Computers are now capable of simulating some of the aspects of human intelligence. The object of an expert system, for example, is to capture all the knowledge accumulated by a…
Abstract
Computers are now capable of simulating some of the aspects of human intelligence. The object of an expert system, for example, is to capture all the knowledge accumulated by a human who has achieved mastery in a particular domain, and to apply that knowledge to given situations in much the same ways as the human expert does. Artificial intelligence is destined to evolve in many directions, some of which are only dimly perceived today.
Robert O. Knorr and John L. Neuman
America's consumable goods (CG) manufacturers and retailers are undergoing a sea change, according to the results of a recent Louis Harris survey report. The report analyzed the…
Abstract
America's consumable goods (CG) manufacturers and retailers are undergoing a sea change, according to the results of a recent Louis Harris survey report. The report analyzed the impact of quick response (QR) and supply‐chain partnering issues on the industry; these systems employ technology that dramatically improves the flow of information and product between supplier and retailer. An important conclusion of the report was that a small group of CG manufacturing leaders has broken away and pulled far ahead of its peers in QR use and leverage. Considering the dramatic progress made by this group in a relatively short time, the issue is who will be next to quickly emerge and gain disproportionate benefits.
John Neuman and Christopher Samuels
Details the results of a recent study into customer‐supplier partnerships aimed at executives with line responsibility in the logistics chain. Reveals widespread support for the…
Abstract
Details the results of a recent study into customer‐supplier partnerships aimed at executives with line responsibility in the logistics chain. Reveals widespread support for the idea of supply chain integration, but little evidence of actual implementation of the process. Looks at various reasons for the slow progress, quoting the comments of manufacturers and retailers interviewed and noting significant gaps in their perceptions of each other which need to be addressed. Concludes by outlining the key characteristics of an established and effective supply chain.
Details
Keywords
Gordon Pask was the author’s friend and colleague. Here are some comments and reminiscences which help justify the author’s claim that he was a genius.
Abstract
Gordon Pask was the author’s friend and colleague. Here are some comments and reminiscences which help justify the author’s claim that he was a genius.
Details
Keywords
Based on the reception of the principle of self-organization, the core of Heinz von Foerster's operational theories, I hypothesize how Heinz von Foerster's theory can be an…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the reception of the principle of self-organization, the core of Heinz von Foerster's operational theories, I hypothesize how Heinz von Foerster's theory can be an orientation model for the epistemological problem of complexity. I have chosen this study to demonstrate complexity as an epistemological problem. This is because the question of how order arises - the core problem of complexity - is an epistemological question for which Heinz von Foerster developed an epistemology of self-organization. I do not present new research because HvF already had the complex organization of systems in mind. Rather, I build a critical approach to complexity on the research and work on operational epistemology in HvF.
Design/methodology/approach
This article aims to provide an orientation for a philosophical and epistemological understanding of complexity through a reading of Heinz von Foerster's operational theory. The article attempts to establish complexity as an epistemological phenomenon through the following method: (1) a conceptual description of the science of complexity based on the turn to thermodynamic time, (2) a genealogy of complexity going back to the systemic method, and (3) Heinz von Foerster's cybernetic approach to self-organization.
Findings
Based on the reception of the principle of self-organization, the core of Heinz von Foerster's operational theories, the conclusion is drawn that complexity as a description is based on language games.
Research limitations/implications
The results present complexity not as an object of science, but as a description that stands for the understanding of complex description.
Social implications
The hypothesis that complexity is a question of description or observation, i.e. of description for what language serves, has enormous social implications, in that the description of complexes and the recognition of their orders (patterns) cannot be left to algorithmic governmentality, but must be carried out by a social agency.
Originality/value
HvF's operational epistemology can serve as an epistemological model for critical complexity theory.
Details
Keywords
Edina Kovács, Hedviga Haficova, Tatiana Dubayova, Tímea Ceglédi, Katalin Godó and Martin Kaleja
The aim of our research is to examine network of support persons of the students from marginalized Roma communities in Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. By conducting…
Abstract
The aim of our research is to examine network of support persons of the students from marginalized Roma communities in Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. By conducting a qualitative analysis of the examples of good practice, that is, students who have managed to successfully study at a university despite their difficult family backgrounds, we have surveyed the type of support the students received during their studies and the persons who supported them at individual education levels. In the research part, we also analyze the factors which had an impact on the development of their resilient personality and the sources of support which helped them overcome barriers during their studies. The primary support persons were the members of their nuclear families whose emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support was particularly crucial at the primary school. At the next education levels, especially important for respondents was the emotional support they received in the form of encouragement and improvement of respondents’ self-confidence. Teachers are mentioned in the narratives of our respondents as persons engaging in their support and education at the primary and the secondary school. Their supportive influence fades away at the university, which is a pity for our group of students because it is the university environment which is completely unknown to them and so they must rely on the help of peers. A good strategy applied particularly in Hungary is the creation of support groups led by a lecturer-mentor for students coming from marginalized Roma communities which help them during the first days at university. School achievements of respondents were also influenced by other persons who helped them at all levels based on personal sympathies and the established relationships. At the beginning, such persons occur in their life narratives incidentally, but later respondents learned to actively build networks of support relationships as part of their resilient behavior.
Details
Keywords
Evelyne Andreewsky and Danièle Bourcier
The complexity of any given cognitive phenomenon, such as “scientific discovery”, “technical expertise”, or “natural language understanding”, requires a multidisciplinary…
Abstract
The complexity of any given cognitive phenomenon, such as “scientific discovery”, “technical expertise”, or “natural language understanding”, requires a multidisciplinary approach. Presents, within the framework of such an approach, some visible evidences of how these very different phenomena are closely rooted in the same highly inventive cognitive process, abduction. These evidences will be provided out of examples from both everyday language interpretation and law making expertise.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to put the paper by Jay Ogilvy in the context of current debates around the philosophical foundations of future studies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to put the paper by Jay Ogilvy in the context of current debates around the philosophical foundations of future studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a review and analyzes the current literature on foresight and philosophy of the future.
Findings
The paper finds that the practical challenge of taking a “scenaric stance”, as articulated in “Facing the fold”, cannot be addressed without going beyond the typically epistemological solutions proposed by most futurists.
Research limitations/implications
The challenge is not finding ways to “know” the future, rather to find ways to live and act with not‐knowing the future.
Practical implications
The “scenaric stance” points to a way of embracing what Henri Bergson calls “the continuous creation of unforeseeable novelty.”
Social implications
The “scenaric stance” offers one way of addressing the difficult, often deeply painful challenge of reconciling the desire for certainty with the desire to “be free” – in the Senian sense of capacity – by providing a way to embrace ambiguity and spontaneity.
Originality/value
The emergence of new solutions to how people think about the future rather than what kind of future reflects a confluence of events in the realms of theory and practice. The reason why one needs to and can rethink how one thinks about the future is original to the present conjuncture.
Details
Keywords
Although researchers have suggested that aggression is multiply determined, most studies examine only a small set of predictors, focusing on either situational or individual or…
Abstract
Although researchers have suggested that aggression is multiply determined, most studies examine only a small set of predictors, focusing on either situational or individual or reciprocal motives. Research has not studied extensively the relative strength of multiple antecedent sets. Using questionnaire data (n = 366), the current study examines eleven antecedents of employees engaging in aggression: situational antecedents (i.e., procedural, distributive, and interpersonal justice; organizational, work group, and job related stress), individual difference antecedents (i.e., Type A behavior, trait anger, reactions to anger), and reciprocal effects (i.e., being the target of aggression). Individual difference antecedents and being the target of aggression influence the frequency with which employees report engaging in aggression. Situational antecedents are not significant predictors once other antecedents are taken into account.