Release | An Updated Google Ngram View of Trends in Functional Differentiation (1800-2000)

Abstract: Using the updated Google Book corpus dataset generated in July 2012, we analyze the largest available corpus of digitalized books to review social macro trends such as the secularization, politicization, economization, and mediatization of society. These familiar trend statements are tested through a comparative analysis of word frequency time-series plots for the English, French, […]

Speaker @CityU Hong Kong CSS Workshop

I have been invited to speak at this year’s City University of Hong Kong workshop on Computational Approaches to Big Data in the Social Sciences and Humanities, June 6, 2016. Do check the website and consider to participate! A short report on the workshop is available here.

Release | Trends in functional differentiation

Trends in functional differentiation | Special Issue of Cybernetics and Human Knowing, Vol. 22 No. 4. Guest Editor: Steffen Roth, ESC Rennes School of Business, France Table of content Steffen Roth: Foreword: Trends in Functional Differentiation Articles Steffen Roth and Anton Schütz: Ten Systems: Toward a Canon of Function Systems There is no description of modernity […]

Release | Ten systems. Toward a canon of function systems

Roth, S. and Schütz, A. (2015), Ten systems. Toward a canon of function systems, Cybernetics and Human Knowing, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 11-31. Article available for download here. Abstract: There is no description of modernity without functional differentiation. The distinction of function systems such as economy, science, art, or religion, is a key to modernity. Modern science, […]

Release | Is the future a political economy?

Abstract: This article tests whether the field of foresight and futures studies shows significant variable selection biases in the modelling of the future in general and the impact of function systems in particular. We performed a word frequency analysis to measure the relative importance of the political system, the economy, science, art, religion, law, sport, […]

Release | The Multifunctional Organization

Roth, S. (2014), The multifunctional organization: Two cases for a critical update for research programs in management and organization, Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 37-54. Abstract: Organization and functional differentiation are considered key principles of modern societies. Yet, within organizational studies little research has been conducted on the interplay of function systems, organizations, and society. […]

Surprise | There is no such thing as “economized” societies

Roth, S. (2014), Fashionable functions. A Google ngram view of trends in functional differentiation (1800-2000), International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction, Vol. 10 No. 2, 34-58 [FNEGE*, CNRS*]. Abstract: Computer communication is revolutionizing modern society to the same extend as the invention of writing or the printing press have unsettled the archaic or the ancient society, […]