Open access peer-reviewed chapter

Heuristics of Social Process Design

Written By

Gilbert Ahamer

Published: 01 February 2010

DOI: 10.5772/7812

From the Edited Volume

Computational Intelligence and Modern Heuristics

Edited by Al-Dahoud Ali

Chapter metrics overview

2,401 Chapter Downloads

View Full Metrics

Abstract

The notion of design is prominent in the fields of heuristics, learning and gaming. “Design” can refer to space (architecture or geography), time (music) and even to roles and perspectives (e.g. negotiation games); such is named “substrate of design”. The understanding of one substrate of design could be helpful for others regarding useful structures, evolutionary generation of such structures and applicable quality criteria.

Keywords

  • design of gaming procedures
  • educational design
  • evolutionary societal procedures
  • game based learning
  • graphic notation
  • multi-perspectivism
  • quality criteria
  • rhythmisation

1. Introduction

1.1. Objective of this paper: how to note down gaming processes?

The aim in the context of this paper is to optimize the design of learning processes (or more generally social processes) for individuals, groups of individuals and society as a whole.

The main concrete interest of this article is: how to note down social learning processes such as gaming? Such notation could eventually visualize helpful temporal, communicative and social structures in learning processes.

Hence, the issue at the core of this paper is the “notation of social processes for gaming and learning”.

The main question to be addressed and answered is: Which sequence of learning framework conditions delivers an optimal learning effect (understood here as change of behavior) independently of the initial stage of mastery of the learners?

1.2. Some definitions and key notions

In this text, learning is understood in multiple ways:

  • learning = real change in behavior

  • learning = creation of suitable and sustainable consensus

  • life = a continuous learning endeavor

  • living means learning; this creates reality.

  • social process (sp) = element of SP (see Ahamer & Schrei, 2006: 226)

  • societal procedure (SP) = compound of sp, can result in successful learning

  • design = creation of helpful structures, can also be social design (= design of sp)

  • mastery starts with “obeying rules”, and progresses to “creating rules” (Ahamer & Schrei, 2006: 235).

In this article, we see “design” in a generalized way as an array of temporal, spatial and interindividual structures inciting to enact procedures.

  • games: the stage for enacting

  • traditional learning: is mostly defined by conveying content

  • unconventional learning: sets out to integrate learners into a suite of sp designed to incite them to maximize their changes of behavior.

1.3. Twofold relevance of “design of gaming and learning”

Hence, it is a valuable task to ponder optimal structural design for such learning, be it “simulation/gaming”, individual or societal learning.

Starting points are often attempts to “change the world” like interdisciplinary university courses, consulting in the public or municipal sphere, planning of sustainability measures such as climate protection or other complex learning endeavors.

The relevance of such questioning is only seemingly of purely pedagogical nature and relating “only” to learning individuals (micro-learning). Yet,

  1. if life as such is understood as a learning procedure (i.e. changing previous behaviors) and

  2. if “learners” are also entire societies and

  3. if tasks exist also on a global level,

such learning endeavor may even pertain to optimization of global society’s answer to challenges such as global change (cf IPCC, 2007) or global warming (macro-learning).

To a certain extent, basic structural findings might be true for both orders of magnitude, namely for (i) individual and (ii) societal learning.

We therefore include the following examples:

  1. Learning of individuals (defined here as micro-learning): Learning in academia or at university (e.g. interdisciplinary courses, needed in curricula like Environmental Systems Science (“Umweltsystemwissenschaften“: USW, 2007), or Environmental Management (Mayer et al., 2004, 2005; JDR, 2006; Lourdel et al., 2006; Zermeg, 2007)

  2. Learning of compounds of individuals (defined here as macro-learning): Distributed design (MacGregor, 2002), Computer Supported Co-operative Work CSCW (Heaton, 2002; Jarvenpaa & Leidner 1988; MacGregor, 2002; Wodehouse & Bradley, 2006; Johns & Shaw, 2006; Lloyd, 2004), societal learning: national climate protection targets (Crookall & Bradford, 2000; Kratena et al., 1998) that are not adequately met (WegCenter, 2007), low-energy building standards (HdZ, 2007; IP, 2006), sustainable urban renewal (van Bueren et al., 2006), municipal sustainability plans and energy concepts (KEK, 1997; LRP, 1995), approximation of Central European Countries to the EU (Ahamer, 2005), the “European Constitution” or a revolutionary new monetary system (Rauch & Strigl, 2006; Daly, 1999) and other examples of complex societal learning.

“Success” in learning is seen as effective change in real-life behavior, be it of (i) individuals or (ii) of societies. In section 4 it will be discussed, which four dimensions of human action should be affected by such change. Regarding the example of climate change, the stakeholders could be seen as facing severe difficulties in really changing (i.e. really learning) – as proven by ever increasing CO2 emissions in some countries (UBA, 2004).

1.4. Why a “notation for learning and gaming processes”?

Development of a “notation for structures in social gaming processes” could help

  • to optimize the usefulness and effectiveness of “social design” in learning frameworks when using graphical analogies (cf e.g. Hofmeyer et al., 2006: 432)

  • to improve dramatic frameworks proposed for learning and societal procedures in general (cf Johns & Shaw, 2006, Roth et al., 2001)

  • to visualize and hence conceptualize various levels of action and various modes of building of consciousness (cf Bilda et al., 2006)

  • to depict the design of learning frameworks in a transparent manner.

What can be the role of “game based learning” (Prensky, 2001; Ahamer, 2004) for these targets? A short answer: A notation helps to better visualize the structure of learning games and negotiation games along time and with respect to expressible opinions. In order to safeguard high effectiveness of gaming, the “consumer” of such a designed “game” should be exposed to a sufficiently large number of changing surrounding conditions while flowing in the drain and train of the game.

In cases of suboptimal learning (e.g. in school or with climate change) a strong motivation arises to find means to improve learning procedures and strategies. Such is attempted here.

Advertisement

2. What can be designed at all? - Where can “design” emerge?

“The notion of design is prominent in the field of simulation/gaming. It has been a thread running through most work in the field.” (Crookall, 2003: 485) This section allows the reader to regard the theme “design” from a distance when focusing on “what might be designed”. Design pertains to various substrates (Table 1) thus resulting in diverse branches of design.

In this section 2, the following will be laid out: What is much needed is design (= structure in time, space, and human individuals) which facilitates the generation of the learning target, which is often the construction of a consensus – like molding an alloy of differing individual opinions.

Substrate of design Branch Example
CLASSIC / already known traditionally:
space architecture facades, buildings, arrays of rooms
time music symphonies, polyphony of several voices
geometry graphic design icons and logos
physical structures painting, sculptures, fine art forms and patterns
mental structures science theories, "world formulae"
functionalities engineering machinery, industrial design
communication tools distributed IT www and CSCW
acting humans theatre on stage threads of human action in a drama, choreography
NEW / some are focused on in this paper:
social processes game play free games, open learning (Ahamer, 2004 ; SiP 2004)
individual interests regulation by law trial, jurisdiction
effects of technologies on society and human environment technology assessment = TA, environmental impact assessment = EIA EIA procedures and laws (Crookall & Bradford, 2000; Aschemann, 2004)
societal roles Institutions, NGOs politics, SGC (2006)
rules for consensus building Administration, diplomacy, UNO, ESD (2007) spatial planning, Twinnings in EU accession (EC, 2007)
self-optimization processes economics, politics policy measures (Vester, 1980; Pilch et al., 1992)
perspectives of a case constitution and legislation legal processes in a state
creation of games and their rules rules in a role-play, game based learning gaming business, children play; i.e. "play with rules"
evolutionary patterns Genesis of transnational institutions: UNFCCC, EU; political game theory etc. e.g. evolutionary economics, Global Change Data Base (GCDB, 2001)

Table 1.

A very broad understanding of “design” would embrace a multitude of “substrates of design” in several branches. A designer is a “structurizer”.

Here we understand “design” in a generalized way as structuring a range of substrates (such as the ones in the left column of Table 1) that could be effective to incite and enact procedures.

It might be a helpful objective to investigate whether a useful necessary design of structures in several fields resembles one another. Contemplating various disciplines (and their respective design structures) could aid in such overall endeavor. The following list and subsections outline first attempts.

In this sense, it could eventually be helpful to conclude

  • from the inner deep structures (Casakin, 2004) of the classic substrates and applications of design (= upper half of Table 1)

  • to the inner deep structures of the new substrates and applications of design (= lower half of Table 1) and to apply potentially new ideas of general relevance.

Some of the classically known substrates of design (upper half of Table 1) are briefly explained below.

  1. Designing space: “architecture”, see chapter 4.2 and Fig. 4; examples: (Popov, 2002, Corbusier, 2007; Hofmeyer et al., 2006).

  2. Designing time: “music”, see chapter 4.3 and Fig. 5; examples: (Beilharz, 2004, Xenakis, 2007; Zographos, 2007; SonEnvir, 2007).

  3. Designing geometry: logos, see SGC logos in Fig. 3: convey condensed geometric information in a symbolic manner to denote mental structures; examples: (Schrei, 2006, 2007; Ahamer & Schrei, 2006: 239-242; Bouchard et al., 2006).

  4. Designing physical structures: arrays of color dots in impressionism (e.g. van Gogh), entire history of plastic arts.

  5. Designing mental structures, e.g. theoretical mathematical concepts of mechanics: (a) Aristotelian physics: force is proportional to speed in movement (F ~ v), (b) Newtonian physics: force is proportional to acceleration (F ~ a), (c) Modern quantum physics: a particle is a point in a space of possible states, concretely only determined after the act of measurement.

  6. Designing functionalities: “engineering”, e.g. of machinery: see journals such as Engineering Design. Functioning artifacts as products of “art”, e.g. cars, engines, industrial products; examples: (Bianconi et al., 2006; Ono, 2006; Boujut & Tiger, 2002; Badke-Schaub, 2004).

  7. Designing communication patterns: collaborating internationally and forming one product (CSCW, Wiki, e-learning: Herder et al., 2003; Ahamer, 2004), implemented from spatially and temporally distributed working places (Heaton, 2002).

  8. Designing acting humans, i.e. theatre: interlinked threads of action and responsibilities: e.g. tragic situations, classic Greek drama.

Some of the newer substrates of design (lower half of Table 1) are discussed in the subsequent subchapters.

2.1. Designing social processes

What does it mean to design social processes (sp)? Here we define it to aggregate simple events (like learning content, peer review, debate etc.) as general elements of more complex long-term societal procedures. Such design was described earlier (Ahamer & Schrei, 2006: 226). Chapter 4.1 will give a practical example.

2.2. Designing individual interests

What does “design of interests” mean? Here it is understood as arranging individual stakeholders and the representation of partial interests in such a way that their intercommunication yields the best result possible, e.g. in a lawsuit or trial at court. It could be attempted to measure such results from the standpoint of the “common good”.

Design of interests can often be motivated as follows: if “fact-oriented” justice cannot be guaranteed sufficiently, at least a “best attainable solution”, namely “procedural justice” should be developed as a proxy to the best but principally unknown target of scientifically sound judgment in complex matters.

Legislation for “civil procedure” is an example here.

2.3. Designing TA and EIA

Technology Assessment means to weigh the desirable and non-desirable effects of new technologies on humans and the environment (Decker & Ladikas, 2004; Bechmann et al., 2007; Decker, 2001; Grunwald, 1999;) by means of a structurally designed “value benefit analysis” or “utility analysis” (Zangemeister, 1970).

In many countries, the legal implementation of the “culture of TA” is the “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA) for projects and the “Strategic Environmental Assessment” (SEA) for policies and measures (Aschemann, 2004; UBA, 2007).

2.4. Designing societal roles: “role design” and “institutional design”

What is a societal role? Roles are conceived here as seizable condensations of interests in the entire network and fluid of all theoretically possible interests, in other words the most relevant points in the “landscape of interests”.

“Design of roles” means to combine individual perspectives in a way that they form a potent and promising societal actor. For example, such analysis is exercised during coalition building for government or opposition in politics. One target is to reach a 360 panorama-like view of all possible perspectives; this facilitates consensus.

Designing societal roles and interests can lead to designing institutions. How is such “institutional design” performed? By establishing and founding concrete panels – such as for climate change, where IPCC (2007) was founded as scientific body and UNFCCC (2007) as administrative body – and clearly defining frequency and organization of their interaction and mutual responsibilities (e.g., UNFCCC each five years “commissions” an “Assessment Report” from IPCC which is then “acknowledged” by UNFCCC).

2.5. Designing rules for consensus building

What are rules? The borders restricting (potentially free) individual human action put forth in order to direct societal behavior in a desired way.

What is “rules design”? Making up one’s mind what to allow, restrict, enhance and discourage in terms of social action under guidance of a societal target (e.g. defining measures in economic policy).

It means to devise rules in a way that maximal blossoming of the positive potential of the actors is attained (e.g. students, pupils, and a country’s economy).

Principally, autopoietic development of rule design can also be hypothesized to occur as 4th generation of web based teaching (Ahamer & Rauch, 136), namely “to play with rules”.

Deep understanding of “design” (Casakin, 2004) would also incorporate steps to design social and institutional procedures such as: the EU programme “Twinning” (EU, 2005) enhancing “converging” of two formerly fundamentally different economic and political cultures to the “Copenhagen criteria” relevant for EU accession. Twinnings helped all Central European candidate countries in acceding towards the EU by sharing the common body of legislation denominated as “acquis communautaire”, and designed as a hierarchical system of dialogues (Ahamer, 2005; SI, 2007).

In this respect, the distinction made by Heaton (2002) between rule-based cultures (like the Danish in their experiences) and personality-based cultures (like the Japanese) is helpful and a contribution to intercultural cooperation (Hofstede, 1994; GS, 2007).

2.6. Designing self-optimization processes

What are self-optimization processes? We understand them here as positive feedback loops that enhance the effectiveness of an initial action (e.g. of a political measure).

Design of self-optimization processes means to make use of systemic (economic, political, social) circular feedback mechanisms in order to reach self-sustaining policies that remain effective in the long run (Vester, 1980; Bossel, 1994; Pilch et al., 1992). Examples for (at least intended) self-optimization processes in macro-learning are global trading schemes for CO2 emissions (ACCC, 2007).

An example for such design with respect to global change is: how to arrange tools and measures pertaining to reducing global CO2 emissions: CO2 trading, clean development mechanisms and other flexible instruments (IPCC, 2007).

2.7. Designing perspectives

What are perspectives? We understand them as outlooks onto reality that are partly pre-determined by the standpoint of the beholder.

How are perspectives (and their interplay) designed? Legislation sets out to manage and mediate between diverse views on everyday incidents (e.g. a traffic accident). Civil law, process law and administrative law and their contained procedural rules allot speaking right and time to parties in an individual judicial process or in a societal decision process. Such can be reproduced in a negotiation game (e.g., this is the sense of the gambling procedure in SGC level 3).

A practical example is the Austrian political system of “social partnership”.

2.8. Creating and designing role-play

What are roles? Based on the definition of perspectives above, roles are condensations in the patterns of perspectives, attached with the interest of persons.

Role-play (Corbeil, 2005; Prensky, 2001) can hence be designed in a way that gaming individuals develop a maximum of sovereignty and depth of action when striving for their interests. Many people slip in professional roles in the course of their lives and, in turn, are shaped by them.

Let us understand games as: The stage for such enacting of roles. Enacting means bringing to life. Giving it drama. Permitting ideas and perspectives to flow out of their containers and stream along the river bed of passing time. Logos (ancient Greek for “the word”, “the idea”) must be en-acted and incarnated. (equals also to: Ideas must be implemented in real life.) In extreme idealism (Moser & Moser, 2005) every individual’s life is the physical manifestation of their mental values and consciousness.

Children during “free play” can often be observed to invent new rules, when they have “used up” the attractiveness of well-known games. – Both “homo ludens” and “deus ludens” (playing man and playing god) were conceived by Huizinga (1994).

2.9. Designing distributed structures leading to evolutionary patterns

What are “evolutionary patterns”? Here we try to understand them as way and path, along which our (techno-socio-economic and political) evolution flows, determined by its inner structure. Prevailing global evolutionary patterns could be understood and conceived as exponential (classic growth theory: Temple, 1999), stepwise (Raskin et al., 2002) or saturating (Daly, 1999). The crucial idea of system dynamics is that the inner structure of an interacting system (i.e. the architecture of its internal interconnectedness) determines the system’s behavior along time (Ossimitz, 2000).

For example, when combining structural design and space design, the important idea is “to include with the layout of space also the layout of basic structure.” (Hofmeyer et al. 2006: 434). Each piece of architecture leads to the evolution of typical patterns of social behavior inside it, including a typical pattern of rules of behavior (e.g. kitchen rules in a hostel).

In a systems analytic approach, the generation of rules in a (social) system in itself is seen as a result of the system’s state (Ossimitz, 2000). Adding an evolutionary approach, consecutive phases of system growth are producing different sets of rules along consecutive phases (compare chapter 4.5 or Ahamer, 2003: 8).

Examples could be: developmental policy, namely how to promote a country’s autonomous growth and ability to help itself (GS, 2007).

To summarize chapter 2, a “designer” can be a structurizer regarding a large variety of substrates. Consequently, a designer’s outlook is predisposed to reach beyond the contingencies of the prevailing substrate and to touch down to the patterns and principles construing the structures.

Advertisement

3. Three theoretical principles for the “design of social processes”

The task of a suitable learning framework (be it micro or macro) is to design along time suitable social, gaming and other structures that are intended to change real human behavior. This chapter proposes three principles that may aid in this designing task:

  • Rhythmisation (3.1)

  • Multi-perspectivism (3.2) expressed through roles

  • Underdeterminism (3.3).

3.1. The value of rhythmisation

Rhythmisation offers an ever changing structure to the eye, ear or spirit of the individual who consequently is more easily able to “glue into”, integrate or resonate with the offered structure. For example: a lecturer inserting short stories into a long explanation recaptures attention of students with more practically oriented learning profiles.

Rhythmisation as a theatrical means for structuring processes in time with changing speed of oscillation for the dramatic interaction of actors allows for various characters of spectators. The intrinsic time constant of each individual to act, react and allocate interest will be met with higher probability.

With a façade, rhythmisation allows the eye to better discern a largely perceived horizontal area, to pick up the pieces of the façade and to grasp the offered structure more conveniently, e.g. aided by baroque risalits or pilasters. The eye (symbolic for “pre-understanding”) retrieves more easily a subsequence which addresses the spirit of the onlooker because it comes into resonance with similar mental predispositions.

In didactics, rhythmisation (of the elements of actions, “sp”) is a necessary structure in order to provide recurring opportunities for learners and for other creative workers to “glue into reality” – according to the understanding „double interact“ (as Weick (1979), or Klabbers (2003 : 577) have put it.

3.2. The value of multi-perspectivism and its expression through roles

Multi-perspectivism means to be able to adopt and understand another standpoint. Multi-perspectivism is a crucial step towards the ability of reaching consensus and a means for locating, organizing and measuring perspectives while consciously abstracting from one’s own position. Multi-perspectivism may be incited and aided by spatial and temporal segregation of views (e.g. each team is sitting at separate tables) which causes repositioning of perspectives.

For this paper, roles are facilitators for adopting different perspectives.

One possible application are resulting IT tools (e.g. CSCW: Heaton, 2002, MacGregor, 2002) where cultural preconditions shape the type of social processes occurring among stakeholders (see chapter 2.2). Multi-perspectivism is a key structure that learning tools/offers should provide in order to be helpful in a pluralistic society.

What are perspectives and roles in general? When reverting the direction of reasoning in chapters 2.4 and 2.7, they can be understood as enforced particularizations of the entire view (the contemplation of the whole), which are caused by our earthly restrictions of space-time structure. In Moser & Moser’s opinion (2005 : 221), on the ethical, humane or ontological levels, such restrictions can only be surpassed by forgiveness between human individuals, who – despite their individuality – are seen as (singularized, i.e. colored) reflections and facets of (holistic) white sun light, just like in a prism.

In a similar understanding, game play is the intentional (i.e. for pedagogic reasons) demolition and fragmentation of a holistic world view into the facets of the single roles’ perspectives. Such destruction and subsequent reintegration of facets into a whole is trained in negotiation games (Dong, 2007). It could be said that negotiation games deliberately deconstruct the dimension of “opinions and world views” and artificially map it into the dimension of “time during game play” or other mapping or framing.

3.3. The value of underdeterminism in game-play

Underdeterminism means that a system offers more than one degree of freedom (in physics) for the motion of a particle or (in games or real life) for decisions of an individual. As said above, roles in game play are the playable reification of such (underdetermined, hence) different worldviews and world perspectives.

Thus, it is appropriate to “oscillate” or “dance” between these world perspectives (e.g. using roles) in order to arrive at a consistent 360 panoramic view. Such “trial and learning” based motion is allowed (only) in underdetermined systems (see Fig. 1). Therefore, if suitably arranged (by a system of loose but enabling rules), underdeterminism can enhance learning (hypothesized again for both micro and macro levels).

A symbolic physical example for the value and appropriateness of underdeterminism in real life can be the bicycle rider who oscillates around an “ideal path” of trajectory when continuously correcting their body’s lateral inclination through steering their handlebars.

Games can be structurally understood as a shimmering of situations, as an unstable balance with shallow local optima (mathematically speaking). Compare a football game: the direction of the game continuously changes, one instable state is followed by the other, and predictability is almost non-existent. As a result, the dynamic situation permanently balances on a knife's edge.

Continuous change of standpoints, viewpoints, perspectives, and strategic constellations occurs frequently. Football players break clear, change boundary conditions for others and open avenues for new tactic actions. By acting and running, players create the game plan for others. According to design literature, iterative oscillation occurs between the problem space and the solution space (Maher, 2000; Dorst & Cross, 2001 : 434).

3.4. Both design and gaming need underdeterminism

Underdeterminism is characteristic for design as such (Restrepo & Christiaans, 2004) and needed for game based learning. Therefore, learners are best provided only a loose corset.

In gaming, how loose should structures be? Societal procedures need space and liberty to grow properly and fruitfully. “Games” seem to be a promising environment to allow for such liberty in complex human action and can be called a “stage”: “Simulation games provide a safe, condensed and dynamic environment, based on reality, in which participants, either professionals or students, can experiment with decisions and negotiations” (Mayer and Veeneman, 2002).

Figure 1.

1. Intentionally organizing “underdeterminism” in music (by Xenakis) means “playing”. Source: (Zographos, 2007); Figure 11 in (Beilharz, 2004).

The stroke of the painter or violinist (Fig. 1) is essential for art and characteristic to the artist. For a painter, it may mean to intentionally decrease optical resolution or preciseness in order to allow for another reality to enter, additionally to direct optical and imminent physical reality.

“Freedom of an artist” is the deliberate deviation from what is considered “real”. In didactics, this translates to more or less deliberate deviation from a standardized learning path. The innovative learner cannot always be kept on track on the ideal learning path (ideal only to a traditional designer). Such is another expression of underdeterminism.

Any notation in art is loose enough to allow space for interpretation of the performer.

Concluding chapter 3 and in the light of the above, facilitating (working) life (one of the aims of designers, see Heaton, 2002) – i.e. facilitating learning according to chapter 1.2 – can therefore be achieved by suitably structuring dynamic processes of enacting individuals’ opinions.

Advertisement

4. How to note down multidimensional rhythms

4.1. Dramatic Rhythm: a negotiation game

The sense of “noting down” a rhythm is to distil out of it the crucial structures. As a first concrete example of rhythmisation in social interaction, an attempt to note down the dramatic procedure of “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” (© Gilbert Ahamer) is shown in Fig. 2. This negotiation game is explained in (SGC, 2006) and is taken here as an example because its activities (Fig. 3, central column) contain all three of the above principles.

Figure 2.

2. Graphic representation of activities and time dynamics of the five levels in SGC (2003 style of SGC graphics).

Legend:

Solid symbols vs. dashed symbols = compulsory vs. optional activities

dotted lines = participants are informed about the phase

triangles with growing thickness = preparation phases

looped arrows up/down = feedback to facilitator/to participants for debriefing

diamond = quiz in Level 1

stars = declarations of points of view/reviews/updates in Level 2

matrix = convene on two themes & develop two discussion matrices for Level 3

flash = confrontational discussion in Level 3

sun = consensus oriented discussion in Level 4

document = integrative interpretation of global trends as 360 view in Level 5.

While using the numerous tools of web-supported learning, the online functionalities shown as logos in Fig. 3 are used for the rhythmized activities of the students.

Figure 3.

3. Online functionalities and student actions in the five levels of the negotiation game SGC (2005 style of graphics by C. Schrei, cf Fig. 4 in Ahamer & Schrei, 2006).

4.2. Rhythm in space: a façade

After viewing the dramaturgy of “social processes”, the rhythmisation of the façade of the Couvent de la Tourette by Corbusier and Xenakis (see lower image in of Fig. 4) could be regarded as structurally similar (in the sense of Table 1) to the intended rhythmisation of the different communicative procedures in SGC (Figure 6). Both, in fact, resemble a musical score (Fig. 4 above left, compare with center and right).

Rhythms in several “storeys” vary independently from one another, shown by varying density of vertical window pane delineations (Fig. 4 above centre).

Figure 4.

4. Rhythmisation in space (above centre, façade by Xenakis: photo below) and in time (above left: music; right: symbolic notation for SGC’s five levels dramaturgy: above right). Image sources, starting from left: (Vocal Consort, 2007), Figure 16 in (Beilharz, 2004), (Couvent de la Tourette, 2006).

4.3. Rhythm in time: music scores and flow charts

The historical and a modern type of musical notation are shown in Fig. 5 (left and right). Most often, different human voices are represented by different layers or levels in the notation.

Figure 5.

5. Musical scores: rhythmisation of polyphony in time (left: 18th century; right: 20th century).

Figure 6.

6. The sequence and structure of two SGC implementations at Graz University in 2003-2005 as mirrored by the software for project organisation “MS Project”. Each course lasted one semester and included 3 to 5 lecturers.

The composition of a project plan of SGC (Fig. 6) comprises several lecturers from various disciplines whose contributions are blended into each other. Its organisational structure resembles the above notations.

4.4. Structural similarities between music and gaming

When en-acting (e.g. a composition of music), the temporal structure follows a detailed poly-rhythmic sequence – just as in Xenakis’ façade (Fig. 4). If adding the comparison between singers’ voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and the stakeholders’ perspectives on the issues (e.g. using the roles industry, ecologists, administration, citizens), namely “polyphony”, it could be hypothesized that a suite of games such as SGC resembles a structured choir with changing roles of carrying and varying the musical motives and melodies.

As can easily be seen from baroque scores, music has progressed to polyphony already quite early in history. Such might serve as symbol for “orchestrated polyphony of views”.

Music is characterized by strict enforcement of coherence of the single voices. This hints to the importance of coherence (or at least good timing) of the different “social voices” in a societal learning procedure.

4.5. Structural similarities with evolution

Similar to the graphic impression of Fig. 1, the dynamics of global techno-socio-economic evolution show highly underdetermined behavior. Fig. 7 above shows the average development paths of the annual growth rate of energy consumption, plotted against a proxy for “economic stage of development”, namely per capita economic activity (GDP/cap), for all countries in the last 30 years (Ahamer, 2003) (1 red line = 1 country).

The more countries develop, the closer they seem to gather around a path that leads from slightly positive to slightly negative energy growth rates – the latter projection would actually help climate protection. Evolution “heads for different targets” during consecutive phases, such interpretation might be possible (see chapter 2.9). Initially, civilizations develop ever increasing hunger for energy, which saturates later on.

A different graphic impression confirms Fig. 7 below, which for each continent plots vertically “the level of mechanization in agriculture” versus horizontally “land needed per unit harvested”. Lines are moving leftward while mainly affected by annual weather changes that affect harvest. Again, the target of development depends on the phase.

Figure 7.

7. Above: per country growth rate of energy demand plotted against per capita economic activity (GDP/cap), this growth rate apparently decreases along evolution (Ahamer, 2003). Below: per continent “machinery per crops harvested” versus “arable land needed per crops harvested”, these evolutive paths could be continued as dotted.

Note: in the next chapter, the structural similarity between ‘music’ and ‘societal learning procedures’ does not mean “a voice equals a stakeholder” but pertains to structural characteristics of social procedures. This hint is given for better understanding of the following type of notation!

Advertisement

5. The notation of social processes

In this chapter, a new notation for social processes (elements sp) will be proposed which resembles musical scores. The notes in music represent elementary “social processes”, the melody an entire “societal procedure” like learning, designing or even protecting global climate.

The resulting “social scores” sketch the communicational structure along time in various communicative dimensions.

For this paper, a new and original type of notation is developed.

5.1. Which basic dimensions exist in social processes?

When designing societal procedures, the intensity of social characteristics may vary along time. Once the emphasis is placed on teamwork, sometimes on individual work, here on understanding, there on confrontation. Can we invent a set of very basic and fundamental “dimensions” prevailing in any societal (gaming or learning) procedure? This chapter tries to do so.

Remembering one’s own experience in singing, the reader might figure out that often soprano carries the melody and the reader may enjoy looking for other structural similarities. Table 2 attempts to introduce an order of fundamental social dimensions which in this paper will be symbolically called “voices”.

Inspired by the examples in chapter 4 an attempt is made to split up the different components of human behavior into distinct levels in a graphic representation.

These four different components of human action are discerned based on practical experience with SGC for several years. They are thought to be organically independent (mathematically speaking: linearly independent) characteristics and components of overall social and societal behavior, be it learning, working, teaching or even politics (Table 2).

voice in music structural functionality gaming in education
S = Soprano Leads the melody Logical information conveyed
A = Alto Follows the melody Team building
T = Tenor Counterfigures to melody Debate & discourse, dialoge of facts
B = Bass Longstanding cord basis Integration with others’ experience

Table 2.

Suggestion for structural similarities between music (left) and gaming in education (right).

In Fig. 8 this systematization is depicted, including arrows for a first orientation.

Figure 8.

8. The meaning of the “four voices” described in Table 2 as basic dimensions for any social process in a basic communicational structure; resembling a wind rose, including dashed auxiliary characteristics valid for two neighboring dimensions.

This sketch might resemble a wind rose as known from classical geographical maps. The meaning of the four voices (= four ends of the wind rose in Fig. 8) is allocated to basic properties of practical human life (dashed arrows) in a pairwise manner, in order to facilitate systematization.

Often, there “is only one soprano voice” in traditional pedagogy (or classical climate policy), if it restricts itself to “only conveying information”. Quite on the contrary, the conviction of the present text is that the four fundamental “dimensions” in Table 2 span up a four-dimensional vector space of action (as in vector calculus, Fig. 9), in which a rich multitude of “societal procedures” can occur. Such multitude might be very helpful – or even prove indispensable for success, if only adequately designed.

Figure 9.

9. The four voices span up a four-dimensional vector space of description in analogy to a vector in 4 dimensions.

In order to reflect better the new understanding and to systematize Table 2, the following interpretation of its right column is suggested (see also the logos in Fig. 11 right):

S =starting point in the world of facts: information, “content”, “truths”

A =starting point in the world of relationships: communication between individuals

T =deal with S = “handle the arrays of facts and information”

B =deal with A = “handle the arrays of communicating individuals”

In this possibly new and mathematically formalized understanding, each societal didactic incident equals one point in this four-dimensional space which is defined by values of (info; team; debate; integration), just like a vector in a “state space” in modern physics.

It is possible that the attention of music listeners fluctuates from one voice to another as the guiding motive might be repeated or reflected by other voices (as often in classical music). Similarly, the main attention of a game player could switch from one social functionality to another during educational game play.

Not a synchronization (as light waves in a laser beam) of learning opportunities for all students in the entire class is chosen for SGC (e.g. one lecture for all, then one exam for all), but rather a variety of situations with combined opportunities (e.g. team formation with underlying monitoring of academic skills within the team based on a preliminary literature research). However, such variety needs to be suitably structured, which is exactly the ultimate target of “social process design”: firstly for educational purposes, but secondly also on the societal level for appropriately reacting to climate change, global change and globalization.

Regarding didactic theories (that might span from cognitively oriented to libertarian), we need a “do the one and don’t let go of the other”! The same applies to climate change.

After having outlined general principles of “game design” in education, the next section goes into details of a rhythmized structure using SGC as an example, after starting with the simplest settings.

5.2. Notation for simple learning environments

The following scores deliver simple examples of social procedures intended for learning. Quantification of the four dimensions is based on practical experience.

Example 01: Classical teaching (left in Fig. 10) is often concentrated on conveying and imposing content “S” (of often rather classical nature) on students and shows no activity in the other dimensions (T, A, B). Consequently, team building among students is not observed, and no critical discussion of basic assumptions or subsequent valuation of contradicting scientific world views takes place. Similarly, classic administration of climate protection might restrict itself to discussions inside a small community of professional stakeholders with little emphasis on team building or even interplay with newly forming NGO’s. Climate policy purely administered “via decree” runs into the ever existing bottlenecks of harsh reduction in budgets and might ultimately remain unsuccessful as a result of such restrictions.

Example 02: Contemplative learning: Another monodimensional approach to learning based purely on “sensitively exploring the self” (right in Fig. 10) and constructing an image of the world from the source of one’s own imagination is “learning from one’s own contemplative experiences”. Such an approach lacks connecting personal impressions to academic mechanisms of iterative critique, as well as reconsidering particular views of one’s own small community. “Contemplative climate policy”, as a hypothetic example, would remain restricted to the arbitrary mists of wishful thinking on the basis of a “oneself knows best” attitude inside self-reassuring particulate stakeholder groups.

Other one-dimensional approaches could be hypothesized: only “A” as ‘team’ dimension as in workplaces with many specialized teams that are not mutually interacting (Wodehouse & Bradley, 2006); only “T” as ‘debate’ dimension that might suffer from too shallow academic level and from low centripetal cohesion of discussants. Generally, it can be understood that exaggerating one dimension at the expense of the others does not tend towards decisive success.

Figure 10.

10. Notation for simple learning environments (left: example 01, classical teaching; right: example 02, self-centred contemplation).

Example 03: Simple role-playing: Initial package of content followed by social learning with subsequent role-playing, e.g. in the style of systemic interventions (Hellinger, 2000), socio-drama (Weinberg, 2007), or short and simple simulation games (Fig. 11 left). The onefold switch from S to B generates some, but only moderate levels in A and T.

Figure 11.

11. Notation for simple role-playing (left, example 03). A graphic legend to this series of scores (right) recalls the structure of thought by means of logos.

The legend in Fig. 11 (right) classifies the four dimensions (as mentioned above in 5.1 and defined in Table 2) and uses simple logos for easy orientation in the diagrams.

5.3. Notation for a simple structured learning environment

Example 04 for a simple structured learning procedure: the 3x7=21 lecture type (Ahamer & Rauch, 2006; Akademie 2006):

Several “Interdisciplinary Practicals” (IP) of the curriculum on “Environmental Systems Analysis” (USW, 2007) – a worldwide unique and systems oriented type of master studies at Graz University – have been organized by interdisciplinary teams of students and lecturers (IP, 2005) for groups of 21 students for complex themes (e.g. Global Change) along the following procedural shell while using support from web based learning platforms (listed incl. abbreviations used in Fig. 12):

  1. Each lecturer conveys initial information in introductory blocks (“Info 1”)

  2. Each student authors an individual seminar work (“Individ.”)

  3. Each lecturer deepens information in consolidation blocks (“Info 2”)

  4. Seven groups of three students (of the same scientific discipline) collaborate and create a common standpoint on their sector of the theme (“Intradisc.”)

  5. Three groups of seven students (of different scientific disciplines) collaborate and create a common standpoint on the entire theme (“Interdisc.”).

Figure 12.

12. Notation for a simple structured learning environment: “3x7 = 21” (example 04).

As can be seen from the figures, it is the aim of the structural “design of social learning process” to reach (and maintain, if possible) during the entire duration sufficiently high levels in all four dimensions. According to the above graphs it seems possible to hypothesize that a change of state in one dimension creates a shift in another dimension. Consequently, well-deliberated changes in “framing situations” applied by the moderator (or dramatic designer, e.g. a lecturer) can lead to increased values of other dimensions (which – in a largely unknown way – are apparently complexly related to each other). This preliminary hypothesis will yield a conceptual model in chapter 5.6.

5.4. Notation for a complex suite of game based learning

Example 05: the complex negotiation game: “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” (SGC, 2006; Ahamer, 2004).

The design of social game dynamics is key to “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” as explained earlier (Ahamer, 2006). SGC falls into several categories of “International Relations” gaming (Crookall, 2003a: 221). It uses web based media for social innovation. The main interest of SGC is not so much a technologically highly sophisticated product but the design, interplay and timing of the involved social procedures (briefly explained in chapter 4.1 and Fig. 3).

Building on chapter 3.2, a crucial idea of SGC is that the change of roles is repeated (from actor to spectator and back), which trains wandering and oscillating perspectives and keeps the muscles of the eye trained to adapt to various perspectives (Kristjánsson, 2006: 52):

  • In level 1: from expressing to selecting coined short explanations

  • In level 2: from reviewer to being reviewed

  • In level 3: from one stakeholder to the other

  • In level 4: from discussing to being monitored

  • Level 5 sets out to integrate these perspectives in a composed “360 view” like a baroque world theatre.

Therefore, the macrostructure and microstructure scores of SGC appear as follows, based on experience with a dozen game implementations to date:

Example 05a: macrostructure of scores of “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE”:

Figure 13.

13. Notation for a complex suite of game based learning: “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” – Macrostructure (example 05).

Example 05b: microstructure of scores of “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE”:

Figure 14.

14. Notation for a complex suite of game based learning: “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” – (“La partitura di SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” © G. Ahamer) – Microstructure. Arrows: hi’s.

Each voice exhibits stages with high values (“hi”) and other stages with low values (“lo”), these are highlighted at the very bottom line of Fig. 14 and illustrated later in Fig. 15.

SGC’s choreography in a certain sense represents a unit of a longer societal procedure: Level 5 (Bass) creates also new content for the subsequent year (= meaning of the music sign “fermate” at the end of the bass voice, meaning “hold this position”) which is the “final report” published on the public web outside the internal course web platform (several reports at IP, 2007) that serves as an additional input for the next year’s generation of IP students.

Table 3 explains the graphic elements (“notes”) for the four voices, dwelling on basic social and communicative characteristics of the respective dimensions.

voice social meaning note: graphic element note description symbolizes
Soprano inform containing block inputted information, pushy
Alto build team relaxing impulse is driven, remains when relaxing, hysteresis, structural memory, capacitor unloaded
Tenor debate increasing triangle lancet, cutting, stiff, a shark’s fin, steady growth
Bass integrate sinusoid bell curve, Gaussian peak equilibrating, sinusoidal peak, equilibrated effort, self-moti vated and self-driven , coming and going, autopoietical:..

Table 3.

Graphic elements referred to as “notes” for writing the 4 “voices” of the scores in SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE SGC.

When walking through examples 01 till 05, one could try to learn where the “optimum mixture” or “ideal equilibrium point” of a blend of different ingredients is, e.g. regarding social vs. academic learning. No! Replace this question for a “static equilibrium point” by asking for an optimal “rhythm of fluctuation” around such an idealized optimum, just as the bicycle driver oscillates around his intended path (chapter 3.3).

On a larger scale, one could even conceive a cyclic application of consecutive SGC-like processes, which makes the “hi’s” and “lo’s” of four voices appear in a repeated, even sinusoidal manner (see Fig. 15).

5.5. A first conceptual model of four dimensions in gaming and learning

As a next step of interpretation of the “four voices” pattern in a more stringent way than Table 2 and Fig. 8, Table 4 (above and below) puts them into two pairwise relationships in order to highlight that these four logically independent “social dimensions” are really suited to span up a complete vector space (as in vector calculus) for any human action.

voices characteristic for both dimensions its types of substrate are logo con stituted by characteristic for both notes
S & T ( & ) info space facts point (s) angular = immediate disappearance at end
A & B ( & ) person space communication arrow (s) rounded = sinusoidal, gradually phasing out
voices unit structure its number is logo type note characteristic
S & A ( & ) individual one, the unit onefold steep inception
T & B ( & ) compound (meta level in ) many, structure manifold gradual inception

Table 4.

Pairwise similarities of substrates (above) and unit structures (below) of the four voices.

Table 5 deepens this systematization by attributing structural names such as “the one / many of facts / communications”, respectively. Similar to classical tarot cards (Waite, 2003), each “voice” or “dimension” represents a fundamental principle of life (like C.G. Jung’s archetypes, or planets in the interpretation of astrology) which can “assume a value” (i.e. be in one sign of the zodiac); just as in modern quantum mechanics, where (predisposed) values in state spaces are assumed by the so-called quantum numbers.

Table 5.

Systematic description of the four voices : from “ones” to “structures”.

When reiterating the entire above deliberation for the next (grand) cycle, i.e. the cycle of long-term societal procedures, the result “” will represent a new unit “” for the next iteration of structure building. Exactly here is the link from the “individual scale structurogenesis” (developed in this paper) to the “societal scale structurogenesis” (developed after decade-long experience with the author’s Global Change Data Base (GCDB, 2001).

Connection from social to global structurogenesis

This chapter 5 attempts to explore the question: how are structures created and generated? In a nutshell, SGC embarks on the following procedure of structurogenesis:

  • First on the level of facts: (i) individually (ii) structured

  • Second on the level of communication: (i) individually (ii) structured.

This evolutive pattern is exactly of the same nature as the GCDB trends suggest. Along global techno-socio-economic evolution and in an aggregated view of all economies of all single countries in the world, the following economic sectors are consecutively peaking (i.e. “carrying the melody and motive of evolution”) in their relative importance, starting from “agriculture” to “social services”:

  • First on the level of matter and material: (i) individually (ii) structured

  • Second on the level of infrastructure: (i) individually (ii) structured.

This temporal, but quite systemic order of growth phases could be hypothesized as the “STAB principle of global techno-socio-economic evolution”: In a structural sense, S resembles the sectors of agriculture and mining; T resembles commerce and manufacturing, A resembles construction and transport, B resembles civilizational infrastructure of electricity & gas and financial & social services (quantitative details in Ahamer, 2003: 10).

5.6. If you prefer mathematical language for models

The STAB temporal sequence S T A B as described above is – in a mathematical sense – produced by a system of differential equations

S   ~  T ;   T   ~  A ;   A   ~  B ;   B   ~   S E1

Where ~ equals “proportional” and ’ stands for “first derivative with respect to time”.

A practical argument for the suitability of such a formal structure is the consecutive order of peaks in Fig. 15 which is idealized and generalized from Fig. 14 (lowest 2 lines with “hi’s” and “lo’s”).

Figure 15.

The STAB principle in (individual or societal) learning.

Mathematically, this structure of interrelations creates a four-dimensional standing wave in the four-dimensional state space of “learning”. Such structure is comparable with the two-dimensional standing electromagnetic wave following the mathematical structure E’ ~ H; H’ ~ -E, as in Maxwell’s classical electrodynamic equations (only involving a larger number oof apparent variables). These two (electric E and magnetic H) fields produce a “standing wave” – the basis of all electronic communication.

In a symbolic sense, the “standing social wave” could be hypothesized as “optimal STAB learning path” and could relate to Czikszentmihalyi’s (1994) “flow” state.

5.7. Does the STAB procedure prevail in global techno-socio-economic evolution?

As already mentioned in chapter 5.5, the STAB sequence (Fig. 15) might also be the long-term structure for the evolving relative importance of economic sectors in all countries economics, as measured by the share of GDP (%GDP = GDPsectoral / GDPtotal). Fig. 16 shows the average behavior of all countries’ economies as an idealized trend (each line is the share of one economic sector in percent: %GDP).

The definitions of S, A, T, B would additionally harmonize well with Manuel Castells’ view of a network society pertaining to a “space of flows” which complements a “space of places”:

S =starting point in the material world: elements for “space of places

A =starting point in the network society: elements for “space of flows

T =evolutionary build-up in the material world: emerging structure in “space of places

B =evolutionary build-up in the network society: emerging structure in “space of flows

In this light, civilisatoric evolution can be understood as a global learning process (Fig. 16).

Figure 16.

The global techno-socio-economic evolution might follow the STAB principle. In this “map”, each curve represents the relative importance of an economic sector as a function of economic level (GDP/cap.). Source: GCDB (2001), Ahamer (2003 : 10, 2005 : 103).

Advertisement

6. A quality criterion for effective learning procedures: STAB

SGC represents the “STAB strategy” of informed team building and integration of opinions into a consensus. This abbreviation recalls that the most active voice of the entire score is S, T, A, B, consecutively, along the time of growth. The notion of “progress” has been replaced by the notion of “growth” e.g. already by the American philosopher John Dewey (Berding, 2000; Pragmatism, 2007).

The idea of the “STAB strategy” is that first discussion should take place and second team structures will grow (not the other way round). (In principle, also the other sequence could occur, namely SATB – then team building occurs through personal and affective exchange – but given present experience, to the author this does not seem to be the main path.)

At any rate the procedure does not run directly from the individual sphere to integration! Apparently, humans need such intermediate and mediating steps (T, A) for creating a holistic view (B) on life affairs.

As a result of this paper, a quality criterion for gaming and learning can be expressed on two levels:

  1. On the individual psychological level (micro-learning), a wisely designed and functioning STAB procedure could structurally resemble the “flow state” discovered by Czikszentmihalyi (1994) – which aphoristically could be called the “singing when working” criterion.

  2. As a practical consequence for the societal level (macro-learning), if institutions are conceptualized and structured in a non-dialogic manner (e.g. in a hierarchical manner) they could be seen as structurally suboptimally suited for responding to challenges – e.g. climate change. By inference, dialogic cultures (such as parts of the Anglo-Saxon culture with very old but still vivid democratic traditions, cf Landes, 1999; Mokyr, 1990) seem to be structurally better adapted to respond to severe structural global challenges, such as climate change.

For practical application of this general hypothesis, the art consists in arranging the social processes (sp) in a way that they create and give rise to an optimal societal procedure (SP) – which, in brief, is the task of a “social designer”.

Very generally and mathematically, the optimal STAB design would be defined by optimal growth of any of the four voices on the basis of a suitable rate of change and rhythm of the precursor voice.

Advertisement

7. Debriefing

It should be mentioned here that three levels of debriefing (Crookall, 1992; Lederman, 1992) were implemented for the case study “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” (SGC, 2006); in there a longer section on debriefing can be found:

  1. inside SGC: regular feedbacks between students and facilitators during the game and at its end (upward semicircular arrows in Fig. 2)

  2. on SGC: three written expert judgments from professionals on “game based learning” and “social dynamics” right after the first implementation in 2003

  3. on SGC: official feedbacks from the side of the jury in the prize on media didactics “Medidaprix” (Medidaprix, 2007).

Additionally, inherent feedback activities occur in all levels based on the essence of SGC which is role switch between actor and monitoring spectator (cf. Petranek et al., 1992: 174). All three phases in the debriefing process (Lederman, 1992: 153) are thus operationalized.

Summing up, the “debriefer as co-learner” (Stewart, 1992: 206), namely the facilitator, was the person learning most during the SGC implementations. He, the author, learned from those “who construct meaning”, i.e. the “learners” (Klabbers, 2000: 397).

Advertisement

8. Conclusion

Here “Design” is understood in a generalized way, as a “compound of temporal, spatial and interindividual rhythms enacting procedures” that may pertain to differing substrates (of which chapter 2 gave an overview).

It is useful to discern (i) individual micro-learning and (ii) societal macrolearning.

In order to map complex social, learning or societal procedures, the following four dimensions were introduced in this paper: information conveyed (“soprano”, S), team building (“alto”, A), dialogue of facts (“tenor”, T), and integration with others’ experience (“bass”, B). “Scores” can represent the choreographic structure of such procedures. One objective for writing such scores might be to safeguard their effectiveness for “real” learning.

After analyzing several years of experience with the negotiation game “SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE” (SGC), and more than a decade of work with practical procedures in climate protection measures and monitoring global evolution of techno-socio-economic structures (GCDB), the following two generalized conclusions are suggested (chapter 5.5):

  1. If a communicational culture or an institutional landscape is constituted including a dialogic and team oriented component, chances are higher that such human cultures respond better to severe complex global challenges such as global warming.

  2. If a societal procedure allows for the “STAB” sequence, it could be better apt for such complex evolutionary challenges. The “STAB” approach was developed in this paper and means that the evolution of societal structures follows this path: increased learning of single facts generates and enhances dialogue which after growth generates team building that after growth prompts integration of differing views.

The main question to be answered is: Which sequence of gaming framework conditions delivers an optimal learning effect (understood here as real change of behaviour), independently of the initial stage of mastery of the learners? – The answer is: if structures are growing. Namely, if a sufficient level of S (= information) produces a structure of T (= dialog), sufficient T produces a structure of A (= team), and sufficient A a B (= integration) structure. In other words, if the (rhythmized) learning sequence of S, T, A, and B finally produces adequate 360 worldviews for all participating individual learners, then the choreography and design were successful. Such findings are in principle supported by structural pattern analysis of economic global long-term trends, if societal evolution is understood as societal macro-learning process.

As a concluding hypothesis in a nutshell, this suggestion for “Managing Global Change” is delivered: National and supranational frameworks should allow for the “STAB sequence of societal procedures”, i.e. rhythmically include debate, team building and integration of opposing views. Resulting (societal) structure building facilitates sustainable consensus and hence is effective for a humane reality of living.

References

  1. 1. ACCC 2007 Emission Trading. The Austrian Climate Portal, http://www.accc.at.
  2. 2. Ahamer G. 2003 Structural change in energy economics. Lecture notes for a Peak Oil Seminar (http://math.uni-graz.at/keeling/peakoil/dokumentation.html), Graz Univ., http://www.uni-graz.at/globalstudies/deposit/USW_VisionWirtschaftsEnergiekapitel.pdf.
  3. 3. Ahamer G. 2004 Negotiate your Future: Web Based Role Play. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 21(1), 35 58 .
  4. 4. Ahamer G. 2005 Imposing a Dialogue Helps to Minimize a “Clash of Cultures”. In Tschandl, M. (Ed.), The Challenge of the EU Enlargement (35 63 ). Graz: Leykam.
  5. 5. Ahamer G. Rauch H. 2006 From “Vertical” to “Horizontal” Didactics- Generating a Tissue of Perspectives of “Global Change”. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung 1(2), 127-147, http://www.zfhe.at.
  6. 6. Ahamer G. Schrei C. 2006 Exercise’Technology Assessment’ through a gaming procedure. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 224-252.
  7. 7. Akademie 2006 3x7=21: A discursive structure for quality enhancement in interdisciplinary university courses. Academy for New Media and Technology Transfer http://www.uni-graz.at/anmwww/anmwww_fachbereiche/anmwww_mediendidaktik.htm, or http://www-gewi.uni-graz.at/cocoon/mdm/text?pid=anmw-mdm-3mal7ist21, Graz University.
  8. 8. Aschemann R. 2004 Lessons learned from Austrian SEAs. European Environment, 14(3), 165 174 .
  9. 9. Badke-Schaub P. 2004 Strategies of experts in engineering design: between innovation and routine behaviour. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).
  10. 10. Bechmann G. Decker M. Fiedeler U. Krings B. J. 2007 TA in a complex world. International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 3(1), 6-27.
  11. 11. Beilharz K. 2004 Designing Sounds and Spaces- Interdisciplinary Rules & Proportions in Generative Stochastic Music and Architecture. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).
  12. 12. Berding J. W. A. 2000 John Dewey’s participatory philosophy of education- Education, experience and curriculum. The history of education and childhood, Nijmegen University, http://members.ziggo.nl/jwa.berding/Summarydiss.doc.
  13. 13. Bianconi F. Saetta S. A. Tiacci L. 2006 A web-based simulation game as a learning tool for the design process of complex systems. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 253-272.
  14. 14. Bilda Z. Gero J. S. Purcell T. 2006 To sketch or not to sketch- That is the question. Design Studies, 27(5), 587-613.
  15. 15. Bossel H. 2004 Model Building and Simulation. Vieweg, Braunschweig.
  16. 16. Bouchard C. Aoussat A. Duchamp R. 2006 Role of sketching in conceptual design of car styling. Journal of Design Research, 5(1), 116 148 .
  17. 17. Boujut J. F. Tiger H. 2002 A Socio-Technical Research Method for Analyzing and Instrumenting the Design Activity. Journal of Design Research, 2(2).
  18. 18. Casakin H. 2004 Visual Analogy as a Cognitive Strategy in the Design Process. Expert Versus Novice Performance. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).
  19. 19. Corbeil P. 2005 History and the Computer in Canadian Institutions: An Overview. Social Science Computer Review, 23(5), 181 189 .
  20. 20. Corbusier 2007 Fondation Le Corbusier. http://www.fondationlecorbusier.asso.fr.
  21. 21. Couvent de la Tourette 2006 http://www.couventlatourette.com, last retrieved 3.2.06.
  22. 22. Crookall D. Bradford W. 2000 Impact of climate change on water resources planning. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers- Civil Engineering, 138(2), 44 48 .
  23. 23. Crookall D. 2003 The Art and Science of Design. Simulation & Gaming- An International Journal, 34(4), 485 .
  24. 24. Crookall D. 2003a International Relations and Simulation. Simulation & Gaming- An International Journal, 34(4), 221-225.
  25. 25. Czikszentmihalyi M. 1994 Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. Nightingale-Conant, New York.
  26. 26. Daly H. 1999 Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Beacon Press.
  27. 27. Decker M. 2001 Implementation and Limits of Interdisciplinarity in European Technology Assessment. Berlin, Springer.
  28. 28. Decker M. Ladikas M. 2004 Bridges between Science, Society and Policy. Technology Assessment- Methods and Impacts. Berlin, Springer.
  29. 29. Dong A. 2007 The enactment of design through language. Design Studies, 28(1), 5 21 .
  30. 30. Dorst K. Cross N. 2001 Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem-solution. Design Studies, 22(5), 425 437 .
  31. 31. EC 2007 Pre-Accession Assistance for Institution Building- Twinning. See http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/financial_assistance/institution_building/twinning_en.htm and Twinning Brochure “Building Europe Together”, see http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/twinning_brochure_2005_en.pdf
  32. 32. ESD 2007 Motivation and Guiding Idea of the NGO “European Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Development” ESD, Vienna, see http://www.esd-eu.org.
  33. 33. GCDB 2001 A Structured Basket of Models for Global Change. In C. Rautenstrauch and S. Patig (Eds.) Environmental Information Systems in Industry and Public Administration (101 136 ). Hershey: Idea Group Publishing.
  34. 34. Grunwald A. 1999 Technology Assessment or Ethics of Technology? Reflections on Technology Development between Social Sciences and Philosophy. Ethical Perspectives, 6(2), 170-182.
  35. 35. GS 2007 Global Studies: Master Curriculum. http://www.uni-graz.at/globalstudies.
  36. 36. Heaton L. 2002 Designing Work. Situating Design Objects in Cultural Context. Journal of Design Researchournal of Design Research, 2(2).
  37. 37. HdZ 2007 Research Programme “House of the future” by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and research, http://www.hausderzukunft.at.
  38. 38. Hellinger B. 2000 Ordnungen der Liebe. Knaur. (In English: The Art and Practice of Family Constellations Leading Family Constellations as Developed by Bert Hellinger, ed Ulsamer, B., Tucker & Theisen, 2003).
  39. 39. Herder P. M. Turk A. L. Subrahmanian E. Westerberg A. W. 2003 Collaborative Learning in a Cross-Atlantic Design Course. Journal of Design Research, 3(2).
  40. 40. Hofmeyer H. Rutten H. S. Fijneman H. J. 2006 Interaction of spatial and structural design, an automated approach. Design Studies, 27(4), 423 438 .
  41. 41. Hofstede G. 1994 Cultures and Organisations. HarperCollinsBusiness, London.
  42. 42. Huizinga J. 1994 Homo Ludens. Beacon Press.
  43. 43. IP 2005 World in a change? Comparison of three socio-economic, climatic and technologic perspectives of the future. Interdisciplinary Practical, see http://www.uni-graz.at/en/usw1www_le_studreinfo_ip_weltwandelkurzinfo.pdf.
  44. 44. IP 2007 = Passive Houses and Low Energy Houses. Final Report, http://www.uni-graz.at/usw1www/usw1www_publikationen/usw1www_berichte.htm, USW Report 2006/01.
  45. 45. IPCC 2007 Fourth Assessment Report. www.ipcc.ch and http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/
  46. 46. Jarvenpaa S. L. Leidner D. E. 1998 Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3(4), see http://jcmc.indiana.edu/
  47. 47. JDR 2006 Special Issue on the use of games in and for design. Journal for Design Research 5(2), 149-154, see http://www.inderscience.com.
  48. 48. Johns R. Shaw J. 2006 Real-time immersive design collaboration: conceptualising, prototyping and experiencing design ideas. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 172 187 .
  49. 49. KEK 1997 Municipal Energy Concept of the City of Graz, Report Series “KEK-Reports”, http://www.oekostadt.graz.at/cms/beitrag/10084666/1624842/.
  50. 50. Klabbers J. H. G. 2000 Learning as acquisition and learning as interaction. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 31(3), 380 406
  51. 51. Klabbers J. H. G. 2003 Gaming and simulation: Principles of a science of design. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 34(4), 569-591.
  52. 52. Kratena K. Schleicher S. Friedl B. Schnitzer H. Gartner H. Jank W. Ahamer G. Radunsky K. 1998 The Toronto Technology Program. Austrian Council on Climate Change, November 1998, http://www.accc.at/pdf/ttp98.pdf.
  53. 53. Kristjánsson K. 2006 Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom- An Aristotelian Critique. Educational Theory, 56(1), 39-56.
  54. 54. Landes D. S. 1999 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. Norton, New York.
  55. 55. Lloyd J. R. 2004 INTEnD: A Dispersed, Virtual Engineering Design Team Approach to Globalize Engineering Education. Journal of Design Research, 4(4).
  56. 56. Lourdel N. Harpet C. Laforest V. Gondran N. Brodhag C. 2006 Sustainable development training by simulation of an industrial crisis. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 188-200.
  57. 57. LRP 1995 Graz Municipal Plan for Air Hygiene, http://www.feinstaubfrei.at/down/LRP-ZF.pdf
  58. 58. Mac Gregor. S. 2002 New Perspectives for Distributed Design Support. Journal of Design Research, 2(1).
  59. 59. Maher M. L. Tang H. H. 2003 Co-evolution as a computational and cognitive model of design. Research in Engineering Design, 14(1), 47 63 .
  60. 60. Mayer I. Veenemann W. 2002 Games in a World of Infrastructures. Simulation-games for Research, Learning and Intervention. Eburon, Delft.
  61. 61. Mayer I. S. van Daalen C. E. Bots P. W. G. 2004 Perspectives on policy analyses: a framework for understanding and design. Int. J. Technology, Policy and Management, 4(2), 169-191.
  62. 62. Mayer I. S. Bockstael-Blok W. Valentin E. C. 2004 A Building Block Approach to Simulation: An Evaluation Using Containers Adrift. Simulation & Gaming- An International Journal, 35(3), 29-52.
  63. 63. Mayer I. S. van Bueren E. M. Bots P. W. G. van der Voort H. 2005 Collaborative decisionmaking for sustainable urban renewal projects: a simulation-gaming approach. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 32 403 423 .
  64. 64. Medidaprix 2007 Finalists of the prize on media didactics. http://www.medidaprix.org/mdd_2007/dynframeset_006.html.
  65. 65. Mokyr J. 1990 The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. New York: Oxford University Press.
  66. 66. Moser I. Moser F. 2005 The Disappearance of the Universe. Graz.
  67. 67. Ono M. M. 2006 Cultural diversity as a strategic source for designing pleasurable and competitive products, within the globalisation context. Journal of Design Research, 5(1), 3 15 .
  68. 68. Ossimitz G. 2000 Development of Systemic Thinking. Theoretical Concepts and empirical Investigations. Klagenfurt University, http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/~gossimit.
  69. 69. Pilch B. Aschemann R. Ahamer G. 1992 Luftreinhaltung in der Stadtökologie- eine Systemanalyse. Mitteilungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins Steiermark, 122 19 27 .
  70. 70. Popov L. S. 2002 Architecture as Social Design. The Social Nature of Design Objects and the Implications for the Profession. Journal of Design Researchournal of Design Research, 2(2).
  71. 71. Pragmatism 2007 Dewey as founder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism.
  72. 72. Prensky M. 2001 Digital Game-Based Learning. McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001.
  73. 73. Restrepo J. Christiaans H. 2004 Problem Structuring and Information Access in Design. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).
  74. 74. Raskin P. et al. 2002 The Great Transition. Stockholm Environment Institute, http://www.sei.se.
  75. 75. Roth W. M. Lawless D. V. Masciotra D. 2001 Spielraum and Teaching. Curriculum Inquiry, 31(2), 183 207 .
  76. 76. Schrei C. 2006 Minimal. Master Thesis, see: http://www.nook.at/minimal/.
  77. 77. Schrei C. 2007 Information design and graphic design. See: http://www.definite.at/.
  78. 78. SGC 2006 Surfing Global Change: Negotiating sustainable solutions. Simulation & Gaming- an International Journal, 37(3), 380 397 . http://sag.sagepub.com.
  79. 79. SI 2007 Austrian-Dutch submission for the Twinning SI2006/IB/EN/01 “Development of financial instruments for water management based on Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC”, Federal Environment Agency Vienna.
  80. 80. SiP 2004 Didactics: Are we in the trend?- Is the trend in us? Journal of the Society of Living with Children, 36 (May 2004), 6-9, directly at http://knallerbse.world4you.at/files/schulzeitung/schulzeitung_36_artikel_2.pdf or see Schule- Schulzeitung- Archiv at http://www.knallerbse.at.
  81. 81. Temple J. 1999 The New Growth Evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), 112-156.
  82. 82. UBA 2004 Greenhouse gases and climate change, http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/ fileadmin/site/umweltkontrolle/2004/E0601_klima.pdf
  83. 83. UBA 2007 UVP Dokumentation. Genehmigung & Feststellung, see http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/umweltschutz/uvpsupemas/uvpoesterreich1/uvpdatenbank.
  84. 84. UNFCCC 2007 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, see http://unfccc.int.
  85. 85. USW 2007 Interdisciplinary Practicals in the curriculum of Environmental Systems Science http://www.uni-graz.at/en/usw1www/usw1www_lehre/usw1www_lehre_ip.htm, (USW = Umweltsystemwissenschaften).
  86. 86. Simulation & Gaming 2007 Ready-to-use simulation games. Section in the highly ranking international journal S&G, see http://www.unice.fr/sg or http://sag.sagepub.com.
  87. 87. SGC 2006 SURFING GLOBAL CHANGE: Negotiating sustainable solutions. Simulation & Gaming- an International Journal, 37(3), 380-397, see http://sag.sagepub.com.
  88. 88. SonEnvir 2007 Sonification Environment: a sonification project. http://sonenvir.at.
  89. 89. Van Bueren E. Van Der Voort H. Maas N. 2006 The Sureuro Gaming Exercise: designing a game for sustainable refurbishment by housing companies. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 201 223 .
  90. 90. Vester F. 1980 Sensitivitätsmodell. Frankfurt/Main.
  91. 91. Vocal Consort 2007 Score Isaac, http://www.vocalconsort.at/repertoireframeset.htm
  92. 92. Waite A. E. 2003 Universal Waite Tarot Deck with Book. US games.
  93. 93. WegCenter 2007 An Inconvenient Truth: Austria and the Kyoto Target, http://www.uni-graz.at/en/igam7www/igam7www_aktuell/igam7www_oeffentliche_statements.htm
  94. 94. Weick K. E. 1979 The social psychology of organizing. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
  95. 95. Weinberg A. 2007 Psychodrama & sociodrama. http://www.alfred-weinberg-psychodrama.de or http://www.psychodrama-deutschland.de.
  96. 96. Wodehouse A. Bradley D. 2006 Gaming techniques and the product development process: commonalities and cross-applications. Journal of Design Research, 5(2), 155 171 .
  97. 97. Xenakis I. 2007 Selection of compositions. http://www.iannis-xenakis.org.
  98. 98. Zangemeister D. 1970 Nutzwertanalyse in der Systemtechnik- Eine Methodik zur multidimensionalen Bewertung und Auswahl von Projektalternativen, Wittemann.
  99. 99. Zermeg III 2007 Decision guidance for the visualisation of the achievements of sustainable corporate strategies. Final report to the Austrian Ministry of Science, http://www.fabrikderzukunft.at.
  100. 100. Zographos M. 2007 Iannis Xenakis: the aesthetics of his early works. http://www.furious.com/perfect/xenakis.html.

Written By

Gilbert Ahamer

Published: 01 February 2010