Chalmers University of Technology University of Technology

Chalmers University of Technology CAS Seminar Series (FFR141)

Chalmers University of Technology Presentation Petter Törnberg, PhD student Innovation and change in complex adaptive systems, focus on contemporary societal systems. Claes Andersson, Docent, Assistant Prof. Innovation and change in complex adaptive systems, focus on ancient history.

Chalmers University of Technology When and where Once a week. Classes are in MC, at 10:00 on Wednesdays, but when and where can change unexpectedly, keep an eye at the schedule in TimeEdit. Will most likely change every quarter. Take down the URL of the web page of the course: It will be updated during the coming week!

Chalmers University of Technology The aim of the course Getting and providing an overview over Complexity Science as an area: getting the bigger picture. Provide an opportunity to go a bit deeper into a subject area Practice preparing and delivering presentations

Chalmers University of Technology Course outline Period 1: Lectures on the foundation of Complexity Theory. Small examination. Period 2-4: Your seminars.

Chalmers University of Technology Lectures on CAS (preliminary) 3/9. This welcoming. + Introduction to Complexity (Petter) 10/9. History and methods of Complexity (Claes) 17/9. What is complexity? Definitions and characterizations (Petter) 24/9. Wicked Systems – complex or worse? (Claes) 1/10. Examples of applied complexity: Economic theory (Petter) 8/10. Examples of applied complexity: Cultural evolution (Claes) 15/10. Oral presentation technique. Rebecca Bergman from Division for Language and Communication. 5/11. Hand in of examination + Group discussions.

Chalmers University of Technology Your seminars Finding a topic Topic should be based on a research paper or a book clearly related to complexity theory. Should be major/important articles - well-cited and in respected journals. Help each other: put interesting articles on the StudyCAS paper repository! (You’ll get logins soon.) Google Scholar is great for finding papers.

Chalmers University of Technology Topics The paper should have clear bearings on issues in complex systems Other than that, you’re free to choose as you wish, but... It’s easier to make a good presentation if your topic is of general interest: interesting, inspiring topics. It should be adapted to the audience (not all of us are physicists!)

Chalmers University of Technology Discussion leader Twice during the course, you will act as a discussion leader and perform peer reviews. There will be a schedule also for this, presented next time. You are asked to participate with the presenter in a dry run of the presentation on a draft stage. What is good? What is bad? How can the presentation be improved? Help the presenter produce a good presentation! You must read the research paper! After the presentation, you will lead a 10 minutes discussion, engaging the audience: this is a seminar and you’re the organizer. Your job is not simply to ask questions to the presenter, but to organize discussions. Do this in planned collaboration with the second discussion leader. After the discussion, the discussion leaders participate in a short talk with the teacher and the presenter to assess how the presenter has used the feedback that was given, and, reversed, how useful the feedback was.

Chalmers University of Technology Grades Grade is only passed or not passed Three requirements: 1. Passing the examination hand-in 5/11/ Holding your own presentations 3. Leading discussion for two other student presentations 4. Actively attending at least 80% of the presentations

Chalmers University of Technology How to fail People are not equally gifted and trained when it comes to delivering presentations. But, anyone can become decent at getting a point across in a presentation. The point is to improve your skills. If you make a real effort, you’ll be fine. So don’t worry! If you fail to comply with the points presented before, you may have to re-schedule your talk and you’re not guaranteed a new spot. If so, you’ll have to present the next time the course is held to pass the course. Both presenting and leading a discussion are required to pass!

Chalmers University of Technology Attendance It’s 80% - it’s not 75% or 70%! (But ok, if you get 79% we might round it up to 80%) If you fall short on attendance, you will need to attend presentations the next time the course is held. A hassle! It’s your responsibility to sign the attendance list and make sure you attend enough presentations. This is an advanced level course: We won’t baby-sit you, remind you or warn you. Keep track of your duties!

Chalmers University of Technology Your presentation duty has the form of a 4-week cycle Week 1 Find a suitable article. Clear this article with Claes via If you don’t clear the topic you run the risk not getting to present = failed Week 2 You are to submit your presentation via to us and arrange for a dry run of the presentation with your discussion leaders. This can be done (preferably) using a projector or just with a laptop. Have the dry run at least one week before the sharp presentation so that you have the benefit of their comments. Also send them the paper that you focus on. Week 4 You will now deliver your presentation, answer questions and engage in a discussion on the topic with the audience. The discussion leaders will organize discussions around your presentation. After the presentation and questions, there will be a short de-briefing between the teacher, the referees and the presenter. Timeline

Chalmers University of Technology A session A session will look like this: Presenter A20 min Discussion10 min Feedback5 min(short break for the audience, time to rig) Presenter B20 min Discussion10 min Feedback5 min (Might be subject to change, depending on scheduling.)

Chalmers University of Technology Schedule The schedule will be set during the coming week. It will be posted on the website and distributed next meeting. One or two presenters each time It’s easiest by far if you bring your own laptop and plug it in to the projector. If you need a laptop, tell me in advance! If you use a Mac, remember to bring a VGA-adaptor!

Chalmers University of Technology Contact Claes Petter We are at the department for Physical Resource Theory, floor 3, EDIT building A sheet will be passed around where you are asked to write down your addresses.Please write legibly since important information will be sent via . Those of you who need to top up the requirements for passing the course from previous years, please indicate when you were enrolled to the course originally.

Chalmers University of Technology Questions? Ask away! Or contact Petter or Claes  All admin If you’re unhappy with something during the course: tell us! We are quite open to making changes.