58,715 research outputs found

    Organisational Memetics?: Organisational Learning as a Selection Process

    Get PDF
    Companies are not only systems created and controlled by those who manage them but also self-organising entities that evolve through learning. Whereas an organism is a creation of natural replicators, genes, an organisation can be seen as a product of an alternative replicator, the meme or mental model, acting, like a gene, to preserve itself in an Evolutionary Stable System. The result is an organisation which self organises around a set of unspoken and unwritten rules and assumptions. Biological evolution is stimulated by environmental change and reproductive isolation; the process of punctuated equilibrium. Corporate innovation shows the same pattern. Innovations in products and processes occur in groups isolated from prevailing mental norms. Successful organic strains possess a genetic capability for adaptation. Organisations which wish to foster learning can develop an equivalent, mental capability. Unlike their biological counterparts they can exert conscious choice and puncture the memetic codes that seek to keep them stable; the mental models of individuals, and the strategies, paradigms and unwritten rules at the company level

    Technology-enhanced learning: a new digital divide?

    Get PDF
    Abstrac

    A Neo-Darwinian Foundation of Evolutionary Economics. With an Application to the Theory of the Firm.

    Get PDF
    The focus of evolutionary economics is a process of continuous economic and organizational change. Currently there is no agreement on the explanation of economic evolution. Rather there are competing interpretations. To achieve a common understanding of economic evolution, from the perspective of the history of economic thought, at first the theoretical approaches of Schumpeter and Marshall with regard to economic development or evolution are dealt with. After that, a concept of socio-economic evolution in broad agreement with evolution in nature is elaborated. It is summed up in the version of a generalized Darwinism. In this, evolution is seen as a process of change that leads to the adaptation of complex systems, the result of the causal interaction among variation, selection and retention of variety. As a (slightly) different interpretation the presently predominating approach of neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary economics is presented. It has gained wide application to the theory of innovation and later - based on Penrose - to resource-based theories of the firm. In this the dynamic process of the creation and exploitation of resources, mainly knowledge, turns out to be the centre of attention of an evolutionary theory of the firm.Economic evolution, Schumpeter and Marshall, Generalized Darwinism, Evolutionary theory of the firm

    The Aftermath

    Get PDF
    Multiple activity, comprehensive lesson plan includes background information, grading rubric, information on associated learning standards and assessment, as well as links to additional external resources. Activity explores the concepts of a hurricane's impact on the environment, society, and economics of a given community. Students map the potential storm surge and flooding on a topographic map and locate and report on past hurricanes in a specific geographical region. Educational levels: Middle school, High school

    Gradualism vs Cold Turkey

    Get PDF
    The paper analyzes the incentive for the ECB to establish reputation by pursuing a restrictive policy right at the start of its operation. The bank is modelled as risk averse with respect to deviations of both inflation and output from her target. The public, being imperfectly informed about the bank’s preferences uses observed inflation as (imperfect) signal for the unknown preferences. Under linear learning rules - which are commonly used in the literature - a gradual build up of reputation is the optimal response. The paper shows that such a linear learning rule is not consistent with efficient signaling. It is shown that in a game with efficient signaling, a cold turkey approach - allowing for deflation - is optimal for a strong bank - accepting high current output losses at the beginning in order to demonstrate its toughness.Die Arbeit untersucht die Anreize der Europäischen Zentralbank, in der Startphase durch restriktive Politik Reputation aufzubauen. Die Öffentlichkeit kennt die Präferenzen der Zentralbank nicht; sie verwendet die beobachtete Inflationsrate als (imperfektes) Signal. Wird eine lineare Lernregel unterstellt - der Standardfall in der Literatur - erweist es sich als optimal, hohe Inflationserwartungen zumindest teilweise zu akkommodieren und so Reputation nur schrittweise aufzubauen. Die Arbeit zeigt aber, daß eine solche lineare Lernregel mit effizientem Signalverhalten nicht konsistent ist. Bei effizientem Signalisieren kann es für eine harte Zentralbank optimal sein, in der Startphase durch eine sehr restriktive, deflationäre Politik ihre Präferenzen zu offenbaren

    Gradualism vs Cold Turkey : how to establish credibility for the ECB

    Get PDF
    The paper analyzes the incentive for the ECB to establish reputation by pursuing a restrictive policy right at the start of its operation. The bank is modelled as risk averse with respect to deviations of both inflation and output from her target. The public, being imperfectly informed about the bank’s preferences uses observed inflation as (imperfect) signal for the unknown preferences. Under linear learning rules - which are commonly used in the literature - a gradual build up of reputation is the optimal response. The paper shows that such a linear learning rule is not consistent with efficient signaling. It is shown that in a game with efficient signaling, a cold turkey approach - allowing for deflation - is optimal for a strong bank - accepting high current output losses at the beginning in order to demonstrate its toughness. JEL classification: D 82, E 58Die Arbeit untersucht die Anreize der Europäischen Zentralbank, in der Startphase durch restriktive Politik Reputation aufzubauen. Die Öffentlichkeit kennt die Präferenzen der Zentralbank nicht; sie verwendet die beobachtete Inflationsrate als (imperfektes) Signal. Wird eine lineare Lernregel unterstellt - der Standardfall in der Literatur - erweist es sich als optimal, hohe Inflationserwartungen zumindest teilweise zu akkommodieren und so Reputation nur schrittweise aufzubauen. Die Arbeit zeigt aber, daß eine solche lineare Lernregel mit effizientem Signalverhalten nicht konsistent ist. Bei effizientem Signalisieren kann es für eine harte Zentralbank optimal sein, in der Startphase durch eine sehr restriktive, deflationäre Politik ihre Präferenzen zu offenbaren. JEL classification: D 82, E 5

    The evolving link between learning and assessment : from 'transmission check' to 'learning support'

    Get PDF
    Learning and assessment are now considered as two sides of the same coin we simply cannot speak of one without also referring to the other. This paper, which traces the evolution of the link between learning and assessment, explores what led to our shift in understanding of the learning process from the behaviourist to the constructivist model, and the implications that this 'revolution ' has had for assessment. Making assessment at the service of learning is subsequently identified as the challenge ahead for the educational community.peer-reviewe
    corecore