Research on Dialogue in an Interdisciplinary Conference

[kgerwitz]

Greetings,

I am a graduate student in Denver, Colorado and am writing my thesis on the various types of dialogue models that would best be used in an interdisciplinary conference. I am also planning an interdisciplinary conference with the University of Colorado on recovering after catastrophes. I hope to involve sectors as diverse as environmental, economics, engineering, education, urban planning, historical preservation, and commerce from different countries around the world that have suffered from major catastrophes - both manmade and natural. Following is a questionnaire that I would love your help with. If you have time, I'd be delighted to conduct a phone interview. If you would rather just answer the questions here, that would be helpful as well. I find this field so fascinating and I am definitely hooked. I hope to move into this type of work in my career. Thank you in advance for your time. Keep those ideas flowing!!!


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1) Have you planned a conference that would be considered interdisciplinary? If so, please describe it.
2) What was the objective of the conference?
3) Did you accomplish that objective? If so, what measurable indicators do you attribute to the success of the conference?
4) Did the participants engage in some form of dialogue to help accomplish the objective? If so, please describe how.
5) Did you use a specific model of dialogue or collaboration? If so, which one(s)?
6) What other models of dialogue do you have experience with? ?“Of the dialogue models you?’ve used, which have you found to be most successful? In what ways were these models successful?
7) What factors do you consider when choosing a dialogical model over a more traditional delivery model? Which factors do you consider when choolsing one dialogical model over another?
8) Are there particular models that are most effective in an interdisciplinary environment? If so, which ones? Why?
9) Did the participants find the model successful? If so, how do you know? Do you have testimonials from participants that indicate they favor this type of conference over a traditional one? Would you be willing to share some?
10) What other factors of success did you observe? Was there increased demand for future conferences with this type of model? Was there positive media coverage written about the conference? Have you been asked to organize a similar conference elsewhere?
11) What tips for success would you recommend for planning another conference using this model?
12) Can you identify pitfalls to avoid in the selection, planning, implementation and evaluation of the dialogic model (s) you?’ve used?
13) Is this model of dialogue generally more applicable to conferences that are focused more on retrospective inquiry into past events (e.g., post-mortem on responses to Katrina) or prospective inquiry into how to avoid such problems of institutional dysfunction in the future?
14) If you were planning a conference that tried to reach a common goal involving sectors as varied as environment, engineering, education, sociology, & economics, what recommendations or cautions would you have?
15) If you were planning a forward-thinking, interdisciplinary conference on disaster management, involving the sectors listed above, which model would you recommend and why? What are the costs and benefits of using such a model in this field?
16) Is there anyone else you would suggest I interview that might be able to share their thoughts with me? (Participants, Trade Associations, Planners, Facilitators)
17) Other comments you?’d like to share?

Thank you for your help! I'll be sure to post a link to my final product for all of you to review.
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Karen Gerwitz
Graduate Student
c: 303-888-8113