Bev J. Holmes, Diane T. Finegood, Barbara L. Riley, and Allan Best
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199751877
- eISBN:
- 9780199933242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751877.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The common response to the public health issues that plague society is to eliminate, or at least reduce, their complexity. This chapter suggests that a more productive response is to acknowledge ...
More
The common response to the public health issues that plague society is to eliminate, or at least reduce, their complexity. This chapter suggests that a more productive response is to acknowledge complexity, and to design and study solutions that address it. In support of this view, it presents systems thinking as an approach to intervene in and study health issues such as obesity and chronic disease—complex problems in the sense that they are unpredictable and influenced by many interacting and multilevel variables. First, the chapter briefly reviews the evolution of dissemination and implementation (D&I) health research, revealing an increasing recognition of complexity. It then introduces the notion of “systems”—what they are, and why an understanding of them is critical to improved health and health care through dissemination and implementation. Systems thinking is then described and its implications explored, with two in particular expanded on: the need to rethink cause and effect, and the importance of considering different levels of intervention. Obesity is presented as an example of an issue whose complexity demands a systems approach in order to address it meaningfully. The final section of the chapter demonstrates systems thinking in action, using the examples of two new Canadian projects, funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, based on such an approach: Youth Excel and The CAPTURE Project.Less
The common response to the public health issues that plague society is to eliminate, or at least reduce, their complexity. This chapter suggests that a more productive response is to acknowledge complexity, and to design and study solutions that address it. In support of this view, it presents systems thinking as an approach to intervene in and study health issues such as obesity and chronic disease—complex problems in the sense that they are unpredictable and influenced by many interacting and multilevel variables. First, the chapter briefly reviews the evolution of dissemination and implementation (D&I) health research, revealing an increasing recognition of complexity. It then introduces the notion of “systems”—what they are, and why an understanding of them is critical to improved health and health care through dissemination and implementation. Systems thinking is then described and its implications explored, with two in particular expanded on: the need to rethink cause and effect, and the importance of considering different levels of intervention. Obesity is presented as an example of an issue whose complexity demands a systems approach in order to address it meaningfully. The final section of the chapter demonstrates systems thinking in action, using the examples of two new Canadian projects, funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, based on such an approach: Youth Excel and The CAPTURE Project.
Lucy Gilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199566761
- eISBN:
- 9780191731181
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566761.003.0015
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter adopts an institutional lens in considering both the nature of health systems and ways of strengthening them. First, it reviews five widely known health system conceptual frameworks, ...
More
This chapter adopts an institutional lens in considering both the nature of health systems and ways of strengthening them. First, it reviews five widely known health system conceptual frameworks, highlighting the different types of agents, organizations, and organizational arrangements that are embedded within each framework, and identifying the nature of relationships among actors, and the institutions each identifies or implies as underpinning these relationships. Second, it presents recent thinking on health system governance — a central, but less considered, function of every health system. Third, three complementary bodies of theory (organizational and policy implementation theory, and systems thinking) that draw on institutional perspectives in considering organizational functioning and change, are briefly discussed and applied in critique of the health system frameworks. The critique highlights the dominance of a mechanical perspective of organizational functioning within existing frameworks, and a primarily command and control approach to health system strengthening. Finally, two alternative approaches to supporting change within health systems, both of which acknowledge complexity and seek institutional change, are introduced: soft systems methodology and strengthening trust-based relationships.Less
This chapter adopts an institutional lens in considering both the nature of health systems and ways of strengthening them. First, it reviews five widely known health system conceptual frameworks, highlighting the different types of agents, organizations, and organizational arrangements that are embedded within each framework, and identifying the nature of relationships among actors, and the institutions each identifies or implies as underpinning these relationships. Second, it presents recent thinking on health system governance — a central, but less considered, function of every health system. Third, three complementary bodies of theory (organizational and policy implementation theory, and systems thinking) that draw on institutional perspectives in considering organizational functioning and change, are briefly discussed and applied in critique of the health system frameworks. The critique highlights the dominance of a mechanical perspective of organizational functioning within existing frameworks, and a primarily command and control approach to health system strengthening. Finally, two alternative approaches to supporting change within health systems, both of which acknowledge complexity and seek institutional change, are introduced: soft systems methodology and strengthening trust-based relationships.
Richard D. Smith and Kara Hanson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199566761
- eISBN:
- 9780191731181
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566761.003.0010
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This volume considers the health sector to be made up of the set of actors and activities that are primarily aimed at improving/preserving health status, at an individual or a population level. In ...
More
This volume considers the health sector to be made up of the set of actors and activities that are primarily aimed at improving/preserving health status, at an individual or a population level. In contrast, the health system encompasses a broader range of activities that influence health. The central message is that a clearer understanding of these broader influences, together with the complex set of interactions and linkages among them, are critical for improving population health in a world in which both sectoral and international boundaries have become increasingly permeable. This chapter elaborates upon, and justifies, the deliberately broader approach that is taken in this volume. It begins by providing a brief history of the development of ‘health system’ thinking to provide the context.Less
This volume considers the health sector to be made up of the set of actors and activities that are primarily aimed at improving/preserving health status, at an individual or a population level. In contrast, the health system encompasses a broader range of activities that influence health. The central message is that a clearer understanding of these broader influences, together with the complex set of interactions and linkages among them, are critical for improving population health in a world in which both sectoral and international boundaries have become increasingly permeable. This chapter elaborates upon, and justifies, the deliberately broader approach that is taken in this volume. It begins by providing a brief history of the development of ‘health system’ thinking to provide the context.
MITROFF IAN I. and LINSTONE HAROLD A.
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195102888
- eISBN:
- 9780199854943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195102888.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation
This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly ...
More
This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly reviewing the four ways of knowing presented in the previous chapters. Agreement, Analysis, Multiple Realities, and Conflict as Idea System's all have strict limits. In contrast, UST asserts that “everything interacts with everything.” Every one of the sciences and professions is considered fundamental and none is superior to or better than any other. In UST, the supposed distinct and separate existence of the various ISs that was implied in the preceding chapters is a fiction. Given its complexity, a better understanding of this IS is demonstrated by the authors through a brief and general overview of the systems approach before they provide a concrete problem-solving method known as the Multiple Perspective Concept or Method to illustrate its application.Less
This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly reviewing the four ways of knowing presented in the previous chapters. Agreement, Analysis, Multiple Realities, and Conflict as Idea System's all have strict limits. In contrast, UST asserts that “everything interacts with everything.” Every one of the sciences and professions is considered fundamental and none is superior to or better than any other. In UST, the supposed distinct and separate existence of the various ISs that was implied in the preceding chapters is a fiction. Given its complexity, a better understanding of this IS is demonstrated by the authors through a brief and general overview of the systems approach before they provide a concrete problem-solving method known as the Multiple Perspective Concept or Method to illustrate its application.
Paul U. Unschuld
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520257658
- eISBN:
- 9780520944701
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520257658.003.0078
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
AIDS unites the germ theory of disease with systems thinking. AIDS could only arise in the late twentieth century. The encounter with HIV/AIDS has brought tremendous inspiration to virologists' ...
More
AIDS unites the germ theory of disease with systems thinking. AIDS could only arise in the late twentieth century. The encounter with HIV/AIDS has brought tremendous inspiration to virologists' research. The disease model of HIV/AIDS that emerged in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century was clearly marked by the social and economic circumstances of the time. It had plausibility, but it did not correspond with reality. This plausibility gained its persuasiveness through several factors. At its center were systems thinking in economics, criminal law, and many other domains, which had been emerging since the mid-twentieth century. By the late twentieth century, systems thinking were set off by a growing consciousness of living in a hitherto intact world, now increasingly threatened by intruders. Closed borders or openness to immigration were the big political issues that were reflected in the HIV/AIDS metaphor, in which an organism whose immune system is weakened by intruders becomes vulnerable to all kinds of trouble and is ultimately killed.Less
AIDS unites the germ theory of disease with systems thinking. AIDS could only arise in the late twentieth century. The encounter with HIV/AIDS has brought tremendous inspiration to virologists' research. The disease model of HIV/AIDS that emerged in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century was clearly marked by the social and economic circumstances of the time. It had plausibility, but it did not correspond with reality. This plausibility gained its persuasiveness through several factors. At its center were systems thinking in economics, criminal law, and many other domains, which had been emerging since the mid-twentieth century. By the late twentieth century, systems thinking were set off by a growing consciousness of living in a hitherto intact world, now increasingly threatened by intruders. Closed borders or openness to immigration were the big political issues that were reflected in the HIV/AIDS metaphor, in which an organism whose immune system is weakened by intruders becomes vulnerable to all kinds of trouble and is ultimately killed.
MITROFF IAN I. and LINSTONE HAROLD A.
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195102888
- eISBN:
- 9780199854943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195102888.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation
In this chapter, the authors illustrate a vivid example of the failures of outmoded thinking and the importance of a multi-perspective analysis to avoid future disasters through the experience of the ...
More
In this chapter, the authors illustrate a vivid example of the failures of outmoded thinking and the importance of a multi-perspective analysis to avoid future disasters through the experience of the disaster at Bhopal, India. A general background of the issue is first displayed by the authors. A table depicting how the technical, organizational, and personal perspectives define and approach the analysis of risk is then presented. Each perspective is first examined separately in detail. However, these three types of perspective are not independent. Rather, as shown in this chapter, they influence each other. One cannot eliminate fully the possibility of catastrophic failures in complex systems that involve human operators. Thus, this chapter offers several methods to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic consequences with given systems and the application of Unbounded Systems Thinking on it.Less
In this chapter, the authors illustrate a vivid example of the failures of outmoded thinking and the importance of a multi-perspective analysis to avoid future disasters through the experience of the disaster at Bhopal, India. A general background of the issue is first displayed by the authors. A table depicting how the technical, organizational, and personal perspectives define and approach the analysis of risk is then presented. Each perspective is first examined separately in detail. However, these three types of perspective are not independent. Rather, as shown in this chapter, they influence each other. One cannot eliminate fully the possibility of catastrophic failures in complex systems that involve human operators. Thus, this chapter offers several methods to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic consequences with given systems and the application of Unbounded Systems Thinking on it.
Andy Lane and Martin Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447331575
- eISBN:
- 9781447331599
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447331575.003.0002
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Environmental Geography
This chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in practice, the key concepts involved in it, and in particular the role of mapping in addressing complex situations. While the chapter touches ...
More
This chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in practice, the key concepts involved in it, and in particular the role of mapping in addressing complex situations. While the chapter touches on all four themes of the book, it focuses mainly on the systems thinking philosophy that underpins the work of nearly all the authors in this book; how that philosophy relates to the use of diagramming to capture systemic thinking; and how to engage research participants in trying to think more systemically. It concludes finishes with some more practical advice on the use of diagrams in general and within participatory and action-oriented modes of research in particular.Less
This chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in practice, the key concepts involved in it, and in particular the role of mapping in addressing complex situations. While the chapter touches on all four themes of the book, it focuses mainly on the systems thinking philosophy that underpins the work of nearly all the authors in this book; how that philosophy relates to the use of diagramming to capture systemic thinking; and how to engage research participants in trying to think more systemically. It concludes finishes with some more practical advice on the use of diagrams in general and within participatory and action-oriented modes of research in particular.
R.J. DUNLOP and J.M. HOCKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780192629807
- eISBN:
- 9780191730061
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192629807.003.0004
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Pain Management and Palliative Pharmacology
This chapter addresses the issue of achieving change without power and direct authority. It draws parallels between palliative care teams and modern organizations that have to earn the loyalty of ...
More
This chapter addresses the issue of achieving change without power and direct authority. It draws parallels between palliative care teams and modern organizations that have to earn the loyalty of employees, rather than expect it by right. The discussion describes managing without power in the business world, systems thinking, personal mastery, understanding the process of influence, the principles of influence, tactics for influencing change, and how one can become more influential in the advisory role. Palliative care teams have a difficult role in acute hospitals. The team must improve the care of terminally ill patients by giving advice and support. Team members need to see the process of change as a slow gradual one, punctuated by frustrations and delays.Less
This chapter addresses the issue of achieving change without power and direct authority. It draws parallels between palliative care teams and modern organizations that have to earn the loyalty of employees, rather than expect it by right. The discussion describes managing without power in the business world, systems thinking, personal mastery, understanding the process of influence, the principles of influence, tactics for influencing change, and how one can become more influential in the advisory role. Palliative care teams have a difficult role in acute hospitals. The team must improve the care of terminally ill patients by giving advice and support. Team members need to see the process of change as a slow gradual one, punctuated by frustrations and delays.
John Seddon and Brendan O’Donovan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847427007
- eISBN:
- 9781447302377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847427007.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This chapter argues that current centrally dictated ‘command and control’ methods of public service management are inherently wasteful, and have only made services worse at higher cost. Instead, it ...
More
This chapter argues that current centrally dictated ‘command and control’ methods of public service management are inherently wasteful, and have only made services worse at higher cost. Instead, it suggests an alternative ‘systems thinking’ methodology and illustrates the application of this through examples from UK public services. If applied more widely, the chapter suggests, these methods have the potential to create better services at much lower costs while also reintroducing local responsibility for improving these services.Less
This chapter argues that current centrally dictated ‘command and control’ methods of public service management are inherently wasteful, and have only made services worse at higher cost. Instead, it suggests an alternative ‘systems thinking’ methodology and illustrates the application of this through examples from UK public services. If applied more widely, the chapter suggests, these methods have the potential to create better services at much lower costs while also reintroducing local responsibility for improving these services.
Barbara L. Riley, Cameron D. Willis, Bev Holmes, Diane T. Finegood, Allan Best, and Jessie-Lee D. McIsaac
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190683214
- eISBN:
- 9780190683245
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190683214.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Increasingly, the literature highlights the benefits of systems thinking in approaching dissemination and implementation efforts and associated research in health. This chapter draws attention to ...
More
Increasingly, the literature highlights the benefits of systems thinking in approaching dissemination and implementation efforts and associated research in health. This chapter draws attention to features of systems thinking that are most pertinent to dissemination and implementation research, including how we think about dissemination and implementation objects and strategies. It covers main features of dissemination and implementation research—its purpose and questions, conceptual frameworks, study designs and methods, and the research process. In doing so, it provides an overview of a systems-oriented approach to dissemination and implementation research. The chapter provides two dissemination and implementation research examples that demonstrate the applicability of the approaches described in this chapter across a range of health issues, especially the complex health problems—of today and the foreseeable future—that cause the greatest health, social, and economic burden to individuals and societies worldwide.Less
Increasingly, the literature highlights the benefits of systems thinking in approaching dissemination and implementation efforts and associated research in health. This chapter draws attention to features of systems thinking that are most pertinent to dissemination and implementation research, including how we think about dissemination and implementation objects and strategies. It covers main features of dissemination and implementation research—its purpose and questions, conceptual frameworks, study designs and methods, and the research process. In doing so, it provides an overview of a systems-oriented approach to dissemination and implementation research. The chapter provides two dissemination and implementation research examples that demonstrate the applicability of the approaches described in this chapter across a range of health issues, especially the complex health problems—of today and the foreseeable future—that cause the greatest health, social, and economic burden to individuals and societies worldwide.
A. Raghuramaraju
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195699364
- eISBN:
- 9780199080533
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195699364.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This volume explores three significant issues — absence, the consciousness of the contemporary, and new philosophical episteme — relevant to thought-systems in the Indian subcontinent. The author ...
More
This volume explores three significant issues — absence, the consciousness of the contemporary, and new philosophical episteme — relevant to thought-systems in the Indian subcontinent. The author discusses the present lack of original philosophical discourse in the context of South Asia, especially India and investigates the reasons of such absences. It examines the reasons for decline in traditional philosophical schools and Sanskritic studies in the subcontinent. The book also discusses the manner in which Indian thinkers from the times of nineteenth century social reforms to the present day have interacted with the contemporary issues of philosophical engagement the world over. It also explores the relevance of classical texts and thought systems alongside contemporary philosophical consciousness. A major part of the discussion comprises of philosophical analysis of a new contemporary Indian text entitled, Desire and Liberation: The Fundamentals of Cosmicontology by Vaddera Chandidas.Less
This volume explores three significant issues — absence, the consciousness of the contemporary, and new philosophical episteme — relevant to thought-systems in the Indian subcontinent. The author discusses the present lack of original philosophical discourse in the context of South Asia, especially India and investigates the reasons of such absences. It examines the reasons for decline in traditional philosophical schools and Sanskritic studies in the subcontinent. The book also discusses the manner in which Indian thinkers from the times of nineteenth century social reforms to the present day have interacted with the contemporary issues of philosophical engagement the world over. It also explores the relevance of classical texts and thought systems alongside contemporary philosophical consciousness. A major part of the discussion comprises of philosophical analysis of a new contemporary Indian text entitled, Desire and Liberation: The Fundamentals of Cosmicontology by Vaddera Chandidas.
Reijo Miettinen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199692613
- eISBN:
- 9780191750762
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692613.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Political Economy
Chapter 3 analyzes the emergence and development of the concept of a national innovation system in innovation studies and in technology policy making. The concept was introduced in the late 1980s by ...
More
Chapter 3 analyzes the emergence and development of the concept of a national innovation system in innovation studies and in technology policy making. The concept was introduced in the late 1980s by the evolutionary economists of innovation to explain the differences in the rate of technological development and economic growth between nations. The other source of NIS comes from the idea of interactive learning, which was found to be important in the study of the national specificities of the small economies in the Nordic countries. The NIS approach, however, is poorly connected to general or dynamic systems thinking and it is controversial as to whether it is able to provide an alternative to market failure theory that has served as a key foundation for science and technology policymaking.Less
Chapter 3 analyzes the emergence and development of the concept of a national innovation system in innovation studies and in technology policy making. The concept was introduced in the late 1980s by the evolutionary economists of innovation to explain the differences in the rate of technological development and economic growth between nations. The other source of NIS comes from the idea of interactive learning, which was found to be important in the study of the national specificities of the small economies in the Nordic countries. The NIS approach, however, is poorly connected to general or dynamic systems thinking and it is controversial as to whether it is able to provide an alternative to market failure theory that has served as a key foundation for science and technology policymaking.
Terri Bird
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474429344
- eISBN:
- 9781474438568
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474429344.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
The aim of art for Deleuze and Guattari is to render perceptible forces that lie beyond perception and to capture, in what is given, the forces that are not given. They task artists with producing ...
More
The aim of art for Deleuze and Guattari is to render perceptible forces that lie beyond perception and to capture, in what is given, the forces that are not given. They task artists with producing compounds of sensation, heterogeneous assemblages of affects and intensities, extracted from forces lying at the limits of sensibility. This chapter explores the forming of these assemblages through processes of capture orientated around practices employing sculptural methodologies. Although Deleuze and Guattari have little to say about sculpture in general or specific works, they refer to the sensations of stone and metal as vibrating according to the order of strong and weak rhythms. Drawing on the writing of Gilbert Simondon these rhythms are discussed as dynamic modulations that emphasise temporal appearance. And examined in relation to Jack Burnham’s use of systems thinking identified in the artworks, by artists such as Hans Haacke and Public Share, that register complex flows of matter-energy exchanges.Less
The aim of art for Deleuze and Guattari is to render perceptible forces that lie beyond perception and to capture, in what is given, the forces that are not given. They task artists with producing compounds of sensation, heterogeneous assemblages of affects and intensities, extracted from forces lying at the limits of sensibility. This chapter explores the forming of these assemblages through processes of capture orientated around practices employing sculptural methodologies. Although Deleuze and Guattari have little to say about sculpture in general or specific works, they refer to the sensations of stone and metal as vibrating according to the order of strong and weak rhythms. Drawing on the writing of Gilbert Simondon these rhythms are discussed as dynamic modulations that emphasise temporal appearance. And examined in relation to Jack Burnham’s use of systems thinking identified in the artworks, by artists such as Hans Haacke and Public Share, that register complex flows of matter-energy exchanges.
Robert C. Berwick and Noam Chomsky
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034241
- eISBN:
- 9780262333351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034241.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter considers the biolinguistic perspective on human language. From the biolinguistic perspective, we can think of language as an “organ of the body,” comparable with the visual or digestive ...
More
This chapter considers the biolinguistic perspective on human language. From the biolinguistic perspective, we can think of language as an “organ of the body,” comparable with the visual or digestive or immune systems. In this sense, language can be regarded as a mental organ, where the term mental simply refers to certain aspects of the world, to be studied in the same way as chemical, optical, electrical, and other aspects. This chapter tackles two puzzling questions about language: First, why are there any languages at all, evidently unique to the human lineage—what evolutionary biologists call an “autapomorphy”? Second, why are there so many languages? To answer these questions, the chapter explores the relation of language to the sensorimotor system and thought systems, along with the problem of externalization. It also examines factors that may strongly influence language design, including properties of the brain, and concludes with a discussion of the unity and diversity of language and thought.Less
This chapter considers the biolinguistic perspective on human language. From the biolinguistic perspective, we can think of language as an “organ of the body,” comparable with the visual or digestive or immune systems. In this sense, language can be regarded as a mental organ, where the term mental simply refers to certain aspects of the world, to be studied in the same way as chemical, optical, electrical, and other aspects. This chapter tackles two puzzling questions about language: First, why are there any languages at all, evidently unique to the human lineage—what evolutionary biologists call an “autapomorphy”? Second, why are there so many languages? To answer these questions, the chapter explores the relation of language to the sensorimotor system and thought systems, along with the problem of externalization. It also examines factors that may strongly influence language design, including properties of the brain, and concludes with a discussion of the unity and diversity of language and thought.
Mary Cody
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861342386
- eISBN:
- 9781447302032
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861342386.003.0011
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
This chapter presents a case study concerning the author's social work experience with the Phillips family. It explains that Alan and Melissa Phillips have made an application to adopt to the ...
More
This chapter presents a case study concerning the author's social work experience with the Phillips family. It explains that Alan and Melissa Phillips have made an application to adopt to the voluntary children's agency specialising in adoption and it was author's responsibility to assess the adoption application. It discusses the use of the systems thinking and a task-centred approach in the intervention, the actual social work process with the family and the author's evaluation of the effectiveness of her intervention approach.Less
This chapter presents a case study concerning the author's social work experience with the Phillips family. It explains that Alan and Melissa Phillips have made an application to adopt to the voluntary children's agency specialising in adoption and it was author's responsibility to assess the adoption application. It discusses the use of the systems thinking and a task-centred approach in the intervention, the actual social work process with the family and the author's evaluation of the effectiveness of her intervention approach.
Costica Bradatan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226931
- eISBN:
- 9780823235773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226931.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines George Berkeley's immaterialist philosophy in close connection with the liber mundi tradition. It attempts to determine medieval implications of the ...
More
This chapter examines George Berkeley's immaterialist philosophy in close connection with the liber mundi tradition. It attempts to determine medieval implications of the topic that Berkeley presented and the novelties he brought forth in his usage of the topic. It explains that liber mundi is one of the most complex and fascinating cultural-philosophical topics of the medieval times belonging to that genre of all-encompassing metaphors that eventually came to encrypt entire systems of thought.Less
This chapter examines George Berkeley's immaterialist philosophy in close connection with the liber mundi tradition. It attempts to determine medieval implications of the topic that Berkeley presented and the novelties he brought forth in his usage of the topic. It explains that liber mundi is one of the most complex and fascinating cultural-philosophical topics of the medieval times belonging to that genre of all-encompassing metaphors that eventually came to encrypt entire systems of thought.
Duncan Green
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198785392
- eISBN:
- 9780191833236
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198785392.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Public and Welfare
This chapter examines the advantages of systems thinking in navigating the complexities of the future. A ‘system’ here is defined as an interconnected set of elements coherently organized in a way ...
More
This chapter examines the advantages of systems thinking in navigating the complexities of the future. A ‘system’ here is defined as an interconnected set of elements coherently organized in a way that achieves something. A defining property of human systems is complexity: because of the sheer number of relationships and feedback loops among their many elements, they cannot be reduced to simple chains of cause and effect. In complex systems, change results from the interplay of many diverse and apparently unrelated factors. Thus, change agents need to identify which elements are important and understand how they interact. Working in complex systems requires an iterative, collaborative, and flexible approach.Less
This chapter examines the advantages of systems thinking in navigating the complexities of the future. A ‘system’ here is defined as an interconnected set of elements coherently organized in a way that achieves something. A defining property of human systems is complexity: because of the sheer number of relationships and feedback loops among their many elements, they cannot be reduced to simple chains of cause and effect. In complex systems, change results from the interplay of many diverse and apparently unrelated factors. Thus, change agents need to identify which elements are important and understand how they interact. Working in complex systems requires an iterative, collaborative, and flexible approach.
Gabrielle Hecht
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262082853
- eISBN:
- 9780262275873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262082853.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The main focus of this chapter is addressing two questions pointing to the importance of a deeper and more complex consideration of the comparison between systems thinking and how we currently ...
More
The main focus of this chapter is addressing two questions pointing to the importance of a deeper and more complex consideration of the comparison between systems thinking and how we currently attempt to describe the heterogeneous relationships that constitute technological activity today. First, the question of how systems thinkers conceived of relationships between technology and politics is addressed by examining how the systems thinking of state engineers, planners, and economists in France fit into broader debates about the relationship between technology, politics, and the national future during the 1950s and 1960s. Second, the question of how to deal with their conceptions and constructions in our own explorations of these relationships is addressed by presenting examples. The chapter begins with an analysis of French debates between technologists, social scientists, and humanists over the meanings of the terms “technocrat” and “technocracy.”Less
The main focus of this chapter is addressing two questions pointing to the importance of a deeper and more complex consideration of the comparison between systems thinking and how we currently attempt to describe the heterogeneous relationships that constitute technological activity today. First, the question of how systems thinkers conceived of relationships between technology and politics is addressed by examining how the systems thinking of state engineers, planners, and economists in France fit into broader debates about the relationship between technology, politics, and the national future during the 1950s and 1960s. Second, the question of how to deal with their conceptions and constructions in our own explorations of these relationships is addressed by presenting examples. The chapter begins with an analysis of French debates between technologists, social scientists, and humanists over the meanings of the terms “technocrat” and “technocracy.”
Bruce Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190885816
- eISBN:
- 9780190885847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190885816.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology, Plant Sciences and Forestry
As outlined in chapter 1, complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity present challenges for resource and environmental management. In this chapter, three interrelated responses to deal with surprise, ...
More
As outlined in chapter 1, complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity present challenges for resource and environmental management. In this chapter, three interrelated responses to deal with surprise, change, and wicked problems are examined: social learning, learning organizations, and adaptive environmental management. The characteristics of social learning and learning organizations are identified and reviewed. Then, basic ideas associated with adaptive environmental management are considered. Experience with applying adaptive environmental management is analyzed with regard to managing fish and wildlife, hydro-electricity production, and flood damage reduction in the Columbia River Basin in the United States. In her guest statement, Beate Ratter analyzes the collaborative approach to protecting the coastline of the EuropeanWalden Sea, shared by the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.Less
As outlined in chapter 1, complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity present challenges for resource and environmental management. In this chapter, three interrelated responses to deal with surprise, change, and wicked problems are examined: social learning, learning organizations, and adaptive environmental management. The characteristics of social learning and learning organizations are identified and reviewed. Then, basic ideas associated with adaptive environmental management are considered. Experience with applying adaptive environmental management is analyzed with regard to managing fish and wildlife, hydro-electricity production, and flood damage reduction in the Columbia River Basin in the United States. In her guest statement, Beate Ratter analyzes the collaborative approach to protecting the coastline of the EuropeanWalden Sea, shared by the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
Susan K. Jacobson, Mallory D. McDuff, and Martha C. Monroe
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198716686
- eISBN:
- 9780191797477
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198716686.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Theories about learning and teaching form the basis for designing effective programs and marketing them to their audiences and administrators. This chapter offers an introduction to theories about ...
More
Theories about learning and teaching form the basis for designing effective programs and marketing them to their audiences and administrators. This chapter offers an introduction to theories about learning and teaching that support effective programs for adults and young people. Since these cognitive development and mental model theories are important to teachers, conservation educators who wish to work with school personnel as well as adults will find these ideas helpful. The chapter offers program planners a foundation in how people learn, and a suite of theories, such as constructivism, inquiry learning, experiential learning, activity theory, social learning, and cooperative learning, all of which can be used to design effective, interactive programs. Critical thinking, creative thinking, and systems thinking skills are important to help learners to address conservation issues and can be practiced and promoted through well-designed programs.Less
Theories about learning and teaching form the basis for designing effective programs and marketing them to their audiences and administrators. This chapter offers an introduction to theories about learning and teaching that support effective programs for adults and young people. Since these cognitive development and mental model theories are important to teachers, conservation educators who wish to work with school personnel as well as adults will find these ideas helpful. The chapter offers program planners a foundation in how people learn, and a suite of theories, such as constructivism, inquiry learning, experiential learning, activity theory, social learning, and cooperative learning, all of which can be used to design effective, interactive programs. Critical thinking, creative thinking, and systems thinking skills are important to help learners to address conservation issues and can be practiced and promoted through well-designed programs.
