scholarly journals Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Systems Thinking

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
General System ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Social Feedback ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
Systems View

Drawing on more than a decade of research on the social implications of systems thinking, as well as practical experience in integrative, community-based approaches to education, this paper is an inquiry into philosophical and ethical considerations growing out of recent developments in systems thinking. In his foundational work on general system theory, Ludwig von Bertalanffy distinguishes between three general developments in the systems field: systems technology, systems science, and systems philosophy. These three dimensions of systems thinking each nurture distinct and often widely divergent theoretical and practical orientations. In his abstract for this session, Gary Metcalf asks whether the systems approach really has anything to offer. Science is a form of social feedback; it has created an enormous body of knowledge about the world and shaped humanity’s understanding of the nature of our collective reality. Knowledge then informs action. Assumptions built into scientific frameworks condition certain kinds of actions, as Bertalanffy has noted. Systems thinking as science nurtures a way of thinking that engenders a different kind of practice; systems as philosophy cultivates an ethic of integration and collaboration that has the potential to transform the nature of social organization. Although humanity still has a lot to learn about living more harmoniously and sustainably, systems thinking has made significant contributions in this direction in many fields, both theoretical and practical. The challenge is to integrate what we have learned, to communicate these insights to a larger audience, and to nurture institutional practices that honor the ethical principles inherent in the systems view.

scholarly journals Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Systems Thinking

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
General System ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Social Feedback ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
Systems View

Drawing on more than a decade of research on the social implications of systems thinking, as well as practical experience in integrative, community-based approaches to education, this paper is an inquiry into philosophical and ethical considerations growing out of recent developments in systems thinking. In his foundational work on general system theory, Ludwig von Bertalanffy distinguishes between three general developments in the systems field: systems technology, systems science, and systems philosophy. These three dimensions of systems thinking each nurture distinct and often widely divergent theoretical and practical orientations. In his abstract for this session, Gary Metcalf asks whether the systems approach really has anything to offer. Science is a form of social feedback; it has created an enormous body of knowledge about the world and shaped humanity’s understanding of the nature of our collective reality. Knowledge then informs action. Assumptions built into scientific frameworks condition certain kinds of actions, as Bertalanffy has noted. Systems thinking as science nurtures a way of thinking that engenders a different kind of practice; systems as philosophy cultivates an ethic of integration and collaboration that has the potential to transform the nature of social organization. Although humanity still has a lot to learn about living more harmoniously and sustainably, systems thinking has made significant contributions in this direction in many fields, both theoretical and practical. The challenge is to integrate what we have learned, to communicate these insights to a larger audience, and to nurture institutional practices that honor the ethical principles inherent in the systems view.

Systems Thinking

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sytse Strijbos
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
P Systems ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Von Bertalanffy ◽  
Scientific Program ◽  
World Picture ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of

Systems thinking was launched by Ludwig von Bertalanffy and others in the 1950s as an interdisciplinary movement with a broad and bold scientific program. The movement attempts to overcome the dominating mechanistic world picture and related reductionism in the sciences which is regarded as one of the main causes of the problems of the modern world. This chapter discusses the sixty-year history of systems thinking and sketches some main lines of its three domains: systems science, systems approach in technology and management, and systems philosophy. This interdisciplinary movement has stimulated fruitful theory formation in the first mentioned domain, although it has not succeeded in achieving its original far-reaching goals. Furthermore, integrative, interdisciplinary systems approaches in technology and management have become well accepted. Finally, recent developments signal a return to the intellectual-spiritual roots of the systems movement aiming for a renewal of its scientific agenda.

scholarly journals Assessing the contribution of information technology to socio-economic development: A case study from rural South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marita Turpin ◽  
Trish Alexander ◽  
Jackie Phahlamohlaka
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Total System ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Systems View ◽  
Systems Framework ◽  
Ict For Development

This paper addresses the challenge of assessing an ICT for development (ICT4D) project’s contribution to the socio-economic development of the broader community where it is implemented. It argues for using a systems approach to deal with this challenge, since systems thinking is concerned with the performance of the total system. Systems thinking is seldom used in ICT4D, and is lacking in existing ICT4D impact assessment frameworks.  In this paper, the authors apply a social systems framework in an ICT4D case study. The framework is used to describe and assess the contribution of the ICT4D project to the socio-economic development of the larger community. Since Community Informatics (CI) embraces a broad socio-technical systems view, the work is relevant to a CI audience.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and future pandemics: a global systems approach and relevance to SDGs

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharanga Thoradeniya ◽  
Saroj Jayasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
World Population ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Corporate Interests

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting modern human civilization. A global view using a systems science approach is necessary to recognize the close interactions between health of animals, humans and the environment. Discussion A model is developed initially by describing five sequential or parallel steps on how a RNA virus emerged from animals and became a pandemic: 1. Origins in the animal kingdom; 2. Transmission to domesticated animals; 3. Inter-species transmission to humans; 4. Local epidemics; 5. Global spread towards a pandemic. The next stage identifies global level determinants from the physical environments, the biosphere and social environment that influence these steps to derive a generic conceptual model. It identifies that future pandemics are likely to emerge from ecological processes (climate change, loss of biodiversity), anthropogenic social processes (i.e. corporate interests, culture and globalization) and world population growth. Intervention would therefore require modifications or dampening these generators and prevent future periodic pandemics that would reverse human development. Addressing issues such as poorly planned urbanization, climate change and deforestation coincide with SDGs such as sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11), climate action (Goal 13) and preserving forests and other ecosystems (Goal 15). This will be an added justification to address them as global priorities. Some determinants in the model are poorly addressed by SDGs such as the case of population pressures, cultural factors, corporate interests and globalization. The overarching process of globalization will require modifications to the structures, processes and mechanisms of global governance. The defects in global governance are arguably due to historical reasons and the neo-liberal capitalist order. This became evident especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 when the vaccination roll-out led to violations of universal values of equity and right to life by some of the powerful and affluent nations. Summary A systems approach leads us to a model that shows the need to tackle several factors, some of which are not adequately addressed by SDGs and require restructuring of global governance and political economy.

scholarly journals Using Systems Thinking to Improve Tourism and Hospitality Research Quality and Relevance: A Critical Review and Conceptual Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Gianna Moscardo
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Problem Area ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Published Research

This paper argues that that much published tourism and hospitality research has had little influence on tourism or hospitality practice especially with regard to the problems of sustainability because of a failure to use systems thinking to guide research questions and approaches. This critical review and conceptual paper demonstrates how a systems thinking approach could be used to improve both the relevance of, and theoretical development in, tourism and hospitality research in the area of sustainability. This paper reviewed recent published research into tourism’s social impacts to demonstrate the power of taking a systems approach to map out the research problem area. It then critically reviewed the use of concepts from psychology in published research into guest engagement in sustainability programs in hospitality businesses to demonstrate the value of systems thinking for organising theoretical concepts. In both of the reviewed areas the overwhelming conclusion was that the majority of the research lacked both practical relevance and was based on inappropriate or deficient theoretical understanding.

Cognitive risk culture and advanced roles of actors in risk governance: a case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Agarwal ◽  
Sanjay Kallapur
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cognitive Risk ◽  
Risk Culture ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the best practices for improving risk culture and defining the role of actors in risk governance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents an exemplar case of a British insurance company by using a qualitative case research approach.FindingsThe case study shows how the company was successful in changing from a compliance-based and defensive risk culture to a cognitive risk culture by using a systems thinking approach. Cognitive risk culture ensures that everybody understands risks and their own roles in risk governance. The change was accomplished by adding an operational layer between the first and second lines of defense and developing tools to better communicate risks throughout the organization.Practical implicationsPractitioners can potentially improve risk governance by using the company’s approach. The UK regulator’s initiative to improve risk culture can potentially be followed by other regulators.Originality/valueThis is among the few studies that describe actual examples of how a company can improve risk culture using the systems approach and how systems thinking simultaneously resolves several other issues such as poor risk reporting and lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities.

scholarly journals Symmetries of Thirring Models on 3D Lattices

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wilhelm Wipf ◽  
Julian Johannes Lenz
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Order Parameter ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Coupling Phase ◽  
Perturbative Methods ◽  
Dirac Materials ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Arbitrary Dimensions ◽  
Relativistic Fermi ◽  
The Continuum

We review some recent developments about strongly interacting relativistic Fermi theories in three spacetime dimensions. These models realize the asymptotic safety scenario and are used to describe the low-energy properties of Dirac materials in condensed matter physics. We begin with a general discussion of the symmetries of multi-flavor Fermi systems in arbitrary dimensions. Then we review known results about the critical flavor number $N_\mathrm{crit}$ of Thirring models in three dimensions. Only models with flavor number below $N_\mathrm{crit}$ show a phase transition from a symmetry-broken strong-coupling phase to a symmetric weak-coupling phase. Recent simulations with chiral fermions show that $N_\mathrm{crit}$ is smaller than previously extracted with various non-perturbative methods. Our simulations with chiral SLAC fermions reveal that for four-component flavors $N_\mathrm{crit}=0.80(4)$. This means that all reducible Thirring models with $\Nr=1,2,3,\dots$ show no phase transition with order parameter. Instead we discover footprints of phase transitions without order parameter. These new transitions are probably smooth and could be used to relate the lattice Thirring models to Thirring models in the continuum. For a single irreducible flavor, we provide previously unpublished values for the critical couplings and critical exponents.

scholarly journals Based on systems science methodology—— Research on the talent training system of hall three-dimensional structure

2020 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 01050
Author(s):  
Yong-Chen ◽  
Zhong Hua-Cheng ◽  
Qi-Xu
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Training System ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Three Dimension ◽  
Time Dimension ◽  
Dimension Analysis ◽  
Science Methodology

Draw lessons from the basic idea of system science methodology, based on the hall three dimensions structure theory construction of research personnel training problems, from the time dimension, logic knowledge and three dimension analysis of all aspects of talent cultivation system, clear the talent training theory support, and solve the problem of a series of contradictions in the process of talent training, further enriched and developed the theoretical system of talents cultivation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document