Showing papers on "Social system published in 2008"

Influence and correlation in social networks

Abstract: In many online social systems, social ties between users play an important role in dictating their behavior. One of the ways this can happen is through social influence, the phenomenon that the actions of a user can induce his/her friends to behave in a similar way. In systems where social influence exists, ideas, modes of behavior, or new technologies can diffuse through the network like an epidemic. Therefore, identifying and understanding social influence is of tremendous interest from both analysis and design points of view.This is a difficult task in general, since there are factors such as homophily or unobserved confounding variables that can induce statistical correlation between the actions of friends in a social network. Distinguishing influence from these is essentially the problem of distinguishing correlation from causality, a notoriously hard statistical problem.In this paper we study this problem systematically. We define fairly general models that replicate the aforementioned sources of social correlation. We then propose two simple tests that can identify influence as a source of social correlation when the time series of user actions is available.We give a theoretical justification of one of the tests by proving that with high probability it succeeds in ruling out influence in a rather general model of social correlation. We also simulate our tests on a number of examples designed by randomly generating actions of nodes on a real social network (from Flickr) according to one of several models. Simulation results confirm that our test performs well on these data. Finally, we apply them to real tagging data on Flickr, exhibiting that while there is significant social correlation in tagging behavior on this system, this correlation cannot be attributed to social influence.

A Core/Periphery Perspective on Individual Creative Performance: Social Networks and Cinematic Achievements in the Hollywood Film Industry

Abstract: The paper advances a relational perspective to studying creativity at the individual level. Building on social network theory and techniques, we examine the role of social networks in shaping individuals’ ability to generate a creative outcome. More specifically, we argue that individuals who occupy an intermediate position between the core and the periphery of their social system are in a favorable position to achieve creative results. In addition, the benefits accrued through an individual’s intermediate core/periphery position can also be observed at the team level, when the same individual works in a team whose members come from both ends of the core/periphery continuum. We situate the analysis and test our hypotheses within the context of the Hollywood motion picture industry, which we trace over the period 1992–2003. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed.

Trust in the health system: An analysis and extension of the social theories of Giddens and Luhmann

Abstract: Social theory provides a lens through which we can analyse the role of trust in health systems However, the majority of theoretically informed trust literature addresses ‘institutional’ or ‘interpersonal’ trust individually, failing to investigate trust as determined by a ‘web’ of mutually interacting relationships between individuals and social systems Current theoretical assumptions are also problematic as they fail to recognise the role that social factors (such as socio-economic status, class and age) play in an individual’s willingness to trust Through the analysis and critique of existing social theories of trust, this paper demonstrates a need for further empirical research into the multidimensionality of trusting relationships, while suggesting new directions for research in public health

Fission-Fusion Dynamics : New Research Frameworks. Commentaries

Abstract: Renewed interest in fission-fusion dynamics is due to the recognition that such dynamics may create unique challenges for social interaction and distinctive selective pressures acting on underlying communicative and cognitive abilities. New frameworks for integrating current knowledge on fission-fusion dynamics emerge from a fundamental rethinking of the term "fission-fusion" away from its current general use as a label for a particular modal type of social system (i.e., "fission-fusion societies"). Specifically, because the degree of spatial and temporal cohesion of group members varies both within and across taxa, any social system can be described in terms of the extent to which it expresses fission-fusion dynamics. This perspective has implications for socioecology, communication, cognitive demands, and human social evolution.

Managing Tensions in a High-tech Start-up: An Innovation Journey in Social System Perspective

Abstract: Answering the question of how enabling technology-based firms manage tensions in their development process, we focus on tensions related to balancing the need to explore new developments for future performance, with the need to exploit existing capabilities to generate sufficient value in the short term. Based on social system theory, we suggest that entrepreneurs use four types of functions to develop their business: goal attainment, pattern maintenance, social networking and economic optimization. Building sustainable firms requires the development of all four functions and the related types of capital (strategic, cultural, economic and social) up to a certain minimum; they must then be balanced in such a way that the exploration—exploitation tension can be dealt with adequately.Through a case study of the development of a sound measuring sensor, we illustrate the four types of functions and the accumulation of capitals by exploring a set of three propositions.

Connecting the Dots: Applying Complexity Theory, Knowledge Management and Social Network Analysis to Policy Implementation

Abstract: INTRODUCTION It has been more than 25 years since the publication of Lipsky's Street Level Bureaucracy (1980), and while his work is cited repeatedly in studies of policy implementation, little theoretical work has been done to deepen our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that lead to the emergence of behaviors resulting in implementation success or failure. This article brings together complexity theory as a language for understanding, and social network analysis (SNA) as a method for examining policy implementation, while extending the work of (Mischen, 2007) that treats policy implementation as the outcome of knowledge management. The "Dots" Several authors have made important connections between complexity theory and network analysis (Carroll & Burton, 2000; Costa, Rodrigues, Travieso, & Villas Boas, 2007), network analysis and policy implementation (Choi & Brower, 2006), policy implementation and knowledge management (Mischen, 2007; Sandfort, 1999), and knowledge management and complexity theory (Bardzki & Reid, 2004; McElroy, 2003; Ruggles & Little, 2000; Tasaka, 2002), but there has been no attempt to integrate all four concepts. Additionally, while complexity theory has been applied to the public sector (Elliot & Kiel, 1999; Morcol, 2002; Rhodes & MacKechnie, 2003) there are no studies that apply complexity theory specifically to policy implementation. Likewise, network analysis has been used extensively to study intraorganizational behavior, but has not been linked to the study of knowledge management in particular. Successful knowledge management is critical to successful policy implementation. Choo (1998) describes a "knowing organization" as one that is able to successfully manage the sensemaking, knowledge creation and decision making processes of an organization. As noted by both Lipsky (1980) and Pressman and Wildavsky (1984), implementation is the outcome of a decision-making process. In a street-level bureaucracy, large numbers of frontline workers make decisions concurrently concerning clients. While "first generation" knowledge management (KM) studies focused largely on the role of information technology, more recent KM scholars have argued that knowledge develops and is shared by complex adaptive systems (Bardzki & Reid, 2004; McElroy, 2003; Ruggles & Little, 2000; Tasaka, 2002) and should be integrated with theories of organizational learning (Easterby-Smith & Lyles, 2003). A complex adaptive system (CAS) is one in which a large number of moderately connected and interdependent agents co-evolve when they find themselves far-from-equilibrium. For new structures and order to be created, the system must be pushed away from an equilibrium condition, otherwise changes will be temporary and as the system will revert to its stable state (Mitleton-Kelly, 2003). Through feedback loops, these agents self-organize and create behavioral "paths" within a limited space of possibilities. What emerges is a pattern of behavior that is influenced greatly by the historicity and locality of the system. In other words, agents adapt to their environments by learning, which is a social process. McElroy (2003) argues that complexity theory provides the missing theory of how cognition happens in social systems, which has been lacking from both knowledge management and organizational learning theory. Organizations and interorganizational networks are social systems because they involve interactions between agents. Various systems--everything from neural networks to ant colonies--have been studied from a complexity theory perspective (Kauffman, 1995; Waldrop, 1992). Social networks differ from other biological networks and processes (Newman & Park, 2003) because social networks involve a dense level of historicity: humans remember the past. Therefore, the ability of individuals to adapt their behavior as a result of learning from the past allows adaptations in human systems to occur at a much quicker pace than other systems (Holland, 1995). …

Dynamics of alliance formation and the egalitarian revolution.

Abstract: Background Arguably the most influential force in human history is the formation of social coalitions and alliances (i.e., long-lasting coalitions) and their impact on individual power. Understanding the dynamics of alliance formation and its consequences for biological, social, and cultural evolution is a formidable theoretical challenge. In most great ape species, coalitions occur at individual and group levels and among both kin and non-kin. Nonetheless, ape societies remain essentially hierarchical, and coalitions rarely weaken social inequality. In contrast, human hunter-gatherers show a remarkable tendency to egalitarianism, and human coalitions and alliances occur not only among individuals and groups, but also among groups of groups. These observations suggest that the evolutionary dynamics of human coalitions can only be understood in the context of social networks and cognitive evolution. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we develop a stochastic model describing the emergence of networks of allies resulting from within-group competition for status or mates between individuals utilizing dyadic information. The model shows that alliances often emerge in a phase transition-like fashion if the group size, awareness, aggressiveness, and persuasiveness of individuals are large and the decay rate of individual affinities is small. With cultural inheritance of social networks, a single leveling alliance including all group members can emerge in several generations. Conclusions/Significance We propose a simple and flexible theoretical approach for studying the dynamics of alliance emergence applicable where game-theoretic methods are not practical. Our approach is both scalable and expandable. It is scalable in that it can be generalized to larger groups, or groups of groups. It is expandable in that it allows for inclusion of additional factors such as behavioral, genetic, social, and cultural features. Our results suggest that a rapid transition from a hierarchical society of great apes to an egalitarian society of hunter-gatherers (often referred to as “egalitarian revolution”) could indeed follow an increase in human cognitive abilities. The establishment of stable group-wide egalitarian alliances creates conditions promoting the origin of cultural norms favoring the group interests over those of individuals.

A naturalistic approach to the theory of the firm: the role of cooperation and cultural evolution

Abstract: One reason why firms exist, this paper argues, is because they are suitable organizations within which cooperative production systems based on human social predispositions can evolve. In addition, we show how an entrepreneur, given these predispositions, can shape human behavior within a firm. To illustrate these processes, we will present a model that depicts how the biased transmission of cultural contents via social learning processes within the firm influence employees’ behavior and the performance of the firm. These biases can be traced back to evolved social predispositions. Humans lived in tribal scale social systems based on significant amounts of intra- and even intergroup cooperation for tens if not a few hundred thousand years before the first complex societies arose. Firms rest upon the social psychology originally evolved for tribal life. We also relate our conclusions to empirical evidence on the performance and size of different kinds of organizations. Modern organizations have functions rather different from ancient tribes, leading to friction between our social predispositions and organization goals. Firms that manage to reduce this friction will tend to function better.

‘Social’ systems: designing digital systems that support social intelligence

Abstract: Large groups of people exhibit social intelligence: coherent behavior directed towards individual or collective goals. This paper examines ways in which such behavior is produced in face to face situations, and discusses how it can be supported in online systems used by geographically distributed groups. It describes the concept of a “social proxy,” a minimalist visualization of the presence and activities of participants in an online interaction that is used to make online social norms visible. It summarizes experience with an implemented system, presents conceptual designs that illustrate the range of situations to which social proxies can be applied, and discusses how to go about designing these types of visualizations.

Marketing as an Interaction System

Abstract: Marketing thinkers identify concepts of relationship, interaction, and network as useful. Edgar Crane (1972) saw interaction as essential to buyer-seller decision-making. David Ford, Kristian Molle...

Social Networks and Fisheries: The Relationship between a Charter Fishing Network, Social Capital, and Catch Dynamics

Abstract: Interactions among fishery stakeholders can play an important role in mediating against the negative social and ecological consequences of fishery resource use. A number of studies have suggested that individual fishers draw on social relationships to access resources (e.g., fishing-related information) embedded in social systems. Investment in social relationships can enable fishers to better locate and catch their target species, and group enforcement of norms can be used to protect the target resource from overexploitation. We employed observational and survey data collection techniques in assessing the relationship between the social network, social capital, and catch success of charter captains targeting salmonine fishes in a southeast Lake Michigan port. Using KliqueFinder software, we identified the structure of the social network within which charter captains communicated extensively and selectively about finding and catching their target species. We found that factors related to social c...

The institutions of the market : organizations, social systems, and governance

Abstract: Introduction: The Institutions of the Market PART I: MARKET AGENTS: KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING IN ORGANISATIONS The Emergence of the Idea of Institutions as Repositories of Knowledge Dynamic Capability as a Source of Change Rules, Routines, and Learning in Organizations Problemistic Search and (Inter-) Organizational Learning Change in Institutional Fields PART II: MARKET PROCESS: RULES, NORMS AND THE SOCIAL SYSTEM OF MARKET COMPETITION Myths of the Market On the Social Structure of Markets: A Review and Assessment in the Perspective of the New Institutional Economics Institutional Entrepreneurship and the Structuring of Organizations and Markets Organizational Ecology as a Theory of Competition Different Paths of Industry Evolution: Timing of Entry, Legitimation and Competition Spillovers Across Countries PART III: MARKET GOVERNANCE: REGULATION, COORDINATION AND PUBLIC POLICY What Makes an Economy Productive and Progressive? What are the Needed Institutions? Institutional Evolution and the Political Economy of Governance Explaining Economic Change: The Relations of Institutions, Politics, and Culture Polanyian, Regulationist, and Autopoieticist Reflections on States and Markets and their Implications for Knowledge and the Knowledge-Based Economy Pierre Bourdieu - Analyst of Change? The View from Regulation Theory

The Ecology of the Gym: Reconceptualized and Extended

Abstract: The ecological paradigm has become a powerful framework for understanding how teachers and students negotiate the learning environment. This article articulates the ecological paradigm into a more cohesive framework and expands it using influential work from the sociology of physical education. First, we explain several core concepts of ecological theory and explain how they fit together. Next, we overview past ecological work in each of the three main task systems, while integrating literature from outside traditional ecological theory to show how it better enhances the paradigm's usefulness. We show how culturally relevant content, student ownership/control, and cooperation/competition provide richness in further explaining the instructional task system. Similarly, we broaden the student social system into a social task system with three dimensions: relationships between teachers and students, relationships among students, and the social climate of the school.

Understanding Social Support of the Homeless: A Comparison of Single Men, Single Women, and Women With Children

Abstract: This article describes social support networks of a multishelter sample of 162 homeless adults in Central Florida. Participants included homeless single men, single women, and women with children. The purpose of this study was to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between social support and homelessness by examining perceived social support and satisfaction with social support for these three distinct groups. All three groups reported few social supports, but all were fairly satisfied with their identified social support. Findings indicate the more social supports one had, the fewer homeless episodes they experienced. These findings suggest efforts should be made to strengthen existing social supports or to establish alternative social support networks.

Meaningful communication among experts and affected citizens on risk: challenge or impossibility?

Abstract: Experience to date demonstrates that it remains challenging to engage experts and concerned citizens in a meaningful and mutually comprehensive dialogue on complex and technical risk‐bearing projects. In search of an explanation we found Niklas Luhmann's interpretation of modern society very useful. Luhmann describes modern society as the aggregate of more or less self‐sufficient functional subsystems becoming more and more isolated from each other in a spiral of progressive specialisation. With each system developing its own expectations, language, rationality and ways of observing and interpreting reality, communication between systems becomes progressively problematic; according to Luhmann, even impossible. Contrary to Luhmann, however, we consider communicating human beings (and not communication in itself) the constituting elements of society. From that perspective we see a connection with Ulrich Beck's thesis on modern society as an individualised risk society and his call for ‘reflexive science and...

The sociology of policy-making in the modern state: Intent and human action

Abstract: The article asks how we can best understand policy-making processes, and how a sociology of policy-making might proceed. Specific consideration is given to policy intent and how that can be known given the collective nature of policy-making and the assumption that intent is what individuals rather than groups possess. I inquire into various sociologies of social systems and social action as well as liberal humanist ideas about the individual and rational action, asking what they offer for understanding policy intent. The contributions of the post-foundationalists and network theories are also examined in this light. Attention is given to the work of Norbert Elias, and it is argued that his `personal pronouns as figurational model' in conjunction with discourse analysis provides a basis for developing a sociology of policy-making that acknowledges human agency and the collective and social nature of policy-making.

Who are the social “entrepreneurs” and what do they actually do?

Abstract: There is increasing interest in the social entrepreneur and the process of social entrepreneurship. This has led to criticisms of fuzziness surrounding these concepts. This paper explores the concept of the social entrepreneur, considering whether social entrepreneurs can really be termed "entrepreneurs" or if they are something else - individuals motivated by meeting social objectives to achieve social change. Drawing on structuration theory, we place the agent (a social entrepreneur) in the structure (a social system/the context), arguing that they are engaged in a process of co-constructing the current momentum in social entrepreneurship development.

Justice, morality, and social responsibility

Abstract: A volume in Research in Social Issues in Management Series Editors: Stephen W. Gilliland, The University of Arizona, Dirk D. Steiner, Universite de Nice-Sophia Antipolis and Daniel P. Skarlicki, The University of British Columbia This volume of Research in Social Issues in Management critically examines theoretical underpinnings of organizational justice and corporate social responsibility by identifying motives underlying desires for justice and by considering responses to injustice. The first set of chapters explores issues of morality, emotions, and social exchange relationships. These can be seen as engines that drive reactions to organizational justice. The second set of chapters addresses injustice and recovery, the social systems surrounding justice, and the application of justice principles to organizations' environmental and sustainability practices. A commentary chapter highlights ten themes that cross this interesting collection of paper on Justice, Morality, and Social Responsibility.

Social Inclusion and Youth Participation: A New Deal for Australia's Young People?.

Abstract: In light of the recent election of the Rudd Labor government, and the highlighting of social inclusion as a ministerial portfolio and policy direction, this paper considers the relationship between 'youth participation' and social inclusion. It argues that the neoliberal social and economic policies of the Howard era resulted in social exclusion for many young people and also limited their capacity to participate. It also asks whether social inclusion is the pathway to creating capacity for young people to participate. Drawing on both the UK experience and the policies of the Rudd government, it flags potential problems with a social inclusion agenda in terms of its ability to increase young people's capacity for participation.

A Core/Periphery Perspective on Individual Creative Performance: Social Networks and Cinematic Achievements in the Hollywood Film Industry

Abstract: The paper advances a relational perspective to studying creativity at the individual level. Building on social network theory and techniques, we examine the role of social networks in shaping individuals’ ability to generate a creative outcome. More specifically, we argue that individuals who occupy an intermediate position between the core and the periphery of their social system are in a favorable position to achieve creative results. In addition, the benefits accrued through an individual’s intermediate core/periphery position can also be observed at the team level, when the same individual works in a team whose members come from both ends of the core/periphery continuum. We situate the analysis and test our hypotheses within the context of the Hollywood motion picture industry, which we trace over the period 1992-2003. The theoretical implications of the results are discussed.

The Hard Facts of Soft Social Systems: A General Systems Explanatory Model for Schools and Workplaces

Abstract: In this paper, a new model for social systems is introduced, one that aims to inform all decision makers in schools and workplaces. The need for such a model is great, given the failure of modern well-intentioned reform efforts and wide variety of decision-makers. The new model is gleaned out of Boulding’s nine-level typology of system complexity, and named TPO for the three key domains that are clarified: technical, personal and organizational, for specialists; and things, people, and outcomes, for non-specialist decision-makers. These three key parts of a social system have very different properties. First, things (technical) are of three kinds--level 1: frameworks (e.g., buildings, books and equipment); level 2: clockworks (e.g., school routines, schedules and calendars); and level 3: thermostat-like systems (e.g., school goals which people--students and educators--self-regulate to attain.) Things are predictable and designable. Second, people (personal) in a social system are not designable. While things like thermostats self-regulate to externally prescribed criteria, living systems self-regulate to internally prescribed criteria (level 4: open; e.g., a living cell). Living systems (levels 4-7) act to meet their own basic needs first, then, in people, higher needs—generally predictable by Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs: survival, safety, belonging, achievement, self-actualization and transcendence. People’s behavior decreases in predictability due to inherent individual differences (level 5: blueprint; e.g., plant); differing immediate perceptions from among competing stimuli (level 6: image-aware; e.g., animal), and their own long term reflections, prior knowledge, choices, and abilities (level 7: symbol processing; e.g., human). The third part of a social system is labeled outcomes (organizational). Outcomes depend on people’s behavior. If people easily meet their basic needs, they will act to meet the organization’s needs. This principle is not a question of ethics, but a question of physics. It is natural, biological, and scientific law that people will behave to meet their individual and personal needs (level 7: human) before their social system or organization’s needs (levels 8 and 9). Level 8 systems (social) are optional. Level 7 functioning is mandatory. A person can transfer schools (level 8), but cannot transfer bodies (level 7). The TPO model of a social system clarifies that effective designers put all their attention to things, the designable components of a social system: frameworks; clockworks; and thermostat-like systems (e.g., school and classroom goals and ratios and flows of resources). Effective designers fashion these designable components as attractors, to allow system members to meet individual/ personal goals as first priority, and organization goals as second priority. Goals of the TPO approach are termed here systemic renewal, or systemic change efforts designed to increase opportunities for each social system member to meet his/her own self-perceived goals at his/her own pace. The ISSS Morning RoundTable corresponds to the goals of systemic renewal and the TPO model.

The sociology of policy- making in the modern

Abstract: The article asks how we can best understand policy-making processes, and how a sociology of policy-making might proceed. Specific consideration is given to policy intent and how that can be known given the collective nature of policy-making and the assumption that intent is what individuals rather than groups possess. I inquire into various sociologies of social systems and social action as well as liberal humanist ideas about the individual and rational action, asking what they offer for understanding policy intent. The contributions of the post-foundationalists and network theories are also examined in this light. Attention is given to the work of Norbert Elias, and it is argued that his ‘personal pronouns as figurational model’ in conjunction with discourse analysis provides a basis for developing a sociology of policy-making that acknowledges human agency and the collective and social nature of policy-making.

Ethical Trust and Social Moral Norms Simulation: A Bio-inspired Agent-Based Modelling Approach

Abstract: The understanding of the micro-macro link is an urgent need in the study of social systems. The complex adaptive nature of social systems adds to the challenges of understanding social interactions and system feedback and presents substantial scope and potential for extending the frontiers of computer-based research tools such as simulations and agent-based technologies. In this project, we seek to understand key research questions concerning the interplay of ethical trust at the individual level and the development of collective social moral norms as representative sample of the bigger micro-macro link of social systems. We outline our computational model of ethical trust (CMET) informed by research findings from trust, machine ethics and neural science. Guided by the CMET architecture, we discuss key implementation ideas for the simulations of ethical trust and social moral norms.

A conjecture on the nature of social systems

Abstract: Repeated calls for interdisciplinary research and communication, both within social science and between social, natural and physical scientists, as well as with the rest of the world, frequently meet a fundamental problem: there is no commonly accepted framework or common language within and through which to integrate the largely separate social understandings generated by our social sciences. This paper is an attempt to outline a possible framework, in the hope that it might stimulate debate about why this conception is wrong or how it is incomplete, and so to develop a more generally acceptable common story. The premises of this speculation are social systems exist—there are understandable processes by which we live, capable of both theoretical and empirical exploration through which to develop better rules and tools for living; these social systems evolve by adaptation, invention and replication to better fit their contexts and circumstances, through the characters and cultures of people, interacting t...

Social Psychology and Literature: Toward Possible Correspondence

Abstract: “We are all social psychologists” declare Tajfel and Fraser (1978) and, by way of explanation, they offer one of the most complete definitions of the discipline. It is the study of “the various aspects of the interaction between individuals, between and within social groups, and between individuals and social systems, small or large, of which they are part” (Tajfel and Fraser 1978, p. 22). Similar in their interests and passions, what, above all, distinguishes a professional social psychologist from an “amateur” or naive one is the method, or rather methods, used. The former follows strict research rules and procedures which are logical and systematic, explicitly sets out the hypotheses and tries to support them with references to scholarly shared criteria. The latter worries much less about the logical consistency of his or her convictions, develops naive, often post hoc, theories to explain events — especially when faced with the unexpected — and, being closely tied to pre-existing ideas, tends to confirm the underlying bias in a kind of vicious circle. There is, however, a third category. Because of their mastery and competence in treating psychosocial phenomena, authors of literary texts emerge as bearers of a type of knowledge which is different both from that of the scientist and that of the “practical” person, busy getting on with everyday life. Psychologists tend to appreciate this ability and often refer to the richness and depth shown by poets and writers when considering the psychic and relational aspects of life, or the familiarity with which they approach such extreme themes as life, love and death.

The Regulatory Role of Social Policy: Macao's Social Security Development

Abstract: Central to the regulation theory of social policy is the argument that the welfare state has played a key role in the maintenance of the proper working of capitalism Starting from the core argument of the theory, this article attempts to demonstrate that the Social Security Fund, a cornerstone of Macao's social security system, achieved three major regulatory functions in relation to the perpetuation of capitalism from the establishment of the fund in 1990 to 2005: legitimisation, reproduction and disciplinisation There was a watershed year in 2002 in which the predominant regulatory forms displayed a qualitative shift from legitimisation to reproduction and disciplinisation The shift is explained in terms of different interplays of the political and economic forces within the basic structural constraint of the capitalist social system

Renewal and Resilience: the role of social innovation in building institutional resilience

Abstract: Society faces a number of ongoing and seemingly intractable problems – poverty, homelessness, environmental degradation, and disabilities among others – which governments and NGOs struggle to address When efforts fail, it could be said that the system is caught in a trap, unable to respond to “chronic disasters” (Erikson, 1994) or immediate crises On the other hand, social innovation, generally associated with creative initiatives on the part on one or many individuals, can at times transform such trapped systems How and why does this happen? This abstract draws on a framework developed by a group of interdisciplinary scholars known as the Resilience Alliance (wwwresallianceorg) This group, initially led and created by CS Holling focuses on linked social and ecological resilience, defined as follows: Ecosystem resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbance without collapsing into a qualitatively different state that is controlled by a different set of processes A resilient ecosystem can withstand shocks and rebuild itself when necessary Resilience in social systems has the added capacity of humans to anticipate and plan for the future “Resilience” as applied to ecosystems, or to integrated systems of people and the natural environment, has three defining characteristics: * The amount of change the system can undergo and still retain the same controls on function and structure * The degree to which the system is capable of selforganization * The ability to build and increase the capacity for learning and adaptation This definition of resilience relies on a particular model of ongoing and dynamic change, called the “adaptive cycle” and the introduction of novelty through “bricolage” and through cross scale interactions across all phases of this adaptive cycle (Gunderson, Light and Holling, 1995; Gunderson and Holling, 2002) This abstract will focus on social innovation as a particular dynamic that increases the resilience of social systems and institutions, through introducing and structuring novelty in apparently “trapped” or intransigent social problem areas We define social innovation as: A process of alteration of what is established by the introduction of new elements or forms (including new ideas, practices and policies, or resource flows) In particular the alteration of patterns of social action and engagement to allow for an improvement in or transformation of intransigent and broadly based social problems (Westley, Zimmerman and Patton, 2006) We will first use the adaptive cycle to explore the particular phase specific dynamics of social innovation We will then look at three cases – the introduction of new approaches to saving endangered species, the creation of the micro-credit and the Grameen Bank, and changing the institutional dynamics of the disability agenda in Canada In each of these cases, we will focus on the role of the social/ institutional entrepreneur, as a manager of emergence, someone capable of using the dynamics of complex systems to address intractable problems In particular we will link their strategies to the management of cross scale dynamics (or “panarchy”) We will highlight the capacity of the social/institutional entrepreneur to a) manage meaning through the identification and clarification of social purpose and vision b) manage power dynamics both horizontal (“finding flow”) and vertical and c) managing the dynamics of both success and failure We will conclude by linking our research on social innovation with the elements of the resilience index comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageabilityand argue that the social/ institutional entrepreneur enhances social system capacity for all three