Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: Music Therapists’ Work with Speech-Language Pathologists

Adolescents on the autism spectrum may experience challenges with multiple domains of communication that impact their quality of life. Both music therapists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) implement activities to address these challenges. Empirical evidence suggests that incorporating music into treatment can be an effective way to improve communication. The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions for music therapists assisting adolescents on the autism spectrum to improve their communication skills and ways to collaborate with SLPs in doing so. In this paper, we discuss interprofessional collaborative models (e.g., interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary) and competencies (e.g., coordination, adaptability), as well as music-based clinical experiences that appeal to adolescents, and target improvement of communication skills for learners with complex communication needs.

Disrupting the Systems: Opportunities to Enhance Methodological Approaches to Address Socio-Structural Determinants of HIV and End the Epidemic Through Effective Community Engagement

A world without HIV is only possible by addressing the socio-structural determinants of health. Our understanding of socio-structural determinants is constantly changing, and parallel changes must occur with the methodologies used to explain the drivers of the HIV epidemic. We argue for the need to engage communities in the planning, implementation, and dissemination of research on the socio-structural determinants of HIV. Community engagement should cross-cut various types of research including rigorous measurement development of socio-structural determinants and novel analytic techniques to model their role in the trajectory of the epidemic and the impact of interventions. Considering the role of place, we recommend collaboration between scientists and communities in the interpretation of results from studies that map HIV-related behaviors and movement. As we collectively delve into historically oppressive systems with colonial antecedents, we must be ready to challenge these systems and replace them with collaborative models. The success of research-driven HIV policy and programming will best be evaluated with methodologies derived from the insights of the very individuals that these policies and programs aim to serve.

Library-faculty collaboration using Wikipedia for learning and civic engagement

Wikipedia uses collaborative models of content creation and fosters a culture of collaboration. Understanding how it works and mastering editing skills often calls for partnerships between different members of the university community. Library-faculty Wikipedia-centered collaboration can open new opportunities to develop information and media literacy, student agency, and civic participation. This chapter shares faculty and librarians’ experience with using Wikipedia as a teaching tool as part of an initial pilot project aimed at using open educational resources. The library-faculty team from the American University of Central Asia worked together to use Wikipedia as a tool for collaborative learning and civic participation among students in sociology classes.

Students as scientists’ co-pilots at the onset of technology transfer: a two-way learning process

To provide further knowledge and technology transfer to society, universities are exploring new collaborative models. These new models are regarded as promising alternatives to the patent-centric linear model. However, their implementation requires revising the roles of the actors in the technology transfer process and their relationships. While collaborative models could indeed be an attractive option for universities, there is limited evidence on how these collaboration processes could be effectively introduced. We use a longitudinal embedded multiple case study to explore the contribution of knowledge interactions between scientists and students in the preliminary steps of the technology transfer process. We investigate the learning dynamics between the focal actor, i.e., the scientist, and the students in a university setting to decipher how the introduction of such collaborative processes can contribute to knowledge and technology transfer. Our results suggest that students enrolled in an educational program can contribute to the scientist’s interest and engagement in technology transfer. However, we find out that the extent of the students’ contribution depends on the shared consensus over the technology function and the openness of the scientist to reconsider the technology’s meaning. We contribute to the ongoing exploration of alternative models for technology transfer and the identification of additional roles that students can take in entrepreneurial university ecosystems.

Contextual Communicative Competence in Multinational Infrastructure Projects

Communication is dynamic, social, challenging, and a key quality factor for construction projects. This is especially the case in multinational and inter-organizational infrastructure projects where factors like culture and language differ among the involved actors. As infrastructure projects usually extend over longer periods of time, collaborative relationships need to be established in which the actors can develop, for example, mutual understanding, learning, and efficient working routines. By building on empirical data from contemporary infrastructure projects, we explore how international contractors and a large public client communicate in multinational infrastructure projects (i.e., what the challenges are and what competences are needed). The analysis is based on the linguistic framework of communicative competence, and we contribute to the development of collaborative models in construction project management by suggesting the concept of contextual communicative competence.

Blended Preparation in Early Childhood and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education: Reflecting on the Past, Paving a Path Forward

The movement toward collaborative models of preservice early childhood preparation, those that attempt to “blend” preparation for both early childhood education (ECE) and early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE), is entering its fourth decade. This position paper presents a historical analysis of the blended movement through a conceptual framework based on a social foundations perspective that highlights how sociopolitical and foundational influences have affected blended preparation over time. Although blended models were first explored as a means to reconceptualize early childhood preservice preparation for inclusion, the recommendations shared in this article center on the need to reconceptualize blended preparation itself. A call to action is proposed for the development of a robust research agenda and the strategic coordination of advocacy to ensure current and future blended preparation meets the needs of the increasingly diverse contexts, roles, and responsibilities of ECE and EI/ECSE practitioners.

Validating collaborative practices for urban circular economy: the design perspective

The article presents the results of the research activity carried out within the framework of the European project H2020 REFLOW, which aims to build an integrated approach for the development of innovative participatory practices dedicated to urban circular metabolisms. As a result of the survey conducted on the application of collaborative models for the urban circular economy, it emerged that there is no shared operational strategy that can be adopted for the circular development of complex systems, such as cities. Based on this premise, this paper offers a new perspective on how to build and validate a transitional pathway for the development of circular cities through the adoption of a design-oriented approach that orchestrates different resources and capacities.