International and interdisciplinary approach to curriculum : the Melbourne model

‘The Melbourne Model’ is a new approach to university curriculum that has been adopted recently by the University of Melbourne, Australia. It incorporates elements of the 3+2+3 or three cycle structure identified in the Bologna Process, and of the objectives of ‘liberal education’ evident in undergraduate education in North America. The Melbourne curriculum model is internationally aligned, while simultaneously responsive to the particular context of Australian higher education policy. The new curriculum also incorporates interdisciplinarity of several variants in order that all students are exposed to and learn about alternative knowledge domains, methods of investigation and enquiry, and different ways of knowing. Interdisciplinary study in the Melbourne Model is ensured through a requirement that students study one quarter of their subjects outside their core curriculum, a requirement known as ‘breadth’. This paper examines two aspects of the Melbourne Model curriculum: its international nature and interdisciplinary character.

Research methods, evidence and public health

In theory, our research questions should drive our choice of method. In practice, we know this is not always the case. At various stages of the research process different factors may apply to restrict the choice of research method. These filters might include a series of inter-related factors such as the political context of the research, the disciplinary affiliation of the researchers, the research setting and peer-review. We suggest that as researchers conduct research and encounter the various filters they come to know the methods that are more likely to survive the filtering process. In future projects they may favour these methods. Public health problems and research questions may increasingly be framed in the terms that can be addressed by a restricted array of methods. Innovative proposals - where new methods are applied to old problems, old methods to new areas of inquiry and high-quality interdisciplinary research - may be unlikely to survive the processes of filtering. This may skew the public health knowledge base, limiting public health action. We argue that we must begin to investigate the process of research. We need to document how and why particular methods are chosen to investigate particular sets of public health problems. This will help us understand how we know what we know in public health and help us plan how we may more appropriately draw upon a range of research methods.

If the Tasmanian Tiger were found, what should we do? An interdisciplinary guide to endangered species recovery

The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), is a wolf-like carnivorous marsupial last reported in the 1930s in Tasmania, an island state of Australia. Although the species is likely extinct, sightings are reported annually. A fictional scenario is described in which a female thylacine with four pouched young is captured. This scenario is explored and an interdisciplinary approach to endangered species recovery is introduced. This approach is applicable to all endangered species recovery efforts and focuses on the principal dimensions of recovery: (1) orienting to the problem at hand and meeting it successfully; (2) understanding the recovery effort itself, its full context, and the required management (decision) process; (3) using a broad range of methods; and (4) integrating research results into a comprehensive recovery process (picture of the whole). By using this interdisciplinary approach, recovery can be systematically understood, best managed, and restoration prospects enhanced.

Construction supply chain modeling : a research review and interdisciplinary research agenda

Supply chain management has emerged as a popular and useful concept in the construction industry and research community since the mid 1990s. Research in construction supply chain management draws from a broad range of disciplines, notably: (1) Industrial organization economics to better understand market structure and forces and their effect on firm and supply chain behavior and (2) Analytic modeling of supply chains to improve supply chain performance along metrics such as speed, cost, reliability, quality, etc. Both industrial organization and analytic modeling provide useful but ultimately incomplete perspectives and prescriptions for construction supply chain management. As such, this paper proposes development of an interdisciplinary research agenda that draws from both fields. Towards that agenda, a review of research is presented to introduce the main ideas, relevant literature, and theory and methods in each of the two areas. From these independent reviews, applications that could benefit from a combined perspective are identified and used as a basis for development of an interdisciplinary research agenda.

Construction supply chain management : a research review and interdisciplinary research agenda

Supply chain management has emerged as a popular and useful concept in the construction industry and research community since the mid 1990s. Research in construction supply chain management draws from a broad range of disciplines, notably: (1) industrial organization economics to better understand market structure and forces and their effect on firm and supply chain behavior and (2) Analytic modeling of supply chains to improve supply chain performance along metrics such as speed, cost, reliability, quality, etc. Both industrial organization and analytic modeling provide useful but ultimately incomplete perspectives and prescriptions for construction supply chain management. As such, this paper proposes development of an interdisciplinary research agenda that draws from both fields. Towards that agenda, a review of research is presented to introduce the main ideas, relevant literature, and theory and methods in each of the two areas. From these independent reviews, applications that could benefit from a combined perspective are identified and used as a basis for development of an interdisciplinary research agenda.

Construction supply chain modeling : a research review and interdisciplinary research agenda

Supply chain management has emerged as a popular and useful concept in the construction industry and research community since the mid 1990s. Research in construction supply chain management draws from a broad range of disciplines, notably: (1) industrial organization economics to better understand market structure and forces and their effect on firm and supply chain behavior and (2) Analytic modeling of supply chains to improve supply chain performance along metrics such as speed, cost, reliability, quality, etc. Both industrial organization and analytic modeling provide useful but
ultimately incomplete perspectives and prescriptions for construction supply chain management. As such, this paper proposes development of an interdisciplinary research agenda that draws from both fields. Towards that agenda, a review of research is presented to introduce the main ideas, relevant literature, and theory and methods in each of the two areas. From these independent reviews, applications that could benefit from a combined perspective are identified and used as a basis for development of an
interdisciplinary research agenda.

Constructing the conditions of and environments for interdisciplinary research on perception and action

This paper suggests ways in which art processes may contribute to the interdisciplinary study of perception and action and the relationships between body, person, and environment. Artists-turned-architects Arakawa and Gins serve as the most advanced example of an interdisciplinary research project in terms of coordinating material processes with contemporary findings, methods, and orientations from across the arts, humanities, and hard and soft sciences. In the first section of the paper, I discuss Arakawa and Gins's Reversible Destiny Lofts at Mitaka as an example of their procedural approach to long-term sustainable experimental environments. In the second section, the tactics through which Arakawa and Gins have repositioned art for the nonart purposes and common research goals are posited. Finally, I briefly outline the disciplinary positions and research values needed in order to move toward a more inclusive and interdisciplinary research practice.

Mixed methods evaluation research for a mental health screening and referral clinical pathway

Rationale: This study is an exemplar of mixed method evaluation research for development of a clinical pathway.

Aim: To develop and evaluate an evidence-based, feasible mental health screening and referral clinical pathway for Department of Veterans’ Affairs-funded community nursing care of war veterans and war widows in the Australian context.

Methods: Mixed methods were applied to formulate and clinically evaluate an appropriate pathway. The pathway was applied at urban and rural sites for the nursing care of 97 war veteran and war widow clients. Evaluative data were collected from clients, their informal carers, community nurses, and general practitioners. Chart auditing and pre-post measures were undertaken. Collaboration occurred with an interdisciplinary design team.

Results: The final modified six-page pathway includes use of validated screening tools (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10]) and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, appropriate referral information, directions for support and health-promoting education, and evidence-based guidelines. Implications for Practice: The clinical pathway is a useful, tested, evidence-based guide for generalist community nurses to identify and suitably respond to common mental healthcare needs of war veterans and war widows. The pathway provides outcomes acceptable to clients and their carers, nurses and doctors.

Conclusions: This study provides an evaluated clinical pathway for generalist community nurses to screen for mental health difficulties, make appropriate referrals as required and to support war veteran and war widow clients. However, the study also shows how research can be used to develop and evaluate
practical, evidence-based clinical pathways.

Creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centred care: how nurses, doctors, pharmacists and patients use communication strategies when managing medications in an acute hospital setting.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This paper examines the communication strategies that nurses, doctors, pharmacists and patients use when managing medications. BACKGROUND: Patient-centred medication management is best accomplished through interdisciplinary practice. Effective communication about managing medications between clinicians and patients has a direct influence on patient outcomes. There is a lack of research that adopts a multidisciplinary approach and involves critical in-depth analysis of medication interactions among nurses, doctors, pharmacists and patients. DESIGN: A critical ethnographic approach with video reflexivity was adopted to capture communication strategies during medication activities in two general medical wards of an acute care hospital in Melbourne, Australia. METHODS: A mixed ethnographic approach combining participant observations, field interviews, video recordings and video reflexive focus groups and interviews was employed. Seventy-six nurses, 31 doctors, 1 pharmacist and 27 patients gave written consent to participate in the study. Data analysis was informed by Fairclough's critical discourse analytic framework. FINDINGS: Clinicians' use of communication strategies was demonstrated in their interpersonal, authoritative and instructive talk with patients. Doctors adopted the language discourse of normalisation to standardise patients' illness experiences. Nurses and pharmacists employed the language discourses of preparedness and scrutiny to ensure that patient safety was maintained. Patients took up the discourse of politeness to raise medication concerns and question treatment decisions made by doctors, in their attempts to challenge decision-making about their health care treatment. In addition, the video method revealed clinicians' extensive use of body language in communication processes for medication management. CONCLUSIONS: The use of communication strategies by nurses, doctors, pharmacists and patients created opportunities for improved interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centred medication management in an acute hospital setting. Language discourses shaped and were shaped by complex power relations between patients and clinicians and among clinicians themselves. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Clinicians need to be encouraged to have regular conversations to talk about and challenge each other's practices. More emphasis should be placed on ensuring that patients are given opportunities to voice their concerns about how their medications are managed.