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IRIS Research Showcase – Transcending Interdisciplinary Research Barriers

Published February 7, 2012

by iris_author

On Thursday, March 8, 2012, the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) will be hosting their annual research showcase event. This year's theme is Transcending Interdisciplinary Research Barriers: Best Practices for Mobilizing Knowledge.IRIS-Showcase-AAAS

Date: March 8th, 2012 - 10:30 - 12:30 PM
Location: Room 1002 Osgoode Hall Law School
For those of you who cannot attend this event in person, you can join us electronically at http://connect.yorku.ca/showcase/

Wicked problems, such as climate change and poverty, are highly complex, defying traditional problem-solving approaches. How key are electronic communications for providing solutions to these problems by building the global knowledge society and generating new kinds of knowledge? The power of interdisciplinary approaches as facilitated by global communication networks are widely touted by all universities and colleges today. Yet their authenticity and effectiveness are seldom examined critically, except perhaps by those who have trodden the thorny path of interdisciplinary academic collaboration, seeking transdisciplinary and novel outcomes and solutions. A common experience is that even with today's awesome communication technologies, among academics, there are barriers of language and culture. Transcending these barriers remains an ongoing challenge for effective team science, because of the high transaction costs of interdisciplinary interactions, compared with discipline-centric research, in a familiar setting. This session features speakers from the natural and social sciences who have sought to move out of their comfort zones: their labs, field sites, and libraries. The collective experiences of highly diverse, interdisciplinary academic teams that have tackled wicked problems, identifying best practices for interdisciplinary team science, and how global communication technologies have been used in mobilizing science into sound policy solutions will be explored.

Moderator:
Andrew Tanentzap
 
 
Speakers:
 

Gabrielle Slowey, Political Science

Oil and Gas Development: Dealing with a Necessary Evil
Results from the International Polar Year GAPS Project (Gas, Arctic Peoples and Security) comparing research from Canada, Norway, and Russia with that from the USA, about the local impacts of oil and gas development will be presented. Together with Simona Perry (Dickinson College, PA), Gabrielle Slowey (York University) and Andrew Tanentzap (Landcare New Zealand), Hoogensen asks if a Human Security Framework can effectively mobilize academic research in the natural and social sciences into policy. Download Gabrielle Slowey's presentation.

Dawn R. Bazely, Biology

Managing Northward-Bound Species: Which Will Become Invasive?
Along with habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species are recognized as a major threat to biodiversity. Research examining the ecological impacts of invasive non-indigenous species has increased hugely, yet managing invasive species remains problematic due to conflicting societal values. Additionally, determining the impacts of invasives under climate warming scenarios is even more complex. Co-authors are Norm Yan and Andrea Smith (York University) and Stephen Murphy (Waterloo University). Download Dawn Bazely's presentation.

Nina Hewitt, Geography

The Various Dilemmas of Assisted Migration for Slow-Moving Species
Ecologists recognize that many species will not migrate rapidly enough to keep up with shifting ecosystem conditions due to climate change. Assisted migration was proposed several decades ago as a strategy to help maintain populations of slow-moving species. However, many scientists see assisted migration as problematic, largely because its potential to preserve species stands in direct tension with its potential to produce invasion by the focal species, thereby threatening the recipient ecosystem. Scholarly debate on this topic has intensified during the last three years and threatens to produce a stalemate in policy and action on the issue. We take stock of the academic literature on this topic and identify possible avenues toward consensus in what might otherwise become an intractable ethical and policy problem. We tease apart the arguments in the debate, distinguishing among the direct risks and benefits to species, ecosystems and society on the one hand, and other arguments regarding scientific justification, evidence-base and feasibility on the other.  We present a conceptual framework to help scientists and policy makers find common ground and work towards case- and context-specific solutions. Download Nina Hewitt's presentation.
 

Steve Tufts, Geography

What Will Work in a Warming World Look Like?
Adapting to and mitigating climate change require major societal shifts, but what will everyday jobs look like? This presentation, from members of the interdisciplinary research team of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Community-University Research Alliance project, Work in a Warming World, explores this question. Co-authors include, Warren Mabee (Queen’s University) and Stepan Wood and Irene Henriques (York University). Download Steve Tufts' presentation.
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These talks were originally presented during this year's American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting held in Vancouver on February 16-20.

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