261 research outputs found
Urban semiosis: Creative industries and the clash of systems
Š The Author(s) 2014. This article has two aims. The first is to make the case that the âuniverse of the mindâ imagined by Yuri Lotman may be considered as a foundational model for cultural evolution (population-wide, dynamic, autopoietic, self-organising adaptation to changing environments). The second aim is to take forward a model of culture derived from Lotmanâs work â a model I call âthe clash of systemsâ â in order to apply it to creative industries research. Such a move has the salutary effect of putting the âuniverse of the mindâ literally in its place. That place, now, predominantly, is in the city. Thus, the article uses Lotmanâs model of the semiosphere to link different complex systems, principally the semiosphere with that of the city, in order to explore the productive potential of encounters â clashes â between different systems. Applying these insights to the field of creative industries research, the article proposes that creative culture in the globalised, urban and web-connected era can be characterised as âurban semiosisâ
âParis with snakesâ? The future of communication is/as âCultural Scienceâ
What if communication has been pursuing the wrong kind of science? This article argues that the physics-based or âtransmissionâ model derived from Claude Shannon and criticised by James Carey does not explain how communication works. We argue instead for a model derived from the evolutionary and complexity sciences. Here, communication is based on dynamic systems of meaning (not individual âparticlesâ of information), and relations among knowledge-producing agents in culture-made groups. We call this sign-based evolutionary and systems model of communication âcultural scienceâ (Hartley and Potts, 2014), and invite communication scholars to assist in its development as a âmodern synthesisâ for communication, along the lines of Huxleyâs synthesis of botany and zoology as evolutionary bioscience
Stories tell us? Political narrative, demes, and the transmission of knowledge through culture
This paper compares two institutions of storytelling, mainstream national narratives and self-represented digital storytelling. It considers the centenary of World War 1, especially the Gallipoli campaign (1915) and its role in forming Australian ânational characterâ. Using the new approach of cultural science, it investigates storytelling as a means by which cultures make and bind groups or âdemesâ. It finds that that demic (group-made) knowledge trumps individual experience, and that self-representation (digital storytelling) tends to copy the national narrative, even when the latter is known not to be true. The paper discusses the importance of culture in the creation of knowledge, arguing that if the radical potential of digital storytelling is to be understood â and realised â then a systems (as opposed to behavioural) approach to communication is necessary. Without a new model of knowledge, it seems we are stuck with repetition of the same old story
Organization, Evolution, Cognition and Dynamic Capabilities
Using insights from âembodied cognitionâ and a resulting âcognitive theory of the firmâ, I aim to contribute to the further development of evolutionary theory of organizations, in the specification of organizations as âinteractorsâ that carry organizational competencies as âreplicatorsâ, within industries as âpopulationsâ. Especially, I analyze how, if at all, âdynamic capabilitiesâ can be fitted into evolutionary theory. I propose that the prime purpose of an organization is to serve as a cognitive âfocusing deviceâ. Here, cognition has a wide meaning, including perception, interpretation, sense making, and value judgements. I analyse how this yields organizations as cohesive wholes, and differences within and between industries. I propose the following sources of variation: replication in communication, novel combinations of existing knowledge, and a path of discovery by which exploitation leads to exploration. These yield a proposal for dynamic capabilities. I discuss in what sense, and to what extent these sources of variation are âblindâ, as postulated in evolutionary theory.
The impact of COVID-19 on the management of European protected areas and policy implications
The COVID-19 pandemic led to many European countries imposing lockdown measures and limiting peopleâs movement during spring 2020. During the summer 2020, these strict lockdown measures were gradually lifted while in autumn 2020, local restrictions started to be re-introduced as a second wave emerged. After initial restrictions on visitors accessing many Nature Protected Areas (PAs) in Europe, management authorities have had to introduce measures so that all users can safely visit these protected landscapes. In this paper, we examine the challenges that emerged due to COVID-19 for PAs and their deeper causes. By considering the impact on and response of 14 popular European National and Nature Parks, we propose tentative longer-term solutions going beyond the current short-term measures that have been implemented. The most important challenges identified in our study were overcrowding, a new profile of visitors, problematic behavior, and conflicts between different user groups. A number of new measures have been introduced to tackle these challenges including information campaigns, traffic management, and establishing one-way systems on trail paths. However, measures to safeguard public health are often in conflict with other PA management measures aiming to minimize disturbance of wildlife and ecosystems. We highlight three areas in which management of PAs can learn from the experience of this pandemic: managing visitor numbers in order to avoid overcrowding through careful spatial planning, introducing educational campaigns, particularly targeting a new profile of visitors, and promoting sustainable tourism models, which do not rely on large visitor numbers.European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research programme (Project FIDELIO, grant agreement no. 802605)
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