[Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: Verizon's greed
Glassman, Michael
glassman.13@osu.edu
Mon Apr 25 19:19:08 PDT 2016
Larry, Greg, Mike and others,
I don't know the word Ikagai, and I try to be careful with words from other cultures. I'm having enough trouble with the words in my own culture. For instance I recently ran across Jenkins idea of participatory culture through some of the work I have been doing on gaming with a student - but I am at a loss because participatory does so much work for Participatory Action Research. The former talks about active participation as opposed to passive consumerism (am I getting this right Greg) while the latter takes a much more political/economic/cultural perspective of allowing members of a group to participate in the trajectory of their social group as true members. Then there is the other participatory action research and Levy-Bruhl's participation. For me it boggles the mind. How do we keep our ideas straight.
As far as I know there is no word in the English language that seems to capture my minimal understanding of Ikagai, but it is important to then assume it is not there. I tend to think that reason for being is not so well captured in English because it is a process, in many ways a search. Reaching back to an older thread maybe re-search is a continuation of our process to understand why we exist (perhaps that sounds a little overblown). I also think it is dangerous to make a distinction between East and West. Well of course there are differences between cultures, but I don't think they break down so easily and they are deeply tie to the particular time and social context. At least in the United States, it is important not to confuse our economic paradigm with our culture (I always fall in to this). It is true that there has been a focus on the individual, opposing her/him to the collective, but there have been times in the United States even that have been the complete opposite. Where there was no light between the individual and the collective. I have recently been doing a lot of reading on the beginnings of the Internet, because sometimes I get obsessed by a topic. I am astounded by the ways in which individual and collective melded together almost seamlessly for a period of years. We don't have to discover networked learning, we have to remember it. I don't know other cultures well enough but I'm not sure this could have happened in many other places. Perhaps they were working from a sense of Ikagai, a reason for being, I don't know. It seems like nobody ever really stopped to think about.
Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of lpscholar2@gmail.com
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 9:27 PM
To: mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>; eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: Verizon's greed
Greg, Mike,
If it is true that the concept Ikagi is currently being culturally appropriated then why now? is one of the *reasons* because of this fundamental question that Mimi Ito asks:
Why must developing individuality assume [pre-suppose] the need for opposing the individual to collective cultural forms [configurations]. This is a peculiar Western notion.
This question resonates with questions of reason [reflection] as *external* or *internal* as illustrated with these two differing *pro*-positions. [presuppositions]
1) The actual world is *independent* of our descriptions or knowledge of the world, our values, preferences, and emotional responses to the world, and our attempts to understand or explain the world. This is an *external* sense of relation [of self and world].
2) All knowledge is a set of conventions governed by a central paradigm. Knowledge is derived and *informed* by that paradigm and does not refer to anything other than the paradigm it is *informed* by. This is an internal sense of relation from *within*.
I hear Mimi Ito’s sense which she describes as a Japanese cultural sense leaning towards *internal* relations which does not posit the collective as external to the self.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: mike cole
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 5:18 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: Verizon's greed
That *is* a neat Venn diagram, Greg. And I just learned of the word today for reasons that grow out of an MCA project involving a hard to define non-English words. The link to Mimi Ito, connected learning zeitgeists, and passionate affinity groups is a welcome addition to my education.
mike
PS- Neat looking web page too!!
On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 5:03 PM, Greg Mcverry <jgregmcverry@gmail.com>
wrote:
> As we were discussing ikagi in this thread it reminded me that it
> seems to be popping up more and more in my circles.
>
> Here was a post I did a few months back after a group of us read
> Jenkins, Ito, and boyd's latest book.:
> http://jgregorymcverry.com/in-search-of-ikigai-meaning-making-as-cultu
> re/
>
> It has no academic value or insight just a personal reflection.
>
> The concept of "ikagi" seems to be gaining cultural relevance in the
> tech scene or emerging theoretical perspectives "connected learning--
> a pragmatic amalgamation of learning theories with deep roots to XMCA.
>
> Not sure if the rising popularity of Ikagi is window dressing for the
> newly minted millionaire's, "millennial attitudes," or effects of our
> networked society.
>
> Given that I hate generational distinctions and avoid guessing
> anyone's motives I am going witha theory that the semiotic power of
> a well balanced Venn Diagram and the meaning packed within creates an
> inspirational aspiration.
>
> One that "hipster" crowd has appropriated. In fact if anyone has had
> the chance to see the American satire show "Silicon Valley" I would be
> willing to bet on an "Ikagi" joke.....which also speaks to a much
> larger level of cultural appropriation.
>
> On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 7:34 AM Lplarry <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Val opened this line of the intertwining thread with her passion
> > for requisite variety as the quality of permeable membranes and
> > interface as necessary for general systems theory unfolding as human projects.
> > This occurs at all levels (cell, self, families, teams, communities,
> > nations).
> > Two nations that Val offers as exemplary are Japan and Germany.
> > Implicit is the realization that these two nations *tend* towards
> > equilibrium having *requisite variety* This post lead to Andy
> > exploring the notion of having a *reason* for getting up in the
> > morning. Helen then contributed and elaborated on this quality of
> > life.
> >
> > Then Wagner, taking his turn,pointed to a deep contrast with how he
> > saw the *reality* of Japanese culture and it’s focus on the ideal
> > of not being a nail that sticks out as *actually* being more like a
> > *linear* dynamic system that is generally closed and nonpermeable.
> > This type of system which displays qualities which *express* what
> > seems to have the quality of mechanical systems having the
> > opposite system characteristic of cells which have *organic permeable boundaries* .
> >
> > My question is how Japan can be conceptualized as both exemplary
> > (living experience as if organically permeable) following the theory
> > of general biological systems theory) and also be perceived as a
> > dead and lifeless place which images a general mechanical systems
> > theory with external
> moving
> > *parts* only mechanically related and therefore forming a sense of
> lifeless
> > *repetition*.
> > It seems that within japanese culture we can be participating in
> > both organic général systems (permeable membrane image) and at the
> > same time participating in mechanical general systems (closed
> > impermeable dead
> > membranes)
> > Both forms of recognition in Nancy Frasers understanding of culture
> > but it seems to hinge on the difference between mechanical and
> > organic metaphors of system boundaries. Are system boundaries closed
> > *walls*
> > (Trump) or permeable *membranes*.
> > Dead/mechanical or living/breathing systems.
> > Is this the difference between *linear* and *nonlinear* notions of
> systems?
> >
> > My turn is to reflect on the relation between *eco* system as a
> > concept and the aboriginal image of *mother earth* as a similar concept.
> > These symbols both sharing notions of open membranes but they do
> > have a diiferent feel and sense of being organic life.
> >
> > Sent from my Windows 10 phone
> >
> > From: Wilkinson
> > Sent: April 24, 2016 9:04 PM
> > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: Verizon's greed
> >
> > Note (a continuation):
> > I was in such a hurry that I couldn't remember "the project as unit
> > of analysis." (thanks Andy) We do progress! It's not just survival
> > of the fittest, but also mutual aid is a factor. And like we used
> > to say in Medieval Lit, "when Adam dug and Eve spun, who was then a
> > "gentleman"?
> > V
> >
> >
> > On 2016/04/25 12:13, Wilkinson wrote:
> > > Life in the present mode of existence, being.
> > > Hello, dear Xmca-er colleagues.
> > >
> > > I'm checking in as a woman scholar voice doing research in General
> > > Systems Theory. Once I was just at the beginning and now nearly
> > > the
> end
> > > of my institutional career. In Japan. A National University.
> > > I live in an educational world where the children have been taught
> > > that the nail that sticks out gets beaten down.
> > >
> > > As a systems theorist, at the level of self, group, community -
> > > living systems naturally seek equilibrium. So why would I vote or
> > > not vote
> for
> > > Sanders? Why would I vote or not vote for Hilary?
> > >
> > > 40 years of teaching languages, Latin, Greek, English, has been to
> > > make my living. What I love and want to talk about is how to
> > > create a great team, produce a film, coordinate a satisfactory
> > > project, with the young ones who are enacting the managerial roles
> > > having the full support of the community of adults, both in and
> > > out of the academy. Moreover, peer-learning, which appears
> > > essential, and has so appeared to me since I was seven, "teaching"
> > > my one year younger brother how to read my
> first
> > > English primer.
> > >
> > > Time and again Andy, Larry, and Mike have responded lucidly and
> > > kindly to my flashing dives into the stream. I feel that Andy's
> > > "project" as mode/method/focus for the self, the team, and the
> > > community is
> coherent,
> > > articulate, manageable. So if I fear and dread recursions of 30s
> > > horrors, world depression, anti-union, the ghastly shape of Nazism
> > > appearing, the shape of Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunts, it's not
> > > going
> to
> > > help much with my projects of today, this week, etc.
> > >
> > > But coming back again and again to the present, the projects I am
> > > doing now, this week, this month, working out how to stay in
> > > contact with the players, get announcements out to the community,
> > > well, that is quite enough for me to do. Since the kids are grown
> > > up and don't need me so much, I have to encourage young students
> > > to join clubs, have meetings, plan events. Just have to stay busy ...
> > >
> > > But always coming back to General Systems Theory, and moving with
> > > the present, as a woman/mother/lover/teacher/faculty
> > > member/participant-observer, I value the exquisite mind of Ross
> > > Ashby and "requisite variety," which is what a viable system needs
> > > to
> survive,
> > > an environment which draws out the creative, which satisfies the
> hunger.
> > > Permeable membranes and interface is how I see the interaction
> > > of nations and communities and teams and people and families and
> > > the cells in the body maintaining health.
> > >
> > > It is hard for me to check in or dive in with a word, but XMCA
> continues
> > > to be the best forum for my serendipities and synchronicities and
> > > reading of the news. I'm still a GST person and keep my eye on
> > > Ervin Laszlow and the Budapest Club for international cooperative
> > > ventures in sustainable business, a benign transition to an age of
> ultra-technology,
> > > in which human communities can create harmonious dwellings,
> > > environmentally friendly renewable energy and so on. I live in
> > > Japan and my brother's family members live in Germany. Living in
> > > the present does not mean just today. I see that it means
> > > progressing toward
> better
> > > education, better health, better food supply. I still want to pay
> > > attention to Japan and Germany - and where ever people have
> > > learned
> that
> > > wholesome, calm work places, educational opportunities and
> > > intrinsic development, taking it easy and taking it slow, are
> > > altogether so much better than war, war, bombs, and
> > > military/industrial complex money
> blah,
> > > messing up the academy, truncating creativity, killing joyful work
> > > places. (But now I see that I am standing on a box in a park
> > > instead of getting on with my projects for today).
> > > Vandy
> > >
> > >
> > > 2016/04/25 9:29, mike cole wrote:
> > >> This is how Sanders represents himself in a way that appeals to a
> > >> good many Americans. They do not know what to call it and neither
> > >> does he. I offer it as evidence about
> > an
> > >> unusual phenomenon in American political life that feels to this
> > >> dated person a LOT like what I understand of the 1930's in this
> > >> country. I
> > come
> > >> from a line of premature anti-fascists and anti-racists (terrible
> > >> sexists)
> > >> who were firm believers in the first ammendment to the
> > >> constitution of the US. What I see in this election is very
> > >> disturbingly like what those years around my birth were all
> > >> about.
> > >>
> > >> The result in that case was a massive world war and the beginning
> > >> of
> the
> > >> atomic age.
> > >>
> > >> The result in this case?
> > >>
> > >> Who was it you were asking me to vote for?
> > >>
> > >> mike
> > >> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > >> From: BernieSanders.com <info@berniesanders.com>
> > >> Date: Sat, Apr 23, 2016 at 4:14 PM
> > >> Subject: Verizon's greed
> > >> To: Michael Cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> [image: Bernie Sanders for President]
> > >>
> > >> When the CEO of a company makes almost $20 million a year but
> > >> then tries to outsource jobs, reduce wages, and cut health
> > >> benefits -- that's the kind of corporate greed we need to get rid
> > >> of in America. *And that's exactly what Verizon is doing right
> > >> now.*
> > >>
> > >> Verizon's employees are fighting back. They're out on strike for
> > >> a contract. *Stand with them against their CEO and add your name
> > >> to Bernie's to say you support Verizon employees.
> > >> <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/stand-with-verizon-employees?sourc
> e=em160423-full
> > >*
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Bernie's email to you about this very important issue about this
> > >> is below.
> > >> Thank you for standing in solidarity.
> > >> ------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> Sisters and Brothers,
> > >>
> > >> The CEO of Verizon makes almost $20 million a year in
> > >> compensation. He leads one of the most profitable companies in the country.
> > >>
> > >> *Yet Verizon wants to take away employees' health benefits.
> > >> Verizon
> > wants
> > >> to outsource decent-paying jobs. Verizon wants to avoid paying
> > >> federal income tax. And right now, Verizon is refusing to sit
> > >> down and negotiate a fair contract with its employees.*
> > >>
> > >> In other words, Verizon is just another major American
> > >> corporation
> > trying
> > >> to destroy the lives of working Americans. *But this time,
> > >> Verizon's employees are fighting back.*
> > >>
> > >> Thousands of very brave employees of Verizon and Verizon Wireless
> > >> are
> on
> > >> strike until they can get a fair contract. They made a *very*
> difficult
> > >> decision that puts their families at risk -- but it's a choice
> > >> they made to stand up for justice against corporate greed.
> > >>
> > >> *I'm asking you today to stand up and tell the CEO of Verizon
> > >> that you think Verizon employees deserve a fair contract that
> > >> protects health benefits, guarantees fair pay, and stops
> > >> outsourcing. Click here to
> add
> > >> your name in support of Verizon employees.
> > >> <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/stand-with-verizon-employees?sourc
> e=em160423-full
> > >*
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> *Add Your Name »
> > >> <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/stand-with-verizon-employees?sourc
> e=em160423-full
> > >*
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Twice last week in New York City I stood with Verizon workers in
> > >> the streets. I did so because they're doing something very brave:
> > >> they're standing up not just for themselves, but for the millions
> > >> of Americans who don't have a union.
> > >>
> > >> The working class of this country deserves to earn decent wages,
> decent
> > >> benefits, and not see their jobs go to low-wage countries.
> > >>
> > >> Verizon's CEO doesn't think that. He called me "contemptible" for
> saying
> > >> that his employees need a fair contract, and that Verizon should
> > >> pay
> its
> > >> fair share in federal income taxes.
> > >>
> > >> What I think is contemptible is CEOs with multi-million dollar
> > >> compensation packages, presiding over extremely profitable
> > >> companies, and still refusing to give their employees fair
> > >> contracts.
> > >>
> > >> Corporate greed is a scourge on this country, and it will take
> > >> all of
> us
> > >> standing up for justice in order to rein it in. *One significant
> > >> way
> you
> > >> can stand up to corporate greed is by standing with Verizon
> > >> employees
> > who
> > >> are out on strike.*
> > >>
> > >> *Add your name and say you support Verizon employees who are
> > >> standing up to the CEO in order to get a fair contract with
> > >> health benefits, fair pay, and job protections.
> > >> <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/stand-with-verizon-employees?sourc
> e=em160423-full
> > >*
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Corporate America is slowly beginning to realize that they cannot
> > >> have
> > it
> > >> all. Thanks for helping them know it.
> > >>
> > >> In solidarity,
> > >>
> > >> Bernie Sanders
> > >>
> > >> *Contribute
> > >> <
> >
> https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/lets_go_bernie?refcode=em16
> 0423-verizon
> > >*
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Paid for by Bernie 2016
> > >>
> > >> [image: (not the billionaires)]
> > >>
> > >> PO Box 905 - Burlington VT 05402 United States - (855) 4-BERNIE
> > >>
> > >> This email was sent to lchcmike@gmail.com. If you need to update
> > >> or change your information or email address, click here to update
> > >> your info <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/change-your-information?source=ema
> il_footer
> > >.
> > >>
> > >> Email is one of the most important tools we have to reach
> > >> supporters
> > like
> > >> you, but you can let us know if you'd like to receive fewer
> > >> emails <
> >
> https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/fewer-emails?source=email_footer&e
> mail=lchcmike@gmail.com&zip=92075
> > >.
> > >>
> > >> We'd hate to see you go, but if you need to do so, click here to
> > >> unsubscribe <https://go.berniesanders.com/page/unsubscribe/>.
> > >> Stand against the powerful special interests who are
> > >> systematically buying our Congress
> > and
> > >> have their sights set on the presidency by contributing to Bernie
> > >> here <
> >
> https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/lets-go-bernie?refcode=emai
> l_footer
> > >
> > >>
> > >> .
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
--
It is the dilemma of psychology to deal as a natural science with an object that creates history. Ernst Boesch
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