Punching clouds
Subtitle: an introduction to the complexity of public decision-making
By: Lasse Gerrits
Publisher: Emergent Publications
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Litchfield Park, AZ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 235
ISBN-13: 9781938158070; 9781938158001
Subjects: Public administration; Decision making; Complexity (Philosophy); Decision Making; Prise de décision; Complexité (Philosophie)
Description: "Why is it that many large public projects run out of control in terms of scope, budget and time? How can it be explained that urban regeneration programs are highly successful in one neighborhood but fail to deliver in an adjacent neighborhood? Why is it that public policies can return unexpected and sometimes even unwanted outcomes, despite meticulous planning? Why is public decision-making such a complex affair? The world is an erratic place, full of surprises, some of which are wanted and others are unwanted. Public decision-making in this world is like punching clouds: considerable energy is put into the punching but the cloud goes its own way, despite the punches. Recent ideas and insights from the complexity sciences improve our understanding of the intricate nature of public decision-making. This book offers a bridge between the study of public decision-making in the domain of Public Administration on the one hand, and the complexity sciences on the other hand. It is aimed at (doctoral) students and scholars in Public Administration who are curious about how the complexity sciences can inform the analysis and understanding of public decision-making. The book introduces important concepts such as systems, non-linear dynamics, self-organization and coevolution, and discusses their relevance to public decision-making. It also proposes a case-based research method for researching this complexity."--publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 200-228) and index.
Table of contents: title: pt. I. Complexity and public decision; title: making. The complex part of public decision; title: making ; What is complexity? ; Why is there so much complexity and why can't we stop it? ; What basic approaches to understanding complexity are there? ; What can we say about complexity? ; Black boxes of causality ; Overview of the book; title: pt. II. Being dependent : complex adaptive systems. Introduction ; A first exercise in systems thinking ; The origin of systems ; Introducing humans, and the effect of semiotics and learning ; Systems in public decision; title: making ; Boundaries and hierarchies in governmental organizations ; A first conceptualization of complex adaptive systems in public administration ; Drawing lines ; CAS as policy action systems ; Conclusions; title: pt. III. Being dynamic : between inertia and randomness. Introduction ; Case pars pro toto : the extension of the Port of Hamburg ; Feedback ; Non; title: ergodic chance events ; Non; title: linear dynamics at the systems level ; Punctuated equilibrium and hysteresis ; Path dependency and lock; title: in ; Carrying capacity, disturbances and resilience ; Conclusions; title: pt. IV. Being human : coping with complexity. Introduction ; The experience ; Chance and time; title: asymmetry ; Uncertainty and risk ; Simplification ; The mind ; Heuristics ; Simple rules, complex behavior ; The group ; Autopoiesis and self; title: organization ; Conclusions; title: pt. V. Coevolutionary public decision; title: making. Introduction ; Coevolution in decision; title: making ; Coevolutionary mechanisms ; The allure of the fitness landscape ; A fitness landscape for public decision; title: making ; Dynamics in fitness landscapes (1) : adaptation, diversity and temporality ; Dynamics in fitness landscapes (2) : rugged landscapes and adaptive walks ; Dynamics in fitness landscapes (3) : attractors and trajectories ; Conclusions : a coevolutionary revision of public decision; title: making processes; title: pt. VI. Being inquisitive : researching complexity. Introduction ; Real complexity, complex reality ; A critical realist ontology ; Focal points : context and time ; Qualitative comparative analysis ; Zooming in : understanding in; title: depth case studies ; Zooming out : comparing case studies in fuzzy sets ; Issues with FSQCA ; Causality and general laws ; Conclusions.