Publications and activities 2015

Publication of selection of papers presented at WOSC 2014

Raul Espejo was the Guest Editor of Vol 44, Issues 6/7 of the Journal Kybernetes, published  at the end of September 2015. This double issue included 23 of the contributions  to our last Congress. Copy of this editorial is in the file below:

Governing the Anthropocene: Cybersystemic Possibilities

Professor Ray Ison, the President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, extended an invitation to WOSC to participate  in the event “Governing the Anthropocene: Cybersystemic Possibilities” at the Herrenhausen Palace, Hannover Germany, last July 30th and 31st. Funding support for this event  was given by the Volkswagen Stiftung  (Foundation) through collaboration with the Berlin Workshop in Institutional Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems based at Humbolt University in Berlin. WOSC was represented by Professor Jose Perez Rios, Dr Igor Perko, Mrs Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek  and Professor Raul Espejo.

Problem statement

The prevailing paradigm in the governance of the relationship between humans and the biophysical world is characterised by commitments to scientism and linear, causal and dualistic thinking. Currently governance, if understood as enacting cyber-systemic processes that maintain the quality of relationships between humans and the biosphere, can be seen to be failing on many fronts. The Anthropocene has emerged as a conceptual framing for this issue, but to date little cyber-systemic understanding and praxis (theory informed practical action) has meaningfully informed the unfolding discourse.

Link to the related blog: http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/govan/