Systems Transdisciplinary Approach in the General Classification of Scientific Approaches

The development of systems thinking and systems worldview needs new types of system approaches. New types of systems approaches should find their place in the appropriate classification of scientific approaches. The article attempts to substantiate the natural connection of classical scientific approaches with their system analogues. This relationship is manifested in the General classification of scientific approaches from the mono-disciplinary approach to the systems transdisciplinary approach. The definitions of the approaches in such a classification are distinguished by identification features and functional features. Classification allows you to consciously use these definitions within a single semantic field of scientific knowledge. The streamlining of scientific approaches within the framework of such a classification makes it possible to give a rationale for a wide range of interdisciplinary interactions in modern science

The Integration of the Program Evaluation Standards into an Evaluation Toolkit for a Transformative Model of Care for Mental Health Service Delivery

Background: Stepped Care 2.0 (SC2.0) is a transformative model of mental health service delivery. This model was created by Stepped Care Solutions (SCS), a not-for-profit consultancy that collaborates with governments, public service organizations, and other institutions that wish to redesign their mental health and addictions systems of care. The SC2.0 model is based on 10 foundational principles and 9 core components that can be flexibly adapted to an organization’s or community’s needs. The model supports groups to reorganize and deliver mental health care in an evidence-informed, person-centric way. SCS partnered with evaluators from the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS) to create a toolkit that provides evaluation guidance. The toolkit includes a theory of change, guidance on selecting evaluation questions and designs, and an evaluation matrix including suggested process and outcome metrics, all of which can be tailored to each unique implementation of the SC2.0 model. The objective of this resource is to support organizations and communities to conduct high-quality evaluations for the purpose of continuous improvement (a core component of the model of care) and to assess the model’s impact. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the integration of the program evaluation standards (PES) into an evaluation toolkit for SC2.0. Setting: In this paper, we describe the toolkit development, focusing on how the PES were embedded in the process and tools. We explore how the integration of the PES into the toolkit supports evaluators to enhance the quality of their evaluation planning, execution, and meta-evaluation. Intervention: Not applicable Research Design: Not applicable Data Collection and Analysis: Not applicable Findings: In this paper, we describe the toolkit development, focusing on how the PES were embedded in the process and tools. We explore how the integration of the PES into the toolkit supports evaluators to enhance the quality of their evaluation planning, execution, and meta-evaluation. Keywords: program evaluation standards; evaluation; mental healt

A Systematic Framework for Exploring Worldviews and Its Generalization as a Multi-Purpose Inquiry Framework

Systems science methodologies do not have a consistent way of working with worldviews, even though determining stakeholder perspectives is central to systems thinking. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive “Worldview Inquiry Framework” that can be used across methodologies to govern the process of eliciting, documenting, and comparing the worldviews of stakeholders. We discuss the systemicity of worldviews and explain how this can help practitioners to find the roots of stakeholders’ disagreements about value judgements. We then generalize the structure of the Worldview Inquiry Framework to produce a “General Inquiry Framework” that can be used to govern an inquiry process in other contexts. We show that the presented Worldview Inquiry Framework is a special case of this General Inquiry Framework and show how the General Inquiry Framework can be tailored for other contexts such as problem solving, product design, and fundamental research

Metamodern Strategy: A System Of Multi-Ontological Sense Making

Multi-ontological sense making in irreducible social systems requires the use of different worldviews to generate contextually appropriate understandings and insights for action in different systems states. While models exist for describing complex dynamics in social systems, no frameworks or aids exist to explain the system of worldviews. This dissertation developed a conceptual scheme that will aid in multi-ontological sense making in social systems. This conceptual scheme has both theoretical and practical implications for visualizing, understanding, and responding to social systems and ultimately to complexity. To develop this new conceptual scheme, a qualitative meta-synthesis approach was adopted to develop theory and to develop a framework for classifying management approaches, tools and techniques to corresponding worldviews for use in dynamic and complicated social systems. The research design was sequential, with four phases. In phase one a content analysis of 16 worldviews was conducted to develop a classification framework for worldviews. In phase two the worldview classification framework was then applied to 35 strategy consulting approaches to categorize the approaches to differing underlying worldviews and to understand the ontological mapping of the differing approaches. Phase three was analyzing the data, the results of which showed that strategy consulting engagements cast sense making in social systems primarily into three simplified quadrants: the simple, complex, and complicated. The results further showed that only the process consulting approaches adopted a multi-dimensional, worldview-driven approach to social systems, an approach that moved beyond the simplified states of the expert, doctor-patient, and emergent approaches to strategy consulting. In phase four a new theory of sense making was developed: the aspectus system. The aspectus system stresses the importance of segregating sense making activities in social systems into two distinct worldview-driven categories: (a) simplified sense making which informs and is followed by (b) metamodern sense making. In doing so, the Aspectus system separates worldview-driven sense making in social systems into a separate domain, emphasizing that social systems must be considered as both complex and complicated and also as distinct from other types of systems. The aspectus system application in shared sense making was then tested in a thought experiment to demonstrate how it should be applied in practice. The results indicate that a worldview-driven, metamodern approach to multi- ontological sense making in irreducible complex and complicated social systems generates contextually appropriate models for understanding, insights, and actions

E-Sustainability 2023 | Atas do Seminário Doutoral do Doutoramento em Sustentabilidade Social e Desenvolvimento

Este e-book é o resultado das contribuições apresentadas pelos doutorandos de ambos os programas, durante os dois dias e foi organizado em três grandes tópicos: i) Território; ii) Organizações e Governança e iii) Sociedade e Desenvolvimento local. Apresentam-se nestas atas as contribuições de cada tópico em forma de resumo alargado. O evento contou com a apresentação de 10 trabalhos de doutoramento e ainda com 4 Pitch Talks de estudantes sobre o percurso para a publicação em revistas internacionais, com partilha dos desafios e obstáculos encontrados.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Worldviews and Integrative Education : A Case Study of Partially Integrative Religious Education and Secular Ethics Education in a Finnish Lower Secondary School Context

The purpose of this study is to examine partially integrative religious and secular ethics education in the Finnish context. By studying experiences and viewpoints relating to partially integrative teaching of religious education (RE) and secular ethics in a lower secondary school context, this study aims to highlight relevant meanings and problems relating to learning in the integrative teaching of RE and secular ethics. While Finnish RE and secular ethics teaching is separative on the level of the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education, some lower secondary schools have started to implement partially integrative practices, where the different curricula of RE and secular ethics are taught integratively in the same classrooms. This study is an article-based thesis comprised of three original refereed research articles (Åhs, Poulter & Kallioniemi 2016, 2019a & 2019b). These articles investigate the views of pupils, the teachers, headteachers and the parents or guardians of the pupils relating to possibilities and issues in integrative classrooms of religious education and secular ethics. The study investigates these themes through three research questions: 1. What are the pertinent views and meanings given in relation to an integrative space of learning religions and worldviews? 2. How do pupils perceive and view an integrative space for learning in the light of their experiences? 3. How do different stakeholders in education: parents, teachers and head teachers view integrative classrooms? The study was implemented with a mixed methods approach and a variety of different data was gathered from a total of four lower secondary schools implementing partially integrative teaching of religious education and secular ethics in the metropolitan area of Helsinki. The data of the study consists of questionnaires to pupils attending partially integrative religious and secular ethics education (N=174), individual pupil interviews (N=40), survey data from the guardians of the pupils (N=174), interviews of teachers and head teachers (N=6) and group interviews of pupils (N=38). The quantitative questionnaire data was analysed with SPSS and the qualitative data with qualitative content analysis. The results of this study indicate that while there are many challenges in implementing integrative practices within a separative system of religious education and secular ethics, the majority of the pupils, teachers and guardians of the pupils view integrative practices as a positive phenomenon in relation to learning and dialogue about religions and worldviews. These positive views were attributed to the possibility of discussing religions and worldviews across religious education and secular ethics group boundaries, the presence of friends across these different groups, and the equality of pupils in relation to school timetables, materials and teaching arrangements. The pupils especially appreciated opportunities to hear about and discuss religious and worldview themes as they appeared in the lived lives of other pupils. These views and discussions appeared in partially integrative classrooms where inclusivity and a safe space were created and pupils were not expected or forced to present their own views but could do so of their own volition. The safe space in which to explore these themes relied on the presence of friends, teacher reflexivity and sensitivity towards various different worldview positions, and mutual attentiveness and goodwill towards the experiences of others. The results also indicated challenges in implementing partially integrative practices. Some pupils highlighted the need for religious education and secular ethics to be taught separatively. This was mainly due to the fact that in their minds a separative form of teaching could better provide knowledge about the pupils’ own religion and a safe space to learn about it. In the case of pupils from secular ethics groups, an integrative form of teaching was sometimes associated with the presence of religious themes, which were largely absent in the separative classes of secular ethics. While the teachers saw that implementing integrative practices within a separative system was challenging in many respects, they highlighted that partially integrative teaching could provide new platforms for learning religions and worldviews together that a fully separative form of RE and secular ethics could not offer. The guardians saw that partially integrative teaching of religious education and secular ethics provided the pupils with a more comprehensive view of different positions regarding religions and worldviews and mirrored society more accurately, since other contexts of study and work would require the pupils to encounter many different religions and worldviews. When interpreting the results, it is necessary to take into account the partially integrative nature of the classrooms and the previous experiences of separative RE and secular ethics of pupils and parents. Based on the research results, it could be claimed that possibilities to implement integrative teaching should be taken into consideration when developing the RE and secular ethics in lower secondary school. Reflection in relation to positionality of different religions and worldviews in the classroom seems to be important when developing and implementing such teaching. Especially the equality of different worldviews in the classroom and noting the individuality and heterogeneity in worldviews can be seen to be important parts of this reflexivity. Keywords: worldview education, religious education, secular ethics, integrative education, basic educationTämä väitöskirjatutkimus tarkastelee osittain integroitua uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetusta suomalaisessa peruskoulussa. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, mitä keskeisiä kokemuksia, merkityksiä ja mahdollisia ongelmia liitetään osittain integroidusti toteutettuun uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetukseen. Vaikka suomalainen uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetus on eriytetty eri opetussuunnitelmiin valtakunnallisella tasolla, eräät koulut toteuttavat katsomusaineiden opetusta osittain yhdistetysti peruskoulussa. Tämä tutkimus kohdistuu yläkouluun. Tämä artikkeliväitöskirja koostuu kolmesta vertaisarvioidusta tieteellisestä julkaisusta (Åhs, Poulter & Kallioniemi 2016, 2019a & 2019b), jotka käsittelevät oppilaiden, opettajien, rehtorien ja huoltajien kokemuksia ja näkemyksiä uskonnon ja elämänkatsomustiedon osittain integroidun opetuksen mahdollisuuksista ja ongelmista. Väitöskirjan päätutkimuskysymykset ovat: 1. Millaisia näkemyksiä ja merkityksiä liitetään osittain integroituun uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetukseen? 2. Mitkä ovat oppilaiden näkemykset osittain integroidusta opetuksesta omien kokemustensa valossa? 3. Millaisia näkemyksiä oppilaiden huoltajilla, opettajilla ja rehtoreilla on osittain integroidusta katsomusopetuksesta? Tutkimus toteutettiin monimenetelmällisesti ja tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin neljästä helsinkiläisestä yläkoulusta. Aineisto koostuu oppilailta kerätystä kyselyaineistosta (N=174), oppilaiden haastatteluista (N=40), oppilaiden huoltajilta kerätystä lyhyestä kyselystä (N=174), opettajien ja rehtorien haastatteluista (N=6) ja oppilaiden ryhmähaastatteluista (N=38). Kvantitatiivinen kyselyaineisto analysoitiin SPSS- ohjelman avulla ja kvalitatiivinen haastatteluaineisto laadullisella sisällönanalyysilla. Tulokset osoittavat, että valtaosa oppilaista, huoltajista ja opettajista piti osittain integroitua uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetusta myönteisenä ilmiönä oppimisen ja katsomusdialogin kannalta. Opetuksen myönteiset vaikutukset liittyivät oppilaiden mahdollisuuksiin keskustella uskontoihin ja muihin katsomuksiin liittyvistä teemoista uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetuksen ryhmärajat ylittäen, ystävien läsnäoloon katsomusryhmästä huolimatta sekä oppilaiden yhdenvertaisuuteen koulun aikatauluissa, opetusmateriaaleissa ja opetuksen järjestelyissä. Oppilaat arvostivat mahdollisuuksia keskustella siitä, miten uskonnot ja muut katsomukset näkyvät muiden oppilaiden eletyssä elämässä. Nämä keskustelut olivat mahdollisia niissä integroidun opetuksen luokkahuoneissa, joissa tarjottiin turvallinen tila, jossa oppilaan ei odotettu edustavan tiettyä katsomusta vaan hän sai kertoa omista näkemyksistään omilla ehdoillaan. Oppilaat korostivat, että tämä turvallinen tila rakentui ystävien läsnäolosta, yhteisesti osoitetusta huomiosta ja arvostuksesta eri näkemyksiä kohtaan, sekä opettajan reflektiivisyydestä ja sensitiivisyydestä eri uskontoja ja katsomuksia kohtaan. Oppilaiden huoltajat ja opettajat näkivät, että kokemukset integroidusta opetuksesta voivat tarjota oppilaille monipuolisemman kuvan eri katsomuksista, täten heijastellen sitä moninaista yhteiskuntaa, johon oppilaat ovat kasvamassa. Osittain integroidun katsomusopetuksen toteuttamisessa on myös haasteita eriytetyn uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetusmallin puitteissa. Osa oppilaista korosti eriytetyn uskonnon opetuksen tarvetta ja merkitystä. Näille oppilaille eriytetty opetus tarjosi enemmän tietoa heidän omasta uskonnostaan ja tilan, jossa tätä tietoa saattoi omaksua ja keskustella siitä. Osa elämänkatsomustiedon oppilaista puolestaan kertoi, että yhteinen opetus korosti enemmän uskontojen roolia ja näkyvyyttä verrattuna elämänkatsomustiedon opetukseen. Opettajat kertoivat, että osittain integroidun opetuksen toteuttaminen eriytetyn järjestelmän puitteissa oli haastavaa aikataulujen ja asiasisällön määrän vuoksi. He korostivat silti, että osittain integroitu opetus tarjosi uudenlaisen oppimisympäristön keskustella ja oppia katsomuksista, joita eriytetty opetus yksinään ei voinut tarjota. Tuloksia tulkittaessa on muistettava, että niin opettajilla, oppilailla kuin huoltajillakin on aiempia kokemuksia eriytetystä uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opiskelusta. Tutkimustulosten pohjalta voidaan esittää, että yläkoulun uskonnon- ja elämänkatsomustiedon opetusta kehitettäessä tulisi kiinnittää huomiota mahdollisuuksiin luoda opetusryhmärajat ylittäviä oppimismahdollisuuksia. Opetukseen liittyvä katsomusreflektiivisyys on avainasemassa tällaista opetusta järjestettäessä. Tällöin tulee kiinnittää huomiota eri katsomusten asemaan luokkahuonetilanteessa. Erityisesti oppilaiden katsomusten tasavertainen asema, yksilöllisten katsomusten huomioiminen ja katsomuksellisen monimuotoisuuden hahmottaminen ovat tällöin tärkeitä opetuksen suunnittelun ja toteutuksen lähtökohtia. Avainsanat: katsomusopetus, uskonnonopetus, elämänkatsomustieto, integroitu opetus, perusopetu

Communication in Purposeful Human Activity Systems: The Role of Signs in Organizational Change Management

Communication in purposeful human activity systems plays a critical role in the design, management, and change management of these systems. However, its impact on and integrated nature in purposeful human activity systems is not well understood from a holistic viewpoint. In addition, a formal definition and methodology for identifying signs exhibited by purposeful human activity systems, the foundation of the communication system, has not been explored. Purposeful human activity system signs representative of meaning, behavior, structure, and process, indicate the current state of the system and offer a measure of success regarding the system’s pursuit of its purpose. As purposeful human activity systems exist for a purpose and actively pursue their purpose, identifying signs regarding the state of the system is critical to management and change efforts of the system. As current research on communication in organizations is largely focused on heuristic methods, the work presented in this document addresses the need for a more scientific and systemic approach to realizing and designing communication systems. This research can serve researchers and practitioners by presenting systemic methods and practices for managing change through the evaluation of purposeful human activity system signs that will enable the creation of impactful messages. These messages then can be used, among other purposes, to measure and improve successful communication in the design, realization, and management of purposeful human activity systems

Emergence: Developing Worldview in the Environmental Humanities

While the environment has long played a role in humanistic expressions and investigations, the need for a more integrated look at the human-environment relationship has become ever more pressing. More than ever, humanities scholars are recognizing their ability to mobilize critical and creative action to address pressing socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and socioenvironmental problems. Teaching and engaging students through interdisciplinary methods, connecting students and communities, developing a sense of agency and responsibility for planetary sustainability has become a visible focus in higher education. My study aimed to understand how an environmental humanities class affects, if at all, the way students construct worldview. The study was conducted in an undergraduate writing class and used narrative inquiry to analyze two student artifacts developed at different times within a sixteen-week semester. I hoped to understand how what happens in the time between the construction of the first and last assignments may contribute to shifts in student worldview. This dissertation concludes with proposals for how the environmental humanities may be included in higher education and public scholarship. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

Exploring the Consistency of Terminology used in Performance Measurement & Management

Performance measurement and management (PMM) are functions used in many organizations to monitor and manage the activities of an organization. Although these functions are widely understood and applied across many types of industries and within a variety of contexts, there is no standardized terminology due to the multidisciplinary nature of the field. Existing definitions consist of diverse perspectives about the meaning and conceptualization of fundamental terms such as performance measurement system, performance management, indicator, metric, etc., which has led to inconsistencies in the application of such terms throughout the literature. Although this problem has been commonly acknowledged in the field, existing research has not attempted to address or reconcile these differences. Thus, this research study sought to explore and identify patterns of consistency in the application of these fundamental terms by researchers and practitioners in the field of PMM. A content analysis was performed on definitions collected from a variety of disciplines and/or contexts in which PMM is applied. The results of the content analysis included a proposed conceptual model that attempts to align the various terms and concepts related to PMM as a single conceptual system and a proposed set of generalized definitions for the terms that were analyzed. Based on these outcomes, an evaluation of the consistency in which terminology is applied in the definitions was made, and the results provide evidence to conclude that there are significant inconsistencies in how researchers and practitioners use key terms, regardless of the context or discipline in which they were applied. These exploratory results provide the foundation to help better define the current state of the field of PMM and the path forward towards constructing more robust definitions to be adopted and used by researchers and practitioners in the future