Conferences, Symposia and Workshops

2008 SECOPA Conference, Orlando, Florida

2008 Transdisciplinarity Conference, Zurich, Switzerland

2008 SECOPA Conference, Orlando, Florida

Researchers Mary Beth Dunkenberger, Bryce Hoflund, Sujit Subramani, and Nancy White from VTIPG will present their paper at the SECOPA Conference held September 2008 in Orlando, Florida. Entitled: “The Changing Role of State Mental Health and Mental Retardation Facilities in Virginia: Policy and Management Impacts and Challenges,” the paper reports the changing role of state facilities in the continuum of care as the Commonwealth continues to devolve the responsibility for the provision and delivery of services to the community, identifies some of the challenges confronting Virginia’s mental health system, and examines how the facilities’ changing role might impact future policy decisions for state and local governments.

Hosted by the Central Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the Department of Public Administration at University of Central Florida, the 2008 conference will focus on “Surviving Change, Fostering Excellence, and Enhancing Innovation in Public Administration.”  

For more information on the 2008 SECOPA conference visit www.ce.ucf.edu/secopa2008

2008 Transdisciplinarity Conference, Zurich, Switzerland

The Transdisciplinarity Conference held November 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland will focus on problem framing, a key component in inter- and transdisciplinary research. Despite increases in transdisciplinary research, methods of interrelating a diversity of perspectives through a collective process, a crucial role in problem framing, is not well understood. The conference will host individuals and teams to share their experiences in the field. 

Dr. Max Stephenson Jr., Director for VTIPG, Bruno Sobral, Executive and Scientific Director for the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI), Virginia Tech, and Derren Rosbach, Doctoral Research Associate for VBI & VTIPG have submitted a paper to be presented at the conference. Entitled: “Unpacking the ‘Black Box’: Charting the Dynamics of Problem Framing for Transdisciplinary Research,” the paper addresses their experience with problem framing during their transdisciplinary research in developing efforts to reduce infectious disease in Sub Sahara Africa. The paper also aims to address concerns of future researchers regarding group conceptualization during inter- and transdisciplinary research. 

For more information on inter- and transdisciplinary research and the 2008 Transdisciplinarity Conference visit www.transdisciplinarity.ch/conference/upcoming_conference.html