Lynita K. Newswander

Definitions of Interdisciplinary Research: Toward Graduate-Level Interdisciplinary Learning Outcomes

Combining the interdisciplinary studies (primarily humanities) literature with the content analysis of 129 successful National Science Foundation proposals written predominantly by science and engineering faculty members, the authors identify five categories of learning outcomes for interdisciplinary graduate education: disciplinary grounding, integration, teamwork, communication, and critical awareness. They identify important parallels between humanities-based descriptions of interdisciplinary integration and implicit graduate learning outcomes hinted at by engineering and science faculty who more frequently work in teams. Applying the lens of interdisciplinary studies (humanities) to science and engineering provides important depth and focus to engineering and science interdisciplinary learning outcomes, particularly in detailing integration processes.

Encouraging Cognitive Flexibility and Interdisciplinarity in Public Administration Programs

In response to the increased complexity that comes from a shift away from government and toward governance, public administration programs need to adjust their traditional curriculum and encourage interdisciplinarity perspectives in students. Given the proper mind-set, administrators can be better prepared to face the challenges of governance in a highly integrated, real-life setting by having the capacity to integrate competing viewpoints, which includes a reintroduction of interdisciplinary theories, methods, and best practices to the classroom. Cognitive flexibility—the ability for an individual to understand, appreciate, and make use of various epistemological approaches—offers a theoretical perspective to guide practical pedagogy and practice.

Using journal clubs to cultivate a community of practice at the graduate level

This paper discusses the benefits of a community of practice (CoP) approach to graduate education in engineering and examines guidelines for implementation. Community of practice theory and applications to practice are presented. Journal clubs, groups of faculty and students who meet regularly to discuss literature, are identified as one specific tool to improve engineering graduate education by building a community. Although the benefits of a journal club are implicit, few empirical studies validate these claims or tie them to theory. Therefore, we undertook an observational study of a long-standing journal club at a large university in the eastern USA. The findings demonstrate that principles of community found in the theory are present in the journal club. Thick description of specific interactions further defines the benefits of (1) knowledge accumulation, (2) problem solving and creativity, and (3) collaboration and peer-learning. Additionally, specific guidelines are given for the practical implementation of CoPs in engineering education.

Sustained Change: Institutionalizing Interdisciplinary Graduate Education

We employ Scott’s three pillars of institutions (regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive) to investigate how higher education organizations change to support interdisciplinary graduate education. Using document analysis and case study approaches, we illustrate how strategies which address both policies and cultural norms are most successful.

Special session - Applying theories of interdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching practice

Interdisciplinary research is becoming more widespread, and the ability to function on multidisciplinary teams is one of the ABET criteria each engineering student must meet before graduation. But how can faculty more easily bridge the gaps between disciplines for themselves and their students? Through a series of fun, interactive activities, participants will explore their own past encounters with other disciplines, learn about theories that describe interdisciplinary interactions, and begin to apply some of these principles to the design of an interdisciplinary learning activity. The accompanying interactive session description (paper) describes the motivation for this approach, one theory, and one example application to designing interdisciplinary learning activities.

Metis Using Wile and Wisdom to Inform Administrative Discretion

When seeking to accomplish public ends in a prudent manner, administrators are occasionally put in precarious situations that require a degree of metis. Metis is a distinct form of knowledge characterized by a mixture of wile and wisdom and is valuable because it can offer viable alternatives for solving complex problems in contingent situations. Individualized problems often require administrators to forego routinized recommendations and pursue a path to prudence through shrewd thinking and action. However, if metis is not properly contained, it runs the risk of sinking under the weight of unscrupulous motivation and of negatively affecting the legitimacy of administrative action. What is important is that a crafty ethos is bound within a proper sphere. This is why a bounded metis informed by a modified version of intermediate scrutiny may provide a meaningful guide that legitimizes the ability of administrators to handle ambiguous situations in a prudent manner.

“Born again“ governmentality: the faith-based initiative as administrative agent

A careful study demonstrates that President Bush has implemented the faith-based initiative as a method of governmentality, one which appears to be biased toward Christianity. This paper examines the definition of Foucaultʼs governmentality as it relates to the ever-expanding structure of contemporary American governance and justifies the categorization of faith-based initiatives as an example of pastoral power. Ultimately, these arguments characterize the current state of governmentality as “born-again,” and call specific attention to what appears to be a strong affiliation of “charitable choice” with evangelical Christianity. By relying on evangelical Christianity to govern, the pastoral-panopticon coupled with governmental resources has brought back an older method of regulation which is less obvious in its intrusion, and more dangerous for it.

The Recovery of Self-Interest Well Understood as a Regime Value What Is at Stake/Why This Is Important?

Understood in economic terms, interest elevates baser human impulses and degrades higher human potential as it motivates individuals to value material gains over moral ones. Because of this influence, it is difficult to consider interest as a regime value. But just because it is beleaguered does not mean it ought to be abandoned, especially because interest is placed front and center in the constitutional order. Providing a perspective of the merits of interest, Alexis de Tocqueville offers a conceptualization that allows this regime value to be relevant even for contemporary administrators operating in spaces of diffused public responsibility.

Renovating the Refounding

Manifestos are bold and declarative, often seeking to challenge contemporary norms. This was true of the Blacksburg Manifesto, which critically argued that the field of public administration was resting on an unstable foundation. Instead of merely serving the role of critic, the authors of the refounding project laid a new foundation that could house a critical aspect of government: administration. Despite their successes, their answers have become dated. The field has changed, requiring a renovation. In seeking to revise the Manifesto, we update the project to make it more relevant for 21st-century governing.