Survival is the driver for adaptation: safety engineering changed the future, security engineering prevented disasters and transition engineering navigates the pathway to the climate-safe future

Consider a simple idea describing the time, space and relationship scales of survival. Engineering has been going along with the current paradigm that growth in wealth and material consumption can continue through innovation and technology development. The proposed survival continuum concept represents a new way to think about sustainability that has clear implications for influencing engineering projects in all fields. The argument for survival as the driver for adaptation is developed sequentially, building on theory, definition, examples and history. The key idea is that sustainability will be effectively addressed by a new engineering discipline furthering development of the field of safety engineering with longer time scale, broader space scale and more complex relationship scale. The implication is that the past 100-year development of safety engineering can be leveraged to fast-track the inclusion of sustainability risk management throughout the entire engineering profession. The conclusion is that a new, interdisciplinary field, Transition Engineering, is emerging as the way our society will achieve sustainability-safety through rapid reduction in fossil fuel use and reduction in detrimental social and environmental impacts of industrialization.

Rethinking Mindfulness in Education within Two Frameworks: Articulating the “Threefold Model of Mindful Wisdom” with the “Theory of Mental Interference”

The existent trend of implementing mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) into public education came along with an increasing scientific record regarding the definitional construct of mindfulness, effects of various mindfulness-based interventions and their basic mechanisms. In terms of the rising definitional discourse in the interdisciplinary field of mindfulness, the “threefold model of mindful wisdom” (TMMW) was proposed. In the present paper’s quest of rethinking mindfulness in education, the relevance of the TMMW for didactics in modern Western educational systems (with special interest on the region of Germany) is examined, affirmed in several points and—with the aid of the “Theory of Mental Interference” (TMI)—methodically linked to individual learners’ needs. The TMI has been developed at the University of Hamburg since 1984 by Wagner and colleagues. This is compatible with the TMMW with regard to the concept of self and basic psychological mechanisms of “mindful exercises”. Its basic approach conceives the epistemic level of cognitive processes (1) to be unbiased by affect and (2) to be different from a level of mental interference, which in case of an arising default habitually interferes with the cognitive processes. Implications for further research, for modern educational systems and for MBPs in education are discussed.

The semiotic dimension of contemporary pragmatics

Contemporary Pragmatics has the semiotic features from the respects of disciplinary naming, the means of development, and theoretical source to research object and method. It is not only an independent linguistics and language science, but also an interdisciplinary field and paradigm. This paper is to explore the semiotic features and dimensions of Pragmatics for tracing back the origin and the theoretical resources from semiotic perspective, and to define its research scope and clarify the connotation of its conception. As Semiotics has a triad dimension of semiosis, one of which is the “pragmatic dimension”. Therefore, contemporary pragmatics includes at least three semiotic dimensions: scientific semiotics, linguistic semiotics and social semiotics. The semiotic analysis of Pragmatics could be conducive to clarify and fix the semiotic and philosophical origin, definition, disciplinary connotation and meaning of Pragmatics, which is also theoretically helpful for clarifying the concepts for the study of philosophical pragmatism, pragmaticism, semiotics, semantics and syntax. Key Words: Semiotic, Pragmatics, Pragmaticism

Social Movements and Social Policy: New Research Horizons

Across the globe, movements are confronting states and elites, challenging inequalities and mobilising for greater justice, a stronger voice, and progressive policy changes. In this article, I bridge the divide between Social Policy and the interdisciplinary field of Social Movement Studies. I examine how and why social movements, as actors in policy fields and social movement theories, matter for social policy. I argue that research on social movements as actors and engagement with social movement theories can open new horizons in Social Policy research by advancing our understanding of the politics of policy from a global perspective and strengthening our analytical and explanatory frameworks of agency, ideas, and power in the study of continuity and change of policy.

Science, Poetics, and Immersive Field Ecology

Complex global challenges and declining scientific literacy demand novel approaches to engaging students with science and the natural world. While evidence supports integrating creative and scientific modes of inquiry, these approaches are often separated in undergraduate education. We designed Ecology Through the Writer’s Lens (ETWL) to allow students to explore an ecosystem of critical importance, the tall grass prairie, through an interdisciplinary field experience. Co-taught by Biology and English professors and open to students of all majors, ETWL leverages classroom activities to prepare for and process the immersive field experience over the course of one semester. Field-based exercises include natural history observations, hypothesis building, experimental design, analysis of the literature, and creative/reflective writing. Learning was assessed through multiple assignments, including a final creative project that spanned diverse writing genres. Students met and exceeded expectations with respect to course objectives. Non-science majors learned how scientific knowledge is generated; science majors learned how creative approaches can open new pathways for exploration. Many students overcame fear of natural spaces. Several students independently engaged with tall grass prairie in post-course activities. We conclude that interdisciplinary approaches to field-based inquiry can generate transformative experiences, even when the immersive component is short-term and close to home. ETWL provides one model by which different modes of inquiry can be blended to enhance student appreciation of science, literature, and the environment.

Consult Your Heart

In this article, I explore the authority of the heart (qalb) as a potential locus for the individual moral knowledge and normativity in Islamic ethics. To do so, I discuss the two ḥadīths that ostensibly suggest one’s “self” as a source of moral judgment. These ḥadīths raise renewed questions about the sources of moral judgment, the nature of moral judgment and the ethical capacity of the “self” (conscience)—“consult your heart and consult your self …”; “righteousness is good conduct, and sin is that which rankles in your chest and which you would hate for other people to look upon.” There are rich debates in the Islamic tradition on the place and authority of the bāṭin (inward) in generating moral knowledge, which correspond to contemporary discourses in Western ethics on the place of conscience in the moral formation of the individual. In this article, I argue that although Islamic legal tradition as a discipline has focused on qualified external actions of individuals and the ijtihād (independent legal reasoning) of mujtahids (jurists), it did not ignore the authority of the bāṭin for moral assessment and the ijtihād of common individuals. I propose that the inward dimension has always occupied an important space within the interdisciplinary field of Islamic ethics but has been overshadowed by the overarching theological disputes between the Muʿtazilīs and Ashʿarīs over the sources of knowledge. The article starts by exploring the relevant aḥādīth (reports) and their interpretation in ḥadīth commentaries, followed by an analysis of discussions in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and Sufism.

System and Life-Course Perspectives on Capability to Work and Capability Through Work

The capability approach is relevant to gaining a conceptual understanding of individuals’ abilities and motivation to work and to explore the potential consequences that various working conditions have for people when they reach old age. Here, the capability concept is complemented with system theory to understand the multi-component key resources for capability to work among older workers, and also the conversion factors – capability through work – at individual, micro, meso, macro and chrono-levels. The theoretical approach is exemplified by studies from the interdisciplinary field of work sciences. The chapter describes central working-life conditions, conversion factors for crafting capability to work and examples of patterns of interactions between capability to work and capability through work. To support practical applications, we suggest important conversion factors and patterns of interaction between capability to work and capability through working-life resources. In sum, having a reasonable degree of control and influence (freedom of choice) at work and opportunities to make individual deals and adjustments that match one’s values, abilities, competence and experience are important for individual preference of a long working life. This requires an organisation that focuses on the value of work and promotes a general learning climate through broad participation.

Information Science in the Analytics of Healthcare Data

Information science is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the effective collection, storage, retrieval, and use of information for better decision making through related technologies. Today, healthcare organizations are looking for more efficient and sophisticated means of collecting, managing, analyzing data, and delivering medical information to physicians, clinicians, and nurses. The role of information science in the healthcare domain is to improve the quality of patient care, reduce operational cost, and make the entire internal management process well organized for better decision making. Through the application of technology, data analytics and information science practitioners help drive data-informed healthcare decisions. Hence, this chapter covers the techniques that are useful for data analytics and information management in healthcare such as data mining, machine learning, cloud computing, and data visualization.

Evaluation of equipment used in Ex atmospheres - interdisciplinary field

The risk of explosion becomes significant when, in the industrial field, flammable substances such as gases, vapours, mists, dusts, lint and fibres may be present. If they are present in sufficient quantity, the risk of explosion is imminent. On the other hand, the measure of shutting down the technical equipment, in the context of the presence of explosive atmospheres, is not an acceptable measure in all situations. As examples are the parts of installations that have safety functions: ventilation installations, installations for monitoring the concentration of flammable substances and other safety parameters. Explosion protection of technical equipment shall be evaluated and tested in order to validate it. The testing process of the technical equipment for the purpose of explosion protection certification is situated at the confluence of several engineering fields: mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc. The first part of the paper deals with the risk of explosion and presents the explosion protection of the technical equipment. The systematized presentation of the technical equipment tests is performed in the second part of the paper. Among the conclusions it is mentioned that although the field of tests in explosion atmospheres is an interdisciplinary one, its coherence is ensured by the specific standards.

MEDICAL HUMANITIES AND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING ETHICS IN MEDICAL GRADUATES

Medicine as a field is unique in the sense that the skill to relate to people weighs heavier on the doctor than the skill required to practise it. Medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field that considers issues of health in the context of history, philosophy, social studies, and anthropology among others, enabling students to change their practice from “looking” to “seeing” the patient as a whole. Unfortunately, current medical training is focused on academics with students left on their own to acquire communication and ancillary skills. In the core medical curriculum, a structured training in medical humanities remains lacking. Herein, we discuss the need, student’s perspectives, and the approach going forward in the inculcation of medical humanities in the medical training with a particular focus on medical ethics.