Sustaining Urban Networks: The Social Diffusion of Large Technical Systems – Edited by Olivier Coutard, Richard E. Hanley and Rae Zimmerman

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 482-484
Author(s):  
Tony H. Grubesic
Author(s):  
M. Kiwan ◽  
D.V. Berezkin ◽  
M. Raad ◽  
B. Rasheed

Statement of a problem. One of the main tasks today is to prevent accidents in complex systems, which requires determining their cause. In this regard, several theories and models of the causality of accidents are being developed. Traditional approaches to accident modeling are not sufficient for the analysis of accidents occurring in complex environments such as socio-technical systems, since an accident is not the result of individual component failure or human error. Therefore, we need more systematic methods for the investigation and modeling of accidents. Purpose. Conduct a comparative analysis of accident models in complex systems, identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models, and study the feasibility of their use in risk management in socio-technical systems. The paper analyzes the main approaches of accident modeling and their limitations in determining the cause-and-effect relationships and dynamics of modern complex systems. the methodologies to safety and accident models in sociotechnical systems based on systems theory are discussed. The complexity of sociotechnical systems requires new methodologies for modeling the development of emergency management. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the socio-technical system as a whole and to focus on the simultaneous consideration of the social and technical aspects of the systems. When modeling accidents, it is necessary to take into account the social structures and processes of social interaction, the cultural environment, individual characteristics of a person, such as their abilities and motivation, as well as the engineering design and technical aspects of systems. Practical importance. Based on analyzing various techniques for modeling accidents, as well as studying the examples used in modeling several previous accidents and review the results of this modeling, it is concluded that it is necessary to improve the modeling techniques. The result was the appearance of hybrid models of risk management in socio-technical systems, which we will consider in detail in our next work.


Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Schmid

The chapter discusses the nature of the process of diffusion as a feedback-loop process and explains its contribution to the conventionalization of innovations, to linguistic variation, change, and persistence. The chapter is divided into sections portraying spatial diffusion, social diffusion, and stylistic diffusion as highly dynamic, potentially reversible, and therefore largely unpredictable. Aspects discussed include various models of spatial diffusion (e.g. the gravity model and the cascade model), the S-curve model of the social diffusion of innovations, as well as processes such as standardization, colloquialization, and vernacularization. It is highlighted that all three dimensions of diffusion must always be kept in sight. This is illustrated by discussing the variable -ing vs -in as a standard example of what Labov (2001) calls a ‘stable sociolinguistic variable’.


Author(s):  
Ivan Launders

The UK National Health Service (NHS) provides the opportunity to undertake local socio-technical system design to help staff maximize the opportunities of using mobile technology whilst minimizing the impact of change to existing patient systems. A real-world example from a local NHS socio-technical system is considered, that contains a collection of mobile clinicians and technology which provides home care to patients. The success of the Mobile NHS service has a high dependency upon the social aspects of the solution and draws upon a combination of people, resources, technology and economic events. This chapter considers multiagent system architectures, to model social complexity, and capture system knowledge, and then outlines a prototyping technique as a means of implementing and testing the design model. It concludes that the practice of implementing a prototype ontology provides a valuable step in clarifying meaning and understanding of concepts at the outset.


Author(s):  
Brian Whitworth

A socio-technical system (STS) is a social system built upon a technical base. An STS adds social requirements to human-computer interaction (HCI) requirements, which already add to technical (hardware and software) requirements. Socio-technical systems use technology to connect people socially, for example through e-mail, electronic markets, social network systems, knowledge exchange systems, blogs, chat rooms, and so forth. Yet while the technology is often new, the social principles of people interacting with people may not be. The requirements of successful social communities, whether mediated by computers or the physical world, may be similar. If so, socio-technical systems must close the gap between social needs and technical performance, between what communities want and what the technology does. If online society is essentially a social system, of people interacting with people, social principles rather than the mediating technology should drive its design. Societies create value through social synergy, which is lost for example when people steal from others, whether time (spam), money (scams), credibility (lying), reputation (libel) or anything else of value. The success of today’s global information society depends upon designing the architecture of online interaction to support social goals. This chapter briefly reviews some of the emerging requirements of STS design.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Cabitza ◽  
Carla Simone ◽  
Cristiano Storni

After more than forty years the principles of the socio-technical approach still offer a sound basis on which Information Systems, interpreted as socio-technical systems, can be constructed to address the increasing need of flexibility of the modern organizations, and to satisfy the will to exploit the technological evolution that now offers unprecedented opportunities for adaptability and flexibility. The paper reconsiders some of the basic principles of socio-technical theory, namely openness, underspecification and interdependence, and on their basis it outlines new ways to conceive IT-supported organizations so that these organizations, their IS artifacts and the constituting IT artifacts can more easily co-evolve without mutually imposing unnecessary constraints. To this aim, we advocate the application of a socio-technical approach to both the design of the social structures and the design of the technical components of the organizations, by leveraging recent frameworks and technological platforms that are aimed at empowering the frontline end-users.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Pike

The adoption and use of the telephone in urban central Canada between 1876 and 1914 are explored within the context of the wider communications environment and the marketing strategies of the Bell Telephone Company. This context becomes the framework for a case study of the social diffusion of the telephone in Kingston, Ont, between 1883 and 1911. Utilizing telephone directories and early city directories, the case study concentrates on the socioeconomic and organizational characteristics of early phone subscribers and the physical location of their phones. Both business and residential subscribers are shown throughout the period to have been drawn mainly from the commercial and prof essional classes in Kingston and to have used the phone mainly for institutional, work-related purposes.


1975 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 202-214
Author(s):  
Lennart Ejerfeldt

The "new" that makes the cults of the occult revival to "new religions" of the Western world, is their recently increased social significance. Historically most of modern occultism is anything but new. From the research and theorizing about the occult revival we have picked up some main themes. The first is the social diffusion of the new occultism. In this field, we find some studies of superstition, especially astrology. These illuminate the differences in social connotation between the consumers of superstition and the followers of institutional religion. Secondly the study of the occult revival has made valuable contributions to the conceptualizing of "cult" and the cultic phenomenon. Thirdly, we will look upon the connection between the occult revival and the counter-culture. The problem of the rise of cults as a symptom of socio-cultural change will be briefly discussed with reference to Bell's thesis of "the disjuntion of culture and social structure". Lastly, we proffer some reflections on the occult revival and the new spiritual trends in the churches, which so sharply contrast with the theology and churchmanship of the sixties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 110-125
Author(s):  
Samarane Fonseca de Souza Barros

Na atual realidade urbana brasileira, muito se tem discutido sobre o papel das cidades médias nas regiões e redes urbanas as quais estão alocadas. Ao considerar as cidades médias para além de seu porte demográfico, nota-se uma multiplicidade em suas funções e temporalidades distintas que coexistem, bem como uma série de pares analíticos e dialéticos inerentes ao seu cotidiano. Para isto, propõe com o presente trabalho a análise do método regressivo-progressivo do filósofo Henri Lefebvre como possibilidade para o estudo das cidades médias. Apesar do método ter sido lançado, à priori, como investigação da sociologia rural, outras camadas das ciências sociais vêm se apropriando dele, inclusive a Geografia Urbana. Palavras-chave: Henri Lefebvre. Método regressivo-progressivo. Cidades médias.   THE REGRESSIVE-PROGRESSIVE METHOD LIKE A POSSIBILITY TO STUDIES OF SIZED-MEDIUM CITIES ABSTRACT In the current brazilian urban reality, much has been discussed about the function of medium-sized cities in the regions and urban networks that are allocated. In considering medium-sized cities beyond their demographic size, there is a multiplicity in their distinct functions and temporalities that coexist, as well as a series of analytical and dialectical pairs in their daily lives. For this, it proposes with the present work the analysis of the regressive-progressive method of the philosopher Henri Lefebvre as a possibility for the study of the medium-sized e cities. Although the method has been launched, first, as an investigation of rural sociology, other layers of the social sciences have been appropriating it, including Urban Geography.  Key Words: Henri Lefebvre. Regressive-progressive method. Medium-sized cities.   EL MÉTODO REGRESSIVO-PROGRESIVO COMO POSIBILIDAD PARA LOS ESTUDIOS DE LAS CIUDADES MEDIAS RESUMEN En la actual realidad urbana brasileña, mucho se ha discutido sobre el papel de las ciudades medias en las regiones y redes urbanas a las que están asignadas. Al considerar las ciudades medias más allá de su tamaño demográfico, se nota una multiplicidad en sus funciones y temporalidades distintas que coexisten, así como una serie de pares analíticos y dialécticos inherentes a su cotidiano. Para ello, propone con el presente trabajo el análisis del método regresivo-progresivo del filósofo Henri Lefebvre como posibilidad para el estudio de las ciudades medias. A pesar de que el método fue lanzado, a priori, como investigación de la sociología rural, otras capas de las ciencias sociales se vienen apropiando de él, incluso la Geografía Urbana. Palabras clave: Henri Lefebvre. Método regressivo-progressivo. Ciudades medias.


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