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The Iranian Christian Diaspora: Religion and Nationhood in Exile
by Benedikt RömerOver the past few decades, whilst evading severe governmental restrictions in Iran, the Iranian Evangelical diaspora has grown across Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and the UK. Far from the censorship of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Evangelical pastors and ministers publish Persian-language Christian magazines and online videos with the aim to reach the transnational Iranian Christian community, as well as potential converts in Iran. This book explores notions of nationhood and diasporic dwelling in the religious narratives and practices of Iranian Christian exilic communities, showing how claims to the authenticity of a distinct Iranian-Christian identity are constructed. Examining abundant source material available in the Iranian Christian exilic milieu, the book draws extensively upon five unstudied series of Persian-language Christian exile magazines published between the early 1990s and the 2020s, Persian-language video material and a number of interviews with Iranian Christian pastors with leadership positions in the Iranian Christian diaspora. These sources demonstrate the significance of exile and religious affiliation as key factors shaping diasporic images of the homeland and visions of a future return. Benedikt Römer weaves the history and contemporary story of the Iranian Christian community together, placing it in the context of a wider ongoing religious transformation in Iranian society.
How to Think Like an Economist: Great Economists Who Shaped the World and What They Can Teach Us (How To Think)
by Robbie MochrieCapturing the essence of history's most influential economists in enjoyable and illuminating biographical sketches, this book shows how the great economic thinkers are still relevant today.We live in the economy – and we are part of it. Living through a pandemic, governments had to work out how to put economies into a deep freeze without destroying them. Avoiding climate catastrophe means changing economies so that they don't bake the world.In explaining how economic thinking is indispensable to tackling these huge problems, this book is a sure-footed guide, spanning Aristotle's ideas about restraining consumption, Adam Smith's thinking about the importance of moral character for sustained economic development, and Esther Duflo's ongoing work to help the world's poorest communities lift themselves out of poverty. It shows how the greatest economic thinkers – Karl Marx, Maynard Keynes, and Friedrich Hayek, among many others – have enabled us to see the world differently, and how we can make it better.It shows that economic thinking emerged, long before there were economists – and that good economics is about much more than the economy, so everyone should understand these vital ideas.Along the way, the book quietly subverts what you think you know about economics, especially by showing how women found a place in the development of ideas even when discrimination denied them any formal role.
The Iranian Christian Diaspora: Religion and Nationhood in Exile
by Benedikt RömerOver the past few decades, whilst evading severe governmental restrictions in Iran, the Iranian Evangelical diaspora has grown across Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and the UK. Far from the censorship of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Evangelical pastors and ministers publish Persian-language Christian magazines and online videos with the aim to reach the transnational Iranian Christian community, as well as potential converts in Iran. This book explores notions of nationhood and diasporic dwelling in the religious narratives and practices of Iranian Christian exilic communities, showing how claims to the authenticity of a distinct Iranian-Christian identity are constructed. Examining abundant source material available in the Iranian Christian exilic milieu, the book draws extensively upon five unstudied series of Persian-language Christian exile magazines published between the early 1990s and the 2020s, Persian-language video material and a number of interviews with Iranian Christian pastors with leadership positions in the Iranian Christian diaspora. These sources demonstrate the significance of exile and religious affiliation as key factors shaping diasporic images of the homeland and visions of a future return. Benedikt Römer weaves the history and contemporary story of the Iranian Christian community together, placing it in the context of a wider ongoing religious transformation in Iranian society.
Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World
by Harvey Whitehouse‘Insightful and breathtaking.’ Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens‘Bold and sweeping.’ Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads‘Profoundly thought-provoking.’ Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut EconomicsHow our evolved psychology has shaped the past, present and future of humanity.Each of us is endowed with an inheritance. A set of ancient biases, forged through countless millennia of natural and cultural selection, which shape every facet of our behaviour.For generations, this inheritance has taken us to ever greater heights, driving the rise of more sophisticated technologies, more organized religions, more expansive empires. But now, for the first time, it is failing us. We find ourselves careering towards a future of unprecedented political polarization, deadlier wars, and environmental destruction.In Inheritance, renowned anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse offers a sweeping account of how our evolved biases have shaped humanity’s past and imperil its future. Unveiling a pioneering new way of viewing our collective history – one that weaves together psychological experiments, on-the-ground fieldwork, and big data – Whitehouse introduces three biases that shape human behaviour everywhere: conformism, religiosity, and tribalism.These biases have catalysed the greatest transformations in human history, from the birth of agriculture and arrival of the first kings to the rise and fall of human sacrifice and creation of multiethnic empires. Yet today, they are driving us to ruin. Taking us deep into New Guinea tribes, Libyan militias, and predatory ad agencies, Whitehouse shows how the tools we once used to manage our biases are breaking down, with devastating implications for us all.By uncovering how human nature has shaped our collective history, Inheritance reveals a surprising new path to solving our most urgent problems. The result is a powerful reappraisal of the human journey; one that transforms our understanding of who we are, and who we could be.__‘A profoundly important book, of breathtaking scope . . . Full of deep insights into human nature, this is a work of compelling conviction by a master in the field.’ Lewis Dartnell, author of Origins‘If you spend a lot of time thinking the world seems to have gone mad, bad and dangerous, this thoughtful and thought-provoking book won't just help you work out why that might be – it will also help you see a better path forward.’ Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Channel 4 News presenter‘A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition . . . Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters.’ Gillian Tett, Financial Times columnist and Provost of King's College, Cambridge‘Remarkably readable . . . A powerful argument that the behaviour change we need is more likely to occur if we make use of our evolved human nature, rather than seek to transcend it.’ Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation
The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data (Pelican Books)
by David Spiegelhalter'A statistical national treasure' Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2'Required reading for all politicians, journalists, medics and anyone who tries to influence people (or is influenced) by statistics. A tour de force' Popular ScienceDo busier hospitals have higher survival rates? How many trees are there on the planet? Why do old men have big ears? David Spiegelhalter reveals the answers to these and many other questions - questions that can only be addressed using statistical science.Statistics has played a leading role in our scientific understanding of the world for centuries, yet we are all familiar with the way statistical claims can be sensationalised, particularly in the media. In the age of big data, as data science becomes established as a discipline, a basic grasp of statistical literacy is more important than ever. In The Art of Statistics, David Spiegelhalter guides the reader through the essential principles we need in order to derive knowledge from data. Drawing on real world problems to introduce conceptual issues, he shows us how statistics can help us determine the luckiest passenger on the Titanic, whether serial killer Harold Shipman could have been caught earlier, and if screening for ovarian cancer is beneficial. 'Shines a light on how we can use the ever-growing deluge of data to improve our understanding of the world' Nature
Far-Right Extremism Online: Beyond the Fringe (Routledge Studies in Digital Extremism)
by Tine MunkBy imparting crucial insights into the digital evolution of far-right extremism and its challenges, this book explores how far-right extremism has transformed, utilising digital spaces for communication and employing coded language to evade detection.Far-right extremism has spread extensively across online platforms. Flourishing within echo chambers, these groups propagate different types of online and offline actions and advance their hateful ideologies to a wide-ranging audience. This book highlights the issues surrounding far-right extremism, which distinguishing it from terrorism and examining its contemporary digital manifestations. Importantly, it sheds light on how far-right groups utilise online platforms for communication, radicalisation, and on-ground actions, relying on alternative truths, misinformation, conspiracy theories, fashion, and memes to connect with like-minded individuals. The book also addresses content moderation challenges and the impact of rising populism in today’s political climate, which fuels societal divisions and uncertainty.Far-Right Extremism Online is a valuable resource for academics, students, analysts, and professionals working in counter-extremism, cybersecurity, digital communication, and national security. It is also an indispensable guide for those concerned about far-right extremism in the digital age.
Far-Right Extremism Online: Beyond the Fringe (Routledge Studies in Digital Extremism)
by Tine MunkBy imparting crucial insights into the digital evolution of far-right extremism and its challenges, this book explores how far-right extremism has transformed, utilising digital spaces for communication and employing coded language to evade detection.Far-right extremism has spread extensively across online platforms. Flourishing within echo chambers, these groups propagate different types of online and offline actions and advance their hateful ideologies to a wide-ranging audience. This book highlights the issues surrounding far-right extremism, which distinguishing it from terrorism and examining its contemporary digital manifestations. Importantly, it sheds light on how far-right groups utilise online platforms for communication, radicalisation, and on-ground actions, relying on alternative truths, misinformation, conspiracy theories, fashion, and memes to connect with like-minded individuals. The book also addresses content moderation challenges and the impact of rising populism in today’s political climate, which fuels societal divisions and uncertainty.Far-Right Extremism Online is a valuable resource for academics, students, analysts, and professionals working in counter-extremism, cybersecurity, digital communication, and national security. It is also an indispensable guide for those concerned about far-right extremism in the digital age.
Disruptive Digitalisation and Platforms: Risks and Opportunities of the Great Transformation of Politics, Socio-economic Models, Work, and Education (Business for Society)
This book provides an overview of the opportunities and risks of digitalisation and the platforms that embody it and constitute society's new infrastructure. From a management point of view – defined here as the steering of organised and finalised collective action – understanding this major socio-technical disruption is paramount. The book helps to comprehend its main players, such as the American GAFAM, their power and its sources, their architecture, and their impact on different industries and professions, labour markets, companies, and education.Responding to the dominance of tech giants, numerous initiatives are striving to regulate their influence, safeguard democratic sovereignty, promote fair competition in the digital sphere, and employ frugal digitalisation methods to counteract detrimental aspects of these “oligopolistic” platforms. In essence, shouldn't the overarching aim of digitalisation be to foster community development, strengthen individual and collective capabilities, and preserve the environment, while producing goods and services to meet shared societal interests? Throughout the four sections of this book and its 16 chapters, actors in the digital process and/or academics provide analyses and illustrations of the great digital transformation, examining the ways in which socio-technical advances can be created or used for the benefit of all, while avoiding major risks.
Disruptive Digitalisation and Platforms: Risks and Opportunities of the Great Transformation of Politics, Socio-economic Models, Work, and Education (Business for Society)
by Mathias Béjean, Julienne Brabet, Edoardo Mollona, and Corinne Vercher-ChaptalThis book provides an overview of the opportunities and risks of digitalisation and the platforms that embody it and constitute society's new infrastructure. From a management point of view – defined here as the steering of organised and finalised collective action – understanding this major socio-technical disruption is paramount. The book helps to comprehend its main players, such as the American GAFAM, their power and its sources, their architecture, and their impact on different industries and professions, labour markets, companies, and education.Responding to the dominance of tech giants, numerous initiatives are striving to regulate their influence, safeguard democratic sovereignty, promote fair competition in the digital sphere, and employ frugal digitalisation methods to counteract detrimental aspects of these “oligopolistic” platforms. In essence, shouldn't the overarching aim of digitalisation be to foster community development, strengthen individual and collective capabilities, and preserve the environment, while producing goods and services to meet shared societal interests? Throughout the four sections of this book and its 16 chapters, actors in the digital process and/or academics provide analyses and illustrations of the great digital transformation, examining the ways in which socio-technical advances can be created or used for the benefit of all, while avoiding major risks.
Textbook Culture: Pedagogy and Classroom Processes
by Pooja BhallaThis volume captures the essence of schooling in a structural manner and explores the classroom life in the larger schooling context. The emphasis is to uncover the necessary framework of classroom that is significant to understand the place of textbooks in the Indian school education system. By the use of ethnographic vignettes, it brings out the multiple patterns of teacher- student's interactions as they occur in different textbook-based situations. Through this, it sheds light on the primacy of the textbook approach in the classroom processes.The book also investigates the ways through which the students respond to the different pedagogic situations. In doing so, it explores the notions of student boredom, alienation, inclusion and exclusion, and the array of student-textbook experiences that are pivotal to the shape and reshape the classroom processes in the larger pedagogical discourses.This book will be of interest to researchers, students, and teachers of education studies, sociology and politics of education, teacher education, childhood and youth studies, and urban studies. It will also be useful for education policymakers, and professionals in the development sector.
Textbook Culture: Pedagogy and Classroom Processes
by Pooja BhallaThis volume captures the essence of schooling in a structural manner and explores the classroom life in the larger schooling context. The emphasis is to uncover the necessary framework of classroom that is significant to understand the place of textbooks in the Indian school education system. By the use of ethnographic vignettes, it brings out the multiple patterns of teacher- student's interactions as they occur in different textbook-based situations. Through this, it sheds light on the primacy of the textbook approach in the classroom processes.The book also investigates the ways through which the students respond to the different pedagogic situations. In doing so, it explores the notions of student boredom, alienation, inclusion and exclusion, and the array of student-textbook experiences that are pivotal to the shape and reshape the classroom processes in the larger pedagogical discourses.This book will be of interest to researchers, students, and teachers of education studies, sociology and politics of education, teacher education, childhood and youth studies, and urban studies. It will also be useful for education policymakers, and professionals in the development sector.
International Business and Culture: Challenges in Cross-Cultural Marketing and Management (Routledge Studies in International Business and the World Economy)
by Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat Monika GuzekInternational Business and Culture: Challenges in Cross-Cultural Marketing and Management explores the intricate relationship between culture and business, offering valuable insights for both practitioners and scholars. The authors delve into the profound impact of cultural dimensions on various aspects of international business, marketing, human resource management, and organisational structure. They examine the theoretical frameworks underpinning these studies through a meticulous narrative literature review and case studies.The significance of understanding cultural influences on business decisions becomes paramount in an increasingly interconnected world. The book addresses challenges faced by companies operating across diverse cultures, emphasising the need for adaptation in international marketing and management. Based on practical examples, the research focuses on identifying the most culturally sensitive areas in international business and explores the crucial cultural determinants influencing engagement with foreign markets.The book's theoretical background spans international business, marketing, and management, and it is intertwined with cultural concepts from Hofstede and Hall. It consists of 16 chapters covering marketing and communication strategies across cultures, cultural aspects of international business and cross-cultural management based on practical examples of Duracell, Inc., PepsiCo, Volkswagen, VELUX Group, and Amica Group, among others.The book highlights the undeniable interconnectedness of culture and business. As businesses expand internationally, the symbiotic relationship between culture and business remains a pivotal factor influencing success and growth.
International Business and Culture: Challenges in Cross-Cultural Marketing and Management (Routledge Studies in International Business and the World Economy)
International Business and Culture: Challenges in Cross-Cultural Marketing and Management explores the intricate relationship between culture and business, offering valuable insights for both practitioners and scholars. The authors delve into the profound impact of cultural dimensions on various aspects of international business, marketing, human resource management, and organisational structure. They examine the theoretical frameworks underpinning these studies through a meticulous narrative literature review and case studies.The significance of understanding cultural influences on business decisions becomes paramount in an increasingly interconnected world. The book addresses challenges faced by companies operating across diverse cultures, emphasising the need for adaptation in international marketing and management. Based on practical examples, the research focuses on identifying the most culturally sensitive areas in international business and explores the crucial cultural determinants influencing engagement with foreign markets.The book's theoretical background spans international business, marketing, and management, and it is intertwined with cultural concepts from Hofstede and Hall. It consists of 16 chapters covering marketing and communication strategies across cultures, cultural aspects of international business and cross-cultural management based on practical examples of Duracell, Inc., PepsiCo, Volkswagen, VELUX Group, and Amica Group, among others.The book highlights the undeniable interconnectedness of culture and business. As businesses expand internationally, the symbiotic relationship between culture and business remains a pivotal factor influencing success and growth.
Designing Trans-Generational Urban Communities: An Approach towards Inclusive Cities in the Indian Context
by Basudatta Sarkar Haimanti BanerjiThis book examines the inclusiveness of city planning and design to address gaps in policies, strategies and design guidelines for developing trans-generational urban communities in India. Identifying key factors and measurable indicators of trans-generational cities within social, physical, and economic dimensions, the volume highlights the need for establishing age-friendly and child-friendly cities and communities. Through a systematic process of ground data collection, the book explores issues related to health, daily routine, lifestyle, recreation, and socialization within vulnerable groups, considering their physical and cognitive limitations for framing adaptable policies. The volume integrates a bottom-up and top-down approach by integrating the needs and perception of the target group obtained from extensive groundwork with the available theories and literature in allied fields adopting a step-by step synchronized methodology. It also presents the way forward for framing policies focusing on socio-economic security, participation, dignity, care, and self-fulfillment.Offering rich empirical research, this book will be useful for students, teachers and researchers of architecture, urban design, urban geography, urban studies, urban development and planning, and child psychology. It will also be of interest to urban planners and designers, policy planners, local government authorities and professionals engaged in the discipline.
Designing Trans-Generational Urban Communities: An Approach towards Inclusive Cities in the Indian Context
by Basudatta Sarkar Haimanti BanerjiThis book examines the inclusiveness of city planning and design to address gaps in policies, strategies and design guidelines for developing trans-generational urban communities in India. Identifying key factors and measurable indicators of trans-generational cities within social, physical, and economic dimensions, the volume highlights the need for establishing age-friendly and child-friendly cities and communities. Through a systematic process of ground data collection, the book explores issues related to health, daily routine, lifestyle, recreation, and socialization within vulnerable groups, considering their physical and cognitive limitations for framing adaptable policies. The volume integrates a bottom-up and top-down approach by integrating the needs and perception of the target group obtained from extensive groundwork with the available theories and literature in allied fields adopting a step-by step synchronized methodology. It also presents the way forward for framing policies focusing on socio-economic security, participation, dignity, care, and self-fulfillment.Offering rich empirical research, this book will be useful for students, teachers and researchers of architecture, urban design, urban geography, urban studies, urban development and planning, and child psychology. It will also be of interest to urban planners and designers, policy planners, local government authorities and professionals engaged in the discipline.
Bronisław Malinowski and His Legacy in Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities: On the Centenary of Argonauts of the Western Pacific (ISSN)
As one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronisław Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowski’s achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present‑day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksi’s oeuvre.Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowski’s theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers.A critical commentary on the life, work, and legacy of Bronisłw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known – or are completely unknown – in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology.
Bronisław Malinowski and His Legacy in Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities: On the Centenary of Argonauts of the Western Pacific (ISSN)
by Grażyna KubicaAs one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronisław Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowski’s achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present‑day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksi’s oeuvre.Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowski’s theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers.A critical commentary on the life, work, and legacy of Bronisłw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known – or are completely unknown – in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology.
Ethnographic Ways of Knowing: A History Through the Work and Lives of Ten Methodological Innovators (Critical Ethnographic Research in Education)
by Lucinda CarspeckenDrawing on the works of ten scholars and public intellectuals ranging over 200 years, this book foregrounds ways of knowing that include but go beyond the cognitive.The book explores the work of Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Ella Deloria, M. N. Srinivas, Barbara Myerhoff, Orlando Fals Borda, Ronald Takaki and Nawal El Saadawi. The author discusses their multifaceted ethnographic practices and argues that such practices are still under-acknowledged in contemporary research in comparison to cognition and categorization. These scholars were outsiders to their societies in a variety of ways. They highlighted power imbalances in the perception and representation of one group by another and brought direct experience, emotion, narrative, imagination, recognition, self-reflection, activism and cultural humility into their writing, in addition to rationality. The book engages with the authors and their ideas in the context of their times and places. It also reclaims them as methodological predecessors, noting their contributions to what educational ethnography has been and what it could be in the future.Expanding the canon of social research history and providing insight into unique methodological forms, this text will be valuable for scholars and postgraduate students with interests in ethnography, as well as the history of research, anthropology and qualitative methods more broadly.
Ethnographic Ways of Knowing: A History Through the Work and Lives of Ten Methodological Innovators (Critical Ethnographic Research in Education)
by Lucinda CarspeckenDrawing on the works of ten scholars and public intellectuals ranging over 200 years, this book foregrounds ways of knowing that include but go beyond the cognitive.The book explores the work of Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Ella Deloria, M. N. Srinivas, Barbara Myerhoff, Orlando Fals Borda, Ronald Takaki and Nawal El Saadawi. The author discusses their multifaceted ethnographic practices and argues that such practices are still under-acknowledged in contemporary research in comparison to cognition and categorization. These scholars were outsiders to their societies in a variety of ways. They highlighted power imbalances in the perception and representation of one group by another and brought direct experience, emotion, narrative, imagination, recognition, self-reflection, activism and cultural humility into their writing, in addition to rationality. The book engages with the authors and their ideas in the context of their times and places. It also reclaims them as methodological predecessors, noting their contributions to what educational ethnography has been and what it could be in the future.Expanding the canon of social research history and providing insight into unique methodological forms, this text will be valuable for scholars and postgraduate students with interests in ethnography, as well as the history of research, anthropology and qualitative methods more broadly.
Holistic Flexibility for Systems Thinking and Practice (Systems Thinking)
by Rajneesh ChowdhuryThis book explores how the conceptual lens of Holistic Flexibility presents new advancements in systems thinking. Systems thinking is often associated with frameworks and methodologies that often confine the discipline to academic circles in operations research and management science (OR/MS). Holistic Flexibility for Systems Thinking and Practice challenges this status-quo and talks about systems thinking as a state of mind, giving it a cognitive character.The book presents both theoretical deliberations and practitioner cases of Holistic Flexibility. The development of systems thinking in OR/MS is described leading to the latest debates on the subject and the key pillars of Holistic Flexibility are discussed in detail. A range of case studies are presented that offer a firsthand experience of Holistic Flexibility in practice. Learnings are drawn to highlight the importance of a spiritual approach in management, an understanding which is used to further develop the conceptual lens of Holistic Flexibility since it was first introduced. This book presents a range of competencies required for systems practitioners to address and respond to complex situations in an interconnected world.A bold attempt to pragmatize systems thinking and systems practice, the ideas presented in this book weave a thread between the development of the discipline, current debates, and what lies ahead. It will be highly beneficial for OR/MS researchers and graduate students who are interested in systems thinking as well as researchers interested in connecting modern management thinking and Eastern mysticism.
Holistic Flexibility for Systems Thinking and Practice (Systems Thinking)
by Rajneesh ChowdhuryThis book explores how the conceptual lens of Holistic Flexibility presents new advancements in systems thinking. Systems thinking is often associated with frameworks and methodologies that often confine the discipline to academic circles in operations research and management science (OR/MS). Holistic Flexibility for Systems Thinking and Practice challenges this status-quo and talks about systems thinking as a state of mind, giving it a cognitive character.The book presents both theoretical deliberations and practitioner cases of Holistic Flexibility. The development of systems thinking in OR/MS is described leading to the latest debates on the subject and the key pillars of Holistic Flexibility are discussed in detail. A range of case studies are presented that offer a firsthand experience of Holistic Flexibility in practice. Learnings are drawn to highlight the importance of a spiritual approach in management, an understanding which is used to further develop the conceptual lens of Holistic Flexibility since it was first introduced. This book presents a range of competencies required for systems practitioners to address and respond to complex situations in an interconnected world.A bold attempt to pragmatize systems thinking and systems practice, the ideas presented in this book weave a thread between the development of the discipline, current debates, and what lies ahead. It will be highly beneficial for OR/MS researchers and graduate students who are interested in systems thinking as well as researchers interested in connecting modern management thinking and Eastern mysticism.
Horizons of the Future: Science Fiction, Utopian Imagination, and the Politics of Education (Critical Interventions)
by Graham B. SlaterHorizons of the Future: Science Fiction, Utopian Imagination, and the Politics of Education examines the relationship between science fiction, education, and social change in the 21st century.Global capitalism is ecologically unsustainable and ethically indefensible; time is running out to alter the course of history if humanity is to have hope of a livable future beyond the next century. However, alternatives are possible, offering much more equality, care, justice, joy, and hope than the established order. Popular culture and schools are key sites of struggles to imagine such alternatives. Drawing on critical theory, cultural studies, and sociology, Slater articulates the promising connection between science fiction and the future of education. He offers cutting-edge engagement with themes, perspectives, and modes of imagination in science fiction that can be mobilized politically and pedagogically to envision and enact critical forms of education that cultivate new utopian ways of relating to self, society, and the future.This thought-provoking book will be of interest to scholars and students in the social sciences and education.
Horizons of the Future: Science Fiction, Utopian Imagination, and the Politics of Education (Critical Interventions)
by Graham B. SlaterHorizons of the Future: Science Fiction, Utopian Imagination, and the Politics of Education examines the relationship between science fiction, education, and social change in the 21st century.Global capitalism is ecologically unsustainable and ethically indefensible; time is running out to alter the course of history if humanity is to have hope of a livable future beyond the next century. However, alternatives are possible, offering much more equality, care, justice, joy, and hope than the established order. Popular culture and schools are key sites of struggles to imagine such alternatives. Drawing on critical theory, cultural studies, and sociology, Slater articulates the promising connection between science fiction and the future of education. He offers cutting-edge engagement with themes, perspectives, and modes of imagination in science fiction that can be mobilized politically and pedagogically to envision and enact critical forms of education that cultivate new utopian ways of relating to self, society, and the future.This thought-provoking book will be of interest to scholars and students in the social sciences and education.
Predicted Humans: Emerging Technologies and the Burden of Sensemaking (Media, Culture and Critique: Future Imperfect)
by Simona ChiodoPredicting our future as individuals is central to the role of much emerging technology, from hiring algorithms that predict our professional success (or failure) to biomarkers that predict how long (or short) our healthy (or unhealthy) life will be. Yet, much in Western culture, from scripture to mythology to philosophy, suggests that knowing one’s future may not be in the subject’s best interests and might even lead to disaster. If predicting our future as individuals can be harmful as well as beneficial, why are we so willing to engage in so much prediction, from cradle to grave?This book offers a philosophical answer, reflecting on seminal texts in Western culture to argue that predicting our future renders much of our existence the automated effect of various causes, which, in turn, helps to alleviate the existential burden of autonomously making sense of our lives in a more competitive, demanding, accelerated society. An exploration of our tendency in a technological era to engineer and so rid ourselves of that which has hitherto been our primary reason for being – making life plans for a successful future, while faced with epistemological and ethical uncertainties – Predicted Humans will appeal to scholars of philosophy and social theory with interests in questions of moral responsibility and meaning in an increasingly technological world.
Predicted Humans: Emerging Technologies and the Burden of Sensemaking (Media, Culture and Critique: Future Imperfect)
by Simona ChiodoPredicting our future as individuals is central to the role of much emerging technology, from hiring algorithms that predict our professional success (or failure) to biomarkers that predict how long (or short) our healthy (or unhealthy) life will be. Yet, much in Western culture, from scripture to mythology to philosophy, suggests that knowing one’s future may not be in the subject’s best interests and might even lead to disaster. If predicting our future as individuals can be harmful as well as beneficial, why are we so willing to engage in so much prediction, from cradle to grave?This book offers a philosophical answer, reflecting on seminal texts in Western culture to argue that predicting our future renders much of our existence the automated effect of various causes, which, in turn, helps to alleviate the existential burden of autonomously making sense of our lives in a more competitive, demanding, accelerated society. An exploration of our tendency in a technological era to engineer and so rid ourselves of that which has hitherto been our primary reason for being – making life plans for a successful future, while faced with epistemological and ethical uncertainties – Predicted Humans will appeal to scholars of philosophy and social theory with interests in questions of moral responsibility and meaning in an increasingly technological world.