scholarly journals Language change and language evolution: Cousins, siblings, twins?

Glottotheory ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross Fertilization

AbstractThe relationship between “language change” and “language evolution” has recently become subject to some debate regarding the scope of both concepts. It has been claimed that while the latter used to refer to the language origins in the first place, both terms can now, to a certain extent, be used synonymously. In this paper, I argue that this can partly be explained by parallel developments both in historical linguistics and in the field of language evolution research that have led to a considerable amount of convergence between both fields. Both have adopted usage-based approaches and data-driven methods, which entails similar research questions and similar perspectives on the phenomena under investigation. This has ramifications for current models and theories of language change (or evolution). Two approaches in particular, the concept of complex adaptive systems and construction grammar, have been combined in integrated approaches that seek to explain both language emergence and language change over historical time. I discuss the potential and limitations of this integrated approach, and I argue that there is still some unexplored potential for cross-fertilization.

scholarly journals Language change and language evolution: Cousins, siblings, twins?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross Fertilization

The relationship between “language change” and “language evolution” has recently become subject to some debate regarding the scope of both concepts. It has been claimed that while the latter used to refer to language origins in the first place, both terms can now, to a certain extent, be used synonymously. In this paper, I argue that this can partly be explained by parallel develop-ments both in historical linguistics and in the field of language evolution research that have led to a considerable amount of convergence between both fields. Both have adopted usage-based approaches and data-driven methods, which entails similar research questions and similar perspectives on the phenomena under investigation. This has ramifications for current models and theories of language change (or evolution). Two approaches in particular – the concept of com-plex adaptive systems and construction grammar – have been combined in integrated approaches that seek to explain both language emergence and language change over historical time. I discuss the potential and limitations of this integrated approach, and I argue that there is still some unex-plored potential for cross-fertilization.

The Role of Evolutionary Studies in Education for Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Eirdosh ◽  
Susan Hanisch
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological Systems ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Complex Adaptive

Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) examines the emergence and persistence of complex adaptive systems, including human social-ecological systems. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims to empower students with the skills to develop and sustain human social-ecological systems that reflect the shared values of our species. The aims of EvoS and ESD have clear overlaps, and yet these two fields remain as distant islands of thought with few academic bridges between them. This chapter explores the connections between EvoS and ESD from historical, theoretical, and applied perspectives and presents the value of an integrated approach. The authors argue the strengths of this approach include its cumulative evidence base from wide-ranging disciplines, its explanatory power, and its overall simplicity.

The Neuroscience of Gender Bias within Organisations: Implicit and Explicit Influences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Wicks
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Explicit Bias ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
The Relationship

<p>It has been 30 years since the metaphor of a ‘glass ceiling’ was introduced, yet progress to address gender bias in organisations has been slow. Within a context in which employment is rapidly changing and technologies are enabling new ways of working, gender bias in organisations remains a persistent and complex issue that requires new ways of thinking. This study integrates across two scientific disciplines: social cognitive neuroscience and complex adaptive systems, in order to examine the complex nature of gender bias in organisations and advance implications for practice.  The central proposition underlying this study is that the gender composition of a person’s ‘in-group’, that is the group of people one most closely relates to in a work setting, has implications for their level of gender bias. The relationship between in-group composition and gender bias is examined from implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) bias perspectives. The composition of in-group is measured by homogeneity, size and trust, and is captured within an integrated instrument that includes measures of implicit and explicit bias.  The study is informed by the theory of interactive person construal. It is proposed that biases are a dynamic, continuously evolving phenomena emerging from top down and bottom up cues. Specifically, the essence of this research is the relationship between the neuroscientific dynamics of in-group and out-group differentiation within the human brain and the complex systemic nature of the modern workplace. The study endeavours to make a contribution to the understanding of how people who share common values and interests (ingroup) influence gender bias in organisations.  The research has been conducted in a professional services organisation. A group of people within the organisation were asked to participate in an online survey to capture implicit bias, explicit bias, composition of their in-group and demographic details. This research applied a quantitative survey methodology.  The aims of the study are to:  • examine the relationship between in-group composition and gender bias building from theoretical insights from neuroscience and complex adaptive systems theory,  • test both implicit and explicit attitudes towards gender bias,  • test the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of bias, and  • provide a contribution to theory and practice in relation to addressing the issue of gender bias in organisations.  It is concluded that there is a statistically significant association between in-group composition and the manifestation of implicit and explicit bias using a variety of measures. The model of in-group composition developed for this study could be used as a means to understand gender system dynamics. A dynamic systems model of bias is proposed based on the research variables and complexity ideas examined in the study. For organisations, this research has implications for how the issue of gender bias should be approached. Connecting ideas from social cognitive neuroscience and complex adaptive systems, this research highlights the interrelationship between recurring levels (neural, individual, group, organisation) within the bias system and the nature of interventions that may lead to enduring change.</p>

COMPLEX SYSTEMS IN LANGUAGE EVOLUTION: THE CULTURAL EMERGENCE OF COMPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE

2003 ◽  
Vol 06 (04) ◽  
pp. 537-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
KENNY SMITH ◽  
HENRY BRIGHTON ◽  
SIMON KIRBY
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Compositional Structure ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Iterated Learning

Language arises from the interaction of three complex adaptive systems — biological evolution, learning, and culture. We focus here on cultural evolution, and present an Iterated Learning Model of the emergence of compositionality, a fundamental structural property of language. Our main result is to show that the poverty of the stimulus available to language learners leads to a pressure for linguistic structure. When there is a bottleneck on cultural transmission, only a language which is generalizable from sparse input data is stable. Language itself evolves on a cultural time-scale, and compositionality is language's adaptation to stimulus poverty.

The Neuroscience of Gender Bias within Organisations: Implicit and Explicit Influences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Wicks
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Explicit Bias ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
The Relationship

<p>It has been 30 years since the metaphor of a ‘glass ceiling’ was introduced, yet progress to address gender bias in organisations has been slow. Within a context in which employment is rapidly changing and technologies are enabling new ways of working, gender bias in organisations remains a persistent and complex issue that requires new ways of thinking. This study integrates across two scientific disciplines: social cognitive neuroscience and complex adaptive systems, in order to examine the complex nature of gender bias in organisations and advance implications for practice.  The central proposition underlying this study is that the gender composition of a person’s ‘in-group’, that is the group of people one most closely relates to in a work setting, has implications for their level of gender bias. The relationship between in-group composition and gender bias is examined from implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) bias perspectives. The composition of in-group is measured by homogeneity, size and trust, and is captured within an integrated instrument that includes measures of implicit and explicit bias.  The study is informed by the theory of interactive person construal. It is proposed that biases are a dynamic, continuously evolving phenomena emerging from top down and bottom up cues. Specifically, the essence of this research is the relationship between the neuroscientific dynamics of in-group and out-group differentiation within the human brain and the complex systemic nature of the modern workplace. The study endeavours to make a contribution to the understanding of how people who share common values and interests (ingroup) influence gender bias in organisations.  The research has been conducted in a professional services organisation. A group of people within the organisation were asked to participate in an online survey to capture implicit bias, explicit bias, composition of their in-group and demographic details. This research applied a quantitative survey methodology.  The aims of the study are to:  • examine the relationship between in-group composition and gender bias building from theoretical insights from neuroscience and complex adaptive systems theory,  • test both implicit and explicit attitudes towards gender bias,  • test the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of bias, and  • provide a contribution to theory and practice in relation to addressing the issue of gender bias in organisations.  It is concluded that there is a statistically significant association between in-group composition and the manifestation of implicit and explicit bias using a variety of measures. The model of in-group composition developed for this study could be used as a means to understand gender system dynamics. A dynamic systems model of bias is proposed based on the research variables and complexity ideas examined in the study. For organisations, this research has implications for how the issue of gender bias should be approached. Connecting ideas from social cognitive neuroscience and complex adaptive systems, this research highlights the interrelationship between recurring levels (neural, individual, group, organisation) within the bias system and the nature of interventions that may lead to enduring change.</p>

The complexity continuum, Part 1: hard and soft theories

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1330-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Yolles
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Viable Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Complexity Theories

PurposeComplex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that include Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In Part 1, the purpose of this paper is to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In Part 2, the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.Design/methodology/approachA detailed analysis of the literature permits a distinction between hard and softer approaches towards modelling complex social systems. Hard theories are human-incommensurable, while soft ones are human-commensurable, therefore more closely related to the human condition. The characteristics that differentiate between hard and soft approaches are identified.FindingsHard theories are more restrictive than the softer theories. The latter can embrace degrees of “softness” and it is explained how hard and soft approaches can be mixed, sometimes creating Harmony.Originality/valueThere are very few explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches to complexity theory, and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony.

scholarly journals Enhancing sustainable development through implementing complex adaptive systems and reflection: A proposed framework

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Marita Naude
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Traditional Management ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Fundamental Shift

Most organizations regard Sustainable Development (SD) as important and within a tridimensional approach (including economic, social and environmental dimensions) SD comprises a range of complex issues. However, traditional management approaches do not capture the variabilities as organizations are complex adaptive systems embedded in a complex adaptive context. Consequently, there must be a fundamental shift towards a complexity theory approach (eg. Complex Adaptive Systems, CAS). When SD is viewed from a CAS approach it becomes a continuous process of co-evolution within a rapidly changing context rather than a once off project. Leaders, managers and practitioners work in this complex and rapidly shifting world need crucial skills such as reflection. This paper proposes a framework combining SD, CAS and reflection. Although a framework does not guarantee success it provides a tool to identify SD, CAS and reflection dimensions, develop an integrated approach, create goals, monitor and evaluate outcomes. Lastly, the paper includes management and research implications.

scholarly journals Complexity, diversity and the role of the public sphere on the Internet

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 961-984
Author(s):  
Nathan Eckstrand
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Relationship

This article explores the relationship between deliberative democracy, the Internet, and systems theory’s thoughts on diversity. After introducing Habermas’s theory of deliberative democracy and how diversity fits into it, the article discusses various ideas about whether and how it could work on the Internet. Next, the article looks at research into diversity done in the field of complex adaptive systems, showing that diversity has both good and bad effects, but is clearly preferred for the purpose of survival. The article concludes with an analysis of how the results of systems theory’s study of diversity can assist society in bringing democracy to the Web.

scholarly journals The Hierarchical Organization of Syntax

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babak Ravandi ◽  
Valentina Concu
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Zipf’S Law ◽  
Zipf's Law ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Complex Adaptive

Abstract Hierarchies are the backbones of complex systems and their analysis allows for a deeper understanding of their structure and how they evolve. We consider languages to be also complex adaptive systems. Hence, we analyzed the hierarchical organization of historical syntactic networks from German that were created from a corpus of texts from the 11th to 17th centuries. We tracked the emergence of syntactic structures in these networks and mapped them to specific communicative needs. We named these emerging structures communicative hierarchies. We hypothesise that the communicative needs of speakers are the organizational force of syntax. We propose that the emergence of these multiple communicative hierarchies is what shapes syntax, and that these hierarchies are the prerequisite to the Zipf's law. The emergence of communicative hierarchies indicates that the objective of language evolution is not only to increase the efficiency of transferring information. Language is also evolving to increase our capacity to communicate more sophisticated abstractions as we advance as a species.

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