IDR in NRES by LNC

I believe that all of our readings have pointed out some significant points about the necessity of IDR. I think the most prominent of these is the fact that there is no discipline that stands independently when being applied to a particular system or issue in the world. There are always outside factors that need to be considered to make these applications wholesome.

The hierarchy of disciplines is what causes majority of the problems within IDR. The lack of respect is for most disciplines is usually a consequence of ignorance about the totality of other research areas, methods and their applied significance. I guess it isn't easy to respect something that you dont understand in it's entirety, and it becomes even harder if you dont accept the fact that all things are linked in some type of complex web of relations (something we've also come across in majority of our readings).

Cross disciplinary studies are critical in my field (Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences). Firstly, they narrow down the disciplines so finely in the natural sciences that you cant help but to collaborate with others in your field. This is what I experienced as soon as I entered into the research field. My thesis work is a perfect example. My goal is to determine the relationship between soil quality and soybean health. I'll have to work with farmers, pathologists, microbiologists, soil scientists, and too much statistics to complete my research throughly. If anybody in my field tried to work without collaborating there would be an excessive amount of gaps in their research. Such gaps tend to make the research meaningless. Even when researchers in my field do collaborate, theres a million other factors that could be consider. So yes, I do think cross-disciplinary, IDR, is important in my field.

The largest limitations to the succes of these integrations are the people that are involved. Maybe I'm a bit optimistic about the situation, but I believe all things will fall into place if people just learn to open their minds to other approaches and at least accept the fact that all disciplines contribute some type of significance in society. They probably wouldn't exist on such a massive scale if they didn't.

That's all I have..

Ms. Clark