Engineering students have to learn to create robust solutions in professional contexts where new technologies emerge constantly and sometimes disrupt entire industries. The question rises if universities design curricula that enable engineering students to acquire these cognitive skills. The Cynefin Framework (Kurtz & Snowden, 2003; Snowden & Boone, 2007) can be used to typify four complexity contexts a system or organisation can be found in: chaos, complex, complicated and obvious.The Cynefin framework made it possible to create the research question for a case-study: To what extend does the Business Engineering curriculum enable bachelors to find business solutions in the complexity contexts of the Cynefin framework? The results show that 80% of the methods are suitable for complicated contexts and no distinction is made between contexts. This means students are taught to approach most contexts in the same way and are not made aware of differences between the contexts. Making sense of the methods in the curriculum with the Cynefin framework was insightful and suggestions for improvement and further research could be substantiated
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We examine how project complexity influences the choice of a project management strategy and present a framework that facilitates managers in selecting a suitable project management strategy. We distinguish the complexity of project domains from two dimensions, the degree of structural complexity and the degree of dynamic complexity, resulting in four generic project types. Four generic project management strategies are identified that match these project types. This complexity framework for project management allows key players to determine a better project management strategy and related practices given its content, the internal context, and the external environment.
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The aim of this paper is to examine valuer judgement behaviour, by exploring the manifestation of task complexity in Dutch commercial valuation practice. For this purpose, we adopted a grounded theory approach and undertook 18 in-depth interviews with senior valuation professionals across the Netherlands. Our findings indicate a strong presence of situational task complexity in commercial valuation practice, as professionals operating in large valuation teams perceive different elements of task complexity throughout commercial valuation practice in comparison to peers working in small valuation teams or self-employed valuers. Further, coping strategies used to deal with task complexity vary substantially by type of valuer as well. From our data, we deducted three types of task environment constructs in which valuers operate, which basically represent the various levels of professional standards required by clients as well as organisational settings composed to meet client standards. As such, we found that task environment settings strongly coincide with perceptions of task complexity. The presence of situational task complexity in commercial real estate valuation practice points to the need for customisation of professional valuer’s development programs to facilitate valuers to deal with task complexity in different stages of valuation practice and hence contribute to advancing valuer judgement skills.
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This paper proposes an epistemological transition based on Edgar Morin's complexity paradigm to analyse authenticity in a complex tourism environment, avoiding fragmentation, and integrating relevant actors and relationships. The results show that storytelling is an important element of these tourism experiences, legitimising and unifying the authenticity of the experience and relating objects, social environment and individual experiences. The size of the tour groups and the rigidity of the itinerary were important elements for constructing authenticity. Tourists, service providers and government bodies all directly or indirectly participate as co-creators, making the perception of authenticity a constant negotiation between the elements of the experience and the actors involved in it.
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With growing complexity in society, designers are entering the fields of organizational studies and social change with high levels of responsibility and, sometimes, little background knowledge of theories and recent evolution. Specifically in the fields of strategy, change, and transformation, the turn toward complexity science is gaining acceptance in both academia and practice. This article presents Imagineering as a complexity-inspired design approach to effectuate transformational objectives. It illustrates the method with an application on the city of Antwerp. The author concludes by reflecting on the implications and perspectives of the method for transformational design and for design thinking in management.
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ObjectivePrimary aim; to determine the feasibility of implementation of the INTERMED Self-Assessment (IM-SA) in adult patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Secondary aim; to measure biopsychosocial complexity, referral to psychiatry or psychology in cases of complexity and to gain insight into the relation between biopsychosocial complexity and length of stay (LOS), method of discharge (MOD) and polypharmacy.MethodsA feasibility study was conducted with 76 participants in a general hospital in the Netherlands. Feasibility was determined by the number of completed questionnaires, time spent completing the questionnaire and the attitude of staff and patients towards the IM-SA.A cut off point ≥19 on the IM-SA was used to determine the prevalence of biopsychosocial complexity. A case file study was performed to check if referral to psychiatry or psychology had taken place.The Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient or Phi was used to determine if there was a relation between biopsychosocial complexity and LOS, MOD and polypharmacy.ResultsAll participants completed the IM-SA. The average time spent completing the questionnaire was 11.46 min (SD 5.74). The attitude towards the IM-SA was positive.The prevalence of biopsychosocial complexity was 11.84%. Referral to psychiatry or psychology did not take place.There was no relation between complexity and LOS (Spearman's rho (r) = 0.079, p = 0.499, MOD (Phi = 0.169, p = 0.173) and polypharmacy (Phi = 0.007, p = 0.953).ConclusionBiopsychosocial complexity can be identified in TKA patients during the pre-operative phase by using the IM-SA. Implementation of the IM-SA in a Dutch general hospital is feasible.
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This book – Complexity and Territorial Development – tells the story of how academic staff and students at the Van Hall Larenstein university of applied sciences deal with complexity and planning in education and research. It is intended for everyone who is involved in complex projects, but in particular for current and future students at the university who will be trained in how to handle complex projects. In this book we want to show why planning has become complex, what theories about this subject are relevant, and how this fits in with the practical experience of staff and students.
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To adequately deal with the challenges faced within residential care for older people, such as the increasing complexity of care and a call for more person-centred practices, it is important that health care providers learn from their work. This study investigates both the nature of learning, among staff and students working within care for older people, and how workplace learning can be promoted and researched. During a longitudinal study within a nursing home, participatory and democratic research methods were used to collaborate with stakeholders to improve the quality of care and to promote learning in the workplace. The rich descriptions of these processes show that workplace learning is a complex phenomenon. It arises continuously in reciprocal relationship with all those present through which both individuals and environment change and co-evolve enabling enlargement of the space for possible action. This complexity perspective on learning refines and expands conventional beliefs about workplace learning and has implications for advancing and researching learning. It explains that research on workplace learning is itself a form of learning that is aimed at promoting and accelerating learning. Such research requires dialogic and creative methods. This study illustrates that workplace learning has the potential to develop new shared values and ways of working, but that such processes and outcomes are difficult to control. It offers inspiration for educators, supervisors, managers and researchers as to promoting conditions that embrace complexity and provides insight into the role and position of self in such processes.
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The challenges we collectively face, such as climate change, are characterized by more complexity, interdependence, and dynamism than is common for educational practice. This presents a challenge for (university) education. These transition challenges are often described as wicked or VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) problems. In response, educational innovations that are inspired by ecology such as living labs are starting to emerge, but little is known about how learners engage within and with these more ecological forms of education. This work is an exploratory study into how learners navigate VUCA learning environments linked to tackling sustainability transition challenges, with a focus on the positive qualities of these experiences. This is done through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of seven students (using semi-structured interviews) of the MSC Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering program, a joint degree from Wageningen University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The main findings, which are both psychological and educational, of this exploration include openness to new experiences (1), flexibility (2), a process appreciation of learning (3), a desire to create a positive impact on one’s direct biophysical environment (4) and society (5). In addition, we discuss the potential limitations of the malleability of these different qualities and propose future avenues for research into ecological learning for universities. This work closes by highlighting recommendations for educators to consider when designing or engaging in ecological forms of higher education that connect students to sustainability transitions.
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In Cok Bakker & Nicolina Montesano Montessori (Eds.). Complexity in Education: From Horror to Passion. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: SensePublishers.
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