Embracing Technology and the Challenges of Complexity

Robbin, Alice

doi:10.31269/triplec.v9i1.245

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…The claim that the world is more complex than it used to be has become accepted truth in our postmodern society. The examples are endless: organisational leadership is more complex, economic trade is more complex, communication technology is more complex, government policy is more complex, social relations are more complex, and health care is more complex . In medical education, this means that we are faced with the challenge of developing capable professionals in the context of increasingly complex patient, organisational and cultural forces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is the state of complexity science in medical education research?

2018

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Context ‘Complexity’ is fast becoming a ‘god term’ in medical education, but little is known about how scholars in the field apply complexity science to the exploration of education phenomena. Complexity science presents both opportunities and challenges to those wishing to adopt its approaches in their research, and debates about its application in the field have emerged. However, these debates have tended towards a reductive characterisation of complexity versus simplicity. We argue that a more productive discussion centres on the multiplicity of complexity orientations, with their diverse disciplinary roots, concepts and terminologies. We discuss this multiplicity and use it to explore how medical education researchers have taken up complexity science in prominent journals in the field. Methods We synthesised the health sciences and medical education literature based on 46 papers published in the last 18 years (2000–2017) to describe the patterns of use of complexity science in medical education and to consider the consequences of those patterns for our ability to advance scholarly conversations about ‘complex’ phenomena in our field. Results We identified four patterns in the use of complexity science in medical education research. Firstly, complexity science is described in a variety of ways. Secondly, multiple approaches to complexity are used in combination in single papers. Thirdly, the type of complexity science used tends to be left implicit. Fourthly, the complexity orientation used is much more commonly located using secondary source citation rather than primary source citation. Conclusions The presence of these four patterns begs the question: Do medical education scholars understand that there are multiple legitimate orientations to complexity science, deriving from distinct disciplinary origins, drawing on different metaphors and serving distinct purposes? If we do not understand this, a cascade of potential consequences awaits. We may assume that complexity science is singular in that there is only one way to do it. This assumption may cause us to perceive our way as the ‘right’ way and to disregard other approaches as illegitimate. However, this perception of illegitimacy may limit our ability to enter into productive dialogue about our complexity science‐inspired research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is the state of complexity science in medical education research?

2018

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Negotiating the New Media Platforms: Youth and Political Images in Kenya

Mukhongo

2014

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New media platforms, particularly social networks act as vehicles for visual representation of a nation’s political discourse among the youth. Web 2.0 has created online spaces (private and public) that have been appropriated by Kenyan youth, locally, and in the Diaspora to weave their own political narratives and present them in forums that accommodate their views without fear of censorship or regulation that characterises “offline” communications. Using post structuralism, with emphasis on Roland Barthes “Death of the Author” and “Camera Lucida”, the article critically analyses how cultural values affect the interpretation of online political images from Kenya, by internet users from different culture zones. Further, the article discusses whether political images posted by the youth in Kenya on their online private spaces can be used to promote political stereotypes, subjectivities and perpetuate visual hegemonies; or whether it allows the youth to circumvent government surveillance tactics and afford nations an opportunity to correct the media hegemony by rewriting their own stories on a platform that is not just national, but transnational

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Embracing Technology and the Challenges of Complexity

Cited by 2 publications

References 57 publications

What is the state of complexity science in medical education research?

What is the state of complexity science in medical education research?

Negotiating the New Media Platforms: Youth and Political Images in Kenya

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