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Article
Publication date: 3 November 2014

Loet Leydesdorff, Mark William Johnson and Inga A. Ivanova

The purpose of this paper is to present the case for an analysis of communication at the supra-individual level as a means of rendering the understanding of learning and acting…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the case for an analysis of communication at the supra-individual level as a means of rendering the understanding of learning and acting tractable. The paper introduces a method of analysis of redundancy to achieve this.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper argues for a supra-individual approach to acting, learning, and understanding against focusing on an individual or quasi-transcendental “observer”. The argument is outlined in four steps: first, articulation of the dynamics of the communication system; second, consideration of the redundancies of expectations within communication; third, the computation of anticipation which enables the authors to model meaning processing; and fourth the feedback of meaning processing on information processing can be measured as redundancy. Anticipated future states can reflexively drive reconstructions in meaning-processing systems.

Research limitations/implications

The social system can be considered as a symbolic order of coordination mechanisms. Reflexive agency can access this order and partake in it. However, expectations and their structures do not “exist”, but remain uncertain with the status of hypotheses. Historical embodiment in intentional action is structurally coupled to the order of expectations. The historical instantiations condition and enable the further development of the expectations as a retention mechanism.

Originality/value

The modelling and measurement of meaning processing in terms of inversion of the arrow of time and the generation of redundancy provide extensions to the mathematical theory of communication.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 43 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 3 November 2014

Special Issue

449

Abstract

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 43 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

Inga‐Britt Krause

This paper seeks to examine the relevance of Bateson's ethnographic work to systemic psychotherapy.

1102

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the relevance of Bateson's ethnographic work to systemic psychotherapy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper addresses this by examining Bateson's work with the naven ritual practiced by the Iatmul people of New Guinea. Bateson published this work in an ethnography entitled Naven, which has largely been ignored by systemic psychotherapists.

Findings

It is argued that Bateson's early work has been neglected in the field of psychotherapy despite being highly relevant to the development of cross‐cultural approaches in this field. The paper summarises Bateson's arguments in the main body of the book and in the two epilogues which provide Bateson's own commentary on this work. Key concepts such as “context” “pattern” and “ethos” are discussed. The paper also addresses the issues of how psychotherapists and ethnographers have access to the meaning of their interlocutors and outlines some pointers given by Bateson upon which psychotherapists may build in their cross‐cultural work with clients. Bateson's thinking about emotional, sociological and behavioural patterns and the way he involved himself in interpreting these is briefly considered in relation to the work of the anthropologist/sociologist Pierre Bourdieu on the one hand, and the psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion, on the other.

Practical implications

The theoretical discussion aims to contribute to the development of a rigorous approach to cross‐cultural psychotherapy and to the integration of social science and psychotherapy.

Originality/value

The paper will be of value to systemic psychotherapists, psychotherapists generally, anthropologists, social scientists and clinicians interested in cross‐cultural clinical work and in ethnographic enquiry.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 36 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 February 2020

Aija Medne, Inga Lapina and Arturs Zeps

Modern trends show that universities are searching for new solutions to increase efficiency and improve quality by considering approaches of quality system development that link…

1072

Abstract

Purpose

Modern trends show that universities are searching for new solutions to increase efficiency and improve quality by considering approaches of quality system development that link with strategy and include extensive analysis of risks, processes and stakeholders. The approach that best fits the institution has to be in line with the institution’s strategic objectives, quality culture and policy and key performance indicators. The purpose of this paper and case study is to discover if sustainable development may be achieved by using an appropriate quality system development approach, such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyse sustainability and development of the quality system adapted in a higher-education institution, a literature review of different quality management approaches and models was performed. The research includes a case study of the university’s quality management framework based on an adapted EFQM excellence model emphasising on strategic development in the context of sustainability. The key focus of the research is to discover how universities could better focus on sustainable development and benefit from a quality system based on an adapted EFQM excellence model.

Findings

Literature analysis indicated that some of the sustainability development activities a university may use are possible to be integrated through quality system models and development approaches. The findings from the literature suggest that the EFQM excellence model may provide a management framework and a comprehensive overview of a university for identifying necessary improvements and promoting the implementation of advancement activities on the road to sustainable development. The principles of the EFQM excellence model may guide in setting a strategic focus on sustainable development of universities.

Originality/value

Sustainability and sustainable development of a university are analysed in terms of quality aspects of higher education, and the research results reveal the main sustainability elements to be analysed and implemented through a university’s strategy and improvement processes. The Riga Technical University quality system called “RTU Excellence Approach” development analysis is given as a case study.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2022

Tatjana Nikitina, Magdalena Licznerska, Iveta Ozoliņa-Ozola and Inga Lapina

The present study has been designed with the aim to determine whether there are differences in individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) between students, doing their major in…

Abstract

Purpose

The present study has been designed with the aim to determine whether there are differences in individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) between students, doing their major in business studies and the ones whose areas of study are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical research methods comprise the review of secondary sources to build a sound theoretical framework for the research activities. The empirical research method is a survey in Latvia and Poland applying non-parametric inferential statistical methods as well as linear regression analysis to investigate which factors and components contribute to EO orientation development among different groups of students, and, thus, verify the research hypotheses.

Findings

The yielded research results demonstrate that there are significant differences between business and STEM students when they analyze their IEO. It turned out that STEM students obtain significantly lower scores for risk-taking and innovation but higher for proactiveness. Additionally, it was detected that the chosen field of study affects students’ perception of educational support, thus, influencing their innovation, proactiveness, and risk propensity characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

In this research, the authors focused on exploring IEO among business and STEM students in Latvia and Poland, hence the findings cannot be one-to-one applied to other countries.

Practical implications

The topicality of the theme is determined by the fact that changes in external environment require higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Latvia and Poland to foster their entrepreneurial ecosystems and re-master study programs both for business and STEM students as well as conduct projects that include students, academic staff, and business representatives – the transformation is necessary to create positive attitude towards entrepreneurship among the students and help them to consider entrepreneurial career path later.

Originality/value

Factors and components which contribute to IEO development among different groups of students are under-researched in the Baltic countries, experiencing systemic transformation. The authors believe that universities can use the analysis of their students’ IEO to allocate their resources in a better way, adjust curricula to the real needs of students and facilitate entrepreneurship.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 3 November 2014

Ranulph Glanville, David Griffiths and Philip Baron

206

Abstract

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 43 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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