From the ecology of the human spirit to the development of the orchestral theory of communication: the inclusion of the medium-message axiom

The contributions of the biologist, anthropologist and communication theorist Gregory Bateson (1904- 1980) form the nucleus of the cross-disciplinary theoretical principles which led to the founding of the web of thought spun by Watzlawick, Weakland, Beavin, Fish, Jackson, Erickson, Foster, Haley and Satir, amongst others. These authors were united by a common theoretical standpoint which foregrounded the ecology of the human spirit and saw communication as process, a system of transactional interaction. They were also similarly influenced by cybernetics, systems theory and constructivism. Energised by the clash of the ideas in their exchanges, they constructed the orchestral theory of communication, formalised by Paul Watzlawick, Donald Jackson and Janet Beavin. Today, Watzlawick (1967) is regarded as a seminal publication in the annals of interpersonal communication studies. Moving beyond the confines of the original object of study – face-to-face communication – this theory has been increasingly applied to the analysis of institutionally mediated communication and to the understanding of the construction of learning and change in organisations. However, in current circumstances, its set of axiomatic principles would benefit from the inclusion of a medium-message axiom to allow a fuller understanding of the realities of the mediated communication process that the process contains. This paper proposes the inclusion of this new axiom, medium-message; a proposal which is based on the work of Gregory Bateson, the ecology of the human spirit, the orchestral theory of communication and the thinking of the Media Ecology Association. It aims to help build a more profound insight into the realities of the process of human communication

Communication, Literacy and Citizenship: a conceptual orientation in a portuguese children’s television thematic channel, K SIC

This paper highlights the consequential nature of communication, literacy and citizenship and the meta-pattern that connects everything together – the ecology of the human spirit. It argues that, just like human communication, literacy is consequential in nature for humankind. Through each of our different worlds of experience and processes of communication, we manifest both of these human conditions and co-construct everyday practices that engender a plurality of effects. Literacy is a concept common to all humankind. Thus, it forms an indivisible whole with communication. This viewpoint is at odds with that which confines literacy to being understood as the acquisition of certain competences. It is arguable that, just like communication, the human condition of literacy needs to be both encouraged and developed. We suggest here that the idea of borders in literacy should be questioned. The work of Gregory Bateson on the ecology of the human spirit – an imminent characteristic of the human species that is based on the physiological structure of the living being and is in permanent interaction and reconnection with both the biosphere and our ways of seeing the world – supports the viewpoint put forward here. From the communication mediatised by a children’s television channel, from SIC K and from the results of studies carried out into children’s use of television we draw the examples that shall illustrate the theoretical approach taken here. They also underpin two premises of an ongoing project. Firstly, television is part of the solution in that it encourages and develops communication-literacy- citizenship-education-connectivity. Secondly, human rights form a shared platform from which to orient the use of Technologies and define connection strategies for the active participation of the children

As Festas do Divino Espírito Santo são um contributo para a ecologia do espírito humano dos participantes de duas co-culturas, a Luso-americana e a Americana de Lusa-descendência

This paper results from a study carried out in 2005 in communities that contain Luso-Americans: people born in Portugal who emigrated to the USA over 30 years ago and who are American citizens or hold dual nationality; Americans: born in the USA but of Portuguese descent and living in the East Providence and Fall River areas. The purpose of this study was to construct an understanding of the Festivities of the Divine Holy Spirit as an essential context for the process of building co-cultural identities. The thesis that we defend is that the Festivities of the Divine Holy Spirit (FDHS), as unique mani- festations of communication, ludicity and experience for those that participate in them, are essential learning and change processes that actively contribute to the construction of the Luso-American and Luso-descendant American co-cultures. Thus, we believe that the FDHS in the USA are an integral part of the ecology of the human spirit of each of the participants, independent of which co-culture they belong to. They generate inter-understanding and serve to calm tensions that arise from the double-consciousness created by the differentiated socialisation taking place in the Luso-American and the Luso-descendent American co-cultures. Given the case study methodology used, the location and limited number of participants in the sample, 303 subjects with ages ranging from 5 to 88, we do not claim that the outcomes of this study are scientifically generalisable to the diversity and multiplicity of the realities of all the FDHS celebrated in the United States. However, we do believe that the results indicate trends that a wider study would be able to better explore. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews and data collection took place between January and June 2005, during the Festivities of the Divine Holy Spirit. Analysis of this data has allowed us to draw the conclusions that we would like to put forward for discussion at this congress

My view on change in architectural education

Architectural education should be a scholarly adventure exploring the artof proportion and order coupled with an administration that supports an enriched ecology of the human spirit.In order to accomplish desired change, there needs to be a continualpursuit by a vibrant, enjoyable learning community rallying to a core belief. This core belief must contain a common value such as that eachof us can make a difference. By teaching values, skills, and practices that underlie such a notion as making a difference, architecture learningenvironments are created that resonate. .

Religion and bioregionalism in Cascadia: The trouble with categories

Abstract Sociologists, anthropologists, and others interested in the relationship between reli- gion and contemporary society rely on conventional concepts such as religion, spirit- uality, irreligion, religious “nones,” secularization, and secularity that are bequeathed to us by previous generations of scholars. These are useful tools for our work, but from time to time we encounter a movement, an epoch, or a region that might make us question the adequacy of the concepts and methods we have inherited. In a major ongoing interdisciplinary study of the “Cascadia” bioregion of the Pacific Northwest of North America, I became convinced that the existing metaphors and tools at our disposal limited our ability to see and interpret the data we were collecting. In this Working Paper, I use the large data set my research team created to introduce the con- cept of “reverential naturalism,” a broad and naturalized schema or metanarrative which helps to explain the ways Cascadians think and talk about religion, spirituality, and nature. Although this metanarrative arguably permeates what we might call the dominant cultural rhetoric of the region, it is as yet so inchoate or subliminal that it is not easy to articulate. Here I identify some of this schema’s main features. At the end of this Working Paper, I address the ways in which this metanarrative generates additional questions that will enrich future reflections on religion both in this region and elsewher

Vida e morte nos jogos da Antiguidade: entre poder, competição e religião

Apresentação do dossiê Vida e morte nos jogos da Antiguidade: entre poder, competição e religiãoIntroduction of dossier Life and death in Ancient games: between power, competition and religio

Ludicidade: da Etimologia da Palavra à Complexidade do Conceito

Este artigo busca compreender, através da etimologia da palavra e de visões de diferentes autores, a pluralidade de significados atribuídos ao lúdico. Aprofundando o estudo, analisamos as propostas de Lopes (2004) sobre o modelo orquestral da ludicidade e de Luckesi (2002) sobre o lúdico como estado de consciência. Em ambos relacionamos a aprendizagem com a ludicidade, entendendo as vivências lúdicas como um caminho para uma nova forma de construção do conhecimento e de transformação da educação. Por fim, apresentamos uma síntese integradora que propõe um conceito sobre o lúdico e sua relação com o ensino e a aprendizagem

Can Promise Enforcement Save Affordable Housing in the United States?

Promise Enforcement is my original approach to the development of affordable housing. Promise Enforcement, as a system, includes three components: (1) contextual thinking; (2) valuing individuality, and (3) comprehensive responsibility. Contextual thinking involves a sense of environmental, historical, and geographic context. Valuing individuality allows residents of public housing to express themselves as unique individuals. Comprehensive responsibility involves a complete understanding of the costs and benefits of affordable housing. The theory was inspired in part by the work of Austrian activist, artist, and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser and the writings of French social contract theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau. My article that introduced the theory of Promise Enforcement compared and contrasted it with the United States federal government’s HOPE VI affordable housing program, proposing ways in which each of that initiative’s three major components, (1) New Urbanist architecture, (2) income mixing, and (3) lease enforcement and community and supportive services, could be modified to comport with Promise Enforcement

SIC K: uma marca que faz a diferença

Mestrado em Comunicação e Multimédia - Audiovisual DigitalA investigação desenvolvida de acordo com a metodologia de estudo de caso utiliza os métodos de constelação de atributos, entrevista e descritivo para possibilitar a identificação dos factores dominantes da marca SIC K que contribuem para a sua notoriedade; o conhecimento de qual o posicionamento da marca SIC K, no contexto da concorrência com os canais Panda, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Jim Jam, Panda Biggs e Disney Channel, os quais, igualmente se direccionam para os públicos infanto-juvenis. Conhecer as orientações dos responsáveis do canal SIC K; o conhecimento das opções estratégicas definidas pelos responsáveis do SIC K e que potenciam a afirmação da marca são outros dos objectivos deste trabalho. O campo de estudos das ciências e tecnologias da comunicação e do design institucional das marcas enquadram o estudo realizado. Entre os autores de referência sublinham-se McLuhan, Lopes, Joan Costa, Álvaro Sousa e Pedro Boucherie Mendes. A recolha de dados para análise diz respeito ao período entre Junho e Agosto de 2011.The dissertation is presented under the title - SIC K: a brand that makes the difference – the object of study is the brand SIC K, the only television channel specialized in children’s and youth programming that emphasizes the audience segments from 6 to 13 years old. This case study research uses the methods of constellation of attributes, interview and descriptive to enable the identification of the dominant factors which contribute to the reputation of the brand K SIC, the knowledge of the positioning of the SIC K, in brand in the context of competition with the Panda, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Jim Jam, Panda Biggs and Disney channel, which also are directed to the children and teenagers. Other goals of this work are to know the guidelines of the people behind SIC K; to have the knowledge of the strategic options defined by the leaders of SIC K and that enhance the brand statement. The field of science studies and communication technologies and the institutional design of brands underlie this study. Among the authors of reference we emphasize McLuhan, Lopes, Joan Costa, Álvaro Sousa and Pedro Mendes Boucherie. The collection of data for analysis refers to the period comprised between June and August 2011

Mindstorms na aprendizagem da algoritmia e programação

Mestrado em Comunicação e MultimédiaA aprendizagem da algoritmia e programação em geral, e da linguagem C em particular, habitualmente, segue um conjunto de estratégias, cujos efeitos nos estudantes, do curso profissional de técnico de gestão e programação de sistemas informáticos, nem sempre são eficientes nem eficazes. O presente trabalho propõese contribuir para a utilização do robô LEGO mindstorms NXT, como medium de comunicação na aprendizagem de algoritmia e da programação; pretende outrossim, promover a comunicação interpessoal e as interações entre os grupos, o estudante e o artefacto LEGO mindstorms, em contexto de formação profissional, por forma a potenciar o desenvolvimento do raciocínio lógico-matemático e entender melhor a influência deste relacionamento nas aprendizagens da programação. Foram implementadas experiências práticas, utilizando o robô LEGO mindstorms, procurando estimular os estudantes a relacionarem-se entre si, a partilharem experiências/ideias e a construírem o conhecimento. O importante não foi o resultado por si só, mas o desenvolvimento de todo o processo comunicativo, influenciado por esta tecnologia e pelas características inerentes ao tipo de mensagem que o medium permite transmitir. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório e descritivo recorrendo a métodos fundamentalmente qualitativos. Pretende analisar e compreender, com alguma profundidade, a complexidade de todo este processo comunicativo: os efeitos pragmáticos da comunicação humana e a multiplicidade do comportamento, das práticas e das interações entre o estudante e o meio que o rodeia, refletidos num ambiente interacional e de feedback.The learning of algorithmic and programming in general, and of the language C in particular, normally follows a group of strategies, whose effects on the students of the professional course of management and systems programming technical, are not always efficacious and efficient. The present work aims to contribute to the use of the robot LEGO mindstorms NXT, as a medium of communication in the learning of the algorithmic and of programming; it intends also to promote the interpersonal communication and the interactions between the groups, the student and the tool LEGO mindstorms in the context of professional formation, in order to provide the development of the logical-mathematics thinking and understand better the influence of this relationship in the learning of programming. It was implemented a practical experiments, using the robot LEGO mindstorms, trying to stimulate the students to relate to each other, sharing experiences/ideas and building the knowledge. The important was not the result itself, but the development of the whole communication process, influenced by this technology and by the characteristics related to the type of message that the medium allows to transmit. This is an exploratory and descriptive study using methods mainly qualitative. Intends to analyze and understand, with a certain profundity, the difficulty of whole this communication process: the pragmatic effects of the human communication and the multiplicity of the behavior, of the practices and of the interactions between the student and the environment that surrounds him, reflected in an interactional and feedback environment