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Nursing, Complexity and the Science of Compassion 

Ten years ago Plexus Institute published a groundbreaking book on the highly complex profession of nursing, On the Edge: Nursing in the Age of Complexity. This book presented the first comprehensive examination of topical nursing issues from a Complexity Science perspective. Complexity Science scholars and nurse leaders explored key Complexity Science principles and the profound implications they hold for clinical practice, leadership, nursing theory development, research, policy making, and understanding human physiology. The pace of change in the practice of [...]

2020-06-15T12:43:11-04:00Archive Resources, Catalyst Project, Healthcare, Nursing Science, The Commons Project|
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The ‘Anternet’—Ancient and Cutting Edge

Harvester Ants Increase Knowledge about Networked Systems Deborah Gordon, a Stanford biology professor who has studied ants for 20 years, found something extraordinarily sophisticated about the way harvester ants forage for food. She discovered that the ant colonies regulate their foraging activities based on the amount of food available and the amount of time it takes for a round trip between the nest and the food. Gordon recognized that this particular ant behavior approximates the way the Internet works, so [...]

2018-03-12T09:53:18-04:00Archive Resources, Complexity Matters Posts, Technology|
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Tiny Teams Move Mighty Masses

Ants Are Model for Tiny Powerful Robots Researchers have developed a team of robot that can apply tiny amounts of force in concert to move objects thousands of times their own weight. The team members are six microrobots weighing a mere 3.5 ounces together, and they can pull car that weighs more two tons.  The micro-robots, modeled after ants, are so tiny their pieces had to be put together with tweezers. The car is the one that researcher David Christensen [...]

2018-03-10T15:56:08-05:00AI, Archive Resources, Complexity Matters Posts, Robotics, Technology|
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Complexity Science Reframes Healthcare For Women and Everyone Else!

In an early PlexusCall (September, 2003) guests Birute Regine, Eileen Hoffman and Justina Trott held a wide ranging conversation that explored how the distinctions in the “nature” of women aligned with the theory and insights of complexity science to human systems. “The system becomes more complex when you bring your whole self into it. For women who need to have their stories told and understood, that changes the whole dynamic of the profession of medicine, and the dynamic of the [...]

2017-12-28T16:49:20-05:00Archive Resources, Complexity Matters Posts, Healthcare, Stories|
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