{"id":12378,"date":"2011-11-09T14:52:57","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T19:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/researchimpact.ydsinc.ca\/mobilizing-knowledge-inside-the-university\/"},"modified":"2021-11-23T15:55:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T20:55:48","slug":"mobilizing-knowledge-inside-the-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/researchimpact.ca\/fr\/archive\/mobilizing-knowledge-inside-the-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobilizing Knowledge Inside the University \/ Mobiliser les connaissances dans l\u2019universit\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

by David Phipps (RIR York)
\nBugs and ballet make for an interesting combination and they illustrate that knowledge mobilization can happen within the university as effectively as between university and community.<\/em>
\nInsectes et ballet forment une combinaison digne d\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat. Ils illustrent que la mobilisation des connaissances peut se produire au sein m\u00eame de l\u2019universit\u00e9 aussi bien qu\u2019entre cette derni\u00e8re et la communaut\u00e9.<\/em>
\nResearchImpact-R\u00e9seauImpactRecherche (RIR) has posted 279 blogs on Mobilize This! Our readers have viewed the blog 73,133 times (as of November 6, 2011). Every single one of them dealt with some form of knowledge mobilization (KMb) and advocated connecting university research and talent with non-academic audiences to inform decisions about public policy and professional practice.
\nUntil now.
\nKMb is a process that connects researchers to decision makers.\u00a0 Sometimes decision makers are other researchers.\u00a0 Sometimes knowledge brokers need to broker relationships inside the ivory tower. That\u2019s where Bugzzz<\/em> comes in.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nOn August 25, Y File published, \u201cDance and theatre professors begin work on ‘Bugzzz’<\/a>\u201d. \u00a0As reported by Y File \u201cBugzzz<\/a><\/em> aims to challenge the notion of progress, particularly our uncritical obsession with technology. The project proceeds as if human civilization has self-destructed because of our over consumption of resources. Only insects remain and it is they who take an archeological look at the value of civilization through art, specifically through Giacomo Puccini\u2019s opera, Tosca<\/em>.\u201d
\nSide bar: my PhD was in invertebrate (ie bug) immunology and I recently started dancing again after a 7 year break from the ballet studio. That\u2019s why Bugzzz <\/em>caught my attention.
\nI contacted one of the principals behind Bugzzz, Gwen Dobie, and asked if she had ever spoken to any of York\u2019s entomologists (bug experts) to inform her creative work. Gwen replied \u201cWe’d be pleased to meet with any bug researchers you may know. It would certainly enrich our process.\u201d I was offering to help her connect to scientific research and expertise to inform her creative and artistic decisions about movement, sound, behavior and design (costume, lighting, stage etc.). \u00a0Very knowledge mobilization. All inside the university.
\nOn October 13 I had the pleasure of introducing Gwen Dobie (Theatre) and her colleagues William Mackwood (Dance), Barbara Evans (Film) and Teresa \"\"<\/a>Przybylski (Theatre) to three faculty from the Department of Biology: Andrew Donini (mosquitoes and midges), Amro Zayed (bees) and Laurence Packer (dead bees\u2026with over 100,000 specimens of bees he\u00a0 has the largest bee collection in Canada with bees the size of the head of a pin and bees bigger than 3 cm\u2026.some black and yellow\u2026some black\u2026some blue!!!).
\nThe scientists showed off their facilities, pictures and bugs and the artists asked lots and lots and lots of questions, about colony vs. individual behaviours (do bugs have empathy?), what\/how do bugs hear and the waggle dance (see video below).
\nThe scientists were incredibly giving of their time and expertise. The creative artists were engaged, intrigued, enthralled. I had a blast since it allowed me to reflect on two interests: bugs and ballet.\u00a0 The scientists and artists all felt that the morning was valuable. Feedback from participants included:<\/p>\n