Category Archives: Conferences and Meetings

Course on Social Cybernetics in Lincoln UK

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The Social Science Centre, Lincoln is running a module on Social Cybernetics – an approach to effective self-organisation of management and other systems through networks and structures that promote autonomy among actors, leading to identity formation and the co-creation of social value.

The module will be facilitated by Professor Raul Espejo, a world-authority in the field and the current Director-General of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics. Raul was a member of a team in Chile in the 1970s that worked on the Project Cybersyn<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn>, and attempt to link socialist planning with technology enabled social communications and policy processes.

The module is free of charge.

The module will begin on Thursday 21st of January from 7-9 pm and then every two weeks until Wednesday the 16th of March. The venue for the module is the Involve Centre, 12 Mint Lane Lincoln LN1 1UD<https://goo.gl/maps/hbehu5g2TMU2>.

If you would like to attend the course please contact info@socialsciencecentre.org.uk<mailto:info@socialsciencecentre.org.uk>

 

Course outline

Key concepts to explore in the module include:

 

*   Purpose, feedback, homeostasis

*   Communications, value-coproduction, eigen behaviours

*   Complexity, variety, requisite variety, variety engineering

*   Structure, structural recursion

*   Organisation, relationships

*   Self-organisation

*   Self-regulation

*   Self-reference and identity

*   Social systems, organisational systems and institutions

*   Reflexivity

*   Power

*   Governance

*   Cybersyn

 

Readings

The module will be organised around three key readings written by Professor Espejo:

Espejo, Raul. 1994. What is Systemic Thinking? in System Dynamics Review, June 1994 pp199-212

Espejo, Raul. 2014. Cybernetics of Governance: The Cybersyn Project 1971-1973, in Social Systems and Design. Edited by G. S. Metcalf, pp 71-90, Springer: Tokyo, Heidelberg

Espejo, Raul. 2015. Good Cybernetics is a must in Policy Processes. Kybernetes, Vol 44, 6-7, pp 874 – 890

 

Other key references

Ashby, W. Ross. 1964. An Introduction to Cybernetics. London: Methuen & Co.

Bateson, Gregory. 1973. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. London: Paladin

Beer, Stafford. 1981. Brain of the Firm (2nd edition). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Beer, Stafford . 1979. Heart of Enterprise. London: John Wiley & Sons.

The Cybernetics of Governance Chile 1971-1973

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Last December Raul Espejo gave a talk about Cybersyn at the University of Westminster, London. Video recording of this event is now uploaded in YouTube:

youtu.be/JGTEoJI5-Y4

The talk highlighted Cybersyn’s  governance approach in contrast to current approached as well as its methodological and epistemological strengths and weaknesses. The talk was followed by a lively debate.

WOSC Congress 2014 is concluded

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WOSC 2014 is now concluded
We want to highlight:

Attendees of 26 countries from around the word gathered in Ibague, Colombia.

10 keynote speakers presented current issues and future perspectives on cybernetics and system thinking.

Fernando Flores Eden Medina Geoff Mulgan Carlos Gershenson Allenna Leonard
Clas-Otto Wene  Raúl Espejo Dario Rodriguez Humberto Maturana Ximena Dávila

Professor Dr. Humberto Maturana was distinguished with WOSC’s Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold Medal

Participants contributed papers to 9 themes

No Themes Theme Coordinador
1 Digital Society & Business Ecosystems Igor Perko and Raul Espejo
2 Complexity, Sustainability and Self-Organisation Angela Espinosa
3 Ecosystems – Renewal for Sustainability Markus Schwaninger
4 Design and Control of Self-organising Systems Carlos Gershenson 
5 Power, Citizenship and Democracy Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek and Germán Bula
6 Computer modelling, power and the management of complexity Hernán López Garay
7 Networks of influence: systems dynamics José Pérez Rios
8 Transdisciplinary modelling and decision processes Jerzy Jozefczyk 
9 Cyber-systemic Governance Autopoiesis and Social Processes Sandro Schlindwein
 

 

Prize and Commendations to papers 

 

Congress Theme Paper Title Authors Resolution
Networks of influence: systems dynamics A system dynamics model of the nutritional stage of the Colombian population by socioeconomic status Jose David Meisel, Olga L. Sarmiento, Camilo Olaya & Roberto Zarama Kybernetes prize for the Outstanding Paper of the Congress
Digital Society & Business Ecosystems Sharing business partner behavior Igor Perko, Andreja Primec & Robert Horvat Highly commended paper
Power, Citizenship and Democracy Towards a Non-trivializing Education Germán Bula

 

 Highly commended paper
Computer modelling, power and the management of complexity Modeling and Simulating Moral Emotions in Organizations: exploring its impact on collaboration Oswaldo Terán, Christophe Sibertin-Blanc & Benoit Gaudou Highly commended paper

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 
     

 

  
 
 
 
       
 
 
     

 

  
       
 
 

 

 

You may find more details on the Congress homepage wosc-congress.unibague.edu.co.

American Society of Cybernetics 2013 conference

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Ranulph Glanville, President of the American Society of Cybernetics writes:

I am pleased to announce the launch of the web site for the American Society of Cybernetics 2013 conference, “Acting, Learning, Understanding)” which will take place in Bolton, UK.

The main conference is 30 July to 1 August (3 days), inclusive. It is preceded by a 2 day pre-conference and followed by a 2 day post-conference (which are free).

Bolton is situated in some of the most beautiful countryside, on the edge of Manchester, and is well connected both internationally and nationally.

We would appreciate you help in announcing this conference as widely as possible especially to your members, and, of course, would be delighted to welcome you to the conference.

Please visit the web site at www.asc-cybernetics.org/2013. I also attach a flyer/poster 2013_ASC_Conferencethat provides the key information, and which I would be glad for you to pass on.

Thank you, and welcome to Bolton!

 

 

EMCSR 2012

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The  21st European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research (EMCSR) took place in Vienna from April 10 to April 13, 2012.

The book with the abstracts of the papers presented to this meeting can be downloaded from: http://www.emcsr.net/book-of-abstracts/

The following papers were delivered in the Symposium “Design and Self-organization in the Emergence of Effective Organizations”, which was organised by WOSC:

Session 1: Paper Presentation

Chair: Raúl Espejo

  • Markus Schwaninger: Towards Optimal Organizational Designs, The Fractal Dimension of Self-organizing Systems
  • Hans Losscher: Leadership and Chaos Theory

Session 2: Paper Presentation

Chair: Markus Schwaninger

  • Penny Hart: Using an interpretivist methodology to investigate knowledge sharing in a research establishment
  • Tom Ryan: Working ‘Cybernetically’ at Organizational (Re)design

Session 3: Paper Presentation

Chair:  José Perez Rios

  • Louis Klein:  Narrative Approaches to Organizational Research, Exploring the organisational collage of memetic paradigms
  • Helmut Nechansky: Problems of Organizational Cybernetics,beyond Beer’s Viable Systems Model
  • Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek: Supporting Civil Society’s Self-Organisation

Session 4: Paper Presentation

Chair:  Tom Ryan

  • José Perez Rios & Xosé Lois Martínez Suárez:  An Organizational Cybernetics approach to University Urban Planning
  • José Bermeo: Designing an effective conversation in an organization
  • Raúl Espejo & David Hooper: Variety Engineering and the Re-structuring of the English National Health Service

Conference in Valencia

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The Business Systems Laboratory (www.bslaboratory.net)  and SESGE (Sociedad Española de Sistemas Generales) – Universitat de Valencia held  the INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM The Economic Crisis: Time for a Paradigm Shift – Towards a Systems Approach at the University of Valencia  on the 24-25 January, 2013. Keynote speakers were Professor Raul Espejo, Director General of the World Organization for Systems and Cybernetics (UK), MATJAŽ MULEJ Distinguished Professor at Maribor University and Professor Gaetano Golinelli, from the Sapienza University, Roma, Italy 
The Three keynote speakers received awards for the advancement in Systems Thinking applied to management

An Ecology of Ideas- Meeting of the American Society for Cybernetics

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FINAL REMINDER

 

Organised jointly by the American Society for Cybernetics and the Bateson Idea Group, “An Ecology of Ideas” offers a chance to develop ideas that connect to those of Gregory Bateson and his “Ecology of Mind”. Bateson died in 1980, and was one of the widest ranging, deepest and most inclusive thinkers of C20: his work merits re-animation.

 

The conference brings students of Bateson and of Cybernetics (of which he was a founder) together with a more general public who are intrigued and interested to learn from and extend key concepts of both. To facilitate this, there will be workshops and conversational presentations under the theme headings of Paradigm, Recursion and Praxis.

 

Asilomar is a State Park and Conference Centre on the Pacific Coast, a site of Architectural excellence, and a place closely associated with Gregory Bateson, and the early years of Cybernetics.

 

We invite you to explore the website for the conference at

 

http://asc-cybernetics.org/2012/

 

If you are interested to attend, there are a few places still available. Please apply directly from the website for both accommodation and board, and the conference fee:

 

http://asc-cybernetics.org/2012/?page_id=33

 

(The process is a little complex because of various deals that are

available)

 

If you wish to contact the conference co-ordinator, Dr Pille Bunnell is at

 

conferencesuggestions@asc-cybernetics.org

 

We hope to welcome you there.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Ranulph Glanville

President, American Society for Cybernetics.