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Systems Thinking Ontario as Systems Convening | ST-ON | 2024-10-21

November 25, 2024
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The 125th meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario coincided with the closing day for the RSD13-RSDX online program.  As a regular systems convening group, we’ve had monthly meetings since January 2013.

Zaid Khan moderated  a discussion including me (David Ing), Tim Lloyd, Allenna Leonard, and Kelly Okamura.

We recollected starting as a spinoff from Design with Dialogue, adopting their tradition of meeting in a circle in the Lambert Lounge at OCADU.  In the summers, we’ve celebrated the Synthesis Maps created by Master of Design students from the Strategic Foresight and Innovation program in the Visual Analytics Lab.  The COVID-19 pandemic saw us shift to online meetings, with a few in-person opportunties taken in the summer.

This video recording is available for download, on Youtube, and also on the Internet Archive .

Video H.264 MP4
October 21
(1h35m)		 [20241021_ST-ON_RSDx-RSD13_FHD_620kpbs.m4v
(1920×1080 626kbps 538MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

An audio version was also created during the meeting.

Audio
October 21
(1h35m)		 [20241021_ST-ON_RSDx-RSD13.m4a]
(126kbps, 88 MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

In 2025, Systems Thinking Ontario meetings are planned to continue.  We’re shifting to a different evening, to enable inclusion of students currently in the SFI program.  With an increase in the number of sessions where we’ll meet in person, we hope that novices will join our regulars.  Stay posted at https://wiki.st-on.org.

Systems Convening, in the RSD13-RSDX program

Systems Theory, Systems Philosophy, Systems Methodology via Bela H. Banathy (1985)

November 15, 2024
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The International Society for General Systems Research formed circa 1956 became the International Society for the Systems Sciences in 1988.  In 1985, Bela H. Banathy organized the annual meeting on the theme of “Systems Inquiring”.  Proceedings normally are published in the year following.  In 1987, John A. Dillon summarized Banathy’s perspective in the yearbook, General Systems.  For easy reading, here’s an excerpt from the yearbook.

— begin excerpt —

EDITORIAL PREFACE

Systems Inquiring

One of the few perquisites which come to the President of the International Society for General Systems Research is that he or she can determine the theme of the Annual Conference. In 1985, President Bela Banathy selected the topic, Systems Inquiring as the focal point of the Conference.

Because his Introduction to that conference represents an excellent, concise description of the whole field of systems science, we shall begin this volume by quoting it here.

“Systems Inquiring involves both conclusion oriented disciplined inquiry or knowledge production and decision oriented disciplined inquiry, which makes use of knowledge produced by systems research and by the various disciplines. Systems Inquiring draws upon the three domains of systems scholarship: systems theory, systems philosophy, and systems methodology.

The program of the 1985 Annual Meeting of the Society embraces the entire scope of Systems Inquiry, by which:
SYSTEMS PHILOSOPHY is explicated and evolved,
SYSTEMS THEORY is defined and formulated through its continuous evolution, and
SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY is pursued as a field of study as well as implemented in a variety of contexts and through a variety of strategies and methods.… Read more (in a new tab)

CSRP Institute 2024 Banathy Conversation, Lugano

October 29, 2024
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For five immersive days, a team of six researchers had the opporunity to collaborate on ideas on rhythmic shifts (mostly based on Systems Changes Learning) and anticipatory systems (in the legacy of Robert Rosen).  The 2024 Banathy Conversation was organized by the Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute, facilitated by Susu Nousala, Gary S. Metcalf, and Jelena Sucic.

Converrsatons had been convened by the International Federation for Systems Research since 1982.

Conversations were introduced by Bela H. Banathy around 1980 as an alternative to the classical conferences which usually consist only of presentation of streamlined papers and short question slots. In a Conversation a small group of scientists meets for several days to discuss in a self-guided way a topic of scientific and social importance. A Conversation is preceded by an intensive preparation phase and followed by a post-conversation consolidation period. No papers are presented during the conversation; the participants discuss face-to-face their topic, often modifying it in the course of the conversation.

As far as we know, this was the first event following the Banathy Conversation Methdology since the IFSR 2018 Conversation.

The Banathy approach has been a highlight experience in my personal development.  I was fortunate to have been invited to Austria to attend IFSR Conversation events in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012,  Moving on from an era when email messaging was the most common medium, I spent a month this past summer updating online communications technologies to pilot mobile devices, secure group chat, a wiki, and a classroom platform.… Read more (in a new tab)

Book Launch — Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness | Lynn Rasmussen + Laura Civitello | ST-ON | 2024-09-09

September 18, 2024
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Systems Processes Theory has been under development for many decades, led by Len Troncale, a past president of the International Society for the Ssytems Sciences.  Many have found getting a grip on the science to be a demanding task, both in scope and in depth.

Over many decades, Lynn Rasmussen was a collaborator, refining and clarifying Systems Processes Theory.  Having already published previous books related to her professional coaching, Lynn turned her attention over the past few years to making the theory more accessible.  Thus, on September 4, 2024, Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness was released.

Systems Thinking Ontario was privileged to celebrate the launch of her book.  Lynn joined us in conversation online from Hawaii, with her colleague Laura Civitello from the Maui Institute.

The conversation flowed quite easily with participants.  Some of the concepts were made more concrete by reference to the 2023 Maui Wildfires.

This video recording available for download, on Youtube, and also on the Internet Archive .

Video H.264 MP4
Sept. 9
(1h38m)		 [20240909_ST-ON_LynnRasmussen_LauraCivitello SeeingFieldGuide.m4v
(1920×900 1162kbps 906MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

The only visual was the table of contents of the book.  A standalone audio was also created during the meeting.

Audio
Sept. 9
(1h38m)		 [20240909_ST-ON_LynnRasmussen_LauraCivitello SeeingFieldGuide.m4a]
(128kbps, 89 MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

A brief decription follows below.  Links to historical content (e.g.… Read more (in a new tab)

Reifying Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological Perspectives for Systems Changes | STPIS | 2024-08-16

September 13, 2024
2 Comments

The Socio-Technical Systems (STS) perspective, dating back to the studies of Eric L. Trist and Fred E. Emery, was on the reading list of organizational behaviour classes in my undergraduate and master’s degree programs.  It wasn’t until 15 years later, when I got involved with the systems sciences and David L. Hawk, that the Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) perspective became more prominent in my worldview.  This emphasis is likely true for most audiences, where Socio-Technical is prominent, and Socio-Ecological is in the background or out of mind.

For the 10th International Conference on Socio-Technical Perspectives in Information Systems (STPIS’24) scheduled in Jönköping, Sweden, for mid-August,  I was invited to contribute a paper,   My travel plans didn’t take me to the Nordics this summer, so the organizers scheduled me for a remote online presentation.

Since the STPIS workshop has official proceedings, my thinking was mostly on completing a manuscript, that is available as a preprint.   The manuscript reviews the Trist and Emery histories, and then gets philosophical in proposing a shift from mainstream principles into a process-first approach regrounded with a postocolonial bridge to Classical Chinese foundations.  My concern on the short presentation was getting a message across to workshop attendees, with only a short slot.  My colleague Peter Bednar reported what I couldn’t see online.

Dear David, thank you for your amazing and thorough presentation. It was interesting, and deep. I always learn something from your stuff.

… Read more (in a new tab)

What Can Systems Thinkers Learn From Civic Tech? | Dorothy Eng + Curtis McCord | 2024-05-18

August 31, 2024
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Civic Tech can be described as projects using technology “for the public good“.  Civic Tech may be related to, but different from Gov Tech.

For the May 2024 Systems Thinking Onrtario, we had two knowledgeable guests in conversation.  Dorothy Eng, executive director of Code for Canada since 2021, related her professional journey from engineering to consulting, and Civic Tech Toronto (with a long history of hacknights and speakers).  Curtis McCord was also involved in Civic Tech Toronto, and completed a Ph.D. dissertation on “Civic Participation and Democratic Experience: Civic Tech in Toronto” in the Faculty of Informqtion Studies at the University of Toronto in 2022.  The session was moderated by Zaid Khan, with some familiar regular attendees contributiong viewpoints.

This recording of the conversation is available on Youtube, with an alternate retention on the Internet Archive .

Video H.264 MP4
May 13
(1h36m)		 [20240513_ST-ON_CivicTech DorothyEng_CurtisMcCord.m4v
(1698×826 906kbps 755MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

For those who prefer just to listne, a standalone audio was also created during the meeting.

Audio
May 13
(1h36m)		 [20240513_ST-ON_CivicTech DorothyEng_CurtisMcCord.m4a]
(128kbps, 89 MB)
[on the Internet Archive]

A short description of the session follows below, with pre-readings linked on the original abstract.

— begin excerpt —

Civic tech is an approach to bettering public services through technology. It has and continues to be expressed in many forms: a movement, mindset, frameworks, service.… Read more (in a new tab)

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