Staying Afloat in an Information-Age Sea Change

Abstract

Scientific and technological advances, occurring with increasing frequency, allow for exciting opportunities for multidisciplinary research but may be accompanied by unintended consequences for kinesiology. These advances require depth of knowledge in subdisciplines and place pressures on kinesiology departments to hire experts with grants in hand, ready to direct or participate in multidisciplinary research projects on our field's central topic: physical activity. However, we have already observed that large proportions of nonkinesiologists in a department can change the culture of the department, the physical activity research focus, and even the name. Alternatively, departments can use technological advances such as Web 2.0 and “wiki science” to build multidisciplinary research teams with members from other disciplines across the campus or the world.