Download or read book Ritual and Systems Thinking written by José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-12-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To many individuals and organisations, situations generated by the world coronavirus pandemic have posed challenges and opportunities. We need to rethink how we interact with each other and with our natural environments. This book offers a way forward by proposing the use of rituals insight: semi-encoded patterns of thinking or actions to help us rebuild a sense of community, which, integrated with insights of applied systems thinking, and in contrast to a dominant pragmatist orientation of thinking and action, could help us further cope with work or education situations in which we still want to pursue our authenticity as human beings. This book offers ways to help make sense of how we could systemically and compassionately slow down and cope with work or education during and after the world coronavirus pandemic. It does so by integrating ideas about ritual with current research and practice on applied systems thinking. The author establishes a dialogue for co-existence between individuals and the knowledge disciplines of creativity and applied systems thinking, using the mediation of rituals to help us appreciate our world with others. This conversation is much needed given our sense of uncertainty during and after the world coronavirus pandemic and the challenges or opportunities offered by hybrid work and education. Throughout the book, the conversation explores new directions for research and practice beyond “futureaction” perspectives or orientations and the inclusion of electronically mediated spaces. The insights provided in this book offer a vital resource for management researchers and upper-level students, particularly those researching and studying applied systems thinking and creativity.

Download or read book Bringing Systems Thinking to Life written by Ona Cohn Bregman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-01-07 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a single volume, Bringing Systems Thinking to Life: Expanding the Horizons for Bowen Family Systems Theory presents the extraordinary diversity and breadth of Bowen theory applications that address human functioning in various relationship systems across a broad spectrum of professions, disciplines, cultures, and nations. Providing three chapters of never-before-published material by Dr. Bowen, the book also demonstrates the transcendent nature and versatility of Bowen theory-based social assessment and its extension into fields of study and practice far beyond the original psychiatric context in which it was first formulated including social work, psychology, nursing, education, literary studies, pastoral care and counseling, sociology, business and management, leadership studies, distance learning, ecological science, and evolutionary biology. Providing ample evidence that Bowen theory has joined that elite class of theories that have enjoyed broad application to social phenomena while lending credibility to the claim that Bowen theory is one of the previous and current centuries’ most significant social-behavioral theories. More than a “resource manual” for Bowen theory enthusiasts, this book helps put a new great theory on the intellectual landscape.

Download or read book Holistic Flexibility for Systems Thinking and Practice written by Rajneesh Chowdhury and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-06-14 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 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.

Download or read book Systems Thinking in Europe written by R.B. Blackham and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theme ofthe conference at which the papers in this book were presented was'Systems Thinking in Europe'. Members of the United Kingdom Systems Society (UKSS) were conscious that the systems movementflourishes notonly in the UK, America and the Antipodes, but also in continental Europe, both East and West, and in the USSR, a nation increasingly being welcomed by the European comity. Membership of the UKSS had not perhaps had the opportunity, however, of hearing important new ideas from continental Europe, and this conference provided an opportunity to do so. Some interesting papers are to be found here from both the West and the East, if the editors may be forgiven for perpetuating what may be an increasingly irrelevant dichotomy. One lesson to be learned from this conference, though, is that systems thinking is truly international. This is not to say that there is one systems paradigm unifonnly applied, however. Perhaps the core of systems thinking is that one is interested in complex 'wholes' with emergent properties, to which cybernetic ideas can be applied. Examples of such systems thinking can be found in these proceedings, for example in the section entitled "Applications of Systems Thinking". Attempts to bring about change with these ideas, however, have given rise to a diversity of approaches, as is evidenced by the papers dealing with the application of methodologies in the 'hard' and 'soft' systems traditions.

Download or read book Systems Thinking with Flowers written by Krystal Languell and published by . This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking written by Josep M. Coll and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking explores a radical new conception of business and management. It is grounded on the reconnection of humans with nature as the new competitive advantage for living organizations and entrepreneurs that aspire to regenerate the economy and drive a positive impact on the planet, in the context of the Anthropocene. Organizations today struggle in finding a balance between maximizing profits and generating value for their stakeholders, the environment and the society at large. This happens in a paradigm shift characterized by unprecedented levels of exponential change and the emergence of disruptive technologies. Adaptability, thus, is becoming the new business imperative. How can, then, entrepreneurs and organizations constantly adapt and, at the same time, design the sustainable futures they’d like? This book uniquely explores the benefits of applying Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking to sustainable management. Grounded in Taoist and Zen Buddhist philosophies, it offers a modern scientific perspective fundamentally based on the concepts of bio-logical adaptability and lifefulness amidst complexity and constant change. The book introduces the new concept of the Gaia organization as a living organism that consciously helps perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet. It is subject to the natural laws of transformation and the principles of oneness, emptiness, impermanence, balance, self-regulation and harmonization. Readers will find applied Eastern systems theories such as the Yin-Yang and the Five Elements operationalized through practical methodologies and tools such as T-Qualia and the Zen Business model. They are aimed at guiding Gaia organizations and entrepreneurs in leading sustainable transformations and qualifying economic growth. The book offers a vital toolkit for purpose-driven practitioners, management researchers, students, social entrepreneurs, evaluators and change-makers to reinvent, create and mindfully manage sustainable and agile organizations that drive systemic transformation.

Download or read book Systems Theory and Agile Brand Management written by Jan Lies and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-06-21 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brands started out as communication tools to influence the image of companies or products (inside-out thinking) but have developed into channels of social forces. Powerful brands impact not just customer decisions but also markets and social institutions, such as fashion trends, city life, or even social movements. This book explores the implications of Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems for the theory and practice of agile brand management, in particular highlighting the central role of brand aesthetics and of brands as channels for mutual education between companies and consumers. Since the rise of social media, “perfect” brands have become the mirror of community values as the communities themselves develop brand content. Brands themselves become “living systems” and evolve like systems do. The author introduces systems theory to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the different views of branding: inside-out and outside-in thinking. This Luhmannian theory of branding is discussed against the current background of (Western) societies, which are undergoing a broad shift from hard to soft selling in marketing, influenced by social media. The book is not about whether closed systems analysis and discussion can or should replace traditional management; moreover, it emphasizes the fruitful insights and demonstrates that the power of management is limited and should be extended by looking at the means of closed systems. This book will be of primary value to scholars with an interest in systems theory and thinking, brand theory, and management. The interdisciplinary approach also makes the book a valuable resource for those researching change management, agile management, and sociology.

Download or read book The Craft of Ritual Studies written by Ronald L. Grimes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readership: Students and scholars of ritual studies, religious studies, anthropology

Download or read book Thinking Through Rituals written by Kevin Schilbrack and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-08-02 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many philosophical approaches today seek to overcome the division between mind and body. If such projects succeed, then thinking is not restricted to the disembodied mind, but is in some sense done through the body. From a post-Cartesian perspective, then, ritual activities that discipline the body are not just thoughtless motions, but crucial parts of the way people think. Thinking Through Rituals explores religious ritual acts and their connection to meaning and truth, belief, memory, inquiry, worldview and ethics. Drawing on philosophers such as Foucault, Merleau-Ponty and Wittgenstein, and sources from cognitive science, pragmatism and feminist theory, it provides philosophical resources for understanding religious ritual practices like the Christian Eucharistic ceremony, Hatha Yoga, sacred meditation or liturgical speech. Its essays consider a wide variety of rituals in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism - including political protest rituals and gay commitment ceremonies, traditional Vedic and Yogic rites, Christian and Buddhist meditation and the Jewish Shabbat. They challenge the traditional disjunction between thought and action, showing how philosophy can help to illuminate the relationship between doing and meaning which ritual practices imply.

Download or read book The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking written by Ray Ison and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-05 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking: Governance in a Climate Emergency is a persuasive, lively book that shows how systems thinking can be harnessed to effect profound, complex change. In the age of the Anthropocene, the need for new ways of thinking and acting has become urgent. But patterns of obstacles are apparent in any action, be they corporate interests, lobbyists, or outdated political and government systems. Ison and Straw show how and why failure in governance is at the heart of the collective incapacity to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies. They go beyond analysis of the problem and demonstrate how incorporating systems thinking into governance at every level would enable us to break free of historical shackles. They propose 26 principles for systemic governance. This book will be inspiring reading for students applying their systemic methods, specialists in change management or public administration, activists for ‘whole system change’ and decision makers wanting to effect challenging transformations. It is for anyone with the ambition to create a sustainable and fair world.

Download or read book Roadmap to Restructuring written by David T. Conley and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed as a guide for practitioners, this book draws on over 600 sources to discuss school restructuring definitions, trends, and issues; achievements of a few select schools; and implementation techniques and strategies. Two overarching, indirectly stated issues pervading the reconceptualization of schooling are multiculturalism and a caring school staff. The book is organized into four parts. Part 1, Rationale and Context, presents a historical context for restructuring and a summary of the current motivations for, and implications of, educational restructuring. Part 2, Changing Roles and Responsibilities, examines the evolution of new roles for essentially all the groups that participate in public education. Part 3, Dimensions of Restructuring, explores the concepts of incremental and discontinuous change and extensively discusses current school restructuring activities along 12 dimensions: learner outcomes, curriculum, instruction, assessment, learning environment, technology, school-community relations, time schedules, governance, teacher leadership, personnel definitions and roles, and working relationships. Part 4, Process of Restructuring, captures the lessons being learned about the restructuring process and presents examples of strategies and techniques. (Contains over 600 references.) (MLH)

Download or read book In Defense of Christian Ritual written by David R Andersen and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Christian worship best conceived as a creative, Spirit-fueled experience that any formalized structure necessarily inhibits, or are there any biblical prescriptions around for worship that Christians were meant to follow? In light of recent research from various disciplines-including history, psychology, and New Testament studies - In Defense of Christian Ritual: The Case for a Biblical Pattern of Worship argues the latter. Specifically, this book will demonstrate three things. First, in contrast to the anti-ritualism so prevalent in modern churches, ritual's indispensable role in providing biblically-centered context and content is detailed.Second, contrary to modern opinion, a definite pattern of worship is shown to be present both in our earliest New Testament documents and the early church.Finally, new research will reveal that the assumptions about creativity lying at the heart of modern contemporary worship are fundamentally flawed. Readers will discover that the apostolic teaching embodied in the church's early ritual, as expressed in its liturgy, was never intended to be outdated or rendered irrelevant in light of current fads. It was never meant to be a relic of the ancient past, but a structured way of bringing the "memoirs of the apostles" -that Jesus died for sinners- to God's people in the here and now.

Download or read book Seeing Systems written by Barry Oshry and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2009-03 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paris 1874, Boulevard des Capucines: a group of artists that were to radically change the rules of the art world, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Paul Czanne, Edgar Degas and Frdric Bazille, mounted an exhibition in the studio of photographer Flix Nadar. The exhibition proved to be a veritable scandal that filled critics with indignation, and they contemptuously labeled the paintings eoeimpressioniste because they had been badly constructed and were ambiguous. In fact, the technique they had adopted was utterly original because it entailed painting outdoorse"en plein aire"using newly available apparatus and tools such as a portable easel, ready-to-use paints in airtight tubes that came in a whole range of bright colors, and paintbrushes with broad, flat bristles held in place by a metal ring.

Download or read book Rituals In Families And Family Therapy 2e written by Black Evan Imber and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2003-03-25 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition builds on the case material of the first edition and develops the editors' therapeutic approach that identifies normative family rituals as the basis for effective therapeutic rituals.

Download or read book Spirituality Religion and Aging written by Holly Nelson-Becker and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spirituality, Religion, and Aging: Illuminations for Therapeutic Practice by Holly Nelson-Becker is a highly integrative book written for students, professionals in aging, ministers, and older adults themselves. Readers will gain the knowledge and skills they need to assess, engage, and address the spiritual and religious needs of older persons. Taking a fresh approach that breaks new ground in the field, the author discusses eight major world religions and covers values and ethics, theories, interventions, health and caregiving, depression and anxiety, dementia, and the end of life. Meditations and exercises throughout the book allow readers to expand and explore their personal understanding of spirituality. Referencing the latest research, the book includes assessments and skill-based tools designed to help practitioners enhance the mental health of older people.

Download or read book Peace in the Age of Chaos written by Steve Killelea and published by Hardie Grant Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While COVID-19 is reshaping our lives, this must-read book for 2021 provides some of the answers to our most pressing global challenges. Unless the world is basically peaceful, we will never get the trust, cooperation and inclusiveness to solve these issues, yet what creates peace is poorly understood. Working on an aid program in one of the most violent places in the world, North East Kivu in the DR Congo, philanthropist and business leader Steve Killelea asked himself, ‘What are the most peaceful nations?’ Unable to find an answer, he created the world’s leading measure of peace, the Global Peace Index, which receives over 16 billion media impressions annually and has become the definitive go to index for heads of state. Steve Killelea then went on to establish world-renowned think tank, the Institute for Economics and Peace. Today its work is used by organisations such as the World Bank, United Nations and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and taught in thousands of university courses around the world. Peace in the Age of Chaos tells of Steve’s personal journey to measure and understand peace. It explores the practical application of his work, which is gathering momentum at a rapid pace. In this time when we are faced with environmental, social and economic challenges, this book shows us a way forward where Positive Peace, described as creating the optimal environment for human potential to flourish, can lead to a paradigm shift in the ways societies can be managed, making them more resilient and better capable of adapting to their changing environments.

Download or read book Ritual A Very Short Introduction written by Barry Stephenson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational? Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.