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Economics, as one of the cultural and historical sciences, is responsible for the investigation of the meaningful relation between the whole and the parts, based on organic linking and not on the mechanical‐causal relationship. The relevant contributions of the leading holistic school of thought – universalism – is thus described, focusing on the fundamental concepts and methods of understanding and on their possible application in economics. The article aims to aid present methodologists of economics and other social sciences, disenchanted with the individualistic and disjointed approaches of their respective disciplines, in building up a body of integrated theory and in suggesting new areas of research.

Undertakes a systems study, in the language of mathematics, of the concepts of “whole” and “part”. The concepts of linked systems, product systems, Cartesian product systems and inverse limit systems are used to study “wholeness”, and their factor systems are used and considered as “parts”. Discusses comparisons between models of “whole” and between “parts” and “whole”. Presents the application background and poses some open questions.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

Society is considered as a large system and, therefore, the inevitable planning of its development as a whole must be such that the focus is on the interaction: nature — man — society. The following topics will be discussed: The participation and coordination of natural and social sciences in the formation of the future of the human society, in general, and of various given social systems in particular; the most important reasons favouring the systems approach to socio‐economic planning; the consideration of the whole planning — action feedback cycle, i.e. the simultaneous planning of both large wholes and their parts alongside the continuous coordination of interests and goals at various levels of management in the economy as well as in the whole society (the so‐called convergence planning); three levels of the development plan of any economic system (the technical, the economic and the social plan of development and their unity. Technical, economic and social proportions in the process of development); the relationship of development policy planning and the technology of planning (development policy planning as a general social activity. Optimality of the planning system).

Presents the thoughts on decision processes of Chester I. Barnard, one of the century’s greatest management theorists. Includes his classic article, “Mind in everyday affairs”; his unpublished book, “The Significance of Decisive Behaviour in Social Action”; his correspondence with Herbert Simon, and significant comments found in his personal papers.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a learning study with a complex object of learning – democracy.

The study consists of four research lessons in four different classes in grade 6. In the study two teachers, 78 students and two researchers participated. In the first lesson (A) 21 students participated, in the second class (B) 17, in the third class (C) 21 and in the last lesson (D) 19 students. The research lessons were 80 minutes each, designed based on variation. The students took a pre-test before the lesson and a post-test after.

The results show the relationship between the pattern of variation used by the teacher during the lesson and students’ learning outcome. In lesson A contrast was used between democracy and dictatorship. In lesson B the aspects were varied due to the discussions between the teacher and the students that resulted in less focus on the whole perspective. The design of lesson C offered students a sequential presentation of the aspects, the concepts were handled separately and simultaneity was not used. In lesson D the whole was in focus during the entire lesson and the aspects were presented simultaneously in relation to the whole. Group A's increased at the test scores was 63 per cent, B 32 per cent, C 29 per cent and D 91 per cent.

The results points at using learning study with complex objects of learning requires offering the relationship between aspects of the phenomenon presented by a background of the meaning of the concept develop the students’ understanding.

Present‐day economics is characterised by the fragmentary and reductionist approach that typifies most social sciences. Economists generally fail to recognise that the economy is merely one aspect of a whole ecological and social fabric; a living system composed of human beings in continual interaction with one another and with their natural resources, most of which are, in turn, living organisms. The basic error of the social sciences is to divide this fabric in fragments, assumed to be independent and to be dealt with in separate academic departments (Capra, 1982, pp. 194–5).

The purpose of this paper is to explain why finding a theory for futures studies is such a demanding task. In particular, the paper paves the way towards a theoretical framework that goes beyond both positivism and anti‐positivism.

The paper discusses a network of mutually interlinked concepts, including: levels of reality; parts and wholes; causation; the multiplicity of times; anticipation; the thick present; and latents.

The paper presents the two main obstructions blocking the way towards a theory for futures studies (namely, the belief that the opposition between positivists and anti‐positivists is exhaustive, and the need for better connections with other sciences such as biology, cognitive science and the social sciences.

The paper discusses only one of the different threads in the elaboration of a theoretical basis for futures studies, namely the components closer to science.

A proper theory for futures studies will contribute to making them more robust and efficient.

The general framework presented by the paper extends well beyond the somewhat restricted field of futures studies and includes social and psychological sciences, together with biology.

The purpose of this paper is to report how the use of a direct and an inverse task gave students an opportunity to discern the structure of a distributive law that they could apply to expand or to factorise algebraic expressions. The paper discusses a teaching sequence (of about 40 minutes) in a Grade 8 (14-15 year-olds) algebra class and it focusses on how the use of inverse tasks opens the dimension of variation. For instance, if the distributive law has always been used as a(b+c), factorising the expressions ab+ac means opening up the dimension of distributive law. The analysis showed that two central processes, transformation and variation, improved communication in the classroom.

The data used come from a longitudinal study conducted in Sweden. The methodology is grounded in educational design research. Two secondary school teachers conducted a lesson with variation theory as a guiding principle, supervised by a researcher. The relationship between teaching and learning was analysed in the enacted object of learning. The critical aspect for students’ learning was identified by asking questions to probe the students’ understanding.

The use of a direct and an inverse task gave the students an understanding of the structure of the distributive law that they could apply to expand or to factorise algebraic expressions. The teacher opened up a dimension of variation by similarity that gave the students the opportunity to discern the commonality in direct and inverse tasks as well as to relate the direct and inverse tasks to each other. Without an identification of similarity that might help students to compare underlying meanings, or to match one representation to another, students may not experience variations because there is not concordance among the relationships between the representations.

Teachers can produce new knowledge as well as communicate successfully in the classroom when creating teaching activities that promote the discernment of similarity and difference that might help students to compare underlying meanings, or to match one representation to another.

The study represents an example of research which has the aim of improving teachers’ practices by using research results from mathematics education whilst keeping in mind that learning must be improved.

The central educational problem is to have students make sense of sophisticated ways of reflecting on the general laws used in mathematics in relation to the algebraic ways of acting and reflecting. Variation theory sees learning as the ability to discern different features or aspects of what is being learned. It postulates that the conception one forms about the object of learning is related to the aspects of the object one notices and focusses upon.

The commutative law for algebraic generalisations is not characterised by the use of notations but, rather, by the way the general is dealt with. Algebraic generalisations entail: the grasping of a commonality related to the discernment of whole-parts relationships, the generalisation of this commonality to two types of transformations: treatments and conversions, and the formation of direct and inverse tasks that allows one to discern the relationship between the whole, the parts, the relations between the parts, the transformation between the parts and the relationship between the parts and the whole.

To describe a view of parts of the world as assemblies with emergent properties constructed from related properties or objects, and the modelling of production of emergent properties arising by chance or design.

One and two place sentences of a homogeneous language are combined in a static state to show a variety of possibilities of new structures. Combinations of such sentences in a dynamic state derived from narratives that show how static states are produced.

Using Cartesian products and network theory the kind and number of new structures can be calculated. Semantic diagrams exhibit the propagation of dynamic states leading to the use of predicate logic statements as carriers of properties of objects with uncertainties.

The approach is based on linguistic analysis being able to encapsulate linguistic complexities, expressions of feelings, emotions, etc. in homogeneous language. Interpretation of semantics is restricted to human mind. Research may lead to a science and design of complex systems.

The method embedded in the approach can be developed into a design aid for managers subject to its passing the test of debate and development of software.

The research has led to a more rigorous approach to the analysis and design of scenarios including those with human activities.