00803844

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1729-10

http://scholar.google.com...ylen&publication_year=2000

The evolution of science has followed the path of specialization--a certain domain of knowledge within one discipline becomes a discipline in itself with its own paradigms and social structure of scientists and institutions. Multidisciplinarity is the reverse movement; progress is sought not in further specialization but in the integration of several approaches. This kind of research can take many forms. The simplest form of multidisciplinary problem solving is to split problems into subproblems and then solve each subproblem in a monodisciplinary fashion. Another way is to integrate the monodisciplinary contributions into a single, complete solution. A third way is to apply the paradigms of one discipline to enhance the problem-solving potential of another. Research in the domain of transportation is well suited to the different forms of the multidisciplinary approach. Many problems in transportation have aspects in the domains of disciplines ranging from pure engineering to psychology and ethics. Furthermore, only a few practical transportation problems can be solved satisfactorily without the cooperation of many disciplines. Finally, many examples within the domain of transportation show that completely new areas of knowledge have been developed by the integration of elements from other disciplines. Multidisciplinarity for the education of transport and traffic professionals is essential for the healthy development of the transport domain.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1729, Transportation Management and Education.

English

p. 75-81

2000

Transportation Research Record

0309067332

References (21)

Education; Problem solving; Research; Transportation

Multidisciplinarity

Administration and Management; Research; Transportation (General); I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2001 12:00AM

• ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS TRAINING: STATE OF THE PRACTICE
• ASSET MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS THE FUSS?
• LINKING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
• MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES: THREE PERSPECTIVES
• NEW YORK STATE'S APPROACH TO ASSET MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY
• NORTH CAROLINA DOT'S SKILL-BASED PAY PROGRAM: A WORKING MODEL FOR TRAINING AND COMPENSATING HIGHWAY WORKERS
• STAFFING PLAN SURVEY OF STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES
• THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE BUSINESS INFORMATION LINK: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
• TRANSPORTATION ASSET MANAGEMENT: THE VALUE OF ENTERPRISE-BASED FINANCIAL REPORTING