Proceedings of the 60th Annual Meeting of the ISSS - 2016 Boulder, CO, USA

Analysis of Global Quality Indicators in the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico

Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The public education of quality can mitigate educational differences between rich and poor families, according the report of United Nations about Human Development in 2014. The Human Development Index (HDI) is an index that measures the achievements of a country in three basic dimensions of human development: 1) A long and healthy Life, 2) Access to education and knowledge and 3) Dignified standard of life.

The same report states that primary and secondary education worldwide remains at acceptable progress but in higher education levels there are large gaps between developed countries and those it in developing.

Derived of policy national and institutional in education of Mexico, quality indicators involve various parameters within which highlighted, approval rating, the reproof rate and the desertion rate; although these rates are not the best way to measure the quality that exists in the process of educational training.

It has been observed that ethics and responsibility of all stakeholders in the education system of this level have an influence unfavorably on the values presented by the mentioned parameters.

This research attempts to find relation between educational performance and the behavior of the actors involved in the educational system; employing, a systemic methodology that allows us to evaluate the problem and contributing to the resolution of a holistically.

Program / Abstracts: 60th Meeting of ISSS, Boulder, US

Jennifer Wilby — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00:00 -0800

See contents.

Program / Abstracts: 60th Meeting of ISSS at Vignan U., India

John Kineman — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 00:00:00 -0800

See contents.

Expecting the Unexpected - Coping with Crisis

Gerhard Chroust — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

In this paper we identify the different ways of reacting to the impacts of disasters. We stress the advantage of pro-actively fighting disasters by means of appropriate preparation and intervention. Two of the most important support strategies are Anticipation and Crisis Science used in combination and supported by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Based on the 5 phases of Disaster Management we identify essential activities to be performed before, during and after a disaster and point to the necessary application of Crisis Science.

Leadership for Sustainability of Socio-Ecological Systems: Unity in Diversity, Humanity in Technology

John Kineman — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 00:00:00 -0800

Most forecasts agree that we have exciting times ahead. But the world is facing a number of crises, and systems do not change smoothly – they pass through phases of decline and reorganization that might be quite troubling. Success may depend, as Andy Stirling said the first day of this conference, on our ability to be responsive to the opportunity inherent in crisis; that is, to see the systemic nature of our circumstances and alternative pathways that make up a complex roadmap with more than one road, as Andy also said. One thing we can do in a crisis, is to always ask “what can we learn from this.” That’s “Crisis Science”, and its lessons can tell us how to do “Sustainability Science”.

Systemic Integration of Spatial Knowledge in Business

Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

A model to achieve technological development (DT) is proposed, in particular a satellite, with the following sub phases: 1.Analysis of International satellite system; 2. Analysis of the National satellite system; 3. diagnose, using the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats); 4. Proposed solution; 5. Mission, vision, values and strategic objectives of the proposal; 6. Strategias using SWOT combinations: FO, FA, OD and AD; 7. Action plan; 8. Technological development.

With analysis and diagnosis it was found that one of the great strengths in this country is the development of scientific research, in particular space, since the forties, but it is isolated, ie, not integrated in the productive industry and therefore state policy proposes establishing humanistic satellite companies to promote and preserve the ecology, self-financing, public, mixed, or private initiative, integrating scientific, basic and applied research, based on the goals, objectives and marketing strategies. Companies call for the design, construction and launch of satellites, thus providing efficient, fast, safe and cheap services to meet the demand of domestic and international users, as developed countries have done through their space agencies, in order to have DT in this area.

A Systemic Model for Communication Innovation

Cirilo Gabino Leon, Luis Alejandro Iturri Hinojosa, Elvira Avalos Villareal — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

A Systemic Model for a telecommunications innovation system was designed with the proposal for technological development, to avoid situations that endanger the cancellation, by the International Union of Communications of the satellite orbits assigned to Mexico, and thus promote public and private investment through the integration of basic and applied scientific research in enterprises. The idea is to make appropriate innovations and make significant improvements to products, thus meeting the demands of domestic and international consumers.

Performance Evaluation System in Engineering Matters: Systematic and Theoretical Approach to Humanity

Tatsumasa Takaku — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

As the systematic approach to engineering matters, the performance evaluation system is proposed and examined theoretically by using the mathematical model. The systematic andtheoretical approach to humanity is described. In the long history of human activity, engineering, culture, tradition, customs, life style, language have been formed gradually based upon politics, economics, natural and social environments. In usual, facility (F) behaves and performs a certain interaction (I) under some environments (E). This general phenomenon (physics/chemistry) is due to nature law and also applied to general social phenomenon and human activity. Above F,E,I are considered to be primary elements of the basic system V(F,E,I).The performance of V(F,E,I) is evaluated as a result of phenomenon. As the rating index (p), five elements are defined: time(t), space(x),money(m), humanity(h), quality(q).The basic system V(F,E,I) is expressed in form of V(t,x,m,h,q) because of having the rating index built-in. The performance evaluation system is formulated by the mathematical model (partial differentiation form )of δV(F,E,I)/ δp.

By using a model of the existing bridge, the basic systemV(F,E,I) of steel bridge and theirperformance evaluation are simulated by the mathematical model. Facility F, environment E and interaction I elements of the basic system V(F,E,I) of the steel bridge are organized and each hierarchy is built in detail. They are closely related to the description/articles of the specification in edit and design use. The methodology of constitution and systematization of the specification is proposed. The sample bridge has been awarded as one of the best bridge of the year by JSCE in 2012. The performance evaluation clarifies why it is worthwhile and selected. Systematic approach to engineering matters and humanity are discussed. As the two-dimensional（X,Y）problem, the expression method of block diagram is described. The X-Y axes should be orthogonally designated by independent phenomenon each other. Based upon the nature law, Pareto distribution and the potential energy reserved theory, three problems are examined; 1)Risk management, regional disasters control, 2)Fracture/fatigue problems of the shear panel dampers and 3) The PM (performance/maintenance) theory of human activity.

Keywords: performance evaluation system, rating index, primary/secondary evaluation, bridge system, nature law, potential energy reserved theory

Wholeness in Complex Socio-Technical Systems

William Joseph Toth — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0700

Highly complex social and technological systems are ubiquitous in the modern world. Many of these systems are associated with high levels of energy; potential, kinetic, and human. The consequences of system failure can be extreme. Observation of catastrophic technological failures such as two space shuttle disasters, the nuclear power plants at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima, and many others, show clearly that creators and managers of these systems must take great care with system design and operations. Human system failures such as those seen in espionage or mass killing cases also highlight the need for both responsible and humane organizational management and sustained attention to defensive measures.

Lack of attention to any of vast systemic issue both social and technical can result in organizational or defense system defects. These defects can be described as holes or shadow aspects and these pertain to the technical systems, the human systems and the socio-technical system interplay. Responsible technology and social system design requires addressing these holes and shadow aspects to eliminate them and therefore make the system complete or whole. Organizational wholeness is a continuous process of attention to and mitigation of these types of defects. Sustainability in this context is the continued focus on safe and secure operations and life affirming human dimensions to respond to environmental changes and adjust defenses accordingly. This paper will describe propose a model that may be useful for hole and shadow aspect identification and issues related to their management or mitigation.

Synthesising Traditional Chinese Medicine and Engineering through Systems Engineering: Traditional Chinese Medicine Engineering

Thomas Sui Leung Wong, E C Yan Huang — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

This paper searches for an entry point and a platform to learn across boundaries to achieve synthesis, so that Traditional Chinese Medicine and system engineering could also understand each other and benefit from each other. The search involves investigation of both western and eastern point of view including systems theories, set theory, Confucianism, and Daoism. A promising Yin-Yang Five Elements i ± 1 System is established through this research.

Framing a System

Ioven Fables — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Boundaries of a system are largely determined by human perception. To an extent this occurs arbitrarily, but to an extent it is a response to changing environmental conditions. Given this dynamic, the way a system is framed in terms of its boundaries affects human action on a global scale. Understanding this framing can empower the human agent and enable a recontextualization of human potential such that our planetary system is approached and maintained in an ecologically equitable and sustainable fashion. This paper outlines how such framing relates to different scales of human civilization and what some of the important practical distinctions are related to such an act of framing.

An Aggregated Qualitative Accounting Method for Developing Justified Policies

Michèle Friend — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

“Qualitative accounting” is almost an oxymoron. The word ‘accounting’ includes the word ‘count’, and we cannot count qualities. More precisely, we cannot meaningfully add qualities to each other, a quality cannot be measured by a standard unit. Therefore, aggregating qualities for the purposes of accounting might sound like sleight of hand, or deceptive advertising. Fear not. The result will turn out to be quite robust, given a modicum of intelligence and sensitivity. The method is original and useful.

The structure of the paper is given by the following sections: (1) an introduction to the topic, by looking at each word in the title, (2) we look at the UN mandate which will be used as an example to illustrate the method, (3) an explanation of the Lirst part of method: working with the UN mandate, (4) the second part of the method: two orders of sensitivity used for reLlection, and why this adds to the robustness of the method (5) broadening the conceptions underlying the method and lastly (6) uses of the method for policy.

A Framework for Understanding and Achieving Sustainability of Complex Systems

George Mobus — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

This paper takes a systems approach to outlining a framework for the sustainability of complex systems. Complex systems have one or more functions that strongly interact with their environments, or the supra-system in which they are embedded. The success of the system in interacting with its environment over an extended time frame depends on that system’s ability to regulate its activities, both internal and external so as to remain ‘fit’. The concept of fitness derives directly from the evolutionary theory of phenotypic traits and capabilities (behaviours) being selected for or against by the environment of the system. But it is generalized beyond the standard neo-Darwinian biological process. The roles of adaptivity and evolvability and the mechanisms of a hierarchical cybernetic governance subsystem in maintaining these are advanced as necessary conditions for achieving sustainability in all types of complex systems.

An operational definition of sustainability is advanced along with a set of necessary conditions that must obtain in order for complex systems to achieve it. Several systemic dysfunctional conditions are explored to show how complex systems fail to achieve sustainability by failure of the hierarchical cybernetic governance subsystem. Examples from several natural and human-built systems are used to demonstrate these conditions.

Clarification of the meaning of complexity across a spectrum of system types is given. A definition of complexity based on hierarchical levels of organization is given to ground the discussion of the hierarchical cybernetic governance subsystem and justify its necessity to achieve and maintain stable dynamics in unstable environments.

The purposes and uses of this framework are discussed and examples provided. A brief description of the use of systems analysis to explore and discover functional and dysfunctional subsystems within the hierarchical cybernetic governance subsystem and how this might provide insights for the design of better performing subsystems is also provided.

The paper concludes with a projection of the benefits of applying this methodology to the governance of the human social system (HSS).

Engaging partnership to improve corporate social responsibility in developing countries

Dolores Opon — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The CSR concept as it exists does not capture the essence of the kind of partnership required by CSR in developing countries to make the needed impact. In the bid to make CSR more beneficial in addressing developing country needs, partnership among stakeholders has been advocated as the panacea for CSR. In an attempt to develop a suitable CSR partnership for developing countries therefore, the study analyzed some NGO/corporate partnerships and community/corporate partnerships currently being used for CSR delivery in Ghana. Benefits of the NGO/corporate partnership include the availability of expertise and funds for CSR projects while the community/corporate partnerships benefit from the close interaction between the key stakeholders and targeted funding from the MNCs. The major drawback of both partnerships is their inability to engage in CSR from a systems perspective thus excluding some key stakeholders, particularly the communities. The government of Ghana which is in a pivotal position for development has no clear polices regarding CSR implementation and rather plays an indirect role in facilitating CSR by granting licenses and approvals for development projects.

While NGO/corporate partnership and community/corporate partnerships met some CSR needs they were not effective in delivering the CSR that Ghana and developing countries require. I therefore posit the community corporate partnership responsibility (CCPR), a three stage concept that recognizes the key role of partnership among stakeholders for meaningful and mutually beneficial outcomes. The CCPR process involves community pre-entry processes, community engagement processes, and the CSR implementation processes and activities.

Systems Thinking and Wildland Fire Management

Matthew P Thompson, Christopher J Dunn, David E Calkin — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

A changing climate, changing development and land use patterns, and increasing pressures on ecosystem services raise global concerns over growing losses associated with wildland fires. New management paradigms acknowledge that fire is inevitable and often uncontrollable, and focus on living with fire rather than attempting to eliminate it from the landscape. A notable example from the U.S. is the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, which aims to bring multiple agencies, landowners and stakeholders together to achieve three broadly defined goals: resilient landscapes, fire-adapted human communities, and safe and effective response to fire. Implicit in the structure of these three goals is the nexus of three systems: the ecological system, the social system, and the fire management system, respectively. This systems-based structure reflects a perspective that contextualizes fire as a disturbance process that influences and is in turn influenced by other agents and processes within a broader socio-ecological system. While the need for transformative system change is well-recognized, at least three central challenges remain: (1) the need for more parties to accept that how fires are managed is in many instances the limiting factor of system behaviour; (2) the need to improve our understanding of the characteristics and complexities of the fire management system itself; and (3) perhaps most fundamentally, the need to coherently apply systems analysis principles in order to improve system performance. In this paper we attempt to bridge these gaps by applying systems thinking to contemporary wildfire management issues in the U.S. We review in more detail what we mean when we say fire management system, describe observed system behaviours and patterns, and begin to unravel factors that may influence behaviour. We synthesize findings from various lines of fire-related research and identify how collectively they reflect systemic flaws stemming from feedbacks, delays, bounded rationality, misaligned incentives, and other factors. These flaws are manifest in what is known as the “fire paradox,” whereby a legacy of fire exclusion in fire-prone forests has led to hazardous accumulations of flammable vegetation such that future fires burn with higher intensity and are more resistant to control; today’s “success” begets tomorrow’s failure. To conclude we offer some ideas for next steps and system redesign to better align behaviour with purpose, largely borrowing from risk and decision analysis. Our primary objective is to sufficiently frame and gain agreement on what we view as essentially a systemic problem.

A Study of Systems Research Design: An Examination of Systemic and Systematic Methods used to Study Chinese Women's Decision to Study Abroad

Pamela Buckle, Chen Zou, Mary Edson, Jennifer Wilby — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

In this paper we examine the systemic methodological choices involved in studying the ethical decision space within which Chinese women come to decide to attend an American university in pursuit of a business education. In the research we wished to develop insight about the role of the student herself in the decision-making process in relation to others involved. Insofar as the decision-making process involves a multitude of interacting influences, the researchers conceived of this space as a system of people and ideas that contribute a sense of the “rightness” of studying abroad in a young adult Chinese woman’s life.

From a research design perspective, exploring a decision space like this was not straightforward. We were studying what we conceived as a systemic ethical decision-making phenomenon, fraught with the difficulties inherent in cross-cultural data collection. This research was not designed to critique the complex decision-making processes that study participants had engaged in before coming to study in the U.S. Nonetheless, we faced the very real potential that women participating in the research could perceive themselves as having to hide certain information, or conversely, display their idea of favorable responses to the researchers’ questions. We needed to overcome differences of both language and culture between members of the research team and research subjects. Further, we set for ourselves the challenge to formulate a design that would be both systemic and systematic.

No extant theories existed on the ethics of decision-making processes resulting in Chinese women coming to study abroad. Consequently, we used grounded theory methods to inductively illuminate the emergent meaning-making processes involved in such a decision, given this method’s systematic and rigorous set of procedures and techniques for theory building. Along with grounded theory-informed interviews, we facilitated each study participant in developing a rich picture of the systems of people, processes, and meaning-making that exerted influence on her decision to study abroad. Together, interviews and rich pictures enabled our participants to make explicit the contextual complexities of their decisions and to communicate those complexities to us. Importantly, the research techniques we used helped participants to explore ethical complexities of their decision in a safe way.

A Theoretical Framework to Capture Stakeholder's Perspectives for the Design of Collaborative Communication Structures for Specializedl Organization

Tanida Chongvilaiwan, Javier Calvo-Amodio — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Small consults business often specializes in one aspect of the business analyst. This specialized focus is done by necessity due to scarcity of resources and to maintain a proprietary market niche. However, this specialized focus results in a growth inhibitor due to their lack of ability to address all the potential client’s needs. Moving to a multiple entity collaborative approach can provide a competitive advantage. By having many specialized business analysts and interactions can provide different value generation objects to co-produce a product or service to best serve customer requirements. Yet, interacting with multiple entities that do not communicate with each other well can be dysfunctional and unsatisfying for themselves and most importantly for clients. When multiple interests and beliefs are in place, soft systems methodology (SSM) and CATWOE tool can assist leaders to find the “middle” ground for all participants to collaborate. However, SSM is based on the observer doing all the design work, a feature not desirable when designing collaborative structures. In this research, a participative version of Soft Systems Methodology for energy analysis was developed to assist E3 (Economic, Energy, and Environment) practices and principles by using a set of questionnaires to capture information regarding the diversity of stakeholder's perspective. The resulting data then lead to the creation of root definition and the design of communication structure in the collaborative organization. The resulting version is capable of assisting collaborative specialized organization’s leaders in the design of communication structures to coordinate collaborative efforts.

Emerging Possibilities: Adapting Carol Sanford's Stakeholder PENTAD for the Nonprofit and Public Sectors

Kathleen Gibbons, Marty Jacobs — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The nonprofit and public sectors are constantly challenged to create greater impact with fewer and fewer resources. The recession of 2008 has resulted in less funding for both sectors and increased demand for their programs and services, pushing many organizations to the brink. With the likelihood of change in the current state slim, nonprofits and public agencies are eager for new approaches that will enable them to create greater value from existing resources in a socially responsible manner. This paper introduces one possible tool, which was adapted from Carol Sanford’s stakeholder pentad introduced in her book, The Responsible Business: Reimagining Sustainability and Success. Sanford’s pentad is intended to shift a business’s focus away from measuring success based purely on financial returns to one of a quintuple bottom line centered on developing relationships with the following five sets of stakeholders: customers, co-creators, earth, community, and investors.

Civilization, Technology, and Money: The Challenge of a Human Fit

Michael Charles Kalton — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Civilization in its science-enabled industrial form highlights and gives exponential growth to forms of agency and motivation so removed from the dynamics of eco-systemic mutual constraint that the troubled culture-nature interface has finally assumed the proportions of a sustainability crisis. With the emergence about 12,000 years ago of agriculture and the subsequent rise of the complex, settled societies we refer to as “civilization,” our models of ourselves and of the world transformed in ways that decisively separated the character of human agency and motivation from the behaviours by which other forms of life make a living. The science-enabled Industrial Revolution made central and self-aware the long-nurtured civilized thrust to control and shape the world to our purposes, refining that mindset into what Jacques Ellul has described as the “technological mind,” the probing seach for an improved way of doing whatever we turn our minds to. With this mentality technology has moved to center stage both as our first resort in approaching any kind of problem and as our chief lever for economic growth. We have collapsed the constraints of space and time and the world of nature is quite outflanked by the speed and power with which thoughts and plans in the human mind can reshape and modify environments from the expectations structured into the way other species make a living.

This puts a new and critical weight on the thoughts, feelings, and motivation of the human mind-and-heart. All living beings are motivated to act in order to achieve and maintain well-being. But human motivation is far from the direct response to needs and dangers common to other forms of life. Our motivation as action is mediated by technology, and our technology loops back to shape our motivation. As a well-being guided response our motivation is mediated by money, which offers none of the inherent guidance of actual well-being. The “better” achievement of whatever, the animating thrust of technology, promises an open-ended more: more productivity, more speed, more convenience, more ease. And at the heart of money is another more, the profit motive that guides us to proud achievements and likewise to humiliating dysfunction. We market the promise of the technological “more” for profit, and the drive for more profit powerfully fuels the technological drive for all sorts of innovation. Thus the incremental thrusts embedded in technology and money work in synergy to bring us to the exponential burst of transformation in culture and the natural world. In the process guidance of real well-being becomes hit or miss, distorted by a thirst for and expectation of novelty stoked by endless advertising or overshadowed in the anxious pursuit of profit.

Seeing the deep structures that have brought civilization so rapidly to such an innovative and world-transforming peak reveals no easy answers: we cannot simply change ourselves without the difficult and uncertain process of reconfiguring elements structured into civilization that make us the kind of unpredictable and uncontrollable species we are at present. But it helps to know there are other ways available, perhaps even other ways of doing a civilization. If those alternatives are in any way open to our deliberate contrivance, that deliberation will have to include serious reflection on how the way we maintain our well-being has come to fit so ill with the well-being as pursued in the rest of the community of life. For humans, understanding is the guide to moving into a better future.

Ingenieros Sin Fronteras, Colombia: Improvement of the Water Quality in the Community of Santa Isabel de Potosi

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Santa Isabel rural community is located between the municipalities of Guasca and La Calera in Colombia; it was composed of different stakeholders that coexist around the “El Asilo” creek. The people collect water from this water source for consumption and daily use. The water comes from Chingaza moorland, one of top three of water generation ecosystems in the country. Given the close relationship between the community and the ecological system, the environmental damage of this creek has generated big problems in health and quality of life of the inhabitants. Through joint work with the community was proposed a project called "Improvement of the quality of water in the community of Santa Isabel de Potosi". The group with the community is nowadays performing an analysis based on community-based decision-making taking into account the possible alternatives that could be implemented in order of diminishing in some percentage the impact of the issue and this way try to avoid the complete deterioration of the brook and the ecosystems in the area. Among the alternatives of intervention these are found: generation of a new method of community cooperation in behalf of the sanitation of the brook and the implementation of homemade filters in the improvement of the quality of the drinking water.This paper presents the analysis of the problem taking into account different points of view such as the environmental as well as the organizational one, highlighting the fact that this is not an isolated issue but an evidence of the possible environmental disaster that Colombia could live if nothing is done at the right time. Also this paper presents how engineering and work with the communities has been able to define the guidelines of intervention that are going to allow the next stage of the project, putting in practice the solutions proposed in behalf of a better quality of life.

Typology of Social Actions based on the Living Systems Theory

Ilan Riss — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

It is impossible to make progress in social theory without inquiring about social actions; therefore, many leading sociologists refer to this notion in their work. Max Weber, Talcott Parsons and many other sociologists attempted to ground not only their works but also the science of sociology as a whole on a theory of social actions. Max Weber defined sociology as "the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects". Moreover, he explicitly singled out social action as the “central subject matter” of his sociology. Hence, comprehensive typology of social actions can be very helpful in sociological analysis.

Usually, social actions are classified by actors’ intentions. In this paper, types of social actions are categorized both by actors’ intentions and by the actions’ results, including both the intentional and unintentional outcomes. This was achieved through consideration of the social actions in the framework of J.G. Miller’s living systems theory. This theory regards each living system as composed of 20 subsystems that process information and matter/energy inside the living system and between the living system and its environment. These 20 subsystems are considered at eight levels: cell, organ, organism, group, organization, community, society and supranational systems. The first three constitute the level of biological living systems; the other five comprise the level of social living systems. Social actions are interactions among living systems or among different parts of one living system at the social level. The proposed typology of social actions is based on analysis of developmental, reproductive and interactional processes in the social systems.

In order to live and function, living systems must allow their matter/energy-processing subsystems to work, so all social actions in social living systems can be associated with the functioning of these subsystems. Seemingly, the number of goals for social actions as well as the number of their outcomes is very high, however, by relating principal intention and main outcome of the considered social action to specific matter/energy-processing subsystems, their number can be significantly reduced. This is done by determining the main subsystem that was intended to be affected by the planned social action, and the main subsystem that was actually impacted by it. In many cases, it is the same subsystem; that is, the intention coincides with the consequence. As a result of this analysis, the two-dimensional matrix of types of social actions was constructed, and the methodology of assigning any social action to a specific cell in the typological matrix was proposed. Every social action in this typology is designated by the names of the pair of the involved subsystems; if they coincide, the type is labeled by the name of one subsystem. Obviously, as in any classification, there also exists an element of arbitrariness in the relating of the social action to its type. More detailed typology of social actions on the basis of the living systems theory can be developed by including in the analysis the information-processing subsystems.

On the Domesticated Bodies of North Korean Residents

JinGon Shim — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

North Koreans‘ social ecological resilience may be recovered by removing their vulnerability and facilitating their adaptability to a changing environment. North Koreans must improve their social relationships with inner or outer environments. Idolatrous social relations have enslaved the bodies of the inhabitants of North Korea. Only changes in the ruling ideology will enable the North Koreans to heal and transform their bodies in a social ecological recovery.

Resilience and Ecological Citizenship in Socio-Ecological Systems

Min-hu Shim — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

As the current discussion of an Anthropocene geological epoch suggests, human planning and intentions have had tremendous effects on the earth’s ecosystems. One lesson has been that there must be a positive feedback loop for the proper resiliency in terms of system processes. Just as resilience is needed in the interactions across and within species for an ecosystem to persist over time, it is also a human imperative when faced with crises such as the massive perturbations of the Earth System we now call the Anthropocene. Among the variety of human capacities that the crisis will call upon, perhaps the most crucial is spiritual recovery. Resilience and sustainability of ecosystems will be possible only through spiritual enlightenment building on the open-minded attitude of individuals around the globe.

Towards Understanding the Effects of Visual Artifacts in Problem Structuring Processes: A Boundary Games Approach

Jorge Ivan Velez-Castiblanco, Diana Londono-Correa, Olandy Naranjo — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The construction of agreements about the nature of the problem confronted by a group can be seen as the aim of problem structuring methods. Visualizing issues to facilitate the discussions plays a protagonist role in the process. However, we lack methods to study this kind of interaction and therefore we know little about how these visual artefacts catalyse the structuration of the problem. This paper builds towards these two interrelated issues by analysing the interactions using Boundary Games, a theoretical synthesis based on philosophy, language pragmatics, and boundary critique. The Boundary Games framework shows how actors’ communications affect the boundary of what is considered relevant in a situation. Boundary Games have been applied to study oral segments of interaction; in this case, its application is extended to visual supported interactions, specifically whiteboard supported facilitation. The preliminary analysis shows that visual artefacts allow people to keep track of distant and varied ideas and that the visual is helping to connect and reinforce those ideas. This work can be seen as a stepping stone for understanding models, a more complex visual artefact of common use in structuring problems.

Leadership Practices for Thrivability of Complex Social Systems: Three Stories

Patricia A. Wilson, Elizabeth Walsh, Alan Bush — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

See attachment

Thinking and Acting Systematically about the Anthropocene

Yeon-soo(Youn-soo) Shim(Sim) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Living in a globalized society implies that political thinking necessarily extends beyond the national level to encompass our roles as citizens of the world. Living in today’s globalized society also requires a new level of political thinking commensurate with the complexity of its challenges. To overcome the many difficulties facing the planet on which we live, and therefore our very existence, in the Anthropocene era, it has become incumbent on human beings to practice systems thinking. This paper will first attempt to clear the ground by examining how three common approaches to systems theory are unlikely to facilitate a resolution of the Anthropocene crisis. It will then examine how general systemic thinking, critical systems thinking, and whole healing systems thinking can help us both to comprehend the rifts in the earth’s system and to repair them.

Systemic Deviation, The Evil in the Machine

Paola Di Maio — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0700

In the context of the increasing importance of transparency and accountability of intelligent and autonomous systems, this paper introduces identifies and defines the notion of Systemic Deviation and characterizes it with some examples, providing pointers to current and future work adopting this definition. It also proposes some steps towards methods and solutions including Socio Technical Systems Joint Optimisation, an Ethical Functional Model, and identifying and addressing Systemic Aspects of Wrongdoing and Whistleblowing Research

Critical Systems Thinking Review on Decentralised Drinking Water Management in Nauli City, Indonesia

Jackwin Simbolon — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

This paper is based on a PhD project that strives to assess the performance of decentralised drinking water management in the city of Kupang, Indonesia. The implementation of decentralised government system followed by decentralizing some functions including drinking water services, is unsatisfactory in providing access to drinking water for all residents in the city of Kupang. Kupang Municipality that has just split up as an autonomous local government under the decentralized government system in Indonesia, is facing conflicts in providing water provision to the society, since there are three public water companies in this region: PDAM of Kupang City, PDAM of Kupang District, and BLUD of the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government. Furthermore, these governments and water companies seem to forget the main objective of government in water provision as stated in the Indonesia Constitution: to fully control the water and manage it for meeting the people’s needs. The aim of this research is to apply Ulrich’s critical systems heuristics (CSH) to address the following research questions: (i) how effective is the current decentralized water management system?; and (ii) how the current system can be improved and what ought to be done?

Participatory Action Research as a Methodology for the Development of Appropriate Technologies by Communities

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

The social and environmental development potential of countries like Colombia shows the need to articulate right from the communities, the processes and projects relevant to their territories. Furthermore when vital aspects of human health, such as access to clean water and water consumption, are also opportunities for the development of innovative technological solutions, stemming from the relationship between society and natural systems. In this context, a group of researchers together with a community of about 1,500 children and 15 teachers from schools of several towns in Cundinamarca department (Colombia) has been developing a technological platform founded on the community-based action research proposal of Ernest Stringer. This interactive technological platform, based on the use of SMS and the web, is called “La Liga del Agua”. It is a jointly constructed space where synergies between the different stakeholders around the proper use of water resources can arise, based on the self-recognition of wastewater problems on each of the participants’ homes. Thus, the problem approaches from the daily practices and the technological inefficiency, generating an empowerment of the water importance. The main theoretical foundation of this technological co-construction is based on the spirit of participatory and democratic systemic intervention, from the soft systems methodology of Peter Checkland, as well as the sociocultural vision of the community that, voluntarily, intend to solve a problem collectively, as suggested by Rusell Ackoff. In this article, we will show the jointly design process of “La Liga del Agua” platform and the incidence on the increase of the good practices of water resources usage. In addition, the results of the teaching strategies and recreational activities that seek to increase the empowerment by the actors and their interaction with the technology will be presented. To conclude, all the learnings of the proposal will be introduced, so it can be replicated on other contexts with environmental concerns.

A Communication System for Socio-Ecological Processes

Sandra Leticia Murillo-Sandoval, Ignacio E Peon-Escalante, Isaías Badillo-Piña — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

This article outlines a unified Communication Theory linking cyber-systemic, and cyber-semiotic perspectives. The objective is explaining communication as an emergent system from the interaction process between socio-ecological systems. The emergent communication system seen from a unified perspective is applied as a participative integral transformation process toward the harmonic relationship between human communities and their dynamic social and natural environment. It includes the description of an evolutionary communication process between social and environmental leaders of organizational networks under real conditions. It describes the evolutionary stages of the communication system between different social and environmental leaders who have been working in social organizational networks of Mexico in the last thirty years. The last stage of this emergent communication process among social organizational networks leaders began in 2009, is called: the Ecosystemic Dialogues, it is communication system with qualitative complexity and critical awareness. It is a social laboratory of change under real conditions, through a participative action-research cybernetic process, for a harmonic and sustainable relationship between human and natural systems, through a complex communication dynamic. It is a process toward the sustainable systemic health of the planet.

Innovation: Four Poster Books on Systems Processes Theory (SPT) 7 Posters on SPT Fundamentals 7 Student Posters on Applying SPT to Sustainability 6 Student Posters on Applying SPT to Systems Engineering 7 Student Posters on Applying SPT to Human Areas

Len Troncale — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Two of the notable themes of this conference are systems engineering & sustainability. This poster session will present 27 posters on 4 poster boards as “books” of posters; 7 by an ISSS Past President, 20 by graduate students in applied degree programs targeted at both these application domains. The first “book” of posters will describe Systems Processes Theory (SPT) as a candidate general systems theory and systems science knowledge base or tool for informing and solving a wide range of human and systems design problems. It will cover: (1) SPT as a GST & SysSci; (2) Comparison with other GST’s; (3) SPT Tenets, Prerequisites, Discinyms; (4) Catalogue of Linkage Propositions; (5) Use of Natural Sciences; (6) Organizing for SPT Research; (7) Funding SOS for Systems Engineering. The second “book” of posters will describe attempts by the Center for Regenerative Study (CSU, Pomona) graduate students to research one isomorphy of SPT and apply it to the following sustainability problems: (1) carbon storage in urban forestry; (2) regenerative farming systems; (3) upper newport bay ecological restoration; (4) sustainable indoor environments; (5) Maslow’s hierarchy & sustainable development; (6) sustainable construction methods; (7) SPT & regulatory decision making. The third “book” of posters will describe attempts by Master’s of Systems Engineering candidates (IME 510; Dept. of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering; CSU, Pomona) to research one isomorphy of SPT and apply it to these SE topics: (1) SPT & Agile Engineering; (2) SPT & Materials Engineering; (3) SPT & Production Line Effectiveness; (4) SPT & Industrial Assembly Lines; (5) SPT & Innovations in Engineering; (6) SPT & Operation of an SE Development System. The fourth “book” of posters will describe attempts by international graduate students taking online systems courses (CSA 411-413; College of Science; CSU, Pomona) to research only one isomorphy of SPT and apply it to the following human problem areas: (1) SPT & Kelp Forest Restoration; (2) SPT & Media Storage 1; (3) SPT & Media Storage 2; (4) SPT & Environmental Biology; (5) SPT & Transportation Systems; (6) SPT & social capital in the underclass; (7) SPT & Wilber’s Integral Theory of self.

These poster “books” will be up and available for perusal throughout the conference. A representative of INCOSE, ISSS, and the Institute for Advanced Systems Studies (IAS) will be available to answer questions and forge alliances at announced times.

How to Design Alltogether? The Triple Bottom Line

Ricardo Barrera — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Business´ owners want their enterprises are profitable, and that profits stay forever. In other words, they want business economic and financially sustainable. Citizens want business socially responsible, and also environmentally careful, and contribute to recover it.

The liquid societies (Bauman, 2000) create and destroy markets very quickly, and shareholders demand CEOs adapts their enterprises to those changes, maintaining profitable. Corruption scandals promote strong society claims, demand ethic behaviors. There are more sights about the environment. Paris signature authorities tell “these are not enough” (Paris Climate Agreement, 2016).

There are theoretical papers about each of these aspects, but there aren’t a holistic view trying to find systemic answers.

How have enterprises that are simultaneously sustainable, ethically behavior in all domains, and environmentally responsible:

Are enough to choose a CEO who can make the triple goals?

Can move the enterprise with a consulting work to the triple ends?

Must promulgate laws, with strong penalties, to force enterprises to obtain the triple line?

Is it necessary to (re-) design the enterprise to put on the way to the triple results?

The first three questions are not enough. To choose a CEO with those capabilities is possible only for a few numbers of organizations, if it is possible. Consulting is, by definition, limited in time, and it needs a corporation’s behavior for the entire life. And if we have laws about, they cannot explain how to do it. It’s necessary that ALL the company, their members and all around collaborate and coordinate to have a chance to arrive.

In recent times there are proposals to a new way of enterprises, with linked profit business with social impact and environment, call hybrid organizations. They try to generate at the same time, economic, social and environmental value (triple bottom line). Combine the current concepts of sustainability and systemic impact on all the dimensions requires a new design.

In general, it is observed that the treatment of comprehensive way concerned is omitted. It focuses from one or another aspect, emphasis on certain features, but not about taking the overall design, which makes it difficult to appear companies at the same time achieve sustainability on all fronts. Those that exist are shown as successful examples, but is veiled how they succeeded, and the small number shown not allow inferring a viable design. It is about advancing the design companies that meet all requirements and work in line with the systemic dimensions that define Sustainability. Design tools and business models wide target.

How to design organizations broad objectives that are sustainable from economic, social and environmental perspective, taking into account its surroundings and prospects?

Cybernetic models available, such as VSM, systemic tools developed in recent decades, as models of Ackoff, Ulrich, Jackson, Checkland, Bosch, among others, suggest that counted with enough devices to address the design of this new type of companies.

It is necessary to consider the behaviors of businessmen, culture and expectations, since what is being proposed are, to some extent, a Copernican shift in the way of acting and directing companies. It is necessary to consider that it will be necessary not only explain the design, especially its possible results and advantages compared to traditional.

Today, when Millennium Development Goals post 2015 seeking simultaneously to defeat the scourge of poverty, and lead humanity to sustainable development, we must make all the productive forces in each place are aligned to work simultaneously on all fronts: economic, social, environmental, etc. This requires having previously developed academic responses, otherwise treated no objectives or goals but mere wishful thinking. Perhaps this is a small step in the right direction.

Opportunity Tension at the Center: Positive Organizational Behaviors, Participant Capital, and Social Emergence

Jim Best — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

This theoretical essay connects 1) collaboration in voluntary groups that create social value, 2) interpersonal behaviors of the participants, and 3) various forms of “capital” participants bring to opportunities for which they are highly motivated. Positive behaviors and accumulation of participant capital mutually reinforce the sense of opportunity and motivation participants feel for a given project and increase the attractiveness and sense of opportunity for others. This “opportunity tension” grows in a non-linear fashion resulting in increasingly disruptive participant action that ultimately drives the production of emergent social value. A complex systems lens emphasizes mutual reinforcement at multiple scales and containment that bounds interaction. Support for the argument comes from a wide range of literature and peer-reviewed journal articles citing empirical evidence for the individual effects between the various factors. By understanding these dynamics social sector collectives can proactively design their interaction to become more effective in responding to the serious challenges we increasingly face.

A Categorization of Socio-Technical Systems Approaches based on Context and Purpose

Rime Elatlassi, Chinmay Narwankar — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

To come.

Transformative Learning Networks

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Learning networks combine multistakeholder collaboration with community-spanning interaction and exchange across sites and scales. They are inter-organizational voluntary collaboratives that support innovation and social learning to promote systemic change. Learning networks are often attempted in situations where existing institutional arrangements cannot address looming challenges, and change is thwarted by a combination of lack of capacity and a powerful status quo. The four learning networks we are examining address the challenges of ecological fire restoration, urban resilience, fostering adaptive capacity to climate change and other unprecedented challenges in developing countries, and the deep cultural divide between the academy and the public.

We will consider how these LNs increase capacity to transform complex adaptive systems in which they are embedded. Our definition of resilience is grounded in how collective action can purposefully reconfigure systemic relationships to promote a new and desired state. We will explore how learning networks can balance the autonomy that individual organizations and communities require with the cohesion required to catalyze transformative change in policy and institutions operating at higher spatial/temporal/organizational scales. Different kinds of learning take place at each of different network levels – it is the effective interweaving of these heterogeneous interactions that fosters transformative capacity. Learning networks are bridging organizations: they form a bridge between different ways of knowing in communities and organizations, and they bridge to alternative futures by fostering innovation. Learning networks disrupt old habits and foster new collaborative relationships, reinforcing participants’ shared ties and purpose while providing freedom to experiment with innovative approaches.

Learning networks rely on effective design and ongoing facilitation to function effectively. Network facilitators or “netweavers” may be formally identified or may emerge from among network participants. These netweavers collaborate with participants in identifying goals and an effective network topology and infrastructure. Netweavers initiate activities that build community and promote a shared identity that provides the foundation for common practice and purpose. Ties within the network deepen over time as participants identify collaborative solutions. We will explore these features by drawing insights from the origin, design and netweaving of our four learning networks. We will show how effective learning networks possess a loose, light structure that allows them to learn and adapt as their membership becomes more confident and experienced, as new needs and opportunities are recognized, and as resources and institutional support require. We will also consider how network design is cross-scalar, combining interpersonal and group collaboration with network-spanning interaction and exchange. Finally, we will reflect on how networks foster transformative capacity, an idea that is both conceptually subtle and difficult to detect over the short timescale of our fieldwork.

To the extent possible, our work is conducted by our being embedded in network leadership teams and actively participating in ongoing discussion about the network design and facilitation. We will also discuss how participatory action research and developmental evaluation frameworks enable this balance between participation and analytical engagement.

Transnational Knowledge: Its Creation and Distribution Exploiting Entrepreneurship and Organisational Behaviour

Brian John Hilton — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

How can knowledge be created (incentivised) and distributed (shared socially) when it is what economists define as a public good - it is very expensive to produce, its use by any one person leaves no less for anyone else and it is generally difficult to sustain property rights over? In economic terms the marginal cost of distributing knowledge is zero and as marginal cost should equal price for optimality, price should be zero. Clearly if the price were zero there will be no incentive for anyone to produce it. So what is to be done?

Creating Enduring Social Impact: A Model for Multi-Sector Transformational Change

Marty Jacobs — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The nonprofit and public sectors are in the midst of a paradigm shift from addressing community concerns individually and competing with each other for existing funding to working collaboratively and thinking collectively across sectors to solve some of society’s most intractable social problems. This transition requires new approaches that challenge assumptions and generate new knowledge. Existing models for change, while theoretically sound, are difficult to adapt to multi-sector transformational change because they are mostly targeted mostly toward single organizations in the corporate world. Undertaking multi-sector transformational change, change efforts that cross the nonprofit, public, and/or for-profit sectors, is substantially different than the vast majority of change efforts that take place within a single organization, differing in scope, complexity, and leadership.

This paper describes a new model, the Emerging Systems Transformational Change Model (ESTCM), specifically designed to address the unique needs of multi-sector change efforts. It is built on the theoretical framework of complexity science and complex adaptive systems, organization development, transformative and organizational learning, and multi-sector transformational change. ESTCM consists of five phases: (a) discovery and dialogue; (b) deepening, refining, and assessing; (c) infrastructure, communication, and coordination; (d) ongoing implementation and progress reporting; and (e) learning, celebration, and sustainability. These five phases represent a cycle that is designed to be iterative, building on new knowledge gained from the previous cycle. Aside from providing a new approach to multi-sector transformational change, the significance of ESTCM is its adaptability and flexibility.

No One is an Island: Foundational Elements for Multi-Sector Transformational Change

Marty Jacobs — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Large-scale social change is becoming inevitable in the public and nonprofit sectors, yet the literature and models addressing this need are lacking. To address this gap, the author introduced a model for multi-sector transformational change called the Emerging Systems Transformational Change Model (ESTCM) in 2016. This paper gives an overview of the model and then explores in detail the five critical processes that create the foundation for an effective multi-sector transformational change effort. These processes are developing readiness for change, relationship building, mapping the system, designing social systems, and establishing a reflective practice.

Toxic Leadership in Context

Gary S. Metcalf, Teresa A. Daniel — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

A sizeable body of research and other literature has been developing about toxic leadership and workplace bullying. Our earlier work found distinctions between tough bosses and true bullies in the workplace. A later study showed that military officers were able to clearly identify differences between tough but effective leaders, and toxic leaders. That work was extended into the organizational climates which seem to promote toxic leaders and bullies. Other colleagues have explored potentials for changes in bullying behavior through executive coaching interventions, noting that some executives simply lack awareness of their behaviors, or the effects on those around them. The focus of this paper is the synthesis of earlier findings, to begin a more systemic understanding about the relationships between individual, organizational, and societal behaviors with respect to bullying and toxic leadership.

Proposing Values and Practices for a Culture of Organizational Ingenuity: Hacking Systems Thinking to Pursue the Preposterous and Produce the Impossible

Kendra Rosencrans — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Abstract

What is the difference between people outside, or within, organizations that look at a problem with a lot of limits and see unusual and new possibilities, and those who look at a problem with a lot of limits and see no way out? How would an organization intentionally transform its worldview and its problem-solving practices to creatively reconsider its own structures, policies, and assumptions when solutions to key needs and complex problems are limited or prevented by institutional or resource constraints? Education, government, and business leaders agree that creativity and innovation are essential for future organizational success and even survival, yet leaders are often blinded by past policies, organizational goals, or assumptions about resources and systems relationships when faced with complex and changing problems. However, research suggests that there are qualitative differences between individuals, teams, and organizations that become cleverly, resourcefully innovative in the face of complex problems under constraints, and those who do not. The culture and practices that activate shrewd, transdisciplinary, and unconventional problem-solving in the face of resource limits and other constraints are associated with a familiar, but largely unexamined, concept called ingenuity. Most frequently, ingenuity has been used to describe innovative solutions that are surprisingly smart, unconventionally resourceful, and contextually superior, often completely changing an institution or social-technical culture. In this messy intersection where creative, innovative problem-solving is at once demanded and prevented, ingenuity is the human factor necessary to hack the hairball, to pursue the impossible by being willing to seek unconventional connections arising from diverse knowledge, skills, and perspectives; dialogue at the margins; resilience; imagination; creative and resourceful improvisation; and systems thinking. The culture and practices of organizational ingenuity integrate systems thinking into a framework designed to provoke the unconventional approaches to complex problems that produce exponentially better solutions for sustainable business and a sustainable world. As organizations develop broad-based cultures and capacities for ongoing innovation, there is a need to distinguish the concept and value of an innovation culture that integrates systems thinking and the resilient, empathetic, value-driven, collaborative, improvisational, diverse, counter-intuitive, paradoxical capacities of ingenuity.

Towards a Language of Wellness: A Generative Inquiry

Ian Roth — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence to the effect that one element of a thriving, sustainable society is a language that supports its wellness. It will begin an inquiry into what such a wellness-supporting version of English would be like by identifying some problematic elements of the language as it currently exists and by suggesting possible improvements drawn from other languages and linguistic practices. Finally, it will suggest a strategy for how English might be diversified, contributing to its developmental potential as a complex adaptive system.

Complementarist Approach to Categorize different Stakeholders within Socio-technical Systems

Javier Calvo-Amodio, Chinmay Sandeep Narwankar, Siqi Wang, Rime Elatlassi — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Socio-technical systems is a systems approach to understanding complex systems when interactions between humans and technology are dominant. Thus, the term socio-technical relates to the relationship between complex human activity systems and the technical infrastructure that governs the nature of the system. Socio-technical systems typically have multiple stakeholders, either in charge of systemic development, governing the system, or being affected (directly or indirectly) by it. Thus, in order to understand a socio-technical system, it is important to understand the different roles the stakeholders have within the system of interest. This research contributes in providing a complementarist and pluralist approach in recognizing the roles of stakeholders within socio-technical systems and categorizing them by introducing a formative taxonomy flexible for any socio-technical system, dependent on its context and purpose. Critical systems thinking and boundary critique are utilized as a foundation for categorizing stakeholders, while the onion model along with soft system methodology are used to delineate the stratified spheres of influence each stakeholder category has on the system. Even though, the obligations vary across the different systems context and purposes, the proposed flexible approach is expected to be beneficial to system thinkers and analysts in realization, recognition and categorization of stakeholders within socio-technical systems.

Developing a Systemic Framework for Evaluation Models and their Applications

Maria Alejandra Torres-Cuello, Luis Arturo Pinzon-Salcedo — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The following paper presents the development of a systemic framework for the mapping of evaluation models, based on the reflective process that takes place when selecting an evaluation model and the study of processes of marginalization. For such purposes, several classifications proposed by various authors for systemic methodologies are taken into account. We should begin by stressing the importance of the concept of assessment or evaluation as it allows us to make judgements about the performance of organizations, projects, programs, staff and activities at different levels enabling the implementation of activities or actions to reduce the gap between the current state of a system and its desired state. These activities not only seek a gap reduction but are also oriented to process and human group sustainability through the achievement of best practices that will bring benefits in the long term. When selecting an evaluation model, the evaluator is usually based on the best-known features, such as the methods used, the research questions that it follows, and the kind of problems that could be targeted. However, as evaluation is entirely based on judgements, each assessment model necessarily has a set of underlying values that are rarely taken into account and should be aligned not only with the purpose for which the evaluation is done but also with the moral characterization of the problems it tackles. Such judgemental nature implies that any judgement must be based on a set of guiding principles, standards or ideals that determine the position of the object evaluated with respect to such values. An individual, which in this case is the evaluator, must carry out a reflective process to establish this set of elements. For this reason, this paper describes the development of a systemic framework that seeks to classify the various models of evaluation of projects, policies and programs according to the values underlying each of them considering their ethical bases. For the development of this framework we took into account the framework for the classification of systemic methodologies proposed by authors such as Burrell & Morgan, as well as the theory of “knowledge-constitutive interests” proposed by Jürgen Habermas and the context classification of a problem. The development of such a classification allows the individual that is conducting the evaluation to be able to select an appropriate and accurate methodology in accordance with the purpose for which the assessment will be carried out.

The Thinking Space: The Enactment of a Platform for Critical Systems Practice

Maria Carolina Ortegón-Monroy, Álvaro Carrizosa-De la Torre — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

This paper focuses on describing the process of enactment of a ‘platform’, namely, The Thinking Space (TS), as a device for Critical Systems Practice CSP. This is part of a research project that generated a series of findings contributing to the study of the process whereby different systems methodologies, methods, tools and techniques are used in combination. This process is known as Critical Systems Practice (CSP). The study yielded ‘defensible generalisations’ from a series of research themes explored. These defensible generalisations or contributions relate to three research issues relevant to CSP, namely, (a) pluralism, (b) improvement, and (c) the role of the agent. The learning derived from these research themes led the researcher to formulate the ‘transferable problem solving capability’ of the study: the enactment of ‘platforms’ as devices for operationalising CSP. Platforms are defined as ‘organisational and intellectual spaces’ enacted by actors and evolving with the changing nature of actors’ moment-to-moment interactions, by means of engaging in a continuous mutual research endeavour and of engaging in enhancing collective competence, in order to pursue an informed practice (to pursue CSP).

The study is the result of reflection and debate, which has been reciprocally enriched by theory and practice. The project was not undertaken to falsify a hypothesis but rather to suggest a path towards developing new understanding on agents’ operationalisation of critical systems thinking concepts and ideas. It presents the findings of an organisation-based action research project, where the researcher entered into a real-world situation and aimed both at improving it and acquiring knowledge about the experience. He became, for a period of three years, involved in the flux of ‘real-world problems’ within an engineering company that invited him to do research by using systems ideas in practice.

This paper thus recapitulates on the contributions that this research endeavour had on the three research themes focusing on the emergence of a particular platform, the Thinking Space (TS), as a device for operationalising CSP; the fourth ‘emergent’ research theme. Concerning the ‘transferable problem solving capability’ of the study, the TS is one particular device considered to provide evidence for proposing the research theme of ‘platforms’.

Using Viable System Model for Chinese Outbound Tourist Market Sustainability

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Tourism industry benefited worldwide economy providing services to Chinese Tourists who traveled to foreign in 2014 generating income by 165 billion dollars and accounting for 13% of international tourism. Realizing this market’s acquisition means growth opportunities for destinations; as well as the added difficulty in services nature of being unsteady, improvable and involving many factors. This article reaches the assembling of chinese outbound tourism market sustainability through the premise of a different perspective for conceptualizing, designing and delivering tourism services as part of a whole socio-ecological system; and sets out a reflection on sustainable responses to some emergencies derived from the increasing tourist activity of the chinese outbound market system.

As examples of a problematic situation are augmenting infrastructure demand, transport and public services in peak season that exceeding load capacity generates negative results for residents and tourists; repercussions on wildlife by large tourist flows during critical moments of migration, breeding or rearing; impacts on local cultures due to the encounter between contrasting lifestyles.

Therefore, the opportunity to expand choices grounded on the convenience of systemic approach for sustainable tourism study and decision-making. The outcome is the Chinese Outbound Market System diagnosis and teleology, the determination of recursive levels, interrelations and conflicts; as well as the systemic integration between it’s elements using Viable System Model to configure a holistic construct composed of relevant subsystems oriented to viability and sustainability.

It is concluded that tourism planning that omits sustainable character, reduces social benefits severely with consequences not only ecologically harmful, but also economically self-destructive. In that way it could be possible to confront currently systemic socio-ecological issues.

New Strategies for the Mexican Petrochemical Industry

Elvira Avalos Villarreal, Cirilo Gabino León Vega — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

It is necessary to define new strategies for achieving a proper growing and development of the Mexican Petrochemical Industry. As each product can be used as a final product or as raw material the influence of its production is remarkable all over the national production chains. Petrochemicals in Mexico have been classified as basic and secondary ones, by political reasons. These two groups allowed governmental institutions to regulate private activity versus public activity in this sector. At the beginning, the first group was devoted to the first chemical transformation and the secondary one to subsequent transformations. For last 30 years, petrochemical industry has not been developed as the Mexican people wanted. The trends showed that total production has remained at the same level, many installations were left out of service and imports grow very fast. The official explanations to justify the present situation of Mexican Petrochemical industry are diverse : low investments, reduced scale sizes of plants and uncertainty in government rules for new investors and for gas price as a raw material. These are the main reasons which explain the lack of competitiveness in the global market That is why this paper focuses the strategic problem of how to rescue this industry and how to promote a new outline for achieving the desired development.

A Systemic Approach of the Technological Innovation Process in Mexico

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Schumpeter points out that innovation is a dynamic force that causes the continuous transformation of social, institutional and economic structures which ensures a plausible quality of life of its inhabitants. Innovation is a complex process of interactions between different actors can be understood best as a system where different social and institutional agents interact and promote the innovation and the development of the countries. To try to understand the complexity of this process were studied 41 variables which were related through network analysis and it was found emergent properties that reveal that less than 10 % of the variables are relevant and there are political and social, this result was mainly in developing countries like Mexico which was analyzed from 1980 to 2015. The results also show that these actors found in systemic innovation process have hampered the efficiency of the process.

Designing an Accessible Tourism Destination: The Soft System Methodology and the Triple Helix as a Theoretical and Practical Proposal

Sun, 08 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800

Accesible tourism has its origin in the 90´s, at the beginning it was proposed as part of the Social Tourism or Tourism for All programs that had their basis in the human rights. Later, with the changes in the paradigms about people with disabilities accessible tourism has not only become a matter of human rights but also an opportunity to develop business that satisfy a growing population of people with disabilities and older people that acquires one or more types of disabilities.

Demographic factors such as the increasing in life expectancy, better health care and retirement of people increase the needs of designing and building products and services that satisfy this demand. The Soft System Methodology, developed by Peter Checkland consider social factors and complex relations in tourism, its 7 phases allow the researcher to compare and simulate different scenarios that brings to the most viable practice, it brings an approximation to a model of accessible tourism, gathering elements such as research, infrastructure needs, human resources and labour market, communications, signalling, and other things that should be considered in a competitive destination.

The Triple Helix, as a theoretical and practical model allow the three main sectors, Academy, Government and Industry to join efforts to strengthen the tourism industry. The Triple Helix from Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff show that innovation can have its origins in the academy, considering that knowledge is the most valuable element nowadays in the innovation policies around the word.

The Triple Helix propose that academy should work with the research and design of products and services, the government, as the policy maker should provide elements that enable academy and the industry to work together in the incorporation of research, development of products and services and funding projects.

This model, designed from the Soft System Methodology considering the Triple Helix as the basis of the tourism offer propose a better way of building policies, products and services for people with disabilities and senior adults, making more competitive the destinations and it can be considered not only for this population, research has shown that accessible destinations are conceived as better places for all people because its conditions allow tourists to walk along, drive, take a bus in an easier way.

A Systemic Approach on Human Capital Management in Tourism SMEs Considering Socio-Ecological Systems

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

The context in which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of lodging carry out their operations is turbulent. This Human Activity Systems (HAS) develop certain practices that threaten aspects such as internal equilibrium, resilience, their relation with natural environment and hence its permanence in the sector. The purpose of this paper is to present the basis for an autopoietic management system of human resources within mexican tourist SMEs in order to generate self-organization and adaptation considering social and natural dimensions. The methodological approach is carried out using the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) looking to reduce problematic situations generated for whom manage the systems as well as those related to the human resource management. With respect to the findings, a conceptual model was designed consisting of subsystems that consider heterogenity in tourist SMEs and human resource management problems, in that sense is intended to regulate its complexity and maintain an equilibrium with the environment. It is considered that actors with managerial functions may benefit from a holistic approach that looks for the transcendence of the whole system in its current context.

Toward a Diagnosis of Viability of Small Manufacturing Enterprises. Case: Metal Mechanic Industry

Marcos Salinas-Reyes, Isaias Badillo-Piña, Ricardo Tejeida-Padilla — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The purpose of this research is to determine, from the point of view of Systems Science, the weak organizational viability of Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) in order to advice how to raise its organizational and functional structure to face market complexity , for example attenuating the factors which affect the operation to early close enterprise . To achieve this end it were identified and ranked the most frequent factors that cause early closure of SMEs, these data were analyzed conceptually based on the Model of Viable Systems, defining a total of 30 (thirty) elements that, empirically, provide the benchmarks for diagnosing and redesigning the organizational and functional operation of an SME in order to viable organization, that is, not only to maintain its existence but to transcend the variety of market.

Systemic Complementarity in Tourist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Considering the Socio-Ecological System

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

In Mexican context, the tourism sector has prioritized the income generation, without consider social and ecological dimensions and the impact on ecosystems and social inequality. Characterizing tourist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), some aspects are identified such as heterogeneity, absence of international standards as well as the inability to cope the disruption of the environment.

This paper proposes to implement the systemic complementarity concept as an alternative to bring closer the tourist MSMEs to the exelixis considering the socio-ecological system, in which it operates. The methodological approach is carried out through the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), given that this methodology allows considering the subjectivity and complexity in problematic situations integrating relevant actors.

Regarding the findings a conceptual model is proposed based on a associative transformation among MSMEs emphasizing the use of variety, considering its integration. Also, this model seeks to provide emergent properties to the whole system that determine internal functioning and amplify capacities to transcend in its current context.

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The General Theory of Metadynamics Systemicity: Part 6: Neighbourhood and the 4D Neighbouring of things

Jean-Jacques Blanc — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

The theory of Systemicity emerged from applying the principles of "The Bioethism Transdisciplinary Paradigm" to "Universal systems" and "Living systems" during their temporal survival", which the author J.-J. Blanc has developed since 1996. "Systemicity" surge from interrelations, intrication[1] ... and a permanent interdependency of synergetic things. The systemicity of atomic and molecular cycles has made and goes on sustaining both cosmic systems and Life on planet Earth. In order to exist, cosmic objects and living creatures cope with environmental changing events, replicate and evolve within global, glocal and local areas, while permanently confronted with changes both at endogenous and external environmental ecosystems' milieus.

As a reminder, the author's past proceedings developed, part after part since 2004, are meant to show the structure and chapters of a "General Theory of X-dynamics Systemicity." One will observe that the building-blocks of the theory are being centred on the Universe dynamics diversity, such as peta[2], teradynamics, gigadynamics', metadynamics', dynamics' and microdynamics' inducing results to a systemic feedback symbiosis named "Systemicity". The publication of the Systemicity theory is meant to support the acquisition of a wide transdisciplinary understanding of the x-dynamics' which systemicity sustains the whole evolution of the Universe ecosystem's components as well as those of the livings. While systems natural structure and behaviors are adapting with their milieu by "neighboring" within "neighborhoods" (ecosystems), they specifically cope with endogenous and exogenous events that induce the temporal retroactivity to result as structuring things.

The Universe dynamics and Cosmo-planetary Metadynamics's systemicity have participated in the Sun and its planets to form, and particularly Earth orbiting around it on a right "habitable green zone." The General Theory shows the close links between cosmo-planetary and terrestrial x-dynamic systemicity, its strength, fluxes and moves cycles that made Life to have happened and thriven. Life emerged from the apparition of proto-organisms which, evolving, drove humans to develop, as forged with their individuality, social traits and behavioral statuses that have accounted for the species biodiversity developing, evolving or getting extinct over billions of years.

For example, when the Earth became a "snowball" from a nearly total glaciation (-600 Mo/y), the survival of some bacteria and micro-organisms escaping the drastic extinction of most species, conversely boosted up an extraordinary explosion of marine species bearing quite new functions (- 545 Mo/y), that after volcanism reheated the planet from the systemicity of interrelated terrestrial and cosmic metadynamics.

These giga and metadynamics are the main physicochemical drivers of the universal X-dynamics sets that are atomic, cosmic, galactic, stellar, planetary and terrestrial which as feedback processes, participate in forming matter and cosmic objects (nebulae, baby stars, stars and planets), within a molecular world originated from after the "Big Bang".

The neighboring of sub-atoms, atoms, matters and gas, within a set of synergetic retroactivity results, promote dynamics (forces and fluxes) which systemicity permanently goes to specific directions in the 4D environment of the Universe. Life is a whole set of "neighboring" ecosystems, which components are confronted with gravitation, electromagnetism, chemical and physical phenomena ..., particularly with temperature, water and the "thermodynamics of entropy lethal effect". They are all being forces and fluxes which are driving the structure and behavior diversity of objects, species and things up within their systemic neighborhood and their intricate concomitance, in other words, integrating facts existing or occurring with or by something else.

Furthermore, ecosystemic neighborhoods (ecosystems) are confronted with the terrestrial x-dynamics cycles of water, minerals, and climates statuses which currents and physical effects permanently drive up their metabolism. Among drivers are the coalescence, conjunction, co-evolution, convergence, symbiosis, percolation, phase transition and threshold outputs that together comply with adaptations to neighborhood components varieties and temporal sustainability. At each step, perception means (chemical, biological, physiological, social...) are transducing a sense given from a variety of signals both endogenous and exogenous.

To convert energy from one form into another will infer from the level of survival need components. Then feedback driving the universal atomic, molecular and physicochemical worlds is permanently provoking a change and an evolution among the several x-dynamics systemicity cycles.

The specific bonds and traits in the structures and behaviors of "living creatures" as well as in their evolution trends reveal the survival quality of their neighboring knowledge towards actions-reactions (drivers) events. The treatment of ago-antagonistic signals and stimuli emerging from their ecosystemic and socio-systemic metabolism and environmental conditions is of a major priority surviving. The confrontation between bodies and entities, their milieu components and the natural environment necessitates treating signals and information which perception is adequately setting with the fundamentals of "survival dynamics" and "drivers" like "symbiosis" and "feedback" according to the sense given over to sustaining. Processing stimuli and signals is an adaptation of trends participating with the metabolic dynamic balance pertaining with both internal and external changing conditions as to cope with survival needs.

Part 5 of this theory only describes some drivers: symbiosis, coalescence, convergence and synergy, percolation, phase transitions, threshold output, feedback ... that permanently influence the systemicity of cosmic and terrestrial matter, objects and things interacting among the universal networks of the 4D worlds. Feedback driving the survival metadynamics systemicity sustains "the atomic and molecular cycles from cradle to grave."

Part 6 of this theory is describing some of the effects of neighboring between individuals and ecosystems which, among living species, characterize their apparition, their adaptation and evolution as well as the causes of their extinction. Both are a matter of balance.

[1] - Intrication: Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently-instead, a quantum state may be given for the system as a whole. Measurements of physical properties such as position, momentum, spin, polarization, etc. performed on entangled particles are found to be appropriately correlated, a neighboring end with a variable status.

[2] - Petadynamics: in physics, multipliers are defined in powers of 10 from 10^-24 to 10²⁴, proceeding in increments of three orders of magnitude (10³ or 1,000).

Addressing the Whole Whole

Thomas R Marzolf — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

This paper argues the need to develop a comprehensive, coherent, system-oriented description of the universe, and that doing so over time is quite feasible with the right approach.

Charles Francois has stated: "We are indeed still - and mostly unconsciously - subservient to the general Cartesian reductionist model, which, after destroying the relationships network for the sake of 'simplicity', does never reconstruct it as an organized whole." This implies that the most important mission of the systems movement is to reconstruct the organized whole. We are deterred from this mission because of its apparent difficulty.

It has long been recognized that "the whole" must be addressed to understand a system. But what exactly is the whole? The whole includes all of a system's parts. It also includes the relationships and processes of interactions among the objects and with the environment. And it requires addressing all in concert. (Let's call this all of the whole.)

Furthermore, since a system's environment consists of other systems, these other systems must be considered part of the whole. This line of thinking expands the scope of the whole and when taken to its logical conclusion encompasses the entire universe. Hence the whole must be interpreted to mean not just a single system but the universal system of systems (the whole whole). While instances of the system pattern are interesting individually, the system pattern is most significant as a key element of the architecture of the universe.

Finally, the universe is evolving, not static. The deep hierarchies of systems existing today provide clear evidence of continuing system evolution since the Big Bang. Hence the universal process of system evolution (whole history) must also be included in the whole.

The whole means all of the interconnections within the broadest scope of space and time. It means the universe viewed as a system of systems, including all of the whole, the whole whole, and system evolution over the whole history.

How can a system so large and complex be addressed? The system pattern, being fundamental to the functioning, structure, and evolution of the universe, provides a basis for organizing a universal description. While we can never describe the universe completely, we can develop and persistently improve and extend a description of the web of interacting systems. To do so we must systematically integrate, unify, and generalize the relevant nuggets filtered out of the existing vast sea of available information. With modern tools and techniques the complexity of such an effort can be managed.

The dominant approach for centuries has ignored systems in order to avoid complexity. The opposite trade-off is now required: we must embrace complexity so as to understand systems. By embracing and learning to effectively manage complexity, it is possible to describe the whole in the broadest sense and so to develop an unprecedented understanding of the universe as a system of systems. This paper aims to show that doing so is now viable.

Footprints of General Systems Theory

Aleksandar Malecic — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

In order to identify General Systems Theory (GST) or at least have a fuzzy idea of what it might look like, we shall look for its traces on different systems. We shall try to identify such an “animal” by its “footprints”. First we mention some natural and artificial systems relevant for our search, than note the work of other people within cybernetics and identification of systems, and after that we are focused on what unification of different systems approaches and scientific disciplines should take into account (and whether or not it is possible). Axioms and principles are mentioned as an illustration of how to look for GST*. A related but still separate section is about Len Troncale and linkage propositions. After them there is another overview of different kinds of systems (life, consciousness, and physics). The documentary film Dangerous Knowledge and ideas of its characters Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel, and Alan Turing are analyzed through systems worldview. “Patterns all the way down” and similar ideas by different authors are elaborated and followed by a section on Daniel Dennett’s approach to real patterns. Two following sections are dedicated to Brian Josephson (a structural theory of everything) and Sunny Auyang. After that the author writes about cosmogony, archetypes, myths, and dogmas. The paper ends with a candidate for GST*.

System Language: Understanding Systems

George Mobus, Kevin Anderson — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Current languages for system modelling impose limitations on how a system is described. For example system dynamics languages (e.g. Stella) assume that the only concern in modelling a system is its dynamics which can be expressed in stocks, flows, and regulators only. A language for describing systems in a general framework provides guidance for the analysis of real systems as well as a way to construct models of those systems suitable for simulation. The language being developed, system language (SL) for lack of a catchier name, consists of:

· A set of lexical elements, terms that represent abstractions of components and entities that are found in all dynamic, complex systems to one extent or another - e.g. regulator, process, flow, boundaries, interfaces, etc.

· A syntax for constructing the structure of a system including:

o describing the boundary and its conditions (including expansion of boundaries as needed)

o describing the hierarchical network of connections and relations (e.g. system of systems)

o describing interfaces and protocols for entities to exchange flows

o describing the behaviour of elements in the system (e.g. functions)

o providing specific identifiers naming the abstract lexical elements (e.g. electrical power flow)

o providing a set of attributes appropriate to the nature of the element (e.g. voltage, amperage, etc.)

· A semantics that establishes patterns of connectivity and behaviour including:

o distinction of material, energy, and message (communications) flows

o laws of nature to be observed, e.g. conservation principles and second law of thermodynamics

o imposes process-oriented abstraction on subsystems (similar to object-oriented modularization)

o establishes rules for interfacing entities through flows

o provides higher order organization and functions such as:

§ adaptivity (a capacity to vary behaviour in response to environmental changes within limits)

§ agency (an ability to make decisions – operational, logistical, tactical, or strategic in the framework of a hierarchical cybernetic governance system)

§ evolvability (an ability to add or modify functionality either through foresight or by chance)

The language pragmatics is drawn from general systems theory as explicated in a set of principles of systems science. The language is formal and imposes rules of expression and construction that assure the resulting descriptions correspond with the nature of real systems in the world.

It is proposed that SL can capture the essence, structure, and dynamics of any real physical system. For example the first author has used this language to describe the human brain and its relation with the body and environment meta-system. The construction involves analysing the brain as a hierarchical cybernetic governance system (HCGS) that manages the internal operations of the body (operations and logistical management) and its near-term interactions with the environment (tactical management). The human brain has been additionally shown to provide strategic management (coordination with a world that might be in the future!) A very similar analysis has been applied to organizations and their management.

A recent survey of existing modelling languages has revealed only a limited capacity for these languages to support the SL framework. Existing languages generally support basic system dynamics and/or agent based (e.g. for explorations of emergent behaviour) approaches. Some are extensible through additional programming in languages like Java but do not directly address some of the more important features of SL. These results indicate that a new language should be developed to provide native support for SL directly. One immediate advantage of doing so is that the development approach can include support for massive multi-processing so that extremely large systems models can be developed. Modelling the human social system (HSS) would be an obvious target to help us understand our apparent predicament from a systems perspective.

The Linkage between Systems Thinking and Ethics

William F Roth — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

In order to understand the linkages between systems thinking and ethics it is important to first understand the five systems domains that together configure our reality. We work to do so by using science to identify their characteristics. The first and by far the largest of these domains includes what we will call non-living natural systems such as the universe, our solar system, ocean currents, weather, the changing seasons. The challenge addressed by science is to understanding these natural systems by breaking each down in order to define its parts and the interactions of these parts as well as the interactions between the system as a whole with the larger system of which it is a part.

On the Information Processing Aspect of the Evolutionary Process

Roberto R Kampfner — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

A premise of this paper is that the dynamics of any system, by which we mean here the collection of processes that perform its functions and thus achieve its purpose, needs information for the execution, control, and coordination of such processes. The information processing aspect of a dynamics is precisely what provides the information that it needs in order to proceed (Kampfner, 1998). The dynamics of the Earth ecosystem, for example, includes the collection of processes that encompasses the origin and evolution of life and the development of human society. In this paper I refer to the part of this all-encompassing process that includes the behavior and evolution of biological systems and human organizations as the evolutionary process. The main focus of the paper is the information processing aspect of this evolutionary process. More specifically, I focus on the evolution of the information processing capabilities of biological organisms and systems, including human individuals and organizations. Especially important is the emergence through this evolutionary process of increasingly complex structures that have made possible more complex behaviors and, consequently, more complex ways of processing information. Superimposed on this evolution is the creation and development of artificial means of information processing and the integration of their use into the information processing aspect of human individuals and organizations. The idea is to contribute to the understanding of the potential that the development and use of artificial information processing devices and systems offers for the effective support of the functions of modern organizations and their adaptability. However, the tremendous potential of computer-based information systems and information technology cannot be fully realized if they do not appropriately extend the information processing capabilities that exist at all levels of the dynamics of the organizations that they support. A sufficient understanding of the information processing aspect of this evolutionary process is in my opinion necessary for the appropriate, synergistic extension, with computer and information technology, of the information processing capabilities that already exist in modern organizations.

"Bringing Forth" the Ecological Economy

Skyler Knox Perkins — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

This paper looks at aspects of the development of Ecological Economic theory through the lens of second-order cybernetics. Ecological Economics aims to integrate Ecological and Economic disciplines while maintaining their distinction. This is required for the concept of “scale” which relates the size of the ecosystem with the size of the economy. Beyond the dynamic and complicated nature of these systems; this task is also conceptually difficult. How can the ecosystem be part of the economy but also distinct from it? How can the economic system be part of the ecosystem and also distinct? Which is the correct framing? While Ecological Economics was conceived in the era of “open systems” and “sub-systems”, second order systems theory may shed light on the paradoxes which naturally arise from this perspective. As second-order systems theory would suggest, this fundamental paradox of observation results in a circularity. This circularity can be illustrated by attempts within Ecological Economics to generate definitions of sustainability; most notoriously through valuation of ecosystem services but also within alternative social and ecologically based models. It may be possible to embrace this circularity and seek an “operational closure”. In the process of considering this, I reflect on my experience in studying Ecological Economics and Second-Order Cybernetics.

Patterns that connect: exploring the potential of patterns and pattern languages in systemic interventions towards realizing sustainable futures

Helene Finidori — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Working towards more sustainable systems is a critical endeavor of the 21^st century requiring collaborative efforts for the broad development of systemic literacy. This paper explores the potential of patterns and pattern languages as tools for systemic change and transdisciplinary collaboration, investigation and design, and outlines the ways they could be further operationalized to develop and leverage collective intelligence and agency towards Curating the Emergence of Thrivability and Realizing Sustainable Futures in Socio-Ecological Systems.

Considering patterns and pattern languages, social organization, and systemic change from a variety of perspectives, the author suggests that the concept of pattern has an unfulfilled potential as cognitive technology for meaning-making, mediation, systemic configuration and exchange of knowledge, both within and across domains of human activity. In particular, patterns have properties that could help address the unity versus diversity dilemma while dealing with complex challenges.

Rather than giving a complete theoretical review of the field of transdisciplinarity and systemic change, the paper sets key elements of the context and investigates possibilities and directions for future work. Starting with an outline of the nature and dimensions of the complexity challenges the world is faced with from a systemic and cybernetic perspective, the paper explores the versatile properties and functions of patterns and shows how they could help conceive and develop a whole family of tools for systemic focus, interpretation and connectivity. Finally, it presents possibilities of applications of pattern-based approaches in transdisciplinary intervention contexts, using patterns as boundary objects to bring into focus different dimensions of complexity.

A Whole Systems Approach to Education Redesign: A Case Study on the Need for Inter-Generational Perspectives and Inclusion

Kahlia Paola Laszlo, Alexander Laszlo — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

This study was commissioned by the Global Education Futures forum for presentation at its fourth International Conference in Moscow, Russia, from 29 February to 2 March 2016 (http://edu2035.org/#program). The objective was to conduct field research with a special focus on the vision of the future of education held by young people. This report presents some views and perspectives of my generation regarding what they want education to be like in the future. In northern California, my teachers Ms. B and Mr. Wahanik used the framework of questions and activities that my father and I developed to gather this kind of information by running a sort of “focus group” with my 10th Grade class and to find out what their views, perspective, opinions, ideas, hopes and concerns are regarding this theme. This group consisted of mainly 15 and 16 year olds, and there are around 40 students in my class. They had less than an hour to run the whole process, but everyone already knew each other really well so they could go quickly through the process, as described in this report.

A similar process was run with a group of young people in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here I had to work with people whom I had never met before and who also didn't know each other at all. We had exactly 12 students from a variety of public and private schools with an age range from 12 to 17 years old. However, we had a total of three hours with them, so we could do an icebreaker and take our time to move through the whole thing.

In both cases (California and Argentina), the idea was to engage young people in a series of structured creative Future Thinking adventures that helped them “invent” what education (learning and teaching) should be like in the year 2035. The idea behind this is that educators and those involved in the systemic re-design of education systems might want to include this kind of data and these kind of perspectives in the work they are doing. I would like to present my findings at the ISSS and to see whether others think more of this kind of work should be done.

Crucial Institutional Innovations: Evolutionary Change in Higher Education

Leah MacVie — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800

In 1969, Erich Jantsch published his paper about the disruptive forces affecting higher education and society. He was serving as a research associate at MIT and studying the futures of MIT and the American University at the time. Jantsch (1969) said students were concerned about whether the college curriculum was relevant. Meanwhile, society was concerned about the degrading side effects of technology on the systems of human living, cities, and the natural environment. Lastly, Jantsch pointed to the rising concern about the lack of systems and futures thinking. He coined these concerns “disruptive forces” and believed that the university was well-positioned to assume a new leadership role in society in order to assist in transforming these concerns. Jantsch predicted (hoped for) five crucial institutional innovations in order to transform disruptions into “cohesive forces”. Jantsch passed away ten years after the publication of this document and didn’t have the opportunity to see if his ideas came to fruition. Using a mixed methods approach, this study explores the evolution of higher education institutions by posing questions that revolve around Jantsch’s five crucial innovations, including a new purpose for the university, socio-technological system engineering, altering the structure of the university, re-orienting the operational principles of the university, and a more active relationship between the new university and society. Five institutions highly referenced for their innovation will be invited to participate in this research. Jantsch’s “crucial innovations” frame this investigative study. The conceptual framework consists of the concepts of disruptive forces, the three functions of higher education, self-renewal, and integrative planning. This paper will present the preliminary findings to this study.

Keywords- Erich Jantsch, higher education, disruptive forces, self-renewal, integrative planning, innovation.

Anticipation and Systems Thinking: A Key to Resilient Systems

Gerhard Chroust, Dennis Finlayson — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Due to many factors (larger population, more dependency on technology, more human interference with the natural systems and their equilibrium, like in climate change, ...) the number and the severity of disasters seem to grow, exaggerated additionally by the media coverage. The basic and ultimate goal in case of disaster is to ensure an at least acceptable level of survival of the population together with keeping societal structure, infrastructure and environment as intact as possible. This implies that a system possesses to a certain extent stability and security with respect to endangering incidents. Three overall factors are significant in causing an incident: a hazard, a vulnerability of the system and an insufficient capacity to shield or recover from an incident. Two factors are essential in order to withstand an incident: Anticipation in order to provide adequate preparation and Systems Thinking to be able to understand the relationship of cybernetic loops within the components of the affected system.

In this paper we analyze the factors potentially leading to a system disturbance. We classifying these disturbances with respect to their severity, and we analyze the different reactions of a system, from fragility to resilience and robustness. By discussing the phases of disaster management (from Anticipation to Restauration) we identify the respective information needs.

Developing an Understanding of Violence using the DSRP Theory as a Framework

Victor Ronald David MacGill — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0700

Introduction

This paper explores violence in social settings using the DSRP model (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2015) as a framework. First, there is an outline of the DSRP model leading to a definition of violence in systems terms. The nature of human violence is then explored from several perspectives. Shannon’s theory of communication (Shannon, 1948) is followed by Maturana’s (Maturana & Verden-Zoller, 2008) concepts of relational dynamics. This leads into an investigation of the process of othering through which individuals or groups are marginalised and disowned leading to violence.

While most people think first of violence in its overt physical forms, it has many other manifestations. Violence can also verbal, emotional, mental, and financial and more. Galtung’s (1990) makes the distinctions between direct, cultural or structural violence demonstrating how violence is fractal, appearing from the individual, family, community, nation and global levels. Structural violence is particularly insidious because it is so hidden, as for example it is observed within dominance hierarchies in organisations. Violence violates our human needs from basic survival needs through to higher spiritual needs.

Having explored the many ways that violence and abuse can appear and disrupt the functioning of human systems, systems thinking is proposed as a tool that can help repair the harm caused by violence and provide a way for minimising or avoiding future violence and abuse.

DSRP

Just as physicists seek the fundamental elements of the material universe, Cabrera and Cabrera (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2015; Cabrera & Colosi, 2008) sought the fundamental building blocks of the cognitive world. They propose four qualities that are evident in anything that arises: distinction, system, relationship and perspective.

Distinction: When we make a distinction we create a boundary. There are no inherent boundaries in the world, but they are placed in our minds in order that we can make sense of our experience and act in the world. When a distinction Is made there is a self and an other; a part that is included and a part that is excluded. Often that which is excluded is marginalised and treated differently from that which has been included (Cabrera, 2006; Midgley, Munlo, & Brown, 2014; Ulrich, 2006).

System: When a distinction has been made parts become separated off, which then link together into systems. There is a dynamic balance between the parts and the whole. Often when we focus on the parts we lose sight of the whole and vice versa. By looking at the leaves, we do not notice the forest; by looking at the forest we stop looking at the leaves (Ahl & Allen, 1996). Cabrera and Cabrera (2015) talk of needing “Splumpers”, who can both split systems to see the parts and lump the parts to see the whole at the same time.

A complex system needs both autonomy and connectivity to maintain itself. The parts need autonomy to make their own decisions without undue external influence, thus creating requisite variety (Ashby, 1947). The whole needs connectivity so the parts connect and interact bringing cohesion to the system. Often an increase in autonomy means a decrease in connectivity and vice versa, so the two must remain in a dynamic tension for the system to remain effective.

Relationships: The parts relate to each other and to systems. Systems relate to systems and to parts. There is an action-reaction dynamic that arises between the parts. Beer’s Viable Systems Model (Beer, 1984; Espejo, 2003) look at the five nested sub-systems in a viable system and how they relate to each other. Maturana (2002) writes of the relational spaces between the parts that arises when the parts interact.

Perspective: Each part has a point of view from which it has a perspective (Bateson, 2000, 2002; Ulrich, 1983). Taking a point of view enables meaning to be created, but unavoidably makes other perspectives less visible.

Definition of violence

Starting with these fundamental building blocks we should therefore be able to build understandings of the systems and situations we experience in our lives and their qualities. This paper investigates violence from the perspective of DSRP.

Complex adaptive systems (Miller & Page, 2007; Stacey, 2011) have all four qualities mentioned above. They are also dissipative (Prigogine, 1984) in that they require a flow of material, energy and information across the system boundary which counters the entropy within the system and thus sustains the system. If that flow is disrupted then the system is harmed.

Within a complex adaptive system the parts are constantly interacting through recursive feedback loops. Boundaries are constantly being crossed as a necessary part of the process of autopoiesis and structural coupling (Maturana & Varela, 1998). The parts are necessarily different, separated by the boundary between them and every part has its own perspective. When parts therefore meet at a boundary, there is inevitably conflict. Conflict can be resolved in a positive way, where the parts are enhanced or it can be resolved in a negative way, where one or both parts are harmed by the interaction. Violence can therefore be defined as the invasion of a boundary, the disruption of a flow across a boundary, or wilfully ignoring an invasion or disruption. Having a definition, we can explore violence from a range of perspectives and see how they relate to the elements of the DSRP model.

Boundary invasions and flow disruptions in human interactions

There are a number of ways boundaries can be invaded or flows across boundaries can be disrupted. Any interaction or communication necessarily involves boundaries coming into contact and thus creates the potential for violence. In any communication a message must pass from one person to another (Shannon, 1948). The message starts with one person (or agent) with information that it wishes to communicate to another, the message must be encoded, in the human case usually into words. There is a transformation process involved in the encoding and then a transmission process with a boundary to be crossed. The message is sent across a medium, another boundary, and noise can enter the system as the message passes through the medium. The message is perceived by the receiver, who must the decode the message and understand the meaning attached. Meaning can be lost or distorted at any point in the chain of communication. Conflict thus arises, which can become violence. This process become much more complex when relational recursive dynamics in human communications are considered.

Maturana and Varela (1998) developed the concepts of autopoiesis, structural coupling and structural determination. Autopoiesis is about how a system creates and maintains itself within its own boundaries and how it protects its boundaries to maintain its autonomy. Structural coupling is about the relational connection in the space between autopoietic being or the environment, such that recursive feedback loops in a relational space generate a structural congruence to enable co-ordination and evolution. They will be perturbing each other’s boundaries in ways that enable reciprocally triggered change. Neither is in control, but both participate. As we interact with each other across boundaries differences become apparent that must be negotiated. When a relationship is distorted, the perturbations no longer enhance the mutual co-ordinations, but rather allow one to dominate or abuse the other.

Boundary invasions and flow disruptions in human interactions

As soon as we make a distinction we create a boundary and define self and other. That which is self, be it my body, my community or my nation is familiar. That which is other is less familiar. There will always be difference (Bateson, 2000) between people to be negotiated; between familiar and unfamiliar. Sometimes this difference can be easily resolved by those involved. When the difference is not understood, perhaps through gender, race, class or age, it is easy to make a negative judgement of the other. The other person shifts from being an equal to a threatening adversary. When one person treats the other as an adversary, the other is “invited” to take up the role of adversary and tensions rise. The sense of connectedness and relationship is lost and perspectives become polarised. Those involved then tend to seek out information that supports their polarised view and ignore or disregard information that supports the views of the other. Past grievances are often revived and can lead to intergenerational violence. The other becomes demonised (MacGill, 1995). When the other is demonised and perceived as less than human, violence becomes much more justifiable. In her book Breathing: Violence in Peace out, Milojevic (2013) recounts generations of violence in her family history in the Balkans. She describeseight basic steps by which a nation state typically comes to war that resonate with this analysis of violence:

Create the category of other
Differences are heightened, similarities minimised
Attach the value of lesser to the other
Build a sense of threat from “them”
Say only through the use of force can the threat be quelled
Supress alternative opinions
Deny or justify any violence used.
Repeat the whole process

Though this list is written in regard to ethnic violence, it reflects relational dynamics that are evident at all levels of human interactions from the individual to family to community to nation to the entire globe. Violence and its dynamics are fractal (Mandelbrot, 1982).

The fractal nature of violence

Human beings are multi-dimensional fractal systems of systems (Allison et al., 2004). There are boundaries between all the systems and within each of the systems. Violence can occur at each boundary. Because of the interconnectedness violence at one part of the fractal can have reflections all through the fractal.

At the physical level we are formed by nested hierarchical layers from atoms to molecules to tissue to glands to organs to body systems to a complete body. We must protect our bodies to maintain physical health. We come together in social groups to form family, community, nation and globe.

We also have non-material dimensions. We develop a sense of identity. We make distinctions about what we include within our identity and what we exclude. That which is within the identity needs to be protected to maintain our psychological wellbeing. Just as we resist perceived threats to our physical well-being, we resist perceived threats to our identity. We have extended our identity into the external world, so we have my house, my car, my family, my money, my country (Latour, 2005). We feel just as threatened when we perceive those external manifestations as being under threat. If someone steals my money or car, or breaks into my house, I feel personally violated.

Violence also occurs in various forms. Violence can be clearly visible or deceptive and hidden, and at an enormous range of scales. Galtung (1990) recognised three types of violence:

Direct

Direct violence is the more obvious forms of violence as a wilful act causing harm. On a personal level this might involve hitting, kicking, or slapping. It might even mean shooting that occurs at a distance, but cause and effect are clearly identifiable. At a larger scale chemical weapons, explosive devices, military drones and so forth might be found where the violence is more orchestrated.

But direct violence is not just physical. There are many other forms of violence that are perpetrated: verbal, emotional, mental, spiritual, financial, the threat of violence, and allowing children to witness violence[1]. Often the root of the violence may be cultural or structural, but the expression of it is direct.

Cultural

Culture arises from an evolved set of shared beliefs about the world and the place of the society in their environment. The emergent culture may be more inclusive and focused on peaceful ways of interacting within itself and with others or it can be more divisive and marginalising of groups internally and externally. In that case the shared perspectives held by a culture, are likely to justify violence through some pretext as noted above (Milojevic, 2013). Historic acts of violence are often glorified through the cultural narrative that may talk of how the culture was established or maintained (Butler, 2004). Whereas the murder of an individual is universally condemned, when it is clothed in a cultural narrative killing on a massive scale often becomes applauded and valorised. Increasingly innocent people killed seemed to be acceptable “collateral damage”.

Structural

Structural violence occurs when a group is marginalised, disowned or othered and treated abusively and violently. The marginalisation might be because of gender, age, race, class, nationality or any other identifiable distinction. It might also be inherent in the social structures that privileges a certain small group at the expense of the rest, such as those who own capital. There is structural violence inextricably woven into the conventional organisational structures we use. Dominance-based hierarchies rank people and distribute power and resources according to one’s place in the hierarchy. People are divided and the resultant inequality provides the means whereby people are marginalised and treated differentially. The whole neo-liberal agenda is built on the framework of the inequality intrinsic to dominance (Homer-Dixon, 1999; Klein, 2014; Peltzer, 2003).

There is a growing peer to peer movement (Bauwens, 2005a, 2005b, 2006), where those involved interact directly with one another without the need for a central organising hierarchy. That includes co-operatives, whether in its more traditional forms like Mondragon (Whyte & Whyte K., 1991) or the Convergence gathering (MacGill, 2014, 2015a, 2015b) or computer based platform co-operatives (Scholz, 2016), commons based enterprises, and decentralised networks (Brafman & Beckstrom, 2006; Nielson, 2004)They are using organisational structures designed to reduce the level of structural violence. Our willingness to use violence is linked to the values and beliefs we have absorbed, particularly when we were young. This is next investigated further.

The fractal nature of violence

A new born baby experiences a world without boundaries (Winnicot, 2002). The first boundary to be created is that of self and other (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980a, 1980b; Lakoff, 1992). The baby will come to realise that it has a level of control, however clumsy, over its own body that it does not have with external objects and other people. It recognises that the internal sensations of its hand match what is happening with their perception of their hand as an object in the external world and that this is not so for other external objects. The baby learns to distinguish between its body and its mother’s. Once inside/outside, self/other boundary is formed other spatial boundaries up/down, forwards/backwards, left/right form.

As boundaries stretch across all fractal levels, the child learns to work with distinctions, systems, relationships and perspectives forming internal conceptions of themselves, the world about them and the future. To a great extent depending on life circumstances, a child develops beliefs about themselves and their value and worth. If they grow up in a supportive, encouraging world they will tend to develop values and beliefs that support positive self-esteem and competence. They see others as people they can trust, who will help them reach their goals. If the child has not been fortunate to have a supportive upbringing, but have rather abusive and violent surrounding to navigate, the brain actually physically grows differently in response to the environment. They are likely to see themselves as useless and incompetent, see the world as a dog-eat-dog jungle, and the future as a place of gloom and dread. These values and beliefs define our point of view and what we can conceive of and what remains invisible to us. Our thoughts and emotions are shaped by beliefs and values, and therefore also the actions we choose and the world we create for ourselves (Beck, 1979).

Boundary placements

As adults we construct boundaries in line with our perceptions of the ourselves, the world and our future. Largely as a result of our upbringing we place boundaries around ourselves at each level of being from physical to spiritual. The boundaries are placed in ways that are congruent with our nature. Some ways boundaries are placed are more effective in terms of building relationships with others and living without violence.

Wall

People who have learned that the world is an unsafe place, full of people who would harm you if possible are likely to build wall type boundaries. Their life experience has taught them the world is not a safe place to be. These people are defensive and tend to see the world in very black and white terms, such as “You are for me or against me”. People with wall boundaries are a little like a gang headquarters with high walls, barbed wire fences, guard dogs, and cameras. While their boundaries keep them save, they also exclude positive influences.

No boundary

People who were brought up without a sense of discipline in their upbringing can end up as a person with no boundaries. There is no restriction on what the person is able or willing to do and is easily led by others. Intrusions through their boundaries are unnoticed and unchallenged. Their lives move from chaos to chaos. They are like a house with no boundaries: people will come and steal the mail, break windows and dogs will mess on their lawns.

Fragmented

Fragmented boundaries often arise from inconsistent boundaries being set when young. Such a person does not have the insight to know when they should be excluding someone and when they should allow them closer. This is like a house with broken fences and someone who lets people in through the gate that it is not wise to allow in.

Intact

Intact boundaries tend to indicate a positive upbringing where the person learned to be aware of the boundaries and keep control over them. They have a good understanding of who should be allowed past the gate and who should be shut out of the house.

A further perspective on the psychological aspects of violence is considering violence as a misguided response to perceived unmet needs.

Meeting human needs

All people have needs at many different levels. Experiencing violence often means our needs are not met, or if we feel our needs are not being met, using violence is a tempting response towards others. Though controversial (Heylighen, 1992), Maslow’s (1943) well-known model, the hierarchy of needs provides one way of understanding human needs. Maslow proposed that we have levels of need. The basic level is the level of basic physiological needs of food, water and shelter, sex and sleep. Money is often necessary to maintain physiological needs.

At the next level we have safety needs. Threats to life must be kept at bay. The law is often involved in maintaining this security. We tend to build safety through coming together with others of our kind to protect us against external threats.

Next up is belonging. If we come together in groups we must find ways of bonding and holding the group together, love and connectedness. This is also the level of social contracts, forming the shared agreements and rules that will enable community members to live together successfully.

The next level is self-esteem. Have a need to feel good about ourselves and feel valued in our family and community. Self-esteem is often linked to status in the community. If we are well connected within our community self-esteem is likely to be stronger. Obeying the rules of the community usually helps us gain acceptance and praise from our community. The final level is self-actualisation. Here we come to know ourselves and have the strength, if needed, to break the rules of society when they do not work to enhance our lives.

These needs are interconnected and the lack of needs in one area of our life will have an impact in other areas of life. Our needs are thus fractal and so when needs are not met because of violence, the results are also fractal having an impact right through the systems. Maslow ideas are often presented as a simple hierarchy, but human needs are far more complex. We seek all needs rather than building up from the bottom and the levels are extremely interconnected and interdependent.

For as long as we feel that our needs are being met, it is generally easy to trust and co-operate with others and use conflict creatively to enhance the situation. Whenever we perceive that our needs may not be met, we often feel threatened and anxious. Note that it is the perception of unmet needs that is more critical than whether the needs are in fact not met.

When we feel under threat and perceive ourselves as not having our needs met, we tend to pull our boundaries in close to focus on personal survival in the immediate future. We lose sight of the impact of our actions of others and longer term consequences of our actions and can easily resort to violence as misguided attempt to get our needs met. An understanding of brain functioning can shed light on this dilemma.

Neurological factors in violence

Our willingness to use violence can be linked to the way we see our world. If we choose to focus on the other as a threat, disconnect from others, have poor relationship skills and insist on our own perspective, violence is more likely to be seen as an acceptable behavioural response. The structure of the brain can shed light on how we choose to see the world.

MacLean’s triune brain theory (MacLean, 1977, 1990), though discredited in many details, outlines clearly the three basic structures in the brain that evolved over time. His reptile brain in the middle of the brain covers the more primitive areas of the brain, which controls the fight or flight reflex. The limbic system envelops the brainstem and is involved with emotion. That is covered yet again by the cerebral cortex (Seeley, Stephens, & Tate, 1989). The reptile brain is focused on survival, so the focus is on self-preservation in the short term. This fight/flight reflex links into the aggressiveness controlled by the amygdala in the limbic system. This fight/flight response is triggered by feelings of being under threat. This can be physical threat, or threat to our sense of identity or self-esteem.

The cerebral cortex, and the pre-frontal cortex in particular, tends to control higher level social functions, peculiar to human beings. Three critical functions are complex problem solving, empathy and future planning. Complex problem solving allows us to seek out a range of options to responding to a situation that may arise rather than a less adaptive fight/flight response. The pre-frontal cortex looks at developing empathy and understanding other people’s perspective as opposed to only considering self-preservation.

Thirdly, it allows us to review the past for responses in the present that will create a better long term future (Rosen, 2012). Much violent behaviour is about responding to the emotion of the moment without thought of future consequences. The pre-frontal cortex has the role of inhibiting the flight/fight response when it is inappropriate, so that more alternatives can be considered that includes thinking about others and the future. The effect of alcohol and many drugs is to reduce the capacity of the pre-frontal cortex to inhibit the brainstem and limbic system.

We have differing abilities at containing the anxiety that arises when we feel our boundaries are threatened(Stacey, 1996). A person who does not contain anxiety well will struggle with delayed gratification and tend towards impulsive behaviours, where the brainstem’s search for immediate solutions to assuage unease dominates over the pre-frontal cortex’s appreciation of the wider social context.

When we focus on our own needs to the exclusion of others, we are pulling our boundaries or perception into ourselves making everyone else other and invisible. When we place our temporal boundaries around the present moment, the future becomes invisible. We become disconnected from others and break relationships. Our perspectives on the world become canalysed (Cohen & Stewart, 1995) as we become oblivious to the harm we are causing.

Systems skills can, however, be learned. We can learn to recognise where we place our boundaries and the implications of those decisions. We can build our awareness of the systems we are a part of and the skills we need to build effective relationships. We can learn to seek out other perspectives and know that our particular perspective is only one among many.

How the development of systems thinking can reduce violence

Systems thinking (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2015) is fundamentally different from everyday linear thinking, where cause and effect tend to obviously linked. Systems thinking looks deeper at the more complex dynamics, so it can be used as a tool for reducing violence.

Boundaries

If a person gains a greater appreciation of where they choose to place their boundaries in their life and the implications of those choices. The person learns to be aware of the marginalised other and take the perspective of that other. Boundaries exist at every level of being, so the deeper we are able to uncover the boundaries we have chosen and the narratives we have created to support them, the more we gain conscious control of our actions.

Systems

Rather than focus only on the self and personal needs and desires, seeing oneself as a part of a greater system, which includes other people builds empathy and reduces the likelihood of violence. Reflecting on the systems in which we are embedded builds an awareness of the balance of autonomy and connectivity and how both are necessary for balanced growth. Cycling patterns such as the adaptive cycle (Gunderson & Holling, 2002; Holling, 1994) can be recognised within abusive behaviours (MacGill, 2011; Prochastka & DiClemente, 1992) that help people understand changes in human dynamics over time that lead to violence.

Relationships

As we become aware of our relationship with others, we become more aware of the processes needed to manage difference. There are definite relationship skills that can be learned to build resilience against the inevitable perturbations that will be experienced by those in relationship. Developing desistance skills or distraction techniques enables people to not react impulsively to experiences that may appear threatening and not trigger a cascade of negativity (Bak, 1996) ratcheting up and up until it ends in violence.

Perspectives

By learning to appreciate other perspectives violence is reduced. We grow developing a set of values and beliefs about ourselves, the world we live in and the future, that defines how we will perceive any situation and react to it. We absolutely need this perspective and cannot operate on the world without it, but once it is established, it canalyses our perception of our experiences. We ignore, minimise and deny aspects of the world that do not fit within our worldview. It is only by consciously seeking new perspectives and comparing them against our existing values and beliefs that we are able to consider information from beyond our purview.

Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in someone else’ position and see the world as they might see them. Taking wider perspectives takes time and so learning to contain anxiety and delay gratification is needed to avoid linear, impulsive decisions. Taking wider perspectives will also allow us to better anticipate future outcomes and thus be better prepared for whatever future eventuates.

Accepting uncertainty

Since complex systems are non-linear, the outcome of any action is not readily predictable. This can be difficult for some people to handle because it leaves a feeling of not being in control. Building up desistance skills to cope with the anxiety that arises from unpredictable outcomes will be helpful for anyone living in a complex environment. This is particularly so for wicked problems (Churchman, 1967) that are that much more intractable and unpredictable. Anyone who can remain calm and adapt to the unexpected changes will fare much better than someone maintaining strict control over their environment.

Recognise leverage points

Meadows (2008) talks of recognising leverage points as an important systems skills. Careful analysis of a system can reveal places where often significant control over a system can be gained. The cybernetic image of the helmsman (Heylighen & Joslyn, 2001; Martin, 2015) depicts someone in a wide treacherous ocean, who only has control over the tiller and sail positions, who is nevertheless able to reach the desired destination. Having control over our thinking and emotions is similarly a leverage point for human behaviour and the avoidance of violence and abuse.

Conclusions

DSRP is a model with universal applications. This paper has looked at DSRP in relation to violence and developed a systems based understanding of the nature of violence. With this definition a foundation was set for understanding human dynamics in relation to violence. Violence and abuse disrupt and harm social systems. Developing systems thinking helps people to recognise the distinctions in their lives and their impact, raises awareness of marginalisation, build empathy and recognise their connectedness with others, build more resilient relationships and be open to other perspectives. Enhancing social systems through the use of systems thinking is one way of reducing violence as it appears as direct violence, cultural violence or structural violence.

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