Bates

Module 5

It was fun to do the rst time around. Doing the same work again Priceless.


5.1 This question is, in effect, a trick question; the text makes it clear that it is never a one-or-the
other approach that works best to determine relevant disciplines, but a both/and. When
approaching a new issue, rst well-versed interdisciplinarian researchers use Szostaks
Categories of Phenomenon about the Human World to narrow the eld, and then apply the
multi-step process of applying the perspectival approach. The text book speaks to this very
issue on page 143-144 when Repko writes that:

In selecting disciplines form which to draw insight s and theories, the challenge is to decide
which disciplines contribute substantially to the problem or overall pattern of behavior one
wishes to study. The challenge can be met by rst identifying the phenomenon related to the
problem and then drawing on disciplinary perspectives in a general sense. The movement is
from potentially relevant disciplines to those that are most relevant.

With this being noted, the either/or question proposed in 5.1 is answered this way:

Both.

5.2
The cause of homelessness would be best investigated with a systems map coupled with a
theoretical map. The reason
this is the case is that
multiple issues are clearly at
work leading to the problem,
multiple issues that are both
interrelated and
interconnected. A causal
loop, however, would not
necessarily indicate concerns
that were correlated but not
causal. This would
necessitate a concept/
principle map to organize information [in such a way] between the parts of a problem,
describe it clearly and how it ts into other existing principles or theories. (151). This works
especially well with any problem that has many and varied suggested solutions (like
homelessness).

Why couples divorce is best investigated with a straightforward research map; the issue does
not appear to be deeply intertwined with a huge number of unrelated elds (although the results
of divorce are). Due to the limited number of potential disciplines and the close relationship
between the disciplines studying the problem, the key issue for the interdisciplinary researcher
will be identifying core/disciplinary assumptions, methodology, and ndings.

How to create a new business is the least interdisciplinary question and also according to
the qualiers discovered in chapter three not really an IDS research question at all. How to
create a new business is not open-ended enough or too complex to be addressed by multiple
disciplines, multiple elds have not contributed to the topic, it is not a problem, but rather a step-
by-step process that is locally-focused and environmentally driven. Can a coffee company be
protable while maintaining a commitment to supporting environmentally-friendly, responsible
growers and vendors?; Causes of businesses failing in their rst year; Life-satisfaction levels of
entrepreneurs related to their business practices; the impact of new businesses opening on
crime and poverty; these are all IDS in orientation. How-to questions? Rarely so.





5.3
The effects of a factory closing in a local community might best be pictured as:







5.4
Teens Dropping out of School (TDOS)
Discipline Perspectival Overarching Question
Psychology How does TDOS effect Child/Adolescent
Development; neurosis; substance abuse;
childhood pregnancy?
Sociology How is TDOS a reection of broader socio-
economic conditions?
Political Science What should be the role of the government in
preventing TDOS?
Law How is TDOS supported/ diminished by current
law? How effective are truancy laws? on the
parents?
Religious Studies How active are religious organizations in
preventing TDOS? How do parochial schools
address the problem?
Biology What are the long-term neurological development
issues related to TDOS? How are childrens brains
effected?
Economics How is the nancial stability of local/ state/ federal
communities effected by TDOS? national
competitiveness? Business development?
History What is the historical context that would help
explain TDOS?
Marxism How is TDOS a reection of a capitalistic society?
Would marxist socialism yield different societal
outcomes?
Philosophy/Ethics Would we force children who dont want to attend
school to do so? Is education a fundamental part
of our value structure (and why)?
Literature What literary gures have spoken to the problem?
Can we compare TDOS to Mark Twains
suggestion that education cures societal evil? Can
we compare the problem to Lewiss suggestion
that education (reading) is akin to spirituality?
Education How can teachers and administrators do more to
prevent TDOS? Can they? Should they?