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Week 10 reading notes

Beilin, R. (2012). Conceptualising change: complexity, post-normal science,
uncertainty and risk. In: Bender, H. (Ed.) Reshaping Environments: An
Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability in a Complex World. Cambridge
University Press, Melbourne, Australia, p. 277-304.

Summary

Key words or concepts used?

What is the aim, issue, question(s) being investigated in the reading?

What is the main argument, point of view presented by the author(s) and what
logic steps are used in support?

What evidence is used as support for the argument(s)?

What might the counter argument be? Does the author recognize this in the
text?

Question
s

Links

See questions at the end of the chapter

How does the reading relate to this weeks lectures?

How does the reading relate to the key concepts explored in this module, and
the subject?

What information from the reading is relevant to your assignments?

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Johnson, S. (2001). Street level. In: Emergence: the connected lives of ants,
brains, cities and software. Scribner, Sydney, Australia. p. 73-100.
Summary

Key words or concepts used?

What is the aim, issue, question(s) being investigated in the reading?

What is the main argument, point of view presented by the author(s) and what
logic steps are used in support?

What evidence is used as support for the argument(s)?

What might the counter argument be? Does the author recognize this in the
text?

Question
s

Links

What is the relationship between local and global that occurs through the
process of emergence?
Why is size of a community or colony important?
Why is simplicity with high inter-connectivity good for local adaptation?
Why is decentralisation dependent on having larger groups?
Why are gradients so important to ants and to sustainability?
Why is it so important to pay attention to your neighbour?
What parallels do you see between the development of ant colonies,
human bodies and societal development and collapse?
What is a defining characteristic of a complex system?
How does a command economy differ from an emergent one?
In an emergent system, what is the relationship between the individual, the
neighbour, neighbourhood and city?
What role do values and therefore norms play in emergent situations?
Are sidewalks and freeways equally good feedback mechanisms
How is scale important to the way we think about humans, cities and
emergence?

How does the reading relate to this weeks lectures?

How does the reading relate to the key concepts explored in this module, and
the subject?

What information from the reading is relevant to your assignments?

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