Social System

We characterize the spatial organization of red-tailed sportive lemurs (Lepilemur ruficaudatus) as a key aspect of their social organization and social system. Sportive lemurs are small (<1000 g), nocturnal and folivorous primates endemic to Madagascar. We studied a population of 57 individually-marked individuals in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar, between 1995 and 2001. We radio-tracked 20 males and 26 females of

Attempts to simulate the effects of environmental complexity changes in business yielded the realization that much exploratory work needs to be done to (a) demonstrate that complexity has increased universally, and (b) to elucidate what contributory factors are at work in this environment. Accordingly, the team decided to undertake exploratory work to see if universal factors that increase complexity could be identified. The method involved brainstorming ideas, formulating a hypothesis, and conducting a literature review and analysis. We conclude that the effects of globalization and the widespread adoption of technology are indeed universal factors that profoundly increase complexity. This may be considered a partial list, and much more work in this area remains to be done.

So begins a typical process of appreciative inquiry, a way of thinking and working with groups, organizations and commu-nities that assumes all human systems have at least some posi-tive features, ie something is working well. By fostering reflection on the system's ...

The distinctive contribution of sociological social psychology can be referred to as sociological miniaturism, a way of interpreting social processes and institutions that is microsociological more than it is psychological. We argue that social psychology of this variety permits the examination of large-scale social issues by means of investigation of small-scale social situations. The power of this approach to social life is that it permits recognition of the dense texture of everyday life, permits sociologists to understand more fully a substantive domain, and permits interpretive control. In the chapter we provide examples of this approach from two quite distinct theoretical orientations: symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory. We discuss the ways in which the study of two substantive topics, social power and collective identity, using these perspectives can be informed by closer collaboration between theorists within sociological social psychology. In the end it is o...

We introduce an agent-based model of interaction, drawing on the contingency approach from Luhmann's theory of social systems. The agent interactions are defined by the exchange of distinct messages. Message selection is based on the history of the interaction and developed within the confines of the problem of double contingency. We examine interaction strategies in the light of the message-exchange description using analytical and computational methods.

I claim that explanations of human behaviour by Edward O. Wilsonand Charles Lumsden are constituted by a religiously functioningmetaphysics: emergent materialism. The constitutive effects areidentified using six criteria, beginning with a metaphorical re-description of dissimilarities between levels of organization interms of the lower level, and consist of conceptual andexplanatory reductions (CER). Wilson and Lumsden practice CER,even though CER is not

This paper explores Malay songket motifs in relation to Malaysia’s cultural identity. An examination of government National Culture policy on fixed identity is contrasted with dynamic reality. The policy was imposed on a multi-racial population based on the concept of ‘Malay’ with no recognition of others. Divisions amongst the populace were created by Malay specific privileges. Failure to address others becomes the main interest of this research. Songket motifs are used to demonstrate the Malay’s link with traditional customs. The motifs symbolize Malay dominance in clinging on to power, echoing Malay history. Evidence of the motifs’ assimilation with Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic influences proved that there is no Malay ‘purity.’ The researcher’s practice transforms flat images of motifs into artworks. Practice differs from the norm of Malaysian artists, who translate Malay culture into art. A Malaysian artist having worked in the UK and USA, the researcher puts theory into practice....

Production began to decline, more and more signs of recession occurred, the GDP diminished in real terms so that the signs of economic crisis became visible in all components of the social system (and in the culture subsystem, as well). In this context, the unanimous striving for international cooperation to find adequate answers to the present global crisis led to

There is a growing consensus among the Lithuanian policy makers, practitioners and industrialists that environmental policy must move from a reactive stance to a more proactive, sustainable development approach. As a result, many companies are ...

The research topic we propose to present concerns the issue of collective behavior within a Global Information System, and a relating question of human rationality. The first issue is still new and unexplored. The interests in the area of information systems have concentrated mainly on technological aspects. If the human component was at all taken into account, it has been analyzed from the level of an individual. So have all new concepts of rationality. However, globalization and virtualization of human activity denote the growth of dispersed collectivities, the nature of which has yet to be fully comprehended. The detailed project objectives are included in three basic groups: theoretical, methodological and empirical, and arise from the following research questions: 1. Is collective behavior a phenomenon of exclusively qualitative nature, impossible to structure? 2. Does irrationality and unpredictability of individual actions determine irrationality and unpredictability of the w...

Churchman dedicated his career to sensitizing systems scientists and other inquirers to the existence of what he referred to as "enormous problems." In his view these are problems that cannot be addressed by a single discipline or a single inquirer but by interdisciplinary teams of inquirers. This chapter tells the story of how a group of researchers, in the context