Editors' Preamble

Abstract

It is with great pleasure that we present the first volume of the Journal for Applied
Interdisciplinary Research (JAIR) for 2026. We are proud to bring another collection
of peer-reviewed research to our growing international readership.
The JAIR remains steadfast in its founding principles: rigorous peer review, openaccess
publishing at no cost to authors, and a genuine commitment to interdisciplinary
inquiry. We continue to believe that research which transcends traditional disciplinary
boundaries is among the most valuable and far-reaching that applied sciences can
offer, and we are grateful to all authors, reviewers, and readers who share and sustain
this vision. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to join the Diamond
Discovery Hub (DDH), because we continue to support the belief in open science
and open access. The DDH is a registry of scholar-led open access journals. In order
to become a member, the following Diamond criteria have to be fulfilled: persistent
identification, scholarly journal, open access with open licences, no fees, open to all
authors and community-owned.
We extend our sincere thanks to the authors whose work appears in this volume.
Their contributions reflect scholarly rigor, methodological care, and a meaningful
engagement with questions of real-world relevance. In this volume, you will find the
following articles:
Sally Meyer, Steven Cuadra & Sabine Dittrich: Lifestyle Risk Factors and Health
Indicators in Students at a Bavarian University: A Cross-Sectional Study of Physical
Activity, Diet, Stress, Sleep Quality, and Body Mass Index.
Johanna Trager, Jane Käser & Roland Zink: The Influence of Spatial and Temporal
Dimensions on the Success of Participation in Czech-Bavarian Interreg Projects.
This volume brings together research that speaks to pressing questions in public health
and regional governance. The first article examines student health behaviors at a
Bavarian university, drawing on cross-sectional survey data to identify the prevalence
of lifestyle risk factors — including insufficient physical activity, stress, and poor diet
— and their relationship to health indicators such as insomnia and elevated BMI. The
findings carry direct implications for the design of targeted health promotion strategies
in higher education settings. The second article shifts focus to cross-border regional
cooperation in the Czech-Bavarian border region, evaluating how the spatial and
temporal dimensions of participatory events within Interreg projects influence their
effectiveness. The study offers concrete recommendations for practitioners seeking to
optimize participatory formats in rural and cross-border contexts.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to our reviewers, whose careful and expert
engagement with submitted manuscripts is essential to the integrity and quality of
every article we publish. We continue to warmly welcome reviewers from all fields and
invite scholars and practitioners alike to join us in building the JAIR into an ever more
vibrant, open, and inclusive platform for applied interdisciplinary research.
Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our journey.

Prof. Dr. Michelle J. Cummings-Koether & Dr. Kristin Seffer
Editors, Journal of Applied Interdisciplinary Research (JAIR)