Transcript jt_ba - University of Warwick

The Whys and Hows of Interdisciplinary
Research:
Collaboration between Social and Natural
Scientists
Joyce Tait,
Director,
ESRC Innogen Centre
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Types of interdisciplinary research
Discipline focused – Mode 1
– Often longer-term collaborations;
helps disciplines to evolve, e.g. bioinformatics, ecological economics
Problem focused – Mode 2
- Shorter term interdisciplinary
collaborations directed to specific
real world problems
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Mode 1 Interdisciplinary Research
Multidisciplinary communications challenge
learning to do systems biology research
Muffy Calder
Department of Computing Science
University of Glasgow
Biochemical Pathway Simulator and Analyser
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Interdisciplinary Research
• Has … changed my life
• Previously …
– Concurrency and process algebra, automated reasoning, model checking and
induction, feature interaction analysis
• applications: telecommunications services, medical devices, protocols
• Now … still concurrent systems, but in a new context
– Dynamic behaviour of signalling pathways
• stochastic process algebra population dynamics
• differential equations
• model checking stochastic temporal properties
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Confidence curve
full of ideas
grant awarded
application
rock bottom
6 months
time
now
Not to scale!
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Mode 1 Examples
Systems Biology – DTI Beacon Projects
Synthetic Genomics
Disciplines:
Genomics, cell imaging, databases, machine
learning, computer modelling, toxicology,
computer engineering, computer
programming, chemistry, biochemistry,
physics, mathematics,
Joining ‘dry and hard’ with ‘wet and sticky’
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From Mode 1 to Mode 2
interdisciplinary research
Mode 1:
Knowledge comes from depth and
specialisation (or creation of new
specialisms); creating knowledge from
data
Mode 2:
Wisdom comes from breadth and
integration
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Funding
Institutional Structures
Research
Culture
Nature of The Subject
Trend To Large International Projects
Discouragement From
Colleagues
Real Life problems
More likely to be accepted
'Added Value'
Academic Success
mic
e
d
Aca
cc
Su
ess
Low Rating of
Publications
Discourage
Interdisciplinarity
Encourage
Interdisciplinarity
Institutional Structures
Funding
Difficult Projects To Run
Management Factors
Arduous Research
Special Knowledge / Equipment
Evaluation of Projects
Availablilty of Good Quality Collaborator
Difficult to Find Collaborators
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Other Factors
ESRC Survey of Interdisciplinarity
• No evidence of ESRC inhibition of inter-disciplinarity,
but also no active encouragement
• Role of Programme Director and individual researchers
in influencing degree of interdisciplinarity (note
PACCIT)
• Impact of user involvement was ambiguous –
researchers often had a better understanding of user
problems than users themselves
• More time and effort is needed for networking and
team-building in interdisciplinary projects, often
leading to a perception of poorer value for money
9
Challenges for individual researchers
•Difficult to develop a career based on
continuous interdisciplinary research
•Shifting peer group
•Finding high status outlets for
publications
•Managing publication overload
•Lack of institutional support
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Skills needs for individual researchers
•Understanding the languages, research methods
and cultures of different disciplines
•High tolerance of ambiguity – personality more
important than discipline base
•Willingness to learn from other disciplines
•Good communicator
•Open minded
•Able to absorb information and its implications
rapidly
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Skills needs for research managers
•interdisciplinary background
•respect for all disciplines
•good interpersonal and team building skills
•proactive in engaging with other partners
•not too ambitious in their own field
•interested in a wide range of subjects
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Environment for interdisciplinary academic
research – a vicious circle
Degree of
participation by
able researchers
+
Extent of
incentives
+
Institutional
Extent
support of
incentives
structures
Continuity of
participation
+
+
+
Development of
philosophical
foundations
+
Ability to assess
quality of outputs
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Environment for interdisciplinary academic research –
A virtuous circle?
Availability
of finance
RAE
Degree of
participation by
able researchers
-
+
+
Extent of
incentives
+
Institutional
support
structures
Continuity of
participation
+
+
+
Development of
philosophical
foundations
+
Ability to assess
quality of outputs
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So how do you do interdisciplinary
research?
•Three examples:
•DIID Foresight Infectious Diseases
Project
•Appropriate regulatory systems
•Regulation Innovation interactions
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Foresight
Infectious Diseases:
preparing for the future
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The role of risk analysis in the detection
and identification of infectious disease
Drawing on the best available evidence:
review and compare future risks from infectious
diseases using a common set of metrics;
identify the factors driving changes in risk;
assess how the size and nature of risks are
evolving and
indicate the range of plausible future patterns of
risk
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Basic risk model
Drivers
Climate change,
Socio-economic drivers
Outcomes
Pathways
Sources
Zoonoses
Natural
mutation
Available
niches
Soil
Airborne
Food-borne
Waterborne
Vectors
Direct contact
Waste disposal
Future diseases
and levels of
infection in:
People
Plants
Animals
Ecosystems
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Drivers: six broad headings
•
•
•
•
•
•
Legislation and systems of government
Technology and innovation
Conflict and law
Economic factors
Human activity and social pressures
Climate change
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Potential moderate and high risks influencing human disease risks, 2030, UK
4:6:1 Increased mean
temp
4:1:4 Poor
implementation of
international
legislation
4:1:5 Poor
biosecurity
legislation
4:1:1 Lack of
disease control
systems
4:6:2 Inc f requency
of heavy rainf all
4:6 Driver - climate
change
3:11 Increased
disease spread due
to sexual contact
3:2 Increased
air-borne route
4:1 Legislation and
systems of
government
Disease pathways
4:2 Driver technology and
innovation
4:2:4 Lack of
availability of new
vaccines
4:2:6 Emergence of
drug resistance
4:2:5 Increased
ability to engineer
diseases
(bioterrorism)
4:2:8 Lack of new
drugs
4:5:1 Dec
willingness to
change behaviour
4:4:2 Inc disparity
rich-poor
4:4:3 Inc trade,
transport, animals &
crops
4:4:7 Inc no of
disease susceptible
individuals
4:3 Driver conf lict and war
4:3:2 Inc movement
of people spreading
disease
4:5:6 Inc change in
sexual practices
3:9 Inc spread in
hospitals
4:4 Driver economic f actors
Disease outcomes
2:1 New pathogens
f rom natural genetic
change
Disease sources
2:2 Geographic
extension
2:6 Increased
pathogen resistance
(to microbicides)
4:5 Driver - human
activity and social
pressures
2:8 New diseases
f rom other species
reservoirs
2:3 New disease
vectors 8,2,2
2:5 Accidental
introductions of
pathogens
4:5:5 Increased
travel, tourism
&business
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Potential moderate and high risks influencing human disease risks, 2030, Africa
4:6:1 Increased mean
temp
4:6:3 Inc drought
4:6:2 Inc frequency
of heavy rainfall
3:11 Increased
disease spread due
to sexual contact
3:7 inc role of
food-borne route
3:2 Increased
air-borne route
4:1:4 Poor
implementation of
international
legislation
4:2:7 Lack of food
preservation and
decontam technol
4:2:2 Lack of
innovation in D&I
tech, new diseases
4:2:4 Lack of
availability of new
vaccines
4:2:6 Emergence of
drug resistance
4:1:7 Governemnt
failure to report
disease
4:2:1 Lack of
innovation in D&I
tech, existing
diseases
4:4:5 Reduced
quality of
sanitation, water
supply
4:4:6 Inc movement
of migrant workers
4:1:6 Poor
inter-institutional
cooperation
4:2:5 Increased
ability to engineer
diseases
(bioterrorism)
4:3:3 Damange to
infrastructure
4:3:4 Increased
bio-terrorism,
existing diseases
4:4:1 Decreased econ
prosperity
4:1:3 Poor
implementation of
national legislation
4:3:1 Loss of
effective D&I sysems
4:3:2 Inc movement
of people spreading
disease
4:5:1 Dec
willingness to
change behaviour
4:4:2 Inc disparity
rich-poor
4:4:3 Inc trade,
transport, animals &
crops
4:4:7 Inc no of
disease susceptible
individuals
4:1:2 Lack of D&M
systems
3:3 Increased
water-borne route
4:5:4 Malnutrition
affecting resistance
4:5:6 Inc change in
sexual practices
3:9 Inc spread in
hospitals
3:4 Increased
populations of
vectors
3:6 Increased spread
from waste disposal
3:5 Increased host
to host transmission
(density)
4:1 Legislation and
systems of
government
Disease outcomes
Disease pathways
4:2 Driver technology and
innovation
4:2:3 Lack of
innovation in ICT
4:2:8 Lack of new
drugs
4:4:4 Dec education
levels
4:1:5 Poor
biosecurity
legislation
4:1:1 Lack of
disease control
systems
4:6 Driver - climate
change
3:8 Inc spread thru
faecal contam
2:1 New pathogens
from natural genetic
change
4:3 Driver conflict and war
4:4 Driver economic factors
Disease sources
2:2 Geographic
extension
2:6 Increased
pathogen resistance
(to microbicides)
4:5 Driver - human
activity and social
pressures
2:8 New diseases
from other species
reservoirs
2:7 Decreased
immunocompetence
2:4 Failure of
resistance
(vaccines)
2:5 Accidental
introductions of
pathogens
4:5:5 Increased
travel, tourism
&business
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DISEASE PRIORITISATION
ALGORITHM
IDENTIFY
sources of risk,
especially changes in
sources
ASSESS sources:
high/moderate/low
risk?
If one or more
high risk
sources,
PROCEED
CONSIDER if any of
these high risk
sources accentuate
any related pathways
of risk
IDENTIFY
drivers of risk,
CONSIDER degree to which
disease lends itself to
DIM technology
ASSESS drivers:
high/moderate/low
risk?
If one or more
high risk driver,
PROCEED
CONSIDER if any of
these high risk
drivers accentuate any
related pathways of
risk
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Innogen framework for inter-disciplinary
integration
Policy makers and
government
Science and
industry innovation
communities
Public and
stakeholder groups
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Policy innovation interactions
Enabling vs constraining
Discriminating vs indiscriminate regulation
Path-breaking vs path dependent innovation;
Path breaking vs path dependent regulation
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What can social science and Mode 2
interdisciplinary research learn from
Mode 1 in the natural sciences?
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