Four domains of complexity

In this short paper, which reflects on one of my contributions to the systems literature in 1992 (Pluralism and the Legitimation of Systems Science), I discuss the context at that time. Systems scientists were embroiled in a paradigm war, which threatened to fragment the systems research community. This is relevant, not only to understanding my 1992 contribution, but also because the same paradigms are evident in the complexity science community, and therefore it potentially faces the same risk of fragmentation. Having explained the context, I then go on to discuss my proposed solution to the paradigm war: that there are four domains of complexity, three of which reflect the competing paradigms. The problem comes when researchers say that inquiry into just one of these domains is valid. However, when we recognise all four as part of a new theory of complexity, we can view them as complementary. The four domains are natural world complexity, or “what is” (where the ideal of inquiry is truth); social world complexity, or the complexity of “what ought to be” in relation to actual or potential action (where the ideal of inquiry is rightness); subjective world complexity, or the complexity of what any individual (the self or another) is thinking, intending or feeling (where the ideal of inquiry is understanding subjectivity); and the complexity of interactions between elements of the other domains of complexity in the context of research and intervention practice. Following a discussion of the relevance of this theory for complexity scientists, I end the paper with a final critical reflection on my 1992 paper, pointing to some theoretical assumptions and terminology that I would, in retrospect, revise

Managing Soil Quality: Challenges in Modern Agriculture

Soil quality is a concept that allows soil functions to be related to specific purposes. Previous books on soil quality have emphasized descriptive aspects, by focusing on e.g. soil quality indicators, indexing, and minimum data sets. This book takes a management oriented approach by identifying key issues in soil quality and management options to enhance the sustainability of modern agriculture. Topics covered include major plant nutrients (N, P, K), soil acidity, soil organic matter, soil biodiversity, soil compaction, erosion, pesticides and urban waste. Also included are in-depth treatments of the soil quality concept, its history, and its applicability in research and in developed and developing societies. The book will be of significant interest to post-graduate students and researchers in agronomy and in soil, crop and environmental sciences, and to stakeholders involved in issues related to land use and agricultural development

Soil Quality Management - Concepts and Terms

The industrialization of agriculture and the concurrent increase in societal concerns on environmental protection and food quality have put focus on agricultural management and its impact on soil quality. Soil quality involves the ability of the soil to maintain an appropriate productivity, while simultaneously reducing the effect on the environment and contributing to human health. This development has changed society’s expectations to science and there is an urgent need to improve the communication among researchers from different scientific disciplines. The interaction of scientists with decision-makers is a topic of utmost relevance for future developments in agriculture. Reflexive objectivity denotes the exercise of raising one’s consciousness of the cognitive context, i.e. societal priorities and the values and goals of the researcher. The term sustainability comprehends the priorities in the cognitive context and thus constitutes a valuable tool for expressing the basis of scientific work. Soil quality evaluations should include awareness of the stability of any given quality attribute to disturbance and stress. This implies addressing resistance and resilience of the soil functions and/or the physical form in question. Most existing literature on soil quality focuses on assessment of soil quality rather than the management tools available to influence soil quality. Identification of management thresholds rather than soil quality indicator thresholds is suggested as an important means of implementing the soil quality concept. The major challenges facing modern agriculture include proper nutrient cycling, maintained functions and diversity of soil, protection of an appropriate physical form, and avoidance of chemical contamination. It is suggested that these challenges and problems as related to the soil quality concept are discussed in the framework expounded above

City of Ideas: Reinventing Boston's Innovation Economy: The Boston Indicators Report 2012

Analyzes indicators of the city's economic, social, and technological progress; potential for creating innovative solutions to global and national challenges; and complexities, disparities, and weaknesses in the indicators and innovation economy paradigm

Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) art in care of ageing society: focus on dementia

open access articleBackground: Art enhances both physical and mental health wellbeing. The health benefits include reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, pain perception and briefer inpatient stays, as well as improvement of communication skills and self-esteem. In addition to these, people living with dementia benefit from reduction of their noncognitive, behavioural changes, enhancement of their cognitive capacities and being socially active. Methods: The current study represents a narrative general literature review on available studies and knowledge about contribution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creative arts. Results: We review AI visual arts technologies, and their potential for use among people with dementia and care, drawing on similar experiences to date from traditional art in dementia care. Conclusion: The virtual reality, installations and the psychedelic properties of the AI created art provide a new venue for more detailed research about its therapeutic use in dementia

Beyond Disability Civil Rights

[Excerpt] This Article argues that to be effective, both domestic and international disability rights must adopt a disability human rights paradigm. Such a framework combines the type of civil and political rights provided by antidiscrimination legislation (also called negative or first-generation rights) with the full spectrum of social, cultural, and economic measures (also called positive or second-generation rights) bestowed by many human rights treaties.16 By acting holistically, this agenda accounts for factors normally exogenous to civil rights laws and ensures that individuals can flourish and participate in their societies. Accordingly, our intention is to share some thoughts on how to best provide disabled citizens with equal opportunity rather than “merely” equal treatment. Internationally, States and civil society organizations have been developing innovative and effective equality measures. We draw on their experiences in providing examples of how disability legislation and policy can be developed to implement a more holistic human rights approach. These lessons are also pertinent for invigorating the ADA

Health in the sustainable development goals: ready for a paradigm shift?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) galvanized attention, resources and accountability on a small number of health concerns of low- and middle-income countries with unprecedented results. The international community is presently developing a set of Sustainable Development Goals as the successor framework to the MDGs. This review examines the evidence base for the current health-related proposals in relation to disease burden and the technical and political feasibility of interventions to achieve the targets. In contrast to the MDGs, the proposed health agenda aspires to be universally applicable to all countries and is appropriately broad in encompassing both communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as emerging burdens from, among other things, road traffic accidents and pollution.We argue that success in realizing the agenda requires a paradigm shift in the way we address global health to surmount five challenges: 1) ensuring leadership for intersectoral coherence and coordination on the structural (including social, economic, political and legal) drivers of health; 2) shifting the focus from treatment to prevention through locally-led, politically-smart approaches to a far broader agenda; 3) identifying effective means to tackle the commercial determinants of ill-health; 4) further integrating rights-based approaches; and 5) enhancing civic engagement and ensuring accountability. We are concerned that neither the international community nor the global health community truly appreciates the extent of the shift required to implement this health agenda which is a critical determinant of sustainable development

Not More of the Same: Michel Serres’s Challenge to the Ethics of Alterity

Much French philosophy of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has been marked by the positive valorization of alterity, an ethical position that has recently received a vigorous assault from Alain Badiou’s privilege of sameness. This article argues that Badiou shares a great deal in common with the philosophies of alterity from which he seeks to distance himself, and that Michel Serres’s little-known account of alterity offers a much more radical alternative to the ethics of difference. Drawing on both translated and as yet untranslated works, I argue that the Serresian ontology of inclination, along with his conceptual personae of the hermaphrodite and the parasite, informs ethical and political positions that offer a distinctive ethics and politics that present fresh insights about the relation between the singular and the universal, the contingency of market exchange, and the nature of violence