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Systemic Corruption: Constitutional Ideas for an Anti-Oligarchic Republic
by Camila VergaraA bold new approach to combatting the inherent corruption of representative democracyThis provocative book reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers. Systemic Corruption argues that the problem cannot be blamed on the actions of corrupt politicians but is built into the very fabric of our representative systems.Camila Vergara provides a compelling and original genealogy of political corruption from ancient to modern thought, and shows how representative democracy was designed to protect the interests of the already rich and powerful to the detriment of the majority. Unable to contain the unrelenting force of oligarchy, especially after experimenting with neoliberal policies, most democracies have been corrupted into oligarchic democracies. Vergara explains how to reverse this corrupting trajectory by establishing a new counterpower strong enough to control the ruling elites. Building on the anti-oligarchic institutional innovations proposed by plebeian philosophers, she rethinks the republic as a mixed order in which popular power is institutionalized to check the power of oligarchy. Vergara demonstrates how a plebeian republic would establish a network of local assemblies with the power to push for reform from the grassroots, independent of political parties and representative government.Drawing on neglected insights from Niccolò Machiavelli, Nicolas de Condorcet, Rosa Luxemburg, and Hannah Arendt, Systemic Corruption proposes to reverse the decay of democracy with the establishment of anti-oligarchic institutions through which common people can collectively resist the domination of the few.
Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change: Intersections of race, class and gender (Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research)
by Phoebe Godfrey Denise TorresSociological literature tends to view the social categories of race, class and gender as distinct and has avoided discussing how multiple intersections inform and contribute to experiences of injustice and inequity. This limited focus is clearly inadequate. Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change is an edited volume of 49 international, interdisciplinary contributions addressing global climate change (GCC) by intentionally engaging with the issues of race, gender, and class through an intersectional lens. The volume challenges and inspires readers to foster new theoretical and practical linkages and think beyond the traditional, and oftentimes reductionist, environmental science frame by examining issues within their turbulent political, cultural, and personal landscapes. Varied media and writing styles invite students and educators to reflexively engage different, yet complementary, approaches to GCC analysis and interpretation, mirroring the disparate voices and viewpoints within the field. The second volume, Emergent Possibilities for Sustainability will take a similar approach but will examine the possibilities for solutions, as in the quest for global sustainability. This book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers and both undergraduate and post-graduate students in the areas of Environmental Studies, Climate Change, Gender Studies and International studies as well as those seeking a more intersectional analysis of GCC.
Systemic Cycle and Institutional Change: Labor Markets in the USA, Germany and China
by Josip LučevThis book explores endogenous institutional change and the global, cyclical, and power-based drivers that underpin it. A metatheoretical framework is presented to highlight the influence of path dependence, systemic cycle driven power relations, and institutional design on the development of labor institutions. The framework is applied to the USA, Germany, and China to provide a comparative economic perspective. Systemic Cycle and Institutional Change: Labor Markets in the USA, Germany and China aims to examine endogenous institutional change through analyzing the systemic cycle and bringing together global and national conceptions of capitalism. It is relevant to students and researchers interested in comparative economics, political economy, and labor economics.
Systemic Design: Theory, Methods, and Practice (Translational Systems Sciences #8)
by Peter Jones Kyoichi KijimaThis book presents emerging work in the co-evolving fields of design-led systemics, referred to as systemic design to distinguish it from the engineering and hard science epistemologies of system design or systems engineering. There are significant societal forces and organizational demands impelling the requirement for “better means of change” through integrated design practices of systems and services. Here we call on advanced design to lead programs of strategic scale and higher complexity (e.g., social policy, healthcare, education, urbanization) while adapting systems thinking methods, creatively pushing the boundaries beyond the popular modes of systems dynamics and soft systems. Systemic design is distinguished by its scale, social complexity and integration – it is concerned with higher-order systems that that entail multiple subsystems. By integrating systems thinking and its methods, systemic design brings human-centred design to complex, multi-stakeholder service systems. As designers engage with ever more complex problem areas, it is necessary to draw on a basis other than individual creativity and contemporary “design thinking” methods. Systems theories can co-evolve with a new school of design theory to resolve informed action on today’s highly resilient complex problems and can deal effectively with demanding, contested and high-stakes challenges.
Systemic Ethics and Non-Anthropocentric Stewardship
by Janet Mcintyre-MillsThis book makes a case for rights and responsibilities to be expressed through a cosmopolitan praxis based on developing strong cosmopolitan approaches. This developed approach respects a form of cultural or national identity that is not at the expense of others, the environment or future generations. This new stoicism is based on a sense of responsibility for others. The book also explores systemic ethical praxis in response to the vexed challenge of how to bridge the false dualism of pitting the environment versus profit Systemic Ethics and Non-Anthropocentric Stewardship: Implications for Transdisciplinarity and Cosmopolitan Politics is organized into seven chapters. The book begins by providing readers with an understanding of the way in which cosmopolitanism (like all social concepts) is shaped by diverse definitions and applied differently by theorists and those that engage in transformative praxis. It also develops an argument based on considering the empirical consequences of social, economic and environmental decisions on the quality of life of current and future generations. The next chapter critiques anthropocentricism and explores how policy makers develop agreements on what constitutes and supports the wellbeing of the planet rather than the GDP. The book then explores the options for social democracy and ways to enhance an ethical approach to post national governance and argues for participatory democracy and governance to respond to diversity within and across national boundaries. The following chapters reflect upon the author's own participatory action research process and examines the transformations that can arise through critical systemic thinking and practice. Next the book makes the case for systemic ethical governance that is able to manage consumption, before concluding with a final look at the book's approach, based on critical heuristics.
Systemic Functional Political Discourse Analysis: A Text-based Study (Routledge Studies in Linguistics)
by Eden Sum-hung Li Percy Luen-tim Lui Andy Ka-chun FungSystemic Functional Political Discourse Analysis: A Text-based Study is the first book which takes a comprehensive systemic functional perspective on political discourse to provide a complete, integrated, exhaustive, systemic and functional description and analysis. Based on the political discourses of the Umbrella Movement – the largest public protest in the history of Hong Kong, which occupies a unique political situation in the world: a post-colonial society like many other Asian societies and yet unlike the others, it is a Special Administrative Region of China. Though it enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, it is still confined to being part of the ‘One Country’. The book demonstrates how a systemic functional approach can provide a comprehensive, thorough, and insightful analysis of the political discourse from four co-related and complementary approaches: contextual, discourse semantic, lexicogrammatical and historical. Apart from a thorough discussion of various systemic functional conceptions, it provides examples of various analyses from a SF perspective, including contextual parameters, registerial analysis, semantic discourse analysis, appraisal analysis, and discusses important issues in political discourse, including negotiation of self-identity, association of language, power and institutional role, and expression of ‘evidentiality’ and ‘subjectivity’. It is written not only for those who are interested in Hong Kong politics in general and political discourse in Hong Kong in particular, but also for those who work on political discourse analysis, and those who apply SFL to various other discourses such as mass media discourse, medical discourse, teaching discourse, etc. Last but not least, this book is also intended to provide a theoretical framework in discourse analysis from the systemic functional perspective for those who work in Cantonese and in other languages.
Systemic Humiliation in America: Fighting For Dignity Within Systems Of Shame And Degradation
by Daniel RothbartThis volume explores contemporary social conflict, focusing on a sort of violence that rarely receives coverage in the evening news. This violence occurs when powerful institutions seek to manipulate the thoughts of marginalized people—manufacturing their feelings and fostering a sense of inferiority—for the purpose of disciplinary control. Many American institutions strategically orchestrate this psychic violence through tactics of systemic humiliation. This book reveals how certain counter-measures, based in a commitment to human dignity and respect for every person’s inherent moral worth, can combat this violence. Rothbart and other contributors showcase various examples of this tug-of-war in the US, including the politics of race and class in the 2016 presidential campaign, the dehumanizing treatment of people with mental disabilities, and destructive parenting styles that foster cycles of humiliation and emotional pain.
Systemic Islamophobia in Canada: A Research Agenda (Dimensions: Islam, Muslims, and Critical Thought)
by Anver M. EmonSystemic Islamophobia in Canada presents critical perspectives on systemic Islamophobia in Canadian politics, law, and society, and maps areas for future research and inquiry. The authors consist of both scholars and professionals who encounter in the ordinary course of their work the – sometimes banal, sometimes surprising – operation of systemic Islamophobia. Centring the lived realities of Muslims primarily in Canada, but internationally as well, the contributors identify the limits of democratic accountability in the operation of our shared institutions of government. Intended as a guide, the volume identifies important points of consideration that have systemic implications for whether, how, and under what conditions Islamophobia is enabled and perpetuated, and in some cases even rendered respectable policy or bureaucratic practice in Canada. Ultimately, Systemic Islamophobia in Canada identifies a range of systemically Islamophobic sites in Canada to guide citizens and policymakers in fulfilling the promise of an inclusive democratic Canada.
Systemic Leadership for Local Governance: Tapping the Resource Within
by Catherine Hobbs“A truly expansive and valuable book that challenges the assumptions and constraints of current leadership thinking... Its focus on integrating theory and practice is particularly helpful in linking its key ideas to current public sector management concerns.”—Gareth Morgan, Author of Images of Organization“While other authors have offered general principles of systemic leadership or given readers single approaches, Hobbs is much more ambitious: she brings together diverse, well-tested theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to provide today's leaders with a multifaceted resource that can aid them in thinking systemically. In this respect, her book is a significant advance on previous offerings, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to leaders, aspiring leaders and leadership academics around the world.”—Gerald Midgley, University of Hull, UK“This is an impressive and innovative work that draws together the disparate strands of complexity theory, systems thinking and operational research to build an adaptive social learning approach for local governance, helping to shift it from a service-led to systemic-deliberative model. This is essential reading for local government actors, students of local policy and for the public policy generalist.”—Robert Geyer, Lancaster University, UKAddressing matters of complexity systemically rather than mechanistically is now an ethical and practical paradigm-changing challenge for public policy. This optimistic book explores how action could be led in a joined-up way, signposting resources to thinking differently. Attention is paid to leading the design of adaptive social learning around what matters, re-connecting with public purpose to enable tailoring towards contemporary needs and constraints. Relevant to postgraduates, academics, local government managers, curious practitioners and the wider public, private and third sectors where there is interest in interpreting leadership via the cognitive capabilities of Systems Science.
Systemic Racism in South Africa: Humanity Lost
by Rupert TaylorThis book takes a critical macro-level political sociological perspective to understanding South African politics and society. Applying systemic racism theory to South Africa, the author argues that South African society through its exclusionary social mechanisms has assumed a systemically racist form that deeply compromises questions of truth and justice. Constitutive of, and embedded in, the structure of South African society, racism has a reach and a durability that runs deep through the successive stages of segregationism, apartheid, and liberal democracy. Showing the limits of the rule of law in a racist society, the author offers a theoretically-informed interpretation as to why the national liberation struggle has fallen short of its promise to deliver a &“better life for all,&” and as to why truth and justice remain so deeply compromised in South Africa today. The arguments advanced are supported by over thirty semi-structured interviews conducted by the author with high-profile South African politicians, jurists, and intellectuals; as well as by using Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing transcripts – both public and &“top-secret.&” This thought-provoking book is driven by the imperative to offer a compelling and sustained argument for taking a systemic racism approach to interpreting South Africa for scholars and students of sociology, political science, race and ethnic studies, law, and South African history.
Systemic Racism in the United States: Scaffolding As Social Construction
by Robbie W. C. Tourse Johnnie Hamilton-Mason Nancy J. Wewiorski"Tourse, Hamilton-Mason, and Wewiorski discuss major concepts that help explicate the systemic nature of institutionalized racism in the U.S. – with a focus on social construction, oppression, scaffolding, and institutional web – providing insight into racist thought and behavior that construct and mark people of color as 'a problem.' […] I highly recommend this book for those who are engaged in working to combat domination and racism at the local, national, and global levels."-Gary Bailey, DHL, MSW, ACSW, Professor of Practice, Director of Urban Leadership Program, Simmons College School of Social WorkThis important volume provides a powerful overview of racism in the United States: what it is, how it works, and the social, cultural, and institutional structures that have evolved to keep it in place. It dissects the rise of legalized discrimination against four major racial groups (First Nations, Africans, Mexicans, and Chinese) and its perpetuation as it affects these groups and new immigrants today. The book’s scaffolding framework—which takes in institutions from the government to our educational systems—explains why racism remains in place despite waves of social change. At the same time, authors describe social justice responses being used to erode racism in its most familiar forms, and at its roots. This timely resource: Examines the sociology of discrimination as a constant in daily life.Traces the history of the legalization of racism in the United States.Locates key manifestations of racism in the American psyche.Links racism to other forms of discrimination.Identifies the interlocking components of institutionalized racism.Offers contemporary examples of resistance to racism.A forceful synthesis of history and social theory, Systemic Racism in the United States is vital reading for practitioners and other professionals in fields related to human rights, social policy, and psychology. And as a classroom text, it challenges its readers to deepen their understanding of both historical process and current developments.
Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: Ten Years After the Great Crash
by Emilios Avgouleas Douglas W. Arner Danny Busch Steven L. SchwarczThe 2008 global financial crisis brought the world's economy closer to collapse than ever before. Has enough been done to prevent another crisis?
Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: Ten Years After the Great Crash
by Douglas W. Arner; Emilios Avgouleas; Danny Busch; Steven L. SchwarczIn late 2008, the world's financial system was teetering on the brink of systemic collapse. While the impacts of the global financial crisis would be felt immediately, at every level of the economy, it would also send years-long aftershocks through investment, banking and regulatory circles worldwide. More than a decade after the worst year of the global financial crisis, what has been learned from its harsh lessons? Are governments and regulators more prepared for another financial system failure that would significantly affect the real economy? What may be the potential triggers for such a collapse to occur in the future? Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector: Ten Years after the Great Crash draws on some of the world's leading experts on financial stability and regulation to examine and critique the progress made since 2008 in addressing systemic risk. The book covers topics such as central banks and macroprudential policies; fintech; regulators' perspectives from the United States and the European Union; the logistical and incentive challenges that impede standardization and collection; clearing houses and systemic risk; optimal resolution and bail-in tools; and bank leverage, welfare and regulation. Drawing on experts across disciplines — including Howell Jackson, John Geanakoplos, Charles Goodhart, Anat Admati, Roberta Romano and Martin Hellwig — Systemic Risk in the Financial Sector is the definitive guide to understanding the global financial crisis, the safeguards being put into place to try to avoid similar crises in the future, and the limitations of those safeguards.
Systemic Thinking for Public Managers: Five Practices for Creating a Vibrant Organization
by Philip Reed Sheila Murphy Tracey RegenoldOffering a pathway to vibrant organizations, this book integrates systems thinking, critical thinking, and design thinking, and provides the tools needed to proactively apply them in the social systems where we live and work. Systemic thinking—the combination of systems thinking, critical systems thinking, and design thinking—provides a way of addressing the complexity of problems faced by public sector managers. Far too often systemic thinking has been discussed theoretically rather than practically. This book changes that, enabling public sector managers and leaders to connect staff, partners, and stakeholders in the pursuit of thoughtfully designed and responsive service. Clearly written and designed to be put to immediate use on the job, each chapter provides a discussion of one specific practice. Included are guiding principles, a case study, relevant practical tools, and suggestions of for additional practice and reading.Using this book, managers of social systems such as public welfare, healthcare, public schools and libraries, housing and community development, and students of public administration will gain a deeper understanding of organizational systems and design, and a new toolkit to fortify their own organizations.
Systemic and Non-Systemic Opposition in the Russian Federation: Civil Society Awakens? (Post-Soviet Politics)
by Cameron RossOver the period December 2011-July 2013 a tidal wave of mass protests swept through the Russian Capital and engulfed scores of cities and regions. Civil society, it appeared, had at last woken up. This fascinating book examines the rise and fall of the non-systemic opposition and the role of the systemic political opposition during this turbulent period. Leading experts in the field from Russia along with scholars from the UK and the US reflect on the conditions that have made large-scale protests possible, the types of people who have taken part and the goals of the opposition movement at both the national and regional levels. Contributors discuss what steps the regime has taken in response to this challenge and examine the relationship between the systemic and non-systemic opposition and what potential exists for the creation of a broad-based opposition coalition. The role of the expanding Russian middle class is discussed along with contemporary developments among the Russian left against the backdrop of the global economic crisis. The political, social and ethnic dimensions of the protest movement are also examined at both the national and regional levels in this truly comprehensive study of the rebirth of civil society in modern Russia.
Systemischer Zyklus und institutioneller Wandel: Arbeitsmärkte in den USA, Deutschland und China
by Josip LučevDieses Buch untersucht den endogenen institutionellen Wandel und die globalen, zyklischen und machtbasierten Triebkräfte, die ihm zugrunde liegen. Es wird ein metatheoretischer Rahmen vorgestellt, der den Einfluss von Pfadabhängigkeit, systemischen zyklusbedingten Machtbeziehungen und institutionellem Design auf die Entwicklung von Arbeitsinstitutionen aufzeigt. Der Rahmen wird auf die USA, Deutschland und China angewandt, um eine vergleichende wirtschaftliche Perspektive zu bieten. Systemischer Zyklus und institutioneller Wandel: Arbeitsmärkte in den USA, Deutschland und China zielt darauf ab, endogenen institutionellen Wandel durch die Analyse des systemischen Zyklus zu untersuchen und globale und nationale Konzepte des Kapitalismus zusammenzubringen. Das Buch richtet sich an Studenten und Forscher, die an vergleichender Wirtschaftswissenschaft, politischer Ökonomie und Arbeitsökonomie interessiert sind.
Systems Approach to Management of Disasters: Methods and Applications
by Slobodan P. SimonovicThe main goal of this text is to introduce the systems approach to disasters management community as an alternative approach that can provide support for interdisciplinary activities involved in the management of disasters. The systems approach draws on the fields of operations research and economics to create skills in solving complex management problems.The text is organized into four parts. Part I provides an introductory discussion of disaster management including an overview of the main terms used. Part II is devoted to the introduction of systems theory, mathematical formalization and classification of methods. The material presented in this section should be of practical relevance during the process of selecting an appropriate tool for the solution of a problem. Part III is technical in nature, providing a simulation approach and a detailed description of system dynamics simulation. This section details two areas of application: flood evacuation simulation, and disaster risk assessment. Part IV ends with a chapter covering steps to improve disaster management. Finally parts of the book can be used as a tool for specialized short courses for practitioners. For example a course on 'System analysis for emergency management optimization' could be based on Chapters 3, 4 and parts of Chapter 6.Included in the book is a CD with three computer programs Vensim PLE, LINPRO, and COMPRO. Vensim PLE (Personal Learning Edition) is state-of-the-art simulation software used for the implementation of system dynamics simulation. The other two programs are: LINPRO, a linear programming optimization tool; and COMPRO, for the implementation of the multi-objective analysis tool of compromise programming.
Systems Science for Complex Policy Making: A Study of Indonesia (Translational Systems Sciences #3)
by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto Utomo Sarjono Putro Santi Novani Kyoichi KijimaThis volume applies a systems science perspective to complex policy making dynamics, using the case of Indonesia to illustrate the concepts. Indonesia is an archipelago with a high heterogeneity. Her people consist of 1,340 tribes who are scattered over 17,508 islands. Every region has different natural strengths and conditions. In the national development process all regions depend on one another other while optimizing their own conditions. In addition to this diversity, Indonesia also employs a democratic system of government with high regional autonomy. A democratic government puts a high value on individual freedom, but on the other hand, conflicts of interest also occur frequently. High regional autonomy also often causes problems in coordination among agencies and regional governments. This uniqueness creates a kind of complexity that is rarely found in other countries.These daily complexities requires intensive interaction, negotiation processes, and coordination. Such necessities should be considered in public policy making and in managing the implementation of national development programs. In this context, common theories and best practices generated on the basis of more simplified assumptions often fail. Systems science offer a way of thinking that can take into account and potentially overcome these complexities. However, efforts to apply systems science massively and continuously in real policy making by involving many stakeholders are still rarely carried out. The first part of the book discusses the gap between the existing public policy-making approach and needs in the real world. After that, the characteristics of the appropriate policy-making process in a complex environment and how this process can be carried are described. In later sections, important systems science concepts that can be applied in managing these complexities are discussed. Finally, the efforts to apply these concepts in real cases in Indonesia are described.
Systems Thinking Analyses for Health Policy and Systems Development: A Malaysian Case Study
by Jo. M. Martins Indra Pathmanathan David T. Tan Shiang Cheng Lim Pascale AlloteyHealth systems are fluid and their components are interdependent in complex ways. Policymakers, academics and students continually endeavour to understand how to manage health systems to improve the health of populations. However, previous scholarship has often failed to engage with the intersections and interactions of health with a multitude of other systems and determinants. This book ambitiously takes on the challenge of presenting health systems as a coherent whole, by applying a systems-thinking lens. It focuses on Malaysia as a case study to demonstrate the evolution of a health system from a low-income developing status to one of the most resilient health systems today. A rich collaboration of multidisciplinary academics working with policymakers who were at the coalface of decision-making and practitioners with decades of experience, provides a candid analysis of what worked and what did not. The result is an engaging, informative and thought-provoking intervention in the debate. This title is Open Access.
Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy: How to reduce the threat of dangerous climate change by embracing uncertainty and failure (The Earthscan Science in Society Series)
by Robert ChrisEven by the scientists most closely associated with it, geoengineering - the deliberate intervention in the climate at global scale to mitigate the effects of climate change - is perceived to be risky. For all its potential benefits, there are robust differences of opinion over the wisdom of such an intervention. Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy is the first book to theorise geoengineering in terms of complex adaptive systems theory and to argue for the theoretical imperative of adaptive management as the default methodology for an effective low risk means of confronting the inescapable uncertainty and surprise that characterise potential climate futures. The book illustrates how a shift from the conventional Enlightenment paradigm of linear reductionist thinking, in favour of systems thinking, would promote policies that are robust against the widest range of plausible futures rather than optimal only for the most likely, and also unlock the policy paralysis caused by making long term predictions of policy outcomes a prior condition for policy formulation. It also offers some systems driven reflections on a global governance network for geoengineering. This book is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in climate change policy, geoengineering, and CAS theory, including academics, under- and postgraduate students and policymakers.
Systems Thinking for Sustainable Crime Prevention: Planning for Risky Places
by Vania Ceccato Andy NewtonThis book offers a comprehensive overview of areas with elevated levels of crime, which we consider ‘risky places.’ These can be facilities, nodes, or paths and can be found everywhere, from small towns to megacities. Crime and fear are examined from the perspective of those who use these places, based on examples from the US, the UK, Sweden, Nigeria, Brazil, China, Australia, and more. Advocating for a systems thinking approach, the book shows what can be learned from risky places and identifies ways to address their inherent problems. The book also assesses current barriers to applying systems thinking and identifies ways to foster interconnected long-term crime prevention strategies that meet the diverse needs of multiple stakeholders. Aimed at academics, students, and professionals in urban planning, criminology, geography, and related fields, this book is a vital resource for those dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive, and sustainable environments. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
Systems Ultra: Making Sense of Technology in a Complex World
by Georgina VossA TOOLBOX FOR COMPREHENDING — AND CHANGING — THE WORLDSystems Ultra explores how we experience complex systems: the mesh of things, people, and ideas interacting to produce their own patterns and behaviours.What does it mean when a car which runs on code drives dangerously? What does massmarket graphics software tell us about the workplace politics of architects? And, in these human-made systems, which phenomena are designed, and which are emergent? In a world of networked technologies, global supply chains, and supranational regulations, there are growing calls for a new kind of literacy around systems and their ramifications. At the same time, we are often told these systems are impossible to fully comprehend and are far beyond our control.Drawing on field research and artistic practice around the industrial settings of ports, air traffic control, architectural software, payment platforms in adult entertainment, and car crash testing, Georgina Voss argues that complex systems can be approached as sites of revelation around scale, time, materiality, deviance, and breakages. With humour and guile, she tells the story of what &‘systems&’ have come to mean, how they have been sold to us, and the real-world consequences of the power that flows through them.Systems Ultra goes beyond narratives of technological exceptionalism to explore how we experience the complex systems which influence our lives, how to understand them more clearly, and, perhaps, how to change them.
Systems for Instructional Improvement: Creating Coherence from the Classroom to the District Office
by Thomas M. Smith Paul Cobb Kara Jackson Erin HenrickIn Systems for Instructional Improvement, Paul Cobb and his colleagues draw on their extensive research to propose a series of specific, empirically grounded recommendations that together constitute a theory of action for advancing instruction at scale. The authors outline the elements of a coherent instructional system; describe productive practices for school leaders in supporting teachers&’ growth; and discuss the role of district leaders in developing school-level capacity for instructional improvement. Based on the findings of an eight-year research-practice partnership with four large urban districts investigating their efforts to enhance middle school math instruction, the authors seek to bridge the gap between the literature on improving teaching and learning and the literature on policy and leadership. They look at the entire education system and make recommendations on improvement efforts with a focus on student learning and teachers&’ instructional vision. In particular, the authors offer insights on the interplay among various supports for teacher learning, including pullout professional development, coaching, collaborative inquiry, the most instructionally productive uses of principals&’ time, and the tensions that tend to emerge at the district level. They provide a guide for district-level leaders in organizing their work to support significant teacher learning. Systems for Instructional Improvement provides an invaluable resource for school and district leaders, while outlining a clearly focused agenda for future research.
Systems from Hell: Problem Definition and the Literary Portrayal of Failure in Our Public Policy and Social Institutions (SUNY series in New Political Science)
by David A. RochefortThis book approaches contemporary fiction as a medium for policy advocacy, one whose narrative devices both link it to, and distinguish it from, other forms of public discourse. Using the framework of political agenda setting, David A. Rochefort analyzes the rhetorical function of problem definition played by literary works when they document and characterize social issues while sounding the call for systemic reform. Focusing on a group of noteworthy realist novels by American authors over the past twenty years, this study maintains that fictional narrative is a potentially influential instrument of "empathic policy argument." The book closes by examining the agenda-setting dynamics through which a social problem novel can contribute to the process of policy change.
Systems of Reason and the Politics of Schooling: School Reform and Sciences of Education in the Tradition of Thomas S. Popkewitz (Routledge International Studies in the Philosophy of Education)
by Miguel A. Pereyra Barry M. FranklinThe 1980s were an important decade for educational inquiry. It was the moment of the “linguistic turn,” with its emphasis on the role of language as a constructor of reality, a structuring agent for institutions such as schools, and a medium for translating knowledge into elements of power for processes of social regulation. Drawing on the work and insights of educational researcher Thomas S. Popkewitz, this book shows how the linguistic turn provided an alternative to both mainline educational research grounded in the ideals of political liberalism and the effort of neo-Marxists to challenge liberal thinking in favor of a scholarship based on class conflict and economic determinism.