community Archives

Design For How We See Ourselves

Identity shapes design of products and services so why ignore it when we are designing for humans lives? Who we

innovation psychology

Energy and Curiosity

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 Cameron D. Norman 532 Views community, creativity, curiosity, innovation, neuroscience, psychology, self-care, Tony Schwartz

Being curious is a means to discovery and innovation and requires an energy that many are finding in short supply.

psychology

A Conspiracy Theory

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Cameron D. Norman 361 Views behaviour change, community, community psychology, conspiracy theory, fake news, gaming, jane mcgonigal, psychology, self-determination theory

Looking at the extremes in others’ beliefs and habits can help illuminate how we come to believe and act, too.

education & learning health psychology

The Food Bank Model of Education and the Tyranny of Resiliency

September 5, 2009May 23, 2012 Cameron D. Norman 636 Views adaptation, community, education, food banks, food security, food systems, innovation, learning, psychology, resiliency, social determinants of health, systems thinking

Resiliency enables us to bounce back from adversity, but like an elastic band too much stretching can lead to breakdown. Food banks, once a stop-gap for food security are now a model for education. Are we stretching a little too far?

health systems thinking

Cohesion vs. Diversity

September 2, 2009September 3, 2009 Cameron D. Norman 597 Views chaos theory, cities, community, diversity, edge of chaos, food systems, health, public health, social cohesion, social determinants of health, systems thinking, Toronto, urbanism

Systems function well at the ‘edge of chaos’. In social systems that means balancing diversity with cohesion, but there are aspects to both that are troubling and may be highly incompatible. Can we have both or do we have to sacrifice one for the other?

education & learning systems thinking

Tr.im and Community Ownership

August 20, 2009 Cameron D. Norman 429 Views community, emergence, open source, self-organization, technology, Twitter

Why the case of a simple URL shortener’s demise and resurrection might have consequences for how we understand self-organization and community development

education & learning systems thinking

Wikipedia and the Limits of Co-Creation(?)

August 7, 2009August 7, 2009 Cameron D. Norman 819 Views community, complexity, creativity, innovation, self-organization, social media, systems science, Wikipedia

Wikipedia contributions are starting to plateau in part because some of the qualities of a healthy, creative system are being eroded by changes in how posts are being edited and controlled.