1. First Call for Papers: UK Systems Society International Conference 2014
9-11 September 2014 - St Anne’s College, Oxford University, UK
What are knowledge societies?
Knowledge Societies are identified as societies
based on the creation, dissemination and utilization of information and
knowledge, i.e. societies with an economy in which knowledge is
acquired, created, disseminated and applied to enhance
economic and social development. People living in a knowledge society
can expect that their work, leisure, social and political lives will be
dominated by creation, acquisition and utilisation of ‘knowledge’.
However, at the heart of this concept is the idea
of ‘knowledge’ itself. Much has been written about knowledge in its
various forms – propositional knowledge (information) or tacit
‘know-how’. Great resources have been expended by businesses wishing to
know how to manage their knowledge, since it has been
acknowledged that the only sustainable source of competitive advantage
that an organisation has is the know-how of the people it employs. Yet
knowledge remains problematic. It is contained within people and created
by them through interactions in groups, using
physical and financial resources. People may or may not know that they
have it. Efforts to make human knowledge explicit, and capture it for
the benefit of others may be more or less successful. It is perhaps
more accurate to refer to human knowing, since
it is dynamic rather than static.
Challenges of knowledge societies
With increased focus on the economic and social
aspect of knowledge, its potential as a force of social cohesion and
increased welfare, or conversely as a source of increased division and
exclusion requires our urgent attention as citizens.
UNESCO, in a 2005 World Report on Knowledge Society, has expressed
concern over the potential disassociation of society as those on the
wrong side of the digital divide become increasingly isolated. Further
concern is expressed over excessive commoditization
of knowledge, so that ownership of previously social assets become
concentrated in the hands of the powerful.
The UNESCO World Report establishes four principles that are essential for development of an equitable knowledge society:
- Cultural diversity;
- Equal access to education;
- Universal access to information (in the public domain);
- Freedom of expression.
The role of technology
“Knowledge has been at the heart of economic
growth and development for some time. Despite the shift in recent years
from the Information Society to an emerging global knowledge society,
where emphasis is more on people’s utilisation
of knowledge rather than technology, it still remains a fact that
information technology remains a central element of the knowledge
society, combined with continuous learning particularly in Science &
Technology and innovation … The ability to generate new
knowledge and new ideas that are then embodied in products and
organisations has always served to fuel development … The foremost use
of knowledge should be to empower and develop all sectors of society to
understand and use knowledge to increase the quality
of people’s lives and promote social development. A socially inclusive
knowledge society empowers all members of the society to create,
receive, share and use information and knowledge for their economic,
social, cultural and political development. In recent
times, disparities in the productivity and growth of different
countries have far less to do with the abundance or lack of natural
resources than with the capacity to improve the quality of human capital
and factors of production i.e. to create new knowledge
and ideas and incorporate them into equipment and people’s skills.”
(Extract from a GESCI report, funded by the UN ICT Task Force, 2010)
Systems and the knowledge society – Call for Contributions
What is clear from this discourse is that
knowledge society is characterised by its complexity. Not only is
knowledge an ephemeral phenomenon, resistant to attempts to harness and
control it, but it is a controversial asset that gives
access to economic and political power. One thing that is clear is that
the four principles set out by UNESCO cannot be achieved through linear
thinking.
We invite contributions from systems thinkers in
the form of papers, models, reports from practice, posters or workshop
proposals that relate to the conference theme in its broadest sense. The
Conference programme will include a day devoted
to practitioner contributions, and a workshop on writing for
publication as well as plenary presentations and speakers (to be
confirmed).
Papers should be clearly marked ‘conference
submission’, and submitted by 31 May 2014, via the on-line submission
system of IGI Global. For other types of contribution, please email an abstract to the conference organisers at: Conference2014@ukss.org.uk
2. ISSS 2014 Conference - ISSS, and ASC in the following week
Learning Across Boundaries: Exploring the Variety of Systemic Theory and Practice
ISSS President 2013-14 Professor Gerald Midgley, University of Hull, UK
The 58th Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences will be held at George Washington University, Washington DC, July 27 through August 1, 2014. The conference will be held at the downtown campus in the Georgetown area of Washington DC at Funger Hall, GWU School of Business.Further details are located on the ISSS2014 Conference pages.
This year, the ASC meeting "Living in Cybernetics" will also be held at GWU in the week following the ISSS (3-9th August). There will be a discount for those attending both conferences, please see each conference's registration pages. The discount will be halved from the registration cost of each conference.
Additional details will be added as available, please email the ISSS office with any queries in the meantime at isssoffice@dsl.pipex.com
3. 50th Anniversary conference of the American Society for Cybernetics
2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the American Society for Cybernetics, which was incorporated in Washington DC on the 6th of August 1964.
Our conference this year will be our major celebration. The theme is “Living in Cybernetics”. The main event (4 to 8 August inclusive) will celebrate ASC cybernetics in the present through paper presentations themed using Stuart Umpleby’s “Several Traditions of cybernetics” (4 and 5 August), ASC cybernetics in the past through addresses from many past presidents and other long term members (August 6) developing our timeline, and ASC cybernetics in the future through workshops developing views of how cybernetics and education may come together to hep make a better world (August 7 and 8).
In addition, as has been our recent practice, we will hold a pre-conference meeting on 3 August; and a post-conference meeting (9 August). Conferees may attend these events without charge.
4. EMCSR 2014
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