Complexity Thinking: Science in the Age of Alternative Truths


Book Description

Many scholars agree that we are currently living in post-ideological times, and that the role of religion and social ideology has become increasingly limited as a means to organise society. Some even talk of a ‘post-truth’ era, as truth itself has become suspect, and public debate has become infected with terms such as ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative truths.’ In fact, in many scientific areas the notions of truth, objectivity and fact are being questioned, and are often even considered instruments that aim to perpetuate relationships of power of elites. This book aims to take a position in these debates by looking at the often-implicit associations behind truth, objectivity, and fact. By taking a complexity-informed, dialectical approach, a more encompassing understanding of these concepts can be developed, that both respects the formidable achievements of science, while being sensitive to the critique that has been raised, most notably by postmodern thought.




Complexity Thinking


Book Description

Many scholars agree that we are currently living in post-ideological times, and that the role of religion and social ideology has become increasingly limited as a means to organise society. Some even talk of a 'post-truth' era, as truth itself has become suspect, and public debate has become infected with terms such as 'fake news' and 'alternative truths.' In fact, in many scientific areas the notions of truth, objectivity and fact are being questioned, and are often even considered instruments that aim to perpetuate relationships of power of elites. This book aims to take a position in these debates by looking at the often-implicit associations behind truth, objectivity, and fact. By taking a complexity-informed, dialectical approach, a more encompassing understanding of these concepts can be developed, that both respects the formidable achievements of science, while being sensitive to the critique that has been raised, most notably by postmodern thought.




Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences


Book Description

Chaos and complexity are the new buzz words in both science and contemporary society. The ideas they represent have enormous implications for the way we understand and engage with the world. Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences introduces students to the central ideas which surround the chaos/complexity theories. It discusses key concepts before using them as a way of investigating the nature of social research. By applying them to such familiar topics as urban studies, education and health, David Byrne allows readers new to the subject to appreciate the contribution which complexity theory can make to social research and to illuminating the crucial social issues of our day.




Communicating Science Effectively


Book Description

Science and technology are embedded in virtually every aspect of modern life. As a result, people face an increasing need to integrate information from science with their personal values and other considerations as they make important life decisions about medical care, the safety of foods, what to do about climate change, and many other issues. Communicating science effectively, however, is a complex task and an acquired skill. Moreover, the approaches to communicating science that will be most effective for specific audiences and circumstances are not obvious. Fortunately, there is an expanding science base from diverse disciplines that can support science communicators in making these determinations. Communicating Science Effectively offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to apply this research and fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere. To inform this research agenda, this publication identifies important influences â€" psychological, economic, political, social, cultural, and media-related â€" on how science related to such issues is understood, perceived, and used.




Complexity


Book Description

“If you liked Chaos, you’ll love Complexity. Waldrop creates the most exciting intellectual adventure story of the year” (The Washington Post). In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank and their radical idea is to create a new science: complexity. They want to know how a primordial soup of simple molecules managed to turn itself into the first living cell—and what the origin of life some four billion years ago can tell us about the process of technological innovation today. This book is their story—the story of how they have tried to forge what they like to call the science of the twenty-first century. “Lucidly shows physicists, biologists, computer scientists and economists swapping metaphors and reveling in the sense that epochal discoveries are just around the corner . . . [Waldrop] has a special talent for relaying the exhilaration of moments of intellectual insight.” —The New York Times Book Review “Where I enjoyed the book was when it dove into the actual question of complexity, talking about complex systems in economics, biology, genetics, computer modeling, and so on. Snippets of rare beauty here and there almost took your breath away.” —Medium “[Waldrop] provides a good grounding of what may indeed be the first flowering of a new science.” —Publishers Weekly




The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences


Book Description

Learning sciences is an interdisciplinary field that studies teaching and learning. The sciences of learning include cognitive science, educational psychology, computer science, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, and other fields. The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, first published in 2006, shows how educators can use the learning sciences to design more effective learning environments - including school classrooms and also informal settings such as science centers or after-school clubs, on-line distance learning, and computer-based tutoring software. The chapters in this handbook each describe exciting new classroom environments, based on the latest science about how children learn. CHLS is a true handbook in that readers can use it to design the schools of the future - schools that will prepare graduates to participate in a global society that is increasingly based on knowledge and innovation.




Anticipation, Agency and Complexity


Book Description

This volume presents a selection of the Proceedings of the Workshop on Anticipation, Agency and Complexity held in Trento (Italy) on April 2017. The contributions contained in the book brilliantly revolve around three core concepts: agency, complexity and anticipation, giving precious insights to further define the discipline of anticipation. In a world that moves increasingly fast, constantly on the verge of disruptive events, more and more scholars and practitioners in any field feel in need of new approaches to make sense of the complexity and uncertainty that the future seems to bear. The theory of anticipation tries to describe how possible futures are intrinsically intertwined with the present.




Complexity and Sustainability


Book Description

Introduction -- Elucidating complexity theories -- Complexity in the natural sciences -- Complexity in social theory -- Towards transdisciplinarity -- Complexity in philosophy: complexification and the limits to knowledge -- Complexity in ethics -- Earth in the anthropocene -- Complexity and climate change -- American dreams, ecological nightmares and new visions -- Complexity and sustainability: wicked problems, gordian knots and synergistic solutions -- Conclusion.




Challenging ICT Applications in Architecture, Engineering, and Industrial Design Education


Book Description

Are Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) helpful or detrimental to the process of design? According to Aristotle, the imagination is a mental power that assists logical, sound judgments. Design, therefore, incorporates both reason and imagination. Challenging ICT Applications in Architecture, Engineering, and Industrial Design Education posits imagination as the central feature of design. It questions the common assumption that ICTs are not only useful but also valuable for the creation of the visual designs that reside at the core of architecture, engineering design, and industrial design. For readers who believe this assumption is right, this book offers an alternative perspective.




The SAGE Handbook of Organization Studies


Book Description

Praise for the award winning First Edition: ′This handbook is organized to help teachers and students to cover the mainstream work in the field of organization studies. This is an excellent reference tool with which to study organizational theory and practice′ - International Review of Administrative Sciences ′The editors have put together an impressive reference work, serious in intent and rigorous in implementation. As a publishing achievement, and a scholarly ′event′ in the field, SAGE is to be congratulated. It is designed as a work of synthesis, to link past and present, general and specific′ - Journal of General Management Praise for the New Edition: ′An excellent collection of papers giving a timely overview of the field′ - Gareth Morgan ′In this substantially updated, revised and extended edition of the widely acclaimed Handbook, the high standard of the contributions is maintained. Close consideration is given to newly emergent, such as networks and complexity, as well as more established topics. Metaphors of conversation and discourse are engagingly invoked to make and explore new distinctions, directions and connections. It is a key reference volume for more advanced students of this rapidly developing field′ - Hugh Willmott , Diageo Professor of Management Studies, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge ′Giving the authors of the Handbook of Organization Studies the opportunity to revise and update their earlier contributions makes this handbook unique. Comparing the revised chapters to their originals offers the reader unparalleled insight into how knowledge develops in our discipline. New frameworks and deeper understandings, grounded in continuing scholarship, abound in this updated classic′ - Mary Jo Hatch, C. Coleman McGehee Eminent Scholars Research Professor of Banking and Commerce McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia A decade after it first published to international acclaim, the seminal Handbook of Organization Studies has been updated to capture exciting new developments in the field. Providing a retrospective and prospective overview of organization studies, the Handbook continues to challenge and inspire readers with its synthesis of knowledge and literature. As ever, contributions have been selected to reflect the diversity of the field. New chapters cover areas such as organizational change; knowledge management; and organizational networks. Part One reflects on the relationship between theory, research and practice in organization studies. Part Two address a number of the most significant issues to affect organization studies such as leadership, diversity and globalization. Comprehensive and far-reaching, this important resource will set new standards for the understanding of organizational studies. It will be invaluable to researchers, teachers and advanced students alike.