Realism and Complexity

I will argue that from a CR perspective, social reality is complex. It just is not complex in the ways CT suggests. Even emergence, according to CR, is more complex and stronger than CT suggests. First wave CR is enough to advance the issue considerably, but I will also examine dialectical CR as a further attempt within CR to take account of complexity.     

U-Statistic Based Modified Information Criterion for Change Point Problems

The U-statistic based modified information criterion (MIC) is proposed and applied to detect the change point in a sequence of independent random variables. In this article, we show that the method is consistent in selecting the correct model, and the resulting test statistic has a simple limiting distribution. We investigate the method based on both symmetric and anti-symmetric kernel functions. The simulation results indicate that the new method has better power in detecting the changes compared to other methods, such as the likelihood based MIC (Chen et al., 2006 Chen , J. , Gupta , A. K. , Pan , J. ( 2006 ). Information criterion and change point problem for regular models . Sankhyā 68 : 252 – 282 . [Google Scholar]) and the Bayesian information criterion of Schwarz (BIC, Schwarz, 1978 Schwarz , G. ( 1978 ). Estimating the dimension of a model . Ann. Statist. 6 : 461 – 464 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

Screening Experiments with Many Factors

A new procedure is introduced for conducting screening experiments to find a small number of influential factors from among a large number of factors with negligible effects. It is intended for experiments in which the factors are easily controlled, as in simulation models. It adds observations sequentially after conducting a small initial experiment. The performance of the procedure is investigated using simulation, and evidence is presented that this and other procedures scale as the logarithm of the total number of factors if the number of influential factors is fixed. An investigation of the new procedure for 1–3 active factors shows that it compares favorably with competing methods, particularly when the size of the nonzero effects is 1–2 times the standard deviation. A limited look at the procedure for up to 6 active factors is also presented.     

基于复杂性科学的企业生命周期研究

复杂性是开放的复杂巨系统的动力学特征,本文利用复杂性科学的最新成果和研究方法,剖析企业生命周期的复杂过程,揭示了企业发展变化的内在机理。     

Generating inclusive services for children,youth and families: A shift to using complex systems theory

Service systems for children and families have been shaped by standard approaches to knowledge-building, which reflect a reductionist approach and assume linearity and/or that individuals and experiences are normally distributed. Yet, these approaches may be inadequate for clients most at-risk, especially those who would be analytic ‘outliers’. A complexity lens focuses on the whole system and seeks to identify patterns, including the dynamic interactions between components of the system. Social work scholars have begun to apply complexity theory to social work research efforts, demonstrating the conceptual potential of incorporating this theoretical approach into social work theories and models such as the person-in-environment framework and the ecosystems perspective. Yet, frameworks informed by complexity theory may require ontological and epistemological shifts in thinking and new methodological approaches in order to fully embody a complexity approach. Complexity theory offers the opportunity to consider social work clients who are most at-risk, as it is better suited for power law distributions. We can, therefore, reconceptualize the most ‘at-risk’ clients as being in a state of transition, which is also the space of most creativity and possibility.     

重大工程管理决策复杂性及复杂性降解原理

重大工程管理系统是一类典型的复杂系统.如何认识该系统的复杂性特征并应对复杂性带来的挑战一直是重大工程管理领域的研究热点.以重大工程管理决策过程为例,构建了一个决策概念模型,描述了决策关联性、认知模糊性和偏差性、知识有限性等复杂性因素对重大工程管理决策过程的影响.进而在决策关联性和信息不完备性的复杂性框架下,将重大工程管理决策的复杂性划分为"混沌"、"冲突"、"关联"和"混杂"四种类型.根据该复杂性特征分类,提出了包括"复杂性探索"、"复杂性吸收"、"复杂性分解"和"复杂性承担"四个基本逻辑策略的重大工程管理决策"复杂性降解"原理,揭示了重大工程管理决策实践的复杂自组织规律,说明了重大工程管理决策复杂性的内生性及动态演化特征.最后,应用"港珠澳"大桥桥面铺装工程的管理决策实践论证了"复杂性降解"原理,并讨论了该原理对重大工程管理带来的启示.     

中美作者英语科技论文中名词短语复杂度对比研究

分别选取Nature期刊中美作者55和50篇科技论文自建语料库，采用Biber等人提出的写作发展能力指标，对比分析中国作者和美国作者科技论文名词短语复杂度。研究发现：1）在使用名词短语前置修饰语和后置修饰语的整体模式上，中国作者使用前置修饰语的次数显著高于美国作者；2）受母语迁移影响，中国作者使用关系小句、名词、介词短语做名词短语修饰语的复杂度逊色于美国作者。该研究能够为中国作者科技论文写作提供一定的启示。     

Promoting social innovation amidst organizational complexity: Case study evidence from the German Red Cross

Social innovation is concerned with the creation and implementation of new solutions to social problems. Although research commonly frames social innovation as the domain of small, entrepreneurial organizations, an increasing number of large and well-established nonprofit organizations have started actively launching their own innovation initiatives. Using a case study of social innovation ventures within the German Red Cross (GRC), this study identifies organizational hurdles and viable management strategies targeting the promotion of social innovation within particularly complex organizations. Based on our results, we develop a conceptual framework highlighting that promoting social innovation in established organizations requires simultaneous attention to multiple dimensions of leadership and governance. Our study thereby offers a blueprint for management strategies that can guide nonprofit leaders in their quest to promote social innovation from within their organization.     

Relationship course theory: An interdisciplinary integrative proposition to address the complexification of interpersonal relationships

Researchers have been observing a complexification of interpersonal relationships in contemporary societies. However, current theoretical perspectives on relationships fall short of comprehensively grasping increasingly diverse and fluid relationship types (e.g., friends with benefits, polyamory, living-apart-together, coparenting, etc.) and patterns of change. In an attempt to meet the need for more integrative and interdisciplinary theorizing, this paper introduces a first outline of relationship course theory to better comprehend the complexity of relationships. In contrast to previous theoretical perspectives that conceptualize relationships as a single trajectory, I posit that the course of a relationship is composed of multiple intertwined trajectories, each of which stemming from differentiated domains such as sexuality, friendship, love, family, domesticity, and occupation. These relationship domains constitute a metatypology from which to examine the multiple sets of meanings and temporalities that intertwine throughout the course of a relationship. I propose that relationships are defined based on the combination of relationship domains, with different iterations and permutations of these domains producing various relationship configurations. Furthermore, the theory defines three levels of relationship courses: Sociocultural (i.e., stories that circulate about relationships in given sociocultural contexts), interpersonal (i.e., stories that individuals co-construct about the particular relationships they experience), and life courses (i.e., stories that individuals co-construct about themselves as relational beings). This proposition will hopefully stimulate the theoretical conversation on the complexity of relationships and foster dialogue between researchers from different theoretical and disciplinary affiliations.