FOREWORD
It
gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the first issue of Exchanges:
the
Warwick Research Journal. The
key objective of this journal arises from
Warwick’s ambition to provide an intellectual gateway for
research engagement
at a regional, national and international level. Interdisciplinary
research is
an increasingly important part of our academic future and this
publication
seeks to provide a spot-light for non-traditional collaborations and
those keen
to push the barriers of their disciplinary activity.
The
publication is jointly managed by the Institute of Advanced Study and
Warwick
Library as a compliment to Warwick’s highly successful
undergraduate journal, Reinvention,
and other departmental and field-specific publications. Since
it’s inauguration
in 2007, the Institute of Advanced Study has been instrumental in
supporting
researchers actively working across disciplinary boundaries and
currently hosts
over 40 fellows. Accordingly, a distinctive element of the new journal
will be
a series of conversations between early career research fellows
and eminent
academics. I am especially delighted to announce that the first issue
features
an exchange between Oliver Sacks, M.D., physician, neurologist, and
author, and
Dr Julie Walsh, one of the Institute’s fifteen recently
appointed five-year
Global Research Fellows.
Warwick
prides itself on being part of a global academic network
and future issues
of the journal will maintain a strong international perspective. There
is a
growing body of work under the University’s Global Research
Priorities as well
as many other collaborative initiatives between departments and
faculties. It
is natural, therefore, that we should extend this to include publishing
opportunities. By delivering open journal content online, we can
achieve a
greater and broader impact as part of the University’s Vision
2015. Warwick is
keen to encourage the uptake of its new online publishing platform as a
means
to increase the visibility of the diverse and dynamic research activity
taking
place across campus and further afield.
Finally,
would like to thank the authors, editorial team, peer reviewers, and
other
staff who have made this first issue possible.