of environmental health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.74; P dissertation work, whereas graduates from biostatistics (OR = 0.51; P dissertation was associated with being male, a non-US citizen, a graduate of a private institution, and a graduate of an institution with high but not the highest level of research activity. Many secondary dissertation fields reported by interdisciplinary graduates included other public health fields. Although interdisciplinary dissertation research among doctoral graduates in public health has increased in recent years, such work is bounded in certain fields of public health and certain types of graduates and institutions. Academic administrators and other stakeholders may use these results to inform greater interdisciplinary activity during doctoral training and to evaluate current and future collaborations across departments or schools.

  16. Integrating Interdisciplinary Research-Based Experiences in Biotechnology Laboratories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyer, Rupa S.; Wales, Melinda E.

    2012-01-01

    The increasingly interdisciplinary nature of today's scientific research is leading to the transformation of undergraduate education. In addressing these needs, the University of Houston's College of Technology has developed a new interdisciplinary research-based biotechnology laboratory curriculum. Using the pesticide degrading bacterium,…

  17. Enabling interdisciplinary analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    L. M. Reid

    1996-01-01

    'New requirements for evaluating environmental conditions in the Pacific Northwest have led to increased demands for interdisciplinary analysis of complex environmental problems. Procedures for watershed analysis have been developed for use on public and private lands in Washington State (Washington Forest Practices Board 1993) and for federal lands in the Pacific...

  18. Music and the mind: a new interdisciplinary course on the science of musical experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prichard, J Roxanne; Cornett-Murtada, Vanessa

    2011-01-01

    In this paper the instructors describe a new team-taught transdisciplinary seminar, "Music and Mind: The Science of Musical Experience." The instructors, with backgrounds in music and neuroscience, valued the interdisciplinary approach as a way to capture student interest and to reflect the inherent interconnectivity of neuroscience. The course covered foundational background information about the science of hearing and musical perception and about the phenomenology of musical creation and experience. This two-credit honors course, which attracted students from eleven majors, integrated experiential learning (active listening, journaling, conducting mini-experiments) with rigorous reflection and discussion of academic research. The course culminated in student-led discussions and presentations of final projects around hot topics in the science of music, such as the 'Mozart Effect,' music and religious experience, etc. Although this course was a two-credit seminar, it could easily be expanded to a four-credit lecture or laboratory course. Student evaluations reveal that the course was successful in meeting the learning objectives, that students were intrinsically motivated to learn more about the discipline, and that the team-taught, experiential learning approach was a success.

  19. Students' perceptions of the interprofessional team in practice through the application of servant leadership principles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neill, Mark; Hayward, Karen S; Peterson, Teri

    2007-08-01

    This study examined students' perceptions of interprofessional practice within a framework of servant leadership principles, applied in the care of rural older adults utilizing a service learning model. Mobile wellness services were provided through the Idaho State University Senior Health Mobile project in a collaborative team approach in the community-based setting. Students from varied health professional programs were placed in teams for the provision of wellness care, with communication among team members facilitated by a health professions faculty member serving as field coordinator. The Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) was used to measure students' perceptions of interprofessional practice using a pretest post-test research design. Multivariate analysis was performed revealing a significant pretest to post-test effect on students' perceptions as measured by factors inherent in the IEPS and deemed essential to effective interprofessional practice. Univariate analysis revealed a significant change in students' perception of professional competence and autonomy, actual cooperation and resource sharing within and across professions, and an understanding of the value and contributions of other professionals from pretest to post-test.

  20. Structural Narratology and Interdisciplinary Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Mohammadi Kalesar

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between structural narratology and interdisciplinary studies. We will try to answer two main questions: What factors have been effective in narratology’s orientation toward interdisciplinary studies? Is this tendency the result of a possibility in narration or a methodological necessity? The movement of narratology to interdisciplinary is observable not only in new narratological tendencies but also in changes in structural theories. Therefore, this article will trace the roots of this tendency in the revises and critiques of these theories until 1970s. By tracing these changes it can be realized that the theories of structural narrotology have broken with idea of independence and self-sufficiency of literature and embraced other disciplines. The main factors in these changes are: attention to cultural elements and reading process in the perception of narrative structure. These considerations have been accompanied by some results; first, the main targets of narratology changed from investigating textual properties to reading and understanding the narration process; second, some disciplines and fields related to culture and mind studies found their way into narratology.

  1. Cross-interdisciplinary insights into adaptive governance and resilience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Anthony (Tony. Arnold

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The Adaptive Water Governance project is an interdisciplinary collaborative synthesis project aimed at identifying the features of adaptive governance in complex social-ecological institutional systems to manage for water-basin resilience. We conducted a systematic qualitative meta-analysis of the project's first set of published interdisciplinary studies, six North American basin resilience assessments. We sought to develop new knowledge that transcends each study, concerning two categories of variables: (1 the drivers of change in complex water-basin systems that affect systemic resilience; and (2 the features of adaptive governance. We have identified the pervasive themes, concepts, and variables of the systemic-change drivers and adaptive-governance features from these six interdisciplinary texts using qualitative methods of inductive textual analysis and synthesis. We produced synthesis frameworks for understanding the patterns that emerged from the basin assessment texts, as well as comprehensive lists of the variables that these studies uniformly or nearly uniformly addressed. These study results are cross-interdisciplinary in the sense that they identify patterns and knowledge that transcend several diverse interdisciplinary studies. These relevant and potentially generalizable insights form a foundation for future research on the dynamics of complex social-ecological institutional systems and how they could be governed adaptively.

  2. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hooft, Edwin A. J.; Van Mierlo, Heleen

    2018-01-01

    Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination. PMID:29674991

  3. When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin A. J. Van Hooft

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.

  4. Team Learning and Team Composition in Nursing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmermans, Olaf; Van Linge, Roland; Van Petegem, Peter; Elseviers, Monique; Denekens, Joke

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explore team learning activities in nursing teams and to test the effect of team composition on team learning to extend conceptually an initial model of team learning and to examine empirically a new model of ambidextrous team learning in nursing. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research utilising exploratory…

  5. An Inter-Disciplinary Language for Inter-Disciplinary Communication: Academic Globalization, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Szabo White

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Inspired by the intersection of character, emotions, and logic, much like a Hungarian Rhapsody which is beautifully sad; this paper explores ethos, pathos, and logos in the context of Academic Globalization. As students of the world, an inter-disciplinary language is pivotal for inter-disciplinary communication. Given that the current state of the world stems primarily from miscommunications, it is imperative to launch a cognitive language tool which underscores global commonalities and mitigates cultural differences. Such a platform would foster interdisciplinary research, education, and communication. New paradigms would evolve, grounded in ethos, pathos, and logos. Like yin and yang, these states are interrelated, interacting, and interchanging learning spheres. Just as day and night blend at some point; just as the Parthenon epitomized Greek thought, celebrated the birthplace of democracy, and for the first time, depicted everyday citizens in friezes- underscoring their impactful role- ethos, pathos, and logos represent cross-disciplinary communication devices which synergistically transform and ignite academic globalization. The Literature Review links the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos with the seminal work Lewis and his LMR framework, which has given birth to Cultureactive and subsequently to ICE [InterCultural Edge]. http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/ciber/programs/we_organize/ice/ Accessed February 14, 2014

  6. The Research of Self-Management Team and Superior-Direction Team in Team Learning Influential Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang Wei

    2013-01-01

    Team learning is a cure for bureaucracy; it facilitates team innovation and team performance. But team learning occurs only when necessary conditions were met. This research focused on differences of team learning influential factors between self-management team and superior-direction team. Four variables were chosen as predictors of team learning though literature review and pilot interview. The 4 variables are team motivation, team trust, team conflict and team leadership. Selected 54 self ...

  7. The impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors: A panel analysis of professional basketball teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sieweke, Jost; Zhao, B.

    2015-01-01

    To explore the dynamics involved in team coordination, we examine the impact of team familiarity and team leader experience on team coordination errors (TCEs). We argue that team familiarity has a U-shaped effect on TCEs. We study the moderating effects of team leader prior experience and team

  8. American Thyroid Association statement on the essential elements of interdisciplinary communication of perioperative information for patients undergoing thyroid cancer surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carty, Sally E; Doherty, Gerard M; Inabnet, William B; Pasieka, Janice L; Randolph, Gregory W; Shaha, Ashok R; Terris, David J; Tufano, Ralph P; Tuttle, R Michael

    2012-04-01

    Thyroid cancer specialists require specific perioperative information to develop a management plan for patients with thyroid cancer, but there is not yet a model for effective interdisciplinary data communication. The American Thyroid Association Surgical Affairs Committee was asked to define a suggested essential perioperative dataset representing the critical information that should be readily available to participating members of the treatment team. To identify and agree upon a multidisciplinary set of critical perioperative findings requiring communication, we examined diverse best-practice documents relating to thyroidectomy and extracted common features felt to enhance precise, direct communication with nonsurgical caregivers. Suggested essential datasets for the preoperative, intraoperative, and immediate postoperative findings and management of patients undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer were identified and are presented. For operative reporting, the essential features of both a dictated narrative format and a synoptic computer format are modeled in detail. The importance of interdisciplinary communication is discussed with regard to the extent of required resection, the final pathology findings, surgical complications, and other factors that may influence risk stratification, adjuvant treatment, and surveillance. Accurate communication of the important findings and sequelae of thyroidectomy for cancer is critical to individualized risk stratification as well as to the clinical issues of thyroid cancer care that are often jointly managed in the postoperative setting. True interdisciplinary care is essential to providing optimal care and surveillance.

  9. Using Network-Based Language Analysis to Bridge Expertise and Cultivate Sensitivity to Differentiated Language Use in Interdisciplinary Geoscience Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannah, M. A.; Simeone, M.

    2017-12-01

    On interdisciplinary teams, expertise is varied, as is evidenced by differences in team members' language use. Developing strategies to combine that expertise and bridge differentiated language practices is especially difficult between geoscience subdisciplines as researchers assume they use a shared language—vocabulary, jargon, codes, linguistic styles. In our paper, we discuss a network-based approach used to identify varied expertise and language practices between geoscientists (n=29) on a NSF team funded to study how deep and surface Earth processes worked together to give rise to the Great Oxygenation Event. We describe how we modeled the team's expertise from a language corpus consisting of 220 oxygen-related terms frequently used by team members and then compared their understanding of the terms to develop interventions to bridge the team's expertise. Corpus terms were identified via team member interviews, observations of members' interactions at research meetings, and discourse analysis of members' publications. Comparisons of members' language use were based on a Likert scale survey that asked members to assess how they understood a term; how frequently they used a term; and whether they conceptualized a term as an object or process. Rather than use our method as a communication audit tool (Zwijze-Koning & de Jong, 2015), teams can proactively use it in a project's early stages to assess the contours of the team's differentiated expertise and show where specialized knowledge resides in the team, where latent or non-obvious expertise exists, where expertise overlaps, and where gaps are in the team's knowledge. With this information, teams can make evidence based recommendations to forward their work such as allocating resources; identifying and empowering members to serve as connectors and lead cross-functional project initiatives; and developing strategies to avoid communication barriers. The method also generates models for teaching language

  10. Experts in Teams – An experiential learning method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Steffen Kjær

    2017-01-01

    T becomes a learning method rather than a teaching method. Besides discussing the pedagogical characteristics of EiT, the study also gives a general introduction to EiT as it was taught at SDU fall 2016 as well as a brief review of the basic theory behind experiential learning. As such this study serves...... courses. Most of the practical courses are group work along the lines of project based learning. EiT is in a way both. It is a practical course in as much as our students get hands-on experience with interdisciplinary team work and innovation processes. EiT is a theoretical course in as much as our...... both as an introduction to e.g. new teachers of EiT but also as a starting point for a clarification of the features that makes EiT an experiential learning endeavor....

  11. A team approach to improving colorectal cancer services using administrative health data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Porter Geoffrey

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada and accounts for 11.9% of all cancer-related mortality. Fortunately, previous studies have provided evidence of improved outcomes from access to timely and appropriate health services along the disease trajectory in CRC. As a result, the CIHR/CCNS Team in Access to Colorectal Cancer Services in Nova Scotia (Team ACCESS was created to build colorectal cancer (CRC research capacity in Nova Scotia (NS and to study access to and quality of CRC services along the entire continuum of cancer care. Objectives The objectives of this paper are to: 1 provide a detailed description of the methodologies employed across the various studies being conducted by Team ACCESS; 2 demonstrate how administrative health data can be used to evaluate access and quality in CRC services; and 3 provide an example of an interdisciplinary team approach to addressing health service delivery issues. Methods All patients diagnosed with CRC in NS between 2001 and 2005 were identified through the Nova Scotia Cancer Registry (NSCR and staged using the Collaborative Stage Data Collection System. Using administrative databases that were linked at the patient level, Team ACCESS created a retrospective longitudinal cohort with comprehensive demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilization data. These data were used to examine access to and quality of CRC services in NS, as well as factors affecting access to and quality of care, at various transition points along the continuum of care. Team ACCESS has also implemented integrated knowledge translation strategies targeting policy- and decision- makers. Discussion The development of Team ACCESS represents a unique approach to CRC research. We anticipate that the skills, tools, and knowledge generated from our work will also advance the study of other cancer disease sites in NS. Given the increasing prevalence of cancer, and with national and

  12. A team approach to improving colorectal cancer services using administrative health data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Geoffrey; Urquhart, Robin; Bu, Jingyu; Kendell, Cynthia; Macintyre, Maureen; Dewar, Ron; Kephart, George; Asada, Yukiko; Grunfeld, Eva

    2012-01-31

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada and accounts for 11.9% of all cancer-related mortality. Fortunately, previous studies have provided evidence of improved outcomes from access to timely and appropriate health services along the disease trajectory in CRC. As a result, the CIHR/CCNS Team in Access to Colorectal Cancer Services in Nova Scotia (Team ACCESS) was created to build colorectal cancer (CRC) research capacity in Nova Scotia (NS) and to study access to and quality of CRC services along the entire continuum of cancer care. The objectives of this paper are to: 1) provide a detailed description of the methodologies employed across the various studies being conducted by Team ACCESS; 2) demonstrate how administrative health data can be used to evaluate access and quality in CRC services; and 3) provide an example of an interdisciplinary team approach to addressing health service delivery issues. All patients diagnosed with CRC in NS between 2001 and 2005 were identified through the Nova Scotia Cancer Registry (NSCR) and staged using the Collaborative Stage Data Collection System. Using administrative databases that were linked at the patient level, Team ACCESS created a retrospective longitudinal cohort with comprehensive demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilization data. These data were used to examine access to and quality of CRC services in NS, as well as factors affecting access to and quality of care, at various transition points along the continuum of care. Team ACCESS has also implemented integrated knowledge translation strategies targeting policy- and decision- makers. The development of Team ACCESS represents a unique approach to CRC research. We anticipate that the skills, tools, and knowledge generated from our work will also advance the study of other cancer disease sites in NS. Given the increasing prevalence of cancer, and with national and provincial funding agencies promoting collaborative research

  13. Better team management--better team care?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelley, P; Powney, B

    1994-01-01

    Team building should not be a 'bolt-on' extra, it should be a well planned, integrated part of developing teams and assisting their leaders. When asked to facilitate team building by a group of NHS managers we developed a framework which enabled individual members of staff to become more effective in the way they communicated with each other, their teams and in turn within the organization. Facing the challenge posed by complex organizational changes, staff were able to use 3 training days to increase and develop their awareness of the principles of teamwork, better team management, and how a process of leadership and team building could help yield better patient care.

  14. Interdisciplinary Learning as a Basis for Formation of Intercultural Communicative Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redchenko, Nadezhda N.

    2016-01-01

    An interdisciplinary approach provides many benefits that warrant the need for its use at technical universities teaching foreign language as an academic discipline. This article reviews recent Russian researches focused on interdisciplinary integration, summarizes advantages and proves overall high efficacy of the interdisciplinary approach to…

  15. Team responsibility structure and team performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doorewaard, J.A.C.M.; Hootegem, G. van; Huys, R.

    2002-01-01

    The purpose is to analyse the impact of team responsibility (the division of job regulation tasks between team leader and team members) on team performance. It bases an analysis on 36 case studies in The Netherlands which are known to have implemented team‐based work. The case studies were executed

  16. Team cohesion and team success in sport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carron, Albert V; Bray, Steven R; Eys, Mark A

    2002-02-01

    The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between task cohesiveness and team success in elite teams using composite team estimates of cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine statistically the consistency (i.e. 'groupness') present in team members' perceptions of cohesion. Elite university basketball teams (n = 18) and club soccer teams (n = 9) were assessed for cohesiveness and winning percentages. Measures were recorded towards the end of each team's competitive season. Our results indicate that cohesiveness is a shared perception, thereby providing statistical support for the use of composite team scores. Further analyses indicated a strong relationship between cohesion and success (r = 0.55-0.67). Further research using multi-level statistical techniques is recommended.

  17. Developing a decision-making model based on an interdisciplinary oncological care group for the management of colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genovesi, Domenico; Mazzilli, Lorenzo; Trignani, Marianna; DI Tommaso, Monica; Nuzzo, Antonio; Biondi, Edoardo; Tinari, Nicola; Martino, Maria Teresa; Innocenti, Paolo; DI Sebastiano, Pierluigi; Mazzola, Lorenzo; Lanci, Carmine; Neri, Matteo; Laterza, Francesco; Marino, Maria; Ferrini, Giovanni; Spadaccini, Antonio; Filippone, Antonella; DI Giandomenico, Enzo; Marulli, Antonio; Palombo, Giuseppe; Sparvieri, Antonio; Marchetti, Antonio; Pizzicannella, Giuseppe; Petrini, Flavia; DI Felice, Maria; Ottaviani, Floriana; Monteodorisio, Antonio; DI Nicola, Marta; Cefaro, Giampiero Ausili

    2014-05-01

    To report our experience on implementation and preliminary results of a decision-making model based on the recommendations of an Interdisciplinary Oncological Care Group developed for the management of colorectal cancer. The multidisciplinary team identified a reference guideline using appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation (AGREE) tool based on a sequential assessment of the guideline quality. Thereafter, internal guidelines with diagnostic and therapeutic management for early, locally advanced and metastatic colonic and rectal cancer were drafted; organizational aspects, responsibility matrices, protocol actions for each area of specialty involved and indicators for performing audits were also defined. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK guideline was the reference for drafting the internal guideline document; from February to November 2013, 125 patients with colorectal cancer were discussed by and taken under the care of the Interdisciplinary Oncological Care Group. The first audit performed in December 2013 revealed optimal adherence to the internal guideline, mainly in terms of uniformity and accuracy of perioperative staging, coordination and timing of multi-modal therapies. To date, all patients under observation are within the diagnostic and therapeutic course, no patient came out from the multidisciplinary "path" and only in 14% of cases have the first recommendations proposed been changed. The selected indicators appear effective and reliable, while at the moment, it is not yet possible to assess the impact of the multidisciplinary team on clinical outcome. Although having a short observation period, our model seems capable of determining optimal uniformity of diagnostic and therapeutic management, to a high degree of patient satisfaction. A longer observation period is necessary in order to confirm these observations and for assessing the impact on clinical outcome.

  18. Personal Professional Reflection as Interdisciplinary Problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rezvan Oksana

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Consideration of professional reflection as interdisciplinary problem is the necessary condition of quality analysis for personal professional becoming. Personal becoming in a profession is related to forming the necessary professional skills of a person, behaviour stereotypes which is the area of pedagogics. Reflection processes are inalienable part of self-knowledge of a person which result must lead to his self-perfection (including professional one and studying within the psychology increasingly. Thus the aim of the article is to ground the determination of professional reflection as an interdisciplinary problem in pedagogics and psychology.

  19. Coaching Tutors to Observe and Regulate Leadership in PBL Student Teams or You Can Lead a Horse to Water but You Can't Make It Drink…

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Shea, Noreen; Verzat, Caroline; Raucent, Benoit; Ducarme, Delphine; Bouvy, Thérèse; Herman, Benoit

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to investigate how PBL student teams develop specific leadership configurations when implementing interdisciplinary projects and whether or not tutors help in dealing with the group interactions that are subsequently generated. The data set was drawn from 2 cohorts of first-year students engaged in PBL activities in an…

  20. Interdisciplinary shock-room care: tasks for the radiologist from the viewpoint of the trauma surgeon; Interdisziplinaere Schockraumversorgung: Die Aufgaben der Radiologie aus unfallchirurgischer Sicht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mutschler, W.; Kanz, K.G. [Chirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum Innenstadt der Universitaet Muenchen (Germany)

    2002-07-01

    Efficient resuscitation of major trauma requests an interdisciplinary communication between trauma surgeons, anaesthesiologists and radiologists. Trauma outcome is significantly influenced by horizontal trauma team organisation and coherence to clinical algorithms, which allow fast diagnosis and intervention. A radiologist present on patients arrival in the trauma room provides a major impact on trauma care. Nevertheless optimal integration in the trauma team implies profound knowledge of the priorities of advanced trauma life support and trauma algorithms. His or her involvement is not limited to patient care only, also active participation in trauma room design, interdisciplinary algorithm development and trauma research are essential tasks for radiologists devoted to emergency radiology. Based on the pathophysiology of polytrauma and the structure of German trauma system, current concepts and proven clinical algorithms with special regard to the radiologist and his duties and tasks will are presented. (orig.) [German] Modernes Schockraummanagement mit dem Auftrag der zeitoptimierten Vernetzung diagnostischer und therapeutischer Handlungsablaeufe erfordert eine direkte Einbindung der Radiologie in das Schockraumteam im Sinne einer horizontalen Kommunikation zwischen Unfallchirurgie, Radiologie und Anaesthesie. Direkte Einbindung bedeutet dabei Einflussnahme auf Struktur- und Prozessqualitaet, Qualitaetsmanagement und interdisziplinaere Weiterentwicklung von Schockraumalgorithmen. Ausgehend von der Pathophysiologie des Polytraumas und der an Zeitgewinn orientierten Versorgungskette werden aktuelle diagnostische und therapeutische Algorithmen dargestellt und daraus die Aufgaben und Bedeutung der Radiologie im Schockraum abgeleitet. (orig.)

  1. The eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic: an interdisciplinary model of care for children and adolescents with sex chromosome aneuploidy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tartaglia N

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Nicole Tartaglia,1,2 Susan Howell,1,2 Rebecca Wilson,2 Jennifer Janusz,1,2 Richard Boada,1,2 Sydney Martin,2 Jacqueline B Frazier,2 Michelle Pfeiffer,2 Karen Regan,2 Sarah McSwegin,2 Philip Zeitler1,2 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA Purpose: Individuals with sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs are born with an atypical number of X and/or Y chromosomes, and present with a range of medical, developmental, educational, behavioral, and psychological concerns. Rates of SCA diagnoses in infants and children are increasing, and there is a need for specialized interdisciplinary care to address associated risks. The eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic was established to provide comprehensive and experienced care for children and adolescents with SCA, with an interdisciplinary team composed of developmental–behavioral pediatrics, endocrinology, genetic counseling, child psychology, pediatric neuropsychology, speech–language pathology, occupational therapy, nursing, and social work. The clinic model includes an interdisciplinary approach to care, where assessment results by each discipline are integrated to develop unified diagnostic impressions and treatment plans individualized for each patient. Additional objectives of the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic program include prenatal genetic counseling, research, education, family support, and advocacy. Methods: Satisfaction surveys were distributed to 496 patients, and responses were received from 168 unique patients. Results: Satisfaction with the overall clinic visit was ranked as “very satisfied” in 85%, and as “satisfied” in another 9.8%. Results further demonstrate specific benefits from the clinic experience, the importance of a knowledgeable clinic coordinator, and support the need for similar clinics across the country. Three case examples of the interdisciplinary approach to assessment and

  2. Interdisciplinary research and trans-disciplinary validity claims

    CERN Document Server

    Gethmann, C F; Hanekamp, G; Kaiser, M; Kamp, G; Lingner, S; Quante, M; Thiele, F

    2015-01-01

    Interdisciplinarity has seemingly become a paradigm for modern and meaningful research. Clearly, the interdisciplinary modus of deliberation enables to unfold relevant but quite different disciplinary perspectives to the reflection of broader scientific questions or societal problems. However, whether the comprehensive results of interdisciplinary reflection prove to be valid or to be acceptable in trans-disciplinary terms depends upon certain preconditions, which have to be fulfilled for securing scientific quality and social trust in advisory contexts. The present book is written by experts and practitioners of interdisciplinary research and policy advice. It analyses topical and methodological approaches towards interdisciplinarity, starting with the current role of scientific research in society. The volume continues with contributions to the issues of knowledge and acting and to trans-disciplinary deliberation. The final conclusions address the scientific system as substantial actor itself as well as the...

  3. Improving Care Teams' Functioning: Recommendations from Team Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiscella, Kevin; Mauksch, Larry; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Salas, Eduardo

    2017-07-01

    Team science has been applied to many sectors including health care. Yet there has been relatively little attention paid to the application of team science to developing and sustaining primary care teams. Application of team science to primary care requires adaptation of core team elements to different types of primary care teams. Six elements of teams are particularly relevant to primary care: practice conditions that support or hinder effective teamwork; team cognition, including shared understanding of team goals, roles, and how members will work together as a team; leadership and coaching, including mutual feedback among members that promotes teamwork and moves the team closer to achieving its goals; cooperation supported by an emotionally safe climate that supports expression and resolution of conflict and builds team trust and cohesion; coordination, including adoption of processes that optimize efficient performance of interdependent activities among team members; and communication, particularly regular, recursive team cycles involving planning, action, and debriefing. These six core elements are adapted to three prototypical primary care teams: teamlets, health coaching, and complex care coordination. Implementation of effective team-based models in primary care requires adaptation of core team science elements coupled with relevant, practical training and organizational support, including adequate time to train, plan, and debrief. Training should be based on assessment of needs and tasks and the use of simulations and feedback, and it should extend to live action. Teamlets represent a potential launch point for team development and diffusion of teamwork principles within primary care practices. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Enhancing nurse and physician collaboration in clinical decision making through high-fidelity interdisciplinary simulation training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxson, Pamela M; Dozois, Eric J; Holubar, Stefan D; Wrobleski, Diane M; Dube, Joyce A Overman; Klipfel, Janee M; Arnold, Jacqueline J

    2011-01-01

    To determine whether interdisciplinary simulation team training can positively affect registered nurse and/or physician perceptions of collaboration in clinical decision making. Between March 1 and April 21, 2009, a convenience sample of volunteer nurses and physicians was recruited to undergo simulation training consisting of a team response to 3 clinical scenarios. Participants completed the Collaboration and Satisfaction About Care Decisions (CSACD) survey before training and at 2 weeks and 2 months after training. Differences in CSACD summary scores between the time points were assessed with paired t tests. Twenty-eight health care professionals (19 nurses, 9 physicians) underwent simulation training. Nurses were of similar age to physicians (27.3 vs 34.5 years; p = .82), were more likely to be women (95.0% vs 12.5%; p nurses and physicians (p = .04) and that both medical and nursing concerns influence the decision-making process (p = .02). Pretest CSACD analysis revealed that most participants were dissatisfied with the decision-making process. The CSACD summary score showed significant improvement from baseline to 2 weeks (4.2 to 5.1; p nurses and physicians and enhanced the patient care decision-making process.

  5. Team Work and Democratic Learning in Projectmanagement Training

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lidon, Ivan; Rebollar, Ruben; Qvist, Palle

    of Zaragoza, which makes it possible to detect problems of teamwork functioning in groups while they develop their projects, in order to prevent possible failure once projects are completed. The Democratic Learning Questionnaire developed at Aalborg University, which studies the decision-making process within...... it possible to establish a correlation between a group's decision making process and the quality of its functioning as a team.......Project Management is a discipline of a basically professional nature. Training in Project Management must provide students with a series of professional competencies, among which teamwork stands out as one of the most important, since all projects, by definition, must be carried out by teams...

  6. Leadership in crisis situations: merging the interdisciplinary silos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paquin, Hugo; Bank, Ilana; Young, Meredith; Nguyen, Lily H P; Fisher, Rachel; Nugus, Peter

    2018-02-05

    Purpose Complex clinical situations, involving multiple medical specialists, create potential for tension or lack of clarity over leadership roles and may result in miscommunication, errors and poor patient outcomes. Even though copresence has been shown to overcome some differences among team members, the coordination literature provides little guidance on the relationship between coordination and leadership in highly specialized health settings. The purpose of this paper is to determine how different specialties involved in critical medical situations perceive the role of a leader and its contribution to effective crisis management, to better define leadership and improve interdisciplinary leadership and education. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted featuring purposively sampled, semi-structured interviews with 27 physicians, from three different specialties involved in crisis resource management in pediatric centers across Canada: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Otolaryngology and Anesthesia. A total of three researchers independently organized participant responses into categories. The categories were further refined into conceptual themes through iterative negotiation among the researchers. Findings Relatively "structured" (predictable) cases were amenable to concrete distributed leadership - the performance by micro-teams of specialized tasks with relative independence from each other. In contrast, relatively "unstructured" (unpredictable) cases required higher-level coordinative leadership - the overall management of the context and allocations of priorities by a designated individual. Originality/value Crisis medicine relies on designated leadership over highly differentiated personnel and unpredictable events. This challenges the notion of organic coordination and upholds the validity of a concept of leadership for crisis medicine that is not reducible to simple coordination. The intersection of predictability of cases with types

  7. Who talks to whom about what? How interdisciplinary communication and knowledge of expertise distribution improve in integrated R&D labs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinzen, Mareike; Cacciatori, Eugenia; Zoller, Frank A; Boutellier, Roman

    2018-04-13

    Although several studies have examined the impact of open workspaces, there is still an on-going debate about its advantages and disadvantages. Our paper contributes to this debate by shedding light on three issues: the effect of open workspaces on (1) the flow of communication along and across hierarchical lines; (2) the content of communication; and (3) the specificities of open integrated laboratories. Our findings derive from a longitudinal case in a large pharmaceutical company that has relocated some R&D teams from enclosed to multi-space offices and labs. The relocation has resulted in (a) increased interdisciplinary communication, particularly at lower hierarchical levels, (b) a shift of the location of discussions and the content of conversations and (c) an improved knowledge about expertise distribution. Practitioner Summary: Communication is essential in knowledge-driven organisations. This article examines the impact of a relocation of R&D employees from enclosed to multi-space offices and labs on communication patterns. We explain how the new environment fosters interdisciplinary communication, shifts the location of discussions and increases the knowledge of expertise distribution.

  8. Relationships among Team Trust, Team Cohesion, Team Satisfaction and Project Team Effectiveness as Perceived by Project Managers in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Han-Ping Fung

    2014-01-01

    Today, more and more project teams are formed to achieve organizational objectives as organizations generally recognized the importance and benefits of project teams. There is a compelling reason to study what are the team outcome factors that can predict project team effectiveness as it is unclear whether these team outcome factors can yield the same result in project setting whereby there is resource and time constraint compare to normal work teams which are ongoing and operational in natur...

  9. Establishing and maintaining international collaborative research teams: an autobiographical insight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T J Carr

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Despite the growing impetus for international collaborative research teams (ICRT, there are relatively few resources available to guide and support researchers through the processes of establishing and maintaining ICRTs. In particular, no articles were found that provided researchers’ firsthand accounts of being a member of such a team. Having access to such personal accounts can help both experienced and novice researchers learn more directly about what to expect, as well as the benefits, challenges, pitfalls, and success strategies for establishing and maintaining ICRTs. The authors used phenomenological autobiographical reflective journaling to capture their experiences as members of ICRTs. In this article we provide an overview of key themes that emerged from the analysis of our reflections as members of ICRTs. These themes include: benefits, challenges, and strategies for success. Our aim is to share our first-hand experiences of what it is like to establish and participate in ICRT. It is not our intention to provide readers with prescriptive guidelines on how to set up and maintain ICRTs. Every ICRT is unique and some of these ideas may or may not apply in every case. Instead, we are describing what worked for us, hoping that others may benefit from our experience. Consequently, we suggest that the focus of ICRT should be on the benefits thereof which promote and encourage interaction between disciplines, transfer of knowledge and techniques and personal and professional development. Keywords: international, collaborative, research, teams, interdisciplinary

  10. Interdisciplinary Research and Disciplinary Toleration: A Reply to Kitty Locker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kent, Thomas

    1994-01-01

    Responds to an article in this issue regarding the challenge of interdisciplinary research. Suggests that the primary motivation for avoiding interdisciplinary research is political, not epistemological. (SR)

  11. Making Teamwork Work: Team Knowledge for Team Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guchait, Priyanko; Lei, Puiwa; Tews, Michael J

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the impact of two types of team knowledge on team effectiveness. The study assessed the impact of taskwork knowledge and teamwork knowledge on team satisfaction and performance. A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service-management teams involving 178 students in a real-life restaurant setting. Teamwork knowledge was found to impact both team outcomes. Furthermore, team learning behavior was found to mediate the relationships between teamwork knowledge and team outcomes. Educators and managers should therefore ensure these types of knowledge are developed in teams along with learning behavior for maximum effectiveness.

  12. CATE: A Case Study of an Interdisciplinary Student-Led Microgravity Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colwell, J. E.; Dove, A.; Lane, S. S.; Tiller, C.; Whitaker, A.; Lai, K.; Hoover, B.; Benjamin, S.

    2015-12-01

    The Collisional Accretion Experiment (CATE) was designed, built, and flown on NASA's C-9 parabolic flight airplane in less than a year by an interdisciplinary team of 6 undergraduate students under the supervision of two faculty. CATE was selected in the initial NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) solicitation in the Fall of 2013, and the experiment flight campaign was in July 2014. The experiment studied collisions between different particle populations at low velocities (sub-m/s) in a vacuum and microgravity to gain insight into processes in the protoplanetary disk and planetary ring systems. Faculty provided the experiment concept and key experiment design parameters, and the student team developed the detailed hardware design for all components, manufactured and tested hardware, operated the experiment in flight, and analyzed data post-flight. Students also developed and led an active social media campaign and education and public outreach campaign to engage local high school students in the project. The ability to follow an experiment through from conception to flight was a key benefit for undergraduate students whose available time for projects such as this is frequently limited to their junior and senior years. Key factors for success of the program included having an existing laboratory infrastructure and experience in developing flight payloads and an intrinsically simple experiment concept. Students were highly motivated, in part, by their sense of technical and scientific ownership of the project, and this engagement was key to the project's success.

  13. Using an Interdisciplinary Approach to Teach About Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schafer, K.; Spenner, C.

    2017-12-01

    The traditional methods of teaching science, or any particular discipline, are not necessarily well suited for preparing students to solve big messy problems like sustainable development, climate change and resource management. We have developed a summer course entitled, "Human Ecology: Our Place in Nature," with the goal of addressing such issues through a series of case studies. The goal of these case studies is to explore how people interact with nature through Agriculture, Fisheries and Energy Use issues and could easily be adapted to specific geographical regions with different land use challenges. The course was divided into two segments: the first took place at locations near our school in San Jose, California and the second piece at various locations in Southeastern Alaska. Students learned about the interdisciplinary nature of these issues and developed an individual project of their choosing to explore some aspect of the course in greater depth.

  14. The Effect of an Interdisciplinary Community Health Project on Student Attitudes toward Community Health, People Who Are Indigent and Homeless, and Team Leadership Skill Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Molly A.; Lyons, Kevin J.; Miller, Kathleen Swenson; Cornman-Levy, Diane

    2003-01-01

    A study of 22 health occupations students examined whether participation in an interdisciplinary community health empowerment project with urban homeless and formerly homeless people changed their attitudes about community health practice, attitudes toward people who are indigent and homeless, and perceived leadership skills. Posttests revealed a…

  15. What makes interdisciplinarity difficult? Some consequences of domain specificity in interdisciplinary practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    MacLeod, Miles Alexander James

    2018-01-01

    Research on interdisciplinary science has for the most part concentrated on the institutional obstacles that discourage or hamper interdisciplinary work, with the expectation that interdisciplinary interaction can be improved through institutional reform strategies such as through reform of peer

  16. Fostering Interdisciplinary Thinking through an International Development Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellett, Rachel L.; Esperanza, Jennifer; Phan, Diep

    2016-01-01

    Despite widespread acknowledgment of the importance of interdisciplinary pedagogy, disciplinary teaching remains the norm on most campuses, primarily due to cost and institutional constraints. Bridging the gap between literature on interdisciplinary teaching and active-learning techniques, this article describes an innovative and less costly…

  17. A Simulation-based Approach to Measuring Team Situational Awareness in Emergency Medicine: A Multicenter, Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenman, Elizabeth D; Dixon, Aurora J; Webb, Jessica M; Brolliar, Sarah; Golden, Simon J; Jones, Kerin A; Shah, Sachita; Grand, James A; Kozlowski, Steve W J; Chao, Georgia T; Fernandez, Rosemarie

    2018-02-01

    teams). All teams completed the assessment scenario and postsimulation measures. TSA agreement ranged from 0.19 to 0.9 and had a mean (±SD) of 0.61 (±0.17). TSA correlated with team clinical performance (p team perception of shared understanding, team leader effectiveness, or team experience. Team situational awareness supports adaptive teams and is critical for high reliability organizations such as healthcare systems. Simulation can provide a platform for research aimed at understanding and measuring TSA. This study provides a feasible method for simulation-based assessment of TSA in interdisciplinary teams that addresses prior measure limitations and is appropriate for use in highly dynamic, uncertain situations commonly encountered in emergency department systems. Future research is needed to understand the development of and interactions between individual-, team-, and system (distributed)-level cognitive processes. © 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  18. Aeronautics Autonomy Testbed Capability (AATC) Team Developed Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Phillip J.

    2018-01-01

    In 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed a multi-center, interdisciplinary team of engineers from three different aeronautics research centers who were tasked with improving NASA autonomy research capabilities. This group was subsequently named the Aeronautics Autonomy Testbed Capability (AATC) team. To aid in confronting the autonomy research directive, NASA contracted IDEO, a design firm, to provide consultants and guides to educate NASA engineers through the practice of design thinking, which is an unconventional method for aerospace design processes. The team then began learning about autonomy research challenges by conducting interviews with a diverse group of researchers and pilots, military personnel and civilians, experts and amateurs. Part of this design thinking process involved developing ideas for products or programs known as concepts that could enable real world fulfillment of the most important latent needs identified through analysis of the interviews. The concepts are intended to be sacrificial, intermediate steps in the design thinking process and are presented in this report to record the efforts of the AATC group. Descriptions are provided in present tense to allow for further ideation and imagining the concept as reality as was attempted during the teams discussions and interviews. This does not indicate that the concepts are actually in practice within NASA though there may be similar existing programs independent of AATC. These concepts were primarily created at two distinct stages during the design thinking process. After the initial interviews, there was a workshop for concept development and the resulting ideas are shown in this work as from the First Round. As part of succeeding interviews, the team members presented the First Round concepts to refine the understanding of existing research needs. This knowledge was then used to generate an additional set of concepts denoted as the Second Round. Some

  19. An Examination of Learning Formats on Interdisciplinary Teamwork Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivey, Carole K.; Reed, Evelyn

    2011-01-01

    Although interdisciplinary teamwork is a recommended practice and important for coordinated interdisciplinary programming in special education, there is limited research on pedagogical practices to prepare professionals to work together effectively. This study examined the effectiveness of a graduate interdisciplinary teamwork course taught…

  20. Interdisciplinary collaboration: the role of the clinical nurse leader.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bender, Miriam; Connelly, Cynthia D; Brown, Caroline

    2013-01-01

      To explore the feasibility and acceptability of a clinical nurse leader (CNL) role to improve interdisciplinary collaboration (IC) within a fragmented acute-care microsystem.   Fragmented patient care is associated with preventable adverse healthcare outcomes. IC decreases fragmentation and improves patient care quality. The CNL role is theorized to provide the necessary leadership and competency skill base to impact IC at the optimal organizational level, the point of care where most healthcare decisions are made.   This study used a descriptive non-experimental design. CNL daily workflow was developed to target empirical determinants of IC. Descriptive data were collected from multiple stakeholders using an investigator-developed survey.   Findings indicate the integration of the role is feasible and acceptable to the microsystem healthcare team.   Preliminary evidence suggests the CNL role may be an effective intervention to facilitate IC. More research is needed to support the CNL role's association with microsystem IC.   The CNL role presents an innovative opportunity for clinical and administrative leadership to partner together to redesign a healthcare delivery system and improve patient care quality. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Color coded duplex sonography. Interdisciplinary vascular ultrasonography; Farbkodierte Duplexsonographie. Interdisziplinaerer vaskulaerer Ultraschall

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubale, R. [Institut fuer Radiologie, Sonographie und Nuklearmedizin, Pirmasens (Germany); Stiegler, H. [Staedtisches Krankenhaus Schwabing, Muenchen (Germany). 7. Medizinische Abt.

    2002-07-01

    An interdisciplinary team of experts impart the state of the art in color coded duplex sonography applied for examination of all anatomic areas. Detailed information is given for every vascular area, describing the examination procedure, possible origins of mistakes or faults, and means to avoid them. In addition to the classical applications, eg. for examination of the extra- and intracranial vessels, vessels of the limbs, visceral vessels and the vessels of liver and kidney, there are chapters devoted to: haemodialysis shunts, arteriovenous malformations, duplex sonography of the penis, tumor vascularisation. (orig./CB) [German] Ein interdisziplinaeres Autorenteam vermittelt Ihnen den State of the Art der FKDS fuer alle anatomischen Regionen. Fuer jede der Gefaessregionen werden detaillierte Angaben zum Untersuchungsablauf, zu moeglichen Fehlerquellen und zu deren Vermeidung geboten. Neben den klassischen Anwendungen bei der Untersuchung - der extra- und intrakraniellen Gefaesse, - der Extremitaetengefaesse, - der viszeralen Gefaesse sowie der Gefaesse von Niere und Leber finden Sie Kapitel zu den Themen: Haemodialyseshunt, arteriovenoese Malformationen, Duplexsonographie des Penis und Tumorvaskularisation. (orig./AJ)

  2. Epistemic dependence in interdisciplinary groups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hanne; Wagenknecht, Susann

    2013-01-01

    In interdisciplinary research scientists have to share and integrate knowledge between people and across disciplinary boundaries. An important issue for philosophy of science is to understand how scientists who work in these kinds of environments exchange knowledge and develop new concepts...... and theories across diverging fields. There is a substantial literature within social epistemology that discusses the social aspects of scientific knowledge, but so far few attempts have been made to apply these resources to the analysis of interdisciplinary science. Further, much of the existing work either...... ignores the issue of differences in background knowledge, or it focuses explicitly on conflicting background knowledge. In this paper we provide an analysis of the interplay between epistemic dependence between individual experts with different areas of expertise. We analyze the cooperative activity...

  3. Avoiding pitfalls in interdisciplinary education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holt, R. E.; Woods, P. J.; Ferreira, Ana Sofia

    2017-01-01

    education, illustrating approaches towards solutions using the Nordic Centre for Research on Marine Ecosystems and Resources under Climate Change (NorMER) research network as a case study. We provide insights and detailed examples of how to overcome some of the challenges of conducting interdisciplinary......As the world’s social-environmental problems increasingly extend across boundaries, both disciplinary and political, there is a growing need for interdisciplinarity, not only in research per se, but also in doctoral education. We present the common pitfalls of interdisciplinary research in doctoral...... research within doctoral studies that can be applied within any doctoral/postdoctoral education programme, and beyond. Results from a selfevaluation survey indicate that early-career workshops, annual meetings and research visits to other institutions were the most effective learning mechanisms, whereas...

  4. An Interdisciplinary Model for Connecting Writing, Psychology, and Printmaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Staci

    2015-01-01

    This article presents an effective model for a manageable interdisciplinary project that shows students the connections among art, English, and other disciplines; gives composition students an external audience for their writing; and emphasizes the importance of research in the process of creating arguments and art. This interdisciplinary project…

  5. Groups Meet . . . Teams Improve: Building Teams That Learn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillier, Janet; Dunn-Jensen, Linda M.

    2013-01-01

    Although most business students participate in team-based projects during undergraduate or graduate course work, the team experience does not always teach team skills or capture the team members' potential: Students complete the task at hand but the explicit process of becoming a team is often not learned. Drawing from organizational learning…

  6. Teams make it work: how team work engagement mediates between social resources and performance in teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrente, Pedro; Salanova, Marisa; Llorens, Susana; Schaufeli, Wilmar B

    2012-02-01

    In this study we analyze the mediating role of team work engagement between team social resources (i.e., supportive team climate, coordination, teamwork), and team performance (i.e., in-role and extra-role performance) as predicted by the Job Demands-Resources Model. Aggregated data of 533 employees nested within 62 teams and 13 organizations were used, whereas team performance was assessed by supervisor ratings. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as expected, team work engagement plays a mediating role between social resources perceived at the team level and team performance as assessed by the supervisor.

  7. Crime in media: an interdisciplinary research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Palma Wolff

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses conceptual issues that present problems for interdisciplinary research - criminality and urban space; the transversal aspects of violence - developed by researchers from diff erent fi elds: communications, psychology and social services. Highlighted in this work, above all, are questions related to the media and journalism; which constitute one of the axes of the proposal (media, growing juvenile component of criminality, drugs and social control but are inevitably interconnected with the others due to the interdisciplinary force of the initiative. It is argued that the processes of report construction, the subject agenda and consumption of the news constitute complex semioses that involve other semiotic systems.

  8. Lessons learnt on implementing an interdisciplinary doctoral programme in water sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Gemma; Loucks, Daniel Pete; Blaschke, Alfred Paul; Bucher, Christian; Farnleitner, Andreas; Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, Alexia; Parajka, Juraj; Pfeifer, Norbert; Rechberger, Helmut; Wagner, Wolfgang; Zessner, Matthias; Blöschl, Günter

    2015-04-01

    Using the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems as a case study, this work describes how the characteristics of the programme can be evaluated to identify which process features are important for developing interdisciplinary research at the doctoral level. The Programme has been running since 2009, and to date has engaged 35 research students, three post-docs and ten faculty members from ten research fields (aquatic microbiology, hydrology, hydro-climatology, hydro-geology, mathematical economics, photogrammetry, remote sensing, resource management, structural mechanics, and water quality). Collaborative, multi-disciplinary research is encouraged and supported through various mechanisms - shared offices, study programme, research cluster groups that hold regular meetings, joint study sites, annual and six-month symposia that bring all members of the programme together, seminar series, joint supervision, and social events. Interviews were conducted with 12 students and recent graduates to explore individual experiences of doing interdisciplinary research within the Programme, and to identify which mechanisms are perceived to be of the greatest benefit for collaborative work. Analysis revealed four important process features. Firstly, students noted that joint supervision and supervisors who are motivated to collaborate are essential for multi-disciplinary collaborative work. Secondly, interviewees described that they work with the people they sit close to or see most regularly. Physical places for collaboration between different discipline researchers such as shared offices and shared study sites are therefore important. Thirdly, the costs and benefits to doing interdisciplinary work were highlighted. Students make a trade-off when deciding if their time investment to develop their understanding of a new research field will support them in addressing their research question. The personal characteristics of the researcher seem to be particularly

  9. Toward an Analytic Framework of Interdisciplinary Reasoning and Communication (IRC) Processes in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Ji; Sung, Shannon; Zhang, Dongmei

    2015-11-01

    Students need to think and work across disciplinary boundaries in the twenty-first century. However, it is unclear what interdisciplinary thinking means and how to analyze interdisciplinary interactions in teamwork. In this paper, drawing on multiple theoretical perspectives and empirical analysis of discourse contents, we formulate a theoretical framework that helps analyze interdisciplinary reasoning and communication (IRC) processes in interdisciplinary collaboration. Specifically, we propose four interrelated IRC processes-integration, translation, transfer, and transformation, and develop a corresponding analytic framework. We apply the framework to analyze two meetings of a project that aims to develop interdisciplinary science assessment items. The results illustrate that the framework can help interpret the interdisciplinary meeting dynamics and patterns. Our coding process and results also suggest that these IRC processes can be further examined in terms of interconnected sub-processes. We also discuss the implications of using the framework in conceptualizing, practicing, and researching interdisciplinary learning and teaching in science education.

  10. An evolution in interdisciplinary competencies to prevent and manage patient violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Paula G

    2002-01-01

    Patient violence is a growing problem in healthcare institutions. Incidents of violence lead to injuries and increased operating costs. An innovative organizational approach to this problem is inclusion of interdisciplinary competency-based staff education and practice, as a key component of a comprehensive violence prevention program.Interdisciplinary competencies include a variety of behavioral responses, aimed at prevention, environmental, interpersonal, and physical interventions and postvention techniques for aggression and violence. Methods to maintain, monitor, document, and improve staff performance and skills are delineated. Organizational investment in such interdisciplinary competency-based education and practice evolves over time. Results include fewer incidents and injuries and enhanced interdisciplinary cooperation.

  11. Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours in Response Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boon, Anne; Raes, Elisabeth; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's…

  12. Interdisciplinary skills in architectural and engineering education programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersson, Niclas; Andersson, Pernille Hammar

    2006-01-01

    and requirements for reinforcement of the interdisciplinary skills within the architectural and engineering education programs as to face the challenges from industry. The study claims that the development of interdisciplinary skills should be regarded a pedagogical issue that can be accomplished by integrative...... project. Besides, new and more integrated forms of co-operation between the various actors make the prevalent professional disciplines more ambiguous and it compels into a need for trans-professional skills among the actors. In contrast to the requirements for interdisciplinary skills, the educational...... training programmes of architects and engineers are traditionally characterised by strict disciplinary boundaries. Thus, the prevailing educational system is challenged to meet the demands for trans-professional skills within industry. The purpose of this paper is to outline some pedagogical prerequisites...

  13. Exposing interdisciplinary diversity in a health care setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, Birgitte Ravn; Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Nørtoft, Kamilla

    (Peräkylä & Vehviläinen, 2003). There seems to be a tension between these normative theories and situated embodied practices Phillips, Kristiansen, Vehviläinen & Gunnarsson, 2012). In the paper we investigate how an interdisciplinary and participatory learning environment can be designed to mediate...... the normative and evidence based interaction models based on normative theories which are systematically introduced as part of practitioners’ competence development . We question the relevance of this pedagogical approach as we see these models as abstract idealizations whereas practices unfold in situ......). Inspired by Bakhtin’s dialogical theory, we look at centripetal and centrifugal forces in participants’ talk and also their tolerance for the emergence of multiple, different and interdisciplinary knowledge forms (Phillips, 2011). Method In the paper we draw on data from 6 interdisciplinary workshops...

  14. The Development of Interdisciplinary Teaching Approaches among Pre-service Science and Mathematics Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda Martins, Dominique

    This study sought to understand how a group of pre-service teachers in a combined secondary science and mathematics teaching methods course conceptualized and experienced interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Although knowing how to plan interdisciplinary activities is an essential teaching practice in Quebec, these pre-service teachers faced many challenges during the process of learning to teach with this approach. By using two interdisciplinary frameworks (Nikitina, 2005; Boix Mansilla & Duraising, 2007), I qualitatively analyzed the development of the pre-service teachers' prior and emerging ideas about interdisciplinarity and their ability to plan interdisciplinary teaching activities. The provincial curriculum and issues related to time greatly shaped students' conceptions about interdisciplinarity in the classroom and constrained their ability to plan for and envision the enactment of interdisciplinary lessons in secondary science and mathematics classes. In addition, images of themselves as content-specialists, self-efficacy beliefs in relation to interdisciplinary teaching, and student learning as a source of teacher motivation emerged as key factors promoting or interrupting the development of interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Examination of these factors highlights the need for teacher-education programs to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore how they see themselves as educators, increase their instructional self-efficacy beliefs, and motivate them to teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. Keywords: interdisciplinary teaching, student-teachers, curriculum, teacher-education program, self-efficacy, motivation.

  15. Ontological Metaphors for Negative Energy in an Interdisciplinary Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreyfus, Benjamin W.; Geller, Benjamin D.; Gouvea, Julia; Sawtelle, Vashti; Turpen, Chandra; Redish, Edward F.

    2014-01-01

    Teaching about energy in interdisciplinary settings that emphasize coherence among physics, chemistry, and biology leads to a more central role for chemical bond energy. We argue that an interdisciplinary approach to chemical energy leads to modeling chemical bonds in terms of negative energy. While recent work on ontological metaphors for energy…

  16. Identifying and training non-technical skills of nuclear emergency response teams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crichton, M.T.; Flin, R.

    2004-01-01

    Training of the non-technical (social and cognitive) skills that are crucial to safe and effective management by teams in emergency situations is an issue that is receiving increasing emphasis in many organisations, particularly in the nuclear power industry. As teams play a major role in emergency response organisations (ERO), effective functioning and interactions within, between and across teams is crucial, particularly as the management of an emergency situation often requires that teams are extended by members from various other sections and strategic groups throughout the company, as well as members of external agencies. A series of interviews was recently conducted with members of a UK nuclear emergency response organisation to identify the non-technical skills required by team members that would be required for managing an emergency. Critical skills have been identified as decision making and situation assessment, as well as communication, teamwork, and stress management. A number of training strategies are discussed which can be tailored to the roles and responsibilities of the team members and the team leader, based on the roles within the team being defined as either Decision Maker, Evaluator, or Implementor, according to Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) classifications. It is anticipated that enhanced learning of the necessary non-technical skills, through experience and directed practice, will improve the skills of members of emergency response teams

  17. Identifying and training non-technical skills of nuclear emergency response teams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crichton, M.T. E-mail: m.crichton@abdn.ac.uk; Flin, R

    2004-08-01

    Training of the non-technical (social and cognitive) skills that are crucial to safe and effective management by teams in emergency situations is an issue that is receiving increasing emphasis in many organisations, particularly in the nuclear power industry. As teams play a major role in emergency response organisations (ERO), effective functioning and interactions within, between and across teams is crucial, particularly as the management of an emergency situation often requires that teams are extended by members from various other sections and strategic groups throughout the company, as well as members of external agencies. A series of interviews was recently conducted with members of a UK nuclear emergency response organisation to identify the non-technical skills required by team members that would be required for managing an emergency. Critical skills have been identified as decision making and situation assessment, as well as communication, teamwork, and stress management. A number of training strategies are discussed which can be tailored to the roles and responsibilities of the team members and the team leader, based on the roles within the team being defined as either Decision Maker, Evaluator, or Implementor, according to Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) classifications. It is anticipated that enhanced learning of the necessary non-technical skills, through experience and directed practice, will improve the skills of members of emergency response teams.

  18. Interdisciplinary Distinguished Seminar Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-08-29

    courtesy) at Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining academia, Professor Ricketts spent 8 years in industry developing over 40 intergrated circuits...synchronization landscape. These results have also strong implications for optimization and trade -offs in network synchronization with delays. Prof. Gyorgy

  19. Work engagement supports nurse workforce stability and quality of care: nursing team-level analysis in psychiatric hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Bogaert, P; Wouters, K; Willems, R; Mondelaers, M; Clarke, S

    2013-10-01

    Research in healthcare settings reveals important links between work environment factors, burnout and organizational outcomes. Recently, research focuses on work engagement, the opposite (positive) pole from burnout. The current study investigated the relationship of nurse practice environment aspects and work engagement (vigour, dedication and absorption) to job outcomes and nurse-reported quality of care variables within teams using a multilevel design in psychiatric inpatient settings. Validated survey instruments were used in a cross-sectional design. Team-level analyses were performed with staff members (n = 357) from 32 clinical units in two psychiatric hospitals in Belgium. Favourable nurse practice environment aspects were associated with work engagement dimensions, and in turn work engagement was associated with job satisfaction, intention to stay in the profession and favourable nurse-reported quality of care variables. The strongest multivariate models suggested that dedication predicted positive job outcomes whereas nurse management predicted perceptions of quality of care. In addition, reports of quality of care by the interdisciplinary team were predicted by dedication, absorption, nurse-physician relations and nurse management. The study findings suggest that differences in vigour, dedication and absorption across teams associated with practice environment characteristics impact nurse job satisfaction, intention to stay and perceptions of quality of care. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Emerging interdisciplinary fields in the coming intelligence/convergence era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noor, Ahmed K.

    2012-09-01

    Dramatic advances are in the horizon resulting from rapid pace of development of several technologies, including, computing, communication, mobile, robotic, and interactive technologies. These advances, along with the trend towards convergence of traditional engineering disciplines with physical, life and other science disciplines will result in the development of new interdisciplinary fields, as well as in new paradigms for engineering practice in the coming intelligence/convergence era (post-information age). The interdisciplinary fields include Cyber Engineering, Living Systems Engineering, Biomechatronics/Robotics Engineering, Knowledge Engineering, Emergent/Complexity Engineering, and Multiscale Systems engineering. The paper identifies some of the characteristics of the intelligence/convergence era, gives broad definition of convergence, describes some of the emerging interdisciplinary fields, and lists some of the academic and other organizations working in these disciplines. The need is described for establishing a Hierarchical Cyber-Physical Ecosystem for facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations, and accelerating development of skilled workforce in the new fields. The major components of the ecosystem are listed. The new interdisciplinary fields will yield critical advances in engineering practice, and help in addressing future challenges in broad array of sectors, from manufacturing to energy, transportation, climate, and healthcare. They will also enable building large future complex adaptive systems-of-systems, such as intelligent multimodal transportation systems, optimized multi-energy systems, intelligent disaster prevention systems, and smart cities.

  1. Silence in Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verouden, Nick W.; Sanden, van der Maarten C.A.; Aarts, Noelle

    2016-01-01

    Solving publicly important issues asks for the development of socio-technical approaches, which demands collaboration between researchers with different perspectives, values, and interests. In these complex interdisciplinary collaborations, the course of communication is of utmost importance,

  2. Addressing challenges of training a new generation of clinician-innovators through an interdisciplinary medical technology design program: Bench-to-Bedside.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loftus, Patrick D; Elder, Craig T; D'Ambrosio, Troy; Langell, John T

    2015-01-01

    Graduate medical education has traditionally focused on training future physicians to be outstanding clinicians with basic and clinical science research skills. This focus has resulted in substantial knowledge gains, but a modest return on investment based on direct improvements in clinical care. In today's shifting healthcare landscape, a number of important challenges must be overcome to not only improve the delivery of healthcare, but to prepare future physicians to think outside the box, focus on and create healthcare innovations, and navigate the complex legal, business and regulatory hurdles of bringing innovation to the bedside. We created an interdisciplinary and experiential medical technology design competition to address these challenges and train medical students interested in moving new and innovative clinical solutions to the forefront of medicine. Medical students were partnered with business, law, design and engineering students to form interdisciplinary teams focused on developing solutions to unmet clinical needs. Over the course of six months teams were provided access to clinical and industry mentors, $500 prototyping funds, development facilities, and non-mandatory didactic lectures in ideation, design, intellectual property, FDA regulatory requirements, prototyping, market analysis, business plan development and capital acquisition. After four years of implementation, the program has supported 396 participants, seen the development of 91 novel medical devices, and launched the formation of 24 new companies. From our perspective, medical education programs that develop innovation training programs and shift incentives from purely traditional basic and clinical science research to also include high-risk innovation will see increased student engagement in improving healthcare delivery and an increase in the quality and quantity of innovative solutions to medical problems being brought to market.

  3. Consequences of team charter quality: Teamwork mental model similarity and team viability in engineering design student teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conway Hughston, Veronica

    Since 1996 ABET has mandated that undergraduate engineering degree granting institutions focus on learning outcomes such as professional skills (i.e. solving unstructured problems and working in teams). As a result, engineering curricula were restructured to include team based learning---including team charters. Team charters were diffused into engineering education as one of many instructional activities to meet the ABET accreditation mandates. However, the implementation and execution of team charters into engineering team based classes has been inconsistent and accepted without empirical evidence of the consequences. The purpose of the current study was to investigate team effectiveness, operationalized as team viability, as an outcome of team charter implementation in an undergraduate engineering team based design course. Two research questions were the focus of the study: a) What is the relationship between team charter quality and viability in engineering student teams, and b) What is the relationship among team charter quality, teamwork mental model similarity, and viability in engineering student teams? Thirty-eight intact teams, 23 treatment and 15 comparison, participated in the investigation. Treatment teams attended a team charter lecture, and completed a team charter homework assignment. Each team charter was assessed and assigned a quality score. Comparison teams did not join the lecture, and were not asked to create a team charter. All teams completed each data collection phase: a) similarity rating pretest; b) similarity posttest; and c) team viability survey. Findings indicate that team viability was higher in teams that attended the lecture and completed the charter assignment. Teams with higher quality team charter scores reported higher levels of team viability than teams with lower quality charter scores. Lastly, no evidence was found to support teamwork mental model similarity as a partial mediator of the team charter quality on team viability

  4. When teams fail to self-regulate: Predictors and outcomes of team procrastination among debating teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    E.A.J. van Hooft (Edwin); H. van Mierlo (Heleen)

    2018-01-01

    textabstractModels of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team's life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The

  5. On teams, teamwork, and team performance: discoveries and developments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salas, Eduardo; Cooke, Nancy J; Rosen, Michael A

    2008-06-01

    We highlight some of the key discoveries and developments in the area of team performance over the past 50 years, especially as reflected in the pages of Human Factors. Teams increasingly have become a way of life in many organizations, and research has kept up with the pace. We have characterized progress in the field in terms of eight discoveries and five challenges. Discoveries pertain to the importance of shared cognition, the measurement of shared cognition, advances in team training, the use of synthetic task environments for research, factors influencing team effectiveness, models of team effectiveness, a multidisciplinary perspective, and training and technological interventions designed to improve team effectiveness. Challenges that are faced in the coming decades include an increased emphasis on team cognition; reconfigurable, adaptive teams; multicultural influences; and the need for naturalistic study and better measurement. Work in human factors has contributed significantly to the science and practice of teams, teamwork, and team performance. Future work must keep pace with the increasing use of teams in organizations. The science of teams contributes to team effectiveness in the same way that the science of individual performance contributes to individual effectiveness.

  6. ENTRA - or the chances of interdisciplinary work

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walther, Clemens; Roehlig, Klaus-Juergen; Smeddinck, Ulrich

    2015-01-01

    Since 2013 about 60 scientists work together in the research platform ENTRA (disposal options for radioactive residuals: interdisciplinary analyses and development of evaluation criteria). The scientists group includes physicists, mathematicians, engineers, jurists, experts from ethics, social and political sciences. The common question is the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The contribution describes the concept of interdisciplinary work, using the example of the definition of terms like risk by different scientists, projects for specific disposal options, the problem of public distrust, the problem of limiting values and the optimization of final repository systems.

  7. Humanity in God's Image: An Interdisciplinary Exploration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Welz, Claudia

    . Claudia Welz offers an interdisciplinary exploration of theological and ethical 'visions' of the invisible. By analysing poetry and art, Welz exemplifies human self-understanding in the interface between the visual and the linguistic. The content of the imago Dei cannot be defined apart from the image......How can we, in our times, understand the biblical concept that human beings have been created in the image of an invisible God? This is a perennial but increasingly pressing question that lies at the heart of theological anthropology. Humanity in God's Image: An Interdisciplinary Exploration...

  8. Advanced Grid Control Technologies Workshop Series | Energy Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    : Smart Grid and Beyond John McDonald, Director, Technical Strategy and Policy Development, General Control Technologies Workshop Series In July 2015, NREL's energy systems integration team hosted workshops the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) and included a technology showcase featuring projects

  9. Team player styles, team design variables and team work effectiveness in Egypt

    OpenAIRE

    El-Kot, Ghada Awed Hassan

    2001-01-01

    The literature has revealed few studies of management in Arab countries in general and particularly in Egypt. Many Egyptian organisations implemented the team concept a number of years ago, however, there do not appear to be any studies investicitaýt inc",D team work effectiveness in Egypt. The literature review and the findings of a pilot study emphasised the need for empirical research in team work in Egypt. Team effectiveness models are examined in order to identify the fact...

  10. A crew resource management program tailored to trauma resuscitation improves team behavior and communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, K Michael; Benenson, Ronald S; Krichten, Amy E; Clancy, Keith D; Ryan, James Patrick; Hammond, Christopher

    2014-09-01

    Crew Resource Management (CRM) is a team-building communication process first implemented in the aviation industry to improve safety. It has been used in health care, particularly in surgical and intensive care settings, to improve team dynamics and reduce errors. We adapted a CRM process for implementation in the trauma resuscitation area. An interdisciplinary steering committee developed our CRM process to include a didactic classroom program based on a preimplementation survey of our trauma team members. Implementation with new cultural and process expectations followed. The Human Factors Attitude Survey and Communication and Teamwork Skills assessment tool were used to design, evaluate, and validate our CRM program. The initial trauma communication survey was completed by 160 team members (49% response). Twenty-five trauma resuscitations were observed and scored using Communication and Teamwork Skills. Areas of concern were identified and 324 staff completed our 3-hour CRM course during a 3-month period. After CRM training, 132 communication surveys and 38 Communication and Teamwork Skills observations were completed. In the post-CRM survey, respondents indicated improvement in accuracy of field to medical command information (p = 0.029); accuracy of emergency department medical command information to the resuscitation area (p = 0.002); and team leader identity, communication of plan, and role assignment (p = 0.001). After CRM training, staff were more likely to speak up when patient safety was a concern (p = 0.002). Crew Resource Management in the trauma resuscitation area enhances team dynamics, communication, and, ostensibly, patient safety. Philosophy and culture of CRM should be compulsory components of trauma programs and in resuscitation of injured patients. Copyright © 2014 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. The effectiveness of crisis resource management and team debriefing in resuscitation education of nursing students: A randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppens, Imgard; Verhaeghe, Sofie; Van Hecke, Ann; Beeckman, Dimitri

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate (i) whether integrating a course on crisis resource management principles and team debriefings in simulation training, increases self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills of nursing students in resuscitation settings and (ii) which phases contribute the most to these outcomes. Crisis resource management principles have been introduced in health care to optimise teamwork. Simulation training offers patient safe training opportunities. There is evidence that simulation training increases self-efficacy and team efficacy but the contribution of the different phases like crisis resource management principles, simulation training and debriefing on self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills is not clear. Randomised controlled trial in a convenience sample (n = 116) in Belgium. Data were collected between February 2015-April 2015. Participants in the intervention group (n = 60) completed a course on crisis resource management principles, followed by a simulation training session, a team debriefing and a second simulation training session. Participants in the control group (n = 56) only completed two simulation training sessions. The outcomes self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills were assessed after each simulation training. An ancillary analysis of the learning effect was conducted. The intervention group increased on self-efficacy (2.13%, p = .02) and team efficacy (9.92%, p crisis resource management principles and team debriefings in simulation training increases self-efficacy and team efficacy. The debriefing phase contributes the most to these effects. By partnering with healthcare settings, it becomes possible to offer interdisciplinary simulation training that can increase patient safety. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Interdisciplinary approach to disaster resilience education and research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Faber, Michael Havbro; Giuliani, Luisa; Revez, A.

    2014-01-01

    in disaster-resilience design by social and cultural aspects, which are instead not often adequately considered in the practice. The establishment of an education on resilient design of urban system, which includes both social and technological aspects, emerges as a possible solution to overcome barriers......-operation and interdisciplinary methodologies in research and education. The survey has been carried out by means of a questionnaire focusing on disaster-resilience projects and on the main challenges faced in interdisciplinary working. The results of the questionnaire, which collected 57 answers from more than 20 European...... that information and methods are exchanged, but a full integration of methods and concepts into a common shared language and system of axioms is missing; iii) the lack of a common framework and common terminology represents a major barrier to good interdisciplinary work. The results highlight the role played...

  13. Defining interdisciplinary competencies for audiological rehabilitation: findings from a modified Delphi study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Lina; Le Bot, Gaëlle; Van Petegem, Wim; van Wieringen, Astrid

    2018-02-01

    The aim of this study is to derive a consensus on an interdisciplinary competency framework regarding a holistic approach for audiological rehabilitation (AR), which includes disciplines from medicine, engineering, social sciences and humanities. We employed a modified Delphi method. In the first round survey, experts were asked to rate an initial list of 28 generic interdisciplinary competencies and to propose specific knowledge areas for AR. In the second round, experts were asked to reconsider their answers in light of the group answers of the first round. An international panel of 27 experts from different disciplines in AR completed the first round. Twenty-two of them completed the second round. We developed a competency framework consisting of 21 generic interdisciplinary competencies grouped in five domains and nine specific competencies (knowledge areas) in three clusters. Suggestions for the implementation of the generic competencies in interdisciplinary programmes were identified. This study reveals insights into the interdisciplinary competencies that are unique for AR. The framework will be useful for educators in developing interdisciplinary programmes as well as for professionals in considering their lifelong training needs in AR.

  14. Mathematical methods in time series analysis and digital image processing

    CERN Document Server

    Kurths, J; Maass, P; Timmer, J

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this volume is to bring together research directions in theoretical signal and imaging processing developed rather independently in electrical engineering, theoretical physics, mathematics and the computer sciences. In particular, mathematically justified algorithms and methods, the mathematical analysis of these algorithms, and methods as well as the investigation of connections between methods from time series analysis and image processing are reviewed. An interdisciplinary comparison of these methods, drawing upon common sets of test problems from medicine and geophysical/enviromental sciences, is also addressed. This volume coherently summarizes work carried out in the field of theoretical signal and image processing. It focuses on non-linear and non-parametric models for time series as well as on adaptive methods in image processing.

  15. TEAM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

    This document presents materials covering the television campaign against drunk driving called "TEAM" (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management). It is noted that TEAM's purpose is to promote effective alcohol management in public facilities and other establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. TEAM sponsors are listed, including…

  16. Towards mutual understanding within interdisciplinary palaeoenvironmental research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Förster, F.; Großmann, R.; Hinz, M.

    2013-01-01

    The term landscape is a crucial term for a diversity of scientific disciplines researching the Quaternary, each of which maintains different concepts and definitions. With increasing interdisciplinary research cooperation between disparate disciplines, a basis for communication has to be establis......The term landscape is a crucial term for a diversity of scientific disciplines researching the Quaternary, each of which maintains different concepts and definitions. With increasing interdisciplinary research cooperation between disparate disciplines, a basis for communication has...... to be established. The aim of this paper is a) to survey an assortment of concepts and understandings of landscape within diverse disciplinary contexts and b) to explore the possibilities and usefulness of a common concept in an interdisciplinary palaeo-environmental research field, shared by scholars from...... the humanities and natural sciences alike. This comprises the disciplines art history, prehistoric archaeology, classical archaeology, ecology, geography, geology, and history. As a result, it can be stated that landscape is a cultural term: Landscapes are a cultural construct, and any landscape is the result...

  17. Team dynamics within quality improvement teams: a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowland, Paula; Lising, Dean; Sinclair, Lynne; Baker, G Ross

    2018-03-31

    This scoping review examines what is known about the processes of quality improvement (QI) teams, particularly related to how teams impact outcomes. The aim is to provide research-informed guidance for QI leaders and to inform future research questions. Databases searched included: MedLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and SCOPUS. Eligible publications were written in English, published between 1999 and 2016. Articles were included in the review if they examined processes of the QI team, were related to healthcare QI and were primary research studies. Studies were excluded if they had insufficient detail regarding QI team processes. Descriptive detail extracted included: authors, geographical region and health sector. The Integrated (Health Care) Team Effectiveness Model was used to synthesize findings of studies along domains of team effectiveness: task design, team process, psychosocial traits and organizational context. Over two stages of searching, 4813 citations were reviewed. Of those, 48 full-text articles are included in the synthesis. This review demonstrates that QI teams are not immune from dysfunction. Further, a dysfunctional QI team is not likely to influence practice. However, a functional QI team alone is unlikely to create change. A positive QI team dynamic may be a necessary but insufficient condition for implementing QI strategies. Areas for further research include: interactions between QI teams and clinical microsystems, understanding the role of interprofessional representation on QI teams and exploring interactions between QI team task, composition and process.

  18. Dealing with aggressive behavior within the health care team: a leadership challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hynes, Patricia; Kissoon, Niranjan; Hamielec, Cindy M; Greene, Anne Marie; Simone, Carmine

    2006-06-01

    During an interdisciplinary Canadian leadership forum [ (click on the Conferences icon)], participants were challenged to develop an approach to a difficult leadership/management situation. In a scenario involving aggressive behavior among health care providers, participants identified that, before responding, an appropriate leader should collect additional information to identify the core problem(s) causing such behavior. Possibilities include stress; lack of clear roles, responsibilities, and standard operating procedures; and, finally, lack of training on important leadership/management skills. As a result of these core problems, several potential solutions are possible, all with potential obstacles to implementation. Additional education around communication and team interaction was felt to be a priority. In summary, clinical leaders probably have a great deal to gain from augmenting their leadership/management skills.

  19. Performance on Interdisciplinary Topics in an Integrated Pharmacy Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joie Rowles

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Many colleges and schools of Pharmacy combine interdisciplinary topics such as pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and therapeutics into one integrated course. Our main aim for this study is to determine if students pass integrated courses and yet fail to pass interdisciplinary sections of those courses. Methods: Two representative integrated sequence courses were evaluated without any study-imposed intervention. Individual student examination scores (~140 students were evaluated for overall performance as well as for performance on the interdisciplinary topics of pathophysiology/pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and therapeutics. The degree of difficulty of the examination questions, as well as the test item discrimination, were also measured. Results: There were students that passed the course but failed one, or more, of the interdisciplinary topics. Combining data from both courses, medicinal chemistry was the most frequently failed discipline (29 students, followed closely by pharmacology (22 students, and distantly by therapeutics (1 student. The examination questions for medicinal chemistry were not more difficult nor more discriminatory than the questions for the other disciplines. Conclusions: These data indicate that students pass integrated courses, but fail to pass interdisciplinary sections of those courses, especially the pharmaceutical sciences. It is not known if these results are consistent, nor what long-term adverse consequences may result. These results inform curricular and assessment aspects of the pharmacy academy as pertains to establishing the scientific foundation required by the CAPE 2013 Educational Outcomes.   Type: Original Research

  20. Team Handball; Racquetball; Orienteering; September 1976--September 1978. NAGWS Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwight, Mary Phyl, Ed.; And Others

    This guide for team handball, racquetball, and orienteering is one in a series of guides for 22 sports published by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS). These guides contain information on NAGWS-approved playing rules, officials ratings, articles on teaching, coaching and organization, regulations governing national…

  1. Teaching about Fascism: An Interdisciplinary Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirshfield, Claire

    1980-01-01

    Describes a university course which teaches the history of fascism and nazism through interdisciplinary methods: philosophy, film, literature, and art. Visiting lecturers include survivors of concentration camps. (KC)

  2. Exploring indicators of interdisciplinary research and education success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Gemma; Blanch, Anicet; Blaschke, Alfred Paul; Brouwer, Roy; Bucher, Christian; Farnleitner, Andreas; Fürnkranz-Prskawetz, Alexia; Loucks, Daniel Pete; Morgenroth, Eberhard; Parajka, Juraj; Pfeifer, Norbert; Rechberger, Helmut; Wagner, Wolfgang; Zessner, Matthias; Blöschl, Günter

    2017-04-01

    Interdisciplinary research and education programmes aim to produce groundbreaking research, often on socially relevant topics, and to produce experts with the skills to work across disciplines. However, there are many outstanding questions on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary programmes. Such as whether they produce novel and groundbreaking research, whether interdisciplinary graduates are leading to a more interdisciplinary culture of research and practice in academia and beyond, and whether an interdisciplinary approach can more effectively address issues of societal relevance than a mono-disciplinary approach. The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems at Vienna University of Technology is currently in its eighth year and offers a valuable case study to contribute to understanding interdisciplinary research and education. Ten different research fields are covered by the Programme and because collaborative research takes place both between researchers from different research fields (cross-disciplinary research) and from researchers from the same research field (mono-disciplinary research) we are able to compare the impacts of each research type. We specifically explored three questions: i) whether cross-disciplinary research leads to more innovative scientific findings than mono-disciplinary research, ii) whether cross-disciplinary researchers develop professional skills that benefit their future careers, and iii) whether cross-disciplinary research produces findings of greater societal relevance than mono-disciplinary research. To conduct the evaluation we identified a variety of indicators. Journal impact factors (IF) and citation rates of ISI indexed publications were used to compare scientific innovativeness. Based on these indicators, our findings suggest that cross-disciplinary work is more innovative. The cross-disciplinary work is published in journals with a slightly higher impact factor (mean IF is 2.36) and receives slightly more

  3. Increasing Student-Learning Team Effectiveness with Team Charters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunsaker, Phillip; Pavett, Cynthia; Hunsaker, Johanna

    2011-01-01

    Because teams are a ubiquitous part of most organizations today, it is common for business educators to use team assignments to help students experientially learn about course concepts and team process. Unfortunately, students frequently experience a number of problems during team assignments. The authors describe the results of their research and…

  4. Effects of team emotional authenticity on virtual team performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine E Connelly

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Members of virtual teams lack many of the visual or auditory cues that are usually used as the basis for impressions about fellow team members. We focus on the effects of the impressions formed in this context, and use social exchange theory to understand how these impressions affect team performance. Our pilot study, using content analysis (n = 191 students, suggested that most individuals believe that they can assess others’ emotional authenticity in online settings by focusing on the content and tone of the messages. Our quantitative study examined the effects of these assessments. Structural equation modeling (SEM analysis (n = 81 student teams suggested that team-level trust and teamwork behaviors mediate the relationship between team emotional authenticity and team performance, and illuminate the importance of team emotional authenticity for team processes and outcomes.

  5. Successful Components of Interdisciplinary Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepard, Katherine; And Others

    1985-01-01

    This article presents 10 ideas for developing successful interdisciplinary curricula as suggested in the allied health literature. Implementation of the ideas is illustrated by examples from a clinical geriatric course involving physical therapy, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, and medical students. (Author/CT)

  6. Case Study in Interdisciplinary Scientific Communication: A Decade of the INDECS Journal

    OpenAIRE

    Stepanić, Josip; Zoroja, Jovana; Šimičević, Vanja

    2017-01-01

    Background: Interdisciplinary scientific areas regularly develop unique methodologies, yet utilise the conventional communication modes to disseminate results of their researches. Objectives: This paper analyses whether a novel, interdisciplinary communication mode can be found in a gradually developing interdisciplinary journal. Methods/Approach: The content of the journal was categorised based on the characteristics attributed to the published papers. Statistical tests were performed to che...

  7. Measuring Team Learning Behaviours through Observing Verbal Team Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raes, Elisabeth; Boon, Anne; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explore, as an answer to the observed lack of knowledge about actual team learning behaviours, the characteristics of the actual observed basic team learning behaviours and facilitating team learning behaviours more in-depth of three project teams. Over time, team learning in an organisational context has been…

  8. The Relationship between Management Team Size and Team Performance: The Mediating Effect of Team Psychological Safety

    OpenAIRE

    Midthaug, Mari Bratterud

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between team size (number of team members) and team performance in management teams. There is a lack of empirical research exploring the potential links between these two elements within management teams. Further, little attention has been paid to potential mechanisms affecting this relationship. In this study, team psychological safety has been examined as a potential mediator in the size-performance relationship, hypothesizing that t...

  9. The external leadership of self-managing teams: intervening in the context of novel and disruptive events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgeson, Frederick P

    2005-05-01

    Relatively little empirical research has been conducted on external leaders of self-managing teams. The integration of functional leadership theory with research on team routines suggests that leaders can intervene in teams in several different ways, and the effectiveness of this intervention depends on the nature of the events the team encounters. External team leaders from 3 organizations first described a series of events (N=117), and leaders and team members then completed surveys to quantitatively describe the events. Results indicated that leader preparation and supportive coaching were positively related to team perceptions of leader effectiveness, with preparation becoming more strongly related to effectiveness as event novelty increased. More active leader intervention activities (active coaching and sense making) were negatively related to satisfaction with leadership yet were positively related to effectiveness as events became more disruptive.

  10. The Educational Design of Textbooks: A Text for Being Interdisciplinary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golding, Clinton

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides insights into both the educational design of textbooks and interdisciplinary education. The author introduces two educational principles for textbook design--instructional alignment and balancing diversity and meaningful guidance for readers--and applies them to writing his own textbook chapter for being interdisciplinary. The…

  11. If a Marketer Teaches Ethics, Is There Still a Sound? The Interdisciplinary Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murrow, Jim

    2006-01-01

    When a marketer teaches general ethics courses, widespread ontological shock can result on campus. A case for positive paradigm expansion of all involved persons in an interdisciplinary environment is made. Suggestions for specific interdisciplinary opportunities and applications are provided. A call for interdisciplinary efforts is made and…

  12. Introduction of pharmaceutical expertise in a palliative care team in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norrström, Barbro; Cannerfelt, Ing-Britt; Frid, Helen; Roos, Kim; Ramström, Helena

    2010-12-01

    This paper presents for the first time the inclusion of dispensing pharmacists, a special group of pharmacy professionals, in a Swedish palliative care team. It also presents the drug stock management in the medication room of the clinical area and the improvement of drug logistics. In addition to a dispensing pharmacist, a pharmacist was included in this part of the project as well. The palliative care team at ASIH Långbro Park, Sweden. The intervention with the dispensing pharmacists as new members of the interdisciplinary palliative team was evaluated by a questionnaire to the staff. An inventory of the different drugs in stock was performed in March 2006 and in April 2007, respectively. The inventory turnover rate was determined and the drug consumption for the last 6 months of 2005 and 2006, respectively, was also analysed. The questionnaire used rating scales allowing participants to rate the questions/statements. The number of different drugs and drug packages in stock were recorded during the inventories. Drug costs were calculated and the inventory turnover rate was determined by dividing the annual cost of drugs by the value of the inventory. Drug consumption was analysed using the Xplain statistical programme, a statistical tool from Apoteket AB. The overall impression of the dispensing pharmacists was positive. The staff reported advantages in having a dispensing pharmacist present at ASIH not only for the drug logistics, but also for drug-related queries. The inventory of the drug stock and the drug-handling process resulted in a 14% reduction of product numbers and a 36% reduction in the tied-up capital for drugs in stock. The inventory turnover rate increased from 6.7 to 9.5. A 7% reduction of medication costs was also observed when comparing the last 6 months of 2006 with the costs in 2005. The principal result of this project is that inclusion of pharmaceutical expertise on a palliative care team can be a valuable asset for the team in

  13. Lecture three: From empathy to embodied faith: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of religion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Wentzel van Huyssteen

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In a series of three articles, presented at the Goshen Annual Conference on Science and Religion in 2015, with the theme ‘Interdisciplinary Theology and the Archeology of Personhood’, J. Wentzel van Huyssteen considers the problem of human evolution – also referred to as ‘the archaeology of personhood’ – and its broader impact on theological anthropology. This trajectory of lectures tracks a select number of challenging contemporary proposals for the evolution of crucially important aspects of human personhood. These are aspects that were all of great significance for Darwin: the evolution of cognition, the evolution of imagination, music and language, the evolution of morality, and the evolution of the religious disposition.

  14. Leading Teams of Leaders: What Helps Team Member Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Monica; Young, Lissa; Weiner, Jennie; Wlodarczyk, Steven

    2010-01-01

    School districts are moving toward a new form of management in which superintendents need to form and nurture leadership teams. A study of 25 such teams in Connecticut suggests that a team's effectiveness is maximized when the team members are coached by other team members, not the superintendent, and when they are coached on task-related…

  15. Empowering certified nurse's aides to improve quality of work life through a team communication program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Erin E

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the impact of a certified nurse's aide (CNA)-led interdisciplinary teamwork and communication intervention on perceived quality of work environment and six-month job intentions. CNAs are frequently excluded from team communication and decision-making, which often leads to job dissatisfaction with high levels of staff turnover. Using a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach with pre- post-program design, the intervention utilized the strategy of debriefing from the national patient safety initiative, TeamSTEPPS. Inherent in the program design, entitled Long Term Care (LTC) Team Talk, was the involvement of the CNAs in the development of the intervention as an empowering process on two wings of a transitional care unit in a long-term care facility in upstate NY. CNAs' perceptions of work environment quality were measured using a Quality of Work Life (QWL) instrument. Additionally, job turnover intent within six months was assessed. Results indicated improved scores on nearly all QWL subscales anticipated to be impacted, and enhanced perceived empowerment of the CNAs on each wing albeit through somewhat different experiential processes. The program is highly portable and can potentially be implemented in a variety of long-term care settings. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The ENTRIA project. Selected disciplinary and interdisciplinary research topics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roehlig, Klaus-Juergen; Hocke, Peter; Walther, Clemens

    2015-01-01

    ENTRIA (''Disposal Options for Radioactive Residues: Interdisciplinary Analyses and Development of Evaluation Principles'', www.entria.de) is a joint research project carried out by twelve departments and institutes from German universities and major research institutions and one partner from Switzerland. It is financed by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Scientists representing natural sciences, civil engineering, philosophy, law, social and political sciences, and technology assessment carry out disciplinary and interdisciplinary research addressing three options to manage especially high-level radioactive waste: - Final disposal in deep geological formations without any arrangements for retrieval, - disposal in deep geological formations with arrangements for monitoring and retrieval, and - (prolonged) surface (or near-surface) storage. In the paper, the following selected research topics - both disciplinary and interdisciplinary - are briefly introduced in order to provide an impression of the project scope: - Surface storage, - reference concepts for emplacement in deep geological formations with retrievability and monitoring, - radiation exposure and justification of measures, - interdisciplinary perspectives on dose limits, - comparative studies on nuclear waste governance, - nuclear waste governance in Switzerland, - public involvement and the German Site Selection Act, and - citizens' jury.

  17. Interdisciplinary Research for Engineering Skills Development Interdisciplinary Research for Engineering Skills Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angel E. González-Lizardo

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo reporta los resultados de una experiencia interdisciplinaria de investigaciónpara estudiantes de ingeniería, en el Laboratorio de Ingeniería de Plasma (PEL por sussiglas en inglés de la Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico (UPPR. Los rasgos fuertes de esta experiencia y su relación con los resultados esperados por la Junta de Acreditación para Ingeniería y Tecnología (ABET por sus siglas en inglés son destacados, y una descripción cualitativa de los resultados en términos de la ejecución de los estudiantes durante la experiencia y después de ella. Se presenta un ejemplo de las diferentes actividades realizadas por un equipo de estudiantes subgraduados y su relación con los resultados esperados por ABET. La experiencia de investigación en el PEL provee a los estudiantes con una oportunidad única para practicar la ingeniería antes de su graduación, a través de problemas reales, innovación, colaboración con otras instituciones, y presentación de su trabajo a audiencias de científicos e ingenieros. This work reports the results of an ad hoc interdisciplinary research experience for undergraduate engineering students at the Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR. The strong features of this experience and their relationship with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET outcomes are pointed out, and a qualitative description of the results is discussed, in terms of the performance of the students during the experience and after it. An example of the different activities performed by a team of undergraduate students, and their relationship with the ABET outcomes is presented. The undergraduate research at the PEL provides the students with a unique opportunity to practice engineering before graduation through real life problems, innovation, collaboration with other institutions, and presentation of their work for engineering and scientific audiences.

  18. A Project Team: a Team or Just a Group?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kateřina

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction, brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work is to verify the validity of the assumptions that the analyzed team represents a very disparate group as for its composition from the perspective of personality types, types of motivation, team roles and interpersonal relations in terms of the willingness of cooperation and communication. A separate output shall focus on sociometric investigation of those team members where willingness to work together and communicate is based on the authors’ assumption of tight interdependence.

  19. Scientific Aspects of Leonardo da Vinci's Drawings: An Interdisciplinary Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Struthers, Sally A.

    While interdisciplinary courses can help demonstrate the relevance of learning to students and reinforce education from different fields, they can be difficult to implement and are often not cost effective. An interdisciplinary art history course at Ohio's Sinclair Community College incorporates science into the art history curriculum, making use…

  20. Environmental Survey preliminary report, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colorado

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1988-10-01

    This report presents the preliminary findings of the first phase of the Environmental Survey of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), conducted December 14 through 18, 1987. The Survey is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team of environmental specialists, led and managed by the Office of Environment, Safety and Health's Office of Environmental Audit. The team includes outside experts supplied by private contractors. The objective of the Survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with SERI. The Survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. The on-site phase of the Survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at SERI, and interviews with site personnel. 33 refs., 22 figs., 21 tabs.

  1. The Team Climate Inventory: application in hospital teams and methodological considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouwens, M; Hulscher, M; Akkermans, R; Hermens, R; Grol, R; Wollersheim, H

    2008-08-01

    To test the validity, reliability and discriminating capacity of an instrument to assess team climate, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), in a sample of Dutch hospital teams. The TCI is based on a four-factor theory of team climate for innovation. Validation study. Hospital teams in The Netherlands. 424 healthcare professionals; 355 nurses working in 22 nursing teams and 69 nurses and doctors working in 14 quality-improvement teams. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson's product moment correlations, internal homogeneity of the TCI scales based on Cronbach alpha, and the TCI capability to discriminate between two types of healthcare teams, namely nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The validity test revealed the TCI's five-factor structure and moderate data fit. The Cronbach alphas of the five scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The TCI discriminated between nursing teams and quality-improvement teams. The mean scores of quality-improvement teams were all significantly higher than those of the nursing teams. Patient care teams are essential for high-quality patient care, and team climate is an important characteristic of successful teams. This study shows that the TCI is a valid, reliable and discriminating self-report measure of team climate in hospital teams. The TCI can be used as a quality-improvement tool or in quality-of-care research.

  2. Team Psychological Safety and Team Learning: A Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cauwelier, Peter; Ribière, Vincent M.; Bennet, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate if the concept of team psychological safety, a key driver of team learning and originally studied in the West, can be applied in teams from different national cultures. The model originally validated for teams in the West is applied to teams in Thailand to evaluate its validity, and the views team…

  3. Teaching scientific literacy in an introductory women's studies course: a case study in interdisciplinary collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuselier, Linda; Murphy, Claudia; Bender, Anita; Creel Falcón, Kandace

    2015-01-01

    nature of science but showed learning in the areas of scientific literacy and the understanding of issues related to women in science careers. Student understanding of science content was enhanced by the participation of a woman scientist in the learning module. Conclusion:This case study illustrates how creating an inclusive space for interdisciplinary collaboration led to successful curriculum transformation and academic boundary crossing by faculty participants. Success is evident in the legacy of interdisciplinarity in the curriculum and learning gains by students. Use of a feminist science studies framework was successful at helping students learn about the influence of values on science and the tentative nature of scientific conclusions. It was less successful in teaching the distinction between science and other ways of knowing and the conception that science is an evidence-based approach to understanding the natural world. This study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary teams of faculty members collaborating to help students learn about science by modeling that there are multiple ways of knowing.

  4. Management Teams

    CERN Document Server

    Belbin, R Meredith Meredith

    2012-01-01

    Meredith Belbin's work on teams has become part of everyday language in organizations all over the world. All kinds of teams and team behaviours are covered. At the end of the book is a self-perception inventory so that readers can match their own personalities to particular team roles. Management Teams is required reading for managers concerned with achieving results by getting the best from their key personnel.

  5. “Sacred Work”: Reflections on the Professional and Personal Impact of an Interdisciplinary Palliative Oncology Clinical Experience by Social Work Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alyssa A. Middleton

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study explored the impact of an oncology palliative care clinical experience with older adults on social work learners. A three-member research team conducted a qualitative content analysis of reflective writings. 27 Master of Science in Social Work students enrolled in an interprofessional palliative oncology curriculum and completed a reflective writing assignment to summarize the clinical scenario, analyze the patient/family care provided, and describe the impact of the experience. Using a constant comparison approach based on grounded theory, the research team analyzed the reflections to come to consensus related to the overall impact of the experience. Two overarching themes (professional and personal impact and 11 subthemes (appreciation of interdisciplinary teams, recognition of clinical skills of other disciplines, insight into clinical skills of the social worker, perception of palliative care, embracing palliative care principles, centrality of communication, importance of social support, family as the unit of care, countertransference, conflict between personal values and patient/family values, and emotional reactions were identified. Experiential learning opportunities for social work learners in interprofessional palliative care build appreciation for and skills in applying palliative care principles including teamwork, symptom control, and advanced care planning along with a commitment to embrace these principles in future practice.

  6. Virtual Team Governance: Addressing the Governance Mechanisms and Virtual Team Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Yihong; Bai, Yu; Liu, Ziheng

    As technology has improved and collaborative software has been developed, virtual teams with geographically dispersed members spread across diverse physical locations have become increasingly prominent. Virtual team is supported by advancing communication technologies, which makes virtual teams able to largely transcend time and space. Virtual teams have changed the corporate landscape, which are more complex and dynamic than traditional teams since the members of virtual teams are spread on diverse geographical locations and their roles in the virtual team are different. Therefore, how to realize good governance of virtual team and arrive at good virtual team performance is becoming critical and challenging. Good virtual team governance is essential for a high-performance virtual team. This paper explores the performance and the governance mechanism of virtual team. It establishes a model to explain the relationship between the performance and the governance mechanisms in virtual teams. This paper is focusing on managing virtual teams. It aims to find the strategies to help business organizations to improve the performance of their virtual teams and arrive at the objectives of good virtual team management.

  7. Putting the "Team" in the Fine Arts Team: An Application of Business Management Team Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Ryan

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses current challenges to the idea of teamwork in fine arts teams, redefines the terms team and collaboration using a business management perspective, discusses the success of effective teams in the business world and the characteristics of those teams, and proposes the implementation of the business model of…

  8. A Project Team: A Team or Just a Group?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katerina Hrazdilova Bockova

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with issues related to work in either teams or groups. The theoretical part which discusses a team and a group with regards to its definition, classification and basic distinction brings in more on the typology of team roles, personality assessment and sociometric methods. The analytical part tests the project (work team of a medical center represented in terms of personality and motivational types, team roles and interpersonal team relations concerning the willingness of cooperation and communication. The main objective of this work was to determine whether the existing team is not by its nature rather a working group that contributes to the generally perceived stagnation of that field.

  9. Early-Career Professional Development Training for Stakeholder-Relevant, Interdisciplinary Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosendahl, D. H.; Bamzai, A.; Mcpherson, R. A.

    2015-12-01

    There are many challenges to conducting inter- or multi-disciplinary research because basic research, applied research, management processes, disciplines, and even sub-disciplines have been "siloed" for so long that many research and management professionals find it difficult to communicate common interests and research needs. It is clear that the next generation of researchers must overcome these disciplinary biases and engage in more open dialogue with other disciplines and the management community in order to be better positioned to collaborate, speak a common language, and understand each other's needs. The U.S. Department of the Interior's South Central Climate Science Center recently conducted a professional development workshop for 28 early-career researchers involved in climate-related research across the South-Central U.S. The participants consisted of graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty representing 17 different natural and social science disciplines and seven Universities/Institutions. The workshop provided the participants with guidance and instruction on how to overcome the identified challenges in conducting "actionable" research and how to better navigate multi-institutional and multi- or inter-disciplinary research. The workshop was comprised of: (1) a series of instructional presentations organized into themed sessions; (2) two keynote addresses to provide a broader perspective; (3) a real-world case study activity; (4) individual and group projects/presentations; and (5) field trips. In addition, we purposely created informal opportunities for participants to network, which met the goal of facilitating interdisciplinary interactions. An overview of the workshop experience will be provided, including a focus on those aspects leading to its ultimate success and recommendations for how to develop and implement a similar early-career workshop for your own purposes.

  10. Astrobiology Education and Outreach: New Interdisciplinary Initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Greg

    In 1998, UCLA was selected as one of the 11 initial members (5 of which are universities) of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Concurrently, UCLA implemented a brand new General Education cluster course, GE 70ABC: ``Evolution of the Cosmos and Life,'' which is unique for several reasons. It is (a) interdisciplinary, introducing students to both the life and physical sciences, (b) team-taught by 4 distinguished professors, and 4 advanced graduate teaching fellows, (c) offered for (150) freshmen students exclusively, and (d) a year-long sequence, incorporating lectures, laboratory/discussion sections, field trips, and in the spring quarter, small satellite seminars led by the individual instructors on topics radiating from the cluster theme. Further information about GE 70ABC can be found at the course website (http://www.ess.ucla.edu/Cluster_TOC.html) and the website for UCLA's GE cluster courses (http://www.college.ucla.edu/ge/clusters.htm). This poster will outline the GE 70 content, and describe some of the course's materials, activities, assessment, and student characteristics. Additionally, focus will be placed on the GE 70C seminar course component called ``Life In the Cosmos,'' designed and offered by the poster author for the Spring 1999 quarter. This seminar features a student-centered approach - with lecturing minimized and active learning a key objective - and addresses the extraterrestrial life debate from historical and cultural perspectives as well as the current scientific approaches in astrobiology/bioastronomy.

  11. Redesigning geriatric healthcare: how cross-functional teams and process improvement provide a competitive advantage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, B C; Kaye, J; Bowcutt, M; Campbell, J

    2001-01-01

    This study examines the consequences of adding a geriatric subacute unit to the traditional health care mix offered by a nonprofit hospital. Historically, geriatric health care offerings have been limited to either acute care units or long-term care facilities. The study's findings demonstrate that the addition of a subacute unit that is operated by an interdisciplinary team is a competitively rational move for two reasons. First, it provides a continuum of care that integrates services and departments, thereby reducing costs. Second, it provides a supportive environment for patients and their families. As a consequence patients have a higher probability of returning home than patients who are assigned to more traditional modes of care.

  12. Examination of Postgraduate Theses in Sciences within the Interdisciplinary Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karakus, Memet; Yalçin, Onur

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, the rapid spread of the interdisciplinary approach contributes to the development of disciplines and scientific developments in many ways. Therefore, how the interdisciplinary approach is addressed in the studies carried out is important in terms of guiding other studies. For this purpose, an attempt to determine how 155 doctorate theses…

  13. Film Scenes in Interdisciplinary Education: Teaching the Internet of Things

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Young-mee; Kim, Kwang-sun; Im, Tami

    2017-01-01

    The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining importance in education owing to its rapid development. This study addresses the importance of interdisciplinary education between technology and the humanities. The use of films as a teaching resource is suitable for interdisciplinary education because films represent creative forecasts and predictions on…

  14. The community health worker cultural mentoring project: preparing professional students for team work with health workers from urban communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwen, Laurie N; Schwolsky-Fitch, Elena; Rodriquez, Romelia; Horta, Greg; Lopez, Ivanna

    2007-01-01

    Community Health Workers or CHWs (also known by a variety of alternative titles) are health workers drawn from communities to provide access to care for members of their communities. CHWs have been documented as effective in delivering a variety of services in a culturally-sensitive manner, and in providing a bridge between health professionals and underserved or minority communities. Yet, CHWs have not been well incorporated into interdisciplinary health care teams. The majority of health professionals are not even aware of the possible role and skills of CHWs. Believing that the best time to educate professionals about this valuable health worker and ensure that CHWs become part of interdisciplinary health care teams is during the student years, the Hunter College Schools of the Health Professions, and the Community Health Worker Network of New York City developed a pilot project, the Community Health Worker Cultural Mentoring Project. Community Health Workers, who were members of the Network, served as "community mentors" for health professions students drawn from the programs of community health education, nursing, and nutrition. CHWs worked with faculty of selected courses in each of the professional programs, and served as panelists in these courses, presenting information about health beliefs and alternative health practices of diverse cultural groups in communities of New York City. Class sessions were first held in the fall of 2004; subsequent sessions were held in following semesters. Approximately 40 students participated in 7 classes, with 6 CHWs serving as mentors - two per class. At the end of the classroom presentations, students wrote reflections relating to their understanding of the CHW role and relevance for their future interdisciplinary practice. The majority of reflections met the goal of increasing professional students' understanding of the CHW role and skills. At this point, quantitative and qualitative data will need to be collected to

  15. An interdisciplinary approach to personalized medicine: case studies from a cardiogenetics clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erskine, Kathleen E; Griffith, Eleanor; Degroat, Nicole; Stolerman, Marina; Silverstein, Louise B; Hidayatallah, Nadia; Wasserman, David; Paljevic, Esma; Cohen, Lilian; Walsh, Christine A; McDonald, Thomas; Marion, Robert W; Dolan, Siobhan M

    2013-01-01

    In the genomic age, the challenges presented by various inherited conditions present a compelling argument for an interdisciplinary model of care. Cardiac arrhythmias with a genetic basis, such as long QT syndrome, require clinicians with expertise in many specialties to address the complex genetic, psychological, ethical and medical issues involved in treatment. The Montefiore-Einstein Center for CardioGenetics has been established to provide personalized, interdisciplinary care for families with a history of sudden cardiac death or an acute cardiac event. Four vignettes of patient care are presented to illustrate the unique capacity of an interdisciplinary model to address genetic, psychological, ethical and medical issues. Because interdisciplinary clinics facilitate collaboration among multiple specialties, they allow for individualized, comprehensive care to be delivered to families who experience complex inherited medical conditions. As the genetic basis of many complex conditions is discovered, the advantages of an interdisciplinary approach for delivering personalized medicine will become more evident.

  16. Employee Knowledge Sharing in Work Teams: Effects of Team Diversity, Emergent States, and Team Leadership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Jae Hang

    2013-01-01

    Knowledge sharing in work teams is one of the critical team processes. Without sharing of knowledge, work teams and organizations may not be able to fully utilize the diverse knowledge brought into work teams by their members. The purpose of this study was to investigate antecedents and underlying mechanisms influencing the extent to which team…

  17. Att skapa sammanhang: lärare i naturvetenskapliga ämnen, ämnesövergripande samarbete och etiska perspektiv i undervisningenTo create coherence: science teachers, interdisciplinary collaboration and ethical perspectives in the educational practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingela Bursjöö

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on how experienced science teachers talk about interdisciplinary collaboration and ethical perspectives in their educational practice, two important components in science education and central in research on socio-scientific issues and education for sustainable development. The teachers in this interview study were asked in detail about how they integrate such components in their teaching practice. The findings indicate that the teachers in the study value interdisciplinary collaboration and try to integrate ethical aspects in their teaching. However, the science teachers in this study encounter problems in the practical implementation as it demands excellent communication in the team. Furthermore, the science teachers rate their ethical competence as rather low. They also show signs of a decrease in their professional capital, as in decisions they can make related to their teaching practice. The process of interacting with and learning from others, here called social learning, is vital for interdisciplinary collaboration and integration of ethical aspects. Such issues place severe demands, not only on the science teacher, but also on the whole educational system. 

  18. [Investigation of team processes that enhance team performance in business organization].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawata, Kengo; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki; Hatano, Toru; Aoshima, Mika

    2015-02-01

    Many researchers have suggested team processes that enhance team performance. However, past team process models were based on crew team, whose all team members perform an indivisible temporary task. These models may be inapplicable business teams, whose individual members perform middle- and long-term tasks assigned to individual members. This study modified the teamwork model of Dickinson and McIntyre (1997) and aimed to demonstrate a whole team process that enhances the performance of business teams. We surveyed five companies (member N = 1,400, team N = 161) and investigated team-level-processes. Results showed that there were two sides of team processes: "communication" and "collaboration to achieve a goal." Team processes in which communication enhanced collaboration improved team performance with regard to all aspects of the quantitative objective index (e.g., current income and number of sales), supervisor rating, and self-rating measurements. On the basis of these results, we discuss the entire process by which teamwork enhances team performance in business organizations.

  19. Interdisciplinary debate in the teaching-learning process on bioethics: academic health experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos Daniel, Jéssica; Dias Reis Pessalacia, Juliana; Leite de Andrade, Ana Flávia

    2016-06-01

    The study aimed to understand the health of student experiences to participate in interdisciplinary discussions in bioethics and know the contributions of interdisciplinary methodological resource for the teaching-learning process at graduation. Descriptive study of qualitative approach in a public higher education institution of Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Three categories of analysis were identified: ''active methodologies in the training of a professional critic,'' ''interdisciplinary debate as facilitator reflection of bioethics'' and ''feelings and attitudes caused by the interdisciplinary debate.'' Discussion. There was a lack of approach of bioethical contents in the health curriculum, and the adoption of active methodologies provides a better reflection in bioethics, but that requires changing paradigms of teachers and educational institutions.

  20. Integrating social sciences and humanities in interdisciplinary research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, David Budtz

    2016-01-01

    drivers for embedding SSH research in interdisciplinary research. By analysing recent policy initiatives, the article shows how policymakers across the world continue to be ambivalent regarding the role of the SSH. While many stakeholders acknowledge the need to integrate SSH research in solving key...... societal challenges, such as climate change, migration or national security, funding for SSH is limited and tends to focus on strategic interventions and instrumental solutions. By accounting for the diversity of interdisciplinary collaborations the article recommends a more context-sensitive approach...

  1. Individual and team performance in team-handball: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Herbert; Finkenzeller, Thomas; Würth, Sabine; von Duvillard, Serge P

    2014-12-01

    Team handball is a complex sport game that is determined by the individual performance of each player as well as tactical components and interaction of the team. The aim of this review was to specify the elements of team-handball performance based on scientific studies and practical experience, and to convey perspectives for practical implication. Scientific studies were identified via data bases of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SPORT Discus, Google Scholar, and Hercules. A total of 56 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition, we supplemented the review with 13 additional articles, proceedings and book sections. It was found that the specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, team-handball techniques, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors specify the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition. Although we found comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex or age, there is a lack of studies, particularly for team-handball specific training, as well as cognition and social factors. Key PointsThe specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, specific skills, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors define the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition.To increase individual and team performance in team-handball specific training based on these determinants have been suggested.Although there are comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex, or age are published, there is a lack of training studies, particularly for team-handball specific techniques and endurance, as well as cognition and social factors.

  2. Interdisciplinary Collaboration in EHDI Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Lauri; Houston, K. Todd; Hoffman, Jeff; Bradham, Tamala S.

    2011-01-01

    State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs were asked to complete a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that consisted of 12 evaluative areas of EHDI programs. For the interdisciplinary area, 47 coordinators responded with 224 items, and themes were identified within each SWOT…

  3. The effects on team emotions and team effectiveness of coaching in interprofessional health and social care teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimas, Isabel Dórdio; Renato Lourenço, Paulo; Rebelo, Teresa

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching behaviours provided by peers and by the leader on the emotions experienced by interprofessional health and social care teams and on members' satisfaction with the team, as well as on team performance. Data were obtained from a survey among 344 employees working in 52 interprofessional health and social care teams from nine Portuguese organizations. The results show that leader coaching and peer coaching have a positive effect on the level of team members' satisfaction with the team and on positive emotions, and a negative effect on negative emotions. Furthermore, coaching provided by peers presents a positive effect on team performance as assessed by the leader of the team. Our findings put forward the importance of engaging in coaching behaviours to promote quality of the team experience, as well as the achievement of team performance objectives. Further studies should explore how coaching behaviours impact the patient, whose well-being is the ultimate objective of a team in the health and social care system, namely in terms of the patient's perception of quality care or patient outcomes.

  4. Impact of the Arizona NExSS Winter School on Interdisciplinary Knowledge and Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Cierra; Burnam-Fink, Michael; Desch, Steven; Apai, Dániel

    2018-01-01

    The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) is a NASA-funded research coordination network whose focus is on investigating exoplanet diversity and devising strategies for searching for life on exoplanets. The fields of exoplanets and astrobiology are inherently highly interdisciplinary. Progress in these fields demands that researchers with various scientific backgrounds understand the issues and techniques of allied fields of study, including the tools and approaches used to solve different problems, as well as their limitations.In 2016, the NExSS teams at Arizona State University (ASU) and University of Arizona (UA) hosted 32 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from various scientific backgrounds for one week at the Arizona NExSS Winter School. To bridge the gaps between fields and promote interdisciplinarity, students participated in lessons, field trips, hands-on activities, and a capstone proposal-writing activity. To assess the impact of the School on knowledge and attitudes about other fields, we administered a pre- and post-School questionnaire designed using the Impact Analysis Method of Davis & Scalice (2015).The results show that all participants gained knowledge at the School, especially in areas outside their primary field of study. The questionnaire revealed interesting differences in attitudes as well. When asked whether the geochemistry of Earth without life is predictable, planetary scientists were more likely than average to say yes, and geologists were more likely than average to say no. Their attitudes had converged after participation in the School. These results demonstrate that the Arizona NExSS Winter School was impactful not just in the knowledge gained, but in the interdisciplinary attitudes of students.

  5. Teaming up

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warhuus, Jan; Günzel-Jensen, Franziska; Robinson, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    types of team formation: random teacher pre-assigned, student selection, and teacher directed diversity. In each of these modules, ethnographic methods (interviews and observations) were employed. Additionally, we had access to students learning logs, formative and summative assessments, and final exams...... functioning entrepreneurial student teams as most teams lack personal chemistry which makes them anchor their work too much in a pre-defined project. In contrast, we find that students that can form their own teams aim for less diverse teams than what is achieved by random assignment. However, the homophily......Questions we care about (Objectives): When students have to work on challenging tasks, as it is often the case in entrepreneurship classrooms that leverage experiential learning, team success becomes central to the students learning. Yet, the formation of teams is often left up to the students...

  6. Fostering intentional interdisciplinary leadership in developmental disabilities: the North Carolina LEND experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Angela; Margolis, Lewis H; Umble, Karl; Chewning, Linda

    2015-02-01

    This study describes the effects of interdisciplinary leadership training on a retrospective cohort (2001-2009) of the University of North Carolina MCH Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (UNC-CH LEND) program, including LEND graduates who were selected to participate in a focused Interdisciplinary Leadership Development Program (ILDP) in addition to their LEND training. Specifically, the study examined graduates' reports of the relationship between LEND training and their attitudes/beliefs about interdisciplinary practice, as well as their reported use of interdisciplinary skills in their post-fellowship practice settings. Using a post-test design, participants in the LEND and ILDP programs were contacted to complete an on-line survey. Using a Conceptual Model guided by EvaluLEAD, respondents were asked to rate the influence of the UNC-LEND training program on their attitudes/beliefs and skills using a 5-point Likert scale, as well as through open-ended descriptions. The 49 LEND respondents represented a 56% overall response rate from years 2001-2009. ILDP participants reported greater agreement with interdisciplinary attitudes/beliefs and more frequent use of interdisciplinary skills than did the non-participants. Graduates of LEND as well as ILDP reported the influence of training through a range of qualitative responses. Response examples highlight the influence of LEND training to promote outcomes at the individual, organizational and systems level. Findings from this study illustrate that MCHB funded LEND training has a strong influence on the future employment and interdisciplinary practices of graduates for the MCH workforce as well as services for individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and systems of care.

  7. Collaborative Research on Sustainability: Myths and Conundrums of Interdisciplinary Departments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate Sherren

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Establishing interdisciplinary academic departments has been a common response to the challenge of addressing complex problems. However, the assumptions that guide the formation of such departments are rarely questioned. Additionally, the designers and managers of interdisciplinary academic departments in any field of endeavour struggle to set an organisational climate appropriate to the diversity of their members. This article presents a preliminary analysis of collaborative dynamics within two interdisciplinary university departments in Australia focused on sustainability. Social network diagrams and metrics of coauthorship and cosupervision are analysed qualitatively. A “vicarious interdisciplinarity” was identified among key academics working narrowly in order to earn the resources that allow them to support others working interdisciplinarily. Those supported in this way appear to benefit from the esteem and nonredundant collaborative connections their mentors provide via this strategy, but they experience uncertainty about their own career opportunities in similar settings. This article thus unearths a conundrum of succession for interdisciplinary academic environments, and suggests that simple colocation of diverse academic stars is an inadequate strategy to achieve effective intradepartmental collaboration.

  8. Interdisciplinary: Cultural competency and culturally congruent education for millennials in health professions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawala-Druy, Souzan; Hill, Mary H

    2012-10-01

    The increasingly diverse multicultural and multigenerational student population in the United States requires that educators at all levels develop cultural knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity to help diverse learners fulfill their potential and to avoid cultural misunderstandings that can become obstacles or barriers to learning. The purpose of this study was to design and implement eclectic, creative, evidence-based interdisciplinary educational activities, along with culturally congruent teaching strategies, within a semester-long university course that promoted positive and culturally competent learning outcomes for culturally diverse, largely millennial students. The interdisciplinary course would prepare health professional students with the requisite knowledge and skills, through transformative learning that produces change agents, to provide culturally congruent and quality team-based care to diverse populations. This was a qualitative and quantitative study, which measured students' level of cultural awareness, competence, and proficiency pre and post the educational intervention. Instruments used for data collection included the Inventory for Assessing The Process of Cultural Competence-Student Version (IAPCC-SV) by Campinha-Bacote, course evaluations, students' feedback, and portfolio reflections. The study was conducted at a private academic institution located in the Mid-Atlantic region and the sample population included inter-professional students (N=106) from various health professions including nursing, pharmacy, and allied health sciences. Results from the pre- and post-test IAPCC-SV survey revealed that mean scores increased significantly from pre-test (60.8) to post-test (70.6). Thus, students' levels of cultural competency (awareness, knowledge, skills, desire, encounter) improved post-educational intervention, indicating that the teaching methods used in the course might be applied on a larger scale across the university system to cater to the

  9. Cheap Talk: “Team Factors and Management Practices Influence on Team Trust”

    OpenAIRE

    Doris Padmini Selvaratnam; Aini Aman; Muhamad Maziz Mahyuddin Bin Kamaludin; Gary Lynn; Richard Reilly

    2016-01-01

    Team trust has been cited as a contributing factor towards team performance. This paper looks at the antecedents of team trust and to what extent they influence team trust. The antecedents of team trust are team factors like team autonomy, team stability and team member experience; and the management practices are top management involvement and management support. The results demonstrated that team factors and management practices influence team trust individually. The key find...

  10. Summary of Research 1997, Interdisciplinary Academic Groups

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Boger, Dan

    1999-01-01

    This report contains information of research projects in the interdisciplinary groups, Command, Control, and Communications Academic Group, Information Warfare Academic Group, Space Systems Academic...

  11. Data management for interdisciplinary field experiments: OTTER project support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelici, Gary; Popovici, Lidia; Skiles, J. W.

    1993-01-01

    The ability of investigators of an interdisciplinary science project to properly manage the data that are collected during the experiment is critical to the effective conduct of science. When the project becomes large, possibly including several scenes of large-format remotely sensed imagery shared by many investigators requiring several services, the data management effort can involve extensive staff and computerized data inventories. The OTTER (Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research) project was supported by the PLDS (Pilot Land Data System) with several data management services, such as data inventory, certification, and publication. After a brief description of these services, experiences in providing them are compared with earlier data management efforts and some conclusions regarding data management in support of interdisciplinary science are discussed. In addition to providing these services, a major goal of this data management capability was to adopt characteristics of a pro-active attitude, such as flexibility and responsiveness, believed to be crucial for the effective conduct of active, interdisciplinary science. These are also itemized and compared with previous data management support activities. Identifying and improving these services and characteristics can lead to the design and implementation of optimal data management support capabilities, which can result in higher quality science and data products from future interdisciplinary field experiments.

  12. Gender and Disciplinary Differences in Experiences with Interdisciplinary Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrego, Maura; Creamer, Elizabeth G.

    This work directly compares three explanations for differences in experiences of interdisciplinary research collaborators using a sample of 347 academics from 144 different research intensive and extensive universities in the United States who were awarded funding from the same directorate of the National Science Foundation. The findings provide a much more positive view of interdisciplinary collaboration than is routinely found in the literature. Despite varied disciplinary backgrounds, members of the sample are extremely satisfied with their experiences with interdisciplinary collaboration and have much more in common than they differ in their attitudes and experiences, including how they meet collaborators, the difficulties they have encountered, their approach to the division of labor, and their interest in collaboration as a venue for learning. Findings dispute the stereotype that the relational element of collaboration is significantly more salient for women than it is for men.

  13. Victorian Era: An Interdisciplinary Unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gildart, Donna Mae; And Others

    Seventh grade students studied the Victorian period using a 4-6 week interdisciplinary unit that integrated language arts, mathematics, art, science, social studies, music, home economics, parents, and business into the program. The main goals were to help students understand the importance of all curriculum subjects; comprehend how subjects are…

  14. Teaching an Issues-Based Interdisciplinary Course: Diversity in Management and Marketing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazen, Mary Ann; Higby, Mary A.

    2005-01-01

    The authors examine their experiences of coteaching an intensive, interdisciplinary elective course for MBA students: Diversity in Management and Marketing. They address otherness, dialogue, energy, and change within this course and clarify issues that can arise when coteaching interdisciplinary courses. The authors list implications for…

  15. Mindfulness and compassion-oriented practices at work reduce distress and enhance self-care of palliative care teams: a mixed-method evaluation of an "on the job" program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orellana-Rios, Claudia L; Radbruch, Lukas; Kern, Martina; Regel, Yesche U; Anton, Andreas; Sinclair, Shane; Schmidt, Stefan

    2017-07-06

    Maintaining a sense of self-care while providing patient centered care, can be difficult for practitioners in palliative medicine. We aimed to pilot an "on the job" mindfulness and compassion-oriented meditation training for interdisciplinary teams designed to reduce distress, foster resilience and strengthen a prosocial motivation in the clinical encounter. Our objective was to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of this newly developed training. The study design was an observational, mixed-method pilot evaluation, with qualitative data, self-report data, as well as objective data (cortisol) measured before and after the program. Twenty-eight staff members of an interdisciplinary palliative care team participated in the 10-week training conducted at their workplace. Measures were the Perceived Stress Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the somatic complaints subscale of the SCL-90-R, the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and a Goal Attainment Scale that assessed two individual goals. Semi-structured interviews were employed to gain insight into the perceived outcomes and potential mechanisms of action of the training. T-tests for dependent samples were employed to test for differences between baseline and post-intervention. Significant improvements were found in two of three burnout components (emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment), anxiety, stress, two emotional regulation competences and joy at work. Furthermore, 85% of the individual goals were attained. Compliance and acceptance rates were high and qualitative data revealed a perceived enhancement of self-care, the integration of mindful pauses in work routines, a reduction in rumination and distress generated in the patient contact as well as an enhancement of interpersonal connection skills. An improvement of team communication could also be identified. Our findings suggest that the training may be a feasible, effective and

  16. Diagnostics and therapy of vestibular schwannomas – an interdisciplinary challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosahl, Steffen; Bohr, Christopher; Lell, Michael; Hamm, Klaus; Iro, Heinrich

    2017-01-01

    Vestibular schwannomas (VS) expand slowly in the internal auditory canal, in the cerebellopontine angle, inside the cochlear and the labyrinth. Larger tumors can displace and compress the brainstem. With an annual incidence of 1:100,000 vestibular schwannoma represent 6–7% of all intracranial tumors. In the cerebellopontine angle they are by far the most neoplasm with 90% of all lesions located in this region. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), audiometry, and vestibular diagnostics are the mainstays of the clinical workup for patients harboring tumors. The first part of this paper delivers an overview of tumor stages, the most common grading scales for facial nerve function and hearing as well as a short introduction to the examination of vestibular function. Upholding or improving quality of life is the central concern in counseling and treating a patient with vestibular schwannoma. Preservation of neuronal function is essential and the management options – watchful waiting, microsurgery and stereotactic radiation – should be custom-tailored to the individual situation of the patient. Continuing interdisciplinary exchange is important to monitor treatment quality and to improve treatment results. Recently, several articles and reviews have been published on the topic of vestibular schwannoma. On the occasion of the 88th annual meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck surgery a special volume of the journal “HNO” will be printed. Hence this presentation has been designed to deviate from the traditional standard which commonly consists of a pure literature review. The current paper was conceptually woven around a series of interdisciplinary cases that outline examples for every stage of the disease that show characteristic results for management options to date. Systematic clinical decision pathways have been deduced from our experience and from results reported in the literature. These pathways are graphically outlined after

  17. Should we quit our jobs? Challenges, barriers and recommendations for interdisciplinary energy research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuitema, Geertje; Sintov, Nicole D.

    2017-01-01

    Many plea for a better integration of social sciences in energy research, which would imply more comprehensive interdisciplinary energy research. We argue that in order to achieve this, institutional barriers and research challenges need to be recognised and addressed. We identify six challenges and barriers, and provide recommendations for working towards solutions. We conclude that to engage in interdisciplinary research implies extra costs and fewer rewards for all researchers, particularly early and mid-career academics. We propose a new conceptualisation of practices and incentive structures among academic institutions, funding agencies, and publication outlets, and urge all energy researchers to join this debate. - Highlights: • Interdisciplinary energy research currently does not reach its full potential. • Social sciences are underutilised in energy research. • Barriers and challenges need to be addressed to stimulate interdisciplinary energy research. • High costs and small rewards for interdisciplinary (early and mid-career) researchers.

  18. Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity in health research, services, education and policy: 2. Promotors, barriers, and strategies of enhancement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Bernard C K; Pak, Anita W P

    2007-01-01

    Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams are increasingly encouraged in health research, services, education and policy. This paper is the second in a series. The first discussed the definitions, objectives, and evidence of effectiveness of multiple disciplinary teamwork. This paper continues to examine the promotors, barriers, and ways to enhance such teamwork. The paper is a literature review based on Google and MEDLINE (1982-2007) searches. "Multidisciplinarity", "interdisciplinarity", "transdisciplinarity" and "definition" were used as keywords to identify the pertinent literature. The promotors of teamwork success include: good selection of team members, good team leaders, maturity and flexibility of team members, personal commitment, physical proximity of team members, the Internet and email as a supporting platform, incentives, institutional support and changes in the workplace, a common goal and shared vision, clarity and rotation of roles, communication, and constructive comments among team members. The barriers, in general, reflect the situation in which the promotors are lacking. They include: poor selection of the disciplines and team members, poor process of team functioning, lack of proper measures to evaluate success of interdisciplinary work, lack of guidelines for multiple authorship in research publications, language problems, insufficient time or funding for the project, institutional constraints, discipline conflicts, team conflicts, lack of communication between disciplines, and unequal power among disciplines. Not every health project needs to involve multiple disciplines. Several questions can help in deciding whether a multiple disciplinary approach is required. If multiple disciplinarity is called for, eight strategies to enhance multiple disciplinary teamwork are proposed. They can be summarised in the acronym TEAMWORK - Team, Enthusiasm, Accessibility, Motivation, Workplace, Objectives, Role, Kinship.

  19. Cohesion in Online Student Teams versus Traditional Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, David E.

    2016-01-01

    Researchers have found that the electronic methods in use for online team communication today increase communication quality in project-based work situations. Because communication quality is known to influence group cohesion, the present research examined whether online student project teams are more cohesive than traditional teams. We tested…

  20. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Special Operations Forces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    is the result of a research projec tproviding international interdisciplinary perspectives on special operations forces, based on three main themes: - Leading and organizing for strategic effect - Professional entrepreneurship and self-perceptions in special operations forces - Political and popular perceptions...