Complexity And The Human Experience

Author : Paul A. Youngman
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 9814463264
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.63/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity and the Human Experience written by Paul A. Youngman and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-05-22 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Questions of values, ontologies, ethics, aesthetics, discourse, origins, language, literature, and meaning do not lend themselves readily, or traditionally, to equations, probabilities, and models. However, with the increased adoption of natural science tools in economics, anthropology, and political science—to name only a few social scientific fields highlighted in this volume—quantitative methods in the humanities are becoming more common. The theory of complexity holds significant promise for better understanding social and human phenomena based on interactions among the participating "agents," whatever they may be: a thought, a person, a conversation, a sentence, or an email. Such systems can exhibit phase transitions, feedback loops, self-organization, and emergent properties. These dynamic systems lend themselves naturally to the kind of analysis made possible by models and simulations developed with complex science tools. This volume offers a tour of quantitative analyses, models, and simulations of humanities and social science phenomena that have been historically the purview of qualitative methods.

Author : Michael Frayn
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312426286
Total Pages : 516 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Human Touch written by Michael Frayn and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-01-22 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With wit, charm, and brilliance, this epic work sets out to make sense of our place in the scheme of things. Surveying the spectrum of philosophical concerns from the existence of space and time to relativity and language, Frayn attempts to resolve what he calls "the oldest mystery": the world is what we make of it.

Author : Lois Tyson
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 0415974100
Total Pages : 484 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Critical Theory Today written by Lois Tyson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2006 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition of the classic guide offers a thorough and accessible introduction to contemporary critical theory. It provides in-depth coverage of the most common approaches to literary analysis today: feminism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, reader-response theory, new criticism, structuralism and semiotics, deconstruction, new historicism, cultural criticism, lesbian/gay/queer theory, African-American criticism, and postcolonial criticism. The chapters provide an extended explanation of each theory, using examples from everyday life, popular culture, and literary texts; a list of specific questions critics who use that theory ask about literary texts; an interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby through the lens of each theory; a list of questions for further practice to guide readers in applying each theory to different literary works; and a bibliography of primary and secondary works for further reading. This book can be used as the only text in a course or as a precursor to the study of primary theoretical works. It motivates readers by showing them what critical theory can offer in terms of their practical understanding of literary texts and in terms of their personal understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. Both engaging and rigorous, it is a "how-to" book for undergraduate and graduate students new to critical theory and for college professors who want to broaden their repertoire of critical approaches to literature.

Author : Ralph Stacey
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134210523
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity and the Experience of Managing in Public Sector Organizations written by Ralph Stacey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-05-07 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fundamental problem of public sector governance relates to the very way of thinking it reflects; where organization is thought of as a ‘thing’, a system designed to deliver what its designers choose. This volume questions that way of thinking and takes a perspective in which organizations are complex responsive processes of relating between people. Bringing together the work of participants on the Doctor of Management program at Hertfordshire University, this book focuses on the move to marketization and managerialism, paying particular attention to human relationships and group dynamics. The contributors provide narrative accounts of their work addressing questions of management, pressures, accountability, responsiveness and traditional systems perspectives. In considering such questions in terms of their daily experience, they explore how the perspective of complex responsive processes assists them in making sense of experience and developing practice. Including an editors’ commentary which introduces and contextualizes these experiences as well as drawing out key themes for further research, this book will be of value to academics, students and practitioners looking for reflective accounts of real life experiences rather than further prescriptions of what organizational life ought to be.

Author : Philip Agre
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521386036
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Computation and Human Experience written by Philip Agre and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-07-28 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By paying close attention to the metaphors of artificial intelligence and their consequences for the field's patterns of success and failure, this text argues for a reorientation of the field away from thought and toward activity. It offers a critical reconstruction of AI research.

Author : Ralph Stacey
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134049102
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity and the Experience of Values, Conflict and Compromise in Organizations written by Ralph Stacey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-03-20 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What role do values play in organizational life? How do they shape the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational change? This volume examines what we actually mean when we use the term values and what it means to act according to values in ordinary everyday life. The contributors to this volume provide an exposition of the circular relationship between values, conflict, and compromise. It can be said that current research lacks a thorough exploration of what we actually mean by human values and what it means to act according to values in ordinary, everyday life in organizations. This is what the chapters in this volume seek to address through the reflections of organizational practitioners on their ordinary work in organizations. Covering subject areas such as organizational theory and behaviour, and organizational analysis as well as the sociology of work and industry, this book will appeal to researchers and practitioners alike.

Author : Roger Lewin
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226476551
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity written by Roger Lewin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Put together one of the world's best science writers with one of the universe's most fascinating subjects and you are bound to produce a wonderful book. . . . The subject of complexity is vital and controversial. This book is important and beautifully done."—Stephen Jay Gould "[Complexity] is that curious mix of complication and organization that we find throughout the natural and human worlds: the workings of a cell, the structure of the brain, the behavior of the stock market, the shifts of political power. . . . It is time science . . . thinks about meaning as well as counting information. . . . This is the core of the complexity manifesto. Read it, think about it . . . but don't ignore it."—Ian Stewart, Nature This second edition has been brought up to date with an essay entitled "On the Edge in the Business World" and an interview with John Holland, author of Emergence: From Chaos to Order.

Author : Andrzej Nowak
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3642314368
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complex Human Dynamics written by Andrzej Nowak and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, edited and authored by a closely collaborating network of social scientists and psychologists, recasts typical research topics in these fields into the language of nonlinear, dynamic and complex systems. The aim is to provide scientists with different backgrounds - physics, applied mathematics and computer sciences - with the opportunity to apply the tools of their trade to an altogether new range of possible applications. At the same time, this book will serve as a first reference for a new generation of social scientists and psychologists wishing to familiarize themselves with the new methodology and the "thinking in complexity".

Author : Walter C. Clemens Jr.
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438449011
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complexity Science and World Affairs written by Walter C. Clemens Jr. and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Applies complexity science to the study of international politics. Why did some countries transition peacefully from communist rule to political freedom and market economies, while others did not? Why did the United States enjoy a brief moment as the sole remaining superpower, and then lose power and influence across the board? What are the prospects for China, the main challenger to American hegemony? In Complexity Science and World Affairs, Walter C. Clemens Jr. demonstrates how the basic concepts of complexity science can broaden and deepen the insights gained by other approaches to the study of world affairs. He argues that societal fitness—the ability of a social system to cope with complex challenges and opportunities—hinges heavily on the values and way of life of each society, and serves to explain why some societies gain and others lose. Applying theory to several rich case studies, including political developments across post–Soviet Eurasia and the United States, Clemens shows that complexity science offers a powerful set of tools for advancing the study of international relations, comparative government, and, more broadly, the social sciences. “Clemens has written an outstanding book—the culmination of a half?century’s experience in and analysis of world affairs [It is] bound to interest not only political and other social scientists but all thoughtful persons concerned with understanding and perhaps improving the human condition.” — from the Foreword by Stuart A. Kauffman “This breakthrough book provides a new, promising general paradigm exploring and explaining the complexity of world politics. For scholars and analysts pushing the boundaries of our field, this is a must-read volume.” — Jacek Kugler, Claremont Graduate University “Complexity can be overwhelming and complexity science can be daunting, and, yet, in Walter Clemens’s skilled hands both become accessible, understandable, and useful tools for both scholars and practitioners. Once again, Clemens has shown that sophisticated academic theorizing only benefits from clarity, elegance, and wit. The book is ideal for graduate and undergraduate students as a supplementary text in international relations or comparative politics.” — Alexander Motyl, Rutgers University–Newark “Clemens offers a fresh, even startling, paradigm and process for analyzing the seemingly unpredictable relations within and among human societies. With impressive clarity he proposes that ‘the capacity to cope with complexity’ has become a key determinant of success in our intricately interrelated world. Careful study of this capacity in specific contexts can lead to revealing analyses in comparative politics and international relations. A provocative and stimulating treatise!” — S. Frederick Starr, Johns Hopkins University “Walt Clemens’s provocative new book can be appreciated at several levels: as an analytical framework in international relations—complexity science—that offers a compelling alternative to realism and neoliberalism; as an incisive critique of the ‘fitness’ of the supposedly most developed societies to deal with our complex world; and as a humanistic value-set that provides better standards for assessing governments than do GDP, trade levels, or military spending. Clemens skillfully integrates theory and practice to explore US ‘hyperpower,’ the two Koreas, China, and other states from new angles, and with consistent objectivity. IR specialists should find this book exciting, while IR and international studies students will be challenged by the new paradigm it presents.” — Mel Gurtov, Portland State University “Clemens proposes a powerful new way of looking at international relations and politics, and offers a productive method for assessing the fitness of societies in the early twenty-first century.” — Guntis Šmidchens, University of Washington, Seattle “You don’t have to be a political scientist to wonder why some states succeed and others do not, why some societies flourish while others suffer stagnation and conflict. Employing the relatively new tool of complexity science, Walter Clemens evaluates the ‘fitness’ of states and societies, i.e. their ability to cope with complex challenges and opportunities. He does so in a way that is erudite—how many studies quote Walt Whitman and Karl Marx in the same chapter?—yet clear and accessible. Clemens challenges both existing political science paradigms and policy perspectives. This is a stimulating, rich volume that can be read and re-read with profit and appreciation for its breadth and depth and most of all for its insistence that we see the world, and the states in it, in all their complexity.” — Ronald H. Linden, University of Pittsburgh

Author : Lucy Coleman
Publisher : R. R. Bowker
ISBN 13 : 9781949545166
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Complexity of Humans Today written by Lucy Coleman and published by R. R. Bowker. This book was released on 2019-04 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans may be the most important beings on the planet, but they are also the most complex. This statement is true in more ways than one, humans are not the only living things on earth, but they are on top of the food chain because they embody intellectual prowess higher than other living things. As a human being, you think beyond eating and sleeping; you are always overwhelmed by so many other issues that must be dealt with daily, for you to experience the best out of life. However, dealing with these issues doesn't mean you get to escape the "complex" idea of your humanity. If you are going to deal with complexities all your life, the best thing you can do is understand them, and see how you can make the most out of the situation. The objective of this book is to share some of the most factual aspects of human complexity, so you are equipped with information that will help you live your best life now and understand your surroundings. We live in a world that is filled with diversity in many aspects, and these are the basic centre point of human nature. There is so much to learn on the issue of complexity, in fact, you will be amazed at the depths we will unravel, but I promise it will be fun all the way. "Humans had always been a complex mystery".