Acknowledgements
We now live in a global village where distance in no longer a barrier to commercial or social contact. This unit will enable you to gain an understanding of the information and communication technologies that drive our networked world and how they now permeate our everyday lives.
2.3 ICTs and you
We now live in a global village where distance in no longer a barrier to commercial or social contact. This unit will enable you to gain an understanding of the information and communication technologies that drive our networked world and how they now permeate our everyday lives.
2.1Networked devices you use every day
We now live in a global village where distance in no longer a barrier to commercial or social contact. This unit will enable you to gain an understanding of the information and communication technologies that drive our networked world and how they now permeate our everyday lives.
1.1Data and information
We now live in a global village where distance in no longer a barrier to commercial or social contact. This unit will enable you to gain an understanding of the information and communication technologies that drive our networked world and how they now permeate our everyday lives.
4.3 Networks of objects
Enterprise systems are software applications that automate and integrate all many of the key business processes of an organisation. With some understanding of software development, you will learn about current development practices for this type of system and develop relevant skills to apply them to real-world problems. You will develop core skills in object-oriented analysis and design, allowing you to develop software that is fit for purpose, reusable and amenable to change.
5 Energy services and efficiency improvement
The search for sustainable energy will dominate the twenty-first century. This unit provides an introductory overview of the present energy systems and takes a brief look at where the world may find energy in the future – cleaner use of fossil fuels or renewable energy sources?
3 Present energy sources and sustainability
The search for sustainable energy will dominate the twenty-first century. This unit provides an introductory overview of the present energy systems and takes a brief look at where the world may find energy in the future – cleaner use of fossil fuels or renewable energy sources?
2 Definitions: energy, sustainability and the future
The search for sustainable energy will dominate the twenty-first century. This unit provides an introductory overview of the present energy systems and takes a brief look at where the world may find energy in the future – cleaner use of fossil fuels or renewable energy sources?
1 Why sustainable energy matters
The search for sustainable energy will dominate the twenty-first century. This unit provides an introductory overview of the present energy systems and takes a brief look at where the world may find energy in the future – cleaner use of fossil fuels or renewable energy sources?
2008.03.25-Smart Power
Smart Power: Leadership in Today's World features Joseph Nye, Professor of Inernational Relations and former Dean of the Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and author of "The Powers to LEAD."
6.3 Where is the complexity and what is it? When I reflect on my experiences of child-support, I attribute the properties of mess, complex, or hard-to-understand to the situation. So, are mess, complex, and hard-to-understand the same thing? If they are, why is the course called Managing Complexity, rather than, say, Managing Messes? A glib answer is you might not have been attracted to it because of the everyday meaning of mess. Yet another answer is that complexity is a rich term whose everyday meanings have been further enriched by
5.3 Appreciating your basis for understanding In my experience, the explanation that Fell and Russell suggest (i.e. that we each construct our own version of reality and therefore cannot be an objective observer; which in turn means we have to take responsibility for our observations and explanations) is challenging for many people. When I attend workshops where these ideas are expressed for the first time, people often become angry. You may be able to identify with them. If so, please try to use your discomfort productively for your own
5.2 Being aware of the constraints and possibilities of the observer It is often claimed that the essence of a systems approach is that of seeing the world in a special way. This immediately prompts the question of what is meant by the phrase ‘seeing the world’. Because we live so intimately with the world of objects, categories and people and phenomena, we tend to think our own way of seeing the world is the only way, or even of thinking, ‘Well that is my view because the world is like that’. Actually, your view is special in several separat
3.1 Introduction I wonder if you experience complexity in your daily life? For much of the time I struggle to keep my head above water as I try to understand and manage the complexity I experience as part of everyday life. I find social commentator and cartoonist Michael Leunig's depiction of a solitary figure looking through an ‘understandascope’ (Figure 2) a particularly skilled way of capturing the sense of bewilderment I someti
2.3 Appreciating epistemological issues Common sense tells me my experience and understanding of the world are limited. I am 173 cm in height. That limits my view of the world. It may not matter much that I cannot see what my house looks like from above but it does mean there will be things going on in the roof I may not notice until they impinge on areas that I can experience. More significantly, there is a real limitation on understanding the experiences of other people. You might tell me about your experience but your desc
2.2 Taking responsibility for your own learning Not much of this unit conforms to the traditional pattern I mentioned earlier – the theory-example-exercise pattern. In particular, you will find you are expected to discover much of it for yourself. Why is this? This is a legitimate question and deserves a full answer. One year, a student at a residential summer school complained I had not taught him properly. I was, he told me, an expert and so why did I not demonstrate how to tackle the problem he was working on and pass my expertise on
2.1 The nature of systems thinking and systems practice There are no simple definitions for either systems thinking or systems practice. It's difficult to find definitions that capture all the perspectives that the ideas carry for people who think of themselves as systems thinkers and systems practitioners. Most systems practitioners seem to experience the same kind of difficulty in explaining what they do or what it means to be systemic in their thinking. Through experience I've developed some criteria by which I characterize systems thinking, bu
3.1.5 Digital media for medical X-rays
The human eye is a fascinating and complicated device, but how do digital cameras capture images? This unit examines one of the human–machine interfaces that link optical information to the electronic world. You will learn how the components within a digital camera capture images for electronic manipulation.
3.1.3 Micro lenses
The human eye is a fascinating and complicated device, but how do digital cameras capture images? This unit examines one of the human–machine interfaces that link optical information to the electronic world. You will learn how the components within a digital camera capture images for electronic manipulation.
3.1.1 Read-out
The human eye is a fascinating and complicated device, but how do digital cameras capture images? This unit examines one of the human–machine interfaces that link optical information to the electronic world. You will learn how the components within a digital camera capture images for electronic manipulation.













