Inter- and transdisciplinary university: A systems approach to education and innovation

In response to various pressures for change arising from the present situation, the university will have to adopt a new purpose which may be recognized as a means of increasing the capability of society for continuous self-renewal. With this new purpose in mind, the structure of the university will be determined by the concept of an integral education/innovation system for which four principal levels are considered: empirical, pragmatic, normative and purposive levels. From multi-, pluri-, and crossdisciplinary approaches, all pertaining to one systems level only, the university is expected to develop increasingly interdisciplinary approaches, linking two systems levels and coordinating the activities at the lower level from the higher level through common axiomatics. Ultimately, the entire education/innovation system may become coordinated as a multilevel multigoal hierarchical system through a transdisciplinary approach, implying generalized axiomatics and mutual enhancement of disciplinary epistemology. Current university approaches to develop interdisciplinary links between the pragmatic and normative systems levels are discussed. Finally, a transdisciplinary structure for the university is briefly outlined; its main elements are three types of organizational units-systems design laboratories, function-oriented departments, and discipline-oriented departments-which focus on the interdisciplinary coordination between the three pairs of levels in the education/innovation system, i.e., on method and organization rather than on accumulated knowledge. An important role for policy sciences is seen in the linkage between the top pair of systems levels.

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Résumé Pour répondre aux sollicitations de son environnement actuel, l'Université devra se donner de nouveaux objectifs en partant du principe qu'il lui faut procurer à la société les moyens d'un renouvellement continu. On peut déduire la structure de l'Université, qui est ainsi exigée, de l'idée d'une liaison intime entre éducation et innovation: aux quatre niveaux à considérer, niveau empirique, niveau pragmatique, niveau des normes et niveau des stratégies. On attend de l'Université que, dépassant les activités multi- ou pluridisciplinaires qui ne se situent qu'à un niveau du système, elle réussisse à élaborer une méthodologie interdisciplinaire lui permettant de relier les différents niveaux et de coordonner d'un bout à l'autre du système les activités conformément à une logique unifiée. En somme, le système d'éducation et d'innovation considéré dans son ensemble pourrait tendre vers le modèle d'un système intégrant hiérarchiquement des niveaux et des objectifs multiples, grâce à une méthodologie transdisciplinaire impliquant le développement d'une logique généralisée et des échanges réciproques entre l'épistémologie des différentes disciplines. L'article soumet à la discussion les méthodes dont usent aujourd'hui les universités pour établir des liens d'interdisciplinarité entre le niveau pragmatique et le niveau des normes. En conclusion, est présentée une brève esquisse de ce que pourrait être la structure transdisciplinaire de l'Université: trois types d'unités s'y trouvent distingués dans l'organisation, les laboratoires d'élaboration des projets, les départements tournés vers la satisfaction d'une fonction et les départements tournés vers le travail dans une discipline; l'accent y est mis sur la coordination interdisciplinaire dans les trois mises en relation unissant deux à deux chacun des quatre niveaux du système d'éducation et d'innovation, autrement dit, sur la méthode et l'organisation, plus que sur l'accumulation de la connaissance. On fait voir le rôle important qui est réservé aux sciences de la décision dans la mise en relation des deux niveaux supérieurs du système.

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While developing some of the concepts reported in this paper, Dr. Jantsch held a visiting appointment as Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article is reprinted fromPolicy Sciences (American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc.) 1 (1970) 403–428.     

“When you're down,stay down”: A lesson for all competitive alpine skiers supported by an ACL rupture measured in vivo

BackgroundDuring an experiment, a ski racer equipped with various measurement devices suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in his right knee. The aim of this study was to describe the underlying injury mechanism from a functional perspective.MethodsEight giant slalom turns (i.e., 4 left turns), followed by 1 left turn at which the ACL injury occurred, were recorded by 2 video cameras, electromyography of 4 relevant muscle groups, inertial measurement units to measure knee and hip angles, and pressure insoles to determine ground reaction forces.ResultsDue to a loss of balance, the ski racer began to slide sideways at the apex of a left turn. During sliding, his right (outside) leg was actively abducted upward without touching the ground. The ski racer then attempted to stand up again by dropping his leg back towards the snow surface. The end of this dropping was accompanied by a decrease in electromyographic activity in the knee stabilizing muscles. Once the inside edge of the outer ski caught the snow surface, a rapidly increasing peak force, knee flexion, and an aggressive sudden activation of the vastus medialis muscle were observed, while biceps femoris and rectus femoris further decreased their activation levels. This likely resulted in excessive anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur, causing damage to the ACL.ConclusionOur example emphasizes that ski racers should not get up until they stop sliding. Remember: “When you''re down, stay down.”     

Challenges of talent development in alpine ski racing: a narrative review

Alpine ski racing is one of the most popular sports in many countries; nevertheless, selection disadvantages and severe injuries result in high dropout rates. In this review we summarize existing knowledge about the specific challenges associated with selection bias and injuries, and their effects on talent development in ski racing.

The relative age effect (RAE) appears in all age categories of national Austrian and international alpine ski racing. Relatively younger athletes seem to only have a chance for selection if they are early maturing. Talent selection processes should consider both the biological maturity status as well as the relative age; additionally, a competition system based on a rotating cut-off date might contribute to a reduction of RAE. Youth and adolescent ski racers report lower injury rates compared to World Cup athletes. The knee was the most affected body part in relation to traumatic injuries. The most frequently reported overuse injuries were knee pain (youth) and low back pain (adolescent level). Athlete-related modifiable risk factors were core strength, neuromuscular control, leg extension strength and limb asymmetries. Based on these findings, prevention measures should be expanded to contribute to long-term injury prevention. In future research more multi-disciplinary, longitudinal studies should be performed.     

Sweet sixteen ... Adolescents’ problems and the peer group as source of support

This survey reports on the coping process of adolescents with three relational problems, two personal problems, and two socio-institutional problems. Overall, 770 Italian adolescent between 14 and 20 years took part. They responded to a questionnaire consisting of four parts: a part querying demographic data, one on the peer group the adolescents join, the third was on life values, and in the final part seven developmental tasks were presented and aspects of the coping process were investigated. The study shows, first, that adolescents who strongly identify with their peers also feel close to their family, their best friend, and their school mates. Thus, identification with the peers does not lead to isolation from the family. Second, the study shows that identification with social entities, in part, is due to the similarity of value the adolescent and the respective entities have. The more similar life values are the more strongly the adolescents identify with the peers, the family, the best friend, or the school mates. Third, effective coping with developmental tasks was found to be dependent on the degree of identification with the peers. The type of group that adolescents join, be it a formal group or an informal street group, had no significant effect on the coping process. Highly identified adolescents more often relied on their family, peers, and other social entities for emotional and instrumental support, and trace more advantages out of a developmental problem for their future.     

Akute periphere Isch?mie

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Selected bibliographies on research into higher education: An international inventory

This international collection of bibliographies on higher education represents an attempt to fill a bibliographic vacuum in higher education and is intended as a basic source for everyone concerned with research into higher education. Three hundred bibliographies from all over the world, mainly published during the last twenty years, are catalogued in alphabetical order.     

Grade and speed have greater influence on HR and RPE than ability,sex, and age in alpine skiing

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of ski slope grade, skiing speed, skiing ability, sex, and age on HR, RPE, and energy expenditure responses during recreational alpine skiing. Thirty-eight participants were divided by age, sex, and skiing ability. Instructor- and self-paced skiing conditions were conducted on 10° and 19.8° slopes. Skiing HR was recorded, RPE collected at the end of each run, and energy expenditure calculated. The pertinent results of this study demonstrate that the interactions of grade × speed, speed × age, and grade × age and the main effects of speed and grade significantly influenced %HRmax, mean HR, RPE, and energy expenditure during skiing. When %HRmax is taken into account, the older skiers skied at a greater relative intensity than the young skiers. The sex, age, and skiing ability main effects did not have a significant influence on mean HR, RPE, and energy expenditure. These data demonstrates that increased speed and grade results in increased physiological stress. Using mean, HR data may not be the best option for assessing physiological stress during exercise in the older athlete as it does not account for the influence of the ageing process.