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Webinar Registration – Zoom

Phumlani Nkontwanais an Associate Lecturer on the MBA & PGDip modules at the USB, Stellenbosch University. He is currently pursuing his PhD in the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University. He also teaches Systems Change and Social Impact Executive Course at the GSB, Cape Town University. He is chief executive officer of Fuata Africa – a small boutique entrepreneurship development consulting outfit mainly practising in six African markets (http://www.fuataafrica.com).

Dr John van Breda is a Senior Researcher and programme coordinator for transdisciplinary research at the Centre of Complex Systems in Transition (CST). John holds post-graduate degrees in philosophy, theology and sociology as well as PhD with a specific focus on developing context-relevant transdisciplinary research approaches for conducting solution-oriented research in a developing world context. His expertise is in transdisciplinary methodologies and methods for tackling complex social-ecological systems challenges. The title of his PhD is as follows: “Methodological Agility for Sustainability Transitions in the Context of the Anthropocene” which can be accessed here: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/106959.

Register here:

Webinar Registration – Zoom

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Yes! Our World Is Complex, and More Than The Sum Of Its Parts | by Kenneth Silvestri | ILLUMINATION | Jul, 2020 | Medium

Yes! Our World Is Complex, And More Than The Sum Of Its Parts: Lessons From Gaia

“Between us is the genesis of ability to perceive and respond to the complexity of this time.” -Nora Bateson

I doubt if anyone can deny that we live in a complex world. And who can disagree with the dictionary definition of complexity: the “quality or state of being composed of interconnected parts”?

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Yes! Our World Is Complex, and More Than The Sum Of Its Parts | by Kenneth Silvestri | ILLUMINATION | Jul, 2020 | Medium

book at:

Systems Thinking Study club – “A little illustrated book of Organization” Tickets, Fri, 7 Aug 2020 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

Summer book club kickoff event

It is still not late to join the bookclub if you weren’t able to make yesterday’s event.

Here is a recap of what was discussed.

1. Weekly meeting on Fridays noon-hours for the next 5 weeks. Will be extended based on progress of the reading and review. To participate register on Eventbrite and the calender invite will be sent to you:

2. The bookclub schedule:

Session #1 – 14 August 2020: 12-1 PM/ET

Preread required for session #1: Book pages 1-25

Session #2 – 21 August 2020: 12-1 PM/ET

Preread required for session #2: Book pages 26-49

Session #3 – 28 August 2020: 12-1 PM/ET

Preread required for session #3: Book pages 50-75

Session #4 – 4 September 2020: 12-1 PM/ET

Preread required for session #4: Book pages 76-99

Session #5 – 11 September 2020: 12-1 PM/ET

Preread required for session #5: Book pages 100-118 and wrap-up

3. If you haven’t bought the book yet, here is the link to buy the same:
https://www.flipsnack.com/stevemorlidge/the-little-book-of-organisation-special-edition/full-view.html

4. For the 1st meeting on 14th August, the plan is to read pages 1-24.  Please plan to read something every day in order to move forward. While you read, please make notes of things that you relate to, things that you would like to clarify/discuss, other frameworks/methods that you can compare this book to.

Please let me know if you have any questions. See you on August the 14th.

Cheers,

Srikanth

Six-week summer book club and review of “A little illustrated book of Organization”

Systems Thinking Study club – “A little illustrated book of Organization” Tickets, Fri, 7 Aug 2020 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

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Wicked Problems toolkit | xynteo.com

c/o Systems Innovation

WICKED PROBLEMS TOOLKIT

Trying to create a positive and lasting impact in our complex, interconnected world is incredibly difficult. It can sometimes feel downright impossible.

If you are faced with a complex problem and overwhelmed by the size, scale and intractability of it, this toolkit is for you. It doesn’t matter if you work in business, in government, or in the NGO world – our process works equally well in all contexts. 

These step-by-step guides to some of the methods and tools Xynteo regularly uses in our work will equip you with the knowledge and mindset you need to tackle complex problems – helping you understand them, analyse them, and find points of intervention

01An introduction to wicked problemsWhat makes a problem ‘wicked’ and seemingly impossible to solve?

02A step-by-step guide to system mappingFollow this guide to build your own system map.

03A step-by-step guide to backcasting

Follow this guide to ideate solutions by working backward from your goal.

source:

Wicked Problems toolkit | xynteo.com

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Anticipatory Dysfunction – Systems Thinking – Open Learning Commons

Anticipatory Dysfunction

Systems Thinking

1

 / 

2

judithlrosen1 14h

Once again, at the suggestion of David Ing, here’s a Facebook post that he felt would be appropriate for this venue and he asked me to post it:

https://medium.com/the-spike/seventy-teams-of-scientists-analysed-the-same-brain-data-and-it-went-badly-e0d96c23dbf4 1

Sometimes, when human beings are engaged in science, our Anticipatory nature leads us into Anticipatory Dysfunction. This is why I constantly caution people who are saying “trust science!”… Not all people doing science are good at it. And not all have good intentions, either, but that’s not what this story is about.

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Anticipatory Dysfunction – Systems Thinking – Open Learning Commons

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Acting Cybernetically | Cybernetics & Human Knowing

Ben Sweeting says:
I’m pleased to announce the publication of a special issue of Cybernetics and Human Knowing titled ‘Acting Cybernetically’. This comprises a selection of papers from the 2019 conference of the American Society for Cybernetics held at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The conference was organised by Tom Scholte, Pille Bunnell and myself. The special issue has been edited by myself and Tom.
Follow this link for an overview: http://chkjournal.com/?q=node/357
You will find that several features (forward, commentary, two columns) are available open access, although the main papers require a subscription to see more than a preview. If you don’t currently, I do encourage you to subscribe or to ask your institution to do so – it is good value and helps support the infrastructure of our discipline.
Additional papers from the conference are published in other issues in this volume as regular articles and in the ASC Pages column.
Best wishesBen

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Acting Cybernetically | Cybernetics & Human Knowing

Cybernetics & Human Knowing

A Journal of Second Order Cybernetics, Autopoiesis & Cybersemiotics

Acting Cybernetically

• All
• Volume 27

Issue: 2Year: 2020Table of ContentForeword: Acting CyberneticallyCommentary: You’re a Cybernetician. Act Like One!Articles: Acting Cybernetically?Bridging Bateson’s Gap: Participating Cybernetically in a More-Than-Human WorldActing Cybernetically: Practicing Design Theory and Theorizing Design Practice as a Participatory Learning JourneyA Fun Palace: A Mixed Reality Event Through the Looking Glass of CyberneticsColumn: Guest Column: The Relevance of Cybernetics in the 21st CenturyASC Pages: Learning for Timely Action: An Introduction to the Cybernetics of Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry (CDAI)Featured Artist: Donna Ruff

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Organizing in the age of systems: Ivan Illich’s critical contributions to organization studies

Cadernos EBAPE.BR

On-line version ISSN 1679-3951

Cad. EBAPE.BR vol.18 no.2 Rio de Janeiro Apr./June 2020  Epub July 10, 2020

https://doi.org/10.1590/1679-395177954x 

ARTICLE

Organizing in the age of systems: Ivan Illich’s critical contributions to organization studies

LUCAS CASAGRANDE¹  
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8327-4810

NILO CORADINI DE FREITAS² 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2327-8297

¹UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL (UFRGS) / ESCOLA DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO, PORTO ALEGRE – RS, BRAZIL

²UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL (UFRGS) / PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO, PORTO ALEGRE – RS, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT

This essay presents Ivan Illich’s critique of institutionalization in modern society and its evolution to the Age of Systems, the problems that arise, and its imbrication with technological choices. The essay explores the author’s thoughts and the contributions of his dialogues to the Organization Studies. The study presents the idea of institutional imbalance and correlates it with the concept of manipulative tools as opposed to convivial tools, assuming, therefore, that technique is not something neutral. The study then discusses how industrial society reifies the human being and becomes a great functional social system, a ‘body with organs,’ which needs the institutions ‘school,’ ‘health’, and industry. Industrial society creates disabling professions that specialize individuals until their full alienation and mediation, and it incorporates a system of mass surveillance in the subjectivity of each one. Against this, different propositions of withdrawing power, or deconstructing rules are possible, as shown by Giorgio Agamben.

Keywords: Ivan Illich; Conviviality; Age of Systems; Alternative Organizations; Institutionalization

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Organizing in the age of systems: Ivan Illich’s critical contributions to organization studies

and

should be required listening for all people wanting to ‘solve problems’, offering advice on Twitter, etc…

https://overcast.fm/+TKZKHuE9Q

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8hw3d/149-3050-feral-hogs

Apithology is the discipline that studies the generative causes of health and wellness in living systems. The term originally emerged from the development of a field of inquiry formed to meet questions not examined by apithology’s counterpart discipline, being the research field of pathology.

Apithology is not a concept, it is a research practice. The premise of apithology research describes what to look at, why those specific features of interest, and how to uniquely do this. To provide opinions, definitions and descriptions in the field of apithology does require formal study.

Apithology research is primarily done at humanity-scales of inquiry. It is applied in practice at individual levels of benefit. It involves holding an alternative horizon of investigation. Qualified practitioners are able to recognise its underlying concepts, have familiarity with its paradigms of practice, and seek to achieve skilfulness in its research and inquiry methods.

Those seeking to become proficient in apithology are invited to train in the discipline and to join its community of practice. Contact us to discuss the pathways and options presently available to further your engagement with this field.

website:

apithology – A Discipline of Inquiry

Practitioners forum: https://apithology.org/

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The Technium: Upcreation

Upcreation

Upcreation is my term for the peculiar, profound, and still mysterious way by which complex structures appear in the universe. By complex structures I mean galaxies, stars, planets, life, DNA, termite mounds, rain forests, human minds, and the internet. These complexities tend to “emerge” from simpler systems (clouds of gas, pools of molecules, nodes of communication) in a fashion we broadly call self-organization. But in the right circumstances self-organization can often also be legitimately called self-creation. Without an outside agent, the parts cohere into a new organization that brings forth an “emergent” level or self not present before. Since the new emergent level of complexity encompasses, without destruction, the previous “lower” levels of organization, I call this self-creation of higher levels “upcreation.” A set of entities lifts itself up to a new level of organization in a new entity. By this perspective, DNA chemistry “upcreates” life, and life upcreates minds, and a mind might upcreate a supermind. Upcreation takes place in smaller increments as well: Honey bees upcreate a hive, protists upcreate multicellular organisms, corals upcreate a reef, shoppers upcreate a market, web surfers upcreate Google PageRank.

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The Technium: Upcreation

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The Seeing Systems Blog: Should Marginals Have Empathy for the Insider They Critique

Should Marginals Have Empathy for the Insider They Critique

My intention here is to further explore the relationship between Marginals – those who critique organizations and institutions (e.g.,for their sexism, racism, anti-Semitism )- and Insiders – members of these organizations and institutions who are the objects of those critiques. Four stories…

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The Seeing Systems Blog: Should Marginals Have Empathy for the Insider They Critique

how InterPlay helps us navigate complexity making sense of complexity As explained in the blog post “summarising complexity and some of its influences”,  complex dynamics are often unpredictable to our intellectual reasoning, but what if there is a side to our intelligence that effortlessly interprets complexity? Whilst much of the subtle pattern and intricate dynamics of a complex system is not able to be grasped in a literal sense, many believe our tacit ways of knowing are well equipped for the job. Tacit memory has been the subject of many studies, especially in the context of therapy. In Peter Levine’s book “Trauma and Memory” he describes how tacit memories “arise as a collage of sensations, emotions and behaviours” and goes on to describe how they are intricately linked to our bodily sensations and physical responses. What if we were to work with embodied tacit knowledge outside of the therapeutic context? What could it bring to our everyday decision making? Engaging our embodied ways of knowing in a complex situation is what I think of as systems sensing (as opposed to systems thinking).

how InterPlay helps us navigate complexity – Navigating Complexity