Rajneesh Chowdhury, Ph.D.

Happy to share my latest research paper in the Systemist (the official journal of the UK Systems Society), titled, “Applying VSM, SSM, and SAST for problem-structuring and problem-solving in health systems”. (Cover date Winter, 2021).ABSTRACTSystems thinking can lend a powerful perspective for problem-structuring and problem-solving in health systems. They can serve to articulate assumptions rooted in mental models and individual values and help in facilitating convergence of viewpoints between differing stakeholders in an inclusive and participative manner. This paper presents a case-study where three systems methodologies – VSM, SSM and SAST – were used sequentially in the UK NHS to bring about value-based consensus between managers and clinicians overcoming legacy differences. The discussions highlight the contribution systems methodologies can make in unearthing causes of organisational dissonance, misaligned priorities, and deep-rooted conflict, and how the same can be resolved by working towards a higher-order stakeholder convergence through application of certain methodologies creatively and flexibly. Discussions presented emphasise on the importance of problem-structuring as an essential step before problem-solving. It is also argued that the former needs to flow through an intervention as an iterative process and that problem-structuring should not be regarded as a one-time activity. Learnings presented in this paper can be of equal value for systems and healthcare researchers and practitioners. The intervention can be located within the ambit of Holistic Flexibility, a recently introduced conceptual lens in systems thinking.

(3) Post | LinkedIn

Reconceiving the Digital Network: From Cells to Selves

Mark William Johnson, Elizabeth Maitland, John Torday & Sebastian H. D. Fiedler 

Chapter

First Online: 22 April 2022

Part of the Postdigital Science and Education book series (PSE)

Abstract

The concept of the postdigital and current conceptions of the biodigital stem from an understanding of computer networks which itself has a history deriving from biology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This chapter traces the historical development of modern conceptions of ‘network’ from Rashevsky, to McCulloch and Pitts, through to the creation of the Internet, and current thinking about neural networks and machine learning. In tracing this history, we question the soundness of some of the assumptions made about networked digital phenomena and their relation to biological and phenomenological processes. In contrast to the topological node-arc model of networks, we argue that networks arise from evolutionary biological processes which are fundamentally oriented around boundary preservation rather than ‘connection’. Cellular connections observed as networks can be seen as epiphenomena of these underlying processes, where for example, a cell will establish ‘connection’ as a means of maintaining its viability in an uncertain environment. Taking a boundary-preservation viewpoint allows for a homological analysis of similar processes from cells to selves. We illustrate two areas where this viewpoint might be operationalised: in communication dynamics and in institutional organisation. We argue this is a richer way of investigating biodigital phenomena, and opens the door to new technological experiments and alternative visions of a technological society.

Reconceiving the Digital Network: From Cells to Selves | SpringerLink

And if your budget can’t stretch to the book Bioinformational Philosophy and Postdigital Knowledge Ecologies (though it sounds as fascinating as the title is long), also on Academia:

https://www.academia.edu/s/c926e3a742

Wednesday, April 20, 2022Constructing POSIWID

Demanding Change: Constructing POSIWID

Systemic resilience in economics

William Hynes, Benjamin D. Trump, Alan Kirman, Andrew Haldane & Igor Linkov 

Nature Physics volume 18, pages381–384 (2022)

We describe a framework for understanding the factors that underpin economic resilience, and identify the basic tools for implementing it. This principally involves examining resilience by design, which promotes endogenous reorganization in the economy, and by intervention, which includes exogenous measures such as bailouts, stockpiles and building buffers. We link these ideas to comparable notions from physics, such as the rich and non-trivial phenomenology that arises in circumstances when a system is dynamic and out of equilibrium. We contend that a more nuanced understanding of the underlying structure of our economic system could lead to more enlightened policy decisions that promote resilience and result in better outcomes in the long run.

Systemic resilience in economics | Nature Physics

The Climate GameCan you reach net zeroby 2050?See if you can save the planet from the worst effects of climate change

The Climate Game — Can you reach net zero?

Two kinds of CAS: how did I miss this insight?

Two kinds of CAS: how did I miss this insight? | arthur~battram…

Gregory Bateson on deutero-learning and double bind: a brief conceptual historyMax Visser

Gregory Bateson on deutero-learning and double bind: a brief conceptual history – PubMed

Deutero-Learning in Organizations: A Review and a Reformulation

[PDF] Deutero-Learning in Organizations: A Review and a Reformulation | Semantic Scholar

CITIZEN JANE Jane Jacobs

CITIZEN JANE Jane Jacobs on Vimeo

h/t Rick Woodward, who posted this on LinkedIn after I posted this:

If you get the chance, you should watch Straight Line Crazy, the David Hare play about Robert Moses (and a bit about Jane Jacobs) – we just saw it in the first production last night in London (with Ralph Fiennes). An odd play without much action but very engaging and emotional, and so much to make you think about about leadership, complexity, planning, cars, roads, cities, organisation, and power.

MAR 18, 2022 5 MIN READ SYSTEMSAn Introduction to Systems ThinkingThis is my primer to systems thinking. “Show me the incentives and I will show you the outcome.” – Charlie Munger

An Introduction to Systems Thinking

Head of Systems PracticeJob Reference:00001308-1Date Posted:7 April 2022Recruiter:HomelessLinkLocation:Location Flexible – to be agreedRemote Working:100% remote working possibleSalary:£45,866 to £53,937Bonus/Benefits:Salary dependent on Location see recruitment packRole:Other jobsJob type:TemporaryDuration:2 YearsWork hours:Full TimeJob Description MEAM now has confirmed funding for the next two years leading to an exciting opportunity to join our team as Head of Systems Practice.  The MEAM coalition has worked for twelve years across more than 50 local areas in England, supporting local partnerships to tackle the structural and systemic issues that cause and sustain multiple disadvantage.  The Head of Systems Practice will sit on the MEAM Leadership Team and help oversee the coalition’s work and strategic direction.  They will also lead our team of System Practice Managers, helping the team to promote and model systems leadership in their work and to develop and shape their systems practice.  A natural and empathetic leader, you will understand how power imbalances in systems impact people facing multiple disadvantage, and will understand and model working in a trauma informed way. You will be competent in leading a remote, dispersed team, ensuring the team have the right level of support to enable them to be effective in their roles.MEAM values and prioritises different perspectives and all lived experience and as such we encourage applications from all under-represented groups. Specifically, we are seeking to increase representation in our team of people with lived experience of multiple disadvantage and people from racially minoritised groups. We believe in equity over equality and encourage you to contact us if there are barriers to you applying for this position, this can include but is not limited to, child care/carer responsibilities and access requirements.  For full details of the role and how to apply please download our Recruitment Pack belowClosing date:  25th April 2022 @ 9.00 am

Head of Systems Practice, Location Flexible – to be agreed – Homeless Link

Entropy: The Second Law of Thermodynamics | David L. Hawk | ST-ON 2021-03-14 April 18, 2022 daviding 0 CommentsFor espoused systems thinkers who are predisposed towards towards finding an equilibrium (or maybe one amongst multiple equilibria), a discussion about entropy can raise discomfort.  In the systems sciences, the second law of thermodynamics — as an entropic process — is often cited by the learned as a universal law applicable across physics, chemistry, biology … as well as social systems.In economics, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen drew attention to the inconvenience that “perpetual motion of the third kind is impossible“.  Thus, “a closed system that does work forever at a steady rate” violates the second law of thermodynamics.  Towards unpacking the implications of this universal law, we drew on David L. Hawk for expertise.

Entropy: The Second Law of Thermodynamics | David L. Hawk | ST-ON 2021-03-14 – Coevolving Innovations