Search results for "Cybernetics"
showing 10 items of 331 documents
Phytotoponymy and Synphytotoponymy in Western Granada Province (Andalusia, Spain)
2009
En el marco de la investigación etnobotánica desarrollada en el poniente granadino, se ha realizado un estudio sobre la toponimia de la comarca con atención a los apelativos de origen vegetal (fitotopónimos y sinfitotopónimos). La información —obtenida de la Gerencia Territorial del Catastro de Granada, de la Junta de Andalucía y de nuestro trabajo de campo— se ha incluido en una base de datos con el programa Microsoft Excell®. Un total de 98 especies vegetales se encuentran representadas en la toponimia local, dando nombre a 593 lugares del territorio. Se aportan comentarios sobre el significado ecológico, paleofitogeográfico y etnobotánico de las especies reflejadas en la toponimia.
Rural and Gastronomical Tourism in Baltic Countries
2018
The Baltic countries are apparently similar but actually very different not only concerning their language and culture but also their lifestyle. Regarding rural tourism, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have many common points: given the care for the remarkable natural environment and for preserving traditions and rural tourism practiced in each of the Baltic countries, filled with recreation and active desire for knowledge, traditional life, and beauty of nature in protected areas. Rural tourism also contributes to preserving the cultural heritage, and youth people are encouraged to know and keep the traditions alive. The rural tourist offer is complemented by the variety of gastronomy, whic…
Limits and Criticalities of Predictions and Forecasting in Complex Social and Economic Scenarios: A Cybernetics Key
2014
Predictions play a key role in assuring the status of “rationality” in decisions. Nevertheless, in the field of social sciences and economics, predictions fail to correctly depict the oncoming scenarios. Why is it so difficult to achieve quantitative prediction of social and economic systems? Can science provide reliable predictions of social and economic paths that can be used to implement effective interventions? As in the notorious “El Farol bar problem” depicted by Brian Arthur (Am Econ Rev 84:406–411, 1994), the validity of predictive models is more a social issue than a matter of good mathematics. Predictability in social systems is due to limited knowledge of society and human behavi…
Complexity and Action: Reflections on Decision Making and Cybernetics.
2013
This paper highlights some theoretical and epistemological reflections about the relevance of action for managerial studies. These reflections show how the cybernetic paradigm of complexity management can be used for better decision making that unites knowledge and action in a comprising, dynamic, and evolving approach. Cybernetics can help to overcome the fear of decision making in the face of uncertainty in complex scenarios, and can be an effective tool for improving the viability and competitiveness of firms in the twenty-first century.
Integration of Two Multiobjective Optimization Methods for Nonlinear Problems
2003
In this paper, we bring together two existing methods for solving multiobjective optimization problems described by nonlinear mathematical models and create methods that benefit from both heir strengths. We use the Feasible Goals Method and the NIMBUS method to form new hybrid approaches. The Feasible Goals Method (FGM) is a graphic decision support tool that combines ideas of goal programming and multiobjective methods. It is based on the transformation of numerical information given by mathematical models into a variety of feasible criterion vectors (that is, feasible goals). Visual interactive display of this variety provides information about the problem that helps the decision maker to…
Development of Methods for the Classification of EVOOs According to Their Genetic Variety
2012
The aim of this work was to construct an LDA model able to classify EVOOs according to their genetic variety by using FTIR data.
Pre-paradigmatic Status of Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Systematic Literature Review
2013
Abstract Social entrepreneurship (SE) research has been presented in the literature as a field of action in a pre-paradigmatic state, a field that lacks an established epistemology. Despite that impediment, several qualitative and quantitative studies have already been undertaken on the sole base of some institutions’ worldview and without previous solidification of theory. Consequently, critics and social constructivists have found much ambivalence in these and owing to the resulting mess, even question SE's legitimization as a distinctive item of research. Articles on the topic of SE make use of a variety of frameworks, borrowing from neo-institutional or dialectic theory, bringing with t…
Analyzing Stakeholder Diversity in G2G Efforts: Combining Descriptive Stakeholder Theory and Dialectic Process Theory
2008
Author's version of an article published in e-Service Journal, 6 (2), 3-23. Previous research indicates that the benefits of e-government initiatives are slower to realize than initially expected. This has partly been ascribed to the particularly complex settings of e-government projects, consisting of a variety of stakeholders promoting different and often conflicting objectives. Yet few studies have explicitly addressed the inherent challenges of this diversity. This study presents an analytical approach for investigating contradictory stakeholder interests by combining descriptive stakeholder theory and dialectic process theory. Descriptive stakeholder theory is concerned with why some s…
Analysing Different Consumption Practices among Different Settings
2013
The chapter’s main aim is to provide evidence for the need to differentiate consumer behaviour exemplified by drinking patterns and the various factors influencing these patterns as to different European clusters. These clusters emerged from the empirical research stage of the COBEREN project. They are compared to currently well-known European cluster differentiations (i.e. geographic clusters, cultural clusters, or Established European Economic Settings vs. Transitional European Settings in Central and Eastern Europe). This research aims to investigate European consumer behaviour on drinking, hypothesizing that other than the traditional cultural and/or geographical clusters, differentiate…
Digital Games in Early Childhood: Broadening Definitions of Learning, Literacy, and Play
2017
Digital games attract children and young people with imaginary worlds, fascinating stories, and shared experiences with peers. They also can add children’s learning and motivation and offer a variety of new affordances to explore and play with. The pedagogical use of digital games has been found to potentially intensify a more critical use and understanding of varied forms of media. In this chapter, we will focus on analyzing the role of digital games in early childhood, especially from the perspectives of learning, literacy, and play. This chapter examines digital games as playing an essential role in young children’s overall technology experiences, particularly in the context of the socia…