As the articles in this issue illustrate, processes
can be studied in a variety of ways, depending on
the particular process ontology one espouses:
change may be modeled on motion and, thus,
viewed as change in the qualities of substantive things over time, or as enacted through a matrix of
interwoven processes. Thus, research questions focusing
on how the qualities of an entity (e.g., an
individual, group, organization, institution) change
over time may be studied from the perspective of a
substantive metaphysics in which processes represent
changes in things. Other research questions
that focus on how processes themselves ("sensemaking,"
decision making, performing, identifying,
etc.) emerge, develop, grow, and decline are compatible
with a process metaphysics in which the
focus is on how processes (rather than things) unfold
over time.