Purpose: Critical realism is an increasingly popular "lens" through which complex events, entities and phenomena can be studied. Yet detailed operationalisations of critical realism are at present relatively scarce. This study's objective here is built on existing debates by developing an open systems model of reality, a basis for…

Agent-based modeling is a promising tool for familiarizing students with complex systems as well as programming skills. Human-environment systems, for instance, entail complex interdependencies that need to be considered when modeling these systems. This complexity is often neglected in teaching modeling approaches. For a heterogeneous group of…

Purpose: This research aimed to examine the impact of input, process, output, productivity and outcome variables on university research performance and the indicators that represent them in order to improve academic quality and contribute to government policy. Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative approach was used through a survey method…

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a business model that must be mastered by students in the Bioentrepreneurship course as an initial provision for entering the entrepreneurial world, while in compiling Business Model Canvas (BMC) systematic thinking skills are needed. This study aims to provide an assessment instrument to measure students' system…

This article presents an approach to use complex adaptive systems thinking to construct a theory of change to plan and evaluate transformational interventions. The article draws on the concepts of domains, scales, agents, and emergence to build a model of the system targeted by the intervention, to identify the chains of causality driving the…

The literature on innovation and regional economic development shows widespread references to 'systems' but relatively little application of systems thinking and problem structuring methods. Innovation models are thus under-theorised with operationally-based maps that link the structure of innovation systems to behaviour and possible policy…

This paper addresses the question of why young Australians with intellectual disability (ID) remain underrepresented in open employment despite significant investment by various stakeholders. It uses the analogy of Whack-a-Mole (an arcade game) to draw attention to the complexity young people face during transition, and to illustrate how…

The use of system dynamics as a learning tool for developing sustainable energy strategies and environmental education has advanced in recent years with the availability of new modelling software and webtools. Among the existing models, we highlight the online 2050 Calculators, which aim at simulating scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions, energy…

Youth is a dynamically developing social group that actively participates in the reproduction process of the social and professional structure of society. The complication of production processes and rapid scientific and technological progress increase the importance of this social group in Russian society. This scientific article attempts to…

Educational developers need to assess the work of their Centres, from program participation and impact to underlying organizational processes. Various frameworks exist, but developers may feel unsure how to get started. We developed a planning model that offers a structured, systematic approach for developing comprehensive assessment systems that…

The notions of inclusion and diversity are increasingly used in a wide variety of areas in public debate and policy, as well as in educational curriculum and policy documents in New Zealand and internationally since the UNESCO Salamanca Statement in 1994. What is meant by inclusion and diversity in many of these contexts is often rather unclear,…

From the complex dynamic systems theory perspective, evaluating CALL pedagogy involves miscellaneous variables. It seems the ecosystem of the CALL environment necessitates an array of extralinguistic (Ecolinguistically situated) issues to be considered in any appraisal of the CALL milieu. To this end, this paper aims to develop and validate a…

Micro-credentials research, which includes digital badges, is a relatively new field of study that seeks to inform the implementation, portability and sustainability of the ecology of meaningful delivery. This paper reviews literature relevant to understanding connections between universities' intent to offer micro-credentials and the environment…

Agent-based models combine data and theory during both development and use of the model. As models have become increasingly data driven, it is easy to start thinking of agent-based modelling as an empirical method, akin to statistical modelling, and reduce the role of theory. We argue that both types of information are important where the past is…

The main aim of this study is to teach students to take a systems perspective in understanding complex biological problems. Two lessons were designed and tested in two secondary classes (15- to 16-year-old students), using a lesson study approach. Three students from each class were observed more closely when visualizing and reasoning about two…