Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 13242 result(s) returned

6.4.2 Manufacturing the boat

Filling the mould is a serious problem in injection moulding: the lower the MFI, the more difficult it is to push molten polymer down narrow tubes into a metal mould. The engineers at Rolinx, the trade moulders who initiated the thermoplastic project, were working at the limits of their machinery in moulding such large objects in one operation. In the event, they were forced to blend the low MFI copolymer grade with a higher MFI grade material (GY702M) in order to achieve their objective (
Author(s): No creator set

Learning outcomes

After working through these materials you should be able to:

  • describe and use a general classification of models;

  • outline and discuss the process of systems modelling, where models are used as part of a systemic approach to a range of different situations;

  • recognise that systems models may be used in different ways as part of a process for: improving understanding of a situation; identifying problems or formulating opportunities; supporting decision
    Author(s): No creator set

    License information
    Related content

    Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

Acknowledgements

The following material is Proprietary and is used under licence:

Text

Various pages: Arup, O., material accessed in January 2002 and December 2000, from.

Box 1: Inman, P. ‘Chaotic scheme that left families relying on food parcels’, The Guardian, 6 July 2005. © Guardian News and Media Ltd 2005.

Box 2: ‘Fly-away drones put robot air force
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

5.3 The rebound effect
Access to safe, clean and sustainable energy supplies is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity during the twenty-first century. This unit will survey the world’s present energy systems and their sustainability problems, together with some of the possible solutions to those problems and how these might emerge in practice.
Author(s): The Open University

License information
Related content

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see http://www.open.ac.uk/conditions terms and conditions), this content is made available under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2

2.2 Introduction to communication

In Reading 2.1 I identified communication with others as being an important way in which humans learn. Unlike many other anim
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

4.3.1 ‘Players in the game’
Are you always the quiet one when it comes to group discussion? This unit will help you improve your working relationships with other people in groups of three or more. This unit also deals with project life cycles, project management and the role of the leader.
Author(s): The Open University

License information
Related content

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see http://www.open.ac.uk/conditions terms and conditions), this content is made available under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2

Stage 6: Debate on feasible and desirable changes

The comparison undertaken in the previous stage can have two results.

  • It can cause opinions to change on the problem situation and the issues arising from it.

  • It can provide an agenda for change.

In either case (though both may result), the objective of this stage is to debate, with all concerned, the changes proposed to ensure that they are both desirable and feasible. The aim is to arrive at consensus about the prop
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

References

Abowd, G., Atkeson, C. G., Brotherton, J., Enqvist, T., Gulley, P. and LeMon, J. (1998) ‘Investigating the capture, integration and access problem of ubiquitous computing in an educational setting’, Proceedings of CHI ‘98: Human Factors in Computing Systems, New York, ACM Press.
Bannon, L. J. and Kuutti, K. (1996) ‘Shifting perspectives on organizational memory: from storage to active re
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

4.4.1 The map isn't the territory

The expression ‘the map isn't the territory’ draws attention to the difference between complex reality and simplified models of it. Normally, the territory is relatively stable and different maps are produced for different purposes; the territory shapes the maps, not vice versa. However, when the ‘territory’ comprises people who know that they – or their work activities – are being mapped, we find ourselves in a reflexive loop: the people can see how they and thei
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

4.2.1 Mapping who knows what continued

Box 4.2 Knowledge sharing at Hewlett-Packard

One knowledge management initiative involves HP educators. Bruce Karney is a member of the infrastructure team for the Corporate Education organisation, part of HP's Personnel function. Karney estimates that there are more than 2,000 educators or trainers
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

2.5 Design implications

The difficulties just described have very practical implications when it comes to designing technologies. Consider the following quotations:

in selecting any representation we are in the very same act unavoidably making a set of decisions about how and what to see in the world …

a knowledge representation is a set of ontological commitments. It is unavoidably so because of the inevitable imperfectio
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

2.4.1 From Heidegger to knowledge technologies

Because each transformation from one ‘knowledge state’ to another (Figure 2) is an act of interpretation, there is no such thing as objective knowledge representation, or indeed objective classification or codification of any sort (in software or any other medium): there is always a viewpoint. This leads to the view that information and communication systems cannot be thought of as neutral; in their formal structures and operations they embody the goals and perspectives of their deve
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

Acknowledgements

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:

Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

References

Brown, A. (1995) Organisational Culture, London, Pitman.
Crace, J. (2000) ‘Feel at home with a job abroad’, Guardian, 14 October.
Drennan, D. (1992) Transforming Company Culture, London, McGraw Hill.
Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values, Lon
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

Activity 2

Click on 'View document' below to open and read the remainder of Audrey Linkman's article on 'Photography and art theory', then answer the questions.

Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence - see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ - Original copyright The Open University

Form vs. Function
Students model and design the sound environment for a room. They analyze the sound performance of different materials that symbolize wallpaper, thick curtains, and sound-absorbing panels. Referring to the results of this analysis, they then design another room based on certain specifications and test their design.
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Studying changing faces in the solar system
In this middle-school level activity, students work as NASA scientists to make repeated observations of our Sun and the planets to determine their rotation rates. First, students create a playground model of rotation and create representative diagrams. Students then observe NASA images of sunspots to determine the rotation rate of our Sun. In the last phase, students download NASA movies from the Internet and measure rotation rates for objects in the solar system.
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

How Much Water Do We Use?
What is our water budget? Studying watersheds is one way to understand how much water we use.
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

History of Economic Cycles (~1800-2000)
Cycles Research is not a commonly studied subject and yet there are definite trends in history in the finding of information about cycles. Starting with Sir William Herschel there have been reports of various length cycles in many economic variables including commodity yields and prices, stock markets, business conditions, building activity, growth, price fluctuations and industrial production. The common cycles periods found over extended time periods are mentioned and the people that they are
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Nobody's Perfect
This brief OLogy article helps kids understand that even Einstein made mistakes and didn't always finish everything he started. And, more importantly, that both his mistakes and his unfinished work also led to new ways of thinking. The article uses Einstein's Unified Field Theory as evidence of the value that can be found in imperfection.
Author(s): No creator set

License information
Related content

Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663