The Dangers of Dance for the Information Systems Discipline

Neil McBride (2018) asks if information systems (IS) is a science. He perceives several problems with current research practice and attitudes in information systems and proposes that we should treat it as a discipline in the humanities akin to dance studies. However, his proposal does not recognize that IS deals with both technology and humans. Further, he does not consider the different views of science and that one can view information systems as a science of the artificial in which one develops actionable knowledge in accordance with available evidence and uses scientific techniques in part. Failure to apply well-founded knowledge in building and applying technology can have significant adverse societal consequences, and professionals would see it as unethical. Since these considerations scarcely apply to dance studies, it appears a poor model for information systems

The Samburu, Maasai, and Their Neighbours: a synopsis of six related volumes by Paul Spencer

The volumes are: "The Samburu: a study of gerontocracy in a nomadic tribe" (1965); "Nomads in Alliance: symbiosis and growth among the Rendille and Samburu of Kenya" (1973); "The Maasai of Matapato: a study of rituals of rebellion" (1988); "Time, Space, and the Unknown: Maasai configurations of power and providence" (2003); "The Pastoral Continuum: the marginalization of tradition in East Africa" (1998); "Youth and Experiences of Ageing among Maa: models of society evoked by the Maasai, Samburu, and Chamus of Kenya" (2014). This synopsis has an index and a maximum of 300 words per chapter

The discomforting rise of ' public geographies': a 'public' conversation.

In this innovative and provocative intervention, the authors explore the burgeoning ‘public turn’ visible across the social sciences to espouse the need to radically challenge and reshape dominant and orthodox visions of ‘the academy’, academic life, and the role and purpose of the academic

What Were They Thinking? The Federal Reserve In The Run-Up To The 2008 Financial Crisis

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) is responsible for monitoring, analyzing and ultimately stabilizing US financial markets. It also has unrivalled access to economic data, high-level connections to financial institutions, and a large staff of professionally trained economists. Why then was it apparently unconcerned by the financial developments that are now widely recognized to have caused the 2008 financial crisis? Using a wide range of Fed documents from the pre-crisis period, particularly the transcripts of meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), this paper shows that Fed policymakers and staff were aware of relevant developments in financial markets, but paid infrequent attention to them and disregarded significant systemic threats. Drawing on literatures in economics, political science and sociology, the paper then demonstrates that the Fed\u27s intellectual paradigm in the years before the crisis focused on ‘post hoc interventionism’ – the institution\u27s ability to limit the fallout should a systemic disturbance arise. Further, the paper argues that institutional routines played a crucial role in maintaining this paradigm and in contributing to the Fed\u27s inadequate attention to the warning signals in the pre-crisis period

Bridges between people: nonverbal mediation in an intercultural perspective and training proposals

Starting from the meaning of terms prejudices and mediation, the paper will deal with the theme of “intercultural mediation”, discussing aspects that characterize it, focusing on the non-verbal and creative elements. It will than reflect upon the necessary professional skills and on possible trainings through the body-artistic language (focusing on dance-movement therapy methodology), drawing inspiration from training experiences with professionals who face emergency situations within very complex social contexts. Italy receives 89% of the unaccompanied foreign minors arriving in Europe. However, Italy does not have adequate laws in place to initiate life projects and social inclusion which could help the overwhelming influx of refugees and migrants. In this very complex situation non-verbal competences can give the possibility to build bridges between people and to create social networks, that could help bring about more effective actions and, may be, political chang

Spartan Daily November 9, 2010

Volume 135, Issue 39https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/1202/thumbnail.jp

Achilles And The Tortoise: Some Caveats To Mathematical Modeling In Biology

Mathematical modeling has recently become a much-lauded enterprise, and many funding agencies seek to prioritize this endeavor. However, there are certain dangers associated with mathematical modeling, and knowledge of these pitfalls should also be part of a biologist\u27s training in this set of techniques. (1) Mathematical models are limited by known science; (2) Mathematical models can tell what can happen, but not what did happen; (3) A model does not have to conform to reality, even if it is logically consistent; (4) Models abstract from reality, and sometimes what they eliminate is critically important; (5) Mathematics can present a Platonic ideal to which biologically organized matter strives, rather than a trial-and-error bumbling through evolutionary processes. This “Unity of Science” approach, which sees biology as the lowest physical science and mathematics as the highest science, is part of a Western belief system, often called the Great Chain of Being (or Scala Natura), that sees knowledge emerge as one passes from biology to chemistry to physics to mathematics, in an ascending progression of reason being purification from matter. This is also an informal model for the emergence of new life. There are now other informal models for integrating development and evolution, but each has its limitations

Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists

Documents and analyzes the environment of support for individual artists. Provides a framework for analysis of various dimensions of the support structure, nationally and in specific sites across the U.S. Includes support programs and policy initiatives

\u27Turning Hearts to Break Off the Yoke of Oppression\u27: The Travels and Sufferings of Christopher Meidel, c. 1659-c. 1715

This study of Christopher Meidel, a Norwegian Quaker writer imprisoned both in England and on the Continent for his beliefs and actions, explores the life of a convert to Quakerism and his missionary zeal in the early eighteenth century. From Meidel\u27s quite tempestuous career we receive insights into the issues Friends faced in Augustan England in adapting to life in a country whose inter-church relations were largely governed by the 1689 Toleration Act, and its insistence that recipients of toleration were to respect the rights of other religionists. In England and Wales, although not censured by Friends, Meidel\u27s activities were nevertheless in contrast to the increasingly respectable nature of the Society. This study questions whether his provocative behaviour was a return to the testimony of the first Friends. On the Continent, Meidel was warmly welcomed in some towns and cities, but also seen in others as a potential troublemaker and consequently imprisoned. Only the intervention ofleading Friends and of Prince George ofDenmark saved him from a lengthy term of incarceration. Undaunted by his trials, Meidel continued his proselytising in the early eighteenth century, and his career offers a fascinating insight into the continuing determination of missionary Quakers and their commitment to their beliefs

What makes students satisfied? A discussion and analysis of the UK’s national student survey

This paper analyses data from the National Students Survey, determining which groups of students expressed the greatest levels of satisfaction. We find students registered on clinical degrees and those studying humanities to be the most satisfied, with those in general engineering and media studies the least. We also find contentment to be higher among part-time students, and significantly higher among Russell group and post-1992 universities. We further investigate the sub-areas that drive overall student satisfaction, finding teaching and course organisation to be the most important aspects, with resources and assessment and feedback far less relevant. We then develop a multi- attribute measure of satisfaction which we argue produces a more accurate and more stable reflection of overall student satisfaction than that based on a single question