Electronic networks

The modern world of today consists, to a great extent, of an artificial milieu created by human beings and structured into large technological systems. The global telecommunications network belongs to one of the most complex of these systems, even if one only considers the physical network with its telephones, exchanges, optical fibre cables, satellites,

Fibre optics, communication and navigation satellites, cellular radio

Modern networks are composed of different channels, of which the three mentioned in the above heading seem to have the greatest potential. Being the least ‘glamorous’, fibre optics have already brought about a silent revolutionary change in the global communication system. The invention of fibre optics in fact neutralized the emerging ‘copper crisis’ during

Internet

When examining electronic networks, the Internet is a good example as it is one of the biggest and most spectacular. It is possible to compare the development of the Internet with earlier, radical infrastructural changes caused for example by the arrival of the railway or the motor car. Viewed in this way, the Internet

Virtual reality

In the same way that a telephone is a tool to facilitate conversation over long distances, the technology of virtual reality, or VR, is primarily a facilitator of a total remote communication experience. A higher, more effective level of communication is now possible by the amalgamation of imaging and computing power. This is something

Cyberspace and cyberpunk

In 1984, a novel was published by the American author William Gibson. Its title was Neuromancer and Gibson was soon considered a promising representative of ‘New Journalism’. This trend was a carefree, conscious mixture of facts from the latest technological and biological achievements and dystrophic prophesies regarding social development. Here the world was recognized

Some of the Systems Methodologies

Systems science has assumed as its primary responsibility the task of handling real world, large-scale, intertwined problems of complex systems. It is applied with the assumption that these problems are of a certain similarity, regardless of the system they have originated from. The systemic view therefore includes a special attention to the threat of

Large-scale, soft and intertwined problems in Systems Methodologies

Planners and problem solvers dealing with large-scale societal problems have long been aware that their situations are quite different from those of ordinary scientists and engineers. Classical methods of science and engineering have little if any relevance in their work. They are no longer surprised to find that their solutions often induce problems of

Systems design

One of the best existing reports on systems design is made by J.P. van Gigch (1978). He defines the method as a series of ongoing, cybernetic and fluid design functions. It begins with a question regarding the purpose for the existence of the system and emphasizes the problems in relation to superordinate systems. The

Breakthrough thinking in Systems Methodologies

A new variation of soft systems methodology has been developed by Gerald Nadler and Shozo Hibino. It was introduced in their book Breakthrough Thinking (1990) and is a total, holistic approach to problem solving. The authors state that it combines the best of the visionary and the pragmatic approaches to problem solving and problem

Systems analysis

The main ideas of systems analysis were originally developed by the RAND Corporation of America. It was created for the study of interaction between science, technology, and society. Several variations have been introduced. The one presented here is distinctive for the basic concept and has been adopted from R. Flood and E. Carson (1988).

Systems engineering

Systems engineering as a ‘hard’ methodology has its roots in NASA and the early space projects of the 1960s. One of its more generally applicable variations is again presented by Flood and Carson (1988). It has four main phases: systems analysis, systems design, implementation and operation. The phase of systems design in this case

GLS simulation as Systems Methodology

Finally, a hard systems methodology developed by the author will be presented (Skyttner 1988). It has two explicit starting points, one in GLS theory and one in DYNAMO, a computer language developed by Jay Forrester (see p. 43). The idea is that problems can always be related to one or more of the main

Method versus problem in Systems Methodologies

In this chapter, only the main steps of the methodologies were dealt with. This is because the appropriate substeps often include the use of sophisticated statistical, mathematical and economic tools and models, discussion of which is outside the scope of this book. Of the many systems methodologies available, some clearly work well in certain

The Future of Systems Theory

In the foregoing chapters, an attempt has been made to present the current state of systems theory and some of its applications. To predict the future of an area which still has not celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as an unified area of knowledge, is of course extremely difficult. Any effort to predict the coming

Science of today

In the summary of the scientific development in Chapter 1, it  was possible to see how the search for the general involved studying the particular. The general has however too often remained limited, hampered by a sceptical attitude toward holism. Taking ourselves as the starting point of all thinking we have succeeded in being

The world we live in

History has always witnessed self-destructive individuals and societies. The dilemma of our generation is that destructive power has gained such devastating strength. Not so long ago the human race was small and relatively powerless and its actions could not significantly affect the grandeur of Nature. Today, human beings have access to power which threatens

The need for change: Future of Systems Theory

Our present world-view is the result of a 400-year-old scientific project. We have travelled to the moon, split the atom, succeed in transplantation of hearts and rebuilt genes. But we are not satisfied with the outcome of the project. Today, most people in our modern world have less freedom in their lives to practice

Systems thinking as alternate and criticized paradigm

A basic distinction of science is that it uses observations, measurements and experiments to answer questions associated with problems. But new and relevant questions must be posed if one is to obtain new and useful answers. In reality our old world-view has not been kept up to date to take account of contemporary change.

Systems thinking and the academic environment

Researchers in systems science work in a sometimes difficult academic environment. Both the subject matter and the methodologies of these scientists are often in conflict with the methods and products favoured by the academy. The methods of traditional academic and scientific work seldom reflect the properties of systems, and therefore systems science becomes incompatible

How to write the instruction manual of Systems

Buckminster Fuller (1970) was one of the first proponents for an operating manual for Spaceship Earth. His own life and work was an attempt to contribute to this symbolic idea which can be followed in his books. This concept does not deal with gradually increasing improvements of the present situation. Instead it deals with