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The purpose of this study is to investigate librarians’ involvement in cross-disciplinary research and its implication in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) with the aid of five research questions. This is in a bid to integrate librarians into cross-disciplinary research, and a stride toward embedded librarianship.

Survey research design was used to gather data from an online group of library personnel with the aid of the questionnaire link posted on the platform. Palinkas et al. (2013) justified the use of purposeful sampling technique, while Yamane (1967) justified the use of 66 copies of questionnaire retrieved from the 1,562 population of action and inactive online members of the platform, which was subjected to descriptive statistics.

Librarians have high level of knowledge in possible aspects of cross-disciplinary research, which they have been previously involved in. Cross-disciplinary research is a means to achieving SDGs because it provides a basis for the understanding of SDGs and its actualization. Therefore, librarians being equipped to engage in cross-disciplinary research will contribute more to the global development agenda.

The study seems to exhibit a weak power of generalization due to the purposeful sampling technique adopted for the study, been an online survey and the ±10 per cent precision level in determining the sample size. This should be taken into consideration for further study.

The study has implication for librarians in Nigeria in achieving sustainable development through cross-disciplinary research. While librarians engaged in research within the ambit of library and information science, this study proposes the need for them to extend their research knowledge and skills into other disciplines for greater impact in line with achieving the global development agenda.

This study is a stride toward embedded librarianship which reflects the need for librarians to participate in cross-disciplinary research, learning new skills and taking up new roles in research process.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a unique pedagogical approach intended to address a need of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professions for graduates to work in cross-disciplinary collaborative teams. Addressing this industry need has been challenging for higher education programs in the past. The pedagogy evaluated in this study takes a unique approach to addressing the issue and the aim of the study is to capture the effectiveness of the approach.

This paper presents a qualitative research study evaluating perceptions of students and faculty participating in the cross-disciplinary course experience between architecture and construction. The study evaluated perceived vs received learning outcomes and perceived challenges of the cross-disciplinary course approach. Data were collected from open-ended interviews and observations of students and faculty participating in the course, as well as course artifacts.

Results of the study indicate alignment between perceived and received outcomes. Identified perceptions of challenges to the approach reflect many identified in previous studies. Areas for future study, and practice in collaborative education within the AEC disciplines are also suggested.

This research used a qualitative approach to evaluate perspectives of six students and two teachers in a specific pedagogical approach at one university. Given the small sample size and delimitation of one-course approach, findings from this study are not generalizable to a broader population. In addition to providing valuable data for future quantitative studies on a larger population, the study also provides pedagogical options for other schools to consider implementing and studying. The findings support previous research suggestions that collaborative approaches done early and often for longer durations are needed to address collaborative learning challenges.

The pedagogical approach evaluated in this study takes a unique approach to addressing a well-documented need in the AEC industry. Information included in this paper demonstrates an approach not yet documented in AEC higher education. Further, it provides a glimpse into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that contribute a body of knowledge for others in the discipline to build from. The findings suggest a more in-depth approach may help cross the negative student impressions developed in shorter in-frequent approaches, and begin to develop student understanding of the value and necessity of multi-disciplinary collaboration.

The purpose of this study is to examine how different disciplines and sectors approach creativity, and how to improve cross-domain collaboration efficiency. Creativity is one of the most important factors that hugely contributes to the growth of economy, and the key to the modern organisation’s survival. There are considerable differences between disciplines regarding how they approach creativity since each discipline has a methodology which is designed to develop new ideas. Specialisation of disciplines can create difficulties when they start to interact in collaborations. Differences between sectors (Industry, Academia, Arts and Public) in definition of creativity, creativity measurement, management and collaboration motivators can hinder cross-sector collaboration efficiency.

A questionnaire was distributed over the Internet, and statistical tests were performed to find differences between groups how they view various dimensions of creativity.

By analysing various disciplines, the study revealed significant differences between the reward system, the creativity measurement, the required management support and the way how various disciplines solve complex problems. Sector analysis revealed significant differences in creativity quantification, personal traits, sensitivity to idea ownership, composition and size of the ideal team, communication and incentives to increase creativity.

In this study, only Internet users were sampled, and the majority of respondent were from Europe working in academic environment.

Misalignment of forces between disciplines causes inefficient cross- and multi-disciplinary collaborations, while inter-sector misalignment results in unproductive inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary teamwork. Special emphasis has to be placed on external factor, creativity measurement and collaboration motivator adjustment that were the most misaligned across the analysed groups.

The study indicates that to increase collaboration, efficiency factors that were scrutinised in this project have to be aligned across disciplines and sectors.

How knowledge exchange (KE) can be used for the continuous assessment and improvement of collaborative performance of project-based organisations in construction is explored. Collaboration on construction projects must be facilitated by people alongside practice of continuous performance assessment and improvement. Currently available assessment tools fail to explicitly define appropriate behaviours and actions due to a poor understanding of what it means for people to collaborate. In contrast, it is established that KE is the focus of collaborative efforts on construction projects; therefore, as most knowledge resides with people, it represents their role in collaboration. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Through a phenomenological/interpretivist and qualitative methodology, how KE can be used for the continuous assessment and improvement of collaborative performance in project-based organisations in construction is explored. A single case study of a UK rail strategic alliance was adopted and six semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed through a thematic analysis.

An assessment tool is proposed based on a set of 20 characteristics of KE, divided into seven categories and linked to indicators of collaboration. The tool can be applied to highly collaborative projects where BIM and Lean are implemented, and project participants are collocated. By measuring their performance against the set criteria, project teams can assess which of their behaviours and actions are inappropriate, and focus their efforts on correcting them.

Defining the abstract indicators traditionally used to assess collaboration in terms of characteristics pertinent to day-to-day communication amongst participants on collaborative projects to facilitate the continuous assessment and improvement of collaborative performance.

The chapter studies the flow experience among academicians and the determinants of flow initiation and development. The academicians’ studied, have both research and teaching duties. The data for the study is drawn from 12 interviews conducted with academicians in India, with science, social science, and statistics as their fields of study. The study finds that different psychological needs can lead to flow experiences. It is proposed that the relationship between flow and psychological needs is influenced by personality traits (openness to experience and conscientiousness), which are reflected in day-day behavior (spontaneity and structuring). Interaction between humans (either students or collaborators) induced and strengthened flow-like feelings and emotional well-being, subject to certain conditions. Problem solving was found to be the key determinant of flow. Overall flow was found to be higher among research-oriented people working in science.

This paper offers design cybernetics as a theoretical common ground to bridge diverging approaches to design as they frequently occur in collaborative design projects. Focusing on the education of architects and structural engineers in China, the paper examines how compatible approaches to design can be established in both disciplines.

The paper analyses relevant literature as well as observations from Chinese practice and academia. Design cybernetics is introduced and examined as a basis for establishing shared narratives to support cross-disciplinary collaborations involving architects and structural engineers.

Design cybernetics offers a body of vocabulary and a rich resource of strategies to address applied designing across design-oriented disciplines such as architecture and science-based disciplines such as structural engineering. The meta perspective of design cybernetics also provides a basis for the implementation of pedagogy supporting cross-disciplinary collaboration in applied design.

The scope of the paper is limited to the examination of the theoretical framing as well as the implementation of pedagogy in the cultural and geographical context of China.

The paper outlines several design cybernetic strategies for pedagogy in support of cross-disciplinary collaborative design processes and illustrates their implementation in applied design education.

Addressing a significant and persistent gap between the two disciplines of architecture and structural engineering in the context of Chinese building practice, this paper examines the particularities of this context and presents an educational approach to support cross-disciplinary collaboration that has value in and beyond the context of China.

Mental illness presents a huge individual, societal and economic challenges, currently accounting for 20% of the worldwide burden of disease. There is a gap between the need for and access to services. Digital technology has been proven effective in e-mental health for preventing and treating mental health problems. However, there is a need for cross-disciplinary efforts to increase the impact of e-mental health services. This paper aims to report key challenges and possible solutions for cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial research teams within the domain of e-mental health.

The key challenges and possible solutions will be discussed in light of the literature on effective cross-disciplinary research teams.

Six topics have been key challenges in our cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial research team: to develop a shared understanding of the domain; to establish a common understanding of key concepts among the project participants; to involve the end-users in the research and development process; to collaborate across sectors; to ensure privacy and security of health data; and to obtain the right timing of activities according to project dependencies.

This study focuses to increase knowledge and training in cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial research, as this is often referred to as an important tool when developing sustainable solutions for major societal challenges.

This study needs to include theory and skills training in cross-disciplinary research in research training.

Cross-disciplinary teams have the potential to address major societal challenges, including more perspectives and more stakeholders than single disciplinary research teams.

Major societal challenges require complex and sustainable solutions. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial research teams may work productively to solve these challenges. This paper shares experiences regarding the challenges and possible solutions for productive collaboration in cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial research teams within the domain of e-mental health services.

Purpose – In this chapter, we report on the lessons of cross-disciplinary collaborative workshop between sociologists and engineering educators to synthesize what is known about legitimating and disseminating educational reform and to develop a research agenda for what needs to be known in order to spread educational reform and to overcome on-the-ground resistance to change.

Methodology/approach – This chapter is based on a case study of this workshop, describing the “white papers” prepared by participants prior to the workshop and the research agendas that emerged from discussions of them during the workshop and after.

Findings – The workshop resulted in a sophisticated research agenda as well as some modest efforts to create cross-disciplinary links to implement it. However, a one-time workshop did not overcome institutional barriers to this kind of activity.

Research limitations – Since this is a case study of a single collaboration we cannot generalize to all cross-disciplinary collaborations, although it does provide an example of what works to facilitate cross-disciplinary efforts and what obstacles remain.

Practical implications – An advantage to the workshop was the absence of institutional barriers to cross-disciplinary collaboration. Attendees were removed from their institutions, departments, disciplines, and turf battles. However, without increased institutional support for cross-disciplinary efforts, such as this one, the value of the social sciences for diffusing the innovations of science and engineering reform movements may not be realized.

Educators often stress the importance and value of interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary measures that contribute to the holistic development of students through attention to experiential learning activities. However, collaborative approaches that reach outside or across disciplines are often overwhelming and time consuming for faculty to develop. Often, faculty would like to expand learning opportunities through collaborative approaches for their students to experience successful engagement although they may not have the “know-how.” This chapter provides a framework that can be used to develop both collaborative interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary teaching and inquiry-based engagement. The authors developed the PLACERS model (Plan, Create, Engage, Reflect, and Share) in an effort to extend learning experiences in a preprofessional learning environment and to advocate collaboration. Implementing this model, along with a variety of inquiry-based activities produces opportunities for students to increase content knowledge, engagement, and critical thinking skills. Moreover, it provides a guide/schema for educators to delve into collaborative instruction. This chapter documents the process of interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary collaboration between social science and professional practice faculty who developed transformational approaches to expand inquiry-based teaching through experiential learning. As a result of this collaboration, structured reflection strategies were developed which allowed students to: practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills, utilize 21st century technology, and increase content knowledge.

The aim of this paper is to explore how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan employ technology to participate in global supply chains so as to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This study chose four small to medium textile SMEs using qualitative exploratory multiple case studies to examine their participation in the global value chain (GVC) and under the context of Industry 4.0.

This study proffered a strategic model for the innovative integration of textile manufacturing companies and cultural content industry into the global market. The results identified four types of cross-disciplinary value creation strategies by Industry 4.0-driven technology and cultural content infusion: enhancing digital product display capabilities, integrating cultural content design and online marketing, creative brand marketing with cyber-physical channel integration and emotional marketing incorporated with smart services.

The author proposed the following cross-disciplinary value creation strategies for clothing SMEs in Taiwan: (1) enhancing digital product display capabilities, (2) integrating cultural content design and online marketing, (3) creative brand marketing with cyber-physical integration and (4) emotional marketing incorporated with smart services. Using these strategies, SMEs can incorporate cultural and lifestyle aspects into products and services and embed themselves in the global marketing links of GVCs.