Prayag Centre

Prayag

A Centre

of

Knowledge Informatics

for

Sustainable Development

(Dedicated to the spirit of Creativity and Innovation)

By

Sanjay Goel

Creativity• Creativity is the ability to see relationships where none exist."-- Thomas Disch,

Sc. fiction author and poet

• The creative process is a matter of continually separating and bringing together, bringing together and separating, in many dimensions.

Albert Rothenberg , Creativity researcher

• Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.

-- Albert Einstein.

• Synergy between thinkers from seemingly different disciplines has helped in giving major turns to civilization. -- Heisenberg

• If at first, the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it. -- Albert Einstein

• If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

-- Henry David Thoreau, author, philosopher

Informatics• Mathematics and Logic• Electronics and Communication• Systems Design/Engineering

• Application Domains [Science, Engg., Business, Govt.]• Many specialized subfields have emerged at the edges of informatics

and other disciplines. – Management information systems, engineering informatics (e.g.,

mechatronics, construction informatics), bio-informatics, computational finance, computational linguistics, computational psychology, health-informatics/medical informatics, geo-informatics, chem-informatics, museum-informatics, digital archives and library, computational archaeology, digital media, computer games, cognitive sciences, computational physics, computational maths, computational sociology, social informatics, computational economics, learning technology/education technology, etc.

Evolution of Informatics

Informatics• Mathematics and Logic• Electronics and Communication• Systems Design/Engineering• Application Domains [Science, Engg., Business, Govt.]

• Old Computing was about what Computers can do, New computing is about what people can do. - Shneiderman


Informatics• Mathematics and Logic• Electronics and Communication• Systems Design/Engineering• Application Domains [Science, Engg., Business, Govt.]

• Old Computing was about what Computers can do, New computing is about what people can do. - Shneiderman

• People in different professions and disciplines deal with ‘information’ differently.

• The basic conceptions, form, and nature of ‘information’ also differs across disciplines


Sustainable Development

• Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

Intra- and Inter-generational Equity Environmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural Dimensions

Sustainable Development• Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs. - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 Intra- and Inter-generational Equity Environmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural Dimensions

• Sustainability problems are complex, hence they are beyond the realm of any single discipline.

• Sustainable solutions requires systems thinking - inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach, multi-perspective integration, and innovation.– Enrichment of Physical Environment and Cultural Heritage

– Improvement of the accessibility and quality of Basic Facilities• Nutrition, water supply, housing, sanitation, health care, energy, transport, and safety

– Improvement of the support system for enhancing Human’s Happiness by focusing on higher level human needs – social, cognitive, aesthetics, and self actualization.

• Competence - Quality of Education system• Autonomy

– Empowerment• Relatedness, equity, cooperation, and collaboration• Creativity

Sustainable Development• Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs. - World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 Intra- and Inter-generational Equity Environmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural Dimensions

• Sustainability problems are beyond the realm of any single discipline• Sustainable solutions requires systems thinking - inter-disciplinary and

trans-disciplinary approach, multi-perspective integration, and flexibility

• Interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches are really very difficult to develop because the involved disciplines normally differ not just in terms of objectives, content, and practices but also, perspectives, thinking patterns, and also epistemological and pedagogical culture.

--- Two Cultures (Snow, 1959), Biglan’s Classification of Disciplines (1973) Complex software projects are inherently interdisciplinary and hence face

challenges in identifying the real needs.

Biglan’s classification of disciplinesBIGLAN Hard: Single paradigm Soft: Lack a single common paradigm

Pure

Nonlife/ Life

Concerned with universals & simplificationQuantitative, Atomistic structureKnowledge is Cumulative, Linear, Hierarchical (closely connected concepts and principles, fixed content)community is competitive but gregariousAbstract-Reflective leaningLogical reasoning, linear argument, reliance on facts, and conceptsFocused and instructive teaching-learningMaths/Natural Sciences/Phy/Chem/Astronomy/ Geology/Oceanography/

Botany/Zoology/ Genetics/Physiology/Biochemistry

Concerned with particularsQualitative, HolisticReiterative, knowledge is not supersededNonlinear, Spiral, Open

IndividualisticConcrete-ReflectiveBroad command of intellectual ideas, creativity and expressionConstructive and interpretive teaching- learningLanguage/Linguistics/Literature/Phil./ Comm./Religion/Creative writing/ Intl, Relations/ Eco./History/ Geography/ ArchaeologySociology/ Anthropology/ Area studies/ Political Science/ Psychology

Applied

Nonlife/ Life

Concern: mastery of the physical environmentFocus on problem solving, practical skill, & Integration and application of knowledgeAim: products and techniquesKnowledge community is gregariousContent is linear, factual understanding, Abstract-ActiveCivil/Mechanical/Electrical/ECE/Chemical/ Ceramic/Computer Engg./Health technologies/ Computer Sc./

Pharmacy/Agriculture/ Horticulture/ Medicine/Psychiatry//Dentistry/

Concern: enhancement of professional practiceFocus on personal growth, intellectual breadth, reflective practice, and life-long learning skillsAim: protocols and proceduresKnowledge community is gregariousReiterative acquisition of knowledgeConcrete-ActiveAccounting/Banking/Finance/ Business Admn./ Agricultural Economics/Managerial Eco/Marketing/ Law/Advertising/ Journalism/Library & Archival Sciences/ Architecture/City planning/Interior design/Crafts/ Arts/Dance/Music Recreation/Education/Nursing/Agribusiness/Conservation/Fishing/Forestry/ Counseling/ HR/Organizational behavior

IT for Sustainable Development

– Enrichment of Physical Environment and Cultural Heritage

– Improvement of the accessibility and quality of Basic Facilities• Nutrition, water supply, housing, sanitation, health care, energy, transport,

and safety

– Improvement of the support system for enhancing Human’s Happiness by focusing on higher level human needs – social, cognitive, aesthetics, and self actualization.

• Competence - Quality of Education system• Autonomy

– Empowerment• Relatedness, equity, cooperation, and collaboration• Creativity

• Sustainability requires systems thinking, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach, multi-perspective integration, and flexibility.

Levels of Inter-disciplinary Informatics• First orbit integration: The integrating disciplines share the

same Biglan category along all the three bi-level axes, • IT + other non-life, hard, and applied discipline (any engineering)

• Second orbit integration: The integrating disciplines share the same Biglan category along any two of the three bilevel axes.

• 2.1- IT + non-life, hard, and pure discipline, e.g., mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc.

• 2.2 - IT + life, hard, and applied discipline e.g., agriculture, psychiatry, medicine, etc., • 2.3 - IT + non-life, soft, and applied discipline, e.g., architecture, journalism, advertising, dance, music, art, management, finance, etc.,

• Third orbit integration: The integrating disciplines share the same Biglan category along only one of the three bilevel axes.

• 3.1 - IT+ life, hard, and pure discipline, e.g., biology, biochemistry, genetics, etc., • 3.2 - IT + life, soft, and applied discipline, e.g., recreation, education, counseling, etc.,• 3.3 - IT + non-life, soft, and pure discipline, e.g., linguistics, literature, history, communication, economics, archaeology, etc.

•Fourth orbit integration: The integrating disciplines do not share the same Biglan category along any of the three bi-level axes. • IT + life, soft, and pure discipline, e.g., psychology, sociology, area study, anthropology, etc.

Our GoalsOur Goals

Prayag - A Centre of Knowledge Informatics for Sustainable Development

• To incubate IT centric interdisciplinary R&D in newer, relatively unexplored, and divergent application domains with a special focus on sustainability.

– Create prototypes – Incubate startup business/social ventures

• To do the groundwork for creation of new paradigms with a special focus on sustainability.

– To enrich IT culture, theory, and practice (professional, research, and pedagogical) through infusion of selected appropriate elements in the culture, theory, and practice of divergent disciplines and professions.



– Create prototypes

– Incubate startup business/social ventures



• To identify, document, and analyze – IT centric innovations and sustainable approaches in various domains. – Interdisciplinary practices and approaches in IT industry and

academia.– Inhibiting and facilitating factors for promoting innovation and inter-

disciplinary R&D work.



– Create prototypes

– Incubate startup business/social ventures



• To identify, document, and analyze – IT centric innovations and sustainable approaches in various domains.

– Interdisciplinary practices and approaches in IT industry and academia.

– Inhibiting and facilitating factors for promoting innovation and inter-disciplinary R&D work.

• To evolve models and methods for initiating and managing IT centric inter-disciplinary work and education.

– To enrich existing courses through new interdisciplinary approaches– To create IT centric interdisciplinary educational programs

Deliverables:• Technical reports

• Research publications (Both Applied & Basic)

• Books and monographs

• Workshops, Seminars, Webinars, Conferences, Short courses, Active online communities

• Working Prototypes

• Independently sustainable projects (in and outside JIIT)

• Infusion of Interdisciplinary approaches in existing courses

• New Elective courses

• New Degree programs


Deliverables:• Technical reports

• Research publications (Both Applied & Basic)

• Books and monographs

• Workshops, Seminars, Webinars, Conferences, Short courses, Active online communities

• Working Prototypes

• Independently sustainable projects (in and outside JIIT)

• Infusion of Interdisciplinary approaches in existing courses

• New Elective courses

• New Degree programs

Requirements:• Funding for

– honorarium for guest experts, scholars, authors, and editors

– hiring research fellows

– offering visits and sabbaticals to experts of diverse disciplines and professions

– scholarships

– study tours and visits

• Infrastructural support (including IT and Library)


Health & Medicine

Prayag Centre