Periodic Reporting for period 2 - i-CONN (Interdisciplinary connectivity: Understanding and managing complex systems using connectivity science)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-10-01 do 2024-03-31
Science and social science disciplines study complex systems, where overarching phenomena occur as the result of interactions between component parts of the system, be they galaxies or people. The study of connectivity – a branch of network science - focuses on quantifying and improving understanding of the interactions of the elements of a system. Connectivity has gained growing relevance over recent years, increasingly applied to better understand the structure and function of complex systems which display such features as emergence and non-linear behaviour.
Whilst previous connectivity research has evolved within the confines of disciplinary boundaries, similarities in the concept and its application among disciplines are also evident. In i-CONN we exploited synergies among different conceptualisations and applications of connectivity, to create a unity of intellectual frameworks, allowing us to understand, and manage complex systems, ranging from social-ecological systems to brain dynamics.
Through real-world applications, involving partners and stakeholders such as national Environment Agencies and National Parks, applications of connectivity can play a pivotal role with key societal benefits. For example, we have studied the sources and pathways of pollutants in the water supply chain and across the landscape, that can inform intervention measures. By studying temporal changes in aquatic habitat connectivity for benthic macroinvertebrates and local changes in connectivity induced by river restoration, we can evaluate the success of river-floodplain restoration.
The work undertaken within i-CONN has been structured around key themes of structures and properties, network graphs, common methods, critical nodes and resources and resilience. i-CONN brought together researchers from diverse disciplines to identify common theoretical frameworks and methods that we applied across these diverse disciplines. As a key part of this work, we have trained a group of researchers who will emerge as connectivity scientists able to apply connectivity to many research problems, irrespective of the discipline in which the problem exists.
The overall objectives of i-CONN were to:
1) develop the theoretical underpinning of connectivity science for applications in complex systems;
2) develop a unified framework of methods and approaches that can be applied across disciplines; and
3) explore applications of connectivity science to understand, adapt to, and manage, complex systems.
Whilst previous connectivity research has evolved within the confines of disciplinary boundaries, similarities in the concept and its application among disciplines are also evident. In i-CONN we exploited synergies among different conceptualisations and applications of connectivity, to create a unity of intellectual frameworks, allowing us to understand, and manage complex systems, ranging from social-ecological systems to brain dynamics.
Through real-world applications, involving partners and stakeholders such as national Environment Agencies and National Parks, applications of connectivity can play a pivotal role with key societal benefits. For example, we have studied the sources and pathways of pollutants in the water supply chain and across the landscape, that can inform intervention measures. By studying temporal changes in aquatic habitat connectivity for benthic macroinvertebrates and local changes in connectivity induced by river restoration, we can evaluate the success of river-floodplain restoration.
The work undertaken within i-CONN has been structured around key themes of structures and properties, network graphs, common methods, critical nodes and resources and resilience. i-CONN brought together researchers from diverse disciplines to identify common theoretical frameworks and methods that we applied across these diverse disciplines. As a key part of this work, we have trained a group of researchers who will emerge as connectivity scientists able to apply connectivity to many research problems, irrespective of the discipline in which the problem exists.
The overall objectives of i-CONN were to:
1) develop the theoretical underpinning of connectivity science for applications in complex systems;
2) develop a unified framework of methods and approaches that can be applied across disciplines; and
3) explore applications of connectivity science to understand, adapt to, and manage, complex systems.
i-CONN has been a rich and diverse experience, although much of phase 1 of the network was delivered online due to COVID-19 (with the addition of an online seminar series that featured external speakers and was open to all). The second phase of i-CONN focused on strengthening wider networking, with two annual meetings, a final meeting, and two datathon events that created space for further collaborations between ESRs, as well as helping the curation of network datasets and the application of diverse connectivity methods to these datasets. These activities enabled us to achieve our goals, with all deliverables and milestones completed. In addition to the dissemination of results via conferences and publications, we have disseminated summaries of the research via 3-minute TEDx-style presentations, and via links with non-academic stakeholders, e.g. the UK Environment Agency and the Donau-Auen National Parks.
We created a training network for ESRs, focused on research and transferable skills, alongside advanced training courses, that benefited all members of the network. As a result, alongside secondments and training at host beneficiary institutions, we have trained a highly skilled cohort of 15 ESRs who now have exceptional skills spanning the theory, methods, and applications of connectivity.
We developed the theoretical underpinning of connectivity science (WP1), including understanding the diversity of relationships between structural and functional connectivities via simple mathematical models, and understanding collective behaviours in networks, and the development of a taxonomy of structural and functional connectivities in complex systems. We assessed the commonalities and uniqueness of properties, structures, techniques and the methods utilized across the network (Fig 2), and from this explored the application of these methods across disciplines, which culminated in a “Synthesis of methods” (WP2). This work underpinned the application of connectivity science methods within i-CONN (WP3), largely supported by secondments, and led to detailed applications within disciplines of geomorphology, ecology, neuroscience, and social-ecological systems.
We took the opportunity to explore how an innovative training network can create transdisciplinary capacity, via the work of an ESR, who studied the evolution of the i-CONN network. Through this longitudinal study, we have been able to reflect on the effectiveness and inclusiveness of collaborations and evaluate the types of interactions that help to facilitate knowledge exchange and learning between network members (Fig 3).
We created a training network for ESRs, focused on research and transferable skills, alongside advanced training courses, that benefited all members of the network. As a result, alongside secondments and training at host beneficiary institutions, we have trained a highly skilled cohort of 15 ESRs who now have exceptional skills spanning the theory, methods, and applications of connectivity.
We developed the theoretical underpinning of connectivity science (WP1), including understanding the diversity of relationships between structural and functional connectivities via simple mathematical models, and understanding collective behaviours in networks, and the development of a taxonomy of structural and functional connectivities in complex systems. We assessed the commonalities and uniqueness of properties, structures, techniques and the methods utilized across the network (Fig 2), and from this explored the application of these methods across disciplines, which culminated in a “Synthesis of methods” (WP2). This work underpinned the application of connectivity science methods within i-CONN (WP3), largely supported by secondments, and led to detailed applications within disciplines of geomorphology, ecology, neuroscience, and social-ecological systems.
We took the opportunity to explore how an innovative training network can create transdisciplinary capacity, via the work of an ESR, who studied the evolution of the i-CONN network. Through this longitudinal study, we have been able to reflect on the effectiveness and inclusiveness of collaborations and evaluate the types of interactions that help to facilitate knowledge exchange and learning between network members (Fig 3).
i-CONN was the first significant attempt to draw together the disparate strands of connectivity research that have hitherto been undertaken independently within different disciplines. A particular strength of i-CONN, is that at the scale of the whole network, we have evaluated and explored the theoretical underpinnings of connectivity methods and applications, addressing the challenges that underpinned the construction of this network. This novel, network-level and transdisciplinary perspective has allowed us to:
(i) Distinguish two types of functional connectivity, and the relevance of each to different disciplinary applications;
(ii) Take a new approach to solving the problem of missing information in real-life networks, in which we study the behaviour of the network as a means of inferring the missing elements of a network;
(iii) Synthesize the range of domain-originated and generic connectivity methods used to study complex systems, and undertake detailed assessment of their applications;
(iv) Use the unique transdisciplinary nature of i-CONN to study our network and its evolution using connectivity approach; and
(v) Foster transdisciplinary working via a range of activities, in particular the two datathon events.
Other outstanding i-CONN contributions are at the level of individual ESRs and smaller collaboratory teams that developed through secondments. Examples include work exploring the attractor structure of functional connectivity in coupled logistic maps, work on first activity and interactions in the thalamus and cortex and signal propagation in the primate cortex, and work on social-ecological transformation. Examples of environmental work include the evaluation of network-based approaches to quantify patterns of connectivity in floodplains and drylands (Ecohydrology, in review), a vulnerability check of global economies in the face of fossil fuel supply constraints, and an understanding of sources and pathways of pharmaceuticals in catchments. Other significant outputs are focussed on software, for example software for connectivity analysis.
Through i-CONN we increased recognition that the major challenges facing society are interdisciplinary, deal with complex systems, and focus on links within systems. We trained 15 ESRs uniquely capable of addressing these major challenges.
(i) Distinguish two types of functional connectivity, and the relevance of each to different disciplinary applications;
(ii) Take a new approach to solving the problem of missing information in real-life networks, in which we study the behaviour of the network as a means of inferring the missing elements of a network;
(iii) Synthesize the range of domain-originated and generic connectivity methods used to study complex systems, and undertake detailed assessment of their applications;
(iv) Use the unique transdisciplinary nature of i-CONN to study our network and its evolution using connectivity approach; and
(v) Foster transdisciplinary working via a range of activities, in particular the two datathon events.
Other outstanding i-CONN contributions are at the level of individual ESRs and smaller collaboratory teams that developed through secondments. Examples include work exploring the attractor structure of functional connectivity in coupled logistic maps, work on first activity and interactions in the thalamus and cortex and signal propagation in the primate cortex, and work on social-ecological transformation. Examples of environmental work include the evaluation of network-based approaches to quantify patterns of connectivity in floodplains and drylands (Ecohydrology, in review), a vulnerability check of global economies in the face of fossil fuel supply constraints, and an understanding of sources and pathways of pharmaceuticals in catchments. Other significant outputs are focussed on software, for example software for connectivity analysis.
Through i-CONN we increased recognition that the major challenges facing society are interdisciplinary, deal with complex systems, and focus on links within systems. We trained 15 ESRs uniquely capable of addressing these major challenges.