Emergence and public administration: A literature review for the project 'A new synthesis in public administration'

This literature review explores the concept of emergence in public governance, and the need for building anticipative capacity in public organisations. The purpose of this review is to explore how public organisations can deal with issues that emerge in their environment. Emerging issues are characterised by a great deal of complexity and uncertainty, and therefore create challenges for static public governance arrangements. Dealing with emerging issues requires that organisations and systems build anticipative capacities. The literature review summarises recent but also less recent organisation theory focusing on organisational improvisation and on complex governance arrangements. This literature presents an alternative way of both analysing organisations and of organising beyond static and highly proceduralised or systemised conceptions. New organisational arrangements to cope with emergence sometimes appear counterintuitive, and they sometimes appear to defy the rules of economy, efficiency, democracy and the rule of law. As is evident from Bourgon’s ‘New Synthesis’ framework, an organisation or system that facilitates emergence needs to make a trade-off with other objectives. While such arrangements are good at anticipating change and at detecting trends, they come with challenges to the performance, compliance, and the resilience of the public sector

The therapeutic functions of mental imagery in psychotherapy: constructing a theoretical model

There is widespread implicit agreement within the field of psychotherapy about the therapeutic potential of mental imagery. A review of the literature indicates, however, a paucity of general theory. The literature on mental imagery is mainly concerned with its application i.e. procedures and techniques. Theorising, where it occurs, is usually informed by the specific psychological model espoused by the particular psychotherapeutic modality. In order to advance the utilisation of mental imagery as a therapeutic intervention, more attention needs to be paid to developing broader transtheoretical frameworks. In order to address this theory gap, research is required to identify common factors operating across all therapeutic schools with regard to the application of mental imagery. To this end a study was undertaken to inquire into potential category bases for developing generic typologies in mental imagery. A scoping exercise was undertaken of case studies of mental imagery in clinical practice published in academic journals in order to map out the field. A sample of suitable case vignettes drawn from a wide range of therapeutic approaches was selected. The imagery-related clinical material was abstracted and used as the data for a grounded theory style analysis. This analytic process disclosed one overarching category i.e. the therapeutic function of mental imagery and two core categories: 1. conveying information from the subconscious/wider mind-body system to the conscious mind, and 2. delivering directions from the conscious mind to the subconscious/wider mind-body system. These two categories were further differentiated into the following six specific functions: diagnostic; monitoring; processing; reparative; process management; and framing. It is proposed that this emerging functional typology of mental imagery has the potential to be the base of a coherent unifying transtheoretical model. These findings are discussed and critiqued in the light of the original unabridged data, and the researcher’s own clinical practice with mental imagery. The relevance and implications of these findings are considered with regard to the wider field of psychotherapeutic practice. Recommendations are made regarding the further testing out and refinement of this potential model of the therapeutic functionality of mental imagery. This study is accompanied (and its subject matter further illuminated) by an account of the researcher’s own heuristic inquiry into the subjective and tacit dimensions of her research journey disclosed through symbolising this process as a mental image and monitoring its changes over time

On tangibility, contemporary reliefs and continuous dimensions

I am a relief maker, who proposes "worldmaking" as a paradigm for works of art. The relief, whether it is an art category or a geological section, is a space that extends from the surface to the volume. Such a space is as tangible as it is visible. The notion of tangibility is paramount for making and receiving artworks commonly known as relief sculptures. My thesis examines my practice by establishing the territories of my artworks. Triggered by personal encounters and perceptions, each of these is a case study forming a section in my analysis. My purpose is to contextualise and underscore my practice, in a pragmatic rather than theoretical investigation. The public art commission Ways of Worldmaking raises my main questions. These relate to the topographical interconnectivity across the surface of the earth. The use of the books as a collection and an archive is another layer developed further in my concluding artwork Ways of Worldmaking / Self-portrait, that is, my thesis bibliography turned into a sculpture. My making of reliefs responds to sculptural and material dimensions of site specificity while examining its social and political features. Relief is an overlooked category of practice. It is a metaphor for observation, with qualities of elevation and depth and a variety of thickness that highlights notions of discovery and emergence of meaning. The history of Western relief sculpture informs my study of contemporary pieces. These articulate several sets of dimensions continuously from recessed parts to more protuberant ones. There is a tension between the desire to touch and the frustration of that same desire expressed particularly clearly in relief. I observe that dialectic through the senses of tactile touch and optical touch. Artists are constantly creating and exhibiting reliefs, but they rarely make full use of the physical complexity and the epistemological potential of this form of art. Relief making seems to me an interesting way of expressing our distance from or our relationship with the landforms, either theoretically or practically. Although the idea of category remains questionable in itself, I make textured world-versions, promote the relief as a rich space, readdress and redress its position among sculpture and painting

Information system development in a process management environment: the dynamics of improvisation and bricolage during embedded software design

The main objective of this thesis is to make a contribution to knowledge regarding the nature of improvisation and bricolage activities in the practice of embedded software design and how the tensional relationship between process management and improvisation and bricolage can be balanced. There is a lack of understanding embedded systems development in practice, and how the difficulties correspond to prescribed and emergent processes in this context. In order to address this knowledge gap I conducted an in‐depth case study of an embedded system development project in the German automobile context between December 2004 and November 2008. The research adopted an interpretive approach, which involved the collection and analysis of qualitative data. Empirical data that was derived through interviews and observation revealed new insights as to how embedded systems are developed in practice. I adopt the position that emergent processes occur not randomly, but as purposeful agents that navigate through a turbulent environment of ongoing need to improvise with the items at hand. The finding indicates that the success to achieve the aims is bound to the capabilities to be continuously reflexive and induce corrective actions as appropriate. A theoretical conceptualisation disclosed measures that may enhance the capacity to be reflexive. The findings implied that process management frameworks help as scaffolding in order to practice improvisation and bricolage as a coping strategy. Moreover, improving the capabilities to cope with challenges means enhancing reflexive capabilities. The original contribution of this research is founded on rich descriptions and interpretations as to how embedded systems are developed in practice, and the theoretical conceptualisation that can aid to balance the tension between process management and improvisation and bricolage

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2022

This open access book presents the proceedings of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)’s 29th Annual International eTourism Conference, which assembles the latest research presented at the ENTER2022 conference, which will be held on January 11–14, 2022. The book provides an extensive overview of how information and communication technologies can be used to develop tourism and hospitality. It covers the latest research on various topics within the field, including augmented and virtual reality, website development, social media use, e-learning, big data, analytics, and recommendation systems. The readers will gain insights and ideas on how information and communication technologies can be used in tourism and hospitality. Academics working in the eTourism field, as well as students and practitioners, will find up-to-date information on the status of research