Academic literature on the topic 'Mathematics for nonmathematicians (engineering, social sciences, etc.)'

In this paper, we constructed a traveling wave solutions expressed by three types of functions, which are hyperbolic, trigonometric, and rational functions. By using a fractional sub-equation method for some space-time fractional nonlinear partial differential equations (FNPDE), which are considered models for different phenomena in natural and social sciences fields like engineering, physics, geology, etc. This method is a very effective and easy to investigate exact traveling wave solutions to FNPDE with the aid of the modified Riemann–Liouville derivative.

The article is dedicated to one of the largest museum centers of natural history in the world - the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, USA), which is, since its founding in 1853, both a research and scientific and educational organization. The California Academy of Sciences, in its current version, presents a prime example of the development of basic museum’s concepts in USA: guardianship, corporate museum, museum communication, achieving the goals of sustainable development of society, the involvement in science the population on the basis of the system “STEM-education” (Science, Technology, Engineering Mathematics). The article analyzes the history and modern activities of the museum in terms of exhibition features, scientific and educational practice. Architectural, artistic and engineering solutions, features of internal infrastructure, themes, content and design of the exhibition complex reflect the stated national mission to "explore, explain and sustain"), in accordance with the implementation of the declared environmental concept of sustainable development (fighting global climate warming, the development of technologies of energy conservation, cleanliness and waste of production, etc.). On the basis of our own museum observations, analysis of literary data, we can conclude that museums as social institutions and interactive technologies used in the educational process are most suitable for the task of introducing the widest range of citizens to science and culture. The example of the California Academy of Sciences provides important guidelines for the development of museums in our country.

Studying mathematics is an essential condition for acquiring an education in most fields such as all exact sciences, financial sphere, programming, etc. It enables students to choose from among a large variety of professions with significantly high chances of academic admission, mainly in fields such as engineering, natural sciences, and technology, as well as in a considerable part of the social sciences Hence, studying mathematics in high school is a critical and key factor for continued studies and for integration in many professions in the Israeli workforce. The current study sought to expand knowledge on the effect of students' psychological feelings, such as motivation and self-efficacy, in light of the "Give Five" reform initiated by the Ministry of Education implemented in 2015. The study examined the effects of the "Give Five" reform on student motivation and self-efficacy, while examining whether these influences were gender-dependent. The study confirmed a positive correlation between the degree of motivation to study mathematics and the level of self-efficacy, and no difference was found between males and females in their level of motivation and self-efficacy. Future recommendations include research into the significance of motivation and self-efficacy as a major determinant of scholastic success.

Library bibliographic classification (LBC) is the national classification system of Russia. The article briefly covers the history of the LBC and presents the structure and content of new sections of the LBC schedules, reflecting the modern literature on information science, information technology and cybernetics. The author considers specific features of delimitation of literature within the sections and between other divisions of the LBC medium schedules. Cybernetics section gives the most general and modern definition of cybernetics as the science of systems organization and control. The article studies the principles of literature delimitation between cybernetics, social and economic sciences. The author determines the main place for general literature on mathematical modelling and other methods of process control simulation. The article considers the principles of delimitation from the literature using mathematical modelling as a research method. The author presents the control system as a complex of interrelated and interdependent elements that form an ordered integrity and unity. In the construction of “Informatics and information technology” section the priority is given to the literature for users. The author analyses the principles of delimitation between informatics, mathematics, technology and scientific-information activity. The sources on preparation of text and graphic documents, technical and accounting documentation are considered as information technology, and literature on study and use of computer programs for these purposes is collected in the relevant divisions on computer technology. The article studies the principles of delimitation of literature on information processes in computer networks, network equipment, etc. The author determines the main place for the literature on Internet technologies and analyses the principles of delimitation from the literature on information search as scientific-information activity, creation and programming of web sites. There is fixed the place for literature on information systems and databases, the main areas of research in the field of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and virtualization technology. “Information security” completes the section. Delimitation is carried out with the legal basis of information security and engineering protection of information. New sections of the LBC schedules have improved the classification of literature and made it more convenient to search the catalogues.

The paper examines 13021 Indian publications on mobile research during 2007-16,as covered in Scopus database. The Indian publications were downloaded using a search strategy which uses the search term ‘mobile*’ in the two tags, namely ‘keyword tag’ and ‘Article Title tag’ and restricting it to the India in ‘country tag’ and period 2007-16 in ‘date range tag’. The Indian mobile research output experiencing an annual average growth rate of 22.64 per cent, global share of 5.88 per cent, citation impact of 2.11 and international collaborative publication share of 11.28 per cent during 2007-16. Computer Science, among subjects, contributed the largest publication share (74.61), engineering (38.32%), mathematics and social sciences (6.94% and 6.54), etc. during 2007-16. Amongst14 subfields identified in India’s mobile research, mobile networks contributed the largest publication share (53.19%), followed by mobile telecommunication systems (35.09%), Mobile communication (29.22%), mobile ad hoc networks (26.86%), mobile security (20.62%), etc. The most productive 20 Indian organisations and authors together contributed 25.64 per cent and 5.11 per cent share to the overall publications output of India in mobile research during 2007-16.The top 20 journals contributed 23.0 per cent share to the Indian journal output during 2007-16. Only 14 publications have registered citations from 109 to 548 and these together received3259 citations, with 232.79 citations per paper. Conclude that India is still not a leading country in the world on mobile research both in terms of quantity and quality of research. In view of strategic and global importance and to increase the research output and quality, the Indian Government needs to identify this area as one of the national priority area, involving much larger R&D investments and trained manpower and also increase international collaboration with leading mobile research hubs.

Purpose – This paper aims to show data about Spanish higher-education students’ usage, habits and perceptions regarding reading on new digital media to show the potential future of electronic books (e-books) and reading mobile devices (e-readers, tablets, cell phones, etc) in academia. It explores whether demographics and academic factors might influence e-book reading habits and attitudes and university students’ opinions about e-books vs print books. REWIL 2.0, a purpose-built research tool, was applied to measure students’ opinions about digital reading in different media and formats, considering their academic context, at the confluence of analog and digital materials and learning. Likewise, REWIL 2.0 detects who are e-book readers (eBR) and who are not and produces a statistics indicator to identify five categories of eBRs by their frequency of e-book reading. This research gathered 745 online surveys between April and July 2010 in 15 degree programs at the University of Granada: Spanish philology, English philology, history, mathematics, chemistry, environmental sciences, education, library and information science, law, medicine, biology, dentistry, computer systems, architecture and civil engineering. Design/methodology/approach – This present study is a transversal applied research, where 745 students were surveyed from 15 different academic disciplines offered at the University of Granada (Spain), representing the five main discipline areas. The survey was carried out by means of a structured online survey, with REWIL 2.0 research tool. To ensure internal consistency of correlation between two different survey items designed to measure e-book reading frequency, Pearson’s r reliability test was applied. Likewise, Persons’ chi-squared statistics were applied to test the hypotheses and to detect if significant correlation existed between academic disciplines and e-book reading frequency measured through a Likert scale. Findings – The present research is motivated by our interest in discovering what effect the current technological maelstrom and the rapid growth of new portable digital reading devices in the Spanish university environment are having on students’ lives, and the extent to which students have adopted new reading technologies. Their first aim is to establish who is reading e-books in the University? A second aim is to answer the following question: is the academic discipline a determinant factor in e-book reading habits and students’ attitudes about it? The authors began by considering the following hypotheses: University students’ attitudes to e-book reading and the way they use them will be determined by the scientific discipline they study. Students of humanities, social sciences and law will prefer to read traditional format books (printed paper), while students of experimental sciences, health and technical courses will prefer reading e-books. Students’ preferences will be determined by their previous reading experiences. Originality/value – The main objective of the present study is to learn whether there are any notable differences among university students from distinct disciplines with regard to their attitude and behavior toward e-books. The authors, therefore, set out to identify the segment of the student population that does not read e-books yet (non-eBRs) from those who have already read at least one (eBRs), and within this segment, the readers that have read e-books recently (recent eBRs); find out how frequently university students are reading in different formats (paper and digital), document types (book, written press, etc.) and languages (textual, multimodal, etc.) identify what channels are used to access e-books; find out university students’ opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of reading e-books as compared to traditional print books; and identify the types of improvements or changes to the design–production–distribution–reception chain that students consider might help extend e-book reading.

A review of: Silverstein, Joanne. “Just Curious: Children’s Use of Digital Reference for Unimposed Queries and Its Importance in Informal Education.” Library Trends 54.2 (Fall 2005): 228-44. Objective – To determine 1) how and with what frequency children use digital references to answer their own unimposed questions; 2) whether digital reference services support their self-initiated learning; 3) whether digital reference services support the transfer of student motivation and curiosity from the formal to the informal; and 4) what instructional and software designers should consider in creating tools that support learning. Design – Inductive analysis. Setting – Virtual Reference Desk’s (VRD) Learning Center (http://vrd.askvrd.org/) and the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) digital reference service (http://www.esteme.org) during Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Week (ESTEME), April 11-16, 2005. Subjects – Elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high school (9-12) students from the general public. One hundred fourteen questions were analyzed, however there is no indication of the number of different students who submitted the questions. Methods – This study was conducted using a pool of 600 questions from students, teachers, parents, and the general public that were submitted to two digital reference services intended for students. Three hundred experts in the fields of Math and Science volunteered to answer the submitted questions during Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Week. Because the digital services employed a pull-down menu to describe the user as a student, teacher, parent, etc., the questions could be narrowed to those submitted by students. The questions were also narrowed to those marked as “just curious” from a question purpose menu that contained categories including “written report,” “science fair project,” and “just curious.” A total of 114 unique questions from elementary, middle, and high school students were analyzed to determine the study objectives. The 114 questions were loaded into a qualitative software application (HyperResearch) for inductive analysis. Questions from students were coded as elementary, middle, or high school and only those questions derived from students’ self-initiated interests were analyzed. Main results – Analysis revealed that elementary students submitted a large portion of the questions. Middle school students asked the most questions, of which some questions were compound (more than one question in a given query). Older students submitted the least amount of questions. an unanticipated finding was that students’ grade levels correlated to the foci of their queries, which regarded “My Life,” “My Stuff,” “Other People,” “The World,” “The Universe,” or “Abstract Thought.” High school students were interested in the narrowest foci pertaining to their immediate circumstance rather than the larger topics of other people, the world, and the universe. The majority of middle school students were interested in abstract concepts, and 45% of elementary school students’ queries were about how the world works. Although this study was not longitudinal, results suggest that student curiosity may shift over time. Results also indicated that younger children demonstrated interests outside the classroom that were related to formal learning previously introduced within the classroom. This carry over of interest declined in upper grades. Queries that were unimposed but related to an academic subject such as science or social studies were most evident in questions submitted by elementary students, while questions dealing more with career planning, health, death, and anxiety were most frequently addressed by middle school students. The findings also indicated that the use of digital reference services is at its highest in elementary school, peaks in middle school, and falls drastically in high school. Conclusion – 1) How and with what frequency do children use digital reference services to answer their own unimposed questions? The results of this study revealed a trend on the frequency and purpose of use of digital references when seeking answers to self-initiated questions. Elementary students tend to use the digital reference services more often and for answers to questions that may be related to classroom curriculum. Middle school students utilize digital references to look for information pertaining to careers, health and welfare, death and anxiety. High school students submitted questions pertaining to their immediate circumstances (“My Life and My World”) rather than focusing on others. 2) Do digital reference services support self-initiated learning? Of the original 2,258 questions submitted, 13% were considered “informal.” These findings indicate that digital reference services support self-initiated learning. 3) Could digital reference services support the transfer of student motivation and curiosity from formal to informal education and learning? The frequency of questions from elementary students that were coded as “Curriculum Related Interest” leads one to conclude that digital reference services can indeed support the transfer of student interest from formal to informal education. 4) What should instructional and software designers consider when creating tools that support the notion of transformed education and learning? Although it is impossible to actually know the nature of the difficulties experienced by users, duplicate questions from the same user were received by the reference services, which suggests that the user may be experiencing difficulty with the software or that the software may actually be malfunctioning during usage. Compound questions were also frequently submitted. Software designers should take note of these findings to design services that are age-appropriate, especially regarding the type of questions each age group tends to ask, and that support the needs of elementary, middle, and high school students. Software designers should perhaps even consult with students who use these services during the design process.

The achievement of children's quality of life is undoubtedly linked to the development of positive habits that will continue to be practiced in future lives. This can be done by developing awareness and behavior of a balanced clean and healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to determine the increase in the PHBS ability of children. Various efforts have been made so that children with intellectual disabilities can maintain their cleanliness. The efforts made by the teacher are still not maximal so that the delivery of information about PHBS must be completed by another method, namely demonstration. This research was conducted at SDLB 127710 Pematangsiantar5 with an action research method that refers to the Kurt Lewin model. Data collection techniques used purposive sampling and data analysis with the Wilcoxon test. The results showed an increase in understanding of the PHBS of children with intellectual disabilities able to learn SDLB 127710 Pematangsiantar through the demonstration method. This is evidenced by the increase in the score, where the initial assessment was obtained (59%), while in the first cycle, the average score was good (69.9%). In short, the understanding of children with intellectual disabilities being able to learn about PHBS is increased by using the demonstration method. Keywords: Intellectual Disability Children, PHBS program, Demonstration methods References Agarwal, R. (2017). Importancia de la atención primaria de salud en la sociedad. International Journal of Health Sciences, 1(1), 5–9. Aiello, A. E., Coulborn, R. M., Perez, V., & Larson, E. L. (2008). Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1372–1381. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2007.124610 Arip, M. pdfo., & Emilyani, D. (2018). Strategy to improve knowledge, attitude, and skill toward clean and healthy life behaviour. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(3), 125–135. https://doi.org/10.29332/ijssh.v2n3.222 Basheer, A., Hugerat, M., Kortam, N., & Hofstein, A. (2017). The effectiveness of teachers’ use of demonstrations for enhancing students’ understanding of and attitudes to learning the oxidation-reduction concept. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(3), 555–570. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00632a Bloomfield, S. F., Aiello, A. E., Cookson, B., O’Boyle, C., & Larson, E. L. (2007). The effectiveness of hand hygiene procedures in reducing the risks of infections in home and community settings including handwashing and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. American Journal of Infection Control, 35(10 SUPPL. 1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2007.07.001 Cavanaugh, L. K. (n.d.). Intellectual Disabilities (D. L. Porretta (Ed.); 6 th). Human Kinetics. Chang, Y. J., Lee, M. Y., Chou, L. Der, Chen, S. F., & Chen, Y. C. (2011). A Mobile Wetness Detection System Enabling Teachers to Toilet Train Children with Intellectual Disabilities in a Public School Setting. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 23(6), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-011-9243-3 Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, 69(1), 33–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715577707 Dirjen P2P Kemkes RI. (2019). Rencana Aksi Program Pencegahan Dan Pengendalian Penyakit 2015-2019 ( Revisi I - 2018 ). Rencana AKSI Program P2P 2015-2019, 2019, 86. Flanagan, D. P., Alfonso, V. C., & Hale, J. B. (2010). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition in Neuropsychological Practice. Handbook of Pediatric Neuropsychology, January, 397–414. Giridharan, K., & Raju, R. (2017). Impact of Teaching Strategies: Demonstration and Lecture Strategies and Impact of Teacher Effect on Academic Achievement in Engineering Education. International Journal of Educational Sciences, 14(3), 174–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2016.11890491 Hooman, N., Safaii, A., Valavi, E., & Amini-Alavijeh, Z. (2013). Toilet training in Iranian children: A cross-sectional study. Iranian Journal of Pediatrics, 23(2), 154–158. Hung, J.-W., Chang, Y.-J., & Han, W.-Y. (2016). Game technology to increase range of motion for adolescents with cerebral palsy: a feasibility study. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijdhd-2016-0026 Kang, Y. S., & Chang, Y. J. (2019). Using a motion-controlled game to teach four elementary school children with intellectual disabilities to improve hand hygiene. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(4), 942–951. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12587 Kementerian, & Indonesia, R. (2011). Profil Kesehatan Indonesia. Kemenenterian Kesehatan RI. Kesehatan, K. (2011). PHBS di Sekolah. Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Ketut Sudiana, I., Adiputra, N., & Budi Adnyana, P. (2020). Integrative Health Thematic Strategy Increases Learning Outcomes and Students ’Clean and Healthy Living Behaviors. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1503(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1503/1/012050 Koh, W. M., Bogich, T., Siegel, K., Jin, J., Chong, E. Y., Tan, C. Y., Chen, M. I. C., Horby, P., & Cook, A. R. (2016). The epidemiology of hand, foot and mouth disease in Asia: A systematic review and analysis. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 35(10), e285–e300. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000001242 Kroeger, K., & Sorensen, R. (2010). A parent training model for toilet training children with autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(6), 556–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01286.x Laporan Akuntabilitas Kinerja Kementerian Kesehatan tahun 2014. (n.d.). Lee, R. L. T., & Lee, P. H. (2014). To evaluate the effects of a simplified hand washing improvement program in schoolchildren with mild intellectual disability: A pilot study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(11), 3014–3025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.07.016 Lee, R. L. T., Leung, C., Tong, W. K., Chen, H., & Lee, P. H. (2015). Comparative efficacy of a simplified handwashing program for improvement in hand hygiene and reduction of school absenteeism among children with intellectual disability. American Journal of Infection Control, 43(9), 907–912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2015.03.023 Levato, L. E., Aponte, C. A., Wilkins, J., Travis, R., Aiello, R., Zanibbi, K., Loring, W. A., Butter, E., Smith, T., & Mruzek, D. W. (2016). Use of urine alarms in toilet training children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 53–54, 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2016.02.007 Noah Ekeyi, D. (2013). Effect of Demonstration Method of Teaching on Students’ Achievement in Agricultural Science. World Journal of Education, 3(6), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5430/wje.v3n6p1 Pedoman Umum Program Indonesia Sehat dengan Pendekatan Keluarga. (2015). Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Purba, N., Handini, M. C. H., & Yetti, E. (2018). Development of Media Vocabulary Cards to Improve the Speech Competence of Children with Intellectual Disabilities. 6. Puspita, W. A., Sulistyorini, M. P., & Wibowo, B. (2020). Learning Clean, Healthy and Safe Life Behavior in Inclusive Early Childhood Education. 454(Ecep 2019), 270–274. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200808.053 Putri, R. M., Rosdiana, Y., & Nisa, A. C. (2019). Application of Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS) From The Household Knowledge and Attitude Study. Journal Of Nursing Practice, 3(1), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.30994/jnp.v3i1.64 Rosenberg, N. E., Schwartz, I. S., & Davis, C. A. (2010). Evaluating the utility of commercial videotapes for teaching hand washing to children with autism. Education and Treatment of Children, 33(3), 443–455. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.0.0098 Ruan, F., Yang, T., Ma, H., Jin, Y., Song, S., Fontaine, R. E., & Zhu, B. P. (2011). Risk factors for hand, foot, and mouth disease and herpangina and the preventive effect of hand-washing. Pediatrics, 127(4). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1497 Shen, K., Yang, Y., Wang, T., Zhao, D., Jiang, Y., Jin, R., Zheng, Y., Xu, B., Xie, Z., Lin, L., Shang, Y., Lu, X., Shu, S., Bai, Y., Deng, J., Lu, M., Ye, L., Wang, X., Wang, Y., & Gao, L. (2020). Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in children: experts’ consensus statement. World Journal of Pediatrics, 16(3), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-020-00343-7 Steenkamp, L., Williams, M., Ronaasen, J., Feeley, A., Truter, I., & Melariri, P. (2020). Handwashing knowledge and practices among caregivers of pre-school children in underprivileged areas of Nelson Mandela Bay. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 0(0), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2020.1769336 van Nunen, K., Kaerts, N., Wyndaele, J. J., Vermandel, A., & van Hal, G. V. (2015). Parents’ views on toilet training (TT): A quantitative study to identify the beliefs and attitudes of parents concerning TT. Journal of Child Health Care, 19(2), 265–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493513508232 Walpole, R. E. (1955). Pengantar Statistika. Gramedia.

Purpose Categories (particular (P) and general (V)) constitute a bipole with epistemological implications. The mutual categorical implication of this bipole is embodied in ordinary notions. It follows that a concept because it forms an element of concrete, sensible-rational, practical-theoretical activity has to unite the two inseparable poles, the general and the particular. If the concept of a physical quantity is abstract in relation to the physical object, it is concrete in comparison with mathematical quantity. This product of a secondary abstraction covers the background of physical qualities to extract the pure number, legitimately named abstract number. Both kinds of numbers are mutually exclusive: either the numbers are attached to a unit name and the number is concrete or nothing is attached and the number is abstract. However, in addition to their coordination in extension, they involve each other in comprehension: in fact, the pure number is the general pole V and concrete numbers form the particular pole of the dialectical concept of number K. The purpose of this paper is to provide a model for epistemological issues that arise in the context of meaning, concepts and use of words. Design/methodology/approach A dialectical theory of the binomial comprehension-extension of mathematical magnitudes. Findings The findings provide an objection to the traditional deductive order being also true in mathematics, and also that the reverse order cannot be considered as characteristic of mathematics, but show dialectic as universal. This opens the way to the special scientific deduction (mathematical, physical, biological, etc). going from the general to individual. Originality/value The structure of the mathematical concepts is elaborated.

Complex systems are an invention of the universe. It is not at all clear that science has an a priori primacy claim to the study of complex systems. (Galanter 5) Introduction In popular dialogues, describing a system as “complex” is often the point of resignation, inferring that the system cannot be sufficiently described, predicted nor managed. Transport networks, management infrastructure and supply chain logistics are all often described in this way. In socio-cultural terms “complex” is used to describe those humanistic systems that are “intricate, involved, complicated, dynamic, multi-dimensional, interconnected systems [such as] transnational citizenship, communities, identities, multiple belongings, overlapping geographies and competing histories” (Cahir & James). Academic dialogues have begun to explore the collective behaviors of complex systems to define a complex system specifically as an adaptive one; i.e. a system that demonstrates ‘self organising’ principles and ‘emergent’ properties. Based upon the key principles of interaction and emergence in relation to adaptive and self organising systems in cultural artifacts and processes, this paper will argue that complex systems are cultural systems. By introducing generic principles of complex systems, and looking at the exploration of such principles in art, design and media research, this paper argues that a science of cultural systems as part of complex systems theory is the post modern science for the digital age. Furthermore, that such a science was predicated by post structuralism and has been manifest in art, design and media practice since the late 1960s. Complex Systems Theory Complexity theory grew out of systems theory, an holistic approach to analysis that views whole systems based upon the links and interactions between the component parts and their relationship to each other and the environment within they exists. This stands in stark contrast to conventional science which is based upon Descartes’s reductionism, where the aim is to analyse systems by reducing something to its component parts (Wilson 3). As systems thinking is concerned with relationships more than elements, it proposes that in complex systems, small catalysts can cause large changes and that a change in one area of a system can adversely affect another area of the system. As is apparent, systems theory is a way of thinking rather than a specific set of rules, and similarly there is no single unified Theory of Complexity, but several different theories have arisen from the natural sciences, mathematics and computing. As such, the study of complex systems is very interdisciplinary and encompasses more than one theoretical framework. Whilst key ideas of complexity theory developed through artificial intelligence and robotics research, other important contributions came from thermodynamics, biology, sociology, physics, economics and law. In her volume for the Elsevier Advanced Management Series, “Complex Systems and Evolutionary Perspectives on Organisations”, Eve Mitleton-Kelly describes a comprehensive overview of this evolution as five main areas of research: complex adaptive systems dissipative structures autopoiesis (non-equilibrium) social systems chaos theory path dependence Here, Mitleton-Kelly points out that relatively little work has been done on developing a specific theory of complex social systems, despite much interest in complexity and its application to management (Mitleton-Kelly 4). To this end, she goes on to define the term “complex evolving system” as more appropriate to the field than ‘complex adaptive system’ and suggests that the term “complex behaviour” is thus more useful in social contexts (Mitleton-Kelly). For our purpose here, “complex systems” will be the general term used to describe those systems that are diverse and made up of multiple interdependent elements, that are often ‘adaptive’, in that they have the capacity to change and learn from events. This is in itself both ‘evolutionary’ and ‘behavioural’ and can be understood as emerging from the interaction of autonomous agents – especially people. Some generic principles of complex systems defined by Mitleton Kelly that are of concern here are: self-organisation emergence interdependence feedback space of possibilities co-evolving creation of new order Whilst the behaviours of complex systems clearly do not fall into our conventional top down perception of management and production, anticipating such behaviours is becoming more and more essential for products, processes and policies. For example, compare the traditional top down model of news generation, distribution and consumption to the “emerging media eco-system” (Bowman and Willis 14). Figure 1 (Bowman & Willis 10) Figure 2 (Bowman & Willis 12) To the traditional news organisations, such a “democratization of production” (McLuhan 230) has been a huge cause for concern. The agencies once solely responsible for the representation of reality are now lost in a global miasma of competing perspectives. Can we anticipate and account for complex behaviours? Eve Mitleton Kelly states that “if organisations are understood as complex evolving systems co-evolving as part of a social ‘ecosystem’, then that changed perspective changes ways of acting and relating which lead to a different way of working. Thus, management strategy changes, and our organizational design paradigms evolve as new types of relationships and ways of working provide the conditions for the emergence of new organisational forms” (Mitleton-Kelly 6). Complexity in Design It is thus through design practice and processes that discovering methods for anticipating complex systems behaviours seem most possible. The Embracing Complexity in Design (ECiD) research programme, is a contemporary interdisciplinary research cluster consisting of academics and designers from architectural engineering, robotics, geography, digital media, sustainable design, and computing aiming to explore the possibility of trans disciplinary principles of complexity in design. Over arching this work is the conviction that design can be seen as model for complex systems researchers motivated by applying complexity science in particular domains. Key areas in which design and complexity interact have been established by this research cluster. Most immediately, many designed products and systems are inherently complex to design in the ordinary sense. For example, when designing vehicles, architecture, microchips designers need to understand complex dynamic processes used to fabricate and manufacture products and systems. The social and economic context of design is also complex, from market economics and legal regulation to social trends and mass culture. The process of designing can also involve complex social dynamics, with many people processing and exchanging complex heterogeneous information over complex human and communication networks, in the context of many changing constraints. Current key research questions are: how can the methods of complex systems science inform designers? how can design inform research into complex systems? Whilst ECiD acknowledges that to answer such questions effectively the theoretical and methodological relations between complexity science and design need further exploration and enquiry, there are no reliable precedents for such an activity across the sciences and the arts in general. Indeed, even in areas where a convergence of humanities methodology with scientific practice might seem to be most pertinent, most examples are few and far between. In his paper “Post Structuralism, Hypertext & the World Wide Web”, Luke Tredennick states that “despite the concentration of post-structuralism on text and texts, the study of information has largely failed to exploit post-structuralist theory” (Tredennick 5). Yet it is surely in the convergence of art and design with computation and the media that a search for practical trans-metadisciplinary methodologies might be most fruitful. It is in design for interactive media, where algorithms meet graphics, where the user can interact, adapt and amend, that self-organisation, emergence, interdependence, feedback, the space of possibilities, co-evolution and the creation of new order are embraced on a day to day basis by designers. A digitally interactive environment such as the World Wide Web, clearly demonstrates all the key aspects of a complex system. Indeed, it has already been described as a ‘complexity machine’ (Qvortup 9). It is important to remember that this ‘complexity machine’ has been designed. It is an intentional facility. It may display all the characteristics of complexity but, whilst some of its attributes are most demonstrative of self organisation and emergence, the Internet itself has not emerged spontaneously. For example, Tredinnick details the evolution of the World Wide Web through the Memex machine of Vannevar Bush, through Ted Nelsons hypertext system Xanadu to Tim Berners-Lee’s Enquire (Tredennick 3). The Internet was engineered. So, whilst we may not be able to entirely predict complex behavior, we can, and do, quite clearly design for it. When designing digitally interactive artifacts we design parameters or co ordinates to define the space within which a conceptual process will take place. We can never begin to predict precisely what those processes might become through interaction, emergence and self organisation, but we can establish conceptual parameters that guide and delineate the space of possibilities. Indeed this fact is so transparently obvious that many commentators in the humanities have been pushed to remark that interaction is merely interpretation, and so called new media is not new at all; that one interacts with a book in much the same way as a digital artifact. After all, post-structuralist theory had established the “death of the author” in the 1970s – the a priori that all cultural artifacts are open to interpretation, where all meanings must be completed by the reader. The concept of the “open work” (Eco 6) has been an established post modern concept for over 30 years and is commonly recognised as a feature of surrealist montage, poetry, the writings of James Joyce, even advertising design, where a purposive space for engagement and interpretation of a message is designated, without which the communication does not “work”. However, this concept is also most successfully employed in relation to installation art and, more recently, interactive art as a reflection of the artist’s conscious decision to leave part of a work open to interpretation and/or interaction. Art & Complex Systems One of the key projects of Embracing Complexity in Design has been to look at the relationship between art and complex systems. There is a relatively well established history of exploring art objects as complex systems in themselves that finds its origins in the systems art movement of the 1970s. In his paper “Observing ‘Systems Art’ from a Systems-Theroretical Perspective”, Francis Halsall defines systems art as “emerging in the 1960s and 1970s as a new paradigm in artistic practice … displaying an interest in the aesthetics of networks, the exploitation of new technology and New Media, unstable or de-materialised physicality, the prioritising of non-visual aspects, and an engagement (often politicised) with the institutional systems of support (such as the gallery, discourse, or the market) within which it occurs” (Halsall 7). More contemporarily, “Open Systems: Rethinking Art c.1970”, at Tate Modern, London, focuses upon systems artists “rejection of art’s traditional focus on the object, to wide-ranging experiments al focus on the object, to wide-ranging experiments with media that included dance, performance and…film & video” (De Salvo 3). Artists include Andy Warhol, Richard Long, Gilbert & George, Sol Lewitt, Eva Hesse and Bruce Nauman. In 2002, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New York, held an international exhibition entitled “Complexity; Art & Complex Systems”, that was concerned with “art as a distinct discipline offer[ing] its own unique approache[s] and epistemic standards in the consideration of complexity” (Galanter and Levy 5), and the organisers go on to describe four ways in which artists engage the realm of complexity: presentations of natural complex phenomena that transcend conventional scientific visualisation descriptive systems which describe complex systems in an innovative and often idiosyncratic way commentary on complexity science itself technical applications of genetic algorithms, neural networks and a-life ECiD artist Julian Burton makes work that visualises how companies operate in specific relation to their approach to change and innovation. He is a strategic artist and facilitator who makes “pictures of problems to help people talk about them” (Burton). Clients include public and private sector organisations such as Barclays, Shell, Prudential, KPMG and the NHS. He is quoted as saying “Pictures are a powerful way to engage and focus a group’s attention on crucial issues and challenges, and enable them to grasp complex situations quickly. I try and create visual catalysts that capture the major themes of a workshop, meeting or strategy and re-present them in an engaging way to provoke lively conversations” (Burton). This is a simple and direct method of using art as a knowledge elicitation tool that falls into the first and second categories above. The third category is demonstrated by the ground breaking TechnoSphere, that was specifically inspired by complexity theory, landscape and artificial life. Launched in 1995 as an Arts Council funded online digital environment it was created by Jane Prophet and Gordon Selley. TechnoSphere is a virtual world, populated by artificial life forms created by users of the World Wide Web. The digital ecology of the 3D world, housed on a server, depends on the participation of an on-line public who accesses the world via the Internet. At the time of writing it has attracted over a 100,000 users who have created over a million creatures. The artistic exploration of technical applications is by default a key field for researching the convergence of trans-metadisciplinary methodologies. Troy Innocent’s lifeSigns evolves multiple digital media languages “expressed as a virtual world – through form, structure, colour, sound, motion, surface and behaviour” (Innocent). The work explores the idea of “emergent language through play – the idea that new meanings may be generated through interaction between human and digital agents”. Thus this artwork combines three areas of converging research – artificial life; computational semiotics and digital games. In his paper “What Is Generative Art? Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory”, Philip Galanter describes all art as generative on the basis that it is created from the application of rules. Yet, as demonstrated above, what is significantly different and important about digital interactivity, as opposed to its predecessor, interpretation, is its provision of a graphical user interface (GUI) to component parts of a text such as symbol, metaphor, narrative, etc for the multiple “authors” and the multiple “readers” in a digitally interactive space of possibility. This offers us tangible, instantaneous reproduction and dissemination of interpretations of an artwork. Conclusion: Digital Interactivity – A Complex Medium Digital interaction of any sort is thus a graphic model of the complex process of communication. Here, complexity does not need deconstructing, representing nor modelling, as the aesthetics (as in apprehended by the senses) of the graphical user interface conveniently come first. Design for digital interactive media is thus design for complex adaptive systems. The theoretical and methodological relations between complexity science and design can clearly be expounded especially well through post-structuralism. The work of Barthes, Derrida & Foucault offers us the notion of all cultural artefacts as texts or systems of signs, whose meanings are not fixed but rather sustained by networks of relationships. Implemented in a digital environment post-structuralist theory is tangible complexity. Strangely, whilst Philip Galanter states that science has no necessary over reaching claim to the study of complexity, he then argues conversely that “contemporary art theory rooted in skeptical continental philosophy [reduces] art to social construction [as] postmodernism, deconstruction and critical theory [are] notoriously elusive, slippery, and overlapping terms and ideas…that in fact [are] in the business of destabilising apparently clear and universal propositions” (4). This seems to imply that for Galanter, post modern rejections of grand narratives necessarily will exclude the “new scientific paradigm” of complexity, a paradigm that he himself is looking to be universal. Whilst he cites Lyotard (6) describing both political and linguistic reasons why postmodern art celebrates plurality, denying any progress towards singular totalising views, he fails to appreciate what happens if that singular totalising view incorporates interactivity? Surely complexity is pluralistic by its very nature? In the same vein, if language for Derrida is “an unfixed system of traces and differences … regardless of the intent of the authored texts … with multiple equally legitimate meanings” (Galanter 7) then I have heard no better description of the signifiers, signifieds, connotations and denotations of digital culture. Complexity in its entirety can also be conversely understood as the impact of digital interactivity upon culture per se which has a complex causal relation in itself; Qvortups notion of a “communications event” (9) such as the Danish publication of the Mohammed cartoons falls into this category. Yet a complex causality could be traced further into cultural processes enlightening media theory; from the relationship between advertising campaigns and brand development; to the exposure and trajectory of the celebrity; describing the evolution of visual language in media cultures and informing the relationship between exposure to representation and behaviour. In digital interaction the terms art, design and media converge into a process driven, performative event that demonstrates emergence through autopoietic processes within a designated space of possibility. By insisting that all artwork is generative Galanter, like many other writers, negates the medium entirely which allows him to insist that generative art is “ideologically neutral” (Galanter 10). Generative art, like all digitally interactive artifacts are not neutral but rather ideologically plural. Thus, if one integrates Qvortups (8) delineation of medium theory and complexity theory we may have what we need; a first theory of a complex medium. Through interactive media complexity theory is the first post modern science; the first science of culture. References Bowman, Shane, and Chris Willis. We Media. 21 Sep. 2003. 9 March 2007 http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php>. Burton, Julian. “Hedron People.” 9 March 2007 http://www.hedron.com/network/assoc.php4?associate_id=14>. Cahir, Jayde, and Sarah James. “Complex: Call for Papers.” M/C Journal 9 Sep. 2006. 7 March 2007 http://journal.media-culture.org.au/journal/upcoming.php>. De Salvo, Donna, ed. 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Mitleton-Kelly, Eve, ed. Complex Systems and Evolutionary Perspectives on Organisations. Elsevier Advanced Management Series, 2003. Prophet, Jane. “Jane Prophet.” 9 March 2007 http://www.janeprophet.co.uk/>. Qvortup, Lars. “Understanding New Digital Media.” European Journal of Communication 21.3 (2006): 345-356. Tedinnick, Luke. “Post Structuralism, Hypertext & the World Wide Web.” Aslib 59.2 (2007): 169-186. Wilson, Edward Osborne. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New York: A.A. Knoff, 1998. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Cham, Karen, and Jeffrey Johnson. "Complexity Theory: A Science of Cultural Systems?." M/C Journal 10.3 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0706/08-cham-johnson.php>. APA Style Cham, K., and J. Johnson. (Jun. 2007) "Complexity Theory: A Science of Cultural Systems?," M/C Journal, 10(3). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0706/08-cham-johnson.php>.